Money Can Buy You Love. And Glitter. Chapter 1
Money Can Buy You Love. And Glitter: Chapter 1
Summary: AU set approximately three years after Adam Lambert won Season 8 of American Idol. He has a successful career but after a string of failed relationships, has more or less given up on romance and is focusing on his career to the point of being a workaholic. He still has trouble with inappropriate appearances of the glambulge during performance and still loves glitter. Kris Allen is a singer/guitarist from Arkansas who moved to LA nearly two years ago to try and break into the business and get away from a small town and family life that became untenable after he came out of the closet. He's just about ready to give up hope of making it into the business. He's still wearing plaid. Like everyone, they are dealing with the aftermath of life not proceeding according to expectations and hoping that Plan B will work out even better than Plan A.
Rating: NC-17 eventually. This chapter is PG-13.
Ship:: Adam/Kris
Type: Humor, dialogue, sex, romance and some angst. Happy ending.
Click HERE and scroll down to find links to all the chapters of this story.
Link to story on AO3: http://archiveofourown.org/works/539781
Money Can Buy You Love. And Glitter: Chapter 1: Meet Cute in Coffee Shop
"Mr. Allen. We regret to inform you that we don't foresee signing you at this time."
"Oh." Kris sighed and sat down heavily on the ugliest chair in the world. He had sold his ratty sofa at a tag sale, so the mushroom chair was his only choice. Lack of choices was the story of his life for a while now. This agent had been his last hope. He'd been here for two years, gone through every label, indie to mainstream, every agent, and this agent had been the only one to give him a call back and now this. How much worse could it get?
"Do you have the money or not?" The barista asked impatiently, her eyes flicking to the line no doubt forming behind him. She reached for the cup in warning. "It's just thirty-eight cents."
"Uh-oh..." Kris groaned in embarrassment. He felt a flush begin to crawl up his neck and cover his face. Turning out his pockets, desperately hoping to find the last thirty-eight cents, he heard only the sound of his own panicked pulse and... someone chewing gum way too loudly.
"I'll get it, Sandy," a voice said behind him directed at the barista, while a ring-covered hand held up a bill. "The whole thing. Just add it to my order."
"I can't--" Kris spun around and nearly stumbled as he looked up. Way up. Holy fucking shit. It was Adam Lambert. Who was really tall. Offering to pay for his coffee? He gaped in astonishment. Ohmigod. The guy was even hotter up close and personal. The guy who was --"You're Adam Fucking Lambert!"
"Shhh." Adam put his finger over Kris' lips, because... well... they were nice lips and life was short. Just like this guy. Nice lips, short, great ass. And yeah, he'd been looking while standing behind him, watching him fumble in his pockets and pull his nearly threadbare jeans tighter across that ass. Of course he'd been looking -- he might be exhausted, but he wasn't dead. "Yes, that's me. And yes, I can afford to buy you your coffee and yes, you're going to let me. Put your money in your pocket."
"Thanks. I appreciate the thirty-eight cents, but I'll pay the rest of it..." Kris mumbled, looking down at his sneakers, then gasping as Adam Fucking Lambert -- holy crapsticks -- shoved his money into Kris' pocket -- oh hell, Adam Fucking Lambert's hand was in his pocket. He was still gaping when Adam Fucking Lambert handed over a bill and told the barista to keep the change. This could not be a good first impression.
"It's okay, man." Adam smiled down in what he hoped was a reassuring manner given how mortified the shorter man appeared. "Been there, done that. I had my times when I was scrounging the sofa cushions for change to buy a pack of gum."
"You and your gum. One of life's essentials." The thin blonde woman next to them rolled her eyes as she reached for the two cups on the counter and handed one to Adam who was too distracted by playing white knight to the cute peasant boy. She took a sip hiding her grin and thinking she really needed to start writing these ideas down for Adam's video shoot concepts folder.
"It is!" Adam protested with a grin as he herded them away from the line. "It keeps me from taking a bite out of insolent personal assistants."
"I'm so scared," she scoffed before smiling back, then turning to Kris. "Hi, I'm Lane, Adam's PA. You obviously know who Adam is. And you are?"
"I... I'm Kris Allen. And thank you," Kris said, looking anywhere but at Adam. He had met Adam Lambert, which was awesome, totally awesome. Adam Lambert had just bought him coffee, which was embarrassing, totally embarrassing. He groaned, "I could die."
"Hey, it's okay...." Adam said softly, patting the guy's shoulder. Okay, maybe it was an excuse to touch him, because he was cute, but still. He had pure motivations. Mostly. "I'm just paying it forward. I don't know what I would have done without the kindness of friends and family when I was struggling. So now I can do the same for others."
