KISS THE RING ☆ Taylor Hawkins

1. The End?

"Pat! What the fuck?" Routine. Usual Routine.
The blond chuckled bringing his knees to his chest, shaking his legs in the meantime, laughing heartily. "So it's true! I've always been right about everything." He pointed his finger at the redhead and kept making fun of her. "I swear to God, soon I'll break your beloved Hagstorm on your head." She threatened him, standing up and consequently making the third present in the room stand up and, tired of their discussion, he stepped between the two and sighed. "I don't know how many times or how long I still have to do it, but you guys should stop." The guitarist laughed loudly while keeping his gaze fixed on his best friend, almost ignoring the words of the redhead placed in front of him. The basic problem is that Pat has always known everything, Diane had simply never been so good at misleading him, trying to change his mind. "Really, guys? Are you going to keep pretending I'm not exactly two inches from you?" Nate was now facing the redhead who shook her head, letting go of the staring challenge she had been leading with Pat for a few seconds. "I'm sorry Nate." He shook his head, putting a hand to his forehead as if he wanted to hold his head. "No problem, we all know how good he is at teasing you." The bassist turned a reproachful glance towards the guitarist who in the meantime decided to light up yet another cigarette of the day, obviously not removing the grin from his lips for even a second. "I've always knew." He just whispered, continuing to stare into her eyes as she seemed worried by this revelation, as if she wanted to beg him not to say anything. The fact that Nate knew it too worried her enough, even though the bassist used to say nothing to anyone and be very reliable.

"What have you always known?" Fuck.

"Who always knew what?" Shit.

The three turned to the studio door that had just opened wide: Dave and Taylor appeared in front of them, visibly tipsy and smiling. "Woa, Foxy, did you just see a ghost?" Asked the singer without stopping to chew his chewing gum, sometimes it made you sick as it was noisy. "No, seeing your face has this effect on me." She answered almost immediately in kind, trying to compose herself in no time at all. Behind her, Pat continued to smoke, trying in every way not to burst out laughing in the face of those present under the judging eyes of the bass player who, shaking his head, left the room announcing that he wanted a coffee. "Hey, garçon! Could you bring some coffee to us too? I don't think I can record in these conditions." Taylor yelled at the bass player who answered by raising his middle finger towards the door he had just left behind him. "You are a sweetheart, Nathan. I love you too." He knew that he would bring coffee for everyone, even at the cost of loading up and risking to spill everything over. "Are you going to have some coffee after all we've been drinking? You really want to throw up on the drums, I see." Dave throws up his hands, taking a spin in the chair, stopping shortly after due to the alcohol drunk a few hours earlier with his best friend. "Bold of you to think I'm the only one who's going to throw up later." - "You two are going to make me sick soon." Diane interjected before stepping out onto the balcony with the cigarette between her lips and the lighter in her hand. Observing the mountains of Virginia she drew her first puff from the Camel, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes.

All this was absurd, it could not be true.

It wasn't true.

Or maybe yes? Maybe after all these years she should have put aside her huge shield of hers to let him enter her life? What if he was like Izzy? Or worse, like Tommy? Perhaps she should have called Claudia and talked about it with her, on the other hand she was the only one, besides her, to have lived the story in real time and being aware of everything she could have given her some more advice, or at least the it would help clear his head, maybe in his own way or maybe not.

"Do you have a cigarette for me?" Diane gripped the railing in her hands, sighing deeply before turning to find the drummer staring at her with a half smile on his lips. She nodded, avoiding Taylor's gaze in every way and trying not to let the smoke go towards her eyes. "We should talk, don't you think?" The redhead sighed once more before looking up to find the blond getting closer to her. "I don't think there's anything to say." She whispered, trying in vain not to be heard by the others, before trying to pass Taylor and re-enter in the room, which didn't happen because he stopped her by grabbing her by the wrist. "Now you listen to me instead. You've been running away from me for two weeks and I don't even know how you do it." - "You're hurting me." She looked at him trying to get his expression as austere as possible, while trying to free herself from his grip by failing several times. "Poor little flower, are you getting hurt now?" The grin on the drummer's face vanished as soon as he saw the redhead's shining eyes. "Taylor, please. Let me go."

"First you'll have to hear what I need to say."