Fic: You're one big sugar rush (I've always dreamt that I'd be your favorite) [1/14]
Title:‘You're one big sugar rush (I've always dreamt that I'd be your favorite)’ [1/14]
Author: jen_jm
Pairing: Gabe/William, Butcher/Sisky, Ryland/Vicky-T, Alex/Nate vs Alex/Tom, others minor pairings.
Rating: NC-17 overall
Word count: 80,000 total words
Warnings: Upper East Siders AU (it needed a name, didn’t it?), but this is NOT a Gossip Girl AU.
POV: third
Disclaimer: Completely not true. I doubt Gabe can actually write softwares, anyway. It’s all fiction.
Author’s Notes: title from Cash Cash’s ‘Sugar Rush’ and Cobra Starship’s ‘The scene is dead - Long live the scene’
As ever, feel free to report any mistake. Constructive criticism is welcome, feedback makes me happy!
Summary:“Can I offer you a coffee, then?” Gabe tried once again, not too hopeful, but to his surprise, the singer didn’t flip him off.
“Why?” William asked, genuinely curious about all that interest.
“Because,” Gabe just said, shrugging a little, but at the boy’s stubborn look, he gave in and smiled. “I like your voice.” - Gabe Saporta is a rich 26 years old computer nerd who lives in the Upper East Side. William Beckett is a broke 22 years old musician who works as a bartender and lives with his best friend in Brooklyn. When they meet in the subway where William is playing their worlds collide in more ways than one.
Crossposted
~~
Chapter 1 - The one with the extremely sugared and unhealthy drink
Gabe Saporta was smart. Smarter than most people gave him credit for, smarter than his lifestyle - or his jokes - suggested. Smart enough to write a software with his best friend Vicky at the ridiculous age of twenty-two. Smart enough to sell it to one of the top informatics companies in the world and get millions for the license. Smart enough to keep for himself how disgustingly rich he was, except for a small group of friends.
Still, part of him was terribly, helplessly romantic.
Which was why he stopped in the middle of the overcrowded subway passage when he heard a voice singing Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, helped only by the sound of an acoustic guitar. It was one of his favorite songs of all times and that voice was just… perfect. Just the way the song was meant to be sung.
He couldn’t see who was playing, there was a thick wall of people between him and the mysterious singer, but even like that, he decided that it was the best version he’d ever heard. He asked himself why someone with that voice wasn’t recording in a studio, instead of playing in a dirty corner of the subway passage, next to the broken vending machine. But he’d learned that the world was far from being fair and the thought saddened him a little.
Then, for a split second, there was a break in the constant river of businessmen walking by and Gabe got a glimpse of his singer. The face was half-covered by long brown hair, so he couldn’t get a clear view, but what he noticed was the old guitar he was holding. There was a drawing right next to the bridge. It was a lion. Just the head, not the whole animal, but it covered the soundboard down to the end of the instrument. It didn’t look like those cheesy drawings Gabe had seen on the trucks driving on the Interstate, it was elegant, in its own way.
Then the glimpse was gone and a woman bumped into him, then resumed walking without even rising her gaze to apologize. He had to go too, he was supposed to be in a meeting in… well, half an hour before. Hell, he hated those things, he wasn’t part of the company and he didn’t understand why he had to attend those boring, brain-frying meetings. Since the day he’d sold his software, though, he and the head of the company, Pete Wentz, had become something oddly describable as friends. And he wasn’t really going to mess up a six years old friendship - real friendship - for a couple of meetings a month.
The song ended several seconds later and Gabe was temped to swim through the constant flow of people to reach what in his head was ‘his singer’, but before he could actually move in that direction, his cell phone vibrated in his pocket. The damn thing wasn’t supposed to work down there, he’d thought he’d be safe from Pete’s bitching. He was wrong.
He took out his phone and turned, heading towards the platform he could see not far.
His singer resumed playing, but Gabe couldn’t hear him anymore. Besides, he was too busy listening to Pete and his list of ten good reasons to be on time for a meeting. Or, well, ignoring Pete, which was something he did far more often than he’d like to admit.
~
Gabe woke up that night after an odd dream about talking chairs and music coming from the glasses in his dishwasher. He shook his head and sat up, glancing at the clock on the nightstand. The bright red numbers informed him it was ass o’clock and way too early to even think about getting up.
Still, he got on his feet and glanced at the girl sleeping on the other side of his bed. Her face was relaxed, her mouth slightly opened as she hugged part of her pillow. Gabe smiled and had to fight the urge to bend down and kiss her cheek. It was something he’d done so many times, but tonight he just looked at her for a few seconds, then silently padded to the big living room.
The window on his left greeted him with the night view of Manhattan, which was one of Gabe’s favorite things. Below him, Central Park was a wide and oddly reassuring expanse. If there was one thing Gabe was truly grateful for, among all his job had given him, it was his apartment. Upper east side. He loved the view, even with the height.
Then his mind took a path on its own, probably helped by the sleepy haze Gabe was still wrapped in. What was his singer doing in that moment? It was too late for him to be working.
Gabe almost jumped when a hand rested on his side, then he felt the weight of girl’s head on his shoulder, warm and reassuring. She always had that effect on him, she made him feel safe. It was just one of the many reasons he loved his best-friend so much. They could have been a nice couple, he was sure they were soulmates on some level, but Gabe’s deep disinterest in women and Vicky’s mad love for her boyfriend had won over that a long time before. And things were perfect the way they were.
“Bad dream?” Vicky asked after obviously trying to repress a yawn.
“Nah, the glasses were singing,” Gabe replied and only then realized the song he’d heard in the dream was Knockin’ on heaven’s door. Even the voice sounded like his singer’s.
“Sure,” Vicky said in a patronizing tone, then gave in to the yawn. After a few seconds, she turned her head and placed a kiss on Gabe’s shoulder blade. “You okay?”
“I fell in love with a voice,” Gabe admitted with a little smile and saw Vicky’s surprised face in their reflection.
“It’s not in your head, right?” Vicky asked, only half joking. And really, Gabe thought she had no right to be able to think jokes that late at night.
“It’s not,” Gabe confirmed, then laughed a little when he realized how absurd his sentence had been. “Let’s go back to sleep.”
Vicky nodded and let go, heading for the bedroom. Gabe turned to follow her, but glanced one more time at the shiny city out of the window.
In love with a voice. It was just as crazy as it ever got, but he was the romantic one, wasn’t he?
Another step, then another glance to the city, wondering once again where his singer was in that moment. Then, he made it to the bed without stopping again.
Yeah, it was too late for him to be working.
~~
William Beckett was, in fact, working.
Or, well, he had been until a few minutes before. His plan had been to end his shift at two am just like every other Thursday night, but he’d added an extra hour to repay a favor to a friend, so it was later than usual.
His car had died down in Brooklyn a couple of months before after a long and troubled love-hate relationship and never made it back home. Well, more hate than love, if he wanted to be honest. Still, he’d settled for not spending the little money he got left on another evil thing like that old sent-from-hell Ford was, which explained why he’d started walking home at night. It wasn’t exactly safe, but he had his cell phone and pepper spray ready. And he could run. Fast.
He worked as a bartender three nights a week in an all-night strip club known by the cheesy name of Cherrylips. Not exactly an exclusive place, but still had a fair amount of dignity, William had to admit that. His apartment wasn’t far from the club: ten minutes by foot, seven if he raised his pace a little.
By the time he got home the sky was completely covered by dark clouds and the distant sound of a storm sounded much closer.
“Just in time, uh?” his roommate asked from the couch.
William took off his shoes, locked the door and let his coat fall on the first available chair. Those gestures were the only kind of routine he actually enjoyed, it was his way to say ‘Lucy, I’m home’ to himself. Still, that night there was something different.
“Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” William asked with a concerned look in his friend’s direction.
Adam Siska had been his best friend since kindergarten and William could count on the fingers of one hand the times he’d seen the boy stay up that late. Well, except the parties, of course. Sisky - not Adam, he hated his first name for reasons he’d never cared to explain to anyone - was William’s responsible counterpart when it came to simple things like eating properly, paying the bills on time and going to bed early whenever he could.
“Can’t sleep,” Sisky simply replied, looking back at the muted TV screen.
William reached the couch and sat down, keeping his gaze on the boy, and only then he realized Sisky had been crying. His eyes were bloodshot and there was a pile of used Kleenex on the floor. Sisky rarely cried, but when he did, it was usually because of Butcher.
Butcher’s real name was Andy Mrotek, but for some reason he never introduced himself like that. William had never asked him why, he just considered the whole ‘I hate my name’ thing as a sign that he and Sisky were really meant to be.
He was Sisky’s longtime boyfriend and William’s longtime pain in the ass. To be honest, William did like Butcher. A lot. But that never stopped him when it came to defending Sisky in every possible way. Even the childish one, which usually resulted in William being a bitch to Butcher every time Sisky had a fight with him. And okay, maybe a crying Sisky was somewhat rare, but it was still something that happened way too often for his liking - in William’s personal list, making Sisky cry was way worse than kicking a sick puppy - and most of the times Butcher was the one to blame, so he felt entitled to be childish from time to time.
