bad mouth

"Nothing. Had to hear it through our fuckin' lawyers, dog." he shook his head solemnly, counting that day as the worst in his whole life. Honestly, Benny didn't know Cliff's full name was actually Clifford, he seemed like the kind of guy cool enough to have a nickname for a name. "Hell yeah, our own thing for sure. New beginnings and so on. Wyld Stallyns for life, brother." Sure, things with Penny had been incredible, but Benny felt more mature now, readier than ever to make grown moves with the band. "Oh... yeah, I guess it is my story too," his brow crinkled, like it had genuinely just occurred to him that he was the main character of his own life, not just a side quest in Penny's. "Okay, yeah, alright, let's do it. We're gonna make magic, man, I know it! What are yours about? Kissing Tori? Looking at her smile? Sniffing her hair while she sleeps?"

"Fuuck." His head was shaking the same as Benny's, understanding the severity of his heartbreak on a new deeper level. "For life," he echoed, glancing to him with a grin. They hadn't known each other all that long, grand scheme, but the timing of how him, Benny, and Teddy fell into each others' lives was too perfect to call it anything but cosmic. Cliff got the door as they walked into St. Elmo's, still fairly busy considering the hour, then slid into a booth. "No," he said back a little too quickly, then laughed, "Not all of them. I don't wanna be a guy who just writes love songs. I did do something kinda fucked up, that's why Tor and I broke up for a bit, so I've been writing about that a little. Like hurting someone you care about, even if you didn't mean it, and then having to reconcile with it after."

It was a double heartbreak on Benny's account; Penny had not only left him, but also the band, and honestly that part might have hurt the most. They'd been doing things, big things, and now he and Teddy were basically having to start over because it turned out no one had ever given a shit about anyone except her anyway. Even she'd only cared about herself in the end. "We're unresolved, man. She just disappeared, except not really because I still have to see her all over my feed. I guess I'm glad she didn't really disappear. That would have sucked." That Cliff had come into their lives felt good though, it felt right, and he figured he should say as such, so he did. "Clifford. I need you to know that while Penny's hole will never be filled, you are your own hole in the band and you fill it perfectly. I'm really glad I gained a brother out of all of this. Our musical synergy is gonna blow everyone's dicks clean off man, I can see it happening already. We're on the cusp of greatness, I know it..." As for whether any of the songs he'd poked around with were worth anything, he shrugged as he got out of the car, "I think there's some good stuff in there but I worry people are gonna think I'm using her for clout. She was my muse though... My dad has songs that are low key about my mom and we don't even know who she is so seems fair, right?"

"For real, she didn't say anything when she left? Man that sucks, I'm sorry." From what he'd seen online, Penny took most of their fan base with her when she left, which took some pressure off Cliff as her replacement, but surely felt like shit for the two band members left standing. Benny's usage of his full name caught Cliff off guard a bit- only his dads called him that and even then it was reserved for serious situations, so he felt his friend must've had something serious to say too. Instead he was met with total sincerity, which was of course serious in it's own right too, and he smiled, "I'm glad we met through all this too. I never expected to fill Penny's shoes, I've seen the ones she wears and I don't think they'd be very comfortable. This is our own thing." He needed a band as much as the guys needed another member so it was all divine timing that they'd found each other really. "It's your story to tell too, isn't it. That's not clout chasing. Totally up to you though, I've got a couple songs I've been kicking around that we can jam on."

"I mean... I guess I'm still just writing songs about Penny. Thought I'd be over it by now but the words keep coming." Benny sighed, though it was more for dramatic effect than anything. Genuinely, he was heartbroken but on the same note he was realistic and knew he wasn't getting her back. "Fuck, Australia just does shit, huh? That's dope! I wouldn't say it's a gimmick if you do it better, brother." Benny was a career optimist, and he thought Cliff was already cool as fuck so bringing an experimental instrument to the band was only making them cooler by default. Then again, no matter what they did he'd think it was awesome so perhaps he wasn't the best judge.

