it was a regular saturday afternoon, and the band had the day off surprisingly. cierra and karly were currently in a store, browsing the clothing because they were in desperate need of some retail therapy.

"what do you think about these?" karly asks, holding up a pair of baggy sweatpants. cierra examines the clothing up against karly's body, then nods her head.

"they're nice." she responds simply, causing karly to furrow her eyebrows. cierra was always karly's go-to shopping buddy because they always had fun together, and always have each other honest opinions, so when the curly haired girl responded so simply to karly, she knew something was up.

"what's wrong with you?"

cierra shrugs, whilst also shaking her head. "nothing, i'm fine." karly gives cierra a deadpanned look, showing that she wasn't convinced in the slightest at her best friends attempt at a lie.

"yeah okay, now spill." she says sarcastically. cierra sigh, her hands falling from the clothing rack, down to her sides.

"it's nothing, jack and i just got into it last night." she reveals, a sad expression on her face.

for the past couple of months, cierra and jack had grown really close. like friends with benefits close. at first it was just light, casual flirting, then it was jack taking her out on "not dates" as they'd call it, then one night jack told cierra how much he liked hanging out with her and also brought to light the obvious sexual tension between the two.

he then proposed the friends with benefits idea, which cierra stupidly agreed to, thinking she wouldn't gain feelings for the rapper. it was all going well, until last night when jack decided to have a real conversation with her.....

LAST NIGHT

"you need serious help." cierra laughs. jack laughs with her, but continues to talk.

"i'm serious."

"8 daughters? you're nuts, my guy." cierra exclaims, trying to get the brown haired boy to see how crazy he sounded.

"it's true, i'd be a great dad one day and you know it." he argues.

"sure, but 8 daughters is a lot, jack. i feel bad for whoever pops those out." she comments. jack eyes her from his spot on her chest, and when she catches his eye and his suggestive look, she immediately shakes her head.

"oh nooo, buddy, you ain't getting me." she protests quickly, making jack laugh out loud.

"ri, you know i like you right?" jack says, his expression showing he was serious. cierra smiles at the boy, watching as he lifts himself, sitting to face her on the bed.

"i like you too, jack."

jack shakes his head, pursing his lips. "no, i like you. like a lot."

cierra gives him a confused expression, sitting up a little straighter, not knowing where this conversation was going.

"i wanna be with you. i want you to be my girl." he says, grabbing her hand softly, intertwining it with hers.

cierra takes in jacks words, looking down at their hands. she liked him too, a lot, but she was also scared. she was new to fame, and she'd seen her fair share of hate, but she'd also seen how loyal jacks fans were. if they found out he was taken by someone, they might try to ruin her career or her life, and she wasn't ready for that just yet.

"i don't know, jack....." she trails off, not meeting his eyes. he sighs, squeezing her hand a little.

"why not, cierra? we both like each other, we vibe, you know we have a connection. what's stopping you?" he asks, genuinely concerned.

ever since jack met cierra, he knew he wanted to be with her. he liked her vibe, he liked how musically talented she was, he liked how they could relate on so many levels. he wanted to make her his before anyone else could, and he couldn't care less what his fans thought.

"i don't think i could handle it. you know how your fans are, the second they found out we were even friends they went crazy, imagine if they found out we were anything else." cierra points out.

"baby, i get that, but you know i wouldn't let that happen. if they did i'd shut it down." jack defends.

cierra sighs, shrugging slightly. "i know you would, but that's not necessarily going to stop them, you know that." she explains.

you could see the slight frustration in jack's eyes, but he wasn't frustrated with cierra, he was frustrated with the way the whole situation was making her feel. he hated seeing her feel this unsure about them when he couldn't be more sure about anything in his life.

"cmon, cierra just give me a chance." he says, slight desperation in his tone.

"i can't jack, i just can't and if you can't except that then maybe we're not meant to be together." she says, her hand slipping from his.

"how can you say that when i'm right here begging you to be with me?" he questions her, watching as she gets up from the bed, his eyes following her every move.

"it's not about that, jack, it's the fact that i'm telling you my reasoning and it's going straight over your head." she exclaims, now standing in front of him.

