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[indent]Sometimes being surrounded by people was a good thing. A distracting kind of thing. People with a variety of personalities never let things get boring. This was usually a good thing for him. Yet, with all the attention directed to him (or Val, but mostly him), and with AJ finally being given a moment to slow down and catch his breath, he felt [i]uncomfortable[/i] and [i]suffocated[/i]. No, not because his children were at risk, but because everything, in this moment, felt like it was crashing into him all at once. 

Not understanding one word coming out of Aleks' full mouth, the boy looked at him with a frustrated glare, even going out of his way to swat his friend's hands. [color=ff4500][i]Not now.[/i][/color] He was already feeling some type of way toward Cosmos and this whole showing he cared, trying to be the comforting brother, was not helping. [b]He[/b] was not helping. 

Soon to follow, Trash and Fruit Loop decided to make things [i]worse[/i] calling Val a shrimp and a Chihuahua and there was no doubt that this only solidified his losing battle. There was no way she'd want to come now. Why would she? These people were giving her every reason to dislike them, and walk away. 

The pain easing and his energy slowly but surely coming back, AJ barked, [color=ff4500]"You two are something else. Fucking Christ. Shut-"[/color] Before he could finish his sentence, Sami was making his way to Val. Chris following afterward right when Katie called him 'Christopher' (wtf) and told the girls (Rey and Ava) exactly what was on his mind: [color=5C6F8E]“You know, if you guys weren’t going to help, the least you could have done was shut the fuck up. This is supposed to be a damn vacation, no need to pour gas on the fire, ladies.”[/color] 

Although Chris had said enough for the whole party, Leon added a pinch of disappointment with his 'that's enough'. As soon as he scolded, Leon made a great escape to the shower. Finally, Chloe was staring down at him, running her hand's through Aleks' hair while checking on the boy with the pained groin. Usually, he wouldn't mesh Ava and Rey together, since he had a higher tolerance for one over the other, but this. This was not the time or place for this shit.

With Chloe's offer of food, and show of concern, AJ shook his head, [color=ff4500]"It doesn't matter, I just want to hit the road. Thank you, though."[/color] Unfortunately for Chloe, AJ didn't take her warmth as kindness. It was clear to him she was more here for Aleks than she was for him. At least, she wasn't causing trouble. Out of all the girls Val didn't get along with, Chloe seemed to be 'next level' solely because she was beautiful and standing next to Aleks most of the time probably didn't help. They were blessed with good looks and from this angle, maybe, AJ could see where Val was coming from. 

While he held Chloe's hand, before he used any energy to get himself up, Emilia and her infectious happy-go-lucky voice chimed in. It almost seemed like she was going to put the drink on his... part... so he quickly swiped it out of her hand and took a sip, letting go of Chloe's hand in the process. [color=ff4500]"Mmm, good. No, you're good. This is fine. I'm fine."[/color] Amidst the chaos surrounding him, this was when Nate decided to approach Josie. AJ didn't notice since now, at last, he was picking himself up, deciding against using Chloe as a crutch. Call it pride or whatever, but he could do it himself.  

Standing up now, his eyes rested on Katie talking to the two bitches. It was finally settling in that she was here. It was finally settling in that someone that wasn't Val invited her. It was finally settling in that he wasn't okay with this. What would she gain by coming along? Didn't she have a boyfriend to keep her busy? Hell, she could easily go to Greece and be with her brother and his boyfriend! There were so many questions crashing into his head. His impulsive nature wanted to ask them all now, make the scene worse and cancel the whole trip, because Val was definitely not coming anymore.   

But...

He couldn't. Seeing her made him see Jamie. She came in his car and now she's pretending this isn't a big deal. He was too sober for this shit. The heartache he should've gotten over the moment Jamie and Marshall went Facebook official was still there, stinging.  

[color=ff4500]"Fuck me."[/color] He muttered, all those around him would've heard. Aleks, Chloe, Emilia. Swiftly and temporarily brushing it off, while he not only had pain on the outside, but also on the inside, AJ took this instant to join Leon in the comfort of his family's RV. 

[color=ff4500]"Thanks, guys. Really. I'm going to wait for things to settle down. Enjoy your breakfast, then we'll head out."[/color] Once he took a sip of the soda, he smiled at Emi, showcasing the drink she gave him, [color=ff4500]"Refreshing. Just what the doctor ordered."[/color] 

With that, AJ left them behind and found himself laying down on the sofa, right arm covering his eyes. 
 [/indent]