#reading the lyrics for daydream like Damn this song went off in every way possible

[kurohaneko]

enha really released the coolest song i've ever heard in my life about vampirism and drinking blood i feel bonkers

[sugarcoated-pain]

Heavy Rotation Part One

Here comes my first ever 5SOS fanfic! This series is a collaboration with the remarkable @sublimehood and we are super excited to finally share it with all of you! Let me know what you think! (unless you hate it, then keep that shit to yourself :P) 

Quick synopsis: New Girl meets Empire Records. All the boys are in this one, but with particular focus on Ashton <3 

Warnings: I cuss a lot *shrugs* . Also, this shit is LONGGGGG haha. 

Heavy Rotation- Part One 

Nothing had ever looked as beautiful as the city lights that lay ahead as the Greyhound sped toward Los Angeles. It wasn’t the lights themselves that appealed to me. Growing up less than two hours outside of New York City, it would take much more than that to impress this girl. No, it was the absolute freedom and opportunity for a whole new life that this magical new city held that had me glued to the window with excitement. I pulled one ear bud out to listen to the driver’s announcement with arrival details as I began gathering my belongings I had scattered across both seats in my row, as well as the row across from me. Books, notebooks full of song lyrics, my acoustic guitar, food wrappers, random articles of clothing and all kinds of miscellaneous shit were strewn all over. Sixty five hours was far too damn long to be cooped up in a moving vehicle, despite stopping several times. I had just gathered the last of my things at the very moment the bus came to a stop at the station.

After collecting my checked bag from the bus’s underbelly, I stopped for a moment to take it all in. The sun was just starting to rise and wash over the city with a soft, warm glow. Knowing nowhere I needed to be would be open this early, breakfast at the McDonald’s across the street from the station was sounding pretty damn good. I sat alone in a booth surrounded by the only possessions I owned that mattered anymore, and scrolling through musicians forums online on my cell phone. One particular neighborhood, Silver Lake, kept coming up in discussions and I just knew that was where I needed to start my search. If I were a normal, sane human, I should be utterly terrified of the fact that I just moved across the country with about two percent of a plan for my future, but I am not, in fact, a normal or sane human. It was exhilarating to not have a clue where I was sleeping that night, and to know that if I wanted to get anywhere in this city, I had to bust my ass to do it.

I let a couple of hours pass until it seemed like I might actually be able to accomplish something, hopped in a cab, and instructed the driver to take me to his favorite spot in Silver Lake, which turned out to be this killer little locally owned coffee shop. Don’t mind if I do! Dragging my few belongings along with a latte in hand, I begin my hunt for anything that looks like it involves music and might be hiring. I couldn’t possibly have expected this to be easy, right? Every recording studio, indie radio station and music store for at least a mile was extremely quick to kick this East Coast girl with way too much shit in her hands right back to the curb. That mildly uneasy feeling in my stomach, that probably would have started for anyone else back at the bus station in Jersey, began to creep up on me. I had enough cash in my beat- up handbag to get me maybe a week in a seedy motel, but what happened after that if I didn’t find a job IMMEDIATELY, I am not ready to start thinking about yet.

This situation requires more coffee. I make my back to Mr. Taxi Driver’s favorite coffee shop, order my drink, and skim the bulletins next to the counter while waiting. Somebody, somewhere must be hiring and/or looking for a roommate, right?

“Large cold brew, coconut milk and a shot of espresso.” the barista calls, setting my drink down. But at the exact moment I reach for it, someone else does too. A large hand accidentally covers mine, and I instinctively look up to see who it belongs to. The most gorgeous hazel eyes I have ever had the privilege of seeing lock with mine. His curly dirty blonde hair falling casually in his face, that chiseled jawline, that dimpled smile- holy crap. This is one seriously beautiful human being. Something inside me vaguely in the vicinity of my stomach decides it wants to be a gymnast all of the sudden and begins performing somersaults. I feel my cheeks flush slightly and finally remember to pull my hand away.

“Sorry. I assumed it was mine, but please. Take it.” The handsome stranger insists.

“Thanks,” I reply. “Pretty unusual order. I’ve never met anyone else who drank this.” I state, awkwardly. What the hell. Who even am I right now? I am NOT awkward. Pull yourself together, bitch.

The barista calls the same order once again, and Mr. Beautiful grabs it with smirk. “Cheers.” he says, holding his drink in the air in my direction. I playfully clink my plastic cup against his, and then I notice his eyes flutter to my guitar case on my arm. “Are you a musician?” he asks.

“Aspiring. You?” I answer, avoiding looking in his eyes to regain my confidence and for fear of never being able to stop.

“Also aspiring. I work for a recording studio part time but I’m also in a band, which is completely LA cliche, but they are some of the best musicians in this city. You should check us out sometime. Oh, I’m Ashton, by the way.” He says while flashing that mesmerizing smile once again and holding his hand out to shake mine. I reach for it. Dear god, those hands. The kind of hands that make you wonder what they’re really capable of…

“Emma,” I reply, regaining my composure and flashing a flirty smile. “This recording studio you speak of wouldn’t happen to be hiring by any chance, would it?”

“Hmm, I don’t think so, but ya know, it never hurts to ask.” he replies, as he reaches over the counter to grab the barista’s sharpie and a small napkin. I’m incapable of pulling my eyes off this flawless creature as he jots something down. “Here’s the address. Go in through the record store and ask for Liz. She should be there after 1pm today.” he adds as he hands me the napkin.

“Thanks! I didn’t think I’d run into someone so willing to help around here.” I reply excitedly, taking it from him a little too slowly and deliberately rubbing my fingers against his again.

“I’ve gotta get back to work, but hopefully I��ll see you around.” Ashton says with another goddamned smile as he walks away.

What the hell just happened to me? I feel like I got punched in the gut. I pick my bag up from off the floor, and drag it with my guitar and drink to the nearest table. Checking the time on my cell phone, I realize it is only 11:30am. So, looks like I’m sitting here daydreaming about what just happened for the next hour and a half. But that’s it though, that nagging voice in my head insists. Just daydreaming. No man is getting in the way of my music.

“UGH I know, I know.” I sigh to myself out loud. The elderly couple next to me turns to me with puzzled expressions on their faces, and I simply smile back at them and turn back to my phone.

The walk to the record store wasn’t far, so I gathered up my things and decided to go there shortly after one o'clock. The black sign above the door read “Heavy Rotation” in an edgy, handwritten-looking font. I take a deep breath and enter the record store Ashton had written on the napkin. An attractive guy around my age with electric blue hair is sitting on a stool with his feet propped up on the counter next to the cash register flipping through what appears to be a rock n roll magazine. He doesn’t even blink when I walk in. “Welcome to Heavy Rotation. Let me know if you need any help.” He says, in a somewhat disgruntled tone, still not looking up.

“Hi,” I greet him as I approach the counter, “I’m looking for Liz? And also, I like your hair.”

He glances up and looks me up and down, as if appraising the situation. “Thanks, I like yours too.” My fire engine red ombre look wasn’t properly appreciated in small-town New Jersey, but I knew LA would understand.“Gimme a sec, I’ll go get Liz.” Blue-haired guy walks to the back of the room, and I take the opportunity to glance around. It’s perfect. A little dark, very “offbeat”- retro but with a cutting-edge vibe; low ceiling, eclectic lighting, rows upon rows of records, vintage and new alike. The store itself is much larger than it appears from the outside, as it stretches far back into the building. A deep purple velvet curtain covers a doorway on the right side of the room, separate from where Blue-Hair went into, and I have a sneaking suspicion the recording studio lies beyond. A thrill creeps up my spine. Solely over the concept of being so close to where music is actually produced, and having absolutely nothing at all to do with the fact that the flawless man from the coffee shop is most likely behind that curtain.

Blue-hair comes back with a blonde lady, whom one could deduce is Liz. I approach her with my hand outstretched. “Hi, Liz? I’m Emma. I met Ashton at a coffee shop and he thought I might be able to talk you into a possible job around here?”

She shakes my hand while looking me up and down, eyes lingering for a moment on my guitar. “I bet he did.” she replies with a small chuckle. Not really sure what the hell that’s supposed to mean… “It’s nice to meet you, Emma. I’m sorry, hon, but we aren’t hiring at the moment.”

“Please. I’m sorry to sound pushy and desperate but I’ll do anything you need. There has to be SOMETHING I could do here.” I press, attempting to keep the panic out of my voice.

“Well, what makes you think you would be a good fit here?” Liz asks, eyeing me interestedly.

I take a deep breath. “I have wanted to be a musician for as long as I can remember. I’ve been singing since before I could talk and music has always been my number one passion in life. I know more about music than most people twice my age. I just graduated from music school and realized the east coast scene wasn’t right for me and that I needed to get away from everything there, and hopped a Greyhound bus four days ago to come here and be close to the music. I just want to work a job with music while I work toward my dream. And, not to judge or anything, but looking at this place you’ve got here, I’d say you seem like the type of person who can appreciate that.”

Liz studies me once more, and then slowly answers. “Well, I think we could use a little help with cleaning and organizing between the store and the studio. I won’t be able to give you a ton of hours, and the pay won’t be much. Still something you’re interested in?”

“YES! I mean.. Yeah I think I could make that work.” I reply eagerly.

“Alright then. Come back to the office with me and we can sort out all the details and legal crap.”

Thirty minutes later, I follow Liz out of the office for her to give me the grand tour. Realizing I’m still lugging around everything I own, I ask, “..you wouldn’t happen to know anyone in the area who is looking for a roommate, would you?”

Blue-hair perks up from the behind the cash register, “did you say roommate? Are you looking for a place to stay?”

“Mikey… I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.” Liz chimes in immediately.

Glancing back and forth between the two of them, I turn back to Mikey, “uh, yeah I am. Do you know a place?”

“I live upstairs with my friends and we currently happen to be looking for a roommate!” he replies enthusiastically.

“Well that sounds almost too perfect… can I see the space?” I ask, ignoring the look of disapproval on Liz’s face.

“Liz, mind if I abandon my post for a minute to run her upstairs?” Mikey asks.

She sighs, and then nods.

I stash my stuff in a corner of the store and follow him up the stairs. The building is pretty old, but in the cool, artsy, vintage way and not the nasty, dilapidated old. When we reach the second floor landing, Mike pulls out a set of keys and unlocks the front door. One could definitely tell that only guys lived there, but that they appeared to have attempted to straighten up a bit. Growing up with 3 brothers, none of this phases me. The architecture was naturally gorgeous but there was really no other decor. Mismatched couches and chairs surrounded an extremely nice and unnecessarily large TV which was surrounded by various video game consoles.

“So, this is the living room. The kitchen is over there. Uh.. there’s only one bathroom, so that kinda sucks, but it’s right here.” Mikey says as he gestures me through the space. “And this here, is your room.”

It was a small room with just a twin sized bed and a small dresser already furnished. Nothing fancy, just the basics, which is exactly what I need at this moment. “How much is the rent?” I ask him.

“Uhh.. so we hadn’t really talked about it yet but considering that Luke’s parents own the building, we pretty much just each pay what we can…” he answers.

“Luke?”

“OH, yeah he’s one of my roommates and Liz’s son, I think he’s home actually, I can introduce you. HEY LUKE!” he shouts across the apartment. Moments later, a tall, good-looking blonde boy steps into the living area. “Luke, this is Emma.. your mom just hired her downstairs, and she needs a place to stay so I’m showing her the extra room.”

“Oh, hey. Nice to meet you, Emma. What do you think so far?” Luke answers, walking over to us.

