DROP DEAD (Oli Sykes Fan Fiction) COMPLETE

Drop Dead

It takes me over an hour to get to my destination, and not wanting to be late, I take the earlier bus to make sure I have enough time to find the building – I don't want to be late on my first day! When I arrive, I'm almost 45 minutes early, so I wander back to a little cafe I'd passed about 2 blocks back. 'What a cute place' I think to myself as I step inside in search of caffeine. I'm immediately overwhelmed with the aroma of baking cookies and breads and it makes me salivate. "Hello love, What can I get you?" A voice calls out as I peruse the home-made slices, cakes and healthy-looking baked goods a little too intensely. "Hello. Just a latte thanks." I reply, snapping out of my bakery-fuelled trance. "Do you want that on regular milk, soy, skim, almond?" the lady asks.
"Oh, skim please." I reply. I guess I should be healthy-ish. "Can I get one of those muesli slices too please?" I ask, pointing at something that looks less naughty than everything else. I figure it would make a good snack, or lunch or whatever. "Sure." the lady replies. I hand over my money and sit at a little table, flipping through a magazine as I sip my coffee.

I stroll back to the Drop Dead office and arrive about twenty minutes early, and I'm not sure if it's the coffee, or if it's just excitement, but I'm practically shaking with happiness as I press the intercom and get buzzed in. I can't believe I'm working for this brand I love, which just happens to be owned by Oli Sykes from Bring Me The Horizon. I drop my coffee cup into a recycling bin and step into the office.
"Hi, you must be Grace." a voice says as I wander inside the building looking a little lost. "I'm Lisa." she says holding out her hand with a smile. She's got short, dark hair, bright red lipstick, and a friendly smile which automatically makes me feel a little less terrified. "Oh Hi Lisa." I reply with a smile.

Lisa takes me back into the office and introduces me to the team; about a dozen people all in one big open room, with a few closed offices up one end. The vibe is really laid back and friendly, and I love the way everyone is dressed – from band shirts and ripped jeans to boots and tartan dresses. The vibe is definitely very 'on brand'. Lisa shows me to an empty desk and points out where a few important things are. "You brought your laptop?" she asks. I nod and pull it from my bag and power it up on the desk. "Ok, I've set you up with a temporary email that I've sent out to the team so they can let you know what they need." she says. "For now, just have fun and do some design brainstorming and I'll come back over and see you soon." she adds with a smile. "Thanks Lisa." I reply happily. I can hardly believe where I am as I sit down at the desk and look around the room; there's a black wall with a huge Drop Dead logo on it, and photos of old campaigns hanging on the walls. Of course, Oli is in some of them and I have to stop myself from smiling.

As I sit there I'm broken out of my daydream as someone comes up behind me. "Hi, I'm Justine." a voice rings from above me. A tall, dark-haired girl with tattoos down her arms stands in front of my desk with a smile. "Hi, I'm Grace." I reply. This girl is really quite pretty in a unique kind of way. "You're doing work experience, yeah?" she asks.
"Yes, just for a couple of weeks." I reply. I find it really hard to read her... she sounds friendly but I get a weird vibe for some reason. "I guess we'll be desk buddies then, I sit just there." she says pointing at the desk a bit behind mine and then walking around to it. "Maybe you can help me with some things if I need you?" she says suggestively.
"Yeah of course." I reply. I guess it's nice that she's including me already, and I think maybe I got the wrong vibe, she seems friendly. She goes on to ask me a few questions... obviously one being about my Australian accent, and then tells me that she's vegan and has worked at Drop Dead for 8 months now doing analytics, oh and that we're both 24. "Oh my God, what's your instagram? I'll add you." she asks suddenly, poised with her phone in hand ready to type it in. "Oh, I don't use it much." I tell her, but I give her my username anyway. Eventually I turn around to my laptop and begin working on some design ideas. I have a lot, and I go off on about a million tangents, but nothing ever seems good enough to show Lisa or anyone else. I guess I feel kind of intimidated.

About an hour passes before Justine comes rushing back to her desk in a fluster. "Is everything OK?" I ask as I turn around, trying to be friendly. "Yeah." Justine replies, scrambling in the top draw of her desk. "Can I do anything to help?" I ask, trying to be helpful as I watch her pull out what looks like an entire makeup collection. "No." she says abruptly as she starts fixing her face and grooming her hair frantically. I just shrug and turn back to my laptop a little confused. "Hello, I'm John." an older man says to me from in front my desk, almost scaring me half to death since I didn't realise he was there.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." he says.
"It's OK." I laugh. "I'm Grace. Nice to meet you." I reply a little late. I just kind of look at him for a second still a bit confused about what Justine is doing, and he just smiles at me.
"I thought I would come and introduce myself rather than just email you." he says. "Would you be able to resize some photos for me?" he asks politely.
"Yes of course, I can do that." I reply.
"Thanks Grace, I'll send you an email with all of the specs." he says. I notice him look past me at Justine behind me who's still rummaging around in her desk and he obviously tries to hide his amusement. "You picked a good day to start." he says quietly with a cheeky smile before wandering off. I watch him, wondering what he's talking about as he sits down at his desk at the other end of the room. I look at him with a little confusion, and he smiles at me from his desk. I snap myself out of it and go back to my designs. As I sit there clicking away, an email pops up on my computer. No subject title, but it's from John. I click the email and read it to myself.

Thanks for your help with this Grace - please find the images and specs attached. PS – the boss is on his way to the office... Regards, John Harris

My eyes widen as I read it. Our boss? Does that mean... Oli? Surely not. I look down the room to where John's desk is and he's looking at me with a smile then he winks. I grin back at him stupidly. Oh my god, he definitely means Oli. As I hear Justine rustling around behind me again, I suddenly realise why she's dolling herself up and I shake my head with a little amused smile. I mean, I get wanting to look good in front of him, I really do... but it still seems kind of funny to me. I mean, he's her boss and if she's been here for 8 months, surely she didn't need to be doing that. I suddenly wonder if maybe I should have made a little more effort, but I didn't think I'd actually be seeing Oli, especially not on my first day! I thought he'd be off with his band or something, not in Sheffield in the office of his clothing company. My heart beats fast, and that nervous excitement that I had all morning rises back into my chest; I can't believe I'm going to be in the same room as Oli Sykes!