Cold Mattresses

“So, tell me about yourself, Alice. How do you know Tony and the guys?”

Oh God.

I knew there was a reason I hated staying back after parties.

Small talk.

Ew.

Worst yet, she’d asked me this during mine and Mike’s bonding time, watching Beavis and Butt-Head (or any cartoon we were into at the time) while I use him as my body pillow. This was our routine after either of us came back from being on tour. Actually, it started back in high school when I would go back to Australia on the holidays or he and Vic would go visit their relatives.

Groaning softly I turned my head away from the television to look over at Kate who had tucked herself against Tony’s side, he brown eyes watching me intently. Tilting my head back, I looked up at Mike who had the barest hint of annoyance on his face and I knew I wasn’t alone in this situation.

There was really no way out of this, I actually had to talk to her. At least with most of Tony’s ex’s I was interested. Especially when he dated the porn star; I mean I had so many questions about the industry which she could answer.

Kate? Yeah, no. So far nothing; I’m not getting any interesting vibes from her.

Might as well answer.

“I met Mike in jail; we’d both been arrested for drug possession. He called Vic and I called Tony. It was fate. After that we started hanging around more and Mike and I became drug dealers until we had to sell out our supplier or do to juvy. Then we went into witness protection because our supplier was really powerful and dangerous. The D.A thought it was a good idea for us to go to school and blend in. That’s when we met Jaime and we’ve been friends ever since.”

It was quiet for a moment as I watched Kate’s reaction through my right eye, my left engulfed by Mike’s black skinny jeans. She frowned as she looked from me and Mike (who hadn’t turned his attention from the cartoon at all) to Tony who was playing on his phone with a small smile before settling back on me.

“Is that seriously how you guys became friends?”

Kill me now.

Mike snorted at that and finally turned away from the television to settle his best condescending look on Kate. “Yes, Kate, that’s how we met. Through a drugs bust.” I felt him run his hand over my hair and couldn’t help the noise I made as I turned my head towards his hand. There was a reason I was known as the cat.

“Of course that isn’t how we met. I met Tony when Vic dragged me to go get a new guitar. We became good friends, found out I was in his classes at school and he invited us to his place where I met Miss Kitten over here. She was curled up in a Giraffe onesie watching Indiana Jones when we walked into Tony’s room.”

I smiled as the memories floated back to me. Vic had stood in the doorway surprised, Tony had pinched the bridge of his nose in embarrassment and Mike had walked right in and joined me, asking which movie it was and what part it was up to.

I rolled onto my back so I could look up at Mike and watched as he smiled at our first encounter of each other. “It was a great day; we went out for chips after.”

Mike laughed and looked down at me, “You went in your Giraffe onesie. The cashier gave us the food for half price because you’d made his night.”

I sighed happily. “They were great chips.” The thought of them floated through my mind as I visualised them before an idea sprung to my mind. “Hey do you think he still works there?”

“He might, I mean it’s a fair possibility.”

“Reckon if I wore the onesie again I could get us half price food?”

Mike grinned and grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to sit up. “You get the onesie; I’ll go find my wallet.” As one, Mike and I jumped off the couch and went to move around the low coffee table.

“Vic has the food covered guys. Remember?”

We froze in our positions, Mike hunched over slightly with his arms stretched out and me leaning back dramatically with one leg in the air, and turned to look at Tony as he lifted his gaze from his phone, using the same momentum to swing it up and snap a picture of us before continuing.

“Vic called Leia to go get everyone food, said he wouldn’t put out if she didn’t.”

Oh, that’s right I remember now.

Sighing I lowered my leg and reached forward to grab the back of Mike’s hoodie and pulled him back down onto the couch. “We’ll do it tomorrow. That way we have time to smoke first and then get heaps of food.”

Mike hummed as he slumped low into the couch, the force of his movements making me fall into his side almost bonelessly. “That sounds like a plan, Kitten.”

