We'll Try Again A Bad Omens fanfic
CW: flashbacks of arguments, mild sexual & explicit language
Word count: 2.8k
A.N.: Hey y'all, it's Hannah V. I've decided to upload all three of the current parts of this fic from my other blog to here. It's gonna take me some time to get everything fic-related transferred cuz I'm also going to be formatting them and removing any mentions of Matt, but fingers crossed I'll have everything here by the weekend. For now, enjoy <3
(Divider was made by me btw, if y'all wanna use it for your own fics, please tag me. Thank uuuu <3 )
Masterlist
The last words you screamed at him echoed in your mind.
"You promised, and you lied!"
You remember the way the door flew out of your hand when you walked out of his house, the way the rain pelted your bare shoulders after you threw off Noah's jacket and left it on the lawn, the way your hands shook as you stuck your key into the ignition to leave.
The way his voice echoed when he ran out of the house and called out for you to come back.
The way the tears streamed down his face as he stood in the middle of the road, clothes soaked and hair dripping.
A violent shake to your shoulder broke your train of thought.
You looked up to see your best friend Leah standing there. By the look she was giving you, you knew she had to have been trying to get your attention for a pretty while.
She sighed and shook her head. "I was in the middle of telling you about Derek and then you spaced out. I thought I was gonna have to slap you to bring you back."
You rubbed your forehead, your palm now noticably sweaty. "Sorry, just, didn't get much sleep last night."
Her eyes narrowed. She always knew when you were lying, but she knew it was pointless trying to get you to come clean. She'd always wait for you to tell the truth on your own, and normally you would. But you also knew she'd probably hit you with something if you told her you were thinking about Noah again.
It had been 3 years since the break-up. Surely you should have been over him by now. That's what Leah always told you whenever you talked about him, at least. But the dreams you had about him every night, the song he wrote about you and recorded with his band still on your playlist, the necklace he bought you always on you but tucked into your shirt so Leah wouldn't rip it off and throw it out. She told you that you needed to move on, that he wasn't worth your time anymore.
She didn't know him like you did, though.
Leah pulled out her phone, checking the time. "Well, you gotta wake up or something. We're supposed to be going out tonight, remember?"
You groaned, you completely forgot you agreed to go out tonight. "Any chance we could reschedule? I'm not feeling like going out and getting hit on by creeps tonight."
She scoffed. "No, Y/N, you don't get to reschedule tonight. We've had this night planned all week, and you need to get out of the house. Ever since you got this job, you stay inside all the damn time."
"That's kinda the point of getting a work-from-home job," you retorted. "And besides, you know I have at least a hundred other things I'd rather be doing on a Friday night than clubbing."
"I cannot believe this," she said, folding her arms and starting to walk circles around the room. "You used to be so out-going and willing to do literally anything and everything. Now I can't even get you to hang out on a Friday night."
You didn't say anything, instead you watched as she grabbed her jacket off of your couch and slid her shoes back on.
"I'm not giving you a choice," she declared. "We're going out tonight, you're going to live a little and maybe meet a man, and you are going to get back to being your old self in no time. Because I refuse to let my best friend continue to rot in her apartment, working a boring computer job, and still sulking over her douchebag of an ex-boyfriend whose music literally isn't even that good."
You went to speak, but she shushed you.
"I don't even wanna hear it. None of it. I'm getting my best friend back, whether she wants to come back or not."
She grabbed her purse from your coffee table and walked to the door, turning back to you one more time.
"I'll see you at 8. Wear that silver dress I lended you a couple months ago."
"You mean the one that practically shows my whole ass and tits?" you said, grimacing.
She rolled her eyes. "No, the one I gave you for church." A pause. "Obviously that one!"
You shook your head as she walked out the door. You loved Leah, she was your best friend in this entire world. But you would be damned if she didn't always have a way of pushing you out of your shell in the most forceful way. Sometimes it was a good thing; you could use her attitude at times. But on days like today, where the "miss-you" feeling was stronger than ever for Noah, you couldn't stand being told to do anything but sit in your feelings until it went away.
"I have tried telling you so many times," Noah said, furious. "I tried, I warned you, and you told me that you didn't care and that you could handle it."
"This isn't about me not being able to handle it," you bit back. "I said that I didn't care because I actually wanted to try. I actually wanted to make an effort. I actually wanted this."
"Did you think I didn't want this too?" He asked, almost hurt.
