A/N: Shout out to BornToWin12, qxzky, Sami's Crow and Varmint for leaving a review! ^-^ They are always appreciated!
"You sure we should have left Randy and Phil alone together?"
Stephen clutched his glass of beer, honestly debating on his answer. Really, he wasn't certain on whether or not leaving the other two members of the band was a good idea or not, but he wasn't going to be worried about them. They needed time alone together, as he said before, "T'ey're fine, fella. But ah didn't bring ye here t'a discuss t'em."
John nodded, taking a drink of beer. He did decide to drink after all, but only a small amount. He'd limit himself on this stuff so his kidneys could at least last longer than they averagely would, "Okay," he succumbed to the Irishman's wishes, "So what did you want to talk about?"
Now, to exactly explain what Stephen had been thinking was difficult. Not that he was reluctant to tell John, but it was more like he just couldn't find the right words to form a correct sentence. No matter how many times he went over it in his head, none of it seemed right.
"Well," he began, wrinkling up his nose for a second. Here it goes, "Our concert was good."
"Stephen."
"It was! It was good, and… even t'ough ah wanted t'a celebrate wit' t'e whole band… ah ju't… s'hard, ah t'ink. Wit' our lil' moments as a band, of course we joke around, but…" Stephen trailed off. Gosh, why was this so hard for him to put into words?
"But what?"
Talk about being pressured. Stephen took a big drink of his beer, rehearsing his next line a few times in his head before blurting it out.
"Ah t'ink ah love ye fellas."
The bassist laughed, now holding his drink with two hands, "I would hope so. We're all family here."
"Not what ah meant."
Now that had gotten John to stop laughing. Now thinking about it, he could see where Stephen was coming from. Though John had viewed Stephen, Randy, and Phil more like brothers than the what-not, just because he hadn't ever thought of any of them really… being together. Then again, he wasn't even sure how that would even work out. Nor did he really know about Randy or Phil's thoughts towards that kind of stuff.
Actually, he kind of did know. He knew Phil didn't like promiscuous sex and Randy… well, he was Randy. What else could be said about the youngest one out of them all? He's a wonderfully complicated man? Yeah, right. All of them were complicated in their own way.
"So…. What does that mean? You want all of us in your bed, or something?"
"N-No!" Stephen gawked, a flush filling his face. Even though that thought had been tempting, he gnawed at his lower lip, still trying to put this into words, "I ju't… th'a feelin' ah get wit' all of ye… ah ju't want t'a hold ye all and never let go. Ah never want anyt'in' t'a happen to ye fellas. Not while ah'm around, anyways."
"…. You legit love us?"
The singer nodded, "Yeah, ah do. Ah can't imagine me life wit'out any of ye."
John had to think about this once again. And as he thought more and more about it… it seemed as if what Stephen was saying applied to him, too. He was passionate about the band, don't get him wrong, but he'd without a doubt die for any of his friends. Even if it was the stubborn ones like Randy, or the lovable ones like Stephen, living without any of the other three members was definitely not an option. So, clutching his drink, he raised it up some, offering the Irishman a small grin in response.
"I can drink to that."
Stephen smiled at the heart-warming comment, glad to be seen as if he wasn't crazy. To be in love with not just one, but three men at the same time? Seemed barbaric for his heart, but he knew he had enough love to go around, even if that did sound cheesy. So, he raised up his glass, "Ah'm glad t'a hear t'at."
And then the two glasses filled with beer clinked together, with their rightful owners withdrawing the glasses back and taking a few gulps of the alcoholic beverage.
After a few moments, when all did seem good, Stephen's thoughts went to Randy and Phil. What if they didn't feel the same way? What if his life were to get even more complicated? Sure, he had John on his side, and that would have seemed good enough, but Stephen was greedy. He wanted Randy and Phil to feel the same way, and he wanted his band to be accepting of one another, no matter how many times they could annoy each other. He wanted one big relationship that could be broken down at any time, then built right back up.
"Ye t'ink it'll be hard t'a explain t'is to Randy and Phil?"
A chuckle comes from John. He nearly rolled his eyes, "Those two are stubborn but they're not completely close-minded. They hate each other, but they don't hate us."
