#anytime a new interview with her came out in the good ol days i was like

[thirvvy]

i would like to remind everyone that jameela jamil will always be known as the best little mix interviewer and stan that ever was

[hippoarchive]

Hippo Campus: Interview

FEBRUARY 22, 2015

On Friday night, Taylor Hanson and Connor Siedow sat down at The Bad Waitress with the guys from Hippo Campus to ask them a few questions. From left to right, Turntan, Stitches, Espo and Beans had a lot to say about their experiences so far, and what’s to come. Humble and driven, these Minnesota natives have worked hard to get to where they are, and are looking forward to what lies ahead.

Where are you guys from? Woodbury right? Stitches: We’re kinda from Woodbury. We all went to school in downtown St. Paul. But us three are from Woodbury and Whistler lives in Richfield. So St. Paul is usually where we say we are from I guess.

So you guys went to SPCPA. Why didn’t you guys go to Woodbury High or East Ridge or something like that?

Espo: I don’t know. Jake and I went to this thing called School of Rock before hand, so we had a musical feel at a younger age before high school. So when we got out we heard of this arts high school, and just decided like, “Hey, why don’t we just go there?”

Is that how you guys met then? At SPCPA?

Turntan: Yup.

How old are you guys?

Turntan: 19

Stitches: 20

Espo: 19

Beans: 19

How long have you guys been playing music together?

Stitches: Umm, coming up on two years I think?

Is that what you’ve always wanted to do?

Turntan: Uh, yeah. More or less I think. It’s really starting to become more apparent now that it’s what we want to do. It kinda started off as a hobby and then it kinda worked its way into a potential career.

Stitches: Going to SPCPA was like a more forcing out what you want to do. Art classes a lot throughout the day, instead of just regular classes. That was a big part of self-realization, and the fact that we like to play music and perform.

What’s behind the name Hippo Campus?

Stitches: I was in psychology class, and we were reading about the brain. About the good ol’ B, and came across that fantastic word, hippocampus. It’s the memory center of the brain. Figured it’d be cool if it was split into two words, double entendre sort of thing, and just rolled with it. It’s very vivid, very original, so…

Turntan: I’d say it’s very original hahaha …psych class. There’s no other band named Hippo Campus out there. It’s just us!

Is it hard to be such a young group in a community where everyone who are just as established are much older, and have been working together a lot longer than you guys?

Turntan: Well we were all in bands when we were even younger so it was even harder when we were under 18 to do this, so when we finally turned 18, it only got easier. And it just keeps getting easier. So it’s not too hard I guess. I think it’s a good thing that we’re young because it’s viewed as more impressive if like a bunch of young guys are playing music that’s tight.

Stitches: And that’s a plus. It’s a big plus. It sucks that we can’t drink I guess. It takes a while for people to latch on and realize that it’s just music and that it doesn’t matter what age you are and if you can get past years, you can be at ease with the people around you more.

You guys have a video on YouTube. A lyric video of South. Do you guys have that recorded? I haven’t been able to find a recording of that.

Turntan: Not out.

Is it going to be released anytime soon?

Turntan: We’ll see. I’ll say that much.

Stitches: There is a possibility.

Espo: I’m gonna say, a really really strong possibility.

Like new album type possibility?

Beans: No. I don’t know what we can say.

Turntan: But we got something!

Every show I go to, there are young girls, freaking out all over you. Any thoughts on your super young fan base?

Stitches: I’d rather have one really old dude, than fifty young girls. Nah, it’s chill. They’re young I guess, but we’re not that far out of high school still, so it’s like they’re kinda growing up with us. Which is just chill to see that they’re along for the ride with us in that way. I don’t really care much. As long as people are coming out and seeing shows, that’s cool.

How do you guys make your songs? Does one of you guys make the beat, and go from there? Or does Jake write the lyrics, and you guys create from that?

Turntan: It’s a really collaborative process. It’s usually one person who will have an idea, and we’ll all work on it. It’s all really spontaneous and organic, which is great. Then Nathan and I will usually write the lyrics together so it’s a really collaborative process.

You guys are going on tour soon. Are you guys used to traveling a lot?

Turntan: No. This will be our first real traveling experience as a band together. The farthest show away that we’ve played was in Beloit Wisconsin. So we’re in for a surprise!

What are you guys looking most foreword to?

Stitches: The drives. The long drives. The long arduous drives.

Do you guys have a van then?

Everyone: Almost!

Espo: Pretty close. It’s tough to get money for that. It will figure itself out. We will have a van hopefully haha

Has it become super overwhelming for you guys yet?

Beans: It’s about to be.

Espo: We only allow as much pressure as we want. Like, we don’t flip out too hard. We’re doing what we like to do, so any work that we have to put in is not even work.

Turntan: We’re taking it day by day. We’re not too worried. Everything works itself out in time.

Were any of you guys watching the Super Bowl when the Explore Minnesota commercial came one with Little Grace in it?

Turntan: No. We were recording actually.

How did you guys hear about it?

Stitches: Twitter. Thank God for the bird.

Did you guys know that it was going to happen? And be on the Super Bowl?

Beans: We knew about it. I think we actually forgot about it though. Then it happened and we were like, “oh yeah!”

How does it feel to be getting all these opportunities at such a young age? The Current seems to be in love with you. Minneapolis is in love with you guys! And now that you guys announced that you’re playing SXSW, it’s got to be surreal.

Beans: Like you said. It’s surreal. We’ve been together for almost two years. I don’t know. I’d like to think that it doesn’t happen that often, that in two years you’re playing big named festivals and doing a two-month tour and getting to live your dream. It’s a huge thing for us to be able to do this. It’s like a fantasy for us and it’s coming true and we’re just getting closer and closer to our own little paradise.

Are you guys planning on going to school after this? Are there even any plans?

Turntan: Not thinking that far ahead. Honestly just really enjoying living in the moment right now and enjoying what we have.

Stitches: I’m not going to school. I’m never going to school again.

Do you guys have any future goals for Hippo Campus then?

Turntan: Playing Red Rocks in Colorado.

Stitches: Be the next U2. Buy The Bad Waitress. Right now our biggest goal is getting a van.

So have you guys had any funny or interesting fan interactions?

Turntan: One of our fans got some of our lyrics to South tattooed on her foot, which was pretty crazy. We just saw it on Instagram. We all thought it was fake. We were like, that’s Sharpie. But no. They literally got out lyrics tattoed on their foot.

Espo: That was awesome. What’s your favorite show you’ve ever played?

Stitches: There was one of our good friends who had a birthday party when we were first just starting out. It was like our second show that we’ve ever played. It was a house show, and it was like life was just good. There was nothing bad happening. It felt like there were no bad things existing in the world. Everybody was very supportive and into it. I think it was one of the first moments when we realized that this was good. This was a good thing that we had going on. That was a heck of a show. It was fun. All of our friends were there. House shows are pretty fun. Otherwise First Avenue is great too.

Espo: The people at the house party were pretty awesome. That was like a big part of it. Life was great otherwise, but without the people standing two feet in front of us, packed in a tiny little room, the energy that was happening. It almost blew the roof off the top of the house.

Stitches: Allan Kingdom played it too. It was fun.

Where’s the connection there? How did you guys meet Allan Kingdom?

Stitches: Hanging out in St. Paul.  Allan went to St. Paul College I’m pretty sure. He would hang out with us during lunchtime. Not us specifically, but our friend DeCarlo. He slowly meshed in.

