#charlie hides | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

artificialqueens · 2 years

Text

Galactica, Chapter 100 (Group Fic) - TheDane/Veronica

A/N: Click here if you’re looking for previous chapters (or here if you’d rather read on AO3). Hello everyone! This is chapter 100. 1-0-0! That's absolutely insane, and we're so thankful you as a reader is still here. Thank you for reading along, and for enjoying the story Veronica and I have written. We hope you'll continue to love reading it as much as we love writing it. 💫

Previously: Raven ran her mouth about how much she hates Courtney—at a Marie Claire photo shoot where Bianca happened to overhear the worst of it.

This Chapter: Bianca makes good on her threat. Shit hits the fan. The usual.

***

“Get off. My set.” Bianca’s voice was low, probably would have been very scary and intimidating to anyone else.

But Raven wasn’t some fresh-faced ingenue, and the idea of actually being kicked off a set was laughable. Especially considering that Courtney was still well out of earshot, chattering with her model friend on the other side of the studio. “Very funny, Bibi.”

“Do I look like I’m kidding?” she turned to the tiny PA from earlier, saying. “Go get her things. Now.”

The girl took a few steps backward, then turned and practically ran towards the greenroom.

“Look, if it bothers you that much, I’ll stop talking about your precious little darling. Didn’t think you were so thin-skinned, or one for censorship, but…”

Bianca narrowed her eyes, walked away a few paces, and whipped out her phone.

“What are you doing?” Raven asked. Amy had stepped back, and the hair person had also stopped working. Raven looked at both of them crossly, ordering, “Well, keep going.”

Amy swallowed, frozen, and Raven let out a scoff of disbelief. Did they actually think Bianca was serious?

“Hi, Jonathan, it’s Bianca,” Bianca said into the phone. “We’re in the middle of the makeup editorial and I just had to fire someone. Can you have another girl here within 40 minutes? The brunette we considered, with the- Yes, exactly. Wonderful.”

Raven groaned, an unsettled feeling growing in her stomach, but she refused to believe this was anything other than Bianca being dramatic. Regardless, it was getting embarrassing. Alyssa Edwards had caught wind of the situation and now seemed to be watching it all unfold while sipping her Red Bull.

“Bianca, stop it. I’m sorry I insulted your little bimbo, alright? But-”

Bianca let out an incredulous noise, turning on her heel, towards the PA who hurried over, her arms full of Raven’s coat and weekender bag, the items making her seem even smaller.

“Thank you, Emily. Can you please make sure that Ms. Petruschin gets into a town car safely?”

“Um…” the girl nodded, terrified.

“Bianca!” Raven snapped, now thoroughly irritated. “This is my career!”

Bianca turned slowly and stepped back up to Raven, her voice still low, and said, “If I were you, I would leave now, quietly, without saying another fucking word.”

Raven’s stomach dropped, realizing how real this situation was, how utterly humiliating. She stood up, carefully avoiding the many pairs of eyes on her, took her coat and bag, and stormed from the studio.

“What was that?!” Tati exclaimed, as she and Courtney watched Raven marching from the room.

“I…I don’t know,” Courtney answered.

Bianca was in a huddle with Alaska, Alyssa and the photographer, and most of the crew looked a little shell-shocked, moving at about half the speed they were before. The models, especially Tati’s roommates, looked terrified. What had happened?

“I’m gonna go find out! But you…you look so great, and I know your meeting is gonna be awesome.” Tati leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

“You too! Break a leg today, you look incredible!” Courtney exclaimed.

“Look at us, living the dream!” Tati giggled, and Courtney squeezed her hands, letting out a little squeal. “Bye, babe, knock ‘em dead.”

“Thanks.” Courtney let go of Tati’s hands and then cautiously approached the monitor where Bianca stood. She hung back, not wanting to interrupt.

“As long as you’re taking the heat,” Alyssa was saying, “Since I value my job.”

“Of course I will,” Bianca replied. “Don’t worry about that.”

“Well, we’re gonna worry. That’s Raja’s fiancée!” Alaska said, brow furrowed. “Not to mention that she’s been the face of the company for so many-”

“I know, I know,” Bianca said. “Look, guys, I promise that they won’t blame either one of you, okay? This is a Marie Claire shoot, it was my call. And we’ll have another girl here soon. Are you good to start with some of the smaller set-ups first?” Bianca asked, turning to the photographer.

“Yes ma’am,” he replied. “Schedule is fine, as far as I’m concerned.”

“Well, okay then!” Bianca slapped her hands together. “Let’s just all move on, okay? Pretend this shit never happened.”

Alyssa nodded. “But…who’s gonna tell-”

“I’ll go call Sutan, okay? Let him break the news to Raja.”

“You’re evil!” Alaska exclaimed.

“No, she’s smart. He’s the one person Raja won’t kill,” Alyssa said.

“Exactly.” Bianca winked and then broke away from the group, her grin growing when she saw Courtney. “Hi, angel. Did you get a chance to talk to Tatianna?”

“Um, yeah. What was that all about, though? Did you-”

“Don’t worry about it.” Bianca pressed a kiss to her upturned cheek. “Come on, let’s grab a cup of coffee before you have to go.”

“Okay, but did it-”

“She was being a cunt. End of story. I know it might be hard to imagine, but…”

Courtney let out a dry chuckle as Bianca rolled her eyes.

“But it’s over now,” Bianca continued.

Courtney still had questions, but it seemed like it would be better to put everything out of her mind, at least until her meeting was over.

“Okay.”

***

Raven practically slammed Sutan’s door open, her ears ringing as she stormed into his office.

“Sutan!” The entire ride over, Raven’s stomach had been a volcano about to erupt, anger whirling around her body, “We are NOT going to take-”

She was cut off as Sutan held up a hand, Raven noticing for the first time that he was on the phone, holding it between his shoulder and ear. He was only half visible, sitting on the fire escape, a lit cigarette in his other hand.

“And then what? No, no Gigi, I promise you’re not in trouble. Thank you for telling me…Yes. Yes. Good…Yes we can talk tomorrow…Thanks again. You did exactly what you were supposed to today…Right. Goodbye.” Sutan hung up, putting out his cigarette and stuffing his phone in his pocket as he crawled back in through the window. “Fuck, Raven, I swear to god-”

"Tan, I wasn't doing anything wrong!” Raven dumped her handbag on Sutan’s desk, “Just chatting about her prosti-tot girlfriend-"

"I’m going to stop you right there,” Sutan crossed his arms, an exasperated sigh leaving him. “What exactly did you think I meant when I explicitly told you to be on your best behavior today?"

"But she was wearing sequins in the daytime-"

"I don't give a fuck what she was wearing!” he bellowed. “This isn't about her!”

Raven shrank, Sutan never ever raising his voice, especially not at her. Raven knew she was whining, she just couldn’t help it. Sure, Sutan had told her not to rock the boat, but everything was so extremely unfair.

“This is about the fact that Bianca was your boss today, and you pissed her off, and that's totally unacceptable!"

“Sutan, this whole thing is ridiculous, you need to-”

“I need to?” Sutan cut her off, his eyes narrowed, his tone icy cold. “Oh no. You’re the one who needs to. Sit down,” He snapped, pointing at a chair, “right now, so I can explain the very basics of how a modeling agency works, because you, my dear, have obviously forgotten.”

“But-” Raven swallowed, only just realizing that she had sat down when Sutan had told her to, her body acting on its own. “You can’t take her side over mine!”

“Her side? Your side? I don’t care about your petty argument,” Sutan sat down at the edge of his desk, his legs practically touching Raven’s knees, the man towering over her. “I’m taking my side, I’m taking Elite’s side. You know why?”

Raven didn’t do anything, couldn’t do anything, a lump in her throat.

“Because that side is the people who employ you, who get you work, who make sure both of us have an income. Do you know how big of a commission you lost Elite today? ”

“Bianca should still pay-” Raven protested, hurt and anger crashing together in her chest, not a trace of her friend or even her soon to be brother-in-law in front of her, Sutan a company man through and through.

