#( queue // dear future self ; i hope it's going well )

[solarflaretm]

“ what the hell do you MEAN he’s a claymore user ?? ” how dare they share a weapon . diluc stares at his in contempt . “ that’s it , i’m becoming a catalyst user . ”

[heartsunholy]

Open » Aurora Beaumont

“Oh, trust me. I’ve got a million commission horror stories. Did I ever tell you about the one time a guy thought that taking me out on a date was significant payment for designing a website for his shitty band?”

[heartsunholy]

@damagecompiilation​

horror is a romance genre

[softheartstm]

tag drop 15/? - ooc

[solarflaretm]

“ it's always ‘ who is the darknight hero ’ , and never ‘ how is the darknight hero ’ . . . ”

[heartsunholy]

Open » Giselle Legume

“Okay…be honest,” she murmurs, avoiding the other’s gaze and instead, looking at the dress she wore. A dress. An actual dress made for her, not just an old garment of her mother’s. “I don’t really…wear stuff like this. I mean, Dad still doesn’t know, so I don’t really…ugh, I look stupid, don’t I?”

[heartsunholy]

@damagecompiilation​

they are watching.. true crime documentaries together.... 🥺👉👈♥️♥️♥️

[onyourzeus]

11:48 am | pjh

title: 11:48am pairing: park jaehyung (of day6) & you genre: fluff, bullet style words: 2.1k

author’s note: mmm i’m kind of meh about this but i jus really needed to write so i don’t lose motivation, but this is just a short fic requested by this anon asking for a lazy day scenario with jae. hope it’s still an okay read.

any requests? check my pinned post if i’m accepting any at the moment, thanks!

once you receive a specific text from jae on a regular day

“whatchu doinnnn” 

you know he’s wondering if you’re not busy, and if you come hang out at his place

which, for the majority of the time, you always tell him “not much. y?”

even though you’re 99% sure of what he wants out of you

you have already made your way to a coffee shop before he had replied 

“same. wanna do nothing together? :)”

so u get two coffees: one americano and one vanilla latte (as much as you want to cut down calories here, there is no way you can drink just water and espresso by itself

you decide on getting two sandwiches as well, it’s close to noon and there’s a high probability that jae just woke up and he hasn’t even moved from the bed

you’re lowkey happy that jae texts you first (assumingly) during days like this because, honestly you miss the 6 foot lanky nerdy soft boy a lot

jae has a habit of keeping to himself during his downtime, especially now 

but with him streaming and having new friends through the platform has helped him socialize and feel a sense of normalcy from the world, which you are really glad for 

he’s mentioned how much he misses doing band activities but doesn’t really elaborate on them

he think he talks about it too much and that you wouldn’t want to hear his repetitive whining

you don’t have the needed bravery in your heart (yet) to tell him you will never get bored or feel burdened by his thoughts, no matter what they entail

so for now, when he asks of your presence in his lovely abode— you make time for him. always. 

even if it’s just a lazy day of doing nothing

you knock on his door and text him at the same time. you look around his neighborhood and enjoy the peace and quiet outside. you wonder if jae’s soundproof walls work well enough for his next door neighbors this time. you had told him multiple times that sungjin wouldn’t appreciate the noise too much, and he if he wanted to play he can do so at your place 

however you never suggested that last thought. it swam in the sea of your thoughts one too many times but it never came to shore. you thought too much about the implications of that idea

besides, what good came out of reminding him of his streamer noises is that he finally has an apartment of his own

and you don’t feel as shy or out of place whenever you came over to the one he shared with the boys 

“oh hey, wasn’t expecting you,” jae had opened the door and you snap out of your wondering

he greets you with drowsy eyes, a full yawn and long strands of hair sticking out everywhere 

you huff out a breath and show the goods in your hands. “you’re definitely gonna need this.”

his eyes light up as he recognizes the contents of the paper bag

“whaaaat you shouldn’t have, i was about to order for delivery,” he tries for an innocent tone but the goofy smile on his face makes that extra trip to the cafe worth it

“you’re welcome, jae.”

lazy days with jae come in two ways

number one: absolutely the title. you crash on the bed, he scolds you for it but then you feel his crushing weight on top of you for revenge or

you hog the couch, splay your legs until jae does the same thing and entangles all your limbs together it becomes a semi wrestling match

number two: he’d end up wanting to do something all this time, either jam on his guitar or play WoW with you in the background, just watching

commenting on things you have 0 knowledge about, and him dismissing every words you say with a random scream from his end

“you’re so bad at this lmao”

“NONONO STOPSTOPSTOP NONONO”

“is the riff supposed to sound like that? ew” 

“you want your face to meet my guitar? :)” 

yeah, banter between you can be brutal like this which is why it gets a little embarrassing to be your true self with him when the others are involved 

today, jae seems to just enjoy sipping on his iced coffee while tippy tapping on the floor to sit next to you on the couch

??? how can a grown man do something puppies so effortlessly pull out… just as cute if not even better??? 

usually, silence isn’t how the two of you spend lazy days together. once he’s thought of a topic to talk about, however out of this world or mundane it could be— the conversations you share are what you cherish the most bonding with jae

“you ever think about the first piece of a roll of sliced bread?”

“you mean the weird looking pieces no one ever chooses first and leaves it there until there’s none of the good slices left?”

“the very one” “what about it?”

“you’re that slice of bread”

“well yeah? jokes on you, you’re the OTHER piece. there’s two in a pack dumbass” 

one would mistake this as insulting, but this is how jae shows his affection to you, and you wouldn’t want it any other way

there’s a certain comfort in just.. not deliberating whether you’d overstep a line or say something that would be misconstrued. with jae, you appreciate the candid friendship you mutually benefit from

his sarcastic personality can be a pain at times when not needed, of course, but when you’ve missed him so much it just feels right

“jae your legs are too long for the couch get a new one.” he had taken over the other end of the couch with his legs over yours, and you’re trying your best to make the position comfortable

but being inches close to his socks and noticing that he’s intentionally moving his feet about just to annoy you

“you get me a new couch so we both fit here”

“bro do you know how empty my wallet is rn” 

“as empty as your love life?”

“oh we’re talking about ourselves right now? ok cool”

he scoffs at your comeback, but he remains speechless and gives you room to breathe. you panic for a second thinking maybe, this is the unexplained boundary he has to draw a line on? love? 

but he puts down his already finished americano, and looks back at you a deadpan expression

you sit up as well, nerves creeping up on your arm. you didn’t want to take it too far and in your defense, this isn’t the first time you teased each other about your, well, non-existent romantic endeavors

“jae, i—”

“oh my god did you see your face?? i was kidding chilllll” he starts to burst into a fit of laughter, the kind where he loses air and lolls his head back 

this time you pout, reaching over to flick him on the forehead. his 6th sense had improved a lot overtime being with you as he blocks your hand away from his face, and sticks a tongue out

“you think i wasn’t prepared for that anymore?” he taunt, locking his grip around your wrist

“now you’re just making fun of me” >:(

“you get really puffy cheeks and look adorable when you’re mad” 

“THAT IS NOT A VALID REASON!!”

eventually he lets you go, pats your head then proceeds to just ruffle it as messy as his, and in an instant your mood changes again

you shouldn’t lie to yourself anymore, you love jae’s company and it would kill you if he’d one day decide he’s too old or too “mature” for moments like this

you get winded up with denial of having a crush on your best friend, and you’re so sure he knows at this point

because he reels you back into the present and challenges you to a game os super smash bros

and when he loses, he does it again. and you win again, and this time he says it was just a warm-up and he shouldn’t go easy on you anymore

and then you win again, and you’re the one cackling in the air at his look of defeat as well as the 6 losses he had endured during the matches

“man you’re getting rusty”

“am not! i’ve just been playing WoW too much i’m not used to switch controls anymore…”

“sure buddy”

“HEY, 1v1 me in league right now, i dare you”

“no”

“WHY?”

