Never Gonna Dance Again...

It's early morning on Saturday. Amari groggily pulls herself up from the bed, she spent most of the night up with Leila fussing. Amari's mother Vanessa left back to Houston for a few days to check in on her husband. Amari's Dad is starting to miss his wife. She has been with Amari for over two months now helping her out with baby Leila. She yawns big and peeks over at her dozing little angel.

*Amari* "Hmm...I really should take a shower while she is sleeping..."

She then quietly gets up and peeks over at her again. Amari is supposed to meet up with Laura later today, kind of a play date and get together. Good thing she did not make plans for too early in the day, not having her mom around to help her this weekend has really made
 a difference in her sleep schedule.

*Amari* "Don't worry Angel mommy is just gonna take a quick shower...I'll be right back."

Amari takes a very, very quick shower nothing too fancy or pampering, then gets out again. She is so exhausted she did not even bother to get dressed all the way and the shower did little to help her wake up, she is still extremely tired from her sleepless night. She peeks over the 
side of the canopy to see that Leila is still sleeping...

*Amari* "Since you're still sleeping, I'm gonna

 sleep some more too!..."

Amari kicks off her shoes and climbs back into bed. The soft comfy bedding feels so good against her cool, clean skin that,
 as soon as her head hits the pillows she begins to doze off.

*Amari* "Mmmmm....this is heaven..."
A few hours later, somewhere shortly after midday, the door to the condo quietly opens. Shaun of course still has a key to his own place, with a duffle bag in hand he lets himself in and 

closes the door behind him.

The condo is quiet, too quiet. Shaun looks over and notices that the travel seat is here so she has to be here as well. He should have called but he did not want to fight with her over the phone, so he was hoping that maybe she would know by now that he is in town.

He turns to set his bag down on the table then notices that Amari never opened the gifts he sent for Christmas...He sighs a bit then realizes that it was down right shitty of him to just send gifts and not show up 

for the holidays instead.

Shaun leaves the bag on the table and heads towards the bedroom at the back of the condo. He calls out Amari's name in a soft, 

questioning voice...She has to be here he thinks.

*Shaun* "Mari? You here?...Hello?..."

He gets to the doorway of the bedroom and stops quick. Amari is sprawled out in the bed fast asleep. His bedroom looks like a nursery now and the sight is a bit of a shock to him at first.

 *Shaun* "Oh shit...what the hell?!..."
He looks around the room taking in it's massively drastic change. What happened to his bed?! Then his eyes stop on the crib that is now there and realizes she must not have had enough room for the big bed and the crib.

Leila lays quietly in her crib, Shaun pauses thinking maybe
 he should just turn around and go. Amari would never know...His mind is like run, run, run but his heart tells him otherwise.

Then a small little grunt comes from crib and Leila moves, as she begins to stir and wake up. And before he knows it Shaun's feet have led him to stand at the foot of the crib, he stares in shock for a moment down at this little miracle that is his child. Luke's words echo in his head and what he said about missing out on her growing up. 
*Shaun voice low* "Holy shit! You are so teeny tiny!..."

Leila wiggles again and begins to open her eyes.
*Shaun whispering* "Hey...Hi! little one...I'm gonna pick you up now, so don't cry..."

Shaun luckily has had some experience holding Luke and Laura's kids. So the idea of holding a baby is not totally foreign to him. He gently scoops up Leila, cradling her in his arms and walks 
out of the bedroom with her.

 *Shaun* "It's okay I got you..."

Shaun stops when he gets to the kitchen and finally takes a 

moment to take her in, study her face a little bit. Her tiny fingers
 and toes and her little button nose.

*Shaun* "You look just like your mamma...Lord have mercy on me, Ima gonna 

kill the first boy who breaks your heart..."

Leila squirms a bit and looks like she might start to fuss. Shaun paces the floor trying to sooth the impending cries 

with some gentle movement. All the while feeling like she is crying more and more cause she is not happy with him.

 

*Shaun* "No! don't cry it's okay...it's okay. Shit...maybe I was the first one to break your heart but I swear, baby girl, that ain't gonna happen again. I'm sorry I let you down...

but Daddy is here now, I got you..."

But of course Leila's fussing only gets louder and louder. Shaun is clueless as to what else to do for her. So he begins to

 head back into the bedroom to wake Amari...

*Shaun* "Okay I know, I know I'm shitty at this just give me 

some time but for now....let's go find mamma."

