XA VI ER

Being the outspoken social butterfly that he was, it didn't take long for him to find another group of loud, buzzed frat-guy tourists to play a game of volleyball with - just as it didn’t take long for the game to go south, the ball flying outside the borders of the playing field and towards an unsuspecting victim walking along the beach. "Heads up!" he yelled, running after the ball.

IT SEEMED LIKE XAVIER WAS EXTREMELY HAPPY AND GENUINELY CONTENT WITH HOW EVERYTHING WAS GOING AND THAT’S ALL DENVER WANTED FOR HIS FRIENDS. Especially Xavier. Things weren’t always easy for the man and Denver gave him a pat on the shoulder to show just how proud he was of him. “Start from the beginning, give me the most important bullet points first to break down and explain later or whatever is easiest for you.” The red headed man said with a chuckle, wondering if he had met someone through modeling or what his next move in the industry was going to be. He hoped Xavier would be staying in the city because DJ couldn’t imagine NYC without one of his oldest best buddies. Finishing off his water bottle, they were only a block away from the first bar on his list to crawl around and his shoulders shrugged simply and innocently. “Just living the intern life, trying my best to do the whole college thing but it just feels as if it’s not really for me? I don’t know, man. I’m still trying to figure out what I want to do with my life in general. What direction I wanna go in career wise and how I can build an empire.” Most thought Denver was rich because of family money, but those hundreds of millions still went untouched. He had his own form of income that he conquered on his own, but never talked about. Ever. Thanking the uber driver as they came to a stop, he climbed out of the car carefully and nodded towards Xavier. “What are we starting with tonight? Shot wise, clear or dark liquor?”

"Fuck, you want a whole ass report of my life?" Xavier laughed. He's always appreciated Denver's role in his life and the genuine care and friendship he gave him, even if their communication styles weren't quite the same. See, Xavier preferred to his problems away and keep them all bottled up, while Denver always found a way to bring them up to the surface, eager to talk it all through. Maybe that was why Xavier had left several of his messages on read during the previous couple of months, maybe he just didn’t have all the answers ready yet. "I don't know, it's really not that deep. I got a new job, had to stop fucking around and partying it up every night, guess that's how it goes." That's how it was supposed to go, at least, were he not too big of a mess to get his life together. 

"What year are you in?" he asked at the mention of college. Seeing as he dropped out of his own college course barely a semester in, all for the sweet, sweet life of late noon mornings and wild fratboy parties - a lifestyle that turned out to be all smoke and mirrors anyway - he was just about the last person with the right to give him life advice about it. What he could do however was be a supportive friend. "I'm sure you're gonna figure it out, man, no doubt about that." He's always had great respect for Denver's desire to prove himself outside of his family name's success. As soon as the two climbed out of the car, Xav’s mood perked up, excited at the promise of alcohol “Wanna start us off with a round of tequila?”

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐘 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐗𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐊𝐄, they were arguing over twitter, and she hadn’t spoken to him since then. there’d been no need to say anything further to him – it was made more than clear that they were too very hotheaded people who didn’t need to be in the same room. sometimes, them just being in the same state was dangerous. she’d been just fine not talking to xavier pak ever, but then he was approaching her… with niceness ? daisy looked over her shoulder and around the surroundings of the starbucks they were both in, looking to see who the fuck he was talking to. “ …you’re not talking to me, right ? ” she frowned up at him, because nothing made less sense than xav being pleasant to daisy.

Daisy Moretti wasn’t high up on the list of people Xav longed to be friends with, he’d do perfectly well not having to speak to her ever again, and yet here he was, walking up to her with a big friendly smile on his face, leaning up against the counter. “Who else?” he smirked, looking down at her, “don’t tell me you’re not used to hot guys walking up to you in Starbucks.” Granted, he wasn’t there to flirt with her - even though, better not tell Win, girls who carried themselves with confidence and threatened to snap you in half with a single glare had always been his type - he was there for a truce. If there was one thing he’d learned since starting at Masters, it was that loud-mouthed people were best kept on your side, and there seemed to be none quite as loud as Mrs. Moretti.

Returning from yet another fruitless casting call, he walked down the street with a defeated frown on his face, his trusty resting bitch face once again framing his aura. It wasn't until he spotted a familiar face in the crowd that he perked up, his expression softening - if being nice to people was what it took to book gigs again, then being nice to people was exactly what he was going to be. With a friendly smile on his face, he walked to the familiar Masters' employee, waving hello, "Hey, fancy seeing you here," he smiled, “how’ve you been?”

he watched xav’s tenderness with mild surprise, him holding so still as he let the cat consider him, assessing his hand before she finally deemed him adequate to pet her. “what can i say? i’m a fixer.” he mused softly, only half-joking. it was something carol was always getting on him about. “it’s not a good name– i know that, i’m just… waiting to really find the name that captures her essence, y’know? my mom already had her name picked out for me and everything and like, she kind of swung and missed with that one.” he rolled his eyes at the regality of the name winthrop resting on his scrappy, inked shoulders. it fit much better with xav’s account of butlers and nannies and a polished marble mansion. “but uh, i guess we’ll just find out if you have a cat allergy, then? you’re staying here for the long haul still, right?”

