14 Days

The afternoon of drinking soon turned into an evening of drinking, and so many artists from bands Evie admired had stopped by the table for a drink or two to say their ‘hellos’ to the Avenged boys. It was then that Evie truly realised how big Avenged Sevenfold actually were. She thought she had an idea beforehand, seeing the amount of fans that would turn up each and every night they were playing, the little luxuries the boys indulged in, even the size of Brian’s house, but seeing people from Atreyu and Black Stone Cherry to the metal gods of Slipknot come over and embrace the boys like brothers had really nailed home the fact that they were metal royalty themselves.

“Hey, just ducking out for a smoke,” Evie told her brother as their discussion came to an end, quickly sliding from her chair.

“I really wish you’d give up,” he said, his words falling on deaf ears.

“Yes, dad, I know,” Evie replied childishly, rolling her eyes in a hugely exaggerated motion before giving him a smirk. “Soon, I promise.”

“You said that 5 years ago,” he pointed out, “and look where we are now.”

Stumped for a reply, Evie settled with ruffling his hair, quickly skipping away before he could grab her wrist and exact his revenge. She knew that she would pay for that move later, but she was in such high spirits that she might not even put up a fight and let him win. After her talk with Lzzy that afternoon, the copious amounts of alcohol ingested and playing footsie and all sorts on nonsense with Brian under the table, she was feeling more relaxed and at peace than she had in months.

She walked through the tent (now about 20 times as crowded as when she had first arrived) and made her way out to the designated smoking area. As soon as she had enough elbow room, she extracted her cigarettes from her pocket and placed one in her mouth, lighting the tip and inhaling a cloud of toxins. There were many amazing things in the world, but not a lot compared to smoking while drinking. The harsh burn of the chemicals eased by bitter ice cold beer was something dreams were made of.

Walking further away from the throng of smokers, partially for some more space and partially because she couldn’t run the risk of accidentally burning someone (knowing her luck it would be someone very famous) with the tip of her cigarette, Evie looked up to the Ohio sky. It had been a while since she was outside with Lzzy, and since then the sky was blanketed a dark blue, stars trying to poke their way through the haze of the festival lights. Though it was only a sliver, the moon was shining over the grounds, casting a soft glow over the areas the lights could not reach, and that’s where Evie saw a few familiar figures lurking.

A quick internal debate had Evie walking over slowly to the pair, not trying to sneak up, yet not trying to loudly announce her arrival. Their conversation quickly hit her ears, making her stop in her tracks and step out of their eye line.

“-worth it. You have been covering the position, what do you think?” Phil asked quickly.

“Well, we have been fine for the last two weeks,” Troy started, Evie’s heart sinking immediately as she realised the subject of their conversation, and the reason they were having it away from anyone else.

“Today’s show was a lot smoother with another set of hands to help out,” Phil pointed out, having the decency to at least sound hesitant in believing Troy’s words .

“Only in the transitions. There were still fucks ups and most of them were because of her, whether she forgot the timing, or she was too busy talking to her new band and didn’t notice the string snap on Josh’s bass.”

“Even so, she is his sister. She has been her longer than you or I have,” Phil argued. Evie felt sick to her stomach as Troy fought against her and Phil seemed to be buying it.

“I know she isn’t going to go without a fight, but how much can she do wrong before you put the band ahead of what is easiest? This was just a two week break and she couldn’t get it all back together in time, just imagine what will happen once we start touring the next album,” Troy said, saying exactly the right things to get his way. He knew how to play Phil like a fiddle.

“Do you think you’re capable to take over her position?”

“Definitely. I know the timings, I know the amp and pedal settings, I know exactly how each of them prefers the change overs. If we hire a runner to help out during the shows, we would be saving the band money,” Troy explained, clearly having thought out every single point so he could leverage his way into her job.

“Look, I will think about it,” Phil said, trying not to make any promises. “This idea will not go over easily with the band.”

“She’s half out the door anyway thanks to this tour with Avenged Sevenfold. Just let them have her and everyone is happy.”

Evie stayed in her position as the two men walked away, still murmuring to one another. She sat, her legs unable to support her as she took in what she had just heard. She figured there was a little resentment from Troy about her absence, that much obvious in the way he had spoken to her since her arrival, but to hear the extent of his hatred to her hit hard. For years she had been touring with him, sharing her knowledge and forming what she had believed was a friendship, and now he had just pulled away the veil and it all came crashing down.

