a/n: guys. when i tell you i rewrote this chapter THREE TIMES BC WATTPAD KEPT DELETING MY PROGRESS 💀
more notes at the end <3
❁
You brushed your brows down, your tongue stuck out in concentration as you leaned over close in front of a mirror. You glanced at the time on your phone, then shrugged as you went back to getting ready for the day.
It was the morning of the photoshoot, and you couldn't deny the fact that you felt your nerves bundle with each minute passing, closer and closer to driving to the shoot and seeing the siblings. You hadn't interacted with either of the two since the night of the.. small feud you had with them.
Luckily, your social media feed had managed to aggravate you less and less each day— screen recordings and opinion commentary on the footage of your outburst had began to become a rare thing to see when you were scrolling. Of course, it didn't stop the news reporters and interviewers from swarming you with questions about it, but it was a start to getting everything back under your control.
Just a little crease in your career, Charlene had worded it when she caught you staring blankly at your phone, after seeing yet another video about the argument. Like the angel she was, she had taken the phone from your hands and clicked not interested, then set it down on a nearby table.
You honestly didn't know what you would do without her. She was a hard-working manager, a helpful friend, and the whole mastermind behind this potential fake friendship with Velvet and Veneer. If she ever quit, you would be totally lost. You would repay her genuinely, someday— but for now, large pay checks and raises would have to do.
Speaking of Charlene— three sharp knocks sounded from the doorway, and you turn from your spot near your vanity to see her leaning against the wood, professional as always.
She had begun to make it more of a habit to visit your penthouse every now and then, after being told by you that she was welcome to stop by anytime. You weren't lying when you said it could get lonely, and it felt..refreshing, in a way, to have a friend around.
"Almost ready?" She asks, eyeing you closely. You smile as you spin around, fully facing her.
"Mhm," you say, dropping the spoolie brush in a tiny cup next to you. You hadn't gone all out for your clothing choice today, because you would most likely be changing into a completely different outfit once the photoshoot was over.
Charlene nodded. "We should be leaving in about.. ten minutes," she said, thinking. "If we want to be ahead of the paparazzi before they start swarming, that is."
You raise a brow. "You... know the paparazzis schedule?"
"Of course I do," she shrugs. "You should be getting adjusted to it by now, I'm surprised you haven't figured it out."
You blink owlishly, and she quickly backtracks. "N-not that it's bad that you haven't," she says, holding up her hands. "But it would be helpful if you did. But it's not that you need to, it's just-"
You quickly cut off her nervous ramblings with a laugh. "You're right, Char. I should've noticed a routine by now," you say, turning back around to your vanity mirror.
"Hey, Charlene?" You hum.
"Yes?" She responds quickly, and you can see her behind you in the reflection of the mirror. She's still mingling in the doorway, shifting her weight onto the other foot, like she's debating whether or not she should run away.
"You do know I'm not gonna fire you if you're honest with me, right?" You ask. You see her pause, and you glance back at her. "Friends, remember?"
Something flashes behind her eyes, but it's vanished when you begin to look deeper into it. "...yeah. Friends."
A loud honk outside the penthouse makes both of you jump, and you furrow your brows. "Was that the chauffeur?"
"I think," Charlene says, straightening as she turns to go investigate outside. "I'll go see."
"Was I taking that long?" You mumble, before you grin. "Tell him I'll be down in a minute."
She nods, and walks off. You continue to get ready, pulling on your sleeves and getting rid of any wrinkle in your clothing.
When you notice that Charlene seems to be taking longer than usual, you can't help but peer outside the penthouse window down at the front, where the limo is supposed to be parked. There is, indeed, a car parked outside— but it's unfamiliar. It's incredibly flashy, unlike the sleek black you're used to, and if you squint, you can see a gold, V shaped ornament on the hood. It's glimmering in the sun, almost blinding, even from the window.
Your manager is no where to be found outside from what you can see, though, but your confusion is quickly shut out when you hear your phone buzz with a notification. You click on the banner and unplug the device from its charging port, then sit down on your bed as you read what she sent.
char (sent 7:42 a.m)
you need to come down here rigfght now
(sent 7:42 a.m)
rigfght
char (sent 7:42 a.m)
hardy har har hilarious
char (sent 7:42 a.m)
but srsly get down here pls
char (sent 7:42 a.m)
these two are verbally abusing our chauffeur
(sent 7:43 a.m)
who r "these two" ??
char 🔪🔪 is typing...