Even after falling into Win's arms Xavier still felt tension tingling underneath his skin, restraining his movements from the loud, impulsive energy he usually exuded. And then the kitty took the spotlight, and the discomfort in his chest turned into careful care instead, finally allowing the nerves and the stress to wash away in a long exhale. He smiled when he heard Win say he was a fixer, a small puff of air escaping through his nose. A fixer, what an understatement, he thought. Had they had at least a glass of wine or two, he would have been tempted to break into a monologue about how much more than just a fixer Win was, how using such a simple label undervalued the impact he’s had on people around him and the appreciation he deserved for it, the message echoing the drunken strings of words from his parisian voicemail, but as things stood, all he had the energy to do was nod, leaning closer to his shoulder to place a kiss on top of his bare skin, whispering a quiet "Thank you."

He lingered in the moment, letting his forehead rest on Win's shoulder, his hand reaching out in search of the kitten again. The warmth and familiarity around him helped him feel grounded for the first time in a couple of weeks. "Winthrop Emmons," he giggled, his breath brushing against WIn's skin, "sounds royal." With another gentle stroke of the little ball of fur, he laid down next to Win, resting on his side, his arm left stretched over Win's bare chest to provide a warm backrest for the kitten. ‘you’re staying here for the long haul still, right?’ the uncertainty of the question jabbed at his heart. The time when moving out was firmly on the table felt like such a long ago and yet, when he thought back to it, only a couple of short weeks had passed. "Just try to get rid of me," he hummed, nuzzling against Win's skin. Even if Win did try to get rid of him, Xavier was willing to do a thing most uncharacteristic for him and model himself after the kitten, sticking his claws down into Win's bed, refusing to separate from it. It was a sobering thought, realizing he's finally found something worth fighting for, when he was so used to just walking away. "Winthrop Emmons," the quiet whisper disturbed the moment of silence, luring a smile onto Xav's lips, "what's your middle name?"

DENVER SAT UP STRAIGHTER AND WAVED (LIKE A TOTAL DWEEBY KID WHO WAS EXPERIENCING HIS FIRST TIME EVER ON THE SCHOOL BUS) OUT THE WINDOW TOWARDS XAVIER AS HE APPROACHED THE UBER. It was evident that he was excited for guy time and to hear all about France, his travels, hook ups, deals he had made and what was to come next for his friend. But most of all, he was stoked to just be in the presence of his buddy and get to spend time with him. Denver appreciated every friendship he made and his with Xavier had lasted about like, ten years at this point and he couldn’t be more grateful to have him in his life. Switching up how he was seated, he moved to bump fist with Xav and man hug him with a few pats on the back. “How you been, bro?” He asked with a smile as he pulled back to pick his water bottle from the floor to take another big swig of then let their driver know they were ready to go.

New York traffic seemed to always be a bitch no matter what day, time or place you were headed, but thankfully the first dive bar on DJ’s list to head to was just 10 blocks away. “How’s the modeling life treating you? You staying in presidential suites every where you go and running on alcohol and coffee 24/7?” He asked, knowing the generalized idea of what goes on, amongst other substances and how wild things can get especially overseas. “They been treating you well? Like the King you are and making sure you’re straight at every shoot and campaign?” The boy continued, going over what he thought was the basics of modeling and taking care of clients. Not having much knowledge, he wasn’t sure if some of the horror stories that others shared on instagram were true, but he knew that Xavier would keep it one hundo with him and break it all down. “Do they at least let you keep the stuff you show off for them or how does that all work?” Clearly a man of many questions, Denver full on belly laughed at himself because he wasn’t even drunk yet and already on a ramble, asking whatever came to mind. “Sorry, my guy, I just missed you and feel like I got like a million years to catch up with you on.”

Xavier let his friend ramble on, only interrupting with an occasional chuckle and a nod to indicate he was listening. "Oh yeah, it's definitely all presidential suits and free stuff," he laughed, shaking his head, "that's not exactly what it looks like, but still, nothing to complain about." Running on alcohol and coffee wasn't how it was supposed to be either, and yet... "Don't worry about it," he smiled, "I get it. I feel like I've got a million years worth of stuff to catch you up on, to be honest." A job, a boyfriend, a preference to stay in with a good movie and a beer over going out to the clubs... Running through all the new aspects of his life, Xavier almost felt - pride? Almost every day without fail he stopped to think about the negative developments in life, he rarely ever stopped to consider the progress he’s made, too. “But anyway,” he shook the thoughts away, “what’s new with you?”

