#(I’d checked at 2. saw it was there. didn’t use it. came back at 5 it was still there so like a reasonable amount of time to get it)

[pebblezone]

Idk how welcome home has overrun literally all of my social media but I guess I welcome it

[snowysosturn]

Speeding Car - Matt Sturniolo Part 12

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25 Part 26 Part 27 Part 28 Part 29

Pairing : y/n x Matt Sturniolo

Summary : After six years with your boyfriend Alex, you start to mentally check out. At a UCLA party, Alex reconnects with his childhood friend Emily, who proposes a double date with her boyfriend Matt. Your attraction to Matt grows as he pays you the first real attention you've had in years, sparking a complicated emotional journey.

Warnings : MDNI, tension, angst

The silence in my apartment was suffocating after Alex stormed out, slamming the door behind him. I replayed our argument over and over, each word cutting deeper. How did we get here? I’d spent the last month caring for him, rearranging my life to cater to him. Now, he was off to Barcelona with Emily, leaving me to pick up the pieces. A bitter laugh escaped me. Of course, he chose her over me. I couldn't even spend our last night together before his trip.

I angrily wiped away tears, trying to suppress the rising wave of emotions. It wasn't just the argument with Alex that hurt, it was everything else too. Matt’s silence since the fight, the confusion about what almost happened between us, and the sinking feeling that maybe I wasn’t enough. Not for Alex, not for anyone.

Curling up on the couch, the apartment felt empty and cold. I didn’t know what to do with myself. Now there was nothing to distract me from the growing loneliness. My phone buzzed, and my heart skipped a beat, hoping it was Alex with an apology. But it was Nick. Surprised, I hesitated before opening the message.

 "Hey, are you okay? I heard Alex is staying here tonight.. Do you want to hang out?"

A wave of gratitude washed over me. I hadn’t realized how much I needed someone to reach out until I saw Nick’s message. I quickly replied, "I’d really like that. I can order you an Uber?"

His response came instantly. "Yeah, that’d be great. Thanks."

As I waited for Nick to arrive, a mix of emotions swirled inside me. I hadn’t expected to hear from him, let alone tonight. The last time I saw Nick was the same night I last saw Matt, and now that he was coming over, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But one thing was clear - I was grateful someone cared enough to check on me, even if it wasn’t the person I had hoped for.

When Nick arrived, his soft smile and warm greeting were comforting. “Hey girl” he said, his voice soothing. We sat on the couch, and after a brief silence, he said, “I’m really sorry about everything that’s been going on.”

“Everything’s just a mess, you know? I’ve been trying so hard to make things work with Alex, but it feels like I’m the only one who cares. And now he’s off to Barcelona with Emily, and I’m just.. here.”

Nick nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, I get that. It’s not fair that he left like that, especially after everything you’ve done for him, but don’t worry we’re making sure you’re busyyyyy while he’s away.”

I smirked at his last comment, I could really use more time out of the house. “I just don’t understand what I’m doing wrong. Why does it feel like I’m never enough?”

“You’re not doing anything wrong,” Nick said firmly. “Alex is the one who’s screwing up, not you. You’ve been bending over backward for him, and he’s just taking you for granted.”

His words hit me hard, and I had to look away, blinking back tears. “It just hurts, you know? I’ve given so much, and it feels like he doesn’t even care. I just feel so lonely.”

Nick placed a comforting hand on my arm. “You deserve better than that, Y/n. You deserve someone who actually appreciates everything you do. Maybe it's time to end things with him?”

No one had ever said those words to me before, so it came as a shock. “Maybe.. But thank you, Nick. It means a lot.”

We talked for a while,  gossiped and watched some episodes of RuPaul’s Drag Race and slowly, the weight of the evening lifted. 

Matt’s POV

The next morning, the blaring jingle of my alarm pulled me from a restless sleep. I quietly got dressed, trying not to wake Emily, who was sprawled across the bed, completely oblivious to the storm brewing in my head.

Once I was ready, I nudged Emily gently. “Hey, we need to get going soon if you want to make your flight.”

She groaned, burying her face in the pillow. “Just five more minutes…”

“Emily, come on,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm. “You’re gonna miss your flight if you don’t get up.”

“Ughhh, fine,” she mumbled, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. She looked at me through half open eyes, clearly not a morning person. “Why do these flights have to be so early?”

I didn’t answer, knowing it wouldn’t make a difference. I grabbed her suitcase to carry it downstairs and started wheeling it towards the door. Alex was already waiting, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He looked just as groggy as Emily, but there was a tension in his jaw that told me he hadn’t forgotten our argument. I knew better than to bring it up again.

The car ride to the airport was quiet, filled with the sound of Emily typing away on her phone. She showed me pictures of clubs and bars she wanted to visit in Barcelona, but my mind was elsewhere.

“Do you know anyone in Barcelona?” Emily asked suddenly. “Maybe you could get us into some VIP sections or something?”

“Emily, I’m just a YouTuber. Who the fuck would I know in Barcelona?”

She pouted slightly, disappointed. “Oh, come on, you must know someone. Doesn’t everyone in LA have some kind of connection?”

“Not really my scene, Em,” I replied, focusing on the road.

We pulled up to the airport, the morning sun just starting to peak over the horizon. I parked the car and helped them with their bags. The airport buzzed with people rushing to catch flights.

I gave Emily a kiss goodbye as Alex walked to check in. “See you in 10 days, don't miss me too much! I love you!” Emily said, looking over her shoulder as she walked toward Alex. “Have a great time Em, love you too.” I lingered by the entrance, watching them navigate the crowd together. Emily clung to Alex’s arm, talking animatedly about something. Alex seemed more interested in getting their bags through. I felt a strange emptiness in my chest. The argument with Alex, the tension between us, and now this… something had to change. But I wasn’t sure what or how.

I drove back home, the sun now fully up. The roads were clearer, but my mind was anything but. The silence in the car was deafening, and for the first time in a long while, I wished Emily was here with me, chattering away about something meaningless purely to take my mind off everything. My mind was a mess of thoughts, always circling back to Nick and Y/n. I couldn’t get over the fact that Nick had gone to her place last night. Why did she call an Uber for him? Was she avoiding me? I know I hadn’t been in touch with her but It wasn’t intentional, things got so complicated. But maybe that was just an excuse. I was scared.. scared of what might happen if I did see her again.

A notification popped up on my dashboard screen, snapping me out of my thoughts. A message from Nick: “Can you come pick me up from Y/n’s?”

My heart skipped a beat at the sight of her name. I made Siri send a quick response, “On my way!”

The drive to Y/n’s apartment was short, but it felt like forever. My mind raced with questions. Was I going to see her? When I finally pulled up outside her building, my heart was pounding. I scanned the area, hoping to catch a glimpse of her, but there was no sign of her car that's usually parked in the same spot. I parked up, texting Nick to let him know I was outside and waited.

After a few minutes, Nick emerged, smiling as he spotted my car. I couldn’t help the wave of disappointment when I realized Y/n wasn’t with him to show him out. Nick got in, buckling his seatbelt.

“Morning,” he greeted.

“Morning,” I replied. “Where’s Y/n?”

“Oh she went to work hours ago.” Nick explained. “She told me I could stay as long as I wanted when she left, she just put the door on auto lock so it would close properly behind me.”

Nick kept up a steady stream of conversation on the drive home, mostly talking about how nice it was to hang out with Y/n last night. I tried to focus, but my thoughts kept drifting back to her. What if she was mad at me? What if she regretted almost kissing me? Did she even mention me at all? The uncertainty was eating me alive.

Nick must have noticed my silence. “You okay, Matt? You’ve been pretty quiet.”

I forced a smile. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just tired, I guess, from being up so early..”

Nick didn’t seem convinced, but he didn’t push it. Instead, he leaned back and let the music fill the car, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

By the time we got back to the house, I was exhausted, not just physically, but mentally. The weight of everything that had happened over the past few weeks was pressing down on me, and I knew I couldn’t keep ignoring it. But right now, all I wanted was to crawl back into bed and shut the world out, even if just for a little while.

Y/n’s POV

The blaring sound of my alarm clock pulled me out of the depths of a short sleep. Nick and I were laughing so much last night that it ended up being very late getting to bed. I groaned, rubbing the exhaustion from my eyes as I rolled out of bed. Today was the last of my early morning shifts at Target, and the thought of returning to a normal schedule next week was the only thing keeping me going. These early shifts had been isolating, to say the least. It felt like everyone else was living their lives in a different time zone, and I was drifting in a space where no one else existed. Even Jess, who used to be my go to for venting about the monotony of day to day life, had been absent. We hadn’t seen or heard from each other since the night of Alex’s fight either. Opposite shifts had kept us apart, and I missed her more than I realized.

By the time my shift ended, I felt drained, not just from the physical exhaustion, but from the emotional toll everything had taken on me. I checked my phone as I walked out of the store, blinking against the harsh daylight. There was a text from Alex. Hesitating for a moment, I finally opened it.

“I’m sorry about last night. I know I’ve been a lot to deal with lately. I don’t want you to feel like you’re not enough because you are. I promise I’ll make it up to you when I get back. I love you.”

Reading his apology didn’t bring the comfort it might have once. Instead, it felt like another weight pressing down on me, making it harder to breathe. I realized, in that moment, that I was done. Mentally. Physically. Emotionally. But admitting it to myself and actually going through with ending things with Alex were two very different things. I wasn’t sure I was strong enough to face that yet. Not now, not with everything else piling up around me.

I typed out a quick response, keeping it brief. “Okay. Have a safe flight. Love you too.”

Moments later, another message from Alex popped up. “Thanks. Can you keep an eye on my email while I’m gone? Still waiting to hear from the board about their decision.”

My heart sank. I completely forgot the internal investigation after the fight had weighed heavily on him, and me by extension. The Bruins management had mentioned the possibility of a suspension or even stripping away his captaincy, a prospect that had left him in a state of constant anxiety. I’d been there for him through it all, yet it seemed like no matter what I did, it was never enough to pull him out of his own head.

When I finally got home, the only thing I wanted was to collapse into bed. The thought of facing the day was too much to bear, and I let myself fall into the comfort of my blankets. The weight of the last few weeks pressed down on me until I drifted into a fitful sleep.

When I woke up, it was dark outside. I felt disoriented, my mind still tangled in the remnants of dreams I couldn’t remember. The apartment was silent, and the loneliness hit me harder than I expected. I’d grown used to having someone around, even if that someone was Alex, with all his faults and shortcomings. But last night, when Nick had stayed over, it had been different. There was something comforting about his presence, something that made the emptiness feel less suffocating.

But it made me realise how much I missed Matt. The way he’d disappeared from my life so suddenly had left a void that no one else could fill. Even having Nick around hadn’t been enough to keep me from thinking about Matt. The connection we’d shared, brief as it was, had been real. I could still feel the electricity from that almost kiss, the tension that had hung between us like a charged wire.

In a moment of weakness, I found myself reaching for my phone. I wondered what Matt was doing right now. Did he ever think about me? Did he miss me as much as I missed him? My thumb hovered over the Youtube search bar, a reckless idea forming in my mind.

The Sturniolo Triplets.

It didn’t take long to find their YouTube channel. My heart raced as I clicked on the first video that caught my eye, the familiar sound of Matt’s voice filling the room. As the video played, I felt a strange sense of comfort wash over me. This was probably the closest I’d get to him again, watching him through a screen, pretending he was still a part of my life.

But as much as I tried to lose myself in the videos, the loneliness crept back in. The emptiness that Matt’s absence had left was still there, refusing to be ignored. Just as I was about to close the app, my phone buzzed with a new message.

Nick 💜:  “Want to hit Topgolf in a bit? One of our friends from Boston is here. We can pick you up on the way.”

We? who was we?

a/n: okay kind of a filler chapter buuuuut maybe just maybe a certain two people reunite in the next chapter

taglist : @muwapsturniolo @anitahunt @sturnfannn @jayde510 @chrissfavhoe @babyalliah-777 @v33angel @urmom69lol @willowrites @ribread03 @2muchofaslvt @sturnsaver @sleepysturniolo @jcsturniolo11 @jessie-essie @hoeforchrizz @mynbbys @sturniolopanini @mattsturnxoxo @delicatechrry @t77te @sturnsyaper69 @hotdismylife @maggot3647 @ivysturnss @noplaceissafeanymore @mattssgf @yourfavsturniologirl @maethem0nth @sillyponygrl @mattyblover07 @imjusthereforthesturniolosmut @dominicfikeenthusiast @mattsfavbigtitties @ncm9696

[lcandothisallday]

A Shot Worth Taking - Jeremy (WMCJ) x f!reader

Part 2 - First Date

warnings: none

series masterlist!

You sat nervously in the restaurant, waiting on Jeremy to arrive. It was your first date with him and he already wasn't making the greatest impression by being fifteen minutes late. He had offered to pick you up from your apartment but you opted to meeting him at the restaurant, not wanting him to deal with the intense LA traffic--but now you were regretting that decision.

You took a sip of your water and tapped your acrylic nails on the wooden table, letting out a sigh. You looked entirely too good to be stood up and the sympathetic stares you were getting from the restaurant staff were starting to piss you off. 

When your phone buzzed, you scrambled to see who texted you, part of you hoping to see Jeremy’s name pop up with an explanation as to why he’s late or if he was gonna show up at all. Instead it was your best friend Vanessa checking in.

Vanessa: Still a no show?

You: Yeah. Just hoping he’s stuck in traffic or something. I’m giving it 5 more mins

Vanessa: Well good luck and update me💖

You turn off your screen and place your phone down once again. You wait a few more minutes and just as you were about to give up, Jeremy rushes into the restaurant, frantically looking around to find you. Once his eyes laid on you, he let out a breath of relief, coming up to you with an apologetic look in his eyes.

“Y/N I’m so sorry,” he began, his voice breathless. “I had a long day--was training a client then did a few side hustles before I got home and...I really had to shower before seeing you and--”

He was going to continue rambling but you only let out a small laugh and waved him off. “Jeremy it’s fine,” you interrupted him in reassurance, giving him a kind smile. He seemed sincere enough that you believed him and wanted to give him a chance—and his rambling was cute you thought.

Truth be told though, part of the reason why Jeremy was late was because he had forced Kamal into playing an extra pick up to hustle a few extra bucks so that he could pay for the date. Unlike before with Tatiana, since the relationship was quite established, they could each pick up the bill on different occasions, depending on the circumstances. But that was before--and with you, he wanted to impress you so he had to have the money. Of course he wasn’t going to let you know all that though.

Jeremy let out another breath of relief before he pulled out the chair and sat opposite you. That’s when you truly got the chance to take in his appearance properly. His curls were beautifully bouncy and he wore the cutest little white crochet-like open button up that complimented him so well. A complete 180 to what you saw him wear at the pick up. 

Jeremy’s nerves got the best of him and all he could do was stare at you mesmerized, prompting you to talk first. “You um...you look very nice,” you complimented him, your cheeks flaring up with heat as you said it. 

His eyes widened at your compliment and his own cheeks went pink. He licked his lips and smiled at you humbly. Goes down the drain his confidence and all his game. “Thank you...you look absolutely beautiful,” he commented back, his hand gesturing to your everything causing you to giggle.

The waitress came and took your orders—not without giving you a questioning look before she had walked off to put it in. You didn’t quite understand why she gave you that look but little did you know it was because Jeremy and Tatiana used to frequent that particular restaurant a lot when they were still together and the waitress caught on.

“Sooo,” Jeremy began, his arms resting on the table in front of him. “You into basketball?”

You shrugged, “I mean—I’d call myself a casual fan. I follow up during the playoffs mostly,” you explain.

Jeremy hummed in understanding. “What team you got? The Lakers?” he asked, his assumption based off of the fact that you were born and raised in LA.

“The Warriors actually—”

Jeremy groaned, “don’t tell me you crushin’ on Jordan Poole too—”

“What?! He’s cute!” you defended with a laugh. “But I can think of a cuter basketball player,” you flirt, your grin widening as you see him instantly shut up and turn visibly red.

“Aight bet,” he chuckled, nodding before he nervously began to play with his fingers. “Were you uh…were you at the pick up watching anyone in particular though?” he mumbled out in question, wanting to know if there were any other guys in your life, which you easily caught on to.

With a smirk you shook your head no. “Nah…my friend Vanessa—her boyfriend plays baseball in the diamond next to the court. I tagged along for fun,” you hummed in response. “But you definitely caught my eye so I guess I was there watching you.”

Jeremy grinned and his cheeks started to tint pink which thankfully wasn’t too noticeable due to the dim lighting of the restaurant. “M’ glad you came…made it more worth it to win,” he mused.

“Oh I’m sure,” you laughed. “You’re a cocky player, you know?”

Jeremy scoffed playfully, although his expression was one filled with amusement in the conversation. “Don’t act like you didn’t like the attention—plus I’m only cocky cos I’m good,” he shrugged.

“I guess I can’t argue there,” you giggle, before you’re interrupted by your phone ringing, signalling someone was trying to face time you.

You look at the caller ID and silence the ringing to respect the fact that you’re on a date. Jeremy ignored it and continue the conversation with you when it rang again.

“You can answer it you know. It’s fine,” Jeremy reassured with a smile. You instantly wave him off with a laugh. “It’s only my nephew—he forces his dad to give him the phone around this time to call me,” you explain with a chuckle. “But it’s fine. I’ll call him back when I’m back home.”

“How old is he?”

“He turns seven in August—”

As Jeremy goes to respond, your phone rings again which makes the curly haired man laugh. “At this point you have to respond. Can’t keep little man waiting,” he mused.

With a playful roll of your eyes, you pick up your phone and accept the face time. As it finally connected, Jeremy couldn’t help but be mesmerized as he watched your reaction to greeting your nephew. The way your eyes lit up and the cutest smile adorned your features made his heart melt.

“Auntie Y/N!! I called you like three times!” the little boy’s exaggerated voice sounded through the speakers, causing you and Jeremy to laugh. “I wanted to tell you I got an A+ on my spelling test!”

Your grin widened, “that’s very good, Adam! I’m so proud of you!” you exclaim.

The little boy giggled before he looked closer at the screen and furrowed his brows. “Waaaaiiit…where are you?” he pouted, noticing the darker scenery and dim lights, and the fact that you were dressed up with makeup on, instead of home in your pjs.

You bit your lip and your gaze shifted over to Jeremy, seeing he had on an amused smile waiting to see how you’d respond. “I’m having dinner with a friend,” you respond, cheeks heating up. “Wanna say hi?”

You giggle as you watch Adam’s eyes go wide before he bashfully hid his face in his hand as you turn the camera towards Jeremy who grinned upon seeing the little boy.

“Hey little man! I’m Jeremy. How’s it going?” he mused.

His cheeks went red from shyness as he squeaked out a quiet ‘good.’

Jeremy knew if he wanted to impress you, he had to win over your nephew so he kept going. “Is that a soccer jersey you have on?”

At the talk of soccer, Adam’s eyes lit up in excitement. “Yeah! I had a game today!”

“Oh that’s so cool!” Jeremy exclaimed. “I’m more into basketball myself but soccer is cool too…maybe we can play together sometime?” he suggested, causing the boy to grin adorably and nod his head.

“Mind if your auntie calls you back later? We’re…” you watch as he dramatically leans closer to the phone screen and cups his hand up pretending to whisper. “I’ll tell you a lil secret…we’re on a date,” he exaggeratedly whispered. “Hoping she’ll be my girlfriend eventually,” he mused, causing your cheeks to flare up with heat. “But I gotta impress her on this date first.”

Adam went shy again as he nodded his head timidly. “I like you Mr. Jeremy…so okay,” he giggled. Jeremy bid his good bye to the boy before you retracted your arm to say good bye yourself.

“Bye habibi, I’ll talk to you later okay?” you confirm. “Love you, bye.” You end the call and look up at Jeremy with the widest grin.

“You're cute and good with kids?” you ask playfully. “And to think I thought I was gonna get stood up by you.”

“Won’t have to worry about that with me,” he mused, sending a wink your way. “What did that mean by the way?” he asked. “The word you called him when you were saying bye.”

“Oh habibi?” you asked, your demeanour now shy. “It just basically means ‘my love’ in arabic...I don’t speak the language much but a few words sneak out here and there,” you explain.

Jeremy grinned at your explanation before he leaned back in his chair comfortably. “I like that...to be honest—I like the way you say it more. It’s quite...exotic.”

“Oh my god! Don’t ever say that again!” you laughed, shaking your head. Jeremy giggled at your reaction before he leaned in closer to you once more.

“So...you know about me...my passion for basketball and the way I hustle...so what’s up with you?” he mused in question.

You merely shrugged. “Not much to know...I work at a Sephora.”

Jeremy nodded. “You close to your family?”

