I Hate You, Don't Leave Me (D.L)

Creeping Nerves

Lindsey parked his car outside the studio. It had been two weeks since the party at Stevie’s. More importantly, it had been two weeks since he had seen Demi. Physically seen her, that is. He was always aware of her being nearby. She was always at the studio when he was; he could hear her in her office every morning when he arrived. She was usually discussing the future of the studio with her grandfather’s - now her's - business associates. Lindsey had asked to see her numerous times but Agnes, who was also always there, said it was impossible as Demi was too busy. “Or too scared.” Lindsey grumbled as he remembered the last time Agnes had turned him away. He grabbed his guitar case from the back seat and ran across the parking lot to the studio. Taking off his Ray-Bans, he smiled at the first person he saw. "Hey Chris." He greeted his bandmate. “Hi Lindsey.” Christine said to him, a friendly smile on her face. “I saw you coming so I made you your usual.” Christine handed him a cup, containing his usual drink of rum and Coke. He smiled gratefully, taking a drink. Christine watched him silently. “What?” Lindsey asked, noticing Christine’s observing gaze. “Demi’ll be here soon.” Christine replied, taking a drink of her vodka tonic. Lindsey shrugged, taking another gulp of his drink. “She’s here every day. So what?” He said after swallowing his mouthful. Christine smiled. “Yea, but she’s always in her office. Today, she’s gonna be in the studio.” Lindsey almost spilled the last of his drink. “What? Why?” Christine chuckled at Lindsey’s eager reaction. “Because her business partners want to see how the facilities are doing with us using them every day. So they asked her to personally show them around. I heard she was more than happy to oblige.” Lindsey swallowed the last mouthful of his drink. Picking up his guitar case, he grabbed Christine’s hand. “Well c’mon! We’ve got work to do! We gotta make it look like we actually work when we're here, and now fuck around like we actually do!” Together, with Christine cackling in amusement, they ran through into the studio.

Demi walked into the reception area, a dark cloud hanging over her head. She knew all to well that she would soon be in the same room as Lindsey. She was both excited and nervous about seeing him face-to-face again. Everyday for the past two weeks, Demi had watched him secretly as he worked and ran around the different studios, letting his genius take over as he created great art. She watched every morning as he walked past her office, apparently unaware that her gazing eyes watched him. Today, however, he would see her watching him. In fact, she would have to talk to him. According to Agnes, Demi’s business partners were under the impression that she had a great relationship with all the members of Fleetwood Mac, as well as their entourage. Which, in a lot of ways, was the truth. For one, Stevie had quickly become Demi’s best friend. They’d spent almost every day together since the party, discovering that they had a lot in common. Demi had also gotten close to Christine, Mick and John. Likewise, she had grown fond of J.C. and other members of the Fleetwood Mac family. Lindsey, however, was a different matter. Although she knew in her heart of hearts that she really did like him, she couldn’t get over the fact that she had broken up Lindsey and Carol. And, despite Stevie’s blessing and encouragement, Demi couldn’t help but feel that she wasn’t the right girl to be labelled ‘Lindsey Buckingham’s lady’. ‘Not like it’s gonna happen anyway. Not at this rate anyway.’ Demi thought as she greeted her business partners with a big smile and a warm handshake. “This way, gentlemen.” She said, handing her jacket, hat and bag to Agnes, who smiled at her encouragingly. ‘Here we go.’ Demi thought, opening the door to studio D. “Here we are, gentlemen. Studio D. Currently home to Fleetwood Mac.”