Everything Changes (Kavi)

NE to MN

Sorry for the delay in updates lately, I made the mistake of thinking I was on top of my university work... I wasn't. 

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Avi was surprised that things weren't awkward between them after that night. Of course something had changed, nobody could go round kissing their colleagues that used to not speak to them without any repercussions but he could sense that despite that change, they weren't in a bad place. They were back to not talking, on the surface they appeared to have returned to how they were before the tour yet there was something different about this time around - there was no distaste between them.

It was like they didn't need to communicate through speech anymore, she had revealed to him her deepest secret and now he understood her better than before. Avi saw her pain, saw her reaction whenever someone mentioned Seth, he saw her when she didn't want to be seen and it was driving him crazy. He wanted nothing more that to talk to her about it, their little chat had barely scratched the surface of what he presumed was a mountain load of feelings inside of her head but he couldn't, they weren't supposed to be close friends.

On top of that, he felt bad. He had allowed himself to kiss someone who had a boyfriend, someone that wasn't supposed to be his, and enjoyed it - a little too much. That wasn't who he was, it wasn't what he stood for and yet a part of him didn't seem to care.

After a day or two of awkwardly shuffling around each other, Avi decided it was time to break the silence and talk to her, even if it was just to say 'hi'. The bus seemed like the ideal place to do it, it was the last leg of their journey to the next gig in Minnesota so everyone was tired thus making her less likely to react strongly. It was also ideal that the bus left her little room to escape, of course he wouldn't push her into a conversation if she didn't want one but the enclosed nature of the bus gave her less opportunities to storm off if he touched a nerve.

Pulling himself out of his bunk after a poor attempt at trying to nap, Avi stumbled as gracefully as he could on the moving bus towards the kitchen where he was almost certain Kirstie was hanging out in. She snapped her head away from the cup of coffee she was making on the counter when she head the door to the bunk area slide open and was relieved to see him. A part of her would always regret rejecting him that night and turning him away, it was the right thing to do but that didn't mean she didn't feel awful about it. Kirstie like him, a lot, and that was extremely clear to her now but if only life was that simple. The emotions had to be put on hold for now, she knew she had to settle with just the feeling of reassurance whenever she saw him.

They stood there in quiet for a second, contemplating who should make the first mood when Avi decided to step up. Asking a question he already knew the answer would usually appear pointless to him but it was the only opener he could think of that didn't immediately make the conversation awkward.

"Hey, what did the doctor say?" Avi asked hesitantly, unsure of how she would reach to the sudden end to their silence. She had been ill for a while now - worryingly ill for a singer - and their stay in Nebraska allowed her enough time for her to finally see a doctor.

"Um, lots of liquids. Nothing too serious." She nervously tucked her hair behind her ear as she went back to making the coffee, feeling all too aware of the presence of him near her once more.

"Oh um that's good I guess." He broke off momentarily, clumsily stroking his beard as he nodded at Kevin who was avidly watching the exchange on a nearby couch before continuing. "I do hope you get better soon."

"Me too - being sick is like disgusting." Kirstie giggled uncertainly.

Glancing wearily over to Kevin to check if he was still listening in and deeming it safe to proceed, Avi moved closer to her in order to whisper what was on his mind. "Look, I'm sorry about the other night."

Kirstie froze. She expected it but that still didn't help her overcome the moment of dread that came with confronting the problem. Finishing off her coffee hastily, she turned to full face him and hissed her protest, knowing already that it wouldn't work. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Well it needs to be done... I overstepped the mark, I'm sorry." He looked genuine, which made Kirstie feel even worse about the matter, she always thought his only flaw was that he was too nice, too trusting for his own good but it was a flaw she wished she had.

Kirstie knew she had to bite the bullet and have it out with him, Avi was not the type to let a matter rest until it was sorted out. "I'm just as equally at fault as you are so just leave it..."

"I'm sorry anyway."

"I'm sorry too." She murmured guiltily - she was the reason they were in this mess.

Almost as if the dead air between them had been lifted instantaneously, Avi reached over and quickly stole one of the cookies she had just removed from the cupboard and raised his eyebrows at her mischievously. "If you every need to talk I'm here, no kissing involved whatsoever."

Biting her lip, Kirstie enjoyed the playfulness in his tone. "How tragic, I was looking forward to it."

"Kirstie." He playfully warned before beginning to eat his stolen goods. It surprised him once more how normal hearing her flirting with him was - a lot of things she did surprised him lately.

Furrowing her eyebrows, she grimaced out of embarrassment. "Sorry, that was... inappropriate."

"Inappropriate is an understatement. You have a boyfriend." Avi muttered nonchalantly, wishing to dwell on that fact only as long as it was necessary.

"I know." Groaning, she leant forward against the counter and ran her hands over her face.

"And you said you loved him."

"I do." Kirstie forced out, begging her own mind to believe the statement to be completely true.

"Then stop flirting with me." He smirked, only slightly wishing for what he was asking.

She mocked disgust, crinkling her nose in a way that Avi found adorable. "I wasn't."

"Sure...The offer still stands by the way, you know." The quick drop of his playful tone to a more sensitive one was an unwelcome one to Kirstie.

"Avi, I-I can't think about that right now... I need to work fixing my relationship." She sighed.

Kirstie wanted to be with him, but she also knew what she had with Seth was too good to throw away over the sudden feelings she had for her bandmate. Before anything could be discussed on that matter she needed to sort out her own mind first, it was only fair for all three of them.

"Okay."

Avi's calm, short response bugged Kirstie more than she expected and she was taken aback. "Okay? What no 'you two shouldn't be together?'"

Something about her response intrigued Avi deeply, he felt like he could sense there was something deeper about it and he was desperate to figure it out. "Why? Do you want me to say it?" 

"No. I just expected it." Kirstie murmured sadly, choosing to stare at the ground instead of looking into his curious eyes which she knew was currently reading her expressions like a book.

"You know Kirstie, I'm beginning to think the only person who doesn't want your relationship to work out is you..."

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Not as long as usual but I felt like that was an appropriate place to end this chapter.

Please vote/comment if you enjoyed - believe it or not but it does make me want to write this story more ;)

See you whenever I guess!