The Couple Next Door VI (Roger Taylor X Female!Reader)

How far computer animation has come: Toy Story (1995) // Toy Story 4 (2019)

other people buying clothes: i chose this based on my hair color, skin tone, the time of year, the recommendations of 10 different fashion magazines and my horoscope

me buying clothes:

Incorrect Far Cry 5 Quotes  

The saga continues [ x ]

Hey! I hope you are doing well and staying safe! I was wondering if you could add me to the tag list for TCND?? I am so invested in this story, thanks for writing it 😊 the @ is @lukewalksinthesky 💜🌼 have a nice day!

Of course! I'm adding you right now! Thank you sm for reading💖💖

The Couple Next Door (Roger Taylor x Female!Reader)

A/N: Alrighty, since I am seriously lacking energy to write a date scene for part 2 of Lift Confessions, I’ve decided to start another series to hopefully break through my writer’s block.

I got inspiration for this fic from another I read years ago and I can’t remember what the characters in it were for the life of me. I think I also read it on AO3 but again, I can’t be too sure. If the author of the first fic sees this and realizes it was their beautiful work that got me inspired, then thank you.

I ALSO APOLOGIZE FOR HOW SHORT THIS IS

Summary: Roger and his good friend y/n decide to move out of Brian’s flat after he gets a girlfriend and wishes to move her in. It’s a shame the condominium Roger and y/n want is owned by a landlady who is strict on who lives in her complex. They couldn’t possibly pretend to be a couple just to live here… or could they?

(Like all my other fics, this can be read as either BoRhap!Roger or real Roger. Do whatever floats your boat)

WARNINGS: Swearing. that’s something you can expect from me all the time.

I’d rate this chapter G, but the language puts it at a T

Your eyes marvelled at the high, bright ceilings as soon as you and Roger stepped into the vacant condominium.

 "Rog, look how high up it goes!“

 You pointed to the very top of the ceiling of the visible second floor at the base of the staircase 

 "This is more spacious than I thought,” Roger responded gently as his eyes followed your direction of pointing, his hand on your shoulder.

 Although the both of you considered your shared apartment with Brian to really be “home”, it was barely that when Brian started to move his girlfriend in.

 It’s not that you and Roger disliked her, she just had lots of furniture, and three people in a small flat was crowded enough, let alone four. 

 That’s when you and Roger decided to relocate elsewhere so Brian and his girl could have some privacy.

 You and Roger had been friends since high school, and had been close ever since. You were now both in your mid twenties, and your friendship was still going very strong.

 So much so that the both of you had no problem living alone together rather than finding partners yourselves to settle down with.

 So this is how you ended up here; house shopping with your drummer roommate and best friend.

 You’d spoken to Roger about the benefits of moving out before. not only would a move be convenient for space, but your work, as well as the recording studio Roger often used with Queen, were closer.

 There were so many pros to moving, and little to no cons. It was something you both eventually felt you had to do.

 "I know this is the first one we’re looking at, and we only just got through the door, but I’m already in love with this place.“

 You moved deeper into the house as you spoke, grabbing Roger’s hand in the process to drag him along. At the end of the hall, a large empty room sat, the sun shining brightly through the large front window.

 "I can clearly imagine this to be our living room,” you exclaimed, letting go of Roger’s hand and moving around the room and pointing to certain corners and walls to speak your visions about which pieces of furniture would look best where.

 Of course, Roger wasn’t exactly sold on the place yet, but he crossed his arms, and listened intently to your opinions.

 This was going to be your place as well, after all.

 "And here is where we can put that picture of us at– oh my god, is that the kitchen?!“ You playfully pushed Roger out of the way to get to the kitchen. He turned to give you a playful glare, but soon followed along.

 "This is getting better,” Roger voiced as he stepped into the kitchen after you, nodding his head in approval.

 The kitchen was bright, clean, and very welcoming.

 Everything about this place was very welcoming.

 "God, couldn’t you just imagine us making cookies and cakes in here?“ 

 "You mean burning,” he corrected.

 "Just shut up and daydream with me.“

 Roger laughed, his hand resting on your shoulder again, and his chin propped on the opposite one.

 "We sound like a married couple, don’t we, Doll?”

