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Nick puts his head in his hands, "Oh, Justin what did you do to yourself."
Justin decided for the triplet's twenty-first birthday he was going to take them out. They’d go to a real bar and hang out, drinking involved or not. Matt didn’t want to drink and neither did Nick, which left Chris trying a bunch of different beers and mixed drinks, which he found gross and disgusting. Justin, Matt, and Chris sat at the bar watching the Celtics game. Nick joined them even though he didn’t have any interest in sports games, he was just happy to have a night out with his brothers.
That was until Justin drank too much. Nick, Matt, and Chris can only assume Justin didn’t mean to get this drunk. I mean it’s not like it’s his birthday it’s theirs. Justin was the one who invited them out. He’ll probably apologize profusely tomorrow, saying he had no intentions of getting that drunk and he didn’t mean to ruin their night etcetera.
"Guysss, I'm literalllly fine." Justin slurs through half-open eyes.
"Dude, you're lying on the floor of this bar," Chris mentions.
Justin chuckles to himself.
"Hey, is he okay?" A random passerby says to the four of them.
"Yeah, we've got it thanks," Matt says as turns and waves to the stranger.
The stranger waves back to Matt and continues walking towards the door.
"Heyyyy, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!" Justin shouts.
Matt rolls his eyes.
"C'mon, we've gotta get him up." Nick starts as he looks at Chris and Matt.
"Guys, I'm fine, I can get up." Justin mumbles.
He attempts to sit up but forgets to open his eyes to see.
"Are my eyes closed?" He asks sincerely.
Nick rolls his eyes, "Yes."
"Oh, that explainsss a lot," Justin replies.
Justin blinks open his eyes before getting himself to a seated position. Once he's more alert, the wavering movements take over him. Before he knows it he's lying flat on his back again.
“Heyyy!” He says in a sad tone.
"Dude," Matt sighs.
Nick and Chris kneel at Justin's level, "Can you try and sit up again?" Nick asks.
Justin nods dramatically as he slowly rises from the ground. He feels like it's taking all of his energy to sit up.
"C'mon, you got it," Matt says encouragingly.
After a moment, Justin successfully sits up without falling back down immediately, so Nick and Chirs move fast.
“Lift your arms,” Chris demands.
Justin raises his arms as high as he can.
Nick takes one arm while Chris takes the other, and they pull their older brother to his feet.
“Heyy, I’m standing!” Justin cheers happily with a chuckle.
Nick and Chris let go of him slightly, testing his limits.
“Guys he’s gonna fall, You've gotta hold onto him.” Matt starts.
“Alright, manager, I don’t see you doing anything to try and help.” Nick starts.
“Don’t start with me I’m not in the mood, all I’m saying is he’s not as fine as he says he is.”
“Heyy! I’m fine, I’m good! I’m standin up! Justin blurts out.
“Let me go, watch this!” He adds.
Matt gives Chris and Nick a worried look.
“I mean he said to let him go so?” Chris says.
He releases his hold on Justin and Nick does the same.
Justin immediately starts wavering, nearly falling.
Matt reaches forward and grabs Justin just in time, holding onto the soft fabric of his black T-shirt.
The triplets then work together to lead Justin carefully out of the bar and to Matt’s car. They’re so glad they have already paid and they’re so lucky Matt is parked out front because he knows how to parallel park and was able to squeeze into a spot.
“C’mon, Justin, you've gotta work with us here,” Nick complains.
He feels like he and Chris are just dragging Justin by his feet to the car.
“Heyy, I’m walking!” Justin exclaims in an accusatory tone.
“Barely,” Chris says under his breath.
“I heardd that!” Justin exclaims.
Justin blinks hard, realizing his eyes keep closing by themselves when he doesn’t want them to. He’s trying to walk straight with all of his energy.
“Woooo! Fresh airrr!” He exclaims once he feels the cool summer night air on his face.
“Shhhh! Justin, it’s late.” Matt says as he pats Justin’s shoulder.
“Oh yeah? How late?” Justin asks Matt while they make their way to the car.
“It’s almost one in the morning,” Matt answers him.
“Pffft, that’s nothin', I used to stay out until 4 in the morning,” Justin replies. He stumbles forward.
“Thanks, Matty, you’re the best, you know that?” Justin adds after he was caught safely.
Nick and Chris exchange annoyed looks. Matt rolls his eyes, “you never call me Matty.”
