#And the shortest one in the group decided to jump in to see how deep it is

[truegoist]

Nah bc me & the bros have been standing next to this hole for like 2 hours

[rogue-durin-16]

AN UNUSUAL YEAR (Part IV/V)

Summary: After having little to no interest on girls for five years, Fred suddenly feels the need to nag the shit out of a certain witch, completely oblivious to the reason behind it.

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Slytherin!Reader

Genre: fluff (+ enemies to lovers)

Taglist:

An unusual year: @natural-hearts @manuosorioh @lumos-solemn @westyywifee @whiskeyn-rain @warlock--protection @gossip-girl-ecr @fandomscombine @birdy944 @28cnn

Permanent taglist: @elia-the-bibliophile @randomparanoid @karlthecat15722 @thebutchersdaughtersblog

Warnings: none

A/N: BOI IS THIS LOOONG. I knew this part would get a bit out of hand since I wanted to write all of this in the same chapter but still damn. Anyway, enjoy <3

Part I

Part II

Part III

Part V

Rogue-durin-16 masterlist

Here's a variety of Yule Ball outfits for y'all 👀:

Outfit 1 outfit 2 outfit 3 outfit 4 outfit 5

"You sure you don't wanna come to the ball?" I asked Mathilda, climbing down the dormitories' stairs.

"No, I'd rather stay..." Her mouth opened in agape when she saw me. "You look... Wow."

"Why, thank you." I replied, walking towards my best friend with a smile. "I'll probably be here before 10:00 pm." I assured her, squeezing her shoulders. "And we can gossip a bit."

"Already looking forward to it." Mathilda patted my hand with a chuckle. "Have fun, will you?"

I nodded and waved her goodbye before leaving the common room.

"Bloody hell, Y/l/n!" George, who as promised, had been waiting for me at the entrance of the dungeons, shamelessly though harmlessly, checked me out. "You clean up nice, huh?"

"Of course I do." I walked to meet him at his spot. "You don't look so bad yourself, Weasley." With his chin up and a proud smile, he offered me his arm, which I gladly took, and we headed off to the Great Hall.

A fairly big crowd had formed at the doors, mostly conformed by people who were waiting for their partner slash group, and some not-so-subtle gossips.

While I intended to go straight into the Hall, George tugged me away from the shortest path, claiming that he wanted to 'have an overall view'.

I reckoned he had something else in mind when we passed by Fred and Angelina, both immersed in their conversation until my friend caught a glimpse of us.

"Damn Y/n!" I held back George, who was playing dumb for some reason, and made my way to the couple. "You look SO good, doesn't she, Fred?" She nudged her partner, giving him a knowing grin.

"I guess you look nice." His nonchalant reply was accompanied with a shrug.

"She looks breathtaking, actually." George's correction left me staring at him speechless. "Just like Angelina."

Oh well. "Yeah" I agreed, clinging onto my partner's forearm, finally getting a vague idea of what was going on —not quite there yet, though. "Angelina, love, you look astonishing, right George?"

"Right." I could see my friend's cheeks reddening ever so slightly whilst making eye contact with George.

"Shall we go in?" I suggested, already heading to the gates.

FRED'S P.O.V

'Breathtaking' was the exact word I was thinking about when Angelina asked me about Y/n, and George knew it.

The girls probably didn't catch how my jaw dropped when I saw her, but my brother did.

He knew it.

"Go with her, yeah?" I requested to Angelina, gesturing at Y/n and at the Great Hall simultaneously. "George, can I have a word with you?"

He nodded and whispered "Go on, ladies." before walking to me. "What is it, Freddie?"

"What's your game?"

"I think I don't follow." The fact that he had the nerve to speak that blantant lie angered me more than I would ever admit.

"Why is she your date?"

"Why is she not your date?" He retorted, triggering a gasp from me, followed by a scoff. "You're not only completely oblivious, you're also a coward."

"Beg your pardon?" Was the only thing I could bring myself to say; I blamed the shock caused by my brother's nonsense.

"AND you stole my date." Oh, so this was about Angelina. "Now if you excuse me," he patted my back a couple times. "I'll go dance all night with MY absolutely breathtaking date."

"Have fun with Slytherin girl, Georgie." I replied, sprinting to reach him. "I'll go dance with our beautiful Angelina."

"Tosser." I could hear him say as I jogged into the Hall to reach the girls.

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

READER'S P. O. V.

George probably wasn't the best dancer, but he clearly knew some moves, and made me want to stay on the dancefloor for a good couple of hours, having a great time.

That's one of the reasons why I decided to help him out.

"Oi!" He leaned on and I stood on my tiptoes, holding onto his forearms so I could speak directly into his ear. "Wanna dance with Angelina?"

"Maybe" He slightly pulled away and both our gazes spotted the girl, dancing madly with Fred. "Yeah! Yeah I do!" He shouted so I could hear him over the music, now that we were apart.

"Alright, come!" I tugged his hand and together we narrowed the already short distance between them and us.

The timing was perfect, almost as if it was meant to be like that; the moment we reached them a slow song started to play.

"Angelina, may I steal your date for a dance?" I requested, not waiting for Angelina's nod before letting go of George and tugging Fred's hand. "You can have mine." I spared my friend a teasing smile and a wink while I pulled her date away from George and her.

"Stealing me away, huh?" Once we were far enough, I spun around and held up one of his hands, his left one falling on my waist and my right one on his shoulder. "Eager to be near me again, Y/l/n?"

"So I'm not 'Slytherin girl' anymore?" I raised my eyebrows at him with a smirk on my face as we swayed.

"You heard that?" All from sudden he turned somehow self-conscious.

"This may come as a shock to you," I peeked over his shoulder to check on George and Angelina. "but you two are quite loud."

"I didn't mean it." His word had way more regret than necessary for something as stupid as what he was sort of apologizing for.

"I know." My eyes returned to his just in time for him to made me twirl and pulling me back to him, this time a bit closer than we were before. "Asking Angelina out was a shitty move." I pointed out.

"You won't believe me," he began, "But I completely forgot." I snorted. "I swear!" His eyes widened and both our mouths twisted into an amused smile. "She was near me when Ron asked me who I'd be taking, and I didn't think twice."

A soft, genuine laugh escaped my lips; one which made the boy in front of me smile.

"Is he pissed?"

"Earlier? Very. Now?" I gestured behind Fred, urging him to look at his twin brother, now kissing Angelina. "I don't think so, no."

This time it was his laugh that made a smile tug the corners of my mouth.

"You do look breathtaking." He spoke quietly, almost in a whisper. "Dunno why I didn't tell you earlier."

"Because you're a twit." He chuckled, shaking his head with his eyes fixed on our feet. "You look very handsome, though."

"I am very handsome." He corrected me, looking at me again, now with that damn smug face.

Out of every possible comeback, I chose the one that he expected the least. "Yes, you are." His cheeks turned mildly red and his grin fluttered; I counted it as a win.

"You're beautiful." He returned the compliment, after a moment of silence, to which I responded with a confident 'I know'. "So cocky."

"That makes the two of us." I pointed out.

Silence fell among us again. Comfortable silence, though, one that I could get used to.

Another twirl, another pull to stand even closer.

A small lean was enough for my head to rest against his chest. I blamed tiredness for the need to do that, but I didn't find anything to blame for the way his heart was pounding against his chest, nor for that strange feeling in my stomach.

As soon as he took a deep breath, we both eased into each other's arms, giving up the tension that our bodies had held.

We stayed like that for a while, until I looked around and realized most people had left, George and Angelina included; the dancefloor was now almost empty.

"I don't know what time is it," I spoke, letting my fingertips trace random patterns over his shoulder, dancing down to his chest.

"Me neither" he spoke, making me sway.

"I reckon this is the longest we've been together without jumping down each other's throats." I observed. "And it's probably the longest—"

My words died when, without any kind of warning, his lips landed on mines.

His right hand unconsciously gripped mine for an instant with such force, almost as if it was holding onto it for dear life.

Before I could even think about kissing him back, he retreated back to his previous position, offering me a smile I couldn't decipher accompanied by a wink that made him look relaxed an confident.

All façade, I thought to my self, as he said nothing —no teasing, no cracking jokes; he just kept slowdancing, his hands now more loose, seeming like he was prepared for me to run away; his gaze was also casted down and his cheeks flushing.

I would have teased him if it wasn't for the way I felt my own face burning.

I did let go of his hold, and he subtly stepped back, lowering his arms.

Just like me, he didn't have time to react when I pulled him down, cupping his cheeks for a proper kiss, which he returned instantly.

I felt both his hands on my hips as he leaned on, drawing me against him as close as he possibly could, while my hands left his cheeks to circle his neck.

All of a sudden I remembered that I needed to breath; I broke away, leading my hands to his shoulders, where I could feel how heavy his breathing was.

"What's just happened?" I mumbled, my eyes fluttering open to look into his.

"Dunno." He confessed. "Did you like it?"

"Very much." I replied instinctively, not bothering on thinking it through.

"Wicked." He muttered against my lips before going in for the third kiss, this one more heated.

With a hand on his chest i slightly pushed him away, scanning the place around us before asking, "Wanna go for a walk around the castle?"

"Please." His response was so immediate that we both had to chuckle at it.

"Wicked." I mocked, earning a playful push from him. I my fingers interlaced with his and I led the way.

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

FRED'S P. O. V.

"Shhh!" I playfully shushed Y/n's giggles, loosely hugging her from behind with my lips pecking her shoulder as we went downstairs in the direction of her House. "You don't want us to get caught, do you?" I let go of her waist just when we found ourselves halfway through the corridor.

"Merlin's beard—" Y/n, who had turned to face me, widened her eyes at the sight of me under the dim lights of the dungeons. "You're a mess." She whispered between quiet laughs, raising her hands up to my face to try and remove some of the lipstick stains she had left all over me.

"Don't you dare laugh, woman." I feigned pain, only making her giggle more. "You made a mess out of me."

She held my chin and moved my face from side to side, checking if she had made it any better. "What am I supposed to do with your neck?" She huffed.

"Place a couple more kisses there?" I suggested with a smirk, fixing her hair as best as I could. "Or a bite, you choose."

"I'm serious." Her thumb gently rubbed the side of my neck, sending shivers down my spine.

"Let them there for people to see." I was joking. My tone was playful. I didn't really mean it.

It was just a joke, right?

Her hands slid down my chest before leaving my body. "I'd rather not to." She replied absent-minded, making me realize that maybe I wasn't joking; maybe I wanted people to see— to know.

She didn't, though.

"Hey, everything's alright?" She questioned, concern making its way to her face when her eyes found mines.

"Of course." I replied— no, I lied. I lied to her and to myself. "Just tired."

"No wonder why." She laughed at her own innuendo, but the only thing she got out of me was an unenthusiastic half smile. "I'm gonna head back now." She added, probably sensing something wasn't right. "Get some sleep."

"I'll go have a shower." I informed her, stepping back in the stairs' direction without breaking eye contact.

"See you in a couple of hours." She responded, mirroring my moves, but towards her common room.

I nodded briefly before heading up to my own House, craving a cold shower to shake her voice off my mind and detach her touch and kisses from my skin.

[emilycollins00]

Two faces of the same coin

Pairing: Tenma x ghost-looking! reader Part 1.

Hey! I had this awesome ask from sadly ages ago which I appreciated a lot bc honestly, just the fact that someone sent such a detailed thing?? My heart.

Request: (...) Tenma finds someone who looks like they got out straight from a horror movie- They could literally pass as a ghost anytime of the day! But once he talks to them they are just an extremely chill introvert, and actually really thoughtful and considerate? (...) So yeah, imagine Tenma who once was shitting his pants whenever that person was around slowly starting to enjoy their presence and even better: fall for them.

Enjoy! 💕

.

Classic horror icons and other disturbing creatures share common characteristics, pale skin, dark, sunken eyes, hunched posture, sharp teeth, and the like. These images inspire fear and revulsion in many with good reason. And while Tenma would insist he was okay with them- he really was and Yuki should really just shut up- he wouldn’t go out of his way to watch or read about that specific genre. And he was okay with that.

“A ghost in the school?”

He tried to not sound as worried as he internally felt, his brain still processing what Taichi was talking about while waiting for their drinks to drop. The redhead nodded unaware, eyes fixed on the vending machine “Yeah! You haven’t heard about it before?”

“W-why should I? It’s stupid to think paranormal stuff like ghosts exists anyway.”

With a clank, both drinks finally fell. Taichi crouched down to retrieve them humming happily, handing one of them to the summer troupe leader and keeping one for himself.

“I don’t know man, it’s kind of cool!” he crossed his arms behind his head, resuming their walk and looked behind. “What about you, Juza-san? You seen anything?”

The purple-haired boy considered it lazily, but ultimately shook his head. He didn’t seem too interested in the conversation anyway, and Tenma was pretty sure the main thoughts running through his head were today’s melon bread from the cafeteria.

It had been a while since their Ouka-high group had been able to have lunch together.

“Did you see? That Sumeragi Tenma is back!”

“Gosh, he looks so handsome!”

“Wait- don’t push me!”

“I heard he’s going to be a possible cast in that famous saga-”

“Are you serious?”

Whispers and tiny squeals kept circling them as soon as they entered the boundaries of the canteen. And while Tenma barely notices it at first, he can definitely see Juza’s stance going more rigid and Taichi’s eyes glowing at the attention received.

“I’ll go get our lunch” the golden-eyed teen announces heading towards the queue, hands buried in his pockets. He motioned Tenma with his chin. “You wanted set B right, no carrots.”

“Uh? Well yeah, but I can-”

“S’okay, you two go find some seats” he shrugged, looking around. There weren’t many spaces to start with and he’d honestly prefer focus on the food rather than the stares. “It’d be difficult to keep ‘em free with just one person anyway.”

“Roger! Come on Ten-chan, let’s go!”

.

.

.

“Aw, man. Everyone has their eyes on you as usual!” Taichi looked around, still indulging himself with all the people that were staring at them, some more blatantly than others.

How he didn’t get bored of mentioning it every time Tenma didn’t know, though he was low-key grateful. Not many people enjoyed being part of those types of reactions from a crowd- Juza for example-. When they finally managed to find some empty seats, Taichi placed his own bento on the table visibly excited. Tenma frowned.

“Since when did you start preparing lunch by yourself?”

“Ah, this?” the redhead laughed proudly at his confused look “See, I’ve been practicing my cooking skills! Tsuzuru has been super cool teaching me how to prepare some dishes for my siblings- plus, I’m sure I’ll get the attention of girls if they see my new talent!”

“Right…”

Tenma couldn’t decide whether he should make a comment as he took a long, thoughtful sip from his own juice can. Taichi’s lunch was a side of string cheese, a broken omelet, and some semi-burnt rice and it just didn’t seem very tempting.

He ultimately chose to leave it aside. Omi would surely know soon enough.

“So, uh, Taichi.”

“Yeah?”

He coughed, leaving aside the can and resting his back on the chair nonchalantly. “N-not that I care about that rumor, but- where is that ghost supposed to be?”

“Ah, the one we talked about? Mmm…” the autumn member caressed his chin, closing his eyes in deep thought. “No one really knows. It’s been spotted in pretty much all parts of the school” Tenma’s stomach sank at that. “But I’ve heard it likes room 1001 for some reason, you know, from the old side of the school? No one really uses it anymore- guess it makes sense!”

The redhead took again the chopsticks and started digging on the rice carefree.

“R-right.”

Tenma shook his head. Cool. Great. Now he knew which side of the school he would never even try to approach at least.

“Tenma-kun!” a female voice, not familiar, made him jolt from his seat. When he looked up a girl followed by two others were are already making themselves comfortable on the chairs next to them- one of them even deciding to sit on the table. “Hi there!”

Third years.

"Hi” he repeated.

“We saw your appearance in that new series, it was unbelievable!”

“Are you going to be a recurring character there? I’d love if you could ask one of the leads to sign a shirt of mine!”

He simply showered them a practiced smile. He could already tell what type of fans they were. It wasn’t something out of the ordinary- people approaching him about his shows or to ask for favors- and honestly, it was better not entering in that dangerous territory. “Thanks. Nothing’s been said yet, that’d depend on the company. I’ll be counting on your future support.”

They instantly beamed at his reaction. “Of course!”

One of them clapped her hand together “That reminds me, when is your next performance in that theatre company you play? I so want to go see it again!”

“Ah, that will take a while. We just finished a month ago so next up is the autumn troupe” he motioned Taichi with his head, a proud, real smile featuring his face this time “These guys have been going all out, you won’t be disappointed.”

“O-of course!” the shortest Ouka high student practically jumped into the conversation. “If you all want, we could ask for a few tickets from our-!“

“But Tenma-kun is not in that troupe, right?” the girls looked at each other confused. As if it wouldn’t be something it’d cross their minds to do, had the child actor not participated before.

“W-well, no but…”

“Plus, the summer troupe is hilarious! I kinda prefer those types of performances, you know?”

“I totally get you!”

From his peripheral vision, Tenma could register Taichi’s face growing red- a strained smile before sitting back on his seat, not trying to add anything to the conversation anymore.

Smile. Remember to smile.

“…We all give our all on those performances, I don’t think it’s fair if you have just watched the summer troupe. You’ll definitely enjoy it if you give them the chance.”

“Really?”

“I mean… If Tenma-kun says so maybe we could go take a look.” one of them gave a chuckle, playing with their hair. “You think we could ask you to get us some tickets for-?”

“If you are not eatin’ you should leave.”

“Uh? Can’t you see we’re-” the sentence died in their lips as soon as they turned and encountered Juza. Not that he himself was proud of his reputation, but during these situations at the very least it paid to see they knew who he was.

“Move.”

The resulting glare was terrifying in its intensity, and the retreat took no longer than a few seconds. No one mentioned anything afterward- Juza’s calm and blank expression coming back as he sat down, handing the summer leader his lunch and squinting down at Taichi’s.

“What the hell are you eatin’.”

“Hehe it caught your attention too, right? You see…”

Tenma observed them. They were acting as if nothing had happened. Not so long ago people tended to stay away from him for those same reasons, so it still took him a few seconds to find the words again- For feeling this relieved at their reactions.

He left the chopsticks aside. “Sorry this... keeps happening."

They momentarily stopped the conversation, sharing a silent look before turning to the teen actor facing the table in awkwardness.

“I-It’s okay, Ten-chan! They would obviously be more interested in watching you than an unknown performance” Taichi laughs and scratches the back of his hair. He seemed to be fine- a bit uncomfortable, but fine. “Besides, that just means we have to work even harder to be recognized, right, Juza-san!”

“Yeah, don’t get stuck thinkin’ ‘bout it. We ain’t losin’ any time soon.”

“Anyway Juza-san, are you sure you’re okay with only melon bread and pudding for lunch? I can give you some of mine!”

Juza didn’t verbally answer Taichi’s offer, merely staring at the burnt rice being held in front of him with skepticism “…nah. I’m okay.”

Taichi frowned at his own food, tilting his head confused. A few seconds later, he gave it an ultimate shrug before going for one more bite, Juza doing the same with his own lunch. Tenma scoffed at the view, trying not to smile amusedly. The autumn troupe really was made out of beasts.

“If Sakyo-san saw what you two are eating he’d skin you alive, you know.”

“Why.”

“What do you mean why, Juza-san you can’t expect-“

"Ah, that reminds me!” Taichi suddenly rambled, mouth full of rice “We should totally go to the arcade before we head up to the dorm. I heard they have these new games that are supposed to be super exclusive!”

Tenma winced “Can’t. I have a meeting with my homeroom teacher after classes.”

The other two replied with a similar expression.

“I almost forgot you came from a big shootin’ and all. We’ve been seein' you in the dorm pretty much everyday.”

“Yeah! Geez I always say I envy you, but dealing with that after working must suck!”

“You tell me…”

Taichi shook his head, giving him both thumbs up “It’s okay, we can go another time. Good luck though!”

.

.

.

“You can sit here. I’ll go bring your work in a second and then we’ll talk.”

With a lazy look on his face, Tenma caught a glimpse of his own reflection from a trophy case- one of the few resting at the entrance of the teacher’s lounge. He had never paid attention to them before; Second prize in a football tournament, first prize in some races and a few diplomas regarding different competitions, nothing too special. Ouka high had never had the best score regarding academics, which is exactly why he was able to enter.

Igawa liked to insist it wasn’t entirely Tenma’s fault he had so many troubles keeping up with schoolwork though- well, not more than the usual of not being good at studying. No one actually knew how hard celebrity kids had to push themselves- at least that’s what his parent had said. On the other hand, they hadn’t really cared much more, so long the school allowed him to be flexible with his schedules.

School time was usually done while moving sets and camera changes. He and other kids and teens were at different levels of schooling most of the time, so the teacher was forced to divide their time. Honestly, one would be lucky to get 30 minutes of full tutoring.

Anyway, it was rotten work and even Tenma knew it. He also knew what his homeroom teacher thought about it, which is exactly why he couldn’t help himself raising his eyebrows concerned as he saw the pile of papers being drop over the desk.

“Is this a joke?”

“I know you’re busy, but there’s a minimum to do keep up with your classes and… general results.” the old man frowned scratching his grey four-days old beard. He clicked here and there at the computer, probably revising the latest results of the tests they had done.

He then leaned back on his chair, trying to find a comfortable position before his wrinkly eyes turned to him again. “I wish I could think of another way, but you are getting quite behind everyone, Sumeragi-kun. We’re worried.”

Well, it was not his fault he couldn’t remember all the information they gave him like a script. Was it really the solution giving him the same amount of work as his classmates with half the time?

Before he could open his mouth to complain, the man placed his hand on Tenma’s shoulder. It felt heavy. “I already talked with your manager. It seems you’ll be having a break for a month and a half just before finals and I’d like to help you. We can’t have one of the biggest faces of the school repeating a year, can we?”

Tenma’s jaw clenched. Of course, everything was always for Sumeragi Tenma the actor. Student Tenma could go drown himself.

“Here you’ll find some reinforcement materials I think will be good for you to do in school. Less time wasted while moving and I’ll be here in case you have any questions.”

His face twitched. That would mean he wouldn’t be able to ask for Tsumugi’s help or any of the adults back in Mankai. “I actually-”

“Suguro-sensei, Someone’s calling for you about tomorrow’s meeting!”

“Is it that time already... I’ll be right there in a second! In any case, I would suggest you go work on the library Sumeragi-kun.” the man got up, finishing that way their conversation. “It should be quiet enough, but if you see any students being too loud, give them a call.”

Tenma side-glanced again at his workload, groaning internally.

Just about his luck.

.

.

.

Twenty minutes walking.

How could such a big school not have a single sign to indicate where things were?

Squinting his eyes, Tenma looked both ways across the hall annoyed, his already short temper from before increasing. He was sure the library was two turns to the right, then left, and then up the stairs from the teachers’ lounge.

...or maybe it was a floor down now that he thought about it. Damn it. It wasn’t as if he had ever stepped inside that place, shouldn’t they make it more accessible for everyone?

“This sucks…”

It had been a while since he had seen other students or even teachers around, which also made him feel uneasy. He glanced down at the paperwork in his arms, gripping it tighter. He hoped no one would see him walking around like this.

Just where was the stupid library?

It wasn’t until Tenma decided to try entering inside any room that would allow him to work, that he found many were strangely closed. He was about to gave up when he finally saw the dusty word ‘library’ at the end of the corridor. Finally. With effort he managed to open the heavy door, immediately pinching his nose.

“Ugh, stinks.”

The person in charge of cleaning the school really did a worse job than Matsukawa- at least the man cleaned from time to time and organized stuff. The place was an absolute mess; boxes over the floor, piles of books on chairs and shelves full of documents and other various things he didn’t quite distinguish.

Leaving everything on the closest table Tenma sighed when he felt his arms relaxing without the weight. Frowning, he walked around the place, smelling a mix of dirt and old- even some shelves were full of dust. Really, how did a school like this had such a gross place to study? No wonder students didn’t try to come here.

He should have asked for permission to take his work back to Mankai. Less danger of someone noticing he was behind his studies and it becoming a gossip- or worse, finding he had been walking without an absolute clue for the last half hour.

Yeah, he had more options to pass the year with Tsumugi’s help rather than on his own. Just looking at the amount of work he had he was sure it’d-

The faint sound of walking steps brought him back from his thoughts freezing him on the spot- all his breath trapped. He hadn’t heard anyone since he entered, but it shouldn't be surprising to find others studying.

I’ve heard it likes room 1001 for some reason, you know, from the old side of the school? No one really uses it anymore- guess it makes sense!

Or it was probably the wind. The wind tends to make noises, Tenma reminded himself while swallowing with difficulty.

Was the air suddenly thick?

Crack!

He strained to hear, his heart pounding loudly. “I-Is anyone there?” the nerves made his voice come out higher than he had hoped.

More cracks and sounds of steps. He couldn't see anything yet.

His stomach turned as his breath became louder. This wasn't happening. Yup! It was his imagination. What was happening could not be real, because ghosts didn’t exist. “I-I’m not afraid, you know?!” he shouted, positioning himself on a fighting stance while carefully moving backward.

That’s right- Tenma wasn’t scared. He had just rested enough, with or without a ghost in the room, and it was about time to leave. Ignoring his sweaty palms and nodding once more to nothing in particular, he turned around at the same time a pair of eyes made contact with his.

The figure opened its mouth.

And Tenma proceeded to absolutely destroy his throat.

_________________________________________________

This took so long though I’m not even sure If they are around. If you are love, I apologize! I found a few walls writing-wise. So not entirely to say I made it longer to make up for it but on the other hand... maybe. Thank you so much for sending such a nice idea so I was able to make this, really hope you like it. 💕

I promise this is a reader insert lol thank you for reading!

Part 2 soon!

[creepyalienghost]

literature club

Warning: suicide

——

“Henry. Please join. You would love the literature club.” Wally begged his friend Henry, as they walked to their lockers. This year they were next to each other and for the pass month Wally’s been wanting Henry to join their little book club after school.

It wasn’t like Henry didn’t want to hang out with Wally, he did. They have been best friends since they were kids. He just wasn’t sure that was what he wanted to do. He was an artist not a book worm, Art was his thing.

But he didn’t like to see his friends sad and eventually he gave it to Wally’s request. “Alright Wally.” He replied opening his locker and getting his books for the next class, history. “I’ll come check it out today.”

“Yay!” Wally jumped around with happiness and a big smile across his face that Henry loves to see. “Thank you Henry! Meet me outside room 278 after school!”

Henry nodded. “Will do Wally.” He shuts his locker just as the bell rang. “See you then!” He said with a wave as they go there separate classes.

The school day drags on for hours but eventually 3 o’clock finally came and everyone rushed outta there classes, some to get home others to hurry to their clubs or sports. Henry searched for the room Wally told him to go and found it within minutes. Outside Wally was there waiting and when he saw him that big smile came. “Henry toy came!”

He nodded. “Of course! I never back down on my promise.”

“That’s true.” Wally replied. “Come on in! Meet the others! Sammy even brought cake today!”