“That’s...” you take in a breath. “A complicated answer,” you admit to him shamefully. “My brother, he’s two years older than I am--he got his college girlfriend pregnant in his first year and of course that fucked up the whole family dynamic because how could my perfect brother be so careless...but he and the girl managed to work things out up until she gave birth and when Adam was two months she gave up completely and gave up all her rights and literally disappeared off of the face of the earth.”

Jeremy showed that he was listening intently and urged you to continue. “So my brother was gonna drop out, but he had worked so hard to get into UCLA so I ended up deferring going to college myself and stayed home with Adam...but one year led to another and another and I just never got to it,” you chuckled sadly. “My brother graduated, got a big tech job in Silicon Valley and got married to the perfect girl and had another kid and like...I know I should happy for him for escaping that cycle he could’ve gotten into as a drop out single dad but...it just sucks cos they moved hours away and my parents now think I did nothing with my life,” you shrugged, fiddling with the rings on your finger.

Jeremy reached across the table to take on of your hands into his. “Have you ever considered going back to school?”

“College, never. Can’t afford it...I’ve been thinking of community college but...I don’t know if I’m mentally prepared to start studying again after so many years outta the game,” you laughed. “So here I am instead working shifts at Sephora and going to silly little pick up games where I meet cute endearing guys.”

“Ima ignore the fact that you said guys as a plural and focus on the fact that you called me cute and endearing.”

You grinned, “whatever floats your boat.”

[ramspatula]

Zinnias | Lloyd Garmadon x reader | Part 6

Homeless, forced to leave the city but not alone

Previous part, Master list, Next Part

I came to a realisation as I let Lloyd lead me to the top of this skyscraper. I trusted him too much. That and he was the only thing stopping these stone warriors from killing me. He seemed to be the only thing stopping them, I could see how the other ninjas rendered useless at the seemingly impenetrable opponents. I thought they had powers? Why was Lloyd the only one using powers? How have I ended up in two situations like this in the span of 2 days?! A tug and my body colliding with another as a sword just missed me gave me my answer. I looked up to my green saviour, who looked down to check on me before leading me into the building where everyone was running up the stairs.

“Go! I’ll be up there soon!” Lloyd told me.

“But-“ He shook his head.

“No. I’ll be okay, I’ll see you soon. Just get to the roof and make sure you get on the bounty.” Lloyd told me, I looked up at the stairs but I refused to let go of his hand as I turned back around to look into his eyes.

“Lloyd, please-“ I wanted him to come up with me now.

“Ease my conscious, please, Y/n.” Something glitched, I didn’t care what. I couldn’t believe what I was about to do. I couldn’t believe I could leave him like this.

“I will come straight back down if you’re not up there within the next 5 minutes.” I told him and he nodded, I kissed the cheek of the mask before running up the stairs.

These stairs seemed to go on forever, I heard someone collapse and I turned to see an elderly woman. Against my better judgment, I ran to her and helped her up. I put one of her arms around my shoulders and held most of her weight. She thanked me endlessly as we made our way up these stairs. I was trying to be quick until I saw Jay grab the woman’s other arm and wrap it around his shoulders and together we charged up the stairs. Another women, younger, ran to the elderly woman and took her off us. I could now see how many people were trying to get onto the bounty, which was a flying ship.

“I don’t think everyone is going to fit.” I said to Jay who was next to me.

“They will, we’ll make sure of it. The bounty is tougher than she looks and bigger.” He was right. It was a lot wider than it looked. I ended up next to Kai who had a hand on his com which was in his ear.

“Everyone is on board, including Peach, waiting for Green and Misako.” He said and I couldn’t hear if anyone responded.

“Where is he?” I asked, not wanting to wait any longer.

“On his way, a satchel that has all the final battle scrolls got caught on something and they had to retrieve it. They’re on their way now.” Kai tried to calm me. It didn’t work.

“We need to get this thing moving, and soon!” Cole called out, the civilians nodded and agreement was heard.

“Not until those two are on board!” Wu and I finally agreed on something for once. It wasn’t long until we saw them emerge from the stair well. Lloyd boosted his mother or board and I watched as multiple stone warriors infiltrated the roof and tried to attack the thrusters. Lloyd looked directly in my eyes before fighting the stone warriors and getting rid of the one attacking the thrusters. We began to steer off and I felt my heart drop. We couldn’t just be leaving him? I heard Misako calling out for her son who used a stone warrior to jump on and then leap towards the bounty. Barely making it and clinging onto the side, he pulled himself on board. I’d never been so full of relief.

🪺. *. ⋆

We were in the air for an hour before we landed. That whole time I couldn’t hug or even interact with Lloyd in order to avoid suspicion. Jay told me that to which I almost yelled at him when he immediately walked away after that. When everyone had got off at and the ninja confirmed no one else was on board, I found Lloyd below deck who had just took his mask off.

“Did I scare you?” He asked and I hit his arm to which he giggled. I clung to him after and relished in the way his arms closed around me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to actually make you worry.” He apologised and I held him tighter.

“I thought you weren’t going to make it then.” I said and Lloyd leant his head atop of mine.

“Well I did and I’m here.” He told me, I tried to look up at him, making him move his head off mine. He knew what I wanted. Thats how we stood for a moment, in the hallway, stuck to each other like glue. Kissing like we needed each other. I was starting to believe we did. It’s almost how Lloyd spoke about how he felt. Through affection and touch, I knew he didn’t know how to communicate his feelings. It seemed like affection and any intimacy filled a hole in Lloyd he didn’t know how to fill on his own. He knew what to say to assure others but not himself. “This might be wrong to say, but I think I need you.” Lloyd said and I smiled.

“You need me? I think I need you?” I said and he smiled.

“I think we need each other.” He told me and I played with the ends of his hair that brushed the back of his neck.

“You do more for me than I do for you. That much is obvious now.” I said, he frowned.

“You make me feel human again. You remind me that I’m Lloyd, not the green ninja. I think you might be crazy. Picking me over the green ninja when you had the choice?” He said and I laughed.

“I liked the nice boy I met over the green saviour who saved me. Greenie was funny but Lloyd makes me feel warm. Like it’s worth it. That’s not a feeling that you just come across.” I said and he kissed me again.

“That alone does more for me than picking up a sword and fighting for me ever would.” Lloyd said, the smile on my face wouldn’t leave.

“Can we go on a date after this?” I asked and he laughed.

“Of course.” He told me. “What do you want to do?” Lloyd asked and I paused in thought.

“I don’t know, just like some cheap place and then we do something fun after.” I said and he laughed.

“Well we don’t have to wait for the date for the fun stuff. Unless you want me to be a true gentlemen?” He asked and I laughed.

“I think we’re past that.” I said and he shrugged.

“Worth asking.” Lloyd said and I laughed again.

“You’re amazing.” I told him and he shook his head.

“You can’t say that to me when you’re looking up at me like that.” He warned and I smiled.

“Surely someone tells you it.” I said and his face told me otherwise. “Lloyd Garmadon, you are amazing.” I told him and his smile that reminded me of a child getting praised almost made tears spring to my eyes which almost poured out when he hugged me and rested his head atop mine again. “I’ve got it so lucky with you.” I told him to which he didn’t move. I swayed us gently. It wasn’t until he pulled us into a separate room and after a few confusing moments did I hear Kai and Jay walking past. Lloyd sunk against the door, tears were in his eyes. My heart broke for him.

I slid between Lloyd’s legs, he let me sit between them with my back to his chest. His arms fell back around me. His head fell to my neck where the now scar was.

“You smell really good.” He said, his voice sounded weak.

“It’s okay if it’s all just hit you.” I said and he shook his head.

“It’s not that… I have to fight him.” Lloyd said like it was a realisation.

“Your Dad?” I asked and he nodded.

“I have to fight and win which means I probably need to kill him.” Lloyd told me and I shook my head.

“Not necessarily! And even if so, you’re doing it because you have to. Not because you want to. Fate is cruel, fuck it.” I said and he smiled.

“You shouldn’t say that, they don’t like it.” He told me and I shrugged.

“I don’t care what they like, not when it hurts you.” I told him and he sighed.

“I am the green ninja.” He told me and I shook my head.

“You’re Lloyd.” I told him and he smiled.

“I’m getting confused. I’m both.” Lloyd told me and I smiled.

“Well I love Lloyd so you have to be Lloyd.” I told him and he smiled, holding me tighter.

“I’m Lloyd then.” He told me and I smiled, kissing his cheek.

“Good, Greenie is my homeboy so-“ he started laughing and sat up, resting his head against the door.

“I don’t have to worry about you and this homeboy, do I?” He asked and I pretended to be in thought.

“I don’t know something about masked men in green really gets me-“ He squeezed me and I yelped before laughing.

“It’ll be okay, you’ll be okay. Just do what you have to do and win, okay?” I told Lloyd who nodded.

“Will you be okay?” He asked and I smiled.

“Me? I’ll be more than okay. You should worry for how well I’m doing.” I said and he smiled.

“Seriously, I don’t know how long I’m probably going to be gone for.” Lloyd said and I frowned.

“Gone? I’m coming with.” I said and immediately shook his head.

“No. That’s a horrible idea.” He told me and I shook my head.

“You can’t stop me.” I told him, standing up.

“I can and I will!” He told me, I shook my head.

“I don’t exactly have somewhere to stay anyway! And you need me.” I said, he look bewildered.

“Exactly! I need you- alive! And stay at the monastery!” He told me, I sighed.

“On my own?! No thanks.” I told him as we now made our way down the hall. We ran into Cole.

“You’ll need masks on up there, we’re currently sitting ducks until Nya and Jay can get the thrusters working again.” He told me, handing me some form on ninja mask.

“Thanks!” I said, putting it on.

“They need you out there, big guy. There’s some heavy lifting that needs doing and I still have no powers.” Cole told Lloyd who nodded.

“I’ll be out there in a minute.” Lloyd said before turning to me. “You’re not coming with us to find my Dad, it’s not safe.” He continued, I rolled my eyes.

“I’ll be fine, I want to see what’s going on outside. I thought we’d already be up by now.” I said and he looked around like he was going crazy.

“Can you not hear me-?! You’re not coming, Y/n!” Half the hallway glitched and I turned to him to glare. These masks were surprisingly easy to breathe in. “Sorry- just… I can’t let you be in danger like that- I need a reason to come home. To fight for.” He told me and that made me pause.

“Lloyd-“ I started but was cut off.

“I’m afraid I must disagree with you, nephew.” A senior voice stated. I turned to see Wu making his way down the hallway with Misako by his side.

“What?” Lloyd asked, Wu’s eyes squinted a little as they stared at each other.

“I think it is best that ‘Peach’ accompany us.” He stated and I felt a triumphant feeling consume me whilst Lloyd’s heart dropped beside me.

“No-!” He immediately objected.

“I have already made the decision.” Wu stated, much to his nephew’s dread. “It is no secret that since Peach has entered your life, you are a new man. Focused, confident and alert. This secureness she instils in you, nephew, is exactly what you need to be able to take down this evil in your father and win the final battle.” Wu said and I almost felt like I was getting credit for something I didn’t do.

“Uncle, please- I don’t want her in harm’s way. She’s not trained or a ninja and she can’t control her power- how can she protect herself against whatever my father will be sending our way?” Lloyd asked, and it was a good argument.

“From what I’ve seen, she is quite capable of handling herself. Her powers seem to be quite active and protective. They are not of elemental origin, that unpredictability might prove useful in our ventures.” Wu told Lloyd who shook his head in disbelief.

“I can’t believe this.” Lloyd said and Misako jumped in.

“Control your temper, son. Your father will be sure to exploit it if not.” Probably the wrong person to be trying to lecture him. I felt like I was in the middle of everything even though they were arguing over me.

“I guess you’re coming then.” Lloyd said, annoyed. I didn’t know what to say back. I had gone against him and now everyone was against him.

“I didn’t mean-“ he was already heading up to the deck.

“Give him time, he is awfully protective of you.” Misako said and I nodded, pushing back the and though that crossed my head and asked if she even knew her son well enough to make that judgement of him.

“Thanks, I’m going to somewhere I’m not bothering anyone for a minute.” I said and turned away, I ignored how I made a door glitch off its hinges.

🪺. *. ⋆

After about an hour of sitting in a silent room and being filled with self-deprecating thoughts. I noticed that there was no roar of thrusters or movement at all. The ship was perfectly still and considering all passengers had been unloaded almost 2 hours ago, this was concerning because it meant we were still around those who had been evacuated. I thought we’d of left by now. And well, I had enough of being curious so I forced myself off the ground and headed towards the stairs to the main deck. My entrance went mainly unnoticed until I gathered the courage to voice my concerns.

“Why are we still on the ground?” I asked, seeing the huddle outside. Lloyd dropped part of a massive thruster. I didn’t realise how big those thrusters were. Were we in a fight? Or was he just annoyed?

“Those stone warriors managed to jam a couple swords and other things, mainly metal, into some of the thrusters which melted meaning different parts of our thrusters are now one big heroes mess so until we can replace them, we’re sitting ducks.” Nya complained, wrench in hand which probably proved useless now.

“What are we supposed to do now?! We have to get to the dark island somehow.” Kai complained and I frowned.

“I’m not even sure that’s a good idea, we couldn’t do shit to those things- why do we want to go to an island full of them?!” Cole asked and he had a good point to be fair.

“It’s true, my powers only slowed them down.” Lloyd added.

“Sorry but we’re not in much look of our defences are the green ninja who can only slow them and Peach who can beat them but not on command.” Nya said and they all sighed.

“The bounty is a ship right?” I asked, they nodded.

“We fixed her into a flying ship when we first found her, quite the technological advancement if I do say so myself.” Jay tapped the side of the bounty.

“If the bounty is a ship, why don’t we just sail it?” I asked and they looked at me with blank stairs until Nya hit herself in the head, almost catching herself with her wrench.

“It’s a boat!” She exclaimed as if I hadn’t just said that.

“We’ve never sailed her before, who knows if she could even hold up in water?” Cole stated and Kai shrugged.

“She was a ship, that was shipwrecked when we found her. She’s clearly been out in the sea before and she’s definitely a lot more tougher now.” Kai added.

“The correct proportions as well considering how effortlessly she flew.” Zane added and I frowned, did this much consideration need to go into the fact that a ship sails on water.

“So we’re sailing?” I asked and Nya nodded.

“We’re sailing!” She exclaimed. “We just needs to get her into the water first.” She exclaimed in a way that made you think the water ninja was going to get the water to come up and push the boat into water considering we’re right next to the ocean. “We need a dock.” She said. Why did everything that made sense to do, not happen?

🪺. *. ⋆

“Are you mad at me?” I asked, I’d been watching Lloyd run around doing things for 10 minutes now. Currently, he was hauling the anchor back up after testing that it still worked and was heavy enough.

“Mad at you? No. Mad that I’m not being listened to? Yes.” He told me and I looked up at him. He wasn’t looking at me.

“Seems like you’re mad at me.” I said and he sighed, setting the anchor back in place.

“You’re not listening to me.” He said and I sighed. Who let this man be sassier than me?

“I’m sorry but you look too good right now for me to fully be able to pay attention to whatever is coming out your mouth. Do you arms always look that big or-?” He turned to me, a small smile on his face.

“You’re already trouble.” Lloyd told me and I grinned.

“But look how focused you are!” I teased and he laughed, pulling me in close to him.

“Oh im so focused.” He said and I let him kiss me briefly before both smiling in our position. “What was I doing again?” He questioned and I laughed.

“Not her. Help us push this boat into water.” Kai’s voice cut in and I laughed, he rolled his eyes.

“Am I forgiven?” I asked and he smiled.

“I suppose.” He said and kissed me one last time before pulling down his mask and jumping off the side of the bounty to where Kai had disappeared to. That was hot.

🪺. *. ⋆

They got the bounty into the water safely, it was right next to a dock and that’s when I noticed Zane and Cole were back with many bags.

“Spare gis, clothes, everything that you guys put in your emergency bags! Peach, I don’t have a clue what you’re going to do.” Cole said and began hauling the bags onto the deck.

“Oh no, looks like she has to go home.” Lloyd said and I shoved him playfully.

“I’ll let you know when it’s rebuilt.” I shot back and he held his hands up.

“I’ve got spare clothes on the bounty from when we lived on it, they’re up for grabs.” Nya said instead and I nodded in thanks.

“Thank you, my stuff is currently sitting under rubble or halfway across ninjago on someone else’s back.” I reminded them and Cole’s face seemed to fall.

“What are you going to do about your whole living situation?” Jay asked and I shrugged.

“There’s a few shelters I know of. Maybe they’ll give me some sort of hand out or a different place to go.” I said and they looked at me weirdly.

“Shelter?” Kai asked.

“Why can’t you go home- to your parents?” Nya asked instead.

“I haven’t spoke to my mother for like 4 months, haven’t seen any of my family in 4 years and we don’t get along.” I told them.

“They won’t take you in?!” Cole asked, I shrugged.

“They probably would, I’m just not willing to put myself through that.” I said and they frowned. “They’re also not a big fan of the Peach thing.” I explained, they nodded.

“Do they know about your powers?” Kai asked, I shook my head.

“No. I think they’d never talk to me again, so feel free to tell them!” I joked but no one laughed, Lloyd let out a little chuckle but I think it was more at my attempt to lighten the mood. “They’ll know about my school though so I should probably expect a call sometime soon.” I said and they looked between each other before at Lloyd. “A part from that, I think I’m homeless.” I said, it hadn’t really set in yet.

“We’ll find somewhere for you to go- that isn’t some unsafe shelter.” Lloyd said, sure of himself and I smiled and nodded in thanks.

“No need for all this. Peach shall reside with us for as long as she needs.” Wu said, informing everyone of his presence. “In case you haven’t noticed, she is already making some valuable improvements to the teams. That being common sense.” He said as he walked away, I think he was referring to the fact I said a ship can sail.

“He’s a big fan of you.” Jay said and I shrugged.

“I must have some kind of charm with this family.” I said and Lloyd smirked before wrapping his arm around me and guiding me onto the bounty with his bag in hand. Lloyd’s clothes will be good too, I will definitely be wearing some of them.

🪺. *. ⋆

I did have charm with his family. I made Misako laugh so hard she almost spit out her tea onto her scrolls because I mispronounced a word. It was a tough word. And it was long. I even tried sounding it out in my head first. Turns out it was a name for some ancient tea pot. Wu spoke to me endlessly about the 4 golden weapons and the actual prophecy of the green ninja. I held onto each and every one of his words, even when he cut himself off to tell one the ninja to fix their form. We’d only been on the water for a couple days and yet I felt so close to the group already. Even if the group in question spent at least an hour a day standing on their hands whilst balancing an object. Not one of their bodies even shook lightly. I don’t think my body could survive a 2 minute plank without shaking like washing machine with a brick in it. That’s currently how we were, me and Wu sat drinking tea whilst he retells stories of his past ventures and tales of the first spinjitsu master, his father. The ninjas eyes were shut with most their faces holding focused expressions, Lloyd’s eyebrows were creased. He wasn’t meditating, he was overthinking.

“-the key to knowing when you have reached your true potential, is to have a sharp mind. Any of my students will tell you so. There are many teachings I can share with my students but they mean naught when they forget who they are or what they fight for. Do you know the best way to defeat your enemy?” Wu asked and I smiled.

“To be their friend.” I said and he smiled I heard the ninjas groan and share bewildered expressions. Thats the first time they’ve broken meditation the whole time I’ve been here.

“How?!” Jay asked.

“How does your mind even go there?!” Cole asked.

“Even if you defeat an enemy in combat they’re still your enemy. So there’s two ways to have no enemy at all, they die or you make them your friend. Your friends aren’t your enemies and if they are then they aren’t your friends.” I explained and Wu smiled.

“That’s the riddle I gave the ninja when we first took Lloyd in… when he was nothing more than a troubled boy in a skeleton hoodie.” Wu said and Lloyd smiled.

“That’s the day I learnt never to trust a snake.” Lloyd said and I smiled. The ninjas focussed back up and went back into meditation.

“Nephew, you may end your mediation and join us. The rest of you, for your disruption, another hour.” The ninja protested again as Lloyd got back on his feet and headed over.

“Do your hands go numb?” I asked and he smiled as he sat down next to me.

“Not anymore.” Lloyd said and poured his own cup of tea.

“I tried meditating once, not like that, Pearl called me a hippie and I haven’t meditated since.” I said Lloyd laughed.

“We meditate everyday, it helps to keep our emotions regulated so we stay focused in combat.” Lloyd explained.

“How did you find your mediation?” Wu asked and I paused, trying to remember how it felt.

“Weird. I didn’t exactly get the stress relief I wanted but I think that had more to do with the building full of students than the meditation itself.” I said and Wu nodded.

“Living with students can bring many deals of stress.” He said and Lloyd smiled as the other ninja fought their impulsive need to defend themselves.

