Hunted - A Pentatonix / Avi Kaplan Fanfiction

Chapter 2 - Talk to Us

Scott's POV

The next morning, Avi looks absolutely terrible. He has dark circles underneath his eyes, and it's obvious that he hasn't slept at all last night. I'm not sure if he'll even be able to do the concert tonight.

I quickly pull Kirstie aside in the morning to talk about Avi.

"Something is seriously wrong with Avi. We have to get him to tell us what it is, or else we might have to cancel the concert tonight. There's no way he can perform like this." I say.

"I know," Kirstie sighs, "We're just gonna have to keep pestering him until he tells us."

"I guess..."

We wait until breakfast to confront him. Whilst everyone else is eating, Avi just sits there silently, avoiding making eye contact with anyone.

"Are you not gonna eat anything, Avi?" Kirstie asks, trying to sound chirpy.

"I'm not hungry." He replies, not even bothering to look up.

"But you love food! And we have to practice for our show tonight, you have to eat something to keep you going." Kirstie insists.

Avi simply shakes his head.

"Seriously Avi, what's wrong? You haven't been yourself since yesterday. It's obvious that you haven't slept at all, and now you're refusing food? That's totally not like you. What's up with you?" I say.

"I told you, nothing."

"That's bullshit. We all know that there's something wrong."

"Nothing's wrong. I'm fine."

"Well, you give us no choice. Until you tell us what's wrong, we're not moving. We'll sit here until you talk to us." Kirstie says matter-of-factly.

Avi groans and sinks further down into his chair, covering his face with his hands.

Kirstie sighs and goes over to him to put her arm around his shoulders.

"Whatever's bothering you, you can tell us. You know that we won't judge you or anything. Just let us help you." She says gently.

Avi shakes his head, "There's nothing you could do to help me; there's no point in my problems affecting you guys too."

"Avi, we're a family. You have to tell us what's wrong. Even if we can't make the problem go away, we can make you feel better."

Avi finally seems to soften and give in to Kirstie.

"Yeserday... I-I saw my dad. In the street. That's why I freaked out." He admits quietly.

Everyone goes silent for a second, before Mitch stutters, "Y-Your dad?"

Avi gives a tiny nod, a barely audible whimper escaping his throat.

"Oh, Avi..." Kirstie murmurs sympathetically, pulling him into a hug.

"But... I thought your dad was in prison?" Kevin says, confused.

"He was, but he was only given a 15 year sentence. And-and now he's out..." Avi says, struggling to hold back his emotions.

"He was only given a 15 year sentence for what he did? That's unacceptable! He- he killed his own wife! And he stabbed you, Avi! Can't you complain and get him put back in prison?!" Mitch says, angrier than I've ever seen him before.

"There's nothing I can do... I've tried, believe me, I did..." Avi says sadly.

"Well... Do you think you'll be up for the concert tonight? It's absolutely fine if you aren't, we can tell the fans that you're ill or something." I say gently.

"I don't want to let the fans down though... I still want to do the concert." Avi says, sounding somewhat happier.

"Great!" Kevin grins.

We spend a lot of the day practicing for the concert. It's obvious that Avi is struggling to focus and keep up with everything, but I can't blame him, considering that he hasn't slept for over 24 hours.

A few hours before the concert, we call off practice so that Avi can get some rest before we go on stage.

It feels like only a few seconds before we are backstage, and we can hear the crowd buzzing with anticipation.

"You ready, Avi?" Kirstie asks with a supportive smile.

"I guess." Avi says nervously.

"Don't worry, okay? You'll be fine." Kevin says.

And with that, we step out onto the stage.