Warnings: None

Word Count: 1738

Author's Note: I really don't have all that much to say today aside from, as always, thank you for all the continued support on this series! I hope you enjoy the chapter :)

"Hello!" you called as you walked through the front door.

"I'm in the office!" August called back.

You set your camera equipment by the door and headed for August's office. They were sitting in front of their computer, typing out something on an Excel spreadsheet. A few seconds of looking at all the numbers and symbols was enough for you to lose interest.

"How was your shoot?" August asked, spinning around in their chair to face you.

You shrugged, "Normal, I guess. The family was happy to see me again."

Now that you were back in California, you had been able to pick up quite a few of your old clients. It was nice to reconnect with people you hadn't seen in months, but the photography itself didn't have the same appeal as it had before you left for Ohio.

"How does it feel to be back?"

"Good," you smiled, hoping that it was convincing. "It's nice knowing where everything is again."

It wasn't a complete lie. There were things that you liked about being back home again: being able to see your family whenever you liked, hitting up your favorite local restaurants, and being able to sleep in a real bed every night. Yet, you still found yourself missing the late nights on the bus and all the antics you got dragged into before shows.

"I'm glad to hear that. I'd love to talk more, but my boss has been on me about getting this spreadsheet done."

"I'll leave you to it."

It was getting close to dinnertime, but you didn't want to walk back into August's office and bother them again. Instead, you decided to lay down on the couch and scroll through social media for awhile to kill some time. A couple of pictures from the last leg of the tour popped up on your phone. You had to admit, the new photographer was doing a great job.

There were photos that you needed to be editing, but you pushed them to the back of your mind. It had been quite some time since you had to deal with tight deadlines and hours of photo editing, but you still seemed to get antsy if you weren't constantly working. You had done three back to back photoshoots today and you deserved a break from working for a little while.

"Ok, I think I got enough work done for now," August announced as they walked into the living room. "Do you want to make some dinner?"

"Let's do it," you answered.

"So, tell me more about Ohio," August said as they pulled out various ingredients.

You scoffed, "What is there to tell? The few weeks that I actually spent there were some of the worst of my life."

"Matthew really made life terrible, didn't he?"

"The worst. Who knows where I would be right now if I hadn't run into Josh at the grocery store."

"Yeah, because that worked out so well," August laughed.

"Hey! It was good for awhile. Then feelings and expectations just came in and screwed everything up."

"Why didn't you just come home after the breakup with Matthew? You know that I totally would have let you stay here."

You stood up and began to help August chop up some fruit, "I was just trying to prove a point, I guess. After we broke up, I didn't want it to seem like I was running back home. It was dumb, but it opened up a lot of doors for me."

"You mean like photographing for the band?"

"Exactly. I had never even considered doing concert photography before, but once I started touring I realized that I loved it way more than what I'm doing here."

"Have you considered finding another band to tour with? It seems like you really love traveling and doing all that. Plus, it would be a good way to keep you distracted."

"I could, but if I'm being honest, August, I just don't think I'll like it as much. Concert photography is great, I love it, but Tyler and Josh and the rest of the crew is really what made it for me. If I start touring again, I know that I'll just compare it to the experience that I had with them."

"I understand. Hopefully you find something here that you love just as much."

"No kidding, plus I need to start looking for places to live. Maybe I'll actually get to have a place to myself for the first time in my life," you laughed.

"I work with a guy whose friend sells houses and stuff, maybe he could hook you up."

"That would be fantastic. Matt was always the one that handled real estate stuff, so I'll need all the help that I can get."

"Have you decided where you want to move?"

"I'll probably stay in the area. I know where everything is and I don't want to have to make long commutes all the time because I have clients here, you know?"

"I was hoping you would say that," August smiled. "You moved to Ohio once, and I'm not ready for you to move away again."

You leaned over and pulled August into a side hug, "Trust me, I'm not leaving again any time soon."

The two of you continued to talk about life as you made dinner. August did most of the work, although you pitched in whenever possible. Once it was ready, you both shuffled into the living room and made yourself comfortable. It had become a ritual for you two to watch TV together while you ate dinner, no matter how busy you both were.

"This is really good, August!" you said as you took a bite of your food.

"Shh! The show is starting," they said, gesturing at the TV with their fork.

You giggled and shook your head. Leave it to August to get mad at your for complimenting them.

You woke up to a pillow being thrown directly at your head. In seconds, you were sitting up straight and looking around the room. August was standing at one end of the couch, arms crossed tight across their chest.

"Great, you're up. Now answer your damn phone."

You hadn't even realized your phone was ringing. August stomped back off to their office and you reached for your phone on the coffee table where it was sitting among your dirty dishes from dinner. The last thing you had remembered was laying down after finishing your food. You hadn't felt that tired, but apparently your body had other ideas.

Your phone started to vibrate again, reminding you that you needed to answer it. If you didn't, August would probably come out and yell at you again. That was not something you wanted to deal with at the moment, especially with your groggy post-nap state.

"Hello?" you answered, not even bothering to check who was calling. Your voice sounded hoarse and quiet, so you cleared your throat and repeated yourself.

"Y/N/N!" You recognized Tyler's voice immediately. Just hearing him caused you to smile. "I was beginning to think you weren't going to answer. I don't normally call twice, but this is kind of a time sensitive subject."

You and Tyler had been surprisingly good about staying in touch. He would call you a couple times a week whenever he had the time just to catch up. It was nice to know that even when you weren't on tour, Tyler still cared about you. Josh, on the other hand, hadn't said anything to you since you told him that you were leaving.

"Sorry, I was taking a nap. Then my roommate came in and threw a pillow at my face because my phone ringing was bothering them."

"My bad. I didn't mean to be the indirect cause of you getting hit in the face with a pillow."

"It's fine, you didn't know. Anyway, what is this time sensitive subject?"

"Right, so as you may have seen we're playing a show in California in a couple weeks."

"Yeah, I saw that," you sighed. You didn't like where this was going.

"I was thinking you might want to come to the show? I could hook you up with a backstage pass and you could come hang for a bit before and after the show. Plus, you'd have one of the best seats in the house! Right next to the stage."

"I don't know, Ty. I'm still dealing with the whole Josh situation and being backstage just seems like the perfect setting for conflict."

"Please, Y/N/N. I want to see you and that's the only opportunity I'm going to have. You know how it is."

"I do, and I want to see you too. It's just that I've been making a lot of good progress these last few weeks and I don't want to drag myself back to square one because of an uncomfortable situation."

"Ok, hear me out. What if I get you an actual seat for the show and then you just come hang out afterwards? That gives us plenty of time to be together and you won't be as likely to run into Josh."

You tapped your fingers against your leg as you considered Tyler's offer. Going to the show would mean the absolute world to him and you had to admit, seeing a show from a fan's perspective would be a cool opportunity.

"What's the date?"

Tyler told you the date of the show and you double checked your calendar just to make sure that you didn't have any photoshoots booked.

"Alright, Ty, I'll come to the show."

"Perfect, I'm getting a ticket secured for you right now. Pre-sale starts tomorrow and I want to make sure you get the best seat."

"And where exactly is this 'best seat' you speak of?"

"First row on the piano side, how does that sound?"

"Sounds great."

"I'll get that ticket sent to you as soon as possible. And as much as I would love to talk more, Josh and I have early rehearsals tomorrow and I'm already up way later than I should be."

"Get some rest, Ty, and I'll see you at the show."

"I look forward to it."

"Me too."

"I'll talk to you later."

"Goodnight."

You ended the call and set your phone down on your legs. Hopefully going to the show wouldn't be a huge mistake.