Pushing Me Away

(Luna's POV/Narrator)

The following morning when I woke up, I peered over my shoulder cautiously, seeing Chester was still fast asleep. He looked so damn adorable when he slept, I had to admit. His eyes were closed but a small smile still tugged on his soft lips. I looked away quickly. I couldn't be admiring him like that already, it was too soon. But it was hard, because he treated me so amazingly and I couldn't remember the last time I had been cared for so deeply. "Hey, good morning." I hear him suddenly stir, his big brown eyes staring up at me. I smile back at him, nodding my head. "Good morning to you too. Did you sleep well?" He shakes his head, stretching his arms out wide with a large yawn. "I did, how about yourself?" I bit down on my lip nervously. I didn't want to admit it, but it was the most pleasant sleep I had ever gotten in my life. It felt amazing to be asleep next to someone who wasn't ever going to hurt me. "Yes, thank you. I actually had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't just dreaming." He laughs, placing his hand on top of mine. "Well you know what they say, dreams can come true, if you believe."

Luna's heart is racing by the time she reacts to Chester's warm touch. "I'm going to take a shower, is that okay?" She asks with a bit of hesitation. Chester waves his hand eagerly, insisting that she doesn't have to ask for anything ever anymore, because this was her home now. When the warm water finally blesses Luna's pale skin, her body begins to tremble greatly. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt this much joy, this much comfort, in a simple leisure such as this. "Hey Luna? When you're done, breakfast is ready for you, okay?" Chester's voice rings out loudly from the other side of the door as she begins to wash off the soapy suds. She grins widely to herself, genuinely appreciative of what he had just offered her. "Thanks! I'll be out in a moment!" She finishes rather quickly, the thought of good food exciting her as she shuts off the faucets and wraps a warm towel around her body. Hurriedly she rushes into her own room to dress in a hopefully appropriate outfit for the day ahead of the two.

After I look myself over in the mirror for about a good twenty minutes, still unsure if I looked presentable enough, I eventually decided that I couldn't hide out in here any longer and stepped out of my room with King following closely behind me, descending into the kitchen where I saw Chester waiting at the dining table. He instantly pulls out a chair for me beside him, motioning to the plate of waffles with whipped cream and strawberries on top. "I hope you like it, these are kind of my specialty." He says with a wink before passing over a set of cutlery to me. I beam happily, thanking him as I begin to dig into them. And God, was he definitely right. These were the best waffles I had ever fucking tasted in my life. We eat in silence for the first few minutes until Chester finally speaks up, catching me slightly off guard. "So I was thinking, we have to rehearse for our set since we're going to be leaving for tour in a week and I wanted you to come along and watch. Does that sound okay? And then afterwards we can go out to dinner. I'll drop King off at Mike's house first so his wife can watch him while we're gone so don't worry about him. Is that alright with you?"

I look at him with a semi puzzled expression. Why was he asking me if it was alright? This was his home, he had every right to do what he wanted. "And I'm asking you, because I value your input and because I got him for you." That answered my question. I shake off my demeanor, this time giving him an understanding smile as he gets up from his spot beside me and taking away the finished dishes. "Of course that's fine with me. I'm sorry, I'm just not used to anyone asking for my opinion on anything. That all sounds perfect though, I really can't wait." He puts his hand on my shoulder, giving it a light squeeze as he comes beside me once again. I turn and look up at him, his eyes are soft and warm which instantly make me feel relaxed. "I understand that completely, I know everything is still all new to you and I promise I'll be patient with you. If you're ready to get going, Mike's waiting for us." I nod, telling him that I just needed to grab my bag for the events ahead.

