#5secondsofsummerfanfiction

[dibsonmikeybitch]

Hey guys, so I’ve been writing a bit on Wattpad. If you want to check it out, then that’d be awesome :) Thanks!

The Way I Loved You( on Wattpad) 

http://my.w.tt/UiNb/XRN3PL02Gz To anyone else, the thirtieth of April wouldn't signify an important holiday, but exactly one year ago today, a strange boy in a small diner began to ramble on about zippers and their importance and about how no one gave them enough credit. It was that day that changed my life, I just didn't know it then.

[aleebmealone]

Chapter Two- Then, I completely lost my mind

Luke POV

“Kavya Dawson, huh?” Calum rang out, looking at her application. “She's super unique, we can all admit that right?”

Before any of us could say anything, another applicant walked into the conference room.

We all stood to introduce ourselves to him, immediately realizing the amount of arrogance seeping out of every pore of his body. 

“Pleasure to meet you all gentleman, my name is Aaron Kingston.” 

We flipped through the application for a moment, it was certainly impressive, including being a manager for 2 other fairly popular bands. 

“Tell us a bit about yourself Mr. Kingston, about your academic and professional background.” Calum starts us off.

Aaron starts telling us about his bachelors in entertainment industry management from UNLV and the various bands he worked with. He said that he really enjoyed working with them and touring but the bands he worked with didn't have the dynamic he believed our band to have. Unlike us, they had a lot of infighting and drama. 

He said he knew Benjamin and was disappointed when he heard what he did to us and he hopes that we would be able to work together in the future.

“How do you plan on being different from Benjamin, given that you know the situation even deeper than the general public knows about it?” Ashton asks. 

“That's a great question young man,” I immediately locked eyes with Ashton briefly, “Benjamin was a genius when it came to the entertainment industry’s economics, the problem with him was that he thought he would be able to twist it to his liking. He should make his salary enough to fit into his lifestyle and push and manage the band enough to be able to accommodate that. He, as I am, was more than qualified enough to make you boys…” I locked eyes with Michael this time who had the crack of a smile, “...into a truly fantastic band.”

We let him talk for a few more minutes until I gave the closing sequence, and informed him about when we would call to let him know how we are proceeding.

“I believe you're our last applicant Mr. Kingston, please close the door behind you and have a lovely rest of your day.” Michael stood to shake his hand goodbye.

The four of us stared at each other in silence while the door closed slowly and we heard Aarons footsteps slowly get fainter and fainter. 

When he felt far enough away, we let out a big sigh and tugged on our clothing, making it looser around our bodies. 

“Well shit what are you guys thinking?” Calum sighs, leaning back in his chair. 

“We clearly only talked to people today that were technically qualified enough for this job, but I honestly just didn't vibe with some of them. I mean the last guy was a little annoying but not nearly as bad as the guy we had at the beginning, what was his name?” Ashton asked.

“Oh god yeah, fuckin’...” my mind went blank for a moment, “Powell, Kyle Powell. Yeah he really pissed me off.” 

“Kingston kept treating us like we were inferior because we were younger which was annoying but other than that, he's very impressive. When I spoke to the previous bands he worked with, they had pretty much only good things to say about him.” Calum spoke up, “I did hear a rumor that he doesn't treat women as well though.”

We all visibly cringed at that, “I mean it was just a rumor so we can't be too sure,” he continued. Ashton sighed, looking through the papers, “The 4th person we had was pretty nice too, but it just looks like they don't have much experience, um… Theresa Clarity.” 

“Well what about Kavya Dawson?” Michael piped up. 

We spent a moment in silence. “Well, she seems really nice, she has adequate experience with management, she just… has a different view, I'm not sure it's one we can handle right now.” Ashton answered.

My mouth twisted in disapproval and Michael was very perceptive of it, staring at me, waiting for my opinion. “Ashton, I understand that it's a different vision, but… what if we were able to pull it off?”

“That's like a 20% chance of success,” Ashton said, shifting uncomfortably. “But we would grow by leaps and bounds if it were to work out, don't you think?” Michael scratched the back of his head.

“Well,” Ashton signed, “That is true, we would have so much more freedom, a great relationship with our fans, more financial circulation. It’s just a huge risk.”

The three of us looked at Calum who was awfully silent about Kavya. “Calum you spoke to her previous employers right?”

