JC rolled out of bed and struggled to stand on his feet. He had been woken by the repetitive chimes of his doorbell. Whoever it was, they were pressing that thing relentlessly. JC didn’t have the energy after rehearsal to go out to a bar so he opted to drink in the comfort of his own home. It took him a while to find a cab that late in the night and he was pretty sour that none of the guys chased after him. By the time he got home, he was unusually exhausted and ended up passing out on his bed.

“I’m coming!” He yelled at the impatient guest.

In an angry fit, JC swung the door open ready to smack whoever was behind it. “Woah!” Joey raised up an arm in an attempt to block JC’s already waiting fist.

“Ugh, do you know how early it is?” JC’s fist was still suspended in the air. “What do you want?”

“I’ll tell you once you put that thing down.”

JC did what his friend wanted but suddenly flinched as he put his arm down. There was a sharp pain on his left side that he’d never felt before.

“You okay?” Joey asked.

JC rubbed the area as he scowled at Joey. “I’m fine. Now what do you want?”

“Just wanted to check on you. Can I come in?” Joey took a step into the home without waiting for JC’s response. He took the liberty of walking straight into the kitchen to raid his fridge only to find that the only edible items JC had were frozen veggies, leftover chicken, and endless amounts of beer. He was a little disappointed since he hadn’t eaten breakfast yet. “No breakfast, Josh?”

“No.”

“Do you at least have something we can snack on?”

“I’m not very hungry lately but you can check the pantry.” JC was obviously not enjoying the company. He strode passed Joey and grabbed a beer from the fridge.

Joey searched the pantry and eventually settled for some Cheetos and a bottle of water. It was uncomfortably quiet for the next few minutes. Joey stuffed his mouth with Cheetos while JC slowly drank his beer. Neither of them made any eye contact. Eventually, Joey offered JC the bag of chips but he raised a hand rejecting it.

“Sorry about last night.” Joey finally spoke.

“No need for that. How’re the kids? Kelly?” JC sounded disinterested but Joey saw it as the most progress they’ve made so far.

“They’re great. Briahna was fast asleep while Khloey stayed up to wait for me and I ended up having a hard time putting her to sleep. Kelly wasn’t too happy about that.”

JC took another sip, still avoiding eye contact. “So how’d you get her to sleep?”

“I dressed her up in a Storm Trooper outfit and tied a red blanket around my neck and pretended I was Superman. We played around for an hour before she finally decided she was tired enough to sleep. She’s such a great kid.” Joey gushed while tracing circles on the table with his finger.

JC listened as Joey continued to talk about his family. It’s not like JC had anything against them – Kelly was great and so were the kids – but he really wasn’t in the mood to be entertaining anyone. He let Joey speak endlessly as he finished his beer. Once he finished the bottle, he went to grab another which caused Joey to stop talking.

“Another one?” Joey asked.

“You want one?”

Joey shook his head. “Then don’t keep me from getting another if you don’t want to join me.” JC snarled.

Joey couldn’t help but stare as JC popped the lid off the bottle with his bare hands. It looked like he’d done that one too many times. He remembered when Chris used to always be the one to open bottles for JC since he wasn’t used to drinking. Now it was almost like second nature to him.

“So when did you pick up that hobby?”

“What hobby?” JC knew what Joey was referring too. Something was starting to boil inside of him. It was one thing for him to show up unannounced, quite early in the morning, but it was another thing if he had to listen to Joey throw a fit over his drinking.

“The drinking.”

“Don’t know. It’s been a while.”

JC’s answers were short and not so sweet. Joey was feeling more and more uncomfortable. He wasn’t even sure if the old JC was still in the man that was sitting across from him. It was as if he was a complete stranger. JC never used to be so cold. What happened? Joey thought to himself.

“So are you just going to stare at me while you quietly judge me in your head?” JC said sharply.

Joey was caught off guard with that one. “N-no, I’m sorry. I’m just trying to figure out why you’re so –“

“So bitter?” JC interrupted.

“So into drinking. But since you brought it up, why are you so bitter? Why all the drinking?” Joey finished. He was getting heated now too.

“You’ve only seen me drink this one time.”

“Chris and I saw the bottle the other day. It’s not like you to leave stuff laying around, especially anything that has to do with alcohol. We’re worried about you.”

JC decided that he’d rather not fight his friend so he let out a sigh before answering calmly, “Don’t worry about me. It’s just been hard for me recently. I haven’t been able to land a stable gig in a while.”

Joey watched as JC did his best to calm down. He knew very well that JC hasn’t been having much luck. He was starting to feel sorry for him. “I can make some calls. Maybe you can try hosting for a bit? It’s worked out well for me.”

JC felt the massive amount of pity in Joey’s voice. He wasn’t about to accept a charity offer. He stood up to yell but the sharp pain came back, stabbing his side. Joey got up to run to JC’s side. “What’s wrong with your side?” Whatever pity that was previously present in his  voice was replaced with concern.

“Nothing, get off of me!” JC shoved him. “Can you just leave? I’m tired.”

Joey stared at his friend once more before deciding to abide by JC’s request. “Just… promise me you’ll cut down on this stuff.” He picked up the beer bottle from the table and shook it in JC’s face before setting it back down. “There’s people that care about you. Take care of yourself.”

JC only glared at him.

“Right. Well, I’ll see you later.” It took a while for Joey to start moving but he eventually walked himself out, leaving JC in the kitchen with his face buried in his hands.