We had gone to AT&T planning to buy a new phone after leaving Dirtbag headquarters but they were able to access his Find my iPhone and located it by the fateful dumpster he's been hiding behind when I found him the other night.

Now that he had his phone back, Eddie had been busy the past few minutes typing furiously. I had decided not to bother him and let him deal with his shit but now it seemed he was done with whoever he was texting.

He huffed and started chewing his lip as he looked out the window. His leg was jittering and I quickly recognized those signs of anxiety.

"What's going on?"

Eddie was quiet for a few minutes before turning to me.

"My manager. He's threatening me currently, calling it my final strike. I mean I know he's just being a prick and he doesn't really mean it but I don't know. I've been kinda worse than normal with drinking and shit up until you found me so I get why he's pissed."

I nodded.

"Ah gotcha. Well does he need anything from you any time soon cuz if the band needs you for something I can just drive you over since we're already out."

Eddie looked out the window again, his leg still jittering.

"I mean he wants me back at the studio but I don't know if I wanna see him right now when he's this incredibly pissy."

I laughed.

"Fair. But your friends need you, right? Go for them."

He shrugged and ran a hand through his hair.

"Yeah I guess you're right. Alright then uhhh take this left here."

I obliged and slowed down so he could type the address in on my car's GPS. Almost immediately after that he got a message and began texting furiously again.

Eddie smirked down at his phone as we pulled into the studio parking lot and he looked out the window up at one of the higher level floors.

"Alrighty then champ, time to get out. You have my number now so just text me when you know if you're allowed to come back to my place."

Eddie's brow furrowed.

"Uh no. You're coming with me, end of discussion."

He jumped out of the car and waited for me to get out before closing his own door like I was gonna make a great escape or something. I walked around to his side and together we walked up to the giant glass doors and stepped inside.

Immediately cold air hit me and it smelled like Windex, Febreze, and weed. Eddie waved at the woman at the front desk and she narrowed her eyes at him before acknowledging me with a smile.

"I see you brought a friend. Benny will love that," she laughed coldly.

"Alright well head on up and face the consequences. I'll make sure to ask how long Benny screamed at you later."

I smirked and Eddie glared at both of us.

"Always a pleasure, Janet," he smiled through gritted teeth. He practically dragged me away from Janet towards the elevators and started hitting the call button repeatedly. It made a dinging sound every time he hit it and I could hear Janet clearing her throat in irritation. Finally the elevator doors opened and Eddie stepped in with me. He removed a key card out of his pocket and scanned it before hitting the button that would take us up to the 21st floor.

"Dare I ask about Janet?"

He snorted and turned to look at me.

"Her and Benny are totally fucking and it's incredibly annoying because if she smells anything close to a substance on me she calls him immediately and by the time I get up there he's already prepared a sermon about the dangers of drug use."

I smirked again and he crossed his arms.

"Oh so my suffering is funny to you? Is that it?"

I tried to hide a smile and shook my head.

"Not at all, champ. Just thinking about something funny I heard earlier."

He frowned and bumped me with his shoulder.

"Yeah? Why don't you shut your mouth before more lies fall out."

I grinned and held my arms up in surrender. The doors opened and immediately Eddie hid in the corner of the elevator next to the button panel.

"Is anyone in the hallway?," he whispered.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

"Does it matter hiding now if he's gonna see you when you start recording?"

"Every minute counts with our sweet little boy Benson. I'd prefer getting yelled at in a private room rather than the hall."

I shrugged and stepped out without him.

"Which room are you supposed to be in right now?"

He crept out of the elevator and looked around the hallway suspiciously. Satisfied that no one was around, he pointed to a door with "21B" on the front and slowly trudged towards it. I scoffed at his ridiculous pace and pushed ahead of him, opening the door so whoever was in the room would see him and get his suffering over faster.

He swatted at me in an attempt to keep me from opening it but failed and composed himself as a man I assumed was his manager stood with arms folded facing the door.

"Ah, Mr. Munson. Glad you decided to bless us with your presence again. Who's this?"

I put on my professional smile and nodded at the man.

"I'm y/n. I uh...helped your guy here out of a tough spot I guess you could say."

Eddie's eyes darted from me to Benny anxiously.

Benny raised his eyebrows and inhaled deeply.

"Eddie what did we talk about? No bringing your not-so-discreet hookups into the recording room. If Gareth can't bring his roadies, you can't bring your-"

I let the door go and it slammed shut, cutting Benny off.

"Respectfully sir you might want to reconsider whatever it is you were about to call me."

Benny folded his arms and looked over at Eddie with a smirk.

"Consider it reconsidered. Ready to face my wrath, Munson?"