Henry followed Wally inside the class room and was amazed at how it looked. It was a regular classroom with desk and all but they made it more cozy. They had a soft chair in the back corner for anyone to read on and there was soft yellow fairy lights hung up on the ceiling. Calm low music played from the radio next to the chocolate cake and drinks. A long bookshelf ran under the windows and quotes from different book lined the walls.

“It’s so...relaxing In here.” Henry stated looking around the room.

“Thank you kind stranger” said a tall brown haired boy walking up. “You must be Wally’s friend, Henry. Welcome to the literature club. I’m Joey.”

Henry nodded in response. “I am. And thank you Joey! It actually looks fun! What all do y’all do here?”

Joey prompted himself on a desk before answering. “We read books of all kind. Horror, poetry, the classics. He decide on something and read that.” He paused for a minute before continuing. “We also right short stories and poems.”

Henry nodded while listening. “That sounds fun but I don’t think I can write poems.” He chuckled.

“Nonsense.” Joey chuckled with him, waving his head away. “It’s easy! If you join I’ll teach you how to write poetry.”

“Really?” Henry ask, feeling a bit excited to learn something new.

“Of course!” Joey nodded. “My mother taught me when I was young. Now I’m teaching these boys.” Joey gestures to the other boys.

Henry accepted his offer. “Yeah. Alright. I’ll join!”

Joey smiled in excitement. “That’s great! We should celebrate! Good thing Sammy brought cake!” He announced. “Come. Meet the other two!” He wrapped his arm around Henry leading him to the table where the others were heading.

Henry sat down next to Wally as Joey handed out pieces of cake and drinks. That hour he got to know the the three more better. Joey was the leader and starter of the club. He love to read the classic books like, to kill Mockingjay, and enjoyed writing about love. Jack was quite opposite from him. He loved reading manga and climes that it is literature. His favorite being the promised Neverland. The last boy, Sammy was the shortest out of all of them. His thing was dark and creepy literature. Anything Edgar Allan Poe he loved. Henry also found out Wally’s favorite books were funny books. Anything that would make you laugh in tears he would read and Henry found that suited his friend.

——

After school the next day Henry headed in the club a bit early. Sammy and Joey were already there and were talking before he came in. “Hello Henry!” Joey called out when he saw Henry, heading to him. Sammy smiled and waved before going to his book.

“Hello Joey! Hey Sammy!” He replied happily.

Joey sits upon the near by desk, facing Henry. “You ready for today’s activity? I thought it would be fun for the group!”

Henry nodded. “I am! I can’t wait to hear what it is!” He said just as the other two arrived.

Joey chuckled in response. “In do time Henry! Until then you can hang out with whoever for a bit. Hell these two just joined us! Welcome boys” he left Henry, going over to Wally and jack to greet.

Henry glances back at Sammy and noticed he had been watching them and he quickly turned back to his book once He looked at him. Henry thought he must be a bit shy for Conversation so he turned to Wally and jack. Wally was hanging out with Joey and jack was reading a comic book. He went over and sat next to jack. “Hey. What comic you ready?”

Jack shook his head. “It’s not a comic book, it’s manga!” He informed Henry. “Have you ever read one?”

“I haven’t.” Henry shook his head. “What is a manga?”

“You don’t know?” He chuckled. “Ah Henry you have lots to learn!” He added before tapping the chair next to him. “come. sit. I’ll teach you.”

Henry sat next to jack as he began talking about all he knew on manga. Henry didn’t interrupt he sat there listening to everything this excited boy to say. He was learning quite a lot about it as time went on. Like where it came from and what was the latest issues of the popular manga. Henry noted some titles he should pick up so they both could read them together.

Time quickly flew by and the hour was almost at a closed. Joey dedicated the last quarter for reading the poems so he left Wally to stand at front. “Alright boys. It’s time to share our poems.” He announced before turning to the newest member. “Henry you can sit this one out and listen to the others today.” Henry nodded in response giving the ok for Joey to continue. “Alrighty. Who wants to read theirs today?”

“I will!” Called out Sammy standing up and grabbing his poem then heading up to the front as Joey sat back down. He held up the poem and cleared his throat. “My poem is called hands”

The hands around, allow me to see

Show me things only they want me to see

The hands around, allow to speak

Using my voice as theres

The hands around, hold me in place

Guide me to one place to another

The hands around, pull the strings

And I can not escape

“Vary good Sammy!” Joey said while the others boys snapped their fingers. Sammy Smiled and headed back to his seat. “Is there anyone else that wants to read there’s?” Joey ask and waited. There was no takers today for anymore reading. “Alrighty boys. I hope to hear from y’all tomorrow. Club Dismiss.”

As Henry grabbed his bag Joey came over. “Hey Henry. Do you wanna go to the bookstore? I can recommend you some easy poetry books?”

“Sure!” Henry smiled with a nod. “That would be cool. Thanks!” He and Joey walked out of the room heading for the book store. Sammy and jack looked at wally before he signed and left on his on.

——-

During brakes in classes he read a few pages of his new poetry book. Joey had helped him pick out one for beginners which has a little of all kinds of topics to figure out what was your style. Love, light, happiness sadness, funny, horror and dark. Henry seemed to be most interested in the poems about happiness and love. He was excited to talk about poetry with Joey, Wally and the boys in the club as well as read his poem today.

When he arrived in the room after school Joey was the only one there at the point, getting the club sit up, Cleaning and fixing the desk back. “Hey Henry!” He greeted as Henry came in. “How’s the book?”

Henry waved at him as he walked up. “Hi Joey! And the book is lovely!” He smiled as he helped him with the table. “I quite enjoy happy rain and pink so fair. There really fun to read!”

Joey chuckled. “That’s great! I’m glad you found you style Henry!” He replied as he started sanitizing the food table.

“Thanks man. I wouldn’t have if it won’t for you Henry.” Henry praised Joey.

Joey smiled with pride. “Aww thank

You Henry.” He replied.

Henry nodded at Joey Just as the rest of the boys joined them. “Hey! There they are!” Joey announced happily . “Hia boys!”

After everyone greeted each other and got settled down with there books, Henry decided to read with Sammy today. He spotted him setting in the comfy chair next to the window. It was storming outside and judging by his book title, it was the right kind of weather for it. Henry pulled up a chair from the desk near by and sat next to him. “Hi Sammy. Hope you don’t mind if I read with you today.”

Sammy looked up from his book and shook his hand. “N-no. Not at all.” A small kind smile spread across his face. “I’m not sure if you’d like my kind of reading through. It’s dark poetry.”

“Oh really?” Henry replied. “That’s alright. I might enjoy it.” He said giving a smile back.

“Well. Alright.” The boy nodded and opened his book up to the first page to a poem called darkness. While Henry scooted his chair closer.

The two of them sat beside one another and silently reading each page as the storm raged outside. There was a lot of emotional and death related poems as well as depression and anxiety. Henry had question himself if he needed help but didn’t wanna asked. Besides the boy seemed happy every time he seen him so maybe it was just interesting to Sammy.

However when Sammy turn the page after reading a while his sleeve slipped down revealing a deep burn, making Henry worried. “Are you alright Sammy?” He ask looking up at him. “What happened?!”

“Uh. Y-yea...” Sammy calmly rolled his sleeve back up while nodded. “It j-just a cooking accident last night. Don’t worry..” he replied with a slight chuckle.

Henry nodded believe him. After all cooking does lead to accident. “Alright. But you might need to bandage that later.” He smiled.

“Thanks. Will do.” Sammy nodded. They both went back to reading the poetry book, Sammy only glancing up once to find Joey staring at him form across the room for a moment before returning to his book. Sammy didn’t dare to look again for the night.

Soon the last quarter of the club arrives and the boys made there way to the front role desks. “Alright boys. Today I want Henry to come forward and share his poem.” Joey replied. “Don’t be shy Henry, we all had our first time.”

Henry came up to the front with his poem ready to share. He’s been waiting for hours for this and now it was his time to shine. He held up his poem and reads it.

I look out in the night

To see a bright shining star above.

I wish upon that star

Things I wish to become.

That star with guide me to

places that I wanna be.

And one day I’ll find that

The whole time the star has been me.

The boys have a round of applause for Henry’s first poem as tradition in the club. Henry smiled confidently as he walked over to Joey. “I’m impress Henry! Vary excellent, for the first time!” Joey commented. “Soon you’d became a natural!”

“Thanks Joey. You are a good teacher.” Henry beamed.

Joey blushed. “Aww thanks Henry.” He chuckled. “Alright guys. Club meeting over. See you tomorrow!” He announced to the others

Wally gathered his two books and bag from the desk in the back then headed to his friend. “Hey Henry. Do you want to head over to the arcade?”

Henry frowns as his friend. “Sorry Wally. I would but I already made plans with Joey for tonight. We can tomorrow though!” He replied.

Wally nodded with a wide smile on his face. “Of course! That sounds awesome!”

“Cool” Henry nodded. “See you tomorrow”

Wally frowns watching his friend leave with that monster he know trusts, as jack and Sammy came up to him. He looked over at them and sadly sighed. Jack gives Wally a hug. None off the boys said anything. They didn’t have to. They knew each other’s pain. They knew there plan wasn’t working. Henry wasn’t noticing the signs even when Sammy purposely showed a big one. Eventually the three left the classroom and went to there homes for the night alone.

——-

Last night had been fun! Joey had taken Henry to poetry slam. Together they watched as people came and read there poems in front of an audience. Some good, some bad. Some short, some long. Some about happy times, others about horror. Henry was enjoying his time with Joey and the boys. He was actually really happy that Wally begged him to join. It turned out great and he couldn’t wait to tell talk to him.

However when Henry walked though the door the vibe was a bit different. Sammy, jack and Wally were in the back of the room talking quietly to each other about something Henry didn’t know. When they all

Saw Henry standing there they all welcome home. “Hello Henry!” Wally was the first. He jumped off the desk with a big smile, walking over and given a hug.

Henry, feeling better then a second ago, hugged back. “Hey Wally! Sorry I couldn’t hang out last night. We will tonight though.”

Wally nodded eagerly. “Great! I can’t wait. We could go to the movies to see one of the new ones showing! Or we could go to the park! Or the arcade?” He listed off things to do, happily

Henry chuckled and nodded. “Ya! We can! You can choose where we go!”

Wally nodded as Joey came in. Everyone then gathered there books there on and choose a comfy spot to read at today. Henry decided to buddy read with Wally today. Another chance to be with his best friend. Wally was on the the couch and reading a book that looks like it was funny. “Can I read with you today?”

Wally looked up and nodded. “Of course you can!” He replied and scooted over for Henry to sit then patted the space. “Come sit.”

Henry did indeed sit down beside him, getting comfortable. After he was settled he looked at his friend and asked. “So what’s the book about?”

“It’s about this guys Journey in a wacky world. There’s all certs of funny things about the world and it’s people.” Wally answered him. “It’s one of my favorite books.”

Henry nodded. “That wonderful to hear. What page your own?

“Oh I’m on page 208 but we can start from the beginning.” Wally smiled and opened the book to the first page. Wally read quietly out loud as Henry followed along. He found himself enjoying the characters the best as they read together. His favorite became a purple man who helped the main character in his Journey.

As always Joey was on time with the last quarter of the club. He got to the front and ask for volunteers. This time jack wanted to read his. Jack got his notebook and flipped to the latest poem he had written. “Alright. This ones called The field.”

In my dreams I see a field.

One so beautiful. One so elegant.

It’s golden sunlight like rays spread across

No darkness can be found.

In my dreams I see a field

Surrounded by friends

Happy as ever

No sadness can be felt.

In my dreams I see a field

Laugher is the only thing to hear

Peace all around

No cries can be herd.

Jack finishes and bows as the others snapped their fingers. He went back to his sit as Joey took his place up front. “Nice job jack! Your getting better!” He replied before turning his attention to the rest. “Alright before we go I have an announcement.” He waited for a moment before continuing. “As you all know the festival is this weekend. I think we should give it a shoot and try to bring more people to our club for once, like the others.”

“Oh! That would be fun!” Wally agreed. “I second that!” Sammy jack and Henry agreed as well.

“Alright guys. I can make the pamphlet but I’m no good with designing them. Wally want to help me?”

“Sure!” Wally nodded happily. “We can start it tonight after hanging out with Henry.”

Joey nodded. “ perfect.” Joey looked at jack and Sammy. “I think we should have a banner as well as treats for the other students.”

“I’ll make the treats!” Sammy suggest.

Jack nodded. “I’ll take care of the banner.”

Joey smiled. “Thanks you guys.” He looked at Henry last. “You can choose who you want to help with.”

Henry turn his attention to jack and Henry. He has to decide who to help. Sammy with the treats or jack with the banner. After some thought he turn to jack. “ I’ll help with the banner.”

Jack nodded and Exchanged their Numbles for later. Once all roles were settled each one began to leave. Henry and Wally left with each other as planned. Joey left after getting belongings, giving a warning glare to jack on the way out, and jack left with Sammy after they cleared up the room.

—————

The next morning, Henry woke up like Normal and started getting ready for school. As he got ready he was reminded of his and Wally’s time together and how he got the sense Wally was off. He had looked and sounded happy but it was like there was sadness. He asked Wally about it the night before and Wally told him he was good. He didn’t bother him again on it that night but was still worried.

Henry grabbed his phone and decided to call him but he didn’t answer. He wasn’t to worried by this as Wally liked to sleep in a bit longer. He’ll meet him outside and everything will be all good. Henry continued getting ready for the day. He got dressed, ate some breakfast then brushed his teeth and headed out to there meeting spot.

There was no signs of Wally as he arrived which was also normal behavior of Wally. Henry decided to read some of his book as he waited and pulled it out, flipping to the page he was on.

He got lost in the book and read longer then he thought. Almost half an hour has gone by with no Wally showing up. This was strange. Wally would have call him if he was sick or not going to school. He would’ve been here if he was. Something was off.

Henry headed to Wally’s house and knocked on the door then waiting. No one came to the door so he tried again meeting with the same results. He turned the noob to see if it was unlocked and sure enough it was. “Wally?” He called out opening the door. There was no answer in the dark house making his stomach to knot up. He walked deeper in the house, calling out again. “Wally? Are you home?” And again no answer. He got to the bottom of of the stairs and looked up calling one more time with no answer.

He claimed up the stairs and approached Wally’s bedroom, knowing on the door. “Wally it’s me, Henry. Are you in here?” He ask pressing his ear to the door. After a long moment with no answer he opened the door only to find a Horrible seen.

His friend...his best friend was hanging from a noose. His desk chair kicked away from him. Wally’s skin was a pale blue grayish color and there was no light in his eyes.

Henry was frozen in place there, unable to look away from his friends corpse. He felt cold tears pour down his cheeks but he couldn’t acknowledge them. It felt like his would just got turn upside. “N-no...” he finally spoke after a long while of Silence. “Wally....” he said then fell on his knees and sobbed in his hands.

Once the shock was gone and he was numb he pulled out his phone to call for an ambulance. It took 20 minutes for them to arrived there and was taking out of the house for them to take down the body. Henry watched them carry his friend out in a body back and loaded in the back of an ambulance, driving away soon after.

He went back to his own house after answering questions and sat on his bed. He didn’t feel like going to school today. He didn’t feel like doing anything today after that. But it wasn’t long before his phone rang. He looked at it and saw it was jack. He didn’t want to answer but he did. “ y-yea..?”

“He-hey Henry.” Jack spoke sounding nervous” I herd what happened...it’s so sad..” he said.

Henry was suspicious of this. How would Jack know if he was at school and why was he sounded so scared. “Jack how do you know..?” He ask.

Jack went silent for a long moment before speaking quickly into the phone. “Henry, Joeys not a good person!” Right then his phone hung up on Henry.

“Hello?” Henry asked. “Jack you there?” After no answer he tried to call him back a few times but couldn’t get a hold of him again. After the fourth try he gave up and wondered what he was taking about. He laid back in his bed in thought staring at the ceiling. He let his mind wonder in memories of him and Wally. The first time they meet, there times at the fair and the last movie they seen.

His thoughts got interrupted again with another phone call, But not jack. It was Sammy. “Hello?” He said once he answered. He immediately herd crying from the other end

“Henry..” Sammy said after taking a moment to calm himself down. “I-I need to tell you s-something...but first I n-need you to p-promise me you will believe me..” he ask sounding desperate.

Henry was so confused and didn’t want to deal with anything more today. But the boy started scared and Henry could swear he herd pounding on a door on Sammy’s end. “Yea I promise Sam. What’s going on.” He ask sitting up.

“It’s Joey...” He told, sniffling fight after. “Joey isn’t a kind person...”

[effymaybe]

Once you get a taste

Pairing: Jennie x Rosé

Prompt: Rosé whispers a secret Jennie finds herself quite interested in. Under the weight of soft music, dim lights, and a few glasses of soju, the groupmates get to know each other better.

Warnings: Slight mature content

(cr: pinterest)

“…And the guy asked me to jump. In the middle of the photoshoot. In eight-inch heels. Wearing jewelry four men with surgical gloves had just put around my neck as it was, I don’t know, made of crystal or something. I swear I don’t know who looked at the photographer with the most ‘fuck no’ expression: me or them”.

Jennie chuckles vividly, titling her head back in a sharp motion.

Slightly tipsy Rosé is always a wonder.

They are celebrating their first free day after long months of work in the dorm, just the two of them. Lisa had taken advantage of the relieving weekend to see her parents and Jisoo had done exactly the same, eager to spend time with her nephew to teach him invaluable lessons, she had claimed. Jennie had wondered faintly whether she was talking about true values or some secret curse words, and she had quickly decided that her friend intended to do both.

The big house seemed somehow empty without the loudest members, but Rosé’s casual singing and their short conversations, the ones that have flowed between them swiftly since the moment they met, were enough for the upbeat atmosphere of the place to remain strong.

Their recent success was of course of great help. The boost they received both from fans and critics gave the group a warm shower of confidence that made their smiles grow larger still every now and then. They worked hard, and their efforts did not get wasted.

That is the reason, mainly, why Jennie and Rosé are currently sitting on a soft mattress on the floor, soju glasses filling and emptying on the sturdy coffee table just in front of them, both girls laughing openly at shared stories that make their chests spurt affection.

“So, did you jump?” Jennie asks then, happy tears prickling at the corner of her sharp eyes, leaning forward intentionally and letting her shoulder bump against her groupmate’s.

“Fuck no, I- don’t laugh! It was difficult!”

Jennie breaks out laughing again, squeezing the glass she’s holding on her left hand and using the other to grasp Rosé’s arm as if to anchor herself. The silver-haired girl follows suit, sharing the shortest girl’s pure excitement, somewhat glad to be the source of such demonstration of contentment.

“God. I would’ve loved to be there. Remind me to go with you to your next photoshoot”.

Rosé keeps smiling, now her expressive eyes growing softer.

“I will”.

There is a moment of comfortable silence filled by the deep beat of a slow, electric song. The girls have decided to give in their indie cravings just half an hour ago, and now the chosen playlist is serving as an enjoyable background for their encounter.

“I like that”, Rosé comments softly, turning her head up to stare at the thousand colorful dots tracing patterns on the ceiling.

“A fan gift. One of my favorites. I use it when I can’t sleep”.

The silver-haired girl admires the light for a while longer, feeling a fuzzy sensation crawling up in her stomach.

She feels so, so fitting.

She turns around to talk to her friend, and she is kind of surprised to find the brunette her staring mutely into her eyes. Jennie’s cat-like stare burns somehow, caressing her features tenderly.

Something flashes in her coffee gaze, a bright emotion that catches Rosé out of guard, like a soft pang making her heartbeat pick up.

Just as it comes, it leaves quickly, and Jennie smiles lazily again.

“You have your own galaxy”, Rosé jokes weakly, then, rushing to drown the soju that still waits in her cup.

The shortest girl lets her hand run through her own silky dark locks still grinning, almost as if for herself, and reaching forward to catch the definitely too expensive bottle in front of her, she turns towards her friend almost as if on the verge of revealing a secret.

“It’s ours, now. Isn’t it, Rosie?”

Rosé might have as well chocked on her spit only by hearing Jennie’s low voice, but now, with alcohol dancing daringly through her veins, she merely blushes slightly before giggling in sudden joy.

“True”. The blonde watches Jennie’s delicate hands refilling both their glasses with a delicacy she firmly believes can only be inherited, and then lets her ears catch on the soft tune vibrating from the speakers. “How are you, by the way? I’m surprised you didn’t want to say home tonight”.

With home Rosé means home home, as in her mother’s home, and Jennie seems to understand perfectly.

“It seemed just right to stay here. I prefer it, sometimes. It’s familiar, too”.

The silver-haired hums in agreement, letting bold liquid run hot through her throat. “Me too. I love my parents, but this also feels right. After all we went through… well…” she looks down at her glass and then lets her coffee gaze meet Jennie’s intense stare. “I don’t know. I like spending time with you”.

“Almost like sisters…” Jennie comments, but her voice comes out a bit too breathy to appear certain. It’s more like a question, exploring, like her hand inching closer Rose’s thigh.

The tallest girl licks her lips unintentionally, her body sinking deeper against the feet of the couch.

“Yes, but… Not quite, really”, there is a tense pause, and Rosé can almost hear the faint beat growing deeper, “right”?

Jennie hums in a sound that comes closer to a purr and finally lets her fingertips press against Rose´s exposed skin.

The tallest girl suppresses a surprising shiver as she wonders whether she should have worn a longer dress.

Or a shorter one.

“Not quite”, the brunette agrees, still staring at her friend with a sparkling stare.

Rosé swallows, feeling a hot flush heating up her neck, and rushes to drink a bit more of the transparent beverage already making her limbs feel lighter.

There is no way, Rosé. Come on. This is fucking Jennie, dam it.

There is another pause. The dim lights change slowly, creating another pattern that becomes bluish. Jennie inhales deeply, feeling pleasantly warm, the fabric of her simple white shirt sticking against her collarbones, and she takes another sip before analyzing her friend’s features again.

Gorgeous, she thinks, and lets her fingers caress a bit more of the tender skin of her thigh.

“Do you miss Australia, Rosie?”

The silver-haired girl tilts her head as if pulled away from her own thoughts. She looks at Jennie with pensive eyes and a cute pout drawing on her reddened lips.

“A bit… some things”, she whispers.

Jennie catches the sound of one of her favorite songs. Rose’s scent flowery grows somehow stronger, dazzling.

“Like what?” the brunette asks.

Rosé squirms almost imperceptibly. A thought, an unwanted one crosses her mind immediately. She scrunches her nose in an attempt to put it away, to find a reasonable answer to Jennie’s enquiries, but the soju has already started to occupy her mind with a pleasant yet undefeatable mist.

“Oh... Uh- the climate”, she blurts out, putting a strand of hair behind her ear in a nervous gesture.

The shortest girl licks her lips as her sharp gaze turns predatory. She tries to soften the immediate smirk that reaches her mouth, observing as Rosé twitches in her place with terribly concealed nervousness.

“Oh, come on. You must miss something else. A country with such different culture… I’m sure there’s a call burning inside you. Tell me”, she speaks softly, trying to keep her tone light, “I can keep a secret”.

The silver-haired girl lets her wide gaze fall on her friend’s calm expression, trying to ignore the sneaky fingers caressing up her upper thigh.

There is something that she has been missing, definitely. Something she was never courageous enough to bring up. Something that she has buried deep in the back of her mind to keep it there until her career is secure enough.

But Jennie’s cat eyes are still tracing her features in affectionate patience, and her nails are now scratching circles in her waist. She feels light, slightly dizzy, with alcohol warming up her cheeks comfortably. The night is stiffy and the bright shapes on the ceiling are so beautiful that she feels as if secluded, safe in the refugee they created whilst breaking in giggles.

She considers that she can trust Jennie. There is very little she has heard the brunette judging other people for.

“I”, she starts with a cough, “There is something. Back in Australia, when I was still a teenager I had this… friend. Female friend”.

Jennie hums as pure amusement begins to dance in her stare.

“We would… you know. Just… explore… each other”.

“Oh”, the brunette murmurs, and Rosé turns to face her eyes in a mixture of embarrassment and fear. The fingertips caressing her waist move to her left hipbone. It feels nice.

Jennie’s expression, rather than showing disgust, drips interest as she tilts her head softly. When her light-brown hair falls onto her shoulder, the pale expanse of her neck is displayed like a prize. The tallest girl needs to remind herself that she doesn’t do it in purpose.

“Yeah. It was… fun”

The brunette snorts lightly. Rosé sips onto her glass once again.

“I bet it was, darling. I thought you were a church girl, though”.

Rosé, suddenly animated both by her friend’s heady voice and the liquid burning through her veins breaks in a slow smirk.

Jennie licks her lips again, gazing into enticing red.

“Yeah… where do you think I met her?”

Jennie gasps slightly before letting out a surprised chuckle. It sounds deep and satisfied, and it mixes perfectly with the slow beat playing in the room.

“My, my, Rosie. Aren’t you… risky?”

Rosé shrugs, smiling in sudden pride. She feels Jennie’s hand twitching against her hips, so she decides to caress the length of her arm in return.

“I don’t know. It was quite natural. Then I got here and… well. It’s not like I could continue”.

There is a moment of silence that, although not uncomfortable, is suddenly charged with a shift in the air. It gets hotter. The lights turn red and purple. Rosé’s heartbeat starts to gain speed against her chest, as now unrepressed memories of  playtime hours with her childhood friend swirl in her hazy mind.

“So you’ve never made out with any of the other trainees back when we were living all together?”

Rosé stares at Jennie almost as if confused. Her blunt nails trace the path marked by the brunette’s veins. She feels the way her touch raises goosebumps.

“Huh, no… did… you?”

Jennie’s eyes burn into Rose’s coffee stare.

“No. As a matter of fact…” she is showing off that damn smirk and the tallest girl can barely hold it together, “I’ve never kissed a girl. I’m curious”.

Rosé makes an effort not to squeeze her thighs together. She sees how Jennie’s pupils grow darker, wider, more cat-like than ever. She is enjoying herself openly; everything from her bold body language and the way her fingers run through her friend’s inner thighs makes wild desire bloom in the silver-haired girl’s stomach.

In any other situation, Rosé would be blushing madly, making her way out of the room hastily.

At that moment, with the heavy atmosphere attaching hypnotically against her skin, she decides that she might as well give Jennie what she seems to be asking for.

“Oh, it’s wonderful”, she plays, smothering her voice in a very appetizing tone, “soft and sexy. Very feminine”, she lets the warm pads of her touch run up her friend’s arms, sliding across her pointy shoulders.

“Rosie…” Jennie answers breathily, shinning with her pulse running high, “Shouldn’t you share with your unnie some of your vast knowledge? Seems only fair…”

She inches closer to her friend, her face tilted captivatingly, already letting her gaze fix on the tallest girl’s lips.

“Unnie, of course”, Rosé answers, and lets her worries drown in the alcohol blazing her blood, “Anything you’d like”.

