Seth woke up the next morning with a pounding headache and he felt like he could throw up at any moment. When he finally opened his eyes he realized that he was not in his bunk. What the hell happened last night? Smelling the sweet welcoming aroma of coffee and hearing voices he decided to go mingle with everyone else. Pulling back the heavy curtain he was assaulted with the bright morning light.
"Good morning!" Roman yelled unnecessarily loud. He winced at the sharp ping the noise caused and flipped his brother the bird, making the older laugh.
"Well at least we know why Dean slept on the top bunk. I thought I'd have to kill him for taking advantage of my baby brother." The look Seth threw him was meant to be menacing but going by the smirk on Ro's face it was anything but.
"I haven't had enough coffee to deal with your shit, Ro. So please, shut up." Grabbing a cup from the counter Seth heard a few chuckles as he poured the black gold into his mug and started his search for sugar. As he turned around he almost bumped into Dean who was holding a canister in his hand.
"Looking for this?" Dean wiggled the sugar in front of him and smiled. Those adorable dimples rearing their head. Before he got caught staring Seth took the canister from the taller man.
"Thanks. You know you could have just kicked me out right?" Dean shrugged casually.
"In my experience it's really hard to wake someone up who passed smooth out. It's really no big deal. As long as you don't make a habit out of waking up in my bed without me" Dean winked as he turned away and Seth would have to be deaf to not hear the innuendo in his husky voice. Seth stopped him with a hand on his bicep.
"Did something happen last night?" He asked continuing at Dean's raised eyebrow.
"Like I didn't do anything stupid did I?"
"Naw. What you worried you revealed some deep dark secret? The stupidest thing you did was start a band with Jimmy and Jey playing invisible instruments." Seth groaned at the embarrassing image making its way into his mind. In fact he didn't remember much after his fourth or was it fifth shot given to him by his brother. Taking a seat at the table next to Paige, he pretended to ignore the flaming heat in his cheeks. He couldn't help the feeling that something did happen last night but even if it did Dean would be the only person who would know and he sure as hell wasn't telling. Kane took his headphones off and once again Seth hadn't even noticed he was even there. What the hell was wrong with him? How could he miss a seven foot man?!
"Okay big day ahead of us. We have an interview with Wake Up Phoenix. It's pretty basic, just some questions about the show tonight and then about the upcoming tour. Be aware that I do not know all the questions but if you are not comfortable with anything asked let it be known and we can address it. After tonight's performance we're back on the bus to Albuquerque. And before I hear any complaints we'll be sleeping on the bus until we get to Dallas which isn't for another three days however when we do we will have a few days off before our next show in Oklahoma City and I've already reserved a suite." There was a collective cheer from everyone including Seth who winced at no doubt the pain it caused his head to do so. Dean smirked at the younger male. Apparently he had never felt this way before, that or he had never been that drunk before. While he had known for a while about the crush his best friends little brother had on him he never knew how serious it was. Until last night that was. Honestly he didn't know what to do with the admission. It's not like he could do anything, Roman would never allow it. There was a time when Dean had thought about it, had even talked to his friend about it hoping to get his approval but instead got the opposite of such. Roman was very adamant that he never say anything about it to Seth and he never did. He pushed all thoughts about it to the back of his head and it stayed there until last night. After Seth had stolen his bunk he thought about climbing in with him but the bunks weren't that big and he had no idea what the younger would say if he woke up next to Dean. Also Seth had caused a little problem that needed to be taken care of. Dean heard his name being called and he had to shake the memories of last night from his mind.
"Yo?" He asked after Roman called for him a third time.
"I asked if you were okay. You were sort of spacing out." Roman looked worried and Dean just laughed it off.
"Yeah man I'm cool. Just thinking about some shit." He hoped he wasn't asked what he was thinking about because there was no way he could think of some lie fast enough.
"Uh huh. Well then get dressed we're gonna be there soon." With that his friend went into the back room with his girlfriend to probably get dressed himself. Dean, who had never been shy when it came to dressing or undressing, went to his bags grabbed a pair of jeans and started taking off his clothes. The curtain to the bunk area was closed but he heard movement and an immediate apology.
"I just needed the restroom…" Seth was trying to look anywhere but Dean's package which was out in the open until he pulled on his jeans.
"You'll get used to bus life eventually. We're not very shy, expect Paige of course but I think that's more because of how protective your brother is." Seth finally allowed his eyes off the floor as he looked into the amused baby blues of Dean. He didn't know if he could ever be that brave. He could never just get dressed in front of others.
"Oh." Was all Seth could say before he went to his own bag, grabbed some clothes and grooming necessities before heading to the small bus bathroom. He heard Dean chuckle as he shut the door. What was wrong with him? Why was he getting all flustered from the older man's words? Maybe he was just overreacting though. Maybe he was reading more into it then what there really was. Dean wasn't really acting any different than he usually did towards Seth. No that's not true. Everything Dean said it sounded like there was an undertone to it. At first Seth had just thought he was being a smart ass, or that he had just imagined it all but after this morning there was no denying it. Something was going on, he just didn't know what. Pulling on his light grey skinny jeans he tried to let it all go. What good would it do to obsess over it? There was no way someone like Dean would be attracted to someone like him. Sighing he unfolded the shirt he just pulled out of his bag without looking and smiled when he saw it was one of his favorites. It wasn't anything special just an old worn out Pantera shirt that Dean had left at their house when he and Roman were just Seniors in high school. Apparently it had made it to the laundry and Seth's mother thought it was his since it was obviously too small for Roman. Next he had to figure out what to do with his hair. He hated not being able to wash it every day of course he was too drunk to do much of anything. Shrugging his shoulders he just pulled the hair band from his wrist and pulled his hair into a bun. He'd just have to find one of his hats to hide the rest of it. When he exited the bathroom everyone else was already dressed. Roman in his normal attire of black cargo shorts and a tshirt. Jimmy and Jey in jeans and black short sleeve v necks, Paige in something that he was sure Roman tried to fight, she wore a white corset with black lace around the waist with skin tight black skinny jeans and bright red pumps. Her raven hair was down in lose curls. Then of course there was Dean whose hair was slicked back but he was sure by the end of the day would end up in his eyes like it always did. He was wearing dark washed jeans and a white tank top. Simple right? Then why did Seth's heart rate spike when he saw him? Seth took a breath to calm his nerves and angled his hat on his head before sitting down in the only open spot next to Dean.
