#young john frusciante | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

omegaremix · 1 month ago

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Finds For 2013.

Killing Joke “Rapture”

Melvins, The “In The Freaktose The Bugs Are Dying”

Unsane “No Chance”

Dead Banana Ladies “1234”

Excepter “Kill People”

Death Grips “Guillotine”

Crystal Castles “Alice Practice”

Joy Division “Interzone”

How To Destroy Angels “The Loop Closes”

Z’ev “Shake, Rattle, And Roll”

Mika Miko “Capricoronations”

IAMX “I Am Terrified” (Alec Empire RMX)

Cold Cave “Confetti”

CX Kidtronik “Sky Is My Roof”

My Bloody Valentine “Who Sees You”

Killing Joke “Mass”

Captain Sensible & The Softies “Jet Boy Jet Girl”

Siouxie Sioux & The Banshees “Dear Prudence”

No Age “Every Artist Needs A Tragedy”

Ice “Flood”

Donny McCaslin “Alpha & Omega”

Death Grips “Takyon”

Fall, The “Mollusc In Tyrol” (live)

CX Kidtronik “Let’s Go Krazy” (Atari Teenage Riot RMX)

Sonic Youth “Tuck N’ Dar”

Slowdive “Catch The Breeze”

IO Echo “Carnation”

Prurient “There Are Still Secrets”

Tying Tiffany “Slow Motion” (Nic Endo RMX)

Head Of David “Newly Shaven Saint”

James Chance & The Contortionists “Bedroom Athelete”

Terawrizt “Don’t Forget”

Cut Hands “Black Mamba”

Alec Empire “New Man”

Mogwai “Letters To The Metro” (Zombi RMX)

Killing Joke Extremities, Dirt, And Various Repressed Emotions

Nujabes “Latitude” (RMX)

Laura Nyro “Buy And Sell”

Cut Hands “Stabbers Conspiracy”

Guitar Wolf “Jet Virus”

NxFxTxEx “Tanz Der Idioten”

Smiths, The “How Soon Is Now”

Damned, The “1 Of The 2”

Killing Joke “Jana” (Youth RMX)

Glass Candy “Warm In The Winter”

Bug, The “Catch A Fire”

Shonen Knife “When You Sleep”

Dot Allison “I Think I Love You”

Dead Boys, The “Sonic Reducer”

Christoph De Babalon “Traumspiel”

Consumer Electronics “Hand To Mouth (Barely Visible)”

Ramleh “Gibbering Wreck”

Les Ralizes Denudes “Dream” (live)

Skullflower “Diamond Bullet”

Tre Lux “Lever Let Me Down Again”

Ash Pool “Sin Of Life”

Laughing Hyenas “I Want You Right Now” (live)

Dead Banana Ladies “Girls Gone Wild”

Urbie Green “Mertensia”

This Will Destroy You “Little Smoke”

Prince Rama “Welcome To The Now Age”

Bug, The “Skeng”

NxFxTxEx “Some Stuff”

Killing Joke “Democracy”

Raveonettes, The “Ali Walk With Me” (Nic Endo RMX)

Bomb Squad “Riot Riot”

Sonic Youth “Santa Doesn’t Cop Out On Dope”

Merzbow “Silent Night”

Some Girls “He’s On Drugs Again”

Silver Daggers “Real Neat Flag”

Crystal Castles “Pap Smear”

Jesu “Christmas”

Atari Teenage Riot “Collapse Of History”

Avengers, The “We Are The One”

Babes In Toyland “Laugh My Head Off”

Gigi Masin “Clouds”

Small Black “Despicable Dogs” (Washed Out RMX)

Suicide “I Remember”

Black Tambourine “Black Car”

Martin Rev “Mari”

Nite Jewel “We Want Our Things”

Brothertiger “Turquoise (Skyline)”

Sea Oleena “Orion’s Eyes”

Chromatics “Tick Of The Clock”

New Bomb Turks “Dragstrip Riot”

Savages “Husbands”

Cold Cave “Oceans With No End”

125, Rue Monmartre “Revolter”

Wipers, The “Last Chance”

Crass “Shaved Women”

Depeche Mode “Soothe My Soul”

Fall, The “Victrola Time”

FFH “Worth Doing”

Phil Western “Bleak Night”

Gary Low “I Want You”

Babes In Toyland “Oh Yeah”

Heavens To Betsy “Get Out Of My Head”

Huggy Bear “February 14”

John Frusciante “The Real (Curtains)”

Suicide “See You Around”

Joy Division “Love Will Tear Us Apart”

Lapalux “Guuurl”

Les Rallizes Denudes “Reapers Of The Night” (live)

Mike Simonetti “Third Of The Storms”

Nitzer Ebb “Getting Closer”

Phil Western “Citrus Dream”

