#( she said cute pjs not nudity!! )

[feelfreetopleasemexo]

Something slightly different!

Bakugo xvirginreader

Aged up

Includes nudity, smut, drinking, swearing, forceful behaviour

Part two with significant smut coming tomorrow!

After finishing work and nearly flooding the shop AGAIN because someone startled me and made me use my quirk, I just about had time to check my phone. I had 11 messages from Ochaco, which confused me because we hadn’t spoken much since she went to UA. We used to be super close in school, and she always told me she felt bad about not being able to message or meet up as much anymore, but she was at the highest ranking hero school, I couldn’t exactly hold it against her could I ?! She was living her best life, had the opportunity to fine tune her quirk and become an amazing hero! Whilst I…..continued to work at my families communal shop. There is already more than enough hero’s with water quirks, and even after her pinning, I couldn’t justify going to UA, not that I’d even pass the entrance exam even if I wanted to. It became easier the longer she was there, almost routine to not speak for weeks to then get an abundance of messages when the school had a break so we could catch up!

‘Heya girly!! Sorry I haven’t been around much, schools been super busy! But we’ve got a Christmas party tonight and they’ve finally said were allowed a plus one! Please say you’ll come with?!

Please

Please

The guys here are hotties and you’d love it

Cmon

Don’t leave me hanging”

The abundance of pleading messages flooded my phone, and as I let out a small sigh at her pinning, a new message popped up,

“Still at work? Im coming down now!” And as soon as I read it, I could see her rushing towards me at full speed, like she was out of a sonic game or something. She crashed into me and landed ontop of me, as we both toppled to the floor, laughing at her sheer speed.

“Oh my gosh im so sorry! I guess I got a little carried away…..I just missed you and needed to know what you were going to wear to the Christmas party with me! Shall we go shopping together?” Her smile was infectious, and I had missed her cutesy awkwardness, especially when it came to her being excited about something.

“If I have to, is that hot asshole going to be there? Murder explosions or something? I’ve seen him a few times on the tv, blowing shit up then looking angry that he got called to save people, Yano, his job” I giggled as she helped me up.

“oh yeah Katsuki! We all call him kacchan, or Bakugo, some even call him asshole but….” She rubs the back of her head as she smiles, trying not to diss him, almost scared he’ll somehow hear here and blow her head off. “Yeah, they’ll all be there! You’ll love Mina, she’s super cute, oh and Momo! She’s so sweet, super rich and unintentionally posh, you’ll absolutely love to hang out with all of us! It’ll be great!” Her enthusiasm never fails to make me smile, and she knows it always twists my arm,

“Fine fine, I’ll come with, if I have to!” I tease, smirking at her as she jumps in the air excitedly. “So, what time and where? Do we have enough time to go shopping, i on,y really have work clothes and pjs.”

“YES! I knew you wouldn’t let me down. They’ll all so excited to meet you, I’ve told them so much about you, and about all the crazy stuff we used to get up to as kids!” She pulled my arm towards the shops and navigated us towards a clothing shop, whilst we reminisced about our crazy past together.

After trying on a few dresses, I finally decided to go for a classic black long sleeve one, not too provocative but flattering enough. After she managed to pick out a beautifully pale pink dress, we paid and headed back to her dorm to get ready,

“Do I need a pass or something to get in? I’ve never actually been here before….” I hesitated as we reached UA’s front barriers.

“Oh yeah! Duh! I completely forgot.” She reached into her bag and pulled out a visitors badge for me. It already had my fully name, an old school photo of me and my quirk detailed on the front of it.

“So you knew I’d say yes then…” I said, whilst looking down and checking over the freakishly detailed information the school had found out about me.

“Well yeah, I was kinda hoping you would…the school said we could have plus ones as long as they could do a background check on our chosen people, so Yano….” As she said this, she grabbed my hand and walked me towards her dorm.

As we entered her shared accommodation building, a man with bright red spiked hair was walking across the doorway and abruptly stopped as we opened the door. As soon as our eyes locked he quickly bowed almost with his forehead touching the ground.

“Eijiro Kirishima. Im sorry I blocked your enterence! Welcome to UA dorms!”

Startled, I tried to apologise for barging in when Ochaco interrupted,

“Kirishima it’s okay! She’s with me, you don’t have to always be so formal around new people, she’s cool. She’s here for the Christmas do!” He lifted his head and a big red mark was slapped across his forehead, almost the same colour as his hair,

“Oh okay, great! It’s gonna be a blast you just know it!”

“Blast? Who’s talking shit about me again? ILL KILL YOU!”

Suddenly, kirishima was interrupted by the godlike fire maniac that was Bakugo. As soon as he heard kirishima mention a blast, he came thudding over in his heavy boots and pushed me out of the way to get into kirishima’s face. As he tried to explain to Bakugo about the incident that just happened, the broard, wide set, blonde Adonis turned to look at me and Ochaco.

“Oh, so these extras were talking shit yeah?!” He jolted his hand out and let off a few sparks in his palm, glaring into my eyes as if he wanted to turn me to ash right in front of everyone. I instinctually put my hand over his palm and let my water quick flood his hand, to extinguish his ignition.

“Oh fuck” I muttered under my breath, as I quickly retracted my hand. Ochaco and kirishima erupted in laughter behind us. Bakugos eyes widened as he stared at the puddle of now burning hot water in his palm, then he darted his eyes to mine and let out a disgustingly loud roar,

“HOW FUCKING DARE YOU! DONT YOU KNOW WHO I AM?! NO ONE EXTINGUISHES MY FLAMES, NO ONE, YOU FUCKING BRAT! Do it again I DARE YOU!” As he screamed and flames began to dance around his head, kirishima pulled him away from us as me and Ochaco rushed to her dorm. She was giggling intensely as she was guiding me to her room.

“No one’s ever done that to Bakugo before! That was actually hilarious! Did you see his face?! He’s never going to live that down! What a first impression” her laughter almost knocking her to the floor as she opened her bedroom door, I could feel the embarrassment flooding my veins like it was hot venom.

“Omg omg omg, what did I do that for?! I didn’t even mean to, I wasn’t thinking i…..oh fuck he’s gonna hate me now isn’t he…and he’s the hot one I mentioned early too Jesus! just kill me now, before he does!”

After wiping the tears from her eyes, she convinced me that it would be fine, that once he saw me in a dress he’d completely forget that I was the same person from before and he’d probably just think I was someone else’s plus one.

After a shower, Ochaco helped me with me with my makeup, and we both put our dresses on.