 "We do,“ you agreed.

 Roger sighed gently before moving away from you and beckoning you towards him with his finger. "Upstairs time.”

 Upstairs was what you two expected. A nice bathroom, a master bedroom, and two smaller rooms. 

 "I call the master bedroom.“

 "You’re joking,” Roger retorted. 

 "I called it first!“

 "You know what,” Roger sighed. You smiled, clearly under the impression you’d won the argument so soon.

 "Why don’t we just share a bed?“ Roger teased, raising an eyebrow and smirking. You smirked back. 

 "You’d like that, huh, pretty boy?” Roger laughed, shaking his head and looking back into the large empty room. 

 "We should just use it for a storage room or something. Mediation.“

 "You suck at being a mediator,” you voiced. Roger rolled his eyes at your response. 

 "That’s why John makes a lot of decisions for the band. C’mon. We can fight about this later, Doll.“ He nodded to the staircase to the bottom floor.

 You led him outside by the hand, and the both of you took a step back to look at the house one more time. 

 "I really like it,” you told Roger. 

 "It is really nice,“ he agreed. He looked over at you, who was too busy admiring the house’s exterior.

 The last time Roger saw you look at anything like that, you were admiring your high school sweetheart– your first love.

 Roger knew you’d die for this place.

 "Let’s go talk to the landlady, then. Tell her we’re interested.” Your eyes lit up brightly, and you turned to Roger. The smile on your face looked like it hurt. 

“Really?!”

 "Really,“ Roger grabbed your wrist, and led you off to the complex’s office without another word.

 And you happily followed close behind, your hand tightening around his.

                                                                   "Your references look really good,” the landlady, Tina Welch, commented with a grin.

 "You guys are definitely eligible for the condo! I just need to ask a question or two if that’s alright.“

 She examined the both of you over the thick lenses of her glasses, your references bouncing in her thin hands.

 You and Roger looked at one another for a moment before agreeing.

 "How long have you been together?”

 "Uh– excuse me?“ Roger was the first to answer Tina’s question with another. 

 Tina raised an eyebrow, and cleared her throat. "This complex is full of small families, couples, and those attempting to start families. I only rent out to serious couples.”

 You looked over to Roger, and he could see the glint of worry in your eyes.

 "You two are together… Right?“ You held your breath for a long time, but you were eventually able to release a sigh, and prepare to tell Tina the bad news.

. But your words caught in your throat when you felt Roger’s hand grasp yours tenderly on the arm of the chair you were sitting in. 

 "Of course!” Roger laughed airily. “We weren’t expecting a question about that, sorry.”

 You snapped your head to watch Roger in disbelief.

 "We’ve been together for about…” Roger estimated, looking to his left as he gave thought, puffing up his cheeks and exhaling slowly. “What is it, five years now? It must be.“ You watched silently as he improvised so easily.

 He looked over at you, smiling warmly.

 You’d only seen him smile this way towards his old girlfriends.

 "Right, Love?”

 Even you could tell Roger found the word funny in his mouth when acknowledging you, but you nodded your head.

 "Y-yes. Wow. Never realized how fast time has gone by,“ you nervously squeezed Roger’s hand, and the both of you turned to Tina, who smiled warmly. 

 "I could tell there was a strong connection. Five years is a very long time.”

 Roger saw Tina look over the desk at your left hand. You weren’t branding a ring of any kind.

 "Do you plan on getting married any time soon?“

 Your stomach dropped at the next unexpected question. "Married?”

 Roger covered for you again, clearing his throat.

 "Hopefully soon. After settling here fully, of course.“ Roger lifted your hand up, and he kissed the back of it. You continued to study his sudden behavioural change.

 Tina watched you with a small amount of suspicion, but after smiling at her with a believable grin, her face relaxed, and she slid the keys over to Roger. 

 "Welcome home, you two.”

                                                                    "What the fuck was that?!“ You knew this car ride home was going to be anything but quiet.

 "We got the place you wanted, didn’t we?" Roger’s behaviour, bubbly and happy, was a great contrast to you– stressed, and upset.

 Roger actually had the audacity to drum his fingers on the steering wheel and nod his head to imaginary music in his joyous state.

