Fight or Flight

"Is that our song playing in the background?"

"Yep," Veronica answered, popping the ‘p’. She walked across the room to her bed, pulling the covers back and organizing her pillows.

"It feels weird hearing it," Matt said truthfully through the speaker.

"I don't know why," She said, slipping under the duvet. She tried to get comfortable while still keeping the phone to her ear. "You're a great singer. You guys are fantastic."

She meant what she said. Ever since he gave her the album, she played it on repeat, occasionally switching with her other favorite albums.

"Yeah, we try," Matt said, trying to remain humble.

"You are," Veronica insisted.

They'd been on the phone for a few minutes during the night. He called her, asking if he woke her up. With all the coffee that she'd drunk at work during the day, she was sure she wouldn’t be sleeping anytime soon.

"So I'm taking it you like the album?" He asked, hopeful.

"I love it like I told you I would," Veronica reminded him. "It's new and it’s different. God, I sound like a fan girl or something."

"No, you don't," Matt assured her. "I just like to hear everyone's opinions; the ones that count, at least."

"And mine does?" She asked with a hint of surprise in her voice. Thank God she loved the album, but she didn’t think her opinion would matter even if she hated it.

"To me, yes," He replied. "What's your favorite song?"

"I like all of them," She said honestly. As if on cue, the ending of ‘Heretic’ turned into the beginning of ‘Coming Home’. "My favorite is Coming Home, though."

"I like that one, too," He said, soft of quiet than before.

Veronica felt like he should have liked every song he’d ever written. She didn’t think that any artist wouldn’t like a song that they wrote themselves.

"I…I actually thought about you when I wrote it,” He admitted after taking a moment to think.

"You did?" She asked incredulously, her eyebrows rising on her forehead. She didn’t really know Matt while writing and recording was happening, yet he wrote a song inspired by her.

"I wanted another song like ‘Gunslinger’, you know," He explained. "It was almost a year later and I still hadn't seen you. I’d been hoping that you were safe and alive ever since that bus pulled away."

"Wow," Veronica exhaled, somewhat flattered at his sincerity. She still thanked the man above every day for getting her through two deployments safely. "I was just doing my job, you know."

"And you're amazing for that and I'm going to thank you forever.”

"Thank you, seriously. I'm glad you wrote it," She smiled. "It really hits... home, as corny as that sounds."

Matt laughed, "I guess that's one way to put it."

"I think it'll be my theme song from now on," She told him.

"It's all for closure, Veronica," He said thoughtfully. "It's for whoever needs it, including me."

"That’s good,” She said, turning over onto her stomach. She always needed a song for encouragement during those homesick days.

It was silent for a moment.

"Speaking of coming home and such, we're scheduled to go on tour soon..."

"Really?” She asked in a pitch higher than her normal voice, excited for him. "That's great! I'm sure all the shows are going to be sold out."

"That's what we're hoping for," He chuckled.

"That's what you're going to get," She said optimistically. "When does the tour start?"

"Uh, next week actually," He revealed.

"Wow, that's soon," Veronica said, not expecting his answer.

"Yeah, our manager was trying to schedule everything so that's why we're just now getting this information. It's all logistics," He explained.

"You're telling me," She said, almost reminding him of who he was talking to. She knew all about logistics from being in the military.

"If I had known before, I would have told you a while ago," He told her. "It's a short tour just to start off with. It's only six weeks-"

"You don't have to explain anything to me," She interrupted him. "It's your band, and I understand."

Matt was probably on the road more days out the year than she was ever deployed, but she still understood. She understood what it was like to tell someone that she was leaving. She knew all about it, and he didn’t have to feel obligated to explain himself.

"I just figured it was common courtesy to tell you that we'll be leaving for a few weeks," He said.

"Well, thank you for that," She mumbled against her pillow. She noted to tell Nate and Audrey right away that Matt would be leaving for a month and a half.

"Also, I was thinking that before I leave, if you're not doing anything this Friday, we can try to redo our last dinner date,” He continued.

"Not at another restaurant, I hope," She joked, making a face.

"Not at another restaurant," He confirmed. “It won’t be a typical date, I promise."

"Okay," She agreed. She didn't need much convincing from him. "What do I wear for this unorthodox date?"

"Anything you want," He said nonchalantly.

"Sounds good," She yawned. "Will you text me the address and the time?"

"I will and I can hear that you're tired," He said.

"I'm not," She mumbled.

"You are," He countered. "I'm going to let you go to sleep."

She sighed, closing her eyes. "Okay. I'll be looking forward to Friday."

"Me too," He said. "Goodnight, Veronica."

"Night, Matt," She said. She pressed the ‘end call’ button with her thumb before passing out on her pillow.