CHAPTER THREE
the wolfpack

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STU SLID THE keycard through the receiver, the room door beeping and unlocking as a result. He grabbed the handle and swung, pushing open the door to reveal the most fancy, spacious room any of the group members had ever seen. "Holy shit!"

Phil let out an enthusiastic laugh as he slapped Stu's shoulder, the crew advancing further into the villa and taking it all in.

"Can I live here?" Chloe excitedly mused as she continued surveying the room in awe.

"Oh my- this place is enormous." Doug affirmed as they all made their way to the skyscraper-esque view from the multi framed windows.

"Is this all one suite?!" Doug then questioned, voice full of amazement. "Thank you, guys. Or should I say, thank you, Stu and Chlo."

"You're welcome." Stu and Chloe answered at the same time, sending each other lively smiles as they did so.

Stu added after a moment, pointing at Doug. "It's only because we love you."

"Okay, ladies, pick a room, get dressed. Let's be ready in thirty minutes." Phil voiced, still focused on the view.

"Don't have to tell me twice." Chloe immediately replied, then breaking out into a light jog as she wanted to choose the biggest room before any of the others could choose it before her.

•

Chloe sang 'The Sweet Escape' as she danced towards the main room of the suite, the woman in an entirely good mood after her luxurious shower and usage of the soft bath towels. She was truly in heaven.

At the sound of Chloe's singing, the boys turned to look at her, their jaws practically dropping to the floor at her attire—minus Doug, of course.

She was dressed in a short, incredibly revealing, yet elegant, cherry red dress that only just concealed everything, her makeup done to match.

Phil's pupils flared and his jaw clenched unnoticeably, failing to realise that he was effectively staring at her.

"Wow, Chloe." Doug slowly nodded, impressed at her attire. "You just pulled that out of your closet?"

"Yeah, I just had it lying around, you know how it is." Chloe went along with the joke, waving it off as a grin spread across her lips, and she did a little twirl for dramatic effect. "What do you two think?"

"You're so sexy." Alan blurted out.

Chloe just huffed out a chuckle, deciding not to take anything that Alan says too seriously. "Thanks, I guess, Alan."

"Phil?" Doug teased as he looked at his friend, already knowing exactly what he thought of Chloe, but seeking to coax some sort of divulging answer from him. "What do you think?"

Phil seemed to have snapped out of whatever thought process he was in, and he just shrugged, reverting his gaze from its previous act of surveying Chloe. "She looks alright."

"Alright, alright, let's go hurry Stu up." Doug huffed a chuckle and began heading towards Stu's room, the rest of the gang following after him.

Chloe started humming the song she was singing before, to which Phil sent her a criticising look. "Really?"

"What?" Chloe defensively crossed her arms over her chest.

"You can't be serious." Phil huffed a disbelieving chuckle, and he didn't understand how she could like such an awful song—according to him, of course.

"Hey." Alan frowned, defending Chloe as he briefly glared at Phil. "That is a great song, Phil."

•

Phil, Doug and Chloe walked into Stu's room, only to find the man wearing nothing but white boxers and a towel slung over his shoulder. He was talking to Melissa, and the group had only assumed he was trying to cover their collective asses—as usual.

At the sight, Phil threw his hands to the sides, shooting him an 'are you serious?' look, while Doug smiled at him, Chloe just sending him a little wave and a grin.

Stu mirrored Phil's look back to him, then sent Chloe and Doug friendly smiles back before focusing back on the phone call. "What else? Um...we met the, uh, proprietor."

"Oh, I bet you..." Phil let his voice trail off, as he figured his friend was talking to his incredibly toxic girlfriend, and slumped down on the bed comfortably.

"What's his name?" Stu stuttered, and Chloe just blew out a breath, placing her hands on her hips as she looked around the room out of boredom. "Um, Caesar. Palacè. Yeah, like the salad."

A brief pause.

"Um...yes, Chloe did come." Stu furrowed his eyebrows as he now caught the group's attention.

