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keycap-taffy · 2 months ago

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Benders Over Silverlake

|Schlatt x Afab!reader x Ted

Summary: Heartbreak does a lot for people's growth. Your post break-up growth is tested at an influencer film screening. As your past romantic flame collides with the promise of new love, the decision of which one to choose is confusing at best.

Word count: 2.3k

Warnings: swearing, alc use, sexy wrist grabbing. minors dni, 18+, rpf

It's been two months since you've last seen Schlatt. Two months ago, he decided that long distance would be too much, that Texas was shitty, and that he had to leave for New York. After collecting the fragments of your broken heart, you decided to leave Texas too. Texas was cruel with its unforgiving harshness. The sun beat down on you and the asphalt had a way of biting your feet whenever you would walk. Texas hated you almost as much as you hated it.

So you moved to California. Partly because you knew the state was a natural Schlatt deterrent. But California welcomed you nonetheless. With open arms, with her gentle sandy beaches and kind palm trees. Schlatt’s friends missed you, that was clear enough. Ted and Eddy called within days of the break up news, both detailing how they weren't going to pick sides and how they hoped to continue their friendships with you. The Partiful invites remained frequent. But if you were going to effectively split up the life you had Schlatt and the new life you were eager to explore, it was critical to excise him completely. No mutual friends, no attempts at being "friends", nada.

This isolation was successful for about two months, until Ted rang your phone over and over one day gently demanding your presence at his short film screening. The excuse of your cat being sick wasn't sufficient enough for him, so you hastily agreed. The short film screening was in WestWood, probably the most annoying part in L.A. to watch a film screening. Transplants and Youtubers loitered around there too often for your liking. But, you dressed for the part. A simple black dress, your favorite hoops and comfortable heels. In short, dressed up enough to show respect but not at the cost of your own dignity.

Performing normalcy in front of influencers is rather fickle, mainly due to the fact their entire career is romanticizing the glitz of excess. Maybe that's why Schlatt's friends always really liked you. You showed them what life was like outside the confines of Twitter cancellations and algorithm changes. The car pulled in front of a pleasingly dilapidated theatre with a decently long line outside the doors. After thanking the driver, you stepped outside to join the queue. Butterflies were torturing your stomach. All your spatial awareness was exhausted on spotting Schlatt before he spotted you. So much so, you didn't even notice when Ted appeared until you heard the screams of adoring fans in the queue.

Ted is a shining representative of Hollywood's classic glamour. He possessed the uncanny ability to curl into a perfect white toothy grin every time a camera was near. His charisma was no exception either. Ted was the kind of guy to know what to say, to whom, but most importantly how. That kind of starpower both impressed and terrified you.

Ted pulled his lips into his signature toothy smile as he walked down the line of fans, greeting the conglomerate in the typical way they demand. After getting caught up in a few pictures, he finally came to your part of the line. He stopped in his tracks after seeing you.

"Y/N! You made it!" Ted said while pulling you into a side hug.

"Yeah, my cat got better overnight miraculously." You teased, tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear.

"Perfect timing." Ted said, smirking slightly. "You don't have to wait here by the way, you can come in through the side entrance."

Before you could open your mouth to protest, Ted firmly grabbed your hand, pulling you from your place in line. You took a deep breath as he led you towards the mysterious “side” entrance. Ted was more than cordial, opting to actually speak to you instead of relying on Influencer Small Talk™ . You told him about your new job, your cozy apartment in K-town. All the delicious details of your new Schlatt free life.

"So when are you going to invite me over then?" He chirped in after your little triad about picking the most perfect curtains.

"We'll see."

The trek to the side entrance was no joke. After walking through two shoddy alleys, you were finally among the gaggle of influencers you've purposely deserted. Eddy was quick to greet you, along with a couple of other acquaintances. The room was glowing with excitement. You forgot how nice it was to hang around a bunch of eager creatives. They were inspiring, both to their audiences but also to themselves. Ted made the executive decision of handing you a glass of wine, which provided enough relaxation to settle your nerves. The wine was perhaps too relaxing because you failed to notice Schlatt's arrival. You were chatting it up with Charlie, completely unaware of Schlatt until he finally came up to you.

"I can't even believe I stayed in Texas as long as I did Charlie. Really, I've never been happier." You babbled on.

You finally noticed the stone cold expression on Charlie’s face as you heard an all too familiar scoff. In reality, you knew Schlatt was standing there for a while. His cologne was always a dead give away in any room. Schlatt always smelled like cardamom and pine. That scent which once was addicting now was insufferable.. You hoped he would take your "obliviousness" as a hint of indifference. But he refused to.

"Hey." He said flatly.

Charlie nodded a goodbye before slowly creeping out of the uncomfortable situation as you turned to face Schlatt. Schlatt looked better than ever before. His clothes, his handsomeness, hell even his hair was all annoyingly perfect. Breakup looked better on him than it did on you.

"Hello." You replied, taking a swig of your wine again.

"How’ve you been?"

His eyes were transfixed on you. Any failures of your poker facade would surely be noticed by his intense gaze. The wine made maintaining that poker attitude increasingly difficult. With limited options, you opted for the one that seemed the best. You walked away wordlessly. Walked away from Schlatt and his awkward Influencer Small Talk™ and towards your reserved seat. Schlatt was clearly staring (or glaring) at you as you sat down for the film screening to start. Either the organizing staff was ignorant of the circumstances or liked chaos, because no alternative explanation could answer why they had decided to sit Schlatt right next to you. Schlatt arrived at his seat a few minutes after you, exchanging pleasantries along the way. You stiffened up as you felt his scent announcing his presence. The both of you sat there for a few minutes silently until you finally decided to answer his question from before.