“Omg y/n, I can’t actually remember the last time I saw you ina dress, we must’ve been…..5 or 6? You look absolutely amazing. Im so jealous!”

She never failed to fill me with confidence, she always knew how to genuinely compliment people, and made everyone feel so comfortable around her. As I complimented her she span around showing off her cherry blossom pink dress, and asked if I was ready to meet my death at the hands of Bakugo. After a deep sigh and a last final look around to pretend I was looking for an escape, I nodded and we finally made our way to the living area.

Everyone was dressed in beautiful suits, amazing dresses and the spirits were extremely high, i concluded it had to do with the bottles and glasses in everyone’s hands, or at least that certainly helped. We walked over to the girls she had previously mentioned, momo and mina, and after hugging and introductions, they offered us some wine glasses.

“Y/n doesn’t drink wine, makes her crazy, and last time she drank that she flooded the dance floor.”

“I have a water quirk, i didnt just start pouring everyone’s drinks everywhere btw!” I interrupted, trying to save myself some embarrassment.

“That’s absolutely fine don’t worry, I know what it’s like, if I drink too much i put on my acid man move and chase everyone!” Mina said, trying to ease the embarrassment, as she beckoned kirishima over,

“Hey man, got any…” she turned to me, “beers? Spirits?” They both looked at me, waiting for my preference.

“Um, beers good.” I awkwardly stuttered, trying not to seem demanding that their drinks weren’t to my standard. He quickly rushes off and came back with 3 bottles of beer, handing them to me and smiling.

“These’ll be enough for now right? It’s my turn for beer pong so I won’t be able to play butler all night unfortunately miss.” He winked and a piercing shriek cut through all of us.

“WEIRD HAIR ITS YOUR TURN, PULL YOUR FINGER OUT AND GET OVER HERE! I AM NOT LOSING BECAUSE YOURE TRYING GET PUSSY!” Bakugo barked from the kitchen area. Kirishima rolled his eyes and ran off mumbling something about him having a name, and that guys are allowed to have friends that are girls. After laughing at him running to Bakugo like a dog, momo suggested we head over and watch who Bakugo was playing against. As we entered the kitchen Bakugo and kirishima stood at one end of a long table, and a man with yellow and black hair in a black suit, and a man with tape elbows stood at the other. Ochaco leaned into me,

“Denki and sero” I nodded as she pointed to each.

After Bakugo and kirishima won beer pong, and denki nearly tripping over the foot of the table, he turned and pointed at me.

“You two extras. Now.” I froze. I looked at Ochaco as she shook her head and backed away slightly, clearly uncomfortable at this invitation. “Cmon don’t be a pussy. You never play this game. Is it because you don’t know the rules?! Tsk.”

Seeing how uncomfortable Ochaco was, I interrupted him.

“I’ll do it. I’ll take you both on, and win.” Everyone started to give an audible ‘oooooh’ at my rebuttal.

“Tsk. Fine. Whatever. But who’s next? This’ll be quick.” He turned back around as I walked to my end of the table, i quickly threw a ball straight into his cup. Kirishima started laughing as the whole room decided to come watch us. I gave him a cheeky grin as he picked his cup up and drank.

“Cocky little bastard aren’t you. Well, I hope you like losing, because I’m the best at everything I do.” He throws the ball and it narrowly misses my cup.

“Yeah yeah, the best at losing to me, we get it.” I throw and land another ball. The frustration fills his face as he downs his cup. Kirishima goes to take his shot and Bakugo blows the ball up in front of him.

“It’s me against this bitch, step aside. I need to teach her some manners. This is my house, my rules, my game. I’ll win.”

He forcefully slams the ball and it lands in my drink, as I pick it up I could swear he puffed his chest out like a proud cat that just caught its first mouse.

After a few back and fourth wins, only one cup stood at each end of the table. The next ball in wins. Silence filled the room as everyone watched me take my last throw. A miss. Everyone sighs and eagerly waits for him to take his shot. He gets it in and he starts sparking big flames from his hands, gloating and throwing his head back with maniacal laughter. I gladly sink my drink and walk over to offer a hand shake to him, he bring his head up, pushes my hand away and grabs my chin, forcing me to look up to him.

“I told you im the best and I always win.” He lets my face go and grabs another drink off the table and walks outside with kirishima congratulating him on his win. I look over at the girls and they look slightly concerned, and offer their condolences at my loss.

“You’d have thought he’d of let the guest win but….” Momo says,

“Cmon it’s Bakugo! I don’t think his ego would let him even if he did want to! Anyway, shall we go to the pool side and laugh at mineta trying to push anyone in?” Mina says pouring another glass of red wine. We all decide to walk outside to the poolside and sit by some chairs perched fairly near the side, but not dangerous enough that anyone could knock you in. After a few more drinks, and laughing at mineta crouching in the brushes hoping for a girl to walk by so he could push them in and see them soaking wet, with their clothes clinging to their frame, I decide to get up and go to the toilet. As I stand, Ochaco points to the toilet, and as I walk poolside to get there, I find myself staring at Bakugo and kirishima sat by the fire pit. I lock eyes with him briefly as I feel myself tumbling into the water. That bastard crept up on me as I wasn’t paying attention! As I swim to the surface, I see a haze of yellow flash above me and then hear mineta get throw almost ontop of me into the pool too, then see kirishimas hand reaching out for me. As I reach the surface, he helps me out and almost instantly wraps me in a warm towel.

“Sorry about him, he’s a perv, and none of us thought he would manage to push anyone in but….anyway, I’ve asked todoroki to light the fire for you. Get warmed up there and im sure Ochaco has some spare clothes for you….ive gotta help him out before he drowns too unfortunately “ kirishima walks me over to the fire pit where a man with half red and half white starts to light the fire, before returning to save the little purple pervert.

“Here, this should be warm enough, take a seat and I’ll get Ochaco to get you some more clothes. Don’t sit too close, im still getting used to my fire. “ todoroki says with an emotionless look on his face. He didn’t seem stern or angry, just very matter of fact. As I sit down and try to warm myself, I hear Bakugo behind me

“What kind of crappy fire is that?! You’re not gonna get warm with that, you might as well be stood naked in a storm for Christ sake. Here.” He walks out from behind me and blasts a flame so intense it makes the fire almost turn blue for a second. The roaring heat significantly intensifies as he pulls up a chair and sits near me.