Matt presses his key fob and unlocks the car. He opens the back door closest to the four of them and tries to help Chris and Nick get Justin inside the car. They all guide him towards the door, lightly scooting him towards it once they get closer.
Justin flops forward, practically crawling into the car. Matt gives him a little boost and pushes his leg a bit. Chris waits for Justin to situate himself before climbing in beside him and Nick does the same on the other side of the car.
“Is everyone good?” Matt asks from the driver's seat as he turns around to see everyone.
“Hold on, one sec,” Nick says as he reaches into the trunk.
He grabs the supplies they stowed in the back in case they needed them: a few bottles of water and a garbage bag. They figured on the off chance Justin had too much to drink and had to throw up while they were driving back to the hotel, they should bring a bag for him to do it in so they didn’t have to pull over. It was Chris’s idea and only because he’s heard a few stories from Justin about his party days, stories that ended in him getting drunk and throwing up.
Nick returns to his seat once he’s retrieved the items and puts them beside him and Justin.
Justin laughs, “Alright, next stop, where we going next? I feel great!”
Nick rolls his eyes.
“We’re going back to the hotel. We all need sleep.” Matt interjects from the driver's seat as he leaves the parking lot.
“Matt gets so cranky when he’s tired,” Chris whispers over to Nick with a chuckle.
Nick nods his head with a smile, close to a laugh.
“Aw, no, c’mon, let’s go to another bar. I want hot wings.
Chris bursts out with a laugh.
“Justin, It’s one in the morning, I don’t know where you think you can get hot wings.” Chris starts.
“We’ll be back at the hotel in like twenty minutes,” Matt says.
“Hmmokay, that’s cool,” Justin replies.
He notices his eyes are doing that shutting thing again, but since he’s got nothing to do for the next twenty minutes he just lets it happen.
Matt looks at the backseat through the rearview mirror while at a long red light.
“Is he asleep?” He asks, gesturing to Justin.
Chris and Nick both turn towards Justin and look him over.
Chris shrugs.
“Probably,” Nick answers.
“Hmm?” Justin mumbles as Matt starts driving again.
“You’re fine, go back to sleep,” Nick says. He pulls Justin to him so he has a place to rest.
Justin springs up all of a sudden, “Is there any water?” He blinks open his eyes.
“Here,” Chris says as he hands his oldest brother a bottle of water.
Justin tries to open it but can’t. He shoves it at the closest person to him, which is Chris at the moment. Chris takes it from Justin and twists off the cap before handing it back to him.
Justin opens the water bottle and takes a huge swig, “Ah that’s so refreshing.” He closes it and lets it fall out of his hand and onto the floor in front of him.
He turns to his side a bit and leans on Nick again, remembering he was doing that earlier.
They arrive at the hotel and Matt attempts to park close to the entrance. He finds a decent enough spot and puts the car in park.
“Hey! We made it!” Justin cheers.
Chris sighs, “Yep.”
Matt gets out of the car and stands off to the side. He waits for Nick to get out and then walks over to help him and Chris if they need.
Justin climbs out of the car, nearly falling out.
“Woah, woah, hey,” Nick says as he catches him.
Justin busts out laughing, “ Wouldn’t that have been so funny if I fell? Battle scars!”
Matt rolls his eyes. “C’mon, let’s get inside.”
Nick gets the hotel key out while Matt and Chris stand beside Justin and help him walk. It’s late, so they have to use their hotel key just to get inside the building. Nick scans it and the sliding glass door opens.
“C’mon Justin,” Chris says, pulling him along.
They head inside, trying to walk to the elevator quickly and quietly, not wanting to draw attention to themselves as they’re practically carrying an incapacitated person between them.
They all get inside the elevator and Matt reaches forward to press four. Justin lunges forward and presses as many buttons as he can get his hands on.
“Justin, stop!” Nick exclaims as he brings his hands up to meet his head in disappointment.
Chris chuckles, feeling like he sober would have pushed a ton of buttons impulsively.
Matt laughs along with Chris, seeing his side of things.
They stay silent for the rest of the time as the elevator rises, not having anything to say. Justin sways back and forth between his brothers, trying not to become unstable and fall over. As the elevator dings and the triplets all help Justin get out safely, he suddenly stops in his tracks.
“I think I’m gonna be sick.” Justin blurts out dramatically holding his stomach.
“C’mon!” Nick says as he takes his oldest brother's hand and starts running down the hallway.
