Vinesauce Oneshots

youre in college and joel helps you dye your hair while you listen to flatsound

(3 parter, couldn't fit it in the title.)
(F/c= favorite color)
(Its herold52 again, _frown is sick so I'm helping her with her books uwu, this was originally a draft but i proofread+completed it)
(Song is "I Exist I Exist I Exist" by Flatsound)

It was a really loud Friday.

You had spent your morning arguing with your father over the phone. At this point, you couldn't even remember what it was about. Oftentimes he would just call you and scream.

Your teenaged neighbors nextdoor were having a party this night. The music was incredibly loud, and you were surprised there hadn't been any noise complaints yet, or that no parents had been alerted.

You sat in your apartment, crumpled over on the bathroom floor, clutching a box of (f/c) hair dye tightly in your hands. Class had been stressing you out bigtime, and all you wanted was a moment to calm down. Maybe dying your hair would have helped.

You had been texting your best friend, Joel, who was also pretty stressed over class. You were trying to get him over to your apartment so he could help you bleach and dye your hair. He wanted to, but...

"(Y/n), I don't have a car, much less a license. You could come get me, right?"

You sighed and pursed your lips. Was this really worth going out again for?

"Yeah, on my way."

You hopped in your car and turned up the radio. Might as well play in with your loud surroundings.

-- timeskip --

"Really? (F/c) hair dye?" Snorted Joel, inspecting the box. You furrowed your brow and opened your mouth to protest, but he stopped you. "I think it would look great on you. Let's get to bleaching your hair."

You almost sighed with relief at his approval. As much as you enjoyed the playful banter with him, you really didn't want him to constantly laugh about your hair color. It was fun, but also grating after a while.

"The instructions say to put the powder into the oxide, but I feel like I'd spill it everywhe-" you cut him off by grabbing a funnel from your cabinet and placing it on the small table in front of him. "Oh, thanks."

You watched proudly as he carefully put the powder into the funnel and tapped it all into the oxide bottle perfectly. He admired his work before screwing the top on and shaking it until it was thick. You grabbed your iPod and put on the first playlist you found, which was just a bunch of Flatsound songs, as Joel continued mixing the bleach, and kneeled behind you to start putting it in.

"baby please, it's the way you speak
forming words so easily
and i think of the way you think
it keeps me from falling asleep
in that grave i call a bed
until you called me up and said..."

"Did you know this could explode if you leave the cap on? Cool, right?" He chuckled to himself, finishing up with the shaking and replacing the closed top with the nozzle top. "Hey, you're awful quiet. What's up?"

"Nothing." You winced as he accidentally pulled a piece of your hair out.

"Oop, sorry. You sure?" He began to messily squirt the bleach all over your hair, somehow managing to evenly coat it.

"Yeah, just really tired. This party nextdoor is giving me a headache." You mumbled as he ran his fingers gently through your hair. You closed your eyes, listening intently to your music as you felt the bleach stiffen your hair almost immediately.

"'i haven't stopped crying
my father's been drinking
i need a place to stay
i don't want to be here
he's saying the words that
he promised he would never say'"

"You sure? I heard that argument on the phone you had this morning while I was walking to class. Was it your dad again?" He asked cautiously, bunching your hair into a plastic shower cap and taking off his gloves, and wrapping an arm around you. You scrunched your face up and bit your lip.

"'that liquid he consumes
makes him speak the truth'

and i said no, its not that at all
its that bottle of lies for a troubled heart"

You turned to face him, your brow furrowed as he continued to speak. "You don't need to tell me these things, (y/n). Sometimes I can hear him screaming at you through the phone. He's an alcoholic, isn't he?"

"its standing on the edge of a mountain top
screaming anything he wants
like, 'look at me, look at me, look at me, because i exist, i exist, i exist'"

"How did you know?" You asked.

"I had a hunch. That way you were crying didn't look like it started from some argument with a friend." He said, softly. A tear fell down your cheek, almost audibly dripping onto the floor. Joel wiped it with his thumb, pulling you onto his lap, and there was a brief, almost tense silence between you two before he moved in for a kiss.

"i remember the way you shook
its a shame that we're not soul mates
because if i didn't know better
i'd say this feels pretty good
how could i be scared?
when i stretch and feel that you're there
so shut your mouth
because these words will speak themselves
i can feel them in these blankets
and they're surrounding your figure
embraced in the quilts
and i cant help but think
you're my missing puzzle piece"

You wrapped your arms around him, trying to stifle your sobs as you kissed him. This was perfect, you thought, but was it real?

"i wake up in the hallway, i'm looking for sunlight
with rays that will cure me of the pain that keeps my lungs tight
ignoring the voices and feelings that tell me
to get out of this house
i cant make them stop
i'm just like my mom"

Joel tenderly wrapped his arms around you and broke the kiss, rocking you back and forth in his lap as you broke down crying against his chest.

"Shhhh, it's alright, hon. You don't know how long I've waited to do this." He whispered, his grip getting tighter. "I can't imagine how it feels to be hurt like that, and I'm sorry I didn't catch on sooner." He kissed your forehead.

"and you said no, these demons will fall
you're so precious to us all
and i said i cant do this alone
i still need you to hold
so don't let go, because i'm afraid"

The song came to a close as you sat, calming yourself down in Joel's lap.

"Jag älskar dig, (y/n)." He mumbled into your forehead.

"Jag älskar dig också, Joel..." you looked up at him. He seemed a bit surprised that you knew what he said. You looked into eachothers' eyes, smiling a bit.

"I think the bleach is done developing." He said, kissing your forehead one last time before helping you up.