Realistic or Modern When in Rome

[lachlan]

Being the perfectionist Aiden is was the root cause of him needing to bring someone new onboard team-wise with his growing fan base. Aiden fired the last person that didn't do what he wanted, and thus the ones that manage his brand online told him that he would have to do the interview this morning. Aiden despised driving especially in Los Angeles traffic because he knew whether or not he left ten minutes early or late he would more than likely get stuck in a traffic jam halfway there. That is where he was now, the number of fellow drivers laying on their horns was ridiculous as it was pointless to do anything as nothing was going to make the traffic move. It was like this every single time he drove into the city. He took a peek at the time and he was due in the office in fifteen minutes, which he was going to be late. "Fuck," he mumbled as he peered ahead trying to figure out what was causing this traffic jam. Nothing made sense here, he would much rather be on a plane heading to his next destination but he wasn't allowed to travel until he found an editor/camera operator.

He was curious to see who the consulting firm chose to have him an interview. Luckily it wasn't just going to be him interviewing the potential candidate he was going to have a senior member of his staff sitting in asking questions also. But looking at the time he knew he was going to be late if the traffic still ceased to move. Aiden was growing impatient as another five minutes had passed. "There better be a god damn good reason this traffic isn't moving." Aiden was trying not to call and let them know but he knew if he didn't say anything he would be yelled at regardless of the traffic or not. He pulled out his phone and texted the person he was interviewing the candidate with to let him know he was going to be late due to the huge traffic jam he was stuck in. Aiden tossed his head back as he waited for the cars in front of him to move. It was like as soon as he sent that message things started to move as normal. He didn't want to get his hopes up that it was going to stay like this because normally you drive for another three minutes and then get stopped again.

The number of notifications Aiden gets daily just gets zoned out, he has people to look at those for him, and if it's important enough for him to respond, they'll let him know. Aiden hasn't always been this way, but with sudden internet, fame comes obligations. When he first started the social media thing he was always responding to fans, and now he has someone that does that for him. Every once in a while he will do it, but he is always planning out videos months in advance. His motto is quality over quantity even though he posts about six videos a day when traveling, and roughly four posts per day when he isn't because he's always involved with his growing community. People look to him when it comes to travel hacks, tips, and more daily.

He finally pulled into the parking structure and gave the garage attendant his badge and was allowed through. He parked his car at the charging bank because he would be foolish not to charge up while he was there. This was a daily thing when he was in town. "Mr. Cameron," Felicia waved as he walked into the building.

"Please it's just Aiden, don't need to be so formal," he reminded the small frame girl. "Which floor am I going to today?"

"The tenth floor, you know where the conference room is," she giggled as she ran over to push the elevator button for me. He just shook his head at the girl, he hated special treatment, and he lets them know that several times. But they always say they treat every client equally, and he knew that was utter bullshit. His best friend didn't get this treatment when he was in the office, and only has four million fewer followers online than he does. "Have a good interview, Aiden."

He'll only be called Aiden for the next couple of days until she goes back to Mr. Cameron. It was annoying. The tenth floor was made up of several executives' offices and one large conference room where they conduct business. I opened the door and no one was in there yet, which he found quite odd, to say the least. Normally Hunter would have been there before him. That was the person Aiden was texting this morning to let him know he was going to be late. Aiden was concerned that he was in the wrong conference room, but Felicia never gave him the wrong information. He looked at the time on his watch and saw that he was early for once even with the traffic. Aiden just took the first seat and pulled out his phone to see what everyone was requesting for traveling. He normally went where his heart desired, but there was a fan-voted survey for his next destination. The list consisted of seven different countries: France, Germany, Argentina, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the UK. The likely hood of him going to Argentina was slim as he was planning on a summer abroad in Europe for his next trip, but this time the viewers were the ones deciding the first county.

Bellafv

 

[Bellafv]

Public transportation was never the most desirable option, but it was better than the panic attack waiting to happen if he drove himself. The big city might not be as overwhelming to him now than it once was but the thought of driving on such a packed highway was already enough to make his chest tighten. Of course taking the bus meant a lot of planning ahead and with such an important interview he had to prepare for the worst. The already crowded bus pulled over for another stop as he glanced at his watch, and tried to tell himself to relax. A half an hour before the interview and he was only one stop away from getting off. He was always the early type, enough so that when he failed to be the first to arrive anywhere his friends had taken to teasing him for failing his duty. He should be at least fifteen minutes early by his own count, maybe more if he finds the building quickly enough, although his own navigation ability left much to be desired.

A young woman and her daughter board and take the seats next to him. The girl couldn't be more than five, and looking at her he couldn't help but think how alike she looked to a little girl he remembered. Years ago there was a little girl much like her, one that spent time around a lot of his friends enough to be in his memory and their stories, but one he hadn't seen since long before he moved to the big city. She bumped into him and her mother flashed a sympathetic look, but he had been to temporarily lost in time to acknowledge it. He pushed his hair back and ran his fingers through the defiant strands trying to push them further into place with limited success. He should have gotten a cut and its been getting longer than he liked to keep it, but there just hadn't been the time. He had been trying to complete as much as he could at his day job to get the vacation time he wanted approved. Truth be told a lot of that time went to developing a simple script that could handle most of his work without much oversight, but that took a lot of time to work all the kinks out of and now he can fairly safely take on this project without to much concern. That is of course if he gets this job, but he was fairly certain he had a shot. It's true he hardly had a clue who the influencer he was going to do a song and dance for actually was, but he certainly had the skills to qualify for the work. It seemed like a pretty simple camera and editing gig, but the pay seemed to indicate there was a bit more behind the job than what it seemed.

Finally the bus pulled into his stop and he reached to grab the laptop bag tucked beside his legs when the little girl fell into him getting out of her seat. Gently he tried to help her up and flash a small smile to make her feel better. Her mother said a quick apology but he was already in the interview room charming the pants off this trust fund kid paying him to edit a few videos. Carefully he climbed down the steps of the bus, and tried not to bump into anything or anyone that might cause a delay. The description made the workload sound a bit heavy, but truth be told he wasn't sure they were being honest. All of these influencer types seem to either come from money or try to give the impression they do so there was a solid chance it would be a much shorter job than the span described and he could easily just be playing along in some rich kids gap year dream while they play celebrity. Besides, he knew he was more than qualified for the actual work described and a workaholic like him wouldn't struggle to keep up with any employers demands, or at least that's what he hoped to remind himself of.

He pulled his phone from his pocket to check the rest of the directions there and noticed a text message.

"Hey Nathan, I know you're going to nail this interview! Just remember not to let that rich prick make you nervous. One of you actually understands the work!"
He laughed a bit reading the text from Michael. He always had a bit of a more crass language but he knew how to make anyone smile with it. They had agreed the night before to go out for drinks on Friday, and either celebrate the good news or drown their sorrows at O'Connors. There really wasn't a better bar in the city all things considered. A quiet little place tucked into a less affluent part of the city, O'Connors was popular with the kind of people who just wanted to have a few drinks, listen to a bit of live music, and just slow down. Even on the nights they had a rock band in there was never a comparison to be made to the loud night clubs and busy bars full of bachelorette parties or drunk frat guys he had attended when he first got to town. It helped that there was a bit of an understanding between the clientele and the older man who owned and bar tended about what he founded the place to be originally, and it was nice to find a bar that was really for his kind guy.
He pulled up the navigation after deciding to respond once he has an update on how the interview went. After a few more minutes he found himself in front of an absolutely monstrous structure and just the sight seemed to halt his breath for a moment. He rolled his shoulders back and took a deep breath, and after several seconds of trying to compose himself he walked in. A petite woman behind a desk made eye contact and he decided to try out his fake confidence on her, and hopefully it could feel more natural by the time he got to the interview.

"Hello, my name is Johnathan Roberts, and I have an interview with Aiden Cameron in fifteen minutes" It was closer to ten at this point but he knew panic was far more timely than he was, and if he heard himself confirm out loud that he was less than fifteen minutes early panic would arrive at any moment. "I believe it's on the tenth floor but I don't recall any specific room"

"Oh I can look that up for you!" She seemed far perkier than most receptionists he'd come across, but in a building like this she is also probably making more than most people in his home town."Mr. Cameron will be waiting for you in room 1027" Her eyes flickered briefly to the elevators before he thanked her and went to the final leg of the journey. One of the many elevators lined along each side of the hall arrived moments after he called for it, although he though in a building like this people probably didn't have time to wait for long. He pressed the 8th floor and stepped back along the wall, watching the doors close slowly and feeling the elevator rise. He watched the numbers flick as he went to the sixth, seventh, eighth, and the doors opened. He waited for someone to get on before realizing he must have pressed it by mistake. Solid start John, he thought to himself and quickly pressed the correct floor, way to waste even more time.

Finally he walked out onto the tenth floor and was able to locate the room for his interview. There sat a young man, already having taken a seat of his own at the table. At least it seemed he was able to beat most of the interviewers there. Instinctively his shoulders went back and he walked into the room in the most confident collected style he could manage, and he went towards a seat at the table.

"Nice to meet you, I am Johnathan Roberts, here for the interview to be the new editor for your work" He tried to make the wording as pleasing as he could, this young man had rich boy dripping off of him but immediately gave off the energy that his work wasn't just playing with daddy's money to pass the time either.

 

[lachlan]

Aiden heard the door creak open and a young man that stood at maybe 5'6 or maybe even 5'3, it was hard for him to tell from where he was sitting. Aiden just stared at him as he introduced himself, he was attempting to if this was going to throw him off, but Aiden couldn't tell. He peered over to the door as Hunter had finally entered. Hunter's blond hair was disheveled and he looked irritated. "Apologies got pulled over on my way here, apparently the tint on my convertible is too dark."

"You're the reason I got stuck in a traffic jam this morning," Aiden laughed. He finally put away his phone as Hunter's entrance queued the interview. "Sorry had to wait for Hunter here to start the interview. Apparently, I can be a little difficult to work with, whatever that means." Aiden never quite understood why they all said he was difficult to work with. Aiden knew his team had the highest turnover rate out of all their clients, but he was the client with the most followers. So he knew he wasn't going to drop by them, they earned 30 percent of his net earnings every year.

"Yeah, so let's get started," Hunter frowned at him. "It is true, Aiden has gone through roughly ten people in the last three years of being with the firm. But with a team of roughly twenty people, eleven of those people have been here since day one. So if you last two months, you'll be here for the long run. Aiden why don't you share a bit about yourself."

"Most people that tend to try out for a job try to figure out who they're trying to impress, so I do hope you did your homework," he gave Johnathan a look. "Seeing that you have applied for the editor position, I need to know if you're good with traveling." Aiden decided to stop at that before giving too much away as he wanted to know if the boy did his homework. He should know he's a travel influencer, and most of this background as it is public knowledge.

"Actually, Aiden. This is a blind interview. So it would be possible for Johnathan here to know who you are. So give him some background," Hunter informed him. Aiden was annoyed, this was a complete blind interview. He didn't even know this. He was going to be having a serious conversation with Hunter once this was finished.