Amari bolts upright out of bed hearing her baby cry. She blinks 
her tired eyes several times, trying to focus on the crib

 and where her cries are coming from.

*Amari* "Leila?!..."
She kicks the blankets off and stumbles up out of bed. 
To find herself staring down at an empty crib, 
but still hears her crying.

*Amari* "Leila?!...."
 When she finally realizes the crying is coming from the other room, 
she immediately turns and heads towards the doorway. Shaun meanwhile continues trying to sooth her as he walks cautiously.
Amari panics at first hearing a man's voice 
along with her daughter's cries.

 *Amari* "LEILA?!!!...."
 Then in the blink of an eye Amari comes face to face with Shaun after nine very, long months. He is standing there holding a fussy baby Leila. Amari is so freaked out she does not even realize her current state and lack of clothing, she was not expecting him. 
She was not even aware that he was in town.

 *Amari* "Oh my gawd! Shaun!!!...What are you doing here?!"
 Her hand hits her heart up near her collar bone in some what relief and at the same moment Shaun's eyes drop down to her bare breasts. His mind immediately drifts off to checking her out and noticing her body looks pretty damn good after just having a baby almost 3 months ago.

 *Shaun* "Shit, Mari...Damn!....You sure you just had a baby?..."
Amari quickly covers herself up. She was not expecting to see anyone let alone Shaun. Who only calls or texts back when he
 would feel like it was necessary.

 *Amari* "Fuck you, don't you get any ideas!...We are never gonna dance again Shaun Harris!
What the hell are you doing here?!"
 *Shaun* "I came to see my daughter and maybe talk this
shit out like adults..."
 *Amari* "Oh uh huh, okay....so now all the sudden she's your daughter?! You can't even be present for her birth or her first Christmas but now all the sudden she means something to you?!..."

*Shaun* "I never said she wasn't mine, Mari!...You know that!
I've taken plenty good care of both of you. You haven't once complained about that!"
Shaun's louder deeper voice, sets off Leila's fussing again and Amari quickly reaches in to try and take Leila from his arms.

 *Amari* "Give me my baby..."
 *Shaun* "I can handle it..."
*Amari* "No you can't! Give me my baby, Shaun! She wants her mamma!..."
 Shaun begins to hand Leila over to Amari. He looks at her 
with a serious face and flat tone to his voice.

 *Shaun* "I didn't come here to fight with you, Mari..."
*Amari* "Could've fooled me..."
 Then she takes Leila and turns to walk 
away towards the bed. She was beginning to get used to 
the idea of him not being around now all of the sudden
 he has a change of heart?!

*Amari* "Are you hungry again, Angel?..."
*Shaun* "I'm being serious....We have to figure something out. Mari?!
Don't fucking ignore me..."
Amari continues to walk away and rolls her eyes at his comment. He has ignored her plenty over the past nine months! Amari
 shakes her head at the absurdity of it all...

 *Shaun* "What?! Mari, please don't do this shit!..."
*Mari* "I have nothing to say to you..."
Amari gets comfortable in the bed and begins to nurse Leila
 and hopes he will get a clue and at least go in the living 
room or leave and come back maybe later.
 
*Shaun* "I'm not leaving, till we talk..."
Amari yawns hard she is still very tired. She will never admit it to him but despite all the help from her mom and family it has still been a rough road not being able to share these moments with him. Shaun can see she is exhausted and feels bad he too has his 
place to be blamed in all of this.

*Shaun* "Let me hire a nanny to help you out...Please for Leila."
 Amari snaps at him instantly. How dare he even question her dedication to being a mother?! He has no idea what she has been through all these months. Carrying his baby for nine long months and him not even giving a rat's ass about any of it...

*Amari* "I am doing just fine on my own!..."
*Shaun* "You don't have to act brave all the time. She is my child too and I
want what is best for her as well..."
*Amari* "Just because you all the sudden actually give a fuck doesn't mean you can
 come in here and tell me how to care for my child!..."

*Shaun* "You can't expect your parents to bail you out every time! Lemme
help dammit! Stop being so fucking hard headed..."
*Amari* "Shaun, I only agreed to stay in this condo cause I thought you would eventually come back or at least show up for your daughters birth. Yet you did the complete opposite and want nothing to do with this family. So yeah, of course I can rely on my parents or Laura and Luke cause they are there for me! Your empty gestures of offering me money and a nanny are ridiculous. I told you if you don't want to be involved in Leila's life then fine just stop acting like this pompous asshole who thinks that a monthly child support check is all that is needed to say
you're a good father! Instead just actually be there for her!.."

