KISS: In The Band

Ch 6: Here We Go Again (Peter)

I looked over at Ace with a sigh, bored out of my mind having to sit behind my drum kit and wait for Gene and Paul to figure out what we were going to do next. He grinned, rolling his eyes and pantomiming drinking. I smiled back, pretending to take a line of coke before raising an eyebrow. He frowned before shaking his head, going back to drinking, and I nodded. I was 100% down to get shitfaced by the time this stupid practice was over.

"Hey, we've been back in the city for like a day can we just call this done for tonight and go home? I haven't seen Rags in weeks and I miss him," I said. "Yeah, yeah, that's fine. We're pretty much done. You two can go back to your place and I'll go to my home and Gene can go back and see his side chick Shannon," Paul said flippantly.

My eyes widened and I stared at him in shock. Oh damn he did not just say that.

Gene slammed down his bass and pointed at Paul with a shaking finger. "Shut up! Shut up, shut the fuck up! If you ever, and I mean ever talk about my wife like that again, I will not think twice about dropping your ass, both physically and literally!" he shouted.

"Oh, you shut up! You're so far up your own ass it's embarrassing! Learn to take a fucking joke!" Paul cried back. Gene's face was bright red and he was so mad he was shaking. "You're just jealous of Shannon because I love her instead of you!" My eyes got even wider and I shot a stunned look at Ace, who looked as equally surprised by everything unfolding before us. Paul took a step back, stunned, before a look of pure hatred settled across his face.

"Once again, everything has to be about you! Everything's always gotta be about Gene fucking Simmons!" "You made it about me when you went after my wife!"

Ace sidled over to me as they kept arguing, taking my hand. "This is bad, love, this is baaaad," he said under his breath. I nodded, unable to look away from the argument in front of me. It was like watching a train wreck, you wanted to look away but it was so bad you couldn't.

"Damn man, what kind of issues do you have? You're just as attached to Shannon as you are your own fucking mother!" "You're just mad my mom actually loved me!" "At least my mom actually spent time with me instead of working all day to get away from her son!"

"Fucking say that again, you one-eared bitch!" "Your mom worked to get away from you, not to support you!" Paul screamed, before Gene sprinted forward and tackled him to the ground, throwing punches wildly. The two of them rolled around on the floor, both of them equally intent on ripping each other to pieces. Heart racing, I ran forward, grabbing Paul and trying to pull him away while Ace did the same with Gene. After catching some wayward punches to the face myself, we finally managed to separate them.

"Both of you just shut up! Shut up! You're acting like children! Paul, probably shouldn't have made a comment like that! Gene, lighten the fuck up, man! I mean shit, I get we're all stressed out about this, but really?! What the hell is fighting going to do except make more problems?!" I cried. "I want this thing to work out, I want Kiss to be a real thing, but that's not going to happen if we keep in-fighting! So come on, be the mature adults you are and apologize!"

Gene was staring daggers at Paul, chest heaving, before he held up his hands halfheartedly. "Fine. Sorry. I was out of line," he said shortly, extending a hand. Paul gave it an aggressive shake, still scowling. "Yeah. Same. Sorry." I let go of Paul, heaving a sigh. "Curly, I think we all just need to take the weekend off. Just go home and relax and we'll meet back Monday and talk then, how about that?" Ace said quietly.

There was a tense silence before Gene nodded, scooping up his bass and tossing it in his case. "Sounds good. Sorry again, Paul. See you all Monday," he snapped, pivoting sharply and walking out the back door. Still muttering under his breath, Paul grabbed his guitar and also dipped, leaving just me and Ace. "What do you think Bruce and Eric are doing right now?" he asked after a pause. I grinned, giving him a kiss. "Probably something more fun than this. Wanna go get drunk and have some fun?"

"Oh hell yeah I do," he said, kissing me before grabbing his guitar. "Alright doll, let's hit the liquor store." We wandered through the aisles once we got there, looking for something fun or exciting to drink. Or even something that would get us super drunk. "Hm what's the move for tonight?" Ace asked, looking at the shelves with a frown. I shrugged, leaning against him. "I'm feeling...something easy. I don't want to have to deal with mixers and cocktails, I just want straight booze."

"Done and done," he said, grabbing two bottles of rum off the shelves. I paid for them with a grin, following him to the car and watching enviously as he uncorked one, taking a swig as I drove off. "Good idea with the rum! Been awhile since I've had some." He nodded, taking another sip. "Yeah, it's good stuff! This one isn't half bad! I mean yeah I've had better but for the price it was, this hits the spot."

"Stop rubbing it in," I muttered. "And stop drinking so much while I'm driving! By the time I make it home you're going to have finished the whole thing." He grinned, kissing me on the cheek. "Hush, don't get so mad. There's more than enough for the two of us. But I do admire your commitment to safety!" "Yeah, it's something you should think about. You're a terrible driver and it makes me nervous. I don't want to get a call someday that you've been in a bad accident or something."

He rolled his eyes, taking another sip. "Is that why you never let me drive your car?" "Ace, I'm serious! You need to be more careful than you are. You could get seriously hurt or killed or seriously hurt someone." "Alright, alright, I'm sorry. I'll be more careful, I promise." Shaking my head, I pulled into the garage, shutting off the car and grabbing him by the hand, leading him into our bedroom.

"You better be. I don't want anything to happen to you. Or to you," I said, scooping up Rags with a smile and scratching him behind the ears. He purred happily, nestling deeper into my arms. "Yes, hello you beautiful baby boy! I missed you!" I gushed. "Aw babe set the cat down and come on! You know I can't drink all of this alone!" Ace cried.

Giggling like an idiot, I set down Rags and accepted the bottle from my husband, taking a long swig. "Mmm this is good!" I said, snuggling up next to him on the bed. He slipped an arm around my waist, kissing me on the forehead. "Much better than having to deal with Paul and Gene and their bullshit for the rest of the night."

"Amen to that," I muttered.