Here And Now ('Grungeboyfic')

[bubosquared]

here and now (tentative title

She likes to watch them. They're always touchy-feely, but it gets worse on the road. She can't even remember the number of times she walked into the room they all shared to see them lying there like a two-piece puzzle.

She felt strange in the beginning, joining them, being in the same room, let alone the same bed. But they can't afford seperate rooms, much less seperate beds, and they made room for her, let her lie in the middle, where she could feel strangely like a third piece of the puzzle, even though she knew she wasn't.

Nick noticed her discomfort, because Nick always notices things. Because Nick watches people. He watches and notices and then one day comes up to her and asks "Jess? Something wrong?" and even though it could've just been an innocent question, but she knows he suspects, and she knows he knows that she knows.

"I don't know," she shrugs, and it's the truth, in a way. She doesn't really know, can't find a name for what she's feeling. She's just the guitarist, can't write songs, doesn't know how to use words like Nick does, can't let the music speak for her like it does for Sean.

And that, she knows, is part of the problem.

"It's nothing, Nick. I'll be fine. Honest."

It says a lot about the kind of person he is that he lets it lie, even though he knows it's not nothing, because he believes that she'll be fine.

And she is, really. Especially when, a few weeks after that, Sean stops the gig three songs into it to give her a new guitar strap for her birthday, and the boys sing Happy Birthday to her. Nick, as usual, is horribly off-key, but Sean sweeps her into a hug and publicly thanks her for "turning us into a band, instead of just two jerks on a stage," and it's all good.

After that, the discomfort is gone, and she just likes to watch them.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

This is her favourite part of touring. She's sitting in the back seat of the car, a rickety old volkswagen that used to belong to Nick's mother. It's the middle of the night, so Sean's driving, because she can't drive, and Nick can't stay awake at night.

The radio is softly playing some Guns 'n Roses song, and Sean's tapping the beat on the steering wheel. Nick's half-asleep next to him, curled up in his usual fetal position. It's a good thing he's not awake, she muses. Nick hates Guns 'n Roses.

She smiles when Nick mutters something in his sleep and buries his head in Sean's shoulder. Sean startles slightly, then smiles down at Nick, and wraps one arm around the drummer.

Sometimes she wonders if they know how right they look. As if they're never not together, even when they're apart. They're not just joined at the hip, but at every other body part as well. And completely oblivious, too.

Sometimes she wonders if she should smack them on the head and tell them to get it over with already. But she suspects Nick knows, because Nick always knows, and she doesn't want to get herself involved. It's not her place.

Nick grumbles and moves his head. "Mmfg. Where are we? What time is it? Why are we listening to Guns 'N Roses?"

"Somewhere between Watkinsville and Athens. Half past three in the morning. I was listening to GnR. You were sleeping." He leans over to turn the dail, and normally she'd tell him to keep his eyes on the damn road, but it's the middle of the night and they're in another world.

Sean finally finds a good station and Michael Stipe's voice floats through the car. "There. Better?" Nick murmurs contently.

They start talking about whatever it is they always talk about at this time of night, and she falls asleep listening to their whispers. This is her favourite part of touring.

Random character info: Nick, Sean and Jesse are a band. Jesse is the guitarist, Nick is the drummer, and Sean is the bassist. The boys are nearly 18, and Jesse just turned 16. Jesse's Asian. I think.

Comments

[kkscatnip.livejournal.com]

i like i like i like!!

it is set in atlanta-ish? if you want, i can give you the big radio station names around here, and what they play. *nodnod*.. ah, but i really love it. more? pleaseplease.

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

Thanks. :)

It's not really 'set' anywhere. Sort of generic southern area, I think. I just needed some ass-backwards towns to name. :) But I'll remember who to ask for more info!