14 Days

The next morning came far too quickly for Evie’s liking. The buzzing of the alarm jolted her awake and she quickly rushed to the nightstand to silence it, though the monotone noise seemed to phantomly echo in her aching skull. A loud groan soon took its place, the sudden noise and movement having also woken a sleeping Brian, much to his annoyance.

Evie quickly rolled back away from the clock and into Brian’s awaiting arms. She snuggled herself into his chest, laying her head on his pec allowing herself a few minutes of selfish relaxation as he wrapped his arms around her to hold her close to his body. Nothing but silence fell between the two for another 5 minutes until the alarm buzzed once more.

“No,” Brian said, his gruff morning voice denying the idea of actually getting out of bed. Evie went once again to switch off the terrible noise, and as soon as the sound ceased was immediately pulled back to Brian.

She was unable to help the giant smile that took over her features, the grin having made a home on her face since the day before. Her body fell back against the mattress and Brian wrapped her up once again, his strong arms holding onto her tightly to fight her escape.

“No more alarms?” He asked, a small grin of his own finding its way onto his morning hating face as Evie settled herself in and got comfy once again.

“Nope,” she confirmed, melting into his body. She took a deep breath, trying to memorise his scent knowing that this would be the last morning they would have completely alone for a long time.

“Good,” he mumbled, tightening his grip quickly once Evie settled. He, too, started briefly walking down the path of memorising feelings, but put a stop to it and decided to instead enjoy every aspect of the moment. “What is the time, anyway?”

“8,” Evie replied, picking up one of Brian’s hands and running her fingers along his tattoos.

“We’ve only been asleep for like, 4 hours,” he groaned, doing the quick math in his head. “Why is it so early?!”

“Because we have to be out of here at 10,” she answered, twisting her head so she could look up at him. She giggled at the furrow in his brown and frown on his face upon learning the time.

“That’s in HOURS,” he said, emphasising his words to make sure she understood his displeasure at having to wake up earlier than needed. Brian was not a morning person.

“Do you not remember our conversation last night?” Evie asked, her amusement rising as she watched Brian trying to figure out why they had set an alarm.

“No?” He said, his answer more of a question in itself.

“You were adamant that we set the alarm early,” she told him, trying to jog his memory of their previous discussion.

“Why in God’s name would I do that?” He asked, his hand raising to rub at his eyes. His heart fluttered as he heard Evie giggle at his confusion.

“Because you wanted to make sure we had time to have sex before the ‘guys come barging in on us to drag us out of the hotel’. And that is a direct quote.”

“Yeah, that sounds like me.”

Evie laughed once again, watching as Brian sank back into the hotel bed and put an arm over his eyes to shield from the light that that escaped through the curtains. Ever the drama queen, she couldn’t help but think as she took in her view.

“On a scale of ‘ready to party’ to ‘ten years dead’, how hungover are you from last night?” She asked, changing her position and straddling Brian’s waist.

“You mean from this morning,” he corrected, lowering his light shield and tilting his head. “About a ‘I need sleep’. Why?”

“Just curious,” she answered cryptically, slowly walking her fingers up Brian’s chest. “I mean, we are already awake… may as well make the most of our time?”

Instead of verbally responding, Brian growled lowly, grabbing Evie’s hips and flipping their positions. Evie couldn’t help but let out a squeal from the sudden movement, finding herself underneath Brian in the most delicious way.

Instead of a third alarm sounding at 10am, violent knocking on the door alerted the pair that it was time to get moving. After lazily showering together and packing their belongings once they finally got out of bed, they were ready to properly start the day. As much as they wanted to stop time and stay in the room forever, responsibility called.

Or in this case, responsibility came in the form of Jimmy.

“Either stop fucking or let me in so I can watch!” The lanky drummer yelled out, his lisped voice managing to permeate through the heavy wooden door.

“What did I say?” Brian asked Evie rhetorically as he unlatched the door lock and twisted the handle open. As elegant as ever, Jimmy flopped into the room, his weight having been rested against the door before it was opened quicker than he had anticipated.

“You haven’t even started, yet?” Jimmy asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. “I have great timing!”

