#i did not proofread before posting but i have now so all those lil mistakes have been fixed | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

bi-bi-buckleydiaz · 4 years ago

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deep breath, do your job | owen joyner

requested; yes! - Could you do a Owen x reader where the reader is Owens personal assistant while filming JATP and while they are filming the reader starts catching feelings for Owen but Owen is in a relationship. Owen and his girlfriend breakup and the reader comes over to comfort Owen and Owen confesses that the reason him and his girlfriend broke up was because of the reader.

word count; 6.4K ... yeah kinda got away from me there. longest fic i’ve ever written

warnings; language, implied sexual content but no actual sex or description thereof

a/n; lol, so i just wrote from 1AM - 4AM because i’m procrastinating my child dev. project thats due today that’s worth a quarter of my grade. i really didn’t mean for this to be so long so it’s probably not this good and the ending is a lil’ rough, but oh well. hope whoever requested this likes it. i kinda do even though it’s long and only slightly proofread.

“Owen Patrick Joyner! Get your ass into hair and makeup before - oh, um, okay oops. Sorry ‘bout that. Should have knocked. I’ll just - yep, i’ll just go.”

You thought he’d be sleeping. It’s nap time for him anyway, so he should’ve been sleeping. Instead, your technically boss and definite crush, was on his trailer couch with a girl you’ve never seen before. Kissing her. Without a shirt. Yeah, you definitely need to get out of there.

You’re quick to close his door and begin to walk back to the hair and makeup trailer to tell them Owen will be a minute.

“Y/N! Hey! Wait up! It’s um, it’s not, well it is, but -” He grabs your arm, causing you to turn around and face him, which, big mistake. Abort. Abort. Turn around. His post make out face is something you did not want to see. Liar.

“It’s fine Owen. What you do in your free time is not my, well, actually it is since i’m your PA, I just mean who - WHAT, what you do in your personal time, in your trailer, is not my concern. Just, you’re needed in hair and makeup like, an hour ago. So, yeah, just, get there.” You stumble over half your words and watch his face fall as you near the end of your spiel. When he lets go of your arm you’re quick to turn around and leave him alone, walking right past hair and makeup and to set where you can curl up in your chair and eat your weight in brownies, if Madi hasn’t taken them all that is. You hope he goes to get his hair done. You know you should walk with him there because if you’re not practically dragging him to where he needs to go he never gets there on time, as just witnessed. But it’s usually because he’s goofing off with Charlie, not sucking face with a random girl.

You don’t notice the brownie in your hand has crumbled until a whistle comes from behind you. You turn around a little too quickly, sending the brownie bits flying to the floor.

“Shit.” You kneel down to begin picking it up, another hand coming into help. Charlie, based on the rings adorning the fingers.

“Is Owen’s keeper okay?” You huff a laugh at the name the cast gave you a week into filming. You’re the only one who has managed to keep Owen in line since filming started, the only reason he’s ever on time for anything or actually has real food in the apartment or has his drumsticks when needed, etc. etc.

The boys didn’t want PA’s when Kenny proposed it during bootcamp, they were young adults, they didn't want to boss someone around, it felt wrong. But having more experience than the boys, Kenny vetoed how they felt and told them PA’s would help tremendously, especially on a project like this. That’s where you came in. You were trying to get into the directing and producing scene in Hollywood, you’re dream to be as good a director as Steven Spielberg or, well, Kenny Ortega. But you knew you had to start small, so you applied for a PA job on an upcoming Netflix show, getting hired within the week. Now here you are, a nineteen year old being in charge of another nineteen year old who acts more like he’s five.

In the beginning, it was purely professional. You were nothing more than his PA who got him from place A to place B in a timely fashion. But then he started to rope you into pranks with the rest of the band. He started inviting you to movie nights, and adventures to the grocery store, and ice skating with Charlie and Madi, and somewhere between helping him keep his life in order and watching him fall on his ass at the ice rink, you fell for the blonde. You know it’s a mistake, falling for him. You work for him. He’s your friend. That’s all he sees you as, but you couldn’t help it. But you’re good at compartmentalizing, so you took all the inappropriate feelings, shoved them in a box, locked the box, and hid it deep in your unconscious. You were doing well with ignoring the box, until you walked in on Owen kissing someone that wasn’t you.

“I’m fine Charlie, just, stressed. Owen was an hour late to hair and makeup so I kinda feel like a shit PA right now.” Charlie chuckles and hugs you as you both stand up.

“Please Y/N, you’re the best PA. If it weren’t for you, Owen would never know where anything is, including his head.” You laugh into his shoulder, reveling in the hug for a few more seconds. When you part, you see a flash of blonde enter the set and sigh in relief. He made it. He’s ready. You’re not fired today.

Just incredibly confused and upset.

But not fired.

“You better go, I know you’re in this scene with Owen.” Charlie nods and squeezes your shoulder once before running after Owen onto the set that holds Julie’s shed. Taking a deep breath, you try to push whatever the hell you saw ten minutes ago into your box, and get ready for the day ahead.

Four hours, six brownies, and two cookies later, Owen is officially wrapped for the day, meaning you can go home and continue to eat your feelings in ice cream. You’re quick to grab your binder full of Owen’s schedules to drop tomorrow’s off at his trailer before he sees you. You’re not really in the mood to talk to him about what happened earlier, so you fast walk to his trailer, fully intent on just leaving the paper on his counter where he’ll see it, but a brown haired, green eyed girl throws that plan right out the window.

You’re so stupid. You should’ve known she would still be here. Waiting.

“Oh, um, hi.” She says. She sounds nice. She looks nice. But when you look at her all you can see is her hands in Owen’s hair and his lips on hers.

“Hi.” You don’t know how, but you managed to put on a smile and put a little pep into your voice. “I’m Ashley. I’m waiting for Owen. Is he done?” You nod, not trusting your voice as you stand awkwardly in the doorway, one foot on the step the other in the trailer, hand outstretched ready to place the schedule on the table.