He shot a sympathetic glance Benny's way, feeling for the heartbreak his friend was experiencing. "I get it. Tor and I broke up for just a couple months and I wrote so much, like legit all I could do. Now I've got all these break up songs about my girlfriend, and I'm never gonna do anything with 'em, but you gotta get it out." Truthfully Cliff didn't think any of his ideas had been shot down since he joined the band but Benny's enthusiasm got a big grin out of him regardless. "Yeah? Okay, maybe, I'll give it a shot." He turned into the St. Elmo's parking lot and found a spot. "What about your Penny songs, anything good in there or is it just for you?"

When Benny realised who it was that had pulled up beside him he damn near lit up like the sun. Then again, he would have lit up no matter who had pulled up but that was just Benny. "Dude!" he smacked his hand on his chest, giving his best Elphaba impression, "it's me!" He then proceeded to do a half-assed sort of parkour roll over Cliff's hood before getting into the car. "A while I guess, I dunno, I pulled over because I had a brainwave and then when I went to start my car again... nothin'. Then I thought I might as well ride the wave... Then you came past. Fuck yeah I'm always hungry. Where you coming back from?"

He got a good laugh out of Benny's Elphaba riff and unlocked the passenger side for him, wincing a little as he rolled over the hood of his car. "What kinda brainwave, anything good? Oh I was with Tori, just at her house. And before that I was riding a wave- well, kinda. You know I used to play the flute in, like, sixth grade- anyway, this hardcore band from Australia's got a dude who rips the flute, and it got me thinking, like, maybe that's worth playing with. But some other Asian guy's already beat me to it too, and I don't really need a gimmick, y'know."

Benny was a pretty chill guy by all accounts. The only thing he really took seriously was his music, so not even the fact that his car had broken down outside of town could shake him. When someone stopped for him, he leaned down to see who his rescuer was. "Mega gratitude for stopping for me," he grinned. "Any chance I could join you? Adventures are always more fun with a sidekick."

In the dark it was probably hard to tell who was behind the wheel of his unremarkable, hardly recognizable car and so Cliff leaned out his window a little, "Dude it's me." A grin spread across his face, his music still playing fairly loud through his speakers, and motioned for Benny to hop in. "How long were you standing out there? Wait, shit-" He moved to turn the volume down on a particularly noisy The Velvet Underground track. "You hungry?"

"Yes. Yes, that is right." Vic let him know, already shaking off any shadows of a doubt that'd been cast by his twin sisters words. Not that there were any to really begin with. If her boyfriend ended up being music's newest heart throb, well... she would happily handle the responsibilities that came with dating such a hot commodity. And hopefully, she wouldn't be hated too badly by his fans. Or maybe she wouldn't be hated at all. That was the goal. "Oh, I hope you know that Olivia is probably going to stay on repeat come Friday." She said with a small laugh, knowing Cliff wouldn't mind one bit. He truly had the best taste in music out of anyone she'd ever met. "I can so see that for you." The blonde told her boyfriend, the smile on her face only growing as he spoke of his future in certainty. Vic knew that the band and he were just a matter of steps away from having a breakthrough single.

"Oh my god, I know. Her singles have been crazy, and that song she just played with Robert Smith. I think she's so cool." As much as he was a music snob, Cliff could still recognize when a pop girl had it. Pop wasn't what he wanted to play but he wasn't above it - he loved it actually, when it was done right. He smiled back at Tori, grin growing as her's did until he broke into a laugh. "What other big albums are you looking forward to?"

"Yeah..." Vic said with a sigh as she knew that Moxie was just trying to mess with her and in part, her brother. "I'm not stressed." The blonde quickly replied with a shake of her head. "I'm the furthest thing from stressed, actually." Vic doubled down, a smile fighting its way onto her features. It was such a ridiculous concern, because she knew Cliff and her were more than okay. In fact, the last couple of months had been nothing short of perfect. "You are." The smile on her face bright as he let her know that he was her boyfriend. "No, I know it's not." She nodded, running her fingers through the front of his hair playfully. ''Wait, if you were to get an edit... what's the song? The song matters." Vic asked Cliff. "You're so getting Drop Dead from Olivia if I was in charge."

