14 Days

Evie awoke as the bus stopped, the lulling hum of the engine ceasing and pulling her out of her dreamless sleep. The white noise had actually helped her fall asleep, even if being curled up on the smaller couch section hadn’t been the ideal resting place. Her very relaxed state from the smoke that had managed to hotbox the bus had also helped substantially.

She opened her eyes, surveying the damage from the night before. She smiled when she saw Matty sprawled across from her on the longer lounge, while Johnny was cozied up on a spare blanket in the aisle between them. She recalled the three of them being the last to call it a night, surprisingly outlasting Jimmy and JB who had been the party instigators. JB had claimed it was so he could steal Johnny’s bunk while the bassist was in the bathroom, but Evie was doubtful that was the only reason. She slowly rose into a sitting position, taking a moment to mentally check over her body and check if last night had broken her. Luckily, as she had stuck to beer and smoking, she felt ok. A little sleep deprived, but that was to be expected when you only have two hour of sleep after a physically and mentally demanding day. “We’re home, mother fuckers!” Jimmy screamed out, opening the curtain between the bunk area and the kitchen/lounge area so his exclamation could be heard by everyone. “Fuck off,” Johnny mumbled as he lifted a corner of the blanket he was using as his bed, and tucked it over his head in a vain attempt to block out both Jimmy and the world around him. Johnny was far from a morning person, and even the temptation of begin home couldn’t override that.

“Fuck you!” Jimmy replied mischievously. He grabbed the corner of the blanket Johnny had just used, and tugged with all his strength. As a result, he pulled the blanket right from under Johnny, sending him tumbling over and leaving him sprawled out, arm and legs akimbo. “Now out of the way, gnome! It’s time to go home!”

In an impressive maneuver, Jimmy’s long legs leapt over the grounded bassist, and with the aid of the side of the couch Evie was residing on, he made it to the door of the bus.
“Matthew! Get your ass out here!” Jimmy shouted before rapidly descending the stairs of the bus and flinging the doors open.

Evie looked to Matty, who was now wide awake thanks to Jimmy and his insanity, and saw her amusement mirrored on his face. He shrugged at her, sweeping the drummers antics under the rug as it was just another day and just another Jimmy story. He followed Evie, standing up shortly after she had, and they both packed their pockets with their scattered possessions.

She moved towards the door of the bus, stepping over Johnny who had resumed his previous position and was slowly falling back asleep, and followed Jimmy out into the Californian sunshine. The warmth of the air surprised her as she had temporarily forgotten that April in LA was at least 20 degrees warmer than that of Pennsylvania. She let herself get distracted for a moment, realising just how far she really was from home and the rest of her family, but pulled herself back together quickly. It wouldn’t do her any good moping over the distance again, she needed to forget about it, and enjoy the sun and the Avenged crew while she had the chance.

Evie lit up a cigarette, taking a long puff before raising her arms above her head and stretching her back. Even though she had only had 2 hours of sleep on the couch, the hard, leather surface had been unforgiving and the nap was more than enough to cause her pain now she was up and mobile again. She took a look around her, noticing that Jimmy was knocking furiously on the door of the second bus, which, if the engine still running was any indication, had just arrived behind them. Matty walked out of the bus behind her, followed by a sleepy looking Zacky and Matt, each with a backpack over their shoulders. Once again, Evie envied Matt’s ever present aviators. Jimmy bounded over to the small group, clearly tired of waiting for Dave and Bruce to emerge from the roadie bus, and wrapped a long arm around Matt.

“Take me home, big boy,” Jimmy said to Matt, making the group crack up laughing as he spoke. Even Matt had broken into a grin, impervious of Jimmy’s charm.

“Come on,” he replied, rolling his eyes at Jimmy before the pair departed from the group with a head nod as a farewell.

Evie looked to Matty, waiting for him to tell her what was going on and to sate her curiosity. He really was the unofficial tour manager, his memory of what was happening and when being taken full advantage of by all of the other people on tour.

“Both Jimmy and Matt live close to each other. Zacky and Johnny do as well, but they live that way,” Matty explained, first gesturing to the right of their location, then to the left. “They carpooled to get here when we set off on tour, so their cars are in the garage. Obviously JB and I are going together, and we are taking Dan while Bruce and Dave usually get picked up by their wives.”

“Oh, that makes sense,” Evie said, nodding along. It was actually very clever, and negated the fact that they would all have to somehow find their way home. A thought then struck her. “What about Brian?”

“This is his house,” Zacky answered for Matty, the guitarist checking the door of the bus, awaiting Johnny to make an appearance.

