"You're really going to fly down and see him? Just for a weekend?" Abby inquired as she watched Eliza begin to pack her suitcase.
"Yep. And, it's not just for a weekend. I'm flying down Thursday and I'll be back on Tuesday. I'm still in school, you know."
"Well, send me a postcard from your adventures with the world's most famous band."
Eliza rolled her eyes and laughed. "Believe me, you'll hear all about it when I come back."
She made her way to the airport and boarded her plane. The three and a half hour flight was pretty uneventful, as Eliza just spent it imagining how her weekend was about to go.
Once she landed, she gathered her suitcases and headed out of the airport. There, she was met by a limousine parked by the curb, which held Dave, who was leaning against the passenger door.
"Hi!" He exclaimed as he embraced her with a tight hug.
"Nice ride you got here." She said once she was finally released.
"Nirvana." He said, shrugging. That seemed to be his explanation for a lot of things these days. Which made sense to Eliza. The old Dave would never pay for a limo, let alone have the money to do so.
She smiled and hopped into the backseat with him.
"So, where are we headed?" Eliza asked once the driver pulled away.
"My hotel. We've got about an hour before the party."
"The party?"
"Yeah, the night before big shows the label likes to throw these parties. I don't really care much for them, it's just some people that they invite hanging around a bar. My attendance is kind of mandatory, though."
"I'm good with a party."
Dave smiled. "I'm glad."
After about ten minutes of driving, the limo pulled up to the tallest hotel Eliza had ever seen. Dave smiled, knowing that she was in awe, and helped her carry in her bags. He led her up to his room, and opened the door, revealing two king sized beds.
"Don't worry. I got two." Dave said, winking as he set down her bags.
Eliza flopped down on the bed that was perfectly made, hoping that it was hers.
She looked over at Dave, who was smiling. "You look exhausted. Want me to wake you up in a half an hour before the party?"
"I would love that." Eliza fell asleep almost immediately, and was awoken exactly a half hour later by Dave nudging her shoulder.
"Time to wake up."
She groaned, but complied. She was about to go to a party attended by some very important people. She had to get ready.
Eliza pulled out the outfit that she packed in the case that she would be attending such an event.
She was dressed in a tight black tank top paired with blue ripped jeans. She threw on her favorite pair of Doc Martens and was ready to go.
As he was getting ready to leave, Eliza could feel Dave's eyes lingering on her body. For some reason, that made her smile inside. It made a part of her happy to know that she would be driving Dave nuts all night.
Once they were ready to go, Dave escorted her to the front of the hotel, where a big stretch limo was already waiting by the curb.
Dave opened the door for her, only to reveal the two other members of Nirvana, just sitting casually in the back of the limo. As Dave was getting in, Eliza shot him back a nervous glance, which he returned with an apologetic one.
As the limo began to drive, Dave looked up to his band mates. "Everyone, this is my friend, Eliza."
"Hi Eliza!" Krist said gleefully.
Eliza looked over at Kurt, who just smiled at her and shot her a quick wave. He seemed very shy, but kind.
"Crazy how the biggest rockstar in the world is so quiet." Eliza thought to herself.
"Dude, weren't you the girl from the show a few weeks ago?" Krist asked, still excited to be talking to someone new.
"Yep, that was me!" Eliza said, trying to break the ice with these guys.
Kurt smiled, likely recalling the events that happened at that show.
"Well I thought Dave was going to implode, watching you with that guy." Krist said, laughing, clearly not reading the room.
"She's here, and let's show her a good time." Dave said, trying to change the subject.
"Yeah, I didn't come all the way down here for nothing." Eliza said, making the three of them laugh.
From the time they had begun to drive and when they arrived, the sun had set. The limo parked, and a man in a black suit exited out of the passenger seat, and escorted the band, plus Eliza, into the front door of another hotel. Once in the lobby, the man in the suit flashed a card to the security guard from the hotel, who nodded and smiled. He then began to show them the way to the elevators.
They boarded and rode the elevator to the very top floor. Once the doors opened, they took the small flight of stairs up to a door, which the guard opened. It revealed a roof top party. There were people standing all over the roof, drinks in hand. There were lights strung across the handrail, and a full bar with a bartender was placed against the wall. Everyone in attendance looked important, making Eliza feel extremely out of place. She could tell that these people were of some importance, because the arrival of Nirvana, the most famous people on the planet, wasn't turning heads.
"You're fine. You're with me." Dave whispered into her ear as they approached the bar, sensing her anxiety.
She smiled and ordered a drink. Dave sat with her at the bar as they both began to drink.
After a few, Dave looked over at her, and smiled. "Drink up, sweetheart." He said, slurring his words. "We've got a ride home."
