Saving Evelyn (Tony Perry Love Story)

You Take Me Over

Evelyn

How long is this line?

I've been standing here for ages, just waiting to get a poster signed. I'm nearly there, though. I can see their hats.

I'm at a Pierce the Veil meet-and-greet after being at their concert here in Los Angeles. It was awesome; Pierce the Veil are one of my favourite bands and I'm pretty excited to be meeting them.

I'm not a huge fangirl like some of the girls here, but I still sang along to every word at the concert and I look up to them a lot.

Yes! It's finally my turn!

I smile shyly and give a little wave to each of them as I put my poster down on the table for each of them to sign. They all wave back and shake my hand in turn.

"Hi, what's your name?" Vic asks as he slides my poster along to Jaime.

"Evelyn," I whisper, nervously fiddling with my lip piercing.

"Sorry, what was that?" says Vic, leaning towards me a little.

"Evelyn," I repeat, louder this time.

"Oh, that's a pretty name," he smiles. I blush and smile back.

"Nice to meet you, Evelyn," says Jaime as I move along to the end of the table to collect my poster from Tony. "I like your hair."

"Thank you," I say, blushing again and nervously flicking my sweeping side fringe out of my face. My long, choppy hair is bright red today. I tend to dye it a lot.

As I reach for my poster, my hand accidentally brushes against Tony's. I look up at him and see him watching me. My usually pale cheeks turn even redder than they already were and I break the eye contact, muttering a thanks before taking the poster and walking away.

I wish I could have said something witty that could make him laugh or at least break the tension, but I'm just too damn shy. He probably wouldn't have heard my quiet voice anyways, and having to repeat it would take the humour away.

As I walk out of the building, I check the time and realise it's already 12am.

"Oh, crap," I mutter to myself. I've driven nearly four hours to go to this concert and I don't have enough money for a hotel, so I'm going to drive home tonight. I'm so exhausted though, and driving that far is the last thing I feel like doing.

I decide that before my trip I should nip down to a nearby Taco Bell and grab a bite to eat. I have enough money for that, at least.

At Taco Bell I buy myself a vegie burrito and a soda. I don't eat the meat ones; I'm vegetarian.

I take my time eating, procrastinating so that I have more time until I have to get in my car.

I finally finish my meal and head outside into the cool night air. Morning air, technically. I breathe it in and lean against the brick wall that I parked my car next to, pulling a lighter and a pack of cigarettes from my black messenger bag. I light a cigarette and take a drag, savouring it before letting it out in a sigh.

I stay like that against the wall for a few minutes until I hear slow footsteps coming around the corner and I see a tall shadow cast across the ground in front of me. I stand up straight and stamp the cigarette out, alert and ready to act in case it was someone to avoid. You never know who could be wandering the streets of Los Angeles at this time of night.

When I see who it is, my heart stops. He stops too when he notices me watching him from the shadows.

"Um, hi," he says. "Evelyn, right?"

I can only nod. He extends a hand. "Tony. But I guess you already know that, huh?" I nod again, smiling slightly. His voice is soft and he has a slight lisp. It suits him though; it's cute.

"So, what are you doing out here so late? It's cold, and you don't know who could be around," he asks.

"Oh, I was just about to start driving home," I reply. "But I could ask you the same question."

"I just wanted some fresh air and quiet. It's getting pretty crazy on the bus," he says, shaking his head and smiling. "So, did you have fun tonight? At the concert?"

"Yeah, it was awesome! You guys are so good. You're one of my favourite bands."

"Aw, one of? We aren't top?" he says jokingly. I grin and laugh a little. I'm confused about why he's sticking around to talk to me, though. Don't band members usually try and avoid fangirls? But instead he slides down the wall to sit on the dirty concrete, and pats the space next to him, looking up at me. I know I should get going but there is no way I could refuse. So I sit down too, hardly believing that the one and only Tony Perry is inviting me to chat with him.

"So, uh, how long did you drive to come to the concert?" he asks me.

"Four hours." I smile sheepishly at him.

"Four hours!? Wow, are you serious? You're one dedicated fan!" he exclaims.

"It's not that much," I say, blushing. "I've driven further. Besides, you guys weren't doing a show near my home town."

"And you have to drive all that now? Don't you have somewhere to stay here?" I shake my head.

"You shouldn't drive that much at this time, you must be exhausted after the concert. Hey, how about I pay for a hotel for you or something?"

I shake my head and stare wide-eyed at him. Was he really willing to do that for a fan? There's no way I could accept; hotels are expensive!

"Well, if you won't take money, at least come with me back to the bus and stay there the night. I won't be able to sleep not knowing if you made it home safely or not." Wow, shame this guy is out of my league. Because he is seriously the sweetest guy I have ever spoken to.

"Come on," he coaxes after noticing my hesitation. "Please? It would be my honour." He stands up and offers me a hand.

I shrug and take his hand, smiling like an idiot. I am seriously living the dream right now.

Title cred: Backseat Serenade - All Time Low