“Hey,” I answer. “I think it’s perfect actually.” I bite my lip to try and hold back the smile that threatened to expose me. Was every single person who has anything to do with this building good looking?

“Can I ask what brings you to LA?” Luke asks.

“The typical, aspiring musician. But it’s everything I’ve ever wanted. I met Ashton at the coffee shop, he thought you guys might be able to help me out.” I’ve probably said too much.

“I hope so. When can you move in?” Luke asks, and Mikey gets overly excited beside me.

“I um...right now?” I laugh a little awkwardly.

“Perfect.” Luke flashes a smile that would make any girl weak in the knees. But it’s nothing compared to the dimpled one I had the pleasure of witnessing on Ashton’s face.

Things might be going my way a little too conveniently. OR maybe this is the universe’s way of telling me this is exactly where I belong. The guys offer to give me a tour of the recording studio, which I jump at since it’s basically all that’s on my mind right now. When we get back downstairs, they introduce me to a pretty dark-haired girl by the name of Georgia who works in the record store.

“Oh thank god! We need more girls around here!” she sighs with relief as she shakes my hand. She and Mikey both get back to work as Luke leads me through the curtain I had seen earlier toward the recording studio. This is it. This is what I came here for. Excitement starts building, and I’m going to pretend it’s exclusively over the possibility of finally being able to make music, NOT because I know the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen might also be somewhere behind that curtain.

The recording studio is everything I ever imagined and more. Dark walls, sleek black furniture and decor, framed awards and photos of celebrities lining the walls.  When we enter, Luke introduces me to Calum, their tall, dark and handsome ‘other roommate’ who also happens to be Georgia’s boyfriend. I mentally answer my previous question- yes, every single person associated with this building is drop-dead gorgeous.

“Other roommate?? How many people live up there?!” I ask, half amused, half concerned.

“Don’t worry,” Luke assures me, “you get your own room. We worked out a system for the rest of us….”

“.. I don’t wanna know…” I say darkly.

Both guys laugh. “Don’t worry, it’s just us, Mikey and Ashton.” Calum replies.

I choke on air at his last word. “Ashton? The guy I met at the coffee shop? HE is also our roommate??”

As if on cue, Ashton comes into the main area through a door to the left. “Hey! Emma, isn’t it? Looks like you found the place!”

“My mom hired her to help out around here, and she’s also gonna take the spare bedroom upstairs.” Luke adds.

A look passes over Ashton’s face, just briefly. What is that look? Surprise? Disappointment? Concern? It’s gone before I can even register what the hell that might be about, and his winning smile is back. “Wow! Awesome! Well, welcome.”

Just as I’m about to reply, a thin, fake-tanned girl with long blonde hair struts into the studio like she owns the place. “Hey babe, are you off work yet? You said you’d be done an hour ago.” She whines, making her way over to Ashton and wrapping her arms around his waist.

I try hard not to show any signs that my stomach plummeted through the floor at the sight of them together. Let her have him. You didn’t sit on a disgusting bus for sixty five hours to meet guys. You’re here for music. He would only distract you.

“Camille, this is Emma. She’s gonna be working with us and also renting out the spare bedroom upstairs. Emma, this is my girlfriend, Camille.” Ashton introduces us. Is it just in my head or was there something about the way he said the word ‘girlfriend’?

Camille eyes me up and down, clearly debating whether or not I might be a threat. I make the first move. “It’s great to meet you! Nice to know I won’t be constantly surrounded by only guys..” I extend my hand to shake hers. She hesitates before taking it, and doesn’t say anything. So that’s how it’s gonna be.

Ashton and Camille leave the studio together. Everybody else goes about their business, so I head back to where I had stashed my belongings in the record store and take them upstairs, to my new home. I look around as I enter it again, taking everything in. When I get to the bedroom, I toss my stuff on the floor and collapse on the bed. I made it. I did it. I am actually living in Los Angeles. Now, to survive.

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

Part Six

Part Seven

Part Eight

[kimnamjooonz]

Blank Space - Episode 9

PBlank Space 

Showing up in this episode:

Karlie Kloss

Tom Holland:

Taylor Swift:

Chris Evans:

Basically everyone is here. 

Songs that inspired this chapter:

Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m bored - Ariana Grande. (Morgan’s song)

I’m a Mess - Bebe Rexha (Also Morgan’s song)

Don’t Hurt Yourself - Beyonce

I Did Something Bad - Taylor Swift

Hands To Myself - Selena Gomez

Mambo N. 5 - Lou Bega

Dancing Queen - Abba

Africa - Toto

Hey Ya - Outkast

Blank Space - Taylor Swift.

Okay, this is a hot mess but I had a lot of fun writing it.

''Oh my God, who is she, I get drunk on jealousy, when you come back is time you leave, cause darling I'm a nightmare dressed like daydream.''

After the Madison Square Garden outing, the two weirdest weeks followed. Morgan and Sebastian had rescued a cat and almost kissed but after that, Sebastian came back to his senses and Morgan went into a spiral of anger without any precedent. The thing was that for a moment she had thought that she had achieved something after the moment they had shared while rescuing Thirteen so, it was a disappointment of the size of the Empire State when on the next day pictures of Sebastian and his girlfriend splashed the Internet. Morgan was as livid as the majority of Sebastian's fans. But, just like in the old times, she kept her emotions to herself and went on with her life. Only Taylor noticed that something was off and that Morgan was ready to snap. Not of stress or pressure but of anger. But Morgan was taking revenge in the best way she could: by landing her first Vogue cover, being invited to every show at the New York fashion week and hanging out with the most popular models afterwards. And being loved by apparently everyone on the Internet. On set, everything was as normal as it ever was. Morgan and Sebastian kept their outstanding chemistry but when the cameras stopped rolling, they went back to their brooding selves, hardly sharing a word. At least they weren't shouting at each other anymore even though Sebastian could see a shadow of anger in Morgan's eyes every time she looked at him. There were only two people that knew the reason why Morgan had been like a chained monster the last couple of weeks: her assistant Lucas and her new friend Karlie Kloss. She had met Karlie at the New York Fashion Week and they had immediately clicked. They were often pictured together leaving events or hanging out around the city. Morgan hadn't had any other option but to tell Lucas as he had found her smashing a glass of water to the floor after a new set of pictures of Sebastian and his girlfriend had surfaced the Internet, this time kissing. Lucas was a bit alarmed by Morgan's attack of jealousy and decided to call Karlie to help him handle her. He decided to not tell Taylor who was going to give Morgan an earful, without any doubt. Together decided to distract Morgan with an sleepover and a Harry Potter marathon. Taylor joined them, even though she found the situation curious. Morgan just lied and told her that she had had a bad day at set and they were helping her to relax. But Morgan needed help to release that anger. The best solution was to get over Sebastian but everyone knew that this was not going to happen any time soon. Morgan's solution was to run him over with her Porsche but Lucas had pointed out that this was probably getting Morgan to prison and would end her career in a heartbeat. Luckily Karlie proposed Morgan to do kickboxing with her and she had liked the idea. She already knew how to do rugby tackles and now she was learning to punch and kick. Lucas and Taylor were a bit reluctant. The were starting to fear for Sebastian Stan's well being. Taylor still remember the words that Clint had told Morgan at the airport: 'If they break your heart, you break their necks.'. She prayed that Morgan didn't took that piece of advice to heart. But after a week doing kickboxing, she could feel the difference. Anger wasn't clouding her thoughts anymore and she could feel her wits getting sharper and more calculating. Or that was what she thought. Many others had noticed too. Taylor, Lucas and Karlie were proud of her as she was in a much better mood. Even Sebastian had noticed. There was no anger in her eyes anymore but sometimes she caught her staring at him in a way that made him wonder if she knew something he didn't or if she was planning to give him an slow and painful death. That Friday evening Morgan was with Lucas and Karlie at the gym. Don't Hurt Yourself by Beyoncé was blasting and Morgan was punching a punching bag with all the force in  the world, and the song was motivating.  They were even singing some lyrics. ''I am the dragon breathing fire, beautiful mane I'm the lion, beautiful man I know you're lying...'' Punch. Karlie was impressed. In a week Morgan's workout was noticeable. She looked even more stunning, if that was possible. ''Morgan, sing the next part because it's absolutely epic.'' said Lucas, laughing.

''We just got to let it be, let it be, let it be, baby'.. HEY BABY'' Punch. ''WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK ARE YOU?'' Punch. ''I SMELL THAT FRAGANCE ON YOUR LOUIS V BOY'' Punch.  'JUST GIVE MY FAT ASS A BIG KISS BOY'' Punch. ''TONIGHT I'M FUCKING UP ALL YOUR SHIT BOY'' Punch. Punch. Punch. Punch. Morgan was punching that bag as it had personally offended her.

''This is so cathartic'' said Lucas, who was lying on a mat, tired. ''It is'' the song had stopped and Morgan was on a little break to drink water and rest. ''Brilliant, Morgan, brilliant'' said Peter, Morgan and Karlie's personal trainer. He was a lovable big guy, who was always flirting with Lucas. And Lucas shamelessly flirted back. Morgan always thought that he was the reason why Lucas kept going to the gym with her and Karlie. ''I wouldn't like to be the person you're angry at.'' ''You're right. You wouldn't like to.'' Morgan looked at her reflection on the big mirror and she loved what she saw. Her back was more muscular and her arms more defined. ''Are you sure you're not training for an action movie?'' he asked. ''Something Marvel related? After all, you work with Sebastian Stan and he's from Marvel.'' Thinking of the DEVIL, there he was, mentioned again. ''Not at all. Maybe I take on the mantle of Captain America now that Chris Evans is leaving.'' she said with sarcasm. ''It seems that you're enjoying being Stan's partner way too much that you want to do it again.'' Karlie teased her again and Lucas laughed out loud. Peter was the only one that didn't understand. ''Keep teasing, you two'' Morgan rolled her eyes at him. ''Let's do something else.'' ''Let's try to combine your kicks with your punches, okay?'' Karlie was searching for another song to motivate Morgan. Taylor Swift's I did Something Bad was the chosen one. Morgan was thinking exactly the same. Peter was guiding Morgan in everything that she needed to do, and of course that the song lyrics were helping her. They say I did something bad, why does it feel so good? Punch. They say I did something bad why does it feel so... Punch. ...good? Kick. Most fun I ever had and I'll do it over and over and over again...'' Punch. If I could... Kick. It just felt so... Punch. Kick. ...good. Punch. Kick. Karlie and Lucas were having a lot of fun, watching Morgan kick and punch, totally possessed with the song. ''LIGHT ME UP! LIGHT ME UP! GO AHEAD AND LIGHT ME UP!'' they sang, trying not to laugh.   She finished basically submissing Peter. ''Okay, okay, you were good Morgan. Anger motivates you.'' he ruffled her hair. ''See you newt week and don't punch anyone, okay?'' She just nodded. She was so tired that she was lying in a mat, breathing heavily and trying to get some energy and get up. ''So... ready for tonight?'' Karlie asked. That night there was going to be a cast party but everyone knew it was more than that. Many people was going to go, and they weren't related to the movie at all but Damien had invited them for publicity. Morgan herself had invited Taylor, Lucas and Karlie. Everyone knew that Sebastian was going to bring his girlfriend and everyone was asking if Joe Alwyn was going to bring Taylor Swift. For all of these reasons, Morgan was excited. ''More than ever'' she was still lying on the mat, moving her hands sensually at the rhythm of Selena Gomez's Hands To Myself. Lucas jumped from the mat with Morgan's phone in his hands. ''Can I film this for your Instagram? This is too priceless. Post workout Morgan Llewellyn lip synching and looking devastatingly sexy. Perfect.'' ''Perfect to PornHub'' commented Karlie. ''Shut up, Kloss. Now, do what you were doing, Morgan. Remember, you can't keep your hands to yourself. Taylor is going to kill you but not before you kill a certain someone of a heart attack. Now, action.'' At the other side of Manhattan, Sebastian was opening the new Instagram notification from Morgan only to end up weak on the knees with his eyes almost bulging out of his skull. He had to sit down to call himself a little and watch the video again. ''Damn'' was the only thing he could mumble.

