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Chapter Text

The cafe’s atmosphere was a welcoming calm to April's busy days. Going from casting to casting every day can become an overbearing, repetitive schedule, where everything is loud and just busy, busy, busy. Don’t get her wrong, she loved being a model, but her agency was sending her through a loop with the number of castings she was attending. But alas, that’s what came with New York Fashion Week. She wasn’t even that big in the modeling world; she booked just enough to keep herself comfortable and her agents happy, but it wasn’t like people knew her name. 

She wasn’t the only busy woman in the world, that was for sure. The line she stood in had people in front of her and behind her, all tapping their feet, glancing at their watches, or peeking over the line to see how much longer they had to go. As busy as she may have been, she excelled in managing her time. She would always ensure she had more than enough space to get her favorite coffee without panicking about being late. 

April hummed a soft song to herself while she waited, checking over her schedule for the day. She had three castings to attend, two of which were very common to see during NYFW, while the other was a brand-new designer. She’d be going to walk for Maxwell first, just after she gets her drink. She had walked for them before, but that was two years ago, and she hadn’t been booked since, so she wasn’t sure how to feel going into that casting. Next, she’d walk for the up-and-coming designer, a woman named Cassandra J. That audition, April was going in kind of blind. She had done some brief research on the designer after her agent sent her the details, but there wasn’t much. Cassandra had been an extravagant fashion design student, many of her class displays catching the eyes of higher-ups, but even so, she hardly made any social connections. A recluse, some said. A narcissist, said others. It didn't matter to April; she just wanted the job.

Before she moved forward in the line, April sent a quick message to her best friend, Sunita, to see if she was also headed to the Maxwell casting. Finally, her turn, she pocketed her phone and slipped out her wallet. When the cashier greeted her, she returned it in kind. “Can I get a medium iced spiced mocha, please?” The man behind the counter nodded and typed in the order. Once she paid, she stepped off to the side, nearly dropping her wallet. Whoops.

Her hands kept slipping as she attempted to put her credit card away, the thin leather layers folding in on themselves. “Oh come on,” April groaned, slightly annoyed. 

As she struggled, she overheard the next person in line.

“Oh, shit,” the woman mummbled, patting down the sides of her cargo pants, her pockets empty. “Where the hell is my wallet- shit, I’m sorry, you can cancel that order.” She groaned, dragging a hand down her face. She sounded tired. 

Without really thinking it through, April stepped forward and tapped her card over the scanner. Why not help someone out? It’s always nice to get a helping hand.

The woman in front of April quickly turned towards her, her eyebrows raised in surprise. “Uh- thank you! You didn’t have to do that.” She stayed still until the cashier handed her a receipt, which she awkwardly grabbed and stepped away from the line.

April shrugged, “It’s no big deal.” She chuckled to herself, “My card wouldn’t go back into my wallet anyway, maybe it was waiting for you.” When she looked back up, she got a proper look at the stranger in front of her. She was a few inches shorter than April, but the thick platforms of the woman’s boots compensated for the difference. Her dark hair was buzzed short, but a little grown out. She had dark eyes and tanned skin, eye bags visible but not as severe as others she’d seen. Her brother, Donnie, always sported some designer-level eye bags. “I’m April.” She held out her hand.

The woman returned her smile, “My friends call me Casey.” She took April's hand and gave it a strong shake. She must be in business. Or it was just the toned muscles that ran up her arms- April, stop staring at her muscles. She tore her eyes away. April would be lying if she said she didn’t find Casey cute. The muscles were certainly a bonus. 

“Lovely to meet you, Casey. I’ve never seen you at this cafe before. Are you new around or just straying from your usual?” 

“Ehh, a little bit of both.” Casey put her hands in her pockets and leaned out a hip, relaxing into the stance. “I grew up around New York City, but not this far in. I moved here for work, and I’ve got stuff going on near here today.”

“Cool! Well, hopefully I can see you here more often, then?”

Casey released a humored breath, “I can certainly try, but,” She grimaced and shrugged playfully. A woman of high demand, apparently.  “We’ll see.” April nodded, understanding. While she was an outstanding, loyal customer, she knew busy people didn’t tend to be consistent. Get coffee where you can and hope for the best.

April loved listening to Casey’s voice. There was something so strong about it, so simple and warming. She wanted to hear that voice forev- Oh, girl, calm down, you’ve just met her. 

Then April's drink was called, catching her slightly off guard. Honesty, she had forgotten what she was waiting for. As she grabbed her drink, the phone in her back pocket buzzed—a message from Sunita. Shit, right, she had to get leave for the casting. 

“I've gotta run, but,” April gave a genuine smile, “I hope to see you again!” She waved, rushing off.

