#i want him to play for me and only for me w his acoustic guitar

[1980ssunflower]

Ive been stuck in my current ryan obsessed phase for too long at this point

[heartsforvin]

GUITAR SONGS

FOR @lowkeycasanova since you had mentioned somethin about wanting someone to write this out (gif above) !!

pairing; vinnie hacker x fem!reader

warnings; lots of fluff, vinnie being absolutely in love w you, use of pet names (baby, princess, etc)

summary; you catch vinnie outside writing a song for you

vinnie had always loved playing guitar, even if it was still the practice phase. he never really played in front of you, too nervous, thinking he wasn’t that good.

you thought he was really good, however. you especially loved when he played his acoustic guitar, since he had played his bass many times and it was rare he played on his acoustic.

every time you’d walk into a room and he was playing the guitar, you’d smile, loving the sight you see.

that was the sight you saw tonight as you walked out to the backyard. you stood in the doorway, looking in front of you, adoring every moment of it.

there he was, sitting in a chair with his guitar in his lap, a toothpick in his mouth as he strummed his guitar.

he was so in focus, so tuned into playing the chords. you smiled at the sight, taking in how pretty your boyfriend looked.

no words were being said, at least not for a few minutes. that was until you heard his once raspy, deep voice was now soft and calm.

lyrics start flowing out of him as if this wasn’t an original song before. he sounded so pretty.

you wanted to go up to him, to stand behind the chair he sat in and wrap your arms around him from behind. to crouch down and kiss his neck, whispering about how pretty he sounds singing, how much you love him.

you stop yourself, but only for a few minutes. you take in the view in front of you as so many thoughts travel through your head.

thoughts of him in that exact spot, but your kids are paired with him. or him singing quietly to get your kids to sleep.

you had known for awhile vinnie was the man you wanted to marry and have kids with, but this moment just proved it more.

“you sound beautiful, baby.” you finally get the courage to walk up to your boyfriend and compliment him.

vinnie sets the guitar down, patting his lap for you to come sit. you do, wrapping your arms around his neck while his hands go to your waist.

he kisses you softly, pressing your foreheads together after. smiling at you, he can’t help but feel an immense amount of love for you.

“how long were you standing there?” he asks, pulling away from you but to only tuck a strand of hair behind your ear.

you take a minute to reply, just loving the feeling of being in his arms. you grab his hand, playing with the bracelet that’s on his wrist.

vinnie smiled at you, he isn’t even upset that you haven’t even answered his question yet, he just loves having you near him.

“about ten minutes or so,” you reply, twisting the bracelet on your boyfriends wrist. “had me thinkin’”

grabbing both your hands, he squeezes them, giving you a cheeky grin. “about what?” he asks.

you blush, although you knew if you had told him you were thinking of something, he definitely would’ve asking you.

you grab vinnie’s fingers and start playing with them, a habit you had picked up since you two started dating.

“thinking about you in this exact spot, maybe a few years from now, with our kids. or you singing to our kids, trying to help them sleep.” you explain, making vinnie smile.

he kisses your cheek, stroking it ever so gently after. “that’s so cute,” he tells you. “i can’t wait until that day, you’re gonna be the best mom ever.”

you give the boy a wide smile, cheeks practically hurting from smiling. “you’re gonna be the best dad ever, vin. you already are with hera.”

kissing you softly, the boy smiles. you get off his lap, standing next to him while you hold his hand.

“play the song again,” you tell him, before adding. “please.”

vinnie smiles and lets go of your hand, picking up the guitar again. the same sight is in front of you just how it was when you first came outside.

he plays a different song this time, one you’ve never heard before. you sit on the chair next to him, focusing your attention solely on him.

strumming the chords, vinnie starts singing once again like he was when you were first outside.

you are absolutely mesmerized, in awe of how angelic his voice is.

you love his voice. you’ve heard him sing in videos, ones from a few years ago, and he sounded just as angelic as he does right now.

the song ended minutes later, vinnie had put his guitar down and pulled you on to his lap.

he kisses you passionately, stroking your cheek gently afterwords.

vinnie takes a moment to admire you, wondering how he got so lucky to get you in his life.

sometimes he can’t even believe it.

“i love you, my pretty girl.” he says, making you smile.

you love him so much, you can’t believe he’s yours, that he’s in your life.

“i love you so much, vin. you and your silly, but incredibly beautiful guitar songs.” you reply, kissing his cheek.

he takes a moment and then finally speaks. “those silly yet beautiful guitar songs are about you. for you.” he tells you.

you can’t help but smile widely. “i’m so in love with you, vin.” you respond, hugging him.

he hugs you back tightly, kissing your head. “i’m so in love with you too, princess. more than ever.”

the two of you sit in silence, just taking each other’s presence in all before vinnie grabs you by the thighs and picks you up.

with a yelp, you laugh as vinnie starts running towards the back door, quickly slipping inside and running up to his room.

vinnie throws you on to the bed and tackles you in tickles, making you laugh uncontrollably.

these are the moments you love so much. the silly tickle fights with your boyfriend, being in each others arms for hours.

he finally stops and the two of you are cuddled up together on his bed. your head on his chest as his arm is around you.

“i love you vinnie. i know i say it a lot, but i really mean it. thank you for writing those for me.” you tell him.

vinnie kisses the top of your head, squeezing you tightly. “of course, baby. i’m so glad you finally got to hear them.” he responds.

the two of you sit there for awhile until you ask vinnie to play the songs again. then, the two of you sit outside for hours, enjoying the calm breeze and soothing music vinnie plays.

hiii i hope you all enjoyed !! this is just a lil somethin i came up w , plus i’m missing pretty boy vin a lot and needed some cheesy ass fluff ,, ANYWAYS , love y’all !! <33

taglist: @slvthrs , @bernelflo , @cosmicanakin , @forevergirlposts , @leqonsluv3r

[irishmammonagenda]

Hello! I hope your requests are open 🧚‍♀️

Can i ask, what brothers' reaction would be on MC who sings something like MSI (you know smth like "son of a bitch! God's like me!") or just alternative rock/punk in general?

Answer only if you're okay with that❤️

Have a great day🏃‍♂️

hihi‼️(i love the amount of emojis u use i can feel ur personality through the screen teehee)

i absoluetley can‼️‼️ also tysm for the new music to listen to (im kind of new to alt rock and punk i only really used to listen to MCR lmao😭)

anyway this was fun to write

grma for the ask <3

Obey Me Brothers React to MC Being a Wee Emo.

DISCLAIMER: emo is used as a word because where im from emo is used to describe nearly any type of alternative fashion bc we're all dumb over here app, also im 2% sure pop punk/poprock is emo music bc i think thats what mcr is, so we're going w/ it ig, the only thing ik abt music is that bars 13-20 in the dambusters themetune has fanfare so if i get any terms wrong lmk 😔✊

WARNINGS: There's a slight slight hint of drinks being spiked in Beel's one. nothing ever happens its just him keeping an eye on your drink at a concert just in case.

LUCIFER

He hears music blasting in the music room in the House of Lamentation.

At first he just sighs, it sounds like the type of music Belphie would listen to when trying to plan out another Anti-Lucifer League. The teenage angst probably helped fuel the seventh born’s desire and motivation to prank him.

He sneaks into the Music room. Technically he just walked in quietly, but you still jumped when you saw him.

"L-Lucifer!! Hiya!!" You say awkwardly, not looking the first born in they eyes. "What's up?" He blinks slowly at you, fighting the urge to place a gloved hand on the bridge of his nose and pinch it in disappointment (and/or second hand embarrassment) "I'm not going to say anything. Just keep it down, MC." He sighs, normally he'd have lectured you. But it reminded him too much of a wolf-cut, guyliner filled past that for the sake of his pride, he did not want to remember.

He wasn't a stranger to musical genres, the man collects records for fuck's sake.

The drums and guitars he can normally get behind. Especially with catchy rhythms.

The lyrics?....they're normally a hit or miss. It really depends on the song.

'God likes me' (MSI) 'Hail Mary, Forgive Me' (PTV) Religious references just kind of ruin some songs for him.

Lucifer spends his time collecting cursed records, but your music taste is a special kind of cursed MC.

Although, he is strangely supportive in his own way.

"MC, Lord Diavolo has gifted me some tickets to concert [small devildom band] is putting on, I thought you would enjoy it."

(Lucifer bought the tickets himself.)

MAMMON

Haha, Emo!

"Yer a wee emo so ye are, MC"

It's not exactly his style of music (the man listens to Kneecap ffs)

BUT!!! He wants to share things with you dammit! Let him listen to your stupid emo music with you!!! He's your first man!!!

He does, however learn how to play guitar so he can play some simple chords while you sing horrible improvised lyrics with horrible improvised chords.

You don't have the heart to tell him that acoustic guitars aren't normally used in Punk/Rock music.

The sound of horribly improvised chord progressions ring out in your bedroom as you and your first man stand back to back, horrible matching messy eyeliner on both of yours and Mammon's eyes as you hold a hairbrush to your mouth and improvise lyrics. That is, if you can even get them out of your mouth before laughing. "Blood in my body! Because I'm aliveeee!!!" You sing off key while Mammon strums the guitar. "Love in my Bugatti! Because The Great Mammon can drive!" You laugh. Mammon whistles while missing out on the fingering of a chord and then pretending it didn't happen.

LEVIATHAN

The first thought in this man's mind is karaoke.

He sends you a playlist of Rocky kinda anime openings that you should totally listen to.

He's the least shocked and weirded out, (not that the others are weirded out)

He really likes your singing voice. It doesn't matter if you're a horrible singer, its you so it makes him happy.

You guys could do a duet? If it wasn't too much for you to sing with a stinky smelly otaku like him :(

"Levi-" You sigh, looking at the Levi shaped lump of seaweed in his aquiriam, the demon's tail twitches through the pile of aquatic plant, showing that he's listening. "Levi... Of course I'd love to do Karaoke with you...You didn't give me a chance to answer before jumping into the tank! C'mon!" It takes Levi a few more minutes before he feels ready to leave his seaweed pile, his face is completely red, but there's a small smile on his face as you set up the karaoke machine.

SATAN

Satan enjoys your music taste.

He likes most if not all human world music because music is so important to culture and he loves learning about human world culture.

What he doesn't like however, is people dropping his name in lyrics for edginess smh.

No MC, no one in Je T'aime is his bitch. Please stop asking.

He also takes you to gigs! Because why not!

The blond haired demon sat in the bar, earning a few looks from the people surrounding them. He stuck out like a sore thumb in his jumper and jeans and the book in his hands in comparision to black denim and leather, chains and sub-cultural clothes that everyone else was wearing. Satan payed it no mind as you came back with the drinks, all decked out in clothing matching the rest of the people in the venue in style. "Hope you weren't waiting long....the lines were long!" Satan takes a drink from your hand and sips it, giving a soft smile, "Not at all."

ASMODEUS

The music is a hit and miss tbh, he prefers the more pop punk kind of thing, leaning more into pop than anything else.

He likes paramore though!

Loves the clothes associated with the genres and subcultures of the music! Adopts some of it into his own style!

(He alters it heavily, but some designs are inspired by the subcultures)

He could be your adorable gorgeous boyfriend and you could be the wee emo gremlin partner!

The opposites attract will look so cute on his Devilgram.

But he geniunely supports you and your interests, he designs and makes clothes for you in the style associated with your music taste.

He even makes you merch of your favourite bands and albums inspired into clothes.

He also does your makeup before you go out to concerts or gigs

Your his emo after all.

You squirm as Asmo runs his fingers along your flushed skin, he laughs as you jerk away. "It's just a brush, it wont hurt you darling!" He laughs, putting more black eyeshadow onto the makeup brush and applying it---or atleast trying to---to your eyelids, biting back teasing comments as you jerk away. You were ticklish god dammit! It wasn't like you were meaning to! It was a natural reflex!

BEELZEBUB

He likes it.

but not because he enjoys the music persay. Don't get him wrong he can listen to it and enjoy it but he wouldn't normally seek it out.

He likes it because you and Belphie like it, and the style reminds him of the both of you.

In terms of rock music he likes the more slow ballady types. Belphie normally listens to them when he has trouble falling asleep.

Very supportive.

If you're ever in the Mosh Pit in a concert, Beel will go with you, you're just so tiny and people can push you about! (You're tiny to him. So yes MC, his point still stands.)

Taking that back, if you're at a concert, Beel's probably with you. Unless you're with another brother, Even then, Beel's probably going to come.

Bro is like your own bodyguard.

Reports to Lucifer when at concerts and makes sure you're not taking any illegal substances, you don't know what's in them MC!

He makes sure nothing is put in your drink either.

He just wants to keep you safe :(

Beel had been staring at the cup in your hands back and forth for a while now, you smile and offer it up to him. "Want a sip, Beelie? You've been staring at my drink a lot" You practically shout over the music. You weren't in the mosh pit, and though you stood a good distance away, the music was still loud. Beel shakes his head, pointing to his pint and smiling his closed eye smile, "No thanks, MC. I'm just making sure you're staying hydrated and don't need refills." He says truthfully, though that truth isn't whole. You grin, "Aww...that's so sweet!" Turning your attention away from him and back to the stage, Beel wraps an arm around your waist. Eyes alert and wary when someone so much as walked past, or a crowd member got a little too close while dancing. He was overprotective and cautious. But you deserved to be safe.

BELPHEGOR

Give him back his albums what the actual fuck.

Look just because he takes your life it doesn't mean you get to take his music taste.

Wowwww. Petty.

Fine, you can borrow his limited edition special cut vinyls.

What? Lucifer's not the only one with a record collection.

He did not get this idea from Lucifer, No you Liar.

He did.

Belphie listens to rock ballads to get to sleep when he has trouble sleeping and when he wants to.

Sometimes when you nap together he puts some on.

It's kind of like a white noise machine.

Will go to concerts with you and Beel, but has to have slept for atleast 2 whole days leading up to it so people don't think he's passed out in the crowd.

Mention any similarites about his little music vinyl collections to Lucifer's cursed record selections he will not let you borrow any for atleast 3 days.

Long before Eve bit the apple and the brother's wings turnt black, a small boy with indigo hair wakes up from a nap, pouty lips wobbling when he realises his twin is nowhere to be found. Belphie sniffles, but doesn't break into tears. He's a big boy now! Big boys don't cry when they miss their twins! Beel was probably out on a walk with Michael and Lilith in her stroller! He'd come back! But still, Belphie's bottom lip trembled, eyes watering, the little boy didn't like being seperated from his twin! He was about to cry when he heard loud music coming from a room down the hall. More curious than anything, Belphie gets off of his bed, and (taking his teddy bear with him) walks down the hall following the sound. Though his walk was more of a waddle with his tiny legs. He'd never heard anything like it before! When Beel got back he could tell him about his discovery! Soon enough he reaches a slightly cracked open door and the music is super loud here. This must be it! Waddling into the room, Belphie could see a figure laying spread eagle on one of the beds. Half of the room decorated in colour with one bed and the half of the room with the person laying on the bed was almost completely in black with a bunch of posters on the walls. Most importantly, on the floor lay a box with a spinny thing spinning that seemed to be playing the sounds! Belphie held his teddy in one hand and lifted up the thing that was running across the big black circle. Immediately the sound stopped and the figure sat up, with layered dark shoulder length hair, layered dark black white and red clothes, and enough eyeliner to paint the colourful bright half of the room pitch black. A teen Lucifer looks down at Belphie with a sour expression, upset his mope session had been interrupted. "What are you doing here?" He asks the small indigo-haired angel. Belphie looks up at him with wide, sparkling eyes before pointing to the record player. "Why's it makin' sound? There's no choir in there...." Lucifer's eyes soften. His mope session about meeting the demon prince, not hating him, and finding him pretty like the human he met down in the human world could wait. "It's a record player, Belphs." The teenager's too emo, the end is nigh, everything sucks, too cool for love and affection persona drops and reveals his softie interior. Lucifer picks up his younger brother and places him on his bed as he takes out the record that was playing in the record player and putting on one that would be much less intimidating for someone as young as Belphie. He sits back onto the bed and the small boy cuddles up to his big brother, ever the affectionate child. As the record plays on Belphie grins up at Lucifer, revealling one missing front tooth. He had lost them early, shortly after Beel's tooth had fallen out. Lucifer grinned too, suppressing a chuckle at how Beel hadn't even realised his tooth was wobbly until he bit into his breakfast and found his tooth lodged into the food. "Luci! I likes this music!" "Do you?" "Mhm!" Lucifer grins, petting his youngest brother's head. "I'll tell you what. For your birthday I'll get you your very own record player and lend you some vinyls, we can even go to the human world and pick some new ones out. I'll show you how to play them when you have them, okay?" "Okay! Thank you Luci!" After a while, the songs change from high energy into ballads, Belphie's eyes grow heavier, as do his big brother's. Belphie curled up into the elder's side, abandoning his teddy bear for grabbing at the fabric of Lucifer's shirt with tiny grubby hands as he nodded off. Lucifer made sure to try not to move, in result of the slow rock ballad music and staying completely still so not to jostle and wake up his youngest brother who would 100% get cranky if woken. Slowly, Lucifer's eyes start to close, and he falls into a soft slumber as well.

And hey, if Michael returned from his walk, and after leaving Beel and Lilith into a play room went to check in on Lucifer and saw that sight; and then proceeded to grin and take multiple photos of said sight from multiple angles to use as blackmail on his little emo twin brother Lucikins on a later occassion, then that was Michael’s business and Michael’s business alone. And Lucifer's business when Michael didn't want to do the dishes when it was his night to do them, of course.

But if you ask, Belphie'll tell you that visiting the human world is what got him interested in that type of music.

Because he's a stinky smelly little liar and should be locked up in an attic.

On a side note he bullies you for being 'emo' :(

Bro is such a hypocrite.

But to be geniune, Belphie loves that he can share his music with you. He's happy you can bond over this with him.

Not that he'd ever outright tell you.

But you can tell in the way he gives you albums and vinyls as gifts, and makes you little playlists of ballads to sleep to. (He's gotten you into the habit smh.)

[mybreakofdawn]

✨️Dirty Diana✨️

Paring: Michael Jackson x reader

About: Michaels concert in Wembley stadium changes a bit because of Princess Diana, and he needs you to play Dirty Diana with him because you are the only one who knows it by heart.

Request: Yes / No @heyitstial

Authors note: i dont know who reguested again because my app crashed, but here it is. I hope you guys like it!

Btw

(Y/f/n) is Your Full Name

(Y/b/s) is your birthstone

Enjoy!

*(Y/N's pov)*

It was the 6th of July 1988, London England. The big concert day was when Princess Diana and Prince Charles were attending, and it was already chaotic. Behind the stage, everyone was running to make everything perfect, what i can understand, but damn people were stressed. So i had a brilliant idea, i grabbed my acoustic guitar and began to play liberian girl while also singing softly with it.

After a few seconds, i saw them all calm down and smile at me they always appreciated me when i came with them on tour. I ended the song with a smile, and i heard clapping. I stood up and bowed.

"Thank you, thank you," i chuckled as the people started to get everything ready again, but now more calm. I lay my guitar in my bag as i heard someone scream my name.

"(Y/N)!! WHERE IS (Y/N)!!!" i turned around and saw Michael sprinting my way. "There you are!" He grabbed my shoulders tightly.

"Hey Mikey, what is it? You sound distressed, " i asked worried, he just gave a worried smile back at me. Oh no, this isn't good.

"Baby, i need you to do a favour for me, please!" He said seriously as i looked at him, waiting for him to continue. "Princess Diana, she is in the audience tonight, and her favourite song is Dirty Diana. i know Jennifer doesn't know it, and i know you know it by heart, please, please!!" He kept holding onto me with his eyes begging me. I smirked and crossed my arms.

"What's in it for me, my dear Michael?" i said while smirking even bigger. Michael looked at me with big eyes and got an idea and smirked also softly cupping my cheek, lowered his face next to mine.

"My love, i will make you feel out of this world after the concert..eventho it depends on how you play your part, of course," he whispered into my ear, making me have goosebumps I love his seductive voice. it's so different from his usual voice. He stood straight again, looking into my eyes. I smiled and played with one of his curls.

"Alright, I'll do it for you, my love," i said as he smiled happily and picked me up, turning me around.

"I can't live my life without you~" he said while stop turning me around and putting me down.

"I love you too, Mikey." i chuckled and gave him a kiss on those soft lips of his.

"Alright, uhm, i have an outfit for you. I need you to put that on, alright?" he grabbed my hand and dragged me to his dressing room. Finally, in his room, i saw this leather outfit, and i think this was the outfit he was talking about. "Tadaaaa, this is it~~" he smiled like a kid, so proud of what he had just shown me.

"Wow Mikey its amazing." i looked at it in awe damn this suit is amazing.

"Mike, whe have 30 minutes till the show begins!!" We heard yelling from the door.

"Yes, thank you!!" He screamed back and turned back at me. "Now, let's get you into this outfit~" i chuckled and rolled my eyes.

(Time skip)

"Alright, sweetie," Michael double looked at me and smiled, his curls luscious and his outfit on point with his jacket i love this outfit. "I need to get up on stage my love after Smooth Criminal you wil get picked up and just do what feels right alright" he hugged me and wanted to walk away but i grabbed hem by his collar and kissed him on his lips.

