Six Feet Under the Stars

There are many reasons why you shouldn't drink before going to work.

Unfortunately, Jack didn't seem to have it planned out very well; he stumbled back to the hotel and laughed like a madman when he tripped on the sidewalk and ripped a whole in the knee of his jeans. I had to support half of his weight until we made it into the elevator. He slumped on the mirrors and grinned as wide as I've ever seen him.

"Shit, Jack. You are so gone." I told him, part laughing and part worried about how his performance at the upcoming concert would suffer because of the alcohol consumption. I patted his arm softly to console him.

"I am... fine. Just totally fine." Jack spoke lightly.

"Really convincing. Come on, let's get you back to the room." Guiding him out onto floor fourteen, we slowly made progress down to the hotel room and all the time I wondered how our roles had gotten reversed. A week ago, it was Jack who was taking care of the drunk me and now he was the tipsy one. The change in circumstances almost made me laugh.

The door slammed against the neutral walls as we tumbled through the doorway. From the couch, Alex looked at us and tore his eyes away from the colorful cartoon figures dropping anvils on each other's head. He took in Jack's overly goofy grin and flushed cheeks, then let out a long sigh, "You let him drink."

"He's a man. He can decide that on his own." I defended though I did feel a little responsible for his drunken state. After all, I could have stopped him from finishing the last third of the champagne off by himself. But he had guzzled it down by the time any arguments against it had come to my mind.

"Well, let's just hope he sobers up by the concert. If he doesn't it'll be fucking funny to see him try to play his guitar shit faced. It's been a while since I've seen that. I've sort of been missing the drunk Jack." Alex grinned as his best friend bumped straight into a wall.

Looking highly offended, Jack pointed a finger at Alex, "I am not drunk."

The singer rolled his eyes, "Sure, Jackie."

Studying the unbalanced Jack who was busy trying to jump up and touch the ceiling, I bit my lip, "Maybe we should chuck him into a cold shower or something. It might wake him up a little. Get the alcohol out."

"Sounds like an old wive's tale, but I'm up for it." Alex told me lazily sitting up on the sofa and taking several seconds to stretch his arms up in the air. My eyes couldn't help but notice the lean muscle there and I swallowed difficultly.

Clearing my throat, I looked away and helped to steer Jack towards the bathroom with Alex's help. Verbal protest and many obsenities were shouted from Jack and he tried to fight us off when we turned the shower water on. "Guys, really I'm okay."

Alex and I didn't buy it. Soon we had forced him into the clear shower, clothes and all, and Alex leaned against the door so Jack couldn't escape. He had already been wet from the earlier rain and now was being resoaked by shower water. Since Jack had been overpowered into the cleaning vesicle, he decided to enjoy the best of it and ran hands through his hair while trying to catch the falling water with his mouth like a butterfly net.

"Gotta watch what he drinks. I sure as hell hoped it wasn't champagne; that's his weakness. Shit, I swear Jack can drink that twenty four hours a day." Alex smirked at me from his position by the shower.

I gave a guilty laugh, "It was champagne. Two bottles."

"Damn."

The bathroom began to fog up and the air became humid and thick. My hair began to frizz up in the temperatures, but I didn't mind too much. The straightened hair sticking out of Alex's beanie began to wilt as well and curl up at the ends. For some reason, I found that slightly disheveled look highly attractive on him and I was glad the hot room gave an excuse for the blush creeping up onto my cheeks.

"Hey Melanie!" Jack's voice echoed from inside the shower and it distracted me from my more pressing thoughts. Looking over towards him, he pressed his lips in a kiss on the glass and drew a sloppy heart next to it.

Covering my face with a hand, I averted my eyes and said evenly, "Well, at least Jack's a pleasant drunk. I've been around some people that are real assholes when they get a few drinks in their systems."

To my dismay, Alex was studying Jack's impromptu artwork on the shower glass as it faded back into steamy fog, with a speculative look on his face. "Hmm... creative."

I changed the subject quickly. "Do you think he's had enough time in there?" It sounded as if Jack was sitting in the corner of the room for time-out, and in a way I guess he was. Instead of getting a clear head, all the water seemed to be doing was giving him an excuse to have a water spitting contest.