“You’re a perv,” Evie told him, rolling her eyes at the excitable giant.

“They already finished!” A deep voice yelled out beyond the joining wall of the room. Evie turned bright red as she realised exactly what the voice was implying, and Brian joined Jimmy in cracking up.

“Sorry, Matt,” Brian managed to replied, his half-hearted apology to the hunky singer making Evie flush darker.

“Oh god,” she murmured, struggling not to combust from embarrassment.

“It’s not that bad, snowflake,” Jimmy said to her now he had settled down his laughter, trying to comfort her obvious humiliation. “This can’t be the first time someone has overheard you having sex.”

“It’s the first time one of my bosses has!”

“Well, I'm your boss and I’ve heard you have sex,” Brian said, cheekily disagreeing with her statement with an over exaggerated wink.

“And technically we aren’t your bosses anymore,” Jimmy added. “But since you guys are being boring, I must continue my mission to wake the rest of the world!”

And with that, Jimmy dashed out of the room, his knocking on the door next to theirs still reverberating through the now silent room. His statement had hit home to both Brian and Evie, yet another reminder that everything was changing yet again.

No words were needed as they collected their luggage, Evie doing a final sweep of the room as they readied to leave. She rejoined Brian at the door of the room, their gaze meeting in mirrored looks of melancholy. They moved into the hallway, Brian pulling the door shut behind them and Evie starting to move towards the elevators. Ahead of them stood a clearly suffering Zacky and Johnny, both of them donned sunglasses and hoods in the attempt to shield away any excess light.

Evie was not surprised to see the state of the boys. By the time she and Brian had left the insane festival after party, both guys were still downing drinks as if the world was ending, entertaining a slew of women that were hanging on each and every word coming out of their mouths.

There was a part of Evie that had reared up in jealousy at the sight, knowing that if she hadn’t currently stolen Brian’s attention, there was every chance he would be among the group. She luckily screwed her head back on before the feeling consumed her. She was not naive enough to think that Brian had forced himself out of similar situations, and she knew by reputation alone that he was far from chaste, yet it didn’t bother her. Why should she hold him to a higher standard than she held herself? She, too, had sampled nights of fleeting passion, leaving at the crack of dawn to make it back to the van before anyone had noticed her disappearance, nights where there were a few good looking guys vying for her attention and taking their offers of drinks and company. So she had wrangled that pesky green eyed monster back in his cage before he had even escaped, deciding instead to bask in the attention Brian had showered on her all night.

Brian had joined the quiet trio just as the elevator doors opened on their floor. They all climbed in, Zacky furiously pushing the ‘close door’ button as soon as they were clear and they were all hurtling to the lobby in no time. Once they had reached the ground floor, they were waved over by Larry, looking ever the business man in a smart grey two-piece suit. He greeted the guys, getting nothing but a grunt from the two hunchbacks as they handed him their room keys.

“Evie, I am so glad I got to see you before you left,” Larry said cheerfully, turning his attention to an audience he would get a little more reaction from. “I just wanted to say thank you again for filling in for Chris. We couldn’t have got here without your help.”

“Uh, yeah, not problem. Glad I could help you guys out,” she replied uneasily, completely unprepared for the sincere thank you.

“I didn’t think I would actually get a chance to tell you face to face! I thought you would have stayed with your band, but here you are,” he continued, his words starting to become pointed. She wasn’t entirely happy with the undertone in his voice, sensing he was insinuating something less than savoury due to her presence with the guys first thing in the morning. Sure, it was well-founded, but not in the way she knew he was imagining.


“We were all hanging out last night,” Brian told Larry, realising that Evie had stiffened with Larry’s unspoken inquisition. “You know, one last hurrah and all that.”

“Ah, that makes sense,” Larry said, nodding in understanding as if Brian’s explanation made any logical sense. “I assume you just wanted to say goodbye in person, as well.”

“She will be coming back to the busses with us, then will head to the airport from there,” Brian said, once more interjecting before Evie could start to talk. Normally this would irritate Evie, but right now she was glad Brian had decided to take charge. He was much more eloquent than she could be in the current moment. She could see that Larry was about to question the plan, and quickly came to Brian’s aid.

