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lifeofkaze · 3 years

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When Stars Ignite - Chapter 20

HPHM Rockstar AU

A/N:

General Warning: This whole fic has a general warning of being NSFW / 18+. We will give specific warnings for every chapter in itself, but several adult themes will be more or less present in every chapter, may it be explicitly or in mention. These include sexual topics, drug abuse, (ab)use of alcohol, smoking and a whole lot of cursing.

Specific Warning: Language, drinking, allusions to/mention of sexual content

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Find the masterpost here, the previous chapter here and the next one here. The songs featured before every chapter can be found on this pretty badass playlist here.

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This work is a collaboration with @the-al-chemist

Taglist: @slytherindisaster @night-rhea @carewyncromwell @thatravenpuffwitch

We're on the edge

On the edge

We just might be lovers

Dive in to the glory where we'll be out there

~ Takida - Edge ~

With an exhausted sigh, Orion let himself fall against the back of the sofa in the green room. Even now, more than an hour after their second show of the day had been over, he could still hear the roar of the crowd hanging in the air.

The experience of their charity show still fresh in their minds, every one of them had given everything to make their main show just as memorable as the one before.

Catching some sleep had helped with clearing Orion’s mind of the turmoil that had raged inside his thoughts. Although it had been unexpected, he was glad Lizzie had come to check on him. Before she had arrived, he had felt like a leaf tossed in the winds of his memories, unable to catch hold of anything that would help him weather the storm.

But when he had felt her arms around him, her steady heartbeat had been enough to ground him and return his focus to the moment at hand, not the past and not the future. Who would have thought that the touch of her hand alone would be enough to calm him where, on his own, he needed several hours of meditation.

As they did do every so often these days, his eyes wandered over to where Lizzie was chatting with Skye. All the fans that had been allowed to meet them were long gone, one of them leaving hanging on Everett’s arm.

Skye was impatiently glancing at her phone, checking the time. Orion noticed how she made a point not to look to the door, where Erika was standing with an unreadable face.

Lizzie said something to Skye that made her roll her eyes. Sniggering to herself, she made her way over to him; her movements were less energetic than usual and Orion could tell the exhaustion of the day was already affecting her.

She slumped down onto the sofa next to him. “I think Skye and Erika want us to leave,” Lizzie giggled. “Skye said they ‘have some things to discuss’”. She tried to hide her grin behind her hand. Her blue eyes were sparkling with laughter, her cheeks slightly flushed.

“I can just imagine what kinds of topics they would feel the need to cover,” Orion smirked.

Lizzie giggled again, then sighed and sunk deeper into the plush couch. “Me too, but can’t they just go somewhere else? I don’t want to move, I’m tired.” She grimaced as she tilted her head from side to side. “And my shoulders hurt like hell.”

“We could go back and you let me do something about that,” Orion said so quietly only Lizzie would hear, his smile turning decidedly more mischievous. He almost reached out to touch her, catching himself at the last moment.

Lizzie pursed her lips before they curved into a shrewd smile, the one Orion knew meant trouble. She leaned slightly forward so she was closer to him; she was just far away enough to not seem suspicious to the others but the look in her eyes was intense.

“How could I refuse such a generous offer,” she purred before abruptly leaning back again, “but not just now. I want to wind down a little before we go back.”

She stood up and had to take a little extra step to catch her balance again. “Let’s go get some drinks, what do you say?”

Spending time with her seemed a good way to end the evening one way or another, so Orion got up as well and they set out to leave. It felt strange to just go out with her for drinks, they hadn’t done anything like that in ages. But then again, Lizzie had been right earlier; they were still friends after all.

They were just about to walk out the door, when his eyes fell on Merula sitting in the far corner of the room. She was playing with a lighter that was unfamiliar to him. She was staring into the flame burning up from the small device before she extinguished it again. Orion felt a pang of guilt rising up in his chest; he hadn’t even noticed she was still here.

“Go ahead, I’ll catch up with you in a minute,” he muttered to Lizzie and made his way over to his foster sister.

Merula only looked up briefly from the flame she had sparked again when Orion stood next to her.

“I thought you were leaving.” It wasn’t a question but a statement.

“Not without saying goodbye,” he leaned forward slightly, trying to catch her violet coloured eyes. “Are you okay?”

Merula snorted. “Do I look okay?”

“You have a habit of hiding your true sentiments under a mask of sarcasm and spite, so for the inexperienced observer it is hard to tell.”

She let the flame go out and raised her eyes. “And what does the experienced observer say?”

“That you look even more sulky than usual.” Orion indicated the gleaming lighter in her hand. “Where did you get that? You’re not supposed to smoke.”

Merula’s frown deepened at his words. “You’re not Ethan fucking Parkin, but you sure start sounding like him,” she snarled. “You don’t get to tell me what to do, got it?”