“You should try again, with us, you’ll probably have better results.” Lloyd suggested and I nodded.

“I can’t stand on my hands for very long if at all anymore.” I said he smiled.

“Not on your hands, just traditional sitting down meditation with some breathing exercises.” He told me and I shrugged.

“Okay but you have to coach me through it.” I said and he smiled.

“I’m not near a master yet but I can walk you through basic meditation.” Lloyd said to which his Uncle nodded.

“Once you’ve mastered meditation, ninjitsu training will come much easier.” My eyes widened. What did that old man just say?

“Me? A ninja?” I asked and Wu nodded, I looked to Lloyd who just looked more stressed.

“If you wish to become one but ninjistu training on its own accompanied by your powers ensure protection. It’s foolish to assume that having these powers will not also bring danger.” Oh. Okay. I liked it better when Wu was freaking out the ninja and not me.

“Wow. Thats a big thing isn’t it?” I asked and Lloyd nodded.

“Knowing how to defend yourself isn’t the worst idea, especially if you’re with me.” Lloyd said and I nodded.

“You’re right… I’m going inside for a bit. I want to watch a rerun of that weird space movie you have on tape.” I said and Lloyd smiled.

“Have fun, I’ll probably join you.” He said and I smiled and held onto his hand for as long as I could before having to let go.

“The ninja will be on their hands for another 50 minutes, I suggest you make use of the limited free time you have.” Wu said and Lloyd frowned.

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Lloyd asked and Wu looked ahead at the other ninja.

“48 minutes.” Wu said instead and Lloyd rushed to his feet.

I was warm. Lloyd’s body was incredibly warm. If I didn’t know him, I’d think he was getting sick. Lloyd let me know that we had about 45 minutes to ourselves and after some time enjoying that fact, we now had 20 minutes to just rest. So my head lay against his chest with half my body sprawled on his as we sat in silence. I traced his bare chest with one finger and listened to his breathing start to even out.

“You’re going to send me to sleep doing that.” Lloyd said and I smiled.

“Good, you need some.” I said and he chuckled, brushing back some wet hair from his face.

“Don’t tell my Uncle this, but I’m glad you’re here. I don’t think I’d be this relaxed without you.” Lloyd said and I let his hand take mine and begin playing with my fingers.

“I’m glad I can be of some help, even if I’m here just to ease my own conscious.” I said and he laughed.

“You do know you’re not coming on the next one though?” Lloyd said and I frowned.

“If you’re leaving for a while I am.” I said. “What would you do without me?” I asked and he sighed.

“I don’t know, stress about you. Just less than I would if you were near the action.” Lloyd said and I smiled up at him. “On this mission- You’re just coming with us, okay? You’re not going near my dad or any of his goons.” Lloyd said and I smiled.

“Are you telling me to not run into potential death with those stone things or your father? Because I can do that.” I said and he laughed.

“That is exactly what I’m telling you.” Lloyd said and I smiled, leaning into him. Suddenly I could hear the patter of rain.

“Is it raining?” I asked and he grinned.

“Yep, and the others still have to be on their hands for 15 minutes.” Lloyd said with a big smile and I laughed before the ship rocked to the side suddenly and I looked at Lloyd alarmed. The rain got significantly heavier after this. A sudden burst of thunder sounded on the deck and I couldn’t help the way I jumped out of shock. Less than 5 minutes later we heard ninja yelling.

“I think we should get dressed and head up there.” I told him and he nodded.

It was raining for sure and Lloyd raced out to help his family. I didn’t dare step out into the rain considering how unsteady the boat was. Jay joined me in hanging back as the others held onto the rope that was keeping the sail hoisted.

“Why don’t you help them?!” I questioned and Jay looked embarrassed.

“I don’t have another pair of underwear.” He admitted and I frowned. Before I could properly questioned him, some star fish looking thing jumped on board by my foot. I looked up to see more of them appearing.

“What are these things?!” Cole exclaimed, kicking one off. Kai picked up one and threw it off board.

“I don’t know but if these things manage to get on us we’re going to look like Y/n after Lloyd discovered what a hickey was.” A bucket flung itself into the side of Kai’s head, by my hand not my power.

“To scoop the fish off the ship. They’re eating through the ship if you haven’t noticed!” I told him. And one glitched away from me after it tried to jump at me.

“You’re not improving the mood as much as I thought you would!” Kai yelled back at me and I rolled my eyes.

“I thought ninja had more common sense!” I counter-argued and he flipped me off.

“You’re dating Lloyd! How did you get that idea?!” Kai said and Lloyd smacked him up the back of his head.

“Now is not the time.” Lloyd told him and Kai rubbed his head before grabbing onto the rope again. Jay was forced to go help out considering the others had to try and keep these star things off the boat.

“Star Teeth! Thats what these are and they won’t stop until we have no ship- you have to get them off board!” Misako ran out from the bounty and I shrugged.

“I think we figured that one out.” I told her as I picked up one and chucked it over.

But it was impossible to keep all those star teeth off and we ended up with a ship that was on the verge of sinking. We were also stuck with using buckets to try and drain the ship of excess water. It was amazing we were even still afloat. We were all wet and cold. I was shivering badly, no matter how I tried to hide it by throwing water back into the ocean with a bucket, it was obvious. I would be surprised if I wasn’t ill after this. At the call of my name, I turned to see Lloyd at the top of the stairs to the lower deck and I nodded.

When I got to the top of the stairs, he began filling me in on what was being said about our situation at sea. I nodded, clenching my jaw tightly to try and avoid my teeth chattering. He frowned when he next looked me over. His hair had dried but mine was still damp and heavy. Lloyd raised his hand to hold my cheek causing my face to instantly relax and my teeth began to chatter. He frown deepened and suddenly the palm I was leaning against was oh so warm, I gasped and leaned into it.

“You’re still so cold,” He stated, concerned. I nodded and Lloyd brought me into his chest and wrapped his arms around me. He was so warm. I clung to him, desperately. His head nestled itself in my hair. “Your hair is damp too- you’re going to get sick-“ He fussed and I squeezed him a little.

“You don’t need to worry so much. We’re all cold and wet.” I said and Lloyd shook his head.

“That’s different, we’re conditioned to endure all kinds of states. You spend your time holed up in your dorm room or robbing small stores.” He said and I gasped.

“Hey! I wasnt holed up in that dorm room alone, I think I’ve proven I can handle quite a lot.” I said and he laughed.

“That you have, however, survival doesn’t rely on that. It just enhances it.” He winked and it was my turn to laugh. Then someone called out his name and he sighed before going to let go of me but I held tighter.

“They can wait.” I told him and Lloyd laughed before grabbing my hands that were gripping the back of his gi and brining them in front of us.

“Come on, we’ll go together.” He told me and I grinned.

I expected a lecture of some sort. Instead, we were greeted with the view of a watch tower like lighthouse on a rocky island. Ninja being ninja, docked the ship and headed straight to the door.

“Do we just knock?” I asked and Jay took my words quite literally and knocked. The camera above the door looked down at us, I gave it a little wave but Lloyd just took my hand and put it down. I frowned at him.

“Waving is offensive in some cultures.” He told me and I looked at him weirdly.

“Waving?!” I questioned and he nodded.

“I wish I was lying.” He said and the door was thrown open and an old man appeared. That was not what I was expecting.

“Zane!” I wasn’t expecting that either. The man threw himself onto the nindroid and held him tightly, tears fell from his eyes as he held the man.

“Father…” Zane answered and my eyes widened. What a twist. They separated and stared at each other for a moment. “I thought you were-“

“Dead? I was for a moment.” Oh, it gets better.

“What happened?” Zane asked and an unsettling noise interrupted the man before he could answer.

“Let’s take this inside.” The man told us and quickly ushered us inside, taking one last precautious look out before slamming the door shut and bolting it excessively shut.

[artiststarme]

What If Steve Were To Leave Hawkins? Part 13

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12

This was a really long chapter lol! We’re almost at the end for this fic, probably a few more parts and then I’ll start posting what I have for the next story. I hope you enjoy this and if you have any ideas for the upcoming parts, let me know!

~*~*~*~

Later that day, Steve sent Eddie to pick up carry-out from his favorite Chinese restaurant a few blocks over. He was bursting at the seams to check in on Robin and update her on his happiness. She was working the night shift at Family Video and he knew from his own past experience that it would be a slow day so there wouldn’t be too many interruptions. 

With a peck to the lips, he shoved Eddie out the door and grabbed the phone in a single movement. 

“Family Video, this is Robin speaking. How can I help you?”

“Hey Robin, it’s Steve,” he said, running a hand through his hair. He had so much to say and so little time before Eddie got back with their food.

“Steve! How are you? How’s Eddie? You haven’t called since I last saw you so I wouldn’t know. What if you were dead in a ditch and Eddie was wanted for murder again, huh? Who would tell me? That’s why you need to call.” She rambled in obvious distress. 

Steve’s brow furrowed in confusion, “How would I call you if I was dead in a ditch? I’d be dead. And I haven’t been murdered yet so I think I’m good, I obviously have a good track record.”

“What? Why did you say ‘yet’? Do not jinx yourself, Steve. If you end up murdered because of that statement, I will find a way to bring you back just to kill you myself. You’re not allowed to die, Dingus,” Robin asserted. 

“Okay!” Steve breathed through a laugh. “I won’t get murdered. At least not before I ask Eddie to move in with me.”

“What?!” Robin shrieked. “Why didn’t you lead with that, you dingus? You just started talking again and now you want him to move in? I think that might be moving a little fast. Like, no offense, but are you even gay?”

Steve hummed and scratched his chin, “I’m bisexual, everybody knows that. And I’m dating Eddie now, he’s my boyfriend. I really like having him around and I know he doesn’t like it much in Hawkins. Do you think he would say yes?”

“Okay, we’ll come back to that later. I can guarantee that not everybody knows that, Steve.  But I know he’ll say yes. He’s liked you for months even though the idiot refused to use his words to talk to you about it. I’m worried that he’ll steal my best friend roommate privileges when you ask him though,” Robin said, more serious and comforting than Steve has heard from her since their last encounter with the Upside Down. 

He thought about her words for a moment before speaking. Best friend roommate privileges? “Wait, what? Why would Eddie steal your roommate privileges? Are you planning on moving?”

Robin giggled dorkily into the phone, “My acceptance letter from University of Illinois came yesterday. I’ve been accepted into UIC! And I know a certain dingus lives really close to the campus and might hopefully be on the market for a roommate.”

“Robin, that’s amazing! Congratulations! Yeah, I’d love to get a place with you. We could get a two bedroom and ask Eddie to move in too!” Steve started thinking about the idea in excitement before his insecurities caught up to him once more. “Wait, but what if Eddie doesn’t want to move in with me? I mean, I know I’m great in small doses but I know I irritate people if I’m around too much.”

“What?” Steve heard outside of the phone’s receiver. When he looked up, Eddie was toeing his combat boots off by the door. “Steve, I want to be around you all the time. I think you’re amazing. I was worried to ask if I could stay because I know I’m annoying and I didn’t want you to get sick of me.”

Steve was in shock. How could anyone be annoyed with any of Eddie’s antics? Anytime he thrummed his fingers against the counter, stuck his tongue out of his mouth, or rambled on about DnD, Steve fell more in love with him. “No Eds, I could never get sick of you! I find all of your habits hot as hell. I’d love for you to move in with Robin and I at our new two bedroom apartment. You’ll have to bunk with Robin though.”

Eddie let out a loud guffaw at his words. He had tears in his eyes as he grabbed Steve’s face and ran his thumb along the light stubble on his jaw. “Jesus Christ Stevie, I love you so much.” 

And with that, he planted a bruising kiss on Steve’s eager mouth. He would’ve taken it further had Robin not been a cockblock that decided to cough (i.e. hack) into the phone. “Excuse me! Be mindful of the lesbian ears, please. My god, you guys are ridiculous and living with you is going to be unbearable. I can't wait! It’ll be so much better than the dorms!”

Steve laughed in her ear, “We can’t wait to live with you either! We’ll start looking for some vacancies around here in the paper to see if we can get a good deal. When do you want to move out?”

“As soon as possible,” Robin groaned. “Both of my parents are talking about trying to set me up with local guys and I need to leave before I accidentally out myself or something. Find something quickly and I’ll start packing tonight.”

“If you’re really worried about your parents, you can stay in my living room here for a while until we find a new place. Eddie and I have to head back to Hawkins to pick up his van and pack up his room. Sometime next week probably, on my next day off. Will that be enough time for you?” Steve asked. She was his best friend and he had more than enough experience with shitty parents to sympathize with her. If she wanted to get out early, he’d make that happen for her.  

“I’ll be ready. School starts next month anyways so I should probably move to the area and find another job. Thanks Steve, and Eddie too I guess. Is he still there?”

Steve looked over to Eddie sitting at the small dining room table. He had noodles dripping down his chin and his wide eyes trained directly on Steve’s ass. He snorted, “no, he’s eating our dinner. I’ll call you tomorrow and we’ll work out the details, okay?”

She agreed and they both quickly said their goodbyes. Steve had Chinese lo mein and more importantly, a very sexy boyfriend to attend to. 

~*~*~*~

Roughly thirty minutes after she and Steve had ended their call, Robin noticed Dustin walking up to the door of Family Video. She rarely saw just one kid, usually they traveled in hordes. But today, Dustin was all by his lonesome and was stomping alongside his bike with a dejected expression marring his face. She almost felt worry for the kid but that quickly melted into annoyance when he lugged his bike through the doors with him. 

“Hey! Leave that outside, I have to clean these floors. I don’t want you trekking a bunch of dirt in,” She said with a tone full of judgment. 

Dustin turned back around and set his old bike to rest against the outside wall before heading straight to the counter and resting his arms on the surface. “Have you heard from Steve or Eddie lately?

She sighed, “yeah, I just got off the phone with him. Why?”

He pinched his nose in a manner he adopted from Steve and mumbled, “I haven’t talked to him since he left. I just want to know if he’s okay.”

Robin was shocked. She had no idea why Steve wouldn’t have called to speak to or even just to check in on Dustin, the kid he viewed as a surrogate little brother. It hasn’t come up in their conversations but she had assumed that everything was back to normal between Steve and the others. 

“Yeah, he’s fine. I don’t know why he hasn’t called you but he’s coming back to town next week to help Eddie and I pack so you’ll be able to see him then.” She assured him. 

Unfortunately, her words did not have the soothing effect she was going for and caused Dustin’s neck to snap back so quickly in surprise, he may have gotten whiplash. “You’re leaving now? Why? What did I do to you?!” Dustin exclaimed in shock. 

Robin looked absolutely perplexed, “what do you mean? You didn’t do anything to me. I just got my acceptance letter from the University of Illinois and Steve said we could get a place together in Chicago.”

Dustin’s eyes welled with tears, “He’s in Chicago?”

“Yeah, him and Eddie. After he comes back to help us pack all of our stuff up, we’re all going to get a place. It’ll be so much better than the dorms. And we can still come back and visit! Steve says it’s only a four hour drive! Eddie says he’s going to come back every so often to visit Wayne. We’ll still be around,” She reassured. 

Dustin looked absolutely heartbroken, “What do you mean pack all of your stuff? Wayne said Eddie was just taking some time to himself, now he’s not coming back? Does Wayne even know? I feel like that’s something he should discuss with him!”

“Hey! Dustin, listen, Chicago is not that far away. I’ll be busy with classes and work and Steve will have work too, maybe Eddie, but we’ll make time to visit you and the other kids. You don’t have to worry about us. I mean, I know the Upside Down is like completely gone but just in case, we’re not going super far. We’ll still be here if you need us,” Robin rambled. She saw the tears dripping down his face and tried to reel them back in but nothing was helping. Oh god, she was not the one that should be comforting him. Every word she said caused his lip to quiver more. Oh god. Shit, should she call Nancy or something?

Dustin’s emotions reached their limit and he burst into sobs. First Steve, then Eddie, and now Robin. Did he have to tempt fate and push all of his older friends to want to leave the state? Chicago?! Might as well be a different planet for all the good it did him. He had a bike, how the hell was he supposed to visit them when they were four hours away and across state lines? His shoulders shook as the sobs ripped their way through his chest. His breath left his chest in short pants and no air was entering his lungs. 

“Oh no, oh no, Dustin. Oh no, oh god, shit. Um, Dustin, I think you’re having a panic attack and I don’t know what to do with that. Um, take a deep breath and think happy thoughts. You’ll be fine! Oh god, please don’t die. Steve would never forgive me. Wait, I shouldn’t talk about dying, that’ll freak you out now! Oh no, breathe!” Robin’s pleas became more frantic as Dustin’s breath got less and less steady. “I’m going to call Steve. He’ll know what to do, right? Let’s hope!”

She ran from her spot next to Dustin on the floor to the phone situated behind the counter and dialed his new number. “Come on Steve, pick up, pick up…”

“Harrington and Munson residence.”

“Oh thank god. Dingus! Dustin is having a panic attack and I need you to calm him down. He’s freaking out and it’s freaking me out and-”

“Dustin? Okay, give him the phone. Calm down, Robs,” Steve softened his voice and started speaking to Dustin once he heard the labored breathing through the line. 

“Hey Dustin, it’s Steve. I need you to focus on your breathing, okay? Take deep breaths and focus on your chest moving up and down. Okay? You’re doing great. You just have to calm down a little bit more,” Steve could hear his breathing becoming more regular and kept up his reassurances. “Dustin, everything is fine. You’re alright. What happened, buddy? What caused that?”

Dustin sniffled, “Everyone is leaving. You left and I couldn’t talk to you. Then Eddie left after we had a fight and I couldn’t apologize. And now Robin is leaving! Is it because of me?”

“Of course not! I left because my parents didn’t want me around anymore and I didn’t think anyone else did either. So, I left and I found a place that I really like. Eddie hasn’t been happy for a long time in Hawkins and that’s not on you either. And Robin is going to school. You can’t blame yourself man. You didn’t do anything to force us to leave, you do owe Eddie an apology though for what you told him. That was a real dick thing to say, Henderson. But, we’re not leaving because of you. We're just growing up and leaving home,” Steve explained calmly in a tone he only reserved for the kids.

“And you’re coming next week to help them pack, right? Can I see you then? I’ve really missed having my big brother around.” Dustin whispered vulnerably into the phone. 

“Of course! I’ll take you out to ice cream or something while Eddie whispers sweet nothings to his guitar or whatever else musicians do. Just stay calm and I’ll see you then, okay?” Steve promised him.

“Okay! I’ll see you then!” With that, Dustin handed the phone back to Robin and practically skipped out to his bike. He felt like a weight was lifted off of his shoulders. Steve was coming to see him next week and he didn’t hold any resentment for him. Phew, what a relief. He was still leaving town but at least now Dustin knew that they would stay in touch. That was all he could ask for and all he really needed.

Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20: Epilogue

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[preciadosbass]

1/8/24

woke up at 7 but went back to sleep and woke up properly at 10. finished listening to slipknots’ the gray chapter while scrolling through my pinterest feed and got dressed into camo jorts + a skinless shirt and put on all of my bracelets. i love making up new outfits because i always theme the things i wear and make the colours match my shoes, jewellery, etc.

also, i had a pretty odd dream last night, so i’m gunna try and explain it. i met gerard way while i was just about to get to the venue mcr we’re playing in. he was really friendly and i took a few videos with him but then he obviously had to go and play. most of the dream was just me and him talking but i don’t remember what it was about. after he left i continued making my way to the venue and saw them play around 3 songs until i decided i was going to change for some reason?

so i went out of the venue to change and they wouldn’t let me back in so i didn’t see anymore of the show and it was really sad 😭 i woke up thinking it was real and i checked my camera roll for videos of me and gerard and then i realised.. lmaoo — i’m still mad it didn’t happen cuz like even though i only saw three songs that’s still three songs!! and i befriended gerard!! i think i had this dream because i was thinking about mikey ways instagram story before i fell asleep. but like.. he was SO NICE oh my god i know it wasn’t real but i honestly think this is going to trigger a gerard hyperfixation he was so much like how he is in videos and stuff

after getting ready i went to the garden to collect a few stinging nettles so i can make tea later. i ended up getting these weird spikey seeds all over my jorts and hair. there were barely any that weren’t turning yellow but i’m not too bothered because i don’t like the taste anyways, id rather have a smaller amount. i’m only having it because it’s apparently healthy and water makes me sick although it’s one of my favourite drinks.

once i got back inside i made a pinterest board dedicated to alt/punk diy’s i can try out sometime. ive started making patch pants/patches/bottlecap badges/bleached clothes [etc] + i’m currently collecting can tabs to make a bracelet/chain for my trousers but i don’t have enough and ive unfortunately lost my fabric paint for my patches. either way, i still like looking at patch inspo and stuff and i could try and use bleach instead of paint.

i came across a post of a soup can tab with beads threaded onto it with that bendy copper metal stuff and attempted to make one with a normal can tab and a skull bead id chopped off a bracelet i got for 10p at a bootsale. it didn’t look anything like the original and the photo i took of it [shown at end] makes it look 10x more horrendous than it actually is but it looks cool when i wear it.

after looking through some 2023 gerard pics i put fight club on because i’m finally not too tired/busy to watch it!! i briefly played roblox while watching it because i’m the worst at keeping my attention on one thing without getting distracted, i was just as bad while watching beetlejuice. i went out to living room to have something to eat [this feels so embarrassing to say omfg] and came back to my room to carry on watching it at 2:50.

it finished at 4:30 [i honestly thought i’d understand it better, but quite a lot of it just went right over my head. anyways, i liked the way the characters talked.] and then made my ‘this user’ posts, collected gifs for my future posts, + made them drafts up until 5:50 when i finally made my nettle tea. i thought i’d boiled the nettles too much like i usually do but it was actually really weak.

i drank about half because it was making my throat feel really weird so i went out to the driveway and sat with boris while i started making a basket thingy on depop. i think it was making me feel weird because the last time i made it [which was ages ago, i often forget how it tastes] id add honey while i’m boiling it. it could’ve just been too raw, or maybe it’s because of my heightened senses.

i found some really cute stuff. i added a monster energy beanie, a bat belt buckle, a beetlejuice pin [cuz i can never have enough pins], a bat necklace, a cookie monster cap, a long black beaded necklace, a blue fox cap, and a long sleeve black and red striped shirt that i’ve already made up an outfit for etc. after some time of that i went back inside and got ready for my walk. me and my mum walked around where my old primary school was so it was really nostalgic.

i ended up picking up like 30 blackberries because they’re starting to come out now and had a few after looking up how many cals they are. after being back home for like 10 minutes i watched my dad play natural disaster [it was hilarious he got so confused everytime he died] for like ages up until we had to be quiet because my sister was ‘trying to sleep’ so i watched a few clips of mcr interviews and cuddled boris.

i ranged from being in my room to cuddling boris for a while until i had a bit of a smoothie + went upstairs to ask my parents questions about boris. beforehand my dad was giving me advice for the lighting on this picture i took of the smiler when we went to alton towers at the start of july. i then asked the questions [took just about as much time as it usually would and came downstairs to boris at 1:20 [or something.]

i gave him his last meal of the day, told him about my day and finished saying goodnight to him at 2:14. i give him these treats he really loves every night but he was extra happy about me handing them to him today. i wrote the rest of my journal entry thing at 2:17 and went to sleep at 2:30. i am not excited to wake up early tomorrow.

have a good day/night -_<

[stilespeters]

SALVATION (series)

(part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4) (part 5) (part 6)

pairing: colin zabel x reader

a/n: this chapter is longer, idk if people still read it but imma put it out here

summary: you and colin go undercover to gather information about the hotel cortez, crucial information is revealed, and you two are only steps away from figuring out who the killer is

words: 3484

warnings: swearing?

part 5: Mr and Mrs Zabel

The grand door opened as the two of you walked in. There was a line of people who were dressed fancy just like you and Colin, and Colin had his arm out for you to grab. You were close to his side as you watched everything around you, and you felt like you were in a building that was built in the 20’s as you stood in the lobby. The whole theme of the building was red, gold and brown. It looked nothing like the Hotel Nixon you used to know. It looked refreshing. “This is beautiful,” you mused and Colin nodded in agreement. “Beautiful indeed.”

He was looking at you as he said that but you didn’t notice.

After a few minutes, you had reached the end of the line and a man in a suit greeted the two of you “Name please,” He held a list in his hands and you and Colin eyed each other. It must be the guestlist with all the people who were invited. You needed to get that guestlist. The man raised his eyebrows and you cleared your throat.

“Y/n Goode, this is…” you started and Colin smiled. “This is my plus one.”

Colin’s smile dropped. You regretted saying that he was your plus one instead of your date. Your hold on his arm tightened and the man scanned the names till he reached the G. “You may continue, have a lovely evening.”

You nodded a thank you to the man and you and Colin walked further. Although Colin was kind of disappointed you didn’t mention him as date, he put it aside. There was probably a reason for it. Maybe it was his brain convincing him that he wasn’t the reason you called him a plus one. But he genuinely believed that if he played it cool with you, he might have a shot. He couldn’t be the only one to feel the attraction between you and him? Right?

When you entered the next room it looked like you were in heaven. Again, it had the same theme and style of the entrance, and you and Colin looked around in awe. “Can’t believe they renovated everything.”

“Didn’t it always look like this before?”

“It most surely did not. Hotel Nixon looked more of our time, Cortez looks like it’s pulled out of a 20’s film. It’s giving me Rudolph Valentino vibes.” You looked at the men in suits and women in fancy dresses. The jazz music filled your ears and even though the whole scenery was quite foreign to you, you were intrigued. James March certainly had good taste. “Here used to be the check-in.” you motioned at the right side where now a couch stood.

“I was kinda scared that I’d get a weird feeling being here again, but now that I am, it feels exhilarating.”

A man with champagne glasses walked around and you and Colin both grabbed a glass. You saw a lot of older people around 40-50 and there were a lot of younger women who accompanied older men. You and Colin really stood out. Not only because of your wine red dress, but also because of your and his age.

You and Colin stood somewhere in the center of the room and you thought back to the scene where Colin looked kinda scared while talking to Violet.

“What did she say? Violet? She didn't scare you, did she?”

Colin looked down at you and cleared his throat. “Nothing, really. Just… she said to have fun tonight.”

“Hmm.” you mused and you narrowed your eyes. You weren't dumb, you knew Violet had said something different to him.

Before you could question further, someone clinked on a glass. As the sound echoed throughout the room, everyone who was talking went quiet as they looked at the person who made the noise.

It was James Patrick March himself.

“I’d like to welcome you all to the opening week of the Hotel Cortez!” Lots of applause came from the crowd that had gathered around, and you watched in intrigue as he continued talking. “It took a while but I can say with delight that everything went according to plan. I have great faith in the future of the Hotel Cortez, and to that I say toast!” He cheered and he grabbed a champagne bottle. As he opened the cork, foam spilled from the bottle like a fountain and he opened his mouth as the white foamy liquid hit his throat. “Ah!” he mused and everyone else clinked their glasses of champagne and cheered him on.

You noticed that he was looking around till his eyes landed on you. He gave you a smile and Colin next to you eyed him suspiciously. He pulled you a little closer to him just the slightest and you both drank the champagne. When you scanned the whole room, you felt like another set of eyes were looking at you. It wasn’t only James and Colin. As your eyes wandered around you settled on a man who was eyeing you from across the room.

You recognized him as the man who greeted you at the lobby with the guest list, and as he saw you looking back at him, he quickly looked away.

Colin saw your attention was elsewhere and he leaned down to whisper in your ear. “You okay?” His breath fanned over your earshell and you got shivers down your spine.

“Yeah I’m fine,” you looked back at Colin and took another sip of your champagne.

--

“So, how are we getting the list?” You went straight to the subject as the two of you were sitting at the bar. After James’ announcement, everyone went back to talking to each other and showing off how rich they were. Another reason why you initially didn't want to go. You were simply not like them. Yes, you had money but these were businessmen and businesswomen who owned companies with great value.

You felt more eyes on you as you sipped your champagne. You felt a bit uncomfortable at that, and so did Colin. He saw the way the men were eyeing you, and he couldn’t help but feel a pinch of jealousy.

He felt like it wasn’t right that he felt like that. You two haven’t even known each other for that long. But you were with him. Not anyone else.

“We can try and steal it when they’re not watching,” he began. He didn’t think of how to get that invitation, all he knew was that he was gonna get it somehow. He knew that if he would say that he was a detective and needed to see that list, that the employees of the hotel would know he’s onto them. Colin believed that the Hotel Cortez played a bigger role than just sending invitations to people who were gonna be victims. If they knew that he was here for the case, they could wipe away evidence.

It was too risky to just ask for it. It was better to go undercover. Now, they didn't suspect anything. Colin inteded to keep it that way.

“I have an idea,” you suddenly spoke up and Colin looked intrigued. “The man who let us in and greeted us at the beginning keeps staring at me. He was the one who had the guestlist. Maybe if I flirt with him, he might be distracted so I can take the list.”

“No.”

“Colin, it could actually work. I mean, I’m awkward around guys but I do know how to flirt,” Colin didn't look happy at that but he tried to conceal it with a pokerface. “It doesn't mean anything, besides how else should we get the list? We can't just sneak up on him. This is our chance.”

“I don't like that idea, he’s like 30 years older than you.” His voice was more laced with worry than jealousy. He genuinely cared about you and he knew what kind of people were on this earth, he had seen enough to know how cruel some people are. It was his job. He knew that you were your own person and made your own decisions, but he wanted you to be safe. This all is worth nothing if you were at risk of getting hurt.

However, he trusted you, and he wasn't dumb. He knew that there was no way to get that list without either asking for it as a detective -which blows his cover, or you flirting with the man to get it. He turned to look at the man who was now staring at the wall, and Colin clenched his jaw. “How do you plan on getting the list by flirting with him?”

“I’ll find a way, trust me.” You said and Colin pressed his lips into a thin line. “I trust you, it’s just… Be safe, okay? I don’t know you that long but I do know that I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“Right back at you, detective Zabel. And don’t worry, I’m always careful.”

You smiled at him one more time before turning around to face the man, but you were met with a vacant spot. The man had walked away. Your eyes darted around the room and you could see him walk around the corner.

As you walked after him you only managed to make it to the other side of the room. A figure suddenly stood in front of you and you stared up at him. It was James Patrick March. He thought you looked absolutely gorgeous.

“Good evening,” he started “Enjoy the party so far?”

You looked at him and nodded. “Yeah, I uh I love what you did to the hotel. The whole style is so unique, it’s like entering a time machine.”

“Thank you, I myself am a fan of the 20’s style. The structure of the Nixon Hotel was the perfect vision of the Hotel Cortez. As for the style, my father hated the 20’s style. It’s one of the main reasons why I began to love it so much. I renovated every nook and cranny of the hotel, except for the upstairs suite.”

“Really?” You smiled. When you were little and your parents were at the hotel, you were almost always in the suite. You were pretending to be a princess locked up in a tower and you remembered trying on your mom’s dresses and her heels and make up. You were dancing around the so called tower and you were pretending that a handsome prince was gonna save you. However, eventually you changed that story in your head once you realized you never wanted to leave that tower. It was your safe place. While you were there you wanted time to stop, you wanted to feel joyful like that forever. You wanted to live the fantasy forever, instead of getting dragged into reality. You had fond memories of the place, and when James mentioned it was still the exact same, you had a short trip down memory lane. “I used to go there all the time, you haven’t changed it?”

“Other than the curtains, it’s still the same,” James smiled widely. “You can visit as much as you’d like.”

The corners of your lips curled up, and your eyes lit up. “Thank you, that’s really sweet of you. I might in the future.”

You could see an undertone of flirting, although it could also be his charisma. He was a neat man, very posh. You hadn't spoken to him in a long while. It was probably just his character to flirt with everyone. You didn’t know that Colin was still in your previous spot, and when he saw that James had approached you, he walked to you.

“Hello honey,” Colin was at your side and eyed the man in front of you. He placed an arm around you waist. “Mr March.” He gave James a nod. You couldn’t help but notice the corner of James’ lips twitch just the slightest.

“Ah,” James slurred out the words. “You must be the detective I presume.”

“Yes indeed.” Colin had a smile on his face. “I like the theme of the party, and I like that you stay in character, I like the voice,” Colin patted James’ back. “Are you supposed to be Clark Gable?”

“No.” James said dead serious. After a silence that was a bit too long to ignore, Colin scraped his throat and decided to change the subject. “So, what compelled you to buy the Hotel Nixon?”

“I’ve had it all once. Fortune, fame, but nothing satisfied.” He pressed his lips in a thin line “That’s when I saw the Hotel Nixon, and I knew that this was destiny. I knew that this was what I was supposed to do”

“You’re a believer?” You questioned.

“I’m an atheist dear, not stupid. However I do believe in fate. When I signed the papers, I knew that this was where I’m supposed to be.” He continued. “My father, however, was a true believer. Ate a little cracker, drank the wine every sunday. And he was the meanest son of a bitch you’d ever seen.” James let out a sigh and gritted his teeth. “Killed a cat for purring too loud.” He cleared his throat “Anyway, I don’t mean to drag you along a trip down memory lane.”

James turned to look at Colin. “May I ask if you are any closer to solving the recent murders? It’s such a shame that this beautiful town is the target of a deranged killer. Those poor people who got stabbed surely deserved better.”

“I can’t tell you that, sorry. We’re doing everything we can in our power to catch the killer.”

“Good.” It was obvious that Colin didn't want to give more information. You could feel him tense and his grip on your waist tightened the slightest bit. Colin may not show it, but he didn't like James at all.

“James,” a voice spoke up from behind him. “Can you come here for a second?”

“I’m coming, Iris.” James diverted his attention back to you and Colin.

“Very well then,” he held out his hand for Colin to shake. He then grabbed your hand delicately and leaned in to give the back of your hand a kiss. “I’m most delighted that you showed up. It was nice to see you again in better circumstances this time, Miss Goode. You’re always welcome here. Stay forever if you’d like.”

“I shall visit sometime,” you smiled through gritted teeth. Something was off about him. You couldn’t place your finger on it, but the man gave you weird vibes. Sure, he looked decent. His perfectly styled slicked back hair and groomed mustache made him look decent. And he was definitely the epitome of charming. But you knew that looks were easy to deceive, you had learned that with Kai.

Before he walked away, you spoke up. You still had a job to do, that’s the whole reason why you and Colin were here. “Mr March?”

“Mhmm?”

He turned around. “The man, the one who welcomed everyone. Do you know where he stays?” You asked him and James looked up for a few seconds. “Ah, Nick Pryor. Good fella, May I ask why you want to know that?’

“I just uhh… need to return something quick.” You plastered a smile on your face. “He stays in room 53.”

“Thank you, Mr March.”

“Please call me James, dearest.”

“Thank you, James.”

James nodded once before turning around to walk away, and once his body disappeared behind the wall, your smile dropped. You turned to look at Colin.

“So we’re both thinking the same thing?”

“Yeah,” Colin muttered. “I don’t like him.”

“Me neither. There is something off about him.”

“How did he know the recent couple was stabbed?” He questioned aloud. “That was information we didn’t tell the public yet.” You got chills along your spine when he mentioned that, and you scooted a little closer to Colin.

“So we definitely know that James is involved in this somehow. It doesn’t mean that he is the killer, but it does mean that he knows more than he lets on.”

“You’re right.” Colin said and you rubbed your temples. “This got me fucked up, it feels like I’m in a movie or something. How are you able to do this on a daily basis?”

“If I can help give families closure then all of this is worth it,” he started “If there is a chance I can help in any way possible, I will try and help. I don't do it to feel better about myself, I just want justice for those poor souls.”

“You’re a good person, Detective.” you gave him a smile. “Now let’s get this list and figure out who the next target is, before we’re too late. I’ll go to room 53 and try to distract him.”

“Alright, in the meantime I’ll look around to see if there is anything suspicious in the hotel. There has to be some sort of physical evidence.”

“Okay, I’ll call you when I get the list.”

Before you could walk away, he grabbed your hand and pulled you back. His touch was like velvet silk and you looked at your intertwined hands.

Even though he only knew you for a few days. He felt drawn to you, you had this aura that attracted him. He was intoxicated by your presence and he somehow felt like he knew you for years.

That's the reason why he wanted you to be safe. He trusted you, yes. It were others that he didn't trust.

“Please, Y/n. I know you can handle yourself but I… I…” he didn't finish his sentence. “Just be careful, not everyone is as nice as they seem."

“I know, I’ll be careful.” you gave him a smile, a smile he adores. “You too, stay safe.”

Colin nodded “I will. See you soon.”

As you entered the elevator to the fifth floor, you couldn't help but feel nervous. You were about to get the list, but your mind couldn't stop thinking about the things that could go wrong. What if he was indeed a creep? What if he knows why you're here and alerts James? What if you can't get the list? Was everything for nothing if that happened?

When you wanted to overthink more, a beep was heard which indicated that you reached the fifth floor. You inhaled deeply and told yourself it was going to be okay. Snap out of it.

Everything was still styled the same way as in the lobby, and everything smelled fresh. It smelled new, like leather.

You walked down the hall, counting all the numbers and it felt like you were in a maze. Everything looked the same, and the only thing that indicated that you weren't walking around in circles, were the numbers of the rooms. After minutes of searching, you came to the right rooms.

50, 51, 52, 53

You saw that the door was ajar, and as you walked as quiet as possible, you pushed it open slightly. You didn't want to barge in, you were just gonna make a conversation with the man, and so you were careful to not raise any alarms.

As the whole room was in your view, you saw clothing on the bed, and someone was standing in the middle of the room with their back turned against you. The person was dancing, swaying their hips and when the door inevitably creaked from you pushing it open, the person in the room turned around and your eyes widened. It was the man with the guestlist, however he didn't wear the suit he wore before. He was now dressed in a fur jacket and white silk.

“What are you doing here?” He said nervously. “Get out. Get out of my room. This isn’t what it look like!”

You puzzled two and two together, and now you finally understood why he kept looking at you. It wasn't because he was ogling you like the other men in the lobby, but because he was admiring you.

“Ever since I walked into the lobby, you couldn't keep your eyes off of me,” you walked closer to him and he froze in his spot. "I wondered why, but I think I know now." you sat on his bed and he looked at you wide eyed.

“You dress like a man, walk like a man, but you smell like a woman.”

“It’s Paco Robanne.” he had teary eyes and his voice was dry.

"I know, love. You're a woman with taste." he let out a breath he’d held in for so many years. The weight that laid on his shoulders was heavy, and he felt like it was unbearable. But as you placed a hand on his chest and gave him a smile, he let it all out. All these years he had belittled himself and he felt like he was worthless. He felt like he was trapped in a cage while he wanted to be free. You could never understand what he’s been going through exactly, but you did recognize the struggles.

“Oh my god.” His shoulders lumped and he took a hold of your arm. He fell to his knees, holding your arm and you watched him as he did so.

“You’re so, you’re so beautiful.”

“Why do you cry, love.”

He looked down while tears streamed down his face “I’m so ugly.”

“No, you don't lack beauty. You lack commitment.”

“Let me help you.” He shook his head. To that, you rested your palm on his jaw. You were initially here for the list, but you wanted to help truly. It looked like times were rough for him.

“Become who you were born to be, a goddess.” You reached your fingers to the underside of his chin and lifted him up. At first he seemed hesitant, but after a while, he nodded and you gave him a hug. A hug that she needed, and had been needing for a long time.

--

You placed her in a chair and you did her make up. You wanted her to know how beautiful she was.

“What’s your name.”

“Well… Nick Pryor.”

“No, with that white slip and shame-wrapping fur, I christen you Liz Taylor.” Liz smiled and gasped in awe as you spun the chair for her. You had always liked to do make up, and so, after only 15 minutes you were done. When she saw the make up on her face, she grabbed your hand and squeezed it. As fast as it came, it disappeared however and her eyes went wide.

“I can’t go out like this.”

You rubbed the back of her hand and smiled “Oh honey, goddesses don't speak in whispers, they scream.”

“No, no, I'm sorry.” She stammered and you sighed. “okay, so were not ready to scream, how about a little something to warm up the pipes?" She looked at you with fear in her eyes but you could see that she had a glint of hope. She wasn't ready to fully open herself to the world, but that was okay. Baby steps.

"How about you go fetch us some ice?"

"I can't, maybe there are people in the halls-"

"-They are like 60, they can't talk. And if they do, I'll kick their ass, honestly. You are gorgeous, let them talk. In the end of the day, they're the ones hiding behind a mask, not you." Liz chuckled and you rubbed her shoulders comfortingly. She hesitated before speaking. "Okay, I'll do it. I'm gonna do it."

She stood up, and she grabbed your hands and squeezed them. "Thank you so much, I feel so... so free."

You had tears in your eyes when you saw how happy she was, and you smiled. Even though you hadn't known her at all, you felt a connection. She had a pure heart, and the world was just too cruel to her. So cruel, that she had to hide in her shell, while she's a beautiful butterfly. Now was her time to shine and open her wings. "You got this, Liz."

She gave you one last hug before grabbing the bucket and walking to the door. She exhaled and inhaled a few times before opening the door and sticking her head out. She then walked into the hall.

You sighed and you say back on her bed. Your social battery was runnig low, and you felt like curling up in a warm bed. As your eyes closed, you fantasized about sleeping, getting swept away to dreamland, only this time you were hugging something else than a pillow.