"Good, I've been doing good." You said quietly, your eyes locked on the screen in front of you.

Schlatt didn't turn to face you, which was a relief.

"I can tell."

In any other situation, this level of loud silence would have been suffocating. But with Schlatt, all the silence did was make you want to talk. Ask him questions, ones for closure but also ones you would want to ask a friend. You would never admit it out loud, but you missed his presence in your life. All those late night drives to the convenience store or the sweet summer days spent in your backyard listening to the cicadas. It’s been hard to forget all that tenderness.

The film screening was unsurprisingly a success. Ted came out to thank the audience for coming as well as to introduce the film. The film itself was fairly good. You knew that Ted was going to make it as a director. This latest project was just a litmus test for bigger and better, that much you knew. After the film was over, you shot up from your seat to speed walk to the bathroom. You splashed your face with a bit of water in an attempt to cool your flushed cheeks. Deep breaths (Y/N) you told yourself over and over, clinging onto the affirmation for dear life. After recollecting your cool, you stepped out of the bathroom with a renewed confidence to reject Ted's invitation to the unavoidable after party. But instead of Ted going up to you, it was Schlatt.

He ran a hand through his hair as he looked down on you.

"What?" You snapped, unable to disguise your bitterness.

"You uh...left your wallet." He said, his fingers extending themselves to present the forgotten wallet.

The flushed cheeks you worked so hard to discard at great length returned quickly at the realization of your own ditziness.

"Oh fuck." You sighed in embarrassment. You took the wallet quickly. "Thank you."

The impasse of deafening silence fell onto you both again. You began to move towards the exit, but Schlatt quickly grabbed your wrist. The move was swift, but his grip was gentle.

"Wait. Are we okay?" He said, almost timid.

You took a moment to get a good look at this Schlatt. The last time you saw Schlatt, his demeanour was the exact opposite. Old Schlatt was coldly reserved. When he broke up with you, he didn't even give you the courtesy of looking at you like a man. Old Schlatt broke your heart in the middle of dinner, paid, then boarded the next flight from Austin to New York. The cleanness of the breakup was helpful in the process of moving on. But Old Schlatt from two months ago was not the Schlatt in front of you tonight. This Schlatt was timid and slightly awkward. You saw his hands fidgeting, which was something you only saw once before. Way back when he asked you out for the very first time.

"I guess." The answer was unsatisfactory, but the best you could possibly come up with.You weren't sure what he meant.

"Are you sure? I mean (Y/N)-"

"No. No, just stop." You cut him off, averting your gaze to avoid tears. "You broke up with me and went to New York all within the same day."

Schlatt let out a sigh.

"What's a broad like you doing in L.A. anyways?"

And suddenly, Old Schlatt appeared once more.

"I like it here. I'm happy here. Besides, New York is too full of assholes."

"Fuck you." He replied instinctively.

“Fuck you too.” You said, letting out an exasperated laugh.

This wasn't how this night was supposed to go. This wasn't the way he was meant to see you again. He was supposed to see you on Instagram, smiling in a photo dump post soft launching a new, better partner. He was not supposed to see you in some mediocre outfit at an event you didn't even want to go to in the first place. Before you could storm off in anger, you felt his grip on your wrist soften then move towards your waist.

“I miss you.” Schlatt, his voice barely above a whisper.

You felt your breathing start to get heavy. His touch was still so addicting, even more so after months of absence. But before you could reply, you heard Ted calling out for you. Ted’s voice snapped you back into reality. You pressed your lips into a kind smile toward him.

“I hope you’re doing well.”

Once more, you left him standing, looking like a fool. There was little guilt on your end for Schlatt’s embarrassment.

“What did you think of the film?” Ted asked.

“I think I should save my comments for when you’re not surrounded by a large number of people who love everything you do.”

As Ted laughed at your joke, your heart skipped a beat.

“Fair enough. Also if you don’t want to come to the afterparty tonight because of Big Guy, that’s fine. I’m just glad you came.”

You felt a small glowing feeling in your chest. It was always in Ted’s nature to consider other people’s feelings. But you didn’t really notice how special that trait was until you had to experience a man like Schlatt.

“Thank you. I’ll make it up to you though.”

“You’ll finally come on Chuckle Sandwich?”

It was your turn to laugh while Ted flushed. His eyes were unwilling to stop looking at you.

“No, but I’ll make you and Eddy dinner sometime soon.”

He nodded. Despite the complexities of the feasibility of a romantic relationship, Ted couldn’t deny how much he liked hanging around you.

“I’ll text you what days I’m free.” Ted concluded.

“Sounds good.”

You stepped outside away from the adoring fans to wait for your Uber. L.A. night sky had a way of making neon signs pop. Concrete is painted in washes of electric pinks, blues and greens. Such lighting made anyone look more beautiful. This fact remained true as you looked up and saw Schlatt across the street waiting for his friends to go to the after party. He was tinted with the blues and pinks of the theatre’s neon sign. It seemed illogical how someone so beautiful could be so cruel. Just before your Uber arrived to whisk you away for the night, Schlatt looked up to meet your brazen gazing. He smirked at you, before yelling something inaudible. Charlie texted you later what Schlatt had yelled.

“See you soon, sweetheart!”

authors note: thank u for reading!!! also thank u for showing a lot of love for my first fanfiction, it means so much! i've been living with this idea for a while. i plan on making this a multipart series with two endings so stay tuned for updates. any and all feedback is welcome <3

#jschlatt x reader #ted nivision x reader #ted nivison #jschlatt #rebloog

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