The fun of the ranch is wiped when they come back to reality.
They didn't stay at the Ranch; Kirstie decides that she isn't ready for that yet. They were at the Ranch the day after Avi's last show to take their minds off of the immediate happenings. But it smacks them hard the moment they're back.
"We're still trending," Kirstie tells him as they drive through the city on the way back to Kirstie's house. She's on her phone and he's trying to concentrate on the road, it's dark, the streets are lit up, but its night time.
"So I take it that it's not a good idea to stop for food?" Avi speaks solemnly.
"Probs not sweetie, unless you want to go through a drive through?" She looks up at him.
He scoffs, "In this car, not a chance."
She giggles, "Didn't think so. Uber eats?" She suggests.
"I suppose you know how to use that," Avi smiles.
"Of course, in fact it's something you should know Avi, it's not social media, yes it's on your phone but it orders you food!"
"You're not wrong, maybe you should teach me," he nods.
Kirstie turns back to her phone triumphantly, getting him to do anything phone related is a win. "Mexican?" She asks only because it's her favourite.
"Mmm, sounds good."
"I'll just order a few different things and we can share them," she tells him as she taps away on her phone. "It looks like the food will get there about the same time as us," she turns to him with a smile.
"Rock and roll," he doesn't take his eyes off the road.
"You know Avi, I think you were born in the wrong era, I know you love the Medieval and Old West eras, but I think you truly belong in the seventies. I can totally imagine you as a hippy, high as a kite, living off the land, drifting from place to place with the bare essentials and your guitar. And then at the end of the seventies you still get to buy your car," she lightly touches the dashboard.
"See that actually sounds really good," he smiles thoughtfully. "Except you forget that I get homesick, so I'd have to be a stationary hippy," he chuckles, and chooses not to mention that his car came into existence in 1969, so he could have it through the entirety of the seventies.
"Oh no, don't you know you'd be too high to get homesick," she jokes.
He shrugs, "It'd calm me down, it wouldn't make me forget, I mean at least in my experience."
"What? No way! You've tried it?" She asks, eyes wide, jaw dropped.
"Yeah, it's no big deal. Have you not tried it?" He glances at her briefly.
"No-no, I have, I just don't know why I thought you wouldn't have," Kirstie laughs.
"Try and name a singer who hasn't, better yet a celebrity who hasn't," he chuckles. "I don't make a habit of it though; it's not good for the vocals."
"No, definitely not," she agrees. "So you've done weed, what else have you done?"
A frown drifts onto Avi's face, "What do you mean?" He knows exactly what she means but he hopes like hell it's a dumb joke.
A smirk plays at her lips, her eyebrow slyly risen, "You know, the really fun stuff?"
"No I don't know, explain," he speaks bluntly but Kirstie isn't catching his tone as they pull into her driveway.
"Like party drugs, you know?"
"No, I don't know Kirstie, I don't party," he is letting a little anger seep into his voice now.
Oblivious, Kirstie continues, "E, Nexus, Mushrooms, LSD, Coke," she lists off.
"I'm sorry, what?" he is loud now.
"Oh right, the gate code is one-"
"Not the fucking gate code, have you done those drugs?"
"Yeah, it's no big deal Avi," she is finally starting to realise how upset he is over this.
"No you're right, it's not a big deal, and it's a fucking huge deal! You're done hard drugs Kirstie! I feel like I don't even know you right now."
"Don't be so god-damn high and mighty, you've done weed," she snaps.
"Yeah I have, but it's legal in this state, it's a non-addictive drug-"
"It's not like I've injected myself with anything, or done Meth, that'd be so much worse," she interrupts.
"You're not wrong, but Cocaine, Kirstie you get in on a bad batch of that and it could kill you, least of all it's an addictive drug that'll ruin your life."
"I've only done that once!" She yells.
"Once is enough!" He gets louder than her.
"Oh sure, once is enough, and I'm snorting coke every chance I get the second your head is turned!"
"Why don't you understand how serious this is?"
"I think you're overreacting to this whole thing, it hasn't killed me!"
"We wouldn't be having this conversation if it had because when you're dead you're dead, one pill to many and you just become another statistic, another twenty-something singer that overdosed. Kirstie you're better than that."
"I'm not going to overdose!" She stresses.
"You say that, but what if?"
"You can't live on what if's Avi. This is a stupid argument, it's pointless. You're making it sound like I do drugs all the time that I'm reckless. I'm not. I don't even do it at every party, just some of them."
"Okay," Avi nods. "Answer me this then. Have you done any sort of drug since we've been dating?"
She goes quiet.
"So have I seen you on something? Or what?" His knuckles are going white where he clenches the steering wheel.
"No, we've never been to a party together, and I've hardly been to any parties since we've been dating," she speaks calmly, running a hand through her shoulder length blonde hair that has lost its curl today.
"It was while I was on tour wasn't it?" He sighs.
"Yeah," she quietly replies.
Avi sighs again as he looks up at the car interior.
"Uber eats is here," Kirstie tells him.
"Yeah, okay, go get it," he nods.
Kirstie slides out of the car, makes the mistake of shutting the door and collects the paper bag full of Mexican goodness. She offers the man a smile that disappears almost instantly when she hears Avi's car start up and she turns to see him back out of her driveway and drive off.
A/N: Oops.
Who's in the right? Has what Kirstie's done warranted Avi's reaction or is he overreacting?
Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please vote and comment, it truly makes my day :)
Hannah.