“Thank you, can’t believe I let that little prick push m…”

He interrupts

“Yeah, what the fuck were you staring at before. If you’d of actually paid attention you could’ve stepped aside and let him fall in instead.” His red hot stare burned through me, as he looked at me from under his furrowed brows,

“I….i thought i heard someone say my name so I looked around and, well yeah, got pushed in.” I tried to look away from his stare, but something so enticing about it kept me there.

“Yeah yeah,” he says taking a sip of his drink, breaking the eye contact, “be man enough to admit you were staring at me. It’s not the first time I’ve caught someone staring at me Yano.” Fluster takes over me as I try to solidify the fact I thought someone said my name, but he glances over and in between my ramblings, he notices that im shivering,

“Take this. Im not having someone die at this party because of mineta. If anyone dies it’s because I killed them…”He flings his suit jacket at me, “well, put it on then.” He scoffs. I take the towel off and place the jacket over my shoulders, it easily swamped me, as I feel my cheeks grow red I glance over at Ochaco and see them all giggling and giving me the thumbs up.

“Girls and their shitty emotions. Eugh. Anyone would think I asked you to marry me for fuck sake. It’s a jacket, GET OVER IT EXTRAS!” He shouts at them, startling them and making them huddled back together laughing. I look down at how engulfed I am in his jacket and glance back at him,

“Girls like this kinda thing usually, means a guys interested at least…”

“Im not interested, I just didn’t want you to freeze to death okay. Give it back if you’re going to be weird about it.” I buck back slightly and cling to the sleeves that sit in my lap. “Yeah yeah that’s what I thought. Anyway im getting another beer. Don’t get pushed in again you fucking idiot.” He walks back into the kitchen as I sink slightly into the chair and try to warm my feet up against the fire pit, slightly smelling his aftershave that lingered on his jacket, after a moment his hand is thrusted in my face holding out a beer.

“You drink this shit too right? Thought I saw you with one before you nearly drowned.” I take the drink and thank him for bring8ng me one, he scoffs and sits back.

“So…. Not fancy becoming a hero then? Think you’re too weak to make it big time or what?” He says trying to break the silence between us.

“Oh, erm nah, there’s already more than enough water Heros around, i didnt think I’d make it. Im happy helping my family out at their shop anyway, pays the bills and means I get to buy comics with my wages I guess.”

“Damn nerd.” He keeps his eyes on the pool as he sips from his drink, clearly unimpressed with my answer.

“Not impressed by water I take it then, fire boy?” I tease, trying to see if I can provoke a reaction out of him.

“Water and fire don’t mix. I don’t mind it, but I like being able to control my quirk so I can use it as and when I want, I don’t wanna be stranded in the pool if someone needs their ass handed to them Yano.”

“Pussy.” I tease, staring at the pool trying to pretend I don’t see his burning stare almost melting my side profile.

“What the fuck did you just say?!” He sits forward in his chair, sparks twinkling from his hands.

“I said you’re a pussy. If you’re truly the strongest, it wouldn’t matter. The strongest wouldn’t say no if I asked to jump in to….” Before I even finish my sentence he’s swept me up over his shoulder and is jumping into the pool with me. As we splash around, I see him come up to the surface and slick his hair back. He swims over to me and forcefully smacks his palm into the water, covering me in a massive splash.

“Don’t ever tell me im not the strongest. I best every single extra here, I do what I want when I want because I know I always come out ontop.”

“Well, not always what you want, i mention about jumping in and here we are…seems it’s easy to get what I want from you ey.” I try to splash him back, but he drives underwater and appears right in front of me. As he does this, he puts his arm around my waist and pulls me close to him.

“If I didn’t wanna be in the pool with you, we wouldn’t be in the pool.” I feel his hand tighten around my waist, his fingers digging into my dress, getting warmer and warmer. As I stare into his eyes, I swear I can see flames in them. Suddenly we hear mineta shout that if Bakugos in the pool then everyone has to cannon ball in too, I then turn around and see almost everyone running to jump in. Most of the guys are taking their jackets and tops off, and the girls taking their heels off to join, but a man with engines in his calf’s stands at the doorway with his arms out, waving them around, shouting instructions that people shouldn’t swim with inebriated. Regardless of this warning everyone jumps into the pool almost fully clothed and a roar of laughter erupts. As they all splash in, I feel his grip tighten as he pulls my thighs around his pelvis so I’m wrapped around him. He keeps us afloat with his hands as we laugh at everyone drunkenly splashing around us.

Mineta suggest a game of chicken and every single woman sniggers at him,

“No one’s putting their legs around your neck you creep!” Mina shouts, as Ochaco is floating inflatable balls in the air and smacking denki in the head with them. After a few moments, Bakugo looks back at me and almost whispers in a gruff voice,

“Im bored of this now, wanna get changed? I’ve got some spare t shirts you can wear if you want.”

I nod my head as he lets go of my waist and we swim to get out of the pool. He gets out first and I stare up at him as his white shirt, now see through because of the water, is making every single abs and muscle in his stomach pop. Completely transfixed by his physique, I completely missed what he said to me.

“I said get your fucking drunk ass out. Im not waiting around. Hurry the fuck up.” He rolls his eyes and shakes his head, his spiked hair almost instantly regaining its previous style. I climb out and try to unstick the dress so it doesn’t cling to my frame as tightly as his shirt did to him, and he smacks my ass.

“Don’t be weird. You look hot.” I go to slap his face and he tightly grabs my wrist, “Boring.” He says with a smirk, tightening his grip slightly making a moan of pain escape my lips, as he chuckles to himself quietly and then let’s go.

We walk towards his room as he leads the way, and as soon as I close the door behind me, I turn back around to face his room and he’s taken his shirt off and is undoing his trousers. I quickly spin back around and stare at the door, desperately trying to give him some respect,

“Never seen a naked body before? Tsk grow up.” I hear him take his belt off in one fell swoop, and the butterflies in my stomach felt like they were about to fly out of my ass. I shudder slightly as my body stiffens. “You’re not some kind of virgin are you?” He snaps, as I hear him tighten the belt between his hands, and suddenly i feel it slap against my ass. I yelp and spin around, rubbing the already raised welt on my right cheek, to see him laughing, stood there in nothing but soaking wet boxers. The dim light of his room casting even more flattering shadows across the crevices of his abs. His boxers soaking wet, clinging to his frame and perfectly encase his length. A third leg would’ve been an understatement. The way his black boxers clung, I could make out every inch, almost every vein, and I simply couldnt help but drink him in.

“Im not..I mean…technically yes but that doesn’t mean I don’t know what im doing…..not that we’re going to but….” I try to muster, but being completely transfixed on his body I couldnt think straight, let alone muster up a witty response.