Once the pair finally leave with their dog in tow, the feeling of tension is somewhat thick in the air. Luna keeps a constant watch on her surroundings as Chester drives across town to his best friend Mike's house. She can't help shake the feeling that someone was keeping a close on the two but Chester insists that she has nothing to worry about, that no one could ever hurt them. "Just keep your eyes focused on me if it helps focus you some. We're almost to Mike's now." He reassures Luna calmly, taking her hand in his free one and holds it firmly. She feels the rush of emotions flooding through the two, her stomach beginning to feel as if though a thousand butterflies are fluttering freely inside. She doesn't let go and she does as Chester instructs her to do, which almost seems to cease her anxiety all at once. His face is concentrated but still gentle and kind. When they pull into a small driveway, Luna lets out a small breath of relief. Soon the three are greeted by Mike and a slender woman named Anna, Mike's wife. "It's nice to meet you." She's genuine and sweet which makes Luna feel even more at ease. The last thing she wanted was to be on bad terms with any of Chester's friends. King barks and howls excitedly as he is lead on his leash to the large backyard where Mike's other dogs are anxiously awaiting his arrival to play. "Good to see you again, you look great." Mike greets Luna, making her smile some. She was really worried about how she looked.

"Well if you guys are all set, we can head down to the studio and meet up with the others." Chester and I both nod, following out Mike to his car where we part ways. The drive to the studio is less than a few minutes long which makes me feel even more antsy as we soon are being surrounded by the rest of the Linkin Park crew. Dave, Joe, Rob, and Brad are all standing around the front of the building waiting for our arrival. One by one they each greet me with smiles, making me feel welcome. "It's great to see you again, Luna. Is Chester a good roommate?" Brad teases as we start on the walk inside the large building. There's a recording booth and different rooms set up all over with tons of equipment in them. I shrug, giving a sly wink at Chester. "He's a great roommate, thank you guys for all the help getting my things in order there. It's really at home and I appreciate it so much." Joe smiles as he passes by, heading towards his turntable. "We did it because we knew we had to. You mean a lot to Chester and us too, we were happy to do. We're a family here, so that means you're a part of it now too." I felt a tear slip past and roll down my cheek but I wiped away at it quickly. I felt even more alive inside, knowing that I mattered to people who were once strangers.

Shortly after the guys were done with their quick group meeting, everyone took their respective places at the sound stage and began their rehearsal. They started off with the song called 'Papercut' and to say that Chester's stage persona was insane, would be a total understatement. He became like a completely different person when he was preforming. Like the demons that were pent up inside of him were just being let out all together, giving him a sense of freedom. He was so passionate, so raw, so unique. I couldn't believe that I had never heard about his band until now, they were nothing short of amazing. Then again, I wasn't allowed to have any control over anything let alone live any sort of life up until recently, when I was rescued. When they finished, Chester had let me know that the next song was going to be a special one that they had never preformed live before, that this was going to be done especially for me. It was called 'Pushing Me Away'. He didn't show me this one, so I was eager and excited to hear it. "I hope you'll like it." He announced over the mic as Joe then began the opening and soon the rest joined in. Immediately, the lyrics had won me over. Especially the second verse, that really pulled at my heart strings. "I've tried, like you, to do everything you wanted to. This is, the last time, I'll take the blame for the sake of being with you."

And I was sure that they had noticed too, because not a minute later was Chester by my side, giving me a tight hug. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you again. I was just really hoping that you could maybe find some type of closure in the song. I had wrote it when I knew my relationship was just falling apart, I figured it would help you not to feel so alone, because I understand exactly how you're feeling. I'm really sorry Luna." I reached my hand out to him, putting it to his cheek. I knew he didn't mean anything hostile by it, he was just trying to be helpful and I truly did appreciate it. "I really did appreciate it, Chester. Honestly I did, you made me feel a lot of relief. I'm okay, really." His frown turned into a smile and he stroked the top of my hand that was still lingering on his face. I couldn't tell you how it felt, to be staring into the eyes of someone that you hardly knew, that basically saved your life and completely changed theirs just to be exactly what you wanted. If there wasn't ten other people in the room we were standing in, I can almost guarantee you that we would have kissed. It was the perfect moment, it was the perfect timing. He was what I needed all along.