''You are absolutely out of control.'' Taylor reprimanded Morgan once they were at home getting ready for the party. ''I told you not to post sexy stuff.'' ''It was good.'' Morgan was ready and she was sitting on the table, looking bored. ''Did you see how many likes it got?'' ''Yeah, including one from your co-star.'' Taylor kept curling her hair. Lucas giggled. He was straightening the front of his shirt. He and Morgan knew that they had achieved their purpose. And it was just he beginning. Lucas couldn't wait to see what else Morgan had in store. She looked spectacular, with a metallic short, loose dress, that had a star in the middle with an inscription in Welsh. It highlighted her long legs to perfection. She accompanied the look with high heels, snake themed jewellery and her signature red lip. ''Beth bynnag y mae'n ei gymryd, rwyf bob amser yn ennill.'' Taylor read the inscription in Morgan's dress. ''Isn't that a bit threatening?'' ''It depends how you take it. And no one except you understands Welsh.'' ''What does it say?'' asked Lucas. ''Whatever it takes, I'm always going to win.''  Taylor translated the sentence. ''Childish.'' however, Taylor was a bit weary of Morgan, who was not going to give up in whatever she was planning. Taylor didn't want to know. So, Morgan was going to go there making statements and no one was going to understand. ''Let's go, remember we're picking up Karlie on our way there.''