Savages “Flying To Berlin”

Farah “Gay Boy”

Bedflowers, The “My Ex-Lovers’ Address”

STRFCKR “Quality Time”

Alan Vega “Jukebox Babe”

John Frusicante “Remains”

Babes In Toyland “Bruise Violet”

Subhumans UK “The Day The Country Died”

Bratmobile “Shut Your Mouth”

Suicide “Cheree”

Telepathe “I Can’t Stand It”

Ceremony “Old”

Devotchkas, The “Live Fast Die Young”

Heavens To Betsy “Waitress Hell”

Bedflowers, The “In Love With 25 People”

Glass Candy “Digital Versicolor”

Computer Magic “Running”

Toll “Radio Moscow”

Twisted Wires “One Night At The Raw Deal”

Washed Out “Within And Without”

Golden Filter, The “Hide Me”

Desire “Mirror Mirror”

125, Rue Monmartre “Disco Hijack”

Boards Of Canada Tomorrow’s Harvest

Glass Candy “Redheads Feel More Pain”

Lee Ranaldo “The Bridge”

Mark Pritchard “Duppies”

Slowdive “Morningrise”

Primal Scream “City Slang”

Beach Fossils “Youth”

Classixx “All You’re Waiting For”

Dornik “Something About You”

Nine Inch Nails “Came Back Haunted”

Belle Game, The “River”

Com Truise In Decay

Fuck Buttons “The Red Wing”

Preatures, The “Is This How You Feel”

Drums, The “Money”

Gold Panda “You”

M.I.A. “Bring The Noize”

Mike Simonetti “The Magician”

Chvrches “Gun”

Disclosure “When A Fire Starts To Burn”

Ramallah Underground “Amputate (With The Unpeople)”

Appaloosa “Intimate”

Bibio “You”

Chvrches “Recover”

Killing Joke MMXII

Cigarettes, The “You Were So Young”

Cabaret Voltaire “Yashar”

A’Simetric “Refusal”

Big Business “Another Fourth Of July…Ruined”

Brought Low, The “The Kelly Rose”

Cabaret Voltaire “Sensoria (Razormaid)”

Sunburst “Mysterious Vibes”

Death Spiritual Mental Physical

S.M. Nurse “No Pop”

Dick Hyman “Give It Up Or Turn It Loose”

Minnie Riperton “Les Fleurs”

Anti-Nowhere League “For You”

Chick Carlton & Mesmeriah “One More Time With Feeling”

Death For The Whole World To See

Flora Purim “Angels”

Mantronix “Needle To The Groove”

Manzel “Midnight Theme”

Frank Ricotti “Vibes”

Giorgio Moroder “Midnight Express”

James Mason “I Want Your Love”

Killing Joke “Love Like Blood”

Francis Monkman “Getting Ready”

Mantronix “Bassline”

Blackbyrds, The “Love Is Love”

Herbie Hancock “Butterfly”

Merzbow “Action For Green 2”

Muslimgauze “Zion Under Islamic Law”

Stars And Bars “Stars And Bars”

Tarika Blue “Dreamflower”

GG Allin & The Unseen “Murder For The Mission”

Big Barney “Whole Damn Thing, The”

Christoph De Babalon “Marble Stairs”

Akitsa “Redemption”

Jonwayne “404 Garbage”

Public Image Ltd. “Theme”

Silent Servant “Utopian Disaster (End)”

Tech Level 2 “Hard Times” (dub)

Nine Inch Nails “All Time Low”

Four Tet “Jupiters”

Death Grips “Feels Like A Wheel”

AIDS Wolf “Cities Of Glass”

Peanut Butter Wolf “Dopestyle”

Whitehouse “Guru”

Alberich “Open Warfare”

Akitsa “Prophetie Heretique”

Ostara “Darkness Over Eden”

Elliott Smith “Twilight”

Chvrches “Lies”

M.I.A. “Only 1 U”

Oneohtrix Point Never “Problem Areas”

Bathory “Reaper”

Death Grips “This Is Violence Now (Don’t Get Me Wrong)”

Crash Course In Science “Cardboard Lamb”

AIDS Wolf “Like PSHTS Of Aerosol”

My Bloody Valentine “Only Shallow”

Pale Sketcher “Show Me How”

Wild Nothing “Data World”

Marine Girls “In Love / Honey”

Gleitzeit “Ich Kommew Aus Der DDR”

Phil Western “We Have Come To Bless This House”

Evian Christ “Salt Carousel”

Boards of Canada “Nothing Is Real”

Chvrches “Now Is Not The Time”

Nancy Wilson “I’m In Love”

Ron Morelli “Radar Version”

Public Image Ltd. “Fodderstompf”

