#i stay putting these in my edit tag when i only make slight crop changes 😭

[tchia]

more random ayo pics i love 💓

[brief-candle]

αℓεα ιαcтα εsт - various kny x reader [1]

reuploaded bc my tumblr is being stinky >:(( update: still being stinky. for some reason this isn’t showing up in any tags no matter what i do and i’m so confused? bc the second chapter’s showing up??? idk :/

also was wondering if y’all would be interested in seeing some art that i do sometimes, bc i’ve kinda been getting back into drawing lately!

THIS IS A YANDERE SERIES. JUST SO YOU KNOW. I WILL WARN OF ANY TRIGGER WARNINGS IN FUTURE CHAPTERS, BUT THIS ONE’S NICE AND TAME!! TY FOR READING AND HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!! <3

GENERAL OTHER STUFF TO KNOW BEFORE YOU READ: MC (READER) IS FEMALE; THERE IS A BUNCH OF CANON DIVERGENCE; MANGA-ONLY CHARACTERS WILL APPEAR IN LATER CHAPTERS, THOUGH I DON’T PLAN TO DEAL WITH ANY PLOT ELEMENTS THAT DON’T APPEAR IN THE ANIME.

edit: chapter 2 is out!!

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ───── ⊰

The sun was high in the sky, beating down on the trio that were treading unfamiliar ground. The scenery looked very much like that which they'd seen countless times before, but that was to be expected to an extent. They were in the same country that they'd always been in, after all, however that didn't alleviate the sense that something was amiss in these parts. These parts that were so close to where they'd always been, yet seemed so completely and utterly different all at once.

"Tanjirou...!" One of them wailed, as usual. He was already a couple of paces behind, but had really began to drag his feet over the last couple of metres. Though this behaviour was very much usual for the wailer, Tanjirou didn't act annoyed in the slightest. Not that such a thing was surprising in any way- Tanjirou was too patient and kind for his own good sometimes.

He turned to face the boy, who was barely making an effort to catch up, while the third begrudgingly stopped also. With eyebrows slightly furrowed in concern, he asked: "what's wrong, Zenitsu?"

Zenitsu- the wailer- was huffing and puffing when he finally made it over to Tanjirou. It appeared difficult to even stand up straight, as he wavered and wobbled with each slight and rare gust of wind.

Still wheezing, he gasped out a desperate question, "are we nearly there yet?"

Tanjirou stared at him for a moment in silence, before sighing deeply.

"Hey- what was that for?!" Although completely out of breath just a moment earlier, it seemed that his energy had been restored enough to begin to screech. It was whiny and hurt the ears, though that was probably its purpose, knowing Zenitsu. It was no wonder why he couldn't get married when he began to speak using such a tone of voice; it truly was grating on the ears. Never mind his whiny begging, clinging, desperate tone and actions mixed with his general perversion. If you happened to be feminine and breathing, chances are Zenitsu was interested.

But I digress.

Their companion snorted before erupting into a fit of mean-spirited cackling at the blond's outburst, having held it back from even his initial whining. This only served to fuel Zenitsu's irritation, leading to his pitch raising and voice increasing in volume as he began to (attempt to) berate the boar-headed male.

"Zenitsu..." oh dear, it seems that Tanjirou is tired of this situation. He even pulled out the 'I'm not mad, just disappointed' tone of voice and expression.

Zenitsu noticed this immediately, quieting down very soon after, only to pipe up with a, "yes?"

"This is the third time that you've asked in five minutes."

"And?!" And suddenly, his enthusiasm that he could have been putting into walking and actually getting somewhere instead of simply complaining returned with a vengeance, arms flailing with fury as he did so, "we've been walking since dawn, and you're telling me that we're not there yet?!"

Tanjirou nodded.

"No way...!" His voice lingered long after he'd collapsed to the ground, lying there like a starfish and staring at the sky with a gaze like that of a dead fish.

"Hey, Zenitsu, are you alright?" Tanjirou- bless his cotton socks- had asked without a moment's hesitation as soon as it had happened. However he did make a very strange noise of confusion soon after, if that counts for anything. Either way, though, he was still staring down at his friend with a very worried face. Their friend, on the other hand, only began to snicker louder at such a display.

