Dissonant Harmonies (Reneé Rapp x Reader)

The Stick Has Left The Room

When I tell you the only thing on my page was the date, I'm not even kidding. We've been sitting here for an hour and a half, and my page is as blank as my mind. Renée, though, she's been scribbling away in her notebook like there's no tomorrow.

I'm no genius, but I'm pretty sure my lack of ideas has everything to do with how much she gets under my skin. But y'know, that's just a hunch.

Still, it's my job to help her craft a song, and my current nothingness is making me feel like a total flop. Haven't felt this way in ages, and I'm not keen on the reminder.

Something's gotta give.

I clear my throat to grab her attention, spinning my chair to face her. "Got anything good yet?" I ask, trying to sound hopeful.

"Oh! Absolutely," she beams, flipping her notebook my way so I can see her masterpiece.

"...What's that supposed to be?" I'm honestly baffled. Looks like she's been doodling everything but song lyrics.

"Come on," she pulls the notebook back, gives it a once-over, and then shows it to me again.

"Don't tell me you don't see it. It's you!"

All I see are scribbles and shapes. "Uh..."

"Look," she points at a particular line, "that's the stick up your ass," she says, barely containing her glee.

"Great," I snap my notebook shut and lean in, serious now. "We need to actually work together. It's not like I want to, believe me. But we don't have a choice," I say, catching her mid-eye-roll to cut off whatever snarky comeback she had ready. "This is a huge opportunity for me, and I'm not about to let it slip away because of...this," I gesture vaguely between us.

"Are you done?" she asks, surprisingly straightforward.

"Yeah, that's it. No, wait," I backtrack. "Cut out the stick comments. They're really annoying," I finish, watching her fight off a smirk. "Done now."

"What if," she starts, ignoring my last comment, "we write about this? About someone being so unbelievably annoying?"

I hesitate, not wanting to give her the satisfaction. "You're not wrong," I concede. "Might actually work."

"I'll take that as a compliment," she winks. "Consider the stick comments history, a peace offering, if you will," she adds, turning a fresh page in her notebook.

And just like that, the floodgates opened. I've never jotted down so many ideas in such a short span. Each line a testament to my frustration and her unparalleled ability to irritate.

You get on my nerves, You're so fuckin' annoying, you could poison poison...

You're the worst person on earth....

Forgiving you is pointless, you could poison poison...

"-Baby Girl," Renée sang with a soft voice after I hummed the lyrics with her.

"That's good," I nodded, tapping my pencil against my notebook before writing it down. "I think we might have the chorus down."

"I had a feeling you'd like that," Renée commented, still focused on her notebook, that smirk lingering on her lips.

"Anyway?" I continued, playfully nodding towards her with a smile, "even though I've been enjoying writing about someone annoying..."

"Maybe we can expand our song's theme," I suggested, noticing Renée's intrigued expression.

"What if it's about someone who tried to betray us, but didn't succeed... Like, they almost got away with it?"

"Yes!" Renée exclaimed, jumping up from her seat and pacing around the room with excitement. "Something like..." she paused, thinking, "You almost got away with it...uhmm...You got a little bit ahead of me...uhmm...but unlucky for you...."

"I am that bitch," the words just slipped out of my mouth, fitting oddly well for our song.

"YES!!" Renée cheered, rushing over to me and grabbing my chair, making me whirl around the room.

"Whoa, whoa!" I laughed, gripping the armrests tightly. Despite the unexpected turn of events, I couldn't help but enjoy the moment.

Once we ironed out a few things, like, you know, the whole stick situation, I started to feel like Renée's energy was rubbing off on me. Maybe, just maybe, this collaboration wouldn't turn out to be a disaster after all.