nevermore.

When Kennedy spoke up, a smile dug into their cheeks before they even managed to put the name to the face. Once they did, a smile reached her eyes too, became more genuine. "Damn, for a moment there you had me feelin' special." she finished washing her hands and reached up for a paper towel. Eyes remained on the other briefly before they dug out their vape. "My shoes?" a soft chuckle, "Thank you, I like your shoes too." perhaps the other felt a bit nervous, it was hard for Tati to tell now that her gummies had kicked in. "You know what's real killer though? Your voice." Tati paused as their head tilted slightly to the side. "I'm a bit of a fan. Maybe if posters were still a thing I'd uh, I'd put you up among a bunch of awesome people too." that sure came full circle. A flush from the toilet stall behind them snapped her out of thought, that's when they gestured towards the door. "You wanna join me for a drink?"

" DID YOU SEE MEI'S FACE WHEN WE WERE UP THERE ?" the question comes not long after they've shut the door to their ride out , the door to the vehicle cutting off the cries of fans with the kind of abruptness that almost makes the absence of sound louder . slater is currently slumped in their seat , taking off their sunglasses and promptly tossing them who knows where into the car for them to discover later . " the lights were too fucking bright . i couldn't see the look on their face ." they glance out of the tinted window with a squint as they look for rock , knowing that she herself had gotten separated from tati and rock after the performance but that the intention to meet at the car and get the fuck out of there had been a semi unspoken agreement . but they probably should've spoke about it a bit to like — confirm a time or something . slater's grin grows even as they scan the world outside the window , a glint in their gaze that can perhaps only come from competitive spite . " bet it was fucking good though ..."

"Hold this." Tatiana passed the freshly lit zoot and proceeded to dig through her miniscule purse for another ibuprofen. "My head is fucking pounding, I can't believe they made us preform, can you believe they made us do that? Just like that?" the whole situation rubbed Tati the wrong way. And they were far too overstimulated in every sense of the word, to fully bother breaking down what exactly made them feel that way. "Whatever, I don't give a shit 'bout that bitches' envy, what's there to envy anyway? Being treated like circus animals? They straight up lit a bunch of hoops on fire and then made us hop though, fuck all this. I had like four minutes of vocal warm-up. Ridiculous." she shoved the ibuprofen into her mouth and reached back for the smoke. It made them feel somewhat better to see a slight grin on Slaters face as they spotted her reflection in the dark window of their ride. But it was also altogether possible she'd imagined it. "You sounded real good tonight though, bet they thought they'd catch us lacking. We fucking killed that." a sense of pride washed over her, eased their nerves. Or maybe it was the smoke. "Where'd you disappear after?" suddenly, she hopped forward inside the car, grabbing the drivers attention just in time for him to swerve. "There's an awesome pizza joint opened up 'round the corner. Italian style and they do vegan cheese it's fucking sick." Tati wasn't asking, really, if the other wanted to come. It was a stop along the way now. "We'll grab some and circle back for Rock, fuck knows where they are."

@charxma @k4rmic

"Amazing. Until you find something serious I will happily provide you with the unserious shenanigans you know and love," they took the vodka as the other passed, and took a long swing. "-- I'm ready."

With that now behind them, and a stunning view in front of them, Tati took out a flask, a pre-roll and a box of cigarettes. "Pick your poison?"

the watching — that kind of thing was still novelty to meera. she'd spent a lifetime desperate for it, after all: her parents in a sea of sisters, friends as she drifted around the world, never really feeling the roots of companionship, her desperation to have her voice, her music heard before honeydew had fallen in her lap. she doesn't pick up on any of the exhaustion or apprehension behind the eyes of the veterans of industry, well-hidden or not. she simply couldn't imagine ever being exhausted by it. by being seen, known, loved. she's hungry for it, enough to make herself sick for a much longer time than three days. enough to do just about anything.   "   don't worry. i haven't gotten sick on a night out since i was seventeen. you're looking at a seasoned pro, tatiana.   "   a beat of nervous silence as they arrive at the table, arm in arm and thinking all things supernova. she pops a macaron in her mouth and pink crumbs tumble out:   "   except for macaron-ing i suppose. and touring. but i am really excited. beyond excited, actually. i think i was vibrating harder than my alarm clock when i woke up this morning.   "

