Interning at GMM

Chapter 2

For the last couple of weeks, there's been a weird sort of tension between you and Link. He seems to try to make an effort to specifically single you out when he has the chance. During meetings he'll ask you questions about his ideas, or try to give you the floor to speak. When moving past you on set, he'll touch your shoulder or back to warn you he's there. Sometimes he even looks at you while filming, giving you a crooked smile, once even a wink, sending your heart racing. You dismiss all these things, however, thinking they're just him being friendly and you're only really noticing because you're such a huge fan of his.

One day you're at your desk and Chase stops by. He tells you that he's having a party for the crew Friday night and that you should come. "Sure! Sounds like lots of fun!" you say cheerfully. Your coworkers at your old job never even saw you outside of work, let alone invited you to a party they were throwing. You're glad that you finally feel like you really fit in here.

"Great" Chase says as he shoots you some finger guns and walks off.

Friday comes around, and after you try on several outfits, you finally make up your mind. You feel good, look good, and are excited to mingle with your coworkers outside of work. As you leave your apartment, a thought crosses your mind that you're wondering why it hadn't before, 'will Rhett and Link be there?' It was mainly Link you were concerned about. You really hadn't thought to ask Chase, and even if you had, it'd sound pretty weird to actually ask him that. You start to get a little uneasy as you climb into your Uber and head to Chase's place.

In the car, you get a text from Chase telling you that the party is on the roof of his apartment, and if you tell the guy at the desk that you're there for his party, he'll show you the way up. You follow his instructions and get up to the roof. There are people everywhere. You really hadn't realized how many people work at GMM, but here they all were, all dressed semi-casual, sipping different drinks and snacking on chips and dip. It was an adorable atmosphere, with nice music playing in the background and strings of lights hung from some metal poles. Everyone was chatting. Chase spots you and makes his way over.

"Hey! Glad you could make it!" He says, with that awkward charm that he has. He puts a hand on your shoulder and gestures toward the drink and snack table. "You can help yourself over there. We have wine, beer, tea, coffee, soda."

"Thanks for inviting me! I haven't been out with lots of people in a while, so this will be fun!" You say enthusiastically. Chase shoots you another smile before heading off to mingle with other people. You make your way over to the table and grab a glass of wine. You look down to see a familiar pair of hands grabbing some dip from the communal bowl. Your eyes trace the hands leading to the arms and finally up to the face of Link smiling at you.

"Hey!" Link says, sounding surprised to see you there.

"Hey!" You say back, equally surprised. You take a sip of wine. Rhett comes up behind Link, slapping a hand on his shoulder. He appears to be a little tipsy, in fact, both of them do come to think of it.

"Heeeyyy Y/N! It'sh sho great sheeing you herree!" Rhett says, slurring his words while using Link's shoulder to stay steady.

Link giggles, tilting his head towards Rhett but maintaining eye contact with you. "See Rhett, I told you she'd come."

You laugh at their drunken banter. It's weird seeing them in such a state since they're so wholesome online.

Rhett lets out one of his famous loud cackles. "Yeaaahhhh, you were riiighhht." He stops and stares into space, his eyes widen as if he realized something. He strokes his beard as a sly smile spreads across his face. "Hey, uhhh, Link... I need to uhhhhsshhh... Chase is calling me over..." He slaps him on the back one final time before turning and leaving the two of you behind.