"The name is Aiden Cameron, and I am the largest travel influencer on TikTok and number ten on Instagram. We are soon looking to get into YouTube with some highly requested content that'll range from ten minutes to thirty-minute videos. So the workload is going to be difficult to keep up with all three platforms," Aiden explained. "So Johnathan, please tell me how you plan to manage this workload."

 

[Bellafv]

Johnathan watched the two men interacting with one another, trying to keep a fairly steady posture during the whole thing. The rich kid Aiden seemed almost uninterested in the process from his behavior, but it could be a test. If they really have been going through people that quickly it would be smart to try and weed out anyone who might get upset that easily. He knew there would be a lot of travel involved with the job and thankfully his current position could be done primarily through an internet connection and at most a phone call. The program he set up should take about ten minutes of supervision at the end of the day to make sure everything ran correctly, and that's after his two weeks of vacation he put in for end. The time commitment wouldn't be any kind of issue, but much like the previous employees he knew his biggest issue might be trying to get along with his boss.

The boss Aiden clearly didn't have a problem being open about how most people just want to kiss up to make a good impression, but it was also such an expected part of the interaction it might not go well if he didn't see any of it. Then again he could find it refreshing, and even though Johnathan would admit to being a people pleaser at times he was hardly the most comfortable with spending time in idle flattery. The back and fourth between the two ended and Aiden addressed he first official question of the interview towards him. Johnathan directed a smile to Aiden and did his best to speak confidently and clearly, knowing the answer to the first question could set the tone for the interview and color how his future boss- given a good outcome- could see him.

"Firstly I do have a lot of experience to draw on in this sort of field. I've done a lot of freelance work in everything from video editing and directing to coding and website design. I graduated with a bachelors in computer science when I was twenty one and have spent the time since working with a variety of clientele on projects of various sizes, and although I have yet to take on a single client with a workload as high as this I have managed several projects at once and never had to sacrifice the quality of any one just to meet a deadline. As for keeping up with the work load itself I know I won't have a problem with that. I have been forthcoming I do have another job, but I have the next two weeks off entirely and the time commitment is minimal as I've dedicated a lot of time to finding the most efficient way to do things. I've also been accused of being a bit of a workaholic because I enjoy taking on the extra work and take a lot of pride in making something I know I can be proud of. I've brought my laptop if you need me to bring up a few of the projects in my portfolio, although I know I submitted a few of them along with references from previous clients I've completed projects for during the initial application process.:

He stopped himself and hoped that wasn't to long of an answer, he did have a tendency to go on about his work but this might be the only context it was actually desired. In his head it wasn't an answer that made him sound to stuffy or pretentious, but when he talked to people professionally for the first time the wording always sounded a bit strained and it was for him to word it like he wasn't writing a college essay. His eyes went to Aiden, who had so far seemed unimpressed. Perhaps when you've interviewed people in such a revolving door of a company as his it all just got old?

 

[lachlan]

Aiden listened as Johnathan gave his answer. He cannot say he was impressed or not impressed, this was a hard feeling for Aiden. He looked over to Hunter and what he did was nod. Aiden guessed Hunter would only jump if necessary. He didn't want to make seem like this was his first interview, typically Hunter took care of them, but with how often people are leaving they said I had no choice but to start sitting in on these and do them himself.

He wanted to nitpick everything Johnathan said. He didn't like the fact that he had a second job, does he think he wouldn't be highly compensated. Whenever the position required leaving the county for up to months at a time, he typically tripled the salary. But if what Johnathan said is true, this job wasn't going to get in the way. Well, at least Aiden hoped. All of sudden both his and Hunter's phones went off, and that could only mean one thing. The polls for the fan-voted travel destination has closed and determined.

"Interesting," Aiden chuckled at his device and sat the phone back down. "Sorry for that. I personally wasn't thinking the European Tour was going to start in Poland."

"Speaking over which we'll have to get a video prepared in the next two hours to posted on all platforms," Hunter reminded him. Aiden nodded his head and looked back to Johnathan. "Apologizes, but I'm going to step out. Aiden has this handled." With that Hunter was out of the conference room, and on to the planning of the video where Aiden should be too. But then he realized he didn't have a camera person yet. This was the whole reason for the interview today.

"I'll be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the second job. Honestly not sure how that is going to work. I'm not cutting this interview though. I don't have a cameraman and we have a video to record. I could do it myself, did that when I first started. But I want to give you chance, if you impress me here, I'll get to know you more and give you an answer by the time we're done today," Aiden told him. "Do you think you can handle this?"

(( sorry for the short post. I'm feeling a bit rusty right now.))

 

[Bellafv]

Well it didn't seem like he had impressed but he had at least earned a chance, and it seemed a bit of fate was on his side in the timing. Idly for a moment he even thought about what Poland was like to visit. He didn't want to let this opportunity go to waste, and what was a little bit of work for someone like Johnathan?

"I'd be happy to show what I can do." Unpaid, he thought to himself, considering there was hardly a contract in place. Unfortunately it was to be expected. How many of his programmer friends had been asked to build a program for an interview with no compensation on the board? He had a feeling Aiden handing out chances didn't happen a lot; he just seemed like the kind you needed to win over fast and hard or it would be an uphill battle to get his approval. He was probably getting desperate to hire this close to his tour, but an extra chance to impress still shouldn't be written off to quickly.

"What do you need me to do? I imagine the video will be a hype for the tour and likely announcing the poll results. a few clips of the attractions you'll be visiting?" He was hardly a world traveler himself but the videos were usually pretty standard, and he hoped throwing out a bit like that could help him sound more ready to take on the project. If he was already throwing ideas he's putting some level of commitment and showing at least a basic level of understanding. It's more than he could do about who Aiden actually was but it could still help to some extent, or at least it couldn't hurt, right? Besides, if he met Michael at the bar just to tell him there was an opportunity to impress and he passed up on it he would never hear the end.

((You're fine! Take your time))

 

[lachlan]

It seemed like Johnathan was on board with this opportunity, Aiden couldn't help but smile. "I like the enthusiasm," he beamed. Aiden suddenly began looking around the studio for the list of destinations for Poland. He knew he was bound to visit all the large cities in the country, but would be starting in the capital of Warsaw. "When it comes to my travels I rate the county on four main categories: Scenery, Transportation, Food, and Nightlife. Capitals we spend three days in, and other cities we visit will get one to two days tops unless I'm really enjoying it."

Aiden looked over to Johnathan in hopes that he understood. Aiden didn't bother to wait for a response because he had to get everything laid out for the video. Just then Hunter rolled into the room. "The internet is going crazy for the announcement, the sooner we post it the better. This would be a great opportunity to announce joining the YouTube platform."

Aiden nodded his head and added that to the list of things he wanted to talk about on camera. Aiden looked at the clock and literally grimaced as he only had roughly an hour. "The recording studio is on the fifth floor, we need to head down there. Room 523. I'll meet you down there in ten. I have to talk to Hunter quickly. With that Aiden left the room and made a sharp left turn towards Hunter's office.

"Shouldn't you be heading down to the recording studio?" Hunter asked as he walked in. It looked like he was looking at his calendar, trying to figure out if he could travel with us but he was frowning. "Looks like you'll have to take someone in my place, my schedule is all over the damn place." This was going to be the second time in two years that Hunter wasn't available to travel, Aiden understood this was going to be for the next three months and Hunter doesn't just work for him. See Aiden didn't hire Hunter, he was a talent hunter and was the one who brought him to this talent firm. I wasn't his only client anymore. Hunter actually was the consultant for the brand's largest influencers.

"I told Johnathan that I would be meeting him down there in ten minutes," Aiden sat down across from Hunter. "What do you think of Johnathan so far?"

"Honestly, he's only answered one question so far. Not much of an interview," Hunter started, he looked a little skeptical of my practices. Aiden thought it would be a sink or swim test. If Johnathan couldn't keep up with his demands, Aiden knew he wouldn't last. But if Johnathan could, then he'd be here for a while.

Aiden headed downstairs to the recording studio, he slowly open the door. "I hope you're ready to start."

 

[Bellafv]

He got Aiden to smile, and it felt like an accomplishment in its own right. He seemed a lot warmer when he smiled, but with the turn over rate the place had Johnathan wasn't sure it could have any warmth for long. He explained the rating system used in all of his videos and already Johnathan could see clips playing out to display them, and visualize exactly how he could splice shots of exploring the city with monologuing about the different aspects. Aiden had barely finished explaining when the other one slipped back in and said how hyped Aiden's fans were over the whole thing just to slip back out in a moment. At that point it seemed to hit Aiden how short the deadline was, and Johnathan imagined they would be discussing ideas immediately. Instead he was given a quick set of instructions to find his way down to some room on the fifth floor while Aiden dashed off. He found his way to the elevator easily enough and loaded himself and his laptop bag in. As he felt to sudden movement of the elevators descent he reached into his pocket to check his phone.

"How did the interview go? Bet by the time you see this you'll be texting me how much you hate your new boss!" Michael's optimism made him smile as he texted out the reply.
"Not quite wrong. I have to do a video on site and if I do well the job is mine. The rich kid doesn't seem to feel one way or another about me yet, found out theres a worse turnover rate than I heard. It'll just depend on how it all goes as to if I'll get anything first hand"
"Do you have a better idea who boss to be is?"
"I know less than you probably would. He's a travel influencer, Aiden Cameron I think? About to do some big tour"
"Oh I totally know him!!!! He's that twink that got famous off the great wall of china video"

As the elevator settled on the fifth floor Johnathan found himself cackling. Aiden didn't fit the mischievous or light hearted stereotype of what came to mind when he thought of a twink, but he certainly fit the look. One of the few men their age who had an appearance almost as soft as Johnathans.

"Do you think you can bring your new twink friend to O'Connors?" Right, because there is any chance Johnathan would even consider letting his boss to be get his heart broken by a flirt like Michael. He quickly found the studio and set his laptop bag down, trying to look over the equipment and make sure he had some idea of what he would be working with.

"I really don't think you're his type, and I definitely wouldn't trust you alone with him. I have to do this video thing but I'll text you how it goes" He slipped his phone into his pocket and looked to the equipment when he heard Aiden behind him. This is it, this is the big chance to prove himself to the boss, now if only everything could go according to plan.

"I'm ready if you are, I was just familiarizing myself with the equipment. It all looks very high end, although I wouldn't expect anything less from a place like this. A high quality video should be easy to make with all of it. I understand how you tend to base your travel videos, do you want to tell me a bit on how you want this hype video to look? I'll try to match your vision and it helps if I can get a clear picture going in so I know what shots to get ahead of time." He tried to push a smile after the sentence came out, it felt like the kind of thing someone might write off as to much to the point. His more charismatic friends had tried to remind him about the value of small talk and compliments but it hadn't sunk in as well as they would like, especially when there was work to be done. He had plenty of ideas of his own but at this stage he needed to hear what the client was looking for so he could get a picture of what suggestions they might like, and what might get him added to the ex employees list within the month. Aiden at least seemed to take his work seriously, even if the list of interactions for him to make that assumption was hardly the longest. But it also meant Aiden would likely be one of the clients who knew what they wanted and wouldn't give vague feedback on what "didn't fit the tone" like some of the clients he had worked for before. He could also tell Aiden liked to run things considering most of these positions hardly sat in for their own interviews, although the time constraint could be a strong contributor for that.