"This is the end for me, Tanjirou." Said Zenitsu, not even glancing in Tanjirou's direction as he did so. Each word was monotonous, too even in tone to be from Zenitsu. "You must go on without mE-"

His even-toned speaking evolved into a high-pitched shriek as he was dragged up and slung over the shirtless male's shoulder- him still cackling- before the latter began to sprint away.

"Hey, Inosuke-!"

"INOSUKE, PUT ME DOWN, STOPSTOPSTOPSTOP--"

Tanjirou didn't even have time to sigh again before he had to sprint after them, lest he get left behind. Though even if he did, he supposed it would be easy to find them without even having to sniff them out, with the obnoxious laughter and the terrified screaming. For such a normal, kindhearted boy, he certainly had some strange friends.

They kept running along the path until the sun flew over them, now threatening to disappear beyond even more hills. However the scenery here was rather different, with large fields of grass to the left and crops growing to the right. It was well-organised and looked well-maintained, however Tanjirou didn't even want to know how many people would have to work so rigorously to maintain the land.

"Oh, are you boys demon slayers by any chance?"

It was sudden, abrupt, and caught all three of them off guard. Perhaps if it didn't sound so gentle and feminine then they'd have reacted a bit more quickly and with a bit more force. However they were glad they didn't when they saw the owner of the voice: a young woman, ordinary-looking by all means, but with a certain twinkle in her eyes that looked very amused by what had just happened. And for good reason, too, as one had screamed, one had turned so quickly that it was surprising that their neck didn't snap, and the other grunted. Except it was more of a surprised grunt if anything. Though it was extremely hard to tell the difference between each type of grunt.

"Did I scare you? I'm terribly sorry." She bowed politely as she spoke, each word matching her reserved and respectful demeanour. However she clearly wasn't adept enough at hiding how much enjoyment she'd gotten out of witnessing such strange reactions, as the corners of her mouth struggled to not turn upwards.

"No, no, it's fine; there's certainly no need for a lovely lady like yourself to apologise!" Of course, this was Zenitsu speaking, having recovered rather quickly from his screech that was much more ladylike than any lady that the other two had come across. It was clear that he wanted to move on from that as soon as possible, in some vain hope that this person might be the one that was sympathetic enough to marry him. So far, he'd had no luck. And he was growing more desperate by the minute.

But as he tried to grow closer, he was soon flung a couple of metres away in an instant. Such an event was followed by the woman's scolding voice. However, for once, it wasn't Zenitsu getting scolded. Instead, in an unlikely turn of events, it was something getting scolded for his sake. Every now and again into her scolding session, a whinny attempted to be heard, only to result in even more scolding. Tanjirou and Inosuke only looked on, minds just as blank as their faces. What does one do in such a situation?

Well, upon realising that Zenitsu was bleeding, Tanjirou very quickly decided to try and help him. Inosuke merely watched on for a moment, before making a sound of awe and withdrawing his swords from their sheaths with a rather terrifying cackle,

"What a beast! If I can take it down, then-"

"Please don't try and fight my horse."

"Inosuke!"

-----------

It had taken a while to sort everything out, so much so that nightfall was but minutes away. Thankfully, even after the Inosuke incident, the woman had been willing to let them stay in her house for the night, perhaps more if Zenitsu needed extra rest. His friends already knew that he'd play on the illness card just to continue trying to court the poor girl, but it was something that they simply couldn't hope to change.

"She's really kind, isn't she?" Zenitsu gushed to them in the shared room that had been provided, "giving us all this stuff, even after what Inosuke tried to pull." It was impossible to miss the annoyance lacing his voice as he mentioned Inosuke, who had now taken off the board head and was lying on the best futon available. Not because he deserved it, but because he refused to move off it for Zenitsu who, despite his ulterior motives to his injury, was indeed injured.

At that, Tanjirou grew curious, "Inosuke, have you never seen a horse before?"

"Horse? You mean that thing that Zenitsu lost against? 'Course not!"

'Course not?

"Inosuke..." Oh, how Tanjirou wanted to explain everything wrong with what was just said, but that would require too much time and too much energy for the night. A night which had followed a hectic day which was extremely tiring.

