#Aimee shush

[aimeelouart]

I love the world and everything in it and I want to know everything, be everything, and experience everything and to be honest this is a very distracting way to exist

[fxckadoodledoomunson]

A Heart Divided -4-

Previous

|4| Cause and Effect

Summary: Chrissy gives Eddie a piece of her mind, however it ends in disaster. Meanwhile, your goal to win the race may be set for failure.

Warnings: swearing, the jocks (except Lucas and Patrick) being dicks, reader’s sister being a bitch as usual, Eddie being a dick as usual.

Tagged: @somethingvicked @ali-r3n @mirandasidefics @mewchiili @erisdogwood @hufflepuffobsessedwithmarvel @yourdailymemedelivery @pretendthisnameisclever

For a girl of small stature, Chrissy was able to drag Eddie out of the building with tremendous force until they were standing between the two buildings near the field where Chrissy stopped and turned to face Eddie, who was rubbing his wrist, as he winced. “Jesus, you almost broke the skin on my wrist,” he complained.

“Oh well,” Chrissy sarcastically replied, before mentioning that he could call it payback for scratching you.

Eddie huffed, as he put his hands in his pockets, before asking her, “So, you heard everything then?”

Instead of answering him, Chrissy silently held out her hand, before ordering him, “Hand it over.”

Eddie shrugged his shoulders, pretending not to know what she wanted.

“Don’t fuck with me Eddie! Hand over the diary now!” She angrily demanded.

Eddie groaned, as he reluctantly took the diary out of his pocket and threw it at her.

As soon as she caught it, she immediately opened it, before reading the pages.

Meanwhile, you nervously stood near the pool with the other competitors, as you watched a lot of people taking their seats. You looked around to find your family and Wayne standing together. However, you didn’t see Eddie next to your sister. You didn’t find it strange until you noticed that Chrissy was missing too. You turned to the cheer squad, catching Aimee’s attention. “Where’s Chrissy?” You asked her.

Aimee looked around, before she shrugged her shoulders, unsure where the head cheerleader was. You scanned the place for her when you heard the referee tell everyone to go to their designated spots.

In the audience, the jocks were chatting away when Andy, who left earlier to have a smoke, approached Jason. “Jason,” he said in a hushed tone.

Jason shushed him, before Andy tried to speak again, “Jason, listen-“

“Shh man,” Jason silenced him, telling him that the race was about to start.

Andy groaned, as he sat back.

Back in the pool, you were getting ready to dive when you noticed a grandfather clock at the end of the pool. The ticking of the clock grew louder, drowning out the referee’s voice.

You stood still, fixated on the clock that you didn’t notice the whistle blow or the opponents diving into the pool until the coach went up to you and shouted, “What are you doing?! Get in!”

You snapped yourself out of the illusion, finding the clock was gone. You immediately lowered your goggles over your eyes and dove in, trying to overtake your opponents.

Back outside, Chrissy thoroughly read the pages before letting out a scoff.

“I know, it’s unbelievable,” Eddie said. “I didn’t think that she had it in her to write that.”

Chrissy looked up at him angrily, as she asked, “You know what’s unbelievable?”

Eddie furrowed his eyebrows when she told him, whilst whacking his arm with the diary, “That you… really think… that she would… write any… of… that...shit!”

“Jesus H Christ, Chrissy! Stop!” Eddie bellowed, as he was backed up against the wall.

Chrissy opened the diary, and shoved it in his face, as she asked, “You really think that I couldn’t tell if my best friend wrote this or not?”

Eddie was about to speak up when Chrissy held the diary up once more, as she pointed out that ,not only there were plenty of spelling mistakes, but there were no doodles on the pages.

“Do you really think that someone who was asked to tutor you would make lots of mistakes?” She asked. “And I know for a fact that she would draw in her pages as well.”

“So what are you saying?” Eddie asked. “That her sister just copied her handwriting and showed me the diary just to break my friendship with her?”

“It wouldn’t surprise me.”

Chrissy then pointed out that your sister was jealous of you for some reason.

Suddenly, Eddie had let out a scoff, before asking the cheerleader, “Are you sure that it’s not the other way around?”

Chrissy gaped, not believing what he just asked, before silently glaring at him. She then raised her hand and slapped Eddie’s cheek.

Meanwhile, you had managed to overtake most of the opponents, as you swam vigorously, just behind two or three other swimmers.

As the jocks continued to watch you, a frustrated Andy tried to get Jason’s attention. “What?!” Jason growled. “What is so important that you-“

“Your girl’s with the freak,” Andy blurted out.

Jason’s face softened, as Andy mentioned that he saw them outside.

Jason searched where the cheerleaders were, realising that Chrissy wasn’t with them, before looking to where Wayne was sitting next to an empty seat, noticing that Eddie wasn’t sitting with him. He then remembered that, not only Eddie went to see you before the race, but also Chrissy went to the changing room before you and Eddie went in. However, he never saw either of them come out.

Suspicious of the situation, Jason turned to his teammates, telling them to follow him, as he stood up and started walking out of the building, with a confused Lucas and Patrick following him.

“Did her sister really screw you too many times that it shrunk your brain?” Chrissy scolded Eddie, who was rubbing his cheek. “I can’t believe that you would treat someone who was willing to help you graduate like shit. And instead of asking her about the diary, you jumped to conclusions, thinking the worst of her.”

Before Eddie could answer back, she told him, “She really liked you, Eddie. Even before I knew how she really felt about you, she always had been kind to you.”

As she stepped closer to him, she confessed, “Why do you think I went to you for weed and not asked someone else to get it for me instead? I came to you, even though I initially thought that you were going to be mean and scary, because I knew that if she could go to you without being intimidated, then maybe I could have the guts to ask for help.”

There was a brief moment of silence as Eddie suddenly gave her a snarky smirk.

Meanwhile, you were still swimming with all your might, overtaking all your opponents when suddenly, you heard the clock ticking again. You tried to ignore it, and carried on swimming until you heard the same dark voice calling you. You slowed down, as you noticed that the lights were flickering and the water was turning red. You weren’t sure if it was a prank or not. You questioned what was happening when suddenly, an aquatic demon swam passed, causing you to open your mouth, almost making you choke. Unsure what was happening, you swam up to the surface and climbed up the ladder, not realising that you were back to reality. There was a hubbub in the crowd, who were confused by why you were getting out.

You coughed , as you quickly walked past the pool, trying to control your breathing when the coach shouted, “What are you doing?! You almost had it!”

Back outside, Eddie approached Chrissy, as he smirked at her. “The guts to ask for help, huh?” He mocked, before asking if you knew that she went to him for drugs.

“Yes, I told her,” she admitted. “And about the nightmares.”

“Which Carver still has no clue about, right?”

Chrissy chewed the inside of her cheek, not answering the question. Eddie’s expression turned serious, before asking, as he moved closer, “Tell me Chrissy, did you tell your best friend what happened when you were in my trailer?”

Chrissy glared at him, as she was about to answer when they heard someone shouted, “Hey freak!”

It was Jason.

Eddie stepped away from Chrissy, who was clenching the diary against her chest, as the jocks approached them. “Looks like the Calvary have arrived,” Eddie sarcastically said, as the group moved closer.

“What’s going on, Chris?” Jason asked. “Why are you here with the freak?”

Before Chrissy could respond, Eddie interjected, “We’re just talking-“

“I didn’t ask you,” Jason retorted, as he pointed at him, before turning to his girlfriend.

Chrissy looked up, and told him, “Like he said, we were just talking.”

Jason scoffed, before asking, “Talking? What could be so important to talk about that could make you miss your best friend’s race?”

Before Chrissy could say anything, Andy snatched the diary out of her hands from behind. “Hey!” Chrissy exclaimed.

Andy lifted the diary up, waving it away from Chrissy’s grasp as he mocked her.

“What do we have here? The freak’s book of rituals?” Andy snickered.

“Give it back!” Chrissy shouted, as she tried to grab it when she lost her balance, almost falling down to the ground, only to be caught by Eddie.

Immediately, Jason pushed Eddie against the wall, shouting, “Don’t you dare touch her!”

Meanwhile in the changing room, you were sitting on the bench in your school tracksuit, taking deep breaths while Robin, Vickie, Erica and Max, as well as Mike and Dustin comforted you. Earlier, the coach and your father kept questioning you why you threw the competition, and the more they asked, the more agitated you got, which prompted Steve to step in and stopped them interrogating you.

As you kept taking deep breaths, your sister hummed with satisfaction, before saying in a mocking tone, “Oh dear, I guess you can kiss that scholarship goodbye.”

You looked up in anger, whilst your father scolded her, “You be quiet!

However, she didn’t stop there. She continued, whilst checking herself in the mirror, “I mean, let’s face it. You didn’t think that you had a chance in winning the competition, did you?”

You were about to go up to her and slap her when you were stopped by Erica’s voice. “Well, she definitely had more of a chance in winning the competition than you do in winning Miss America.”

You and your friends stifled their laughter, as your sister stomped towards Erica, as she asked mockingly, “Didn’t your parents teach you to keep quiet when grownups are talking, little girl? You should run along and play with your Barbie dolls, and butt out.”

Erica scoffed, before telling her, “It would definitely beat participating in your boyfriend’s abysmal campaign, which no doubt was inspired by you.”

Mike and Dustin spluttered in laughter, which pissed off your sister.

Outside the building, Jason still had Eddie pinned against the wall, while Chrissy was still trying to grab the diary from Andy and Chance who kept throwing it back and forth between them when Patrick caught it, putting it in his jacket pocket, causing Chrissy to shake her head as Andy scoffed, “You never let us have any fun, Patrick.”

Lucas slowly approached Jason and Eddie, as he spoke up, whilst raising his hands at chest height, “Jason, listen…let go of Eddie. Someone-“

“Quiet, Lucas,” an agitated Jason retorted, as he turned to him, before shifting attention back to a snickering Eddie. “I’m gonna give you to the count of three to tell me why are you talking to my girlfriend or I’ll-“

“You’ll what? Throw me into the laundry basket?” Eddie snickered. “I like to see you try, big boy.”

Jason was getting more aggravated by Eddie’s remarks, as he seethed, before starting the countdown, “One…two…three-“

“I asked him to meet me!” Chrissy cried.

Jason, who had let go of Eddie, turned to his girlfriend, as she confessed, “I went to see him before and after the game last semester.”

Jason stared at her, as she continued to confess, “I’ve had been seeing things, horrible things, that frightened me so badly…”

Lucas gazed at her with concern, wondering what kind of things had been seeing, and if it had anything to do with the Upside Down, as Chrissy, quietly sobbed, “I went to Eddie to get something to help me…”

“Get something?” A concerned Jason asked. “You mean drugs, Chris?”

Chrissy lowered her head, before nodding it.

Jason exasperatedly inhaled, before shaking his head, telling her through gritted teeth, “That can’t be true. Please tell me that it’s not true.”

The rest of the boys stared at Chrissy, who admitted that it was true.

Jason turned to Eddie, before turning back to a nervous Chrissy, getting in her face, as he angrily said, “I’m your boyfriend, Chrissy. If you were frightened about something, you should’ve come to me. Not Eddie! Not that freak!”

“Jason…” Lucas calmly spoke.

“Stay out of it, Sinclair!” Jason shouted, frightening Chrissy.

“And you wonder why your own girlfriend didn’t come to you,” Eddie commented. “The way she is right now, she-“

With one swift move, Jason turned and jabbed Eddie in the face, causing him to hit his back against the wall.

“Eddie!” Chrissy cried, as she moved forward, only to be grabbed by Andy, while Jason continued his fight with Eddie, who managed to dodge him.

As Chrissy struggled to get out of Andy’s bear hug, Patrick tried to pull Andy off, telling him, “Andy, let go of her-“

Unfortunately, Chance pulled him away from Andy, causing him to be up against the wall. Luckily, Lucas caught Patrick, before he could hurt himself.

“Try and hold them off,” Lucas told a confused Patrick, before sprinting off.

Patrick called out to him, when Andy told Chance to go after him. As Chance went after Lucas, Patrick tried to pull Jason away from Eddie, warning him that he could get expelled, before being pushed away by the furious captain.

Back in the changing room, you and your friends continued to watch the spat between Erica and your sister who asked, whilst suppressing her anger, “Shouldn’t you be having a play date with a fellow kindergartener or something?”