“So you ARE a virgin then. Shit. I owe denki a fiver.” He snickers, dropping the belt on the edge of his bed and walking to his draws. He rummages through and flings an oversized all might t shirt at me. “Here.” I grab it and make a circling motion with my finger, indicating for him to turn around so I could get changed. “Fuck off. This is my room. If you want privacy, YOU turn around.” Reluctantly i turn around after rolling my eyes and peel my dress off my soaking wet body. As I pull it over my hips and over the top of my head, I can suddenly feel his warm body almost touching mine. I turn my head to look behind me and am met with his bare chest inches away from my face. His hands come around me as he takes the T-shirt out of my hands.

“I’ve got my eyes closed don’t worry, im just helping because no doubt you’ll get this top fucking wet holding your dress to. “ I look up slightly and see he does actually have his eyes closed, but a smirk starts to crawl across his face. I fling the dress on the floor and undo my bra, fling that ontop of my dress, and use one hand to hold my tits together covering my nipples, I then slip off my pants and reach out for the shirt he’s holding out in front of me. As I grab it, I feel his body press up against mine, his dick resting against my ass, as I realise he’s not wearing his boxers anymore. I can feel his dick growing harder as he keeps his eyes shut, his breath almost panting. I hesitate slightly before pulling the t shirt over my head. After I pull the t shirt on, I feel his hands rest against my hips as he staggers slightly, clearly drunk. I turn around and face him, as he slowly opens one eye.

“Boring.” He says as his smirk widens, and a darkened look takes over his face. He opened both eyes and sits on the end of his bed, legs spread, his boner standing up to attention.

“Boring? Fine.” I sat as I fling the t shirt off, now stood completely naked in front of him. He carefully looks at each inch of my body, as I stand there, feeling like an animal at the zoo. Suddenly his door flings open and kirishima bursts through the door,

“BAKUGO! Is y/n in here with you?! Ochaco is freaking o….oh fuck sorry! He spins around so he’s not staring at Bakugos dick, to then be met with my naked body staring right at him. He freaks out and covers his eyes, constantly muttering fuck as he tries to navigate his way out of the room, bumping into the walls and door before finally leaving and closing the door behind him. Bakugo erupts in laughing,

“That’s the first time he’s ever seen anyone naked, and he got to see me AND then a girl! Oh god this is gold, he’ll never live this down!” As he laughs he flings his head back, then bringing it back up he tilts it to the side and stares at me again. “Didnt think you had the balls to get naked too. But hey, im not complaining. Usually people are all talk, always teasing saying they’ll do this or do that, so it’s nice to see someone actually follow through with it. Nice tits by the way.” He pats his thigh as he says this to me, and I walk over to me. I sit down on my knees in front of him as he excitedly sits up, reaching around to hold my hair up for me with one hand. I stare into his eyes and place my hands on his thighs,

“I can already tell you always get what you want, such a spoilt little brat. “ I slap his dick as he recoils, almost crushing me as he clenches his thighs.

“You fucking bitch!” He screams as he cradles his dick and winces. I push him back forcefully with my hand on his chest, as I climb ontop of him, barely hovering my pussy above him.

“You’ll have to show me why I’d let you take my virginity im afraid. I don’t give it up for just anyone. And right now, im not exactly impressed.” As soon as I say this, he flings me over and towers ontop of me. He pulls my thighs apart wider so he sits more comfortably in between them, then puts my legs so they’re crossed around his hips. As he looks at me with furrowed brows, a devilish smirk appears on his face, as he leans down and bites my nipple. I recoil back, grab a fist full of his hair and try to pull his head back, but as I do so he tightens his teeth around my nipple, biting harder. I let out a shriek and loosen my grip on his hair, as he loosen his jaw. He finally lets my nipple go as he starts to bite my neck, leaving bruises forming immediately.

“Yano, I can feel how wet you are already, If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re plenty impressed. I told you, I do what I want when I want,” he glides one hand down to my pussy and starts to slowly rub the nub of my clit with his thumb, “but im no monster. I know I may seem it, but I’m not going to hurt you on your first time. Second and third is a very very different story, but I just think, your first time should be slow. Ease you into it kinda thing.” He starts to rub faster as I arch my back and between my parted lips, a small moan escapes. “I gotta hear you say you want it too. Fun and games aside, we’re both pretty drunk so I don’t want you regretting your first time with someone like me.” Slight concern traces his voice, as I look up to meet his hot stare.

“Fucking ruin me. I want you to show me why you’re the best, why you always win.” I put my hand to the base of his neck and pull him into a forceful kiss.

[nouvelis]

i tend to close my eyes when it hurts sometimes, i fall into your arms.       i'll be safe in your sound 'til i come back around.

seoah & yunho’s moodboard requested by @protcsts / accepting

[hazzoranstories]

Damon Salvatore x Reader One-Shot | Bruises

A/N: I know I'm doing a lot of Damon, but I try to do others, and they don't turn out good.

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Includes: Mention of abuse, blood, and partial nudity

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*Mystic Falls, Virginia; 1859*

"Y/N! Y/N, come quick!" Stefan cried as he ran into the Salvatore kitchen where Y/N was cooking lunch. The woman looked down at the cute 12-year-old that was the little brother of her husband. Y/N tilted her head to the side to gesture for Stefan to continue. "It's Damon! I broke Father's watch, and he got mad, but Damon said it was him and --" the light brunette rambled, but Y/N shushed him calmly. She knelt to Stefan's short height and brushed some hair away from his face.

"It'll be okay, Stefan. Come here," Y/N opened her arms, and Stefan ran into them. He buried his head in her apron and held in tears. "Come on. Let's have lunch, okay?"

"But what about Damon -- "

"Damon will be fine. He's a big boy and can't get hurt, remember?" Stefan smiled at the soothing words and nodded with a small smile. The two walked over to the table where Y/N served them lunch.

~:*:~

Y/N was loosening her corset to change into her PJs and head to bed even though she would wait for Damon like she always did. The door to Damon's bedroom creaked open, and Y/N saw her beautiful husband enter through her mirror. "Hey, baby," she greeted him, trying to ignore the bloody bruises on his face.

"Hey," Damon mumbled and set the vest he had taken off on a chair. He walked over to Y/N and helped her untie her corset strings. Once it was loose enough, she removed it and sighed in relief that her waist didn't have to be pressured anymore. The young girl folded her clothes as she got dressed, with Damon doing the same. His slacks had some dirt on them, along with a few drops of blood on the collar of his white shirt.