Turntan: Our first three shows were actually with him. The house party and we also did this show at a place called, “The Beat” which is in Uptown. We used to play a lot of our shows there with our old band. So yeah, we’ve been playing with him for a while now. He’s a great guy.

Stitches: Soloman’s Bakery too. That was pretty cool.

(source: the show last night)

[doomedandstoned]

Southern Sludge Acolytes Midmourner Talk Roots, Drop New Sounds from Cavity Split

~Interview by Shawn Gibson~

Foreword by Billy Goate

It's been just a few years since I encountered MIDMOURNER at a show. The southern sludge band from Birmingham, Alabama was making a rare West Coast appearance and stopped in Eugene, Oregon to play an all ages venue called The Boreal (which sadly has since closed its doors). I was on hand with my trusty camcorder to capture the action and the sound turned out so well that the band issued it as a live album. For all the savagery of their music (and when you're standing right in front, just feet away, it is quite frightening, believe you me), I found the guys to be quite friendly -- reminding me of the fabled southern hospitality I missed most when I lived in the Bible Belt as a kiddo.

Since that encounter, Midmourner has been busy, most recently issuing a split with the band Cavity. Doomed & Stoned is proud to debut the song "When Knives Still Drove Conversation" from the Midmourner side of the record and, to accompany your listening, we've got an in-depth interview conducted by Shawn Gibson, who has made it something of a mission to document the unsung heroes in the underground sludge metal scene. Here, he speaks with fiery vocalist Shane Geoge and guitarist Bobbie Harris and they take an unexpected turn into the history of the punk scene in the southern states. A fascinating conversation in deed. Enjoy it while you soak in Midmourner's new track, "When Knives Still Drove Conversation."

Give ear...

An Interivew with Midmourner

Shane: Have you got a punk background? Because we do.

The first shows I went to were punk and hardcore shows in high school. That would be early to mid-nineties.

Shane: Beautiful, beautiful.

In school I listened to The Clash, Sex Pistols, The Exploited, Charged, G.B.H...

Shane: Oh, my god!

Misfits, Minor Threat, Day Glo Abortions. I told Billy Goate I love sludge and heavier doom just because it's some of the fucking heaviest styles of music.

Shane: I'm glad you can appreciate it. That's the thing, is people classify us as doom. All of us come from punk backgrounds. I think we hit our limit. Punks discovering metal. We add the heavy element to it. You've got to have the punk background, man. That's what differentiates between doom and sludge. I think that's why I gravitated towards sludge. It still has that "fuck you!" attitude. There is a lot of professionalism in doom that I can't subscribe to, you know?

Bobby Harris: It has a lot of punk D.I.Y vibe to it.

Shane: Exactly.

Bobby: You got old punk rockers who grew their hair long and have beards playing sludge. They dig the doom stuff. It's so metal and we are not metal. It's a little metal, more punk. We grew up in Birmingham Alabama punk scene. We'd go watch Cavity in the early nineties. I didn't know about sludge until I saw Cavity. Have you heard of ATP?

Alabama Thunder Pussy? Oh, yeah, I've seen 'em! Dude, I took my Mom to that show! She lives in Nashville, Tennessee, and wanted me to go to The Grand Ole Oprey. "No problem, mom, you have to come with me to a GWAR show." I was not going to tell her about the fluids!

Shane: Everybody must see GWAR before they die!

We were in Charleston, South Carolina. She was in town and Clutch, Alabama Thunder Pussy, and Suplecs played at the Music Farm. I said, "Mom, we got to go to this" and she did. She always jokes, "What was the name of that band we saw?" "Alabama Thunder Pussy, mom!" We laugh.

Shane: All that comes back to Kilara. Eric from ATP played drums. There was also the drummer from Avail, which was the greatest punk band that ever fucking existed, in my opinion. We went to a show, Kilara and Cavity inside a record store one night. Dude! Blew the fucking roof off the place! I don't know if your into Cavity or not?

I have heard of them. I haven't heard their music yet. I'll check em out.

Shane: You need to check em out!

Bobby: Without Cavity, I wouldn't be doing this right now. That's how much Cavity had an effect on me as a kid. That made me realize there was more beyond punk rock. It was more pissed off than punk! How can you be more pissed off than punk?

I'd say punk's pretty pissed!

Shane: Midmourner is Cavity plus Grief. That is Midmourner. That's it right there, man.

Bobby: It's a big fascination with Cavity. It's a big fascination with Grief. Cavity has that pissed off, fast, aggressive sound. Grief has that crushing heavy sound, you know? Together that's what we dig.

Shane: That is why we are tickled fucking pink knowing that next year we are going to play with Come To Grief!

Bobby: This is going to be a dream come true! I've been a fan since 'Disrupt,' man!

Shane: That's definitely a bucket list check, you know? We've got Carl, the merch guy from Come To Grief, with us.

Yeah, I talked to him when I was getting some Midmourner shirts from the table. Good guy!

Bobby: He's awesome!

Adorned in Fear and Error by Midmourner

Shane: So who is your favorite sludge band? Let's hear it!

There's a really good sludge band from Tulsa, Oklahoma I love, Senior Fellows. What's up, James!

Shane: Never heard of 'em.

Bobby: I've heard of 'em.

Shane: Good shit?

Dude go check them out on Bandcamp. 'Ecclesiastical Servitude' (2013) is my favorite album, their first. Very bitter, very dry. Heavy! I think Carl and I were talking about "No Cross and No Crown" attitude and ethos. One of their slogans is "Religion Mandates Oppression." Very pissed off!

Shane: I could see that.

I would say Midmourner is some badass sludge that annihilates. Glad to see you guys live and rip it up!

Shane: What did you think of it? We are interviewing you. How about that?

Uh, wow. First time. Usually the other way around. (laughs)

Shane: We are interested in what you think. How did you get into this, ya know? That's what I'm interested in.

I got into this because I love music! I will always do this. I will always share music that I like and know other people that would love to hear the same music. Music brings us together for a small moment. We are part of a family in this musical scene and I want the world to take notice.

Shane: Beautiful thing. Beautiful thing.

It still feels like a scene for me. I caught the ass-end of tape trading, but I love it and want to keep some that going. Now it's digital. You share music all day, anywhere!

You are going back home and wrap up this tour real soon. You were at St. Vitus bar in New York, as well as Charleston and Birmingham. It is a small world! When you meet people and you go on tour next year with Come To Grief: "Holy fuck, Midmourner! I love you guys, man!" Someone will say that to you guys and they will be stoked to see you live.

Shane: We are definitely going to remember you.

The comradery. I don't think you have this much of a family with other styles of music.

Shane: People don't give a shit, man.

I love meeting people and making new connections. Meeting people that you'll keep in touch with for a long time, if not forever.

Bobby: It's getting to know people on a personal level.

Shane: That's the fun of this whole thing.

It's intimate. It's a bond that some people don't understand.

Bobby: Unfortunately, they don't. I don't get it.

Shane: Keep it small. Keep it underground.

(Billy Luttrell of Hexxus sits down and rolls a cigarette.)

Billy: I'm not interrupting, am I?

No not all. Join us.

Shane: We were talking about influences of Midmourner.

Billy: Molehill.

Shane: I don't know if you know Molehill.

No.

Shane: Sludge pioneers from 2000? '97 to 2000-something.

Billy: '98 to 2002.

Shane: That was the beginning of this. Me and Billy, who is our fill-in guy, we've been friends for thirty fucking years! We did a band called Molehill. We raised a few eyebrows. If you go back and look, you can find it on Bandcamp. Matt, who passed away, and Sonny, the guy taking pictures -- he played bass in Molehill. Now I'm 44 and still doing this shit. It's ridiculous. It's for the love of fucking music, man! That's why it pumps our nads to meet people like you, you know? Who enjoy listening to this shit!