I sighed happily as I lowered my head to rest on his shoulder. “Doesn’t it just? Smoking, onesies and food. The perfect way to spend the day.” The sound of a scoff had me and Mike turning as one to look over at Kate where she was sitting primly with a disgusted expression on her face.

“Is there a problem?” Mike sneered slightly, clearly annoyed with the girl.

Kate shook her head and shrugged. “It’s just I can think of plenty of things that are better than getting high while dressed as an animal. That just sounds lame and childish. I mean, who gets high anymore? It’s just stupid.”

“Big words coming from a girl with an eyebrow piercing.”

Sass point to Mike.

Tony frowned as Kate looked at him with an annoyed expression. “Dude, not cool.”

“I’d rather my eye brow than a medusa. They look gross.”

I sat up against Mike’s arm and looked at Kate, really looked before I saw it.

Yep, her inner bitch was showing.

Sensing that this would end in disaster I decided to step in; God only knew how Mike would get if he was spurred on further.

“Can we not? We each have our own piercings and tattoos that we got because we like them. We didn’t get them to please other people, just ourselves. Now if you two could remember that then I would appreciate it if we could avoid any potential fighting.”

Even if your eyebrow piercing does look fucking ridiculous.

Mike turned and buried his head in my shoulder, groaning softly as he got himself under control. I knew the boy too well; he was extremely defensive about his piercings and tattoos and immediately became riled up when someone pointed them out negatively.

I internally sighed before I began humming the tune to Hedwig’s Theme softly I reached up and rubbed the back of Mike’s head, playing with his the ends of his hair knowing that this helped calm him down.

‘I don’t like her.’

I shivered slightly at the feel of Mike’s lips brushing against my neck as he mouthed the words, the warmth of his breath causing goose bumps to break out across my skin. I nodded slightly as I continued to hum. I honestly couldn’t put my finger on it but there was something about Kate that just didn’t feel right.

And that wasn’t my feelings for Tony talking either.

She honestly just didn’t feel right.

The mood in the room which was steadily getting uncomfortable was broken by the loud banging on the front door followed by an “Open up, bitches!” that could belong to none other than my lovely band member Leia.

“Coming, babe,” Vic called from somewhere in the house, the sound of him opening the door and the noise of the two exchanging things reaching us before the sight of purple hair, a Slayer tee shirt and Mickey D’s came into view; Leia and Vic walking into the room with arms loaded with bags of food and drink trays separately.

Leia smiled as she stepped over Mike’s legs which were stretched out and set the bags she was carrying down on the coffee table. Mike lifted his head from my shoulder and grinned up at Leia before surging forward to wrap his arms around her waist and pull her down onto his lap so they could hug properly.

“How’s it going, Skywalker?” Mike asked as they pulled out of their hug, Leia shifting to sit across his lap with her legs over mine as we all smiled.

Leia shrugged her left shoulder. “It’s been good, Whiskey. I spent a ridiculous amount of time couped up with Cat here, watched a shit tonne of Star Wars and Harry Potter because she missed you guys a lot and played a couple shows.”

“Aw did someone miss me?” Mike cooed as he turned to me with an adorable smile on his face.

I scoffed and rolled my eyes. “What? Pfft, as if. You wish, Mike.”

“You missed me, don’t deny it.”

I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face before nodding. “Of course I missed you. You and Vic are my brothers, how could I not miss you?”

Leia rolled her eyes at us and rolled off of our laps to sit beside Mike and grab one of the burgers from a bag. “I honestly don’t understand you two. I didn’t miss Luke at all while we were gone.”

“That’s because you can always feel each other through the force,” Tony piped in as he reached for one of the drinks, his comment causing Leia to groan.

“Why did my mother have to be so into Star Wars?”

“Because she knows what’s up,” I replied as I leaned over to pluck up one of the packets of fries.

Leia laughed, covering her mouth as she did so and swallowed her mouthful of food before turning to me. “Yeah, take her side. The lot of you are a bunch of nerds. You and Tony get along with her better than I do and we’re related.”