Sebastian was already in the place accompanied by his girlfriend and his friends. Damien Chazelle was around as well as some of the cast, pop music was on the background and the place was peaceful only because Morgan Llewellyn hadn't arrived yet. ''Are you sure she's not here yet?'' Florence asked. ''Yes. If she were here you'd notice that. She's chaotic and this place too peaceful.'' Florence wanted to meet the infamous Morgan Llewellyn once and for all to see if she was as bad as Sebastian said she was. Sebastian glanced at the windows. A horde of paparazzi were outside that didn't pay much attention to him when he got in. They most asked questions that were asked went like: ''Are you and Morgan dating? Because you should, you look gorgeous together'' (and they had asked that IN FRONT of his girlfriend), ''What do think about Morgan's latest Instagram video?'' or ''What do you think about the rumour of Morgan Llewellyn leading the live action Wicked movie?''. They just wanted to ask stuff about Morgan. Suddenly there was a commotion outside and there were flashes everywhere. ''What the hell...'' Florence mumbled. ''There she is. I told you she was chaotic.'' Florence suddenly wanted to leave. She hadn't even seen Morgan yet and she knew that she was whatever but good news. She was too overwhelming and she hadn't entered the building yet. And her feelings were justified when Morgan entered the place. Immediately, Sebastian's group knew that he had been right: pictures didn't do her justice. Morgan in person was ten times more gorgeous and with that metallic dress that exposed her long legs she looked like an exotic flamingo. In Florence's opinion she looked like a beautiful snake. ''I think I lost my ability to breath'' Chace mumbled. ''If you don't want her for you, set me up!'' ''Shut up, Chace!'' Sebastian desperately hissed. But he was with his eyes fixed on Morgan in a not so subtle manner. But Florence was staring at Morgan too. She was built like a Victoria's Secret Angel and she walked like one. She was pacing the room with feline steps, like she owned the place. She was vibrant, magnetic, full of life and absolutely chaotic. Morgan wasn't looking at them but Karlie Kloss was and Florence didn't like her expression. When Florence finally took her glance off of Morgan she saw Sebastian, Toby, Will and Chace staring at her with their mouths hanging open. ''Snap out of it!'' Florence reprimanded them but none only Will took notice. Morgan walked straight to Damien who was waiting for her. ''My dear Morgan! I was waiting for you! Finally the star of the show is here! I want you to meet a couple of people...'' In five minutes she was surrounded by a circle of influential people. From Greta Gerwig, Patty Jenkins, Kevin Feige (that no one knew what was he doing there) and many more. Only after half an hour she was free. ''I think I'm meeting my cast mates'' she said to Karlie and Lucas (Taylor was still talking to Greta Gerwig). Firstly she went to greet Michael and Alicia and then Emily and her husband John Krasinski. They talked for some minutes until Morgan decided that she couldn't keep avoiding the inevitable and approached Sebastian's table before she had any chance of chickening out and running away. Florence felt a pit in her stomach when she saw Morgan approaching. But there was no way to avoid her. But Morgan wasn't looking at her, she had her impressive blue eyes fixed on Sebastian. ''Nice co-star you make. You're here hiding while I have to deal with everyone.'' Florence was surprised. She was expecting Morgan Llewellyn to hiss or to speak Parseltongue. Instead, she had a silky voice that combined with a standard British accent that made it sound completely irresistible. ''What's the deal with you, mate? You always act like you don't even want to be here.'' Florence absolutely detested her. She just needed a couple of seconds next to Morgan to see that she was even worse than what Sebastian said she was. ''You have the whole stage to yourself, Llewellyn. Go and shine.'' Florence wondered if that was banter or if they really were used to say snarky things at each other. ''It tears me apart to say this, doll, but you may be right. With that sour face you won't charm anyone. Why don't you leave? TacoBell is having discount night. You can have a nice dinner there.'' Wait a second... since when Morgan Llewellyn called Sebastian 'doll'? ''I told you two weeks ago, princess. I'm not leaving, I'm staying.'' Florence was about to blow up. He was shamelessly calling Morgan 'princess'. He didn't even called her like that. What was the game they were playing at? ''That's on you, Stan. Have fun if you like or do whatever the hell you want, I don't care. Remember we're on the public eye and we're supposed to be friends so at least smile when you're talking to me. I don't want a Madison Square Garden 2.0, believe me, doll'' Florence couldn't stand it anymore. ''Hello, I'm Florence. I'm Sebastian's girlfriend.'' she had to intervene before Morgan tore Sebastian apart with her words. And she couldn't stand her calling him 'doll'. ''Oh, hi'' Morgan looked at her with a sweet expression. Nothing on her beautiful face revealed a drop of animosity but her eyes told a complete different story. They were cold as ice. ''Sebastian talks a lot about you.'' Sebastian couldn't believe that Florence was saying that. But his girlfriend was still angry because he had called Morgan 'princess'. ''How nice'' Morgan said with an unemotional voice. ''Can't say the same, but we almost never talk, so don't worry.'' Florence was reading the words on Morgan's dress. They were in some strange language that she didn't know. It wouldn't surprise her if it was a curse. Nothing would surprise her about Morgan. ''What does it say?'' she asked with a fake smile, pointing at the dress. ''To be or not to be, that is the question'' she lied without wincing. The message was to Sebastian, not to Florence. ''Shakespeare's Hamlet in Welsh. Balmain customised this dress for me with this quote.'' ''So you are Welsh. I thought you were British.'' Florence meant to say 'English' but she couldn't think clearly with Morgan in front of her. Morgan blinked a couple of times in confusion. ''Wales is part of Britain.. but maybe I'm not the best person to explain this... you can always go to the Wikipedia. It's pretty clearly explained.'' she turned around, making it clear that the conversation was over. Then she noticed Chace. ''You're Chace Crawford! Oh darlin'! I love you since Gossip Girl!'' Sebastian almost dropped his glass to the floor. He could see that Chace had got numb. ''Thank you. That is... a wonderful compliment.'' ''I have to go now, see you later.'' she smiled at him in a nice way, not flirty or anything of the sort. They all watched Morgan leave and take a seat in a table with Lucas and Karlie. ''She hates me'' Florence said, out of nowhere. ''She doesn't'' Toby showed up out of nowhere after he and Will had vanished when Morgan appeared to the scene. But they had been listening to everything. ''She hates Sebastian, you're just collateral damage. And she was pretty nice to you.'' Will laughed out loud. ''She literally said 'Can't say the same' and sent her to look up stuff in the Wikipedia. In which world that counts as being nice? Sebastian was right, she's a snake.'' ''She's not!'' apparently Chace was caught in the Morgan spell. ''I don't know what did you see. But she's really nice. She's just angry at you because you got two hours late to the first read through and invented she was on a date with you, Florence'' Sebastian wanted to punch Chace on the face. That was one of the things he wasn't supposed to tell anyone. But apparently justifying Morgan was more important to him. ''But you weren't! Sebastian!'' Florence looked at him with anger. ''Thank you very much! She was right after all! Where were you by the way?'' Sebastian couldn't think of an explanation that made sense. He had had a mental breakdown that fateful morning but he was not telling that to Florence. ''It doesn't matter'' ''Yes, it matters because thanks to your stupid lies now Morgan Llewellyn loathes me and wants me out of the picture'' Sebastian, Chace and Toby looked at her with their eyebrows raise. ''C'mon! You can see it all over her fake sweet face.'' ''You're just paranoid'' Sebastian kept his eyes glued to Morgan's back, who was with her friends and some other people. ''If she hates someone here, she hates me.'' ''The thing is...'' Will looked at him, straight in the eyes. ''...she doesn't hate you, Sebastian. And you know it.'' Many more people had arrived and some of them had joined Morgan and her friends who were just talking about harmless stuff like pets or what was going to happen in the next season of Game of Thrones. Between Morgan's new company were Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon and Harrison Osterfield. No one knew why they were there but their funny personalities gave life to the group. Tom Holland started to tell anecdotes that had everyone in tears. Sebastian couldn't kept his eyes away from her for a second. And she hadn't looked at him once. He got distracted only when Chace stood up. ''Where are you going?'' he asked. ''With them.'' he pointed at Morgan's group. ''They're a young and lively bunch.'' ''So you're on her side, now. Wow, thank you, Chace.'' ''I'm in nobody's side, stop being so immature. They look like they're having a great time and we're here in silence watching them have fun. I'd rather be there.'' And without any more words he left and second later he was installing himself between Zendaya and Karlie Kloss, being all smiles. The only thing Sebastian wanted was to follow him. After a while Toby's loyalty to him was over and he followed on Chace's footsteps. Morgan received him with a huge smile. Only Will and Florence were still with him. ''I'm getting a drink'' he almost ran to the bar. Michael Fassbender was there and Morgan was near, mysteriously talking with Karlie and Tom. Maybe they were talking about him or maybe he was as paranoid as Florence. He asked for a beer and was going to get back to his table when Michael approached him. ''Finally I get you alone... I'm going to be direct with you because you look painfully unhappy... just, once and for all, make up your mind'' ''What?'' he knew that what Michael had just said made perfect sense but he was not going to admit it. ''Don't try to deny it. I've been watching you and you could take your eyes off of her for a second.'' it was pretty clear who 'her' was. ''Just...clear that head of yours. Once you do that, you'll be a happier person, trust me.'' Michael went back to his table, in which his wife was talking to Morgan's agent. He was still processing Michael's words and looking at Morgan, who was talking only with Karlie, who after getting a drink was going back to the table. It was now or never. Without overthinking too much he approached her. He knew that what he was doing was wrong but he didn't care. Suddenly he was feeling reckless. ''So, you've been working out, Llewellyn?'' Morgan looked at him with suspicion. ''Glad you watched my Instagram video. I guess you enjoyed it.'' ''Yeah, half the world enjoyed it.'' he got one step closer to her. ''But that's not how I noticed. You look different. Stronger.'' Morgan had a side smirk on her face. ''Thanks for the compliment. There's nothing better than strength in this world. Physical strength and strength of character get you ahead in this universe. You feel powerful.'' He got even closer to her. ''What the hell are you playing at?'' Morgan looked at him with a side smile, without no hint of shame. ''My own game, Stan. It's not my fault you're bitter because you're not involved in it.'' He looked at her with the same smile. ''Are you sure of that? I'm pretty much sure I'm well into your game.'' ''Why don't you... prove it?'' she said the last words very slowly. She knew he couldn't. She was never evident about her feelings in front of anyone, let alone, him. He got so close to her that they were almost touching. Morgan needed all her self control to keep herself level headed. ''I thought something had changed between us after MSG. But no. You went back to being the insufferable person you were before.'' ''Look who's talking! I didn't see much of a difference in your behaviour, Stan.'' He had his eyes glued to her. Even though the room was full, this moment was just theirs. ''We shared a moment, Morgan.'' ''And? You come here talking about moments, when your girlfriend is right there looking at you. You have no shame, Sebastian. You thought we shared a moment but, I'm sorry to tell you that nothing of what I told you was of much importance''. But he didn't give up. He closed the space between them, placing her hand softly on her shoulder and leaned in order to whisper something on her ear. ''Keep lying to yourself, Morgan.'' his lips were almost brushing her skin. ''It meant something for you and it meant a lot to me.'' he placed a short and soft kiss just below her ear, leaving Morgan absolutely disarmed. He left with a smile and winking. The bastard knew that her had won this round. At least Morgan had the consolation that his girlfriend was going to give him hell and erase that winning smile from his face. But she was needing all her self control because her insides were screaming.  She was obviously very shaken. ''What did he tell you?'' asked Karlie when she was back at the table. ''Nothing of importance.'' she said with all the calm in the world. ''Some crap about my Instagram video. Idiot.'' she didn't know why she was lying to Karlie. Maybe because there were many things that she liked to keep to herself. Like the sensation of Sebastian Stan's lips brushing against her skin for less than a second. Sebastian kept the winning smile for a good while. The magic lasted until Florence spoke. ''Are you going to explain what happened with your co-star? You two were pretty close.'' ''I was just telling her something about Tom Holland. Nothing serious'' he wasn't very focused on giving a strong excuse. The only thing that ran around his head was the softness of Morgan's skin and how good it'd feel to place more kisses in that neck of hers... Will, who had spent the night basically in silence, noticed Sebastian's absent minded and dreamy expression. ''Sebastian!'' Florence said in a loud voice that scared him a little. ''I was talking to you.'' ''Yeah, I know and I wasn't hexed by Morgan, we were just talking.'' once again, he was talking before thinking. '' She's a person by the way, not a creature from Mordor...'' then he noticed Florence's expression. ''Do you think I'm having an affair with her? Trust me, I'm not.'' ''I don't trust you'' she blatantly said. ''But I trust Morgan's ego. She'd never accept to be anyone's side chick. She has to be in the spotlight, she demands full attention, she has to be the one and only. I kind of pity the poor guy that ends up with her.'' Sebastian didn't share that view. ''She's not that bad, you know.'' ''Sebastian!'' he got yelled for the second time in ten minutes, this time by Will. ''You were the one that told us that she was a snake and we believed you. We're on your side, not like Chace and Toby, who are there laughing and having fun.'' But they couldn't finish what they were talking about because someone was making his way into the place: the one and only Chris Evans. Before Sebastian could even wave at him, Damien had already caught him and a second later he was introducing him to Morgan Llewellyn. ''What the hell Damien!'' he hissed. The only thought he had on his head was 'Not Chris, not Chris, not Chris, anyone but Chris.' He had to control himself for ten minutes while watching them talk. Thankfully someone had got the idea of dancing and Morgan had grabbed Jacob's arm and jumped to the dancefloor. Sebastian was starting to hate the Mambo Number Five only because he just wanted to be in Jacob Batalon's place so hard it hurt. Some minutes later she was dancing to Dancing Queen with Chace. But the worst was yet to come. It seemed that the world was testing how much jealousy he could bear before snapping. The first notes of Africa by Toto started to sound and he was absolutely scandalised when he saw Chris inviting Morgan to dance this particular song. And she accepted. Of course she was going to accept. Who on earth would reject dancing with Chris Evans? ''I can't believe it!'' he hissed. ''This is our song!'' ''What? Do you have a song with Morgan Llewellyn?!'' Florence just couldn't deal with this situation. She was discovering a side of Sebastian she had never seen before. The side that was very similar to Morgan's chaotic personality. And she didn't like it one bit. ''Just ignore him'' Will answered for him because Sebastian was too concentrated looking a Morgan and Chris. ''He's bewitched. It seems like that woman's exclusive fragance was poisonous after all.'' ''Well...'' Florence said bitterly. ''I don't see Toby, Tom Holland and his friends or Chris Evans bewitched. Not even Chace looks like a dreamy idiot anymore. Only Sebastian is acting like a fool. What does she have anyway?'' ''What she doesn't have'' it seemed like Sebastian was listening after all. The song ended and Morgan and Chris stayed a bit further apart from the rest of the group, sitting alone in a table. Sebastian was fuming. ''I have to stop this.'' he stood up and went towards Chris and Morgan. ''Sebastian, don't!'' Florence was getting desperate. ''Just don't do it!'' but he didn't listen. Chris and Morgan were having a normal conversation. None of them was flirting, that was absolutely out of the question. They were just talking about their pets. Chris was telling Morgan all about his dog, Dodger. ''...I love him. He's like my son. He's so unique... do you have dogs?'' There was nothing that Morgan liked more than talking about her animals. ''I have two corgis. Well, one is actually my brother's. We named them after Doctor Who characters. Mine's Doctor River Song and Clint's Captain Jack Harkness. I also have cats.'' ''Oh, I like cats too, no more than dogs but they can be nice. Are yours named after fictional characters too?'' ''No. I named them after Elizabethan people. I have Sir Francis Drake, William Shakespeare and Lady Elizabeth Tudor, who was Queen Elizabeth's name when she was Henry VIII's bastard daughter. It's impressive the amount of history you can learn through Shakespeare plays. Oh, and I rescued a cat here in New York. I named him Thirteen because of the thirteenth Doctor, who's finally a female, and I was born on a thirteen.'' She didn't mention Sebastian in the story. He had been the one that had actually found Thirteen after all. But Chris, or anyone else, didn't needed to know that. ''I was also born on a thirteenth. But of June.'' And also Sebastian, Morgan thought. But of August. Great. The triumvirate of the Thirteens. ''And I also have a sheep'' she added before making the mistake of blurting stuff about Sebastian in front of Chris Evans. ''Lady Macbeth....'' she was about to explain why she had chosen that name when she was interrupted by Sebastian. ''And here comes the Grinch.'' ''Chris, we need to talk.'' Chris was as surprised as Morgan by his attitude. ''Well, hello Sebastian. I had no idea that you were here. I haven't seen you yet.'' ''Yeah, yeah, we need to talk'' he basically dragged Chris away from Morgan, who wondered if he was jealous of her as she was talking with his beloved Chris Evans. ''Seb, are you okay?'' Chris was a bit concerned. ''What are you doing talking to her?'' he asked with bothering to answer Chris' question. ''Sebastian, are you drunk?'' Chris grabbed Sebastian's face and looked at his eyes. ''You're not. Not on alcohol at least. On jealousy, maybe. What the hell is wrong with you, Sebastian? You have a girlfriend and you're being a jerk to me because I was talking to Morgan about pets! Be honest, do you like her?'' Sebastian was a bit ashamed. He had gone there with the intention of call out Chris but the tables had turned in a second and Chris had got him straight in the wound. ''She's my co-star'' ''And? Do you think you're entitled to control her life just because she's your co-star?'' Chris laughed. ''Please, do me a favour and calm yourself down. I know you like her and you're conflicted so I'm letting this one pass as it never happened but... make up your mind.'' Sebastian found it weird that he was told the same by two different people, Michael and Chris. ''Do it sooner rather than later because you'll lose your girlfriend, Morgan Llewellyn and who knows who else, okay?'' Chris patted his shoulder with tenderness and a bit of pity. ''Chris, one more thing...'' he looked as if he was fearing the answer. ''Do you like her?'' ''I met her half an hour ago. She's a nice woman. Interesting to talk to, very charismatic. Now I know why the general public likes her so much.'' Defeated, he went back to his table. Chris went back to Morgan who was very intrigued to know what the hell Sebastian wanted. ''He was jealous'' said Chris before Morgan asked anything. ''What an idiot. Does he fear me to be a bad influence on you?'' ''He wasn't jealous of you. He was jealous of me talking to you.'' Morgan looked at him with her eyebrows raised. Her face remained unemotional. ''That is even worse. The guy has a girlfriend.'' Chris didn't believe her for a second. Maybe her unemotional voice, relaxed body language and the expression of her eyes were pretty convincing but Chris was absolutely sure that there was something else between these two. ''Whatever Sebastian feels for you, is mutual, isn't it?'' There was no need to keep lying. Chris had caught her. ''How do you know? Nevermind... look, it's weird. We hardly ever talk let alone touch if it's not strictly scripted. So, I have no idea what the hell is going on.'' She was being honest, there were days that she was really confused about what the hell was going on. ''There's something implicit between you two and you'll never admit it to each other because you're too proud for that. And he also has a girlfriend, which complicates things even more. And he's scared to leave her because what if everything backfires and he ends up staying alone. And he's probably very confused. Nice situation he got himself in.'' ''Wow, you're good in this. Anyway, I won't do anything as long as he has a girlfriend. Cheating is always wrong and he should know it. And I'm no one's second choice. Well, maybe the second woman to play the Doctor after Jodie Whittaker who's amazing. Anyway, I won't ever be 'the other woman'. That's simple humiliating.'' and she wasn't counting on the fact that she had been his fan for years. Embarrassing stuff to the limit. ''Of course it is. You deserve...'' He was about to say 'better' but Morgan wasn't listening anymore. She was looking at the door, where Joe Alwyn was making his entrance (late, by the way) accompanied by a woman that everyone in this room knew. Taylor Swift. ''Oh my God.'' she mumbled, looking at Joe talking to Damien and introducing Taylor to him. ''I've loved this woman since 2009, and I can't believe she's in front of me.'' ''I saw her live once'' Chris commented. ''She's really good.'' She was going to tell something to Chris but it was too late because Joe was already there. ''Hey, Morgan!'' he cheerfully exclaimed. ''And... Oh My God, Chris Evans. Captain America. Wow.'' he was a bit dumfounded for a minute and he wasn't the only one. He was fangirling with Chris just like Morgan was fangirling with Taylor. The difference was that Morgan didn't let it show and Joe's eyes basically shouted 'I LOVE CHRIS EVANS'. ''Hi, I'm Taylor!'' Morgan was surprised that bloody Taylor Swift was introducing herself in such a simple manner. ''Joe told me a lot about you. Believe it or not I've seen you before! I saw Lady Macbeth with Joe in 2016. I had to put on a wig just to pass as a normal person. But you were fantastic, really moving and wonderful. When Joe told me who you were I basically clapped like a seal.'' Morgan was sure that she was looking as starstruck as Joe. And she had performed in front of Taylor Swift in 2016 and she was learning about it in 2018. Nice. ''I've admired you since 2009. I know all of your lyrics, they've helped me out so many times to count.'' They were praising each other for a while and then went on talking about whatever that crossed their minds. Acting, cast mates, Hollywood, childhood stories. Anything. On his table Sebastian was with a wide smile. She had never loved Taylor Swift as much as at that moment. He wanted to stick a poster of her in his room. Thanks to her, Morgan had moved away from Chris. ''Someone should call Lord Voldemort to come and pick up his people.'' said Will, pointing at Morgan and Taylor with his head. ''They kind of look alike except from the hair colour.'' Sebastian disagreed with everything he had said. ''No. They don't look similar at all.'' once again he was making the stupid mistake of talking before thinking, ''Morgan has no comparison. She's the most beautiful woman in the world, hands down.'' He knew immediately that he shouldn't have said that. At least not in front of his girlfriend. ''You know what?'' she asked with coldness in her voice. ''Enjoy the rest of your night.'' Without saying a thing more, she stood up and left. ''Florence, wait, I'm sorry!'' ''Just, stay here, okay?'' Will was taking the situation under control before Sebastian made more of a mess causing a public scandal. ''I'll drive her home and make sure she's okay. You screwed this up.'' On the way out Florence didn't want to look at Morgan Llewellyn because she was sure that she had her signature sarcastic side smile, buy she did it anyway. And she had been wrong because Morgan was immersed into a conversation with Taylor Swift and hadn't noticed anything at all. Florence hated that harpy more than anyone she had ever met. Sebastian was looking around, making sure no one had noticed that fight with his girlfriend. But there was only Harrison Osterfield on a near table, typing something on his phone, not aware of anything. Morgan only noticed that something had happened when she had got a text from Harrison  with all the gossip. And Taylor had also noticed something. ''I think your co-star is in trouble'' she said. Of course that Joe had told Taylor all about Sebastian and Morgan's constant bickering on set. ''I think he is'' Morgan was still looking at her phone. ''Are you two still fighting?'' she asked and Morgan wanted to laugh. Not even in her wildest dreams she could have imagined that someday she was going to be a topic of conversation for Taylor Swift and her boyfriend. ''Sort of.'' she simply said. She glanced at Sebastian who was looking a bit miserable and lonely. And she felt pity for him. Curse the fangirl feelings. ''I don't know why I'm doing this but... do you want to meet him?'' she asked Taylor who simply nodded. She made her way towards Sebastian's table with Taylor closely following. When they got there, they sat at Sebastian's side. ''I don't know what's happening to me, Stan but... I feel sorry for you.'' ''I didn't know you were capable of feeling, Llewellyn. This is a nice surprise.'' ''Oh, and... Sebastian, this is Taylor Swift. Taylor, this is Sebastian Stan.'' For some reason Sebastian wasn't very excited at meeting one of the most famous persons in the world. He was more busy guessing why Morgan had decided to talk to him at all. ''Nice to meet you. I really like your songs.'' it was the most stupid thing he had ever said but luckily for him, Taylor didn't seem to mind. ''And I saw you in I, Tonya. You were absolutely fantastic. It was outrageous that the Academy snubbed you. As outrageous as Morgan not getting nominated to the Lawrence Olivier.'' ''And Red deserved a Grammy'' Morgan and Sebastian said at the same time. It was the first time in his life that he admitted to liking that particular album. Morgan kept her intense gaze fixed on Sebastian. ''Look, I'm going to be honest here'' she suddenly said. ''I mean it when I said that I was sorry for you. You look so unhappy and lonely here that it makes me feel bad. You should be with us, dancing, talking and having fun. Make up your mind, Sebastian.'' this was the third time he was told of this in just one night. And somehow Morgan Llewellyn was more convincing than Michael or Chris. ''It's time for you to do what you want, not what you need. Just like I do.'' He looked at her with raised eyebrows. But what Morgan had just said made perfect sense. ''And does it work?'' he asked with genuine curiosity. He couldn't believe he was planning to follow Morgan's life advice. ''Just look at me! I've always done whatever the hell I wanted and look where I am!'' she got closer to him. ''I think it's worth a try.'' she whispered on his ear. ''Let's take a picture together! For sure it'd get attention! Can we kiss you on the cheeks?'' ''Go ahead'' he tried to keep calm. Morgan placed her head on his shoulder and he almost got dizzy with her fragance. She smelled like diamonds, fun, excitement, the city after dark and passionate nights. Before he knew she was 'kissing' him on the cheek, but barely touching him. Taylor had just wrapped an arm around his shoulder and making a face. And that was the picture. Just in this moment, Hey Ya by Outkast started to blast throughout the place. Even Damien was dancing. ''This song!'' Taylor exclaimed with a big grin. ''We have to dance!'' ''This song is my childhood'' Morgan and Taylor stood up at the same time. Sebastian thought that Morgan was exaggerating when she had said that this song was her childhood as he had been in his early twenties when that song came out. Then he remembered that Morgan was just twenty five and she was like ten or eleven when she was listening to Outkast. Yeah, that song was her childhood. He saw Morgan making her way to the dancefloor but she stopped in the middle of the way and came back to where he was. ''Come'' she suddenly said. He was expecting anything from Morgan but not this. ''What?'' he blinked a couple of times, confused. ''Come with us and have fun''. She extended her perfectly manicured hand and without thinking it twice he took it in his, with a smile on his face.