“Uh, I’m eleven, you clown face bitch!”

“Erica!” Steve scolded the youngster.

“Just the facts!” Erica retorted, before telling your sister. “Oh, and by the way…”

She then pointed to her own teeth, as she hinted, “You might wanna check where the rest of your lipstick…”

Your sister gasped, as she covered her mouth, turning back to the mirror to check her makeup.

Your mother was about to scold Erica for insulting your sister when suddenly, Lucas ran inside. As he stopped for breath, Dustin asked, “Lucas, what is it?”

“Eddie…Chrissy…Jason, he…” he breathlessly said, trying to get his words out. “…beating…”

Fearing that your best friend and Eddie were in danger, you got up from the bench and immediately sprinted out of the changing room, before anyone could say anything.

Meanwhile, Patrick was trying to prevent Jason from beating Eddie up, while Chrissy was trying to free herself from Andy’s grasp.

“Jason, stop!” Patrick pleaded. “You’re gonna kill him.”

However, Jason had pushed Patrick away once again, before continuing to punch Eddie.

A tearful Chrissy begged Jason to stop, before gathering the strength to stomp on Andy’s foot, so she could make her escape. However, Andy managed to grab her wrist, aggressively pulling her back when Patrick walloped Andy in the face. After Patrick told her to run, Chrissy hesitated to leave Eddie. But when he told her the second time, she ran as fast as she could, ignoring Jason shouting her name when she bumped into you.

“Chrissy, are you okay?” You asked her petrified best friend.

Before Chrissy could respond, you heard Patrick begging Jason to stop, before he received a whack from Andy.

After you told Chrissy to go inside, you turned to witness the fight. As soon as you saw Eddie’s bloodied face, you flew into a rage, running towards Jason, pushing him off Eddie. Despite the way Eddie had been treating you recently, you couldn’t help but protect him.

“Stay out of it,” Jason told you, before trying to reach for Eddie, only for him to be blocked by you, as you tackled the jock to the ground, before punching him repeatedly in the face.

Eddie sat up against the wall, unsure what to make of the situation. Why? He thought. After all the grief I’ve been giving her lately, why would she save me?

Andy, free from Patrick’s grasp, went to pull you off Jason when Eddie growled, as he gathered the strength to pounce on Andy, which led you to continue to deck Jason, who kept begging you to stop.

You were about raise your fist once more before giving him another hit when you heard someone shouting out, “Stop! Enough!”

You turned to find Higgins, as well as your family and friends standing near you, while Steve, Dustin and Wayne rushed over to pick Eddie up, as Higgins bellowed , “MY OFFICE! NOW!”

As soon as you got to your feet, you heard Jason said breathlessly, “Munson was right…You really are a psycho.”

You swiftly turned around and snarled, as you about to lunge at him when Wayne pulled you back by your shoulders, as he tried to calm you down, “You don’t wanna get yourself into any more trouble than you already are.”

You turned to face Eddie, before angrily turning away, heading to the principal’s office when your face softened as soon as you saw the terrified Chrissy, assuming that you’ve also lost her as your best friend.

A few moments later in the principal’s office, you were being lectured by Higgins, with your parents giving you disapproving looks, while your sister tried to hide her smirk.

“Never in all my years as principal, have I seen such behaviour, especially coming from someone like you!”

A tear fell from your eye, as Higgins continued to lecture you, before he began to inform you of your punishment.

Back outside, everyone else, including Nancy who had found out from Max what happened earlier, was waiting for you, as they were overhearing Chrissy and Jason arguing when Dustin and Steve walked through the hallway.

“How’s Eddie?” Nancy asked.

“Still beaten up pretty bad,” Steve replied. “Wayne’s taking him to the hospital. With the work Jason did on him, looks like it’ll take a while until Eddie’s face fully recovers.”

Dustin was about to comment on the incident when the argument between Chrissy and Jason escalated.

Everyone turned to find Chrissy walking away from Jason when he suddenly grabbed her shoulders and pushed her to the wall, as he snarled, “I’m not finished!”

“HEY!” Steve bellowed, as he immediately marched towards them, before telling him to take his hands of a tearful Chrissy.

“Are you deaf, asshole?! Take your goddamn hands off her!”

Once Jason took his hands off Chrissy’s shoulders, Steve asked him, “Is this how you treat your your girlfriend when no one else’s around?”

“Ex girlfriend,” Chrissy corrected him.

“You’re not breaking up with me, you little-“ Jason started growling when Steve grabbed him by the collar of his letterman’s jacket, aggressively pushing him up against the lockers, when Nancy called out to Steve, pleading for him to stop, “He’s not worth it.”

Steve deeply inhaled, as he let go of Jason before threatening him, “You touch her again, and you’ll will be sorry.”

Jason turned to Chrissy, who was being comforted by Nancy, before shifting his attention back to Steve, walking away from him, whilst fixing his jacket.

Steve’s face softened, as he turned to Chrissy and asked if she was okay.

Chrissy silently gazed at him with tears brimming in her eyes when Nancy suggested, “Chrissy, why don’t I take you home?”

Although she never gave her answer, Chrissy still went with Nancy, as they left the building. Steve watched them walk away as Dustin asked, “What was that all about?”

Instead of answering, Steve paced back outside the office, waiting for news on you.

Back outside, Patrick was sitting on wall with Aimee, who told him that he should go to the hospital for his injuries.

“I’ll be fine, Aimee,” Patrick replied.

Believe me, I’ve had worse, he thought to himself.

Suddenly, Nancy and Chrissy were walking past them, catching Patrick’s attention.

“Chrissy?” He called out, as he got up and ran towards them. “Chrissy wait!”

Both girls stopped and turned to Patrick, who taking something out of his pocket, as Nancy spoke, “Look, if Jason asked you-“

“Here,” Patrick told Chrissy, as he handed her the diary. “I wanted to make sure that you got this back.”

As Chrissy received it, she gave him a small smile, before meekly replying, “Thank you.”

As Patrick went back to Aimee, Nancy escorted Chrissy to her car. As soon as they got inside , Chrissy was gazing at the diary when she had an idea.

Back inside the school, you and your family stepped out of the office. As soon as Higgins had shut the door, everyone immediately ran up to you, asking you what happened.

You looked up at everyone, before revealing that you got suspended for two weeks.

“Really? You’re still gonna graduate, right?” Robin asked.

You silently nodded as you gave her a sad smiled.

“Then, what’s the problem?”

You were about to explain everything when your sister had beaten you to the punch. “Well, let’s just say,” she revealed with a sly smile on her face. “She wouldn’t have banned from going to prom or lose her scholarship if she didn’t get into trouble.”

Your father scolded your sister, telling her, “Knock it off.”

“You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you?” You sarcastically asked her. “Just because you dropped out of college, doesn’t mean that you can ruin everything from me.”

Your mother told you to stop when you angrily retorted, “No! I’m sick of her making my life hell for the past few years!”

You then turned to her, as you asked, “We used to be close. What’s changed?”

Your sister cackled, before asking you, “I ruined everything for you? Or do you mean I ruined your chance with Eddie?”

You gasped, with tears brimming in your eyes, as your sister scoffed, “Face it, sis…you didn’t have a chance with him anyway, or anybody else for that-“

Having enough of her, you snarled as you raised your hand and slapped her across the face, making her gasp.

“Fuck you!” You shouted when your mother abruptly slapped your cheek hard, shocking everyone, including you. Never in your life had either of your parents raised a hand to you until that moment.

Your father pulled your mother back, as she covered her mouth, realising what she had done. She tearfully took a small step forward, as she stammered, “D-darling-“

However, you stepped away from them, as you bellowed, “Fuck you both as well!”

Before your parents could say anything, you turned on your heel and ran out of the school in tears, when Steve immediately ran after you, as he called your name.

Meanwhile, Nancy was putting on her seatbelt when she realised that Chrissy was just sitting there, staring blankly at the diary. She placed her hand on her shoulder, startling the cheerleader.

“Are you okay?” Nancy asked. “Do you need to go to the hospital?”

Chrissy shook her head, before asking her, “You know that you used to worked at the Hawkins Post?”

“Well, I interned there, but yes,” Nancy recalled. “Why do you ask?”

Chrissy sighed, before handing Nancy the diary for her to see.

“Do you recognise the handwriting?” Chrissy asked, as Nancy flipped through and read some of the pages. Nancy turned to her and told her that it looked like it was your handwriting, before mentioning, “But…there’s no way that this could be hers. I mean, there’s too many-“

“Spelling mistakes? Not to mention that there are no drawings. Whether it’s a book or just a piece of paper, she always drawing on it.”

Nancy nodded, when Chrissy told her, “I think her sister has something to do with it.” She then told the eldest Wheeler, that Eddie had it in his head that you actually wrote it.

“Seriously?” Nancy asked. “This is why he’s been cold to her?”

Chrissy nodded her head, before telling her, “If we can somehow get something with her handwriting on it, and find the similar mistakes, then maybe…”

“We can prove to Eddie that her sister wrote all of this, making him realise that he made a mistake…”

“And that he picked the wrong sister,” Chrissy triumphantly finished the sentence, before asking, “So, will you help me?”

Nancy smiled as she nodded, before mentioning to her, “But we need to plan this, we can’t just dive right into it-“

Nancy abruptly stopped, as she saw you run through the car park, with Steve chasing you, as he called for you, while she and Chrissy watched.

“Just leave me alone!” You shouted, as you continued to run when Steve caught up to you and pulled you back.

“Hey hey, stop,” Steve said, he turned you around, before wrapping his arms around you, hugging you tight.

You sobbed against his chest, as you hugged him back.

Chrissy looked on, as you and Steve continued to hold each other, as Steve rubbed your back. She then turned to Nancy, who had sadness in her eyes. Taking notice of her expression, Chrissy asked her if she was okay. However, Nancy only gulped, not answering her. After Chrissy turned her head to witness you and Steve pulling away from each other. What the girls, and Steve for that matter, didn’t anticipate was you turning away, running towards Steve’s car, unlocking the door with his car key.

“What the-?” A confused Steve spoke, as he checked the pockets of his jeans, realising that you stole his keys when he hugged you.

“Hey!” He yelled, as he ran towards you, only for you to start the car, and backing it up.

“What are you doing? Are you crazy?” Steve asked, as Chrissy and Nancy got out of her car, and sprinted to him.

“I’ll give it back to you somehow,” you retorted, as you drove out of the car park.

Nancy called Steve’s name, prompting him to turn to her as he scratched his head, while Chrissy chased you, begging you to come back. However, you were too far away for your best friend to be able to follow you.

It had been almost a week since you went missing. Your friends had been putting up posters of you, in the hopes that someone would see you. While Steve and Wayne drove together outside of Hawkins to ask if anyone had seen you, Dustin, along with his long distance girlfriend Suzie, were checking on police reports in case you were spotted. Mike even called the Byers in California, asking them if they could inform him if they see you.

One early evening, Chrissy and Nancy, along with Max visited your family. While Chrissy was trying to comfort your mother while your sister was lying on the couch, filing her nails, Max was on lookout while Nancy was searching your sister’s room for anything with her handwriting on it.

Back downstairs, Chrissy was in the hallway wondering what was taking them so long when she noticed your father, sitting in his office, in tears.

Chrissy lightly knocked on the door, prompting him to look up, and wipe his tears with his sleeve. “I didn’t mean to disturb you, only…” Chrissy began to speak when your father silently shook his head and stood up.

“You haven’t,” he replied, before revealing that he was going through a scrapbook of your achievements.

“Would you like to see them?” He asked. Chrissy smiled politely as she approached his desk. Your father then proceeded to show her the scrapbook, filled with pictures of you and clippings of articles including your swimming competitions, including a picture of you and Chrissy in your freshman year, holding your medal in your hand while she had her arm around you.

Chrissy smiled, thinking about that memory…

It was the first the competition you had won in your high school freshman year.

However, you had no one, other than the coach and your teammates who you hardly knew, congratulating you. While your parents were busy schmoozing with Higgins, and your sister was flirting with some guy from the baseball team, you stood out like a sore thumb when a sweet voice spoke up, “Hi!”

You turned to find the petite strawberry blonde girl in a cheerleader outfit standing in front of you, smiling. You recognised her as your neighbour, but the two of you hadn’t interacted before then. “I just wanted to come over and say congratulations.”

What you didn’t expect was for her to hug you.