"Well you're sure better than me then. I had to stop drinking very early in my career because the tabloids were ripping me to shreds. God forbid a girl has a crazy night out and shows off some side-boob." she paused, thinking back. "Suppose it's not that big of a deal anymore, we've come a long way. Now I need to fear drinking too much and saying something stupid on twitter. The internet is not forgiving." and boy was that on their mind. Constantly. So much of Tatiana's life was private now. They had a twitter, but they only posted approved content mostly relating to political and environmental activism. And lately, their PR team shared stuff about the tour, she only skimmed through on occasion out of sheer curiosity. But private life was also a good life, isolating in a way but, it's not as though she really had anything to compare it to at this point in time. "I'm excited to watch you guys preform, I am genuinely a fan. The label really did their magic with you guys. I mean, the talent, the sexiness, the vibes...you really got it all. You're gonna do great, trust me." Tati took one of the vegan options off the food table and washed it down with some water. "Tell you what, once the tour is done, I'm getting you a box of macarons from France and we're grabbing some early cocktails. How's that?"

" IT WAS LITERALLY TWO ." slater's tone is deadpan as they arch their brows tati's way , their own eyes rolling in response to the expression on her face like some sort of domino effect . unfortunately , even years of proximity couldn't do much for incompatibility , and while some part of slater grudgingly has to admit that they perhaps function better with tati more than most other people , that doesn't quite mean they have to like it . their partnership felt like something that was welded into slater's skin more forcefully than voluntarily , a piece that irritatingly near perfectly fit despite their distaste and years of protest . and yet fit they did . and well too . they had the fucking decorated albums to prove it unfortunately . and now they were fucking stuck with her . forever , presumably . slater resumes their search for their lighter with renewed urgency . " if she calls a meeting just don't fucking go ." slater replies bluntly as they turn their jean pockets inside out before huffing and promptly beginning to look inside their boot . " i sure won't ." the boot is taken off and turned upside down . no lighter . jesus fuck . " and you're really going to talk about my shampoo when you probably use that vegan-natural-no-aluminum- tree- hugging -sun-salutation bullshit for deodorant ?" the look slater shoots tati's way is bland if not for the glimmer of amusement in the depths of their eyes . the finger they give tati is held high . " bite me ." a twist of their features as they move to pull off their other boot and upend it once more . the curse slater utters is quiet but sharp in annoyance at the search , a distracted huff escaping them as they begin to , quite seamlessly begin to look through tati's shit for a lighter instead . " and stay the fuck out of my hair ." " can't believe you're kinkshaming the fucking bee ." a drawer is opened , the contents squinted at . no lighter . the drawer is slammed closed . " kinda fucked up when you think about it . thought you loved nature ." another drawer is opened , glanced over , shut . " did you watch it sober ?" a squint tatiana's way as their eyes glance over her scrutinizingly before they're turning back to their task with a roll of their eyes , " because if you did you didn't do it right ." slater is in the midst of looking consideringly at tati's suitcase before their next words catch her attention , her gaze flicking to them to say , " considering i barely want to go to this thing in the first place , yeah , i'm down ." an arch of their brow . " we could also just fucking ditch . that's an option ." the implication that they ditch together is one that slater doesn't fully register in their search , ringed fingers carefully picking through tati's jewelry collection in hopes of finding a fucking bic lighter . or even one of those shitty novelty ones . matches . slater will take fucking anything at this point . this one ? slater's glance to tati is narrowed in bewilderment . " what ? no ." their gaze falls back to the task at hand distractedly . " the one you wore to that one after party with the — is this fucking mine ?" the ring glints in the lights of tati's room as they pluck it from her collection , her eyes narrowed as she turns the thing this way and that in effort to place it . it was either hers or it should be . the thick ring is being turned over in their fingers until the mention of mei , at which point slater freezes for a full second before , " ... i'm not fucking talking about them right now ." the narrow of their gaze is a palpable thing , their eyes hardening before the ring is tossed back into the pile dismissively with maybe more force than necessary . the clench of their jaw is tight as they resume their search for a lighter with perhaps more force than required . " mei can go fuck herself , how about that ?"