"Dont forget the good luck kiss Mikey go get them." i saw him smile after the kiss with a hint of blush and nodded. Michael disappeared into the curtain, and you could hear the people scream as the concert began. After 40 minutes of watching him dance and sing his soul out, it was time for me to go onto the stage. I walked through the backstage area. My thoughts were running everywhere, but as soon as i was on stage, my mind went calm. I got helped with plugging my guitar in, and they also told me what i could do with my cable range, i nodded and smiled. Jennifer, Michaels head guitarist, gave me thumbs up. I can do this. Michael stepped out of the tent, and as soon as the lights went on, i began playing. It felt so unreal but also so good. I looked into the crowd and smiled, thinking Michael really was something else. The solo was close, so i began to move closer to the stage where Michael was. Now it was my time to shine, the spotlight shining on me, and i gave it everything i got. Michael smiled and moved his fingers, knowing he liked it and wanted more, so i gave it to him, standing really close to him. The solo was about to end, and i took my distance a bit. He fell to the ground as i stopt my solo and the spotlight was on him. I walked behind him, seeing his hair was stuck on his forhead because of his sweat, and i reached out to unstuck it and walked back to my place and began playing normally again. After a few seconds, i saw Mikey looking at me and signed me to come back again, i walked back to him, and i took a deep breath and improvised a solo. The crowd was going wild as he started walking to the left side of the stage and of course i would follow him giving it more power making him bite his bottom lip and wave his hand in front of my guitar. I turned around and "shoot" with my guitar and ran up to where the other guys of the band were standing, still going on with my solo, Michael followed and i smirked and ran away again to the middle of the stage shredding the solo, i was feeling it. I looked at Michael with a smirk and saw him running towards me and then passing me to the right side of the stage. Fucking dick i thought and followed him giving even more then he would ever know from me. He looked at me with big eyes and a big smile. I smirked again and ran to the other side of the stage and going on the little platform on the front shredding the solo some more, i did notice Michael following me and standing behind me and singing his heart out. Standing there felt so fucking amazing i didnt care that all eyes were on me i wanted to make this song perfect what Mikey wanted. I knew the song came to an end when Michael went to the center of the stage, what was also kinda sad but i can understand. Everyone was involved of the end of the song the drums the keyboards and even me. I ran a bit on stage to both sides and dramatically pull om my string to get that perfect effect and as soon as i saw Michael turning i knew what i had to do, eventually Michael jumped and i jumped with him ending the song strong. But i knew Michael he moved his hand and we shredded with all of us still a few notes and stopt again really ending the song as the lights went out. Michael gave me a quick hug and walked to the tent again, sadly is my signal to go backstage again so he could finish the concert. As i stepped off from the stage the people cheered even more as i heard thriller being played. I smiled and sat on the couch. I was full of the adrenaline it was soooo cool and awesome.

"I can not believe i did that!" I squealed excited and watched the screen of Michael performing. I kept watching it mostly and ate some snacks till the concert ended. I saw him leaving the stage with the band still playing Man in the mirror. I suddenly saw him running towards me and grabbing my hands, dragging me back on stage. "Mike wha-" before i knew it, i was walking on stage with him, the crowd going wild again. He grabbed his microphone and brought it to his mouth.

"And i almost forgot my talented girlfriend (Y/F/N)," he said through the mic, and i widened my eyes, not noticing the crowd screaming even wilder than before. Michael was a bit nervous but smiled and showed me off by dancing with me to Man in the mirror and ending it with a soft kiss on my lips. The people screamed, loud even louder than before when we shared a kiss, making me blush a bit. He turned away from the kiss. "Dear fans and our royal quests, tonight i wanted to do something very special" he began and grabbed my hand tightly looking at me, still a bit nervous i really dont have an idea what he is going to do. Suddenly, he grabbed a box out of his pocket and went on one knee. I widen my eyes, not looking away at the sight in front of me. "My dear (y/n) you have been there for me since my younger days and so on went with me almost everywhere. I can not see myself without you in the future so~" he said into the microphone and opened the box, showing a very beautiful (y/b/s) ring. I couldn't believe it. "(Y/f/n) The lady in my life will you marry me?" He said almost out of breath because he was so nervous and i.. i felt extremely happy. I looked at the ring and then to him, the love of my life, i even forgot the crowd, that was going berserk, was still there. I smiled the biggest smile i could ever give and nodded.

"Yes!" I screamed a bit too enthusiastic and jumped onto Michael, hugging him. I felt his heartbeat fasten and hug me back. I broke the hug and let him put the ring on my finger. He smiled and looked at me, holding my hands both tightly. Eventually, our trance was broken by the crowd, who were, omg really going nuts at this point. Michael stood up and scratched the back of his neck. I just stood next to him, holding the mic when i suddenly got an idea. "How about one more song?" I asked into the microphone, the growd going nuts again meaning a yes. "Mikey? heartbreak hotel?" I said to Mikey, and he nodded and grabbed the microphone. "Yes hehe lets do it, but you'll need to do the guitar." he chuckled into the microphone, and i already stood ready. Michael gave the sign, and we began with a heartbreak hotel, my favourite song. Michael gave me a mic stand and a mic so i could sing with him. The bassist came forward, and Michael stood in front of him dancing and moving his arm on the beat. He walked away and walked to me for the guitar screaming whoohoo as he was with me.

(From now you will sing together)

"Live and sin~" i sang and saw Michael looking at me with a smile, singing the next line with me.

"Ten years ago on this day, my heart was yearning~" we sang in harmony as he danced next to me. "I promised i would never ever be returning~, where my baby broke my heart and left me yearning~" he turned and walked the other way, continuing to sing with me in harmony. We continued singing til the chorus came on me singing just a heartbreak hotel and Michael running to the left side of the stage.

"London, thank you!" he waved and bowed a bit, then came back singing again while dancing to the centre of the stage next to me.

"Hope is dead~" he danced around me and my guitar, enjoying me being on stage. "She thought that i had cheated for another lover." he walked a bit to the right side. "I turn my back to see that i am undercover." You could see he was extremely happy he couldn't stop dancing, making me sing his next line alone. "Now i can't convince this girl there ain't no other~" He walked back to me. "Someone's evil to hurt my soul~ every smile trail thought in Beguile." i already knew what he would do and sang it with the sounds of his hip dance. We sang further, going back to the chorus again. Michael ran to the right side, bowing again.

"Thank you, London!" And blew a kiss to the crowd before singing again together with me. I walked to the fire canon not too close and waited till my moment wil come. I have dreamed about this moment. Let me show Mikey how much i love this song. Mikey started the canon, making me appear and beginning the solo. He bites his lip a bit and enjoyed the moment of his soon to be wife, me heheh, playing one of her favourite solos. He danced in front of me, moving his hand on the beat i made.

The official solo of the song ends soon, but i am not done yet. When Mikey sang his adlibs i kept going on with the solo standing next to him losing myself into the solo that sounded amazing in Michaels ears, he was a bit taken a back by it as what i could see from his reaction. Eventually, the song did come to an end, and we stopped with me hitting the highest note i could make.

"London! Thank you so much!! I love you!!" Michael screamed into the microphone and grabbed my hand. "You were amazing!! My love," he said full of excitement as he guided me to the back of the stage, unplugging me from the speaker, towards backstage.

"I dont know what overcame me. i was living the moment, but omg!!!" I squeeled again and looked at the ring around my finger, becoming speechless.

"Darling, what's wrong?" He asked, worried, looking at my face. "Is it not the right birthstone? I can buy a new one -" he began to rant before i stopped him.

"No, my love i.. i can't believe you asked me on stage with almost the world watching." I said softly, still in unbelieve.

"(Y/n) i want to whole world to know that i have the most amazing and lovable woman in the entire universe, i love you (Y/n)" he grabbed my hands and kissing them softly. I blushed at what he said.

"I love you too, my husband~" i giggled and guided him to his dressing room, pushing him inside. "Now fiancé~~" i looked at Michael, who was a bit confused but excited. "Now for my reward," i said with a smirk and a wink. I saw Michael Gulp when i walked to the door and locked it. "Dont say you forgot." i giggled and turned back around, looking at him. He was a blushing mess, but i could see he was excited. "Wel, let's get started, shall we~?" i said before walking to him. All i need to say is i made Michael feel out of this world heheh.

-the end-

>____________________<

>Authors note<

Well, i hope you guys love it hehehe it took a while, but here it isss hehehe. Tell me what you guys think i haven't written for a long time. I did enjoy writing this a lot, and i hope to do more in the future!!!

[my-darlng-angel]

HOLA HERMOSAAAA 😘

may i pretty please request wally with a quiet and reserved reader BUT they're a musician??

they've been in the neighborhood for a bit now and they're super shy (softly spoken, awkward in most situations) but they love music!! they play an instrument (love guitar, acoustic and electric) and sing! (insane vocal range) they love all kinds of music ranging from rock and metal to upbeat and quick! hopefully this ain't too much for ya dear 🫶🏽

Wally with quite musician s/o❣︎

Warnings: none!!

A/n: HELLOOOOOO

This isn’t too much for me at all!! I’m happy to deliver!

I hope you enjoy and have a great day or night!!

- When you first moved into the neighborhood, Wally was one of the first people to say hi to you and he was the person who showed you around

- He was quite excited to learn that someone else was going to join their lovely community

- However you seemed rather shy

- He didn’t mind much tho, he would talk until you feel comfortable too

- He will talk about the other neighbors and even Home

- He was very happy when you started to talk to him more

- He would try and get closer to you as much as he could

- He was just drawn to you

- Whenever he saw you out of your house he would be running just to talk to you

- You got use to him fast (mostly because he was pushy about it)

- And thats when he learned you like music!

- He was thrilled to learn about your interests!

- He begged you to give him a private concert

- He would love to sing with you if you want!

- He things you two will sound absolutely beautiful together

Wally’s smile began to drop as he eyed the white canvas in front of him. He wanted to paint since it was such a nice day but he just didn’t know what to draw. He looked around at the beautiful scenery.

That is when he heard the sound of a guitar deeper inside the woods. Curiously, he placed his paintbrush down and followed the sound. After a bit of walking, he noticed you playing your guitar by the creek. The sound of the flowing water and the guitar sounded very relaxing.

His cheeks heated up as he smiled hearing the beautiful music. He knew you were rather shy so he figured you came out here to avoid getting attention from the neighbors.

He didn’t want to be rude and interrupted you, so he waited for you to finish.

“That was beautiful!” He clap and you jumped. You turned around to see Wally who sat down next to you.

“How long were you there for?”

“Long enough” His smile faded slightly “are you mad?”

“No.. just startled” Your face was red. You couldn’t even look him in the eyes. Hearing him laugh only made it worse.

“You are a very good musician! Why didn’t you tell me you played?”

“It didn’t come up so” you shrugged. You two sat in silence for a few minutes before Wally finally spoke again.

“Maybe we could play together sometime. Start a little neighborhood band haha”

“You play an instrument?” You tilted your head.

“I know how to play the drums and the piano” you chuckled. Imagining Wally on the drums just made you laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Wally asked, not understanding why you are laughing.

“Nothing… I think the band is a good idea”

“Great! Lets get started” He stood up and brushed himself off.

“W-wait- now?!”

“Of course! Now, come on. It’s about time you played with the other neighbors!”

[poisonarrow98]

y’know the voicemail from breach where he asks out brim to join the jam session?

and the voicemail kinda implied sova knowing how to play a musical instrument?

anyways it made me soooo excited when there were fanarts of sova with an acoustic guitar after the voicemail; really went well with his chill, down-to-earth vibe ;w;

then later i wondered about viper and if she went to the jam session (don’t think they said anything if my memory’s correct). assuming she was in HQ at that time, i figured she hadn’t gone bc of her work and/or strong aversion to really loud noises.

so ofc what does my soviper brain come up with????

here's how i imagined it: viper will be walking back from her research lab late in the evening (early morning? 1am-ish?), physically and mentally exhausted, when she gets stopped by the most beautiful guitar notes coming from inside the main lounge area.

obvs her first reaction is wondering how strange it is for another person to be up at this late hour besides herself—she knows how particular brim gets when someone doesn't follow his curfew rule. even if the musical notes have her mesmerized, a part of her is annoyed about it since she's not really in the mood to hand out punishments on brim’s behalf when she just wants to get some rest. 

(should she pretend she didn't hear anything? let them get in trouble on their own?)

(should she get it over with so that she didn't have to deal with the consequences from brim the following morning?) 

eventually her feet made the decision for her as she moved closer and closer . . .

. . . and suddenly the annoyed look on her face completely melts away at the sight of sova, dressed in his pajamas and hair half-tied back, playing his acoustic guitar on the couch.

only when he finishes playing do they have their heartfelt talk.

viper will be the first to compliment his skills and mention how she never knew he played an instrument in all the times she’s known him. ofc sova would be super humble about it; he recently got his acoustic guitar months ago when brim finally started giving him more breaks, and he needed smth to entertain himself.

atp she lets him know how glad she is to hear him getting the rest he deserves, then trailing off with a casual, ‘it’s a shame i couldn’t be there. had i known you played i might’ve reconsidered . . .’

and sova just has this contemplative look from the comment before making her an offer: ‘i could give you a private session, if you like.’

‘i would like that.’

---------------------

andddddd ending this hc with a visual picture of sova playing his acoustic guitar on the couch w/viper’s head on his shoulder, eyes closed as she gets lulled to sleep listening to the soft melody ~

[urlocalnonbinarybastardwrites]

hii! saw your matchmaker-thingy js now and instantly KNEW I had to try it out lmao. I’m kinda scared

I’m abt 156cm tall (5’1” I think), have brown eyes n brown hair and am mixed (Vietnamese-Swiss-English), I got like a short wolf cut. I have some scars on my hands and legs, some sh scars on my forearms and stretch marks on my thighs.

Uhh idk I can talk abt literally anything (deeptalk>>>) & am an animal lover. my first language is German, I also speak Swiss German and English (obvi) but also a bit Vietnamese and Norwegian. I grew up with mostly Asian culture, together with European culture and really love rice, duck, seafood and summer rolls. My social battery goes low rlly fast but I love being around the ppl I trust, my love language is physical touch. If not lazy, I can do absolutely crazy shit but I don’t like illegal stuff or shit o could get in serious trouble for.

I’m bisexual n female (she/they) but rather lean towards men, I love to draw and sketch and paint and all that stuff, also like crystals and taxidermy (only non-animal abuse (idk the word) stuff yk) and books. My hobbies r drawing, reading, writing, and I wanna start with boxing or some other martial art soon. I used to play hockey, and also play the guitar (acoustic)

Also I self-diagnosed w autism n probably(?) social anxiety since my parents would never let me get tested 👍. If u take me on walks, I WILL take any cool shit that I find and take it home. No, this old cassette is not trash, it is a treasure.

My music taste is absolutely everything but the stuff that I don’t like, but my fav artists r the Neighborhood, The Weeknd, Lil Peep, TJ Beastboy, the Crane Wives, Alex G, TV Girl, Flawed Mangoes, McCafferty and the Front Bottoms

My fav colors r black, green and blue, also I think with the ppl I’m comfortable around I WILL constantly be touching em in some way like hand on shoulder or elbows/knees touching yk. Sometimes energetic, but when my social battery has run out you can drag me through a hangout.

DC, sbg, tadc, spider-man and CoD fan, also if you’re racist, sexist, ableist, homophobic or transphobic, please go fuck yourself 🫶🏼, I support/accept furries and therians and cosplayers, Satanists and pagans/wiccans as much as Muslims and Christians, Jews as well as Hindu or Buddhist ppl

I LOVE js going outside to hangout n do dumb shit, play fighting>>>, n maybe pick flowers

Soo that was it lmao idk if this is informative or just bs

Also ty<333 if u actually make a match for me

(Also because you write so much you get an analysis)

Your DC Universe Ship: Jason Todd

Explanation: starting off with your appearance, I think that he would find you very attractive and I think as kind of a head canon of myself I think that he finds shorter people attractive because I don’t know. I feel like he just likes to kind of feel like he has that power maybe or I don’t know. I just think he makes it think it makes you look adorable even if you can very well kill someone I just I don’t know. I think he really likes having a shorter partner, additionally I don’t think he would mind Scars because he has plenty of his own. I think he would definitely find stretch marks that might be an unpopular opinion, but I think that Jason Todd would definitely stretch marks attractive. He thinks it’s insanely cool that you can speak multiple languages and would probably want to try and learn some of them that he doesn’t know himself. I also think that he can maybe speak a little bit of German aside from English and I don’t know I just think he seems like the type of guy that would learn like a little bit of language like German or Russian. You can talk about anything and you talking about things with him out the opposite he doesn’t really talk as much about that kind of stuff and I don’t think that you guys would be really compatible in that way because you could get him to talk about anything which is something that not a lot of people can do so congrats. He loves it whenever you make food for him or whenever you can recommend different restaurants or things because I think he’s definitely a foodie and would appreciate having different culture food. I think that he’s has a pretty high spice tolerance. He gets the social battery thing but he’s slightly hypocritical, because whenever he wants alone time, he gets it. But if you want it…. He may just follow you around and hope you don’t notice.  but in terms of your social battery running out for other people he would completely understand and most likely you would have trouble dragging him to Social events. I think that he would find your hobbies fascinating, and I think that he would love watching you do taxidermy and the whole process of it. He would ask a lot of questions about or is Benny as he’s interested in asking and I feel like he would also love the fact that you’re an artist because he’s never really been much of an artist himself. I feel like he’s more if he would be anywhere in art I feel like he would be more musician and, he loves the fact that you can play the guitar and thinks that it’s really cool. If you ever expressed interest in martial arts several and is the equivalent of a belt and most of them because he was shoved so much martial art training whenever he was trying to become Robin so I’m sure that he would be happy to teach you, but he would totally make fun of you if you messed up like in a teasing, friendly, loving way, but still. He would think he was as if you could somehow win against him in a fight. He probably let you win, but I don’t know. I think he’d find that hot. He also really likes reading and writing. I think he likes reading way more than writing but I think he’s probably written poetry before that he’s never really shown anyone and he’s like embarrassed of it but you know I think he really does love reading and would totally like read the same book with you if he was interested in it and talk about it with you. I think he thinks it’s pretty cute and also pretty cool that you find just random stuff off the street and it’s like treasure to you. I just think that he really values that in a person, especially because he grew up on the street and knows more than anything that materialism isn’t always where you find your treasure. I think he wouldn’t mind your music taste, and like some of it, but he definitely is more leaning into like Dad rock type of things and I think that he could still enjoy some classic TV girl though I don’t think he’d be like super big about music, but I definitely feel like if you were playing a song that he didn’t like as much he would instantly turn on like the rock station or something.

He’s definitely a “ I’m driving so I can control the radio” type of guy. I think it would take him a while to grow comfortable with touching in a relationship, but you’re usually the one exception to someone who will he allows to touch him and you’re the one person who quickly gained his trust to which is an unusual trade for him, but I feel like you would be kind of the one exception as to a person he would feel comfortable with being physical because he knows how much you enjoy physical contact, and that it’s your love language. I don’t see him as a generally like physical person, but I feel like you could change that like with you it’s different. He also thinks that the fact that you pick flowers is very very, very, very cute and would probably be reluctant and say that he doesn’t like it, but he very secretly likes it whenever you make him like a flower crown or something or put a flower in his hair. He also arguing over shit and I feel like you guys definitely have a lot of arguments turning into make out sessions type of relationship and play fighting with. Also turn into make out sessions. I mean, y’all are just like all over each other all the time and the rest of the family has to stand there like 😑 but you guys don’t like flirt with each other you guys like tease each other and that’s how you flirt so that’s that’s just the vibe I get from your relationship anyway I ship it

and I’m so sorry for taking this long to complete this. I’ve been really really really really really busy and yeah, I had to shut down my shit asks for a bit because of the fact that I was getting so overwhelmed and getting so many so I really hope this did it justice!!! Much love Pookie bear ♥️♥️♥️♥️

[toomuchracket]

YESYESYESSSS i would like to go insane w you, thank you very much <3

he’s such a dilf isn’t he

GOD yeah. maybe baba has been really good at school and she's completed all her swimming lessons and idk generally has just been a really cool kid, and matty's like to you "we should get her a present"; you're like "yes. and you know, i think it's time she had her own guitar. i know she can use yours, but babe she's tiny lol she needs one she can actually play without hurting her hand", and matty's eyes just light up like "YES genius idea, sweetheart". so he brings it up to your daughter one saturday evening when they're washing the dishes, and she's so excited she nearly smashes a plate lmfao - the next morning, she barrels into your bedroom at half 7 and jumps on matty like "dad! it's guitar day! wake up!", and matty's like "right yeah ok give me a minute go and get some cereal". as soon as she's out of the room he snuggles back into you like "regretting my decision a bit now", and you giggle like "nah, you'll have the best day with her, you know that". and matty's like "yeah. what are you up to today?", and you're like "hmmm idk. maybe a little pampering day? a bubble bath sounds good"; matty kisses your neck like "mmm, sad i'll not get to see you in it", and you're like "matthew come on get your head out of the gutter", and matty's like "an impossible task when you have a wife as hot as i do" lol. and yeah, you do indulge him for a minute and make out, until your daughter shouts from the kitchen "dad! stop kissing mum and get up!" lmao - once you're both up, matty's like "how did you know we were kissing?" and she's like "because you're ALWAYS kissing", and matty shrugs like "ok yeah fair. we're just in love, though, munchkin, you'll understand when you're older", and baba winces like "no thanks" (you're like "that's my girl!").

anyway, the two of them head into london to go guitar shopping - baba runs full pelt down the street towards the shop, matty lowkey out of breath trying to keep up with her lmao (but he's grinning the whole time at how hype she is). she gets a little bit shy and overwhelmed once she's actually in though, clinging to matty's leg quite adorably as the staff (who know matty fairly well because he's a regular lmfao) ask how they can help - matty ruffles her hair and encourages her like "go on, sweetheart, tell them what you're looking for", and she clears her throat and says "i'd like a 3/4 size acoustic, please. but i don't need a beginner one cos i've been playing dad's so i'm not a beginner" (her pride is evident in the last bit, and matty has to fight to not get emotional about his talented baby lol). and the guy from the shop is really good - he leads her and matty to the correct section, talking them through some of the features of various guitars (matty crouches to her level and patiently explains a bit more about some of them too) and helping her narrow down what exactly she's looking for. he takes one down from the wall for her to try, and as she sits and automatically tests each string to see if it's tuned right the guy from the shop turns to matty like "wow, she really does know her stuff. and i didn't want to bring it out immediately and stereotype her, but we do have that exact guitar in rose pink through the back, if she'd be interested..." - matty's like "oh my god she'd love that lol. yeah, please bring it through", and as the guy goes to get it matty goes and sits with his daughter, who's placidly strumming chords with a little concentrated look on her face. he's like "will you play something for me? anything you want. just to see if you like the feel of it", and she nods and starts strumming something he soon recognises as the only exception by paramore, and he hums along to it a little bit emotionally (his baby!) - he's like "when did you learn that?", and she shrugs like "a couple of weeks ago. mum likes that song, so when i was at uncle adam's i asked if he knew the chords and he wrote them down for me. haven't played it for her yet though", and matty honest to god gets a bit teary like "that's really sweet of you, munchkin, i think mum'll love that" and gives her a little hug. anyway, the shop guy comes back with a guitar case like "how are you getting on with that one?", and your daughter's like "i like it a lot i think i want to get it", and the guy's like "well, before you take it home with you, i thought you might want to see the other colour we have it in..." - he hands your daughter the case to open, and matty gets his phone out to film just as she unzips it and GASPS like "it's pink?! dad, look! they have it in pink!" in total awe. matty giggles like "is this the one for you?", and before he's even finished speaking she's nodding frantically like "yes please can i get it please please please" - she looks so like you all excited that he wouldn't be able to resist her even if he hadn't agreed to buy her a guitar, bless her. so yeah, the guitar is bought (with a shoulder strap to match) and lovingly carried home by your daughter, but not before matty snaps a pic of her grinning as she holds it and sends it into the band fam gc (everyone is Overcome by how cute she is) and makes it his lockscreen. and maybe a week or so later, she gets another guitar-related gift from matty - a set of picks with her name on them, just like the ones the boys use onstage <3