*Shaun* "That's exactly what I'm trying to do here...but shutting me down every time doesn't fucking help! Look I know right now she needs you more than me and I don't know what else I can do but offer you those things! I came here to resolve things not make it worse...I know what i did was a shit move, Mari...And I apologize for it. I'm not here to ask you to take me back or forgive me but please just fucking hear me out and maybe we can work this out somehow..."
Amari is on to him quickly she will not be fooled
 by any kind of sweet talk.

*Amari* "Take you back?! I'm not desperate Shaun, and definitely don't expect me to forgive your sorry ass for leaving me like you did! I know things weren't perfect but nothing ever is..."
*Shaun* "Yeah and you perfectly managed to let yourself get knocked up when you knew we had agreed you would take care of it! A baby is not gonna save what is broken between us!..."
 *Amari holds back tears* "Just get out! Lemme finish nursing my child in peace..."
Shaun turns and begins to walk away. He needs a moment to regather his thoughts too they both got so off track. All that anger and resentment that has built for months has to come out at some point.

*Shaun* "Fucking fine by me. I'll be in the living room whenever you're ready to talk civil..."
Shaun sits alone in the living room for a good 45 minutes or so. He grabs the one good guitar he left here and begins to tune it. Then starts playing a melody that pops in his head, one of the 
new songs they have been working on.

 Going back to the basics always helps him clear his thoughts and his mind. Letting the tune organically play out as it fills him with an inner peace. He feels a lot calmer now as he continues to strum the guitar. Amari finally comes out of the bedroom, feeling more peaceful as well. They do need to sit down and have a talk, she just 
knows it's not gonna be easy, they always end up fighting...

 *Amari* "You know I do miss hearing you play. Is that a new song?"
 Shaun looks up and sees her standing there. No longer 
that angry look on her face when she stares at him.

 *Shaun* "Huh? uh yeah...it's a new song for the album..."
*Amari* "It sounds really catchy...So you ready to talk this out now? I really
do not want to fight anymore..."
*Shaun* "I don't either."

*Shaun* "And Leila?..."
*Amari* "She's asleep again. I changed her diaper and fed her some more."
*Shaun* "She's asleep again?..."
*Amari* "She's a newborn Shaun,  that's what they do most of at this point."
 Amari walks to sit in the chair opposite the couch.

 *Amari* "Listen, I know you are just trying to help out how you think is best possible but when you constantly throw stuff at me like that I feel like you are trying to undermine my place as her mother and that I can't provide for her without your assistance..."
 *Shaun* "But we can't even be in the same room for too long without arguing.
So I don't know what else to do!..."

 *Amari* "Just show up for holidays and birthdays and make plans to be in her life not just make plans to provide for her but actually be there!...I'm...uh moving back to Houston so you don't need to worry about taking care of me. Just be there for Leila...that's all I ask."
Shaun flips out how can she just casually add in that she is moving back to Houston? He never agreed to this? If he was still in LA he 
might've never have know about what she was up to.

*Shaun*"Hold up...what?! You're moving to Houston?!...nuh uh, no fucking way, Mari!"

Amari waves her arm up for him to take in the 
tiny space of this one bedroom Condo.

 *Amari* "Look at this place! It's not kid friendly Shaun. I cannot raise Leila
 here and I'd rather do it closer to home. Where my family is..."
 *Shaun* "But you have family here too...what about Laura?..."
 *Amari* "Laura is wonderful but in case you haven't noticed she has her hands
full right now with two baby boys...."

*Shaun* "And what about my family?..."
*Amari* "You mean Rock Candy?...I'm not raising my kid around Rufus."
 *Shaun* "You can't make this decision if I'm not okay with it..."
*Amari* "The hell I can, you haven't made any so far, you didn't even bother responding when I asked you about baby names...How do you expect me to have any faith in you?"

*Shaun* "Over my fucking dead body are you doing this?!..."
 *Amari* "Calm down! You're gonna wake her up...How is this any big
of a deal to you? You're not even living here right now..."
 *Shaun* "I could be...one day I will be. I plan to retire here."
Amari laughs, he sounds absolutely ridiculous.

*Amari* "Please...stop acting like you care! You're not gonna change my mind."
*Shaun* "Fine then! You better fucking call Daddy the big shot judge,
cause I'm about to lawyer up...time for the courts to decide."
*Amari* "Shaun...No!...Please..."
Then he grabs his guitar and bag and begins to head 

for the door. Amari gets up to follow...

