previously on chapter 8...
ciarán's pov
ciarán: yo i finished the lyrics for my verse on NST
ian: fuckin finally man, i been asking for it since forever
send it over dawg
ciarán:
big trauma, stone cold stunna
shotgunna, hot like summer
my lover, ain't no sucker
she'll break your windows, that's no fun, uh
ian: dude thats fire, whats the inspo
ciarán: long story, i'll tell u about it tonight
today's been fuckin crazy you're not gonna believe it
ian: can't wait 😏
i heard the door open, and glanced up to see ivy walk back in. she clasped her hands together cheerily. "okay. let's finally do what we were supposed to do today. let's get recording, baby!"
ivy's pov
it was getting late into the evening, and ciarán and i had made a lot of progress for my music; we recorded a ton of demos and shit. being extremely pleased with our work, i flopped back onto ciarán's bed and sighed loudly. "whew, that was great! we were so productive, and you were surprisingly easy to work with!"
ciarán sat down next to me and raised his eyebrow. "wow, so you thought i would be hard to work with, huh. guess i was the only one who thought we vibed pretty well together." "nah, i didn't mean it that way. i just thought it would be awkward, since it's our first time making music together," i explained, staring up and the ceiling. "i thought i would clam up and shit 'cause i can be a nervous wreck in front of new people. but i guess the... stalker fiasco earlier really just made me more comfortable around you, in a weird way."
quietly, he laid down next to me, and i turned my head to meet his clear blue eyes. "hey... i'm really sorry about all that happening to you. you didn't deserve to go through all that today, and i feel horrible that you felt unsafe in my house because of someone involved in my past. i-" reaching out, i booped his nose lightly. "shush, ci. it's not your fault at all, so stop apologizing. and don't worry, your presence itself already makes me feel all safe and cozy. like a teddy bear!" i smiled at the sight of him getting flustered at my words. "sappy ass," he grumbled, rolling on his side to face away from me.
we laid in a comfortable silence for a few moments until i spoke up softly while staring at his back. "hey... thanks for being there for me. like, in general. i don't have a lot of friends here in LA, and sometimes i feel like i'm a bother to them 'cause i have no one else to reach out to. developing a friendship with you along with the other brockhampton guys has made me feel really welcome and accepted. i'm really grateful that i also have new opportunities after getting to know y'all, and even when we come across difficulties like... uh, your crazy ex... we were able to handle it together. guess i really gotta thank deb for introducing me to y'all, huh."
ciarán turned to face me again, and my eyes widened slightly since his face was mere inches from mine. swallowing at the sight of his lidded blue eyes, i watched as they crinkled up from the lazy but genuine smile that spread across his face. "well, that was cheesy." scrunching up my face, i stuck my tongue out at him childishly. "whatever! you-" "wait, your face is getting red. aw, you gettin' shy?" he let out a low chuckle. ignoring his teasing, i involuntarily looked at his lips, our close proximity making it feel more intimate than it should be.
oh god, i wanna kiss him.
what the fuck ivy y'all just became friends, calm down-
"um. it's uh... getting late. i should probably go home soon." i managed to steer my thoughts into a more appropriate direction. i got up from his bed, reaching for my phone to check the time. 8:42. "shit, i hate walking home alone at night. i should have driven here." sitting up, he said, "you walked here? oh right, that's how you got followed. uh, maybe call an uber. i can't drive, so i can't drop you off, sorry."
"you can't drive? as a 27 year old? pftt." i tried not to laugh. "shut up, i'm working on it. call the fucking uber," he grumbled. "i don't know... ubers are scary, i've kinda stopped using uber after hearing all those horror stories about women getting assaulted in cars. man, being female is hard sometimes." i sighed. "ahh. then maybe a friend can drive you home. maybe deb?"
clicking on her contact, i called her to see if she could drive me home. after a few rings, she picked up and i put her on speaker. "hey deb, i was wondering if-" "YO IVY! WHAT DO U WANT, I'M AT THE CLUB," deb yelled over the heavy background noise. ciarán snd i leaned away from the phone slightly. "uh, maybe call someone else. she's probably drunk as hell," ciarán said. "WAIT, WAS THAT CIARÁN? OH MY GOD, DID YOU FINALLY GET LAID-"
"GOODBYE!" i said into my phone loudly and ended the call. "uh... i'm gonna call nick." tapping on his contact, he picked up right away after i called him. "hey girl, what's up?" nick's slightly raspy voice greeted me. "hey q-tip! i was wondering if you could drive me back to my apartment from ciarán's place if you're not too busy right now. something happened today and i don't really feel safe going home alone at this time." i heard some quiet shuffling on the other line for a moment as i awaited his response.
