Invisible String - PART 1
A/N: Hello, hello! Here we have the start of a new project. I am really excited about this story and you will eventually meet some of my very favorite OCs. Anyways, I do hope you enjoy this little intro to the String Universe. Please let me know thoughts, feelings etc., and if you'd like to be tagged in future chapters :)
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You double checked the phone number before sending out anything. A nice looking gentleman had bought you a drink earlier that night. You’d talked for a couple hours and he gave you his number on a bar napkin before giving you a small kiss goodnight. Now, you were back home and had a slight buzz coursing through your veins. You were feeling a little frisky and decided to be bold and send the first text against the advice of all your girlfriends.
Y: Hey you ;)
Across town, Logan was laying in bed after a long day of traveling back to New York. He had just flipped on the TV for background noise and started changing out of his suit when he felt a buzz in his pocket. It was late for someone to be texting him, but it also likely meant it was one of NYC flings. and he could stand to decompress after a long flight. When he checked the notification, he noticed it was a number he didn’t have saved- not normal for him. The text was flirty enough, so he rolled with it, assuming it was someone he knew after all.
L: Hey there. What are you up to?
The response came quickly and you bit down on your bottom lip, hoping he was thinking the same things you were.
Y: Not much, keep thinking about how we left things
Logan didn’t tend to leave things on the best terms, to say the least. He may or may not have had a history of accidentally breaking hearts when whatever poor, delusional guy or girl thought they’d be the one to finally tie down Logan Delos. They were often disappointed. He started to question who he was talking to, but wasn’t totally ready to give up and admit defeat.
L: Me too. Any chance I could see you rn? I’d love to see that face :)
Smooth. Logan smirked at his phone with that one, very proud of his clever way to determine who he was talking to without admitting he didn’t save their number.
You thought for a moment and suddenly felt a little brave. You shed the top you were wearing and snapped a selfie in your bra and your attempt at a seductive face; he was cute and you guys seemed to hit it off, after all. Throwing caution to the wind, you hit send and waited for his reaction.
The phone in Logan’s hand buzzed once again and he looked down to see the preview, his eyes shooting open wide. He fumbled to open his text messages and looked at the full picture. ‘Fuck’ he muttered under his breath; you were beautiful in every way to him.
L: I have to tell you something
L: I think you sent this to the wrong person. I know I’d remember a face like that.
Your heart stopped. There was no way. You checked the number again and sure enough, you had fat fingered a digit and just sent a sexy picture to a complete stranger. You flopped face down on your bed and groaned. The phone buzzed again.
L: I know you’re probably panicking right now but you just made my night
Y: Yeah well I’m glad. Now delete it
L: I promise it’ll stay between you and me. But damn
Y: Thanks I guess?
Y: Who is this anyways since you’ve all but seen my tits now
L: Logan. And they’re absolutely lovely
L: Would not object to seeing even more of them
Who the fuck did this dude think he was?
Y: Mmm…no. But I feel like it’s only fair I see who I’m talking to
L: ALL of me or just the face?
L: ;)
Y: Just your face sick ass
You rolled your eyes at this arrogant man on the other end as you got another notification. He sent over a picture of himself laying in bed, shirt off and smug smirk on his face. He was breathtaking, his dark eyes somehow pouring into yours even though he wasn’t even there. His chocolate hair was messy, but still pushed back off his forehead and his sharp jaw was peppered with a short beard. You didn’t want to admit it to yourself or to him, but you were already much more attracted to him than the bar boy.
Y: Wow
L: Wow good or wow bad?
L: Don’t bruise my ego
Y: Wow good. Nice to meet you Logan
L: The pleasure is all mine
Y: Did you pose like that just for me or is that really what you’re doing?
L: Just got home from a long trip and got into bed. It’s a big bed tho and I could stand to have some company…
Y: Nice try
L: Can you blame me?
He was smooth, you’d give him that much. It was very uncommon for a man to be so straightforward with you, and honestly, it was a bit refreshing. You wagered that with a face like his, he didn’t have many reservations about just going for what he wanted, knowing the odds were absolutely in his favor.
Y: Smh. And how do you know we’re even in the same city anyways?
L: I suppose I don’t
L: Where are you darling?
Y: NYC
L: Well aren’t I just the luckiest man in the world! You happen to be exactly where I am
L: This might be presumptuous but could I take you out some time?
You stared at the screen for a moment. Were you really considering saying yes right now? Of all the foolish things you’d done over the course of your life, this somehow felt like the most foolish. But Logan was so handsome and unusually charming; it was becoming very hard to think of reasons to say no.
Y: I might let you, yeah
Y: Text me in the morning when I’m not as buzzed
L: But night time texts are so much fun ;)
Y: Goodnight Logan!!
L: Sweet dreams
Logan grinned, satisfied with himself, as he locked his phone and set it on his nightstand. He wasn’t lying earlier about his bed being big and right now, it felt a hell of a lot colder than usual. He typically didn’t mind having it to himself after a long work trip, but something wasn’t sitting quite right with him. Logan rolled onto his side, facing the void filled only with a black duvet. This was a new feeling creeping over him and he wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.
