c h a p t e r | 02
DURACELL BUNNY
'I wonder if he's like a
Duracell bunny in bed too.'
__________

SHE SLAPPED HIS HAND, "Would you stop chewing on the strings!" She hissed before she threw another pair of jeans at him as she was not satisfied with the first pair.

"The hoodie is not yours to keep, you know," she chided. They were behind schedule just like she had predicted from the very start. Minor details had changed, models late and so on. She cursed herself for not having insisted on Parker going home, and letting them both indulge in the infatuated friendship between hunky brothers which made up her favorite series, until the wee hours of the night.

As her eyes now zeroed in on the 3 pair of shoes she had narrowed it down to, she went over the other possible looks Parker had to go through during the day in her head. At least she would have a little more time to get the rest thrown together during the first shoot.

"I bet I can keep it if you ask," Parker merely shrugged, still keeping the drawstring between his teeth as he pulled on the washed out pair of jeans.

"Really though, do you think you can score me the jacket? It's sick." He eyed the fresh chocolate colored leather jacket in the mirror, and tugged at the collar when he finished buttoning the jeans. Tessa dropped her chosen pair of black on white high tops in front of him, before she bent down to fold the cuffs even.

"Don't you think?" He continued to check himself out in the mirror and moved to run his hands through his hair.

"No!" Indy screamed from the door, startling both of them with her dramatic entrance. The gorgeous baby blue eyed brunette glowered from her position, pointing at Parker.

"Do not run your hands through your hair! It took me a freaking hour to even out those curls!" She pestered before she stomped into the room, throwing her beauty supply bag carelessly down on the floor before she jumped in a nearby chair.

Parker who had frozen with his hands mid air went to rub his ear instead, a smug smile tugging at the corners, "Someone's in a mood," he asserted knowingly as Indy swiftly grabbed one of the cokes they had snatched from the buffet table and opened it with a loud pop, taking a huge gulp of it.

"Has he yet to acknowledge you?" He teased knowingly.

"Seriously, if the dude wasn't in fact him, I would have whooped his ass for leaving me hanging," she slumped down on the chair, wiping her forehead before resting the can to it. Her eyes closed with a content sigh by the calming cold. 

"Who?" Tessa asked absentmindedly, not really paying attention as she kept walking around Parker, taking in the outfit. Tugging at his collar, flipping it up, she gave a small satisfied nod, happy they made it in time for the first shoot. The look really gave off the perfect vibe of cool and casual, while still keeping in line with Parker's own personality.

"Hale Westbrook of course," Parker exhaled resignedly and Tessa scrunched up her nose, before pulling his arm forward to tug at the hoodie under the jacket.

"Come on Tessa, when is the last time you've even looked at a guy?" Indy asked from her position, crunching up her now empty can and looped it towards the trashcan only to see it fall several inches too short, and Parker let out a snicker.

Tessa straightened up and glanced at Indy who was watching her with her brows raised in anticipation and Tessa answered with a look of disbelief, which made Indy roll her eyes.

"Besides Parker, who doesn't count," she smacked her lips and nodded towards the guy in question.

"And Hale Westbrook does?" Tessa shot back, "You can barely call him a guy, try hormonal teenager," she shook her head, knowing fully well about the guy's escapades. If she was correct Hale was one of those minor set backs that had the shoot on the other end from the very start.

"Can we just rewind to the fact that apparently none of you think of me as a guy?" Parker huffed out, staring at the girls in annoyance. "You want me to show off the six-pack to prove it?" He chuckled and moved to lift up his shirt, but got stopped as Tessa swatted him in the stomach and let out a groan instead.

"We drank those last night, Park," she teased as Parker exaggeratedly rubbed the spot.

"Now, stop creasing the clothes," she looked at her watch, "You're supposed to be on set in 5," she announced already making her way out the door, leaving the others to follow.

"He really is a sight for sore eyes, though," Indy sighed with a distant look in her eyes as they entered the set.

"Parker?" Tessa snorted, "If you find a 5 year-old trapped in a man-boy's body appealing, maybe." She steered straight towards the buffet which was lined up at the back of the set, grabbing a water bottle.

"Hey, I heard that," Parker nudged her in the back as she took a sip of her water, earning a slight scowl though she did not spill a drop.

"Really, Parker? You're wearing Avengers boxers, how more childish can it get?" She irked smugly, a smile playing on her lips as she looked up at her best friend who let out a breath while puffing out his chest, as if that would make him more masculine to look at and the girls gave each other knowing looks.

"They were in the gift basket I got from the last studio!" He defended himself, his arms crossing over his chest, and squared his posture.

