The Middle - Volume Three ✔️

Chapter 26

I look up at my friends. They're busy discussing what kind of food they want to order from the Chinese. I tell them I want chicken and cheese rolls, barbecue dipping sauce and a box of egg fried rice, then I begin typing my reply to Patrick. 

Me, 17:26: Don't worry about it, I'm glad you're coming. Hope your face is better today. See you tonight. J2 x 

Patrick, 17:26: My cheekbone is fucking bright purple today. Get some war hero jokes ready. 

I laugh out loud as I read his reply, and I notice Aubrey eyeing me suspiciously. Shit. Joel and Jay are still discussing whether or not they wanna order fries from the Chinese place (their fries suck) and I'm glad they didn't notice me giggling away at my phone just now. 

Me, 17:27: Oh, I will. See you tonight. 

Joel heads up to the kitchen so he can call in the Chinese order, and Jay announces he's stepping outside for a smoke. As soon as they're both out of the room, Aubrey pounces on me. 

"Okay, who were you texting just now? It wasn't Noah, was it? Is there another boy!?" She smiles at me. I guess after everything, she knows it wouldn't be Noah making me laugh like that. 

"No one," I lie. "It was a funny YouTube video. A cat that looked like Donald Trump." This isn't a complete lie, I did see a video like that on YouTube. Ages ago. 

"Oh, okay." She's satisfied with my lie. Awesome. "So, what are you guys gonna play at the Grill tonight?"

And from there, we resume our mindless chit chat, eat our Chinese food, and rehearse in my garage a little before getting ready for the Open Mic Night.

***

We enter the Grill through the main front door for a change, since we didn't need to bring any of Patrick's stuff. God only knows what he's planning on doing, I assume he'll bring one of his own drum sets from home. Jay and Joel aren't worried about that anyway, so I decide not to worry either.   

As I scan the Grill and start to see a lot of familiar faces, I suddenly feel really nervous, and sick to my stomach. John is standing by the upper level bar and he waves at us when he sees us. Aubrey heads over to greet him, and as I approach him I continue looking around. Bryan Dawson is loitering around on the ground floor talking to some friends, one of whom I recognise as Max Coull. Shit, Shaun will be here too. I don't see him, but I'm sure he's here somewhere. He is like, the second last person I want to see tonight. The last person being Noah. But I don't see Zach or Kim, so Noah must not be here yet. I don't see Patrick either. God, this is awful. Everyone in one building together. Shit is starting to feel very real. 

"Hey you guys, long time no see!" John beams at us. 

We all exchange the obligatory "Happy New Year's" before Jay, Joel and I leave Aubrey and John (they're waiting for Zach and Kim... and Noah, I guess) to head backstage and look for Patrick. When we reach the lower level, the butterflies in my stomach are desperately fluttering around, trying to escape in the form of vomit. Bryan waves at me and Max raises his eyebrows at me like what's up? I expect Jay and Joel to talk to them, but they don't. Thank god. We keep moving. 

We walk up the steps at the side of the stage and duck behind the curtain at the back of the stage. Unfortunately, the first thing I see is Shaun Campbell talking to Reggie. He looks happy enough, but fuck me his face is a total mess. It is so obvious he took a beating last night. Jay walks over to them, and I swallow hard, trying to keep these damn butterflies at bay. 

"Hey, Reggie – Jesus Christ, Shaun, what happened to you!?" Jay asks, totally startled by Shaun's cuts and bruises.   

"Some asshole at my party last night had one too many Vodka and Cokes. It's not a big deal." Shaun tells him, eyeing me with disgust. I'm glad he's keeping his word and not telling people that Patrick is responsible for his make over.