Finding My Muse - Nicholas Galitzine

Chapter Twleve: First Day

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--Esmerelda's POV--
"And you're sure Nick didn't get the internship?" I ask Harry as I walk into the apartment. He's holding the bags of takeout we picked up after class. I got the call early this morning telling me that I was chosen for one of the positions. Kylie was with me and we both started freaking out. Then I started freaking out at the thought of seeing Nick after last night. Harry shakes his head as I take the bags from his hand and place them on the counter.

"I invited him over tonight but he said he had some things to take care of," He says as I sit down. Kylie walks over giving her new boyfriend a kiss as I open up the wrapper of my burger, "I didn't tell him you got it...I thought it would cushion the blow," He says as I nod my head with ketchup on the side of my mouth. Kylie throws me a napkin as I give her a chipmunk-looking smile.

"They said it started tonight, right?" she asks. I tell her exactly what they said as we eat. There is nothing better than celebrating with a good burger. It's only three in the afternoon and I have to be there at five. I'm lucky I took all morning classes. When Harry starts talking about some parties going on this weekend I choose to zone out. I don't think I'm going near a bottle or anything with loud music for a while. I was up all night thinking about him and I hate that. My brain should be thinking of literally anything else but him. It's like I'm getting PTSD flashbacks of his hands touching my waist and how his lips felt against me.

"Are you alright?" Kylie asks taking me out of my trance. I lift my head and give her a small smile as I tell her I am listening. Her eyes look at me unconvinced as I steal another fry from out of the joint pile in the middle. When we finish eating the two of them go into her bedroom, while I sit in my room with my headphones on. I don't know what they are doing and I don't think I want to know.

I step into the building where I had the interview and head to the front desk. Instead of a woman in a nice shirt like I expected, there's a student with funky hair and enough eyeshadow to make a whole new pallet. Very punk rock, "You must be Esmerelda. I'm Birdie," She says with a bright smile. I nod my head and adjust my tote bag that has my notebook stuffed inside. She stands up from her desk and brings me down a small hallway until we pass through a propped open door. There's a small light that says, 'ON AIR' lit up in bright letters. She holds her finger over her mouth as she shows me where I can put my things. She doesn't start talking until the light turns off.

"So, this is where you will be spending every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday," She says as I look around. There are stacks upon stacks of records and CDs, "The man who runs this place loves keeping this old school. It's very Pitch Perfect," She says making me laugh. She tells me we are going to wait for the other intern before starting. When she leaves me alone I use the time to look at some vinyls from artists I've never heard of. It's maybe ten minutes later when the light turns back on again. I can hear Birdie whispering down the hallway. I'm kind of excited who I'm going to be working with for the rest of the year. I stand up before they come into the room and act like I've been enriching my musical expertise.

She leads the person through the stacks of music leading them right where I'm standing. The person is stopped behind a corner as she waits for the lights to turn off. When she continues walking forward my heart drops when I see Nick standing there. He looks at me confused as I give him the same look.

"Do you two know each other?" She asks as we sit down at a small table to discuss what this internship entails. We both just give her minimal responses making her look at us with wide eyes and an awkward smile. She gives us a small laugh before going into detail on what they do here. It's kind of obvious what she's going to say next. Clearly, she knows how easy this internship is with how she talks about it, "Any questions?" She asks as she stands up clapping her hands together, "Good. Get to work newbies," she smiles before walking out.

"Harry said you didn't get it," I whisper yell standing up.

"Sorry to disappoint Princess," He sighs as he moves to the furthest end of the room.  have to bite my tongue from mocking his stupid fucking statement, but I copy his movements and find my pile of records that have been thrown about. It's torture hearing him working not even ten feet away. Why wouldn't he tell Harry he got the job? I sit down on the ground and cough as dust flies into my face. A vinyl with a random man's face on the cover is bent as it sits crushed by a shelf and other stacks. I pull it out and place it on the chair to give to someone later. I look up from my position and see Nick looking at me through a crack in the shelves.

"Sorry, you probably don't know what hard work is," I tell him as he closes the gap with music. He goes to say something but the light above the door goes red again. That may be my new favorite thing on this planet. It's like a mute button for him. I jump when the door opens to the studio the man was once working in. He steps down the three stairs and sees Nick and I cleaning the catalog.

"I'm David. It's nice to meet the two students who got the internship," he says as we walk over to him. He shakes our hands and tells us to keep up the good work before leaving the room.

"He seemed chill," I state turning to Nick as he starts walking back to his corner. I mumble under my breath again which catches his attention.

"Are you mad at me or something?" He asks as he throws some CDs into a box. I roll my eyes and keep doing what I'm supposed to be doing, "If this is about last night," he says before trailing off with a bitter laugh.

"Why would it be about last night? All I remember is some British behemoth throwing himself at me," I tell him as I drop a box onto the floor.

"Me? Throwing myself at you? I think you have that flipped princess," he says before mimicking what I said to him last night before I kissed him.

"If you like me so much why don't you just tell me? This whole asshole act is a little played out, don't you think?" I ask as the door opens revealing Birdie.

"Sorry to interrupt. But you guys are free for the night," she says. I thank her and tell her it was nice to meet her, as I grab my bag and rush out the door. I don't even have my arm fully in my jacket as I start walking home. I take my keys out of my bag as I get to the door. When I walk in Harry and Kylie are passed out on the couch. Thank god. I am not in the mood to talk about my first day and all its glory.