"it's not cierra. i'm telling you that i don't give a fuck what they think, all i want is to be with you, shouldn't that be all that matters?" he asks, pulling her body in between his legs.

she's hesitant a first, but gives in, wrapping her arms around his neck, subconsciously putting her fingers in his brown curls.

she sighs, looking down at his expression. she could tell he meant every word, but something inside just couldn't do it. "well i care, jack, i can't help it. it's just the way i am, you know that."

jacks face falls and cierra clearly sees it. he breaks their eye contact, looking off to the side.

"jack..." she trails off, wondering what was going through his mind.

"nah, it's fine, cierra, i get it." he lets go of her body, distancing himself from her slightly.

"jack, don't be like that." she sighs, sad that their proximity was fading.

"like what, cierra? you want me to be happy that you just turned me down?" his eyebrows furrow in confusion.

"no, i just— i need some time." she explains, watching as he gets up from the bed, grabbing his keys.

"okay. take all the time you need." he purses his lips. cierra looks at him, her eyes full of sadness. she had never seen him this desperate before, which made her feel even worse, but she couldn't help the way she felt.

"do you want me to drop you off at home?"

"uh, sure." she responds awkwardly, watching him pass her smaller figure, and walk out of the bedroom.

END OF FLASHBACK

"wow." was all karly could say after cierra explained to her what happen between the pair.

"yeah, love life equals ruined." cierra purses her lips, meeting karly's eyes. karly gives her a look of pity, feeling bad that her best friend was going through all of this.

"don't say that. he'll come around eventually." she reassures her. cierra shakes her head, rolling her eyes slightly.

"it's not him that has to come around. it's me. he was all for us and i just messed it up." she huffs.

"no, you had a valid reason and he probably just doesn't fully understand. just give it time, when you're ready he will be too." karly smiles at her best friend.

suddenly karly's phone dings, catching her attention. she takes it out of her pocket, dylan's name popping up.

"cheer up, babe, looks like we're going to a party tonight."

<••••>

"you didn't tell us that madelyn cline would be at this party!" evangeline exclaims as the group pulls up to the giant house where the party took place.

"i'm just as surprised as you are." dylan defends, throwing his hands up in defense. the car stops at the front of the house, letting the band out and driving off when everyone was safely out of the car.

they all stand at the front of the house, wide eyed, practically looking like lost puppies. this was the first "famous" party they'd been invited to and they had no clue what they were doing.

"is there like a password or something...." tommy questions. the whole group gives him an 'are you kidding me' look and he shrugs defensively.

"no there's not a password, idiot." leilani shakes her head. "lets just go and have fun, jeez." she pushes past everyone else, walking confidently.

"remember, no drinking, you're only 18." tommy yells over to her in a brotherly manner. she waves him off, but it was also a sign that she had heard what he said.

"someone's gotta watch that girl." cierra sighs, beginning to walk towards the house as everyone follows.

the party looked crazy there were lots of lights, drinks, and bodies. this wasn't the older members of the band's first rodeo, they just weren't used to seeing so many famous people in one space.

one second drew starkey would be on your left, then the next, shawn mendes on your right.

cierra spotted leilani at the bar and rolled her eyes heavily, tommy was closer and cierra couldn't quite get to her, so she called for tommy.

"dude, go watch her, make sure she doesn't do anything stupid."

he nods his head, heading over to grab the younger girl.

cierra groans, stressed by all of the things on her mind. she decided to head over to the heavier drinks, because lord knows she needed one.

after about 30 minutes at the party, evangeline was already standing on the wall, a beer that she was not supposed to be drinking in her hand. she was slightly drunk because she was a lightweight, so when some random guy came up to her, she didn't have a care in the world what he was saying.

"so when he said that i was like, 'what dude'." the boy says laughing at a joke that wasn't even funny. evangeline fake laughs to make it seem like she was paying attention, but her mind was everywhere but this party.

"you're really beautiful, you know." the blonde haired boy comments, getting a little closer to evangeline.

she went to move back, but was hit with reality when the wall behind her stopped her from moving anywhere.

she sighs, rolling her eyes slightly. "thanks, but i'm not interested." she says nicely. the boy laughs slightly, putting his hand beside her head on the wall.

"you're only saying that because you're drunk. if you weren't you'd be all over me." he says confidently.

