amfiguree | Future Unknown: Freefall

[Pre-slash] [American Idol] [David Archuleta/David Cook] [PG-13]

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Future Unknown: Freefall

PREVIOUSLY:

David realizes early on that Dean's a pretty quiet guy. He's perfect behind the camera; steady and unobtrusive. They've spent almost two months together now, and Dean's brought up the subject of his family a grand total of once, and hinted at a possible love life even fewer times.

On the other hand, David feels like he knows Jensen before he even meets the guy. Which David later learns to be thankful for, since it makes walking in on him and Jared in the midst of stumbling out of their clothes in the makeshift apartment next door slightly less surprising than it could potentially have been.

"Whoa," David says, as he jerks around to face the corridor. "Hang a sock on the door, guys, Jesus."

"You're welcome to watch," Jared calls back, laughter in his voice, and fuck if David doesn't consider the idea for a second (he's a twenty-odd, hot-blooded male being forced to live like a goddamn monk, okay, and he might be used to the force of Jared's smile, but Jensen, fuck, of course he considers) before snorting, "Yeah, think I'll pass, thanks," and slamming the door behind him.

Jared's laughter follows him out into the hall, and David wonders who he needs to talk to to get Dean a raise.

THIS WEEK:

It shouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure out he's being avoided, but Archie, David reflects, is a hell of a lot sneakier than people give him credit for.

Sure, they share the same living space, have been for a while now, so it's hard to miss the fact that Archie's been jumpier in the past couple of days than usual, but David chalks it up to album-related stress (Archie had found David slumped against the refrigerator a week back, and joined him there, almost sullenly, and eventually David had goaded him into saying, "Jive's been, they're sort of, um, they're giving me more control over the new album, I guess, I don't, they call them demands, but I'm not even really asking for anything, it's just, it's all really confusing." Which David believes completely, because Archie has a tough time saying no even to the really shitty songs when he's asked to give them a whirl) and lets it slide.

They both have to get back in the swing of things; there's contract negotiations, recording sessions and band meetings to sort out. He wakes up to an empty apartment and (usually) a bowl of cornflakes set out on the kitchen table in the early afternoons, and when he gets back, often past midnight, Archie's bedroom door is already shut and the apartment is dead quiet.

He tries writing out on the balcony for a couple of nights, but the silence is stifling, and he finds himself turning around to say, "Arch, do you think the verse is a little too high--" before he catches himself. He attempts a movie, but it isn't the same without Archie's commentary on the totally awesome soundtrack. Or without him cringing at the way David spills the popcorn all over their couch.

He isn't -- it actually gets pretty fucking lonely.

It doesn't even occur to him that Archie might be planning their colliding schedules until Dean says, "Dude, for roommates in the same business, you guys sure don't spend a lot of time together."

"Yeah," Jared chips in, from where he's fixing them all sandwiches for lunch. Archie's in a meeting with a new collaborator the label doesn't want getting leaked out, so Jared's taking a break from getting his filler shots. "Jeannie's already written him three memos about how he should stop redefining 'morning meetings'."

"What?" David says.

Jared pauses, looking genuinely confused. "Uh," he stalls. "Yeah, I - he said something about the two of you not wanting to fuel the competition, man, separate promo, stuff like that." He rubs the back of his neck. "He said you discussed this together."

"He what?"

"Mmm," Jared says, going back to chewing deliberately on his sandwich.

"By the way," Dean adds, after a pause. "The bathroom lock isn't working."

The thing is, Jared doesn't know Archie the way David does; sharing space the way they had during Idol has pretty much cemented the fact that few people ever will. So David roughs it out for a couple of days, waiting for a change that never comes. More than once, he catches himself hesitating outside Archie's door, one hand poised above the doorknob. He never turns it.

A strange, fraught tension starts to build, a burn hiding just under his skin that makes it hard to focus. Which is why he doesn't feel too guilty about talking Danielle into scoring him an appearance at the next promo event Archie's scheduled to attend. The producers are practically salivating at the chance to get them both at an event together, which leaves absolutely no room for Archie to worm his way out of it. David doesn't think about the fact that Archie might have tried, regardless.

