Power Chord (Janxx) Part 1

  Jinxx smiled as he settled down into the new suite. He had an entire room to himself, and not just that he shared one large suite, and had his own room in it, no. He had his own suite entirely.

  He sat his guitar in the corner beside his bed. The rest of his bags would be brought up later, and then he and his brothers would go out for the night.

  His brothers had the four suites beside his: Andy and Ashley’s suites were to his left, and Jake and Christian’s were to his right. They were all already in their rooms, just as Jinxx now was. Everyone was just waiting for the rest of their bags.

  Jinxx didn’t want to go too far, since his bags were due soon, so he went out on the balcony. His room overlooked the hotel’s outdoor pool. It was thriving with people, yet it was so hard to hear the noise. Weird, he thought. I’m only a few floors up. It should be noisier than this. He shrugged, and the knock on his door caught his attention. It wasn’t the bell boy, though. It was Jake.

  “Hey, man,” Jake said with a smile. “How’s the room?”

  “Huge. I really like it this time around.”

  “Same here. Oh, yeah, my bags came, so yours should soon.”

  “Cool.”

  Jinxx invited Jake in for a minute. They both sat on opposite ends of the couch in front of the plasma TV.

  “So, Jinxx,” Jake started. “I’ve got an idea for a new riff we can do.”

  “Jake, do we have to talk music?”

  “What do you mean? We’re in a band, and you and I are huge parts of it, and-”

  “Yeah, but that’s all you and I talk about. This is a vacation for us. Let’s talk vacation stuff.”

  Jake was always the one that took the longest to get used to just going out to party. It’s not that he was a stick in the mud – unless you ask Christian, who will tell you otherwise; he just wanted to make sure everything got done when it needed to, with time left over to perfect it. Jinxx never thought it a bad trait; he just didn’t possess it, himself.

  “So like what vacation stuff?”

  “Well, there’s the pool downstairs, or the beach – if you prefer that…uhm…there’s some good shops and clubs around here.” Jinxx could tell Jake’s skin was already crawling from thinking about not getting any work done. Just as he was about to reassure his brother, another knock came on the door. Jinxx got it, and saw it was his bags this time.

  “Hey, cool, your stuff’s here,” Jake said, glad to change the subject.

  “Yeah, finally. Wanna help me unpack?”

  “Sure. All my stuff’s out already.”

  Jinxx put a cd into the cd player that was connected to the TV. It started playing different kinds of classical music: Vivaldi’s “Spring” concerto, Bach’s multiple cello suites, and many other works Jake couldn’t name.

  “Jinxx, you listen to some weird shit,” he joked as he helped his brother unpack.

  “Hey, man, it motivates me. But it relaxes me, too.”

  “How does that work?”

  Jinxx dragged a suitcase from the front hallway in to his bedroom. He lifted it onto the bed, opened it, and started pulling clothes out of it. “I dunno. It just does.”

  Jake sighed and shook his head. Classical’s good, he thought. Just not my style…

  The two spent most of the time unpacking in silence.

***

  After Jinxx’s bags – what felt like hundreds to Jake – were unpacked, the two decided to meet with the others. Jinxx checked his phone first.

  “Hey, Andy says he and the others are already down at the bar,” Jinxx said.

  “Seriously? It’s hardly one.”

  “Hey, it’s five o’clock somewhere.” Jinxx smiled, and the two shared a laugh.

  Jake looked over and saw a guitar case in the corner of Jinxx’s bedroom. “Jinxx, which guitar is that?”

  “Over there? Uhm, I’m pretty sure it’s the Ouija one. I dunno, really, I just grabbed one. It probably is, cuz that’s the only one we didn’t find while unpacking. Why’d ya ask?”

  Jake shrugged and shook his head. “No reason…”

  Jinxx put a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Look, you and I will practice some later, okay? Right now, let’s go get a few drinks, and have some fun. Forget about work for a while, right?”

  Jake sighed reluctantly. “Right…” He quietly followed Jinxx down the elevator and to the bar.

***

  While Jinxx settled in quickly with his brothers, Jake couldn’t let the idea of work out of his head. He always had trouble relaxing without a few drinks in him, but he didn’t want to get drunk on his first night in a new city. His four brothers, however, had no problem with that.

