Shout Out to ObsessedwithAvi and AwesomeDawson2 who suggested this song :)
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"HOW DARE YOU CHEAT ON SCOTT. YOU WHOR-"
Kirstie snapped her head around mid performance to detect where the ruckus was coming from. She spotted a young man who, from his position by the back of the theatre, had seemingly not bought a ticket to the show and had managed to just walked in off of the street. She watched as he was pulled out by the doormen, one with his hands over the interrupters mouth while the other held his arms to his side. The two were walking him out - well more like dragging - when the interrupter broke free.
"YOU BITCH, YOU SHOULD GO AND KILL -" One of the doormen had tackled the guy to the ground, knocking him off mid sentence. Kirstie made a note to buy those guys gifts for saving her from hearing the rest of that sentence. Even though she got a lot of hate online, that was nothing compared to when she got it in person. It was a rarity, online people feel protected behind a screen so people liked to do it but when it came to telling her in person, no one usually dared - who in their right mind loved confrontation. This guy apparently did.
Blinking back tears, she turned back to look a Scott suspecting him to be staring at her and wondering why she had stopped singing midway through their big number yet instead he too was staring towards the back of the theatre to see the commotion. He looked enraged. His fists were clenched at his sides and his face looked as if he was planning to go and murder the guy (she wouldn't have blamed him if she did). Kirstie couldn't see them but she knew that the orchestra had stopped playing underneath her, probably looking along with the entire audience towards the back. She wanted to be swallowed up by the stage, she caused this, how embarrassing.
No longer caring about the performance, she ran off to stage left and let the tears fall. Scott didn't follow, she wasn't sure whether or not he had even heard her run off - the sound guy had luckily turned off their microphones so the sounds of her sobs was not echoed around the auditorium. Esther however had made it round to the side of the stage she had run off to, she had taken the backstage route as she was ever the professional and as soon as she got there she had pulled Kirstie into her arms.
"He's an ass. He probably lives in his parents basement and still eats kids meals when they take him out." Esther wispered, trying to comfort the girl who was currently sobbing onto her chest. She wished Avi was here - they all did. "He's a loser, don't listen to him Kirst."
Scott finally decided to join them and ran up to them, slightly out of breath. Since Esther had made it round to Kirstie, Scott had managed to talk to someone high up in the theatre from the side of the stage. "He's in the security office, they are going to get the police involved but they doubt anything will come of it. I'm so sorry Kirst."
"Should I call Avi?" Esther directed Kirstie into Scott's arms and moved to get her phone out of her pocket and switched it on.
"No,no, he will be working." Kirstie chocked out through sobs.
"Est, could you take her to yours tonight? I don't want to leave her alone and I need to go and pick up my mom from the airport at 3 as she can't fly at a normal time." Scott looked over Kirstie's head, completely taking her out of the conversation now. He had switched into protective best friend mode, only bothered with what was the best for his friend.
Esther had begun to step back into her roll as Stage Manager and had begun ordering people around. "Yeah sure. Avi and I will take good care of her." She managed to call out while in the middle of her enforcing her commands.
"Her is right here guys." Kirstie attempted to joke but she just sounded like a strangled mess. Kirstie was content with her friend's decisions for her, Esther was the most mothering figure she knew and she was desperate to see Avi.
Scott pulled her closer and whispered into her hair. "I'll text Mitch to watch Totes, everything is going to be alright."
"I'm going to go cancel the show." She felt Esther's hand on her back before she walked away to work the radio.
That's how Kirstie found herself sitting, wrapped up in blankets with a hot chocolate in hand in the living room of the Kaplan's at 11pm. Esther had busied herself at the kitchen table behind Kirstie, from what she could tell, she was emailing with their director and producers to explain what had happened and how they were going to refund things. Kirstie had searched Avi apartment with her eyes from the position on the couch. If she wasn't feeling down, she was sure she would be walking around and picking up things like the family portrait they had on the bookcase or would be having a closer look at one of the trophies that were on a table against the wall. Instead all she could do was look, basking in the surealness of being in his personal space and eager to take a look inside his bedroom.
"Hey Avriel." Esther's voice rang through the apartment as the door opened to reveal the man himself coming in and taking off his shoes. Avi had told her what his actually name was so she was only slightly surprised when she heard it being said out loud - it was still foreign to her to associate that name with him. She placed her mug on the table in front of her, turned around and smiled at the sight of him, reassured even by his presence even though he hadn't spotted her yet. His work uniform was too big on him and slightly dirty but the faded bruises on his neck really complimented the outfit and made her grin. He began to pull the shirt over his head and Kirstie eyes immediately dropped to his chest, checking him out. The night before she hadn't had much time to take him all in but she was quickly making up for it by ogling him from afar.
"Erm Avi?" Esther shuffled in her seat as Avi started to remove his pants. Throwing a quick glance at Kirstie, she was slightly freaked out to find her viewing her little brother like he was a cute animal in the Zoo. The slight smile that had appeared on her face at the sight of Avi did make Esther feel better at seeing the slightly intimate look she was giving him but it still weirded her out. He was her disgusting baby brother, the one who would annoy her whenever she played piano, the one who used to pull her hair just for the fun of it, the one who in her eyes was still an annoying ten year old who had never heard of getting a wash.
