wow wow wow!
would you believe me if i told you that i've been working on this fic since april? wild, huh? it's crazy to think that i've been going at this for several months now, hopping around various btr fic drafts that i'm not sure will ever see the light of day (at least, not at the rate i'm writing them lmao). here's to my first contribution to not only this fandom, but to all the lucy stone fanfics out there because wowee she was a pretty rad not to mention very attractive *cough cough*, yet short-lived character. and while we didn't get to see much of her in the show, at least we can ponder and explore the possibilities through writing. anyways, before i ramble on any further, shoutout to all the writers in the btr fandom! your works has helped me get through the year, and has continued to inspire me to keep on writing. so thank you to my fellow rushers :'^)
so without further ado, hope you enjoy the story and my sorry attempts at proper grammar and punctuation !
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(𝕍)𝕚𝕠𝕝𝕚𝕟
They say that taking the first step towards anything is hard to do, but what they never tell you is that real difficulties lie in continuing forward. For Lucy, it started with the plan to flee Georgia to pursue a fake violin scholarship in Los Angeles. Although the idea took months of extensive planning and execution, from planting fake brochures and fliers around her house to finding an apartment building that can pass as off-campus residency, she realized on the plane ride over that the hard part was officially over. No more playing tests, no more recitals— fucking finally! No longer was she bound by the rigidity of classical music that was enforced for years by her parents.
For the first time in her life, Lucy felt free. It was the kind of freedom that lifted the heaviness that had settled at the bottom of her lungs and allowed her to release a breath she never knew she held. It was the kind of release that eased the tension in her shoulders and the ache in her wrists, allowing her arms to stretch to their fullest extent, no longer confined to a limited range of motion.
As she drew closer to LA, Lucy could feel herself relax as the piercing gaze she felt on the back of her neck started to numb a little. A part of her almost wanted to think that she didn't have to live in fear of her parents anymore, but she shut that naive thought down very quickly. While it's a miracle that she's made it this far, Lucy had to maintain her guard.
Life had granted her a second chance to start fresh and focus on more important matters: her music career. The violin may have been the reason she got into music in the first place, but it was the guitar that gave her a reason to keep playing.
From the moment the taxi cab pulled up in front of the Palm Woods, Lucy knew of two things: 1) The Los Angeles scene was significantly different from her hometown in Georgia. 2) The Palm Woods residents were a different breed of people. With every step Lucy took, the foundations of her reputation were being paved before her. She could feel the scrutinizing, yet intimidated gaze of the masses, and how quickly their curiosity turned to fear as they parted the way like the Red Sea. Apparently the people of LA don't mess with hair dye and leather jackets.
She didn't mind their aversion. If the people were too scared to talk to her, then let them. Those are the ones who aren't worth getting to know, and after all the shit that went down in Georgia, Lucy could use a break from people. Besides, time spent alone meant more time spent on her music. But then again, this was The Palm Woods—home of the future famous—of course her time here would be anything but peaceful.
In a single Friday afternoon, Lucy had managed to befriend a method actress who—at least when she wasn't skirting around wearing a jet black wig under the alias "Mila Stark"—had the cutest brown curls, to start a rivalry with the leader of a famous boy band who was very adamant about proving her wrong, and to enlist the help of the newly dubbed Friend A and Friend B to get settled into her new apartment.
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The first time Lucy saw her Violin since leaving Georgia, it was after the performance stunt BTR pulled on the news that Saturday morning. Friend A and Friend B—Carlos and James respectively—stayed true to their word and helped Lucy settle into her new apartment. Though there were a few mishaps along the way, from Carlos bumping into a stack of boxes while helping her rearrange guitar amps ( "Oh shit—" ) to digging out James after said stack of boxes overcame him ( "No, not the face! NOT THE FACE—" ), the three of them eventually found places for her major furniture pieces unscathed. All that was left to unpack were her kitchenware and personal items.
Lucy was in the kitchen area filling up the cupboards, while Carlos was replacing the light bulbs around the apartment. Meanwhile, James had finished setting up the extension cords, and after losing a game of rock-paper-scissors to Carlos, was in and out of her apartment throwing out trash that had accumulated while unpacking.
Aside from the clanking of dishware here and the rustling of clothes there, without the constant presence of James, the apartment was surprisingly quiet. She could hear Carlos' mumblings from across the room—it wasn't that big of a space to begin with. He voiced out anything and everything that came to mind. He went from counting the amount of times he turned the bulbs to singing a song he made up on the spot about hanging out with everyone later in the evening.
At one point, Carlos stopped singing and the apartment became a little too quiet for Lucy's liking. As she moved on to putting away the utensils, she carefully listened to see what had garnered Friend A's attention. She heard a hum of curiosity followed by a soft, yet hollowed thud. Wait a minute… It wasn't until Lucy heard the familiar sound of clasps getting unlatched that she realized Carlos had found it .
"Whoa, no way! A violin!"
No fucking way, indeed.
She whipped around to see him actually holding a violin, except it wasn't just any ol' violin. The violin that Carlos had in his possession—the same violin that Carlos had the audacity to pretend to play like it was an ukulele right in front of her—was in fact The Violin Lucy had sworn she would never play or look at ever again all those months ago.
"Don't touch that!"
She marched over and backed a frightened Carlos into the corner, causing the instrument case to get knocked off the desk. Although he was an inch taller than her, the added height in her boots gave Lucy the edge she needed as Carlos cowered in fear, his arms held up in surrender.
