Picks & Pens (III)
It’s been 3 years since the last update and I apologize for that. 3 years in which much life happened. I lost my passion for writing and HP, but have gained a little bit again. So, without further ado, here it is.
Chapter Three: The Interview
Warnings: language
Word count: 4,5k
The mirror reflected the image of a very tired young woman.
You washed your face with cold water, a failed attempt to get rid of the tiredness. A cold shower would certainly be more effective, though, and so you started to undress.
It was Wednesday afternoon, but you hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before. You had stayed up late studying the material and preparing your stuff. You didn’t regret it per se, but you reckoned you had made better decisions in the past. Now there were just a few hours left before the interview and you were already feeling sleepy.
Jessie hadn’t been a good influence on you, either. She had texted you almost the entire time, asking questions about it and practically begging you to promise you would share everything with her. Mrs. Lennox had asked you not to, though, so you had to let Jessie down and say no.
You got out of the shower feeling a little refreshed. Maybe you could also brew some coffee before leaving, just to make sure you would be able to maintain your performance standard.
Once you got dressed, you sat down by your desk and decided to go through your material one more time, but before you could even turn on your laptop, you heard a ding from your phone.
- Coffee break? Xx
It was Jessie. You looked at the time and figured you could use a friendly ear to listen to your concerns before the job.
- Sure. Joey’s?
- Can’t it be here? I’m not sure if I want to get out of the building.
- And I’m not sure if I want Mrs. Lennox to see me.
- LOL OKAY
Truly, you weren’t sure if she would see a problem with you out and about just before the interview. It was better not to risk it. Jessie could leave work for half an hour with no issues and that was certain.
Joey’s was your favorite coffee shop in town. You knew all the staff (one high school senior and one college student, both girls), but you had never met Joey, their father. It was a small shop, with few tables and not many clients, but it was cozy, lovely and family-owned, which meant everything tasted like it had been prepared by your mom, if that made sense. It was very different from the franchise coffee shop in the business building, where everything was overpriced. Sam was cool, though.
You met with Jessie and soon she started begging you again to tell her about the job. Once again, you said no.
“I won’t tell anyone, Y/N,” she pouted.
“I know… But you know how Mrs. Lennox is. If she finds out I told anyone, I’ll be doomed.”
Jessie sighed. “Okay. I give up.”
“I need some reassurance, though. How do I look?”
“Oh my God, it is Tom Hardy, isn’t it?”
“Jessie, for the love of God, forget Tom Hardy. It’s not him.”
“I can’t think of anyone else I would be worried about my looks for.”
“Well-I- It’s not- I’m not worried about my looks. I just asked how I look.”
Jessie raised an eyebrow at you. “You look beautiful, Y/N. You are beautiful, you know it. Your hair looks extra cute today, though. What’d you do?”
“Hate on it.”
“Sounds legit,” she raised her cup of coffee to take a sip, but stopped mid-air, her eyes going wide.
“What?” you frowned, looking behind you. There was nothing there.
“It’s Sirius…”
You looked back at her.
“…isn’t it?” she looked intensely at you.
You opened and closed your mouth a couple of times before trying to change the subject.
“Oh my God, it’s Sirius Black you’re interviewing tonight,” Jessie said excitedly and you quickly shushed her. “That’s why you couldn’t sleep and that’s why you’re so worried about your hair and that is why Mrs. Lennox wants discretion.”
“Okay, first of all, I could’ve gone to bed early if I wanted to. Second of all, I’m not worried about my hair. But, yes, you’re right about the last one.”
“Ohhh, this is so exciting! You haven’t seen each other in years, have you? What is it for? Can’t be January, it’s too- Oh! Valentine’s Day! Y/N… this is major!”
You let her freak out for a little bit before interrupting. “Congratulations, you’ve figured it all out. Now, please, be quiet and don’t tell anyone.”
Jessie pretended to lock her lips and throw out the key. “But tell me, how are you feeling?”
“Honestly? A little nervous.”
“You should be! He’s so fucking hot. Who even is Tom Hardy?”
“Thanks.”
“Sorry. I’ll be more serious now,” she sat straighter. “I know we never really talked about… him. You don’t like to do so and I respect it. I’ll be all ears right now if you want to vent, though. And then if you don’t ever want to talk about it again, I’ll never bring it up.”
You melted a little bit with Jessie’s small speech and reached for her hand, squeezing it slightly.
“Thank you. I do want to vent. I was planning to without revealing too much, but I don’t even know how it would’ve worked out.”
“I’ll pretend I can’t speak English now. Say whatever you want.”
You inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, realizing your chest had been tight all day.
“The location… is what is making me specially nervous. It’s a house. A small house he bought way back. Today he uses it as a personal studio, but it actually… was our home.”
Jessie seemed legitimately surprised, but, as promised, she did not interrupt.
“He used to live in a friend’s house when we were in high school. It’s very public that he has no contact with his family, I’m sure you know. Anyway, when we graduated, we had already been together for about two years, and since he wanted to move out of this friend’s house, we decided to move in together. I went to college and got a minimum-wage job, while he kept working on his music, so the rent we could afford was a very small apartment. Things were a little tough money-wise in the beginning, but then he met a manager. He didn’t get signed right away, it actually took a while, but he was making more money with shows and soon we could afford to get out of that small apartment and upgrade to a small house,” you chuckled. “Still rented, but it was all ours and he could make as much noise as he wanted with no neighbors complaining. It was like that until he got signed. That’s when everything changed. He released a full album, his first, and money started coming in faster. He went on his first tour and more money came. Not long after, he released a second album. By this time, I graduated and got a better job. Then, after his second tour, he bought the house. That small house we had been renting for three years. I remember going crazy on him after he told me the ‘surprise’. I said we should’ve been saving money for a bigger one that both of us would pay for. He told me not to worry and that he didn’t want a bigger one. He said he didn’t want us to change lifestyles that quick because he didn’t want to ‘get used to it’. He genuinely thought he wouldn’t go far. I thought it was stupid at the time, but… I actually loved that house. And hey, it was his money.”
You stopped and bit your lower lip.
Jessie was still watching you, listening to you, and didn’t say a word.
“The rest is history, I guess. He exploded with his third album, when he changed his style a bit, and then we broke up.” You downed your second espresso and waited for Jessie to process everything.
She took a few seconds before breaking her silence. “Do you… um… mind if I ask why you two broke up?”
“Conflicting schedules. He got too busy.”
Now, that wasn’t exactly a lie, but it also wasn’t the entire truth. Jessie would probably guess, though, because she was part of the press too and she knew that was the number one excuse for a break up that celebrities used when they didn’t want to go into details.
“I see…” she nodded.
“So yeah, I’ll be stepping in that house for the first time in seven years. I don’t know what to expect, but I feel I won’t be too happy. It’s probably so different…”
“I’m sure you’ll be just fine. You’re one of the best journalists I’ve ever met and I know you’ll interview the hell out of him.”
You allowed yourself to laugh a little, despite the nervousness. “Thank you, Jessie.”
“You’re welcome, babe,” she squeezed your hand. “Well, I gotta go back to work. Good luck out there and text me if you need me.”
“I will. Thanks again.”
And with that, she left you alone with your racing thoughts.
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