"I'm a stranger," Kris protested. Although he'd like to be anything but a stranger to Adam Lambert, because seriously the guy was even more gorgeous than he'd imagined -- those eyes. And he seemed genuinely nice. It just seemed wrong to --
"Well, there's no need to get all Blanche DuBois about it," Adam teased. "But seriously, no big deal. Hey..." He paused and then continued more cautiously. "I'm on a break from a session. Or some meetings. Or a photo shoot. Or something. I don't even know any more. Hence the need for caffeine. So. Would you like to sit down?"
"What are you trying to break into? Acting or singing or dancing?" Adam asked after they'd sat down at a small table, Lane at the table next to them in some vain attempt at pretending to give him privacy and Kris seemed lost in contemplating how red his cheeks could get.
"Singing. But how'd you know?" Kris' head snapped back to Adam. He couldn't believe he was sitting with Adam Fucking Lambert. All the times he'd fantasized about meeting him and now... It had been that easy? And that humiliating?
"Everyone's trying to be someone they're not in LA. Or someone they're not yet. Or something they want to be." Adam shrugged.
Kris blanched. "That's... cynical." And also, true, he added silently after a second's thought.
"Which is something I'm not. Just honest and if the truth appears cynical, doesn't mean it's not the truth."
Kris nodded and squirmed a little as Adam's gaze focused on his face. He touched the back of his neck self-consciously. "Just as if the truth appears Pollyannish, doesn't mean it's not the truth."
"Exactly." Adam tilted his head, studying Kris' face. "Have we met previously?"
Kris shook his head. "No. Believe me, I'd remember meeting you." He blushed. "Sorry. I have to admit that I'm a fan, so it's a thrill..."
"Thank you, but please don't..." Adam waved his hand dismissively while watching Kris' face closely. "I'm just a regular guy."
"You have glitter all over your clothes," Kris said drily.
Adam grinned. He'd been experimenting with a look for his next tour and having some photos taken for later review. At least Kris wasn't so intimidated by or eager to please a celebrity that he couldn't tease. "And that's not normal?"
"Well, not in Arkansas."
"Well, Toto, you're not in Arkansas any more."
"No shit. In Arkansas glamrock stars aren't walking into Starbucks."
Adam laughed. "So not true. On the Idols Tour a couple of years ago, we stopped in Little Rock and I went in a Starbucks there."
"Trailing glitter?" Kris pointed at the circle of sparkles surrounding Adam. He could write a song about the image, he thought, then winced. That sounded a little too much like that old Carpenters' song, Close to You. What was next, asking why birds suddenly appeared when Adam got near? Get a grip. As Adam had said, underneath all that glitter, he was just a regular guy. Just keep remembering that, Kris and maybe, you'll make it through this with a great memory and maybe... something more.
"Maybe you come in here often and I've seen you," Adam pressed, unwilling to let it go. "I have a really good memory for faces."
Lane nodded. "Amazing memory, in fact." She lowered her voice to a soft whisper and leaned over to say in Adam's ear, "Especially for cute boys with southern accents --"
"And good butts," Adam whispered back although he was focused on Kris' face. The guy had perfect skin, which was so unfair. Great eyes too. Where had he seen him before?
"I heard that!" Kris blurted out, cursing silently when he felt a flush heat his face. God, he must look like a total rube, blushing at what was actually a compliment. C'mon, he told himself. Adam Fucking Lambert had just said he had a good butt. For any number of reasons, that was amazing.
"Oops!" Adam and Lane said in unison, unrepentent. Kris stared from one to the other. Lane was obviously more than just a PA, she must be a trusted friend as well.
"But I don't think that's the feature I'm recalling..." Adam said slowly with a wink. "The face..."
Kris thought quickly, then nodded. "Oh. Maybe at the record label? I did send over a demo with a headshot." He fell silent.
"Those cost bucks," Adam interjected when Kris said no more.
"You're not kidding." Kris winced. "But a good investment. I hope. Eventually."
"Yeah..." Adam stared at Kris.
"You... have a really intense stare, you know?" Kris asked, laughing nervously and turning his head to the side.
"Sorry." Adam smiled as the profile view did jog his memory. "Wait! I did see your head shot. It was on a table...yeah, that's it. On a table with a whole bunch of aspiring artists. Did you--"
Kris shook his head. "No, I didn't get signed. A little session work. But is that what they do -- spread us all out on a table?"
Adam opened his mouth, then snapped it closed and avoided looking over at Lane.
"What were you going to say?" Kris asked curiously, seeing the mischief in Adam's eyes which made him smile in response. He felt... warm inside just being with him. Seriously, why the hell didn't this guy have a boyfriend?
"Something no doubt obscene," Lane quipped as she held up a ripped-out page from a magazine and then began cutting it.
