So Suddenly (Can a franchise last four stories?)

[elastics.]

Awwzies.

What a melancholy ending, though. =/

[ktg205]

yeah! go see evan!

[xSexybackx]

Please Update!!

[waitingxforxyou]

Chapter Four

“Mommy, where Daddy?”

“Shh…”

“But Mommy--”

“Shh.” Riley grins and puts a finger to her Lilly’s lips. “Daddy is getting his guitars from the bus and he doesn’t know we’re here…but how can we surprise him if he hears us?”

“Oooh.” Lily giggles. “I like surprises, Mommy!”

“I do too, now shh…” Riley shifts Lilly’s tiny body on her hip and impulsively kisses her cheek. “I love you so much…”

“I love you too, Mommy!” Lilly hugs her and throws her arms around Riley’s neck, accidentally hitting her younger brother in the head.

“Easy, Lilly, honey,” Riley warns and glances down at Joshua, hoping he’s still too tired from his nap to register Lilly’s slap. Her face falls as she watches his lips turn down and tears begin to form in his eyes.

“Mommy!” he wails and buries his face into her neck.

“Shh…” Riley sets Lilly down on the ground, amid her small protests, and pats Josh’s back. “Shh, sweetheart, it’s okay, Lilly didn’t mean to…she didn’t even hit you that hard…” After a few seconds of comforting him, Josh’s cries die down to sniffles and he lifts his face. “There we go…” She smiles.

Josh glances down at Lilly and points at Riley, nearly smacking her on the nose. “My Mommy,” he says proudly. “You go!”

Lilly sticks her hands on her hips. “My Mommy too! I come first!”

“No…mine!”

“Mommy!” Lilly grabs her hand and tugs it wildly. “Joshie’s not right! You’re my Mommy too!”

“Of course I’m your Mommy,” Riley says, pointedly looking at Josh. “And I’m your Mommy too, don’t be mean to your sister. It’s not nice. You have to share. Now you both apologize to each other.” She sets Josh beside Lilly.

Josh sighs and rubs one eye. “I sowwy.”

“I’m sorry too, Joshie!” Lilly pulls him into a tight hug and gives him a big kiss on the cheek.

Josh stumbles back from her grip and swipes at his cheek. “Ick!”

“Mommy, Joshie doesn’t like kisses!” Lilly erupts into a fit of giggles as her younger brother continues wiping his cheek.

“Oh, yes he does.” Riley picks him up and places a kiss on his other cheek, to which he repeats “Ick!” and pushes her face away. “What are you so grumpy for, Joshie? You just had a nap.”

“Me no like kisses.” He pouts.

Riley almost bursts out laughing; he looks exactly like Evan when he’s mad about something. “Yes you do…I’m gonna give you a biiiiig kiss.” Riley lifts him high into the air and slowly brings him down to her. She laughs, puckers up her lips, and kisses him several times on his cheeks, nose, and forehead. She tugs up his shirt and blows a kiss on his stomach. By then Josh is laughing. “See, I told you that he liked kisses!”

“I want a turn! Me next!” Lilly holds out her arms, but freezes when she looks at the stage. She silently points.

Riley follows her gaze. Evan suddenly appears on stage, carrying his guitar case and chatting with his band mates.

“Uh oh,” Riley whispers and ducks down with the kids. They’re standing in the sound booth, about a hundred feet from the stage, partly in the dark so that Evan can’t see them.

“Daddy!” Josh claps his hands together excitedly.

“Time for surprise?” Lilly peers at her eagerly.

“Not yet…let’s watch him for awhile.” Riley puts a finger to her lips to remind them to stay quiet and they silently watch Evan.

He and the guys start tuning up their instruments while they’re chatting and laughing. Then they talk to someone who Riley assumes is the lighting or sound technician before going into one of their songs.

“Daddy sings gooood, Mommy,” Lilly says with a sigh. She lazily leans against Riley’s leg.

Riley reaches down and pats her head. “Yes, yes he does…” She’s watching him just as intently as the children are, remembering years ago during her first tour, when she would stand in the sound booth and watch him, like she’s doing now, in complete awe of him.

And here am I, over five years later, watching Evan again with
our kids, she thinks. I could’ve never imagined this in a million years. She tightens her grip on Josh. Never imagined I could be this happy…

“Hello Riley.”

Riley turns around and notices Paul, the Format’s previous manager, walking towards them. She smiles warmly. “Hello, Paul. How are you?”

“Never been better. And how are you?”

“Also never been better. How is the baby?”

“Good, she’s teething, so we’ve had some rough nights.”

“Aw, I remember those days. They weren’t too long ago.” Riley pinches Josh’s cheeks. “But they pass soon enough. Just make sure she doesn’t chew on your finger. Kinda hurts.”

“I imagine.” Paul chucks Josh under the cheek. “My, he’s grown since the last time I saw him!”

“Yes, I know.” Riley giggles as Josh, blushing with all the attention, buries his face into her neck again. “Then again, the last time you saw him he was crawling all over the place…”

“And now?” Paul prods.

“And now…he runs all over the place. He’s a running man, always on the go…just like his father.”

“He really does look like him a lot.” Paul bends down to stare at Lilly. “And wow, you look just like your mother!”

“Mommy is sooo pretty,” Lilly says and stares up at Riley admiringly. Riley, in turn, smiles and runs her fingers through Lilly’s hair.

“That makes you pretty too, silly.” Paul taps her nose and stands again. “Here to surprise Evan?”

