TW: Reader makes friends with a spider! Also sprinkles of self doubt/angst
Chapter 8 Chapter 10
Meet me on the mountaintop
I'll be in the shallow end
And wait for you to call it off
'Cause I don't want a boyfriend
But we could be nice to each other
Nice to each other
Wrong for each other, right for each other
And rise to each other
Ian was right. The fans did love you. They loved how easily you slotted right into the group. They loved your dynamic with Angela and how quick witted the two of you were. They loved how you and Arasha would attempt to out lie each other. They even loved how you would roll your eyes and smack Spencer with his baseball hat after he made another sort of misogynistic joke that could be written off with pretty boy privilege. But most of all, they loved the dynamic you and Damien had. That was the thing they always wanted when it came to you in videos. You had filmed quite a few videos before your casual mental breakdown, so there was plenty of content for them to psychoanalyze in the comments.
User: omg Y/N and Damien in this!! Clip it!
User2: get y/nmien on my screen in blind pairs tntl next I beg you
User3: move over heart eyes Howell, heart eyes Haas is here to stay
However, these videos started becoming few and far between at best. While you had adjusted to your new career as an entertainer, Damien had been flying around the globe doing voice acting gigs, speaking at panels and ignoring all of your texts. Fine. Whatever. It all seemed okay for the most part. Except for when Damien announced he was done with cons for the year and the fans started begging for more content with the two of you.Â
You were sitting in a Bit City meeting when the door swung open, revealing the dark haired man. He was wearing a pair of black cargo pants, a t-shirt with the Wheel of Fortune tarot card on it and his round glasses. Your heart dropped into your stomach.Â
“Hey guys, sorry I’m late! I did not miss LA traffic one bit.”Â
Ian waved it off. “No worries Damien! We were just getting to the part of Bit City that involves you!” The pitch for the episode was about dating apps, and they wanted to do a sketch where you would be an extremely talented pageant queen who would be looking for love on a dating show.Â
What you hadn’t realized is that your candidates were Redacted, Gerald Cakes, and Todd. Redacted was creepy at best, and all Gerald Cakes would say was versions of “I’m on mah way” which left your character Louella to end up with Todd. Great. Flirting with Damien. But for work. You did pitch Louella having a secret girlfriend back in South Carolina, but Angela argued that the point was that you always saw amazing women end up with a douchebag anyway and that it could be a running thing or something. Either way, you and Damien were stuck flirting with each other when he seemed like he barely wanted to be in the same room with you. After Ian finished the pitch, Damien’s voice cut through the air in the conference room. “So we’re just doing fan service now?”Â
Ian sighed, “People have been begging for it online. Plus it’s been a while since Todd made an appearance and Y/N can do a killer southern accent.”
Damien’s eyes shifted to you curiously. “I did an internship in Savannah. I go back every summer and stay with a few friends for a week, it was pretty easy to pick up.” You switched into an elevated version of the accent that made an appearance whenever you went on vacation. “It’s really not that hard darlin’.”Â
Damien rolled his eyes but lowered his voice to match your tone. “We’ll see about that once I’m trying to make you break on stage.”
Angela looked between the two of you before piping in, “Your dynamic is unmatched and I think we’re going to explode the whole internet.”
Damien sighed and stood, breaking the tension. “Alright bud, we aren’t getting outta this one.” He held out his hand to you, “Ready to explode the universe?”
Your mouth fell agape before you regained your composure, taking his olive branch. “Ready as you are.”
———-
After the hair and makeup team and the costume department had had their way with you, you barely recognized yourself. You looked like the prom queen in a high school rom-com. The thin-strapped royal blue dress hugged your breasts and your waist before gracefully draping down to the floor. On one side, there was a slit that exposed the majority of your leg. The problem was that this dress was the itchiest thing that you’d ever put on your body. The whole dress was covered head to toe in sequins, and the slit was hemmed with gaudy blue feathers. You were also in three inch heels, your hair was pulled back into a ponytail that made your hair look like a waterfall, and there was a big silver crown perched on the top of your head. Overall, you knew you looked stunning, but you were very grumpy about it.Â
Angela walked in, carrying your Miss South Carolina sash. “Whoa, Y/N, you look great! You’re gonna blow them away!”
“I’m gonna blow myself away if I keep being this overstimulated.”
“What does that even mean?”
“I don’t know Ange! But feel this damn dress.”