"sure, of course. ciarán's house, right? i'll be there in about 20 minutes." "thanks, see ya!" i ended the call happily, glad that someone could pick me up since ciarán's baby ass can't drive. "nick's coming in like 20 minutes. what do we do while we wait?" ciarán shrugged, his lips set in a slight pout for some reason. "uh... why do you look-"
before i could finish my sentence, my phone pinged multiple times, and i looked down to see several text messages from deb.
deb:
GO LIVE WITH ME RN ON IG HOE
ALONG WITH CIARAN
WHY ARE YOU AT HIS PLACE RN
GO LIVE NOW
"um... deb really wants us to go live with her right now on instagram. should we...?" "sure," he shrugged again, "might as well humor her drunk ass." smiling, i opened up the app and tapped on deb's "live" icon, requesting to join. a few moments later, i got accepted into the live, and i angled the camera towards me and ciarán's face while waving cheerfully.
"HEY GUYS! HI IVY! AND CIARAN! I'M AT THE CLUB RIGHT NOW- I'M... I'M HAVING SO MUCH FUN!" deb yelled over some bass heavy club music. "yeah, we can tell," i said loudly into the phone, subconsciously combing through my hair. ciarán rolled his eyes, shifting closer towards me to get a better view of the screen. "AWW! YOU GUYS LOOK SO CUTE TOGETHER. WHY ARE YOU AT HIS PLACE AT THIS TIME, IVY?" we both winced at the volume she was speaking at, and i lowered the volume slightly while answering. "i'm working with him on new music, remember? we lost track of time so that's why i'm still here. i'll be going home soon, though."
i laughed as i saw the comments go crazy over ciarán and i. "oh my god, someone said 'what's ivy doing making music with a mute.' ciarán, prove to your stans that you aren't mute!" he stared at me in a deadpan expression, and i stared right back.
"AAAAAHHH!" he suddenly yelled next to me, making me jump. "ugh... well, user... ciaranssunglasses, guess he's not!" i said between laughs. "man, what is with all these usernames... ciaransnose? ciaransyummylice? my stans are weird..." he stared at the commenters on the live and grimaced. "the lice thing's maybe 'cause you look like a hobo. but i get the nose thing, your nose is kinda cute... kinda a sucker for that nose ring too." i booped his nose with a smirk, and he stuck his tongue out. "shut the fuck up-"
"AW MAN, I FEEL LIKE I'M THIRD WHEELING! Y'ALL ARE FUCKING CUTE, I'M GONNA GAG." "then what's the point of wanting to go live with us if you don't wanna see us together?" i rolled my eyes. "WELL... you see, i just wanted to see my wing-woman efforts pay off and watch my ship come into fruition." deb's voice and background noise volume lowered as she moved towards a quieter spot in the club, the neon lights shining off of her face. "man, y'all should call me cupid."
"yeah, whatever," i shook my head and tossed my hair back. "oops-" my long hair smacked ciarán's face, and he spluttered as he kinda caught some strands between his lips. "ugh, don't do that again," he picked them out of his mouth. "your hair is hella long, man."
"ugh, sorry..." a random thought suddenly occurred to me. "do you know how to braid hair? you've sang about hair a few times, i think. like in bleach, and district." he scratched his stubble absentmindedly. "yeah, i know how to do it... not sure if i'm good at it though."
my eyes lit up. "oooh. try braiding my hair! i'm kinda really bad at braids, for some reason. they always turn out ugly." sliding off a hair tie off my wrist, i held it out to him. "uh, really? what if i make your hair look bad or something..." shrugging, i said, "it can't get any worse than my handiwork." sighing, he took the elastic from my fingers and gathered my hair towards the back, combing through it with his long fingers a few times.
while he gently unworked the few tangles at the ends of my hair behind me, i looked at the screen again to see deb staring back with a dopey smile on her face. "i'm happy to have nurtured such a lovely couple. is that his hoodie, by the way?" i glanced down. "oh, yeah. someone spilled water on me earlier today so he let me change into his clothes. we're not a couple, by the way."
ciarán peeked out from behind and stared at me through the live camera screen, lips forming a pout. "aw, so you don't wanna date me?" deb roared in laughter while i stared at his face on my phone, flustered. "ahem! anyway... oh! kevin and hk's here! hey guys," i waved at the camera, reading their comments.
kevinabtsract
aw this is cute i've never seen ciaran so soft
henocksileshi
bearface my man u finally got a girl
i chuckled and read their comments out loud for ciarán, who was still focused on my hair. he looked up with a dirty look on his face. "y'all shut the fuck up before i whip you guys with this long ass braid. i'm done, by the way." he used the end of the braid to tickle my cheek.