“She’s not going to, and I’m not going to fight her. This is Marie Claire we’re talking about Raven, one of the biggest magazines in America, and in the world. Do you have any idea how much money they spend on Elite girls a year? The only reason we’re not in unfathomable shit right now, is that Bianca thankfully has enough respect for me,” Sutan tapped his own chest, “not to run her mouth.”

“This isn’t fair-”

“Fair? You think this is about fair? You’re not a child, hell you’re not even a teen. You’re turning 29 in a few months, which means you’re almost 30. Do you know why anyone books models pushing 30?”

Raven pressed her lips together as Sutan continued to rant at her.

“Let me tell you. It’s because of recognition,” Sutan counted on his fingers, “reputation, a good work relationship, respect, professionalism, and what you did today was beyond unprofessional. I don’t care how you feel about Courtney, I don’t care what goes on in your personal life! When you’re at work, you’re at work, and if word about this behavior gets out, I’d say you can wave goodbye to editorial work and especially to commercial work.”

Raven swallowed, her stomach hurting. What Sutan was saying couldn’t be true, though he never lied to her.

“Do you know what happens if work dries up?”

“Yes,” Raven felt like a child, felt like she was lower than low.

“If this ever, and I mean ever, happens again, you’re done.”

“What?” Raven’s eyes widened. “You can’t say that, I still have a great-”

“A great what? Reputation? Work record? You have a fair record Raven. You’re petulant, you’re moody and you’re spoiled, hell, I’ve spoiled you.” Sutan sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Usually, it’s not a problem, because you’re also a good fucking model who knows her shit and delivers results, but you’re not a kid anymore. If I wanted to, I could find someone younger, easier and cheaper to take any spot you have in five minutes. Just like Jonathan did. The girl he sent to replace you? Barely 20 years old. Do you understand that? You’re replaceable.”

“Yes,” Raven swallowed, holding back tears.

“Modeling,” Sutan explained, his voice taking on a patronizing tone as his initial anger faded, “is not like other professions. Your value doesn’t increase with age and experience. You hit a peak, and then it’s downhill. Do you think you’ve hit that peak?”

“I…I don’t know.”

“I guess we’ll see. But if I were you,” Sutan stood up, walking around his desk. “I’d spend some serious time considering my next career move.”

“What?” Raven felt her jaw drop, her eyes betraying her as she felt tears run down her cheeks, destroying her makeup.

“I’ll talk to Bianca again. Make sure she’s holding tight.” Sutan sat down at his desk, sighing heavily. “You can go, I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Right.” Raven got up, all the fire completely gone.

“Oh, and Raven?”

“Mmh?” Raven turned around, to see Sutan holding her bag out to her, two fingers on the strap.

“Don’t start another handbag line. There’s enough of those already.”

***

“Miss Fame’s office,” Nicky announced, clicking on her headset.

“Yeah. Hi. Is Raja there? Ivy said she’s there,” said a man.

“Who’s calling?”

“Sutan. Sutan Amrull. I need to talk to her.”

Nicky knew that Sutan was on the approved list, but Miss Fame had been very clear about having zero interruptions during their meeting, as they finalized the running order for next week’s show.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Amrull, but Raja is with Miss Fame in a closed-door meeting. I can-“ Nicky’s voice was cut off as Violet snatched up the receiver on her own desk, gesturing aggressively for her to hang up.

Nicky stifled her slightly annoyed sigh as she clicked off her headset. For the most part, she was feeling quite confident in her new job, but despite the binders and binders of information she’d basically memorized, there were still always a few mysterious things that Violet refused to fill her in on—sometimes out of what seemed like a misguided need to protect her. Other times it was just because she was a vault, ‘none of your business’ apparently one of Violet’s mottos in life.

Nicky supposed that once Violet returned to design, she’d learn these things on her own.

She watched Violet curiously, trying to glean what little she could from her end of the conversation.

“Sutan? Yes. Yes it’s me. What’s wrong?” Violet asked, and Nicky cocked her head, unable to hide her surprise.

One thing she’d learned very quickly was how incredibly formal Violet was—a lot of “yes ma’am” and “no sir,” and addressing everyone as Mr. So and So or Ms. Whatever. At Tory Burch, she’d been instructed to call everyone by their first names unless requested otherwise, but at Galactica, or specifically Miss Fame’s office, it seemed that business formal was the law of the land. So hearing Violet speak so casually, her tone so familiar, with this senior agent from Elite, was very strange indeed.

“They’re in a meeting, but-” Violet had switched to her own headset and was now pacing around the office. “If you’re aware, then why-” Violet bit her lip, stopping in her tracks. “Shit.”

Nicky’s eyes widened. What on earth was going on today?

Violet looked at Miss Fame’s closed door. “Yeah. Yeah. I can interrupt, but- Okay. Just make sure I look pretty at the funeral,” she said, ending the call with a dry, joyless chuckle, adding, “I will.”

She put the line on hold and then pulled off her headset, taking a deep breath.

“Violet, what-” Nicky stopped talking immediately when Violet flashed her a dangerous look, pressing her lips together.

Violet turned back to the door, swallowed, and then stepped up to knock.

“I guess I’m just not sure if I enjoy this,” Fame sighed, leaning back on the couch, resting her head on her hand, her elbow digging into the armrest. The printed photo in her hands was one of many from the styling session Raja had all day yesterday at the showroom. She dropped it in her lap with a sigh.

They had decided to pull them out to take a break from finalizing the model placements, but it hadn’t been the mood lifter Fame had hoped for.

“The way they’re using the belt, it’s-“

“Fame,” Raja cut her off gently. They had been at it for a while, the other woman right next to her on the couch. She was wearing a blue suit, her hair in a high braid, golden bangles on her wrists. “You have to accept that celebrities have their own style.”

“These aren’t celebrities,” Fame grumbled. She knew Raja had done an amazing job, working with a curated selection of influencers, models and other industry people to make sure that the Galactica brand would be well represented on the street style level too. “All I’m saying is-“

Fame was cut off, as a succession of quick knocks hit the door, Violet not even giving her time to respond before she had opened it and stepped inside Fame’s office.

“Violet!” Fame huffed. “What on earth are you doing? You know better than to interrupt-“

“I have Sutan on Line 1-” Violet gestured to the guest phone, the yellow light blinking, but Fame barely gave it a glance before turning back to Violet, annoyed.

“Well, tell him I’ll call back when I’m finished,” Fame snapped, wondering why, after all this time, she needed to give Violet a lecture on boundaries. A “closed-door meeting” meant a closed-door meeting, even if she was dating the man who had called.

“He’s on for Raja.”

“What?” Raja sat up straight, her eyes widening, and Fame’s annoyance immediately disappeared. Raja dove into her bag, pulling it up from underneath the table and rummaging around for her cell. When she pulled it out, Fame’s heart sank as she saw several missed calls from Sutan.

“Fuck!” Raja shot off the couch, nearly knocking into the coffee table to snatch up the receiver from the guest phone, Fame’s heart in her throat. The last time Sutan had been this insistent in reaching his sister right away, their mom had suffered a heat stroke while playing badminton at her local club.

The twins tried to play it off, tried to pretend that they were okay, but their father’s death had left open wounds in both of them, Raja still clearly blaming herself for the fact that they had been abroad when he collapsed the first time.

Raja pressed the phone to her ear, instantly launching off in Indonesian, Fame barely even noticing how Violet had already left the office and shut the door behind her, giving them the illusion of privacy.

“Is everything-“ Fame was on the edge of her seat, but Raja simply held her hand up, looking so much like her brother as she listened to him on the phone, her eyes closed.

Fame saw it happen, Raja’s shoulder sagging, a huge sigh of relief leaving her as she turned to Fame. “She’s okay.”