“I just want to do one last sweep of the bus. I can’t find one of my necklaces, and wanted to check that it didn’t get left in my bunk by accident. Seeing as you guys were heading out before we are, I thought I could quickly have a look,” she told him, shrugging as if that was the only reason she could have to tag along.

“I see. Well, tell the terror twins that there are taxis out the front already set to go back to the festival grounds. We are setting off at 11:30,” Larry said, speaking to Brian directly at the end.

He abruptly left the pair standing as he approached the reception desk, getting intercepted by Jimmy and Matt before he could start the process of checking out. Jimmy slammed his keycard into Larry’s hand quickly before grabbing Matt’s arm and pulling him through the lobby and out the doors, leaving nothing behind but a final screech about racing the others back to the bus. Brian laughed and shook his head at the actions of his endlessly entertaining best friend, watching the pair jump into an awaiting car and leaving the hotel before he and Evie had even taken a step.

“Thank you for having my back,” Evie said to Brian quietly, getting Brian’s attention from the scene they had just witnessed.

“Why didn’t you want to tell him?” Brian asked, trying to figure out the reason for her hesitancy in revealing their relationship to Larry.

“It sounds ridiculous, but I didn’t want him judging me. Judging us,” she corrected herself, trying to find the words to explain her reaction.

“I don’t think he would judge us,” Brian said slowly, not buying into her explanation.

“As soon as he saw me with you guys, he was already drawing conclusions,” she pointed out, thinking back to the second thing he had said, and how his tone immediately changed. “Especially as Zacky and Johnny left, leaving just you and I with Larry.”

“Even if he was suspicious, they are warranted conclusions.”

“Well, yes, but it’s more than that. I guess I just don’t want people to think I am fucking you because your a famous musician, or because you’re my boss, or that the only reason you’re with me is because I was easy access,” she said, finally finding a few words to sum up her mental struggles.

“Evie, people are going to think that, especially considering the circumstances of us meeting,” Brian told her, hating to give credence to her feelings of insecurity. “But we both know that it isn’t true. The people closest to us know that, too. That’s all that matters.”

“I know it’s all that should matter, but I just hate the idea of someone so influential in your life, someone who took a chance on me and brought me into the big leagues, thinking of us as nothing more than idiots who can’t keep it in their pants,” she said, sighing heavily.

“He already knows I’m an idiot who can’t keep it in his pants,” Brian said, trying to lighten the mood that had further darkened an already shitty day. Despite herself, Evie chuckled at Brian’s crappy joke, looking up to the gorgeous guitarist in front of her and letting herself push down the rising feelings of inadequacy and vulnerability.

“Now come on, let's get the two living dead over there and get back to the bus,” Brian said, throwing his free arm over her shoulders and starting to steer her towards the entry of the hotel.

They collected Zacky and Johnny, the 4 of them and their luggage filing into an awaiting festival cab. It was the quietest journey Evie had yet been on with any member of Avenged, and she relished every second of their company while she was amongst it (whether they were conscious or not). Sitting between Brian and Johnny in the back seat, she let herself lean into Brian for the journey, taking in his warmth, his cologne, the feel of his hand in hers, everything she could.

The cab had been instructed to drop them all off in the bus parking lot of the festival grounds, making it far easier for all the bands and crews to get back on the road and not have to waste time walking through the pack down of the festival. From the front seat, Zacky directed the driver to park as close to their bus as possible, the driver more than willing to go along with the idea. Once they had reached the correct bus, they all piled out quickly. Evie quickly leaned back into the open window and asked him to wait for a few minutes and booked him to drive her to the airport. He was more than willing to take on another job straight away, one that could put some cash straight into his pocket, and immediately started the meter.

“It’s time?” Brian asked her quietly, his chest already heavy with sadness.

“I guess so,” she replied, unable to look him in the eyes.

“I’ll go get the others,” he told her, quickly breaking off and heading into the bus to collect anyone that lurked within.

Johnny was the first to walk up to Evie, the bassist silently opening his arms and hugging her tightly.

