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***
Noel had learned from experience that a throbbing headache was one of the worst ways to wake up. He had no idea how he ended up there, but when he woke up he was in Owen's bed nursing the worst headache he's had since that one time he suspected meningitis. It wasn't the regular hangover which usually subsides after a warm shower and ten minutes of meditation –this one was resilient. Water droplets from the shower banged a crescendo on his head so much that by the time he'd come out, the pain was much worse.
He sat in the kitchen with his forehead in his palm, and all he could think about was going home. He needed a big cup of coffee and a head massage, a hike and a joint, and most of all he needed to be as far away from Owen's room as possible.
"You look like death." David's voice came from behind him, and he could only respond with a hum that sounded so much like a groan.
"Coffee?"
"Please."
They sat in silence as the coffee machine worked its magic, and David waited until Noel had his first sip before he spoke. He should have waited longer, he knew that, but he wanted to address the matter while Owen was still in the shower.
"Uh, Noel, I hate to say this but we'd really appreciate it if you stopped pulling Owen out of band practice."
"His request or yours?" Noel deadpanned.
"Well, mine. And also Carl's."
"In that case, thanks but this is none of your business. If Owen didn't like me doing that, he's got an exquisite pair of lips, I'm sure he can use them."
His eyes were still focused on his drink when he got up and made to leave. He didn't want to be any more impolite than he already was, and he knew that staying in the same room as David any longer would definitely push him to that point. As he was leaving, David stood in his path and stopped him with one hand in his chest. The abrupt cessation of movement had his brain sloshing around in its fluids much like the coffee in his hand.
"Listen here," David's tone was more firm, adding to Noel's aggravation, "I don't give a fuck what you two are up to in your own free time, but practice time is no joke, alright? It's bad enough he's been slacking, we don't want you hanging around and making it worse."
Noel pressed the tips of two fingers to his forehead and exhaled, "Okay, I apologise for being disruptive. It won't happen again. Now, please..."
He tried to leave, but David stopped him again, more sternly this time, forcing him two steps back.
"Please don't put your hands on me." he enunciated.
"Don't you think this has gone on for too long? You may fool him, but I know boys like you. I know what you're up to."
"I'm not up to anything, David."
"Yeah, exactly."
They heard Owen coming out of the shower, so both stopped talking. Noel shot him one last glance and took his coffee to the lounge, leaving Owen persistently asking what was going on.
"What did you tell him?"
"Nothing. Only what you should have told him a long time ago, which is stop interrupting our rehearsal."
"If you'd have waited, I was gonna tell him that."
"Yeah, do you even believe yourself?"
He started looking around the kitchen and in the fridge for something to serve Noel, but all they had were things he wouldn't eat. He took a bottle of juice that had been there for a few weeks, sniffed it and put it back. Another one didn't smell too bad. He poured two glasses.
"Whatever. When did we run out of fruit? I need to give Noel some breakfast and he wouldn't eat any of this stuff because he's vegan."
David shrugged and checked his watch, "Dunno. Carl's still at Target though, text him to buy some. He should be here in a bit."
He took out his phone to text him, and heard David muttering, "Fucking vegan. He just keeps upholding his place as the biggest pain in the ass I've ever met."
"Can't believe I've been replaced."
David smiled, and it made Owen feel slightly better. He mentally ticked 'make David smile' off a list of several things like, call Dad, buy Maddie a present, listen to the new Big Thief album, go to the gym; things he needed to do but was too preoccupied by either being with Noel or waiting for him to say they could spend the day together. He was simply shut out off the real world and living in fantasy exile.
Carl announced his arrival loudly, kicked the door shut and threw a box of strawberries to Owen. He came upon Noel half-lotused on the sofa with both hands cradling his drink, and he winced and whispered, "What's Yoko doing here?"
"He's hungover."
"Can't he be hungover at his place?"
"Can't you be an asshole at yours? What're you doing here, anyway? We're not jamming until six."
"I just finished a twenty four hour long shift, and I'm gonna crash here because I'm beat, and I've got two beautiful ladies who would slit my throat if I drove all the way to Morristown on zero sleep, okay?"