[urtrickster]

markate thoughts i am poorly compiling into this post

gone gone gone markate is real and it's so sweet and sad and bittersweet and just mark and kate being so soso in love with each other and mark continuing to love kate long after she dies at the murder castle. i could write a fic for this if i were brave enough

tunnels au. remember that? i had a thought of mark and erin swapping places w jamie and kate nd being the ones to survive that night and just. kate dying in mark's arms as he begs her to stay awake. they had only just made up with each other, finally back together. it can't end here, it can't. but it does, with kate sacrificing herself to make sure mark made it out alive.

not really a thought just. sometimes i listen to the boy who could fly and it'll. just. 'i guess i never should have loved you, but i do forever 'cause you love me' + 'if you were gonna leave this world, how could it be without me?' + 'now it's all over my tongue and it still has no taste, 'cause without you, there is no me' markate.

imagine kate surviving and mark dying. imagine, in her grief, kate continuously dreams of mark. imagine dream mark trying to help kate move on. imagine it.

dark mermaid aus r where it's at just mark nearly fuckin drowning in the ocean after trying to take some nice photos only to be saved by mermaid kate and kate is like 'well i was going to eat you but you looked all scared and worried over that weird box of yours being in the water and it made me curious so im letting you live for now' and mark is like 'what the fuck' and then they fall in love

werewolf kate vampire mark that's it that's the thought

just a cute domestic scene of markate staying in for the day and existing together. mark occasionally taking a photo of kate here and there because he just can't help himself. kate asking mark for advice on scripts.

u know what fuck it kate can draw really really well and i think she likes drawing mark. mark takes photos of her and kate sketches him out.

sometimes i like to imagine that mark can play the acoustic guitar, y'know? so i'll sometimes just picture him absently playing the guitar while kate sits with him and just listens. doesn't matter what he's playing, she just sits there and admires him while he plays.

mark and kate still broken up but still very aware of each other's habits and preferences so well that whenever someone else needs to get something for one of them, they go to the other for advice.

markate the 30th by billie eilish.

but also markate i don't care if you're contagious by pierce the veil. yeah.

more on werewolf kate vampire mark. everyone literally everyone expects their roles to be swapped and are Very surprised when they see mark sipping on a blood bag with a massive fucking werewolf just chilling next to him.

kate having a nightmare. her and mark aren't together anymore but she still finds herself calling mark for comfort because hearing his voice always calms her down. mark always answers, and the moment he hears her voice he's dropping everything and showing up at her apartment in the middle of the night w some food and some shitty romcoms

markate at jerin's wedding and kate catches the bouquet.

okay now picture an au where tdim doesn't happen and markate didn't know each other. picture kate having a cute adorable little chihuahua that she takes to the dog park every week. imagine mark being at the dog park as well w connie. the chihuahua and connie become best friends which in turn means mark and kate see each other often and get to know each other. the dogs are matchmakers is what im saying.

i think mark and kate have 100% pretended to be a married couple for one reason or another. we don't know what happened in topeka. anything we want could've happened in topeka.

mark 100% teaches himself about crystals and shit and he 100% buys kate crystals bc the way her eyes light up and the smile on her face when he does is all worth it

me and kearney once talked abt mark having a youtube channel where he mostly talked about cameras and photography but occasionally played a game here and there w jamie and i just imagine kate being his number one fan that's all.

i actually think markate would thrive in a zombie apocalypse. don't ask where this came from im listening to speed by atari teenage riot and it made me think of zombies bc of lollipop chainsaw it's a whole thing anyways yeah markate zombie apocalypse au

uhhhh that's all i can think about rn.

[cluelessbees]

Secret Santa Gift! @upside-down-theater-kid

Merry Christmas! (I'm hoping it's still Christmas for you)

“You play?!” Will exclaims, a little shocked, as he gently lifts the guitar by the top of the neck from its stand. He had a smile plastered on his face and – while yes normally Mike would take the opportunity to not-so-subtly admire how beautiful his smile was or …gawkathismuscles – Mike was too focused feeling embarrassed over how God awful his guitar skills were.

Because okay – technically, yes. In the loosest definition of the word, he could play the guitar. He had started to learn after he spotted the acoustic guitar at a random yard sale one day. It was only 15 dollars and came with a bunch of songbooks (which – by the way, a steal), and after watching Eddie play guitar one time after their DnD sessions, he decided that maybe it would be cool if he could play an instrument. Y’know…wow a girl or two…or a guy or two… 

Okay, maybe one specific guy. 

Who, funny enough, is the guy who just asked Mike if he played. Literally, the moment he shamelessly daydreamed about when buying the damn thing, and he’s panicking, like an idiot – because it wasn’t meant to go like this. It was meant to happen after he got super good, and he could just magically wow him. He had it all planned out and yet he didn’t think to hide the flipping guitar before Will came.

This…was on him.

 “Yeah–” Mike’s voice cracks – excellent start. “Uh– just a– just a little bit. It’s nothing fancy or anything, but– Yes. I do.”

Once again, excellent speaking skills from the one and only Mike Wheeler here.

He watched as Will continued to smile to himself, running his thumbs along the strings against the fretboard. He stood like that for a bit before turning to Mike. 

“…Can you show me?” He whispered, biting on his bottom lip as he continued to smile. 

And…this was unfair, really. Because Mike can’t say no to this Will. The Will that is vulnerable in the purest form when he’s with Mike. The Will that’s comfortable showing Mike every inch of his emotions– especially his excitement. It’s Mike’s favourite thing. The way his eyes light up, the way his smile is toothy, how giddy he gets, and his whole– just everything is so much more…Will. 

“It’s really bad, Will,” He started. “I can’t even play a single chord correctly–”

“Still! Please just play a bit.” He lifts the guitar and brings it to Mike. “Show me what you’re working on.” 

He pushes the guitar closer to Mike, who is still very much terrified.

“I won’t laugh or anything I promise.” Will adds, giving him a reassuring smile. Mike hates that he’s contemplating it now. Pursing his lips, he finally sighs.

“Okay– fine,” He concedes, grabbing the guitar, putting the strap over his head, and placing it on his lap as he took a seat on his bed. “Your last warning, though! You sure you want to put your ears through this?”

Will just shakes his head, smiling. “I guarantee you I’ll love whatever you play.”

Meanwhile, Mike was busy trying not to implode as he tried to revise the chord progression to the song he was learning. It wasn’t the most difficult song in the world, but given the presence of a barre chord and Mike’s lack of barring capabilities, it probably wasn’t the best song to start with. 

No turning back now. 

He glides his fingers along the fretboard as he revises one last time before looking up at Will, who’s giving him an excited and encouraging smile, and then finally placing his hand over the bridge to strum. 

Immediately, Mike’s lack of skill is evident. His strumming is jagged and abrupt, his chord changes were slow and awkward, and for some reason, there was a constant buzzing noise coming from one of the strings Mike was failing to press down on. It was all in all bad. The song was barely recognisable by the intro sequence alone – which is bad.

“Darling you’ve got to let me know.” Mike sang. Although, “sang” isn’t entirely accurate. He more so…said the words to the tempo. Because his ego had already been bruised by his inadequate playing. He didn’t want to add his screeching singing into the mix. 

“Should I stay or should I go.” He strummed the chord progression once more, his eyes glued to the fretboard. He kind of felt stupid for learning one of Will’s favourite songs and possibly inadvertently ruining it with his horrible guitar skills. He wonders what Will’s face must be saying right now. He was probably horrified by how bad it sounded, Mike thought. Although he wouldn’t show it, of course. He’s too kind and nice for that. Maybe it was more of an awkward attempt at a smi–

Oh.

Oh.

He was beaming. 

At that moment, in the most purest form of the phrase, Will Byers was the sun. He just radiated such a sense of warmth. His toothy smile was wider than before. His eyes were gleaming. His body was just-

Electric. 

That…took Mike a little off-guard – resulting in a random pause mid-strum, which he caught after Will furrowed his eyebrows at the sudden quietness. Still smiling – Mike would like to add. He kept smiling, and he kept his eyes on Mike, and he was electric.

And Mike couldn’t help but smile back. 

He started to feel more relaxed and a bit less self-conscious about his capabilities because he made Will Byers smile the brightest smile he’s ever seen, and that sort of accomplishment comes with an added boost to your confidence.

“Sooo you’ve got to let me knooooooooooow,” He began to sing, his strumming louder and more prominent in the room. “Should I stay or should I go.”

He mimicked the sound of the guitar with his voice – exaggerating it a bit for show. Which– Stupid? Yes. Weird? Definitely. But it earned a laugh from Will Byers so,

What else mattered?

Not to mention that Mike, himself, was starting to have fun. Even though his guitar skills were still horrible, and his fingers were killing him, and his chords were still a mess – he was having fun. And the messiness was part of it. Because it didn’t matter how bad it was. Will liked it.

“One day it’s fine, and next it’s black,” Mike screams, closing his eyes and rocking his head back and forth – garnering another chuckle from Will (not that Mike is keeping score). “So, if you want me off your back.”

“Well come on and let me knoooow.” He peeks at Will, who is now sitting next to him on the bed, and gestures to him with his head.

‘Go on.’

Will takes a second before he starts shaking his head and saying no – the embarrassment evident in the colour of his cheeks and the nervous fry of his laugh. But Mike persisted, standing up now, the strap holding the guitar in place as he continues prolonging the ‘know’ until– 

“Should I stay or should I go—” Will finally concedes, his hands covering his face – causing Mike to smile.

And, okay playing whilst standing is a bit new and different, which doesn’t help the whole situation, but fuck that. Mike starts to bounce his head and sing the next line.

“Should I stay or should I go now?” Mike yells louder, nudging his head to signal to Will to stand up – which he does…somewhat begrudgingly but Mike can tell he loves it.

“Should I stay or should I go now?” Will continues, gaining a bit more confidence. 

“If I go there will be troubleeee.”

“And if I stay it will be double.” Will finally sings – still giggling. 

They continue singing – more screaming for Mike – the entire song. It was a mess; they were both laughing and Mike kept doing weird dances which didn’t work when trying to play chords he’s barely even mastered. But none of that mattered. Because it was just them. Mike and Will. They were just shamelessly themselves, together. 

“Should I stay or should I go.” Mike strummed the last chords – panting, a little out of breath and a little in pain from playing too long. He turns to face Will and– wow that’s closer than he thought they were. Will just smiles, and Mike smiles back.

“I-I can’t believe you learned that song,” Will whispered, his voice a bit hoarse from the singing – which Mike shouldn’t focus on as much as he was.

“It reminds me of you, how could I not?” He replies, his eyes wandering a bit before remaining on Will. And– okay Mike might be imagining it but he could’ve sworn he saw Will’s eyes fall on his lips.

‘Kiss me. Kiss me. Kiss me.’ Mike thought, slightly hoping Will could read his mind and take the hint or maybe Mike should just make a move and—

“Michael! Will! Dinner!” 

…His mom has the best timing, doesn’t she? 

[latibvles]

titling is for the weak. part three to the band au. also putting this on ao3 so uhh watch out for that when I post the link there! this turned out WAAAAAAAAY longer than I initially planned for it to be. anyways have the guys, a bar, a performance, and Vicki's perspective again as a treat. a special thank you (again) to @almost-a-class-act and @cody-helix02 for listening to me lament over naming this goddamn band. this one is aptly just called “The Bar Scene.” You Can also read the rest of this under the tag “ #au: let me down easy ” :)

A Sunday with Devil’s Piano starts in the studio. Reuben “Chuckler” Jeurgens (although his friends also call him Lew, of which he has many) walks in with Wilbur “Runner” Conley hot on his heels. Between them are five iced coffees. Jeurgens smiles as he crosses to put the fifth in the mini fridge they put in the practice room.

“For Lena, when she comes in.” He explains, in reference to Lena Riggi, the sound engineer who’s worked with the group since their first album, and also known for her work with the Basilone Brothers. As Conley heads immediately to the drum kit, Sidney “Sid” Phillips, bassist, walks in — face lighting up when Chuckler hands him the coffee, but he’s looking around the room like something’s missing.

That something, or rather, someone, is Bill “Hoosier” Smith, their lead guitarist and typically — the first one in the room.

Vicki taps away at the keyboard, glancing periodically at the digital clock on the bedside table, and then at the slip of paper, the name of the club the guys would be performing at sprawled in Corrigan’s neat print. He’d given her the venue name and address earlier that day. The guys would be playing tonight in town, as good of an opportunity as any to get photos. She figured she could hack away at the beginning of the article now.

But her words keep getting away from her and what replaces them isn’t nearly as productive.

Staring at the blinking cursor on her screen, the only thing that comes to mind is an acoustic guitar, its owner smug-grinned and messy-haired, making sharp remarks in a rumpled white t-shirt. And every time he caught her stare, she knew he got a sort of satisfaction from watching her face flush, or watching her look away.

Monday was worse. A clean-shaved, alert, not-hungover Bill Smith was more bold than late, disheveled, embarrassed and hungover Bill Smith. He brushed by her, looming over her notepad and she could smell the spice from his aftershave — but she didn’t say anything. He gestured with his pointer finger to her heading, grinned.

You always make a heart for the letter I?

Only for headings, she’d wanted to say. But he was far too close and his eyes were far too blue for her to form a coherent thought, so she just rolled her eyes instead

Vicki’s been working far too long to not be able to recognize a honey trap. Bill could be as kind and funny as her neighbors in Melbourne, it didn’t change the fact that rock bands lived life in the fast lane, and she’s watched too many of her coworkers end up in messes of their own after falling for the easy smiles and pretty faces that this line of work attracted.

The first thirty minutes is a hodge-podge of activity. They step into the booth to record what they can, and exchange ideas for new songs for their next album. “He’ll show up,” says Conley, not especially worried about his bandmate’s absence. “He’s just directionally challenged.”

And sure enough, thirty minutes past call time — Bill “Hoosier” Smith walks into the studio. He’s narrow-eyed and clearly exhausted from the previous night (when the band held a much more intimate performance at The Troubadour). What occurred after the band’s 30-minute set? They’ll never tell. But Smith wastes no time in grabbing his guitar, and getting down to business.

The best and worst part was that Bill, contrary to what the gossip mags and paparazzi claimed, didn’t mind striking conversation and answering questions. He, like the rest of his bandmates, was endearing in his own way. He talked fondly about his grandparents and his parents, his siblings and growing up in rural Indiana.

But Bill would ask questions too, and no one wants to hear that sob story, so she skirts around it with the story of how she met Bob Leckie after her interview and how he’d crashed on her couch for a couple months after breaking up with a girlfriend.

She takes one last look at the clock, and scrunches her nose. She’d have to continue this later. Thanks a lot, Hoosier.

Picking out clothes isn’t a difficult affair — slipping on the black dress and the heels, flattening her hair and parting it down the middle, hanging her camera around her neck in lieu of a necklace. Vicki calls for a cab while putting on makeup and thanks whatever higher power there is that she doesn’t poke her own eye out with a mascara wand when her brain is elsewhere.

By the time she’s stepping into the cab from the hotel lobby, she’s already fiddling with her camera in an attempt to stave off her own thoughts.

It was a smart move on Corrigan’s part, keeping their talent fresh with these smaller gigs and not letting the local nightlife forget their faces. She wasn’t at The Troubadour the night they performed, but she’d be there tonight. If the label wanted them to maintain relevance, this was definitely the way to keep at it without compromising the quality of their work.

Vicki sees the line out the door before she sees the white lights of the sign for the bar itself, and withholds a groan as she pays for the cab. She had no personal qualms about pulling out her ID, and if that didn’t work she’d just have to call Corrigan. She takes one last look at herself in the cab’s rearview before stepping out and crossing the street. She focuses on the precise click of her heels rather than the indiscernible noises of offense as she skips the line. The bouncer at the door looks at her with a raised brow.

“I’m with the band,” she supplies him with, watching as his eyes narrow, reluctant to let her in. She reaches into her purse to grab her Press ID. As she’s pulling it out, a warm hand presses against her back, and she snaps her head to the right.

Hugh Corrigan’s in one of his finely tailored suits, and behind him are three familiar faces with large black cases in their hands. He smiles at her, then looks to the bouncer as Vicki flashes the card to him.

“She’s with us,” Corrigan reaffirms with a nod, ushering her inside before security can object. He immediately retracts his hand after that as they walk into the mostly-empty bar, its future patrons outside and buzzing with excitement. “Hope you weren’t waiting there too long, Miss Graves.” He offers, all squared-shoulders and polite smiles.

The ones trailing in behind him are anything but polite.

“Shit, I didn’t realize you were comin’ to this thing,” Chuckler’s voice is drenched in mirth, flashing a smile. “What, you invited Leckie too?”

“What if I did?”

“Well we would’ve told Hoos here to put on a nicer shirt.” Without meaning to, her gaze immediately moves to him — and Sid lingering beside him, and he returns it. He’s in a black short-sleeved button-down, a watch on one wrist and several bracelets on the other. His hair’s parted and gelled in an attempt to keep it out of his face. He eyes Corrigan with blatant suspicion, although the latter can’t see it, before looking back at her and eyeing her up and down.

“I think he looks alright as he is,” Vicki decides, without thinking about it too hard. His lip curls, and she’s grateful for the dim lights hiding her flush. Adjusting the end of her dress, she rolls her eyes and looks away.

The back entrance door slams, echoing through the space before Runner calls out.

“Y’know the band performing before us is called Dumb Fucks?!”

—

Dumb Fucks isn’t half-bad for an opener, but she’s not here for them, so she sits with her Coke and lets her legs swing from the barstool, watching and waiting to approach the stage later once the guys take it. She didn’t plan on drinking anything stronger until after she got her pictures — if she stuck around that long. Across the bar, tending to drinks, a familiar face hums.

“You didn’t tell me you were working tonight,” Margie points out. Margie was currently interning at Fusion, and worked as a bartender here on weeknights. Vicki shrugs, watching the brown-haired girl salt a rim swiftly and then get to work on a margarita for someone two seats down. “Or that the drummer was cute.” Vicki laughs, with a roll of her eyes.

“Right, cause that’s what at the top of the list, cute drummers for Margie.”

“Well it could be, if you loved me more.”

“I love you just enough,” Vicki assures as Margie moves down the bar to slide the margarita over the counter, take another order, and mix another drink.

“Not enough to get me the number of your cute drummer friend.”

“You mean my drummer client?”

“Same difference,” and then, tossing a rag over her shoulder and leaning on the bar, she gets a catlike grin. “Although the guitarist couldn’t stop looking your way during soundcheck, you know,” there’s a giggle in there, somewhere, as Margie’s grin grows and Vicki rolls her eyes, reverting her attention back to the band onstage to avoid Margie peering right through her.

“Kinda hard not to look when someone sticks a camera in your face, I reckon.”

“Oh you’re the worst,” she bemoans, all but flinging herself on the countertop. “Right, cause every guy you interview smirks at you and licks their lips and totally shows off on a guitar solo, right? All for the camera?” Vicki laughs, turning to look at her friend who’s resting her chin on her fist.

“Do you want me to answer that seriously?” Margie huffs, exaggerating her point by rattling her cocktail shaker with a certain type of vigor as the opening act wraps their set. Ice rattling is drowned out by the scattered applause and faint murmuring as the lights of the stage dim so they can change the drumkit and the guitars. She then finalizes it by sticking out her tongue before pouring the drink into another glass and breezing by to another patron.

Vicki rises after a few minutes, camera in her hands, as the murmuring starts to crescendo and the lights come up with Runner’s familiar drum kit. There’s a fairly sizable crowd around the stage, but thankfully she gets to the front of it — and there’s enough room for her to move about. Her palms are unreasonably sweaty, and her hair’s standing on end, ignoring the occasional bumps and jostling from other people trying to cross the floor.

When Chuckler comes out, and then Sid, she can’t help but giggle at their stark contrast. Chuckler, all rock-star swagger and charm, versus Sid, who’s somehow maintained that endearingly sweet smile, his cheeks already flushed under the lights. He catches her eye and the corners of his eyes crinkle as he takes his spot further from her, at the left of the stage. And then Runner, full of energy, waving his sticks in the air once he takes his spot behind his beloved drums.

She really tries not to stare too hard, when Hoosier walks on right behind Runner. She knew it was coming, but Vicki swallows hard nonetheless. He looks positively golden under the lights, catching all those shades of dirty blonde in his hair, that looks way softer than she remembers it looking earlier (not that she’d been looking for long). Now though, it feels almost criminal to look away. She might need a drink after this after all.

They go straight into the first song. Chuckler’s voice in the mic is a surefire wakeup call, and she snaps back into herself.

She heard and watched them practice several times in the past two days, she even sat through soundcheck prior to this. She had pictures of them tuning up, one where he looked through his lashes and grinned at her, but said nothing.