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tryskomys · 1 month ago

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Wet Sand

Stone Gossard x OC

Chapter 16 - Alright

Summary: kinda sounds like you give a shit.

masterlist

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫

notes: this is a bit of a lighter one - well, some parts of it are. a little filler episode if you will. and hell, we need it, because we have some tough shit ahead of us. not yet, but close. let’s enjoy this, then! even if it seems like the world’s most important problem to them.

oh and ps.: i’m proud of you all for making it through another year, guys. <3 happy 2025!

tws: i will stop writing out ‘mentions of sex’ like i stopped writing ‘weed’, it’s getting old. after all, we are young, we run green. jealousy. stone is an asshole. keeva is an asshole and desperate on top of that. love is in the air <3 oh, and john frusciante. he’s not a trigger warning, just a normal warning. beware the washboard abs!

song:

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫

September, 1989

Between work and rehearsing for the new album, Keeva was exhausted. The summer season at the café was thankfully ending, but autumn wasn’t much better - all those specials and syrups and foams. She felt like she would soon have hazelnut chocolate running through her veins instead of blood and it's only been a few days.

They were leaving for LA in two weeks to record. She was thrilled but extremely nervous. The pressure wasn’t just from the label or from themselves, it felt like the whole of Seattle was holding its breath, too.

Everyone was asking about it. Everyone wanted a taste of ‘Andy's band’s new masterpiece’, the big thing they've been working on for almost two years. Even the people who didn’t like them too much had this morbid curiosity about what the unrightfully popular wannabe-glam metal assholes Mother Love Bone will unveil.

And Keeva loved the material, but making it was like going through unnaturally prolonged labour. There were songs she wasn’t completely satisfied with and even though she poured her heart and soul into them, she still felt like she was doing a half-assed job.

She just wished there was more opportunity to do some weird experimental shit, bring in something totally crazy and feel appreciated for it.

She loved every single guy in that band fully and dearly, but the musical differences were a deep chasm on the bad days. She felt like getting the record done would be a huge band-aid finally ripped off and that it would allow them to have some clean slate at last.

Right before leaving, they had a show opening for The Red Hot Chilli Peppers at The Moore, which was extremely exciting. Keeva had seen them once before Hillel died, but after that happened, she was quite devastated.

Another one.

She was hesitant to even listen to them after that, let alone see them live, but this was a perfect opportunity to check out their new guitarist. From what she’d heard, he was quite the prodigy.

They had the greatest night to unwind a couple of weeks ago, too, because The Cult were in town opening for Metallica. Stone had a whole MTV shtick with Josh, who brought his trusty VCR. She was a bit sceptical, but as always, he was stubbornly insisting.

“Pretty please, Baby? Come on, it will be so fucking irresistibly awkward, we gotta do it.”

When she walked up to the back door of the Centre Coliseum on the moody evening, she could see Stone’s looming figure clad in his yellow sweatshirt, explaining something to Josh, who had the camera pointed at his face.

Oh god, he wasn’t kidding.

Keeva whistled, making them both turn at her.

“Oh, look who it is, the prodigal daughter,” Stone mused to the camera when she arrived with a wide grin. She huddled herself deeper in her thick scarf, her black leather jacket subtly glowing in the amber light of lamps. “Cheerio, Baby!”

“Hey, Pooky!” Josh waved and moved his camera just at the right moment to catch Stone flicking Keeva’s freezing red nose. She slapped his hand away and gave him a quick hug.

“Evening, gentlemen. Where’s Cindy?”

“Went back home for spare batteries.”

“What’s this little manifesto mean? I demand my backstage pass,” she pulled out her best posh accent while hugging Josh and then crossed her arms, theatrically puffing her chest out.

“Jeff Ament was supposed to meet us here,” Stone turned to the camera to address the non-existent audience. “Give us a key to the insider knowledge of Seattle rock. He’s abandoned us, though. Everyone has…and, uh -”

“And now we’ll freeze to death. Let that be on our gravestones,” she shook her head with a disappointed sigh. “Here lie blah, blah. Died of hypothermia, Anno Domini 1989. Jeff Ament stole their golden tickets.”

“They’ll bury us and these policemen in a mass grave,” he quickly nodded to the group of cops behind them. Keeva frowned.

“Woah, woah, woah. I don’t wanna be in a grave with you,”

“Why not?" he shrugged. "I’m known for being a darling guy.”

“‘Cause you…snore?” she raised her eyebrows as if it was the obvious answer, narrowing her eyes.

They all giggled and Keeva closed her eyes to compose herself before reaching up to tug her scarf higher, covering her icy ears.

“Do you want my jacket? I really don’t think you have enough layers on. It’s only like, what, sixty degrees?”

“I don’t know what that means, Yank. I’m still on the Celsius scale - you know, like a civilized person.”

