𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘌𝘔𝘗𝘛𝘠 𝘗𝘈𝘙𝘛𝘚 𝘖𝘍 𝘔𝘌 - HOZIER

V

His sweater, draped so snugly over her body.

"That's alright, I knew that." Andrew spoke confidently, masking the bitter anxiety that made it hard for him to take a full breath. He ran a hand through his hair, frizzy from rain. "How much do you pay for this?"

"Right around 1600 a month." Vivienne mirrored his action by adjusting her own hair, a few strands temporarily stuck in the air from her extended nap.

Andrews eyes widened, not even trying to hide his expression of shock. "For this little room?"

"Yeah, welcome to New York." She gave a drowsy smirk, turning on her heel and walking the few steps to her couch. She plopped down on her back, as though she barely cared of what Andrew was going to say next. He felt a pin in his heart at this, as he had spent the majority of the day preparing just a few sentences to her, yet she always seemed so nonchalant about the possibilities. Did she already come to the conclusion of leaving the band? Of leaving his offer in the dust?

"What keeps you here, anyways?" Andrew approached the back of the undersized couch, crossing his arms over the suede and leaning over her. His question was out of the blue, he knew it, but he also knew he was stalling. Taking in every moment to make sure it was perfect to talk her into staying.

It was something so deep inside of him that made this so important, something so unidentifiable it drove him crazy. Vivienne was different in a great way; yet she was stubborn and didn't seem to realize either of those facts. Andrew was dead set on changing that by putting her in the spotlight and showing her her own talent, but he had to keep her first- in the band, of course.

She pulled her hand that had been shielding her eyes from dim sunlight, her lip pulled up in a snarl. "Sorry?" She sassed, and Andrew couldn't hold back a small eye roll at her snappy responses.

"Just curiosity, darlin'. I'm not trying to pry."

Vivienne scanned his face, taking in every indicator of emotion. His naturally twitching eyebrows, his softened eyes, his relaxed lips; all of it made her ease from her naturally defensive state. "Nothing, honestly. I just never really considered the idea of leaving. I've been here just about all my life so... even with the shit rent it's still home."

"You've never thought of even leaving the city? Ive heard Upstate is nice."

"Yeah, where'd you hear that? Your cocktail parties?" Vivienne chuckled at her own joke, and Andrew bit the inside of his cheeks. "Upstate is for the old and the tax evaders, i'm neither, yet."

Andrew hummed with a smirk in response, watching as her eyes fluttered shut and her lips pursed in thought. He knew what was coming, the line he dreaded all day.

"I don't think I'm fit to be in the band-"

"You can't do that." Andrew cut her off, his voice stern, but his face immediately followed by panic. He hadn't meant to blurt out his thoughts, but the building anxiety seemed to had just forced the words from his mouth.

"What?" Vivienne raised a brow, both at his words and his erratic behavior. Andrew twisted his fingers into his palm nervously, scanning his eyes over her freckled face, her soft features twisted with confusion.

He'd fucked up, heavily. None of the words that had fallen from his lips were what he had planned on. Now he was teetering on the edge of lying, but it seemed to be the only way to go. "It's in your contract." Andrew clarified, finally taking a breath as his words seemed to take it all from his lungs.

"What is? That you've got me under ball and chain?" Vivienne scoffed, but Andrew stayed still, unmoved. She shot up from shock, hands propping her from behind her. "...Are you fucking serious?"

"You signed it, you should've read it." Andrew shrugged, and Vivienne fell back onto the couch. She threw her hands over her face with a groan. "Listen, I'm sorry. I pushed you too far today, I get that."

"Yeah, no shit."

Andrew ignored the attitude for just a moment to continue his apology.

"I thought it would be a way to get through to you- to find out more about you. You did the same to me and it worked."

"I did it to you because I'm an asshole," Vivienne started, and Andrew was quick to cut her off.

"You're not, and you didn't. You know that." Andrew let the silence hang, watching the shift in Vivienne's eyes. "And as much as you might hate it, you're stuck with- the band."

Andrew felt the words on the tip of his tongue, but he bit it back. With me.

"Fuck me, I knew I should've read that paper." Vivienne rubbed her eyes with an exasperated groan. Andrew took a deep breath as her eyes were off of him, fixing his body language into false confidence.

"Listen, we've both fucked up. I'm willing to put it behind. But we've got an issue, still."

"And what's that? That you can't help but annoy me?" Vivienne shoved her face into the back cushion of the couch, her voice muffled but her attitude loud and clear.

"It's this. That we don't have any sort of... relation. We're strangers and you've been thrown into a band with a bundle of friends."

Vivienne huffed. She had never been read so easily; it made her feel exposed, yet at the same time understood like never before. "So what? You're saying we need to be friends now?"

"You can fucking try." Andrew smiled lightheartedly. Vivienne groaned and rolled over, hiding one of her own. "We've got 2 rehearsals a week for the next 6, how about one day a week we go do something you want to do after, and the next we do something i'd like to do."

"This feels like a play date, Andrew." Vivienne complained with her face buried into the cushion, and Andrew shook his head.

"You can pick the first?"

Vivienne turned her head to the side, eyes lined with smudged makeup and focused on him. "Fine."

"Great." Andrew nodded. Vivienne squinted at him in the silence. "I reckon you want me to leave now?"

"Yeah, get out."

"Yeah." Andrew mumbled, turning on his heel and heading to the door, shouting behind him as he walked. "And get some art in here, it feels like a psych ward."

"That's the point!"

-

a.n. hello??? waking up to 189 notes was a heart attack. i just wanted to clarify before you continue reading, VIVIENNE IS AUTISTIC. i am an autistic writer and i don't see much representation, so a lot of her actions and thoughts relate to this and relate to the things I feel!! i especially wanted to clarify this because i think the context is important for a lot of the things she does in rage or out of anxiety to others, that i am not trying to glorify harmful relationships, vivienne just reacts in adverse ways in social interactions. thank you and enjoy the show!! :3