“you only have one desktop, stupid. i didn’t bring my laptop”

“oh so by default I win :D”

nothing can ever get away with jae, he always needs to have the last laugh with you and at times it’s frustrating, but his carefree charisma has grown on you so much that you anticipate what else he has in store to give you a hard time 

jokes on him, you fall for jae just an inch deeper the more he treats you comfortably this way 

it’s only been an hour or two, but jae had decided that he’s done enough productive stuff for the day (read: losing too many times) and invited you over to chill on his bed

it’s not an uncommon sight for the both of you to lie next to each other, taking turns with queueing up music on spotify. songs you and jae love together, and those that are new to your ears 

sometimes, you’d talk over the playlist— it becomes more of background noise as jae asks you about your day, the days before that, and what you’re planning on doing in the future

he doesn’t ask for specific answers, he likes to hear how you’ve been feeling, emotionally so

jae has always been intrigued by other people’s perception of themselves, of the things around them, and of what they think of the universe in the back of their minds

it was a little too much to handle, those questions of his, when you first were just getting to know each other

but he eased into it naturally, confessing about his love for the moon— its beauty in appearance, and the beauty of its purpose

which made you think… you’re in love with the moon too, not just what you see in the sky

but what you see right next to you right now

jae had given you enough time before to open up about your own thoughts, struggles, and share secrets with him. it didn’t take long until you found the trust between you and held onto it for dear life

lazy days with jae can be just that— lazy, loafing around the house, stealing a chip or two from each other’s bag, falling asleep to the sound of lofi music on the speaker

but it can go this way too: with jae explaining how good this one song can be, the metaphors every verse carries with the melody. “you’ve always heard of chocolate eyes or whatever, but blueberry? and to describe the setting sun as strawberry skies? amazing, GENIUS” 

and you laugh, and listen to the same song over and over as per jae’s request until he overpowers the original vocals— and you don’t complain, there’s not a sound you love to hear on a lazy afternoon than his low register, the kind of singing he does just for the heck of it. he’s not exerting too much range, too much work on the words he sings— he’s just doing so to comfort him, to bring life to the room, to dwell on each poetic verse’s meaning

i’m so lost in your blueberry eyes

he finishes singing, and the playlist shuffles to an instrumental lofi track with an upbeat, charming rhythm to it

jae keeps his eyes closed, smiling to himself probably proud for his faux performance

“you done gloating in your head yet, jae?”

“shut up i’m feeling the moment”

you poke his shoulder with yours, and you’re suddenly hyper aware at how close the two of you are.. physically, right now

he turns his head towards you, eyes fluttering, lips slightly open. he catches you staring, and it’s too sudden for you to look away and pretend it’s not awkward at all

“what are you doing?” he asks, a lilt of teasing on his voice but his eyes never leave yours 

“sh..shut up,” you quip in a small voice, looking down on your laying bodies before turning away, cheeks warm

“wait what? what i was asking a genuine question—”

“i was.. feeling the moment, okay? god jae you’re annoying” you mutter under your breath, a lousy response to cover up the pounding in your chest

“this moment feels really nice, doesn’t it?” he says next to you, quiet but gentle

you pause for a second, taking in his words and letting go of the smile you’re trying to hold off on

your heart is still racing, but there wasn’t a need to worry about stumbling with your feelings

if jae himself is enjoying your own company right now 

“it is. if it’s with you, it really is.”

[solarflaretm]

“ oh ? you want to see what’s under my eyepatch ? fine , i’ll show you , but it’s a secret , okay ? our little secret . ” * lifts eyepatch to reveal a sharingan underneath *

[heartsunholy]

Open » Alex Flores-Mullner (S.tardew V.alley)

“Oh, shit.” He swears under his breath, jogging towards the other - and towards his fallen gridball. Talk about a bad fumble. “Sorry, my grip slipped. My bad. I didn’t hit you, did I?”

[softheartstm]

@karnakian

Nancy: So, how are you feeling?

Forte: Lately I’ve been experiencing a headache that seems to come and go.

Leon: [Walks in] Forte!

Forte: And it’s back again.

[wakaoujisenhime]

Hi! Can I ask friendship headcanons with Aomine and Kise (not separated)?

A/N: But of course you can! The story will start off at Teiko and follow up until their days in Vorpal Swords. Sadly there had to be some separated parts, but I still hope that you’ll be able to enjoy it nonetheless! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ

Tags: Kise x reader x Aomine ✅  SFW ✅  friendship ✅  fluff ✅ slight angst ✅

━━━━☆ ━━━━☆ ━━━━☆

Teiko:

in the beginning you didn’t know either of them, you only knew their names because of the countless rumors that surrounded them

one day you saw a yellow haired man peek around the corner of the gym like some kind of stalker

“What are you doing?“, you asked.

this was the first time you heard a young man scream with a voice higher than yours

“What’s with all that noise out there?”

the two of you were caught by a dark blue haired boy...

your mouth was being covering by the yellow haired boy while you tried to break free from his grasp and held onto his uniform

all in all you looked like a cute couple that was bickering over something

“The hell Kise it’s you again?“

Kise?

“Aominecchi this is not what it looks like!“

Aomine?

So that’s them...

and that was your first encounter with your future best friends

.

the day after that little escapade, Kise personally came to your classroom to apologize just in case that he had bothered you in any way

you used that chance to strike up a conversation with him

the first topic you brought up was why he was loitering in front of the gym

Kise explained his whole life story to you and even if it was tmi sometimes you kept on listening

“So why don’t you just join the basketball team?“

congratulations my dear reader you just earned yourself a ‘-cchi’ ending to your name!

since that day Kise has been dragging you to the gym

he wanted to show you his own improvements and make you proud that way

one day Aomine sat down next to you and began throwing question after question at you

“You his girlfriend?”

“Since when have you known each other?”

and so on...

after debunking 99.9% of his questions you turned the flow of the conversation around by questioning him

the two of you got along surprisingly well and Kise even stopped his training in order to challenge Aomine to yet another one-on-one

you had to admit that watching both of them go all out just for a simple one-on-one while grinning and laughing was kinda...heartwarming

it made you feel like you had to support them and that amazing friendship rivalry they had going on

so you did

you’d stay behind and wait for them to finish their training

then the three of you would always go to the convenience store and buy something small to eat (sometimes Kise and Aomine will buy it for you as a small thanks for always waiting for them, your protests while waiting at the queue always fall to deaf ears)

sometimes the three of you would go out for a round of street basketball (which was just another excuse for an one-on-one match)

during their match you’d always stand at the sidelines and watch them, but they’d have none of that

“(Y/N), what do you think you’re doing?”

“Come and join us (Y/N)-cchi!”

the typical excuse of not being able to play BB won’t cut it here, because these two will teach you the basics until you’ve mastered them completly

and just in case your skills prove to be GoM-worthy then you should prepare yourself for more incoming challenges from these two

but even good times have their end...

when the whole Generation of Miracles started changing of course your best friends began getting swept away as well

it pained you too see them lose to pride and arrogance

you tried multiple times to convince Aomine that one day there will be someone who can beat him, but sadly he never believed it

he never said it out loud but he was really thankful for your continued support, like REALLY thankful

Kise on the other hand wasn’t changing, but he took the constant victories for granted and that only boosted his ego further

so as his best friend you felt the need to bring him down from his high horse (you basically were a mini version of Kasamatsu)

sadly your meetings and small after school rituals started becoming less and less, additionally your trio was reduced to two duos (Aomine/you and Kise/you)

only once did you manage to get both of them to go out with you and spent some time together (just like the good old days)

that meeting though was just a day before your graduation and I’m pretty sure you know where this is going....

“So (Y/N)...which school will you go to?”

these two had told you their decisions long ago, hoping that you’d follow one of them

guess what...

“I’ll be going to XX high school..”

Kise and Aomine looked at each other, sadness evident on both of their faces

“Guess we’ll be spending less time together huh, (Y/N)-cchi...?”

it was a very sad and heartbroken moment (especially for you)

of course you had always wished for the three of you to go to the same high school, but things just ended up that way and the last thing you wanted to do was choose between one of them

.

..