You waited for her response, but it never came, leaving your question unanswered. You sigh, before grabbing your belongings and switching off the light to your bedroom, closing the door behind you as you walk towards the door.
On the way down, you tried to text Charlene for more information, but she must've put her phone away, because none of your messages were being read anymore. As you stepped out of the building onto the pavement, you squinted against the sun and saw Charlene leaning down to talk to someone in the unknown car. From the back, you can see her waving her hands animatedly as she tries to explain something.
Her words are silenced by a manicured hand sticking out of the passenger window, waving her off. You snort at the petty gesture as you watch Charlene deflate, and turn towards you. "They're your problem now," she grumbles, defeated as she walks towards you.
"Who?" You question.
She gently nudges you towards the car. "Look."
Warily, you take timid steps towards the mystery-vehicle. You stop at the passenger window, squinting as you try and peer through the tinted glass. You tilt your head as the window rolls down with a click—
—and you feel your mood ultimately flatten when you see Velvet, staring up at you casually, a hand on the car door. "Get in, loser."
❁
"I'm not getting in your stupid limo."
"Too bad," Veneer chirps in from over his sisters shoulder, lifting up the sunglasses perched on his head with a nimble finger. You took notice of the way his fingers thrummed against the steering wheel, and couldn't help but be curious.
"Do you guys not have a chauffeur?" You ask, your attempts at bargaining halting for a moment.
"Ew, no. The last one we hired was fired immediately, and plus, it's a total waste of money. Why pay someone to drive you around when you have a brother who's willing to do it for free?" Velvets nose wrinkles as she jabs a thumb over her shoulder, pointing at Veneer.
"Didn't think you two would be the type of people to be worrying over spendings," You raise a brow, crossing your arms.
"Please, hun. We're rich, not stupid," Veneer states.
"Sure," you mumble under your breath, sarcasm dripping from your tone. Velvet seems to hear your retort, as she rolls her eyes. "Are you coming or not?" she groans impatiently.
"Why do you need me to drive with you guys so badly anyway?" You ask, hoping to get the answer to the question they've been seemingly avoiding for the last ten minutes.
"Because, babes," Veneer glances at you. "The paparazzi. They'll have a field day if they see all of us together this early, not arguing. They'll take photos, and it'll give us a head start to this whole.. convincing thing."
"Oh," you blink. "That actually.. makes a lot of sense."
"Of course it does," Velvet says with a hint of pride, and you suddenly have the feeling this whole thing was her idea. "God, I knew you were dumb, but I didn't think you were this incompetent."
Ignoring her obvious jab at your intelligence, you try and argue again. "What kind of paparazzi would be hunting you two this early, anyway? They probably don't even know you guys are awake yet!"
"Aw, hun. You clearly don't know what it's like to be a real celebrity if you're underestimating the cameras, especially in Mount Rageous," Veneer says, his tone soft, but his words have a sharp edge to them.
You glance over to where Charlene has been standing for help, only to see her rocking back and forth on her heels, like she's purposely avoiding the conversation. You would be too, if you were her— dealing with the twins this early in the morning is already giving you a headache.
Suddenly, a sharp glint of sun blinds you painfully, and you hiss at the brightness, your lips tugging down into a scowl. You hear a camera flash, and look down to see Velvet with her hand on the side view mirror— tilting it at such an angle so that the light hits it and shines on your face.
"What the hell-?" You begin, but freeze when Velvet shoves her phone towards you. On the screen, a photo of you, taken mere seconds ago, and it's embarrassingly unflattering, your expression sour.
"If you don't get in the car in the next minute, Im posting it," Velvet says.
You narrow your eyes, ignoring Veneers snickering. "You wouldn't."
"Oh, I would."
You look back at Charlene again, only to be met with empty space. You peer at your own limo, and realize she's already inside, safe from being sucked into the argument. She waves sheepishly from the other side of the tinted window, and you look at her, unimpressed. Traitor.