*Amari* "Shaun don't walk out on me again! Please just hear me out."

*Shaun* "I'll be in touch..."

Then he turns and leaves. Amari slouches down and slides down to sit on the floor. She is at a loss as to what to do. First he wants nothing to do with her now he is acting like she is trying to take her away.

Amari sits there until the tears stop and she pulls herself together. 

Time to take Leila to go visit her cousins. 

 Oh dear looks like things went from bad to worse with Shaun and Amari. Neither of them can seem to get along with each other for too long. Lets hope these two can settle their differences somehow, someway for little Leila's sake.

To be Continued!

Lunch With the Guys...

It's Saturday morning, Luke is up early to get things going at the shop before he meets the guys for lunch later that day. He comes down the stairs and realizes he doesn't have his phone on him. He quickly dashes back upstairs thinking he left it up there...

Finally he comes back downstairs where Laura is cleaning up after breakfast. He hollers out to Laura. His tone is frustrated. She knows he is not looking forward to today and so he is a bit stressed out and now he cannot find his phone.

*Luke* "Babe?!..."
*Laura* "Yeah, what is it?..."
*Luke* "I can't find my fucking phone? Did I leave it in the kitchen?..."  
*Laura* "No, lemme call it..."
Laura grabs her phone out of her back pocket,
 and calls his phone. They both pause in silence to wait 
for the sound of his ringtone.
 
*Luke* "Did you hear that?..."
Then suddenly the sound he was expecting to hear come from upstairs was right in front of them. Luke quickly shouts and startles Phoenix.

*Luke* "Phoenix!!!..."
The shout from dad jars him so quickly he drops the phone and begins to crawl away. He knows he is not supposed to play with Dad's phone but it was left abandoned on the kitchen table and such a shiny new phone like Dad's is a temptation he could not resist.

Luke begins walking around the couch to where Phoenix is so that he can get his phone and with a deep, loud voice he continues to scolds him. Phoenix has been told before that Dad's phone is not a toy.
 
*Luke* "What have I told you about playin' with my phone, huh?! You know
 better. My phone is not a toy, son! You have all those other toys you
 could have played with now you're gonna have to sit on timeout!..." *Laura* "Luke stop yelling...don't be so hard on him..
he knows he did wrong."
Luke grabs his phone, and then scoops up Phoenix 
and sits him in the chair for a timeout. By this time 
Phoenix is in full tears, Dad hardly ever gets this mad at him.

*Luke* "Three minutes...don't get up!..."
*Laura in a whisper* "Luke, stop I  think you've been hard enough on him..."
*Luke* "He needs to learn, Babe...My fffu...my phone is off limits.
We can't go buy another if he breaks it."

*Laura* "I know that but still take it down a notch. He knows what 
he did was wrong."
Phoenix continues to sit in the chair and cry. Luke can see now 
what she means now that he calmed down some but
 he is still nerve wrecked about the rest of the day.

*Luke* "Finish your timeout then you can go play...I've got to go to work.
Luke then turns to Laura.
*Luke* "I've got to go, Babe...I'll call you later."
*Laura shrugs her shoulders* "Okay..."
*Luke* "What?!...."

*Laura* "Baby...you know you don't have to agree to this lunch thing if 
this is making you that stressed out."
*Luke* "I'll be fine! Better we just get it done and over with anyways, 
this shit has been dragged out long enough..."
Then with Luke says goodbye and takes off to work for the day. When noontime comes around he heads towards the bar for
 lunch with the guys.

Bull Tavern on a Saturday afternoon is bustling with business. Customers are coming and going and the pool table is crowded with players, jukebox blaring.

Luke is the first to arrive and gets very lucky at snagging his favorite booth to sit at. He slides in and begins to get comfortable and before he knows it Aric has come over to say hello. The two old friends quickly shake hands and greet one another. Aric was one of the first of a few people to welcome Luke when he first moved here.

*Aric* "Hey man, you dining alone these days?..."

*Luke* "Oh, naw...Peter and Shaun should be here soon."

*Aric* "Shaun is in town again?..."

*Luke* "Yeah, he flew in last night, asked to meet us here for lunch. I think 

he wants to apologize for fucking bailing on us out of the blue."
Aric knows a little bit about what happened with Shaun, the whole baby business, and then leaving back to California, 
but not in depth details.

*Aric* "I see...Well can I start y'all off with a pitcher then?"

 *Luke* "Yeah that sounds good. Hey where's Isolde? She's

not working Saturday's anymore?..."