 "Yes Roger, but at what cost?! Telling our landlady we’re together?!” You began to spiral into a small panic.

 Roger just shook his head like it was no big deal.

 No big deal your ass.

 "What about those monthly checkups she mentioned? We have to make it look like we share that bedroom! And what of the neighbours?! Tina is probably telling them about the “new couple next door” right now!“

 Roger stopped nodding his head and drumming his fingers. He actually sat and thought about the situation, and considered your worries.

 He was personally fine with what he did. He’d dealt with fake relationships before when it came to publicity.

 However, in your defence, you were not accustomed to doing something like this, and that made him begin to feel a little guilty.

 "Look y/n, I’m sorry. I didn’t think things would be this complicated.” He tried to think of upsides to the situation in order to calm you, although very few came up.  

“You aren’t exactly a very social person. We don’t have to have an awful housewarming party or have weekend barbecues at the kind middle-aged couple’s a few doors down.”

 "What are you saying?“

 Roger smiled at you the like how he did in Tina’s office.

 "I’m saying… we only have to pretend to be a couple in public. In the complex. That’s all. It’s not like we’re going to live day-to-day as an actual couple. We’ll go to work, get together afterwards, sleep in different beds, repeat. Just like at Brian’s.”

 "… Are you sure it’ll be that simple?“

 Roger shrugged. "We just need to remember to be a little more romantic and touchy around people. Besides, how hard can it really be?”

 His response echoed through your head for the rest of the car ride home.

 How hard can this really be?

                                                                 A/A/N: I know this one is really shitty and short, but I promise it will pick up after this.

As always, suggestions and feedback are always welcome. Maybe help contribute to my stories by giving me ideas below!

@benders-diamond-earring @radiob-l-a-hblah @bohemiansweede @demo-wise @culturefiendtrashqueen

The Couple Next Door IV (Roger Taylor x Female!Reader)

Find Part III Here

A/N: Happy Early Valentine’s Day, Y’all! I wrote a lot for the next part of this series, so I decided to split them up in two chapters. I’m posting this one tonight, and the other will be up at some point tomorrow afternoon.

This chapter is in 3rd Person Omniscient for Rogie like the previous one, and the reader will not be in this chapter but the next one, so I apologize if it’s not that good.

Don’t forget to show your support and enjoyment for the fic by leaving likes, comments, and reblogging!

Summary: Roger has a chat with the band, and does some more thinking.

(Roger can be Ben Hardy!Rog or Real!Rog. Whatever stirs your soup.)

WARNINGS: Swearing, s l o w  b u r n, Mentions of sex (BuT nO sMuT [yet(?)]), no revision and editing bc I’m lazy, I think that’s it.

This one is leaning more towards an M rating than a T, so read at your own risk.

“Eh… no no no. Take it from the top. Roger?”

 The blond looked through the window to Freddie, who just made it to the practice. 

 He was wearing some ridiculous flashy outfit as usual, a pair of massive white sunglasses resting on the bridge of his nose while an equally distracting burgundy coat made its presence known on the singer’s shoulders. Whether he wore a shirt underneath is still a mystery.

 In his right hand, Freddie held a steaming hot cup of tea, gripped tight by his long fingers, each nail painted black. From the waist down, although he couldn’t see, Roger wouldn’t be surprised if Freddie was wearing booty shorts.

 "You okay, Love?“ 

 He only responded with a simple thumbs up, and an unenthusiastic look on his face; and although Fred didn’t seem too convinced, the music started playing, and Roger tried his part again.

 "Been out of the flow all morning,” Brian informed the frontman, biting his thumbnail and crossing his legs from the wall he leaned against. “He got here, and didn’t count us in the first few times we played. Figured he needed some time to play for himself.”

 "Hm,“ Freddie acknowledged, taking a peek at some loose papers scattered around the control desk and taking a sip of his tea.

 "And how long ago did you two decide this?“ 

 "Forty five minutes ago,” John grumbled at his spot at the control desk, legs crossed, and head propped up with his hand in bore. 

 "We tried confronting him and he’s not speaking,“ Brian explained. “Gave you a call and no one answered the phone. We assumed you were on your way.”

