14 Days

Waking up on Sunday morning was one of the best experiences of Evie’s life. After a very late night and an interrupted sleep (thanks to Brian’s wandering hands), Evie finally let her body win and opened her eyes. She was greeted with the sight of a still asleep Brian, his hair askew, his mouth slightly open with little snores escaping out, and the sheet pulled down to his waist. She raked her eyes over him, reaching out and softly running the tips of her fingers through his hair and cupping his jaw lightly. She grazed the high apple of his cheek with her thumb, watching as he leant into her hand subconsciously before burying into the pillows once more.

Carefully she lent over and placed a small kiss on his forehead before completely retreating out of the crisp linens. She made her way to the bathroom, quietly closing the door as not to disturb Brian’s sleep any further. As she looked over him for a second before the door blocked him from view, she felt lighter, the weight lifted from the internal debates she had been struggling with for the last week now she had finally given herself permission to explore her feelings. To explore Brian.

With a giddy smile pasted on her lips, she started her morning routine. As soon as she submerged herself under the spray of the shower, she let out a long moan, the hot water cascading from the shower head making her body thrum in delight. She let it wash over her for a few minutes as she scrubbed her body, the heat relaxing her further, setting her mood even higher. One day, she decided, she would write a research paper on the restorative nature of showers, because no matter what mood you are in, a shower will always make you feel better.
Sad? Shower.
Angry? Shower.
Hungover? Shower!

She was so lost in her own train of thought about her love affair with showers, she didn’t realise Brian had snuck in to join her. Her entire body jolted as he gently pushed her against the cool tiled wall and held her against it with the length of his body. Her surprise of his sudden arrival started fading as she looked up at him, all other thoughts vanishing as she let herself become overwhelmed by him.

“Good morning,” she greeted cutely, her arms finding a home around him as she drew his face closer to hers.

“Mornin’,” he murmured, his breath ghosting her lips as he replied. He bridged the small gap and kissed her, feeling her body melt into his as the exchange started to heat up.

Brian was the perfect remedy to help Evie forget about anything and everything. He was the perfect escape to help her hide away from what she overheard yesterday, and what that meant for her future. His wandering hands made her thoughts disappear as soon as his calloused skin touched her, floating further and further away with the more ground he covered. Being with him and not having to hold back, Evie felt like she was existing on another plane of existence, one where everything was calm, quiet and content. Locked in the hotel room, there was no background noise of traitorous coworkers, ever interrupting rhythm guitarists, or the reminder of a looming departure date; it was just the two of them.

It was just the two of them, until it wasn’t. Rambunctious pounding on the door made the pair break apart with a heavy sigh. Brian muttered a curse under his breath as he looked down at Evie who was staring towards the door as if she could see through the drywall and hardwood to identify the perpetrator. It wasn’t long until the unanswered question was answered with a loud shout.

“Evelyn Jane Smith, if you do not open this door within the next 5 seconds, I am going to break it down!”

Evie looked guilty at Brian, silently apologising for the interruption. She gave him a quick peck in the lips before ducking underneath his arm and stepping out of the shower. She wrapped a towel around her body and secured it, heading to the bathroom door quickly before pausing at the sound of her name.

“I’m sorry, I have to,” she apologised, closing the door without looking back at Brian. If she looked back and could see any form of resistance or pleading in his eyes, she knew she wouldn’t make it to the hotel door any time soon. It was a risk she couldn’t take, not without waking up each and every room on the floor.

Evie padded across the carpet towards the incessant knocking, leaving little drops of water in her wake. She unlocked the latch and threw open the door, silently inviting Lzzy inside. The brunette took a few steps inside the room and turned to face her friend with a stern look and an accusing pointing finger.

“You disappeared last night,” Lzzy stated as if Evie hadn’t left on purpose. “You need to bow down at my feet and never stop thanking me for covering for your dumb ass. When you didn’t come back, Josh went looking for you, and obviously couldn’t find you. You’re lucky I was there to distract him from noticing that a certain other person was also missing!”

Evie couldn’t help but smirk at Lzzy, watching quietly as she took in her dripping wet form before realising that the shower was still going. Her eyes widened further as she took in the clothing strewn around the small room that left no room for guessing. She looked questioningly at Evie, who in turn nodded to confirm her theory.

“Thank you, Lzzy. I owe you forever,” Evie replied, her tone void or sarcasm or any other inflection but actual thanks. “You saved my ass.”