"Hmm." He hummed in response as he threw his uniform into the washing machine, he was so glad Esther had decided to buy one for the apartment, he never would have made it to see Kirstie in time if he had had to go somewhere else to wash his clothes.
"We have a visitor." She stuttered out as he shot upright like a pole and anxiously glanced around the apartment expecting to see Kevin or one of Esther's friends.
"It's not something I haven't already seen before." Kirstie mumbled delicately when his eyes fell on her. His face broke out into a smile as he walked towards in only his underwear but it quickly fell off of his face when he realised she wasn't there just to have a chat.
Avi nervously glanced back at his sister before moving closer to Kirstie. "What's happened? What's wrong?"
"Some jerk decided to take his anger out on Kirstie during a performance." Esther responded from the kitchen watching her brother, anticipating his response.
"WHAT?"
"Don't worry Avi, we sorted it all out," Esther flicked her eyes from her brother to his girlfriend noticing that they seemed to be dying to speak to each other, and hold each other, without her there. "I'll be in my room if you need anything." She would have made a snide remark about keeping the noise down if they decided to do anything fun but it wasn't the time and place for jokes.
"Are...are you okay?" He gently asked and took his place next to her on the couch.
She opened her arms and allowed him to join her in her blanket cocoon. "Not really."
His arms weaved their way around her body as he pulled her closer. "I'm sorry -
"- don't be. It wasn't your fault." She seemed to have known what he was going to say before he had even said it.
He placed a kiss on her forehead out of appreciation of her sympathy before mumbling into her hair. "Well I do have something to do with it." He felt guilty no matter how much she told him otherwise. If he hadn't had stayed that day on the train, she wouldn't be there in his arms with a swollen tear stained face. It pained him to see her that way and the fact he had a part in it made him hate himself.
"True but then so do I."
"I would totally understand if you want to end this. It's not fair on you." He pushed her away from him gently, not to indicate what her answer should be but to save some awkwardness just in case she chose what he was thinking.
"Hey Avi, look at me." She effortlessly pulled his face back towards her and held it in place with her hands on both cheeks. "I will never give up on you that easily, I thought I made that pretty clear last night..."
She saw the cheeky little smile that appeared on his face and felt as his cheeks warm up under her hands. At least he wasn't feeling sorrowful anymore.
Her hands pulled him closer and her hands were quickly replaced by a collection of feather light kisses all over his face. She let out a giggle as his arms once again found there way around her and dragged her down on top of him as he laid back against the couch. His lips met hers for the first time that night and he was reminded of just why he was willing to fight for her. Her hands hastily found his hair and tugged it out of the bun it was currently in, desperate to get her hands tangled in it. She felt his skin meet hers as his wandering hands made their way under her shirt. She could feel his bare abdomen against hers where her shirt had been hitched up and she was reminded of the last time she felt that, the night before. She was so glad he had not gotten redressed yet.
"Ahem." They were interrupted just as she had gotten his hair down and he had begun to work his lips on her jaw. His sister must have been alerted to the change in action between them and had left her room. She was glad to see that Kirstie was no longer feeling miserable but she was not glad to see that. As Kirstie raised her head to guiltily look over at the friend she had forgotten was in the apartment with them, she was met not with her glare but her hands dramatically covering her eyes. "That couch is wool and cost more than you could imagine so please don't fornicate on it...Thank you."
Avi's hands flew off her in a flash and held them above his head as Kirstie collapsed embarrassed against his chest. "Got it."
They heard the door close behind them and the dulcet tones of Simon and Garfunkel erupting from her room. Avi was amazed, he knew that that was her way of telling them it was okay for them to continue but Esther never let him bring girls back to the apartment. It was an unwritten rule between the two, he brought back no girls, she brought back no guys. He would have to thank her in the morning.
"I think that's our signal to move things to your room." She ran her hands along his collar bones which was met with a gulp from him.
"err - it's a mess." He apprehensively ran his hands through his newly exposed hair.
"So?" Her eyebrows shot up as she looked down at him.
His arms fell back onto her, holding her tight against him once more. "Well you won't like it."
"Avi, I have publicly declared that I wanna be with you, I don't think a little mess will turn me running." Removing herself from on top of him and the couch, she grinned at him and offered him a hand up.
He wrapped his arms around her to pull her in for a hug, it wasn't sexual, just comforting. Leaning back slightly, his hands tucked her hair behind her ears as he relished in how beautiful she looked, even with her eyes all puffy and red. He was falling for this girl, he knew it in the very core of him. The night before she had been the one reassuring him but know he knew it had to be the other way round. He was determined to make her feel special, to take away the pain of the night, to make her feel loved.
Her hands found his as he walked backwards, determined not to break the eye contact, leading her towards his room with a slight smirk on his face.
She was too distracted by him (and his hips) to care about the mess his room was in.
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Is the drama over? I think it has only just begun ;)