Morgan Llewellyn during this whole chapter:

P.S. my Morgan is painful to deal with but I love her. 

[gay-fly-fish]

It was almost a kiss - M4rie oneshot

Rating: General

Pairing(s): M4rie, background pearlina/agent 24

Word Count: 2593

Summary: Marie and Agent 4 are chilling before a concert when things begin to escalate. Then Callie interrupts and things become awkward. Oh boy. These summaries just get better and better. (Also, I’m on a roll with these song lyric related titles)

Notes:

Uses some headcanons on characters

Ellie = Agent 4, Grace = Agent 3 and Sky = Agent 8

Ellie can’t speak and I hope I wrote it okay! (Marie is the only one there able to read sign language hence why Ellie only uses it around her)

[AO3]

Dressing rooms were strange things. They seemed so empty yet so full at the same time to Ellie. It was a large room with various dressers, cupboards and mirrors. It all looked expensive and glamorous.

 For Ellie though it all paled in comparison to the inkling sitting in front of a mirror, fiddling with her hair so it was perfect.

 Marie never liked to admit it out loud to her but she knew she got nervous before going on stage, which was why she fretted over small details. It was also why she was there – to help calm her nerves.

 She wasn’t sure why she had asked her though.

 “Els can you come over here for a sec?” Marie asked after a pause, lowering her hands from her hair to her lap.

 Ellie put down the book she had brought over and walked over to stand behind the pop star awkwardly, fighting to control her blush.

 Marie looked up at her and tilted her head questioningly. “Is anything wrong?” she asked gently. “Your cheeks are all flushed.”

 Ellie felt herself blush even more as she fumbled to sign that she was okay.

 Marie read the signs skeptically, looking up at her in disbelief. She stood up from her chair, lifting a hand to her forehead. Ellie had to force her breathing to remain normal at the contact.

 The idol sighed deeply. “Normal temperature,” she murmured quietly, hand dropping to Ellie’s cheek, which made her jump slightly. “You’re sure your okay?” she asked gently.

 Ellie smiled and nodded at her friend. “I’m fine, just a bit warm,” she signed quickly, trying to come up with an excuse.

 Marie snorted in disbelief but let the topic go. She began to fidget with her headpiece and gloves nervously, turning away from her. “It’ll be fine,” Marie mumbled under her breath.

 Ellie reached over and placed a hand on Marie’s shoulder to try and give some comfort. The older inkling jumped slightly at the touch but relaxed slightly once she realized it was her. She offered a small smile in response. Ellie quietly noted her cheeks going slightly green.

 “You’ll be great,” Ellie signed confidently. “You always are!”

 The idol blushed at the compliment, scratching the back of her head. “Thanks Els,” she chuckled awkwardly. “It…means a lot.” She reached over and squeezed her shoulder gratefully. She had expected Marie to retract her hand immediately after.

 She didn’t.

 Instead it moved up to press against her cheek once more. Ellie blushed at the action, which caused Marie to chuckle knowingly. There was a small glint in her eyes that Ellie didn’t recognize. She only got more confused as Marie stepped forward slightly so there was barely any space between them.

 Ellie internally flailed as she realized how close they were. Their faces were almost touching at this point and she was unsure what to do.

 Marie was looking at her curiously, trying to figure out what the younger inkling was thinking.

 Callie just had to choose that moment to enter. She burst into the room with no warning, door swinging open with a bang as it hit the wall. “Hey!!” Callie greeted excitedly, as full of energy as always.

 Marie and Ellie flew away from each other as fast as possible.

 “Oh, did I interrupt something?” Callie asked innocently, noting their faces. Marie was fighting to control her blush and keep a straight face while Ellie was staring into space looking rather stunned. “I can leave…?”

 “No!” Marie blurted out quickly, internally flinching at how quick. “I mean…what did you come here for, Cal?”

 Callie blinked and shook her head, not believing her for one second. “I came to check if you were ready,” she said slowly. “Pearl and Marina have almost finished then we go on.”

 Marie nodded silently, her focus on Ellie who was refusing to make eye contact. “Yeah, I’m ready,” she muttered quietly after a while. “Let’s go.”

 “But – “

 “Let’s go, Cal,” she repeated firmly. Callie sighed and walked back towards the door with a nod. Marie followed her to the door where she turned back to face Ellie. “I’ll see you later, Els.”

 She received no response.

 The silence between her and Callie was palpable as they waited their cue to go on stage. Marie stubbornly refused to look at her cousin, knowing that she’d ask about what happened.

 “Marie, what did I interrupt?” Callie asked innocently, trying to get her to look at her.

 “Nothing, Cal,” Marie sighed stubbornly. “I told you already.”

 There was a sort of half laugh of disbelief. “That wasn’t nothing,” she stated matter-of-factly. “Ellie refused to make eye contact with you.”

 “So?”

 Callie sighed in frustration. “Surely you must have noticed, Marie!” she muttered quietly so only she could hear.

 “Noticed what?” Marie snapped irritably.

 “Ellie usually can’t take her eyes off you.”

 Marie was stunned into silence. “She does what?”

 “It seems everyone but you noticed it, but,” Callie explained reluctantly. “I’m pretty sure she has a crush on you.”

 “R-really?” Marie asked in amazement.

 “She never takes her eyes off you and she’s just a lot happier around you than the others,” her cousin continued. Marie remained silent as she processed the information. “And I know for a fact that you feel the same way,” she finished. “So what happened?”

 “I…I was going to kiss her,” she mumbled quickly, feeling her cheeks warm as she said it. “I don’t know why, but…”

 “You don’t necessarily need a reason why,” Callie comforted gently.

 Marie began to reply but was cut off by the first notes of Fresh Start beginning to play. “We’ll talk about this later,” she said quickly, rapidly putting her mic on.

 What the hell had just happened?