With a shrug, Alex replied, "I guess. Not much we can do if this doesn't help."

Moving from blocking the doorway, Alex reached a hand inside the shower and turned off the faucet. Jack rushed out almost immediately and shook his head in every direction like a dog to fling water at his best friend. "Asshole!" Alex shouted as the water splashed him in the face.

Laughing happily to himself, Jack bounded over to me and to my surprise he took me in his arms suddenly. I could feel the water from his body soaking through my clothes to my skin. Looking at me, Jack spoke to both Alex and I, "Now we're even. That was uncalled for just to throw me in there. I thought better of you two."

Scrutinizing the proximity between Jack and I, Alex scoffed, "Oh, shut up."

Subtly, I shifted out of Jack's arm and couldn't help but feel a little awkward caught in the stratosphere between the two best friends whom I had feelings for. Jack's words from the park rang through my head and his plan to date behind Alex's back was still at the forefront of my mind. Was that something I could do to Alex? Didn't it cross some line that should best be left alone?

Part of me already felt guilt over the situation seeping into my mind though nothing serious had occured between Jack and I yet. On the other hand, I could juse see the future possibilities opening up for me. Alex had made it quite clear that at the moment I was only second best to Caitlyn, his pregnant-by-another-man ex-girlfriend who had a fixation on the large sum in his bank account. Didn't I deserve someone who wasn't making me wait around like a puppet on a string?

Leaving those thoughts for another time, I tossed Jack a fresh, fluffy towel from a stack neatly piled on a shelf in the bathroom. "This'll help."

He mopped water off of his face. "Thanks."

After a moment of watching Jack scrub at his wet hair with the towel, I turned to Alex slowly, "What time's the concert? Maybe the alcohol will work itself out of his system by then."

"In an hour."

"Shit."

"Well, I'm pretty sure Jack's played drunk before. Most of the time we denies drinking anything before a show but there's been a couple of times where he's knocked the snack stand over and almost dropped his guitar that are just too suspicious to overlook." Alex regarded at his best friend with a brotherly affection that was simply adorable to me.

Trying very hard not to get all gooey about the brotherly love going on, I only said, "Well, tonight might be one of those nights. Alex, just be sure he doesn't fall off stage and break his arm or something. That would end the tour pretty fast."

He laughed loudly, "I'll try to stay on that. The thing I'm worried about is the interview we have lined up after the show."

"Shit." I repeated scratching at the side of my head.

Chuckling softly, Alex spoke to his best friend, "Jackie, go get some dry clothes on. Try to pick out something that matches. And not that fucking Home Alone shirt that I hate. We have to leave for the show soon."

"Sure, mom." Pouting, Jack left the room.

I leaned a hip against the marble counter and folded my arms across my chest. "You two are so protective of each other."

Alex shrugged, "It's what you have to do. We were thrown into the shark tank of fame basically right after high school and it's hard to keep your fucking head straight with all the bullshit going on. Having friends you trust make all the difference in keeping your sanity in this fucked up world."

"So poetic." I said sarcastically though his words had sincerely touched me. The level of fierce protectiveness for his band mates was obvious in Alex's words.

"Gotta stay grounded somehow." He told me honestly while walking closer to me to minimize the space between us. The extra heat in the room wasn't helping the steamy thoughts trailing through my mind. After a moment, Alex verbalized what I had been reflecting on, "You know, the first time we kissed was in a bathroom."

The tile around us seemed to constrict around us in a slightly intimidating way. It was like they were urging us nearer to each other and as if the condensation on the walls were tears shed for a relationship lost, "Seems like a long time ago."

"Not that long." He disagreed skimming gentle fingers up and down the length of my arm. Despite the humid atmosphere, I shivered.

Building strength up, I cleared my throat and forced myself to ask, "What about Caitlyn?"

Suddenly, Alex pulled his comforting skin from mine and told me, "She doesn't always have to be involved in everything we talk about."

"You made it that way." I pointed out.

Without coming up with a credible defense, Alex only replied, "Maybe you're right. She's coming in town tomorrow."

A mix of anger and jealously flared through me like a beacon. In less than twenty four hours I was going to come face to face with the wicked witch of the west. Vainly, I imagined a house falling on Caitlyn too. I sighed, one can only hope.