He glanced over at the box he'd been carrying all day, lips pursed slightly to accompany a conflicted expression. Was it alright for Nezuko to come out here, when their host could walk in at any second? It would be difficult to explain their situation, especially to someone who may have lost their entire family to a demon. It could also be dangerous to Nezuko to be put in such a position. And so he shuffled over to the box, opting to sit near it rather than to open it.

"Sorry, Nezuko," he murmured, patting the wooden walls of the box carefully, "but you'll have to stay in there for a bit. I'm sure I can let you out for a bit tomorrow, if we're still here."

Inside the box, there was a bit of shuffling to be heard. But soon after was an acknowledging grunt, one which Tanjirou thanked her for, face forming a bright and beaming smile. It was just in time that he'd shuffled back to his futon, as the woman knocked upon the door and entered very soon after. The relief he felt knowing that he had narrowly avoided a sticky situation was immense, though he had to admit that he felt a little bit nervous when thinking of what could have so easily taken place instead.

"Sorry to interrupt," she said, a tray in her hands. Immediately after shutting the door behind her, she placed the tray on a nearby table, sitting beside it. "I made some tea, if you'd like some. I figured it'd been a long day for you all, so I decided to make some tea to help soothe the body and mind." Her words were spun like silk, with a quality to her voice like warm honey. The tea merely became one of the many aromas which wafted around the house, mingling and mixing to form one very odd (and quite overpowering) smell.

Zenitsu was (predictably) the first to join her, singing her praises to the heavens. She merely accepted them with the humility and grace that they'd come to expect from her, and so they all began to sip their tea in comfortable silence.

That is, until she was the one to shatter the comfortable atmosphere.

"I'm sorry for how abrupt it may be for me to say this," she started with, glancing briefly into each of their eyes before returning it back downwards to her own cup. It was held between her hands, and she squeezed it ever so slightly before continuing, "but I fear I must ask, lest anything undesirable occurs."

After one more sip, which felt so drawn out that it was as if she had sipped it until it was all gone, she began to elaborate: "Please, no matter what you hear, do not go out after nightfall."

That was certainly not what they were expecting to hear, especially being demon slayers. Their whole occupation was to fight demons, which required them to go out at night. It was safe to say that such a thing was a very odd request. Even if she had phrased it more like a demand.

Indeed, as she began to speak of that which she wished of them, her voice seemed to drop the kindness that they'd grown to associate with it. The honey that she wound into each word was cut loose, leaving that which she said with a bitter taste in their mouths.

Well, not Inosuke's. He, after chugging the rest of his tea (which was still very much piping hot), asked with little to no hesitation: "Why?"

The girl clearly wasn't expecting this, blinking owlishly twice before repeating the question with a slight tilt of the head.

"Yeah- why not? We're demon slayers, after all, so it's not as if the demons pose a threat." As usual, Inosuke was cocky and boisterous in everything that he did. His words were drowned in such an attitude, his movements were made from them, his expressions screaming them. Still, it did little to affect her, who sharply poked a hole in what he'd said without a moment's delay.

"Really? Then does Kibutsuji Muzan not pose a threat? Or the Demon Moons?" This time, even her eyes had dropped the gentle and kind mirth to them. It was difficult to recall the last time that she'd blinked as she sat there, the sharp colours found in her irises standing out much more in the dim candlelight as she bore holes into he who spoke against her.

Before he could speak up again, she rose to her feet, staring down at them all. Perhaps it was the fiery and temperamental glow of the candlelight rather than the calm and natural light from the sun that accentuated the tense atmosphere- so tense that perhaps a knife could not even slice through it. Perhaps it was also the lighting that made her seem much more ominous than she had at any other moment, that made the scowl she wore more menacing than it would be. It would have been a question as to whether she'd been scowling at all, whether her lip had been curled that much and her eyebrows furrowed so deeply that the skin between them crinkled, had she not spoken so coldly and with a tone so clipped.

"There is a difference between confidence and foolishness. Perhaps it would be best that you learn this difference before your next fight."

This humble farmer, who'd chuckled with them just a few hours before and boasted little more than a simple yet productive life, uttered sentences in which wisdom, the kind which could be born only from experience, ran like rivers. Yet when prodded when she let them slip, she merely brushed it off, claiming a relative used to say it. Or something to that extent.

She bowed then, deeper than ever before, and after excusing herself had disappeared into the darkness of the hallways.

