#‘freshman year of college homesickness’ or whatever

[pentanguine]

I’m listening to Circa Survive (On Letting Go, specifically), and I think this is the first time I’ve been able to listen to their music since 2016 without it getting a little emotionally weird.

Like, I can feel the shadow of the emotions I used to feel listening to these songs, but mostly I’m just focused on the music! I want to listen to more Circa Survive! You have no power over me!

[littlemissmiller]

𝑆𝑢𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑟 𝐻𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑠

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏: 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐇𝐢𝐦

Pairing: drug dealer!coriolanus snow x fem!reader

Summary: (au) Your last summer before college and Coriolanus is still just as in love with you as the first time he saw you, but all of high school you’ve been taken. Meanwhile Coriolanus isn’t looking forward to college, but at least he can still make money dealing drugs. During the last week of school, he notices how fragile your relationship has become and something makes him think he still may have one last chance with you before the summer is over…

Warning: 21+ (mentions or drugs/ drug use) eventually smut, mentions of masturbation (m and f), mentions of oral (m and f receiving), jealously, slight obsession, possession, toxic relationship, slight stalking

Word count: 4k

A/N: hello all! my first series! soooo i’ve had this idea in mind for a while, but it felt like a summer write/read and i figured since a good amount of y’all are high school age or older this would appeal more and now that the school year is over i figured y’all have more time to read too. also i have another joel fic so that is coming soooon (closely followed by a billy fic) i’m so excited about this one like…i had so much fun writing it and i’m guesssing it’s gonna be like 12 chapters long…idk we shall see :) i hope you enjoy

Series Masterlist | Playlist

☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎

Coriolanus is ready for the summer. He’s so sick of school, even though he excels at it. He barely has to study and usually did his homework last minute and still got all A’s. His grandma had encouraged him to go to college next year, even though school didn’t quite interest him anymore. He thought about joining ROTC once he got to campus, but truthfully, why would he give up his little side deal for some army pricks and a “free” ride to college when business was about to be booming.

In his sophomore year, Coriolanus had taken up dealing drugs. Mainly he stuck to weed or psychedelics like mushrooms or acid, and occasionally ecstasy. He didn’t dare sell hard shit and he always made sure his stuff was clean. He had help. From time to time, his friend, Sejanus, would steal from his mother’s medicine cabinet. Xanax, Valium, whatever Mrs. Plinth’s psychiatrist would prescribe, he would manage to steal a few whenever his mother decided not to take her meds that day. It was a system that worked well for Coriolanus, and a system that he would need to maintain. Which is why he decided to go to college only about an hour away from his town. Being from a small, rural town in Illinois didn’t leave Coriolanus many options except the big public school close to the city. A booming college town, where Coriolanus knew he’d be able to expand his “customers” and still manage to keep up his means of getting the drugs he sold.

Luckily enough for him, Sejanus was attending the same college as Coriolanus. Which meant “visits back home” were opportunities for Coriolanus to stock up on his stash and sell. He would be able to tag along with a homesick Sejanus frequently, or at least that’s what Coriolanus predicts given how nostalgic he has seemed to become in the last couple of months. It’s Sejanus’s new favorite hobby. Recalling old memories and moments from the past. Some of which Coriolanus didn’t even realize how much those mundane moments Sejanus’s brain clinged to. How much he cared about their hometown and especially his family. Coriolanus didn’t understand. It wasn’t like he was going halfway across the country, unlike you.

You were bound for California, had big dreams of becoming a cancer researcher for a children’s hospital, and absolutely over the moon to be going to Stanford. Coriolanus wasn’t as thrilled. He had long desired you, wanted you as his own, but since the first week of freshman year you had been so out of his grasp. Too distracted by someone on the football or basketball team, and by your sophomore year you had gotten with one of those football players, Devon. Coriolanus still saw you around however. You and him had shared every AP science course since sophomore year and you considered Coriolanus to be a school friend. That was all. Yet, all of the science classes you and him had spent together left plenty of room for you to chat about Devon. And for some reason you felt safe to talk to him about whenever he would do something to upset you. But you never left him.

So, Coriolanus had watched you from afar, longing to have you all to himself. As high school went on, you only grew more and more beautiful and Coriolanus would often imagine you laying bare before him on his bed. When he was home, he couldn’t help but jerk himself off to the image of you with your hand on your wet core, playing with your clit in between your fingers. That’s all he could picture as he pumped his length in the shower most nights. One hand against the wall the other stroking himself as he pictures you begging for him to fuck you. Your soft pleas tumbling from your beautiful lips like a prayer.

Why couldn’t he have you? Why did some himbo athlete have to have you when Coriolanus was clearly superior to him. He didn’t blame you though. Devon was popular, which made you popular by default and after being in a relationship for so long, he knew it wasn’t easy to just leave someone like that. If anything he blamed himself for not getting to you first. For not asking you out when he had the chance.

Not thinking you’d be interested, the one time Coriolanus had gotten an opportunity to ask you out was freshman year. It was after biology class right before winter break and Coriolanus wanted to take you to a movie. You were his lab partner that day and it’s all that was on his mind. When just the right moment arose, he first asked if you wanted to meet later that night to finish the lab so they would have less homework over break, but mainly to see if you were free to hang out. Coriolanus was quickly let down when you informed him that you would’ve liked to, but your family was going out of town to visit your grandparents for the holidays.

“I’ll just have to finish it when I get back from break.” You had sighed

And that was the only real time he’d had talked to you still single. What a pity given it was the last week of school now. Exams were nearly over and Coriolanus had told himself to give up on you, but he couldn’t seem to let you go. Even though it was the last week, and graduation was this weekend, he still desired you deeply. More than the day he met you. Coriolanus watched you in AP Literature as the class went over the study guide. You twirled your hair, bored and just as ready for the relaxing summer break as he was. He tried not to gawk, but he couldn’t help it. You looked so god damn precious today. Your green plaid skirt just barely followed the dress code and your white shirt was ruffled around the edges and fit your body nicely. Your black converse high tops dangled above the floor. All he wanted to do was take you into a bathroom stall, bend you over, bunch up your skirt and admire your ass. He bet it was soft and round. He imagined a pair of cotton, white panties under it all, soaked. His cock started to harden in his jeans, so Coriolanus moved in his seat to hide his stirring erection.

The bell rings about ten minutes later and thankfully he’s settled down enough to where his bulge isn’t quite so obvious. He snatches up his book bag and looks up. As the last few students file out, you are asking the teacher a few questions. Coriolanus gets up and heads for the door. As he passed you, you finish your conversation and quickly move to catch up to him.

“Hey!” You shouted

Coriolanus paused at the door, turning his head to look at you

“I know it’s exam week and you are busy, but this physics lab is going to be the death of me.”

Coriolanus couldn’t believe it. Were you about to ask for his help outside of class? You had always been going to him for help with your science classes. Even though you had managed to score higher than him on every exam in science, for some reason physics was killing you. So all semester, you had been asking Coriolanus for help during class, but only during class. You never asked to finish your work with him after school.

“Are you asking for my help?” He smiles

Personally, you don’t want to take away from his time since Coriolanus seemed like the type of man that valued his free time and didn’t like to bother with school outside of school. In addition, his mysterious, stern demeanor was intimidating and you didn’t know if you were bothering him while he was trying to make money. You knew he dealt drugs and frankly, the idea of that scared you too, so much as you need his help and your science classes and in all honesty, you were just afraid to ask him for anything at all.

But Coriolanus always assumed it was because of how protective Devon was. Which was also true. He didn’t like you talking to other guys outside of class, and he was particularly wary of Coriolanus. It was no secret that he was handsome. Coriolanus had built his own reputation as someone who slept around. And as much of a neanderthal as Devon was, he damn well knew that Coriolanus looked at you like you’re his prey.

“Yes” you sighed

“I don’t mind.”

“Really”

“Not at all. I’m free tonight.”

“Thank you so much. You have no idea, I’d seriously be lost without you.”

“Of course!” He chirped

“I appreciate it. Wanna meet up at Panera after school?”

“Sounds good.”

You smiled, waved and walked off

Fuckfuckfuck you said “lost without him.” That felt so personal. And your sweet smile. Why are you so perfect. Your hips sway as you walk away and Coriolanus’s cock starts to get hard again, until he see’s something that makes him want to repulse. Your boyfriend approached you from the other end of the hall. Devon came up to you,hugged you and groped your ass. What an obnoxious ass, can’t he tell you don’t like that kind of attention in school. He gave you a sleazy smile and Coriolanus turned his attention away.

After school, he headed to Panera as instructed and waited for you. You pulled up, your boyfriend dropping you off in his 2016 White Mercedes C-Class. You walk inside and find him sitting in the back.

“Hey. I’m going to order food. Did you get something?” You asked

“Nah I’m not all that hungry.”

“Okay!” You smile and walk to the counter to order.

You came back quickly, sat beside Coriolanus, putting your book bag between them. You pulled out you physics textbook, laptop and the lab. As you explained why you were confused, Coriolanus explained the material to you, but was so tempted again. So tempted by the way your knee peaked at him and when you crossed your legs, letting more of your thigh show, he nearly fell apart. He hated how desperate he was for you. How badly he wanted you. He’d do anything just to hear you instruct him to get on his knees and bury his face in between your thighs.

When your food came, he refocused his attention on your homework. Why couldn’t he control himself? Why was he so drawn to your temptations today? You always looked so beautiful, but Coriolanus felt feral.

“Ugh what am I going to do next year without you in my science classes!” You sighed

There you go again. Making everything sound personal and intimate. Clever as always, Coriolanus replied.

“Well good thing you have my number right?”

“Yeah, but we won’t be in the same class and I don’t want to bother you.”

“It’s not a bother” he follows up quickly

“You’re always so sweet. I appreciate it.”

“Anytime…” he smiles

Your phone buzzed, it’s Devon. You pick up and he seems annoyed. You tried to calm him down but somehow he figured out that you’re here studying with Coriolanus.

“You’re being ridiculous ok. Let’s just talk when we get back to my house…busy…with what?” You speak in a harsh whisper. “Ok whatever… just come back and drop me back home. Ok please?”

Coriolanus acted like he didn’t notice, but he watched in agony as tears welled up in your eyes. You took a deep breath, close your eyes, and swallowed your sadness along with the last sip of your Cola. Even though he should mind his own business, he couldn’t contain himself. He had to ask if you were ok. Besides, it's not like you don’t already confide in him during class anyways.

“It’s ok. I’ll be good.” You said, your lip quivering

You excuse yourself to refill your drink and Coriolanus packs up his things.

What a fucking insecure dick.

Coriolanus knew that you’re not the type to cheat. If anything Devon would cheat on you in a second. As protective as he was of you, he seemed to have a different set of rules for himself. Coriolanus saw Devon at parties, how’d he flirt with other girls when you weren’t around, or check out the cheerleaders at games. Yet you couldn’t have any real guy friends, and he truly couldn’t stand Coriolanus.

“You sure? I could give you a ride home since he seems…”

“No it’s fine…he’ll be here soon anyways. I appreciate your help.”

Your lip quivers slightly and you hide your face as you pretend to yawn. It’s something you’ve learned to help you to hide your tears and prevent you from falling apart into a big mess. But Coriolanus saw right through it because he had seen it before. He wanted to hold you, tell you to dump Devon and be with him instead. He would kiss you, to show you just how serious he was. He imagined delicately stroking your chin with his thumb and forefinger, guiding your face to his and kissing you deeply. He would be slow, tender, his lips simply ghosting over your own. He would still hold you daintily, his breath fanning over your face as he told you how much he loves you.

You look outside, turning away from Coriolanus, stifling your cries as a single tear rolls down your cheek. Coriolanus can’t help it; he has to say something.

“You know if you ever need someone to talk to I don’t mind. Sometimes it’s easier to tell someone you’re not as close with. Because then it’s like you’re speaking into a void and it doesn’t really matter what you say. But at least you got it off your chest.”

You pause for a moment and look back at him. You contemplate the offer and as much as you want to just talk his ear off about all the ways in which your boyfriend sucks, you’re afraid that he’ll just be more upset with you, thinking somehow he’ll find out.

“It’s ok. I’ll just vent to my mom when I get home.”

“You sure?” He asks, trying to hide his desperation

You reach out and touch his forearm gently. Your affections burn on his skin, your fingertips branding him.

“I’m sure. Thanks anyways.”

You release him, giving him a small smile. You feel like you should apologize and he simply smirks in approval, his eyes following your hand as it leaves him. Then your phone buzzes again. It lights up with a text from Devon and Coriolanus glances outside at the parking lot. He sees your boyfriend pull up, park, and exit his vehicle. For a moment he thinks your boyfriend is about to walk in, but he simply pouts against the car like a grumpy toddler.

“Good luck with your other exams. I know you’ll do fine.”

You walk off, quickly gather your things and walk out the door. He watches you leave and his eyes peer out the window. You trot along to Devon’s car innocently, scared like a newborn deer. He stares at you hawkishly, arms crossed. He shoves his body back into the car once you make it onto the other side, starting it up and you disappear behind the door as it closes. Coriolanus hangs his head in frustration and sighs. You didn’t deserve him.

You belong with him. You belong with Coriolanus.

He felt a tinge of unease thinking about it, not wanting to become as possessive and obsessive as Devon, but he really meant it. He felt he would know how to treat you like a queen. Give you lots of nice things or if you needed cash to buy something you wanted, he’d give it to you. Sell more weed and Xanax to get you whatever you want. But if he could have you, hold you, treat you right, and tell you how much he loves you, he felt like you would want it just as much as he did.

When he gets home, Coriolanus heads up to his room. His cousin and grandma were out shopping for their dresses to wear to his graduation. Coriolanus had picked out a nice pair of black slacks, and a white button up. He wasn’t one for ties normally, and given the heat, he didn’t want to feel too constrained. It was hanging up in his closet, facing him as he enters his room, along with his cap and gown. He sits down at his desk, placing his book bag down and getting his laptop out. He decides to check his grades one last time even though he already knows what it will say. He logs on to his school's website.

Coriolanus C. Snow

Student ID: 1008452024

Current Standing: Senior (Academic Honors)

Current GPA: 4.0

Accumulative GPA: 4.3

Spring Semester 2024

AP Physics A

AP Literature A

European History A

AP Calculus A

Political Science A

Latin Studies A

The corners of his mouth slid up into a half smile. He was of course not upset with himself, but knew that school was the only thing he was really good at, but completely hated. He was still going to go to college, just to get a degree of anything and why would he miss out on the opportunity to sell to his target market. Even though he hated school, and was dragging his feet to go to college, Coriolanus had bigger ambitions. He thought that even if it meant four more years of school and lectures, getting a degree might lead him towards a better career. Coriolanus often heard of people getting into politics and getting intern jobs working for Senators and Representatives. It was truly the only thing that appealed to him. Even though he excelled in nearly every course, politics and civics seemed to have taken over his attention more than his other subjects. And his teachers noted how he seemed to have more interest in those classes versus science or math. So he thought that maybe college could offer an opportunity for him to get him to a place of power, which not even he realizes how much he desires that kind of control.

Then his phone vibrates, taking him off guard and away from his thoughts. It’s you. He immediately picks it up. He can sense your emotions through the phone and the immediate sniffle you give him, confirms his suspicions.

“Hey what’s up?”

“Oh I just had a quick question on this lab I realized I left the last question blank. Do you think we could FaceTime real quick?” You ask tentatively

“Sure.”

You transfer the call to FaceTime him and he picks up. He put the phone against the wall and your beautiful face appears. It’s slightly blurry because of the connection, but Coriolanus can still make out your beautiful features although they are covered by your clearly upset face. You had been crying, hard, your eyes slightly red and puffy.

“So what’s up” Coriolanus continues quickly

“Yeah so it's talking about how I’m supposed to connect my parts of the equation to the students equation in the problem but also explain the reasoning for why part b) works with part a) and show mathematical reasoning.”

Coriolanus smiles and begins to break down the problem in the lab and you start to frantically scribble down on your page, occasionally glancing up showing that you understand and are following along. All the while, he’s just as focused on your beautiful, round eyes, as they concentrate on his words. He tries desperately not to picture those same pretty eyes looking up at him, you on your knees, naked and sucking his cock. He knows that your eyes would look just as attractive and engaged by him. He shakes his head to refocus, but he’s hard under his desk. Luckily it’s just a video call, because his bulge is ever so apparent. Once Coriolanus finishes explaining it, you smile and sigh in relief.

“That makes sense. Thanks Coriolanus…”

“See, next semester I can still help you like this, you know.”

“I guess you’re right” you smile back “is that your bed?” You ask, pointing behind him.

“Yeah.” He confirms, turning around to look at it.

“I like the comforter. Your room looks cool by the way” you follow up

His bed sheets are navy blue plaid with red and white stripes in a grid style pattern. He looks around his room and admires his decor. Coriolanus occupies a room on the top floor. It wasn’t quite cramped like an attic, but it was close to the roof. It was cozy, with a slanted wall. The back wall was uncovered brick, with a wood ceiling. Coriolanus had put a few of his favorite band posters up as well as some vinyl covers. He tried to keep things simple with his bed against one wall and his desk against the other. He had a laptop that sat on his desk and a TV that screwed onto the wall above his desk, which he easily fit his PS4 under.

“Maybe you should come see it in person sometime” he suggests, not realizing what he has said.

When he does, he mentally kicks himself for being so forward, and your eyes dart down to the ground in your own room.

You stupid ass.

As he curses himself, you glance back up with a smile

“Hopefully I can see it at your graduation party. Assuming you're having one?” You follow up

“Possibly. I wasn’t sure, but my family wants to throw me one. What about you?” He asks

“Oh yeah I’m sending invitations out to the whole grade. We are having it at our country club, me and Devon. It's kinda a combination party I guess.” You explain

“Oh fun”

“It’s gonna be at the end of June so when you get the invite, let me know. You can text me and I’ll tell my dad.”

“Yeah sure. Well I won’t keep ya any longer.” Coriolanus nods, his lips sporting the most charming smile and you match his expression.

“Ok well, if I don’t see you much at school then I’ll see you this weekend at graduation?” You imply, unsure if he would even bother going since he almost never attended non-mandatory school events.

“Yeah, I’ll see you there for sure”

“Hey just real quick, earlier today with Devon, it’s just he gets a bad temper and makes assumptions”

Coriolanus nods, not wanting to scare you off, but he’s invested in having you tell him what more upsets you.

“I’m sorry, that sounds frustrating.”

“Well I guess you’ve always been there to listen so I just wanna say thanks for all these times. You know it’s funny though we get into these fights and I talk to you and feel better then he goes back to normal, well at least for a while then he gets back into his ways, so I’m just hoping he’ll mature more in college. Stop acting like a toddler sometimes” you smirk

Oh you poor thing, you don’t even realize how bad he truly is. You don’t even realize you're stuck in his toxic cycle. Coriolanus wishes he could swoop in and take you away. Treat you better. Coriolanus gives you a sympathetic smile and continues to show he’s listening to you. After a few silent moments, you say goodbye and hang up. Coriolanus feels like he can breathe again. You overwhelm him to a degree he didn’t even think was possible. Which he feels it between his legs, his cock is still rock hard.

Fuck you get him so worked up it’s unbelievable. He knows he’ll have to handle his member in the shower before dinner, but for now he smiles to himself. Coriolanus leans his chair back, mouth agape as he sighs at the ceiling. Maybe he could have a chance with you after all. He doesn’t want to get too hopeful, but something tells him he might just be able to get his chance with you before the summer ends.

꧁🝮❤︎︎🝮꧂

[labyrinth-runner]

Dead Girl Walking Version One

Summary: Reader bombs at a sorority rush party and decides she has to drop out... but not before she bangs her roommate, Lawrence “Beetlejuice.” 

Warnings: 18+ Only. This is like PWP. Reader has female bits. 

Pairings: Musical! Beetlejuice x Reader

Word Count: ~2500

The smoggy haze of weed got to your head. You hadn’t even been smoking, but there was just so much of it at the party that you couldn’t escape the contact high. It made you giggly. And hungry. So you drank more booze, because you vaguely remembered someone saying that when you’re hungry you’re actually thirsty so you should drink more. So it only made sense to have another shot, right? But the booze table was over by the stoners, so you ended up smelling more of the ganja and well… it was a vicious cycle to say the least. A vicious cycle that ended in you hurling on the shoes of the sorority president. You thought movies were exaggerating when something happened and the music stopped and everyone gets quiet, but then you found yourself in that exact situation.

“You’re dead. Kiss any social life you think you had goodbye,” Heather said through gritted teeth. “If you don’t drop out by Monday, you’re going to wish you’d gone to community college instead.”

She thought she was sooooo tough. But, still, the threat of your social life’s demise freshman year was essentially the same as a mafia hit. Heather might as well have threatened to have you sleep with the fishes. Isn’t it weird how the plural of fish is still fish, but people say “sleeping with the fishes”? You shook your head. Now wasn’t the time for stupid thoughts like that. You wove your way through the crowd that parted like the sea (A-haaaa sea, home for the fishes… Fish) and slunk your way out into the street.

Steam came up through the subway grates in the sidewalk as your combat boots clunked down the road. Subway steam was always gross. It was a hot smog that seeped into your pores and stung your nose. The walk home was longer than the uber to the party had been, but it helped you sober up more as you kept going.

That was when the panic began to set in.

Your social life was over. You wouldn’t be able to set foot in another sorority house—not that you absolutely had wanted to join one in the first place, but it had been part of the deal you’d made with your mom so that she’d pay for college. If you at least rushed, then she’d pay for 75% of it. If you made it into her old haunt, she’d pay for it all. Now, you’d be footing the bill of your entire degree.

Fuck.

Maybe you should just drop out. It was early enough in the semester. You could transfer back to your community college and say you were homesick. That might just work. Mom couldn’t fault you for missing her. You crashed through your front door after fumbling with the lock for a bit.

“Shit,” you muttered, hitting your hip against the table in the hall. The house was dark, but you could see the shadows from the tv in the living room dancing across the doorway. Lawrence must still be up watching god knows what on the “boob tube” as he called it. Your room was down the hall. Posters were taped at angles on the wall because you thought it looked cool. Your duffel bag was still hap-hazard in your closet from where you’d chucked it after move in day. Fabric slipped through your fingers as you grabbed whatever you could from your drawers, shoving it into the bag as fast as you could. You could practically hear your mom talk about how wrinkles form by doing what you were doing but you didn’t give a flying fuck.

“FUCK!” You heard Lawrence say from the living room.

