You're All I Need

Vince shook me awake at 4:30 the next morning.

"Imogene, I don't feel well."

"I'm sorry to hear that," I said. "Try to get back to sleep, that will make you feel better."

"No. I'm in agony!" He groaned.

I closed my eyes and almost fell asleep again. He leaned over and coughed on me.

"Vince, that's disgusting!" I pushed him back and playfully slapped him across the face, then I realized how warm he was. I propped myself up on one elbow and looked at him. He was incredibly pale and he really didn't look good. I felt his forehead again. "Vince?"

"Mhm?"

"I think you've got a fever." I pulled myself out of bed. "Do you guys have a thermometer?"

"Well, we did, only Nikki took it and shoved it up..."

"I don't even wanna know. But anyway- what's wrong? Like, is your stomach hurting?"

"Yeah, and I'm all dizzy with a sore throat." He explained.

"Are you sure it's not just a hangover?"

"I've had plenty of hangovers, and this is not one of them." He smiled weakly.

"Alright, you go back to bed, and I'll try to get you something."

"No. I wanna stay here with you."

"Why is it so hard to get you into a bed? Normally you like that kind of thing."

"I do. But I only like beds when there are girls like you in them."

I stared at him. "That's a little awkward, but at the same time, strangely flattering."

He hugged me. "I have my moments."

"Get off, you're getting your sickness on me."

"I can get it in you, too... if you want."

"You can turn anything into an innuendo, can't you?" I pulled away and got him some water for his sore throat.

"Yeah, that's my superpower." He shrugged, drinking the water.

"Get in bed. Right now. I'm not gonna say it again." I demanded. He sighed and trudged into his room. I shook my head.

Nikki walked in. "Whoa, what are you doing up?"

"Vince is sick. I think it's the flu."

"Bastard." He muttered. "Hey, I've got some good news: I finished it."

"Finished what?"

"The new album. We're going into the studio next week to record some demos."

I smiled and hugged him. "That's great!" He lifted me onto the kitchen counter.

"And you know what this means? If the album does good, we can have some money!" He smiled hugely. "But there's also bad news."

"Bad news?" What is it?"

"We're being evicted from the Motley House."

"Hold on, what? Why?"

"We haven't payed the rent in 9 months. But we'll be okay. I'm moving in with Lita..."

"Who's Lita?"

"My new girlfriend. I broke up with Catherine just as I promised. Tommy's moving in with Bullwinkle (how sad), and Vince... oh, where the hell is he going to live? More importantly, where are you going to live?" He looked at me. "God, this is hard."

"Does Vince even know?" I asked.

"Know about what?" Vince walked out of his room.

"Tell him, Imogene." Nikki pushed me towards him.

"Um... the album's finished... and well, here's the bad news: we're being kicked out of the Motley House."

Vince's mouth practically hit the ground. "Where am I gonna live?! I'm a poor, single hermit! No one loves me!" He sat on the ground.

"Now hold on, Imogene's got the same problem." Nikki lifted him up by the seat of his pants.

"Imogene doesn't have a place either?"

"No."

"I have an idea. There's a real big box outside the grocery store. We could live in that. No, no! We sneak in after hours and we find a way to live in the store. That way we never run out of food! My God, I'm a genius." Vince told us of our new living plan.

I thought about it. "As fun and interesting as that sounds, I don't think we could pull it off. How about I get a small part-time job, and we get a small apartment or something?" I suggested.

"That could work too..."

"Well, we've got two weeks to figure it out, so it's alright." Nikki said.

"No, it isn't." Vince said.

I agreed with him.