No conversation stuck that night, and sleep had a similar pattern when it finally came.

-----------

Despite struggling sleeping, on edge due to events that never ended up occurring, the three awoke a bit after daybreak. It was about five minutes later that a knock on the door echoed through the room. It was rather surprising to find the woman who was so moody and distant the night before, looking so chipper and energetic in the morning. Once again, she brought in a tray, bearing a simple breakfast for them all and accompanied by some more tea. She placed it on that table once more, removing the other tray at the same time. Once again, she excused herself, though this time it was with the same merriment that they'd expected from her before the occurrence of the previous night. It seemed so hazy now, almost like a fever dream.

However they knew it wasn't. They knew it was real, without even having to confront each other about it. Although she never brought it up and cleverly avoided giving them a chance to, they didn't doubt for a moment that what had happened the previous night was equally odd and true.

And so, while she excused herself from the house very soon after taking away the almost untouched tea from the night before, they concocted a plan. It was morally very wrong, but their curiosity overturned their morals in this place. Not only was her behaviour rather odd, but the more that they thought about it, the house was rather odd as well.

"It smells so weird..." Tanjirou had found himself to be the first to complain about the house. The smell was beginning to irritate him with how powerful it was, so much so that he couldn't even begin to separate the different scents and their origins. Such a thing was so simple for him to do usually, yet he was unable to do so here. It was unnerving to think about; a demon could attack at any notice and he wouldn't even be able to know.

Inosuke was next up: "y'know, I was excited and all at first with how soft the floor is- I mean, where else do you get floor that's soft? In a house?!" The more he thought, the more he got distracted by how much he liked the softness of the material under his feet and hands, and how it separated in between his fingers and toes but was still so soft-

"Get on with it, we don't have all day," Zenitsu commented bitterly, quite upset that his most recent crush wasn't honest and trusting of him, someone she'd met literally the day before.

"Ah-" and Inosuke was brought back to present day, clearing his throat, "but yeah, I can't even feel anything else apart from how fuckin' soft this floor is. And the house!" He slammed open the door to the hallways, terribly startling Zenitsu in the process, "Is full of it!"

Zenitsu's heart seemed to be racing too fast for him to be able to participate in their little chat for a bit, but thankfully five minutes with a cup of tea had calmed his nerves. Not before he began to mutter very angrily about Inosuke under his breath for 'trying to kill' him, mind, but with a gentle prod from Tanjirou he began to share as well.

"I've never really come across anything like it..." he mumbled, quite ashamed of it as he dug a finger in his ear, "and it might sound kinda stupid, but I can't hear anything through these walls."

It took a moment for that one to sink in- such a thing seemed impossible. However he soon added on to what he said.

"Well, actually I do hear some stuff. But it's really faint, even though I can't hear stuff that's right outside."

"Like what?" Tanjirou immediately asked. This prompted Zenitsu to think deeply, staring up at the ceiling and humming for a moment.

"Dunno. Footsteps? They sound kinda far, though, so surely that's not it."

That was true. And so the trio began to think a bit more, staring at different places in the room and humming to themselves as they did so. Tanjirou even began to talk to Nezuko about it, even if she couldn't respond. Seeing as their host wasn't in the house currently, he deemed it safe to let her out and wander around a bit to stretch her legs. She had been in that box for over a full day, after all.

Then, as he watched her toddle around, an idea struck him.

"Wait, Zenitsu!" The sudden outburst shocked the aforementioned male, but (thankfully) not bad enough that he needed more tea and a time-out session.

Tanjirou pointed at his younger sister, who stared up at him questioningly, "how loud are Nezuko's footsteps?"

It was a strange question to ask out of the blue, but with how serious Tanjirou looked, Zenitsu replied as soon as he processed it, "pretty loud. Way louder than even Inosuke's."

This prompted an irritated growl from Inosuke, who looked ready to brawl with Zenitsu over the implications of that statement.

At this, Tanjirou lowered a fist onto his open palm, an expression of realisation on his face, "then what if they are footsteps?"

This question seemed even stranger at first glance- how could they be footsteps when footsteps from right outside the room couldn't even be heard? It just didn't seem logical, especially when the one that was navigating the hallways wasn't even very stealthy from what they'd seen of her. But then it clicked, and Zenitsu's face paled at the very notion of it.