This is fundamentally different. Were it not for the view being a bit different through her camera, she could get completely lost in the sight of him. It feels less like her losing her train of thought and more like him stealing it.

And if Vicki weren’t so painstakingly alert, every hair standing on end — she could mistake that warm feeling in her stomach as her being drunk.

She shifts her focus to Sid and his bright grin, fingers dancing across the neck of the bass. He nods his head along to the music and she smiles as the camera shudders and she gets three more shots of Sid, in all his bass-playing glory. Then shifting his attention to Chuckler, sticking his tongue out on the ad libs, his raspy baritone reaching every corner of the room.

By the time he greets the crowd at the end of the first song, they’re already buzzing with energy, barely able to contain their murmurings as Chuckler speaks into the mic.

She watches and moves as her camera requires of her, taking pictures throughout and conscious of bumping into other patrons. The guys onstage work up a sweat, jumping around or otherwise moving. Hoosier gets this grin on his face that she’s never really seen. All-encompassing, directed towards the guys around him, his hair no longer neatly done and now strewn about his forehead. He licks his lips and her eyes divert to his hands as they fly across the frets. He makes it look effortless.

He looks golden.

By the end of the set, she’s already making her way towards the bar, to Margie who’s got one of her more knowing smirks on her face.

“So are you gonna introduce me to the drummer or what?”

“No, but if you get me a drink I might change my mind.” Margie laughs at that with a roll of her eyes, but likely recognizes the look on Vicki’s face — fixing to make her a Manhattan.

Now, at the very least, she can blame the warm, tingly feeling on alcohol and not—

“Thought I knew that lady in the front row.” Fuck.

She turns her head, as Hoosier takes up the seat next to her. She swallows hard as she catches the whiff of sweat mixed with whatever cologne he wears. In the moments where he asks Margie to get him a beer and she agrees, Vicki does her best to brace herself.

“And what if that seat was taken?”

“I’m sure whoever he is won’t mind if I keep you company.” Vicki scoffs, finishing off her drink and ordering another.

“Is that what you’re calling it?”

Hoosier twists the bottle around between his fingers. Vicki’s gaze moves from his hands back to his eyes. He runs his fingers through his hair, to push some of it from his eyes, but it still falls over his forehead.

“Well then what would you call it?”

“A bad idea,” his brows shoot up at her forwardness. She takes a sip of her drink, focusing on the burn of the whiskey as she swallows rather than on the intensity of his stair. “You’re much more marketable if you aren’t seen with a girl. The public likes attractive, single young musicians.”

He leans towards her and she sucks in a breath when his arm brushes hers. She tries to tell herself it’s for purely logical reasons — it’s a crowded bar and he’s just spent the past two hours carrying harmonies and talking into a mic, so he doesn't want to strain his voice by talking over the din. But Hoosier makes it very hard to believe that, looking her up and down like he did when they first walked in.

“Anyone ever tell you you’re a bad liar?” She turns her head a little more to stare at him, saying nothing. “‘N you still haven’t told me to go away yet.” He points out. She swallows hard, licking her lips and returning his stare.

“Would you go away? If I told you to?”

“If you want me to,” She doesn’t have a response for that, not one that’s true, so she says nothing. But Vicki doesn’t look away, and neither does he. He just grins, knowing, and she doesn’t know if she wants to wring his neck out or pull him towards her and make him finish what he’s trying to start here. More importantly, she really hates how he’s seeing right through her right now. “You look good, by the way. Forgot to say that.”

Musicians really are nothing but trouble.

“You didn’t have to,” She can feel a flush creeping up her neck, but she certainly hasn’t drank enough to be incoherent. She knows it’s him, doing that. She hates that too. “I saw you staring.”

“You said I looked good,” he returns, bumping his knee against her bare one. “And I saw you staring.”

“I said you looked alright.”

“Ain’t it funny how synonyms work?” She rolls her eyes and snorts, shaking her head slightly.

“You’re not funny.”

“Then why’d you laugh?” He challenges, and she knows it’s meant to be playful. Vicki presses her lips together, and with her free hand, she takes his shoulder, gently pushing him back so there’s a distance between them again. It’s hard to ignore the heat of his skin through his shirt or the firm muscle there. He looks at her hand, and then at her. She glances to Margie tending to the bar through her periphery, in an effort to remember where and who they are.

“Cause this isn’t gonna go how you want it to.” She lets her hand fall, resting her elbows on the bar itself, waiting for the scrunch of his nose and some kind of venomous words thrown her way that she won’t write about to maintain some semblance of pride. You weren’t the first, Bill Smith, and you probably won’t be the last — but I’m damned before I become a notch on your bedpost.

But he doesn’t do anything like that. Bill takes another sip from his beer, then sets it down.

“I don’t want it to go anywhere,” he sounds almost reassuring. The smile Bill gives her then, is almost boyish. “I just like it when you talk.”

It’s not what she was expecting and the way he says it, as warm as he feels, leaves her without anything that she could say in rebuttal. She can’t help but wait for a ‘but’ or some kind of catch, even though nothing of the sort comes from him. Vicki stares at him, mouth slightly agape but he doesn’t seem to notice until she clears her throat.

“Watch my drink, yeah? I’m going to the restroom.” She watches him drag the glass towards him, and without another word, she slips off the barstool to beeline to the bathroom.

If Vicki’s heart is hammering harder than it had been all night, that’s no one’s business but hers.

[myloveforhergoeson]

That's All She Wrote - Chapter 13

Previous Chapter

Find me on wattpad and ao3!

Show: Big Time Rush

Pairing: James Diamond x Original Female Character

Chapter 13: Ghostbusters (1.13) ~ 16k

“We’re halfway there, we’re looking good now.” 

Easily matching the acoustic cords Roxy played as she sat, Big Time Rush were more than happy to show off their most recent song “Halfway There.”

Right outside the Palm Woods pool at one of the many firepits with her band, Roxy had been attempting to play her newly written acoustic tracks for Jo and Camille after a long day at Rocque Records when they decided to jump in with her. The idea for an acoustic version of their EP had come to her at work earlier in the day as she sat in the recording studio listening to the boys practice their routines to their current songs. Slowly, she had been chugging along on a few new songs herself, but none of them were quite complete enough to share just yet. 

She and the band had gone through all six songs on their EP, attracting a small crowd of other Palm Woods residents their age who were all hanging out by the pool or even lounging on their balconies above the outdoor area. Everyone was more than happy to attend the impromptu concert, singing and clapping along when they knew the words to share a special moment with the up-and-coming band. 

“We’re halfway there, and looking back now, I never thought that I’d ever say, We’re halfway there-”

Roxy looked up to the crackling fire, giving a welcomed warmth to the cold night air, before glancing over to her friends as they hit the correct notes on their harmonies and dragged out the last line. While she was sitting down on the padded sofa facing the lobby, the band were standing opposite her to face the crowd they had inadvertently gathered.

As Logan started on his solo part, she noticed a figure shift behind him nearly causing her to miss her timing on the next chord. Making their way towards the cabanas to the back of the pool, she watched as the person tilted their face into the light with a devastating smirk. A smirk she would notice anywhere, one that belonged to her favorite teen idol: Dak Zevon. 

He hadn’t mentioned he was dropping by tonight. 

Maybe he has some business with someone here. She thought, figuring one of the many budding movie directors in the building might have cast him in a lead role for their indie film. Why doesn’t he come join us instead of standing in the dark like a creep?

The boys continued singing, but now all the girl wanted was for the song to end so she could go see what was up with her crush. 

Rounding out the last part of the chorus, a loud scraping sound from across the pool interrupted the band before they could finish. It caught Roxy off time, causing her to hit the wrong note as the boys attempted to follow her tempo before ultimately stopping altogether as the noise continued to grow louder and louder. 

Everyone turned to face the sound, Roxy’s eyes flickering to Dak in the corner to make sure he was alright, only to watch one of the small, white tables move on its own down a long stretch of the pool deck and into the lobby. Once it was inside, the two doors slammed shut, scaring everyone half to death. That wasn’t something they saw every day. 

Gripping the neck of her guitar a bit tighter Roxy’s palms grow clammy, waiting for everyone to finish screaming and scattering out of the pool area, presumably running back to the safety of their rooms. This left her, her band, and Dak - still out of sight. 

As the boys began to debate back and forth about the cause of the mysterious moving table, Roxy quickly set her things down and practically skipped to the other side of the pool. Crushing the pop star in a hug, she melted into him as he ran one of his hands through her hair before planting a kiss on the top of her head. After the sweet bouquet of roses and the apology call, she had all but forgotten his transgression from the party a week ago. Even if he had hurt her, Roxy was just happy to see him again. Now, they’d be able to put that all in the past.  

 “Hi,” She greeted him, giggling with her arms still wrapped around his waist. “That wasn’t you and your Varsity Vampire powers, right?”

The girl felt his own laughter rise from his chest, “Nope. It was certainly strange though… How have you been? I’ve missed hearing from you.”

Butterflies settled in her stomach as she let go of him. “My phone was broken! I was planning on calling you tomorrow to see if you wanted to come over for our, you know-”

“Roxy?!” 

Carlos’ panicked voice came from the other side of the pool. Apparently, Dak was good at finding secret hiding spots, and the shadowed corner they stood in was enough to conceal them from view. 

The girl pulled on Dak’s hand, leading him over to where her friends were standing stock still in the same place they had been singing. “Come hang out with us! You’ll love watching the band fight over what just happened.”

“Uh,” The idol faltered, letting Roxy drag him over. Soles of his shoes pounding on the pavement, the sound softened as they grew closer. “Sounds fun…”

Once in range, the assistant called out Carlos’ name while waving with her hand clasped in Dak’s. “Right over here! I found someone watching our little concert in the shadows.”

“Oh, hey,” Logan said cooly, offering a little wave back to the pair. Seemingly unphased by the weird thing they had all just witnessed, he turned to Dak. “We were about to head upstairs, wanna join?”

“We’ve gotta get out of here before the ghost gets us!” Carlos hissed.

The writer looked up at her crush, batting her eyelids and awaiting his answer. 

“Yeah, sure, just for a bit. Thanks, man.”

The six made their way to 2-J and all the way up Carlos was attempting to convince everyone that a ghost had caused the table to move. 

“Carlos, it wasn’t a ghost!” Logan said for the millionth time, opening the door to the apartment. 

Everyone followed him in, Roxy, Dak, and Carlos bringing up the rear. She felt a strange sense of pride as the idol wrapped his arm around her shoulder. It was nice that Dak was so open about his affections; it made the girl’s chest inadvertently tighten as it became a bit harder to breathe.

At Logan’s words, the helmet wearer stopped in the middle of the entryway, brows knit in concern. “Then what was it?”

Rolling his eyes as though it was the most obvious thing in the world, Logan replied, “It was the air conditioner, which kicked on in the lobby, created a backdraft, and caused the doors to shut.” 

While the theory explained the slamming doors, it failed to explain the main problem. 

Even James was able to see through his friend’s argument, “So, how do you explain the ghost table?”

“I will tell you that later.”

Roxy’s shoulders began to shake, turning to Dak and whispering, “That means he can’t explain it. Totally a ghost.” 

“This is a pretty big town and a pretty famous hotel,” Dak offered. “While it wouldn’t be the first place I’d choose to haunt, there are definitely ghosts all over L.A.”

Ignoring the sidebar the pair were having, the band continued their bickering. 

“I’ll tell you what it was!” Carlos cried, clearly growing frustrated with the debate Logan was inciting. “It was a ghost, and it could be after us!”

For the first time that night, Kendall stepped in in an attempt to put an end to all this fighting. “There is no ghost that is after us.’’

Bang bang bang

A loud knocking on the door startled the scaredy cats of the group: James, Carlos, and Roxy. 

Dak pulled her a little bit closer as he recognized her apprehension, watching in confusion as the other two boys let out a loud scream to display their fear. The pair quickly ran over to the middle of the room, as far away from the door as possible, with Logan. 

“You really like these guys?” Dak whispered to her, earning a small slap on the shoulder. 

She glanced up at him, pulling him towards the kitchen so someone else could grab the door. “Be kind! They mean a lot to me. I wouldn’t be here without them.”

Ignoring the wrench in her stomach at his comment about the band, everyone looked toward the front in anticipation as Kendall volunteered. “Guys, chill. There is nothing terrifying behind this door.”

He opened it, revealing something much more scary than a potential monster running around the hotel and terrorizing the residents. Outside stood a disheveled, grumpy-looking Gustavo Rocque in a gray robe and sweats, still fitted with a baseball cap and gold chain. 

“Hey, my mansion is flooded,” He started, seemingly very upset at the boys for something they - for once - didn’t cause. “I need to stay with you dawgs tonight.”

  The cackle that left their assistant’s mouth could only be likened to that of a witch as she doubled over, listening to the scream the four let out at the prospect of having to have a sleepover with their boss. 

“Oh!” She breathed, clinging onto her crush’s shoulder to keep some semblance of balance. It was just like a bad reality TV episode. “I told you you’d love this!”

Though it took a few minutes, everyone was able to calm down and assess the situation with a bit of clarity. The band didn’t have a chance, Gustavo paid for their apartment so he had every right to sleep in it. Meanwhile, Roxy thanked her lucky stars her apartment wasn’t big enough to share with the superstar producer; this was probably one of the only times she was grateful for her one-bedroom. 

As Kendall went to grab his family to let them know of the new development, Dak tugged on Roxy’s hand to lead her out into the hallway. 

“Glad as I am to get to see you tonight, I was only planning on stopping by for a few minutes to check on you.” Squeezing her hand, he brought it to his waist as he pulled her in for a hug. 

“Oh,” The girl said into his chest not even bothering to hide her disappointment. “It’s okay, I understand.” 

“You looked beautiful playing that guitar tonight,” Dak said into her hair, holding her for a bit longer than usual. “I’m so jealous those boys get to see you like that every day.”

Pulling away, though she didn’t want to at all, she pressed a hand to his cheek. “But they’re inside and I’m out here with you, right? I promise you have nothing to worry about.”

So lame. Think of something cooler to say! She felt her comments weren’t reassuring in the slightest, but that was all she could manage as he looked down at her. His hand reached up to cover hers before he leaned down, tilting his head to the side. 

Roxy’s heart stopped as she felt his lips gently brush over hers. 

“You’re right.” He told her as he pulled away, as if nothing special had just happened between them. “I’m lucky like that, aren’t I?”

A nod was all she could reply with. 

“Call me tomorrow. I’ll see you then.” Dak said with a wink, and just like that he was gone, leaving Roxy standing all alone in the second-floor hallway.

Her fingertips flew to her face, trying to recreate the sensation she had just felt to make sure it happened and wasn’t a figment of her imagination. She had half a mind to run down the hall, grab Jo, then barrel up the stairs to burst down Camille’s door to tell her all that had happened, but remembered the issue Gustavo and the band were facing. If she wanted a job in the morning, she had to make sure they didn’t kill each other before the end of the night. 

The story would have to wait until the morning. 

When Roxy entered the apartment again, Gustavo was laid back on the orange sectional, with the band, Katie, and Mrs. Knight surrounding him. All eyes turned to her as she fell in line beside the younger girl. 

“What was he doing here?” Her boss asked her point blank. 

Heat crept up the back of the writer’s neck, hand flying up to cool it down. She didn’t process the question before anxiously pushing out, “N-nothing. We didn’t do anything.” 

Shit.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw James’ eyebrow quirk. 

“O-kay,” Gustavo dragged out, suddenly acting like he didn’t care even though he had been the first one to bring it up. “I’m sorry I asked.”

Mrs. Knight was her savior as she brought the man a cup of tea, handing it to him while she joined him on the sofa. 

“Don’t you think you’d be more comfortable in, like, a five-star hotel that’s not here?” Kendall asked, exploring a new possibility for Gustavo’s sleeping arrangements. 

“He can’t stay in any L.A. hotels.” The writer managed, remembering the day Kelly had told given her a small run down of “Gustavo 101” in case the scout was ever out sick one day. 

James stomped his foot before growling out his comment, not even trying to hide his displeasure with the situation, “Why not?” 

The band turned to their friend, trying to calm him down as the long-haired boy plastered a fake smile on his face to appease their employer. 

“Well, James,” The man stopped to take a sip of tea. “I am a member of the hotel unwelcome list along with Russell Crowe, all the members of Aerosmith, and the original host of Blue’s Clues.”

Deciding the drink was just strong enough, Gustavo took the tea bag out and absentmindedly threw it down on the white coffee table he was propping his feet up on before reminiscing. “The ‘90s were a wild time.” 

Immediately standing up, Mrs. Knight picked up the man’s mess, brows furrowing on the dark stain left on the pristine surface. “Well, of course you are welcome to stay -” “Mom!” Kendall cut her off, speaking far louder than necessary. Heads turned to face him as he twisted some lame excuse, “Did you see that thing… in the bathroom?”

“Oh, yeah, the bathroom!” Logan affirmed, causing the band to move in the direction of the small room at the back of the kitchen. 

In the stampede, the girl felt her arm being grabbed and pulled before she ended up squeezed into the small bathroom space with everyone else. Crowded into Logan’s side, she felt like she was being packed into a can of sardines. 

Carlos quickly closed the door behind them, allowing for a smidge of privacy as Kendall began to speak. 

“Mom, you’re a really nice person, and that’s one of the things I love about you-”

Cutting him off, Carlos begged her, “But don’t let Gustavo stay here!”

“We get so much Gustavo during the week,” Added James. “That the Palm Woods is where we like to take a break from him!” 

“Plus, he’s a man-beast.” Logan caught the final word. 

The four of them looked to their assistant, waiting for her to jump in like normal. 

“As long as he’s staying with you and not with me, I see no issue with this.”

Mrs. Knight sighed, knowing she had taught the teens to be better than this, placing one hand on her hip. “One night is not going to kill you, and doing nice things for people who aren’t so nice is nice!” 

Bang bang

“Plus, he pays your rent!” Gustavo yelled through the door, signaling he had been listening in on their private conversation. Opening the door, he gazed around the room, locking eyes with his employees. “Now, when’s dinner?”

***

Getting all eight people in 2-J to squeeze into the dining table that only comfortably sat six wasn’t a challenge for Mrs. Knight. It seemed as though she was getting used to unexpectedly catering to large numbers of people. There weren’t many things better in the world than her cooking, so Roxy was more than happy to stay for dinner, something that was becoming a near-nightly occurrence, as long as the woman let her do the dishes in exchange after the meal was over. 

With a gorgeous smile, Mrs. Knight placed a large plate of fish sticks down in the middle of the table while the assistant finished setting down glasses of water for everyone. 

The boys let out a small cheer for their favorite day of the week, affectionately dubbed “Fishstick Friday.” Digging in using forks, spoons, and hands, each of them took a generous helping. Watching on, Roxy and Katie shared a disgusted glance, making mental note of what had been touched without proper utensils. 

She didn’t know what was worse, the band’s table manners or their boss curling his lips into a sneer before turning to the woman beside him. “Fishsticks? Really?” 

“It’s Fishstick Friday!” Katie was quick to reply, informing the man of their custom. 

“With tots!” The boys added in, speaking muffled through full mouths. 

Once the commotion around the serving plate died down, Roxy took a few sticks and tots for herself and added a big scoop of tartar sauce. Even if fishsticks weren’t her favorite, she was still appreciative of a home-cooked meal.

“I actually prefer my fish poached with lemon and my potatoes au gratin.” Shared Gustavo, even though no one had asked. While he spoke, he examined the squared, breaded fish he held between his thumb and forefinger. 

Quick to anger, but not wanting to be rude to her guest, Mrs. Knight threw a lemon and slice of cheese she had been intending to cut up as a garnish on the man’s plate. Then, she looked down on him with a dazzling grin. 

Beside her, the girl nudged Kendall. “If I ever get as entitled as that, just take me out.” 

“Noted. Same here.” As he finished, he pointed across the table to the person in question, who was slowly holding his dinner up to his mouth. 

Leaning in, everyone watched with anticipation as Gustavo took a crunchy bite. He chewed, once, twice, three times, before swallowing and giving his review: “Not bad.”

The seven let out a collective sigh. Maybe they’d be able to get through the meal without any more problems. 

“So what else do you all do on Fishstick Fridays?” Gustavo asked in earnest, going in for another small nibble of his meal. 

Kendall took a bite of his own food before replying, “I guess, sometimes, we play dome hockey.” 

“Katie, Mrs. Knight, and I usually do our nails and compare our new magazines.” Added Roxy, holding up her chipped royal blue manicure and wiggling her fingers a bit. “I’m overdue for a new shade.”

“And then a little swirly slide action!” Carlos called, twirling his pinkie in a circular motion to capture the shape of the yellow tube.

“Then we play Biohazard Blast 4: Rise of Crotchy.” Fork accidentally scraping the bottom of his plate with a screech, James rounded out the conversation. 

Awful game! The girl wanted to warn her boss, but kept the thought to herself. The last time she had shared her opinion on the band’s video game taste, the guys didn’t speak to her for the rest of Fishstick Friday. 

“Oh, well,” Gustavo laughed as if those were the stupidest ideas he had ever heard. “You can count me out of those festivities.”

Once the dinner plates were cleared, the man quickly ate his words by partaking in every activity the teens had described to him that night - save the manicure which the girls adamantly tried to get him to accept. 

By the end of the night, Roxy sat at the end of the orange sectional reading the first Chauncy Jackson and the Magic Gallows book she had borrowed from Jo - the actress' favorite book series. Katie’s bedtime had been an hour before, and they hadn’t had time for new manicures; Dry fingers called for a real, physical book, not just an audiobook on her iPod. It was a preferable activity to playing the new installment of the Biohazard Blast franchise; the war-inspired shoot-em-up game was high on the ‘Things the Boys Love but She Can’t Stand’ list, but Gustavo seemed to be enjoying himself. He had even snatched the only platinum controller in the four-piece set away from Kendall and was getting quite proficient in murdering the virtual avatars representing members of his band. 

