What about you?

Hearing someone come into the room and speak, Pete looks over his shoulder, a grin forming. It grows just a little more and he shakes his head. "I haven't run away. You just haven't looked in the right spots. As for the girl, well... that's what time away from here is for, right?"

Hanging up the earmuffs and wiping off the gun, making sure everything was back where it was supposed to be, Pete still listens. "Good." He was answering for both the fact of Trey being clean, and for him being given a little more freedom. "Things around here aren't so bad if there are a few compromises."

Concentrating on the handgun, Pete finally turns around to face Trey, studying him for a moment. Glancing back to the targets, his eyes then return to Trey. Turning the gun around in his hand so he's holding the barrel, he offers it to him. "Wanna try a few rounds?"


Though Axel hears Jess, he doesn't respond to her presence. He didn't want her to see him like this. As a matter of fact, he hated it. But he didn't have the strength this time to fight it.

Being pulled into a hug, the tears still come as he hides his face in Jess' shoulder. His arms slide around her and hold her tightly as the only thing he had right now to keep him going. This whole thing was just a mess and he didn't understand why he was being forced to live through it. It was bad enough the first time around - why did he have to relive it now, digging up all those memories and everything that had happened? Prison was the nightmare of his life, and something he had successfully shoved into a back closet. Abandonment from his family was a close second, and he'd also pushed that one far enough back that he didn't have to think about it anymore... until now. He just didn't understand.

Unsure how long he stood with Jess, he tries to slow the tears enough he can at least attempt to compose himself again. He knew she didn't care about seeing him in this state - he knew she didn't love him less or think any less of him. But he still didn't like it. He felt weak... vulnerable.

Drawing in a shaky breath, he finally lets Jess go, turning back to the sink to splash some cold water on his face. His eye burned and felt sore. Drying with a towel, he just stops and looks in the mirror at both himself and Jess for several long moments. Sniffing and throwing the towel back on the rack, he puts his arms around Jess again in a new hug, kissing the top of her head. It was the only way he knew how to say thank you.

Sighing deeply, he retreats, feeling at least somewhat composed now. "I hear dessert calling us," he suggests quietly. He was totally avoiding talk of what had just happened, but right now, he didn't even know what he could say about it. Moving on was the most comfortable thing to do.

Leading back through the short hallway, his arm stays around Jess' shoulder until they reach the kitchen and he finds a couple small plates for the pie. He really didn't feel like eating, but he would anyway - it wouldn't be fair to Jess to have the evening end on a rotten note.


Erik grins and nods, turning a little to see Jackie better. "Yeah... we have fun. We're all pretty close, and even Kyle by now - it's all kinda like family, ya know?"

Fingering a napkin his eyes roam the room for a few minutes, watching everyone else interacting in some way, shape or form. No one was being left out, and that's the way it should be.

"I'm sure we look a bit strange." He chuckles. "Us having picked up Kyle to give him a band instead of the other way around... then we all sorta share the workload. I know Kyle sometimes doesn't like thinking of us as "his" band, but... I think it fits and we like following him. It just seemed the right thing to do." He remembered when his brother had left the band to begin with and they'd been without a leader and lead singer. Erik had already been familiar with Kyle and JetStream, then he'd been right there at the same time things ended with Break Out. It had just seemed to fit. None of them wanted to be leaders - they all liked being support and backup - they all felt that's where their talents were. They probably would have chosen someone to be their lead eventually, but with Kyle they didn't need to. Giving the band his name seemed natural - Kyle was much better than he thought he was, and it only seemed fair that he finally get his chance.

Bringing his mind back on target, Erik smiles again at Jackie. "Kinda like voting on a president I guess." He chuckles. "Everybody needs a leader and even if Kyle doesn't think he's the right material, we all think he's perfect. He doesn't look down on us, he lets us decide things as a group, and he's never arrogant. I just hope the rest of us don't hold him back now, because he could really go far with his talents."

This all was probably boring, and he shakes his head, setting the now-frayed napkin aside. "What about you? What do you do when you're not at the recording studio?"