“So we have a 20% chance of having massive growth, and an 80% chance of staying the same and having to do this by ourselves and pretty much babying a new hire?” Calum summarized. We nodded hesitantly, that didn't sound too promising.

Calum continues, “Well, I spoke to her previous employers as well as all the people she put on her recommendation list. They all described her as extremely hardworking, they said when she's passionate about something she dives into it so deeply she almost loses herself in it. Someone said, if she doesn't know what she's doing or if she is bored with her job, she tends to slack off more.”

We stayed silent for a few minutes. “How about this,” Michael stands gathering the files, “We think about the 14 applicants on our own and come up with the list of the 4 we want the most. And discuss it in a week. We have other stuff we need to be working on this weekend and I need a drink right now.”

Kavya POV

“I need to start looking for other jobs Blake,” I sigh, flopping down on my couch. 

I got really lucky with the apartment I had been renting from an older woman who went to stay with her grandkids for the fall. It was a one bedroom apartment fully and beautifully furnished with plenty of space and natural sunlight. When I was in school with my scholarships, the money I received back was enough to pay half my rent, but since I graduated, my parents are paying that half while I use the money in my savings.

“No, no you don't. It’s only like 1 in the afternoon, I’m sure they're going to call you soon!” Blake tried their best to keep my spirits high over facetime, showing me the hair process they were doing on their mannequin from beauty school. 

The mannequin itself looked fantastic with this gorgeous wedding style updo, while Blake’s dyed lilac hair was thrown up in the messiest claw clip with hair flying out everywhere.

“No because the interview was in the morning, so I can only imagine right now that they are calling the candidates that made it through and getting them squared away for the second interview process and I am not in that list,” I grumbled, “there are other good jobs out there that I can get into, I mean I could go back to Sirius XM - that wasn't so bad. They would take me on full time any day and-”

“And you would probably not leave New York for another 3 years,” Blake sighed, cutting me off, “I know you don't want to stay there. I'm pretty sure you would rather come back to South Carolina than stay there. If you're thinking about going back to Sirius XM where your ex-boyfriend is, you might as well go back to LA. Yeah it’s more expensive but you wouldn't have to see fuck face again.” 

I shudder at the thought of seeing my ex-boyfriend Christian again, but it would be so much cheaper to stay in New York than to try to go back to LA and settle down again. 

“I shouldn't have even applied for that job, I was so stupid,” I could hear Blake try to yell at me on the other end but I ignored them and kept talking, “The other people that I saw were these older dudes that had like three piece suits that cost as much as my tuition, bestie. I was way out of my league with that.”

Blake sighed deeply on the other end, “You know what. You're totally right. You were so stupid for being 22 years old fresh out of grad school and trying to get a six-figure job with a fantastic company with the best band in the world.” I scowled at my best friend as they continued, “Honestly I’m not sure that I even want to be friends with you anymore.”

“Yeah you know what? Your toes smell buddy,  you hear me? I can smell your nasty ass athlete foot lookin’ toes from 650 miles away,” I sneer in the most convincing voice possible. 

While hopping on one foot, Blake grabs their other foot and brings it up to their nose, “Jesus you're right oh my God,” they laugh pretending to gag. I can't help but laugh with them at their annoying way of making me feel a little bit better. 

“Bubs, even if they don't want you, they're going to call you. You will find out eventually and then you can make plans to go back to Christian or run away to LA, or even come back here. I miss you so much.” I sigh knowing they're right. I need to calm down, be patient and get my mind off it.

“Okay well I’m gonna let you go bestie, I know you have a lot of studying and practicing to do, and I think I’m just gonna get out of my pajamas and take a shower and maybe clean for a little,” I finally stand and head over to my bathroom and start the shower. “Okay I love you bestie, talk to you soon.”

After Blake hangs up, I open Spotify only to see those 4 familiar faces staring up at me. I sigh and shuffle play their new album, and the first thing that comes on is Easy For You to Say. 

I had a lot of plans for how to make this band take a lot of big steps into the future. The way Benjamin Evans exploited the band in order to fund his own living was just completely messed up and put them in a really precarious position. They were left nearly bankrupt and would have had to start all the way over. 

I covered my ass by saying I wasn't a huge fan of theirs, thinking that my personal feelings for them might affect my standing as a candidate for the job, but in reality I was a huge fan.

