He guessed it must had been for another hour of pointless crawling and tottering before he finally, by accident, stumbled across a familiar street. And then it still took him another thirty-somewhat minutes to reach the small apartment he shared with Eric. He sluggishly climbed the stairs to the main door of the complex, not wanting to face the undoubtedly disapproving expression on his friend's face upstairs.
But before he could even try to fumble with the keys in order to unlock the door, it was being jerked open. Jack squinted his eyes to dim the bright light in the hall, and tried to identify the black figure standing in front of him. It didn't take long.
"Where the *hell* have you been?! I was so worried about you!" Eric took a step forward, and Jack saw the angry look on his face, one hand still holding to door open, the other clenched aside his hip. He was dressed in a white boxer and matching t-shirt, obviously ready to go to bed.
"I-I… Why are you… How long…" His mouth didn't seem to be able to form coherent sentences. He reached out a shaky hand and found support in the wall next to the door. He tried to stand still, but the world kept wavering in a nauseating movement.
Eric noticed his unstable posture and his expression immediately changed from anger to concern. "Jack? Are you okay, bud?"
Jack could only nod and try to keep his legs straight underneath him instead of wavering to the sides. He took a few steps forward, grabbing Eric's shoulders to keep himself steady. He tried very hard not to breathe in Eric's direction, but the smell of alcohol drifted towards him anyway. For the second time, his expression changed, this time from concern to disparagement.
"You're wasted!" Eric exclaimed, throwing Jack's hands off his shoulders and taking a step backwards. His face showed utter disgust by now. Jack couldn't help but giggle at Eric, standing there in his underwear, hands up in the air.
"Yup, another wasted night for me! Don't you like it? Now you have two alcoholic friends… And guess what – they're brothers too!" He laughed roughly about his own joke, gasping for air afterwards.
Eric turned around without saying another word and calmly walked to the elevators. He pushed the button to go up and leaned into the wall with his back facing Jack. Jack stood stunned for a moment. He could understand Eric's reaction at his stupid remark, but was surprised at the same time to find his friend so cool and impersonal. He knew Eric didn't really appreciate drunk people, but he wasn't aware of the disgust it obviously caused within him.
As his head cleared up a bit, he slowly walked towards the elevators as well and positioned himself in front of his friend.
"I'm-I'm sorry… I shouldn't have said that. Shawn doesn't even drink anymore. That was pretty… low of me."
"Yes, it was."
"Look, it's just… You said you were going to be a bit late, and I just didn't feel like sitting home alone. So I went out. To that new bar the just opened, you know? The Red Rose?"
"Yes, I know." The answer was brief and cold.
"It was nice. Lots of cool people, fancy dancing, you know. The usual stuff. Too bad you weren't there."
"And then you decided to get drunk and get me all freaked out." Eric still wasn't looking him in the eye, and his voice remained flat.
"Well, I didn't really decide to on purpose," Jack lied. "It just… happened, you know." Actually, that wasn't really totally besides the truth, since Jack honestly couldn't remember why he had thought he needed the amount of whine he drank.
"Yeah, yeah," Eric mumbled.
"No, seriously – the whine just kept coming and coming, and suddenly I found myself stumbling down the streets, totally wasted. I didn't… feel too well. Kept a garbage can company for a while, before it made me throw up."
He noticed that Eric couldn't help but chuckle. "Bad things come back to bite you, you know." He finally looked up.
"Yeah, I know," Jack chuckled as well, relieved that the air was cleared for a bit. "And it bites pretty hard as well…"
Before Eric could reply, the 'pong' of the elevator emerged from the speaker and the door rolled open. Jack noticed he could walk in a sort or less straight line again. Maybe it had been a combination of dark streets and depressed feeling that had made him feel so sick earlier. In the mean time, they both stepped into the small elevator. The light flickered, causing Jack to feel a little… weird. It seemed like a cheap shot from a B-movie or something, and he felt like aliens could come bursting through the roof any moment now. He could see Eric was feeling a little uncomfortable as well, standing nest to him in his boxers and shirt.
Both men remained silent all the way up to the fifth floor, staring to the greyish floor of the cabin. Just before the doors are about to open, Eric turns his head to face Jack.
"I'm sorry I turned all cold turkey on you downstairs. It's just… I had something planned. And when I got home, you weren't there. So… I was kinda disappointed, you know?"
Jack raised an eyebrow. "You had something planned? Why didn't you say so? I would have stayed at home if I knew you had other plans!"
Eric raised his shoulders and smiled. "It's okay. You're home now, and hey – you're actually making sense again! Just… promise me you'll never go on a blind date with any garbage can again. Deal?"