The woman in question frowned in confusion at Stu, and she mouthed a 'what?' as he defended himself and his friend to his girlfriend. "No, honey, I've told you a thousand times before, she's not that type of person, and I would never cheat on you. She's just a friend. That's all. Plus, you've met her, she's a nice girl. No! No, not like that- she has a boyfriend anyway! No, that's not an excuse, I-"

Chloe stifled a laugh as she tightly clasped a hand over her mouth. Melissa had always been jealous of her, and she truly had no idea why. Melissa couldn't seem to comprehend that their relationship was strictly platonic.

Phil just tapped on his watch and raised his eyebrows at Stu, trying to convey the urgency their following activities required.

"Okay. Well, listen, I gotta go- no, I'm not going to sleep with Chloe, Lyle is here too." Stu hurriedly explained to Melissa, and Chloe slowly nodded, impressed at the improvised lie. "Yeah, he's here. It's fine, he hasn't let her go, basically! Anyway, we're gonna hit this wine tasting. Okay. Wait, wait, wait. I love you. Okay. Bye."

As soon as Stu hung up the phone, Chloe raised her eyebrows. "So. How's Melissa?"

Stu sent her a pointed look, though before he could reply, Phil cut him off. "I'm not even gonna say anything, it's so embarrassing."

"Where's Alan?" Stu swiftly moved on, then beginning to get himself dressed.

"He, uh, he went downstairs." Doug sat on one of the comfortable seats across from Stu's bed. "He said he had to grab a few things."

"Good, because I have something to show you." Stu grinned, acting out a few bodybuilder poses before whipping around and pulling out a small box, opening it to show the trio a fancy wedding ring inside.

"Uh-oh." Doug drawled as he took the box to get a better look, Chloe raising her eyebrows as she approached the boys to take a closer look.

"Wow, Stu." Chloe blew out a breath as she looked back at Stu. "Do you really think that's a good idea?"

"What the hell is that?" Phil immediately criticised.

"What do you think it is?" Stu fired back. "And yes, Chloe."

"If it's what I think it is, I think it's a big fucking mistake." Phil scoffed, starting to get infuriated with Stu's naivety.

"I'm gonna propose to Melissa at your wedding. Right after the ceremony." Stu grinned at Doug, choosing to ignore Phil's usual cynicism.

"Stuey, congratulations!" Doug beamed, entirely happy for his friend.

Chloe mustered up a slight smile as she truly couldn't force herself to be okay with the idea. If Stu really got married to Melissa, she knew that he would, for a fact, be depressed for the rest of his life. "Uh, congrats, Stu. Just don't kill yourself after a month, okay?"

Stu, once again, sent her a jokingly sharp look, but huffed out a small chuckle anyway as he soon finished dressing himself. "Thanks, guys. And I won't."

"That's a beautiful ring." Doug ruminated as he kept staring at the classic ring.

"Yeah." Stu nodded at the compliment. "It's my grandmother's. She made it all the way through the Holocaust with that thing. It's legit."

"I don't get it, wait, have you not listened to anything I have ever said?" Phil harshly interrupted, casting the trio's eyes to him.

"Phil, we've been dating for three years. It's time. This is how it works." Stu defensively answered. "Plus, I'm sure Lyle is going to propose to Chloe soon, anyway. We'll all be married, except for you, which, I think, should say something."

Phil sat up. "Okay, first of all, Chloe and Lyle have been on and off for a year," then, he briefly shifted his eyes to Chloe, "if he proposes and you say yes, you're an idiot."

Chloe furrowed her eyebrows in offence and opened her mouth to shoot back a snarky reply, though before she could even get the chance to, Phil turned back to Stu. "That 'this is how it works' thing is bullshit. And she is a complete bitch."

"Hey, that is his fiancée." Doug shot Phil a frown and slapped his shoe, choosing to defend both of his friends. "And Chloe's not stupid, of course she'd say no."

