Martinanselmo​:

YOU (2018 - PRESENT) 3x08: Swing and a Miss

annalisechambersx​:​

Annie really felt like she was living her best life in New York. Sure, she missed home and she missed her family, but New York just felt like the place for her. She loved her job, she loved her friends, she loved the day life and she really loved the night life. There was just something about walking around New York at night and seeing all the lights mixed with the hustle and bustle. It was exactly what she wanted.

A couple nights a week, after work, she would head out to a bar, just wanting to unwind a little and maybe meet some new people. She had no fear when it came to speaking to people. Which, really, was a dangerous thing considering she could very well get hurt doing that…but it hadn’t happened yet. So she was feeling confident it wouldn’t. Probably. When Annie approached the bar, the barmaid smiled warmly at her and got to work on her favorite drink, the Cosmopolitan. After a minute or so, she was passed the drink and a straw, and she was moving through the bar, her chocolate hues dancing around.

She just hung around for a bit, sipping idly on her drink when she spotted a man that appeared to be alone. That was sad. Annie didn’t like seeing that. She didn’t mind being alone. She believed that she was meant to be. But that wasn’t the case for everyone else. With her signature smile on her face, she crossed the room and the approached the man, her curls bouncing as she did so, “Have you ever had their wings here?” She asked, a little randomly, “I’m not much for chicken wings. But there’s something about them here.” She giggled quietly and shrugged, “Actually most of their food is pretty good now that I think about it…”

-

Fucking-tourist-implant, a sputter of thoughts left his head as he passed by some dude in a spankin new I Heart NY t-shirt. He didn’t know why that had bothered him too much on this particular evening. But as he got older, he grew to see just how crowded this edge of the east coast was. Yeah, that’s what it was, the city was becoming too saturated. his mood wasn’t sour because his mouth was dry, he told himself. he always downplayed how much he needed his vice even lying to himself. but he couldn’t lie that the world became a bit nicer when he sat in that stool with the cold sweat of his drink at his fingertips. 

it sipped slowly now, savoring how the taste had rose the hairs on neck and gave him the feeling of goosebumps. he was at his usual bar, truly in his own element tonight. he liked the people watching, the food for a bar was decent, and the bartender was great company when available. he was fine just as he was, just another typical night. 

“Uh—erm,” leo cleared his throat of his initial surprise. people didn’t usually approach him because he was always scowling. he could have sworn he had the same look he always did. but now he was surprised, meeting brown eyes far warmer than his own could ever be. he paused, wondering if he should even reply to this stranger’s sudden presence. he could easily let out a big gruff and walk off. but this was his spot. his brow quirked when she spoke about the other food items as if she had them. he, of course, had sampled the whole menu once. 

“Order what you want.” He shrugged then pinched his glass in his dominant hand. his gaze on the stranger was still cautious. his expression was not friendly nor rude. “But yeah, the food’s pretty good.”

annalisechambersx​:

She sat there, waiting for the screaming to begin. It wouldn’t be the first time someone had embarrassed her in public because of a mistake she had made. It certainly wasn’t going to the last. It was fine. She just wouldn’t come back to this bar. She would find a new one that Leo didn’t come to and they would never have to cross paths again. It would be fine. Everything was always fine. Annie was really good at avoiding people.

But much to her surprise, it never came. Her brows furrowed in confusion. In fact, he seemed to…open up a bit more. She blinked a few times, trying to process everything. She shook her head, her curls shaking with it, “No, no. It’s not your fault. Really. I-It’s mine. I should have checked. It was really stupid of me not to. I’m sorry.” She swallowed a lump that grown in her throat before she stopped rubbing her hands nervously together. Devin hated it when she do that.

Annie shook her hands out and turned a bit more towards Leo, “You don’t?” She asked, “I only really like football.” Annie paused for a moment before she spoke again and giggled, “American football, I mean. Soccer is boring.” She had always thought that. But American football was pretty interesting, surprisingly. She just never really went out of her way to watch it. She was more drama TV show kind of gal.

“Can I get you another drink?” Annie asked suddenly, sitting up a bit, looking towards the bartender, “What is it that you’re drinking? Just whiskey?” She asked, looking at the glass. She wasn’t great at picking out drinks, to be quite honest, “I should have put two and two together.” She shook her head, still thinking about her mistake, “If you wanted a beer, you would have had one.” Yeah, that was stupid.