"wow! you're surprisingly good at this." i marveled at his handiwork, and he smirked and looked proudly towards the camera. deb let out an obnoxious "aw", and i rolled my eyes. just then, i heard the sound of a car pull up to the house outside.
i looked out to the cracked window to see nick get out of his white car and walk up to the door. "oh, nick's here to pick me up, i gotta go. nice seeing you all on live, bye! get home safe, deb!" ciaran and i waved at the camera and i exited the live quickly.
ding dong!
i bounded to the door, not wanting to make nick wait. ciarán trailed behind me, and i opened the door to nick's cute face. "hey q-tip! thanks for picking me up." "no problem, i wasn't busy or anything... hey ciarán." "what's up, bro."ciarán nodded in greeting. "ready to go?" nick nodded towards his car. "bye ci! i had fun today-" he unexpectedly wrapped his arms around me for a hug. i blinked in surprise before hugging him back shyly. "bye. stay safe," he murmured in my ear. "thanks, i'll try." he pulled back and waved. waving back with a grin, i stepped out of the door towards nick, and the door closed.
once we got into the car and put our seat-belts on, nick flicked my braid. "cute hair, girl. what's the address?" "oh, let me enter it into the gps. thanks, by the way! ciarán did it, could you believe that?" he started driving down the street and onto the road, and his smile faded slightly as he stared at my hoodie through the rear view mirror. "i assume that's his too. i helped design that." "oh. shit, my shirt's still at his place... well, it's too late now, whatever."
"your shirt? what?" he shot a look of horror towards me and i smacked his shoulder. "eyes on the road! and it's not what you think. someone spilled water on me so i changed into something else." he rolled his eyes and looked forward again, his grip tightening around the steering wheel for some reason.
wow, his hands are kinda veiny. that's hot. but ciarán's hands are prettier-
wait. why am i comparing their hands. what is wrong with me??!
"mind telling me the reason you needed a ride from me when you could have just, i don't know, called an uber?" nick said in a teasing tone. i shook my head to clear my thoughts. "uh, something happened today so i just wanted to go home with a trusted friend just to be safe. long story short, i got stalked on my way to ciarán's house and... it was kinda crazy. maybe ciarán will talk about it with y'all." "what the fuck... what kind of sicko would do that?" i sighed. "whatever, i don't wanna talk about it right now... ask ciarán about it if you wanna know. anyway, you still haven't texted me the address and time for the shoot tomorrow, dummy."
"oh shit, you're right. i'll do it right after i drop you off," nick said. he put on some music when we reached a stoplight, and prince's "i wanna be your lover" started playing from the speakers. we both started singing along goofily, and i laughed when nick pointed towards me while singing.
i want to be your lover
i want to turn you on, turn you out
all night long, make you shout
"OH, LOVER, YEAH!" we both belted out at the same time. for the rest of the ride, we both sang badly to the absolute bops that were in his playlist. "damn, who would have thought that you made music for a living when you sing like shit," nick scoffed jokingly. "damn, who would have thought you were a stylist slash designer for a living when you dressed ian in that atrocious brown wrinkly paperbag lookin' ass suit that one time."
his jaw dropped and he shot me a dirty look. "i thought it looked good! it was a marni suit, it's designed to be like that... your lack of fashion knowledge is showing. anyway, we're here, i think." i looked at the familiar surroundings of my neighbourhood and nodded. "thank you so much for the ride! you're a great friend, nick." he smiled stiffly. "yeah, i'm a great friend. i'm glad to be of service today, milady. take care, alright?" he wrapped his arms around me in a quick hug and unlocked the car doors. "yup! you too." i stepped out, slammed the door, and waved goodbye through the window. with a cute wink, he drove off, and i went back into my apartment.
ciarán's pov
after i walked ivy to the door, i walked back to my bedroom and crashed on my bed, rubbing my face while thinking of all the events that took place today. i could still smell her faint scent of perfume lingering around my room... oh shit, she left her shirt here, that's why. whatever, she can take it back whenever she comes by again. not gonna lie, i like the idea of her wearing my hoodies, she looks hella cute in them.
i folded her shirt neatly and set it on my desk. right, i promised ian i would call him and tell him everything. grabbing a bottle of water, i took a few big gulps before clicking on the facetime button. a few rings later, ian's face popped up onto the screen.