Evie finally took in the rest of her surroundings, noticing that they were, in fact, parked on the street outside of a gorgeous two storey house. She watched Jimmy and Matt open the garage with a remote, entering the large space once the roller door was up high enough for them to walk in. The hopped in the first car on the left, quickly throwing their few belongings into the back before Matt started the engine. The loud rumble encompassed the space and bled out into the street, loud enough for the three standing more than 50ft away to hear it. Matt backed the car up, winding down the window and throwing the remote to Zacky.

“See you tomorrow,” he said, barely stopping the car from a roll before speeding back up, exiting the driveway and driving off down the street.

“I’m going to go wake that lazy shit up,” Zacky told them, turning quickly and disappearing on to the bus to terrorize Johnny until he finally returned to the land of the living.

To her right Evie noticed Bruce climbing off the roadie bus, offering them a wave before disappearing into a SUV parked across the street. She smiled, unable to help watch the sweet reunion of the older man and his wife, both of them clearly excited to see one another after a few weeks on the road.

A few curse words could be heard, coming from within the band bus before a groan and a high pitched yelp. Evie giggled, her imagination filling in exactly what was happening within the metal walls. A few moments later, both Brian and and JB exited the bus, leaving Dan, and oddly Zacky and Johnny still inside.

“So, should I call a taxi or something?” Evie asked Matty, slowly working her way through the cigarette. Matty paused for a moment, the confusion in his eyes making Evie’s heart sink.

“Oh! Right,” he exclaimed, finally realising what she was asking. “Hold on, I will call Larry.”

“No, don’t worry, I can call him,” she said, trying to take the responsibility from Matty. After all, she was a big girl now, and more than capable of looking after herself.

“I got it,” Matty told her, giving her a firm look before taking a few steps away before dialling Larry’s number. Evie put her hands up in surrender, letting Matty take the lead and she turned to see both JB and Brian also lighting a cigarette. She watched Dave leave the roadie bus and walk across the street, greeting his wife with a long embrace before they clambered in their car and drove off without a look back.

“What’s happening?” JB asked, pointing at his brother and asking Evie the question, gaining her attention from the reunion she had witnessed. “He’s calling Larry. I have no idea where I am meant to be staying until I leave for Ohio,” she told them both. “He said that he was going to ask Larry to sort out a hotel a few days ago, so I guess he is just asking which one Larry booked.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot that you don’t live here,” JB said, realisation crossing over his features before he turned to Brian. “Can’t she just stay here, not bother about a hotel?”

Brian looked to JB, unable to hide the initial shock of his question. His gaze quickly flicked to Evie before lowering to the pavement beneath them. Luckily, Matty quickly rejoined the group as Zacky, Johnny and Dan descended from the bus, saving Brian from having to come up with an answer.

“Larry just has to organise some things,” Matty told Evie, wishing he had better news for her. “He said just to stay here until he gets it all done, and that he will call you when he is done.”

“He forgot to book a room, didn’t he?” Evie asked, leaving no room for bullshit.

“I think so,” Matty said, nodded sheepishly and giving her an apologetic look. “But it’s ok, we will hang around and wait with you.”

“Don’t be stupid. You guys go home, you deserve it,” she told him, tuning out JB explaining to Zacky, Johnny and Dan what had transpired while they were on the bus. “Who knows how long it will take.”

“Exactly, we can’t let you wait alone,” Dan told her, crossing his arms and looking at her sternly. While Evie was touched at the display of friendly affection the guys were showing, she knew how much each of them were dying to get home, and she wouldn’t stand in the way of that.

“I’ll be fine,” she assured them. “I need to get on to the bus and collect my bag, anyway. I won’t be on there again, so I need to make sure I haven’t left anything behind.”

“But you could be waiting here for hours,” Matty pointed out, not feeling right with just abandoning her without any concrete information as to her housing for the next few days.
“I’m sure Brian will let her wait in his house when the buses leave,” Zacky suggested, giving Brian a heavy look before smiling brightly at the rest of the group. He watched both Brian and Evie slightly pale at the suggestion, and patted himself on the back for his devious idea.

“Exactly!” JB said, agreeing with Zacky instantly. They were all like family, and if the situation were any different, he knew that any of the others would do the same for Evie. “Plus, it’s Larry. I doubt it will take more than 20 minutes for him to call back.”

“Problem sorted. Can I go home now?” Johnny asked, speaking up for the first time since his rude awakening only 15 minutes ago.

“Let’s go, short shit!” Zacky cheered. He clicked the button on the remote, once again opening the roller door of the massive building. He handed the device back to Brian, a smug smile on his face as his best friend tried to search Zacky’s face and decipher just what he was up to.