I'm excited to listen to it, to be able to discover new heavy bands or obscure heavy bands that are definitely underground.

Bobby: Oh, we're definitely underground! (laughs)

That's why I'm glad to meet you, shake your hands, hear and feel your music live. We've been talking prior to this show about meeting up, being able to grab an interview in person, and especially grab some merch.

Shane: That is the most meaningful shit.

I've shared this show tonight for awhile now, psyched to finally be here.

Bobby: It was cool because I did know you from Facebook.

Shane: He said your name, I was like I know that fucking guy! Are you friends with Billy on there?

Uh...

Shane: Billy plays in Hexxus. Man I'm promoting all your shit today! He cut in three weeks before we were going to leave. We were going to cancel this shit! He came in and said, "Let's fucking do this, man."

Wow! Love to hear about stuff like that.

Billy: You don't have to twist my nipples to make me go on tour! (laughs) I do a lot of fill-in stuff because I'm self-employed. I can leave anytime. I do stuff in friends' bands. They hit me up two to three weeks before the tour and Bobby was like, "Can you fill in for this tour"? "Shit, bro. When do we practice? Let's go!"

I'm glad you did! I'm glad you guys trekked forward.

Shane: It's been a blast! This is the last night. I could go another six months, maybe.

Bobby: No! (laughs) You've run out of Molehill money!(laughs) He was homesick before he got to Ohio! (laughs)

Shane: I'm ready to see the wife. I'm excited! It's cool to be talking to Doomed and Stoned again, man! That's cool!

Yeah!

Shane: We were hoping that wasn't a one of a kind of thing.

Not if I have anything to do with it. I would like to keep in touch with you guys. I'd love to share or promote anything I can for you guys. Next year when your on tour with Come To Grief -- holy fuck!

Bobby: We are going to have a new album come out with Matt [Heath] on bass.

Shane: We have a CD coming out eventually. Excited! We were able to keep all bass lines and bass recordings. That was cool as shit. I am looking forward to that! Doing what the fuck ever! Try to have fun!

That's what it's all about, having fun. Life is too short.

Shane: Oh, exactly!

Live at The Boreal , Eugene, Oregon by Midmourner

You guys are from Birmingham? So Roll Tide?

Shane: Absolutely, man!

I'm from South Carolina, so I'm a Clemson fan!

Shane: Uggghhh, sorry man! (laughs)

I player hate on Alabama big time! I give em respect them even though Nick Saban is the devil (laughs)

Shane: I got to give it to you guys, you took it one year.

Renfrow sneakin in there! Whew!

Shane: Tua is the shit man! We're proud, man! It was good to almost see Clemson get beat by Syracuse again.

I was nervous as shit! They pulled it out. Lawrence had a concussion, Brice and the Tigers did it.

Shane: I'm kinda worried about LSU just a little bit.

I saw they beat Miami.

Shane: They beat Auburn, too. I think Georgia is going to fall.

On that note, I'm good with what I have from you guys. Is there anything else?

Shane: Find Midmourner on Bandcamp! Find the latest shit. We have a new CD coming out. We have a 10" split with Cavity coming up. Very fucking excited about that. They are personal heroes of ours! Somebody is putting out the new album on vinyl in Europe, so we will have a vinyl release which is fucking awesome! We are looking forward to the Coming To Grief tour. We got to find a bass player. If you know anybody that's interested. (laughs) Have the gear and the drive to do this shit and we can talk! It was fucking great talking to you, man.

Yes!

Shane: We appreciate it. We love Doomed And Stoned! Fucking cool man!

Bobby: Thanks for coming out!

Shane it was nice to meet you and finally see you guys live!

Shane: Very nice to meet you, too! It's nice to see the actual face behind the posts on Facebook. We have nothing but good things to say about Doomed And Stoned and Shawn Gibson!(laughs)

I've got nothing but nice things to say about Midmourner!

Shane: Thank you very much! It means so much more than people realize! You know, it keeps you going. Unfortunately, the post-tour depression begins now. We are going to get back out there and slug it out!

Hell, yeah!

Shane: Hopefully get back here. That's about it, appreciate the hell out of it!

Thanks again!

Shane: Thank you man! Doomed And Stoned all the way! There's Billy packing cigarettes! (laughs)

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[lilaswordsandthings]

That’s What Friends Are For Chapter 5: Troubled Waters

A/N: Partly to make up for chapter 4 taking so darn long, and partly because I kind of already had most of the content of 6 written already thinking it would come earlier in the story than it did, I have for you this evening (in my home the good ‘ol USA that is) a doubleheader. This is 5, chapter 6 will be posted immediately thereafter and the master list updated accordingly. Enjoy, my loves. @ultrarebelheart @reid-effect @illegalcerebral @dontshootmespence @stunudo  

                  Chapter 5: Troubled Waters

 JJ and Reid were still out in the hallway outside of Amanda Chamber’s office when JJ’s phone rang.

 “It’s Garcia…” She said as she answered it. “You’re on speaker Penelope.”

 “Ok, good news Boy Wonder, JJ asked me to look into the possibility of your girl leaving behind a will, and indeed she did, and even better, Rebecca did name Reid as the guardian of her daughter. It also leaves the money she made from selling her paintings on the online gallery to her daughter in the form of a college fund or at least the beginnings of one. However, you need the original notarized hard copy for this to be in any way helpful.”

 “Thanks, Garcia.” Reid replied.

 “Anytime my fine feathered friends.” She said before hanging up.

 “Well, at least now we know that Becca did set up something official that can help me get custody.”

 “Do you have any idea where she might have kept the original?” JJ asked.

 “I don’t know, her apartment maybe?” Reid suggested.

 That’s when JJ’s phone started ringing again. She stepped a few feet away to answer it, while Reid watched for a few agonizing minutes, trying and failing to overhear the conversation.

 “That was the ME.” She said when she returned. “They’re ready for us.”

                                                   ***

 Meanwhile, the rest of the BAU was working a triple murder two hours north. Emily and Matt had gone to the local PD to set up and were now staring dumbfounded at the evidence they had yet to connect.

 “This guy definitely has a type. These victims could all be sisters.” Matt said to no one in particular.

 “It’s more than that, it’s like they’re surrogates for someone. Either someone who rejected his advances or someone he lost.” Emily added. “Which would mean that the key to finding him is figuring out who that is.”

 “That’s easier said than done when we don’t even have solid IDs on the three victims he’s killed so far.”

 That’s when Garcia appeared on the laptop sitting on the table. “Your wish is my command dear Simmons,” she replied.

 “Hey Penelope, you found them?”

 “I did indeed. After combing missing person’s reports for Beatty Nevada I figured out that our first victim is April Jackson, twenty-nine, single, reported missing by a co-worker a week and a half ago when she never showed for a dinner shift. Next, our second victim is Mai Lin she was reported missing four days ago by her mother when she never came home from a night class at a local high school. She was teaching English to recent immigrants from China. Our third and final victim is Gloria Matthews who vanished right in the middle of girls’ night this past Friday. Her friends said that at first, they thought she’d run off with some guy but when she still hadn’t turned up by Sunday they knew something was up. She’s the one police found this morning.”

 “So, none of these women were particularly high risk.” Matt realized.

 “I’ll have the detectives bring in the friends who reported Gloria missing,” Prentiss added. “There might be something about what happened before they realized she was gone that could be helpful.”