And just like that, Jennie leans forwards to catch Rosé’s open mouth in a deep kiss.

It is immediately heated. The tallest girl’s warm, ragged breath invades the brunette’s space like a spell. A firm hand grasping her neck keeps her in place, and a slim arm wraps around her waist urgently.

In response, Jennie feels her own pulse palpitating against her eardrums. She lets her hand caress her friend’s collarbones before sliding them into her rich silver hair when the tallest girl angles her jaw differently.

The lights grow darker in a blissful moment and the brunette finds herself being guided by Rosés insistent indents. Her thighs come to trap Rose’s as she seeks comfort on the tallest girl’s lap. When the silver-haired girl sucks lightly on her lower lip, Jennie grinds down instinctively, a mewl-like sound bursting from her throat.

They both know that they should be thinking about their current situation further. It’s a thought shadowing the very, very back of their hazy minds, but it’s difficult to give it presence when the warmth of their bodies grows steadily in a boost of pure want.

Jennie has to gasp when Rosés plump lips descend lower, grazing her cheek, her chin, her jaw. Her fingers tangle in soft blonde hair as she tilts her head up to grant her more access, asking her silently to comply with the deep desire that has just born low in her stomach.

Rosé does not need to be told twice. She runs her mouth down her friend’s throat, delighting in her expensive scent, running blunt nails through luscious thighs.

“Oh”, Jennie murmurs, and it’s enough for the blonde’s foggy mind to find some clearance.

She pulls away almost as if terrified, her movements put into a halt. She feels the tickles of panic and slight shame heating up her cheeks.

In exchange, the brunette opens her eyes lazily, revealing a stern expression behind her sharp eyes, her mouth curling downwards in visible annoyance.

Rosé is about to beg for forgiveness, but Jennie speaks first.

“What’s going on?” she asks, her hand pressing against the tallest girl’s nape, “Thought you were going to be my teacher”, she adds then, her voice searching for a lower, much more suggestive tone.

It takes the blonde two seconds to catch on with the reality that Jennie wants this, too. Very much so, given by the way her hips grind down again, almost as if on their own accord.

Rosé smiles, then, slow, and dangerous, feeling the last shreds of the self-control she was so desperately holding into getting looser in her chest. Her hands inch forwards, nails slipping under the hem of the brunette’s shorts. She looks up at her with an analyzing stare, delighting on Jennie’s compliant expression.

“Well, of course”, she answers, her words coming breathier as her wide eyes reflect a playful darkness, “but I must warn you, this might be a long lesson, unnie”.

Jennie finds herself chuckling lowly, closing her eyes as Rosé’s teeth run just sharp enough against her shoulder.

“Of course”, she lets out, and forces herself to choke a whining sound when the blonde tongues her stuttering pulse point, “I’ll be a good student”.

Rosé just smiles widely before pulling the shortest girl down for another toe-curling kiss.

Jennie turns out to be quite a brilliant student, indeed.

[underoosweb]

5 More Minutes Ch.1

No warnings: Bold italics are thoughts/ Italics are dreams

BuckyxOC!

8.5k words

Serenity laughed, watching her cousin deny she was drunk and now she is currently dancing, singing Lick it in front of her whole family. She looked around watching everyone laugh, it was their uncle’s birthday, everyone had been drinking.

“Come on Tia! Sing it!” Her cousin yelled into the microphone

“MY NECK MY BACK LICK MY!” Everyone's attention turned to their aunt, she turned bright red, covering her face from embarrassment, their uncle staring at his wife laughing. 

“Come on Tia! Sing it to him!” her cousin yelled, everyone stared as their aunt recovered from embarrassment, facing her husband and wiggling her finger for him to come over and everyone laughed. Everyone filmed the whole interaction and then she changed the song.

“THIS SONG GOES OUT TO MY TIO!” the familiar melody filled Serenity’s ears.

“ONE TIME FOR THE BIRTHDAY BITCH, TWO TIMES..” Everyone laughed again, her uncle shook his head and laughed. Her cousin sang her heart out

“And she said she wasn’t drunk.” Serenity turned to her other cousin

“Well 5 jello shots and 5 tequila shots will do that.” she laughed and her cousin nodded

“How many have you had?”

Serenity looked at her cup 

“Your sister gave me a cup of vodka and fruit punch about an hour ago and I’m only about a quarter in, pretty sure she’s going to be yelling at me for not drinking it faster.”

“Probably. Is it not good?”

“It’s alright, just don’t want to wake up hungover.”

“True.” Serenity took another sip of her drink, she watched as all her family members laughed, drank, and told stories about their younger days. She and only 2 of her cousins were around the same age and everyone else was either older or younger than them. She mostly grew up on her own, played on her own, she didn’t become close to her cousins till she turned 21. The sun continued to roll down and she was only halfway done with her drink

“Do you want another one?” 

“I still have half.”

“Damn, so slow. Drink up, girl.” Her cousin laughed, teasing her, Serenity smiled small

“I’m not much of a drinker…” she muttered to herself after her cousin turned her attention to someone else. She sighed and continued her conversation with her younger cousin. It was late and they still hadn’t cut the cake. Serenity looked around 

“I’m going to the restroom.” Her cousin nodded, she walked through the house and into the restroom, staring into the mirror, fixing her makeup, and walking into her cousin’s room. She grabbed her bag and walked back into the backyard just in time for them to sing happy birthday to her uncle

“I’m gonna leave after this.” She whispered to her cousin

“Already?”

“Yeah, I have an early day tomorrow.”

“Alright.” She hugged everyone and bid them goodbye. Blasting her music in the 20-minute car ride home, she sang her lungs out. Completely exhausted, putting on a marvel movie for background noise, her eyes fluttering shut and falling into a deep slumber. 

“Sometimes I think you like getting hit.” Bucky smiled at his friend helping him off the ground

“I had it covered.”

“Sure,”

“You got your orders?”

“ The one-o-seventh. Sergeant James Barnes. Shipping out for England first thing tomorrow.”

“I should get going.”

“Come on, it’s my last night here. We gotta celebrate.”

Steve was having a long day, he wanted nothing more than just going home, but Bucky decided to drag him to the Stark Expo.

“There are 3 and half-million women here.”

“Yeah, I’d settle for one.” Bucky smiled

“Well, it’s a good thing I took care of that for you.” He nodded towards the girls standing in front of the statue

“Hey Bucky!” the brunette waved, Steve looked at Bucky slightly annoyed for not giving him a fair warning

“What’d you tell her about me?’ He ran his fingers through his hair

“All the good stuff.” Bucky smiled

Steve quietly walked behind the group, eating his popcorn. He looked around

“It’s starting!” Bucky’s brunette friend said in excitement, dragging Bucky to the front of the crowd while Steve followed behind. Applause rang through the expo

“Ladies and Gentlemen Mr. Howard Stark.”

Steve offered popcorn to the blonde girl he was supposed to be on the date with, she stared at him and scoffed, turning her attention forward. Serenity furrowed her brows, why was everything so loud?

“Ladies and gentlemen, what if I told you in just a short few years Your automobile won't even have to touch the ground at all?”

Gasps could be heard throughout the crowd, Serenity covered her ears, it’s too loud.

“With Stark reversion technology you'll be able to do just that” Everyone stared in awe when the car started to lift off the ground, then came a loud bang. Serenity jumped awake, still drowsy, looking around, this wasn’t her living room. Lifting herself slightly off the ground, a car with no wheels sat in front of her.

“Well, I did say a few years.” Everyone in the crowd laughed and applauded

“What the fu…” She whispered to herself, one of the showgirls who was standing on the side of the stage stared at her, she felt someone’s eyes on her, she turned to meet crystal clear blue eyes

“Where? Who? What the fuck is happening?” The girl’s eyes flickered back to Howard, he met her eyes and he moved his head to see Serenity in the shortest short’s and an off-the-shoulder top. Her eyes widened in shock,

“No fucking way,”

“Who are you?” Howard asked, the showgirl ran up to her and stood her up, she looked around the crowd

“What in the world are you wearing? You’re showing too much.” Serenity narrowed her eyes

“I’m showing too much?”

“I’m wearing a stage outfit.” Serenity continued to scan the crowd when she heard a familiar melody play over the speakers

“That’s… that’s not possible.”

“You need to follow me.” Serenity turned and grabbed onto the showgirl's wrist.

“Let me go.”

“I can’t”

“I said, let.me.go.now!” she twisted the girl’s wrist, she screamed in pain

“Security!” She turned her head towards Howard

“No!” She ran towards the front of the stage, looking around for an opening to run. She met another pair of crystal blue eyes. Steve looked at the girl, she looked terrified and confused, she was staring at Bucky, another girl?

“Someone, you know?”

Bucky shook his head “No.”

“Bucky?” She said with a shaky breath, then her eyes met Steve’s

“Steve?” Bucky turned to Steve

“Someone, you know?”

“No.” 

Serenity turned back around, Stark was standing there a device in his hand. She checked her back pockets. Her phone.

“Shit.” Serenity took a step towards Stark, he held the phone back

“Give it back.” out of the corner of her eyes she noticed men in black making their way towards her.

“Fuck.”

Everyone stared at the stage confused

“What in the world is she wearing?”

“She’s dressed like a floozy.”  She turned back

“I think she heard.”

“Out of all the things I have to do, it's to run and I hate running.” Serenity jumped off the stage, trying to catch herself, she tripped over her feet

“Damn it,” She stood in front of Bucky and froze, wow the movies didn’t do him justice, then her eyes flickered to Steve, she smiled and winked at him. She watched as his face turned red.

“HEY, SOLDIER! GRAB HER!” That was her cue to go. She did hate running and with Stark’s security and maybe even Bucky running after her, she could care less. Her legs burned, ached, her chest heaving. It wasn’t going to be hard to spot her, a girl with her legs out, shoulders out. She looked back, sighing in relief and she hid in an alley. She had no idea how she managed to outrun them but she did. She checked her pockets in a panic.

“Money… money...Ah! Yes!” Poking her head out of the alley, scanning her surroundings. Taking a deep breath, taking one step before someone covered her mouth and pulled her back into the alley, her scream muffled, eyes widened in panic.

“Be quiet!” The voice... Her brows furrowed, she slowly calmed herself. His hand slowly fell from her mouth and she jumped from him, ready to hit him.

“Woah there, doll,”

“Don’t call me that.”

“What? Doll?”

“I’m not your doll.” Bucky chuckled

“Well, we can change that.” Serenity scoffed

“Well, aren’t you confident? What do you want?”

“I’m just wondering why Stark is so interested in you and where you came from since you weren’t there when the car lifted and then all of a sudden you appeared.”

“Maybe I’m a magician.” Bucky laughed

“I doubt Stark would be this interested in a magician.” Serenity lifted a brow and shrugged

“Maybe I’m that good.” Her eyes flickered behind him, checking to see if anyone else came with him.

“I’m by myself.”

“How? I thought I outran you.”

“You did. I was walking back to my apartment and saw you.” She bit her lip out of frustration

Well better him than Steve She thought to herself

“Also how did you know my name and Steve’s?” 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,”

Bucky cocked his head “Really now?”

“Yup.”  Bucky took a step closer towards her, she took a step back

“Because I could have sworn..” She felt her back hit the wall, his hands on either side of her head.

“I heard you say my name and his, and trust me doll I would remember a dame like you.”

“You mean to tell me you remember every girl you’ve ever met?”

“Yeah.”

“I doubt that,” Bucky smiled, her breath hitched

“Well, look at that... I believe you're blushing, doll.” Crossing her arms

“I am not, now move.” Shoving him aside, Bucky caught her wrist

“Where are you planning on going?”

“That is none of your business.” 

“Alright, I should just take you to Stark.”  Her head snapped towards him, she could feel his breath on her lips, he was closer than she thought

“You would turn me in, sergeant?” Bucky noticed her eyes scan his body up and down as she said those words, she smiled at him and his heart skipped a beat.

“Now look who's blushing.” Bucky felt a chill run down his spine as she whispered in his ear

“How about this, tell me your name and I might not give you up to Stark.”

“What a true gentleman.”  Bucky chuckled

“It’s Serenity.”

“Serenity?” she nodded

“Nice to meet you, I would introduce myself but it seems you already know who I am.”

“Can you let go now?” Her eyes motioned to her wrist, Bucky dropped his hand and cleared his throat, taking off his uniform jacket and handing it to her. She eyed it.

“What?”

“There are men who-” Bucky stopped as she took the jacket from his hands

“Right, well thanks, but don’t you need this?” She asked, placing her arms through the sleeves.

“I leave tomorrow, I can get it from you then.”

“Who says I’m going to be around tomorrow?” Bucky rose an eyebrow

“Planning on skipping town, doll?”

“Again none of your business but even if I was, how exactly would I be seeing you tomorrow?”

“Because you are coming back to my place.”

“Excuse me?”

“You are coming back with me.”

“No, I’m not. Do you know what year this is?”

“It’s 1943.”

“Exactly, women, especially unmarried women normally don’t go to houses of men they just met without them getting outcast from society.”

Wait. Why was she worried about this? No one here knows her, nor does she exist in this universe. How does she get back? How did she even get here?

“Trust me, it’ll be fine.”

She did need a place to stay.

“I’ll just say you’re one of Rebecca’s friends.”

Rebecca? 

“Come on now, it’s getting late. I don’t live too far.” Bucky motioned for her to follow him. 

“Where’s your friend?”

“You know his name is Steve.”

“I was talking about your brunette friend from the expo.”

“God damn it.” Bucky groaned in frustration

“I knew I was forgetting something, Connie is going to kill me.”

“You could go back, you know.”

“It’s too late now, I’ll give her a call when we get back.”

“Someone is going to get an earful.”

“earful?”

“Ah, get chewed out?”

“You have no idea.” Bucky sighed

“I mean I would hate for my date to go off chasing some other girl, then start to flirt with, ''said girl and then invite her over to my house.” Serenity gasped sarcastically

“How dare he.” Bucky laughed

“Very funny.” Serenity shrugged

“Come on now, it won’t be so bad.” Bucky sighed again 

“Don’t jinx me now, doll.”

“And you are still calling me, doll? I’m pretty sure Connie is not going to be happy hearing you call another girl that, Sergeant.” Bucky chuckled and shook his head, quirking his brow, raising his hand towards a set of stairs.

“Doll.”

“Truly a gentleman.” She started climbing the stairs, Bucky telling her to keep going.

“Stop.” Serenity stopped dead in her tracks 

“We’re here.”

“I’m so glad, I’m wearing sneakers,” she murmured to herself

“You climb these every day? No wonder you’re fit.”

“Doll,” Bucky smirked leaning against the wall

“Do you have the hots for me?” Serenity’s eyes widened and blushed

“I-I” Bucky laughed

“You are adorable when you get flustered.” 

“Adorable?” She pouted as Bucky unlocked his apartment door. 

“Ladies first.” Serenity walked into the apartment expecting to be bombarded by Rebecca but no one came.

“Where’s Rebecca?”

“Boarding school.”

“Boarding school?”

“Yes.” 

“No back story?”

“No.”

“Alrighty then.” Bucky walked past her into the bedroom, she heard him rummaging through his drawers. Serenity looked around, the whole apartment was completely clean, it was simple, open, the living room only had a golden brown love-seat, television, and a little side table. She walked into the kitchen, opening the refrigerator. He had nothing, hearing a cough she jumped.

“Here you go,” Bucky handed her a pair of his Pajamas

“Ummm,”

“What?”

“Can I use your shower? Or is that empty too?”

“Yes, you can. Let me show you how to work it and no it’s not empty.”

“Alright, here you go. Let me bring you a towel.”

“Here you go,” Serenity took the towel from his hands

“Thank you,” She smiled, Bucky continued to stand in the doorway

“Umm, Sergeant?”

“Bucky.”

“Bucky, you can leave now.”

“Right, right. Sorry.”

“Go call Connie.” Serenity smiled as Bucky’s eyes widened in panic. He ran towards the front of the apartment, Serenity rolled her eyes and closed the door, stripping off her clothes, she stepped into the shower. The hot water ran over her tense muscles.

“I hope this is all a dream.” She sighed and just let the water run. 

Bucky winced when Connie sighed. It wasn’t as if they were together, they had gone out on their first date that night sort of a little fling before he got shipped off. Bucky heard the water from the shower turn off.

“I am sorry Connie, I’ll make it up to you.”

“You better, good night Bucky.”

“Good night.” Bucky turned once he heard the door open. Serenity walked out in his clothes, now Bucky had seen countless women walk out in his clothes before but none of them looked like her, she looked breathtaking, her hair had curled from being wet, big doe eyes staring back at him. She smiled and Bucky swore he lost his breath.

“You alright?” Bucky wasn’t paying attention 

“Bucky?”

“Bucky?”

“Bucky!?” Bucky shook his head and came out of his trance.

“Yeah, sorry what?”

“You alright? Connie didn’t chew you out too bad now, did she?” Bucky sighed, shaking his head he played with his fingers

“Ooo, that bad?”

“Well, how would you feel?”

“Honestly there would be no second date, but considering that you are probably one of the more good-looking men out there for her there will be a second even if it means waiting till you get back from war.”

“Come on now doll, no second date?”

“Not if you forgot about me.” Serenity smiled again

“Do you have a comb or an extra one? Also a toothbrush?”

“I do.”

“Huh, a lot of girls sleepover?” Bucky ignored her question and handed her the brushes.

“Thanks.”

“Your hair?”

“What about it?”

“Is it naturally curly?”

“Yeah, I straightened it. I don’t really like curls, it's too hard to manage.”

“You look pretty.” Serenity froze

“I know.” Bucky smiled

“Do you have any extra pillows and blankets for me?”

“You can have the bed.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course, what kind of gentleman would I be if I let you sleep on the floor or sofa?” She laughed

“Right.” Bucky leads her to the bedroom

“Ma’am.”

“Please never say that again.”

“That bad, huh?” Serenity chuckled

“I would rather be called a doll than ma’am.”

“I thought you weren’t my doll.”

“I’m not, just saying I prefer it over ma’am.”

“Alright then, doll.” Serenity rolled her eyes, trying to hide a smile.

“It’s getting late, soldier, don’t you have an early day tomorrow?” Bucky’s face fell slightly, his lips fell into a tight line

“Yeah, we should go to sleep. Good night.” Bucky took a pillow and blanket from the edge of the bed, walking out of the room

“Good-” Stopping mid-sentence as Bucky closed the door behind him.

“Night... Okay then.” Climbing into the bed, her eyes fluttering

“Maybe when I wake up, I’ll be back home and this was all one big dream.” Sighing, she welcomed the darkness. Bucky on the other hand could not welcome darkness. He tossed and turned on the little love-seat. It wasn’t the best place to sleep, he couldn’t get the fact that he was being shipped off tomorrow. He didn’t want to go to war, hell he didn’t even volunteer but they still drafted him. He was scared. Scared of coming back and not being himself, a completely different person, or worse not coming back at all. Bucky sighed, staring at the ceiling. He checked his watch at 12:45 and he had to be up in a few hours and head out. Bucky sat up, turned on the TV, and tried to see if it would help him sleep, he desperately didn’t want the sun to rise. 

She knew how this was going to end, staring at the date November 15th, 1945. Looking around the train, she knew. She could have stopped this, why didn’t she tell them? In the back of her mind, she knew his fate was set. She ran back towards the middle of the train, why was she even here? How did she manage to escape, she knew he would come for her, even if she didn’t belong in this universe, his fate would still be the same. Him falling off this train. Him being toured. Brainwashed. She couldn’t let that happen to him. She could hear her heartbeat pounding in her eardrums, she felt it in the back of her head. She heard the explosion. NO! She ran faster. No, please! She felt the tears sting her eyes. She saw him fly out of the cart. NO! Please! Grab Him! Help him! Don’t let him fall! She grabbed the sidebar…...and reached out for him. Please. She felt the tears run down her cheeks. He was speaking, yelling at her. She ignored him and continued reaching, please just grab onto her. She felt his fingers brush against hers, then she saw the bar start to break. GRAB HER! She felt someone grab her waist. She screamed as the bar completely broke. She felt her body move forward, then they pulled. She screamed his name, kicked and punched at nothing. 

Serenity jolted awake, screaming Bucky’s name. She had tears running down her cheeks.

Bucky jolted awake when he heard a scream come from the bedroom.

“Shit!” Bucky scrambled, running to the bedroom, quickly opening the door he saw Serenity sitting there, tears stained her cheeks. Bucky rushed to her side, hands cupping her face as he sat on the bed.

“What happened? Are you alright?” Serenity blinked slowly

“What?” She replied slowly

“Where?” It took her a while to take in her surroundings and recognize Bucky. Fuck.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m alright.” She placed her hands onto his, giving him a reassuring smile.

“You sure? You screamed my name.”

“Yeah, I just had a bad dream is all.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really.” Bucked nodded and whipped her tears away. She sniffled

“What time is it?” Serenity looked around for a clock

“Ah,” Bucky looked to his right

“4:50” Serenity sighed and nodded

“We should get back to sleep.”

“I’ll just stay up. I have to be up in 30 minutes anyway.”

“Bucky?”

“Yeah?”

“Where do I go after you leave?”

“What do you mean?”

“After you leave, I can’t stay here.”

“Yeah, you can.”

“The apartment is getting paid for and since I won’t be here, you can stay.”

“I don’t think your landlord would be too happy.”

“She wouldn’t mind.”

“Don’t tell me…, you worked your charm on her.” Bucked smiled

“She has tried to take me out……, I’m sure her husband wouldn't mind.” Serenity laughed

“Scandalous.”

“Very.” She didn’t even notice his hands still placed on her cheeks, dropping her head slightly, his fingers ending up in her curls. She froze and pulled away from him. Bucky bit his lip, dropping his hands onto his lap.

“I should get back to the couch.” Bucky felt something tugging on his shirt, her fingers grabbed the end of his shirt. She didn’t want him to leave, she was scared of what was going to happen, scared of why she was still there.

“Stay. Please? We can have one normal conversation before you ship off.” Bucky nodded, sitting back on the bed.

“Since I don’t know much about you, besides your name and that Stark wants you, want to tell me about yourself.”

Serenity thought for a moment, it was 1943 right now her grandparents in middle school/ high school. Her aunts, uncles, parents wouldn’t be born for the next 20 years and her 33 years after that. How is she to explain she hasn’t even been born yet. 

Well he doesn’t have to know all the details

“What exactly do you want to know?”

“About you, your family.”

“I’m the youngest out of 3, I have an older brother and sister. My sister is married, I have 3 nephews. My brother is well... He’s just there. I have way too many aunts, uncles, and cousins and I prefer to be alone most of the time. You?”

“Lost both of my parents, I’m the eldest of 4, grew up as kind of an army brat. Met Steve and have been helping him out since we were about 6 years old.”

“Helping him out?”

“Steve tends to get in a lot of fights,” Serenity scoffed

“Yeah, we know.”

“What?”

“Hmm?” Bucky eyed her

“So, I’m kind of a bodyguard, don’t get me wrong he can hold up on his own but still you would think he would ease up on getting beat.”

“I don’t think that will ever happen.” Serenity smiled and Bucky nodded, letting out a chuckle

“Yeah, I think you’re right.” Bucky glanced at the clock

“I should get ready.”

“Okay.” She said softly, Bucky stood, walking back into the living room, grabbing his uniform he headed to the bathroom. Serenity heard the water turn on, reaching over to the other side of the bed. She grabbed onto the pajama bottoms and put them back on. She hated sleeping with pants on. Turning on the side table lamp, she looked around the room. Simple again, a nightstand, closet, and bed. The apartment didn’t feel like a home, there were a few photos surprisingly but it was just of Bucky and Steve. Serenity smiled, Steve was small. Serenity looked up when she heard heavy footsteps echo down the hall and into the room. She wasn’t one for military men, she had been warned about military men multiple times by her friends, but her heart couldn’t help but skip a beat and her breath hitched. Bucky smirked at her, crossing his arms over his chest.

“You alright there, doll?” Shit. His accent came out.

“Y-yeah.” Bucky’s eyes flicked down to the photo in her hands

“How long ago was this?” She asked handing him the photo

“Years ago, it was on Steve’s birthday. His mom had baked him a cake and I decided it would be funny to shove his face in the cake and his mom took this photo, his face was completely covered and it was nice to see them laugh.” Bucky chuckled at the memory, Serenity smiled. Bucky looked up at her, smiling as he handed her back the photo. She placed it back on the nightstand next to the clock. 

“Your jacket?”

“It’s in the living room.” Serenity nodded

“I’m going to use the restroom and be right out.” Bucky nodded, she walked past him and into the restroom. She stared at herself in the mirror, brushing her teeth. Eyes red from crying, bags appearing under them, hair all over the place. She quickly ran her fingers through her hair, flinching every time they got stuck. 

“Shit, I don’t have any clothes.”  Opening the door

“Hey, Bucky?”

“Yes?”

“I just realized I don’t have any clothes..”

“I have some. Hang on.”

“Alright, are they over-sized?”

“I have no idea.” He said handing her the clothes. Her lips fell in a tight line. 

“What size?”

“Depends on the shirt, medium or large.” Serenity nodded looking at the tags, large she let out a little sigh. Closing the door behind her, taking off Bucky’s pajamas, and placing his white button-up, it fit. Her main worry was the pants, it wasn’t like she could wear the shirt as a dress it came down to the top of her thighs. Bucky was lean but she had hips and thighs, his pajama pants fit her snug, she put her legs into the khaki-colored pants. The pants hugged her hips and thighs, luckily it wasn’t suffocating, her shoes were not going to match but something is something. Slipping into a pair of clean socks and her sneakers, she grabbed her hair, ran water through it, brushed lightly, and hopped for the best. Walking out, she saw Bucky leaning against the arm of the love-seat, jacket now on his body. Bucky looked up from his watch, scanned her, and went back to his watch. Serenity saw him shake his head slightly and his head shot up.

“You might get whiplash if you keep snapping your head like that, sergeant.”

Bucky couldn’t speak, he hadn’t seen many women in trousers, they prefer to dress feminine. She left him speechless, his shirt slightly fitting her loose, his trousers hugged her curves perfectly, her thighs and hips on display. Jesus.

“Are you ready to go, sergeant?” She waved a hand in front of his face. Bucky blinked

“What? Yeah. Yeah, I’m ready.” Bucky handed her a coat, she wrapped herself. He extended her arm towards her, she hooked her arm through his and smiled.

“Nervous?’’

“Wouldn’t you be?”

“I’m always nervous.”

Bucky and Serenity walked through the Brooklyn streets, they weren’t as busy as she thought they were going to be. New York was known for being the city that never sleeps, even early in the morning, but with a war going on it makes sense that the streets wouldn’t be busy this early. Serenity couldn’t help but take in her surroundings, her eyes constantly darting back and forth, looking back, looking down at her shoes. She knew Stark was still looking for her and if she ran into Steve, she knew he would take her in, and at this part of the story or movie she should say, he meets Peggy. She was shocked that Steve didn’t run after her as Bucky did, but he did have a lot of health issues and to him enlisting was probably more important to him than anything. He would have already met the doctor and he would have recruited him for the experimentation. Bucky could tell what was going through her mind as he scanned her face. 