She ran her hand across the fabric, “Wow, I didn’t know they made clothing that uncomfortable.”
“I know! And the costume department worked so hard to find stuff on such a short notice and they did such a good job! But like ugh.”
“Well, all you’ve gotta do is survive shooting and then you can change back into your sweats.”
You groaned, putting on the sash. “Ugh, fine.”
Angela patted your head, “You’ve got this kiddo.”
You tugged on her oversized brown blazer. “We’re literally the same age loser.”
She cackled, running off to take her seat behind the desk, leaving you to make your way to your hidden spot backstage. No one knew what you looked like, something about getting “genuine reactions” from the boys. It made you nervously wobble in your heels. What if you tripped? What if your crown fell off? What if you had a wardrobe malfunction? You rubbed your hands over the sequins on your dress, smoothing down invisible creases.Â
Hearing Angela introduce the contestants, you squared your shoulders, preparing to face them. These are your friends, and this is just a skit. Everything can be edited later if something happens. You heard Angela yell, “And now, welcoming our bachelorette, Miss South Carolina 2019, Louella Jackson!” You took a deep breath before stepping out of your corner and onto the stage, putting on your best pageant smile. You heard gasps from behind the camera as you strutted over to the desk, sitting in a chair that had been prepared for you.Â
You turned your gaze to the people sitting on the couch. “It’s nice to meet y’all, I’m Louella.”
Gerald Cakes peeked over his glasses in an awed manner, “I’m on mah way.” You giggled in response.Â
Redacted had his arms crossed over his chest. “You’re a spy for the government, I just can’t prove it yet.”Â
You put your hand on your chest in shock. “I’m just here to find love, sugar, same as you.”
He glared at the rhinestoned acrylic nails on your fingertips. “We’ll see about that.”
Angela spoke up, “Todd, do you have anything to say to Louella?”
You let your gaze fall on Damien. There was a soft look in his eyes that you thought might be admiration, but that quickly fell away as Todd spoke. “Hi- uh, I’m Theodore Richard Hull the Third, but you can call me Todd sweet thing.” He held his hand out to you.
You blushed despite yourself but put on an air of false confidence. “Well hello there Todd, it’s very nice to meet you.” You put your hand in his and he brought it up to his mouth, kissing your knuckles while looking you right in the eye. You gulped, pulling your hand back. “You’re very forward sir.”
He winked, sending a shiver up your spine. “It’s the natural charm of my testosterone." And there it was, the douchebag behavior. The thing proving that it was all an act and that you shouldn’t be feeling this way. You focused on how itchy your dress was instead of your overwhelming urge to throw yourself into his arms. You hadn’t realized until you saw him in a tank top that you really loved his tattoo. You wanted it wrapped around you, touching you- No. He has a girlfriend. Calm down Y/N. You really hoped that no one had seen the darkening look in your eyes every time you looked at him while flirting. Lost in your thoughts, you continued the sketch mindlessly, falling into easy banter and teasing with the group.
—---------
Angela was playing a gracious host, firing off questions about perfect dates, likes and dislikes and everything that was usually on a Tinder profile. You had answered all of them sweetly and concisely, your answers matching none of the other contestants. However, Todd’s attempt at flirting was relentless, throwing in comments like “Wow, you’re so funny, I’ve never heard a woman joke before.” and “You have a beautiful smile, you should do it more often.” Every time, Angela rolled her eyes and you played into it, firing compliments right back in a sickly sweet manner. Finishing up with the questions, Angela turned to you saying, “Well Louella, I hate to say it, but based on your answers, we don’t have your perfect match here.”Â
You frowned at her. “Are you sure? I felt like there was some chemistry here.” Sighing dreamily you added, “Especially with Todd.”
Angela looked between the two of you. “Are you sure? Todd definitely has some quirks, and questionable opinions about women.”
“I’m sure.”
“Alright, well Redacted and Gerald Cakes, I’m sorry to say this, but you haven’t been chosen for the dating game today.”
