The Future is Yours, Chapter 1
It had been a rough night to say the least. Avery's emotional dial went from blissful to angry to depressed to angry to upset to confused in the course of 24 hours.
Being in love with Juliette Barnes would do that to you.
After her confession of "having nothing and nobody" his heart managed to soften a bit. It didn't matter what she did to him, it was just the natural reaction he had to this woman in front of him.
So he lie there, on his back on the couch. The darkness outside hinted at sleep, but his eyes wouldn't shut if he tried. Against his better judgement, or any judgement for that matter, he instantly took a seat on her other sofa when she begged him not to be alone. In that moment he wasn't her boyfriend anymore, that much he knew. But every ounce of his being still loved her, and every ounce of his being was what made him sit down and watched her fall asleep.
He knew he shouldn't love her anymore. All he wanted to do was storm away and make her feel the hurt that had overcome him when Gunnar revealed what he had witnessed.
But on that couch his eyes searched the ceiling for the reason why all he really wanted to do was walk two steps over to the love of his life and wrap his arms around her.
The crazy conflict in his mind wrestled between the countless scenarios of where to go next and it finally exhausted him to sleep.
Avery shook from his sleep. Only he wasn't on Juliette's couch anymore, he was buried in the sheets of a random bed.
The initial shock of being in a strangers bed woke him right up. He felt around the dark silky covers for some hint of where exactly he was.
"Hey Avery."
Avery looked all around to see Scarlett O'Conner standing suddenly at the foot of the bed.
"Ah!" He let out an audible gasp, horrified at what he was starting to piece together.
Scarlett laughed, "Don't worry, it's not my bed. It's yours actually."
Avery continued his confused face, "What? This isn't my place, this isn't my furniture, why are you here? What's going on?"
Scarlett nodded but didn't answer directly, "Take a walk with me, Avery."
Avery stood up and walked along. He had a feeling she wouldn't answer any questions, so he stayed quiet and observed. Scarlett led him to the living room where he took a look at the pictures.
They weren't pictures, per say, but framed copies of headlines that read, "Barkley Takes Home Three Grammys" and "Avery Barkley Sells Out Staples Center" .
"What's all this?" Avery mouthed, starting to realize he was in some sort of alternate universe.
Scarlett adjusted one of the frames, innocently staring at it, "You're a hit country solo artist, can't ya see."
"What? I never wanted that." he said out loud. At one point in his life he did want exactly that. But the freedom he wanted with his music simply wasn't there and he ended up abandoning that fleeting dream.
"Well, it kind of happened after you left the band."
Avery's face fell, "Please don't tell me…"
Scarlett sat on a bar stool in the fancy kitchen, inviting Avery to sit down with her, "Yep. You had been bitter and grumpy, Gunnar confronted you about it, and you two had a falling out."
"So I left the band and now I'm a famous artist with Grammy's and a fancy new place." he tried to straighten it out.
"Yep." Scarlett replied simply.
Avery processed the information and took some time to look around the apartment. No wonder he didn't recognize it, none of it was him. He hated all of this. And the more he looked around, he saw records and trophies, headlines, accolades, and awards, but there were no photos. He had his career but it was very clear that he was alone in this place.
And then it hit him.
Scarlett cryptically laughed, "Hmm, I thought you would pick up on it by now."
"I think I'm starting to…"
"Avery, this is your future without Juliette."
His head dropped and Scarlett continued, "Five years ago you let her go. So you hid behind your career and convinced people that's what made you happy. You haven't had a real relationship since."
Tears formed in his eyes, "My god. Where is she?"
"This is your future, not hers, and definitely not 'yours'." Scarlett explained.
"So we don't even talk anymore?" he hoped it wasn't true, "I mean, I still care about her."
"Nope." his ex-girlfriend explained, "She tried once or twice to say hi backstage but she hurt you so bad and you were so bitter you just cut her out of your life for good."
"I haven't moved on?"
"Please, Avery." Scarlett laughed, "Does it look like you've moved on?"
