The Tale's Willow

Dangerous Friend

A/N: Well, here we are with another Tivi mini-series ;)  For fans of Jenika, I'm sorry about this :P Otherwise, enjoy!

Home Free had been very excited to work with Avi Kaplan on "Ring of Fire". Pentatonix had come out to talk with them while they were on "The Sing-Off" and both groups had hit it off quite well. Avi hadn't come out to the public as being gay but only very close friends and family knew. When Home Free won, he called them up personally to congratulate them on winning.

Over the years, Tim and Avi had developed a friendship. When they had recorded and then a music video for "Ring of Fire" together, something changed for Avi. He began developing feelings for his fellow bass man. Although he knew Tim had a long-time girlfriend, he still couldn't help how he felt. He kept his feelings to himself not wanting to cause his friend any trouble.

After doing the video, their friendship got closer. Tim never spoke to anyone about how his girlfriend treated him. She seemed different around others than when they were alone. He knew there was something wrong but didn't want to admit it to himself especially after being alone for so long before they had gotten together. After they had a fight one night, he began texting Avi. Rob was busy with his wife, little girl, and new baby boy.

Austin was using his break to go off the grid and go soul-searching after his break-up with his long-term girlfriend. Chance was showing his new girlfriend his "neck of the woods" and introducing her to his family. Adam was spending time with his wife & little girl and getting caught up on his games. Avi was the only one he felt he could turn to. She demanded to know who he was texting and nearly yanked his phone out of his hand when he told her he was texting Avi.

"You're always talking to him!" She shouted making him roll his eyes.

Who else was he supposed to talk to? All his other friends, outside the band, she'd effectively either driven off or had separated him from. Everyone else in the band were busy. So who was he supposed to talk to? For the record, he wasn't always talking to Avi. Sure, they talked quite a bit. It wasn't like they talked for several hours every single day like teenage girls.

The more Jenika nagged Tim about how much he talked to Avi, the more he did. It was a vicious cycle. He was emotionally pulling away from his girlfriend which spurned more jealousy in the blond woman. Avi was beginning to fulfill his emotional needs whenever Tim would call him up after he and Jenika would have a fight and he'd talk Tim through it.

One week, Adam, Chance, and Avi had flown into Nashville for a comic con. Tim insisted the trio stay with him and Jenika. She hated the idea simply because Avi was there but kept her mouth shut since Adam and Chance were involved. She did have to work with them after all! The first night they were there, Tim decided he'd grill for everyone. They didn't have guests over much, mostly because he had no friends anymore outside the band and Avi.

"Try not to burn the chicken." Jenika told him as if she were trying to make a joke.

Avi looked over at Tim immediately and could see his shoulders slumping. 'That was not meant as a joke.' the smaller bass man thought angrily. Adam and Chance had laughed and talked about an instance when Austin had burned their dinner one night while they had rented a house to record in during their early days of the group. Tim couldn't look his guests in the eyes for a little while after that. It bothered Avi a lot more than he thought it would.

Tim cooked their dinner while Jenika sat around with their guests. Avi remained quiet as he observed the couple. Instead of it being a partnership, he noticed Tim seemed to be doing everything. Every bit of the cooking. Refilling glasses or bringing fresh beers. He had shown each man where they'd be sleeping. Avi wondered if he did all the cleaning around the house too. 'Probably not. He's too much of a neat freak and this house is a mess.' he thought as his eyes darted towards Jenika who was laughing at something Chance had said.