 Freddie looked around the room, and he pointed at the second, empty seat at the control desk. “Where’s–”

 After another timing mistake, Roger flung his drumstick towards the window, shouting profanities when the stick just riccoched and hit him right back, and startling the other three men in the process. 

 "… Y/n,“ Freddie finished carefully, eyes wide and focused on Roger’s movements. 

 "We both assume she’s got somethin’ to do with it. He won’t say anything.” John mumbled with a shrug. 

 Freddie pursed his lips, and sighed, scanning the control desk for the PA system’s button. 

 "Rog, my Love. Just… put the drumsticks down.“

 Roger, who was about to send his second drumstick against the wall to meet the fate his first one did, lowered his arm slowly to his side, eyeing his band’s frontman in the window, who was twiddling his fingers at him. 

 "Good. Now, come on in here. We’re all gonna sit down. Have a chat.“ 

 Roger’s shoulders slumped, and he left the recording room so he could regroup with his three other bandmates. Roger just frowned. Just as he suspected, Freddie was sporting a pair of body shorts. 

 Freddie moved his eyes from Roger to the empty seat next to John. 

 The drummer dropped into the chair, letting it roll him a little bit away from the staring eyes of the others. 

 "The others here tell me you’ve been a little… upset, since you’ve been here this morning." 

 Roger scoffed, and tried to stand from his chair, but Freddie dropped a comforting hand on his shoulder. 

 "I know there’s something wrong,” Freddie quietly mumbled. “We just wanna help you. Tell us what’s wrong, and you’re helping us, too.”

 Roger chewed the inside of his cheek, looking guiltily towards John and Brian. “… Hope you know I didn’t mean to shout earlier, yeah?" 

 "Kind of assumed so, yeah,” John offered a kind smile, to which Roger tried to return, but he just looked uncomfortable. 

 "It’s uh… it’s just, um…“

 "Is… y'know… is y/n okay?”

 Roger’s smile fell. “Wait, why? Why would she not be okay? Did you get a phone call from her?!” Roger stood up, “oh my God, is she okay?!”

 "Hey, hey, hey, calm down, calm down!“ Brian intervened, hands up. "She’s fine. We’ve heard nothing from her. We were just asking you.”

 Roger sat back down, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand and sighing deeply. “Look, I’m sorry. Yes. Yeah, it is her. She’s… Driving me nuts right now.”

 "Why now? You two were perfectly fine last week.“

 "It’s been the interactions with the neighbours,” Roger complained. “do you know how hard it is not to start sweating every time we hold hands in public now?”

 John frowned. “But… You hold other girls’ hands all the time. Why would y/n be different?”

 "I don’t know! I don’t know and that’s why I’m like this!“

 Freddie smirked, and Roger could sense the glint in his eyes despite them still being covered by his sunglasses.

 "Seems to me,” Freddie popped his lips. “Roger’s in love with y/n.”

 John smirked at the thought, and Brian had this wide grin on his face Roger really wanted to slap off.

 "Fred, I really don’t think that’s the problem here–“ 

 ”‘Ts weird. I’ve always had a thing for y/n, maybe I’m in love with her.“ 

 "Seeing a girl naked by accident doesn’t mean you’re in love with her, John.” Roger snapped back nearly immediately, to which Brian chimed in: 

 "Funny how you’re the one telling John that when I had to say the same thing to you in high school.“

 Roger was mad, but he was even more embarrassed. His face was a deep scarlet, and Freddie wasn’t sure if the colour of Roger’s cheeks were because of his fury, or because he knew Brian was right. 

 "Come talk to me, Roger. Talk to the King of Love,” Freddie coaxed Roger with his index finger as he fell back dramatically on the sofa against the wall opposite the control table. 

 Roger simply rolled his eyes and relocated to the empty seat on the sofa by Freddie’s feet. The frontman kicked his bare legs out and crossed them over Roger’s lap while stretching this thin arms and placing them behind his head.

 "When’d this all start happening, Rog? I mean the weird feelings.“ 

 To this, the drummer simply shrugged. "Last week we had dinner at the neighbours’. The husband was talking about children, and marriage, and it was like…" 

 Brian and John raised their eyebrows expectantly. 

 "It was like I wasn’t acting anymore.”

 Freddie gave a knowing smile, and hummed gently. “Did you feel comfortable? Being domestic and romantic with her?" 

