I Will Be There Once More (Eddie Vedder fanfiction)

17. Someone To Spend Time With

I smiled widely as soon as I saw the Christmas tree in the living room; it sounded stupid, but I love Christmas and it had me a little bit down that November was almost ending and we didn't have anything related to Christmas at home.

"It's beautiful! Thanks!" I said, clearly thrilled and hugging the guys.

"Well, actually was Eddie's idea... we just followed his orders" Mike said this time.

Eddie smiled shyly as I thank him and then we shared an uncomfortable silence.

"Well... should we start with the decorations? The pizza will arrive soon" Mike said, smiling.

"And you ordered pizza?" I asked, happily.

"Of course... we know that Lily becomes in a monster if she works and doesn't eat" Stone added this time as all of them laughed except for me.

We started to decorate the tree while Mike was the DJ sometimes and put some music to make a better atmosphere; it was one of the best moments I have had in the whole year... Christmas, my friends and also cute Eddie around 7u7. The pizza arrived with Chris, who was the art director for the decorations and we ended up very proud of our creation.

The first gig of Temple of the Dog was in mid-November but neither the guys or myself couldn't make it due to our task in the studio; nevertheless, when December arrived, it was announced a show with AIC and Spencer, as our open show was going to be Mookie Blaylock.

The tickets sold out quickly, and all of us were very excited about it. I saw this gig like the first time I could relax a little from the studio so I decided to forget about my worries and just enjoy the show; the date was December 22nd and the day after I would travel to NY for the holidays with my family. As the Moore was a larger venue, there were several cameras to document the night, as well as there wasn't a single spot empty.

For the occasion I decided to wear something comfortable since I always delivered energetic performances, so my outfit consisted in a red crochet blouse with a black top underneath, a pair of black shorts, black tights and my black sneakers.

I could tell that Eddie was a little bit nervous, but he handle it perfectly, as they deliver a powerful opening and the people answered them with the same energy; Dave was a terrific drummer and all of them blended perfectly with each other, the chemistry was there and they seemed more confident than the first time.

"You look so cute with that beret" I said, teasing Chris while we were watching Mookie Blaylock.

"I know, this style really fits me" He answered me, jokingly with a pretentious tone of voice.

Once they finished their participation, they left the stage not before announcing we were the next band, and the cheers filled the place. The people of the Moore changed the instruments as fast as they could, and then they announced us that we were out in 5 minutes.

The lights went down and the attendees screamed in excitement as the nervousness and adrenaline were feeling my body. Tom was the first one to go out, followed by Adrien and Zack, and finally I joined them; the tempo given by Zack's drumsticks gave us the mark to start the song as the lights went on and the people went crazy.

We started with one of our strongest and well-known songs, which surprised us to hear the crowd singing it perfectly along with us. I forgot about everything and everyone, I just enjoyed the moment on stage; I went crazy as usual by jumping and dancing with my guitar... I was another different person on stage, there was no shame in me, not a single trail of my usual insecurities, no fear... just me, the music and my connection with the public. That was everything, it was another night full of life that would end up with my usual shyness... but not there, not at that moment. I was happy and I didn't care about anything but to have a great time with everybody, so I did.

"That was exactly the expression Lily had about you the first time he saw you on stage" Layne said to a very impressed Eddie that was seeing the show from one side of the stage.

"She... Wow... I mean-" Was all that Eddie was able to say while looking our performance.

"That's the Lily effect... now you know why they are so wanted" Chris added this time, going closer to him.

"I don't know what the fuck to say... she's... she's just-"

"Oh boooeeey... California fanboy" Stone said this time, laughing a little.

"Let him be, he's astonished" Jerry said this time, getting near them.

"She's fucking awesome" Eddie finally said, without taking his eyes off of me and smiling brightly.

We continued with the set until was time to say goodbye, thanking to the people and announcing our guys from AIC. We left the stage to find congratulations from everybody as we started to plan what it was going to be our own Christmas dinner that Stone suggested in the apartment.

Alice in Chains took the stage with their well-known fierceness and the people that was already thrilled and excited, enjoyed the whole set with them. In the end, the show was closed by a performance of Temple of The Dog, where they sang Say hello 2 heaven, written by Chris and Hunger Strike, which they gave me credit publicly. It was a perfect night that I wouldn't forget ever, but it was still early and so we continue with the plan of our celebration.

Finally, we agreed that we would buy pizzas from an Italian restaurant near the place, as well as drinks. Since Stone, Mike, Eddie and me were the hostess, we split the tasks while the rest of the people was busy with other things. For example, Layne said he would pick up Demri to take her to the after party, while Jerry was going to do something similar with Stella; Mike, on the other hand apologized as he announced he already had another thing to do for that night and Sean wanted to buy something else to bring to the party.

Chris, on the other hand, was going home for Susan and then they'll go to the apartment, while Dave and Jeff would go to buy the drinks, while Stone and Mike would "clean" the house and everybody decided that Eddie and me should be the ones to go buy the pizzas. Zack left shortly after our set because he had to take a plane to go home, so Tom and Adrien went to Tom's place for something else to bring for the reunion (yes, they went for pot).