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“Our new marketing intern came up with the idea,” Reyna said, laying design sketches out across her desk. “Normally, I’d say that playing straight into sex appeal is an insult to the talent of our musicians, but I can’t say that I hate the idea. Everyone knows that half of Will’s fame came from his charm, anyway, so it wouldn’t exactly hurt the band’s image to play into that the way we used to.”
Rachel slumped back in her chair, arms crossed over her chest and freckled nose scrunching up like she’d caught a bad smell. “But for an album cover? Don’t get me wrong, it’s fun, and the right people will go crazy over it. But Solace isn’t a solo act anymore. Don’t you think singling Will out like that will send out the wrong message? I dunno, it’s a little too Panic! At the Disco for me.”
Reyna tapped her fingers on the edge of her desk. “I can see your point.”
“Maybe this isn’t the cover, though,” Rachel said, taking another look at the intern’s sketches - the idea was there, sure, even if the execution was lacking. “I could see this as a series of promotional pictures, maybe before the cover is revealed. Something along a similar theme, but a little more abstract. Give me a day, and I bet I could get a whole spread planned out for you. Options.” She shot Reyna a grin. “I know you like options.”
Reyna leaned in, hands folded on her desk between them. “Don’t toy with me, Dare,” she said, voice low.
“Don’t tempt me,” Rachel shot back, and jumped to her feet. “I’ll text you when I have something.”
“During regular business hours, please,” Reyna called after her as Rachel turned to leave the office.
“You can’t make me!”
Will didn’t look entirely pleased with the idea.
“I dunno, Rach,” he said, the words muffled by the thumbnail he held between his teeth.
“Which part do you have issues with?” she asked, already reaching inside her messenger bag. “I have some more in-depth sketches, and a whole series planned out, so it’s not just one picture of you at the center of attention.”
Will crossed his arms over his chest, almost like he was hugging himself. “I just don't know that I’m comfortable with it. Like, the whole thing. I mean, Nico just got used to the fact that our relationship is finally, like, public knowledge. This just feels like… a step in the wrong direction, you know? It’s not really sending the message that I’m committed to my boyfriend.”
“You’re also singing songs every night about how much you hate him,” Rachel pointed out.
“Used to hate him,” Will corrected. “And people either don’t know that those songs are about him, or they know that they were written a long time ago.”
Or they think you’re in an incredibly unhealthy relationship filled with mutual hatred, Rachel was almost tempted to point out. It probably wasn’t great for the image of their relationship that Will often opened certain songs by saying, “This one’s about the love of my life,” before spouting vitriol about the other man.
“Knowingly putting out pictures like that feels like I’m not being faithful to Nico,” Will continued, “or at least puts out that vibe. And I’m just not okay with that.”
Rachel let out a breath. “I get it. I won’t ask you to do something you’re not comfortable with.”
“I’ll do it,” Lou said, suddenly popping up from behind her desk. “If Will’s not going to be the band’s slut, then somebody’s got to.”
The wheels were already turning in Rachel’s head, but she first had to make one thing clear: “Slutty wasn’t really what I had in mind.”
“Whorish, then,” Lou said, waving a hand dismissively. “Whatever you want to call it. I’m down. When do we shoot?”
Ideas were flying through Rachel’s head faster than the speed of sound. “Let me run this by Reyna. I’ll have the art team schedule the shoot as soon as I get approval.”
Lou looked fucking devastating, and that was before the shoot even started. The company had perfectly tailored a suit for her, charcoal gray with black suspenders hidden beneath the jacket. The slightly flared waist was a feminine compliment to the broad, padded shoulders, and the flooded hem of the pants showed off the scuffed black Docs she’d brought from home. She couldn’t stop straightening her solid black tie every time she looked in the mirror, or running a hand over her smoothed-back hair.
“Damn,” a voice called from across the room, the sound echoing through the nearly empty studio. Lou turned to find Rachel and Hazel approaching, Hazel loaded down with camera equipment and Rachel wearing her favorite DARE to teach kids about drugs t-shirt. Rachel marched straight up to Lou and took her face in her hands, pressing a kiss to the corner of her mouth. “If I was a single woman, Lou Ellen Blackstone--”
Hazel cleared her throat. “Can I start shooting? Or am I going to need to call hair and makeup back up here in about five minutes?”
Rachel pulled her hands away like she’d been shocked, and spun around so her back was to Lou. “Ugh. You’re right. I should go. Hazel, you’ve got my plans, right? You don’t need to put me through any more torture?”
“I’m torture?” Lou asked, a wide grin stretching across her face.
“We’ll be fine,” Hazel assured her. “The rest of the band already knows to be here in twenty to help with the rest of the shoot. And I’ve already got a volunteer for the--”
“I don’t want to hear it,” Rachel cut in quickly. “If you need me, I’ll be hiding in Reyna’s office, reminding myself how much I love my girlfriend.”
