f a m e h o o k e r

Sally had been meaning to talk to Devan for ages. She wanted to know what was going on, why he kissed her, why he had kept his distance since….she knew it had to of been something he didn’t actually want to do, and she told Jack that much, but not hearing it from his lips had her nervous. She tried to call, seek him out, but he hadn’t returned her calls. So when she heard him call her name she stopped so abruptly that she almost fell on her face. “Devan!?” she called out, turning to look for him. “Oh my god! It’s been forever!”

Devan raised a hand high to call attention to himself, smiling a bit sheepishly when she didn’t sound immediately enraged. He knew Sally, knew that she’d known better, but that didn’t mean he was as ready to forgive himself, whatever the circumstances might have been. There was a lot to clear up, though, and as far as Devan saw it, fate was intervening, and he wasn’t going to avoid that anymore. “Sally, hey!” he greeted her, jogging to close the distance between them. “I, uh. Just figured I’d say hi, unless you have a minute?”

“You’re right. Never stopped us before why should it stop us now?” Jason followed him into the building, hands shoved into his pockets. “You’re always a good host. Which means you have good alcohol stocked up to drink.” He flashed him a toothy grin. “I might snag some snacks if I get too hungry otherwise I’ll just eat at work.”

Devan nearly smacked himself in the face with his keys on his answering salute, cackling to himself after ducking out of his own way, letting them in with a fumbled mess of opening the door. “Get comfy, babes, I’ll bring the drinks,” he promised, tossing his keys onto the table and making his way into the kitchen. Instead of bothering with convention, he pulled a few short glasses and poured two drinks, both neat, vodka for himself and a decent bourbon for Jason, something to change things up a bit. He brought them into his living room and pressed Jay’s into his hand, crashing down onto his couch with a huff. “Fuck work, honestly, jesus. Think the place would burn down any faster without me there tonight?”

Marie looked away from him the moment she realized he winked. What in the ever loving hell was wrong with her? Alcohol probably. And the fact that she found nothing more passionate than dance. That had to be it. She was just lost in it all that she temporarily forgot how to breath when he glanced at her. That had to be it. She had relaxed, tensed up, and relaxed all over again, pausing to take a breath and look around as she readjusted. “I can’t believe I’m tired before you. I can normally go a lot longer I just…wow….I should dance drunk more often.”

Devan was having a blast at the mere prospect of playing some part in Marie letting loose for once, and his jaw dropped when she mentioned being tired. “You can’t be tired of this already!” It was more teasing than it was a whine, but both tones were present as he looked around them at the club raging on around them. “I’ll give you a break if you need one, but the night is way too young to call it quits already. We’ll get some water and come back out here at best.” He was joking of course - it was Marie’s party and if she wanted a break from dance she could have it, he was just surprised by the possibility.

When Devan began driving and gained speed Jay squinted his eyes as the cold wind hit his face. The wind also caused his hair to blow, making him realized he needed to get a trim. Though he kind of liked how it looked long it often got in his eyes when he was playing a set at work and it drove him insane. When they got to his apartment and the bike was parked Jason hopped off and stretched his arms back. “Probably shouldn’t drink if we have to go into work later, should we? Then again when has that ever stopped us?”

Devan laughed with a little shrug, shifting his keys to buzz into the front door of the building before he found his door key. “Never, don’t see why it would.” He smirked at that, because sure he could work sober, but where was the fun in that, and even further, he rarely went home from work sober no matter what state he’d been in when he got on the clock. “Up to you, my friend, I just wanna be a good host.” He didn’t want to make this complicated anymore; it had been complicated for so long, and they deserved better than to dance around something from a distant fantasy. “Probably not gonna eat anything but I got shit if you want anything.”

Marie’s breath hitched and she tensed up, if only for a moment. He was right. She was there to let loose, something she totally did all the time. At least in some ways. This? Not so much. “You’re right. I can relax. Jeez. Silly.” She sighed deeply, closing her eyes to let the music take over, her dancing more prominent as she let herself let go. It didn’t matter who was there. Not in this moment.

Devan watched as she considered what he said, wondered for a moment if he had said the exact wrong thing but Marie was recovering and moving forward in only a few moments, agreeing with him one way or another, and it was almost instantaneous. It was magical what the power of suggestion held when faced with alcohol, but her core was immediately less stiff, hips and head moving more easily already, and Devan followed suit, smiling all the while as he watched and danced with her, bodies separate but close in the midst of the rest of the strangers populating the floor of the club. “Damn right you can,” he joked over the music, shooting her a wink when he caught her eye.