“Bam!” The producer yelled, shoving his shoulder into James causing a chain reaction as he bumped into Carlos, then Kendall, then Roxy. She was quite annoyed as Kendall’s controller bounced into her lap and folded one of the pages of her book in the process. “I battle-blasted all three of you. Taste the shame!”

Tossing their controllers onto the coffee table, the boys sighed in annoyed defeat. “Yep, you sure showed us.”

As Roxy set her book down as well, she noticed someone was missing. “Hey, where’s Logan?”

“I haven’t seen him for half an hour…” James trailed off as everyone looked around the room for their missing friend. 

A muffled shout came from under the couch, causing Gustavo to shift around in his seat before standing up - revealing a crushed Logan within the couch cushions. That memory foam technology was no joke. 

Each of the teens were unable to contain their horror, watching as their friend slowly peeled himself from between the cushions and shuddered before running off to his bedroom to hide. 

“My bad,” Gustavo said, not even a shred of remorse in his voice.

Any more comments were curbed by Mrs. Knight, carrying a set of pillows and a comfy-looking blanket, when she entered the living room from the hallway. “Okay, guys, time for bed.”

Roxy snickered toward her friends. 16 years old and still strapped with a bedtime. 

Though on most other nights the boys would protest, tonight they had no issue with listening to the woman’s comment. It was clear they didn’t want to hang out with their boss any longer than they had to, not that their assistant could blame them. 

Gathering her things, Roxy watched as the woman handed the supplies over to their guest. “And, Gustavo, here is a pillow and blanket for you.”

Accepting, it didn’t even take a second for the man to cause more problems. “Pillow fight!”

He raised one of his pillows back expecting no one to be there, sending his hand flying into James’ face who in turn fell right back onto the writer behind him. Struggling to keep him standing and hold all of her things, her bag clattered to the floor as she focused all her strength into not falling over herself. The man continued to swing at Carlos and Kendall before Mrs. Knight had to step in, raising her voice for the first time that evening. 

“No! No pillow fight! Off to bed.”

Gustavo booed her while the rest of the teens groaned and stumbled towards the hallway. In turn, the girl quickly picked up her items and tugged at a frazzled James’ arm to get him out of their boss’ way. Stumbling a bit while rubbing his head, James groaned in pain but was very appreciative of her kindness.

“You know, if my mansion hadn’t flooded, I would’ve been sitting alone all night writing songs.” The five stopped in their tracks, turning around to face the man as he snuggled into the couch. “So… Thanks. This was, uh… fun.” 

The next moment he was out, stone cold, snoring on the couch.

“Aw, we must’ve worn him out.” Roxy mocked. “And, for the record, there is nothing wrong with sitting alone writing songs all night.”

She pretended not to see the band roll their eyes. 

Mrs. Knight turned to them, a pleased smile on her face. “You see? One night with Gustavo didn’t kill you.”

Thanking the woman for letting her stay for the evening, Roxy returned to her apartment. Setting her things on the small dining table, she headed to her room for a nice quiet evening. After a calming shower, she left her bathroom and headed out to the kitchen for a glass of water in her fuzzy pink pajama pants and white tank top. 

Zzzz… Zzzz…

A strange sound radiated from the other side of the wall she shared with the band, practically causing the ground to shake every few seconds. It died down eventually, allowing her to retrieve her drink, but quickly started back up again.

Weird. She thought before returning to her room. Closing the door, she waited a few moments and only heard silence, meaning she would be able to peacefully sleep tonight. Hopefully whatever that was didn’t keep the boys up too late. 

Buzz buzz.

She cursed herself for thinking too soon. 

A message from Kendall lit up her phone screen in the group chat she had with the band.

K: Emergency meeting. Kitchen. NOW!

With a sigh, the girl did as she was told and marched over to their apartment for the second time that night. Approaching the kitchen, she heard the noise again, turning her head to find the source sleeping on the orange sectional of the boys’ living room. Gustavo Rocque was snoring so loud he could’ve been keeping half of the Palm Woods awake; he was certainly keeping Big Time Rush up as they all stood in front of the kitchen staring at their guest in silence. 

Roxy walked over to them, standing beside Logan as the five watched the man for a few moments out of morbid curiosity. 

“I thought he was loud when he was awake!” The studious boy scoffed, throwing the pillow he had previously been using as a cover for his tired ears. 

On the other side of the line, James had a murderous glint in his eyes as he looked onwards to his boss. “How am I supposed to get…” He could barely contain the shout of his next words, “My beauty sleep!” 

His tone, loud, had rustled the man on the couch. Still sleeping, he rolled around a bit before saying, “I said sing it in the key of ‘G!’”

“He yells in his sleep?” Kendall whispered, terrified. 

Emerging from the hallway, Mrs. Knight in a flowy pale pink robe and a nice, giant set of noise-canceling headphones made her way into the kitchen. As she passed the teens, she seemed wholly unbothered by the entire situation. 

Her son threw his hands up in frustration, asking her, “Mom, can you believe this?” 

Unable to hear, the woman fetched herself a glass of water before turning to exit the kitchen. Only then, she made eye contact with her son and pointed to the round coverings over her ears before shouting. “Oh, these? Sorry, I gave my other pair to Katie!” 

As she walked off, Gustavo let out another panicked sleep-yell, “Do as I say! Do it!” 

“We have got to do something!” James whisper-yelled in contrast to the man’s loud words that left their ears ringing. 

Clearly, and noisily, yawning, their assistant stretched her arms upwards a bit before scratching the back of her head. It was getting past the time she normally went to bed and she didn’t appreciate tending to work off the clock. “What do you guys want me here for? He’s just going to keep snoring.” 

From seemingly out of nowhere, Carlos unfurled a long strip of silver duct tape. Roxy liked where his head was at, but Kendall was swift to protest, “Not that.”

“Okay, well, if that’s it, I’ll be going now.” Their assistant shared, moving towards the hallway until she was met with a chorus of protest from the band. 

Logan ran in front of her, stopping her movements with a set of hands on her shoulders. “Please let us sleep on your floor.” 

Turning the thought over, she was very unenthused at the prospect of the band crowded into her living room while attempting to get even a wink of sleep. In her mind’s eye, she could already hear the fighting over who got the couch, who got the floor, who needed extra pillows and blankets she couldn’t spare… The whole thing seemed like a nightmare. 

“He’s too loud, even I can hear him from my bedroom.” Roxy lied, trying to get the band off her back. “None of us would get any sleep.”

“Ugh,” Scoffed the boy ahead of her. “Any other options?”

“Yeah, the lobby.” 

In all honesty, it had been a joke, but 5 minutes later Roxy found herself carrying her pillow and blanket down the second-floor hallway with the rest of the boys to find a place of refuge from their obnoxious house guest. Though the writer had protested, they had insisted on taking her with them so she didn’t have to endure a night like they would’ve. It was sweet, even if she had lied, so she felt she had no choice but to join them.

Next time, I’ll let them sleep over.

Elevator doors opening, the five shuffled out into the empty entryway. Since the hotel didn’t allow check-ins after 9 pm, the ground floor was virtually a ghost town. 

“Seriously?” James whined, eyes scanning the floor in front of them for a place to settle in. There were plenty of options: Open space on the ground, large coffee tables, comfortable lounge chairs, and even Bitters’ desk if they were feeling brave.

Beside his assistant, Kendall rolled his eyes in annoyance. Seemingly, he was the sleepiest of them all and the girl watched as he toated his pillow and blue sleeping bag to the middle of the floor. “You got a better idea?”

There were probably plenty of better ideas, but Roxy wasn’t willing to admit she had lied to them. It would probably come back to bite her after spending a night propped up in one of the many chairs in the waiting area by the check-in desk. 

“Uh, what about the Palm Woods’ ghost?” Carlos asked, his voice shaking a bit in fear he was desperately trying to mask. This was also a factor the girl had not considered when she joked about them sleeping downstairs. Ghost or not, something weird was happening at the Palm Woods. 

Shrugging, Roxy glanced at the worried boy over her shoulders and attempted to soothe his worry. “It could be a nice ghost, like Casper or something. All it did was move a table and close some doors earlier.”

Logan popped up from behind her, nagging tone evident, “There’s no such thing as ghosts.” 

The gentle whirring sound that had filled the lobby moments ago sputtered and died out, the lights of the room disappearing with it. To their right, the set of doors leading to the pool closed with a loud snap. Unconsciously, the girl stepped behind Kendall, peering out from beside his shoulder. No one said anything as they scanned their surroundings for any explanation for what could’ve caused the strange occurrences they had just witnessed.

From across the lobby, a floating, lit candle began to make its way into the open space. It was close to the vending machines to the right of the front doors, but slowly meandered towards the center of the room. This was enough evidence for the boys, Carlos screaming, “Get the ghost!”, as they all sprinted across the room, leaving their assistant alone in the darkness. 

Watching from afar, she took note as they threw their handheld items, pillows and sleeping bags, at the ghost first but none of the items flew through what should be a transparent body. This fact didn’t stop the band, however, as they slammed into the figure holding the candle and tackled it to the ground. Once it was down, they were able to use their pillows as weapons, landing blow after blow on the unsuspecting apparition. 

There was quite a struggle, but eventually, the figure was able to break free and stand up, stumbling away from the boys as if it were dizzy. It was only then the teens were able to recognize the figure, dressed as though they were in an old Christmas movie complete with a nightgown and stocking cap. 

“Mr. Bitters?” Kendall questioned, confusion and anger flowing out of him with those two simple words. 

Roxy speed walked over, any further comments made might need to be mediated so they wouldn’t get kicked out of the hotel for assaulting the manager. Placing her hand on Carlos’ shoulder she was able to give him the strength he needed to find his words. “You’re the ghost?” 

“Keep your voice down!” The man spat, but it was incredibly hard to take him seriously in his white nightgown and matching cream cap. “If people hear ‘ghost’, then people move out, and if people move out, there’ll be no more Palm Woods.”

“But there isn’t a ghost!” Logan held his ground, motioning to the lights that had gone out on the ceiling. “This is just a power outage.”

Kendall nodded his head in agreement. 

Raising her hand, the girl dared to ask, “Then how did the doors slam shut?” 

This time, James and Carlos nodded their heads at her statement. There was now an obvious divide on how they each felt about the ghost. 

Shooting her a glare, the boy responded. “Too much pressure from inside the room was expelled once the generator turned off, causing the doors to close. There’s nothing to be scared of.”

Crash

A noise from somewhere in the lobby behind them caused the girl to nearly jump out of her skin with a small scream. It took all her effort to force herself to turn around, clinging to Carlos’ arm, to see a white vase that had once contained flowers and sat on the front desk smashed to pieces on the ground below. Beautiful red flower petals gave off a pleasant, earthy smell that no one was able to savor. 

Slowly training her eyes up, Roxy noticed that the vase wasn’t the only thing in the lobby that had been moved. All of the furniture from around the large room had been collected and stacked symmetrically on top of one another to create a horrifying sculpture that stood taller than anything else in the lobby. In addition, though there had been no record of a storm in the weather forecast, a loud clap of thunder erupted from outside, shaking the walls surrounding the six.

Roxy covered her ears, cowering into the boy beside her. It was childish to be afraid of thunderstorms, and rationally she understood that, but something about the sound of thunder involuntarily set off her fight or flight response; her heart threatened to beat right out of her chest. Right now, there was nothing she wanted more than to run back to her room and bury herself in her bed sheets while playing music so loud it would drown out the awful sound, but she was worried about her friends - resigning to stay with them until they figured this whole debacle out. 

Holding the girl just as tightly as she was clinging onto him, Carlos fastened the strap on his helmet with one hand as he peered over the amalgamated mess in front of him. Sheepishly asking, “Who did that?” 

No one was able to answer his question, seeing as they were too busy screaming at the second set of doors beside them that slammed shut on their own that night. Everyone scrambled, going this way and that, and in the commotion, the girl felt herself be scooped up. 

About to struggle, she whipped her head around to see what had grabbed her, fully expecting to see a ghost causing her to float in midair but only found James. His brows were knit in concentration as he sprinted towards the staircase, breathing in and out very rapidly as he moved as fast as his legs would carry him. Tightly gripping the loose fabric of her pants, he struggled to keep hold of the girl, and from behind, she could see the other boys following as well. 

Eventually, they ended up back in 2-J, with the door shut and locked tight, ensuring no ghost would be able to get them in their own home. Inside, the band stopped at the kitchen and Roxy was gently set down, only for the five to look up and find Gustavo scratching at himself in the kitchen. Something potentially more terrifying than any ghost they might encounter. 

The band let out a shriek, the assistant covering her eyes and trying to scrub the memory from her mind as the large man turned around to face them.

Milk carton in hand, he had a disgusted look on his face as he stared at the teens in the darkness. “Guys, people are trying to sleep.” 

“You wouldn’t know the half of it.” Grit Roxy, turning on her heels towards the door connecting their apartments. “Come on, guys, follow me.”

No one questioned her as they strode into her one-bedroom.

Digging out some extra blankets from the closet in her room and taking all the pillows from her bed, she handed them off to the boys. 

“It’s not much better here, but it’s better than nothing. Just knock on my door if you need anything.” 

Not waiting for a reply, the girl closed the divide between her and the band before crawling into bed and snuggling up with a stuffed animal as her pillow. 

***

The morning came far too soon. 

Knock knock knock

A yell from Logan on the other side of her door alerted her to the fact the sun had risen and the band was heading back to their place now that the snoring storm had ended. 

After breezing through the steps of her morning routine, the girl had popped on over to 2-J to see what was going on.

In the living room, Gustavo, still in his pajamas, and Kendall were standing in front of the couch. The boy had just handed their boss his black suitcase before Logan ran up and handed him printed directions back to his house. James was quick to butt in as well, passing off a box of fishsticks to remember their evening by. 

She noticed Carlos was absent, but James and Kendall were dressed as though they were going swimming - a fact she would have appreciated knowing before she had gotten dressed moments ago. Logan remained in day clothes, probably the reason she hadn’t been alerted.

The man stood there, taking an inventory of all the items the band had handed him. “Hey, what’s the rush?”

Oh, oh, oh-oh, oh… Played in Roxy’s head.

“What do you dawgs do on sunny Saturdays?” He continued, insinuating he wished to stay at the Palm Woods longer. 

To answer his question, Carlos hopped in from the kitchen, fitted with a camera, tripod, and his trusty helmet.  “Well, I’m going ghost hunting to prove to Lo-Ho-Gan that the Palm Woods ghost is real!”

“And I’m going with him to prove that there are no ghosts. And I’d ask you to join us, but I don’t want to.” Lo-Ho-Gan shared before grabbing Carlos and running out of the apartment. 

Glancing at the remaining boys, she shared her plans for the day. “And I’m going to go call movie star Dak Zevon to find out when he’s coming over for our date. Unless you’d like to join me on the phone, Mr. Rocque.”

The man pretended to stick his finger down his throat in disgust; Exactly the response she had been looking for. 

At the notion, the other two ran off while Gustavo was distracted to grab their pool supplies. It looked as though her boss wanted to tell her something, but he was quickly cut off when the boys returned with their towels and pool noodles. 

“We’re going to the pool!” Kendall exclaimed, ready to turn heel and get out of 2-J.

James nodded, “Again, it was swell hanging out with you last night, but…”

“Bye!” They chorused, leaving Gustavo and Roxy alone together. 

The girl pulled out her phone, making a big show of dialing Dak’s number and holding the device up to her ear while the other line rang. This alone was enough to have Gustavo running out of the apartment to who-knows-where. Apparently, a teenage girl’s love life was more scary than a ghost haunting the hotel.

“Hello?” Dak’s voice slid through the speaker. 

Roxy didn’t even notice the grin splattering over her face, “Hey, just calling to see when you were planning on heading over later.”

“I get off set around seven, is that cool with you?”

“As cool as a cucumber!” She giggled. 

There was a loud ringing noise on the other side, “That’s my cue. See you later, Roxy.”

The line went dead, and the girl quickly slipped her phone back into her pocket. If Dak wasn’t coming until around seven, she had plenty of time to chill and hang around the pool today. It had been a while since she had a proper day off, hopefully, James and Kendall wouldn’t mind if she encroached on their territory for a little while.

Running back to her room and changing into one of her swimsuits, she pulled some cut-offs over the bottoms before grabbing a pair of flip-flops, a towel, and her new edition of Teen Vogue to read while sunbathing. She was starting to lose her sunny tan from all the time she and the band had been spending in the studio. 

Reaching the lobby a few minutes later, she noticed Camille arriving at the front door and waved the girl over. “Come here!”

Not even thinking twice, the raven-haired girl followed her out to the pool, just in time to see Jo sitting down to a game of checkers with her crush before Gustavo, who had also decided to head down to the pool, pushed her out of her seat to play against the blond. 

Thankfully Roxy had been close enough to catch her friend before she hit the floor. 

“Oh, hi, Roxy. Hey, Camille.” Jo mumbled as she tried to catch her balance, still holding on to her friend. The beautiful girl pushed some of her waves out of her face before she could finally look the writer in the eye. Instantly, the actress was able to tell something was up. “You have something to tell us, don’t you?”

“You know me so well it’s scary.” Her friend conceded, taking her by the hand and leading the pair over to some empty lounge chairs. It appeared as though only two were free, with James sitting on a third right next door. Was this a conversation she wanted to risk overhearing?

He’s probably going to find out eventually…

Once they sat down, she took notice of the headphones he was wearing and sighed in relief.

“Okay, so…” Walking her friends through the events of last night, she was hardly able to catch her breath before the most important part. “...And then, he finally kissed me!”

Jo let out a squeal as she took her friend’s hand, clasping it between both of hers while Camille had her hand over her heart, as though Roxy had just told the most romantic story of all time. All three of them were too busy musing over the story to notice James caught in a coughing fit behind them. 

“I can’t believe it!” Jo gasped, blue eyes sparking in excitement. It seemed as though she had a million questions, but resigned herself to just one for now. “When are you seeing him again?”

“We spoke, like, 15 minutes ago! He said he’s on set until seven and then he’s going to make me dinner at my place!” 

Camille’s brows flew to the top of her forehead, “You’re spending the night? Alone together?”

“It’s just dinner and a movie, don’t phrase it like that!” The writer flushed a bright shade of pink at Camille’s suggestive comment. That wasn’t something she had even considered yet. “He isn’t even my boyfriend.”

“How was it?” Jo came in with the save, allowing Roxy to not combat the difficult questions she found floating around in her mind. “Was it so, totally magical? Did you feel sparks fly?” 

“Oh, um…” No, she hadn’t. But it was just a quick brush on the lips, nothing deep or passionate, so maybe the sparks and magic would come later. “No. I thought that only happened on TV.”

“It was so magical when I kissed Logan for the first time!” Camille gushed, recounting the day she had first met Jo in the lobby. “Like, the gods of love were showering us in a mist of rainbows and butterflies.”

Buzz

An alarm tone went off on Jo and Camille’s phones, the two looking down at their devices. 

“Oh, I’d love to sit and chat, but I’ve got an addition to head to!” Jo said, standing up and straightening out her jacket. 

Camille stood as well, “Me too… Are you trying out for the Teenage Lycanthrope show, down at Colossal Studios?” 

The two went back and forth for a bit, discovering they were auditioning for different parts in the same show. With a goodbye to their friend, as the writer wished them good luck, the pair headed towards the parking lot after deciding to carpool. 

No sparks… Became a recurring thought in Roxy’s mind, but it shouldn’t have been something to worry about. Love Camille as she did, the actress was always a bit over-dramatic.

For now, the girl settled back into the lounge chair and picked up her magazine. All she wanted to do right now was blend into the background and disappear. 

And blend in she did, before a pretty girl she hadn’t seen around the Palm Woods before sat down at the end of her lounge chair. She had half a mind to kick her off but noticed she had handed a tube of sunscreen over to James and turned around. The boy on the chair next to them was more than eager to rub some sunscreen on her back. 

It was unfortunate that while James was distracted with the cream, Gustavo had pulled both girls off of the chair and sat down for himself. Even more unfortunate that the wannabe hadn't noticed either girl hit the deck of the pool and began rubbing sunscreen onto Gustavo’s balding head. By the time the boy realized what he was doing, Gustavo was grinning at his ‘display of kindness’ and was thoroughly confused when James ran screaming to the other side of the pool. 

Roxy stood up, rubbing her side, and moved to the chair Jo and Camille had shared earlier, eager to return to the article she was reading about a potential ’80s fashion revival in modern fashion. 

For the next few hours, the girl finished her reading material, tackled some new verses and rearranged a few of her upcoming songs, and even took some time to swim before properly sunbathing. All in all, a very relaxing afternoon, one that would end in a gorgeous tan after a few more minutes in the sun.

“Cannonball!” She heard someone yell from across the pool and looked up too late to realize it was Gustavo. The chair she sat in was definitely in the splash zone, and the writer had no time to save herself or her magazine before the man took a running start and ran toward the edge of the pool. 

Boom

The tidal wave created by the impact of their boss had sent most bystanders in and around the pool flying out toward the shaded tables to the right of the pool. Everyone else had been glued into their lounge chairs by the sheer force of the water, including Roxy who was very upset about her now ruined editorial. Scanning the crowd of pool goers, she was able to spot Kendall and James, unharmed, over by the cabanas. 

Surveying the damage their boss had done, she thanked her lucky stars she had placed her journal in her bag behind the lounge chair. A shiver crawled down her spine as she thought about what might have happened if her most precious item had been destroyed. 

With her day at the pool thoroughly disrupted, the writer reached for her towel in hopes of drying off, only to find it soaking wet as well. This left her two options: either wait to sundry or go back to her room and find a new towel. 

Not wanting to risk another tsunami out by the water, she decided to head into the lobby, only to be met with Logan and Carlos setting up the large camera on the tripod he had held earlier in the middle of the large room. Though the ghost-hunting tool was blocking the main walkway, its forward-facing angle to the front of the hotel would capture anyone - or anything - entering or leaving. At the front desk, Bitters was too entranced in a phone call to notice their shenanigans and tell them to knock it off. 

“Now, we run the Lobby Cam 24/7 for evidence of ghostly activity…” Carlos shared, directly into the camera, before noticing his soaking wet friend angrily stalking towards him. 