After she pulled away, you responded, “Oh…thank you. Chrissy, isn’t it?”

“That’s me,” Chrissy giggled. Suddenly, a photographer from the school paper came over and asked if she could take a picture of you. After giving her permission, you turned to Chrissy and asked if she wanted to be in the picture too.

“Really?” Chrissy asked, before you gestured her to join in the picture, which lead the two of you to become friends…

Back in the present, Chrissy watched your father burst into tears. As she patted his back, she softly told him, “She’ll come back.”

“I hope so,” your father sniffled. “Otherwise I’m a failure as a father.”

Your father wiped his eyes, as Chrissy sympathetically gazed at him when she noticed a yearbook from the Class of ’84.

As she picked it up, your father revealed that he would look through it, wondering what happened to your sister. “I don’t know what I did wrong with her,” he told her. “Maybe I spoiled her for too long, or maybe I didn’t pay her enough attention…”

Chrissy flipped through the pages when she noticed one of the messages had the similar spelling mistakes as the ones in the diary. She scanned down to find that it was signed by Roxy, which baffled Chrissy.

She looked up at your father, before asking him if she could borrow the yearbook.

Without questioning, your father said, “Go ahead.” He then stated that your sister wouldn’t miss it anyway.

She thanked him, before leaving him in peace. As soon as she returned to the hallway, Chrissy quickly stuffed the book in her bag when Nancy and Max came downstairs, confirming that they’ve found some notes from your sister. Chrissy took the notes and put them in her bag when they heard your mother asking your sister, “Honey, can you go over to Forest Hills and give this stew to Wayne?”

“Mum, I’m busy,” your sister retorted, as she was polishing her nails.

“And when are you going to see that boyfriend of yours? Not once have you been to visit him since he was admitted to hospital.”

“There’s no way that I’m going in that diseased ridden place. Eww...” Seeing your sister’s grossed out expression made Chrissy’s blood boil. So you steal him from your sister, but you can’t be bothered to visit him? She thought, as she clenched her fist.

“Well, could you at least give Wayne the stew after you’ve finished with whatever you’re doing?” Your mother asked as politely as possible.

Your sister started to whine when Nancy spoke up, as she approached your mother, “Actually, I have to take Max home, so we can drop it off to Mr Munson for you.”

“Thank you, Nancy,” your mother beamed, as she gave her the dish. “That’s very kind of you.”

Your sister silently mocked her mother, as she continued to polish her nails, while your friends said their goodbyes, before leaving the house.

A few moments later, Nancy, Chrissy and Max were in Max’s trailer, investigating the writings. Chrissy was adamant that your sister was the one who wrote the diary. However, after reading Roxy’s message in the yearbook, she was unsure.

“We definitely need to find more evidence,” Nancy said, as she rearranged the pieces of paper, comparing the different writings.

Max suggested following your sister, so they can seize the opportunity to find Roxy.

“Even if she can lead us to Roxy,” Chrissy responded, as she paced up and down the room. “They’ll both deny it.”

“Well, we need to think of something,” Max said, as Chrissy stopped and stared at a Family Video tape cover on the counter, giving her an idea. “Otherwise, we’ve got no-“

“I’ve got it!” Chrissy interjected, causing the other girls to turn and face her.

“What is it?” Nancy enquired as Chrissy picked up the cover.

“You want us to rent a movie?” Max sarcastically asked.

“No,” Chrissy retorted, before she was about to reveal her idea.

Later on in the evening, Eddie was being escorted by one of the nurses after leaving the patient’s bathroom.

“Do I really need to have someone accompanying me every time I need a piss?” Eddie asked.

“Well someone has to make sure that you don’t pass out or sneak off for a smoke,” the nurse retorted, as she opened the door for him.

“That happened like once,” Eddie scoffed, as he headed to his bed and sat on it.

“Well remember, you’re going home in the next couple of days, so don’t do anything that will hinder your recovery. And make sure that you get some sleep.”

“Yes Ma’am,” Eddie saluted the nurse, making her laugh, before she bid him good night. After she switched off the main light, before closing the door.

Eddie sighed, as he leaned back against the bed. He then looked over to his table, filled with homework brought over by Jeff.

During his stay, the only people who had visited him were his uncle, his bandmates, and Dustin, even though he had been chewing his ear off for the way he treated you.

Not even his so called girlfriend came to see him once or even phoned the hospital to check if he was okay.

Thinking back, he wondered why he got with her in the first place. At first, it was because he was so angry with you that he wanted to get back at you for hurting him. And then, he started enjoying fooling around with your sister.

But as he thought about it, he should’ve handled things better with you, asking you about the contents of the diary instead of jumping the guns and accused you of all sorts. And when he questioned you about the diary, you never asked him where he got it or give it back to you.

What baffled him even more was that you jumped in to save him from Jason’s beatings, even after he told you that you meant nothing to him.

All of a sudden, tears were swelling up in his eyes, thinking about the repercussions of his actions. He deeply sniffed, as he wiped his tears from his eyes.

He shut his eyes for a few moments, trying to get some shut eye when he heard a squeaking sound from outside his room.

He abruptly opened his eyes and scanned the room when he noticed a hooded figure standing outside the door, which freaked him out.

As the hooded figure turned away, Eddie quickly got up from his bed, and paced to the door, opening it. But by the time he got out, the figure had vanished from around the corner. A confused Eddie looked left and right, checking if anyone else was around. However, the hallway was empty.

After he shut the door, he made his way to his bed, as he scratched the back of his neck. After getting back in the bed, he decided to do some homework just so he could fall asleep.

He picked up one of the books when he noticed the diary underneath. He figured that Chrissy must’ve given it to one of the boys to return it to him.

After picking up the diary, he placed the other book on top before examining the cover. He noticed that it was different. It was decorated with drawings of mermaids.

At first, he thought it was someone else’s diary being put there by mistake. However, when he opened it, he recognised your writing, but he noticed that the entries were not the same ones he had seen first time. At first, he thought that it was second diary to throw him off the scent. But then he remembered what Chrissy told him, about how the other diary your sister showed him, how it had many spelling mistakes, as well as lack of drawings. Where as the diary in front of him had all the words spelt correctly, and had drawings on almost every page, including one of him.

Eddie read through the pages, astonished by your creativity, realising that the entries reflected your experiences, including the first time you went to Hellfire on same day you started tutoring him…

The valour bard and his band of brothers were so kind to the mermaid. It had started when the witch asked you to help him in his quest for knowledge. Although the valour bard was having trouble, the mermaid knew that he was trying, and she vowed to help him every step of the way. The night ended with the valour bard telling everyone including the mermaid, tales of another world. She hung on his every word, wishing she could listen to his tales all night…

Eddie lightly chuckled, remembering that he once called you a mermaid due to you being a swimmer. He flipped through another page and found another entry, accompanied with a drawing of Eddie playing his guitar…

The mermaid heard music playing from the shore. As she swam over to the island, she saw the bard and his friends playing their instruments. Although there were locals on the shore, none of them were listening. The mermaid thought it was their loss, missing out on talent. As she watched the performance, the mermaid was fixated on the valour bard. His musical skills, his voice…to her, he was like an angel…

Eddie heaved, reading your entries, as he remembered the first time you watched the band at the Hideout, and the way you gazed at him with admiration.

He carried on flipping through the pages, filled with more drawings of him, as well as Chrissy, Steve, and even Wayne. He had let out a small chuckle, admiring your talent, before reading the next entry, which looked like it was written during the period when you were at training camp…

The mermaid had to return to the deep sea for a gathering of her fellow merfolk. And although she enjoyed spending time with her own kind, she missed the valour bard and his songs, as well as his tales. She started counting the days until she reunited with him…

Eddie continued turning the pages with tears brimming in his eyes when he stopped to read the next few recent entries, questioning the bard’s recent terrible treatment towards the mermaid, how he may have been seduced by the succubus.

He sniffled, as he flipped to the last entry…

Banishment…that was the price the mermaid paid for defending the valour bard from the evil captain and his soldiers. She could’ve had left him to be slaughtered, but what would’ve she had gained? She instead fought to protect the man who she knew could never feel anything for her…

Tears ran down his cheeks, regretting his last conversation with you. He was about to close the diary when he noticed that there was an envelope in between the last page and the back cover.

He took it out and opened it, taking out a letter addressed to him, before reading aloud…

Dear Eddie,

I know that I’m the last person you want to hear from. But you don’t need to worry, because by the time you read this, I’ll be long gone.

I know you said that I don’t mean anything to you anymore, but you meant something to me, even if you don’t believe me. You’re probably wondering why you have my actual diary. You see, after seeing you being Dungeon Master, I was inspired to write and draw, hoping that I can tell amazing stories like you. But I guess it doesn’t make a difference, seeing as you’re with my sister.

If you and her hadn’t been treating me like shit, I wouldn’t have minded that you were together, even though it would not only break my heart, but it would also make me suspicious, as you may have forgotten, she wasn’t always been nice to you…

Thinking back, Eddie remembered how your sister had interacted with him, how she used to make snide remarks about him, and how you used to stick up for him.

He cleared his throat, as he continued to read…

But after you showed me that other diary, it made me wonder if she had anything to do with it, like she wanted payback for some reason.

I guess it doesn’t matter anymore. I cannot stay somewhere where I’m not welcome nor can I be somewhere where no one’s on my side, especially after my fight with Carver. I maybe back some day, not sure when. But for now, I need to keep my distance.

Just promise me one thing, Eddie… Don’t fuck things up for yourself and your chance of graduating. It would be a shame for your hard work to go to waste.

All the best, Love…

Eddie whispered your name, as tears fell down from his eyes, staining the letter.

He scrunched the letter against his chest, as he leaned forward, bawling his eyes out, repeating, “I’m sorry…”

Meanwhile, outside the hospital, the hooded figure stared up at the window, before getting inside Steve’s BMW, moving the hood back, revealing your face.

As you started the car, you whispered, “Goodbye…”

You then backed out, before driving off to your destination.

Next

[agendabymooner]

the leclerc daycare || cl16 fic

charles leclerc x ofc (hearth sister!ofc)

EXTENTION TO OF LONG LINES AND NAMES

Summary: Charles Leclerc was a father first and a driver second. So maybe being left alone with Hervé, Jules and PJ for the night wouldn't be much of an issue. OR Aimee Leclerc travelled with her sisters and Charles got a firsthand experience of watching his kids by himself (alongside his kids’ uncles Esteban and Pierre).

Content warning: dad!Charles centric, fatherhood, mentions of pregnancy, dad!F1 Drivers x OFCs appearance (Hearth sisters!OFCs), Uncle Estie and Uncle Pierre, doubts of being a good parent, shitty French translations by Apple, wtf is beta reading

Note: Dad Charles, Dad Charles, Dad Charles content enjoy xx

masterlist

Aimee and her sisters were known for being extroverts with introverted tendencies. They communicated with anyone who’d approach them and more often than not, would keep in contact with them in case of any business. 

They didn’t like hanging out with them, as much though. Not as much as they preferred being around their sisters. Aimee, especially, didn’t enjoy being around new people— not as often as any other person would. She would much rather be around her sisters or her husband and his mates. Having three kids, with another two on the way, did something about her interest in socializing with other people. It was fairly limited before until she began attending playdates or programs for toddlers that allowed her children to make friends with others — interacting with parents was common. 

Regardless, going out for two days was different — especially when her sister, Sylvie, was wanting to celebrate her engagement before she gets married in a month. Much like the other two sisters, they preferred a day out without any friends. Just the four of them, chatting each other’s ears off. Aimee Leclerc was alright with that.

“Je ne veux pas que maman parte!” I don’t want Mummy to leave. 

The littles, though, weren’t alright with that. Jules cried his eyes out the moment he saw Aimee dressed in some satin dress. She had a weekender bag next to her vanity, the boy picking up on the fact that his mother was leaving. 

It was Charles’ week off before the next race, and rather than going to Maranello, he deliberately made the choice to stay at home and do his sim practices instead. After all, Aimee had been at home for weeks rather than traveling with McLaren during the races due to her pregnancy. The wonders of having remote work, right? 

“J,” Charles shushed his son softly, playing with the soft curls of his mini’s hair. Jules continued to cry as he wrapped his arms around Charles’ neck. “Maman n'est pas sortie pour s'amuser. Ne pensez-vous pas qu'elle mérite de s'amuser?” Mummy hasn’t gone out to have fun. Don’t you think she deserved to have fun? 

