previously on chapter 2...
ciaran's pov
"now wait a mi-" as soon as i spoke up, ian burst out laughing. i looked at him in exasperation. "awww ciarán, my man, you finally have a crush! i've never seen you act like this. now you don't have to watch romance movies and fantasize about pretty girls to write your love songs, just write about her!" i cringed in annoyance.
fuck, i shouldn't have spoken up earlier. this is gonna be a long night, huh.
ivy's pov (next morning)
as i woke up, i grabbed my phone groggily, checking my social media for the latest updates. again, i saw more new comments on my recent posts talking about how the members of brockhampton have followed me.
no way.
i frantically searched them up in my followers' search bar, and shockingly, it was true. maybe they really might want to work with me!
ivy, focus! you have things to do today, i thought. shaking myself out of my daze, i began to get ready, and after brushing my teeth and washing my face, i was ready to start the day now. i planned to go thrifting for some new clothes since some of my old clothes were donated or given away to friends when i was moving from korea to LA. with various thrift shop locations already on my mind, i smiled in anticipation, thinking of all the cool vintage clothing i could buy. hope i find some good stuff today.
driving to the closest goodwill, i found and bought some nice oversized tees in the men's section, but nothing else really caught my eye. heading to another thrift store close by called "american thrift" next door, i began rummaging through the racks in the jackets section. as i bopped my head lightly to the prince song that was playing throughout the store, something bright caught my eye on the rack a few feet away. intrigued, i headed over to check it out. just as i reached my hand out to the bright piece of clothing that seems to be a vintage windbreaker, another pair of hands landed on the jacket at the same time. startled, i looked up, and a skinny, bleach-blonde guy stared back in surprise.
"oh! you're that ivy girl i saw on instagram," the guy said with a lazy smirk. why does he look kind of familiar? "oh- you know me? that's surprising, i don't get recognized often, especially in america," i smiled shyly, and looked at both of our hands still holding onto the jacket. "um, you can take that," i gestured towards it. "nah, it'll look better on a pretty girl like you."
damn okay, he's flirty. i squinted at him, and it suddenly hit me. "you're that nick guy! from brockhampton, right? i just became a fan, deb got me into y'all recently." "yeah! you know ciarán, right? 'cuz he seems to know you."
i could feel my cheeks getting warm at the mention of his name. "uh, i don't know him personally as of right now, but i'd love to work with him... deb introduced me to brockhampton because of him actually. since they're friends, and all that." nick saw me blush and smirked. "i see i see, you'd looove to work with him, huh." i smacked him lightly, rolling my eyes, but i couldn't contain my smile. "whatever, dude. since you oh so graciously let me take the jacket, i'll go pay for it now. see ya later!"
i started walking towards the cash register, but he caught up to me and said, "wait up! i actually have a small request. can we hang out for a bit later so we can talk about it?" hm, i don't really have much to do today other than shop, so why not? "sure, let's hang at the ice cream shop next door after i pay, alright?" he smiled happily. "gotcha."
after i paid for the windbreaker (it was such a steal! thanks to nick for letting me have it, he's a cutie), we both headed to the ice cream shop to chat. when we arrived and ordered what ice cream we wanted, nick cleared his throat.
"okay so, if you've seen my instagram, you probably know i own a clothing brand; the name's holiday brand. i have a cool new drop coming soon, and i already have everything all designed and in production. however, i am looking for some models right now, and i think you fit the bill perfectly. of course, you'd get paid and you get to keep whatever you choose from the range of stuff i'm putting out. what do you think?"
i stared at him in shock. "uh- me? model? um, i've never done it before," i stammered, still in awe at the fact that someone wanted me to model for their brand. nick smirked. "hey, i think you'd do just fine. you're hella pretty, and from what i've seen, you're in need of some new clothes, right? this is perfect for you." biting my lip, i considered his offer. honestly, i have nothing to lose; i'd get more exposure, extra coin and free clothes. who in the right mind would refuse?
"alright, i guess i'll do it," i sighed. "great! thanks so much, i look forward to working with you." just as he said that, my ice cream cone was ready. "thank you!" i eagerly reached out to it, tipping the employee generously. i gave it a lick and groaned in bliss, as the sweet treat cooled me down from the sweltering la sun. nick chuckled and received his ice cream right after, so we headed out after a while. still licking my ice cream cone, i zoned out a bit, just focusing on enjoying the treat i had.
nick 's pov
as i watched her eat her ice cream with a zoned out expression, i can't help but feel attracted to her. just a bit. sorry, ciarán. while she was still distracted, i smoothly took out my phone and took a quick picture of her discreetly, sending it to ian.
nick: yo im with that ivy girl we talked about yesterday lmao
kevin: bruh dude what are u, a stalker
nick: stfu i bumped into her in a store, she's kinda cute
ian: uhhh doesn't ciarán kinda like her too tho
nick: yea i'm not saying i'd steal her away or anything, im just saying shes pretty bro
i got her to agree to model for holiday's new drop too
ian: wow alright man, u work quick
introduce us to her sometime yea? she seems pretty cool
nick: yea yea, later
tucking my phone in my pant pocket, i wolfed up my already melting ice cream. ivy laughed. "slow down, tiger. you'd get brain freeze." i looked at her with narrowed eyes. "says the one who finished her ice cream in like, 2 minutes." finishing up my small scoop, i threw the cup into the trash can nearby. "by the way, can i get your number? so i can contact you when i need you to model."
"wow, you're real smooth, huh. give me your phone, yeah?" i handed it to her and she typed in her contact, her colored nails making a faint tapping sound. "so... does that mean we're friends now?"she asked shyly. i looked up to her hopeful eyes and laughed. "yea, of course. you're a cool person to hang with." "thanks! hook me up with brockhampton sometime please, i'd like to meet all of y'all someday." i rolled my eyes. "don't tell me you're just befriending me for the sake of meeting ciarán or something."
ivy's eyes widened. "what? no! i would never, you idiot q-tip," she hit my arm lightly in mild indignation. "you- what kind of name is that? ugh..." "i don't know, your hair makes you look like one? anyway, i'm gonna receive a parking ticket soon if i don't fix my wonky parking down the street. so... i guess this is it for today. i had fun!" i grinned, ruffling my "q-tip" hair slightly. "yeah me too, see ya!" with a little wave, i watched as ivy waved goodbye back and walked away quickly into the distance.
ciarán's pov
i stared at the number deb sent me earlier, contemplating if i should send a message to it or not. what if ivy thinks i'm a creepy weirdo? or what if she doesn't want to work with me? ugh, i shouldn't think so negatively. i remembered the video of ivy reacting to "summer" and felt a bit better. yea, she probably won't brush me off or anything, she's deb's friend! she seems really nice and cool, and she likes your work. just shoot your shot. do it before you regret not texting her, dumbass.
taking a deep breath, i mustered up the courage to send her a text.
ivy's pov
ping!
after i came back home from my little shopping spree and hang-out with nick, my phone received a notification. flopping onto my couch, i opened the phone to see some new texts from an unknown number.
unknown: hey, its ciarán from brockhampton
i got ur number from deb, heard u wanted to work together
im open to collabs so i don't mind
only if u wanna tho
my heart dropped.
holy shit.
sorry for the lack of ciarán content in this chapter! i made nick a love interest/rival cuz of my friend jittzel 😪(if you're reading this hi ily hehe) i know this fic's timeline is kinda based on recent events, where nick has a thicc ass mustache, but i just can't with it 💀so he is a stache free man in here, sorry mustache nick stans :/