You paused in your packing. No one was going to see you here again. You might as well have one last meal before you went. Besides…. You always had a soft spot for Lawrence “Beetlejuice”, or “Beej” or “The Juice Man” as he sometimes called himself. You wouldn’t have to live with him if it went wrong. You might as well…

Fishnets snapped against your thigh as you tugged them on. You took a look into the mirror hanging on the back of your door. Black corset, check. Lacey, cheeky underwear, check. Fishnets, check. Combat boots, check. Still, you needed something. A robe! You pulled the gag gift from your closet. It was dramatic and sexy and your best friend from high school got it for you for your 18th birthday as a joke that you could finally seduce all of those creepy old dudes that would tell you to smile while you waited for the bus. Now, a whole year later, you found yourself pulling the silk fabric up over your shoulders. You tied the bow loosely, but still had enough to play with. Good. You wanted to toy with Lawrence. Give him a show.

You slunk down the hall until you were in the doorway of the living room. Leaning against the doorway, you tried to appear as sexy as you could, swinging the excess of your tie in circles. “Having fun?”

“Yeah, babes,” Lawrence said, casting a quick glance at you before fully starting to gawk at you. “How was the—” he trailed off, watching as you slowly started to undo your robe, revealing your cleavage. He swallowed a lump as you playfully trailed your hand down your chest.

“How was the what, Beej?” You pulled up off the doorway.

“The party?”

“Awful.” You watched as his breathing sped up as you strutted over towards him. “I’m dropping out. My social life is over.” You stepped, placing your booted foot on the couch between his legs, toe dangerously close to his crotch. Placing your elbow on your bent knee, you leaned your head on your hand and smiled at him sweetly. “Do you know what I am, Beej?” Your voice was almost sing-song.

His hand tentatively slid up your calf, his eyes almost rolling back into his head at the feel of your fishnet thigh highs beneath his skin. “What’s that, Babes?”

“A dead girl walking. And do you know what I’m going to do?”

Lawrence swallowed. He shook his head.

You smirked, swinging your other leg over his leg so you could sit on his thigh. “I’ve decided I must ride you ‘til I break you.” You dragged yourself over his leg, reaching out to grab hold of his sweatshirt hoodie to yank his mouth to yours. It was a hard kiss, full of need.

It was like a switch flipped in your roommate. He started to kiss down your chest towards the neckline of your corset as he pushed your robe off your shoulders until the fabric pooled around your waist. His beard tickled against your skin in a way that felt so delicious that all you could do was sink your hands in his green-dyed hair and hold him closer. He nipped your neck, eliciting a gasp from you. His hands slid down to wrap around your ass, one hand continuing it's decent down your thigh until it hooked behind your knee. He yanked you over, fully pulling you into his lap. Only then could you feel how hard he was for you. You ground into him, hard and slow. He leaned his head back against the couch, exhaling through gritted teeth.

“Fuck,” he breathed. He eyes were wide with lust.

“Beej—”

He cut you off, kissing you hard. His tongue tangled with yours, fighting for dominance that you weren’t quick to give him. He left you feeling breathless and wanted, and something was hammering in your chest that you wished would stop because if it kept going then that would mean that you wanted this. You wanted Lawrence to fuck you because you wanted Lawrence, and not just because you wanted to fuck shit up before you dropped out. Had you been tiptoeing around these feelings the entire time? You kissed him back harder, willing it to mean nothing.

You took his hands, placing one on your ass and the other on your chest, encouraging him to squeeze and grope. Your own hands went to the band of his sweatpants, sliding your hand down into them. You moaned against his mouth as you felt his length in your hand. He was going to feel amazing.

You pushed him back, breaking the kiss to pull up his sweatshirt. “Strip, Beej.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” He scrambled to pull it up over his head, along with his shirt. He looked at you weird before wrapping his arms under your thighs and lifting you.

“Beej, where are we—” He cut you off with a kiss, slamming your back into the wall in the hall.

“I’m not fucking you for the first time on the couch,” he said, pulling back. His eyes had softened slightly, and you didn’t know how to respond except with a nod. “Good.”

He kissed you again, harder, his one arm sliding up your back as your legs gripped him tightly. He stumbled backwards into your room, falling on top of you on your bed. You used your heels to push his pants down. Taking the hint, he pushed them down the rest of the way, kicking them off, standing in front of you in just his boxers. His hands reached for your corset, unhooking the front until you spilled out in all your glory and he could drop the garment onto the floor with his pants. Lawrence’s mouth was on you in seconds, sucking hot, wet kisses to your chest, leaving marks that you knew would still be there in the morning. He took your nipple in his teeth, rolling his tongue around the sensitive bud. Your back arched off the bed and towards him. You felt, more than heard him chuckle against your skin.

“You must really want me, Babes.”

You rolled the two of you over so that he was under you. “Shut up, Beej.” You sunk your hand into his underwear and gripped him, pumping agonizingly slow. “Come on, Beej. Fuck me. You know you want to.”

Somehow you needed him to make the first move, regardless of the fact that you had been the one deciding to seduce him. You needed him to take you because then you would be just another notch in his swiss cheese bedframe and you wouldn’t have to admit that you wanted to be more than just a conquest.

His hands came up your thighs, fingers splayed. His hands settled on your hips before snapping the band of your underwear. “These have to come off first.”

You swung off him long enough to shimmy out of them, laying on your side next to him. His eyes trailed your body and you felt awkward, like you should cover yourself.

“You’re beautiful, Babes,” was all he said before kissing you again. It was a different kind of kiss. It still left you breathless, but this was more passion than lust. You’d had your fair share of drunk lusty kisses. This… this was passion. This was need and want with just a touch more sprinkled in. His hand cradled the base of your neck as he pulled you back into his lap. You absentmindedly clocked the fact that he was no longer wearing his underwear either as you felt his dick brush up against your entrance. You whined against his mouth, feeling him slide himself back and forth through your slick before setting his head at your entrance. You were waiting in suspense until he slowly entered you, biting your lip as he bottomed out.

You had never felt more full in your life as he rolled you onto your back.

And then he started to move.

And Jesus Fucking Christ did he deliver. Lawrence pounded into you as if he could leave some internal mark that would permanently mark you as his. You tried your best to match his strokes, slamming your hips into his with the same velocity, but he was frenzied and you just wanted to give yourself over to the pleasure. But you also wanted to fuck him back. To make him feel just as needy as you. To help him reach his pleasure as you felt yourself ratcheting up towards your own. The familiar heat built deep in your belly as every muscle in your body began to tighten. It was imperceptible at first, but then even Lawrence was commenting on it.

“Fuck, Babes. Just like that. Fuck, I’m yours if you want me. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. You’re so fucking tight,” he was babbling into your shoulder as he relentlessly rocked into you. “Milk me dry, Babes.”

You pulled him in for a kiss, forcing your tongue into his mouth. He shuddered on top of you, and began to lose his rhythm. His hand came down and hooked around your knee, pushing your leg towards your chest.

“Beej!” You cried out with the new angle. It was almost too much and not nearly enough at the same time. You felt yourself hovering towards the edge of your inner precipice, just wanting to throw yourself over and crash into the abyss, taking Lawrence down with you. His hand slipped between your bodies. His thumb pressed fast, desperate circles around your clit and you lost it, unable to hold on anymore. It was as if every muscle in your body snapped like a rubber band. The only thought in your mind was Shattered. Shattered. Shattered. As you fell into an oblivion of bliss.

“Fuck.” Lawrence collapsed on top of you, kissing you hard as he found his own release. Your arms felt like Jell-O as they came up to circle around his back, holding him close. His breathing was ragged as he flipped you over so that you were laying against his soft, sweaty, dadbod chest. You rested your head on his shoulder.

“Don’t go,” he said, drawing circles on our back with his thumb. His black fingernails titillated your skin.

“My social life is over. What else is there for me here?” you asked, tilting your head up to look up at him.

His blue eyes trailed down your face before looking away. He was blushing. “Me. Let me be your home, Babes. I’ll resurrect the dead girl and give her life.”

You kissed his cheek, hitting acceptance. “I love you, Lawrence.”

He hugged you close and kissed your forehead. “I love you too, Babes.”

[zaephix]

PROLOGUE / / homesick

⋆｡°✩ . SUMMARY — you debate with mona on whether or not to go to your high school reunion, meet with two old friends and a cute kid at the supermarket, meet with old friends yet again, and encounter an all-too-familiar face. ⋆｡°✩ . WARNINGS — second person , awkward dialogue , high school , alchohol/drinks , mentions of overworking , f!reader , everyone including reader is 23-27 . ⋆｡°✩ . WORD COUNT — 2998 words (its too long for a prologue i got carried awayyyyy) .

prev / / ao3 / / next

“So, are you still gonna go?”

“...Maybe.”

“You see all of your best friends together again after six years and you wanna back out now?” 

“You know why I’m still-”

“Yeah, yeah.” The voice on the other end of the phone sighed, “...Just letting you know, Collei’s coming too. Amber’s super excited - don’t you wanna see them all again?”

You sighed, debating whether or not to attend your high school reunion. Right? It felt like a simple yes or no question. Wrong. Yes, you were eager to see your friends again. Yes, you want to see if they were still how you remembered them. But, you weren't sure if you wanted to reunite with... certain faces. You flattened the invitation letter with another heavy sigh, reading it for the nth time.

MONDSTADT CENTRAL HIGH REUNION “We cordially invite you to our long-awaited reunion, hosted by our former student council members Jean Gunnhildr, Lisa Minci, Eula Lawrence, Diluc Ragnvindr, and Albedo Kreideprinz. Join us for drinks, music, and food! Events featured: TCG tournaments, karaoke, time capsule re-opening, photoshoots, (free) food, (not free) drinks, and more! On Saturday, September 22nd, 5 p.m. Located at Dawn Winery. ”

You weren’t too far from the old manor, it was only about a 25-minute drive from where you now lived. You had missed the atmosphere there back when you were still in high school. After school hang outs with all your friends, laughing and talking without a care in the world. But that was precisely what you were afraid of. Could you all still laugh and talk the same way you did before? How much did they change, or did they change at all?

With your thumb lightly tapping against the paper, you set it down and picked up your phone again.

“Mona, of course, I’m excited to see everybody again. Hell, if anything, I’m the one who’s most eager to see them all. But you’ve gotta understand,” you continued, “I have literally not talked to any of them for half a decade.”

Silence was met on the other end of the call before laughter burst in your eardrums, small snorts and giggles ringing in your ears. “Really now (y/n)? I had no idea.” She stopped laughing, letting out another exasperated sigh, “Why do you think I called you then? This is a perfect opportunity to talk to everyone again, and if you haven’t noticed, you can’t always talk to me about whatever it is you want to rant about that day.”

Mona was right, you had gotten too used to using her as your personal therapist. She’s been there for you ever since you could remember, well, technically ever since your freshman year of high school. You groaned, embarrassment flooding your senses. It was true, you’ve barely had any contact with your high school friends after getting accepted into college., and ever since that had happened. You winced internally, suddenly feeling a wave of pity for your poor friend. It wasn’t entirely your fault you were so caught up with college, you had to figure out your future right? 

It’s not exactly an excuse for as to cutting almost everybody off though… a little voice whispered in your head, you’ve figured it was your guilty conscious, judging you for absolutely every little thing you’ve done and have been doing thus far.

To put it simply - it was driving you nuts.

“Okay Mona, you have a point. But, that doesn’t mean it’s decided i’m going to go.” You heard a huff, “Hey, don’t get mad at me now. I just… need time to think it over.”

“Alright, alright.”

“Thank you, for being so ever understanding.” You could’ve sworn you heard a ‘whatever’, but shrugged it off. “Anyways, I’ve gotta go to the store to restock my fridge, after somebody ransacked for all it was worth.”

“It was one time! Wouldn’t you be so kind as to help a poor astrologer, not to mention best friend, with trifling matters such as a bit of nourishment?”

“Save your excuses, Megistus. Talk to you later, okay?” The mentioned bid farewell and ended the call. Now, was the matter of going out. You had been living alone comfortably for the past year, with the occasional water leaks here and there. Your place wasn’t too shabby, it was close to your ideal living quarters. Ever since college and living with a roommate for four years, keeping up with your kitchen stock has been somewhat of a challenge. It wasn’t like you were broke, you had a financially stable career and lifestyle, you just… happened to get carried away after a while.

Getting up and changing into somewhat acceptable attire to go to the nearest grocery market, you took your keys and left your apartment. Upon exiting, a breeze of autumn air flooded your senses, the sky above painted with a fresh blue. Glancing to your left, you see a stack of very large boxes outside of your neighbor’s door. I’m guessing they’re redecorating? You thought, pushing past the stack. 

Your neighbors had moved in about 6 months ago, a pair of twins and their younger sister. You’d talked to the older sister before, even inviting her into your apartment. She was nice, you two have shared similar experiences throughout college. Although the brother was more reserved, occasionally gave you a good morning here and there. As for their younger sister, she was a ball of energy.

Strangely enough, however, was the fact that you would barely see them. The sister had stated that they “have an affinity for traveling” or something along those lines. They were incredibly busy, meeting new people here and there. Something I should pick up, you dully noted.

Getting into your car, you made your way to the nearest grocery store. Okay, so we need eggs, milk, yogurt, fruits, ramen, and whatever else catches my attention. You listed in your mind, although you knew you would forget half of what was on that list. It was a good thing, to get back to getting your life back together. God knows what you went through in college. You inhaled sharply at the flashback, wanting to forget everything that happened throughout high school and college. Shaking off the memories, you had finally reached the market.

You looked up at the sign saying “Mondstadt General Goods”, noting your one objective. Get in, get the groceries, and get out. Shouldn’t be too hard, right?

_________________________________________________

“Come on Klee, Alice trusted me to keep you in line this weekend, Sevens I have so much to prepare for.” An exasperated voice half-heartedly shouts, pushing a shopping cart.

“Coming Miss Jean!” another bubbly and child-like voice exclaims back, running towards the voice. 

Jean has had a demanding week. Being the head of the leading police department in Mondstadt and dealing with a much too energetic child all weekend can lead you to exhaustion, apparently. And preparing for a high school reunion in a week can only add to that list.

“Jean, relax a little. We’re on an errand, not one of your military camp training sessions.” Remarked a brunette woman, walking alongside Jean. This was Lisa, Jean’s best friend as one would say. She was almost the complete opposite of Jean, leisurely going on about life. She worked at the library next to Jean's department, occasionally bringing coffee in between her shifts. 

“For the last time Lisa, it’s not the military. There’s a clear distinction between-”

“Yes ma’am, so I’ve heard,” teased Lisa, picking up a few items for their cart before squeezing her shoulders. “All I’m saying is to loosen up a little. You’re not Chief Gunnhildr right now, you’re just Jean. And don’t worry, everyone’s contributing to the reunion, you’re not alone.”

Jean smiled weakly at Lisa, before pushing through the aisles again. She tended to get caught up in work, she knew that much. She was embarrassed to say she needed Lisa to keep her grounded. However, that was one of the things she loved about her friend of many years - the way she knew exactly what she needed at any given point in time.

“Hey, about the reunion, did you send out the invitation letters?”

“Of course I did, who do you take me for? I still think text messages or emails would’ve probably been received much better though.”

“Of course you do. Any updates from Diluc or Albedo?”

“Diluc said the manor was free for the weekend, even said we could stay the night there. Albedo checked on the time capsules, said they were still there. And, don’t worry, I doubt he would open any of them.” Recounted Lisa, pulling random items from the snack section.

“Wouldn’t doubt him for the world. Klee, what do you want? You can have any snack as a treat.” Called Jean, craning her neck to look for the short child. “Where’d she go?” 

Stepping out of the aisle, Jean’s eyes darted around everywhere. Where did the kid go? She wouldn’t hear the end of this from Alice if she found out her kid escaped her usually watchful gaze. Sevens, she didn’t even want to imagine how many times it would be brought up in one of their coffee sessions.

“Jean, I’m pretty sure we have everything we need. All we need to do is find- oh wait. There she is.” Said Lisa from behind Jean, pointing in front of them.

There she is, thought Jean as she made her way to Klee, already imagining the ear-full she was gonna give the blonde girl. She was running up and down the aisles, before pausing, as if something had caught her attention. “Klee- what did I tell you about going on alone without us? You could get seriously hurt-”

The little girl paid no mind to Jean, giggling and running to her next target. Letting out yet another exasperated sigh, Jean followed. “Young lady, I’m not finished talking to you, stop-” Jean paused, looking at the person who had caught Klee’s attention. (H/l) (H/c) hair, (e/c) eyes, and (s/c) skin- wait, was that..?

“Miss (y/n)!”

__________________________________________

“Miss (y/n)!”

You turned around, only to be pounced on by something- or rather, someone.

“Klee?”

A short girl with blonde hair remained wrapped around your torso, squeezing you with all her might. “Miss (y/n)! Klee hasn’t seen you in soooo long! You missed so many of my adventures!”

You couldn’t help but stare at the small girl in front of you, your hands awkwardly placed in the air. “Uh- yeah, sorry about that Klee. I’ve been super busy, I’m so sorry for missing so many of our play dates, I missed you.”

It was true, you missed the much-too-energetic girl. You would always have small little playdates and adventures back when you were in high school. Although you were a bit too exhausted to run around some days, you would indulge in her antics more than half the time.

“It’s okay, (y/n)! Klee forgives you! You have to promise to play with Klee next time, okay?” 

“Of course Klee. Who’s with you right now? Albedo? Alice?” You had to make a quick getaway, you don’t know if you could afford to embarrass yourself in front of any of them after no contact efforts in 4 years.

“No. Only miss Jean and miss Lisa.”

And as if right on time, the two mentioned women appeared behind Klee, surprise adorning both their faces. The two hadn’t changed much after high school, although the bags around Jean’s eyes seemed to have gotten worse. And Lisa was still Lisa after all, the same wistful smile still on her face. 

“(Y/n)!” Lisa approached you, putting a hand on your shoulder. “My, my, it’s been so long. How’ve you been? We’ve barely heard from you since graduation you know.”

“Oh, wow, uhm, yeah. I guess it has been a while-”

“Too long in fact, what happened? Are you still with-”

“That's enough Lisa, give her some time to breathe.” Then came your savior, Jean, to your rescue. You watched as Jean chastised Lisa for her straightforward behavior, awkwardly standing there with a child wrapped around you.

“But Lisa has a point, (y/n). It’s been so long, how have you been holding up?” Questioned Jean, both their gazes on you now.

“I’ve been doing well, just you know, keeping busy with life.” 

You nearly face-palmed yourself after that excuse of a lie.

“Oh yeah, that reminds me, have you gotten the invitation letter to the reunion? It’s next Saturday. We’re hoping that most if not everybody shows up.” Jean had a glint in her eyes when talking about the reunion. You guessed she’d been eager for it as well.

“Yeah. I was talking to Mona about it over the phone.” You mentioned matter-of-factly. “But… I’m not sure if I’ll be uh… free… that day.” You knew very well that you would most likely be at home, doing nothing and watching TV. Maybe you’d make an effort to deep clean your apartment if it was a good day. Maybe.

Lisa frowned as her grip on you softened, “Surely you can’t be that busy? I’ve missed seeing your face around, darling.” She sighs and lets go of your shoulder with a pat. “I understand though. Let us know if you change your mind though, okay? Maybe we can meet up on a day when we’re all free.”

Jean nodded, sympathy in her eyes. “Agreed. Call us if you ever need any help as well, (y/n).”

You cursed yourself as you saw the two women shrink slightly in disappointment. You couldn’t afford to let them down. Not when you’ve just met again after so many years. As your stomach twisted and turned with uncertainty, you gave them a not-so-final answer.

“I’ll… I’ll see if I can clear my schedule. You guys were right, it has been a while.” You gave them a half smile, Klee looking back and forth between you and the two other women with an elated grin.

Lisa waves you goodbye, “Hope to see you there then, cutie.” Jean pulled Klee away from you with an embarrassed smile and wave. 

You supposed it was official then. You were going to the dreaded reunion you hoped to avoid.

_____________________________________________

Standing outside the familiar manor, you dusted off your clothes in an attempt to look presentable. Saturday had come fast and without warning, your heart becoming heavy with every reminder. You weren’t sure why you were this nervous. The last time you had gone out to a gathering or party like this was back in college, and even then you felt somewhat at ease. Maybe it was because of how many old faces would be present. Maybe it was because you would be reminded of everything that happened while you were in high school.

Shaking your head, you knocked on the door. The air was chilly with the aroma of freshly cooked food making its way to your nostrils. You heard overlapping voices, laughs, music, and finally, some footsteps headed in your direction from behind the door. You took in a sharp breath and fixed your posture as the door swung open to a friendly face.

“(y/n!)”

Standing before you was a brunette girl in her 20s, cheery personality and all. Amber. You had missed her. 

“Well don’t just stand there, come in!” She took you by your hand and led you into the manor. The moment you stepped into the manor, you were reminded of just how rich the late Ragvindr was. The floors, walls, and stairs were all embellished with dark mahogany wood, a regal chandelier hung over the ceiling. Mostly everything was candlelit, providing a warm atmosphere. Nothing has changed at all.

Then registered in your mind everyone inside the room. Many people ended up coming, including all the old student council members (obviously), Collei, Mona, Venti, Sucrose, and Rosaria. Venti was currently seated at a table with a very irked Diluc and amused Rosaria. Mona and Albedo were in a conversation with each other (with Mona looking all too pleased with herself) while Lisa and Jean were laughing with Eula. Sucrose and Collei were engaged in a hush conversation before Collei spotted Amber. “Amber, (y/n), over here!”

Upon hearing your name, Mona also came over. “So, you did end up coming,” nudged Mona with an all-knowing smirk. You had no reply but a light-hearted glare.

Collei perked up, “Wow (y/n), we haven’t seen each other in years! What are you up to these days?” 

“Yeah… just been busy I guess. And you? Still working hard to become a wildlife biologist, was it?” Collei was one of your oldest friends, although a few years your junior, she was in her second year of college. 

“Yep! Amber, Sucrose, and Tighnari have been helping me lots! Although Tighnari’s more busy with dealing with his research in Sumeru, I think he mentioned something about having to deal with Cyno’s jokes nonstop…”

You ended up talking for the next hour with everybody. You found out that Sucrose and Albedo both entered the forensics field, Venti pursued his musical career, and Amber worked with Jean in the Favonius Police Department. When you asked what Rosaria did, she had no reply but a sly smile and passed you a drink. It seemed like everyone had moved on with their life respectively. You couldn’t help but feel a little jealous. 

Through the haze of the night, you slowly felt more at ease and outspoken. Maybe it was the drinks, or the nostalgia running its course through you, but it felt good. Up until you looked up and saw a familiar shade of blue hair. 

“Kaeya! We were wondering when you would show up, it’s been more than 2 hours since we started.” Chastised Amber, a disappointed Jean, and Diluc shaking their heads behind her.

