Rock All Night(69)

“There’s a good reason,” he said darkly.

“Bah,” Killian said, flapping his hand dismissively. “Just because you’re a prissy wanker doesn’t mean the rest of us can’t partake.”

“You prissy wanker, you,” Derek repeated. Ryan just rolled his eyes.

“Partake in what?” I asked. “Why doesn’t anyone want to go to Joshua Tree with Killian?”


“Yes, why doesn’t anyone want to go to Joshua Tree with Killian?” the guitarist said plaintively, like a five-year-old child who only got a package of underwear for Christmas.

Derek sighed heavily. “It’s not that I don’t want to go, it’s just…”

“It’s just what?” I asked.

Derek paused, then gave me a mischievous grin. “He wants to do shrooms while we’re there.”

“…shrooms?” I repeated, not quite understanding in my drunken state.

Then I got it.

“MUSHROOMS?!”

“Say it a little louder, luv,” Killian griped. “The coppers outside the stadium didn’t hear you.”

“You want to go take drugs out in the desert?!”

Killian seemed to consider that a baffling question. As in, who wouldn’t want to?

“…yeah!”

“It’s an annual thing,” Derek explained. “Ever since he came to Athens, he has to go to Joshua Tree every year and trip on shrooms. It’s like his annual ritual or something.”

“Exactly,” Killian said, sounding comically dignified. “It’s my annual ritual.”

“And every year Derek goes with him,” Ryan said.

“And trips his balls off,” Killian added.

“And every year he tries to get Ryan to go, too – ” Derek said.

“But Ryan’s a prissy little wanker who won’t partake,” Killian sniffed. Then he leaned in close to me. “Don’t be a prissy little wanker, luv.”

“I… uh… I’ve never dropped shrooms before,” I said, a little bit frightened. Okay, a lot frightened.

“You ‘drop’ acid. You just ‘take’ shrooms,” Derek said.

“You can drop shrooms,” Killian said.

“Yeah,” I said, annoyed at being corrected.

“Nobody says that,” Derek scoffed.

“Well, Kaitlyn can drop shrooms if she wants,” Killian said magnanimously, and then gave me puppy dog eyes. “Please, luv? Do it for Queen and country.”

“She’s not British,” Ryan pointed out.

“Pretend you are.”

“The f*ck’s going on over here?” Riley shouted as she stumbled over. “Is this a band conference?”

“Unofficial one, yeah,” Ryan said.

“Why wasn’t I invited?!” Riley roared.

“It’s about Joshua Tree.”

“Oh, FUCK THAT.”

“I’m trying to get Kaitlyn to come along and join in,” Killian explained.

Riley about busted a gut laughing. “Yeah, right!”

I drew myself up in indignation. “What does that mean?”

“It means you got a stick so far up your ass, you’re not gettin’ any mushrooms down there with it,” Riley snorted as she walked off.

“I do not,” I said in a petulant little voice that nobody else heard. Then I called after her, “That doesn’t even make sense!”

Now I kind of wanted to do shrooms, just to show Riley up.

Kind of.

Sort of.

Maybe.

“You can come if you like,” Killian called out to the drummer.

“Are there gonna be hot naked chicks?” Riley shouted over her shoulder.

Killian paused to consider.

“…most probably not, no.”

“Then f*ck off!” Riley yelled as she walked into the crowd.

“Alright, that’s one off the list,” Killian said.

“You didn’t seriously expect her to say ‘yes,’ did you?” Ryan asked. “You ask her every year, and she never says yes.”

“I ask you every year.”

“Yeah, and I never say ‘yes’ either.”

Killian shrugged. “I try to be polite.”

I looked at Ryan in alarm. How bad did something have to be for Riley to refuse to do it? “Why doesn’t she ever say ‘yes’?”

“Riley’s drug of choice is booze,” Ryan explained. “She’s not interested in anything else.”

“Except *!” Riley shouted, popping back into the conversation just long enough to scare the shit out of me, laugh maniacally, and disappear again.

“Except that,” Ryan conceded.

Killian turned back to me. “You’ll come along, right, luv? Pleeeeaaaase?”

“I… I don’t know, Killian,” I said, when what I really meant was closer to Riley’s FUCK NO.

“But if you don’t do it, then Derek won’t do it… and if Derek won’t do it, he won’t even come… and then I’ll be all alone, and it’s no fun all alone,” he whined.

“Miles is going to let you do this?” I asked, shocked.