*Aric* "You haven't heard? She got a job coaching a girls high school 

basketball team...She's a busy woman now."
 

*Luke* "Oh...no shit?! good for her....I'm glad. Ah...that's what Laura was

 trying to tell me other day..."

Aric laughs it off and then finishes up their conversation.

*Aric* "Alright man, I'll be back with that beer..."
As he steps away he bumps into a young woman 
who is meeting a friend at the bar.

*Aric* "Oooops! I'm sorry miss...didn't see ya there..."

*young girl* "Sorry snuck up on ya huh?..."
 Like I said it's a busy Saturday, even with the cold chill in the air everyone is still getting out for the day.

A short time later Shaun is the second one to show up for this little pow wow. Things are a tad awkward but they both smile and say hello to each other. No handshake or cheerful bro hugs today...

*Shaun* "Hey, man...thanks for meeting me on such short notice...."
*Luke* "No...it's cool. We gotta clear the air at some point, right?"
*Shaun sighs* "Yeah..."
When Shaun left he not only bailed on Amari and 
the baby but he bailed on his two best friends as well.

*Shaun* "So where's Pete?..."

*Luke* "He's not here yet. You know him he's always fucking late."

*Shaun* "But he is coming right?"

*Luke* "Yeah he is...Just don't expect me to save your fucking ass if

 and when he decides to lay into you."
 He slides into the booth sitting across from Luke. Shaun knows Peter can hold a grudge but nine months is a long time to be gone. Can he really still be that mad about all of it?!

*Shaun* "Fuck...he that mad still?"
Luke now knows for a fact he's still mad, cursed up a storm on the phone this morning when Luke called him about
 this impromptu lunch date.
 

*Luke* "You bet your fucking ass he's still mad! We had gigs lined up and money to be made and you fucking bail cuz you can't face being a fucking father?!"

Luke stops and takes a deep breath and sips his beer. Damn that did feel good though to get it off his chest. He is still upset too.

*Shaun* "Okay...okay...I deserved that...well, maybe, but listen man...Rock Candy has real chance of making a good comeback right now. And you know that that band is as much mine as it is Rufus' we  built that fucking band together!...As for Mari, that's none of your gawddamn business. 

She is plenty well taken care of..."
Luke has always considered Shaun one of his closest friends. So it did sting a whole lot when he chose to pack up, leave and 
ditch everything they worked so hard for.

*Luke* "Shaun we are family now! What the fuck man?! You know I've always loved you like a brother...Don't just throw that away for fucking Rufus and whatever the hell she is promising you!..."
Shaun lets out a huff of frustration. He knew the guilt trip would be coming and he has to try and explain himself the best that he can.

*Shaun* "Ah c'mon! Don't even pull that shit right now. You know I love you like a brother too, but why do I have to choose sides? Look Mari and the baby are very well taken care of and 
I'm enjoying having Rock Candy back together." 
*Luke* "So you'd rather spend you time and energy with the band then get know Leila watch her grow. Believe me, I know what it's like to miss out on your kid, 
it was hard being away from Laura and Phoenix..."

*Luke continues * "And how long will it last before Rufus looses her shit
again. She always fucking does. And when she does she will bring down the band with her just like before...Amari would never do that."

*Shaun* "Amari and I were over long before she was pregnant. Things were just barely holding together anymore. She knew it and I knew it...."

*Luke* "What do you mean? You two seemed fine..."

*Shaun* "I think she was still hanging on to the idea of us cause it pissed daddy off. We never ever lived together, we never talked about marriage or the long term future...
being with me was just about the party scene..."
*Luke* "Yeah and I thought that's why you two got along so well...But you bailed when the shit hit the fan and not her. C'mon man wake the fuck up! She just had your baby!"

*Shaun scratches his head* "How is this any different than you and Rufus...
Same shit different people..."
*Luke* "No, this is not the same...And I didn't leave her knocked up. She lost the baby then I left after I realized that life would never get better with her because I was not in love with her."

*Shaun* "Exactly! I'm not in love with Mari...Yeah she's a great a person, she's sweet, she's loving, but we just don't connect on that deeper level. C'mon I know you know what I mean..."
*Luke sighs* "Yeah, I know what you mean...Shit, so things really are like that for you and Amari?"
*Shaun* "Yes!...Didn't Laura know any of this?"
*Luke* "Hell if I know...She never said otherwise to me."
*Shaun* "Or Amari just never told her what was really going on."