“He just wrapped for the day. Should be here in a few.” The girl - Ashley - nods.

“You’re Y/N, right? His personal assistant?” How does she know that. She giggles, “He talks about you all the time. Says the only reason he’s not fired or dead in a ditch is because of you.” OH, you said that aloud. Coolcoolcoolcoolcoolcoolcoolcoolcoolcoo-

“Y/N! What are ya doing just standing in the doorway?” Fuck. You put a smile on and turn around. He’s smiling softly at you, still in Alex’s clothes, twirling those damn drumsticks around his fingers.

“Um, just dropping tomorrow’s schedule off. Here. Okay...bye.” You walk down the steps, letting the door shut behind you, fully intent on leaving, but Owen grabs your arm again, just like earlier, causing you to stop and turn to look at him.

“Wait. Can we talk real quick. About...earlier?” No. No absolutely not.

“Um, I really have to go. I have a lot to do tonight for tomorrow.” Owen sighs and lets go of your arm, face contorting into that of a sad puppy.

“Just, one minute Y/N. Please. Let me explain.” Screw him and his perfect freaking face.

“A minute.” His face lights up and grabs your hand, leading you back into his trailer, smiling even wider at seeing Ashley sitting pretty on the couch.

“Y/N, this is Ashley, my girlfriend.” Ashley smiles and waves, standing up to stand by Owen and grab his hand. A rock settles in your chest at the word.

Girlfriend.

“Nice. I’m Y/N. But you knew that. Just like you also know I’m in charge of getting him to places on time. Which didn't happen today.” Owen’s face flushes at that while Ashley terribly hides a smirk behind her hand.

“Uh, yeah, sorry about that Y/N. She surprised me today. We weren’t supposed to see each other until Thanksgiving but she finished classes early and flew out to surprise me. Kinda got, caught up in -” His face is beat red so you’re quick to cut him off.

“It’s fine. Just, try not to get ‘caught up’ tomorrow, yeah?” It’s harsh and full of hostility, but you want to leave, the word still bouncing around in your head, swirling around the scene you walked into earlier.

Girlfriend.

Kissing.

Girlfriend.

Flushed face.

Girlfriend.

Kissing.

“I have to go. See you tomorrow on set at 5 Am. Got it? Five A M. Don’t make me break into your apartment again. I almost got arrested for that.” Owen is still reeling from your harsh words said a second ago to laugh at the memory. Ashley however, has no qualms about speaking up.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure he’s here on time.” She smiles and wraps around his arm like a koala. You hold back a scoff, throwing up a fake smile before turning and leaving.

Girlfriend.

It’s almost midnight.

It’s 11:48 PM and someone is knocking on your door.

Who the fuck is pounding on your door at near midnight.

You shuffle to the door wrapped up in your comforter, wiping the sleep out of your eyes. You don’t bother looking through the peephole, too angry at the person behind the door to bother, just wanting to yell at them and get back to bed.

“What the - Charlie?” He looks exhausted, hair ruffled and eyes puffy. He’s in joggers, a random band tee and his denim jacket. You’re pretty sure his shoes are on the wrong feet.

“Can I stay the night?” He doesn’t wait for your response before walking into your apartment, flinging his shoes and jacket off and walking to your room. You sigh, ignoring the way he just threw his stuff around and instead follow him to your room before he takes your side of the bed. You walk in just as he chucks his shirt off and woah. You were so not expecting that. An explanation as to why he’s here at midnight? Yeah. Him taking your side of the bed? Definitely. But not Charlie taking his shirt off and crawling onto the right side of the bed and curling around a pillow. You take a moment to collect yourself and your thoughts before crawling into bed next to him, making sure to drape the comforter over him as well. He hums in content and turns around to face you.

“Sorry for barging in like this. Just, ugh, Owen and that girl are not quiet if you catch my drift.” And it’s like the rock in your heart is now a boulder and it’s crushing your ribcage. You can’t breathe. You can’t think. You’re frozen, staring at Charlie’s half asleep face. “Like I get it, you’ve missed each other. But c’mon bro I’m there too.” He keeps talking. Keeps pushing the boulder until all the ribs crack and puncture your lungs. “There’s somethings in this world I never wanted to hear, and Owen moaning was one of them.” He won’t shut up. Charlie shut up. You’re entire chest is fracturing, breaking at his words and he needs to shut. up.

“I didn’t really know where else to go, but I remembered how comfy your bed was last movie night so, here I am.” His voice is raspy, words slurring as he’s trying to fight sleep to explain to you why he’s here. But you can’t focus on him right now. Can’t think about a shirtless Charlie in your bed. There’s only one thing you can think about right now.

Girlfriend.

Shirtless.

Girlfriend.

Kissing.

Girlfriend.

“Thanks for letting me crash by the way. I’ll try not to kick you in my sleep.” He chuckles, then finally opens his eyes when you don’t laugh back. You don’t know how you look right now. You know you’re frozen. But is the panic and pure sadness showing on your face? It must be, because suddenly Charlie is wide awake and leaning up on his elbow to look at you fully. “Y/N are you okay?” He’s worried. You want to tell him you’re okay. It’s fine. Everything is fine. But you can’t move. You can’t talk. Because reality is crushing you. It’s ripping up your heart, suffocating you, consuming your mind.

Owen isn’t yours.

Owen will never be yours.

You’re just a friend.

You’re just his PA.

That’s when the tears finally start. They come slowly, one trailing down your cheek, then another. Then all at once your sobbing into Charlie’s chest, no doubt getting snot all over him. But he doesn’t seem to care. He just starts to hum some random song while he repeatedly runs his hand over your hair, the other holding you close to him. He keeps humming, his chest vibrating and giving you something to focus on that isn’t your depressing thoughts. It’s almost soothing, the petting and the hug and the humming.