 The question never seemed to leave her head as she entered the small backstage lounge – the place she went to during concerts until it finished. It was small but fancy with comfy sofas, a polished glass coffee table and a TV screen showing the concert. Callie and Marie were currently performing

 Sky and Grace – or Agents 8 and 3 as she first knew them as – were sat on one of the sofas. Grace was trying to teach the octoling how to play a card game and seemed to be succeeding though she had to correct something every now and again. Sky was as eager to learn as ever though she got a little irritated every time she got something wrong.

 She idly remembered Grace saying that she found the way Sky scrunched her nose up in frustration when she got something wrong adorable.

 She had thought back to see if Marie had any similar habits. When she was annoyed, Marie was quite expressive about it, usually slapping a hand onto her forehead or slouching over. She found it cute.

 Ellie felt her cheeks warm at the memory and the image of what had just happened flashed in her mind.

 “Hey Ellie, you okay?”

 She jumped and whirled around to see Pearl and Marina sat on another sofa. Pearl was looking at her curiously while her girlfriend’s attention was on the other two agents (well, most likely Sky).

 “You’re just kind of staring into nothing,” Pearl elaborated casually, motioning for the girl to come closer. Ellie shuffled closer shyly. Though she had talked to the two idols many times in the past, she still felt shy and awkward around them.

 She hastily brought out a notepad and pen that have clearly been used over and over, scribbling down a few words. She resorted to this when no one could read sign language. “Just daydreaming.”

  Pearl frowned as she read the paper before looking up at her with a smirk. She chuckled and shook her head slowly in disbelief. “You act as if I don’t recognize that face,” she chided playfully.

 “What face?”

 “Y’know that far off daydreaming look you just had,” Pearl explained idly, leaning back against Marina. The small inkling began to examine her fingernails. “The look of someone with a crush.”

 “Who has a crush?” Marina asked suddenly, head snapping to look at both of them.

 “Ellie here has a crush on someone,” Pearl informed her girlfriend, grinning at Ellie smugly. The damn inkling knew that just mentioning someone having a crush would peak Marina’s interest.

 The octoling looked at her blankly for a second before her mouth slowly lifted up into a grin. “Really? On who?” she babbled excitedly. “For how long? Oh, do you get that warm fuzzy feeling when you look at them?”

 Ellie simply stood there awkwardly, feeling incredibly uncomfortable but unable to stop her. Fortunately it seemed someone noticed.

 “Mar, that’s enough,” Pearl said quickly, noticing the younger inkling was getting slightly overwhelmed by the flurry of questions. “You’re freaking her out!”

 Marina blinked slowly and noticed that she was correct in Ellie feeling uncomfortable. “Oh,” she mumbled sheepishly. “Sorry, I got a bit carried away…”

 Ellie shook her head with a small smile, scribbling down a note. “It’s fine, honestly. Just caught me off guard.”

 Marina seemed to cheer up and began to ask something but was cut off by a crewmember entering the room. “Oh, that’s our cue to go back on,” the octoling sighed miserably, fiddling with a small microphone that was lying next to her. “We’ll see you after the show, Ellie!”

 Ellie nodded and waved goodbye as the two pop stars rushed to get on stage. She was left standing in the middle of the small lounge. She sighed internally and moved to sit near Grace and Sky.

 They had finished their card game a while ago it seemed and were now watching her.

 “So, who is it?” Grace asked calmly with a small smirk. Ellie blushed and looked away from the pair. She heard a string of rushed octarian from Sky who was still not very good at speaking inkling. “Sky wants to know too.”

 Her blush only got harder as she wrote something down. “Who’s what?”

 Grace snorted quietly in amusement as she read the note before passing it to Sky. “Don’t play stupid, El,” she chuckled lightly. “We heard your conversation with Pearl and Marina. Who do you have a crush on?”

 Ellie grimaced slightly at her bluntness. With a sigh, she wrote down a single word and passed it along to the taller inkling..

 “Marie.”

 Grace nodded but didn’t look surprised in any way, almost as if she had already known. She seemed to note her accusing look and chuckled sheepishly. “Everyone’s already pieced it together,” she admitted quietly, scratching the back of her head.

 Ellie frowned and tilted her head questioningly. What did she mean ‘pieced it together already?

 “We all saw how you looked at her,” Grace elaborated. “And you always get that daydreaming look when we mention her. It wasn’t too difficult to piece together.”

“Yes,” Sky piped up from behind her. “Obvious.”

 Ellie blushed fiercely and looked away from them quickly.

 Grace put a hand on her shoulder gently. “If it makes you feel any better,” she comforted. “Marie may feel the same way.”

 Ellie whirled around to face her again, writing hastily. “What do you mean?”

 “She was doing the same thing when you weren’t looking,” The taller inkling sighed. “And you’re all she seems to talk about on missions. It’s always ‘one time Agent 4 did this’ or ‘agent 4 always does this’” Grace smiled and shook her head. “You can’t tell me that Marie keeping track of your online matches doesn’t tell you anything.”

 Ellie thought over her friend’s words, left speechless. The audience screaming and the music coming to a close dragged her out of her thoughts. Sky was as quick as ever to respond, leaping out of her seat and running out of the lounge.

 “Sky wait!” Grace called out in exasperation. She shot Ellie an apologetic look before chasing after the octoling.

 Ellie sighed deeply before following after them.

  Backstage was crowded with crewmembers, the 3 agents and 4 idols. Pearl and Marina were focused on Sky who had run over to meet them. Grace hovered halfway between them and Ellie. The green haired inkling offered Ellie a supportive smile though her main focus was on Sky.

 “She’s really not subtle about it, is she?”

 Ellie jumped and turned to face Marie who had snuck up to stand beside her. She tilted her head curiously at the idol.

 Marie grinned mischievously. “Grace has a crush on Sky,” she chuckled lightly. Ellie smiled awkwardly at the mention of a crush, which the other inkling noticed. “Hey, uh,” Marie began quietly. “Do you want to go somewhere more alone? I need to talk to you.”

 Ellie tried to keep her breathing as even as possible but she could tell it was a losing battle. Maybe she should just say no. Maybe that was the best plan and deal with this later.

 She nodded anyway.

 Marie gave her a small but genuine smile, grabbing her hand without a word and leading her away from the crowd.

 Marie led her into her dressing room. It was empty and far away from the others – perfect for a private conversation. Ellie couldn’t help but recall what had happened earlier and blushed.

 Marie reluctantly dropped her hand and turned to face her, pulling her gloves off as she turned.

 “First of all, I should apologize for earlier,” Marie began with a sigh. “It may have freaked you out a little so for that I’m sorry.”

 Ellie smiled at her. “It did a little but it’s fine,” she signed comfortingly.

 “I want to offer a bit of an explanation,” Marie continued, more confident in herself. She paused causing Ellie to try and prompt her to continue. “I like you,” Marie blurted out eventually, cheeks flushing green as she said it.

 Ellie’s heart almost stopped for a full minute and she could hear her breath hitch.

 “I don’t know when it happened exactly,” Marie rambled shyly. “It just happened after a while I suppose. You kept on coming over to visit me and Callie and Gramps and I guess that got to me after a while.”

 Ellie eventually got her act together and grinned widely. “I like you too,” she signed happily.

 Marie’s rambling stopped instantly as she processed what she had been told, eyes flickering between Ellie’s face and hands. After a while, a grin slowly appeared on her face, both overwhelmingly and sheepish. It was one of the few times Ellie saw Marie caught off guard.

 There was a moment of silence between them but it wasn’t awkward in the slightest. Marie stepped closer to her like earlier but it wasn’t confusing this time. Marie chuckled airily. “I wanted to do this earlier,” she mumbled in a low voice, lifting a hand to Ellie’s cheek. “Stop me now if you don’t want me to.”

 Ellie huffed in annoyance and shook her head.

 The corner of Marie’s mouth curled up in amusement before she leaned in, pressing her lips to Ellie’s before she could doubt herself.

 It wasn’t a long kiss but she liked it, Ellie decided as they pulled away from each other.

 Before the idol could say anything, Ellie leaned over and wrapped her up in a hug. Marie was slow to respond but eventually returned the hug, burying her head in the smaller girl’s shoulder.

 They didn’t notice the door opening and closing quickly as Callie begun to enter then left.

At that moment they didn’t care for much else other than each other.

[jerepars]

The Con Extended Chapter Notes

Hyperlinks appear in blue (underlined on mobile). The story is posted here. Direct link to this chapter is here.

> Archie settled over me, his hips square to mine as we kissed. He’d stayed on his elbows when I wouldn’t let go of him. As our tongues collided, I ran my fingers through his short ginger locks, massaging his scalp and undoing the style set in place by the gel. All I could taste was champagne. When he moved a hand and pressed on one of my hipbones through the fabric of my borrowed shirt, he sent a jolt of electricity through my body. In no time I decided that I wanted him closer and that he was wearing too many clothes.

One more shout out to Sugarcult's "Champagne", the theme song from the previous chapter. Almost every verse in the song begins with all I can taste is champagne...

So fitting.

> Archie let go of me completely and created some space between us in the bed. I was suddenly furious. Drunken intimacy didn’t rattle me. The interruption of it did. Damn him for not getting wasted with me. I cursed his conscience for kicking in, for not wanting to take advantage of my drunken stupor. Despite his reputation that preceded him, I knew him as more than a jock or a fuckboy, because he’d never treated me like he was just that. Archie Andrews was a certified heartthrob. So I was pretty sure there wasn’t anyone else I’d rather give in to temptation with.

Since this story is called The Con and the title is inspired by both the song and album by Tegan and Sara, I'm not shying away from sneaking as many subtle references into the story as possible. The first line in this paragraph is an indirect reference to the first line in "Back in Your Head": Build a wall of books between us in our bed.

> “I’m not the one you want,” Archie spoke gently, the warm timbre of his voice filling the air. “Jughead is.”

This is carry over from Shell Games. It's one of my favorite pieces of dialogue, in both stories now, because it cuts through all the bullshit and snaps Betty out of her drunken haze, making her remember everything. It is, of course, a song reference to "The One You Want" by The Get Up Kids. It's a beautiful song with lyrics that have nothing to do with the context I've used it in. For as long as I've been listening to the song, I just always wanted to have a character say that, and have it be jarring.

> He drew me into his arms once I scooted my way back toward him. I settled in against his chest and took one long shaky breath. I was done crying but I needed some time to settle down. My hysterics were all over the place and Archie had talked me down from the ledge again. Jughead had been the reason I felt deranged and desperate again.

Okay, last song reference of the chapter. "Deranged and Desperate" by Saves the Day. I debated with myself for a long time if it was okay to have Betty describe herself as feeling 'deranged' here. I looked up several definitions of the word. I read several parts of the story again, when she's describing her feelings toward Jughead and how Jughead makes her feel. And, yeah, I think it's a description that works for her describing her own feelings in this instance. If you're reading this and I've offended you in any way, I'm very sorry.

> I didn’t want to play out the con anymore. I was over it. As I’d learned from my night of drunkenness, winning and losing didn’t feel very different. If Jughead wasn’t into me, then he could kiss my ass and go to hell or heaven—it didn’t matter to me which one (it was most likely heaven though, since I’d always thought he had so much grace). As for me, I was lucky enough to have a soloist’s role in the Joffrey Ballet’s first cast for Giselle and lucky to have a friend like Archie who didn’t want my lows to be too low.

There's a call back to chapter 3 ("The Fireworks") here. In that chapter, in Betty's inner monologue, she talks about the perfection that dancers are always chasing after. She goes on to say that maybe it isn't actually perfection they're after, but rather, grace. Then she talks about the grace she sees in Jughead.

