by David McGhee
Chapter 6: The Thermals have records out on Sub Pop. That makes them cool and you for superficial reasons that even hipsters can’t explain!
Josh was ready to go except for one thing, he hadn't had his nightly shot yet. He wondered if it would be enough to get him through the evening, but he had to try at least. Josh didn't like bringing his works with him when he didn't have to. Although he brought them to work on a regular basis, there was just something about doing it in a club that made him feel like a stupid little junkie.
He looked out from his room and saw Bill sitting at the couch, a bottle mysterious absent from the table. This could be bad if he made any noise or if he smelled anything unusual while cooking up. It was not a negotiation though, he had to have his fix, otherwise he would go through withdrawal during the show and solidify to Malcolm that he was indeed an addict.
Josh gently closed his door and locked it. Bill had not noticed so, so far so good. He went though his routine and got the stuff ready to shoot when he heard a knock at his door. Josh froze, belt wrapped around his arm and needle in hand. The door handle tried to turn but was suppressed by the lock.
"Yeah, what?" Josh yelled.
"I was just wondering why you locked your door." Bill said through the one and a half inches of wooden partition.
Josh had to respond quickly. "Because I'm naked and you always just open my door without knocking first, you damn drunk!"
"Damn drunk?" Bill laughed. "I don't have a problem dude. Seriously though, what are you doing in there?"
Josh found a vein and stuck the needle in. "I don't barge in on you while you are dressing or fucking now do I?"
"Well, you are not fucking in there. It's just odd is all."
I'll fuck your ass and rip you open, Josh thought. He drew blood into the syringe and pressed down. He left the needle in and counted back from five. On the third count it hit him like a rampaging alcoholic beating his wife. His body went limp and his eyesight became distorted. This was some good shit, maybe too good?
"I could be jacking off in here dude." Josh slurred.
"Why are you talking like that?" Bill asked with concern.
Josh took out the needle and drew some water up, then squirting it at his door in protest. "You're not the only one who likes to drink." He wrapped his stuff up and put it back into the ventilation opening. He was screwing it back in when Bill knocked again. "WHAT!?"
Bill did not respond for almost six seconds. "Jeesh man! I'm just curious is all!"
"Tell you what," Josh countered. "I'll come in while you are in the shower and suck your cock."
"Fucking fagot." And with that Josh no longer had a six foot blond haired drunk at his door. He sat back and lay on his mattress, enjoying the nod. There was a good hour or so before Malcolm would pick him up. He decided to use what strength he had in him to set his alarm clock for forty minutes ahead. This way he could nap the worst of the drug away and be left with a nice warm feeling when he woke up.
He had not even closed his eyes when he heard another knock at his door. "What the fuck man! Leave me alone!" Josh shouted.
"Dude," The familiar voice exclaimed. "It's me! Malcolm!"
Malcolm? It wasn't seven o'clock yet! "Um... You're early!" Josh shouted, but got up to answer his door anyways. When he opened it he saw the tall thin man in front of him holding what looked like a Dominos pizza box.
Malcolm smiled warmly. "I just thought we could eat something before we left." This caught Josh off guard. He was a particularly gruff person but there were a few times he could recall being touched. This was one of those times. His defenses were completely shot and he waved Malcolm into his room and turned on the light.
Only his girlfriend gave him gifts, although she usually told him beforehand so this felt a little more special than he was used to.
Malcolm sat down on the mattress and bounced a little where he was, as if testing the bed on the floor for jumpiness. It was apparently to his liking and he patted at the bed for Josh to sit down. He placed the pizza box on the floor.
"I didn't know what you would like so I just got pepperoni." Malcolm said enthusiastically. Josh sat beside him and opened the box. The aroma hit him immediately and he couldn't remember any time in recent memory when he was this hungry. He noticed there were two slices missing.
"Did you already eat some of it?" Josh asked.
"Nah..." Malcolm said as he picked out a piece of pizza. "I just gave your roommates some."
"Bad idea..." Josh countered, picking up the slice with the most meat on it. "Now they will follow you home and expect to be fed daily."
Malcolm laughed, as did Josh. "You're a funny guy. I'm going to kill you last." Malcolm said facetiously. Josh giggled.
Josh felt a nod come on but fought against it. As far as he knew, Malcolm only saw him as a recreational user. He wished he had some coke to have shot with his heroin.
"This was super cool of you man." Josh gushed. "Do you want me to pay for half or something?"