“Yeah, sure thing, grandma,” he condescendingly tapped her cheek and then shook his head with a disapproving stare into the camera. “Fine, let’s make our death a little bit more intimate.”

Stone sat on the curb and patted the empty space next to him.

“Sit. Sit with me, my children.”

Oh, Stone. When Keeva gave him the clumsy proposition, she didn’t expect him to be so thorough with it. Her already thin hopes were wavering more and more as weeks from their encounter turned into months, but then he just came up to her one day and audaciously swept her off the counter she was sitting on, threw her over his shoulder and never looked back.

“I’m bored,” he’d said.

And every time since then, he came up with a new bullet-proof excuse.

“Tammy pissed me off at work. I had to throw out a whole batch of pretzel dough because it apparently wasn't salty enough, I need a wind-down.”

“Writer’s block. My brain feels like a tin bucket, gotta make sure I still have human needs…yup. Plenty needs.”

One time he even came up and knocked on the wooden frame of her room at 3 AM as if he could tell she was wide awake.

“Hey. Uh, can’t sleep? Want me to help with that?”

She brought that one upon herself. A few nights prior to that, that was her excuse. It took so much work, but she managed to push herself to hop down and ask him.

He was one to be fast asleep at around midnight, but lately, he’d been staying up unusually late. He must’ve been stressed about the recording - that’s what she guessed, anyway. It wasn’t like he’d tell her.

When she reluctantly pattered down the stairs, he was lying in his bed, clutching his guitar to his chest and staring at the ceiling. He looked so deep in thought that she almost turned back again - it seemed inhumane to disturb him. His pipe was sitting on his bedside table, burning through the unattended clump of weed - as if he was using it instead of an incense burner.

“How wasteful.”

His head snapped towards her as if she’d just slapped him, his eyes wide for a split second before he relaxed. He gave her a careless shrug and looked away again, back to the peeling burgundy paint.

“Polygram money,” he muttered, surprisingly unamused. She just stood there, scratching the wooden pillar. The pipe’s muted sizzling was hypnotizing - maybe she could fall asleep if she just focused on it. Let it be her lullaby, sparing her pride and -

“What’s the occasion?”

She couldn’t turn back now. He already read her, maybe even before she walked down. Always remembering the slightest details. That made her knees buckle, so she had to lean on the pillar to support herself - she folded her arms and hoped that he would think of it as her being cool instead of weak.

“I can’t sleep,” she said, keeping her voice just above a whisper.

Stone scoffed and crossed his legs, mindlessly plucking the low E on his guitar.

“What’s it to me?”

She didn’t understand why he was being so dismissive. Was she not kind enough in her approach? Respectful enough? Careful enough? Was her tone too snarky? Was her hair greasy?

Fuck, it’s the zit on my chin. Or do I have something in my teeth? Oh no, and there’s an egg yolk smear on my t-shirt. I knew I shouldn’t have eaten those fucking pancakes. And the cellulite is getting worse, too, Jesus fucking Christ. Why didn’t I put pants on?! I’m getting way too comfortable.

Bruised spongy legs and dirty pyjamas, the epitome of womanhood. That’ll surely do it for him.

“I need a reason,” he mumbled. His soft voice was like honey to her ears, snapping her out of her dissociation. Such harsh words, spoken in such a sickeningly sweet tone.

There’s no such thing as God. If there was, he wouldn’t give this asshole such an irresistible face. ‘Cause that’s just cruel.

He looked so sincere, though. So unbothered, practical. Just staring upwards, plucking the same string over and over, face softly obscured by the smoke coming out of the pipe next to him. His nonchalance was intoxicating - contagious.

She couldn’t properly think her response through, her vocal cords worked faster than her brain.

“You’re impressively good at putting me to sleep.”

Fuck. Daft cow.

The quack-like giggle he let out before he sat up broke her weakly composed facade.

“Baby, we really gotta work on that flirting game of yours or no one’s ever gonna sleep with you,” he tutted and dusted pancake crumbs off his striped boxers. He reached out to take a big hit of the burnt chunk that was left in his pipe. “No one but me, that is. You know I’m easy.”

Even on the night of The Cult gig, he had flawless reasoning. At least that was what it seemed like to her after Ian Astbury's graciously gifted shots.

“I’m drunk. You’re drunk, too.”

Although, she was tipsy enough to not contest it even beforehand - tipsy from his stupid running joke that was getting old even before the gig began.

“The policemen outside recognized me from the ‘wanted’ posters around Pioneer Square so I had to run for it,” she jogged back to her tandem of idiots after taking a quick smoke break outside. She tapped her thigh. “They caught up but then I showed them this sweet little backstage pass. I promised them Cornell’s autograph and they let me go.”