"Too bad. Because I want to talk about it." they were about to head on tour together, headline together. Tatiana needed to know the extent of a problem this might prove itself to be. "Cold shoulder, she can go fuck herself, that's fine. Anything more than that..."

yewande was totally cool about hanging out with tatiana sutton. well, other than the blabbering, but that was pretty normal for them anyway, and for the choking, but come on, she was out or practice. other than that, she was totally cool. calm. collected. cool, calm, collected. cool, calm, collected. the mantra echoed in their head like the beat of a song, trying to pull them back down to earth and hold them steady. "absolutely, i'm keeping that fun fact locked right up here." aiming to tap the side of their head, window to the brain, they ended up jabbing themself in the eye. so they needed more than a mantra to keep them steady, but you had to give them credit for breezing past it once again, continuing to chat even as their eye blinked repeatedly, flinching to recover from the jab and from tati's teasing. "but you've gotta pinky promise to use it at the next two truths and a lie sesh on the tour buses. totally understand what you mean about the parties though, it's like, everyone thinks it's so cool to be surrounded by all these stars, but it's not like we're not stars too. i mean, especially you. you've been doing this forever. me, i mean, it's all really new, but sometimes there's so much happening that i can't even take it all in to really process it. it's a little too fast sometimes." the confession was one of the first real things she'd said all night, and she hadn't even meant to let it out. tame as it was, yewande felt embarrassed to express anything other than the happy camper role she'd been assigned. to cope, they took another (successful) drag from their cigarette, finally letting silence hang in the air for a moment.

"Hey, so uh, how do you feel about brunch tomorrow?" question was sudden, but casual, comfortable. "I could have you picked up, we could discuss the tour and overshare our lives over some overpriced mimosas. Are you down?"

just as the outside air appears to put tati at ease , v feels the tightness in her chest loosen slightly. she leans against the wall , hands in her jacket pockets as she watches the other bring a cigarette to their lips . shrugging noncommittally , she gives a hum of acknowledgement at tati's thanks before tilting her head back , eyes shut as she lets the night air surround her . she wonders how often she'll find opportunities like this in the coming months , just a couple minutes to breathe while rest of the world keeps moving without her . one eye opens at tati's question . ❛ not really , no , ❜ she answers , but her eyes zero in on the cig for a few moments before she shifts her gaze elsewhere . as has become instinct , she waves off the apology . ❛ no worries . i get it . ❜ she was starting to think hectic was their new normal . ❛ yeah , i think so . dare i say , we might even be a little excited about it , ❜ she quips . ❛ you ? ❜

"You're not a gal of many words, huh?" it was refreshing, in a way. But Tatiana had an awful tendency to kill the silence wherever they could, and it made them feel obnoxious. It was altogether lucky for V, that Tati was not in a particularly chatty mood. "Excited is good. You guys will do awesome, you are awesome." she exhaled a long puff of smoke and took in a shallow breath. "We're uh, we're ready to go, you know? Every tour feels like...the first one. To me, personally. I always get a bit in my head about it before we take off. It's the same with like, planes and...hot people." a chuckle left their lips before a gentle shrug. "D'you get nervous?"

Grateful that the topic shifted back to Slater, they quickly nodded in agreement and left it at that. Rock had it under control, tonight would be awesome and they would dip early and come back to this messy apartment to smoke up and laugh at whatever bullshit inevitably goes down. A solid plan, a great fucking night.

It was a gentle furrow as they tried to recall what Slater's gestures might've insinuated, but it eventually clicked. She pulled out the necklace, "This one?" it was a decent choice, they were right. They picked the earrings themselves, new set to match the necklace. But she ended up not liking them so she took them off and reached for her vape. "Mei's gonna be there tonight," Tati treaded carefully, not looking over at them as she spoke, her focus was on her phone screen.

Though Mei picked up on the dig, they chose to ignore it. "Thank you. I've been looking for a good reason to wear this dress out. This party is perfect, isn't it?" they said with a smile. She took the cigarette from them, holding it out so they could light it before bringing it to her lips. "Nope. We didn't come together. Did you all come together?" she asks, gesturing a little without actually saying The Britneys.

