The Life and Lies of The How-To Manual

It was about four in the afternoon, a good three hours since Vic had discovered what had happened to him. Jaime and I had scored another point and Vic had sworn revenge. We could make a movie of his rage. I mean, short sexicans would make a good Chucky, right?

Tony, Autumn, Jack, and Alex were all in the bus since. They ran back to the air conditioner after it had grown too hot outside. The others were still running around outside. Well, Mike and Vic were. Jaime was still in the box.

Wait.

Wait.

Wait.

Jaime was still in the box.

….

It had been waaaaaay longer than one hour.

“JAIME!” I shrieked and bolted off the couch, running outside. Oh no, oh no, oh no…In this heat, it could get dangerously hot being locked inside a cramped black box for longer than one hour. It had been three hours.

“Jaime! Can you hear me!?” I scrambled down to the box, kneeling at it’s side. Mike and Vic were around the side of the bus, tossing a football around and talking.

“What?” Jaime mumbled faintly.

“JAIME! ARE YOU DEAD?” I yelled at him. The sun was blazing down on my back, all hints of the wind gone. The barren landscape reflected the heat back at us.

“I…I think so.” He whimpered.

“Are you okay, ghost Jaime?” I asked seriously.

“I’m hungry!”

“Well hello, hungry. I’m your girlfriend.” I laughed. Jaime whined and whimpered again.

“My neck hurts. Please get me out of here! Hasn’t it been an hour already?” His voice rose through the box.

“Um…sure.” I muttered and looked over my shoulder to Vic and Mike. The two were now tossing the football back and forth with Zack and Rian who were having fun running around. They were playing some weird form of tackle football. Mike’s hair was stuck to his face, plastered there because of the sweat.

“Hold on.” I murmured to him and stood up. I stalked forwards towards Vic, hands on my hips. I froze right at the edge of their makeshift football field.

“Vic!” I yelled at him. He turned his head, walking towards me. The game paused, all of the boys panting like dogs. He had on his devious grin as he walked up in front of me. Mike and Rian were shirtless, their clothing shoved on the back of the bus.

“What’s up?” He questioned. I tapped my hand impatiently, raising an eyebrow.

“Jaime’s still in the box.” I said, hoping he’d get the hint. He chuckled, oblivious to everything, including the dangers of the heat.

“Oh yeah, Himes.”

“Can you please give me the combo to get him out?” I asked, trying to be sweet. I was kind of worrying for him. Heat does weird things to a person’s head.

“Oh, maybe after our game.” He turned back to the game. I grabbed his shoulder, pulling him around.

“No, you’re going to tell me now.” I demanded. He shook his head.

“Later, sweetheart. We’re about to win.” Vic cheered. Zack grinned and yelled encouragements. I tilted my chin up, trying to tell him that I needed it….NOW.

“It’s four numbers. Tell me.” I demanded. Vic shook his head started to back away.

With one step forward, I wound my fist back and slammed it into his jaw. Everyone’s eyes went as wide as dinner plates. Vic’s head snapped to the side and he stumbled back, falling on his ass. He held his hand up to his cheek, wincing in pain.

Leaning forward, I stooped on one knee. Mike and the others were frozen in their spots. I glared at Vic. He’s not going to keep Jaime in their any longer. Reaching forward, I kept my right hand in a fist, my left hand taking the collar of his shirt in my fist and pulling him right up to my face.

“Now you listen to me, Victor. I don’t care what Jaime and I have done to you. Jaime took his punishment like a man, but now this is getting serious. He has been locked in a hot, sweaty, cramped black box that has stood out in the heat for three freaking hours. This isn’t just about revenge now, this is about making sure he’s okay and not dying in there. One hour in it is fine. Three is not okay with me.” I growled in his face. He nodded, still holding his jaw in one hand.

“Vic, just give her the combo and stop being a butt-queef.” Zack stuttered quietly.

“I’ll ask one more time…nicely. I’m not afraid to do anything to get what I want.” I snarled, bringing his face closer to mine. He whimpered and shrank back. I jerked on his shirt. “Now, what is the combo?” I asked with a venomous smile.

“I-I d-don’t h-have i-it!” The singer stuttered. I raised an eyebrow.

“Where is it?”

He was silent. Mike gave him a worried look.

“JUST TELL HER THE COMBO!” Zack screeched at him. Vic stared me down. I laughed bitterly before turning serious.

“Vic, would you ever like to have kids?” I asked softly, just barely whispering it in his ear.

“Y-yes.” He mumbled.

“I can make sure that never happens…” I murmured in his ear. And yes, I was not above castration. Vic whimpered and held up his hands, wincing slightly.

“It’s in the bus! I gave it to Alex! It’s on a piece of paper!” He squealed and I threw him down, stalking away. I heard the boys scramble together, whispering softly. I passed the box, tapping it softly.

“I’ll get you out of there soon.” I promised. I heard a faint thanks before I went inside the bus. Alex was holding Jack on his lap, patting his back and talking to him.

“Can I please have the combo?” I asked Alex. His eyes widened. Jack clung to him desperately.

“U-uh I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He said, trying to hold a straight face. I held out my hand. Tony looked up and Autumn fell silent.