“Oh thank god,” Fame put her hands together in a praying position, thanking the universe that Murni was okay. “Then why-”

“Right,” Raja returned to the phone, and switched back to Indonesian, Fame biting back a smile as she caught words like ‘fuck,’ Raja clearly annoyed with her brother. Fame had almost turned her attention back to the photos, when she heard Raven’s name mentioned, Raja’s eyes widening. “Bianca what?!”

“What?” Fame sat up straight, even contemplating getting up from the couch. “Raja, what-”

“That fucking cow!” Raja groaned, rubbing a hand over her face. “I’m gonna-fine, what? Tell me exactly what happened!” Raja was practically making a hole in the carpet, walking in a tight circle, and Fame had to sit on her hands, watching her friend’s face as she talked to her brother, Raja switching between anger, annoyance, and even embarrassment for a brief second, something almost like sorrow settling on her features.

Fame heard her name, and she couldn’t take it anymore.

“Raja-” Fame got up, walking over. She never usually minded when the twins flip flopped between Indonesian and English, but right now it was setting her nerves on fire. “Please-”

“Yes, yes, yes, I love you too.” Raja hung up, a deep sigh leaving her.

Fame reached out, tugging on Raja’s elbow, her fingers digging into the material of her suit. “What happened?”

“Bianca fired Raven today, from the makeup editorial.”

“What?!”

“Yeah. Apparently she overheard Raven talking some shit about Courtney.”

Fame opened her mouth, her head shaking in disbelief, before saying, “So once again, she’s prioritizing that little bimbo over us. All of us.” She couldn’t believe how close she’d been to caving, to reaching out, after talking to Juju. Well, not after this.

“Seems that way, yeah,” Raja sighed.

“What are you gonna do? Or say? I assume something, right?”

“Well…Tan made me promise not to.”

“Why?! He’s not taking her side, is he? Because-”

“No no no no, nothing like that. He’s just being pragmatic, you know.” Raja rolled her eyes. “Elite gets a lot of business from Marie Claire, blah blah blah.”

“Right.” Fame folded her hands, muttering, “What a bitch.”

“Tell me about it!” Raja grumbled.

***

“Alright, so,” Latrice put her latte down at the little cafe table and sat down, Courtney perching on a chair across from her with a green smoothie that looked absolutely horrible, but maybe explained why she was about 4 pounds soaking wet. “I think that went well. How do you feel?”

Courtney gazed at her with that heart-eyed expression that she’d seen in too many young performers over the years, who were sadly unused to having someone in their corner, advocating for them.

“You’re amazing,” she breathed.

“I know, I know,” Latrice said with a laugh.

“Um…” Courtney bit her lip, clearing her throat. She picked off a tiny piece of muffin, but then dropped it to the plate instead of eating it.

“Are you alright? What’s on your mind?” Latrice asked. She was an intuitive person, but even a complete idiot would be able to see that Courtney was worried about something.

“It’s just that…I think…I mean, do you think you’d be willing to work with me long term?” she asked softly.

They’d made an agreement when they first spoke, that Latrice would negotiate Courtney’s contract with Island Records for a flat fee. She already had a pretty full roster, and didn’t like to offer anything she couldn’t deliver at 110%. More importantly, she didn’t know anything about Courtney’s potential. She’d heard a few snippets from her demo, but she’d never seen her on stage.

On the other hand, she’d been extremely impressed with what she had seen. The kid was obviously smart—the questions she asked about her contract had been insightful and savvy (especially considering her lack of experience), and Olivia had only good things to say about her.

Plus, from a purely cynical business perspective…her face alone could take her pretty far, even if she ended up being a lost cause in the recording world.

“Well…I’ve never seen you perform,” Latrice told her, “So that makes it a little hard to commit to developing your career-”

“Right, of course,” Courtney said, blush creeping into her cheeks. “I’m sorry for putting you on the spot, I just-”

“But,” she continued, and Courtney’s mouth immediately snapped closed. “I do like you, which is half the battle. So why don’t you tell me more about what you want to do. What are your professional goals? In a perfect world, what would your career look like?”

“Well…” Courtney took a deep breath, a dreamy smile on her face, “Recording this album is a dream come true. I’d really like to become a true pop star, you know? Like, full tours with dancers and sets and true production value. But I also think it would be great to act, like Broadway or even on screen, like it would be so fun to work in Hollywood. And maybe writing or producing my own material? Or directing? I think I’d be good at doing interviews too, kind of like Oprah-esque, and I love the way her career looks, with the whole book club thing, I would love something like that. Also I definitely want to stand up for social justice issues, so I want to make sure my career has an activism side, and that I’m involved in philanthropy-”

“Alright, alright,” Latrice cut her off with a chuckle. “You want to do everything. I get it. Good thing you’re young.”

Courtney giggled, offering a cute little shrug. “You said a perfect world.”

“I did, that’s true. Glad you have such a big imagination.” Latrice smiled. “Listen, I may not be ready to turn you into the next Lady Gaga slash Barbra Streisand slash Oprah slash Angelina Jolie just yet, but-”

Courtney lowered her eyes slightly, the pink in her cheeks brightening.

“But what would you say to a trial period? Let’s say, six months? And after that, we can re-evaluate and decide if it makes sense to continue working together?”

“Yes!” she cried, nearly jumping out of her chair. “Or…I mean, yes. Thanks.”

“Alright then.” Latrice reached across the table, taking her hand and giving it a firm shake. “Welcome to the LRI family.”

“Thank you so much,” Courtney said, beaming.

“Just out of curiosity,” Latrice asked, “have you ever considered reality television?”

Courtney shook her head slowly. “No, not really. But…I’m open to anything!”

***

Bianca sighed. It had been a long-ass fucking day. She was still pretty pissed at Raven, and only grateful that Courtney hadn’t heard her nasty rant. At the same time, she had an ache in the pit of her stomach, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to protect Courtney forever.

Now, the shoot had finally wrapped, and it seemed that, in spite of all the drama, the whole team was happy with the results. She looked through a pile of promo items that Joslyn had laid out on her coffee table, seeing if there was anything that she could bring home to Courtney. She selected a set of Swarovski tennis bracelets, a pair of Gucci cat-eye sunglasses, cute Givenchy ankle boots, some Morphe eyeshadow palettes filled with bright, glittery colors and a set of matching pink brushes.

She was picking up a little Valentino clutch bag in soft aqua leather, trying to decide if she should give it to Courtney straightaway, or first keep it to pair with one of her own Fashion Week looks, when the intercom buzzed.

“Charlie Hides for you,” Joslyn chirped, and Bianca turned to pick up her phone.

“Hi Char, how are you?”

Charlie skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point as usual—one of the things Bianca had always liked the most about her. “Are you aware that your girlfriend’s manager is negotiating against you?”

“What do you mean?” Bianca asked, examining her nails, noting that she needed to squeeze in a manicure before Monday.

“She’s just asked us to double the marketing budget,” Charlie explained.

“Oh. Well…was the marketing budget too low?” Bianca asked.

“I mean, it was…on the lower side of standard,” Charlie said.

Bianca smirked to herself. Good for her, and lucky that she had Latrice in her corner now to catch this stuff. “Sounds like she’s making the right demands to me. Give her what she wants.”

“Uh…okay, boss. Whatever you say. We’ll send a new budget by tomorrow morning.”

“Fabulous, thanks.” Bianca put the purse with the other items she was bringing home for Courtney. She didn’t need it—and besides, this color would bring out her eyes.

***

“I’m honestly so, so glad that Tati didn’t hear Raven talking shit,” Symone said, sorting through her huge mound of laundry to find the last of the dark colors. “She’s so ride or die, she probably would have tried to fight her!”

“Omigod!” Gigi’s eyes widened, her breath catching in her throat and she pulled out the whites. “You really think so?”

“Totally!” Symone tossed the armful of clothes she’d gathered into the machine with Gigi’s and began to load in the quarters. “Would you have backed her up?”

“Me? Never!” Being in the room during the fight between Raven and Bianca had been absolutely horrible, the entire thing so uncomfortable and cringe. “I was practically under my chair as it was! Sutan calling me was more than enough drama.”