“i found her in a bush out side, poor thing was out in the rain.” win cooed as he scooped up the sleepy kitten, planting a kiss on her head as she stretched, before holding her out for xav to pet. ever since he’d taken her home and gotten some food in her, she’d been the sweetest, sleepiest cat. “no name yet. noah veto’d noodles, so let me know if you have any good ideas… but yeah, she’s sweet, i’m gonna keep her so, i hope you don’t have any cat allergies.” 

Xav leaned over Win to get a better look, careful not to disturb the little thing, “what’s up with you and taking in homeless creatures?” he chuckled, slowly, very slowly reaching out his hand to pet the kitten, “I don’t know if I have a cat allergy,” he hummed, “We were more into butlers and nannies than into pets when I was growing up. Noodles sounds nice though.” 

analise: !!!!! omg loser when did you get a boyfriend!?

analise: !!!!!!!!!!!

analise: also he sounds amazing bb but you just described everyone in the fashion dept

analise: omg omg omg i get to meet him i'm so excited! send the address like now!

xav: like a week after u left paris

xav: so i didnt lie to u when we met !!

analise: you can absolutely make it up to me by getting me drunk

analise: also who's your roommate!? why didnt you tell me about that!?

xav: perfect, ill text u the address then

xav: yea i have two roommates actually

xav: ones okay and ones rly okay

xav: the rly okay one is also my boyfriend but im unbiased in my assessment i swear

xav: they both work at masters too, win works on the fashion dept so u might know him

analise: you're really testing me today, young man

analise: also don't worry, we match, my flat isnt anything compared to the paris flat either

analise: if i come over to your place can I bring meimi to meet you?

analise: she's grown so much since the last picture I sent and I promise she'd a very well behaved kitty

analise: very good snuggler

xav: can i make it up to u by making a rly killer coffee?

xav: and by rly killer i mean irish style

xav: yea sure

analise: its not whatever, xavier

analise: i won't let you whatever this away and you knew that before texting me

analise: but i'd happily join you for some coffee

analise: i can see why you'd miss this place, i've kinda liked living here :)

xav: whatever :p

xav: ny is honestly the greatest place on earth

xav: i can show u some of my fav coffee places or u can come over to my place too

analise: oh my god, xav bb

analise: don't anyway me, are you doing okay?

analise: do you want ice cream?

xav: yea its whatever

xav: ill find a new gig soon its cool

xav: plus i missed ny

Harley was used to being bought drinks at bars, but usually from people hitting on him. This guy didn’t seem like he was hitting on him at all, but definitely appeared to be alone and Harley had known what it felt like to go somewhere specifically to hang out with someone and have them flake. “Ah, can’t say no to a free drink. I’ll get the next round?” He asked, giving a smile back to the other man. “Your friend should be ashamed, what a jerk move. Oh, uh– I’m Harley, by the way. I am here drinking alone, like a lonely idiot.” He laughed.

"Sounds like a plan," Xavier's grin grew more sincere as soon as the other offered to get the next round, "Xavier," he nodded. He turned back to face him after waving the bartender over and ordering a couple of beers, already glad to see the man he chose to approach wasn't a grumpy douchebag - there was only room for one. "Yeah, I mean, nothing wrong with drinking alone," he chuckled, shrugging, "just wasn't on my agenda today, you know? Hope I’m not ruining your plans.”

xav: idk if u heard but ysl dropped me

xav: rip lol

      𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐍𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐀’𝐒    𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍    𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐑𝐍    𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍    it    comes    to    the    people    of    masters    ,    is    how    far    they    would    truly    go    to    make    it    to    the    top    .    as    a    psychologist    ,    it    was    fascinating    but    as    a    simple    woman    stepping    into    a    new    domain    ,    it    was    terrifying    .    she    was    fresh    meat    ,    stuck    at    the    bottom    of    the    food    chain    .    she    had    inhabited    the    halls    from    9-5    for    almost    two    weeks    and    she    still    didn’t    have    any    clients    .    it    worried    her    due    to    the    fact    that    her    job    hung    in    the    balance    .    just    when    it    seemed    like    things    couldn’t    get    worse    ,    HR    gave    her    a    case    .    their    was    a    complaint    and    she    needed    to    have    a    meeting    with    the    person    the    complaint    was    about    .    a    faint    knock    on    the    door    pulled    her    attention    away    from    the    papers    littered    across    her    desk    .    “    come    in    !!    ”    she    said    brightly    .   