"uh, no, i'm just not interested." she emphasizes again, hoping he gets the point. seeing as he doesn't move, she gives him a disgusted look and when he makes a move to get closer to her, his body is suddenly moved away from her.

he's pushed away from her when dylan grabs his shoulder, shoving him away from her. "back up, dude." he says rolling his eyes at the guy.

"hey-" before the boy could protest, dylan speaks over him. "i said back up." he says, a more serious tone in his voice.

the boy finally walks away, causing evangeline to let out a breathe she didn't know she was holding in. dylan turns to her, giving her a look.

"don't look at me like that. you can go around sleeping with a bunch of girls but i can't have a few drinks?" she spits at him, the alcohol clearly getting to her head, because they both knew that she'd never say these things if she were sober.

dylan's face drops a little, and he sighs at the girl. "yeah, no more for you, lightweight." he jokes, taking the beer from her and gulping it down before she could protest.

"you suck." she mutters, watching as dylan stands beside her, his back up against the wall.

"yeah, i know." he mutters back, a double meaning behind his words. as evangeline quiets down, dylan takes the time to examine her.

she was in a tight, bodycon-like white dress, with white sneakers, and lots of jewelry on. her beautiful black curls hung just above her shoulders, still damp from when she wet them before the party. his eyes made their way to her face, noticing the light makeup she had on. they then subconsciously traveled down to her lips, the lip gloss on her lips slightly distracting.

dylan wasn't usually a very observant person, but when it came to evangeline, he noticed everything. from the way she covered her mouth when she smiled because she was insecure about her smile, to the way she would bite her lip when she was concentrating.

he's pulled out of his thoughts when he catches evangeline's eyes. "what's going on with you?" she asks, looking into his eyes.

he furrows his eyes at her, even though he knew what she was talking about. "i feel like you're avoiding me." she elaborates.

"i'm just having fun. and i've been a bit confused on some things lately." he sighs.

"confused on what?"

"it's not so much as confused, i know exactly how i feel, it's just scaring me a lot." he says truthfully.

"well you know you can talk to me about anything, i don't want you shutting me out at every inconvenience." she tells him.

"yeah..." he trails off, knowing that what he really wanted to tell her would change their relationship forever.

karly was across the room, sitting on the stairs alone, observing everyone around her. some people were talking on the wall, some had their tongues down each other's throats, and some were just hanging out like her.

she watches the couples interact with each other, wishing deep down she had someone to enjoy her time with like they did. truth be told, even though she was a great girl, karly didn't have much luck in the romance department.

the last time she had a boyfriend was 2 years ago, and he had cheated on her, so you can say she had a bit of trust issues. every guy she ever dated also never liked the way she dressed and always tried to change her because they were too insecure that they couldn't handle how secure in herself she was, so she hadn't found the one that would embrace her uniqueness yet.

"being single sucks sometimes, i swear." a voice interrupts her thoughts. karly looks up from her spot on the stairs to see a brown haired boy looking down at her, a drink in his hand.

"yeah, it's not the best thing in the world." she agrees, feeling slightly awkward that she was making conversation with a complete stranger.

"can i sit?"

karly eyes the spot next to her, nodding after a second. he settles next to her, following her line of vision. "sometimes i just wanna pretend for a second, that there's a girl in my life that's in love with me the way i'm in love with her, you know." he comments, watching some guy in the distance whispers into his girlfriends ear, making her laugh.

"yeah, i just wish i could pretend every guy i've ever met wasn't a complete asshole." she says ironically, making the brown haired boy laugh.

they sit in comfortable silence for a minute, before the mystery boy speaks up again. "maybe we can."

karly eyes the boy, an he senses her confusion. "maybe we could pretend, just for tonight, that our love lives don't totally suck. i'll be your pretend boyfriend, you be my pretend girlfriend." he proposes.

karly looks at the boy like he has two heads, making him chuckle. "come on, just for fun?" he tries.

she rolls her eyes, before giving in. what's the worst that could happen, it was a party after all and she was meant to be having fun.

"i can't have a fake boyfriend if i don't know his name." she points out, turning more to face the boy.

"tell me yours first."

"i asked first." she protests, a small smirk growing on her face.

"touché." he nods, copying her by turning her way. "troy."

"nice to meet you fake boyfriend troy, i'm karly." she introduces herself.

he smiles once he hears her introduce herself. "nice to meet you too, fake girlfriend karly." he mocks her.