"What is she doing?" Kris asked, scrunching up his nose as he tried to figure it out. "Making a scrapbook? Or getting ready to make a scrapbook?"
"Yeah." Adam felt a blush cover his cheeks. Damn it, being a redhead was such a pain in the ass.
"Seriously?" Kris began to laugh. "For -- Oh wait. I know. For your mom?"
Adam raised an eyebrow in surprise. "How did you know?"
"If I ever got famous, my mom would totally want a scrapbook. Or two or ten." Kris smiled up at Adam. They were honestly talking about their moms and scrapbooks? So not what he expected a conversation with Adam Lambert to be like.
"Oh, my mom has scrapbooks from before Idol," Adam admitted, feeling his cool rating ratchet down with every word out of his mouth. But might as well get the truth out of the way at the beginning. The only thing glam about him was his glitter.
Kris grinned and leaned forward to confide, "Mine too. She has scrapbooks for my brother's cheerleading and no, don't ask!" Kris laughed when Adam snapped shut the mouth he'd opened. "And from the time I won that contest..." Oh why oh why had he brought that up.
"What contest?" Adam pounced, seeing the chagrin in Kris' face.
"A...nothing."
"C'mon. You can tell me."
Lane raised her voice. "Just tell him, Kris. He'll badger you to death or give you the pleading puppy dog face."
Kris laughed. "I think I wanna see the pleading puppy dog face. I think that's a fair exchange in return for giving you this totally embarrassing info."
"Adam..." Lane pointed at him, laughing softly when he immediately changed his face into a pathetic pout with big eyes.
Kris smiled and felt his own face soften. Good god, the man was irresistible. "Well, who could resist that?"
"So tell me now," Adam demanded crisply.
"Wow, you can change in a second from puppy dog to bossman," Kris muttered, then shrugged. "Okay. I was in the Little Mr. Little Rock contest."
"Did you win?" Lane asked, her scissors held still while she looked from Kris to Adam.
"Maybe..." Kris' lips twitched. "Oh god, this is humiliating."
"Little Mr. Little Rock?" Adam held back his amusement, until he saw the self-deprecatory amusement in Kris' face and burst out laughing, glad when Kris followed suit. "Seriously? DId you get a crown?"
"And a scepter--"
"That's adorable--" Adam began to laugh. "Let me guess. You were more interested in the scepter."
"Why--- Oh!" Kris laughed as well. "Yeah, that was probably a sign. That and my total confusion about why boobs were so interesting."
Silently taking in the thin cheeks and loose clothing, Adam looked over at the bakery case. Smiling, he asked, "Hey, are you hungry? I could eat something and I hate to eat alone."
"I...I'm good," Kris demurred, looking down at his coffee.
Feeling Adam's glare like a heat lamp against her hair, Lane looked up. "I could eat, Adam. If you don't mind..."
"That's why I asked. Are you sure, Kris?" Adam touched Kris' hand. "It's no problem. I was going to get up anyway..."
"No..." Kris said softly, staring at Adam's hand.
"How about we share? Those muffins are huge and I have to watch my--"
"No, you don't," Kris said instanty and fiercely, turning his hand over to squeeze Adam's hard. "You look fantastic. My mama would actually say you need more meat on your bones."
"My bone has plenty of meat--" Adam quipped, while staring down at their enjoined hands. Apparently Kris was as touchy as he was.
"Adam!" Lane gurgled with laughter and pointed at the bakery case. "Go get some muffins for all of us."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Have I mentioned how much I love your mother? She raised you boys right."
"Neil is available, you know," Adam joked. Neil and Lane growled at each other on a regular basis.
Lane scrunched up her nose. "Pass. But I wouldn't pass up some coffee cake."
"I'd be glad to get you some. If Kris will release my hand."
"Oh!" Kris groaned and flushed red. He pulled his hand away and rubbed it on his thigh, hoping his forehead was not as sweaty as his palms right now.
Kris looked over his shoulder to watch Adam walk away. Great ass. Day-ummm. "He doesn't need to lose weight."
Lane watched Kris watching Adam. She began, "I agree--"
"He's like the hottest guy on the planet." Kris shook his head. "It's ridiculous that he can't see it."
Body dysmorphia, Lane thought silently. Not that she was going to divulge that information to a guy -- cute as he might be or real as he might be -- they'd just met. "I agree," she said quickly.
"Really, he needs to work on overcoming that crap from high school," Kris said sympathetically.
Lane looked at Kris. He actually seemed... concerned. His eyes.... Real. Hmm. "You know about that because you've seen his interviews?"
"Yeah." Kris blushed. "I... "
"You really are a fan." Lane tilted her head. Either this guy was a brilliant actor what with being able to blush on command or he was real.