!! GRADUATION DAY !!

happy faces, crying faces, ...

it was a beautiful day which marked a new beginning for each and every single one of you guys

you were looking for your best friends to say one last goodbye, when you saw them hanging out with the rest of the GoM

what surprised you the most was that apparently all of them were going their separate ways

their small meeting was over quite quickly and that’s when Aomine and Kise finally noticed you

seeing them smile at you, brought tears to your eyes and soon you started crying

both of them were so shocked that they began throwing question after question at your sobbing self

instead of answering them you just wrapped your arms around them in a tight embrace

“You guys...promise me that we’ll continue staying friends, no matter the distance between us.”

seeing you that vulnerable triggered something inside of them, that made them regret how they’ve treated you these past few years, so instead of answering you they just returned your embrace

XX high school:

it was lonely without having both of them by your side, but you still had contact with them (as promised)

whenever you could you’d FaceTime each other and the one of you would always tell the other two what’s going on in their life at the moment

you once decided to surprise them on their birthday by visiting their school

Kise’s birthday was first so you went to Kaijo

what do you think were the chances of you meeting Kasamatsu?

in all honesty...they were quite high considering how you were standing at the entrance gate, looking around all afraid that you might have ended up at the wrong school

he was on his way to the gym and when he saw you looking like a lost puppy he just had to help you out

“Hey, are you perhaps lost?”

“I-I’m sorry I’m just looking for someone.”

when you started describing Kise, the captain’s face instantly went from sweet and welcoming to annoyed and mad

“You another one of his girlfriends?”

that statement should’ve insulted you, but all you did was laugh at that

“Don’t tell me his fan club followed him till here.”

Kasamatsu and you became the greatest friends right then and there

when you entered the gym after he announced your visit to his entire team, the blonde tackled you which almost made you fall over

after that...Kise was screamed at and kicked by Kasamatsu while the rest of his team either eyed you suspiciously, flirted with you (Moriyama) or was trying to get to know you

it was a fun day and it ended on a fluffy note (Kise was so overjoyed that you had bought him a birthday present and were here to give it to him in person that he hugged you for minutes and treated you to a cake slice in his favorite bakery)

.

now onto Aomine’s birthday

you were in the exact same situation like how you were back then at Kaijo, but this time you really didn’t know where to go to (Too academy was to big of a place for a visitor like you)

the man who picked you up this time was none other than the coach himself

when you mentioned Aomine you could’ve sworn that he was about to kill the next person who came across

“Wish I knew that myself...”

seeing your confused face Harasawa explained all the problems he and the team had faced alongside Aomine

you were not happy

you were MAD

“Coach...do you have his phone number?”

that man was embarrassed of himself because he actually got intimidated by your sudden change in personality

he brought you to the gym explaining that Momoi was the person you should talk to

when you arrived the whole team once again eyed you suspiciously

the pink haired girl was the only welcoming person there

she hugged you and both of you went ahead and began reminiscing of the good old days

“(Y/N)-chan, go ahead and give him a call”

it took you a total of five attempts to reach him and when he finally picked up you wasted no time with greetings

that day Too’s basketball team witnessed what real fury looked like (even Wakamatsu was at a loss for words)

when you finished your one sided call it didn’t take Aomine long to arrive

I’m sure you can imagine the faces of his team members ;)

on that day, the team finally experienced what a real training felt like and all that thanks to you and the constant motivational remarks you threw at the birthday boy (‘motivational remarks’ such as: Kise could’ve done that way better! You think you can impress all of those gravure models like that? Hold the ball like how you’d hold a woman’s breasts!)

you were the hero of the day

before Aomine went home you gave him his present and made sure to shower him with compliments

in order to hide his happiness and embarrassment, he embraced you and muttered a low ‘thank you’

.

..

...

like the good friend you were you made sure to go on every match they had and support/root for them

when the first round of the Winter Cup (Seirin vs Too) ended, you were waiting outside the hall for your friend as always, when Aomine suddenly called you

your heart almost jumped out of your chest as you heard him sniff and sob silently

“(Y/N)...I-I’m sorry. You were right, you were always right..I’m sorry that I never listened to you, please forgive me..”

you were panicking while your best friend was crying on the phone

after a long attempt to calm him down and find his location out he actually came to you

seeing him stand in front of you, eyes all puffy from crying and his nose running you just motioned him to come and hug you (which he obviously did)

when Aomine was finally calm enough he explained what had him so upset

seeing how he actually cried because of his team’s defeated (just how you had always predicted) made you happy in a way...happy that he finally found what he was looking for

.

..

once again things had to go south...

next match on your list was Too vs Kaijo

you knew that this match was about to determine a LOT of things for your best friends and all you could do was watch them play (you had to held back on cheering them on loudly)

.

..

Kise’s team lost and you were crying (once again), but this time it was out of happiness...

you were happy that the blonde had overcome his admiration for the blue haired man and had actually copied his style for the first time

with this, both boys had gotten what they deserved and it made them grow out of that shell they had built up from their Teiko days

Vorpal Swords:

all in all you guys went back to your relationship from back in the days

regular meetings, new small rituals and the newest thing of it all was the way they started treating you

you basically were treated like royalty

you sighed: “(Y/N)-cchi! Are you bored? Would you like to go shopping with me? I’ll pay for your outfit!”

you yawned: “You tired? Should we take a break or do you prefer to take a nap? I’ll serve as your pillow so no worries!”

when you decided to confront them about it what they said had you tearing up AGAIN

“We just want to pay you back (Y/N)-chii...”

“After everything you’ve done for us, it’s only appropriate to treat you with the same respect and care you treated us...”

the three of you hugged it all out and at that exact moment you couldn’t have been happier to have gotten to know these two

[hardcoreprocess]

anonymous asked: rose lalonde and ALPHA mom??

It was all Dave's idea. She repeats that fact over and over, to excuse the nonsense on her slowly approaching event horizon. Ever since Dirk's hour long exposé on the guy, it's been inevitable. The bastard got it in his head, the thought of traveling to see his alternate self; a successful Dave Strider releasing negative-budget films with Hollywood eagerly lapping at his heels.

But she expressed interest. Foolishly, she asked about her own alternate, and she should have known better. Being dragged into it all is Rose's penance, pulled through time to be plunked down in an overwhelming queue with a book weighed heavy under her arm.

Her return to the present has, predictably, fucked right off to court favor with himself. Leaving her, Rose Lalonde, alone in line... holding a tome she's never thought to crack open. It's one of Roxy's special editions, nicked from their bookshelf to make this silly little hassle worth it.

Who wouldn't want a signature from their very famous momster, after all? It's the least she can do, given all the good cheer Roxy has brought her.

Still. The line is overwhelmingly long— confirmed by leaning out in hopes of seeing the end —and there's simply nothing to do in this alternate future of a dead possibility BESIDES wait her turn. Not for the first time, Rose laments her goddessian foresight in the face of enforced patience. In the interest of maintaining her cover, and mitigating the worst boredom in the world, she cracks the spine on Complacency of the Learned.

Time passes, as it always does. Already, she's halfway through the dense creation, and flush with pride. Of course, Rose has always been an accomplished writer, in her humble opinion, but this? Incredible, and such specific mastery of the style! She can't wait to congratulate the prose and tell herself what an honor it's been to—

Next. She's next.

A broad-shouldered beautiful woman, hair pinned high on her head with strands artfully free to frame her face and the cut of her bangs, sits before Rose. Perched atop a comfortable chair, delightfully fat in immaculate clothing. Her lips are full, pursed beneath hooded violet eyes that crinkle with amusement. Painted nails tap once against the table, a precursor. Then, one hand lifts to beckon Complacency from her alternate self.

Nearly putting her hand out as well, she manages to redirect. The book feels lighter than it truly is when passing between them, a trick of the mind. The older woman flips pages to locate the dedication, fountain pen in hand.

"To whom will I be addressing it, my dear?" Warm, thick, sultry. Like wine. Her cheeks go scarlet as she babbles something stupid.

"Rose. To Rose Lalonde."

A beat. Two. Her lungs are tight.

The woman glances up through her bangs, so lovely at any angle, and smirks. Not a note of confusion to be had. And that moment seems to stretch forever, even when she looks away from the younger Lalonde's stricken face. Haunting, bewitching eyes hold her still. She has no idea how long the author takes to write.

When Rose is ushered out of line, tome clutched to her chest, she can't bear to look back. It's only seated at a table— out of sight, out of mind —that she manages to peel open the page to see her own handwriting. Mature. Confident. Even more flowery.