Gigi’s heart had nearly fallen out her butt when she saw Sutan’s name light up on her screen, but thankfully her agent only wanted Gigi to go through what had happened from her perspective. Gigi had told the truth, hadn’t dared to do anything else, but she had felt bad for Raven.

Raven was one of those models that had always been around, that Gigi had seen in magazines and on runways her entire life. She had been so excited to work with her, Raven even prettier in real life, and she had been working up the courage to go say hi, since they were now under the same management and all, when hell had broken loose on set.

“Me too.” Symone laughed, the sound like a soothing balm on her anxious soul. She returned to the table, quickly pulling the whites out, adding them to Gigi’s pile. Gigi hesitated, frowning when she came to a navy and white striped top.

“What do we do about stripes?” Gigi asked, brow furrowed with concern.

“No idea,” Symone giggled, tossing a huge armful of whites into the machine before adding the soap, spilling a little on the floor in the process. “Oops.”

“Shit,” Gigi said. The two of them had discovered only recently that neither of them knew how to do laundry, the piles of dirty clothes in their closet getting dangerously high. But Gigi was tired of shame-buying new underwear, so she was determined to figure it out.

“Do you want to call your mom one more time?”

“Maybe…” Gigi chewed her lip. It had felt childish to FaceTime her mom to ask questions about laundry, but Bimini was no help, since she sent everything to fluff and fold. And she was too embarrassed to ask Tati after her cluelessness in the kitchen, barely able to chop parsley without explicit instructions. Besides that, Gigi wanted to prove herself, had to prove that she wasn’t just some confused kid. “Nah. We can figure it out. We’re grownups.”

“Oh?” Symone inserted the last of the quarters and turned on the machine, a smirk playing on her lips. “You’re all grown?”

“Mmhmm,” Gigi replied, a blush rising to her cheeks at the way Symone’s dark eyes stayed locked on hers.

Symone had been so patient…infinitely patient with her so far, but she knew that her girlfriend wanted more, and was overcome with a sudden urge to please her. She moved forward, hooking her fingers into Symone’s belt loops, leaning close enough to smell cocoa butter and Marc Jacobs Daisy perfume, the dizzying combination setting off the butterflies in the abdomen

Symone lifted one of her hands to Gigi’s cheek, touching her softly. “You’re so beautiful,” she murmured.

Gigi said nothing, simply pressed a kiss to her lips, letting herself relax into it as it deepened, as Symone’s arms tightened around her shoulders.

It was nice, actually. More than nice. For a few moments, Gigi forgot why she’d been so anxious about this in the first place. But then, Symone took a step forward, pressing her against the washer, and she let out a gasp.

“Are you okay?” Symone asked, stopping immediately.

“Yeah, I just…the machine…it’s…”

“You don’t like it?” Symone asked.

“Well…I didn’t say that,” Gigi admitted. The machine was warm, and Gigi could feel the vibrating movement of it resonating through her body.

Symone laughed, brushing a light kiss against her cheek, and Gigi pulled her closer.

“I mean, I don’t not like it,” Gigi added.

“Well, in that case,” Symone teased, pressing her harder against the vibrating machine and going in for another kiss.

Gigi went with it, her heart hammering in her chest, knowing that they were still basically in a public space, so things couldn’t go too far. She hummed, pulling Symone even closer, trying her best to enjoy the feeling of her gorgeous girlfriend against her.

***

“Sutan?”

Sutan looked up from his desk, and over at Violet who was standing at the door. He never really used his home office, but this whole thing with Raven had moved straight into shitville territory, which meant he needed his entire desk for damage control.

Tamisha had torn him a new one—she’d already been annoyed about Raven refusing to do swimwear and Sutan not making as much money on her as he could, the men’s magazines often their most lucrative clients, so this had apparently been the last straw.

She had chewed him up and spit him out, promising that she’d personally make sure he’d be punished accordingly if they lost Marie Claire.

It was never a good time when the CEO of the company came to yell at you, but at least it had been Tamisha herself, Sutan too senior and valuable for anyone else to tear him into shreds.

They wouldn’t lose Marie Claire, Sutan almost done with his damage control. He had sent Bianca a bottle of her favorite wine to her office as well as her home, and while he hadn’t been able to go over her head, he had reaffirmed Elite’s position with every influential staff member he could, his March calendar stuffed to the brim with cocktail appointments, lunches and coffee dates that he was already dreading.

“Yes, lovely eyes?” Sutan tried to force a smile on his lips, but he was honestly just tired, his back aching from being bent over his computer, his eyes burning behind his glasses.

He still had work left to do, the necessity of his New York Fashion Week schedule being exactly right suddenly extremely important. He needed to shake hands and be seen, preferably photographed, with the correct people, getting that done before rumors that he couldn’t control his girls spread essential to the future of his career.

“I just, I know you’re busy, but-” Violet took a step forward, Sutan only now noticing that she was holding a plate, a piece of chocolate cake on it, a raspberry delicately placed on it in a drop of ganache. “I thought, if you’re staying up-”

“Did you get me dessert?”

He had heard Violet tell him she was going for a walk during dinner, but he had been so preoccupied with his own thoughts that he hadn’t really registered it.

He suddenly felt bad, only now realizing how much he had ignored Violet that evening. She had texted and asked if he’d like to be alone after he had talked to Raja, but he had told her to come over, the knowledge that he’d get to climb into bed and hold her tight at the end of his shit show day beyond comforting.

“Mmh,” Violet nodded, putting the cake down on his desk. “I know you love chocolate. I wasn’t sure if I could use your machine correctly, so there’s no coffee, but-”

“Violet,” Sutan reached out, putting his arms around Violet’s waist, and pulling her down into his lap, squeezing her tight. “Thank you.” He pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Truly.”

***

“Wait, how have you never seen Golden Girls?!” Alaska cried, sitting up in bed. After the drama that morning, not to mention the actual shoot that had taken all day, she was in need of an extremely lazy night in. She’d invited Adore over on a whim, who’d arrived with two pizzas and a pack of Coronas. Now, they were relaxing in bed, chatting, while Alaska aimlessly flipped through the TV. As tired as she was, Alaska was happy to have Adore there—she was a breath of fresh air after such a stressful work day.

“Well…I think I’ve probably seen it. I’ve just never watched it,” Adore explained.

“But why? It’s so good! Like honestly one of the best shows of all time.”

“I’m 24,” Adore offered with a grin. “Where would I have seen it, TV Land?”

Alaska flopped back down onto the pillows with a dramatic groan. “You know, I didn’t think our age difference was gonna be a problem, but now I might-”

She cut herself off with a shallow gasp as Adore’s fingers traveled up her thigh.

“What were you saying?” Adore murmured, hot breath tickling her neck.

“I was…I don’t…I don’t remember…” Alaska said, biting back a whimper as a thumb grazed her clit.

“So…you wanna keep talking about sitcoms and generation gaps, or…?”

Alaska shook her head vigorously.

“Because I really kind of wanted to eat your pussy,” Adore continued, voice light and lilting. “But if you’ve got other things on your mind-”

“Adore-” Alaska choked out, grabbing a fistful of her hair as her head moved downwards. “Please…”

“Mmm?”

“Don’t stop…” she breathed, eyes fluttering closed.

“Mmmhmm…”

Alaska moaned, body arching up into the heat of her mouth. “Fuck!”

“What a good girl you are…” Adore cooed. “So wet and delicious…”

All Alaska could manage to that was a strangled whimper, her fists grasping Adore’s hair tighter, eyes rolling back.

Yes—this was exactly the right way to end such a stressful day.

