. don't look down

[stassi siminski]

CURRENTLY: IN CAT'S CRADLE'S TRAILER

STASSI

"Don't mind if I do," Stassi says to herself, inspecting a basket full of supplies that's sat in the tiny trailer toilet and helping herself to a toothbrush and paste. She sets about brushing her teeth, inspecting herself in the mirror and deciding what else she'd need to do to look a little less... well, just fucked. Her long hair is tousled, having been wrapped up in Niko's fist not so very long ago. Her lips are swollen, her makeup smudged around the edges. But hey, wasn't that rock'n'roll? Shrugging at herself, she fishes out some perfume from her purse (Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille, if you're interested), dousing herself as she steps back out. "You know it's not too late to back out..." she says with a grin, holding up her phone. She really, really hope that he doesn't, though. Wearing an oversized Cat's Cradle t-shirt, she climbs back into bed with Niko, committing this moment to memory. A true groupie. "Though if you go ahead with it we can go again right after, scout's honor."

[niko blackwood]

CURRENTLY: IN CAT'S CRADLE'S TRAILER

NIKO

Niko slides a cigarette into his mouth as Stassi shuffles out of the bed, an oversized Cat’s Cradle t-shirt covering the delicious body he was just worshipping. He’s about to light it when he remembers the conversation had with their manager - to leave the smoking to outside because of the various merchandise pieces lying around. Tucking the cigarette behind his ear, he stands up and finds his boxers he’d discarded on the floor. There is an assortment of scattered clothes on the side of the bed, showing just how anxious and desperate they’d been to get their hands on each other. Pulling them back on to his body, Niko brings his hand through his hair as he settles back into the bed. She’s back, smelling refreshed and just as delectable as before he ripped off what little the clothes were on her body. “You look like a true groupie,” he tries to reach for Stassi again, but she moves away giggling and pulling out her phone. Telling him it was okay if he changed his mind. He was pretty good at keeping his promises, so a video is what she'd get. “Alright, c’mon. How do I look first? Thoroughly fucked as you requested?”

[stassi siminski]

CURRENTLY: IN CAT'S CRADLE'S TRAILER

STASSI

Slinking back into bed next to him, the sight of a cigarette behind his ear makes her heart pang with longing. "I feel like one too," she says, her grin turning mischievous as she imagines what a stir this video could cause. She had felt horrifically exposed in times of late, first when people started sleuthing the identity of her paramours, and then even more so when her furious ex had decided to lay bare the whole sordid truth of their affair. She had never expected anyone to care so much about her private life, had thought the series would be a funny little in joke, one that wouldn't be able to go too far. Of course that was not how the internet worked. "Come on, we've got to give the people what they want." She surveyed him, before ruffling his hair just so. "There we go. Pretty as a picture. You ready for your true moment to shine? Just so you know, these girls can be crazy. You should see the things they say about me on Reddit."

[niko blackwood]

CURRENTLY: IN CAT'S CRADLE'S TRAILER

NIKO

She slides into the spot next to him in bed, so close yet so far as she looked stunning in the Cat's Cradle merch. After this video, Niko knew he'd have the pleasure of getting to lift his band's shirt off of her body. Another huge turn on for any man in a band. She ruffles his hair, preparing him for the debut on her tik tok. Upon meeting Stassi she'd spoken of the videos and lifestyle she'd chosen to hold up, never judging her. After they'd hooked up and she lied naked in his bed, she gave Niko the run down of the recent drama following her tik tok. The internet was a cruel place. "Any other requests you have?" He chuckles, as he gestures down to his shirtless upper half. "Wanna make the hickey you left on my neck more noticeable?" He had touched his neck as soon as she left the bed to freshen up, it was tender and he certain their was a love bite or mark that she'd given him. "Stassi, baby. I'll be honest. I don't give a fuck what other's think, let's do it. Ask your questions and then I'm taking this shirt off of you." He encouraged, nodding to the phone she still held in her hand and his eyes lusting over her exposed legs.

[stassi siminski]

CURRENTLY: IN CAT'S CRADLE'S TRAILER

STASSI

This had been a long time coming. Usually sex was a currency for Stassi, something she exchanged after a certain threshold of attention and affection, a performance she was willing to debut for men who made her feel like they were a worthy audience. But this was truly indulgent, a rare occasion where she wanted him enough to prioritise her own pleasure. She grins at his shirtlessness, resting a hand on his perfect chest. "Mmm, don't worry, they'll spot it. They're all over everything." She laughs at his enthusiasm, even more attracted to him for his total indifference to her internet notoriety. "Come on then," she says, sitting up and turning to face the window ledge behind them. She sets her phone up, leaning it against the closed blinds and checking their positioning, sweeping her hair to one side. She hits the button to go live. "We're live baby! It'll take people a few minutes to file through, come here."

[niko blackwood]

CURRENTLY: IN CAT'S CRADLE'S TRAILER

NIKO

The two had played the back and forth game for so long. The so close, yet so far. The almosts, but never happenings. And now that Niko finally had a taste, he wanted more. But he had agreed to be interviewed, an unusual request from the woman who liked to keep her viewers guessing which man she was out on a date with. The internet would go crazy over this scene. Stassi in Cat's Cradle merchandise, Niko without a shirt on, covered in the hickey's she'd scattered across his body. Obvious to all that they'd been fooling around just before her filming. Would his publicist be mad? His mind wanders his other band mates, the chaos that always surrounded them and he realizes this would be minuscule in the grand scheme of things. Stassi props the phone and Niko sits up in bed. Running his hand through his hair a final time, as he leans towards the camera to make sure all the pieces looked okay. He moves closer to her and the phone, before addressing the platform, allowing some time to pass like she'd ask, for more viewers to join. "Hello. I'm Niko. And I'm having the pleasure of being interviewed by the Stassi Siminski today."