                                               ***

 Within the hour, Gloria’s three friends, Katie, Alexa, and Cameron had arrived at the station. Emily decided to have Tara interview Katie, while Matt talked to Alexa, and she talked to Cameron.

 Cameron was sitting on a bench in a secluded part of the police station. Emily sat down next do her. “Cameron, I’m Agent Prentiss from the FBI, thank you for coming in.”

 “W-why does the FBI want to know about Gloria?” Cameron replied as her voice shook and tears streamed down her cheeks.

 “It appears that her death is connected to the deaths of at least two other women in the last few weeks. So far, all the victims were taken in seclusion, in areas and at times where it was unlikely that anyone would’ve noticed them being taken; but with Gloria, whoever did this upped his game. He took her while she was out with you and your other friends, so it’s possible that you, or one of the others, witnessed something that night that could help us find him before he hurts anyone else. In order to find that out, I’m going to need you to answer some questions.”

 “Ok, like what?”

 “Was there anyone there that night who paid her unwanted attention?” Emily asked. “Someone who made her uncomfortable or didn’t take ‘no’ for an answer?”

 “Yeah… yeah, there was. I wanted to dance, but Gloria said she didn’t want to dance until she had at least one drink. So we went over to the bar and ordered a couple of margaritas. There was this guy, he was blonde and his hair was really short, almost like a military haircut. He started flirting with her and kept going for a couple of hours. Gloria seemed into it at first but then he started saying how she reminded him of his ex-girlfriend. Gloria thought he was just, you know, using her as a rebound… so she started blowing him off. She got up to go to the bathroom and I was worried that he would follow her so I went too. I didn’t want her to be alone with him.”

 “Did he follow you?” Emily asked.

 “No, in fact, he was gone when we came back; but there was a brand new margarita sitting on the bar in front of Gloria’s chair. She usually knows better than that, but she drank it before I could say anything to her. She got up to dance, I lost track of her…” Cameron paused, close to tears, “and that was the last time I saw her.”

[showingthroughtome]

somewhere in between - one

September 2011

“What? Haven’t heard of chill?” She yelled over the loud music directly into his ear. “No need to act like a high-strung Chihuahua on stage.”

“No one else complained.” Harry defended himself with a smirk and a kinked brow.

“I don’t know why they wouldn’t. I’ll place the first one now.” She patted him on the shoulder, then his face fell and she couldn’t keep it up - Lenny never didn't have a hard time keeping up a joke. “I’m just kidding, Harry. It was actually -”

read below - story page - character page - thanks! 

September 2011

Thinking of one thing and one thing only, Louis busted through the swinging doors that led to the record store’s break room, with arms outstretched and a cheeky smile on his lips.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I've got news!” He shouted through the room, coming to a quick disappointment when he found only three out of his six coworkers. “Wait, where is everyone else?” He looked between Lenny, Jen, and Niall, who looked at him for one moment, shrugged, and then went back to what they were doing.

“Guys! Serious news here!” He flopped himself down on one of the three couches in the room - he preferred the red velvet one over the tacky cheetah print loveseat or the worn leather sectional. He propped his feet up on the coffee table stood between him and his friends and rested his hands behind his neck.

Not one of them paid him any attention, even after all that noise. Lenny, as usual, was hard at work making flash cards for her French 101 class with Jen sat right next to her, flipping through them and butchering the pronunciation as she attempted to learn secondhand. Niall sat with his phone in his hand, doing nothing remotely important, causing Louis to get fucking pissed.

“Yo, fuckface, you'll wanna hear this.” Louis threw a pillow, successfully knocking Niall right where he wanted - smack dab in between both of his eyes.

Niall readjusted himself with a slightly aggravated look of his own. “Oi! What’s so damn special, Lou?”

Both girls managed to pull their attention to Louis after the dramatics, exactly like he was hoping.

“That fucker Rico finally quit.”

“You're shitting me?” Jen automatically perked up. She probably hated the shitty teenager most of all. Rico would always hit on her even though he was only sixteen and knew she'd never come close to touching him.

“Nope. At last night's shift he just up and left. Gave me his name badge and everything.” Louis pulled out the token of Rico’s final moment from his pocket in victory, holding it up for the others to see.

The sight had the three gasping in wonder and clapping in a roaring applause.

“So no more missing Metallica CD’s?” Niall air quoted the final three words in Louis’s direction.

“Nope.”

“No more missed shifts because of violent vomiting?” Lenny copied Niall’s actions.

“Nope.”

Next it was Jen’s turn. “No more creepy flirting because you may be older but we have the same maturity level so what does it matter, baby?”

“Oh, come on, Jen. You kind of liked it.”

Jen snapped her head in Niall’s direction so fast Louis could feel the wind from it all the way across the room. “Bite your tongue, little Irish boy.”

“That's so sick, Niall.” Lenny backed up her closest friend - the one who would always study with her and entertain her during a particularly dry shift - and threw her pencil straight for Niall's chest. Luckily for him, she had terrible aim.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Niall picked the pencil off the couch next to him and tossed it back.

“I'm just so fucking glad he's gone.” Louis exhaled a sigh of relief, brushing his short bangs away from his eyes. “I’ve been trying to get Tiff to fire him for months.”

“He’s her nephew, she'd never do that.” It was something everyone knew way before Lenny pointed it out.

Tiff, the owner of the record store, was one of the most kindhearted people on the planet. She’d hire any sixteen-year-old that walked in her shop without assumptions that they weren't mature enough for the job. That's how it was for a sixteen-year-old Louis, then two years later, a sixteen-year-old Niall, and then a year later, a sixteen-year-old Lenny. Jen was technically seventeen when she was hired but close enough.

The bottom line - Tiff was too loving and giving, so when her brother’s bratty son needed a job, there was no hesitation.

When he turned out to be complete shit and everyone suggested she fire his ass ASAP, she claimed they couldn't afford the loss of a worker, though, they all knew the truth.

“Well, I guess she's going to have to hire someone else now.” Jen smiled hugely as she picked up Lenny's flash cards.

“I'm sure we will be able to fill the hole Rico left.” Louis remarked sarcastically as Jen held up a card to Lenny that read ça va? Lenny knew the meaning and read the words well enough to convince her three strictly English speaking coworkers that she made no error. Louis, who had worked the night shift before, closed his eyes and drifted off to a light sleep at the sound of it.

That is, until Parker came into the room, pushed his feet off the table with a swift kick of her boots and said, “Wakey wakey. You said you'd help me.”

Louis blinked around the room, finding the girls in the same position but Niall gone to take over the register once Parker's shift had ended. He listened to her boots clack as they slapped against the hard black and white checkered linoleum on the way to her work locker, pulling out a pair of electric clippers.

“What ya doin’?” Lenny tilted her head in the direction of Parker, asking sweetly.

“Don't worry about it, babe.” She opened the door to the bathroom, waited for Louis, and once he entered behind her, slammed it shut a little too harshly.

Through the thin door, Jen could be heard saying, “Yeah, Len. Chill out or you'll kill her mysteriousness.”

Louis chuckled at that but Parker rolled her eyes and plugged in the clippers. It took longer than planned, but soon enough, Parker exited the bathroom, no longer sporting shoulder length curls but a Sinead style buzzcut.

---

Niall was absolutely buzzing from the idea he got during his five-hour shift, getting nearly as excited as he was when Louis came in with his grand news. To be fair, though, Niall could excite himself over almost anything. Of course, when Niall got to the break room, no one was there. Louis had to take over the register for the final two hours of the night, and Lenny had probably gone to bed since she had an 8am the following day. Jen was probably having dinner with Toby at his second job - the pizza shop across the street. And Parker, after shaving her head, strutted through the storefront and out the door, off to go buy bleach to experiment with dying the little black stubble she had left.