11 notes · View notes

weherzit · 3 months

Text

#Charlie hides #Cher #impersonation #drag queen #weheartit #weherzit

0 notes

whatthefuxkkk · 16 days

Text

AU where everything is the same except Alastor and Lucifer are buddies

#they are both. so old and cringe #Lucifer is just better at hiding it #i was gonna draw this originally but then i got insecure so have a shittily edited png comic thing #i am not an artist as you can tell #why are they speaking in comic sans? idk #hazbin hotel #hazbin alastor #alastor hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel alastor #hazbin hotel lucifer #lucifer morningstar #hazbin lucifer #lucifer magne #where did the name magne come from anyway.. i hope im not tagging a different media's lucifer lmaoo #seen people tag it as lucifer from the Lucifer TV series without knowing what it was 😭😭#charlie hazbin hotel #charlie morningstar #hazbin charlie #hazbin hotel charlie #lucifer hazbin hotel #forgot that one #erm gonna tag this as radioapple but like. it's not meant to be a ship #could be interpreted that way tho so whatever #radioapple #platonic radioapple #queerplatonic radioapple #qpr radioapple #yeah i fw qpr radioapple as long as it's not just used as an excuse to ship them #that's about it #comment like subscribe 🔥💯

840 notes · View notes

joyerisjoy · 3 months

Text

Okay, one last one

#charlie morningstar #hazbin charlie #hazbin hotel au #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel fanart #helluva boss #hazbin vaggie #vaggie #hazbin hotel lute #lute #hazbin lute #chaggie #charlotte morningstar #verbalase #hide away #helluva fanart

486 notes · View notes

cacaocheri · 4 months

Text

some of my favorite doodles in a magma with @karoochui ‼️‼️‼️ we are so so normal about the dca you guys please trust

#LANDMINE BLAST 💥💥💥💥#also yeah im not posting the bald pic #mika and i discovered last night that tumblr was hiding my post bc they didnt like the baldness #we thought it was fucking hilarious #sun fnaf #fnaf sun #my art #other's art #moon fnaf #fnaf moon #charlie daydreamers #binary resurgence #sundrop #moondrop #security breach #sun x y/n #dca fandom #the daycare attendant

696 notes · View notes

kyemna · 2 months

Text

Predatory Instincts

---------------------------------------------------

(i apologize for any possible grammer mistakes)

Tw: blood, chasing (not scary though)

------------------------------------

[Hide and seek]

The rules of the game were:

The hiders will get a 5 minute headstart.

Your only found if the seeker touches you, so run if you can.

Your not allowed to hide outside of the Hotel.

No locking doors of any kind.

Only the seeker is allowed to use magic powers.

The seeker has 1 hour to find everyone. If the time runs out and the seeker hasn't found you.

You win.

The players were:

Angel dust

Charlie

Vaggie

Husk

Nifty

Alastor and you.

You wrote all of the rules down on a piece of paper passed it around, letting everyone look at it.

You grabbed a bottle from the cabin.

"I'm going to spin the bottle, and whoever it lands on, will be the seeker."

Everyone nodded.

You put the bottle on the table and gave it a good spin.

It went around, and around...

It started to slow down... stopping at.. oh no.

Everyone slowly looked up from the bottle.

Nifty giggled.

Alastors grin widened, and you guessed it.

The tip of the bottle was pointing at him.

"Well, let's get to it then." He grabbed his watch out of his pocket.

"Better find a place to hide. Time starts.. now."

A shiver went down your spine.

You didn't like this one bit..

You pushed the feeling aside and quickly made your way up the stairs, running through the long halls of the Hotel.

With only 5 minutes on the clock, you frantically looked around.

After what felt like forever, you spotted a suitcase. Hm.

20 seconds left. This was your only option. You opened the suitcase and hurriedly got in.

"Times up!" You heard Alastor yell from downstairs.

Your heartbeat picked up.

There was a small opening in the suitcase, but big enough for you to get a look outside.

You heard a loud yelp from downstairs, that sounded like Charlie.

She said something shortly after, stuttering:

"Oh, Alastor, y-you scared me.."

The lights flickered.

"I apologize dear."

That's one out.

Not long after that he found: Vaggie under her bed, Angel Dust in the supply closet and Nifty, in the bathroom cabin.

Only you and Husk were left.

Half an hour passed and you still heard nothing.

The suitcase was starting to get suffocating too. You wished you could just-

All of a sudden Husk ran by, with Alastor following close behind him.

That was your cue to get the hell out of that suitcase and make a run for it.

You quickly got out, and ran in the other direction.

You turned a corner, looking behind you, not noticing the cabin infront of you. You ran right into it, cutting your knee.

You fell to the ground, a groan escaping your lips.

Blood trickled down your leg.

Thinking it couldn't get any worse than this, you heard footsteps slowly coming towards you. Shit.

It's just a game of hide and seek right..?

Just quit, your hurt.

No.. Alastor would never let you quit.

Either he finds you, or the time runs out.

He wouldn't let you surrender.

You knew him like that.

He always got way to competitive with these kind of games..

But you weren't planning on loosing either.

"(Y/n) dear.. where are you hiding?~"

Either you get up now, or he's going to find you. Get up.

Your blood dripped to the floor as you tried to stand.

You stumbled towards a nearby closet, and got in, swiftly closing the door.

Alastor came around the corner, his hands behind his back.

He was humming a song you didn't recognize, but it sounded some what.. dark.

He looked around, tracing his finger across cabins, and storage room doors, but he didn't open them. Why wasn't he opening them..? Shouldn't he be trying to find you..?

The stinging in your knee got worse the longer you stood still.

You looked through the opening between the two doors.

He had stopped at the few drops of blood on the carpet. Your blood.

His grin widened.

You always found Alastor to be quite the sadistic man. He really gave you the chills, everytime he was near.

He looked up from the blood, looking directly at the closet, you were in.

10 minutes left.

"(Y/n) dear, won't you come out so we can get this over with?~" he said, slowly approaching you.

You had two options.

Either 1: you stay in the closet, hoping he was bluffing. But if he wasn't he was going to find you, and then you would loose the game.

Or 2: Getting out of the closet and trying to make a run for it, knowing that, with your open knee, you probably wouldn't stand a chance.

You were trying to decide when suddenly, you remembered something.

Cherry had gifted you a small smoke grenade for your birthday last week, that you kept in your pocket.

It wouldn't do any damage, nor was it dangerous, but it could work in your favor as a decoy.

Technically it didn't count as magic, so it was allowed.

That creates plan number 3.

You'd have to act quickly if you wanted this to work. And so you did. You grabbed your diversion out of your pocket, stepping out of the closet.

You pulled the pin out of the smoke grenade and threw it at him, immediately running- well, trying to. You were sure it looked more like stumbling, but oh well.

He coughed.

"Oh? Your running? Are you sure that's the best idea, dear?"

You ignored him and made your way down the stairs.

You just had to get to the kitchen and-

Before you could process it, your body duck down, and fell backwards.

Alastor stood in the door opening, hand leaning against the wall.

You avoided being touched by a hair..

Something was off.. he was breathing so heavily..

He had this look in his eyes, as if he was-

Oh. Oh, shit.

You realized it.

Ofcourse it's not smart to let a predator such as himself be the seeker. How could you be so stupid..

3 minutes left.

He just stood there.. menacingly.. looking at you, as if he was waiting for you to run.

You slowly got to your feet, as your hand found a door handle. You pushed it down and entered the kitchen, stumbling towards the counter grabbing a knife.

How did a simple game of hide and seek turn into a murderous pursuit.

Alastor entered the kitchen as well, closing and locking the door behind him.

His eyes fell to the knife in your hands.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, dear."

He said.

One of his shadows grabbed your wrist, pinning it behind your back, and twisting it.

You hissed, dropping the knife before it would actually break your bone.

Alastor picked up the knife, putting it back into place, on the counter.

He took a hold of your face, his grin grew.

"You loose"

The look in his eyes was gone.

His shadow let of your wrist and disappeared.

"Everything okay in there?" Charlie said, from the other side of door.

"Ofcourse!" Alastor answered, sounding like his usual self. He had his fun.

He walked to the door and unlocked it.

Charlie looked around, her eyes finding you.

You still kind of.. well.. petrified, looked at the black mark on your wrist.

"Oh my devil's, (y/n), your bleeding!" She ran to you, grabbing your arm and putting it over her shoulder, supporting you, taking some of the weight of your knee.