They make it to their hotel room and Nick pushes open the door quickly. He pivots Justin towards the bathroom and shoves him in, hoping he’ll know what to do from there. He closes the door and crosses his fingers just as Matt and Chris are opening the front door.
“Did he make it?”
“Are you guys okay?”
Nick waits for a moment. A few seconds later audible vomiting is coming from behind the bathroom door.
“I guess that answers our questions,” Chris says. He walks over to his bed and starts taking his shoes off.
Nick sighs before walking away from the bathroom door.
Matt knocks on it, “Hey, you doing okay in there?” He asks Justin.
Justin exhales loudly, “Yeah, I think I'm good.”
A few minutes later Justin emerges from the bathroom. Nick, Chris, and Matt are all sitting on the bed closest to the door.
“And he lives!” Chris says, trying to crack a joke to lighten the mood.
Justin smiles weakly before sitting on the opposite bed facing his brothers. He puts his hands over his eyes, beginning to rub them tiredly.
“What time is it?” He asks.
“Nearly 1:45,” Nick replies as he looks at his phone on the nightstand.
He thinks Justin seems to be sobering up a little bit, which is good.
“I’m gonna run to the vending machine really quick anyone want anything? I’m just getting water and maybe a bag of chips.” Chris blurts out.
“Can I come?” Matt asks.
Chris shrugs as he puts on his slides.
The door opens and Matt and Chris are heading down the hall to the ice and vending area. Once they’re done and heading back, they can hear god-awful snoring halfway down the hallway. The closer they get to the hotel room the louder the snoring becomes.
Chris swipes their key and they close the door behind them. When they look up, they see a passed-out Justin on the bed. His shoes are still on and he’s half on the bed half off.
“What the fuck Nick!?” Matt exclaims as he walks to the table to put their stuff down.
Nick emerges from the bathroom, “What!?”
“Damn, how long were you in there that he had enough time to fully pass out!?” Chris exclaims.
“I had to go to the bathroom!” Nick retorts.
The three of them look over at Justin again. He’s a mess. Shoes on, clothes on, halfway falling off the bed. Snoring like a bear.
“Alright let’s go help him.” Nick sighs tiredly.
The three of them walk over to Justin and begin helping him. His snoring is so loud they just can’t believe it but they try to begin undressing him assuming he’s not going to wake up anytime soon.
“God, I bet the entire hotel can hear him snoring,” Matt says as he unties Justin’s shoelaces.
“Yeah, this is insane, I don’t know how he hasn’t woken himself up yet from it,” Chris adds as he attempts to pull Justin's Shirt up over his head. He’s got it up to his shoulders when Justin moves. The snoring stops instantly.
“Mmhm.” Justin murmurs.
He attempts to roll over and nearly falls off the bed.
They all stop what they’re doing and catch him just before he falls.
Nick taps him on the shoulder a couple of times assuming he’s awake because the snoring has stopped.
“What?” Justin croaks out sounding as if he’s been asleep for a century. He sits up slowly and then moves to get off the bed without another sound.
Matt, Chris, and Nick watch Justin walk away.
The bathroom door closes and they hear him doing his business.
After he’s finished Justin looks in the mirror. Then he exits the bathroom and trudges back to the bed.
“Why is my shirt around my neck and my shoes are off?” He asks with a confused look as he takes his shirt off.
“You passed out with all your clothes on, even your shoes, so we were helping you get undressed,” Chris explains.
“Guys, we should get some sleep, it’s 2:30. Check out’s at 10:00,” Matt interjects.
“Oh, that reminds me, let me set an alarm,” Nick adds as he grabs his phone off the nightstand and opens his alarms to set one.
“Shit,” Justin says. He walks over to his stuff and puts his shirt in his bag and gets his things ready to go to bed. He stumbles a bit on his way to brush his teeth but he hopes no one saw.
The triplets take turns using the bathroom and getting ready for bed. When they’re done they all head over to the beds and stand near them.
Nick looks at Chris while gesturing to the bed closest to the window where Justin is lying down.
“I forgot, I offered to sleep next to Justin.” Chris sighs tiredly. He begins walking over to the light switch to turn it off then once he’s done he heads over to the bed to join Justin.
Matt and Nick get situated in the other bed.
“Hopefully the fan noise will be loud enough to drown out some of Justin’s snoring,” Matt whispers to Nick.