Who the fuck knew where Brando could be? Probably smoking pot and playing guitar somewhere.

Niall just waited as he took a nap on the leather sectional. Tiff would eventually walk out of her office to have a meeting with the night manager for a short debrief of the day, and since Niall slept so lightly, he'd wake up right away.

Which he totally did do, but the ceremonial noise of Tiff leaving her office - a slap of window blinds against her door - didn't come for two whole hours. Not until Louis walked into the break room with the register drawers in his hand.

“Good night for sales!” Louis boomed as loud as could be, most likely just to spite Niall, nothing else really called for that decibel level. “Making Mama Tiff proud one day at a time, we are, Nialler.”

“Sure are.” Tiff confirmed in a baby voice, pinching Louis's cheeks going off the sound of disgust he emitted.

“Tiff, we talked about this.”

“You'll always be sixteen to me.” Two light slaps to his cheeks emphasized her hold over him.

Niall had enough of not seeing all this torment - it was always best to witness the way Tiff could do anything she wanted to Ol’ Mischievous Louis because no matter how much it bothered him, he respected her too much to truly rebel. Niall flipped over and sat up, blonde hair surely askew.

“Hey.” He remembered the exciting thought he had earlier. “I know who you should hire as a replacement for Rico.”

“Oh yeah?” Tiff turned to Niall, placing a hand on her hip. “Who?”

“This mate of mine. He's a second year uni student with a heart of gold. I don't think I've ever heard anyone say a bad word about him.”

“Boring.” Louis pretended to yawn.

“No, mate. You'd like him too. He loves a good pint.”

Even though that got a nod from Louis, Tiff shook her head and sighed, “Great. Exactly what I need.”

“Just interview him,” Niall suggested. “We were talking the other day and he was sayin’ he really needed a job.”

“Well, looks like you just got the job for him.” Louis teased Tiff’s weakness with a gentle elbowing.

Even though they could both tell she wanted to argue, she just scratched her head with a manicured nail and took a seat. “Tell him to come in anytime tomorrow for an interview. I'll be here all day.”

---

The interview was a short one - shorter than Tiffs interview with Louis and Niall, even shorter than Lenny's, who she was certain of after two questions. Tiff met this kid and by the time the first horribly bad pun left his mouth, she could tell he'd fit in with the crowd she had created.

Rico was the sore thumb on her perfect staff of oddballs but this kid wouldn't be. She told him to come in on the following Monday and she'd give him a short three-hour shift with her other uni student, feeling relieved knowing she wouldn't have to search for another employee for at least another year.

---

The new hire came in 15 minutes early and somehow, by the time Lenny came into work - 10 minutes early - he had her coworkers fawning all over him. Niall had already known him so his heart eyes were already on display. Louis, Jen, and Toby, on the other hand, were meeting him for the first time as well.

“Lennox!” Jen jumped up from the couch and shuffled over to Lenny. “The new guy is here and kind of amazing and so beautiful.”

“He's right there. He can hear you.” Lenny laughed and pointed over to where the tall, curly headed boy was looking right at them. “Hi, I'm Lenny.” She smiled and stepped around her eager friend to offer a handshake.

He gladly accepted her hand and offered his name in return. “Nice to meet you. My name’s Harry.”

“Solid, standard name.” She didn't know why she said it, yet, she often did that - said things that were kind of weird but kind of made sense. It was like stating a fact that seemed obvious though no one thought about it until someone pointed it out. Moving on, “So we have your first shift together! You're lucky you've got me because I’m an excellent person to shadow.”

“It's true.” Jen threw an arm around her best friend's shoulders. “Sometimes I just stand behind Lenny to get some of her awesomeness.”

Louis quirked his head to the side. “Really? I do it because she smells nice.”

“Of lavender and honey.” Niall agreed.

“You guys are creeping me out for her.” Toby giggled with dazed out eyes and a bite of his pepperoni slice (the one he had at 10:00 in the morning every morning).

While Lenny giggled along with Toby - because he was the kind of guy who got people to laugh just by laughing himself - Harry put on this charming as hell smile and, without any hesitation, declared, “I feel lucky.”

“You should.” Lenny turned to him and waved a hand for him to come closer. “Now, follow me.”

In the short time they had before their shift, Lenny showed Harry the ropes. She first brought him to the tiny, old fashioned punch in clock and the card he was to use every day before his shift began - his name already printed on the one he was designated for the next two weeks.

Next, she took him to the register - an even older one where you had to manually type in the price of each item, sum them up, then print off a receipt with the total. Even with it being not as simple as the scanning system every other place had adapted to, Harry caught on after one demonstration. Lenny was thankful for that; she didn't want another Rico on her hands.

They still had a couple minutes left before Jen unlocked the doors for the official opening time of 10:30am, so Lenny sat at her favorite register - the right one - on the vinyl stool Niall put there after too many shifts of standing in unsupportive shoes (he always complained of a bad back). Often, the two people on shift together would fight over it but since Harry was new he had no clue to go for it.

He had many other questions though. All about the people who worked there who he hadn't met yet. Lenny told him about Brando who would come in around three every day with a black electric guitar strapped to his back. And about Parker, Louis’s almost girlfriend and Brando’s twin sister, who acted like she hated everyone but had her moments. Harry’s jaw dropped when hearing the story of how Parker shaved her head in the bathroom after Louis bet her that she would never. Then nodded when Lenny told him how much she pulled it off.

Jen walked past the two, rolling her eyes at the sound of Parker's name, unlocking the one latch that kept the general public out. At nearly that exact moment, The Cranberries started playing on the loud speakers and Dream Records was open.

“So that's that.” Lenny stood up at the sound of the song that she had already explained away to Harry as the daily song Tiff requested be played when the doors are opened - by the band the store was named after and inspired it to be started in the first place. She smiled as Harry bounced his head along to the steady bass and laughed at how disenchanted he'll be by it in a few weeks. Though, she had heard it maybe a million times and still, she swayed her hips to the rhythm.

“Sick.” Harry said as the song faded out, watching the doors for any customers to come in. The usuals wouldn't show up for another twenty minutes at least but maybe a straggler would come in and shock Lenny.

Instead of just watching the door too, she picked up her book - Through the Language Glass - right as Harry went to talk. “I can't believe I actually got this job.”

“Why? Are you not worthy?” She threw a playful hand over her heart. “Should I inform Tiff? Get her to rip Niall a new one for your lack of competency?”

“No.” He snorted. “Just because… I really needed a job and when I really need one, I can't seem to get one.”

“Ah, I get that.” Lenny pulled on her high ponytail, splitting it down the middle to tighten it. “Well, not really. I got this job when I was sixteen and saw the help wanted sign on the way home from school.”

“Wow. That's lucky.”

“Yeah, it's probably one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me.”

“Except for getting a shift with me of course.” Harry looked away from Lenny's blue eyes and out to the sea of vinyl’s filling the room.

“Oh yeah, totally. Completely. How did you know?”

“You just have a certain glow about you.” He noted, turning back to her and looking her up and down. It was almost flirty, but Lenny assumed that what could be taken that way was normally just friendly when directed towards her.

“You'll come to learn that I always have this glow.” She placed a hand on her hip where her black high waisted jeans met her peach blouse. Harry chuckled and shook his head, which in turn made Lenny’s shoulder slump dramatically. He didn’t budge though, holding his ground and the idea that he had some kind of effect on her. She had to change the subject, so she perked back up and questioned in a chipper tone, “So you're in uni too?”