What had changed so severely in the last two weeks to make him behave this way, for him to think it was okay to go behind her back to try and steal her job? Was he upset that she had taken the temporary position with Avenged and actually left her band while they were still touring? Was he jealous that he wasn’t offered the position? What in the world made him think that any of the band would be on his side?

Though he didn't need the band to be on his side, he needed Phil. Phil would explain to them that it would be a better financial decision to have Troy and a runner do her job, and they would have to believe that he would be steering them in the right direction as he was yet to be wrong about a business decision. Troy had marketed himself in the perfect way for Phil to be on his side, and Evie knew that he had months to work on his case before the band started their next tour cycle. One which she now highly doubted she would be invited on.

So caught up in her own mind, Evie didn’t notice anybody approach her until a lanky drummer plonked himself upon her lap. His ice blue eyes were glazed over in a familiar look of inebriation as he stared at her intensely as if he were trying to read her mind.

“No,” he told her firmly, making her tilt her head in confusion. “No.”

“No what?” She asked, completely and utterly confused by him, and not for the first time.

“To whatever you are so sad about. No. Not today!” He explained, his giant hands reaching out and encasing the sides of her face so she could not move.

“Jimmy,” she started, trying to move out of his weird hold.

“I said no, Evie! No, no, no!” He repeated loudly, trying to get his point across.

“Okay, Jimmy, no,” she agreed, trying any way to appease the giant and get free.

“That’s better! Now say it like you mean it!” He encouraged, his grip loosening and his hards lowering to her shoulders. “Say it like you mean it, Evie!”

“No?” She tried, her response more of a question.

Regardless of his method, his initial quest was slowly becoming fulfilled and he was cheering her up. His actions forever amused her, and his absolute lack of embarrassment or fear definitely worked in his favour. After their discussion this morning on the plane, Evie was seeing more of the true genius behind the clown mask, seeing how he observed the world in a more intense way than anyone, and tried everything within his power to care and show his own brand of love and protection for those in his life.

“I am not leaving until you say it like you mean it!” He warned her, slowly enunciating the last few words in an attempt to get her to realise he was 100% committed. Evie laughed, watching as Jimmy started to smile along with her. “Say it with me now. 3, 2, 1 - NO!”

“No!” Evie said in unison with the drummer, his face splitting into a grin as he finally wore her down and got his way.

“Good, now get out of that head! You can have tomorrow for sad Evie,” he said, finally getting off her lap and raising to his feet. He stuck out his hand and lifted Evie with ease. Evie took in his words, taking a second to push the overheard conversation to the back of her mind and taking his advice. Until 10 minutes ago, she had been having the perfect night, she wouldn’t let Troy’s jealousy ruin that. “Tonight is for LOVE!”

With his final words, he shoved Evie and bounded off into the crowd. Evie stumbled before feeling a pair of hands at her waist helping steady her. Her head snapped to look behind her, meeting the gaze of the one man that could guarantee she would enjoy her night.

Brian smirked at her before turning her small body flush against his, leaving her no choice but to wrap her arms around his neck. Wordlessly he lent down, meeting their lips and pulling her as close as he could against his body. Evie wasted no time giving in to him, letting herself be swept away in the moment. With Lzzy’s advice echoing through her mind, she finally made the choice.

Evie pulled her head back, breaking their kiss and regaining her breath. She looked at Brian, taking in the fire in his eyes, the firm grip of his hands at her waist, and the need they both shared.

“Let’s go,” she suggested, motioning towards the exit with a quick nod of her head. “Sneak out before anyone finds us.”

Brian needed no extra convincing. He grabbed her hand and moved across the grounds, through the crowds (narrowly avoiding a stray Zacky chatting up a girl at the bar) and towards the exit, leading a giggling Evie behind him. They climbed into one of the awaiting cabs outside the artist’s exit, giving the driver the name of the hotel before disappearing into the night.

Notes

So, this chapter came from nowhere!!
I struggled SO hard trying to write the first paragraph, then BAM!
It's not long, but it moves the plot a little :)

Xoxox
Sas