Chapter Text
5 Years Ago
It’s a warm summer’s day in Austin, Texas, and Evan Buckley is touring the world performing on stage his new album, “The Real Buck”.
He had been introduced to pop rock music at a young age by his older sister, Maddie. They did everything together—spent every second they could together—until they couldn’t anymore. She had been dragged away from him by her stupid boyfriend, Doug. The anger he had felt from losing her had inspired him to write his first song—pop rock genre, just like Maddie liked.
3 years after writing the song, he had finally written enough to compile an album. Now here he was, 21 years old and touring, sharing his music with the world—just like he had always wanted to.
He’s almost done performing his last song when he notices a particular individual in the crowd, one that didn’t quite look like the rest. Everyone else was looking at him—dancing and singing along to his songs—but this man wasn’t. He’s curious to why this man seems to be out of place, until he notices two girls beside him who keep trying to get him to sing and dance with them. Probably his sisters, Buck thinks to himself. He makes a mental note to mention it to his manager, Bobby, later, knowing that he had probably endured the same pain going to countless concerts with Athena when they were younger.
At the end of the concert, he and his band bow to the audience, then they walk offstage and head to their respective dressing rooms. He’s just sat down on the small couch when his phone rings from the table in front of him where he had left it—his dad. Ugh.
“Hey, Dad.” Buck answers, faking enthusiasm.
“Evan, when are you going to learn that you can’t just up and leave without telling us? Your mother has been worried sick!” His father scolds through the phone.
Buck scoffs. “What are you even talking about?! You guys never care where I am. Why does it suddenly matter now?”
“Because you need to pay us our dues. You know, you’re very lucky to be able to do the things you do. Your mother and I were never that lucky—struggling to make ends meet for the longest time, and you coming along definitely did not help our financial situation. Repaying us is the least you could do.”
He grits his teeth, trying to hold back the tears. He doesn’t say anything else to his father, just hangs up the call and blocks both him and his mother.
After a few minutes of allowing himself to cry, he wipes his face and storms out the door. He reaches his Jeep and sits in the front seat, sending a quick text to Bobby that he needs some time and will be back soon.
Driving down the unfamiliar road, he takes in the surrounding sights. Buck had never really been one to admire landscapes and sunsets, but now he does, trying to distract himself from all the thoughts racing through his mind.
♪♪♪
Buck is sitting at the bar, head in his hands, when a stranger comes up to him and places their hand on his shoulder.
“Everything okay, man?” The stranger asks. He looks up to see who the voice belongs to, and is shocked to see the same guy from the concert that had caught his attention.
“Oh. Uh, not really, to be honest.” He manages to get out.
“Need to talk about it?”
Buck nods and pulls out the chair beside him for the man to sit in.
“I’m Eddie.” He introduces himself as he sits down.
“Buck.”
“So, what’s going on in that beautiful head of yours?”
Buck blushes and shrugs. “Just family shit. Parents being assholes—the usual. Seemed to hurt more this time, though. I’m not sure why.”
The man—Eddie—sighs. “Yeah, I can relate. Parents suck sometimes.” He sips his beer thoughtfully.
“I just wish they could understand how they make me feel. I already know I was never wanted—they’ve made sure to tell me that countless times.” Buck says, chuckling sadly.
“Need a distraction?” Eddie asks.
Buck raises his eyebrow in curiosity. “What do you have in mind?”
♪♪♪
Fifteen minutes—and two beers—later, they’re out on the dance floor. Eddie’s hands are on his hips, trying to teach him how to line dance. It takes him multiple attempts to learn even one step, but Eddie is patient and helps him anyway, despite Buck’s moaning and groaning.
“Are we done yet?” Buck drunkenly whines.
Eddie laughs. “If you really want to be.”
They stumble back to the bar and sit down on their stools. Eddie takes a second and glances at his watch, cursing under his breath.
“I’ve had a great time with you tonight, Buck. Do you think I could get your number?” He asks nervously.
Buck smiles and nods profusely. He happily takes Eddie’s phone when it’s offered and types his number into a new contact, adding some funny emojis beside his name.
Eddie takes his phone back with a light blush on his face. “I should probably get going, I’ll text you later?”
“Yeah! I might not get back right away, though. Pretty busy schedule and all.”
“That’s no problem. Have a good night, Buck. See you around.” Eddie pulls Buck into what was supposed to be a quick hug, but it lasts longer than what is considered “acceptable” between friends.
He watches Eddie walk away, a feeling creeping up his chest that he had never felt before. He decides to drink it away.
♪♪♪
Buck’s heading out to his Jeep a few hours later when he remembers that he had been drinking earlier in the night. He does a quick mental calculation and decides he’s sobered up enough to drive back to the hotel he’s staying at. He should probably call Bobby or Hen or Chim to come pick him up, but he doesn’t want to wake them this late. It’s not like he would fail a breathalyzer, so he gets into his Jeep and starts to drive.
About five minutes into the drive, he notices something on the road and slows down.
Suddenly, he hears a loud screeching noise and sees bright headlights in his rearview mirror.
The vehicle behind him hadn't noticed him slowing down in time and crashes into the back of his Jeep, sending him into the ditch.
He awakes some time later to a light in his eyes, and he makes contact with a paramedic—a young man probably around the same age as Buck. He tries to move but is stopped by said paramedic.
“Don’t move, sir. You’ve been in an accident, and we need to transport you to the hospital.”
Buck groans and looks down at his legs. He sees his left leg crushed under the dashboard and almost passes out from the sight. He tries to grab his phone from the centre console, but instead notices it missing.
“Where’s my phone?” He asks the paramedic.
“We believe it went flying during the crash and broke. I’m sorry.”
Two things immediately cross his mind after he hears that. One being that Bobby and Maddie will probably be pissed when they find out he’s using drinking as a coping mechanism, and the other is that he might never get to see or hear from Eddie ever again since his phone is broken, and he hadn’t gotten Eddie’s number.
The last thing he thinks before he passes out is that he never should have gotten in his Jeep.