. don't look down

[niko blackwood]

CURRENTLY: IN CAT'S CRADLE'S TRAILER

NIKO

He should've guessed her favorite to be Joe, rolling his eyes as she gives him a playful shove. "That was too predictable, maybe I should've been the one to guess it. I would've called." He loves their teasing manner, as he nudges her shoulder back once more. He also doesn't mind the physical contact they've constantly been in, his body still recognizing this sort of touch as new with Stassi. "We'll just have to see, don't want to get my mom's hopes up of me being closer," he says with a shrug of his shoulders, seeing more comments file through when he talked about his mom. The East coast was closer to home, she'd be thrilled. "What? I can't I say myself? Then I won't be given a hard time by the guys!" The answer is obvious for him, being the member he was the closest too. "Taylor. He's helped me out a lot."

[stassi siminski]

CURRENTLY: IN CAT'S CRADLE'S TRAILER

STASSI

"Only joking, I promise," she says, slipping her arm around his broad shoulders and pulling him in for a kiss on the cheek. In truth Niko was her textbook type, the kind of boy she would have swooned over as a teenager, cutting out a million pictures from magazines and camouflaging them all over her bedroom. She feels a momentary pang of empathy for his young fans, remembering how it felt like a stab in the heart when her teen heart throbs were seen with a girl. Oh well. "What are your parents like, did they encourage you to be a rockstar?"

[niko blackwood]

CURRENTLY: IN CAT'S CRADLE'S TRAILER

NIKO

"Yeah, you better be. She takes it back, everyone, I'm the favorite," He smirks when her lips graze his face. What were all the comments saying as she leaned in and kissed his cheek? Their intimacy was already noted with him shirtless and her wearing the band's tee. He didn't care. Feeling happy and carefree as she proceeded with asking him questions. "My parent's have always been my number one fans. Went to every show even if they didn't like the type of music I played, which was a sight to see" A smile touches his lips as he remembers his elementary school teacher mother standing in the back of a venue, with a mosh pit in front of her. "Who else are you looking forward to seeing this weekend?"

[stassi siminski]

CURRENTLY: IN CAT'S CRADLE'S TRAILER

STASSI

It gives Stassi a kick to imagine how much of a field day her Reddit haters would have with this. She had long learned that there was no use doing anything with an audience in mind, since trying to appease one group usually meant offending another. There was no winning, so she didn't play the game. "Are they here today?" That would be an awkward one to navigate, though it wouldn't be the first time she'd had to meet a guy's parents in one of his t-shirts. "Oh come on now Niko, no one wants to hear about me! Who are you excited to see? Is there anyone you fanboy over? Doesn't have to be someone playing this weekend."

[niko blackwood]

CURRENTLY: IN CAT'S CRADLE'S TRAILER

NIKO

"Nah, festivals aren't really their thing and neither is New York," Niko couldn't imagine his mom anywhere near. Small town meets big city, she'd be terrified to use any public transportation. He smiles at the thought of her not hanging on tight enough and flying through the subway cart. "Hey, sorry I just can't resist asking gorgeous girls questions," He murmurs as he brings both hands up to defend himself, earning an even bigger smile from Stassi with his compliment. "I listen to a variety of things but rock is my favorite genre. This weekend though? I loved seeing Post Malone, I geeked out over that. I've never had seen him before, and the Killers were great too."

[stassi siminski]

CURRENTLY: IN CAT'S CRADLE'S TRAILER

STASSI

A look of exaggerated offence crosses Stassi's features. "How could anyone not vibe with New York?" says Brooklyn Baby. It's a joke but it's also laced with truth; she could not get her head around the idea of anyone thinking that New York could be anything other than the epicenter of the world. But then, she wasn't particularly well travelled. "Gorgeous girls plural, huh?" She nods along to his answer, her green-blue eyes finally settling on the screen to start reading requests. "OK. Someone's asked if you're single, want to break it to them?"

[niko blackwood]

CURRENTLY: IN CAT'S CRADLE'S TRAILER

NIKO

He loves the look of disgust she makes when he admits that New York wasn't for his parents. If only she knew the whereabouts he came from, wide open spaces and no bustle like the city, unless you went downtown Indy. "Trust me, if you met them you'd understand," says the rockstar. "A simple mistake, gorgeous girl. Not plural." Niko emphasize the girl while he squints at the screen, seeing how fast questions were flying back, her head moving up and down to grab one. "Yeah sorry everyone, I actually just asked Stassi to be my girlfriend," his thumb points in her direction. "Just kidding, I'm single. What other question do you have, Brooklyn Baby?"

