Doctor Death Defying

The bar was less fun at the beginning than Evie had anticipated but it quickly grew more enjoyable. She should have known, though. She usually knew better than to push herself so hard after an already long day, but one thing she hated showing to people as weakness. She was tired of being the sick girl everyone pitied and she wouldn't be able to achieve her dreams if she couldn't keep it together for one full day. So, surrounded by people that didn't know her, she was going to show a new, healthier and stronger face.

Instead of killing herself with the drink she had promised herself earlier, though, she passed, opting instead to let her brother slide the club soda and lemon he always tried to dupe her with when she passed around. When she took it without hesitation it was like their silent conversation letting him know that she was beginning to hit her wall for the evening and he'd be there for her if she needed to rest up in a quieter room.

Ray and Gerard had walked in close behind her and by the time her brother had passed her, her drink (he'd started prepping it when he saw her coming over) they had placed themselves on either of her at the bar, both towering over her smaller frame, though Ray a lot more so.
"Who are your friends?" Marty asked, always the type to cut straight to the point.
It would have been insulting had Evie not known how aloof her brother could be.

She rolled her eyes anyway, motioning to Ray first with her cup. "That's Ray Toro. That's Gerard Way. They're going to get a free drink on you," she introduced.

Marty was already drying off a glass, squinting at the two in his dramatic, over the top, protective older brother way. "They look an awful lot like the posters you have in your room. Especially this guy," he finally commented while placing the glass in front of Ray.

Evie nearly choked on her drink. Marty was already moving on, though, asking Ray what kind of beer he wanted while making easy conversation because that was the kind of stand-up guy he was.

Gerard wasn't so easily distracted. He leaned in to be heard over the live band's set up and the general noise of the crowd while Ray and Marty chatted.

"Posters in your room, huh?" He teased.

Evie was glad she was already flushed with the heat otherwise her blush would've been much more pronounced. "I like to support local talent," she dismissed airily, hiding her embarrassment in her glass with another gulp of the fizzy liquid.

Marty turned to Gerard to ask his choice of drink, not even hesitating when the other asked for just water. He wasn't distracted enough to let Evie off the hook, though, and Ray was too busy hitting it off with her brother for either of them to rescue her from this painful conversation.

"Local talent, huh?" Gerard pressed. He leaned up against the bar, giving her his attention.

"Maybe I should also support local talent then. Since I seem to share a history with you and we're both musicians; it would make sense, right?"

"You don't even know if we're a good band. And it's our brothers who have history together. Not us. No offense. I just want my band to make it because we're great at what we do and not because I sucked up to someone higher up in the industry."

Gerard paused. "I can support someone who knows their values. And y'know, I might have lied earlier to make Ray look cooler. I did watch your set. Which is why it took us so long to find Ray, because we wanted to stay for the whole thing."

That had surprised her. Why would he have lied about that and was he even telling the truth? Was one of her role models really telling her this?

"And y'know," Gerard added, not giving her time to properly form a reply, "you might not remember it, but we do share a history. Cheers!" He raised his glass, calling the attention of the other two men with his invitation to clink glasses.

The rest of the night passed quickly and Evie knew she would sleep well tonight. But it was so busy that she hadn't had time to interrogate Gerard on his earlier words. Not long after their cheers Frank and Mikey had joined them and then she'd begun eagerly chatting with Ray in the booth they'd taken further away from the band. They sat side by side on the bench and it was interesting enough to make her forget not only about Gerard's words but practically everything around her.

Despite the odd person stopping by to fangirl over the band they were relatively undisturbed and Evie was pleasantly surprised to find that Ray was an extremely interesting person. More interesting than she had thought while following them as a band.

He made her laugh – something she treasured these days after all she had been through. Something she realized he loved doing as much as her was fooling around on Snapchat with all the different filters. They were probably on their hundredth selfie when Frank flicked a drink umbrella at them.

"Are you twelve or thirty-six?" He teased.

Ray flicked the umbrella back with an eye roll. "Original," he drawled sarcastically.

Evie laughed, tucking her phone away. The battery was low anyway. "Message received. I'm gonna head to the rest room. Be right back."

"Don't try to escape again! We have your guitar!" Frank shouted.

"I won't!" Evie promised. Not this time. It was crazy how in just a few hours these four guys had gone from idols to human beings and now friends? Who knew if it was going to last beyond this night, but one thing was for sure: dream or not, Evie wouldn't be the one to end it first. Especially not with all the chemistry between her and Ray.