"Let's get you patched up."

She took you to the lobby and sat you down, grabbing the first aid-kit.

Alastor followed close behind her, whispering something in her ear. She stopped in her tracks, as she nodded slowly.

She made her way to you again.

"(Y/n), you won the game by the way. Congratulations!"

She smiled widely, cleaning the wound on your leg.

You frowned. You were sure there were 40 seconds left..

Oh well. Maybe the adrenaline of the whole thing got to you..

Thank you for reading!

328 notes · View notes

az-roser · 3 days

Text

Niffty’s definitely gonna get scolded for outing him to Rosie.

IB: this post !

310 notes · View notes

brokenolivejar · 3 months

Text

Hide away hide away from me (spicynoodles edition)

#emeralds art #lmk fanart #lmk #lmk mk #lmk red son #lmk redson #spicynoodles #lmk spicynoodles #spicynoodleshipping #spicynoodlesshipping #mk x redson #redson x mk #charlie hide away #verbalase #verbalase hide away #lego monkie kid #lego monkey kid #redsons art

326 notes · View notes

dabletrablee · 1 month

Text

Hazbin Hotel fans, hear me out!

Charlie’s ex boyfriend, Seviathan…

Should be voiced by Verbalase…

For obvious reasons.

#hazbin hotel #hazbin #hazbin charlie #charlie hazbin hotel #charlie morningstar #charlie magne #hazbin hotel charlie #hazbin hotel charlotte #verbalase #verbalase 50k #verbalase hazbin hotel #verbalase meme #verbalase animation #hide away #hide away meme #hide away hazbin #hide away hazbin hotel #seviathan von eldritch #hazbin hotel seviathan

195 notes · View notes

askstrangeweird · 3 months

Text

In response to recent events (IYKYK)

237 notes · View notes

lipsyncforyourlife · 10 months

Photo

#Charlie Hides #RuPaul's Drag Race #RuPaul's Drag Race season 9

2 notes · View notes

artificialqueens · 2 years

Text

Galactica, Chapter 97 (Group Fic) - TheDane/Veronica

A/N: Click here if you’re looking for previous chapters (or here if you’d rather read on AO3). 💫

Previously: Sutan took on Tati as his newest client, Courtney got her foot in the door of Island Records (thanks to Bianca’s meddling behind the scenes), and Nicky joined the Galactica family as Fame’s newest assistant.

This Chapter: Galactica looks for their fashion week models, Gigi is very impressed with Tati’s adulting skills, Nicky uncovers a mystery, and Courtney takes several giant leaps forward.

***

“I didn’t ask for that.”

Raja looked over at Nicky and Fame, the new assistant holding a fresh batch of coffees and one of Fame’s favorite protein bars in her hand.

“I know, but I figured it’d be appreciated.” Nicky smiled, “I can take it with me if-”

“Don’t be silly-” Fame snatched the almond and dark chocolate treat, almost like she was scared Nicky would take it away, causing Raja to bite the inside of her cheek to hold back a grin. She hadn’t known what to expect from Nicky, but it was nice to see someone who could hold their own against Fame, who thought ahead and was actually prepared while not being afraid to poke the bear.

“Here you go,” Nicky handed Raja her black coffee, the bitter midday pick me up exactly what she needed. They were about halfway through the model casting, the hallway outside of Max’s studio still filled to the brim with hopeful girls that were trying to catch their first big break.

The studio had been emptied out and refilled with separators, a dressing area, clothes storage, a photo wall for Max and the small makeshift runway in front of their table all humming with the noise and nerves of a day like today.

Raja took a sip, looking to the side of the runway, only to see a model talking to Violet. Them talking wasn’t strange, Violet in charge of model flow, but what was unusual was the fact that the model was smiling brightly, her hand on Violet’s elbow, her thumb rubbing up and down. Violet was clutching her clipboard to her chest like she was drowning, her cheeks a bright pink, nervous energy rolling off of her in waves.

“Violet!” Raja snapped her fingers, causing Violet to spin around, her eyes wide like she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. “We haven’t got all day.”

“Yes,” Violet squeaked, looking down as she took a step back. Normally, she’d just touch the models, but instead, her hand was hovering over the other woman’s back, never settling as she herded her forward, the space between them just plain weird.

Raja didn’t have time to dwell on it though, since the woman in question had stepped in front of them, handing them her portofolio, the Elite logo stamped on the cover, Fame opening it to flick through.

“Hello.” She smiled brightly, “My name is Tatianna-”

“Walk first.” It was normal for Raja to take charge of the model casting, Fame often getting distracted by tiny details that mattered in the long run, but that weren’t very helpful in the moment.

Tatianna nodded, walking to the back of the room, getting ready to do what she had been told.

“Have you seen?” Fame tilted the portfolio, Sutan’s name on the inside cover, and Raja smiled. It was probably nepotism, but Raja couldn’t help but have a soft spot for her brother’s girls, not that she didn’t judge them or share her honest opinion, Sutan often using her to figure out if his newer models were actually worth something.

Raja took a sip of her coffee, watching as Tatianna walked up to them, a bit too much sway in her hips, and stopped. She didn’t move, simply waited for further instructions, which meant that Sutan had done his job well, way too many models suffering from a chronic case of verbal diarrhea.

“So?” Raja looked at Fame, who had closed the portfolio, her perfectly manicured nails drumming on the leather.

“Turn.”

Tatianna did just that, turning around slowly, even moving her loose hair away from her back so they could see her clearly.

“Do we have polaroids for this girl?”

“Yes Miss!” Nicky handed Fame a small stack of polaroids, Max just on the other side of one of the makeshift barriers, photographing every girl that Violet deemed worthy to come through.

When Raja had first started as a model, she hadn’t understood the polaroid thing, all major fashion brands snapping photos, but now when she was on the other side of the table, she understood it completely, how a girl looked in person and how she looked on film often very different.

Fame handed two to Raja, holding up a polaroid herself and comparing it to Tatianna, the woman standing tall as she was being weighed and measured.

“Give her the blue floor length,” Fame called out, Trixie and Alexis standing ready with Yuhua from tailoring, “and let me see her again.”

***

Courtney entered the bedroom, where Bianca was still sitting with her laptop open, typing away. She barely glanced up as Courtney slid into the bed beside her, giving the most seductive pose she could. Finally, Bianca closed her computer with a sigh and set it on her night table. She looked over at Courtney, seemed to see her for the first time, a smile spreading across her face.

“Hi there.”

“Hi,” Courtney replied, lashes fluttering. She reached out a hand, running her fingers up Bianca’s arm. “Are you done with work for the night?”

“God willing,” Bianca said. She pulled Courtney in for a kiss. “Why do you ask?”

“Mmm…” Courtney swung a leg over her, straddling her on her knees, “I have some…hopes and dreams.”

“Oh yeah?” Bianca grinned up at her, the black glasses she wore at home framing her beautiful brown eyes.

Courtney nodded, touching the sides of the frames and saying, “You know, I really like these. You look like a sexy librarian.”

“Or maybe even a very stern, highly experienced nanny…” Bianca teased, flipping her over onto her back.

She let out a little shriek of delight, eyes falling closed.

“Tell me about your hopes and dreams, angel…” Bianca breathed in her ear, one hand snaking up her top.

“Well…” Courtney opened her eyes, a faint blush heating up her cheeks.

Bianca cocked her head, looking deeply interested. “Yes?”

Courtney swallowed, reaching up to take Bianca’s face in her hands, thumbs running over her cheeks. “Umm…remember the uh, toys that you brought to Puerto Rico?”

“Yeah…”

Bianca’s eyes were dark, fingers circling her nipple, making it extremely difficult to concentrate on speaking.

“So I thought…maybe we could…try some other ones?” Courtney let out a whimper as Bianca pinched her nipple lightly, sparks shooting through her. Her fingers curled, digging into Bianca’s neck, bringing her face down closer.

“Anything in particular you want?”

“Dealer’s choice,” she said.