 "Fred, I’ve lived with those two for three years, and they have zero personal space.” Brian’s eyes moved from his reflection in Freddie’s sunglasses to the stressful gaze in Roger’s. “… is it different?”

 "Bri, I had women over all the time when we lived with you. I had no reason to have a girlfriend. I slept around, got the physical affection I needed, and she was just a friend…“

 John pursed his lips. ”Was,“

 Roger nodded a little, his eyes casting downward and burning holes into his already torn jeans. "Yeah. Was." 

 The blond suddenly looked up at his other bandmates. "We’re pretending to be a couple in a conservative, strict neighbourhood. It’s not like y/n would allow me to invite groupies home with us while catty neighbours spy on us from across the way. I’m not getting the physical attention I used to have, especially since sleeping around is impossible now." 

 The room then fell silent, and no one exactly made an immediate effort to say anything. 

 And then John gave a half-shrug. 

 "Why don’t you ask y/n?" 

 "Ask her what?”

 "Ask her to give you that attention,“ Freddie finished John’s point in a matter-of-fact tone. 

 ”No,“ Roger gasped. "No. No no no!" 

 "What? It’s a great idea,” Brian tried to reason. 

 "It’s bloody suicide! What would she think of me?! A sex-addict? A creep? A waste of time?“

 ”Roger,“ Brian stopped Roger’s listing. "She’s a single, gorgeous woman who loves you with all her heart, romantically-speaking, or not. You two already have this sort of secret commitment thing happening anyways but with housing rather than physical affection.”

 "And your point is…?“ 

 Freddie took over for Brian then with a sigh. "She has nothing to lose. You have nothing to lose. Why would adding onto your deal be a bad thing?" 

 To this, Roger didn’t respond. He didn’t have an answer. Freddie continued. "You sleep with women with no strings attached all the time. Living with your best friend while also bedding her doesn’t seem like a bad idea. What are you gonna do, catch feelings for her? You’re just horny.”

 "… Do you really think that’s all that’s wrong?“ 

 "That you’re stressed and just need a good lay?” John clarified.

 "Absolutely.“

 It was almost as if a weight had been lifted off Roger’s shoulders. All of his past issues were gone, out of his mind. 

He had nothing to worry about. 

 "There’s that smile we all needed,” Freddie gushed at Roger, who lowered his head in mild embarrassment. 

 "C'mon Rog. Let’s get to work.“ Freddie jumped up to stand before the control table, and Brian took a seat next to John. Roger returned to his drum kit inside the recording room, and after a count-in, Roger started drumming. 

 Needless to say, practice was flawless for the rest of the day.

_______________________________

A/A/N: I hope y’all enjoyed! Remember, new chapter up tomorrow!

@culturefiendtrashqueen @luvborhap @amy-brooklyn99 @scarsout @kimmietea @ohtheseboysilove @demo-wise @suavishowell @bohemianahoy @pippin248

Me when people start talking about Skyrim

I Watched a Beatles Tribute Band Live on a M*crodose

So I may or may not have taken a mushr**m m*crodose before a Beatles Tribute concert. And while it was only a t*nth of a gr*m I may or may not have consumed, it made it much easier during the show to convince myself that what I was seeing was real: the actual Beatles playing as opposed to impersonator musicians.

I know this is literally what impersonator musicians are meant to do, try to convince you for an hour or two that they're the real band, but I never imagined how accurate they were going to be with everything.

Their sound (instruments AND voices), their costumes, their playing, their hair, their faces/facial expressions, and right down to their mannerisms (Ringo's head movement, Paul's "y'know"s during dialogue) these guys didn't miss. With the first note that struck out through the venue, I just knew the next two hours were going to be the best experience of my life. And I was absolutely right about that.

My mother raised me with the Beatles playing every Sunday morning as we did family chores in the house, the 2006 album "LOVE" on constant repeat from the CD player in the background. It was my favourite day of the week for years. I don't remember when we fell out of that routine. I miss it.

But tonight, these four men gave me back a sense of happiness I haven't experienced since my childhood.

They made me completely fall in love with the Beatles all over again. Not only with their music, but I've come to gain a much deeper appreciation for each individual member of the band for the roles they played to make themselves the huge phenomena they were.