Nick was pleasantly surprised that this hotel has a more modern TV with YouTube available. If it didn’t, he’d have to play his fan sound on his phone and it’s just too quiet.
Nick giggles, “Yeah, I hope so too.” He whispers back.
“Alright, well, goodnight. I love you guys.” Chris starts.
They all say their goodnights and I love you’s back before Nick turns off the final light on the nightstand between the two beds. He pulls up his fan sounds video on YouTube and gets settled in bed.
Chris rolls over onto his stomach, trying to get into his favorite sleeping position quickly so he can fall asleep before Justin starts snoring again. It works because only around twenty minutes later when Nick whispers Chris’s name he doesn’t get a response.
“I think he’s asleep,” Justin replies.
“Yeah, I know, thanks captain obvious.” Nick shoots back.
“Can you two shut up so I can go to sleep?” Matt whispers annoyedly.
Nick rolls his eyes so hard he’s surprised Matt didn’t hear it. He turns over so he’s lying on his back and closes his eyes. It takes him a while to fall asleep, but everyone else stays relatively quiet from either falling asleep already or just lying there so he doesn’t mind.
Oddly enough, Justin is the last one awake, well he’s guessing because no one else has made a sound in ages. This confirms to him that he's apparently the only one who snores out of the four of them. ”Hey,” he calls out tentatively. No response. He grabs his phone to see it’s now 3:20 in the morning. He feels like he can feel the hangover starting to come on. Before a headache emerges, Justin decides to give it one last try to fall asleep. He takes a few deep breaths and listens to the fan sounds Nick put on as he closes his eyes and pulls the covers up to his chest.
+
The next morning, Nick awakes to the alarm he set earlier. He’s not surprised it didn’t wake anyone else up because when he looks around everyone’s still sound asleep. Nick contemplates hitting snooze but figures he should use this time to get ready while everyone’s asleep. He turns off his alarm and heads into the bathroom. He takes a quick shower and then gets dressed and does his skincare. When he’s completely ready for the day and leaves the bathroom, he’s kind of surprised that no one has woken up yet. Nick contemplates letting everyone sleep but he realizes it’s best if they get up now so they don’t have to rush to get ready. He walks over to the window and slides open the curtains. The bright sunlight streams through the window and nearly blinds him. Then, he walks over to the table in between the two beds and thinks about how he’s gonna do this. Nick decides to go the annoying brother route, so he opts for poking them until they get up. He starts with Justin, figuring he’d be the hardest person to wake up. He walks over to Justin and Chris’s bed and stands beside Justin’s side.
“Justin, hey!” Nick whispers as he pokes at Justin’s forehead.
Nick can hear him snoring softly and he still hasn’t budged.
“Justin!” Nick whispers a little louder.
“Noooo, go away,” Justin whines in a sleep-filled voice. He swats at whoever is trying to wake him up before rolling over onto his stomach with a sleepy sigh. He feels like he’s going to be sick and he can feel a headache forming already. He just feels awful and wishes he could sleep these feelings off.
Nick rolls his eyes with an annoyed sigh. “Five minutes,” He explains as walks away.
When he turns around he can see Matt is still sound asleep. The covers are strewn across his bare torso barely covering it. Nick walks carefully over to Matt and gently presses his hand into Matt’s shoulder.
“Hey, can you start getting up? We have to leave soon.” Nick whispers to Matt.
“Mmhm.” Matt sighs before rolling over to his other side. He pulls the covers up to his neck and snuggles into them clearly not comprehending anything Nick just said to him.
Nick knows Matt is not a morning person, so he tries waking him up as gently and nicely as he can, forgetting about the whole annoying brother routine he gave Justin. And besides, he’s got a soft spot for Matt.
Giving up on Matt, Nick turns around walking the few steps over to Chris next. He begins to poke at his cheek.
“Chrissssy,” Nick whispers.
He can hear Justin snoring again beside Chris.
Nick sighs, “Chris!” He says in a normal tone removing his hand from Chris’s cheek.
Chris jolts awake and then rubs his eyes. He groans as he slowly sits up.
“C’mon, get up,” Nick says.
Nick walks away to put a few more of his things together. When he turns back around towards the beds he can see Chris is falling back asleep sitting up, Matt is sound asleep, and Justin is still snoring and hasn’t budged. Nick rolls his eyes. He really can’t believe this but he also really can.