Then another little babbling came along as Hervé clung to Charles’ leg. “Elle peut s'amuser ici. Papa dit à maman qu'elle peut s'amuser ici!” She can have fun here. Daddy, tell Mummy she can have fun here. Hervé cried too, sobbing as they stood in front of the shut bathroom door. 

Aimee put down her mascara and sighed quietly. How the heck was she going to go if her sons were crying like this? The only reason why she’d managed to be roped into nights off before was because Pascale Leclerc had managed to kick her and Charles out of the house before. The boys loved their Mamé and their uncles. 

Pascale wouldn’t see them until this afternoon and their uncles were definitely not going to go until they got back from work. It was only 6:45 in the morning. 

How the hell were Hervé and Jules awake at this time, anyway? They liked to sleep, so how they managed to get the hell out of their bedroom at this time of the day was a mystery.

Aimee then remembered what her sister said. Intuition. Aimee was the same back when her sister was eighteen and heading to university in the morning. Two year old Aimee would wake up just to say good morning then dash off to have breakfast with the other sisters. So maybe her twins had the kind of intuition when someone’s leaving. 

She didn’t think that their reaction would be like this in the morning. 

“Oui, but my littles,” Charles crouched down to speak to both his kids, “do you know how Papa’s been working a lot and Maman has been home to have fun with you?” 

Hervé and Jules sniffled, but nodded nonetheless. Charles continued, “Papa has fun at work, but it’s Papa’s time to have time with you. Maman deserves to see what’s out there that she can have fun with.”

“We can go out to have fun with Maman!” Hervé cried out, protesting against Charles’ proposal. 

“Maman will go somewhere littles can’t go,” Charles told the boys. “How about we have some breakfast and make sure the babies are eating too before Maman goes, hm? Make some breakfast so Maman will be happy and be full of your looove by making her food?” 

“Maman sera-t-elle heureuse si nous lui faisons à manger?” Will Mummy be happy if we make her food? Jules asked, the two of them no longer crying. Thank god for that otherwise PJ, their two year old brother, would see it and somehow make himself comfortable at the tear train. 

Charles grinned at his boys and nodded, “Oui. Maybe we can make her some chicken and waffles— last I heard, the babies want some chicken.” 

Jules wiped his tears away and exclaimed, “Okay! I help, Papa! Herb! Come!” Then ran off the couple’s bedroom, his twin brother hot on his heels as Hervé dashed off. 

Charles watched the boys run out and winced, hoping PJ wouldn’t wake up to the loud footsteps made by the older kids as he slumped against the wall by the bathroom. 

The door swung open next to him, making him look as Aimee stepped out with a sheepish smile. He approached her carefully and wrapped his arms around her, his hands trailing down the protrusion of her stomach as he sighed, “I hope these two wouldn’t be that much trouble to handle.” 

“Hmm,” Aimee hummed happily, taking his hand to kiss the palm of it. “Are you sure you’re going to be alright?” 

Charles scoffed as if Aimee was questioning his superman abilities to stay sane. “I’ve been driving a Ferrari for god knows how long,” he joked, kissing her temple as his other hand continued to caress her stomach. “I’ve gone way past my sanity line. Don’t worry about the three, oui?” 

“I’m not worried about your minis,” Aimee giggled, “I’m more worried about you. You’re most likely to go mad once you realize PJ likes a little bit of mischief with Herb and J.” 

“As I said,” Charles rolled his eyes, peering down at her as he continued, “I’m no longer sane. I think I’ll be able to find composure.” 

The breakfast definitely DID NOT show all of that. Because by the time Charles reached the kitchen, an egg was already cracked open on the floor. Not only that, but Hervé and Jules’ tanned faces (alongside their jammies) were covered in waffle mix after they’ve both dropped the bag of mix on the floor. 

But their breakfast wasn’t that much of a disaster, to say the least. In between Aimee’s cooking and the boys’ morning shower, they somehow managed to find some time to eat breakfast. PJ had already woken up when Charles’ voice turned loud enough at the shock just as he stepped into the kitchen. Trying to get him to eat his fruits wasn’t as difficult. He was angelic of all the Leclercs that both Pascale and Aimee had given birth to. 

“C’mon, mon chou, last one for Daddy,” Charles opened his mouth wide, trying to get PJ to mimic the action. PJ followed his father, his mouth opening as Charles made airplane noises, his hand twirling around while it held a slice of banana stabbed into a silicone fork. It didn’t take long for the food to land on the toddler’s mouth as he kicked his feet in enthusiasm. 

“Tu vois? C'est de la bonne nourriture, n'est-ce pas?” See? It’s good food, don’t you think so? Charles asked his youngest, making the boy nod. “Good boy, PJ.” 

Charles turned to look at his twins, who both stood on their two step stools next to their mother as they watched Aimee wash their dishes. Aimee was apparently teaching them how to do their dishes as she said, “Then when it’s clean, you just put it right here.” 

“What’s this called, Maman?” Hervé pointed at the display next to the sink. 

“It’s a dish rack,” Aimee replied.

“Rack? What does the rack do?” Jules asked, his curious voice making Charles grin to himself. His boys were quite inquisitive about anything. Whenever they’re out, Hervé could point at something and ask. Jules would often follow after Hervé asked. 

And it wasn’t anything worrying. Charles and Aimee loved it when they asked a lot, because they had a lot to answer. It’s always a joy to answer their children’s curiosities. 

“That’s where you leave the plates after cleaning them,” Aimee answered, now drying her hands on the towel. “It’s to make sure they dry. You don’t eat on wet plates do you?” 

“Yuck,” Hervé and Jules pulled a face. “No wet food!” 

“Exactly,” Aimee grinned, looking up to see Charles staring at her and their kids lovingly. She then asked, “Are you enjoying your time staring, love?” 

Charles shook himself out of his thoughts and said, “Yeah. Mr. Sacha is done with his breakfast too.” 

“Oh? He finished it?” Aimee peered down at PJ, “how did you like it, my little bug?” 

Aimee didn’t like that nickname at first. PJ had only earned that nickname after everyone learned that she’d gotten more sick with him than she did with the twins, and Esteban joked that her baby was a literal stomach bug. But after some convincing (with the help of Esteban and Mick, dressing PJ as a grasshopper for his first halloween), Aimee finally caved in. PJ was her little bug.

“Little bug loved it well,” Charles grinned, lifting PJ out of his high chair and grabbed the empty plate. He placed down the dirty dish into the sink as Hervé and Jules’ eyes gleamed in excitement. “Boys, let Papa do it later. Maman’s going soon. Who’s coming to pick you up again?” 

“All three of them, once that Tils’ picked up Stevie and Sylv.”

“Oh,” he replied, “so is anybody dropping off their car to use yours or…” 

“No,” Aimee scoffed. “No one’s touching any of my cars. You are using the SUV, no?”

“That’s kinda assumed already,” Charles replied, “I just thought you’d use your… actually never mind.”

While their family expanded largely over the past few years, their garage did too. Much like her sisters, Aimee had a collection of cats hidden away to avoid being burglarized. Everyone knew about Charles’ custom Pista and the family SUV that they had — an Aston Martin. But they didn’t seem as phased as they were when they found out that Aimee had a vintage Mini Cooper and a coated copper McLaren 765LT hidden somewhere in their family home.

So really… Charles assumed that they’d borrow either one of their hidden gems for the trip as Aimee’s Cooper was often used than Stevie’s military green LaFerrari or Sylvie’s orange Cadillac. 

“The poor Cooper’s been treated like a bus for the past few months,” Aimee snorted. “You know I wouldn’t allow them to drive it either.” 

The ring on the doorbell had woken up something within the twins as they both squealed and bolted to the door, leaving Charles to yell, “Boys, don’t open the door without— damn it!” 

“Charles!” “Sorry! No swearing!”

He then returned to the dining area with Hervé being carried by Aimee’s eldest sister Tilly and Jules with Sylvie. Stevie followed behind as they greeted Aimee, “Morning, Aims! Excited for a good two day vacation?” 

“Oh am I ever,” Aimee rolled her eyes, gesturing at her husband, “he’s a different story.” 

Sylvie raised a brow and spoke amusedly, “You having fun yet, Charles?”

“I am,” Charles waved off Sylvie’s joking tone, “I’ll be fine.” 

“Don’t worry you’ll be fine,” Stevie chuckled, “even Lewis is running a daycare at home.” 

“Aun’ ‘Teve,” PJ toddled his way towards Stevie and tugged on her trousers, “L’land?” 

Stevie peered down at her little nephew — who was the same age as her youngest, Leland, and cooed, “Leland is at home with Uncle Lew and Lotlot, little bug. Maybe you’ll see him sometime today.” 

“Ah speaking of,” Tilly started, looking at Charles now as she said, “I think Lewis and Toto are planning to take the kids out today for the… indoor playground cafe. I’m sure they’ll be happy to have more kids and an extra pair of hands to come along.” 

“Oh nice, more kids,” Charles’ face didn’t even show how nice the thought was. 

“Good luck taking care of eight kids lads,” Sylvie winked, huffing out a laugh after Aimee nudged her a little bit too hard. “I’d offer Max but he isn’t here. I’m sure Arthur and Lorenzo would be more than happy to help!” 

That was a lie. Maybe Lorenzo would help a lot, but Arthur… Now Arthur was a good uncle, but he often leaned more into the chill uncle side than the kind who would somehow watch his words around the kids.

And so when the Leclerc boys saw the matriarch off to Stevie’s Bentayga (while Charles continued to remind his wife’s sisters that she was pregnant — practically warning them not to be stupid about driving), he immediately pulled his phone out to text the only people who’d be more than willing to go less sane with the kids.

Charles: Are you up for some insanity? Aimee’s out for today to tomorrow afternoon.

Esteban: What’s in it for me?

Pierre: He just said insanity.

Pierre: I hope you have enough room in your AM.

Charles: Fuck. I guess I’m taking out the Cadillac.

Charles: Will anyone help me take them out of the garage and help me move the boys’ seats to the other SUV?

Esteban: 👍

Pierre: 👌

Esteban Ocon showed up an hour earlier than Pierre did. When he did, he brought along a small gym bag full of his overnight clothes. Alongside his clothes were boxes of Spider-Man figures. Not everyday Esteban got to share his love for Marvel to anyone, and he could help but jump at the chance to introduce No Way Home to the Leclerc boys.

Now, he was in the kitchen, teaching the Leclerc littles how to operate the oven as they baked some chocolate chip cookie dough that they found in the deep depths of the freezer. Perhaps it was a bad idea to have Esteban come over, because he was prone to ruining their diets with his love for pastries. 

It was quarter to ten when Pierre finally arrived, with his own overnight bag and… a pile of children’s books? Charles wasn’t sure if he was seeing things right, but then the Frenchman pulled up a pop-up book version of Dr. Seuss from the pile as Charles groaned quietly. 

“Ils ont déjà beaucoup de livres, Pierre,” they already have a lot of books, Pierre. Charles told the man when he raised a brow.

“It never hurts for more,” Pierre shrugged, “how did you think PJ learned to speak a lot at this age? He won’t be chatty if it wasn’t for his Oncle P.” 

“You only started to get them books because you don’t know how baby sizes work,” Charles told him with a roll of his eyes, shutting the door behind Pierre as they both walked towards the living room.

Charles raised his brow when Pierre settled his bag down on the couch, leaving Pierre to say, “I’d head up to the guest room but I want to see the boys first,” there was a moment of silence between the two of them and in the background played the boys’ daily phonics songs. “Sick beats, by the way.” 

The pair headed off to the kitchen, where they found Hervé, Jules and PJ chatting away with their Uncle Estie. The last conversation Charles heard was about the track in Canadian GP, with Hervé saying “The turn there— what is that? Pin? Papa says is pin! It’s wooooosh~ woah, it’s so small, Oncle E!” 

“Sharp,” Estie’s signature grin returned to his face as he corrected the boy gently, “the hairpin is sharp, Herb.”

“‘Airpin?” Jules’ head cocked to the side, “I hear my cousin Tia say that!” 

“Because that’s what they use for long hairs,” Esteban replied. 