Walking through the crowd was more difficult than she'd anticipated. Her body ached from the long day and the regular fatigue that came from being a few months deep in remission was catching up. She even felt a little light headed from the heat of the pressing bodies around her, barely managing to stumble to the bar where Marty was arranging bottles back in order. When he caught her eye he searched under the counter where he had the self-named "Evie Pack".

"What'll it be this time?" He questioned, pressing the inside of his wrist to her forehead like he had done multiple times with her as a kid. As if that would help now with how hot everyone in here was. She swatted his hand away.

"Just Tylenol and some water. I'm gonna grab some air out back."

Marty handed over the supplied obediently along with the key to the back door so she wouldn't be locked out when she tried to come back in. She took them in one hand and tipped her water bottle up to thank him since she had the pills wedged between her lips already.

The day had definitely cooled down now that the moon was up. The back was free of all people, only the muffled sound of bar hoppers in front and whatever was rustling in the dumpster at the end of the alley disturbing the calming sounds of the city.

She leaned against the bricks, sipping at the water. This time she had remembered to text her roommates the right information regarding the changes to her plans so she didn't have a vibrating phone to distract, which was great.

Anyone who frequented bars with Evie knew too that she needed her breaks from the crowd. These times more than ever. She often times lost track of the time out here. Her sometimes found her asleep on the milk crates or the ground which he continuously reminded her of how gross that was.

She was nearly dozed off on the cool cement ground when her phone buzzed. It was a text from Ray. One of the photos they'd taken on Snapchat with a small caption.
'Frank wants me to remind you that we have your guitar. Don't worry. If you bailed, I'll bring it back to you.'

Shit, she thought. That hadn't been her intention. Yawning away her fatigue she typed as quickly as she could.

'No, just getting some air. You can ask Marty for my super, secret coordinates.' Should she send an emoji? Would that be too much? Would it be too flirty? Was she flirting? Was Ray flirting?
She slammed her thumb multiple times on the emoji with its tongue sticking out and sent it in a panic. That had definitely been too much. But Ray responded to it well with his own series of emojis and another short message.

'Be there soon then.'

Evie let out a breath she hadn't known to be holding. Maybe it wasn't as weird as she thought it was when she'd sent it. It might have only been feeling longer because she was so stressed, but goddamn it, it was taking forever for Ray to show up. She was about to go and see if he'd gotten lost when the door to her right opened up and she saw the silhouette of a tall man with curly hair backlight from the club's interior lights.

"E?" He called out tentatively, probably unsure whether this was a ploy to murder him or not yet. The simple nickname made Evie bite down on her lip excitedly. It had been a little slang he had picked up during their convo and she loved it.

"Over here," she announced, lifting up her phone as a guide for him.

Ray ambled over to join her on the ground, wiping his hands free of the pebbles and dirt that clung to his palms while he'd lowered himself.

"Interesting place to go to the bathroom," he teased and Evie nudged his shoulder.

"Shut up. I needed some air and a place where I didn't have to scream to hear my own thoughts."
"Your brother seemed surprised when I told him to bring me here. He wouldn't let me come until I showed him your text."

"He has it in his head that this is my get-away-from-people place. I mean, it is sometimes, but if I like someone enough I'll let them share my spot."

"Oh, so should I consider myself special?"

"You have my guitar hostage, remember?"

"Ouch, harsh. That burns a little bit right here." Ray feigned pain, holding his chest to which Evie could just laugh.

She yanked the elastic out of her hair, letting the messy locks down to air out. A couple strands brushed against Ray's shoulder which was nearly pressed up against hers and he raised his hand to help brush them back in place. It was surreal being this close to him. Her stomach did more flips. She smiled wide like she'd won the lottery - a continuation of the effect that Ray's presence around her that night.

"I swear I didn't call you here just for my guitar," she mumbled finally. Her head rested back on the bricks, face turned just enough to see Ray.

His face was close, and he was smiling. "Oh yeah? Well, then why did you let me come?"

Evie bit down on her lip. "Maybe if you kissed me you could find out."

The space between them closed and their lips touched. Tentative at first, not even sure what they were doing but gaining confidence when neither of them pulled away. Ray's lips were sof against hers, the breath out of his nose warm. His large palm cupped the side of her face, his skin hot against hers.

And just like that, it started.

Notes

once again shout out to me
there is no consistency in this shit
dates and ages don't match up
it's about to get crazier
i'm pulling words out of my ass but it's fun
living my wildest dreams