“That’s the testament to the power of the Seattle music scene, ladies and gentlemen. Slap on backstage passes and go from there,” Stone pointed a finger at the camera. “Anyway, Baby. You're late for our survey segment. Did you hear that Dave Holland is not in the band anymore?”

She snorted.

“Uh…I did, actually. You told me like, five hours ago?”

“You’re supposed to be shocked, now," Stone rolled his eyes. "You’ll make me look bad.”

“Oh, fuck,” her eyes popped open as Josh disapprovingly shook his head with a grin. “Dammit, sorry. Okay, ask me again.”

“Oh, here you are, Baby!” Stone nonchalantly leaned on the wall next to them after professionally clearing his throat. “We were looking all over for you. The viewers want your commentary on some very important news in the music business. Did you know that Dave Holland isn’t in Priest anymore?”

Her jaw dropped.

“Is he not? You’re fucking with me, right? That’s mental,” Keeva clutched on her chest, acting out of breath while she turned to the camera. “See, ladies, when you’re friends with Stoney Gossard here, you learn something new every day. Sometimes even twice a day, clearly.”

“Okay, okay,” Stone reached out and cupped her mouth to silence her. “Let’s move on, we have more topics to tackle. Quick-fire questions. Let's hope you'll do better than the last girl - no offence to her, but we need content. Who do you like better, Glenn Tipton or K.K. Downing?”

“K.K. No question,” she quickly shot back.

“Any particular reason for your choice?”

“Just because it’s a cool fucking name,” she shrugged.

“What about Iron Maiden?” Stone questioned, an intrigued look on his face.

“Who doesn’t like Iron Maiden, come on.”

“Opinions on Steve Harris?” Stone raised his eyebrows and before he finished lifting his fingers in the air, she already spat her beer back into her cup.

“A double shredder?! Double shredder. Come on, now. That’s all you have to know,” she turned to the camera when she composed herself and opened her mouth wide with a shocked face. “How could I not like him? I’m only human.”

He wouldn't let it go after the show, either. The dedication was so excellent she couldn't help but play along.

“Hey, Chris, did you know that Dave Holland is not in the band anymore?” he appeared behind Keeva out of nowhere and nonchalantly threw his arms around her neck when she was talking to a well-baked Chris and Greg - the latter was sporting a new terrible haircut she gave him on a whim at 2 AM after an exhausting rehearsing session.

Funny how tiredness doubles as being drunk out of your mind.

“Huh? He’s not? Bullshit, that’s insane,” she exclaimed and bent her head back to look up at Stone with wide eyes. He grinned as they exchanged falsely subtle thumbs up and tugged on her hair before he rested his chin on the top of her head again. Josh shook with laughter, stabilizing his VCR with both hands.

The Peppers gig was about as different as it could be. Yes, Love Bone had a great show and the guys were fantastic - the new guitar player was really a wizard - but Keeva’s main object of attention disappeared somewhere as soon as they walked into the bar after the show, his pink scrunchie getting swallowed by the crowd before she managed to stop him.

They met the guys backstage and promised to take them to the best joint in town - of course, Stone and she chose the Off Ramp to spite them.

They loved it, though. Stone didn’t even have time to begin his scam routine - The Peppers clearly had a lot more dough than any of them, lavishly buying the group drink after drink.

“You just keep bringing me these tequila shots, one after another, and I don't have the heart to tell you that I fucking hate tequila,” Keeva sighed when John joined her at the table again, putting a tall shot glass in front of her with a ringing thud.

He was one annoying fruitfly - he always came back, no matter how crass and caustic her jokes at his expense were. A really cute fruitfly nonetheless.

“Why do you drink ‘em, then?” he chuckled, and weightlessly sat down opposite her, lighting a cigarette.

“Because I value people’s money, John, that’s why,” she leaned on the table, squinting. He just snorted and took a small pause before continuing.

“He’s kinda an asshole, that Stoney of yours, met him at the bar,” he said, taking a puff. “Probably doesn’t like that you’re sitting here.”

Keeva huffed and shook her head.

“Oh, he’s not - we’re just friends. Slash roommates,” she waved her hands around, hoping that the dim light would hide her glowing red blush.

John scowled.

“So he’s just fucking you? Shouldn’t be jealous, then,” he raised his eyebrows and leaned on the table, too. She choked on her saliva when she took a breath to answer.

“Excuse me?” she coughed out.

“You heard me,” he replied, shaking his bleached short hair out of his eyes. Keeva mirrored his smug expression.

“Aren’t you a little brash, mate?”

“Figured you’d like that if he’s the one fucking you,” John shrugged and leaned back in his chair. Keeva squinted at him, tipping her head to challenge him to elaborate.

“That Stones cover you did tonight? Two people who play like this must be fucking,” he shrugged again and took a drink. Keeva blinked a few times to digest his statement.