Avery took a step into the living room where he jumped immediately. He saw an image of himself, passed out on the couch, surrounded by the warm company of crushed beer cans. Handles of rum sat on the coffee table flanked by strips of paper that had countless phone numbers scribbled on them.
He stomached the grotesque scene in front of him until he saw all the phone numbers. It made him sick to even think about being with any girl who wasn't Juliette Barnes.
Scarlett was right. No matter what she did to him, Juliette always managed to grasp on to a piece of his heart.
"I've...I've got to go." Avery stood up and spun around, "How do I get out of here?"
"You've got one more stop." Scarlett explained, "Bye, Avery."
"Wait where am I going?"
Avery suddenly found himself in a bright bedroom that was a literal 180 degree contrast from the previous house he was in. The light yellow walls opened to the windows that flooded light in. A big, warm bed was tucked against the wall where pictures frames sat on the nightstand.
Remembering the lack of photos in his previous 'dream', Avery turned to look at the photos a little until he was interrupted,
"Hey buddy!"
Avery snapped around to see Gunnar smiling and waving at him.
"Gunnar?"
"I see Scarlett got you here okay." Gunnar said.
"Uh, yeah, I guess so." Avery replied, not really sure how he was here or where he was.
"Alright well, do you like the place?" his friend asked.
"Yeah, it's nice." Avery looked around, "Bright, homey, you know."
Gunnar was about to say something until they heard laughter coming from outside.
Avery looked at Gunnar for permission to explore further and Gunner nodded,
"It'll be easier than explaining it all." he laughed.
With that, Avery walked to the window, tentative yet extremely curious as to what was going on.
It was him, running around a perfect green lawn chasing a little boy. The youngster's slick black hair was a punch in the gut. He was chasing his son.
Avery pushed Gunnar out of the way and found the stairs, sprinting down them. He burst out into the back yard. He had to see if it was true. If this dream was his future with…
Juliette.
There she was in all her beautiful glory, sitting in a lawn chair watching the boys run around. The mini-Barkley ran right into her arms which solidified what Avery had been wondering. The little boy wasn't his son, it was their son.
Avery watched as he caught up to his family. The future him reached out and a silver band glistened in the perfect Nashville sunshine. Juliette set their boy down after a tender kiss on the head and moved to the embrace of her husband.
He was her husband.
Avery never really thought about his future. Sure he vaguely saw one with Juliette, but this picture that had been painted for him completely blew him away to what an incredible life he could have. The thought of having Juliette Barnes as his wife and the mother of his kids struck something new in him, something that only she could bring out in him. He couldn't stop looking at his beautiful family.
Gunner caught up to see his friend locked on the scene outdoors. "Cool, isn't it?"
Avery wouldn't look away, and his face went from dead serious to a warm smile.
"She's my wife?"
"If you hang around for long enough, yep." Gunner explained, "You see, in five years, despite the mistakes she made you stood by her. And soon enough you married Juliette Barnes...or should I say Juliette Barnes-Barkley."
Avery blushed at the mention of Juliette and his last name in the same sentence.
"And I'm a father." Avery said as more of a statement, unable to believe it, "He's like a perfect mix of both of us."
"That he is, my friend."
"What's his name?"
Gunnar laughed, "Well I think that's something his daddy would know, huh?"
Avery chuckled along, "Thanks, Gun. I'm ready to go back now." He said, now fully confident in what he had to do when he got back.
"Hey man, it's your future. I just helped you see it."
"Yeah..." Avery said, watching as Juliette laughed, playfully punching him in the chest. Future Avery responded by grabbing her with the warmest smile and kissing her. Their little boy ran around and crashed into their legs, so Avery propelled him up in his arms. Juliette ran her hands through her sons hair and tickled him.
Avery smiled, seeing the living portrait of his family. And he finally responded to Gunnar, "Yeah, but I just can't wait to live it."
A/N: I don't know how I feel about this little idea, it just came to me one day. Plus, the Javery scenes in the finale were beyond Emmy-worthy in my book. I'd like to write what happens when Avery actually wakes up, so if there's interest I'd be happy to continue this story. Hope you all enjoyed and be sure to review!