I Never Meant To Be Your Pain

I parked in Tony’s driveway and knocked on the front door, expecting Tony. Instead I see Leith.
“Whoa, you didn’t have to dress up to come and see me Ave.” I rolled my eyes.
“Is Tony here, fuck face?”
“Feisty. I didn’t know Tony was into that.”
“Don’t you have a life to attend to?”
“Quite impatient tonight are we Ava?” Tony showed up behind Leith, half dressed. He pushed him out of the doorway and grabbed my hand, pulling me past Leith. They exchanged glances; almost like they were having a silent conversation. Leith muttered something as we walked away which Tony caught and ignored. He led me into his room and continued to change.
“Sorry about that,” he frowned, pulling on a white button up shirt.
“It’s fine. He’s an asshole.” I looked into the mirror that hung on Tony’s wall and spun around in my black dress. “Do I look alright to go out?” Tony smiled at me and nodded.
“You looked beautiful as always, Ave.” I blushed a little.
“You don’t look to bad yourself, Perry.” I sat down on the end of his bed and looked around his room. “So where are we going tonight?”
“The usual place. We were thinking of trying something new, but Vic favors Karma for some reason.”
“That’s where he finds all the hot chicks.” Tony shrugged.
“I guess so.” He turned his back to me and adjusted the collar on his shirt.
“Hey Tone?” He glanced at me in the mirror. “Why don’t you ever get any girls numbers?”
“Karma’s not exactly a great location to find girls of my taste. Half of them are just drunk and looking to hook up with someone. Being in a band makes everything worse. Everyone suddenly loves you and wants to be your best friend.” I nodded, looking down to my chipped nails.
“Are you sure you want me to go on tour with you? Have you talked it over with the guys yet?”
“Of course I want you to go. The guys could care less. They love you, Ave. We all do.” I smiled as he sat back down next to me.
“What are you so worried about?” he frowned.
“Do you remember what we talked about last night?”
“Yeah, but that’s in the past, Ave. Being on tour with us will help you forget about all that stuff.”
“That’s what I’m worried about, Tony.” I turned to him, finally looking into his eyes. “I can’t take drugs on tour. Going on tour means having to quit…” I glanced down at my shoes, not able to handle the look in Tony’s eyes. “I don’t want to quit.”
“You have to…” he stood up. “For right now it may not seem like a big thing, but one thing leads to another and in the end you’ll be hooked on all different kinds of shit, Ava. Don’t you understand what you’re doing to yourself?” Tears flooded to my eyes and I tried my best not to let it show. I closed my eyes. That seemed to be the only way to stop them from falling. Tony sighed and was quiet for a minute. I opened my eyes to see him kneeling down in front of me on the floor. He gently laid his hands on my thighs and frowned. “I didn’t mean to make you cry, Ave.” He grabbed onto my hands and squeezed them. “I understand that your brain is telling you that you need more, but you have to stop. And the only one who can make you do that is yourself. Not me, not Gabriel, no one. I don’t want to go on tour and worry that you’re lying in an ally somewhere. Nor do I want to get a phone call saying that you OD’d.” He stood up and pulled me up against him, wrapping me in his arms. “I don’t want to lose you, alright?” he whispered in my ear. I nodded as he kissed my cheek and smiled. “No are we going to stand in my room all night and waste that beautiful outfit of yours, or are we going to go out?” I giggled and laid my forehead against his chest.
“Have I ever told you how much I love you Anthony?”
“Over and over again, but I guess I don’t mind hearing it again,” he chuckled, grabbing onto my hand. “Now let’s go before Vic gets too drunk and forgets that he’s bad at dancing.” I nodded and followed him into the kitchen where all three of his roommates stood cooking dinner.
“Aw, you guys aren’t staying for dinner?” Xander pouted.
“They’re probably going to find a nice hotel to go fuck in,” Leith winked at Tony who was trying his best to ignore him. He slipped his wallet into the pocket of his black skinny jeans and grabbed his car keys.
“It’s not like she’s a virgin anyways, right Ave?” Leith smiled. “Tony made that clear.” I looked to Tony who was still ignoring the guys.
“I’d fuck her. Look at that dress. It's fine as hell.” Ashton looked me up and down.
“Let’s go, Ava.” Tony grabbed onto my hand.
“Do you mind if we come out too?” Leith asked, making Tony stop in his tracks. “What; afraid of being a loser? What’s a competition without a little fun?”
“What competition?” I asked. Tony shook his head.
“Nothing, let’s leave.” He pulled me to the front door as Ashton spoke up from the kitchen.
“We’ll see you guys in a while!” Tony rolled his eyes and closed the front door. I wanted to ask him what Leith was talking about, but he obviously didn’t want to talk about it and I didn’t want to upset him. I really did hate his roommates with a passion.

Notes