The pair farewelled the group, making their way towards the garage and climbing into the large truck that had been parked besides Matt’s car. Johnny climbed into the driver's seat, and Zacky busied himself with the radio as they moved down the drive and onto the street. Two honks of the horn later, they were peeling down the street, away from the group of 5 that remained on the lawn of Brian’s house.

“Come on bro, let’s go,” JB told Matty, clapping him on the back before starting towards the garage himself.

“Will you be ok?” Matty asked Evie, still not entirely settled about leaving her without knowing what was going to happen to her.

“I’ll be fine,” she told him, smiling gently to try and convince him that she would be ok. As much as she wanted someone around to be a buffer between her and Brian, she couldn’t ask him to stick around just for her. “Now go home. That’s an order.”

“Yes ma’am,” he relented, giving her a cheeky salute.

Within moments, it was just she and Brian alone on the front lawn of his house watching the last of the crew depart in JB’s car. She didn’t know if it was just her feeling it, but the tension between them was almost tangible.

“I should go get my bags,” Evie spoke, breaking the silence between them.
“Yeah, the bus drivers probably want to head to the venue,” Brian agreed, nodding at the two drivers who were conversing with one another as they stood between the buses.

“Oh, I didn’t realise they were waiting for me!” She said.

She turned and made her way quickly to the open roadie bus, apologising to the drivers as she walked past them. She took the stairs in twos, trying to be as quick as she could as to not hold them up any longer. She made it to the bunks, opening the small closet at the end of the row and pulling out her bag. She brought it to the steps at the door, leaving it there so she could scour the bus for any other items she left behind. After a quick check of the cupboard she had just emptied, she crouched down to her bunk and searched the bed of any of her possessions. A few hair ties, a set of earphones and a single sock had been hidden in the bedding, making her glad she checked before she left.

After making sure she had left nothing in the bathroom, she made her way to the front of the bus for the last time. She let her hands dance over the curtains of the bunks as she walked through the corridor, over the kitchen bench tops and the tops of the couches. It hit her just how much she really would miss this tour, this bus, and the friends she had made. Her separation for the last few days had done nothing to relieve that feeling as she had thought it would, and made it no easier knowing that she had two more shows as their tech.

Evie pulled herself together, not letting her emotions overcome her and get the better of her. Her job was not over yet, and she still had time to enjoy herself and do a kick ass job before going home and finally taking a well deserved break.

She descended the stairs, looking towards the large house that stood before her and saw Brian at the front door, unlocking the gorgeous glass paneled double doors, a small sports bag at his feet, and her larger duffel bag behind him. Her heart warmed as she realised he had followed her on the bus wordlessly, helping her without a second thought. She would soon have to think about why she had felt that way, or why she was still thinking about holding his hand yesterday, but that was later Evie’s problem. Focusing on her current predicament, she hopped off the bus, apologising once again to the drivers and letting them know that everyone was now off and they could leave for the venue before starting the walk to Brian’s front door. She took in the landscaping as she went, noticing that the lawn had been recently mowed, there was not a weed in the hedges that lined the pathway, and each and every tree in the yard was groomed to perfection. Clearly he had a lot of help when it came to looking after his property.

Evie paused on the front step, hesitating between taking the next step up to be in his front door and remaining outside. She caught a glance of her bag, Brian having placed against a door jamb near the front door, far away enough that she would definitely have to come inside to retrieve it, yet not too far within the depths of the house. It helped her make the decision to finally cross the threshold, and what little breath she had was taken away as soon as she was inside.

The foyer was a large, open space, the wall on the right leading into a open plan living and dining area. The other side of the entrance opened to an equally sized area, though this room was lined with fulled book cases, a black grand piano taking center stage in the room and gorgeous leather couches creating a reading nook at the back of the room. Immediately in front of her was a staircase leading to the second level, and open french doors that let her catch glimpses of the bright, modern kitchen that lay behind them. Two steps into Brian’s house and Evie was speechless, the modern, classy interior knocking the wind out of her. She didn’t know what she had expected, but it certainly wasn’t this.

“Do you want the tour?” Brian asked, his voice breaking her from her blatant staring. She flushed, not realising he was watching her as she made a fool of herself, standing just inside the house and looking around like a lunatic. He smirked, unable to stop himself admiring the small pops of colour on her cheeks.

“Oh, no, its ok. I don’t want to impose!” She said, shaking her head violently and subconsciously taking a step back as if her very presence was imposing on him.
“I don’t mind, really,” he insisted, beginning to descend the stairs and towards her current statue-like position.