“I will miss you, sweatpants twin,” he said as Evie hugged him back. She couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up with his words, remembering their night of twinning in matching men’s sweats.

As the nostalgia rolled over her, she had to suppress the sudden rising of sadness that crept through. She knew this would not be an easy task, but hadn’t expected to nearly break into tears at the first farewell.

Zacky took Johnny’s place as the pair separated, taking Evie into his arms and holding her tight. Despite his stomach rolling in protest of last night’s activities, he pushed through, not being able to let her leave without a proper goodbye.

“I’m sure we will see you soon,” Zacky said quietly in her ear as they embraced. If he knew anything about Brian, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to stay away from Evie for much longer than she would be able to stay away from him. He had a feeling that his duty as match maker was not quite complete yet, regardless of the fact they had finally admitted their feelings to each other and themselves.

“I might drop by once things get settled back home,” she admitted, she too knowing that it would be impossible to stay away from not only Brian, but the rest of the guys for too long.

“I can’t wait,” he told her sweetly, giving her one last squeeze before letting her go.

As Zacky joined Johnny and they both moved onto the band bus (most likely to go straight back to sleep and ignore the reality of their hungover state), Evie noticed the group around her growing. Again, she had to take a second to get hold of the flurry of emotion that was conjured at the sight of the rest of the band and crew waiting for their chance for a proper goodbye.

She managed to get through her farewell to Bruce, Dave, Dan and JB dry eyed, but the second Matty stepped up, she couldn’t help but let out a little whimper. She hadn’t mentally prepared herself to face the fact she really had to say goodbye to everyone, logically she knew it had to happen, but she had not considered the emotional toll it would take on her.

“If you start crying, I am going to have no hope in holding it together,” Matty warned her, already seeing the tears start glazing Evie’s eyes. Seeing her show any form of vulnerability had obliterated his defences, and he was not ready for actual tears. He had only ever seen the strong, fierce side of the woman in front of him, and had not readied himself to see anything but the Evie he had known over the last 2 weeks.

“No promises,” she managed to mutter out, burying her face in his shoulder as they hugged. Matty felt her small trembles as she tried to regain her composure, and was touched at the physical representation of their friendship. He hadn’t expected to grow so close to the temporary tech, but somewhere along the line they had created a strong bond that neither of them had expected, but each cherished.

Matty loosened his hold on his new friend as JB touched his arm, reminding him that he was not the only one that wanted a second of Evie’s time before she left. The tech placed a small kiss on top of her head before pulling away, a matching sad smile on each of their faces as they said their final wordless goodbye. Matty stepped over and joined his brother, JB giving him a light pat on the back in a surprising display of comfort.

With only 3 people left, Evie was starting to lose her composure. She thought she would manage to keep it all in check, but that was until the hunky lead singer had his turn at saying goodbye. Something about being wrapped up in his burly arms managed to break the dam, and as he let her go, the tears started to roll down her cheeks.

Finally, it was Jimmy’s turn. He had toned down his energy from earlier, and was wearing his emotions on his sleeve. For the first time all tour, Evie was let in to the placid, empathetic side of Jimmy. She had seen slivers of it here and there, but had not seen the depths of his compassion, and just the first look at him had her balling.

The friendly giant took her in his arms, lifting her up slightly and hugging her with all he had, as if the action itself could take away her pain.

“Thank you for loving my best friend,” he whispered softly into her ear, completely undoing all of her strength. “I’ll look after him until you’re back.”

Evie was speechless, and she had no idea how she would be able to continue with the hardest goodbye yet to come. She sniffled and sobbed, clinging on to Jimmy as if he were a lifeline, and without him she would certainly sink into the grief that was bubbling beneath the surface. Ever the one to try and flip the mood, Jimmy’s hold on her loosened and he encouraged her to let him go. Still holding on to his arms, she looked into his crystal blues, seeing the physical change from the giant teddy bear to the class clown they all loved so much.

“Ew, you snotted on me!” He exclaimed, giving her a quick wink before his attention flew to those still surrounding them. He pulled Evie along with his movements, as if she weighed nothing, and thrust her into Brian. “Wipe your boogers on him, not me!”

