𝙌𝙐𝘼𝙍𝘼𝙉𝙏𝙄𝙉𝙀, a. knight ✓

one

being annoying trumps being cute :: awsten
march 2nd, 2020

WHEN I GET OFF MY PLANE, LUCAS CLEARY IS WAITING FOR ME IN A SPIDER-MAN T-SHIRT. He's holding a sign that reads, "Austin Night", and when he sees me, a large grin forms on his face and he opens his arms for a hug.

 "Hey, man, how you been?" he asks after the two of us get my bags and leave the airport.

 We get into his car as I talk about the last tour, the interviews, Travis, and what Geoff and Otto are up to -- Geoff's probably hanging out with his baby, and Otto's definitely being chased by bees. Or he's playing baseball and getting a weird tan line on his hands, 50/50.

 "What have you been up to?" I ask as he turns the car on.

 He shrugs. "I dunno, I graduated a few years ago and now I'm just a boring adult living in Seattle."

 "That's the dream," I smile. "But, Texas to Washington? What's that about?"

 He shrugs again. "If I'm being honest, I kinda decided to move here on a whim just for the Seattle stereotype. The rain and the coffee sounded like exactly what I needed at 22."

 "So what's this I hear about you having a female roommate?" I ask jokingly.

 He shakes his head and laughs. "Nah, it's nothing like that. Just best friends who have accidentally seen each other naked multiple times." I laugh, causing him to smile. "I think June would kill me if I actually tried to make a move on her." He pauses. "She's great, I think you're really gonna like her."

When we get to Lucas' apartment building, he helps me take my bags to the elevator, and then to his front door where he pulls his keys out of his pocket.

 We get my bags inside, and a voice calls, "Lucas?" from the other room.

 A few moments later, a girl who I assume is June comes into the living room of the apartment with a large bowl in her arms. She's familiar, but I can't quite place where I've seen her before.

 "Are you making brownies again?" Lucas asks.

 "I got bored, so I went out and got a box mix," she says, setting the bowl down on the coffee table. She turns to me and begins to look somewhat annoyed. "You must be Awsten," she fake smiles.

 I nod as Lucas finally shuts the front door. "Awsten, this is my roommate," he says, setting his keys down on the coffee table next to the bowl full of brownie dough.

 "June Collins," she says. Man, the name sounds familiar too. There's a small pause where the three of us sit in silence before she asks, "Could you excuse Lucas and I for a moment?"

 She takes his arm and pulls him out into the hallway as I sit down on their couch, looking around the room.

 I listen to the two of them argue about me for a small while before they come back in and start talking again as though nothing happened.

 "Are you going to be staying here all day?" June asks, picking her bowl of batter back up off the coffee table and walking towards the kitchen.

 I shake my head but realize her back is turned to me so I say, "Nah, I have some friends who live around here. I thought I'd visit with them since I haven't seen them in a few years."

 She mumbles something I don't quite catch, and Lucas sits down on the couch next to me, propping his feet up on the coffee table.

 "Don't worry, man," he begins. "She'll warm up to you soon enough."

june collins
march 3rd, 2020

"I cannot believe him," I groan, setting my phone up on a shelf in the kitchen. "Lucas promised his friend was staying in a hotel while he's here."

 My sister fixes her ponytail in the FaceTime window and shrugs. "Is it really that bad that Awsten's staying with you though? Maybe you'll get some."

 I scrunch up my nose. "Ew, Ivy."

 "C'mon," she laughs, "he's cute, right?"

 "Being annoying trumps being cute," I frown. "I had to send him and Lucas out to get stuff for breakfast just so they'd leave me alone. They've spent all morning arguing over the details from a stupid story from college, and they woke up three hours ago."

 "So you admit he's cute, though, right?" Ivy smirks.

 "I will kill you. He's not cute, he's a pain in the ass," I say, causing my sister to laugh loudly.

 "I think you should give him a chance and try to forget how annoying he is," she suggests, fixing her ponytail again. "Even if you don't sleep with him, you might gain a friend," she jokes.

 "If you talk about me sleeping with him one more time, I'm going to hang up on you."

awsten knight

"Okay, so what are your thoughts on June?" Lucas asks as the two of us walk into Target.

 "Well, first of all, I'm pretty sure she hates me," I laugh. "And second, she's super familiar, but I can't figure out where I've met her before...is she a fan or something?"

 Lucas shakes his head, thinking for a few moments and then, "I mean, she's a director. She's not crazy famous, but her names kind of well known."

 All the pieces fall together in my brain. "Oh my god, she's that June Collins? Jesus, Lucas, you ask me to visit you but fail to mention that your roommate is the girl I've been trying to get to direct one of my music videos for three years?"

 Lucas laughs. "So much for 'just a boring adult living in Seattle, huh?"

i'm not fully confident with awsten's pov, but it was kind of necessary for this chapter

i'm also trying out a slightly different format with this so hopefully it goes well