*Luke* "Okay....I uh didn't think about it in that sense. But what about Leila?..."
*Shaun* "I plan to go see her, and I will be apart of her life, Mari can't stop me from that."
*Luke* "Okay, fair enough...Just know you've got a whole angry horde of women ready to tear you apart...Good thing Amari is a sane person. I don't think I could have ever done this with Rufus.

 *Shaun* "I will work this shit out with Amari, trust me...
Hey, speaking of Rufus...I know you've got good reason to not have faith in her,
but she is fucking killing it right now. And I think you know exactly why!..."
 *Luke* "Yeah....I fucking figured she's using music as a therapeutic outlet. Look I'm glad she's doing good but you know deep down that shit will not last..."
 *Shaun* "She's not the same woman you last saw....I know I didn't want to believe it either, but she is healthy, she looks healthy and your little sister is doing good too.
*Luke* "You've seen Ruby?..."
*Shaun* "Yeah, man...she's a happy little girl and getting big too."

*Luke* "Rufus doesn't know that I know does she?!..."
*Shaun* "No she doesn't, everyone still thinks Ruby's father is some random roadie..."
*Luke sighs* "Good, cause we don't fucking need my father
finding out. He'd turn this whole thing into a fucking circus act."

*Shaun* "I know, I know...Your secret is safe."
*Luke* "Good, thanks man..."
*Shaun* "Brothers right?..."

 Luke nods and then looks up and past Shaun's shoulder, he immediately knows it is Peter standing there behind him.

 *Shaun* "He's fucking behind me isn't he?..."
*Luke nods again* "Yup..."
*Peter* "You two starting this fucking shit show without me?..."
Luke responds to Peter's crass comment. He is still 
mad at Shaun and probably will stay mad unless someone can talk him off the ledge. That someone usually has to be Luke.

 *Luke* "And you're always fucking late..."
*Peter* "Yeah well I'm here now"
 Peter walks to the other side of the table on Luke's side of the booth. His face is covered by his sunglasses and hat so it is hard to read his facial expressions but the tone of his voice tells it all.

*Peter* "So you come to fucking apologize or what?!..."
*Shaun* "Hang on, Luke and I were having a civil conversation about this."
*Peter* "Fuck that shit!...And fuck you!"
Shaun lets it slide for now he knows Peter well too 
and knows how stubborn he can be.

*Shaun* "Pete, c'mon man...look I know you're mad! I'm sorry okay?! Is that what you want to fucking hear? I know I bailed on our band but you gotta understand man! Music is my life!..."
Peter is still livid as ever he has yet to get out all the anger
 that has stirred up for the past 9 months. He lifts his 
sunglasses off his face and leans in, he is nearly loud enough for the whole bar to hear him, only if the music wasn't so loud.

*Peter* "You chose fucking Rufus!!! Over us, over Amari, over your own fucking kid...That's why I'm mad! When you have a shit ton of more people who actually give a fuck, then choose the one that lets your former band go to shit, crashes down in fucking burning flames.
I know cuz I was there, Luke wasn't...."
Shaun looks down at his mug of beer and sighs. He knew that it would come to this but still you always hope deep down that it won't. On the other hand he knows what he did was shitty but he had to make a choice and for him this was his best option.

*Luke* "I tried to warn you..."
*Shaun still looking down* "So what the fuck do you want from me
Peter? I tried to apologize...Anything I say will never be good enough..."
Peter slides into the booth and sits next to Luke. 
He lowers the sound of his voice this time but the tone is still angry.

*Peter* "You're right, I didn't fucking come here to listen to you weasel your way back!
What you did was shitty man, fucking real shitty! One day you'll wake up and realize it and when that day comes don't fuckin' expect me to be there!...I had to spend hours rescheduling all of our gigs and when Luke I finally find a guy worthy enough to replace you. I can't get a place
 to take us cause they're all booked up!"

*Shaun* "So is that it, you want me to pay you for all the gigs you lost..."
*Peter* "No!!! I don't need your fuckin' money!"
*Shaun* "Okay fine...So I guess this is a stalemate then huh? Just fuckin' agree to disagree?"
*Peter* "I'm not fuckin' agreeing to shit! You started this the moment you knocked up Amari. A vasectomy would have stopped any of this shit from happening!..."

*Shaun* "Oh I see, so now I'm the second one here to change the dynamics of this group. So it's okay for Luke to be married and have kids but I can't?"
*Peter* "Noooo! No, that is not what I'm saying...I...I.. mean."
Peter looses his train of thought and the point he was trying to make. 
He is so blindsided by his anger he cannot see past it.

