thewriterrr

[thewriterrr]

The hating game ~ Chris Sturniolo

Chris Sturniolo x Reader

In which you are working in LA and have to work alongside the Sturniolo Triplets. Nick and Matt seem happy to have you there, but Chris on the other hand, isn’t happy to have you there at all.

The two of you form a tense relationship built on disdain and dislike, often arguing and making remarks at one another. But when the two of you are alone, you realise there is more to the tension.

**slight angst, cussing, tension!, enemies?**

You had never imagined yourself living in LA, much less the lavish lifestyles and influencer heavy population. Perhaps it wasn’t a crowd you particularly slotted into, but you didn’t mind. You had gotten yourself into a position where you could afford a studio apartment in Los Angeles, albeit not extravagant, LA was the place of endless opportunities. With an impressive, top-level degree in media and marketing at the age of twenty-one, your skillset was much needed across the city, and it wasn’t difficult to find work.

That’s how you ended up where you were today. A management team had come across your work and contacted you. After all, your pay-grade was a stark contrast to others living in LA, you didn’t require an eye-watering amount of money, plus your hours where flexible.

It had come from the Sturniolo Triplets management team. Three guys from Boston, catapulted into fame quickly, now balancing content creation alongside brand deals, tours and interviews. So that’s where you came in. You were a helping hand when it came to preparing the triplets for interviews or any public appearance where they didn’t control what was put out into the digital world. You helped with their communication, topic avoidance, and how to approach media outlets that for some reason gained sick pleasure from warping the words of celebrities and painting them in a bad light. You were there to make sure that didn’t happen.

Nick and Matt were grateful for the help and agreed with the management team that your work was beneficent, though the same couldn’t be said for Chris Sturniolo. He wasn’t on board with having another new face on the team, much less being told what to do.

*Flashback to first meeting*

“You know, we can actually handle this shit on our own. What’s the point in bringing more people in for this? We’ve been coping fine.” Chris complained, earning an eye roll from Nick who was stood beside him.

“Our schedules have been crazy lately, Chris, and we have a fuck ton of other things coming up. We need all the help we can get if we want to do this right.” Nick quipped, earning an earnest nod from Matt who fiddled with the car keys looped onto his jeans.

“I agree.” Matt mumbled back lowly, and gestured towards Nick, allying with him.

Chris rolled his eyes, tightening his jaw for a moment as he bit back another remark.

You stood there, awaiting a moment of silence before you parted your lips to speak.

“I’m not here to infringe on anything you guys do, just to be an extra hand when it comes to the work you do outside of your content creation. LA media is pretty unforgiving.” You noted, your fingers pushing back a few loose strands of hair from beside your cheek.

Chris finally turned to look at you, his expression was cold and unwavering, eyes locked onto you as he responded.

“Are you suggesting that we’re gonna do something wrong?” He pressed, earning a whack on the arm from Nick. “What, Nick? She’s pretty much implying that if we don’t have her around, we’re gonna fuck up and get roasted by LA media.” Chris bitterly added and you furrowed your brows slightly.

Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill, you thought to yourself. This guy is defensive.

“That isn’t what I said,” you defended. “But your management team reached out to me, so I’m here. You don’t have to want me around, but until your management decide that they don’t need me to help you guys anymore, you’ll be seeing me every Monday and Thursday.” You responded in a desperate bid to keep the conversation professional.

“And we’re glad to have you.” Nick chimed in and shot Chris a warning look, enough for Chris to purse his lips and remain silent, but his eyes betrayed him as he looked at you with disdain.

Matt offered a small smile and a nod, though the air remained heavy.

*Present day*

Since then, it had been almost two months. You wished you could say that the tension between you and Chris had eased, but in fact, it was the opposite. It had worsened. Whenever the two of you were alone, the tension could be cut with a knife until Chris would decide to make a snide remark about your being-there. You held your own though, eight weeks in and any essence of professionalism you carried went out of the window when you were around Chris, often biting back until it left the two of you locked in a death stare.

On the flip side, growing closer with Nick and Matt had been nothing short of a privilege, and working with genuinely, authentic nice guys was a perk to your job. With the frequency in which you saw them, for hours at a time at least twice a week, you had formed a light-hearted and banterous bond with the two less bitter brothers.

Standing in the kitchen that belonged to the Sturniolo triplets, you looked over at Nick as he spoke. “Okay so in this interview, I can still be my funny and charming self, but politely avoid any questions regarding…” Nick spoke, listing on from the prior conversation you had with him.

“Exactly. You’re gonna smash this interview, hands down. I know you’ve got it covered.” You said, earning an award-winning smile from Nick. “I’ll talk to Matt when he gets back from the store, if he needs anything. Hey, you might not even need me around much longer.” You smirked at Nick, who gasped and placed his hand to his chest.

“Wouldn’t that be a treat?” Another voice rang through the kitchen as Chris entered, wearing grey sweats that hung loosely on his hips and a black t shirt. Your eyes flickered over him before a soft huff escaped your lips and you rolled your eyes.

