06. Taking The Edge Off
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"Come on Chris, let's goooooo." Kennedy whined as he struggled to balance two twenty packs of Bud Light, "I know I'm built like Hercules, but my arms hurt."
"Just a minute!" Jericho called back as he continued going through the selection of "designer" sunglasses. Kennedy rolled his eyes, "You can afford Gucci, yet you shop EZ Mart."
"Yeah, you'd be surprised how cheap he is." Autumn walked up beside Kennedy, taking one of the cases of beer from him and holding it tightly in one hand, along with Jericho's Samuel Adams six-pack in the other, "How much you wanna bet he takes off running to the car as soon as we hit the check out?"
"Pssh. An entire month's paycheck, is what." Kennedy sighed, shaking his head, "Well, why we wait, where's some of these real energy drinks you were talkin' about?"
She lead him over to the cooler and proceeded to fill him in on just about every energy drink available. His best bet was either Rockstar or Full Throttle, but the 24/7's were good to. The best flavors were Green Apple and Lemon Lime, but Melony would say to go with the original. Blue Full Throttle tasted like toilet water, and Coffee Flavored Rockstars were only good if you needed an emetic. Also, steer clear of the Rip Its, especially the Lime, but the Orange was really good, and SoBe No Fear's were especially delicious but didn't have any niacin. After several more commentaries on different brands, Kennedy felt a headache coming on and held up his hand to stop her from speaking any more, "Look, just grab a four pack of whatever your favorite is and I'll try that, ok?"
She nodded, "Full Throttle it is, then. And I promise, you won't be disappointed." She grabbed a four-pack and went back over to where Jericho was still trying on sunglasses. She sighed, setting his six pack down in front of him, "Come on, Chris, we're ready to go. All the food's probably cold by now!" She placed a hand on his arm and he shoved her away, "Ok! Ok! Jesus, Autumn, why do you have be so damn controlling?"
She scoffed, "Controlling, my ass! Why do you have to be such a self-obsessed priss all the time?" She shook her head and shoved past Kennedy, marching up to the check out line. Eyebrow raised, Kennedy walked over next to Jericho, who tossed the last pair of sunglasses down and crossed his arms over his chest in a pouty huff, "Man, chill out." Kennedy said, a little freaked out by how red Jericho's face looked, "I'm ready to go too, you know. It wasn't easy for me to put down that empanada."
"Oh, so now you're taking her side?!" Jericho growled. Ken frowned, "Dude, there are no sides! Calm down and let's get out of here before you hold the place hostage."
--
The ride back to the house was eerily uncomfortable. Kennedy sat in the back seat, his eyes darting between Jericho in the driver's seat and Autumn in the passenger's seat. He cleared his throat nervously, trying to think of something to say to break the silence when Jericho reached down and pulled a beer out of the six-pack setting on the floor board. Kennedy didn't have a problem finding something to say then. "Chris, what the hell are you doing?"
"Taking the edge off." Chris smirked, popping the top off the beer bottle using the steering wheel and taking a swig. "That's not funny, Chris." Autumn sighed, reaching over to take the beer from him, but he pulled it away, "Get your own, chica." He laughed, and Kennedy kicked the back of the driver's seat. "Put the fuckin' beer down, Chris, before you kill us all."
"I took one drink."
"Damn it, I don't want to end up like a fuckin' 'don't drink and drive' commercial--you know, the one where the idiot drinks a beer while driving and then everyone protests and he crashes into a tree and they all die? Yeah, that one!"
Jericho ignored him, rolling his eyes as he polished off his drink and reached for another. Autumn let out a groan as she kicked his hand away and picked up the six pack, handing it to Kennedy who set it in the back floor board. "I wish I knew what the hell's gotten into you lately, Chris." Autumn shook her head, and Chris glared at her, "Like I already said, nothing's gotten into me. I wish I knew when you decided you were going to turn into a rightous control freak that was going to monitor everything I did!"
"She's not being a control freak, she's trying to keep us from getting all killed!" Kennedy interrupted, "That was a stupid move, Jericho, even you should know that."
"And there you go, taking her side again!" Jericho forced a humorless laugh, shaking his head and gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned white, "God, I can't rely on any of you anymore, can I?"
Frowning, Ken glanced at Autumn, who looked at him with an angry gleam in her eye that he knew was meant for Jericho before she turned away and focused her attention on the passing scenery. Shaking his head, Ken leaned back in his seat and sighed. Trouble in paradise indeed...
--
"He did what?!"
Autumn nodded as she frantically paced around the kitchen, talking to Melony who was seated at the counter. Tavious, Carlito, Kennedy, and Jericho had all decided to fire up the grill and were now outside on the patio trying to figure out which switch turned the grill on.
Melony shook her head, "What's gotten into him?"
Autumn shrugged, nervously biting her thumbnail, "I don't know. He's been acting weird ever since I came back. I didn't think things would be this different, but they are. He's changed so much, and he's blaming me. He even got all pissy when Ken told him to put the damn beer down. Ugh!" She groaned, leaning against the counter and crossing her arms over her chest. She knew it was going to take some time for both of them to adjust to the way their lives were before her injury, but this was crazy. Jericho had always been a little wild and crazy, but never stupid and reckless. First it was Murdoch's ankle, and now this? He wasn't going to stop until somebody got hurt. She shook her head again to clear the thoughts and focused on Mel, "Whatever, I'm sick of thinking about it. Tell me something good. Cheer me up."
Mel bit her bottom lip, "I think Carlito's going to propose."