“Vic just told me you had the combination for the box. Please, can I have it?” I asked, my temper flaring. I really should be getting Jaime out of the box!

“Vic told me not to give it to you!” Alex whimpered as I loomed over him. Jack squeezed his eyes closed, holding onto his friend.

“I just punched Victor in the jaw. Jaime might have heatstroke. I suggest you hand it over.” I said quietly.

“YOU GO GIRL!” Autumn cheered at my violence. I laughed softly before smiling down at the singer.

“Please.” I added. He fumbled in his pocket for a moment before handing me a piece of paper. I took it outside and ran to the box. Kneeling down, I plugged in the combination. The lock clicked open and I threw the lid up. As I looked down, Jaime was curled into a ball on his side, knees pressed into his chest. He moaned again as he blinked from the sudden sunlight.

“Jaime, I’m here.” I whispered, taking his hand and helping him up. He stood for a moment, stepping out of the box before collapsing. I felt the four boys stare at me as they stopped playing football.

“That was a really long one hour.” He mumbled on the ground. I leaned down, stroking his neck. He was burning up. I took his arm, basically dragging him up and looping an around his waist and throwing his arm over my shoulder.

“Actually, it was three.” I confessed. Jaime was as pale as a sheet and he just looked terrible. Himes scowled.

“I’m going to kill Vic.” He threatened weakly as I slowly walked him to the bus.

“I punched him in the jaw, don’t worry.” I laughed softly and helped him up the bus stairs.

“Good girl.” He chuckled softly. When we got into the bus, everyone looked up and stopped talking. Tony mumbled some words of pain. Autumn stood up immediately, going over to the fridge to grab a bag of ice and a small green towel. The fans were humming happily from the air it pushed out.

“Oh gosh, you look terrible.” Autumn murmured. Jack and Alex reluctantly moved to a table. Jaime barely made it to the couch. He fell down in front of it and slowly dragged himself onto the furniture. Tony glanced at him from the opposite black leather couch.

“He doesn’t look that bad.” Turtle mumbled. Jaime threw him a grateful smile. I knelt in front of the couch, assessing the damage. Well, he had a cramped neck, his face was pale, he felt like the internal temperature of Venus, and had that sick pregnant look. I put the bag of ice on his forehead and stood up.

“Can I help?” Autumn asked. I smiled gratefully and nodded.

“Please, can you get a small towel and wet it down with cold water so it’s mildly damp. Throw it in the fridge for a little bit.” I asked. She nodded and started doing that. I went into Jaime’s bunk and rummaged through his bags, finding some basketball shorts. I came back to his side, gently putting them into his hands. He blinked up at me, panting slightly.

“Strip and put these on.” I commanded. He weakly moved his arms, as if he was trapped in Jello. I sighed at the snail pace he was moving at.

“MD….” He whined. I pushed him up to sitting and helped take off his shirt. His skin was burning to the touch still, despite sitting in the AC for five minutes already. After taking off his shirt, I tossed it to the corner of the couch. Beads of sweat lingered on his skin. Jaime stripped to his boxers and threw on the shorts I gave him. When he was done, I let him lay down and gently lay the ice bag on his forehead. His eyes fluttered closed. Color returned to his cheeks. His hand found mine, intertwining our fingers together.

“You’re my hero.” He mumbled. I chuckled and kissed his nose. He blushed, or maybe that was still the heat.

“Thank you, Himes.” I whispered. Autumn returned a few minutes later with the towel. I took it and felt the cold seep to my skin. It was comforting. I gently moved the ice pack, his eyes still closed and panting slightly. I moved the ice pack to his chest and moved his head so that it lay on my lap. Tenderly, I wiped down his face with the cold cloth.

“Mmmm….That feels good.” He mumbled. I played with his sweaty hair in my free hand. He didn’t feel so hot anymore.

“Feeling better?” I asked him. He nodded. Autumn came next to me with a bottle of water. I handed it to Jaime who opened his eyes long enough to see it and drain the contents in less than two minutes. He sighed and closed his eyes again.

“Thank you.” He whispered and passed out. I sighed.

“Did he just pass out?” Jack asked. Alex smacked the back of his head, grumbling about Jack missing the obvious. Barakat whimpered until Alex hugged him closer. I laughed and continued to wind messy strands of brown hair around my fingers.

“Auuuuttuuuuummm!” Tony whined. Autumn turned around to look at him. She was currently changing the song that was playing. She said she wanted softer music. I laughed at his complaints.

“What do you want?” She asked, smiling. He pouted.

“Cuddles!” He cheered. I guess Turtle was feeling a little left out since everyone else had a snuggle buddy. Autumn finished up choosing a song and went over to her boy. She lay down next to him, careful not to bump his injury.

“You complain a lot.” She giggled. He kissed her forehead and wrapped a blanket around both of them.

“You love me anyways.”

“Yeah.” She agreed and curled into his chest.

Notes

Hello everyone! Sorry I hadn't updated in a little while! I was trying to decide what chapter to write since I have a lot of ideas for what's coming up next! Anyways, I hope you're all doing well. Don't forget to leave a comment/vote! Thank you everyone!!!