Chapter 277 - 277: 277 | When You Leave The Room

<🎧 Song Recommendation: I Know The End by Phoebe Bridgers>

...

Von had spent the last month walking onto stages where twenty thousand people screamed before he even touched a microphone.

But something about this current setting just felt right... And unlike Emily's expectations, he didn't feel nervous at all. Instead, he was eager to impress the crowd.

He adjusted the stool and picked up the guitar. "Ryan's hands are dead, apparently."

That earned a few laughs. Ryan lifted one hand from the bar.

"They served me well."

"I'll fill in for a minute then," Von added with a smile.

He strummed once on the guitar, then discovered it was slightly out of tune.

Von fixed it by ear, tested the strings again, then settled into the progression.

Emily recognized it almost the song immediately, and her smile softened.

'When You Leave the Room.'

Von had only intended to play something random, but with the guitar sitting in his hands and the rain tapping faintly against the windows above, the unfinished record suddenly felt perfect.

He lowered his head slightly and continued to play the melody before he began to sing.

🎸♪

I'd keep on running if you'd let me...

When I lose my way,

Would you turn me 'round?

Photographs of everyone I loved still line the walls,

Like proof they once were here at all...

🎸♪

The last chord rang softly beneath his fingers and Von let it fade naturally.

For a moment, nobody said anything.

But the silence wasn't uncomfortable, it was the kind of silence he had learned to recognize after months of performing.

People were still inside the song. Then the applause started.

It wasn't even remotely comparable to an arena, but Von found himself smiling anyway.

A woman sitting near the bar clapped above her head.

"That was beautiful!"

Ryan had stopped drinking entirely.

He stared at Von from his stool. "Dude."

"What?" Von asked with a chuckle.

"You've been sitting over there eating fries this whole time and you can sing like that?"

A few people laughed while Von shrugged modestly. "I dabble."

"You dabble?" Ryan repeated incredulously. "Man, fuck you."

That got an even louder laugh from the room.

Emily was already covering her mouth when a younger woman two tables over leaned toward her friend and said.

"He sounds familiar."

Her friend was even more observant and kept staring intensely at Von as he left the stage. "Very familiar."

"That's enough for me," Von announced after playing his part from the song one more time.

The room laughed again while he returned the guitar carefully to its stand.

Before he could get back to the booth, an older man sitting beside the aisle reached into his wallet and held out a folded bill.

"Here."

Von paused. "Oh, you don't have to do that."

"Take it."

Von looked at him for a second before accepting the money.

It was five dollars.

The man gave his shoulder an approving pat. "Keep at it, kid. You've got something."

Von stared down at the bill before slowly turning toward Emily.

She lasted about two seconds before her entire face collapsed as she started laughing.

Von returned to the table wearing a completely flat expression.

"Don't."

"He told you to keep at it."

"Emily."

"Oh my God..." She wiped beneath one eye. "Maybe one day you'll get discovered."

"I'm taking my laptop back."

"No!" Emily immediately reached across the table and caught his wrist.

Von finally laughed.

"You're enjoying this way too much."

"I just watched a multiple platinum artist get career advice and a five-dollar tip. Of course I'm enjoying it."

She held out her hand. "Give it to me."

Von narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

"I'm your manager. All revenue goes through me."

"Nope, not today."

"Five dollars, please." Emily had to pout her lips and plea to finally convince Von to hand it over.

Emily unfolded the bill and inspected it with exaggerated professionalism before nodding.

"Very impressive. Your biggest independent payday yet."

"Exactly." Von leaned back proudly. "No arena cut. No production expenses. Just pure profit."

"Taxes?"

Von's smile disappeared and Emily burst into laughter again.

"You ruined it."

"Sorry."

She carefully folded the five-dollar bill again and tucked it into the small inner pocket of her purse.

Von noticed her action. "You're actually keeping it?"

Emily looked up at him. "Wel... You told me to."

"I thought you'd spend it."

"On what? Half a coffee?"

Von chuckled. "Fair."

They finished eating not long afterward.

