A/N: Say it with me! B is ALMOST A FREE BITCH! I haven't been around much, doing school stuff, prepping for finals and graduation. Just got done getting ready for prom, have some time and decided to post this for YOU. I started this fic a while ago and wanted to see what everyone thinks. I hate that Remember October always gets benched when inspiration hits me, but I just HAD to write this.
About the story: Sorry to disappoint, but there is no gymnastics in this, like, at all. Mentions here and there, but not much. Also, it's 97.32% CRACK and 100% Alternate Universe and focuses in on our favorite boy toys. Loosely follows The Hangover. Not meant to be taken very seriously, but will have some serious moments.
Ships: Kaymon/Dailey, KayAus, Kaylicky, Nickelly, Paystin, AusEm, Max/Maeve, Max/OC, Razor/Lauren (Keep in mind though it's less about the ships and more about the friendships/bromances. I just know people are going to ask so there it is. Don't like it, don't read it. It's that simple).
Hope y'all like it!
-XX-
THE BRO CODE
Prologue
When it comes to college and especially college fraternities, recruiters will officially tell you that it's about brotherhood and networking when everyone else will tell you it's about partying, underage drinking and banging hot drunk chicks. Some are even lucky enough to get it all.
The Sigma Nu house has a reputation around the Colorado University campus. They aren't the classiest in the Greek system, but they aren't the lowest of the low either. They work hard so they can party hard and, man, do they party hard.
On a typical Friday night the Sigma house with its classic white pillars supporting the porch and Greek letters, is easily beyond maximum capacity. There are lights strung up, music throbbing and a sea of people with plastic red cups in hand. It being Hawaii beach-themed, there are girls wandering around in coconut bras, guys shirtless, sunglasses on at night, inappropriate writing on body parts in sunscreen and a lot of fake flower leis.
With three too many puka shell necklaces around his neck, his Hawaiian shirt decorated with hula girls left unbuttoned and a sparkly pink grass skirt ruffling at his knees, Austin Tucker walks around, smiling at the people he passes, nodding coolly towards a selected few. He literally calls this place home and couldn't picture himself anywhere else.
"Tucker!" someone calls out to him. Austin turns and smirks when he finds one of his other brothers, Razor. The guy is built like a carrot, tall and gangly, wearing some sort of frilly shaman headpiece, a girl's string bikini top and board shorts. The two clasp hands in greeting even though they never go more than a few hours without seeing each other and live right down the hall from one another.
"Razor!" Austin shouts. "Having a good time?"
"Undoubtedly. The hula punch is divine," Razor raises his drink that has one of those tiny umbrellas in it, "Dude, it's almost midnight and there's no half-naked, giggly Zeta on yo arm. Losing your touch, Tucker?"
"Losing my touch? Razor, when you look like this," Austin motions to his handsome face, "you don't lose at anything. The night is still young. I just haven't found the right hottie to share my bed yet."
"Translation: you've hooked up with almost all of the drunk girls currently in the house?"
"Yeah. That's it." Austin gives his brother a big, innocent smile.
"Well, g'luck," Razor pats his shoulder, "The poker game in the basement beckons."
Austin is excited almost instantly. "Tell me it's strip poker and I might literally get on my knees and bow to you."
"Sorry to disappoint, but we're playing for cold, hard cash," Razor corrects. "So have fun prowlin' and I will see you in the AM or, well, with how you sleep in, it'll probably be tomorrow night, just in time for the Amazing Race."
Razor pats his back and starts to walk away, but then Austin grabs his arm and holds him back. "Wait," Austin says. "Round up the boys for some g'luck shots. I think we all could use it."
Agreeing, Razor knows exactly where to find brother Spencer. Max Spencer is a good-looking kid with neatly styled black hair and clean-shaven cheeks. He's wearing a button-down shirt with little palm trees on it and has a very professional-looking camera in his hands. Just as some giggly girl lifts her shirt, Max presses the capture button on his camera and the flash goes off, making everyone around them cheer.
When he sees Austin cheering Max on, Razor shouts, "And we wonder why all the respectable girls won't come to a Sigma party!"
Austin smirks, not afraid to show how proud he is. He walks up to Max, who's already trying to coax another girl into flashing him. She looks deeply offended, itching to throw her drink in his face and so Austin grabs onto the back of Max's neck and steers him away and over to Razor.