“Don’t worry, doll.” She looked up at him

“No one’s gonna take you to Stark.” 

I’m hoping to be gone by then.

She nodded. He gave her a reassuring smile. She knew someone would find her, she stands out, a woman in men’s clothing, shoes from a whole different era, taller than the average woman, tattoos behind her ears, tattoos on her arms, side luckily those were all covered. Serenity looked ahead to see a line of soldiers waiting to pile into the transport vehicles. Everyone dressed in different uniforms. A man ran towards the two.

“Sergeant Barnes.”

“Yes.”

“This way.” Serenity dropped her arm

“See you soon,” She smiled

“See you soon, doll.” She placed a kiss on his cheek

“For good luck?”

“Yes.” Bucky walked with the man and waved. Serenity stood there watching as mothers, sisters, girlfriends, wives cried as their loved ones went off to war, she knew their fears. The sun rose high by the time all the soldiers drove off, Bucky’s truck was the last to go. She smiled and waved, Bucky watched her from the rear-view mirror, he dropped his head and smiled. Serenity turned on her heel and walked with the other family members, then she stood still.

Shit. How do I get back? 

She was too into her head earlier to pay attention to the route, groaning in frustration, it’s not like she could ask someone, she didn’t know the address.

“Fuck.” She looked around, everything looked the same to her. The city was beginning to wake up, people opening up their stores, walking up and down the streets. She felt someone bump into her.

“Move out of the way if you’re just going to stand there.”

“Oh, fuc-” She stopped herself, moving against the wall. She stared at all the people coming in and out of apartments, kids running to catch their buses, everyone walked fast. She could hear people chatting, laughing, yelling, horns honking. She rolled her eyes, covering her ears. She hates loud noises, how everyone was so lively early in the morning? She had to get back to Bucky’s or off the street before she got caught. Lifting herself off the wall, she walked back towards where they came.

Did we make a right or left? It doesn’t help that she can’t tell her left from her right.

“Fuck.me.” Then she heard him

“Hey! Wait! Stop the car!” Serenity was getting ready to run

“I wouldn’t if I were you.” Peggy’s accent entered her ears, she slowly looked back towards her. Steve stood to her side and Peggy had her gun pulled out. She scoffed

“Really? A gun? Do I look like a threat to you?”

“You’re the girl Stark wants.” Serenity turned to face Steve

“I’m flattered that you remember me.”

“It’s hard to forget someone who caused a scene.”

“Ouch,” Serenity pouted, crossing her hand over her heart.

“Well, I am known for the dramatics.” She rolled her eyes

“Where’d you get the clothes?”

“None of your business.”

“Did you steal them?”

“No.” Serenity glared, Peggy walked towards her

“Hands.” Serenity held out her hands and Peggy cuffed her

“Handcuffs?” She rose a brow and smirked

“It’s been a while.”

“You’ve been arrested before?” Steve asked and she laughed

“No.” Peggy stared at her in shock, Steve on the other hand didn’t understand. Ah, the innocence. Peggy hoped in the car first, then Serenity and then Steve. Serenity just kept her eyes forward, she leaned over and whispered into Steve’s ear.

“Sorry for interrupting you guys,”

“What?”

“You and her over here, it’s obvious you like her.”

“No, I don’t”

“Yeah, okay.” Serenity rolled her eyes

“Come back to me when you are ready to admit your feelings.” She knew the exact moment Steve would come to her. She sat back into the seat and closed her eyes.

                                           Hers

“We’re here.” I felt someone shake me awake, rubbing my eyes, I noticed I was resting my head on Steve’s shoulder

“Sorry,” I said sitting up

“It’s alright.” I could feel Peggy’s eyes drilling a hole on the back of my head, she reached out and grabbed my arm, tugging. I scooted over

“Alright, alright. I’m coming.” Stepping out of the car, an Antique store. Steve followed behind me.

“What are we doing here?” he asked

“Follow me,” Peggy said, still hanging onto my arm

“I’m not going to run, you know. I’ve done enough running for the year already.” Peggy looked at me, eyeing me, then she dropped my arm.

“For the year?” I heard Steve ask

“Yes, the year. I hate running and I would very much like to avoid it every chance I get. Not only that she has the keys to the cuffs and I highly doubt someone will help me get out of them unless I run into a mobster. Ooo What a fun story that would be.”

I walked in behind Peggy when she opened the door, the bell jingled. Steve and I both looked around the store. It was dim with furniture everywhere, nothing looked antique. An older-looking lady walked towards the group.

“Wonderful weather this morning isn't it?” She asked

“Yes, but I always carry an umbrella,” Peggy said, while I murmured The same thing under my breath. No one seems to notice, the old lady slightly nodded and headed over towards her desk, reaching under it. I heard a faint buzz echo and Peggy led us through the curtain to a cluttered bookshelf. 

“The fact that people believe this is a real bookshelf blows my mind.”

“What do you mean?” Steve asked

“Whoever the artist is, is doing a great job though.” The bookshelf opened hidden doors. Steve looked around in awe. I on the other hand was trying not to have a panic attack, one thing people always told her never to trust military men, and here I was about to be surrounded by them. Peggy grabbed onto your arm again.

“Is she allowed here?”

“Stark wants her.” 

“Yes, ma’am.”  Peggy led them through the cold, dull hallway and then the doors opened, we walked through the doors. Peggy leads us into the hidden lab to Dr. Erskine and his team in a big circular room filled with machinery and a pod in the middle. Peggy still hung onto my arm as we walked down the stairs. 

“Good morning.”  Dr. Erskine says to the group

He shakes Steve’s hand and somebody takes a photograph.

“Please, not now.” The doctor waves him off

The photographer walks away, Steve looks at the pod

“Are you ready?” Steve nods.

“Good. Take off your shirt, your tie, and your hat.” The doctor turned his attention back to us

“And may I ask who you might be?”

“They said Howard was looking for her?”

“I’m looking for who?” I looked over as Stark Howard, scanned my face, and his eyes widened, he rushed towards me, tripping over his own feet. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“You found her?”

“Rogers did.” Howard looked over at Steve.

“You know this is a weird way of asking me out on a date. I mean you even had them handcuff me. Usually I don’t let dates handcuff me until at least the 3rd date.” I extended my wrist towards him. Howard blushed slightly, he was a playboy. I didn’t think my comment would cause him to blush.

“I thought you would be used to hearing these kinds of things Mr.Stark, I guess your reputation is wrong. Can you uncuff me now?” I looked over at Peggy

“I’m not going to run and it’s not like I can cause any damage with a room full of military personnel.” Peggy just stared

“You can uncuff her.” She reached for the key and unlocked the cuffs. I automatically rubbed my wrists and looked over at Howard

“Why exactly do you want me?”

“Who are you?”

“You already asked me that.”

“And you never answered.”

“I don’t see the need to.” Howard grabbed my wrist, taking me to a corner of the room.

“Where are you from?”

“Like my family or me?”

“You.”

“California.”

“Where did you come from?”

“Umm... California.”

“No, one second there was no one behind my invention, then a crash and suddenly you appeared behind it and this,” Stark pulled out your phone and it lit up. 

Huh, it’s not dead, that’s a shocker

“What is this?”

“It’s mine and you need to give it back.” I reached for the phone, Howard pulled back.

“No.”

“Didn’t anybody ever teach you that stealing is bad? My mom would have dragged me back by the ear, made me apologize, and probably would’ve…” I trailed off and shook my head

“Anyway, give it back. Please,” 

“Tell me,”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I did, besides you have more important matters to attend to Mr.Stark.”

“Tell me first and then I’ll get back to it,” I sighed

“I’ll tell you three things. One, my name. Serenity. Two, my birth year. 1996 and three,” I grabbed my phone out of Stark’s hand

“It’s a phone.” He stood there confused

“Stark!” He looked over at one of the scientists who motioned for him to head over

“We’ll continue this later,” I rolled my eyes and walked back over towards Steve.

“Comfortable?” The Dr. asked Steve

“It’s a little big. Can you save me any of that schnapps?”

“Not as much as I should have. Sorry. Next time. Mr. Stark, how are your levels?”

“Levels at 100%.”

“Good.”

“We may dim half the lights in Brooklyn, but we are ready as we’ll ever be.”

“Agent Carter? Don’t you think you would be more comfortable in the booth?”

“Oh, yes. Of course. Sorry.”

“You as well, Miss?”

“Oh, my name is Serenity, Doctor.”

“Serenity, please.” The doctor motioned to the booth, I nodded and turned to walk to the booth

“Serenity?” I turned back, looking at Steve

“Yeah?”

“It’s a pretty name.” I smiled

“Thanks, good luck.”

“Thank you.”

“Good.” The doctor says once more. He takes a microphone and taps it.

“Do you hear me? Is this on?”  He asks the small group gathered to watch Steve being prepared to become a super-soldier.

“Ladies and gentlemen, today we take not another step towards annihilation, but the first step on the path to peace. We begin with a series of micro-injections into the subjects’ major muscle groups. The serum infusion will cause immediate cellular change. And then to stimulate growth, the subject will be saturated with Vita-Rays.”

“That wasn’t so bad.” Everyone heard Steve over the microphone after he took a shot.

“That was penicillin. Serum infusion beginning in five, four, three, two, one.” The serum is injected into Steve

“Now, Mr. Stark.”

Stark lowers a leaver, the pod moves upright, and encloses Steve inside. The doctor knocks on the capsule that they’ve locked Steven in for the procedure to change him.

“Steven, can you hear me?”

“It’s probably too late to go to the bathroom, right?”

“We will proceed.” The doctor says to Stark

“That’s ten percent. Twenty percent. Thirty. That’s 40 %.”

“Vital signs are normal.” 

“That’s 50 %. Sixty. Seventy.” Stark states, I covered my ears as Steve’s screams echoed through the lab.

“Steven!” The doctor yelled

“Shut it down,” Peggy said

“Steven!” The doctor yells as he knocks on the pod.

“Shut it down!” Peggy yells worried

“He’s fine,” I said, everyone, turned back and looked at me

“Trust me.”

“Kill the reactor, Mr. Stark! Turn it off! Kill it! Kill the reactor!” The doctor yells and everyone turns their attention back to Steve

“No! Don’t! I can do this!” Steve yells 

“If something happens to him,” Peggy turned back and looked at me.

“He’s fine, trust me I know he is.”

“Eighty. Ninety. That’s 100 %.” Everything overloads until the reactor closes itself down.

“Mr. Stark?” Stark opens the pod. Everyone could see smoke coming out of the pod and then Steve appeared, sweaty, a foot taller, about 100 pounds heavier of pure muscle and chest heaving. Everyone was excited, Peggy looked at me again and I shrugged.

“Steven. Steven.” The doctor says concerned 

As he stumbles out of the pod supported by Stark and the doctor “I did it.” Steve managed to wheeze out.

“Yeah, yeah. I think we did it.” The doctor said, patting Steve’s chest

“We did it.” Stark said in disbelief. Everyone except me and another man stood in the observation booth. I looked over at him, I knew I couldn’t change anything, if I did who knows what it would do to the timeline. I smiled

“You don’t want to head down with everyone?”

“Later.” I nodded and walked past him

“Death,” I whispered under my breath. I could feel his gaze burning a hole into the back of my head

“How do you feel?” Peggy asked

“Taller.” I held back a laugh as Peggy lightly touched his chest, she was completely flustered. I walked up next to her

“You look taller.”

“Look? He grew a whole foot and gained 100 pounds or more of muscle, but I mean if no one will say it, I will. You look amazing. Total beefcake.” I said lifting my hand up and down. Peggy glared slightly at me, I leaned over and whispered

“Jealousy isn’t pretty.”

“How do you like Brooklyn now, Senator?”  I overheard someone ask

“I can think of some folks in Berlin who are about to get very nervous. Congratulations, Doctor.”

“Thank you, sir.”

I felt someone grab onto my arm. Stark. My eyes widened when Kruger pulled out his lighter.

“Duck.”

“What?”

“Duck!”

Then he detonates the bomb in the observation room, everyone ducked, glass scatters over everyone, women screaming and he uses the confusion to steal the last vial of the serum. The doctor is the first to stand.

“Stop him!” The doctor yells and Kruger shoots him twice, he runs up the stairs and shoots an officer, and flees with Peggy chasing after him. Steve kneels beside Erskine who points at Steve’s chest and dies. I pushed Stark away from me and ran up to Steve,

“Go.” He turned and looked at me 

“GO!” He nodded, running after Peggy and Kruger. I looked down at the doctor, tears welled in my eyes, I felt someone place their hands onto my arms, Stark stared at me, and the doctor who was lying on the floor in disbelief.

“How did you know?” He whispered

“I…”

“What you said earlier… it’s true?” I hesitantly nodded my head, he let out a slight chuckle of disbelief.

“You knew this would happen, why didn’t you-”

“This isn’t the time nor the place.” I glared at him.

“We can talk about this later.” I stood from my spot, turning to face Stark.

“Where do you want me?”

“Follow me.”  I sighed, following behind Stark.

“You know, I’m not going to run away. You can stop looking back. I’ll hold your hand if you want or put a leash on me if you’re that worried.”  I could hear him smirking

“A leash?” He turned, eyebrow raised and of course a smirk on his face, I rolled my eyes

“Don’t be a pervert.” He laughed and faked a gasp

“You’re the one being the pervert, I wasn’t thinking about anything sexual.”

“Yeah, right.” I scoffed, he extended his hand

“I sadly do not have a leash on me, so your hand will have to do.” I stared at his hand, he lifted it slightly as if saying grab onto it

“Fine.” I grabbed his hand and he smiled. 

“Where exactly are we going?”

“That my dear,” He turned and smiled

“Is a secret.” 

“We’re going to the SSR compound?” His head turned fast

“Any faster and you could get whiplash.”

“How?”

“I’m pretty sure you, Peggy, and the colonel are going to interrogate me unless you want to keep this a secret, plus Steve should be in there right now getting his blood drawn.” Stark didn’t respond, he opened the doors, the nurse was pulling the needle out of Steve’s arm. 12 test tubes with Steve’s blood were picked up by the nurse, Steve folded his uniform sleeve down. His blue eyes scanned me up and down, his eyes flickered to Stark and froze on our clasped hands. I quickly pulled my hand away from him, Stark rose a brow but looked straight at Steve.

“Think you got enough?”

“Any hope of reproducing a program is locked in your genetic code. But without Dr. Erskine, it could take years.” Peggy stated

“He deserved more than this.”

“If it could only work once, he’d be proud it was you.” 

Stark looked out and down the meds window

“Stay here.” He told me, I rolled my eyes

“Yes, sir.”

“You and Stark?” Steve asked 

“God, no. He just wanted to make sure I didn’t run away again. I offered my hand or a leash but since neither of us have a leash. Hand, it was.” I said, lifting my hand and wiggling my fingers. I could see Steve’s face turn red and Peggy raised her brow and smirked slightly. 

“What? Was the leash too much for you, Rogers?” Before he could respond, we heard the colonel’s voice echo through the compound.

“Great. Why don’t we start with how a German spy got a ride to my secret installation in your car? What have we got here?”

“Speaking modestly, I’m the best mechanical engineer in this country. But I don’t know what’s inside this thing or how it works. We’re not even close to this technology.” Stark responded

“Then who is?” The senator asked

“HYDRA. I’m sure you’ve been reading our briefings.” Colonel responded, Peggy motioned for Steve to follow her 

“What about her?” Peggy bit the inside of her cheek and nodded her head

“I’ll be as quiet as a mouse.” We walked down the stairs into the main room, I saw Stark working on the submarine 

“I’m on a number of committees, Colonel.” Senator responded 

“HYDRA is the Nazi deep science division. It’s led by Johann Schmidt. But he has much bigger ambitions.” Peggy chimed in

“HYDRA’s practically a cult. They worship Schmidt, they think he’s invincible.”

“So what are you gonna do about it?” The senator asked the colonel

“Spoke to the president this morning. As of today the SSR is being re-tasked.” He responds

“Colonel?” Peggy asked

“We are taking the fight to HYDRA. Pack your bags Agent Carter. You too, Stark. You’re flying to London tonight.”

“Sir, if you’re going after Schmidt, I want in.” Steve chimed in. I continued to listen to the back and forth, I felt Stark’s eyes burning into the side of my face

“You’re an experiment. You’re going to Alamogordo.” I accidentally let out a laugh. Everyone looked over at me

“Sorry.”

“Who are you?” The colonel asked

“Oh, I’m with Stark.” I pointed at him

“The serum worked.”  Steve interrupted 

“I asked for an army and all I got was you. You are not enough.” The colonel stepped closer to Steve

“You’d be surprised.” I murmured under my breath 

“With all due respect to the Colonel, I think we may be missing the point. I’ve seen you in action, Steve. More importantly, the country’s seen it.” The senator said while looking at Steve, snapping his fingers toward his aide.

“Paper.” He said, I slowly made my way towards Stark

“Nazis in New York - mystery man saves child” I whispered

The aide shows them the newspaper and Peggy reads it out-loud

“The New York Examiner’ Vol. XCVII No. 33.634, Wednesday, June 23, 1943), headlines: "Nazis in New York - mystery man saves child"

Stark’s eyes widened

“The enlistment lines have been around the block since your picture hit the newsstands. You don’t take a soldier, a symbol like that, and hide him in a lab. Son, do you want to serve your country on the most important battlefield of the war?” The senator asks Steve

 “Sir, that’s all I want.”

“Then, congratulations. You just got promoted.” Steve shakes the senators hand 

“Too bad all he does is go around in a costume and fake being a hero.” I said to myself, Stark didn’t say anything

“You.” The colonel pointed at me

“I have a name, but yes?” The colonel ignored my comment

“You will be traveling around with Rogers.”

“Wait, Why?”

“If you can handle being Stark’s assistant, you can handle being Rogers.”

“Colonel, I actually need to” Stark was cut off

“She’s going.” 

“I guess.” I murmured and looked at Steve

“May I speak to my assistant before she leaves?”

“You got 5 minutes.” Stark nodded and dragged me off

“No need to pull, I’ll follow you.” Stark opened a door and pulled me inside, we were chest to chest

“Are you insane? Out of all the secure places in this compound, you choose a tiny ass closet.”

“It would be the only place that doesn’t have cameras and audio surveillance.”

“The bathrooms?”

“Right..” 

“Aren’t you supposed to be a genius?”

“Now isn’t the time, we only have 5 minutes.”

“Pretty sure it’s less now.”

“Where are you from?”

“California.”

“How old are you?”

“22.”

“Lies”

“Why would I be lying?”

“You look like you’re in high school.”

“Well thank you for the compliment, it’s not like you can look me up I don’t exist.”

“Birthday.”

“Question or statement.” Stark glared

“July 31st, 1996”

“Time travel exists in the future?”

“Well..not exactly.”

“What do you mean?”

“You kind of.. Don’t ex-” The door opened wide, my eyes met Steve’s

Great... Who knows what he’s thinking about me now.

Everyone was just standing there, staring at us. I slipped past Stark and walked towards the group.

“5 minutes are up.” The colonel cleared his throat

“Talk, huh?” Steve said his voice slightly filled with venom

“Seriously? It’s none of your business.”

“It is after I saw you wearing Bucky’s clothes.” I froze

“How do you know they’re his? There’s millions of men on this earth who might have the exact same clothing.” Steve reached to the back of Bucky’s shirt and pulled the tag.

“His initials are on the tag.” I grabbed the tag and tugged it forward there in black ink was J.B.B

“Fuck.” I cursed under my breath

“My mom used to write our initials on our clothes so we wouldn’t get any mixed up when he would spend the night.”

“It’s still none of your business.”

“Follow me.” I walked away from him and followed the senator’s aide

Tags:

@ginger-swag-rapunzel​

[legendofzelda4life]

Not Used To This

This was for day ten (yesterday) hopefully this is the last time I have to leave the post till the next day lmao.

Today we have Twilight and Sky platonic angst.

Will it become fluff? Will somebody die? Who knows, but let’s see.

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

“Who’s fucking world are we in now?” Legend asked, rather annoyed. They had only switched worlds a day before so switching this soon was annoying.

“Does anybody recognise it?” Time asked. Everybody shook their heads.

“Is everybody here?” Twilight asked. His eyes looked over each person, counting, then his eyes landed on Sky.

It was obvious the Skyloftian was having trouble taking in air, well if the heaving chest was anything to go off of. Sky noticed the Ordonian boy staring at him and he just waved his hand to show ‘I’m fine’.

“If we know what’s good for us, we should keep moving.” Warriors said. The rest of the boys nodded before beginning to walk.

They were in a grass field when they came in so, based on the sun, it was easy to find north. If the boys knew anything about Hyrule, it’s that Hyrule Castle is always somewhere north.

Instead of walking up the front like usual, Twilight fell to the back and decided to walk with Sky.

“You okay?” Twilight asked, sparing a glance at the hero next to him.

“Ye-yeah I just…” The boy took a deep breath, adjusting his collar. “I’m not used to this.” He said. It made sense. They had been to Skyloft at one point, the air was crisp and had nearly made some people like Wind and Legend pass out. Whereas here, the air must’ve felt heavier to him and harder to consume.

It was for nearly everyone.

But it affected the Skyloftian the most.

“Do you want us to stop?” Twilight asked quietly, causing the boy to shake his head. “It’s fine.” He waved his hand. “Alright…” Twilight wasn’t too sure about this.

Not even five minutes later, the Skyloftian walked up to a tree and went behind it.

Twilight had stopped to wait for him and could hear the boy throwing up.

This…

This was not fine.

Sky walked back out, wiping his mouth, heaving a deep sigh.

“Better?” Twilight asked.

The boy shook his head.

“Wanna stop?”

Another head shake.

“Okay then.” The two walked to catch up with the others but Twilight made sure they stayed a few feet behind. He didn’t want to overwhelm Sky when he was like this.

A cough came from next to Twilight, followed by a few more, then stopping with a thud.

Twilight only just managed to catch Sky.

“Woah buddy, wanna stop now?”

Sky didn’t see a point in arguing and nodded.

Twilight looked up and saw Warriors at the back with Wind on his shoulders.

“Oi, Sailor! Captain!” Twilight yelled out. Both boys turned, eyes landing on Sky - whom Twilight had layed in his lap. He saw the two boys exchange words before Warrior’s came over.

“Wind’s telling Time we should stop.” Twilight nodded, not looking at the scarfed hero. His eyes were fixed on Sky.

Twilight was continuously growing more concerned for the boy in his lap.

Sky was one of the more responsible people. Sure he was curious and child-like at times but without Sky’s radiating calmness, everybody would go crazy.

It didn’t help that Twilight looked up to Sky.

Sky was like an older brother to him. Time would fit the role if they weren’t, y’know, related.

But it hurt Twilight deeply to see Sky in so much pain.

“Why *cough* does it hurt so much, Twi?” Sky asked, curling in on himself. “I don’t know, but I promise we’ll help you until we can leave.” Twilight said, feeling his heart break. Sky was so important to him, he couldn’t imagine the group with Sky gone.

It would fall apart.

“C’mon rancher, I’ve got him.” Legend tried to pick up Sky but was stopped by Warriors. “Oh shut up you twig, give ‘im ‘ere!” In response, Legend glared at Warriors before lifting up the sky child with ease.

“We should probably just set up camp now.” Legend said, looking at - a rather shocked - Time. A little confused, he looked at the rest of the Link’s who also had their mouths agape.

“Dear Goddesses is it really that surprising I can lift things without an item?” Legend asked, annoyed at everybody. “Vet, no offense, but yeah.” Wild whispered the last word and Legend sighed. “I hate you all.” No matter how hard he tried to hide it, Hyrule saw the shadow of a smirk on his face.

Eventually, the boys set up camp and layed Sky down.

It hadn’t taken long for Legend’s arms to get tired. Ten minutes at most. It was still a while but after they started playing pass the parcel - without opening said parcel - it became clear that everyone except Four, Wind, and Hyrule could hold Sky.

Twilight, by far, held him the longest and most often. He didn’t pass Sky off unless Warriors literally pried the boy from his arms. After Twilight, Warriors had held him the longest, passing him to Wild once his arms were tired.

Yeah, Wild held him easily.

Time held him for the shortest amount of time but it was enough to help the boys’ arms rest before Sky was passed to Legend once more.

It had been a few hours since they had set up camp and Twilight was on third watch from 2300-0000.

“Nghn.” Twilight heard a groan behind him and whipped around, unsheathing his sword, only to see Sky sitting up.

“Sky… you scared the shit outta me.” Twilight laughed.

Sky gave him a blank stare before standing.

“You guys should’ve kept walking.” The boy sounded annoyed. “Why?” Twilight was confused. Usually Sky was hellbent against going anywhere when someone was sleeping.

“Because.” He said, looking away with a shrug. Twilight laughed nervously. “No, seriously Sky, why would we’ve kept walking?”

“Because I’m…” Sky mumbled the last part so Twilight walked up to him. “What?” The rancher was genuinely concerned.

“I’m a waste of time!” The hero of skies all but yelled.

SLAP!!!

“No! You’re fucking not!”

“Yes! I FUCKING AM, TWI!” Suddenly Sky broke into a coughing fit.

“Shit, Sky, I’m sorry.” Twilight reached out to help but had his hand slapped away.

“Leave me alone.” Sky hissed before turning and walking away.

Twilight made him…

Mad.

“Oh just go after him already and let us sleep.” Legend whined from behind him.

“Yeah, stop staring into space and go.” Wild encouraged.

Without turning to the boys, he nodded his head confidently before leaving.

He ran…

And ran…

And ran.

“Sky!” Twilight yelled.

No response.

The boy could hear a river nearby. “Maybe Sky went to it.” He mumbled.

He was right.

The sky child was lying on the ground, taking shuddering breaths.

“Sky!” Twilight was relieved.

Until he realized Sky had passed out again.

Fuck this place.

Twilight picked up Sky before dashing to the others.

“That was quick.” Four said.

“Is he okay???” Alright out of everyone, after Twilight, the sailor was the most concerned.

“Yeah, but he’s getting worse.” Twilight said.

“Wild found a portal!” Twilight looked up to see Hyrule at the tree line, breathing like he just ran a mile.

The boys ran to it without another word.

Upon entering the other world, it was immediately recognised as Twilight’s Hyrule. “We’re in the Faron woods. We should head to my village.”

“How far?”

“Like ten minutes.”

The group turned to Warriors, extremely confused.

Well, except for Wind and Time.

“He’s been more places than you can guess.” Time explained.

“Uh-huh, what about Lorule?” Legend asked.

Warriors looked at him. “You mean Lorule as in Yuga and Ravio Lorule or…?” The captain trailed off as a shocked look fell upon Legend’s face.

“What the fuck…?” He whispered.