——-
The next day, you sat at work, sketching a design for a client you had later in the week. Red Baron Ink sat right on the border of Chelsea and the West Village and you had started calling it home a few years ago after leaving a toxic shop closer to Times Square. You loved your clients dearly and most gave you the creative freedom you craved. You had just finished a line on the lighthouse you were designing when your phone buzzed violently against the drawing table, snapping you out of the trance you had seemingly entered. When you looked down, you saw a name on your screen that made you smile involuntarily.
L: So I was thinking about getting drinks at Bar Pleiades tonight after work. Can I talk you into accompanying me?
You had never heard of the bar before, so you went straight to Google only to see two of the things you dreaded most- Upper East Side and four dollar signs as it related to price.
Y: Idk where you think I live or what I make, but that’s way out of my budget lol
L: I didn’t ask that. I asked if you’d join me.
Y: And I’m telling you there’s no way I can let you foot the bill for that
L: Cmon let me take you out. It’s my treat. Please?
The idea of letting this virtual stranger take you to some bougie spot and drop hundreds on a couple stupid drinks didn’t sit well with your soul. On the other hand, you were very curious about meeting Logan in person and seeing if he was at all like the version of him you had constructed in your head.
Y: Fine you win
Y: But I owe you one
L: Ah already planning our second date, are we?
This was a date?!
Y: Not if you keep it up!
L: :(
Y: What time?
L: Meet me there around 8
Y: I’ll see you then
L: This is going to be the longest afternoon ever ugh
Y: Lol I’m sure you’ll live
L: Maybe. But I don’t see myself focusing on any of the meetings I have this afternoon when I have you to daydream about
Y: You flatter me
L: You like it
The smile on your lips threatened to split your face in two. He was a schmoozer, but damn, it felt kind of nice to have someone this excited to see you. It wasn’t that you were intentionally single. It was just that now as you got older, you found yourself settling less and thinking more about who had the counterpart to the sparrow on the back of your neck.
“Alright, who is it?” Michael was leaning across the counter from you, one eyebrow arched. He had started at the tattoo shop as an apprentice only a month or so after you started working there. Michael quickly became one of your best friends and over the last 3 years, he’d proven himself to be funny, loyal, and talented.
“Who is what?”
“You’re smiling like a dumbass. So, who’d you meet?”
You put the stylus down and leaned back in your seat, mentally appraising how much you wanted to tell him. “Well, we kinda haven’t met yet exactly?” your voice lifting at the end of your sentence. At this, Michael perched on the stool in front of him, making himself comfortable. “It’s a long story.” Ok, maybe not exactly a long story, but a kind of embarrassing one.
“My next client isn’t for another 45 minutes. I got time,” he said with a shit eating grin.
You sighed before launching into the whole sordid tale. “I went to Strangelove last night.”
“As one does.”
“As one does,” you agreed. “And I met this dude. He was pretty cute or whatever and I was a little tipsy and flirty. So, we exchanged phone numbers and he gave me a kiss goodnight before I went home. For some reason when I got home, I thought it’d be a really good idea to text him and send a like, semi-topless pic?” You cringed even as you said the words aloud. Michael looked like he was ready to shake you, anxious for you to get to the juicy part of the story. “I hit send and the number I sent my titty pic to texts me back that I had the wrong number.” Your face was in your hands at that part so you could avoid seeing the grin that spread over Michael’s face.
“No fucking way!” he laughed loudly. “Ok, then what happened?”
“We talked for a minute. He sent me a picture of himself...not like that!” you quickly cut in, seeing the question in Michael’s eyes. “And oh my god. Fuck, dude, he was so hot.”
“Sharing is caring,” he sang, nodding at your phone. You pulled up the messages with Logan and tapped on the picture he sent, pushing your phone across the counter. Michael’s face turned from smug amusement to disbelief in the blink of an eye. “Are you fucking kidding me?” You shook your head. “I mean, damn.”
“I’m going to tell Juan you said that,” you smirked.
“You wouldn’t.”
You just shrugged noncommittally. “I might.”
“You are such a brat,” Michael huffed. Michael was lucky enough to find his soulmate, Juan, early in life. When Juan was barely 18, he had quite literally showed up on Michael’s doorstep, asking if he could borrow his phone as his car had broken down. Michael took one look at him and knew immediately that this tiny, Latino boy had his twin tattoo. Ten years later, the two were inseparable and disgustingly adorable with the intensity at which they loved each other. A small part of you envied how quickly they’d found their soulmates. Dating was fun and you’d had plenty of guys and girls to learn and grow with, but you couldn’t help the feeling that something was always missing. In your quietest moments, you were convinced that no one had the other half of your tattoo. It wasn’t impossible- there were plenty of unmatched marks just as there were plenty of unmarked people.
“How do you know he’s not a catfish anyways? No one is this hot.”
“Guess I’ll find out tonight…” you muttered.
“Excuse me?”
“I may have told him he could take me out for a drink tonight. That’s what I was smiling about when you so rudely interrupted me.” You took your phone back and tucked it into your pocket.
“You better have your pepper spray on you and have me on speed dial the whole time,” Michael warned. It was sweet, the way he worried about you. But you’d been in the city a long time and had a few tricks of your own to fend off strange men.
“I promise to text you the second anything gets weird. Now, show me what you have drawn up for your next client,” you said with a smile.
She did it again, folks! Go read the new one!