Casey stammered a goodbye and waved, watching April as she left.

It was only when April was halfway to the casting that she realized she hadn't asked for Casey’s number. Damnit. She should have asked what she did for work, what her schedule was like, when she was free- Good lord, April! Get a hold of yourself.

As she went about her day, April’s mind kept finding its way back to Casey. How her eyes were both kind and determined, how strong she looked, her boisterous voice, the desire to see her again. The only time Casey dodged her thoughts was when April was busy walking for the castings. Maxwell went well enough; she hadn’t stumbled or tripped, but she wasn’t super notable. After that underwhelming casting, she made her way to the next one. She was fairly proud of her walk for Cassandra J., as she made sure to be memorable. To her surprise, hardly any time had passed after she left the casting when her agent gave her a call.

“O’Neil! How’s it going?” Her agent, Kelly, asked. 

April moved to the side of the walkway, strangers passing her by as they moved on with their day. The wind brushed lightly against her face as she leaned against a building wall and looked up at the sky. “Pretty good, I’m about to walk into the Herrera casting. What’s up?”

“Fantastic news! Cassandra J. just booked you. I’ll send you the details in a bit.” 

April stood upright quickly, faltering for a moment. “Shit, actually? That was quick.” She wrapped up the conversation with Kelly, shocked and pleased, before walking into the final casting of the day. 

___

April ended up booking with Herrera as well, which was a pleasant surprise. She liked to joke that Maxwell had a personal vendetta against her. Over the weeks after the cafe incident, April returned day after day, as she usually would. Except now, she looked out every time for a specific eye-catching woman who swarmed her thoughts. But she never saw Casey again. She must not have been joking about being too busy to frequent the place. As much as she hated to say it, she was rapidly losing hope that she’d ever see her again, which was far more saddening than she’d like to admit. That was until the Cassandra J. show finally rolled around several weeks later.

Now, typically, April never really bothered to catch a brief look at the designers before her shows. She would have all of her energy on being focused and in the zone for her walk, and she dismissed their arrival like many people did. But her interest had grown for Casssandra J., since there was hardly any word spreading about her. The ever-elusive woman was a mystery to most, so was she so wrong to want to know what she looked like?

And thank god she did. Imagine her surprise when she’d just finished getting her hair done, when the one woman who took over most of her thoughts walked through the doors, looking more confused about where she was supposed to be than any lost child ever would. She was left slack-jawed and frozen. 

Casey was Cassandra J.?!

Casey hadn’t seen April immediately, and it wasn’t until all of the models were set and ready to walk out that the two finally met each other’s eyes. Casey had just done her walkout, arguably one of the most public things she’d done as a fashion designer. April was staring; she would not lie, and to her benefit, Casey stared right back. With that amazing, charming, slightly crooked, perfect smile of hers. She waved quickly as she passed, and April was too shocked to wave back. 

Nervous or not, April killed it on the runway. To no one’s surprise, Donnie said as he was working the lights for the show.

But ever since then, April hadn’t managed to grab Casey alone. She hadn’t even been able to catch anything more than a glance that was never returned. Casey was always consumed with work, and every other runway she presented, she didn’t do a walkout for. 

Even so, April couldn’t help but want to see her. Casey would not leave her mind. It certainly didn’t help that she was cast in every single runway and photoshoot the Cassandra J. brand held.

Chapter Text

Backstage was alight with conversation. April was getting her makeup done, looking into the mirror in front of her. Well, she was supposed to be getting her makeup done, but Leo had been staring at her in intense thought for a few minutes too long.

“Leo, do your job.” She muttered, a small smile crossing her face.

The blue-clad turtle threw his hands up; his thought train was brought to a halt. “I’m thinking, April! I need to make sure this look is perfect.” He muttered, putting a hand on his chin while he surveyed his supplies. 

“This is no different from all of the other shows we’ve done. What are you being so picky about?”

“Oh, sweet, sweet April.” He put a hand on his chest and turned away dramatically. “You do not understand the art process of a master.”

“Leo, I swear to god, I need to get dressed soon-”

“UGH, fine,” He grumbled, grabbing some primer and foundation. He made quick work of the base, and when he grabbed the concealer, a huge, smug smile moved across his face. “Want me to cover up this massive, disgusting zit on your face?”

April scowled, knowing full well that her skin was clear. “I’m going to get you fired.”

Leo gasped, “To your little brother? You wouldn’t dare.”

“Oh, but I would.” She grinned.

After Leo finished up a few more layers of makeup, he went back to his staring. He couldn’t decide what to do with the eyes. The most captivating part of a look, he would always say. That and the lip combo, but they hadn’t gotten that far yet.