 

[lachlan]

Aiden stood in front of a green screen, knowing that would have enough time to edit this as it was only a three-minute video. He grabbed his microphone pack and hooked it up. Aiden looked at the camera and gave out the biggest smile. He loved to record videos and connect with the fans when he had the time. Lately, he hasn't done too much of that, and he is determined to change that while he's in Europe.

"What's up, guys?! We now officially know where we're going to be going to start out the summer that every college student wants to do. My European travels if going to start in Poland. This is a country I haven't been to yet, so it's super exciting. We are only going to spend a total of a week in Poland, and then we're going off to France for three weeks." That was all that was determined right now. Aiden was ecstatic that he was starting off in a country he's never been to.

"Three days in Warsaw, and then two days in Krakow and Wroclaw," Aiden smiled. "Everyone knows I rate each country I visit. I wanted to remind you of categories: Scenery, Transportation, Food, and the Nightlife." Aiden went on for the final minute breaking down the categories scales and overall rating.

"I hope you are just as jacked as I am for this trip, and for the next two weeks, we are going to be getting prepared. I'll see you guys later!" Aiden said stepping out of the frame and over towards Johnathan. "Alright, we need to get this edited. I listed everything we'll be doing. And here are the photos of the places we'll be going," he said sitting down a thumb drive near Johnathan. "I'll be back shortly, have to meet up with Ryan, he has a couple of videos to record this morning and needs me to appear in one."

Aiden didn't bother getting a response from Johnathan before he was leaving Johnathan alone in the room. Aiden felt as if Johnathan might work better solo anyways. I would be back in less than ten minutes and would have enough time to answer any questions he had and get the video posted on time. Ryan was his best friend, and man Ryan does some crazy ass shit. It was shocking that his content wasn't against community guidelines. Aiden walked in and saw Ryan on his phone.

"What crazy-ass shit do you have planned today?" Aiden asked as he took a seat on the table. Ryan just looked up and chuckled. "What did you do?"

"Uh, I may have or may not have pranked Hunter," Ryan chuckled. This is what he did, he was a practical jokester, but he normally pushed the prank to the limits. "He's on his way here, according to the cameras." Great of course he would pull this prank before I got here. "I filled his office with balloons and orbeezs. He's gonna kill me." Just as I was about to scold him, Hunter came in and his suit was wet.

"Ryan, how the hell did you do that in ten minutes?!" Hunter yelled as he came into the room. "And how long are the office pranks gonna go?" It was true so far he's been pranking people in the office for the past week, and it was all over the building to lock their office doors if they need to leave the room. But Ryan didn't need the doors to be unlocked, he had his ways. I knew how he was doing it, but I wouldn't dare tell anyone. "I thought I locked the door behind me." Aiden looked over and saw that Ryan's cameraman was recording the reaction.

After he was done recording the reaction we recorded the video he wanted to have him in. Aiden knew that he couldn't stick around for long, but would need to head back and check on Johnathan. "Listen, man, I gotta get going to check on how my announcement video is going."

"That's right! Poland. That was an interesting choice," Ryan chuckled. "I know you're excited. Visiting a country you have yet to visit."

"Dude, you have no idea," Aiden said giving Ryan a hug. "We'll talk later, right?"

"Bet," Ryan said as he got to editing the video we recorded.

Aiden headed back to his recording studio to meet up with Johnathan and see how he was going. He couldn't wait to get the video posted. He swung the door open and took a seat next to Johnathan. "How is everything going? Any questions?"

 

[Bellafv]

Aiden slipped on camera and effortlessly went through the full script in one take. He was charismatic for sure, and he seemed to have no problem slipping into the personality. Within what felt like a moment the video was over and Aiden was asking him to start the editing process. He was given a thumb drive with the photos he could splice into a video and Aiden slipped out the door in a moment, and again Johnathan was left alone. He settled down to load the video and photographs on his laptop he wondered how much his boss would be present and how often he would work like this, but that was of course if he got this job. He pulled up the video and began editing images into it, splicing photos of each city into the video as their names were said, photos of the local food and night attractions as Aiden discussed criteria for each. With a bit of digging he was even able to find a royalty free song to play in the intro and end of the video in a popular style. It could be taken out easily enough if Aiden didn't like it but the fade out as he started speaking added a bit of sparkle to the video and would hopefully make it more attractive to viewers. Aiden was gone for a few minutes and it gave him the chance to polish something out of the video and make something he could be happy to hand back. Although Johnathan hadn't edited a video that short since he helped his college roommate record his skits for youtube, there was something enjoyable about flipping through photos and making small short edits to make the video more engaging. A photo here, strategic zoom or background on Aiden, end on the song and a few photos of Warsaw after he says goodbye. It was simple, easy, and a bit worrying that there might not be a chance to really show off here. It was also the work he'd be doing, and he didn't want to make the video to busy to show off just to seem like an amateur who couldn't balance a bit of flair without losing the substance.

After he had finished he set the laptop on a nearby stand and fished his phone from his pocket.
"I can't tell what he's thinking but I feel like it's gone well enough. We just recorded his video and I finished the edits. I think it might be celebration drinks before I head to Poland"

He sent off the text message and prayed that he had not jumped the gun saying that. The work seemed simple enough, and Aiden needed to hire someone for this tour that seems like it'll kick off in no time, so his odds were pretty good. Clearly Aiden wasn't a fan of the second job but if he liked the video it could make it clear what kind of quality can be achieved in a few minutes and make Aiden much more confident that Johnathan could keep up with the work load consistently.

His phone buzzed again and light up with a call from Michael, he quickly swiped it away and fired off another text.
"Interview not over, boss in another room and I don't want him to come in to me on the phone"
"Okay but what about giving me a status update at the *end* of the interview?"
"I was looking for reassurance and trying to keep myself from being nervous, ass"
"You'll get the job just stop freaking yourself out. Plus worst case I know twinks aren't usually your type but it might help to play nice"
"Only you would suggest I sleep with my boss for the job"
"Only joking, you know I can take that bullet instead"
" We're done here, text you when I'm done"

He put his phone away and watched the video again to ensure there were no changes he could make to polish it further. He knew Michael was just trying to help him relax, but he also couldn't help but worry if this would be good enough. He watched the video through again the final time when Aiden walked through the door and asked him how much progress he had made.

"Not bad, I added an extra bit of sound in the intro and end, and used the photos to edit the video. Here, let me show you what I've got" He stood up and set up the laptop to play again, turning the screen toward Aiden and making the video full screen.

"Just hit the space bar and it'll play through." He stepped back to let Aidan see the video and adjust the screen to how he needs, hoping the video would be impressive enough to make up for his lack of an interview

 

[lachlan]

Aiden was mesmerized by the quality video Johnathan was sharing with him. If this was the type of work Johnathan could pull off in such a short amount of time, Aiden could barely fathom what Johnathan would be capable of if he had more than ten minutes. Aiden was listening to the music that Johnathan imported, he looked for the track on the computer and search to ensure it was royalty-free. Aiden refrained from using someone else's work if it wasn't public commons, and he was impressed that the tune was free to use. He nodded his head as he dived more into the way Johnathan used the photos. He had taken down by frame and noticed at each mention of destination, like from he said the name a photo appeared. And the angles, Aiden was smiling from ear to ear and looked over at Johnathan.

"I was expecting to be this impressed," Aiden said with some astonishment. He always expected to be disappointed, but this was anything but that. Aiden replayed the video for a second time, not breaking it down frame by frame like he did before. He wanted to enjoy this moment, it was time for him to get ready to be gone for the next three months. "There isn't much left for me to see, and I believe you would be a good fit here. Especially if you can pull this off with every video."

Aiden pulled the contract up on his iPad as this was the point where he offers Johnathan the job. Aiden was hoping that he wasn't jumping the gun when it came to this. He could not afford not to have a confident editor and cameraman behind the camera.

"This position has a starting point of 183,000 dollars a year, full benefits, 401K, and three weeks of PTO time. If you want it the job is yours," Aiden smiled. He grabbed the laptop and emailed the video to Hunter to be posted. "Once you make your decision, come and meet me. I got to go and talk to Hunter. I hope you decide to take the position."

Aiden got up from the desk and headed in the direction of Hunter's office. That was until he remember what Ryan did to it. So Hunter wasn't going to be in there. He sent Hunter a text and got one quickly in response. "In the conference room, waiting on the office to be cleaned up."

I sent the dying laughing emoji and headed towards the elevator. Aiden this the button for the tenth floor and the elevator began to move. He held the button to keep the door shut, he didn't need anyone getting on right now. He needed to get to the conference room to tell Hunter the news. He charged into the conference room where he found Hunter sitting on his MacBook responding to some emails. "Did you get the video?"

"Sent it up for final approval, a big announcement requires more than just my approval. You know that Aiden," Hunter reminded him. It was true, big things like this had to be approved by his boss. There was no way around that. Aiden did have the freedom of posting whatever he wanted on the account, but he would risk being dropped. Aiden didn't want to risk that. Hunter looked at his computer as a new email came through. "Approved, posting it now."

Within seconds his phone was going off. Messages from fans excited for the trip. Aiden was loving the attention, but he still didn't have an answer from Johnathan. "I offered the position to Johnathan, left him with the contract. Should be up here shortly with either a signed contract or him denying this opportunity."

Hunter smiled "good, you needed a cameraman. And by the looks of that video, he's a damn good one."

 

[Bellafv]

At Aidens mention of how impressed he was Johnathans heart jumped. Aiden really didn't seem like the type to be impressed and seemed surprised to actually be. And he knew Aiden needed to hire soon but to be hired on the spot still was more than he had imagined, time crunch or not. Honestly as positive and confident as he was trying to portray a part of him felt like he wouldn't actually get the job, and it was kind of wild to make it. And that salary!!! Had it even been on the job posting or had he been to busy looking at possible leads to really care to notice it there? This was like a dream to be offered this so easily. He almost stopped Aiden from leaving and told him he'd be signing now. He knew he could do this job, he just had to remind himself of that look on Aiden's face the next time he started to worry he wasn't up to a standard. And really they are short videos like this for now, he's done them before. And the longer ones on youtube won't be to much of an adjustment either. He was really going to do this, he was travelling to other countries and making a huge salary, just based on his performance in one afternoon. He closed his laptop and stared at the ipad for a minute.

His eyes flicked over and over the contract. The salary. The benefits. The travel. It felt to good to be real, to sudden. He pushed his brain to think of the terrible catch that must come with something this good but he couldn't. All he could think of was this incredible deal. He flipped quickly through the pages and identified every place that might need an initial, signature, or date and filled it out. Johnathan N. Roberts here, JR there, and that was it. This job was his. The salary was his. The travel was his. This dream fell into his lap, and he could still do his few minutes a day at his primary to save up everything he earned there. He was going to travel the world and come back with more money than he'd dreamed of making. What were all these places going to be like? The judgement criteria included the food, the night life, he was going to get to experience it all and all he needed to do was film. The idea of busy clubs in one country after another might not be his favorite, but as long as he got a few good shots he might even be good to ditch out and explore on his own. He'd hardly gotten use to this big city and it was one of his few experiences outside of the small town he grew up in. As long as he never had to drive in any of these cities h could really look forward to what he was going to see, and he knew they would have to take taxis around or have drivers so he would have the easy excuse of needing to film in the back seat with Aiden.

