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"What do you mean, you can't come!?" Avery stood in the middle of Alex's room with her arms crossed over her chest, digging her nails into the fleshy parts of her arms. He was sitting at his desk, his back to her, working on writing a paper for school and attempting to keep his anxiety at bay. Life was stressful enough without Avery demanding answers from him at an ungodly hour on Christmas Eve. Alex sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, swiveling around in his desk chair to face her.
"I mean I can't come with you, Ave. I have to work and I have classes all winter long..." He pressed his fingertips together in a tent-like shape as he leaned back in his chair. It reminded Avery of a school principal in a conduct meeting, and she was the unruly student.
"I can't go on tour without you... That's... I mean, I can't..." She stumbled on her words as they flew out of her mouth. She felt panicky, Alex stayed still.
"I can't pause everything and jump on a tour bus with you for three weeks... I'd lose my job and get behind in my classes..." He could see Avery's brain firing off in a multitude of directions, all of them reveled in her wide, blue eyes.
"Alex,"
"Listen... It's just three weeks... what, six shows? You'll have your band and you'll have Jake... and Sam, and Josh, and Danny... You're going to be fineee." Alex swiveled back around to face his laptop, and Avery squeezed her arms tighter around herself, chewing on her lip. Jake's big surprise that Josh spoiled was that the label had arranged for Avery and her band to be the opener for Greta Van Fleet on a short stint of their tour. For three weeks, right after Christmas, Avery and her band would travel to six different cities and play for increasingly growing crowds. Granted, those crowds were not buying tickets to see her, but they were seas of ears and burning hearts nonetheless. Avery was thrilled... and nervous, even more so now that her twin brother seemed set that he would not be joining in on the adventure. Avery hadn't even considered that Alex wouldn't go, she just assumed he would be excited to jump right on the bus with her. She was crushed, and something else that she couldn't quite put her finger on. She stared at his back as he had jumped right back into typing, fully engrossed in his assignment. He didn't even seem fazed, but she felt broken over it.
"Okay..." Avery finally said, breathy and small. She pivoted and walked silently out of the room. Alex worked hard to focus on the words on his laptop screen, anything to distract himself from the heartbreak he could feel leaving the room. He couldn't go with his sister... he simply couldn't. There was far too much to get done, and besides, she wouldn't be alone. He kept rolling those thoughts over and over in his head like a river smoothing out a stone until his guilt was comforted by his own practicality.
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The rusted van ran idle as the guys waited in the diner parking lot for Avery to finish her shift the morning after Christmas. Daniel, in the driver's seat per usual, tapped his long fingertips to the steering wheel.
"What's taking so long?" Josh squinted, putting a voice to the question Danny would have never asked out loud. Sam thrusted his head between the front seats, attempting to get a better view of the outdated building in front of them, and spotted Jake gliding around the corner.
"There they are!"
Jake was grinning, his eyes hidden behind his sunglasses as they so often were, laughing at something Avery was saying as she hovered beside him in her uniform. She looked illuminated like a lightning strike beside Jake's steadiness, and they were like magnets, always shifting back towards each other when one strayed sideways.
"Look at them..." Danny bit back a smile. Josh made a strangled sound.
"It is tragic, isn't it?"
"Hardly tragic... they look, I don't know, more alive when they're together." Danny sounded oddly practical for the shimmery way he was speaking. Sam's cheeks pricked upwards in a smile at the sentiment. He didn't really care what kind of friendship his brother and Avery shared, just that they shared it. It was undeniable that they made each other better in some way, smoother poetry, as Josh would have put it. Sam didn't worry about the poetry of it all, but he liked the way they smiled so much together. The van door slid open with a creaking effort.
"Greetings, weirdos..." Avery flashed her most genuine smile as she pulled herself into the van, Jake right behind her.
"Hey Avery!"
"Hi, Darling..."
"How was work?" Sam patted the bun atop Avery's head as she lowered herself to sit between the two backseats, carefully avoiding a few scraps of equipment. A buzz from her phone stole her attention before she could answer. Jake closed the door and settled in his own seat as Danny peeled out of the parking lot and headed for home. He watched Avery engrossed in a text thread, too far away to read any of it, and nudged her with his knee.
"Ave..." He said softly, making her look up to him. He nodded towards Sam.
"Oh! Sorry, Sammy! It was good... bacon was as greasy as ever." She chuckled, Sam laughed, "How was the studio today?" Avery was already texting again as she asked.
"I think we're just about tour ready, that is, if Jake can get himself together... I mean, he really is a head case these days..." You could hear the mischievous grin in Josh's voice. Sam laughed again.
"The fuck does that mean?" Jake reached forward to smack the top of his twin's shoulder. Josh simply gestured dramatically with his hands and laughed at himself.
"That's good!" Avery half-remarked, still distracted.
"See? Even Avery agrees... and she loves you." Josh twisted around to shoot a playful look at Jake.
"Sorry, what?" Avery looked up from her phone at the sound of her name. Everyone laughed except for Jake. He shook his head and smirked lightly. As Danny pulled the van into the Kiszkas' driveway, Sam cut through the chaotic chatter with a question Avery had hoped to avoid all together.
"So, did you talk to Alex about the shows?" Sam's sweet brown eyes were bright with expectancy. Avery loved the optimistic innocence those eyes always carried, but her shoulders drooped. She had almost forgotten her own disappointment in the comfort of her friends.
"Yeah... I did... he's excited for me..." Her voice thinned.
"That's good, right?" Danny parked the van and swiveled around to look at her, his eyebrows raised. Josh turned around in his seat as well. Jake watched Avery's eyes intently... something was wrong.
"Of course, he's been really supportive of all of this..." Avery chewed on her bottom lip. The guys smiled, satisfied with her answer, and all piled out of the van excitedly. They were having a bonfire later that night, Danny's family invited too, and Kelly was grilling out for a post-Christmas dinner. Jake lingered in his seat, his eyes fixed on the girl that had become his best friend.
"He's not coming?" Jake's voice was soft, and Avery's head snapped up towards him. With her eyes wide and shiny, she shook her head no. Jake sighed deeply and bent over to press his lips gently to her hairline, "Come on, let's go inside..." He smiled, and something in Avery settled as she managed a smile back and shuffled out of the van. Jake noticed her phone left in the floorboard, so he reached for it to bring it inside, and a name flashing up on the screen made his stomach feel hollow. Lucas.
** A/N: Hi darlings! I hope you are enjoying this story so far! Please let me know your thoughts... let's discuss! - Susanna **