The other ghost hunter used this opportunity to shove his partner out of the camera view and share an update on their ongoing investigation. “Day one, three minutes into the investigation. Paranormal prognosis?” Logan peeked over his shoulder before turning back to the lens and whispering, “Carlos is stupid.”

“Logan,” Roxy breathed, crossing her arms as she stepped in front of the helmet wearer. “Play nice or-”

Her threat was swiftly cut off as a horde of people flew down the stairs from behind the camera, nearly knocking all three to the ground as they stormed the front desk. Logan and Roxy were too focused on keeping themselves on two feet, but Carlos had the bright idea to film the scene. The cacophony of aggravated voices was nearly unintelligible together but the musicians were able to pick up a few keywords that seemed to be coming out of everyone’s mouths. 

“Palm Woods”, “Ghost”, and “Moving out” seemed to be popular phrases today. 

Slamming the phone he had been holding back into its cradle a bit louder than necessary, Bitters shook his hands up and down in an attempt to calm the angry mob. Very slowly, he dragged out his words to soothe the tense emotions flooding the room. “The Palm Woods is not haunted.”

A nice sentiment, but even the hotel manager didn’t believe his own words. There was a slight tremor in his hands as he held them out. 

“My daughter and I did not come here to be woken up by strange noises and slamming doors!” An old, unrecognized resident huffed, placing a finger in the other man’s face. 

Bitters took the side of his cheek in his teeth, probably to keep himself from spitting something unpleasant at his angry resident, before coming up with the most ridiculous lie Roxy had ever heard in her life. “We’re having an electrical problem with the plumbing, and it will be fixed by today.”

Smacking Carlos upside the head during the following silence, Logan rolled his eyes as if the man’s words meant anything important. It didn’t take a genius to know the manager would say anything, no matter how unbelievable to save his skin. 

While the words seemed to placate the crowd for a moment, a teenage girl the assistant had never seen in the hotel broke off from the crowd as she threw her hands up in frustration. Loudly, and to no one in particular, she riled up the mob once more, “It’s a ghost!”

It was Carlos’ turn to hit Logan in response to someone else’s words. Too bad he wasn’t wearing a helmet. 

The crowd continued to talk over themselves once more, making it impossible for any train of thought to run through Roxy’s brain as she watched the scene unfold through the camera viewfinder. 

“No! There is no ghost.” Still trying to appease the group, Bitters continued to affirm there was no sign of paranormal activity at the hotel - still citing the electrical plumbing issue. “But I will be offering a free in-room movie for any inconvenience.” 

Shifting her eyes over to Logan, the girl blinked a couple of times while taking in the man’s offer. “I’m feeling pretty inconvenienced, how about you?”

A quick nod let her know he shared her sentiments and the mob did as well; their yelling shifted to muttering and eventually led to the dispersal of the hotel patrons throughout the lobby. 

As they passed by, the girl and presumably her father, who had both lashed out at Bitters passed by the three. Wryly, the long-haired girl wiggled her fingers in greeting to the camera Carlos was holding. 

Great… Another girl for them to fight over. 

Offering a kind smile, Roxy tilted her head in acknowledgment of the gesture.

“New girl…” Logan and Carlos trailed, heads turning as the young woman made her way to the elevators. “Nice!”

Making a mental note to introduce herself later, the writer turned back to the camera and peeked through the viewfinder again. Unexpectedly, she was met with the beady-eyed stare of the hotel manager through the lens. Letting out a startled yelp, the girl practically leaped out of her skin as she pulled back. 

“What is taking you so long?” The man hissed. “We have to catch that ghost!”

Turning her head between her friends and Bitters, Roxy began to place the puzzle pieces together. Nothing good could come from these three working together.

Carlos shrugged his shoulders calmly. “Ghost hunting takes patience and poise. So don’t pressure me!” 

With a scoff, Logan made his way into view of the frame, switching spots with the manager. Taking the camera in his hands, the boy shared his update. “It’s 2:03 and there are no such thing as ghosts, and Carlos is still stupid.” 

The assistant lightly kicked the antagonist in his left shin, knocking him out of the picture. 

“Now, we watch and wait for anything unusual.” The helmet-wearer shared, pointing a finger toward the tiny recording screen. 

As the four leaned in, a flash of ghastly green in a suspiciously human-looking form crossed the other side of the lobby, all the way from the vending machines on the right to the janitor's closet on the left. Definitely unusual, unless a new glowing resident had signed a lease that morning. 

In a situation like this, anyone would do their best to get the hell out of dodge - which the boys quickly did - but their assistant found herself rooted where she stood. Sure, she believed in ghosts, but whatever was happening at the Palm Woods was downright spooky. No clearer apparition had ever been caught on any of the ghost-hunting shows she’d flip on when she was bored. Probably a sign of something extra nefarious occurring in their home. 

Maybe she’d ask the boys to sleep in her apartment again, just so she could keep an eye on them. 

Snap

A pair of fingers clicked in front of her face, drawing the girl out of her petrified state. “Earth to Roxy!” 

Standing in front of her were James, Kendall, and Gustavo trying to figure out what had given the girl such a scare. They, like her, were still quite wet from the incident at the pool earlier. A white towel decorated their boss’ head as if it would do any good to dry off his nonexistent hair. 

“Dawgs, sort this out. I’m headed back up to the apartment for some R&R.”

The boys were oddly quiet, offering no snide remarks as their boss made his way toward the elevators. Once he was finally out of earshot, the two turned to her. 

“You’ve got to get him off our backs,” James begged. “He’s ruining our Palm Woods cred!”

Shaking her head, the girl began to move towards the elevators as well. “I’ve got company coming in a few hours, I can’t risk him wanting to hang out with me or something. Just keep him occupied for a bit longer and he’ll get bored and go home.”

“Yeah, we can’t take that chance,” Kendall said, placing his hands on her shoulders and gently pushing her towards the staircase. 

Whisked away to apartment 2-J, the three entered to find Gustavo standing in the middle of their kitchen while drinking orange juice straight from the carton.

“Hey, Gustavo, Rox has a new song to show you-” Began the frontman, trying to get their boss’ attention before he was cut off by whatever the man had to say.

Holding his hand up, Gustavo gushed, “I can see why you guys love that pool, but I’m surprised you don’t have more friends.” 

“Yeah…” James sucked in a breath. “They all washed away.” 

In true Rocque style, this comment also went ignored. “So, what’s for dinner? I say Fishstick Saturday! Fishstick Saturday! Fishstick Saturday!” 

“Don’t!” Shouted Kendall, only remembering to calm down when his assistant winced, “…You think… Your mansion is unflooded by now?”

“You don’t want to sleep on that ugly couch again. You need to be in your own comfy bed.” Assured the long-haired boy, reaching out and clasping an arm around the man’s shoulder as he pointed to the makeshift couch bed. Moments later, James shoved Gustavo’s suitcase into his hands. 

Kendall also chimed in, trying to sweeten the pot with a package of fishsticks shoved into their producer’s chest. “Don’t you miss the comforts of your home and not ours?”

The man considered their words for a moment, thinking about it long enough the writer swore she could see the individual cogs and gears turning in his head. “You know what. You dawgs are right. I miss my things.”

Gustavo turned to the girl. “Roxanne, have my things express shipped to the Palm Woods.” 

With a sigh, she pulled out her cell phone. “Right away, Mr. Rocque.”

One hour, and lots of complaining from the boys, later, Gustavo’s bed and nightstand had been delivered to 2-J along with a smattering of his other personal items. 

Roxy stood in the middle of the apartment, directing the movers this way and that as they worked together to try and fit everything in the large living room. Since it had taken the movers a while to grab everything from the producer’s mansion, she had found time to sneak off into her room and change into nice clothes and do her hair for her date with Dak. Now, she could only wait to see what other surprises her boss had in store before she was home free in an hour. 

Eventually, the Knight family and James stood around the girl, watching her piece together locations for all of the items. 

“You asked if he missed his bed?” Mrs. Knight wondered aloud, trying very hard to keep her Midwestern cheer in her tiring voice.

Her son grimaced, “This is not what we meant.”

“Pillow fight!” Called Gustavo, jumping up onto his bed and picking up a zebra-striped pillow. Throwing it in the direction of the group, Roxy was lucky enough to get hit right in the face, sending her flying backward into James.

At least he was kind enough to break her fall. 

***

When Dak had finally arrived, Roxy was more than happy to fly out of 2-J and down into the lobby to greet him. After the hectic day of ghost hunting and Gustavo babysitting, she was ecstatic to have a night of rest with her crush. 

As she made her way down the stairs, a flood of questions swirled through her mind. What movie to watch, what he might be making her for dinner, if he had any more surprise romantic gestures to show her… The possibilities for tonight were practically endless. 

Buzz buzz

A text message lit up her phone screen. 

D <3: Hey, I’m here.

D <3: I think I got lost in the parking lot and I ended up at a side entrance.

She didn’t take any longer than a second to dwell on the fact that the parking lot led straight to the doors to the lobby before heading towards the back door by the staircase. 

Opening the door, she was met with a figure holding four different grocery bags piled in his arms. 

“Dak, oh, my God.” She greeted, slightly shocked, taking the two bags obscuring his face the moment he stepped into the building. “All of this is for dinner?”

Movie star spark dazzling in his eyes as he looked down at her, the boy nervously glanced to the side. “Uh, yeah. I wasn’t sure what ingredients I needed so I just kinda guessed.”

If it was a surprise, the writer didn’t know, and decided against asking what he was planning on making as they climbed up the stairs and headed into her apartment. 

While the front room of her living space combined with the walls of the bedroom always made the space feel smaller than it was, having someone else in the apartment usually added to this feeling. Having Dak in the room, however, made her hyper-aware of just how much space they had between them. 

Earlier, she had cleaned every inch of 2-H in anticipation of the actor’s arrival and now she watched in semi-dismay as Dak pulled out the contents of each bag and placed them wherever he could on the countertops. Though she was worried about the clean-up later, it was nice to take a minute to herself and covertly watch the boy as he moved about. Everything about him was perfect, now coupled with the fact he was about to make her dinner in her own apartment. 

So domestic…

For the night, he had chosen a nice pair of jeans, and a snug, purple button-up - fashionable, yet mature. An outfit she prayed not be ruined by the large amount of ingredients he had finished setting on the counters. 

“Okay, so,” Dak tentatively said, eyeing the spread he had laid out in front of them. Around her kitchen, the girl noticed a large bag of flour, some yeast, a bundle of bright red tomatoes, Italian seasoning, five bags of different kinds of cheeses, and an entire paper bag worth of what she could only assume were toppings. “Ever made pizza before?”

 Of course, she had, what teenager hadn’t? 

Before she answered, Roxy remembered the apprehension with which he had answered her request for him to make her dinner the other day. There had to be a reason he hadn’t jumped at the opportunity. Maybe he was a terrible cook, or maybe he wanted to teach her to make something simple - either way, a yes or no answer might not be what he was looking for. 

“Normally, I just call the Panucci’s down the street.” 

Dak beamed, “I had my chef print out his recipe for us. Hopefully, it’s better than what you normally have.”

Their pizza process came to a halt fifteen minutes after they had begun. Neither of them had the foresight to predict they would need to let the handmade dough rise; Roxy normally used store-bought crust and Dak had only read the ingredients list, not the instructions, before coming over. So, to kill time while it rose, they ended up lounging on her sofa with a TV show playing in the background as they told each other about their days. 

Having been stuck on the Varsity Vampire 2: Game On set all day, the movie star was able to share limited details about the actual storyline. Instead, he relayed the smallest bit of information about his funniest outtakes, a dance number he just couldn’t seem to get right, and a prank he played on his co-lead, Victoria Hodgekiss, involving a piece of floss and a basketball. 

In turn, she snuggled into him as she described her last 24 hours. Not only had they been forced to hang out with their boss last night, but all of today as well, resulting in his personal belongings being moved next door to stay with the band even longer. Not only that, but they most certainly had a ghost problem on their hands, even if some of her friends didn’t believe their taped evidence of the upset guests from earlier. 

 As they ran out of things to talk about, the two dazed off towards the TV. Roxy struggled to keep her rapidly beating heart at bay as Dak squeezed her a bit tighter, the both of them pretending to be very interested in the nature documentary that had flipped on. 

More minutes of no talking passed, and the voice of the narrator lightly filling the room was the only thing to be heard. 

“There’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask you-”

“Dak, I really-”

They turned to face each other, wide-eyed as they accidentally cut each other off. 

Something he wants to ask me…

Roxy glanced back to the TV in hopes her crush couldn’t feel the quickening beat of her heart. 

The movie star poked her in the ribs as he chuckled, leaning a bit closer. “I’m sorry, ladies first.” 

A shiver ran down her spine at his comment, a velvety tone ringing in her ears. 

“Oh, no, you can-”

Dak cut her off as he pressed a soft trail of kisses down her neck. 

Biting her tongue to suppress a surprised gasp, Roxy mentally praised herself for placing her hair in a braid earlier and nearly forgot exactly what she wanted to say to him, focusing all her attention on the matter at hand.

Blood poured into her ears as he slowly made his way back up to her cheek. 

“I really like you!” She blurted, surprised at her own words as they slipped out of her mouth. 

This was enough for Dak to stop what he was concentrating on, pulling away for a moment. It seemed as though her words had shocked him too, “Really?”

Pulling back a bit as well, she nodded. 

“I can’t tell you how much of a relief it is to hear you say that.” He sighed, one of his hands creeping up the side of her leg and trailing up to her waist. Gently, he guided her backward with a few lazy kisses until her back hit the soft arm of the couch. 

Roxy did all she could to keep her mind from wandering to anything more than what was currently happening as she gazed up at her crush. He was practically on top of her, a wanton look in his eyes before he slowly closed them, leaning into her once more. 

The heat radiating off his body was cozy and inviting, a feeling she was more than happy to give into as her eyes fluttered shut as well. 

Bang

“Roxy, you’ve got to let us sleep here again-”

Four pairs of footsteps stopped themselves in their tracks in the doorway connecting 2-H and 2-J the moment Dak kissed her again.

In the split second the writer had to process everything happening to her, her eyes flew open before she shoved the teen idol off of her in embarrassment. Now, an uncomfortable silence filled the room as the six looked at each other, not sure how to proceed after the scene that had just been interrupted. 

The best the girl could do was pull one of the decorative pillows off of her couch and throw it at Big Time Rush, not caring who it ended up hitting. “You’re supposed to knock first! Get out of here!”

Beside her, she could feel Dak shift uncomfortably as the pillow hit Logan in the chest with a small thud.

“What does he mean ‘again?’” The idol asked her, not even turning to face the interrupters. It was hard to place the tone of his voice as he continued, “You didn’t mention that when we were talking earlier.”

Trying to ease the rising tension, Roxy let out an uncomfortable giggle. “What do you mean? I didn’t think it was that important.”

Kendall coughed into his hand, “I think we’re going to go now-”

The frontman was swiftly cut off as Dak spoke again, “You didn’t think mentioning four teenage boys sleeping in the same apartment as you, alone, was important?”

“A-are you mad at me? They’re my friends, I don’t understand-” She faltered, trying to discern what in her statement could have upset the actor. There was an overwhelming feeling boiling over in her brain to apologize, but she didn’t know what for. Gut-twisting, she sat up and faced the boy beside her. 

Tentatively running a hand through his hair, Dak took a deep breath. “You need to be more careful, Roxanne. They’re guys. It isn’t safe to be so comfortable around them.”

“Hey-hey,” James snapped, stepping towards the couch. “Says the guy who was literally about to maul the only girl in the room. Why don’t you speak a little kinder to her?”

In response, the idol stood up - placing as much room between the band and the girl as he could. He was practically inviting a fight; Roxy swore she mentioned the band was full of hockey players who were often prone to violence. “Maybe work on hiding your jealousy a bit better, huh?” 

“Right back at you,” James growled in response. 

Logan stepped up as well, shoulder to shoulder with his friend. “To imply that we’re anything but respectful when we’re guests here is just plain rude. We’re friends, Dak. Lay off her!”

“Quit acting like you’re her dad, dude. It’s weird.” Added Carlos, snapping the strap on his helmet for emphasis. 

Their standoff was interrupted by a ding from the kitchen timer the pair had set to indicate the dough had finished rising. The sound bounced off the walls until all that was left was a silent echo as the five boys carefully decided their next moves. 

Before anyone could rip each other’s heads off, the writer slipped up from the couch and made her way to Dak’s side. His grin suggested he was happy she was finally coming over to put an end to the situation, but quickly changed to a frown as he realized her expression of anger was directed towards him. 

“I think it’s time for you to leave.” 

Dak’s mouth gaped for a moment, opening and closing as if he were going to fight back. He couldn’t see how much it hurt her to tell him that. 

Kendall snickered, “Don’t let the door hit you on your way out.”

Making his way to the kitchen, the idol grabbed as many of his things as he could all the while glaring at the five. It was strange to watch him stalk around, his movements were almost like those of a child who wasn’t getting his way. 

Deciding to join him at the door, Roxy opened it for him and watched in near pain as he stepped outside. “Relationships are about trust, Dak. Call me when you’ve gained a bit of faith in me.” 

Not waiting for his response, she closed the door and made sure to lock both the handle and deadbolt. 

She then turned her attention to the kitchen and made sure to turn all her appliances off and placed what Dak had left behind in her fridge to use later. At least after this entire ordeal, she would get some free food out of it. Once she was done there, she walked past the band and turned off the TV before ultimately making her way into her bedroom.

The band stood in silence, watching her as she made her rounds.

“The pillows and blankets from before are under the window sill.” She said, pointing towards the back of the apartment, lit up with the soft glow of the lights from the pool below. Nodding slowly, the boys carefully took their spots on her floor. It seemed as though no one was interested in sleeping on the couch this time. Roxy closed the door halfway before a thought occurred to her, one she couldn’t filter before it flew out of her mouth. “And your four better knock next time you want to enter this apartment or I swear I’ll make sure your careers end up in the garbage.”

Tonight, she also locked her bedroom door, cutting off their access to her bathroom. 

Making her way into the small en-suite, the girl turned the faucet on the shower to its hottest setting, admiring the loud splashing of the water on the pretty blue tile. After a few moments of the deafening sound filling her ears, she finally allowed herself to sink to the floor as the sobs she had been bravely holding in her chest finally managed to spill out.

***

Buzz buzz

K: hi, can u come 2 the pool

K: need some help

At least Roxy had had some time to herself before the chaotic events of the morning finally caught up to her. Admittedly, she hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep last night after her bathroom cry session and had been up very early in an attempt to cover up the evidence on her face with lots of make-up. 

The text from Kelly came in just as she was finishing straightening her hair out of the waves her braid had formed last night. 

Grabbing her bag, the writer made sure all her songwriting essentials were inside just in case inspiration struck. Once she got down to the pool, she found that James and Kendall had ganged up on the talent scout. Both boys had their hands clasped together in a begging gesture and were practically shouting at their boss, trying to get her to convince Gustavo to find a new place to stay. 

Once Roxy made it to the woman’s side, she quickly translated what the boys were yelling - explaining that the man had been staying in 2-J for the past two days and was making their lives infinitely difficult.

Kelly knit her brows in confusion, “What is Gustavo still doing here? He’s supposed to be in his mansion alone, writing a new song.”

“Yeah, he flooded his mansion!” James glowered.

“I know that!” The scout bit back. “And now, it’s unflooded. I told him last night that he could go back.”

The writer sighed, placing her palm on her forehead. “Last night Mr. Rocque asked me to hire a moving company to bring some of his items here, claiming his place was still flooded.”

Kendall nodded at her statement, “He just told us this morning it still wasn’t ready.” 

As the woman processed the information she had just received, her eyes widened in fear as she held a hand out in a “stop” motion. “Please tell me he’s not running around, having fun, and playing.”

Her statement was quickly answered as Gustavo came flying through the pool area, screaming, “Tag and seek!” before shoving his co-worker into one of the many poolside cabanas. 

Each teen cringed as her blind tumble caused one of the sides of the structure to fall, catching Kelly in the fall. 

“What is tag and seek?” James asked, confused, as he watched Kendall and Roxy untangle their boss. 

Brushing herself off as the two picked her up, Kelly sighed. “You guys need to understand that Gustavo didn’t play games with kids growing up. His mom made him practice piano all day.” 

Though this fact was a bit heartbreaking, the assistant bitterly thought he was returning the favor whenever she was in the studio. 

“Really?” Kendall questioned, a hint of remorse in his voice. “See, now I feel kind of bad-”

Kelly quickly cut him off, “Well don’t! He needs to get back to the mansion and write songs for the album, or there might not be an album.”

Roxy blinked, trying very, very hard not to take offense to the statement. 

Giving his assistant an encouraging nudge, James put on his game face. Suddenly, he was in laser-focused mode as he questioned their boss. “What do we do?”

“Here’s the plan.” The woman leaned in as if she were filling the three in on a top-secret piece of information. “Number one, I’m gonna go back to the studio. Two, you get Gustavo back to the mansion and make sure he writes a song and solve everything.”

   Kendall and James failed to stop the woman before she ran off, leaving them to fix the situation they had found themselves in alone. 

“Marco Polo!” Gustavo yelled from somewhere behind the teens, before they were all hit with a large object that sent them face planting to the pool deck. “No hit-backs!”

Groaning as she watched three big red rubber balls bounce towards the lobby, their boss following, Roxy wondered aloud, “What game is he playing?”

Hands grabbed at her arms as the boys pulled her off the ground and into the building after Gustavo. There, they found Logan and Carlos setting up their ghost-hunting equipment for the new day. 

“Hey!” Kendall called, getting the other two out of their task, “We need help getting Gustavo back to his mansion.” 

Behind the camera, Carlos scoffed, “Well, we need help getting rid of a ghost.” 

Out of nowhere, Bitters popped up in front of the camera, loudly proclaiming, “There is no ghost!” to anyone walking by in earshot of the five. 

“Yes, there is,” Fought a female voice from the other side of the lobby. Everyone glanced that way to find the same girl from yesterday’s riot insisting there was something paranormal at the Palm Woods. “This place is freaking me out.”

