⟢ DO THE ACT LIKE YOU NEVER MET ME... ✉️
NOW PLAYING... (do the) act like you never met me — tv girl ☆
the hidden kisses, the clumsy conspiratory glance ⤷ but i don't really mind it though, i always liked the way you danced
꒰ঌ— witty ⊹ works herself to the bone ⊹ cynical ⊹ watchful eyes ⊹ reserved ⊹ nude lip liner ⊹ stubborn ⊹ walkman constantly plugged in ⊹ enigmatic ⊹ loves the classics ⊹ intuitive ⊹ her cat comes first ⊹ compassionate ⊹ spends her evenings wrapped in books ⊹ considerate ⊹ cramming notes in the margins ⊹ sensitive ⊹ gold jewellry —໒꒱
english lit!reader... who's always had to work for what she wanted. as a child, she was frequently overlooked by her parents, who insisted that she have bigger dreams than mere books. even in high school, she slowly fell out with the "popular" crowd after they decided to ice her out for having interests outside of getting hammered every saturday night. all of her experiences have led to her being more guarded when it comes to getting close with others, and her stubborn attitude does her no favours.
english lit!reader... who always had a passion for literature. in class, she'd be the one to stay back to discuss the reading with her teacher or gently put her two cents in on a class debate. she'd always hear others out— like any good critical thinker would, and genuinely enjoys in learning something from another person's perspective. some people find it annoying or that she's trying too hard, but she's learnt how to make those words roll off of her like water. these comments only prompted her to withdraw further from her peers, and she chose to bury herself in different media to drown out their noise.
english lit!reader... who you'll never see without a book in hand or headphones in her ears. her books are always worn and well loved, often highlighted in various colours with smudged notes in the margins. books have yet to fail her, something static that she can turn to time and time again and potentially discover something new. like how you notice different details in a painting the fourth time around. the same goes for music, her vinyls stacked in neat, careful piles around her room. her taste is a bit bipolar, going from listening to sade to nirvana to björk in a fifteen minute window.
english lit!reader... who cried at the possibility of having to leave her cat, pepper, home when she goes off to college. her parents mistook it as her crying for them, and they attempt to soothe her by coaxing her to look at some sororities, maybe she'd find some friends that way. not that she had anything against sorority girls, but the idea of having to compete for a place that she didn't particularly want to be in wasn't appealing, to say the least.
english lit!reader... who then cried with joy after finding out that her dorm building did allow pets. from that day on, she wasted no time in sorting what she wanted to bring with her. she firmly chooses to not join a sorority, getting a roommate already makes her queasy as it is. the worst thing she could imagine is getting off on a bad foot with her roomate, she's heard the horror stories.
english lit!reader... who gets a roommate that doesn't hang around much, so it almost feels like she lives alone, besides pepper, of course. she stays quite reserved until she meets a nice girl in her contemporary literature class, tashi. tashi's everything that she isn't: assertive, outgoing, and knows how to party. they are truly the most opposites attract kind of friendship, and that makes them all the more closer. though she is apprehensive, tashi brings out a much wittier version of herself, one that can let loose every once in a while.
english lit!reader... who first meets art on stanford's anonymous student messaging forum, under the alias saintpepper. she'd claim it's a stupid idea, but there's a part of her that craves connection with others, even if she has spent so long shutting it out. so when she starts talking to one boy under the name of guitarhero that talks to her about music, she's ashamed to admit how curious it all makes her. give it a week or two, and they're sharing songs to add to each other's mixtapes and dropping off cds in communal areas for each other.
english lit!reader... who only shows up to the frat party because tashi begged her to, and because she needs a distraction. over the course of the night, she gets much more wasted than originally planned, her hair being held back gently by hands that are too calloused to be tashi's as she throws up in a bush outside. it's safe to say she doesn't remember much, only waking up in a bed of one of the guys in that very same frat house the next day.
english lit!reader... who falls hard for art before ever connecting the dots between him and guitarhero. she starts coming to some of his gigs, putting much more effort into her appearance than she normally would. it surprises her how soft spoken art is when he isn't around his energetic friends, and how he is also interested in music and its production, not just the guitar itself. art often comes over to walk her to class sometimes, claiming to just be "in the area", when his frat is on the other side of campus.
english lit!reader... who, once she finds out who art is, is flooded with worry. the next time she runs into art, she begs him to keep this a secret from the other students. after all, she doesn't want to be judged by her peers for going someone "outside their field". whilst he accepts, their relationship feels anything but secret, art's hand constantly on the small of her back during parties. even pepper approves of him, curling into his chest some nights when he sneaks in through her window. it eats her up inside, having to hold him at an arm's distance, but the nagging voice in her head argues that he might just play with her feelings like everyone tells her. since she never felt she could properly articulate matters of the heart, she wrote him a letter, stained with a lip gloss kiss and a tear or two. she's now learning to love louder for him, to make sure he knows that he's appreciated, and that she couldn't be more thankful.