Quick click against their cigarette got rid of the ash, and she took in a quiet breath. Her cup was now a diet coke with lemon in a whiskey cup, so she sipped it slowly. "The label sure did their thing. Food's lacking but, yeah pretty perfect. Far cry from what it was six years ago, huh?" things have changed, and change was good. Sometimes. And sometimes it was nothing more than a clear indication that life was moving fast, and forward, and there was no real time to pause, no time to stop and breathe. "We came together." she confirmed, "As we usually do." and some things never changed. "Are you guys all set for the tour?"

DAISY JONES & THE SIX — Track 8: Looks Like We Made It

mei is the type to show up late to a party on purpose. she is. why? because the best way to make an entrance is to make sure everyone is there to see it. which is precisely what she does tonight. has she pregamed before showing up? absolutely. mei doesn't have a problem but she doesn't not have a problem, either. but being a little tipsy only makes her entrance all the grander. she steps into the party, tossing her hair behind her shoulder, and goes to find a drink. "hope i haven't missed too much," she says to the person next to her. @supernovainfo

"I'm sure whatever you've missed will be available for you online by the time you finish brewing your morning coffee." she said softly, with a nonchalant shrug. "You look lovely. No wonder you're late. This look must've taken a while." it was a gentle dig, but they offered a friendly cigarette out before lighting their own. "Izzy arrive with you?"

v raises a brow at the ask , but assents nonetheless , grabbing an empty glass and filling it as requested . she adds two cocktail straws before sliding it over on a napkin . she hadn't yet spent much time with the other bands – barring her cousin , of course – but it'd be a lie if she said she wasn't aware of who tati was , remembers listening to the britneys debut album back in high school . she's sipping at her drink when tati mentions taking a breather outside , and v hesitates ( she's quickly approaching the antisocial time limit the label has imposed ) . but she nods once and approaching the bartender she spoke to earlier . with an easy smile , she asks where the back door is , gesturing slightly towards tati . she returns to tati , holding out a hand . ❛ c'mon , ❜ she says. ❛ i think i bought us like three minutes . ❜

She took the perfectly crafted drink and the first sip was enough to ease her nerves. Eyes fixed on V through the growing headache, and it wasn't long at all before the other returned to guide them outside through the back. Smile had to be forced through the pain and annoyance and overstimulation, but it was well earned. Once outside, hit by the fresh air and a moment of relative quiet, Tati took in a deep breath and let the tension in their body ease. "I actually fucking owe you for this, thank you." they spoke through a cigarette hanging between their lips as they dug through their purse for a triptan. "You smoke?" she downed her pill, lit up her cigarette and finally shifted her entire focus onto the other. "Sorry I dragged you out, my social battery's in the fucking gutter right now. This week's been hectic, you know how it is." half a decade, that's how long 'do not disturb' has been in the industry. There was likely very little V wouldn't understand. "You guys ready? For the tour?

"oh my god, you're so right. like, it's a door, not a bridge. no need to act like a troll blocking the way!" yewande laughed a little too hard at tatiana's passing joke. she couldn't help it when her heart sped up like this, still enamored with their presence even after so many meetings. "and no yeah, i was actually just thinking that i wanted to stay out here for a few more minutes anyway." the laziness of their stride was a touch too performed as they sidle up to tati to take the cigarette. it felt natural in her hand, even though she'd abandoned the habit once she started taking singing more seriously. she could hear their vocal coach's admonishing squawk as she held it out for a light, but what tatiana sutton wanted, tatiana sutton got. "so how would you say this party compares to the ones you're used to? probably more fun since me and the honeydew girls are here." but before yewande can punctuate her self-flattery with a charming wink at tati, she chokes on a loooong drag of her cigarette, so badly that she doubles over.

"These things really do get repetitive. The food's worse every year, the company is...hit or miss and, fuck, I don't know -- I don't want to sound ungrateful or stuck up but, there comes a point during each event where I'm like 'fuck, I could be home right now, chilling' you know?" there were other reasons for that, besides the aforementioned, but it was not worth digging deeper into that before she knew it was actually safe to share. Trust came hard, even in sweet company. "But tell me, how are you finding all this? Besides, lacking in air that is." curiosity etched into their brows, and she leaned back against the balcony wall. "Two years since you got signed that's, I mean...tell me about it. What's that like? Have you guys adjusted, you know? Are you good, are you happy?"