I'm still under the effects of the m*cro, and being on here and seeing photos of John, Paul, George, and Ringo together, and even on their own, after experiencing the show I just had, breaks my heart, yet it's being simultaneously mended back together with reminders of the love, and the dedication I saw in the performers' souls tonight.

They made it all feel so damn real, and I feel like the child within me, the little girl in the living room singing away to Eleanor Rigby with her mother, would have been elated to know that she was one day going to experience such a remarkable spectacle of art that fuelled her joy of music, then and many, many more years to come.

This band is so tremendously important to me, and I was reminded tonight in the most beautiful, transforming way possible.💙

Across the Universe II (Paul McCartney x Female!Reader)

Find Part One Here

A/N: I just checked chapter 1 and I literally put it up over a year ago. Shit. I just wrote a part 2, and finally got ahold of a computer to post it. I hope you's enjoy it. my last chapter had like... 20 likes altogether, so hopefully this chapter will draw some readers in.

Summary: Paul makes it to the Princeton campus where he not only reunites with his cousin Vick, but he meets a fellow stoner named Max. From there, the boys indulge in some Ivy League Hospitality.

WARNINGS: Drinking, swearing, smoking psychoactive substances (Cannabis), just dumb college guys doing dumb college shit. also, it's probably got mistakes bc I suck at revising

This is just a statement clearing up that none of these characters are mine except for Vick. Everyone else belongs to those who were involved in and/or collaborated with Julie Taymor in making the Across The Universe film (2007)

I'll rate this one a T seeing as the substance use isn't THAT bad.

"Vick Hoffner?"

"Try across the way, man. I think there's a Vick of sorts there."

Paul simply nodded at the stranger before turning on his heel and making a beeline to the next apartment, his hands fiddling with his useless book of contacts.

What was the point of giving me your number if you won't even pick up the phone?

He sighed, and rubbed his eyes tiredly with the palm of his hand. He'd been hitchhiking for two days just to get to the Princeton Campus, and then a few hours going through the closest rented apartments to locate him.

This was apartment number 9.

And it was nearing one AM.

Paul rapped weakly at the door, silently concluding that this would be the last place to check before finding somewhere to sleep until the next morning.

The door swung open, and Paul was face-to-face with this college kid who seemed to be about his age. He had unkempt blonde hair that curled around his ears, patchy stubble, and big blue eyes hazed over with the red assault of cannabis in his system.

Despite this, and the nearly empty beer bottle in his hand, the guy looked like he was keeping it together pretty well.

Paul cleared his throat, and raised an eyebrow. "... Vick Hoffner?"

"Nah, man. He's out at the moment gettin' drinks," the guy paused, and looked at Paul for a moment.

"Hey, hold on, you're not... Vick's cousin, are you?"

"Would it be an issue?" Paul asked sarcastically, to which the other guy responded after a laugh, "Nah. I just can't wait for him to get back and find out you got the better looks."

Paul just rolled his eyes, a smile on his lips. "Probably don't matter. He's the brains n' so is me brother. 'S what really matters; though I take pride in this thing." Paul pointed teasingly at his face.

The other guy smiled, pulling two cigarettes from behind his ear. He offered one to Paul, and he claimed the other. He lit the both of their cigs, and they each took a long drag after Paul scanned the apartment hallway for any angry tenants who happened to be against smoking indoors.

"So... does Vick's "pretty boy" cousin have a name?"

Paul nodded like the fact that he had a name was astounding information, but he smiled genuinely before bringing the cigarette back to his lips. "It's Paul."

"Max," The blond shoved his hand out, and the boys shook hands firmly. Max eyed Paul again."Where's that accent from, Paul?"

"Same place as me," Paul answered as he shoved his free hand in his pocket, blowing out smoke a moment after. "Liverpool."

"But why come to America?" Max gestured Paul into the apartment as he spoke, closing the door behind them. "Kill someone? Were you on the run from the cops? FBI?"

"'Sounds like you'd be one to know 'bout all of that." The boys took a seat on the couch in the centre of the room as their cigarettes slowly burned away as they chatted.

"Hey, hey, I've barely ever been in trouble with the cops, but I have pissed off every professor in Princeton, and have broken several campus windows."