You don’t know how long you sob into him, but when you stop, his humming stops too. He still holds you close, just lets go of your head so you can lean back a little and look up at him. He’s brows furrow in concern and he pouts at your post-crying face.

“Are you okay? Am I really that bad of company?” He tries for funny but you can’t bring yourself to laugh with him. Just pout and push his semi-wet chest. “Seriously Y/N, i’ve never seen you like this. What’s wrong?” Those two words.

What’s wrong?

What’s wrong? I fell for my boss and now he’s doing it with some girl and I can’t stop thinking about them and it’s killing me because before I could live with being his friend and PA because at least there was some sliver of a chance but now there’s nothing because he has someone and I have no one and I can’t breathe because oh my god I love him. I love that stupid fool and i’m nothing but his personal assistant.

It’s quiet for a minute, too quiet, and that’s when you realize you said all that out loud. You look up at Charlie, which was a mistake because his face is full of pity. It’s all sad puppy eyes and “Shit Y/N i’m so sorry.” A fresh wave of tears make their way out of your eyes, but Charlie is quick to wipe them away.

“Y/N I didn’t know I’m so sorry. I wouldn’t have said all of that, God I was so stupid.” And then it’s like a whole new flood gate opens, this one full of laughter though. You start with a chuckle, but soon it’s full out belly laughing. Because Charlie isn’t the stupid one here. “I’m the stupid one. I mean, how idiotic does a PA have to be to fall for the one they’re in charge of? Never mix work with pleasure. It’s PA-ing 101, don’t fall for your boss. I’m so fucking stupid to ever fall for him or think he’d like me back because i’m just his stupid PA who has no talent what so ever, never has a good hair day, can’t go a day without eating their weight in sugar, and will never see him again after filming is wrapped.” Your laughing dies down by the end, and then ends completely when you see the look on Charlie’s face. It’s not exactly pity, but it’s not exactly sadness either. It’s hard to describe what exactly it is, but it’s not good.

“Y/N. Babes. I don’t ever want to hear you talk about yourself like that again, okay? I swear to God next time I hear anything like that come out of your mouth again, I’m hitting you with a pillow.” You giggle, but he stays serious. “Dead ass Y/N. Listen, was it probably not the smartest to fall for Owen? Yeah. But you didn’t know he had someone. I didn’t even know he had a girl and I’m his roommate. But, we can’t help who we like. It’s all brain chemistry and heart palpitations and whatever else. It’s something we can’t control. So don’t say you’re stupid because of something you can’t control.”

“You’re being really smart and caring for twelve am.” You both chuckle, a real smile gracing your face for once in the past twelve hours.

“I’m sorry for the breakdown it’s just, there’s a lot in my head right now and what you said really didn’t help.” Charlie sighs and pulls you in close.

“I’m sorry babes. You should’ve slapped me or something.”

“I probably would’ve had the breakdown at some point tonight anyway.” Charlie pulls back a bit to look at you, confusion on his face. “I kinda walked in on them making out earlier when Owen was late to hair and makeup.”

“Is that why you crushed that brownie earlier?” You sigh and nod.

“Y/N, i’m sorry. I’m so sorry you have to go through this.”

“It’s fine Charlie. It’s, well, it’s not but, I’ll get over it. I’m a big girl. Besides, I have you to get my tears and snot all over right?” He groans while you giggle, but he isn’t really mad if the way he pulls you close and rests his face in your hair is any indication.

“Always babes.”

The next day you drive to set with Charlie who didn’t have to be on set at five like Owen, but joined you nonetheless. Taking his duty as your new ‘heartguard’ as he called it last night, you walk to hair and makeup with his arm around your shoulders. It’s comforting, even though he’s putting most of his weight on you because he’s exhausted, the coffee you gave him this morning clearly doing nothing to wake up.

“Charlie, you could’ve stayed in bed until you were actually needed.” You laugh as he trips up the steps to the trailer, nearly face planting if it weren’t for you wrapping your arms around his waist last minute.

“Char you good?” You hear BooBoo ask. Charlie grumbles something incoherent and shoves his face into your neck as you lean against the arm of the couch. BooBoo laughs, so do you, but quickly sober up when Owen walks in, Ashley on his arm. Charlie must have ESP or something because, without looking up at who walked in, he wraps his arms around your waist and murmurs in your ear, “Deep breaths. I’m here.” You do as he says, shooting Owen a friendly smile, but dropping it as he frowns at you.

What is that about?

“Glad to see you on time Owen. I wouldn’t have been able to break in this morning anyway because an octopus decided to break into my own apartment last night.” You ruffle Charlie’s hair as you say that and he grumbles some more, playfully biting your neck as well. “Ow. Asshole.” Owen frowns even deeper at that, while BooBoo chuckles. He get’s scolded a second later for moving.

“So that’s where you disappeared to last night. I was wondering why you weren’t home this morning.” Owen’s voice is tight while he says it, Ashley noticing as well if the tightened grip on his arm is anything to go by. Charlie squeezes your waist as a way to say, ‘prepare yourself’ before he moves his head to lean against your shoulder so he can talk.

“Yeah well, I wouldn’t have had to if you and your girl weren’t so freaking loud.” You tense up, mind starting to reel again, but a squeeze to your waist and a warm breath on your neck manages to bring you back. The trailer goes quiet, even the hair and makeup ladies tensing up and sensing the tension. Charlie, ever the wrong place, wrong time type of guy, grabs your hand and places it on his hair, then moves it back and forth.

“Pet me.” Despite the tension in the room, you can’t help but giggle at the stupid Canadian boy wrapped around you. Apparently that’s all the rest of the people in the trailer needed to go back to what they were doing. That or they just didn’t want to get involved in young adult drama. You shoot a look at Owen, his jaw tense and hands clenched into fists. Completely ignoring the way Ashley leans up to kiss Owen’s neck, you open your phone and begin to read off his schedule for the day, your left hand still running through Charlie’s hair.