"What? It's true. It's true, you both know it's true." Phil scoffed as he hurriedly stood up and gestured to Stu, the man feeling his irritation begin to rise at how no one else seemed to be taking his side. "She beats him!"

"That was twice, and I was out of line." Stu corrected, trying to defend Melissa, though the explanation seemed to implicate her even further. "She's strong-willed. And I respect that."

"Wow. Wow." Phil disappointedly drawled, and he glanced at his other two friends as he pointed at Stu again. "He's in denial. Not to mention, she fucked a sailor."

"This is crazy." Chloe shook her head as she glanced away, placing her hands on her hips. No matter how many times she had tried to instil logic into Stu's head, none of her attempts had worked. What else was she supposed to do but accept the idea that he would ultimately do whatever he wanted, anyway?

"Hey, he wasn't a sailor." Doug looked at Phil, half-joking. "He was a bartender on a cruise ship. You know that."

"Guys, I'm just standing right here." Stu pressed his lips into a thin line. "So, I can hear everything that you're saying."

"Hey, guys." Alan's voice caught the group's attention, and each of them turned to find the man standing at the doorway in a casual grey shirt, white jeans, and dirty grey sneakers, grocery store bag containing alcohol and glasses clasped in his hand.

He was standing in a humorous, suggestive manner, hips pushed out to one side, arms swung out, pressure all on his left leg to maintain the stance, his right leg slightly bent, and his right foot positioned outwards for extra flair.

His incredibly earnest eyes slid between the group, who were watching him in slight discomfort. "You ready to let the dogs out?"

"What?" Stu raised his eyebrows in perplexity as he mirrored Chloe's position of her hands being on her hips.

Chloe slightly squinted, and her brows knitted as a consequence. "Huh?"

Phil's eyebrows scrutinisingly snapped inwards. "Do what?"

"Let the dogs out. You know..." Alan began to slightly bounce, alternating the pressure between his feet as he shifted them back and forth. To make matters worse, he started to awkwardly sing the song too. "Who let the dogs out? Who? Who? Who?"

"Who brought this guy along?" Phil's bafflement seemed to increase as he gestured to the man, darting his critical eyes between the rest of the group.

When he received small, huffed chuckles from Stu and Chloe, Phil smirked, Doug sighing as he just chose to swiftly move on. "Yes, Alan, we are ready to let the dogs out," momentarily glancing at Stu to reinforce his previous sentiment, Doug continued, "hey, congrats."

"Thank you!" Stu grinned.

•

"I love this fucking town." Phil eagerly pushed the 'up' button for the elevator as the group stopped in front of it, Alan blowing out a long breath as he stood the same way he did before, flicking his head back in an attempt to get his short hair, which wasn't anywhere near his face, out of it, his left hand now resting on his hip and emphasising his pushed out bottom even more.

Phil looked him up-and-down, blinking as his previously blank face was now entirely filled with judgement. "You're not really wearing that, are you?"

"Wearing what?" Alan tilted his head.

"The man-purse." Phil gestured to the purse slung around Alan's torso then looked at his unaware friends, to which Alan casted a glance down to the bag in inquiry. "You're actually gonna wear that, or are you guys just fucking with me?"

"It's where I keep all my things." Alan's eyebrows creased inwards. "I get a lot of compliments on this. Plus, it's not a man-purse. It's called a satchel. Indiana Jones wears one."

Phil shrugged smugly. "So does Joy Behar."

Chloe felt bad for Alan as a result of Phil's constantly provoking comments, the woman just nodding towards the man as she defended him. "I like the satchel, Alan."

Doug and Stu released amused huffs as they knew that, simultaneously, while she did feel bad for Alan, she also knew how to twist Phil's behaviour and treatment of others back towards him.

Her efforts seemed to have worked, as Phil just looked at her exasperatedly, slightly shaking his head as he should've known she would taunt him.

"Thank you, Chloe." Alan raised his eyebrows at Phil as he gestured to the woman. "See, Phil? A hot girl likes my satchel."

