Mutiny Below

Natalia

Eric woke me up at 7am to tell me that Gemma had informed him of a party tonight in Scottsdale. He also told me that Gemma would be arriving soon to take me, Jayce, and another girl I didn't know shopping to find something to wear to said party. That made me nervous but Nick assured me I'd be fine so I went.

I ended up talking to Jayce a little and she picked out a dress for me that she insisted matched my hair and my personality perfectly. She also said, quote, "Halvo's going to die when he sees you tonight!" Once Gemma and Sophia left for Scottsdale, Jayce and I went back to her apartment to get ready. The guys were at Eric's so we were able to get ready in peace. Jayce begged me to let her do my makeup so I hesitantly obliged.

Once we were finished getting dressed, we walked to Eric's and practically had to force their lazy butts off the couch and out to the car. It somehow ended up that Jayce was in the back between Nick and John, and I was in the front seat with Eric. The ride to Scottsdale seemed to take longer than I remembered and when we finally pulled up outside the house, Jayce groaned.

"Oh dear Lord. Is someone trying to start drama?"

"My bets are on Stephen," Eric said, chuckling.

Apparently we were at the Gomez residence. I nudged him with my elbow and told him it wasn't funny but he repsonded by putting his arm around my shoulders. John and Jayce were saying something to each other when Eric shouted over them his plan to get very drunk at the party. Nick agreed to Eric's plan, insisting that he too needed to get very drunk.

"There's only six days left til tour starts up!"

Eric and Nick did a high five over my head and I shook my head at them.

"Meaning only six days left until I go home," I reminded them. Eric frowned, rolling out his bottom lip. "You don't have to go back to boring old Massachusetts just yet. You should come on tour with us; there's plenty of room, right Nick?"

"She's not coming, Halvo," Nick grumbled. Eric shot him a mean look but he laughed it off. "I’m just being honest like you, man. I had to drag her ass here. You really think she’s just going to hop on a tour bus with us because you bat your brown eyes at her?"

Nick noticed the sad? look on John's face and smirked. I hugged Eric's waist tighter and looked at Nick. "You know, now that you mention it, going on tour with my boyfriend doesn't sound all that bad"

Nick, Eric, and John all stared at me surprised while Jayce giggled.

Nick rolled his eyes. "As long as there's no sex on the bus, you are all the more than welcome my dear sister"

Normally, I would've just wanted to melt into a puddle on the ground and disappear because of a comment like that but this time I didn't miss a beat. "Can't promise anything, dearest brother"

Where the hell is this coming from?? I thought to myself. This new found confidence I had when talking about Eric and I baffled even me and I'm sure it made Nick wonder what was going on as well. Eric put his hand on the back of my neck and leaned down to kiss me.

That was it- the first time we kissed in front of everyone. Well actually, it was the first time we kissed at all, but the fact that it was in front of everyone else worried me a bit. Especially the fact that Nick was one of those people. When I pulled away, they were all staring at us. Jayce broke the tension by suggesting we go inside. Eric jogged up the steps first, pulling me close behind him.

Once a lot of people got there and the party got into full swing, it didn't take very long for Eric to get drunk. He was standing up on the couch dancing with Gemma for awhile before he got tired of that and decided to roam around and talk to some old friends, not that he was coherent enough to carry on an actual conversation.

I was surprised when I saw Jayce drunk as well. She wasn't standing up well on her own and she mostly leaned on John and the wall for support. Nick, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen. I knew he was probably getting wasted since he seemed to like the idea of it so much before and because of the fact that he still wasn't where he wanted to be with Jayce.

The next time Eric appeared in the crowd, he had his arms around Nick's shoulders. I could tell Nick and Eric were both completely out of it just by looking into their eyes. Nick spotted me first and he lazily lifted his arm to point in my direction. Eric turned his head and grinned. "Heeeey, Nat!"

I shook my head and went to get a glass of dr. pepper just as Eric tripped on his own big feet and started laughing hysterically along with Nick. I didn't see my brother drunk very often but this time was worse than the others. I guess he really wanted to forget. John and Jayce disappeared within that time and then I got distracted watching Gemma and Kennedy drunkenly sing to each other.

