When the clock hand hit 1, Bobby decided to call it a night. The party was still going strong, but he wanted to leave before he got too tired. He kissed Gail good night, gave JB and EY hugs, and waved to James, who had successfully put the Tommy situation out of his mind with hours of dancing and tipped him a wink and a smile. AJ caught Bobby's eye as he turned to leave and Bobby's heart lightened even more; he walked to the exit with a bounce in his step and the edges of his mouth curling up. Right after he got in his car his phone buzzed with a text.

"leaving here in 10 minutes meet you at your hotel room"

"Oh yeah," Bobby said to himself, "I like the sound of that." He responded with a "see you soon" and started his car. He didn't notice the other person in the parking lot slinking out to his own car and following him out of the lot.

Bobby drove back to his hotel, but as he passed a 7-11 he got a craving for a slurpee. He sighed and turned on his turn signal. The car two lengths behind him did the same. While Bobby parked directly in front of the building, the car behind him parked four spaces away. The driver didn't get out. He watched Bobby close his car door and walk in. His hands tightened on the wheel and he ground his teeth. Back in the hotel room he had taken a handful of pills and snorted two lines, and all of them had kicked in between then and now. The pain in his hip and face was temporarily gone, replaced by seething anger, resentment, and paranoia. He had only bothered with a cursory wash of his face, and dark crusted blood zigzagged down his face and mingled with the fresh trickle of blood coming from one nostril. He poured another bump on his hand and sniffed it, grimacing a little. His jaw jittered and he started to grind his teeth again. His eyes were giant dilated orbs with swollen black crescents cradling them.

Inside, the slurpee machine was spinning but had a "DO NOT TOUCH" sign on it. Bobby asked the bored clerk what was up. The clerk replied that the slurpee machine would be ready in 5 minutes. Bobby decided to wait. He leaned against the coffee area and played with his phone for a while. While he was waiting, he got a text from AJ. "what room was it again?"

"207 but I'm at the 7-11"

"how long you gonna be"

"couple of minutes I'm waiting for a slurpee"

"sounds like a good idea I'm stopping by"

"ok see you in a bit"

Bobby went back to his game and kept an eye on the machine.

In a few minutes AJ pulled up. As he walked in the store, Tommy's eyes bulged and a sadistic smile erupted on his face. He took another bump off his hand, his teeth constantly grinding.

AJ walked over to Bobby and they bumped fists. "Hey, you." AJ said, "do you know how much longer it's gonna be?"

"Shouldn't be much longer, I hope," Bobby answered. Just then the clerk sauntered over to check the machine. He took the sign off with a satisfied grunt and nodded to Bobby as he walked back to the counter. Bobby and AJ walked over and loaded up; Bobby picked Coke, AJ picked blue raspberry.

Tommy got out of the car and sat on the hood, tossing the now empty vial under the next car. He was amped up. It was one thing for him and Bobby to fight in a hotel; it was another thing entirely for AJ to jump him in front of everybody like that. He wanted another go round, and this time, he wouldn't let that slick motherfucker get any punches in. He flexed his hands as he waited for them to come out.

The two of them came out of the door. Then AJ did something unlike him; he pulled Bobby close and buried his face in his neck. Bobby whispered in his ear, "Mmm, you're feeling bold tonight. What brought that on?"

"Nothing much," said AJ, pulling away a little and smiling into Bobby's eyes. "I just love you, that's all."

Bobby smiled back and stroked AJ's face.

FLASH. CLICK.

For Bobby everything shifted into slow motion. Their heads turned, almost as one, and there stood Tommy with his phone in his hand. Tommy's grin was sharklike in its determined intensity. He turned and beelined for his car door. Bobby and AJ ran after him, but Tommy was fueled by too many drugs to be caught. He slammed the door just as they reached it, and they pounded furiously on the car door. Tommy started his car, and gave them the finger as he backed up and spun the car to drive off.

"My car!" Bobby gasped. He turned and sprinted to his car and AJ followed in his wake. They piled into Bobby's car and sped off in pursuit.

Tommy was driving like a maniac down the highway. He weaved in and out of lanes as deftly as a spider. He blew through a spotlight and Bobby was forced to do the same, his heart in his throat as he whipped his head from side to side and prayed no one rammed into them. Beside him, AJ's face was paper white. "Catch him, Bobby, you need to catch him before the cops come!"

"I'm going to catch him but fuck that, the cops can arrest his ass."

"No, they can't! We can't get the cops involved! The first thing he's going to do is tell everybody what happened! I'm on thin ice as it is! God, why did I do that? What was I thinking?"