I loved 5 Seconds of Summer. I loved them a lot. Ever since 2014, when I heard She Looks So Perfect for the first time I immediately took a deep dive learning as much as possible about these four boys that completely stole my heart. I watched all of their interviews, listened to all of the songs I had access to. I just wanted to be as close to them as possible. 

Seeing them in concert for the first time last year was a completely life changing event that not only deepened my love for them, but the way their concert was put on, the amount of organization and behind the scenes work that needed to take place was also fascinating to me and drew me in.

Hearing about the scandal involving Benjamin Evans practically made me see red, not only as a fan, but at the sheer audacity of him to go against everything I thought he was. While I was in my first semester of grad school, I wrote an 18 page paper on how 5 Seconds of Summer’s business runs, with a large emphasis on Benjamin Evans himself and how he has “done a wonderful job in making this band as successful as they can be after 10 years,” which I now know is bullshit. 

My thoughts were interrupted when the music stopped playing through my phone. I peer around the shower curtain and see the call screen from an unknown number. A jolt of hope and fear courses through me.

I step out into the freezing cold air and grab a towel, drying my hands before I pick up my phone and answering it with a shaky breath. 

“Hello?” I ask. “Hi, I’m looking for Kavya Dawson?” A lovely Australian accent flows through the phone. “This is her.”

“Kavya! It’s Ashton, Ashton Irwin from 5SOS. I'm calling to talk to you about your application status. Do you have time to speak right now?”

I open the door to my bedroom and put the phone on speaker, drying off quickly and wrapping my hair in the towel. 

“Yeah, of course!” I say in the most cheerful tone I can muster. My body was shivering from being naked in the air conditioning so I grabbed a sweatsuit while I listened to Ashton speak.

“So we spoke with 14 other applicants during the interviewing process and we narrowed it down to four. Now unfortunately…” I froze in the middle of putting my sweatpants on, “...we have to have another interview process with the select four that we narrowed it down to. This will take place this Friday during an event that we put together, it's I guess what you would call a soiree.”

Wait, if he's explaining that to me, does that mean…?

“We hope to see you at the event Friday night at 8pm Kavya. The dress code is black tie. It’s for us to be able to mingle with the second stage applicants and so that you all are able to meet the rest of our team, including HR, hair and makeup, photography, marketing staff, and of course, us.”

My brain instantly floods with ideas of what I might need to find to wear, the kind of impression I want to make, the people I might be meeting, the other applicants that have made it through. And an overwhelming amount of pride that I felt for myself and my ability to make it through the first stage.

“Kavya, are you there?” Ashton’s voice breaks me out of my thoughts. “Oh, I’m sorry. Yes I will be there, what is the address?”

Ashton gives me the address, says a polite goodbye and hangs up. 

I take a moment, staring at the blank screen on my phone, shocked that that actually happened.  

Then I completely lost my mind.

I stood on the couch, screaming and  jumping up and down so high my hand banged against the ceiling, causing me to drop my phone on the couch. I fell to my knees scooping it up in my hands, checking for any cracks before opening it and tapping on a familiar contact.

“MOM!” I scream the second I notice a gap in the ringing. “Kavya, what? I’m at work,” my mother’s voice grumbles over the phone. I grin knowing that her annoyed façade won't be there for much longer.

“Guess!” I squeal happily. “Kav, I am not guessing, if you want to tell me, tell me, and if you don't, don't,” She huffs on the other end, speaking in a hushed voice. “No, no you have to guess and you're going to be super happy and if you don't guess you're going to be sad because I’m not going to tell you.”

My mother was a pretty serious woman - she laughed at my jokes but didn't often make any herself. She was especially serious when she was working. 

She was a business owner, like I hoped to be when I was just starting school, but she owned a child care center which was definitely not my forte. 

I truly admired her dedication especially because I don't think she expected to be able to work. When her and my dad moved to America, my mom started working at a bank. I'm pretty sure the only reason she did that was so that she wouldn't be totally bored, and it gave my aunt, who was living with us, something to do while she was in school. 

For the first 7 years or so, everything was going great, my mom working at the bank, my dad at his company, and my aunt in school and taking care of me and my brother. But when the Great Recession of 2008 hit, the bank my mom worked at, and the company my dad worked at both took huge hits. My mom was laid off, but my dad was lucky enough to continue working.

Since my mom was now home taking care of two young children, my aunt was able to finally accept her boyfriend's marriage proposal and they moved across the country to Nevada. 