"Um, guys? I hate to be the one to interrupt but we gotta rehearse a few more songs. Whenever you're ready though!" Came Mike's voice over the mic, which made the both of us laugh out very loudly, before I took away my hand slowly. "Go on, finish what you guys have to do. I'm still eager to hear more." I reassured him as he sighed, clearly content with the moment we had just shared. "Okay but, I'll miss you." He says with a smirk as he walks back over to the group, leaving me there standing with a grin that was hard to hide and an enormous amount of redness on my face. It wasn't easy being so pale, you were basically see through when it came to how you were feeling. "Aww look, Luna's flustered! Chaz, leave the poor girl alone so we can finish this!" Rob says rather loudly which in return makes all the others, including Chester, look back towards my way. I quickly wave them off, turning away as fast as I could so no one else would notice the embarrassment that was evident on my face now. Clearly this guys all liked to clown and joke around with each other, that much was true, which only meant that I would have to get used to the constant teasing seeing as I was now, as Joe liked to call it, a member of their large and extended family.

(Chester's POV/Narrator)

Finally after a good three hours of rehearsing, everyone had agreed that we were obviously more than ready to preform the set lists that we had came up with for the cross country tour that we would be heading out on in a short week. Luna was excited to watch us, she kept bobbing her head along to each song and even sang along to a couple of ones that she had memorized from the previous night when we had our binge listening party. I could tell she was sad though, too. Because she knew that I was going to be leaving in a week and that meant she would have to be all alone. But that was the surprise that I was going to be keeping until dinner tonight. I was bringing her along with me, to help sell our merch and even start to write reviews about how our shows went. I wanted her to get back into the feeling of writing and being independent as her own woman, without having to ask or seek anyone's permission or approval. I wanted to show her how she was supposed to be treated, how she was supposed to be living life to its fullest. That was my ultimate goal, to be her whole love and support team when she felt she had no one else left to turn to. To be honest, if there wasn't anyone watching us a while ago, I probably would have taken the risk and kissed her.

That's just how right it all felt to me. "We're gonna get going guys. Mike, I'll be over after dinner to pick up King from your place." We each exchange our goodbyes until it's just Luna and I, walking through the dimly lit parking lot back to my car. It's around five when we finally leave and I'm curious to know where she would like to go as we start to drive through the busy streets. "So what sounds good? Anything you want, just name it." She presses her lips together, making a thinking face that I have to say looks goddamn adorable. "I've never been to anywhere nice, really. I'm not picky, but I'd really love a good place to get some spaghetti. I'm a sucker for pasta." She has a cheeky grin on her face like a kid whose just been told they're going to a candy store and I can't help but to grin just as wide back at her. "That sounds awesome, pasta it is!" In a matter of minutes I pulled into a tiny little hole in the wall type place that had a bright neon sign that read 'Italia', exactly what I was looking for. Luna was reluctant to get out, worrying that she might not look the most presentable but I made sure to give her the confidence boost she was looking for to help change her mind quickly. "If I do say so myself, you look absolutely breath taking tonight. Your eyes are so radiant, I could just get lost in them forever, if you'd let me." Seconds later, we were being seated at a quiet table off in the back corner with a candle lit and everything. Damn, I was good.

I ended up ordering lasagna while Luna stuck to her roots and ordered the spaghetti with meatballs. The way the flames flickered in her eyes as I stared at her momentarily was making my heart race. Thankfully she spoke up, breaking me away from their steady hold on me. "So, I know that you're going to be leaving really soon and all but I just wanted to let you know that I'm really excited for you and that I'll be fine at the house, I don't want you to worry about me." I could tell by the slight drop in tone of her voice that she was just trying to be strong and keep me from worrying but I had other ideas in mind. I reached out across the table, taking one of her hands in mine and interlocking our fingers together. "I'm so happy that you're excited for me, but I want you to be excited for you as well. I was going to wait a little longer until I told you but while you were away in the hospital, the guys and I had our band meeting and it was decided that you would be coming along with us. We want you to help sell our merch and even start writing your own reviews about what you think of our nightly sets. If you're willing, that is. Because I can't think of anyone else that I'd rather have by my side every day and night then you, Luna. I'd love to have you there with me every step of it."