“And then some,” she confirmed, her attention coming back in to the conversation. “So if anyone asks, you came back early because you had diarrhea.”

“Really? You had to go with diarrhea?” Evie groaned, knowing that everything comes at a price, even her best friend covering her came with the toll of social humiliation. “It couldn’t have been a migraine, or exhaustion, it had to be diarrhea.”

“Hey, it worked, no further questions were asked,” Lzzy defended, sitting in the two person sofa and making herself comfy. “Was it worth everyone thinking you can’t stop shitting?”

“You can be the worst, you know?” Evie asked rhetorically, taking a seat next to Lzzy, regardless of her current saturated state.

“And proud of it,” she grinned widely, nudging Evie with her shoulder when the blonde did not answer her question. “So, worth it?”

“One hundred percent yes,” Evie replied, unable to hold back a content smile as she recalled her evening. And morning.

“And I take it that is him in the shower? One I interrupted?” She guessed, nodding towards the bathroom with the still running water and her friend’s wet hair.

“Yup,” Evie confirmed. “So, thanks for covering for me, but you can go now.”

“I see how it is,” Lzzy said as she rose from her seat, tossing her head back and huffing. “As soon as you get a boyfriend there is no time for me anymore!”

“You are an absolute nut,” Evie told her, taking in her theatrics with a grin. She walked to the door and opened it for Lzzy. “And you know there is always time for you. Just not right now.”

“You break my heart, little Smith,” Lzzy replied, putting her hand over her chest to continue her charade.

“What heart?” Evie joked, watching Lzzy’s character break as she couldn’t help but laugh.

“I am too proud to be mad,” Lzzy said, smiling as she walked through the door and into the corridor. She held her hand on the door, stopping Evie from shutting it. “Message me when you guys are leaving for the festival. I want to suss out this guy who has you in knots.”

“I will,” Evie promised, knowing better than to try and talk Lzzy out of her plan. She knew that she had her best interests at heart, and her form of interrogation was pretty subtle and sedate. Brian would barely register that she was sizing him up.

“You better, or else the next excuse I will make for you is going to be a lot more graphic than just diarrhea,” Lzzy said, one again pointing an accusatory finger at Evie.

“I promise!” Evie replied, slowly closing the door to try and get the point across to Lzzy. “Love you!”

“Love you too,” Lzzy said, finally letting Evie shut the door and get back to her life within the hotel room doors.

Evie quietly latched the door back in place, sliding the lock back on before moving once again towards the bathroom. She frowned when she realised that the water was no longer running and that she had missed her chance to return to a naked, wet Brian.

Regardless, she opened the bathroom door and a waft of steam greeted her, hazing up the entirety of the small room and part of the bedroom section. She waited for it to clear out and saw Brian standing at the mirror, towel perched precariously around his waist as he dried his hair with a smaller towel. She watched him for a moment, secretly hoping that the movements of his upper body would loosen the hold of the towel, but eventually had to give the knot credit for its security.

“Is it safe to come out now? No more girl talk?” He asked, glancing over to find Evie’s gaze lower than he anticipated. He could feel his ego rising as she brought her eyes slowly up his body to reach his own, a light flush covering her face that he knew had nothing to do with the heat in the bathroom.

“Mm-hmm,” she confirmed, nodding softly.

Evie walked over to him, happily standing behind him to lightly kiss across his tattooed shoulders and back as she wrapped her arms around him. Her fingers rested on his stomach and he placed his hands on her arms, holding on to her as he watched her actions in the mirror. She glanced up, meeting his gaze and buried her head into the crook of his neck, her lips grazing what skin they could find. The action was more intimate than they had experienced in their time together so far, the simple gesture opening their eyes to see how much more there was to their connection than just sex.

In one quick movement, Brian turned within Evie’s hold, taking her by the hips to spin them once again and lifted her to sit on the bathroom counter top. To help herself balance, she wrapped her legs around his hips and her arms moved to loop around his neck. They had barely an inch between them as they looked into one another's eyes.

“Do we…” Brian started hesitantly, his words soft as if he really didn’t want to be speaking them. “Do we need to talk about this? About us?”

“We probably should,” Evie admitted, her tone just as quiet as Brian’s. She couldn’t help herself, she lent in quickly and kissed his lips, letting her hands tangle in his damp hair. She pulled back hesitantly, though not far, and tried to find the words that needed to be said. “After all, this will have to end tomorrow.”