> Truly, I was blessed to be in the first cast on opening night. There were ten performances of Giselle over twelve days. The show distribution was different for principals, not adhering strictly to first and second cast designation, but being part of the first cast as soloists meant that Trev and I got to do our pas de deux together for three of the performances: opening night, the first Saturday night (the show my parents went to), and closing night, which was actually a Sunday matinée. The bright spot for the two other pairs, splitting the duties of the second cast, was that they got to perform in the Friday night shows and the four other weekend shows. The cast scheduling turned out to be to my advantage because it meant that my drunkenness after the season opening party had no repercussions on my professional life. I didn’t have a class, a rehearsal, or a performance on the day that I woke up with a hangover. I just got to think about the stupid con I was pulling.

For this season's run of Giselle, the Joffrey Ballet posted the casting sheets for each performance. I clicked on the one for opening night and pretty much squealed when I saw a listing of two dancers for "Peasant Pas" (the Peasant pas de deux), because it meant that they decided to put that interpolation piece in their staging of Giselle and what I've had Betty rattling on and on and on and on and on about is real in...reality. So then what I did was open every single casting sheet and then selected the ones that had the same dancers for the Peasant Pas in the opening night sheet. That was three performances: opening fight, the first Saturday night, and closing night. Just what Betty describes.

> Straight from my audition and a quick shower, I changed into dark blue jeans, a royal blue collared-shirt, and a pastel blue sweater over top of that. It was a bit of a monochrome look. I put on my grey fall jacket that was good against wind and rain, and took the red line from the Loop to River North. My hair was still wet as I combed it as neatly and as quickly as I could into a tight ponytail, looking down at my lap into a tiny compact mirror that served as a makeshift vanity until I had to get off, only two stops away. I met Jughead outside the Water Tower.

> He had a morning shift at work, and he was dressed as such—suspenders dangling from dark jeans, gray Henley and green flannel under a slate-colored Sherpa jacket, and hair crushed under his beanie. The Papyrus he worked at was inside Water Tower Place, which wasn’t far from the Hancock Center. We walked over to the Hancock Center and once in front of it, we stood there with feet firmly planted, with Jughead looking up. He wasn’t looking up at the sky. He wasn’t daydreaming and he wasn’t making animals of the clouds. He was looking up at the exterior of the building, at how high up it went, at how high up we would go.

> His eyes that mirrored the sky never left the building’s façade as he made one of his typical remarks, “Ready to enter the belly of the beast?”

I thought it'd be kind of cool to pair Jughead's pre-memorial dialogue from 1x05 (2:10 to 2:25) with the wardrobe from 1x06, when Betty and Jughead are standing in front of the bus shelter, looking up at the façade of The Sisters of Quiet Mercy, since Jughead is described as looking up at the building here. It's also a bit of role reversal because in that scene in 1x06, Jughead is comforting Betty, whereas in this part of the chapter, she's asking him if he's going to be okay.

You can even see the clothes in video form in the 'deleted' scene here. They didn't cut any of this from the Netflix version though. Their boots are described later in the chapter, once they've gotten off the elevator at the observatory.

I wrote 'Water Tower' as a proper name because it is. The shopping center that's named after it, therefore, is called Water Tower Place. Both Papyrus and Water Tower Place are mentioned in chapter 4 ("The Robots") when Betty talks about the part-time job Jughead got even if he hates it.

> “Are you sure this is gonna be okay?” I asked Jughead when we were inside the admission hall at street level. We both showed our driver’s licenses at the reception desk and were granted 50% off admission for having addresses within Chicago city limits. We were just waiting for the next elevator up. “You don’t like heights and that’s fine. It’s not too late to back out.”

I took the 50% off admission thing right off the 360 Chicago website. Locals get 50% off admission (because let's be real here, locals are the least likely to do tourist shit in their own city) with valid government-issued ID.

> I smirked. “I seem to recall someone throwing items from his backpack at me from the top of the monkey bars until I went to get an adult.”

> “Come on, Betts, that was like a million years ago.” Jughead clicked his tongue. “I’m a big boy now.”

> It felt kind of nice to have something to tease Jughead about. I’d spent so much of my time around him praying that I wouldn’t look foolish, feeling pathetic, and trying to get him to see me in a different light. Sometimes I forgot to think about him as just another human, one that I knew details about from childhood. He’d been as much a constant in my life as my brother from seven to fourteen. I didn’t think I’d learned much more about him in the last two months, but I did still know little things about him.

> I knew his favorite color and his favorite meal. I knew how much he valued his friendship with Chic. I knew what reminded him of home. But I also knew—and I’d been reminded when Jellybean was in town when he moved in—that he wasn’t fond of heights as a kid, and that it still held true. The anecdote of him as a 10-year-old boy climbing to the top of the monkey bars and being too scared to get down on his own once he saw the distance to the ground was one example. He could deny it and reason that he was an adult, a writer who sought to observe the human condition, but I knew it was still true. Besides, if he didn’t have a problem with heights, he wouldn’t have prefaced the favor of asking me to go with him using that sentiment. If he wasn’t scared, he would have paid for admission that included the Tilt surcharge, and he didn’t.

I always say that I don't include anything in the story without a reason. In the first chapter ("The Neighborhood"), Jellybean quips that Jughead only had her come out to Chicago so he wouldn't have to fly alone, afraid of heights. Betty then tells a story in her inner monologue about Jughead being stuck up on the monkey bars, too afraid to get down.

Now here we are, in the 7th chapter, with a good portion of the second half of the chapter dedicated to Jughead being confronted with that fear (the chapter previous to this one also saw it brought up because he asked Betty to go with him).

Back to the monkey bars story, the part mentioned here in Betty's dialogue could be thought of as the continuation of that story. Turns out she's the one who found him, who went to get an adult for him.

Ugh, they're so adorable.

> “Views…from the 6?” I followed up with the first thing the came to mind.

> The cover of Drake’s last proper album, Views, was a Photoshopped picture of him sitting on the edge of the CN Tower in his own hometown, Toronto. I remembered that Kevin had taken to coming up with choreography for one of the pre-release leaked tracks from the album, back when it was being referred to as Views from the 6. And Jughead’s grad program was at an art school, so I could totally see there being a class named after that.

> “Well, we’re in Chicago so technically it would be Views from the 3, right? But the professor for the class is like in his mid-fifties, so I doubt he’s taking cues from Drizzy. He writes about this city the way Joan Didion writes about Los Angeles though.” Jughead went on, “Anyway, at the beginning of the semester we got a list of places around the city to take in views from and then write about. This is one of my last ones on the list.”

So if you never knew why Drake referred to Toronto as "the 6" (or perhaps you never even know he called it that), it's because of the phone area codes for the city: 416 and 647. Before the album known as Views was shortened to that title, it had previously been referred to as Views from the 6 (article is from 2014; album wasn't released until 2016).

In Chicago, the phone area codes are 312 and 773. That's why Jughead points out that if Views was about Chicago, it would have been Views from the 3.

This was a really strange reference to make. Like I mentioned at the end of the chapter notes for chapter 3, I don't know I ended up with multiple Drake references in my story. This stuff just kind of sneaks up on me and won't let go.

Also, how about the fact that I have Jughead saying "Drizzy" and then talking about Joan Didion in the next sentence?

I don't know, man. I'm weird. I'm a weirdo.

> The big attraction of the observatory was called Tilt, a row of the building windows that had been modified to allow patrons to step onto the window ledge and tilt a fully enclosed sliding component to a 30-degree angle. It was a more accurate bird’s eye view of the city.

Again, all of my information about the Tilt attraction was taken from the 360 Chicago website and videos I looked at of it in action.

> “I mean I don’t know her know her.” Jughead used simple language to clarify. “I met her a few times back in Michigan, at the lit mag office.”

> “That’s impossible,” I countered. “Cheryl didn’t go to Michigan. Cheryl didn’t go to college. She came up through the ranks at Joffrey with me – she’s always been two years ahead.”

> “No, I never said she was a student there,” Jughead pointed out. “She dated the senior editor, Dilton, for a while.”

Jughead being on staff at his college's literary magazine was mentioned way back in the prologue. Dilton Doiley's been getting a lot of screentime in season 2, so I thought he deserved a shout out in the story. The Cheryl/Dilton pairing is an ode to the Archie Comics, where there are storylines about them dating. And if you think that the pairing is out of the realm of possibility for Riverdale, think back to the "Saints and Sinners" scene in 1x10. It seems to me that he was specifically sought out to be the party-crashing DJ because he shot the gun on July 4th and what he knows about Archie/Grundy. Dilton is at the helm of the questioning with Cheryl and Chuck. Who made sure he was there for that? I certainly don't think it was Chuck.

> My heart stopped. And then it raced. Maybe it just made him feel better, having a hand to hold when he was afraid to look down—I’d been the one to suggest Sabrina for that exact purpose on his birthday, after all. And all I could think was that Jughead was holding my hand instead. He wasn’t doing it as part of any formality or tradition, like when we’d danced together (to a Drake song from Views, no less) on the yacht that Hiram Lodge rented for Veronica’s end of summer party. Jughead was holding my hand in public, by choice, at one of the city’s tourist destinations. There were other people holding hands in the observatory. They were couples and they were doing it affectionately.

If you were to go back to chapter 3, to the part where Betty and Jughead are dancing, it is in fact a mid-tempo Drake song that they're dancing to. If you read the story notes for that chapter, I mentioned exactly what song from Views I had in mind. Yes, it is intentional that in the chapter called "The Views", they go up to see panoramic views of the city, and talk about Views from the 6, and Betty remembers dancing to something from Views. Views on views on views.

I hope to never reference Drake ever again.

[mypatheticaesthetic]

Confession

A/N: tbh I wrote this at 10 pm and its a mess with hidden svt lyrics and memes. I thought abt memes and suddenly here’s a Vernon one shot. also have you seen vernon’s isac archery pics? really damn fine whoops. 

Pairing: Vernon and reader

Genre: Fluff  are memes a genre 

Word Count: 1367

Summary: Feelings are hard to deal with and Vernon tries to put them in the right direction by confessing to you. 

Most of the time, Vernon would tell himself that things would go smoothly. That last math test? It went fine. Avoiding responsibilities? That went fine. Sleeping in class? That went fine. But when it came to the topic of you, his brain couldn’t function properly. He really, really liked you. Sometimes he did strange things -the rhetorical equivalent of splashing in a pool- to get your attention. Blasting ‘Careless Whisper’ on his saxophone in band class was arguably the best of many. Not only did he get your attention, but he also embarrassed himself for the rest of the year.

Yesterday he barely managed to ask you over to his house. Barely. Before he called you on his cell phone, he had to watch Shia Labeouf’s infamous ‘Just Do It’ motivational speech to give himself confidence (twice. He watched it once more for good measure).

Vernon’s palms were sweaty as he dialled your number. He was so nervous, and he felt like vomiting the spaghetti his mom made for dinner. Slowly, he brought his phone to his ear. It took a few rings until you finally picked up.

“Hello? Is this Vern?” Vern. He loved that nickname. No one else called him that, only you did. It was your endearing nickname for him.

“Yep, it’s me.” Vernon took a deep breath. He tried to sound as calm as possible, but his breathing was slightly shaky.

“Wanna swing by my house tomorrow?”

Your response was practically instantaneous. “Of course! I’m free tomorrow. What do you have in mind?”

“Just chillin’ I guess. We could watch some YouTube videos too.”

“Low budget Netflix and chill?” you laughed. Vernon loved it when you laughed, it was music to his ears. It was so pure.