"hey bro! spill the tea, now. everything from your NST lyric inspo and your little date with ivy." romil popped up from behind and waved. "mind if i listen in too?" "sure, sure. y'all aren't going to believe this."
i took a deep breath. "okay, so today ivy was followed on the way here. she kept saying things about feeling like she was being watched, but we both thought it was nothing at first. then, this motherfucking face popped up from outside of my window; it was fucking terrifying. and-" ian and romil gasped in unison. "what the fuck, dude... who-?"
i cut romil off. "shush, listen. so turns out that ivy bumped into someone that spilled water on her on the way here. and you know who she bumped into, out of all people? mackenzie. my ex."
ian looked at me, horrified. "that mackenzie? the mothica girl from like, 4 years ago? the one who contacted all of us for your whereabouts when you broke up with her?" i nodded. "yeah, her. somehow, she found out we were friends and fucking followed her to my house. now she knows where i live, and i'm actually scared as shit. maybe ivy scared her off for a while, but-" "huh? she did what now?" romil asked. "basically... ivy fucking launched my paperweight at the window like she was a champion baseball pitcher the moment she saw mackenzie's head pop up behind the window. now my window's cracked and kinda broken."
ian threw his head back in laughter. "that's why your lyrics were 'she'll break your window, thats no fun-uh!'" ugh, great. now they're gonna clown me. i sighed as romil laughed along like a hyena. "awww, you called her your lover! and she ain't no sucker, am i right?" rolling my eyes, i said, "chill, guys. yeah, she inspired the window part, but the lover shit's made up; you know i still write love songs without being in relationships."
"yeah, but you sure want her to be your lover. i seen you act all soft and cute with her on live," ian started teasing me. "wait, what?" ian's camera angle shook as he turned to face romil. "yeah, you didn't watch it, but they went live with deb earlier and it was so cute; ciarán was like braiding her hair for her and shit at the back." "awww! that's adorable-"
i can't take this anymore. "anyway, i gotta go eat now, i'm hungry as fuck. i'll record my verse real quick and send it over for you guys to mix." my friends nodded and waved. "bye, see ya later!" waving back, i ended the call and walked towards my kitchen.
nick's pov
after i dropped ivy off at her place, for some strange reason, i felt compelled to stop by at the convenience store i've been frequenting lately. before i knew it, i was walking into the store, the sound of a bell jingling slightly as i opened the door and stepped in.
i don't even need cigarettes, what was i thinking-
"oops!" i felt someone bump into my chest, and looked down to see that jittzel girl looking back up at me. "oh. hey, shortie." she rolled her eyes and smiled. "back for some cigs again, mr. nick holiday?" i blinked. "oh, how did you know?" "i checked your your holiday brand thingie out. turns out you're in some big boyband called rockhampton or something. honestly i'm not even surprised, you're pretty enough to be in one of those traditional boybands too." i laughed. "its brockhampton, sweetheart. by the way, does your shift always end this early or am i just tripping?"
she tucked her long hair behind her ear. "yeah, i usually get off my shift later, but boss let me leave earlier since i have a lot of assignments to do. so are you gonna move aside or not?" "right, okay. good luck with your work, man." i stepped aside to let her through, and watched as she pushed the door open and paused. i frowned. why'd she stop?
i heard the pitter patter of rain coming from outside through the open door. looking out, i saw the abrupt rain get heavier by the second. "ugh, what the fuck? why now?" she closed the door and stormed back into the store while groaning. i couldn't help but snicker at the sight of this cute midget fuming, and she shot a dirty look towards me. "something funny, linguini man?"
"chill, i have an umbrella in my car. actually, i could just drive you home if you want." wow, i sure feel like a chauffeur today. her face lit up before morphing into a suspicious expression. "i barely know you though... i guess i'll take the umbrella." i shrugged. "sure. how do you get home? do you walk?"
"nah, i take the bus; there's a bus stop close by." "i walk you there. lemme get my umbrella; wait here for a sec." throwing on the hood of my hoodie, i jogged to my car and quickly took my umbrella. i ran back to jittzel who was waiting at the store entrance, and opened the umbrella. "let's go."