He packed up his laptop and prepared to meet Aiden, until his brain short circuited trying to find an answer. Did Aiden say where he would be? He said come find me, but the building was huge! Johnathan didn't have his number, they wouldn't have given his number to every idiot who applied. He took a shot and headed back to where the interview began and found Hunter and Aiden talking. He walked up to Aiden and held the ipad out.

"I signed everything so I'm officially your new camera man. When do we head out to Poland?" He had a million questions about when they fly out, if he had to buy his own ticket, if he booked his own hotel room, and everything about how the tour would be. He didn't want to throw out a dozen questions at once and he knew more could come out over time. For now he only needed to worry about how soon to be ready for all of this. There wasn't a chance Aiden was private plane rich, but he could certainly be first class rich. Johnathan doubted that extended to crew members, but there might be something like a room being covered so they would be near one another for any late night editing or reshoots.

 

[lachlan]

Aiden had the feeling that Johnathan was going to sign the contract. He just hoped that Johnathan knew what he was getting into. The job required a lot of traveling and working closely with him. He didn't mind working with new people, it was the industry he was in but he was hoping he had found his permanent editor. Aiden smiled as he took the iPad from Johnathan. "Two weeks, we have to get everything ready."

Hunter pulled out his device and sent a quick text. Aiden knew who he was messaging, it was his assistant Marcy. Moments later she came in with a bag and handed it to him. Marcy smiled as Hunter nodded at her. She exited the room just as swiftly as he came in.

Aiden sat the bag on the table and unzipped it. One could tell it was a new bag as the zipper was quite stiff, and Aiden was struggling with it. It was embarrassing to Aiden, to say the least, "uh, sorry." He began looking in the bag to ensure everything was there, he had to make sure Johnathan had all the proper equipment for the trip as when they were in L.A. they'd be able to use the studio. "Alright, everything is here. The phone in there has all my social media accounts on it, besides my private Snapchat. That is how we will be uploading videos while we're traveling. It's the newest iPhone, and there is also a MacBook for editing and an iPad. It might be a little overkill, but I only supply the best equipment for the quality."

He handed the bag over to Johnathan and took a seat. Seeing that Johnathan was finally on board we had some major things to share with him. Hunter put his computer away and pulled out his iPad. "Can you hit the button for the projector, Aiden?"

Aiden reached over and hit the button. "I'm not a super formal person when it comes to meetings and stuff, so let's get this started." Hunter handed over the iPad to Aiden and he started streaming the device to the projector. "So we have bigger plans than just staying on social media, we want to build the top destination application on the market." Aiden was blindsided when he was told that Johnathan had no clue who he was interviewing for, but Aiden knew what Hunter told him about Johnathan. Aiden couldn't lie, from what he was privy to from Hunter before the interview he can say he was enticed by Johnathan's resume. It was astonishing the amount of work the dude had done. "But that isn't going to be for a while," Aiden explained. He went slide by slide until got to what he would consider the most important information for Johnathan.

The following slides consisted of all guidelines and what Johnathan would be required to pay for out of pocket. Which wasn't a lot, Aiden tried to take care of his people. "We are going to be staying in the top-rated three-bedroom AirBnBs, plane fair is covered. I cannot promise you'll fly in the same class as me, I'll try my hardest to make sure you do. There is only one thing we don't cover fully, food expenses. We are going to be in Europe for three months, and we have to be prepared for all types of weather. Our next thing is going to be going out for brunch, are you down?"

 

[Bellafv]

Two weeks. He had two weeks to figure out everything he needed to do, and he would be traveling who knows how far. He certainly wasn't thinking of this as a long term situation, given the turn over rate of the job. It would be a million opportunities to see things he'd never get to again, a million chances to expand his horizons. And someone as famous as this Aiden influencer sounds like hiring Johnathan for his videos would look really good on a resume. Thankfully he had a passport after Michael floated a trip to Mexico last summer. Of course it never got anywhere near fruition because of how biologically incapable Michael was of planning and Johnathan was of spontaneity, but it motivated him to get a passport and it worked out in his favor. Planning to be out of the country in two weeks made him feel light headed for a moment but he was sure he could do this. Finish the interview, drinks of Friday, he could schedule a few panic attacks some time in the next week or two, and he'll be off.

He watched Aiden struggle with the bag a moment and suddenly the image of a small child struggling to open something child proof came to mind. For a moment he was worried the bit of laughter might be hard to play off as a small polite smile but Aiden rather clearly seemed preoccupied to notice. It was kind of cute to see someone so sure of themselves so lost in the moment on what he could even do to accomplish such a standard task. When he did open it he rummaged around to full bag before announcing the contents. A phone, an Ipad, a mac book, a check for 50k, a private plane, a trained raccoon. Johnathan may have zoned out for a moment thinking about the insanity of the high priced equipment all being shoved into a bag and handed to him just for signing a contract. A work phone wasn't surprising by itself, but the newest available was already unusual. Maybe that's just working with these rich kid types? They were so use to being surrounded by that they couldn't think to make their employees do without. Aiden expected everything done perfectly, and the high quality equipment was likely just a small step in that to him, but it all was treated like it was so standard it was hard to pull back into real life and not treat it like he was observing another culture. Johnathan settled into his seat to listen to the presentation Aiden queued.

A new app was a moving target. Every day a million new sites tried to launch, new apps hoped to take off, but with how oversaturated the market was and how dominant the big ones were it would be quite the goal to want to launch one. The details were scant but the project seemed a ways off. The experience in coding must have been a plus on his resume if they have been throwing around this idea for a while. He'd messed around with apps a bit but certainly never built anything to the user base they would be expecting. His ability to alternate between panic and feeling ready and confident meant he'd probably feel overwhelmed from the day they started serious work to just after the first time he explained it to any of the non techy people he knew and mentally launched into expert mode answering their questions about it. Aiden switched slides and went through everything Johnathan would be paying for, but from the list it felt closer to his work being exchanged for a luxury vacation the rest of the time. Free rooms in the same swanky place Aiden would roll into, and being so close it would be easy to work into the night and not have to drag himself back to his room. He made a mental note to work out how to phrase a joke to Michael later, something about sleepwalking into the boss's room? Michael would have come up with one easily but sometimes as the quiet guy it was fun to surprise people with an out of character joke now and then, and when he made a sexual comment or sly dig at someone now and then it was entertaining to see people caught off guard.

Aiden promised air fare was covered but it might not be a first class ticket, although that was hardly a deal breaker. Johnathan had never flown first class before and a chance to do it once made him perk up a little. He'd seen so much of it in movies when they need to show off how rich someone is, and he pictured getting their own room on the plane like what he saw in Crazy Rich Asians. As picky an eater as he could be it felt fair needing to pay his own way, and he wouldn't feel as much of a burden trying to order everything with half the ingredients and no spice if he wasn't already on someone else's tab. And he'd hardly had time to think of it before Aiden was casually throwing out a plan to eat. Of course he wasn't "down". He was here for an interview, it took a week of preparing for the mental state and social energy he would need. He needed to spend the next to weeks preparing for the trip, and at least when they were traveling he would have a pseudo schedule to plan what he'd need to do from. The audacity of this guy to make a plan for right now! Michael already seemed interested, they'd certainly get along now. He would also need to find a way to get there, so he'd probably have to look up bus stops in the area while thinking about what kind of thing he'd want to order.

"Oh that sounds lovely, I was just trying to think where I wanted to eat after this" He was a liar. He had done this to himself. He wanted to be an agreeable guy, it could be a great change to get to know the people he'd be spending so much time with in the next few months, he'd need to get some practice at plans changing on a dime. It isn't going to be that bad, and as soon as he had been seated at the restaurant he'd be more relaxed about it. The pivot from the plan to the spontaneous was always the most jarring, after he'd been in the new plan for a moment he could relax and readjust.

"Do you all have a favorite place around here, or somewhere specific you wanted to go?"

 

[lachlan]

Aiden's stomach growled as soon as Johnathan agreed to go get food with them. Aiden looked over at Johnathan in embarrassment. He had forgotten to grab food this morning, and honestly, he was starving at the moment. He pulled out his phone and started looking through his option of restaurants, bars, etcetera. He at first thought about having brunch, because it was barely noon. And he could go for a celebratory drink right now. He couldn't believe the polls hit the magic number so quickly, and with Poland.

"Seeing that I am dying for a drink right now, we're gonna have to get brunch," Aiden finally said something. He didn't want some top-notch restaurant, he wanted to go somewhere quiet, more like a hole in the wall. But he wasn't sure if anything like that would be open this early. That's when he found something that struck his interest, O'Connors. It said on their site it was a quiet place for down-to-earth people. Aiden felt like he met the criteria. "How about O'Connors?"

Hunter let out a chuckle, "Aiden you do know that's a gay bar, right?"

Aiden's face turned a pale white because he wasn't out to anyone. Not even Hunter. He looked over to Johnathan, and back to Hunter. Aiden regained his posture and laughed slightly. "Can't I be straight and still go to a gay bar?"

"Well yeah, just wanted to make sure," Hunter shrugged. "Where ever you wanna go, you're paying right?"

Aiden laughed because he knew Hunter wouldn't care if he paid for it or not. Hunter was just as much a foodie as he was. "As long as you drive," Aiden bartered. If Hunter agreed, that meant he could drink a bit more, and then be sober enough by the time they get back to the office.

"You got a deal," Hunter said as he stood up. Aiden guessed that Hunter was ready to go. He looked to Johnathan expecting him to just follow. But who knows what Johnathan was thinking, he was more than likely thinking they were crazy. That was just an assumption though.

(( sorry for the short, I needed response for what I just wrote.))

 

[Bellafv]

This was great, fantastic actually. Johnathan was a picky eater and had been worried about a place he wouldn't like being suggested while he tries to order the plainest thing on the menu, but he loved O'Connors. He loves talking to the bartender Owen about his day, he loved Owen's sass when he and Michael went back and fourth, he loved the usual table and the nearly empty quiet of the bar on slow nights. How could he love it any less with his homophobic future boss watching his every move? Of course the temporary short circuit Aiden seemed to do hearing the words gay bar would hardly indicate a man comfortable working with someone he knew was a regular there. Johnathan would have to find a moment and send a warning to Owen to play it like they've never met before to not risk outing himself, but thankfully he at least had Owen's number or he would have to turn the offer down to not risk this barely minutes old job offer. Still, Michael was very right in describing Aiden as a twink, how could he handle it if his homophobic boss got hit on? If Aiden started something over it would Owen ban Johnathan? Surely they knew one another well enough to get past something someone else might do, but he wouldn't feel comfortable pulling his boss back much either so it depends on how against being mistaken for gay Aiden would be.