“Yeah. I'm in my second year at UCL.”

“No way! I'm in my first one there. What's your major?”

“Film Studies.” It came out of Harry's mouth as a mumble for some odd reason.

But it had Lenny’s eyes blowing wider with envy at the cool field of study. “Now that's amazing! Much more interesting compared to my Linguistics one.”

“No way!” He repeated her words in the exact way she had done earlier - with too much excitement for something that probably didn't deserve it. “I'm not really sure what that is or what you'll do with it, but I’m intrigued.”

“It's the study of language.” Lenny didn't say it with much pride even though she loved the major with her whole heart. It's just, well, she always felt like such a stick in the mud talking about language. One time she was talking about it to Louis and she swore he fell asleep even though he denied it every time she threw it in his face. Harry was still awake thus far so she continued, “It's kind of really intense and way more scientific than I ever expected but I'm going to use it to teach English as a second language.”

“Yeah, see, that is cool!”

“Whatever you say.” She rolled her eyes. He had to be lying about his enthusiasm. But when she looked back at him, he still had his eyebrows raised and lips upturned. “I do get to take a ton of second language courses though. Right now I'm in French and then I'll go into Italian for a term and then I'll get to do the Asian languages.”

“Even cooler.”

She wrapped a piece of her long, copper hair hanging from her ponytail around one finger. “Thanks! I thought so too.”

Harry smiled so wide at Lenny that wrinkles crinkled at the side of his eyes. Eyes that she noticed were the most interesting shade of green - reminiscent of the leaves on the trees right before they start to turn for autumn. They perfectly balanced the dark shade of his hair and popped against his skin.

He broke her examination with a shrug of his shoulders. “I just try to write not so horrible scripts and get okay marks for them. But, like, at the moment I’m taking a photography class and I get so many points taken away for wrongful composition.”

“What? Isn't it up to you what the right composition is?”

“You would think but the more I learn the more I realize how false that is.”

“I am so sorry to hear that.” Lenny sympathized a little more than necessary, smiling, understanding what it's like to get to school and realize that what you thought you knew about something was completely wrong. It happened frequently with her, especially since she was studying something as vague as language.

“Nah, no worries.” He tucked a curl behind his ear and followed the sound of the bell that rang when the store’s front door opened. A couple walked in, donning matching jean jackets and cups of Starbucks coffee.

Lenny recognized them as Lacey and Peter and gave them a wave. She felt Harry's gaze shift to her, but where she thought she'd find his eyes on her face, they were directed to her hand falling on the counter top. Once he realized he had been caught, he coughed and pointed to her hands. “Right now actually, the focus in my photography class are hands so the grading isn't too rough. Turns out that hands look good in any way.”

“Really?” She looked down at her own and stretched out her fingers multiple times, admiring the tiny gold rings she slipped on that morning.

“Yeah! Like, I got a shot a couple weeks ago of my friend holding a pint at a pub and got top marks for it.”

“Nice!” Her jealousy of his major grew again. “I wish I could do pub related things for uni.”

Harry, with a squint, questioned speculatively, “You go to pubs?”

“What? I don't seem like the type?” And maybe she didn't. She did always keep her hair perfectly neat, not one lock straying out of place. She wore a lot of pastels because it made her pale skin look slightly tanner. And she was currently in a bare faced make up phase - mostly prompted by laziness but ultimately because she just liked that look. Perhaps she did seem kind of boring and plain, like someone who didn't explore a nightlife at all. Though, looks often were deceiving.

“Not necessarily.” Harry answered her question with one head shake and then slowly, a sly smirk was gracing his lips. “I mean, you look like you enjoy a good time but like that good time centers around a cup of tea and a book.”

“Ya know? I do like that. But I'm of age, Harry, so me and my friends have seen our fair share of nights out.”

“That lot here then?” He nodded his head in the direction of the break room where most of her friends were usually found. Lenny would try to deny it if it weren't so obvious. Instead, she pressed her lips together tightly and blinked at him. He bit his lip and moved on. “Alright. What's your favorite bar?”

“It's called The Third Shoe.” She said without considering any other option. “I know, the name is weird but they make the best Bloody Mary's.”

“With bacon?”

“No. But three sticks of celery if you're kind to the bartender… which I always am.” She bragged as proudly as she felt at that achievement.

“I'll have to check it out.” With a grin from ear to ear, Harry straightened in front of his register and eyed Peter as he approached them.

“Please do.” She said right before greeting a beloved regular. “Hey, Pete. You find anything good today?”

At the same time Peter held up a copy of a Mudhoney album his girlfriend appeared behind him with an 8-Track version of Nevermind - the truest classic of them all.

“Hello, Len!” Lacey cheered, putting her Starbucks down on the counter and pulling out her wallet. “It's on me today.” She smiled at her surprised boyfriend who handed over his vinyl without a second thought.

“New guy?” Peter turned to Harry.

“Yeah. ‘S my first day. Harry Styles.” Harry offered up a handshake that wasn’t returned - not that Peter was rude, he just didn't touch people, everyone knew that after their first meeting with him.

“I'm Lacey.” His girlfriend swooped in and took Harry's hand. “That's my beau, Peter.”

“Nice to meet you both.”

Lenny rang up their purchases in less than a minute and then placed the plastic bag on the counter. Peter picked it up and waved. Before they got too far, Lacey turned around and informed Harry, “You'll be seeing us a lot around here.”

“Every day around eleven to be exact.” Lenny specified to Harry once the bell rang again with their exit. “Like clockwork.” She pulled the stool closer to the register and sat. Harry seemed to be taking note of it and in silence, Lenny wondered, “So film studies? What's that like?”

“Stress. Anxiety. Fear you'll always do shit on a project.” Harry made a list as he ticked his fingers with each point.

“Sounds about right for linguistics too.”

Plus, never being quite sure if you were saying the right things or if the word was being used in the particular context it was meant to be, Lenny didn't say because she didn't feel like constant comparisons of majors were necessary. It was just what was on her plate as the biggest stressor at that moment.

“You'll have to let me see some of your work one day.” Lenny suggested, genuinely interested in what a charming guy like Harry would create in his film classes.

“I don't know about that.” He sounded less interested - way less. It was one of the few times that day that he broke eye contact and looked down sheepishly at his Chelsea boots.

Lenny assumed it was insecurity of unimpressive work but for some reason she couldn't see Harry creating something bad. She hardly knew him but she couldn't see it. She could imagine it being goofy and exciting, light and fun - not unimpressive. So, she swung her leg out from the stool and into his line of vision. It got her what she wanted - his attention - and Harry looked at her face.

“Please.” She puckered out her bottom lip and held it like that.

At first, he didn't seem fazed, then seconds ticked by and his shoulders loosened up. “Okay, maybe one day. If you really are lucky.”

Clapping her hands, she exclaimed, “Yay! If I'm lucky!”

“Don't get too happy, Lennox. None of it’s good.”

“I'm overwhelmed with excitement.” She clapped even louder with a grin wider than it was before Harry called her by the name Jen often would. And as endearing as it was, she figured she should tell him the truth. “But, umm, my name is just Lenny. They all like to give me dumb nicknames that involve Len, but it's just Lenny.”

“Yeah right if you think I'm not going to get in on that, Leonard.” Harry rolled his eyes with a goofy smile fighting its way across his lips.

The new name was a good effort, but it didn't fit the schema so it got a giggle out of her. “That's L-E-O, Harry. Not L-E-N.”