“What? All talks, no love for Oncle P?” The three toddlers turned towards the direction of the voice as they grinned widely. PJ, thank god for Charles’ reflex, had jumped off the kitchen island and ran towards his namesake. Pierre Gasly nearly tipped over at the suddenly thud on his legs as he grunted, lifting PJ up to his arms as he hugged the boy tight. “Good morning, Little P! How’s my handsome boy doing?” 

“Good, Oncle P!” PJ grinned. “Maman est partie!” Mummy left!

The enthusiasm in his tone broke Charles out of his trance as he laughed. “Sacha, why do you sound happy about Maman leaving?”

“Because she has fun!” Jules reasoned out on behalf of his brother, making PJ nodded eagerly.

And while the two were celebrating the thought, Charles looked at Hervé as he began sobbing quietly. Esteban’s eyes widened, not knowing how to react as the boy began wailing. Tears endlessly flowed out of Hervé’s eyes as he covered them with his forearm. 

“Oh no,” Charles sighed quietly. Esteban quickly recovered from shock and immediately lifted Hervé off the counter, allowing the boy to soak his shirt with his tears. 

Out of the three boys, Hervé was the only one who took the information to heart. The Leclerc kids were loved by both Aimee and Charles — but Hervé, out of the three, loved Aimee more than anything. He often clung to her like a koala on a tree, and when they’re out and about — Hervé would often hold hands with her more than he would with his Papa. It wasn’t a shock that Charles would witness his eldest cry at the absence of his Maman. 

Jules, who was sitting on the counter, stood on the marble surface and reached up to pat his twin on the back carefully. He then said, “t’s okay, Herb!” He wasn’t even sure if Hervé could hear him, but all Jules seemed to care about was comforting his brother.

“Are you sad because Maman’s gone for the day?” Esteban asked, and all he got was a nod in his neck. That, and maybe a wet patch of tears on his neck now. “Okay, okay. Is there anything Papa or your uncles can help you with that can make you feel better.”

“Maman—“ Hervé stuttered, still crying in Estie’s arms.

“Yeah, but Maman’s not here, H,” Estie replied. “What if you show us what can help you feel better? Or do you want Oncle E to help?” 

Hervé’s reddened face looked up at Esteban and nodded. “Yeah? You want me to help? Or everyone?” 

“I know!” Jules jumped, making Charles reach close to his son with a mutter of ‘Careful, J.’ 

Hervé turned to his twin as Jules exclaimed, “Princess and Frog!” 

“T’ana!” PJ squealed aloud. Hervé’s eyes brightened, all thanks to the suggestion that his brothers proposed not to his tears. Hervé nodded before he wiped his tears away and asked Estie to put him down, to which the man obliged as Charles helped Jules hop off the counter and led the Leclerc littles to the family room. 

The adults look at each other. “There will be a lot of that,” Charles smiled meekly. 

“Not a bother,” Esteban waved off with a chuckle.

“I need to put my bags upstairs,” Pierre nudged Charles lightly. “Before craziness even begins.”

The oven goes off at the same time, leaving Esteban to turn away and return to the kitchen as he said, “I’ll leave this to cool off. You need help moving cars, you said?” 

“Yes please,” Charles replied, following his boys to the living room as they navigated through the Disney app. 

He then heard Estie say, “Can I drive her Mc—“

“I can’t let you drive the McLaren, sorry,” Charles interrupted Estie before he could continue on.

Charles: Hey! Are you and Toto still taking the kids out today? 

Lewis: Hey Charles! Yeah we’re taking them out today. If we’re gonna get heart attacks we can at least do it together. You in? 

Charles: Pierre and Estie would come along, if you don’t mind? 

Lewis: Five against eight? We’re still outnumbered. But yea, of course! 

Charles: Haha!

One of the joys of having children was the opportunity to dress them. The same could be said for Charles. They always said that it was hard having to dress boys, and while that remained true, it didn’t discourage the Ferrari driver from dressing his boys up whether they’re going out or heading to bed. 

He could admit that he couldn’t dress for shit, but it didn’t mean that he’d do the same to his kids. 

Neither he and Aimee believed that Jules and Hervé should be dressed the same whenever they’re out because they were twins. In fact, they thought that it would be a bit too confusing for them. At the very beginning of their lives, they were always dressed differently. 

The same could be said for today. Hervé was dressed in a Ralph Lauren denim button up and some denim shorts, his hair tied loosely to a bun to avoid his soft curls getting in the way of his face. 

Jules, however, was dressed in a white tee (with the infamous Burberry pattern sewn as a pocket) and khaki shorts while his hair was merely brushed back. Esteban Ocon was quite proud of his work of art. 

Sacha Leclerc, or PJ, had opted for a soft pink shirt with the Ralph Lauren polo logo on its left chest and some denim shorts with Mickey Mouse embroidered all over the place. He beamed at his Oncle P proudly, immensely proud of his decision to dress like this. Pierre Gasly merely high fived him, proud of his godchild for no reason. He was just proud. 

No one was prouder than Pascale Leclerc, though. Just as her hair salon opened and the boys (and the men) took a ten minute trip there, she gasped at the sight of her grandchildren. 

“Oh mon! Qui sont ces beaux garçons ? S'agit-il de mes petits-enfants?” Oh my! Who are these handsome boys? Are these my grandchildren? Pascale squealed, excusing herself from her receptionist as she knelt down to get on the level of the toddlers. “You three are always soooo handsome! Did Papa dress you?” 

Esteban and Pierre cackled on the side, leaving Charles to look at his mother with an unamused expression. Pascale giggled. It was a running joke in the family that Charles was shit at dressing himself, and when Aimee got married into the family it got even worse — with Arthur starting the chaos with, “Can you believe that, Charles? Two models for sisters-in-law and another who worked for Vogue and you’re still dressed like this?” 

“I sure hope not,” Pierre continued behind Charles, leaving the Monegasque to kick his best friend.

“I did!” Jules grinned proudly. “I dress up myself, Mamé!” 

“I did too!” Hervé raised his hand, catching the attention of his grandmother. PJ babbled along and told her that he too had dressed himself. 

“Wow! Such big boys, you are!” Pascale exclaimed, pulling out her phone to stand up. “Can you smile big for Mamé? Say cheese.”

“Cheeseeee~” the three grinned heavily as Pascale took a photo of the three. Typing for a good second, she finally put her phone away and looked at Charles and his fellow grid mates. 

“I sent it to Aimee’s mothers,” Pascale explained herself as the men nodded.

“What are you up to today?” Pascale asked. “I heard the girls are out for today and tomorrow?” 

“They’re going to stay in Cannes for the day,” Charles replied before leaning towards his mother and whispered, “Hervé cried twice today, Maman and I’m worried he’s not going to sleep tonight because Aimee’s not here.”

Pascale let out a quick snort and shrugged it off, “Yes he would,” she reassured him with a pat on the head. “He managed to sleep well when you two were out for the weekend.” 

“But that’s with you, Maman,” Charles looked back to find Esteban and Pierre preoccupied with the kids as he continued, “What if the three of them won’t settle because I haven’t been around them for too long and I haven’t put them to bed before? Hervé cried because of his Maman. He sees Aimee more than he does me so—“

“Charles, pause,” Pascale grabbed her son on both of his shoulders and shook him out of his thoughts. “Take a deep breath.” The middle Leclerc man obliged, heaving a deep sigh as his mother told him, “He won’t make things hard for you, Charles. He’s not crying because he likes Aimee more than you, but it’s only because he’s going to have to adjust for tonight. Kids, when they’re outside their routine, act differently when they have to follow a new one — so he’s not acting like that because you’re the one who’s with him tonight.” 

“Hervé loves you, Charles,” Pascale told him softly. “With how he proudly wears your number on his shirt and his jackets, and how he brags about his Papa in the red car, I think I can say that he loves you so much. He will never ever make things hard for you with Aimee not being here for today— or for all those times she wouldn’t be there. So, don’t worry about it. Just don’t make things hard for him either. Try to make sure he’s comfortable with adjusting his routine. Make sure that your children are feeling comfortable with the thought of doing things differently than usual.” 

Charles glanced back at his kids, the pressure on his shoulders long gone as he nodded at Pascale. “Merci, Maman.” 

“Yeah of course,” Pascale giggled quietly. “I’ve always wondered the same when your father was gone. Look where I am now. Look at where you are now. The boys just need to adjust a little, Charles. Just make sure you’re there to guide them if needed.” 

Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff were rarely at Monaco, these days. 

After Lewis retired, he thought of selling his house in Monaco. Being a father was what he wanted and clearly, while he was still fit for a celebrity lifestyle he resorted to being a quiet and reserved man. His 5-acre estate in Warwickshire showed something of serenity, their home surrounded by nothing but woods and a river nearby. He was content with being at home with his children while his wife Stevie continued to work as a model and Ferrari’s communications director. He preferred the quiet while he taught his daughter phonemes, and it was clear to everyone he abandoned his flat in Monaco. Now the flat served as his vacation home whenever his family would go on a holiday and see their cousins. 

The same goes to Toto. He hadn’t retired as a team principal yet, but his Monaco place no longer held the same value as his estate in Brackley. One of his kids was already eleven (already in year nine) and playing in his school’s association football team and the other (nine years old) had been entering karting tournaments around England almost every weekend. He once told Charles about his estate and how he had it purchased and renovated long before his eldest son with Tilly even existed — how well he valued his home there and wouldn’t exchange it for Monaco or Austria. Much like Lewis, he was content with his home there, and it didn’t help that the Mercedes factory was only a few minutes away from his home. Toto expressed his interest in selling his house in Monaco once that his vintage Mercedes was moved back to Brackley, but then his nephews were born (and were planned to be raised in Monaco). He then decided that it was a home to go to whenever his kids wanted to see the Leclerc kids — their cousins. 

So after everyone started talking about Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff no longer residing in Monaco and their rare appearance in the streets of the principality, it never came as a shock to anyone anymore. It was still rare, but it was expected. 

But the sight of the two, alongside the three current drivers that just sat along the older ones, would be considered hilarious and extra special for the fans. Because not everyday you get to see two Mercedes personnel casually hanging out with a Ferrari driver and two Alpine drivers. At least, not with the two Alpine drivers while they all sat on a cozy indoor playground and cafe in Monte-Carlo. It wasn’t everyday you get to see Toto Wolff and the drivers talk about the racing season while they all sip on some silly cat and animal-themed cups with their kids running amuck in the playing area. 

Toto’s two older kids were somewhere else, and Charles could only assume that they were at the football area. None of his kids were crying yet, and so he sat there relaxed as he listened to whatever Lewis was talking about. 

“Did you really allow Aimee to go with the girls?” Lewis asked Charles, making the Monegasque nod. “You could’ve said no, that way they’re just stuck here in Monaco.”

“She’ll be fine,” Charles was beginning to think that he was only saying those words to reassure himself, not others. “She hasn’t been out for a while.”

“They still could have found something here,” Lewis pointed out.

Charles rolled his eyes, “That’s true. But Aimee lives here, she knows every curb to avoid and I don’t think I don’t want to bore her to death.” 

“Besides,” Charles shrugged nonchalantly, “I don’t want her to think I’m trying to lock her up by making her stay in Monaco all the time.”

“She’s your wife,” Pierre brought up.

“She’s my boys’ Maman, but she’s also been working her ass off trying to keep them happy while I’m gone someplace else,” Charles couldn’t find himself to argue, only telling them what the men needed to hear, “the least I can do is to let her travel the same way I do almost every week.”

“She loves the boys, that’s why her work in McLaren’s now remote,” Toto nodded, reaching on his pastel donut cat cup as he sipped on his tea, “I appreciate you for recognizing that.” 

“It’s the only thing I can do besides spend my time with the kids,” Charles replied, looking around to find his kids as Hervé came dashing and jumping into the ball pit of the soft play area. Hervé’s head popped up from the ball pit as he grinned, finding his father watching as he waved enthusiastically. Charles grinned and waved back before he turned back to the men, “I don’t think I’ll ever regret spending my time with them. If anything, I regret leaving Aimee behind while I go away to race. Lessens my time with the boys.” 

TWO MERCEDES, A FERRARI AND TWO ALPINES WALK INTO A CAFE: The Popular Fathers of F1 were seen on some Father-Children day out in Monte-Carlo.

“Hamilton, Leclerc and Wolff = Fathers of the Year? PLUS, a surprise appearance of Uncles Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly included in this article!” 