"Sure, I suppose as long as the food is good it doesn't matter to me where we go." Johnathan gathered his things and started to shuffle into the hall with the other men. He didn't want to whip his phone out in what still felt like a part of the interview/ acclamation to the team, but he needed to send off a text at some point or he knew Owen would be his usual charming self, easily making a joke about him being there so early in the day and greeting him by name, erasing any chance of plausible deniability at a moment he'll definitely need it. And god forbid Owen make a lighthearted comment implying Aiden was his boyfriend! After how quickly he went white hearing about the existence of a gay bar there was no thinking he would take being mistaken for another mans partner well. Johnathan had a solid chance coming up though and he saw his window of opportunity as the men filed out of the meeting room.

"I actually took the bus here. There happens to be a bus stop pretty close to there I usually use on my way home, and at this time of day the busses should run to have me there in about half of an hour or so. If Hunter wouldn't mind giving me a ride I could take the car with you, but I certainly don't mind taking the bus if it's to much of an imposition." The plan would give him the time he needed easily; if he took the bus he would have the entire ride to text Owen a physical description and to make sure not to make any comments or assumptions about Aiden or the two strangers he'd eat with. If Hunter gave him a ride he could make the excuse of checking the menu, pulling up his gps to the place, or texting a friend who was waiting for an update. It would be quick and painless, and he would be protected from any technically-illegal-but-commonly-done discrimination after accidentally outing himself to his boss.

 

[lachlan]

When Johnathan asked if he could ride with us, Aiden thought it was a stupid question. He refrained from making any sort of face because didn't want to come off as rude to Johnathan. Aiden had already thought that he would be riding with them, as it would be easiest. Especially he took the bus to get here. Aiden does have a bus pass but he rarely used it any longer because he'd bought a car. "Dude, no imposition. Let's just go and get some grub." Hunter chuckled as he climbed into the driver's seat, and Aiden reached for the passenger door and slid in. There was no way in hell that he would ride in the backseat, he hated to be chauffeured around as if he was higher than everyone else.

(( minor time skip ))
​

Hunter pulled into the back entrance, as Aiden didn't want to be seen. If he were to be caught here there would definitely be some content posted on social media, and then fans would pry into his life trying to discover who Aiden truly was. As the car came to a halt, he unbuckled his seat bed which was annoying because it was stuck. "Hunter, did you spill something in this seat, or more so the buckle? Because this damn thing is stuck," Aiden huffed as he kept tugging. Hunter couldn't help but let out a chuckle, which seemed to annoy Aiden even more. It was prevalent that he was unhappy. Finally, the buckle was released, and Aiden jumped out of the car. "That did not happen. Period."

Hunter just nodded as they began walking towards the door. He wasn't sure if Johnathan was following, but his stomach was giving him directions to get food and leave everyone in the dust. Plus he wanted a drink, so there was some influence on his actions. Aiden was the first one sitting at the table. He had noticed Hunter was pretty much just seconds behind because he was talking with the bartender. Aiden guessed he was asking to make sure we got some privacy because of where they were. Hunter soon joined him at the table, but Johnathan was somewhere else. Aiden hoped that they didn't leave him behind in the car.

"Can I start you off with something to drink?"

 

[Bellafv]

Johnathan slid into the back seat, happy to be out of view. He knew Aiden would probably talk to Hunter about something for the duration of the ride, and being in the back would give him a perfect shielding to pull his phone for just a moment. He pulled out his phone and sent a quick text message to Owen and prayed the slow afternoon crowd he would allow him to see a message before they arrived. He spent a moment trying to think of what would best summarize the situation, knowing the wrong choice of wording could ultimately cause an unknowable amount of trouble for Owen and the patrons of O'Charley's, as well as cause him to lose out on this sudden turn of fortune. After he had collected enough of an idea he glanced down and sped through a message to Owen, unsure if it made sense and positive it would be rife with typo's for anything autocorrect couldn't catch, as he would hardly have the time to check through anything more than it made sense.

"On my way with coworkers. Twink named Aiden, bigger guy called Hinter. Twink NOT gay, maybe homophobic. You've never seen me there before. No jokes he's my boyfriend, NO clue how he'll react. Don't offer my usual, I hove no usual, I'm probably straight and you have no reason to think otherwise" Seemed short enough, and Owen was far from stupid despite what his country accent led people to believe. There was no reason to assume it wouldn't be understood but that was hardly any comfort to a man who may be walking his homophobic boss into a gay bar potentially full of people ready to great him like an opening scene in a cheers episode. They pulled into the back, probably a smart move given that Aiden's reaction to being stipulated by press as gay could hardly be better than his friend making an off hand joke. Johnathan slipped out of the car quickly and watched for the others to do the same, before looking in and noticing Aiden struggling with his own seatbelt. He almost seemed like a child fussing before a tantrum. It slipped to the edge of Johnathan's tongue to ask if the belt had been child proofed, but the joke he would make with Michael certainly wouldn't find a place between him and the boss he only met earlier in the day. Finally he sees Aiden slip out and declare the moment never happened as he and Hunter take the lead.

Johnathan props himself up on the side of the building and allows a bit of distance to fall between them before checking his phone again and praying for a response. A quick glance shows a message back from Owen, and after another look to be sure the others aren't to close he opens it.

"I've never seen anyone at this bar before, total ghost town. Thought you were out to all your coworkers though? Story for another time I assume" He knew he could always count on Owen, from when Johnathan first moved to the city and crashed in the loft above the bar there wasn't a doubt in his mind Owen was a good guy. He stashed his phone in his pocket and went to catch up with the others now that he knew he'd be safe. He slipped into the booth beside Aiden, careful not to get to close, as if it might give off the impression of a move. Someone homophobic could easily read into something far more than intended. He heard Owen trying to pull back his accent a bit while asking for the drink order, something he tried to wrangle in for the earlier crowd of business men and morning shifters but never bothered much with when he was managing the night shifts and usual crowd.

"Sorry I fell a bit behind. I told a friend I had an interview today and he was calling to ask how it went, so I gave him a quick update and told him we could talk more later" His eyes turned up to Owen and he prayed their accents wouldn't draw one another out like moths to a flame as they so often did. Usually they could pull back, especially separately, but the moment one of them started to slip back into it they would go back and forth slipping further in with every sentence. Johnathan's would typically only appear when he was drunk or getting frustrated, although at times it could easily find its way out and endear him to or make him the laughing stock of whatever group he was around at the moment.

"I'd like to start with a water and a rum and coke" He said with a glance at Owen, knowing full well Owen knew exactly how he liked to take it but not wanting to say it all at the moment. Would his usual order be "to gay"? It was a tad specific, the splash of grenadine could be taken as flamboyant perhaps. He knew he was probably overthinking it but he was on alert at the moment and determined to not give off any impression of being use to the place. And he wasn't use to it. For one thing this was the wrong booth, the right one being by the window practically directly across from the bar. That was his booth, where he sat with his friends. That was where Michael had flavor-of-the-week sitting on his lap week after week. That was where he got pity drinks after a bad date. That was where he had Captain Morgan and Coke with grenadine and a cherry while looking out the window to the night sky and listening to the band playing. That was where Nathan sat with his friends, but Johnathan was here with coworkers and he had an easy chance to not get to comfortable by everything being just a little off. The seat, the people, the time of day, the drink, the Owen by behavior and accent. Everything was just a little off, and it would be perfect in keeping him from feeling to comfortable here. He looked to the people around him to order, and wondered what kind of conversation they might find after that.

 

[lachlan]

Aiden thought for a moment, trying to figure out what to drink. He looked at the drink menu, and they sure had some creative names. Aiden couldn't help but chuckle. He felt somewhat comfortable being here, knowing that he would be shamed for being bi-sexual. The only reason he wasn't super comfortable was that the bartender was acting awkward. "I'll take a Whisky sour, and jolly rancher shot," he said confidently. But Hunter gave him the look of 'are you going to order some water with that?' "Oh, and a glass of water."

Hunter smiled at himself because he didn't even have to say something to me, he just had to look at Aiden, and he knew better. "Long Island Ice Tea, and a glass of water." Aiden and Hunter had begun looking at the menu. Aiden was amazed by their options of bar food. He always loved a good mozzarella stick and chicken wings, but his eyes were gravitating towards the deep-fried pickle chips. Hunter was still looking at the menu.

"Oh, sir, before I grab your drinks, I need to see your ID," the bartender said, he was kind of smirking. Aiden reached for his wallet when he realized the bartender was only asking him for his ID. He could understand not asking for Hunter's but really not Johnathan. He began to think perhaps the bartender wanted to get in his pants. Aiden was somewhat annoyed that he was the only one but refrained from saying anything until the bartender was gone.

"What in the living hell was that?" Aiden whispered to Hunter and Johnathan. Aiden tried to make sure that those were the only two able to hear what he just said. "Johnathan, you look younger than I do, why the hell didn't he ID you?" Aiden's face puffed just slightly because he was trying to hide his annoyance. But he wasn't hiding it that well. Aiden's face had turned a completely different shade of red, and Hunter was giving him a confused face.

Hunter let out a slight laugh, "Aiden, maybe he thinks you're hot and wants you to go to the bathroom with him after shift." Of course, Hunter would be the one to think of something like that, almost confirming what Aiden originally thought. This was just what Aiden didn't need. He knew he wasn't turning red because of annoyance, it was more because he was embarrassed. If what Hunter was true, then maybe a gaydar wasn't a myth. When Aiden didn't respond to that, Hunter decided to clear his throat, because he must've thought that he upset Aiden in some sort of way.

"That's cool," Aiden finally said, after trying to come up with a response. Honestly, he was slightly flabbergasted by the statement Hunter made. He was just afraid of what his fans would think if he were to come out. It was a scary thought. He had been fighting these feelings for quite a long time. He hated that he was afraid of being who he really was. Plus it didn't truly help that he was brought up in a conservative household, where any mention of being gay was mocked and was shameful. Which in doubt made him come off as slightly homophobic. But he didn't want to be like that. He wanted to be accepting, even if he couldn't be who he was without the fear of being disowned. Let's face it, he didn't need anything from his parents anymore, he made what they made in one year in one to two months. "If he likes me, he likes me. Who cares, I'm used to being hit on by all genders. So Johnathan, tell us a bit about yourself. I feel as if I whisked you away to lunch without really getting to know you as being anything but a video genius."

 

[Bellafv]

Johnathan glanced down at the menu, knowing full well he'd want the fried pickles as an appetizer and the bourbon barbeque bacon cheeseburger. He knew how easy his patterns were to pick up on, and that if Owen wasn't putting on a show of not knowing him he'd have a one in three chance of guessing the order down to the last detail. Owen stopped to card Aiden before getting the drinks and it seemed smart to put in the extra time for some normalcy. He'd card everyone and give an extra layer of having no clue who any of them are. Johnathan had a few moments of being proud of Owen's façade before he realized only Aiden was being carded. Good call Owen, card the baby face but leave out the guy that hardly looks old enough to have a full time job. Aiden looked annoyed at the behavior, and truth be told Johnathan was hardly pleased with the exclusion as well.