*Luke* "Don't fuckin' listen to him. He got it reversed a month ago..."
*Shaun* "What?!!! Are you fuckin' serious?!!..."
Peter turns to Luke.

*Peter* "What the fuck?! C'mon man...that's...that's not the point here."
*Luke* "What?! It's true though...And you're not making a lot
of fucking sense right now."

*Peter* "Yeah...but I didn't do it just to have kids.."
*Luke* "Uh...oh-kay then why the fuck did you?"
*Peter* "To prove to Willow that she's the only one for me and
that whatever happens, fuckin' happens..."
*Shaun* "Now who's the one who's fuckin' pussy whipped? You 

seriously gonna have kids with Willow?! You hate kids."
Then Peter takes a swig of his beer. Luke decides to try and 
change the direction of the conversation.

*Peter* "Fuck you!...I didn't ask for your opinion."
*Shaun* "Oh, but I gotta listen to yours?!..."
*Luke* "C'mon...let's just fucking forget about all that. So if things were different
and let's say Mari never got pregnant...Would you still have left?.."

*Shaun* "Yes!..I told you things were already dicey between Mari and me..."
*Peter* "Rufus is just gonna let it all go to shit again anyways...It will happen."
*Shaun* "Oh really? You think you know Rufus better than me?.."
*Peter* "No but Luke fucking does..."
*Luke* "Shaun said she is doing well, and I believe him...Just let it go Pete..
This is not worth staying angry over."

*Peter* "You both know I can't fucking stand Rufus. She's a fucking snake!"
*Shaun* "Is this about Fiona and what happened with her and Rufus?"
Luke cringes and thinks oh shit don't bring her up?! Fuck!
*Peter* "Fiona?! What the fuck?! Why you want to bring my dead ex girlfriend into this shit?!...Rufus is a liar! She's a fucking cunt and will do whatever it takes to get her way and you sit there and fucking defend her?! Rock Candy is doomed if you let her "

*Shaun* "I. Don't. Care! I don't fucking care! This is my fucking decision not yours! Rock Candy is my band too and not just Rufus'...So if we go down in fucking flames again then so be it! All I know is I tried!....So, not you! not Amari, not even Luke is gonna change my fuckin' mind about this shit!"

*Shaun continues* "I've told you over and over...Music is MY LIFE! It's what I live and breathe...You two both have jobs...Luke has the record store and you have the club. But for me it's more than that! Rock Candy is my job and I can't stand by and let Rufus try to replace me."
Peter sets his beer mug back down and looks Shaun straight in 
the face, his words hitting Shaun like an icy, cold wind.

*Peter* "Then what the fuck are you doing here, man?...Cuz we already replaced you."
*Shaun* "Wha...are you fuckin' serious?...Luke?..."

Luke looks somber and shrugs his shoulders in a way that confirms what Peter just said. He hates that they had to replace him but Peter ended up finding someone who was a good fit. Shaun quickly gets up from his seat at the booth and points at Peter.

*Shaun* You know I really did come here to try and apologize to your sorry ass! But forget it...
You wanna be a stubborn son of a bitch, fine! Fuck you! I'm done here..."
 Peter picks his mug back up and looks down into the amber gold liquid, he too is not happy but his pride always gets in the way. Luke however tries to stop Shaun from leaving

*Peter* "What ever man..."
*Luke* "C'mon don't let his bullshit bring you down!...Let's just finish lunch."
Shaun pulls out a fifty dollar bill and throws 
it down on the table and heads for the door.

*Shaun* "Enjoy lunch on me fellas...I'm done. Luke man...I'll call you later."
Peter slides out of the booth and goes to sit opposite of Luke. Before that he shreds a few layers of clothing all that adrenaline,
 anger, and beer heated him up...

*Peter* "Can you fucking believe this shit?!..."
*Luke* "Yeah I can! And your shit attitude about it all is not helping either!..."
*Peter* "Pleeeease! Like you're not fucking pissed at him for ditching us for Rufus!"

*Luke* "Yeah I was mad at first but I got over it...And he happened to make a few good
points if you would have let him talk...."
*Peter* "What is so good about ditching us and his kid for Rufus?!..."
 
*Luke* "You're not gonna change his mind, he said that...
I know it's not a perfect situation
 but when is shit ever perfect? Can you fucking get
 past the Rufus shit already?!.."
 