"thank you, but why are you doing this? you seem awfully nice for no reason." we started walking rapidly towards the direction of the bus stop together. "uh... let's just say i got friendzoned today and i feel kinda down... so i wanna help someone else in need so they wouldn't have to be in a bad mood like me. also 'cause it makes me feel better about myself." she laughed. "wow, someone friendzoned your pretty boyband member lookin' ass? their loss." i cringed as i stepped into a puddle, feeling my sneaker get soaked. "yeah, well... she's interested in another member of the band, i'm pretty sure. it's whatever, he's still my friend, but i can't help but feel guilty about being jealous."
we arrived at the bus stop, and we took shelter under the plastic roof. i shook my umbrella to get rid of the raindrops while jittzel sat down on the damp bench and sighed. "it's okay, there's plenty of fish in the sea. i'm pretty sure you can get anyone if you tried hard enough... just not her though, i guess." i sat down beside her and rolled my eyes. "wow. real encouraging." she swung her legs back and forth and blew hair out of her face. "then maybe it's a sign it wasn't meant to be, right? maybe you're just infatuated by her. besides, she's into your band member anyway; its best to leave them alone and not interfere even if you have feelings for her if they have chemistry."
"i guess..." i watched as she combed through her long , glossy hair absentmindedly. it reminded me of ivy's pretty braid that was done by ciaran, and my heart kinda dropped to my stomach.
i poked jittzel's cheek. "hey... teach me how to braid hair." jittzel looked at me incredulously. "uh, what?" "teach me how to braid your hair. pretty please?" i pouted and blinked innocently. her mouth gaped slightly, but she collected herself. "okay...? that was sudden though. why do you...?"
flicking her hair, i said, "no reason. just do it, okay? we have time since you have to wait for the bus anyway." she frowned but nodded. "alright... so first you separate your hair into three strands..." she grabbed a section of her hair to demonstrate. "then you just twist the left strand in between the other two. and then you twist right strand in between the other two again. it's pretty simple." i squinted in confusion as her fingers deftly wove a neat braid quickly.
seeing my face, she laughed and let her braid unravel. "why don't you try on my hair? here," she angled her head to let me attempt to do it. "oh, fuck..." i separated her hair into 3 messy sections and haphazardly started twisting them around each other.
"oh my god, i can already tell you're doing a horrible job," jittzel groaned and put her face in her hands. i laughed while continuing. "i'm sorry if i make your hair tangled. it's really soft and smooth, by the way." i was met with silence, and i peeked at her face to see her with rosy cheeks and lips pressed together.
aw, she's shy. how cute.
through the pitter patter sound of rain, the sound of a vehicle approached from the left, and we turned to see a bus with its headlights on heading towards us. "oh, it's here. thanks for sharing the umbrella and waiting with me." she smiled and got up, letting my hard work unravel between my hands. seeing my sulky expression, she laughed and ruffled my hair. "cheer up, pretty boy! i'll get you a hair tie next time if you wanna practice. see ya!"
jittzel hurriedly went onto the bus, and i watched it get further away from my sight as it drove off.
heh, she's fun to hang out with. should have gotten her number.
getting up from the bench, i opened my umbrella and headed back to my car, the thought of ivy and ciarán entering my mind once again. wincing as i stepped into yet another puddle, i groaned, the serotonin from hanging out with jittzel wearing off.
man, i need a smoke. stop thinking about her, idiot.
normally i like to start off my author's rambles happily, but due to recent events in the US, i feel like that wasn't appropriate for today. george floyd's murder was absolutely despicable, and i can't believe that even in modern times, people still retain extremely regressive opinions on issues like sexuality, but ESPECIALLY, race!!! i am extremely disappointed in the US police force and that fucking oompa loompa of a president tr*mp (apologies to the oompa loompas). however, i take pride in the fact that so many are taking onto the streets to protest and fight for justice. it is devastating to hear that the police and the president, people who are supposed to protect the people, be so corrupt and violent towards citizens. as i am not from the US, i can only support the cause through things like bringing awareness to the situation, signing petitions, donating etc. please be vocal. speak up and take action for the oppressed especially if you are in a place of privilege that allows you to be exempt from the discrimination people of color face on the daily.
here are some links you can visit to support the cause:
change.org/p/mayor-jacob-frey-justice-for-george-floyd
https://docs.google.com/document/d/10KC83vYfVQ2freQveH43PWxuab2uWDEGolzrNoIks/mobilebasic
blacklivesmatters.carrd.co
i know that some people may not be in the mood to read light hearted fanfiction right now. however, i have immersed myself into writing this long ass chapter (it's about 4.6k words oof) just to lift my spirits during these times of turmoil, and i hope that maybe this fic can do the same for you.
hopefully jittzel enjoys the long ass grocynick segment, and i've added a pic of that ugly paperbag suit ian wore so we can all have a laugh at nick's questionable decisions as a stylist (thank you to the groovy roaches for roaching nick for that and inspiring that part dkjfkdmf).
the fight for equality would continue in the future, but you can make a difference, no matter how small. please stay educated, do whatever you can to help and remember that BLACK LIVES MATTER.