"Dave, will you come here for a moment? There's someone I'd like you to meet." The guy from the limo called.
"I'll be right back." Dave said to Eliza as he walked over to the man.
Eliza sat there, alone, just observing the people she was surrounded by. She was startled by Krist, who stumbled over to her.
"So you really aren't dating Dave?" He said, also slurring his words.
"No, well, we used to. Not anymore. We're just friends."
"I don't think so."
"What do you mean, you don't know?" Eliza responded, laughing.
"Dave told me all about you."
"Well, what did he say?"
"He was very nervous for you to come down here. Said something about you being the love of his life, or something like that."
Eliza choked on her drink. "Dave said that?" She said, stunned.
"Yeah, dude, do you know how many times he would be crying before shows? Everyone knew "oh, don't go into Dave's dressing room, he's probably crying about his ex-girlfriend."
Eliza tried to hold back a smile as hard as she could. "Did he ever, I don't know, mention why things ended between us?"
"No, just told everyone that things didn't work out."
"Huh." Eliza said.
Dave walked back over, smiling. "How are things going?" He asked Eliza.
Krist began to walk away, but not before he could shoot Dave an over exaggerated wink.
Dave just rolled his eyes and continued his conversation.
"Yeah, Krist is pretty drunk." Eliza said, trying to wrap her brain around the information that she was just given.
"He is a funny dude, let me tell ya." Dave said, laughing.
Just as he began to take a seat next to Eliza, Krist reappeared, barreling over to the two of them.
"Guys, you gotta come here. Someone's got shots!"
Dave, who's ears perked up, turned to Eliza. "Want to come?"
"No, you go ahead."
Dave smiled and followed Krist into the center of the party.
Eliza found herself alone, yet again, at this party. Just as she was ordering another drink, she felt a presence appear in the seat next to her. She turned, and was shocked to see Kurt Cobain, just sitting with her at this bar.
"Hey, what's up?" She said as the bartender handed her the drink she ordered.
"Nothing really. This whole party isn't really my thing." He said.
"Yeah, me too. I definitely don't fit in with this crowd."
"Oh trust me, neither do I." He smiled.
"Dude, look at that girls bracelet! How many diamonds do you think are on that thing?" He said, laughing, pointing at a bracelet that some girl was wearing.
"I don't know, at least forty." Eliza guessed.
"It's gotta be closer to one hundred."
A silence grew between them, and Elsa felt increasingly awkward, not knowing what to say in the presence of such a legend.
"Don't tell him I said this" Kurt began "But Dave really needs you."
Eliza was shocked, that this was the second member of Nirvana in a span of twenty minutes that were basically telling her to get back with Dave.
"Oh, does he?"
"I don't know what happened between you two, but it might be worth it to give it another shot."
Eliza sat back in her chair, honestly at a loss for words. She looked out into the sea of people and spotted Dave shotgunning a beer with Krist, and then laughing so hard that it shot out of his nose.
"Don't tell him I said this. But I think that I need him too."
Kurt smiled. "Just invite me to the wedding."
Eliza laughed. She was shocked at how quiet and reserved Kurt was, yet was also so well spoken. She found it hard to believe that he was the front man in the biggest band in the world.
Dave eventually stumbled his way back to Eliza.
"I think it's time to go." He said.
Kurt agreed and made his way into the crowd to gather Krist. Once the four of them were together, they made their way to the lobby where the man in the suit was waiting. They got into their limo and drove off.
Once they made it back to the hotel, Kurt and Krist went up to their room and Eliza and Dave went to theirs.
The moment Dave made it to his bed he crashed, falling asleep in what seemed to be seconds. Eliza got into her pajamas and washed her face, then made her way into her bed.
But just because she was ready for bed doesn't mean that she fell asleep right away. Her mind raced with thoughts about Dave, creating her stances on how she felt about what Kurt and Krist said to her.
"Does he really think we're meant to be? Does he have feelings for me? Do I have feelings for him?"
Eliza fell asleep that night, her mind clouded with conflicting feelings.
She woke up around noon the next morning to Dave's alarm.
"I thought you were an early bird?" Dave said as he rolled out of bed, and realized that she too was just waking up.
"I didn't sleep very well last night."
"Is everything alright?" He asked, pulling a shirt over his head.
"Yeah, it's all good." She didn't really mean it though, as all she could think about was her relationship with Dave.
"Well, we're leaving for the show in an hour." He said as he poured himself a bowl of cereal.
She sighed and got out of bed, and got ready for the day. She was about to spend it backstage at a Nirvana show, so she wanted to look her best.