Bobby spared a second to glance disbelievingly at AJ, and just then Tommy's luck deserted him and he skidded off the road into a ditch. They raced up, parked in front of his car, and rushed out to check on him. Tommy looked dazed but otherwise unhurt. He opened the door and puked into the grass. Bobby charged up to him and yanked his phone out of his pants; Tommy sagged in his seat and didn't protest. Luckily, his phone was unlocked and it took Bobby no time at all to find and delete the picture. He scanned through a couple more photos to make sure there was nothing else even remotely incriminating. AJ squatted beside Tommy to check if he was injured.

"Tommy, you all right?"

"Fuck off, you fucking midget."

"Oh, THAT's nice," said Bobby from the side. He tossed the phone to AJ, who put it in Tommy's hand. Sirens sounded, but they were far away yet.

AJ shushed him. Bobby frowned but swallowed his next words. AJ leaned in towards Tommy and said, "The cops are coming. You hear 'em?"

"Yeah."

"Now we can tell them what happened, or we can tell them something ran in the road and you freaked out and steered around it. But you need to promise me you're not going to say anything about Bobby and me."

"You must be crazy."

"Okay," AJ said as he stood up, "enjoy jail."

"Wait, wait."

"Hurry up, the cops are almost here."

Tommy stared up at AJ. AJ's face was stern. "I can't," Tommy said. "I can't let you win twice in one night."

AJ shrugged. "Your call."

The cop car was driving up now. Tommy ran a hand over his face and sighed. "Okay. Okay. Whatever you want."

"And leave us alone too. No more fighting us or following us around. After this, you keep to yourself and mind your own business. I mean it."

The cop was getting out of the car. AJ stared at Tommy, who looked back anxiously at the cop, then at AJ, then at Bobby, then back at AJ...and nodded. AJ nodded back and put a look of friendly concern on his face. Bobby did the same but felt disgusted inside.

They all stuck to the same story with the police - Tommy was coming back from a hardcore match, and he'd spotted something in the road and swerved. They were following right behind him and were able to stop and make sure he was okay. Tommy refused medical attention and, to all of their amazement, passed the sobriety tests. It was a very close thing, but after all was said and done, Tommy escaped with a mere citation. The three of them got into Bobby's car afterward for an uncomfortable ride back to the Westgate. Once Tommy got out of the car and stomped off it was like he took a storm cloud with him.

Bobby drummed his fingers on the wheel. "You want me to drop you off here, or at the 7-11 to get your car?"

"The 7-11," replied AJ.

Bobby made a U-turn and drove off without further comment. It was starting to rain, and the windshield was soon splattered. He turned on the windshield wipers and then AJ spoke. "Are you upset or something?"

"No, just a little shocked I guess. I didn't expect to end up in a high speed chase tonight."

"Yeah, me neither. All the adrenaline's got me wired."

"Me too."

"But on the positive note, we don't have to worry about him anymore."

"I wish we would have let him get arrested."

"I know, but it wasn't practical, Bobby. I saw the chance to get him out of our lives for good, and I took it. Think about it. This way, he's off our backs, and I don't have to worry about my wife divorcing me over something she read on the internet."

"So, you're not chucking it all and running away with me then?"

"Maybe when I hit the lottery and can afford the child support."

Bobby smiled. He liked that idea, even if he knew it couldn't come true. "I wonder what James is gonna say about all this."

"I bet he'll going to peel the skin off his back. You can't tell me he is going to take this in stride."

"For some reason, I have this feeling Tommy won't even tell him."

"You think?"

"Yeah. I can't put my finger on it. Usually he can't wait to tell James everything, but I just have this feeling he is keeping this one to himself."

"Probably too embarrassed about it. You heard what he said to me right? He can't stand losing to me twice in one night."

"He never had a chance against you."

"True."

"Sure can't kiss like you can."

AJ's eyes slid over to Bobby. "Oh yeah?"

"Oh yeah."

"Hmmm. Room 207, right?"

"As rain."

"Maybe I'll come by and give you some of what you've been craving. Although, honestly, I'm not too excited about doing anything in that dump."

"By the time you get in the room, you won't care."

"Is that a fact?"

"Come and see." Bobby grinned as he said it.

"Getting frisky already, huh?"

"Hell yeah." Bobby pulled into the 7-11 lot and stopped, one hand on the gearshift. "Be careful, but don't be slow."

"Will do." AJ put his hand over Bobby's and squeezed. "I'll follow you."