"This is my treat." Malcolm said. "As is tonight. You're my new buddy!" He smiled and continued eating his pizza slice. By the time they were finished, only three slices remained. They were stuffed. However Josh's blood sure did smell good to Malcolm. He fought against it but he was falling in love with the smell of poppy seed bagels, even though he knew that it was something totally different. The man was beautiful, and he was a fucking junky. If he could get closer to him then maybe he could change that.
Although there is a girlfriend to consider, the thought made Malcolm's cold, congealed blood boil. There had to be something he could do to have him all to himself.
He remembered Melisa. She was a tall attractive blond who went to Denver Metro University. This had to have been about twenty years ago. She was a physics major and that turned Malcolm on to all extremes. The sex was great as well. They were to be engaged until her old boyfriend came back into the picture. Malcolm was crushed, there he was, tall, good looking, with a respectable career, and she fucking dumped him like a much needed shit! He forever changed his mind about what it was to be who he was. Just because you are tall, thin, somewhat attractive, in the end it all winds up on the other person's table. Malcolm felt low and had no self esteem for some time after that. He wasn't apt to kill someone just because they cheated on him. But he loved her damn it!
He devised a plan to get him out of the picture. He would follow him up to the mountains with his friends for a hiking trip and feed off of their blood like a fat kid in a candy shop. Afterwards he tried to get back with her but it was no use, having a loved one disappear in the Rockies did things to a woman. Malcolm tried to console her, even got her in bed another time. But it was just too much of a lost cause. She committed suicide later that year by putting a gun to her mouth. Malcolm was crushed, which wasn't an easy accomplishment to do.
Malcolm worried about Josh's mental state if he killed his roommates in order to acquire him for himself. He seemed mentally stable? Right? He was sure that he wouldn't think twice and would be more concerned about his living situation than anything else he assumed. At least that is what he’d feel like if it were to happen, although he felt nothing for Harold or his other roommates in the past it was still an attractive idea. But it was still something he had to consider. Did this man have feelings? He didn't even know how old he was.
"How old are you?" Malcolm asked, his mouth half full with pepperoni pizza.
"Twenty four and a half." Josh sighed. "I'm old. I haven't done shit with my life."
Malcolm agreed but said nothing. He wasn't about to upset his new friend. "How about a drink? Your roommates owe me after all the niceness I brought forth on them." He laughed but Josh looked sullen.
"I don't drink." He said. Malcolm took this as a challenge.
"But we're going to a show! And you apparently do everything else, why don't you drink?" Malcolm knew the answer though. Alcohol is a depressant. It works on the brain stem similar to how opiates do. Once inside you it sl
ows breathing down and fucks with involuntary functions like heart beat and metabolism. By the look of Josh's eyes, he could tell that he was already pretty far gone in the inebriation department. He ignored this though, he was as capable of keeping a man alive as he was ripping their heads off. "I think a few shots would do you good." He smiled, but it was not returned by Josh.
Josh could be fun if his judgment were to be disposed of. A warm passed out body was still a warm body. His mouth watered at the thought.
"I just don't like how I feel when I get drunk." Josh confided.
"Well, you better start if you are going to hang out with me!" Malcolm put his half eaten slice back into the pizza box and headed out the door into the living room. Once inside he found Garrick passed out on the couch. He wondered where Bill could be but decided not to split hairs. He pushed him until he was awake and asked him if he could take a few swigs from the gigantic bottle of vodka on the table.
"Sure man..." Garrick said sleepily before he passed out again. The bottle was half full, and Malcolm wanted to get drunk so he took the privilege as a holy offering and took five long gulps of the alcoholic beverage. He finished and looked back into the room, where Josh was staring in disbelief. Malcolm motioned for Josh to come over and like a man stuck in a tractor beam he followed the hand signals. Josh hesitantly looked at the bottle but Malcolm gave him the thumbs up. He took a long drink. It hurt his throat badly even through all of the pain killers. It was the first time in over a year that he had drank anything alcoholic.
"Not so bad is it?" Malcolm laughed. Josh winced. "Better than the shit you do. You really need help on that by the way."
Josh frowned. "When I want your opinion I'd beat it out of you."
Malcolm giggled. "I'm six foot three man! I could take you!" If he only knew the truth, he thought.
"But I'm five foot ten of pure muscle! I may be shorter than you but I do my pushups every morning!" Josh lightly punched Malcolm in the arm and grinned. The guy looked like he weighed no more than a buck twenty, and there was no evidence of any sort of work out that he said he did daily. If anything his arm muscles would fall down under his bone like they did in old cartoons when weaker ones tried to exaggerate their strength.