“Close enough, Lendora.” He shrugged.

“Wow, I'm feeling that regret about you already.” She shuddered and flipped open her book, listening to Harry roar with laughter at her reaction.

---

Harry hadn’t even worked at Dream Records for an entire week before he considered everyone in there a friend - Parker and Brando included. It turned out that they really did have a soft inside if you talked to them for long enough. Which Harry never had a hard time doing with anyone.

Especially not with Lenny.

Out of everyone - excluding Niall - she was the one he got on with the best. The cause was likely the first shift they shared, yet Harry liked to claim it was something more. If you asked him, Lenny lit up when she saw him because of how much they had in common and how much they laughed when they were together and not just because he would keep her entertained for their five hour shifts.

Harry was lounging on the leopard print couch, spread out over the expanse of it since it’s the one he felt most comfortable on. Niall and Jen were sharing headphones on the leather sectional and listening to the new St. Vincent album. And Lenny was sprawled across the floor, three textbooks surrounding her, vigorously taking notes on lined pieces of paper.

She had a paper due at the end of the month and two exams in three weeks, but even with all that time left, she couldn’t actually relax and put her coursework aside. Harry worried for her sanity sometimes. Sure, he had only known her for five days, though, most of that time, she was studying, talking about studying, or most likely thinking of studying.

Sometimes Harry was jealous of her. Jealous of her drive and ambition to do well. But not always.

He sat up slightly, just enough so his head was resting on the arm of the couch and he could see her better.

“What ya doin’, Lenny?” He asked so she’d have to flash those blue eyes at him.

“Copying down the words of these riveting textbooks for the fun of it.” She glanced over at him with a smirk. A sweet smirk. Because even when Lenny was attempting to be sassy, it came out as incredibly adorable. “What are you doing?”

They had both finished their shift half an hour ago where they spent the whole time talking about nothing in particular. They discussed how they would go back to the break room and relax - Harry meaning a nap with the usage of relax and Lenny meaning a study session. Why they were asking each other what they were doing now, Harry didn’t know. He figured it was because it already felt weird to be around her and not talking to her.

“I’ll probably take a little nap if my phone could stop buzzing.” Harry pulled it out of the pocket of his always too tight skinny jeans. Messages were lighting up one after another so quick that he couldn't even read them.

“Oh, Harry Styles, just so cool and popular he is.” She deepened her voice to sound like a proper lad, dropping her pencil to beat a fist against her chest twice and then stick up a peace sign. It was so ridiculous. Harry wished he had his camera to snap a shot of it.

“Shut up.” Harry laughed incredulously then unlocked his phone, opening the group chat that wouldn’t stop going off. “It’s about the gig tonight not my cool quotient.”

“The gig?”

“My band's gig.” He typed out a quick reply of okay to all the reminders of what time to be at the club and then locked his phone once again, only after putting it on do not disturb.

Harry wasn’t looking at Lenny in that moment, yet the blur of red hair could still be seen from the corner of his eyes the moment she shot up from the ground.

“Whoa whoa whoa, you're in a band?”

“Yes. I haven’t mentioned that?” He was sure he had - he had to have. They practiced every night for hours. It was like one of the only things he did other than school and work that week. Lenny just shook her head and kept on grinning with bewilderment. “We're not very good. Quite shitty actually. But it's fun and the lads are cool and I get to sing in front of people and act like a fool.”

“Oh my god, you sing?” Her eyes grew wider at every revelation.

Harry couldn’t tell if she was getting ready to make fun of him or not so he went into defense mode right away. “I'm the best part of the group, okay?”

“No way! I have to see this! Niall!” She reached up and shook the blonde's knee.

Taking one headphone out, Niall surveyed the room. “Yeah?”

“Harry is in a band in which he sings.” She said it like it was some amazing news that everyone should hear. Harry was still unsure of how she was going to use this information, but either way, he liked how she was acting like a child on Christmas morning.

Niall wasn’t nearly as enthused at what he considered old news. “Yeah, they strictly do old school rock and roll covers.”

Harry could hear Lenny’s jaw as it dropped. “You’re kidding me.”

Quietly, Harry admitted, “He isn’t lying.”

She squealed and clapped and then squealed again. “I’m dying. Dead. Please let my ghost come to this gig?”

A million excuses ran through his mind so she wouldn’t show up. All of them good enough to keep her away. But then he thought about seeing her outside of work, seeing what bar-Lenny looked like, acted like. He couldn’t help the words that came out of his mouth. “Yeah, sure.”

“Can we all come?” Jen sat up a little bit too, echoing her best friend’s joy.

“If she is going to laugh at me, you all might as well too.” Harry thought what the hell? It wasn’t as if his band was that bad. They were kind of good. He just could admit that to himself.

“I am going to cry.” Lenny reiterated before laying back down with her books, flipping open to a fresh page of notebook paper.

“I’m going to sleep.” Harry tossed his phone to the ground beside the couch and turned away from his three giggling coworkers.

“I’m going to try to study but my mind is going a mile a minute now.”

Harry groaned and burrowed deeper into the couch, covering his head with his arms, hiding a secret smile.

---

Everyone from work got there just in time for them to see Harry and his band play. They were there to see them take the stage and perform five songs - all by The Doors. They got to witness Harry dancing around like he actually was a rockstar and not a film studies major.

Lenny found it to be surprisingly impressive even though she wanted it to be embarrassing and hilarious. The more she had gotten to know Harry, the more she was learning that he was pretty damn good at everything - he picked up the job at the record store like a pro by the end of his first shift and she had gotten a glimpse of one of his beautiful photos when he was reviewing them on his camera.

But, she knew when he came to them after he got done doing whatever performers do at the end of gigs, she would have to make fun of him. So, that’s just what she did.

“What? Haven’t heard of chill?” She yelled over the loud music directly into his ear. “No need to act like a high-strung Chihuahua on stage.”

“No one else complained.” Harry defended himself with a smirk and a kinked brow.

“I don’t know why they wouldn’t. I’ll place the first one now.” She patted him on the shoulder, then his face fell and she couldn’t keep it up - Lenny never didn't have a hard time keeping up a joke. “I’m just kidding, Harry. It was actually -”

Her compliment was interrupted by two arms wrapping around her shoulders from behind and then a familiar voice whispering against her cheek. “Hey, babe!” Soft lips brushed where the breath fanned her skin.

Without a doubt, she knew who it was.

“You showed! Oh, my god!” She turned around to find one of her favorite people, popping a kiss to his lips with a stretch to her tiptoes. He gave her a tight hug right around the middle that had her lifted a few inches off the ground. As she came back down, she remembered that she hadn’t introduced him to her new coworker/friend. She spun quickly and said, “Harry, this is my boyfriend, Chris. Chris, Harry, the new guy I was telling you about.”

“Hey, man. Lenny tells me you have a wicked way with puns.” Chris gave Harry a head nod and one of those genuine smiles that made Lenny’s stomach tie in knots.

And Harry was about to say something back, but then Jen got a sight of Chris and bounded towards him, already drunk enough to drape herself over people. “Chrissy! You made it out of that lab.”

“Finally.” Chris threw his head back and his hands up, relieved as much as Lenny that he could make it out with her friends and away from the Chemistry lab that consumed him most days of the week.

“Have you gotten a drink yet?” Jen nearly threw hers at him.

Chris shook his head of black hair. “Nope.”  

“Next round is on me.” Harry spoke up, grabbing Niall by the crook of the elbow and pulling him away from the girl he was chatting up.

