"Well, that sucked," Brian says with a yawn, after a not-so-good sitcom rerun.
"You just can't find good television these days," Kevin says, flicking off the T.V. set.
"Not like in the old days, right old man?" A.J. jokes.
"You know what I mean," Kevin sighs.
"So what should we do now?" Carolyn asks, seeming pretty energetic compared to the rest of us.
"I know," Nick says, shooting A.J. a dirty look.
"What?" I ask, looking up at him.
"Let's play truth or dare."
"Ugh," Kevin groans. "What's with you and that damn game? Everytime we're on tour you want to play it."
"Got any better ideas?" Nick snaps, seeming very irritated.
Kevin shrugs.
"Didn't think so. I'll go first." He looks over at A.J.
"A.J." he smirks evily.
A.J. rubs his forehead with discomfort. "I don't really want to play, man," A.J. says nervously.
Nick ignores him. "Truth or dare?" he asks, crossing his arms. "Never mind. I'll pick for you: Truth."
"You can't do that," I say, trying to help A.J. out a bit.
"Fine, then choose," Nick says to A.J.
A.J. takes a deep breath. "Dare," he says, wanting to avoid any 'truth' questions Nick might throw at him.
"Fine." Nick glares over at A.J. and everyone in the room senses the tension. "I dare you to go into the kitchen area and have a conversation with me."
"What? What kind of a dare is that?" Brian asks, not knowing Nick's reasons.
"Nah man, that's dumb," A.J. says, not wanting to talk to Nick about the contract.
"You know what?" Nick stands up, looking angry. "I'm sick of this shit."
"Whoa man, what's going on?" Howie asks surprised by Nick's anger.
"If you're going to keep avoiding me, then we're gonna have to talk about it right here and right now, in front of everyone!"
"Talk about what?" A.J. asks, playing dumb.
"I know you know that I found out that you lied." Nick runs a hand through his hair. The rest of us in the room just sit silently, not knowing what to do.
"Nick, please," I say quietly, lightly touching his arm.
He ignores my plea. "The question is, why did you lie? I know the answer must be pretty bad considering you haven't been able to even look me in the eye lately," he says angrily.
"I think we'll be leaving now," Kevin says, wanting to stay out of whatever has Nick so upset. Everyone gets up to leave, including me.
"Ally, I think you should stay," Nick says sternly, before I've reached the door.
I take a deep breath and sit back down on the couch. Alissa, being the last to leave, mouths the words 'good luck' before closing the door behind herself.
"So, A.J. Don't you think you owe us an explanation?" Nick asks, once the door has closed.
"I really don't know what you're talking about man," A.J. lies.
"Yes you do," Nick says, shaking his head and sounding disgusted. "Why the hell did you stop our wedding and lie about marriage being in the contract?!" Nick explodes.
"Nick, calm down," I say quietly.
"I really thought it was in the contract. I'm sorry that I interrupted your wedding but I thought I was doing you a favor," A.J. explains, sounding very convincing.
"Fuck man! Do you think I'm an idiot?! Why the hell would you have avoided me if it was just a mistake?!"
"I was avoiding you because I felt bad about it," A.J. lies, this time not sounding quite so convincing.
Nick sits back down on the couch and rubs his forehead in frustration. "A.J, I'm not buying this lame story that you're feeding to me," he says, sounding calmer. "Now, I'm going to ask you something and I want the truth. If you tell me the truth and the truth happens to be something that I don't necessarily want to hear, know that there's much more of a chance of me forgiving you than if you lie. If you lie, know that this friendship is as good as over," he explains, sounding completely serious and even a bit sad. "Understand?"
A.J. nods his head, dreading the question.
"Good." Nick takes a deep breath. "A.J, did you stop the wedding and lie about the contract because you have feelings for Ally?"
My stomach turns as I hear Nick speak those words.
A.J. closes his eyes and stays silent for a few seconds before answering. He then opens them and looks Nick straight in the eyes, facing him like a man. "Yes," he answers simply.
Nick turns around and faces the wall, too upset to continue the conversation.
A.J. stands up and walks over to the door. "I'm sorry man," he says regretfully, as he leaves the room and closes the door behind him.
Nick just stands there silently for countless minutes, as I sit on the couch, my mind filling with worried thoughts.