This time in your fantasy, you were hugging a detective. Detective Zabel. The moment you saw him you thought he was attractive, but the random talks you had yesterday after discussing the Cortez ordeal, made you like him even more. Just the small mannerisms and the way he talked about zucchini made you laugh harder than you ever had in a long time. The way he cared about you even though you knew him for a few days. The way he truly listened to you in the bar. He just hsd this aura that attracted you to him. You didn't know why you said he was your plus one instead of your date. You were just kind of... scared. It all moves a bit too fast, you liked Colin too much to screw it up.

Speaking of, you should probably look for the guest list and call Colin.

You got up, walked to the one cabinet that stood against the wall and searched in the drawers. It was wrong to snoop in Liz's room, but this actually depended on life or death. People's lives were at stake. You saw her leave with it in her hands, so it couldn't be far.

Luckily it didn't take long for you to find the list, and when you saw it, you smiled widely. It felt great to get closer and closer to solving the case. You searched for the "I" and you saw loads of crosses next to people's name. However, when you finger lowered and lowered, it stopped at one name. Someone who didn't have a cross next to their name. Which meant that they didn't show up. Every other person with an I as last name hsd a cross next to their name, except 1.

--

“Colin!” You screamed and Colin immediately stopped in his tracks. You had your phone against your ear as you rushed through the halls of the Cortez. Your dress and heels were bothering you when you ran, but it was the least of your worries at the moment. “Y/n? What’s wrong? Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“No, everything is fine, I just- I know who the next target is.”

“You saw the list?”

“Yeah, I’m on the second floor,”

“So am I.” Just as he said that, his figure appeared from behind the bordeaux walls, and you both stood in front of each other, about 5 meters away as you both lowered your phones.

You had the list in your hands and you then both ran towards each other to meet each other in the middle. You stopped in front of him and you were catching your breath. Your hands were placed on your knees and you breathed heavily “I know who the next victim will be.”

“Who?”

“Alma,” you said “Alma Irwin.”

[itwaslegendary]

okay here comes a LONGGGGG post about my experience at eras 🫶

———

we arrived yesterday. today in the morning i went have breakfast (a shake and some crepes) and then i went back to the hotel with my friend to get dressed up. after that we went grab the metro to the santiago bernabeu stop because it’s the closest one to the stadium.

when we got down and saw the stadium for the first time (well- second for me) we started freaking out because we were SO CLOSE to actually being IN there.

we first went check out the merch stores, at first i wasn’t going to buy anything but i ended up deciding to get the blue crewneck :,) afterwards we went look for a place to eat. i had a plate of pasta.

then we took some pictures outside (there was an eras tour film poster!!) and during the hour we had until our doors opened we decided to go trade bracelets. my friend ran out of them but because i was a beast and made 60 for 1 night i still have a few left.

i swear to god everyone was SO NICE, which was so refreshing because i’m used to the people in my school which are the closest thing to demons tbh. plus after having been bullied and excluded from all kinds of hangouts it felt so beautiful to feel included and see everyone so warming and friendly. 😭 if i could live at a taylor swift concert i would.

16:00 came and we decided to join our queue because even thought we had assigned seats we wanted to go in asap ! at first i was worried because i had a portable battery and i thought they’d throw it but ig the guard didn’t see it because we got in without any problem! by 16:20 we were in :D

our section was right in front of us but we wanted to check where the bathroom was first. the “field” is not closed so you could kinda see the stage and GUYS we freaked out again because there’s no way to describe what you feel when you see the eras tour stage for the first time because it means you’re THERE. that this is happening and you’re actually going to see taylor perform a 3 hour and a half show with all her eras (except debut but that’s a topic for another day). that the day you’ve been waiting for for so long has finally come. 😭

we talked a lot with a girl in front of us and the two beside us (the seats next to me were empty until way after paramore finished) and they were super nice, we love them 🫶 we traded some other bracelets and took some photos

then paramore came out and hayley was SO GOOD!!!! while they’re not my favorite band they were soooo fun and i knew some songs so i sang along :,) however i was sweating so much and i also needed to go to the bathroom because i had drunk like 5 bottles of water because it was HOT and also i was afraid of dehydration lol. so i had to miss 2 songs so i could go refresh myself.

we kept waiting and here i got mad because after paramore my friend said “i’m going to the bathroom” and i was like ok sure. 20 minutes went by and she was still not here so i got scared thinking i’d lost her, so i went find her…. the minute i crossed the door in ha mood started playing and everyone screamed. my friend was in the queue all nice and was the next to go in, so i got back to our seats and asked one of the girls we’d befriended if the “cleaning cart” had come out and she said yes 😭 i had missed that moment but all fine

my friend came back during applause. the countdown started and we all FREAKED OUT X3 and started counting down screaming from 13 downwards. i filmed my reaction to the intro because while i had seen it a billion times already seeing it live feels SO DIFFERENT (but the video got cut the instant taylor appeared smh). i was trembling and almost crying, for some reason singing along to the intro like it was my job.

… SHE came out. we screamed cried probably fainted too and here i kinda lost myself because i just remember being so excited about the bodysuit (i love purple and the tassels JSKAJ) and thinking like “oh my god she’s there she’s actually there i am seeing her in person she’s so pretty what what wHAT” and screaming miss americana + cruel summer like it was my only purpose in this life.

the crowd was insanely loud so i decided to play it safe and put earplugs on and LORDDDD THE DIFFERENCE taylor sounded SO much better, like you could actually hear her voice clearly and neatly and i got out with no ringing or pain whatsoever. i could sing along quite loudly and perfectly fine without only hearing myself (i only took them out in very specific occasions like illicit affairs and the smallest man who ever lived)

she spoke to us in spanish too 😭 just a few words but “encantada de conoceros” “hola” "vamos!!" “bienvenidos a la eras tour” “muchas gracias” etc. told us how we were being sooo loud and probably the loudest crowd ever!!! she also said that we all made her feel at home here not only in the stadium but also outside <3 (ik she says more or less the same things in every country but shhhh)

the 22 hat kid was ADORABLE he was so excited to get the hat and the interaction was so cute overall <3 during all too well she stopped a second to say that we were singing sooo loud (which from what i’ve seen does not happen too often!) and that this is the loudest she has ever heard this song 💓

during reputation we screamed “in the middle of the night in madrid” andddd we believe that she may have sung it too during the last verse which would be INCREDIBLE and so iconic 😭

in folkmore there was an issue with her guitar (she did not explain what) but it got fixed super quickly. i love small mishaps like these because it makes her look more authentic (?), like closer to the public, makes the atmosphere kinda look like we are all friends in here and she’s just at a cafe with a friend chatting jksja.

she also had to stop twice; once during betty and another during august, because some people in GA needed help. she saw the flashlights and asked (in spanish) the guards and sanitary staff to help. it was so nice to see how much she cares for the safety of her crowds, like you could see during betty how her face changed to a soft expression once she's told that everything was okay 🤍 we also have to thank that the staff in our show was fast and did everything right :)

the champagne problems ovation was adorable, i love in general her reactions because that’s pookie right there. it’s so personal to me how she throws her arms around her head and laughs and says i love you thank you like a hundred times ugh i love her with my whole soul ☹️

1989 was soo fun! (i got the outfit right but wrong order 😭) but the bad blood fires were. pretty noticeable LMFKWOS it was already hot and with then the thing got much hotter but it cooled down quite fast.

TTPD OH MY GODDDDD it’s def my favorite set. loved the choreo the outfits the setlist EVERYTHINGGGGG. i screamed the the smallest man who ever lived sooo loud and the i can do it with a broken heart’s “intro” was so fun too ajdkaj. i loved so high school even if it was just 30 seconds jdka

THE. SURPRISE. SONGS. at first she started talking about how we have been supporting her since the beginning and we knew a debut song was coming. the jump then fall mashup was AWESOME it’s one of my faves from fearless and it fit so well 🫶

for the piano one she said nothing. she just sat and started playing. i knew that i recognized the song but i could not fully realize which song it was until she sang “i’m perfectly fine” and there i lost it. i went blank for 5 seconds and then just SCREAMEDDDDD those lyrics like my life depended on it. i will never hear these 3 songs the same way again 🥹

after those surprise songs i went blank again but this time because the visuals of lavender haze are so beautiful i had to record them. i had to sit down during mastermind because my feet were exhausted… during karma i had a breakdown because it meant that the best day of my entire life was coming to an end, so i was singing along while crying like a little kid.

overall, i would repeat this a billion more times. it was the best night of my life and it has marked a before and after in my life (not exaggerating) and i hope i have the chance to experience these same feelings again for a future tour 🫶

[nicolewoo]

Super Earth

A one night stand?

Pairing: Roman Reigns x female reader.

Warning: none

I’d snuck out of his bed before he woke; only allowing myself one last glance before leaving his room. He was stunningly gorgeous! Tall Samoan, strong features surrounded by long dark hair, which had been in a bun when I met him. I’d enjoyed undoing his bun and running my fingers through his hair as he bit my neck.

I hesitated. He had been so sweet, so funny, so sexy; this one night stand. Yeah, there was sex, but not until after we’d been talking for hours. And after sex, we’d talked more, laughed more, relaxed more. He was hot for sure, but I’d developed a crush on him because of his brains, his heart.

I should never have spent the night. After the sex, before sleep….. that was my rule. Feelings developed during the intimate time between sex and sleep. I’d told myself not to stay, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t pull myself out of his arms. I didn’t want to.

I didn’t want to leave now, but I had to. My entire life would be a wreck if I didn’t go. People were relying on me. This man….. this stunningly beautiful man…. I could fall for this man. If I was being truthful I already did. I tried to will myself out of the room, but I couldn’t.

For a second, I was positive I’d leave him my number, but what would that do? I shipped out this afternoon. In a couple of days I’d be out of communication range, and I wouldn’t be back for at least a year.

TOI-1452b, or Super Earth as we’d nicknamed it, was a planet covered in water. Despite that, our colonists had managed to make a floating settlement. Fields of rice and seaweed and other water crops surrounding the edges of the settlement. The colonists had harnessed the movement of the ocean and used the tides to create energy. The colony was a success, and now it was my job to fly an international group of scientists to Super Earth, stay for 3 months and bring them home.

3 months on an alien planet far away from my cheating ex and both of our families, who complained incessantly about the money they’d spent on our “failed wedding”? Failed….. as if I’d done something wrong. I wasn’t the one who had a three way with strippers 2 days before our wedding.

The truth is, I was done. Done with men. Done with family….. “A year long adventure to an exciting new planet” my best friend had dubbed it, and it sounded like exactly what I needed. I basically got a three month vacation to explore a new world.

With one final exhale, I forced myself to leave his room. It was the right decision. It wasn’t fair to start a relationship and leave the next day.

If it was the right decision, why did I start crying when I got in my car?

I checked the time. 2 hours until I had to report to the base. 3 hours until the final medical checkup, and 5 hours to liftoff. Then I was free. So why did I keep picturing him? Smiling, laughing, sweet kisses, getting lost in his arms and eyes?

I shook it off, distracting myself with one last call to my parents. I Dialed the number before I started driving. It was awful. A ten minute mash up of complaining about how I was leaving behind an expensive disaster and sobbing uncontrollably about how their baby girl was going to die in space. Ugh!

Truthfully, the second I walked into the building, I felt like a weight had been lifted. “Captain Y/L/N” the young man behind the front desk said as he came around the counter to grab my bags. “Is this all Captain?” When I said yes, he told me that the bags would be waiting in my cabin.

The next hour was a blur of meetings with my crew and coordinating the equipment from the scientists and the supplies to go to the colony.

As expected, I aced my medical, and now it was time to meet with the scientists. Juggling the papers in my hand and trying to gracefully open the door with my keycard failed, and my papers ended up sprawled across the floor. My co-pilot Jamie was helping me pick them up when I saw him!!! Mr. Last night. Mr. Was-supposed-to-be-a -one-night-stand. I sat stunned as I picked up the page with his face on it. Dr. Roman Reigns. I scanned the page further: from the USA…. Studying the feasibility of growing tropical crops on Super Earth. Oh no! No No No No! This couldn’t be!

“Y/N?” Jamie asked as she handed me the rest of the papers. “Something wrong?”

I recovered my composure, hopefully fast enough that it didn’t seem suspicious. “Yeah!” I said standing. “Just thinking about my family.”

“They still riding your ass?” I nodded. “Shit. Sorry, but hey! One year away, and most of that will be out of communications range.” She chirped. “Good afternoon everyone.” Jamie said when we opened the door.

I didn’t even need to look. I could feel him in the room. He dominated the space, as I assumed he did everywhere he went. When my eyes met his, they found him as shocked as me. We stared too long at each other. Everyone else was settling in, but we just stared…. Equally surprised.

“Let’s get to it then.” Jamie said as the door closed behind us.

@mindofasagitarius @lclb13 @serenityfiretrash @lustyromantic @reigns-5sos @bigpsychicbagelauthor @omg-im-such-a-masochist @marlananicole @wickedsunfire @starwithaheart @spookys-girl @pitlissa22 @snowpanda18 @thesamoanqueen

@sassginaswanmills

[stitchkiss]

tell me a story about u

bestie you know more of my stories than anyone and you still want more?? i can’t believe you aren’t sick of them yet lmaoo. i’ll tell you a few from that liam-esque list i sent you a while back.

GATHER ROUND KIDS!! STORYTIME!!

story 1: idek when this was probably when i was like 13 but anyway we were gardening n shit and i was by all the tools takin a break bc i planted like 20 zucchini seeds (bad idea in hindsight all we ate that summer was zucchini) and i was tired. so i look down and there’s a garden hoe next to me and i’m getting flashbacks to my childhood when i watched tom and jerry obsessively and i think “huh. i wonder what would happen if i stepped on it” guess what happened. smacked me right in the face the second i stepped on it. blood went everywhere. face, clothes, tools, soil. brother is laughing. sister rushing for towels. mom making sure my nose wasn’t broken. dad wishing i was never born. my face messy with tears n blood n sweat. i consider this a win bc not only did i get to live out a childhood fantasy but i didn’t have to garden for the rest of the day!

story 2: i am. dumb. and impulsive. and i think movie magic applies to me. all this, but i’m 9 years old. we had just moved and a perk was that a golf cart came w the house. so when, for reasons i can’t remember, there was a dirt hill in my backyard i knew EXACTLY what to do with it bc i had just watched wreck it ralph AND played a mario kart tournament the night before so i know a ramp when i see one. see where im going w this? when i saw the dirt hill i got on the golf cart and fuckin floored it. the thing is, i didn’t know that the dirt wasn’t packed in, so it was too soft for the tires. i did not make it over. the cart tipped over and i fell out. it almost crushed me. the funniest part ab this is when my mom came over to check on me she was like “i saw you speed off and i KNEW what you were doing” i wasn’t allowed to try it again.

3. i had a goldfish named herbert. i won him at a festival when i was like 12 and he came in a plastic baggie like from finding nemo. so i brought him home and i quickly realized i had no place to put him bc he was my first (and only) fish. so i threw out these flowers my mom had in this really big vase and i put him in it instead. during this time i didnt have a phone bc i accidentally broke it a few days before when i was jump roping and had it in my pocket and it flew out. SO i didn’t know what to feed herbert bc no google and neither did anyone else and they didn’t want to help me raise my new son so i had to figure this out by myself. do you know what i fed him instead of fish food? ritz crackers. how tf was i supposed to know the salt from the crackers would kill him. the concept of “freshwater fish” eluded me at the time. i woke up the next day and he was floating at the top of the vase. but the worst part of this story? i was preparing a small, intimate funeral for herbert bc he deserved nothing less and i took him out of the vase and put him on a plate. then i left for like 5 minutes to make sure my brother and sister were going to be in attendance and to throw some rose petals in the toilet bc if i was gonna flush him it might as well be beautiful. but. when i went back to the kitchen to get herbert, my cat was eating him.

4. last story! my cousins and i are really close and we do this thing when all of us are available and we call it a version of guy’s grocery games based on who the judge is that night (we replace the g with our initial) where we each make food but change it up in a creative way. this time was pizza. i teamed up w one of my cousins and we decided to make a pizza based off the fast food chain raising canes. so we go to canes and order a bunch of chicken and fries and bread and we even got a cup full of canes sauce for $5 and we also bought a premade pizza dough. the pizza was DIVINE and i’d eat it again but be warned you need pepto bismal on hand if you eat it bc it’ll rly fuck up ur insides. but, even tho it was the best invention ever, we didn’t fucking win. what did we lose to, you ask? a ramen pizza. my brother and his gf made it w the recipe I SENT HIM!! but the thing is, this recipe called for soy sauce and my cousin is allergic to soy. my brother asked me for his allergy list in preparation and i forgot to put it on there. so my cousin was ab to take a bite when my brain connected the very very important dots and i smacked it out of his hand.

hope u enjoyed all that!!

[gojos-precious]

Pain

Summary: Courtney helps Dean. 

A/N: This is part 3 of the Singer series that I’ve been working on. I hope you enjoy and as always please be kind.

There were times that I hated hunting and this was one of them. I woke up at 5 o’clock this morning in mind-numbing pain. “Here we go again” I say to myself as I get up and try to get to the bathroom as fast as I can. I knew that it was coming based on how I’d been feeling the past few days, but I’m never prepared for how bad the pain is. Endometriosis was a bitch who had always managed to kick my ass better than any monster ever could. I was 16 when we figured out what it was and that there’s no cure. I’m 20 now and it still manages to take me out almost every time. I did what I needed to in the bathroom and got back in the bed and curled up into the fetal position. I was determined to stay there as long as I could but I knew I would have to get up eventually. Dean was coming to get me later today and we were going to drive to California to hopefully get Sam’s help. It’s been almost 2 years since he left for college and it’s been almost 2 years since any of us have heard from him. John had always kept tabs on him though, just to make sure he was safe. I was especially grateful for that. Which is why when Dean called yesterday asking for my help looking for John, I immediately agreed. John was always really good about checking in so I immediately knew that something had to be wrong when Dean said that he hadn’t heard from him in a few days. Even if me and John didn’t always get along, I was still going to be there for Dean.

 Bobby heard that I was awake and came to check on me. It’s unusual for me to be up this early so it made him concerned. When he came in and saw me curled up in the fetal position, he immediately knew what was wrong. He had lived with me long enough to know. He came to the side of the bed where I was and said “Hey kiddo, can I get you anything? Do you need me to call Dean and tell him you won’t be able to help him?” I sat up and rested against the headboard and said “Ibuprofen and a heating pad would be great. Don’t worry about calling Dean, I’m gonna suck it up and go.” Bobby just nodded and left to go grab the ibuprofen and a heating pad. He knew better than to try to convince me otherwise. There was no way I wasn’t going to help Dean. The fact that he called to ask for my help meant a lot. Dean had never really been one to ask for help like this. Sure, he would ask for help with research (because he hated doing it) but he rarely ever asked for help for something like this.

 When Dean came to pick me up, he immediately knew something was wrong as soon as he laid eyes on me. He had known me long enough that he could read me like a book. I was curled up on the couch when he came in and he said “Hey Court, you sure you’re okay to go with me? You don’t have to.” I sat up off the couch and carefully stretched and said “Yeah, I’m gonna be miserable wherever I am but at least if I go with you, I feel like I’m doing something worthwhile instead of just rotting away in my bed.” He nodded and went to grab my duffel bag and said “Fair enough. You can always lay down in the backseat if you need to.”  I carefully bent over and grabbed my backpack off the floor and walked over to where Bobby was standing by his desk and gave him a quick hug. After what happened with my dad, I always make sure to hug the people I love because I never know when it might be the last. Bobby walks us out to the salvage yard and says “You two be safe and please keep me updated.” I nod and give him one last hug before I crawl into the backseat of the Impala and try to get comfortable. It’s gonna be a long ride.