They routinely did a cover of Gimme Shelter - it was arranged with three guitars in mind and it just sounded really good with Andy’s wailing.

She was usually tasked with the main melody while Stone was doing his perfectly funky rhythmic part and Bruce was the psychedelic undertone at the bottom.

She didn’t know what it was, maybe the harsh lyrics, but the beating cadence of the guitar sounded like a heart to her. His heart. It made her move in ways that were maybe a bit too unchained for the kind of music they played. And Stone seemed to be pretty into it.

She couldn’t help but chuckle at John’s sincere stare.

“So, by your logic, if we’re together, why are you trying to get into my knickers?” she confidently asked, but John immediately raised his finger to stop her and wiggled in his chair again as if he couldn’t sit still.

“I said that you’re fucking, not that you’re together. Two people who play like this can’t be together, that would be unsustainable.”

A cold shiver ran down Keeva’s spine, but she tried to write it off as a consequence of having one too many shots.

The fucking tequila.

Why was this cocky asshole staring at her and why was he looking right inside her head?

Why was he right?

“Wise man. And using big words like ‘unsustainable’, too. You should be a therapist,” she mockingly nodded, giving him a sly smile. “How much per hour?”

“You couldn’t afford me,” John smirked and crossed his arms. Keeva scoffed at his arrogance. Somehow, it was endearing. Maybe even attractive. She couldn’t tell.

“Try me.”

He raised his eyebrows and smiled, darting between her and his lap. Her flushed cheeks puffed with a laugh as she shook her head.

“Oh, you’d have to be a much better therapist to get that,” she grinned and sipped a bit of the tequila to give herself more confidence. She catastrophically failed, though, letting out a childish cough as if she’d never taken a sip of alcohol before.

The Off Ramp spirits were really something else.

“Guess so,” John said with an amused pout that morphed into a wide smile when she giggled at his expression. As the alcohol clouded Keeva’s brain, music seemed to be getting louder and the lousy lights were glowing brighter.

And he seemed more and more beautiful.

Yes, he had all this contagious giddy energy around him and washboard abs were peeking out of his strategically unbuttoned red shirt with black suspenders on top, but it was his eyes - they didn’t match him. They weren’t keeping up with the youthful smugness. They were calm and wise. And sad. They reminded her of -

No.

“That girl beside the bar,” Keeva said and nodded her head in the direction of a redhead sitting on a barstool a few feet away from them. “She’s been eyeing you the whole night. She was next to me in the pit, pretty sure I heard her moan during one of your solos. Might be a better target for your unsolicited advice.”

John didn’t even bat an eye. His smirk just widened because he noticed the strain in her voice.

“I’m pretty content right where I am,” he mumbled, taking a big drag of his cigarette without leaving her eyes.

Keeva cleared her throat. John’s nose was pretty, too. Only strengthened her longing thoughts - even the most beautiful of faces couldn’t compare to him. On cue, her eyes searched around the room.

Please, don’t be there. Don’t make me do this. Let’s just go home.

And yet, Stone’s bright pink scrunchie peeked out behind the corner as if to spite her - she was subconsciously looking for him the whole night and at the one moment she prayed she wouldn’t find him, he appeared out of thin air.

He was laughing, scratching the back of his neck as a tall brunette whispered something in his ear and then leaned back against the wall, letting him cage her. Then, he reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and followed her through the crowd all the way to one of the hallways - the one that led to the back door.

They disappeared from her sight there.

Keeva’s eyes slowly moved back to John, who was still staring her down. She hid her sigh by downing the tequila in one harsh sip.

“So am I.”

John softly nodded as if he heard her train of thought. He’d noticed the smidge of insincerity in her voice. There was a flash of seriousness in his eyes before he completely changed his demeanour again, shifted in his seat and spread his legs.

“You’d feel even better if you were right here,” he tapped his knee with a smile.

Keeva wanted to laugh at his corny pornographic posture, but her body didn’t allow it. She just mindlessly leaned on the table and raised her eyebrows.

It’s just casual. It’s casual. He never promised me loyalty and I don’t owe him anything, either.

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

“Will you?” John said, his voice so silent only she could hear it.

She shrugged with a small smile, but before she could continue, Greg appeared out of nowhere and slammed his hand on the table. She jumped and so did John.

“Pooooooky! Your glass is empty, it’s time to drink up, babycakes!” Greg sing-songed and hugged her around the shoulders, waving a shot glass in the air while making airplane noises. When he noticed John’s red cheeks, he darted between the two of them and then sucked his teeth.

“Oh shit, I’m interrupting your little date, am I?” he muttered, scratching his head. Keeva bit her lips and nodded, pushing back a laugh. Greg groaned and slapped his forehead.