To Rose Lalonde,

You are beautiful. In time, you will learn to show your body the love it deserves, the love it needs. You will learn to cherish it for being so sturdy and capable. All of this pain you feel is very real, and it is not trivial or silly. I'm so sorry that you are hurting so much. However: it will pass. Before you know it, you'll think wistfully of these days and wonder how you could have been distressed with your gorgeous figure. Your beauty will be your own, your vanity foundational.

If these words are difficult to swallow, or you'd simply enjoy a lesson on the finer point of self-love, I will be available behind the building at 4:30.

[albionscastle]

First Impressions 10 - Saturday Night Fever

I was so glad to actually write this chapter it’s not even funny. I started five times and trashed each one but FINALLY! This is the Netherfield Ball chapter and second only to the Pemberley scenes as my favorite in Pride and Prejudice.

There are mentions of anxiety in this chapter.

Also obvs you can picture whatever song you want for the dance, I just had the Bee Gees - More Than A Woman running through my head at the time lol.

FIC MASTERLIST

FIRST IMPRESSIONS 10 SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER

LIZZIE

If she was perfectly honest with herself, Lizzie was kind of looking forward to the wrap party. It was probably the chance of a lifetime - there weren’t likely to be any glam Hollywood parties in her future so she figured that she may as well enjoy this one. Charlie was, naturally, embracing the event wholeheartedly and had even managed to rope her into a trip to the city for new threads. According to him absolutely everything in her closet was too awful to be worn in public.

As usual he was right, Lizzie thought as she looked in the mirror. In a million years she never would have picked out this dress for herself, but she had to admit, it looked fantastic. Charlie had worked his magic with her hair and face and she almost didn’t recognize the smoky eyed woman staring back at her. It was the first time in years that she actually liked what she saw.

“Come on Bennett, time to go show those asholes whats, what!”

Charlie was waiting by her front door, over the top as usual in a silver top hat and makeup that would put Ziggy Stardust to shame. Not for the first time she felt the little tug in her heart, he really was gorgeous. It didn’t happen often, the moment of wishing he wasn’t gay, and she’d even told him about it. Charlie had never laughed at her, or brushed it off. He simply agreed that had life been different they probably would have been meant for one another. She wasn’t in love with him, not in this life, but it have happened very easily and every now and then, it made her a bit sad.

“Get that look off your face woman, I know I look good enough to eat.” Charlie sighed dramatically. “I’m on the prowl tonight and I need my wing woman.”

Lizzie laughed. “Are you sure? I’m likely to frighten all your prospects away with my bitch face.”

“Looking like that darling, they’ll be flocking to you and I’ll be there to ease their broken hearts when you turn them down.”

“Well you certainly have it all figured out don’t you.”

“When don’t I babe?” he winked. “Now get your coat and let’s go before I miss anything.”

The ballroom at the hotel had been completely transformed and Lizzie was almost speechless when they stepped into the lobby. She supposed it wasn’t all that big a deal to the rich and famous but her small town heart was a flutter with excitement at the sight. Gauzy fabric covered the bland beige walls and tables were set with linens and centerpieces fit for royalty. Everywhere she looked there was something gorgeous that she wouldn’t have expected to see, right down to the soft candlelight that was the room’s only illumination.

There was no sign of Brad though and a check of her cell showed no missed messages. Despite her misgivings, she’d still been excited to see him here and he had promised that Jack’s presence wasn’t going to stop him from attending. He was probably just late, she tried to tell herself, knowing it was a lie.

“There you are Lizzie!” she cringed at her mother’s loud voice as her family moved toward her.

“That’s my queue sweets.” Charlie kissed her cheek. “Come find me later.”

“Fucking traitor.” she muttered as he dashed away into the throng of people.

Turning around with a sigh, Lizzie plastered a smile on her face, barely keeping it in place when she saw what Lydia was, or rather wasn’t, wearing. She glanced at Maya who simply shrugged in defeat.

“Hey pumpkin.” her father reached her before the others and his weary look of resignation told him everything she needed to know about the situation. “You look lovely.”

“Thanks Dad, but I can’t believe you let her out of the house dressed like that.” she whispered as he pulled away from the hug.

Ben simply sighed, shunted to the side as Chloe approached, eying Lizzie up and down.

“Do I meet your approval mom?” she snarked.

“You look very nice. Her mother admitted. “You’ll never have Maya’s charm and sweetness but you do look very nice.”

“Gee thanks mom, at least I’m actually wearing clothing.” Lizzie looked pointedly at Lydia who was tapping her foot and looking bored.

“Shut up Liz” she snapped, cracking a piece of gum.

“Stop it both of you! Lizzie leave your sister alone!”

Lizzie bit her tongue, feeling her cheeks go red while Lydia stuck out her tongue behind her mother’s back.

“Lizzie, I was meaning to ask you something.” Maya piped up, quickly gauging the situation.

She took her sister’s arm and let her lead them to where Tom was standing with Jack and Caro. Honestly she would have rather stayed and fought with Lydia.

“Eliza!” Caro practically sneered, looking stunning in a barely there pink dress. “Oh, your whole family is here, how nice.” Her tone implied the exact opposite of her words.

“Actually Mary and Kate aren’t here.” Lizzie murmured, craning her head to look for Brad.

Jack, being his usual pleasant self merely inclined his head in greeting before looking away, dismissing her completely.

Prick, she thought to herself as she tried to seperate from the group, without any luck.

“Lizzie dear,” her mother had her arm, “I promised poor Colin that you would at least dance with him tonight. He’s been quite desolate since he came back you know. I think he hopes you’ll take him back.”

The excitement in Chloe’s eyes at that thought made Lizzie feel ill. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Well ok, her mother arranging things, that she could believe but not the bullshit that Colin had obviously been spewing. How dare he?

“I need a drink.” she snapped, stalking away into the crowd before anyone could stop her.

Fuming all the way to the bar, she ordered a Scotch ready to down the whole thing in one gulp.

“I’ll be taking that Red.” Charlie was there, sliding up next to her and stealing her drink, downing it smoothly before she even had a chance to protest. “You know you can’t drink.” he whispered, smiling at anyone who appeared curious enough to try and listen to what was going on.

“I don’t care.” she huffed, feeling like a scolded child.

“Listen dollface, I know how your mom gets and I guess she got to you. However drinking with your medication will just create a spectacle of you being carried out of here too far out of it to know your own name. And everyone in town will talk about it for years.”

“You don’t know what happened.” But she was conceding that he had a point.

“I’m going to guess she told you to play nice with poor, heartbroken Colin. He’s plying that shit all over town.”

He was right, as fucking usual.

“Listen, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t be upset. Just don’t give anyone the satisfaction of seeing you upset. The best way to stick it to that piece of shit is to pretend that you just aren’t affected at all.”

“I bloody hate you sometimes.”

“You love me and you know it.” Charlie placed a glass of cola in front of her, his arm slung over her shoulder as they perused the room.

Maya was dancing with Tom and Lizzie couldn’t help but smile at the serene look on her sister’s face as she looked up at him. She was clearly in love with him and Lizzie couldn’t have been happier for them. It didn’t matter what anyone else thought.

“What’s the deal with those two anyway?”

“Maya and Tom? What do you mean?”

“Well have they ‘sealed the deal’ so to speak. Seriously she needs to get him in the sack.”

“You know Maya isn’t like that.” Though she was fairly sure they already had, not that Maya had said anything.

“She needs to get like that, when that boy leaves Maya needs to be the only thing on his mind.”

“They are crazy about each other Charlie.”

“Well they hide it well, seriously though, Maya needs to up her game, you’ve seen the women here tonight.”

Lizzie’s brow furrowed as she thought about what Charlie was saying. Maya was admittedly very reserved and even though she knew her sister, Charlie’s observations had her worrying. She had said nothing about Tom beyond this week. He was spending Thanksgiving with them though, surely that counted for something. Charlie was just being a pain in the ass.

She watched him moving through the crowd now, a hit with everyone he came in contact with, male or female. More than once she had wished she could be more like him, so easy with everyone he met. She knew of no-one who disliked him while most people usually thought she was either stuck-up or awkward and boring.