"Oh Indy, you got any more foundation on you? I don't think you used enough. The child is blushing," Tessa tried suppressing a laugh, as Indy snorted trying to hold back hers too but obviously failed. Parker's cheeks got even more pink, and he kept rubbing his chin with his thumb.

"Whatever, Marshmallow," Parker exclaimed after a teasing torturous silence built up between them and ruffled Tessa's hair and her face fell by the nick name. Foreseeing her hit this time, he managed to dodge out of her way.

"When are you gonna stop with the nickname?" She groaned out, narrowing her eyes at him and sat on the table.

Parker leaned over her to grab an apple, "How about never?" He winked at her before taking a huge unappealing bite of the apple.

"Why even marshmallow?" Indy wondered and Parker turned to her, one of his sly smirks creeping onto his lips.

"You see, when—"

"No!" Tessa shrieked wide-eyed and slapped her hand over Parker's mouth, glaring at him. "Don't you dare speak of it. You promised to take it to the grave!" She hissed at him, only to squeal out disgustedly as Parker licked her hand and she moved to wipe it off on his shirt.

"Hey, don't wanna ruin the outfit now, will you?" He warned with a grin, wriggling away from her hand, and grabbed her wrist to prevent her from coming in contact with his clothes.

"Hey Michaels, be ready in 2!" A man with a clipboard called out and Parker saluted him before turning around to face the girls again.

Tessa eyed the buffet table as her stomach growled, informing her of its unhappiness of skipping breakfast.

"Just look at him," Indy nodded in the direction the man left and the other two shot futile glimpses over their shoulders.

Parker took another noisy bite of his apple. "If you just had a whole hour with him how come his hair still looks like he just rolled out of bed?" He commented and Tessa giggled.

Indy merely waved off their uninterested responses. "First, I'm not making the decisions here. I'm only doing what I'm told and they wanted the bad boyish look for him for this shoot. Second, it does suit him quite nicely, don't you think?" She glanced at the model in question for a few seconds.

Parker bounced ready with a reply, however Tessa beat it to him..

"Maybe, because he's just as air-headed as one."

"Third!" Indy snapped reprovingly, daring them to continue, "I only had like 15 minutes considering he was running late."

"I knew, I heard someone in the bathroom," Parker boasted and snapped his fingers.

Tessa busied herself while Parker passed on his findings, picking at the different fruits while contemplating whether to go with grilled cheese or waffles.

"But you can't deny he's got style," Indy argued looking expectantly at Tessa while ignoring Parker. "Really, Tessa. Just for one second look at him," Indy spoke up, grabbing the plate out of her hands before taking her own advice and sneaked yet another glimpse of him.

Tessa reluctantly turned around, "I have looked at him, Indy. It's not like I say he doesn't have the looks, because obviously the camera loves him. Yes, he definitely catches the eye which clearly is why he is in the business, but evidently he has caught quite too many of them," she gestured to the girls who giggled hysterically and occasionally found ways to touch his arm or playfully nudge him.

Seeking her moment, she got back her plate as Indy chewed thoughtfully at her bottom lip, taking in all the long-legged femme fatales who circled around him.

"Just last week I saw him with not 1 but 3 of the girls for the runway show. On the same day!" She exclaimed, admitting just how much she did not even bother to flinch by Parker's information about having heard him getting it on just before the shoot today. Picking up a strawberry from the buffet, she stuffed it in her mouth.

"He also invited the makeup artist to powder his whole body if you catch my drift. So excuse me for finding that less attractive," she commented and bit down on the juicy fruit, and Parker chuckled, though staying out of the conversation for the time being as he was busy finishing off his apple.

As Tessa went about her business, deciding on waffles, she caught a glimpse of Indy's horrorstricken expression from out of the corner of her eye.

Knowing the horror was not because of Hale Westbrook's rendezvouses with different girls on the same day, but more because she was not booked as the makeup artist for the show and that way might just have lost out on a golden opportunity, she kept on ignoring her, though she felt her eyes bore into the side of her head.

Not that Indy was a floozy, but she was very talkative, blunt and definitely not embarrassed about expressing her sexual fantasies. To some extent Tessa envied Indy for usually having her way around the men she wanted, but still eyeing up the particular male model just felt inappropriate considering his reputation. Indy could do so much better than Hale Westbrook. Not that he was interested in relationships that lasted longer than Katy Perry's 'TGIF' music video.

Or was it just the song?

"I don't get it," Tessa shook her head, as the thought kept nagging her and she looked at Parker who was casually leaned up against the table beside her minding his own business, and twirling the almost eaten apple in his hand.

"Park, you aren't such a... Such a manwhore!" She blurted, wanting to find a more proper word to describe Hale Westbrook, but such word had yet to be invented. Indy hushed at her, eyeing the other people that roamed the set, while Parker remained unfazed, though a grin carefully grew on his lips.

