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Epilogue


Brian

"Why do you always have to challenge me?" my voice echoed through the empty seats surrounding the stage. "Every single time I say anything --"

"Maybe if you weren't such a self-righteous prick --"

"--- you gotta butt in like I'm a complete idiot and --"

"-- and you didn't expect everyone to kiss your fucking ass --"

"-- interrupt me like I have nothing important to say!"

"-- you'd see I'm just trying to help!"

We glowered at each other.

"Guys." Kevin came between us, his hands up as though we were about to launch at each other's throats. "Stop it.," Kevin commanded, "For Christ's sake, do you not remember what happened last time y'all started this shit?"

Nick and I both paused. I took a deep breath in through my nose. "He's right. God I hate when he's right." I pulled Nick into a bear hug. "I know you're just trying to help, but man are you a pain in my --"

Nick struggled out of my hug, "Dude, stop droolin' all over me, dawg..." He flailed his arms. "Just a'cos I love ya man doesn't mean you need'a be slobberin' all over me, I'm just sayin'..." but he was grinning even as he fake-bitched about the bromance.

It'd been almost six months since the accident.

Leighanne and Margo were sitting in the front seats, off to the side of the stage, talking. They'd stopped when we'd started fighting. Margo had her hand on her hip and had half-risen from her seat like she was about to come whale on Nick if he didn't stop fighting with me while Leighanne had a smirk on her face. She probably recognized the fight from six months before when I'd stormed off the stage and onto the tour bus complaining about what a douchebag Nick was and how Eddie had decided the two of us needed to drive to the next tour date together.

Nick waved at Margo.

Margo waved back. Be good, she mouthed at him. He grinned in a way that said he was inherently good at being not good, and then frolicked back across the stage and jumped at me with his big goofy tongue hanging out.

"Stop it," I groaned, pushing him away.

Nick danced away.

"Okay, seriously, let's get this song nailed down," Kevin said. "If y'all expect to sing it tonight then we gotta get it just right."

"WE HAVE TO SING IT TONIGHT!" Nick wailed.

"Okay, I didn't say we weren't going to I said if you wanted --"

"WE HAVE TO DAWG!" Nick was still shouting.

"At least it's not just you he interrupts," Howie commented, winking.

Nick was ridiculously good at interrupting pretty much everyone, I guess.

Margo leaned back and put her feet up on the barricade in front of her seat and grinned up at Nick as he galloped around. She shook her head. I saw her turn to Leighanne and I could read her lips as she said, It's so weird seeing him running around pissing people off.

Leighanne answered, You better get used to it. That's all he does when he's awake.

But she meant it in a loving way.

Nick meanwhile had jumped on Kevin's back and toppled him over.

Sometimes I think we all wished we could just... aim a remote and pause him again every now and then... if for nothing else but to catch a breath between moments when he was hangin' all over us... Sometimes we all wish we could just rewind back to the start of everything and change how it goes... To how it would've been in a perfect world.