“What? It’s not that-”

“No! Wars turn around!” Legend exclaimed, looking past the scarfed hero.

“What the fuck!” Yep, that was Warriors.

“Dear Hylia, just ignore it. It’s only a bulbin.” “Twilight, I know what a bulbin is! I don’t fucking like them!” Warriors yelled.

“Let’s just go.” Wild grabbed Sky from Twilight and sprinted as far south as he could.

He made it to Ordon within five minutes, everybody else not too far behind.

“Ilia!” Twilight yelled out.

“Link! Hey- you need help?” A girl asked, looking at Wild - who shook his head.

“Look we just need a place to get him rested ‘til he wakes up.” Wind said. Ilia’s eyes looked over everyone before stopping on Warriors.

“Th- they’re all you from other times.” She said. “Yes, now can we go?” “Sure but I’m asking a lot of questions pretty boy.” She gave Twilight an intense stare.

Hyrule groaned.

“What is up with us and girls with attitude???” He said quietly, causing Four to giggle.

A day later

Twilight was sitting next to Sky’s bed.

“He up yet?” Time asked. Twilight shook his head. “I wish old man.” He chuckled. “Yeah, yeah we know. Food’s ready by the way.” “Alright I’ll come over in a sec.”

Twilight stared down at the sleeping boy and chuckled.

“You always were a sucker for sleep.”

“I told you I’m not used to it.”

Twilight jumped.

“What the fuck how long have you been up for?????” Twilight asked.

“About an hour. Maybe less.”

“Idiot.”

Sky was engulfed into a hug.

“Wha- what?”

“I called you an idiot, you really scared me, passing out like that.”

Sky shrugged.

“Not used to it I guess.”

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

Hey look, nobody died but it didn’t centre around Twilight and his sadness/stress as much as it was meant to.

Why do I suck at writing angst????

Reference 1: Kilton is, apparently, botw’s version of the happy mask salesman

LEAVE REQUESTS BELOW!

REQUESTS MUST INCLUDE: PAIRING TYPE/GENRE/CATEGORY (fluff, angst, etc) PLATONIC OR NOT

I WILL WRITE ONLY ABOUT THE LINKS (including the ravio, shadow, and requested characters. Will not write about whole other fandoms though)

I CAN DO READER INSERTS IF REQUESTED (no oc’s tho)

CAN DO AN AU IF REQUESTED

[capcarolsdanver]

Faking It (Part 2)

Summary: This was a request for a Carol Danvers fake dating fic that will be a multi-chapter series, likely 4 parts! Who doesn’t love a fake dating fic?

Stories come out about Carol and her.. sexual escapades. This could potentially be PR trouble for the Avengers so Tony and Steve convince Carol that maybe the best way out of this mess is to convince the public she is in a committed relationship.. with the reader, her best friend who has feelings for Carol, but believes her feelings aren’t reciprocated. What could possibly go wrong??

Pairing: Carol Danvers x Reader

A/N: Oops this is late. Apologies but wow, a pandemic really can take it out on a person, huh? I’m hoping part 3 won’t take nearly as long. I think I like this chapter? Hopefully you enjoy this!! Any feedback is appreciated!

Please do not repost my writing anywhere without my permission.

PART 1 | PART 3 | PART 4

Carol is sat next to you at the table in the briefing room, an unimpressed scowl on her face. You glance over at her every few seconds and her face doesn’t seem to change as Tony and Steve address the two of you. You, for the most part, have remained silent. You’re still pretty shocked to say the least at the events of the day so far.

“There’s been even more bad press since this morning,” Steve says and pauses, causing you to lift your eyes from Carol to look at him. “If you guys are in, there’s no backing out.”

“We’re in.” Carol states quickly, albeit begrudgingly. Steve looks at you for confirmation and you nod at him.

“Great,” he says, despite the situation being the exact opposite.

“Listen,” Tony starts. “Steve and I are fairly confident the two of you can pull this off without a hitch, so just as a general rule, trust your gut, okay?”

You and Carol nod in agreement, Carol still looking less than impressed but obviously willing to do whatever needs to be done.

“We will assist if needed, but like Tony said, we have full confidence in you that you can get the job done,” Steve adds on, smiling optimistically at you. This makes Carol chuckle slightly, the first time you’d seen the pout leave her face since she found out about the article.

“Spoken like a true Captain,” she teases, offering Steve a mocking salute. “We’ll do our best to keep this deep, dark secret of ours.”

“Speaking of deep, dark secrets,” you say. “Who can we tell? I mean, we practically live in a building full of spies and superheroes. Are we supposed to keep this from them?”

“You can tell whoever you want, as long as they’re with the Avengers. No one outside of this building can know.” You nod at Tony, just glad that you won’t have to keep up this charade around your closest friends.

“If this is successful, in a couple months you can just stage a breakup and everything will be like normal again.”

“A couple months!?” Carol exclaimed, causing you to jump slightly next to her.

“If you want to fix this problem you’ve caused for the team then it’s gotta be for the long haul. Sorry, kids.” Tony offers a small shrug, which does nothing to remove the pout that has found its way back onto Carol’s face.

Steve’s phone beeps, signalling a text message. He glances at it before standing up, obviously considering the meeting over.

“I trust you two to organise the first step by making your relationship public. Nothing too showy or everyone will see straight through it. We’ll go from there.” He smiles and nods before walking out of the room.

��Wait, so you guys aren’t even gonna tell us what we have to do?”

“It shouldn’t be too hard,” Tony says. “Just do what you would normally do, except, you know, act more couple-y.”

“Thanks for the stellar advice, Stark,” Carol deadpans. Tony chuckles, standing from his seat.

“Look, just start small, okay? At first Pepper and I didn’t announce anything. We just started getting seen a lot together. Attention quickly grew. Maybe start there?” He leaves you with that, nodding in goodbye and leaving you and Carol in the room alone.

Carol abruptly stands, letting out a groan and dragging her hands down her face.

“I can’t believe this.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” you say, reaching a reassuring hand out to Carol’s arm. “It can’t be that bad, right? It sounds like it’s just some public appearances, hand holding, maybe a few kisses. No big deal.”

You blush, not even being able to believe your own words.

Carol looks at you, her eyes scanning your face for a long moment and you feel your blush deepen at the intensity of her gaze. You softly clear your throat after another few moments, which seems to snap Carol out of whatever daze she had found herself in.

“Right. No big deal,” she says in a way that has you wondering who she’s trying to convince. She’s silent for a beat before her usual teasing smirk that you’ve grown so fond of appears on her face.

“So, did we need to practise fake kissing at all, or…?”

You push her shoulder and she laughs out loud. You can’t help but smile amusedly back at her.

“Not now, Danvers,” you dismiss, pushing yourself out of your seat. Carol leans on the edge of the table, her eyebrow raising as her eyes follow you.

“So later, then?” She jokes.

“Oh my god, shut up, jerk!’ You laugh, walking passed Carol to open the door and step out of the room.

Carol chuckles, smiling to herself before pushing herself from the table and rushing out of the door to catch up with you.

————————

You and Carol decided to take Tony’s advice and keep your first appearance simple. Just a casual day out to have lunch with each other.

There was a local restaurant not too far from the Avengers compound that you all liked to frequent, and people were very aware of this. It wasn’t exactly the shortest walk, so if you and Carol were going for a quick lunch together then you would usually take the much shorter drive.

Generally, though, if you all went there as a group, you would all walk together. More often than not, you would happen upon groups of fans hoping to get to drool over Steve or Thor, usually even Natasha. So you both know that you will very likely be seen together by taking the walk.

You walk towards the doors of the compound, stopping when you realise how nervous Carol appears to be.

“You okay?” You gently ask.

“I don’t know. Is this really the only option we’ve got?” You watch her fidget with her hands, very un-Carol-like.

“Maybe not, but Steve and Tony seem to think it’s the easiest.”

“Yeah, maybe for them,” you hear Carol mumble under her breath.

You sigh softly. “Come on. We’ve got this, okay?”

She nods, looking up from the ground.

“Have I apologised yet for bringing you into this mess?”

“Car, you don’t have to apologise. I’m happy to help.” You do your best to reassure her and wait for her to nod again before you walk out of the main doors and to the gates at the edge of the compound. A quick glance at Carol tells you she is still nervous.

You, of course, were just as nervous as her, if not even more. But you knew you would have to take the lead to get Carol through the first step here.

You were an Avenger, perhaps not as well known as Carol but enough that your past relationships had been widely discussed by fans and the press before. Up until now, Carol’s love life and much of her personal life in general had never really been public knowledge. So you knew that this was far out of her comfort zone.

“Come here,” you say, pulling her into a hug and rubbing her back to try to calm her nerves. You feel her arms wrap around your waist and her breath against your neck as she lets out a short sigh. You pull back from the embrace, looking her in the eye.

“Now, let’s do this.”

You hold your hand out. Carol looks from your hand to your face, and back to your hand as she reaches out and takes your hand, interlocking her fingers with yours.

Your friendship with Carol has always been close, though you’d never just held hands before. At least not like this. This is a new feeling, one you like a lot.

You start walking, very quickly realising how tense Carol is beside you. You tug slightly on her hand, pulling her closer to you and bumping her shoulder lightly with your own. She looks at you and you smile at her.

“Loosen up, Danvers,” you say. She rolls her eyes but you still see her lips form a smile.

“Sorry. This is just really weird.”

“Trust me, I know,” you laugh. “But we can’t let them know that. We’ve gotta convince them that we’ve been together long enough to be considered a serious relationship. You’ve gotta seem unbothered by that article and all the ones I’m sure have been written since.”

“Well I would be unbothered by it if it weren’t for Tony and Steve.”

You laugh quietly to yourself at Carol’s continued grumbling and glance up to see a group of fans who quite often stand off to the side of this path waiting for any appearance from the Avengers.

“Okay. It’s game time now, Carol.”

“Hmm?” She looks at you, slight confusion on her face.

“Don’t look, but I see a group of girls who are always waiting for any of us to walk down here.”

“Really?” Carol asks and begins turning her head before you subtly slap her arm. “Ow.”

“What did I just say?” You give her a glare which quickly melts away the second you hear Carol chuckle.

“My bad,” she offers. You give the group of girls a quick glance again, attempting to be as subtle as possible.

“I think these are the girls who run those really popular Avengers blogs.”

“There are really popular Avengers blogs?” Carol asks disbelievingly.

“Yeah,” you nod. “One keeps posting photos of Steve and Bucky together.” You continue studying the group out of the corner of your eye. “Ooh, I think the one who’s obsessed with you is here, too!”

Carol squints her eyes at you. “Wait, are you fucking with me?” You laugh and shake your head. “How did I not know this was a thing?”

“I honestly don’t know. But this could be good for us.” You continue to walk, stealing the odd glance at the girls without being too obvious.

“So we just act like we don’t see them?” Carol asks, still clearly unsure about this whole situation.

“Mhmm. You know, like we’re that interested in each other that we don’t care about anyone else.”

“So, you’re saying that you’re not that interested in me that you don’t care about anyone else? Wow, that hurts,” Carol says, holding her free hand to her chest, feigning hurt. You shoulder bump her again through laughter.

“You’re such an idiot.”

You figure the group of girls have surely noticed you by now, but decide to pay them no more attention as you pass them on your way.

————————

You get to the restaurant pretty quickly after that, making sure to be seated at a table for two outside, in practically clear view.

Lunch is how it normally is with you two. You and Carol have always enjoyed each other’s company, since you first met, and that was obviously no different now. You eat and talk and joke together, and you almost forget why you even came to the restaurant today until Carol insists on paying because “you’re in this mess because of me”.

After a while you both stand from your table and you grab your handbag, adjusting the strap on your shoulder.

“You good to go?” Carol asks. You look at her, and something over her shoulder catches your attention. There’s a man standing on the other side of the street, his camera pointed straight at you.

Jumping into action, you lean over and press a quick kiss to Carol’s cheek, not missing the way she springs back slightly in shock, and grab her hand.

“Yeah, let’s go,” you rush out, leading her back towards the compound. You duck your head a little to hide the blush you can feel forming on your cheeks. Carol remains silent at your side for a few moments before speaking up.

“So, um. What was that?”

“Yeah, sorry. I, uh-“ you let out a nervous kind of laugh, embarrassed to be this flustered after a simple kiss on the cheek. “There was some guy with a camera. Thought we better keep up appearances.”

“Oh,” is all Carol says before you both find yourselves in a relatively comfortable silence for a good while.

When you notice that you’re beginning to approach where the group of girls were earlier, you press your body more into Carol’s side, resting your free hand on her arm, your other hand remaining in her grasp.

“I’m assuming they’ll still be here,” you say quietly. You feel Carol’s eyes on you, but you keep your eyes locked forward. You miss the soft smile that forms on her face as she studies you before she looks away, though she misses yours, too.

“There they are,” you say when you spot the girls. Carol glances over at them. It looks like there’s even more in their group now. One girl seems to notice you and hushes the group, pointing you out. Their conversations are made up of low whispers, hushed tones falling over the top of one another as they all excitedly chatter, not-so-subtly staring at you and Carol.

You avoid focusing on them too much, but you highly suspect at least one of them to be aiming their phone camera in your direction.

“That’s a good sign, right?” Carol asks, unsure but hopeful.

“I don’t know,” you shrug. “But all we can do now is hope this was a good start.”

[talkfastromance4]

Love So Sweet-- boxer!Luke AU

I’ve finally finished this! This is the longest thing I’ve ever posted in one go. I originally wanted to do this in parts but I have too many in parts I’m still posting now lol. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did writing it! And yes, the title is from TEETH and you’ll see why at the end ;)

Word Count: 19.6k

Warnings: swearing, fighting, drinking (only casually), smut and sexual occurrences, unsolicited hitting on a girl at the bar, mentions of domestic abuse/violence

Masterlist

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Without further ado, enjoy! Please let me know your thoughts on this I’d LOVE to hear your feedback! :)

____________________________________

Luke Hemmings is a player and a boxer, the ultimate troubled duo. He’s the best fighter at Seconds of Summer gymnasium/arena and he goes through women like his fights, quick, fast and onto the next one. Even though the girls know they won’t get a second call from the devastatingly handsome fighter, they were still his entourage at every fight. Cheering him on and wearing scantily clad outfits.

Luke’s been undefeated since the start of the season, but that was all about to change on Friday night when he saw, quite possibly, the most beautiful girl he’s ever seen. She’s standing with her arms across her chest while he slips into the ring. Calum is murmuring tactics in his ear but he’s only half listening. He’s watching the dark haired beauty chew on her nail while she listens to her friend, who Luke recognizes is Penelope, or Nell. Nell is dating Calum.

Excellent.

“Bro, did you hear me? He’s quick on his feet so be wary,” Calum claps his friend on the back and Luke nods, sneaking one more glance at the pretty girl.

The sound of the bell signifies the start of the match and Luke began the dance he knows all too well. His height makes it difficult for him to move as fast as his opponents but it anchored him well enough to throw some great punches and uppercuts.

He won the first round, but he kept peeking at the new girl during the second. She wasn’t even really paying attention, instead she was scrolling through her phone or talking with Nell who was watching Luke adamantly. At least she was interested.

“Come on, Luke! Get your head in!” Calum shouts from behind and Luke regains his focus on the opponent dancing opposite him.

Luke took a running start and flipped the guy over his shoulder so he fell onto his back, his body making a loud thud and the crowd went crazy. Luke tucks a loose curl from his bun behind his ear and he strolls over to where Nell and the pretty girl were.

His usual gaggle of girls scream his name as he approached but the girl he was keen on noticing him was completely oblivious. That irritated him. Why come to a match if you aren’t going to watch?

Luke sighs and winks at his fans who squealed in response. The ding of the third and final round sounded and he turned around and was met with a hard fist to his jaw. It causes Luke to stagger as he rubs his jaw, the taste of pennies fills his mouth. He spits out fresh blood and curses at himself. This girl is getting in his head and he doesn’t even know what the hell her name is.

He lunges for his opponent but he’s tripped up, falling hard onto the floor and the guy is on top of him. Luke hears so much noise and the sound of flesh hitting flesh, then he thinks of the girl and with all his willpower he flips himself over with a loud grunt. He has the other guy pinned by the neck and the ref counts to ten.

A double bell sounds the end of the match and Luke clambers off his opponent. Calum and his two other best friends, Michael and Ashton, are jumping on him in victory. The crowd is going nuts, Luke’s breathing is heavy and his eyes scan the crowd for Nell and the girl but they’re gone.

He almost lost because of her and she didn’t even fucking witness his win. Unbelievable.

• • • •

“Why are you in such a mood? You’re on your tenth win!” Michael exclaims while they’re at their favorite bar, Charlie’s after the match.

“Thought I was going to break that streak tonight, Mike,” Luke says tipping his beer bottle to his lips.

“Yeah, what happened that second round?” Calum asks.

“I dunno, I got in my head,” he shrugs. He glances at the door just as Nell walks in searching for Cal. The girl he saw is close beside her. “Fuckin’ hell.”

“Hey guys!” Nell greets excitedly then looks to Luke, “congrats on the win, big man. Ten and counting.”

“Thanks, Nell,” Luke grins brushing his curls back with both hands, his eyes roaming over to the brown haired beauty.

She’s standing awkwardly playing with the pendant of her necklace. Luke can see her eyes are a deep blue.

“Oh! Everyone, this is my cousin, Evie. Evie these are Calum, Ashton, Michael, and the champion over there is Luke,” Nell introduces pointing to each person.

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you all,” Evie gives a small wave to the group, her eyes slide over to Luke whose gaze hasn’t left her.

“She just moved here from Wisconsin,” Nell continues finding a comfortable spot in Calum’s lap who kisses her cheek affectionately.

“Well, welcome to sunny LA,” Ashton laughs with his arms open.

“Thanks,” she smiles a bit awkwardly and Luke can tell she’s shy.

As annoyed as he is that she distracted him earlier, he finds it endearing. He can feel she’s got a thick wall up and he wants to do anything in his power to knock it down. Just as long as she doesn’t keep getting into his head during fights.

• • • •

The next time he saw Evie was at his next match, and just like the first one, she wasn’t watching. She was on her phone or looking anywhere and everywhere around her except for at Luke and the ring. He almost lost again, but when that thought entered his mind it made him angry so he ended up winning anyway.

Ashton was throwing an after party at his place, lo and behold, Evie was off to the corner nursing a drink in her hand while Calum and Nell were on the opposite corner near the beer pong table... Her dissociation irritated Luke and it increased each time he saw her doing. Taking a quick shot and leaving the platinum blonde who was flirting with him mirthlessly in midsentence, he makes his way over to her.

She looks up at him, giving him a weak smile then turns her attention to the contents in her cup as she swirls it in her hand.

“You’re not a people person, are you, sweetheart?” Luke asks under his breath sidling closer to her. Normally he uses the form of endearment on his gaggle of girls as part of his tactic to get them into his bed, but it drips condescension with Evie.

“What do you mean?”

“At the matches and the bar you’re on your phone and now here,” he tilts his head down to look at her, his height overpowering, “you’re in the corner like a pretty little wallflower.”

“I’m not bothering anybody, so what’s the big deal?” she shrugs.

Luke is surprised at her retort to be honest. He thought the quiet, shy girl wouldn’t have a bite in her so he grins devilishly. “It bothers me,” he says lowly digging his hands in his black jeans.

Evie’s eyebrows raise in response. “How?”

“It bothers me how you’re always on your bloody phone when you come to a fight. You get in my head and it messes up my game. I’ve almost lost twice now because of you.”

“How exactly is that my fault? Why are you watching me anyway when you should be fighting?” her big blue eyes turn steely, he notices her sky blue manicured fingers tighten on her red solo cup.

“You distract me.”

“That sounds like your problem, not mine.”

“Evie! Come take a shot!” Nell shouts from across the room. Without another word, Evie skips around Luke’s large frame to join her cousin and his friends.

He sets his jaw and watches her go, wondering what the fuck this chick is doing with his head.

• • • •

The group of friends decided to go to a bar downtown. It was nothing like Charlie’s. It was more of a club than a bar because of the bouncers out front with a velvet rope and a massive line stretching down the sidewalk.

Luke is surprised to see Evie has joined them and even more surprised at the outfit she’s wearing. Normally when he’d see her at the ring she has on leggings and a simple shirt. Now she’s sporting black high-waisted shorts with a red sparkly tank top, he can’t help but notice the perfect amount of cleavage showing either.

Evie gives him a small smile in greeting when she walks past him. The smell of her perfume—roses and something fruity—are left in her wake leaving him momentarily stunned.

“You all right, man?” Calum asks walking by with Nell on his arm.

“Yeah, fine,” Luke mumbles following them inside the bar.

It’s dark and hazy from the random smoke machines that would go off with the bass drop of the songs. It’s crowded too and Luke searches for Evie only to find her up front leading the pack while he takes up the rear. The shortest and shyest girl of the group is leading them through the bar?

He sighs in slight irritation when he realizes he’ll have to keep his eye on her for the night so she doesn’t get into a compromising situation. He knows how guys’ minds work and Evie has that perfect innocent look with those big eyes of hers that draws you in.

Once they’re up at the bar he orders a round of shots first, something simple like a lemon drop. The group gathers in a big circle clinking their glasses and Luke’s eyes stay glued to Evie as she sucks the sugar off the lemon and licks left over sugar off her lips.

Luke orders another shot for himself. This is going to be a long fucking night.

The drinks flowed constantly and the girls danced along to the music. Luke had even saw a prospect of a girl across the bar but when he heard Evie shriek in laughter he was pulled right back to his unofficial post of watching out for her.

He tells Calum he’s heading to the bathroom quick who nods and Luke gives one more look at Evie. She’s leaning against the bar sipping on her drink listening to whatever Nell is telling her. Luke slips by dancing bodies quick as he can, now that he’s heading to the bathroom the need to relieve himself has increased.

When he’s finished he splashes water on his face and gazes at himself in the mirror. His eyes are bluer and he realizes he’s not even drunk because he’s been so preoccupied watching out for Evie.

Sighing at his reflection, he heads out of the bathroom but when he returns to his group, Evie isn’t in sight.

“Hey, where’d Evie go?” Luke asks Ashton who’s talking to some girl with bright orange eye shadow on.

“Uh, bathroom,” Ashton answers then turns back to orange eyeshadow girl.

Luke sighs scanning the crowd for her face before ordering a beer. Nell is making out with Calum against the bar so she clearly didn’t accompany Evie to the bathroom. He takes tender sips of his beer scanning constantly for Evie’s red shimmering top.

Finally, after what feels like hours, he spots her weaving in between people and Luke stands up a little straighter as she approaches. He frowns when he sees the look on her face then spots a guy behind her clearly trying to get her attention. Luke’s grip on his beer tightens, coaxing her to get to their group faster silently in his head.

When the guy grabs onto her wrist and waist pulling her against him, Luke springs into action. He slams his beer bottle on the bar top and stalks over to Evie.

“Let me go,” her voice is high as she tries to break free from the stranger but Luke is stronger.

He wedges himself in between Evie and this asshole easily, he pushes Evie behind him then glares at asshole.

“Hey man, I had her first—“

“She didn’t want you,” Luke says, his voice steely. “Walk away.”

“Whatever,” asshole scoffs shaking his head, “fucking tease of a slut anyway.”

The next thing Luke knows his fist has connected with the guy’s jaw causing him to stumble backwards into a throng of people. There’s gasps then Calum and Ashton are beside Luke when the asshole regains his footing. When he sees two other large men standing before him, he rubs his jaw then ducks away back into the crowd.

“What the hell was that?” Calum asks Luke in alarm.

Luke ignores him and instead turns around to look at Evie who’s being consoled by Nell. Her eyes are wide in shock and she’s clearly visibly shaken and what just happened.

“Are you okay?” Luke asks sincerely taking a hesitant step forward.

Her nod is jerky while she rubs her wrist, Nell is rubbing her back and hugging her to her side. Luke nods then puts a couple twenties on the bar to cover the rest of their drinks.

“Let’s get out of here,” he says and everyone agrees quickly.

He makes sure Evie is in front with Nell, Ashton and Calum are on his side as they basically escort the girls from the bar. The car ride was silent, the altercation sobering everyone up pretty quickly. Luke is only half listening to Calum berate him for punching someone outside of the ring but Luke would do it again in a heartbeat.

His breath catches at the realization.

Nell decides to stay the night with Evie and the guys want one more drink so they were going to go to Charlie’s but before they drove off Evie approaches the passenger side door. Luke rolls the window down.

“Thank you, for what you did,” she thanks him.

“You’re welcome,” he grunts clearing his throat. Their gaze holds for a moment before she nods then retreats to the entrance of her apartment.

• • • •

Luke tried to get Evie out of his head by getting someone else underneath him. It wasn’t until he opened his eyes while he was pounding into the girl he picked up at the end of his practice match that he realized he picked her out from the crowd only because her hair was the same color as Evie’s.

He closed his eyes again and focused on reaching his climax but it only made it worse because all he saw were Evie’s big, dark blue eyes.

Well, that didn’t work.

At his next match three weeks later, Evie is with Nell with the others surrounding them. She was still on her phone but not as often as the first couple times. That eased Luke a little. Slightly. Not really.

At Ashton’s that night he finally corners her because he needs answers. He pulls her out on the balcony, the summer breeze cools his burned temper slightly and she stares up at him in shock, her mouth open slightly. Luke tried not let her pink lips distract him.

“Why come?” he demands shoving his hands in his pockets

“What?”

“Why come to the match when you don’t even watch? Whoever you’re texting on your phone is more important so why come?”

“What is your deal with me Luke? You have a whole group of girls watching you, why does it matter so much what I do?”

“Because! You’re there with Nell then you act like we’re all beneath you or something. Like we’re not important enough for your time. It’s aggravating.”

“You want to know why I’m on my phone?” her voice changes and her eyes harden.

“Yes.”

“You really want to know why I don’t watch your fights?” Her normal soft voice is now monotonous with a hint of hysteria at the end.

“Yes,” he chuckles sardonically. “These are really simple questions.”

“Fine!” She throws her arms up as if in defeat. “I’m on my phone because my friends back home keep me updated on where my ex is. I can’t watch you fight because that’s what my ex did to me. Broken jaw? He gave me one. A split lip? I’ve had three. I’ve been bruised and beaten and I only come because Nell is my favorite cousin but I can’t tell her any of this because she loves it. There, are you satisfied now?”

Luke is frozen in his spot. He wasn’t expecting any of that and now he feels like a complete ass. His shock is quickly replaced with anger at whoever her ex is because any man who hits a woman is the lowest of the low and the scum of the earth.

“I—I’m sorry, I didn’t—“

“Now you do know,” she scoffs pushing past him and forces the glass door open. It slams against the wall as she stalks past their friends.

“Evie, wait!” he calls after her but she’s already rushing out Ashton’s front door. Everyone is calling her name then turn to Luke.

“What happened?” Nell asks worriedly.

“I messed up,” Luke mutters. “Fuck!” he runs his fingers through his curls in exasperation.

