"This will only take me a few minutes," TJ said as we entered the bar she worked at. Over the past few days, this location had become increasingly familiar to me.

TJ grabbed hold of my arm, leading me through the scarce crowd. A short girl ran up with wide eyes and a face full of panic.

"Thank god you're here! I don't know what I did wrong and the computer won't work and-"

"It's fine," TJ cut her off, "Take a deep breath. It's an easy fix."

I followed them behind the bar, surprised by how comforting TJ was being with the girl.

"Pour us a drink," TJ said to me. "I'll be back in a second."

As she disappeared behind a door with a sign that read 'Employees Only', I began to find my way around. Thankfully, the bar was quiet and I didn't have to worry about actually serving someone. I grabbed two shot glasses and filled thank with vodka. At least my past training as a server in my teen years was coming back to help.

"Perfect," TJ said, appearing back at my side.

"Done already?"

She nodded, "Just needed to reset the computer. But it's fine, she's new and now we get free booze." She picked up one of the glasses, "Here is to a night you can hopefully write a song about."

The shrill ringing of my cellphone forced my body to wake from its drunken stupor. Heavily eyelids slowly lifting, my arm reached out to the coffee table, aimlessly searching until the shrieking device was found.

"Hello?" My voice grumbled into my phone.

"Carter, you are finally awake," Jeff's recognizable voice spoke on the other end, "Only took eleven tries to get you to answer your phone."

I rubbed my eyes, letting a loud yawn escape, "To what do I owe this pleasure so early in the morning?"

"Well, sunshine, most people wake up before ten on a weekday. Have you seen what's all over the news this morning?"

"Jeff, I haven't even taken a piss yet this morning," I forced my body to sit up on the couch in an attempt to not pass out while on the phone, "So no, I haven't seen any bullshit gossip."

"Oh, but this isn't bullshit gossip this time." Jeff cleared his throat. "At least the photo isn't."

My eyes suddenly went wide, "Photo?" I repeated, frantically searching for the television remote. Clicking the power button, my finger rapidly pressed the channel button.

"Welcome back to Star News TV," the announcer's voice filled my living room, "Carter Young has finally been spotted for the first time in months since leaving 5KINGS. Young was seen out last night at a bar in Hollywood and appeared to have company with him the entire night. Sources tell us that Young and his mystery female friend spent the entire night together, reportedly all over each other. This has led many fans to speculate the female friend could be the reason why Young has not been seen for quite some time."

"Oh fuck." I whispered, seeing the image that appeared on the screen.

"I need to go for a smoke," I told her over the loud music.

TJ nodded her head and took my hand. I followed behind her, doing my best to walk in a straight line. After the sixth round, I had begun seeing double and dismissed any further attempt of tracking how many drinks I was having. The fact she was still standing was impressive.

Within what felt like seconds, I was standing outside in the dimly lit alleyway. The fresh night air did wonders for helping the world around me to stop spinning. Aimlessly fumbling through my pockets, I heard what sounded like a giggle.

TJ, the culprit of the sound, was leaning against the side of the building. Her face was illuminated by a streetlight, allowing me to see the playful smile she had. I realized what made her laugh as she held up the item in her hand.

"You gave these to me two seconds ago," she said, "How drunk are you?"

"Pretty much- I mean drunk." I stammered, taking slow, cautious steps towards her, "I am pretty drunk."

"No shit," she laughed again, the soft, yet delicate sound filling up the quiet alley.

"You should do that more often." I balanced a cigarette in-between my lips, reaching into my jacket pocket for a lighter.

"What?"

"Smile," I said, lighting up.

A rush of warm smoke filled my lungs. I held it in for as long as I could, before turning my head slightly to the side and releasing it.

TJ didn't respond. I wondered for a second if the colour on her cheeks was from the night air, or if by some type of magical power, I had made her blush. As I brought the cigarette back to my lips, I felt her hand slide down the fabric of my shirt.

"Don't tease me right now," I half-joked. It was hard enough to resist her when I was mostly sober.

TJ stepped forward, leaving little distance between us. I could feel my breath catch as she leaned forward, her lips moving to whisper in my ear, "Who says I'm teasing you?"

Her head tilted back, keeping her lips close to mine. She appeared to enjoy the effect she was having on me. The delicate look she just had a few moments ago, changed to a devious one. It was something I was becoming far more familiar with.

Without a second longer, her lips pressed against mine. If we were playing a game, it would be clear that I had lost this round.

"Now, I know I can't micromanage everything you do on your nights off, Carter," Jeff's voice pulled me back into reality, "Where was Ryan? I thought we agreed he would accompany you when you left the house?"

"It wasn't a planned thing."

"Well as your assistant he should be on call, twenty-four hours, seven days a week."

Assistant was a loose term. Ryan moved from the classic role of 'friend' to assistant ever since the last once had to be let go. It was a hard lesson to keep my circle much tighter than ever before. These days, Jeff had assigned Ryan to be more of a watchdog. I could tell Ryan didn't particularly enjoy babysitting my every move, but his substantial paycheck and fear of Jeff pushed him along.

"This playboy narrative that they are running with is not a good look."

"It's not like that," I quickly interjected, sounding more defensive than I intended.

I was unsure of how true my words were. It wasn't like that. At least, to me, it wasn't. TJ, on the other hand, I wasn't so sure. Now, there was little time to figure it out with pictures of us making out in the alleyway like a couple of loved-up teenagers.

"I'll see what I can do," Jeff said, alluding to the press, "Sober up. I'll be in contact later."

I hung up the call and tossed my phone onto the couch, focusing back on the announcer on screen.

"Young has not been romantically linked to anyone since his ex-girlfriend, model and actress, Eloise Perez. Young and Perez reportedly split earlier this year."

"Holy shit!" I quickly turned my head to see TJ standing with her eyes glued to the television, and wearing the clothes I had given her last night. Her eyes moved to mind with an indescribable look. "Is that me?"

I nodded slowly, trying to quickly think of what to say to diffuse the situation. Was she going to yell and be upset? Place the blame on me for the photo being out there? Maybe she would laugh it off and find it ridiculous that it was even considered news in the first place.

"Got any coffee?"

eeep! they kissed! will it last tho? hmmm

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byeee besties <3