Gonna Be the Death of Me (adopted by Brendon Urie)

//twenty seven - breathe honesty//

Song of the  Chapter: Rear View, Between You & Me

It was now only a week until they all left for tour again and Eva was slowly but surely coming back around. She had spent a lot more times with the bands, Pierce the Veil included, and started to open up more to Brendon about everything. His worry was dying out a bit knowing that she was talking to someone again. 

"Wake up, E," Brendon said as he lightly shook her awake. Eva rubbed her eyes and sat up in her bed. She looked through her phone, instantly ignoring all of the messages from her friends. "You have to see them Eva," her father said quietly as he watched her go through them and delete them without response. Her eyes met his and she knew he was right. "I'm scared Dad. After what happened, they're all going to blame me." 

"For what? None of this was your fault. You did nothing wrong, you got hurt and spiraled a bit. That's all, and that's nothing to be ashamed of. We've been keeping Theo updated, who has been keeping your friends updated. They know everything anyway, so please go hang out with them in the next few days before you leave the country for a whole month." Eva looked at him then out the window. She knew he was right. Eva opened up a group text with all of them, spelling out a slight apology for ignoring all of them and asking them to hang out. Everyone replied almost instantly with yes's. She stood from her bed and got dressed for the day in a long sleeved crop top and high-waisted leggings, checking to make sure her scars were hidden completely before walking downstairs, quickly eating a small bowl of oatmeal under Sarah's watchful eye, and ran out the door. Minutes later, she was in the park nervously walking towards her friends. 

Alex looked happy, better than before the incident even occurred. She could see how much being out of that house was really helping him. He had an older brother who lived near here and never knew about the fighting and abuse. Alex was staying with him and anyone could see that he was so much better off. Theo looked worried, checking his phone every few seconds. 'He's probably scared that I'm not coming,' Eva thought to herself. She had been talking to Theo the most, but really only over the phone. She knew that Brendon had told Theo about the partying and drinking, the relapsing, and the isolation and she didn't know if she was really ready to face Theo after all of it. Jane, Sam, and Spencer really didn't know the in-depth details of Eva. They knew she was anxious and depressed, at least kind of knew, and they were just figuring that the incident really shook her up and that's why it took her so long to contact them. Eva was getting closer and she couldn't help but think about how happy they all seemed without her. They all were smiling and laughing. Five was always a better number of people than six in a band. Maybe it was the same with friends.

Before Eva fell even deeper into the thoughts that she was trying to ignore since Vic and Mike found her, Theo saw the blue-haired and skinny girl and ran over to her while pulling her into a tight hug. Eva was shocked at the embrace for a second but was quick to hug the boy she loved back. "I missed you so much, E. I wish I was with you for the past few weeks. I wish you would have reached out to someone before it all fell apart, but you're here and you're alive and I love you more with every passing second." Tears built in Eva's eyes as Theo spoke and she just wrapped her arms around his neck again while whispering "I love you so much. Thank you for never giving up on me." Theo and Eva released from the hug and his hands wrapped back to the front of her waist. His fingers grazed over the newer marks on her stomach and Eva grimaced with the touch. Theo looked down at his fingers then back to Eva's eyes, that were noticeably sadder now. "I'm sorry baby. Please, ju-, just try." Eva nodded and kissed his cheek before grabbing his hand and leading their way to the circle of people on the grass. 

Alex was the first to stand up as he tackled Eva into a hug. "God, I missed you E. I'm so glad you're okay and we're gonna get everything to be just like before, okay?" His eyes glanced down to Eva's shirt that was lifted a bit and exposed a couple scars. She pulled her shirt back down and nodded, smiling slightly. Jane and Sam hugged her quickly, saying that they were happy she was feeling better. Spencer kept up with the hugging and just said how much she missed having Eva around. "It really isn't the same without you here." Spencer saw Eva's eyes light up at the comment and smiled knowing that she was genuinely making her friend happy, which they all needed right now. 

The six of them chatted for awhile, making jokes and telling stories. "So, one week until you're back on the road?" Spencer asked, a little saddened by it. Eva nodded and looked down into her lap. "Whatcha thinking about, Eva?" Theo asked from under her. She looked back at him and smiled a little. "I'm just scared to go back on tour. This one is short, shorter then most. And so much happened. What if I don't make it." The last sentence was something only Theo and Alex could hear, seeing as they were the closest to her. Theo said "This tour was still an amazing experience for you, and you've worked so hard to get better. You're almost there and after this one you'll be ready for whatever the next tours have to throw at you." Jane, Sam, and Spencer all nodded then went off into their own side conversation. Alex took that as his chance to say something without the girls catching on. "Eva, you're gonna make it. You have all of us with you. The bands and your dad will keep you safe. And when you get home, you have all of us to welcome you back." Eva smiled at Alex from Theo's lap and thanked him quietly. 

It was late April, meaning Eva was doing all of her schoolwork on the bus for the past few months. She was ahead so she wouldn't need to do anything internationally and probably would only be back for school for the last week or two to work on music stuff she couldn't do on the road. It made her friends sad that she wouldn't join them to finish sophomore year, but she was going to be doing something she loved. After a couple of hours, Jane, Sam, and Spencer all went home, which left Theo, Alex, and Eva to go back to her house to hang out for a bit longer. "Hey, you're birthday is happening pretty soon. Do you want anything?" Alex asked, walking next to her with Theo on her other side. There was one thing Eva wanted for 16 but it couldn't have happened. She just shook her head and looked to the ground while rubbing her thumb against Theo's hand. "Are you sure?" Theo asked cautiously. 

Eva honestly didn't like her birthday much. It was a reminder that she was alive and that everything that had happened to her in the past was real. It sounds stupid, but Eva just didn't like celebrating a life she wasn't exactly thrilled to have. "What I want can't happen, okay?" she said with a bit of anger. "I'm sorry for snapping, I just don't like my birthday and I can't really get an explanation from my Dad so I just want to pretend it's not important, please. " Theo and Alex looked at each other and back down to Eva after she had just said what she really wanted. 

"You want an explanation from your dad?" Alex asked, shocked.