A Stupid Thing to Do

A simple look at those two will tell you all you need to know. Even when they're merely existing in the same room together, not actually interacting, it is so easy to decipher every little move they make. Jonny will be sitting on one side of the room, reading a magazine of some sort, and he'll cross his leg. Next thing you know, there's Chris on the other side of the room, strumming out some new melody on his guitar, and suddenly he decides it would somehow work out better if his legs were crossed.

Or Chris will be staring out the window, bored, tapping his foot mindlessly against the floor. Then a minute later it's joined by the sound of Jonny's feet lightly hitting the carpeted surface. It's enough to drive you mad, especially if you're trying to take a nap.

That's what happened to Guy one day. His eyes were closed, but he was still awake for the most part. He didn't want to be; the night before he'd been out drinking, and he wasn't exactly as young as he used to be.

Needless to say, he never got any sleep, and for the rest of the day he went on yapping about it. Everyone, even the security crew at the venue, was tired of hearing him complain.

“You could have said something,” Jonny told him, “and I would have stopped.”

It was really obvious that Guy was itching to fight, but he couldn't. No one could ever fight with Jonny, because he was too kind. So instead he took up the issue with Chris.

It's almost impossible to confirm the details, but their fight- which happened backstage after that night's gig- was bad enough from Chris's point of view to force him to lock himself in the bathroom. Maybe it was just that after the gig, Chris's spirits had been soaring, and so when Guy took him down, he really took him down. Chris had been shot multiple times and was now laying helplessly on the ground, a bloody mess sprawled out on jagged rocks.

But the paramedics had already gone home, or, at least, back to his hotel room. There seemed to be a very little chance of being able to drag Jonny back to the venue to sort this mess out, but everyone tried regardless. Otherwise, Chris might have just stayed in that bathroom until he starved to death.

Guy, of course, took none of the blame, merely letting everyone know that he wasn't as nasty as Chris made him out to be, just that Chris was too overly emotional and sensitive and that was why he was in the bathroom. Of course, no one pointed it out, but if Guy knew that Chris was that way then maybe he shouldn't have picked the fight in the first place.

Two hours later, Chris finally agreed to come out, having been coaxed by an extremely tired-looking Jonny. The red in his eyes and the strange dryness of his cheeks told that he'd been crying, and had tried to remove signs of it before he walked back out into public.

Neither Guy or Chris would say what words had been exchanged between the two that night that struck Chris so hard. Chris wouldn't even tell Jonny, which was utterly surprising. Chris told Jonny everything- everything. Even things Jonny would never have wanted to hear, though Chris didn't know that. They were both too blind.

So, for the next few days Jonny went around sulking a bit because he thought that maybe his best friend was drifting apart from him. Then what was he going to do? He didn't want another best friend, that was for sure; no one could ever replace Chris. Jonny searched for ways to reconnect and strengthen their friendship.

One night there was a carnival in town, and everyone was there. Everyone who had even the tiniest thing to do with the band went, including immediate family members and distant cousins and all sorts of crazy things like that.

It was no surprise that Chris and Jonny ran off together to play games and go on the rides. It was no surprise that they did it all blindly.

People even tell them how they both feel! Years ago they started doing that, because years ago it was obvious. Do they not believe the other people? Are they highly skeptical of what the others say, afraid that it all really is just a joke?

It's not a joke. It's not even remotely funny. It's more frustrating than anything else, most likely far more frustrating for either of them than for the rest of the world. So why do they feel the need to pretend none of it's real?

It's so real that it's almost a solid thing, something someone could physically touch. That night everyone watched as the two men came bustling down the boardwalk, arms linked- no doubt Chris's doing. They were both beaming. It was too good to be true; so good, in fact, that it wasn't true.

No one could say they were shocked, that they hadn't expected for them to go through their entire lives as “just friends” when they could be so much more. When they should be so much more.

Guy apparently felt very adamant about the situation. When Chris and Jonny were walking, he stormed up to them and forced them to stop.

“What the hell are you doing??” he nearly screamed.

“Um... walking?” Chris hopelessly replied.

Guy blinked incredulously at Chris, then shot his head in Jonny's direction. He was silent for a moment, then sneered and said, “And I thought at least you were intelligent.”

Then Guy walked away, leaving both of them bewildered and at a total loss for words, struggling to understand what had just happened. Jonny just shrugged, and Chris shook his head.

They weren't idiots for falling in love with each other. But the stupidest thing either of them did was keep it quiet.