KISS: Road Trip

Ch 10: And They Were Roommates (Eric)

We made it back to the motel after a celebratory dinner for Ace and Peter, which involved a lot of food and a lot of booze. But I chose to be smart and take Bruce's advice and not drink this time. The rest of them stayed inside to get more drunk while I threw on my swimsuit and walked outside. "I'm gonna take full advantage of this hot tub as long as we're here," I mumbled aloud, slipping into the water with a happy sigh.

I was just chilling there sipping a soda and looking at the lights of the motel when Bruce walked over, stepping into the water and giving me a smile. "Ooh, that feels nice. You seem pissed though, what's up?" he asked, sitting next to me. I laughed, setting my can of grape soda on the ground and stretching out in the water. "Nah, not even. It's nice, this trip has been fun so far and the hot tub is super nice."

"It is a nice night," Bruce said absentmindedly, closing his eyes. "Wish the pool was this warm." "Yeah, well maybe if you weren't swimming in it at five in the morning it would feel better," I teased. "Mm, whatever. I gotta stay in shape and all that. Gotta work to keep my abs if I'm gonna be eating all this garbage y'all make me buy." I grinned, sliding almost completely under the water. "You're being healthy about that though, right?"

He smiled, nodding. "Yeah, yeah. I haven't done that shit since senior year, don't even worry about it. It does freak me out eating all this unhealthy food, I'm gonna have to try and cut back on it. But thanks for keeping an eye on me." "Well yeah it's literally my job as your best friend." "And as my wife, apparently. Or at least that's what Paul said you were saying," he teased, elbowing me in the ribs.

"Oh shut up, I was drunk again." "Uh, yeah, you were."

We fell back into a comfortable silence before I let out a sigh. "I feel bad for Paul." Bruce sat up, giving me a confused look. "Huh? Why?" "Well I mean...Peter and Ace have each other, and you and me are best friends, and it was Paul and Gene for forever but now...now Paul doesn't have Gene, you know? So it feels like he's just on the edge of the circle."

Bruce let out a sigh, running a hand through my hair and sinking deeper into the water. "Yeah. It sucks. I really want to know why Gene disappeared."

"Honestly though. He better have a solid ass explanation otherwise I'm gonna be pissed," I said, taking a long sip of soda. "I've missed him. Not as much as I've missed you though!"

"Eric it's been five years since you've seen him, it's been like seven months since you've seen me," Bruce said with a laugh. I shrugged, splashing some water at him. "Yeah, so? You're my best friend and I like hanging out with you. But I mean fine, if you don't want to hang out with me I won't hang out with you."

"You know that I'm thrilled to be able to hang out with you again, don't even start with me," Bruce grumbled. My face lit up and I gave him a huge smile. "Oh! Bruce you wanna save money on rent and be roommates?" I asked excitedly. He blinked, staring at me before a slow smile spread across his face. "Hell yeah man, that's a great idea!"

I high-fived him, grinning. "Aw dude this is great, if we split rent we can save like a couple thousand dollars a month!" Bruce nodded, giving me a smile. "Damn Eric, first the road trip, now this? You just keep having good ideas." "I know I'm just so smart." "Yeah I don't know if that's how I remember you being in high school. Especially not in French."

"Aw, whatever," I grumbled.

We fell back into a happy silence, sitting for who knows how much longer in the hot tub before eventually it got too late even for us and we headed to bed. I passed out almost immediately, happy to actually get a good night's sleep since I wasn't drunk this time. But I was only able to sleep for a few hours though before someone called my name.

"Eric?"

I blinked awake in the dark, trying to remember where I was before patting the hand on my shoulder with a yawn. "Yeah?"

There was a relieved sigh and the hand on my shoulder tightened. Frowning, I rolled over to stare at Bruce, who was sitting up in bed next to me. I pushed myself upright as I realized his eyes were full of tears. "Hey, hey what's wrong? You okay?" I asked. He took a shaking breath before giving me a hug. "I'm sorry I...I had a dream that you...when you got stabbed I didn't get there in time and you...you..." He trailed off, holding me tightly.

My heart sank and I hugged him back, burying my face in his shoulder. "It's okay. Bruce it's okay, I'm right here, I'm fine. You did get there in time, you saved my life, and I'm okay now. It was five years ago, it's okay."

"I'm sorry, it's stupid, I just---fuck, man, it was...it felt so real," he murmured, sniffling softly. "I know, it's okay though I promise. Do you...have dreams like that a lot?" I asked after a pause. He sat back, running a shaking hand through his hair. "I...sometimes. Not a lot, but this isn't the first time," he mumbled, face white even in the dark. My heart sank even lower and I leaned against his side. "I'm sorry, man. You don't deserve that," I whispered.

"You didn't deserve to get stabbed," he responded, tears rolling down his cheeks. "No. I didn't. But you don't deserve to have to feel like this all the time, especially because you didn't do anything wrong! You saved my life!" He nodded, still looking miserable. "S-sorry I woke you up I just...I had to make sure," he mumbled. "No it's okay, it's fine, really I promise!" I said hastily, before giving him a soft smile and throwing Howie the fox at him. "Besides, if I hadn't gotten stabbed I wouldn't have gotten this out of it, now would I?"

He looked at me in surprise before grinning. "I didn't even know you still had this," he said, picking up the stuffed fox. "Well duh, why wouldn't I? It's a gift from my best friend and also it reminds me not to be a dumbass and get stabbed again. Now seriously go to sleep, you're tired and you need sleep," I said patting him on the shoulder. "Yeah. Sorry again," he whispered, lying back down with a sigh. "Don't be."

But he was, of course, and it would just have to be up to me to make him stop feeling bad about it. It was kind of my job, as his best friend and future roommate.