Her eyes danced across the ballroom, Colin was so far nowhere in sight, but there was still no sign of Brad. She should have known better, it wasn’t the first time she’d been stood up. Spotting Jack standing with a group of men she narrowed her eyes. If looks could kill, she laughed bitterly to herself, liking the vision of him laid out on the floor. Yes, shed was irrationally angry and him and no she didn’t care. It didn’t matter what her thoughts were about Brad, it was Jack’s fault that she was standing alone at the bar instead of dancing in a killer dress. It was ALL Jack’s fault.

He chose that moment to look her way, his drink to his lips, long fingers wrapped around his glass, his clothes….well they were perfect for fuck’s sake. She actually had to bite the inside of her cheek to avoid making an embarrassing noise. The bastard had no business looking as good as he did, just as her body had no business betraying her the way it was. She would be damned if she gave him anything, despite her trembling knees. She refused to look away as she threw back her now flat soda, enjoying the surprise in his eyes. Enjoying it so much that she didn’t notice Colin coming up beside her. Too late she realized he was there, only when she smelled his cologne and almost dropped her glass. Remembering Charlie’s advice and her own determination, she forced herself into turning, her best ‘bitch face’ firmly in place.

“What do you want Colin?”

“I was promised a dance.” his eyes slide over her from head to toe and she barely repressed a shudder.

“Then why come to me? My mother promised you a dance, so go ask her.”

There was anger sparking in his eyes and she fought back the familiar fear. She knew what he was capable of when he was angered, but she still wasn’t going to give in.

“I was promised a dance with you.” he smiled, his eyes cold like a snake’s.

“This isn’t the middle ages, my mother doesn’t decide who I dance with.”

“Everyone is watching, you don’t want to make a scene do you?”

Lizzie shrugged.

“I’m not causing a scene and I don’t care who’s watching.”

His smile never faltered as his fingers wrapped around her wrist, tightly. Lizzie resisted the urge to yank herself out of his grasp. The point was to not give him the satisfaction of a response. Instead, fighting the bile rising in her throat she looked pointedly down at his had and then up at his face, staring him down she put her hand over his, pulling it off her arm and taking a step back.

“Good night Colin.” she said firmly, turning on her heel and walking away.

She managed to hold her breath until she was out of sight of the ballroom, making her way quickly to the ladies room. Locking herself in a stall she collapsed against the cool metal door, breath coming in ragged gasps, legs feeling like jelly. She couldn’t believe what she had just done. Before if she had even looked at him in a way he didn’t like he would have made her pay, but now….. She laughed, feeling lightheaded. There was nothing he could do to her, he was completely powerless. Colin Ryan couldn’t hurt, control or scare her anymore except in her own mind, and only if she allowed.

Taking a few minutes to compose herself, Lizzie still felt giddy. The power was all hers and she was determined to go and have a good time, everyone else could be damned. She was still shaking and though she wanted to her body wouldn’t move out of the bathroom. A million thoughts ran through her head and right in the middle was a vision of all those people, crowding around her, closing in, blocking any chance for escape. It only took an instant to realize what was happening and what she needed to do before she had a full-blown panic attack in a hotel toilet.

Closing her eyes she pulled in a deep breath, holding it for the count of three before slowly letting out again. A few repetitions later and the dizziness subsided, along with the trembling, enough for her to be able to swallow a pill. Looking at herself in the mirror she saw wide, frightened eyes and knew that Colin had still managed to get to her.

“Pull yourself together.” she muttered to her reflection. “You are better than this, you are stronger. Don’t let the bastards drag you down.”

She repeated the mantra sternly, over and over until her heartbeat slowed and her legs felt strong beneath her again.

“Right, that’s the end of that. We go out there, we dance, we have fun and we go home. Nothing more to it.”

A much more poised Lizzie emerged from the bathroom and headed back to the ballroom. One more deep breath and she stepped into the throng searching for Charlie, or Maya, neither of them in sight. Turning to go in the opposite direction, she almost collided with Jack.

“Ammm Elizabeth, I was wonderin, would ye care tae dance? Wi me, I mean.”

JACK

The surprise that Jack felt matched the surprise on Elizabeth’s face when they both realised she had said yes. To dancing. With him. A little flustered he was able to at least offer his arm to lead his startled partner out onto the dancefloor. All he could do was gulp, avoiding her eyes as he stiffly slid his hand to the small of her back, taking her other hand and hoping that she didn’t notice his trembling fingers.

As they rocked like two gawky teens with a balloon stuck between them jack couldn’t stop his thoughts from running wild. He’d been in a state from the moment Elizabeth had walked in and slipped off her coat. In his wildest dreams he’d never imagined her in that dress. The gold sequined number had been designed to turn her into a goddess, complete with plunging neckline and a hemline that made his mouth run dry. He’d fought his attraction to the woman from day one but the surge of lust that ran through his body at the sight of her nearly did him in. As it was he was barely able to manage a nod, afraid that the croak in his voice would give away what was happening in his trousers.

In another life maybe.

Distracted and barely paying attention to the conversation around him his eyes had followed her, seeing her obvious embarrassment with her family. When he’d seen her at the bar with a drink he’d almost gone over but Charlie had beaten him to it. A few Google searches had informed him that Elizabeth’s medication and alcohol did not mix and he was glad she hadn’t drunk it.

His mind had wandered at that point as he imagined himself walking over there, welcomed by a cheeky, secret glint in her eyes. Running with it he pictured them laughing as he led her through the lobby and into a dark, quiet corner. In his fantasy she moaned when he kissed her, pulling him against her as she leaned back against the wall. She chuckled low in her throat when his hand slid up her thigh, hitching her leg over his hip as he ground against her. He could hear her voice in his ear, a breathless sigh of want and promise as he in turned whispered all the things he wanted to do to her when they were alone.

Jerked out of his dream world by a question he hadn’t even noticed he saw Elizabeth watching him from across the room and his cheeks reddened. If she’d had any idea what he’d been thinking she would have no doubt slapped him so hard his head would spin.

He didn’t see Colin approach until it was too late to do anything that wouldn’t cause a scene. Despite himself, jack felt a surge of pride as he watched her stand her ground, the look on Colin’s face priceless as she left him with her head held high. He shouldn’t have cared, shouldn’t have wanted. But he did and his feet seemed to move of their own accord to the entrance of the ballroom in time to see Elizabeth disappear into the loo. Colin was nowhere to be seen, but Jack wouldn’t have put it past him to follower in there so he placed himself within view of the door, just in case.

It was the deer in headlights look when she came out that prompted to move towards her, no plan at all in his mind. Now here they were. All silence and bungling, each of them looking anywhere but at the other. Jack didn’t know what to say that wouldn’t embarrass her and he was far too well aware of his previous inappropriate thoughts. What could he say?

“Awkward silence much?” he heard her remark quietly.

“Do ye prefer tae talk while dancin then?”

A chuckle.

“Generally, yes. Even if its just to comment on the sucky song. It’s only polite.”

“I confess I never really thought about it tae be honest.”

“Perhaps it’s time you did.” Elizabeth said archly as the song ended.

Taking the chance, Jack grinned, the next song starting before she could make an escape.

“Then I’ll say I quite like this one.”

“Bee Gees? Well at least you have some taste.”

“Saturday Night Fever was a cinematic masterpiece.”

“Never saw it.”

There was a hint of steel in her voice, a challenge and he vaguely remembered the party in the summer, the inference that Elizabeth had at least once loved to dance. Without a second thought he moved, spinning her out to the end of his arm before tugging her back, a moment spent flush against each other before he dipped her down almost to the floor.

She was looking at him now, her eyes wide with surprise as she followed his lead perfectly.

“Channeling your inner Tony Manero?” she questioned as they came together.

“Everything but the strut lass, and I thought ye said ye’d never seen it.” he laughed as he spun her again.

They were silent for a moment, their steps in perfect sync. The woman could dance, that was for sure. He got the feeling that it wasn’t something she did often and he felt a momentary spike of malicious satisfaction that Wick probably hadn’t had this opportunity.

“I understand ye all haf been seein a lot of Bradley Wick.” he knew he’d put his foot in it the moment the words left his mouth. The flash in her eyes confirmed what he had feared.

“He’s been helping my parents with the house, he needed the extra money. They are quite fond of him.”