[stassi siminski]

CURRENTLY: IN CAT'S CRADLE'S TRAILER

STASSI

"Aww, are you asking me to meet your parents? This is moving so fast." Stassi is easing into this new form of content production, finally managing to skim the comments without dwelling on any negativity. She was an adaptable girl, after all. "I said no," she says with an exaggerated pout, "how would I film my dating chronicles if I already had the perfect boyfriend? Have at him ladies." She tears her eyes from him back to the screen, squinting slightly to read the blur of messages, hearts floating across at a rate that made it difficult to see. "OK, someone wants to know your workout routine."

[niko blackwood]

CURRENTLY: IN CAT'S CRADLE'S TRAILER

NIKO

"And I'm obviously very hurt that she turned me down," Niko places his right hand over his heart, looking down towards his lap and feigning hurt. Did she think this was going well? Though it was unconventional interview, Niko loved how comfortable he seemed. Remembering his first one, how incredibly awkward and itchy he felt sitting across from someone with a computer. He throws his head back at her next question, his workout routine. To play along, he flexes his right bicep, sure to bring an eye roll from Stassi. "I aim to work out five or six days a week, alternating what I do, my most recent thing I've taken up is boxing."

[stassi siminski]

CURRENTLY: IN CAT'S CRADLE'S TRAILER

STASSI

Stassi inches closer to him as he places a hand on his heart-- silly though it was, she felt a pang of affection for him then. Resting her head on his shoulder as he flexes, laughing as she's jostled by the action. She isn't surprised that it's a question that came, given he was shirtless and looked like he was carved out of marble. She's also sure that it's a guy who must have asked, someone who had stumbled across the live and seen the deluge of girls thirsting over Niko in the comments. It must be a tremendous power, being that famous and good looking, even her current proximity to it was threatening to go to her head. "Six days a week?" she repeats, sitting up and scrunching up her nose in disgust. Stassi was far from a gym girlie, preferring to let cigarettes, hangovers and prescription meds deprive her of her appetite. Much healthier. Pretending to read a comment, the corner of her lip tugs up into a smirk. "What's your type? And don't say you don't have one, that's so boring and everyone does."

[niko blackwood]

CURRENTLY: IN CAT'S CRADLE'S TRAILER

NIKO

Niko welcomes her head on his shoulder. There it was again, the constant need for physical touch. It sends little signals to the side of him that just enjoyed fucking her, hoping this interview would be done sooner rather than later. So maybe he could still make up for lost time. He chuckles at her disgusted face, the same one she'd worn previously at his comment regarding New York. "Well, I have an image to obtain you know. You've seen the rest of the guys in Cat's Cradle, come on, I have to keep up!" Niko teases, but is a bit serious.  He was prepared too of the physical wear that touring did on one's body. A devilish grin touches his lips when she questions about his type. Stassi the actual embodiment of it. "Dark hair, sexy legs, interviews me live on Tik Tok," he trails off, before laughing. "In all seriousness, I like a girl who loves to have a good time, can handle that music is a big priority right now, and I wasn't lying about the dark hair."

[stassi siminski]

CURRENTLY: IN CAT'S CRADLE'S TRAILER

STASSI

She nods, shrugging as if to say 'fair enough'. The band looked more like a boy band than rockstars, each one prettier than the last, as though they had been specially selected for teenage girls to pick a favorite. As soon as her aunt had made the introduction it was obvious which one she would have picked, dark haired and tattooed, less broody and so pretty in the face. Though they all had that going for them. She laughs as he describes her, picking up a pillow and throwing it at him. Still, she feels a surge of pleasure at being indirectly described. "A good time girl, huh? I know a few of those." Her mind wanders to what her friends are up to. "If you weren't in music, what would you be doing?"

[niko blackwood]

CURRENTLY: IN CAT'S CRADLE'S TRAILER

NIKO

He catches the pillow that she's thrown at him, tipping his head back laughing at her outburst. He tosses it back in her direction, more controlled than when she whipped it towards him.  Niko pokes a hand into Stassi's side, her hands immediately coming to swat him away. "I'm sure you do know a few of them," his voice is lower, laced with a touch on  flirtatious. Music had been such a huge portion of his life that he hadn't thought on the 'what if's' in a while. "Hm, that's a good question.." he responds, his eyes going to the ceiling as he gives the question a thorough thought before fully answering. The fame was recent in his life and before he was focused on Killswitch, bartending on the side when they didn't have gigs. Something to pay the rent of his old apartment. "Assuming I'd probably still be living in Indiana? And if that was the case, maybe something in construction?" He's not confident in that answer, but his father's handiness used to rub off on Niko. "Before I was picked up by Cat's Cradle, you could find me bartending actually."