“Yes. I was missing him so much…and the kids too of course…”

“Me want Daddy,” Josh speaks up. He jabs a chubby little finger at the stage.

“We’ll go up there soon, honey, let’s wait awhile.” Riley turns away from the stage in an effort to keep him from getting too excited about Evan.

“But me want Daddy!” he complains.

“I want Daddy too, Mommy!” Lilly joins in. “Time for surprise!”

“The thing about having two kids,” Riley says confidingly to Paul, “is that you’re always outnumbered. Alright, guys, hold on for at least a few more minutes.”

“Me want Daddy now!” Josh wails at the top of his lungs.

The band has just stopped playing a song, so Josh’s cry rings throughout the arena. Everyone on stage turns in shock to see what the sound is, but it’s too dark for them to see anything.

Riley rolls her eyes and starts walking toward the backstage area, Josh in her arms, Lilly trailing on her heels, and Paul right behind them.

“Um, hello?” Devin calls out. “Who’s there?”

“I swear it sounded like my son…” Evan muses.

Riley weaves her way backstage and comes to the side, right in the band’s peripheral vision. “That’s because it is your son.”

Evan jolts and turns to where the group is standing, his mouth dropping open in obvious surprise. His eyes light up and a smile quickly graces his lips. “Oh my God! How…when…oh my God!” He’s speechless.

Josh struggles in Riley’s arms, so she puts him to the ground and he begins a waddle-run to Evan. However, as Evan reaches down his arms, he forgets he still has his guitar on and strums the strings. It makes a loud, screeching noise with lots of feedback. Combined with the proximity, it’s not a very nice sound, and Josh steps back in fear. He ducks behind Riley’s legs and peeks out from between.

“Oops, haha…” Evan laughs and pulls his guitar over his head, setting it down against the drum set. “Come on, Joshie, you know it’s just Daddy’s guitar! Don’t be scared!”

“I’m not scared at all, Daddy!” Lilly leaps out from behind Riley and her brother and runs into her father’s arms.

“And my daughter too? Unreal!” Evan scoops her up and tosses her into the air. Lilly squeals with delight and hugs him tightly when he catches her again.

“I missed you a lot, Daddy,” she says and pats his cheek lovingly. “Like a lot.”

“I missed you too…I bet I missed you more than you missed me!”

“Nuh-uh!” Lilly protests. Her tiny self is offended by the thought that anyone could miss her as much as she misses her father. “I missed you this much!” She holds out her hands as far from her body as she can.

“Wow, that’s a lot,” Evan agrees.

“Ooooh, Uncle Dev!” Lilly squirms until Evan puts her down and rushes over to Devin. He also puts down his guitar and welcomes her.

“Hey my little Lilly!”

“Spin me! Spin me!” she commands.

Devin obediently picks the child up, grips her under her arms, and swings her around in a circle. She laughs and begs him to do it again.

Meanwhile, Evan sits on the edge of the elevated platform the drum set sits on and opens his arms to Josh, who overcomes his fear and runs into his arms. “I missed you too, little man.”

“Me love Daddy.” Josh leans back in his father’s arms and grazes the stage with his tiny Converses.

“I love you too…hey, why did you run away from me earlier? You know I always play my guitar, it’s not scary.” Evan reaches for his guitar and lays it in front of them. He bends over and strums the strings. “See? It’s music, nothing to be scared of.”

Josh, intrigued, crawls off Evan’s lap and busies himself with touching the guitar strings.

Riley watches Evan interact with their children, a small smile playing on her lips. She loves watching the three together, and is glad that she decided to take this trip after all.

Evan, satisfied that his son is content, grins and slowly approaches “And now, my gorgeous, beautiful, talented wife…” He comes to stand in front of her and loops his arms around her waist.

“So now you remember me? She tilts her face up to his.

“I always save the best for last.”

“Ohh, you are good. Now, don’t you want to give your sweet little wife a proper greeting?” She bats her eyelashes suggestively.

He runs his hands over her hips and replies, “I could, but I don’t know if everyone wants to see that move where I put your legs over my shoulders and--”

“Oh, you do talk scandalous!” Riley cuts him off and smacks his arm. “Don’t be gross, you know what I mean.”

“Of course I do.” He bends and kisses her on the lips, pushing her body closer to his.

It’s been so long, she realizes, losing herself in the kiss. I never realize how much I miss this, the physical part of our relationship, until I’m here with him again…

She locks one of her hands onto the back of his neck and parts her lips, deepening the kiss. Both are unaware of the several pairs of eyes on them, they’re so lost in the passion.

“Eww, Daddy, don’t eat Mommy!” Lilly shrieks.

Suddenly, Riley remembers where they are. She backs up away blushing, Evan looking just as sheepish as she.

“I’m sorry,” she says breathlessly.

“Yeah, sorry,” Evan echoes. “Kinda forgot…”

“Save it for the hotel room later,” Devin quips.

“Take a ten minute break,” Paul says, “and we’ll resume sound check then.”

“Thanks.” Evan picks Josh up from the floor, where he has been mesmerized by the guitar for awhile. “Come on, little man! And you too, Lilly.”

“Piggy!” Lilly commands Devin and he obeys, hauling her up on his shoulders and handing her over to her father.

“Thank you.” With Lilly and Josh in his arms, Evan motions to Riley. “Come on, baby.”

And they walk off, as a true family.

[xSexybackx]

Great Update!!!!

[Phili]

Awww, cute.

[Seyary_Minamoto]

XDXDXD awesome update!

[ktg205]

that was SO cute. loved it