“What did he do?” William asked as he inched closer. His hand settled on the small of the boy’s back and his thumb rubbed the spot through the fabric of his shirt. Sisky relaxed at the familiar gesture, but barely chocked back a sob.
“Nothing, it’s just-- it’s okay, I’m okay,” Sisky muttered, quickly wiping his eyes as new tears fought to fall. “He wants me to move in with him,” he added after several seconds of silence.
“It’s reasonable,” William admitted with a sigh. As much as he hated that thought, itwas reasonable. “You’ve been together for three years.”
“But that’s not-- it doesn’t mean I have to take this step, right?” Sisky looked up, eyes wide and maybe a little scared, which surprised William. “It’s not like I signed a contract or anything, I-- fuck.”
“Hey, calm down,” William reassured him with a little smile. “You had another fight about this, didn’t you?”
“Kind of,” Sisky said as he looked down, eyes stopping on his crossed legs. “I told him his apartment wasn’t big enough,” he paused and glanced at William with a guilty look on his face. “And I might have called his works ‘retarded drawings’ and you can figure out what came after that.”
Yelling, yelling, yelling and the door slamming shut after him, William added in his head, but didn’t say it out loud.
There were two things Butcher wasn’t willing to let people insult, no matter how many fistfights he got into. And those things were his paintings and Sisky. Not in that order, of course. William was sure that despite the overwhelming devotion to his own art, Butcher valued Sisky as his most precious treasure.
“Did you apologize to him?” William asked with a patient voice, keeping his eyes on the boy’s face.
“No,” Sisky admitted in a whisper, then took deep, calming breath, which didn’t calm him down at all. “I mean, I don’t-- I’m not ready to go live with him and all he does is talking about it.”
“Did you tell him this?” William scooted closer and his hand moved until his arm was wrapped about his friend’s thin waist. Sisky shook his head and eventually looked up. “It’d be okay if you wanted to go, you know that, right?”
“I know, but--” Another pause, longer than the previous ones. “We’ve been fighting so much, I’m not sure anymore.”
“Hey.” William rested his cheek against his shoulder and sighed. “I’m sure that after a good night of sleep things will look better,” he added as his hand stroked just below the boy’s ribs.
“Yeah,” Sisky muttered, but it sounded weak and unconvinced. “Let’s go.”
“Hey,” William repeated with a faint smile, then waited for Sisky to look at him. “It’s gonna be okay.”
“You don’t know that,” Sisky breathed out as he got on his feet.
“I know everything, remember?” William retorted and stood as well just as Sisky turned off the TV. “Don’t feel guilty for saying those things to him.”
“I should,” Sisky objected as they headed for their rooms.
“Not tonight.” William turned his head and placed a brief kiss on his friend’s temple. “Sleep.”
Sisky nodded and William watched the door of his room close after him, then went to his own. It took him all his willpower to put his cell phone on the nightstand without calling Butcher first. As tempting as it was, another round of insults to him and his art wasn’t the solution to that situation.
He glanced at the worn armchair in the corner, half covered in books and clothes, and saw his guitar resting against its side. His gaze stopped on the lion drawn on the soundboard and he took a deep breath. It was one of Butcher’s concept arts, he’d said it represented William’s music: passionate and elegant. And also William’s secret soft spot for The Lion King.
Yeah, he liked Butcher. He just hoped he wasn’t going to change his mind about him.
~~
Two weeks later - 27th November
The moment Gabe put his nose out of the building, the cold late-autumn air surrounded him. Vicky rubbed her hands together and glanced at the white sky, suddenly convinced the Weather Channel maybe was right about the incoming snow, after all. Ryland and Alex were already waiting for them in front of the building, talking to each other.
Ryland, as weird as it sounded at first impact, was a doctor and a damn good one. He was a pediatrician at the New York Methodist Hospital and he’d just come back after a two weeks convention in Pasadena. Other than that, he was Vicky’s fiancée and one of Gabe’s oldest and closest friends. Vicky’s apartment was just a couple of blocks far from Gabe’s, and they had decided to have it re-decorated before the wedding, which was why Vicky had been sleeping at Gabe’s place for a while.
Then there was Alex. He was a script writer for a TV network and occasionally a full-on writer. He’d published a few short stories in the past but Gabe knew he had been working on something longer for a few years. Despite the outgoing attitude he was more introverted than the looks suggested and Gabe knew that from experience. Experience consisting of a past relationship between the two, which had turned into their present friendship. They usually joked about it when too much alcohol was involved, or didn’t mention it at all.
“Hey, sweetie,” Ryland said as soon as he found himself with a harmful of Vicky. “Missed me?” he asked with a warm smile.
“No, I’m just cold,” Vicky replied with a wide grin, then placed a soft kiss on his mouth. “Can we buy Gabe a boyfriend for Christmas?”
“Well, he needs to get laid,” Ryland agreed with a solemn nod.
“I know how to find my own boys,” Gabe informed with a brief glare in their direction.
“Should we pay him a hooker?” Alex asked with a fake concerned tone, ignoring his friend’s words.
“Should I tell Nate about this interest for hookers?” Gabe retorted with a satisfied smirk, gaining a snicker from Vicky.
“Well, it’s not like it could make things worse,” Ryland joked as they began walking down the street, towards the subway entry. Alex just glared at him and punched Gabe on the arm.
Nate was a nurse at Ryland’s hospital and the main reason Alex visited his friend so often at work. The point was, Nate was also a good friend of Ryland, but still he hadn’t accepted to go out with Alex yet, despite the boy’s numerous and rather convincing attempts.
“Anyway, I got a call this morning,” Ryland informed, smiling widely. “The house is ready.”
“Seriously?” Vicky beamed, visibly surprised. “Why didn’t they warn me?”
“I wanted to tell you myself,” Ryland replied with a little shrug and a kiss on her temple. “I guess we could throw a party to celebrate.”
“And you could try to set me up with Nate,” Alex proposed with a convinced nod look in Ryland’s direction.
“See? I’m not the one who needs to get laid,” Gabe pointed out with a brief laughter as they got in the crowded train just before the door closed.
~
William walked in his apartment in what could have been defined the proverbial worst moment, consisting of Sisky sprawled on the couch with Butcher on top of him, hands shoved in each other’s pants and little, sharp moans breaking the silence.
“I thought there was a rule against sex on the couch,” William announced with a raised eyebrow, not really annoyed.
“Whoops,” Butcher said as he looked up with his best unashamed grin, while Sisky tried to push him off, a little flushed from both their previous activities and the embarrassment. “You really need to get laid, dude.”
“Want me to kick you out?” William asked, but his lips were stretched in a little smile.
“You couldn’t kick a puppy even if you wanted,” Butcher replied, then sat up, giving his boyfriend a chance to straighten and fix his jeans.
William flipped him off and headed for his room, laughing quietly to himself. He changed clothes and tried to ignore the muffled argument coming from the nearby room; he took his guitar and walked back in the room, finding Butcher still sitting on the couch, but no sign of Sisky.
With a sigh, William headed for the kitchen, finding his friend sitting at the counter. “Stop fighting with him for every fucking thing,” he said, a little disappointed. “I was joking about the rule and you know it.”
“It’s just--” Sisky stopped, not knowing how to continue his sentence.
“I’m gonna go out again,” William informed as he reached the younger boy.
“You don’t have to,” Sisky just said, shrugging a little. “It’s your apartment too.”
“I’m going out,” William repeated, determined. “Go back there and make it up to him for being a prissy bitch,” he added pinching his friend’s arm.
“Fuck you,” Sisky retorted, but there was a little grin tugging at his lips. “You sure?”
“I just came home to get the guitar,” William confirmed raising the case a little for emphasis. “Tonight it’s my turn to pay drinks and New York will pay for me,” he added, nudging Sisky’s foot with his own.
Sisky laughed a bit at that and stood from the chair, then dug in his pocket and took out his phone. “I’ll warn Mike we’ll swing by.”
“Good, then go apologize,” William reminded him, heading out of the kitchen.
When he walked back in the living room he spotted Butcher lying on the couch, remote in hand, and threw him a magazine. “Hey!” Butcher protested, slightly offended.
“Just for the record, I do need to get laid, so stop joking about it and find me someone,” William told him as he reached the door and arched an eyebrow when Butcher’s laughter followed him outside.
~
Two hours and eight hundred dollars later, most part of Gabe’s Christmas shopping was done. Of course, he still had to buy presents for Ryland, Vicky and Alex, but there was a month left before Christmas and he knew he would have the time to.
Once again they walked down the subway stairs, talking to each other without paying attention to the people surrounding them.
