𝖜𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖊𝖗𝖊𝖗 | ᴄᴏʀᴘꜱᴇ ʜᴜꜱʙᴀɴᴅ x ᴏᴄ | ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴏɴᴇ

The Cucumber Water

Jack had been feeling much better after his therapy appointment and birthday. The dark thoughts were much quieter and more manageable recently. He was trying to take Molly's advice and take things slow, but it was difficult when everyone was giving him the go-ahead. Seán and Emma continued to excitedly text and ask for any updates on the situation, and Molly seemed more than pleased with the dynamic, but something was holding him back still. Fear of rejection? Fear of the past? Whatever it was he had a love-hate relationship with it.

He was almost excited to go out to this party with his friend, almost. He'd been gaining more and more traction with the music industry after posting a few old songs that he'd made over the years- the lingering parts of his apathetic attitude were a great help in those instances. Popular artists such as Lil Nas and Halsey were beginning to follow him and hit him up, even some joining in while gaming. As anxious as it made Jack feel with all the sudden changes, it was also definitely exciting and he felt more and more validated in what he was doing. He was finally gaining some confidence in the choices that had always taunted him in his life. He wasn't too enthused about potentially meeting with official record labels at the party, but it helped that this particular event was going to be a costume party. The thought of dressing in ridiculous fits to poke fun at the absurdity of the event was enticing, plus it could still be a way to get his music out to the other artists for possible collaborations if nothing else. He still needed to mentally prepare himself for this upcoming event, however. It had barely been a week and now it was crunch time. There would be so many new people judging nearly everything about him, not that it mattered too much with his absolute repulsion to the music industry, but still. He had been texting with his friend the whole week planning their scheme. It was set to be a riot, at least to them.

As one of the marketing administrators for a small(ish) music studio, Violet's new job could require after-hours parties as a way of networking with clients, potential contractors, and various musicians, a primary staple in Violet's company. The sociability hadn't enthused Violet about the job, but her boss had reassured her that this wasn't typical for her title, but more of an opportunity to network with the rest of the company and clients.

"Honestly, I think it's more of an excuse to hang out with everyone now that people are getting vaxxed and boosted." Her boss had admitted.

Then it became more of a matter of finding a costume. The theme had confused Violet, as it was still summer, but the argument had been, "the goal is to network yourself without your business hat."

With that in mind, she'd chosen a full white spacesuit, complete with a helmet to cover her face entirely, though she had topped it with a fake violet for some style, as well as a telltale for her coworkers to recognize her. She was taking this 'networking competition' fairly seriously, especially as the newest marketer for the team. If she managed to network well and sign on a new contractor or client, it would do wonders for her career here. She just had to have fun with it; not overthink it for once.

It was only an hour or so before Jack needed to leave. It was just a bit of fun, considering it wasn't necessarily a release party for anyone, but more of a making connections kind of vibe. The costume he had chosen wouldn't make him look suspicious or reveal his identity in any way, due to the popularity of the game and character he'd chosen, but was still a dead giveaway for any artists looking for a potential collab that might be there and did indeed know him or know of him, especially seeing that he would be with BONES, whom he rarely got to hang out with but was widely known for repping constantly. Regardless, a drink was certainly in order.

Before he put on the shirt and vest of the costume and it hit him that he was indeed going, he wandered out into the kitchen and grabbed one of the bottles of brown liquid before pouring a generous shot into a glass before two small fingers appeared on the counter by him and tapped twice.