“You don’t have to explain to me, but you can if you want to,” he didn’t want Devan to feel pressured to do anything. He just wanted to talk to him. He was just happy to talk to him. After all the shit that had happened all he cared about was making sure Devan was alright through all this. “I missed you too, Dev,” he said, a grin tugging across his face. He just nodded as he spoke, knowing Devan couldn’t see him. Jack took a breath, trying to calm down more. “It’s okay, man, I know. It was… It was a lot.” He couldn’t imagine being in the situation Devan was in. Sure, Jack was affected, he was still sent some shit, but there was so much stuff about Devan. Stuff he didn’t really look into. He just knew that it didn’t matter what had happened, he just wanted to be there for Devan if he needed him. “You don’t have to talk about it, but if you ever need to, I’m here for you, man. No matter what, I’m here for you.” He chuckled a bit. “Definitely not a total lie. I don’t know where I’d be without you.” Jack shrugged, again, aware Devan couldn’t see him. “I’ve been alright. Past few months were rough at times, and I missed you a lot. But I’m fine. Thinks are alright, people are alright. This might be cheesy as hell, but I’m definitely doing a hell of a lot better hearing from you.”

Devan sighed, lighter now, less labored as Jack continued to ease the pressure he’d been putting on himself for months at this point. “I just.” He swallowed. “Got somethin’, an ultimatum. And I didn’t want anything bad to happen to anyone that I couldn’t control, so I, uh. Did the shitty thing. And it was really shitty, and I’m sorry it had to happen that way.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut and taking a moment to recognize that this was happening, that the weight could lift. He sat down again on the edge of his couch, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. “And I shouldn’t have just fucked off like I did, but I didn’t wanna risk saying shit and something happening anyway, and I just fuckin’ lost so much at once so it...” He stopped himself. “It’s not like it didn’t matter, it just.” One deep inhale, let out through slowly through his teeth. “Not much felt like it did, in the middle of it all.” He leaned back then, neck resting on the back cushion as he stretched and sunk into it. “I don’t-- I know you are. I know that, man, and I want you to know I’m here for you too but I kinda gotta prove that and not disappear on you again, so. Just asking for that chance, y’know?” It was a long shot, but it felt like one worth taking. He didn’t want to be the leech he felt like he always had been. “I know where I’d be without you and it wouldn’t be pretty. So let’s not find out where you’d be without me, ‘cause it sucks avoiding you and worrying about you at the same time, man, I gotta tell you.”

Marie looked up at him, now in the middle of the dance fool and eyes flashing. “I think I am,” she answered honestly. She wasn’t a master of casual dancing, by no means at all, but she liked to think she could carry her own. But if he was willing to teach her a new thing or two she would never say no. “What are you gonna teach me?” she asked before biting her lip. The music was loud and she liked the tune for now and watching Devan was making her heart beat faster. “<Oh my. I have no idea what to expect.>”

Devan laughed, giving her a quick wink of encouragement before he leaned in, shouting a bit over the music, "How to look good when you're shitfaced and still wanna dance," he laughed, brushing his hair back away from his face and mussing it up, short strands falling over his temple. "Or how to relax," he offered then, shooting her a knowing look as his body found the beat, his own hands coming up to her shoulders for a gentle shake. "It's your day, you deserve to let loose."

Marie was sure of what she wanted to do now. He was hesitant, but not in the way she thought he would be, which just made the alcohol-infused brain of hers more sure of herself. A dangerous thing. She extended her hand to his, dramatically of course, with a mischievous grin on her face. “Let’s show these people how to dance,” she said, a wink soon following her statement. Let it be bold, stupid, or just plain annoying, Marie was determined to show Devan the side of her that was all play. 

Devan beamed, waiting to see what she would choose when the cogs seemed to spin and settle into motion, and he really never could tell what was going on inside her mind. It was fantastic, really, beautiful and exciting and weird as all hell. He kept people in his life who were mostly transparent, he supposed. She wasn’t half as easy to figure out. He wondered if she was as difficult to understand as someone else sometimes had been, but for now, they were drinking and she was offering his hand to drag him out to dance. “Pop quiz, huh?” he asked quietly, eyes wide in the wake of the possibility, but this was the only place he knew what he was doing - drunk and messy and passionate. He didn’t hate the music they were playing - not yet at least - and he’d had to dance to shit he hated plenty anyway. This could be fun after all. “You’re in my class now, huh?” 

Marie wasn’t sure how to answer at first, and had a brief pause to actually try and think rationally. She didn’t keep it a secret to herself that she thought Devan was a snack and a half. She didn’t know anyone who didn’t think this after setting their eyes on him. But was she bold enough to invite him into this part of her life? He was already almost three quarters of the way there, but still. “Which one do you want to do?” she asked just as quietly, making eye contact with him. His eyes were so pretty and that alone was enough to have her at a loss of words.