“There’s that new pub on Summerset, in Brooklyn, we could go grab a beer, play some pool,” Ryland proposed, referring to their plan for that evening.
“I vote yes on the beer, no on the pool,” Alex replied, nodding slowly. “Last time I had to pay three rounds of whiskey.”
“That’s because you suck at pool,” Gabe pointed out with a smirk, gaining a glare. “But hey, you’re good at Scrabble, so it’s okay,” he added, then snickered.
“Fuck you, asshole,” Alex retorted, laughing as well as he pushed Gabe to the side not too gently, causing him to collide with an old woman. Gabe apologized and she flipped him off, then walked away, leaving them surprised and laughing.
“Summerset, then?” Vicky asked as she gestured Ryland to give her his phone.
“Sure,” Gabe replied, watching with a trace of curiosity what she was up to. Ryland gave her his Blackberry and frowned, not really convinced.
Vicky went through the numbers until she found the one she was looking for and waited until someone picked up. “Hey, Nate? It’s Vicky.” Gabe had to press his hand to his mouth to stop from laughing out loud when he saw Alex’s eyes widen. “Oh, all fine, what about you?” She smiled as she kept walking, arm hooked around Ryland’s and eyes moving between Alex and Gabe. “Are you busy tonight?” she asked, ignoring Alex’s gesture to cut it off. “We had something quiet in mind, you know, a few beers and a chat with some friends.”
“Hang up,” Alex hissed, unbelieving and maybe a little hopeful, despite his own words.
“Great,” Vicky beamed as she addressed her friend a triumphant look. “The pub on Summerset Street, at ten, is it okay?” she asked, looking at Ryland’s smiling face. “Sure, see you later, then. Bye.”
The moment she ended the call and handed the phone back to her fiancée, Alex stared at her, waiting for something. “So?”
“If you don’t get laid, I’m gonna kill you,” Gabe replied for her, punching his friend on the shoulder.
Alex glared at him as they approached the train, but Gabe didn’t pay attention and just stopped dead in his tracks, losing his smile.
“What’s up?” Vicky looked at him, perplexed, but Gabe just shook his head and gestured them to be quiet, which was a little weird, considering the noise coming from both the crowd and the trains. And the music. It took her a few seconds to realize the music was what Gabe was listening to.
“Go ahead, I just remembered I have something to do,” Gabe suddenly said, gaining a frown from Ryland and a chuckle from Alex.
“I’ll bring your bags home,” Vicky offered with a knowing smirk. “Just don’t forget about tonight.”
“Thanks.” Gabe gave her his bags and placed a kiss on her cheek, then turned and walked away quickly.
“What’s going on?” Ryland looked at her, confused and a little worried.
“You’ll find out soon, I guess,” Vicky just said, then gestured Alex to take a few bags. “Help me out, you owe me big time, today.” Alex rolled his eyes but didn’t complain as he did as told.
~
It took Gabe only a couple of minutes to find the source of the music and he had the confirmation that yeah, it was his singer. He was a little impressed with himself for recognizing it in the mess of noises, but then he told himself a voice like that wasn’t easy to forget.
As he reached the boy, he saw the lion drawn on the soundboard, but his gaze was immediately dragged to the face and… hell. He hadn’t exactly expected him to be ugly or anything, but he surely hadn’t expected him to be hot either. Not that he was going to complain.
“You really like Bob Dylan, don’t you?” Gabe asked before he could stop himself.
William looked up at him and stopped singing, but his hands kept moving as the melody ofBlowing in the wind filled the air.
“Do I know you?” William asked with a wary look after a few seconds.
“Not really,” Gabe admitted, putting his hands in his pockets, not knowing what to do with them. “I heard you play in Houston Street a few days ago and, you know,” he paused, shrugging a little. “I recognized your voice.”
“Okay,” William conceded with a slow nod and a faint, careful smile, obviously waiting for him to say something else. “And?”
“I just thought, uh, I--” Gabe hesitated, not sure what to say. And?
“Are you stalking me?” William suddenly asked, arching an eyebrow at him.
“No, no, no, not at all,” Gabe immediately said, shaking his head. “I don’t stalk people, I just-- can I offer you lunch?” he asked and the boy stopped playing, much to his surprise.
“Dude, I can afford a cheeseburger,” William retorted, slightly insulted by the offer. “I’m not that broke.”
“I didn’t mean that in an offensive way,” Gabe replied, somehow managing to keep his tone relaxed despite the urge to slap himself.
“Sure,” William said, then gave in to a little smirk at the mortified look on the other’s face.
“Can I offer you a coffee, then?” Gabe tried once again, not too hopeful, but to his surprise, the singer didn’t flip him off.
“Why?” William asked, genuinely curious about all that interest.
“Because,” Gabe just said, shrugging a little, but at the boy’s stubborn look, he gave in and smiled. “I like your voice.”
William looked at him, halfway between surprised and wary. He bit on his lower lip and glanced around, visibly conflicted, but didn’t say a word.
“It’s okay I’ll just--” Gabe gestured towards the stairs, offering him a little, apologetic smile. “See you around.”
“Wait,” William called as soon as the other boy started to walk away. “D’you have a place in mind?” he asked when Gabe turned to look at him.
“Not really,” Gabe admitted with a shrug. “You pick.”
William hesitated a few seconds more, then gave in and sighed, reaching for the guitar case. Gabe bit on his lip and did his best to contain his smile as they boy gathered his things and stood.
“There’s a Starbucks right across the street,” William informed with a nod towards the stairs, then finally cracked a little smile. “This is crazy.”
“We’re just socializing,” Gabe replied, shoving his hands in the pockets of his hoodie.
“Sure.” William laughed a bit, not really convinced.
They reached the Starbucks five minutes later without saying another word, but as soon as they sat at the table with their coffee, Gabe felt like he’d given the boy enough time to get used to the situation.
“By the way, my name’s Gabe and I’m not a stalker,” he introduced himself with a much more confident smile.
“I’m William and I don’t believe you,” the boy replied with smirk and both his hands wrapped around his cup of white mocha, which was quite a brave choice, in Gabe’s opinion.
“Then why are you letting me offer you an extremely sugared and unhealthy drink?” Gabe questioned, keeping an eye on his reactions.
“I’m curious.” William shrugged, taking a sip from said drink. “And I like extremely sugared and unhealthy things.”
“You like candies,” Gabe pointed out with a grin, somehow amused by that. “You shouldn’t reveal your weakness so easily.”
“Good thing you’re not a stalker, I guess.” William laughed a bit, shaking his head. “And why did you offer me coffee, Gabe?”
“It’s gonna sound crazy,” Gabe just said, suddenly interested in his own cup of toffee nut latte.
“Try me, I’m a very open minded person,” William replied with a relaxed smile, which made the other boy feel a little more confident.
“I just-- I think I have a crush on you,” Gabe admitted, looking up in time to meet William’s eyes just as they widened.
“Just because you heard me sing? You don’t even know me,” William retorted, less defensive than Gabe had expected.
“That’s the whole point of offering you a coffee, right?” Gabe paused, sounding surprisingly natural. Freaking out would have been the logical consequence for saying something like that to a guy he’d know for… well, fifteen minutes, but somehow, William’s quiet reaction was reassuring him. “Told you it sounded crazy.”
William studied him for several seconds, probably searching for signs of mental instability in his look - and possibly finding lots -, then took another sip from his cup, contemplative. Gabe found himself slightly uncomfortable under the scrutiny and for the first time he realized that, hey, he really didn’t know this guy. He could have been a murderer, a thief, any kind of criminal or maybe-- “I like crazy,” William suddenly said, his lips curving up in a careful smirk, and yeah, what was Gabe thinking? That guy could never, ever be a criminal of any kind, c’mon.
“Good,” Gabe replied, relieved about that reaction. “Now that we established that I’m not a stalker, can you reassure me, please?”
“Sure,” William said, nodding slowly, but the smirk didn’t leave his face. “I work for a major drug dealer and I also sell human organs, hiding them in my guitar case.”
“You’re a smartass,” Gabe pointed out, laughing a bit, not at all annoyed by the sarcastic tone.
“Oh, you haveno idea,” William replied, then joined in the laughter, amused. “But I’m not dangerous,” he added, then glared a bit at Gabe’s unconvinced glance. “Hey, you are the one with a crush, you should accept me for what I am.”
“You’re not freaking out about a stranger confessing a crush to you?” Gabe asked, unable to restrain himself. He thought of all the ways the boy could have reacted and that was the least probable of all, but yeah, maybe William’s voice wasn’t the only unique thing about him.
“You made my day interesting, which is a valuable thing to me,” William explained, leaning back on the chair. “And I live dangerously.”
“You like me,” Gabe declared in a sudden spurt of confidence.
“Maybe,” William conceded, not too impressed by those words. “I like what I’ve seen until now.”
“So if I ask you out, you’ll say yes, right?” Gabe asked, resting his elbows on the table, still a little dumbfounded by how absurd the situation was.