" 'nd... you're proud of it?"

"I'm an adrenaline junkie, what can I say? Smashed nearly forty five windows and despite being Princeton's number one vandalidm suspect, I'm still not expelled. Y'know why?" Paul leaned in a little, enough to catch the dank scent of weed, and Max lowered his voice. "... because they can never prove it's me."

" 'nd why is that?"

The answer to Paul's question burst right through the apartment door.

"There's three more of us, and it could be any of them!" One of which, Paul could surprisingly recognize.

"Vick. Long time no see," Paul rose to his feet, and Vick, who'd set a six-pack of beer on the coffee table between them, greeted his cousin with a friendly hug and some "how are you"s.

Despite being an intelligent young man, Paul noticed that Vick behaved a little less like how he used to: polite, conservative, and proper. It was suspected that his behaviour changed because his newfound freedom at Uni allowed him to experience and access things that he would have been otherwise restricted from when he was younger.

Booze was one of them.

Dope was another.

In fact, he wordlessly cracked open a beer for Paul, and handed it to him like he'd asked for a drink in the first place.

Paul wasn't a huge drinker. It was never a vice of his, or anything like that either. He got shitfaced every once in a while for fun.

But when he brought that aluminum can up to his lips, Paul would never have guessed that it would have led to the night it did.

Five minutes after Vick and his buddies returned, Max brought out the roach Paul suspected he was sucking on before he got there.

With enthusiastic cheers from around the room, Max lit the sucker up, took a nice drag from the hot remainders of the joint, and passed it on to Paul.

Paul looked at the roach, almost as if he was confused. No one had asked him if he'd ever smoked before, but Max and the others yelled hurriedly over top of one another, instructing for Paul to suck in quickly and hold the smoke in for as long as he could.

It resulted in a coughing fit, and encouraging pats on the back from the other guys. Vick ended up taking the roach next, and Max reached out across the table.

"Have another one of these, my friend," he slid over another beer after cracking it open just moments before, despite the fact that Paul wasn't quite finished his first drink.

"Y'know, the more you cough, the higher you get? Pretty fucking sick. Like a win-win, man. You don't cough: You're high. You cough: You're super high."

As time went on, and Paul nursed his second drink more responsibly than the first one, things, ironically, started making less and less sense to him.

At one point, he was talking to the guy sitting across from him, and he just stopped talking for a whole ten seconds before turning to Max and asking "what the fuck was I just talking about?"

"Who fucking knows." The blond's shoulders shook as he tried suppressing his laughs, but eventually Paul just burst out into laughs and uncontrollable tears.

And everyone followed suit.

He had absolutely no idea how he got there, or how long he'd been there for, but sitting before Paul were now two empty Tankards. A waitress just set down another to him, and collected the table's empty glasses.

They were in a bar.

Max sat beside Paul as he watched Vick spectate the other two guys play pool.

For the life of him, Paul couldn't remember those guys' names, despite knowing he was told multiple times in the last few hours. To be fair, being drunk and stoned is a perfectly reasonable explanation as to how one forgets another's name. He supposed it didn't exactly matter, anyways.

"So, you got any hot sisters abroad I should know about?" Paul gave Max a funny look  but it may have been because it took so long for Paul's brain to register what had been asked.

"... No. Do you?"

"I've got two younger sisters; one's eight, and the older one's a little on the uglier side," though he didn't say it, Max's little smile indicated to Paul that he was joking about the last comment.

Paul and Max watched the boys play pool a little longer until the eight ball was pocketed.

"Wanna play?" Paul's head snapped to his left, and he nodded at Max's offer.

The other guys traded off, and Vick continued spectating. Max made the first break, and Paul watched as the cue ball rolled right into one of the pockets. Well, it seemed to have been only him to notice, because Max's eyes were instead trained on a brunette woman passing the two.

She looked over her shoulder to wink at Max, and rather than gouging his reaction, she simply walked off and took a seat alone in the corner of the bar.

"Do you believe in love at first sight, McCartney?"

"Well, I'm sure that it 'appens all the time. Never 'appened to me, personally."