"You can't mean-"

"Yes, I do." His face was deadly serious as he stared at Zenistu, ignoring Inosuke's persistent pestering to know what was going on. The latter's questions were answered anyway when he elaborated: "I think there's a demon in this house."

-----------

"Tanjirou..." Zenitsu was barely able to speak through the chattering of his teeth, which was the one thing that didn't falter about him as they headed down the stairs. Even Inosuke was being quieter, not uttering a single thing, nor even laughing at the blond's misery from underneath that boar mask of his. They'd found the staircase from behind a bookshelf, only doing so when Inosuke had felt the drag marks it had left on the carpet that he so loved.

It was dark, and would only get darker the further down that they went. It would be all too easy for the girl to trap them in there if she discovered where they'd gone, but it was a risk that they were willing to take. For there was a chance, no matter how slim, that she may not know of the demon in her house. Or perhaps it is forcing her to provide shelter for it to stay. There were too many possibilities which could mean that she was in danger, and all of them stemmed from the demon being in her house.

"Tanjirou...!" He repeated, a bit louder and whinier this time. Even Nezuko, who had forced them to allow her to tag along, shot him a look of disapproval. And if nothing else shut him up, then that certainly did, for Zenitsu was a creep to the core, and would drop anything that any living girl disliked that he did in a heartbeat. At least it came in handy sometimes, such as now.

There was light further ahead, and Tanjirou could smell it clearly now: it truly was the scent of a demon, and they would have left without knowing such a thing had they not been so insistent before. Sometimes, in rare moments like these and when he was asleep, Zenitsu was truly useful to have around. But then he squealed, and a huge list of reasons as to why not to have him around could easily be thought up.

Either way, there was no point in sneaking around now that Zenitsu had blown their cover so soon. Duct tape would have really come in handy. If only it was invented about half a century earlier. But, alas, this was their fate, and it was one that they had no choice but to live through. They didn't have the upper hand of surprise, but they certainly had the upper hand in numbers.

And if everything went to pot then they could just knock Zenitsu out. Always seems to work a treat.

As they crept into the light of the room, they took note of the figure kneeling in the centre. He faced away from them, though many of his features could be noted of. The first and most bizarre thing to note was the sword laying beside him. At least, it was the most bizarre until they took note of his clothing, which was extremely similar to theirs, though he also adorned a white jacket over the top of it. His hair was a mess of white, tinted with the warm hue of the flickering flames of the torches around him.

He hadn't noticed Nezuko's growling until now, nor her intense and furious glare. If looks could kill, that guy wouldn't even have ashes left.

"You really haven't learned what respect is at all, have you, you damned brat?"

That voice- how could Tanjirou forget that voice? The voice of the Hashira who had attacked his sister from a couple of years ago with a twisted grin all over his face. He was quick to understand Nezuko's growling, and had to hold her back from rushing in to attack him. The one thing that protected him from her was now gone, and he was one of what they hated.

He turned, a similar expression to the one back then written on his face, with those purple eyes still so wide, smile so wide that it split his face and nonexistent eyebrows furrowed. Though his rise to his feet was slow, obviously taking his time, they still didn't attack. Zenitsu's whole body was clattering with fear, clamming up and making him unable to say anything at all.

"It looks like I'll have to teach you myself, doesn't it? Maybe then it'll finally stick, even with a moron like you!"

As a human, he was already extremely quick. But as a demon he was even quicker as he lunged towards them, blade in hand and all too eager to strike.

[bapyess1r]

PuNK

WARNINGS: cursing

Pairings: Rafe Adler x OC

Tags: @desertvvitch, @tiecladartist, @courtenbae

Chapter 1

Lyric’s POV

He was doing it again. Much like every day lately, he’d been in a verbal argument with someone over the phone during a conference. And lucky me, I got a front row seat to every single word. His office was right in front of my desk. The whole office seemed to quiet as muffled screams could be heard throughout the room. My co-worker Winter looked over from her desk to show me her gums and suck air through her teeth.