The day of the premiere, Archie's already in the shower when David gets back from the studio, and he's waiting outside by the time David gets dressed, and when he puts both Jared and Dean between them in the car, David's stomach lurches. He banters obligingly with the camera on the ride over, but his heart isn't in it, and Archie shoots him a couple of furtive glances that make his chest knot. The journey feels like it lasts a lifetime, and David cuts himself off in the middle of saying, "I'm just here for Taylor Swift's autograph--" when they pull up at the venue so he can hop out of the car and sling an arm around Archie's neck before Archie decides to take off.

A dozen camera flashes go off in their faces.

"Hey," David says, conversationally.

It feels like being at Hollywood Week all over again when Archie flinches.

"Hi," Archie says, carefully.

David doesn't buy it for a second.

He doesn't let Archie go as they step onto the red carpet and smile for the cameras. Archie stays tense beside him, save a brief, brief moment where he feels Archie's fist clench against his back, into the fabric of his jacket. For fuck's sake, David thinks, confused and concerned, and he smiles a little wider as he guides Archie forward. "We can't stop today, guys," he tells the reporters. "You know how it is. Can't miss the beginning of a Jonas Brothers' movie."

He only lets Archie pull away when they've ducked inside, Dean and Jared lagging behind them. "Hey," David repeats, when Archie ducks his head. "What's going on, man? Are you okay?"

Archie jerks his head up, clearly startled. "Oh, I," he says, and stops. "Um."

David knows all the incarnations of Archie's 'um's by now, practically has them memorized, and this isn't his typical "I'm just being awkward, haha"-um, it's an "I'm genuinely uncomfortable and I don't really know what to do about it"-um. "Arch?"

"Yeah," Archie says finally, firmly. "I'm okay."

David pauses. That's a bald faced lie. "You sure?"

"Yes," Archie nods, and David feels his jaw clench, but he nods back, and watches as Archie scurries away, Jared following close behind.

"You're letting it go?" Dean asks. He sounds surprised.

Whatever it is -- and it's obvious now that there is a 'whatever' -- Archie clearly doesn't want to talk about it, and a public setting isn't the greatest place to be spilling their deepest, darkest secrets. They don't need to be putting any heart-to-heart ideas in their managers' heads.

Knowing that doesn't mean he has to like the wait.

David scrubs his hand over his mouth grimly. "For now."

The rest of the night goes by in a blur. Normally, the fact that Archie's sitting beside him in dark theater would be enough to get him through the JoBros 3-D Experience II, but tonight Archie is stiff and miserable beside him, and all David can think about is the fact that he doesn't know how they got here, if it was something he did, and how he could've missed it this long, if--

"Hey," Jared says, quietly, from where he's crouched by David's seat, and David startles. "Sorry, man, just - this is gonna run pretty late and it's not like the camera's allowed in here, so if it's okay, I'm just gonna--"

"Sure," David says. "Tell Dean to take off, too. We'll see you guys in the morning."

"Thanks," Jared laughs. "I don't wanna keep Jensen waiting if I can help it."

David isn't even paying attention anymore. He'd have to be blind to miss the way Archie pales at Jensen's name, the way he winces and ducks his head. Goddamn. "Yeah," David says, eventually, without taking his eyes off Archie. "You guys have a good night."

The ride back to the apartment is terse, the silence heavy between them. David doesn't even attempt to break it, and Archie fidgets uncomfortably in his seat and stares out the window like he needs to memorize the street names for a final. "I'm, um, I'm going to take a shower," Archie says, as soon as they're safely indoors.

"Archie," David says, but the bathroom door is already swinging shut.

David tugs a rough hand through his hair. He doesn't know how he managed to overlook this, Jesus, just - Archie acts more mature than he does most of the time, and they're so comfortable with each other now it's like being the same damn person. David's had roommates before, significant others and regular friends both, but it's never been this easy. Sometimes he forgets that, forgets he shouldn't--

The shower starts running, then, and David stills without realizing he's doing it. He waits a second, two, but Archie doesn't break out with Mraz, or Natalie Cole, or anyone, and fuck, that's a surefire sign that he's upset. It doesn't happen often.