“Aye, Wick has a talent of makin himself useful when it suits him, it doesna stay that way though.”

Spin out, tug in, her body against his, an angry spark in her eye. He was up for the challenge.

“I’m sure that the loss of your friendship has shaped your opinion of that. Do you think that just because you couldn’t be friendly that he can’t make friends at all?”

“He’s always been able tae make friends luv, he’s jus no good at keepin em.”

“Hmmm.” she appeared to be thinking as they moved. “I’m assuming something serious happened between you?”

“Ye assume correctly.” but he would be damned if he told her what.

“And it had nothing to with, oh say, jealousy or pride?”

He felt his eyes narrow, not at all comfortable with the direction this was taking.

“Why are ye askin?”

Elizabeth shrugged, spinning under his arm and around his back. He felt her hand across his waist like fire, her cold challenge sparking something in him.

“I’m just trying to understand you, I hear so many different things about you, almost like you’re two people.”

“Maybe ye should jus come straight tae the source.”

“Where’s the fun in that? You would only show me what you wanted me to see and I far prefer the truth.”

The truth? Did she really want to know the real man? The one who drank too much and had at one point gone through women like socks, the one who still thought she was no good for him despite how much he wanted her.?

“Now is probably no the best time tae be attemptin tae sketch my character.”

The song was ending, his hopes that the dance would turn into more fading by the note. She was baiting him and he couldn’t help but respond. He couldn’t help himself around her, she met him challenge for challenge and he wasn’t sure he would be the one to come out on top. He wasn’t sure who was the conqueror anymore.

“If I don’t do it now I’ll never get another chance.”

Her words hit him hard hard. After tonight there was no reason for him to stay in town so she was right. He was going home, never to return. Why was it bothering him so much?

The final notes of the song, Jack dipped Elizabeth down, never taking his eyes from hers, noticing the way her pupils dilated and her breath hitched. He allowed a smile to spread across his face. They stayed that way as the music changed, Jack slowly easing back until she was pressed against him again, so close he could feel her ragged breath on his neck while his heart hammered in his chest. Apparently neither of them wanted to be the first to break eye contact, to admit weakness of any kind to the other.

I certainly wouldn’t wan tae leave ye wantin Elizabeth, but in this regard I’m afraid ye’ll jus be disappointed.” Her eyes flared, lips parted to respond. ‘Unless….” he murmured as he started to move his hand on her back, pulling her closer.

“Lizzie! My dear look at you, I haven’t seen you dance for an age.” Mr Lucas had pushed through the crowd, breaking the spell with his booming voice.

Elizabeth took a step back, the familiar mask of indifference settling over her features.

He already missed her. Damn it!

Lucas clapped him on the shoulder, oblivious to the tension he’d inadvertently dissipated.

“Should have known such a handsome young man could bring our Lizzie out of her shell again. I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot more of it when a certain wedding takes place.”

The appalled look on Elizabeth’s face and the direction of Lucas’ gaze was enough for Jack to figure out what was being inferred. Maya sat, looking down demurely as Tom leaning in, speaking into her ear.

Was that what everyone was thinking and expecting? He turned back to Elizabeth, only to see the back of her head as she walked away. Jack wracked his brain, trying to figure out how there was a wedding expected. Tom was obviously enamored with Maya but he did have a habit falling in and out of ‘love’ with remarkable swiftness. Grudgingly he admitted that Tom seemed somewhat different this time, but surely things hadn’t gone that far.

He was angry suddenly, or perhaps not so suddenly. The conversation with Elizabeth had stirred his unrest, knowing that she was friendly with Wick just rubbed him the wrong way. Knowing that there was gossip, that he was being judged based on whatever the bastard had decided to say about him. He was pissed that she had essentially confirmed that Wick was yet again running his mouth. It wasn’t her fault, many a woman had fallen for his lies, he just didn’t want it to be her, surely her attempt to talk to him had been her not accepting Wick at face value.

With a sigh he downed another glass of whiskey. Everything was completely fucked up and tonight was just it.

He was done.

LIZZIE

The frigid outside air was a blessing against her burning cheeks. She gulped in a few deep breaths, trying to calm her hammering heart. That, that had been unexpected. Anger mingled with desire and her brain, as well as her body was on fire.

From a dance.

A dance that included an argument. Lizzie had no idea what the hell was going on with her. She couldn’t stand the man, hadn’t wanted to dance with him. The only reason that she’d even agreed was because Colin had her so befuddled. Her hackles had been up and she was furious at the way her body had betrayed her the moment Jack’s hand settled on her back.

That was why she tried to bait him, started a fight to distract herself from everything she was feeling. Especially when that song came on, one of her favorites and Jack had pulled out the moves. Excluding everything else the man was good and a long forgotten excitement had begun to swell. Once, before Colin, she had loved to dance. Charlie had convinced her to take lessons with him when they were in high school and it had been love. All through college they had taken every chance they could to seek out Chicago’s speakeasies and dance the night away. Colin’s jealousy had ended that.

Tonight, with Jack, the excitement had come flooding back and she hated that it was with him. As much as she was pissed at the direction her thoughts had taken when he’d dipped her down with such smooth skill. The clean smell of him, his warmth through the crisp cotton of his shirt, the strength in the way he’d held her, they had all combined in her head. In that moment her imagination had run wild and all she could see was him, shirt and hair all rumpled as he pressed her against a wall, hands and lips roaming.

The realization had shocked her to the core, not so much the attraction - she’d already admitted to that. It was the knowledge that in that moment she wanted to lift her head those few inches closer, press her mouth against his and see what happened. Her body was completely betraying her, ignoring everything that she knew about the kind of man he was.

The argument had served its purpose, reminded her why she hated him. His casual dismissal of Brad infuriated her, the fact that despite that she was still attracted to him made her even angrier with herself.

Mr Lucas’ interruption couldn’t have come at a worse moment. The look on Jack’s face had effectively cleared her head, telling her everything she needed to know about his thoughts. She’d had to walk away before she called him out in public for being such an ass.

“Nice job out there twinkle toes.”

Lizzie managed a smile as Charlie wrapped his arms around her.

“Pity about the partner though.”

“I don’t know, he looked like he knew what he was doing.”

“Yeah he always knows exactly what he’s doing.” she said bitterly.

“What is it with him anyway? I mean I know he’s been around a lot, I thought there was….you know.”

Ew, god no Charlie! Trust me he hates me as much as I loathe him.”

“Coulda fooled me.” he muttered, side eyeing her.

“I told you what he did to Brad and you’ve seen the way he acts around here.”

“Ok I agree that the whole Brad thing was a bit low, but also normal for a cutthroat world like that. But come on Liz, let’s face it, he’s cute and all but only a fool would turn down all that Jack has to offer.”

“Consider me a fool then, besides you know I don’t care about all that crap. I don’t give a shit what he does for a living or how much he makes doing it - a jerk is a jerk.”

“Real shame the jerk is so hot though.”

“Yup, that’s a hard truth.”

“Come on, let’s go back in there and have some fun, fuck the rest of them.”

Charlie had a way of making her feel better and of putting things in perspective. He was blunt and pragmatic, funny and comforting, everything she needed to see things more clearly. She would have been lost without him.

Halfway through their dinner, after a few hours of dancing, someone grabbed Charlie’s attention and he was off again leaving her alone at the table. She could see Maya sitting with Tom a few tables over, a smile on her face as they talked some of his friends. Her mother and father sat with the Lucas’ and some other people they knew from town, Chloe’s voice carrying as she talked of her various maladies.

“Enjoying the party Eliza?”

Lizzie almost cringed as Caro sat down beside her, her perfume wafting, boobs spilling out of her dress.

“It’s been okay so far.” she shrugged nonchalantly.

“Listen, I hear that you’ve been getting quite friendly with Brad Wick.”

“And?”

“Well I should warn you that he’s not exactly a great guy.”

“Really?” Lizzie tried her best to sound bored. “How so?”

“I don’t know the particulars, but I do know something nasty went down between him and Jack and Jack was in no way to blame. But honestly, considering he grew up in a home, what else can you expect?”

“I assume you got your information from Jack?”

“Not entirely, there are some rumors swirling, but Eliza I wouldn’t trust him.”