Rachel bowed out of the room, leaving Lou with Hazel and the blank canvas of the studio. Lou stretched out her arms in front of her, cracking her knuckles. “Alright. Where do we start?”
Kayla was nearly knocked flat on her ass when she stepped into the studio. She was blinded by the frequent camera flashes and the look in Lou’s eyes as she stared down the camera. They’d been joking earlier about how Lou didn’t know the first thing about modeling, but clearly she’d played Kayla for a fool.
Her mouth had gone dry, her brain had stopped functioning, and her feet carried her directly into a rolling chair that wasn’t even in her original path.
Two sets of eyes snapped toward her, and Kayla tried to force the embarrassed blush out of her cheeks. “Oh, good,” Hazel said, rising out of her crouch at Lou’s feet, “our volunteer is here.”
“Volunteer?” Lou repeated. “Volunteer for wh-- Oh.” Her eyes went wide as they stuck to Kayla like glue, and Kayla’s heart began to pound.
It was weird to volunteer for something like this, right? Sure, they were friends, and friends helped each other out, but-- They were friends! And this was totally something that they paid the art department to take care of. Maybe even if Kayla had been asked to lend a hand, it wouldn’t be so strange. But no, of course she’d had to volunteer as soon as she heard what was going to happen in the shoot.
How did Kayla think she was going to survive this? How was she supposed to make it through without Lou finding out about her crush?
Hazel grabbed Kayla by the arm and started guiding her across the room to a small makeup tray that was set up near most of Hazel’s spare equipment. “This should be pretty simple,” Hazel explained. “You’ll put on some lipstick, get Lou a little disheveled, and I’ll call for a pause so that I can get some progress shots of Lou. While I’m shooting, Kayla, you can reapply. There’s a few different shades to give the illusion that Lou’s sort of been attacked by fans, you know? So feel free to switch it up sometimes.”
Hazel took a moment to pop a new battery into her camera, then glanced between the two of them - neither of whom had moved. “You’re still good with this, right?” Hazel asked, glancing at Kayla first, and then Lou.
“Yeah,” Lou said softly, then blurted out, “Yes, absolutely.”
Kayla grabbed a tube of lipstick off the tray at random and gave it a few swipes across her lips. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d put on lipstick, but she hadn’t missed the waxy feeling and the plasticky taste that creeped into her mouth.
She met Lou’s eyes across the distance - clearly, Lou wouldn’t be meeting her halfway, so Kayla started closer. Really, the two of them were fairly close in height, but with Lou’s Docs giving her a few extra inches, Kayla had to tilt her head back to meet Lou’s eyes once they were toe to toe. And up close, Lou only looked hotter.
Kayla rose up on her tiptoes, her hands careful on Lou’s shoulders to steady herself as she placed a light kiss on the center of Lou’s cheek, and pulled away to see what kind of a mark she’d made. Faint, barely even pink compared to the bright red on Kayla’s lips - but she’d left a different kind of mark altogether in the darkness that swallowed up Lou’s blue eyes.
Lou’s lips curled up, showing a flash of teeth. She raised a hand, her thumb resting just underneath Kayla’s lower lip and her finger tucked under Kayla’s chin, keeping her head tilted up. “You think you can fuck me up, freckles?” she taunted, which had Kayla’s heart pounding in her chest.
She grabbed Lou by the sides of her head and slammed their lips together. The way the lipstick smeared over Lou’s skin didn’t matter - all Kayla cared about was the feeling of Lou’s hair moving through her fingers, Lou’s hands on her waist as she steadied herself from the onslaught, the heat of Lou’s breath on her neck as Kayla trailed kisses over cheeks and jaw lines and up to temples.
“Pause,” Hazel shouted, like it wasn’t the second or third time she’d had to say it. Kayla ripped herself away, giving Lou a shove that had her stumbling back as the studio lights began to flash.
Kayla grabbed a new color - pinker than the last - and furiously ran it over her lips as she watched Lou slowly regain control of her limbs. Once it seemed like Lou was fully capable of posing for the camera the way she had before, Hazel stopped shooting.
“Play with her hair,” Hazel instructed, looking over Lou like she was a canvas that needed a few more layers of paint. “Maybe the clothes, too.”
“I can do that,” Kayla breathed, and she threw herself forward.
Her hands went straight to Lou’s hair, using all of the product that had been used to slick it back to get it to stick up at odd angles - not that that was her first priority. No, of course the thing she cared about most was getting her lips back on Lou’s skin. When her hands became too coated in product, she aimed lower, her mouth finding Lou’s neck while her fingers wrapped around the knot of Lou’s tie, tugging it loose to give her more room to work.
“Pause,” Hazel called again, and this time, Kayla was listening for it. She leaned back just in time to see Lou’s eyes rolling back from inside her own head, and caught herself smirking at the sight.
“Feeling fucked yet?” Kayla teased, and gave a pointed tug on Lou’s tie just as she opened her mouth to answer.