“Hair and makeup at five AM, sit your butt down and let Shelly do her thing, costume fitting right after. First scene at six-thirty with BooBoo, you guys are doing the scene at the Orpheum where you talk about what’s been going on, you’re going to be sad so this whole frowny face you got going on? Keep it. A break after that then rehearsal with Charlie, Jer, and Mads for Stand Tall. Fitting for the Stand Tall suit is after that, but no actual filming for that scene yet, just getting the measures right so after that, you’re done for the day.” You take a deep breath after all that, BooBoo whistling at you from his seat.

“You could be an auctioneer with how fast you talk.” You smile and bow your head at him.

“I’ll take that as a compliment Boo.” He shoots you a smile and then raises his hand to high five Owen as he sits next to him. Owen ignores him. In fact, he stays silent throughout all of getting his hair and makeup done. Only smiling occasionally when Ashley shows him a meme on her phone. You watch them, the boulder in your chest rolling around as you do so. But not for jealousy, no, for concern. Owen is acting very unlike himself. You may be upset right now, especially with him, but it doesn’t mean you still don’t see him as a friend; still don’t worry about him. Something is wrong, and you can’t help but feel like it’s your fault.

“So did it work?” You jump in surprise at the voice behind you, the cookie in your hand crumbling and falling onto the table.

“Charlie! What did I say about sneaking up on me?” You turn to look at the boy who is smiling too wide at you for you to think this is about to be a completely innocent conversation.

“Did it work?” He’s practically vibrating where he stands.

“Did what work?”

“The cuddling this morning? Didn’t you see Owen? He was totally jealous.” And - what? That’s why he was so touchy this morning?

“I just thought you were tired, that was - you were trying to make Owen jealous? Charlie what the hell? He has a girlfriend!” Charlie rolls his eyes and loops his arm around yours, dragging you away from the cookies and towards the costume room.

“Yeah, but we both know she shouldn’t be. And the way he was acting this morning? I think he’s starting to realize that too.” There’s no way...right? No, the way Charlie described last night...no.

“No, okay, he was probably just tired and angry about having to be here so early.” Yeah, that’s it. He was not jealous of the friendly cuddling you and Charlie were doing. Totally...not. Holy shit. You hear Charlie giggling in your ear as you enter costume.

There, in front of you, is a very shirtless, very toned, very pretty Owen Joyner.

“You’re welcome.” Then Charlie is off to God knows where. Leaving you alone with Owen. Well, not really alone since Soyon is here too, running around looking for different fabrics and textures to throw on Owen. A still very shirtless Owen.

“Oh, hi Y/N. What are you doing here?” Owen asks, looking at you though the floor length mirror in front of him. He’s not smiling at you, but he’s not frowning either, so improvement from this morning.

“Oh, um, just making sure you got here on time. And look at that. You did! Good job.” You clap, who knows why, but it makes Owen laugh, which, whew, okay.

“Yeah, I reminded him.” A voice behind you says. You turn and look at Ashley walking in, coffee cup in hand. She bounces up to Owen, ignoring Soyon and placing a big, wet kiss onto his lips before moving to the couch off to the side. Owen seems shocked by the PDA, which makes sense, you know he’s not big on that, remembering one late night conversation you both had a few weeks ago.

“Anyway, Y/N, how does this one looks. I think the ruffles are nice. And then when he’s performing Stand Tall we can,” and then she begins to unbutton the shirt all the way down to mid chest and okay, seriously Soyon, now you just want to torture me.

“I like this.” Owen says, twirling in the mirror like a ballerina. This causes the shirt to fling open more, showing his chest more in the process.

Deep breaths.

Be a friend.

You’re a big girl.

“Yeah. It’s good,” you say, walking over to him to tuck to the sides back together somewhat. “Are you going to keep with the pink theme for the jacket?” Soyon smiles and nods, walking away for a minute leaving you alone with Owen and Ashley.

“Should it really be unbuttoned that much? I mean, it is a kids show? I don’t want to share my boy with fangirls.” Ashley says. You can’t stop your eyes from rolling or the scoff that leaves your mouth. You watch Owen’s Adam's apple bob as he gulps.

“Please, Charlie is sleeveless for a majority of the show. Owen showing a little chest isn’t gonna hurt anyone. Besides, Soyon chose good. The way the shirt fits and settles it’s never going to open all the way. Unless, ya know, he twirls like some Carolynn Rowland wannabe.” You smile up at Owen and inhale sharply when you see he’s already looking down at you. “And with the jacket on it’ll stay put pretty well.” You’re still holding the shirt in your hands, looking at Owen’s face as you talk. For a second, it’s just you and him, looking at each other, smiling. Then Soyon comes back and clears her throat. The trance breaks and you back up. You wipe your sweaty hands on your jeans before backing up and standing next to the mirror. You feel eyes on you and look over to see Ashely glaring at you.

“Here we go. One pink jacket to match.” Owen slides it on and smiles wide. You have to say, it looks good. Professionally speaking of course.

“Soyon, have I ever said how freaking amazing you are. I mean, this is really good looking. Very Alex.” Owen praises. He’s smiling and it’s a nice sight after this mornings debacle.

“Alex is going to be the best looking one on that stage.” Owen looks over at you, his smile still there, and the boulder shrinks three sizes.

“Still think the shirt should be buttoned.” Ashley mutters. But everyone ignores her, even Owen, who does another twirl in front of the mirror.

“Well then, you’re all set Owen. Go ahead and change and I’ll see you tomorrow.” Soyon leaves, going off to do costume designer things, leaving you alone with Owen and Ashley again. Owen takes the jacket off, then looks around not knowing what to do with it. You sigh and smile softly, taking it from him.