"i say first order of business of being a fake couple is to out-couple all of the real couples." troy declares, getting up from his seat on the stairs.

he holds his hand out for her, and karly laughs, taking his hand, while playfully rolling her eyes.

they rush down the stairs to the heart of the party: the dance floor.

usually karly would never do this, but she was a bit tipsy, and this cute stranger just convinced her to have a little fun, so when he pulled her closer into him, holding her by her waist, she didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around his neck as they swayed their hips to the beat of the sensual song that was blasting through the house.

"hey babe." troy mocks, making them both laugh a little at the corniness. karly hums in response, urging him to continue his sentence.

"i like your outfit, the hat is actually so cool." he compliments her. it catches karly off guard at his sentence, never hearing something like that from a guy that wasn't her band mates.

"thank you." she blushes slightly, smiling up at the boy ever so slightly. she was wearing a long sleeved, white corset type shirt, low rise flare blue jeans, and a denim hat that was bejeweled all over, covering her waist length black hair.

classic karly.

after about 10 minutes of goofing around on the dance floor, the two were sat back against a wall that had a view of almost the whole house.

"check this out. he's drunk off of his ass, and her friends drug her here." troy points to a pair of people across the room.

"he's been trying his luck for about 10 minutes and she's gonna get sick of it and walk away in like five seconds." he predicts.

just as he predicted, about a minute or two later the blonde girl pushed the guy off of her, walking away with a disgusted look on her face.

karly's eyes widen and troy has an impressed look on his face at his prediction. he holds his hands up in mock defense, earning a high five from karly.

"how'd you do that?" karly asks, genuinely curious.

"i've been to my fair share of parties. i've picked up on a few things." he laughs, knocking his foot against hers.

"you try one."

karly looks out into the crowd and spits dylan talking to some brunette, while cierra and evangeline were a few feet away, and evangeline couldn't keep her eyes off of the boy.

"you see that boy over there?" she says pointing to dylan. troy nods his head as karly directs her finger over to evangeline.

"and that girl? boy is in love with girl but is in denial, so he's fell into his player phase to distract himself, while girl is in love with boy and thinks she's done something wrong because boy distanced himself." she reveals, making troy furrow his eyebrows.

"you can tell all of that off of a few stolen glances?" he asks in disbelief.

"yeah. and they're also my best friends, so it's kind of a no brained." she chuckles, making troy kiss his teeth.

"cheater." he pushing her shoulder slightly.

"i had to, i would've looked stupid." she laughs, smiling at the boy.

"you know, the nights almost over, and there's still one thing we haven't done that all couples do." troy says, mischief in his voice.

"oh i see. you're right though, it wouldn't be right if we didn't." karly shrugs.

troy gives her a challenging look, but karly matches him as she begins to close the gap between them.

just as their lips are about to touch, a figure above them interrupts.

"have you seen tommy?!" cierra exclaims, making the pair jump apart.

karly groans, pulling away from troy. "no, i haven't, wasn't he supposed to be with leilani?"

"yeah! but we found leilani passed out on a patio chair outside. some weird dude was trying to wake her up. we've gotta go it's getting a little rough for everyone." cierra informs karly, making her best friend instincts kick in, hearing that leilani could've been in danger.

she jumps up, about to follow cierra before remembering troy. she turns, seeing him watching their whole interaction.

"i had a nice time troy, thanks for being my fake boyfriend for the night. text me any time." she says, referring to when they exchanged numbers earlier in the night.

he solutes her, and the two girls take off downstairs, meeting dylan and evangeline at the door.

leilani was hung onto dylan's shoulder, clearly drunk. "oh my god, lani. is she okay?" karly asks.

"yeah, she's just extremely drunk, we've gotta get her home." dylan says as cierra opens the front door to get them out.

"i'm gonna kill tommy." cierra groans as the group does their best to leave the party with a drunk leilani.

and lets just say tommy's not exactly dead, but he might as well be.

ʟᴇʏ's ᴛᴇᴅ ᴛᴀʟᴋ
ts was 3,605 words🧍🏽‍♀️

anyways this is just setting you more bs so yayyy i'm gonna have too much fun w this LMAO

i already love karly and troy too omggg

see y'all laterrr