[stassi siminski]

CURRENTLY: IN CAT'S CRADLE'S TRAILER

STASSI

Live content was a new territory for Stassi. She liked to pour over her editing process, mainly focusing on cutting clips down as aesthetically as possible, doing her best to crop out anything that might be too identifying... it seems funny to think about the lengths she went to now, so futile against a resourceful internet. Looking at the reflection of them in the screen, she had a feeling she'd be getting some angry texts from her father later on today. "That's me," she adds pointlessly, since they're on her channel, "and this is new for me, so bear with me guys. God, so many of you already! Hello, hi, thanks for joining... Niko. First question, how was your set? Still feeling the adrenaline? They were amazing by the way."

[niko blackwood]

CURRENTLY: IN CAT'S CRADLE'S TRAILER

NIKO

The phone dings several times as people begin to join. He sees Stassi scanning the questions, comments that were below them on the live screen. She smiles before looking to him, laughing at the silly introduction of her after all, it was her channel. Niko returns the smile and prepares for the first question. He nods his head, happy she's beginning to go easy on him, though he could take it any way.  "I think it went great?" A cocky smirk forming on his lips. "Definitely still feeling the adrenaline, it'll be like that for the next couple of hours. Fun fact, that was actually the biggest show I've ever played in my life."

[stassi siminski]

CURRENTLY: IN CAT'S CRADLE'S TRAILER

STASSI

There's a flurry of messages on the screen, the number of viewers climbing too fast for her to keep up with. In truth it makes her nervous, so she avoids looking at it, reaching over and picking up a White Claw to sip on. She widens her eyes at his answer, tilting her head. "No way? You seemed totally in your element." More messages flurry by. "Did you like it, or do you prefer more... intimate settings?"

[niko blackwood]

CURRENTLY: IN CAT'S CRADLE'S TRAILER

NIKO

Niko watches as her eyes widen following his confession. Once the music starts up, all the nerves he ever felt slowly faded away, it's how he always was. Banging on the drummer and slipping into the persona of a rockstar. "Thanks, yeah, my last band Killswitch didn't perform anything like that," though the hardcore band was on their way to bigger and better things. "A little plug for them, they are an Indy based band. Loud, fun, check them out," Niko laughs knowing none of the crowd she brought in would like them. He ponders the question before answering. "I loved it. Can't wait to do it again."

[stassi siminski]

CURRENTLY: IN CAT'S CRADLE'S TRAILER

STASSI

She lets him talk, keeping her eyes on his face as he does so though it's not easy to ignore the activity blurring across the screen of her phone. "I'm sure your fans already have checked them out too, don't you know how obsessive we get?" She herself had added a few Killswitch songs to her Spotify.   "Do you get nervous? How do you prepare for a show, does it vary at all if it's a festival as opposed to a normal gig?"

[niko blackwood]

CURRENTLY: IN CAT'S CRADLE'S TRAILER

NIKO

"Oh yeah?" Niko's eyebrow quirks up at Stassi including herself in the obsessive fan girl club, laughing. It was hard to ignore the phone in front of them, the constant dings and other sounds interrupting at times. He keeps going though, knowing not to draw too much attention to it, given it was her first time doing a live such as this. "I do, I have a tradition of playing the same song the last time while we rehearse and listening to my 'pump up' playlist, I feel like that settles all my pre-show jitters." Though he was confident playing, and music was now a bigger part of his life, he was human and knew other fans and artists could relate. "I think my nerves will be better next time though, getting the first big show out of the way."

[stassi siminski]

CURRENTLY: IN CAT'S CRADLE'S TRAILER

STASSI

"Impressive if you can make it even better than that," she says, finding it easy to forget about the live audience when she listens to his responses. It was surprisingly fun to ask him these questions, easing him in with neutral territory before she dared to start inviting more daring ones from the audience. "You're living in LA these days, right? How did you find the New York crowd, have you ever played here before?"

[niko blackwood]

CURRENTLY: IN CAT'S CRADLE'S TRAILER

NIKO

"Who's your favorite member of Cat's Cradle?" Niko dares, spinning the questions on to her and giving her one to laugh about. Feeling a little strange sitting so intimate to Stassi and not getting to do the same. He remembers the first time he listened to the band himself, shocked that he was now considered a member. Years of hard work and dedication to music paying off. "Yeah, I live in LA most of the time, occasionally come to New York," Niko thinks of how the two of them met in an infamous city night, as he replies. "I played here with Killswitch but it wasn't the same, you know?" People weren't screaming the lyrics back to you and bringing that same kind of energy, it was incredible. Special."

[stassi siminski]

CURRENTLY: IN CAT'S CRADLE'S TRAILER

STASSI

"Ooh that's a tough one," she says, tapping a manicured finger against her chin in faux deep thought. "Joe, probably." She gives him a playful shove, relishing the fact she's getting to make physical contact with a super hot rockstar in front of her fans. "Any chance you'll move this way? You've got to admit the East Coast is where it's at," she says, as if she had spent much time in LA, though her own thick Brooklyn accent was enough to give away her allegiance all on its own. "Yeah, I bet it's a whole different ballgame. OK, same question back to you - favorite member of Cat's Cradle? And you can't say yourself."