Nell runs out the door after her cousin and the others look at Luke waiting for an explanation but he won’t give them one. He’s not going to air Evie’s secret. He wanted to get her walls down but he never could have imagined the warzone he’d find behind it.

• • • •

Evie isn’t at his match the following Friday and it brings a bit pit to his stomach, he feels awful about what she admitted to him. After he practically bullied her into confessing it in the first place. After his win, he jogs to Nell who is looking somber.

“Where’s Evie?” he pants.

“Home. She wasn’t feeling well,” she responds stoically. “I don’t know what happened between you two, but she’s being more withdrawn than normal. You better apologize or do something to fix this Luke.”

“I will,” he nods frantically.

After his shower, Ashton is waiting for him by his cubby where his clothes are.

“What happened with you and Evie?” Ashton asks calmly.

“I really fucked up, Ash,” Luke sighs shaking his head.

“What’d you do?”

“I confronted her about being on her phone during my fights and . . . you can’t tell Nell this, but Evie’s ex was abusive. She said she’s had a broken jaw and a split lip and who knows what else. I think that’s why she moved, to get away from him.”

“Shit,” Ashton mutters looking at his feet. His hazel eyes are hardened when he looks back up at Luke. “You better fix this. Nell said she’s been real torn up.”

“I know. It’s all my fault. Do you know her apartment number? I want to go apologize.”

• • • •

Luke takes a deep breath before buzzing Evie’s apartment number.

“Yes? Who is this?” she asks over the intercom.

“It’s me, Luke. Can I come up? I want to talk to you.”

“We did enough talking, Luke.”

“No! Please, Evie. It’s really important,” he begs. It’s silent on her end of the speaker for about ten seconds then he hears the buzz of the door unlocking.

He bounds to the elevator and rushes to her door on the third floor. He knocks twice on her door and it opens wide to reveal Evie in sleep shorts and a thin hoodie. Even with no make-up, she still made Luke’s heart skip a beat.

“What’s so important?” she folds her arms.

“Can I come in?” he asks softly.

Evie sighs with her lips pursed contemplating until she finally steps back into her apartment with Luke trailing in behind her. He glances around her apartment, it’s warm and inviting with a fresh scent he can’t quite place. It feels very homey with pictures and art on her walls, fluffy rugs and blankets on her couch.

“What do you want, Luke?” she asks softly.

His eyes finally land her, really taking her appearance in. Her hair is curly in a low ponytail, she’s got dark circles under her eyes as if she hasn’t been sleeping well. That makes him feel worse.

“I want to apologize for last week. I’m so sorry Evie, if I would have known—“

“I didn’t want anyone to know,” she admits quietly, “I wanted to come here because it’s far from him. I dyed my hair and wanted to start over.”

“I’m so sorry,” he repeats, his sorrow heavy in his words.

“You said that already,” she flashes a small smile but it doesn’t meet her eyes.

“And I’ll keep saying it until it takes away how big of an ass I was to you. I’m not normally like that, I don’t know why it bothered me so much.”

“You’re used to girls watching your every move then throwing themselves at you,” she shrugs. “No big deal.”

“It is a big deal. I don’t want you to ever feel unsafe when you’re around me. And now I realize what I did at the bar probably made you terrified of me but I don’t—“he shakes his head. “When I fight it’s strictly tactical and in the ring. I do training everyday, I’ve been fighting since I was—“

“I’m not scared of you, Luke.”

“You’re not?”

“No,” she sighs. “And what happened at the bar . . . yeah it was scary but if you didn’t punch him who knows what that guy would have done. It’s just with the fights . . . the sounds bring it all back. What he did to me.”

“Fuck, I’m sorry. Can I make us some tea or something? Do you want to talk about it? Or, not talk about it? We can talk about anything else.”

“Tea sounds nice.”

• • • •

“It hasn’t really hit yet that I’m free of him, Danny is his name” she shakes her head while they’re sitting on her couch. A movie is playing on her TV while they’ve been talking. “Bad choice of words but I’m scared he’ll find me.”

“I won’t let him. He’ll have to come through me first.”

“He doesn’t stand a chance,” she smiles and he returns it.

“How long were you with him?”

“A year. My longest relationship and of course this is what happens.”

“I’m sorry you went through that. Why haven’t you told Nell?”

“Because she’d want me to go to the police but it wouldn’t do any good.”

“Why? Then you wouldn’t have to keep checking behind your shoulder if he followed you here.”

“If anything he’d get six months.”

“Did you get photo evidence?”

“Yeah.”

“Then he’d be locked up for sure—“

“Luke, you and I both know he wouldn’t. He’s conniving and he’d pay his way out of it which would only make it worse for me,” she snuggles a big white pillow against her chest.

They’re silent for a few moments watching the movie but Luke has no idea what is going on with the plot.

“You need some sleep,” he peers down at her worriedly. The dark circles under her eyes seemed to have gotten darker since he first arrived.

“Which is another way of saying ‘you look like shit,’ thanks,” she chuckles nuzzling closer into the pillow.

“No that’s not—“he sighs shaking his head. “Your eyes look sleepy, that’s all. Have you had trouble sleeping?”

“Lately, yeah,” she admits, her eyes roam over the characters on the screen. The light from the TV glows on her face, his heart aches at how tired she looks.

“I’ll stay until you fall asleep.”

“That might be awhile,” she warns.

“Good thing your couch is comfy,” he throws a blanket over her and stretches his legs out on the L-shaped portion of the couch, “and can hold a giant like me.”

She chuckles softly as he burrows further into the cushions, draping a blanket onto himself as well. He really likes how she has so many. It makes him feel cozy.

“Thanks, Luke.”

• • • •

Luke’s not quite sure what jolts him awake, but when his body jerks he has a momentary lapse of memory where he is. The TV is going through featured Netflix shows and movies when he looks down to see Evie has somehow scooted herself closer to him in her sleep. Her pillow is against his right side and her hand is clutching the fabric of his sweatshirt.

Luke smiles down at her then searches for the remote, it’s tucked in front of her. He pulls it away then uses the flashlight on his phone to figure out the buttons. Once the screen goes black, Evie stirs next to him mumbling incoherently, her fingers flexing on his sweatshirt.

“Sorry sweetheart,” he hushes, “just turning the TV off. Go back to sleep.”

She hums in acknowledgment and Luke tries to stand up without jostling her.

“Don’t go,” she sighs sleepily.

Luke freezes. Did she really say that?

“Are you sure?” he asks a bit louder.

“Stay,” she nods with her eyes still closed, “please.”

• • • •

His little sleepover with Evie from the night before has been running through Luke’s mind all day. Instead of straying his focus it has somehow kept him more on target with his punches and dodges from Calum as they practice in the ring. When he moves to the bag he’s imagining it to be the face of her ex, he doesn’t know what he looks like but he punches it as hard as he can anyway.

Once he’s finished practice and showered he calls up Evie who answers it cautiously.

“Hey, it’s me, Luke,” he says wondering why she answered that way.

“Oh thank God,” she exhales, “I thought—“

“Shit,” Luke closes his eyes slamming his head back against his seat, “I’m sorry. Of course you’d be weary because you don’t have my number and would think it’s—I’m sorry, Evie.”

“It’s all right, Luke,” she chuckles, “I’m good. What’s up? How’d you get my number anyway?”

“Nell gave it to me. I just finished practice, would you want to grab a bite to eat?”

• • • •

Evie is giggling hard behind her hand as Luke finished his embarrassing story. They were at a diner not too far from her apartment where she ordered a grilled cheese with a strawberry milkshake and a plate of fries in the center of the table.

“Ashton really thought baby turtles were tadpoles?” she snorts and it’s so damn cute Luke thinks his smile is going to be permanently stuck on his face.

“That’s closer than his second guess of thinking they’re mosquitoes,” he chortles popping a fry in his mouth.

The booth they’re currently sitting in is in the far corner by the window and he’s got his arm around the back of the booth but when Evie shifts, his fingers will brush her shoulder. His initial irritation for her is long gone and he hates himself for even feeling that way in the first place.

Now, he feels nothing but calmness when he’s with her, sitting here feels so natural and easy. When he picked her up at her apartment she told him she slept all day after he left to go to practice. Her eyes appeared brighter and she didn’t look so sleepy anymore which pleased Luke.

“You boys are funny,” she snickers taking a hearty sip of her shake.

“Excuse me, I’m a man,” he squeezes her shoulder and she leans into him.

“If you say so,” she giggles then picks up her phone at a buzzed notification. Apparently it’s irrelevant because she locks it right away then nudges him. “Don’t you have a fight in a few hours?”

“Yeah,” he shrugs. “I don’t need to be there until 7. Fight’s at eight.” He plucks up a French fry, dips it in ketchup and holds it in front of her mouth.

Without a thought she takes it and chews slowly as if she’s thinking of something to say.

“You don’t have to come, Evie,” he tells her gently watching her as her eyebrows furrow together.

“I know,” she nods then says more softly, “but I want to see you.”

“You can see me after. We’ll probably be at Charlie’s or I can come to your place and watch Friends.”

“I just won’t watch, I promise I’ll be fine,” she insists.

Luke knows he should convince her more to stay at her apartment but the thought of not seeing her for almost two hours doesn’t sit well with him. Her presence has impacted him greatly these past few weeks.

She nods again then rests her head on his shoulder. Her willingness to do that jumpstarts his heart and he rubs her shoulder. He wishes there was a way she could watch him fight without memories creeping up from her past.

Then, suddenly, he has a thought.

• • • •

When it’s almost time for him to fight, Luke grabs the small box from his cubby and moves to the door. Calum yells at him.

“I’ll be right back, I have to give Evie something,” he says dismissively then exits the locker room.

Cheers and calls fill his ears immediately as he enters the darkened ring area. He pushes through the bodies easily knowing where exactly Evie is standing. He spots her in between Ashton and Nell and sure enough, she’s on her phone.

“Luke, what are you doing?” Ashton asks.

Luke’s stomach flips when Evie’s head snaps up at the mention of his name, he smiles easily and she returns it. He pulls the box out of the pocket of his hoodie and pulls Evie aside, her hand is warm and comforting in his large one.

“Shouldn’t you be in the locker room?” she asks with a smile.

“In a minute. I got something for you,” he hands her the box.

Evie looks up at him in confusion before sliding it open then she gasps, her eyes are wide when she looks up at him again. They’re air pods.

“Luke, this is—“

“I sent you a link to a playlist on my Spotify,” he talks over her, “put these in, listen to it and you won’t have to hear the punches.”

Her mouth hangs open as she stares at the gift and then moves to her phone to find the playlist he was talking about. He titled it as her name with a blue heart next to it.

“They’re some of my favorite songs, and others made me think of you,” he shrugs sheepishly.

“Luke,” she shakes her head again then launches herself in his arms to hug him tightly.

He wraps his arms around her tightly, lifting her slightly off the ground because of their height difference.

“You’re so sweet,” she says into his neck and he shivers. Her arms release from his neck and he sets her down on the ground again. “Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome,” he grins then looks above her head at the ring. It’s almost his turn. “Come on, let’s get you back to Ashton and Nell before Calum comes out here and kills me.”

Before he does go back in the locker room, he helps her sync the air pods and slips them in her ears. She snatches his hand and leans up to kiss his cheek murmuring, ‘good luck.’

That night is the fastest Luke has won a match because he still felt Evie’s kiss on his cheek. It fueled his adrenaline and fueled his desire for her more. He showered quickly so he could go out to her and she was the first one to congratulate him and hug him on his win. He would have just loved to hold her as long as possible but his other friends wanted to show their congratulations as well.

After some small chit chat they all decided to head to Ashton’s place to drink in celebration.

“Ride with me?” he asks her as they walk out of the building hand in hand. Their group is loud to their cars but Luke and Evie are in their own little world.

“Okay,” she smiles sweetly up at him.

After a few rounds of drinks, Ashton’s living room has gotten a little stuffy. Luke stepped away for a minute to use the bathroom and when he returned Evie was nowhere in sight. He began to panic slightly when Calum jerked his head to the balcony where the doors were opened partly. Luke nodded his thanks and slipped outside to find Evie leaning against the cement wall staring out at the skyline.

“Cooler out here, yeah?” he asks.

“Yeah,” she sighs, “You found me.”

“I had a little help from Cal,” he grins sidling up next to her.

“Man, he ruined it.”

Luke laughs. “Did the earphones help?”

“They did,” she turns her head to look at him. His back is against the wall but he’s been staring at her the whole time. “You didn’t have to do that though, those are expensive.”

“I don’t mind.”

“You’re something else, Luke Hemmings.”

“You’re something spectacular, Evie Carson,” he nudges her playfully and she blushes.

“No, I’m not.”

“But you are though,” he disagrees lightly turning his body so his right arm is leaning on top of the wall. “You’re the sweetest girl I’ve ever met.”

“That doesn’t make someone spectacular,” she rolls her eyes.

“You’re also witty, and smart, and braver than anyone else I know. You’re funny, and beautiful without even trying.”

“You left out my eyes,” she bats them at him for good measure and he laughs.

“Can’t forget those beauties,” he strokes her cheek just below her eye.

“You’re pretty spectacular too, you know.”

He snorts in response.

“You are! You have this bad ass exterior with your leather jacket and painted nails and boxing, but deep down you’ve got so much heart and soul. You’re funny and charming and I trust you.”

He swallows hard. He’s wanted to kiss her for a while now, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity but he didn’t want to go for it and make her feel forced. He leans forward to touch her cheek again, then ghosts his fingers on her jaw and under her chin.

“Can I kiss you?”

“Yeah,” she barely whispers.

He tilts her chin up slightly then presses his lips to hers softly. It’s innocent enough but when Evie squeezes the sleeve of his leather jacket he takes that as his cue to deepen it so he threads his fingers in her hair to make the kiss deeper. He feels her hesitancy and he doesn’t want to push her so he breaks away slowly. He gives her one more peck. Then another.

She breaks into a smile bowing her head bashfully. Before he can ask what’s wrong she buries her face in his chest.

“Thank you,” she muffles, “that was perfect.”

“Anytime, sweetheart,” he smiles wrapping her up in his arms resting his chin on her head. He kisses her hair and sways from side to side.

When he feels her begin to shiver they head back inside and are glued together the rest of the night. They’re sitting on Ashton’s couch with his arm wrapped around her shoulders and Evie is nestled into his chest with her arm draped over his stomach. They were having quiet conversation until her head became slightly heavier and her breathing became deeper, he knew she was asleep.

“Has mine eyes deceived me?” Ashton asks pulling attention to the two on the couch. “Someone got through your hard, icy heart?”

Their friends all laugh and Luke shakes his head.

“Shut up,” he says softly, “if you wake her I’ll fight you.”

Ashton puts his arms up in defense and Evie shifts on Luke’s chest.

“Be nice,” she sighs heavily and pokes his stomach.

“Did he wake you?”

She shakes her head. “No. I was just resting my eyes, and you’re comfy.”

Luke smirks and rests his lips on her head, not kissing her but just feeling her warmth.

“Do you want me to take you home, lovie?” he murmurs. She hums a yes. “All right, come on.”

• • • •

After a long while of saying goodbye they were finally on their way to Evie’s apartment. Luke still didn’t want to leave her and was pleased when she asked him, ‘aren’t you coming?’ He couldn’t get out of the car fast enough just so he could hold her hand. Luke has never been the type of guy to be excited just by holding a girl’s hand before but with Evie it was different.

Everything with Evie was different. He took the key from her easily as she struggled to put it in the slot. She kicks off her shoes, he does the same, and follows her to her bedroom. He’s not quite sure if she wants him to spend the night but when she grabs her pajamas and motions to the bed saying,

“Make sure it’s warm for me when I get back.” And left to her bathroom.

He lets out a sigh of relief but can hear his heart pounding in his ears. Sure, he spent the night before but that was under different circumstances. This, though, this was something different entirely. Tonight they shared a kiss and Luke wasn’t afraid to admit that he liked her. He adores Evie.

Just as he pulled off his leather jacket, he had on a white t-shirt and his dark grey joggers (he’s thankful he didn’t wear his jeans otherwise it’d be an uncomfortable night) Evie returns. Luke can’t help but smile at her outfit, cloth shorts and a t-shirt with an elephant on the front. Her face was free of makeup and he could still smell the mint of her toothpaste.

“I thought I told you to keep the bed warm,” she pouts standing in front of him tossing her clothes in a pile on a chair in the corner.

“I got distracted,” he shrugs.

“By what?”

“You,” he pokes her nose causing her to giggle.

She stretches up on her toes to kiss his lips quickly then grabs his hand and pulls him to her bed. They climb in together, Luke is surprised at how comfy her bed is, and he pulls her close. She tangles their legs together and he puts his fingers through her hair before leaning in to kiss her.

It’s slow and languid the way their lips move together, he’s hesitant as he slips his tongue in her mouth. Evie sighs into him clutching his shirt in her fingers. He smiles.

“You taste minty,” he mumbles.

“You should brush your teeth,” she sighs dragging her nails over the scruff of his cheek but keeps kissing him.

He chuckles dryly against her lips. “Are you saying my breath stinks?”

“Maybe,” she sighs then giggles.

“I thought I was the asshole in this relationship?” he smirks stroking her cheek with his thumb.

“You did not just call me an asshole!”

“You said my breath stinks!”

“Did not! You can go to sleep without brushing your teeth? Disgusting,” she teases then captures his bottom lip between hers.

“Then why do you keep kissing me?” he asks after they have to catch their breath.

“Because I like kissing you. But go brush your teeth so you can come back faster and I can keep kissing you,” she kisses his nose then nips at it with her teeth.

“Ow! Fine, I’m going, you didn’t have to bite me,” he pinches her side before slipping out from the covers.

He doesn’t spot an extra toothbrush and doesn’t want to be a creep and go through her drawers and cabinets, so he uses the mouthwash on the counter. He gargles twice just to make sure she’s satisfied then jogs back quickly to his sleepy girl who is now very much wide awake. She’s sitting up against the headboard then smiles gleefully at the sight of him.

“Feel better?” she asks.

He takes his place back into her bed then pulls her easily onto his chest, she laughs as one hand holds onto her waist and the other cups her cheek.

“Now I do,” he breathes staring into her eyes.

Evie bends down to kiss him again but he easily takes the lead, massaging his tongue against hers running it over her bottom lip. She hums at that and it tightens his stomach. They continue to kiss in whispers until their lips are chapped and their breathing is irregular and Luke pushes her away gently.

“You should get some sleep, lovie,” he whispers kissing her jaw.

“I don’t want to sleep. I want to keep kissing you,” she pouts.

He traces her pouted lip and he wants to keep kissing her, too. He wants to do more than kiss but that’s for another night down the road.

“I do too, but we’ll have plenty of time to kiss tomorrow. It’s . . .” he stretches his arm to snatch his phone from the floor to look at the time. “It’s 3:30 in the morning, you need to sleep.”

“Fine,” she sighs rolling off him in a huff. He pulls her right back so he can run his fingers through her hair.

“Am I forgiven?”

“If you keep playing with my hair, then yes.”

He smiles and settles into the bed, his body is totally relaxed. He finds he’s like that a lot when he’s with Evie. He’s never been one to cuddle with other girls, after he’d sleep with them they’d always leave. He never cuddled. But with Evie it’s easy because she fits so perfectly against his body.

“Luke?”

“Yeah?”

“Before, when you said you were the ‘asshole in this relationship. . .’ does that mean we’re in a relationship?” her voice is quiet and he can hear the hesitancy in it.

He swallows hard. “I want to be, but only if you do, too.”

“I do want to.”

He hears the smile in her voice and he kisses her forehead.

“And you aren’t an asshole,” she says.

“To other people I am. You’re the only exception.”

• • • •

A few weeks have gone by and Luke and Evie have been spending so much time together. She’ll come by after his practice and head to the diner for lunch. Kissing is always evident and one night in particular is fresh in Luke’s mind when they went one step further.

When they were watching Friends he pulled her onto his lap, with one hand holding onto the back of her head and the other precariously close to her core on her inner thigh, she boldly moved his fingers to the round wetness between her legs.

“Want my fingers, baby?” he murmured and she nodded biting her lips.

He slid his hand from her hair to her lower back and began to rub his finger in circles on the outside of her underwear. He felt her bundle of nerves and the wet spot on her panties grew slightly. With their eyes still locked on each other he pushed the fabric aside and teased his finger up her slit. She jolted at his touch and he smirked.

“I haven’t even done anything and you’re already this wet for me?” he grinned teasing his finger up once more.

“Don’t tease, please,” she practically whined and Luke’s eyes darkened at her form of submission.

He removed his finger and before she could protest he held it in front of her mouth, the tip of his finger coated in her arousal.

“Suck,” he commanded softly, “then I’ll give you what you want.”

Her lips fluttered in a faint smile, she took his hand in both of hers then slipped her mouth over his long finger. Her tongue swirled around it as she took it all in his mouth. He enjoyed watching her mouth work on his finger, the idea of her doing that around his cock caused it to twitch in his sweats but he ignored it. He wanted to please her and only her.

“That’s good baby,” he praised removing his finger with a pop. A line of spit was connected to his fingertip and seeing it sling back to her lower lip aroused him in a terrible way. He kissed her roughly and inserted his finger into her entrance easily.

She gasped in his mouth as he twirled his finger inside of her and she rose on her legs so he could get a better angle. He pumped into her languidly, then when he added a second finger she moaned loudly and knocked her forehead against his. He tilted his head so he could still see her face as he twiddled and scissored his fingers inside her.

She came on his fingers that night and Luke can still hear her pretty moans while he’s going over the fight schedule with Cal. The look she made when she came undone on him was imprinted on his brain and the way—

“Luke!” Calum shoves him snapping his that encounter with Evie out of his head.

“Sorry, what?” Luke clears his throat looking over at Cal.

“I said, you’re going to be doing five fights in two days. Peterson is still out because of his wrist so you’re taking his slot on Thursday along with yours and Jacobsen is out for his fight Friday morning, and then you’re going against Hayes Friday night. Will you be able to handle that?” he raises his dark eyebrows.

“Oh,” Luke blinks looking at the schedule. “Yeah. No problem. Is that all?”

“Yeah, hey . . . Luke?”

“What?”

“Listen, I’m real happy you and Evie have gotten together. But, I don’t want her to shift your focus in the ring.”

“Cal, if anything,” Luke places his hand on Calum’s shoulder, “she makes me more focused. I gotta go get her, I’m making her dinner at my place tonight. See you Thursday.”

“No, I’ll see you Tuesday for practice, Luke,” he shakes his head.

“Right. Tuesday. I’m just messing with you, I know I’ll see you Tuesday. Later.”

Calum shakes his head again as he watches his lovesick best friend and champion walk away to get his girl. It’s a nice change seeing a genuine smile on Luke’s face instead of a permanent grimace. He’s got Evie to thank for that.

• • • •

Luke wasn’t the best cook so he resulted in baking a pizza for him and Evie. He blushed when he told her but she kissed his cheek assuring him, ‘I love pizza.’ So while he was kneading the dough on the pan she was getting the cheese and chicken ready to place on the pizza.

The playlist he made for her was playing and he was singing along to it, she loved listening to his voice. It was so pretty and comforting. When it was time to put on the toppings, she scooped up some cheese and put it in the sauce then held it up for him to eat. He took it gladly smiling then kissed tomato sauce off her thumb. She giggled and he winked before doing the same to her.

Before she could even lick up the sauce on his finger, he swiped it on her cheek near her ear and she gasped.

“Hey!”

“Oh no, let me get that,” he grins. He grabs her waist and licks up the sauce with a wet kiss, but he doesn’t stop there. He moves his lips to her ear then onto her jaw until finally on her neck where he begins to suck and bite.

She sighs running her hands up his arms moving her head to the side so he can access her neck better. He’s on his third mark when the oven dings signaling it’s all heated up.

“Luke, Luke, baby the oven’s ready,” she giggles.

“It can wait,” he mumbles squeezing her hips, his thumbs creating circles on her exposed skin.

“No, you’re hungry. Put the pizza in and we can continue,” she giggles shoving him off playfully.

He grunts but does as she says. She adjusts her shirt watching him pick up the pizza pan and checks out his ass as he bends down to put it in the pizza. He catches her and he smirks.

“Were you checking me out?” he asks even though he knows she was.

“Who me? No way,” she waves him off and turns away from him.

“Get back here!”

He lifts her in his arms causing her to squeal and he collapses onto his couch with her straddling his lap. He unzips her sweatshirt so she’s just in a tank top with her cleavage in front of his face. With one look she connects their lips together and they make out for a while before it’s her turn to drag her lips onto his neck.

Luke rolls his head back onto the couch as she sucks expertly on his skin. His large hands are holding onto her waist, he rocks her slowly against him moaning at the friction of their bodies. Tied with her mouth on his neck if Luke died right there he’d die a happy man.

“Mm, baby, you’re good at that,” he moans as she continues to suck on his skin.

“I’m good at something else, too,” she exhales and he gets goosebumps.

Before he can retort she’s slipping off his lap onto the floor and begins to undo the button of his jeans. She’s meticulous and takes her time with his zipper as he stares wide eyed as this beautiful girl before him shucks his pants down his thighs. He gulps when her finger lightly traces around the perimeter of the head of his dick. It twitches in response and she smiles.

“Can I?” she asks flicking her big beautiful doe eyes up at him.

Luke’s voice is gone so he just nods.

She lifts his girth into her palm, Luke is aching when she presses soft kisses up his shaft and then a wet one over his slit. She continues to kiss him preciously then darts her tongue out as she kisses up and down his shaft again.

“Fuck, baby, don’t tease,” he pants reiterating what she told him when he fingered her a few weeks ago.

“What do you say?” she asks and Luke is alarmed that she’s got a small dominant side to her. But he fucking loves it.

“Please, baby,” he exhales lifting his hand up but then drops it back to the cushion. He doesn’t want to grab her hair yet, he doesn’t want to push her.

She smiles again (fucking hell) then spits heavily on his head watching it dribble down before she took him completely in his mouth. Luke couldn’t contain his moan from feeling her mouth wrapped around him. He’s imagined it when he’s in the shower or thinking of her late at night but the real thing is so much better.

She lathers him up with her spit by moving her head up and down and when she’s satisfied, she begins to pump her hand up and down as well and Luke’s mind goes blank. The pizza is forgotten. The day is gone. Hell, his own fucking name has escaped his mind.

The only thing he’s focused on is watching his pretty girl bobbing her head up and down his cock, taking him as far as she can without gagging and what she can’t take she squeezes gently with her fingers which surprisingly feels good.

He’s a moaning mess and she’ll say ‘yeah?’ and ‘does that feel good?’ which causes vibrations and more sensations and he can’t form a coherent sentence so he just keeps moaning. When he’s getting close she sucks on his dick like a literal lollipop and then her fingers begin to fondle his balls and he feels the tight knot in his stomach begin to unravel.

“I don’t swallow,” she says quietly but keeps working at him and he doesn’t care.