Tony smiled across at Leia from over his meatless burger. “That’s because she likes us more. I mean come on, she took me and Alice to that Star Wars convention when we graduated from high school and went to re-release of Phantom Menace with us. She loves us more.”

“Well you can go and be nerdy together, I don’t care. I’ll hang out with Vic and Mike and do fun things with them and Mama and Papa without you guys.” Leia waved a fry in both mine and Tony’s direction before popping it into her mouth before finally noticing Kate who was sitting quietly watching the conversation.

“And just who might you be?” Leia asked as she fixed her blue eyes on the girl.

I love how accusing she sounded. I knew Leia knew who she was; she just liked to cause strife and ruffle feathers. And sound accusing. She loves that.

“I’m Kate, Tony’s girlfriend,” she said with a smile. “Who are you?”

“Who am I? Who am I? I am Vic’s girlfriend, the greatest thing that has ever happened to him since he learnt how to masturbate.” Leia said passionately causing Mike and I to break out in giggles while Vic face palmed, his cheeks a nice shade of red.

“Lovely introduction, Leia, better than that time you introduced yourself to that roadie in New Hampshire,” I said as I watched Vic’s face progressively get darker.

Leia giggled as she remembered that day before inhaling deeply in attempt to calm herself down some. Still giggling on and off as she looked around for a moment before turning to Mike.

“Where’s Hime?”

“Asleep in the spare room; he wasn’t feeling too good so Alice made him take some medicine and tucked him in.”

Leia turned and smiled at me in amusement. “You make such a good Den Mother, Alice. You even have your own merry band of Lost Boys.”

I smiled as I looked at the three boys in the room. “I know they’re pretty great aren’t they? I was made to be a Den Mother.”

“Too bad you aren’t a Wendy,” Vic said, still embarrassed and hiding his face in his hands.

“Bitch I’m worth ten Wendy’s,” I cried mock affronted. Mike nodded in agreement, bumping shoulders with mine gently as his mouth was full.

“How long will you be home?” Kate asked, reaching into one of the bags to pull out a napkin.

Leia and I turned to look at each other as we deliberated on the answer to Kate’s question. She frowned slightly at me and I returned it as we both thought on what Drew our tour manager had said.

Turning to look over at Kate, Leia cleared her throat slightly before answering. “Think we’re home for a month before we go off again. Everything’s up in the air at the moment as the guys are trying to book us.” Leia turned to shoot me a questioning look. “We’re playing two shows here though aren’t we?”

I shrugged. "Drew hasn't confirmed our charity show. We might be doing it later in the year for all we know. But we do go on tour in a month then we’re on holidays to write a new album.”

Leia groaned and I couldn’t help but agree.

Writing for an album was difficult for us because we always felt as if we were being pressured to get things done quickly. The actual lyrics writing was easier because everyone in the band contributes and we write whenever we feel the inspiration, often while on tour. The hard part was finding out the beat we wanted and the rhythm that flowed with each song.

In short, it was a bitch.

“But you guys just got back,” Vic whined. “What am I going to do without my two girls?”

“I don’t know, you’ve managed this long,” Leia shrugged at her boyfriend before reaching for another burger. “There’s really only one way to put it,” turning to me Leia held out a hand. “Alice, if you will.”

Clearing my throat slightly I shifted to sit on the edge of the couch and twisted to look at Vic with my hands on my heart and began to sing. “If you miss me, I'm just a phone call away. Please be strong, be strong for me. I need you to show me how to change the inside of me. For my heart, for their sake. Be strong, be strong for me!”

Leia nodded contritely and turned to her boyfriend. “There you have it, babe; sung beautifully by Alice and worded perfectly by Matty Mullins.”

Vic sighed as he looked at us, a small smile curling the corners of his mouth. “God, I’ve missed you two.”

Notes

Bam! I rewrote Chapter 3 because I cockblocked myself of inspiration. At least the chapter is longer and you get some insight to Alice's relationship with the brothers Fuentes.