“Depends on where,” the boy replied without losing his smile.
“There’s a traveling carnival just out of town,” Gabe tried, amused by the surprise and slight suspect on William’s face. “Lots of candies,” he added with his best innocent tone.
After only a few seconds of hesitation William gave in and said, “When?”
“What about tomorrow?” Gabe finished his cup and put it back on the table, trying to look relaxed and probably failing. It was happening so quickly and he barely had the time to process the fact that William, his singer, a guy he knew nothing about, had accepted to go out with him.
William took a deep breath and finished his own drink, then reached for a napkin. “Forget I’m telling you my address,” he just said, then quickly scribbled something. “Call me tonight, I’ll tell you where to pick me up.”
“You’re--” Gabe stopped when William stood from the chair and took his guitar.
“One of a kind,” William finished for him, but his smile was genuine. “So don’t fuck this up,” he added as he shoved the napkin in Gabe’s hand, then walked away.
~~
Later that night
“Where’s Alex?” Nate asked with a raised eyebrow as they all sat down, surprising Ryland a little.
“Stuck in a meeting, he’ll try to get here as soon as he can,” Gabe informed with a knowing grin, catching Vicky’s eye as he talked. “Missing him?”
“Like a cold,” Nate replied, trying to hide his disappointment with a sarcastic smirk. “Okay, maybe just his stupid jokes,” he added after a few seconds, prompted by Vicky’s unconvinced look. “He hasn’t stopped by at the hospital in a week.”
“Someone’s accepting the truth,” Ryland cheered, punching his friend on the arm, which earned him a glare. “C’mon, just admit you’re just as gone as he is for your pretty face.”
“I’m not the kind of guy he’s looking for,” Nate deadpanned, taking a sip from his beer.
“Like you have any idea,” Gabe replied, addressing him a skeptical look.
“Did you invite me to set me up with him?” Nate asked, suddenly suspicious and a little amused. “Because it sounds like you totally did.”
“That’s because we totally did,” Vicky admitted with a solemn nod. “But his boss ruined our plan, apparently.”
“You guys are evil,” Nate pointed out, laughing a little. “Why don’t you focus on finding someone for Gabe, instead?”
“Because I don’t need it, I have a date tomorrow,” Gabe announced, gaining a surprised smile from Vicky, while Ryland just blinked.
“You talked to him?” the girl asked, excited, inching closer to the table, anxious to know how it had gone. “Did he call the police?”
“He didn’t, I offered him a coffee,” Gabe replied, leaving out the part about the cheeseburger: there was no need to get lectured by his friends about good manners. “I’m taking him to the carny tomorrow.”
“You asked this guy out to a traveling carnival?” Ryland burst out laughing, quickly followed by Nate.
“He accepted,” Gabe just said, shrugging, unaffected by their amusement. “Besides, it’s romantic and it’s not as intimidating as a dinner downtown.”
“He’s right,” Vicky agreed and addressed her boyfriend an eloquent look. “Always listen to gay men if you want good advices about this,” she added, gaining a deeply unconvinced look from Ryland, then added, “Is he pretty?”
“Very,” Gabe just replied, taking a long sip from his bottle. A second later, he moved his gaze to the door on the other side of the pub and almost choked on his beer as his eyes widened. “Fuck,” he muttered as he stopped coughing.
“What?”
“He just walked in,” Gabe informed with a slightly shocked tone.
“What?” Vicky tried to turn, but Gabe stopped her, looking away from William and the two guys who had walked in with him. “Which one?”
“Long hair, tall,” Gabe muttered, suddenly not too happy to be there at all. The last thing he needed was for William to think he was really being stalked.
Nate and Ryland ignored Gabe’s glare and glanced at the group for a brief moment, then looked back at the table with identical grins; at that Vicky slapped Gabe’s hand away and turned her head, curious. When she looked back at her friend, she was wearing the most annoying smirk Gabe had ever seen on her face.
“He’s hot,” Vicky beamed, scooting closer to him. “What’s his name? Are you gonna introduce us?”
“William and no, I’m not gonna introduce anyone, not yet,” Gabe declared, determined to keep quiet and to go unnoticed by his date.
“I think he saw you,” Nate informed, glancing at William again just as a friendly-looking guy with dark hair who had been standing behind the counter until that moment joined the group and hugged them one by one.
Gabe took a deep breath and looked in that direction just as William turned his head. They made eye-contact and even from across the pub, Gabe was able to read the surprise and the silent question showing on the boy’s face. Without a word he took out his phone and typed a text, knowing it was better to keep his distance.‘I swear I’m not a stalker, you can ask my friends’
He saw the exact moment William read it and his features relaxed into a little smile, then, a second later, Gabe felt his phone buzz. William’s reply was a single word: ‘Creep’
The group started moving towards the exit and William typed something else, while Vicky, Nate and Ryland exchanged amused glances. The text arrived immediately and it said: ‘Come get me here tomorrow, two pm’
Gabe typed his reply, ‘No goodnight kiss?’, then looked up, catching the smirk on his face. A few seconds later his phone buzzed again just as William walked out of the door with his friends. Gabe opened the message and his smile widened, ‘I’m gonna push you off the ferry wheel, darling, xoxo’
“You’re grinning like an idiot,” Ryland pointed out, arching an eyebrow at him.
“He’s a smartass,” Gabe just said in reply, then put his phone back in his pocket.
Before anyone could say anything else, Alex reached the table with a tired smile. “Hey.”
“About time,” Vicky said as he took off his coat. The boy took a mental note to thank her as soon as he noticed the only empty seat was between her and Nate.
“Sorry, the meeting ran late,” Alex just said, getting rid of the scarf and gloves, then sat down. “What did I miss?”
“Just a couple of beers,” Nate replied with a brief shrug. “Oh, and Gabe’s date,” he added with the hint of a smile.
“What date?” Alex looked around, confused and interested in the news, then stopped his gaze on Gabe. “I want details.”
~
“Who are you texting?” Sisky tried to take the phone out of his friend’s hands as they exited the pub.
“Your mom,” William retorted as he shoved it in his pocket, safe.
“Hey,” Sisky protested, punching him on the shoulder hard enough to make him take a step sideways.
“A guy asked me out today,” William explained with a patient sigh. “He was in there,” he added, then gripped Sisky’s opened jacket when the boy tried to turn to go back at the pub. “Forget it.”
“I didn’t know you were seeing someone,” Mike pointed out, a little surprised.
“I’m not, I met him today,” William replied, hooking his arm around Sisky’s to keep him in place, while Butcher did the same on the other side. “He offered me coffee and asked me out.”
“And you accepted? Are you nuts?” Butcher asked, genuinely shocked about that declaration.
“God only knows what kind of nutjob this guy could be,” Sisky added, while Mike just frowned at William, perplexed.
“You know, I’m not a magnet for serial killers, guys,” William retorted, sighing a little. “He’s hot and I need to get laid, that’s all,” he continued, but noticed the still worried looks on his friends’ faces. “It’s just a carny, nothing dangerous.”
“There might be clowns,” Butcher pointed out, serious. “Clowns kill.”
William glared at him until the boy burst out laughing, then shook his head and turned towards Mike, determined to change the subject. “So, who’s playing?”
“Hayley’s band,” Mike replied with a wide smile. “And yes, we made up yesterday. We made up a lot.”
“Isn’t the world a much better place when everyone’s getting laid?” Sisky asked happily, gaining a soft slap on the top of his head from William. “Hey, it’s true!”
“I’m not getting laid yet,” William pointed out, glaring a little.
“Maybe you should try with girls,” Mike proposed as he opened his car. “Hayley says her friend Greta has a crush on you.”
“Unless Greta plans on using a strap on, I’m afraid I’ll say no, thanks,” William replied, amused, then got in the passenger seat. “I don’t like boobs.”
“They’re not so bad,” Butcher objected, only to find himself shoved to the side as soon as Sisky sat in the backseat as well. “What about we get you a couple of those?”
“You’ll have to kill me first,” Sisky said with a sarcastic smile, then barked a loud curse when Butcher pinched his nipple through his t-shirt. “Fucker.”
“How do you put up with him every single day, dude?” Mike asked, looking at Sisky in the rear view mirror.
“I don’t,” Sisky replied, punching Butcher in the leg. “Hell, I’d kill him if I had to live with him,” he added, but regretted it as soon as he saw the boy’s smile falter, then turn cold.
William noticed the odd silence and reached for the radio, turning it on. “So, where is she playing?”
“It’s five minutes from here.” Mike pressed a button and the CD track started, filling the car with Kid Rock’s voice.
~~
A/N:first thing, I actually started writing this long before watching Gossip Girl for the first time, so as I said, this is not a Gossip Girl AU. I do love the show though. Second thing, well, I’m back. :D Are you happy? I am, I missed this.
For now, I don’t think I have much to add, just that this story comes with a soundtrack and I’m working to upload it somewhere. I’ll let you know more next week, okay?