Jimmy continued making a fuss, managing to get all attention off Evie and Brian while simultaneously herding the rest of the onlookers back into the bus. He rambled and raved, his arms flying left and right as he collected the crowd and let no excuse fly; he simply had to have EVERYONE’S help removing the gross snot. In that moment, regardless of what he was whining about, Evie could have kissed that man. Seemingly effortlessly he had given Brian and Evie privacy for their own goodbye.

“He is a fucking genius,” Evie said quietly, her focus on the now closed door of the bus, unable to find the strength to look at Brain.

“In so many ways,” Brian agreed, pulling Evie closer against him.

They both knew that they didn’t have much time, the cab driver clearly already getting pissed off that it was taking this long to get away from the festival grounds. There was so much they needed to say, yet neither could find the words, or the courage. There was so much still left in the air, so much unsaid, so much unanswered, and though the method of flying by the seat of their pants had gotten them this far, they knew it was not going to sustain them much longer.

Evie took a breath, held it in her chest for as long as she could, and slowly let it out. Picking up on her silent cues, Brian’s hold on her started to loosen, giving her enough room to look up at him, but not enough to separate their hold on one another. He could feel his own composure start to crack as a tear rolled down her cheek, his hand automatically rising and his thumb swiping it away. Evie nuzzled into his hand, trying to let the physical contact soothe her already aching heart.

She knew this was going to hurt, but she didn’t realise it was going to be this bad. They had only just started dating, there was no logical reason she should be feeling this heartbroken by leaving someone she was only with for two days. Somehow over the last 14 days, a connection had formed, the magnitude of which she had severely underestimated. It wasn't as if she would only miss being able to kiss him, to hug him, to be affectionate, she would also miss his sense of humour, the way he would challenge her own guitar skills, the conversations about music, science, and everything in between. She would miss his presence in her life, and that was not something she would be able to substitute with anyone else back home. Brian was a completely unique creature, one which was proving impossible to let go.

“Come on, kid!” The taxi driver yelled out, clearly now at the end of his rope. Evie visibly cringed, the perfectly intimate moment shattered by the impatience of the man she was paying to wait for her.

“One sec,” she managed to gurgle out in response, her voice thick with unshed tears.

Brian quickly closed the distance between them, trying to put everything he possibly could in the one kiss alone. The promises that it would all be okay and it would work out, that they could get through long distance, that they had made the right choice. Evie clutched at him, feeling helpless and overwhelmed all at once, unsure how she was going to find the strength to walk away from the best thing that had happened to her.

All too soon it was time. Brian pulled away, separating their lips but taking a second longer to take her in one last time. He memorised her features, her soft skin, the exact shade of blue of her eyes.

“You could just stay?” Brian suggested weakly, knowing it was unfair to ask, but needing to regardless.

“You know I can’t,” she replied, her voice just as quiet as Brian’s had been. They both knew the trouble she had to sort out in her own life before she could think of visiting the tour again, there were post-tour reviews, endless meetings and now more than ever, she had to secure her job for the next wave of dates, whenever they would be.

“I know,” he sighed, hating the reality of their chosen path.

“I will visit as soon as I can,” she assured him. She took the chance to quickly peck his lips once more, rising to her toes and surprising him with her display of affection. “I promise.”

It took everything she had to remove herself completely from Brian’s embrace, feeling like the movement alone was ripping at her soul. She made her way quickly to the cab, knowing that if she gave into her temptation of returning to his arms, she would never leave. She opened the door of the car, stealing one last look at the beautiful guitarist she was leaving, knowing that she wore a mirroring look of heartbreak on her features. She sent him him a weak smile, a vain attempt of veiled happiness on her part, and she forced herself into the front seat of the cab. She shut the door, giving the driver a small apology before focusing on Brian in the side mirror, watching as he lifted his hand in a wave as they pulled away from the festival grounds.

Evie truly crumbled as Brian’s silhouette grew smaller and smaller until it completely disappeared. She didn’t care how cliche she looked, or what conclusions the driver was coming to, all she cared about was the misery swimming inside her, and how she could possibly pull herself from the pain.

Notes

No words needed...

xoxo
Sas