What Lies Beneath

Evie POV

“Guys turn around and smile for the camera, there is no way any of you are getting out of photo time” I said to the tech guys and Hunter as I walked onto the stage with my camera in hand so I didn’t see Brian rush off; I smiled to myself when everyone listened to me and posed for at least one photo but then I just started taking photos of them either they wanted me to or not.

Jamie was the photo hog like he always is when a camera is brought out but that’s just how he is and sadly no one can change that; I worked my magic on getting a photo of just Sean and Hunter which was incredibly cute because Sean placed his arm around her waist.

“Alright guys let’s get the sounding right and then we can take a break” Jason said loudly so all of us could hear him and we all agreed because we loved taking breaks; I climbed down off the stage with Mike before we walked over to our fenced off area and sat down behind our equipment.

I switched on all of the speakers as Jason tried out Jimmy’s drums first so I could get the right level of sound; each venue was different because it really depended on the size of the venue with larger venues needing louder music so no matter where you were you could still hear the music clearly. Next was Johnny’s bass guitar with Jamie played for me with both Sean and Hunter next on Zacky’s and Brian’s guitars; I always waited for the sound check with the microphones because I found it easier to fix the sound levels when the guys are actually singing.

Once the line check was finished Sean, Jamie and Hunter were able to take their break while I stayed back to make sure the sound levels were fine while the guys did their sound check; Rob and the Berry brothers stayed for the sound check with me in case any of the equipment needed changing or fixing but usually everything was fine the first go.

“It’s sounding really good up here Eves, I think we’re pretty much set for tonight” Matt said into his microphone after the guys played about half of the set list just to make sure all the guitars were sounding good; Zacky and Brian changed guitars a few times throughout the show as some songs needed a different sound.

“You guys sounds good back here too” I smiled at them as I gave them a thumbs up but something was bothering me when really it shouldn’t; Brian hardly looked at me through the sound check and it wasn’t because he was concentrating on playing his guitar.

I tried to push it to the back of my mind as he turned around to talk to Jimmy so I walked backstage to find Hunter and the guys; I walked through the backdoor when I heard Jamie’s laugh coming from outside but as soon as I walked outside I felt something hard hit the back of my head.

“Oh shit! Evie are you okay? I’m so sorry I told the guys that I couldn’t hit the ball very good” Hunter said as she ran over to me as I rubbed the back of my now sore head; I turned around to face her only to see she was playing baseball with Sean and Jamie.

“It’s fine Hunter and I’ll be okay, next time just watch where you hit the ball” I said to her with a smile as getting hit with a hard baseball didn’t really bother me; I picked up the ball before I threw it back to Sean but I was horrible at any sports so I couldn’t really throw all that well.

“Are you sure you’re alright? You seem pretty quiet” Hunter asked me as she looked at me but I shook off how I was feeling and smiled at her; I always hated making people worry about me when I get upset or I get hurt so I tend to bottle my feelings and problems up inside me.

“I’m fine Hunter really, I just finished sound check with the guys so I’m going to help Rob make us all some dinner before the show starts” I said to her in my soft voice as I waved at Jamie and Sean before I walked back through the door; I walked through the hallways of the venue until I reached the tiny kitchen where Rob was already making two salads.

“Hey princess, can you cook the chicken for me?” Rob asked me as he grinned as he watched me walk into the kitchen; I nodded as I turned the stove on before I placed a pan on the hotplate and waited for the pan to heat up.

“Sure Robby… has Brian been acting strange today? He was fine this morning” I asked him as I placed the pieces of chicken into the pan carefully so I didn’t burn myself which happens to me a lot; I was hoping that Rob would agree with me so I wasn’t the only one that Brian was avoiding because he’s never been like this with me before.

“No I haven’t noticed anything, he was laughing and talking to me after we finished the sound check. Why Eves?” Rob asked me as he finished with the two salads before he placed a second pan on the stove and started cooking the chicken that couldn’t fit in my pan; Rob has been working with Avenged since before me so he knew them extremely well and he knew about my feelings for Brian.

“I think he’s avoiding me, I mean he didn’t look at me once during sound check and he always does. Then he hasn’t talked to me since breakfast and that’s unusual too, I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong” I said to him softly just in case someone else overheard us but I was starting to think everyone was catching on; Jamie and Rob were the only ones that knew how I felt about Brian because I had to tell someone.

“I doubt you’ve done anything wrong princess, maybe he’s just busy and he’s stressing. You know how he and all the guys get on the start of a new tour” Rob reassured me as we cooked dinner for everyone and I loved talking to Rob; he and Jamie were like the big brothers that I never had which is where the nickname princess came from.

“Yeah I know and thanks Robby, I’ll try to talk to him after the show” I said as I smiled up at him as I was shorter than everyone here; well apart from Winter now because she was an inch shorter than me.

“Come on let’s set this food out and get a plate before it’s all gone” Rob smiled as he placed the plate of chicken on the counter next to the two bowls of salad; I smiled as I handed him a plate before I used my phone to tell everyone that dinner was ready.

Dinner was filled with talking and laughter like it always is when we have a meal together and this was one of my favourite things about working here with everyone; the Berry brothers volunteered to do the washing up as the Avenged guys went to their dressing room to get changed and ready to perform.

I walked with Hunter through the hallway with the other tech guys in front of us as we all headed over to the stage; the fans were already lined up outside the venue so it was time to make sure that all the equipment was ready and nothing had been changed while we weren’t here.

“Evie please I can tell that something is bothering you, tell me and I might be able to help you” Hunter said to me as she caught my arm and stopped us from walking; I figured I might as well tell her as she was a girl so she could give me some advice and talking to her about this kind of problem was better than talking to Jamie or Rob.

“Brian has pretty much avoided me all day, he was fine at breakfast time but after that he hasn’t talked to me or come to see me” I said to her as we stood in the middle of the hallway but when I told her what was bothering me her face dropped slightly.

“Oh um… that might be my fault” She said to me slowly as she cast her eyes down to her feet and rubbed the back of her neck; usually I only saw this when Jamie did something he wasn’t supposed to which was quite a bit.