-

She had giggled and he took that as a win. Though it seemed to be this fear that kind of blanket over her, that he still couldn’t take off. He thought all things involving a ball and men were boring. Women’s sports, however... “Whiskey,” he answered, the amount in left in his cup lightening in amber as it began to water down further. He was about to finish it off, but he couldn’t let this conversation continue like this. He couldn’t stand to just watch someone with a sweet disposition and face tear herself down. 

“Yes, I’ll take that whiskey but, only if you could stop doing that?” He asked, again so blunt, and never in a rightful place. “I’m not the nicest, but I’m being a lot nicer to you than you are being to yourself.” He said, making the observation out loud. A little cruel in the name of being honest, but he kept his voice even and gentle as he could. His eyes became a little wide as he said a little punchline to hopefully make his words not sound so serious, “Like, geez, Annie who hurt you?”

text; leo ⇄ danny

danny: How could I forget the hot baker

danny: Did u do some fucked up kinky shit with food bc I do not want to hear about it

leo: and that's a story I'll never tell

leo: well, remember how she was pregnant and she told me that the baby wasn't mine?

...

leo: it's mine

xbhandri​:

I can’t do this. I shouldn’t do this. I wouldn’t. Xavier just sat there and listened as Leo gave a million and one reasons as to why he shouldn’t audition. He let him go on, but really, he didn’t know why. No matter what Leo said, he had an answer for. He wasn’t going to let his friend back out of this. And besides, maybe if he felt so strongly, he didn’t have to audition for Roger. Just being backup in RENT was something, right?

“Leo… There is no future… There is no past. Thank God this moments not the last,” he started to sing. He couldn’t really turn this down, right? What was RENT if not a way to say #yolo in an epidemic. You still have time, don’t waste it. “There’s only us, there’s only this, forget regret, or life is yours to miss,” he stood up from his seat to move closer to Leo. “No other to road, no other way, no day but today.”

Xavier took Leo’s face in his hands to look him in the eye. “I can’t control my destiny. I trust my soul. Will you wake tomorrow from this nightmare? We won’t fucking know until you do it. There’s only now, there’s only here. Give in to love, or live in fear. No other path, no other way. No day but today.”

-

Leo parted his lips out of awe but this time just stretched into a knowing smile. Of course Xavier would know exactly how to fan the flames of his heart. His best friend was just as eccentric and playful as he was, but somehow, Xavier knew how to stunningly straddle the line between being too much and not enough. He watched him sing the beautiful words written by Jonathan Larson. Leo’s mind began accompanying his voice with the instrumentals he knew by memory. The music and lyrics made the intention of Xavier’s performance grow. Leo really should at least try. Because if not today, when? No day but today. 

He looked down for a moment, only to feel hands on his face, and at this he had to smile again. He immediately looked back into Xav’s gaze, letting his friend caress his face as he sang RENT to him. If anyone were to walk in right now, they wouldn’t get it, and that is so them. His heart was appreciative at the effort to change his mind. His thoughts began to sink onto the possibility of just trying out. He was silent for one moment. Then he exhaled slowly, “Forget regret, right?” 

Penn Badgley as Joe Goldberg in YOU (2018- )

renfarber​:

She’d thought she’d be prepared for this. She’d thought that enough time had passed (what was it, almost a decade now?), and that she’d moved on, and she was over what had happened… but she wasn’t. She was smiling, looking at him now, because he looked so much like the boy she’d loved. She was smiling, but her heart had sunk, and her brain was so focused on his face that it forgot to remind her to breathe.

“No,” she said - too loudly for the quiet, echoing theatre, “no, please don’t go. It’s a good movie… I’ve heard. I haven’t seen it, but… that’s kind of the appeal.” Of course, she didn’t need to explain that to Leo. Anyone else on Earth, maybe, but this familiar-but-distant man, standing in shock ten feet from her, giving her almost the same expression he had the last time she’d seen him… he already knew. He knew her love of new things, new experiences, new places, new people. He’d loved that about her once. And it had hurt him in the end.

When she finally remembered how to move, she made her way toward him. Slowly, gingerly, like he were a wild animal or a broken bird, and might either attack or flee if she moved too suddenly. She would deserve both, she knew, even if it had been ten years. But selfishly, she just wanted to see him.

The lights went down, and the projector came on, and they were still standing, staring, closer now but still unsure of each other. “Will you stay?” Ren whispered.

-

Her loud protest to him leaving echoed tremendously. It stopped him in his slow attempt to leave. And quite honestly it warmed him up a bit. It was a good surprise to know that she wanted him to stay and enjoy the film. He hadn’t seen it either, but he couldn’t find himself to speak up as he was grew overwhelmed and overstimulated by everything. He was at a crossroads of what to do. He knew had this meeting been less than the decade that passed he’d already be out the door. Hell, maybe even popcorn in her hair.

