Give Into Me

“Remind me why exactly we're here?” Caroline questioned as Travis ushered her into the familiar bar, one she had gotten drunk in far too many times to count. Her eyes scanned Johnny's Bar and Grill, it hadn't changed much since her departure three years ago. It was still fairly dark, minus the bright lights over top of the pool tables at the back near the bathrooms. It still smelled of smoke and alcohol but that was the one thing she had hoped wouldn't change, while one could argue that all bars smelled the same there was something distinct about this one. Even in Nashville she and Travis hadn't found one that even held a candle to it.

Travis chuckled wrapping a friendly arm around her shoulders, directing her to a table in the middle of the bar. “Because it's the old hang out, it's like our Crab Shack or MacLaren's Pub.” Travis offered with a smile.

Caroline furrowed her brows at his explanation. “Okay I get The OC reference but MacLaren's Pub?” She raised an eyebrow as he looked at her with a level of disgust she had never seen him give her before.

“How I Met Your Mother. The best show on TV.” He told her firmly, as she took a seat at the table. “Caroline you need to watch more television.” His serious tone and steady gaze told her that he wasn't joking around.

“I'll get on that.” Caroline laughed at him as he occupied the spot across from her. Almost as soon as Travis's backside hit the chair, a pretty brunette waitress approached the table offering them the specialities for the night.

Both Caroline and Travis decided on a beer to start with, Caroline hadn't come to get drunk but she assumed that Travis on the other hand, probably did. She took the opportunity to snatch his keys from the table and hid them safely in her purse. She wasn't planning on driving home since Travis owned a standard and she had no idea how to drive it but there was no way she was letting him hang onto the keys in case when intoxicated he got any bright ideas.

Just as the waitress dropped off their drinks, Travis pulled out his cellphone and frowned before stashing it back into his pocket. Caroline smiled kindly at the waitress then looked to Travis.

“Are you waiting for someone?” She asked, noticing him looking at the time almost every two minutes.

“Yeah, I invited Johnny.” Travis said looking behind Caroline to the entrance, hoping to catch sight of the short bassist. Caroline felt a wave of nervousness wash over her, she had nothing against Johnny but didn't know if he knew about her and Matt. Not to mention the fact that she had previously ignored him when he had shown up at her show nine days ago.

“Just Johnny?” Caroline clarified, wondering if she had to make an emergency get away if Matt had also been invited. Travis's eyes met hers, his brows furrowing at her.

“Yeah, why?” His head tilted to the side slightly as he questioned her.

Caroline cleared her throat. “Remember when I moved to Nashville I said it was because of a guy?”

“Yeah, the guy you verbally castrate in almost every song of yours.” Travis chuckled lightly as he brought the bottle of beer to his lips, taking in a large mouthful.

Caroline nodded, her eyes studying the label on her beer bottle. “That's him. I ran into him the other night.”

Travis perked up, and leaned forward, as he rested his forearms on the table. “What? Where?”

“The House Of Blues.” Caroline looked up at Travis, watching his face pass through several different reactions at once.

The first was confusion. “You didn't talk to anyone other than---” The one that came next was one of thoughtfulness, until that finally evolved into realization. “Wait, you and Sanders?”

Caroline nodded meekly. “Why are you so surprised?”

“I'm not actually, I knew it was only a matter of time.” Travis smiled, he remembered them all those years ago when he first met the pair. They had been inseparable, and at first glance Travis had thought that Caroline was Matt's girlfriend, not Val.

Caroline stayed quiet, twisting the beer bottle in a circle on the table top with her fingers.

“So what happened between you two?” Travis asked, as Caroline looked up at her friend. “I mean, it must have been pretty bad if you wrote basically your whole album about the guy...”

“Danielle?” Caroline called out as she walked into the small apartment the two sisters shared, which happened to be minutes away from the beach. Caroline had just gotten off a long and boring shift at the small thrift shop she worked at a few days a week. She also had a second job which was playing at a local bar over in Long Beach. The same bar which had given her, her first real gig.

She walked quickly into the open kitchen/living room combo and promptly dropped her bag on the dining table. She ran her hands over her face, wanting nothing more than to curl up in bed and lose herself in a good movie.

Given her eagerness to get inside and into her bed, she hadn't seen the buff figure hunched over on the couch. She was made aware of his presence when he cleared his throat, she jumped timidly and a small gasp escaped her lips. Her right hand was placed over her rapidly beating heart as she narrowed her eyes at him for frightening her.

“Matt, what are you doing here?” She asked, making her way over to him. He stayed silent for a moment, his head down and his arms rested on his knees.

“Danielle was on her way out and said I could wait inside for you.” He explained, raising his head to look up at her. She smiled brightly, taking the empty space next to him. She leaned over and pressed her lips gently against his. She frowned when he didn't respond and simply sat there.