“Fuck, sorry. I’m a dumbass. Anyway,” he snapped back to her and started forcing the shot in her face. “Here comes the airplane! I promised Stoney I’ll make sure you drink it or he’ll beat me up.”

“Jesus, Greg, he’s just a sack of bones,” Keeva mumbled, trying to ignore the implication. She squeezed her eyes shut when he finally got her to part her lips and threw the shot back. She coughed a few times and then sneezed.

“Have you seen those knuckles? Bless ya,” he slurred and then handed the second shot he was holding to John.

“Here you go, buddy. Great show tonight. No airplane for you, sorry,” Greg said and patted John’s shoulder.

“Back at you, man,” he grinned and kicked the shot back, a bit shaken from Greg’s strong grip.

“Bring her back home in one piece and no funny business!” he said and wiggled his index finger at John, then gave Keeva a loud sloppy peck on the forehead and left as swiftly as he appeared.

Keeva stared at the table for a few moments before finally gathering enough courage to look at John. He was grinning, his cheeks flushed.

‘I promised Stoney I’ll make sure you drink it.’

Fucking bastard. Of course he was watching.

“Not easy being the greenie, innit?” she mumbled, expecting a laugh from him. But John’s cheeky smile fell.

“Yeah…”

He looked at the table and squirmed in his chair again, this time twisting into a hunch as he picked on his nails.

“How do you do it?” he asked after a few moments.

Suddenly, all the bravado was gone and in front of her sat a boy. A shy, tired boy asking for advice.

Oh, buddy, you’ve come to the wrong place.

“Dunno. Play along, throw it in their face…cry me to sleep,” she shrugged, nudging him with her foot under the table. He finally looked at her again, breaking into a soft smile.

Another long silence.

“Does he do it too?”

He didn’t need to drop names, his eyes spoke for him.

“Do what?” she asked just to prolong the opportunity to think her next moves through.

“Mock you.”

“More than anyone,” Keeva said with a sour chuckle. “The ‘Baby’ isn’t a flirty hot nickname, you know. It’s literal.”

John nodded and looked away again. He was shaking his leg, once again unable to sit still.

“And, uh…how do you deal with that?” he asked like an innocent kid. For a moment, Keeva thought that she saw him search for someone in the crowd, too.

She sighed.

“I sleep with him.”

“I figured,” he said with a chuckle and turned back to her. He waited for a few moments and then changed his posture again, melting into his chair.

“Does he make you feel good?” he silently questioned. His cocky smirk completely erased any doubt that was all over his face just a minute ago. Keeva’s cheeks went beet red, but she managed to keep her composure.

“What, you think you could do better?” she shot back and grinned too, but she was fighting the urge to just tell him off again.

Highly doubt that.

John didn’t budge, he just crossed his legs and lit another cigarette.

“I can try,” he shrugged after taking a drag. Keeva opened her mouth and closed it again, chuckling.

“You’re very persuasive, I’ll give you that.”

“Tell you what,” he exhaled the smoke and scratched his chin. “I’ll go talk to the ginger at the bar so you can decide in peace.”

She snorted, secretly delighted that he was offering her a way out, regardless of his intentions.

“So I’m your little rebound?” she squinted at him and folded her arms. He just shrugged with a sly grin.

“You’re a little hypocrite, Baby, that’s what you are.”

She sat back as John continued.

“Bet your friend is somewhere around. Tell him that tonight he will either fuck you or fuck off and leave the fucking to me. Then we can try the rebound thing.”

“I’m pretty sure he left a long time ago,” Keeva scoffed, darting her head towards the exit.

John got up and walked around the table to her seat. He offered her a cig from his box, lighting it up when she picked one.

“Let’s test it.”

He bent to her level and leaned in, brushing off a few curls stuck in her eyelashes. Before she could understand his movement - or blink for that matter, he suddenly pressed his lips against hers in a short but warm kiss, holding her head in his palms.

Keeva was flabbergasted.

She’d forgotten what a kiss felt like - not that she ever properly knew. But it was heavenly. As soon as John’s lips touched her, though, she immediately shut her eyes so she could imagine it being someone else. And she truly hated herself for that.

Little hypocrite. Sounds about right.

After a brief moment of lingering, he pulled away, a cocky grin plastered all over his face.

“You look cute like this,” he chirped and then set off to the bar, leaving her to sit there in utter silence.

Keeva's cheeks were burning red and her eyes were hazy. She felt lightheaded. A few of her curls stuck out at the places he held her and her dark red lipstick was slightly smudged. She scoffed as she watched him leave.

“Good girl, learning fast,” Stone’s voice appeared right next to her head, making her jump. He swiftly grabbed the cigarette from her and took a drag, puffing the smoke right into her face from the inches of distance between them. Then he gave her a sarcastic smile and walked around the table to sit opposite of her, right where John sat just a few minutes ago.

