Something Sweet to Get You By

"This is why no one ever tells you anything. You can't control that big mouth of yours!" Charlie shouted as Nikki and Amanda moved around behind her. She glared at her friend's reflection in the mirror, knowing that Nikki could feel it even though she was pretending to be too busy putting her bridesmaids dress on to notice.

"Charles, cut her some slack. She didn't mean it," Amanda interjected. She beckoned Nikki over to help zip her dress up. "You couldn't honestly expect us to be able to hold it in for much longer anyway."

Nikki made sure to keep her gaze away from Amanda's. They'd arrived in Chicago nearly a week ago and despite her constant apologizes, Charlie remained upset with her friend. It's not like she'd been planning on saying anything. It just slipped. It could've been way worse - Charlie was overreacting. Nothing bad was going to happen. She just needed to give it time to blow over.

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"She knew who you were?" Eric half laughed as he drunkenly watched Beau take his turn in their game of beer pong against Matt and Jared. His vision was starting to blur after having to drink his and Beau's cups of beer. He was half slouched over as he rested against a chair. Even through his blurry vision, he could see Beau's shot bounce over the last row of red solo cups and into Jared's backyard lawn.

Beau slammed his fist on the table and walked towards Eric, "Yeah, Eric, for the third time: she knew who I was."

There was a loud, annoying screech-like laugh that following Beau's sentence. His jaw clenched as he turned around to find Jared drunkenly laughing at him, Matt huddled over next to him, laughing as well. It wasn't funny. He knew telling his band mates during a second game of beer pong wasn't a good idea.

"Do you think, maybe, that's the only reason she's going out with you?" Matt asked after he, Jared, and Eric managed to control their laughter.

"Hey, don't say that, dude," Eric scolded, excessively shaking an angry finger at Matt. "Beau's not being used by some chick, okay? You know what I could use though? Vodka!"

"No," Jared interjected before Eric could gather himself up and walk into the house. "C'mon guys we have to help our brother. But hold on, I can't find the ping pong ball. It, like, sank into the ground. Guys, help me find it 'cause it's lost."

Beau rolled his eyes as he watched Jared and Matt throw themselves onto the grass in search of a bright orange ball. Eric tugged on Beau's sleeve before gesturing to follow as Eric drunkenly made his way back into Jared's house. He stumbled towards the living room, bumping into a few pieces of furniture before falling back onto the black leather couch. He rubbed his eyes and looked at Beau. He blinked a few times, rubbed his eyes again, and then smiled.

"Why do you think she didn't tell you about knowing who you were, man?"

"I don't know, Eric. The only reason I can come up with is...I don't know, maybe she wanted to use me for her fifteen minutes of fame."

Eric giggled as he ran his fingertips down Beau's face, "We're not that famous, Beau."

"Well then what do you think the reason is, dummy?"

"I don't know! Girls are dumb! If it weren't for their butts and all that good stuff, I wouldn't get mixed up with them!" Eric exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air. "They're crazy! And they always have some stupid excuse to their actions. And they don't let you get drunk! And they get mad when you ask if you can pee on them to mark your territory. Dumb, man."

"Even if my reason isn't wrong..." Beau trailed off for a second before continuing. "Dude, she went into this relationship already lying to me."

"You sound like a girl, shut up! Who cares! She likes you, man. And you like her. So what happens when two people like each other? They have sex, get drunk together, and get married! Which reminds me - I need more beer."

Beau watched Eric struggle to get off of the couch and make his way towards the kitchen.

"So what you're saying is: forgive her for not telling me she knew who I was and pretend like there isn't a small chance that she's using me?"

"What I'm saying is--" Eric was interrupted by a loud thud. Beau looked over his shoulder and saw Matt and Jared laying on the grass with the table they'd been using for beer pong on it's side. "What I'm saying is...forgive her and let's go swimming!"

"I need to see her."