"Is that right?" He was teasing her, not believing she wasn't the slightest bit worried otherwise she wouldn't have brought it up it all, but he saw they could laugh about how ridiculous it was now. "Oh fuck yeah. She's so good. Let me think." His eyes fluttered shut a second while Tori played with his hair, giving some serious consideration to what song he wanted to be edited to. "There's just so many directions you could take, y'know. Like if I'm getting the souped up sports car treatment then Slayyyter probably. Crank- no, I'm Actually Kinda Famous. For when I blow up," he joked. "Or maybe there's some Ethel in there, for the yearners."

"I know, I know." Vic laughed alongside him. "It's a crazy question." She could feel the heat run straight to her face. "I'm asking cause of your sister..." The blonde admitted which in itself was enough of a reason for her to know that she shouldn't have. If Moxie loved one thing, it was to cause mayhem. "Okay, so she brought it up when the girls and me were out having shots and it kind of has been eating at me since then. Not that I'm nervous or worried, it's not that. I promise." Vic began to explain, as she was more than confident with what Cliff and she had. "I just started to think, like what if you started getting tiktok edits, getting stopped for pictures and such. Like, I should start getting ready for my boyfriend to be the publics boyfriend because no shade to Penny Lane, but you're the really hot new guy in the band she use to be a part of."

"My sister?" It started making sense then, that Moxie got into Tor's head for her own entertainment, or just to stir the pot, he didn't know, and he cracked a smile as he looked up at Tori. "You're stressed about some made up scenario Moxie came up with?" He raised his brows, teasing. Even if they were laughing about it, and she insisted his hypothetical groupies weren't something she actually worried about, it clearly bothered her enough to bring it up. Fame as a concept wasn't something he was really after, he just wanted to make music. "Yeah what if. I'm still your boyfriend. A tiktok edit's not gonna change that. If you see one though... send me it."

Tori and Cliff were enjoying one of those perfect 10/10 weather summer days together. One of those days were there was really no rush to do a thing. A day where sitting out in the yard, just existing was actually more than okay. And they'd definitely both earned such a day, given their active schedules as of late. Him actively making his dreams true and she coming to end of her colligate career.

It was hard to keep his eyes open, his head in Tori's lap and the sun hitting them just right. Winters in Rosewood made Cliff appreciate the summer months more than he ever did living in California, whose perfect weather he'd taken for granted. The west coast didn't have his girlfriend though, who he enjoyed every season with but especially the warmer ones, when they could lay out in the yard together, content to do nothing else but be in each other's company.

The biggest grin found itself on Vic's face as he let her know he was free. To say that she was happy with where Cliff and her relationship was would be an understatement, he was nothing short of her perfect person. To be able to say that he was her boyfriend was something she still hadn't gotten use to, just ask his sister as she was surely sick of hearing all about how happy she was. "I would definitely do that for you." She nodded. "But does that also include things where apple is an ingredient? Like, apple cider or doughnuts?" She asked her boyfriend. "Oh, that was quite an era for me." Vic said, with a shake of her head as they didn't need to discuss that. "Clean, Style, New Romantics. Like, I'm not in my Swiftie era anymore but I will always be a 1989 truther."

Cliff didn't take for granted how quickly Vic forgave him, even after the long winter they went no contact. She was his easily his favorite person, someone he could share anything with, and he wouldn't make the same mistake twice of keeping anything from her. "Yeah. Yeah, I mean I'm not just gonna eat a bunch of apples by themselves, that'd be nuts. Not when there's cider and doughnuts around." He learned forward a little as she spoke of her Swiftie past. "Dare I say it... pop bible? Or could it be. Obviously the pop bible is Thriller or Rumors."