 I fell asleep not too long after we left Bobby’s and woke up about 4 hours later to Dean lightly tapping me on my knee and he said “Hey Court, I had to stop for gas, do you need anything?” I grumbled sleepily and started to sit up and said “Yeah, I need to pee. Where’s my backpack?” Dean reached across the front seat and grabbed it out of the floorboard and handed it to me and said “How are you feeling after your nap? You hungry?” I grabbed the backpack from him and started digging around for what I needed and said “I feel a little better. I’m actually starving though. Will you see if they have any of those breakfast burritos that I like while I’m in the bathroom?” He smiled as we both started to get out of the Impala and said “Sure thing! Anything else?” My face lit up and I said “Ooh! And a Dr.Pepper! Thanks!” And we both walked into the convenience store and went our separate ways. When I got done in the bathroom, I met him back at the Impala and climbed into the front seat and started rummaging through the bag from the store. “Dude, how many burritos did you get? There’s so many.” He shrugged and said “I got like 6 or 7. You said you were starving.” I laughed and immediately regretted it. Pain shot through me and it was enough to make me squeeze my eyes shut and clutch my stomach. Dean saw what happened and reached over into the glovebox and pulled out a big bottle of Ibuprofen and passed it to me and said “Here, I think it’s time for you to take more. It still hasn’t gotten any better has it?” I gratefully took it from him and said “I think it’s time too. No, it hasn’t gotten any better. Me and Bobby have been trying to find natural remedies and stuff but it seems to only help temporarily.” He just nodded and continued to focus on the road and I started opening up one of the burritos. The next few hours were spent catching each other up on things that had been happening in our lives. I had started solo hunting recently so we had a little more to bond over now. Me and Dean had always gotten along like brother and sister. He was like the older brother I never had. It was easy for me to be myself around him. Which is how he noticed that the closer we got to California, the more nervous I got. It had been so long since I had seen Sam. Would he even want to see me? I was pulled from my thoughts when Dean started talking to me. He said “I know you’re nervous to see him. If it makes you feel any better, I am too.” I just kind of nodded and started looking out the window before I said “What are we going to do if he won't help?” I was trying to avoid the conversation that I know Dean wanted to have. He’s been wanting to play matchmaker with us for years. He’s always noticed how I looked at Sam. I wasn’t ready to admit how I felt though. If I admitted it, then it could change everything. Especially if Sam didn’t feel the same. I wasn’t ready to deal with that. 

 It took us a little over a day to get to California. When we made it to Sam’s, Dean went into his apartment (or should I say, broke into his apartment) and I called Bobby to let him know we had made it. Dean was in there for what felt like forever. I eventually decided to get out of the Impala and stretch my legs. The fresh air helped to ease some of my nervous energy. I still didn’t really understand why I was so nervous. It’s Sam we’re talking about here. We grew up together. There’s no reason for me to be nervous, so why can’t I stop feeling this way? I’m pulled from my thoughts when I see Dean walking out of the apartment with Sam’s slightly taller frame following behind him. Apparently Dean hadn’t told Sam that I was with him because next thing I know Sam is running towards me and saying “Courtney! I didn’t know that you were here too!” I smile at him and say “Hi Sammy” and he pulls me in for a bone-crushing hug. I didn’t even care that it caused pain, it was Sam. I was just happy to be near him again. When he pulled away, he noticed that I winced and that I put my hand over my stomach and his face changed from one of happiness to one of concern. He put his hand on my shoulder and said “Courtney, are you okay? Did I do something?” I shrugged at him and said “Just the usual stuff. You didn’t do anything. I’m okay Sammy.” He pulled his hand away from my shoulder and rubbed the back of his head and said “You’re still dealing with all of that? I really thought it would’ve gotten better by now.” Dean spoke up from where he was standing behind Sam and said “Yeah, I think we all had been hoping it would get better.” I looked at the both of them and said “Yeah, Endo’s a bitch but it hasn’t killed me yet, so what do you say we get to work, yeah? I’d rather not focus on it.” They both nodded and we walked over to the trunk of the Impala, but I didn’t miss the look of concern that Sam had though. Dean wasted no time in filling Sam in on what had been happening with John. He had already filled me in on everything on the way here, so I went back to laying down in the backseat. I wasn’t trying to go to sleep. I just couldn’t stand up any longer. This is one of those times that I felt useless, but I was determined to help as much as I could. I could just faintly hear Sam talking to Dean, he was saying “Is she really okay? I’ve never seen her like this.” I wasn’t going to let them know that I could hear them just yet. I wanted to see what they were going to say. Dean started saying “I think she’s okay. She slept most of the way here which is definitely not like her. I think the Endo just wipes her out. I told her she didn’t have to come with me but she insisted and you know once Courtney has her mind set on something, you can’t talk her out of it. Even if she is in pain, she’d rather help than do nothing.” Hearing him say that made me smile. I had always been hard headed and they would never let me forget that. But it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. 

It didn’t take us too long to get to Jericho. We only had to stop once for gas (and to stock up on road snacks). I tried to sleep as much as I could because I had a feeling I was going to need all my strength for the day ahead. And I was right. The next few hours were rough, to say the least. As soon as we made it into Jericho, we came across an active crime scene and the boys decided to investigate it. I thought it would be suspicious if all three of us went, so I decided to stay put in the Impala. We found out there was a woman in white in Jericho, some chick named Constance Welch. That ghost bitch attacked us and tried to run us over after she took control of the Impala. Needless to say, Dean was pissed. He could care less that she tried to kill us, but she messed with his Baby. He was bound and determined to put her to rest now.

 It didn’t take much digging to find John’s hotel room and of course, he was nowhere to be found. But most of the answers we needed about Constance were there, all over the walls. You could definitely tell that a hunter had been there (or a crazy person). Everything moved really fast after we got to the hotel. Dean got arrested because of the fake police badges he and Sam had flashed earlier that day. Me and Sam were able to make it out and Sam made a fake 911 call so that Dean could make a break for it. While Dean was God knows where, me and Sam went to see if we could get anything from Constance’s husband, Joseph. Only thing we were able to find out was that it seemed as though they didn’t have the happiest of marriages, which fits the woman in white theory. We also found out from Joseph that she’s buried behind their old house, the same house where her children died. As soon as we got done talking to the husband, we started heading to their old house. We didn’t make it very far before she showed up in the Impala, right in the backseat, and it all went downhill from there. She proceeded to take over the Impala again and drive us straight to her house, all the while asking Sam to take her home. 

After we pulled into the dirt driveway she started muttering and saying “I can never go home.” It’s almost like she’s scared, but not of us. Sam looks over at me and we both realize what’s happening. I turn around and look at her and say “you’re scared to go home,” and next thing I know, I’m being thrown out of the Impala. I land on the dirt and the door to the Impala immediately shuts and locks. I get up and mutter a quiet “fuck” under my breath and I hear Sam start screaming. At this point I’m officially panicking. I had taken my pistol out of my waistband on the way here because it had been digging into my stomach and causing me even more pain than I was already in, so now I was left with no weapons. I’m just about to start banging on the windows when I see Dean running down the driveway and he yells at me to get down. He starts shooting through the window and she disappears. As soon as she no longer has control of the Impala, Sam starts it and drives it straight into the house. With no hesitation, me and Dean run into the house after them. Dean goes to pull Sam out of the car and I start looking around to see if I can see her anywhere. By the time I spot her, it’s too late. She flings a dresser at the three of us and pins us to the Impala with enough force to knock the wind out of me. Before I realize what’s happening, the ghosts of her children appear at the top of the staircase and then immediately at her side. They hug her and she starts screaming and then in a burst of flames, they’re all gone. The boys are now able to shove the dresser off the three of us and as soon as it’s off of me, I slide down the Impala onto the ground, clutching my stomach. Dean is the first to notice, Sam was too preoccupied with making sure she was actually gone. Dean puts his hand on my shoulder and says “Court, are you okay? What’s wrong? What hurts?” I turn to face him and say “I think I’m okay. Definitely gonna be bruised though. You better let me tell Bobby about this, he worries about me enough as it is.” I go to try to stand up and immediately buckle back over and decide to sit back down. Sam has walked back over to us by this point and he catches my arm as I buckle and he says “Woah, easy there. Just sit back down for a few more minutes.” I go to stand up again and say “No, I’m good. Just gotta take it slow. I’ve dealt with worse.” I slowly walk over to the dusty mirror that was hanging on the wall and lift up my shirt and see the black and blue bruises already forming. I winced as I put my shirt back down and walked back over to the boys. Dean was checking for any damage on his precious car and bitching at Sam. All I heard Dean say was “I’ll tell you another thing, if you screwed up my car, I’ll kill you.” I laughed and looked at Dean and said “Dude, you’re the one who just shot out the windows. At least Sam actually dealt with her.” Sam nudges my arm and holds his fist out for a fist bump, which I happily obliged. Dean throws his hands up and scoffs and says “Courtney, are you ever actually on my side?” I shrug and say “When you’re right.” This is what I’ve missed. The three of us joking around. Yeah, me and Dean joke around, but when the three of us are together, it’s 10 times better. The pain doesn’t matter anymore, not as long as I have my boys. 

@wdwmarveldisney​

[grisschlager]

Summer Event | Toru Oikawa x Reader

Warnings : Mention of alcohol (not for the students), a lot of nicknames

Part 1 (optional) Part 2 (optional)

The last day of school before summer break had let out. Mad dashes and people scrambling over one another echoed down every hall as everyone tried to be the first one out. I decided that I would not be suicidal today. The classroom is fine for another five minutes. It took someone’s squished up face ramming into the class’s door for me to take out my phone. I’m tuning all this out. Upon flashing my phone’s screen on, I took notice of all the messages decorating my notification wall. The Karasuno group chat, Oikawa, Lev, Bokuto, Kuroo, Iwa, Kenma… when did I give them my number? I decided to open up from bottom to top, starting with Kenma’s. It was simple, explaining that he got my number from Kuroo. I did not give Kuroo my number either. He then asked if I was going to the firework show. Ah, as if I had a choice. The volleyball clubs in a bunch of schools around had planned a summer break party, including fireworks, barbecue, and water-related activities. I texted back that I was going and I’d see him there. Now, time to interrogate Kuroo. Heading over to his message next, he said he got my number from Bokuto. Another guy I DIDN’T GIVE MY NUMBER TO. I sent him the affirmative that I was going to the event. Bokuto time. Same song and dance again, he got his information from Lev. How Lev got my number, beats the hell out of me. Send an affirmative and move to Lev. His came from Iwa, and we all know where Iwa got my number from. I’d deal with that boy later.

I stood from my desk, opening up the group chat and being greeted with an explosion of all-caps. Hinata, Tanaka, and Nishinoya were making outrageous plans for the cookout portion. Something about buying a bull. That’s not what I needed to read, though. I scrolled up to the best of my ability, skipping past the past 45 minutes of screaming, and finally reached the calm planning part. The team planned to meet up around five at night. Alright, that gives me a good… hour and a half! Plenty of ti- I have no yukatas… Alright a short shopping trip it is.

Yukata acquired! It was a black and red one with koi fish. Simple but still pretty. Okay, now it was time to go home. While walking home, I slipped out my phone. I unlocked it and caught up to the group chat. Daichi was chewing out the trio for suggesting using paint in the water balloons instead of water, and Oikawa had sent two messages. Gotta bite the bullet some time. I opened up Toru’s messages.

Milk Bread: I’ll be going to the firework show tonight ;)

When are you going? We should go together :o

Hellllooooo I know you’re seeing these! :&lt;

Iwa-Chan said you responded to him! :’(

&lt;;’D

What is wrong with this guy?

Me: I was just getting a yukata! Quit sending so many emojis!

Milk Bread: :P so we’re :l going together =-D right? >:>

Me: I regret giving you my number

Milk Bread: =3

Me: I’m meeting with the team at 5

Milk Bread: ^^

Me: Come on now Kawa use your big boy words

Milk Bread: &lt;3

Me: yeah that works &lt;3

Slipping my phone away with a playful grin, I entered a light jog back home, wanting to hurry just in case Toru pulled some of his magic and appeared at my doorstep in the next 10 minutes.

Using the next hour to my advantage, I donned my new yukata, brushed my messy hair aside and out of my face, clipped on fake paper earrings, and freshened up with varying vanity items. Checking the time, I saw it was just about the designated meeting time along with multiple texts that announced their arrival at the meeting spot. Grabbing my keys, phone, bag, and water, I was shooting out of the house.

“Woah, what’s the rush, Suteki-Chan?” Two giant hands clasped around my shoulders, bringing me to a harsh stop. Looking up at my entrapment, I was met with a sickly sweet smile, his hair curling upwards flawlessly. He may be beautiful and he may have just called me the cutest nickname ever, but I was not going to be late. I lifted my arms and grabbed his hands that were still resting on my shoulders.

“Come on, Toru.” I yanked forward, causing the boy, now behind me, to lose his balance and trip forward.

“I’m losing my sandal!”

“Tell it no!” I was not stopping. Not for anything. Unless Toru actually did lose his shoe. I can’t just let him be half-barefooted.

Not long after, and without sandal casualties, we made it to the team meetup spot. I, proudly, strolled over to the rest of my team, Toru still in tow.

“Y/N-Chan.” Toru pouted from behind me, “You could’ve given me a warning. Is my hair messed up?” I released the boy’s hands and turned around to give him an evaluation.

“Hmmmm… nope!” To further convince the upset setter, I gave the most comforting grin I could.

“You better be telling the truth…” Toru continued to pout, but reached his left hand to grab onto my right one.

“Y/N IS HERE!” Well, not anymore. The speed that Toru pulled his arm away had me concerned he’d pull a muscle. Mere seconds passed before Hinata was all over the scene.

“What’s Oikawa doing here again?!” Cue Toru’s fake smile.

“Believe it or not, Y/N’s my friend. Makes sense I’d want to go see fireworks with my friend, right?” Hinata nodded.

“Yeah! That makes sense.”

“Now that introductions are over, let’s get moving, yeah?” Coach Ukai suggested, clearly not wanting to be chaperone that night.

“Yes sir!” Taka and Noya bellowed, saluting. A tick of silence floated by before Hinata saluted along with the other two. Ukai responded with a drawn-out sigh and a pinch to his nose bridge. He began walking with a concerned Takeda following, causing everyone else to duckling behind.

“What’s his problem?” Toru leaned down to whisper at me after we were safely tucked in the back of the group. I turned my head to whisper back.

“I think he’s hungover.”

“Hungover?”

“They asked him to chaperone at the last minute. He ranted about it in his office.”

“How-How did you hear?” I sighed.

“I was just trying to ask him for the storage key.” Toru’s gaze held great concern. “Don’t worry, he’s just going to be snappy. Me and Noya call him turtle.” Oikawa said nothing in return, instead opting to rest his fingers right below my elbow.

“Your team is weird.” A playful tone, a teasing smirk, and the soft tickle cascading down my arm let me know that he meant that in the best way. No reason to let him off the hook, though.

“Ah, rude. So I’m weird too?” A chuckle surrendered out of the boy’s chest, the tickle down my arm worming its way into my hand’s grasp.

“You’re the weirdest one.” I used the hand he wasn’t holding to flick his chest.

“That why you get along with me so well?”

“Hah… Shut up.” Toru gave my hand a squeeze, not too hard to be harsh, but definitely not lovingly soft either. I was glad Toru was going to the occasion, of course the rest of Aoba Johsai was going, but Toru was going with me! I was looking forward to spending quality time with him, we hadn’t had much of that since he snuck into training camp that one time. We also hadn’t really gotten much of a chance to talk about our future, or about us. The talk was for sure coming, but golly gee I’m nervous.

“Tanaka, what are you wearing?!” I was pulled out of my thoughts by the familiar sound of Nishi.

“Ugh, okay my sister took my sandals for some stupid project or something and my mom is steam cleaning my sports shoes! These were all I had!” Said man lifted his arms, showing off sneakers that were more like ankle boots, and they… also look like… a cast? I slapped a hand over my mouth to stop from erupting into a fit of giggles.

“Why not just wear your normal, everyday shoes?!” Suga wailed.

“What do you think these are?!” Baldie gestured wildly at his shoes.

“Oh brother.” Tsukishima huffed out.

15 minutes of walking and lightly making fun of Tanaka’s shoes led us to the large park where numerous others were already setting up. The grills were firing up to start grilling the greasiest meats possible, four buckets of water balloons were filled with more coming, two sprinkler sections were set, and a huge box of explosives were being hauled into a safe corner. I sure hope it’s safe anyway. We don’t need a bunch of volleyball players getting into those. Suddenly, I had a terrible, horrible, awful thought.

“Toru, did you bring blankets?” Panic evident in my voice over the imminent threat of grassy scratchy torture.

“I brought a blanket.” Heh… hehehe… schmoozing time. I donned a dreamy smile and fluttered my eyelashes up at the captain.

“Toru~” Toru~ picked up what I was trying to say quickly.

“Aww, forget your blanket, Y/N-Chan?” Before I could nod, Oikawa cupped my chin in his hand, squishing my cheeks upwards. “Say please~” This little shit.

“Pweash?” Seemingly pleased with this answer, he let go of my chin.

“I was gonna let you sit with me anyway~” My face darkened, and I lunged at this teasing moron. Of course, just like how he caught up with me in the parking lot all those months ago, he easily outran me with his stick legs.

“I’ll get you when you least expect it, Oikawa!” I yelled after the still-retreating boy.

“What did he do this time?” Another voice startled me, causing me to jump and turn around. “Sorry.” It was just Iwa.

“Oh, you’re fine. He was-”

“-being a sweet and perfect angel, of course!” Speak of the devil. Toru sidled up beside me and laid his elbow on my shoulder, grinning innocently at Iwa. Iwa just glanced dubiously at me, and in return, I gave him a small head shake.

“He’s all yours, Y/N.” Iwa left no room for rebuttals in his walk away. I wasn’t sure to feel happy or devastated at being left alone with Oikawa.

“Now that we’re all alone, Y/N-Chan, let’s go throw balloons at people.” Ah, yes, happy.

“Okay!” Toru steered me over to the designated warzone, topped off with overturned tables and bucket stations. “I do hope you’re not planning on turning on me during the war.” I warned him; I could see right through him.

“Neverrrrrr.”

“Toru.” I warned once more.

“Come onnnnn you know me!”

“Toru.” Said man stood still for a moment, drinking in my cautioning face. That didn’t stop him, though. He pirouetted, lurched forward, and, before I could stop him, grabbed a balloon and lobbed it at me. I dove for cover, but I was hit.

It grazed my hip. I’m done for. I hit the ground and turned over on my back. Raising a hand in the air, I beckoned Toru over. He edged over, afraid of a sneak attack.

“Y/N?”

“T-Toru? Is that you? Oh, thank the heavens. Come closer.” I let my arm flop to the ground beside me. Toru listened and scooted closer, albeit slowly. “Listen, I’m not gonna last much longer. *cough cough* It’s getting cold, hard to breathe. I’m glad to spend my final moments with you. *gasp* Please, tell my family I love them.” I grappled onto Toru’s hand, pulling him just a little closer so he could hear me take my final gasp for breath before I “died.”

“...Y-Y/N-Chan?” Toru scrambled forward, placing his ear right above my chest before gasping dramatically and falling back. He grabbed fistfuls of grass and yanked upward, taking the grass with him as he bellowed out a “NOOOOOOOO.”

“Hey everyone, the food is ready!” A random dude shouted out. I shot into a standing position.

“Time’s-a wastin’ Kawa.” I darted toward the food table along with other much taller and beefier teenage boys. I’ve already reached the point of no return, no turning back now.

“Woah! No rush, Y/N!” Toru’s arms wrapped around my waist to hold me back, allowing the rush of men to dogpile the steaks. I was singing my praises to Toru’s stick legs this time.

“Oh- thank you, Ruru. I was too blinded by the hunger.”

“Eh- Ruru?!”

“Mhm! It’s cute.” I wiggled out of his grasp and casually approached the swarm of vultures. It’s fight or die.

Alright, so it was not fight or die. Everyone was very pleasant. Imagine a mosh pit, except instead of a band, there’s just a burger on stage. It was exactly like that. Now I was happily eating a hotdog next to Toru, who was eating everything.

“Do you wanna go back to the water after we eat, N/N (nickname)?” Oh, and Toru is now calling me N/N.

“Hmm, how much longer until the firework show?” Toru chuckled at that question, resting his head on his hand.

“How am I supposed to know?”

“Okay, fair. Can we play in the sprinklers?”

“Mhm, anything you want, Y/N-Chan~”

I had planned to splash around for about half an hour. Surprise surprise when Toru and I wrapped towels around ourselves an hour and a half later. Neither of us had brought a change of clothes, so there we were, hair and clothes soaked and sore throats from laughing. I expected to have fun with Oikawa today, but what I wasn’t expecting was to fall even harder for him. A surprise, sure, but a welcome one. There was an announcement for the firework show; it was starting in ten minutes. That announcement was what made us finally dry off.

“Hey, Y/N! Haven’t seen you around all day.” A voice came from behind me. I peered over my shoulder to see Suga smiling softly. “The team agreed to sit near each other. We’d love for you to join.” The thought of sitting with them warmed my heart, but the thought of getting to talk with Oikawa filled me with the fuzziest feeling. The choice was clear.

“Well, I’d love to Suga, but I was planning on sitting with Oikawa.”

“Speaking of. I’m going to set up a spot for us, Y/N-Chan.” Oikawa flashed a cocky smirk as he walked off with our blanket. Once the captain was out of ear-shot, Suga placed a soft hand on my shoulder, coupled with a knowing smile.

“Y/N, you know I trust your judgement, but be careful with him, alright? Just in case the rumors turn out to be true.”

“Rumors?” I turned to fully face the setter, and said boy let his hand fall off my shoulder.