Nick thinks there are only a few options left. He walks over to where he slept and grabs the pillow before whacking each of his brothers with it over the head. A couple ow’s and hey’s are heard moments later.
“Guys, get the fuck up! We have to check out soon and if you want any breakfast from downstairs you better hurry because it’s over in half an hour.” Nick complains.
Everyone slowly starts to wake up. Sitting up and rubbing their sleep-filled eyes.
Surprisingly to Nick, Justin is the first one out of bed. He slowly trudges to the bathroom and shuts the door behind him.
+
Justin closes the bathroom door and sighs. He looks himself over in the mirror. He looks like shit and he feels like shit. The hangover is definitely setting in. The tiredness could be from a lack of decent sleep, but the stomach pains and headaches certainly aren’t. He uses the bathroom and washes his hands before brushing his teeth at the sink. As he spits his toothpaste and looks at himself in the mirror again, the shame and embarrassment start to kick in. How did I let myself get so fucked up? Why didn’t I stop? Those questions race through Justin’s mind and he can't stop the anxious thoughts. When someone is pounding on the door he finally snaps out of it.
“C’mon, I have to pee!” Justin can hear Chris say from the other side of the door.
Justin swiftly opens the door and steps out as Chris runs in and shuts the door with his clothes and toiletries in hand.
“Hey, how are you feeling?” Nick asks as he takes a few steps towards Justin.
Justin decides it’s best to be honest, even though he’s the one who got himself into this mess.
“Like shit,” Justin responds.
Nick sighs, “Do you think you’re hungover?” He asks, not really knowing all that that entails.
Justin nods as he grabs the bag his clothes are in. “I feel like crap,”
Nick frowns, “I’m sorry,”
Matt lies back down and grabs his phone.
Matt! Don’t fall asleep!” Nick exclaims as he looks across the hotel room at Matt in bed.
“Relax! I’m checking my phone while I wait for Chris to get out of the bathroom.” Matt explains.
Nick side-eyes him, “Okay, fine.”
Justin changes his shirt, then puts on deodorant and fresh socks. He realizes he’ll have to change his pants and other things in the bathroom. He should have brought his clothes in there but he was too tired to remember. He walks over to the bed and sits down on it. A few moments later he lies back down, curling up into a ball from exhaustion and stomach pains.
“Are you gonna make it?” Matt says as he looks across from him at his oldest brother.
Justin nods but lets his eyes fall shut.
“You hungover?” Matt asks.
Justin nods quickly with his eyes still closed.
“Damn, that sucks.” He replies.
“Chris hurry up!” Matt yells.
Justin is on the verge of sleep when he hears the bathroom door finally open. He opens his eyes and sits up.
“Matt?” Justin asks.
“What?” Matt responds as he gets out of bed.
“Can I go back in there quick after you pee so I can finish getting ready? I forgot to bring my clothes in there before I just need like two seconds.”
Matt shrugs then looks at Justin, “Sure, I guess.” He heads for the bathroom and does his business before exiting and letting Justin go in.
+
When everyone’s finally ready to leave Nick checks his phone. “Guys, the hotel breakfast ends in ten minutes.”
They all walk quickly to the elevator and make their way downstairs. Justin walks over to the drinks station and sets his stuff down then makes himself a coffee to go while Nick goes to the front desk to check them out. Chris walks over to the breakfast area and snags two pieces of bacon. One for him and one for Matt. He hands him the bacon and they all walk over to Nick. Chris and Matt simultaneously set their things down, already tired of holding them.
“Take what you can get right?” Chris says with a tired voice.
Matt nods from beside him.
Justin breathes in sharply, “Ow, my stomach. I think I need to use the bathroom before we go, " he says.
Maybe that first sip of coffee threw him off or something. He’s not sure but he kind of wishes he was curled up in a ball in his bed back home right now.
“Are you okay?” Chris asks as he places his hand gently on Justin’s shoulder.
Justin nods before walking away towards the restroom. When he returns he’s got a smile on his face.
“Feeling better?” Matt asks.
Justin nods, “A lot better actually.”
“Alright good, let’s go,” Nick suggests.
They all head outside and find the car. Matt opens up the trunk and they all throw their bags inside. Once they’re finished Matt heads for the driver's seat.
“So, I forgot to ask but, I’ll drive if you want,” Justin asks from beside Chris.
Matt turns to look at Justin with a confused look, “I don’t mind but, you’re sure? You’re okay to drive?”