"Well, thank you. I guess I should take that as a compliment?" Parker calculated and met Tessa's gaze before taking the last bite of his apple.

"It is!" I mean you don't hook up with every girl who just as much as glances in your direction. You at least have some decency," she spoke somewhat fondly of her best friend, however the attentive moment got thwarted by Indy's grunt.

"Yeah, like he only goes for every second one," Indy snorted, and hid her toothy grin behind her hand as her eyes danced mischievously.

"Indy!" Parker barked, pushing himself away from his leaning position on the table, another slight tint of red drizzled over his cheekbones and he got in a hurry to throw out his apple core.

"What? It's true. I saw you looking extremely smug coming out of the elevator the other night," Indy continued eagerly, and Parker scowled at her, obviously trying to communicate for her to shut up.

That was another thing about Indy. She never shut up and if you told her a secret it would be like dangling a cupcake in front of a bulimic.

"What?!" Tessa interjected, demanding to know what they were talking about and jumped off the table though she was still at least a head shorter than her two friends, rendering her attempt at interrupting their standoff futile.

"So, I might not take the high road all the time," Parker voiced out hesitantly with a slight scoff. His hand moved to rub the back of his head, however he quickly snapped it away as Indy's gaze turned ominous.

Getting enough of being left in the dark, Tessa whacked Parker in the stomach again as that was the most effective approach to get his attention.

"I'm talking about Daniella," Indy peeped up informatively and Parker shot her a look to which she just shrugged off unaffectedly and turned her attention to Tessa. "Him and her were getting pretty hot and heavy during the pre-test."

"Parker," Tessa turned her head to look at her friend who raised his hands up in mock surrender, shaking his head, though he could not prevent the pleased smile that showed off his perfect white teeth.

"Fine, yes. We hooked up! And so what? I like girls and they like me," he boasted, tugging the jacket in arrogance, hinting towards his well-toned figure which made Tessa swat him again.

"God, I'm surrounded by man sluts," she muttered and scowled at the ground as she could not bear to look at the self-pleased jerk of a friend in front of her or Indy who smiled victoriously. Choosing to ignore both of them she turned her attention back to the buffet table to pour syrup over her waffles, deciding her tastebuds deserved it as her ears were bleeding from the indecent conversation who had carried on for far too long.

She already knew the business was intense, which obviously brought about an atmosphere that toyed with people's sanity, telling them it was okay to let their hormones run wild, but still. Parker was her friend, was it not okay for her to expect more of him? Besides Daniella might be this stunning 5'10 strawberry blonde knockout with even longer legs than what should be humanly possible, but if one was a floozy she would definitely be it, and by how she was hanging off of Hale at the moment just added to that.

"Shut up, Marshmallow," Parker cooed, nudging her teasingly in the side to get his friend to send him one of her reassuring and nonjudgmental smiles.

"You know I ain't like that. I let them down easy and might even take them for a spin or two," he started with a grin and she glared at him. Parker's grin turned into a smirk as he read her expression.

"Hale is different though," he continued, his eyes sparkling as Tessa eyed him precariously considering she did not know where he was heading with this. "He discards them just as soon as he gets his fill," he winked at her, knowing just how much she despised how Hale seemed to handle the women in the industry.

Tessa scrunched her nose up in disgust. She did not know who to be more disgusted with, the girls who apparently did not care Hale did not even have a spoon of substance to him or the fact that Hale was leading them on, being the indiscreet sleaze he was.

"At least I'm dignified enough to be stealth about it," Parker added smugly and gestured towards Hale and the crowd of stereotypical air headed models. "Hale... Well he is just getting sloppy," he remarked as Hale leaned into one of the models whispering something in her ear.

The trio watched as the girl nodded maybe a bit too eagerly than she originally wanted it to, but Hale's smirk that never seemed to glide off his face, intensified as he rubbed his lip with his finger.

"You're making me gag," she spoke up, dropping her plate onto the table as she lost her appetite altogether and glanced briefly at Parker, while Indy smiled humored by the situation.

"Well, it does boost his image," Indy concluded, "All those rumors out there, trying to spill whoever is occupying his bed at night, sure earns him enough publicity for everyone wanting to get their hands on him and make him model for their brands as it's bound to boost their sales," Indy nodded in confirmation, clearly not bothered with how he so openly flirted with the girls, though she kept implying how attracted she was to him, which made Tessa taste bile even more as it also confirmed her obsession with him was purely sexual.

What was it with this workplace and the absence of self-preservation? No wonder the industry came with its own fair share of scandals. Curse Hale Westbrook and him being the most in-demand model on the market.