You can’t seem to forgive and forget after all.

[ctrsara]

Distance is Stupid

Read on AO3

Peter and Tony are both trying to give each other space during Peter's first semester at MIT, but it's not going well.

This story's finishing prompts for @Comfortember 2022 are "Distance" and "Moving Forward." (Marvel MCU)

Peter Parker trudged from his last class of the week towards his dorm room. The chill of the early October air was starting to get more pronounced in the evenings, and he glared at the trees with their fiery autumn colors, not quite able to see them as pretty, because he knew they signaled winter was coming. Even though it had been years since the spider bite, winters always brought a few headaches as he tried to stay warm. His body just wasn’t very efficient at dealing with the cold anymore.

For the six-thousandth time that semester, he wished Ned had decided to come to MIT with him instead of going to Caltech. And sure, he saw MJ several times a week since she was here too, but her freshman classes at Harvard and his at MIT were pretty demanding, and she had clicked quickly with her roommate, and spent a lot of her free time working. 

Not that Peter didn’t like his roommate. Peter felt like he could get along with most people, and Garrett was friendly and fun. They even hung out sometimes. But he was pretty into the party scene (as most freshmen were) which Peter had quickly realized he had little interest in. His spider-enhanced senses didn’t take well to alcohol or even secondhand smoke from most other substances, so he had only gone to a few gatherings. There were a few kids in some of his classes that he’d gotten into study groups with, and was enjoying getting to know, but he was just still so lonely. 

Even talking to May a couple times a week was only a short-term fix. She was busy a really great new job, and Peter was busy too, and Tony… well, Tony texted him several times a week, but didn’t call unless he had a pretty good reason. And Peter didn’t call unless he had a pretty good reason, either, so they’d only talked a few times since he left New York. And Peter kind of hated it. He knew he was supposed to be “growing up” and “branching out” and “moving on” now that he was in college--whatever those meant--but it sucked. He missed May, and Morgan, and Ned, and Pepper, and he really missed Tony. 

But that was kid stuff, right? He wasn’t supposed to be homesick anymore at eighteen. He was supposed to be getting to know new people and trying new things, and having the best time of his life. Most of the other students he knew didn’t talk to their parents, or parental-type-figures more than once a week, or occasional texts, and they seemed fine. So what was wrong with him?  

Just then his phone rang. It was… Pepper?

“Hey, Pepper, what’s up?”

“Peter! Hi, honey. How has your week been?”

“Um, it’s been good, I guess. How about yours?”

“Busy, but good. Morgan had a little virus, so that was fun, but she’s doing better now.” Aw, he missed the little rugrat. He’d recently started video-calling with her once or twice a week (because she insisted) and they definitely brightened up his day when they happened.

“That’s not fun. Let her know I’m glad she’s better, will you?”

“Of course. Hey, the reason I’m calling is to give you a little heads up. Tony’s been completely impossible for pretty much the last month, so I finally--”

As he approached the dorm and went to scan his card at the building door, Peter was aware of motion off to the side. He whirled around, letting out a huff of surprise, half startled and half confused that his spider sense hadn’t let him know anyone was there. The only person in Cambridge that didn’t make it buzz a little was MJ, and he knew she was working all weekend, so who…

He focused back in on Pepper’s voice just as he recognized the figure in the shadows. 

--so he might be showing up sometime this evening, if he can talk himself into it and… Peter?”

“Yeah?”

“You sound funny. Are you okay? Is-- Oh. He’s there , isn’t he?”

“Mmm-hmm.”

“That man. I knew he might be impatient enough to take the jet instead of driving, but he must have taken the suit. Well, I’ll let you go, but I just wanted to tell you not to let him act like he’s there for any reason except that he misses you like crazy, and he couldn’t stand another weekend without seeing you. So, yeah. He might not let that slip, and I didn’t want there to be any confusion.” Peter was smiling slightly now as Tony looked at his obviously one-side conversation in confusion.

“Good to know. I’ll take care of it,” he said, his grin only growing.

“We miss you too, Peter. I hope he’s not too much of a bother, and I hope you two have a nice weekend.”

“Miss you too. Goodnight.”

Tony was wearing a brown leather jacket over his Metallica t-shirt and jeans, and his hair was a few steps away from its typical artful style. He’d taken the suit alright. His face looked uncertain, but was disguised with casual Tony-Stark bravado. “Heya, Pete. I was just in town, and I thought you might be hungry, cause you’re always hungry, and I know you might be busy, but--”

Tony wasn’t able to get any more words out, because Peter had abandoned his backpack and launched himself at the man, pulling him into a tight hug, and breathing in the smells of coffee, his aftershave, and the particular metallic tang that being inside the Iron Man suit gave him. Tony’s arms were around him too, his cheek pressing firmly into Peter’s hair, once he got over the surprise of Peter’s exuberance.

“So, you must be really hungry then, if you’re that excited to see me,” Tony tried to deflect. 

But Peter, having the advantage of knowing Tony’s hand already, just said, “I’ve missed you. So much.” 

There was silence for a moment, and then much more quietly, Tony said, “Oh, kid. Me, too. I’ve been trying to give you some distance, because that's what college kids want, right?” Another pause. “But I really wanted to see you.”

“Distance is stupid,” said Peter, noticing that his eyes were wet. “I’m kinda done with distance.”

Tony pulled back and held Peter by the shoulders with both hands, studying his face. “So it’s okay that I’m here? I mean, I have a hotel and stuff, so I don’t have to hang out with you all weekend, but maybe we could do dinner a couple nights, or…”

“Tony, don’t be dumb. I don’t have class until Monday morning, and since someone said he wanted me concentrating on classes instead of a job, I don’t even have that to distract me. You’re stuck with me for as long as you’re here.”

Tony grinned, and said, “Why don’t you take your stuff upstairs? Are you in the mood for Thai, or maybe Italian?”

“Yes, please,” Peter said. As they entered the building, he saw some of the brilliant red and gold leaves in the waning sunlight and couldn’t figure out how he didn’t notice how beautiful they were before.

[liaromancewriter]

How did Spring Break looked like for your MC and Sienna during college/med school? Wild parties/vacation? Nice trip? Going back home? Staying behind to study? Anything in between? What about Ethan and Max?

Thanks for this ask, Nonny. I've gone overboard with my response (shocker, I know 😉)

Cassie:

In Freshman year of college, Cassie and her boyfriend Jackson, Max and their friends went to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico for spring break. One of their friend's parents had a vacation home there. It was a wild week full of partying and drinking, and definitely an experience for the ages.

The following three years were less wild as her studies and dance picked up:

Sophomore year: She went to South Carolina with her boyfriend Jackson -- a command performance (his words). It was his sister's wedding and there was a lot of family drama. So, not as much fun.

Junior year: She had her ballet spring recital right after, so spent the week in rehearsals. It was during this recital that she suffered a torn ACL, which meant the end of her ballet ambitions.

Senior year: She and Jackson went to a luxury resort in St. Lucia. They both wanted a break before finals and spent the week just relaxing by the beach, snorkeling, and having fun.

Medical school years:

Those years were intense and she wasn't into partying by then. She used whatever breaks were offered to relax and recharge at her parents' home. At the same time, she was often studying during spring break, whether it was for her USMLE exams or catching up on reading research (especially Ethan Ramsey's papers) that she had missed when busy with classes.

Cassie was single during medical school, dating on and off. So, when she was back home her mom would try to set her up with eligible men from their social circle. Cassie went along with it most of the time because she was often lonely, and knew her mom had good taste. She also caught up with her cousins and her high school/college friends in the area.

Max:

Much to his parents dismay, Max has always been a workaholic. Except for spring break in freshman year, he would rather pick up shifts at work than waste time going on spring break.

It's not that he doesn't like to party, but he knew he could do that anytime and often did during the year. Spring break is a busy time in the hotel and hospitality business and he wanted to gain as much experience as he possibly could.

His college girlfriend Eva was not happy, but knew him well enough to recognize that she couldn't change his mind. She often went somewhere with her friends, and Max joined her for a day or two if he could get away.

He had a plan for his career, and nothing was going to deter him. He can party hard when he wants to, but spring break and all its entails wasn't for him.

Ethan:

I can't see Ethan doing traditional spring break. At the same time, it reminds of that scene from Gilmore Girls where Rory and Paris decide to stay at Yale during Spring Break, but then end up driving down to Florida where they run into Madeline and Louise. lol

Ethan liked how quiet campus was during spring break. He got uninterrupted research time at the library and in the chemistry labs. He was working as a research assistant for one of his professors, and enjoyed working on projects. He visited Alan during that time, but didn't take any trips down south like his classmates.

I don't think Ethan was anti-social during college or that he didn't party. He definitely did. But, he was also focused on his studies and getting good grades to keep his scholarship. As such, he prioritized research and studies during his free time, and kept the partying to a minimum.

Sienna:

As Sienna had grown up in New Orleans, she found the cold winter in New Jersey unbearable during her freshman year. She was also homesick. So, that first year she went home during spring break and spent time with her family, especially her grandfather, and enjoyed the pleasant weather.

Her free time at Princeton was kind of mixed. She was making friends, meeting new people, going to parties. But, she also had a heavy course load, was volunteering and doing extra curricular activities to get her ready for medical school.

She had broken up with high school boyfriend, Aaron, halfway through freshman year in college (they just drifted apart). So, she threw herself into dating those first couple of year. She met Wayne at a party and after that they were together.

She was studying for her MCATs during spring break in junior year, and volunteered at an urgent care clinic in her senior year. She was just focused on medical school admissions those last two years.

Sienna found medical school challenging at the first, so she was always studying. Spring break was a chance to relax and rest. Wayne was still in New York, so she mostly spent her free time with him or with her friends, exploring the city.

Her last two years of med school were about rotations, sub-internships, clerkships, research projects, studying, etc., so she had limited free time. But, she had a good group of friends and they all kept each other entertained including day and weekend trips to Greenwich, CT, the Hamptons, etc.

Her sister and parents came to visit her in third year, so that was a fun spring break for her. Wayne had moved to Boston by then (much to her family's delight). Generally, spring break during medical school was always short and she barely had time to catch her breath before her studies began anew.

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Character Asks: @annfg8 @bluebelle08 @cariantha @crazy-loca-blog @coffeeheartaddict2 @doriopenheart @lucy-268 @jerzwriter @lady-calypso @mrs-ramsey @queencarb @quixoticdreamer16 @rookiemartin @tessa-liam @trappedinfanfiction

[bumbleklee]

Hihi! I hope you dont mind this request :3 Could you do a headcannon or oneshot with zhongli, xiao, ganyu, hu tao, and a reader? I have this headcannon they’d be a family in a modern au and it’s ndjddjsjjejsehhwje Or Zhongli ‘creates’ (?) a new adepti and xiao and ganyu help raise them like a little sibling fnfnsdjjdjssj The reader would be the youngest sibling :) Hu Tao as the second youngest Xiao as the middle child Ganyu as the oldest And Zhongli as their dad <3

this is so cute im gonna cry (ღ˘⌣˘ღ) i went with a modern au bc my brain is short circuiting tonight lol. also there's chili near the end because brainrot (was listening to the song “the best day” by tswift while reading these so yktv)

it’s very sfw, just cut for length  

your mother passed away shortly after you were born, leaving you and your three siblings in the care of your father

zhongli was devastated, of course, but knew he needed to be strong for everyone

fortunately, zhongli had a well-paying job so your family never struggled

when you were a freshman in high school, ganyu was already in college so you took over her bedroom that you shared with hu tao

without ganyu around to rope you guys in, life at home was total chaos

hu tao loved to play pranks on you and xiao like putting flour in your blow dryer or turning off the internet connection when xiao was fighting a boss in his favorite video game

xiao, like most teenage boys, often retaliated and it was you who had to pull them apart from killing each other

despite the constant sibling bickering and arguing, the three of you had an unexplainable bond and zhongli’s heart melted when he came home from a rough day at work to find the three of you curled up on the couch watching a movie together

zhongli is the best dad in the entire world

he was a “cool” dad, too

he let your house be the party-house as long as everyone gave him their car keys and slept over

he actually liked looking out his bedroom window to seeing you and your friends having the time of your lives in the pool (his motto: you all deserved to have a fun childhood)

he was very comforting too and his speciality was being able to fit all four kids (teenagers) in his arms at once

if zhongli realized you were upset, he would take you out to spend the day with him, window shopping or eating at your favorite restaurant and ending the day with a snuggle in front of the tv (no matter how old you were)

one time, you and hu tao woke up to an eighteen year-old xiao wrapped up in a blanket next to zhongli on the couch

zhongli has special nicknames for all of you (ganyu is ganny, xiao is kiddo and will always be kiddo, hu tao is princess, and you’re bug)

you’re closest to hu tao

she’s two years older than you and is the only one of your siblings who doesn’t treat you like a baby all the time

she’s definitely the rebellious kid and you know all of her hiding spots for things (you would never snitch on her though)

xiao and ganyu are very protective of you

ganyu just wants you to make smart decisions while xiao threatens anyone who comes near you with a romantic interest

it was annoying at first to have such an overprotective older brother but when your very first relationship ended horribly, you were glad xiao was there to kick their ass and bring you ice cream

when ganyu comes home from college, it’s like a celebration

you and hu tao will run at her and nearly tackle her to the ground in excitement

xiao stands around usually but is always happy she’s home too

birthdays are a big deal in your home

zhongli likes to surprise everyone with “blank days until your birthday” gifts as an excuse to spoil you kids 

he lets you do whatever you want on your birthday too

if you want to go a fancy restaurant, sure. if you want to have a huge birthday party at the house, go for it. if you want to stay in your room all day, alright. his mindset is that it’s one day a year that about you and only you

zhongli is so supportive of you guys

if you’re questioning your gender or sexuality, he’ll listen to you

he’s very progressive and all he wants is for you kids to be happy

when zhongli starts dating a man named childe when you’re sixteen, everyone reacts differently

ganyu is excited, happy her dad finally met someone new after so many years of being alone

xiao is indifferent. at first he’s upset, thinking zhongli is going to forget about their mom, but once he reassures him he’s not, xiao comes around

like ganyu, you’re happy for zhongli. you like childe and you know he makes your dad happy so you’re happy

hu tao, on the other hand, is very against it

anytime zhongli tried to date someone new when she was younger, she had thrown a tantrum and cried for her mom

zhongli, not wanting to make his daughter upset, usually broke off the relationship

but now she was eighteen and she couldn’t really throw a tantrum

so when zhongli told everyone he was dating childe and hu tao ran off to the basement, the three of you followed her

you found out that had similar thoughts to xiao and thought zhongli was dating someone new to replace your mother

it took a lot of coaxing and tears but finally, hu tao came to terms with the situation

surprisingly, she had the best relationship with childe after a while

when you’re graduating high school, zhongli realizes all his babies grew up

(he suffers from empty nest syndrome)

“So, what do you think?” You grinned, watching your siblings and father admire your new dorm room. Ganyu and Hu tao exchanged looks before Ganyu nodded her head proudly. 

“Looks great,” She smiled, “It kind of looks like your bedroom at home.” 

“I thought it would look like a hurricane,” Xiao smirked, earning a playful hit on the upside of his head by his older sister. You heard her mutter an insult under her breath. 

“I think it's quite lovely, Bug,” Zhongli says softly. His hands are twisted behind his back and he won’t make eye contact with you. 

You run your hand under the waterfall lights on the wall, hundreds of photos of your family and friends clipped to the strings. Looking around, you realized you dorm was decorated like your bedroom. You had brought the same comforter and pillows from home and even set up your desk exactly the same. Maybe you weren’t so ready to let go of your childhood, either. 

Zhongli was about to open his mouth when your roommate and their parents walked into the dorm. There was a short exchange of greetings before your siblings filed into the hallway. You knew this was goodbye. 

“You can call me anytime. You know that, right?” Zhongli started, toying with your lampshade. “And if you ever feel homesick and need to-”

“I’ll be okay, dad,” You smiled softly. You embraced your father tightly and he did the same to you. After what felt like hours, but was probably not even a minute, Zhongli pulled away. He gazed you adoringly before kissing your forehead and leaving the dorm. 

Ganyu, who had taken a day off from work to be there, held out of her hand to her father. “Weird, isn’t it?” She asked comfortingly. 

“They’re all grown-up,” He mumbled, “All of my babies are grown up.” 

“Oh, dad,” Hu Tao said. She threw herself at Zhongli, catching him off guard.  “We’ll always be your babies.” 

Zhongli mustered a smile on her lips. He ruffled Hu Tao’s hair. “Yeah,” He agreed, “Let’s go eat.”

[upamongthestarss]

Perfect Timing//Bill Denbrough x fem reader

Please be kind! This is only my second time publishing on tumblr, so I’m not really sure what I’m doing, but here we are!

Warnings: smut, brief mention of fem oral receiving, swearing, mild angst, underage drinking

Spring break came way too slowly, especially for Y/n. Freshman year of college is said to be one of the best years of your life, but it’s definitely the worst. Her high school was entirely too easy for her, probably because her teachers were just idiots. Then college hit, and the workload was unbearable. Not to mention, she grew homesick for her parents and her best friends and even a tiny bit for Bill. 

Oh, how she hated Bill back home. 

Well, okay, she didn’t hate him, it was more of just a mutual tension that sometimes led to the Losers separating them at all costs. 

They went on a few dates freshman year, and even kissed once, but it all ended when popular Autumn asked Bill to “help her with English” at lunch one day. He completely forgot to tell Y/n, but didn’t think much of the whole affair anyway. When Y/n walked out of the lunch line, she smiled at her newly official boyfriend. He was hunched over a piece of paper, diligently writing with ginger hair falling into his eyes. When Autumn saw her coming over, she tapped Bill on the shoulder, and kissed him full on the mouth when he turned to her.

Y/n’s hands went slack, causing her tray to clatter to the ground. Tomato soup splattered all over her new white Keds. She obviously looked down to see the damage, and missed Bill pushing Autumn off of him. He went over to check on her and help her clean up, but she stormed off to the bathrooms. 

From then on out, there’s been so much tension between them. Even though Bill explained what happened countless times, she’s absolutely refused to listen. She’s had trust issues after her biological father cheated on her mother when she was little, and this, well, this basically made them inflate like the economy. She wasn’t on speaking terms with him until the end of the school year, and even then their friendship was rocky.

But there was also a sexual tension. Bill and Y/n still had blatantly obvious feelings for each other, whether they wanted to admit or not. In fact, they even went to senior prom together, but it ended in disaster. There was a dramatic exit from Y/n when he mentioned how he was on good terms with Autumn now, and she was really sorry for what happened. 

“Why the hell would you bring that up now?” Y/n rose from her seat.

“B-b-because she t-told me she w-wanted us to-”

“Can’t we just completely forget what happened back then? It was so long ago.”

Bill flushed. “Well, it r-r-really seems l-like you’ve n-n-never forgotten ab-about it these past th-three years.”

She threw her napkin on the table and left after saying, “You’re a dick.”

That night she vented to Eddie and ultimately admitted to having feelings for him, but he knew that all along anyway.

That night was the last time they talked until it was time for Bill to leave for NYU.

“Good luck,” she told him, bouncing on the balls of her feet nervously. 

“Th-thank you, Y/n, y-you too!” he was so excited that day that he even pulled her into a hug, much to her surprise (and delight). 

And now, here she is, on the plane to Palm Springs. It’s a long flight from Marywood, so Y/n uses her time to finish her homework. She’s majorly jetlagged by the time she lands at Palm Springs International. Luckily, the cab ride isn’t ridiculously long. When she gets to Richie’s beach house, he’s on the porch with his feet up and a daiquiri in hand.

“Y/N!!!!” he shouts, putting his drink to the side and running down the stairs.

“RICHIE!!!!” she yells back, dropping her bags to run and hug him. 

“Oh, it’s been so long!”

“I know!! And holy shit, your house is gorgeous!”

“I’m telling you, Y/n, I lucked out so much by scoring that audition. Can you believe it? Rich Records Tozier, the nation’s youngest beloved DJ.”

“Hardly,” she chuckles. “So how is the life of fame treating you?”

“Oh, brilliant. Come on in, I’ll give you a tour,” he scoops up her bag and leads her to the door. It’s an incredible house, with a beautiful kitchen and even a movie theater. 

“And here’s your room,” he gestures to the first door upstairs. 

“May I?” she asks, hand on the doorknob. 

“Be my guest.”

She swings it open to a redheaded girl on one of the two beds. She looks up from her magazine, smirking. “Hey, roomie!”

“Bev!” Y/n shrieks as her best friend runs to her and practically knocks her over. 

“When did you get here?!” 

“About an hour ago. Stan’s here too, but he’s taking a nap.”

“Well, we’ll have to fix that, won’t we?” Y/n grins mischievously. 

“Everyone else is supposed to get here tomorrow morning, except for Mike. He’s coming tonight.”

“Oh, thank God. No Bill for a half day more.”

“Oh, Y/n, don’t be so close-minded,” Bev giggles and they sit down on the same bed, bursting with so much to catch up on. Richie doesn’t know if he should sit down with them or just go back to his daiquiri, but the doorbell rings.

“Saved by the bell,” he says, getting the side eye in response. 

The girls talk for hours until they decide to say hello to Mike. Y/n stops at the bathroom first, and it takes her a while to find the kitchen after that. She has to follow the voices and Richie’s booming laugh.

“Sorry, I got lost,” she says, turning in the kitchen. “Hi, Mi-”

The third person talking to Richie and Beverly is not Mike.

It’s Bill. And she looks like a total bum in her old sundress and messy ponytail. She isn’t wearing a drop of makeup, either.

“Y/n.”

“Bill. Good to see you,” she holds out her hand professionally. He shakes it.

Is it good to see him? Looking at his cerulean eyes certainly sends butterflies through her stomach and through… other parts of her body.

“Y-you too.”

That immaculate stutter. She sits down at a barstool and crosses her legs together tightly. Richie and Beverly are quick to notice it, but restrain from commenting.

“I thought you were coming in tomorrow morning?” 

She doesn’t sound rude or accusatory, just curious.

“M-my flight got c-c-cancelled.”

“Okay, gotcha.” 

She drums her fingertips on the counter restlessly, not really knowing what else to say.

Luckily, Richie has a plan in case things get awkward between these two- and he’s already having to use it.

“Anyone want a drink?”

************************

“Nursing school is so insane. In anatomy, our teacher dissected a literal human body, and we had to examine it.”

“Eddie, please. We’re eating,” Y/n coughs. 

“It was disgusting, but it was also fascinating,” he defends himself.

“Whatever floats your boat,” Ben shrugs. 

“Y/n, tell us more about Marywood,” Eddie says, but she’s way too busy watching Bill talk to Richie’s cute next door neighbor while holding her little sister.

