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title: scenes from the unexamined life
fandom: american idol – season 7
pairing: david cook/david archuleta
disclaimer: this is absolutely, 100% fiction. not true.
rating: t
notes: i tried to do this one a little differently. it’s more like scenes from cookie and archie’s relationship, and how there’s potentially something there, but they’re afraid to explore it. – before writing.
notes: so my shuffle thwarted me. *shakes fist*
Tell Me In the Morning – Cold War Kids
Cook sits on the edge of Archuleta’s bed, his hands folded in his lap. He’s the word nerd. He’s the articulate one, the older one. So why is it that ever since they came back to their rooms after the finale, all they’d been doing was sitting in a silence that seemed to eat them alive? (Hey, he thinks, that’d be a good idea for a song, better remember that—)
Archie rubs the back of his neck awkwardly, runs his hands through his hair. He’s never been this uneasy in his life and Cook knows it. He’s a good kid. He hates that he’s the cause of that discomfort.
“You know what, Arch, I’m bushed. We’ll, uh, we’ll talk in the morning, okay?”
“But, I wanted to—”
“In the morning, man,” he replies wearily.
He isn’t ready for this conversation.
New Day – Kate Havnevik
They haven’t talked in a while. Well, there’s been phone calls and interviews where they act as if nothing has changed, and the tour, of course, but really, truly – things are so much different.
Cook can’t stand it and neither can David. It’s so hard.
Sometimes Cook will escape from the rehearsals and the press junkets to just find a quiet spot. He’ll lean against the wall and slowly sink to the ground. His knees will touch his forehead. He’ll breathe deeply. But eventually, his shoulders will start shaking and his breath will hitch, and he’d feel pretty bad for the person who found David Cook crying like a baby in the goddamn hallway.
Archie does the same, but different. He watches the interviews with Cook and himself, and looks up clips on YouTube, and reads interviews. Over and over and over. He thinks to himself, so. That’s how it used to be. And then he’ll see Cook, be close to him but not really because they hardly talk these days, what with that blonde…harlot in Cook’s life – in his eyes, in his arms, in his bed, in his smile – and then he thinks, so. This is how it is now.
Away from the Sun – 3 Doors Down
And the thing was, the headlines just kept on coming. “Splitsville for Cook and Caldwell,” “Idol Winner Cook Set to Enter Rehab,” and oh, his personal favorite: “David Cook Throws Grammy from Roof.”
There was no fixing it after that.
He’s just so messed up now, and he doesn’t know how to fix himself. And the funny thing is, while Cook was falling, Archuleta was rising. A first girlfriend, two multi-platinum albums, successful tours – everyone loved the kid. He could do no wrong. It was fate, Cook whispers to himself as he walks through his house, a bottle of Jose Cuervo dangling from his hand. This was the way it was meant to be.
The phone rings. He doesn’t bother to answer it much these days. But when the automated voice of his machine notifies him that it isn’t just anybody calling, it’s David Archuleta, Cook drops the bottle of Cuervo on the ground and leaps over a couch, trips up the stairs to the main hall, and skids over to the phone. It rings twice more.
He’s terrified.
“Hey, Cook, it’s, uh. It’s me. I was just, you know, wondering how you’re doing. I know that you’ve had some tough times lately, and, well, I wanted you to make sure that you, uh. Knew that I was here for you—”
Cook snatches the phone off the hook. “David?”
Mrs. Robinson – The Lemonheads
“I feel like goddamn Mrs. Robinson,” mutters Cook.
“What, mate?”
He turns to face his companion. “You serious, Mikey? You don’t know who Mrs. Robinson is?”
Johns laughs, knocks back a shot. Cook winces, knows that he can’t touch that stuff, that Archie will be disappointed. “We’re a backward folk in Australia, Davey. Care to elaborate?”
“It’s like, she’s older than this kid she gets involved with, and it’s dirty and inappropriate, but they really care about each other on some level…”
“So good on you, mate.”
Cook turns to look bewildered at Michael Johns, and his best friend just laughs, because of course he knows who Mrs. Robinson is, and who Cook is talking about when he says that, but that is something that no one else has to know.
Two Dollar Shoes – Rosie Thomas
Archie moves in with him, much to the chagrin of his father. His mother knows that this needs to be done, and so does everyone else that matters. They have a routine.