Justin nods, “Yeah, I’ve got coffee so I should be fine and my headache is actually going away I think.”
“Didn’t your coffee just make you have to run to the bathroom?” Chris says with a laugh as he climbs into the backseat.
Justin rolls his eyes as the rest of them climb into the car.
“Yeah, but I feel so much better now,” He explains.
“Thanks for driving,” Matt says as he looks to his left at Justin.
“No problem, and besides, I feel terrible for running your guys' birthday,” Justin adds once he’s buckled.
Matt closes the passenger side door and buckles up, it feels so weird because he can’t remember the last time he sat in the passenger seat of a moving vehicle.
“Hey, it’s okay. I mean, I thought it was pretty funny. I think it’s the first time I’ve seen you drunk.” Matt says.
“Yeah, Justin if anything, it made our birthday something we’ll never forget,” Nick adds from the backseat.
Chris nods, “Yeah, I agree.”
“What’s your address again?” Justin asks as he types on the car dashboard screen.
Matt types it in for him. and presses go before settling into his seat.
“Alright guys, 4 hours and 23 minutes until we’re back at your place,” Justin says as he pulls out of the parking spot.
“Matt, this car is so nice by the way.” He adds once they’re on the road.
Matt nods and turns towards Justin, “Yeah? You should switch, ditch that fancy car you have now.” He jokes.
Justin laughs, “Yeah if I can ever afford to pay it off.”
“On your next big win,” Matt nods with a chuckle.
Justin smiles with a nod.
“You ditching us?” Chris jokes as he watches Nick to his left putting his airpods in.
Nick rolls his eyes, “I need my music, not this straight boy rap.”
“Straight boy rap,” Chris says in a mocking tone to Nick.
“There’s not even any music playing?” Chris adds.
“Not yet, but I know it’s coming,” Nick adds.
Chris rolls his eyes. Nick closes his eyes and leans back once his music begins to play.
“Oh by the way, if you need me to drive just let me know,” Matt says as he looks over at Justin in the driver's seat.
Justin nods, “Thanks, I’ll let you know,”
He stops at the last stoplight before they enter the highway. Justin glances in the backseat via the rearview mirror and sees Nick and Chris are sound asleep both leaning against the window on their respective sides of the car. They’ve been driving for around 15 minutes so far but Justin isn’t surprised they fell asleep, they all got a shitty night’s sleep last night. At least he has coffee. Justin picks up his cup and takes a sip just as the light turns green. He sets it down and continues driving, entering the highway and picking up speed.
Matt looks up from his phone, “We’re getting on the highway now?” He asks.
Justin nods, “Yep,”
“Can you believe those two passed out already? I bet we haven’t even been driving 10 minutes yet.” Matt says with a chuckle.
“Honestly I’m not surprised, we all had a shitty night’s sleep and all of you guys helped my drunk ass most of the night,” Justin offers.
Matt nods, “Yeah, I guess that’s true.”
A while later once they’ve been on the highway for around 45 minutes Matt starts to feel himself getting tired. The boring highway drive is beginning to lull him to sleep. He doesn’t want to fall asleep because Justin might need him to drive, but he’s getting sleepy and it’s creeping up on him further with every passing second. Matt turns around to face the backseat and looks at his sound-asleep brothers. He smiles at the sight of them sleeping hoping they’re getting some good rest. The sleep they all got last night was sub-par, so it’s good they can sleep in the car.
“You okay?” Justin asks as he briefly glances over at Matt.
Matt nods as he rubs his eyes sleepily. He can feel them start to grow heavy.
Justin grabs his coffee and takes another sip, feeling the cup's weight to judge its contents. It’s about half gone by now and that’s fine by him.
Matt looks out the window and watches the trees go by. The repeated scenery starts to lull him to sleep. He tries his best to stay awake but it’s becoming increasingly harder. Matt takes his phone out and decides to look at Instagram to keep himself awake. It works for a few minutes but then he can feel his eyes drifting shut. His head flops down as he falls asleep and wakes up repeatedly a few times.
Justin glances to his right every few minutes as he watches Matt fall asleep. His head is bobbing up and down and flopping side to side. “Dude, you’re falling asleep, why don’t you put your phone down and try and take a nap? I’ll wake you up if I get too tired to drive,” He suggests.
Matt nods, giving in to his sleepiness and resting his head on the window.