Of course in a gay bar any man that talked to them would be flirting. That was the only explanation these guys could come up with; the tried and and true homophobic idea a gay man couldn't be near other men without trying to drag them into the back. Honestly he had expected a few comments after what's happened so far but over getting carded? Aiden seemed to have flushed with frustration at the beginning, a red which quickly seemed to turn to embarrassment after hunter confirmed he believed it might have been a move on him. It certainly would seem strange to them for Johnathan to be left out, but it didn't change how annoying it was that straight men always assumed they were being sexually harassed by basic kindness or behaviors. Johnathan looked at Aiden's red face and debated informing him that he was not in fact Owen's type. Brent, Owen's 15 year running romantic partner, was closer to being a bear or an otter than anything. His thick brown beard reminded Johnathan more of a hipster cut, and his slightly larger than average build put him half a head above Owen. He didn't have a ton of muscular definition but he was physically in good shape and had done a few shifts as the bars bouncer on nights of a big game or holiday to manage anyone who got overly excited. He always had a positive or protective disposition, even being a bit less goofy than some of the other regulars and a bit more of a solitary reflective type than his partner. None of that sounded in the least bit like Aiden, this baby face on a small built body who was bouncing and outgoing for a living. But of course this random kid was positive simply being in a gay bar promised every possible man that entered was begging to take him home. Johnathan tried not to let the moment color his view of his new coworkers; it was hardly their fault society at large still seemed to assume gay men were promiscuous and hoping to try it with a straight man like some old movie warning about homosexuals converting perfectly god loving heterosexual men.

Aiden tried to let it all roll off his back and said something about how use to it he was, and Johnathan couldn't help but try reading into it. Was he bragging, or was this him trying to be more accepting of it? And more honestly, him saying he was use to being hit on by all kinds of people lost a bit of credibility after seeing how immediately he and Hunter assumed Owen might have been flirting just for carding him. It's true Aiden was an attractive man, you don't get to make a living on camera otherwise, but that kind of fame could also easily go to your head and make you feel like the man everyone is after. But now it was time to filter all of that away and focus on what to say in one of the "tell me about yourself" interview questions. It didn't feel appropriate making any comments on the behavior so far and given the outing turning back to a getting-to-know-Johnathan he had to focus on what to say. This wasn't as formal as the office interview but they were all still relative strangers and he still needed to worry about not getting to personal, while still giving something to bond over with the people he'd basically be living with. He needed something safe enough to give an overview of himself without diverging into anything actually about him.

"Well if you have any questions I'm open to answering; I'm not great at talking about myself. But I suppose a brief overview would be I'm a small town kid at heart, and I moved here for the opportunities that my conservative small town wasn't really able to provide. I've lived here almost 3 years and have established roots here but as a bit of a home body over all I'm sure there is a lot of places I've yet to discover. Can't say I've been here yet-" He threw in before he could stop himself, upset at drawing attention to it and momentarily worrying he had made it to obvious of a denial "- but I guess I usually prefer to hang out in low key places like it. I'm a bit of a workaholic though so my down time is scheduled around whatever work or personal project I have taken on, and sometimes I can lose myself in it and forget what else I had hoped to do."

He thought for a moment about when he originally moved to the area and started making friends, he was lucky Michael didn't dump him after he threw himself into projects and was hardly seen for two weeks. It was a little overwhelming to be in the big city and especially to have all of these job opportunities thrown at his feet. Usually they were not the most well paying and being unknown in the area didn't help, but with his speed and penchant to get lost in work without needing to come up for air quickly built him a name and solid standing in the field. Unfortunately it meant his new friend Michael he met one night at the bar suddenly didn't get so much as a text in two weeks. When Johnathan finally did come up he had been sure he'd just lost the only real friendship he'd made since arriving, but to his surprise despite Michael's annoyance he was willing to understand, and has even come around to find Johnathan's getting lost in a project one of the funny quirks of him. Michael learned to tolerate or even balance Johnathan's neurotic or unusual tendencies, and in what Johnathan hoped was an even trade he tried to help Michael not be arrested for drunken shenanigan's or get himself hurt being a little to down for anything.

Owen approached the table, intentionally keeping his eyes on the drinks he was setting down in what Johnathan assumed was his move to keep from being to familiar with Johnathan.

"I've got three waters, a long island ice tea, whiskey sour and a jolly rancher shot, rum and coke" He went down the list, repeating the drinks as he set them down in front of the three men before setting his tray on an empty booth beside them. He grabbed a small notebook from his apron and glanced up at the men.
"Can I start you three off with any appetizers, or are we ready to order?" Johnathan glanced down at the menu, hoping to give the impression he had to double check what he had seen."

"I'd like to put in an order of fried pickles" He said while keeping his eyes on the menu. "If you guys are ready to order I'll just have the beer battered chicken strips, but no rush if you haven't decided" Not to comfortable, he thought again to himself. Everything just a little off to keep him from being to settled. He set his menu on the table and took a slow sip of his drink. Grenadine. Not a lot, likely to keep the color change from being obvious in Owen's attempt to keep his cover. The right rum, a tiny splash of grenadine, no cherry, but so close to perfect he let a small smile out. Owen always knew how to take care of him, and this bar was always what he needed.

 

[lachlan]

Aiden gave Johnathan a crazed look because he literally ordered most of what Aiden was already planning on. "I'll also take a side of the deep-fried pickles, and the boned buffalo wings," Aiden sat the menu on top of Johnathan in hopes that it made it easier for our bartender, even though he was still annoyed by his actions from before he brought the drinks. Normally this wasn't something that Aiden would get caught up in thinking about multiple times. But it really hit a nerve. He downed the shot and looked at the bartender one last time. "Can I also get a liquid marijuana shot? And do you need my ID again?"

He came off a little bit harsher than before but didn't mean to. Hunter elbowed him in the ribs causing him to wince in pain. Hunter gave the bartender his order and sent him away. "Aiden, don't be an ass."

"He was first," he huffed. "But fine, I'll be nicer. Sorry, Johnathan, I'm not normally like this," he felt as if he owed Johnathan an apology for his actions because it was the least bit professional. Aiden was worried that this could potentially scare him off, and that was the last thing he needed two weeks before the trip. Aiden was looking at the possible AirBnBs for Warsaw, and some were absolutely gorgeous, and they weren't super expensive. That's when he found the one he wanted to stay at. It was in the central part of the city, and the bedrooms looked gorgeous. He wouldn't bother arguing about what room he got because they all had great views of the city. "This one is amazing, Hunter," he said showing his phone to Hunter and he just chuckled. He sent the photos over to Johnathan's work phone.

"I knew you were going to choose that one," Hunter laughed. "I'll message Marcy and have her reserve it."

"So we will have a rest day every Monday, where we will just record some short videos from the apartments and talk about the accommodations. Then not do anything else for the day," Aiden explained as the food came out, and he could see the steam coming off the plater. The bartender sat the food down, and moments later Aiden was diving into the fried pickles, they were delicious. The ranch was astronomical. He groaned as they hit his taste buds every single time. By the time he had finished eating his food another half an hour had passed. "That was great. We should come back here when it's more lively."

Aiden took a look around the table at all the empty plates. He guessed everyone was hungry. Aiden pulled out his wallet and left two hundred on the table. Even though he didn't think the bartender was the greatest he wasn't bad. Who knows the dude could have been under some kind of stress. Aiden tried to think of the best option and that was it. He also hoped the tip could make up for his poor behavior.

FRIDAY

It was Aiden's favorite day of the week, and everything was going so slow. Tonight was the night that he would go out and get so fucked up that he wouldn't even remember the night. He pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to Ryan asking what he was planning for today. Hey man, got plans? Gotta get some quality time in with you before the trip. He set his phone down and pulled out a suitcase or two. He packed roughly ten outfits in each suitcase before he heard his phone go off. He didn't rush over to grab it because he was in the zone of packing and getting things ready to go. Aiden glided into the bathroom and opened the cupboard above the toilet where he stored extra of everything he would need.

Aiden was meticulous when it came to ensuring he had everything that he would need. He double-checked his list against what he had packed. There was only one thing missing and that was his equipment. Aiden wouldn't be packing that until the night before. He walked over and picked his phone back up, and noticed around 320 notifications, the majority of them from Instagram and TikTok. He selected his texts with Ryan. No man, it's technically Last Friday in LA day for you today, and I know we're going clubbing. Ryan's text read and it caused Aiden to smile. It was the ritual, and Ryan knew that. We only did this when he wasn't going with him. He was sure Ryan would pop up a couple of times, just not the entire time. They were going to be going to The Dove tonight. It was one of the most exclusive clubs in Los Angeles, and that was when he realized that he was going to need his cameraman. He hoped that Johnathan was going to be available.

Aiden opened his contacts and pushed on Johnathan's work phone number. It was ringing and then voicemail. "Hey Johnathan, I know we don't start until next week, but I'm hoping that you're free tonight. If you have plans, I can get you and your friends into The Dove tonight, and I'll buy drinks. I'm sort of in the need of my cameraman. Anyways, just call me back and let me know."

He swiped back over to the message chain with Ryan and responded. Just called Johnathan, and does The Dove sound good? I've called and reserved two booths.

 

[Bellafv]

He was an ass to Owen, and Johnathan tried with all his might to ignore it. He couldn't let on how personally he took Aidan's behavior to someone he considered such a close friend; he suspected it would be more difficult to play off not knowing Owen if he rushed to his defense after all. He had to roll it off, and he would, but being homophobic and rude to wait staff was leaving a bad taste in his mouth about his new boss. Aidan threw down far more than the food and a decent tip would cost and for a moment Johnathan wasn't sure what to say. It didn't make up for everything but he also knew Owen had dealt with a lot worse for far less. He'd heard horror stories from Owen about cleaning vomit out of the men's room for customers who had bar hopped in the area and barely come in long enough to slur through a tirade about never being in a gay bar willingly before they had to be thrown out. He wondered if Aiden had a habit of paying well for everything to get out of trouble for what he does, but as long as he and his friends were still making out well from it he decided it wouldn't be so bad. After the meal the two headed back to the office after being assured by Johnathan he could take a bus home without trouble. He took his belongings from the car and said his goodbyes, allowing time for them to pull away as he walked to the front of the bar for cover before wandering back in.

"I'm really sorry about all of this" He said to Owen, leaning against the bar. "I never would have suggested the place but he found it online. He wasn't thrilled to hear it was a gay bar but I don't know if he was to stubborn to change it or what" Owen slid a glass to him from across the bar. He knew with a glance what it was exactly. Coke, grenadine, Captain Morgan, two ice cubes and a cherry put in before the liquids so it could absorb some of the flavor. He knew Owen always took care of him.

"Don't worry about it" Owen allowed a small flicker of his accent to finally slip free now that he didn't have to pull himself back. "He seemed like a bit of an ass if I'm being honest. I realized I didn't card you after it was a bit late to go back, but still he could take it with a bit of grace. He's paying for Brent and I to have a date night sometime soon though so at least that came out of it."
"It was a good chunk of change, but I guess to someone like him it wouldn't seem like much." He took a sip of the drink and thanked his lucky stars he had a moment to get exactly what he wanted. He settled up on the bar stool after balancing his stuff up against it.