Right, right. As long as they aren't together, then everything will be fine, right?
"Hey, Stephen?"
Blue hues looked over at another pair of blue hues, which were obviously in a questioning glance.
"How long have you felt this way about us?"
Right as Stephen parted his lips to answer, his phone started to ring. He had only heard it through the loud music because honestly, he'd hoped to hear a phone call from either Phil or Randy. About how they were finally getting along, or something else entirely impossible. As he picked up his phone, he saw that the caller was in fact Randy. Had that surprised him? It was hard to tell at this point.
Furrowing his brows in curiosity, he slid his finger across the screen, bringing the phone up to his ear as he covered his free ear.
"Hello?"
"Stephen…" Oh no. That was a worried tone, dangerously close to sounding scared. And this was Randy he was talking to, "Phil… he's.. in the hospital."
"What?!"
"I… we had a fight. I can't explain much right now, just… please come? Call a taxi, I don't care, I just need you and John here, right now! It's the closest hospital you can find."
Then the phone hung up.
It left Stephen bewildered, looking over at John who had confusion on his face.
"Who was that?"
"Randy. He said Phil was in th'a hospital and he… sounded scared."
John gave a curt nod, immediately standing up, paying off his bill. He was close to paying off Stephen's bill as well, but was beaten to it before he could really argue about it. Now wasn't the time for arguing. Now was the time to see if Phil was okay and to see what the hell Randy had to say for this gut-twisting event. They quickly left the bar, being able to get the attention of a nearby taxi cab. Neither of them would be able to drive even if they did have a car to drive in. After entering the cab in a hurry, both of them sloppily told the taxi driver that they needed to be driven to the closest hospital there was. They didn't know the hospital's name, but even with their random guesses, the driver was able to tell that they were in a hurry.
The cab took off from the bar, driving as quickly as it could. It was absolutely torture waiting in the cab for the both of them, seeing how they had been eager to get to wherever as fast as they could. After just minutes of agony, the cab reached the hospital and both John and Stephen hurried out of the vehicle, not even giving it a second thought to throw whatever money they had in their pockets at the driver. As they hurried out, they ran inside, only for both of them to look opposite directions in order to find their friends faster.
John looked at Randy from down the hallway, nudging Stephen to look his way as well. As the both saw the faint figure of their drummer, they jogged down the hall, nearly tackling Randy down as they skidded to a halt.
"Phil…!"
"In the E.R." Randy replied to John.
"What th'a hell happened?!" Stephen managed to get out between harsh breathes. He had been freaking out, it not helping that he was drunk at all.
"Well… I-"
It had been only then whenever a nurse had come up to the three men, rather hesitant to address the taller men. She looked up at them, getting in a gulp as she nodded at what seemed like nothing, "Mr. Orton…?"
Randy had already kept his eye on the nurse, only grunting whenever she used his last name, "Yeah?"
"Mr. Brooks is in good condition. He just needed stitches to close the wound, which was luckily right above his hair line. He's been dosed with pain medicines and will be out by… tomorrow."
A sigh of relief. From Randy. Weird.
The nurse nodded once more, shying away from the intimidating men as she walked all of them back to Phil's room.
"Finish your sentence, Randy," John spoke back up, "What the fuck happened to Phil?"
As they approached closer and closer to the room, Randy grumbled a response out, "We got into a fight, like I said to Stephen. At first it was just a verbal one but then it turned physical. I punched him, he busted my lip, and then I… slammed a beer bottle over his head."
They were soon left alone outside of Phil's room, being told they could go in at any time as long as they were quiet. After a few moments, it was the silence that had made Randy… regret his decision. Even though he was glad about being able to shut Phil up, he wasn't all too prideful about putting the man in the hospital. This little accident could result in the band splitting up, or even worse. It could make Phil finally afraid of him, which he would hate. Sure, the guy was an asshole, but fuck it all if Phil was going to be hesitant with him from then on out.
"You…" Stephen finally growled out, breaking the silence. Without a moment of hesitation, he punched Randy right across the face with enough force to throw the taller man down. The singer's nostrils flared in rage, his blue eyes giving off a death stare as he slowly turned around, opening Phil's door then closing himself in the room.