Autumn eyes went wide before she jumped up and down and shrieked. "Shut up!" Melony yelled, laughing, and Autumn bounded over to give her sister a hug, "I said I think he's going to propose!"
"Well, what makes you think that? And more importantly, what is he waiting for?" Autumn grinned, and Mel shook her head, "I don't know. But he was saying stuff about his parents anniversary and he was all nervous...I think he was getting ready to ask when Tavious pulled up outside."
"Ugh! Remind me to punch him! He always has the worst timing." Autumn shook her head, the smile still on her face, "I'm so happy. I can't wait! He's gonna propose and you're gonna say yes, and there's gonna be a wedding, and...wait, you are gonna say yes, right?"
Mel punched her in the arm, "What do you think?"
The glass-sliding door that lead out to the patio opened and Ken walked in, his hands and forearms covered in black splotches from the charcoal, "Um...we can't figure out how to light this thing."
Mel and Autumn exchanged glances before bursting out laughing. Ken glared, "Hey! I was dead-set on figuring it out, but Carlito and Montel were like 'go get Mel, she knows how' so it's their fault I am now completely emasculated!"
"Fine--lemme show you losers how it's done." Still laughing, Melony shoved him as she passed by and made her way outside. Ken rolled his eyes as he walked over to the sink to attempt to remove the charcoal stains from his arms, and Autumn walked over to hand him a towel, "Look, I'm gonna apologize to you because I know he's not going to. What he did was so stupid, and..."
He held up a hand to stop her before drying it on the towel, "He's the one that should be apologizing--to the both of us. I don't get what his deal is. He's been acting so careless lately. I don't know what the hell's gotten into him."
Autumn nodded, "He's been acting weird since I came back, hasn't he?"
"Well..." Ken bit his tongue, unsure of whether to tell her the truth or not. The look on her face made him think that if he told the truth, she'd burst into tears. Then again, she may kick his ass if there was any doubt to his word. "Be honest, Kennedy. I'm a big girl--I can take it." Kennedy sighed, tossing the towel on the counter and looking at her, "Yeah. He was the happiest man in the world before you came back, and then when you arrived he just...changed."
She nodded, averting her gaze from him, "That's what I thought." She mumbled and pushed past him, leaving the kitchen area. He cringed. Big mistake He thought and walked back outside.
--
"...Yeah, so, when me and Matt were tagging, we kept trying to get Mel to come out with us to the bars and stuff, just to do what we do best, you know, get drunk and hang out. And she wouldn't, she was like 'no, I don't wanna outdrink you and get us in trouble or get in a bar fight blah blah blah'. Well finally, one night, we're like 'damn it, you're coming out with us' so I'm driving the car and we're waiting in the parking lot and Matt runs up to Mel and is like 'oh my god, Montel got hit by a car and he needs help!' and she's freaking out and runs to the car to check on me and Matt shoves her into the backseat and I take off. And she's pissed, but she's acting all cool and laughing about it, until we get to the bar. We all get out of the car and Mel's still laughing--and then she just kicks Matt in the nuts. Like, so hard, he just topples over in pain screaming obscenities. And I'm laughing so hard my stomach's hurting, and Mel just waltzes into the bar and orders a beer. I don't think Matt ever forgave her, either."
Carlito nearly fell out of his chair laughing, "Oh my God! Mel, you...haha...you never told me that story!!"
Mel snickered, "I forgot about it to be honest with you!"
Ken snorted, "How do you forget kicking Matt Hardy in the balls? I remember every pair of balls I've ever kicked."
"And seen, and felt..." Carlito grinned, and Kennedy tossed a beer bottle cap at him. Montel shook his head, "I can't believe Mel never told you that story, or even forgot it. I bet there's a lot she's forgotten since SmackDown. There were some pretty crazy moments."
Melony smiled and nodded, but she knew what he was doing. He was trying to, subtly, make Carlito suspicious of her, make him think she's cheated on him with someone if not Montel. When technically, she'd never cheated, or even thought about it. She cared for Montel, she didn't deny that, but this was ridiculous. She stood from her seat and picked up her and Carlito's plate, "Hey Tavious, why don't you help me clear the dishes? We know these two aren't." She motioned to Carlito and Kennedy, who shrugged innocently, and Montel gathered up the remaining empty dishes and followed Melony into the kitchen. She tossed the glass plates in the sink with an ear-shattering clank and turned to Montel, "What the hell are you doing?"
He shrugged, setting the plates in the sink and looking down at her, "I'm having dinner with you and the rest of my friends. What's the big deal?"
She shook her head, raking her fingers through her hair, "Montel, why are you doing this? You're one of my closest friends and I don't want to lose that. Why are you trying to come between me and Carlito? Why can't you be the bigger man and just be happy for me?"
"Because the only way I can be happy for you is if I'm the one that's with you!" He sighed, stroking his chin and turning away from her. "I know we had something."
"How many times are you going to tell me that?"
"As many times as it takes! As many times as it takes to make you realize that it's the truth!" He whirled around, grabbing her by the shoulders, "And I know you know it's the truth. How many nights did we spend together, huh? Not once did we touch, but we were together. I listened to you, you listened to me. We connected and..."
"Montel, connection doesn't mean we're soul mates."
"And how do you know? You're so wrapped up in Carlito that you're too blind to see anyone or anything else!"
She stared up into his brown eyes, about to speak when she heard footsteps.
"What the hell?"
She pulled away from Montel's grip and whirled around, coming face to face with Jericho.