the star and the songbird (JaskierXGeralt Modern AU)

The Club (Ch 1)

December was over. it was the new year. and that meant one thing: back to work.

Julian had been dreading the month of January because that meant that he had to go back to working at the club. he wanted December to last forever, but when did he ever get what he wanted? He found one good thing. Geralt. he hoped that the Club wouldn't come between them. he also hoped he hadn't done the wrong thing. he really didn't want Yen to hate him. Geralt still lived in his own apartment with the football team, but according to Lambert Yen and Geralt had only remotely looked at each other during practice because they didn't have a choice. 

He really did feel bad. Geralt never brought it up, but Julian could see it in his eyes that he was hurt. he saw it a lot in the eyes of his clients. that sense of guilt and hurt because of the betrayal of a loved one. and now he [Julian] was a part of that hurt and guilt. he knew that they had to resolve this by themselves, and that he shouldn't get involved, but he had a plan. he had to go to work. then he decided that he would go and talk to Yen and they would come to an understanding. at least, he hoped that's what would happen. 

Julian tried to walk as slowly as he could to the club. he wanted his freedom to last. but he knew it wouldn't. as soon as he got there he was scolded by Phillipa about being late.

"You should have been here an hour ago! we just opened and the place is packed, do you expect me to run this place with one less dancer?" she was fuming.

"I'm sure you could manage. you did perfectly fine before you hired me," Julian snarked. he wasn't sure that it was the right thing to say considering the fact that she was already mad, but he didn't care. he was tired of her yapping at him.

"Oh we're opening with sarcasm, are we? I honestly don't care what has you in a mood, but might I remind you," she pulled up a contract on her tablet. "You signed this with your own free will. you belong to this club. now get in there and you are not changed and on that floor in the next 20 minutes I'm taking away 10% of your pay."

the contract. how could he forget that stupid fucking contract? Julian wasn't paying attention when he signed it. he was being bombarded with so many questions that he couldn't focus on what was written. but after his first night, he found out what he had really agreed to. 

he walked in and got dressed while Jackie did his make up. he was doing his best to keep in the tears.

Jackie tried to help him feel better. "Ya know, I could always flood the bathroom again."

everybody laughed. except Julian.

"I got to get out there," he said. he wore a neon blue crop top with a white denim vest and some shorts that matched the vest. his face and arms were painted with glow in the dark pinks and greens and purples. the first thing he did before he went out to the dance floor was take a bottle of gin and chug half of the bottle. everybody watched as he said, "Phillipa can suck my dick! no way am I doing this sober!" and he walked out with a whole bottle's worth of fake confidence.

Jackie sighed. "There he goes again. it's gonna be a hell of a morning tomorrow," and they all went to work.

as soon as he stepped out on the floor, Julian knew that he was no longer Julian. he was Jaskier for the rest of the night. he knew this because he didn't remember the majority of the night. he knew that he had done a few dances, and he knew that whoever was preforming wasn't him. it was a mask that Phillipa had created that buried Julian deep down inside himself. it was a monster who didn't say no to anything. all that Julian could do was watch.

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Geralt wasn't looking forward to this new school semester. the first weeks were a bit a blur. he couldn't stand seeing everyone congratulate him on the game back in November. he just wanted them all to shut up and leave him alone. but he couldn't say that because he had a reputation to maintain. and practice was torture! he wasn't bothered by all of the normal classes like English and math, he was actually pretty good at those. but as soon as his watch beeped at 2 pm, he knew it was time to head for the football field. 

it was a normal first practice of the semester, but then he saw Yen. she walked out with her Cheer squad and locked eyes with Geralt. he wanted to yell. he wanted to make her feel just as guilty as he did. but he didn't want to embarrass her in front of everyone. he carried on without thinking about her or Christmas. football, he told himself, just think about football. that's all you need to do. just focus on the ball. focus on the ball. like usual, he was the best player and was still the captain of the team. he ran well and fast. he was still the star player. he always had been. but he couldn't help but think that this routine was getting repetitive. he was tired of being perfect.

at the end of practice on Friday he went to the changing rooms and was surprised to see Triss there. no one else was there, because everyone else had gone home. Triss was leaning against Geralt's locker.

"I need in there," he said. he knew that Triss could easily flip Geralt on his back because both of her parents were professional wrestlers. "Please move. if you are going to try and convince me to talk to her, it's not going to work."

"I'll move when I feel like it. it's destroying her, ya know. you look at her with the rage of a thousand suns and you won't let her explain herself."

"Ok then you explain. are you going to tell me that it's not what it looked like? because in my eyes it seems like you've been fucking my girl----," he corrected himself, "My ex for two and a half months. so what could she possibly say that would change that?" he was trying really hard not to get angry.

"Maybe you should ask her yourself. you're right. I have been fucking your ex for two and a half months. but she's the only one who has the reason. So ask HER. and stop being such a dick about it. you look me in the eyes and tell me that you haven't been seeing that twig of a man from Florida," she said. Geralt looked down.
"That's what I thought." she left the locker room and Geralt was alone.

he didn't go back to his apartment. Jackie had given Geralt a copy of the key to Julian's apartment in case of an emergency. he didn't know what emergency that would be, but it definitely came in handy when he needed to go somewhere else. he walked up to the door and knocked. no answer. he unlocked the door and walked in. there was a note on the table in the kitchen:

went to work. I should be back by 11. love you.

<3 Julian.

he was at work. Geralt looked at his watch. it was 10:30. he decided he would text Julian and let him know that he was at his apartment. 

he waited. and waited. 10:35, 10:50, 11:00, 11:30. it was 12 AM when the door finally opened. Julian stumbled in with Greg holding him up. Geralt got up from the sofa and helped lay Julian down on the bed. he was conscious, but completely wasted.

"Geralt! what are you doing here? its Thursday. you have school tomorrow. don't tell me you're skipping, you big teddy bear," Julian laughed like the phrase 'Teddy bear' was the funniest thing he'd ever heard.

"What happened?" Geralt asked.

Greg sighed as Julian threw up in a trash can. "Work."