THE RECORD SHOP ⋆ 𝗱𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝗵𝗹

thirty six

NOVEMBER 19, 1991. ROME, ITALY. 

  EVIE IS AWAKE before Dave, as per, and is getting coffee ready in the kitchen when there's banging on the door. With her brows furrowed and arms crossed, Evie moves to look through the peephole. She immediately relaxes her arms and face when she sees Krist standing out in the hall. 

"Well, hello," Evie smiles as she opens the door. 

"Hey!" Krist exclaims, stepping forward straight away to pick Evie up off the floor in a hug. 

She laughs as he places her back down, "I've missed you my friend."

"We're all happy to have you here," Krist places an assuring hand on Evie's shoulder which makes her smile. 

"Dave's still sleeping," Evie motions behind her.

"I'm awake," Dave's voice makes Evie jump. 

"Oh," she smiles, "There's coffee on the counter."

"Thank you darling," Dave smiles, putting on a shotty English accent which makes Evie roll her eyes. 

"Come in, have a cup," she turns back to Krist.

"Such a good hostess," Krist pats Evie on the back as he walks past her and into the open room. 

They catch up over coffee and Evie feels like she could almost pinch herself she's so happy. To be in Italy with Dave in this beautiful room with Krist, sipping on some Italian coffee. What more could she ask for?

Just as she thinks this something even better presents itself in another knock at the door, Kurt. 

"Hey," he gives her such a genuine smile, the million dollar smile that Kurt seldom wears. 

"Kurt," Evie sighs as she goes in for a hug. 

"It's good to see you," Kurt murmurs to her. 

"You too," she smiles, noticing he's in a better state than he was when she last saw him properly in LA. 

She thought about Kurt a lot last night after her and Dave's conversation. Partly because she was guilty since she lied to Dave about never speaking to anyone about what happened to her, she had spoken to Kurt about it and Nick a long time ago. And also because she was thinking about the words Courtney told her back in LA, about how caring too much about others was Evie's 'fatal flaw' and how she and Kurt were similar. She's now realising that Courtney was right. 

Evie worries about Kurt, about how he might be struggling in the same way she is, they just deal with it in different unhealthy coping mechanisms. From what she knows about Kurt's childhood, he also didn't have many people to talk to about the things going on in his life, and in his head. 

She thinks about this as she lets him invites him in and pours him a cup of coffee. 

"You okay?" Dave says quietly to her. 

"Yeah, just thinking, I'll tell you about it later," she tells him, feeling like she really can talk to Dave about it later rather than letting it sit in her head.