"Austin," Max groans, "How will I make my Girls Gone Awesome quota if you keep interfering?"
"Reality check, buddy. I just saved you from a Corona Facial," Austin responds. "Now, we're doing shots for luck. Where are Brothers Russo and Young?"
"Damon is working the keg stand tonight and Nicky…" Max's face darkens and they all know what that means. "Last I saw that loser cousin of mine he was walking his girl out. She has some thing to do in Denver tomorrow so she isn't staying over. Thank God. When is that psycho not here? I swear half the shit in our room belongs to her…"
"Okay, Paps, I don't need to hear about your issues with Kelly Parker. I just asked where Nicky was. Christ, Max, take a Valium," Austin responds. He shakes Max by his neck a bit before leading them through the crowd of people and out the front door to the porch.
As expected, there's Nicky Russo with "his girl". They're standing out by her car, all handholding, intimate gazes, flirty smiles and sneaky, shy kisses. They're a bit of an odd couple. He's stocky and pale and she's petite and tan. The boys are about to walk over and cause trouble, but then the couple's kiss deepens. She roughly grabs him by the scruff of his neck and he slides his hands up her sides, pressing his hips into hers, their lips not parting once. The other brothers get caught up staring. Damn.
"That's just wrong," Max murmurs. "Make them stop."
"Aww, Maxi, get over it. That girl is going to marry into your family one day and you can't do a thing about it." Austin laughs. Loudly trotting down the steps of the front porch, Austin shouts, "Hey Russo! Either fuck her or get your ass back to the party!"
Nicky and Kelly quickly break apart. He looks dazed and she looks pissed. Austin goes to talk to the two while Max and Razor wait on the porch, not even attempting to get mixed up in that. Austin, Nicky and Kelly are as different as can be and spend most of their conversations teasing and arguing, but there's one thing that sets them apart from the rest, one thing they have in common that makes their bond stronger than with the others—gymnastics.
After talking for a while, a longing gaze shared between Nicky and Kelly and a final kiss, she gets into her car and drives off. They watch her leave, Austin wearing a teasing smirk and Nicky trying hard not to smile in return.
"You love your friend with benefits. I mean, you looovvee—"
"Shut up, Austin," Nicky shoves him away by his face as the two make their way up the porch steps. "It's just a thing. It's not like we're in a relationship or anything. Kelly's exact words: college relationships are like getting cornrows in Jamaica. It's cool while you're there, but when you go home everyone makes fun of you."
"She has a point," Razor says. He then straightens the headpiece he's wearing with a thoughtful expression. "Huh. What would I look like with cornrows?"
"Awesome!" Austin shouts.
"You think?" Razor asks.
"Yeah…no."
Razor sulks and Austin slaps Nicky's shoulder. "But you can't lie to Tuck the Great, Nicky Boy. If you weren't serious then you would be hitting on other girls the second she leaves, but nope. You love that firecracker and I'll tell you now that I fully expect to be your Best Man at the wedding." Nicky rolls his eyes and steals Razor's drink from him, brings the rim to his lips and takes a long pull.
Razor frowns. "Way to kick a dude when he's down. As if it isn't a big enough ego blow having to listen to all the moaning coming from your room when I'm alone at 3AM and eating cold pizza in my bed."
"Where's Damon?" Nicky asks, hoping it will do as a distraction.
"Keg stand duty out back," Austin explains. "Let's go get him."
They make their way through the hordes of partying people and towards the makeshift bar that's been decorated like a tiki hut. On their way over, a blonde in a pink bikini sidetracks Max, insisting he do a shot off of her. Because he's Max and he can't resist an offer by a beautiful girl, he lets her pull him through the crowd until they disappear.
"That's Maxi for yah." Austin laughs and grabs a glass bottle of tequila and rounds up a couple flower-print shot glasses.
Nicky leans back against the bar and follows Austin's gaze over to where Max is taking a lime wedge from some girl's mouth. "You know, his inability to say no to girls is going to get him into trouble one day."
"Oh, it already has," Razor slurps from his new cup of hula punch, "The other day he had an early dinner date with Blonde Chick #1 and then drinks right after with Blonde Chick #2 and it turned out they were sorority sisters. Gamma Psi Alpha. He got caught and it was not pretty."
Austin and Nicky wince sympathetically, but then burst out laughing. It's just too good of a mental image.