“That he’s a ladies’ man. I don’t know if he… uh, swings that way.” My mind blanked. Oh god… Oh Suga… I shyly smiled back at the boy in front of me.

“I’ll be careful, promise. And I’ll be alright if he doesn’t swing that way.”

“Good luck.” Suga waved and was on his way. Oh, he was so sweet. I went on my way as well, seeking out the still-drying swoops of hair. He was sitting all the way in the back, like, all the way. I began my hike, trekking through the spiky summer grass, past all the dudes chatting with their pals. The good news, I made it in one piece. The bad news, there was barely any time to talk with Oikawa about everything. Well, no shame in trying. I sat gingerly beside the brunette boy, enjoying the closeness of sharing a blanket.

“Toru? Can we talk?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah of course. What is it?”

“Well, there’s two things actually.”

“I still want to hear it.” Toru lightly joked, nerves shining through his tone.

“At training camp, the kiss.” Toru lightly hummed.

“What about it?”

“Can we do it again? Wait- hang on that’s-” Beside me, Toru burst into a fit of laughter.

“You liked it, yeah?”

“Well, uh, I like you and, like, yeah, I did.”

“You like me?” Toru sent a sly smirk my way, eyes shining with adoration. Looking into those eyes got my mouth all dry.

“I- Didn’t I just say that? Wait, that came out wrong-”

“So, what you’re telling me is… you wanna date? Officially?” I frantically nodded at my blanket buddy, thankful he said it so I didn’t have to.

“Oh- we still have to keep it a secret.” I quietly reminded.

“I can work with that. I still get to have you.” Toru’s words went straight from my ears to my cheeks.

“So, about my question earlier?” A surprised chuckle escaped Toru’s lips.

“I think we can arrange that.” And with those six words, Toru cupped my cheek and leaned sideways to close the gap between us. This, our second kiss, was much sweeter than our first. It showed both of our feelings, our vulnerabilities that we only ever showed when together. This felt right, it felt blissful. Faintly, I heard a sharp whistle. It disappeared before exploding into a cacophony of color. Slowly, we pulled apart, gazing into each other’s eyes.

“Toru, I adore you…”

“I see the cat returned your tongue.” I gently laughed.

“It was a tough battle, but I emerged victorious.” Matching my loving smile, Toru leaned in again, placing a gentle smooch upon my nose and then between my brows.

“What was the other thing you wanted to talk about? If it’s as good as this one, I need to hear it.” I chuckled.

“It’s a little heavier. Our future. After we graduate. That sort of thing.”

“Ah, well I’d hate to ruin this very new relationship.”

“Come on, try me. I can handle anything.”

“I’ll just come out and say it, then… I want to rob yachts.” Caught completely off-guard, I snort-laughed. Embarrassment commencing. Instead of teasing laughter, like I was expecting, I heard the sparkling sound of a quiet and genuine laugh from Toru Oikawa himself. “Sorry, sorry. I still want to play volleyball. I can’t imagine a life without it, y’know.” Coming down from his laughing, he turned his serious eyes over at me. “That could mean traveling… the world, maybe.” My eyes widened the slightest bit at the reality that Toru could leave. He could go to Sweden or to Zimbabwe. While pondering the possibilities over, I realized one major thing: the overwhelming feeling of happiness that he’d be chasing his dreams. That was the moment I had decided. I placed a comforting hand over his much larger one.

“I hope you enjoy video calls, then. At least until I graduate too.” It was Toru’s turn to widen his eyes, the look in them, swimming with emotions. He was completely vulnerable, allowing himself to open up to me. He was truly terrified while waiting for my answer. This moment, I’m burning this one into my brain. The moment I decided Toru Oikawa was the one for me. Fireworks went off left and right in the background, they sounded dim in this moment, as Toru hurriedly leaned in and placed another kiss to my lips, conveying every single emotion he was feeling into the kiss. Settling into it, I raked one of my hands through his slightly-damp hair, massaging his head. Once he pulled back, he tugged me into his chest quickly, I assume to hide me from seeing something. Oh… he was crying, wasn’t he? I smiled into his chest and wrapped my arms around his midsection, looking to the sky to watch the rest of the fireworks.

[sonntam]

Chapter 1 of God of War "Lore and Legends": (part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

Sometimes Father looks at me like I’m a stranger.

He frowns a little bit, and his eyes get dark. When he speaks, it’s usually just “Pass the goat butter, boy,” or something like that. If he ever smiled and asked, “How are you feeling today, Atreus?” I’d have to go check his hunting pouch for spotted mushrooms.

Actually, I have seen Father smile. But only when he’s sitting by the fire with Mother.

One night a few weeks ago they were discussing Leviathan’s balance and heft. The axe used to be hers, but she gave it to him a while ago. Of course, Father’s favorite topic of conversation is always weapons. But his eyes were so bright in the firelight, looking at her.

I could tell she means everything to him. Way more than me, that’s for sure.

—

Tonight is the best night of my life!

After dinner, Mother told me a bunch of amazing stories about Skaði, the great giant huntress. We talked about hunting for hours.

And then came the surprise!

She pulled something wrapped in oilskin from our weapon locker and told me to unroll it. I did and there it was — she finished the longbow! It’s beautiful! I helped her string it. She grabbed the bow and flexed it herself while I hooked the bowstring to each end.

I was so excited, I started to cough again. I don’t cough as much as I did when I was little, plus Mother has taught me how to breathe so I calm down. She taught me how to think about the animals I love.

Anyway, we’re going out to practice tomorrow, just Mother and me.

I’m so happy I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight.

—

I was right. I can’t sleep.

I can’t stop starting at my longbow. It looks like a flying bird. A hawk, maybe. When I nock an arrow, it’s a hawk with killer talon. I’ve decided to call it my Talon Bow.

—

What a day! I am sitting on my fvaorite old log in Wildwoods. Mother’s just down the path, refilling out water flask in the falls.

We’ve been on a practice hunt!

This morning, Father returned from another two-day trek just as we were heading out into the woods. He gave me a nod and hugged Mother. But when he saw the Talon Bow, his eyes got big.

“Very nice,” he said.

I handed it to him and slid an arrow out of my quiver. He notched it, pulled it to full draw, and sighted down the arrow’s shaft.

“Remarkable,” he said, squinting.

But he didn’t shoot. He just eased the string forward and returned the arrow to me. Then he gave Mother a look. He smiled… I think. It’s hard to tell with him.

Mother showed me how to set my feet in a direct line to the target… move them shoulder-width apart… nock the arrow and pull back with three fingers just below it… line up my eye behind the arrow’s spine… slowly let out my breath… relax and aim… shoot.

After an hour, I got pretty good at hitting trees. Hitting rabbits? Not so good. Mother is amazing, though. She never misses.

I wonder how she got so good with weapons.

—

Why do I still get sick? I don’t get it.

It makes me really mad. Like today, Father was glad to see I’m learning skills that matter to him, so he coiled thick straw into a round target so I could practice with my new bow. I wanted to impress him. My first shots were a little wild… I was nervous. But pretty soon I started hitting the bullseye.

As I drew another arrow, a black-trailed hare suddenly hopped out of a bush near the target! I raised quickly and swung left to aim ahead of him. But just before I released, I felt a weird pulse in my head.

It was the rabbit! I could hear it… like a voice, but not words.

He was really scared.

I felt bad, so I swung away… but the bowstring slipped from my fingers! The arrow shot straight across the yard toward Mother, who sat carving wooden utensils with her special knife. It hit the fence just above her. In that second of flight, I fell to the ground.

I wanted to bash in my own head, I felt so stupid. I could have killed the thing I loved the most! I started yelling at myself.

Masterpost with God of War "Lore and Legends" transcriptions.

[blxckdragonfly]

Like A Saviour (Darkness Finds You Universe #5- Part 2)

(Song: "Like A Saviour" by Ellie Goulding.

Pairing: Chris Motionless & Lycia Winters "Pronunciation-- Lai-shuh" (played by Ana De Armas), featuring Lyra Crowe Büdgen (Lilith Czar-- played by Mothica) & Malakai Black.

Warnings: Drama, Harassment via Social Media.

Synopsis: After their relationship has been leaked, Lycia and Chris's relationship has become stronger and they later realize they have been targeted by one Ronnie Radke. (aka we all fucking hate Ronnie Radke)

A/N: And we're back! Here's the concluding part to Finding You! This was a long one and we still have so much more to work on! We hope you enjoy it. x Tiger. Co-written with @blackrose-92)

Word Count: 5,155

Spotify Playlist:

(Lycia’s POV)

The following morning, I stir and I wake up in a warm and cozy hotel room bed. We had checked into a hotel after the show last night in Indiana to spend the night in before heading off to the next show on the Trinity of Terror Tour, which was in Cleveland, Ohio. 

I hear the sound of voices as I shift to sit up and slightly pull the blankets which were over me off. I stretch and sit up to see Chris, who’s dressed in his comfortable clothes– black hoodie, black tee and his sweatpants, sitting at the table in our room and speaking over a zoom call, which I would assume would mean that he’s doing an interview of some kind. Then I remembered that he had that Rock Sound interview this morning about the new Motionless album. 

So, tell us about this new flame of yours? I’ve seen photos surface from this past run on the Trinity of Terror tour of you with this mystery brunette girl. 

I felt on edge for a moment, not sure how to react– even though I loved being known as the mystery girl that he had been seeing. Because we were so secretive about our relationship for the last year and a half. 

“Well, obviously,” Chris says, keeping his voice to a low medium. “I didn’t want this whole thing to happen when these photos suddenly came rising to the surface but what can you do? Her name is Lycia, which means “wolf” in Greek– which is kind of fitting that I’d find myself dating a woman with that kind of name after releasing this album, right?” 

I hear the laughter between the two and it makes me relax as I listen, resting my chin in my hand. 

“I had met her back in 2021,” Chris continues. “We had done a shoot with Jeremy Saffer, I remember watching her set up the lights for the shoot, I had noticed that she had this beautiful red ink snake tattoo on the outside of her forearm, and it drew me in. But I didn’t know what to say to her, exactly. 

It wasn’t until I was invited to my first AEW show, which was Double or Nothing, by my friend Lyra or as you know her, Lilith Czar and her husband, Malakai Black. I saw her backstage taking photos of House of Black for AEW and I just knew that I had to get my shit together and talk to her. But again, I didn’t know how. Until I met Dr. Britt Baker, DMD, who I’m still good friends with to this day, suggested that I should write a note to her and tell her how I feel about her– that I want to see her and go out with her. She left the note that I’d written in her camera case and the rest is history as they say. I’ve been seeing her for the good part of a year now.” 

And how is Lycia handling all of this? Your relationship being so suddenly aired out to the public like that? 

Sleep with my shadow

Tryna find my faith in tomorrow

Tired of holdin' onto the memories

How I used to bleed for love (For love)

Got sick of the battle

Gave myself a heart made of metal

Calling out for someone to rescue me

Then you danced into my life (Oh)

“She was a bit frustrated with how the photos had been leaked, as was I when I found out about the article,” Chris shrugs. “But since she’s a photographer herself and is familiar with that area, she’s also taking it in stride. She knew that this was coming. She’s embraced it. I’m proud of her for doing so. I’m happy to be her boyfriend and her partner. She’s really special to me and I love her so much, words are failing me as to how happy I am that she’s in my life.” 

Tears fill my eyes and fall down my cheeks as I listen. I’ve never heard such wonderful words being spoken about me before and it means so much to me that Chris loves me that much to share that with the world. I continue to listen until the interview wraps up, I watch as he puts away his laptop and zips it up in its case as I get out of bed. I quietly walk up to him and I wrap my arms around him, taking him by surprise as I rest my face against his back. 

I hear a soft chuckle from him. “Well, good morning to you too, honey.” He turns around to face me and he notices that I’ve shed a few tears. His warm chocolate brown eyes soften and he lifts my chin up so our eyes meet. “Are you crying? What’s wrong?” 

“I’m crying because that was really sweet of you,” I say as I sniff softly and he raises a brow at me, making me giggle. “The interview, silly. I heard everything that you said about me. You’re just as special to me too, baby. I love you too.” 

He leans in and kisses me sweetly, this kiss being so sweet that it felt like sugar on my lips and I craved more. I wrap my arms around his neck, running my fingers through his blonde hair– deepening our kiss. Our kiss breaks away after a few minutes. 

“Good. Because you mean the world to me, Lycia.” Chris murmurs, resting his forehead against mine and stroking my caramel brown hair. “I can’t even describe how you make me feel. I’ve never felt this kind of euphoria before in my life, it’s a whole new experience for me.” 

A smile crosses my own lips. “I could say the same about you too. I feel like I’ve found my soulmate.” I whisper as I see a grin cross his face. He places a tender kiss onto my forehead and he holds me in his arms, hugging me to him. His hand caresses my back softly. 

He suddenly pulls away from the hug and he reaches into the pocket of his leather jacket, he holds out a beautiful gold coffin ring with a rose carved in the center of his palm. 

I let out a soft gasp. “Chris…” I say as I hear him chuckle as I look into his eyes again. 

“I’m really happy to hear that I’m your soulmate, Lycia. Because I know you’re mine too.” He takes my face in his hands gently. “I want to give this to you to show you that someday, I will want to marry you.” 

Tears fill my eyes. “Babe, nothing would mean more to me than being yours. I promise. I love you.” 

He leans in and meets my lips in a deep and loving kiss, fingers lifting my chin up while tears of happiness fall down my cheeks as we pull away for breath’s sake. 

Beautiful visions come to me

And they stay forever and ever

Electric feelings keep me dreamin'

I won't let go, oh-woah, oh-woah

Spinnin' in your starlight

You got the power to ease my mind

You're leadin' me out of the dark

Like a saviour

Shinin' in my soul, oh-woah, oh-woah

“I love you too, Lycia. I love you so much.” Chris smiles as I take the ring from his hand and I slip it onto my own left ring finger, the gold of the ring shining in the light of the room. I intertwine my fingers with his and I see that my ring looks similar to the one he always wears. I start giggling at him. 

“What?” 

“We both have coffin rings,” I say and I watch as he glances down at our hands, catching on to my laughter and he starts laughing at himself. 

“Yeah, I didn’t think that one through,” Chris says with a laugh and I shove him playfully. “Well. I made us into a high school couple.” 

“Oh, Lyra’ll love that.” I tease and I hear him grunt in annoyance, making me laugh as I place a soft kiss onto his cheek. 

Like a saviour

Out of the dark

Like a saviour

Out of the dark

We got ready to head to the next venue together which was Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica and I changed out of my black tee and black satin shorts that I’ve worn to sleep every night into a white corset that I’ve bought from Fashion Nova, a pair of black ripped skinny jeans from Pretty Little Thing and my boots from Lamoda. Gold hoop earrings in my ears and my hair in a bun with simple makeup. When we arrived at the venue, the first person we saw was Lyra– who had caught on to us and our coffin rings when we held hands while walking. 

“Aw, you both have coffin rings! That’s adorable!” Lyra squeals and I hear a groan from Chris. 

“Here we go,” Chris mutters. 

“I have to tell Malakai about this!” Chris rolls his eyes as I snicker in amusement and she unlocked her phone to call Malakai. “Babe! Chris gave Lycia a coffin ring!” 

“Lyra, it’s not just a coffin ring I gave to Lycia. It’s a promise ring,” Chris says and she looks at us with a scoff. 

“That seems kind of juvenile, dude.” Lyra says. “I mean, really.” 

“That’s great, Chris! I did the same thing for Lyra before we got married,” Malakai says and Lyra’s jaw drops in shock, making Chris laugh. “Lyra. How could you forget that I gave you a promise ring?” 

“Babe, I was more focused on my engagement ring and wedding ring..” 

“Whoa!” Chris puts both of hands up in the air, letting go of mine. “I’m gonna stop you both right there. I’m not fucking ready for any of that right now. I’m happy with Lycia and that’s all that matters.” 

My heart flutters as he turns his head at me and I place a gentle peck onto his lips, causing an ‘aww, you’re both so cute!” from Lyra which makes him shake his head. 

“You’re the one talking about juvenile, babe,” Malakai says. “I’m surprised you didn’t tell Chris and Lycia to get a room.” 

“Babe, I’ll get you for that one.” Lyra says and Chris chuckles as the phone call ends. I take a walk over to say hello to his bandmates, Justin, Ryan, Ricky and Vinny.

______________________________________________________

(Lyra’s POV) 

After I get off the phone with Malakai, I suddenly grab Chris by the wrist as he starts to walk away, making him pause and turn to me with a confused look. I pull him aside for a moment and I take a breath, now that the comedic moment is over. 

“Chris,” I say. “I wanted to tell you this. I’m so happy that you have Lycia in your life. She’s brought out the best in you. You both look really good together.” 

A bright grin comes across Chris’s face as he pulls me into an embrace. “Thank you for saying that, Lyra.” He says. “She’s really special to me.” 

We both glance over at Lycia, who’s laughing and getting along with his bandmates. I pat Chris on the shoulder as I turn to walk off and I feel his hand on my shoulder. “Lyra, wait.” 

I turn around and face him. I see that his eyes are bright and a smile crosses his face. 

“I think I understand why Malakai means so much to you,” Chris crosses his arms and looks at me. 

“Because you’re starting to see it with Lycia, aren’t you?” I ask and he nods. “Aw, that’s so sweet. Sounds like you both are meant to be, trust me. I’ve seen it in the way you both move– she moves and you move, you’re both like magnets.” 

I see his eyes take on a look of hesitation and a bit of fear, because of his past relationships that have failed– mainly the one he had with Gaia that hurt him the most. “That’s not a bad thing, right?” 

I let out a soft laugh. “No, that shows how much you love her. You can’t be away from her for too long, you start to physically ache when you’re not near her because you miss being close to her. Malakai and I do the same thing. She’s your other half. Your soulmate. I saw the way you look at her, Chris. You look at her like she’s the only important person in the room that matters to you. Malakai looks at me the same way. It’s a special feeling of admiration that you have in each other.” 

I hear him take a deep breath as he looks at me. “You said the same thing about Gaia all those years ago and look what happened.” I see him shrug his shoulders at me. 

“No, you’re right,” I told him. “But here’s the thing. Lycia isn’t Gaia. She’s not. She’s not Gaia because Gaia didn’t have the guts to stand up for herself and your relationship. Lycia’s not going to leave you on rock bottom like Gaia did when she left. Because I know in my heart that Lycia’s the one for you. Hell, I know it terrifies the fuck out of you but when you’re ready, I can see you being married to Lycia. You both have a family together someday. 

How could I be so certain, you may ask?  Because I’m there with Malakai. Malakai gave me a married life, a family life, a home. I didn’t want one for the longest time and neither did he. You remember Devon? You know what he did to me.” Chris nods as I mention my once abusive ex who tried to ruin mine and Malakai’s life together. “But even then, even when I thought I would never ever see Malakai again in my life, we found our way back to each other. We’re the happiest we’ve ever been.” 

“Yeah, you and your family of seven fucking cats,” Chris chuckles as I roll my eyes at him and shove him playfully. 

“Hey, they’re still our children, you know.” Chris laughs and I start to chuckle. I pause after a few minutes and take a breath. “I want you to listen to me when I say this, Chris Cerulli. You have nothing to worry about. Lycia loves you with every fiber of her being. Even if a married life or a family life isn’t in the cards for you, Lycia’s happy being your partner, regardless. Don’t you ever fucking give up on her. You mean the world to her.”  

I walk closer and I hug him, feeling him hug me back– I’m sure he’s grateful for our friendship. 

“Thank you for kicking me in the ass again, Lyra Büdgen,” Chris murmurs as a smile crosses my lips. “You’re one of the most dearest friends I could ever ask for.” 

I pulled back from the hug before I walked behind him, wrapping my hands around his shoulders– pushing him forward to where Lycia stood, her eyes locked with Chris, offering her hand out to him with a soft smile. He smiles back at her and takes her hand, placing a kiss onto her cheek. 

They’re so sweet together. I know he’s found the one. I’m happy to see that he’s starting to see it too. I thought. 

______________________________________________________________

(Lycia’s POV) 

Shot with your arrow

Suddenly, I feel I can let go

Of all the insecurities weighin' me down

Now I'm ready to drown in you, you

Chris and I have been enjoying our day off back home in Scranton, we got to see our pugs, Fang and Luna, who have been staying with Angelo, Chris’s friend and former drummer of Motionless In White while we’ve been on tour, who will be attending the upcoming show in Scranton, which is Chris’s hometown at The Pavilion at Montage Mountain. 

It’s nice to be able to just relax and be close to each other– we’ve missed that a lot since we’d been gone. We’d spent the majority of the day just watching horror movies and Dexter and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. 

