Stone and Eddie (a Pearl Jam-ish fanfiction)

Chapter twelve

Stone Gossard

I feel dead inside. Andy was unique. There was no one like him. He was so charismatic, entertaining, amazing in every way. When he performed you could always count on him to make things a little more interesting. But now he's gone (and my career is too).

Apparently I'm the one that's taking it the hardest, so the band agreed to come to my house to talk about what's going to happen now. I'm snuggled into Eddie's chest, soaking his shirt with tears when I hear three loud knocks on the door. "Come in", I say in a shaky voice. The door pushes open and all three of them file in.

"Hey Stone, how are you doin'? Oh, hey Eddie", Jeff says when he walks in.

"Hey", I say with a sniffle and rub my eyes, sitting up from Eddie's chest.

"You don't look so good", Greg says. No shit.

"Thanks", I tell him dryly. It's weird without Andy here. It would usually be bustling in here with excitement if he was here, but now all you can hear is the air conditioning wheezing out of the vents. It's like Eddie took his place or something.

Then something crosses my mind.

Remembering Eddie's voice in the car singing that Pink Floyd song, he could easily take Andy's place in the band. He did say he would never be in a band, but I could probably convince him if it was just a tribute to Andy.

~*~

It's been a week since Andy died and the funeral is in an hour. I dress myself in a simple black suit and black tie and let my hair down. I come out and see Eddie is dressed the exact same as me, has his hair the same as me, but the only difference is he actually looks good. "You look great", he tells me and walks over and brushes my hair behind my ear.

"You do too", I say back. He kisses me on the lips for a second and looks back at me.

"I love you, Stone, and I know I say that all the time, but it's true. I love you so much, I don't know what I would do without you."

"I love you too. And I never get tired of hearing you say that."

"We should get going", Eddie says, pulling me out the door by my hand.

~*~

"Stone?" The priest says, calling me up for my eulogy. I sigh and push myself up.

I get up there and straighten my papers then start talking. "Andy Wood was unique. There was no one quite like him, as entertaining, as charismatic as him. He could make you laugh if you were having the worst day in your life. When he was performing he had an energy, a vibe, that could brighten anyone's day. Everyone that came in contact with him for a brief second wanted to hang out with him. He was just one of those people that everyone automatically likes, for obvious reasons." A tear threatens to slip out of my eye, but I have to hold it together for this. "Though Andy is gone, I believe that he is up there, somewhere, watching over us. Telling us to continue on with our lives, to do what we enjoy, to move on without him. He would want this. And wherever he might be, I believe he is still the same amazing person he was when he was still alive." I then grab my papers and head to the very back row where Eddie is sitting.

He grabs my hand and squeezes it comfortingly and I smile, my vision getting blurred from tears. But a tear manages to escape and Eddie wipes it away with his finger. "You did great", he tells me. I smile and look back up to see Jeff giving his eulogy. He almost starts crying too, which I've never seen happen. He's supposed to be the tough one out of all of us.

Almost an hour later we're standing over the grave. Me, Jeff, Bruce, Greg, Jeff's girlfriend, Andy's girlfriend, and Eddie all throw a handful of dirt into the grave. Then I walk over to the gravestone and put the marigolds we picked out beside it. I silently say goodbye to Andy, wherever he might be, grab Eddie's hand, then head back to the car.

"Are you okay?" Eddie asks once he's behind the wheel.

"Yeah, I think so", I respond. And I kind of do think I'm okay now. Now that the funeral is over and things are going to start settling back down hopefully. "Can we just go home?"

"Of course", he says and puts the car into drive. I just want to get home and cuddle with him until I forget the past week.

But when we walk in the phone is ringing, which never happens so I run over to get it. "Hello?" I ask.

"Hi, this is Sarah", the voice on the other end of the line informs me. "Are you Stone? I'm with the record company."

"Oh yeah, hi Sarah! Sorry, I just haven't really been thinking about our recording since we stopped a few weeks back."

"Well we know you didn't get to finish all of your recording, but we were wondering if your band wanted to still release the album you were working on." I suddenly feel lips on my neck and a shiver goes down my spine. Fuck, Eddie, right now? I look back and he's just smiling at my struggle to keep my cool.

"Erm, I can ask the other guys and get an answer by the end of the week. Would that be okay?"

"Yes, that's great! You know how to get a hold of me. Bye." Then the line goes dead.

"Fuck, Eddie! Did it have to be right then?"

"Yeah", he responds simply then goes back to kissing my neck.