We drove to the band's place in comfortable silence. Ryan pulled up in a small partially empty parking lot and I took in the surroundings. We had stopped at a small building. From the look of it, it was a 5 storied apartment building. The walls were painted a light beige colour with wooden panelling for the balconies. It looked good.

We got out of the car and Ryan walked around it to me, " Ready? " I nodded and followed him inside the building. He waved over at a short brunette girl sitting at the reception. She smiled back at Ryan in a somewhat flirtatious way and nodded her head at him. Entering inside the small elevator, Ryan pressed the button for the 4th floor. " Evan lives here. His apartment is the rehearsal place for the band. He plays the drums, in case you were wondering. " I offered a gentle smile to Ryan.

The elevator dinged to a stop at the 4th floor and we exited quietly. Ryan unlocked the main door open with his set of keys. They were obviously close to eachother if Ryan had keys to Evan's apartment.

Holding the door out, he let me enter first. Such a gentleman! The interior of the studio apartment was very welcoming. The white walls and the wooden flooring gave me a homie vibe. We made our way through the hallway to the living room.

Just as we entered the living room, five pairs of eyes turned to stare at me and I suddenly wasn't sure about this idea. I did not want them to recognise me. Ryan put his hand on my shoulder and slightly squeezed it in reassurance. "Hey, guys!" He called out to the group of people, who were still staring at me, while urging me forward.

" Guys, this is Evelyn, you saw her last night, " he chuckled softly and I scowled at him. Stop making fun of me, I was drunk! He laughed at my expression and continued, "...and Evelyn these are my bandmates, Evan Anderson, Noah and Aiden Collins. "

Noah was a tall and thin man with short cropped blond hair, bright blue eyes and a shy expression on his face. Aiden his identical brother, I suppose, was exactly the same as him except that he had longer hair and a smug look on his face almost as if he thought he was the sexiest man alive. Well that wasn't true obviously, Ryan outshined them all. Evan was a well built guy with tattooed arms, lip piercings, brown eyes and black curly hair but he was grinning at me goofily so I figured he wasn't a bad boy. However something about Evan felt oddly familiar, almost as if I knew him but that couldn't have been true, right?

"Hey! " I said shaking each of their hands. Noah was shy and just gave me a firm no nonsense hand shake. Evan was a little more expressive and he scooped me in for a teddy bear hug. I squealed and Ryan laughed at us. " You're safe with us, Evelyn, " Evan said putting me down and I glanced back at Ryan nervously.

" Relax Evelyn, he saw you run into the bar last night. That's all he knows," Ryan whispered in my ear and I relaxed. I turned to greet Aiden and he was licking his lips suggestively making me cringe on the inside. He took my hand and pressed his lips on my knuckles and then his tongue came out and he licked my knuckles. Ew!! My eyes widened and I yanked my hand away from his. Disgusting! Aiden grinned mischievously and from behind me Ryan cleared his throat taking a step close to me.

What was that?

" Evelyn this is Jennifer Lewis, but we just call her Jenny and that is Sophia Dixon, " Ryan said pointing to the two girls in the room.

Jenny was a bubbly girl with strawberry blonde hair and beautiful hazel eyes. She pulled me in for a hug and her grip was tight, almost reassuring and I figured she had seen me look miserable too yesterday.

Sophia was a stunning beauty. She had long straight black hair and almond shaped warm chocolate eyes. She was a shy girl and just like Noah and only shook my hand once.

" You kinda look familiar to me, almost like some American singer, " Jenny was looking at me through narrowed eyes trying to place me. I looked over at Ryan and gave him a frantic look.

"Yeah, and who does she look like Jenny? " Ryan said as I gaped at him. Jenny shifted on her feet and said, " I don't know, I think she looks almost like Tiana Sandford, you guys ever heard of her? " My eyes almost popped out of my sockets at this.

" Oh yeah! That hot sexy chic, God her voice does things to me! " Aiden moaned and made some crude suggestive moves and I looked away, my cheeks flaming hot. Ryan chuckled and put his arm across my shoulders.

" Well some people can look alike sometimes you know, right Evelyn? " Ryan said looking at me with an amused look in his eyes. " Yeah, some people....have... said that to me.... before..., " I muttered and Ryan smiled mischievously. Jackass!

" Well yeah maybe, but you do look a lot like her, " Jenny smiled at me and I smiled back grateful that she let it go. " Yeah and you're just as hot as her too, " Aiden said half grinning and took a step towards me. Instinctively I took a step back and Ryan tensed near me, " Back off A! " he growled. Aiden scowled at him and Jenny giggled.

" Wait, are you two twins or something? " I asked them, pointing between Noah and Aiden and all of them started laughing except Aiden who scowled at Noah.

" Unfortunately, but I'm much more handsome than he is, than anyone in this room actually! " Aiden said smugly and I rolled my eyes. " You wish, " I mumbled and Ryan gave me an amused chuckle, his eyes shining. I liked these people. They were all their own kind. And the fact that they all loved each other despite it was new to me.

The band then got busy with their instrument and us three girls sat on the couch talking. I got to know that Sophia had been dating Noah for over a year now and that Jenny and Evan were together and that Sophia and Jenny were actually room mates. Jenny was fun to talk to and even though she did ask me a thing or two about last night, but seeing that I wasn't comfortable talking about it she let the topic slide by.