Malcolm scowled mockingly. "Trust me. I could kick your ass."
Josh smiled. "Well hopefully it won't come to that so early in the friendship."
"A good love tap here and there can be life affirming I think."
Josh was silent for a moment. "Don't be gay man."
It was like a dagger through Malcolm's un-beating heart. "Sorry man." He took the bottle back from Josh and finished it off. “It wasn’t meant like that.” Within five minutes of awkward silence he began to feel the effects of the alcohol. He just hoped that he wouldn't get drunk and depressed. Bad things happened when he got drunk and depressed.
Malcolm found a parking spot not even two blocks from the Hi Dive, a personal best especially seeing as it was so late in the evening and there was a sold out show in the area. Malcolm liked being around tons of people. It brought him so many opportunities. Josh on the other hand looked a little uncomfortable when he saw the line coming out of the bar / venue.
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." Josh said. He stopped walking mid stride and looked up at Malcolm, who was confused.
"You already have the tickets. Come on!" Malcolm tried to reassure. "We'll have an awesome time!"
"I just think that these people will know I'm high or something."
"That's why we need to get you drunk!" Not too drunk, Malcolm thought.
Josh stood for almost a minute without saying a word. Finally he shrugged and went first across the street and over to the line of hipsters coming out of the door to smoke a cigarette. Malcolm followed and stayed behind Josh, as if he were a shield that he didn't need. Insecurity has always been a major turn off for Malcolm but for some reason this endeared Josh more to him. It was almost like it was his duty tonight to keep him safe from emotional and physical harm.
Josh handed him his ticket and after a long five minutes of waiting in line, they were let in by the door guy. Malcolm had not prepared to see the place so packed. He was having trouble maneuvering himself over to the bar. He wanted to hold Josh's hand and guide him over with him but he decided against it. Josh was seemingly able to find his way around so he thought better of smothering him with attention so early in the night.
Malcolm waved at one of the two bartenders on duty. One was a black haired guy who looked like he was a character in a Japanese animation movie and the other was Tara. He waited until she passed him to poke her in the shoulder. She turned around, unaware at who just touched her, and saw that it was her biggest fan. She smiled.
"Hey there!" She leaned as far as she could over the bar to hug Malcolm, who was able to meet her three fourths of the way, making it easier for both of them to embrace. They were holding each other for a good two seconds before parting. "What are you having tonight sweetie?"
Malcolm rubbed his chin with his right hand in mock thoughtfulness. "How about two shots of Bacardi 151."
"It's too packed for me to set them on fire. I'd be liable to burn somebody." She laughed and it pierced Malcolm's heart like an adrenaline needle. He smiled.
"That's cool. It's for me and a friend."
"Really?" She said, going over five steps toward the top shelf liquor. She took it off and grabbed two shot glasses from under the bar. "Who's the special someone?"
"Oh, it's not like that really. It's truly just a friend."
She poured the shots. "Anyone I know?"
"He's that blue haired kid named Josh over by the stage."
Tara looked uneasy and took back one of the shot glasses. "I don't think I really want him drinking."
Malcolm felt cold spread through his extremities. "Why not?"
"I think he might be a junky. He's always spending time in the bathroom and I just heard from a few people that he may be using."
"Well, I've been with him all day and I can assure you that he's not an addict in anyway." Malcolm lied. "I think he spends so much time in the bathroom is because he has bladder problems from when he had kidney failure." He pulled out a ten dollar bill and placed it in front of her.
"Are you sure?" Tara's demeanor went from protective to sympathetic. "Poor guy! Are you sure he can have liquor with a kidney and bladder problem?"
"Of course!" Malcolm reached over and took the shot from her hand, then he got the one from the bar. "It's a bladder problem, not a liver problem. Sheesh Tara!" He winked at her and left the bar. Malcolm raised the glasses over his head so he wouldn't accidently bump into somebody and spill them everywhere, causing undue stress for both him and the party that would have Bacardi all over their designer button up shirt.
When Malcolm caught up with Josh he gave him his glass and toasted. "To The Thermals!" He exclaimed and downed the shot in a single gulp. Josh looked like he was staring at a pretty flame. "Aren't you going to drink it man?"
"Dude, I really don't drink!" Josh tried to hand back his shot but Malcolm was having none of it.
"I paid for it fucker. Drink the damn thing!"
Josh looked up at him hesitantly and downed the alcohol. It made his throat close up a little and the stink of it nearly caused him to vomit in his mouth. He began to cough and almost doubled over. Malcolm laughed and patted him on the back.