Eddie grumbled and walked over to Benny with a sour look on his face. I held in a laugh at how grouchy Eddie looked and turned away so he wouldn't see me giggling. Benny glanced over at me and held his gaze for several seconds.

"I think I might like this one," Benny spoke finally to Eddie.

Eddie grinned and looked over at me.

"Me too."

I narrowed my eyes at him sarcastically.

"Gross."

Eddie gave me a dramatic hurt expression as Benny dragged him away into the booth where they were set up to record. None of the other members were here yet so I sat on the couch behind the producer and observed.

The couch was green and white striped, though at this point the white had faded to a light yellow. The carpet had a few stains scattered around the room and I assumed it was from many a spilled drink. The walls were covered in posters for other bands and I wondered if they had all once recorded in this studio before Corroded Coffin. There were also producer awards framed and polished on the wall above the producer's desk and I noticed it was starkly clean in contrast with the rest of the room.

I zoned back in and heard muffled shouting from the recording booth and looked over to see Benny flailing his arms around while Eddie stood across from him gesturing just as dramatically. Both of their voices filled the room despite the thick glass between us and I caught bits of what they were saying.

"Your sobriety...important....tarnishing our image...," Benny yelled.

Eddie scoffed and yelled back.

"I know...fucked up...fuck our image......mates are okay with it...support me...she helped me..."

He was now gesturing towards me and I widened my eyes. Eddie continued shouting and what I heard next made me raise an eyebrow.

"....wanna get sober....fuck you......peace and quiet..."

Oh shit. It is not sounding good in there in the slightest. I kinda regret throwing him into that so quickly now that I'm seeing it.

I pretended not to hear them and grabbed a magazine off the table to flip through. The producer swiveled in his chair and looked at me.

"Wanna hear what they're saying?"

I looked up at him in shock and he sighed before flipping a switch next to his desk. The mens voices suddenly filled the room and what I heard made my heart almost stop.

"...didn't think it was possible but I have someone keeping me sober. And I wanna stay that way for her. Cuz I'm an asshole and a total disaster when I'm drunk and I fucking know it! Not that I could forget with you constantly reminding me what a waste I'm gonna be if I keep it up BUT that girl in there? I'm crazy about her and I've known her, what, 48 hours now?"

Benny cut him off.

"Your swooning can wait another day Eddie! Right now we have to talk about keeping you sober and accounted for so this bullshit doesn't happen again!"

Eddie threw his hands up in the air and scoffed.

"I am talking about my sobriety. It's her! I've been sober for over 24 hours now and I haven't had a single urge to smoke or drink since I woke up this morning in her house. It's been 5 YEARS since I've ever forgotten to drink a morning beer Benny! I call that shit a goddamn miracle. And I think it's her. I mean how I feel about her," his voice softened, "is like...crazy. Like I don't wanna disappoint her, ya know? And she's so fucking funny dude like I swear I've met my match for once and I DO NOT want to fuck it all up getting carried away on Oxy or Absynthe or whatever the fuck."

Benny looked over at me and back at Eddie with narrowed eyes.

"Eddie I shouldn't have to remind you how bad of an idea it is to attatch the fate of your sobriety on another person's shoulders, especially one you just met. I understand," he raised a hand to cut Eddie's protest off, "that you feel strongly about that girl out there and in some way I suppose I'm glad you found someone decent. But it cannot be her alone that drives your sobriety, nor can your feelings for her be the only reason you choose to stay sober. You just don't know how things will turn out right now and I need you to understand that as your manager I have to look out for your best interest. Keep seeing her, I don't care. But you have got to stay sober for yourself and for your career. I refuse to have this conversation with you again and if you EVER compel me to have this conversation again I will be seriously considering your spot in this band."

Eddie ran his hands through his hair and walked away from Benny to the other side of the booth to pace.

It's worth noting that they call it a booth even though this particular one was big enough for all their equipment so pacing was actually possible. The producer turned to me and switched off the speaker.

"That was some heavy shit, man. You're, like, special to him and shit. That's crazy," he drawled, turning back to his computer. I slumped back on the couch with the magazine open and contemplated what I had just heard.

It was really sweet hearing how Eddie felt about me already but I also agreed with Benny: Eddie needed to stay sober because he wanted to be sober, not because he thought I wanted him to be.

Benny walked out of the booth and sighed deeply as he hurried out into the hallway. I waited until the door closed before getting up to walk into the booth with Eddie. He was still pacing when I approached and I cleared my throat to get his attention.

"Hey," I said softly.

He looked at me and slowed his pacing.

"Hey."

"How bad was his wrath?"

Eddie laughed coldly and held up his hands in a dramatic shrug.