“You got it, sunshine.” Bianca kissed her, slow and deep, pressing her down into the mattress, making her whole body ache with need. She continued a slow, careful exploration of her body, waiting an excruciatingly long time before finally reaching down into the drawer of her nightstand. “Close your eyes.”

Courtney’s eyes fell shut immediately, heart racing with excitement. What had begun earlier that day as a fleeting thought had become a full-blown obsession, and the thrill of it actually happening was almost unbearable. In some ways, Courtney was extremely sexually experienced—she’d lost her virginity at age 15 and had been with a veritable slew of partners since then. But when it came to women—when it came to things that actually brought her genuine pleasure, she usually felt like a naive baby. In the beginning, Bianca’s careful questioning, making sure everything felt good and that she wasn’t overstepping, made her self-conscious, like she should know more. But as time went on, she realized how lucky she was to be with someone so patient and loving. Tonight was no exception.

After a few moments, she felt a soft, tickling sensation running up her leg. Her eyes opened, curious. This wasn’t the battery-powered playtime she’d been expecting. Bianca held what looked like a wand, a plume of fluffy feathers on the end. She was stroking it up Courtney’s thighs, making her skin prickle as she broke out in goosebumps.

“You like that angel?”

Courtney nodded, arching up into her touch. “Yes, but…”

“But what?” Bianca slid the toy higher, slowly circling both her nipples.

“I need-” Courtney inhaled sharply as the feathers reached her neck, every hair on her body now standing up straight.

“What? What do you need?” Bianca placed a teasing kiss against her lower belly, reaching between her own thighs to pull out a mini purple vibrator, flicking it on the lowest setting. “Maybe this one?”

The second the toy touched her, Courtney knew that she’d been using her own body heat to warm it up. Her hips rolled, the electricity against her clit a perfect feeling, craving more, but Bianca pulled it away cruelly, tapping with her fingers to indicate that she wanted Courtney to spread her legs.

Courtney had a brief flash of anxiety when Bianca began sliding the toy into her pussy, tensing up. Bianca stopped, stroking Courtney’s hip with her fingers.

“Are you okay, angel? Does this feel good? Because if not-”

“No, it’s-it’s good. I just need a second to…” Courtney swallowed, taking a deep breath, feeling her muscles relax. It was small, barely bigger than two fingers, and she reminded herself that she had nothing to worry about. She shook her head. “Keep going.”

“Okay.” Bianca pushed the toy in deeper, angling it up, smiling when Courtney let out a strangled moan. “Is that good?”

“Uh huh…” Courtney’s eyes fluttered, her hips catching onto the rhythm as Bianca rocked the toy back and forth inside her. She was concentrating on the sensation, didn’t notice Bianca reaching for something else until the buzzing electrified her clit, both toys now working together. “Fuck!”

“Look at me…”

Courtney forced her eyes open, saw Bianca gazing down at her, skin practically glowing in the dim light.

“I love you,” Bianca whispered, as she continued to work both toys. “I love you so much.”

“I…I…” Courtney’s mouth was open, sweat breaking out all over as her hips rolled frantically. Her hands tangled into Bianca’s hair, grasping it in her fists, the gentle kiss Bianca placed at the corner of her mouth somehow the last thing to send her over the edge. “Oh my fucking god.”

She may have blacked out, because the next thing she knew, the toys had been pulled away, replaced by Bianca’s warm, soft mouth, tongue gently licking her clean.

“B…” she loosened her grip on Bianca's hair. Had she pulled it? She couldn’t remember, and hoped that whatever she’d done wasn’t too rough.

“Hey sunshine.” Bianca grinned up at her, dimples appearing in her cheeks. “So…you really like toys, huh?”

Courtney struggled to lift herself up onto her elbows. “I just like you.”

Bianca’s smile deepened and she kissed a wet trail up Courtney’s body, finally wrapping her into an embrace. Courtney sighed happily, melting into her arms.

***

Gigi pawed through the tops she’d spread out on her bed, brow furrowed as she tried to pick one.

She only had a few more casting sessions left for NYFW, and she was desperate to make them count. It wasn’t very fun to come in from the streets for a casting, not being called on in advance meaning that it was nothing but long hours spent waiting, and a constant sense of doom looming over her head.

It was easy for Symone, her girlfriend getting booked directly from Elite’s website and showing up just when she was needed, her fashion week calendar stuffed to the brim.

A knock sounded on the door, and Gigi looked up. She didn’t even know that any of the other girls were home yet: usually it was noisy as hell when more than one of them were around—music blasting, chatter and laughter.

“Hello?”

“Hey…” Tatianna pushed the door open, giving her a bright smile. “Do you have any plans for dinner?”

If Gigi really thought about it, she couldn’t pinpoint any time when she and Tati had been alone together. It would be nice to get to know her—she seemed very sweet and fun. Certainly anyone who could handle being roommates with Naomi without crying all the time must be easy to get along with.

“Uhh…not really.” Gigi knew that she had some carrot sticks and hummus in the fridge, but she’d been leaning more in the direction of going to the sushi place down the block, even though it was expensive. “Why, did you want to order something?”

It wasn’t like Symone would be home anyway, some of the more established models from Elite inviting her out without a plus one.

“No, I was just making lasagna-” Tati began, pointing over her shoulder when she was cut off.

“Yourself?” Gigi asked, eyes widening. “Like, all alone?”

“Yeah…is that weird?” Tati asked, dark eyes sparkling with amusement, her expression telling Gigi that her question had probably been stupid.

“No! I mean, it’s just that no one really cooks here except Bimini, and she’s like…a grown-up.” Gigi’s cheeks heated up as Tati laughed. She did sound stupid. “I mean, uh…”

“Well, I feel like I’ve had way too much Shake Shack since I moved here,” Tati grinned, leaning against the door frame, flipping some of her smooth, glossy hair over her shoulder. “Sometimes you need actual comfort food that reminds you of home, you know?”

“Yeah, definitely.” Gigi found herself actually getting excited at the idea of something hot, homemade and not vegan. Not that she was ungrateful for Bimini’s cooking, which often fed all of them, but there was only so much quinoa and steamed veggies one could eat before dying of boredom. “Do you want any help?”

“Sure!” Tati exclaimed happily. “I’ve already got the sauce going, but you can help me assemble! I’ll have you cooking like my Nonna in no time.”

Gigi smiled, dropping the shirt in her hands and following Tati to the kitchen. It probably wasn’t any good to obsess over her clothes—Sutan had told her more than once that runway work wasn’t like editorial, where your personal sense of style could help. She supposed she should just listen to him and wear another fitted black tank top.

***

Nicky was extremely pleased with how well things were going so far. It was Thursday, and she felt like she’d really gotten the hang of the basics: the way Miss Fame preferred to communicate, what kind of things were most likely to throw off her energy or destroy her mood, how to approach her when they needed to get urgent approvals. Violet wasn’t very talkative, but in spite of this, she had been wonderfully forthcoming and informative. Surprisingly, she also seemed quite pleased by Nicky’s own ideas that she brought with her from Tory’s office.

At the moment, Nicky was working on one such thing: a giant posterboard of the month of February, where they laid out all of the New York and various European Fashion Week schedules with different colored post-its. It was a perfect way to really see exactly where the holes were, and which shows, parties and events they needed to prioritize.

She was filling in a bit of the Paris week based on some RSVPs they’d sent out just that morning, when Ivy walked in. She handed a couple of papers to Violet, whispering something to her in a low voice. Before leaving, she waved at Nicky and gave her a friendly hello.

Violet immediately stood up, walking over to the posterboard to look at it, and began placing blue flags on some of the post-its.

“What are we marking?” Nicky asked, looking over at Violet curiously.

“Oh,” Violet looked up, almost like she had forgotten Nicky was there. “Well…um…” Violet hesitated, chewing her lip for a second. “It’s Bianca Del Rio's schedule. For Fashion Week. Ivy is friendly with her assistant, and managed to get it.”