"Poor guy. See, Max, treats 'dating' and girls like a buffet table," Austin explains as they search for Damon amongst the crowded lawn. "He get something and, hey, it's tasty so he keeps going back as many times as he possibly can and just because he can he even samples all the different things until he either gets caught for double dipping or implodes."
"And how is that different from you exactly?" Nicky challenges.
"Easy." Razor jumps in with a chuckle. "Austin treats girls like the dollar menu at McDonalds. He gets some cheap, fast food, a quick grab and go and never orders the same thing twice."
Nicky shakes his head. "That's a horrible analogy."
"But it works. Brother Young prescribes to it too," Austin says. "At least the girls we hook up with know we don't want anything serious. DTF all day every day—words to live and die by. Max, on the other hand, he dates a bunch of girls all at the same time and assumes they know he isn't serious and leads 'em on until he gets slapped in the face."
"Or kicked in the ass," Razor adds.
Always the gentleman, Nicky shakes his head. "Not cool. Any of you."
"Yet extremely entertaining," Razor holds up a finger as he makes his point.
The boys all share a nod in agreement.
"Hey guys!" Max stumbles over to them with glassy eyes and a big grin. He throws one arm around Razor's neck and the other around Austin's. "Check out Brother Young working the keg stand."
"You mean working the girl working the keg stand," Austin corrects, nodding to the far end of the yard. "It looks like Brother Young is getting lucky without the lucky shots. Atta boy."
They all watch as Damon Young working as pumper. He is the last of their close-knit group, the five of them all pledging the year before, going through rush and hazing together and bonding over it. Damon is Mr. Cool with his bedroom eyes and perfect state of bedhead. He's wearing a simple black t-shirt, always too cool to dress up to the theme of their parties.
Currently up to the keg is a thin girl who can't be older than them, maybe even a freshman, with olive skin and dark hair up in a tight ponytail. The girl dressed in pink does an awesome handstand on the keg with little help from the spotters and Damon has a steady stream of beer going from the nozzle to her mouth as he pumps the keg. All the guys look on with their heads tilted as the girl goes for quite some time, being cheered on by everyone around her.
"Holy shit, that chick can drink!" Razor shouts excitedly.
"And has got incredible balance," Nicky adds. "Impressive."
"No kidding." Max zooms in with his camera and snaps a picture.
Austin sighs dramatically and puts his hand over his heart. "Boys, I think I just fell in love."
They all roll their eyes. Austin and love aren't exactly two things that automatically go together. The boys continue to watch from afar as the girl finally stops and the spotters bring her back down to the ground. When she's finally upright, the girl stumbles a little, but luckily Damon is there to steady her, gently taking her arm and wearing a charming smile.
"Love or not, it looks like Emo got dibs," Nicky laughs. "Better luck next time, Aus."
Blinking a few times and squinting his eyes, Austin cringes. "Shit. I totally hooked up with her after the Zeta mixer two weeks back. Hide me!"
He tries to hide behind Nicky who's shorter than him. Austin bends his knees and presses his face between Nicky's shoulder blades like that's really going to help. Looking at him like he's insane, Nicky turns from side to side, but Austin masterfully mimics his movement. Max laughs and snaps a picture of them, the blinding flash making Nicky shield his face.
"Coast is clear, Tuck. Keg Stand Girl is clearly occupado by Brother Young who apparently likes 'em young. You don't have to whatever you're doing, y'know, unless you like taking Russo from behind," Razor chuckles. His glassy eyes shine and he grins at the way Austin smirks and moves in closer, hanging his arms around Nicky's shoulder while Nicky squirms.
"I'll remind you that it was Nicky who tried to get into bed with me," Austin points out. He rubs his nose against the back of Nicky's neck and coos, "Isn't that right, sweetie?"
"Cut it out, Austin," Nicky snaps, shoving him away. "I'll remind you I was drunk, it was dark and Faith told me Kelly was waiting for me in there. Of course, since it was Faith Giancana I probably should have been expecting it…"
"Guys, this kid had his jeans down to his knees and was trying to talk dirty to me," Austin reveals with a grin. It had freaked him out at the time, but now, months later, it's great ammunition to tease Nicky with.
"Like I said, drunk and dark. Worst combination ever. And I thought we said we'd never mention it again!" Nicky's face starts to turn red and Max snaps another flash-blinding shot of him. Growling irritably, Nicky pries Austin completely off him and lunges for Max who quickly gets up and races through the crowd. Nicky goes into warp speed, chasing after him.