“Try and rest, I can tell you’re exhausted,” Justin adds.
“Thanks,” Matt murmurs as he fully relaxes in his seat.
+
They’re about halfway back to LA when Justin starts to feel the exhaustion hit him. It’s been coming in waves, but now he can feel his eyes drooping and getting heavy. He changes the song playing to a more upbeat one and refocuses on the road ahead. The GPS says there's about two hours and some change left in the drive. Justin glances over at Matt, he’s sound asleep and hasn’t moved since he told him he should go to sleep. Justin looks out the windshield over to his right and sees a blue sign titled ‘next service area 1 mile’. He smiles to himself and silently cheers. Although he told Matt he could sleep and Matt told him if he needed anything he could wake him up, Justin just doesn’t want to do that. He figures the best method is just to pull into the rest stop. This way he can get some rest and refuel or maybe grab a coffee from inside. Justin pulls into the parking lot of the rest stop and finds a parking spot. He pushes his seat back a bit and attempts to get comfortable. Just as he’s finally relaxing and on the verge of sleep, he can hear movement from the backseat.
“Where are we?” Chris asks with a sleep-filled voice as he blinks his eyes open.
He tries to clear his throat and then sits up.
Justin sits up and turns behind him to face Chris, “I pulled off to a rest stop so I could sleep for a bit, I was getting too tired to drive.”
“Matt could have driven, you should have woken him up.” Chris starts.
“I didn’t want to wake him, he looked exhausted,” Justin confesses.
Chris sighs, “Well, actually I’ve gotta use the bathroom anyways, so I’m gonna go inside.”
“Do you want anything?” Chris adds a moment later.
“Can you grab me a Dr. Pepper?” Justin asks as he looks behind him at Chris.
“Yeah,” He nods before closing the car door.
The car door closing awakes both Nick and Matt. Nick wakes up slowly and stretches, while Matt jolts awake in fear, not knowing where they are and forgetting he’s not the one driving. He looks to his left to see Justin presumably sleeping then looks behind him to see Nick waking up.
“Hey,” Matt whispers as he softly grabs Justin’s shoulder.
Justin turns to face Matt and opens his eyes without sitting up.
“Do you need me to drive? I slept for a little bit, probably like an hour or so, so I should be fine.” Matt offers.
Justin yawns before replying, “Yeah, if you wouldn’t mind.”
Matt nods, “Yeah, of course.”
He unbuckles his seatbelt and opens the car door. Justin does the same and they switch places.
“Are we at a rest stop?” Nick asks.
“Yeah, Justin got too tired to drive so we’re switching spots, well we already did,” Matt explains.
“Oh okay,” Nick replies.
“Where’s Chris?” He adds a moment later.
“Using the bathroom,” Justin answers him.
A few moments later, Chris comes back from the bathroom and enters the car before closing the door behind him. He hands Justin the Dr. Pepper he requested and then settles back in his seat.
Matt turns around in the driver's seat so he can see everyone, “Is everyone good? No one has to use the bathroom or get snacks?” He asks.
He sees Chris and Nick nod, and then Justin replies, “Yeah, I’m good.” so he pulls out of the parking lot and gets back on the road. Once he’s put his playlist on he feels totally confident in his driving abilities. Matt has his music on and he’s in control of the car so he feels like he’s got this.
“Get some sleep, you need it, well we all do,” Matt says as he looks to the passenger seat at a sleepy Justin a few minutes later.
Justin nods before he lets his eyes fall shut. He leans on the window soon after.
Around fifteen minutes later, Matt hears Justin’s snoring begin. It does irritate him a little bit so he turns his music louder to drown it out. Although the snoring is annoying to listen to, he’s glad Justin is getting some much-needed rest.
The rest of the drive goes off without a hitch, only around forty minutes of traffic once Matt gets closer to LA.
“Guys, we’re here,” Matt says once he’s parked in the driveway.
He doesn’t hear a sound from any of his brothers so he turns off the car and opens the driver's side door. Matt walks to the back door and opens it slowly. He feels like he’s walking back here to wake up a toddler in a car seat.
“Hey, Nick, we’re home,” Matt says as he stands beside Nick in the driveway.
Nick blinks slowly and then covers his eyes from the sunlight streaming into the car. He stretches and then sits there for a moment trying to wake up.
Matt walks behind the trunk to the right side of the car and opens the back door. He watches Chris for a moment realizing he hasn’t budged and they’ve been home for 5 minutes.
