𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐬 | pete davidson

ten: the car ride

"Dahlia?"

She and Pete snapped towards the doorway at the same time, finding the same stage hand that handed Dahlia the phone to speak to Lorne. "Dahlia? Pete? The last skit's wrapping up."

The two looked at each other, to see the other's response. "You ready to go?" Pete asked her. Dahlia nodded, evening out her lip gloss in the mirror one last time, blowing her reflection a kiss before getting up from the bench. Pete thought that was pretty cute.

He stumbled a bit getting up from the bench, almost tripping over himself as he tried to step over the seat. Dahlia caught him by the arm, "Careful there, daddy long legs."

"Ohh, so you're calling me daddy now?" Pete smirked.

Dahlia scoffed playfully, snickering at him as she let go of his arm. "You got the joke, it's 'cause you're tall."

Pete glanced down at her, now somewhat taller with her wedge heels on. "Nah, keep calling me daddy. I'll learn to get used to it." He teased, gently elbowing her in the shoulder. Dahlia gasped softly, laughing out of surprise in response to Pete. "You're kinda dirty-minded, Davidson. Hope you're not like this at the afterparty."

"Guess we'll just have to wait and see..."

*

The afterparty was being held at a rental house in Brooklyn Lorne reserved for the night. All the cast members were there, including some of their friends, spouses, and other plus-one's. They had all arrived in shuttle buses heading straight for the rental; everyone had travelled there together except for Dahlia. She opted out, choosing to arrive to the afterparty a little later.

She told Lorne some other worldly reason why she couldn't ride with the others, some quick-footed lie she thought up on the spot. Lorne could kind of sense it, but brushed it off regardless. "Ehh, suit yourself, sweetheart. We'll save the first glass of brandy for you." He joked, stepping into the vehicle with one half of the cast already boarded and the other in another vehicle already en route.

Dahlia waited for the bus to leave, turning to head back into the building to shield herself from the cold of the night, when suddenly she saw a black Bentley Mulsanne pull up to the curb.

She watched as the rear window rolled down and out popped a familiar face.

It was Jack's assistant Paul, she recognized him from his glasses alone. In a mousy voice, he spoke. "Miss Coy, will you please join me in the car?"

"Paul! Why are you--? Where's Jack?" She asked him, flabbergasted as she made it up to his window. "I'll explain everything, Miss Coy. Please." He ushered for her to get in the back, which Dahlia obliged. The driver took off, pulling out away from the curb with ease; Paul didn't instruct the driver on where he was taking them, which questioned Dahlia all the more.

"So? What's his excuse this time?" She folded her arms over her chest, raising a quizzical eyebrow at Paul.

"W-w-well..." He stuttered, tugging on his collar as he struggled to find the right words to speak. "Mr. Veramente has been preoccupied with his upcoming album, y-y-you of all people kn-know that better than anyone..."

"I can't see what that has to do with him missing my time on SNL. I asked him to do one thing and he couldn't even--"

"I-I-I'm sorry, Miss Coy, I-I know how much tonight meant to you-- and Jack knows it, too--"

Dahlia scoffed, crossing her right leg over her left. "That makes it worse."

She stared down at her feet before crossing her gaze over to the window, watching as all the lights of the city passed them by with the occasional opening from the high rise buildings to expose the (almost full) moon in all its beauty.

Paul watched as Dahlia sighed to herself, slumping back in her seat with her head rested against the window. He fumbled with his hands, not knowing what to do with them while they sat in his lap.

"He... brought me here to take you to him."

Dahlia jolted forward, letting the words slip right out of her mouth, "NO!"

"Paul," she warned him. "I don't want to see him right now. I'm not seeing him."

"I-I--" Paul stammered. "I-I can't do that, Miss Coy. Mr. Veramente's orders were specific, he--"

"He doesn't get to see me after what he did to me tonight. My time is way too valuable to be played around like that." Paul continued to stutter as Dahlia stood up for herself. "He knows what this is, and if he really wanted something more with me, he'd downright fucking commit."

She sat up, pushing herself forward through the open partition with her phone ready in her hand. "Driver, take me to this address. I'll tip you generously once we arrive there safely."

"Yes, Miss Coy." The chauffeur responded, taking her phone when they arrived at a red light.

"Ohhh...." Paul groaned to himself, nervously playing with his hands. "This isn't good, this isn't good..."

"Paul, you have nothing to worry about. This is all Jack's doing, and he knows it, so he has no right to punish you for his stupidity." This did very little to ease Paul's anxiety about the whole situation. Paul wheezed, "I'm sorry, Miss Coy, but I w-was put in charge of keeping an eye on you while M-Mr. Veramente was away for the evening. He said h-he'd rather me than his bodyguards so that you d-didn't feel threatened."

Dahlia tightened the grip on her purse, holding it in her lap while she stared again out of the window. "Y-you have to come with me. Mr. Veramente will be p-pissed... more so at me than you, b-but still the both of us!"

Dahlia just shook her head, her eyes never once leaving the moon.

**

The chauffeur had arrived at the address of Lorne's rental. She breathed in deeply, exhaling softly through her mouth before paying the driver, stepping out of the car and heading towards the porch.

"Miss Coy, please!" Paul whined. "Please reconsider this! M-my job's on the line here!"

Dahlia stopped in her tracks, taking in what Paul had just said and contemplated whether he was exaggerating or not. She made a decision a quickly, turning on the balls of her feet to the car, swinging the car door open and grabbing Paul by the hand.

He yelped as she pulled him out. She smirked, looking back at him as they reached the grand double front doors. "If your job tonight is to keep an eye on me, then so be it."