“You’re so good with her!” she simpers, tossing her shiny brown hair.

“Y/n? Earth to Y/n?”

“What?” 

“How’s Marywood?” 

“Oh, it’s… fine.”

“Just fine? Did you pick a major yet?”

She shakes her head.

“What about that guy? Are you still with him?”

“David? No, we were together for a while, but I guess the spark just kinda died. I mean, he initiated the breakup, but it was all mutual.”

Eddie squirts a dollop of sunscreen the size of a clementine in his hand. “That sucks. I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Don’t be,” Y/n shrugs, averting her gaze back to Bill. She’s very glad that she's wearing sunglasses, to hide her stares.

The cute girl was right, he is good with that little girl. Her heart would be melted, but Bill keeps flirting with the older sister. It’s disgusting.

And then, that girl has the audacity to drop the rattle she shook in the baby’s face. Y/n is close enough to hear the conversation, or at least read lips.

“Oh, l-l-l-let m-me get that.”

“Don’t worry, I got it,” she smiles, bending over so stealthily so that her breasts are all but out of that bikini.

“Ugh,” Y/n rolls her eyes.

“What’s up?” Ben asks.

“Nothing. I’m just going to go to the bathroom,” she stands up and walks almost catatonically to the door.

Instead of going to the bathroom, she finds a glass and slams it on the table. 

“D-damn, Y/n. That’s n-n-not a napkin, you kn-know.”

She jumps at Bill’s voice. He obviously followed her in, and she’s not too thrilled about it.

“Funny,” she replies, searching the cabinets. “Do you want anything?”

“I-I was ac-actually getting d-drinks.”

“Oh, for you and your new girlfriend? Hey, let me know when the wedding is. That is, if I even get on the guest list.”

“What’s your p-p-problem?”

“I don’t have a problem.”

Y/n finds a bottle of straight vodka and pours it right in the glass.

“Hey, its eh-eh-eleven AM,” Bill warns her, reaching for the glass. Unfortunately, their hands grab for it at the same time and it goes crashing to the ground. 

“Great, thanks,” she says.

“I didn’t w-want you to be w-w-wasted all d-day.”

“Listen, Bill,” she takes a deep breath. “I really appreciate your concern. I do. But it’s my life, and if I want to get wasted this early, then no one should stop me.” 

He doesn’t answer. They both grab rags and start to clean up around their feet.

“Th-this kind of r-r-reminds me of a certain sit-situation involving t-tomato soup,” Bill risks saying.

It was a terrible idea.

“Are you kidding me? I thought we moved on from that!”

“Yeah, so w-w-we can j-joke about it now!”

She’s silent for a minute, a blend of wrath and sadness.

“Just,” Y/n says, “Just go back out with your girlfriend.”

“I-I-I h-hardly know- o-okay, what the hell is y-y-your problem? We’re n-not together an-anymore!!! You sh-sh-shouldn’t c-care about my l-l-love life.”

“You don’t get it, do you?” she stands up, vodka dripping from the rag to her toes. “I don’t care that I shouldn’t care. I do care! I’ve always cared!” 

Bill is speechless, and she honestly doesn’t blame him. Y/n assumes he doesn’t feel the same about her. After all, they haven’t dated since freshman year. Sighing, she puts the rag in the sink and walks back outside.

She’s opening up her book and lying on her stomach to get a tan when Y/n hears an obnoxious “Excuse me?”

She looks up to the girl, who could literally be a bikini model.She looks at Y/n like she’s a piece of dirt, and Y/n just wants to smack her. She could never hurt anyone, though.

“Um, do you know when Bill will be back with the drinks?”

“Not a clue.”

******

Bill absolutely could not stop thinking of Y/n all day. He never really can, ever, but his thoughts have been out of control all damn day. They range from wild fantasies to regrets from way back when to just simply: She still likes me, she still likes me, she still likes me!!!!

He wants more than anything to talk to her and confess he’s been in love with her since high school, maybe even before that. But some small voice in Bill’s head tells him that even if she does have feelings, she won’t want to act on them. After all, he’s been nothing but an asshole to her.

Then again, so has she.

It’s really ironic that they’re so abrasive towards each other. Y/n is so kind and friendly to everyone she meets; that’s why Bill fell for her. And everyone tells him that he’s nothing but a sweetheart. And he’s always treated his every girlfriend like a princess. 

But it’s Y/n he wants as a girlfriend, and it always has been. 

Y/n comes running down the stairs, using the bansiters to prop herself up and skip the last couple steps. She’s been strangely lighthearted after she made that confession to Bill. It had been a weight on shoulders for the longest time, after all. And now that it’s out of the bag, she feels as if she can finally move on.

Holy shit, she’s so cute, Bill says to himself. She has this youthful energy, but the looks of a gorgeous young woman. Not to mention her outfit- a pastel yellow halter top, short jean shorts, and a sky blue scrunchie- looks magnificent.

“Okay, I’m ready to go!” she grins widely. “Sorry for the holdup!”

“You’re good,” Richie replies. “We were just figuring out transportation, considering I can only take five of us in my car.”

“I don’t mind taking the trunk,” Y/n shrugs. “Anyone else?” 

“I will,” Beverly volunteers. 

“Okay, great, and five of you can squish in the backseat. Mike claimed shotgun earlier.”

Everyone else groans while he flashes a smile and gives them finger guns.

“So charming,” Bev laughs and grabs Y/n’s hand. They run out to the car and squish in the trunk.

“Bev, I have to tell you something,” Y/n whispers.

“What?”

“I’m still not over Bill.”

“Thank you, Y/n,” she responds sarcastically.

“How did you know that? I only told Eddie!”

“It was just a little obvious,” she laughs. “And the good news is that we all think he feels the same way!”

“I don’t think he does, Bev,” Y/n shakes her head.

“What makes you say that?”

“Well, I told him today-”

“You what?”

“Shush!” she scolds as the boys get in the car. Luckily they’re all talking and can’t hear the girls if they whisper. “It just sort of... slipped out. But he didn’t even say anything. He just kind of… froze? It was so awkward.”

“You know he’s a little awkward around girls that he likes.”

“Is he, though?”

“Sure he is!”

“I don’t know, Bev. He stood there for a full thirty seconds without saying anything, and he just let me leave,” Y/n explains. “I think if he really liked me, he would have told me by now.”

Beverly gets quiet. “I’m so sorry, Y/n.”

“Hey, it’s okay! The timing was never right, and that- that happens. And it’s better I know now so I’m not hung up on him for the rest of my life.”

The rest of the drive is mostly just Beverly telling Y/n that there’s someone out there for her, and to keep her eyes open at the restaurant. 

It’s a bright restaurant, very tropical and very flamboyant. A lush plant, obviously made of silicon, is the centerpiece of every table. 

Good, it can hide me from Bill and spare my embarrassment, Y/n thinks as she sits opposite him. Unfortunately, Ben asks the hostess to take it away so he can see everyone. Y/n is mortified. Being directly across from her, he can watch and judge the girl the entire dinner.

She tries her hardest the whole meal not to pay Bill any mind, but it gets difficult when he starts getting tipsy. And drunk Bill can be wild. Singing and dancing on the tables wild. Luckily he isn’t at that point yet.

She doesn’t even know how he was able to buy drinks here; he’s only nineteen. The waitress must have a crush on him or something. Maybe she and Richie’s neighbor could start a Bill fanclub.

Y/n has a feeling the waitress would ask for her ID, though, so she sticks to soda. And three Shirley Temples is never good on anyone’s bladder.

“I’m going to the bathroom,” she announces. “Anyone else?”

Everyone shakes their heads. Everyone except…

“Me! M-m-me!” Bill waves his hand around like a hyper child.

“Great, I’m a babysitter now,” Y/n murmurs.

She starts walking to the bathroom, Bill hot on her heels. Surprisingly enough, when she finishes peeing, he’s actually waiting for her. 

“F-f-finally. G-g-girls take so long in the buh-buh-bathroom.”

She ignores him.

“Y/nnnnn,” he slurs. “I’ve been m-m-meaning to t-t-tell you, your a-a-ass looks fantastic in th-those shorts.”

“Because that’s not a rude thing to say at all,” she replies, feeling her face burn up.

“I’m n-n-not trying to be r-rudeeee,” Bill grabs her waist and pulls her in. Y/n can smell all the alcohol on his breath, and it’s disgusting. He kisses her full on the mouth.

She shoves him off, embarrassed by his behavior. “You’re drunk.”

“If b-b-being drunk makes me w-w-want to m-make out with you, I-I-I never want t-to be so-sober.”

That hits Y/n hard. Bill Denbrough wants her. But only when he’s drunk. 

He doesn’t love her in his right mind. This is all she has, and she can’t even fathom just taking advantage of him when he’s drunk. Using someone would hurt her in such an inexplicable way, and not to mention it would tear whatever small bond she had with Bill into shreds.

She plops back down in her seat, barely touching the rest of her food or speaking for the rest of the night.

When she gets to her shared room with Bev, Y/n takes a shower. She’s always loved showers because they’re a place where you can cry without risk of anyone hearing over the water running.

And that’s exactly what Y/n does. She lets the tears stream down her face, washed away by the showerhead’s water.

*******

Bill knows he got plastered last night, so it’s no surprise when he wakes up with a pounding headache. But he isn’t sure why Y/n is so quiet, especially around him. Usually she has a remark or at least a glare for him, but she seems almost meek today.

He pulls Beverly aside at one point, and asks if he did anything to her last night.

“I don’t know, Bill. You guys went to the bathroom at the same time, and when you came back, Y/n seemed really upset.”

“L-l-like angry, or s-sad?”

“Sad. But she didn’t tell me anything that happened. I’m sorry, Bill.”

“It’s o-o-okay. Th-Thanks, Bev.”

He spends the rest of the day trying to remember something- anything- from last night. Bathrooms. Bathrooms.

There are some vignettes. Y/n across from him, in that pretty top. Watching her ass as she walked to the bathrooms. 

Oh, shit. Bill made some sort of comments about those shorts. What happened after that? He kissed her, didn’t he? But why would that make her sad?

When evening rolls around, Bill still doesn’t remember anything new. He’s the only one in the living room, not even paying attention to the TV. His friends come bounding down the stairs, all wearing sneakers and athletic outfits.

“A-a-are you g-guys going somewhere?”

“Yeah, to the new rope climbing place,” Stan replies. 

“Where’s Y/n?”

“She has vertigo, and wanted to stay here. We thought you could stay here so she’s not alone all night.”

“You d-d-didn’t th-think about asking me f-first?”

“We drew names out of a hat,” Beverly steps in. “You just weren’t around when we did it.”

“Isn’t that a l-l-little ruh-rude to Y-Y/n? One of us is g-g-going to st-stay with her instead of h-having fun?”

“No, Bill, it was the opposite!” Richie tries to save the group, much to their chagrin. “We were voting on who didn’t get to stay home with Y/n. And you won! You get to!”

“Wh-what i-if I want to donate m-my win?”

“Doesn’t work like that. Wins are final.”

It’s all BS, and Bill knows it. There never was a hat draw, everyone knows that Bill and Y/n have a lot to work out, and they don’t want the two to go back from spring break with even more animosity for each other. 

Also, they know that the two have feelings that have been expressed so wrongly over the years. Maybe now it’s time to work them out.

“So we’re going to head out now; have fun with Y/n!” Eddie waves, and they run out excitedly.

 Bill sighs, not knowing what he’s going to do with Y/n all night. Maybe she’ll just be antisocial and hide in her room all night, but he personally hopes she won’t. He decides to hang out by the pool for a while, and changes into his swim trunks.

By the time he gets outside, though, Y/n is already there. She’s hugging her knees to her chest and watching the little waterfall intently.

“Hey,” Bill says, making her jump.

“Hey.”

“C-c-can I join you?”

She nods. 

“Why aren’t you with the others?”

“B-because I w-w-won their ‘contest,’”

“Contest?” she shakes her head, not understanding.

“To b-b-babysit you, ap-apparently.”

“Ah. Sounds legitimate.”

He doesn’t know how to respond to that, so he just lets the sounds of the waterfall and the faint grasshoppers fill the silence. He’s sure Y/n doesn’t mind, though. When everyone else complained about the summer grasshoppers as kids, she would always dote on how they’re melodious and comforting.

Bill can’t hold himself back any longer.

“Y/n, what d-d-did I do l-last night?”

She turns to him. “You really don’t remember?”

“I re-remember making a com-comment, which I-I’m sorry about b-by the way, th-that was an a-asshole move. And I-I remember kissing y-you. But then what?”

Taking a deep breath, Y/n continues. “Well, then I pushed you off and told you that you were drunk.”

She pauses.

“And th-then?”

“Then you said, ‘If I want to make out with you when I’m drunk, then I don’t ever want to be sober.’”

That’s it? Bill thinks. He’s not stupid enough to voice his thoughts, luckily.

“Oh, Y-Y-Y/n, I w-w-was drunk. I d-didn’t know what I w-w-was saying.”

“Listen, Bill. I know you remember what I told you yesterday in the kitchen. And what you told me at the restaurant really hurt, okay?”

“Why? I-I wanted to k-k-kiss you,” he asks, genuinely confused.

“You’re such an idiot sometimes!” Y/n laughs incredulously. “You wanted to kiss me when you were drunk, not in your right mind!”

“I al-always want to k-k-kiss you in my right mind!”

“What?!” 

“I-I think I love you, Y/n.”

She’s frozen. Could he actually mean that? Has he been drinking again? Hearing that from Bill Denbrough has been her dream since… forever.

“I think I love you too, Bill.”

He jumps up from his lounge chair, and leans over Y/n. He tucks a piece of hair behind her ear and kisses her tenderly, gently. Her lips are just as soft as he remembers them to be all those years ago, softer than any other girl he’s kissed.

“Wow,” she beams as they pull apart. “I guess I knew this, but you’re a much better kisser than my ex.”

He laughs. “W-why, thank you. You’re n-n-not so bad y-yourself.”

“Thanks,” she giggles. “I just… I can’t believe this is happening. I feel like doing something crazy now, something outrageous.”

“L-like what?”

“Hm…” she thinks for a minute. “Do you want to go skinny dipping?”

“Okay, sure,” Bill chuckles. 

Grinning, she begins to peel off her one piece. She slips the straps off, and the rest slowly slides off her body. Her breasts are exposed first, then her stomach, then everything. Her skin is smooth and glorious.

Bill pulls off his swim trunks and throws them behind him. Y/n wants to tease him about his erection, but she’s way too shocked at his size.

They bask in the beauty of each other for a moment before they dive into the water, crisp and cool on their bare bodies. Y/n splashes Bill right in his face.

He pushes wet strands of hair from his ocean eyes. “H-how dare you?” 

“What are you going to do about it?” she taunts.

“This,” Bill says, throwing Y/n over his shoulder and taking her outside the water. She’s both screaming and laughing her head off at this point. He carries her all the way to the deep end and tosses her in. 

When she surfaces, Y/n makes sure to flip him off. 

“So r-r-rude.”

He cannonballs in, and they swim around, and eventually go under the waterfall. They end up making out and gasping for air.

“D-d-do you want to tuh-take this inside?” Bill whispers.

She nods, and they get out. As Y/n shivers, Bill gets them fluffy towels from a bin by the chairs.

Grabbing his hand, she pulls him through the sliding glass doors. They run around the house in nothing but towels, giggling and kissing and dripping pool water everywhere. The two finally make it to Bill’s room and go directly to the bed (after locking the door).

“Spruh-spread your legs,” Bill breathes in her ear, sending goosebumps up and down her body. 

She obeys and lets him kiss her knees, her thighs, and eventually her core. He pleases Y/n in a way her old boyfriend never did.

When she finishes, Bill holds her for a minute so she can catch her breath. Then, when he turns around to put on a condom, she moves against the wall.

“Oh, s-s-so you w-want wall sex n-now?” Bill raises his eyebrows.

“Maybe,” she shrugs. “If you’re comfortable with it.”

Instead of using words, Bill throws Y/n up against the wall and kisses her roughly. Their tongues clash, and she loves every second of it. Then he goes in. He starts slow at first, but begins to pick up the pace with her approval.

“D-damn, you’re so t-t-tight,” he whispers while she keeps muttering his name.

“Probably because I wasn’t with someone as big as you before.”

Hearing that makes him turn redder than his hair. “Really?”

“Really,” she sighs. “Can you go a little slower?”

He listens to her, and almost screams in pleasure when she starts to suck on his neck.

They both finish in a couple minutes, and are pretty burned out- Y/n especially because she’s never made such rough love before.

She lies in his arms, back on the bed, and traces the love mark forming on his neck.

“I think I love you,” Y/n says for the second time tonight. 

“I-I th-think I love you t-too.”

They can’t help smiling for the umpteenth time in the past hour. Their stars had never aligned until now, and it couldn’t be a more perfect exchange of love. The wait was unbearable, but incredibly worth it. 

Y/n and Bill make each other feel whole, like there was a sort of void within each other, unfilled until now. 

“Hey,” Y/n’s voice is soft and gentle. “I’m so sorry about these past years. You know I have trust issues, but I took them too far and didn’t treat you right. And I’m so sorry.”

“I’m s-sorry, too. I’ve been an ass-asshole to y-y-you, a-and it’s m-m-my fault we broke uh-up in the f-first place.”

“Don’t say that,” Y/n frowns. “It was Evil Autumn’s fault.”

They chuckle. 

Resting her head on Bill’s chest, Y/n asks the dreaded question. 

“So what’s going to become of us? After spring break.”

Bill thinks for a minute, stroking her hair, and admits, “I don’t w-w-want us to c-c-cut each other off again.”

“Neither do I.”

“I think our sc-sc-schools are like t-t-two hours ap-apart; that’s n-not terrible.”

“It’s not,” Y/n agrees. “Maybe we could take turns driving every weekend, and find a halfway point or something.”

“A-an ex-exact halfway point,” Bill adds.

“An exact halfway point.”

They can make it work, they’ve got to. Both Bill and Y/n are extremely optimistic about the future ahead, now that every feeling has been sorted out between them. And even in the unfavorable event where things don’t work out, there will always be Palm Springs. 

Bill presses a kiss to her forehead. There’s not a chance that they won’t make it. The timing is finally, after all these years, perfect. 

[juniartchive]

Besitos - Part 1

Synopsis: After Elle Evans, Marco found it hard to move on with his life. Can he found a way to forget the kiss they shared that day?

[Note: the lack of Marco's imagines (and the power he has to distract me) drive me to write this. I apologize in advance since English isn't my first language. Also, I made up the university in this fic so the college setting might be weird since I don't know how it is abroad. The girl won't appear in the first two chapter. I definitely should rewrite the summary later hhh)

prologue

tag: @mansaaay​ 

---

College life is rough. It is nothing like high school, nothing at all. It is confusing, tiring, and fast-paced. It is five projects in two weeks after you just started college. It is sleeping at 4 AM doing assignments and submitting it at 7 AM. It is treating coffee not as recreation anymore but a primary need to stay alive. It is leaving no space to play guitar and gaze on the sky to contemplate about life. It is busy, and Marco thank God for it.

His busy new life as a freshman in Avery University leave him no time to think about his high school heartbreak. Anyway, for the sake of his sanity, Marco decided he won’t say her name anymore. Pretty childish but whatever. It worked pretty well at making him forgetting everything about her.

Marco always thought he was that kind of guy who just look back at his past loves and said, “Ah, the first time I kissed her it was one of the best moment of my life. I wonder what she is doing right now,” while sporting a melancholic smile then goes to strum his guitar and play that one song associated with her. But hell, plenty of time he wished she broke up with that asshole Flynn and regret her decision choosing him over Marco. Months later that Instagram highlight of their relationship still posting updates.

Well… Not that Marco keeps tabs on their relationship, not at all. He was too busy, remember?

“Oh God, stoooop! You’re miserable dude!”

Marco immediately press the home button of his iPhone, stuttering.

“W-what?”

Michael, his roommate, have this “poor you” look in his face as he shook his head. He really hates it when that guy (or ANYONE) gave him that look.

“Seriously? Doing your stalking routine? That’s fucking creepy.” Michael shuddered. Too tired to defend himself, Marco just shrugged as he placed his iPhone on the coffee table. A little harsher than he intend to. Not that he cared.

Michael, still shaking his head and ticking his tongue in an exaggerated manner, walked in Marco’s direction with two can of beers on his hands. He handed one to Marco, chugging his own, ticking his tongue and shook his head even more.

“If only the girls in the whole campus know the great Marco Peña is a miserable guy who cannot moved on,” Michael paused to take a sip of his beer, “That’s actually a great content for Twitter. I think it will go viral.”

Marco immediately grabbed his phone before Michael put his hand on it, “Don’t you dare,” he warned, earning a laughter of the other guy.

“Come on, you should see yourself. After that long, boring lectures of Introduction to Basic Coding, instead of having fun, you choose to mull over your past love,” Michael stopped to think, “Oh wait, it never even started.”

God damn it, this guy is annoying. Marco really regretted that one night they shared drinks and leading them to spilled their heart content. It was mostly loneliness and homesick that drive Marco to told his story. Fuck Michael, luring him with that story where he got ghosted by a girl (which sounded pretty miserable too).

Marco met Michael on his first day in Avery. A over-friendly guy who get along with everyone. Marco labelled him as “people pleaser” because he always tried to please anyone. From fellow students to lecturers. His motto is: Network make the life Works. That sounded awful but Marco got it. Michael friendliness gained him few new friends as well. The guy’s also a great listener. Well, that friendliness also come hand in hand with the need to stick his nose in the place where he should not.

“Let’s see… hmm… Elle… Evans…” Marco rolled his eyes as he saw Michael typed El- her name in his own Instagram search.

“Woohoo, Elle, that is a nice swimsuit,” Michael whistled. Marco unconsciously peeked on his phone. That was a nice swimsuit indeed.

“Let’s see… hmm… Oh man, they’re still together, too bad.”

Newsflash Michael, I know about it already, inner Marco said.

“But look at that. What does she see in him?” Michael exaggerated another head shaking, “His chin looks weird!” Marco gave subtle nods. Gotta agree there.

“And those lazy eyes, God! Was he smoking weed when they took this picture?” Yeah, I thought about it too, inner Marco chimed in.

“You are far way better man, no doubt,” Michael gave a reassuring smack on his back. Hell yeah I am, inner Marco nods proudly.

“Her lost that she didn’t choose you,” Marco huff a laughter. It does feel like his lost though.

“Elle Evans was not worth it. Repeat after me.”

“She was not worth it.”

She was worth it, inner Marco chimed in again, desperately. She was always worth it. Damn, now he realized he is pathetic.

“Good!” now Michael gave another pat on his back. Thank God he cannot hear inner Marco. “You know what you need? You need to get laid. Dude, when was the last time?”