Devan had to think about that one, but not for very long before he was able to form the right words for it and tell the truth. Because he wasn’t sure about much, wasn’t sure whether his attraction to her was any deeper than attraction and didn’t know if she felt any of the same, he hardly knew who she was outside of who she was as an instructor and while that person was amazing, personal and professional lives were hardly similar. Even Devan, with one of the least professional professions that could come to mind, was an entirely different person on the clock. This had to be beyond survival. So he was honest not from a professional standpoint; they were leaving that space, effectively; but from a personal place. “Whichever one you aren’t going to regret.”

Marie would be lying if she said she hadn’t read the things that went around about Devan. She read Gossip Queen like it was the actual news, but she was smart enough to know not everything was as it seemed. And maybe with Devan it was, but she wasn’t sure if she cared either way. It was his business and it came out without his permission. At his question she shrugged, tossed her hair a bit. She thought that looked mature, but she probably looked really stupid. “Not sure yet,” she said, looking him over again, a million bad ideas crossing her mind. “I’ll keep you posted.”

The shrug was enough to confirm that yes, to some degree, Marie was well aware of the gossip site’s spills where his name was involved, and he had to wonder whether she’d known who he was when he came in for lessons or whether she’d looked into him after the fact, or put two and two together in a messy combination of the two. “Am I here to keep you out of making bad choices,” he asked quietly, feeling he might already know the answer, especially if Leena had said too much about him, “or am I here to encourage you?”

Marie snorted. She was surprised none of her drama has caught up to he recently but she made bad choices so much that the fact that someone didn’t know about them was surprising. “Ohmygosh….where do I even start? I’ve broken relationships, ruined my own and was loud about it, still flirt with people I shouldn’t….drink like this and word vomit how I’m a homewrecker like….I can’t even. The last time might as well be tonight because I know I am not going to make smart choices.”

Devan’s eyes widened for just a moment, eyebrows twitching upwards out of surprise. Not that she was capable of breaking hearts - she was beautiful and full of life and Devan wouldn’t fault the sorry sap who got his heart broken by her - but the chaos wasn’t something he’d expected to hear about. Maybe she was just different at work, or maybe she was doing what he’d been trying to do, only successfully. He couldn’t be sure. “No, no, I get it,” he assured her, giving a self deprecating smile. “I think my bad choices have been publicized enough to prove that, anyway.” He had a million questions but only settled on asking one: “Well what dumb choices are you going to make?”

Marie shook her head. “Non, non, non…the umm third one? I think? It’s a little hard to keep up with words, but I am loving them all.” She wasn’t sure what was worse; how stupid she sounded or how stupid she sounded. She was going to regret leaving her house in the morning. “I can handle anything right now. Like, it’s so good. I don’t think you’re the one to worry about on the drama end, because trust me….I know me. I am a drama bomb. Like boom! There it is. Stupidity at its most charming.”

Devan laughed at that, seeing now just where they were at in terms of how much the drinks were beginning to affect her. “There were only two,” he pointed out with a raised brow, knocking back a few quick gulps of his own drink to try and reach the same sweet spot that she existed in right then and there. “You? Drama?” he wasn’t seeing it, or at least hadn’t so far, but people could be surprising. “When was the last time you caused drama? Because I can’t even imagine it.”

Marie wondered if he knew Leena before her, if only for a small moment. “Leena? She was my very first friend when I moved to the city. All those years ago. <I don’t know what I’d do without her!>” She giggled. She tended to slip into her normal tongue when she had a lot to drink and she hardly acknowledged it herself. “<And you? Not that it matters, because she neds good friends like you. So I am happy for her.>” She looked around for Leena and pouted when she couldn’t find her. “Ahh she’s a sneaky one. Always…sneakin’ off. Not that I need her to be around aha. I can handle being around you like this. <Who cares if I’m amazed by how beautiful you look in the light?>”

Devan smiled to hear of their story, only getting a little bit confused when she started speaking in French, but he assumed that he wasn’t supposed to know what she was saying at that point so he went along with it anyway, offering a little laugh. “Sure, yeah,” he agreed as a joke, trying to follow her eyes when she was looking for Jubileena and returning his attention to Marie when she did the same to him. “She does seem a little sneaky,” he admitted, then frowned. “Like this meaning...? In a crowded place? A little tipsy? I haven’t been known to cause much of a scene, not in a long time at least.”

“Well, you know what they say about great minds…” Elsie raised her eyebrows, laughing. “Wow, that’s deep. And a very admirable goal. Cheers. ABT is American Ballet Theatre, I used to work there.”

Devan wasn’t completely lying with that list, he acknowledged, but it wasn’t exactly true either. He didn’t make many set goals, doubted that he’d accomplish most of them, so it was safer not to. “It’s just so I can make a real goal for the next year, y’know?” He listened patiently, frowned then. “What’s bad about ABT then? Or just that you used to work there?”