Gerald Cakes picked up his phone, answering a call. “I’m on mah way.” He stood up, saluted, and then somersaulted off camera. Redacted stomped off, muttering about birds and Wyoming not being real. Only Todd was left on the couch.Â
“I’m kinda lonely over here princess, you wanna come join me?” You heard Angela gag in the background as you stood up.Â
“I suppose it couldn’t hurt.” You walked to the couch, planning on sitting next to him, when he whisked you onto his lap. Your heart was beating so fast you felt like it was a ticking time bomb. You squeaked as he adjusted you so you were leaning against the arm of the couch, looking right at him.Â
He leaned down and whispered, “Is this okay Y/N?” All you could do was nod as he leaned back with a grin. “Are you comfier now sweet thing?” You were sure that you looked like a tomato. You could barely form a single word with his brown eyes trained on yours and his hand on your waist.Â
Snapping back to reality, you batted your eyelashes at him. “Much.” Leaning up, you grabbed his hat off of his head. “Wanna make it official honey?”
He stuttered. “Well, uh, I’m not really into commitment but-”
You cut him off, dramatically throwing your free arm over his shoulder. “I think you’ll find that that doesn’t matter right now.” You leaned in, holding up the hat to disguise the fact that you weren’t actually kissing. You heard cheers erupt from the background while Angela slow-clapped for the two of you. You leaned back, plopping the hat askew on his head, completely satisfied with your performance. He had a cheesy grin on his face.Â
Angela started the outro, “Well guys, that was Bit City, where we found love today! I hope you all enjoyed the fanservice content!”Â
You yelled from where you were propped on Damien’s lap, “You’re welcome you weirdos!”
—---------
Erin ended the shoot quickly after that, and you disentangled yourself from Damien, suddenly very aware of every sound and everything touching you. You looked at Damien, whose brow was furrowed while trying to get his mic off.Â
“Hey, I just wanted to say I’m sorry for how I treated you. It wasn’t right.”
“I’m sorry too Y/N, I wish we could’ve talked about it like adults.”
“I know. And I know you probably don’t want to talk to me much now, but I still want to try and kind of be friends.”
“I do too, but-”
“It’s hard, I know. I was a jerk and going through personal issues was no reason to take it out on you.”
“Personal issues?”
“Yeah. Personal issues.”
“You know you can talk to me about those things, right?”
You unpinned your crown from your head, the weight of it heavy in your hands. “I don’t think I can Damien, and I don’t think I could’ve then either. It was-” you paused, gently skimming your fingertips over the rhinestones. “Too heavy.” You looked up at him. “I needed real, professional help, and burdening you with my issues wouldn’t have fixed that. I made enough people worry with that already”Â
The crease between his eyes grew deeper. “You aren’t a burden Y/N.”
You shook your head. “I still didn’t want to. Between going to cons and trying to be long distance with Mira, I’m sure you had enough on your plate already.”
“Mira and I-” Damien was cut off by Angela’s scream. You tore your heels off your feet and went running to help, throwing them on the floor.Â
You made it to her side in the dressing room, panting. “There’s a big spider!” She yelled, pointing to the corner.
“Oh my god Ange, I thought you were dead! Where is it?”
“Over there!” She cried, still pointing at the corner.Â
You tiptoed over to look in the corner without disturbing the spider. You didn’t want to provoke it in case it was venomous. Peering at the ground, you spotted a very small tarantula in the shadows. It was the most beautiful one you had ever seen, with bands of red and orange around its legs. It looked up at you curiously, and you could tell it was scared, but meant no harm.Â
You put your hand flat on the ground. “Hi little one, I’m sorry for scaring you. What are you doing in here? You should be outside.” You looked over and noticed that the door was open, letting in a bit of the blazing heat. Your heart melted a little. It was probably so hot out on the asphalt and the dry dirt that even its burrow wasn’t cool enough. “Hey Ange, would you get me some cool water in a container lid please?” She nodded, quickly running to the kitchen.Â
Damien came up behind you, “Y/N, what’s going on?”
“Shhh you’re scaring it.” Angela came back, delicately passing you the pool of water in a round tupperware lid. You set it on the ground, in the middle of where you were kneeling across from the spider. It skittered up to the water, drinking thirstily. You swore you could see gratitude in its eight eyes when it made eye contact with you again. Once it had had its fill, it stepped closer to you. You held out your hand again, and it gingerly stepped onto it. You lifted it up to your eye level, allowing it a chance to study your face. The hairs on its legs tickled the palm of your hand. You started murmuring gently to it, Damien and Angela standing and watching you. “It’s hot out there, huh.” It tapped its front two legs. “You’re very well behaved. You must be on the older side despite your size. Your bands are beautiful.” It skittered around in your palm a little. “Are we friends my dear?” It skittered again, making you giggle under your breath. “Well, I guess you’re gonna spend the day with me here until it cools off.” It raised its front legs, making it look like it was going “yippee.”