The rest of the night went pretty much in that same fashion. I kept to myself while Eric and Nick got even more trashed and John babysat Jayce, who was drunk as well. I sat down on the bottom step of the stairs and just people watched.

"Hey, Nat?"

When I turned my head, I was met with John's sparkling green eyes looking down at me.

"Yeah?"

"I think we should probably try to load up these idiots and head home soon"

I looked over at Eric where he was passed out in one of the chairs.

"Yeah, you're probably right"

"Think you can get Halvo to walk out to the car?"

"I can try"

John went back to get Jayce and carry her to the car while I went over to where Eric was asleep. I called his name, shook him, pryed his eyes open, but he still didn't respond. When John came back inside, he pretty much slapped Eric across the face to wake him up and it most definitely worked.

While he went to get Nick, I helped Eric stand. He threw both his arms around me and we slowly made our way to the door. Somehow, we made it to the car without him falling down, which was a miracle. I kind of just pushed him backward and he fell into the back seat. John helped Nick into the other side and shut the door, getting into the driver's seat.

I got into the front seat and put my seatbelt on, glancing into the back as John started to pull out of the driveway. Jayce had already repositioned herself so that she was leaning against Nick with her head on his chest. I was worried at first but then I figured John would just think it was because of the alcohol.

He turned up the radio and I sat back in my seat, leaning my head against my arm. I must've fallen asleep because the enxt thing I knew, someone was gently shaking me. I opened my eyes and saw John leaning forward toward me.

"We're home," he informed me softly. I opened my door and got out to stretch before going to unlock the door so that he could get Eric inside. He dropped Eric on his bed then went back out to get Nick. I told him to take him to my room so he did. He came back into the living room and leaned against the door frame.

"Thanks for bringing them in"

"No problem"

"Also thanks for not getting drunk too. I wouldn't have been able to get us back"

He chuckled. "Well, you're welcome then"

The smile on his face slowly faded and he glanced behind him to the car where Jayce was sleeping. "I guess I should be going now"

I nodded, probably not hiding my disappointment well. He took one step out the door before turning back to me. "Hey Natalia?"

"Yeah?"

"You want to....do something tomorrow?"

"What'd you have in mind?"

He stood there thinking for a moment then smiled. "I have a great idea"

"Okay..."

"But we'll have to leave early"

I raised my eyebrows at him. "How early?"

He bit his lip. "About 4:45?"

"In the morning? That's like-," I paused to look at the time on my phone. "That's in three hours!"

"So you up for it?"

I sighed. "I guess so"

"Meet me outside?"

"Sure"

He smiled. "Better get some sleep then. See you soon"

With that, he left, shutting the door behind him. The first thing I did was go into my room to check on Nick. I took off his shoes and pulled the comforter over him then went and did the same for Eric. After that, I went back into the living room and set my phone alarm then curled up on the couch, pulling the blanket on the back over my legs and falling asleep within minutes.

4:30 came way too early for me. I jumped up, took a five minute shower, then crept into my room to get some clothes. Because it was pitch dark, I ended up grabbing random things and hoping that they matched. I went back into the bathroom to get dressed and towel dry my hair. By the time I finished all that, it was already 4:48. I grabbed my phone from the table as I ran by and shut the door back. John was waiting right out front, leaning against his car.

"Sorry"

"No worries. Ready to go?"

I nodded and he opened his passenger door for me then went to get in on the driver's side. Once we pulled out of the driveway, I looked over at him. "So what's this idea of yours?"

He smiled. "You'll see"

We drove for about ten minutes until he stopped the car in some place I didn't know. It was still dark so when I got out of the car, I couldn't see him. "Come on!" he called from somewhere ahead of me. He held his phone up so that the glow of the screen could let me know where he was. Once I caught up to him, we walked side by side up a semi-steep hill. He made sure to shine the light of his phone on the ground to make sure there were no bugs before we sat down.