After showering and doing her makeup, she emerged from the bathroom. She could feel Dave's eyes follow her around the room, a sensation that she didn't want to admit that she liked.
They both got ready within the hour and met Krist and Kurt in the lobby of the hotel.
"Good morning sunshine." Krist said, greeting Dave, ruffling his hair.
They laughed as they boarded the limo from the night before, and sped off towards the concert venue.
Once they arrived, the limo pulled into the back of the arena, which allowed them to enter the building without making such a public spectacle. They were met by a security guard, who showed them the way to their dressing rooms. Each member had their own, with their names displayed on a plague that hung on the door.
Dave smiled at Eliza as he opened his door, knowing that she was impressed at the level of fame he had reached. Sitting on the table was a basket of various snacks and alcohol, which Dave beelined to immediately.
"Dude, this is awesome!" He exclaimed as he tore into one of the bags of popcorn.
As Eliza took a seat on the couch and Dave examined the food, there was a knock on the door.
"Soundcheck in ten." Someone called from the other side.
"I better go now." Dave said. "I like to help out the techs a little bit with my gear."
He raced out of the room, leaving Eliza alone. She spent the next half hour just alone with her thoughts, trying to process everything that was happening between her and Dave.
"Stop lying to yourself. Being here with Dave, you're realizing that you still have feelings. So go for him. He obviously likes you too. Maybe it's time to move on from the past and make true amends."
After conversing with herself for a while, Dave reappeared.
"You didn't eat the rest of the popcorn while I was gone, did you?" He said, jokingly.
"Nope." She smiled.
They spent the rest of the afternoon together, exploring the back hallways of the arena, drinking with Krist and Kurt, and watching the opening bands play.
Eliza and Dave were both standing off on the side of the stage before Nirvana went on, giving them the opportunity to talk right before Dave went on stage.
"I like having you back here again, just like old times." Dave said, fiddling with his drumstick.
"Yeah, it really is." She smiled. It really was like old times. She thought of how she used to watch him play in Scream, and she truly was reminded of her life so long ago. She thought of how everything seemed so similar, to the pair of drumsticks that he was using to the clothes that hung off of his body, but then the massive amount of screaming fans that she could hear awaiting Nirvana's appearance on the stage reminded her that some things had definitely changed. Dave was famous now.
Just before he had to go to his kit, he turned towards her. He leaned in for a hug, which she gladly accepted. They stood there for a moment, both tucked into each other's arms, and it was here that Eliza realized something.
"I need Dave." The thought was definitive and rung clear in her mind.
He released her and raced towards his drum kit. He just got settled before the lights went up and the curtain dropped.
Eliza watched their set from the side, and enjoyed every moment of it. The way that those three boys commanded the stage was unreal. Dave seemed to be smiling through every moment of it, and she realized how truly happy he was to be in this band.
Throughout the entirety of their two hour set, Eliza did not once take her eyes off the band.
"No wonder they're famous." She thought as she was absolutely captivated by their performance.
Once, she caught Dave shooting her a glance. When he realized that she noticed, he turned away, his cheeks glowing red with embarrassment.
"He's on stage, playing in front of thousands of people, and he gets embarrassed when I look at him."
After they finished their set, Dave made his way right to her. Eliza noticed that he started off by nearly leaning in, then shifting back away from her.
"Was he about to go in for a kiss?" She thought.
The rest of the weekend went by in a blur. When it was time for her to fly back home, Dave took the Nirvana limo to the airport with her.
"I'll miss you being at the shows." Dave said, walking her to the gate.
"Well, if you ever want to fly me back with you, I'd be happy to join you again."
"Absolutely. If you ever want to talk, use that number I gave you. That can reach me anywhere."
"Got it."
A silence rose between them, neither knowing how to properly part.
"Eliza?"
"Dave?"
"Thank you for coming. I mean it."
"No problem. Thank you for having me out."
Dave embraced her in a tight hug as the final call for her flight was made. She smiled and waved as she turned her back and went to board her plane. As she was walking away, she turned back around, and noticed Dave was still standing there, watching her all the way until she was gone. She shot back a wave and he did too, and then she finally got onto her plane.
Eliza spent the week back at college, trying to figure out a life that Dave wasn't consistently involved in. Whenever Abby tried to pry about what happened on her trip, Eliza turned into a closed book. She still was unsure on how it was going to play out, and she didn't need Abby feeding her any more opinions.
One night around ten pm, there was a knock on Eliza's door. Abby was asleep, so Eliza crept over to the door, unsure who would be visiting her at such a time of night. Half expecting it to be a result of a ding dong ditch, she pulled open the door.
"Dave?" Eliza said, shocked by the sight of Dave, standing outside her door, flowers in hand.