THE MONTE-CARLO DADDY DAYCARE: These might be the best photos taken of Lewis Hamilton, Toto Wolff and Charles Leclerc yet!

“Where’s Max Verstappen? Oh, and HI ESTIE BESTIE AND PEAR!” 

THE HEARTH HUSBANDS: How Toto Wolff, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc made the best husband materials ever through these photos.

“Max Verstappen, maybe it’s your time to shine, too!”

Aimee: I’m gonna go to sleep now but omg those photos of you and the other two are so funny haha!!! I’ll talk to you more about it tomorrow, but the babies wanted to say goodnight my love :)

Charles: I’ll tell you so much about the boys’ playdate tomorrow. Sleep well, mon cœur ❤️

Aimee: Give them kisses for me?

Charles: Already did for you. Now sleep.

Aimee: Sleep well, my love 

“Papa?” At first, Charles wanted to fall back asleep at the sound. He thought that he was just dreaming. His dream was literally just about baking those cookies— and with the call of Papa he assumed that he was just being called by the boys from the living room. 

Then he felt a small soft hand on his cheek, making his eyes open slowly as he witnessed his three sons standing there. He sat himself up a little, stretching as he asked, “H, Jules? PJ? What’re you boys doing up?” 

“Nous ne pouvons pas dormir parce que maman ne nous a pas embrassés,” we can’t sleep because Mummy didn’t give us a hug. Jules said as quietly as he could, swinging his body back and forth while he clung onto his Lotso bear. 

PJ pulled his hand back from holding Charles’ face as he meekly stood there, still sucking on the pacifier. 

Hervé nodded at Jules’ comment and sheepishly asked, “Can we sleep here, Papa?”

PJ pulled the pacifier off and added, “Pwease?” 

Charles shook himself out of his thoughts. He was still feeling a bit hazy after being woken up by his kids at… two in the morning. These kids really have a bad habit of waking up in the most inconvenient time. 

But just as he was looking down at his kids, who still stood at his side of the bed, he couldn’t help but smile softly. He might not be Aimee to make them feel comfortable enough to go to sleep after being given a hug, but the least he could do was be there for them. 

Looking back at today’s events, he seemed to be content with the result of his plans and his kids’ reaction towards it. Sure, Hervé might’ve cried for the first three hours, but he soon got comfortable at the thought of spending time with his Papa while Aimee was somewhere else and away from them. PJ proudly dressed himself up and decided what to wear by himself. Jules comforted Hervé when his twin got sad. He was nothing but proud of his boys. He was hella proud of himself.

And he loved his boys so much that he couldn’t deny them anything. Now that he thought of it, it was even harder to deny them anything because Aimee wasn’t here. He was just happy they hadn’t asked for sugar before bed. 

He grinned at his boys and patted the empty spot next to him, hoisting PJ up while he said, “Alright. Up we go then, boys. Let’s go get some good sleep.”

It’s safe to say that the Leclerc daycare went well today. That was a major achievement for Charles. Thank god for his mother and other peer support, right?

[the-fallen-stones]

I am bad at hiding. If you are my friend, you might recognize me. For that, I apologize.

You may call me anything you like. I enjoy and encourage nicknames. But if you need a name, Mica works.

If you would like me to write something for you, you can request it, and I will if I can. It may not be immediately. But I will try.

A warning, my descriptions can sometimes be graphic, or a little violent. It is usually metaphorical, though, don't worry.

I like both storm and calm. Chaos and comfort. I enjoy things that invoke thought, or creativity. I love hugs, snuggles, animals (especially dragons and cats), tea, fiction, and poetry.

Please do not bring up politics here. It's not that I don't care. But I've anguished myself enough over them and honestly, I need a break.

Never assume hostility! It was probably an accident. My tone comes across weird sometimes.

Tags:

#storm's eye - things that strike me, and I'd like to come back to.

#mica speaks - anything original, by me.

#mica reblogs - empty reblogs.

#mica elaborates - reblogs that are not empty.

#mica rambles - I have rambled.

#mica rhymes - my poetry.

#mika doodles - my art.

#mika's music - my favorite songs.

#mica recites - my favorite poems or stories.

#mika inquires - I ask questions.

#mika responds - I answer questions.

Credit for the image goes to @poetryforall.

My wonderful mutuals:

@kimu-dem - Keeper of comfort.

@thatrando13 - The wanderer.

@carrotsinnovember - A gentle friend.

@hersurvival - Blanket fort against thunder and snowstorms.

@caustic-splines - Writer of old love letters.

@abiethewizardduck

@randomshowerpoems - The wise wordsmith.

@poemsofanentomologist

@galaxys-universe

@literaryvein - The bright storm outside.

@same-skies

These titles can always change, as I know you better. If you'd like me to use a different one I certainly can.

Some of my favorite songs are;

One Day You Will Fly Too, by Aimee Carty,

Come Along, Does the Swallow Dream of Flying?, Egg and Soldiers, Pelicans We, Half Past Three, Run, and Linger Longer, by Cosmo Sheldrake,

Glow in the Dark by Vian Izak,

Rush of Life, My Neighbor's Car Alarm, Desire, and Rain, by Tony Ann. (Classical.)

Experience, Fly, and Eros, by Ludovico Einaudi. (Classical.)

Ilomilo by Billie Eilish,

Two, Sun, Eight, and Light by Sleeping at Last,

Big Black Car and San Luis by Gregory Alan Isakov,

Passing Through by Kaden MacKay,

The Mountain Song, Be Nobody, and Better is the End, by TopHouse,

Changing Days, Irish Eyes, I Can Never Give my Heart, and Rocket, by Rose Betts,

The Sound of Silence, by Simon and Garfunkel,

Walking in the Air, Time, Orinoco Flow, and Carol of the Bells, by Libera,

And many more.

Some of my favorite poems are;

Tug'o'War of Heartstrings, The Night Sky, Together, With a Window Between, A Heavy Wait/Weight, A Veil Not Yet There, Sharks in a Zoo, A Faustian Deal, Denial, The Voice of a Loved One, Explosions, Tribute to the Ocean, The Vast Expanse of the Ocean, Nurturing, Stalagmites in my Brain, and How Can I Put Those Boxes Away? by The Shower Poet,

Fire and Ice, and Walking by Woods on a Snowy Evening, by Robert Frost,

The Sunshine Kid, Paper People, and 59, by Harry Baker,

The Spider, by Robert P. Tristam Coffin,

Run With You, by Atlas,

A Litany, by Gregory Orr,

Landscape with a Blur of Conquerors, and Details of the Woods, by Richard Silken.

And many more.

Some of my favorite books are;

The Chronicles of Narnia, by C. S. Lewis,

Breadcrumbs, by Anne Ursu,

Ella Minnow Pea, by Mark Dunn,

Holes, Wayside School, Small Steps, and There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom, by Lois Sachar.

Hoot, Scat, Flush, and Chomp, by Carl Hiaasen.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, Starry River of the Sky, and When the Sea Turned to Silver, by Grace Lin.

And oh, so very many more.

Poems I have written;

Teach Me, Silent Serenade, Space Can Die, Weak Resolve, Boundaries Drawn, The Candle, Vacuum, One Pace, Adventure With Me, Stagnant, Workaholic, Sirens Can Cry, Dreamt of Loss, The Chalkboard, Shush, and many more to come.

Once was a girl, who would talk to herself. Stories, tales, thoughts in passing, of the past, future, of the sky and leaves, wind and breeze, of storm and calm. She longed to speak in a cadence. One to soothe. To heal. Doesn't everyone want that, to heal? To be somebody to someone, to have a voice like an anchor, eyes like a vice, that soften, that go warm like a bird's shelter?

Storm seeks calm. Calm seeks storm. They find a balance. But never, never do they stay still. She couldn't stay still. Her mind was a hurricane. And sometimes a breeze, sometimes a song to put you at ease, and sometimes, tight, coiled like a spring.

The calm wasn't who she was. Nor was she as much of the storm as she thought she was. Dear, she was a fire. She'd dim, and grow brighter. Her voice would get high when excited, she'd smile. Her embers couldn't rest. She'd smoulder. Then big stewing pots would bubble over. She'd speak in paragraphs, eyes like beacons, stumbling over words and not always making sense...

But it was beautiful. She loved, she loved deeply. She wanted to be loved, too. And she was. But when the smoke gets high, water and frost meeting that bright smile all too many times, it blurs out the hands, hearts, the words reaching, seeking...

She was silenced. Of course, the embers still burned. But the very things she stifled were the things she was beloved for. And she couldn't hear them.

But slowly, wet wood dries, my dear. You can't always cry. Time passes by. Wounds heal, scars fade, even when clouds pass over the stars. She was stronger than that.

She learned again to love. And though she had times she couldn't muster the songs, the words, the strength to hold on so tight, she began to heal.

Please, my dear, have patience. She is still healing.

Burnout is a dangerous thing. If you are stuck it never eases, never ceases. And things that brought you peace are no less, then, but grievous. It feels like Sisyphus himself is in charge of pulling you out of that rut. My dear, he can't.

The world moves so fast... I can't help but be dizzy. The facts and the future, like stones, whizzing, past my head, I bustle, I catch them, I'm busy...

The earth turns fast but not as fast as my head. Live, die. Fireflies. On my deathbed. I crave a rest, but I get anger instead. For injustice, for fury, the memories I shed...

Give my hands to the stars, fire for every digit. They fall from the sky when in darkness I fidget. Tear through the clouds, but then cry when I can't fix it. My brain is a void and...

I just.

Can't.

Bridge it.

[stcpidcupid]

Okay so I'm nosy but how would the girls rate the varsity boys in terms of looks and/or if they'd sleep with them 🤭👀👀

STUPID CUPID ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ upon hearing the question, there's a sudden racket as all members try to be the first ones to answer it. cheska suddenly shushes everyone, " let's just go in the order we're standing. "

cheska is also the first one to start, " ok so i'm thinking about it, " she says as she scrolls through kprofile and reads more about them, " and first of all, i love the concept they have; it reminds me of us when we were rookies and used to dress in those school uniforms with that mischievous type of concept! " the rest of the group nods and hums in agreement, reminiscing about their early years. " anyway, i think i decided on my ranks, and they go something like this, " she pauses as she scrolls up and down to find the first member.

" so in tenth place, and as terrible as this is, i put JISU but only because he has that baby face, and i'm not really attracted to people like that, " cheska quickly explains before anyone can even open their mouths. tomie is quick to disagree, " but eonnie, he's the cutest like that tho! "

" i'm just gonna call out other people's names, and then i'll explain why i find the top three most attractive. HYUNSU, DIAZ, JACE, HARIN, FABIAN, SILAS, KAZ, ELI and KENJI in that exact order, from lowest to highest. i just love their japanese members and want to get to know them better! " before the next member can go, cheska is quick to mutter, " ELI looks very familiar to me though, " loud enough for everyone to hear.

" i guess my ranks go something like this: FABIAN, KAZ, JACE, DIAZ, HARIN, HYUNSU, KENJI, SILAS, JISU and ELI from lowest to highest. but i wouldn't sleep with any of them, " viva deadpans, sending others into a laughing fest.

" you're so boring vivi! " aimee says, using viva's nickname to show she's not serious. viva is quick to reply with, " nah, i'm just not into... them. "

" i think it might be obvious who one of my 'favourites' is, with how i jumped to defend JISU, " tomie playfully glares at the leader, making the older female form a fist and lightly touch her shoulder. " but yes, JISU is definitely in my top three, because i find him very cute and handsome at times, " for a second it looks like tomie's blushing, " but there's two who rank higher, and they are... " she trails off, slapping her hands on knees to imitate drums, " it's JACE and ELI! " she watches as other oh's knowing she picked the best ones.

" for JACE it's self-explanatory, i mean... have you seen him? hold on, let me show you, i follow them on insta, " she's quick to grab her phone, scrolling through already liked posts on VARSITY's instagram, before clicking on one, " look! isn't he just... perfect? " tomie flips the phone around, and the post shows JACE's upper body selfie without a shirt. she's quick to scroll to the left, and the next one shows just his hands. his veiny hands.

" oh! " the other members quickly exclaim, and aimee's quick to cover jeanne's eyes, cheska doing the same with viva but more teasingly-like. " this is not for kids' eyes! " the second oldest yells, listening to viva's giggles as she tries to get cheska's hands off of her.