"Know what we're doing yet?"

"Haven't the slightest idea"

"You know how Arizona has one of the best sunsets?"

".....Yeah"

"Well our sunrises are pretty damn great too"

"And do you get up this early to watch it often?"

"Once or twice before," he replied, smiling.

We sat in comfortable silence for the next forty minutes as the sun rose. He was right about it being beautiful. Once it was completely daylight, he stood up and brushed the dirt off his jeans.

"Hungry?"

"Starving"

We went back down the hill to the car and drove to ihop to eat breakfast. While we ate, I pondered whether I should ask how thing were with Jayce but he beat me to the punch by asking about Nick.

"So, Natalia-....Can I just call you Talia?"

I raised my eyebrows. "Um, sure?"

He nodded, smiling. "Talia. I like it"

I shook my head and took a bite of my pancakes.

"So Talia, everything's back to normal with Nick then?"

"Seems to be. He's been acting normal so I guess everything's fine"

"That's good"

"What about Jayce?" I asked cautiously.

"Things have been good"

"Good"

He didn't elaborate so I didn't push it any further.

"So since I didn't hear anything, did everything go alright with Gemma and the boys last night?"

John shrugged. "They didn't get into an actual fight or anything but Stephen and Kennedy had a shouting match outside. Stephen was wasted off his ass so of course that just made it worse. Kennedy ended up grabbing Gemma and leaving right then"

"That's awful. I feel bad for Gemma"

"It's a tough situation. They're both so in love with her"

"Yeah," I mumbled. That reminded me of another certain situation.

We were both silent for a few minutes so I changed the subject.

"So what are we doing next?"

"We could always go see how those puppies are doing at the shelter"

"I'd like that"

Once we finished eating, we went to the animal shelter we'd come to a long time ago when I first arrived in Arizona. Jared's cousin led us into a back room where they were letting a few of the puppies run around and play. I went to sit on the floor and the smallest one of the group immediately made his way over to me. He laid down in front of me, resting his head on my leg. I picked him up and petted him and he nuzzled his face in my arm.

I couldn't help but watch as John squatted down to pet one of the larger dogs. It was obvious that dog was starved for attention and he was loving that someone was actually taking the time to pet him. He ended up knocking John backwards and then climbing on him while John just chuckled. My heart pretty much just melted right then. The puppy in my lap had fallen asleep so I just rubbed his small head while he slept.

We didn't leave until hours later when Jared's cousin came back to tell us that her shift was over and that she was going home. We left the same time she did and went back to the car.

"You up for one more thing?"

"Sure"

We drove to the outskirts of town and he parked then got out of the car. I got out and followed him but he stopped and turned back to me.

"Know where you are, Talia?" he asked, grinning from ear to ear.

I looked at my surroundings while he sat down on a large rock. The mountains behind him were stunning but I hadn't the slightest idea where we were.

"This right here is my best thinking spot. I write a lot of my songs here"

"I could see how you'd be inspired here"

I sat down beside him on the rock and he pointed out his favorite things about his spot- the small group of cacti a few feet away, the large rock we were sitting on, that one particular point on the mountain behind us. It really was an amazing place.

When I glanced over at him, he was smiling but the smile disappeared and then he was giving me a serious look. Before I knew it, he was leaning in and I was frozen completely still. It was like slow motion when his lips met mine. And just as soon as it happened, he jerked away and stood up from the rock, running his hands through his hair.

"Fuck, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry"

He paced back and forth in front of me but I was still sitting there in shock.

"I-....I should probably take you home now"

He started walking back to the car and I had to practically jog to catch up with him. We didn't say a word to each other on the ten minute ride back to the complex. I didn't even dare look at him. I couldn't believe it had actually happened. As soon as he pulled into the parking lot, I got out of the car and went inside, not looking back. In terms of the plan, it probably wasn't the best reaction but I just wasn't able to wrap my head around what happened.

Thankfully, Nick and Eric were both gone so I wasn't going to be interrogated. I sank down onto the couch and stared at the blank tv screen.

Did this day really happen?