Mistakes We Wouldn't Learn From

[Alex]

“I hate driving in the rain!” I said, smacking my fist against the steering wheel. It had started pouring right as we packing our equipment into the trailer and leaving the show. We had to drive to Pittsburgh tonight, which was a four hour drive, according to the GPS. We had been on the road for over an hour now and hadn’t gotten very far. The rain was slowing everyone down. It was coming down harder, making it extremely hard to see. The van had gotten quiet and tense, probably afraid of my driving. I honked the horn to try and get the person in front of me to go, because he was just sitting there.

“Chill, Alex! Your road rage and bad weather are going to kill us,” Jack said, looking frightened.

I rolled my eyes, “We’d be dead already, had you been driving.”

“At least I don’t honk the horn obnoxiously,” Jack pouted, crossing his arms.

The car in front of us finally moved and I started to drive again. “Finally!” I was stopped by a red light a few feet down the road, and I cussed.

“It’s getting really hard to see out there,” Grieco said, leaning forward so he was between the two front seats. A flash of lightning appeared, followed by a clap of thunder, and we all jumped.

“A thunderstorm? That’s just fucking lovely,” I grumbled. The light turned green and I hit the gas pedal a little too fast as I started to drive again. I yelped as I felt the van beginning to hydroplane, “Fuck!”

The others looked at me in confusion, but Matt seemed to feel the van skidding too. “Take your foot off the gas pedal! Slowly!” he called out from the back. I did as he said, able to stop the van as it was starting to skid off the road sharply. I pulled back onto the road slowly, heart pounding. I glanced back at the others and saw that they were all looking pale.

“I think it’s time to go park somewhere until the storm is over,” Evan said. We all agreed, and I found a gas station to pull into. I parked near the grass so we were out of the way of anyone else who drove in.

“New rule: Alex isn’t allowed to drive in the rain,” Rian said, shaking his head at me.

“That would have happened to any of us,” I whined, jumping into the back and making my way toward the very back seat. Matt got up from his spot in the back row, moving up a row to sit with Rian.

“Yeah, but especially you, Mister Road Rage,” Zack teased. I rolled my eyes, sitting on his lap. “Even with a huge amount of space next to me, you still sit on top of me?”

“I get lonely,” I pouted, before puckering my lips at him for a kiss. The others groaned as Zack kissed me softly.

••••••••••

After an hour of unrelenting rain, we were all getting restless. It was past eleven o’clock and none of us were even close to being tired. Even if we were, the amount of thunder and lightning would make it impossible to sleep. I was still sitting on Zack’s lap, our legs now stretched out on the seat so we could lean back against the window. Matt had turned the radio on to find out what the forecast was, and we found out that there was a pretty nasty storm system coming through.

“We need something to do,” Jack complained, tapping his fingers against the seat.

“Spin the bottle, ‘I spy,’ truth or dare... I mean the choices are just endless in a van,” Evan said sarcastically.

“We could play ‘Never Have I Ever,’” Jack grinned. “It’s lame, but I’m bored!”

Matt rolled his eyes, “Jack that’s a drinking game.”

“Ooh! We can use the stash of energy drinks under the seat!” I exclaimed. “Not quite as fun, but it’ll work.”

“Sounds good to me. We need to stay awake for a while until the rain stops, anyway,” Rian shrugged.

“Yay!” I said, rolling off of Zack and tugging the case of energy drinks out from under the back seat. I sat back down beside him once everyone had their cans. Jack had crawled into the back seat to sit beside me because he was all alone up front. “I am so going to go through like five cans of these,” I said, shaking my head.

“So am I,” Matt laughed. “I’ll start. Never have I ever... puked from drinking too much.”

Jack and I both took a drink from our energy drink cans, and the others chuckled. Rian was next. “Um, never have I ever puked on a roller coaster.” Evan, Grieco, and Matt all took a drink.

“Never have I ever gotten anything pierced,” Evan said. Zack, Matt, and Grieco each took a drink, all rolling their eyes.