" as for other members, " she starts again after composing herself, but there's still some redness in her cheeks, " i guess from fourth to tenth, it would be KENJI, SILAS, HYUNSU, FABIAN, HARIN, DIAZ and KAZ. i personally know FABIAN, and his brother, so i wouldn't really sleep with him, but he is very attractive! "

" love you bian~ "

jeanne ponders over the question while others talk, and is quick to open a note app on her phone and type something. after she gets her turn to speak, she lifts the device, " i wrote down the list, from most to least attractive VARSITY members, " she says it so seriously that others can't help but laugh.

" number one i picked HARIN, because i saw the group perform once, and he caught my eye. the list goes like this: HYUNSU in second place, SILAS is third, DIAZ fourth, then ELI fifth, KENJI sixth, KAZ seventh, JISU eight, JACE ninth and FABIAN is tenth. but i still think the lowest-ranked members are really attractive, " she assures everyone and closes the note app, putting the phone back in her pocket.

the others wait in case she has something else to add, but jeanne just stares blankly at the camera.

" oh~kay then... " tomie awkwardly says, nodding along.

" anyway, best for last, " aimee flairs her hands around, flipping her hair.

" in first place, definitely KAZ! there's something about him that i like, i don't know how to explain it, though, " she begins, but quickly brushes off her 'explanation', " after him, i'd say i think ELI is for sure in second place, i mean, have you seen his face? " she mocks, playfully exaggerating the question.

" after him, hmm... " she begins to trail off but quickly snaps her fingers, " i'm thinking KENJI would fit in third place, followed by FABIAN. now, i'm kind of divided between SILAS and HYUNSU for the fifth place, so i'm gonna keep them both there, " aimee tilts her head, trying to remember the mental list she made. " JISU is sixth, HARIN seventh, DIAZ eighth and JACE ninth, no offence, " she quickly adds, but doesn't mention whom she's saying that last part.

" quick disclaimer: this doesn't mean the lowest ranked people are ugly, we love you all and would definitely be up for meeting each other, " cheska informs, sending a sneaky finger heart followed by a wink from tomie and a kissy face from aimee. viva politely nods, while jeanne continues staring blankly but slightly moves around in restlessness.

note : varsity can be found at @ncrdyboyz !

[fandomsaligninstories]

Year Two: Gilderoy Lockhart

Chapter List

WC: 1,859

2nd September, 1992, Noon

Violet stood outside the Great Hall. She decided to wait there for Cedric, who hadn't been sitting at the Hufflepuff table when she arrived. She wasn't sure what his second lesson was, so she wasn't sure where he was coming from or how long until he'd get there. Luckily, she'd only had to wait five minutes before she saw him coming down the hall. 

She stood awkwardly outside the doors, twisting the strap of her bag between her hands as she watched him walk towards her. He was laughing at something his friends had said, and she couldn't help but smile. 

When he caught sight of her, he waved his friends away then walked over to her.

"Done ignoring me, are you?"

"Who said I was waiting for you?" She smiled sheepishly, "Sorry, Ced."

"I'm sorry too. Shouldn't have ignored you on the train." He shrugged, "Friends again?"

She nodded rapidly, holding her arms out and stepping towards Cedric. He rolled his eyes lovingly, wrapping his arms around her shoulders in a hug, "Ever the hugger." 

"Yep!" She smiled brightly when she pulled away, trailing beside him as they entered the Great Hall for lunch. 

She sat between Cedric and Aimee, earning knowing looks from her friends as they settled in and began loading their plates with food. She simply shrugged and listened to the conversations around her.

Partway through lunch, the hall fell quiet as a single owl flew in. It was only the first day, so no one was expecting letters or packages. Violet glanced at the owl briefly, turning back to her lunch. 

However, the entire hall silenced as a loud, screeching voice started screaming. Violet nearly fell out of her seat at the shock of the noise, turning around to see everyone staring at the Gryffindor table. At Ron Weasley, specifically. 

She could barely focus on the voice at the shock of the letter itself screaming at Ron. It was floating directly in front of his face, his eyes wide in terror. When the letter finished its screaming, it tore itself into pieces. Violet had only managed to pay attention to a few things it said, still in awe over the fact that a letter had spoken.

Cedric leaned towards her, "It's a howler. Not good to receive one, you see."

"Yes..." She finally turned back to Cedric, "Wonder what that was about."

"Sounds like he stole a car," a third-year was laughing, "Couldn't imagine why!"

Indeed, Violet agreed. What could Ron have possibly needed a car for? Obviously it had something to do with why he and Harry were in trouble the previous night, but how?

▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔

Her first class after lunch was Herbology with the Gryffindors. She'd been looking forward to it, as she loved Herbology. Their first lesson was on Mandrakes, which she'd begun reading about that morning during free period. She also wanted to talk to Harry, Hermione, and Ron, to find out what the boys could've possibly done the night before.

When they entered the greenhouse, Violet went straight towards Harry and Ron. She looked around for Hermione, who was on the other side of the long tables. 

"Harry!"

"Hi Violet!" The raven-hair boy waved at her, turning from his conversation with Ron, "Alright?"

"Yeah! So, whatever did you two do to get in trouble last night?" She crossed her arms, staring at them with an arched eyebrow.

"Oh, um..." Harry glanced at Ron, who was staring at Violet with wide eyes, "Well, we sort of missed the train, so we took Mr. Weasley's-"

"Sh!" Ron shushed his friend, shooting him a pointed look. 

"What? Oh, right. We did some things that weren't really... allowed."

Violet wanted to know more, especially about whatever Harry was about to say about Mr. Weasley, and what the howler at lunch was about, but Professor Sprout chose that moment to enter the greenhouse. 

"Good morning, everyone! Welcome to Greenhouse Three, second-years! Now, gather around, everyone. Today we're going to re-pot Mandrakes!"

During Professor Sprouts explanation on how to properly handle the Mandrakes, a Gryffindor boy- Neville, if Violet remembered correctly- passed out.

The professor sighed, "Longbottom's been neglecting his earmuffs."

"No ma'am," Another Gryffindor replied, "He's just fainted."

"Yes, well, just leave him there." The students looked around at each other, shrugging it off as the professor continued the lesson. 

It was a rather intense lesson, as the Mandrake's cries were deafening, even with the protection of the earmuffs. Nevertheless, Violet enjoyed it. She never had much luck with plants back home, but she still liked working with the soil and plants, especially magical plants. 

Once Herbology ended, she walked with Aimee and Hermione back to the castle. 

"The boys already in trouble, then?" Violet nudged Hermione with her elbow, glancing at the boys several paces ahead of them.

"Those two!" Hermione shook her head disapprovingly, "I swear, it's like they enjoy getting into trouble!"

"They're just having a bit of fun." Aimee tried to argue, her eyes never leaving Harry's back.

Hermione and Violet shared a look, laughing quietly. 

Violet glanced between Harry and Aimee, "Well, they could have fun without earning detention every time." 

"True..." Aimee relented. 

Once inside, they separated from the Gryffindors, heading upstairs for Defense Against the Dark Arts.

They were stopped outside the classroom, a line of students blocking the way in. Violet held back the urge to sigh at the sheer number of girls standing in the doorway, whispering and giggling. 

"Professor Lockhart must be in there." She grumbled. 

They had to shove their way into the classroom, where the second-year Hufflepuffs and Slytherins were staring ahead at the empty professors desk. Most of the boys were staring irritably at their own desks or the girls, obviously not caring for the new professor like most of the girls did. 

On her way to the back of the class, Violet wasn't paying attention where she was going, digging through her bag for an empty parchment to take notes on. One second she was walking, the next she was kneeling on the ground, her knees smarting with pain. She looked up slowly, her eyes narrowed at the boy whose foot was stilling in the aisle. He was laughing with his friends, and Violet itched to pull out her wand. 

Kindness, she reminded herself.

"Feel better, Malfoy?" She forced a smile as she took Aimee's outstretched hand, standing, "Thank you for that, I really should pay more attention where I'm going, hm?" 

Draco stopped laughing, staring at Violet with an odd expression. Once again, she shocked him into silence. His friends wore matching confused expressions. She continued walking, brushing off her scratched up knees once she'd sat down.

"You okay?" Aimee leaned closer to ask, lowing her voice to a whisper. 

Violet only nodded, trying to ignore the heat in her cheeks and sting in her eyes, both from how much her knees actually hurt and the embarrassment. 

She neatly placed her items onto the desk, including her books, parchment, and quill. She dared to look up, only to drop her eyes back down when she saw Draco was still staring at her with that odd look in his eyes. 

Finally Professor Lockhart entered the room, effectively silencing the class. He stood at the top of the staircase at the front of the room, which presumably led to the D.A.D.A professors chambers. 

"Let me introduce you to your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Me! Gilderoy Lockhart." At this, he flung his light gold cape out behind him. He was dressed in another matching suit, all light gold, except for white shirt. He started down the stairs, "Order of Merlin, Third Class. Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League, and five times winner of "Witch Weekly's" Most Charming Smile award. But I don't talk about that... I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at her!"

He stopped at the front of the class, leaning on his hand against his desk. He flashed what Violet assumed was his "charming smile", sending the girls around her into fits of giggles. She eyed them curiously; what was it about Lockhart that made the girls act like that? 

"I see you've all bought a complete set of my books, well done. Now, I thought we'd start today with a little quiz!" The entire class groaned at this, "Nothing to worry about, just to check if you've read them."

He passed out the quizzes, and Violet wanted to throw the parchment when she began reading over the questions. 

"How self-centered can a man be?!" She whispered to Aimee, who only shrugged.

The first question? "What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favourite colour?" And the second? "What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition?"

Every single question was about him. Naturally, Violet didn't know any of the answers. She'd barely looked at the books for class, but she wondered if it would even be worth it. If these were the questions based on his books, then did the books even contain any knowledge on the dark arts, or just him? 

Day one and she was already disappointed. She was right in her earlier assessment; this would be a very long year with him as a professor. Worse yet, Wednesday's were double-D.A.D.A, which meant she had to sit through nearly three hours listening to Lockhart drone on about himself. She wasn't sure she'd survive the year.

▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔

"I can't do it!" Violet cried out, storming out of the room after class was over, "He's a complete, total... total... git!"

"Mature, Violet, real mature." Aimee laughed, linking her arm with Violet's as they walked towards the Great Hall for dinner, "He isn't all that bad."

Violet looked at her friend, narrowing her eyes, "He kept going on and on about how great he is. Then he released a cage full of cornish pixies, running out of the room to leave us to deal with them!"

Hannah joined the two as they sat down at the Hufflepuff table, "I think he was just nervous. It's his first day teaching, after all. I'm sure it'll get better!"

Violet was stunned into silence as her friends defended the new professor. She sat there, mouth gaping as her friends continued to talk about Lockhart.

"Alright, Vi?" Cedric asked, sitting across the table.

Her jaw snapped closed, "No! He's an idiot! Why is everyone so impressed with him?!"

Cedric leaned back, eyes wide and a smirk playing on his lips, "Who's that?"

"Lockhart!" She groaned.

"C'mon, Violet, give him a chance!" Hannah nudged her side, earning a glare. 

"I think I'm with Violet on this one," Cedric decided, "The girls are all fawning over him, but all he seems to talk about is himself."

"Not you too!" Aimee groaned, "He's just having a rough first day!"

Cedric and Violet shared an exasperated look, both muttering, "okay" in response. 

The rest of dinner was spent with majority of the girls at the table gushing over Lockhart, while the rest of the table tried rather hard to change the subject for the entirety of dinner.

━⊱༻ ༺⊰━

TAGLIST:

@stellarlune-love

[cherryblossomshadow]

9 Months Deep Into 2024… Rap Recap 🗓️

Mr. Grande

9 months deep into 2024. Let’s go back, recap once more

January

Katt (katt williams)

Big Foot (naval station norfolk)

Gypsy press tour (gypsy rose)

Aliens

Amelia washed up on shore (amelia earhart)

February

Taylor and Travis at the game (taylor swift, travis kelce)

Drake made a movie

Snakes on a Plane (2006)

One Oompa Loompa and their newfound fame. “The Unknown” brought Glasgow great pain (Willy’s Chocolate Experience in Glasgow Scotland)

March

Storytime with JLo (jennifer lopez)

No chick-fil-a sauce (no Chick-fil-A sauce girl, gina lynn)

Bridge hit by the boat (Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore, Maryland)

Eternal Sunshine (ariana grande)

Cowboy Carter, let’s go (beyonce)

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif: Tic Tac Toe (tiktok)

April

New York City is shaken (earthquake)

Case closed on OJ Simpson

New Tay Tay Kim K diss drop (kim Kardashian, thanK you aIMee)

JoJo Siwa inventing gay pop

May

Billie drops (billie eilish)

Nicki locked up before show (nicki minaj)

Baby wanna go to Four Seasons Orlando

Eurovision

Northern Lights

Portal got naughty (new york-dublin portal)

Bleach blonde bad built butch body (jasmine crockett, marjorie taylor greene)

.