“It has to end tomorrow?” He questioned, subconsciously pulling back and creating more space between the pair.

“Well, yeah. I mean, I am going home tomorrow to Pennsylvania and you are going to continue touring the album,” Evie pointed out, confused as to why Brian hadn’t put 2 and 2 together.

“And?”

“And that isn’t exactly prime breeding ground for… whatever this is,” Evie explained, letting one arm fall to gesture between the two of them. She was reserved to say that what they had budding was a relationship, yet couldn’t explain why thinking that way upset her.

“So you think we should just part ways tomorrow, call it quits and never see each other again?” Brian asked, becoming more and more conflicted as the awful conversation continued. He may have brought it up, but it didn’t mean he wanted to talk about their situation as it had really only just begun. He stepped out of her grasp, starting to slowly pace the small bathroom. “All this is going to be is one night where we let ourselves actually be together?”

“It’s all it can be, Brian. We may work in the same field, but we really couldn’t be further apart. When you touring my hometown, chances are that I will be in yours, or in Texas, or in Europe, or somewhere else completely different. We will forever be moving in opposite circles around one another,” Evie said, trying to get him to see the logical side. A thought crossed her mind that she couldn’t help but mutter under her breath. “Though, who knows if I will ever tour again.”

“What do you mean you won’t tour again?” Brian asked, immediately picking up on her change of tone. Their previous conversation was important, and both of them knew they would have to finish talking about it, but Brian couldn’t let that comment slide. Evie was made for touring, it ran through her blood as much as it ran through his.

“It’s a long story, don’t worry,” she told him, shaking her head and trying to dismiss it. She hadn’t meant the words to slip out, and didn’t want to air her dirty laundry to Brian, or to anyone. What she needed to do was to ‘speak’ to Troy.

Brian stopped his pacing, standing still in front of Evie and returning to her personal bubble again. Had the situation been different, she would have pulled his body against hers, but she sensed that it was not the timing for such intimacy.

“Don’t do that,” Brian told her, his hands falling on the tops of her thighs as she remained seated on the counter. “Don’t dismiss my questions, it’s not fair. I want to know what you could possibly mean by that.”

“Brian, it’s not your fight, don’t worry about it, please?” she asked him, falling back on a fail safe of trying to plead for him to drop it. “I can handle it.”

“I’m sure you can, but I want to know what could possibly get you to stop touring. Anyone can see that you thrive on the road,” he told her, not letting the subject drop.

Evie sighed heavily, realising that Brian was not letting it go anytime soon. His genuine concern was not helping her try to rationalise leaving him completely tomorrow, it only strengthened his appeal. How could he be attractive, talented, caring and observant? If it wasn’t so endearing, it would really piss Evie off.

“Last night I overheard a conversation between the other Halestorm tech and our tour manager. The tech was trying to write me off to the manager, putting all the mistakes from yesterday’s gig onto my shoulders while shining a light on himself. He marketed a new plan for the next tour that would be cheaper, and put him as the lead and ony tech on the tour,” she explained, cutting down the details to the bare minimum. “If Phil goes for it, I’m out.”

Brian was speechless, an indescribable rage seeping up as he processed Evie’s story. Avenged had been blessed with the best roadies in the game, the Berry brothers having grown up alongside the band and been there since day one, so Brian couldn’t comprehend how someone could be so deceiving and move behind Evie’s back to take her job.

“What room is he in?” Brian finally asked, nothing but revenge in mind.

“Brian, no,” Evie told him, seeing the look in his eye change from confusion to rage. She reached out and grabbed at his hands before he could move away.

“Evie, what room?” He asked again, trying to stay calm with Evie as it was anything but her fault.

“This is not your fight,” she repeated, sliding off the counter top to stand in front of him. She dropped his hands and placed her own on his face to keep him looking at her. She needed to see him change back to calm. “I can deal with this, I will deal with this, I can promise you that.”

It took all Brian had in him not to storm out of the room and knock the other tech to the ground. He was surprised at the intensity if the protective streak that had manifested within him, not only did it make him violent and furious, but it was starting to get him thinking about ways he could help Evie stay touring. He was sure that a word from all of his crew would help her case, and if the manager was dumb enough to leave her behind, he knew they could find her a job within their company. He had to shake the thoughts from his mind and not let himself get carried away by playing shining knight. Evie would not take well to a ‘pity’ job offer. Brian took a calming breath, trying to release his anger.

