Welcome to my Fluff Show. My name is Ashley I will be your waitress today. How do you like your fluff?
Well, actually. You don't get to decide because I like mine with a side of humor and that is what I have presented you with for today! I really hope you guys enjoy this. I have a few ideas on what I want to do with this universe I created so I hope you guys stick with me through all of it!
I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and have a wonderful night, my friends! Much love!
"So. You're finally together?" I gave my fellow musician a wide smile as we entered the record label building together.
"Yup!" The Brit gave my back a hearty slap that nearly called me to lurch forward while the guitarist gave a small laugh as he pulled me into his side.
"That's wonderful! It's a little weird since I both see you two as my little siblings and it kind of feels like you're messing around with my sister, but I'm happy for you. You two have been pinning for a little too long in my opinion." I rolled my eyes at his remark as he continued. "What? Ask anyone and they will agree."
"Whatever, Doux. What are you doing here anyway? Didn't Merlin want to speak to you at your label?"
"Mystic Music Records is just down the road and my meeting with my old man is in an hour. So, for now, I'm working on a request from an old friend. The same one I introduced you to." He gave me a lopsided smile before giving a wave toward the normal front desk worker, Laura. "Good morning, love!"
"Good morning, Douxie. You as well, Jim." I gave her a smile and a single nod as we walked past her.
"Good morning, Laura." We continued onto the elevators together as Douxie carried on our conversation.
"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be still daydreaming off in La La Land?" I rolled my eyes at his remark as I pressed the call button for the elevator.
"One, fuck off. Two, Nomura said she needed the rest of my songs for the album, but I couldn't get the company's dropbox system to work so," I went into my pocket and pulled out a small flash drive to showcase itself to the guitarist. "Here I am."
"You didn't give them the rest of the album just yet and you weren't welcomed to the tune of In the Hall of the Mountain King? I believe you are the luckiest man alive, my dear friend." We entered the elevator as I gave my old friend a large smile.
"As of last night, I am."
"Oh you are her bitch, aren't ya?"
"Honestly, whatever makes her happy."
"So you would be her bitch?"
"Abso-fucking-lutely." The elevator doors opened onto our designated floor only for both of us to look up toward the man on the other side with wide eyes.
"No shit." I heard the Englishmen mutter under his breath as I only swallowed dryly in return. Before us was one of the biggest names in music. The leading man from the rock band The Hunters. Owner and talent leader of Trollmarket Records. The legendary singer nicknamed the Trollhunter for his warrior-like actions and morals.
"Kanjigar Tarigar." The tall tan man gave the two of us a wide smile
"Hello, boys." He looked between us before pointing a finger toward Douxie for a second. "You're Douxie Casperan. Guitarist and lead singer of Ash Dispersal Pattern. Correct?"
"Yes, sir!" Kanjigar chuckled at this before pointing his finger toward me.
"And you're James Lake Junior. Guitarist, songwriter, and probably one of the few pop singers I can withstand listening to." I gave him a nervous smile as the idea of Kanjigar fucking Tarigar listens to my music sunk into my system.
"Wonderful to meet you, sir."
"Nice to meet you as well, Jim. You too, Casperan."
"Not to be rude, Kanjigar, sir. But what are you doing here?"
"I was speaking to Strickler on certain musicians we have been fighting on. The lowballing bastard wasn't giving the kids what they deserve." He gave both of us a wink as walked into the elevator that we exited for him. "If you two ever decide you want a new label, let me know. I know sure as hell that Strickler isn't giving you," He pointed toward me specifically. "What you truly need." With that, the elevator doors closed and the sight of the ex-singer left us as Douxie and I still stood there like two stunned fanboys meeting their idol for the first time.
Well, for one of us, it's true.
"DID YOU HEAR THAT!?"
"Yes, Douxie."
"HE BASICALLY JUST OFFERED US FUCKING CONTRACTS!"
"Yes, Douxie."
"KANJIGAR THE GOD DAMN COURAGEOUS! The Trollhunter, Jim. The Trollhunter."
"You need to chill, Doux. What would your dad say if you were this happy to get an offer from an opposing record label?"
"He would slap me on my back in congratulations and then across my face for even thinking about leaving the company." I chuckled at this as we turned down the hallway.
"Hisirdoux! This company this a family company. Who are you to believe I would let some twit take you away from me?" I mimicked the old man's voice as I raised a finger in the air in a mocking way. All of this caused the man beside me to nearly bust out laughing as he nudged me with his elbow.
"You forgot about the whole 'but master I' stuff he does to me."
"Why do you call your dad master again?"
"He was raised with the old British ideals. You give your parents respect and they embarrass you in return. That's British parenting for ya though."
"Sounds like hell."
"Oh most definitely, my friend."
"Boys." We turned our heads before us to see Nomura standing before us with the smallest smile on her face. I shot her a toothy grin as Douxie gave her a simple wave.
"Morning Nomura."
"Please tell me the two of you are not here to record more music together. You both remember how difficult it is for me to get Strickler and Merlin to even talk to each other."
