"Do me a great big favor. Go play in rush hour traffic."
~Linda Wilkinson to six year old son Shane~
*
February 5, 2011
"Let's pluck his eyebrows completely off."
"Not good enough. The slut would just draw them back on."
"Hmmm, how about this, then? We kidnap him, take him to the hotel's salon then you hold him down while I give him a spray tan."
"Extra orangey?"
"Extra, extra orangey."
"Now that idea just might have some merit to it, Ror. But let's keep brainstorming and see what else we can come up with."
Rory and Shane were sitting at one of the tables that ringed the back of Doux Rêves while Revelin, Taz and Angel were up on the stage at the front of the club performing a sound check. Rather than watch the band, Shane and Rory found themselves focused on the area where Angel's girlfriends stood.
This set was a different set than the two girls Angel had been with while down in Orlando. Actually, they weren't even one of the three sets he famously rotated between.
These two were both taller than Angel, leggy and gorgeous. They could almost pass for twins they looked so much alike. They were also blonde, just like Eric, who they'd taken an immediate liking to on their late arrival to the club. Eric stood with them in the center of the otherwise cleared out area right in front of the club's stage and the three were enthralled watching Deviant Spawn practice. Their rapturous attention was only disturbed by their occasional tittering whisper.
Shane wanted to claw all of their eyes out, the Doublemint Twins just on GP.
"How about shaving half his head, plucking his eyebrows
and
giving him that tan?" Shane suggested. When Rory didn't respond, he forced his attention away from the golden haired troika.
An evil glow of happiness blossomed in Shane's chest when he saw Nietz crouched by Rory's side, whispering in Rory's ear. Rory nodded at whatever news Nietz imparted, then Nietz stood and retreated to the club's shadows.
Rory looked at Shane. "You want the good news first? Or the bad news?"
There was bad news? "What bad news?"
"Good idea, let's go with the good news first."
"
What
bad news?"
"The guard has been relieved of his duties effective immediately. His offer to you has also been conveyed to his superiors at the security agency. And Nietz said you are to report any other inappropriate comments made by the guards or any employees of the hotel. That is to be done
immediately
, Shane, not when it best suits you."
"
What bad news
?"
Rory shifted in his seat, mumbling, "Crap, why do I have to be the one to tell you?"
"
Rory
—"
"He stays."
Fuck
. Shane's heart plummeted. "Tell me,
please
tell me—Christ, you don't mean Eric."
"I do."
"But...why? The only reason he's here in the first place is because he sucked that guard off!"
"And he stays because Revelin has personally asked him to."
Shane knew Rory was telling the truth...and he had a pretty good idea of when the offer had been imparted. About an hour and a half before, the band had taken a quick break after hashing out what Rory informed Shane were intricate, safety related details with the pyrotechnicians of where Revelin and Taz would be standing on the stage at certain moments of their performance. Revelin had hopped off the stage and strode to the club's bar to retrieve a bottle of water afterwards. And Eric had immediately discarded his coat to reveal a tiny t-shirt with
I'm Kind Of A Big Deal
written on the front, shoved his coat into the hands of one of the girls and was one step behind Revelin.
When Eric laid a hand on Revelin's arm to get his attention, Revelin had looked first at Eric in amusement then to Shane with less than friendly intent. On seeing what had attracted Revelin's notice, Eric said something that drew the taller man's attention back to him. He'd followed his statement up with another comment, making Revelin laugh. They'd stood at the bar for a good five minutes conversing, Eric using his hands to talk as much as he did his mouth.
Neither men had looked in Shane's direction again.
But Shane had watched them.
Shane felt like his entire world, which had been shaky since birth, was tumbling down around him. And it was
all
his fault. "Rory, I need to—I can't—I gotta—"
"Hungry? I'm hungry." Without waiting for an answer, Rory jumped to his feet and grabbed Shane's hand, pulling Shane out of his chair. "Let's go get some brunch."
Rory drug Shane out of the club, only pausing long enough to advise Nietz where they were going.