“You’re gonna have so much fun tonight!” Her voice dripped with sarcasm and I rolled my eyes. This meant there was going to be so much paperwork to do before I left. I groaned, digging my fingers into my hair and scratching at it in annoyance. I wore wigs to work because my actual hair would’ve been considered “less than favorable” in my work environment. ‘Horseshit.’ I thought. I settled for dark curls in order to remotely retain a professional image. Suddenly, it had gotten eerily quiet. He stopped shouting in his office and the air was back to normal. Or so I thought.

“LYRIC LEWIS!” I heard him snap suddenly, making my jump out of my seat a bit. I took a deep breath, eyeballing Winter as I adjusted my grey pantsuit. My blush colored heels clicked on the tiles as I rounded my desk with my hefty clipboard in hand. I pushed open his opaque glass door cautiously. I took a moment to center myself as I put my hand on the door and turned the knob.

“Yes, Mr. Adler?” I asked him calmly. Not that it would do me any good. He rested his face in his hands in irritation. To Rafe Adler, I was his rather invisible assistant. He never looked me in the face. If he did he saw right through me and never paid much attention. But he knew my voice. I didn’t mind but there’s this thing called respect…

“Ms. Lewis, please tell me there are no more idiots I have to conference with this afternoon.” He grumbled, rubbing his fingers into his bluish green eyes. As tired as he was, they looked a little gray today. I flipped through his schedule that I had written down as he leaned back into his chair. For a moment, I glanced up to look at him. Rafe was a handsome man. Stuffy but handsome. His hair was cut short on the sides as the length on top was slicked back off of his almost model-like face and when he did smile, which was very rarely, it was like a million watts. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers repeatedly at me with a growl.

“C’mon, Lyric! I don’t have all day!” He rushed me. And I flipped to today’s date. I ran my finger down the time slots to see what else was on the agenda for the day.

“Um… I believe that was all for today, sir. No more conference calls-”

“Thank God!” He sighed, dramatically. My face contorted a bit as he ran his fingers through his dark hair. “What else is there to do today?”

“You have a meeting with Chovak, sir, at 2pm. Early dinner with Samuel and Nathan Drake at 5? And then you had me put down paperwork hours from 7:30 til midnight.” I read everything off exactly as it was written. He hummed as he rummaged through the files on his desk.

“Make it 9. Dinner may take a little longer than I expect.” He said with a sigh. “That’ll be all, Ms. Lewis. Thank you.” He said as he began scribbling things on sheets of paper and tapping on his laptop. Not once did he look at me through this whole interaction. That was most days though.

“Did you need me to sit in on the meeting, sir?” I asked, pulling a pen from behind my ear and editing a time slot. I was hoping he’d say no. I still hadn’t had breakfast yet and I was starving.

“Yes.” He said simply. My expression faltered and I pursed my lips to keep from making a face. Of course I had to stay.

“Absolutely, sir. I’ll be going now.” I said with slight irritation but he didn’t seem to notice. He was already caught up in more work. I turned on my heel and just as I put a hand on the door, he called to me again.

“Oh, one more thing!” He said. I rolled my eyes and turned my head to look at him.

“What is it, sir?” I asked.

“Would you be a doll and run down to Starbucks for me?” He said.

“Of course, sir. The usual?” I asked pulling out my phone to pre-order the drink. It would be done by the time I got there.

“Yes and add a croissant.” He mumbled.

“Yes, sir. I’ll be right back.” I said with a fake smile. Not that he’d see it anyway.

I went back to my desk and sat down with a sigh of relief. “That wasn’t so bad…” I said to myself as I put in Rafe’s order. After a few seconds of mental rest, I stood again and grabbed my black trench coat off the back of my seat.

“Goin’ somewhere?” Winter asked as I slipped on my coat.

“The King wants his coffee.” I told her in an exaggerated attempt at a British accent. She chuckled and shook her head.

“Best not keep him waiting then.” She said, pushing her cropped hair over her ear as I left.

Work that night was more or less the same. The office would be absolutely empty except for Rafe and myself. He would leave his door open to tell things to me or ask me to change/cancel appointments and meetings he didn’t have time for or just honestly couldn’t be bothered with. All the lights in the building had been turned off except the desk lamps to conserve energy (Good on him) so it was rather dim. I was playing music on my speaker. A hard rock station on my radio app. I had a gig tonight and I needed to amp myself up and rush through these emails and paperwork. I kept the volume low. Low enough for only myself to hear. My earphones had broken a week ago and I hadn’t had the chance to get new ones yet.

