KISS: In The Band

Ch 18: Oh No (Tommy)

"You're never going to get your hair to look nice," I teased, leaning on the counter. Eric shot me a look. "Shut up, Thomas! It's my wedding day, you're supposed to be nice to me," he grumbled, running a brush through his hair anyway. I watched in amusement as it just sprung right back into place. "Nah, as one of your best friends I have the right to make fun of you whenever. You do look nice though. I mean, as nice as you can look."

He punched me in the arm with a grin. "Shut up! One more snide comment from you and I'll demote you from groomsman to guest." "Why stop there? Let's just kick him out of the wedding entirely!" Eric Singer said, walking into the room and punching me in the other arm. "Gosh, don't you start with me," I muttered. "I can hardly recognize you without the bandanna."

Face burning, he rolled his eyes, tugging at his bowtie. "Yeah, yeah, stuff it. It's a wedding, there's a dress code. I'm following the dress code, like a good friend!" "Aw, that's so sweet of you, little guy! Way to try and look like one of the adults!" I teased. Eric burst into laughter, giving me a high five. "Hell yeah, I'm not the shortest!" Singer stuck his tongue out at us, crossing his arms. "I don't need this in my life. I'm gonna go find Bruce and hang out with him. Or maybe I'll go and elope with Carrie before she has a chance to marry the inferior Eric," he grumbled.

"Hey! You take that back!" Eric said, setting down his brush in order to fidget with his tuxedo sleeves. "Mm no sorry it might be your wedding but that doesn't mean I'm gonna lie to you. I am the superior Eric." "Hm he's got a point, he is pretty great," Bruce said, walking into the room and giving Eric a grin. "Damn, even my own wife has betrayed me," Eric said with a grin. Bruce laughed, shaking his head. "See, I don't get why you're so nervous for this. You already had a wedding senior year of high school."

"But Bruce! I was really fucking drunk for that! I'm sober for this! And I'm freaking out!" Eric protested, still tugging at his sleeves. Grinning, I put a hand on Eric's shoulder. "Hey, take a deep breath. You're marrying your high school sweetheart and you both love each other very much and it'll all be fine. So just take a deep breath and relax," I said gently. He sighed, shaking his head aggressively. "You're right, you're right. Damn! Okay I got this. It'll be fine, nothing will go wrong, it'll all be--"

"Hey can I talk to you guys real quick? Just the three of you, not you Eric! You need to get ready! Carrie says hi, by the way!" Shandi said, giving him a smile which he happily returned. Bewildered, the three of us stepped out of the room, closing the door behind us. "So what's up?" I asked, giving her a kiss. "Um...we might have...an issue," she said nervously. "What's wrong?" Bruce asked, raising an eyebrow. "Okay sooo...they might be here."

"They?" Eric asked, and Shandi nodded, looking around anxiously. "Yeah. Like Gene and Paul and Ace and Peter. They showed up. Without actually like...RSVPing or anything. So we don't have room for them." I pinched the bridge of my nose as Bruce muttered 'fucking assholes' under his breath. "How'd they even know where the wedding was? They fish the invitations out of the trash or something?" I asked.

Eric cringed, face going red. "Uh...that might be my fault. I might've...told Paul," he mumbled. "You dirty blond dumbass," I said with a sigh. "I'm sorry! It just came up in a conversation, I didn't think he'd show up! Or...or that all of them would." "It's not your fault, don't worry. I guess we get to go confront them," Bruce said, eyes dark. "Wait wait hold on. Eric, Eric Carr I mean, has wanted them to come to his wedding. So maybe we could fit them in to the actual ceremony? Just some chairs in the back or off to the side? Or hell, they could just stand. I'm not saying the reception necessarily because that would be an issue with the food and all that, but maybe we could have them stay for the wedding," I said.

Bruce nodded slowly, running a hand through his hair. "No, that's a good point. He would be really happy to see them here. We'll talk to him first and then see. Thanks for telling us," he said, giving Shandi a crooked grin. I felt a small, completely unfounded twinge of jealousy and mentally told myself to shut up before kissing my girlfriend again. "Yeah, thanks babe, you're the best!"

She walked off to continue helping Carrie to get ready while we were left to figure out how to tell Eric the hopefully good news. "I swear if they do anything to ruin his wedding I'll fucking kill them," Bruce muttered. "Paul's already on the thinnest fucking ice possible with me, so don't worry, I'll happily help you with that," Singer said with a frown.

Shaking my head, I pushed open the door, taking a deep breath. "So Eric. We have...news." He gave me a concerned look. "Is it...good news?" he asked hesitantly. "Um...hopefully. So Gene and Paul and Ace and Peter showed up." His face immediately lit up and he gave me a huge smile. "Really?!" Bruce nodded. "Yep. But you know, they didn't RSVP or anything, so we don't have spots for them. We could try and find some chairs if you want--" "Hell yeah I want that! Aw man I can't believe they actually showed up, that's great!" he said, grinning broadly.

"Okay, we'll take care of that! What about the reception though?" Singer asked. Eric frowned, going back to fidgeting with his sleeves. "Hm. Okay, call the reception place and ask if they could seat four more people and give them a plate. Doesn't have to be as good as everyone else's. In fact, make sure they don't get as nice a plate. No wait that's mean don't do that. Anyway! Try and get them a plate, at least a seat. They usually have extras."

"I'll take care of that," Bruce said, grabbing his phone and stepping out of the room. Eric gave us a smile. "Damn, I can't believe they actually showed up!" "I can't believe you're actually getting married," I teased. "Now come on, you need to go and stand by the altar and wait for your bride."

Bouncing up and down on his toes, he took a deep breath. "Damn, you're right. You're right! I'm getting married!" he said, half to himself, and I couldn't help but smile.