Lenny wanted to say that Harry didn’t have to but he was gone before she could. So instead, she wrapped her arms around Chris’s neck and felt the vodka trickle further into her system.

authors note:

hiii!!! here it is!! im excited, are you? i am also kind of nervous!! 

thank you for reading though!

i had a nice authors note written but then i accidentally deleted and my heart sunk so here we go again!

please please please let me know what you think! it makes me so happy and makes me want to write and post for you guys! it can be anon man, if thats what youre comfortable with! i would just love a little feedback! tell me what you think about lenny?? and harry?? and the ending!! who is your favorite side character?? they will be featured a lot so i am interested to hear.

i actually have another fic ive been working on... also friends to lovers... but different. i like it and i hope to start posting that too... ya know, if i know people want to read it... *wink wink*

in all seriousness, i love all you guys! thank you so much for reading! thank you so much to eriza for not only being such an impressive banner maker but also, an amazing friend! thank you to ashumi for swooping in and beta-ing my stuff. with my writing, its not easily done but you make it look it. youre awesome! and finally, thanks to all my friends who encouraged me to write this fic! 

check out the character page at the top (or on the story page) to put faces to all these characters im trying to create.

love you, and i promise my authors notes wont be this long again until the epilogue,

lauren xxx

[helloworlddemo1122-yahoopar-blog]

Beyonce at Coachella 2018: What to Expect From Her Headlining Performance

The countdown to Beyoncé’s headlining set at Coachella is on!

Queen Bey will hit finally Indio, California, over the next two Saturdays for her highly anticipated appearance at the annual music festival. The performance has been a long time coming after the singer was forced to bow out of performing at the festival in 2017 due to her pregnancy with twins Sir and Rumi Carter. This will be Beyonce’s first high-profile gig since giving birth to her babies.

Needless to say, ‘Yoncé has been hard at work to make good on her word and deliver something special for the festivalgoers hitting the desert for the fest.

ET is breaking down what to expect from what can only be described as Beyoncé’s next great, live performance.

A ‘GAME-CHANGING’ MOMENT

“Amazing, beyond, iconic, life.” Those are the four words Beyoncé’s lead choreographer, JaQuel Knight, used to describe the music superstar’s upcoming Coachella performance.

Knight has helped choreograph a string of career-defining moments for Beyoncé including the unforgettable "Single Ladies" video, her Super Bowl halftime performance in 2016 and the Formation World Tour in 2017. So you know whatever these two have up their sleeve for the crowd in Indio is going to be epic.

“[Her Coachella performance is] going to change the game,” Knight teased. “Be ready for a good time. A good ol' time.”

Makes sense because 1) it’s Beyoncé and 2) Bey has reportedly been clocking 11-hour rehearsal days with her dancers and crew perfecting the performance before showtime.

VEGAN BOD

Beyoncé took to Instagram last month to reveal to fans that she was back on the vegan grind, cutting out meat and animal products, to get in festival-shape ahead of her performance.

"44 days until Coachella!! Vegan Time!! Click the link in my bio to join me!" the 36-year-old artist wrote. She paired the announcement with two photos, one of a delicious (and over-the-top) piece of avocado toast as well as a shot showing off her post-baby abs at rehearsal (and in a super sick crop top from her Ivy Park line, no less!)

44 days until Coachella!! Vegan Time!! Click the link in my bio to join me! 💪✨

A post shared by Beyoncé (@beyonce) on Mar 2, 2018 at 3:50pm PST

The diet plan Beyoncé linked to, 22 Days Nutrition from celebrity trainer Marco Borges, is not new to the pop star, and in fact has been her go-to for her past vegan stints. In 2015, ET's Keltie Knight talked to Borges, where he shared what the plan is all about.

"Whether or not you want to go 100% plant-based, the reality is that we know we can benefit from eating more vegetables,” he explained. "What better vehicle than Bey's platform. She's the type of person that lives to empower people, so we thought this was an amazing opportunity to empower people and help them to live healthier lives."

JAY-Z GUEST APPEARANCE?

When JAY-Z headlined the annual festival in 2009, HOV surprised the crowd by bringing out his wife to sing “Young Forever.”

Since then, the couple has, of course, collaborated on Bey’s song, “Drunk in Love,” off her self-titled Beyoncé album, and most recently “Family Feud,” from Jay’s 4:44. Plus, with the recent announcement that the couple will hit the road again together on their highly anticipated ‘On the Run II’ tour, expect Beyoncé to return the favor and share the Coachella stage with her husband, giving fans a taste of what we can expect from their second joint tour.

Lately, life for Bey and Jay has been all about family. And despite their upcoming, very busy music schedules, a source close to the couple previously told ET that they don't plan on changing that anytime soon.

"Beyoncé and JAY-Z recently went to Jamaica to work on a project together, and [to] spend some quality time with one another. Beyoncé has been rehearsing a lot for Coachella and, after that, the couple has to prepare for their tour that starts in a couple months," the source explained. "Although they work non-stop, their main priority is their children. They have made plans to have the kids around as much as they can when they are touring."

NEW MUSIC

All eyes (and ears!) will be on Coachella, even if you’re not one of the 99,000-125,000 attendees on the ground at the festival. Which is why, over the years, the annual fest has been the perfect place for artists performing there to drop new music (i.e.,Lady Gaga debuted her single, “The Cure,” during her headlining set last year.) Could we expect the same from Beyoncé?

Bey has become emblematic of the surprise drop and her live performances have often been the stage for major announcements, so we wouldn’t put it past her to release some new tunes.

And considering we haven’t had any new releases from her (aside from a couple of guest features) since 2016’s Lemonade, we are definitely long overdue for some fresh Beyoncé music. Plus, we already know she and JAY-Z have been sitting on a joint project before dropping their own solo albums instead.

"The music she was making at that time was further along," JAY-Z revealed during an interview with The New York Times’ T Magazine. "So [Lemonade] came out as opposed to the joint album that we were working on. Um, we still have a lot of that music.”

The Coachella stage seems like the ideal setting for the couple to debut a new collaboration.

DESTINY’S CHILD REUNION?

In recent years, it's not enough for Coachella artists to grace the stage alone anymore. If you are invited to perform at Coachella, it’s a great opportunity to surprise the crowd with a special guest appearance. And while it is very probable that JAY-Z will make a surprise guest spot during Beyoncé’s set, the question remains whether her performance will also bring a Destiny’s Child reunion.

The Beyhive has been buzzing about the potential for DC to share a stage once more ever since Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams (literally) popped up during Beyoncé’s epic Super Bowl halftime show in 2013. But one stealthy member of the Hive has receipts that suggest an even bigger surprise could be upon us: an onstage reunion that would also include founding members LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett!

THEY. ARE. COMING. COACHELLA IS ABOUT TO BE LEGENDARY. pic.twitter.com/5RMCahlvAS

— Keke (@DaKingKK) December 12, 2017

Apparently back in May of last year, Roberson cryptically tweeted, “I have so much to tell you guys! All I’m allowed to say right now is… never mind.”

Meanwhile, Luckett shared a throwback photo of her and the girl group back in October.

For her part, Williams randomly shared a snap of her outfit from the Super Bowl performance. Coincidence or is Destiny’s Child cooking up a massive showing of female solidarity with a reunion at Coachella?

After all, the group is celebrating 20 years since their debut album, so the timing for this to happen is impeccable. It’s pure speculation for now, but we don’t think we’re ready for this jelly!

To learn more about what we can expect from Beyoncé's Coachella performance, straight from her lead choreographer himself, watch the video below. 

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