When the Salvatore brother slid his shirt off his arms, he grunted while Y/N held in a gasp. It had never been this bad before. She knew how abusive Damon's father was, and she helped treat his injuries after, but this was horrific. With bruises planted across his ribs, arms, and face, along with a large scrap across his cheek, it was worse than she'd ever seen it.

"Damon," Y/N whimpered, and Damon looked up from removing his trousers to see her worried eyes.

"I'm fine," he lied.

"Come here," she walked over to the bed, and Damon followed.

"We gotta get ready for bed --"

"It can wait," Y/N argued and opened the side table drawer. Damon sighed when she pulled out the usual bandages and ointment she stored in their room. She grabbed a nearby towel and made her husband lay down next to her.

She started at his torso, placing small amounts of ointment on the towel and patting the bruises so they would heal faster. She made her way across his arms, and lastly was his face. It was the worst out of everything and would be hard to hide from Stefan, but Y/N had confidence in herself. Her, nor Damon, wanted Stefan to see what Giuseppe was capable of. All the younger brother knew was that his father had anger issues no more than that.

When Y/N finished healing the cut almost completely and put ointment on the last of his bruises she sat them both up. She would steal ice tomorrow morning before anyone is awake in hopes that the black and blue marks on Damon's face would fade. "Thank you, Mrs. Salvatore," the brunette purred, and Y/N smiled softly, brushing some of his wavy hair away from his face.

"You're welcome, Mr. Salvatore," she sealed their conversation with a kiss making the couple grin.

[gravelyhumerus]

Criminal Minds College AU - Chapter 4

Title: “I may just take your breath away”

Relationship: Jemily

Summary:

Emily’s alarm wakes JJ up.

Slow-burn Jemily college AU where they live across the hall and despite all odds, the universe pushes them together. AKA they’re silly gay babies who pine after each other for months.

Read it on AO3

Tumblr: Tumblr:  One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, (bonus scene), Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Epilogue

Jennifer Jareau awoke in her bed to the sound of her alarm. She groaned as her body refused to cooperate, with the fog of sleep clouding her brain and the desire to just roll over and sleep in sounding very appealing.

It was such a late night last night with Emily and JJ had already set her alarm to nine thirty, giving her less time in the morning to get to her eleven am class than she would normally like. JJ liked eating breakfast, and with being an athlete, her body needed as much fuel as she could get.

She rolled over, slamming her hand onto her phone, attempting to turn off the beeping. It wasn’t working, forcing JJ to open her eyes against the sunlight. She grabbed her phone, unplugged it, and stared at the blank screen before realizing that it was only eight and her alarm wasn’t set for another hour.

JJ frowned, realizing that what she was hearing wasn’t her alarm, nor was it Penelope Garcia’s—her roommate who had a cheery jingle as an alarm—either. It must be coming from another room.

She looked over to the other side of the room where Penelope was sleeping peacefully, on her side with her chest slowing rising and falling. Lucky, JJ thought. Penelope, unlike JJ, hadn’t been rudely awoken by someone else’s alarm.

JJ pulled her pillow over her head, rolled over, and tried to fall back asleep. She was desperate to catch that extra hour of sleep.

She sighed, tried to relax and fall back into her slumber, but the blaring sound continued, and continued, without fail. Whoever was responsible for that god-awful noise apparently was not waking up.

JJ sat up, tossing her pillow aside. Quietly, despite her frustration, she threw back her comforter and blanket, slipped into her fuzzy slippers and walked to their door, peering into the hall.

She was wearing her pink pj bottoms and a grey cotton t-shirt from a soccer camp she went to in high school, and the cool air after the warmth of her bed made her shiver. Their dorm was either too hot, or too cold most days, never really reaching a comfortable living temperature.

Looking left and right, JJ tried to narrow down the sound of the incessant alarm. She held her breath for a moment, listening hard.

The beeping was coming from straight ahead. She looked at the door, staring it down, begging the other girl to simply wake up, turn off her alarm, and continue with her day.

That did not happen.

JJ slipped back into her room and grabbed her lanyard, to avoid getting locked out of her room with the annoying automatically locking doors.

She closed her own door quietly, as much as she was mad at Garcia for managing to sleep through the noise, she didn’t really want to bother her. JJ started with knocking lightly on the other girls door, rapping on the wooden door right next to the construction paper sea turtle that their RA had written Emily’s name tag on.

“Emily,” JJ said quietly, “Your alarm is going off.”

JJ checked her watch. Eight ten. Emily’s midterm for Clinical Psychology was at eight-thirty. She knocked louder.

No response.

She must be a very heavy sleeper.

JJ knocked louder, scared she would wake up the whole floor, but more worried about Emily’s education than disturbing them. Their walls were thin, but the fact that Emily could sleep through an alarm that could wake JJ up, across the hall, and sleep through JJ’s knocks, was borderline concerning.

After a few minutes of near-panicked knocking, she finally heard movement in the other room, with a muffled “Whaa-” coming from Emily.

She opened the door, rubbing her eyes and holding her phone.

“Your alarm was going off,” JJ said, sheepishly as she took in the taller girl staring at her in complete confusion. “And you have a midterm.”

Emily looked down to the phone in her hand, looking at the time and said, simply: “Shit,” before spinning back around.

“You have twenty minutes,” JJ pointed out, unhelpfully.

“Yes I very much do,” Emily replied, “And it’s in the psych building which is on the exact opposite side of campus. Dammit, the alarm must have been going off for a half hour. I have no idea how I slept through it.”

JJ, unsure at the protocol of what was happening, stood in the open doorway. She found herself somewhat overwhelmed at the sight of Emily. Instead of the t-shirt and pj pants that JJ had seen on her before, Emily was instead wearing a delicate, semi-transparent cotton camisole and silky looking shorts that were quite short and showed off most of Emily’s long legs. Her skin was pale, and even, without any freckles or scars marring the porcelain-like limbs. JJ, on the other hand, knew her tanned skin revealed the scars from the endless cuts and scrapes she’d acquired being a sporty child.  

What caught her eye most was something poking through the fabric of the thin camisole. JJ blushed as she realized that Emily had her nipples pierced.

Emily’s ensemble showed off much more of Emily’s body than JJ had ever seen before, but it wasn’t the body that shocked her (Jennifer Jareau played sports her whole life, she wasn’t shy about nudity), what shocked her was the fact that she couldn’t seem to tear her eyes away.

JJ had planned to wake up whoever was disturbing her with their alarm, then immediately go back to bed, but now she felt as if her feet were glued to the floor.