You sighed irritably. "I never said that. I'm just saying that I knew what I was getting into, and I didn't care because I wanted you. Not the money, not the fame, not anything else. You. And you said that no matter what, we would make it work. And I would like to think that I didn't waste 2 years of my life on this."
He ran his hand through his hair, shaking his head. "You know what, maybe you did. Maybe this was all just a big mistake. Maybe you should have never stopped by after the band's set. Maybe you should have told me to go to hell when I asked you out. Maybe you should have realized this sooner."
A tear ran down your cheek, but you quickly wiped it away. "I have done nothing but care about you, fight for you, stood by you, done everything in my power to show you that I loved you. And now you're telling me that it was all just a waste after all? Did you even love me, or was I just another fangirl you could bring on tour and bang when you wanted?"
He let out a frustrated breath. "Y/N, you know I am not like that."
You raised an eyebrow. "Do I? Because up until tonight, I thought I knew a lot about you. And now, I don't even know if I know you at all."
He growled. "Don't say shit like that. You know who the fuck I am!" he yelled, starling you. Regret instantly flashed in his eyes when he saw yours begin to water.
You stared at him, shaking your head. "Fuck you."
You grabbed your keys and headed for the door.
"Baby, wait! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"No!" you shouted back. "You promised you'd never yell at me. You promised you'd never make me feel less than worthy. You promised you'd never make me feel like I was the only one fighting for this. You promised so much, so fucking much. You promised, and you lied!"
Your phone rang as you sat in traffic, wearing that uncomfortable silver dress that reflected the red from the street light as you waited to go. You glanced over, Leah's contact showing up as the caller. Even though you told her you had just left not even 5 minutes earlier, she couldn't resist blowing up your phone to make sure you were actually on your way.
Reluctantly you grabbed your phone from the passenger seat and answered, putting it on speaker.
"Hello Leah. Yes Leah, I am out of the house and in my car. Yes Leah, I'm wearing the silver hooker dress you wanted me to wear. Yes Leah, I am on my way."
You could hear her click her tongue. "Okay, first off, that is not a hooker dress. And second, I was just making sure you weren't rotting in bed scrolling through your phone instead of procrastinating getting ready."
You looked at the time on your car's clock, reading 7:45. "I'm 15 minutes out from the club. I'll see you there." You hung up before she could say anything else. You were already dreading going out tonight. The last thing you needed was Leah harassing you during the last minutes you had to yourself before you had to pretend to be enjoying being anywhere but home.
You flipped through radio stations as you drove, struggling to find any song worth listening to. If it wasn't the same 5 pop songs on rotation across the board, it was commercial after commercial, your faith in the radio fading by the second.
You flipped to the rock station, the one that always played commercials. You knew if nothing else, you could at least tolerate the commercials they ran on there. As you brought up the volume, your fingers frozed on the toggle as a familiar tune played through your car.
You weren't a stranger to the fact that their last record blew up. It happened right after the two of you broke up. You also weren't unfamiliar with the songs that became most popular from the record. You had to uninstall TikTok because you couldn't escape Just Pretend, the song that was playing right now.
"We'll try again, when we're not so different..."
You should have changed the station the moment you heard his voice. Instead you stayed.
"We will make amends. Till then I'll just pretend."
Would you make amends? Was that even possible? You asked yourself that question every night since you first heard the song.
The car behind you honked, you hadn't realized the light turned green already.
"Sorry!" you shouted, like they could hear you.
You violently hit the power button on the radio as you drove, your hands now shaking. You didn't realize until you looked in the rearview mirror that your make-up started running, mascara teardrops stained on your cheeks. Damnit, even without being there, he still found a way to bring out the emotions you hated to confront.
"I'm not going to the club," you spoke aloud. You knew in your now emotional state, forcing yourself to look happy around Leah would be near impossible. You knew the moment she'd see your ruined make-up, she'd know you were thinking about Noah again.
Without hesitation, you switched lanes and started driving away from the club. You knew Leah would give you hell for this, but right now, you couldn't care less about what she'd have to say.
You drove until you spotted your favorite coffee shop. If you were going to spend your Friday night out, it might as well have been somewhere you actually enjoyed. When you parked, you searched your backseat for anything you could change into or at least throw over your dress. You found the hoodie you just bought the day before, still in the bag, realizing now that you forgot to bring it with the other bags. It would have to do for now, it's not like you had any other options.