“Are you okay?” She raised an eyebrow at him, wondering what triggered his sudden lack of affection.
She could see his strong jaw was clenched which told her he had something to say. But by the conflicted look in his disenchanted hazel eyes, they most likely weren't words she wanted to hear. Matt turned his head to look at her, brown doe eyes staring longingly back at him. Pleading him to tell her what he had to say.

He inhaled a sharp breath, thinking of how to start it. As each silent moment passed between them and thoughts of what he was about to do filled his mind, he felt a part of him break little by little.

“Caroline, we need to talk.” He said, his voice low and husky. He hadn't intended to start it like every bad break up in history but nothing else came to mind. He hadn't had all that much time to think about it. Her brows furrowed and her head tilted to the side with her lips slightly parted.

“About what?” The sweetness in her voice, only killed him further. He looked away and pushed himself to stand up, turning his back on her briefly.

“Us.” He turned around in time to catch an unmistakable flash of panic and worry to pass through her eyes.

“I thought we were fine.” Her voice was small like a child's, she cast her eyes down like he was punishing her for something. Matt fought the urge to take what he said back, only to wrap her up in his arms and never let go. He instead ignored it and continued on with what he had to say.

“We were.” He forced out, his right hand clenched into a fist. He kept it tight enough to feel the end of his short finger nails sharply dig into his palm. “It's not working anymore.”

Her head snapped up, brown eyes welling with unshed tears. “What? I don't understand where this is coming from. Did I do something?” Her voice cracked slightly but he gave no response. She then got up from the couch and parked herself in front of him.

He felt his eyes sting harshly, not realizing he was close to tears himself until her small hand grabbed his chin, forcing him to look her in the eyes.

“Matt, what's going on?” She spoke softly, studying his face. Matt pulled away from her hand abruptly, causing a faint cry to escape from her throat. “I'm not going to leave you alone until you tell me what's going on!” She tried to sound strong and determined but all that came out was a weak cry.

Matt rubbed the back of his neck as something came to mind, he pondered it for a moment. Debating whether it was worth it or not. Before he could decide his mouth spoke before his head could think it through.

“I ran into Val the other day...” He trailed off, avoiding her gaze which he already knew held more hurt than he was ready to witness. “We got to talking and...I--” He inhaled a shaky breath, upon hearing her sniffle. “I'm still in love with her Caroline. I think I should give it another chance.”

The room stood silent for what seemed like a lifetime, Matt looked over to the small girl a mere four feet away, only to regret it immediately. Her small body was shaking as her silent cries wrecked her body and cheeks stained with tears.

“I'm sorry.” He spoke roughly, his own voice cracking but played it off as if it were nothing. Her cries got more violent by each passing second, he reached out to touch her shoulder but she swat his hand away. Brown eyes looked up at him with more loathing than he thought she was even capable of.

“Please, get out.” She hissed through grit teeth. He opened his mouth to say something but she abruptly cut him off. “Matt, I said get out. Now.” She said with a more dominant tone than before, her sadness was now evolving to pure unadulterated anger. She marched over to the door herself and opened it for him, even though he didn't deserve the slightest bit of kindness.

His eyes studied her before he swallowed his pride and ignored the instincts that were telling him to stay. He slowly walked past her, he turned around as he wanted to apologize once more before they went their separate ways.

She must have figured out his intentions because she swiftly slammed the door in his face, leaving him standing alone in the hall of her apartment building. Matt closed his eyes, feeling like a complete and utter piece of garbage for what he had just done. He leaned against the wall, his head hitting it harder than the rest of his body.

Inhaling a deep breath, he pushed himself off the wall with his right foot. As he round the corner towards the elevator, his fist made a loud impact with the wall, leaving a large indent of it, in its wake. He hadn't realized his knuckles were bleeding until he made it back to his truck. It stung but he didn't care, it briefly took away from the pain welling in the pit of his stomach.

“He said all that?” Travis's face was mixture of disgust and anger. He slammed his beer bottle aggressively against the table. “I'll kick his ass! I swear I will.” Travis stood up as if he were ready to go when she gave him the okay. Caroline laughed at the thought, Travis wasn't much taller than Johnny so she was aware of the fact that her long time friend was no match for the heavily built front man.

“That's not necessary.” Caroline continued to laugh softly to herself. Her eyes shifted up to Travis again just in time to catch his half amused and half angered expression transform into one of bewilderment.

“Fuck. Please don't hate me.” His green eyes were focused behind her and the edge in his voice told her that something was up. Caroline turned in her seat, looking through the vicinity only to see Johnny standing at the entrance. She was about to wave him over when she noticed the well built, six foot one lead vocalist close behind.

Their eyes met and a half smile stretched its way across Matt's lips, Caroline quickly looked away. She sent a heated glare Travis's way, to which he tossed his hands up in the air as if he were surrendering.

“I didn't know he was coming, honest.” The look in Travis's eyes told her he was being truthful. She sighed heavily before flashing an understanding smile.

