Marlboro Boy...Adam Stanheight x Reader

Prologue

It was a rainy September night. The rain was cold as it pelted against Y/N's jacket and the cheap plastic bags in her hands. She had just visited the local grocery store to do some shopping; her pantry had gone bare.

She trudged through the storm, her shoes splashing in each puddle no matter how much she tries avoiding them. Clumsily, she topples in through the door to the apartment building. The apartment was in the bad part of town, and quite murky looking. The abrupt wind from the storm swung the door shut, making the glass panels in it shudder. Thunder booms, making Y/N jump.

She sighs, catching her breath and walking up the stairs. Each step makes a creak under the faulty and possibly dangerous wooden steps. They were aged, and the middle of them was worn and sagged under years of people stepping in the same spot over and over again.

She turns the corner, now on floor two of the apartment building. The smell of cigarette smoke wafts in her face, making her gag. "Who would be smoking inside? There's literally a no-smoking sign in the first-floor hallway." Y/N thought to herself, mentally scolding whoever it was coming from.

She locates her apartment door and began walking to it. "Found the culprit," a man stood in the hallway, cigarette at his lips; carelessly blowing out the smoke he inhaled. Y/N unintentionally made a disapproving expression towards the man. "What an asshole."

The man looked young, maybe in his early twenties. He had messy brown hair and a lean build. He was slouched against the wall right next to Y/N's apartment door. He only had a lighter in one hand, and a decently sized bag slung on his shoulder. She mentally face-palms and gets her keys out of her pocket. "Of course, he's right by my door."

Her grip on the heavy grocery bags tightened, feeling them slip from her hands; fingers have gone numb from the weight of the bags being held by the plastic handles. They were digging into her flesh. She grunts as she sticks the key into the keyhole, wiggling it slightly. She tried opening the door, but the knob didn't budge. This wouldn't be much of an issue, but she had an audience. She blushes and desperately tries wiggling the key around more, praying to whatever god existed to just please let her in.

"These doors are tricky," the man finally spoke up. He had been watching her through this whole embarrassing moment. It was a simple thing, sure, your door getting stuck; the man cracked a smile feeling the discomfiture seething off her. It was quite amusing to him.

Y/N doesn't even bother glancing at him, still annoyed at the smell of smoke which only grew stronger being right next to him. "Yeah," she rasped, shoving her weight against the door, attempting to bust it open.

"Need help?" he raised an eyebrow at her, flicking some ash off his cigarette.
"Nope," she replied more harshly than she meant to, but she was annoyed at her door not budging, and the aroma of smoke only drove her madder than she was.

The man scoffed slightly at her incivility, "You don't need to be rude," he muttered under his breath.
Y/N heard him and takes a deep breath, trying not to snap at this stranger. "Smoking kills." she retorted back at him. She drops her grocery bags on the floor and kept trying different keys on her keychain, it didn't matter if she knew those keys wouldn't even fit in the keyhole; she was desperate.

"Living is overrated," he shrugs and watches her closer, now invested in watching her endeavor to open her front door.
"Yeah? Well not everybody wants lung cancer, second-hand smoke can still cause health complications." she snapped back, her voice was sharp.

"Feisty, eh?" a smile catches on his lips, he puts out his cigarette and tosses it on the ground. Y/N watches him accusingly, "Inconsiderate and he litters? What a winner." she thinks to herself.
"I'm not feisty," she looks down at the ground. She didn't know why she was in such a bad mood, the only explanation was the weather. Rain may be peaceful, but thunder, lightning, and 96 MPH winds; are not so peaceful.

"Yeah sure, whatever you say feisty," he stands closer to her and reaches his hand out, "Let me help, give me the key,"
She stared at him a moment, studying him, mentally deciding if she should trust him or not.
"Look, I'm sure you want to spend all night with me, but I've got things to do. Let me help."

Y/N blushed at his flirtatious remark but obliged. She handed him the key hesitantly and backed away to give him space. He jingles the key in the keyhole, he expertly opens the door with ease. This made the embarrassment Y/N already felt settle in, she avoids eye contact with the stranger.

The man just chuckles, "If smoking is so bad for my health how was I able to open the door? Maybe it gives me super strength, y'know? I could be The Incredible Black Lung." he says in a heroic voice, one that a superhero would use.

Y/N furrows her eyebrows and gibes at his joke, even if she thought it was funny, "Yeah yeah, whatever. Thanks for opening the door." She says half-heartedly, attempting to go inside her apartment. The man, however, speaks up to catch her attention. "I never caught your name," he says simply.

Y/N spun around and looks at him, a bored expression on her face.
"Y/N," she said flatly, she felt as if she didn't owe him her name, they were only strangers. The most he did for her was open the door.
"Adam, pleasure to meet you." He smiles slightly, "I like your hair, very rockstar,"

She looks at him puzzled for a moment, "Rockstar..?" she repeated his words back to him. Adam just looks away sheepishly, "Sorry your hair, it's very rockstar, I like it."
Y/N drops the snide look she was giving him and softens up for a moment, she realized what a jerk she was being to him. Yet, in return, he still complimented her.

"Speaking of rockstar," he began, he unfolded a crumbled piece of paper from his back jean pocket and hands it to her. "I've been instructed to give these out. My buddy's band, they don't completely suck as far as buddy bands go." he clicks his tongue and clears his throat. "You live here?"

"Yeah, obviously," she gestures to the grocery bags she picked up, now in her unsteady grasp once again. Adam nodded his head absently. Y/N attempted to walk inside her apartment once more, ending their conversation.

"I'll see you there..!" he calls to her before she could close the door. However, it seemed more like a question than a statement.

Y/N stood halfway in the doorway for a second, staring down at the flyer he gave her, careless scanning the words.
Adam's voice startled her as he spoke once again, "You know what, I'm not gonna see you there, am I?" his voice had a slight pleaded tone to it.
Y/N was silent a moment before she spoke, a bitter-sweet smile was on her lips.

"Probably not," she admitted, finally looking up at him. He was a stranger for all she knew, she didn't plan on going to this arbitrary concert just because he asked.

Adam digs around the bag slung on his shoulder to pull out a professional-looking camera. Y/N tilts her head at him, wondering what he could do with it.
"Can I take your picture?" He asked, his hazel-green eyes seemed to practically beg her to acquiesce.

Y/N just lets out a breathy laugh, looking back down at the ground shyly. "Wow erm- didn't expect that," she mumbles to herself, biting her lip as she decided if she'd let this stranger take a photo of her. Her gut said this was shady, but her heart was urging her to allow him.

She gives him a simple nod and looks him in the eyes, hinting that he could take her picture. Adam smiles at this and aims his camera at her, quietly he focused on her face. The flash of the camera shined against Y/N's face, and the shutter of the camera echoed in the quiet hallway. The rain and thunder from before seemingly disappeared.

"Nice," he smirks, then looks at her once again, "thanks."
Y/N turns her back to him, "Welcome," she finally goes inside her apartment, closing the door behind her. Leaving Adam alone in the hallway.