WARNING: This part will contain more mature subjects such as:mentions of sex, fluff, but no smut. Do not read if you do not like.

Avery swallowed the lump in her throat and followed her band backstage.  She had already regretted coming, now more than ever she wanted to leave. But her friends made it very clear that there was no getting out of it.

Immediately as the set foot inside the backstage area, they went to swarm the bandmembers, with the exception of Avery. The room became more lively as the boisterous band interacted with the members of the Cure. Nobody seemed to pay any attention to Avery who was standing in a corner with her arms crossed. She waited for Robert to at least acknowledge her or something but he didn't seem to notice her.
Whatever, not like I was really in the mood to chat with him.

She kept her distance and just watched her bandmates from her corner. Avery was unaware of the dreadful scowl on her face and her angry demeanor. Robert had noticed her but didn't approach her. He waited for her to approach him. Even if she didn't remember him or pretended not to, he just wanted to speak to her. Just a few words at least. Neither Avery nor Robert were going to approach each other unless one of them took initiative.  In the end, it ended up being Robert who took the first step.

He approached her with a glass of wine, "Hi, would you like some wine?", he greeted her with a sheepish smile.

"Hiya. ", she replied. It sounded more cold than she was intending. She didn't intend for her tone to sound so cold and sharp at all.

"Would you like some wine?", he reiterated, waving the glass at her.

She didn't say anything and simply took the glass he was holding in his left hand. Avery took a big sip from her glass. Robert looked at her, surprised. Years ago when he knew her, she could hardly drink. Now, being an alcoholic came with the life of being in a band. 

"You got anything stronger?", she asked.

"Uh... whiskey..."

Avery gulped down the rest of her drink, "Whiskey it is, then", she said.

She held out her glass to him, waiting for him to take it and serve her another.  Is she was going to be stuck in a room with him present, she wanted to be drunk. Preferably to soothe her nerves.  Robert grabbed her glass and went over to the other side of the room to pour Avery some whiskey.

Everybody else was laughing and having a good time around him. But all the both of them could think about was each other. Everything else seemingly faded away.  He poured the whiskey and one for himself as well. That way things wouldn't hurt so much. Alcohol felt like medicine. Avery looked down at her shoes and tried to focus on anything but the situation she was in.
Fuck, I scuffed my damn boots.

Tired of standing, she slumped down against the wall and sat down on the floor. She took her boots off, placing them next to her, and rubbing her sore feet. Concerts were amazing, both performing and attending.  But the sore feet and tired legs, were anything but amazing.

"You've got a hole in your socks.", said Robert. She looked up to him holding the entire bottle out to her and two red solo cups.

"Yeah..."

Avery always managed to make a hole in one of her socks. He had remembered that about her. 

She took the bottle off his hands and screwed the cap off. She reached up and grabbed one of the solo cups and poured whiskey into it. Avery wasn't a huge fan of the taste of whiskey. She didn't like the taste or smell of any other alcohol that wasn't wine for that matter.  It was the effect that alcohol produced.  Liquor made things easy like sex, stress, and just simply soothing the nerves.

The life of being in a band had its perks. Whenever Avery felt stressed, she'd have her drinks. Despite not getting any action from groupies as much as Asher, Anthony, and Andy, she had many men at her feet. She was the subject of many men's most erotic fantasies. Including Robert himself.  He couldn't help but fantasize about her in all sorts of ways. It did make him a bit uncomfortable knowing that he wasn't the only one. Maybe some of her admirers were like him, fantasizing about seeing her and getting to speak to her.

Robert had always known that Avery could have any man or woman she wanted.  She could have multiple people if she wanted. His mood soured every time he thought about how many men she'd been with. Many of those who only saw her as a piece of meat, only interested in what is below her neck. Avery wasn't wrong for having her fun, she wasn't disgusting...they were. Dirty pigs. 

To Avery, sex was free pleasure.  Momentarily distracting her from everything, focusing only on how good it felt to be touched. She had avoided any form of commitment since Robert. In her mind, going to bed with different people every night was fine since she had nobody to commit to. Nobody was getting hurt, betrayed, or cheated. Before, she could only dream about being the woman of many people's erotic fantasies. She had always hoped she'd one day be attractive enough to be a temptress, the kind of woman that provokes those sexy daydreams.

"It's been a minute, Avery.", said Robert.

"Yeah...", she mumbled.  She couldn't think of anything good to say to him.

"Your band is really good. ", he commented, trying desperately to start a conversation.  Just a few words were not enough anymore.

"Have you been listening to us?", she asked, a hint of hope in her voice.

Robert nodded, "Yeah, I've gone to a few gigs.", he replied.

She smiled weakly, "I didn't see you.", she said.

"I didn't think you wanted to see me. ", he replied, laughing nervously.

Avery felt a jab to her heart. His tone wasn't sad or upset, she wasn't certain if she was. But her conscious told her that he was upset. She felt bad for making him feel that way, like he wasn't welcome around her.

She took a swig from her drink, wincing as the liquor burned through her throat. "I'll be the first to admit that it's true. I just didn't want to remember...us.", she confessed.

