Chapter 2
(Quick warning; there's cursing in this chapter.)
After Ross and Holly finished dinner, Holly drove Ross to the hotel he was staying at. They said their goodbyes to each other and split up; Holly driving back to her own house, and Ross walking to his hotel room. He went through the revolving door (which he may have gotten a bit distracted by for a few minutes), checked in, and walked up to his room.
He walked down the hallway, muttering his room number to himself. Once he found the room, he started digging through his pockets for his room key. But he found that there was nothing there. He got on his knees and started digging through his suit case. But there was still no key.
"Oh shit." Ross said under his breath. "I must have left it in Holly's car." He looked around to see if anyone else was near by. On the opposite end of the hallway, he saw someone walk out of their hotel room. Ross got his hopes up and stood up, waiting for the person to pass by. But as he waited, he felt the pain in his chest again. The closer the person got, the worse the pain got. Ross gripped his chest, hoping the pain would stop soon.
Once the person was just a few feet away, Ross pulled himself together and tried to ignore the pain. He spoke to the stranger. "Hey," The stranger stopped and looked at him. "Uh, I kinda lost my room key. You wouldn't happen to have something to pick this lock, would you?" The stranger dug in their pocket for a moment. Then they stopped and said, "As a matter of fact, I do." They pulled out a hair pin and started to unbend it.
As they were doing this, Ross realized that he recognized the stranger's voice, and he took a closer look at the person. It was the same man he bumped into at the restaurant. The same tall, skinny man with insane hair. No wonder he had a hair pin with him. "Wait,...you're the same dude I bumped into at that restaurant, aren't you?" Ross asked the man. The man looked up at Ross and scanned his face. "Oh yeah, I do recognize you. That was convenient." He said and smiled at Ross. He turned and started to pick the lock.
"What are you doing here?" Ross asked, leaning against the wall. The man's gaze was still on the lock. "I'm visiting LA for a few weeks. I'm from New York." Ross cocked his head in interest. "New York, eh? That's pretty far. Well, I just happen to be visiting from another place too. I'm from Australia." Just then, the lock made a click sound and the door opened. The man turned to face Ross. "Australia? Damn, that's pretty fuckin' far."
Ross gave a small smile at this statement. "So you curse too, huh?" The man opened the door all the way before answering. "Like, every fucking day." He said. Ross started to laugh a little and the man joined in. Once the laughing stopped after a few seconds, Ross asked, "So, what's your name?"
The man shoved his hands in his pockets. "The name's Dan or Danny. You can call me whatever, I don't give a shit." Ross crossed his arms and shot a sarcastic smile at Dan. "Well, fuck. How could I choose just one name to call you? There's a shit load of names out there." Dan laughed a little at this statement. "You know what I mean, you little shit." Ross smirked. "Why am I a little shit? Little shits are dumb. Why can't I be a big shit?"
"Shut up, man." Dan said before breaking into laughter again, Ross joining in on the laughter. After a few moments, they both caught their breath. Dan playfully pushed Ross' shoulder. "By the way, I didn't get your name yet." Ross put his hands on his hips. "I'm Ross." He said and put on one of his most famous, shit-eating grins.
"Well, Ross, will I be seeing you around anytime soon?" Dan asked, crossing his arms. "Let's hope so. I'm here for the whole week. What room you staying in?" Ross asked. Dan pointed down the hallway. "I'm all the way at the end of the hallway. On the left." "Cool," Ross said "I'll make sure to stop by at one point."
"Sweet. Well-" Dan said before his expression changed from a smile to a shocked, wide-eyed expression. He gripped his chest and let out a small groan. He stared coldly at the floor. "Hey, you alright?" Ross asked, concerned. Dan looked up at him and tried to look like he was alright. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'll...catch ya later." Ross shrugged his shoulders and said, "Alright, see ya."
He turned and walked about half way through the doorway to his hotel room before feeling a hand on his shoulder. He looked over his shoulder to find that Dan was bent over, gripping his chest. He seemed to be in pain. "Are you sure you're alright?" Ross asked, turning around to face him again. "Uh,...you wouldn't happen to have any...chest pain medicine...or something...would you?"
Ross' eyes grew a little wide after he heard that. Dan was also having chest problems? That seemed pretty weird and convenient to Ross. He took a moment to think if he had any medicine he just happened to pack along with his other junk. He didn't recall packing any and he felt terrible for not being able to help his new friend.
"Afraid not." He said sadly. "You should probably get some rest at your room and see if it wears off in the morning." Dan looked up at Ross with helpless, brown eyes, and lifted his hand from Ross' shoulder. He then stood straight up once again. "Yeah, you're probably right." He said. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow or something."
Ross' face lit up at the thought of seeing his new friend the next day. "Yeah, sounds great. I'll see you tomorrow, Dan." Ross said and patted Dan on the shoulder. "Yeah, catch you later, Ross." Dan said weakly. Ross then grabbed his suitcase, turned around, and walked into his hotel room. He checked back outside his room a minute later to see if Dan had left. To Ross' relief, Dan had gone. "Phew. Hopefully he'll feel better in the morning." He said to himself and closed the door.
He was looking forward to the next day.