“I’m literally only seventeen and have a few dollars.” He chuckled in response and delivered his catchphrase.

The short phone call ended after you both exchanged your “see you tomorrow”s.  Vernon dropped to his bed, cheering happily. His heart was bursting with excitement. His entire body felt fluttery.

‘Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow,’ he kept repeating in his head with a stupid grin on his face.

It was Saturday, and Vernon woke up early to prepare for today. Usually, he’d need morning calls or an alarm to wake him, but he was too excited for what could happen today. He searched the internet on what he should wear, what he should say and several other topics revolving around crushes and whatnot. He even read some books for advice. Practised some lines he’d include in his confession. He was going to make his confession to you as perfect as possible. Memorable and heartfelt. Vernon even went as far as asking his mom how to confess to you.

“Mom, how do I confess to someone I like?”

“Everyone has their own way, Vernon. Just be original.”

“How?”

“You’ll find a way.”

Vernon couldn’t really ask any of his friends how to confess to you because all of them were single. And so was he, unfortunately. Maybe today will be the day he will change a friendship to a relationship. But one question stood in his way:

How could he make his confession original and meaningful?

There was a girl at the front of his house. It was you, looking pretty as always. Vernon politely greeted you and took your jacket, putting it on a coat rack. 

“You look great today,” he said. A simple compliment. Was that considered flirting? Vernon had no idea. 

“Thank you! Vern, you’re looking very handsome today- why are you wearing shades in your house?”

He took off the shades. “Rhetorical effect.” 

“Like everything else you do?” you teased.

“You come into my house, and insult me? Wow. Get out of here.” Vernon responded in a joking manner.

“You wouldn’t be able to get me out of here, even if you wanted to.”

After playing a few rounds of Super Smash Bros (you absolutely creamed Vernon), browsing through a mass of We Are Number One videos, jamming out to 80s hits, and tragically attempting to rap to Drake songs, you and Vernon plopped onto a couch, side by side.

His mind was thinking, thinking of ways he could possibly confess to you. Did he want a cool approach? A subtle approach? A direct approach? As he pondered over this, he accidentally voiced his thoughts, “How do you tell a girl that you want to kiss her?”

‘Well, shit. This is fine.’ Vernon told himself. He stared at you, trying to configure if you heard him or not. Some part of him hoped you heard him, but at the same time, he hoped not. His mind was on fire right now, it felt as if he was going to be enveloped by his impending doom.

You blinked a few times. “Did I hear you correctly?”

“I don’t know.”

“Really? Come on man, what are you hiding?” you playfully gave Vernon a punch on the shoulder. “Are you harbouring feelings for someone?”

“In the way you put it, you make my feelings sound like something cringe-worthy.”

“Hey, it’s okay man. It’s a beautiful thing, liking someone. You catch yourself smiling when thinking about them, daydream more, and want their attention more… “ as you trailed off, your voice became quieter. Vernon was looking at you, somewhat in shock.

‘She does the same things I do when I think of her…? Wait, does that mean she, too, likes someone?’ he thought and sat up, listening to your words more seriously.

He broke the awkward silence. “You like someone too?”

“Yeah. Am I not allowed to like someone?”

“Of course you’re allowed to like someone. It’s just… ” ‘you should like me,’ his mind echoed. “Ah, nothing.”

More silence.

“So, you were saying you want to kiss someone, right?” you asked. 

Vernon nodded his head.

“Your first move should be to confess to them, I guess.”

Vernon took a deep breath. ‘This is it. All or nothing.’

“D-Don’t take this the wrong way, but…” he stuttered, stumbling his way through his words. ‘Focus, Vernon, focus! Don’t make a fool of yourself now,’

“But…?” you turned towards your nervous friend who was sweating from your presence.

“All I can think of is you. Every day. And every day… you drive me crazy. I do so many things to get your eyes on me… Finally, now I think I have your full attention.” he spoke slowly and deliberately, staring intensely into your eyes.

“Maybe you think of me as a friend, but… I like you.  And I… Want to be your boyfriend. I want to be the person who can mess with your heartbeat, the person who can be by your side, the one to hold your hand…” Vernon’s larger, delicate fingers inched across the couch to your unoccupied hand, gently grazing the middle of your palm. Soft pinpricks of electricity shot up your arm as his fingers moved in a circular motion.

“I hope you can understand just a little of what I am feeling.”

You smiled. “You’ve always had my attention since we became friends.”

Taking his hand and entwining your fingers in his, you moved in closer to Vernon on the couch. Vernon’s hazel eyes watched you curiously, flicking back and forth between your pink lips and heartfelt gaze.

“I like you too, Vernon.”

You embraced the boy, softly pecking him on his rosy pink cheeks. “Are you comfortable?”

Hesitantly, Vernon brought his hands around your waist. “Yeah, I’m just a little flustered and…Well, to be quite honest, I didn’t think I’d get this far.” he chuckled, his cheeks becoming redder and redder.

“Well, look at where you are now. Only seventeen, got a few dollars, and now, a girlfriend,” you replied back, finding his hands to hold again. 

“Speaking of not getting this far… There’s one more thing I want to do,” he said as he bumped his forehead upon yours.

“Shoot.”

“Do you… Do know how to kiss someone?”

“Nope, but that’s not going to stop me from kissing you.”

��Glad to know we’re on the same page,” he murmured as he tilted his head and leant in to close the little space between the two of you.

[silenceandpatiencepining]

memories with TS songs

Today I’m thinking about how many memories I have with Taylor songs and imaging how there are even more coming just waiting to happen.

I was in sixth grade when Taylor’s first album came out and I used to steal my older sister’s hot pink iPod nano so I could listen to Taylor on the bus drives to and from school. It’d be me sitting alone, slouched on the seat with my knees propped up, staring out the window daydreaming while listening to Our Song. Or thinking about Teardrops On My Guitar and changing the lyrics to “teardrops on my violin” bc I was an orchestra kid with massive crushes on people who always looked past me.

Every time I had a falling out with someone or a friend that was going through a breakup, Picture to Burn was there with me. On more than one occasion my sister or I brought the small kitchen pot and a lighter to our bathroom and turned on the blower so we could literally burn pictures or notes or letters without starting a fire.

I’m Only Me When I’m With You has been the longtime anthem of me falling in love with my best friends over and over, and them not feeling the same way.

The summer after Fearless came out, I was absolutely obsessed with the album. I was away from home for a month or so and I would listen to it on repeat. Sometimes I’d g-chat (bc it was the newest feature on my new gmail account) with my cousin and we’d watch the You Belong With Me music video at the same time and gush about it.

Fearless was really That Album—so many iconic bops. Hey Stephen was my first favorite on that album. The Best Day made me want to cry and hug my parents and I still think that if I ever get married, that’s gonna have to be my father daughter dance song. I still scream sing the bridge of Tell Me Why every time it comes on. Fearless is the song that got me and still gets me gassed up to shoot my shot (archer pun not intended). Fifteen. White Horse. You’re Not Sorry. BREATHE. Forever & Always became my sign-off salutation and it’s still one I use. The Way I Loved You! I didn’t have the deluxe version of the album (bc I didn’t know there was one) but damn. I still stan fearless.

Speak Now was definitely the album my sister loved the most. It’s a lyrical masterpiece. I don’t know if I’m remembering this right but when Mine dropped with the music video there was this story circulating that it dropped early because Taylor and her team found out that it had leaked while they were on a flight or something crazy so they released as soon as they landed, ahead of the original date. And I remember watching that video and being so in love with all the pictures hanging on strings in the forest. I have so many memories of me playing Speak Now from my CD player and jumping around singing and dancing to my favorites songs or lying on the carpet like a dramatic bitch for the slow ones, especially Dear John. I’m pretty sure the only way I listened to Dear John was lying on the floor in the puddle of tears (imagined and real).

Red came out when I was in high school and everyone was so shook when it dropped bc we were like yooooo is Taylor experimenting with dubstep (back when dubstep had its little hay day). 2012 was such a weird year. It gave us Kony 2012 and apocalypse theories. But mostly, Red is the album that was the soundtrack to my last years of high school. It was sitting in the passenger seat with the music up and windows down, on long drive to the country or to get milkshakes and slushees. It was me falling in love with my best guy friend again, him choosing to date my best girl friend, and then him breaking both of our hearts. It was forbidden moments with him knowing he was dating my best friend. It was me singing “don’t look at me you got a girl at home and everybody knows that” and then being a fucking hypocrit bc all our friends would be over hanging out and we’d be snuggled up, never holding hands or kissing but always being a little too close.

Red was the first concert I got to see Taylor. A relative got me tickets for my birthday. I wore my cowboy boots and favorite hi-low dress and curled my hair. And every drive I took that year, after every pool party, after every movie date with the boy, every last adventure before my friends went off to college, every late night at a friends house was awash in Red.

1989 is the soundtrack of my first years of college. It was me feeling left behind and awkward, and turning that into a fresh start in a new city and trying to shake off negativity. I remember when the Shake It Off video came out and I literally screamed and laughed and cried tears of happiness bc I felt so seen. Loving to dance even though I wasn’t the best at it. I remember late nights walking around campus in the dark in the winter listening to Welcome to New York and letting that feeling of endless possibilities and new beginnings wash over me. I remember countless times I zoned out standing in the shower thinking about Clean. I remember feeling like 1989 sounded like such a mixtape (in the best way—it captured such a specific set of feelings).

Reputation. Where do I even start. I think up until Rep, my love for Taylor Swift and her music was such an internal part of me, but EVERYONE was talking once the singles started coming out and it was when I finally found myself getting defensive over Taylor. I remember literally screaming the first time I watched the LWYMMD music video. My eyes nearly popped out of my head. When the lyric video for CIWYW came out, my best friend and I were staying at this hotel while she was visiting me and I cried and all I could say was that I was just so happy that Taylor found someone to love her whole. reputation was quite literally the only thing I really listened to for MONTHS. I was obsessed with the album. I would have died for that album.

I initially didn’t think I would get a chance to see her on tour because the tickets were soooo expensive but I ended up getting a surprisingly cheap floor seat just 3 days before I saw her in Foxborough night 1. That entire performance blew my mind. I was 5 rows back from the B stage which ended up being the perfect place cause Tay was soooo close while performing Shake It Off (one of my all time faves) and the surprise acoustic song was 22, which made me literally melt because I had just turned 22. I actually danced so hard during SIO that I twisted my ankle and fell back onto my seat during the concert—almost everybody that was seated around me had moved up by that point to get closer while Tay was on the B stage, but my ✌️social anxiety ✌️ was not about that life. I think I lost my voice from singing. And definitely was shooketh to the core when Hayley Kiyoko came on stage. Truly unforgettable.

This era has been such a whirlwind and I cannot wait for the memories it will bring and the lyrics that will destroy me. If Taylor talks at all more explicitly about dealing with family illness or sexuality/identity or the monumental effort it takes to really love yourself, just know that it will probably end me.

ANYWAY I love you @taylorswift

Your music has been the soundtrack to so many parts of my life. I know there are countless fans out there with stories like mine, or even more powerful ones and I just want to share how much your craft and dedication to your fans means to every single one of us whether or not we meet you. In these last couple weeks before the album is released, I hope you see and hear SO MUCH positivity and no more of the drama.

Lol if anyone, if a single one of you actually reads this 1) wow thanks 2) please reblog with some of your #TS song memories or times when #Taylor Swift was there with me AND USE THE TAGS so we can share these awesome memories with each other