Chapter 20
AJ came home from work and kicked off his boots before going over to the glass tank on his nightstand. There should have been a boa constrictor in the tank but it was empty. He cursed under his breath and threw the cover of the tank on the floor before running upstairs.
"Aaron, did you see a snake anywhere in the house?" he asked casually. The boy shrugged his shoulders as he was engrossed in a game of Guitar Hero.
"Crap."
"AJ, does Nick know about the snake?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the television.
"Not exactly. Now help me find the damn thing before he gets home." AJ shouted as he walked into the kitchen, tearing everything apart. He knew Nick would not be happy about the mess but he was more worried what would happen if Nick discovered the snake. When they had taken Aaron to the zoo, Nick had said he was afraid of snakes, and even though AJ knew this, he still bought the reptile and hid it in his room downstairs. It had worked out well so far, but somehow the snake had gotten loose. AJ and Aaron spent a good amount of time looking for it, turning the house upside down. AJ panicked when he noticed it was 2pm, when Nick was finishing rehearsal at the nightclub. Thinking quickly he took out his phone and called Amanda.
"There is a situation at home and I need you to stall Nick so he doesn't come home," he begged. Amanda was watching Nick perform at the time and had no idea what was going on.
"How am I going to-" Amanda started but AJ cut her off by hanging up. Amanda saw Nick getting off the stage and quickly thought of an excuse.
"Nick, how about we do a few more songs, maybe change the lineup tonight?" she said, and Nick gave her a funny look.
"The lineup is fine the way it is, and I got to get home to start dinner." Nick protested as he put away his guitar. He turned towards the door but Amanda stood in his way.
"Wow, its almost like you don't want me to leave or something," he observed with a chuckle.
"I wish I could spend more time with you, that's all." Amanda said, turning on her charm. Nick seemed interested enough because he set down his guitar case and hung out for an extra hour, him and Amanda talking.
"Okay, I really need to go though." Nick said suddenly, noticing the time. Amanda knew AJ told her to stall as long as possible.
"Nick, AJ said he was taking care of it." she told him without thinking. Nick burst out laughing and wiped a tear from his eye.
"That's a good one! Now I really need to run home before AJ lights my house on fire!" he exclaimed. Amanda threw up her hands in defeat while Nick walked to his convertible parked outside. Once he got home Nick's mouth dropped open at the state the house was in. It looked as if an earthquake had hit, and he saw Aaron looking under the living room couch.
"AARON!!!!" Nick shouted, causing his brother to jump in suprise. Aaron's brown eyes went wide as they fell upon an angry looking Nick standing in the trashed living room.
"Hey..." he said, smiling weakly.
"Aaron, why is the house a mess?" Nick demanded, the anger in him rising quickly.
"Um...I was helping AJ?"
"JAY! Get in here!" Nick shouted. AJ slowly walked into the room, disappointed that Nick was home. He had searched the house and not found the snake at all, now that Nick was home he knew it would be trouble.
"Nick, I will help clean up the mess, we both will do it while you cook." AJ replied. Nick seemed satisfied as he walked into the kitchen to get dinner started. AJ and Aaron cleaned up the living room then Aaron helped set the table.
"I don't even want to know why the house was a mess, Jay. The important thing is that it is clean now, and we can move on." Nick began as he was headed for the cabinet. When he opened the door, AJ's eyes went wide as a snake's head poked out an inch from Nick's hair. AJ waved frantically to Aaron, but the boy was not paying attention.
"So do you guys want steak tonight?" Nick asked but his last words were overtaken by a high pitched scream. Nick was panicking at the sight of the large snake in his spice cabinet.
"I found it!" Aaron said happily as his brother screamed bloody murder again.
"WHAT IS THAT DOING IN MY HOUSE?!?!" Nick hollered, rounding on AJ.
"I'm sorry! She isn't hurting anybody!" AJ said.
"Get it out of here!"
"But....."
"NOW!!"
"All right....." AJ said. He was sad to see his new pet go but was more than happy to keep his room instead. Nick ended up liking the snake after all, because one day the snake was loose again and it happened to go into Katie's shower.
"You know, I think this is the start of a beautiful relationship." Nick smiled as he took the reptile back to AJ's room, smiling as he went.
Author's Chapter Notes:
This was a fun chapter to write! Enjoy!