Archie will make him lunch for when he’s writing songs out in the back, or when he’s in the studio recording, and he’ll put them in a typical brown bag. He writes notes though, just like Cook’s mom used to, that he slips into the bag before he gives them to Cook and sends him on his way. It’s sweet, and, totally adorable really.
He’s working his way back up the charts, and the press isn’t so hard on him anymore. His fanbase is loyal and they support him. He can make this work. He is making this work. He’s fixing his life, one step at a time.
He would never have been able to do it alone, though, he thinks as he writes down more lyrics. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
This album will be for Archuleta, too.
That’s Amore – Dean Martin
“It was always him, wasn’t it?” the blonde woman across from him asks delicately, her hands tightly encircling a coffee mug.
He leans back against the counter, his hands gripping the tile. He thinks. “Yes. No. I’m not sure. All I know is that somewhere along the way, he became everything. And I tried, Kim. I tried to love you and I tried to be the things that you need, but it’s…”
She sets down her mug. “It’s not what you need. I understand, David. You love him, and you didn’t realize it until too late. You couldn’t stop it, and you wouldn’t want to, even if you could.”
Oh, thinks Cook. Oh. “I’m sorry,” he offers.
“Don’t be,” she replies.
She leaves soon after and he feels better than he has in a long time.
Digging a Ditch – Dave Matthews Band
This is the first fight that he’s ever had with Archie. And, he doesn’t even know why they started fighting in the first place – something stupid, probably, like he left his wet towel on the floor of the bathroom again – but now they’re talking about things like, “David you just don’t understand” and “then make me understand!”
Both of them feel like crying and throwing things and they’re too tired of this already.
“I love you,” Cook finally says.
Archuleta is silent.
“Everything I’ve ever done, I’ve done for you, man! It’s always been you. Every song, every single detail about the question, ‘what type of person are you attracted to?’ that every reporter asks. It’s you. And it hurts, and it aches, because I know that I’m no good.”
“I didn’t know that you felt that way,” David says slowly.
“I didn’t mean for you to know.”
After a pause, Archie says, “I need to go away for a while, to, um. Think about things.”
He must’ve seen the desperate look in Cook’s eyes because he says quickly, gently, “I’ll come back. I promise.”
So he watches David Archuleta walk out his front door, but it isn’t in the way he expected. And, unlike in his nightmares, he’ll be coming back.
Hello Again – Dave Matthews Band
“Hi,” says David, shyly. He’s standing with his bags on Cook’s doorstep, almost looking like he doesn’t belong there.
“Hi,” Cook returns.
The two of them stand there for a moment, still and silent against the night, before Archuleta drops his bags and throws himself at the Idol winner, almost taking Cook out.
“Yeah,” Cook finds himself whispering into the crook of David’s neck. “Me too.”
Desperate – Rogue Wave
Jason sits under a tree, strumming a guitar with a smile on his face. Syesha sits by him, watching him play. Johns is lying out in the sun, a hat over his face as he takes a nap.
It’s Archie’s twentieth birthday and Cook invited everybody to his home in upstate New York for a surprise party. It’s also meant as an opportunity for when the two of them will, effectively, tell everyone that matters what’s going on between them. They’re nervous as hell, but Archie’s excited for presents and Cook’s just glad that his life is okay now.
“Do you think,” Syesha asks, “that they really think we don’t know?”
“Sure,” says Jason, absently adjusting a string. “It was obvious to all of us before it even came to them. Those two, man. They’re lost in their own world.”
“This is important,” Johns intones, lifting up his hat to look sternly at Syesha and Jason. “Don’t ruin this for them.”
“Not a chance, man,” Jason smiles, and looks over to the two David’s as they labored over the grill. The smiles between the two of them spoke more than words ever could.
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot – Ladysmith Black Mambazo
“When I was little,” Archie says, “my parents would tell me this story about how when they met, they just knew that they were meant to be together. That, um. That somehow, it was just certain they would affect each other’s lives.”
“Yeah,” Cook sighs. “Yeah, I know how that is.”
David looks at him curiously. “So, you think it’s true?”