“That’s fine, don’t stop . . . I’ll tell you when,” he gasps and bucks his hips slightly.

The sound of her slurping sends him over the edge and then he’s pushing her off him with rushed ‘baby, baby, stop, stop’ and he’s coming over his own fingers. Her small hand is beneath his though and she helps him release until he’s fallen back against the couch hot and bothered and totally satisfied.

He doesn’t even notice her leave until she’s sitting beside him with a wet paper towel in her hand and cleans up his hand and thigh. She rolls it up in a much larger dry piece of towel and he rolls his head to the right to look at her dazedly.

“Hi, honey,” she giggles and he gives her a lazy smile back.

“You’re fuckin’ incredible,” he sighs then purses his lips. She takes the hint and leans in close to peck his lips three times.

“I wanted to make you feel good,” she shrugs.

“You exceeded. That was fuckin’ phenomenal.”

She giggles again and then the oven timer is going off. Luke groans about to get up then realizes his dick is still out with his pants still around his thighs.

“Shit,” he mumbles shuffling them back on while Evie is laughing beside him. “Quiet you.” He wiggles a finger at her in warning and she fake bites in his direction while he heads into the kitchen.

The pizza they made is delicious and they eat a majority of it before deciding on eating mint ice cream for dessert. Luke has an idea and he tells her to go in his room and pick a movie on Netflix to watch. She gives him a quizzical look but does as he says and he pulls out some whipped cream along with the tub of ice cream.

When he enters his room he hears the sound of Mary Poppins Returns on the screen and Evie is sitting cross legged in the center of his bed. She smiles at his appearance and he sets the ice cream on the bed along with the whipped cream and one spoon, she looks confused.

“Just one spoon? No bowls?”

“Nope,” he says smoothly reaching forward and tugs her towards him, her ankles on either side of his legs. “Can you do me a favor, sweetheart?”

“Yeah . . .?”

“Can you take your leggings and underwear off for me?” he smiles pressing his forehead against hers. He hears her sharp inhale and is happy when she complies. He balls up the fabric tossing it to the side somewhere.

“Now,” he mumbles kissing her cheek, “can you lie back for me?”

She nods and slowly lowers herself on her back. Luke grabs her ankles yanking her further down the bed so her naked butt is on the edge. He kneels down then grabs the ice cream and spoon. He puts a small amount on the spoon then drags it carefully from her bellybutton her mound and on the inside of both of her thighs. He sticks it back in the container then picks up the whipped cream.

He sprays the cream on the lines he just made and sets the can on the floor next to him. He hums as he looks at her, she looks delectable and her pussy is throbbing already as he looks up at her. Her eyes are wide with excitement and lust as she realizes his plan.

“You’re my sweet treat,” he rasps then attaches his mouth to her stomach.

The ice cream and whipped cream are cold on her warm skin and it tastes so good on his mouth. He takes his time licking and sucking it up making sure he gets it all off her skin. When he reaches her thighs some of it is rolling onto his bedspread but he could give less than a fuck. He swipes his tongue at the rogue ice cream melting down her thighs and glances up at her before pressing his mouth to her core.

Evie gasps at the coldness of his mouth from the ice cream and whipped cream but then his tongue starts to move in intricate designs and she enjoys it. Her fingers are clenching the bedspread but Luke drags her hand into his hair and she’s yanking on his curls.

He hefts her thighs over his shoulders as he devours her rapidly and excitedly. She’s the sweetest thing he’s ever tasted and his tongue moves in expert precision. Soon she’s rocking her hips into his mouth and her moans are sinful, her fingers yank harder as he feels her come for the first time. He smirks on her pussy lips because he hadn’t even used a finger yet.

“Fuck, Luke,” she whines but he doesn’t stop.

She’s panting and wiggling above him, her thighs clenching around his head as she comes. He peeks at her through his lashes and her mouth is open in pleasure while her eyes are closed and he hopes she’s seeing stars.

When her hips slow back down he removes his mouth and kisses the inside of her thighs, biting lightly to mark her up as she relaxes.

He rests his cheek against her thigh and stares up at her as she opens her eyes slowly. “Hi honey,” he mimics her from earlier.

“Don’t be cheeky,” she sighs and he laughs against her thigh.

• • • •

The incoming fights have been on Luke’s mind all week. He hasn’t seen Evie since he made her pizza Saturday night and he’s had to force his thoughts of her away but it didn’t quite work. It’s been a long four days of constant footwork and practice from Cal.

Evie’s been all too understanding during the whole ordeal but he’s been sure not to tell her he’s doing four fights in two days. He’s not exactly sure why but he doesn’t think she’d like that too much. Nell was even in the dark about it too, so she was spending the night with Evie while Luke and the guys were at the matches.

The first fight went well and Luke walked away with minimal damage, just a small cut on his lip and bruised knuckles. His next fight was at 8:30 so he had a little time to call her.

“Hey you,” she greets and he can hear the smile in her voice. He wishes he could see it.

“Hi baby,” he smiles sitting gingerly on the bench.

“How’s practice?”

“Uh, good. Calum’s making sure to put me to work,” he chortles, “I just wanted to hear your voice before I get back to it.”

“You’re sweet. I wish I could see you tonight,” she says sadly.

“I know lovie, me too,” he murmurs. “Haven’t seen my sweet girl all week.”

“I blame Cal, tell him I won’t allow him to work you this hard ever again.”

“He’d laugh in my face,” he laughs at the sternness in her voice.

“Then I’ll tell him,” she states proudly.

“That won’t end well, baby,” he mumbles leaning against the cold cement wall. It feels good on his sweaty skin.

“Why?”

“Because, he’ll laugh at you, then I’ll have to punch him for doing so, then Nell will punch me . . . it’s a vicious cycle.”

“Or no one can just not punch anyone.”

“Double negative sweetheart.”

“I don’t care, it makes sense okay?” she sniffs and Luke laughs.

Calum pokes his head in jerking his head behind him signifying it’s almost time for the second fight. Luke nods and waves him off.

“I gotta get back to it, lovie,” he sighs. He’d much rather stay on the phone with her. “I’ll see you tomorrow night after my fight, okay?”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come tomorrow? I’ll bring my air pods.”

“Yeah, I’m sure, it’s not a major one. I miss you.”

“I miss you, too. Don’t practice too hard, okay?”

“Can’t make any promises babe,” he smiles. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Have a good night.”

“You too, Luke.”

She says his name so softly he almost wants to dip out of this next fight, snatch her away from Nell and snuggle her close in his bed all night. But he can’t.

• • • •

Nell had convinced Evie to surprise Luke at his match on Friday.

“Come on, Eve, you haven’t seen him all week and I know he’ll love seeing you there. He’ll be so surprised!”

Evie thinks about seeing Luke’s smile when he’d spot her in the crowd, it’s her favorite smile that he has reserved only for her and that alone convinces her. She decided to wear a black crop top with high waisted shorts and black ankle boots, hoping when Luke sees her he’ll be stunned into silence.

They arrive at the arena around eight o’clock, Luke usually goes on at 8:30 on Fridays but when they get there Michael and Ashton find them first. Their eyes are wide and slightly panicked.

“What the hell are you two doing here?” Ashton demands blocking their view from the ring.

“We came here so Evie could surprise Luke,” Nell answers folding her arms.

“He didn’t want you to be here, Evie,” Michael says.

“Yeah I know because it’s not that big of a fight but I haven’t seen him all week because Cal’s been having him practice every day,” Evie says sadly.

“Wait, he told you he’s been practicing?” Ashton asks.

“What are you guys saying? What’s going on?” Nell demands looking between the two tall men.

“Uh. . .”

“Well, you see, the thing is—“

“AND HERE’S LUKE HEMMINGS BACK IN THE FIFTH ROUND! AFTER BOTH WINS LAST NIGHT TONIGHT SHOULD BE A PIECE OF CAKE RIGHT? LOOKS LIKE HE’S LOSING HIS THUNDER, THOUGH!” The announcer’s voice booms throughout the arena.

Realization dawns over Evie’s face, Ashton and Michael’s faces pale when Evie pushes them out of her way and she looks down into the ring. Sure enough, there’s Luke swaying slightly as he raises his hands up slowly to his face. Even from a distance she can see how bruised up and battered he is, his technique is sluggish and Evie’s stomach drops.

“He hasn’t been practicing all week has he?” she asks quietly. “How many fights has he done?”

Radio silence is her response and she whips around, her eyes icy as she stares at the two men. They cower at her gaze.

“How many fights has he done?” she asks again enunciating each word carefully.

“Four,” Michael answers quietly, “in two days.”

“WHAT?!” Nell exclaims pushing through them this time so she can take a look at him down below. “How could Cal let him do that?”

“They were short, some guys were injured but the slots had to be filled,” Ashton tries to explain weakly.

“And he didn’t want me here—“

“Because he didn’t want you to worry or to see him fight,” Michael finishes with a sigh. His green eyes are sad as he looks at Evie.

It only takes Evie a beat before she’s darting down the stairs into the pit where the arena is. She ignores the calls from Nell and the guys even though they’re following her. She shoves past the cheering fans until she’s in Luke’s corner where Calum is standing. He glances at her then does a double take, his eyes going wide.

“Shit,” he mumbles as she stomps over to him.

“Get him out of there, Cal, he can barely stand!” she orders attempting to climb into the ring and stop him herself.

Calum stops her. “I can’t, he’s in the middle of a fight. I’m sorry Evie, he didn’t want you to know!”

“I don’t care! Look at him!” she cries pointing to him as he staggers heavily against the ropes. His body just looks heavy and drained of all energy.

Calum stares up at his best friend and prized fighter with his mouth open. The bell dings loudly and Luke slumps onto the floor in the corner of the ring. Evie tuts and scrambles into the ring, the guys in the crowd cheer thinking she’s some sort of show but she ignores the catcalls.

Luke’s breathing heavily as she crouches in front of him, her heart sinks at the sight of him. His skin is scattered with patches of black and blue, one of his eyes is swollen shut and his lip is puffed out from a large cut. He’s broken and battered and it breaks Evie’s heart.

“Oh, Luke,” she whispers sadly.

His head tilts up at the sound of her voice, his good eye tries to blink open through the sweat. He smiles, but it’s more of a grimace, as he looks at her fondly.

“He got me good if I’m imagining you here,” he croaks.

“No, Luke, baby,” she holds his cheeks gently tilting his head up so he can look at her. “I am here but you need to stop, you can’t take anymore.”

His eyes struggled to focus on her through the blood and sweat but he mumbles out a barely coherent, ‘I’m fine.’

“No, you are not fine,” she stresses. She spots a towel near his back, she picks it up and dabs away the sweat from around his eyes and on his forehead.

“Evie, give him this, he needs to drink,” Calum says from her left holding up a bottle of what looks like Gatorade.

She tilts it in his mouth and he drinks gratuitously, which sort of seems to do the trick because he appears more alert. His one good eye zeroes in on Evie and his special smile for her shows.

“I can do this, baby because you’re here,” he croaks stroking her cheek with the backs of his knuckles (which are also bruised and bloody) “I can finish. Just tell me you love me.”

“Oh Luke,” she sighs shaking her head, “I do love you. I love you so much but I didn’t want to tell you like this.”

“I love you too, baby,” he slurs trying to smile once more. “I’ll win for you.”

“Make it fast so I can get you home,” she warns then presses her lips to his clammy ones gently.

The bell dings again for the start of the sixth round, he’s only got two more after this. She helps him stand, he squeezes her hand tightly before Calum helps her out of the ring.

Evie doesn’t put her air pods in the whole fight because she’s more concerned in watching Luke. His footwork seems a bit more energetic and she’s praying he’ll knock out the other guy quickly by the time the eighth round begins. She doesn’t wince at the sound of skin connecting with skin, or the hard thumps of their feet on the floor of the ring.

Her focus is on Luke and his fourth (probably) wave of adrenaline. His opponent sends Luke a hard hit that sends him falling into the ropes. His body draped over it like a rag doll. He’s panting but when he looks down at his Evie, it’s like a switch goes off.

This amazing girl is standing here watching him after she told him she loved him and she mouths it to him once more, giving him a small nod. She’s his reason to finish this fight, not for the glory or the title of being undefeated. He wants to finish it so he can take her home and hear about her week.

That’s more important than any stupid fight.

Luke stands up straight then quickly whips around throwing a hard right hook to his opponent. He’s momentarily stunned and Luke uses that to his advantage and gives him a swift uppercut, followed by a roundhouse kick to his stomach. He does one more quick jab to his neck then another left hook and the guy is down.  

The crowd goes crazy, the bell is ringing and the ref is shouting out Luke’s name lifting his hand in the air as he’s announced the winner. Luke doesn’t care though. He nods his thanks for the acknowledgment then helps his opponent rise from the floor.

“Really thought I had you, man,” the guy who Luke thinks his name is Rob says. “That your girl that was in the ring?”

“Yes,” Luke answers gruffly. He was already so exhausted, he didn’t want to have to fight again if this guy says something crude about his Evie.

“Reminds me of my wife, she hated seeing me fight. She a keeper?” Rob pants wiping blood from his lip.

Luke’s shoulders relax when he learns the guy is married. “Yeah, she’s a keeper.”

“Good. Take your girl home before she fights you next,” he chuckles then holds out his hand, “you fight really well.”

“Thanks, you too,” Luke says shaking his hand quickly.

Calum escorts Luke from the ring, and Luke leans on his friend for support and it isn’t long until Evie is on his other side offering her support.

“Hey Cal, guess what,” Luke sighs happily. His ears are still ringing and his head feels like it’s underwater. Apparently that’s what five fights in two days does to you.

“What, mate?”

“Evie loves me,” he says proudly leaning towards Evie who stumbles a little under his weight.

“That’s great because I think she hates me,” Calum grunts pushing open the locker room door.

“I don’t hate you, I’m just very upset with you,” Evie sighs helping Luke sit down on the bench.

“Same thing. I’m sorry, Evie, but I promise I won’t let him do this again. And I’m giving him the week off next week,” Calum says.

“Come on, I can go two more rounds,” Luke sighs resting his head against the wall. His eyes are closed.

“You can’t sleep yet, you need to shower, babe,” Evie tells him pulling onto his hand.

“Wanna shower with you,” he mumbles and Calum chuckles. Evie blushes.

“I think you should just take him home,” Calum laughs.

“Can you help me get him to the car?” Evie asks going to his locker to grab his duffel bag and things.

Just then Ashton bursts through the door saying a string of apologies but Evie stops him.

“It’s fine, Ash,” she sighs, “I just want to get him home. Can you help?”

“Absolutely. Come on, Luke,” Ashton hefts him up easily against his body.

• • • •

It was a bit of an ordeal getting Luke into her shower, he simply insisted on going to her place because he wanted to be around everything that is her. He kept begging her to join him in the shower but she refused because he still had to get his cuts taken care of.

He sat in her kitchen while she hustled about getting healing ointment and bandages. He was a tad more alert but his body ached and all he wanted to do was crawl into her bed and hold her close. She hummed quietly as she cleaned him up, his eyes trained on her.

“You’re so beautiful,” he murmurs and she smiles.

“Thank you,” she says quietly.

Once he has bandages on his knuckles and ointment under his swollen eye, she held out her hands to drag him into her room. She flicked on her string lights that were on her ceiling and Luke clambered into her bed heavily. His eyes were closed then he opened them in concern because she wasn’t next to him.

“Why aren’t you in bed?” he asks.

“I don’t really want to sleep in these clothes,” she chuckles.

He groans.

“What’s the matter? What hurts?” she freezes taking her bra off.

“You’re undressing and I’m too tired to open my eyes and watch,” he pouts into her pillow.

Evie laughs and continues to take off her clothes. “Well, maybe you shouldn’t fight four fights in two days.”

“I’m sorry. Do you hate me?”

“I love you, Luke, how could I hate you?” she sighs finally slipping into her pajamas which was a shirt of Luke’s. It fit her like a nightgown and still smelled like him. She slept in it every night.

“Because I didn’t tell you about the fights. I lied to you. I never wanted to lie to you and I did and I’m sorry,” he says in a rush.

She gets into bed and he immediately nuzzles his face into her neck, his arms wrapping around her. He even tangles his legs with hers and she can’t help but giggle at him basically koala-ing her. Her fingers move to his hair so she can play with it and her other hand tickles his arm across her stomach.

“I get why you didn’t tell me,” she sighs kissing his forehead, “but as much as I would have hated it, I would have been there and watched each fight.”

“Really?” his voice his muffled by the fabric of his shirt on her chest.

“Yes. I support you Luke because this is your life. But I don’t want you to ever do this many fights without telling me, okay?”

“Believe me, I won’t ever fight this many again. But I’ll tell you,” he promises. He lifts his head looking at her through bleary eyes. “I’ve wanted to do this all week.”

“What?”

“Be with you in bed, I’ve missed you so damn much.”

“I missed you,” she smiles scratching at his beard affectionately.

He glances at her lips then her eyes before pressing a gentle kiss to her mouth. He inhales sharply tightening his hold on her as he deepens the kiss. It stirs a fire in her lower stomach and they both desperately wish they could do more than kiss but Evie pushes him away gently.

“You need to sleep, honey,” she tells him.

“I know,” he sighs dropping his head to her chest again. “Just wanted to kiss you.”

She smiles and goes back to scratching at his drying curls, his breathing slows down already.

“Sweet dreams,” she whispers kissing his forehead and begins to hum a song.

“I love you,” he says.

“And I love you,” she whispers. She goes back to humming and he’s out like a light in no time.

Evie stays up a little longer, smiling at each twitch he does in his sleep and simply enjoying just being with him.

• • • •

Calum was true to his word and gave Luke the whole next week off so Luke and Evie spent everyday together. She’d change his bandages on his knuckles and make him hold ice on his eye so it would bring the swelling down.

By Tuesday his bruises weren’t as horrendous looking and the cuts on his knuckles were healing over.

“Do you want to get out of town for a while?” Luke asks her while they’re lounging on her couch. She’s cuddled onto his chest wearing nothing but a t-shirt of his and his fingers are tickling the skin of her thigh.

“Where would we go?” she turns her head to look up at him.

“I’ve got a lake house about an hour away from here,” he smiles, “there’s a hot tub, and a really good restaurant that has the best bread and butter.”

“You had me at bread and butter.”

“What, not the hot tub?” he laughs.

“That’s great too, but bread is better,” she sticks her tongue out playfully.

“Silly girl,” he laughs again and pinches her waist causing her to giggle shrilly. “Do you want to? We can stay there until Friday afternoon.”

“That sounds really nice, yeah, let’s go!”

• • • •

Evie’s expression at seeing his lake house was pure amazement. It was a nice cottage with a bird bath in the front and flowers, and painted yellow with white shutters. She was silent as she walked throughout the house while Luke left to get the bags. The inside had white wood paneled walls and cream colored couches.

The whole place reminded her of sunshine and spring.

She found the hot tub outside the master bedroom on a top deck which had a beautiful view of the lake. She immediately went outside down by the small sandy beach near the dock. Whippoorwill’s trilled in the distance and Evie closed her eyes finally feeling calm and relaxed.

“There you are,” Luke murmurs from behind wrapping his arms around her waist.

“I went exploring,” she sighs leaning against his chest.

“Peaceful, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it is. Do you come out here often?”

“Not for a while, you’re the first person I’ve brought out here,” he kisses her temple.

“Really? Not even the guys?”

“Nope, this is my hideaway. My safe space.”

Evie turns around in his arms and looks up in his pretty blue eyes. She notes how his left eye isn’t swollen anymore but still has faint coloring from the bruising and his lip is almost healed. Even battered he’s still the most handsome man she’s ever seen.

“Why’d you bring me to your private place?” she strokes his cheek gently.

“Because, you’re my safe space and I love you,” he says simply. He smiles then leans down to press his lips to hers.

She hooks her arm to the back of his neck as the kiss deepens. It’s been so long since they’ve shared a ‘getting-lost-in-you’ kiss because of his injuries from his fights. His hands go immediately to her waist then slips down to her ass. He squeezes and she sighs into his mouth.

“Let’s go inside, yeah,” he mumbles.

Evie just nods, her voice is lost on her from that knee buckling kiss. If it wasn’t for Luke’s strong hand in hers she’d probably fall flat on her face. He leads her through the house to the bedroom.

Her attention is distracted by Luke’s soft lips on her neck and his wandering hands moving up and down her stomach to her thighs. His lips continue exploring down to her shoulder while his fingers pull down the zipper of her jacket and he pulls the clothing off her.

He spins her around, his eyes trained on hers as he backs her onto the bed, her knees buckling as she sits down on it. She scoots herself backwards until her head lands on the pillows, she bites her lip and Luke crawls on top of her. He dips his head low so he can kiss her tenderly, her fingers tangle in his curls.

“Want you so bad,” he exhales letting his hand wander down her thigh.

“Take me,” she gasps yanking on his hair.

He unbuttons her shorts while she tries to lift his sweatshirt over his head. They’re a mess of tangled limbs and twisted clothing, laughter fills the air until they’re both void of clothes. He notices the rapid rise and fall of her chest as he leaves a trail of kisses down her sternum.

“You’re so perfect,” he breathes on her skin as he moves around her bellybutton.

He shifts himself on the bed so his face is between her legs. Without teasing, he kisses her heat and licks her slowly. Her moans are precious in his ears and he continues to lick her languorously. He wants to make her feel good, so good that she’ll remember this for the rest of her life and he wants to do this for all of his days.

“Luke,” she moans petting his hair before threading her fingers through it.

He hums against her and she gasps, his tongue flicks become faster as he adds a finger, pumping into her slowly. He brings her to her orgasm skillfully and perfectly. Luke sucks off her wetness from his finger and she drags him up by her so she can kiss him.

“Your turn,” she nibbles at his lip but he shakes his head.

“No, baby, tonight is all about you,” he watches her as he teases the tip of his dick in between her folds.

Evie bites her lip, full eye contact on him as he continues to lube himself up with her wetness. He pushes himself in gently, the warmth of her around him consumes him and he pushes in and out to create more slickness. Evie is tracing the features of his face as he does so, soft little grunts escape her each time he goes in and out and then he’s finally in her completely.

Luke exhaled as she inhaled from the moment of connection, her mouth open in a perfect little ‘o’ and her eyes nearly roll back in her head. He’s never seen her more lovely than this moment.

“God, I love you,” he pants then begins to start a steady thrust. When he connects fully in her he rolls his hips and Evie’s nails are scratching up and down his back.

“I love you . . . too,” she moans as his pace quickens.

Luke licks his lips adjusting his right arm beside her head to use it as leverage so he can fuck into her deeper. His other hand is holding onto her hip and soon she’s matching his pace, hips meeting hips, breath being exchanged.

Evie closes her eyes when he hits a certain spot and she begs him not to stop and Luke would never. Whatever she’d ask him in this moment he’d give to her without question. He felt her walls clenching around him and he pumped faster and faster until she’s moaning loudly in his ear.

“That’s my girl,” he praises into her ear. She moans in response and still he quickens his pace.

His hips snap into hers with ruthless passion and she’s coming over him again, her cries are salacious, her nails creating crescent moons into his back with her legs wrapped around his waist.

“Feels so good,” she whines arching her back.

Luke closes his eyes trying to hold his orgasm off but the sounds she’s making and the feeling of her around him becomes too much. His thrusts start to become sloppy but she’s moaning loudly---a fourth one?—and he’s coming as well.

He pulls out quickly because he remembers he didn’t put on a condom so he spurts all over her lower stomach. Her fingers are trying to brush away the curls from his forehead as he releases onto her. Once he’s finished he collapses onto her and they’re a panting mess, he doesn’t even care that he’s getting his cum over his stomach. His main concern is her.

“I’m so in love with you,” she admits tilting his head up from her chest.

He smiles giving her a deep kiss.

“I’m in love with you, sweetheart.” He kisses her cheek, making a trail down her jaw to her neck and to her breast that he sucks on lightly.

“That tickles,” she giggles.

“This is the first time I’ve seen you fully naked,” he muses moving to her other breast so he can kiss and suck on it as well. “Why is that?”

“Because other times you mainly paid attention to her,” she giggles again pointing down to her vagina.

“You call it a her?” he chuckles around her nipple.

“Duh, why would it be a he?”

“Fair point.”

“So what do you think?”

“Of what? Her? I fucking love her,” he sucks loudly on her breast.

“No,” she laughs, “my naked body.”

“I fucking love all of it, you’re so perfect,” he rubs her cheek with the back of his knuckles. He loves the blush on her cheeks.

“Mm, you’re pretty perfect,” she sighs closing her eyes as he continues to cater to her breasts.

• • • •

Luke and Evie stayed at the lake house until Sunday. They spent their time in the hot tub, walking along the lakeshore, going out to dinner every night because Luke insisted on spoiling her. And it was filled with lots of lovemaking.

When he pulls up to her apartment he helps get her bags out then pulls her against him, his lips connecting with hers. The plan was that she’d take a shower and change then meet him at the ring in an hour, Luke had to go over his schedule with Calum.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to wait?” he asks for the twelfth time.

“I’m sure,” she smiles stretching up to kiss his nose, “I’ll see you in an hour. Promise.”

“I love you.”

“I love you more,” she smiles then pulls away shouldering her bags and heads inside the entrance.

Luke watches her disappear, an ever present smile on his face then jogs around to his side of the car.

• • • •

Luke’s been watching the other guys practice while he wants for Evie to meet him at the ring, he’s already gone over his schedule with Calum. The finals are coming up soon so training is going to be more intense but he’s promised he won’t be fighting multiple times in a short amount of days.

It’s been a little over ten minutes from when Evie was supposed to meet Luke and Evie’s very punctual.  He knows if she’s running late by even a minute it makes her anxious. Before he’ll allow himself to panic, he pulls out his phone and texts her. Luke tries to reason that maybe she’s still putting on her makeup or is stuck in traffic.

A few minutes turn into ten and still no response.

Fifteen minutes turn to twenty-five and panic starts to set in. He tries calling her but it rings to her voicemail. He tries again but by the third ring and still no answer, he’s reaching for his keys.

He’s calling her constantly while he’s in the car driving back to her place but she’s still not answering.

“Shit!” he exclaims smacking the steering wheel.

Something is very wrong.

He parks haphazardly outside her building and takes the steps three at a time until he’s on the second level. He pounds on the door shouting her name but its radio silence on the other side.

Luke searches frantically for his phone to try calling her again. With bated breath he waits and waits and very faintly hears her ringtone through the door.

Something is really wrong.

“Fuck,” he hisses fumbling for his wallet to get the spare key she gave him.

Then he remembers he left his wallet in the car and not wanting to waste more time he grabs hold of the doorknob and shoulders onto the wood as hard as he can. It bursts open, the knob clattering to the floor and he’s searching frantically for Evie.

“Evie?” he calls.

A chair is knocked over, the lampshade by her couch is askew. His heart pounds in his chest as he makes his way through her apartment. It’s eerily silent save for slamming of his heart in his ears and then his heart stops.

