Coincidences

A Chapter by MCrouch

Switches POV.

Pete’s POV:

Off in the distance, I could see Rob’s van. It was ten times bigger than its actual size, towering over Ryan and I. Suddenly it spit sparks out at both of us, setting the trees around us on fire. I grabbed for Ryan’s hand to pull him away, but he wouldn’t move- almost like he didn’t want to move. He pushed me away forcefully; over and over he just kept pushing me back until he was standing alone in a circle of flames, inching closer to him every second. I watched as the fire consumed him until he was nothing but a pile of ash. The van drove away.

I woke up sweating, feeling like I hadn’t slept at all. Ryan was gone, but he had gone to bed with me, insisting he was fine until the morning. It was 3:34 am. I pulled on some clothes, heading for Rob’s room.

I lightly tapped on the door. I could hear the TV on, and someone shuffling around.

“Just a minute!” Rob called out in a sing-songy voice. He opened the door shirtless with a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other. It all felt very “white trash rocker wannabe” to me. All that was missing was Nickleback playing in the background.

“Have you taken my boyfriend hostage again?” I asked, feeling uncomfortable in the hallway. He seemed to have no intention of letting me inside.

“Maaaaybe,” he slurred, obviously very intoxicated. I craned my neck to see if Ryan was somewhere in the room behind Rob.

“Well… will you just tell him that he should come back to our room?” I asked. The situation was feeling sketchier by the second.

“He… doesn’t wanna,” Rob hiccupped.

“Can I please just come in?” I asked, not hesitating as I pushed past the drunkard.

Ryan was lying on the ground in front of the TV, also shirtless, trying to contain a fit of giggles.

“Why aren’t you wearing a shirt?” I asked, attempting to drag his limp body out of the room. He proceeded to meow at me.

“Okay- Rob, can you help me?” I asked.

“I don’t like you,” he said, sliding into the armchair. His speech was still slurred and he seemed to be dozing off.

“Well, I guess not many people do, but I need your help,” I said, brushing off his intoxicated comment.

“What’s it like… to be with Ryan? All… all hot and sweaty, bodies rubbing up against each other… inside you-“

“ROB- PLEASE! You’re making me uncomfortable! Just please help me get Ryan back to my room!”

“If you won’t tell me… I’ll find out…” he leaned against the wall as he slumped over to the bathroom and locked himself inside.

What. The. F**k.

I tried to erase everything he said to me as I grabbed a hand full of ice cubes from the metal bucket on the dresser, tossed them onto Ryan’s stomach and caught him as he jumped up off the floor.

As I got into bed next to Ryan for the second time that night, I shuddered.

”I’ll find out,” echoed in my head as I drifted into a sleeplike trance.

Ryan’s POV:

10:56 am. Friday: The last day before the gig.

I felt nauseous. No surprise there. I rolled over to face Pete who was already awake, looking at the ceiling. My forearm felt really weird, having shot up heroin the previous day. I actually didn’t remember a whole lot of the previous day, and absolutely nothing after about 1 in the morning. I could feel myself becoming nothing, and it wasn’t what I wanted anymore.

“Hi,” I croaked out, still tired. He looked at me, concern and sleeplessness in his eyes.

“Are you… are you… nevermind,” he said. He looked small and scared, like the night I had taken his virginity- that same expression, right before he realized we were actually gonna do it.

“Am I…?” I repeated.

“Cheating on me?” he asked.

F**k, f**k, f**k, no, f**k, no, no, no.”

“What?” I was dizzy. I was going to lose consciousness.

“Are you cheating on me with Rob?” he asked.

F**k, s**t, m**********r.

“Pete, what the hell? Where is this coming from? Rob is straight. And I love you. No.” I said, looking directly into his eyes when I said it. I didn’t even cross my fingers or anything. He studied my face for a minute.

“I’m sorry. I just… Rob said some things last night that sort of freaked me out,” he said.

“You talked to Rob last night?” I asked, trying to keep my breath at a steady pace and hide my relief.

“Yeah… he was being really creepy… asking me about, like, you and me… and,” he swallowed, “What it was like to have sex with you,”

“What the f**k… he’s a weird dude,” I said.

“Yeah, and he was really drunk. Sorry I brought it up,” he said, scooting closer to me.

“S’okay,” I said, kissing him lightly.

After I got dressed, I pounded on Rob’s door.

“Go away,” he groaned, sounding like he was in pain.

“Open the f*****g door,” I demanded. He did, and I pushed through, a storm cloud of rage.

“You are such a f*****g lucky son of a b***h. Do you even know what just happened!? Do you even know what you said last night?” I seethed.

“Calm the f**k down. I am so hung over right now…”

“Pete just asked me if I was cheating on him with you,”

“So?”

“So? SO?! If he finds out…” I bit my lip.

“If he finds out, then what? You’re gonna cry? He’s gonna cry? What are you so f*****g scared of?”

“That he’ll kill himself, okay?!” Don’t cry. “That he will f*****g kill himself over me… just like…” Don’t do it. Do not do this. Not in front of him. “Just like Anthony,” F**k. Another f*****g tear over him.

“Who the f**k is Anthony?” Rob asked, sipping some water out of a plastic cup.

“Anthony… T-Thomas… Aisely,” I sniffled.

“Aisely… Aisely… huh. Yeah, I knew an Anthony Aisely. What about him?” he asked.

“He OD’ed… because of me…”

“Yeah, I sold him Prozac and Xanax. Messed up kid… he was, like, obsessed. Apparently with you,” Rob said, snickering.

Prozac and Xanax. The two drugs Anthony used to OD. Rob McCormick sold them to him.

I felt like my entire world was imploding around me.

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