in her headphones... london belongs to me — saint etienne ☆
꒰ঌ— impatient ⊹ vinyls piled on the floor ⊹ reckless ⊹ life of the party ⊹ independent ⊹ just cruising by ⊹ charismatic ⊹ lead guitarist ⊹ loyal ⊹ beer pong fanatic ⊹ ambitious ⊹ scuffs on his jeans ⊹ clever ⊹ backwards caps ⊹ practical ⊹ holds eye contact —໒꒱
frat boy!art... who grew out of the shy kid he once was, but never grew out of his manners. what can he say, his nana raised him to be a gentleman. though he has now ditched the cross necklaces for guitar picks on silver chains, a part of her is always with him wherever he goes. when he first moved in to the stanford dorms, he would call his nana every night, talking about anything and everything with her, though he would always be excused from the room when doing so.
frat boy!art... who has long since ditched the glasses for contacts and flipped his caps backwards. he got one compliment on how his baggy blue jeans fit, and so he practically wears them like a second skin. wired headphones, loose jeans, and his red caps are his holy trinity, almost never being spotted without one of them on at all times. unfortunately, he's acutely aware of how attractive he is, his ego getting a boost after he takes a girl up to his room after a frat party.
frat boy!art... who still plays tennis with some of his frat brothers, though none of them besides patrick take it as seriously as he'd like to. him and patrick often take to the courts once dawn is breaking over the horizon, when the night chill is still clinging on against the rising sun. but his frat brothers would rather go skating, which art also picks up, though the scuffs on his jeans prove he's still learning the ropes. after a while, he learns to highlight different parts of his personality depending on who he's around, often becoming a mirror to other people's strongest traits.
frat boy!art... who is the kind of guy who gets wasted every weekend. him and patrick picked the most social frat that they could find for this very purpose. he's almost never seen without a solo cup in hand, much less an empty one, always making sure everyone's drinks are topped up and they're having fun. after one drunk night in another frat, a guitar was thrust into his hands after someone heard he had some experience. from that, his band formed, consisting of him, patrick, and two of their other friends.
frat boy!art... who actually enjoys the music production aspect more than he cares to admit. when him and patrick first started the band as a joke, they would barely practice and only use it as an excuse to get girls to come over. despite this, art acquired a genuine interest in music and its production, offering to sing when no one else wanted to. and even if he'd never admit it, he loves to write the lyrics he sings, the main way in which he processes his emotions. maybe he's not exactly destined for broadway, but you wouldn't expect someone in a college frat band to be, now would you?
frat boy!art... who signs up to stanford's messaging platform as a joke, not thinking much of it until he finds one girl, saintpepper. it intrigued him, not having to rely on a physical connection with a girl, not having to pretend to fit into the effortlessly cool persona. the anonymity is refreshing, a place where he can speak his mind without the worry of what people around him have to say. though he'd be lying if he said that wanted to put a face to the girl he'd been talking to for weeks.
frat boy!art... who definitely takes notice of the one girl he's never seen before at these parties. he heard she came with tashi, a girl he knows from the neighbouring sorority, but it's safe to say that his curiosity is piqued. the night blurs together like it always does, hazy and blissful, except this time with a different ending. how he ended up holding mystery girl's hair back as she threw up was beyond him, but he at least had his wits about him enough to get her settled in his bed whilst he took the couch.
frat boy!art... who starts seeing this girl everywhere now, like the universe takes great pleasure in his confusion. he finds himself being pulled in one direction by her and another by saintpepper, the guilt brewing in him as he slowly finds out more and more about her. even his frat brothers start asking what's wrong with him, that they've never seen him like this, much less over a girl. so when he finds out that saintpepper is the same girl he's been getting coffee for every day, he should feel relieved that they're the same person, right?
frat boy!art... who takes a massive blow to the ego when english lit!reader begs him to keep this a secret, wondering what is so bad about him that she feels the need to hide him away from others. but he can't remember the last time he wanted to hang onto a person this badly since him and patrick had a spat in the ninth grade. so of course, he feigned nonchalance, trying not to take it personally that she wanted to hide him from her friends. and even though it pains him to do so, he keeps walking english lit!reader to class and coming over to her dorm, even if he is mildly allergic to cats, because he cannot stand the thought of not having her in his life.
frat boy!art... who even after he finds out who saintpepper is, likes to message english lit!reader on stanford's messaging platform. it feels almost nostalgic, reminisce of a time before it got too tangled and messy. to when they were just two names on a screen, though she was never simply a name to him. but after a few weeks, a letter appears on his doorstep, and he's never felt more seen by another person as he does with english lit!reader. in turn, he burns a cd of all the songs that he sees her in, and this time can actually give it to her face to face. for someone who has been loud all of his life, it surprises him how well he is able to love quietly; no need for bragging, no need for fuss. safe to say he's never been happier.
in his headphones... sappy — nirvana ☆
a/n; lowkey not proof read so i'm sorry if there's any mistakes, i loveeee frat boy!art and his potential with a more reserved!reader. anyways enjoy lovelies mwah 💞
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