With her hands grasping her keys, clutching them tightly, JJ stared at her friend as Emily dug through her chest of drawers and stormed around the room in a frenzy.

She was not simply staring, JJ realized to her own personal confusion, she was ogling her. Emily’s typically perfectly straight black hair was wavy and messy, mussed by sleep and her bare face had a classic beauty that made something tighten in JJ’s chest.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,” Emily muttered, throwing a pair of sweat pants over her shorts, not really having any time to get dressed. “Thank you for waking me JJ.”

This roused JJ from her thoughts, forcing her to come to terms that she was checking her friend out. She felt her face warm in a blush, and stared at the floor so she would no longer be looking at Emily like that.

“We use the same alarm,” JJ said, dumbly. “I thought it was mine.”

She gulped, watching Emily yank a hoodie over her head, and smooth her hair down with her fingers. Emily yawned, letting out a cute noise that made JJ smile.

“Well,” Emily replies, smiling at her sweetly, “I would have fully slept through this midterm if it wasn’t for you. You saved my life. Merci.”

Emily grabbed her backpack which was hanging off the back of her chair, and slings it over her shoulder. From atop her dresser, Emily picked up a red apple, rubbing it off on her shirt in lieu of washing it.

“Thank you again,” Emily says, pulling her into a quick hug. JJ found herself engulfed in Emily’s warm arms, the smell of orchids and coffee, for a short, amazing moment, before Emily pulled back.

Emily shut her door, took a bite of her apple with a wink at JJ, then ran down the hall on her way to her class.

JJ stepped back, left behind standing in the centre of the hall, alone with her thoughts. She remained there for a moment, processing the mixed bag of emotions.

She turned back around, unlocked her door, then sat back onto her bed. It was still warm from her body, and beckoned for her to return to its warm embrace. JJ, on the other hand, was still reeling from another embrace, that of her friend and neighbour.

Her friend, she reminded herself. They were friends.

JJ stared into the distance, breathing deeply and trying to process her racing thoughts. Her break up was fresh in her mind. She was still reeling from her break up, was overtired, and had just spent the entire evening with Emily listening to her speak to her in the literal language of love, no wonder why her brain was all mixed up.

JJ shook her head and laid back down, staring at the ceiling. She put her hands behind her head and closed her eyes.

Instead of her normal anxious thoughts about her midterms, her upcoming game and the end of her almost two year long relationship, her brain flashed to Emily. How patient she was last night explaining all the possible conjugations of the verbs, how she told her funny stories about her childhood in France, how she tried to catch the M&Ms in her mouth, and missed every time.

Emily could speak French fluently, and it was probably one of the most attractive things that JJ had ever experienced. She rolled her r’s so perfectly, and spoke with a clarity that she struggled to find in her professor’s strange accent.

JJ rolled onto her side, tugging the blanket around her, lost in thought. Emily was so nice, JJ really liked her. She liked her as a friend, right? That’s what this was?

She thought about Emily, who bakes cookies in the middle of the night, who gets way too into beer pong and who smiles wide every time she saw JJ and held her hand tightly as they walked home last night.

Did JJ like Emily? Like-like her? She didn’t know. She doesn’t like girls. She hadn’t really liked that many people before. She dated Will for two years, two nice, normal, comfortable years where she didn’t have to think about these things, about crushes or feelings.

She was always a very focused child, focused on school and on soccer and on getting to college. It was Will who pursued her, who was the first to text, who invited her places and encouraged her to be present. JJ was always reacting to the boy's affection, every time.

Her mom had The Talk with her when she was thirteen, which was awkward and tense, but instead of the typical discussion about the birds and the bees, her mom talked about love and consent and JJ’s future partner . At the time, JJ thought her mom was being silly because JJ liked boys;, she had crushes on boys like all the other girls in her grade. She always would pick the nicest one, and select him as her crush when the other girls would ask. But now, looking back, maybe JJ’s mom saw something JJ hadn’t seen herself.

No. That couldn’t be.

Jennifer, she scolded herself, don’t go down the rabbit hole. You just went through a messy break up. You’re confused is all.

It was true, just yesterday JJ fought with Will and it ended in, well, an ending of their relationship. Over the phone. He told her that he needed more from her, from them, and JJ told him that she was giving all she had. That was not enough for him.

She hadn’t even had that much time to think about it, and him, let alone tell her friends and family that it had happened.

She had hung up the phone and immediately had to go to a class. Before she knew it she was in a study room with Emily Prentiss forgetting all about her break up.

Her mind flashed to the girl in her class who had come out in eighth grade, how after she had, the other girls had told JJ to make sure she had turned around so the girl wouldn’t look at her inappropriately. JJ had protested at the time, arguing that the girl probably didn’t even find them attractive anyway, but that hadn’t convinced the others. They had shunned the girl for the rest of the semester.

JJ remembered feeling a bit sick at the thought of being that other girl, who’s identity had been shamed by her peers. She went home that day and cried in sympathy. She didn’t know why she did.

After that she, on a private browser, looked up the acronym: LGBT. She discovered the term ally, and decided that that was what she was. She had cried because she supports people who are gay, or bi, or transgender, not because she likes girls. She was always told that she was a sensitive child, she cried because she was empathetic.  

She had been confused about her feelings before, and had sorted them out. She could do that again easily. She didn’t like Emily that way. She was simply grateful for her company, for her friendship. She was a nice new friend, and JJ was just over excited as she got to know the girl across the hall.

JJ sighed. That made sense to her. She was a tangled mess of feelings and she needed some time to untangle them.

With that resolved, JJ tried to close her eyes and catch a few minutes of sleep but before she even closed her eyes, her alarm woke her up. Her real one.

She groaned.

To her right, Penelope woke up to the sound, yawning and rolling over at the sound.

“Good morning, sunshine,” Penelope murmured with a sleepy smile. “Late night last night?”

Penelope was probably her best friend at university, and her roommate. They were randomly placed together last year and had immediately become best friends. She was studying computer science, which was surprising because from what JJ could tell, Penelope could hack the FBI if she felt like it. She wasn't sure what else there was to study. Her side of the room was decorated in an explosion of colour, with endless trinkets on all of the available surfaces, and her walls covered in a rainbow of art, photos and miscellaneous ticket stubs and various moments of her life.

“Yeah,” JJ replied, sitting up in her bed and resigning herself to being awake. “I have that French midterm today.”

“Then the game!” she interjected, “I know! Spence and I will be there waving the flag.”

JJ smiled, grateful for her roommates' endless support.

“We should do trivia again this week,” Penelope says, “Reid is basically an encyclopedia and I think if we bring him we’ll win hands-down.”