Even though our family shrunk down from 7 to 6, including our two dogs, finances were still really tight. To help out, my mom decided to go back to school to get her business degree and within two years she opened up her first child care center. 

Her perseverance and helpfulness in our family taught me two very important things, one; never settle, and two; you will never be too old to learn something new.

“Hold on Kavya, your father is calling, let me merge the calls okay?” The line went silent for a moment before I heard a rush of air, indicating that my dad was driving and we were on the car speaker. 

“Ma, our daughter refuses to tell me whatever exciting news she has for us,” Mom sighs, typing away at her computer. “Kavya,” my father’s loud voice comes through my phone, “What news do you have?”

His accent is thick, and if I wasn't raised with it I’m not sure I would ever understand what he says.

“I simply asked mom to guess but I guess she's super lame and doesn't wanna,” I jab at her through the phone. “Yeah you're totally right, she's super lame, but I’m not! Let me guess, you got a boyfriend? No wait, you went on a run today… or how about you signed up for a spin cycle class?”

I laughed at all of his guesses but told him he was wrong so far. “Oh! OH! You got called back for that job!” 

I squeal in delight at him finally guessing it and hear my mom speak up again finally, “Kavya! Is that it? That's what you wanted to tell us?” Her voice is bright and no longer hushed, not caring if the children at the daycare wake up to her delight.

“YES!” I jump up again, my cheeks hurting so much from smiling. “Oh my gosh, when is it?” My dad asks after he and my mom share incoherent happy noises.

“So it’s on Friday at 8pm,” My mom cuts me off, “8pm? Why so late?” 

“So it’s a bit unconventional but it's a party,” I reply, “That's how the second interview is going to work. They're throwing this black tie event where the four remaining applicants, all of the HR team, the hair and makeup team, the photography team, and possibly the accounting and finance teams are all going to be there. It's a chance to get to know everyone and for them to get to know us and see how compatible we would be in that work environment. 

“That sounds super exciting!” My mom happily says, my dad agreeing with her, “What are you going to wear?”

“Oh crap, what am I going to wear?” My smile drops into a concentrated frown. “These people I saw at the interview were wearing like $1000 three piece suits. I have to match that.”

 “You should go shopping, nana; use dad's card. I don't think you have anything that would be black tie appropriate,” My mom offers. 

I definitely don't have anything black tie appropriate, nor can I afford one with my own money. My dad sighs heavily, already mourning his lost money “You can use my card to buy whatever just doesn't go over $600. And you better wear this dress literally everywhere, including to sleep.”

“I will get only the best things ever, I pinky swear.” With that, I say my goodbyes and head to my computer pressing the facetime button on Blake’s number.

“Bitch!” I scream right as they answered, causing them to give me a very concerned look. “Whore?” as they question my smiling face. “Guess who fucking called me while I was in the shower?” 

Blake’s mouth drops down, noticing my wet hair, “Shut the fuck up. Shut! The! Fuck! Up!”

“I would never lie to you about this Blakie,” I can't hide the smile on my face, even as I try to say the statement seriously. 

“Tell me Ashton fucking Fletcher Irwin didn't just call you,” Blake slaps their hand over their mouth. I frown, “Ashton fucking Fletcher Irwin did not just call me.”

Blake fumes, rolling their eyes, “Whore, getting me all excited for no reason.” My mouth forms a smile again, “Ashton fucking Fletcher Irwin called me about 10 minutes ago. I had to call and tell Gena and Aaron first,” I say innocently, calling my parents by their first names.

Blake screams, jumping out of their seat, “Stop! STOP!” I cackle, my stomach hurting from the amount of joy and laughter as I watch Blake run around their room, screaming in excitement. 

After they calm down, I give them all the details I gave my parents about the party and how I need to figure out what to wear as well as the $600 budget my dad gave me. 

Blake and I spent the rest of the day researching, making Pinterest boards, searching online for dresses in order to give me an idea of what I needed to try to look for when I went shopping. This experience put a slight tightness in my chest, deeply missing my best friend. 

Blake and I have been friends for 14 years and best friends for 10, since 7th grade and thoroughly bonding over books and a particular Australian pop punk band. They’ve always been there for me, even when we were fighting, which we did… a lot.

Blake and I’s friendship wasn't always perfect. We did have a lot of drama in high school that bled into college and Blake went through a pretty rough patch when I moved away for my first semester. 