“Freeze,” Hazel said quickly. “I need you to stay just like that, but Kayla, take a step back so you’re out of the frame - there - perfect.” Lights flashed around them, Lou’s tie in Kayla’s hand and their unbroken stare the only things keeping them connected as Hazel snapped away. As the seconds passed, Kayla watched as the slack-jawed and dazed expression melted off of Lou’s face, slowly being eaten away by a hunger.
Hazel’s voice called out again, “Lou, look this way,” and Kayla could almost feel the effort it took for Lou to pull her gaze away. She tipped her head back, making it look like Kayla’s grip on her tie was the only thing keeping her upright.
“Your brother’s going to kill me for this,” Lou pointed out, trying to keep her lips from moving much as she spoke.
Kayla grinned. “Not if I kill you first.”
“Go,” Hazel shouted, and they were on each other again in a second.
Kayla yanked hard enough on Lou’s tie that it both loosened the knot and pulled Lou off balance, stumbling into Kayla with her full weight. Their mouths connected as Kayla shoved the jacket from Lou’s shoulders, knocking one strap of her suspenders loose along the way. She felt Lou’s own hands tugging at her shirt, her fingers snagging in belt loops at her waist, but she was on a mission. She had to get a lifetime of kissing Lou out of this photoshoot, just in case it was her only chance, so not a second was going to go to waste.
Her hands were untucking Lou’s shirt from her pants without any thought having gone behind the action, so they froze entirely when an even better idea came to mind. Her fingers started working at the button holding Lou’s collar together, and while Kayla leaned back to get out of her own way, she met Lou’s eyes. “Is this alright?”
Lou nodded, breathless as she answered, “Whatever you want.”
Kayla’s lips followed after her fingers, finding the hollow of Lou’s throat, then her sternum, and stopped just above her breasts. The goal may have been debauchery, but Lou didn’t need to flash the world while she was halfway out of her mind.
Lou was clutching at Kayla’s shirt like she didn’t know how to stay standing without it when Kayla stepped back to admire her work. Lou’s shirt was wrinkled and half-way untucked, caught in the one suspender that still hung over her shoulders as well as the other that was loose around her elbow. Her tie had been pulled so loose that her shoulders could fit through the hole, but the knot itself looked unbreakable. And, of course, lipstick prints patterned her skin, blending together into a red smear around her mouth and more spaced out as they stretched down her neck.
“Perfect,” Hazel said, her camera at the ready. Kayla took another step back, her hands on Lou’s wrists to lift them from her shirt. “Alright, Lou, if you could--”
Lou dropped to the ground, landing hard on her butt and only keeping herself upright with her hands on the ground behind her. She was breathing like she’d just run a mile, rather than having been kissed within an inch of her life.
“--yeah,” Hazel said, “actually, that’s great.”
Kayla moved aside while Hazel started snapping pictures - ones where Lou ran a hand through her messy hair, ones where she sat with her elbows crossed loosely over her knees, ones where she laid back on the ground while staring up at the ceiling and looking entirely blissed out.
The ones that Kayla was most excited to see in print, though, were those that caught Lou stealing glances in Kayla’s direction. Each time it happened, Lou’s bright red lips would twitch upward, like the movement was out of her control. Something would brighten in her eyes, and her chest would hitch like she’d caught sight of something incredible.
They wouldn’t be a replacement for the real thing, but Kayla was hoping to hold onto the memory as long as she could. Because when would she get to have another moment like this?
Across the room, the door to the studio opened. Kayla turned at the sound to see Nico and Will entering the room, not quite hand-in-hand but pressed close enough at the shoulder that they looked almost glued together. If it weren’t for Nico’s hands being so obviously stuffed into the pockets of his jacket - and for the fact that he and Will had opted not to flaunt their relationship openly around the office - Kayla would’ve thought they’d had their fingers locked together. As it was, Will’s hand probably hadn’t strayed far from the small of Nico’s back; he’d always been unbearably touchy.
“Are we late?” Will asked, looking between the three of them but lingering for a while on Kayla’s face and Lou’s…everything. “I thought Nico and I were supposed to help with the debauchery.”
Nico’s head tipped up, his shoulder pressing more intently against Will’s. “That’s ten times now that you’ve said debauchery today. It’s time to learn a new word.”
“You’re just in time, actually,” Hazel said, heading toward her equipment to swap out a lens or a battery or…whatever other camera things she had over there. “Kayla helped out with phase one, so now we just have to get the full band shots. Are you ready?” she asked, the question directed at Lou and Kayla.
Kayla started to nod, but Lou quickly jumped to her feet and said, “We need a minute.” She grabbed Kayla by the wrist and pulled her across the room, behind the screen that divided a section of the studio into a changing room.
Before Kayla had a chance to ask why Lou had pulled her away, a pair of lips slammed into hers. Lou held Kayla close by her belt loops, nearly bending her backwards from the force Lou put behind the kiss.
“We have a lot to talk about,” Lou mumbled against Kayla’s lips.
Kayla threw her arms around Lou’s shoulders. “Later.”