" So, what do you do for a living? " I asked her. " Oh, you'll find this a little weird, " she giggled, "but I am a waitress at the Joe's Bar, the one you crashed in last night. Both me and Soph. " " No way! " I looked at both of them amused and then burst out into giggles myself.

Fuck, I giggled? What was happening to me?

" Hey ladies, may I request you to stop giggling 'cause we're starting now! " Ryan said and I gave him a playful scowl but inside I was excited to hear him finally sing. He winked at me and then headed back to where the band was all set to start their rehearsal. A nervous excitement, similar to what I feel right before I go on stage, coursed through my body.

Ryan motioned the band and Evan started the beat. After a few drum strokes Noah joined in with his guitar and Aiden set the base line. They had a perfect synchrony with their instruments.

However, when Ryan's voice filled the studio apartment, something deep inside me stirred. Goosebumps appeared all over my arm at the purity in his voice. His voice was mesmerising and he sang every word and every note with so much ease and emotion that I was left spellbound.

The songs were a beautiful array of words and they flowed right through me leaving me blissful and content. My eyes locked on to his and I felt an undeniable connection deep down to our souls in that moment.

This guy had a voice that could take the industry by a fucking storm yet here he was in Seattle, singing like an anonymous singer with a band of his own. Surely he must have had local fans in the area 'cause with that damn voice, I'm sure he could make anyone drop to their knees without a second thought, but it didn't feel enough to me. He and his bandmates deserved much more.

He swayed with the music all the while looking into my eyes and smiling that stupid sexy half grin at me and I sat there dumbstruck and completely swooned by his charm and voice.

He sang a myriad of songs, some slow and breathtaking while the others rocking and lively. I imagined him standing on a stage on his own tour, with thousands of fans shouting his name, the lights flashing at his impossibly handsome face while he stood there with that stupid-ass sexy as hell half grin, a guitar around his neck singing and surprisingly the image came very easy and natural to me.

This guy was made for the stage, for game and for all kinds of praise. If I wouldn't have been on the run, I would have definitely contacted my label and have asked them to come over and listen to this wonderful band play. I'm sure they would've signed them up right away.

The last song ended and Ryan slung his guitar at the back and took a dramatic bow. We clapped for the boys and Jenny even whistled making us giggle and making Evan's smile turn devilish. Yup, they sure were a thing!

Ryan walked up to me and whispered slowly, "So Miss. Sandford, do you think you'll let me and my band feature in one of your sexy singles? " His hoarse whisper made me shiver and that in turn made him smile like a devil. Dropping my own voice playfully, I whispered back, " Yes Mr. Matthews, I think you're very talented, maybe I can put your talent to some use. " His eyes gleamed with undeniable attraction and for a moment I was lost. Jenny cleared her throat from behind and I jumped. Ryan chuckled and I smacked his chest which made him laugh more. Men!

" Did you like that, Evelyn?" Evan asked walking up and handing me a beer. " Oh yes absolutely, you guys are amazing! Who writes the songs? They're deep!" I said while sipping the beer. " Ryan writes them, " Evan replied smiling at Ryan who grinned back at him. " Hmm, you've got some real emotions hidden in there, huh?" I teased Ryan, tapping his chest right over his heart. He grinned at me wolfishly.

Resting my beer at the nearby table,
I took Ryan's guitar from his hands and
held it in place testing it. " You play? " he asked with fake innocence. I smirked at him, " Kinda. " This got him smiling knowingly. " You do? Show us Evelyn! " Noah exclaimed excitedly, maybe because he finally had a common topic to talk on with me. I smiled at him and then holding the guitar up I slung it around my neck.

It was different from my guitar stuffed in my car's trunk but it was well tuned and easy to play. I strummed a few random chords and then unconsciously started playing one of my own songs. I hummed along with it and Ryan started to sing the lyrics, " We were both young when I first saw you... I closed my eyes and the flashback starts, I'm standing there, in a balcony in summer air...."

It was a track from my first album and this was the first song I ever recorded in a studio. I called it 'Love Story' because back then I was still just a little girl who believed in fairytales. But now I knew they didn't exist, the real world was actually dark and ugly. I sang the whole song and when I looked up Ryan was smiling at me.

Jenny whistled, " Told ya girl, if you're not Tiana Sandford, you can definitely pass for her twin!" She clapped her hands together happily and I cringed. I should be more careful. " Jen's right, you've got a magical voice and you sound so much like the original! " Noah chimed in. " Thanks! " I tried to play it cool.

Ryan slung his arm around my shoulders and said, " Well guitar girl, I think we should head back home now. " I nodded and detached the guitar from my neck.

" You guys ain't coming for a drink? " Jenny said sounding almost sad. "Nope, I think Evelyn had enough alcohol in her system last night, we'll just head back to my place. " He winked at me and I rolled my eyes at him.

He clearly didn't know my capacity to drink like a tank. But he obviously was right, I had clearly blacked out yesterday but he hadn't realised that it wasn't because of the amount of drinks I had but was because I had those drinks on an empty stomach.

Out of the corner of my eyes I felt Evan looking at me. I turned to face him but he turned away. However, I still caught the small tears that were welling inside his eyes.

Huh, what was that about?

********

• Author's note •

Thoughts about The Night Outs and who is your most and least favourite so far? Lemme know ;)

QOTD :- If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?

I think I can definitely survive on just pizza for the rest of my life ;)

Much Love

M :)