"God, you're even holding it wrong," she mumbled to herself before continuing her tirade, "Carlos, do you have any idea—"
"Uhh…" He looked up at her contemplatively, his eyes darted back and forth in a nervous frenzy.
"What?" Lucy snapped back, inching closer, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Carlos opened his mouth to speak, but immediately closed it and quickly averted his gaze for a moment before looking back at her, "Do you think you could maybe, um, put those butter knives down?"
Lucy cocked her head in confusion, and Carlos motioned his head to her left. She looked to the side, and sure enough, she had a bouquet of butter knives in her with their rounded points directed toward Carlos.
"Shit, my bad," she lowered her left arm and backed away from the corner, "Let me go put these away."
Lucy left to put the butter knives in the drawers, and Carlos gently placed the violin on the coffee table before he made a beeline for the couch.
"Oh thank god!" he sighed in relief, as he proceeded to fall backwards onto the green cushions, "You know, for a second there, I thought you were actually gonna kill me."
The two of them shared a laugh, though, his laughter sounded more nervous.
She sat herself down on the floor across from him, holding two water bottles in her hands, "Who says I wouldn't hesitate the next time?"
Lucy watched him visibly tense, wide eyes boring holes into her ceiling. He immediately threw his arms up to hug himself in the fetal position. For a second, she thought she had heard him squeak out the word, "Mamí."
"Relax, I'm just messing with you," she tossed a water bottle into his lap, "Here, drink up."
Carlos grabbed the water bottle and tentatively examined it before looking back at her, "Y-You promise you're not out to kill me?"
She offered him a small smile, "Carlos, I can assure you that I am not out to, nor will I ever, kill you or any of your loved ones."
He continued to meet her gaze, shifting occasionally to look at his water bottle, before cracking it open with a shrug, "Sweet!"
He then proceeded to take a large swig from his bottle while Lucy only took a sip from hers, too distracted by the elephant in the room, or in her case, the Violin in the room. Ugh, she grimaced, it still looks like the same hunk of wood. She ran her fingers along the neck and fingerboard, gently grazing the scuff marks that were etched on the sides of its maroon-colored body. For every mark was a memory that quickly passed through her mind, and for a moment, she thought she felt the heaviness seep its way back in her chest.
Carlos took note of flickers that crossed her eyes every time she stopped to thumb at the scuff mark, and the way her face remained impassive as she continued to run her fingers along. It felt like he was intruding upon a reunion between old friends.
"Do you ever miss it," he watched Lucy recoil her hand back, as if she was caught red-handed, "playing the violin?"
Lucy takes another sip before scooting away from the coffee table, lost in thought, opting to lean back against the bathroom door. She'd spent so long trying to run away that she never even thought to stop and ask herself the question in the first place. Did she miss playing?
The silence between them wasn't deafening, but the suspense of waiting had Carlos on the edge of his seat. Lucy eventually broke out of her rumination, albeit, a bit taken back by Carlos' intense stare.
"Do I miss playing the violin ," she started, repeating his question slowly.
Lucy got up from her spot on the floor, and reached for the instrument in question, slowly twirling it around in her hands.
"I guess it was alright while it lasted…" she picked up the discarded case from the floor and placed it on the desk, "but do I miss it?"
She carefully lowered the Violin inside—giving the vile thing one last look—before snapping the latches shut with added force and a wry smile.
"Nope! Not at all."
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"I come bearing smoothies!
James barged through the door with a tray of drinks in his hands, and the two jumped at the sudden bang of the door hitting the wall.
"Whoa, watch it! You better have not left a dent in the wall," Lucy rushed to the wall to check for any dents, and sighed in relief when she found it clean.
"Well it's a good thing I didn't," James set the tray on the coffee table and started to pass the drinks around, "Also, I would've been back sooner, but the line was sooo long."
He held out a pink smoothie towards her, and Lucy eyed the drink in his hand skeptically, "You sure this ain't poison?"
"Not poison," he assured, placing the drink in her hand, "but the flavor is… pink."
She raised an eyebrow, "Pink?"
"Yeah, no one really knows the flavor of any of the smoothies they sell," he stated matter-of-factly as he took a sip from his smoothie.
"But that doesn't stop us from buying them!" Carlos chimed in, taking a sip from his own, "Man, that hits the spot."
She looked down at the smoothie in her hand before looking back up at Friend A and Friend B, who were eyeing her expectantly. Lucy rolled her eyes at them and took a quick swig from her drink, surprised at how… pink it tasted. It was just the right amount of sweetness, and yet she was unable to describe the exact flavor. It wasn't completely strawberry, but the only other fruit that came to mind was addicting, which was definitely not a fruit.
"Alright, what now?"
The two best friends shared a look before they raised their smoothies.
"Now that you've had a taste of greatness," Friend B started, blowing a chef's kiss into the air.
"As The Hollywood Super Party Kings of Hollywood, we would like to formally welcome you, Lucy Stone, to The Palm Woods!" Friend A toasted, raising his smoothie in the air for emphasis, "To Lucy!"
She fought hard to keep a straight face, but that didn't stop the odd warmth that bloomed in her chest.
"Thanks guys," she raised her cup, and together the three rejoiced with the hollowed clanking of plastic.
Lost in the sounds of plastic cups coming together and their new found friendship, Lucy never had the heart to question why Carlos said 'Hollywood' twice.
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thanks for reading! comments and kudos are greatly appreciated
come find me on tumblr severedhues (my page is currently a mess ahahaha)
see you in the next chapter~ ! ヽ(・∀・)ノ