“It’s really great when you greet us with your warm presence, Chris.” You muttered as he swung the fridge door open to grab a soda.

“Alright I’m heading upstairs to go over whatever else I need for tomorrow. Don’t be a dick, Chris,” Nick said as he headed out of the kitchen, leaving you and Chris alone.

Chris turned to face you, leaning against the kitchen counter opposite you, his fingers wrapped around a can of soda and his eyes now on you. You looked at him, folding your arms across your chest as you raised your eyebrows.

“What?” Chris asked flatly as he took a sip of his drink.

“You have an interview coming up next week. If you want to stop being stubborn and actually talk about it, we can.” You responded.

Chris looked at you, his eyes didn’t waver, they stayed glued to your face as if he was trying to read your expression. You weren’t the type of person to get nervous beneath the stare of somebody else, but for some reason it was different with Chris. When he looked at you like that, his jaw clenched and eyes low, you felt the familiar knot forming in your stomach that you tried to ignore. Your skin felt like it was warming up and you had to distract yourself from the moment almost instantly, tearing your gaze away from his and looking to another area of the kitchen where Chris wasn’t stood, looking as good as he did.

“I already told you that I don’t need help with this shit. I’m startin’ to wonder if you’re gonna understand that.” Chris spoke lowly, and you could feel his eyes burning into your skin as you pushed some hair away from your neck, exposing the skin.

“You’ve made it pretty clear. But I don’t get paid to stand here and argue with you. It’s been two months, Chris, and it’s tiring.” You complained.

“Well having you around here up my ass trying to tell me how to speak in interviews and shit, is also pretty tiring.” He snapped and you scoffed as you turned your attention back to him.

“I might’ve been gone by now if you weren’t acting like an asshole all of the time.” You retorted, your voice sharp and you could have sworn you saw a ghost of a smirk on Chris’ lips, but you continued anyway. “And if you act in an interview the way you’re acting around me right now, you could fuck up quite a few good things you have going.” You told him, though regretted the way you worded it. But, your point still stood strong.

Chris traced his tongue across his lower lip as he set down his drink, standing up straight from the counter and taking a few steps towards you.

“You’re not gonna talk to me like I’m a fuckin’ idiot, are you?” His voice was more gravelly now, his expression daring as he watched you with close inspection.

As his proximity to you got closer, you could feel your skin heating up and your heart rate quicken, though you fought to keep your expression neutral as you looked up at him.

“I won’t, if you don’t act like one.” You quipped, but your voice wasn’t as steady if you would have liked, it was breathy and unsure.

“You keep runnin’ your mouth like that and you’re gonna regret it.” Chris warned, and with his words, took another few steps closer in your direction until you were closer than the two of you ever had been. He settled both hands on the counter either side of you, his head slightly dipped as he looked at you, awaiting your response.

Your eyes traversed across his bare arms outstretched either side of you as his hands gripped the edge of the kitchen counter, before you looked up at him, your lips slightly parted as you tried to think of a response. With Chris being this close to you, close enough for you to smell his cologne, you weren’t sure if your brain was even capable of forming a coherent sentence. His eyes glanced down at your parted lips for a moment, before landing back on your eyes, silently urging you to respond. After a few moments, you gathered yourself just enough to speak.

“If you think I’m scared of your threat, you might want to think again.” You breathed out, and this time, the sly smirk that tugged on the corner of Chris’ mouth was much more evident.

He lifted one hand, pushing some of your hair out of the way of his quest, before he placed his hand on the side of your neck, his thumb tracing lightly across your throat. Your breathing hitched and you could feel goosebumps forming on your arms, the kitchen had suddenly jumped from cold to hot, much like your own temperature. With one of your hands, you wrapped it around Chris’ wrist that was still on the kitchen counter beside you. “Chris,” you warned.

So many lines were being crossed at this point, your brain could hardly catch up with what was happening, but your heart hammering in your chest was enough to tell you that it shouldn’t have been happening. But, by God, you wanted it to be.

Chris lowered his head, and you could feel his soft, slightly damp hair graze across your forehead, as his lips stayed barely an inch away from yours.

“See where that fuckin’ attitude gets you.” He whispered, and you could feel his breath against your lips, emitting a quiet breath from you.

Before you could say anything else, the sound of the front door opening was a rude awakening for the both of you, shaking the moment into reality. Chris stepped away from you and back to the other side of the kitchen, while you stood breathless and wordless.

“Hey,” Matt chimed as he walked into the kitchen, placing a few groceries down onto the counter, looking over at you and then over at Chris.

“Hey,” you responded and mustered a small smile. “Ready to talk about your upcoming interview? Me and Chris just got done talking.” You said. Chris rubbed the side of his jaw with his hand as he looked at his brother, starting to make his way out of the kitchen.

As he approached the doorway to head upstairs to his room, you caught another glimpse of a smirk on his lips.

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