"No worries, Nomura. We just arrived at the same time is all. I was actually coming here to give you this." I pulled out the flash drive from my jacket pocket and handed it to her. "The dropbox system wasn't working for me, so I figured I would come here and give you the album personally." She took the flash drive with a sweet smile before slipping it into her blazer pocket.
"Wonderful. Thank you, Jim."
"No problem."
"Doesn't explain why you're here, Casperan." She crossed her arms over her chest as she looked over toward Douxie with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm here to see Zoe."
"Oh, your little girlfriend? Makes sense." A large smirk came across the woman's face as she started to walk past us. "Don't distract her though. She's working on a major project at the moment. She is due for a break though." I looked over toward Douxie to see a blush taking over his face as he called after her.
"She is not my girlfriend, thank you very much." I chuckled as I gave him a teasing smile.
"Seems you want her to be though." He flashed me an annoyed look as he slipped his hands into his hoodie pockets.
"Don't get me started, Skinny-Legs."
"Hey! You tease me about Claire all the time. It's only fair I give it back to you."
"But I'm the big brother in this situation."
"So?"
"I have the right to tease the hell outta ya." I rolled my eyes jokingly at him as I turned back toward where the elevator is.
"Whatever. My business here is done so I'm going to head out."
"Alrighty. See you around, Skinny-Legs."
"I'm not that skinny anymore, God damn it."
"Doesn't mean it wasn't true, mate!" As I made my way toward the elevator and had gotten into it with ease, I felt my phone buzz within my pocket. I pulled it out to see a text from Claire dancing across the screen.
C: Finished your mission?
I smiled at the message as I leaned against the back wall of the elevator. I opened the text and sent a quick reply without a second thought.
J: Yep. Ran into Doux. He ended up having a fanboy moment due to us running in Kanjigar Tarigar.
C: Seems legit, honestly. Won't expect anything less from him. Should have seen him and he and I met the lead singer for Asking Alexandra. The boy lost his mind.
J: I have literally no clue what band that is but I'm just gonna act like I do.
C: lol Got you through being friends with two punk kids long enough. Are you free for the rest of the day?
J: As long as I don't get an emergency call from anyone, yeah. Why? Got something in mind?
C: Oh definitely. Meet me at the set? I've got probably an hour or so of filming left for today.
J: You got it. See you there.
I smiled as she just sent a heart emoji in reply. I could tell by how quick she sent it that her usual scene break must have been cut short. That's just how Claire has always been though. Instead of not replying at all when she's off having to do something else, she would always at least send something to let me know she read my message.
It was nice to know that nothing truly changed between us and that the new relationship we've started last night wasn't changing how we talked or acted with one another. It only proved that Toby was right all along. Nothing would change how me and Claire few each other. Looking back though, it's not like we weren't borderline flirting throughout high school anyway.
I chuckled at the thought as I made my way out of the building.
Now that I think about it, I think it was rather obvious how we thought of each other with all the sideways glances and soft touches we would give each other. I was an oblivious little fucker to not realize it back then, but now that the knowledge is presented to me, I can see it as clear as day.
Make me question though how the hell did she deal with my ass for that long, but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Especially since she still wants to be my girlfriend after waiting all that time.
I felt a dopey smile appear on my face as I made my way to my motorcycle.
Girlfriend.
Man. It feels like a dream just thinking about it.
I put my old helmet on my head before getting onto my bike and bringing the engine to life.
But at least now it's a dream come turn.
"I thought I wasn't allowed back here." I gave Claire a lopsided smile as she escorted me toward her trailer.
"Not really, but does it really matter at this point? It's the last day of filming. What are they going to do? Redo a whole ass film all because I had my boyfriend in my trailer once within the five times I've worked with this director." I instinctively put an arm around her as we kept walking together.
"I love hearing you call me that." She laughed a little as she wrapped an arm around my lower back.
"It hasn't even been twenty-four hours, Jim."
"Claire, I've been dreaming about this for about four years at the very least. Let me have this." She stopped in her tracks and reached out to grab the front of my jacket so she can pull my full attention toward her. She brought her hands up to toy with the collar of my old blue jumper jacket as she looked up toward me with a soft smile.
"I wasn't saying I wasn't enjoying it either." A smirk appeared on my face as I put my hands on her waist.
"Really now?" She hummed in reply before leaning forward and capturing my lips. It was a quick kiss, but I was a smiling fool as all she did in reply was smile up toward me as she toyed with the collar of my jacket still.
"No fucking way." We snapped our heads toward the sudden voice just to see Mary standing beside us with a shocked look on her face. "No fucking way! WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN and girl, why didn't you tell me?" Claire just laughed softly at our friend's reaction as I just gave a nervous smile in return.
"Last night. We kind of just hung out until we both passed out afterward so I didn't bother texting anyone about it. We also didn't get to see each other since we got here so it's not like I had the time to tell you either."