Chloe let out a huff through her nose out of hilarity at the unintended double meaning of the words, and as the elevator door slid open, effectively cutting off the mini-debate, the group were met with a man quickly stumbling to stand up from his previous position under a woman's dress, Chloe rolling her lips inwards to stifle another laugh.

"We're going up, guys." The man slurred with half-lidded eyes as he gestured upwards, the girl he was with nodding quickly as she fixed her hair.

"Yeah, that's perfect." Phil affirmed, gently pushing Stu and Doug into the elevator once Chloe and Alan had walked in first.

"Really?" Stu sceptically questioned at Phil's words.

"We're going up?" Doug inquired.

Chloe nodded along to the words as they each ignored the girl stroking the man's chest behind them. "I thought we were going to the casino."

•

"I'm just saying, it's clearly marked, okay?" Stu complained as Phil pushed open the door to the roof, each of them walking through it as he held the door open for them. "We are definitely not supposed to be up here."

"Oh, come on, Stu, we're paying for a villa, we get to do whatever the fuck we want." Phil scoffed dismissively.

"Yeah, but-"

"Just wedge the door open." Phil cut Stu off mid-sentence, pointing to the brick on the ground beside it and approaching a set of thin stairs leading to the very top of the building. "Guys, come on up here."

Smirking at Chloe as he thought of an idea, Phil gestured to the stairs with a tilt of his head. "Ladies first."

"So you can all look at my ass on the way up?" Chloe unenthusiastically raised her eyebrows as she gestured to the men. "No way, I'm going last."

"It was worth a shot, Phil." Alan zealously whispered, nodding proudly at the man, who just stared at him as if to convey the fact that his attempt was purposely obvious, rolled his eyes, then began to climb up the ladder.

"How the hell did you find this place?" Doug's eyebrows creased inwards as he climbed up, the rest of the group following suit.

"Don't worry about it." Phil sighed as the group took a minute to admire the stunningly picturesque, skyscraper view of Las Vegas.

"Wow." Chloe impressively mused as she took it all in, and if she wasn't snapped back to reality by Doug's voice, she would've daydreamed about staying there all night.

"Look at the view up here."

"You happy?" Phil grinned, the two slapping one another's hands and bringing each other into a 'bro-hug' as Doug nodded.

"Woah!" Stu exclaimed, eliciting a chuckle from Phil. "Are you kidding?!"

"Alan, how we doing, buddy?" Phil voiced, casting the group's attention to Alan, who was taking the shot glasses and alcohol out of the bag for all of them.

"Good!" Alan called as he danced his way over to them.

"What do you got over there, Alan?" Doug inquired, and as the man arrived, handing them each a glass, he grinned. "Uh-oh! A little Jäegermeister. Good idea."

"Great idea." Chloe smiled as she took the glass from Alan gladly.

"There it is. Good call. Um, no, this is good." Stu elaborated, each of them watching as Phil took the bottle from Alan's hands and poured each of them a shot. "I'd- I'd like to make a toast. To Doug and Tracy. May tonight be, but a minor speed bump, in an otherwise very long and healthy marriage."

Chloe's smile grew as she held her glass up and glanced at Doug. "To Doug and Tracy. I love you both so much, and I know you'll have the most happy marriage ever. Cheers."

"Cheers." The rest of the group chorused as they clinked their glasses and downed the shot, each of them groaning and releasing small coughs as their faces scrunched back at the bitter taste sliding down their throats.

"Oh, it's like college." Doug coughed out. "Good speeches though, guys, thanks," he inhaled a deep breath as he shook his head to rid himself of the taste.

"Alright." Phil swallowed. "I wanna talk about something."

"Alright." Doug nodded, preparing himself for whatever Phil was going to say.

"I want to-"

"I'd like to..." Alan cut Phil off before he could make his speech, and thus, drawing the group's attention to him.

