𝙄𝙍𝙄𝙎

Parting Words

"Don't you hate having to take me all the way home so late?"

Iris looked at Dave with a frown as he got up from the sofa, having just had the realization that it was getting late, and that it would be best to take Iris home before they had to have a repeat of the night before. Not that he would have a problem with that-- he just figured it would be too much of an inconvenience for her.

Something that stood out to him on the night they spent together; it was the first night since Kurt died that he hadn't woken up in the middle of the night, broken out in a cold sweat, or been able to sleep at all. Maybe it was because he didn't have to go to sleep with all those thoughts left to himself, this time having someone he could talk to about the things he'd had on his mind.

"I swear, I really don't mind." He reassured with a smile, grabbing his car keys off the coffee table that sat in the middle of the room, still not over how considerate she was.

She sighed, "Alright, if you say so." she said, getting up from the sofa.

All Dave could do was stare at her as she got up, an empty feeling filling him as they approached the exit of the studio side by side. He dread being alone again. He would steal glances at the woman next to him every now and then as they silently made their way outside, getting in his car, Iris situating herself in the passenger seat and Dave starting the car.

"Do you think you'll ever do anything with these songs you've been writing?" She asked suddenly, breaking the silence. Dave looked over, a second passing before he shook his head, "No, I don't think so."

He'd thought about it, of course. It was all he'd been thinking about recently. The thought of starting a band of his own after so many years of being the drummer, the one at the back of the stage, it was so foreign to him.

Iris just nodded, "Oh, okay."

Iris couldn't help but hold on to the growing desire to see Dave flourish. She wanted to see him come out of his shell, she wanted everyone to see how multi-talented he was.

"I don't think people would want to see 'the guy from nirvana' up on stage singing a song." Dave spoke up, eyes on the road as Iris looked over at him.

"I mean, if I didn't know you were super cool already, if I was just hearing a new song and someone told me it was the drummer from Nirvana I'd think it was pretty sick."

Dave chuckled, "Well, sadly, not everyone thinks as positively as you do."

Iris stayed silent for another moment, taking in his comment, "Maybe, but like, I still think it would be super cool. It's something to think about."

A lingering smile stayed on Dave's face, "I mean, what the fuck would I even name a band?" he asked, scrunching his eyebrows and taking his hand off of the wheel for a second, throwing it in a shrug motion.

She laughed, "Fuck, you'd have to come up with some badass shit like 'Black Sabbath'." she said, sitting up and slapping her hand on the dash, looking at him with wide eyes, "Davy Grohlton band."

Dave began to laugh, looking over to see Iris with an expression that made it look like she'd struck gold, "Holy fuck, that's horrible." he smiled, watching as she broke into laughter.

"I don't know, maybe you could be a solo artist!" She continued, smiling enthusiastically, "I just think it would be pretty cool. I mean, obviously you don't have to if you don't want to." she finished with a shrug, looking back at the road.

Among the silence, Dave spared another glance at the woman in the seat next to him as they stopped at a red light. Another one of these moments, a time where he couldn't do anything but stare.

It was something like being in a trance, or maybe he was just at a loss for words, but he couldn't do anything but sit and stare at her, taking in every feature on her face. There was a smile that still lingered on her face, he noticed dimples on each of her cheeks, light freckles covering her nose, light, watery blue eyes.

Of course, he already knew she was beautiful, but he'd never thought about it like this. He really liked her, he took that liking for her very quickly throughout the past two days they'd spent together. He tried his hardest to recall the last time he'd looked at someone like this, but his mind drew a blank.

He turned his attention elsewhere when the traffic light in front of them suddenly turned, looking back towards the road to continue driving.

"Do you think you'll make any more music?" He finally spoke up, trying to break the silence.

"Probably." She quickly answered. Surprisingly, she hadn't given it much thought lately. With everything else going on, she really hadn't had much time to think about it.

"I would want someone else to help me, though. I don't really want to do another solo project right now, I like working with other people."

Dave perked up at this, glancing at her with an eyebrow raised, "I could help." he immediately offered. She looked over at him again, an unreadable expression on her face, "You don't have to do that." she said with a shake of her head, a smile forming on her face.

"I want to." he insisted, looking back at the road, coming up on another traffic light.

"I don't think I'll do anything right now anyway." She said, shaking her head a second time, "I don't know what I would even write, or how I would start." she shrugged.

"Well if you ever change your mind, I'd be down to help out."

Iris said nothing, looking at the road with her lips pursed. She shrugged, Dave watching these gestures and speaking up.

"I mean, it's the least I could do. You're always so nice to me and everything." he said, starting the car again as the traffic light turned green.

Iris stole another glance at Dave as he suddenly grew slightly timid. Every now and then his voice would shift to a meeker, more soft-spoken tone, typically when complimenting her in some way. It was something she'd began to quickly notice.

"I'm not being nice to you because I want something in return, though. I'm nice to you because I like you." She stated, Dave slightly taken aback at her words.

"Well, I want to be nice to you because I like you." He retaliated, emphasizing his words, "I'm not trying to get a favor out of you or something."

"Maybe we'll work on something someday, then."

The two came up on Iris's apartment complex at that moment, Dave slowing down to park.

"I've, uh, had a really nice time with you, Iris." He said, taking the keys out of the car as it came to it's final stop. He turned in his seat to look at her eye to eye, her lips parting as he spoke.

"Yeah, it was nice staying with you. Thanks again." She agreed, watching as he nervously tucked some hair behind his ear.

"We'll have to do it again sometime." He told her, "I'll call you sometime."

She nodded, "I'm free anytime." she said with a smile. Dave couldn't help but mirror her expression, nodding "Good, good, I'll let you know."

Iris opened the door and exit the car with a wave, walking to the door of her apartment complex as he started the car again, beginning to drive off.

To be truthful, he wasn't sure exactly when he would call Iris again. He wanted to see her soon, he felt like maybe hanging out with someone like that could help him get his mind off of things, but he wasn't sure. He was nervous about how attached he'd been getting to her so quickly, he knew he wasn't in the right headspace.

The two couldn't stop thinking about each other for the rest of the night, Iris shutting the door to her apartment behind her and cursing to herself when she'd realized she'd forgotten to get a picture of Dave to show Janis. Maybe next time.

***

A/N

This might be a boring chapter BUT timeskip sort of thing next chapter so it's okay.

hope you all enjoyed, feel free to like and/or comment!