beautiful child

1

Stevie shakes her tambourine and sways back and forth, putting hardly any energy into her performance. It's only soundcheck, and being this close to Lindsey for the first time in months is already effecting her. They'd ended on particularly bad terms the last time they'd seen each other, and Lindsey was trying to gloss over that. He should know better than to try to ignore a fight with Stevie, but he didn't have the energy. 

Though it was nearly impossible to push thoughts of her from his head when she stood a mere six feet from him, shooting glares his direction every chance she got. He's had to really control himself when he'd first seen her, her hair up in curlers. He'd wanted to make some sort of comment on her pre-show look, but was smart enough to know that he'd better not if he was going to attempt any sort of apology. So he'd bitten back his comment, but every time she glared at him from beneath the curlers and massive sunglasses, he couldn't help but crack a smile. She looked ridiculous. Of course, she'd taken that reaction personally, feeling as if he were mocking her. Despite her lack of energy during soundcheck, everyone knew she would step it up for the audience. She always does. 

As soon as soundcheck is over, Stevie, in usual Stevie fashion, storms off to her dressing room. Lindsey considers following her, but decides against it, not wanting to rile her up before the show. 

In the green room before the show, everyone is falling into their usual pre-show rituals. Mick and John are playing a game of cards, Lindsey is plucking away at his guitar, and Stevie is talking to her assistant, Karen, with her dog in her lap, doodling idly in her journal. The crew is bustling around them, triple checking everything to make sure the show goes off without a hitch. 

Stevie can feel Lindsey staring at her, and she knows they're both thinking about the performance they're going to have to put on tonight. They have a few acoustic songs together, which means she'll have nothing else to focus on but him. She just hopes she can find enough composure within herself to not throttle him halfway through the set. Something about being around Lindsey always made her feel so childish. Maybe it's because he knows exactly how to push her buttons. The stage crew ushers them to the side of the stage, and they all nod at each other. Mick walks on first, followed closely by the others. 

The show is going fine by the time Landslide rolls around. Still, Lindsey shoots a glance at Stevie to verify that everything is okay. She looks tense and a little jittery, but she gives him a small nod. He starts playing, and Stevie takes a deep breath. She starts singing flawlessly, getting caught in Lindsey's stare. 

Her eyes are watering, and she takes a step back from the microphone while Lindsey does his guitar solo. Stevie lingers beside him for a moment, nodding along with his guitar. They finish the song, and the rest of the show goes by without issue. 

Back at the hotel, Stevie is sitting on the couch in her suite. After the show, she took a long hot shower and changed into her pajamas. Stevie stares out the window behind her at the dark sky and she twirls her pen mindlessly. There's a lot on her mind, but she's not sure how to write it out, which has never been an issue for her before. She wants to blame Lindsey, but, for once, it's not his fault. Stevie sighs and closes her journal, setting it on the couch cushion beside her. She stays up for a little while longer, watching TV before crawling into the cold hotel bed. 

The next two days are travel days, so Stevie mainly keeps to herself, working on the end of one of her songs. She has Karen help her record a demo and store it. 

Lindsey isn't very productive when it comes to working on the road when it comes to working on new material during a tour. For the two days on the road, he either messes around on his guitar or plays cards with Mick and John, who both love to take advantage of the fact that Lindsey is horrible at the game. 

The next couple of shows go fine. Tonight, though, there's already tension in the air. During soundcheck, Lindsey couldn't help himself, and he commented on Stevie's timing during Stand Back. He said she wasn't coming in at the right part, even though she knew she was. The bickering had escalated quickly, and ended with Lindsey storming off. The show had been stiff, as their usual civility had disappeared. 

Stevie is sitting in her dressing room, head resting on the vanity table. She's asked Karen for a minute alone, and burst into tears the second her assistant had shut the door behind her. 

Tears were still streaking down her cheeks as she rests her head on her desk. Hearing the door open, Stevie sniffles, sitting up. Lindsey meets her eyes in the mirror and she quickly wipes her tears away, turning to face him. He sits on the couch across from her, propping his head on his hand. 

"What do you want, Lindsey?" She asks, wiping the moisture from under her eyes. 

"I think we need to clear the air. We can't keep having these arguments build up. It's effecting the shows and its effecting us," Lindsey says, looking up at her. She nods, crossing her legs. Neither of them say anything for a long while. 

"What happened in the studio has really been bothering me. I know you're trying not to bring it up, but we need to talk about it. You were so mean after we'd just had this amazing experience making this album. It really hurt me, Lindsey," Stevie says softly, fidgeting with her hands in her lap. He nods. 

"Yeah. I'm sorry. I didn't mean all those things I said. Stevie, you know I didn't mean it."

"It doesn't matter if you meant it or not, Lindsey. You still said it." 

He nods, looking down at his lap. Stevie watches him closely, knowing in the set of his shoulders that he's upset. Quietly, she moves to sit beside him, their legs touching. She lightly places her hand on his shoulder. 

The warmth of her hand relaxes him a little, as it is always capable of doing. 

"What's going on with you?" She asks. She wasn't the only one who noticed something off with him, but nobody had dared to say a word about it. 

"I don't know," He says, turning his head to look at her. Stevie frowns and strokes his hair, searching his blue eyes for the answer she knows he's fighting to keep contained within them. 

"I hate fighting with you, Lindsey. That fight really stuck with me. I know that you're still holding onto things-" 

"Why would you say that?" He snaps. Stevie sighs and lets her hand fall back to her lap. She leans back against the couch. 

"It's pretty obvious. I'm still holding on to things too. You made that pretty clear when you went off on me for thinking about my solo career before agreeing to this tour!" Stevie says, her tone sharp. Lindsey is on his feet now, pacing. 

"You were being selfish," He says, narrowing his eyes at her. She laughs at the absurdity of his comment. 

"I was being selfish? You always have such a hard time accepting that my life doesn't revolve around you and the band anymore." Stevie leans forward getting riled up. He always had to make everything about him. 

"Why would I care what you're focused on?" 

"I don't know. Why would you, Lindsey?" She asks. Hurt flashes behind his eyes for a split second. Lindsey drops to the other end of the couch, defeated. After a long silence, Lindsey finally speaks. 

"I'm sorry about the awful things I said that day. I don't really think you're a has been. It scares me, Stevie, knowing you don't need the band to be successful. Because that means you don't need me."  He says it so softly it startles Stevie. It's rare he is so open with her. 

"I'll always need you, Lindsey. I don't know how not to need you. You'll always, always, be a part of me," She says, grabbing his hand. He smiles softly at her. They say nothing else, and Lindsey leaves a few minutes later. 

Stevie sighs after the door shuts behind him. Now that they've cleared the air, there will be no more tension between them. She's thankful for that.