"So who was he anyhow? All your coworkers that I've met know about you. Hell one of them was introduced as your boyfriend, and at least two I met we're Michael's flavor of the week a day or two later. Is there a new manager or something, or did you sign on for a side project and he showed his true colors after?" It was a fair question, especially considering that side project found its way to Owen's bar looking for things to judge.
"He's a rich kid, travel influencer is the preferred title. I just got hired to be his camera man and signed everything before he was going pale at the mention of a gay bar" Johnathan took a long slow drink and savored the moment, knowing Owen was giving him a sympathetic look but not feeling up to sympathy at the moment. After letting the taste rest on his tongue for a moment he continued. "I mean it's not really so bad. I'm going to make crazy money, basically go on a world tour for free, and he seems like an okay guy outside of the homophobia. Plus he doesn't seem to have any kind of problem throwing down cash when he messes up" He looked down and realized the drink was almost gone, taking the last swig at once and snagging the cherry out.

"The next bus runs in five, you probably ought to get going unless you want to spend a half an hour here" The cherry hit his tongue and biting into it released the juice and rum it had soaked up. He pulled his phone to confirm the time before fishing for his wallet.
"Don't worry about it, your new buddy threw down enough to cover a bender." He laughed a bit and thought he might have been a touch near tipsy. He had certainly always be a light weight so it wouldn't be a surprise. He thanked Owen for the drink and headed to he door after collecting his things.
"Wish me luck, two weeks from now he'll be one of the only people I get to hang out with for months" And he leaned out the door, debating how relaxed he could be waiting for the travel to take off.

Friday

He greeted Michael at the door and asked him inside. "You're really not even able to pack without overthinking it?" Michael asked while simultaneously annoyed and teasing. He had become used to Johnathan's neurotic tendencies over the course of their friendship, and knew that small town kid at heart Johnathan wouldn't be able to prepare for something like this on his own. Michael slipped his shoes off and they headed to Johnathan's room, where he had already set out two large suitcases across his bed. Around them were neat stacks of folded outfits containing every aspect down to the socks he would wear with them. Some outfits were laid next to one another with a shirt or pair of socks laid partially on each of them, showing his indecisiveness and attentiveness with how thoroughly he had tried to plan it all. Michael waited patiently for his friend to launch into his long winded spiel to explain all of the difficulties he had run into.

"I know we'll be gone for a while so I need to pack a lot, but I feel so overwhelmed by it all. You know I'm not like a traveler and even having more than one suitcase feels like such a pampered thing to just lug around like a full closet like I'm the guy whose going to need thousands of outfits like I'm not even on the camera and like I don't I-I just" He stopped and closed his eyes, rubbing his hands on the bridge of his nose while Michael took a step towards him. Michael placed his hands on Johnathan's shoulders to steady him, and Johnathan looked up.

"You're getting overwhelmed. It's okay, you can do this. Your work is great, you deserve this job, and you can do this. I just need you to breathe for a minute and be here with me." Johnathan looked into his friends eyes and took a slow shaky breathe to steady himself. Michael knew how to talk him down, he always had. The pair held eye contact for a long moment before Johnathan broke it, pulling his friend in for a hug.
"Thanks man, you always can keep me calm. I don't know how anyone could be around me without how much you've mellowed me out." The two separated and Michael started sorting through outfits. "Now lets narrow down a few of these." Michael threw outfits into two piles, one on the bed and one in the suitcase, within a few moments of looking at each outfit.

"Hey, Are you even looking at them?" Johnathan interjected with shock.
"Of course I am! But I also know you, and you have checked these outfits a dozen times before I even got here. If it's still laid out there you have ran it through a thousand scenarios and still decided that it'll work. So if it passes my style test to I know it'll work." Michael turned back to the outfits and continued sorting them. Johnathan watched in almost amazement at the ease with which Michael flipped through the clothing, and after some minutes began putting away all of the rejected outfits. Within about ten minutes he was packed up for the trip and Michael helped him put away what was left.

"I think that does it! What time is it anyway?" Johnathan tracked down his phone and checked the time. "Oh crap, my boss left me a message." He put the phone to his ear and listened to the message. "Michael, what on earth is The Dove?" The words barely fell from his mouth before Michael was rushing to his side.
"Your boss did not invite you to The Dove! God you are so lucky! That's one of the hottest spots in town!"
"Not me, us. He said if I cancel plans I can invite friends out to."
"Oh my god I'm going to The Dove with Aidan Cameron! Oh my god I could die."
"So I'm guessing I should text him we're in?" Johnathan joked dryly while replying to the text I'm in, I'll just have a guest and confirmed the time. "Now I need you to help me figure out how to look for something like this. I won't be on the camera at all but I don't want people to stare at me all night like they know I don't belong."

Michael quickly went to the suitcase and started picking through, a goal in mind. He plucked out a shirt and separate pair of pants, quickly handing it to Johnathan.
"Here, get these on. We need to get back to my place so I can get changed and we can fix our hair and everything." Johnathan set the clothes on the bed and slowly unfolded the black button up, trying to figure out what made it stand out to Michael. As if reading his thoughts, Michael interjected "It's nice enough not to draw attention but I know you won't feel out of place in it either. Plus the black kind of pulls your eyes out, I don't know. It'll look good though." Michael started to walk back to the door, "I'll get my shoes on, I want you to to come out when you're dressed and we can head out." Michael closed the door and Johnathan pulled off his shirt, trying not to catch his reflection in the mirror as he covers up again. He quickly redressed and found his dress shoes, thinking they were hardly his preference but the closest to what he could think people would wear in a place like that. He caught his reflection and ran his fingers threw his hair a few times before heading back to Michael.

"Hey not to bad! Now lets get back to my place, I want to have enough time to get dressed and check in"
"Oh so you're suddenly Mr on time?"
"For you, maybe. For Aidan Cameron, every moment I can help it" Johnathan laughed and rolled his eyes. "Well then we better get going"
The men headed to Michael's apartment, finding him a deep blue shirt that seemed a bit tighter than Johnathan imagined himself ever being comfortable in and a pair of dark gray pants. They were able to find parking nearby, and although expensive Johnathan assumed it would be covered. Slowly after they loaded into the elevator Michael fussed over Johnathan's hair. He carefully fluffed it, flattened it a bit, then pulled out a comb and some gel from his pocket.

"Oh my god will you leave it alone! I won't even be on camera" Johnathan threw out, a bit more angry than he meant to be. Michael pulled back a bit and gave him a look.
"I know you're as nervous as I am. Just let me do this and I know it'll be fine" Johnathan rolled his eyes but made no further complaint. Finally Michael ran the comb through his own hair to empty it of its gel and put the supplies away. The elevator dinged and they headed to to the doorman, bypassing the line in what Johnathan hoped was a capable enough mockery of Michael's typical state.
"Hey, my friend and I are guests of Aidan Cameron." Michael said, without giving Johnathan a chance to speak up.
"Yeah, you and everyone in this line"
"No, really. My name is Johnathan Roberts, I should be on he list" Johnathan surprised himself a bit, but after a quick glance by the doorkeep between the list and his ID the two were let inside. As they headed through the door Michael put on what sounded like a bad bond impression. "My name is Johnathan Roberts, am pretty sure I'm on the list"
"Oh shut up, I was not that bad. And you know I don't like being talked down to"
"Still that was a bit more than I would have expected from you." Michael gave him a light slap on the back and the two headed through the main room.
"Now just look for someone treated like a living god." Michael leaned in a bit to say to Johnathan, as his eyes scanned the room.

 

[lachlan]

Aiden should have known that The Dove wasn't going to give him two booths, but the upper balcony to himself and his friends. Aiden wanted something more low-key, but they wouldn't have anything else. He was important, and there was no way they would want him or his friends having a poor time. He was sitting on the couch with Ryan, Olivia, and Jones. They all had invited people, so it was like their own private party in a sense. Ryan was his best friend. His red and brown eyes were clearly a tell-all for all of his craziness. That is why the two got along so well. Ryan was literally the yin to his yang. The other two were really close friends of his, met them on his trip last summer to Chile.

Olivia was definitely more of a robust girl, she was absolutely stunning. Most people tended to ask them if they were going out. Aiden and she always said they are too close of friends to date. She had her dyed at the moment to this shiny emerald green color, which was somewhat offset by her hazel eyes. She was the funny one of the two and could definitely beat Aiden in an arm-wrestling contest if she wanted. She spent most of her time hiking some of the wildest trails imaginable. Some of these trails were so dangerous some wouldn't even dare try them. That never stopped Olivia.

"So about the Europe trip, Aiden," Olivia smiled. "Do you have room for one more?"

Aiden couldn't help but grin, he always liked to have company. Even though he had Johnathan, he didn't know that much about him and would definitely learn while they travel. Aiden couldn't help but want a usual face around. Some things he was sure he couldn't share with Johnathan. "Yeah, you wanna come with?"

She had literally started hoping in her seat. "Fuck yes, I'll pay my own way too."

"The only thing you need to worry about is food, I got the rest," Aiden said cooly. Olivia was somewhat flabbergasted by the arrangement. She tried to argue but Aiden wasn't going to let her pay. He just wanted a friend to come along. "I'll just have to let Johnathan know."

"Who's Johnathan?" Olivia and Jones asked out of curiosity. They both should have been used to new people being brought on board with my brand. Aiden was trying to curve that and not be so difficult, but there is only one thing that he strived for and that was quality. Quality was everything to him, he wouldn't dare put out a shit video and expect his viewers not to mention how bad it truly is. That is why he was so hard on his crew, but he was learning to be better.

"Johnathan is my new cameraman," Aiden said with a smile. He looked around for a moment and then there was a waiter come up to him. The boy was wearing some revealing clothing, nothing new to Aiden when it comes to clubs in LA. It was what gave good tips. "Can I get four Vodka Red Bulls, and two bottoms of Magnum Grey Goose?"

"I take it you want Grey Goose for the vodka in the drinks, do you want me to bring extra Red Bulls also?" the waiter asked.

"Throw in a bottle of Jagger, and that would be perfect," Aiden answered and the waiter was gone. He knew to put it on his tab. He had just ordered roughly two grand of liquor, and he didn't even bat an eye, while Olivia, Jones, and Ryan were looking at him in astonishment. "What? I'm planning to get us all fucked up tonight."

"Who is going to babysit you, Aiden?" Olivia teased. It was true Aiden was known to get a little crazy when he mixed energy drinks and alcohol. He would be wired for the next several hours. Within minutes the waiter was back with what he ordered.

"Two bottles of Magnum Grey Goose and one bottle of Jagger. Four Vodka Red Bulls, and ten cans of red bull," the waiter said as two other waiters had to help him carry everything up. Aiden grabbed a hundred out of his pocket and handed it to him.