Then, she left just as quickly as she had come. 

“New girl. Nice.” James and Kendall quipped, before running off towards the staircase. This left their assistant back in the hands of the ghost hunters, which, to her, sounded way more fun than hanging around Gustavo all day. 

Turning to face the three, the hotel manager shifted on his feet, whispering, “We have to get rid of that ghost!” 

“Don’t worry. We’ll catch it tonight!” Carlos promised, producing a green fishing net from a bundle of supplies in one of the many chairs in the lobby.

This confused the assistant, “Aren’t ghosts noncorporeal? How can you catch it with a net like that?” 

“Noncorp-huh-huh-huh?” Her friend tried to pronounce, picking at the string of the contraption. “This is an ecto-net. It can catch anything!”

Logan stared off into the distance, too tired to even consider one of Carlos’ crazy plans. “It’s a fishing net.”

“An ecto-net!”

“Fishing net.”

The two went back and forth a few more rounds before their assistant tried to interrupt to no avail. Seeing no end in sight to this conversation, and not yet wanting to help James and Kendall figure out their Gustavo situation, Roxy did her best to decide a wise use of her time until one of the groups inevitably called her for assistance. 

What is it that could help us most right now?

Being alone was out of the question, if she let herself sit and think about the events of last night she might start to second-guess her decision. She knew deep down it was right to kick the singer out, there was no reason for his hostility towards her or her friends and she wasn’t interested in cleaning up after a BTR brawl, but just the thought of Dak’s sad face as he had walked away broke her heart. 

Earlier at the pool, Kelly had mentioned the reason Gustavo was acting so crazy around the hotel was because he never had the opportunity to run around and be a kid. Staying with the boys had ignited a childish spark. A spark that had left a hole in Rocque Records.

A song.

***

For the rest of the day, Roxy had managed to gather Jo and Camille and convince them to hang out for the afternoon. The actresses exchanged stories of their various auditions in the morning while the writer gave them all the details on the ongoing Palm Woods ghost investigation and what it was like to have Gustavo stay with the boys against their will. 

It was clear Jo and Camille were interested in how their friend’s date last night had gone, but Roxy was pretty apt at avoiding the topic until she ended up asking the two what it was like to be somewhat involved with Kendall and Logan. While she was genuinely interested as their friend, she did have an ulterior motive: She could figure out if they were experiencing similar issues in male jealousy and use their information about romantic entanglement to hopefully finish the love song she had started writing after her first date with Dak. 

Truth be told, it was hard to use her perspective to finish the song when she wasn’t feeling all that happy toward the movie star. Thankfully, with the help of her girlfriends, Roxy was able to come up with a chorus and a few verses she was fond of for a song now work-in-progress called, “Don’t Wanna Keep You Guessing.” 

Some of the lines hit a bit too close to home at the moment, but begrudgingly she scribbled out an extra verse that came to her as she was about to leave. 

I’m over the chances wasted, 

Just tell me it’s not too late,

It’s only the nervous times that keep me bottled up inside 

“Oh, oh, oh-woah!” Camille giggled, helping her friend pack up her guitar back in it’s case. Turning to Jo, the ravenette smiled, “It’s like we have our own Big Time Rush song about us!” 

The blonde cocked an eyebrow, “Like? The song is absolutely about us!” 

“Be sure to tell the guys to say that in interviews,” Winked Roxy, pulling the two into a massive hug. “Thanks for all your help today. I’ll be sure to send you both gift baskets courtesy of ‘Gustavo Rocque.’” 

 At the sight of her air quotes at her boss’ name, the three girls burst into laughter. 

“Send us a copy when it’s recorded!” Jo called as Roxy began to make her way down the hall to the stairs.

With a wave back to her friends, “All the BTS knowledge goes to you before it goes public!”

By now, it was well into the night and Roxy was more than looking forward to a good night’s sleep. That was, until she walked down the hall to 2-H and heard a strained sound of yelling coming through the open door of 2-J. 

It took everything in her not to ignore the situation and run into her room to settle down for the night. 

Entering the large apartment, she noticed Gustavo standing up on his bed in the middle of the living room decked out in a matching yellow pajama set. He was playing a boxing game on the Wii, grunting, groaning, and ignoring Kendall and James in front of him. The girl quickly set her guitar down by the door and leaned into the doorframe to see what was the matter

“We know you need some new songs for the album,” Kendall gushed, pouring his best Minnesota nice into the statement. It reminded the girl of his mother. 

James nodded in agreement, “So, how about this one?” 

Tapping his foot in half time, the frontman counted down from 4 and the two began to sing, “Please don’t stay another moment, we don’t want to hear more words spoken, walk on through the door - oh, look! It’s open! And you snore in the dark, and it’s freaking us out.” 

It was a nice tune until the last bit, where the pair practically screamed at their boss to leave. However, the song itself was very familiar to her; it was the exact same melody she had used for “Shot in the Dark.”

“Did you two write that yourself?” Roxy called from the doorway, taking a few steps into the apartment. 

The duo looked at each other, jumping a bit at her unexpected voice ringing through the room, then turned back to look at their assistant. 

“You- mumph… huh… -” Kendall muttered, looking down at his feet.

Crossing her arms, she walked a bit closer. No way she was going to let another one of her precious melodies be taken.  “What was that?” 

James looked up at the ceiling, pretending he wasn’t hearing a word the girl said. 

“Hmm?” The girl cocked her hip, drumming her fingers on the hardcover of her journal. 

“You, uh-” Coughing into his hand, Kendall continued, “You were singing it in your sleep last night.”

Beside him, the wannabe rolled his hands in a circular motion, indicating the duo needed to get on with their bit. 

“You should probably go back to the mansion and write a new song.” The blond hurried, giving Roxy almost no time to process that she was writing terrible parodies of her songs in her sleep and that the guys were able to hear her singing them. 

While the pair were eagerly trying to hand the man his suitcase and yet another box of fishsticks, the assistant cleared her throat. “Let me take you home, Mr. Rocque, I’ve got a few songs I could use some help on and we don’t have the proper equipment to do that here at the Palm Woods.” 

Looking down at the three teens, Gustavo considered his options for a moment before answering, “No, let’s go with that one.”

He hit play on his game once more, now skiing down the virtual Alps with the boys watching in dismay, dropping his personal belongings and the food to the floor. They looked like they wanted to kill the man, not that she could blame them in the slightest, but if they wanted their album to be released in a timely manner a death in the company was probably not a wise decision. 

Before they could launch out and strangle Gustavo, Roxy took both the boys by the arm and dragged them into her apartment, “Just sleep over here again. He’ll get bored and go home eventually.” 

Both boys groaned, stretching various parts of their bodies as Roxy grabbed their pillows and blankets from the window sill once more. 

“But I’m uncomfortable sleeping on the floor, it’s so bad for my back.” Kendall complained, begrudgingly taking the items from his assistant before snickering, “At least we get a sweet lullaby every night.” 

“Every night?” The girl hissed, eyes widening. Apparently, her sleep singing was becoming a daily occurrence and no one bothered to tell her about it.

Also accepting the items, James cracked, “It was movie soundtracks two nights ago. When there’s something strange, in your neighborhood-”

“Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!-” The blond jumped in, hands gripping the blanket he was holding as if it were a microphone.

“We’ve got to get Gustavo back home as soon as possible!” Yelled the writer, slightly mortified as she listened to her friends imitate her terrible solo. At least that was enough to get them to stop singing, for now. “Anyone have a plan?” 

***

After changing into their pajamas, the three teens paraded back into 2-J pretending like they were going to bed and successfully tricking their boss into following their lead. Around 11:15 pm, Gustavo was fully knocked out and snoring his obnoxious snores when the three rolled a stretcher they’d found in the hotel lost and found to the side of his bed. 

“Okay, we roll Gustavo onto the stretcher…” James whispered to Roxy before letting Kendall finish his sentence. 

“Roll him back to his mansion in front of his piano.”

“Then he helps me finish my songs and you get your crib back.” The assistant finished, finally understanding the ridiculous plan the boys had put together. “How did I let you talk me into this?” 

“I ain’t afraid of no ghost-” 

“Shh!”  

Recklessly grabbing a part of the white sheets their boss had cocooned himself inside, Roxy pulled with all her might in order to get the man onto the stretcher. With the help of the other two, they rolled him once, twice… 

“Too far!” James screamed, completely ignoring that it was the middle of the night as the three were smacked down to the floor under their producer. 

It was, to say the least, a struggle as the teens somehow managed to push Gustavo off of them but ended up wrapped in his large, silk sheets as they stood up. Pulling this way and that, the assistant struggled to get the fabric off of her while the duo with her flailed their arms around. 

They came back to their senses as they heard the front door fly open and slam shut, then a chorus of screams that sounded very much like Carlos and Logan. A few more seconds of struggling brought success as the sheet was thrown to the floor, revealing the scene in front of them: A trembling Logan carrying a terrified Carlos in his arms. 

“Oh, it’s just us!” Kendall grunted, kicking the sheet for good measure. This situation was beginning to get very old, very fast. A solution needed to come soon or everyone was going to burn out and give up. 

“And Gustavo, who’s still here!” James crossed his arms. 

From the ground where he continued to sleep, their boss breathed out a few lines of “Snore in the Dark.”

At the moment, Roxy was more concerned with why her friends came into the apartment screaming for their lives than getting their boss back to his mansion to fix up her songs. “What happened? Are you two alright? You look like you’ve seen… a ghost.”

“G-g-ghost!” Carlos cried, jumping clear into the air and expecting Logan to catch him once more. When he touched back down the sound was loud enough to bring their producer from his slumber, something none of the teens were interested in dealing with.

Faster than the speed of light, the five bolted out of the apartment to absolve themselves of any blame. 

Once out in the hallway, they took a brief moment to catch up with each other, Kendall going first. “I cannot believe we can’t get rid of Gustavo.”

“Yeah, well, I can’t believe we can’t get rid of a ghost!” Logan pushed back, color draining from his face. 

The pair Roxy was with for the evening didn’t miss a beat to make fun of their friend. “You believe in ghosts?” 

“I believe in the shit in my pants.”

Fighting back a bit of bile rising in her throat, the assistant pleaded, “Never say that again. And you’re doing your own dry cleaning this week.”

“Ghost!” The five heard Bitters yell from somewhere down the hall, cutting their conversation far shorter than they had intended as he ran through the group and into the stairwell. 

It was time to make a decision: figure out a new plan or cut their losses. 

Drumming his fingers on his chin, James cleared his throat after a moment. “We haven’t failed this bad since we lost to Duluth East in hockey 8-1.”

“Right!” Carlos agreed, his tone indicating the memory was painful to drag up. He turned to his assistant, providing context to jog her memory of all the games he had told her about from their past. “That was the game that Kendall and I got ejected from for unsportsmanlike mooning.” 

The blond smiled as he recalled the fond moment. “Wait a minute, that’s it!”

“We should moon Gustavo and the ghost?” James asked, very confused. 

Roxy turned to head back to her apartment, “Count me out of this one.” 

“No!” Kendall punched his friend’s shoulder. “We beat Duluth East later in the finals because we were all back on the ice together, as a team.”

Carlos beamed, slapping his helmet in excitement, “Right! We’re gonna team moon them!” 

“So close,” Whispered Roxy, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder to allow him time to catch up with the rest of the band.

“We’re gonna team up,” Affirmed the frontman. 

Slowly the hockey players placed their hands in the middle of their circle, stacking one on top of the other. An inspiring team ritual, and one the girl was unaware she was included in until she was the only one remaining without her hand in. Gawking at her, the four boys waited until she got the memo and set her hand gently on top of theirs. 

“Break!” Kendall yelled, throwing his hand up from the bottom, everyone following suit. 

Then, the boys barreled down the stairs, assistant in tow, and made a bee-line for the janitor's closet in the lobby. What they were looking for was unapparent, so Roxy decided to hang out by the camera equipment Carlos and Logan had set up. 

Watching through the viewfinder intently, she jumped when three figures showed up on the other side of the room - only to discover it was Kendall, James, and Carlos making their way toward her. Strange items were strapped over their backs, too oddly shaped for her to discern in the dark. 

Next to her carrying two extra sleeping bags, Logan scoffed. “Vacuum cleaners. We’re gonna trap a ghost with vacuum cleaners.” 

“Roxy gave us the idea,” James smirked. 

“They’re not vacuum cleaners!” Cried Carlos, fastening a pair of safety goggles over his black helmet. “They’re ecto-vacuum cleaners.” 

The three looked quite proud of themselves decked out with their new weapons and dorky goggles. In particular, James appeared to be the most excited. “They trap dust mites, stale odors, and ghosts.” 

“So how come Roxy and I don’t get a vacuum?” The studious boy asked quite uncharacteristically. 

Shaking her head, the girl took a step back. “Don’t worry about me. I’m cool with staying as far away from the ghost as I can.”

“Oh!” Kendall snapped his fingers as if he forgot to mention something incredibly important at the beginning of the conversation. “You two are ghost bait.” 

Looking to each other, the vacuum-less teens shared a laugh. He sure could be funny sometimes. 

Only when the other boys didn’t join in, the two realized just how screwed they were. Quickly, the pair were forcefully shoved into the middle of the lobby to lay in wait for their ghost to come out of the woodwork. 

Of course, the assistant wished she was consulted before she was volunteered as ghost bait, but the boys were on a mission and she’d hate to interrupt. For now, she tried to remember the plot of any of the episodes of the Casper the Friendly Ghost show she had watched when she was younger and was a little freaked out she didn’t ever see Ghostbusters to the end. 

While their friends watched from the space between the elevators and the staircase, Logan and Roxy set out their sleeping bags and pillows in the middle of the large room. Not wanting anything to get the best of her, the girl opted to sit on top of the bag and wait for the ghost to appear while her partner snuggled into his space. 

Then they waited, and waited, and waited. 

Should’ve brought my guitar. She thought, tapping the fingers of her right hand in her lap as though she was forming the chords on the frets of the instrument. 

“So are we gonna be taking turns as ghost bait?” Logan asked, calling out to his friends, sitting up in the near darkness. When Roxy peered over to check his watch for the time, she noticed it was nearly 3 am.  

Running a nervous hand through her hair, she sighed. “No one’s going to want our shift, it’s almost the witching hour.” It was hard to conceal the slight tremor in her voice. 

When no one replied to their comments, the two realized that they were alone in the lobby, the rest of the band nowhere in sight. 

“Some ghost hunters they are…” Roxy trailed off, covering her mouth as she let out a loud yawn. She was looking forward to heading off to bed hours ago, yet there she sat with Logan in the abandoned hotel lobby in the middle of the night. 

“Give it up guys!” The writer called out to the darkness, turning her head towards the front desk area. “You’re not going to catch any-.”

Before Roxy could finish her statement, the temperature in the room dropped dramatically as a small breeze pushed through the open space. To their right, the girl caught a flash of a sickly green emerge from Bitters’ office; a tall, hooded figure pushed itself through the door and meandered its way over to where the two were seated. 

The scream that left her mouth was near-deafening, sending her partner into a state of shock and alerting the rest of the band of the ghosts’ presence. Looming over the pair as they sat rooted in fear, the monster reared its arms back before noticing the three ghost hunters surrounding it. 

“Stop right there!” Kendall yelled, pointing the wand of the vacuum cleaner toward the creature. “Wow, you’re a really freaky ghost.” 

Copying the frontman, James and Carlos raised their wands as well. “Ecto-vacuums, go!”

Loud sucking sounds emanated from their machines, snapping Roxy out of her terrified stupor and allowing her to jump behind her friends. At the potential of being caught in the ecto-contraptions, the ghost turned heel and ran back into the office and away from the band. 

“Get him!” Carlos shouted, and the four boys ran after the apparition.

Keeping to her own devices and less than interested in potentially being possessed, their assistant ran over to their camera and followed the movement around the lobby. The five were locked in a Scooby-Doo style chase around the first floor; the four chasing the ghost, the ghost chasing the four, eventually ending as the two groups unknowingly bumped into each other right in front of the camera. 

James was the first to realize what had happened, whipping around to face their adversary, “Blast it!” 

Screaming coming from the band was nearly louder than the noise coming from their vacuums. The ghost was poked and prodded at, eventually losing its green glowing shimmer and revealing a cheap-looking costume someone had thrown together with torn-up white sheets and plastic skeleton hands. Getting caught up, the layer of sheets was eventually torn off revealing a normal human under the elaborate setup. 

Recognizing her as the girl who was stirring up the crowd at the front desk the other day, the band knit their brows in confusion. “The new girl?” 

While they confronted her, Roxy sneaked over to Bitters’ desk and flipped the light switch on. Better to be safe than sorry. 

“You were the ghost?” Exasperated Logan, heart still racing from the jump scare. 

She nodded, “And I would’ve gotten away with it too if it weren’t for you meddling, cute, hot guys.” 

The band flustered over her comment, and just like that, all was forgiven. However, that trick wouldn’t work on Roxy, even if the new girl was very, very pretty. “Why would you do that? I could’ve woken up half the hotel for nothing!” 

“I’m making a no-budget horror movie,” The ghost girl shrugged. “And I kind of used you guys as my cast. Say hi to the cameras.”

Slowly looking around the room, the five were able to pick out a handful of cameras that had been installed in various hiding spots. It all seemed too obvious now. 

“Are you guys mad?” The director asked hesitantly. 

Kendall, Carlos, and James took a moment before answering, “Nah.” Leaving Roxy and Logan alone in the “Yes!” category. 

“Please don’t tell!” The girl begged, bringing her prop skeleton hands together. “It’s way past my curfew, and I broke a lot of Bitters’ stuff in the lobby.”

Reaching forward, Kendall plucked one of the hands out of hers. “Sure, we won’t tell… on one condition.”

Immediately, the girl caught his drift. They were finally going to get rid of Gustavo tonight. 

***

The next morning, Roxy and Gustavo were busy in the studio putting the finishing touches on “Shot in the Dark”. The two had finally finished composing the background melody and were having the boys learn the lyrics on their sheet music in the other room with Kelly. Gleefully, the girl strummed on her electric guitar, keeping in time with her boss’ piano playing as they finished up the track the boys would record their lyrics to. 

A few times, the man tried to bring up the fact he was haunted by a ghost in the Palm Woods, but his assistant just brushed him off saying there was no such thing as ghosts - even if she didn’t believe that herself. For now, she just wanted to finish the song and get back to the hotel for a much needed day of rest.. 

Eventually, the boys were ready to record and the live band set their equipment up in the studio. Roxy placed herself in the back by the amps as BTR flawlessly executed their dance routine. 

“Shot in the Dark” was still a bit too personal for her tastes, something she was bitterly reminded of with every chord she strummed. Still not knowing where she stood with Dak was exhausting; she wasn’t interested in playing games or wasting her time with someone who didn’t offer her any kind of trust. Yet, she still felt a slight pang in her heart when his face flashed in her mind. Maybe she’d call him after their recording session was over.

Concentrating on the band in front of her, Roxy did her best to form a new memory associated with the song - one of her band beaming while they recorded it and assuring her Big Time Rush had another hit on their hands.

[teruthecreator]

we all know kris can play the piano. but consider the following: 

noelle plays the guitar. she’s been playing since she was little because her mother wanted her to learn an instrument and noelle wanted to learn the same instrument her sister was playing (dess learned guitar from rudy). she inherited her father’s old acoustic guitar after everything with dess goes down, but she doesn’t really feel comfortable playing it because of all of the Emotional Baggage. so, as a christmas present, her parents get her an electric guitar and an amp. she usually only plays when her mom isn’t home because she knows how noise travels through the house, and she teaches herself a lot of metal songs (to impress susie, mostly, but also bc she’s genuinely a metalhead and has been for years) 

susie starts to learn the bass when she becomes friends w kris. not like they know how to play, but the dark world provides a plethora of musically-inclined people that susie never would’ve known before. specifically, i think it’d be funny if ralsei knew how to play string instruments? he probably plays some form of a lyre, but once you know one vaguely-guitar-shaped instrument you know them all. the reason susie picks a bass, rather than a guitar, is because she likes how it sounds. low and funky; the bass lurks in the background of every song, providing ample support to the much louder guitar riffs and vocal performances. and, in finding herself in this friend group she is starting to slowly accept as family, she realizes she rather likes not having to always be the loudest person in the group and that supporting can actually be...pretty badass. (plus she finds a bass for cheap on Monster Ebay, so she’s working with what she got) 

berdly is a percussionist. this is HIGHLY indulgent because i used to play the drums, but i also feel like drums work surprisingly well for berdly? they’re more tactile and reliant on rhythm, which berdly would have more of an affinity for (being an avid gamer; a hobby that requires tactile use of your fingers). if hometown highschool had a marching band, berdly would be the drumline captain. he just has that vibe. he just screams percussionist in the high school band to me, i really can’t explain it. i also think it gives berdly the opportunity to really let loose in a way that he doesn’t allow himself to do. being the “smart kid” doesn’t allot for a lot of opportunities to go crazy or goof off, but sitting in front of his drumset for an hour or two a night gives him the privacy to really spread his wings (both literally and figuratively). he picks up a pair of drumsticks from the school when they Attempted to have a band class, and just...kept them when the course ended up falling through. his one and only School Crime. eventually, his father notices berdly drumming beats on everything and decides to buy him a snare, which then spirals into berdly being gifted a full drumset for his 15th birthday. it sits in the half-finished basement, along with a lot of the family’s storage, and berdly takes care in making sure his drums are the nicest thing in that room. 

ALL OF THIS TO SAY: lightner gang garage band au when

[leossmoonn]

Your Song [Jess Mariano]

masterlist

pairing - jess mariano x fem!reader

type - fluff

note - thank you everyone who commented under this post and @arkofblake for helping w this idea <3.

summary - you learn that jess is musically inclined. and not only that, he wrote a song for you

warnings / includes - jess teaching you how to play guitar (very attractive lol), jess getting mad and throwing a tantrum, mild language, kissing, smoking, light banter, lots of fluff and cuddling

————

*gif isn’t mine*

“will you stop that? you’re gonna die before you see our kids turn 10.” you snatched the cigarette from jess’s mouth, tossing it outside his window.

