Fluorescents

15

" Wish we could turn back time, to the good old days."

The very familiar twenty one pilots song plays in the background of the restaurant as I tap my fingers on the table. After Clair complained about being hungry we walked around looking for somewhere to eat and ended up at a sandwich shop. Neither of us were picky and we ultimately just walked into whatever food shop.

As Derek finishes ordering his food and makes his way towards the table I hum along to the song playing. It's upsetting that most people are only aware of twenty one pilots through this song. They have so much better songs that people underrate. When Derek is finally at the table he rubs over his stomach before sitting down and speaking.

" I never realized how hungry I was." He chuckles and I nod my head. We haven't eaten all day but I never bothered to notice either. I was too consumed by my thoughts of work and the people in my life to think about anything else.

" I did." Clair buds in and we laugh. The atmosphere between the three of us has been surprisingly quiet all day but we can't seem to think of anything memorable to say. We're all too lost in our minds to come back to reality.

Shortly after we all turn to our phones for entertainment the lady at the front counter shouts Clair's name and she makes her way towards her to receive her food. She returns and shortly after my name is called. Once we all have our food and we begin to eat, Derek scrunches his nose in disgust when he looks at Clair's sandwich.

" Is that just vegetables and bread?" He asks chuckling shortly after. Clair nods her head and he raises an eyebrow at her.

" She's vegan." I respond for her and he mouths an 'oh' before we all return to our food. We stay quiet the rest of the meal and when we finish up we begin to make our way back outside. Derek opens the door for me and Clair when we step out and we both thank him.

" You know," he starts and I turn to look at him as we walk. "I was planning on buying the album for myself," he jokes as if it's a matter of fact. "but you were acting extremely needy." He continues messing with me, shaking his head back and forth as if he's unamused. " and I felt bad when I saw how much you wanted it." He states next to me as we continue to walk through the city. I roll my eyes and hit his shoulder playfully as he stares at me with a wide grin. "Ouch." he whines rubbing over the area my hand came into contact with.

" Baby." I tease him and we both laugh.

" You know, you're pretty rude to someone who's your boss. " he teases me back. I think about it and drift into thought over his words. I've been trying to be professional and give an impression so people can see that I'm qualified enough for this job but when I'm near Derek it doesn't matter. I'm comfortable enough around him and I'm able to be myself. The calm and chill girl that has a deep passion for music. "I'm just joking." He says more seriously, shaking me away from my thoughts.

" I know." I say before we return to a comfortable silence. We continue walking for another two hours, occasionally walking into shops or simply stopping to relish in the city's beauty. When we finally finish walking through the city we decide to make our way back to the hotel. On our way there I gaze down at my phone. Matt hasn't replied yet but the time is 3:53. The hotel is a decent walk away and by the time we get back it'll be close to 5, the time that the band is scheduled to drive to the radio station. I'm still not sure if I'm going to go with them but I'm hoping that I don't have to. I do love relishing in the sound of music live as much as I can but I still have yet to listen to the band's music and I'm worried that I won't enjoy it. Not to mention Alex will be there and he will for sure try his best to bug me.

" So do you and Alex know each other pretty well?" Derek shocks me by asking. He rubs the back of his neck as he waits for me to answer and I can tell that he is anxious to hear my reply. " I saw the way he talked to you back at the hotel so I just-" he stops himself before shrugging. What did he think? That there was a thing going on between the two of us because of the way he always seems to be lured towards me. It's not possible. The only reason he's lured to me is because he's so keen on tearing me down. He enjoys the way he constantly tortures me emotionally. He's a sick asshole that I can't fully solve.

" Not that well." I tell him. I'm partially lying. I have gotten to know Alex well enough to know that he's a smug asshole that thinks highly of himself but I also don't know him well enough to see the other side of him I know he has. I decide to keep this away from Derek because I still don't know him well enough either. Not to mention it's not somethings I want to disclose with a person who seems to know him well.

" Well I recommend you don't." He warns me with a light chuckle to ease the tension stuck on the topic. Everyone seems to want me to stay away from him. I am aware that he's a cocky bastard that is rude to everyone but they should be aware that I'm being forced to at least somewhat associate myself with him. We're going to be working together for the next two months. How will I stay away from him for so long? A part of me wonders if they're warning me to stay away from him in a romantic way but I push it to the side. If they are it doesn't matter because even I know not to. Not to mention I am in no way interested in him in that way. I don't even like him as an acquaintance. Yes he has done several kind things like buying me tea and peanuts and giving me the pills but that's not enough. He has done more rude things than kind ones.

We finally reach the hotel and we make our way to the back parking lot. When we arrive the bands publicist, Lauren, begins walking towards Derek.

" Where were you?" She asks him directly, completely ignoring the fact that me and Clair are there as well. He looks shocked by her reaction and looks at me before replying to her.

" Uhm, around the city." He says chuckling shortly after. He was obviously taken aback by her reaction towards him being gone and is amused by it.

" We have to leave in like 5 minutes." She groans over dramatically. She needs to calm down. I wonder if that's how I looked yesterday.

" Well good thing I got here five minutes early." He laughs before moving past her and making his way towards a black van. She gazes at me and Clair before rolling her eyes and following after him. What's her problem? I know that we almost arrived late but it's not our fault. He chose to go along with us. Clair giggles next to me and I follow suit. She's ridiculous. Me and Clair begin to make our way towards our bus but on our way there my phone rings and I gaze down at it. Clair continues making her way towards the bus after I stop and I gaze down at my phone to view the caller ID come above the screen and so does a message from him.

Matt: Hey pumpkin, it's ok don't worry about it. I'm just finishing up in the studio.

I read it and smile to myself. It's a late reply but I understand that he's been busy. Just like I was this morning when I had to hang up on him. The thought of not being able to hold our relationship comes flying back but this time I push it to the side, not allowing it to ruin the happy feeling bubbling inside of me.

" What you smiling at?" Derek asks, frightening me. I jump in my spot and he chuckles behind me before moving to stand next to me.

"Nothing." I mumble before sending the text about how I went to the city and found a great vinyl, leaving the part about Derek buying me it out. If I'm going to tell him about Derek I want to be able to do it when I have enough time to spill all the tea to him.

" I was just wondering," Derek continues, removing my attention from my phone as he talks and rubs the back of his neck, a habit I notice he has whenever he's nervous or anxious. " If I don't know, maybe, you'd like to come with us." He asks quietly.

" Sure." I reply quickly. What's the worst that could happen?

A/N: I'm seriously reading this & realizing how unnecessary this chapter is lol I mean there is some v small details that are essential to the book but this chapter is such a boring filler I'm v sorry I'm dragging this story on so long but trust me the days are gonna get shorter & it's gonna get more interesting😂 double update?