The day of the show, Chris drove us up to the venue, which was this massive structure with rows and rows of seats. It looked insane and I could see just how happy he was to be able to play this venue. He told me when we’d first started seeing each other that he went to this exact place to see No Doubt as a kid, which warmed my heart. As he parked the car outside, I could see him having to pause and take a moment as he stood beside me, looking around. 

“Babe?” I say as I reach for his hand, which his fingers intertwined with mine. I can see that he looks like he wants to cry. “Are you okay?” 

“I-I cannot believe that I get to play this place tonight with my band,” Chris says as he blinks away the tears that threaten to fall. “I’m just so happy and so overjoyed.” 

Beautiful visions come to me

And they stay forever and ever

Electric feelings keep me dreamin'

I won't let go, oh-woah, oh-woah

My heart melts and I take that moment to hug him, running the fingers of my free hand through his blonde hair. “I’m so proud of you. This show is going to be amazing. I can already tell.” 

He smiles softly and places a loving kiss on my lips as we head in together, hand in hand. As we were walking together backstage, I felt my phone vibrate over and over again in the back pocket of my vinyl jeans. I raise a brow and I pull it out, wondering why I kept getting all of these notifications. 

I unlock my phone and I see that there are tweets being tagged at my Twitter and I open it up to two tweets from Ronnie Radke. I had no idea who he was, but what he said made me panic. 

RonnieRadke: So Chris goes from dating someone like Gaia to this… Amateur druggie photographer? I’m fucking dying. 

RonnieRadke: Yeah, she looks like she shoots more heroin than she does shooting photos. 

My heart starts beating fast and all I can do is slide against the wall, tears falling down my cheeks. How did he know about my past with heroin? I thought, burying my face into my knees. 

“Lycia?” I hear Chris’s voice as he walks over to me and he kneels down in front of me, lifting my chin up so our eyes meet. “Lycia, baby. Hey. What’s the matter? What’s got you so upset like this?” 

I stay silent as I give Chris my phone so he can see the tweets that Ronnie said about me. When he does, he’s livid. He sets my phone down and I see him pace back and forth in anger. Lyra walks by at that moment and she notices right away. 

“Hey. What’s going on, you two?” Lyra asks as Chris shows her the tweets that Ronnie said about me on my phone to her. Lyra grits her teeth in anger. “Fuck. I’ll be right back. Chris, look after Lycia.” 

“What? What are you doing, Lyra?” Chris asks as she unlocks her phone and walks off a few feet from us. 

“I may not be able to speak to this stupid son of a bitch, but I know someone who might.” Lyra says as she scrolls through her contacts and dials a number on her phone as she walks off. She puts it on speaker. “Saraya! Are you fucking kidding me?!” 

I hear another British accent that sounds familiar to Lyra’s on the other line as Chris moves to hold me in his arms. “Lyra? What’s going on?” 

“What do you mean, what’s going on? Have you not seen what your boyfriend has done?!” Lyra demands. 

“Uhhh, not really, no.” Lyra starts sending Saraya the tweets that Ronnie has said about me as evidence and proof of what he’s done. 

“Here’s the deal,” Chris and I look up as we hear Lyra slip into House of Black mode, I feel him smirk as he rests his chin on my head. “Tell your boyfriend to take those tweets down or Malakai and I will kick his head completely off his shoulders, not only will we do that but we’ll give his bones to Chris and whatever remains of him left will be given to House of Black. You will be forced to watch it happen. Don’t try me because you know The House Always Wins and you don’t want to see your precious little boyfriend get torn to shreds by us, do you? Are we clear?” 

Lyra hears a small gulp on the other end of the line from Saraya. “Crystal.” 

“Good. Now go fucking talk to him.” Lyra hangs up the phone and pulls up Ronnie’s page on Twitter to see that the tweets that he had once posted are now gone. 

She walks back in with us as Chris is placing a soft kiss on my head, trying to comfort my anxiety because I’m shaking in his arms. “He took down the tweets about Lycia.” 

Chris looks up at Lyra while his arms are holding me close to his chest, I close my eyes against him, his scent comforting me. 

“How-How’d you get him to stop?” Chris asks as Lyra shakes her head in amusement. 

“Chris, you should know this by now.” Lyra tells him. “The House will always look after our own and protect them. Nobody comes for the friends of The House. They’re asking for their worst nightmare if they do.” She sighs. “But the tweets about you and Motionless are still up.” 

“I don’t care about that. I couldn’t give a single fuck if he bashes me or my band,” Chris murmurs as he glances down at me, I tremble in his arms. “As long as he keeps the love of my life out of it. She didn’t deserve her past to be aired like that.” 

“I know,” I hear compassion in Lyra’s voice as she kneels down in front of us. “That wasn’t okay and it was absolutely horrible of Ronnie to do that to try and get your attention.” 

I start to sob into Chris’s chest softly, tears dripping onto his Cyberhex jacket and he looks down at me. 

“My career is over,” I sob. “No one will want to work with me now that my past is out in the world.” 

Chris’s eyes soften, I feel him take my face in both of his hands and I glance into the calm of his brown eyes. “Lycia. Hey. No, it’s not.” I avoid his eyes and look past him, staring at the rows of chairs which will soon be filled with thousands of screaming fans later on tonight. “Baby. Look at me.” 

I huffed softly and I looked back at him, meeting his eyes once more. “Lyra was able to make him stop. He’s not going to talk about your past as long as she and House of Black are here. It’s going to be alright.” 

I sniff. “I was okay with our relationship being leaked because of being a photographer myself, but I wasn’t okay with my past being leaked. They’re going to hate me. I can feel it coming.” 

“Honey,” Chris murmurs as he rests his forehead against mine. “No one’s going to hate you for this. If they do, they’re going to have to take it up with me because I won’t fucking tolerate it.” 

That’s when it hit me that Chris is willing to protect me as much as I had when I stepped up to protect him from Ash when she tried to break us up last year at Furnace Festival. My heart started racing as I stared at the man of my dreams. I hear his voice become honeyed. “You’re the love of my life, Lycia Rose. I will never, ever let anyone hurt you like you were in the past. Ever.” 

Spinnin' in your starlight

You got the power to ease my mind

You're leadin' me out of the dark

Like a saviour

Shinin' in my soul, oh-woah, oh-woah

Spinnin' in your starlight

You got the power to change my life

You're leadin' me out of the dark

Like a saviour (Like a saviour)

Shinin' in my soul, oh-woah, oh-woah

My heart skips a beat as he leans in, meeting my lips in a soft kiss. The kiss immediately calms me down, I relax in his arms, wrapping my arms around his neck as he deepens the kiss. 

I let my dark red nailed fingers run through his blonde hair with the slightest touch, my nails scratching the back of his neck, making him shiver– which I started to smile in the kiss. I break away from the kiss as Chris kisses both of my cheeks gently and my neck, making me giggle as I glance over at Lyra. 

“Was all of that true?” I ask. “What you said about kicking his head in? Are you being serious?” 

“Lycia, Malakai and I are trained in Muay Thai and Kickboxing,” Lyra explains. “Even more so than most have seen on screen on AEW. So yes, we can kick Ronnie’s head off his shoulders if we really wanted to. The thought has crossed my mind a few times but I’m not stupid enough to end up in jail.” 

I hear Chris snicker next to me, probably because he’s thinking of both of them kicking Ronnie’s head off his shoulders. “Hey, as long as I get my pound of flesh, I’ll take it.” 

I started to laugh because he accidentally quoted Slaughterhouse and doesn’t even know it. He raised both of his eyebrows at me. 

“What, honey?” He asks as I try to get the air back into my lungs from laughing so hard. 

“You just quoted your own lyrics, babe,” I say in between giggles. 

I watch as he gets it a second later and he laughs. “Oh, goddammit. I completely walked into that one, didn’t I?” Lyra and I both laugh at him. “But listen, Lycia, if anything does happen to your career— I’ll make you our own personal photographer for Motionless and Lyra can too. We’ll pay you in full.” 

“Yeah, you can take photos for House of Black and BlxckMass,” Lyra says. “Malakai and I will take care of it if it gets to that point.” 

A touched look crosses my face as I feel so grateful to have such a wonderful boyfriend and he has such a great friend in Lyra. Tears of happiness fell down my face. 

“I love you, babe,” I murmured as I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him. “You’re the best. Thank you, Lyra.” 

“I love you too, Lycia,” Chris whispers as he gently kisses my lips. “Now, come on. We’re about to play for the first time here and nothing would make me happier than to have you help me with my makeup for tonight."  

I smile softly as I take his hand and we head off, for an incredible night in Scranton for Lyra, Motionless, Black Veil Brides and Ice Nine Kills. Backstage, Chris wanted me to do a Terminator inspired look for him tonight, which was going to be tricky but I was up for the challenge. As I was working on his look, he tried to make me laugh by not staying still and making dorky faces. I rolled my eyes.

"Babe," I say as I put down the brush with the silver eyeshadow down. "Stop it. I'm trying to concentrate. Now stay still."

He sighs and nods. I continue my work until he starts up again and I roll my eyes.

"Chris, I swear..." I mutter and I hear his laughter until he sees the seriousness in my eyes. I take a breath and shake my head in amusement. I know he was trying to make me forget about what Ronnie had said, which was sweet of him but I wanted this look to be perfect for his show tonight.

"Alright, I'll stop," Chris says. "On one condition."

"What might that be?" I say with an eyebrow raised.

"I'll stop... If you give me a kiss," He murmurs and I hear that warmth in his voice, it's the small hint before it turns seductive. Fuck.

"Mm. If that's all you wanted, why didn't you just ask?" I asked as I leaned against the counter next to the chair he sat in.

"Because," He reaches for my hand to bring me closer. "I wanted to take your mind off this. I can still see that what Ronnie said is getting to you. Don't let it. I doubt that what he said will affect your career. Even then, anyone is lucky to have you-- whether it's us, Lyra and Malakai, it doesn't matter. You're a fucking incredible photographer, honey."

I smile at his kind words, I intertwine my own fingers in his, feeling his fingers tracing the back of mine.

"You always know how to make me feel better, don't you?" I murmur as I wrap my arms around his neck. A soft smile crosses his face and he nods.

Luckily I hadn't started working on his lips yet for his Terminator look so that was enough for me to lean in and kiss him, like he wanted. His hands move toward my face, the kiss warm and loving-- making my heart flutter in my chest. We break apart, my eyes meeting his brown ones.

"Promise to be good?" I whisper and I hear him chuckle, placing a kiss onto my forehead softly.

"Baby, I'm always good." He says and I let out a giggle of my own and he did as told, staying completely still as I finished his makeup for tonight.

liked by pewdiepie, itsmarziapie, jeffreydeanmorgan, malakaiblxck, lilithczar and 3,200 others

lycia.rosee: Turned my wonderful man into a T-800 for his homecoming show in Scranton tonight! Here's a photo from a fun little shoot we did before the show! I'm such a proud girlfriend. I love you, chrismotionless. 🖤

jensenackles: Badass work, Lycia! He looks great! 🔥

jaredpadalecki: He really looks like a T-800. I wouldn't fight him. 🤣

chrismotionless: My woman killing it with the makeup! I love you too, honey. 🖤

Spinnin' in your starlight

You got the power to change my life

You're leadin' me out of the dark (You're leadin' me out of the dark)

Like a saviour (Like a saviour)

Shinin' in my soul, oh-woah, oh-woah

Like a saviour (Like a saviour)

Out of the dark (Out of the dark)

Like a saviour (Like a saviour)

Out of the dark (Oh, out of the dark)....

[amiramorozova]

Soulmates?-werewolf version- pt. 4

"Now people will know..you're going to be mine Amira." those words echoed in my head that this man, he was a bit full of himself. I had a fight within me but at the same time I felt the affects of his Alpha scent. It made my body react in a way I'd never felt before and at the same time I had to bite my tongue for now as I had four hours left of my shift...meaning four hours I had to spend with this man.  

Despite my obedience to my new job I got my fighting spirit back as I used all my strength to push him off. I got up and went to the mirror seeing the mark was fresh, part of me was a bit shaken up from the whole thing. "You shouldn't just bite a woman you meet..it's not policy fo-" before I could finish I felt him hold me from behind. "If you're so worried, check the system. I'm sure you will see my record here is very clean.." He said then whispered in my ear "2-5-3-5-7"

I was confused but then noticed the monitor in the room as he let me go and I walked over as I questioned just why he'd give me that code. Yet when I seen it asked for an Alpha's code I put it in seeing his information updated. I read over it to see exactly who I was dealing with and how many times he'd came here. I noticed the way it was wrote up.

His first name isn't here.. I thought

Profile:

General Kirigan

Visits- 10

requests for worker(s)- 1

Drinks- 199

Extra accommodations - 1

As I read over everything I was shocked to see that he never requested workers till today, meaning he was telling the truth..still I knew people could be bought. With my back to him Kaitlyn had gave me a code to get into other records older records and I noticed some Alphas who hadn't been there but seeing they were alive.

"You've only requested a worker once? and Extra accommodations?" I asked as I looked at him

I turned the monitor off as I was confused but then I felt him pick me up as I blushed for once as he held me up. Then he placed me down on the couch as I tried to calm down my blush knowing that it wasn't that easy. "Why me? How did you find out I worked here?" I asked as he laughed a bit then picked up a paper that looked like it was was freshly wrote up. He handed it to me and I took I look over the paper as I took it.

♡New ◇ been here a year ■ older employees As I read over the list I saw I was the only one under new here and it was my whole name.  He took it from me as he put a hand under my chin and had me look into his eyes. "Amira Silina."  hearing my name from my true mates mouth sent chills. He leaned in as if he was going to kiss me but I was able to snap out of how I feel when the door was suddenly barged open and some random girl had gotten in.

What the heck..those doors aren't supposed to open so easily unless we let them. I thought

The girl was followed by a few who were glaring at me as I was new there but before they could do anything to attack shadows were evident. They wrapped around the girls as he had them pinned by shadows to the wall. He got infront of me as the security came in and took them away, fixed the door and once again I was left alone with him. He walked over as he put a hand on my cheek as I was shaking a little.

"They won't ever lay a hand on you.." He said as he was close that if I was in my right mind then I would have pushed him back. Yet I hugged him for keeping me safe as he held me close and I closed my eyes. Maybe he's not so bad..he protected me..but the work area I'm protected too.. I thought

"Not so bad, that's what you're thinking?" He asked as he put a hand through my hair as I closed my eyes in content. "Stubborn as you are, I'll win your heart one way or another." I knew my heart was guarded..I never been in love. I didn't know what it was as I was not going to give in to this man so easily. I knew that there wasn't going to be another thing but for that moment I let him comfort me till I calmed down..but even then I didn't pull away from him for a moment.

I wonder if it's normal for someone to be so comfortable like this with her fated mate.. I thought

TagList: @lifeisingrey​,  @houseoftoomanyfandoms​, @mizelophsun11​, @budugu​ ,   @wheresthesunshinesblog

[nightmarist]

Hysterectomy experience

(w photos, not very graphic incisions)

Arrived 2 hours before surgery as instructed, checked in. I was not allowed to eat anything past midnight the night prior. No drinking, no water, no gum. It was right after veteran’s day in the US so there were more people than usual.

Waited about an hour before I and my friend were taken to the OR. Lots of curtains hiding several patients.

Several ppl misgendered me all day, sadly.

Did a urine sample. Put all my clothes and my glasses in a basket. They gave me body wipes to clean my arms, legs, front, and back. NOT the genitals. Hair in a net, only tied the top half of the hospital gown. Grippy socks. Laid in the bed with a blanket. It felt very exposed since the curtain didn’t close all the way. I was thankfully in the very very last section so only doctors would have seen me.

Surgeon came in and explained the procedure. She’s explained it several times to me at various appointments. Loved my surgeon, she’s great. Introduced me to the other surgeon, I don’t recall her actual title.

The aesthetician came in and explained I’d be put under with a tube in my throat to help me breathe. He was fun, he introduced himself and jokingly said “don’t worry about it, though, because you’re not going to remember” (after anesthesia). I’m mad bc I remember everything Except his name. It was like, Jesse or Justin or something.

A nurse put in my IV. She rubbed my hand a few times to find a good spot, adjusted my wrist. It sucked. She was very nice it just hurt a Lot. Surgeon talked to me to help distract from the pain.

They gave me a pill and a little water so I wouldn’t spasm during surgery. Also put little wraps on my legs for circulation. Propped me up on the gurney. Put a gel into my nostrils for preventing phlegm, I think. I was wheeled out and I was Out like a light immediately.

Woke up super groggy. It felt Great.

I remember the end of my dream. I was surrounded by cold concrete and I saw a red velvet curtain but it also felt warm and cozy. I vaguely remember other parts of my dream. While I was coming in and out of anesthesia, I said to the new nurse “What a beautiful dream, what a beautiful dream, I had a beautiful dream” and I remember he said something like “Oh that’s nice to hear” while fiddling with my IV and the machines. I also said “I was a vampire who lived a thousand lifetimes in a thousand years”

He asked me several times how my pain was. He was flitting between me and another guy next to be beyond the curtain. My pain grew from 3 to 4 to 5 to 6 as everything started to wear off. Up to even an 8, it started to hurt SO bad. I was sort of babbling, still coming to, and he gave me sips of cold water. My throat was so dry.

Waking up really felt like those movies or TV shows where you’re in the POV of the person and everything has a vignette while they’re blinking and all sounds are both slightly muffled and a little loud. Surprisingly accurate.

A nurse gave me a breathing apparatus, a spirometer. Basically they told me to breathe through and cough so my lungs wouldn’t get infected. This one’s called a Voldyne 4000. My instructions were to inhale through the tube deep, hold it, breathe out, and cough ten times every hour. Then the next few days after do it every 3 hours.

I asked a couple times if I could lay down a bit more and they adjusted the bed a bit.

My hands and feet were super cold. Another nurse put my hands over a tube blowing warm air under the sheet.

First nurse gave me some more pain meds. He was very nice but obviously trying to get me out. When I said my pain was 6 or 7 he said in like, an almost facetious tone “Well if we give you more pain killer you’ll have to stay longer, don’t you want to go home?” Bitch give me the fucking pain killer.

Eventually when to went back down to a 3 or 4 they gave me my clothes and told me to get dressed.

When they left me alone to get dressed, I almost cried. I sort of crawled over the bed. I felt suddenly horribly depressed for no reason. There’s only curtains separating me from the other patients and what helped was a person next to me had a nurse telling them “Hey it’s ok, people cry after waking up from anesthesia all the time, it’s normal. Just let it out ok?”

My legs felt like jelly and I had a bit of trouble putting my clothes back on but I managed. There was blood where I was sitting, I felt blood kind of leak from between my legs and unfortunately stain my underwear. I should have packed extras plus pads. I was put into a little wheelchair, a very interesting design.

Someone told me a special glue was used to close up the incisions and they’ll fall off on their own.

Nurse and friend helped me into the car. Nurse grabbed hold of the back of my hoodie to help me stay upright.

They really do NOT want you to overstay it was kind of annoying how much it felt like they were rushing me out but I Get they have to see other patients to perform surgery on. Maybe there should be a post op waiting room or something.

I got in the car and felt extremely nauseous. Friend gave me a bag and I puked twice. It was bright orange. Not blood, but whatever fluid they put to expand my body. Nurse gave me a set of body wash cloths.

I was super groggy and just stayed in bed for a few hours. I used the spirometer. Used the bathroom several times. Bled a little.

Played telephone tag w the pharmacy to get my prescriptions. Surgeon gave me four pain killers and milk of magnesia in case I get constipated.

Unfortunately the friend I stayed with also misgendered me on accident and also wanted to talk about Harry Potter. She cooked steak and very salty asparagus, but I couldn’t eat it. Tried a granola bar and I couldn’t eat that either. I couldn’t eat anything all day.

She convinced me to get my painkillers moved to a closer pharmacy but doing that made their availability later. We tried to call the original pharmacy but they couldn’t do anything besides start the process over so unfortunately I had no pain killers all day.

I got home, was able to at least get oxycodone and ate some plain rice with it to sleep.

Had a fever of 99.9 and chills for a day and a half. Have to get up and walk around for 20 minutes every few hours to prevent blood clots.

Not allowed to insert anything (no penetrative sex, no tampon, no douching) for 3 months. No heavy lifting over 20 lbs.

I’m allowed to wear a binder bc it helps hold my tummy when I cough.

I have five incisions. No baths, no pools. Showers after a couple days is OK. No scented soaps.

Healing well.

Incisions hurt. A bit of cramping. My clitoris hurt a bit waking up. Nurse said it’s normal for genital pain after a heavy surgery in the lower half of my body.

Different meds make different parts feel better. Oxy makes my whole body feel Great. Also very sleepy. Ibuprofen makes me cramp less. Gabapentin makes the incisions hurt less. Haven’t gotten my acetaminohen yet.