Sporting your new hoodie and pulling your dress down to cover up more than it did before, you headed into the coffee shop. After you placed your order - a toasted marshmallow latte with white chocolate sauce - you went to the bathroom and cleaned up your make-up. Leah told you to wear more expressive make-up, add more glitter, do some bold eyeliner. But now it was gone, remaining only on thin toilet paper squares and in black puddles of water in the sink.
You threw away your trash, washed your hands and face one last time for good measure, and stepped out in time to catch your order. As you stepped over to a table, you felt a hand tap your shoulder. It was a familiar hand, and it made your blood run cold for a moment.
He shouldn't be here. Why is he here?
The voice was also familiar, but thankfully, it wasn't the one you expected to hear.
You turned around, the shock having to be evident on your face. It was Bryan, the tour photographer for Bad Omens, and one of Noah's best friends.
"Oh my gosh, Bryan, it's been forever since I've seen you."
The two of you shared a brief hug, then he followed you to the table you were walking to.
"I saw your drink sitting up there and remembered that Noah used to order that exact one for you all the time. Figured it couldn't be a coincidence that you happened to be here." He examined your makeshift outfit as you sat down. "Just got back from clubbing or something?"
You let out a small laugh. "Sorta. I was meeting a friend but I changed my mind and came here. You know I've never been the biggest on partying." You took a sip of your drink. "What are you doing out here?"
He took a sip of his drink as well. "Band's on tour, headlining for the first time. They're playing here tomorrow night. Gosh, I've been so sleep-deprived all tour. Thankfully there are only 4 stops left after this, then I can maybe catch up on some sleep."
You froze. If Bad Omens was on tour here, then that meant that Noah was here too. You had moved from California out here to Chicago after the break-up because you knew he'd never be here. He always talked about how much he hated this city. You thought you'd be spared from unfortunate chance encounters.
"I-is the band around?" you stuttered. "I mean, like, are they coming in and getting coffee too, or just you?"
He almost laughed at the fear that flashed in your eyes. "Relax, it's just me. Everyone else crashed early at the hotel. I wouldn't be sitting here if I knew Noah could walk up at any moment; I wouldn't want to be in the middle of that reunion."
You let out a shaky laugh, letting out a relieved sigh. Then, without thinking, you asked, "How has he been?"
Bryan shrugged. "He seems to be well. He's really happy about the record getting as big as it did. Not so much the part where he had to delete his socials. Bro started to get stalkers and everything after Just Pretend blew up, it was insane."
"Oh my gosh," you said. "I'm so sorry to hear that happened."
He finished his drink and toyed with the cup in his hand. "Don't be. The dude hasn't been happier since. I mean..." he trailed off, his phone suddenly ringing. You didn't mean to, but you glanced over as he pulled it out of your pocket. Noah's contact was on the screen. You almost didn't recognize him in the picture Bryan used. His hair was shorter, he looked more mature, and he definitely didn't look like the man you were once in love with.
Bryan took and ended the call all in a matter of seconds, then looked back at you. "I gotta go, but it was nice seeing you again. Hope you're doing well."
He stood up, and so did you, drink in hand still. "Yeah, great catching up. Hope tomorrow's show is a blast."
With another brief hug, the two of you parted, and a little while later, you headed out to your car. Leah had been blowing up your phone with messages, wondering where you were and why you weren't answering her calls. You decided not to bother answering her, instead you headed home, took a shower, and hopped into bed.
You tossed and turned, as you always did, but this time you were more restless. You couldn't get that picture of Noah out of your head, nor could you get the conversation with Bryan about him to stop echoing in your ears. The more you tried to fight it, the stronger it got.
"We'll try again, when we're not so different."
You rolled over to your nightstand and unplugged your phone. You clicked onto Google, searched the current tour dates for Bad Omens, and found Chicago's date.
You went to Ticketmaster and checked the prices of tickets. You were surprised there were any left.
"Till then, I'll just pretend."
With a few clicks and $198 gone, you purchased a ticket for the show tomorrow night, then put your phone back on your nightstand.
"Why the fuck did I just do that?"
You asked yourself that as you tossed and turned again, until your mind finally quieted down and your body exhausted itself.
You didn't know what your plan was, if there was any plan at all, but if there's one thing you did know, it was that you weren't telling Leah that you did this. Weren't telling her at all.
Taglist:
@darkvisualartist @r3prise @itsfarbettertolearn @mrslumi @lacy1986 @boomenz @icybansheesoul @bobsisnotinteresting
