CHAPTER FOUR

Nick was still really mad at A.J, even though it was now three hours later, when the bus really did leave.  He picked up his bags and headed to the bus.  When he saw A.J, he immediately looked the other way.  But then Nick noticed that A.J was not alone.  He was talking with Janet.  He felt shivers go up his spine.  He avoided the ‘couple’ and hurried onto the bus.  He sat down at the end and got out his disc man and pressed play.  Just about when he was going to get comfortable for the long ride, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Nick looked up and saw A.J standing over him.

"I hope you know that I’m still extremely pissed off at you." Said Nick.

"Oh, I know, I just want you to move." A.J looked serious this time.

"Why would I move for you?"

"Because I said so." A.J pointed to an empty seat near Kevin. "Sit there."

Nick looked horrified.   "No way!! Kevin will just…just…well, I'm not moving!"

A.J shrugged.  "OK, fine I’ll sit next to Kevin, Janet can take the seat next to you, I’ll just..."

"I’m moving."  In a flash, Nick's stuff was packed and he was sitting beside a sleeping Kevin.  "No quick movements, no quick movements, no quick movements." Nick kept repeating.  He did not want to make the human volcano next to him explode.

"Hey Frack!! Ya want a coke?" Nick turned around to see Brian holding a can out to him.

"Sure!" Nick said gratefully, "thanks!" Nick reached out to get it.  Brian threw it and the can dropped to the floor and rolled fifteen feet. It knocked the button on Kevin’s suitcase and papers went flying everywhere.  Nick got up and shoved all the papers back in to the suitcase and locked it.  He picked up the coke and was about to open in when he noticed a piece of paper lying on Kevin’s face.  Kevin’s mouth was open so the spit made it stick to his mouth.  Nick’s face turned white. He put down the coke and made an attempt to get it from Kevin.  Kevin rolled over so that his back was to Nick.

"Fuck," Nick muttered under his breath. He reached over and tried to get it.  He caught hold of it and pulled.  It came free. "Score!" he said triumphantly. He put the paper back in the suite case and sat down. Nick picked up his coke and opened. To his horror, he heard a sputtering sound, coming from the can. "Uh oh." The coke exploded, sending drops of it everywhere. It was like a fountain that never stopped. Nick held it away from his face and looked away. "BRIAN, HELP!!!"

Brian rushed over to help Nick, they were both holding it away.  The fountain finally stopped.  Brian and Nick opened their eyes to see a very wet, awake and pissed Kevin.  He was drenched.  His hair was plastered to his face and his goatee was dripping with coke.  His new blazer was soaked. The same blazer that cost well over 700$.  His new khakis that cost more than the amount of an average pair were now brown instead of tan.  Kevin’s eyes were closed, but both Nick and Brian knew he was awake.  Kevin’s teeth were clenched and he did not move.  The entire bus was silent. Howie's mouth was dropped open and A.J was trying not to laugh. Janet was no where to be seen.

"Holy crap!" A.J blurted out, "Kev, you look like a drowned rat!"

Brian burst out laughing and Nick joined him. Two seconds later, the volcano erupted.

"You assholes! Did it ever occur to you that when a coke moves violently, it will explode?!  I didn't think so!  You two haven’t got a brain in those frickin’ heads of yours!!  I'm on tour with a bunch of toddlers!  Nick, get some towels! Brian, get soap and water!  A.J, GET A LIFE AND SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!!!"

A.J stopped laughing and remained quiet.

Kevin went to the back of the bus and slammed to door to the bedroom. The bus rattled.

"Well, that was interesting." Said Howie calmly. "does anyone want something to drink? We've got sprite, root beer, Pepsi, coke…"

Brian and Nick turned and faced Howie. "Shut up!" They said at the same time.

A.J looked after Kevin in awe.  "How the hell did he know that the coke moved around? He was frikin’ asleep!"

"He’s Kevin," Brian simply said. "The world may never know."

Ten minutes later the bus pulled out of the hotel parking lot. Janet had gotten back on to it and was now sitting next to A.J.  Brian and Nick spent their time trying to clean up the very-wet windows, and seats.  While they were cleaning up, Nick glanced over at A.J and Janet. They were kissing.  "Uh, gross." He said under his breath.

Brian heard him and looked over at A.J and Janet too.  "Oh come on Nick, you’ve seen stuff like that before. It¹s not that big of a deal."

"I know."

Both them continued to clean up. The bus continued to rock along the road.  Every now and then, the bus driver would tell the boys how far they were from the destination.  Brian and Nick finally finished cleaning up.  They put the stuff away and Brain sat down next to a sleeping Howie. Nick sat down too, and got out his game-boy.  When Kevin did emerge, he was changed and still steamy.  No one said anything to him as he made his way towards his seat.  Nick got up automatically and let him get to his now coke-free seat.  Kevin sat down and got out a book and started to read.  Nick sighed and continued to play on his game-boy. For about two hours, the bus was silent. Brian had fallen asleep and so had Janet and A.J.  It was quiet on the bus. Nothing happened.  Finally at 2:34, Nick spotted a sign along the road. It said, ‘MADISON, 96 miles; VAMBATVILE, 8 miles.’

"Vambatville?" Nick said aloud. "I’ve never heard of it."

"VAMBATVILLE?!?!?!" Said a panicked scream from the back of the bus.

Brian was jerked awake, so was A.J. Kevin threw his book in shock. It bounced of the ceiling and hit him on the head. Only Howie remained asleep. Nick turned around. Janet was white-faced. Her eyes were wide open and her mouth was quivering.

"What's the matter, honey?" A.J said sweetly.

Janet didn't say anything.  She was shaking.  ‘How is it we're going to pass this place?!’ She thought. ‘It’s impossible! I thought that it...’

"JANET!!" A.J said loudly. Janet looked startled.

"What?"

"What’s wrong?"

Janet smiled her face was still white.  "Oh nothing, I just thought that the name of that town is a little scary."

Nick started to laugh.  "That’s the stupidest reason to freak out that I’ve ever heard!" He remarked.

Janet looked at him and then buried her head into A.J’s chest.  "Why does everyone have to make fun of me?" She fake-sobbed.  "It’s not my fault that I'm so sensitive!"

Nick rolled his eyes.

A.J shot a glare at him, then went back to comforting Janet. "It’s okay, Nick is just being an ass."

Nick’s mouth dropped open.

Janet looked up at A.J, and said, "We aren’t going to stop in that scary sounding town are we?"

A.J smiled and kissed her on the forehead.  "Of course not honey-bunny."

Nick threw his hands up in disgusted.  "Oh brother!"  

All of a sudden the bus came to a violent stop.

Nick was thrown forward and he hit the luggage, which came tumbling down on him.  A.J and Janet had their seat belts on, so they were fine.  Kevin's book went flying forward and hit the bus driver’s head.  He was swerving the bus. It came to a stop on the side of the road.  When everything settled down, Nick pushed himself up from under all of the luggage. Brian helped him.  A.J was making sure that Janet was all right, and Howie was still asleep.

The bus driver got out and went out side. Ten minutes later, he came back in with some bad news.  "Three of the wheels are flat, we're going to have to walk up to that town."

With that, Janet fainted.