Xavier thought this was it. A meeting scheduled first thing on a Monday morning, a strictly formal email suggesting he clears at least an hour or two of his time - this was the day he gets fired. And then his manager's intern intercepted him before he'd even reached the office doors, shoved a cup of coffee in his hand, and explained to him he was heading in for therapy. Therapy. Xavier had spent his childhood and teenage years as a Manhattan brat, therapists almost as common in the world around him as rich husbands' and wives' mistresses, and yet the thought of walking into a room and opening his heart up to someone, expressing what he was feeling with words - it scared him. Unfortunately, it also seemed to be the only way he got to keep his job. Begrudgingly, he followed the intern to his new psychologist’s office, bracing himself before he walked in.

" - Magnolia?" There was no fucking way. Shocked, he took a step back, swung the door halfway shut, looking for a nametag. Mrs. Rodego. No fucking way. "You - work here?

“damn right it doesn’t, fuck paris.” he leaned over, willingly falling into xav’s arms like nothing had changed. he was ready to straddle the other to further reduce the space between them, and get to what they’d both been waiting for, when win bumped the cat beside him. his worlds of work and home grinding up against each other again. reluctantly, he withdrew from the kiss for a moment, to address the kitten in the room. “i kind of adopted a cat while you were gone. uh, there’s some typa joke in there, that i’m only interested in pussy now. but we both know that’s a boldfaced lie.” win ran a hand through his tangled hair- stupid joke. “she’s a real sweetheart though. only thrown up on my hoodie once.” 

"Fuck Paris," Xavier chuckled into the kiss, glad to finally be in on the other's blind hatred for The French. His hands were hungry to feel the other's skin, as though it's been a lifetime since the last time they've seen each other, not only a couple of measly days - and then Win pulled away, earning a disapproving groan from his boyfriend. As soon as he noticed the kitten lost in the sheets, the disapprovement fell to surprise.

"You - got a cat?" A cute little attention-seeking pet? And she throws up on his hoodies? Xavier thought about making a joke on how that was supposed to be his job, but he remained quiet, too distracted by the little ball of fur. "What's her name?" he asked, shifting around the bed to get a better look at her,

DENVER COULDN’T BE MORE PROUD OR HAPPY FOR XAVIER. Hearing that the man was embarking on a journey and on the right track that was now helping make his dreams become reality was something that definitely calls for a celebration and a night of conversation. Not hearing from one of his oldest friends made him worry for a bit, had him checking social media and around work to see what might be going on or what was up with him, but it was all falling together and making sense now. DJ wondered if Xavier was mad at him for some shit that he didn’t remember doing or saying, but knowing that he had been doing big things and making huge moves with modeling was so dope to find out, it was all a sigh of relief and a feel good moment wrapped in one setting. There wasn’t anything more that Denver wanted for his friends besides happiness and for all their hard work to pay off. He was happy that he was getting this time now to hang out with his side kick because it really had been way too long since he saw Xav and wanted to catch up in general, see what was the next step and what or who he’d be modeling for. DJ wasn’t really well versed in fashion, but he tried his best to pay attention to some trends. Since they were just bar hoping tonight, he threw on a vintage band tee and jeans along with a pair of Van’s in order to tie it all together. Knowing D and X, this could be a wild night out and last until early morning hours, so best to dress for comfort, walking and for whatever might come their way. Ubering to Xaviers place from his own, he waited in the car since there’d be no sense in ordering another black, tinted top of the line model 5 minutes after climbing out of one. Texting Xavier that he was outside waiting, he picked up his water bottle to sip some h2o, hydrating himself for the night a head since he knew after this it was all beers, shots and liquor from here on out. 

@xavierpak​

Between the packed schedule in his professional life and the seemingly neverending drama in his personal one, Xavier had found it more difficult than ever to stay in touch with his friends, especially those he was used to hitting up the clubs with, drinking alone in the comfort of his home suddenly the preferred option. He had no desire to chase after pretty faces in the crowd either, nor to dance the night away, as the only pretty face he cared to dance with already waited for him at home. Even so, he was in desperate need of a distraction, and so Denver's unexpected message came as a saving grace.

'be there in a sec' he texted back, rushing to get himself dressed, his movements still slow and hazy from the previous joint. Becoming a fashion model had absolutely no impact on his fashion sense, other than maybe giving him confirmation that yes, ripped skinny jeans and a clean black t-shirt was an acceptable combination if you wanted to let your face do the talking. He pulled a jacket over it before finally sprinting out the door, making his way down to the street. “Hey man,” he grinned at the sight of Denver, greeting him with a fist bump and a quick hug, “How’ve you been? Long time no see.”