Angela was baffled as you set the spider down on the dressing room table. “How the fuck did you do that?!”
You shrugged. “I just listened. Now will you unzip this god awful dress please?”
As the dress started to slide off of your shoulders, Damien cleared his throat. “Uh, sorry, I’ll just uh, head out now. That was amazing Y/N. Bye!” He hurried out the door, trying to shield his eyes politely.Â
Angela was still pointedly avoiding the spider as she helped you out of your dress. “Dude, that was insane.”
You smiled excitedly, “I know! How exciting is it that a tarantula is here! The odds are super low, especially that we stumbled upon one so docile.”
“I mean yes, I guess, but I really meant the flirting while we were filming. In his lap? Fake kissing him? Girl you are down bad and really not hiding it well at all.”
“It was just for the bit Ange, and he’s the one who pulled me into his lap.” You started removing the fake eyelashes and thick eyeliner that had been applied to your face earlier in the day. “Plus it’s not like it was one-sided y’know, he was flirting back, aggressively, I might add.”
“I know! And that’s crazy! He acted like he didn’t even want to be around you prior to the shoot. What happened?”Â
“We talked? Like adults? And I apologized for being a dick?”
“Did you tell him? About, y’know, your feelings?”
You sighed, setting the reusable makeup wipe down on the table and digging in your bag to search for your chapstick. “No, I didn’t. I nearly told him about the other thing, but he doesn’t need to know about that part of my life.”
“Do you think he knows you’re working here full time now?”
“I have no clue Ange, my life doesn’t revolve around him and clearly it never will so does it even matter? Everyone else knows anyway.”
“I guess Y/N. But if you’re gonna be friends again he’s gonna have to know at some point.”
You knocked over a bottle of hairspray, causing the spider to run to the opposite corner of the table. You mumbled an apology before picking it up. Tucking everything back into your bag, you realized that that shoot had taken the entire day. “Regardless Ange, I’m going home.”Â
“I need to finish up some stuff here, but you should think about what I said.”
You slung your bag over your shoulder, car keys in your hand. You held your other hand out for the spider, who climbed onto your hand eagerly. “I will, but I have to get this one home first.”
You said your goodbyes to everyone, getting a few weird looks at the arachnid in your hand, before heading out the door. You perused the dirt outside, looking for a hole near the studio door. Finding the webbed hole next to the building, you tried to coax the tarantula from your hand into its burrow. It clung on stubbornly, even resorting to crawling up your arm. “Really? You wanna stay that badly?” It crawled up onto your shoulder, feet hooking into the fabric of your shoulder. “Okay then, but I’m going to need to get things for you so we’ll have to stop at the store.” You stood up, spider still perched on your shoulder, and walked to your car.Â
You nearly bumped into Damien as you opened your car door. As you set your stuff down he said, “You really are like a Disney Princess you know.”
Letting the spider crawl back into your hand, you shrugged. “Animals are kinder than people most of the time, it’s not that hard.”
“You rescued a tarantula in a sequined dress and now you’re taking it home with you because it doesn’t want to leave. Tell me that’s not the plot of a Disney movie.”
You conceded, “Yeah it does. But Disney movies usually have a love interest, and I most certainly do not.”
“I’m sure you will soon, it’s impossible not to notice you.”
You huffed, stiffening as you thought about how he had run away from you and ignored all your texts over the past few months. “Don’t worry about it Damien, it doesn’t matter anyway. Plenty of princesses end up without love in their fairytales. I’ll see you later.” You stalked off, slamming your car door a little more aggressively than you meant to. You hooked your phone up to your car, Olivia Dean’s crooning coming out of the speakers, just like you did every day. Except this time, you added an extra stop for your new baby, still perched on your shoulder. At least today had brought you a new friend, proof that someone did care enough to get close to you.Â
A/N: Whoops I wrote the longest chapter ever while I was bored at work (usually I do hw but I don't have any yet.) Hooray for romantic tension! Also for spiders! I also had to pull images off the internet for Reader's outfit so lemme know if you want a moodboard(ish) for this chapter!
I actually drew them at my mother's request, she said she enjoys Courtney in the Reddit stories videos. I love Courtney, they are amazing and so funny. YIPPEEEEEE!
I am thinking Chanse, Arasha or Tommy next. Let me know what yall think!!
