ADRENALINE — CHAPTER 16
20 (19) questions with jacob and phoebe

12th november 2023
phoebe's point of view

jacob and i both slept in to 1, it took forever for us to check out of the hotel, making it 3pm by the time we're in the car, preparing for our 6 hour drive to salt lake city.

"okay 20 questions" jacob suggests.

"isn't it 21 questions?" i laugh as i take a sip of my water.

he shrugs "well you're driving so you can't drink."

"fair" i respond, "okay first question..." he taps his hands on his knees like a drum while he thinks of one "weirdest dream you've ever had?"

i think for a few seconds before answering.

"a few months ago i had a dream that i was walking down the street and a bird committed suicide - basically it just stopped flapping - and it hit me on the head and sent me into a coma and someone called an ambulance and when it came they thought they were there for the bird and they saved the birds life but i died."

he doubles over in laughter "what goes on in your brain?"

he calms himself down before i speak "okay my turn... favourite song?"

"out of the woods" he responds with a smirk.

"shut up it is not" i grin.

"no really it is" he defends himself "cailee, my costar on priscilla would listen to your songs every day on set, she's like obsessed with you" he tells me.

"tell her i say thanks" i laugh softly, "what about you, what's your favourite song?" he asks the third question.

"mm... sweet by cigarettes after sex or fine line by harry styles" i say confidently "wait no... out of my league by fitz and the tantrums... actually it's andante, andante by abba" i think for a second "yep, it's definitely andante, andante by abba... that song is enough to make me levitate i swear, the way they stay in their chest voice the entire time is just so... holy shit i can't even... sorry" i apologise for my ramble.

he shakes his head and looks at me with genuine interest "no, no... it's great, i've never met someone with so much passion for what they do."

i smile softly in return before speaking "okay my turn... are you an introvert or extrovert?"

"definitely introvert" he responds "i don't mind going out every once in a while but i prefer to just be at home with my dog."

he clears his throat before asking me a question "mm... what was the best day of your life?"

i think for a moment before responding "when i was 6... my mum took me to this bar in spain called texas bar... and i drunk like 10 raspberry lemonades, which when you're 6 is like meth" i say, making him laugh "and we just danced until like 5am."

"you miss her don't you?" he asks.

i nod slowly "yeah..."

i clear my throat before speaking "so what about you, what was the best day of your life?"

he stays silent for a few seconds before responding "let's see... i drove from LA to vegas with this really cute girl... then we got dinner in vegas and i taught her how to play blackjack... she was not good at it."

i bite back a smile "you're blushing" he teases "shut up" i grin back "it's your turn to ask a question."

"question number seven..." he thinks out loud "any tattoos?"

"weird coincidence... i have a seven on the side of my ribcage" i tell him, he seems pleasantly surprised, "what about you?"

"i have the word 'unseen' on my forearm" he tells me before asking the next question "what did you want to be when you were 3 years old?"

"vet by day, bus driver by night" i say confidently, he snickers in return.

i ask him the 10th question "biggest regret?"

"doing the kissing booth" he says, which hurts my soul.

"don't you dare talk about the kissing booth that way i will kick you out of this car i swear to god" i say, making him chuckle.

"my mum says the same" he laughs "you two would get along."

"most prized possession?" he asks, "my grammys or maverick, to be fair though mav owns me more than i do him, he's kind of a dick."

he laughs before i ask the next question "favourite subject in school?"

"drama. what about you? i'm assuming music?"

i shrug "i never really liked music, i don't like people telling me what to play, i liked chemistry."

"nerd" he scoffs, making me make a mock offended gasp.

"favourite sport?" i ask "rugby" he responds confidently.

"first job?" he asks me "i was a waitress at my local pub and i got fired" i tell him, he looks a little surprised.

"how?" he asks, i shake my head "nu uh it's not your turn to ask a question, last thing that made you cry?"

he sighs a bit before answering "looking through old pictures" he admits, i'm a little surprised, but it's also kind of hot that he's sensitive.

"my turn, how did you get fired from being a waitress?"

i roll my eyes at the question, he grins in return.

"i broke a plate" i tell him.

he looks confused "they fired you because you broke a plate?"

"i also missed like well over 10 shifts, cursed at a lot of customers and never got anyone's orders right" i admit, he chuckles "there it is."

"favourite song lyric?" i ask "'staying back in your memory, are the movies in the past?' from the prettiest star."

"wow i did not picture you as a bowie type of guy" i say, "are you kidding? i love bowie, guys a genius. what about you, what's your favourite song lyric?"

"ugh i have a million... maybe 'got the music in you baby tell me why?' from apocalypse."

"apocalypse?" he asks, not knowing the song, "you don't know cigarettes after sex?"

"i've heard of them but i've never listened to them" he shrugs.

"okay you introduced me to casablanca so i'm introducing you to cigarettes after sex" i tell him, plugging my phone into his car and searching cigarettes after sex on spotify, paying half attention to the road.

i click play on the spotify playlist, the first song being apocalypse.

i hum along to the familiar opening instrumental, as we cross the border into utah, leaving the 20th and final question back in nevada.

i hum to the first verse when the chorus approaches.

"got the music in you baby, tell me why"

i sing along to the lyrics, jacob looks over at me with a look of almost adoration on his face.

"got the music in you baby, tell me why
you've been locked in here forever and you just can't say goodbye"

jacob speaks up when the chorus ends "i've heard you mention cigarettes after sex a lot in interviews, you really like them, huh?"

i nod and try to hide my blush at him mentioning watching my interviews.

"they released their first ep I. when i was 13, i learnt how to play all 4 of the songs in a week on my piano, i think that's what made me realise that i could actually do this singing thing, like it wasn't just a hobby."

he nods as the second chorus comes up again.

"got the music in you baby tell me why"

he sings along with me.

"got the music in you baby tell me why
you've been locked in here forever and you just can't say goodbye"

he goes quiet again when the familiar bridge enters my ears.

"your lips, my lips, apocalypse
your lips, my lips, apocalypse..."

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ୨ ୧ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

t's notes
okay i actually really love this chapterrr ahhh also phoebe being obsessed with CAS makes sm sense to me she's just like us fr. also i let my intrusive thoughts win and changed the name to adrenaline, i just think this title makes sm more sense now that i know the book more, it's gonna be a hugeee theme throughout the book as well, RIP superstar you will be missed. i also changed the font anytime the word is mentioned on all previous chapters which i think is such a cute little detail & one last thing before i shut the fuck up and let you go on with your day, thank you infinity for 8.6k reads you guys are incredible ilysm <3
—tabs