“That is so cute,” Nicky commented. “I guess Miss Fame and Raja want to be at the same parties as their friend?”

“Not necessarily-“ Violet cut herself off. “Actually, nevermind.”

“What?” Nicky asked. As someone who’d followed Miss Fame for years, she of course knew all about her relationship with the notorious editor-in-chief of Marie Claire.

“Well…” Violet sighed. “I guess you should know so you can avoid accidentally bringing it up.”

"Right..." Nicky said, trying to contain her curiosity, which was growing by the second.

“You might have noticed that Bianca isn’t on the trusted caller list, even though she and Fame are quite close.”

Close seemed like an understatement to Nicky, the two of them appearing on red carpets together for many years. And now that she thought about it, she could’ve kicked herself for not noticing Bianca’s absence from that list. She’d clearly been too focused on memorizing what was there to think critically about it.

“As far as I know, they haven’t spoken since early January.”

“But why?”

“That’s none of our business,” Violet snapped, annoyance in her tone, but then she deflated as quickly as she had blown up, all of the anger leaving her. ”Sorry, it’s a touchy subject, and I really want to stay out of it.”

“Of course,” Nicky said, nodding as if this all made perfect sense, though she was more confused than ever.

“All you need to know is that they’re not speaking. Raja’s office is handling any Marie Claire business.”

“Got it,” Nicky said, prepared to back off for now, but already planning on the most tactful way to ask Ivy about this puzzling situation.

***

Courtney sat across from Charlie Hides, nearly shaking with nervous excitement. Her legs were crossed, boots she’d borrowed from Adore fortunately weighing down her feet enough that they weren’t bouncing too much. She’d spent all morning obsessing about her clothes—she didn’t want to wear anything too provocative or too cutesy, but she also didn’t want to seem prim or joyless. She’d finally settled on what she really hoped was a cool enough outfit.

For the first time in a long time, however, the clothes seemed to be besides the point as she waited with bated breath to hear what the legendary producer had to say.

“Here’s what I’m thinking,” Charlie said, opening up a notebook. “A 6-track EP, just as a kind of taste of a first album. I really liked ‘Crazy,’ and would like to lean more in that direction: fun, upbeat, pop. That doesn’t mean you can’t really show off your voice, and maybe we can have one power ballad in the mix, but I’d like to stay away from anything too acoustic or folk-y. You have many years ahead of you for that kind of thing, and we should save it for when you can’t dance anymore.”

Courtney laughed, nodding a little.

“I’ve reached out to a handful of producers, including Olivia, who I think are well suited to your style. We’re gonna start sending you tracks and then you can tell us what you respond to. If you have any lyrics, or even just concepts that you’re excited about, let me know. Olivia said that you want to co-write, so we can start there and see how it goes.”

Courtney nodded again, wondering if she should add anything to the conversation. It didn’t seem like it.

“While we’re doing that, I really want you to work with a professional vocal coach so that we can improve your technique before we go into the recording studio.”

“Oh. Okay.” Courtney could feel her shoulders deflate a little.

“Don’t look so disappointed. You have a nice natural voice and a good range, but you’re lacking some professional skills. All the top tier vocalists do this, it’s part of the job.”

“Okay,” Courtney said, biting her lip, hoping she hadn’t come off as too much of an amateur—and hoping that what Charlie told her was true, that she wasn’t just softening the blow of the fact that she needed voice lessons.

“Also, these days, music is all about the show. The album is mostly just an advertisement for you as a live performer. The goal here for me will be for you to have a 30 to 45-minute set that allows us to book you as an opening act. This will include your original stuff, but also some covers. High-energy crowd pleasers are the key here, along with really sharp choreography and good banter. We have some really great directors and choreographers for you to meet with to start putting something together.”

“Okay,” said Courtney. She was starting to feel like a broken record.

“Once we have a better idea of what’s on your EP, we can talk about videos and marketing and all that jazz, but for now, let’s assume there will be 2 singles and accompanying videos. In the meantime, it’s really important to build up your social media presence, but also to scour your accounts and delete anything inappropriate or offensive. You’re young, hopefully that’s a manageable task.”

Courtney grimaced, thinking about her embarrassing habit in college of updating her Facebook status about 20 times a day, and how many thousands of photos she’d already amassed. Not to mention the MySpace years. Did she even still have an active profile there? If she deleted it, would that stuff be gone forever, or was there some kind of archive?

“We can set up a meeting with one of our PR people if you need it. Also, we’ll need you to sign this.” Charlie continued, handing over an enormous manila envelope. “That’s the long form contract, NDA, everything. You should have anyone look it over who needs to. Manager, agent, lawyer. Do you have representation yet?”

“Um…no. I just-”

“That’s okay, no problem. I’m sure Bianca knows someone who can take a look for you. She can probably walk you through most of it herself. It’s all pretty boiler-plate stuff, including your fees, everything we talked about is spelled out in detail. You can let us know if you want any changes, the business affairs contact is on the cover letter. I’ll forward a digital copy to you as well, just make sure my office has your email address.”

“Okay. Sure.”

“Okay! Well…” Charlie folded her hands. “Any questions?”

“Um…” Courtney had so many questions, she barely even knew where to begin. Her head was spinning. She looked into Charlie’s sharp blue eyes, could practically see her counting the seconds, no doubt anxious to move on with her day. All of her questions were probably dumb anyway—things she should already know, things that would make her sound embarrassingly unprofessional if she asked. So instead of asking anything, she shook her head. “No…thank you.”

“I know this is a lot,” Charlie said, shutting her notebook. “But it should also be a lot of fun. Okay?”

“Okay. Yeah.” Courtney managed a shaky smile.

“Alright. Well…take that home,” Charlie gestured to the contract in Courtney’s hands. “Look it over, share it with whoever you need to, and get back to us. Cool?”

“Yes, sounds great. Tha-thank you.”

It took Courtney a moment to realize that the meeting was officially over. She stood up, feeling a bit dizzy, and followed Charlie to the door. She held it together while writing down all of her contact info for Charlie’s assistant, Abby, and by some miracle, held back her anxious tears until she was safely in the back of a cab, when it all came pouring out. The driver was clearly not new to the job, because he barely glanced up at the girl sobbing in the back of his taxi.

Why was she crying? What was wrong with her? This was everything she wanted…right?

A few minutes later, still sniffling, she sent off a text to Olivia, asking to talk.

Of course, Charlie was right; Bianca would help with anything she asked. She knew that. And of course, the easy thing would be to let Bianca handle her contract like she handled everything else. But Courtney didn’t want to rely on her for every little thing, all the time. She needed to start standing on her own two feet, if only to alleviate some of the guilt over how much Bianca had already done for her.

Olivia called her back just as the cab was pulling up to Bianca’s building. (She still had some kind of mental block preventing her from thinking of it as “home.”)

“Hey girl, what’s up?”

“Hi! Thank you so much for calling. I met with Charlie today, and there’s just so much. I need to find someone to look over my contract, and she was talking about vocal coaching and social media and choreographers and how many videos and planning a tour and I-”

“Got it, got it. It’s all pretty overwhelming, huh?”

“Yeah. I’m really sorry to bother you, I just didn’t know who else to-”

“It’s fine. Listen, I’m in the middle of a session now, but I’m gonna put you in touch with my friend Latrice. She’s an amazing manager, and I think she’s exactly the kind of person to guide you through this whole process. Plus she’s just kind of…one of the best people on the planet?” Olivia laughed, and just picturing her dazzling smile made Courtney feel better. “You’re gonna love her.”

“Thank you so much, Liv.”

“Anytime, girl! We’re gonna make a lot of music together,” Olivia said.

“I really hope that’s true.” Courtney leaned against the side of the building, looking up at a patch of blue sky breaking through the clouds.

#rpdr fanfiction #thedane #veronica #galactica #bitney #miss fame #raja gemini #violet chachki #nicky doll #tatianna #courtney act #bianca del rio #gigi goode #charlie hides #olivia lux #lesbian au #fashion au #smut

3 notes · View notes