Anger flared again, what the fuck was it with these people? Why did they find it so easy to try and ruin the lives of others? What made them think they were supposedly so much better than everyone else?

“Well Caro, it really isn’t any of your business. Besides it sounds like the only thing he’s done wrong in your eyes is grow up rough, and he already told me all about that.”

Lizzie saw the woman stiffen, obviously surprised at her audacity.

“I’m sorry, I was just trying to help.”

“I don’t need your kind of help, I’m a big girl and I make my own decisions about people.”

Caro didn’t say another word, just stood up and left. Lizzie let go an exasperated breath, suddenly tired and wanting to go home.

“Are you ok?” Maya was beside her looking concerned.

“I’m fine, I’ve just had enough of these people.”

“I saw Caro over here, what was that about?”

“She wanted to ‘warn’ me about Brad, I told her to fuck off.”

“Lizzie…” Maya started cautiously, “ I asked Tom about him and he said that Brad wasn’t a good guy.”

“Oh Maya, not you too. Besides has Tom even really met him, outside being on set?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Then he’s getting all his information from Jack, who has a very personal problem with him!”

“I didn’t even think that you liked him like that.”

“I don't. I just….I just hate the way that they all act like he’s done something wrong without having any proof. It’s not fair Maya.”

Maya sighed, obviously torn between her support of her sister and her affection for Tom. Lizzie hated that she had put her sister in the middle of it.

“It’s ok, I’ll be fine. I think Colin just got me all worked up.”

“Speaking of which….”

Lizzie followed Maya’s gaze to where Colin stood behind Jack’s seat, tapping him on the shoulder.

“That’s not going to end well.” From the stony look on Jack’s face as he turned, it hadn’t even begun well. Despite everything, she was sort of rooting for Jack to put Colin firmly in his place. The man was a born sycophant and Jack was the biggest fish in the room, it would give her a perverse satisfaction to see him firmly put in his place by the younger man.

“Colin has forgiven Lizzie for everything, she just had cold feet. Honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if the wedding is back on in a few months.”

Lizzie’s head turned in horror at the sound of her mother’s voice as it carried across the tables.

“Between that and Maya, both the girls will be very well off indeed and set up to help Lydia too. Everything is working out exactly as I had hoped.”

Both girls had burning cheeks, Lizzie could see both Jack and Tom staring, Colin looking smug. She felt sick, she had to leave. Out of her chair, she managed two steps before her father came into her line of sight making a beeline for the dancefloor. Lydia was there with some kid from school, grinding against him while his hands roamed all over her. Ben walked straight over, grabbing her sister’s arm and leading her away while she cussed up a storm.

The humiliation was complete. She was done.

“I’m going home.” she hugged Maya. “Go back to Tom and act like nothing happened ok.”

Maya nodded, walking away.

Lizzie kept her head held high as she stalked out, grabbing her coat. She walked home despite the cold, refusing the offer of an Uber. Once locked inside she quickly stripped off her dress and jewelry, leaving everything in a pile on the floor. Her makeup was washed off as she stared blankly into the mirror, trying to hold it together. It wasn’t until after she climbed into bed, pulling the covers up around her head that she finally broke down and cried herself to sleep.

JACK

Jack honestly couldn’t believe what had just happened. Seriously couldn’t even begin to fathom how the night had taken such a turn. What an absolute clusterfuck. After the dance with Elizabeth everything had gone downhill so quickly, he’d been so distracted by what Lucas had said that he hadn’t seen the impending disaster unfolding.If he hadn’t so busy watching Tom and Maya, he would have seen Caro pounce on Elizabeth before she came stomping back to the table calling her a stuck up bitch. Then he’d been listening to her go on and on that he hadn’t even realized that Colin Ryan was right behind him until the creepy cunt was tapping him on the shoulder and going on about how he worked for Ann De Bourgh's L.A office and was hoping Jack would consider him for his U.S publicity.

The sheer nerve of the man had Jack in shock and he’d barely managed to shoot the man down with any politeness at all. That he would even consider asking him, given his history with Elizabeth and the current situation spoke to the audacity of the man. Then he heard the mother’s voice and saw the smug look on Colin’s face. It was then that he looked over at Elizabeth where she sat with Maya, hating the look of humiliation he saw on both their faces. He knew every word was bullshit, but he couldn’t believe how tone deaf Chloe Bennett was to her daughter’s feelings. Or how determined she apparently was to get her daughters ahead in the world.

He saw Elizabeth get up to leave and he took a step toward her, watching her falter as her father practically dragged Lydia off the dance floor. While he couldn’t blame the man for trying to protect his underage daughter, his method caused a scene that could have been avoided. The whole thing could have been avoided if the girl had any discipline at all, she wasn’t an idiot but she was very much out of control. He could almost feel the embarrassment that Elizabeth was experiencing, it was radiating from her and he was more than a little chuffed with the way she kept her head held up as she left.

He wanted to follow her, but he knew he couldn’t, not after everything that had happened. He was probably the last person she would accept comfort from right now. Still he struggled, hating himself as he watched her go, the haunted look on her face something he wasn’t soon going to forget.

“I suppose things didn’t get too out of hand tonight.” Caro sneered sarcastically. “I mean most of the natives have behaved themselves, except for the Bennets. God what a nightmare those people are.”

Jack merely grunted, unwilling to give her satisfaction of agreeing. Apart from the behavior of those three the night had been a surprising success, not that he really gave a shit.

He was expected to remain, so he did, keeping a close eye on things. Lydia spent the rest of the night sulking in a chair beside her father. Chloe Bennet quieted down, thankfully, but her earlier words still rang in his ears. Tom and Maya were inseparable as always and he took special notice of them. They looked happy enough, but she had withdrawn, he smile not quite reaching her eyes. He wondered if Maya was being pushed toward Tom by her mother. Sure she liked him but to his eyes not nearly as much as Chloe seemed to be implying. The question was, how far would she allow herself to be pushed and how much would that damage Tom?

Biding his time he waited until the party wound down before returning to the suite to wait for his friend. Tom walked in, on a cloud, Caro following behind him looking disapproving. That was fine, he thought, he could use her help for this.

“After Thanksgiving Maya and are going to take off for a few days, maybe up to Michigan.” Tom was prattling on and Jack knew he had to step in now.

“Don’t ye have those auditions next week?”

“I’m sure I can reschedule.” “And if ye canna? What will ye do then? That's no a professional way tae act.”

“There’ll be other roles, Jack.” Tom looked crestfallen that his mate wasn’t as happy for him as he would have liked.

“Ye know as well as I do that's no true.”

“Well I don’t care, Jack. I’m happy.”

“And ye were happy wi Sandra, and then mel, until ye weren’t.”

“It’s different with Maya.”

Caro snorted, rolling her eyes and Jack leveled her with a glare.

“Ye always say tha, mate. Ye fall in an out o love all the time. It’s no worth risking yer career fer.”

Jack saw the first flicker of doubt on Tom’s face and he knew he was getting through to him. Swallowing his conscience he kept at it. He didn’t want his friend to get hurt.

“Look Tom, I donna doubt that ye care abou the girl, an she’s lovely, but ye barely know her.”

“It’s been three months!”

“And after four months with Mel it was over remember?”

“Because Mel only wanted one thing, Caro. You know she was only using me to get an inside track on roles.”

“And Maya’s mum is pushin her at ye fer fame and money too. Ye heard her tonight.”

The trap was sprung and Tom had walked right into it. His face told the whole story, anger, doubt and hurt.

“Maya’s not like that.”

“I’m no sayin she is.” Jack admitted truthfully. “Maya’s a nice, sweet girl but how vested is she in this and how much of it is her mum’s manipulation?”

“It’s….I’m….she’s….” Tom was yammering and though Jack was feeling guilty he squashed it quickly. He was doing the right thing and Tom would see that in the long run.

“God, what am I going to do?” Tom sighed, sinking into a chair.

“I can get us all on a flight to London by 7am.” Caro piped up.

“That would mean leaving now.” Tom looked shocked. “That’s a low route to take.”

“Do ye wan tae drag it out? Sit at a dinner table with the whole family knowing ye’re goin tae break it off?”