"If you keep it up, there will be plenty more," Aiden said with a sly smile. The waiter was just kind of looking at it like it was gold. He must not be used to large tippers, or it was his first night at The Dove. Aiden decided to act like it was his first night because everyone here was here to spend a fortune. There was no other reason to come to The Dove. The sounds of Astronaut in the Ocean was playing in the background when Aiden saw Johnathan and what he guessed was the friend he was bringing. "Up here!"

Aiden wasn't sure if he was heard so he sent someone down to grab them. That was in the bass dropped and Aiden couldn't help but pull Olivia up to dance. He downed his drink and was soon drinking straight out of the bottle, and washing it down with red bull on the side. He was wondering what was taking them so long to come up there. There was only one thing to say for certain he was wired.

The moment Aiden thought about how long it was taking for them to get up there, Johnathan was in front of him. "Johna-than!" Aiden slurred, he was definitely feeling the alcohol in his system right now. "We got Grey Goose and red bull or just order something and they'll add it to my tab. I put you on the list to add things." The next thing Taste by Tyga came blaring through the speakers. "Oh and this is Olivia. Bestie from Chile! She's going to be joining our little adventure!"

 

[Bellafv]

The posh look of the place left Johnathan feeling a little overwhelmed. His eyes scanned through a sea of people, trying to think of where he could imagine the richest patrons secluding themselves. His and Michael's eyes rested at the same moment on some balcony sitting above everyone. Faintly he heard what sounded like Aiden shouting something and he could see his figure waving while he danced, although he couldn't make a guess as to who it was with. The lights on the lower areas changed to blue, flashing to the beat of the song and setting a look of being under water. Bits of smoke released from somewhere and he grabbed Michael, knowing he could never push through a crown on his own. He felt a bit like a child as Michael reflexively took the lead pushing through the crowd and Johnathan tried to not lose a grip on his shirt. The dancers rolled their bodies to the song in a way that almost felt hypnotizing. His eyes flowed from one group to another, wondering how they were able to move in ways that seemed to smooth for a body to manage. He'd never been a dancer, mainly due to a lack of skill on his part, but it always felt so unnatural to try the moves they do. It made him feel like he was just imitating them, just an imposter of what he saw everyone else doing.

Michael moved through the crowd with ease, before curving through to head towards someone. Michael and the man spoke to one another for a moment, but any words were drowned out by the music and the sense of depersonalization creeping in. The lights flashing and tampered by the fog, the slow rolling and flow in the movements of everyone around him, it all felt unreal. Michael pointed to him but it barely registered as he felt enveloped by the movements of the crowd around him. He'd rarely felt so out of place but watching them all he really wished he could be so carefree, moving in any way that felt natural. He was jerked out of his thoughts as Michael pulled on his sleeve and gestured to the man he had spoken to. His mouth moved but the speakers were to close, the sound of his voice barely made it. Michael pulled his sleeve and they moved through the crowd, following the man up a staircase led behind bouncers. The bouncers stepped aside as they drew near and the man led them through a much smaller crowd, at least a quarter of which seemed to be made up entirely of staff. Waiters flooded the area with drinks, but after seeing how easily Aiden threw money for a drink in a gay bar even with how homophobic he was with Owen Johnathan thought he had to always tip like that. He was probably swarmed by employees and 'friends' alike looking to be there when he felt generous.

Aidan slurred his name, but at least he seemed excited to see Johnathan, that was a good sign. Johnathan tried not to make a face at the offer of redbull, the thought of the disgusting taste and the idea of mixing it with alcohol always seemed like a child's idea of drinking to him. An open tab he would be responsible for was a terrifying thought to Johnathan, but he wondered how many of the people in the area were only there because of things like that being a perk of the friendship. Another song came on and the rapper talked about wealth and style. Aiden shouted an introduction of the woman beside him, but truthfully Johnathan had been so lost in the scene he had hardly noticed her. Michael started dancing next to him as a waited delivered drinks to someone near them. It would help him to have a drink just to loosen up, he thought to himself how uncomfortable he might look sober and surrounded by drunk partiers. They were supposed to do record a video or something, he wouldn't have just been invited to get drunk and party with rich kids, but since Aidan was clearly offering one drink really couldn't hurt. Johnathan turned to the waiter nearby and ordered an Old Fashioned, figuring it would be one of the only things he could confidently order here without making it obvious how clueless he was to whatever people drink in a place like this. Michael leaned in and said something that sounded French but Johnathan wasn't sure what it was. The waiter nodded and took off, likely with the mistaken belief that they were as rich as the people around them.

Michael pulled him a bit closer to Aidan and his friend. It definitely started with an O, Olivia he thought but he wasn't sure. Michael slipped into dancing like he likely had done in thousands of places just like this. Maybe not just like this, there couldn't be a lot of places as ritzy as this, but Michael was just as at home in a night club as he was in O'Connors. Johnathan tried to sneak a few subtle glances at the girl Aidan was dancing with to try to feel out who she was. She was breathtaking, absolutely uncomfortably beautiful. She and Aidan looked like a couple from a magazine, so attractive and happy. Was she a girlfriend of his? Maybe someone hoping for the spot. Johnathan couldn't fault her for ambition; Aidan was attractive, outgoing, clearly generous. There were probably countless young women hoping his eyes would fall on him in this building alone. The drinks came quickly and pulled his eyes from the girl, Michael's being some kind of white wine or Champaign maybe. The drink was better than he thought, it had been a while since he branched out from his usuals. It was half gone while he tried to get into the swing of the movements people around him did. The place seemed to go a bit heavier on the alcohol than most bars he'd been to, but at this point it'd been at least a year or two since he'd been to any bar but Owen's, and he imagined this bar wouldn't be so quick to make lighter drinks when they saw him getting drunk or Michael getting to flirty.

"I'm Michael, Johnathan's best friend" Michael aimed somewhere between the power couple, before finishing off his drink.
"Done already?" Johnathan laughed and gestured to the empty drink.

"After you" Michael said back, a confusing statement before Johnathan looked at his own glass. How long had it been empty?

He felt good though, wrapped up in the moment. A waiter stopped by to pick up the empty glasses and Johnathan ordered another drink. Michael smiled at him but raised his eyebrows in a way that suggested Johnathan had to be careful. He knew that Johnathan was a light weight, but what was the harm in a bit more? Just one more drink, and then he would cut himself off for sure. He wasn't feeling like a poser anymore. He wasn't sticking out, he was a part of the scene. He still couldn't dance but he felt like rather than the scene being about the nerd who couldn't dance the movie scene was about young people really living in the moment. Another song came on and it felt like ever note pulled him in. He was drunk on the moment, pulled into the scene he didn't want to end. He wasn't over thinking it or feeling like he didn't belong. He and Michael were dancing together, then they were dancing with Olivia and Aidan to. Olivia smiled at him and he wasn't sure how he felt. She wouldn't be flirting with him in any world, but in the moment anything felt possible. The four of them danced together in a circle, and the waiter cut between Michael and Olivia to pass out the new drinks. It felt to light, the whole situation felt spacey. He took a sip but he was already intoxicated by the air of the place, the feel of the scene. He felt free, he felt careless. He felt like one of them. He could finally see what Michael saw in a place like this. He'd been dragged to a few before and they felt to crowded and loud, but up there in the rich people's private area he felt so high above everything he hated about those moments.

"I feel young. I don't usually feel young, but I totally do!" He wasn't sure if he made any sense, but to him he couldn't have been clearer.

He really felt like the carefree drunk kind of young he'd never had a chance to be. Maybe he could be a club gay? Only like this though, only with this kind of space, this amount of alcohol, these kind of friends. He'd never had friends like these. Michael was his best friend, but so was Olivia and Aidan. He'd never been close to people like this before. He'd never had a night like this before. He could never be happier, he never wanted it to end. He was almost through his second drink but he knew if he had a third he'd be truly drunk. The moment just made it all feel that much more powerful.

 

[lachlan]

Aiden was taking getting drunk to a whole new level tonight. The number of drinks that he had drunk; no inhaled was astronomically unhealthy but he didn't care. He was too intertwined with the music. They played a slowish moving song, and it caused Aiden to just sway, Olivia couldn't help but laugh at him. "Dance with me," he yelled as he swayed back and forth. Johnathan and Micheal were swaying with them. This was one thing he loved before leaving the country, the final Friday. It was clear also that Johnathan was intoxicated. He looked so cute, almost kissable. Aiden shook his head to clear that thought. It was too public to try anything here, and he didn't even know if Johnathan liked guys too. He wasn't going to mess things up with Johnathan, Aiden was determined to remain professional.

He knew when they went out to the bar he wasn't a super nice person, especially to the bartender. He felt like a complete ass, and he knew better than assume that the bartender was hitting on him. Aiden by gay standards would be considered more than likely a jock and or twink. And the bartender had Dad bod, and that was one thing Aiden wasn't attracted too. But he didn't know for sure because he's only kissed a handful of guys and they were always similar to himself. There was something about Johnathan that he couldn't quite put his finger on. But there was one thing for sure Aiden wanted, and that was another drink. He saw that Johnathan was ordering an Old Fashioned. Which was a good drink choice for someone with literal taste. Aiden preferred a Whiskey Sour, but he wanted to get super fucked up as this was going to be his last Friday he'd be spending in Los Angeles for a long while.

Aiden knew one way to get fucked up, tequila. He walked over to one of the waiters to order some more drinks. "We need to get a bottle of Patron Silver," Aiden said as his words slurred together, the waiter kind of looked at him, and ran off to get the bottle of Patron. He walked back over to where Johnathan, Michael and Olivia were dancing. He noticed that Johnathan had his camera on him, and that was the main reason why he was there. But Aiden didn't care if he didn't get any footage of tonight, and would more than likely cringe at the videos tomorrow if they were to record. "Johnathan, were not going to record anything, I'd much rather us all have good time and not worry about work. I hope I didn't take you away from anything important."

Aiden was going to feel bad if he had pulled him away for nothing. He knew his friend was having a great time, and it appeared like Johnathan was too. But he didn't want to make the assumption. Olivia grabbed his hand and began to jump as the song went from slow to bass dropping hip-hop. The lights changed from the light blue color to alternating between dark blue, red and yellow. The fog on the floor was starting to become thicker. The song came to an end and the waiter had returned with the Patron.

"One bottle of Patron," he said handing Aiden the bottle. Aiden reached into his pocket and pulled out a Ben to hand to him. He looked at it for a moment and fist bumped Aiden.

"You're going to try to kill me aren't you?" Olivia said taking the bottle from his hands. "I love tequila." She popped the cork out and took a long sip. "Shit this is the good stuff."

"Only the best for my friends!" Aiden cheered taking the bottle from her and taking a rather large gulp. It burnt, and his eyes were watering like a bitch. The room was starting to spin, he passed the bottle to Johnathan and began dance. Johnathan was looking at the bottle, Aiden assumed that he had never seen a bottle of Patron before. He took a shot, and that is when Michael sort of just snatched the bottle from him. Aiden found it quite funny, he guessed that Johnathan was a lightweight, and he had already drank quite a bit. Little did he know something was going to happen tonight, something that could potential lead to him having to find another cameraman with a literal week left before flying out.