“You said this happened last night?” He asked, waiting for Evie to confirm. She nodded her head.

“Just before you and Jimmy showed up outside,” she admitted. “Is that why you wanted to skip out on the rest of the night?” He asked, realising the timing of her sudden interest in him and the huge bombshell that could derail her career.

“Yes and no,” she admitted, feeling Brian starting to pull away. “Look, it was just bad timing!”

“Just bad timing? That’s all it was? You weren’t trying to bury your emotions in sex? You weren’t just trying to distract yourself and run away?” he questioned, almost sarcastically. Now it was his turn for his mind to spin out of control. Had Evie just used him to get away from her life for a while? Did last night only happen because he happened to be in the right place at the right time? In the past she had definitely shown herself as one for suppressing and hiding away from her emotions, was he just another way for her to do that?

“I admit that it could seem that way,” Evie said, “but it was so much more than that.”

Brian turned to face her, a mix of curiosity and hurt across his features. Eve bit her lip to try and stop the torrent of words that wanted to flow from her mouth. Brian had been brutally honest with her, was it her turn to tell him everything that had been on her mind?

“I mean, I have been able to forget about everything since last night while we have been together, but before any of that had happened, I talked to Lzzy about you,” she started, crossing her arms across her chest in a vain attempt to make herself feel less vulnerable. “She helped me see that I was being stupid and that whatever this is, is worth more than just the one night in Huntington.”

“So you just added another night on before telling me that it has to end tomorrow?”

“I don’t know what you want me to say,I am just trying to make the most of what time there is. There is no happy ending here, Brian, can’t you see that?”

“What I can’t see is why you are so resistant to trying to make this something more!”

“Because if we let it be something more, it is just going to turn into a long distance relationship with us never having the time to visit one another. When I’m on break, you’re on tour. When you’re on break, I’m on tour, not to mention you guys writing more albums. It’s just going to turn into heartbreak.”

“So you are willing to give up because it will be hard, because it might end?”“Not just hard, Brian, unrealistic. Why try for it to ultimately fail?”

“You are just running away again,” Brian said, pulling himself away from her and starting to pace again. Evie remained in position, standing in front of the vanity with her arms recrossing in front of her. She went to say something, but he cut her off. “You’re running because it is getting out of control, and you can’t handle that. You need to be able to know exactly what is happening, when it is happening, and why. It’s part of the reason you are such a good guitar technician, you will pull things apart to make them work again. With you and me, you can’t see how to get to the end product working, how to get us working, so you give up before you even try.

“I’ve told you before that I am not ready to give up! I am not going to let you run away and disappear like you were never here, it’s too late for that. You are here, you have been here, and I am not going to be able to let you go as if you mean nothing to me.”

Evie stood silently as she absorbed Brian’s monologue, completely in her head as he moved about the hotel room to redress in his clothes from yesterday. Within moments he returned to her stagnant position, uncrossing her arms and taking her hands in his. He looked at her softly, ready to try one last time to get through.

“Relationships are hard, they don’t make sense, and they are scary. Love is messy, and chaotic, and complex. Nothing has been easy with us so far, but you are holding on to this notion that it will only be difficult if we continue. Look back, see how we have tried to stay apart and it hasn’t worked, we have still ended up here, together.

“Tomorrow, it is going to be hard to say goodbye to you and to see walk away from me, but it is going to be impossible if I know you won’t ever be walking back. You need to make the decision to fight for us, Evie, because I am fully in.”

He brought her into his arms, wrapping her tightly and kissing the top of her head. He closed his eyes and let himself take it in while he could before softly pushing her back. He tried to see through her watery eyes and stick to his plan.

“I’ll see you at the festival.”

He used all he had to pull away from Evie completely, hating leaving her on the verge of tears and feeling like a complete dick. He knew there was no more he could say to convince her that he wanted her, and that she would need to make the decision on her own. In the meantime, he could definitely use his resources to find the other tech and take out his current emotional state on his backstabbing face.

He moved through the bathroom and towards the door of the hotel room, ignoring all signs of the night they had shared before. He unlocked and opened the door, pausing only when he heard his name being whispered behind him.

“Brian,” Evie said, finding her voice and feet just in time. “I’m in.”

Notes

Leave me some love :D
There is a lot more coming, hopefully soon (though it seems real life might encroach for a bit, but will try to pump out some updates when I can)

Xoxo
Sas