Sequel: Coin Laundry ›
Something Else
eight
"K, it's me. Look, Kenny says I upset you last night and I just want to say I'm really sorry. I was wasted. Just, call me back and we'll talk about it. Okay. Bye."
"K, honestly. I'm really, really sorry. I don't know why you're avoiding me like this. Call me back. "
"Keagan, it's Ken. Will you please just call John back? He keeps complaining to me. Love you. Bye."
"It's me again. I know you've got to be getting tired of this. I'm coming over."
At first I hadn't intended on avoiding John after that night at Halvo's. It just happened that the next morning, when I thought about going to see how he was, my stomach tightened with nervousness. Missed calls and unopened texts from John were piling up in my mobile, and it took me three days to open them. I was being silly, I knew that. What I didn't know was why.
"Hey, Kenny," I said the second he picked up the phone. "How are you?"
"Hey! Where've you been, K?"
"Oh you know, around. I was wondering if you wanted to go for lunch or something? Maybe stop at the record store, like old times?" I bit at my finger nails as I waited for Kennedy's answer.
"Sure!" he said enthusiastically. "My treat. Have you called Johno yet?
"No," I answered. "So when can we meet up?"
Kennedy saw right through my attempt to avoid talking about John and insisted that I hang up and call him before I even thought about leaving the house. If I hadn't been in such a state about the idea of seeing John, I would have thought it was funny. I did hang up, but I really had no intention of calling John. His last message was still fresh in my mind. I decided to head out, and hope that Mum could tell Johno that I wasn't interested in seeing him. The thing was, as I wrote a short note explaining things to my mum, there was a knock on the door.
It was so incredibly undesirable, but at the same time, I felt my heartbeat quicken. There was no way I could avoid John now, so I dropped the pen and pad of paper back onto the kitchen table. I walked to the front door slowly, secretly hoping Mum heard and would answer it herself. I didn't hear any noise from her room, though, so I eventually assumed she wasn't going to help me out. John knocked on the door again when I was inches away. I heard the muffled version of John's voice saying my name through the door, and then turned the door knob.
"Christ, K," was the first thing John said as he invited himself inside. "Finally."
"I'm sorry I've been a bit absent as of late," I said. I didn't have any other response.
"You're avoiding me," John clarified. I nodded and he said, "I'm sorry. I made an ass out of myself again. I always seem to do that when you're around."
"Not always."
"Almost always."
"Sometimes."
"I'm sorry," he said again.
"It's fine. I'm sorry too. I don't really know why I was avoiding you anyway," I admitted.
John and I stepped away from the front door and then sat down next to each other on the sofa.
"I'd avoid me too after what a jerk I was," John said slipping off his boots.
John lifted his legs to sit cris-crossed beside me. I repeated his actions and then sent a smile toward John. He smiled back and my stomach pulled. "Ken told me you've been nagging him about me," I said in an attempt to fill the silence that was letting me focus on the feeling.
"I have," John confirmed. "I was hoping he'd get you to call me back. Obviously I put too much faith in him."
I laughed and then leaned back into the couch. John turned around and then fell backwards so that his head rested right next to my thigh. He stretched his legs out again and I chuckled when the fell over the arm.
"You can never put too much faith in Kennedy."
"He's a good kid," John said smiling up at me.
"He is," I agreed. "We're going out for lunch later. Do you want to come? I was thinking I could show you guys the place I found for the gallery."
"Yeah," John agreed. "Sounds good."
John and I got up and headed over to Kennedy and Garrett's place to pick him up. Kennedy was happy to see that John and I were back to normal. Lunch was oddly nostalgic, because John and I were back to playful bickering, and Kennedy was going on and on about how we'd just gotten over a spat. I drove the guys into Phoenix to show them the building I'd decided on for my gallery. It was empty, of course, and the guys didn't seem all that interested at first. Once I'd started explaining layout ideas, their interest peaked and I'd gotten lost in my own ideas.
"I think it'll be great, K," Kennedy said as we headed back out the door to John's truck. "I'm really happy for you."
John unlocked the truck as I said thank you. We piled in and John started up the truck. Then, he said, "Are you gonna be spending a lot of time here?"
I turned my head to face him, but his eyes were concentrating on the road we were about to pull out on to. "Yeah, of course," I answered. "Why? Are you gonna miss me too much, Johno?"
"Nope. Just looking forward to all the times me and Ken can hang out without you," John said with a smirk and shrug of his shouders. I would have shoved him, but he was driving.
As we drove back home, I thought about all the time I would be spending at the gallery. At first, I had only thought about how much time with Mum I'd lose, but John had made me reconsider. I'd definitely lose time with these boys only a few months after I'd gotten to have them again. It was a strange concept to consider. I had grown accustom to being around the lads so much on tour, and at first I believed that coming home and spending time apart would be good, but then I thought differently. I wanted to spend time with my boys, as much time as I could, because I knew that they'd be gone again soon, to tour or to record. It didn't matter. They'd still be gone.