Surprised at her tone, Orion raised his hands defensively; he was usually exempt from Merula’s moods. “I never meant to reprimand you. I’m just trying to keep you out of trouble.”

“Keep me out of trouble?” Merula snorted. Her eyes went to the door through which Lizzie had left a few moments ago. “How about starting with yourself then?”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t take me for stupid.” Her eyes grew hard as they turned back to him. “Did you really think I wouldn’t notice?”

Orion pressed his lips together; he didn’t like what he was hearing. What was going on between Lizzie and him was supposed to be a secret, yet in a matter of days three of their closest friends had all discovered the truth.

The guilty expression written over his face was confirmation enough for Merula. She angrily stuffed her lighter into her pocket.

“I can’t believe you’re so stupid,” she hissed. “You of all people, risking everything we have like this. And not even telling me,” she added bitterly. “I thought you trusted me.”

“You know I trust you,” Orion answered, trying to keep his voice steady. “But this was not a matter for me alone to decide.”

“Yeah, I see,” Merula sneered, “she’s fluttering her lashes at you and you’re putty in her hands. Doesn’t matter if what you’re doing is the most stupid fucking thing you’ve ever done.”

Her eyes flashed and she grit her teeth. “And seriously, Lizzie? Of all the girls you could have had, why did it have to be her?”

Orion frowned. “Why would you say that? I sense a lot of hostility in your words.”

“Spare me the bullshit, you know exactly what I mean. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but couldn’t you have just done it like Ev and gotten yourself some random groupie? But no, of course you had to go the complicated way and get yourself involved with someone who is strictly off limits.”

She raised her chin in defiance. “You can’t really believe she’s being serious with you. Just look at how she’s acting, she’s flirting with anyone with a pulse.”

Orion was becoming increasingly annoyed with Merula’s accusations; listening to her, it seemed as if she hadn’t known Lizzie for years.

“No doubt, Lizzie is an affectionate person. But you should know her; she is quick to share friendly banter but not her…”

“Her what,” Merula scoffed, interrupting him, “her love? Her heart? Wake up Orion, she’s playing a game with you.”

“No,” he said pointedly, another flare of anger at Merula’s unwarranted criticism. “You misinterpret the situation entirely. This has nothing to do with love.”

Merula looked him up and down for a second. “So that’s it? Just some mindless fucking around? Seems I have misjudged you; didn’t think you had that in you,” she snorted. “Not her though, she’s acting just as I would have expected. I always knew she was a little -”

“Mind your words,” Orion cut her off sharply. He wasn’t able to keep his anger at Merula’s insults to himself anymore. “If I were you I would think well about what you want to say next.”

Taken aback by his sharp tone, Merula blinked at him. “You snapped at me,” she said, looking completely dumbstruck. “You’ve never snapped at me before.”

“You’ve never acted like a petulant child before.”

“I don’t get it; why don’t you see it? That everybody’s darling thing she’s doing is not real, it’s just for show.”

Orion shook his head. His hand went to the pendant around his neck, tugging at it. “The face we show to the world is not always a mirror of how we feel inside. Only because Lizzie doesn’t let people look through her like glass, doesn’t mean she is a bad person. I thought you of all people would understand that.”

Fed up with her, Orion turned to go but Merula grabbed his arm, holding him back for just a moment longer.

“Just be careful, okay?” she said, suddenly sounding much softer than before. She didn’t look at him when he turned his head to face her. “This band is the closest thing to family we’ve ever had; she’s not worth risking that.”

Orion kicked the door to his hotel room shut with his foot, while Lizzie kissed him passionately. He could still taste the rich flavour of the whiskey on her lips, the bottle they had been sharing dropping to the ground with a muffled thud as she wrapped her arms around him. It landed right next to the jacket she had brushed off his shoulders; she stepped over it and pulled him further into the room.

In passing, Orion bent down and picked the bottle up again and took another sip. The earthy taste filled his mouth and the liquor burned in his throat, adding to the fire running through his veins. Lizzie pulled him closer again, their lips connecting as she kissed the last drops of whiskey off them.

She took the bottle from his hand, and brought it to her own lips, her eyes never leaving his even for a second. When she stepped back into the light falling into the room from the window, he could see there was a drop still hanging on the corner of her mouth; she spread it over her lower lip with her thumb before wrapping her lips around her fingertip, her smile heavy with promise. Orion exhaled slowly; she knew exactly how to drive him insane.

Within a heartbeat he was by her side again, the energy between them drawing him in like a force field. It had been building over the course of the whole evening; the exchange with Merula had left him feeling stirred up and with the last traces of adrenaline left from their show, his body had been flooded with the same restlessness he had been feeling for most of the day.

The strong drinks served in the bar where he and Lizzie had wound up had been a welcome distraction, just like her lingering looks and fleeting touches. It was a game between them she had mastered to perfection.