Robert looked at her in disbelief. Did she really not want to be with him that much? At the time, he didn't understand why she had just dumped him so suddenly, asking himself why she simply didn't want to be with him anymore. What was wrong with him that pushed her away? Or did she have someone else. Robert did remember seeing her one last time, kissing another man.

He smiled. It was an ironic and incredulous smile to hold back his budding anger. "What? Did you want to forget that we were ever a thing?", he asked her.

She took another swig. "No, I just didn't want to miss you. ", she replied.

He scoffed which turned into a chuckle that was anything but happy, "It's been five years. If you missed me, then why did you leave me? "

"Does it matter now? Like you said, it's been five years.  We're long over. So it doesn't matter now. ", she replied.

"It matters...to me."

Avery hugged her knees close to her chest, "I didn't break up with you because I stopped loving you.  I did it because I'm...", she began. She stopped, trying to find the right words to say.

Robert looked at her, awaiting her answer.  Avery shook her head and rubbed her temples with her fingers, sighing. "Why are we having this conversation now? ", she asked.

"Because now that 'it doesn't matter', you can be honest with me. Say what you feel", he replied. He made quotation motions with his fingers.

"You really wanna know? Fine. I can't be in a healthy relationship. I just don't think I'll ever be secure in a relationship.  I don't want to drive anybody mad with my insecurity, jealousy, and trust issues. ", said Avery.  Afterwards, she huffed and got up, snatching the bottle as she walked out of the room.

She hadn't even realized that she raised her voice and everyone had heard everything. Including her band.  They had no idea that she had once been the girlfriend of Robert Smith, that never would have occurred to them. Her band apologized for her behavior.  Amy stood up to go after her but Andy stopped her. Avery was never an angry person. Alcohol made her looser and less uptight and nervous but never angry and spiteful.  They all decided it was best to simply steer away from her and allow her to cool off on her own.

Robert on the other hand ran out after her. In just his socks, he was ready to run outside the venue after her if he had to. But instead, he found that Avery was just in the hallway. She had the bottle and her cup, but she wasn't drinking. Just sitting on the floor toying with the bottle, spinning and twirling it around. One look at her and he was disarmed immediately, no longer bitter over what happened years ago. Now that he knew the truth, he felt like he had spent all that time feeling betrayed over nothing.

He sat down next to her, not saying anything. She looked up at the ceiling, tears pooling in her eyes. Avery had kept the bandage on for so long that the suppressed pain was breaking her. Her hand was buried in her pockets, holding her packet of cigarettes. Smoking was a double edged sword. The taste and smell of tar was repulsive yet the sense of relaxation from inhaling and exhaling the smoke was undeniable.  Fuck cancer.

"Fuck...", she whispered to no one.

"Avery..."

"I can't believe I just told you all that. It's been years and I still have feelings. I guess that's what happens when you try too hard to move on.", she replied mirthlessly.

Robert gave a little smile, "If it makes you feel better, I haven't even tried to move on. If anything I keep holding on.", he added.

"Still don't get why."

"Isn't it obvious?", he asked her.

"If you say it's 'cuz you love me, I'm going to slug you.", she jokingly

He paused. Rob then chuckled, "Slug me then. "

"I'd rather kiss you.", she replied with a smirk.

Robert felt his face heat up and his heart begin to accelerate. Next thing he knew, a cloud of cigarette smoke was blown into his face. He fanned the air with his hand in response to the foul stench of tobacco. Avery put out her cigarette and stood up.

"You coming?"

Robert didn't know what she had planned. Avery's urge to touch and feel him had overcome her. And she was going to do exactly that, get her taste of Robert.

They found themselves alone together in a washroom eating themselves with passionate kisses. Avery was pinned against the wall with her legs wrapped around his back. He held her up against the wall and held on to her. He kissed her hungrily as if he had been starved, smudging his crimson lipstick even more than before.

Robert pulled away and moved down to her neck. When they were together, that was as far as he'd ever gotten with her. He never got to have his first time with her. His first time wasn't special, it was with an unfamiliar girl at a pub. Her skin was soft, she was experienced, and she expertly touched him in all the right places. But it still wasn't special enough. Avery was making his heart want to explode.

"Ah...fuck...", she huffed.

Those little curses and moans under her breath told him enough that he was doing good. Though inexperienced, he quickly learned that he need not change his strategy. He kept on pleasuring her the way he was. Robert was no mind reader, but Avery was indirectly telling him what she wants. Avery's hands traveled under his arms and rested on his back. With that, she gently pulled him even closer.

They practically devoured each other, completely lost into the heat of the moment. So much so, that they both completely forgot everything around them.

And that's it. I'm sorry for the shitty ending and for holding out too long for updates. But I really needed to update. 

So, the next chapter might be a smut, someone requested it.  I don't know how that will be received so I'm a little nervous.  I'm no stranger to writing smut but I've never written smut about Robert Smith.  So would you guys like it?

Odds are that I will put a disclaimer for those who are uncomfortable with such content.  Simply don't read if it makes you uncomfortable.

Also, if any of you are Metallica/ Dave Mustaine simps... I mean fans...check out my new Metallica imagines book ft Dave Mustaine of Megadeth.