He hung his head back as he felt tears well up in his eyes, and the man just released a solemn sigh as he then rifled through his satchel in search of something. "I'd like to say something that I've prepared. Tonight..." pulling out a piece of crumpled up paper from his satchel, Alan began to speak, Phil just wearing a tight-lipped smile as he gave up.

"Alright, Alan." Stu slowly nodded at the page.

"Hello." Alan started formally, his tone incredibly stiff and pensive. "How about that ride in? I guess that's why they call it 'Sin City'."

Alan kept flickering his eyes back and forth between the paper and the four in front of him as he let out a forced giggle and kept reading from it, noting their collective enjoyment as small, entertained smiles appeared on their, now interested, faces. "You guys might not know this, but I consider myself a bit of a loner. I tend to think of myself as a one-man wolf pack. But when my sister brought Doug home, I knew he was one of my own."

Stu supportively patted Doug's shoulder in pride, eliciting a wide smile from his friend.

"And my wolf pack, it grew by one. So, were there two- so there was two of us in the wolf pack. I was w- alone first in the pack, and then Doug joined in later." Alan stuttered nervously, starting to feel the pressure of everyone listening to and watching him speak. "And six months ago, when Doug introduced me to you guys, I thought, 'wait a second. Could it be?' And now, I know for sure. I just added two more guys and a really hot girl, like model hot, to my wolf pack."

Stu, Doug, and Chloe let out wholly entertained laughs and slow nods as they were entirely immersed in his speech, and admittedly curious to hear where he was going to go with it, while Phil just smiled, concealing a laugh as he nodded and pressed his lips into a thin line.

"Five of us wolves running around the desert together in Las Vegas..." Alan furrowed his eyebrows as he became more intensely focused and determined with his speech, "looking for strippers and cocaine. So, tonight..."

Stu and Doug held up their glasses, awaiting the 'cheers', though Alan seemed to have a different idea in mind, and he suddenly pulled out a small knife.

"Woah, Alan." Chloe widened her eyes as her joviality was now entirely stripped away, and before any of them could question what he was doing, the man had just firmly cut a deep line through his palm, eliciting a chorus of shocked and disturbed shouts from the group, each of them backing up at the sight.

"Dude, what the fuck?!" Phil panically shouted.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Doug widened his eyes in immense incredulity.

Stu's face scrunched up in distressed mystification, and as Alan groaned lengthily in pain from his own actions, the entire group just disconcertingly cringed and frowned at the utter obscurity of the situation.

"Alan, what the fuck are you doing?" Chloe gaped in horror. "Was that even necessary?"

"What is that?!" Stu yelled.

"Blood brothers." Alan stared at the group determinedly.

"Don't- why did you d-?!" Stu, once again, shouted amongst the others' surprised statements, completely in disbelief at the entire event.

"Here." Alan grunted as he shakily held out the bloody knife.

"No!" The group loudly protested.

"No, no, I'm not doing that!" Stu shouted.

"No, Alan." Chloe widened her eyes, completely dumbfounded. "You're insane."

"Go ahead, Stuart." Alan heavily exhaled.

Stu cringed as he flickered his eyes between his friends. "Make him stop."

"Alan, we're not gonna cut ourselves." Doug scolded, holding out his hand and awaiting Alan's response. "Give me the knife."

Alan continued to let out pained, panting breaths as he handed the knife over to Doug, who carefully took the handle and threw it off the side of the building. "Slowly, thank you...okay...thank you very much."

"You alright?" Phil questioned, directing his concerned words to Alan. "Are you okay?"

"Mhm." Alan nodded, putting his mouth to his wounded palm to try and stop the bleeding.

"Do you need a doctor?" Phil added, beginning to walk towards Alan, until Doug answered for him.

"He's fine, he's good."

"You sure?" Phil questioned further, double checking for good measure.

"I'm good." Alan murmured into his hand and shook his head as he rejoined the group.

"Perfect." Phil nodded, signaling for the group to raise their glasses once more. "Alright. To a night the five of us will never forget."

"Hear, hear!"

•

© voidvaleska