Perfectly Dysfunctional

Two days later, The Wanted was due back home, so we went to pick them up. Michelle had to head home for work, so Nareesha drove her car and I drove along behind. We parked the cars relatively close because we were kinda early and made our way into the airport. We bought ourselves a Starbucks, then – after realizing that the whole crew wouldn’t be with them and it would only be the boys – bought them one too. After that we headed to the Arrivals to find out that in actual fact, they should have landed ten minutes ago but were being delayed half an hour, so we spent the half hour wait blaming each other for thinking their flight was coming in later, and thanking God that it was delayed. We were so much into our argument, that we never heard the flight being called or seen the boys stumble in with their bags until Nareesha was screaming as she was being lifted up by Siva and Tom, and I was gutting myself. I looked at Nathan.

“You see, we’re all still here,” I grinned and he smiled as he wrapped me in a hug.

“I do see-”

“Aw, thanks girls!” Siva half-yelled as Nareesha handed him and Tom their Starbucks, “Oh, my bad...” he trailed off as an elderly couple glared at him and he looked sheepishly towards us. Nareesha handed Nathan his Starbucks and I gave Jay and Max theirs.

“Let’s go already; I’m beginning to hate the sight of airports,” Nathan said so we all headed out and split up; Siva, Max and Tom with Nareesha, and Nathan and Jay with me. The forty minute journey home was spent with me asking about two questions about their trip and them answering excitedly about the ideas they’d come up with and sorted out, and occasionally throwing in threats such as ‘if you leak any of this shit, I’ll kill you’, which was generally replied with ‘like I would’, which was enough for them to launch back into their stories.

When we got home Jay almost immediately phoned his brother and left to go and see him for half an hour. We said goodbye to him and that we’d see him later as we’d all planned to go out for dinner. Nathan managed to stop himself talking for five minutes to ask how our weekend was. I told him all of the ‘exciting’ stuff we got up to, and he threw his clothes in the washing machine before heading up to quickly shower. Jay still wasn’t back yet, and I took it to be he still hadn’t managed to shut his trap. I heard the shower in Nathan’s room shut off and gave it a couple of minutes before standing at the bottom of the stairs and shouting up, “Nath!”

“Yeah?!” he hollered back and I stepped up another couple of stairs.

“Jay’s still not back!” There was silence as he moved around his room, before he yelled in pain, cursed, and appeared at the top of the stairs wearing a pair of jeans that he hadn’t bothered zipping up and towel drying his hair. I tried not to stare, “Enjoy your trip?” I smirked and he pulled a face, “Where do you think he is?”

Just as I said this Jay walked through the door; “I think he’s in the front door.” Nathan said and I stuck my fingers up at him.

“How's your brother?” I smiled.

“Fine,” he smiled, “I’m going to shower before we go out though,” he jogged up the stairs.

I went back to my space on the sofa and saw I had a text from Nareesha; Might need to make dinner a little later.

I laughed, “Nathan!” I waited for his response, “Nareesha said we need to make dinner later.”

He came down the stairs with a frown on his face; “Why?”

“I don’t know, ask her.”

“I’ll call her,” he said. “Let me dry my hair...”

“Oh, that’s great Nathan, something bad could have actually happened and you’re worried about drying your hair. Remind me to never have to depend on you,” I said and he zipped his jeans up.

“Shut up Jenny, you’d rather have to depend on me than on anyone else.”

“At least no one else would be worried about the state of their hair,” I mumble. Ten minutes later, I heard Nathan talking as he made his way downstairs. I was lying on the sofa flicking through the channels on TV, looking straight through it. I muted the TV but kept flicking as he came in, lifted my shoulders and let my head fall into his lap as he continued talking.

“Seev, slow the fuck down, I’m not-... What? You’re serious? Alright! Alright, jeez... I don’t know, Siva... Just breathe for a minute, right? No one’s hurt- Tom, shut up!” Nathan sighed, “Right fine, we’ll be over soon,” he hung up and threw his head back against the sofa.

“Tell me when you said ‘we’ you meant like, you and Jay so that I don’t have to move, because I’m rather comfortable here.”

“Nope,” he pulled his head up then leaned over me, “You’re coming too. Jay! Come on, we’re leaving!”

“Just you guys go, I’ll get you at the restaurant; I’m nowhere near ready yet! I’ll text you!”

I groaned then sat up, “What even happened?” I asked as he found shoes and threw them on. He stayed quiet until we reached his car.

“Basically when Nareesha was driving to Tom and Max’s, something happened with some asshole on the road and they fucked the car up and I don’t know, Siva was all very panicked, Nareesha was just pissed at the damage done, and Tom was freaking out...” he trailed off as he rounded a corner.

“And...? Come on, you’re not done,” I accused having taken it all in.

“Tom was freaking out cos Max said he swore he saw Dave,” Nathan said and pulled a face. That all-too-familiar sickening feeling returned to my gut and I sunk further back into the seat. I pulled my knees up to my chest and continued staring out the window, not knowing what to think. This was all just getting beyond a joke. Clearly nothing had happened about it all because the police had done bugger all about anything, and even though we’d heard pretty much nothing from him, he had to start back at one point.

I sighed, “Y’know, I’m beginning to get really sick of all this fucking drama.”