"Deal," Jack laughed as they exited the elevator and headed towards the front door of the apartment.
*****
But before he could even try to fumble with the keys in order to unlock the door, it was being jerked open. Jack squinted his eyes to dim the bright light in the hall, and tried to identify the black figure standing in front of him. It didn't take long.
"Where the *hell* have you been?! I was so worried about you!" Eric took a step forward, and Jack saw the angry look on his face, one hand still holding to door open, the other clenched aside his hip. He was dressed in a white boxer and matching t-shirt, obviously ready to go to bed.
"I-I… Why are you… How long…" His mouth didn't seem to be able to form coherent sentences. He reached out a shaky hand and found support in the wall next to the door. He tried to stand still, but the world kept wavering in a nauseating movement.
Eric noticed his unstable posture and his expression immediately changed from anger to concern. "Jack? Are you okay, bud?"
Jack could only nod and try to keep his legs straight underneath him instead of wavering to the sides. He took a few steps forward, grabbing Eric's shoulders to keep himself steady. He tried very hard not to breathe in Eric's direction, but the smell of alcohol drifted towards him anyway. For the second time, his expression changed, this time from concern to disparagement.
"You're wasted!" Eric exclaimed, throwing Jack's hands off his shoulders and taking a step backwards. His face showed utter disgust by now. Jack couldn't help but giggle at Eric, standing there in his underwear, hands up in the air.
"Yup, another wasted night for me! Don't you like it? Now you have two alcoholic friends… And guess what – they're brothers too!" He laughed roughly about his own joke, gasping for air afterwards.
Eric turned around without saying another word and calmly walked to the elevators. He pushed the button to go up and leaned into the wall with his back facing Jack. Jack stood stunned for a moment. He could understand Eric's reaction at his stupid remark, but was surprised at the same time to find his friend so cool and impersonal. He knew Eric didn't really appreciate drunk people, but he wasn't aware of the disgust it obviously caused within him.
As his head cleared up a bit, he slowly walked towards the elevators as well and positioned himself in front of his friend.
"I'm-I'm sorry… I shouldn't have said that. Shawn doesn't even drink anymore. That was pretty… low of me."
"Yes, it was."
"Look, it's just… You said you were going to be a bit late, and I just didn't feel like sitting home alone. So I went out. To that new bar the just opened, you know? The Red Rose?"
"Yes, I know." The answer was brief and cold.
"It was nice. Lots of cool people, fancy dancing, you know. The usual stuff. Too bad you weren't there."
"And then you decided to get drunk and get me all freaked out." Eric still wasn't looking him in the eye, and his voice remained flat.
"Well, I didn't really decide to on purpose," Jack lied. "It just… happened, you know." Actually, that wasn't really totally besides the truth, since Jack honestly couldn't remember why he had thought he needed the amount of whine he drank.
"Yeah, yeah," Eric mumbled.
"No, seriously – the whine just kept coming and coming, and suddenly I found myself stumbling down the streets, totally wasted. I didn't… feel too well. Kept a garbage can company for a while, before it made me throw up."
He noticed that Eric couldn't help but chuckle. "Bad things come back to bite you, you know." He finally looked up.
"Yeah, I know," Jack chuckled as well, relieved that the air was cleared for a bit. "And it bites pretty hard as well…"
Before Eric could reply, the 'pong' of the elevator emerged from the speaker and the door rolled open. Jack noticed he could walk in a sort or less straight line again. Maybe it had been a combination of dark streets and depressed feeling that had made him feel so sick earlier. In the mean time, they both stepped into the small elevator. The light flickered, causing Jack to feel a little… weird. It seemed like a cheap shot from a B-movie or something, and he felt like aliens could come bursting through the roof any moment now. He could see Eric was feeling a little uncomfortable as well, standing nest to him in his boxers and shirt.
Both men remained silent all the way up to the fifth floor, staring to the greyish floor of the cabin. Just before the doors are about to open, Eric turns his head to face Jack.
"I'm sorry I turned all cold turkey on you downstairs. It's just… I had something planned. And when I got home, you weren't there. So… I was kinda disappointed, you know?"
Jack raised an eyebrow. "You had something planned? Why didn't you say so? I would have stayed at home if I knew you had other plans!"
Eric raised his shoulders and smiled. "It's okay. You're home now, and hey – you're actually making sense again! Just… promise me you'll never go on a blind date with any garbage can again. Deal?"
"Deal," Jack laughed as they exited the elevator and headed towards the front door of the apartment.
*****