Minutes later, they sat at a table in the middle of Treble Clef. Rory ordered for them both and long, silent minutes were spent waiting for their food to arrive. When it did, Rory nibbled at his entree while Shane stared at his.
"Fruit salad is good," Rory remarked, dabbing his napkin at the corners of his mouth.
"Uh-huh," Shane agreed.
"How would you know? You haven't even touched yours."
"I'm not really hungry."
"I am," Taz said. He pressed a kiss to the top of Rory's head of silken brown waves then collapsed into the chair next to Rory's.
"Practice over?" Rory asked.
"Yep. Time for some rest and relaxation for a couple hours." He waggled his eyebrows at Rory. "You gonna wear me out so I can rest good? Or—"
"Damn it, Taz, will you be good in front of Shane, please."
Rory and Taz's cutesy display was something Shane couldn't deal with at the moment. It was too much. Way too much. With the goal of distraction in mind, Shane slid his full plate of food to Taz. "Help yourself."
"Taz, do
not
eat that," Rory warned. As Taz placed the fork he'd just picked up back on the table, Rory continued, "You need to eat, Shane."
Success. "Not if I'm not hun—"
A shrill, high-pitched squeal sounded from one of the tables behind Shane. The grating sound was followed up by Eric's giggling shriek of, "Let me sit down, Revelin!"
Revelin's response was an indistinct rumble.
"I can't very well do it here, now can I? I said I'll show you later. When we're
alone
."
Shane was on his feet and out the door of the café before Rory or Taz could stop him.
Pulling his hood over his head, Shane hunched his shoulders against the elements and exited The Huntington out to the hotel's courtyard. Although the courtyard was private, with access having to be gained through the hotel itself, the manager had taken no risks after her talk with Taz. Courtesy of the hotel, she'd arranged for extra security to be brought in. For each one of the hotel's entry points for all hours of the day until every member of the band and their entourage checked out. Thankfully, the man currently on guard at the door utilized by Shane let him pass with no lewd innuendos, with no comments being made at all.
Sloshing through the pure, previously undisturbed snow, Shane walked. It was his first time ever seeing snow in person, but he was so distracted he couldn't enjoy the experience. He walked past The Huntington's closed down exterior brick bar. Past the multi-tiered stone water fountain with its immense basin filled to the brim with cold, white stuff. Past the striped down trees with their sad, thin arms of icicle branches. He wasn't aware of where he was going, he just knew he had to do something, to go somewhere.
The temptation to fall back on his original plan of the day was strong at the forefront of his mind. Since it was more than evident Eric wasn't going anywhere, Shane thought maybe he should be the one to leave instead.
But Shane wasn't a punk. He'd never run from his mother's abuse and he wasn't going to run from this situation either.
Resolute in what he needed to do, Shane's journey stopped when his mind reached a conclusion.
He was just going to have to deal. And he was going to do it with grace.
Crunching snow from behind forecasted the approach of another, but Shane didn't turn around to see who it was. He knew. And God love Rory, he was the best friend Shane could've ever asked for and the only friend Shane had, but Shane was ready to flip on the boy for not giving him a few precious moments to himself.
"Ay, dios mio, it's fucking freezing out here!" the new arrival exclaimed.
"
Angel
?" Shane asked in confusion, spinning to face the drummer.
"Here, put this on." In Angel's hands was an unbuttoned black leather coat. He held it at the collar, open and ready for Shane to slip his arms inside.
Shane was too bewildered to do anything except stare. Had Angel followed him?
Given that Angel wore a black cap on his shaved head and that there was a black leather coat already covering his own body, Shane was inclined to believe that, yes, Angel had gone to his room to grab a second coat for Shane, then followed Shane out to the courtyard.
Of all the people Shane figured had a reason to follow him, to either profess their concern or express their disgust, he didn't see where Angel had an interest. They had had no dealings with each other outside of an exchanged smile on Christmas Eve, a pleasantry or two swapped on the limo ride to Rory's house Christmas Day and the few words Angel had spoken to him today.
A fierce gust of wind whistled through the courtyard, cutting right through Shane's hoodie. A violent tremor wracked his body.