Fuck it, David thinks, and takes a deep breath. "Arch?" He crosses the hall, and raps on the bathroom door. "David." There's no answer. "Archie, I know you can hear me. Look, did you think I wasn't going to notice the fact that you've been avoiding me? We live together, man, it's pretty hard to miss."

The sound of running water just grows louder, and David raises his voice to match it. "Yeah, nice, that's real mature, Archuleta. Come on, I know the Jensen thing is probably weirding you out because it's so close to home, but it's not like you've never - you've met Elton John!"

There's still no reply. "You know, if you're going to be uncomfortable around me, you could at least have given me a heads up. We could've worked around it. I'll even try to remember not to strip-tease before bed."

The shower's still going strong, and David sighs and leans his forehead against the door. "David--whoa!"

And suddenly David's stumbling inside the bathroom.

"Oh my heck--" Archie yelps, grabbing for the shower curtains. "Cook!"

It's not quick enough for David to miss a flash of honey-gold skin. He freezes for a second, mutely, before he manages to force his eyes up. Archie's hair is damp, glinting in the pale light, and there are drops of water clinging to his eyelashes. His eyes are wide, and his lips are wet and bruised, like he's been--

David's mouth goes dry, and he wrenches his gaze away. "Uh," he says, intelligently, as he fumbles for the doorknob. "Sorry. Sorry, the - fuck, the lock isn't working."

"Um," Archie says, still clutching desperately at the curtains. "I - we could maybe fix that later?"

David wants to make a joke, play the whole thing off, but his heart is pounding in his chest like he's some kind of fucking blushing virgin, and it takes a second to get his bearings. "Right," he croaks, eventually, and has to clear his throat to try again. "Right."

He ducks outside, quickly, but pauses just before he pulls the door shut. He pops his head back in again, eyes still averted, and has to try not to laugh when Archie yelps in protests. "Uh," he says. "Just so we're clear, this talk isn't over."

"Oh my gosh," Archie says, and David doesn't even have to look to know he's blushing. "Cook!"

"Yeah," David says. "I'm just gonna--"

He shuts the door behind him this time, firmly, and takes another breath as he waits for his pulse to slow.

It doesn't.

Fuck.

This wasn't supposed to happen. It - it's even easy to not think about, when they're slumped against the fridge, singing verses of new material back and forth, picking out the harmonies; or when Archie leans over his shoulder to watch him type a new blog entry, just in case he's saying something 'inappropriate'; or when Archie tries to cook an actual meal, and David sits on the kitchen counter, laughing and offering completely useless advice.

But David's -- he's young, and he's not blind or fucking dead, and it's impossible not to see how much Archie's grown since Idol. Or to deny the fact that there's this undercurrent of something - of fucking attraction, okay, Jesus - on his part, that there has been for a while. That it's been growing ever since they started filming the show.

Fucking, fucking fuck.

Not that that's ever going to go anywhere, since Archie clearly isn't--

David stops that train of thought as he heads for their kitchenette. He turns on the sink and cuts the water with his hands, before pressing them to his face. Then he scrubs his hand over his mouth again, for good measure, like it might help him keep his head on straight.

He's beginning to wish he hadn't stopped Archie from avoiding him after all.

Current Mood: accomplished

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

al-hazel.livejournal.com

OH MY HECK. ASLAJHFSHFKLJSLJHFGSHDGAJSGADL.

THIS IS SO FREAKING AWESOME.

Cook being all lonely without Archie. I LOVE HOW COOK TURNED AND ASKED FOR ARCHIE'S ADVICE INSTINCTIVELY, only to realise Archie isn't there :( Poor Cook.

shit, just archie being so ninja subtle, then jared and dean gives him away, and cook tries to solve it, and THEN THE ENTIRE FREAKING BATHROOM SCENE.

THE LOCK THAT DIDN'T WORK, I love how you worked that into the conversation then into the plot so amazingly. Then OMG, Cook is in the bathroom WITH Archie, OMG.

I can't wait to read more, and I ABSOLUTELY ADORE THE DEVELOPMENT IN THIS CHAPTER.

SO AWESOME.

Edited Date: 2009-08-01 04:10 pm (UTC)

From:

it'll hit you when you're not watching

Future Unknown: Freefall

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