"I'm not a creepy fan!" Kris protested.
"Didn't think you were." Lane held up her scissors. "But just in case, I know how to use these."
Seeing the determination in Lane's face, Kris hissed in a breath. She would be a bad enemy. "Now, I'm scared." Kris put his arm across his lap.
Lane smiled. "You should be." She'd do whatever it took to keep the creeps, assholes and jerks away. But this guy... her instincts were telling her that he was real. Making a decision to go with her gut, she asked, "So. Are you going to ask him out?"
Kris spit his coffee out. "I beg your pardon?"
"Don't play games. You heard me."
"Should I?" Kris grabbed a napkin and wiped the table, wondering if it was possible to continually embarrass yourself.
"What do you have to lose?"
Adam smiled as Kris excused himself to go to the bathroom after eating two muffins.
"Nice boy. Nice ass," Lane said as they both looked over their shoulders to watch Kris walk toward the restrooms. "You totally need to ask him out," she said, as she carefully slid her scissors into a case and shoved them and magazines back in her oversized tote bag.
"Be careful with that Birkin bag!" Adam winced as she flung it onto the floor. "It cost me the earth and the waiting list took forever and--"
"Stop deflecting with your leather fetish. Ask the boy out."
"I dunno..." Adam prevaricated while rolling his muffin between his fingers until it was nothing more than inedible crumbs.
"Oh geez. Do I have to do it, the way I have to do everything for you? Or should I--"
"Oh zip it," Adam snapped, then immediately amended, "I meant that in the nicest possible way."
Cracking up, then watching the wistful look on Adam's face, Lane asked softly, "Adam, c'mon, why not? I know you're not shy and he seemed interested in you as a person. I mean, he admitted he was a fan but he wasn't creepy, you know? So why pass him up? I think you'd be crazy."
"I... never seem to meet nice boys," Adam admitted. "And I can't seem to tell... my nicedar is broken."
"I know. The star fuckers. The users." Lane said softly and sympathetically. The past two years would make even a romantic like Adam cynical. "Bu--"
"There's always something... wrong with them. They're hiding something--"
"Darling, I'm a nobody and it happens to me too. Men suck. Usually badly."
"I know. I sound like I'm having a pity party." Adam sighed. "I told you before -- I seem to have lost my ability to weed out decent guys from assholes because everyone wants something from me--"
"Well, thanks!" Lane huffed, while watching Adam closely. Leila was right - Adam was lonely and feeling a little isolated. She softened her tone. "At a certain point it seems easier to be alone?"
"Yeah." Adam looked down. "But..."
"That's not suitable for your temperament. That's why we're all always trying to set you up with guys." Lane paused. Some people could be perfectly happy without a partner; Adam was not one of them, as everyone in Adam's circle knew. She nodded in the direction of the bathrooms. "I say go for it this time. You can blame me and my faulty instincts. Because he seems nice. Normal. "
"Or as normal as a guy can be who's trying to make it in the entertainment business. Could you run a background check on him? If..."
"I can run a full background check on him," Lane offered, hating to see how suspicious Adam was becoming. "He has a really nice ass. And I know you noticed that."
"Well, d'uh. I may be nearly celibate, but I'm not dead."
"Nearly celibate?" Lane raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that an oxymoron?"
"Oxymoron? That word describes my sex life. I sleep with idiots and then feel the need to use one of those Oxy products to scrub myself clean."
"But lately...." Lane raised an eyebrow quizzically. "You haven't been calling infomercial numbers to order Oxyclean, have you?"
"But lately..." Adam drawled. "The closest I am to having sex is when my leather pants stretch over my erection when I'm performing."
"No wonder you're so careful with your leather." Lane smirked then blanched and looked meaningfully over Adam's shoulder.
"Don't tell me..." Adam whispered, closing his eyes.
"Oh tell me..." Kris whispered back and he shoved his phone into his pocket. He hesitated then slid his hand onto Adam's shoulder as he walked in front of him. Seeing the blush on Adam's cheeks, Kris had to smile even as he gathered his courage. "Or rather...tell me, if you'd be interested in going on a date sometime."
Adam felt his mouth drop open. No one ever asked him out. He looked over in shock at Lane, who was grinning broadly and nodding emphatically. "You.."
"I mean, I know I'm not famous or anything and..." Kris began then groaned as his other hand encountered the five dollars in his pocket, his grand life's savings, money he had only because Adam Fucking Lambert had paid for his coffee. "I don't have--"
"Oh, I pay for my dates," Adam said quickly, then laughed as Kris' eyes opened comically wide. "I didn't mean that the way it sounded."
"Well...." Kris lifted his shoulders. "Is that a yes or a no?"
TBC Chapter 2 begins HERE
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