by Zoicite
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Kevin was fuming. There were days that he didn’t think he’d make it. Chris and Nick and it was all just too much. He was going to strangle someone and it wasn't going to be Nick. He stalked toward the bus, Chris following close behind him. Chris had better be following to apologize, because if he was coming to laugh, Kevin couldn’t promise that Chris wouldn’t end up with a fist in the face. “Kev,” Chris said, grabbing onto the back of Kevin’s shirt. It wasn’t the tone of apology. “Save it,” Kevin said, shaking Chris off and climbing onto the bus. “Hey, calm down,” Chris tried again, still following, and Kevin turned to look at him. “My pants,” Kevin said, closing his eyes and actually attempting to calm down. “My pants just fell off on stage in front of thousands of young girls and you’re telling me to calm down.” “Dude. Come on. Shit happens.” Chris smiled and shrugged. “Anyway, they loved it.” “We were a joke, Chris. And don’t think I don’t know that it was you. You and Nick. I heard you two banging around next door last night. Should have known you were up to something.” Chris’s grin was wider. He didn’t even attempt to deny it. “AJ was in on it too,” he said, and Kevin shook his head. Nick, Howie, and AJ piled on the bus then, and Kevin tried to look like he didn’t care about what had happened. He didn’t care that they’d looked like unprofessional idiots, or that Howie hadn’t been able to finish the song because he’d been laughing so hard. Kevin had run off and changed his pants, but his concentration was off for the rest of the show. Somehow Chris and Nick managed to be completely on throughout. Chris punched Kevin lightly in the shoulder and then shoved him onto the couch as the bus started to move toward the hotel. They were staying outside the city. Hotels were cheaper there. At least they had two rooms for once. “Lighten up,” Chris said, grabbing Kevin’s hand and prying his fingers out of the tight fist they’d clenched themselves into. “Geez.” “Geez,” Nick echoed, collapsing on the other side of Kevin and poking at his other hand. Kevin opened his palms and held them up, swatting the two off. Howie started talking loudly about dinner and the others joined it, shouting out what they wanted. Lobster, filets, weinerschnitzel, but they’d probably end up with room service, or more likely, McDonalds. “I’m switching rooms with Howie tonight,” AJ announced, tossing a crumbled up piece of paper at Kevin. It rolled down his chest and landed in his lap. “Oh great,” Howie muttered. “I love the cot.” “You can share my bed if you wanna,” Nick suggested, kicking his feet against the base of the couch. Howie shrugged. Kevin plucked the wad of paper from his lap and made to toss it back at AJ. AJ looked from Chris to Kevin then waved at the paper, motioning for Kevin to open it. Kevin glanced at Chris, but he was busy with Howie, breathing on the windowpanes and drawing obscene pictures in the fog. “Mom says that Lou is flying in next week,” Nick said, but Kevin only half listened, opening the paper and reading it over. Inside were explicit details on AJ’s plans to help Kevin get back at Chris and Nick for the episode that AJ had already dubbed the European Pants Incident. Kevin wasn’t too sure about a few minor things, but any plan involving a can of sardines, M&M’s, and a hotel that actually had a thermostat that they could control, sounded like adequate payback to Kevin. Of course they would all end up piled in the same small room, and no doubt Nick wouldn’t be feeling so charitable about sharing beds that night, but it would be worth it. Kevin nodded and balled the paper up, throwing it back at AJ. “You don’t mind switching, D?” AJ asked. “Nah,” Howie said, turning back to his window. “Fantabulous,” AJ smirked, and then he popped the small piece of paper into his mouth and began chewing it. “Hey,” Chris said, turning back around in his seat, seemingly bored with the game of x-rated window pictionary he had going with Howie. “We’re gonna be having dinner soon. Don’t ruin your appetite, young man. And don’t you dare throw that at me.” He turned to Kevin then and lowered his voice. “Will you just let go?” he said, quietly, his knuckles pushing into Kevin’s upper arm. “We’re in Europe. You’ve wanted to go to Europe forever. It’s all you talked about for a month before we left. We’re here and we’re singing. It’s our dream, right? We’re living our dream.” The spitball hit Chris square in the cheek and Chris wiped it off, not looking away from Kevin. AJ and Nick were laughing hysterically in the background, and Kevin tried to keep a straight face. A trademark heartfelt Chris Kirkpatrick speech, complete with flying wads of spit soaked paper. “Lighten up,” Chris said again, and then got up to go attack AJ. |