"He had maybe one or two smart lines in there but most of it was his typical bullshit."

I nodded and bit my lip nervously, wondering if I should tell him about what I had heard.

"I'm glad you came in with me, y/n," he said suddenly. I gave him a soft smile and put a hand on his shoulder.

"That bad, huh?"

He nodded and slowly wrapped me in a hug, resting his head on my shoulder. It was a weirdly impactful thing for him to do cuz usually he wasn't the biggest fan of cutesy affection/PDA from what I've seen and heard about him. I hesitated but eventually pulled him closer as I realized he didn't intend on letting go. We stood there for a few moments before he slowly pulled away and shook himself off.

"I guess it's time to hype myself up again, right? Gotta get that rockstar energy going before the guys get here!"

He ran over to the drums and started randomly banging on them and the symbols, making some truly awful beats as he attempted to drown out whatever feelings he was trying to avoid. I hid my genuine sadness for him and gave him a half smile.

"Well I'll leave you to it then. You guys are gonna kick some ass in here, alright? Promise."

He swallowed and looked at my shoulder and then my lips, avoiding eye contact.

"Thanks y/n. See ya in a bit!"

I smiled softly and walked out of the booth trying to hide my concerned expression. I know it's pretty unwarranted to think I could read Eddie's tells after knowing him for about 48 hours total but it really seemed like his hug was out of character. Plus considering what he's told me about Benny, his admission about Benny having a point combined with the fact that Benny wasn't as sarcastic as he apparently always was when he spoke to Eddie felt like an omen of some kind. I wasn't sure what it meant for me and Eddie if there even was anything to be worried about ruining right now but I still wanted to be there for him today even if it ended up being our last day together. I sat down on the couch again and watched him drop the drumsticks repeatedly as he hit the symbols too hard and sighed.

What a doofus.

The door to the studio suddenly swung open and three dudes covered in leather and chains burst into the room.

"Hold your applause folks! The superstars have arrived," Gareth announced as he waltzed in ahead of the others. His eyes immediately fell on me and a grin slowly spread across his face.

"Well shit. We were told a beautiful lady was gonna be here and I gotta be honest...I didn't believe it. But now," Gareth walked over to me, "I see you actually exist. Nice to meet you! The name's Gareth."

He held out a hand for me to shake.

I took it and he held onto my hand while plopping himself onto the couch next to me. The other two waved and went over to talk to the producer, leaving me alone with Gareth. He released my hand and leaned over to talk into my ear, his gaze directed into the booth at Eddie.

"So what's the story there? You guys a thing or what?"

I shrugged and said nothing.

Gareth looked at me and then back at Eddie with raised eyebrows.

"Oh shit. Lovers quarrel already? Hmm. Can't say I didn't see that one coming. Our boy Edward is...como se dice bad with women? Love him to death, that little shit, but yeah he's not great at the romancing. Me on the other hand," he smirked, "I'm pretty good with women where it counts."

I gave him a look of disapproval and he laughed.

"Ah don't worry I'm like 75% just messing with you. I mean he is bad with women and I am a talented mistro of the-"

"GARETH," Eddie glared at him, suddenly standing over us.

"Get. Up."

Gareth crossed his legs and settled himself down into the couch theatrically.

"I don't know man I'm pretty comfy here. Plus this lovely lady was just indulging me while I told her a little story."

Eddie took a step towards him and his glare intensified.

"Get off the couch. Now."

"Or what, Munson? You gonna hurt me?," Gareth smiled.

Eddie tilted his head and squinted at Gareth.

"Maybe."

Gareth raised his eyebrows in genuine surprise and leaned over towards me, clearly enjoying egging Eddie on.

"He's putting on quite the show for you, isn't he?"

"Do not fucking touch her."

Gareth stared into his eyes for a few moments before slowly standing up and stretching dramatically.

"Whatever Romeo. Have at it."

He patted Eddie's shoulder mockingly and walked away towards the other guys as Eddie sat down next to me. After jittering his leg for a minute or two he cleared his throat and suddenly grabbed my hips, pulling me onto his lap.

"Just sit here instead. I uh...I'd feel better knowing you're close to me and safe from whatever that little cocksucker was doing just now."

I felt relieved that Eddie was behaving a little more like himself and giggled.

"Yeah alright Munson."

The producer turned to us and held up a hand so everyone in the room payed attention.

"Alright folks we're gonna start with Jeff's track and I'll let everyone know when we need the rest of you."

Everyone acknowledged him and Jeff stepped into the booth. The other member and Gareth sat in chairs over on the other side of the room to chat and I could tell Eddie was staring him down.

"He didn't say anything bad, Eddie, he was just being friendly."

"Yeah a little too friendly, y/n."