“you could’ve at least put it out on the ashtray,” he muttered.

“then this place would’ve smelled even more rank,” you stated. you took the ashtray, emptying it out in the trashcan and tying up the trash bag. you put by the front door so you could take it out whenever you left.

“when did you become such a health advocate?” jess asked.

“ever since i realized how many cigs you smoke. i don’t want to see you in the hospital dying everyday, doing chemo and not being able to breathe on your own,” you frowned.

“i don’t think i’ll need a breathing tube,” jess snorted.

“you never know,” you sang. you flopped down beside him in his bed.

“i guess it’s good i got someone looking out for me,” jess sighed, turning his head to you.

you smiled, rolling on your side to face him. “what would you do without me?”

“probably doing cocaine and in an all boys school,” he snorted.

“well, at least you won’t be looking at other girls, then,” you hummed.

“the only girl i’m looking at is you, baby,” he said. “yeah, right,” you chortled.

“just because i’m looking at other girls doesn’t mean i’m looking. but with you, i’m lookin’.” his eyes raked down your body, his hand running up your leg and resting on the curve of your hip.

“what a charmer,” you giggled. “that’s me,” he winked.

“is luke downstairs?” you asked. “do you really need to ask that question?” jess raised his brows.

you rolled your eyes, slapping his chest softly. “sometimes he goes outside.”

“yeah, to lorelei’s.”

“he goes to the town meetings.”

“yeah, because lorelei drags him there.”

“i wish luke was as easy to manipulate as you,” you sighed.

“what’s that supposed to mean?” he scoffed playfully.

you gave him a cheeky smile, leaning over and pecking his lips. you turned to get up, but jess’s grip on your waist stopped you.

“please let me go? i’m thirsty,” you asked. “i got all the hydration you need, baby,” he stated.

“uh-huh,” you snorted. “seriously I haven’t had water in like, hours.”

“and whose fault is that?”

“yours for only having soda up here,” you remarked. you got out of his grip, going over to the kitchen and pouring yourself a glass of tap water.

you leaned against the kitchen counter, watching jess as he trudged over to you. you looked him up and down, enjoying the fact that he was wearing those fitted shirts and low-hanging jeans you loved so much.

“what’re you lookin’ at?” he asked, bending down and opening the fridge.

“you,” you replied. “like what you see?” he smirked.

“oh, i love it,” you giggled. you set your cup down, beginning to walk over to him when you dodged, running over to the acoustic guitar that was leaning against the wall in a corner.

“do you play,” you held it up. “um, no. that’s luke’s,” jess lied.

“no offese to luke, but he has no musical capabilities. it’s yours, isn’t it?” you grinned.

jess rolled his eyes, “yeah. so what?”

“when did you get it? i’ve never seen it here before and i’ve been up here a million times.”

“it was packed away in the closet for a long time,” he explained.

“do you play a lot?” you took the guitar over to the bed.

“define “a lot”?”

“everyday or once a week? once a month?” you elaborated.

“a few times a week,” he answered. “ah,” you hummed. “can you play me something?”

“no,” he chuckled. “why not?” you frowned.

“i’m not very good,” he lied. “okay. whatever you say,” you snorted.

you sat down with the guitar, placing it on your leg. you began to play a few simple chords: C, G, D. jess was pleasantly surprised at your musical capabilities. he knew you played the flute in band class in middle school, but he didn’t know you knew how to play any string instruments.

“that sounds great. where’d you learn how to play?” he asked, sitting down next to you.

“when i did jazz band in middle school they had a guitar player. i would stay after hours and he taught me a little,” you explained.

“he?” jess raised his brows. “there was nothing between us. i was never interested dating in middle school,” you assured him.

“i see,” jess nodded.

you stopped playing, setting the guitar down in your lap and and smiling sheepishly. “i only know how to play those three chords.”

“do you want to know how to play more?” jess asked.

“yeah, sure,” you nodded.

he sat behind you, sitting the guitar in your lap.

“this chord is F-major. you’re going to bar the first fret with your first finger and but your third finger on the G string on the second fret, then but your fourth and pinky finger on D and A. make sure to press down with your first finger hard, otherwise no sound will come out when you strum,” he directed.

he moved your fingers to their position, adjusting them as he needed. his hot breath fanned over your neck as he spoke, causing goosebumps to arise on your skin. your heart couldn’t help but race.

“go ahead and strum,” he said.

you moved your hand over the strings at the body of the guitar. every note but the low E sounded.

“try to keep the tip of your fingers clamped over,” he said.

you nodded, trying again, this time getting all the strings to play.

“look at you! you’re a natural,” he grinned.

you smiled, craning your head to face him. you pressed your lips to his. your eyes fluttered close and you lifted one hand off of the guitar to cup his cheek.

his hand rested on the upper-part of your thigh, his fingers crawling up.

“mm, teach me more?” you asked as you pulled away.

“why don’t we ditch the guitar and makeout?”

you laughed, “we’ve kissed too much.”

“no such thing,” he shook his head. “teach me more, please,” you pouted.

“fine. you know i can’t resist that face,” he put his hand on your chin, pulling you in for a peck.

you smiled into the kiss, pulling away and returning your attention to playing guitar.

he taught you a few more major chords and the easier minor chords that you didn’t need to bar. your fingers were getting tired, so you set the guitar down, getting up and going to place the guitar back where you found it. you saw a little black notebook on the floor where the guitar was. you picked it up, opening it.

you saw music notations written inside. there were pages and pages of untitled songs. towards the back of the notebook you saw the title “y/n’s song”. there were no words, but there were at least three pages of music written.

“babe, what’re you do—”

jess panicked as he saw you reading his notebook. he ran over and snatched it out of your hands, shutting it and putting it in the back pocket of his jeans.

“you wrote a song for me?” you gasped.

“don’t touch my shit,” he muttered, pushing past you and placing the guitar back in its spot with the notebook hidden behind it.

“jess,” you frowned, crossing your arms over your chest.

“you know not to go through my stuff. why did you? you didn’t even care to ask me what is was before you opened it,” he argued.

you didn’t make the effort to get worked up over him yelling. you had been through lots of fights with him, and grew used to letting him scream and yell and fight until he calmed down so you two could work it out like adults. he was usually the one starting the fights — always impatient and moody. this time was no exception.

“if i wanted you to see it, i would’ve showed you already. you are so nosy. i told you from the start of our relationship that i’m a private person. why can’t you respect that?” he asked.

“are you done?” you hummed.

he looked to you, sighing in defeat. “i just don’t like it when people are in my business.”

“i know. i’m sorry for not asking you if i could look at it, but i have a feeling you wouldn’t have cared if the last few pages weren’t in there,” you stated.

“yeah,” he admitted.

you went over to the corner, grabbing the notebook and flipping to your song. you handed it to him, a hopeful smile on your face.

“play it for me?”

“it’s not done and it sounds terrible.”

“you and i both know those are lies. c’mon, just play the first page for me at least,” you begged.

jess grumbled nonsense to himself as he snatched the book from your hands, grabbing his guitar and walking over to the bed again.

“you owe me one,” he said.

“i will do all your laundry, dishes, cook for you, and buy you a new book for your birthday,” you nodded.

jess smiled, “just the book will suffice.”

“noted. now play!” you urged. you sat down in jess’s beanbag across from him.

“alright, alright. just… don’t look at me, okay?” he asked.

you nodded, looking down at your lap. you tried your hardest not to look up. your eyes slipped once, causing jess to yell.

“i said don’t look!”

“start playing then!” you exclaimed.

he sighed, looking at the pages of music. he started to finger prick the strings, beautiful melody emitting. you smiled to yourself as you kept your head down. it was amazing.

the song started out in the higher range, then moving lower as he started to use only the low E and A. the rhythm changed to a slow tempo. it was almost sexy-sounding. he plucked a few of the higher notes, making beautiful-sounding harmonies. he returned to the original melody, playing it louder this type. if you could, you would name this part the chorus of the song.

eventually you looked up, eyes wide and admiring jess as he was in his own word. he read the notes fluidly, playing the next one with no hesitation. he went to flip the page, his eyes darting towards yours. he didn’t say anything, but you noticed the tips of his ears turning pink. you suppressed a laugh, instead smiling widely as he continued to play.

the same sultry melody played. you started to hum the tune softly and swaying to the beat. the melody then got soft and slow, the lighter strings taking their spotlight.

this song depicted how jess saw you and how your relationship had been for the last four month for him. the beginning notes started out as timid and soft, reflecting how he felt about about. he wasn’t sure if you wanted to be in a relationship and he definitely wasn’t sure if it was going to work out. you two were so different, he was afraid he would drive you away with his impatience and sarcasm, but honestly, it just made you love him more.

the sexy sounding parts of the song showcased how much he loved you and how he viewed you. you made him calm, happy, and horny, which were the three best emotion he thought he could ever feel. you were a gorgeous creature — he didn’t understand how he got you. you were funny and smart, always laughing and keeping things light for him. your touch made his stomach churn, your voice was music to his ears, and the way you looked at him made his heart grow ten times bigger in his chest.

the louder section was like the beginning, but this time more confident. this was the part where he knew he loved you and that he had you, for however long you would let him.

the higher-sounding part after the second time the sultry played symbolized the ray of light you were in his dark, depressing life. it was cliché, but true. he was never a happy person, to begin with, but being with you changed him. despite him always throwing tantrums and being difficult still, he and all his family and friends around him could sense he was happier with you, especially when you were in the room.

the song ended with full-on diamonds. he looked to you as he was finished, smiling shyly as he laid the guitar down against the bed.

“it’s not finished yet, but —”

“it was beautiful, jessie,” you gushed. you got up from your seat, sitting on the bed across from him. “i loved it. you’re so talented.”

“really?” he asked.

“yep,” you nodded with full confidence. “no has ever written a song about me before.”

“i bet they have, they’ve just never showed you.”

you smiled, placing your hand on his jawline and leaning in to kiss him. you kissed him slowly, rubbing your thumb up and down his cheekbone lovingly.

you pulled away just as the kiss was about to heat up. you put your forehead on his, looking him in the eyes.

“play it again for me?”

————

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[cherrycheridarling]

'someday maybe' | t.h.

tom holland x singer!reader

warnings: one swear? fluff and angst? kisses

summary: you're so close to finishing your second album when your manager pushes the deadline, your ex tom helps you write the final track.

{listen to someday by michael bublè and meghan trainor (if you want)}

wc: 2.1k

"Someday maybe when we're old and grey,"

"Yes, yes. I know. You are not being a very helpful manager right now, Noelle." you spoke to your phone as you paced around the living room, "Okay. I'll get working on it. Bye." you huffed and threw your phone against the couch.

Your album was due to be released in two months and you needed one more song to tie it all together. Your manager, Noelle, was pushing you to finish the song so she could start the promo of the album.

You were incredibly grateful for your career, but the pressure weighed down on you everyday. Never ending.

With a final groan you picked up your acoustic guitar and sat on the couch. Picking at the strings, trying to find a melody. You hit record on your voice memo app before strumming away.

"Someday maybe when we're old and grey, we can be in love once more. 'Till then I won't give my love away. Darling, I'm forever only yours." you sang softly.

You and Tom had a joyous relationship. A love that only ever existed in movies and fairytales. The type of love story that gets told for generations and onwards. But alas, all good things must come to an end.

Your breakup was calm, serene and clean. A mutual agreement as if your whole relationship had been a business deal. There were no loose ends or jealous passive aggressive remarks made. Just maturity and respect for one another.

Your pinky still held the promise ring he gave you. A token of appreciation. A reassurance that he'd always be there for you. And he lived up to his word.

Tom walked in and sat across from you, startling you, "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you. Whatcha writing?"

"Need a final song for the album. Sorry for showing up unannounced. I just get better inspiration here, with all the memories, you know?" you timidly looked back down at the guitar.

Tom nodded, "No need to apologize. We gave you a spare key for a reason."

You couldn't stop yourself from spilling the words from your lips, "That was when we were together."

You could hear the awkward silence start to fill the room before he spoke again, "Still our best friend, Y/L/N."

The pain that crossed your features was instant. Being addressed by your last name felt like a stab to the gut. Especially by Tom.

You nodded before playing again, "Can I help you write it?" Tom asked as he sat next to you.

"Dancer, gymnast, actor and now songwriter. How many hidden talents have you got, Holland?" you teased making him laugh.

He shrugged with a smile, "It's kind of like writing a poem, right?"

You pondered on his analogy before slowly nodding, "Yeah, it kind of is. Give it a go."

You began playing the melody and he listened intently for a few moments before singing, "I love seeing you happy. I miss seeing that smile. It's been such a long time. A– Nope. Nope. Nuh-uh. I can't do it." he shook his head aggressively with a loud laugh as you stopped playing.

"No!" you quickly protested, "That was amazing! Don't leave me hanging, c'mon." you nudged him with your shoulder before strumming again.

"Alright, alright." he ran his hands down his face, "And although I don't have you, I know now that I need to?" he paused and gave you a skeptical look before you nodded again, "Somehow make you mine. Mmm."

"Oh, okay. He's giving ad-libs and all. Get it." you nodded as he laughed.

You were so engrossed on Tom actually writing a song with you that you didn't focus on the lyrics he was singing.

"And I won't lie, it's hard seeing you with him 'cause I know he can't hold you like I can." his mood seemed to drop by a thousand as the words left his lips.

"When can we meet this boyfriend of yours?" Harrison flicked your forehead from across the booth.

You, Harrison, Tom and Tuwaine were all sat in the local pub. Pints of beer in front of each of you as loud music and chatting filled your ears.

You shrugged, "He's picking me up, so possibly tonight."

Tuwaine's eyes lit up, "Fina-fucking-lly. I swear you've kept him hidden for years."

"We've only been together for three months, T." you laughed lightly with the group of boys.

And they met him. It wasn't the smoothest of introductions, but an introduction nonetheless.

"Boys, this is Kai. Kai this is Tom, Harrison and Tuwaine." you gestured to the parties as they all shook hands and gave polite greetings.

"So," Harrison started, "What do you do for a living, Kai?"

Kai cleared his throat, "I'm a Senior Resident at Kingston Hospital. Working towards being Head of Pediatrics."

Tuwaine and Harrison both nodded, impressed by his profession. Tom's face remained expressionless as he stared at Kai with cold eyes.

"Do you have any siblings, Kai? Any psycho ex-girlfriends? Any wacky cousins?" Tuwaine joked making everyone laugh. "'Cause Y/N has a lot of wacky cousins."

"We could be in love once more,"

"Hey!" you gasped with a laugh.

Kai pulled you closer to him as he laughed, "No, no wacky cousins or psycho exes, but I do have an older sister and a younger brother."

This game of ask and answer continued on for a few more minutes. Tom didn't say a word, just sipped his beer and burned holes into Kai with his eyes. If looks could kill, Kai would be six feet under.

Kai was a sweetheart, but you two ended ages ago. His work got too much for him and your job had you touring and travelling every second.

You picked up after him with the chorus before diving into your own verse, "I remember that love song. I sang every word wrong, but you didn't mind, no, no."

"I love the things you do. It's how you do the things you love. Well it's not a love song, not a love song. I love the way you get me, but correct me if I'm wrong. This is not a love song, not a love song!" Tom belted the 'Austin & Ally' song from the top of his lungs.

"Your turn!" he pointed the pretend mic in your direction.

You laughed, not knowing any of the lyrics, but still wanting to participate, "I love that you not a licket! And you own a watch and chicken! We got a car!" you sang with full confidence, making Tom burst with laughter.

"Yes! Sing it, darling!" he cheered you on, "Absolutely butchering the lyrics, but sing it!"

"Being stuck inside a car. If it's not a doe, don't kiss it! I can't hear a missing, when there's a shoe inside the ceiling! If you really need to fart, you can lunch on a pig farm! Love song! Love song!" you couldn't even hear the song in the background, your voice overpowering it.

Tom was hunched over from laughing before he came back up and planted a soft kiss on your lips, "You are one hundred percent ridiculous and I love it."

You brought yourself back to reality and sang again, "And I'll admit that I miss you, but only if you do. 'Cause you know that I'm shy. And I can't lie, it's hard seeing you with her. 'Cause I know she can't love you like I can."

Tom's eyes met yours as the words fell from your gentle lips. His mouth was slightly agape as you continued to strum.

"You are absolute rubbish. Imagine coming in eighth. Embarassing." you laughed as you crushed Harrison in a game of Mario Kart.

He shoved you with his shoulder, "You're such a try ha—"

"—It's always the same, Tom! How can I trust you? You follow gorgeous models on Instagram and expect me to trust you?" Nadia's voice cut Harrison's words off.

You looked at him with wide eyes, his expression matching yours.

"Those women that I follow have been my friends for ages. Who I follow on a stupid app shouldn't effect how much you trust me."

You paused the game, cutting off the theme song, "How long have they been fighting like this?"

Harrison sighed, a long groan following, "A few weeks. I think it started when she saw that he liked your Instagram picture?"

You stammered, "M-my post? She got mad about my post?"

Harrison nodded before opening his mouth to speak, but Nadia cut him off again, "And she practically lives here! How do you think it makes me feel seeing my boyfriend play house with a superstar?!"

"Aw, a superstar? I'm flattered." you joked making Harrison stifle a laugh.

"I've been friends with Y/N since we were in nappies!"

"I can't be with you if you're going to be friends with her."

Your laughter abruptly died at her words. Harrison stiffened beside you.

"Y-you can't be serious. You can't make me choose between you and her."

"Why? Because you're gonna choose her?" you could hear her voice crack.

"I-" Tom couldn't make out a sentence for a few moments, "Yeah. I'm gonna choose her."

Your heart fell from it's place, stopping at your feet. Harrison brought a hand to his mouth, "H-he chose you. He chose you!" he whisper shouted before you shushed him.

"Of course. I don't know why I expected anything different. I think I'll be going now." Nadia's footsteps approached the living room.

You and Harrison scrambled to look as if you weren't eavesdropping on their argument/breakup.

Tom followed close behind her, "I'm sorry. I really am."

She nodded, hand on the doorknob, "I know. Goodbye." she stepped out of the house, slamming the front door shut in the process.

Tom let out a breath of relief before turning to you and Harrison who were staring at the Mario Kart home screen with the infamous tune playing.

"You guys are terrible actors."

"'Till then I won't give my love away,"

"I'm forever only yours." the both of you finished the song in unison.

There was a moment of silence before you reached over and ended the voice recording.

"T-that was really good. You can change what I wrote, I know it isn't as good as anything you would've written, but I tried. And it was actually pretty fun and I never knew how difficult songwriting was un—"

"—Kiss me." you cut Tom's rambling off.

His eyes grew wide, "W-wha—"

"—Kiss me, Holland."

He swallowed, a small smile stretching on his lips, "Thank God."

And with that, he leaned in and pressed his lips to yours. Interlocking like missing puzzle pieces. Moving in sync like waves in the ocean. Soft and sweet, but filled with passion. You could feel his smile against your lips causing you to grin.

His hand came up to pull your face closer into his. Caressing your jaw, fingertips playing with the hairs on the back of your neck. His other hand holding your hip in a tight grip. Pressing the pads of his digits into your flesh, scared that you might slip through his fingers again.

One of your hands was pressed flat against his chest. Steadying yourself, the heat of the kiss threatening to throw you off of your axis. Your other hand tangled itself into Tom's curls. Pulling and tugging lightly causing small groans to fall from Tom's lips. Your fingernails scratching his scalp. Pulling him impossibly closer to you.

"I want my ten pounds." Harrison's voice snapped you and Tom out of your make out session.

Him and Tuwaine stood in the doorway, shit eating grins on their faces.

Tuwaine laughed before placing a ten pound note in Harrison's palm, "You guys couldn't have waited until next month to get back together?"

"You two were betting on us?" Tom laughed at his mates who nodded.

You shook your head with a smile, "Absolute idiots, all of you."

Harrison let out a happy sigh and pocketed the money, "Today was a good day. Had a sick ass shoot. Got ten pounds. And my best friends are finally together again." he waltzed into the kitchen with Tuwaine, leaving you and Tom alone again.

Tom's shy expression met your gleeful one before he spoke, "Someday came a lot sooner than expected, huh?" he chuckled.

You nodded with a laugh, "It certainly did and I am not complaining."

He sent you a wide grin before cupping your face and connecting your lips to his again.

"Darling, I'm forever only yours."

[ihatebnha]

i had a thought, also hi it’s the barbarian!bakugo anon from before!

drummer!bakugo who whenever he’s bored he’ll put on his headphones, connect it to his phone, play a random playlist and accompanies the songs with him playing the drums, he’ll have only one ear open without music to listen to himself playing, trying to test out the errors he makes

drummer!bakugo who once he meets you, and learns that you’re pretty good at guitar whether it be bass, electric, classic, or acoustic, likes to play along with you whenever you do

drummer!bakugo who when he one day finds you testing out a song your band was making, accompanies slowly, testing the sound of his drums with your guitar, along the way pointing out what notes would sound better with whatever tempo on his drums

drummer!bakugo who once band his band has gotten the chance to go live on a stage spends the entire night watching you from his place, the way your arms move, how they flex, and how your muscles contract. all for him to see

drummer!bakugo who loves that his position is behind you with his drums, who loves when you go vocal along with jirou and mina

that's all i have, you might find me popping in when i have moments like these

🥺🥺🥺afjdsakdl this is honestly thee cutest thing EVER!!! I honestly wanna cry thinking about it because I went to a concert recently where the singer had a moment w/ her guitarist where they sang face to face and just looked so happy together, and I found out after the show that they were MARRIED.

This just screams that to me, esp. thinking about how drummer!Bakugo must show his love for you by both playing w/ you and watching you do what you're passionate about. I definitely feel like he's the type to never want to play with ANYONE except his band, so when he finds you, everyone knows it's an instant connection because the music is so natural EEEEEE...

ALSO... think of all the jam sessions you could have with him......... just enjoying being together and making music, with or withOUT other people....... heh heh heh.

Thank you sm for this, anon (and feel free to give yourself an anon name if you'd like)! I love your little thoughts💓💓💓