In the long run, I think the break did us really well. It helped us find out who we were without each other. I found my passion in school, my major, and my future and Blake did the same. After they moved out of their parents’ house, they worked for a few years during the pandemic and really found a passion for cosmetology. After fixing their relationship with their parents (as best they could) they moved back into their house and started pursuing a degree in cosmetology.

Ideally, if I get this job, I can talk to the band about pulling Blake onto the team as another hair or makeup artist… but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. 

“God I really wish you could be here,” I sigh, rubbing my eyes. The day passed quickly, the clock already reaching 11pm. “I know, I would kill to be there. But I really, really want to graduate in December so I can move away. Things haven't been that bad but you know how it can be here.”

I think back to middle and high school, the fighting and screaming in both mine and Blake’s homes. My family managed to sort everything out and create a loving and safe home after I got some space in college. But, Blake’s family never really made it there.

Right when the pandemic started, Blake came out to their family as non-binary and told them that they like girls. While Blake’s dad did his best to roll with it, Blake’s mom absolutely lost it.

As a result, Blake moved in with their sister somewhere in North Carolina, and though that space was there, there was no healing the relationship.

“I know, I really want you to graduate too. We can finally move in together like we always dreamed.” I smile at the thought that we’ve had for 3 years or so. “Agreed, although if you do get this job and move to LA, I’m not sure I would be able to afford your rent, Kavya.”

We talk for a bit more, hashing some logistics out for our potential future through a fit of yawns and tired giggles before bidding each other goodnight. 

[5sospngpics]

Burned out like a cigarette (Calum Hood) - Sinopsis. (on Wattpad) https://my.w.tt/BlfI4MNjo7 

 𝐸𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑧𝑜́𝑛 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑑𝑜 𝑦 𝑙𝑜𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑢𝑒𝑟𝑑𝑜𝑠 𝑒𝑛 𝑣𝑜𝑧 𝑎𝑙𝑡𝑎. 

[wrj00]

✔ DRUNK words, SOBER thoughts ✖ hemmings au (on Wattpad) http://my.w.tt/UiNb/AOMR7UpOGv OFFICIAL WINNER of the 2015 Wattys!! ✖ Luke is popular. He's good looking, he gets invited to all the parties, and his peers worship the ground he walks on. But with popularity comes limitations. Don't do that, don't watch this, you like which band? As Luke rises on the social chain, the harder it is to keep up, and the less of himself he becom…

[wrj00]

✔ DRUNK words, SOBER thoughts ✖ hemmings au (on Wattpad) http://my.w.tt/UiNb/IY6PyNLTEv OFFICIAL WINNER of the 2015 Wattys!! ✖ Luke is popular. He's good looking, he gets invited to all the parties, and his peers worship the ground he walks on. But with popularity comes limitations. Don't do that, don't watch this, you like which band? As Luke rises on the social chain, the harder it is to keep up, and the less of himself he becom…

[wrj00]

✔ DRUNK words, SOBER thoughts ✖ hemmings au (on Wattpad) http://my.w.tt/UiNb/Ojo4h9dSEv OFFICIAL WINNER of the 2015 Wattys!! ✖ Luke is popular. He's good looking, he gets invited to all the parties, and his peers worship the ground he walks on. But with popularity comes limitations. Don't do that, don't watch this, you like which band? As Luke rises on the social chain, the harder it is to keep up, and the less of himself he becom…

[wrj00]

✔ DRUNK words, SOBER thoughts ✖ hemmings au (on Wattpad) http://my.w.tt/UiNb/DYMXY1f7Cv OFFICIAL WINNER of the 2015 Wattys!! ✖ Luke is popular. He's good looking, he gets invited to all the parties, and his peers worship the ground he walks on. But with popularity comes limitations. Don't do that, don't watch this, you like which band? As Luke rises on the social chain, the harder it is to keep up, and the less of himself he becom…

[wrj00]

✔ DRUNK words, SOBER thoughts ✖ hemmings au (on Wattpad) http://my.w.tt/UiNb/K6bDSI5QBv OFFICIAL WINNER of the 2015 Wattys!! ✖ Luke is popular. He's good looking, he gets invited to all the parties, and his peers worship the ground he walks on. But with popularity comes limitations. Don't do that, don't watch this, you like which band? As Luke rises on the social chain, the harder it is to keep up, and the less of himself he becom…