Green Day was playing softly as I worked. My eyes were getting heavy and started to burn a little. I needed to get out of the office soon. I bopped my head to the music until I heard movement and an annoyed sigh from Rafe’s office. I looked up a brief moment and he was looking right at me. Or more like right through me. His neatly trimmed brow raised as he rested his head in his hand. I gasped a little and pushed my hair off of my face nervously.

“If you’re going to play music, turn it up. All I can hear from here is static. Don’t be selfish.” He grumbled before looking back at his work. My eyes widened at his demand. And I was sure Green Day was not on his daily ten playlist. I turned the music up but I definitely got ready to change the station. But he stopped me without even looking at me. “And don’t you dare change this song.” He said. A look of amusement played on my face as I went back to work.

‘What do you know about Green Day, Rafe Adler?’ I thought with a faint chuckle. Another hour passed and I was almost finished with a final email. I looked up a second to check on my boss’s sanity as we’d been listening to punk and hard rock for a while now. The Pixies began playing and the sight in front of me was one I’m sure he would make me swear to secrecy. He was slouched into his chair with a leg crossed over the other; his ankle resting on his knee as he wiggled his foot to the music, tapping his pen on the table rhythmically to the drums. His curved lips just gently mumbled the words to the song. His sleeves were rolled to his forearms and his tie was loosened with a couple of buttons undone. And his hair. A few strands had fallen out of place but for the moment he didn’t seem to mind. It was very rare that I saw him like this. Whenever it happened it was always a nice surprise.

I felt the corner of my lips turn a little as I signed off the email and sat back in relief. Finally. I gathered everything together and stood from my desk to head into Rafe’s office. He seemed to notice my presence from his peripheral and pointed to a spot on his desk that wasn’t covered in paper.

“Leave it there.” He said and I did as I was told.

“I wrote responses to all of your emails and sent them back to you for you to review and send out. All of your appointments and meetings are up to date, dry cleaning should be here in the morning, and….” There was something else and I just couldn’t put my finger on it.

“And… you’ll be here first thing in the morning, cafe latte with extra espresso. I told you I had a meeting with the Drake Brothers.” He added.

“Of course. There’s a meeting in the morning. I completely forgot.” I mumbled.

“I know you did. You always do…” he hummed disapprovingly, rereading a sheet of paper. I hung my head a bit in embarrassment. Not that he saw that.

“Sorry, sir.” I said as my phone vibrated in my pocket. When I looked at the screen, it had been a text from my band mate, Clay. My eyes widened reading the text in all caps.

CLAY: WHERE R U?! WE GO ON AT 11!!

My heart dropped and I checked the black watch on my wrist and groaned. It was 10:15. I had stayed at work longer than intended and now I was late for the show. And I still had to change my clothes and do my makeup. I looked up at Rafe for a moment as he smoothed his hair back into place.

“Is there anything else you need from me tonight, sir?” I asked him. Once again without even looking at me, he waved me off with a grumble. “Alright then. I’ll see you in the morning!”

“At 7:30-”

“7:30?!” I exclaimed in surprise. I was going to be absolutely dog tired. Did he really need me for that? I knew he had a tendency to have me work ridiculously hours but come on! I have a life! I had music to write, songs to record, shows to book….

“Is there a problem?” He asked in a slightly unnerving tone. I chuckled and shook my head.

“No, sir! Not a problem at all.” I lied. “7:30 sharp. I’ll be here.”

“Then that will be all, Ms. Lewis. Goodnight.” He said monotonously.

“Goodnight, sir.” I said softly, scuttling out of the room to grab my things from my desk. I turned the speaker off and just as I turned to leave, I heard him sigh tiredly. Normally, I wasn’t one to care about how my boss was doing but Rafe looked really exhausted. He was swamped with paperwork and his lunch appointment took a little longer just as he suspected. He ended up cutting into his set hours. I kind of felt bad for him. Leaving him alone with all of that. Then I felt my phone buzz in my pocket and it quickly reminded me that I had somewhere to be. I briskly ran towards the elevators so I could leave.

