Sammy Lawrence x Reader

Chapter One: Before the fall

Waking up on another sunny morning, you lightly turn around in bed to see the small clock fixated on your wall. The time reads 5:39 am. Perfect timing! You slide yourself out of bed, mentally preparing for the day. Problems had arisen at the studio lately that had been plauging your dreams. Ink pipes were bursting left and right, so poor Wally was rushing about nearly every part of the studio daily to fix them. Shaking the negative thoughts from your head, you slip off your soft pajamas and replace them with the slightly faded white blouse and black pants you had become accustomed to. You clipped on matching black suspenders which wrapped delicately around your shoulders. Once you were ready, you threw an apple in your bag and set off down the busy streets of New York City to get to Joey Drew Studios.

Unlocking the door with your old key, you step inside. The studio already smells of coffee and ink, despite everyone getting there less than ten minutes ago. Everyone had a slight tiredness to them, which wasn't uncommon. It just seemed even more prominent lately. Taking your usual trek down to the Music Department, you were stopped by a familiar face. Ms. Susie Campbell. You were never too fond of Susie, and you didn't know why. Maybe it was her feeling of entitlement, or maybe... it was something else.
"Oh, so sorry L/N!" she flashes you a small smile before navigating around you, stacks of papers wavering in her arms. You shake your head, slightly confused. When you enter the main room, you see the band already readying their instruments. You catch the eye of a tall, brown haired man in the corner of the room. Sammy Lawrence, the lead director for the Music Department. Although you worked under him, he still treated you better than he treated Joey. For whatever reason, he acted very gentle around you.
"Good morning, Y/N" he speaks softly, smiling.
"Good morning, Sammy!" you chirp. You two has become such good friends that you called each other by your first names, which virtually no one else did. Sitting yourself down on a chair by Sammy, you see him shuffing around sheet music. Flute, bass, chello, every part you could imagine was in his arms as he went to pass it out to the band. Sammy flashes a quick thumbs up to Norman, and Norman nods. Sammy takes a breath and begins to conduct. You watch in awe, your eyes tracing his hands as they move gently. Once he cuts them off, the projector clicks loudly. You clap quietly, and Sammy turns to you with a warm smile.

"That was awesome!" you smile at him, still sitting down. Sammy sits in a chair right beside you.
"Thank you" he says sincerely. "We'll need you later for the violin part."
You nod happily.
"Break time!" Wally calls into the room. You stand up quickly and hesitate for a moment to let Sammy catch up. He walks beside you into the break room. This is odd for him, since he usually retreated to his "sanctuary" during breaks. Today just seemed different all around.

"Hey, L/N, could I talk to you?" Wally asks you quietly.
"S-sure?" you stammer. You just expected more gossip, but he never EVER directly asked for someone.
"So I figured I'd tell you this, since you're nice to me-" he smiles for a moment "-but theres been some rumours goin' around that you might want to hear about."
"Oh?" you cross your arms.
"So rumour has it that Ms. Campbell has a thing for Lawrence." he says slowly.
"How does that involve me?" you ask him, gripping your arms closer to your body. For some reason, this news left you feeling crushed. You never even liked Sammy... or did you? Your mind was spinning like a carousel.
"Well..." Wally hesitates. "Rumour also has it that Lawrence likes YOU."
your face flushes bright red. Was this why he was so nice to you?
"Thank you, Franks." you smile. Wally smiles back and goes back to the breakroom. You slide down the wall, arms around your legs and your head slumped low. You lost yourself in thought for a while and completely lost track of time.

"Uh... Y/N?" you hear Sammy speak beside you. "Are you alright?" he offers you a hand, and you take it.
"Yes, I'm fine." you try your best to smile, but you suppose Sammy was just really good at reading you because he didn't buy it for a second.
"Y/N, I can tell you're not alright. What did Franks say to you?" Sammy asks, concerned.
"He..." you hesitate. What in the world could you say? Honesty could ruin this, but so could lying.
"He what?" Sammy prodded you.
"He... he told me that Ms. Campbell liked you." you exhaled heavily.
"Oh..." Sammy looks off. A twinge of dread crosses through your mind. "Well, I don't like her back, if that's the case." he scoffs softly, unsure of what to make of everything.
"Who... who do you like, Sammy?" you turned your bright E/C eyes up to him.
"I..." he inhales, looking you right in the eyes. "Well, I might as well finally say it. I like you, Y/N. I've liked you since you started working here." He says lovingly.
Well, now's a better time than ever.
"I like you too, Sammy." you smile up at him, wrapping your arms around him.

"Ah, quit it, ya lovebirds!" Wally smiles at the both of us before walking off. Sammy looks distressed, while you laugh quietly and hug him.