Coffee & Cigarettes

Smoke Break

(Same day, 2008)

Violet stepped outside and took a deep breath. The streets were loud and busy, but she felt at peace. This was the first moment she had gotten alone in the last few hours, after signing paperwork and taking tours with different staff members. It was all very standard first day on the job sort of activity, but she was still reeling from the chaotic events of the morning. Not to mention the fact that she was still in disbelief that she had this job.

During her tour of the studio, she crossed paths with John a couple of times. Each time, she noticed he went out of his way to make eye contact with her. She felt her stomach lurch - in a good way? It felt nice to see a familiar face in this new environment. Sighing, Violet reached her hand into a pocket of John's cardigan where she had stashed a pack of Parliaments earlier. But, she'd forgotten a lighter. Shit.

Violet turned around and was about to walk back into the building when the door swung open, nearly hitting her. Quickly, she jumped backwards to avoid a repeat of this morning. The word "SHIRT!" on, well, a shirt, met her eyeline.

"Woah! Hi, I'm sorry!" Violet looked up to see Bill Hader looking down at her. She was startled, but did her best to remain calm.

"I'm sorry!" Violet shook her head. "I keep meeting people this way today, it has to be me."

Bill furrowed his brow, laughing. "Well, I'm sorry and am also Bill." He pulled a pack of Marlboro Reds out of his back pocket. "I saw you earlier, are you the new writer?"

"I am! I'm Violet. Could I get a light?" She gestured at the Bic in his hand and he nodded, handing it over to her. Bill took a step back and looked her up and down while she lit her cigarette, and Violet felt her cheeks turn pink.

"I'm sorry, that was totally weird of me." Bill began to laugh. "With the Steely Dan shirt and the Parliaments right now, you remind me so much of someone that writes here too." His laugh was so genuine that she didn't feel too embarrassed - being around him already felt comfortable.

Violet nodded, starting to laugh as well. "That could be because the upper half of this stunning look belongs to John Mula - well, speak of the devil!" John had opened the door and walked in between the two.

Truth be told, John had overheard Violet say she was taking a smoke break and he wanted another chance to talk to her. He regretted the decision after seeing her talking to Bill - and hearing her say his name. He felt like he'd been caught doing something wrong.

"Okay," Bill raised his eyebrows and looked at John. "first of all, explain this. Second of all," he turned to Violet. "I am really glad that you most likely are not a Steely Dan fan."

John tried to mask his feelings of discomfort. "Okay, and what is wrong with Steely Dan?!" He jokingly poked Bill in the chest, resulting in Bill squirming and letting out a giggle. "Miss Violet here ran into me this morning, causing me to spill coffee all over her." He looked over at Violet, smirking. She glared.

"Okay, it did not happen that way." Violet backed up, and tried to dramatically reenact the event. "Mr. Mulaney here was recklessly sprinting through the hallways, and ran into me." She pushed her body into John's and his cheeks turned pink. He rolled his eyes at her and tried to regain composure, but then felt his face get hotter as she scrunched her freckled nose at him and gave him a wink.

"Okay," John sighed. "I came out here to have a cancer stick in peace, not be bullied by the two of you." He eyed the cigarette pack that Violet had, fully aware that he was about to execute a very childish, flirty move. "Good thing we both smoke Parliaments!"

John plucked the pack out of her hand, and she let out a fake gasp. He visibly paused for a moment, noticing that she had a single, black square tattooed on the ring finger of her left hand. Interesting.

Violet noticed where his gaze rested and quickly tucked her hand into the sleeve of her borrowed cardigan. Her demeanor seemed to shift, though she tried to hide it. "Sure, you can bum a cigarette, you're welcome!" John felt a pang of guilt, noticing her tone falter a bit.

Bill seemed to notice the tension in the air and was quick to break it. He cleared his throat. "Well Violet, now that I know you and Mulaney are pals.." he tossed his cigarette butt on the ground and put it out with the bottom of his very dad-looking sneakers. "We've been working on some sketch ideas together and I'd love to hear if you have any notes on them."

Violet softened up, smiling. "I'd like really like that!" She moved her gaze from Bill to John. "If that's cool with you both?"

"Of course!" John nodded, trying to suppress the feeling of butterflies in his stomach. Watching Bill and Violet walk back into the building together, he sighed. Did he have a crush on a co-worker? He hadn't felt this - especially this quickly - for someone in a while. It was exciting, but not ideal.

He looked down at the pack of cigarettes that he swiped and groaned. Damnit, Mulaney. That was a rookie move. He didn't even have a lighter.

Okay! I feel like I got all of the "intro" stuff out of the way and have a more clear idea of where I want to take the story now ✨ I am excited! I hope that it's not too rough, this is my first full length fic and I don't write a ton. If you liked or disliked this or have any sort of feedback lemme know. If there's anything you'd like to see happen lemme know!!! 🌸