"You just need to find the right one, my friend.." Max trailed off again, eyes still locked on the bird in the corner. He was slowly inching from the table and toward her. Max eventually just set the cue on the table and completely abandoned their game to talk to this girl, who flashed him a flirty smile with her bright white teeth and painted lips.

Paul watched Max amusedly, taking a swig from his beer and memorizing the moves Max was putting on his lady friend, who was clearly enjoying his company.

Maybe Paul wanted to get better at approaching certain women. He knew how to flirt, and be charming. It's not like he'd never had girlfriends. He'd had his fair share of girls in his teenage years, and he had Molly now back in Liverpool.

But Paul, at this moment, in his crossfaded brain, realized that he didn't want to attract the women he had been anymore. Just from her visual appearance, and how she was reacting to Max's charming flirts, Paul could sense an airiness to her personality. She was always smiling, inching closer, initiating physical contact by nudging his hand with her own, the list goes on.

Hell, even on her happiest days, Molly would be reluctant to kiss Paul, but he'd excuse her behaviour because she was just a regularly bitchy person who hated public displays of affection.

Or hardly any affection at all, it seemed.

Needless to say, Max returned to the table five minutes later with a phone number and a big red lipstick stain on his cheek. So to celebrate, the gang decided to go golfing.

"Here she is, Window Way," Max introduced Paul to the roof of their apartment building. The other boys started giggling at the name "Window Way". Each guy had their own club, Max held a bag of golf balls, and Vick carried another six pack.

Max set his things down and took in the crisp night air as Vick opened yet another beer for each of the boys. Max took a can for him, and one for Paul, and proceeded to show his new buddy just why he called it "Window Way".

"A Driver will send a ball..." Max pointed his arm straight out in front of him, his finger pointing right towards the windows of the Princeton Campus library.

"...Straight towards the school," Paul finished. He turned to look at Max. "You guys do this every night?"

"Paul, I do this all day. I barely go to class anymore."

"Hey, Max! You tee first!" One of the nameless guys called out to them. Max brandished the widest of grins before rushing to grab his club, a ball, and a green tee from his pocket. "Hey, Paulie, wanna help me out by holding my tee up?"

"Well, how'd I do that without gettin' hit?"

The other boys started laughing again, and Paul was genuinely confused until he found himself lying on his back seconds later, and the bottom of the tee between his lips, which only got heavier when Max set the ball down onto it.

If he were sober in this moment, Paul would not have been this comfortable with someone swinging a golf club full force towards his head and then trust their judgement regardless of their in intoxicity that they'd hit their target...

It was a good thing Max had been doing this for a long time, because wow, did that ball ever fly.

Paul watched in stoned disbelief as the ball soared far off into the distance and over the roof of the library. And while no one had seen it, they certainly heard the shatter from the other side of the building.

And that's when all five boys ran away from administration retired back to their room to light up a new joint Vick had also brought home as a surprise. They all sat around and lazily talked to one another about how crazy Max's shot was, and while some of them were falling in and out of sleep, Max insisted they all stay up to watch the sky change colour from the courtyard.

Paul didn't know how he stayed up any longer than he did, but he pulled through like a trooper, and they all watched the sky change as they lay down in the fallen leaves. But as soon as they all came back to their room for a final time, Paul dragged himself in exhaustion to the living room chair to sit, but he just slipped out of it onto the floor, and that's when his body decided to turn off on its own.

The other guys dropped to the ground or onto the furniture like dead flies, and within ten seconds of the door closing, the room was quiet.

And it stayed like that for nearly ten hours.

Paul woke up that evening with a raging headache and multiple trips to the bathroom to be sick, but now three things were certain for him: He definitely had one hell of a time, he definitely wanted to hang out with Max a lot more, and that evening Paul definitely got by with a little help from his new friends.

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A/A/N: alrighty, if this chapter doesn't do too too bad, I'll see about continuing this story. I've got chapter 3 pretty much done as well, I'm just in the midst of revising it. If you want more, by all means, PLEASE let me know!

I absolutely love your new series!! When will you be able to post the second chapter??

Oh god, which one? I'm posting part II of Lift Confessions in about half an hour, and I'm just putting together general ideas for part II of the Couple Next Door. Hopefully that'll be up before this Sunday coming. Hope this was helpful!💞