Marco shrugged, “I don’t know,” it feels like a long time ago indeed.

“Well, thanks to me, I got invited to this party. Basically everyone was invited but you are too busy brooding over Elle that you don’t notice that poor sorority girl whose eyes sparkled when she asked you to go. We should go tonight.” Michael jumped from the sofa then goes to his room. He came back with a wrinkled red Avery t-shirt that Marco realized his roommate had used the night before.  

Marco actually knew about the party, but he wasn’t in the mood. He was never in the mood. He also acknowledged every girls who made move on him, but he was also not in the mood to pay them any attention. Not when they were not the one he wished made a move on him.

“You need to stop thinking about Elle and moved on. Starting from tonight,” Michael said while doing failed attempt at straightening the wrinkles on his t-shirt with his hands, “You, Marco Valentin Pena, need to get your shit tonight and get laid.”

Michael was right. He is going to let loose tonight and maybe kiss a girl or two. He was Marco Valentin Peña, the famous MVP who swooned girls back in his high school years just by a mere smirk. Two-years-ago Marco would laugh at him if he saw his current self. No way.  

Nodding to himself, Marco went straight to his room, analyzing his wardrobe. Tonight he needed to get his shit together and forget her.

[thorne93]

Unforeseen Chasm (Part 1)

Prompt: Two sisters fall for men that are absolute enemies. The love they have could tear all of them apart, or it could bring them together. 

Word Count: 2191

Warnings: Language,

Note: This is by far the longest thing I’ve ever written (including my novels). It’s a collaboration with the amazing @mrs-dragneel-stark-solo. It started as a funny “What if...?” and it evolved and got huge. This took two years to write. We are both proud and happy and we hope you enjoy it. It follows from Thor 1 to Endgame in the MCU. Some of the timelines may be off in order to fit certain people, and some characters may show up earlier or in different ways than they have in the movie. But for the most part, it follows the MCU. It also has a bit of crossover with some other Marvel characters throughout the story.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once in a lifetime, and sometimes not even then, people meet someone who can be described as their better half. The person who knows them better than anyone. The person who completes them. Sometimes it can be found in a lover, or a sibling, or sometimes...once in a blue moon, it can be found in just a friend -- a stranger you cross paths with one day. A stranger that eventually means more to you than anyone else in the world. 

That’s how it was for you and Shannon. 

It was freshman year of college when she walked into your life. The two of you were set together as roommates. She had a touch of pluckiness to her, drive that you’d never witnessed, intelligence that rivaled yours, and a take no shit attitude. 

Of course, she was shy at first, so were you. But within just a few minutes, you realized that you two were destined to be best friends. Her major lied in anatomical mutation and molecular engineering with a minor in foreign language. Meanwhile, you majored in physics and engineering, minoring in Norse mythology. 

Shannon definitely teased you for that. She wondered why or how you would ever need that, but your reasoning was simply that you enjoyed it. If you were going to spend thousands upon thousands studying something for a career for the rest of your life, the least you could do was study one thing that was a little different that fascinated you, even if was just for four years. 

Your areas of study may have overlapped, but your upbringing didn’t. Shannon had parents, who loved her, and according to her “sent her to a prestigious academy to refine all skills”. And you saw these skills in the way she moved, talked, carried herself, and focused her skills. She was all things a lady should be. In fact, she did so well in this so called “Red Room”, that Howard Stark (founder of Stark Industries) caught wind of her accomplishments and decided to invest further in her. He gave her a full ride scholarship to any college she wanted, to study whatever she wanted. He thought maybe, one day, she might be of use to his son Tony. 

In fact, they became good friends too. Tony and Shannon, that is. He was a few years older than her, but he helped her with her work, and became curious as to why Shannon was always hanging around his dad’s company. It didn’t take a genius to see why Shannon was selected -- she was elite, one of a kind. 

You on the other hand, you were the nerd. The little bit dorky type. All you ever really loved was science, math, technology. You were raised by foster parents, but they weren’t the greatest. They didn’t ever give you any attention past making sure the foster money cleared for you. The only person you had was Remy, another boy that lived in the foster family with you. Kids were in and out of that house for years, but you and Remy seemed to stay, that is, until you left for college. College was where you met Shannon and her family, and ever since then, Shannon’s family was now your family, making you far closer to Shannon than you’d ever been to anyone besides Remy. You went to her house for holidays, even met with Tony a handful of times. 

Once the two of you graduated college and decided on grad school, you didn’t want to separate. Four years of living together had made you two almost inseparable. Not wanting to lose each other just yet, you grabbed an apartment only thirty minutes away from your graduate school. Graduate school was surprisingly a breeze, and when you completed it, the two of you moved into a studio apartment together. 

After being best friends for nearly a decade, you got a dog together, both of you animal lovers and you thought it might add some more character to your home. And he certainly did. 

While the both of you, yes, were involved in STEM, for the most part, your paths slightly diverged.

After graduation from graduate school for both of you, Tony Stark offered a job to Shannon at his company as his assistant. She would help oversee nearly every operation, invention, gizmo, gadget. All of it, would be under her supervision. Through this, she became good friends with Dr. Bruce Banner, and Tony, being at the labs day in and day out with them. 

It was actually in those labs that her… well… accident happened. A lab malfunction caused a chemical gas to react with her molecular structure causing a strange reaction. By strange you meant, well, unusual. She developed a mutation, but not like a third eye, or another pinky. No, she gained the ability to manipulate the weather and drain people of their powers. It was the most magnificent thing to watch. She accidentally discovered her powers at home, in the kitchen, and you witnessed it, but you swore yourself to secrecy for her. You could never hurt her and betray her like that. 

Tony knew, of course, because he had to help her figure out what was wrong with her. And Bruce was an expert in lab experiments gone wrong. Between those two helping her control her powers, and your emotional support, she was just like a normal person -- until you pissed her off. 

Just another crowning jewel on an already nearly perfect woman. She was the epitome of a femme fatale -- beautiful, genius, deadly, and powerful beyond human strength. 

As for you? Your work placed you in the field. Your physics took you to some crazy locations and you picked up work wherever you could find it. You loved physics, you were good at it, damned good. But you weren’t winning nobel prizes, you weren’t heading huge projects for Stark Industries, you weren’t getting offers from MIT for research. No, you were scrounging for contract jobs, for little pick me ups with NASA. It wasn’t that you didn’t like it, or that you were desperate for work. People knew of your work, you spoke at conferences, you were in high demand. 

But by your dumb luck, it wasn’t you that ended up with the glitz, glam, and glory that came from working for Stark. 

For the last few months you’d been in the field with Jane Foster - a highly respected physicist -- with barely any funding. The two of you could barely split the research grant you’d been given and you had to hire an intern. You were all the way out in New Mexico while Shannon was still in NYC, living the dream. You missed her like crazy, but this work you were doing was important… At least that's what you kept telling yourself…

---------------------

Jane and you had set up camp in Small Town, New Mexico, you’d been out here for a few weeks now. There were these strange atmospheric phenomenon that were going on that Jane felt were connected to the research the two of you were involved with. She called Dr. Selvig out to study it with you two, seeing as he was a pioneer in this field. 

Just before you all headed out to the site, you decided to give Shannon a call, a strong case of homesickness hitting you. 

You propped open your laptop and selected her contact and called. The familiar ring only went through twice before her wonderful face filled the screen. 

Y/N! Hey!” she greeted delightfully. 

“Hey!” 

She stepped away from the computer and back to her workbench in Tony’s lab -- a very familiar sight to you. 

“What’s up?” 

“Just missing you. We’re about to go study that aurora again tonight, but Selvig is here now, so it’ll be another set of eyes,” you explained. 

“Ah, yes, the light in the sky. Any headway on that?” 

“None. Hopefully he’ll have some insight because I’m growing tired of staring at clouds each night. I’m not out here to be a storm chaser…” 

“What’s this about storm chasing?” Tony suddenly said, entering your field of view. 

“Hey, Tony,” you greeted in a friendly tone. 

“Why don’t you ditch the desert and come to a real lab?” he asked as he walked backwards, looking at the camera before spinning to stand next to Shannon and work on the tool she was soldering. “You could have unlimited technology here. I could really use someone with your expertise on physics when it comes to landing gear for my suit. What do you say, Y/N? A real job, in air conditioning, not out in the dirt…?”

“Tempting,” you said with a smirk. “But I’m gonna stick to real work for now.”

“Did she just insinuate I don’t do real work?” Tony asked Shannon, pretending to be offended. She merely rolled her eyes and laughed, shaking her head. 

“You two…”  she lovingly chided. “When are you going to come home? I miss you. I need your world famous tacos.”

You laughed. “My tacos are trash and you know it.”

She returned the laugh before becoming serious again. “Seriously though. When? Things aren’t the same without you.”

You sighed, wondering the same thing. “I don’t know. I’m trying to get all this data, but since we have to wait every night… There’s no telling.” 

“Well work hard,” she requested, sadness but understanding in her voice. 

“I’m trying.”

“Seriously. Y/N, pick up the pace, I can’t take another week of this. She is killing the morale,” Tony remarked, gesturing to her with a tool. 

“Okay, Tony, for you, I’ll try,” you said with heavy sarcasm, making the two of them smile. “Oh, shit, gotta go. Time to go watch the sky give me some pretty colors.” You rolled your eyes and told them goodbye before signing off of your laptop. 

The four of you set off about twenty miles west from your little lab in the middle of town. You sat out there for several minutes, nothing happening. Selvig started to question Jane and you, and Darcy was getting restless. Jane was pleading that he just hold on a few more minutes. Finally, Darcy saw something and drew your attention to it. 

This was no subtle aurora. This was… something else. 

Jane ordered Darcy to drive, and all of you launched back into the camper full of equipment, bumping and knocking things as you went over the rough terrain of the desert. Darcy was pushing the camper to full speed, zooming towards the odd light in the sky when suddenly a funnel of light and wind swirled toward the ground. Jane was filming it all and you were taking in what you could. 

Just as you were about to go through the tornado-like event, Darcy cut away from it.

“Darcy!” you shouted, needing to get inside this event.

“I’m not dying for six college credits!” she yelled before Jane tried to take the wheel from her. 

The two of them fought over the steering wheel for a few seconds before -- THUD. You hit something… actually, you think it was someone. Darcy slammed on the brakes and all of you jumped out of the camper. 

You ran over to a man lying on the ground as Jane said, “Do me a favor and don’t be dead.”

“I think legally that was your fault!” Darcy called.

“Get the first aid kit,” you commanded as you knelt beside him. You grabbed his wrist and felt for a pulse -- there was a strong one, good. Next you looked at his face to examine any damage -- but before you could do that, you were taken aback by his beauty. He was… handsome, very handsome. Then he opened his eyes. 

He jumped up, muttering and stumbling around. Jane noticed the markings on the ground, and you saw them too, and they should’ve been important to you, but right now all you could focus on was this stranger. 

“Hammer...Hammer!” he suddenly yelled. 

“Yeah we can tell you’re hammered, that’s pretty obvious,” Darcy noted. 

Jane began trying to note the markings on the ground, telling Erik to look at them, but he was telling her they needed to get this stranger to a hospital. Your mind wasn’t exactly focused on either thing as you watched him. There was something… familiar about him, but you were sure you’d never seen him before in your life. 

“Father! Heimdall! I know you can hear me! Open the Bifrost!” the man commanded, making your hair stand on end. 

“Bifrost,” you muttered inaudibly. You’d heard that a lot. Actually you’d heard that in Norse mythology. Clearly this man was delusional and thought he was some Viking God…

“You! What Realm is this? Alfheim? Nornheim?” the man asked of Darcy. 

“New Mexico?” 

She pulled out her taser and aimed it at him. “Darcy, no!” you demanded. 

“You dare threaten me, Thor, with so puny of a weapon?!” 

She pulled the trigger and he dropped, just as a mortal man would, making some of your suspicion (and hope) fizzle out. Of course gods weren’t real, that was just silly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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[mcleaha]

hello lovelies ! i’m bøffy , i’m 20 years old , prefer she/her pronouns , and currently reside in the pst timezone ! uhh . . . i am posting this intro at nearly 5 AM my time , and i would be almost willing to bet it’s littered with errors and it’s . . . probably a bit all – over – the – place since this is very much a new muse ! however , with that being said , if you give this a like , i will definitely contact you via tumblr ims or d!scord ( 𝓲𝓷𝓱𝓪𝓵𝓪 / 𝓮𝔁𝓱𝓪𝓵𝓪#1384 ) to plot !

[  jasmine brown  . 21  .  cis female .  she/her  ] just saw MALEAH AMICK dragging their suitcase up the steps to CABIN 1B  .  good luck living with HER  ,  i hear that that they’re INDECISIVE  ,  FORGETFUL ,  SOCIABLE  & CREATIVE  .  Apparently they’re the ATTACKING MIDFIELDER .  let’s hope the upcoming season doesn’t affect their JUNIOR year of ART EDUCATION .

STATS:

name: maleah amick .

nickname(s): leah .

age: twenty one .

gender identity: cis female .

pronouns: she/her .

sexual orientation: bisexual / biromantic .

birthday: 26 february 1999 .

zodiac sign: pisces .

myer-briggs: esfj .

pinterest: coming soon !

HISTORY:

               born on the 26th of february 1999 in orlando , florida , maleah was the youngest of the three amick siblings . her mother worked as a prestigious board – certified pediatric surgeon at a local children’s hospital , and her father worked as a high school mathematics teacher and volunteered as the school’s unpaid soccer coach , a move that saved the program from ending due to budget cuts ( he claims he was roped into the position as a first – year teacher with no seniority , but while he’s reluctant to admit it , he eventually grew a passion for the sport he had previously known little about ) .

               with her mother’s long shifts and emergency work – related calls , she ultimately became closer to her father and two older brothers while growing up . most knew her father as a man who towered over them at 6’7” , ordering his team to run laps or practice drills ; however , maleah knew him as the man who would crawl around the living room floor playing barbies with her or would prepare fruit and herbal teas as she twirled around dressed as a princess , declaring it time for a royal tea party . just as easily , she could be found exploring the great outdoors or playing whatever sport was currently in season alongside her brothers .

               she practically followed in her brothers’ footsteps . as they approached high school , each brother chose one sport to specialize in , hoping to secure a position on a college team and eventually on a professional team . maleah did not have professional athletic goals , but although she had immaculate grades with limited effort put towards academics , she knew extra – curricular activities were important for college applications . thus , when it was maleah’s turn to choose which sport to pursue , rather than having to weigh the pros and cons and make her own decision ( or perhaps , fearing that she would make the wrong decision ) , she simply chose the sport that her brothers had previously chosen : soccer .

               her high school coach knew the perfect position for maleah . years of informal practice with her brothers in the backyard had enhanced her skills . she had learned how to evade skilled high school defenses by pretending as if she was heading in one direction before bolting in the other .  soccer was one of the few areas in life in which she possessed enough knowledge to make quick and effective decisions ; she could read the field and immediately determine the best course of action : dribble , pass , or shoot . ultimately , she possessed the vision and the creativity necessary to secure playmaking and goal-scoring opportunities for her team .

               with a line of college scholarships , both academic and athletic , waiting for the attacking midfielder’s choice ( unfortunately , none from either of the schools her brothers played for ) , the time came for maleah to make a decision . as deadlines for summer practices , class registration , and tuition payments crept closer , she finally determined a means of deciding . she numbered her offer letters , 1 through 13 , and allowed a random number generator to make the decision for her . thus , mere chance ( or perhaps fate ) led maleah to hollis university .

               her first semester at hollis was . . . rough , to put it lightly . while most freshman shed a few tears as they watched their parents’ car drive off into the distance , homesickness lingered in maleah’s life . coasting through high school with limited effort had done her zero favors ; with no effective study skills , her grades dropped dramatically . between soccer and trying to salvage her grade point average , a social life was virtually out of question . ultimately , she found herself on academic probation , unable to play soccer , for her second semester of freshman year at hollis .

               luckily , she was able to develop effective study habits , and even discovered along the way that maybe pre – med was not the best major for her . when asked what she wanted to do , maleah gave an entire list of generic answers – “i want to help people” and “i want to make a difference” came up quite often , but nothing specific enough to point her in the right direction . thus , she changed her major almost every semester , desperately seeking for the right fit . in the meantime , though it took several letters petitioning her temporary removal from the team , she was able to resume playing soccer during her sophomore year .

               as junior year approached , maleah was almost certain that she was back in her coach’s good graces – no longer viewed with a sense of skepticism . she had proven herself capable , finding her name on the dean’s list nearly every semester and assisting her team in numerous wins throughout the soccer season . however , with hollis’ soccer teams’ restructuring , maleah can’t help but question if her coach views her as a valued athlete or a liability .

PERSONALITY:

               two words : social butterfly . almost to a fault . even if someone has expressed quite literally zero interest in talking to her / getting to know her , she will still make an attempt . kind of a . . . people – pleaser , in a sense , she just wants to be well – liked ?

               avoids ! conflict ! at ! all ! costs ! generally just . . . tries to avoid people or situations that upset her . not very prone to like . . . yelling or crying , but those close to her can definitely sense a change in her demeanor when she’s upset ? just . . . a lot more tense , probably lots of eye – rolling and just . . . subtle , quiet signs that she is over whatever the problem is .

               kinda . . . chill , mellow , easygoing ? she very much lives in the moment , and tries not to stress too much about the future . always down for a drink , a party , whatever – genuinely just around for some fun and some friends !!!

               the kind of person who genuinely gets excited over like those fun facts and jokes that are on popsicle sticks and whatnot – absolutely must share the information with everyone within earshot . honestly , those jokes are very . . . on point with her own personal sense of humor jflakdsj .

HEADCANONS:

               she suffers from a terrible case of youngest child syndrome . ultimately , without guidance , she’s terribly irresponsible . she’s always having to run extra laps because she sets her alarm too late to make it to morning practices on time . she’s always receiving overdraft fees for spending more money than is available in her checking account . forgets everything – from homework assignments to names to grabbing her keys before locking the door on her way out . just . . . imagine a child asking for an adult’s help and her looking around until she comes to the realization that “ oh , shit , i am an adult ” .

               she’s practically always doodling – in the corners of notebooks , on napkins while eating lunch , on her clothing , on her own skin . she loves making art , particularly drawing or painting portraits or nature . ( ultimately , she only decided to incorporate this into her choice of major after hollis threatened to not allow any further changes to her major ) .

               she has a . . . unique sense of style . she has a passion for thrifting and upcycling . practically lives in hoodies and t – shirts that she has purchased from secondhand stores and cropped herself . always adding cool iron-on patches to her clothing . she should be listed as your emergency contact if you’re prone to ripping your clothing because she can definitely fix it .

               she probably thinks she’s good at trash-talking on the field , but she actually sounds like a second grader ( and that’s being kind ) . if you looked at her browser history , there’s probably at least one record of her actually googling “ best soccer trash talk ” .

CONNECTIONS:

friends !! friends she’s met through courses throughout her adventures of attempting every major possible , mayhaps soccer friendships that continue off the field , mayhaps that complicated emerging new friendship state for some who are new to hollis ! unlikely friends ! best friends !!! quite literally those unbreakable ride – or – die friendships !

muses !! i feel like every artist needs that little dose of inspiration , even if it’s simply the inspiration of a work – in – progress portrait throughout the duration of camp ! complaints of “ stop moving ! ” and her stopping every ten minutes to ask what they think and probably at some point , her flinging a brush dripping of paint in their direction (if things didn’t end in an all – out paint fight djlfakds ) .

enemies !! honestly i’m sure there is ?? so much ?? potential for this , bt . . . mayhaps someone’s just . . . fed up w her irresponsibility ? thinks she doesn’t take her soccer position seriously ? maybe someone doesn’t think she takes anything seriously ( they wouldn’t be . . . wrong tbh ) . maybe someone from cali takes that “ california vs florida ” feud a little too seriously jflskdja . idk there’s always bound to be personality clashes !

exes !! relationships that ended badly , so she actively tries to avoid them and who even knows what happens when she’s forced to acknowledge their existence at some point at this camp !!! maybe relationships that ended on mutual terms so they’re still p chill with each other ?? maybe ended relationships that never quite got closure so there’s still unresolved feelings !!

hook-ups !! they are . . . college students . they are . . . college students stuck at a camp all summer . idk i feel like this one is pretty self – explanatory jflakds .

honestly i am tired & want to sleep , bt genuinely i am up for & open to anything ! good influences , bad influences , unrequited crushes , requited crushes , idk the world is y(our) oyster !! these are . . . rlly just some ideas to get the whole process started bc i am actually terrible at . . . thinking of plot ideas on the spot . always open to jst . . . doing a thread and seeing how things naturally flow too !

[bookandcranny]

Stone Heart Gambit

Part 1 - Chapter 1

Soso likes her town, but she’s starting to think she’s never going to find a single interesting thing about it. There’s a supermarket, a park, a few family-owned shops and eateries that haven’t yet succumbed to the pressure put on them by the encroaching chain franchises. Pretty standard small-town fair, not unlike the one she grew up in.

Therein lies the problem. She’d been so excited to leave home for the first time all those semesters ago that she hadn’t considered that change doesn’t always equal improvement, and putting a hundred miles of distance between her and her old problems didn’t guarantee her a perfect new life. She doesn’t particularly miss living with her parents, rather she finds herself feeling homesick for a place she doesn’t think she’s found yet. There’s a restlessness in her-- her mom claims she gets it from her dad, and vice versa. It’s plagued her in small ways all her life, in the way she finds new friendships but struggles to make them last, in the way she throws herself into new passions only to grow bored of them within weeks, in the way college had seemed so thrilling and full of promise when she was a bright-eyed freshman and now here she is, on indefinite academic leave, struggling to remember what it was she saw in the place that was worth a lifetime of student loans.

She only has so long to figure it out too. She wants to finish her degree, she does, but art requires inspiration and there’s only so much to photograph in a town whose main export is cow shit and stale gossip. If she changes her major again at this point her advisor is for real going to mount her head on a pike outside the bursar’s office, so she has to at least try.

It doesn’t help that she’s pretty much limited to the immediate vicinity surrounding her housing co-op until she either manages to get herself a car or the bus drivers union wins their latest standoff with city hall. Cars cost money though, which means getting a real fulltime job, which she expects will spell the end for any lingering chance of her going back to school anyway. The snake devours its tail, and Soso commutes by bike.

Soso’s handy; she’s confident she can fix anything given enough time, the right tools, and a couple reliable video tutorials. That, among other odd jobs, is her main preoccupation right now. It’s something, but she can’t picture herself changing tires and cleaning out gutters for elderly neighbors to support her Chinese takeout dependency forever. At the rate she’s going, her best customers are going to start dying off before she graduates.