And yep, let me know what you think about this.
JM
Author: jen_jm
Pairing: Gabe/William, Butcher/Sisky, Ryland/Vicky-T, Alex/Nate vs Alex/Tom, others minor pairings.
Rating: NC-17 overall
Word count: 80,000 total words
Warnings: Upper East Siders AU (it needed a name, didn’t it?), but this is NOT a Gossip Girl AU.
POV: third
Disclaimer: Completely not true. I doubt Gabe can actually write softwares, anyway. It’s all fiction.
Author’s Notes: title from Cash Cash’s ‘Sugar Rush’ and Cobra Starship’s ‘The scene is dead - Long live the scene’
As ever, feel free to report any mistake. Constructive criticism is welcome, feedback makes me happy!
Summary:“Can I offer you a coffee, then?” Gabe tried once again, not too hopeful, but to his surprise, the singer didn’t flip him off.
“Why?” William asked, genuinely curious about all that interest.
“Because,” Gabe just said, shrugging a little, but at the boy’s stubborn look, he gave in and smiled. “I like your voice.” - Gabe Saporta is a rich 26 years old computer nerd who lives in the Upper East Side. William Beckett is a broke 22 years old musician who works as a bartender and lives with his best friend in Brooklyn. When they meet in the subway where William is playing their worlds collide in more ways than one.
Crossposted
~~
Chapter 1 - The one with the extremely sugared and unhealthy drink
Gabe Saporta was smart. Smarter than most people gave him credit for, smarter than his lifestyle - or his jokes - suggested. Smart enough to write a software with his best friend Vicky at the ridiculous age of twenty-two. Smart enough to sell it to one of the top informatics companies in the world and get millions for the license. Smart enough to keep for himself how disgustingly rich he was, except for a small group of friends.
Still, part of him was terribly, helplessly romantic.
Which was why he stopped in the middle of the overcrowded subway passage when he heard a voice singing Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, helped only by the sound of an acoustic guitar. It was one of his favorite songs of all times and that voice was just… perfect. Just the way the song was meant to be sung.
He couldn’t see who was playing, there was a thick wall of people between him and the mysterious singer, but even like that, he decided that it was the best version he’d ever heard. He asked himself why someone with that voice wasn’t recording in a studio, instead of playing in a dirty corner of the subway passage, next to the broken vending machine. But he’d learned that the world was far from being fair and the thought saddened him a little.
Then, for a split second, there was a break in the constant river of businessmen walking by and Gabe got a glimpse of his singer. The face was half-covered by long brown hair, so he couldn’t get a clear view, but what he noticed was the old guitar he was holding. There was a drawing right next to the bridge. It was a lion. Just the head, not the whole animal, but it covered the soundboard down to the end of the instrument. It didn’t look like those cheesy drawings Gabe had seen on the trucks driving on the Interstate, it was elegant, in its own way.
Then the glimpse was gone and a woman bumped into him, then resumed walking without even rising her gaze to apologize. He had to go too, he was supposed to be in a meeting in… well, half an hour before. Hell, he hated those things, he wasn’t part of the company and he didn’t understand why he had to attend those boring, brain-frying meetings. Since the day he’d sold his software, though, he and the head of the company, Pete Wentz, had become something oddly describable as friends. And he wasn’t really going to mess up a six years old friendship - real friendship - for a couple of meetings a month.
The song ended several seconds later and Gabe was temped to swim through the constant flow of people to reach what in his head was ‘his singer’, but before he could actually move in that direction, his cell phone vibrated in his pocket. The damn thing wasn’t supposed to work down there, he’d thought he’d be safe from Pete’s bitching. He was wrong.
He took out his phone and turned, heading towards the platform he could see not far.
His singer resumed playing, but Gabe couldn’t hear him anymore. Besides, he was too busy listening to Pete and his list of ten good reasons to be on time for a meeting. Or, well, ignoring Pete, which was something he did far more often than he’d like to admit.
~
Gabe woke up that night after an odd dream about talking chairs and music coming from the glasses in his dishwasher. He shook his head and sat up, glancing at the clock on the nightstand. The bright red numbers informed him it was ass o’clock and way too early to even think about getting up.
Still, he got on his feet and glanced at the girl sleeping on the other side of his bed. Her face was relaxed, her mouth slightly opened as she hugged part of her pillow. Gabe smiled and had to fight the urge to bend down and kiss her cheek. It was something he’d done so many times, but tonight he just looked at her for a few seconds, then silently padded to the big living room.
The window on his left greeted him with the night view of Manhattan, which was one of Gabe’s favorite things. Below him, Central Park was a wide and oddly reassuring expanse. If there was one thing Gabe was truly grateful for, among all his job had given him, it was his apartment. Upper east side. He loved the view, even with the height.
Then his mind took a path on its own, probably helped by the sleepy haze Gabe was still wrapped in. What was his singer doing in that moment? It was too late for him to be working.
Gabe almost jumped when a hand rested on his side, then he felt the weight of girl’s head on his shoulder, warm and reassuring. She always had that effect on him, she made him feel safe. It was just one of the many reasons he loved his best-friend so much. They could have been a nice couple, he was sure they were soulmates on some level, but Gabe’s deep disinterest in women and Vicky’s mad love for her boyfriend had won over that a long time before. And things were perfect the way they were.
“Bad dream?” Vicky asked after obviously trying to repress a yawn.
“Nah, the glasses were singing,” Gabe replied and only then realized the song he’d heard in the dream was Knockin’ on heaven’s door. Even the voice sounded like his singer’s.
“Sure,” Vicky said in a patronizing tone, then gave in to the yawn. After a few seconds, she turned her head and placed a kiss on Gabe’s shoulder blade. “You okay?”
“I fell in love with a voice,” Gabe admitted with a little smile and saw Vicky’s surprised face in their reflection.
“It’s not in your head, right?” Vicky asked, only half joking. And really, Gabe thought she had no right to be able to think jokes that late at night.
“It’s not,” Gabe confirmed, then laughed a little when he realized how absurd his sentence had been. “Let’s go back to sleep.”
Vicky nodded and let go, heading for the bedroom. Gabe turned to follow her, but glanced one more time at the shiny city out of the window.
In love with a voice. It was just as crazy as it ever got, but he was the romantic one, wasn’t he?
Another step, then another glance to the city, wondering once again where his singer was in that moment. Then, he made it to the bed without stopping again.
Yeah, it was too late for him to be working.
~~
William Beckett was, in fact, working.
Or, well, he had been until a few minutes before. His plan had been to end his shift at two am just like every other Thursday night, but he’d added an extra hour to repay a favor to a friend, so it was later than usual.
His car had died down in Brooklyn a couple of months before after a long and troubled love-hate relationship and never made it back home. Well, more hate than love, if he wanted to be honest. Still, he’d settled for not spending the little money he got left on another evil thing like that old sent-from-hell Ford was, which explained why he’d started walking home at night. It wasn’t exactly safe, but he had his cell phone and pepper spray ready. And he could run. Fast.
He worked as a bartender three nights a week in an all-night strip club known by the cheesy name of Cherrylips. Not exactly an exclusive place, but still had a fair amount of dignity, William had to admit that. His apartment wasn’t far from the club: ten minutes by foot, seven if he raised his pace a little.
By the time he got home the sky was completely covered by dark clouds and the distant sound of a storm sounded much closer.
“Just in time, uh?” his roommate asked from the couch.
William took off his shoes, locked the door and let his coat fall on the first available chair. Those gestures were the only kind of routine he actually enjoyed, it was his way to say ‘Lucy, I’m home’ to himself. Still, that night there was something different.
“Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” William asked with a concerned look in his friend’s direction.
Adam Siska had been his best friend since kindergarten and William could count on the fingers of one hand the times he’d seen the boy stay up that late. Well, except the parties, of course. Sisky - not Adam, he hated his first name for reasons he’d never cared to explain to anyone - was William’s responsible counterpart when it came to simple things like eating properly, paying the bills on time and going to bed early whenever he could.
“Can’t sleep,” Sisky simply replied, looking back at the muted TV screen.
William reached the couch and sat down, keeping his gaze on the boy, and only then he realized Sisky had been crying. His eyes were bloodshot and there was a pile of used Kleenex on the floor. Sisky rarely cried, but when he did, it was usually because of Butcher.
Butcher’s real name was Andy Mrotek, but for some reason he never introduced himself like that. William had never asked him why, he just considered the whole ‘I hate my name’ thing as a sign that he and Sisky were really meant to be.
He was Sisky’s longtime boyfriend and William’s longtime pain in the ass. To be honest, William did like Butcher. A lot. But that never stopped him when it came to defending Sisky in every possible way. Even the childish one, which usually resulted in William being a bitch to Butcher every time Sisky had a fight with him. And okay, maybe a crying Sisky was somewhat rare, but it was still something that happened way too often for his liking - in William’s personal list, making Sisky cry was way worse than kicking a sick puppy - and most of the times Butcher was the one to blame, so he felt entitled to be childish from time to time.