"..Fine," you manage to bite out through gritted teeth. Velvet grins a catlike smile, then steps out of the car. Before you can ask what she's doing, she loops her arm around yours and tugs you close— but she's not looking at you directly. Instead, it's something behind, and you turn, only to be met with a crowd of cameramen and paparazzi already building beyond the fence around the building, yelling and— was someone trying to climb the gate?
"Let's go, yeah?" Velvet says, her tone sickly sweet. If there's any more shock on your face, the cameras don't catch it, because in the next few seconds, you're practically shoved into the limo, Velvet following suit.
You stumble to find a seat before Veneer backs up the car and speeds out of there, away from the crowd. You glance out through the back window and see Charlene and your own chauffeur following after.
The first few minutes of the ride are unbearably quiet, despite Velvets nails clacking against her screen every time she typed. She was sitting right next to you, and you couldn't help but feel awkward— so you turned and began rolling down a window, hoping the fresh air would do you something better.
Suddenly, Velvet stops you with a hand on your wrist."I wouldn't do that, if I were you," she warns, and for once, her tone doesn't have any venom behind it. Just advice.
"Can't you let me have one nice thing this morning?" You say regardless, exasperated as you shoot her a glare. She pauses, before she strangely lays off for once.
"If you say so," she shrugs with a smirk.
You slowly retract your hand from her, hesitating once before continuing continuing to put down the window. Once it had opened wide enough, you leaned against the car door as the fresh air blew against your face, offering at least some kind of relaxation for your tense nerves.
After you feel light enough to stick your face back in the car, you realize that Velvets still awfully close to you— her arm never unlooped from yours from when she made you get in the limo.
You try and separate your arm from hers, but she catches your elbow before you can in a surprisingly strong grip. "Nuh uh," she says, her eyes glued to her screen.
"Why?" You groan. "There's not even any paparazzi around anymore. Veneer lost them."
"That's what you think."
"Wha-?" you begin, confused, when suddenly, loud thumps sound throughout the car. Is someone.. climbing on the roof?
"No fucking way," you say quietly.
Turning your head to investigate through the open window, your face scrunches up in confusion, before a shriek escapes your throat as an unfamiliar face ducks their head into the car. One camera flash later, you instinctively lean into Velvet to get away from the cameraman.
"Velvet! Veneer!" the paparazzi cheers as their hair blows in the wind wildly. Well, you're guessing it's a paparazzi from the camera hanging from their neck, and the baseball cap they have on with the word 'PRESS' stamped onto it.
"We've talked about this, Flynn, you can't keep climbing onto our car for photos," Velvet says loudly as she reaches an arm around you to shut the window. As the tinted glass rolls up again, Flynn disappears, hopefully retreating back to his own car.
At your shocked expression, Velvet cackles, "and that's why we don't leave our windows open, angel."
Ignoring her, you scramble to press your face against the window to look for Flynn. "He was taking photos, right? Shit, he probably took one when I screamed— do you think of I call him back here and pay him he won't post them?"
"Chillax, I'm sure we all look fine in those photos," Velvet rolls her eyes, before giving you an elevator glance. "... me and Veneer, at least."
"How are you so calm about this?" You ask, and you meet eyes with Veneer, who's been oddly quiet this whole time, in the rear view mirror. "Does this kind of stuff happen all the time to you two?"
"Relax, it's totally normal for me and Vels," Veneer says casually, one hand on the wheel and his elbow resting on the center console.
"Veneer. A stranger just popped his head into your own car and took photos with a giant camera," you deadpan.
"We deal with this stuff on a daily when we're out in public. Plus, Flynn's not a stranger— we know his name!" He shrugs.
"What, did you get his name from an allegation article on the web or something?"
"...Yes."
You sigh, sinking back into your seat, feeling the energy to argue slowly dissipate. Velvet glances at you, then snorts.
"You clearly don't know what it's like to be a real celebrity if you're not used to this kind of thing, angel," she says, her tone careful but acidic. You ignore her again, opting to look out the window for the rest of the drive.
