Chapter 73

As he walked through he airport looking for the gate he would be boarding at, he felt sad he was leaving once again but the short break had been more than worth his while. Not only did he get to surprise Ava for her birthday like he wanted to but he was extremely happy with the surprise she gave him.

While he walked through the busy airport, he started imagining it all. If it was October now, nine months from now it would be July. He liked that, that could be interesting. They didn't have any birthday in the summer apart from his and Sarah's. It'd be fun to have another summer one.

He arrived at the gate with time to spare and found a seat to wait, not much longer but still half an hour to kill. He pulled his phone from his pocket and updated Sarah, letting her know he was just waiting to board some time soon.

The flight would be relatively short, he should be able to have a nice nap before they would land and he would get a ride to the stadium for soundcheck. He couldn't wait to see Jon's face when he got there, proving that his snide comments before he left weren't necessary at all.

Half an hour later, before boarding the plane, he texted the road manager his time of arrival again as well as his flight number, making double sure that a driver would be waiting for him. the time crunch he had put himself into did not need to be extended by a driver not being present by the time the plane landed. At least he wouldn't have to go through baggage claim, he would be able to sneak out before anyone noticed him.

On the plane he got himself comfortable in his seat. The flight wouldn't be long but he still wanted to take advantage of it and get some sleep. If he hadn't gone home, he most likely would still be asleep by now. Noon was the on tour equivalent of morning at home.



At the stadium, he was lead to his dressing room right across from Jon's room. He was happy to find his guitar and wardrobe in the room, glad he could jam between soundcheck and the show if he wanted to. He dropped his shoulder bag on the couch and headed out of the room again, he went on knocked on Jon's door.

"It's open!"

He took the invitation and turned the handle to get into the room.

Jon looked up at him, surprised.
"Almost ready for soundcheck?" Richie asked him, making sure Jon remembered he had promised to be back in time for it.
"Not yet, trying to figure out the set list first."
Richie walked over to the couch Jon was sitting on, making him scoot over before he sat down next to him. "Getting a head start, huh?" He looked down at the paper on the table.
Jon looked at him again, a confused look still on his face. "I guess so, needed to distract my mind so figured I might as well." He shrugged.
"What were you worrying about?"
Jon gave him a slight frown, shook his head and turned back to the set list.
Instantly Richie realized what he meant to say. "Seriously?"
"What?"
"You seriously thought I wasn't coming back?"
Jon didn't respond, instead kept his eyes straight on the coffee table.
"April was an emergency man." He sort of understood.
"Yeah." Jon agreed.
Richie leaned back on the couch, relaxing, he didn't want this tension. "Ava was so happy to see me, I'm glad we got to celebrate her birthday all together."
Again Jon didn't give him any response to keep the conversation going.
"It was a nice little break from your face."
Jon rolled his eyes as he looked back at him. "Same here man, but then you come back with this stupid smile on your face."
"What?"
"You look way too happy."
"I do?" Richie asked unaware of his expression, he tried to look more relaxed.
"Yeah, so what's up? No way that a day off made you that happy."
"No?"
Jon groaned in frustration. "Just spill it dude."
"I got nothing to spill."
"Fine." He said, turning back to look at his set list. "I don't have time to play guessing games with you."