“Sure, kid.” Cook slings his arm around Archuleta’s shoulder. “I mean, how would you explain us, right?”
fandom: american idol – season 7
pairing: david cook/david archuleta
disclaimer: this is absolutely, 100% fiction. not true.
rating: t
notes: i tried to do this one a little differently. it’s more like scenes from cookie and archie’s relationship, and how there’s potentially something there, but they’re afraid to explore it. – before writing.
notes: so my shuffle thwarted me. *shakes fist*
Tell Me In the Morning – Cold War Kids
Cook sits on the edge of Archuleta’s bed, his hands folded in his lap. He’s the word nerd. He’s the articulate one, the older one. So why is it that ever since they came back to their rooms after the finale, all they’d been doing was sitting in a silence that seemed to eat them alive? (Hey, he thinks, that’d be a good idea for a song, better remember that—)
Archie rubs the back of his neck awkwardly, runs his hands through his hair. He’s never been this uneasy in his life and Cook knows it. He’s a good kid. He hates that he’s the cause of that discomfort.
“You know what, Arch, I’m bushed. We’ll, uh, we’ll talk in the morning, okay?”
“But, I wanted to—”
“In the morning, man,” he replies wearily.
He isn’t ready for this conversation.
New Day – Kate Havnevik
They haven’t talked in a while. Well, there’s been phone calls and interviews where they act as if nothing has changed, and the tour, of course, but really, truly – things are so much different.
Cook can’t stand it and neither can David. It’s so hard.
Sometimes Cook will escape from the rehearsals and the press junkets to just find a quiet spot. He’ll lean against the wall and slowly sink to the ground. His knees will touch his forehead. He’ll breathe deeply. But eventually, his shoulders will start shaking and his breath will hitch, and he’d feel pretty bad for the person who found David Cook crying like a baby in the goddamn hallway.
Archie does the same, but different. He watches the interviews with Cook and himself, and looks up clips on YouTube, and reads interviews. Over and over and over. He thinks to himself, so. That’s how it used to be. And then he’ll see Cook, be close to him but not really because they hardly talk these days, what with that blonde…harlot in Cook’s life – in his eyes, in his arms, in his bed, in his smile – and then he thinks, so. This is how it is now.
Away from the Sun – 3 Doors Down
And the thing was, the headlines just kept on coming. “Splitsville for Cook and Caldwell,” “Idol Winner Cook Set to Enter Rehab,” and oh, his personal favorite: “David Cook Throws Grammy from Roof.”
There was no fixing it after that.
He’s just so messed up now, and he doesn’t know how to fix himself. And the funny thing is, while Cook was falling, Archuleta was rising. A first girlfriend, two multi-platinum albums, successful tours – everyone loved the kid. He could do no wrong. It was fate, Cook whispers to himself as he walks through his house, a bottle of Jose Cuervo dangling from his hand. This was the way it was meant to be.
The phone rings. He doesn’t bother to answer it much these days. But when the automated voice of his machine notifies him that it isn’t just anybody calling, it’s David Archuleta, Cook drops the bottle of Cuervo on the ground and leaps over a couch, trips up the stairs to the main hall, and skids over to the phone. It rings twice more.
He’s terrified.
“Hey, Cook, it’s, uh. It’s me. I was just, you know, wondering how you’re doing. I know that you’ve had some tough times lately, and, well, I wanted you to make sure that you, uh. Knew that I was here for you—”
Cook snatches the phone off the hook. “David?”
Mrs. Robinson – The Lemonheads
“I feel like goddamn Mrs. Robinson,” mutters Cook.
“What, mate?”
He turns to face his companion. “You serious, Mikey? You don’t know who Mrs. Robinson is?”
Johns laughs, knocks back a shot. Cook winces, knows that he can’t touch that stuff, that Archie will be disappointed. “We’re a backward folk in Australia, Davey. Care to elaborate?”
“It’s like, she’s older than this kid she gets involved with, and it’s dirty and inappropriate, but they really care about each other on some level…”
“So good on you, mate.”
Cook turns to look bewildered at Michael Johns, and his best friend just laughs, because of course he knows who Mrs. Robinson is, and who Cook is talking about when he says that, but that is something that no one else has to know.
Two Dollar Shoes – Rosie Thomas
Archie moves in with him, much to the chagrin of his father. His mother knows that this needs to be done, and so does everyone else that matters. They have a routine.