"Guys! What about the lucky shots?" Razor shouts after them, but the two are already weaving around and pissing people off, but having fun doing it. "Oh well. It looks like it's just you and me, Tuck."
Razor turns around and sees Austin doing shots by himself, drinking what's left of the tequila that was in the bottle. So much for unity and brotherhood.
"Well, Keg Stand Girl isn't clawing off my face for never calling her back. Brother Young is my savior. I won't even tease him about being down for my sloppy seconds," Austin says, wiping his lips against his sleeve. Across the yard, Damon is holding the girl's hand and making her giggle. "Well, what do you know? What a pretty couple they make, huh?"
"But would you ever expect any less from our very own future rock star?" Razor asks. There's a hit of bitterness to his voice and Austin would call him out on it if he didn't already know the drama those two have when it comes to music.
Attempting to change the topic, Austin licks his lips and says, "Dude, if they get married we are so getting wasted at their wedding."
Razor laughs at the idea. Damon? Marriage? No way. Nicky and the demon FWB have better odds than Damon Young ever tying the knot.
Regardless, Razor plays along. "Just the wedding? Try the bachelor party, the practice dinner, the actual ceremony, the reception and the after party." Razor chuckles. "Then, of course, we're obligated to get him wasted through the divorce."
"I'll drink to that," Austin says. He reaches for two cans of beer from a cooler at their feet and tosses one to Razor before raising it in the air. "To Sigma pride. Bros before hoes yos."
Razor lifts his can too. "Don't forget that exes are off limits, but cousins are fair game."
"No drinkin' a brother's beer—"
"—B'cause it's probably ruffied—"
"—And all that other Bro Code bullshit."
"To Bro Code bullshit!"
Austin and Razor clink their aluminum cans of beer. Razor then uses the pen behind his ear to puncture a hole in the side of the can while Austin, who can drink friggin' anyone under the table, simply uses his thumb to break through the side of the can, causing the beer to foam out. With crazy synchronization, Razor and Austin bring the beers to their lips, pop the tabs and shotgun them. Finishing in record time, the frat boys crush the empty cans in their hands.
Back then, they felt like they could do anything, like they were atop of the world. They did. And they were.
-XX-
9 YEARS LATER
THE CALL
It is a beautiful spring morning in Southern California. Atop a high cliff sits the exclusive Bel Air Bay Club overlooking the glistening ocean. The country club employees are all busy, racing around like busy bees decked out in all white outfits, setting up for a wedding. A string quartet warms up as florists arrange centerpieces and the catering crew sets up white linen tables.
Inside the bridal suite, a simple and classic wedding dress hangs on a closet door. Sunlight pours in through the glass windows as Kaylie Cruz sits at a vanity, pensively staring at her reflection in the mirror. She's in her late twenties, gorgeous, with her dark hair pulled back in an elegant up-do. Her mother is next to her, holding her hand and her angry Cuban father is pacing behind them, muttering Spanish curses into his cell phone.
Suddenly the doors of the bridal suite are thrown open. Payson Keeler, maid of honor, rushes in, looking just as elegant in her pink bridesmaid dress. "Any word from the boys yet?"
Kaylie frowns. "No. Not yet. I'm sure they just—"
Suddenly her cell phone rings and Kaylie betrays her calm, collected mask when she frantically scrambles to answer the phone. Not even attempting to steady her voice, she answers, "Hello?"
…
"Kaylie, it's Austin."
A long way from his years as an infamous frat boy, Austin Tucker is tall, rugged with the slight stubble on his cheeks and a total and complete mess. His shirt is ripped open, one lens is missing from his bronze aviator sunglasses, there's dried blood on his skin, his lip is busted and it is clear he hasn't slept in quite some time.
"Austin? Thank God! Where are you guys?"
"Listen, Kay…shit got a little…out of control," Austin nervously clears his throat, "Like, more than your average bachelor party and, well…we lost your boy."
"What?" Kaylie screams. "You're joking, right? Austin Tucker, I'm supposed to be getting married in less than five hours!"
"Yeah, sorry, babe, that ain't happening," Austin says. "And it's all my fault."
A/N: What do you think? Worth continuing? Review please. Gonna go dance my ass off now.
xoxo