009. ━━━ ❛ SHE FEELS SO GOOD ❜
real life. . .

MAISIE'S ARMS REMAIN firmly crossed over her chest as her and sunny stand beside one another, their sides brushing together for comfort in the chaos of the busy club. they are situated between the main pit and the stage—where security usually resides—as the band is in the midst of their set for the night.

the currently red lights flash on beat to the song roddy and dylan are singing and maisie assumes it must be one of their rather known ones, judging by the crowd in a frenzy of sorts. she could lie all night saying that they sound like shit, but the mix of their different talents blended together is truly exquisite and she wishes it wasn't.

she was seriously doubting roddy's ability to perform due to his dickish attitude, but she should have known that all the most talented singers are assholes because the rasp of his voice is perfect for the storytelling their lyrics provide. his voice along with the harmony of dylan's creates the perfect sound for the band. while roddy's voice is more on the deeper side, dylan sounds heavenly every time she reaches to meet a note, and she can definitely see what the hype is all about.

she had never gotten it before when she'd see others freak out after they'd realize they get to see them perform, because in her opinion, anyone could watch them. she'd notice how it seemed every hotspot in town had hosted an event for them at least once, and thought that meant they had low standards, but it is clear now that it's just due to their popularity. it's always annoyed her that they're the biggest stars in their small town since matt's apart of it all, but she can tell how they are nothing short of special now that she's gotten a closer look.

her memory of the last time she saw them perform is all a blur, so she hasn't been able to rely on that when judging their ability to perform. tonight, however, has her thinking she'd be a fan if it wasn't for the boy on the guitar.

on instinct, her eyes slide from the singers front and center of the stage to the sides where chris and matt remain. chris is most definitely made for the drums. his eyebrows are furrowed as he focuses on feeling the music, and every movement he makes is one of confidence. he doesn't doubt himself in the slightest with every beat he makes from hitting the drums; it appears to be such ease that it must be a second nature for him. she wonders how many years of practicing it took to treat something that takes such delicate work with no hesitance.

and as her eyes follow alongside him to his brother, it pains maisie to see that matt is no different. his eyes appear darker than chris' as he takes his work on the guitar more intensely, his eyes drilled to his instrument as his fingers work so quickly on the different strings that it makes the girl watching a little dizzy. it looks like he's already preparing for his next movements before he makes them, and fuck, maisie hates how hot she finds that. the single necklace that is usually resided over his collarbones is instead between his teeth, causing her to subconsciously bite her lower lip as she trails from his face back down to his hands. his veins appear more visible than usual as he's under such strain from working his fingers so rapidly, and his rings are shining in the dim red lighting. if each and every person had their own personalized hell, this would be maisie's.

"he's so hot," sunny's sudden voice in her ear makes her realize she must have leant over to whisper to her, but maisie can't pull her eyes away from the enchanting sight of matt and his form of art. she already knows who she's talking about.

"i know right," maisie sighs heavily without a second thought, her eyes zeroed in on the brother of the boy sunny's eyes are fixated on.

she realizes her mistake though, a few short seconds after she's spoken and immediately whips her head around to correct herself. "oh, no, i mean-"

sunny's laughter causes her to cut herself off, pursing her lips as sunny's face is full of amusement once she finishes with her giggles. "yeah, girl, i know what you meant."

"whatever," maisie huffs, her cheeks turning a defensive shade of red as now that she's finally pulled her attention from the so unfortunately captivating boy on the guitar, she realizes she should have used the bathroom when her and sunny were adjusting their makeup in it beforehand. "i've gotta go piss," she tells her.

"okay then," sunny chuckles, crossing her arms over her chest as she steps away and turns her attention back to the band performing. "don't fall in."

maisie amusedly rolls her eyes, turning away from her friend and instead beginning to make her way to the bathrooms. she lets security know where she is off to and that she'll be back afterwards before taking the much easier route along the sides of the pit, rather than attempting to weave through people. she feels curious eyes on her as she leaves the area, probably groupies wondering her connection to the band due to coming from a restricted portion of the floor, but she couldn't care less.

just as she turns the corner leading to the bathrooms, the lights suddenly go out. she halts immediately, her eyebrows jumping to the top of her forehead. she's barely given time to process the darkness though, before the lights come back on in two bright white flashes. the crowd erupts in screams due to this, and the lights go back to red as maisie is left wondering what the hell just happened.

more slowly this time, she continues walking to the bathrooms. she curiously looks around as she does so for a hint of sorts, but she hasn't got a clue what's going on as she makes her way to the long line following the ladies room. with a sigh, she makes it to the back of the line and glances to the line following the mens room across from her.

immediately, her eyes widen as the person they land on is already staring back at her. "no fucking way," she's quick to step away from the wall she only got to lean on for a second, and head for the familiar boy also waiting in line for a bathroom. "malikai?"