  Drinking the afternoon away, four of the five BVB brothers were drunk by six PM. Jake, the only one left sober, suggested they go back to their rooms. They didn’t need to stir up any trouble on their first day.

  “Jake ye’r…ye’r uhm…who are you again?” CC was stumbling over his words. He was always the quickest to get drunk, and he was really bad this time around.

  “See, this is exactly what I’m talking about!” Jake said. “Please…please can we at least go back to our rooms?”

  “Fiiiiiiiiine, but I’m ordering drinks there,” Ashley said. “C’mon Dennis, let’s go.”

  “What did I fuckin’ tell you about callin’ me that, you douche!” Andy spat. Jake was afraid he and Ashley would fight, until the singer broke out into horribly loud laughter.

  Jake rubbed his face hard, trying to knead out the headache he’d gotten from the guys. He felt a hand tug on his shirt, and he turned to see Jinxx there. “Jake, can you walk me to my room?”

  “Huh? Oh, yeah, sure.”

  “I don’t think I can walk on my own…” Jinxx took a few steps and stumbled. Jake lunged forward, and caught his brother, helping him get back on balance.

  “Geez, Jinxx, yeah, no problem.” He wrapped one arm around Jinxx’s waist, and Jinxx wrapped one arm up behind Jake’s head. “Hell, Jinxx, you’re lucky you’re wearing those damn platform shoes.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “You’re almost too short for this to work.” Jake smiled at Jinxx’s pouty-face, then started helping his brother to walk.

  On the elevator ride up to the rooms, Jinxx looked over at Jake. “Was it wrong of us to leave them there?”

  “They’ll be fine. They always are.”

  “You sure?”

  “If something happens to them, you can pin all the blame on me.”

  Jinxx giggled. “’Kay.”

  The doors opened, and Jake took hold of Jinxx again. They walked slowly to Jinxx’s room. Jinxx fumbled through his pockets, then his eyes went wide. “Shit, Jake.”

  “What?”

  “Andy was paying for the drinks.”

  “So?”

  “Sooooo…I left my wallet in the room! My keycard’s in there!”

  “Jinxx, don’t worry. Come stay in my room for the night.”

  Jinxx’s eyes lit up. “Really, Jake?”

  “Sure. It’s still early, but you should probably just rest for now. You and I will go get you a new keycard tomorrow morning.”

  Jinxx’s smile stretched practically from ear to ear, and he hugged his brother hard. “Oh thank you, thank you, Jakey!”

  Jake tensed up slightly at the unexpected touch. “Yeah, sure, now lemme go so I can get my key.” Jinxx laughed nervously and let go. Jake unlocked his door, and the two guitarists walked in.

  Jake noticed Jinxx could suddenly walk on his own just fine. He also quickly found Jake’s bed, and made himself right at home on it. “Jakey,” he called. “Come here to me.”

  Jake walked in to where the bed was. “Please stop calling me that.”

  “Why?”

  “Cuz it’s…cute. And not in, like, a good way.”

  “Whatever. Hey, look, can I stay in your bed? It’s much better for my back than the couch is.”

  “Sure. I guess. I mean, I’m not sleeping, yet, anyways. It’s hardly six-thirty.”

  “Okay, cool, thanks. One more thing.” Jinxx motioned for Jake to come closer, then for him to sit beside him on the bed.

  “For God’s sake, Jinxx, what?” Jake was getting slightly annoyed with his brother. He had to try to brush it off, though, since he could only blame it on the alcohol.

  Suddenly, Jinxx was closer than he had been before. Much closer. In fact, their lips were touching, and Jake’s eyes were wide. The kiss was brief, but exhilarating – at least for Jinxx. Jake was petrified; frozen in place.

  Jinxx giggled. “Sorry ‘bout that. Those drinks are getting to me.”

  “Y-yeah…I’ll leave you to sleep, now.” Jake stood and left the room. He shut the door, went and sat on the couch, and just stared at the blank TV screen.

  What the Hell just happened? he thought. And…why did I-…?