Leo’s feet stepped back once she began her approach towards him. He had only stopped when he remembered his drink on the ground. He was stuck between making a mess or allowing her closer. He went with the latter. It did offer him a chance to look at her better. Her hair was in braids, he’d never seen it styled like that before. He also noticed her tattoo collection had grown. When his own collection had diminished.

But it was different now. He was different. He had love coming at him from multiple hearts. Love that he had desperately wanted from just one heart, years ago. Hers. Did he still feel that way now? With his heart strings being pull down by someone on his phone and with broken vows he pretended to keep with his wife? The lights turning down and glow of the hazy film lit the room. It shown upon her face in such a familiar way. He would usually stare at her in this light to watch her reaction when they shared this pastime. He blinked and answered her wordlessly, by sitting back down in his seat. His eyes never moved off of her. He just kept looking at her with an air of anticipation. It took him a bit too long to let it go and turn his head to the screen. He began to become too aware of his own breathing as he felt the side of body she was at heat up. He parted his lips to say something but quickly closed it to focus on the film. But just a moment later, he did once again.

renfarber​:

who: @le0davis​ where: some half-abandoned theatre in lower manhattan what: in which leo and ren get slapped in the face with nostalgia

This wasn’t Ren’s first time away from Max, but it still felt weird every time she left him with her mom. Being alone felt unnatural now, like she was missing a limb. She’d spent her entire life trying not to get too attached to anyone at all, and now here she was, heart aching for a boy. All that being said, she did find a moment to marinate in the eerie silence of the almost-abandoned cinema. Just as she’d suspected, there was absolutely no one in here, and the ticket seller had looked at her like maybe she was a ghost.

The film was an obscure horror film from the 50s called The Creeping Unknown, and the old floors creaked as she made her way through the empty auditorium to find a seat. It was the perfect atmosphere for some much-needed alone time… but then she saw the mop of curls peeking over a seat in one of the middle rows. Not only had this intruder invaded her quiet night, but they’d also taken the best seat in the place. Despite herself, she was intrigued, and made her way over, just to see what kind of person had the same strange idea of a fun night…

But of course it was him.

“…Leo?” she asked (but who else would it be?). 

-

Leo needed a moment to himself that didn’t involve women, work, or alcohol. he needed the silence and care that a theatre could give him. He scored as he sat down on the perfect seat, dead center of the entire theatre. It was completely empty. Just him and the silver screen. It was a haven that he hadn’t had in a long time. And of course, it was an obscure science fiction horror film was a comforting choice for him. He sat comfortably with a small bucket of popcorn in one hand with his soda on the ground in front of the left seat beside him. 

He had heard the theatre creak but had thought nothing of it. Until he had heard a voice, he flinched at the sound of his name. Who had found him here in his safe space? He turned his head to see the owner of the voice. He looked at her, stunned, with his hand frozen in his popcorn bucket. “R-ren?” he questioned with narrowed eyes as he looked upon her in the dim lighting. He couldn’t believe it. and then it happened, a brief flash of the first time he saw her to the painful last time he had seen her. it was like his heart in his chest was given a tight squeeze and dragged down to his stomach. “uhh,” he drawled through the pain. it had been ten years but it felt like yesterday, seeing her now. “i’ll leave.” he blurted out, standing up so abruptly, bits of popcorn flung everywhere. 

text; leo ⇆ ana

Ana: I miss you, Leonardo. I wish I could talk more than I do, I'm thankful you understand why I can't. How've you been?

Leo: Haha, do I understand or am I just forced to accept it to have you?

Leo: I've been fine besides wanting to see you.

Leo: Sorry that I'll never stop asking.

krosxn​:

Katz had been too wrapped up in organizing his office before hearing the knock. He briefly wondered who it was before hearing the slur of Leo. With a sigh, he went to the door to let him in. Blinking at the man, he helped him inside and shut the door behind. “Would you though? Because if you’re looking to get hired on, this is not the way to do it.” Clean him up, get him in bed, that’s what Katz’s goal was going to try to be tonight.

-

Leo was so out of it he didn’t realize he had been let in till Katz’ voice spooked him since he was so close. But after his delayed flinch, his mouth had stretched into a smile, seeing the friendly face he had seek out. “What do you mean? I’m just having fun.” He retaliated, not liking the ounce of judgement he sensed from Katz’s response. “This is the life, Katz!” he sang and began making his way further into Katz’ home with unstable legs yet he continued humming.