On that morbid note, Soso decides she needs to get out of the house. She slings her bag over her back just in case she manages to run into something photo-worthy and grabs her bike. It’s a brisk autumn afternoon and the fresh air is just what she needs.

On the way out she runs into one of her housemates, Carmen the highly caffeinated, returning from campus looking frazzled. Soso isn’t particularly close with any of her housemates, frequently as they tend to come and go, but that doesn’t stop her from offering her sympathies.

“Any luck with the research?”

Carmen groans. “My paper is doomed. Remind me why I thought ‘modern impact of classical mythology’ was a good choice for my level 300 history course?”

“Uh, beats me.” In reality she thinks it sounds like a fun subject, but it doesn’t feel her place to say so given that while Carmen’s been slaving away at the school library, she’s spent the better of her day half-watching questionable documentaries on alien conspiracies.

“Ensfield is full of weird old superstitions and legends,” she goes on frustratedly. “The old bridge makes it on one of those ‘top 10 spooky locations’ lists like once a month. Complain about a cough to the wrong person and suddenly you get people telling you you’re hexed and you need to walk in a circle counter-clockwise under the new moon to get rid of it.”

She’s pretty sure that’s not a thing, but nods anyway, waiting for the point she hopes is coming.

“You’d think the library in a town like this would have better sources on mythology. But no, all I get is a shrug and the same three books everyone else in the class is using. If I want to bump up my GPA, I need something you can’t just find on Wikipedia.”

Another one of their housemates crawls out from the shrubbery by the porch. “Maybe you should try that other library.”

“Jesus!” Carmen jumps. “What are you doing down there?”

Phoebe brushes dirt off her knees. “I saw a black cat go into the gap.” She points at a thin crack in the woodwork. “Halloween is coming. Any cats, especially black ones, you see wandering around need to be brought to the shelter pronto. People do terrible things to them if they see them wandering around this time of year.”

Soso squints. “Looks too small to fit a cat.”

“I saw what I saw. Anyway, there’s supposed to be an old town library way past the woods, thataway.” She points. “Guy who works there is really weird I heard but almost no one goes there anymore so you’d have first pick.”

Carmen looks thoughtful. “I think I’ve heard of it. I kind of thought it was just something people made up.”

“Nah, it’s real. My brother’s fraternity brings freshman there to haze them. They tell them to go up and throw eggs at the place and then ditch ‘em in the woods.”

Soso blinks. “Why?”

She shrugs. “It’s just a thing they do. It sucks and it’s totally immature but no one ever accused those guys of being creative.”

“Whatever,” Carmen says. “I’m done with books for today. I’m gonna go inside and enjoy some nice brain-rotting TV.”

“Good call, honestly. If you get caught hanging around that place too much they’ll probably start egging us next.”

Carmen heads inside and Phoebe goes back to making little coaxing noises at the gap in the porch. Soso frowns to herself. Sometimes she feels like people in this town purposely go out of their way to ruin anything that could be the slightest bit different. It’s probably just a normal library that happened to be in a weird spot, run by a typical cranky old librarian. Even if it is nothing it probably has more to offer than spending the rest of her day throwing french-fries to birds and squirrels in the Burger Beast parking lot.

“Hey Phoebe,” she says. “Where did you say that library was?”

 --

 The trip is longer than she had anticipated. Her legs are strong but the sun’s getting low enough that she worries she’ll be riding home in the dark. A generous part of it she blames on Phoebe’s vague directions, scribbled into a patchwork paper map of hear-say more than anything else. Despite this she continues. She’s snapped a few pictures of the foliage in its brilliant reds and golds, so if all else is a bust at least she won’t have completely wasted her time. Worst case scenario, she returns home with a little extra muscle on her calves from all the pedaling.

Well, the real worst case scenario is probably more along the lines of her getting caught by an axe murderer and left to rot in the spooky woods, another ghost for the local repertoire. Even then, at least she won’t have to worry about the next family phone call if she’s dead.

Grim musings aside, she loops back and manages to find the correct path, a trampled dirt road half-hidden under the leaf litter, and at last make her way to the fabled “other library”. It’s one of those old brick buildings, surrounded by a low fence that struggles to hold its own against the climbing vines and insects nibbling at its posts. It’s early enough in the season that their collective buzz-chirp-hum still fills the air, though otherwise it is almost eerily quiet. It’s strangely peaceful, Soso thinks as she wades through wild patches of tall grass, as if she were returning to somewhere familiar.

The place is clearly abandoned, she decides, sunlight refracting off the firmly shuttered windows. It’s a cool discovery to be sure, but she ought to have known a mysterious library in the woods with an equally mysterious shut-in tending it was too much to expect from a town like Ensfield. That doesn’t stop her from exploring though. She likes it here, and she especially likes the gorgeous, ancient-looking gargoyle that sits in front of the steps leading up to the entrance, like one of those stone lions that stand guard outside of libraries of greater fame than this one.

The thing is magnificent, as well as truly hideous, its face twisted in a snarl so visceral and strikingly lifelike that it sends a genuine chill down her spine. The attention to detail, to carving out each individual wrinkle of flesh, is astounding. The stance the stone creature is frozen in comes off much more threatening than the regal intensity she might have expected, and it seems to her a counterintuitive choice of décor, but one the artist in her wholeheartedly approves of.

Propping her bike up against the stairs she crouches in the shadow of the gargoyle to get a better look. Organic shapes like vines encircle the beast, so lifelike that feels compelled to touch, as if they might fall away under her fingertips. Just as she reaches out however, the front doors of the library swing open and a stout, middle-aged man rushes out.

“Don’t- who- don’t touch that! It’s- it’s not-“ he stammers. “It’s an antique. Very breakable.”

The man is well-dressed, but his head of yellow hair is mussed to one side, like he’s just woken from a nap, enforced by the wrinkles he anxiously tries to smooth out of his vest. His eyes are a shocking shade of spring green.

“Sorry?” Soso offers, still recovering from the fright. She pulls her hand back guiltily and he seems to relax. How fragile could something made of stone be, she wonders, that he would work himself up into such a state over it. “Uh, is this the library?”

The man finishes straightening himself out before he responds. “That’s what you’re here for? Books?”

“What else?” she asks. His eyes remain narrow with scrutiny, so she adds, “Books on mythology. It’s for a school project. I heard… I am in the right place, right?”

There’s a copper plaque by the door that reads “North Ensfield Public Library”, but at this point she’d be as willing to accept that she wandered into a random person’s front yard, for how he looks at her. After another awkward pause, the man turns back towards the entrance and gestures for her to follow.

“Sorry about that. I don’t see many regular patrons anymore, not for a while now. Pardon the mess.” He speaks quickly, not leaving any room for interruption.

There isn’t much mess to pardon, not really. In fact, the shelves look well organized, if a bit dusty, and the space isn’t as cramped or cluttered as she had expected from the outside. A certain saying about books and covers comes to mind, but she doesn’t think her host would appreciate the joke. It’s no wonder he doesn’t see many people if he acts this way with everyone. Soso bumps into a table and nearly upsets what seems to be a pyramid assembled from various glasses, topped with an upside-down teapot.

“Do you live here?” she asks before she can curtail her curiosity.

“I’m a librarian,” he answers. “This is a library.”

“Right, but that doesn’t…” she fumbles.

“Do Canadians not live in Canada? Do Norwegians not live in Norway?”

“Vegetarians don’t live in vegetables,” she counters.

He considers that. “Well-played.”

Soso laughs despite herself and, to her surprise, things seem to go more smoothly after that. She continues speaking with the librarian and learns that his name is Surehouser, though if there’s a first name attached to that one, she doesn’t catch it. He’s certainly as eccentric as the rumors had led her to believe, but he seems harmless, and quite frankly more than a little lonesome. She doesn’t know how a person could be anything else, living like this.

He’s not friendly or unfriendly; his words have a measured quality to them, as if he’s afraid of saying too much. Soso gets the impression, as the sole carer for this seemingly ancient place, his occupation is more out of a sense of obligation than a passion for literature. He looks the part of the academic for sure, down to the silver that threads through his hair and the half-moon reading glasses folded in the front of his shirt, but his eyes track her as she browses like he doesn’t know what to do with someone who actually wants to check out a book.

“Do you have an idea of what you’re looking for?” he asks after she’s been at it for a while.

She doesn’t want to admit that not only is she not sure, since it’s not really her class she needs it for, but that whatever organizational system is in place here is totally incomprehensible to her. “Anything you have should be good.”

Which is how she ends up checking out way more than she meant to, sending up a tiny prayer that her comparatively tiny backpack can rise to the occasion. Surehouser gives her a look like he knows what’s going through her head as he leads her to the front desk. There’s no computer in sight, just a leatherbound book of names and dates and a thick rubber stamp.

“On my way out, would you mind if I took some pictures of that statue you have out front? For my project.” She adds that last part as an afterthought, then regrets it right away. She’s a notoriously terrible liar and the more she enforces the threads of this pointless story she’s weaving, the more awkward she feels.

He frowns and says, more to himself than to her, “I always thought that old thing was a bit gaudy myself. I’d have gotten rid of it ages ago if I could.”

Something about the way he says it strikes her as strange. Not knowing how to respond, she simply says, “I don’t know, I think it’s cool.”

He laughs. Or, she thinks that’s what it is. The sound is gentle but rusty at the edges. “I suppose you would. Feel free to do whatever you want, only do not touch it, and be careful.”

She walks down the stone steps, her haul unexpectedly light on her back, and pauses to look at the gargoyle once more. The light isn’t any good right now, but she’ll be back.

“See you later,” she tells it.

Sure enough, the next day she’s back. She hadn’t actually planned to be such a regular, but she’d been unable to keep the place from her mind, and it wasn’t as if she had anything better to do. Carmen had looked about to cry when Soso showed her the books she’d picked out. The ones she didn’t need for her paper, Soso decided to flip through herself and had found herself more invested than she’d counted on. The book on obscure pagan deities she’d selected, though dense and confusing in places, was particularly interesting. Before she knew it, she was finished, and thus had the perfect excuse to go back.

“This guy kinda looks like you, don’t you think?” She holds the page open so that the gargoyle could “see” it. Despite arriving at noon on a Wednesday, the library seems to be truly closed today and no amount of knocking had managed to change its mind. Since she’d already come all this way, she figured she might as well find some other way to entertain herself before heading home.

“The horns are all wrong, but the general look is there. He could be, like, your second cousin,” she tells the statue.

The statue doesn’t respond, obviously, but Soso likes talking to it regardless. She adjusts her position so she can keep reading while keeping the book within its line of sight. When it’s time to leave, she turns to it and says,

“Keep an eye on that guy who runs the place for me. He’s weird, and should really keep more regular hours, but he’s nice, and I think being alone out here is making him a little…” She makes a spiraling motion with her finger. “Guess I’m not one to talk though. I’m chatting with a hunk of rock.”

She doesn’t stop though. Maybe it’s the boredom, maybe it’s something just fundamentally Soso, but whatever the reason, she keeps coming back. Partially for the library, yes, and for the company of the strange librarian that dwells within, but primarily to have a quiet place to vent her frustrations and speak her mind, where often the only one around to judge is one who’s incapable of talking back.

Surehouser is an acquired taste, and they don’t have much in common, but he never turns Soso away on the days when her visits magically coincide with the hours of operation. He always seems to have snacks on hand and is content to let the young woman ramble on about whatever latest subject has caught her interest, which as much as she could ask of anyone really. He still speaks frustratingly little of himself, but she believes she’ll get it out of him eventually.

She’s moved from taking pictures around the library to breaking out her old sketchbook, sitting on the steps and muttering to the empty air as she tries to map the contours of the stone body before her. She’s always been visually minded, for whatever good it does her.

“My mom keeps calling and asking if I want to come home for the holidays,” she complains, holding her knees to her chest. “And I know that’s months away but if I say yes that means having to see my family in person while they interrogate me about my future. I’m not even sure I have a future.”

She paces around for a minute to work out some pins and needles and brushes back her hair where it’s been falling in her face. Feeling playful, she imagines she can feel the gargoyle’s gaze watching her.

“Oh this? Yeah, I did get a haircut, thank you for noticing. Just a couple inches off the bottom but I think it’s nice.”

She tosses her head. Nestled among her dark hair, a tip of pointed ear pokes out and she worries idly at the cartilage like she used to do when she was younger.

“You noticed that too, huh. I was born with this itty bity point to my ears. They used to stick out when I was a kid. I was kinda self-conscious about it, actually. I dreaded whenever we had a course in school about fairytales because the kids in my class would call me an elf. I started making my mom do my hair so that they were hidden and just, never grew out of the habit I guess.”

The gargoyle is without comment. She smiles.

“I knew you’d understand, dude. Us freaks have to stick together.”

The following week is a flurry of last-minute Halloween preparations. Soso herself hadn’t been planning to dress up, not having anywhere to be other than planted firmly on the couch in front of a horror B-movie marathon, but the other girls insist they decorate, as there’d been whispers in their neighborhood of pranks planned on those deemed not festive enough. According to Carmen, who had become the resident expert on local tradition since she aced her last history test, the custom of shunning those who didn’t partake was almost as firmly rooted as the decorating itself. It stemmed from a belief from ye olden days that the festivities helped to fend off ghosts and goblins and the meddling of the fae on the day when the border between their worlds was the thinnest.

“Wait, do ghosts come from the same place as fae, or do they just, like, carpool here?”

She snorts. “It depends who you ask, but a lot of people around here believe that anything that’s magical or ‘otherworldly’ in origin is technically ‘fae’. Ensfield has a whole history of convoluted fae-based superstitions. Did you know some people still leave out bowls of fresh milk for house spirits?”

“House spirits?”

“Like, brownies.”

Soso nods. “I love having milk with brownies.”

Phoebe pipes up from the kitchen. “I had a girlfriend in high school who left out offerings when she was doing her SATs.”

“Did it help?” Carmen asks. “I’ll try anything.”

Soso is no skeptic, but she’s more inclined to believe that leaving food out overnight will attract more mice than faerie blessings. The sentiment is nice, but it’s hard for her to take comfort in fairytales without remembering her childhood teasing. How much worse could it have been if it had been more than just a joke, if her ears and her daydreaming demeanor were enough to get her labeled as an outsider for life, rather than just for the span of third grade.

“Are you doing anything special for Halloween, Soso?” Carmen asks.

“You mean like leaving out bowls of milk?”

She laughs. “No, like going to a party. You can come with me to Katy’s if you want. It’ll be lowkey.”

Carmen has been making more of an effort to get to know her since she got her those books for her paper, but while Soso appreciates the thought, being a plus-one at a stranger’s party where everyone knows each other from the classes she’s still not attending doesn’t sound like her idea of a good time.

“No thanks. Someone’s gotta stay and hand out candy to the trick or treaters, right?”

“Good point. Did you pick up candy?”

“Not yet, but I’ll do it.”

“Just don’t put it off until the night of.”

“That’s not going to happen.”

That is exactly what happened. October 31st finds Soso standing in line with a back of candy under each arm. Their neighborhood isn’t exactly kid-heavy, but better safe than TP’d she figures. She’s nearing the register when a pair of college-age boys stumble in, looking conspicuously red around the whites of their eyes. She sighs inwardly as they wander around, talking just a bit too loud for comfort, and does her best to ignore them even as they get in line behind her. Looking out of the corner of her eye, she notices that there is nothing in their baskets except a two-liter bottle of off-brand soda, a box of marshmallow snackcakes, and about four cartons of eggs, each.

It almost doesn’t click for her until she remembers what Phoebe said about the frat bros and their hazing. That paired with it being a night notorious for pranks by idiot teens is enough to get her nervous. After making her purchase she lingers outside the store for a moment and watches as the boys climb into a car and drive away in the direction of the woods.

It might still be a coincidence, they might be heading to some other destination that just so happens to be in that direction as well, but the image of some stupid stoners invading her sanctuary makes her hackles raise all the same. She starts pedaling after them, following just far enough behind so as not to be spotted in the swiftly fading light.

[mrs-dragneel-stark-solo]

Unforseen Chasm

Part 1 of Unforseen Chasm

Prompt: Two sisters fall for men that are absolute enemies. The love they have could tear all of them apart, or it could bring them together.

Word Count: 2191 Warnings: Language, Note: This is by far the longest thing I’ve ever written (including my other fic series). first major Collab with my best friend @thorne93​ what was first a simple "what if" moment turned into a two year writing session and I've never been more prouder of myself than when i started my first series. goes through most of the MCU plots there are some changes to accommodate for what we wanted and there is a bit of a crossover between the MCU and other characters. I hope you guys enjoy reading this just as much as I enjoyed writing it.

___________

Once in a lifetime, and sometimes not even then, people meet someone who can be described as their better half. The person who knows them better than anyone. The person who completes them. Sometimes it can be found in a lover, or a sibling, or sometimes...once in a blue moon, it can be found in just a friend -- a stranger you cross paths with one day. A stranger that eventually means more to you than anyone else in the world. 

That’s how it was for you and Shannon. 

It was freshman year of college when she walked into your life. The two of you were set together as roommates. She had a touch of pluckiness to her, drive that you’d never witnessed, intelligence that rivaled yours, and a take no shit attitude. 

Of course, she was shy at first, so were you. But within just a few minutes, you realized that you two were destined to be best friends. Her major lied in anatomical mutation and molecular engineering with a minor in foreign language. Meanwhile, you majored in physics and engineering, minoring in Norse mythology. 

Shannon definitely teased you for that. She wondered why or how you would ever need that, but your reasoning was simply that you enjoyed it. If you were going to spend thousands upon thousands studying something for a career for the rest of your life, the least you could do was study one thing that was a little different that fascinated you, even if was just for four years. 

Your areas of study may have overlapped, but your upbringing didn’t. Shannon had parents, who loved her, and according to her “sent her to a prestigious academy to refine all skills”. And you saw these skills in the way she moved, talked, carried herself, and focused her skills. She was all things a lady should be. In fact, she did so well in this so called “Red Room”, that Howard Stark (founder of Stark Industries) caught wind of her accomplishments and decided to invest further in her. He gave her a full ride scholarship to any college she wanted, to study whatever she wanted. He thought maybe, one day, she might be of use to his son Tony. 

In fact, they became good friends too. Tony and Shannon, that is. He was a few years older than her, but he helped her with her work, and became curious as to why Shannon was always hanging around his dad’s company. It didn’t take a genius to see why Shannon was selected -- she was elite, one of a kind. 

You on the other hand, you were the nerd. The little bit dorky type. All you ever really loved was science, math, technology. You were raised by foster parents, but they weren’t the greatest. They didn’t ever give you any attention past making sure the foster money cleared for you. The only person you had was Remy, another boy that lived in the foster family with you. Kids were in and out of that house for years, but you and Remy seemed to stay, that is, until you left for college. College was where you met Shannon and her family, and ever since then, Shannon’s family was now your family, making you far closer to Shannon than you’d ever been to anyone besides Remy. You went to her house for holidays, even met with Tony a handful of times. 

Once the two of you graduated college and decided on grad school, you didn’t want to separate. Four years of living together had made you two almost inseparable. Not wanting to lose each other just yet, you grabbed an apartment only thirty minutes away from your graduate school. Graduate school was surprisingly a breeze, and when you completed it, the two of you moved into a studio apartment together. 

After being best friends for nearly a decade, you got a dog together, both of you animal lovers and you thought it might add some more character to your home. And he certainly did. 

While the both of you, yes, were involved in STEM, for the most part, your paths slightly diverged.

After graduation from graduate school for both of you, Tony Stark offered a job to Shannon at his company as his assistant. She would help oversee nearly every operation, invention, gizmo, gadget. All of it, would be under her supervision. Through this, she became good friends with Dr. Bruce Banner, and Tony, being at the labs day in and day out with them. 

It was actually in those labs that her… well… accident happened. A lab malfunction caused a chemical gas to react with her molecular structure causing a strange reaction. By strange you meant, well, unusual. She developed a mutation, but not like a third eye, or another pinky. No, she gained the ability to manipulate the weather and drain people of their powers. It was the most magnificent thing to watch. She accidentally discovered her powers at home, in the kitchen, and you witnessed it, but you swore yourself to secrecy for her. You could never hurt her and betray her like that. 

Tony knew, of course, because he had to help her figure out what was wrong with her. And Bruce was an expert in lab experiments gone wrong. Between those two helping her control her powers, and your emotional support, she was just like a normal person -- until you pissed her off. 

Just another crowning jewel on an already nearly perfect woman. She was the epitome of a femme fatale -- beautiful, genius, deadly, and powerful beyond human strength. 

As for you? Your work placed you in the field. Your physics took you to some crazy locations and you picked up work wherever you could find it. You loved physics, you were good at it, damned good. But you weren’t winning Nobel prizes, you weren’t heading huge projects for Stark Industries, you weren’t getting offers from MIT for research. No, you were scrounging for contract jobs, for little pick me ups with NASA. It wasn’t that you didn’t like it, or that you were desperate for work. People knew of your work, you spoke at conferences, you were in high demand. 

But by your dumb luck, it wasn’t you that ended up with the glitz, glam, and glory that came from working for Stark. 

For the last few months you’d been in the field with Jane Foster - a highly respected physicist -- with barely any funding. The two of you could barely split the research grant you’d been given and you had to hire an intern. You were all the way out in New Mexico while Shannon was still in NYC, living the dream. You missed her like crazy, but this work you were doing was important… At least that's what you kept telling yourself…

____________

Jane and you had set up camp in Small Town, New Mexico, you’d been out here for a few weeks now. There were these strange atmospheric phenomenon that were going on that Jane felt were connected to the research the two of you were involved with. She called Dr. Selvig out to study it with you two, seeing as he was a pioneer in this field. 

Just before you all headed out to the site, you decided to give Shannon a call, a strong case of homesickness hitting you. 

You propped open your laptop and selected her contact and called. The familiar ring only went through twice before her wonderful face filled the screen. 

Y/N! Hey!” she greeted delightfully. 

“Hey!” 

She stepped away from the computer and back to her workbench in Tony’s lab -- a very familiar sight to you. 

“What’s up?” 

“Just missing you. We’re about to go study that aurora again tonight, but Selvig is here now, so it’ll be another set of eyes,” you explained. 

“Ah, yes, the light in the sky. Any headway on that?” 

“None. Hopefully he’ll have some insight because I’m growing tired of staring at clouds each night. I’m not out here to be a storm chaser…” 

“What’s this about storm chasing?” Tony suddenly said, entering your field of view. 

“Hey, Tony,” you greeted in a friendly tone. 