She glanced over her shoulder to see Johnny and Matt standing at the bar, presumably ordering themselves a drink, or knowing them, two. Caroline took a moment to looked over Johnny who she hadn't really gotten a chance to see the last time since Matt had cornered her, thus forcing her to make a quick exit.

His hair was it's natural brown colour which she appreciated much more than his previous ones, but it was cut in his infamous mohawk form. It suited him. Her eyes then, against her better judgement, shifted to Matt, instantly noticing the yellow plaid button down shirt he had on. It was left unbuttoned to reveal the plain white t-shirt underneath and the bulky belt buckle that held up his dark wash jeans.

Before she got a chance to look away Johnny turned around, catching her. He smiled widely and hit Matt on the shoulder as they each brought a bottle of beer with them to the table. As soon as Johnny got close enough, he leaned down and wrapped an arm around her neck, kissing her chastely on the cheek.

“How the fuck are you!?” He asked happily, taking the seat to her right. Caroline smiled softly as she caught Travis glare at Matt.

“Really good! How did you like the show by the way?” Caroline asked, trying to ignore the man who had taken the seat to her left.

“From what I saw you were amazing as always. I only got to hear that last song.” Johnny shrugged, “Cause someone waited til the last second to decide to go.” Johnny glared pointedly at the lead singer, who simply held his hands up in defence.

“LA traffic.” Was all Matt said before taking a long swig of his beer. Caroline shifted in her seat, missing Matt nodding his head towards the back of the bar to the bassist across from him. Johnny rolled his eyes and turned to Travis.

“Pool? I bet you fifty bucks you still fucking suck.” Johnny offered to which Travis narrowed his eyes, then glanced at Caroline. As if mentally asking her if she'd be okay alone with Matt, Caroline smiled and gave a small nod of approval.

“You're fucking on Seward.” Travis and Johnny headed off beers in hand to pool tables next to the jukebox.

Silence hit the two of them for several minutes, neither one knowing quite what to say. Caroline's eyes scanned the bar and it's patrons, intentionally trying to avoid Matt but she knew she'd have to speak to him eventually.

“So where's your boyfriend?” Matt's deep voice asked, causing her to glance over at him. “I thought he'd be here.” Matt raised his eyebrows as he brought the bottle to lips, letting the alcohol flow down his throat. Caroline considered playing along with his theory of Riley being her boyfriend but quickly thought better of it, where did lying get her?

“He's not my boyfriend.” She answered and she too brought her bottle to her lips. A satisfied smirk crept its way onto Matt's lips at her answer and she'd have been lying if she said her stomach hadn't done a small flip at the sight of his dimples. However, that feeling would soon be lost with his next comment.

“So how many songs did you write about me? Cause through out your whole album I counted nine.” He had the tone that told her he was joking around but when it came the inspiration for her music, she didn't find it a joking matter. Though it pleased her to know that he had purchased her album.

“Still as cocky as ever I see.” Caroline scoffed, looking down. She heard the familiar deep chuckle escape from his lips but forced herself not to look at him. His left hand came down to rest on the table, her eyes immediately catching sight of a tattoo she had never seen before.

Without thinking about it she grabbed his hand and brought it closer. A sad smile graced her lips as her eyes took in the death bat tattoo he had gotten in memory of Jimmy. She ran her thumb gently over the ink.

“I was surprised you didn't come to the funeral.” Matt spoke, his voice heavy with sorrow at the thought of that fateful day.

Caroline let go of his hand, and brought her hands back to the beer bottle in front of her. “I was there.” She said softly. His eyes instantly studying her. “I just kept my distance... from everyone. It was a hard enough day as it was.”

Matt nodded, understanding where she came from. He was glad that she attended, she had been just as close to Jimmy as the rest of them. Silence fell over them once more until loud attempts at singing filled the bar.

“'Cause I've got friends in low places, where the whiskey drowns and the beer chases my blues away!” Matt and Caroline turned to male voices singing along to the infinitely famous Garth Brooks song.

Johnny and Travis stood by the jukebox singing all the while downing shots of what looked to be whiskey. Caroline groaned, knowing that both men would be a drunken mess by the end of the night. Matt quickly pulled out his phone, texting Lacey to tell her that Johnny was on his way to getting wasted and that she might want to come get him.

“And I'll be okay, I'm not big on social graces, think I'll slip on down to the oasis! Oh, I've got friends in low places!” A slight slur now evident in the duo's voices.

Matt laughed shaking his head and slipped his phone back into his pocket. He glanced over at the girl next to him who was now doing the same. Matt held out his bottle waiting for her to clink it with her own, she stared at him for a moment before slowly bringing her bottle up to hit his gently.

His eyes remained locked with hers while he brought his bottle to his lips and she followed suit. She tried her best to hide it but failed as he promptly caught sight of the shy smile creep onto her lips.

It wasn't much but it was a step in the right direction.