“Seriously, though, what’s the holdup? What is so special about this runway?”

Groaning, Leo said, “Look, if I tell you why, you’re gonna say I’m wrong, and I am not arguing with the wall again.”

April quirked a brow. “Excuse me?”

He rolled his eyes. “I think Casey is here today, so I’m trying to make you stand out. More than she already thinks you do, of course.” He added quickly.

“Not again…”

“See! I told you.” Leo picked up a pallet, finally having made up his mind. “Close 'em.” He demanded.

“So bossy,” April muttered as she shut her eyes. “But seriously, you boys gotta cut it out with the Casey stuff.”

Leo scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous, April. She’s obviously in love with you. I don’t know what you’re not getting.”

April opened her eyes aggressively, causing Leo’s hand to recoil back and meet her harsh look with an annoyed one of his own. With a ticking clock, she closed her eyes again, but didn’t release her expression. “She is not in love with me.”

“She books you for all of her shows. All of them. Every photoshoot, every promotion, every runway… need I go on? Clearly, she loves looking at you.”

“You’re thinking too much into it.” She groaned. “Plenty of the same models get booked with Casey, like,” her voice trailed off, trying to think of a name. In all honesty, she couldn’t recall that many returning models. “Sunita! Sunita also gets booked every time. Are you gonna tell me Casey is in love with her?”

The soft makeup brush stopped running over her lids for a moment, so April tentatively opened her eyes, only to be met with a flat expression. “April, my favorite sister,” His only sister, “She started booking Sunita after she learned you guys were best friends. Sunita wasn’t booked for that first show. Casey probably saw you guys meeting up or something and took that as an opportunity to show she cares.”

April frowned, closing her eyes again to let Leo work. “You need to stop watching those soap operas with Splints. They’re making you delusional.” She heard Leo huff a breath through his nose, a poor semblance of a laugh. “Besides, she’s probably just… I don’t know, repaying me for the coffee I bought for her.”

Leo hummed, not convinced. “Yes, the thousands of dollars you’ve earned from Cassandra J. are just to make up for the five-dollar coffee you bought her almost a year ago. Makes total sense.” He drawled. 

“Don’t give me that,” She sighed. Honestly, she wouldn’t be all that upset if Leo were right. She did still find herself thinking about Casey regularly. She was cute, is that such a difficult thing to believe? Yes, maybe she had come to terms with the fact that she had just an itty-bitty, teensy-weensy crush on Casey, but it’s not like anything would come of it! Casey was far too busy a woman; April hardly ever saw her, so the opportunity for anything to develop was near none. The feelings weren’t even reciprocated, as much as she wished they were. On the rare chance April did see Casey at work, they never spoke, never looked at one another, hardly acknowledged the other. That’s not good parameters to start a relationship… even if April really wanted to. 

Okay, maybe the crush wasn’t that small, but still! It would pass, eventually.

“Your obliviousness will be the end of us, I swear,” Leo mumbled as he put away the eyeshadow. As carefully as he could, Leo drew on almost perfect eyeliner and stuck on some thick lashes. To top off the look, he layered on some lipstick and gloss. “Well, you’re all set.” He stepped back, letting April have her personal space once more. “Go get dressed and kill that runway! And maybe catch the eye of a certain lady, while you’re at it!”

As April started to walk away, smiling, she turned around and glared. “The only thing I’m going to kill is you if you don’t shut up!” She stormed off, a heat rising in her face much quicker than she’d prefer.

“Love you!” Leo sang as she left.

“Love you, too, fucker!” She called back, ignoring the looks from other models at her swearing. 

___

April did, in fact, end up killing her runway walk. She loved the feeling of a successful walk, the intentional pressure released from her muscles once she was back behind the walls, the oohs and ahhs she’d get from her look, the flash of the cameras; she loved it all.

Once she had finished her job, she carefully removed her makeup and brushed out her hair from the bun it was tied into. She chatted with Leo for a while, finally avoiding the dreaded crush talk. In all, the night had gone spectacularly, except for one point. She hadn’t seen Casey. If Casey had seen her, she hadn’t shown it.

Was it really that hard to get a look at the woman? She was the damn designer, after all, but she must really hate public appearances if she won’t show up to her own shows. Perhaps April could ask her about it one day, if she ever got the chance to talk to her. More than basic small talk, of course.

But until then, she was left to wonder. Wonder when the next time she’d get booked, when the next time she’d catch Casey’s eyes, wonder what Casey was doing in her solitude. April never thought she’d be into the mysterious types, but here she was. Dreaming about a woman she had spoken to once, and hoping she’d be able to again. 

Stupid crush.