“Here, just give me all the clothes and i’ll take them back to your rack.” He smiles thankfully at you, before frowning again and looking down at his outfit. Getting what he’s thinking, you chuckle and cross your arms. “Bub I just saw you shirtless it’s not a big deal. Now c’mon, give me the clothes before Soyon thinks you’re stealing them.” Owen looks up at you in a way you’ve never seen him look at you before. It makes you take a sharp breath in.

“Maybe you should go. I can give the clothes to Soyon. Don’t you have assistant duties to do?” Ashley is right next to you as she says it. It makes your ears hurt and hands clench. You’re quick to unclench though, not wanting to wrinkle the nice pink jacket. Ashley moves forward to unbutton Owen’s shirt all the way, but he grabs her hand before she can begin.

“Actually I need Y/N to stay. I have to talk to her about some, ya know, assistant stuff. And besides, she knows where Alex’s rack is and that’s where the clothes have to go. Why don’t you go wait for me in the trailer, I’ll be there in a few.”

I need Y/N to stay.

That shouldn’t make you feel as warm and tingly as it does.

Ashley scoffs and looks away, clearly trying to guilt trip him. Owen sighs and kisses her cheek.

“Trailer. Ten minutes.” Ashley sighs before nodding and finally leaving. He watches her go, then turns back to you when she finally disappears. You clear your throat and he looks back at you, face a bit red.

“Um, hey.” You chuckle.

“Hi.” He nods, and you sigh, walking so you’re right in front of him. “Seriously, O, you need to get this off because if they’re not on the rack for Soyon to fix up by the end of the day it’s my head on a stick, not yours.” Then you’re unbuttoning his shirt.

You’re unbuttoning. His shirt. You don’t realize you’re doing it until you hand grazes his navel when you untuck it from his pants. You hear him suck in a breath and you immediately take two steps back.

“Sorry, um. Sorry that was not, um, -”

“It’s okay. You were just, doing your job. Making sure I get stuff done on time, right?” But his voice is wobbly as he says it and his face is as red as a tomato. You couldn’t have made him that flushed, not you?

“Right. Yeah. Um, so, pants?” Owen looks at you with wide eyes. “I need to take the pants back too.” It’s quiet, but you know he heard you because he nods his head and begins to unbutton them. You suddenly feel very hot, very suffocated. You should’ve left when you had the chance, just let Ashley do this. You shouldn’t be here, watching as he pulls the velvet pants down his legs. Watching as he steps out of them and - oh God he’s falling. You grab his hand to help him but it’s too late, you both tumble to the ground. You’re on top of him, smushed up against his bare chest, faces centimeters apart, sharing breaths.

“Sorry.” You mumble. You watch him gulp and look down. Down at wha - oh.

“It’s, it’s okay. I’m the one that fell and pulled you down.” You nod, causing your nose to brush against his. You’re close, so freaking close that if you were to move not even a full centimeter, your lips would touch.

So.

Close.

“What. The. Hell!” SHit. Fuck. Shit. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

You’re quick to scramble away from Owen, butt scooting across the floor to get as far away from him as possible. Owen jumps up, kicking the pants away then realizing that was probably not a smart idea because now he’s half naked in between Ashley and you.

“Ash I -”

“You were taking forever, wanted to know why. Thought you said there was nothing between you two?” She’s practically screeching. You know within minutes there will be a crowd. A crowd Owen will not want, his anxiety will not want. Ignoring his stuttering and the conversation in general, you push away the heat in your belly and the tingling in your spine and take a deep breath.

Deep breath.

Be a friend. Do your job.

You grab Owen’s clothes and put them in his hands, ignoring his speaking and Ashley ranting, you grab his hand and then hers, and shove them towards the back exit.

“This is a trailer conversation, not a wardrobe fitting conversation. Leave, now.”

“No, I have a lot to say -”

“Listen to me, I’m trying to do my job and not get Owen in trouble. If you really care about him, you’ll take this conversation to his trailer. Now.” Then you shove them out the door before Ashley could screech some more.

Deep breath.

Do your job.

You go back to the fitting area, only to see Charlie, Jer, and Madi standing there, looking confused.

Deep breath.

Do your job.

“Hey guys. Owen just left. He and Ashley are having a date night.” Charlie gives you a look, but Jer and Madi nod, going to accept it, but Charlie has to open his big dumb Canadian mouth.

“Why’d we hear screaming then?” Charlie questions. Jer and Madi look at each other, then back at you.

“Oh, uh, mouse. I saw a mouse. Yep. Mouse. Anyway, I have to get this clothes hung up before they wrinkle, so excuse me.”

Deep breath.

Do your job.

You walk around the trio, gathering the suit and shaking everything out as you walk over to the Alex rack to hang them up. You hear the door to the room open and two sets of feet walking out.

“Charlie, everything is fine okay? Just a little misunderstanding.”

“Like?” You sigh and turn around from finishing hanging up the clothes.

“Like...Owen kinda fell and when I went to help him I feel too...on top of him.” There’s silence then,

“OH MY GOD! Y/N THAT’S LIKE FANFIC SHIT THAT WAS THE MOMENT! DID YOU KISS OH MY GOD TELL ME EVERYTHING!” He’s jumping up and down as he makes his way to you.

“Ashley walked in.” All excitement stops.

“Oh shit.” You nod, walking past him to settle on the couch, pulling a pillow to your chest.

“Yeah. And she started screeching and I knew Owen wouldn’t like to attention so I shoved them out the back door to his trailer.” Charlie’s arm goes around you, pulling you close. He goes to say something, but your phone ringing indicating a text from Owen stops him. You pull it out, opening it as Charlie watches over your shoulder.

My trailer plz.

Charlie starts shaking your shoulders, smiling like a maniac. “This is your chance Y/N go go GO!” you shake your head at Charlie’s antics, but leave nonetheless.