I did everything I could to prepare and get ready for the show. I hopped in my car, a beat up black hatchback, and turned on the car light. Adjusting my rear view mirror on me, I grabbed my makeup and began to put on more and darken it. With that I drove to the venue, hoping and praying I wouldn’t hit any traffic. My phone rang as I drove and it was my band mate again. I answered in an overwhelmed voice.

“I’m coming, Clay!” I said as I weaved in and out of New York traffic like an idiot. He sounded irritated. But so was I. If I hadn’t needed to do so much tonight, I would’ve been there sooner. I hung up the phone as I pulled into the alleyway near the venue and hopped into the backseat to change into something a little more appropriate. A black knitted dress that was as see through as it could get with a high split. Beneath it, a yellow bodysuit and fishnet tights. I exchanged my pink pumps for black stiletto boots and I struggled very hard to get into this look inside the car. The easy part was changing my retainer for my septum hoop. But when I finally got dressed, I grabbed my keys, wallet, and jacket, rolling out of the trunk of the hatchback and beginning to close it like it was no big deal. I went to adjust my hair when I remembered I still was wearing my wig. Quickly I snatched it and the wig cap off, revealing blonde locks with a tinge of pink at the tips, dressed up with silver hair rings and silver beaded charms. The side of my hair was braided back and decorated with tiny silver hair clamps. I shook out my tousled hair and tossed it in the back seat, locking my car. When I felt like I was all set, I pulled my jacket on and walked into the side of the building.

A bouncer stood there, guarding the door. I placed my hands on my hip and looked at him with a thick raised brow as his eyes scanned my body up and down. “Yo, I’m with Floral and Fading.” I told him with a bit of bass in my voice.

“How do I know you’re not just some groupie?” He asked me. To think that I looked like a groupie of my own band was quite hilarious to me. We had a pretty big following but I didn’t think we were that big yet. Not having time nor energy to deal with convincing this guy that I needed to get by him, I scoffed and called Clay. I told him I was at the venue and he came, opening the door next to the bouncer.

“Shit, Lyric! You’re cuttin’ it kinda close, my friend!” My blonde spikey haired friend said with a smile. I looked at the bouncer and he gestured to let me in. I was already walking through the door though. “You look nice!” He shouted to me above the muffled bass, wiggling his brows. He was flirting with me again. It was never anything serious and he did it clearly for jokes. I was used to it after 4 years. He was the first friend I made in New York. We started the band after discovering that we were both musicians. We grabbed a pair of brothers that played guitar and bass, Clay played drums, and I mained vocals. A couple of months later we were playing our first show at this punk club. When word got around, it became every weekend. Underground famous. And still I worked this office job every day. Running myself ragged to keep myself happy and alive.

“How long til we go on?” I asked, shrugging my jacket off.

“5 minutes! Everyone is all tuned up and ready to go, your mic is set up just how you like, and the speakers work today surprisingly! Double checked them myself!” He smiled, parting his pierced lips to give a toothy grin, rubbing his eyes, probably forgetting that he was wearing eyeliner. It only smudged a bit, making his eyes look smokey.

“Well don’t jinx us just yet. There’s still a possibility they could go out mid scream.” I chuckled. He handed me a bottle of water and I began to chug it like no tomorrow as he led me to the band’s waiting room. They were all there. Singing, laughing, smoking, warming up, drinking a beer, just having a great time. Seeing them still be excited to play here after 4 years made me happy and excited for the night’s show. I did a few quick vocal exercises and did my jumping jacks to hype myself up and before I knew it, we were ready to go on.

The club owner went out on stage to introduce us and the crowd yelled rather loudly. I looked back at the band and grinned hard. There was nothing like hearing a happy crowd. I watched them turn the stage lights red. He hyped them up as we amped ourselves and shook the nerves. Sweat was beginning to form on my forehead already but it was fine. I didn’t care. The moment I heard him call Floral and Fading, the band and myself ran up the stairs and onto the rather small stage. I pulled the mic off the stand and addressed the crowd as if I would a familiar friend. I grinned as Clay began counting off beats with the crash cymbals and the band began to play aggressively and skillfully. I moved the rhythm, headbanging and revving the crowd up as they moshed and jumped around. Then I melodically began to deliver words I had sat countless hours writing carefully in order to get my stories and messages across. And the night went on...