"Is that my shirt?" Dean picked at the fabric on Seth's body giving him a side smirk. He didn't think he'd ever see the shirt again, hell he actually thought he lost it. The younger male looked like he was trying to come up with some sort of answer but Dean stopped him.
"Don't worry about. Just nice to see it after five years, looks good on you. Keep it." That was the truth too. It hugged Seth just right and since Dean had become more fit after high school there was no way it would fit his shoulders anymore whereas on Seth it was tight but not too tight on his biceps and sat well on his nicely trimmed waist. It was a little longer and sat past Seth's belt but the kid tucked it behind the, surprise surprise, Scream for me belt buckle. The buckle wasn't up for sale yet but of course Seth probably got the prototype from Roman. That man gave his baby brother whatever he wanted so needless to say Seth was spoiled. The bus came to a stop right outside this big building and Dean could only assume that it was the news studio they would be conducting the interview. When the door opened Dean and the rest of the band threw on their shades, after all Seth wasn't the only one with a hangover he was just the one who reacted the worst to it, They exited the bus one by one. Roman with Paige following close behind, the twins, Dean then Seth and Kane at the rear. As much as he would love to have skipped it, Dean did the pretty much mandatory photograph and autographs for the crowd surrounding the gate. Only until Kane ushered them all inside the building that is. Dean pulled Seth's hand when he realized the security detail was trying to keep him back.
"He's with me." Dean said by means of explanation when the guard just raised his eyebrows. He noticed a few people had snapped some pictures of the event but didn't think much of it. They were probably just trying to get a few more pictures of the band. When they got inside everyone was rushing them around trying to get them in the chairs for makeup and whatnot. Dean though never let them put makeup on him, hell none of them did. The guys because well they were guys and Paige always did her own makeup not liking anyone else to touch her. So pretty much the only thing that happened was Kane asking the producer if they could just skip that part. The producer seemingly rolled his eyes but didn't really have a choice but to let them get their way. Next they were greeted by the hosts of the show, a tall dark skinned girl, very pretty actually with burgundy red hair down to her waist and light brown eyes that almost looked butterscotch. All in all she wasn't bad to look at. Then there was the equally attractive male with brown hair perfectly quaffed in the style that most guys had nowadays with it shaved on the sides and long in the middle. There was something about him that made Dean want to hit him. Probably the way he was looking at Seth like he wanted to eat him.
"Hey guys. I'm Alicia Fox and this is Johnny Curtis. We'll be conducting the interview today. Pretty simple stuff, you've probably answered the same questions numerous times so it's nothing to worry about. If you take your marks we'll get started!" everyone took their seats on the stools given to them as the camera man counted down and Dean went into his normal 'don't give a fuck' mentality he had during all these interviews.
"Wake Up Phoenix! It's Alicia Fox here.."
"And Johnny Curtis. We're joined in studio by popular hard rock group Rampage, Welcome guys!"
"Thanks for having us." Paige's voice brought Dean back because little did he realize he had been staring off towards where Seth was standing with Kane. He had to get his head in this. He was acting like an enamored teenager and that couldn't happen. He and Seth couldn't happen…ever.
"Tell us a little bit about why you're in our beautiful city. You're on tour correct?" Johnny eyed Dean for all of a second before turning his attention back to the rest of the band.
"Yeah we're on tour to promote our new album Scream For Me, it hit the shelves about a month ago and we got such positive feedback from it that we thought why the hell not." Roman was always so confident in front of the camera something Dean envied. He was never really comfortable around cameras they made him uneasy.
"This is only your third album since your début as a band. How does it feel to be so young yet have accomplished so much in your short career? I mean you're a two time APMA winners. Once for best rock group and another for best rock album for the self-titled Rampage album. Do you see more awards in your future?" Ro glanced over at Dean probably seeing if he wanted to answer that question and he only slightly inclined his head in response.
"We may be young but you haven't even begun to experience what we have to offer. And we wouldn't have those awards if it wasn't for our fans. You know the Rock community has some of the best fans in the world and we're humbled that out of the hundreds of bands out there they chose to listen to us. As long as we have them and we continue to work as hard as we have then you can bet your ass there's more awards in our future. We've only just begun, Fox." Dean winked at the woman and Seth had to grind his teeth together. Not that it mattered Dean could do whatever, and whoever, he wanted. It's not like there was anything between them. Which actually bugged Seth more than he would admit. Maybe he could use this tour to his advantage. Get close to Dean, seduce him even. Hey it was worth a shot, the worst thing that could happen was Dean tell him he didn't see him that way then they continue with this weird little friendship they seem to have. Brotherly friendship even. Ugh, Seth was no Casanova if this was going to work he needed to think of a plan, and fast.
A/N: What will Seth come up with? Will Dean be able to hold his resolve or will he eventually cave in? Sorry this ended like this. Just didn't want to make this chapter too long I suppose. Please review my lovelies!