Anxiety creeps up on you as you get closer and closer to his trailers, not knowing what you’re going to walk into. Him firing you? Saying you can’t be friends anymore? Ashley ready to claw your face off?

Deep breath.

Be a friend.

You knock on his door. It opens a second later to a frantic looking Owen. Now you're anxious about him. Why does he look upset? Is he okay? He grabs your hand and pulls you into his, oh, empty trailer. Ashley is nowhere to be seen.

“Hey, thanks for coming.” You nod, still looking around expecting her to jump out and slap you. “Um, sit. Sit, I have to talk to you about something.” You go to sit on the couch, but then remember what occurred there yesterday and instead lean against the counter. He notices but doesn’t say anything.

“Yeah okay. What’s up?” You try to act nonchalant, but the anxiety is too high for that. ‘I have to talk to you about something’ never ends well. He walks over and sits on the bed pats the spot next to him. God, this can’t be a good conversation if he really wants you to sit.

“Ashley and I were never...on here.” He mumbles. You walk over and sit next to him, blushing that he caught on to why you didn’t sit on the couch.

“Must be serious if you need me to sit.” Owen takes a deep breath, another, another, and then there’s lips on your. They’re soft and nice and taste like carmex chapstick.

“Mhm, Owen, what, what are you doing?” Your faces are still close together, both of you not wanting to back away yet.

“I’m gonna talk. Okay I’m gonna talk and I want you to listen and not crawl inside your head too soon okay?” You nod, knowing in this moment you’d do anything to keep him this close.

“I knew Ashley from high school. She started texting me a few weeks back and one thing led to another and she was calling me her boyfriend. I didn’t want it but it happened and I let it because it got my mind off a girl I shouldn’t like because it would ruin so many things. I didn’t know she was coming to visit and when she knocked on my trailer she jumped me and just kept going. And I just went along with everything yesterday because I’m supposed to be her boyfriend and I’m supposed to think about those things with her and I’m supposed to want those things with her, but I don’t Y/N. I don’t want those things with her I never did. I, I want them with you. I’ve wanted them with you from the moment you finally stopped being shy around me and dragged me from crafts by my ear to hair and makeup. You’re so amazing Y/N and I thought if I did anything I’d ruin this and ruin your career and I didn’t want that. I never wanted that so I went along with Ashley but I shouldn’t have because the whole time I was thinking about you. It’s always been -” You kiss him. You grab him by the cheeks and kiss him. It’s a passionate kiss, an ‘about time’ kiss, an ‘i’m never letting you go’ kiss.

You only break away when you can’t breathe, and even then you only pull away enough to breath in each other’s air.

“She left. She’s gone. She knew I was never 100% in.” You nod, but you’re not really listening. You can’t hear anything other than your heartbeat.

He likes you.

Owen likes you.

Owen kissed you.

“It’s always been you, Y/N.” You smile. It’s a big one that you have to hamper down by biting your lip. Owen smiles back, then you’re kissing again.

And again.

#owen joyner #owen patrick joyner #owen joyner imagine #owen joyner fanfiction #owen joyner x reader #owen joyner x y/n #owen joyner fluff #owen joyner angst #owen patrick joyner imagine #owen patrick joyner x reader #jatp #julie and the phantoms #charlie gillespie #madison reyes #jeremy shada

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bitter-sweet-coffee · 3 years ago

Text

okay everyone! i forgot to do the drabbles i had planned for the christmas-new year's eve deadweek, so i'm speedwriting and posting them now even though i didn't proofread, cut half of them, and it's already 2022 for me. i'm using timezones to justify this though, so sorry for mistakes or overall poor quality.

there are lots of ships/combos so check the tags, and read the ones you want 😎 ily all, you deserve better but thank you for being so wonderful ❤️❤️❤️

also, some motifs echo and lines are reused, so if you read them all it's supposed to sound like an echo! a lil artsy thing for y'all 🥵

Espighty, Pre Chaotix-Split

The two watched the last-minute shoppers frantically sprint through the drowsy city, like speckled ants on lightly powdered roads.

“Do you think he’ll notice?” Espio asked warily, the clinking of their glass bottles functioning as makeshift bells. The armadillo shook his head with an amused smile, shoulder brushing his friend's as he reached forward to rest his chin on his knees; “Vector hardly remembers his name these days because of Charmy and Ray, a couple beers won’t be missed.”

Mighty was radiating with warmth, and the chameleon was still flushed from the minimal contact they had just made, unable to blame it on the alcohol since they hadn’t even tried the stolen drinks yet.

“Should we have brought one of those uh, opener things?”

“Did you forget who you’re with?”

Snickering as the armadillo popped the stubborn caps off, Espio used his hoodie sleeve to wipe the excess foam off Mighty’s hands, which earned him a curious look.

Teal met gold, they saw red.

“Your gloves will get sticky,” he explained, but the words didn’t reach either of their ears, and neither are sure that Espio had ever actually said anything.

After clinking their bottles once more, intentionally this time, the two took a swig from their forbidden beverages…

They instantly spit them out.

“It was the bubbles,” Mighty said quickly through coughs, and the chameleon nodded in agreement, both adolescent mobians bonding over this mutual understanding.

Beer tasted like shit.

They were too proud to put them down though, and performing for one another was a comfortable routine, oblivious to the scenes and stories below them.

Team Chaotix, Post Chaotic-Split

“Do you still miss him?” Charmy asked, ignoring the stern look Vector was giving him from behind the couch.

The chameleon shrugged, avoiding eye contact; “Do you still miss Ray?”

Neither questions were answered.

“Well, at least Vector doesn’t have to buy us as many presents, right? Oh, and we don’t need to take turns when we play Street Fighter on New Year’s!” the bee reasoned, unaware that his remote had never been plugged in.