“Why don’t you ditch the desert and come to a real lab?” he asked as he walked backwards, looking at the camera before spinning to stand next to Shannon and work on the tool she was soldering. “You could have unlimited technology here. I could really use someone with your expertise on physics when it comes to landing gear for my suit. What do you say, Y/N? A real job, in air conditioning, not out in the dirt…?”

“Tempting,” you said with a smirk. “But I’m gonna stick to real work for now.”

“Did she just insinuate I don’t do real work?” Tony asked Shannon, pretending to be offended. She merely rolled her eyes and laughed, shaking her head. 

“You two…”  she lovingly chided. “When are you going to come home? I miss you. I need your world famous tacos.”

You laughed. “My tacos are trash and you know it.”

She returned the laugh before becoming serious again. “Seriously though. When? Things aren’t the same without you.”

You sighed, wondering the same thing. “I don’t know. I’m trying to get all this data, but since we have to wait every night… There’s no telling.” 

“Well work hard,” she requested, sadness but understanding in her voice. 

“I’m trying.”

“Seriously. Y/N, pick up the pace, I can’t take another week of this. She is killing the morale,” Tony remarked, gesturing to her with a tool. 

“Okay, Tony, for you, I’ll try,” you said with heavy sarcasm, making the two of them smile. “Oh, shit, gotta go. Time to go watch the sky give me some pretty colors.” You rolled your eyes and told them goodbye before signing off of your laptop. 

The four of you set off about twenty miles west from your little lab in the middle of town. You sat out there for several minutes, nothing happening. Selvig started to question Jane and you, and Darcy was getting restless. Jane was pleading that he just hold on a few more minutes. Finally, Darcy saw something and drew your attention to it. 

This was no subtle aurora. This was… something else. 

Jane ordered Darcy to drive, and all of you launched back into the camper full of equipment, bumping and knocking things as you went over the rough terrain of the desert. Darcy was pushing the camper to full speed, zooming towards the odd light in the sky when suddenly a funnel of light and wind swirled toward the ground. Jane was filming it all and you were taking in what you could. 

Just as you were about to go through the tornado-like event, Darcy cut away from it.

“Darcy!” you shouted, needing to get inside this event.

“I’m not dying for six college credits!” she yelled before Jane tried to take the wheel from her. 

The two of them fought over the steering wheel for a few seconds before -- THUD. You hit something… actually, you think it was someone. Darcy slammed on the brakes and all of you jumped out of the camper. 

You ran over to a man lying on the ground as Jane said, “Do me a favor and don’t be dead.”

“I think legally that was your fault!” Darcy called.

“Get the first aid kit,” you commanded as you kneeled beside him. You grabbed his wrist and felt for a pulse -- there was a strong one, good. Next you looked at his face to examine any damage -- but before you could do that, you were taken aback by his beauty. He was… handsome, very handsome. Then he opened his eyes. 

He jumped up, muttering and stumbling around. Jane noticed the markings on the ground, and you saw them too, and they should’ve been important to you, but right now all you could focus on was this stranger. 

“Hammer...Hammer!” he suddenly yelled. 

“Yeah we can tell you’re hammered, that’s pretty obvious,” Darcy noted. 

Jane began trying to note the markings on the ground, telling Erik to look at them, but he was telling her they needed to get this stranger to a hospital. Your mind wasn’t exactly focused on either thing as you watched him. There was something… familiar about him, but you were sure you’d never seen him before in your life. 

“Father! Heimdall! I know you can hear me! Open the Bifrost!” the man commanded, making your hair stand on end. 

“Bifrost,” you muttered inaudibly. You’d heard that a lot. Actually you’d heard that in Norse mythology. Clearly this man was delusional and thought he was some Viking God…

“You! What Realm is this? Alfheim? Nornheim?” the man asked of Darcy. 

“New Mexico?” 

She pulled out her taser and aimed it at him. “Darcy, no!” you demanded. 

“You dare threaten me, Thor, with so puny of a weapon?!” 

She pulled the trigger and he dropped, just as a mortal man would, making some of your suspicion (and hope) fizzle out. Of course gods weren’t real, that was just silly. 

Tag list:

@reigningqueenofwords​

@cas-you-assbutt-dean-needs-you 

@winchester-writes​ 

@winchesterenthusiast​

 @georgialouisea​

 @deansdirtylittlesecretsblog​ 

@dammit-stark​ 

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  @depressed-moose-78

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@expecteddifferent​

​ @girl-next-door-writes​​ 

@fanaticfanfiction​​

 @dakotapaigelove​​ 

@sassy-spn-knight-of-hell​​

[wearemostly]

Yes, I’m a Cancer, How Did You Know?

Home, i.e. my parent’s house, never felt like home after I left for college. At the end of my freshman year I went to live at my aunt’s house for the summer and it was there that I fell into a strange hole that haunted the rest of my college years. A shadow of homesickness followed me wherever I went.

I consistently got myself stuck in a place where I would put all my hope into my next trip back to Austin. I’d arrive back in Texas, throw my bags on the floor of my room and immediately go see all my high school friends. The almost blindingly bright blue color of my walls reflected the eagerness and loudness of a younger Molly, not really meshing with the Molly who’d become An Adult. I’d have dinner at the kitchen table with my family and we’d watch movies after. My homesickness whispered in my ears promises of happiness if I got these moments, but when the moments arrived, the satisfaction never came. More often than not, I’d start to daydream about being back at school — I missed waking up across the room from my best friend, Eva (who happened to also be my roommate — I majorly lucked out), I missed being able to walk everywhere, I missed my friends and my classes and having my own space and kitchen. Madison, Wisconsin was my new home! 

My college experience could be mapped out and charted not by the classes I took or the friends I hung out with or stopped hanging out with but with the cycles of missing home that I went through. Like clockwork, as soon as my environment changed, my perspective shifted and I was dissatisfied, lonely, and upset being wherever I was. The worst part was that each place I was also came with really fun memories and great conversations, which made it that much worse. I felt guilty for not being happy or grateful enough. 

Senior year consisted of me just being excited to move back to Texas. Finally, after four years, I was headed back to what I considered home. And I was going to live at home, with my parents, so I’d make up all the lost family time that I’d missed. 

I drove for two days and dropped my bags on the floor of my too-bright room, same as always. The posters I had hung in high school — one of a bear, one of Stevie Nicks, another a map of Austin — hung on the walls as they had for years. The rose-patterned comforter I always craved snuggling up with was sitting on my bed, pillows against the headboard. This was it, this was home. 

It took me all but a few weeks to realize that this wasn’t going to work. Nothing about being home felt right. I painted my room a color aptly named “Moon White” and rearranged my desk to face the window, so I could see all the green of our front yard. The belongings I collected and gathered in college — a gray and white striped tablecloth that I historically draped over any dresser I had, a bunny lamp, all of my books — slowly assimilated with the pre-existing furniture of the room. The Molly I had come to know had surfaced into the room and then, suddenly, I inched towards feeling at home. 

There was a missing piece to the feeling of being at home that I was chasing. A house isn’t a home until you’re there and you’re comfortable and at peace. I was searching high and low for external situations to make me feel at ease — if I see this person that I miss, if I go to this coffee shop back in Austin that I’ve always loved, if I get back to school and see all my friends, then I’ll be happy. 

One core trait of mine has always been to put all my eggs in a basket that is not my own. I daydream feverishly about an ideal future situation, instead of easily enjoying the current moment. I always want to know what is happening next — what are we doing tomorrow, next week, three weeks from now? How will things look in a year? I had always wanted to spend every waking moment with someone else, to give them my attention and time because I don’t think I ever knew how to give it to myself. 

My eggs still lay in another distant basket but I pluck a few out for my own basket every once in a while. My mind still tends to be future-oriented, but I can’t say that I’d love to spend every waking moment with someone else now. That first summer in college, my first away from home, I learned what loneliness looked like. I spent a lot of time with my extended family there but I also spent a lot of time on my own, wandering the woods or sitting under trees all alone. It sucked! But it was also kind of cool. That’s how learning goes, I guess. I eventually came to know and love being by myself. There is no better salve for the depletion of my energy by the outside world than to shut my bedroom door at the end of the day. 

My partner, Jacob, and I have just moved in together. We also took the biggest leap we could and moved away from our respective homes in Texas to move to Hawaii. I’ve been struggling in an odd way — this small cottage we’re in feels much more like home than any other place has felt in the past few years. It’s confusing because I hate having to figure out how to adjust my routine, whatever it may be, to fit a new space. This transition has been the easiest I’ve ever had. All of the newness of moving in with a partner for the first time, plus moving so far away, plus being on an island, plus being on an island with a lot of cool new things I’ve never seen before should be a recipe for a spiraling meltdown. What gives? 

The new, scary things that should be sending me running are no match for what I’ve found in the past few years. I’ve figured out what it means to be at home, not in a physical place but in my little heart of hearts. I’ve also found someone who has always known what that looks like for them and knows what that would look like for me. We are a perfect team of little homes. 

IKEA’s 2018 Life at Home Report surveyed 22,000 people from 22 different countries — across four territories — to see how they defined home. They found that there are five emotional needs that go into creating a home: privacy, security, comfort, ownership, belonging. 

Sure, at times, my different residences were lacking one or more of these things, probably contributing to my unease. But realistically? There were certainly times when I lacked one or a few or all of these things for myself. If I, the walking, talking, traveling meat vessel home for my soul lacks these things, then no physical place will have them for me either. 

My homesickness was never for any place in particular. It was for another world, one where I knew what home looked like in my mind and in my body. Any other place is simply a nice means to an end. A nice new shell on the same meaty and tender crab.

[vmstudies]

30+ things i learned in my first semester of college

Okay, so as a college freshman in her second semester, I wanted to write all this down before I forget it all or it becomes irrelevant. College is a trippy af time, especially for freshmen, and I know high schoolers are all freaking out trying to find what’s true and what’s not. So here’s what I learned my first semester of college, and some stuff I’m still learning.

Warning: this post is long af. 

disclaimer: I’m a nursing ROTC student so I’ve got like a million and one things on my plate at any given time, and I have a wake up call at 5:00am almost every day of the week, so if you have to/already do wake up early, this will be great for you.

1. Be patient. You’re going to have people around you doing all different things. You may not be going out, but your hall mates will. Learn to let go and let them be. Unless they’re screaming excessively in the hall at 3am. Then maybe say something.

2. Do all the extra credit you are offered. Most professors only have 3-4 exams and a final. At least 99% of mine so far have done that. Take what you can get and do everything to keep your grades up.

3. Time management is key. I personally suck at it, but I find ways. Unfortunately sometimes, for me, it means cutting sleep, which I would not recommend, especially if you’re waking up so early. But learn to manage your time the way that works for you.

4. Find a good pair of headphones. Some noise cancelling ones preferably. Those will become your best friends.

5. Coffee will be other your best friend. Even if you don’t drink it. I never had a single cup of coffee till first week of second semester. I drink a cup a day now.

6. Eat well. It doesn’t have to be a salad every meal, but find the healthiest options you can that you like. The Freshman 15 is real, and I gained it, but I’ve lost 10 pounds just by eating a portioned amount of each food group per day.

7. Exercise. This goes along with eating in preventing the Freshman 15, but it also helps with stress relief and focus among a million and one other health benefits.

8. Take chances. Nothing illegal and nothing that could jeopardize your health, grades, or future, but just remember that when a moment passes, you can never get it back.

9. You don’t have to be best friends, or even friends at all with your roommate. But make an effort to get along. My roommate and I learned very quickly that we were not going to be best friends like we thought, but we get along well enough, and that’s all that matters.

10. You’re probably not going to remain friends with all of your high school pals. Even the ones who go to school with you. I thought the group from my high school at my uni would be my best friends and now I only see them when my roommate brings them by.

11. Take a chance on everyone. You’d be surprised who could become the best friend you’ve ever had very quickly.

12. Colleges will want your living situations for next year very quickly. Don’t panic. Just get it done before rents go up.

13. Look for ways to contribute to your city. Volunteer at churches or food banks or homeless shelters or hospitals - wherever works best for you. You start to feel a part of a community when you give back to it.

14. Skipping class isn’t bad, but only when it’s done a few times. If you only show up for exams, you’re screwed, because there are things on the exam that won’t always be on the PowerPoints. TL;DR: show up to class.

15. Don’t drink after people. Mono runs rampant on college campuses, and it’s now airborne. Hand sanitizer is your third new best friend. 

16. Exam season isn’t that scary. As long as you’re maintaining your grades in a class, the finals should be okay. Should be.

17. Assuming you aren’t a commuter, if you have the ability to go home every weekend, don’t. The weekends are a time for you to hang out with friends and have fun at college. If you’re spending it at home, it’s not even worth it.

18. That being said, if you have the ability to go home “often” and you’re happy and comfortable at home, visit every once in a while. It’s good for the soul.

19. Many professors are there to complete research requirements. That being said, it doesn’t matter to them whether they’re good professors or not so long as they get their work done. That being said, you will have some shitty professors. Just work hard and beat them by beating their class.

20. You will have some professors who are, to put it nicely, absolute dicks. Again: beat them by beating their class. Ace that shit then never sign up for a class with them again.

21. Find the study style that suits you best. Rewriting notes is absolutely useless for me. This semester, my study style has become taking notes in notebooks in my dorm, and just having the PowerPoint up to add notes to the slides as my profs speak. It works.

22. Have someone in every class you can text and ask questions or study with. Cooperate to graduate, kids.

23. This one is huge. You will get homesick. It’s almost a total guarantee. It may not be immediate, but it will hit and it will hit hard. Don’t worry. Nobody’s freshman year is what they say it is. Yeah, you’ll find your group, but chances are you’ll spend the first semester drifting and asking if you’re the one person in the entire world who isn’t enjoying things. You’re not. We’re all in the same boat. Just keep drifting. You’ll find your group eventually. Who knows - they may be closer than you think.

24. Sororities and frats may seem like all that, but - at my university at least - while they’re huge here, they’re also a major pain in the ass. Rush for sororities was literal hell, and one girl I was talking to the other day said she lost 12 pounds in just that one week. Know what you’re getting into.

25. If you’re single and remain that way, don’t worry. There’s nothing wrong with you there either. People move at their own pace. My best friend has, like, 5 guys wanting to date her right now, and I have absolutely no one (that I know of). Don’t worry. Just keep doing what you’re doing. The right one will come eventually.

26. Know what you’re worth.

27. Get to class at least 5 minutes early. I’m always running to my 8:30 and it sucks.

28. 8:30 classes aren’t that bad. As someone who is most definitely not a morning person, I have yet to complain. It’s nice to get up and get going for the day.

29. 6:00pm classes suck. Mine ends at 7:15 and then I still have to go get dinner, which is in the opposite direction from my dorm, get back to my hall, shower, eat aforementioned dinner, do schoolwork and study, etc. It’s a pain.

30. Find something small you can do that makes you happy. For me, it’s Korean. I started teaching myself Korean halfway through last semester and I like to think I’m doing pretty well for someone self-taught. I also have a stack of notecards that hits the 26oz mark on my Nalgene. It’s kind of insane.

31. BUDGETING IS SO FREAKING IMPORTANT. I cannot stress this enough. And so is saving. If you get a paycheck or an allowance of any kind, put some of it away in savings every time you get paid, and try not to touch that savings money.

32. Be open to everyone else’s likes/dislikes/thoughts/feelings/opinions. You don’t have to agree or like it, but respect it. You’ll meet people who have all different hobbies, opinions, religious/political views. As long as they’re not out there preaching that we should all just kill each other or whatever, idk, respect it. Respect Dems if you’re a Republican; respect Republicans if you’re a Democrat. Respect Muslims and Jews and Christians/Catholics and Hindus and Buddhists and anything else you can think of. Respect.

33. Keep your dorm neat. Make your bed every day. Clean room=clean mind. Clean mind=better studying.

34. Do your laundry every week, y’all. Shit gets nasty.

35. Only bring what you need. If you find after 2-3 weeks you haven’t used it, send it home. Dorms are tiny. You need all the space you can get.

36. If you’re religious, find your religious community. It will be a great reprieve a few times a week. I was never overtly Catholic, and I’m still not, but it’s nice to get away for an hour a week. Plus after 5pm mass Sundays they feed us home-cooked food, and it’s freaking good. Take advantage of that.

37. Find a place on campus that reminds you of why you’re there when you have doubts or you’re feeling homesick. For me, it’s the first place I ever saw when I stepped on campus: the main lawn. It’s super relaxing and it’s a great reminder that I’m there to kick ass, get a degree, get a commission, and become the person I’m supposed to be in the process. It can also mean the difference between contemplation and a total breakdown. TL;DR: find a place that eases your mind.

That’s all I can think of right now, but if you have more that I missed, feel free to add on! Again, this is all from my own personal experience, and if you find that you don’t agree with one, okay. One size does not fit all. But this is just what I recommend. Have fun in college and good luck! Remember: YOU GOT THIS THING!

[neshabeingchildish]

14. College Wasteland

So, somebody was recently asking me about these kiddos’ jealousy culture and whatnots and it just so happens and we get to see some of that in this chapter! Granted, a lot of this is zodiac information that I swiped from the web and forgot to cite. Not tryna plagiarize. Got ‘em in quotations. 

This is the longest chapter that I’ve written in this story, I think. I wasn’t tryna, but it was actually gonna be LONGER, and I wound up separating it. But... Chile, Idk how y’all gon’ take this one.

College Wasteland

Freshman Year.

Jasper and Charlotte were going to the same college, but on different “campuses.” Honestly, she felt like this entire community was part of the college and even though there were a few blocks between where they studied, in between were really just dorms, apartments, college houses, and businesses that college students frequented. He was more on the outskirts of town and she was towards the center. 

At the beginning of the semester, Charlotte already had her things moved into the dormitory that her scholarships were paying for. She was able to get in, unpack, settle in, bless the place and decorate before Jasper even figured out where he would be able to stay. He, too, was in a dorm, but one of the ones that people often rumored about how terrible they were, etc. It was all that he could currently afford, and he’d have to get to work very quickly if he wanted to be able to survive another semester!

“The Leo man craves fun and excitement and nothing is more displeasing than being home alone or with one other person."

Jasper honestly didn’t feel above any particular type of work. He was willing to try anything, if it meant that he could buy all of his books for class and still eat regularly. He figured that his tuition and lodging were probably the most important, so that was what he paid first, then he remembered that he might need supplies, and he didn’t even fathom the cost of books. Like… for what purpose? How could ANY book be worth what these were??? 

“Do you need help with anything?” Charlotte had asked him, a hint of concern in her voice as she stared at her worn out lover, this being the first time she’d been able to actually see him in a couple of weeks.

“No!” He said and laughed, shaking his head. He needed help with everything. But, he’d be damned if he told Charlotte that and made her worry, or worst - feel bad for him. “I’m just tired and I’ve missed you,” he told her (which was true, even if it wasn’t the whole truth).

“I’m sorry. I’ve tried to free up some time for us, but I put our schedules in my calendar and it’s a biweekly, sometimes monthly match up possibility at best, for like, this entire semester.” They both frowned, until she changed the subject, “Have you talked to Henry?” She asked, a little more cheerfully.

“Have I talked to Henry? I’ve hardly been able to talk to you! Have you talked to him?”

“Yes. We have free Wednesday nights, after I’m done with my lab, so that’s the time that we have scheduled our phone calls. I’m thinking I’ll probably head home every other weekend, for right now. Until I’ve adjusted, more, to being away. What do you think?”

He shrugged his shoulders, “I’m working every weekend, so I can’t come along. But, tell everybody that I said ‘hey.”

“You know… You could try to call them?” She held out her hands in a shrug. Jasper seemed a little moody or something. Maybe he was homesick. Maybe he missed Henry, the Man Cave, hell, maybe he missed his mom. She didn’t know for sure, because he wasn’t telling her something.

“Yeah, I know. I just don’t really have anything to say, yet. I’m working two part time jobs, pledging to a fraternity, getting my ass handed to me by entry level college classes…” He shut up abruptly. He didn’t want to spend what little time he had with Charlotte whining. But, he must’ve needed to vent, because he couldn’t help but to mutter, “Maybe, I’ve overshot my capabilities with this.” She furrowed her eyebrows and he immediately regretted admitting that.

“I don’t think that you did. I think that you’re selling yourself short right now, though. What are you having problems with? I can help you study!”

“You just said like 10 minutes ago that you’d only be able to see me like once every two or three weeks!”

“Can you only study with people in person? I was gonna do so over the phone or video call or something. You can even send me images of your chapter pages (or lend me your book) and I can notate what you’ll most likely be expected to know.”

“That… Sounds like you putting a lot into me not failing.”

“Maybe. But, I mean… If you fail, we fail. We’re a team, still, right?” She made a pouting face and he melted against her.

“Of course. Char… I’m… Everything’s not okay...” 

She nodded her head and stroked his hair with her fingertips as he rested on her tiny shoulder. “I could tell. But… You know that it’s gonna be okay, right? You don’t have to do any of this by yourself, Jasper. I’m busy, but I can figure out how to make time for you.” He squeezed her tightly and then actually fell asleep in the cafe, on her shoulder. He hadn’t really slept well since they’d been in college and he never got the chance to lay down with her anymore and well… *Snore sounds*

"During Happy times the Leo man can bring out the most of loving side of the Taurus woman and he can boost her confidence and self-esteem too. She in turn can offer him some grounded common sense for his more airy fairy grandiose plans and she supports him through thick and thin."

Yes, Jasper worked every weekend. He did overnight stocking at a home improvement store every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night. Yes, he also had classes on Monday mornings, and yes, he also had pledge things taking place during this time. His other job was simpler. He cleaned up at a tattoo shop right outside of campus Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings. Fortunately, all of his classes were on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. 

SO, if he got himself some sleep late Monday night, he slept well into Tuesday. He also slept late Wednesday, into Thursday, and a few hours on Thursday night between closing the tattoo shop and Friday morning class, and a few hours Friday afternoon until his nighttime shift on Friday. Saturday mornings he slept unless he was asked to pick up a few hours at the tattoo shop. Sunday, he HAD to sleep all day, because once he got up for his night shift, he wasn’t even going to see his bed again until the following night. 

Charlotte had planned to spend every other weekend in Swellview, but the weekends that she stayed around campus, she asked Jasper if she could come over. He’d be asleep, but if he really wanted to sleep well, he’d NEED her there. Plus… they really didn’t get that much time together, considering how close they lived to each other. Her first few visits, she was most concerned with the condition of his dorm. Not in the way that people rumored about - the crime in the neighborhood, or the alleged pests, and slow management. But… It was a mess. 

When she got there on Friday, he’d told her that he’d be awake and waiting for her. He was asleep and she was fine with that. He needed that sleep, based upon his terrible schedule that she’d tried to talk him out of. She began to pick up his things and place them in mplaces that made the most sense to her. He didn’t seem to have any rhyme or reason to this mess, but knowing Jasper, he probably did, or at least had gotten used to it and controlled the chaos mentally, somehow.