"K, honestly. I'm really, really sorry. I don't know why you're avoiding me like this. Call me back. "
"Keagan, it's Ken. Will you please just call John back? He keeps complaining to me. Love you. Bye."
"It's me again. I know you've got to be getting tired of this. I'm coming over."
At first I hadn't intended on avoiding John after that night at Halvo's. It just happened that the next morning, when I thought about going to see how he was, my stomach tightened with nervousness. Missed calls and unopened texts from John were piling up in my mobile, and it took me three days to open them. I was being silly, I knew that. What I didn't know was why.
"Hey, Kenny," I said the second he picked up the phone. "How are you?"
"Hey! Where've you been, K?"
"Oh you know, around. I was wondering if you wanted to go for lunch or something? Maybe stop at the record store, like old times?" I bit at my finger nails as I waited for Kennedy's answer.
"Sure!" he said enthusiastically. "My treat. Have you called Johno yet?
"No," I answered. "So when can we meet up?"
Kennedy saw right through my attempt to avoid talking about John and insisted that I hang up and call him before I even thought about leaving the house. If I hadn't been in such a state about the idea of seeing John, I would have thought it was funny. I did hang up, but I really had no intention of calling John. His last message was still fresh in my mind. I decided to head out, and hope that Mum could tell Johno that I wasn't interested in seeing him. The thing was, as I wrote a short note explaining things to my mum, there was a knock on the door.
It was so incredibly undesirable, but at the same time, I felt my heartbeat quicken. There was no way I could avoid John now, so I dropped the pen and pad of paper back onto the kitchen table. I walked to the front door slowly, secretly hoping Mum heard and would answer it herself. I didn't hear any noise from her room, though, so I eventually assumed she wasn't going to help me out. John knocked on the door again when I was inches away. I heard the muffled version of John's voice saying my name through the door, and then turned the door knob.
"Christ, K," was the first thing John said as he invited himself inside. "Finally."
"I'm sorry I've been a bit absent as of late," I said. I didn't have any other response.
"You're avoiding me," John clarified. I nodded and he said, "I'm sorry. I made an ass out of myself again. I always seem to do that when you're around."
"Not always."
"Almost always."
"Sometimes."
"I'm sorry," he said again.
"It's fine. I'm sorry too. I don't really know why I was avoiding you anyway," I admitted.
John and I stepped away from the front door and then sat down next to each other on the sofa.
"I'd avoid me too after what a jerk I was," John said slipping off his boots.
John lifted his legs to sit cris-crossed beside me. I repeated his actions and then sent a smile toward John. He smiled back and my stomach pulled. "Ken told me you've been nagging him about me," I said in an attempt to fill the silence that was letting me focus on the feeling.
"I have," John confirmed. "I was hoping he'd get you to call me back. Obviously I put too much faith in him."
I laughed and then leaned back into the couch. John turned around and then fell backwards so that his head rested right next to my thigh. He stretched his legs out again and I chuckled when the fell over the arm.
"You can never put too much faith in Kennedy."
"He's a good kid," John said smiling up at me.
"He is," I agreed. "We're going out for lunch later. Do you want to come? I was thinking I could show you guys the place I found for the gallery."
"Yeah," John agreed. "Sounds good."
John and I got up and headed over to Kennedy and Garrett's place to pick him up. Kennedy was happy to see that John and I were back to normal. Lunch was oddly nostalgic, because John and I were back to playful bickering, and Kennedy was going on and on about how we'd just gotten over a spat. I drove the guys into Phoenix to show them the building I'd decided on for my gallery. It was empty, of course, and the guys didn't seem all that interested at first. Once I'd started explaining layout ideas, their interest peaked and I'd gotten lost in my own ideas.
"I think it'll be great, K," Kennedy said as we headed back out the door to John's truck. "I'm really happy for you."
John unlocked the truck as I said thank you. We piled in and John started up the truck. Then, he said, "Are you gonna be spending a lot of time here?"
I turned my head to face him, but his eyes were concentrating on the road we were about to pull out on to. "Yeah, of course," I answered. "Why? Are you gonna miss me too much, Johno?"
"Nope. Just looking forward to all the times me and Ken can hang out without you," John said with a smirk and shrug of his shouders. I would have shoved him, but he was driving.
As we drove back home, I thought about all the time I would be spending at the gallery. At first, I had only thought about how much time with Mum I'd lose, but John had made me reconsider. I'd definitely lose time with these boys only a few months after I'd gotten to have them again. It was a strange concept to consider. I had grown accustom to being around the lads so much on tour, and at first I believed that coming home and spending time apart would be good, but then I thought differently. I wanted to spend time with my boys, as much time as I could, because I knew that they'd be gone again soon, to tour or to record. It didn't matter. They'd still be gone.