By the time they climbed the narrow stairs back onto the street, Seattle had settled completely into night.

The rain had weakened from the heavy downpour earlier into a fine, cold drizzle. Water shimmered across the pavement beneath streetlights, reflecting passing cars and storefront signs in long streaks of orange and white.

Emily opened her umbrella.

Von stepped beneath it beside her, immediately taking the handle because the height difference made her holding it awkward.

For several minutes they simply walked. Neither of them had anywhere specific to go.

They passed a closed bookstore, a tiny record shop still glowing through its front window, and rows of old brick buildings disappearing into the mist.

Emily slid one hand through Von's arm at one point. "This was nice."

Von glanced down at her.

"The burger?"

"The date."

Von almost missed a step.

Emily looked up at him, amused. "What?"

"You called it a date."

"Wasn't it?"

Von thought about the stolen laptop, the rain, cheap burgers and his five-dollar musical career.

"Yeah," he said with a smile. "I guess it was."

Emily rested her head briefly against his shoulder as they walked.

"You know, we've technically been together for weeks and this might be our first actual date."

Von frowned. "That's terrible."

"Whose fault is that?"

"Your schedule."

"My schedule?"

"You're my manager."

"And you're the idiot who decided every show needed to be different."

"Fair point."

They both laughed.

The street grew quieter as they moved farther away from the restaurant.

Eventually, Von stopped beneath the awning of a closed flower shop.

Emily took another two steps before realizing he wasn't beside her anymore.

When she turned, she saw Von looking at her for a moment.

There wasn't really anything wrong. That was exactly why he had stopped.

For weeks, his life had been moving at a ridiculous pace. Rehearsals, flights, buses, interviews, recording sessions, concerts, business meetings, merchandise, the System.

Even being with Emily had somehow become another thing squeezed between obligations.

Tonight was one of the times they had simply existed together without somebody waiting for one of them to do something.

Von reached out and gently pulled her beneath the awning with him.

"What are you thinking about?" Emily whispered with a soft smile.

"Nothing important," Von replied.

"Liar."

Von chuckled.

He reached up and brushed a damp strand of hair away from her cheek.

"I'm just... happy."

Emily's expression softened. "Me too."

Von lowered his head and their lips met in a tender kiss.

There was none of the desperate intensity from the first night they had confessed their feelings.

This kiss was slower and more warm.

Emily's hands slipped naturally around his waist beneath the open front of his coat while Von cupped the side of her face.

Rain fell a few feet away from them, tapping steadily against the metal awning.

When they finally separated, Emily stayed close enough that their foreheads touched.

"I wish we could do this more often," she whispered.

"We can."

Emily gave him a skeptical look. "You have seventeen shows left."

"So?"

"So you're insane."

Von smiled. "After the tour then."

Emily's eyes remained on his.

"Promise?"

"Promise what?"

"That after all this..." She gestured vaguely around them, meaning far more than Seattle. "We actually slow down sometimes."

Von didn't answer immediately but Emily continued quietly.

"No schedules. No press. No contracts. No me spending six hours arguing with venues. Just... normal things."

Von smiled faintly.

"What counts as normal?"

"I don't know. Dinner. Movies. Going somewhere without Max livestreaming behind us."

"Impossible."

Emily laughed, but the seriousness in her eyes remained.

Von wrapped both arms around her waist. "I promise."

She searched his face. "Really?"

"Really."

But then Von leaned closer. "And promise me something too."

Emily looked up at him. "What?"

Von smiled faintly.

"Whatever happens after this, don't start acting like you have to figure everything out by yourself."

Emily raised an eyebrow. "That's very rich coming from you."

"Exactly. I'm speaking from experience," Von said while laughing.

That earned a small smile from her.

"I'm serious though," he added. "We're doing this together now. So just... remember that."

Emily looked at him for a moment before nodding softly.

"I will."

"Good."

Von kissed her forehead.

Emily tucked herself closer against him while his arms wrapped comfortably around her.

For a little while longer, neither of them moved.

They simply stood beneath the awning together while Seattle's rain fell around them.