“What did he do?” William asked as he inched closer. His hand settled on the small of the boy’s back and his thumb rubbed the spot through the fabric of his shirt. Sisky relaxed at the familiar gesture, but barely chocked back a sob.
“Nothing, it’s just-- it’s okay, I’m okay,” Sisky muttered, quickly wiping his eyes as new tears fought to fall. “He wants me to move in with him,” he added after several seconds of silence.
“It’s reasonable,” William admitted with a sigh. As much as he hated that thought, itwas reasonable. “You’ve been together for three years.”
“But that’s not-- it doesn’t mean I have to take this step, right?” Sisky looked up, eyes wide and maybe a little scared, which surprised William. “It’s not like I signed a contract or anything, I-- fuck.”
“Hey, calm down,” William reassured him with a little smile. “You had another fight about this, didn’t you?”
“Kind of,” Sisky said as he looked down, eyes stopping on his crossed legs. “I told him his apartment wasn’t big enough,” he paused and glanced at William with a guilty look on his face. “And I might have called his works ‘retarded drawings’ and you can figure out what came after that.”
Yelling, yelling, yelling and the door slamming shut after him, William added in his head, but didn’t say it out loud.
There were two things Butcher wasn’t willing to let people insult, no matter how many fistfights he got into. And those things were his paintings and Sisky. Not in that order, of course. William was sure that despite the overwhelming devotion to his own art, Butcher valued Sisky as his most precious treasure.
“Did you apologize to him?” William asked with a patient voice, keeping his eyes on the boy’s face.
“No,” Sisky admitted in a whisper, then took deep, calming breath, which didn’t calm him down at all. “I mean, I don’t-- I’m not ready to go live with him and all he does is talking about it.”
“Did you tell him this?” William scooted closer and his hand moved until his arm was wrapped about his friend’s thin waist. Sisky shook his head and eventually looked up. “It’d be okay if you wanted to go, you know that, right?”
“I know, but--” Another pause, longer than the previous ones. “We’ve been fighting so much, I’m not sure anymore.”
“Hey.” William rested his cheek against his shoulder and sighed. “I’m sure that after a good night of sleep things will look better,” he added as his hand stroked just below the boy’s ribs.
“Yeah,” Sisky muttered, but it sounded weak and unconvinced. “Let’s go.”
“Hey,” William repeated with a faint smile, then waited for Sisky to look at him. “It’s gonna be okay.”
“You don’t know that,” Sisky breathed out as he got on his feet.
“I know everything, remember?” William retorted and stood as well just as Sisky turned off the TV. “Don’t feel guilty for saying those things to him.”
“I should,” Sisky objected as they headed for their rooms.
“Not tonight.” William turned his head and placed a brief kiss on his friend’s temple. “Sleep.”
Sisky nodded and William watched the door of his room close after him, then went to his own. It took him all his willpower to put his cell phone on the nightstand without calling Butcher first. As tempting as it was, another round of insults to him and his art wasn’t the solution to that situation.
He glanced at the worn armchair in the corner, half covered in books and clothes, and saw his guitar resting against its side. His gaze stopped on the lion drawn on the soundboard and he took a deep breath. It was one of Butcher’s concept arts, he’d said it represented William’s music: passionate and elegant. And also William’s secret soft spot for The Lion King.
Yeah, he liked Butcher. He just hoped he wasn’t going to change his mind about him.
~~
Two weeks later - 27th November
The moment Gabe put his nose out of the building, the cold late-autumn air surrounded him. Vicky rubbed her hands together and glanced at the white sky, suddenly convinced the Weather Channel maybe was right about the incoming snow, after all. Ryland and Alex were already waiting for them in front of the building, talking to each other.
Ryland, as weird as it sounded at first impact, was a doctor and a damn good one. He was a pediatrician at the New York Methodist Hospital and he’d just come back after a two weeks convention in Pasadena. Other than that, he was Vicky’s fiancée and one of Gabe’s oldest and closest friends. Vicky’s apartment was just a couple of blocks far from Gabe’s, and they had decided to have it re-decorated before the wedding, which was why Vicky had been sleeping at Gabe’s place for a while.
Then there was Alex. He was a script writer for a TV network and occasionally a full-on writer. He’d published a few short stories in the past but Gabe knew he had been working on something longer for a few years. Despite the outgoing attitude he was more introverted than the looks suggested and Gabe knew that from experience. Experience consisting of a past relationship between the two, which had turned into their present friendship. They usually joked about it when too much alcohol was involved, or didn’t mention it at all.
“Hey, sweetie,” Ryland said as soon as he found himself with a harmful of Vicky. “Missed me?” he asked with a warm smile.
“No, I’m just cold,” Vicky replied with a wide grin, then placed a soft kiss on his mouth. “Can we buy Gabe a boyfriend for Christmas?”
“Well, he needs to get laid,” Ryland agreed with a solemn nod.
“I know how to find my own boys,” Gabe informed with a brief glare in their direction.
“Should we pay him a hooker?” Alex asked with a fake concerned tone, ignoring his friend’s words.
“Should I tell Nate about this interest for hookers?” Gabe retorted with a satisfied smirk, gaining a snicker from Vicky.
“Well, it’s not like it could make things worse,” Ryland joked as they began walking down the street, towards the subway entry. Alex just glared at him and punched Gabe on the arm.
Nate was a nurse at Ryland’s hospital and the main reason Alex visited his friend so often at work. The point was, Nate was also a good friend of Ryland, but still he hadn’t accepted to go out with Alex yet, despite the boy’s numerous and rather convincing attempts.
“Anyway, I got a call this morning,” Ryland informed, smiling widely. “The house is ready.”
“Seriously?” Vicky beamed, visibly surprised. “Why didn’t they warn me?”
“I wanted to tell you myself,” Ryland replied with a little shrug and a kiss on her temple. “I guess we could throw a party to celebrate.”
“And you could try to set me up with Nate,” Alex proposed with a convinced nod look in Ryland’s direction.
“See? I’m not the one who needs to get laid,” Gabe pointed out with a brief laughter as they got in the crowded train just before the door closed.
~
William walked in his apartment in what could have been defined the proverbial worst moment, consisting of Sisky sprawled on the couch with Butcher on top of him, hands shoved in each other’s pants and little, sharp moans breaking the silence.
“I thought there was a rule against sex on the couch,” William announced with a raised eyebrow, not really annoyed.
“Whoops,” Butcher said as he looked up with his best unashamed grin, while Sisky tried to push him off, a little flushed from both their previous activities and the embarrassment. “You really need to get laid, dude.”
“Want me to kick you out?” William asked, but his lips were stretched in a little smile.
“You couldn’t kick a puppy even if you wanted,” Butcher replied, then sat up, giving his boyfriend a chance to straighten and fix his jeans.
William flipped him off and headed for his room, laughing quietly to himself. He changed clothes and tried to ignore the muffled argument coming from the nearby room; he took his guitar and walked back in the room, finding Butcher still sitting on the couch, but no sign of Sisky.
With a sigh, William headed for the kitchen, finding his friend sitting at the counter. “Stop fighting with him for every fucking thing,” he said, a little disappointed. “I was joking about the rule and you know it.”
“It’s just--” Sisky stopped, not knowing how to continue his sentence.
“I’m gonna go out again,” William informed as he reached the younger boy.
“You don’t have to,” Sisky just said, shrugging a little. “It’s your apartment too.”
“I’m going out,” William repeated, determined. “Go back there and make it up to him for being a prissy bitch,” he added pinching his friend’s arm.
“Fuck you,” Sisky retorted, but there was a little grin tugging at his lips. “You sure?”
“I just came home to get the guitar,” William confirmed raising the case a little for emphasis. “Tonight it’s my turn to pay drinks and New York will pay for me,” he added, nudging Sisky’s foot with his own.
Sisky laughed a bit at that and stood from the chair, then dug in his pocket and took out his phone. “I’ll warn Mike we’ll swing by.”
“Good, then go apologize,” William reminded him, heading out of the kitchen.
When he walked back in the living room he spotted Butcher lying on the couch, remote in hand, and threw him a magazine. “Hey!” Butcher protested, slightly offended.
“Just for the record, I do need to get laid, so stop joking about it and find me someone,” William told him as he reached the door and arched an eyebrow when Butcher’s laughter followed him outside.
~
Two hours and eight hundred dollars later, most part of Gabe’s Christmas shopping was done. Of course, he still had to buy presents for Ryland, Vicky and Alex, but there was a month left before Christmas and he knew he would have the time to.
Once again they walked down the subway stairs, talking to each other without paying attention to the people surrounding them.
“There’s that new pub on Summerset, in Brooklyn, we could go grab a beer, play some pool,” Ryland proposed, referring to their plan for that evening.
