So I don't know why but I just had this weird but kinda cool idea about a "fake-dating" AU for Jim and Claire where it revolves around the idea of Jim being a guitarist and songwriter in a band with Douxie and Claire is an actress with a not so vocal love for music. I hope you guys enjoy it!

When Mary said that she had an idea on how to keep my name in the mainstream outside of burning me out between acting projects, I would have never thought it would involve "dating" a man I had never met before.

To be honest I should have said no to this whole 'date one of the members of this band' thing when Mary had brought it up to me. I thought she was insane, but she somehow convinced me to come to this 'date' with a member of the band, The Hunters. I met them before a couple of months prior and all I had to say after I agreed was that if it was the lead singer, I would "Run away as if I was being murdered" due to how the cocky leading man acted.

But as I sat here in front of the blue-eyed guitarist and songwriter, I couldn't help but feel as if I was out of my element.

"Alright." Was the first word that the dark brown haired twenty-something-year-old said as we sat across each other in a decently dimmed cafe as our managers sat not too far away from us. "I know that both of us weren't really keen on this idea, but let's just try our best to make the most out of it. So what do you say? Friends?" A small smile danced on his lips as he reached his hand across the table for me to take. I could tell that he felt as awkward as I was by the way that he spoke.

Well, I think anyone would when you're supposed to act like you were dating the person you barely know that was sitting across from you. It's a comforting thought that he was just as nervous about the idea.

I took my hand and slipped it within his with a smile. "Friends." I shook it once to the beat of the word and then shared a slightly larger smile with the lyricist before separating our hands. What I could say about the musician was that he was attractive, to say the least. He let his hair do whatever it wanted by the looks of it and it gave him this messy yet somehow groomed look to him. He had on this leather-like jacket that I learned was a signature part of his outfits that was the same shade of blue as his eyes. A black t-shirt that clung to his chest with a matching pair of black jeans. I didn't know what shoes he wore since I honestly couldn't leave his eyes for any longer than a minute or so. He was clean-shaven which left a scar he had on his left cheek on display. He had a rough look at him, but when he smiled he changed from this persona that screamed that he would take on anyone in the room to one that was just a shy awkward teenager in a grown man's body.

Again, he was attractive, to say the least.

"So, what do you like to do when you're not on set?" I snapped myself out of my thoughts and instantly gave the musician a confused look. "Hey, you're the one that agreed to be friends." I gave the man a small laugh as he gave me a lop-sided grin in response.

"Acting was originally my hobby, actually. When I was a kid, it was just something my mom put me in to keep me busy. But when I grew older and started taking it seriously, she started to try to claim that it wasn't good enough as a career." I placed my hands on both sides of my coffee cup as I gave the lid my full attention. "My father was the one that actually took me to my first audition since he was the one that always told me to follow my dreams. I actually got the part as well. Needless to say, the rest is history." I laughed at myself a little as I looked back up to the guitarist. "But besides acting, I do have a love for music and art. Even though I'm terrible at both of them. What about you?"

"I write."

"Is that so?" I put my chin in my hands as I placed my elbows on the table as the man opposite me gave me a small laugh to my reaction.

"I know, a lyric writer writing huh?" He chuckled at himself before he continued. "When I was young, I had a hard time talking to anyone about my feelings or the things that I was going through. So when I was seven or so, my mom bought me this journal to help me express myself. She told me if something was too hard to say out loud, I should take the time to sit down and write it out, then maybe it would be easier to speak to her about it. I continued with it ever since. It's how I come up with a lot of our songs, to be honest." He took his left hand and started rubbing the back of his neck with a small smile. "Besides that, I like to toy with anything that has a motor. Specifically anything like a motorcycle or a Vespa, but anything mechanical that I can get my hands on, I'll mess with."

"Is your manager ever afraid of you screwing yourself up doing something like that?"

"Oh, totally. Eli had a heart attack once when I showed up to a show with my right index finger in a splint after I got it stuck in a gasket. My best friend Toby though took the blame and said that he accidentally slammed the hood on my finger." We both shared a laugh in the story. "You said you were interested in music and art? You'll have to show me what you've got." He gave me a broad smile as I shook my head with a chuckle.

"Oh, you don't even want to know. Trust me. Mary can tell you stories from when we were in school and we tried to be a cover band of our favorite musicians. Did not end well for anyone involved."

"Aw, you can't be that bad."

"We sounded like toddlers on toy instruments."

"Okay, maybe you were that bad." We shared a laugh over our responses to one another as I took another sip out of the water that I had before me. Mary and Eli made sure that no one was to disturb the 'date' that we were having, so they ordered our drinks in advance. I guess Mary wanted to make sure I wasn't going to spill anything on myself with how she got me a tall glass of water. Jim, on the other hand, had a coffee cup that was hard to see what it truly was within it. "We all start somewhere though. Douxie would pull his hair out at times at how I would hold down the strings on the fretboard." He swallowed the coffee he allowed in his mouth before giving me a wide smile. "He was probably two lessons away from wanting to beat me with his guitar."

"You're joking. With how I saw you and him act together it looked as if you two never get angry with one another."

"Oh I can be the vain of his existence at times. You should hear us during some of our song writing sessions."

After what felt like hours talking to him, it felt like we known each other for years as I laughed whole heartedly at what he said.

"You're kidding! Your mom married Mr. Strickler?!" He chuckled at my reaction as he held his left hand up with his over over his heart.

"I promise I'm not toying with you! It was probably the weirdest yet most satisfying performances I ever did though." I gave him a confused as I leaned onto my elbows that I had resting on the table.

"You performed at your mom's wedding?"

"It was Walter's idea, actually." He scratched the back of his neck nervously. "He said he wanted their first dance to be special and asked if I could sing a song for them." He dropped his hand from his neck and grabbed his second coffee cup we were given by a kind waitress that came by us. "You have no clue how nerve-wracking that was. Especially since the teacher that always taught me to never procrastinate only have me four days to put the whole thing together."

"How did the boys take the challenge?"

"I actually did it all myself. Just me, an acoustic, and probably seven Red Bull's." I gave him an impressed look as I leaned back in my chair.

"So you sing, write your own songs, and your a full blown mama's boy, but you're only really known for your jacket and guitar skills? What a shame." I saw him give me a shy smile as I noticed the slightest change in pigment in his cheeks.

"If you put it like that, then I guess it is." His demeanor changed as a more reassured smile appeared on his face as he leaned against the table himself. "But from what you told me, there's quite a few paintings that the world should see. Only being known as a the girl that played the witch Emily La Fey is a shame as well." I felt a blush appear on my face as I crossed my right leg over my left while my phone vibrated on the table. With a glance I saw that it was Mary.

Ready 2 leave yet?

I swear 2 God C-Bomb ur taking 4ever.

I WILL COME OVER THERE N GRAB U MYSELF

"Something important?" I smiled as I looked back up to the blue eyed guitarist.

If you asked me on the way here if I wanted a way out of this 'date', I probably would have accepted.

But now that I know the ocean eyed young man across from me better, it made me wish it truly was one.

Somehow we never crossed paths no matter how close it seemed now that we could have. We went to the same school, we had some of the same teachers, we came from the same town, yet somehow neither of us knew the other. Just tells you how small the world truly was.

"No. Nothing important." He flashed me a toothy smile before taking another sip of his coffee.

Nothing important at all.