That night, Nick called Jane and told her that we would be staying over at Brian’s house again because he wasn’t up to driving home.
"Nickolas…ARE YOU DRUNK?" she asked with one of those motherly voices.
"No Mom," he laughed, shaking his head. "I’m just tired and I don’t feel like driving home. Besdies, being cooped up in that house all week was driving me crazy."
Jane sighed. "Okay, but I want you two home in ONE PIECE tomorrow afternoon by 5:00. Do you understand?"
"I understand. See you then. Love ya, bye!"
"You’re such a Momma’s boy," I laughed, kicking my shoes off and climbing back onto the bed.
"Shut up!" he snapped. "I am not!"
"Yes you are!" Brian argued.
"Damnit! Leave me alone. I have very strong family ties, that’s all. But changing the subject, I feel an urge!"
I looked at him strangely. "Exactly what for, and do I really want to know?"
"Please, man. Spare us all!" AJ laughed.
"You guys are messed up!" Nick sighed. "But like I was saying…I really wanna go out to a club or something!"
"Dude, you’re 17. There’s no way you’re getting into a club, especially at 9:00 at night," AJ informed him.
"Wanna bet? I got a friend who manages The Zoo out there at the strip."
"Seriously? Why didn’t you tell me that? Come on man, let’s go!"
Brian and I exchanged glances. "Why not?" I asked, shrugging.
Brian shrugged back. "Lets go then!"
When we got there, Nick mentioned to the bouncer that he was a friend of Alex’s, and we were in. No Doubt’s "Just a Girl" was blaring, and they had already gotten a mosh pit started. We all milled around for a minute or two, getting comfortable in the surroundings. Later, "Just a Girl" faded into "Getting’ Jiggy Wit’ It" by Will Smith. That’s when we all hit the floor. AJ was the main attraction. He was always out at clubs, so he had every move down pact. But needless to say, The Zoo was a zoo. There were about 300 people packed into room about equal to the size of an average- sized house. We didn’t leave until about 12:00 the next morning, and all the guys were drunk off their asses, except Brian, but he still had one too many wine coolers. After a little bit of persuasion, I got AJ’s keys from him and drove them back to Brian’s place.
"Nick…for once in your life, you actually had a good idea," AJ complimented.
Nick nodded, afraid that if he opened his mouth he might spew all over the elevator.
"You guys are dumbasses," I laughed, watching Nick turn green.
"Man, we better get off this piece of crap before it gets stuck and Nick pukes all over us!" Brian suggested.
"How many beers did he have?" I asked, getting a little worried.
"I’d say about six or seven."
The elevator door finally opened, and we all ran out. Brian was hurry to unlock the door, and Nick rushed off to the bathroom where he spent most of the night. The next thing I knew, I was waking up to the sound of him, still sick in the bathroom. Brian, AJ, and I had all fallen asleep on the couch watching Spawn on HBO. I looked at the VCR; it was 3:30 in the morning. Getting up, I felt my way around the dark apartment to the bathroom. I poked my head in, just enough to let him know I was there. He motioned for me to leave, but I didn’t. I grabbed him and pulled him up.
"Steph…please. Just leave."
"Look Nick. You’re making a complete fool of yourself and by hanging over the toilet all night you’re not helping anything. Take your fregging clothes off and get in the shower, you smell like crap."
He stood there for a second and gave me one of those "who-the-hell-do-you-think-you’re-talking-to" looks.
"Don’t even look at me like that," I warned, pulling his shirt off and throwing it on the floor.
"W-what are you doing?"
"Just shut up and get in the shower."
"I told you, I don’t need a shower.’
"Do you want to do it the easy way or do you want me to get AJ and Brian in here.?"
"Fine, I’ll do it the easy way," he answer slowly, rolling his eyes.
"If I come back in here in two minutes you should be in that shower."
He nodded.
"Throw your clothes out in the hall, I’ll wash them where you can wear them tomorrow," I said, turning and walking out of the bathroom shutting the door behind myself. I heard the water start up, and him getting in.
"What’s up?" Brian asked, walking into the kitchen.
"He’s so drunk he can’t even talk right. He won’t listen so I had to threaten him to get in the shower. He should be somewhat better after this. So…"
"Well we won’t be giving him anymore drinks, I can tell you that. I thought was mature enough about alcohol NOT to drink to much, but obviously I was wrong. That was entirely my and AJ’s fault."
"Don’t worry about it. But you need to go in there and talk to him before he gets out. Straighten out his attitude, because right now I could just about bite his head off."
"Will do," he nodded, heading off to the bathroom.
Five minutes later Brian came back out, claiming he had the problem fixed. Nick wasn’t to far behind him. His clothes were still in the process of being washed, so Brian lent him some boxers, a T-shirt, a pair of socks, and a pair of jeans. He got dressed, brushed his teeth, and crashed in the guestroom.
"Well, I’m gonna go make sure he’s alright. Thanks for the help," I told Brian, giving him a friendly hug.
"No problem," he smiled. "I’ll be in my room…asleep!"
"Goodnight!"
"Goodnight."
I tip-toed into the guestroom where Nick was already pulling down the sheets.
"Look," he sighed, running his hands through his hair, "I’m really sorry. I obviously drank way to much, and I can understand why you’re mad at me."
"I’m not mad at you. I was just getting frustrated. Hey, told you a shower would work."
"Yeah," he smiled wearily. "Thanks for putting up with me."
"Anytime…but that’s never gonna happen again," I laughed.
His speech was still slurred and he was still moving in slow motion, but he was on his way to recovery.
"Alright, you need to get some sleep. I’ll be in the living room with AJ."
"Now how you gonna diss me like that?" he asked, pointing to the bed.
"Alright, alright," I laughed, crawling in the bed beside him. I gave him a few seconds to get situated, and turned out the lamp.