AOC vs Marjorie got wild (alexandria ocasio cortez, marjorie taylor greene)

The met gala had extra questionable style

34, the magic number at the Trump trial (prosecution of donald trump in new york)

Drake got converted to a PDF file (kendrick lamar, kendrick vs drake)

June

Heat waves everywhere like everywhere is Phoenix

Charli and Lorde work it out on the remix (charli xcx, girl so confusing)

Chappell Roan statue (statue of liberty costume, governors ball music festival)

This just in… (justin timberlake, this is going to ruin the tour)

Carpool karaoke with Kim and Putin (kim jong un, vladimir putin)

July

This one’s an EAR full. Where to start?

America becomes an episode of South Park (2024 shooting at a donald trump rally, assassination attempt, thomas matthew crooks)

Simone still GOATed (simone biles, paris Olympics) Joe got covid (joe biden, coronavirus)

Trump got shot, and bro emoted

August

Blake Lively bullied interviewer

Social security no longer secure (2024 national public data breach)

Raygun (2024 Paris Olympics, rachael gunn, raygun_aus, breakdancing)

Mpox (Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, monkeypox)

Very demure (mindful, jools lebron, joolieannie)

Short n’ Sweet (sabrina carpenter)

Bye BRAT summer (charli xcx)

September

Hollywood exposed (p diddy allegations, sean combs)

Climate change grows (hurrican helene)

Submersible is back in the blogs (oceangate, stockton rush)

8 year old goes to target (zoe wilson, tangie)

and bros …

Trump: They're eating the dogs! (presidential debate, abc, donald trump, kamala harris, jd vance, haitian immigrants, Springfield pet-eating hoax)

.

Baby oil sales go down the drain (p diddy, johnson & johnson)

The world got pranked by the king of mukbang (nikocado avocado, nicholas perry, two steps ahead)

A new iPhone (iPhone 16)

And a new moon came (2024 PT5)

All rise for the new supreme Moo Deng (pygmy hippopotamus, khao kheow open zoo, thailand zoo)

.

Cleo fights Ice (cleopatra, ice spice, baby storme, y2k tour)

and Mozart's hot again (wolfgang amadeus mozart, leipzig municipal library, Köchel catalogue, Serenate ex C, Ganz kleine Nachtmusik)

Spray tan MAGA man Missed A Gunshot Again (Attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Florida, ryan wesley routh, trump international golf club)

Midwest Princess cussin and shushed him (chappell roan, you shut the fuck up, 2024 vma, mtv video music awards)

SWEAT tour (charli xcx, troye sivan)

Apple war touchin interruption (charli xcx, kelley heyer, apple dance, apple cam)

[canigetanamen]

It was your idea to teach me how to sleep

under the stars       how to hold a gun      how

to shoot it in the air              and firework it

    across the setting sun          a silver dragonfly

with a singular purpose:     to hunt

and snap        its mouth around          the sweetest bee—

pluck it right out of the air—

I didn’t know                      love could be so loud.

 

And once, the fields                        of soybean and mice

              became           a kind of       prayer,

                          shushing tassels            on the blown-back

      calico curtains   of your                childhood bedroom

where                you kissed me           my shoulders

before    the window—    I never saw           the ribs

        of a silver silo       that way again.

The Two Times I Loved You the Most On a Farm / From Aimee Nezhukumatathil's Oceanic

[aimeelouart]

BAD GUY TO DAD GUY BABEY!!!

tired: villain redeemed through the power of romantic love

wired: villain redeemed through the power of accidentally adopting a child

[aimeelouart]

Here comes the category 4! If I vanish, now you know why.

I’m having flashbacks to my childhood and that one year where like five hurricanes hit us in a row, including at least one cat 4 (or was it a 5?)

[ruknowhere]

Letter to the Northern Lights

Aimee Nezhukumatathil

The light here on earth keeps us plenty busy: a fire

in central Pennsylvania still burns bright since 1962.

Whole squads of tiny squid blaze up the coast of Japan

before sunrise. Of course you didn’t show when we went

searching for you, but we found other lights: firefly,

strawberry moon, a tiny catch of it in each other’s teeth.

Someone who saw you said they laid down

in the middle of the road and took you all in,

and I’m guessing you’re used to that—people falling

over themselves to catch a glimpse of you

and your weird mint-glow shushing itself over the lake.

Aurora, I’d rather stay indoors with him—even if it meant

a rickety hotel and its wood paneling, golf carpeting

in the bathrooms, and grainy soapcakes. Instead

of waiting until just the right hour of the shortest

blue-night of the year when you finally felt moved

enough to collide your gas particles with sun particles—

I’d rather share sunrise with him and loon call

over the lake with him, the slap of shoreline threaded

through screen windows with him. My heart

slams in my chest, against my shirt—it’s a kind

of kindling you’d never be able to light on your own.

Copyright © 2016 by Aimee Nezhukumatathi

[aimeelouart]

BAHAHAHAH

Oh please do. Oh PLEASE do. Trying to wrangle several superpowered babies sounds like something that should be inflicted on Cloud.

Adding to my ever growing list of fic ideas for when my quick 5 part floof turned 'how is this chapter 17?!' is closer to an end is the to flip the wonderful niche firsts dealing with feral baby cloud to dealing instead with baby versions of the firsts because I have been thinking about this for 10 minutes instead of doing math homework and I keep making myself laugh. I am blaming this on @aimeelouart saying both Zack and cloud see each other as the baby in Hey Asshole.

'Zack, get off my bike, you can't ride it, you can't start it up, your legs won't reach - I DIDN'T MEAN USE A STICK, GET BACK HERE FFS'

'No no no put the materia down, those are Yuffies and she will come out for blood, THAT'S NOT AN INCENTIVE'

'OH GOD WHERE DID HE GET THE SWORD WHO GAVE HIM - wait, is the end on the ground cause it's twice your size right now and you can't grip it properly??? DO NOT PICK IT UP BLADE FIRST, YOU COULD LOSE A HAND AND KNOWING MY LUCK, IT WOULD TURN INTO ANOTHER HOMICIDAL CLONE'

[darkfinch]

In my head Eliot is nine years younger than Christian Kane because that makes him almost 40 in the current timeline which is young enough to still be the greatest but slowing down a little, lets him sign up after 9/11 and not see Aimee again until season one. He is lying about everything else. this is my headcanon because I refuse to try to hold the rest of everything in my head. Does this only work if he basically worked for Moreau for a week and a half? Yes. Shush. Forget that.

MAKING THE TIMELINE EVEN MORE CONDENSED BY NEARLY A DECADE IS THE MOST BUCKWILD APPROACH POSSIBLE HERE i support u i respect u i am afraid of u

[casualnepotism]

@orchidscript ever wanna not talk to 1000 old ladies at work so instead you listen to 32 grinch songs to cope and power rank them? i do, let’s go:

Thurl Ravenscroft cause there ain’t nothin’ like an angry tiger absolutely ripping his ex apart

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy sounds like something the couple would duet at the beginning of an enemies to lovers musical romcom

Lindsey Stirling has finally made something I want to listen to while I do a heist

Darius Rucker is definitely the only person since Thurl to nail the timing on the 39 1/2-foot pole

Preservation Hall Jazz Band made the first song I’ve ever heard that sounds so genuinely like a girl unbelievably disgusted by her ex

Ceelo Green is bringing the exact level of admiration I wanted from the Jim Carrey version

John Cullum and co. are living in the alternate timeline I crave, where Grinch hears Tony’s song and becomes more evil because of it

Ian Munsick... that guitar, though...

Hunter Brothers made a sexy one but in a relaxing way. These men have been living with their attraction to the Grinch for years and they’re okay with it

Funny Bunny Team needs to stop trying to be Thurl, it’s never gonna happen

Kidz Bop is objectively fine but like, y’all’re kids. Shush.

Danny Worsnop I think is just Jeffrey Tambor’s internal monologue through that whole movie

Deanna Kirk is really running that horniness train and I was totally on board until the breakdown

Newsong... fuck, bro

Glee (ft. k.d. lang) is only raised above inoffensiveness because the Grinch is genderfluid. Good for her.

Pentatonix is, as usual, inoffensive if you like musical theatre

Small Town Titans was D O I N G it for me with the guitar but some of the high notes are very questionable

Take 6 are all amazing singers but honestly the storyline overshadowed the music

Jim Carrey has skills that can’t be overstated but listen. hey, jim. listen. if you’re gonna sing this in character as the Grinch, you’re gonna have to be more proud of yourself

Thurl & Boris is WONDERFUL but it simply isn’t a song. it’s a clip from the movie

EARCANDY is genuinely inoffensive but I just want more bass in my acapella sorry

Voctave needs to learn that a deep voice does not a villain make

Brian Setzer is like a half note off from being ideal

Andrea DeLadurantey is gender-swapped with Nightmare before Christmas

The Robertson’s should DEFINITELY be lower. I WANT it to be lower. Unfortunately, the tonelessness and lisp are oddly endearing

Misfits have the world’s most insane pacing but if someone said “you’re a bad banana” to me like that, I would be delighted

Tyler, the Creator is too cool for the Grinch. This song is too cool. Also I just can’t with the child choir

Straight no Chaser PLEASE STOP MAKING THE GRINCH COOL AND EMO HE’S A DIPSHIT DORKUS

Jordan Smith is SO CLOSE to being inoffensive

Aimee Mann is just another Halloween-sona

VoicePlay... hhh. To heal yourself after this, please go listen to Home Free’s “Ring of Fire”

Nashville Cast genuinely made me want to crawl out of my own skin

[alarakay-rp]

Social Media Post @yours-jbbarnes-anon (you can reblog this)

782,689 likes 58,962 comments

Alara_Kay: Screw work! I’m going to the concert tomorrow with @Siayra_D @Aimee_Brooks @Ryan5. Current location Aimee’s place, going out to the carnival now.

Ryan5: Can’t wait for tomorrow!! You look amazing

Aimee_Brooks: Girl, I can’t wait to see your outfit tomorrow

Siayra_D: Bring Bucky tomorrow

Alara_Kay: @Siayra_D Shush!! 🤫 He follows me he can read my comments

@Siayra_D : what’s his @? I want him to comment.

@Alara_Kay: @Siayra_D I’m not telling you 😏

Dylan_1: Aww I’m not invited?.Poor you, I’ll be there, following you everywhere and I’ll take you away

@Alara_Kay: @Bucky_Barnes 🚩🚩🚩

@Siayra_D: @Bucky_Barnes 🚨🚨🚨

@Alara_Kay: @Siayra_D now don’t go dming him about my whereabouts 🙄

@Siayra_D: @Alara_Kay 😏

more.

[jshoulson]

Today’s Poem

Letter to the Northern Lights --Aimee Nezhukumatathil

The light here on earth keeps us plenty busy: a fire in central Pennsylvania still burns bright since 1962.

Whole squads of tiny squid blaze up the coast of Japan before sunrise. Of course you didn’t show when we went

searching for you, but we found other lights: firefly, strawberry moon, a tiny catch of it in each other’s teeth.

Someone who saw you said they laid down in the middle of the road and took you all in,

and I’m guessing you’re used to that—people falling over themselves to catch a glimpse of you

and your weird mint-glow shushing itself over the lake. Aurora, I’d rather stay indoors with him—even if it meant

a rickety hotel and its wood paneling, golf carpeting in the bathrooms, and grainy soapcakes. Instead

of waiting until just the right hour of the shortest blue-night of the year when you finally felt moved

enough to collide your gas particles with sun particles— I’d rather share sunrise with him and loon call

over the lake with him, the slap of shoreline threaded through screen windows with him. My heart

slams in my chest, against my shirt—it’s a kind of kindling you’d never be able to light on your own.