“I vote yes on the beer, no on the pool,” Alex replied, nodding slowly. “Last time I had to pay three rounds of whiskey.”
“That’s because you suck at pool,” Gabe pointed out with a smirk, gaining a glare. “But hey, you’re good at Scrabble, so it’s okay,” he added, then snickered.
“Fuck you, asshole,” Alex retorted, laughing as well as he pushed Gabe to the side not too gently, causing him to collide with an old woman. Gabe apologized and she flipped him off, then walked away, leaving them surprised and laughing.
“Summerset, then?” Vicky asked as she gestured Ryland to give her his phone.
“Sure,” Gabe replied, watching with a trace of curiosity what she was up to. Ryland gave her his Blackberry and frowned, not really convinced.
Vicky went through the numbers until she found the one she was looking for and waited until someone picked up. “Hey, Nate? It’s Vicky.” Gabe had to press his hand to his mouth to stop from laughing out loud when he saw Alex’s eyes widen. “Oh, all fine, what about you?” She smiled as she kept walking, arm hooked around Ryland’s and eyes moving between Alex and Gabe. “Are you busy tonight?” she asked, ignoring Alex’s gesture to cut it off. “We had something quiet in mind, you know, a few beers and a chat with some friends.”
“Hang up,” Alex hissed, unbelieving and maybe a little hopeful, despite his own words.
“Great,” Vicky beamed as she addressed her friend a triumphant look. “The pub on Summerset Street, at ten, is it okay?” she asked, looking at Ryland’s smiling face. “Sure, see you later, then. Bye.”
The moment she ended the call and handed the phone back to her fiancée, Alex stared at her, waiting for something. “So?”
“If you don’t get laid, I’m gonna kill you,” Gabe replied for her, punching his friend on the shoulder.
Alex glared at him as they approached the train, but Gabe didn’t pay attention and just stopped dead in his tracks, losing his smile.
“What’s up?” Vicky looked at him, perplexed, but Gabe just shook his head and gestured them to be quiet, which was a little weird, considering the noise coming from both the crowd and the trains. And the music. It took her a few seconds to realize the music was what Gabe was listening to.
“Go ahead, I just remembered I have something to do,” Gabe suddenly said, gaining a frown from Ryland and a chuckle from Alex.
“I’ll bring your bags home,” Vicky offered with a knowing smirk. “Just don’t forget about tonight.”
“Thanks.” Gabe gave her his bags and placed a kiss on her cheek, then turned and walked away quickly.
“What’s going on?” Ryland looked at her, confused and a little worried.
“You’ll find out soon, I guess,” Vicky just said, then gestured Alex to take a few bags. “Help me out, you owe me big time, today.” Alex rolled his eyes but didn’t complain as he did as told.
~
It took Gabe only a couple of minutes to find the source of the music and he had the confirmation that yeah, it was his singer. He was a little impressed with himself for recognizing it in the mess of noises, but then he told himself a voice like that wasn’t easy to forget.
As he reached the boy, he saw the lion drawn on the soundboard, but his gaze was immediately dragged to the face and… hell. He hadn’t exactly expected him to be ugly or anything, but he surely hadn’t expected him to be hot either. Not that he was going to complain.
“You really like Bob Dylan, don’t you?” Gabe asked before he could stop himself.
William looked up at him and stopped singing, but his hands kept moving as the melody ofBlowing in the wind filled the air.
“Do I know you?” William asked with a wary look after a few seconds.
“Not really,” Gabe admitted, putting his hands in his pockets, not knowing what to do with them. “I heard you play in Houston Street a few days ago and, you know,” he paused, shrugging a little. “I recognized your voice.”
“Okay,” William conceded with a slow nod and a faint, careful smile, obviously waiting for him to say something else. “And?”
“I just thought, uh, I--” Gabe hesitated, not sure what to say. And?
“Are you stalking me?” William suddenly asked, arching an eyebrow at him.
“No, no, no, not at all,” Gabe immediately said, shaking his head. “I don’t stalk people, I just-- can I offer you lunch?” he asked and the boy stopped playing, much to his surprise.
“Dude, I can afford a cheeseburger,” William retorted, slightly insulted by the offer. “I’m not that broke.”
“I didn’t mean that in an offensive way,” Gabe replied, somehow managing to keep his tone relaxed despite the urge to slap himself.
“Sure,” William said, then gave in to a little smirk at the mortified look on the other’s face.
“Can I offer you a coffee, then?” Gabe tried once again, not too hopeful, but to his surprise, the singer didn’t flip him off.
“Why?” William asked, genuinely curious about all that interest.
“Because,” Gabe just said, shrugging a little, but at the boy’s stubborn look, he gave in and smiled. “I like your voice.”
William looked at him, halfway between surprised and wary. He bit on his lower lip and glanced around, visibly conflicted, but didn’t say a word.
“It’s okay I’ll just--” Gabe gestured towards the stairs, offering him a little, apologetic smile. “See you around.”
“Wait,” William called as soon as the other boy started to walk away. “D’you have a place in mind?” he asked when Gabe turned to look at him.
“Not really,” Gabe admitted with a shrug. “You pick.”
William hesitated a few seconds more, then gave in and sighed, reaching for the guitar case. Gabe bit on his lip and did his best to contain his smile as they boy gathered his things and stood.
“There’s a Starbucks right across the street,” William informed with a nod towards the stairs, then finally cracked a little smile. “This is crazy.”
“We’re just socializing,” Gabe replied, shoving his hands in the pockets of his hoodie.
“Sure.” William laughed a bit, not really convinced.
They reached the Starbucks five minutes later without saying another word, but as soon as they sat at the table with their coffee, Gabe felt like he’d given the boy enough time to get used to the situation.
“By the way, my name’s Gabe and I’m not a stalker,” he introduced himself with a much more confident smile.
“I’m William and I don’t believe you,” the boy replied with smirk and both his hands wrapped around his cup of white mocha, which was quite a brave choice, in Gabe’s opinion.
“Then why are you letting me offer you an extremely sugared and unhealthy drink?” Gabe questioned, keeping an eye on his reactions.
“I’m curious.” William shrugged, taking a sip from said drink. “And I like extremely sugared and unhealthy things.”
“You like candies,” Gabe pointed out with a grin, somehow amused by that. “You shouldn’t reveal your weakness so easily.”
“Good thing you’re not a stalker, I guess.” William laughed a bit, shaking his head. “And why did you offer me coffee, Gabe?”
“It’s gonna sound crazy,” Gabe just said, suddenly interested in his own cup of toffee nut latte.
“Try me, I’m a very open minded person,” William replied with a relaxed smile, which made the other boy feel a little more confident.
“I just-- I think I have a crush on you,” Gabe admitted, looking up in time to meet William’s eyes just as they widened.
“Just because you heard me sing? You don’t even know me,” William retorted, less defensive than Gabe had expected.
“That’s the whole point of offering you a coffee, right?” Gabe paused, sounding surprisingly natural. Freaking out would have been the logical consequence for saying something like that to a guy he’d know for… well, fifteen minutes, but somehow, William’s quiet reaction was reassuring him. “Told you it sounded crazy.”
William studied him for several seconds, probably searching for signs of mental instability in his look - and possibly finding lots -, then took another sip from his cup, contemplative. Gabe found himself slightly uncomfortable under the scrutiny and for the first time he realized that, hey, he really didn’t know this guy. He could have been a murderer, a thief, any kind of criminal or maybe-- “I like crazy,” William suddenly said, his lips curving up in a careful smirk, and yeah, what was Gabe thinking? That guy could never, ever be a criminal of any kind, c’mon.
“Good,” Gabe replied, relieved about that reaction. “Now that we established that I’m not a stalker, can you reassure me, please?”
“Sure,” William said, nodding slowly, but the smirk didn’t leave his face. “I work for a major drug dealer and I also sell human organs, hiding them in my guitar case.”
“You’re a smartass,” Gabe pointed out, laughing a bit, not at all annoyed by the sarcastic tone.
“Oh, you haveno idea,” William replied, then joined in the laughter, amused. “But I’m not dangerous,” he added, then glared a bit at Gabe’s unconvinced glance. “Hey, you are the one with a crush, you should accept me for what I am.”
“You’re not freaking out about a stranger confessing a crush to you?” Gabe asked, unable to restrain himself. He thought of all the ways the boy could have reacted and that was the least probable of all, but yeah, maybe William’s voice wasn’t the only unique thing about him.
“You made my day interesting, which is a valuable thing to me,” William explained, leaning back on the chair. “And I live dangerously.”
“You like me,” Gabe declared in a sudden spurt of confidence.
“Maybe,” William conceded, not too impressed by those words. “I like what I’ve seen until now.”
“So if I ask you out, you’ll say yes, right?” Gabe asked, resting his elbows on the table, still a little dumbfounded by how absurd the situation was.
“Depends on where,” the boy replied without losing his smile.