"Good boy!" Malcolm exclaimed. "Now for something to sip on."
As Malcolm was leaving Josh, still holding his stomach, put his hand on Malcolm's leg and protested. "Man, please, I don't drink!"
"You just did!" Malcolm smiled. "And you are going to do a lot more of it if you want a ride home tonight!"
Josh let go of Malcolm and tried to get his composure back. He was not used to one hundred and fifty one proof alcohol going down his virginal throat. Even after he was able to stand the burn was intense. Not even two minutes after he was able to swallow again did Malcolm come back and hand him a glass
of what looked like chocolate milk.
"It's a white Russian!" Malcolm took a sip of his through a tiny red stir straw. "You'd be lying if you told me that you could really taste the alcohol in this!"
Josh took a drink and his face puckered, he had to set the beverage onto the elevated stage in front of him. "I've had them before, but you can most certainly taste it! Damn this is strong! What are you doing, fucking the bartender?!"
Malcolm looked back over toward the bar and then down to Josh. "Nah, she's just a good friend. Wouldn't mind fucking her though. Not that I haven't tried." He laughed and was happy to see Josh smiling along with him.
Josh ran his fingers through his bright blue hair. This prompted a question from Malcolm. "What's your natural hair color?"
Josh seemed more at ease with imbibing this drink than the last one. "Blond." He told him. "It's cool because I don't have to bleach my hair to dye it."
"I've been thinking about bleaching my hair and dying it something like purple."
"You have really cool hair. Black suits you. It fits your pale complexion."
"Thanks."
"Do you mind me asking, do you ever go out into the sun? You're really, really white." Malcolm took this personal question as a sign that Josh was starting to become intoxicated. He liked this and answered in the most un-condescending way he could possibly think of.
"I just work from home. I have an active night life so my schedule is pretty eschewed as it is. No big deal though. Some people are just night people." Malcolm too could feel the alcohol getting the best of him, not that it would be a problem. He was a champion drinker. Malcolm hoped that Josh would get drunk enough to hug him throughout the night and be a happy drunk. Josh took his drink from the stage and continued to take large sips until it was nothing but glass and ice. Malcolm promptly got him another one.
And another one.
And another one.
By the sixth drink of the night Josh couldn't express enough how much he loved the FUCKING Thermals. Hugs most definitely ensued.
By the time the show was over Josh could barely walk straight. He kept saying he forgot how much fun it was to be drunk. It was cute the first time but the guy kept trying to get Tara to give him more, which she refused on the grounds that Malcolm told her he was drunk enough. Luckily Josh took this in stride and happily waved goodbye to the female bartender.
Malcolm was supporting Josh on his side and guided him to his car a few blocks away. Josh kept asking about whether or not cars had souls. This amused Malcolm and he made a mental note to get him drunk more often.
Once they were at the car Malcolm led Josh over to the passenger side and opened his door. Josh didn't so much sit down as he did fell. Malcolm straightened him out and put his seat belt on for him. His new friend was leaning to the side and had finally become quiet. Malcolm stood back and looked at the boy. He was definitely handsome. No wonder he had a girlfriend. He wondered if she was good enough for him.
Was she as good in bed as he could be?
It took everything Malcolm had not to take advantage of the guy in his highly intoxicated state. But the thoughts always led him down the memory path of how he himself became who he was. Malcolm felt the sting of tears in his eyes and violently shut the door. He walked over to his side and went in. When he looked over he saw that Josh had completely passed out.
"Hey man." Malcolm nudged him a little. "You OK?"
"Please..." Josh mumbled. "Water... Food..."
Malcolm smiled. "Anything you want good buddy."
They drove down Lincoln Street and then up Seventh where they again turned on Broadway and pulled into the Burger King. It was an all night drive through sort of deal and it was perfect for two drunken idiots about town. To Malcolm's dismay Josh became unresponsive but he ordered two Whopper meals for him. He had asked for the two drinks to be water and they came in a drink carrier. The female attendant told him that he would get more of his value by getting soda but all Malcolm had to do was point at his friend and she understood.
Now for the bigger question, his place or Josh's? Malcolm was sure that his roommates would be too drunk to notice them barging in at two o'clock in the morning and have no problem with it. However Malcolm wanted to bring him home and let him sleep on his bed while he himself stayed in the living room. He could always use the excuse that he was too drunk to drive all the way out to Colorado Boulevard and was merely thinking of their safety. His pecker won in the end and he headed over to his place on Platte.