"Fine," Owen put the two glasses, bowl of strawberries, and a pill container full of aspirin on a tray, "I wouldn't suggest you sleep in my bed though."
Carl feigned puking, and Owen laughed. He took the tray to Noel, kissed his forehead and apologised for what David had said earlier. Noel didn't look well. He was burdened by guilt, and the headache was eating away the last bit of patience he had. If he knew Owen wouldn't laugh, he'd tell him that his chakras weren't aligned.
"I'll apologise to David later," he said, "I just really don't have the energy for anything this morning and I shouldn't have been rude to him when he was right about everything." He paused to rub his forehead, "Owen, am I standing in the way of your career?"
"What? No! Don't believe what Dave says, he just loves playing older brother. Look, it's all because last week I forgot the lyrics, but you know what, no one even-"
Noel didn't have to tell him to stop talking, he didn't even have to gesture for him to do so. All he did was frown, and Owen stopped right away.
"Let's make a deal, yeah? I'll give you one week to, I don't know, catch up, do your best, whatever you wanna call it. I want you to focus on nothing but your art, and then this time next week I'll be right here. Please, meet me half way on this."
It was a deal Owen would only gladly take if he knew for sure that Noel wouldn't sleep with anyone else that week, but he wouldn't dare ask, so he only nodded unenthusiastically.
"Good. I want you to meet my family, since I met yours."
"In Tennessee?!"
Noel laughed, "No, we're not going to Tennessee. I don't mean my biological family, I meant the family I chose." He picked up a strawberry, licked it, and frowned, "Is this organic?"
---
Owen hated parties. Nothing like social gatherings, small talk, and forced socialising made him feel like jumping out of his own skin. He was fine, as long as everyone promised not to pay attention to him, but when eyes landed on him, he could feel every beat in his heart and every twitch in his sweaty palms. The only way he could face the public was if he was separated from them by a guitar. Otherwise, he was a clown without his face on –no longer entertaining, just sad and awkward.
Noel held both of his shoulders, almost mockingly, and said in his humorous but reassuring manner, "You're smart, you're funny, you're interesting, and you can survive this."
Owen rolled his eyes, "If I agree with you, can we just go?"
Noel rang the doorbell, and then mouthed 'oops.'
"Fuck, what do I say? Like, what are they like? Is there music? Do they like music?"
"Yes, of course. There's also drinks and loads of drugs, but you don't have to do any of that. Just relax. Be yourself."
"You see, I never get it when people say that. Be yourself. Like, myself would never be at a party in the first place but here we are."
Noel rang the doorbell again and tried to look through the windows, "You'll be fine. Just, whatever you do, don't tell them you're a meat eater."
"Damn, I always slip that into conversations with random strangers for absolutely no reason at all."
The door opened before Noel got the chance to berate his snide remarks, and as soon as they were inside, Noel was pulled into a group leaving Owen to scan the place. From the outside, it looked like a normal house in Newark suburbs, but inside it was what Owen could describe as a "hippie wet dream." There were multiple dream catchers on the walls, the windows were blocked by tapestry with kaleidoscopic shapes and designs on them. There were crystals, candles, bongs; everything was made to enhance a hallucinogenic experience. Faintly, quietly, in the background, Tame Impala were playing.
After acknowledging everyone, Noel lay sprawled on a pull-out couch, got his sketchbook out of his backpack and started drawing. His instructions to Owen, on their way there, were not to be within a five foot radius from him, and not to stand fidgeting in a corner. However, he didn't say anything about sitting, fidgeting on a sofa, so that was what he did. He sighed, and pulled his phone out, just to pocket it again when Noel gave him a death stare.
The fifteen or twenty people in the room all looked familiar –he'd seen them at the bar before. One thing he was grateful for was that, apart from Jacob and JJ, no one recognised him. The most he got was one glance when he first arrived, and then they went back to drinking or chatting or whatever it was. He hoped that, if he kept his head down and his invisible cloak on, he could leave with Noel without having spoken with anyone, but that would have been too perfect. Out of nowhere, a girl came and sat next to him. She had short hair with feathers in it, a drink in a hand and a joint in the other, and she asked if he was the one with Noel.