She shivered.

He mocks you and bats his eyelashes once and you’re already ruined? Pathetic.

“You were watching me, sleazebag?” she squinted at him. She was everything but mad at him, no matter how hard she tried. It was like a dream come true - he always came back to her. Her dignity was smashed into tiny shards, but she didn’t care.

“It was a historical event, wasn’t it? Never thought the day would come, the second kiss of your life!” he took another drag and shrugged, keeping the insincere smile. That did spark something akin to anger in her.

“No thanks to you,” she snapped back. She would be regretful of that low blow if Stone didn’t have a stain from a lipstick that wasn’t hers on his neck. The twitch of his eye implied some sort of impact, but his smile grew even wider.

“Exactly, that’s the best thing about it.”

Motherfucker.

Oh, he knew how to fight back. He knew exactly where to stab to be sure he didn’t miss.

“So did you just want to congratulate me and be on your way?” Keeva put on a sweet tone, pointing at the door. “Please, thank you. Bye?”

“No, actually, that’s just the debris,” he shook his head and carelessly crossed his legs. “I came to deliver a message.”

“Oh, you’re quitting the business to be a postman now? Good for you, Stoney. Love a man in a uniform,” she said, thoroughly satisfied when her bitchy attitude provoked an eye roll from Stone. “Who for?”

He stared her down and rudely put the cigarette out against the table.

“That juicy little boy that just planted one on you.”

She let out a loud cackle.

“Okay, a message for the little boy from the big boy table? I’m invested.”

“Whatever he’s doing, I don’t give a shit,” Stone said after a long pause, breathing out the cigarette smoke through his nose. “But if he harms a single hair on your head, I’ll take those stupid suspenders of his, shove ‘em up his nostril and pull them out of his ass. M’kay?”

Is he jealous?

Bullshit. No way.

“Kinda sounds like you do give a shit,” she squinted. “Why don’t you tell him yourself?”

“It will have more impact from you, I think,” he shrugged.

“He had a message, too, just thought I’d spare you,” Keeva sat back and reached up to wipe her smudged lipstick. “Apparently? Tonight either you can fuck me or he’ll do it for you.”

“What a poet,” Stone sharply scoffed. “Like I said, let him do his thing, but if he doesn’t -”

Okay. That’s it. Leave, now.

“Yea, thanks. Get it,” she shook her head and gave him a hostile stare, hoping that he’d leave as fast as possible so she could shed the tear she’d been holding since they’d arrived at this cursed place. “So I’m your delivery boy now?”

When he didn’t budge or look away, she chose to continue and twist the dagger.

“And what do I get in return from you, hm? A kiss on the cheek?”

Oh. Oh no.

A nauseating burn settled in Keeva’s throat as more blood rushed into her face, heating up thanks to his questioning stare. It was like the crass comment lingered in the air like a thick storm cloud, the thunder echoing over and over again through the four walls that surrounded them.

A kiss on the cheek, that’s what we’d agreed on.

How do I take this back? Fuck, please let me take it back.

Stone didn’t say anything, he just shifted in his seat so subtly she almost didn’t notice. Her face was slowly dropping the sardonic smirk and he just watched it happen, observing her like a strange phenomenon.

Jesus Christ, just say something, you idiot. Anything. Or he will.

“You know what, scratch that. We’re leaving,” he said, his tone nearly unphased. Keeva couldn’t back out, now.

“Is your ego so hurt by a little boy that you have to leave?”

“Yeah, positively devastated,” he scoffed and got up. “We were supposed to be at Devon’s birthday party like two hours ago. Regan sprinted four blocks to come and get us ‘cause they were worried. He’s waiting outside, so pack your shit up pronto. Or don’t, I don’t really care, but Devon does.”

Shit. I forgot.

“How long do we have to be there?” Keeva whined like a petty child, eager to forget about this whole scene.

She wanted to fall on her knees and kiss his high-tops for ignoring her comment, that was the worst thing about it.

“Dunno, long enough to find you a different little boy who’ll hurt my ego, now that I’ve robbed you of this one.”

Stone’s seemingly jealous tone was long gone. His classic cold diction suited him better, even if that fact was disappointing.

She turned to the bar - John wasn’t there anymore and neither was the ginger.

“You really don’t wanna be the one to do the fucking tonight, do you?” Keeva chuckled and turned her back to him to take her jacket off the back of the chair - that was her excuse to hide the stray tear that finally escaped her eye.

“Honestly, I’ve lost my appetite.”

“And once again, two of Seattle’s greatest minds think alike,” she said with a sour chuckle, quickly wiping the drop on her cheek before walking around him without another look at his face. “Hope you’re ready for an ass-beating in Scrabble tonight, big boy.”

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫

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