JJ hummed in response, not really paying attention.

“I mean,” Penelope continued, “It’s probably unfair to drag a boy with an eidetic memory to a trivia game but I think it’ll be worth it.”

JJ was focusing on getting dressed, but tried to give her roommate enough reassuring nods to make sure she was active listening. She had to dress for her exam, then for her game so she chose track pants and her school windbreaker.

“Jayje, where’s your head at?” Penelope said and JJ frowned, she could read her like a book and could tell something was wrong. “You’re never this quiet. Is it about Will? We never really got to talk about what happened.”

JJ didn’t have the time to explain her tangled web of emotions.

“I’m fine Pen,” JJ assured her, “Just tired and worried about this midterm.”

“Okay,” she said, still looking worried, “You know I’m here.”

“I know.”

“Go get ‘em tiger!” Penelope grinned at her, “Just remember: voulez-vous coucher avec moi? That’s all you’ll need to know!”

JJ cracked a smile and wished Penelope a good morning, grabbed her bag before leaving. She waved goodbye and headed out into the morning, trying to shake her thoughts of Emily Prentiss away.

She had enough time to grab coffee and breakfast from the cafe before heading to her class a few minutes early so that she could look over her notes.

Forgetting Emily was hard when she was taking her French midterm, as the conjunction was coming to her, pronounced in Emily’s voice and explained in her clear, knowledgeable voice.

JJ sped through the midterm, a strange feeling tugging at her stomach as her focus was pulled two ways. One part of her, the one focused on the test, pictured Emily in front of her, her bangs getting in her face, her eyeliner drawn over her lid thickly coming to a sharp point on either side of her eyes, imagining her lips as she mouthed the words out to her. The other part of JJ, terrified of these thoughts and feelings, pushed her out of her mind, trying to compartmentalize the knowledge from the person.

Then her brain was filled with Will: of his kind smile, of how he hugged her tight and kissed her softly. Her brain desperately wanted to hang onto some sort of normal feeling of loss at the end of her relationship, but the majority of her feelings were unsatisfying and confusing.

The verb endings blurred together, and as she looked over her work before submitting, she found herself making stupid mistakes. JJ was in the middle of erasing an answer when her Professor called out to announce that time was up.

JJ walked out of the midterm frustrated. She was sure she did fine on it but was mad at herself for being distracted by her own personal issues.

She cursed Will for breaking up with her in midterm season, because she couldn’t focus on anything. She knew she was being distant, she knew it was her fault they were over, but the timing was overwhelming. Her status quo was crumbling and she was not quite sure how to keep the pieces together.

It’s over Jennifer, she said to herself, you finished your midterm. Time to focus on soccer and you’ll feel better.

That afternoon, JJ played an aggressive game, forcing her feelings out in her gameplay, running faster, tackling harder and hogging the ball more than she typically would.

She fought hard for the ball, barrelling towards the net, and setting up a perfect goal for her teammate. Who missed. It took JJ everything to not yell at her teammate, because she did not want to be red carded at a home game.

Next time she was on, instead of passing, she made sure she set herself up for a goal, charging past her opponents. She kicked. She scored. The roar of the crowd, the feeling of her team jumping upon her felt great.

In the stands, Penelope Garcia and Spencer Reid jumped high, cheering for their friend.

The adrenaline of the game wiped away the feelings of the day and JJ felt better. She felt normal. She could deal.

JJ could be happily single. She didn’t need Will and she certainly didn’t need to be distracted by anything right now anyways. She still had three midterms to go, then an away game next weekend.

After that, JJ could worry about her feelings. Until then, she had more important things to do.

In the locker room, JJ dried off, still buzzing with the win.

“Hey Jennifer,” a voice asked, coming up behind her. It was Kennedy. “Are you ok?”

Kennedy was a nice girl, in third year, who played defence. She was probably JJ’s closest friend on the team but outside of games, practise, and the occasional mandatory team social, JJ and she didn’t really talk.

“I’m fine,” JJ replied, stuffing her uniform into her locker. “Why do you ask?”

“You played a hard game,” Kennedy says, “I was impressed. You brought the heat.”

“So what’s the problem?” JJ says, hearing the terseness in her voice.

“Woah,” she says, stepping back and raising her hands in surrender, “Is something wrong? I’ve never seen you like this.”

“I’m fine,” JJ says, slamming her locker harder than she meant to.

She walked out of the locker room, feeling slightly embarrassed at her outburst. It had started to rain again, the cold, sharp droplets hitting her face and soaking her hoodie. Making a mental note to apologize to Kennedy later, JJ walked straight home to her dorm with tears stinging at her eyes.

As soon as her door closed, JJ jumped onto her bed, laying with her pillow on her head to block out the afternoon sun, as tears leaked out of the sides of her eyes. Letting go, JJ cried. She cried for the end of her relationship, for the fact that it was her fault for it ending, for the fact that she didn’t feel sad about the end of her relationship and because she didn’t know what to think about Emily.

---

That week, everywhere she turned, Emily Prentiss was there.

For a girl that she never seemed to run into at the beginning of the semester, Emily seemed to make up for that with this week.

First thing the next morning, JJ walked into the bathroom with bleary eyes. She hadn’t slept well and had trudged through her morning routine. As she put some toothpaste onto her toothbrush, the door swung open and Emily wandered in, with her own toiletries in hand, wearing only a robe. JJ found herself brushing her teeth harder, not making eye contact and focusing on her own reflection in the mirror. JJ stared herself down, not allowing her eyes to stray or herself to think about the naked Emily Prentiss behind the curtain. JJ didn’t want to see her. JJ was straight, and that would be silly. She did not want to think about that girls god damned nipple piercings, or the fact that they made her blush to think about.

On Tuesday night, JJ looked out of her window into the courtyard, only to see Emily Prentiss, smoking a cigarette near the streetlamp. JJ closed her curtains. She had to study for her midterms.

Coming home from class on Wednesday, Emily had her door propped open as she read a book, with some music playing off her record player. JJ pretended she was in a rush to get somewhere, grabbing a random book out of her room before leaving for the library. She realized after that she needed a different book for her essay, but it was too late after she had rushed down the hall to go back.

Leaving her Media Studies midterm on Thursday, she passed Emily in the hall on her way back from practise. Emily touched her arm as they crossed paths and asked her, in her sweet voice, if JJ needed any more help on her French homework. JJ hurriedly said that she didn’t, and that she would text her if she did. Pointing out that JJ didn’t have Emily’s number, she then insisted that JJ add her as a contact. She did not text Emily.