"Claire Maria Nuñez, that is not a reason to not tell your best friend you got with your high school crush." I laughed at that as Claire gave Mary a half-hearted glare. I could tell by the slight tint in the Latina's face that she was slightly embarrassed by Mary's statement.
"Last I knew, Jim was my best friend."
"Not that one just hurts." She placed a hand over her heart as she walked up toward us. "But honestly, I'm really happy for you two. I'm sad I'm out twenty bucks, but I'm happy for you two." I gave her a confused look as I tilted my head slightly to the left.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Darci, Toby, Douxie, and I all had a betting pool going on when you guys were going to finally tell each other how you feel. I was sure Claire was going to confess after the premier next month since you have a track record of being too much of an anxious wreck to even sit next to her for too long." I felt an annoyed look take over my face as Claire just giggled at my side. I raised an eyebrow at Claire as she just shrugged.
"What? She's not wrong and if it wasn't for that music video shoot we did yesterday, I actually think I would have confessed to you at the premier. That is if you were able to come."
"When have I ever missed any of your premiers? I had Trevor breathing down my neck for weeks because I nearly missed a concert in New York for one."
"Which is one of the million things I like about you."
"Which is one of the million reasons you two are sickeningly sweet." Claire turned her head to stick her tongue out at Mary before leaning forward and placing a soft kiss on my left cheek. "Ew, stop it. I might get Diabetes watching you two." I felt Claire wrap her arms around my middle as I just wrapped my arms around her in return.
"Stop watching then."
"HOLY-! Toby told me something happened last night between you two after he got off the phone with Jim this morning but I wasn't expecting this." Darci appeared by Mary's side as she had a wide smile on her face. "Seems like I won the betting pool though."
"You one?" I raised an eyebrow as I question Darci on the subject.
"Yep! I had a feeling you two were going to snap at some point. Especially when Toby said Jim was working on 'personal album'." Darci gave air quotes as she spoke. "After that, I kind of figured you were sick and tired of being lovesick over Claire's ass." I chuckled nervously at Darci's words as she was completely right on that statement.
"You're not wrong, but you didn't have to call me out like that."
"I was right? Damn. Here I was thinking that I was just jumping to conclusions."
"Wait, Toby didn't tell you I was writing the album about Claire? Huh. Normally he would tell you even when I tell him explicitly not to." Darci smiled at this as she just looked up toward me.
"He tells me everything unless it's something tied explicitly to your personal life. Unless it's something small and or embarrassing." I swallowed dryly as the woman gave me a smirk.
Oh god. Makes me wonder what stories she has on my ass. I don't doubt that Toby's told her everything from when I nearly fainted when Claire had first kissed my cheek in high school to when I ended up having my clothes stolen and replaced with a red dress in gym class by Steve when we were sophomores.
"Remind me to never be on your bad side then. I don't want any of what he more than likely told you to ever be spoken of."
"Keep Claire happy and we won't have to ever mention any of it." Darci gave me a sweet smile as Mary laughed beside her.
"Here I thought Douxie would be the one threatening Jim's ass! Way to go, Darc."
"All he went on about this morning was that he feels a little weird about it all since he sees us as siblings, but nothing more than that." Mary gave me a shocked look.
"Huh. Here I thought he would threaten you with a bat or break your knees."
"Me too, honestly."
"Okay, I get it. Two people are willing to beat up my boyfriend if he ever hurts me, but I doubt that will ever happen so can we stop with the eerie threats?" I chuckled as I gave Claire a simple smile.
"I think you would be the first to kill me anyway if I ever fuck up in some way."
"Oh, you know it, Lake."
"They're sickeningly sweet aren't they?"
"Oh definitely. Now I understand why you guys would always make fun of me and Toby for being that way." I saw a smirk appear on Claire's lips as I knew instantly what the Latina was planning. Without a second thought, I leaned in and kissed her as Mary and Darci gave gagging noises in reply. Claire unwrapped one of her arms from around my waist as she kissed me back.
"Hey! We don't deserve that crude gesture, Nuñez!" I smiled against her lips as I knew that she was flipping her friends off as we deepened the kiss. "Okay, this is quickly becoming some kind of softcore porno so I'm just going to leave now."
"I feel that sister. Have fun you two. Not too much fun though! We can't be having Claire unable to act within the next few months. She's got another film coming." Claire and I pulled apart as we heard the two of them making their way toward their unannounced destination. I wasn't sure at first if the girl's words were affecting Claire as much as it was me, but by the bright blush dancing on her cheeks, I found out that she was just as embarrassed.
"Can we agree on not talking about what either of them just said?"
"Totally." She giggled at this as she leaned forward and placed another quick kiss on my lips. She pulled back to give me a small smirk as she unwrapped her arms from my waist to place her hands onto my cheeks.
"We can still continue this in my trailer though." I smiled at her comment which she took as my answer. She dropped her hands to grab both of mine from off her waist as she started pulling me toward her trailer.
It might be a little too earlier to say it aloud, but god do I love this girl.
I watched as she gave me a wide smile over her shoulder as she continued pulling me along.
I wouldn't change a god damn thing.