Espio snorted, and looked back at the crocodile who was holding back a smirk.

“Yeah, we’ll make do this year.”

Mightourge, Post Chaotix-Split

“Do you still miss him?” Scourge asked, kicking some broken glass into an alley as they wandered the barren streets– there was no snow in this city.

The armadillo shook his head, shoving his boyfriend with his shoulder, fingers laced; “I miss all of them, but you don’t have to worry about anything if that’s where your mind is, I swear.” Mighty’s words were clear and honest, but the hedgehog found himself smiling in disbelief, trying to mask his grimace.

“Scourge,” the armadillo called, the sweet but dry tone of his voice making the other’s cool exterior crack, his mirage of aloofness failing.

Mighty giggled at the hedgehog’s rosy contorted face and inhaled sharply before placing a peck on his cheek. He instantly looked down to fixate on their matching boots, still bashful with their open affection. This was new.

“You can’t just do that,” Scourge blurted out, shoving his face in his arm, muffling both his flusteredness and nervous laughter. The armadillo looked back up, no longer intimidated by his boyfriend’s reaction, taking pleasure in the power he had over the edgy musician.

“It’s Christmas, we’re a walking mistletoe Scourge. I’m going to kiss you until you realise I’m not going anywhere.”

The hedgehog hummed and pulled Mighty a bit closer, some newfound confidence added to his step. “Good,” he replied loudly, startling the other mobian.

“That’s just more motivation for me to doubt you now.”

Sonic & Infinite, During Forces

“Happy New Year,” the jackal drawled, picking debris from underneath his exposed claws.

Sonic had requested to know the day, at the very least, and the hedgehog’s loss of temporal perception was only entertaining to a certain extent.

“What reason do I have to believe you?”

Infinite didn’t answer, because he didn’t have any responses that held merit.

Sighing, the blue hero laughed quietly, sliding down the wall of his cell to sit in the corner, joints numb and unfeeling. The other villains were familiar at least; Zavok was probably his favourite as the most chatty adversary, and Shadow was his least favourite: Eggman had definitely done something to his memory again.

This new foe, the masked one, could be entertaining if Sonic was lucky. Some days he’d talk, others he’d merely laugh at whatever universe the hedgehog was thrown into, and the vertigo that followed.

“Y’know, I don’t think anyone would be able to kiss you with that hideous mask on, next year you should try going without it to see if you get lucky,” Sonic teased, eyes lowered to avoid catching a glimpse of his reflection in the silver lining of the villain, who was now on his side of the bars.

Infinite didn’t respond, his elegant stature towering over the seated hedgehog, tail swishing almost nervously as he watched the broken mobian's attempts at breaking through the fog.

“I don’t need luck, I’ve already won,” he finally said, each word chosen carefully after timeless premeditation.

Sonic sensed there was something embedded in the jackal’s words, but he couldn't make himself care enough to look for it.

He loved adventures, but running while imprisoned would be an introspective journey, and Infinite’s mirrors were better than him at deflection.

They stayed there, unmoving, as change leaves room for perception, and neither mobian wanted to be known by the other, or reminded of themselves.

Knouge, During Forces

“You're not supposed to be here,” Rouge commented, hiding the smile on her face when she saw the red echidna approach the base cautiously.

Hearing her voice, he deadpanned to avoid laughing; “Okay, then why’d I get a message that read, and I quote, ‘Meet me outside the shuttle base at 11:50’ with your signature attached?”

The spy huffed and pulled Knuckles towards her and into the nearby foliage, which made him sputter nonsense until he noticed the security camera they were now tucked away from. “At least you're strong,” she mumbled coyly, refusing to pull away from the echidna even though he was already in the blindspot.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Knuckles snarled, but the grin plastered on his face made it obvious the anger wasn’t genuine. Normally he’d shy away from the bat’s physical teasing, but he hadn’t seen Rouge in months, so the semi-embrace was uncharacteristically desired.

“You weren’t followed, right?” he asked quietly, on a more serious note. Unlike the Resistance which was disheveled and dull, Rouge had maintained her composure and charm; she smelt like licorice, leather, and cigarettes. Even if she didn’t have the benefit of being a double agent posing on the side of the Eggman Empire, the echidna knew that Rouge wouldn’t sacrifice her image, and her consistency was comforting.

The bat pulled away to look at Knuckles with a judgemental smirk, “Should I be offended that you don’t trust me to keep my cover? Knux, this is my job whether there’s a war or not.”

He looked away to minimize the damage of their conversation, knowing that if his rose-tinted face was visible to the bat, he’d only dig himself a deeper grave.

“I know, but I can still be concerned,” he admitted.

“So you care about me?”

“Shut up.”

“Do I take that as a yes?”

“If you know me so well, then you don’t need to ask that.”

Rouge turned the echidna’s face to meet her eyes, but the time on her watch caught her attention in the process, pulling her mind away from the conversation.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s 11:58, not that I’m big on New Year’s celebrations or anything,” Rouge mumbled, looking down and pulling away from the other mobian.

Knuckles frowned and tried to move back into her line of sight, but the bat was shaking her head and smiling, deflecting. “What, is there something people are supposed to do at midnight?”

The spy huffed, crossing her arms; “It’s stupid. Nevermind, you should probably get back to the base, you’ve got to set an example for everyone else or Amy will take over,” she taunted, but Knuckles wasn’t taking the bait.

“I’m not leaving until you tell me, Rouge.” he said calmly, which definitely hit a nerve.

Glaring at the echidna’s shoes, she elaborated; “You’re supposed to kiss someone, apparently. I wouldn’t know, but neither would you, so I guess we’re even,” the spy concluded abruptly before turning to leave.

Knuckles grabbed her arm before she could fly off like she always did when hinting at vulnerability, and pulled Rouge into a proper hug this time.

