silver springs - carmy berzatto x fem!reader
a/n: this is a part 2 for casual (read before continuing this for context). the live performance of this song changed my life tbh. as a little gift, a third and final part is in the works so stay tuneddd 👀
warnings: angst, slow burn, cameos from syd and richie (we love them in this household), mentions of claire (again, my apologies, ms. girl)
summary: after you found out that carmy had a girlfriend, claire. tension between you two grew intense as you rarely talked to him unless it involved work while he tried everything possible in order to talk you about what happened. it wasn’t until a former classmate of yours came in and asked you out while working, making him come to a sudden realization.
disclaimer: i do not own characters mentioned in this story. this is for fictional purposes only. do not copy or claim my work as your own. comments, reblogs and constructive feedback are appreciated!!
you’ll never get away from the sound of the woman that loved you
ever since you found out that carmy was dating claire, the past three months felt as if it had been a year. the tension in the restaurant was so thick that you can slice through it with a knife. while carmy was trying everything to get you to speak to him, you did your best to avoid him except if it involved work. as much as you thought about putting in your two weeks, you simply couldn’t afford to.
you look into the mirror in your locker as you inspect your hair, being pinned back by a red claw clip. the hair accessory coordinated with the outfit you decided to wear today, which consists of a cropped red cardigan, black dress and doc martens. you reach for the makeup bag you keep so you can freshen up before your shift, unzipping it and pulling out a tube of clear mascara.
you twist the wand out of the tube and apply a layer of mascara on your upper eyelashes when syd walks in the locker room, just arriving for her shift. you both smiled at each other as you thanked god that it wasn’t carmy who walked through the door. she walked up to her locker next to yours, “hey, how did your night go?”
you shrugged as you applied a layer to your lower lashes, “not too bad, just watched a couple of episodes of sex and the city, took an edible then went to bed.” she laughed, “you seriously like that show?” she set her belongings in the locker as she left out her apron and head scarf, placing them both on the bench next to where you both stood.
you joked, “whenever anything goes wrong in my life, i do ask myself about what would carrie bradshaw do?” she rolled her eyes playfully as she laughed. she styled her hair with the scarf as you moved to putting on a soft pink lip liner over the outline of your lips. as syd put on her apron, she asked, “hey, can you tie the back for me?”
you nodded, setting your lip liner down and helping her tie the back strings of the apron in a comfortable, secure knot. as soon as you finished, carmy walked into the room, him and syd greeted each other while you and him made awkward eye contact but not saying anything to each other. syd sensed the unease in the room, deciding to go in the kitchen and see what they needed help with preparing for the day ahead.
this left you and carmy alone for the first time in a while. you felt his eyes on you as you continued putting on a light pink lipstick. he took off his jacket and placed in his locker as he finally decided to make another attempt at breaking the ice. “i think we need to talk.” you avoided him as if he was a ghost trying to make contact with a human.
he let out a sigh, growing more frustrated at the silent treatment you were giving him. he thought things between you both was supposed to be casual, no strings attached. while he understood why you were hurt, he also felt that he didn’t do anything wrong by not telling you about claire. he asked, “are you seriously going to ignore me?”
you pushed your bag back into the locker, slamming the door. the impact of the metal door made carmy startled, not being used to seeing you this angry. you snapped, “there is absolutely nothing we need to discuss.” as you try to walk out of the room, he gently grabs your wrist, turning you around to face him. “please, just talk to me.”
you groaned, “i don’t want to fucking talk to you, carm. just leave me alone.” you pulled out of his grasp and walked out of the room as he watched you leave. he felt this physical pain in his chest, sitting down on the bench as he ran his hand through his hair. he couldn’t help but wonder what went wrong and how could he make things right with you.
a couple of hours into your shift, the lunch rush was starting up as the restaurant was filled with people and you were on your feet, doing your best to keep with your section. you bring a drink to one of your tables, being one man who looked like they were in their early twenties. you placed his drink on the table and asked, “is there anything else you need?”
he shook his head and spoke, “no, i’m good. do you mind if i ask you a question though?” you politely nodded, “yeah, sure!” he continued, “this may sound a little weird but weren’t you in ms. klein’s homeroom?” you then remembered your freshman year homeroom teacher who had a whole wardrobe consisting of cat sweaters.
you nod, a bit confused at specificity of the question, “yeah i did actually..” you internally cringed at the person you were back then, wearing band merch and constantly straightening your hair to the point it was fried. he then explained, “i don’t know if you remember me but i’m dominic. i used to sit behind you.”