“There’s a traveling carnival just out of town,” Gabe tried, amused by the surprise and slight suspect on William’s face. “Lots of candies,” he added with his best innocent tone.
After only a few seconds of hesitation William gave in and said, “When?”
“What about tomorrow?” Gabe finished his cup and put it back on the table, trying to look relaxed and probably failing. It was happening so quickly and he barely had the time to process the fact that William, his singer, a guy he knew nothing about, had accepted to go out with him.
William took a deep breath and finished his own drink, then reached for a napkin. “Forget I’m telling you my address,” he just said, then quickly scribbled something. “Call me tonight, I’ll tell you where to pick me up.”
“You’re--” Gabe stopped when William stood from the chair and took his guitar.
“One of a kind,” William finished for him, but his smile was genuine. “So don’t fuck this up,” he added as he shoved the napkin in Gabe’s hand, then walked away.
~~
Later that night
“Where’s Alex?” Nate asked with a raised eyebrow as they all sat down, surprising Ryland a little.
“Stuck in a meeting, he’ll try to get here as soon as he can,” Gabe informed with a knowing grin, catching Vicky’s eye as he talked. “Missing him?”
“Like a cold,” Nate replied, trying to hide his disappointment with a sarcastic smirk. “Okay, maybe just his stupid jokes,” he added after a few seconds, prompted by Vicky’s unconvinced look. “He hasn’t stopped by at the hospital in a week.”
“Someone’s accepting the truth,” Ryland cheered, punching his friend on the arm, which earned him a glare. “C’mon, just admit you’re just as gone as he is for your pretty face.”
“I’m not the kind of guy he’s looking for,” Nate deadpanned, taking a sip from his beer.
“Like you have any idea,” Gabe replied, addressing him a skeptical look.
“Did you invite me to set me up with him?” Nate asked, suddenly suspicious and a little amused. “Because it sounds like you totally did.”
“That’s because we totally did,” Vicky admitted with a solemn nod. “But his boss ruined our plan, apparently.”
“You guys are evil,” Nate pointed out, laughing a little. “Why don’t you focus on finding someone for Gabe, instead?”
“Because I don’t need it, I have a date tomorrow,” Gabe announced, gaining a surprised smile from Vicky, while Ryland just blinked.
“You talked to him?” the girl asked, excited, inching closer to the table, anxious to know how it had gone. “Did he call the police?”
“He didn’t, I offered him a coffee,” Gabe replied, leaving out the part about the cheeseburger: there was no need to get lectured by his friends about good manners. “I’m taking him to the carny tomorrow.”
“You asked this guy out to a traveling carnival?” Ryland burst out laughing, quickly followed by Nate.
“He accepted,” Gabe just said, shrugging, unaffected by their amusement. “Besides, it’s romantic and it’s not as intimidating as a dinner downtown.”
“He’s right,” Vicky agreed and addressed her boyfriend an eloquent look. “Always listen to gay men if you want good advices about this,” she added, gaining a deeply unconvinced look from Ryland, then added, “Is he pretty?”
“Very,” Gabe just replied, taking a long sip from his bottle. A second later, he moved his gaze to the door on the other side of the pub and almost choked on his beer as his eyes widened. “Fuck,” he muttered as he stopped coughing.
“What?”
“He just walked in,” Gabe informed with a slightly shocked tone.
“What?” Vicky tried to turn, but Gabe stopped her, looking away from William and the two guys who had walked in with him. “Which one?”
“Long hair, tall,” Gabe muttered, suddenly not too happy to be there at all. The last thing he needed was for William to think he was really being stalked.
Nate and Ryland ignored Gabe’s glare and glanced at the group for a brief moment, then looked back at the table with identical grins; at that Vicky slapped Gabe’s hand away and turned her head, curious. When she looked back at her friend, she was wearing the most annoying smirk Gabe had ever seen on her face.
“He’s hot,” Vicky beamed, scooting closer to him. “What’s his name? Are you gonna introduce us?”
“William and no, I’m not gonna introduce anyone, not yet,” Gabe declared, determined to keep quiet and to go unnoticed by his date.
“I think he saw you,” Nate informed, glancing at William again just as a friendly-looking guy with dark hair who had been standing behind the counter until that moment joined the group and hugged them one by one.
Gabe took a deep breath and looked in that direction just as William turned his head. They made eye-contact and even from across the pub, Gabe was able to read the surprise and the silent question showing on the boy’s face. Without a word he took out his phone and typed a text, knowing it was better to keep his distance.‘I swear I’m not a stalker, you can ask my friends’
He saw the exact moment William read it and his features relaxed into a little smile, then, a second later, Gabe felt his phone buzz. William’s reply was a single word: ‘Creep’
The group started moving towards the exit and William typed something else, while Vicky, Nate and Ryland exchanged amused glances. The text arrived immediately and it said: ‘Come get me here tomorrow, two pm’
Gabe typed his reply, ‘No goodnight kiss?’, then looked up, catching the smirk on his face. A few seconds later his phone buzzed again just as William walked out of the door with his friends. Gabe opened the message and his smile widened, ‘I’m gonna push you off the ferry wheel, darling, xoxo’
“You’re grinning like an idiot,” Ryland pointed out, arching an eyebrow at him.
“He’s a smartass,” Gabe just said in reply, then put his phone back in his pocket.
Before anyone could say anything else, Alex reached the table with a tired smile. “Hey.”
“About time,” Vicky said as he took off his coat. The boy took a mental note to thank her as soon as he noticed the only empty seat was between her and Nate.
“Sorry, the meeting ran late,” Alex just said, getting rid of the scarf and gloves, then sat down. “What did I miss?”
“Just a couple of beers,” Nate replied with a brief shrug. “Oh, and Gabe’s date,” he added with the hint of a smile.
“What date?” Alex looked around, confused and interested in the news, then stopped his gaze on Gabe. “I want details.”
~
“Who are you texting?” Sisky tried to take the phone out of his friend’s hands as they exited the pub.
“Your mom,” William retorted as he shoved it in his pocket, safe.
“Hey,” Sisky protested, punching him on the shoulder hard enough to make him take a step sideways.
“A guy asked me out today,” William explained with a patient sigh. “He was in there,” he added, then gripped Sisky’s opened jacket when the boy tried to turn to go back at the pub. “Forget it.”
“I didn’t know you were seeing someone,” Mike pointed out, a little surprised.
“I’m not, I met him today,” William replied, hooking his arm around Sisky’s to keep him in place, while Butcher did the same on the other side. “He offered me coffee and asked me out.”
“And you accepted? Are you nuts?” Butcher asked, genuinely shocked about that declaration.
“God only knows what kind of nutjob this guy could be,” Sisky added, while Mike just frowned at William, perplexed.
“You know, I’m not a magnet for serial killers, guys,” William retorted, sighing a little. “He’s hot and I need to get laid, that’s all,” he continued, but noticed the still worried looks on his friends’ faces. “It’s just a carny, nothing dangerous.”
“There might be clowns,” Butcher pointed out, serious. “Clowns kill.”
William glared at him until the boy burst out laughing, then shook his head and turned towards Mike, determined to change the subject. “So, who’s playing?”
“Hayley’s band,” Mike replied with a wide smile. “And yes, we made up yesterday. We made up a lot.”
“Isn’t the world a much better place when everyone’s getting laid?” Sisky asked happily, gaining a soft slap on the top of his head from William. “Hey, it’s true!”
“I’m not getting laid yet,” William pointed out, glaring a little.
“Maybe you should try with girls,” Mike proposed as he opened his car. “Hayley says her friend Greta has a crush on you.”
“Unless Greta plans on using a strap on, I’m afraid I’ll say no, thanks,” William replied, amused, then got in the passenger seat. “I don’t like boobs.”
“They’re not so bad,” Butcher objected, only to find himself shoved to the side as soon as Sisky sat in the backseat as well. “What about we get you a couple of those?”
“You’ll have to kill me first,” Sisky said with a sarcastic smile, then barked a loud curse when Butcher pinched his nipple through his t-shirt. “Fucker.”
“How do you put up with him every single day, dude?” Mike asked, looking at Sisky in the rear view mirror.
“I don’t,” Sisky replied, punching Butcher in the leg. “Hell, I’d kill him if I had to live with him,” he added, but regretted it as soon as he saw the boy’s smile falter, then turn cold.
William noticed the odd silence and reached for the radio, turning it on. “So, where is she playing?”
“It’s five minutes from here.” Mike pressed a button and the CD track started, filling the car with Kid Rock’s voice.
~~
A/N:first thing, I actually started writing this long before watching Gossip Girl for the first time, so as I said, this is not a Gossip Girl AU. I do love the show though. Second thing, well, I’m back. :D Are you happy? I am, I missed this.
For now, I don’t think I have much to add, just that this story comes with a soundtrack and I’m working to upload it somewhere. I’ll let you know more next week, okay?
And yep, let me know what you think about this.
JM