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꒰ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ғᴏᴜʀ ! ꒱ ┊͙✧˖*°࿐
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𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔥𝔬𝔴 was a knock out. the band was smiling. and a certain girl in the audience was making her way backstage,, just like the lead guitarist had told her to do,, so that she could congratulate a drummer.
chrysanthemum had pushed past a dozen fans and apologized for doing so about twenty times before she made it behind the curtains. backstage wasn't a fancy place— there was a red leather couch that had been sat on three years too long and a mini fridge that seemed to hold a bottle of vodka and a pack of coke and that was about it. the bathroom had not been sorted out since rodrick had used it to apply his makeup,, because ben was always the one to stay behind and clean.
cassio was the first one off stage. they stumbled onto the couch and sighed before noticing the very confused teenager. "pretty girl! hey,, we met earlier. what'd you think?"
chrysanthemum almost fainted right then and there. she was always one to scare easily,, and the fact that cassio had shocked her so casually made her want to scream. "oh— fuck! hi,, i'm sorry. yeah,, it was great! i loved the band— your riffs were amazing." cassio just grinned lazily in response.
"yeah,, well don't let raccoon eyes hear that. he looked like he was going to punch me when i told them i had talked to you. he totally has a praise kink— just for future reference." chrysanthemum just smiled and shook her head.
"raccoon eyes is unoriginal,, ass-io. plus,, my eyeliner is hot. tell 'em ben—" rodrick shouted as they stumbled off stage while attempting to pull off their boots. his eyes widened as he spotted chrysanthemum standing in front of the guitarist. "chrysanthemum? wait— what are you doing back here? i'm sorry— um,,"
"don't worry,, rodrick!" she grinned. "i agree. the eyeliner is pretty hot. you should do mine sometime." the boy flushed bright red as she winked at him.
"aww is rwoddy-bawby blushing?" called a teasing voice,, soon followed by a new face popping out from behind the curtain. "wait,, who the hell is this? did someone hire a st—"
"edwards,, shut the fuck up." ben gave the bassist an unamused smile and slapped the back of his head. "chris,, this is blueberry. blueberry,, this is asshat number one."
rodrick looked like he was about to burst a blood vessel just from the insinuation that chrysanthemum had been hired for a 'backstage party'. before he could snap an angry comment at chris,, chrysanthemum came up beside them and tugged his shirt,, telling them it was ok. the brunet looked down at her,, flashing a small smile that managed to send her stomach up in butterflies.
chrysanthemum turned back to the unfamiliar band mate with a pink face and a smile."um,, hi,, i'm chrysanthemum davey. i'm a friend of rodrick and ben's. nice to meet you,, chris. you play well."
"are you single?"
"pardon me?" chrysanthemum flushed a darker red. "i mean— yeah? i—"
chris sauntered over to the girl with a sly smile. "well then,, wanna go out sometime?"
cassio looked over to ben,, who looked like he was about to burst out laughing,, with a shocked and amused expression. rodrick,, on the other hand,, was sliding his fingers down to lace with chrysanthemum's. "sorry,, man. she's going out with me tonight. go practice that shitty tempo of yours. bye."
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𝔰𝔬,, 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱𝔰 the story of how chrysanthemum was forced to hide her laughter in the car for at least ten minutes while rodrick apologized for pulling her out of the bar so quickly. she didn't mind at all— the chris dude had made her very uncomfortable to begin with. plus,, it was kinda hot when rodrick got defensive. 10/10,, would recommend being in that situation.
"rodrick— rodrick! please,, calm down! i promise it's ok,," she pressed between giggles. "don't worry! he was making me uncomfortable. you're my knight in shining armor for the second time tonight! i should be thanking you!"
that seemed to calm the teenager down a bit,, along with the fact that chrysanthemum was currently petting down his extremely messy hair. it was soothing— not that they'd admit it. "at least let me make it up to you,," they requested.
"what do you have in mind?"
"milkshakes,, duh."
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𝔴𝔥𝔢𝔫 rodrick said milkshakes,, he didn't mean those shitty ones you got in the fresh food section of a super target. he meant the bomb ass dairy queen snickers milkshakes. needless to say,, chrysanthemum was ready to give him her hand in marriage.
"you know,, you didn't have to pay,," the girl pointed out. "i mean,, i don't mind,, free food,, but i'm gonna pay you back,, you know." the girl was animatedly swinging a fry around to make her point,, causing her accomplice to start laughing,, then promptly choke on the milkshake they had been drinking. "yeah,, you better choke. serves you right for laughing at me,, heffley."
"please!" they laughed. "oh please,, spare me mercy! i'm sorry,, princess— i— i can't take you seriously at all—" at this point,, rodrick was close to tears. the girl had milkshake smeared all over her bottom lip.
"stop laughing! what happened! what did i do? you're embarrassing me,, asshole!" she groaned,, slamming herself back onto the headrest.
the boy had finally gotten over their laughing fit and began to lean closer,, taking the breath right out of the girl's lungs. he was a lot prettier up close. his eyes were a mix of hazelnut and coffee and forest green with little flecks of grey around the pupil. the black eyeshadow and mascara really made them stand out. they had the faintest freckles she had ever seen— each a different shade of almond— they looked like stars. and his nose was crooked by just the slightest angle. if you weren't looking hard enough,, you wouldn't have been able to see that there was obvious signs of unhealed breakage at all. it was all just so,, him. so breathtakingly messy and put together. so perfectly imperfect.
"and,, done. you need to pay more attention,, god! you had milkshake everywhere! hey,, are you ok?" they leaned back into their chair with a napkin in hand. chrysanthemum ran her thumb over where the paper had been,, wishing it was his.
"oh! um,, yeah. took me by surprise! it's all gone now,, yeah?"