❁
The photoshoots scene is clean and plain white, the backdrop keeping it simple. After arriving (and getting through the impossible wave of people and fans parked outside the building) you, Velvet and Veneer had been led to separate rooms. The theme of your photoshoot compared to theirs was much different, but due to the time crunch the company was on, they just decided to share the photoshoot between you and the twins.
You were advertising a recent skincare brand for magazine covers, so you had a loose robe draped over your shoulders with a gold brooch of your first initial fastened onto the soft fabric.
The twins, on the other hand, were advertising an upcoming fashion show parade around the city, so they were dressed to the nines— shoulder pads and glitter was the necessity for them.
You scrolled on your phone out of pure boredom as Charlene touched up your hair, making it look messy like you just woke up with fresh skincare on. She had quietly apologized for leaving you with the twins alone for so long, and you forgave her immediately— you understood her reasoning, anyway.
You hadn't seen either of the siblings in the past 30 minutes— they were probably still getting dressed. Their outfits were definitely much more complex than yours, so it would make sense.
"Yknow," you said aloud as you glanced back at Charlene. "You don't have to be doing this. The makeup artist is right over there."
"I know," she hummed, brushing a loose piece of hair out of your face. "But I want to. It's the least I can do after leaving you with those two hellspawns for that whole drive."
You smile. "It wasn't all that bad— despite the paparazzi. One of them took a horrid photo of me though. You think you can do anything about that?"
"I'll see what I can do," she grins, before nudging you towards the set. "Now go. The photographers calling."
"Yeah, okay," you laugh as you get up from the stool you were once perched on, making your way to the backdrop.
After about ten minutes of you posing with the product in hand, taking multiple shots of you glancing off to the side with the small container as a small smile graced your face, Velvet and Veneer had finally walked onto the setup. And man, were they loud.
And you weren't just talking about their volume (though, you did think Velvet could've been a little more quiet about her distaste towards the makeup artist), but their outfits were bold too. It matched their whole aesthetic surprisingly well, to be honest.
Soon enough, you were kicked off the set so that the two could do their own shoot. They were incredibly versatile when it came to different expressions and poses— more than you, at least.
You mostly chatted with Charlene on the sidelines, laughing with her while you waited for the shoot to be over. You would've left already, if it wasn't for your manager bringing up the possibility of you still being needed for the photoshoot.
A little while later, the photographer tells everyone to take a break while they take a quick trip to the bathroom. Probably seeing the opportunity of all the cameras around, the twins sit on either side of you on similar stools.
"Yknow, I really like the colour of this top," Veneer said, fiddling with the embroidered jewels of his outfit. He glances at you. "What do you think?"
Surprised he's asking you of all people for an opinion, you look him up and down. He looked.. pretty good, actually.
...Not that you would ever let him know that. No way.
"Like you dropped a juicebox in the laundry," you said plainly, insulting the purple colour of the material— and you hear Velvet let out a laugh from your right.
Veneer rolls his eyes, reaching out to flick you on the forehead. "Oh shut up, you loser. I don't know why I asked you in the first place."
You stick your tongue out at him in retaliation, and he turns away in annoyance at your childlike behaviour— but you swear you see a tiny smile tug at his mouth.
Meanwhile, Velvet is still laughing her ass off— but it's now at something else entirely. You peer over her shoulder to see what she's laughing at, only to see... a photo of you?
"Oh, what the fuck," you grumble as you realize it's the photo Flynn took earlier. The man must've had thumbs of pure speed, because he already uploaded it. Before you can prevent Veneer from seeing it, he's laughing too, and you groan loudly, slumping in your seat. "You guys suck."
"Cheer up," Velvet grinned. "After all, you are pretty much stuck with us until the controversy dies down."
"Wow. That makes me feel so much better."
In the end, though, she was right— you were stuck with these two devils for the sake of your career. You just had to hope it won't be as bad as you think— or you might not be making it out completely sane.
me: promises you guys velvet and veneer content next chapter 😇
also me: makes the content them just bullying you for one chapter straight
guys i'm so sorry this chapter took literal EONS i promise not all updates will be like this 😭 i'm partially catching up with school and everything soooo
ya ‼️ also this is NOT proof read like every other chapter so if u see a mistake.. no u didn't
(also if you got the reference i was making with that juice box insult i love you/j.../hj).