“No, I suppose not, but Maya deserves better than a disappearing act.”

“Then text her, send an email, but draggin it out is only goin tae complicate things. A clean break is best, no harm no foul.”

Silence. With a nod Jack indicated to Caro that she should book the flight and then he went to pack.

There was a feeling relief knowing he was leaving this place behind him and returning to the familiar. He had a break until January before he was expected at a job in Italy and then in L.A for February and March. Spending most of that time at home in Scotland seemed like the best idea to get his head straight. A picture of Elizabeth presented itself in his thoughts and he tried to shake it away. He would soon forget that she had ever existed, or at the very least she would just be the memory of a pretty girl he’d failed to shag.

Tom didn’t say a word to anyone, not as they packed or as the car drove them to O’Hare. He looked miserable but resigned and Jack was sure that he would be back to his old self in no time. The boy always bounced back quickly and this time would be no different. Maya would be fine too, he was sure of that. She would be hurt at the way they had left yes, but with them gone her mum would stop pushing her and she could just get on with her life. Every time his thoughts turned to Elizabeth he pushed them away, what she did now was none of his concern, whether it be with Wick, or Colin, or no-one.

The bile rose in his throat and he swallowed against it, turning to look out the window. As the plane sped down the runway and began to ascend he thought about London and all the reasons he had to never come back here. And as the plane rose higher, the Chicago skyline receding from view, he pulled down the shade and closed his eyes, willing himself not to dream of a woman that he would never see again.

[softheartstm]

@karnakian

[revengeisalwaysanoption]

ITAINSTITUTE CON 2 - THE M&Gs

Featuring: My confused memories of the M&Gs with Matt&Dom and Alberto.

PARABATAI M&G

Okay, so... The real reason I bought this M&G is because Matt’s were sold out and from other conventions I know that is the experience I enjoy the most even though I spend those 30 minutes taking in the actors’ more than actually interacting with them. but whatever. I’m really sorry I can remember only very little from this M&G. - Matt was lovely and always gives long and in depth answers to what is asked, sometimes he takes detours and you start wondering ‘Is THIS what I asked him?’ but you can’t help but love how passionate he is when is talking (and how he can’t help using his hands... Italians can relate X°D) -  Some people disagree but BOTH Matt&Dom were a bit sorry the parabatai bond is underdeveloped even though it's (supposed to be, I would say) a deep platonic relationship. They DO understand that couples are more important, especially Malec for what it means to so many people. According to them it should be like the feeling you have with a best friend, when you can tell that there’s something wrong just by the way they say “Hi” to you but I personally believe it didn’t come across so well. - Don’t expect them to talk about what happened in the 3A finale: the writers have decided that everything has been said already with Alec acknowledging that who nearly killed him wasn’t Jace but the Owl in 3x10 and that’s it. They were quite disappointed about that. - Someone pointed out that the bond is quite unbalanced and they agreed. They used a simile that I liked, saying that Alec is like oxygen to Jace not in the sense that he is vital to his survival but rather that he takes him for granted and realizes it only when he is fighting for breath while Alec is different ‘cause he has learned to hold his breath for quite a long time by now. -  They were asked if there’s room for improvisation and they said that while it was much more accepted in S1, they can’t add their own twist to it now. I can’t recall if Matt said something about his scenes but Dom said that apart from the ‘ILY’ in 2x20 (Matt was ENTHUSIASTIC about it and argued that IT HAD TO BE SAID) he also put in the ‘Please, don’t leave me, Alec’ line in 2x03 that was unscripted. - They were asked if they ever have disagreements writers/directors about their characters, because they feel Jace and Alec would never do something like what is written on the script.  They said they discuss it with the writers and sometimes it turns out it would all make sense in a couple of episodes, and sometimes their foot down like Dom did with the Owl (I didn’t quite get in what capacity, I’m sorry) and Matt about having Alec crying: it’s a cheap way to show emotions. - Matt also said you don't only cry out of sadness but also out of frustration and selfishness (to make the other feel bad, I believe) so yeah, writers should be wary of using crying too much especially with Alec. (it was then that they asked the question about the lack of balance in the parabatai bond, I think) - The last question was mine, and I find it doesn’t quite fit what he said to the individual M&G Shumdario news reported (see here: https://twitter.com/ShumDarioNews/status/1019666993920774144)  but what Matt had said about not wanting too have Alec breaking down in tears, so it was like: “Connecting to what we have previously said about showing emotions on screen... I felt a bit underwhelmed by the way Alec acted in the finale, especially when he was saying goodbye to Magnus before he went to Edom, so I was wondering if we can expect to see a less restrained Alec in 3B. ” He told me that since Alec was on duty as a Shadowhunter - even during the goodbye to Magnus before he goes to Edom -  he wouldn't let anything show and just soldier on.  Unlike the 2x18 scene where he was just Alec off duty and so taken aback that he didn't know how to react.  "That's why I asked you.” (about more emotional scenes for Alec, because I KNOW he can shows a wider range of emotions that what he we have seen during 3x09-3x10) He said that yeah, we can expect some in 3B. - I believe someone asked about Alec’s role as the HOTI in 3B and Matt went off on a rant about the Clave. I’m 99% sure it was in the M&G because it would have popped out already on someone’s Twitter if he said in the panel, since he originally said “It’s a FASCIST organization.” He immediately backpedaled on the term not because he found it too negative for the Clave but for its historical/social connotations (especially in Italy: I was really impressed that he felt the need to immediately correct himself even though nobody said a word about that or glared at him or anything) so he said he wishes Alec could just quit that “Prejudiced and self-serving organization’ that thrives on the subjugation of Downworlders under the pretense of keeping them safe. ****** ALBERTO M&G********************* So first of all I want to say that Alberto went overtime by, like, 10-15 minutes because he wanted to answer everybody's questions... Such a sweetheart ç_ç <3 !!! He got into the room by walking in queue with us, so we played along and even complained that he was jumping the queue :D - Alberto talked a lot about his brother Diego and how him being a director gives him a different insight on his work as an actor, the process of their work together and how inspired they have been by their parents now following their dreams.

- Since he is so passionate about literature he isn’t ruling out becoming a Professor in the future. - He also said that it was his mom who made him realize he was always prioritizing acting over everything else so he started to organize his part-time jobs so that he could audition for Shadowhunters. He encouraged to find the thing we prioritize without even realizing (acting for him) and hold on to it, give our all to it. It's never too late; he talked how his mom is now embracing her dreams as a painter and is Dad is getting a PhD. - He does want to go back on stage and do musicals. If he could, he’d love to star in Newsies and Dear Evan Hansen (he mentioned another title as well but I can't recall what it was 'cause I'm not familiar with it) - I asked him how it was playing those few scenes he has with Harry. Like many others at the Con, he is a big fan of Harry too. Right after saying that those scenes were awesome to shoot, he went on gushing how great Harry is and how hard he worked to be a professional in so many different fields. And how Harry knows a lot more about the business related to TV shows as well so in a way he sees him as his mentor on the show. -  Alberto hopes to have an opportunity to direct in the future, maybe starting from a show not too distant from SH, kinda like what happened for Paul Wesley. Concerning directors he said that Matt Hastings is the one who has to make sure the ‘mood’ of the show is not lost (that it doesn’t become CSI - Brooklyn, for example) when they have a guest director on the show. -  He agrees that his scene in 3x09 was one of the best ever (and his usually very critical about his acting) but he gave much credit for it to Christina Cox and the writers who made it so tragic and poignant. Similarly to Matt in the M&G he said that you don't necessarily need to cry rivers to show emotions. Alberto compared that to spilling water on the floor (which he did) against keeping it in the bottle which gives you more room to work. - He wasn't happy with how the scene where Simon goes to ask Raphael infos about the Mark went. In the editing Simon's hesitation and different tactics to approach Raphael didn't get across... So it looked like Simon was annoying Raphael in a very delicate moment. He had prepared the scene well with David and also had argued that the stakes didn't seem , to him, so high that Simon couldn't save it for a moment when Raphael wasn't suffering that much.

- He wants to use the Rosende Book Club to promote initatives like the Bibliocicleta (https://www.awesomefoundation.org/en/projects/52670-bibliocicleta)