"Uh huh." She said with a nod of her head, her lips only growing poutier as he really seemed to contemplate if he wanted to spend the day apple picking with her. Although once he spoke again, she got the answer that she suspected she'd get. "I should be free this weekend, if you are?" Vic said with a nonchalant shrug. Sure, Cliff might have been her boyfriend but she never wanted to come off as pushy. Just a slight nudger. "Oh, I'll definitely make sure you don't apple yourself out." A small giggle leaving her. "Yeah, for sure. You didn't meet me during my Swiftie era and with good reason, I wore my 1989 album out to the point where I literally gave my parents Stockholm syndrome."

"I'm free," he said with no nonsense this time or fake checking of his calendar. As much as he played around Tori had to know if she just said the word he'd come running. "Oh thank you, you'd do that for me? I'm thinking four or five apple limit, that seems reasonable." He chuckled to himself and smiled back at her. "See I didn't even know you were a Swiftie," he teased, "Makes sense. And that album has Clean so it's automatically the best."

"Well, good cause I wasn't going to accept it anyways." Vic told Cliff. A small semblance of a smile working at her lips as he took a sip of her cup and it only grew as he spoke of how good it's contents were. "You're so welcome." The blonde tapped at her chin as he spoke of his favorite flavors of fall was. "You know, there is a whole apple picking farm just about 30ish minutes from here... if you'd like to go? I promise there's gonna be all the cinnamon apple goodies you'd want. Plus, I wouldn't mind taking cute pictures of you reaching for apples."

"Is there?" Brows raised with intrigue, he took a long thoughtful sip of his own drink. "Okay, yeah. We should go. I hope I don't apple myself out, you ever do that? Not with apples necessarily, but, you know. Everything in moderation. I'll do it with songs even."

"Oh, don't you even start." Vic shook her head. "I will not be shamed for enjoying my pumpkin spice latte. I was all about margaritas until literally three days ago, so allow me to enjoy my autumnal treat in peace." She said, a small chuckle leaving her lips. "I know you want some, come take a sip. Come on."

Seeing as he wasn't about to start anything, Cliff raised his hands in a show of innocence. "I'm not shaming you for anything, I was going to say that looks good," he chuckled, and gladly reached for her cup as she offered him a sip. "Mhm, thank you." He slid the drink back her way. "I'm more of a cold brew guy myself. Or anything with apple, like an apple cinnamon situation."

"I told you." Victoire let him know, the smile on her face only growing at his reaction. "Someone who wasn't going to allow a little summer heat interfere with their sweet tooth, that's who." She told him, before turning back towards the kitchen counter to cut herself a piece of cake. "Oh, now that's a question. Summer Forever, certainly. Manchild, for sure." She began before taking a small bite from the slice she'd taken. "And I love Kehlani's 'Folded'. I also really love Game boy from Katseye."

"It's genius, obviously," he agreed, chuckling as he leaned against the counter while she got herself a slice. "Manchiiiiilddd," Cliff sang out, absolutely not hitting the note. "You're missing an important player here, three important players. Sisters... last name Haim. I have not put that album down."

Vic laughed at his question, as he knew very well why she said it the way she had. Cliff might have been amazing with an electric guitar— in fact, better than amazing but she wasn't so sure those skills translated to using cutlery. "I do." She nodded, as she got to cutting out a slice for him. When she turned back towards him, Cliff was closer to her and that was always a welcomed sight. The smile on her face only growing at his revelation. "No way, really? Oh, you're going to love this." Vic let her boyfriend know, as she brought a spoonful up to his lips. "Tell me that wasn't one of the best things you've ever had."

He took a bite as Vic brought it to him, eyes widening while the cake and ice cream melted in his mouth. "That is really good," he hummed back with a nod. "Who thinks of that? Seriously." He covered his mouth as he grabbed a napkin, then took the rest of the slice she'd cut for him. "Okay, song of the summer. What's the verdict?"