Wasted Nights

"The lowdown on Steph?" Mike asked, looking around in a paranoid manner to make sure Vic wasn't in earshot.

"You know I wouldn't ask if it wasn't a genuine concern," I said, frowning despite myself.

"Aw, is someone feeling a little J?" he asked, pulling my head into a head-lock and messing up my hair.

I laughed and pushed him off, "I dunno, dude. He just seemed so disturbed when he saw her name on his phone, and ever since then, he's been kinda distant."

"How long's it been? Since the call?"

I thought about it, "Hmm...about a week," I said.

"Okay, you wait here," Mike said, walking off to the other end of the bus.

I sighed and laid my head back on the couch, sighing. I wondered what Mike was going to do. Just as I closed my eyes and started drifting off a bit, I felt a weight sit down beside me. I jerked my eyes open to see Mike, looking down at Vic's iPhone, unlocking it with ease since we pretty much all knew his password.

"Mike..." I protested, not sure if I was one of those girlfriends that could feel alright with snooping around Vic's phone, just to put myself at ease.

Or, at least that's what I thought until I saw the look on Mike's face, and the slight air of disbelief in his demeanor. Suddenly, I realized he was perched away from me, so that I couldn't see the screen of the phone.

"What is it?" I asked, feeling my heart pump really incessantly.

Mike frowned and continued to scroll down the messages, for a few seconds, not answering me, then he locked the phone.

"I-uh, I think you have a genuine reason to be worried, Niki," Mike said. "Although, I really don't think you should read these...you'll flip..."

"All the more reason to," I said, grabbing the phone from his grasp before he could do anything.

There were a lot of messages exchanged between them, so much so that it took more than six scrolls to skim through them. It started off with Vic apologizing for missing her call, asking her how she was doing and why she called. To which Stephanie replied-

Hey, Vic. I'm so sorry for not keeping in touch for so long, it was just really hard for me to talk to you after everything. I'm so sorry for everything, again. I hope that time has allowed to to forgive and forget everything. I was really hoping we could meet when you guys come to San Diego next...I have a lot to tell you.

To which Vic replied, "Sure, Steph. Let's meet when I'm in town. I'll let you know."

She then went on to inquire about the guys and how everyone was doing and it was a happy, reminiscent conversation. I looked up at Mike, my heart easing up as I felt a weight off my shoulders. This wasn't bad at all. Vic was simply replying to her texts in a friendly, kind way.

"Why should I worry? This is just like a bunch of old friends catching up," I said, smacking Mike's arm for freaking me out.

Mike bit his lower lip and looked calculative, like he was weighing what to say next. Finally, he sighed, saying,"Listen, Niki. Vic was really serious about Steph, we all loved her, too. They were really into each other, but then one day she just called him, had a total meltdown and said she couldn't handle him being away so much...and just like that," he snapped his fingers, "She left him. Over the phone, that too, she couldn't even wait another month for him to get home to tell him in person cause she was going crazy. Vic totally understood, because it is a valid reason. So, my point being, that he never really "got over" her you know? It just ended abruptly and they stopped talking. I just-I just don't want you to become collateral damage, Niki.

"Oh..." was really all I could say to that.

Mike slapped my arm casually, joking, "It's okay, just have a lot of sex with him so he's a Niki trance and then no one else will matter."

"I-uh-we haven't had sex yet, Mike," I said, staring at the frayed portion of my jeans and picking the loose ends of threads out.

"Woah? Really? It's been ages that y'all have been together...is it cause you never get the chance?"

I shook my head, dreading re-living the night I had gotten really wasted, but I said, as calmly as I could, "Remember what I told you guys that day...during Truth or Dare? Yeah, that's why."

Mike nodded, and put his arm around me reassuringly, "Don't worry, Niki. It'll be fine," Mike said.

My head started to reel and I really didn't want to think about this at the moment. I figured Vic really couldn't be very far away. I gave the phone back to Mike and he went to go put it back wherever he had found it lying around. I put my head back against the couch and closed my eyes again, this time drifting off into a weird nap, as my head gently began to throb. I could feel a migraine coming along.

Suddenly I felt a set of lips kissing mine, as Vic whispered, "Hey, baby," quietly, before plopping down next to me.

I opened my eyes, smiling at him. I rested my head against his shoulder. He kissed the top of my head, cuddling up to me.

"Mmm, where were you?" I asked, softly, feeling a bit loopy and tired, somewhere in that dazed funk of being in between a nap and waking up.

"I just went out on a walk, I got you some food, wanna eat?" he asked.

"Mhmm," I said, as he got up to go get the bags of takeaway from the kitchen area.

We sat and ate for a few minutes in silence, the Vic broke the silence by saying, "So, remember that girl Stephanie? My ex?"

My stomach felt really knotted as I nodded nonchalantly. Vic continued, "So, she's coming out to our show in San Diego. She wants to hang out and catch up...I haven't seen or heard from her in almost two years. It's cool with you right?"

Of course, Vic being the perfect boyfriend would have told me everything on his own without me having to go all psychotic girlfriend on him and snoop through his texts. Suddenly, I felt guilty for scheming with Mike and talking behind his back about all of it.

"Yeah, babe, it's fine," I said, smiling.

Vic laughed, "You have ketchup, all over your lips," he said, leaning over and kissing it off.

"My mom always did say I have the table manners of an ape," I joked.

As we sat there, giggling and eating, I couldn't help but feel like this was the unnatural calm before the storm that was brewing. I just couldn't shake the feeling. By this point, Vic and I had completed almost six months together, and nothing bad had happened yet. I couldn't help but feel like this was it. Things were going to unravel, slowly and dramatically, at the show in San Diego. I simply braced myself and tried not to let it show on my face.