Love You Enough

Eight

One whole week went by, and Stevie and Lindsey actually managed to stay true to their word and stay away from each other. Sadly, it was way easier to just not speak at all, unless it was something work-related, than pretend to be over what had happened, and so they were pretty much ignoring each other at this point. Stevie was just glad they weren't fighting, again.

It was October 3rd, Lindsey's birthday, when things once again took a turn for them. Tonight's show was taking place in Glasgow. The whole band had already arrived at the arena, and after a brief soundcheck, they were all now getting ready for the show later on. Christine had not come along. After joining Fleetwood Mac onstage for "Don't stop" in England, she had decided to go back home, again. Stevie had been sad, to say the least. Christine had been the only one she had been able to talk to about what had happened between her and Lindsey. On top of that, having one of her best friends close had also helped to stay away from her ex and distract her to some extent.

After keeping a close eye on her, Stevie had decided to not talk to Chris about her increased alcohol consumption. She had been an addict herself for many years and knew that every intervention from friends and family members had only made her consume even more substances. Instead, she had called several of Christine's friends who lived close, and asked them to visit and call more often. Stevie knew from experience that loneliness was often a trigger when it came to drug abuse, alcohol was no different, but Chris had to realize that herself.

After her make-up artist had made the final touches on her eyes and hair, Stevie was now standing in front of Lindsey's dressing room. She was nervous to talk to him alone but it was his birthday after all, and she knew he was probably upset he wouldn't be able to spend it with his family. She took a deep breath, then knocked softly at the door, the sound of a strumming guitar stopping abruptly.

"Who is it?"

"Umm, it's me."

"Stevie?", Lindsey asked in surprise before pulling the door open to take a look outside.

"Hey...", Stevie said softly, a shy smile taking over her face as his piercing blue eyes settled on her, "I just, umm, wanted to wish you a happy birthday. And, umm, give you a little something." She handed him a small box, beautifully wrapped in dark red fancy paper.

Curiously, Lindsey took it from her, his eyes travelling back up to her face. "You shouldn't have...", he said with a shake of his head, but his genuine smile told her he was more than happy about the gesture. "I almost thought you forgot..."

"I would never forget your birthday, Linds.", she said, slightly offended by his statement.

"No, that's not...", Lindsey stopped mid-sentence, then took a look down the hall to make sure they were alone before saying, "I just thought that after what happened between us... I mean, you didn't say anything earlier during soundcheck, so I thought-"

"Just do me a favor and don't open it up just yet. Can you do that?", Stevie interrupted his rambling. It was almost cute to see him struggling so much, but the thought that he might have had the impression she didn't remember his birthday after knowing him for almost her whole life, had indeed hurt her a little. It almost made her question, if he had actually understood what she had been trying to tell him during their last heart-to-heart talk just about a week ago.

"Of course.", Lindsey was quick to reply, hoping to not anger her any further, before adding, "Why, though?"

"I just... it's a little personal, you know." Now, Stevie was the one rambling, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink, "I don't want it to affect tonight's show. Just open it up later, when you're alone in your room."

"Okay.", Lindsey said understandingly and nodded.

Stevie smiled briefly, then turned around to leave, again, but Lindsey's fingers slipping in-between hers, stopped her. She closed her eyes and took another deep breath of air before turning to face him once more, "Yeah?"