you suddenly remembered him, realizing you had a short lived crush on him until he moved schools after the first semester. you gasped, “oh my god, i thought you looked familiar! how’ve you been?” he had gotten a lot better looking than the last time you saw him, looking more taller and lean. his blonde hair was styled in a slightly disheveled wavy mullet and wore a white long sleeved shirt with blue jeans.
he grinned at you, his arctic blue eyes looking into your honey brown ones. “i’ve been good. i’m in town for a couple of days so i decided to explore what’s new here. enough about me though, how are you?” you smiled, feeling heat flush against your cheeks. “i’m doing good, life hasn’t been too bad.”
as you caught up with dominic, you began to realize why you had a crush on him in the first place. he was charming, make you blush as if you were a fifteen year old girl again. he admitted, “to be honest, i did like you but i never got the chance to tell you before i moved.” you laughed in disbelief, thinking it was a lie.
you shook your head, “that’s bullshit.” he insisted, “oh, it’s not bullshit. i regret not asking you out a lot sooner.”
carmy was on his smoke break outside the restaurant, he kept his eye on how you and dominic were interacting with each other. he felt himself growing more irritated at the sight of him making you laugh and smile. he broke up with claire a few weeks ago while he was locked inside the walk-in. he had feelings for her when he was in high school so of course, he thought it was something he wanted still but whenever he was with her, visions of you would cloud his mind.
you shrugged, “i mean.. i think you still have a chance.” dominic smirked, “oh really?” you nodded, “i definitely think so.” he replied, “well, we can go grab drinks after you get off work.. if you’re down.” you blinked, not knowing what to say. he was the first guy who asked you out since your situationship with carmy.
you made your choice on a whim, smiling at him. “i’m down.” he smiled back at you, “cool, can i get your number so i can text you where to meet at?”
he never viewed himself valuable to be loved by anyone, not by claire and especially not by you. his stomach churned and nausea set in when he looked over again, seeing you texting something onto dominic’s phone. he couldn’t bare to see the sight anymore, flicking the remains of his cigarette onto the ground.
he decided to walk around and enter through back of the restaurant, not wanting to see you. as he walked up to the back entrance, he sees richie, taking his own smoking break. “how’s your day going, cousin?” he shrugged, “i don’t know.. kinda shitty.” richie looked at him with concern but knew him well enough to know why he was upset.
he asked knowingly, “you’re thinking about her, aren’t you?” he sighed, “i broke up with claire weeks ago, man.” richie scoffed then responded, “i’m not talking about her, dipshit.” he swallowed the lump in his throat as he knew his cousin was right. “some dude came in and he asked for her number..”
richie’s eyes widened slightly, “oh shit, did she give it to him?” he reluctantly nodded. richie winced, “damn, dude. what are you going to do about it?” he laughed sarcastically, “what do you want me to do? it’s not like she wants to talk to me.” richie sighed, “look, you really like her right?”
carmy nodded, “i think like is an understatement for how i feel about her.” his eyes widened as he never thought he would genuinely be in love with someone but was glad that the person he loves was you. he asked, “what if i’m too late to tell her? i don’t know what i’d do if i was..”
richie shook his head, “i don’t think you’re too late, cousin. if she was getting married or some shit, that’s different. you still have a chance… go make things right with her.” he questioned, “but what if she still doesn’t want to talk to me?” richie shrugged, “then at least you tried. that’s better than putting in no effort at all.”
carmy nodded, taking in everything that his cousin had said. he knew that he had to talk to you and attempt to make things right again. he took in a deep inhale then let the air exhale through his mouth. he looked over at his cousin and said, “thank you.” richie nodded, “no problem.. now, go get your girl back.”
as you got ready to go out with dominic, butterflies fluttered around in your stomach while you looked through your closet to find the perfect outfit. you threw your clothes around as you looked in the mirror, holding them in front of you seeing what looked good or not. you tossed them to the side as you didn’t like how you looked.
your hair was wrapped in a towel while you wore an oversized shirt with shorts underneath to lounge around in before actually getting dressed and ready for the night. you were interrupted when you heard an urgent knock on your front door. you checked your phone and see no texts from dominic that indicated that he was here when another knock on the door rang through the house.
you walked out of your room through the small living room area to the front door and reluctantly opened it. to your surprise, carmy was standing there. you rolled your eyes and sighed, “what do you want?” he looked and stared at you in awe, seeing you in the t-shirt he gave you.
he then blurted out, “i don’t want you to go with him.”