"I bet it'll be Stella tonight," Parker pointed towards Hale and the girl who had already started groping each other. Hale discreetly, which meant not so discreetly, rested his hand on her butt.

"20 says they won't make it that far," Indy challenged with a perfectly plucked brow raised, and a mischievous smile which tugged at the corner of her mouth. Tessa huffed and grabbed her water bottle.

"Make it 50 and I guarantee you she's one of them," Parker shot back confidently and crossed his arms as he returned Indy's playfulness.

"Guys..." Tessa shook her head, feeling more and more annoyed.

"Oh, you're certain he's gonna bag more than one?" Indy tapped her chin as if she was thinking through the scenario.

"I'm out of here. Literally, I cannot for the life of me—" Tessa smacked her forehead, letting her hand rub over her face not even knowing where to start. Turning to leave she got halted as Parker grabbed the water bottle out of her hands, uncapping it and took a sip.

"Calm down, Tessa. You know as well as us that it's their own fault for not understanding that he's only looking for a hook-up," Parker shrugged.

"So not the point! You are acting as if you're talking about what's for dinner and not Hale who's like a dog in heat! Seriously, he's giving male models a bad name," she objected and glared at Parker indicating it included him too and he returned her glare with a scoff.

"I wonder if he's like a Duracell bunny in bed too," Indy mused, once again not bothered with listening to the whole speech and they stopped staring at each other as they both turned to look at her incredulously.

"Really, the guy does have a certain radiant energy to him. I always feel more energetic afterwards," she added thoughtfully.

"Ew, Indy!" They groaned in unison. Parker rubbing his face, while Tessa feverishly shook her head trying to get rid of the forming images in her head.

"I mean after doing his hair and makeup!" She quickly tried to clear up, before resting her gaze on Tessa.

"Jeez Tessa, now, who's having a dirty mind?" She smiled teasingly, loving Tessa's appalled expression.

"But really though, I wouldn't mind—" Indy continued with a grin, nudging Tessa's shoulder.

"I'm surrounded by horny idiots!" Tessa blurted out darkly, making Indy halt her sentence. She yanked her water bottle out of Parker's hands before stomping her way off set towards Parker's assigned changing room, hearing their laughter ring out after her.

Busying herself, she went over the schedule and the requested looks before she started piecing the outfits together. It worked to her advantage that she had worked together with Parker for so long that she knew his likes and dislikes together with what fitted him.

Just in time as she settled on the chair and checked up on Parker's booked arrangements and appearances on her phone, Parker was back with Indy in tow.

Indy already bounced around him with a new round of hairspray and pulled at random strands to make a more disheveled look for him.

"Seriously, just let me run my hands through my hair, already. It'll be more efficient than this," Parker huffed and swatted Indy's hands away.

"Definitely not! Your definition of running your hands through your hair is more like tugging at it until it looks like a freaking tornado went through it," Indy argued and lightly went to ruffle his bangs.

"You know what will—" Parker started to wriggle his eyebrows indecently but got interrupted as a shirt hit him smack in the face.

"The hair, Tessa!" Indy yelled, glaring at her, before she slapped Parker's cheek as his hand had already gone through his hair.

"If I had known you liked it rough—" Parker replied smugly, and winked at Indy, but once again got interrupted by Tessa as she this time shoved the rest of the outfit in his stomach, shoes and all.

"Don't be smart. First shoot of the day with Hale and you've already lost braincells," Tessa asserted with a shake of her head and pulled her phone from her pocket as it beeped with an incoming text.

"Apparently, John wants you to appear at the launch party at Grant tonight," Tessa spoke up as she read through the text with information.

"Great, you guys wanna come?" Parker asked as he jumped into another pair of jeans, leaving them hanging low on his hips to make the white branded boxer briefs visible, before grabbing the sleeveless hoodie.

Just as the girls were about to respond, a cry sounded from the hall making them all turn towards the open door, and thinking the same thing.

Rightly so, a girl ran passed, crying her eyes out while leaving pitiful sobs in her wake.

"100 bucks that's on Hale," both Indy and Parker called it enthusiastically at the same time.

_____*_____

A/N: I feel like I should do another round of jazz hands but nah. I'm gonna save them for when you actually get properly introduced to Hale, so I'll just jiggle around instead *jiggles* xD

But hey, you met Indy ! The slight eccentric and boy crazy roommate, colleague and friend. For some reason I have the feeling that her ringtone is BOYS by Charli XCX. *starts playing the song and continues jiggling* or maybe it should just say Hale? '

'Hale, Hale, Hale. Head is spinning thinking about Hale!' :D

What's your ringtone ?
Mine is Galway Girl by Ed Sheeran.

Toodles noodles, for now !