Marie knew it was probably a tiny bit of a bad idea to invite Devan. She wasn’t sure if they had mutual friends since they had only spent time outside the studio a total of one time. But when she saw him hug Leena she knew she wasn’t a total moron which was nice. But she still might be because she was wasted enough to be a little flirty, which was just an invitation to danger at this point. All of her previous cautions have been thrown to the wind and she just wanted to enjoy her time. “It’s perfect. All of you are perfect and I am just…so lucky.” She sniffled a bit. “I hope you’re not bored of me…and my friends. Though apparently we have mutual friends, huh? Leena is great, yeah?”

Devan wasn’t sure what Marie would be like outside of her normal professional scope, a different venue was one change and being a bit more intoxicated than he’d expected was an entirely new element, but she wasn’t messy by any means. She was sweet and wildly friendly, and it worked. Rather, it made sense when framed against the teacher and perfectionist that he had come to know, and it made all the sense in the world how much she valued her friends once he’d seen even a fraction of the pressure that she’d put on herself. She deserved to let loose, and he was glad she did, or that she was now. “It’s a good time,” he admitted. For his part he’d had a decent amount to drink, maybe the same as some other attendees, but he wasn’t half as drunk, the power of tolerance. He was beginning to be glad for that fact; Devan knew how he got when he’d been drinking. “Oh, yeah! Was surprised to see her here. It’s a smaller city than you think, I guess, but it makes sense you know each other. How’d you meet?”

@absolut0g​ @cherrybombjubileena​ @penelope-gorgon​ @findingnemomarlin​ @hestia-tavoularis​ @oliviaflavcrsham​

Marie wanted to go all out for her 21st birthday. She wanted to dress to the ten’s because she was no nine, she wanted to start drinking early with a glass of wine with her breakfast, and she wanted to go out and get drinks with some of her favorite people. She had picked a cute little dive bar that none of her friends worked at and the moment they got there she was ordering shots for everyone. She was drunk as hell, but she was happy, going over to each of her friends to make sure she got some quality time with them. “I’m so happy you’re here, I really like, love you? I do. Wow. Thanks for being amazing.”

Devan cocked his head to the side, a few drinks in, a few drinks comfortable, but nothing too major. After all, he got the feeling he was drinking with lightweights and children for the most part, and being too drunk to witness that couldn’t possibly be fun. “Happy to be here,” came his easy reply, searching her glazed eyes for an answer but realizing that she was just a lovey drunk. That was one of the best things a person could be when they’d been drinking either way, he figured, and wasn’t complaining. “Thank you for inviting me,” he smiled, sipping on his own bourbon before offering another broader smile. “You deserve everyone you want to be here for your day. I hope it’s a good day so far.”

@absolut0g​

Since moving to New York City Leena has slowly been venturing out more. Her friends at work had gotten her to open up more and explore the city. She had a fake ID so she could go out with them but most nights stayed in and played video games. When they wanted to go out though on the weekends she would occasionally join. This was one of those weekends. The club they went to wasn’t on the safest side of town and when the night came to an end they all went their separate ways. Once they parted ways Leena began walking towards the subway, wobbling in heels that she had no idea how to walk in. When they were in the club she had taken them off but the ground was too cold and icy to do that outside. She was walking, carefully, when someone had grabbed her and pushed her against the building she was walking past. She was about to scream but a hand was pressed against her mouth and something sharp was lightly pressing against her stomach. Give me your purse and you won’t get hurt. Those were words that was ring in her ears for ages to come. Leena quickly obliged and the man ran off with her purse. Shaken, scared, and now with no money Leena reached in her back pocket and grabbed the only thing she had left on her– her phone. She thought about calling Candi but knew she would be drunk and incoherent. So, she called the only other person she could think of to be awake so late at night. Devan. Her entire body was shaking and tears were rolling down her eyes as she dialed. She prayed to God that he wasn’t at work and when the ringing on the phone stopped and she heard his voice she felt relieved. “D-Devan? It’s Leena. Something happened. C-can you please come pick me up? I’m drunk and not really sure where I am. But I can send you my location. Please, I– I need your help.”

Devan hoped when he answered his phone to Leena that she was calling from somewhere, proud of some new milestone she’d reached: another kiss or her first blunt, something wild and silly and pure. Instead what he answered his phone to was a trembling voice, vague and slurred and scared above everything. He was out the door in seconds, leaving his lights on and his jacket wherever he’d thrown it as he jogged out into the winter night with his keys, helmet beneath his arm. “Just stay on with me, okay?” he tried, connecting the call through his helmet while he babbled, “Just a second, I’m still here, just stay with me for a second while I get going, and...” the telltale light turned on and he tugged his helmet over his head. “Send the location and I’ll be right there. Can you stay on while you do that for me? Put me on speaker or I can wait while you figure it out, just don’t get off just yet.” His mind immediately went to the worst possibilities, and his stomach churned to think just what had happened. “I’m coming either way, I’d just feel better being able to keep talking to you.”