“Chris, we’re home,” Matt says from beside him.
Chris sits up and straightens out his posture before sighing sleepily.
“Do you remember when you were like six years old your Mom saw that you fell asleep in the car and she would pick you up and carry you inside and put you down on your bed? I wish that was me right now, “ Chris says with a sleepy voice.
He opens his eyes finally and looks at Matt and then at Nick to his left. Chris flops his head back to the headrest and closes his eyes.
Matt doesn’t get any more words out of Chris so he walks away to go wake up the last person.
When Matt walks over to the passenger's side door, he sees Justin is still sound asleep. He almost just wants to let him sleep, but he knows Justin would rather go inside and curl up on the couch than sleep in the car. Matt opens the car door slowly.
“Hey, we’re home,” Matt says as he lightly squeezes Justin’s shoulder.
Justin wakes up startled as if he’s forgotten where he is and who he’s with.
Matt looks into the back seat to see Nick climbing out of the car. Chris looks like he might have fallen asleep again.
“Hey, you alright?” Matt says as he looks Justin over. He’s waking up more now and is more alert. Matt pats him on the chest before walking away to the trunk.
Matt opens the trunk and takes out a couple of things to bring inside and Nick joins him. They open their front door and put their stuff down in the entryway. When they get back to the car both Chris and Justin haven’t moved.
“Hey, Chris,” Nick says as he walks by him.
“Mmh,” Chris groans without opening his eyes.
“Alright well me and Nick got all the stuff out of the trunk, so whenever you two want to come inside and join us,” Matt says as he walks by Justin and grabs his shoulder.
Nick pushes open the front door and Matt follows him inside. They take all of their stuff upstairs and set it down in the living room. After they’ve both used the bathroom they plop themselves down on the couch and kick off their shoes.
“Do you think Chris and Justin are ever going to come inside?” Matt says just before a big yawn.
Nick shrugs, “I wouldn’t be surprised if they fall asleep again and stay in the car.”
Matt chuckles before taking a relaxed sigh. Nick opens his phone and goes on Instagram.
Outside, Chris gasps realizing he almost fell back asleep. He unbuckles his seatbelt and gets out of the car.
“Justin, hey, get up,” Chris says to Justin as he lightly shakes him.
Justin groans and sits up slowly. Chris reaches out his hand and Justin takes it, pulling himself up out of the car. When they finally get inside and make their way to the living room they see Nick sitting on the couch on his phone and Matt lying down curled up on Nick’s lap presumably napping.
“Hey, you made it,” Nick jokes as he looks up at Justin and Chris who are across the living room. He looks back down at Matt and starts running his hand through Matt’s hair lightly scratching it back and forth in a calming motion. He can hear Matt sigh happily.
Justin walks down the hall to use the bathroom and Chris joins Nick and Matt on the couch. The sound of footsteps getting closer startles Matt and he sits up a bit.
“It’s just me Matt,” Chris says softly once he’s sat beside Nick on his left.
Matt lies back down and rolls over so he’s facing the couch before closing his eyes again.
Justin comes back from the bathroom and sits beside Chris.
“So I was thinking,” Chris starts.
Nick and Justin look over at him.
“Nick, would you mind if I slept in your room tonight? I figured this way then Justin has a bed to sleep in and he doesn’t have to sleep on the couch.” Chris explains.
Nick nods, “Yeah, that’s fine with me.” He goes back to massaging Matt’s head softly.
Chris smiles, “Thanks,”
He grabs his phone and checks the time. It’s almost three pm.
“Do you guys want to doordash something for dinner later? I have a feeling none of us feel like getting back in the car.” Chris suggests.
Justin nods, “That’s fine with me.”
Nick looks down at Matt curled up on his lap, “Yeah me too, and I have a feeling this one isn’t going to want to go anywhere else today.” He says as he points at Matt without mentioning him out loud.
Justin kicks off his shoes and sets them aside before getting more comfortable on the couch. Chris joins him and then he finds a movie for them to watch on TV.
“I love you guys. This was a crazy weekend that I’m sure I’ll never forget.” Chris randomly blurts out.
Nick and Justin nod, saying “I love you too” to Chris.
Chris has a feeling Matt is asleep, so he’s not surprised he didn’t say anything.
Once the movie gets going everyone gets comfy on the couch, settling in for a cozy afternoon.