He had thrown his small bag into his bedroom, leaving it in the ‘to-do later’ pile, and started looking around to see if Evie had yet joined him. Seeing her standing in the entryway of his home, a flurry of emotions overtook him, and he was surprised to find that he actually felt calm with her here. Usually whenever someone visited his house for the first time, especially a woman, he felt wound up, obliged into playing host and making sure everything was perfect and in place. He wasn’t sure why he felt at ease with her presence, whether it was because he had seen her every day for the last 12 days, basically living with one another, or that there was actually the foundation of a friendship already forged, something that didn’t usually happen with the women that had previously visited his home.

“Come on, I will show you around,” Brian insisted, taking her silence and her still wandering eyes as confirmation that she did actually want the tour.
“Well, if you insist,” she conceded, smiling shyly as he made his way closer to her. He returned the grin before gesturing to his right, her left, and starting to make his way towards the grand piano.

Evie followed him through the spacious, tastefully decorated house. She glanced at the assorted knick knacks and small mementos of previous travels that were scattered in the wall length bookcase, took in the photos of what she assumed was his family that decorated the living and dining area, and she couldn’t help but drool over the view of his backyard from the ceiling to floor glass doors of the kitchen. Not only was the lush green yard as spacious as the house, but it even held an in ground pool and ocean views. If nothing else, the his house proved how successful the band had become, the million dollar home a testament to the hard work of the last 10 years. She mutely followed him upstairs, Brian pointing out the first floor powder room that was housed beneath the staircase on the way past. The second floor mirrored the first floors basic grey and white wall colour scheme, but each room on the floor was styled in its own unique way. The first spare room was bright, its white fluffy linens on the king sized bed in contrast to the black metal bed frame and side tables. The second room was set up in a similar fashion, though the bedding was navy and most of the side wall was taken up by a huge window that looked out to the ocean beyond. Between the two bedrooms was a full bathroom, beautiful black and white mosaic floor tiles the clear centerpiece of the room. Across the hall from the spare rooms was an office, the walls in this room a darker taupe to accent the deep mahogany of a large desk on the right wall, the desk itself home to a desktop computer with papers strewn across the surface.

The final room upstairs was Brian’s room, the master bedroom clearly the biggest of the three. As with the rest of the house, the bedroom was tastefully decorated and painted, a huge bed placed against a deep grey feature wall with light grey, almost white bedding. There were two doors on the right side of the room, one leading to an ensuite, and the other to a walk in robe. The stark difference between this room and the spare bedrooms was the immediate sense of coziness the room encased. Evie put this down to the ‘lived in’ feel of the room, clothes strewn across the armchair in the corner, the absence of a million decorative pillows on the bed, and the comforter showing that he had not made the bed the morning of their first day on tour. The left hand side table was home to a lamp, a clock and a pile of books where the right held only a matching lamp. Clearly he preferred the left side, Evie noted with a small smile.

Once the top floor tour had concluded, Brian led the pair back downstairs and headed to the living area. Evie followed him like a lost puppy, unsure of exactly what the next move was. He gracelessly flopped onto one of the couches, grabbing a remote and turning on the large TV that was nestled on the wall. Taking his lead, Evie sat on the couch opposite, taking her phone from her pocket and making sure it was on as loud as it could go before placing it on the arm of the couch. Brian flicked through the channels, finally settling on a movie that had just started.

“I don’t know about you, but I am exhausted,” Brian said, breaking the silence that had once more fallen over the pair.

“Didn’t get enough beauty sleep last night?” Evie asked cheekily, unable to let the opportunity pass. Her sass was rewarded with a rye smile in return.

“Clearly it’s not the beauty part I didn’t get enough of,” he retorted dryly, raking a hand over his body to gesture his vanity.

“Clearly,” she agreed sarcastically, softly giggling at her own joke and how it had played out.

“Anyway, what I was going to say,” he told her, giving her a pointed look, “was that I am more than likely going to fall asleep.”

“I can understand that,” she said. After her lack of sleep from the night before, she understood all too well how easily it would be to take a short nap. She sat up straighter in an attempt not to get too comfortable on the overstuffed couch. “This is your house, you are allowed to fall asleep if you want.”

“Thanks for the permission,” he joked, her sassiness clearly rubbing off on him.“You’re welcome,” she replied, grinning widely.

As Brian made himself comfortable, ready to nap, Evie quickly glanced at her phone, checking that she hadn’t missed an incoming call. With a long sigh, her attention returned the the movie playing in front of her and she got lost in the world of The Lost Boys.

Notes

Let me know your thoughts!!

Also, shout out to fyction! She keeps me accountable for this story, really subtly hinting when I need to update ;) Thank you for keeping me writing!

Xoxo
Sas