“That’s obvious,” Grieco said. “Never have I ever kissed someone when I was drunk, other than my girlfriend. Or boyfriend, for Alex and Zack.” I glared at him as I took a drink, and he smiled innocently. He was referring to that party a few months ago.

“My turn!” Jack exclaimed. “Never have I ever had a parent walk in while I was making out with someone.” Zack and I both smirked slightly at each other, taking a drink.

“Alright, let’s see... never have I ever crashed someone’s party,” I said. Matt took a drink sheepishly, and we all laughed. “Damn, Flyzik! You’re on a roll.”

“It’s not my fault that I’m older and more experienced!” Matt said with a laugh, shaking his head at me. “Zack’s turn.”

“Uh... never have I ever... been sick for over a week?” Zack shrugged, unsure of what to say. Jack, Rian, Grieco, and I all took a drink. “Sorry, that one was lame.”

The storm was still pretty strong outside after another hour, and by then we had all been through at least one can of energy drinks or pop, if not two. Zack had opted for a can of Mountain Dew his second time, because he didn’t want his anxiety getting out of control. I hadn’t even thought of that when I suggested the energy drinks, so I was glad that he had. Now we were all hyped up from the caffeine and having more fun with the game.

“Never have I ever had sex,” Grieco said, a smirk on his face as he looked at the rest of us.

“Do blowjobs count?” Jack questioned.

“No, I mean like actual sex,” Grieco clarified. Matt took a drink, earning a few bouts of laughter from the others. I raised the can to my lips sheepishly. Zack looked at me in surprise.

“I was fifteen!” I defended, seeing the look on his face. “It was once, it was with a girl, and it kind of sucked.”

Jack laughed, “Oh, I remember that. You came crying to me the next week when she broke up with you.”

“Let’s not revisit that,” I grimaced.

“Okay; never have I ever gotten a blowjob from a guy,” Jack smirked at Zack and I.

“That was a totally unnecessary statement,” I said with a laugh, seeing Zack blush as he and I both took a drink. “Never have I ever been walked in on when I was naked,” I said. Jack was the only one to take a drink. “I don’t even want to know who it was.”

“My turn... never have I ever gotten a blow job from a girl,” Zack shot back at Jack. Grieco was the only one who didn’t take a drink, other than Zack.

“You never got one from a girl?” Jack asked Zack, looking surprised.

Zack shook his head, “I’ve never even had a girlfriend. I’ve kissed a girl, but it was when I was probably a freshman or younger.”

“I guess that makes you more gay than bi,” I teased, elbowing him in the ribs.

He shrugged, “Guys are more appealing to me now, so I suppose I kind of am.”

“Considering the fact that I’ve never once heard you mention how hot a girl is, and Alex has, I’d have to agree,” Evan said with a grin, and I blushed along with Zack.

“Well, Alex has one less gender to worry about Zack liking,” Grieco chuckled.

Matt laughed, “Yeah, but there’s seventeen guys on this tour and one girl. And that’s not even including the other crews. I don’t think girls are the problem.”

“Quit it, Flyzik. I hope you’re not suggesting that Zack would cheat on Alex,” Rian said, shaking his head at him. I saw Zack’s lips turn down into a frown, obviously not liking the conversation.

“No! I know Zack wouldn’t do that, he’s too sweet,” Matt shook his head quickly. His eyes widened when he realized how he had worded that, “Oh god; that is so not the word I meant to use.”

The others roared with laughter and I cracked a grin. Zack just blushed even more and put his face in his hands, but I could see that he was laughing too. “Flyzik, quit hitting on my boyfriend,” I teased.

“Nice! Thoughtful! Kind! That’s what I meant! I wasn’t hitting on him, you asshole,” Matt groaned, flipping us off. “This is what happens when I’m stuck with a gay couple for a week. You’re making me go soft on you guys.”

I grinned, “Imagine what we’ll do to you after nearly two months.”