They hadn’t even been inside his room yet when Orion hadn’t been able to resist her any longer. He knew it was risky as hell to kiss her out in the open, but the sizzling tension between them had clouded his judgement. He hadn’t cared a single bit who might see them when he had pinned her against the door of his room, and judging by the way she had eagerly returned his kiss, neither had she.

It was stupid, it was dangerous and it was just what both of them needed tonight.

Maybe Merula had been right at least in one thing; Lizzie knew what to do to get him where she wanted him.

But she wasn’t the only one knowing him like the back of her hand. The soft moan escaping her as his kisses trailed down her throat was just as electrifying as the roar of the crowd when they were on stage.

She tilted her head to the side to give him better access and Orion smirked as he felt her fingers tangle in his hair. Her body shivered as his hands wandered up her sides from her hips. She let go of him just long enough to let him pull her shirt over her head, his own following just a moment later.

He rested his hands on her waist, which fit into his palms as if they were made for them, before they went up to her shoulders, giving her a slight push towards the bed. Lizzie let herself fall back into the sheets, pulling him along with her, their lips locked in a steamy kiss.

She wrapped her legs around him and pulled him even closer, her hands running down his spine.

“We should close the curtains,” he mumbled with the last shred of rational thinking he could muster, followed by a sharp intake of breath when her fingers dipped under the hem of his trousers.

“Better hurry then,” she breathed, teasingly biting his lip. Her words were slurred from the exhaustion of playing two shows in a day and the whiskey taking its effect on her.

Orion reluctantly broke free from her. She leaned back into the cushions and shook her hair out; it fell in soft waves over her shoulders and Orion couldn’t wait to bury his hands in her honey-brown mane. He kissed her one last time before getting up again; leaving her sprawled on his bed like this was feeling like a crime.

He stepped towards the window to pull the curtains close when he saw the figures dancing in the street outside; the faint sound of music was drifting up to him. He stopped and watched them for a moment.

“Looks like there’s quite the party going on outside,” he chuckled.

When he got no response, he turned around and, after a first moment of incredulity, had to bite back a laugh. Lying on the comfortable mattress, the day had gotten the better of Lizzie; her head had fallen to the side, her eyes were closed and her lips slightly parted. Her slow and steady breathing showed him that she was fast asleep.

Orion laughed quietly; no wonder she hadn’t been able to resist the lure of sleep, even if he was a little disappointed she’d left him hanging. Playing two shows in one day had taken a toll on all of them.

He knew she wanted to be left alone when she was sleeping, but the bed was only so big and he just couldn’t resist when he climbed into the sheets next to her. He gently ran his hand over the curve of her hips up to her waist. He didn’t want to wake her up, he just wanted to feel her smooth skin under the tips of his fingers.

Responding to his touch, Lizzie murmured something indiscernible and turned around, resting her head on his chest. Orion couldn’t help but smile as he carefully covered them both with the duvet.

They had shared the same bed more times than he could remember, even though Lizzie had made a point in returning to her room when they were on tour. Even so, the sight of her sleeping next to him was not new to Orion.

He was familiar with the way she hugged her pillow, and how she couldn’t sleep without the weight of a blanket on her shoulders, no matter how warm it was. He knew how she liked to sleep with the windows open, and that what she missed the most when they were home in London was the sound of the sea.

And still, even after all these months, they had never spent the night together without sleeping with each other first. This kind of intimacy was against all of the essential rules they had established; they weren’t about emotions, only about fun times between good friends. No commitment, no complications, no heartbreak. It was just another way of relieving the adrenaline in their bodies after they had left the stage.

But Orion couldn’t help the nagging feeling in the back of his mind that something felt different; that something else had sneaked into their dynamic over time.

He looked down and watched Lizzie sleeping peacefully for a moment. He shifted slightly so he had his arm around her and brushed back a strand of hair from her face. Just like this afternoon, he felt at ease with her in his arms, all thoughts about past and future forgotten. Everything that counted was right here and now, in this moment, just the two of them.

He absentmindedly twisted one of Lizzie’s curls around his finger and thought about what Merula had said. She was wrong, he decided for himself; this utter peace of mind he was experiencing right now, this was worth risking a lot for.

As Orion felt his own consciousness slip, he rested his face against Lizzie’s soft hair. He pressed a light kiss on her head, her familiar scent of jasmine and mint enveloping him and making him breathe her in deeply.

A memory rose from the depths of his mind, an off-hand remark made by him on a hot summer night on his rooftop. As her body was nestled against his, feeling as if it just belonged there, he couldn’t help but agree.

She really was the perfect size.

His lips curving into a smile, Orion drifted off to sleep.

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #orion amari #lizzie jameson #merula synde #rockstar au #when stars ignite #wsi #besties collaborate

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