That weekend, JJ relished how an away game took her off campus, and away from her issues. All JJ had to focus on was soccer.

Except, news had finally gotten to her mother about Will. JJ spent most of the weekend fending off phone calls and from her concerned mother, who wanted to be there for her. JJ felt incredibly guilty avoiding her calls, because her mom had loved Will.

As soon as JJ was back in her room, she was forced to finally return her mom's call, as she had run out of excuses. It was a long coversation. After hanging up, JJ laid on her bed, exhausted by her mother's distress. It felt like her mom was going to miss Will more than she would. JJ had assured her that she was fine, that she would call again soon, and, yes, she would like a care package, because that would mean she’d get a box of snacks, including Cheetos, which she was desperately craving.

After a few minutes of laying on her bed, with her packed bags still on the floor next to her, and still wearing her school branded windbreaker, there was a knock on her door.

She ignored it. She was sick of people being worried about her. Sick of everyone asking her if she was ok.

The person knocked again, more insistently.

JJ rolled onto her side, looking at her wall. There was her ex-boyfriend, on the wall in her once treasured prom photo, looking at her. She tore the photo down.

Her eyes wandered up to her other photos taped to the wall: her and her sister at Christmas when she was eight. JJ was holding up her new shadow box containing a blue butterfly (morpho menelaus) and standing next to her was her sister Rosaline, grinning wide and hugging her tight.

She wanted to ask Ros what was going on with her. Why she felt so untethered. Why she felt relieved that her boyfriend broke up with her. Why she simultaneously wanted to run towards and away from Emily Prentiss.

But, she could not ask her any of these questions. She tugged at her sister’s necklace, which was around her neck, resting over her heart, as always. Hoping for some kind of direction.

There was another knock on her door.

JJ opened it, finding the meek face of Spencer Reid on the other side. He waved awkwardly, and did not seem to notice her disheveled state.

“Garcia said that we could eat without her,” he said, “She’s in a lab this evening and is ordering pizza.”

Dinner. The trio always ate together when JJ was in town.

“I’m starving,” JJ admitted, realizing that she hadn’t eaten since breakfast and her stomach flipped in protest.

JJ opened the door for him and turned back to the mirror. Reid sat down on the edge of Penelope’s bed. Of all the people on the other side of the door, he was probably the only one who wouldn't force her to talk about her feelings if she didn't want to.

“How was your game?” he asked politely.

JJ made a noncommittal noise.

“You know,” he continued without a pause, “Around two hundred countries or territories in the world play soccer, depending on what you consider a country, as the UN only recognizes two hundred and fifty one countries and territories while the US recognizes less than two hundred. You could play this game with more people than you could speak to in English.”

JJ ran a brush through her hair, hoping to make herself look presentable for the cafeteria. Spencer continued, barely coming up for air let alone wait for her response. Normally, JJ would fight to get a word in edgewise, but today, Spencer’s monologue was soothing her.

The rain had slowed to a slightly annoying drip, with dull clouds hanging low onto campus.

Together, they walked down the street to the cafeteria, which was in a dull concrete building near most of the residences. Spencer transitioned from discussing the impact of sports on global diplomacy, to talking about his day and chatting about how he has started hanging out with Derek Morgan more often.

JJ blinked at that, trying not to let her thoughts wander from Derek to Emily and her current turmoil.

Her minor reaction unheeded, Spencer discussed how Derek discovered that he could lift him, and had bench pressed him. Spencer, despite admitting that he was nervous around football players like Derek, given his rough time in high school, smiled as he told her this. She forced herself to be present, to engage with her friend, which was a welcome distraction.

Grabbing their trays, they both wandered around the buffet style cafeteria, peeking at the specials and deciding their preference. JJ steered past the vegetarian option, which was simply three pieces of tofu on some plain rice, and walked up to the burger bar. Comfort food was the plan. Reid, walking in her wake, joined her in her dinner choice. Soon, the two of them were eating burgers in companionable silence, both tackling mediocre, yet somewhat tasty meals. JJ sipped her water and felt Reid’s eyes on hers.

“You seem distracted,” he comments.

JJ looks down into her water.

“Penelope told me about Will,” he says, nervously, “I’m sorry?”

It comes out as a question.

“Look. I don’t really want to talk about it. I’m fine.”

I’m fine, she thought to herself, I’ve said that a lot today.

JJ softens, reminding herself that the boy only wants to help. She reaches her hand out and grabs his.

“Thank you for asking,” she smiles at him.

He perks up. She looked at him and while he was only three or so years younger, he looked so young. He was taller than her but still likely to keep growing, his gangly limbs awkward still in his adolescence. Still, he dressed like a professor, his outfits filled with cardigans and tweed.

They stood and made their way back to residence. JJ was starting to feel like herself again.

But, about thirty feet ahead of her was Emily Prentiss, fumbling with her keys as she tried to unlock the door to their building. It was really hard to push someone out of your mind when they lived across the hall.

Spencer noticed her hesitation.

“Do you maybe want to go for a walk?” he asked.

JJ nodded, relieved at the offer. They turned to the right, and walked down the steps that lead to the lower part of campus, towards the nice graduate residences and the park. JJ stuck her hands deep into her jacket pockets, the fresh air making her feel a bit better.

“Will broke up with me,” she says to Spencer, not looking at him as she spoke.

“I’m sorry,” he replied, following suit.

“I’m…. not,” she admitted.

She found that in the cool, fall air, the words flowed out and after she started, it didn’t seem to stop.

“I’m not and I should be. I should be crying about my breakup, eating chocolate and watching shitty romcoms with Penelope. I should be calling my mom and getting advice about my heartbreak. I should be getting drunk and trying to rebound. For some reason, I’m just… angry.”

She stood, raising her arms into the air.

“I feel embarrassed that he was the one who broke up with me when I didn’t even like him that much.”

She sighed. He looked at her with wide eyes, listening intently without any judgment, or reservations. He wasn’t pushing her to share, or judging her for her words.

“And I think I like someone else.”

JJ did not mean to say that. She looked back over at Spencer, who didn’t look particularly surprised.

“Emily?” he guessed.

JJ fell silent. She did. She liked Emily. She spent the week running from that, and it had been staring her in the face the whole time. She nodded.

“That’s great!” he replied with a smile. “I think you would be really good together.”

JJ was struck with this. She wasn’t expecting the homophobia she remembered from high school, but she was not expecting this.

“We would?” She found herself smiling as she said this.

“Yeah, I think she likes you too.”