w.y-l.t.f.i-l.w.m | obx cast fan fic (au)

l.w.m: chapter 8 - press tour pressure

venice.

i was doing my own makeup for the press tour. yes, my own makeup. elan was in charge of arranging the makeup artists for everyone who wanted one. when we got to our new york hotel, she "accidentally" forgot to contact one for me because finding one who could "do me specifically was hard". i almost slapped the girl down, but i decided to find peace in the fact the man she's in love with still is in love with me.

when she got in contact with one, the lady was horrible. showed up with foundation ten shades lighter than me and had no idea how to do a black person's make up. so i was doing my own makeup and picking out my own clothes. the first stop was at bold magazine headquarters, and we were doing a video interview there. i had long thigh length knotless braids that were black and honey blonde. i wore them in a middle part ponytail held up with a lobster claw clip. i wore a white long sleeve button up with a black shorts and a black wool vest with a gold trim.

i wore a soft glam look and glossy black pumps. like always i was the last to arrive. i examined elan's outfit. she was wearing a sparking green long sleeve cocktail dress, as if she were going to homecoming and not an interview. we split up into different cars, i was with jd and bailey. the look on their faces were unreadable. and their banter was very generic. as if they wanted to speak freely but felt they couldn't. so of course, i said something.

"if y'all wanna talk about me you can say it to my face." i stated. there was a pregnant pause in the conversation.

"what are you going to say if they ask about the drama?" bailey blurted out.

"what are you afraid of me saying?" i challenged.

"isn't it obvious? we're afraid of you putting everything out there." jd said.

"hmm. that is interesting...." i said, knowing me not directly answering the question would make them angry.

"venice, i know our friendship isn't in the place to ask for favors from you, but please don't ruin everything for us. this means alot." bailey said.

"our friendship would of been in a good place if y'all were so intent on having another one with someone else. but whatever. i'll shut up and stay quiet and be the fucking puppet y'all want me to be. i'll keep it all inside. and if break, and i will, that will be a even bigger scandal." i said. they took deep sighs.

we finally arrive at the building, our car was first. then the other car was next. we walk in the building in silence. everyone was tiptoeing around me as if i were some bomb ready to detonate. was i? i struggled internally about what i should do.

like it or not, these people have been your family for the past two years. you've lost everything you've ever known...and they were there for you. minus elan.

i knew in my heart i could never ruin their careers, even though they deserved some sort of repercussions for what has happened.

the people at the magazine warmly received us. one woman, a young red head with large clear glasses and a style you'd pin on pinterest, was going to be conducting our individual interviews.

one by one, we were dragged away to a separate room to talk to her about "whatever we felt like answering or sharing". when she called me name, everyone shifted a bit. to the untrained eye, nothing happened. but to someone who knows the situation, that told everything.

she brought me to her office, told me her name was layla, and to act as if we were just friends catching up. the camera crew silently set up for my interview as i sat in my designated chair. my heart was pounding. this was my first in person interview. last year, all interviews had been online. over zoom. i could click away my anxiety, and go lay in my bed.