“Happy New Year, probably. I can’t see your watch, but I’m guessing two minutes have passed,” he mumbled into her shoulder, relaxing when Rouge’s wings folded back down.

She let out a singular laugh that was muffled into Knuckles’ locs, refusing to move lest she revealed her glassy expression— it would shatter if they made eye contact again that night.

“It’s still 11:58 actually,” Rouge admitted. He only let go at 12:03.

Espave, Post Forces

The two watched the last-minute shoppers frantically sprint through the drowsy city, like speckled ants on lightly powdered roads.

“Do you think they’ll notice?” Espio asked warily, the clinking of their glass bottles functioning as makeshift bells. The swallow snorted and laughed, crossing her arms and elbowing the other mobian by accident in the process.

Wave quickly apologized with a laugh before elaborating; “When have they ever noticed us missing? Worse case scenario, they’ll notice I’m not there rambling and celebrate,” she joked, but there was a subtle twinge of sorrow inside the depiction of neglect.

“What about me?” Espio asked, glancing up with his kunai wedged under their bottle caps.

The swallow snatched her beer back and smashed the top of it on the rain gutter next to her, “Do you even need to ask that?”

Her recklessness was amusing and enticing, the detective couldn’t ignore the thief’s appeal. She’d steal his time and composure in exchange for being noticed, which made her worth observing in the first place.

“Wave, I don’t even like beer,” he explained, but the two mobians were already holding back giggles as they stumbled along the rooftop to watch the sunrise from the other end of the building.

“When’s the last time you had one?”

He didn’t want to think too hard about it.

Espio didn’t actually mind the taste, it was better than letting history rhyme again. He liked structure in his life, but not his poetry, because confining art to a formulaic pattern felt like a self-damning time loop.

Wave saw the distance in the other mobian’s eyes, and drank with him even though it wouldn’t make her forget the nauseating and nostalgic sense of abandonment that distance always left her with.

“Have you changed your mind?”

“No,” the chameleon coughed, but he was smiling.

They didn’t love love, but it loved them back out of spite, which is the only way to speak to the abandoned.

Infinadow, ??? Years after Forces

The clinking of their inhibitor rings functioned as makeshift bells that echoed across the frozen lake. Finn winced at the noise, but the lifeform was oblivious to the contact.

“Are you high?” he asked, but Shadow didn’t respond. Sighing, he stuck his snout in the hedgehog’s neck, both mobians immune to the cold but drawn to warmth regardless.

Amused by the jackal’s pouting, Shadow brushed his thumb along the snowy hairline, snorting when Finn’s ear twitched from the sensation. “Would you be mad if I was?” he asked quietly, lip twitching from repressed laughter when met with a heterochromatic glare.

He didn’t need to hear an answer.

“Well then, you’ll be pleased to know that I’m just content right now, without any substances,” Shadow confirmed, which earned him a look of disbelief.

Finn pulled away and rubbed his face, irritated from the ticklish sensation; “I call bullshit, what’s there to be happy about?” he inquired, crossing his arms.

“I realized that by going from Infinite to Finn, you’re finite, as in limited, which aligns with the inhibitors.” the hedgehog began to explain, which was met with a mouthful of hair to the face as the jackal dramatically pivoted away from Shadow.

Frowning, the hedgehog spun Finn back around, trying not to laugh lest they get distracted; “I wasn’t done yet! It’s not a weak joke, I swear,” he assured. The jackal didn’t believe Shadow for a second, but nodded as if to say “go on.”

Continuing, the hedgehog got up and began pacing as he elaborated; “Anyways, you claimed to be born in pain and darkness, but Finn means light or fair, which is also the opposite of unfair, which was your life as Infinite. So you went from unfairly treated and born in darkness, to light, or enlightened, as in expanded or built up, and treated properly.”

Finn was admittedly not listening and more focussed on Shadow’s expressions as he rambled, tilting his head curiously as they got further and further away from sensible conversation.

“Is that all?”

“No, not yet. So, my name is Shadow, right? As in, a lack thereof or an absence, a reflection that has no matter or light… something that is not enlightened, a reflection that has no purpose or prospect, which is why I always felt so insignificant,” the hedgehog continued, unaware that his air shoes had begun to activate, which wasn’t desirable since they were standing on ice.

Finn didn’t point out the hazard and instead opted to encourage this meaningless analysis; “So are you saying that my self improvement gave you a reason to live… based on our names?”

The hedgehog shook his head, “Yes, but actually no. Light destroys shadows, it gets rid of them completely because it is something instead of a lack of something. Infinity can’t be defined, it's a concept that cannot be perceived or exist on a comprehensible level, so it's nothing too. Finite things have purpose because they can exist, Finn. You can actually exist, you do exist, and so do I. Even though I was created as Project Shadow, you don’t see me as a project, do you? You destroyed me, but in a good way, I’m not just an anti-material reflection now, by enlightening me you’ve given me a purpose outside of Project Shadow, what I was designed for. We broke design, we’re unified, we’re—”

The ice broke.

Laughing to hide his concern, Finn pulled the hedgehog out from the freezing water by his quills and back onto the safe part of the lake, using his body as a blanket to dry Shadow off.

The lifeform’s coughing eventually ceased, but the rawness of his throat rendered him silent for the time being, and Finn begrudgingly teleported them to the ARK.

“You’re high, aren't you?”

Shadow wiggled out from under the jackal's hair to hold his face, chuckling when Finn cringed from the icy contact; “Maybe, yes. But I meant what I was saying, I was just trying to bullshit some sort of linguistic way to say I love you.”

The bluntness, no matter how many times he was on the receiving end of it, always stunned Finn. They were both frozen now.

“You’re a pretentious bastard,” he finally grumbled, flopping back down on Shadow and adding some extra force to make it hurt.

It didn't hurt the hedgehog, because all he heard was “I love you too.”

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