While she was cleaning, she accidentally woke up his computer and saw several open tabs of payments that he’d made, and a calendar where he was trying to figure out when to pay what. She took a seat in front of the screen and began to study the tabs and make some notes. She was there for a while, and eventually got up and finished cleaning. She returned to the computer a few more times along the way.

Jasper’s alarm sounded on his phone and he jumped up and gasped when he saw a clean, organized room and desk. Charlotte came from the bathroom, cleaned up and a little dolled up, but in night clothes. “Hey, Sleepyhead,” she said, positively glowing as she sat down next to him.

Jasper shook his head, “I’m so sorry that I fell asleep and we didn’t really get to spend any time together!”

“I expected you to fall to sleep. It’s good, Jasper. I had a chance to get some things done for you that I suppose you haven’t had the energy to do.”

“Yeah. Sorry about that too. I should’ve cleaned up before saying you could come over. My punishment is now I probably won’t know where any of my stuff is.”

“It’s in places that make perfectly good sense, but since I presumed that what makes sense to you is likely different from me, I made you a list.” She pointed to the computer. He mouthed a thank you to the skies. “I also got all up in your financial business.” He frowned. “Jasper, before we started dating, you’d ask me for help with anything in the world, from popping pimples to feeling how sweaty you are. I’m not sure why you didn’t want to come to me for help with this, but whatever your reasons, I made some decisions for you. I set up a budget for you based upon what you have to pay and what you make. I set everything to automatic withdrawals from your account on dates that made the most sense. I also signed you back up for that text therapy, because you can afford it and you need it, so if that’s too much of an issue, I’ll just wire you the total every time. If you won’t talk to me, I need to know that you’ll talk to someone. Plus, I arranged for weekly grocery deliveries. There’s a co-op place on campus that puts together nutritious grocery lists and you can add on or take away whatever they have for a certain additional fee. They deliver it to you at your convenience each week, even if your time slot changes. You just need to let them know at least 24 hours before the delivery. And, I’ve also allocated a percentage of your checks to go into savings, too. On this budget, you still wind up with an additional $200 every paycheck for whatever else.”

“WHAT?”

“Yeah, you can afford to pay your bills, eat, put some into savings and still have $200 left over… if your schedule stays the way that it is for the rest of the semester with your current pay. So… buy something nice for yourself or something. You deserve it.”

“No, you deserve it! Thank you for this. I wouldn’t have ever thought of that and I’ve just been eating on the run and buying the cheapest of everything whatsoever and…” He pulled her to him and kissed her. 

“So, did I earn a little… something…?” She gave him the look and he knew it was about to be ON before his shift tonight. She deserved it.

"The Taurus woman can be very possessive in love and quite jealous, but the Leo man doesn't mind this. In fact, probably enjoys it and finds it flattering. In reality he is unlikely to stray far which is reassuring for the Taurus woman who is seeking stability and commitment."

The twelve weeks that Jasper was pledging to his father’s old fraternity was hell. Not even because of the frat, but because of his personal life. He had gotten a little depressed working as hard as he worked and after a while, wanted to at least do something fun. So, he asked the tattoo shop owner about possibly becoming an apprentice. He was told to create a portfolio and after that, his boss would decide. 

Jasper worked on some sketches in his little free time (usually at the shop whenever he didn’t really have much cleaning to do), and whenever Charlotte came over on his weekends, he drew different designs on her. “Jasper, this isn’t the same thing. Drawing on skin with a pen isn’t the same as when you’re drawing into someone’s skin with a needle…”

“I know. I just need to practice what I can,” he said. Charlotte ended up with all kinds of tattoo sketch potentials on her body over the weeks.

She was in Swellview and Henry nearly passed out, “WHAT is that???” He wondered. She looked in the direction of his eyesight and saw the orisha goddess she’d requested on her side, peeking out. 

She laughed and raised her shirt a little more to show him. “Have you not been paying any attention to Jasper’s twitflash? He’s been using me as a canvas to practice sketches for a portfolio to be a tattoo apprentice.”

“That’s what those were? I didn’t really understand what I was looking at.” He opened the app to go check it out and wound up going through liking every single one of them.

“The apprenticeship would be unpaid, of course, but I’m hoping that he gets it, because once he gets a license, he’d be able to possibly make a lot of money. College kids are always at that tattoo shop.”

“Yeah, these photos have a lot of comments about how people want him to do theirs whenever they get one,” Henry said.

“People, or girls?”

Henry laughed, “Aren’t girls people?” She rolled her eyes. “Uh oh, I feel like I missed something.”

“So. He’s past pledging now and living in the frat house. It’s a little cheaper than his sucky dorm that he was in, so I’m glad for that. Plus, it’s more space there for him, despite all the guys that live there. Now, all of a sudden, all these women know who he is and they just… irritate me, is all.”

“That’s all?” 

“Yep.”

“Okay, then.” She could tell from Henry’s face that he knew that wasn’t the case, but he didn’t press, so she spilled it herself. 

Basically, during Hell Week, Jasper and other pledges were moving their things into the frat house wearing nothing but loincloths and sandals. Their sister sorority came out to ogle them and make unnecessary comments and whatnot and post pics and videos on their socmed. Charlotte never really got into the frat boy stuff that Jasper was doing, because it was frat boy stuff and she wasn’t interested. However, as Jasper is Jasper, of course, some manner of calamity has to follow him around. This particular event it manifested itself in the form of a wardrobe malfunction while he was carrying a box. Several frat brothers expressed that it would be illegal to post any images of said malfunction, though everyone present had a good laugh about it, and at least 30 girls got a good eyeful as he had to set the box down then figure out how to get that little piece of cloth back around his junk… which Charlotte discovered from all the upcoming whispers is pretty nicely sized.

She didn’t have anything to compare it to, so she figured that the size was great to her, but for some reason, other people knowing what he was working with and the increase of a following that he got afterwards, unnerved her. He always had women sliding into his DMs now and he laughed it off, but she knew that he liked the attention and it frustrated her that he did.

She wasn’t trying to be that way, but in her mind, what Jasper had was hers and she felt like she needed to reinforce that to others on several occasions. Whenever the sister sorority pledges had Mingle Night and Jasper had to take off work on the weekend to attend, she was frustrated that he could find it in him to ask for time off for that, but not to go to Swellview with her, any of the trips that she had made. She made one comment about it, but wouldn’t dwell on it, at least not out loud, anyway.

She usually skipped parties, so the time that he would make for social events, she either had to tough out a crowd of people that she didn’t really care for, or wonder how his night was going and who was taking up his time and space throughout the course of it. She was the one who had to try to make more time for them. She asked Henry if it was possible for him to visit them, for a change in October and it became a practice for her to visit Swellview once a month and Henry to visit them once a month. (Henry rarely saw Jasper whenever he did visit, though.

“Where are we going?” He’d asked as they were heading deeper into the campus. 

“The outer gym,” she said.

“The outer gym?” Henry repeated.

“Yeah. Jasper has Dodge-a-leen training, then kite disc practice. He’ll be happy to see you!” Henry made a confused face, because did she say “kite disc” practice? “Dude, you really ought to at least glance at Jasper’s social media at some point.”

“I don’t even really have the time to glance at mine! I’ve been in college, too, Dude. Studying to try to be the heir to Junk N Stuff, plus training hard and working nonstop to take up the Man Cave duties. I only study during the week, sometimes on missions, because my time is so pressed. I do most of the night patrolling by myself. If you hadn’t set a call schedule for us, I’d probably talk to you just as much as I get to talk to Jasper… HELLO!” He said upon coming to the crowded seating area and seeing a bunch of pretty ladies in the bleachers. Some of them had on practice uniforms - cheerleaders, drill team, pep squad, etc. They were practicing, or having meetings. Others just seemed to be there. 

“Our spot is over here,” Charlotte said. She had a spot. It was where several of the “alternative sports” fans sat. Alternative sports was what they were calling what Charlotte thought of as “fake sports” or at the very least “sweaty games.” Like Dodge-a-leen, which should not exist, in her opinion, but did and had an entire team that would go to competitions, representing the school. Jasper met a girl that he did a tattoo for who played something called kite disc, which was like frisbee playing, but with a damned kite attached to the discs. Players had to fly the kite and throw the disc to a partner, who in turn had to do the same. She hated it. But, Jasper immediately loved it, joined the growing league and fought for a team to be formed on the campus. She still couldn’t tell if she was impressed or something else about it. 

As they settled into her spot, she asked Henry, “So, if you haven’t talked to Jasper, I guess he hasn’t told you about his new best friend?” She pointed at a tall, blond girl who was getting the equipment ready for kite disc practice while the Dodge-a-leen team was practicing several yards away. The blond girl waved at Charlotte and she waved back, hoping that her stank face wasn’t on.

“Um, no. Jasper has no new best friend, but whoever that is, is hot.” Henry admitted. Charlotte rolled her eyes. “Who is she?”

“They call her Ghost. Jasper calls her Casper, because he says that she’s a “friendly ghost.” She’s an athlete here. She loves kites and discs, so whenever kite disc was created, she jumped in and she’s the reason that Jasper took on another fake sport, despite his already busy schedule. They’re together A LOT. Jasper and Casper. Everyone knows he has a girlfriend, but most people think that’s her.”

Henry laughed, then apologized. “Well, do you like her? Is she good people?”

“She’s okay, I guess. I don’t really know much about her. She always tries to be really nice. She loves all the photos that Jasper posts of me and she seems to happy to see me whenever we cross paths. But… She’s super close with my boyfriend, you know? And I know that shouldn’t bother me, because Jasper is capable of having a platonic friendship with a woman in very close proximity. We did that for YEARS, but, then again… it eventually grew into something else and now, even that is… changing.” She said the last word so sadly that it startled Henry and he looked at her, watching Jasper, sweaty and pouring water down his throat now that Dodge-a-leen practice was ending.

“Hey… You two alright?” Henry wondered. She shrugged her shoulders. He felt bad that he didn’t know more about this. These were supposed to be his two best friends, and while he was grateful that he still had regular contact with one of them (he and Jasper did talk, but only in small intervals, or very spaced out conversations, the last one being weeks ago). Jasper was rushing over to Casper. They hugged and immediately started talking and laughing. Hello hugs, huh? Henry couldn’t say that was weird, not knowing whatever changes Jasper had made and not knowing Casper, at all. But, she pointed over to where they were and Jasper only just noticed him. He felt a way about that. Jasper smiled and came rushing over to greet him.

“Henry!” He cheered. “What are you doing here?” He didn’t hug Charlotte, Henry noticed, but maybe that was because he was all sweaty. But… he was all sweaty when he hugged that other girl. Maybe she didn’t mind? 

“Ummm… Visiting. You took my friend’s Swellview visits away, so I gotta come all the way here to see her and I guess you too,” he joked. 

Jasper looked like there was a slight flinch in his face for a moment, then he nodded and said, “I’m glad you’re here. Where are you gonna sleep?”

“Char’s dorm,” Henry said. 

Now, Jasper definitely looked a way. “There’s more room in the frat house. You’re perfectly welcome to crash there.” Charlotte and Henry both looked surprised by that suggestion. He noticed and expounded, “I know we’re all friends, but we’re also grown, Bro. I don’t really want you and my girlfriend sleeping in the same bed.” He shrugged his shoulders and kissed her on the nose. “I gotta get back. We’ll talk after.” He rushed down the bleachers and back to the field and Henry was still stunned.

“Was… was he serious?” Henry asked. “You and me have been sharing a bed since before you even felt comfortable using the word ‘friend’ to describe him and now he wants to call dibs or something?”

She sighed and shrugged her shoulders, “I mean, I guess he has a point, but it’s not like with me and you anything would ever happen.”

“Right. Even if either of us was remotely attracted to the other, neither of us would do that to him, or to our friendship! The nerve of him to suggest it, meanwhile, he’s giving that one girl sweaty hugs in front of everybody, knowing that you’re jealous of her and that people think that she’s his girlfriend!”

Charlotte scoffed, “What do you mean, I’m jealous of her?”

“Don’t try to play me, Dude. I saw it within five minutes.”

She flared her nostrils. He was right. “Well, you know… Jasper doesn’t always see the things that we see. He’s you know… innocent in a way. Well, innocent isn’t the right word. Naive.”

“He thinks because the ladies gossip about his big old thang he’s gotta come over here swinging it around?” Charlotte wanted to greet that comment with disdain, but she laughed, in spite of herself. Henry stood up, gesturing swinging around a big… package… and saying, “Don’t get in bed with my girlfriend like you’ve been doing for most of your life. Sleep thirty minutes away at the jock campus for less smart people in the institution…”

“Henry, stop!” Charlotte said, suddenly not enjoying it anymore. “This is their campus! And… that’s not even entirely true. This isn’t a movie, Guy. If you wanna stay in college or on a team, even a fake sports team, you’ve gotta make the grades. Jasper has excellent grades. He’s on the dean’s list, here.” Henry stopped and sat down, looking confused. “I help him study with the stuff he doesn’t get and the stuff that he does get, he tends to take in right away, so…”

“You help him study science and math, right? And the dude that once said batteries was gonna be the next power source is on the dean’s list?” Henry asked.

“Why do you do this to him?” Charlotte asked.

“What do I do?”

“You act like he’s stupider than what he is. He’s your best friend and you’re talking about him like he’s some brute that knocked into you at a bar.”

“I think that you’re maybe getting defensive. I was just fooling around. I love Jasp, you know that. It was honest fun. I’d pick with him the same way.”

“Yeah, he doesn’t like that. You know what he likes? Whenever people tell him he’s great and awesome and they love to just be around him and don’t fuss at him for getting sweat on them in his excitement to see them or crack jokes on stupid stuff that he’s said impulsively, because he thought he had to answer right away. He’s… already replacing you, Hen. For all we know, he’s already replacing me.” She messed with her fingertips. “He’s not as… interested as he used to be… in… you know…” Henry frowned. He was always interested in that area of their lives, but he certainly didn’t want to dive into it when they were having problems. “And I can’t help but wonder if it’s because here, I’M the lucky one. Here, he’s a budding superstar. Everyone loves him. He’s the life of the party, the heart of the team… I’m his uptight girlfriend who gets mistaken as his tutor, like all of the time, even with some of his frat brothers.” She laughed a little, then wiped her eyes, feeling silly for feeling how she felt.

“Have you talked to him about this?”

“Not in these exact words. Because, they sound pathetic, right? I’m out here at practices for stuff I don’t care about, just to get to spend more time with him. He has a ton of people to spend time with. I haven’t made one friend since I got here. I mean… I’ve already got TWO! I didn’t think I needed to add any, but he stays adding them in. Adding so many, I can’t even figure out where I fit anymore…” She felt like she was going to start crying and looked like it, so Henry sat next to her and wrapped an arm around her to pull her in, in case she needed that. Jasper noticed, from the field and missed catching a disc, which the kite  was taking away, into the sky. He quickly caught himself and grabbed a grounding shot (it was just a sticky ball, heavier than the kite that if you threw it and it stuck to the disc, it weighed it down enough to bring it back. He got it, then he looked at Henry and Charlotte again, frustrated.

Intimate relationships between Leo men and Taurus women can be a flip of the coin. Either or troubled, and not for lack of effort. The innate stubbornness of both signs tends to rear its ugly head here most frequently.

If Henry was staying at Charlotte’s, so was Jasper, or if he had to ask Charlotte to stay over at the frat house to get Henry to stay, whatever, he wasn’t gonna leave them alone together, though. Charlotte had been insecure lately. Jasper, to the best of his ability, tried to reassure her that he wasn’t interested in any other women and that he wasn’t “tired of” her. That was a ridiculous thought. Had their sex life been less powerful than when they first started? Well.. Yes, but both of them were extremely busy and they really were just kind of squeezing in sexual stuff where they could fit it. Plus, he felt like she was just doing it nowadays to thwart him from cheating or looking around - stuff he wasn’t gonna do, anyway. 

The best that it got for them was study sessions. Charlotte would make mock tests to help him study and they were multiple choice, which he answered by touching her in certain places. It was an amazing way to recall the information. He spent tests thinking about how it felt to touch her body and look into her eyes whenever she said an answer was correct and honestly… it was how he wound up getting all A’s now. He’d never been able to do so in the past. He’d make A’s in stuff he understood and be so far off on the stuff that he didn’t understand that his mother thought that he was either cheating in most of his classes, or “mentally retarded at math and science,” which he had to repeatedly tell her wasn’t appropriate and not actually a thing. Charlotte had convinced him to take an aptitude test their junior year, but he got nervous and felt so weird about it that the results weren’t accurate. 

She got him to take another their senior year, at the end of the year and it was actually pretty helpful and put his talents into perspective. It made him more confident about finding some direction. Charlotte always added to his life and enhanced it. He didn’t know what condition he would be in without her. He seriously thought that if they weren’t together, he might be one of those people who was so filled with excitement and fervor who went into the world, got beat down and lost the light in their eyes. Instead, she magnified it. And yes, other people were noticing him, other women… but, he couldn’t understand why she would think that would mean that he would notice them. 

She still also had time for Henry. He hadn’t been able to squeeze their best friend into his schedule, but figured that they both drifting away from him. Now, he felt like he was the one drifting away from them, and if he wasn’t careful, Charlotte might wind up being Henry’s light, instead. “That’s crazy!” He told himself, brushing his teeth in the locker room after his shower. “That’s crazy.” But, if there was one man that he feared MIGHT be able to get Char’s attention, it was Henry. He didn’t like feeling that way, because he wasn’t a jealous person, at all. In fact, Charlotte had accused him of not even caring if guys flirted with her (which technically, he didn’t) because he figured that it was the same for her as for him - nonfactors. It was only when she looked uncomfortable or like she might be being harrassed that he usually jumped in, ready to defend her space and her comfort. Jasper wasn’t a jealous person, no. But, he was extremely protective, especially of her. He wasn’t a jealous person, until it came to Henry and her. He wasn’t sure when it started, but whenever he saw them together, still happy to see each other. Still having fun, something possessive and territorial was stirred up in him. 

He remembered things that he hadn’t really thought about in years or cared much about whenever he had thought about them - how people used to always think they were together, how they were friends almost automatically and he tried to become friends with Charlotte because he was scared she might steal his best friend. Even though she didn’t like him and never regarded him with warmth, he took a liking to her because she was Henry’s friend, therefore, they had to be friends or he might not be able to spend as much time with Henry! And then there were the dreams that they were having about each other shortly before she and Jasper became a thing. He never knew for sure if Henry didn’t actually have some feelings for her, the way that he kept trying to butt in when they were building their foundation. Now, they were on some shaky ground and Jasper just felt uncomfortable with Henry being there, with them like this.

He was overcompensating. He knew it, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself. Charlotte… didn’t seem as flattered as he was whenever she was acting crazy over him, but she didn’t call him out, either. She just sort of gave him disapproving looks and rubbed his shoulders a lot to smooth him over. Henry was another story. They bickered about his behavior, then they went on to bicker about the time that they weren’t spending together, and it eventually got to the point where Jasper said, “Our entire lives, I’ve had to be the one to always reach out to you, to come to you, to back you up and support you and be your friend. So, I decided that I was gonna focus on me a little bit more and you know what happened, Henry? We stopped being friends, because you can’t even be bothered to toss me a like on Twitflash and if I don’t call you first, THIS is what we have. We didn’t drift apart. I stopped reaching out to you and now you’re seeing just how much I was the one doing so.” Jasper’s fists were clenched and he added, “Charlotte’s the only person who ever makes an effort for me, and just… Don’t try to get in the way of that, okay?” 

Henry was floored. Why would he ever try to…? Jasper got up, eyes red and damp, embarrassed and worried about how Charlotte would take that outburst. “I’m gonna go ahead and get out of your way and stop ruining everyone's good time. Call me when you get home safe.” He dared a kiss on her cheek, but she was looking stunned, still. She followed him outside. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say all of that…”

She shook her head and threw her hands into the air, “Jasper… I understand that you’re doing a lot of finding yourself and maybe that means that you and Hen don’t make it, but… I have to admit that I’m insulted that you for whatever reason think that I don’t have any autonomy in our friendship. Henry can’t get in the way of what goals I set for myself. Henry can’t damage something if it’s something that I’m working on, and whatever issues that you have with Henry, you two can try to talk out, but leave me out of it. I’m not taking any sides of something that I have nothing to do with, with two people that I love. It’s not fair.”

“I said I’m sorry, Char. I’m tired. I have to go home and get some sleep.”

“Okay,” she said, sounding and feeling defeated. Jasper gave her a hug. A desperate, tight, but soft thing that she sank into and just wanted to vanish with him inside of. But, then it was over and he was walking away. She felt like he probably needed her to go with him and stay with him, but Henry was inside and he was the one who had traveled the three hours to see her when Jasper most of the time didn’t travel the 30 minutes to do the same. She stayed with Henry and apologized for whatever that was. He brushed it off and insisted that he’d just do better, be a better friend. But, whenever he’d reach out to Jasper after that night, he was less available than before.

By the summer break, Jasper was definitely taking summer off of school, unlike Charlotte, who not only still had classes, but classes everyday. Henry wasn’t taking summer classes, either. Both of them had a chance to squash everything. In fact, Charlotte suggested that Jasper spend some time in Swellview, since he’d have more time. But, Jasper didn’t want to leave her when he finally had time to work on them. So, he was working and saving up for the upcoming semester, summer training for his alternative sports teams, doing community stuff with his fraternity since he was staying in the house but not in classes, and doing his apprenticeship too. His art was getting good. And people were super into getting free tats from Jasper Dunlop, aka Big Dog. Charlotte had gotten more used to sharing him with a fan base.

He began vlogging whenever he started his apprenticeship and called his channel ExJasperation, but still would use it if he ever decided to go back to podcasts. He talked about his friends, his frat brothers, his girlfriend. Charlotte didn’t make the time to watch his channel, but she’d hear things about it whenever she was on the other campus, or in the frat house. She got used to sharing him with an audience. He enjoyed being noticed. He enjoyed the limelight. She just had to shrink back a little, to make sure that she didn’t wind up in it. She didn’t care too much for that. Not in these settings, at least. 

She was doing great in her academic circles, though. Not getting close to people. It was more like being in a room full of loners who loved their fields of work and could muster up the energy to talk about that for a while, then go back to their own devices. Even her calls with Henry decreased and visits became less doable, too. Sophomore year, they spoke less and saw each other occasionally. Junior year… seldom. And Jasper hadn’t really seen or talked to Henry at all, not including a few likes and comments on their social media every now and then.

Junior year marked a lot of significant changes, for all three of them.