🏁
loading. . .
M. RODRIGUEZ!

a lopsided grin quickly takes over the tan-skinned boy in front of her, clearly happy to see her. he steps towards her as she comes to stand in front of him. "maisie?" his voice is a mix of surprise and amusement at the sight of her, his eyes glancing over her body. "what are you doing here?"

she allows a grin to form on her face as well as she only shrugs, not at all planning to tell him what brings her here. "i could ask you the same," she says, not sure what else to say as she knows he knows her, and that she usually wouldn't risk being caught by her parents to come to such a chaotic club like this one.

he tilts his head at her, clearly analyzing her answer in his head as his grin does not falter. "you know me," he tells her, and that she does. very well. she takes notice of the way his eyes scan over her figure before a familiar glint takes over his eyes. talking to him reminds her of all the different methods she once had when it came to finding entertainment. "it's been a while though, huh?"

she chews on the inside of her lip, aware that she is the one who stopped answering his texts as the air around them feels a little extra stuffy. "i know, i know," she sighs, feeling like she owes him a bit of an explanation, "i just got so busy with the end of senior year."

"nah, don't worry," he shrugs it off, deciding to tease her when he playfully adds, "i get it, i get it. you don't have time for me anymore."

she amusedly narrows her eyes at him, knowing the act he's putting up right now very well. she would be lying if she said there wasn't any truth to his words, as ever since this entire mess with matt started, she hasn't had the time to engage in the same activities that once brought her entertainment. looking at malakai under the red lights now though, she feels she could use some old fun from him. "mm, it's summer now," she tells him, his eyes mischievously lighting up before she even continues, "so if you want to find me, you have my number, don't you?"

"that i do." the grin her words create on his face is nothing short of a devilish one.

not knowing a response, she glances back to the line by the ladies room and notices that it's only growing. she looks back to him and sighs, deciding to use this opportunity to get an answer to her own question, "hey, do you know what that whole freak out with the lights was just earlier?"

"oh yeah, they do that when they're about to perform the last song of the night," he answers easily, unaware of the immediate effect his words have on maisie. "i'm pretty sure they're playing something new tonight though, so that's probably why everyone was freaking out."

"oh shit," maisie's eyes widen comically, her plans of using the bathroom now long forgotten. "i have to go."

malakai's eyebrows furrow at her sudden switch up and he playfully asks, "you don't wanna wait for the bathrooms with me?"

she only shakes her head, not having the time to keep his energy as she's already turning on her heels. "i'll see you around, kai," she tells him before beginning her race back to the stage.

she turns the corner rather quickly, and she's practically sprinting down the sides of the pit as the song they're playing grows louder and more distinctive. she's three-quarters down the way to the reserved area her and sunny have resided in, when her footsteps grow slower due to her ears finally perking up.

she's got a book for every situation, gets into parties without invitation
how could you ever turn her down?

she stops as she reaches the reserved area, not bothering with returning to sunny as her eyes now remain glued to the stage. her jaw is twitching as she manages to cross her arms, barely registering the heat spreading to her face now that she knows these lyrics were written about her. these lyrics were written about her from matt's perspective, and the look inside his mind has her skin suddenly burning.

there's not a drink that i think could sink her
how could i tell her that she's all i think about?
well i guess she just found out

her jaw is now slack as her eyes jump from roddy in front of the mic to the songwriter in question to the side of him. his fingers are working seamlessly on the strings of his guitar and his chain is back to it's usual place on his neck, but his eyes have managed to find her stood out in the crowd. the eye contact they hold ignites the fire in her chest, and getting to hear how he feels about her is almost too much to process at once—let alone as he's not only telling her, but the world.

she's a good girl, she's such a good girl
she's a good girl
she feels so good, she feels so good

she knows her cheeks are beat red, and despite the fact that the red lights should help her feel safe in the tint going unnoticed, she feels as if matt can tell judging by the corner of his lips turning upwards. the glint of his eyes should be hard to decipher from such a distance away, but maisie knows the smugness all too well. he's smirking at her as clear as day, and it makes her legs extra weak.

i met her once and wrote a song about her
i wanna scream, yeah, i wanna shout it out
and i hope she hears me now

the lyrics clearly must be referring to the drunk version of herself as she reminds him constantly that she'd never make the same mistake sober. her eyes begin narrowing as matt's smirk does not falter even for a second. his eyes trail over her body, and if she looked down, she's sure she could see flames coming off of her. how the fuck he manages to check her out without ruining his seemingly easy movements on the guitar is beyond her, but fuck, she's never been so attracted to him before as she is in this moment.

as the backing "la-la-la-la-la"s dylan sing echo in her head, maisie is unsure if she wants to kiss or kill matt once she gets her hands on him backstage.

💌

might be the most out of the pocket chap name i've had but it's harry styles so c'mon 🙄🙄🙄

they're sooooo angel by the weeknd guys

also they're supposed to be giving orange cat black cat but i can't decide which is which so help me out

OH BTW 58K W ONLY 8 CHAPS OUT IS INSAAAAAANE i can't thank u guys enough for all the love so far it's been overwhelming in the best possible way 💗💗💗💗💗

<3
jaden