I Will Be There Once More (Eddie Vedder fanfiction)

13. Hunger Strike

The day after spending the night in Seattle, Eddie returned to San Diego to quit his jobs and took his things to move definitely to Seattle. In the meantime, he was going to stay at Lily's room as she was well aware of this thanks to Stone's call.

Two days later, when Eddie returned to Seattle to move in definitely, he made his way on his own from the airport to the apartment, as all of the guys were busy on his arrival day, but they left him a key copy so he could use it as he wanted; once he got to the apartment, he discovered a very handsome guy who haven't seen in his previous visit.

"Hey... you must be Eddie" He said, smiling.

"Y-yeah" Eddie answered, shaking hands with him.

"I'm Chris, by the way"

"Nice to meet you Chris"

"Well, let me help you with that" Chris said, looking at the suitcases.

"Oh, it's ok, it's nothing" Eddie answered, a little bit ashamed.

"Don't worry, it's fine" Chris said, taking two suitcases to Lily's bedroom and after, they both went to the kitchen.

"So... What do you think about Seattle? Do you like it already?" Chris asked.

"Well... this is the second time I'm here but... yeah, seems a nice place" Eddie added, barely looking at him an earning a soft chuckle from Chris.

"You know what? You remind me of Lily a lot. When she first arrived, she was very shy, just like you... and then she just unfolded like a flower... or like a crazy parrot  as she called herself. Well, only with the people she's near with"

"I keep listening to that name from all back to California"

"Well, she's from California too"

"Is she... is she your girlfriend?" Eddie asked.

"Oh no, not at all. She's just one of my best friends, and as far as I know she's single. I'm already taken" Chris said, showing him his ring.

"Oh, I'm sorry man... I thought she and you... forget it. And congratulations"

"It's ok... and thanks. You'll meet her once she returns from touring. You're gonna be at tomorrow's Temple of The Dog rehearsal, right?" Chris said.

"Yes, Mike told me about it, so I'll be there"

"Cool! Meanwhile... what do you say if we go for some beers? It worked with Lily's shyness... maybe it can work with you too" Chris said joking.

"That sounds just right" Eddie answered a little bit relax, and the guys went to one of Chris' favorite bars.

As Chris announced, the beers worked with Eddie as he started to get more comfortable around him but still a little bit shy; fortunately, this time Eddie got a little bit more talkative and they shared some random but important facts about them.

Next day, as it was planned, the Temple of the Dog rehearsal started by the late afternoon and Eddie was the special guest. As soon as they started, Vedder was left shocked by the powerful voice of Chris, but he also noticed that at the second song he was having some trouble by singing two parts and they stopped in the middle of it.

"What is it?" Jeff asked him.

"It's kind of hard to sing Lily's parts and my parts" Chris added.

"Try to sing only your parts, then" Stone said this time.

"But then the song will sound... weird" Chris answered.

"Just give it a try... come on" Matt said and Chris nodded, taking again the mic.

The music of Hunger Strike  started as Chris began to sing, but once again he soon found difficulty by singing Lily's low parts, so Eddie, in a surprise rush of confidence took the other microphone and started to sing, surprising everybody else, specially Chris, whose wide smile was the key so Eddie keep singing.

At the end of the song, everybody congratulated Eddie, who was already a little bit blushed and smiling in a shy way.

"You just did it in the right way! You're awesome, man" Chris added.

"Thanks" He answered, still a little bit embarrassed.

"You sang it the same way as Lily" Stone added this time.

"I want to invite you to be part of the rehearsals... and maybe you can be part of a song in the future" Chris said, clearly excited.

"Wow... really?" Eddie asked with bright eyes.

"Of course! You slay" Matt said this time.

"But uhm...I don't want to cause any trouble" Eddie said as they looked at him in a confusing way.

"Why would you cause any trouble?" Jeff asked.

"Well... as far as I concerned Lily is the lead vocal along with Chris and what if she gets angry when she returns and finds out an stranger took her place even if it's just for rehearsal" A worried Eddie said, but he just earned some chuckles from the rest.

"You have a great imagination... Lily is not like that" Chris answered him.

"In fact, I can almost bet she's gonna be fangirling over you when she meets you" Stone said.

"What? Why?"

"A cute boy with a pretty face, long hair and a great voice from California who also likes surfing... just Lily's style" Mike finally spoke.

"Come on..." Eddie added looking at the floor as he was clearly embarrassed.

"Someone's blush!!!" Matt added, teasing him.

The jokes continued throughout the rehearsal, but Eddie was feeling each time more comfortable with these new people, as well as they accepted him quickly due to his talent and personality.