Archie will make him lunch for when he’s writing songs out in the back, or when he’s in the studio recording, and he’ll put them in a typical brown bag. He writes notes though, just like Cook’s mom used to, that he slips into the bag before he gives them to Cook and sends him on his way. It’s sweet, and, totally adorable really.
He’s working his way back up the charts, and the press isn’t so hard on him anymore. His fanbase is loyal and they support him. He can make this work. He is making this work. He’s fixing his life, one step at a time.
He would never have been able to do it alone, though, he thinks as he writes down more lyrics. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
This album will be for Archuleta, too.
That’s Amore – Dean Martin
“It was always him, wasn’t it?” the blonde woman across from him asks delicately, her hands tightly encircling a coffee mug.
He leans back against the counter, his hands gripping the tile. He thinks. “Yes. No. I’m not sure. All I know is that somewhere along the way, he became everything. And I tried, Kim. I tried to love you and I tried to be the things that you need, but it’s…”
She sets down her mug. “It’s not what you need. I understand, David. You love him, and you didn’t realize it until too late. You couldn’t stop it, and you wouldn’t want to, even if you could.”
Oh, thinks Cook. Oh. “I’m sorry,” he offers.
“Don’t be,” she replies.
She leaves soon after and he feels better than he has in a long time.
Digging a Ditch – Dave Matthews Band
This is the first fight that he’s ever had with Archie. And, he doesn’t even know why they started fighting in the first place – something stupid, probably, like he left his wet towel on the floor of the bathroom again – but now they’re talking about things like, “David you just don’t understand” and “then make me understand!”
Both of them feel like crying and throwing things and they’re too tired of this already.
“I love you,” Cook finally says.
Archuleta is silent.
“Everything I’ve ever done, I’ve done for you, man! It’s always been you. Every song, every single detail about the question, ‘what type of person are you attracted to?’ that every reporter asks. It’s you. And it hurts, and it aches, because I know that I’m no good.”
“I didn’t know that you felt that way,” David says slowly.
“I didn’t mean for you to know.”
After a pause, Archie says, “I need to go away for a while, to, um. Think about things.”
He must’ve seen the desperate look in Cook’s eyes because he says quickly, gently, “I’ll come back. I promise.”
So he watches David Archuleta walk out his front door, but it isn’t in the way he expected. And, unlike in his nightmares, he’ll be coming back.
Hello Again – Dave Matthews Band
“Hi,” says David, shyly. He’s standing with his bags on Cook’s doorstep, almost looking like he doesn’t belong there.
“Hi,” Cook returns.
The two of them stand there for a moment, still and silent against the night, before Archuleta drops his bags and throws himself at the Idol winner, almost taking Cook out.
“Yeah,” Cook finds himself whispering into the crook of David’s neck. “Me too.”
Desperate – Rogue Wave
Jason sits under a tree, strumming a guitar with a smile on his face. Syesha sits by him, watching him play. Johns is lying out in the sun, a hat over his face as he takes a nap.
It’s Archie’s twentieth birthday and Cook invited everybody to his home in upstate New York for a surprise party. It’s also meant as an opportunity for when the two of them will, effectively, tell everyone that matters what’s going on between them. They’re nervous as hell, but Archie’s excited for presents and Cook’s just glad that his life is okay now.
“Do you think,” Syesha asks, “that they really think we don’t know?”
“Sure,” says Jason, absently adjusting a string. “It was obvious to all of us before it even came to them. Those two, man. They’re lost in their own world.”
“This is important,” Johns intones, lifting up his hat to look sternly at Syesha and Jason. “Don’t ruin this for them.”
“Not a chance, man,” Jason smiles, and looks over to the two David’s as they labored over the grill. The smiles between the two of them spoke more than words ever could.
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot – Ladysmith Black Mambazo
“When I was little,” Archie says, “my parents would tell me this story about how when they met, they just knew that they were meant to be together. That, um. That somehow, it was just certain they would affect each other’s lives.”
“Yeah,” Cook sighs. “Yeah, I know how that is.”
David looks at him curiously. “So, you think it’s true?”
“Sure, kid.” Cook slings his arm around Archuleta’s shoulder. “I mean, how would you explain us, right?”
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