*Peter* "No fucking way! And you of all people should feel the same
after all the shit she's put you through!"
Luke laughs, and shakes his head in disbelieving manner. He knows Rufus has done some sketchy things to hang onto him but he is not so innocent either. Peter too is to blame for some of it.

*Luke* "Wow! You're fucking delusional right now...I mean, I know you're mad about Shaun,
but shit man. Rufus is guilty but so are we! More so if you think about it
and we are damn lucky she let it all go!"
 
 *Peter* "Rufus fucking deserved what she got! You may not have the balls to say it,
 but I fucking do! She played games and got burned simple as that..."

 *Luke* "Yeah and you fucking bought into her game, so did I! But you're the one
who called Cade, I never asked you to do shit!..." 
Peter laughs now, Luke clearly wanted her gone but at the same time he did not want to hurt her. So Peter took
 the bull by the horns and called in Cade.

*Peter* "If I hadn't have called Cade then you would still be
 going in fucking circles! She was never gonna leave you alone!.."

 *Luke* "That's bullshit! Bullshit and you fucking know it!...If you had never called Cade then I would have never fucking slept with her, she never would have gotten kidnapped
 by Cade and you'd probably still be with Fiona..."

 *Peter* "What the fuck?!...It was your choice to fuck her
and leave Fiona out of this!...She has nothing to do with this!"
 Luke slams his beer down onto the table.

*Luke* "You need to fucking talk to someone about your Fiona issues...I know it has
something to do with Rufus. They fucking played you and it
pisses you off. Let it go, Pete!..."
Luke is right, Peter has never let it go and he never wants to talk about it. His reaction is plain and clear. Luke thinks this is why he cannot get past what Shaun did too.

 *Peter* "You know my issues with Rufus started long before Fiona...Watching you all those years battle back and forth with her was fucking painful to watch. Then my best friend is
forced to leave because it's the only way out of her fucking web of games."
Peter is right, it wasn't always good times and rock n roll with Rufus. Luke feels bad he never asked him to split and leave with him.

 *Luke* "You could have left with me! I never said you couldn't, but you know I had to do
what I had to do for me at the time. I needed to be alone. Find my own fucking way.."
 Peter deep down understands, but he is still hurt by 
it when he thinks back on it.

*Peter* "But you never asked if I wanted to go. You just fucking up and left,
didn't even tell your best friend you were leaving...I had to go find Rufus and ask her what the fuck happened. Which of course was her twisted sense of reality..."

 *Peter continues* "So maybe this is all your fucking fault?! Then I would have never gotten involved with Fiona and Rufus and her fucking mind games would have never grabbed hold of me if you would have just let me know what you were up to!..."
Luke stops him and interjects. He cannot believe what a ridiculous rabbit hole of nonsense they have stumbled into...

 *Luke* "Oh! So now all this shit is my fault?!.. All your shitty decisions and choices
that you made for yourself are my fucking fault?!..."
 Luke grabs his jacket and gets up and out of the booth.

*Luke* "Grow the fuck up Pete! Especially if you plan to actually follow
through and make a life with Willow. She deserves nothing less!..."
Peter has a hard time not seeing things so black and white.

 *Peter* "Speaking of Willow...it was none of your damn business
to tell him I got it reversed!..."
 *Luke* "You're just mad cause I used it to prove a point!

 *Luke continues* "Look...I know what Shaun did was shitty but like I said, it's not gonna work to just stay mad. And your shit attitude about Rufus needs to change. Time to let go of the past."
 Peter waves his hand up and looks away. All this change
 lately has really thrown him for a loop.

 *Peter* "Just fuck off, I've heard enough already..."

 *Luke* "Yeah I'm leaving and don't fucking expect me tomorrow for practice.
I've got too much shit I've gotta finish up at the shop.
Have a good fucking weekend..I've gotta get back to work."
Peter slumps in his seat. Great not only is he not 
on speaking terms with Shaun now but he may have
 just blew things up with Luke.

 Luke bundles back up for the cold air outside and heads off. He too is not happy that he let things go so south with Peter, but he is tired of the drama as well. We all have faults, we all make mistakes, and we all need to be forgiven every once in awhile. It is obvious Peter has deep seeded issues and anger towards Rufus, which he may be entitled to,
but he needs to learn to let it all go.

Say it ain't so!
Don't let this bromace dye you guys just because you 
cannot see eye to eye on everything.
Hopefully these three friends can work it out again...

Thanks so much for tuning in and reading and commenting 
on the lives of my crazy little dolls.
See you all next week!
^_^