She’s lying on her bathroom floor crumpled in a heap with a small pool of blood near her head. Her phone is cracked next to her fingers.

“No, no, no, no baby, please,” Luke begs falling next to her. He touches her wrist and feels a heartbeat, it’s steady and thanks God it’s there.

“Evie? Lovie, can you hear me?” he asks brushing hair from her forehead, that’s when he sees the gash as the source of blood. It’s a pretty deep cut right above her eyebrow.

She makes the tiniest of scowls but makes no noise. Panicking again, Luke dials 911 and explains what he’s seeing in a rush and to please, please send help.

“Please hurry, she’s . . . she’s not waking up,” he cries and tries talking to her gently.

“Sir, an ambulance is less than five minutes away, they’ll be there soon, okay?” The dispatcher speaks calmly. “I’ll stay on the line with you until they arrive, but don’t move her.”

“Okay, okay,” he pants.

He still tries to wake her up and is careful not to touch no matter how desperately he wants to. Then he hears sirens and soon after quick and heavy footsteps down the hall.

“We’re here! She’s in the bathroom!” he shouts voice shaking.

Two EMT’s, one male and one female, push past him. He watches in shock as they speak medical jargon to each other and into their radios. Two others arrive with a stretcher and a neck brace that is wrapped quickly around her neck.

Luke watches in horror as they lift her onto the stretcher and he follows them wordlessly downstairs and outside. He’s stopped when he goes to climb in the ambulance.

“Sir, there isn’t enough room but you can follow us to the hospital,” the woman tells him.

“Okay,” he says hollowly then she touches his arm.

“Don’t worry, we’ve got her, sir. What’s her name?”

“Evie—Evelyn—Carson,” he croaks and tries to clear his throat but there’s a lump preventing him doing so.

“And yours?”

“Luke Hemmings.”

“We’ll see you at the hospital, Luke.”

He runs to his car and called Calum immediately, his tires squeal as he follows the ambulance.

“Hey, what’s—“

“Is Nell there?”

“Yeah, she’s—“

“Meet me at the hospital,” Luke rushes and turns the corner sharply.

“The hospital? Luke—“

“It’s Evie. Just hurry, I’m behind the ambulance.”

He hangs up before Calum can say another word and tries to keep his foot steady on the gas. He couldn’t help the tremble of his hands.

• • • •

Luke’s leg is bouncing erratically as he waits to hear news of Evie and for Calum and Nell to arrive. The doors to the waiting room swing open revealing a frantic looking Nell, she makes a beeline for Luke.

“What is going on?” she demands tears brimming her eyes.

“I—she was supposed to meet me at the arena in an hour after we got back. She wasn’t picking up after thirty minutes and I went to get her and had to break down her door. Her place is turned over and she was . . . she was on the floor in the bathroom. Blood was on her forehead and the floor and she wouldn’t wake up. I don’t know what happened,” he finishes in a choked sob.

“Danny,” Nell mumbles sadly.

“Who’s Danny?” Calum narrows his eyes.

“Her ex,” Nell breathes, “He found her.”

“You know about that? How?” Luke asks.

“Ashton told me. I figured if she wanted to tell me, she would. But she’s been so happy with you—“

“I should’ve been there,” Luke cuts her off shaking his head. He rubs his face twice with his hands, the image of her lying on the floor is ingrained in his mind.

“Luke Hemmings?”

He whips around quickly then is surprised to see a police officer standing in front of him. He was about the same height as Luke but in his late thirties and a hard, steely look in his eyes.

“Yes?” Luke asks stepping forward slowly.

“Can I ask you some questions, please?”

• • • •

Luke slumps back in his chair in one of the private offices of the hospital, Officer Roth is sitting across from him with a notepad.

“I’m telling you, I would never ever hit my girlfriend! Or any woman for that matter!” Luke thunders for what feels like the hundredth time. He feels like a broken record repeating the same story of how he found Evie.

“But you are a boxer, correct?” Officer Roth narrows his eyes.

“Yes, I fight at Seconds of Summer,” he sighs.

“Have you met this ex-boyfriend of Miss Carson’s before?”

“No, but she’s told me a lot about him. I don’t know how he found her but he did and all I want is to see how she is.”

Officer Roth eyes him up silently then folds his arms. “Your hands look like they’ve been through some fights, and that shiner on your eye looks pretty rough.”

“I fought four fights in two days last week,” Luke forces his voice to remain calm. “Evie and I went to my lake house because Calum gave me the week off—Calum. Go get Calum Hood, he owns the gym and is my trainer. He can tell you I was at the arena until about two thirty when I went to Evie’s. Please. I need to see she’s all right.”

Officer Roth takes his time tapping his pen on the desk, closes his little pad and pockets.

“Fine, but you stay here, got it?”

Luke nods watching Officer Roth heave out of the chair and exit the room. Luke’s leg is shaking as he waits in anxiousness. He has no idea what status Evie’s in or if she’s awake. Is she asking for him? Is Nell with her?

Minutes tick by and then the door opens. Luke twists in his chair to see Calum is behind Officer Roth.

“You’re good to go, Mr. Hemmings,” Officer Roth says. “I apologize for the third degree but . . . well, under the circumstances and your state, I had to ask those questions.”

“I get it but Danny’s the one you need to give the third degree to. Am I free to go?” Luke rises from his chair.

“Yes, I hear Miss Carson is asking for you. I’ll be by in a few minutes to get a statement from her. If Danny’s still in the area, we’ll do our best to find him.” He holds out his hand, “I’m sorry again.”

“Thank you,” Luke shakes his hand then rushes past him with Calum. “Thanks for setting him straight.”

“No problem, I can’t believe he thought you did this,” Calum says bitterly.

“She’s awake? How is she?”

“Freaking out because she woke up in a hospital and has no idea where you are. Nell is trying to explain but she’s a little frantic. She’s down this way.”

Luke picks up his pace pushing through the double doors into another hallway filled with constant telephone rings and murmurs from the nursing staff. Calum leads him into a room to the left and Luke’s chest breaks open when he sees Evie.

There’s a bandage above her left eyebrow and her lip is swollen and bruised. Discoloration of bruises peek out from the hospital gown she’s in and though her body looks worn and torn, her eyes are alert when they land on Luke.

“Luke!” she cries trying to reach for him but he moves to her first.

“I’m here, baby, I’m right here,” he rushes sitting next to her. He takes her hands gently in his, her eyes welling up with tears.

“Where were you?”

“A cop had some questions for me,” he says grimly, “he wants to talk to you, too so he can try and find Danny.”

“Why was he talking to . . .” her voice tumbles off an edge until her eyes widen in shock. “They thought you--?! Oh, Luke, I’m so sorry.”

Her eyes well with fresh tears and her breathing has become irregular and rapid as she sputters out incoherent apologies.

“Shh, shh, breathe, lovie,” he cradles her face softly trying to calm her down. “It’s all sorted now. I’m still angry about it but from their viewpoint, I do look like the bad guy. And I am.”

“What? No, you’re not—“

“I should’ve been with you, I wouldn’t have given him a chance to touch you,” says through his teeth.

He caresses her forehead, his heart falling once more at the sight of the stitches below the bandage. He overheard the nurse telling Nell while he was reuniting with Evie that she had severe bruising on her stomach. It made him sick and angry that this happened and he was right within reach.

Danny was probably there when he dropped her off. A new wave of anger ripples through him and he has to pull his hands away to try and cool his temper. It’s taking all his willpower now not to go out and find Danny himself.

“Luke, look at me,” Evie says softly.

He stares at her blankly. She reaches for his hand lacing their fingers together and squeezes.

“What happened isn’t your fault. I have no idea how he found me but I’m glad you’re the one who rescued me. I could’ve . . .” she swallows thickly closing her eyes at what possibly could have happened to her then opens them again to look into his sad blue eyes, “You saved me. That’s what matters.”

He sighs unevenly then nods just as there’s a knock on the door. It’s Officer Roth with a fellow officer to ask Evie what happened. Luke holds her hand the entire time as she explains through a shaky voice. When she falters, Luke kisses her hand in assurance and she continues until the officers have all they need.

Officer Roth gives Luke his number in case Danny returns and they can call him right away.

• • • •

Calum and Nell came back later that night while Evie was sleeping with new clothes for her to change into when she’s discharged. She has to stay the night for observation and with the bruising on her stomach the doctors and nurses wanted to monitor it in case there was internal bleeding.

Evie didn’t want Luke to leave her and he was more than happy to stay with her, he didn’t want to leave her side either.

“We cleaned up her place the best we could,” Nell informs while the three of them are standing just outside her door.

“Mike and Ash are fixing her door right now,” Calum adds.

“Thanks,” Luke nods. He heaves a deep sigh exhaling through his nose as his fingers rub at his eyes. “I doubt she’ll want to go back once she’s checked out tomorrow night.”

“Take her to your place, she’ll be safe with you and I don’t want Danny coming back,” Nell’s voice shakes in anger at the mention of Danny.

“I should’ve stayed with her,” Luke mutters. He shakes his head, jaw working as his body trembles in anger once more.

He wants—he needs to punch something. He’d choose the wall but the sound would wake Evie up and he didn’t want to pay for damaging the hospital.

“Luke, you can’t beat yourself up over this,” Calum sighs, “You couldn’t have known he’d be there. It’s because of you she’s safe now. This could have been way worse.”

“I don’t understand why he left in the first place,” Nell mentions then at the look on Luke’s face she adds quickly, “I’m glad he did! But why show up, do what he did and then leave?”

“What did Evie say happened?” Calum asks quietly.

“She told the cop he was already in her apartment. He must have asked a tenant where she lived and found the key she hid in the light to get in. She said he wanted to talk, he apologized apparently but she told him to leave. He snapped and—“Luke tries to swallow the lump in his throat “—and threw her chair before he began hitting her. She didn’t fight back, in the past it only made it worse when she did and then she passed out when her head hit the edge of the counter.”

“I thought you found her in the bathroom?” Nell asks.

“I did. Maybe he dragged her in there? I don’t know, the son of a bitch probably thought he killed her and left. That’s the only reason I can think of as to why he’d leave.”

“When—“

“Luke?” Evie calls out worriedly.

Without a second glance, Luke heads inside to be by his girl instantly, grasping her hand and dancing his fingers across her cheek.

“I’m right here, sweetheart. Calum and Nell are here, they brought new clothes and we were talking,” he explains dropping into the seat beside her bed.

“Did they leave?”

“No, do you want to see them?” he asks and she nods. “Guys, come on in.”

Nell enters first sprinting to her cousin’s side and hugs her tightly. Earlier when she was in the room Evie was still delirious and the only thing on her mind was Luke. They’re both crying and exchanging apologies.

“I should’ve told you what Danny was like,” Evie wipes under her eyes with the hand that’s not holding Luke’s.

“I understand why you didn’t. I should’ve told you I knew anyway. I’m so sorry you had to deal with this on your own,” Nell sniffs. “We’ll all watch out for you. He won’t get away with this and if he comes back we’ll make sure he’s locked up.”

“Thanks, Nell,” Evie gives her a watery smile.

There’s a knock on the door and a nurse comes in to check on Evie’s vitals. Someone will be checking on her every few hours.

“We’ll let you rest, Eve,” Calum says.

“Thanks guys.”

Luke nods his goodbye, eyes focused on Evie while the night nurse checked her vitals.

“Everything sounds good,” the nurse says, “can I check the bruising on your stomach?”

Luke watches in silent anguish at the careful way Evie moves the blankets and her gown. His eyes are trained on her face, she’s biting her lip but a small squeak slips by signifying this is painful for her.

“It hurts,” she whispers “can you help?”

The nurse aids her by lifting the gown slowly. She presses on Evie’s stomach gently, Evie winces at the pressure.

“Has there been blood when you used the bathroom?”

“No,” Evie’s voice is strained.

“That’s good. I’ll let you get more rest and be back in a few hours. I’m Cheyenne and I’ll be watching over you tonight,” Cheyenne smiles. “Call if you need anything.”

“Thank you,” Luke says watching her leave then helps Evie get tucked back in under the covers.

“Thanks,” Evie smiles.

“Try to get some sleep, lovie,” he murmurs kissing her forehead minding the stitches above her eyebrow.

• • • •

It’s been two weeks since the incident with Evie. She’s been healing nicely and the cut above her eyebrow is now raised soft skin, and pale pink in color after the stitches were removed. Luke would trace his fingers over it and kiss that spot randomly throughout the day.

He knew she hated it and felt self-conscious about it so he made it his duty to show it as much love as he could. She’d only been to her apartment once and that was only so she could get extra clothes and her favorite blankets.

Luke had passed the divisional and is now moving onto the title win which has a decent amount of prize money that will really help out the gym. Calum has increased his workouts but scheduled them around Evie’s work schedule so Luke can pick her up.

It’s a lazy Saturday morning as they’re cuddled up on his couch watching old Disney movies. Evie is on top of him, their legs tangled together under her favorite fuzzy blanket and Luke’s fingers are tracing patterns on her back.

“Can you teach me how to fight?” she asks suddenly.

Luke’s dancing fingers stopped, he craned his neck in an odd position so he could look at her.

“What?”

“Can you teach me how to box? Or show me some easy moves?”

“Evie . . . why?”

“So if Danny comes back I can defend myself.”

Luke shifts underneath her so he doesn’t have to strain his neck in an awkward position, she shifts with him raising her head from his chest.

“If he comes back,” Luke’s voice is dangerously controlled, “he won’t even get a chance to fucking breathe in your direction.”

She smiles lightly at his need to protect her.

“I know but I want to learn so I’m prepared anyway. And it will make me more comfortable watching you instead of listening to music. Please?”

Luke sighs mulling it over, it’s not a bad idea. She should at least know the basics just in case something were to happen and Luke wasn’t there. But he meant what he said. If Danny comes back Luke will deal with him personally.

“All right,” he agrees and Evie squeals with glee then attacks his face with kisses. “But if anything hurts or you feel uncomfortable, you tell me and we stop. Deal?”

“Yes, deal. Thank you, honey.”

She presses her mouth to his sealing the deal.

• • • •

When Monday night rolls around Evie joins Luke at the gym into the training room. He’s spent the last forty-five minutes going over boxing basics and showing her the moves. He takes careful care of wrapping her fingers in tape then kisses her knuckles when he’s finished.

He slips on punching mitts then moves in front of her. He smiles at the sight of Evie, her dark brown hair is pulled back into a loose braid and she’s wearing a sports bra with some leggings. There’s a determined look in her eye that he finds so endearing.

“I’m not punching one of the bags?” she asks almost sadly.

“No, not today. Those are a lot harder than these,” he indicates the mitts on his hands, “I don’t want you to hurt yourself, lovie. Let’s start with an easy combination of a jab cross and right hook. Get in your stance . . . good. Keep your hands up by your face and start when you’re ready.”

Evie nods taking a deep breath then jabs her left hand across her body to hit the mitt on Luke’s left hand, she follows with a quick right hook on his other hand then repeats. Luke nods as she repeats it, her body dancing as she keeps her feet bouncing.

“Very good, lovie, keep going,” he encourages.

Evie continues, her eyes trained on the mitts. With each punch she hits harder and harder as an anger bubbles up to the surface. Each punch is for every hit Danny gave her. Each strike is for every time he yelled and swore and then more anger arose because he found her and could have almost ruined her and Luke.

Evie became relentless, hitting faster, faster, and faster still. Her face becomes red and her breath comes out in rapid huffs. Luke has been watching her carefully and when he sees her eyes flood with tears he springs into action and lowers the mitts.

She’s still punching the air and then his chest as he pulls her against him, crushing her arms so she stops. Evie chokes out her sobs into his shirt.

“I’ve got you baby, it’s okay.”

He rocks her gently from side to side as she continues to sob and gasp, finally releasing her pent up emotions she didn’t realize she buried.

• • • •

Title fight day is upon Luke and he’s trying to get in his own head and zone out the raucous cheers and buzz from beyond his changing room. He’s pacing, rotating his neck and loosening his shoulders as he attempts to block it out.

If he wins these twelve rounds he’ll also receive a whopping $50,000 prize money which would really help the gym. He tried not to think about it all coming down to him and to focus on the fight, his moves and the weak spots of his opponent.

His name is KJ Andrews who has a reputation of getting where he’s at from the ground up at his own gym he uses for youth.

There’s a quick knock on his door then Calum enters, a quick grin flicks across his face.

“Got time to meet a fan before you go out?”

“Yeah, I s’pose,” Luke huffs checking the tape on his hands.

“Don’t sound so enthused, honey.”

Luke’s head snaps up to see Evie step from behind Calum, a smile on her face as she approaches him.

“He should’ve said it was you,” Luke grins meeting her halfway. They join hands letting them hang loosely between their bodies.

“Four minutes, Hemmings. See you out there, Evie,” Calum bids them goodbye closing the door behind him.

“How’re you feeling?” Evie asks, eyes searching his face.

“Okay, good I guess. I just want to get out there,” he licks his lips. “Do you have your air pods?”

“I won’t be using them,” she shakes her head, “I can handle it but I have them just in case. This is a big fight for you, Luke, I want to be completely involved.”

“I love you,” he sighs bending down to give her a gentle kiss.

“I love you, too,” she mumbles on his lips giving him one more just as the announcer’s voice booms from the arena. “You’ve got this, Luke. I’ll see you out there.”

“Bye,” he says faintly. He gives her hands a gentle squeeze as she backs away, their fingers slipping away as she slips out the door.

Luke takes several deep breaths then heads out of his changing room and up the stairs. He cracks his knuckles then punches his palms, his adrenaline is kicking in.

When he steps out into the arena, the blue spotlight hits him but he pays no mind to people shouting his name or what the announcer is saying. Calum joins him as he makes his way to the ring and slips beneath the rope to go in his respective corner. KJ is already across from him, they both glance and nod at each other as the announcer rumbles stats.

“How’re you feeling, mate?” Calum asks rubbing his best friend’s shoulders.

“Good, I’m ready. Where’s—“

“Behind you with everybody else,” Calum smiles nodding behind Luke.

Luke cranes his neck and spots Evie right away. She smiles sweetly and waves up at him then gives him a thumbs up. His heart soars.

He can do this. He’ll win these twelve rounds and then ask Evie to move in with him. It’s crazy to think how six months ago was when he first spotted Evie. Crazy to think that six months has gone by. So much has changed but he knows he wants to spend the rest of his life with her.

The clang of the bell echoed all around followed by the loud cheers and applause from the spectators. Luke and KJ met in the middle, knocked fists and the referee blew his whistle.

• • • •

Sweaty and out of breath, Luke’s limbs were like jelly when the ref raised his right arm up above his head exclaiming ‘WINNER!’ of the title fight. The cheers were louder than ever but through his exhaustion he smiled looking out into the crowd. The house lights came on and he could see every cheering face but he only had one in mind.

When he spotted his friends he notices Evie isn’t there. Calum pointed behind him signifying his changing room and Luke nods. He’ll get to her soon enough.

Evie is setting up the six champagne flutes carefully on his coffee table with the champagne bottle in the center. The twelve rounds were intense and at some moments she thought Luke would come up short but he never failed.

She cheered as loud as she could when he was announced the winner, stray tears fell from her eyes from how proud she is for him. She snuck away quickly to set up this little celebration station for him when he arrived with everyone else.

The door opens behind her and she spins around.

“Congratu—“

Her congratulations falls short and her smile disappears when she sees who’s standing in the doorway.

“You always did heal up fast,” Danny says stepping into the room.

His presence casts a dark shadow in the room and over Evie who steps off to the side. The bottle opener is by the door still in the bag and her eyes scan frantically for any sort of defensive weapon she can use. The announcer is still calling out congratulations and she prays silently that Luke will be here soon.

“What do you want, Danny?” she asks her voice shaking.

“Why don’t you come back home? Your family misses you . . . I miss you,” he chuckles stepping even closer.

“You had an odd way of showing it at my apartment,” she bites back as furiously as she can.

“I was just angry you managed to hide from me for so long. And to cheat on me nonetheless,” he chuckles again.

The closer he gets Evie can smell liquor reeking from his body, her heart accelerated in fear.

“I didn’t cheat on you because we aren’t together. You hit me and verbally abused me, I left you, Danny. Just leave me alone, please.”

“I can’t do that, Eves, I love you too much. Come on, just come back home with me, I promise I’ve changed.”

He’s invading her space now, she flinches at his use of her old nickname but instead of fear she was filled with rage.

“You don’t love me. You don’t beat up someone you love. You’re sick and you need help but it won’t be from me,” she says vehemently. “You won’t hurt me again.”

In his drunken (or hungover) state, his actions were sluggish but Evie was faster as he lifted his arm. Evie pushes him back and throws a right hook as hard as she can into his face. A satisfying crunch sounds followed by pain in her hand that shoots up her arm.

She lets out a cry from the pain as he stumbles back then the door opens and Luke is there.

“LUKE!” Evie shouts cowering further into the corner as Danny continues to stumble.

Luke launches himself at Danny, kneeing him in the gut and punching him a few times until he’s slumped in a heap on the floor. Danny groans as Luke holds him up by the collar of his shirt.

“You’ll never touch her again, you bastard,” Luke spits then gives him on final punch and Danny is knocked out. He rushes over to Evie who collapses into his arms then lets out a whimper. “Did he hurt you? Where are you hurt?”

“I-I punched him and I think I hurt my hand,” Evie lifts her right hand that is already looking swollen and red.

Luke holds it gingerly in his own hands inspecting it. He flexes her fingers straight, she winces as he feels the bones and her wrist.

“I don’t think it’s broken,” he murmurs, “but we can have a doctor check it out.”

“Luke, we have—what the hell?” Ashton exclaims behind them.

“Call Officer Roth,” Luke tells them, “and make sure he doesn’t fucking move. I’m taking Evie to have her hand looked at.”

Luke holds her left hand leading her cautiously around Danny and out the door. Nell gives Evie a concerned look but Evie smiles and mutters an ‘I’m fine.’

The doctor on site inspected Evie’s hand and came to the conclusion it was only sprained. Evie is given an ice pack and told to keep ice on it to keep the swelling down and take ibuprofen for the pain. Two cops enter the gym after the doctor leaves, Officer Roth spots them from across the way.

“Are you all right, Miss Carson?” Officer Roth asks.

“I’m okay,” she nods, “I hit him this time.” Her eyes widen at her confession. “You aren’t going to arrest me are you? He came at me first and I defended—“

“No, no, you aren’t going to get arrested,” Officer Roth smiles kindly. “We’ll make sure he’ll be locked up for a long time. Apparently there’s an order for his arrest back at his place of residence, other girls have come forward explaining what he’s done. I’m so sorry you had to endure all of this.”

“He’s going to be taken away?” she asks faintly.

“Yes. Some allegations are from seventeen year old women,” Officer Roth responds gravely, “he won’t hurt anyone ever again. I promise you. You may have to head back home and speak to a judge and the police there, though. To give your statement of the past and from what happened a few weeks ago.”

Luke hold rubs the back of her neck in assurance at the news.

Evie takes a deep breath.

“If it will put him away I’ll do anything,” she nods, “Thank you Officer Roth.”

“I’m glad this will all come to an end for you. If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to call. And congratulations on the title, Luke. My partner and I heard the news from people on our way in.”

“Thank you,” Luke smiles and Officer Roth nods one last time before leaving. Luke turns to Evie and shakes his head in wonder. “You actually punched him.”

“I did,” she laughs shakily. “It felt good.”

“That’s my girl,” he kisses her temple then holds her against him in a warm embrace.

• • • •

After Luke joined Evie on the trip back home to give her statement and photo evidence of what Danny did to her, he asked her to move in with him when they got back to LA. She agreed happily throwing her arms around him.

Danny will be in jail for the rest of his life and Evie finally feels like she can breathe. She’s happy with her new life with Luke, she adores the new friends she’s made and is happy she gets to experience this all with her cousin Nell by her side.

Luke and Evie are practice fighting at the gym, it’s a weekly thing now. Evie has excelled in her boxing but will only use it as a workout and not as a profession like Luke.

They’re moving quickly and fast across the room, Luke taunts her (all in good fun) just to get her riled up and at her first slip-up, he cages her against the cool wall in between his arms.

“You’ve got to stay focused, baby,” he smiles leaning close to her body.

“You fight so dirty,” she giggles reaching up to scratch at the stubble on his chin.

Luke rubs the scar above her forehead with his thumb then slides his eyes down to meet hers, an amused look on her face.

“But your love’s so sweet,” he grins slotting his lips against hers in a loving kiss.

Copyright talkfastromance4 © All works is intellectual property of the author. All rights reserved. Any redistribution or reproduction or any part or all contents in any form is prohibited. You may not, without written expression and consent from the author, distribute works amongst other social media platforms

[4birds-of-a-feather]

Chapter 27 - Wonder whose arms will hold you good and tight (when it’s exactly twelve o’clock that night) [part 4]

Birds Of a Feather

Today is Sara’s birthday (both the author and the fictional one!) so we decided to come out of our usual hiatus to post a silly update and let y’all know that we’re grateful to have such wonderful, loyal readers that haven’t given up on us ✨ Hope you’re gonna enjoy this!

(In the previous chapters: the game of Never Have I Ever has been intense, to say the least, and now the guests are left to go on with the party with the aftermath of thoughts and memories that the game brought up)

The game finally ended and, unsurprisingly to everyone, Elias was the undisputed winner. Nevertheless, he laughed it off, saying he just lied and avoided drinking when he could have done it because he’d rather have the others get drunk so he could make fun of them. The gang didn’t even pretend to believe his version.  They hated him more when Layla came up with the idea for the prize. Elias was already rubbing his hands, expecting a kiss or something similar, but it turned out the girl wanted to award him by revealing to him the solution to her previous game. “Sorry, Layla, but I gotta tell you, you don’t know what you just did there” Mike shook his head as she walked him by with two full glasses in her hands. “Hehe, what?” she stopped to talk to him and after an awkward couple of seconds handed him one of the drinks. She had meant to catch up with Eddie, offer him the drink, drink up her stronger one for some liquid courage, and tell him that she liked him.  But now there she was, talking to Cready, and didn’t want to seem rude, keeping the alcohol to herself. “You put a big weapon in the hands of the wrong person, that is Elias. Now the guy’s gonna go to every girl in the room and use it as a bargaining chip to get something out of it” Mike explained keeping a straight face, something that made her laugh in his face “Don’t laugh, I’m not joking!” “You’re an evil genius, how did you come up with such a plan? I bet Elias didn’t even think about that!” “Uhm, I don’t know… but I bet you didn’t think about it. Or you’d have already used it with a certain someone…” he remarked and hid his smile drinking a sip from his glass. “What the hell are you talking about, Michael? You’re drunk” Layla tried to sound dismissive but was actually smiling. “I’m talking about things, you know. Things that should be done. And if you’re gonna do things, New Year’s Eve is the night – I mean, it’s the mother of all nights, isn’t it?” “The mother of nights to do… things?” Layla asked with an arched eyebrow. “Exactly. Like, it’s New Year’s Eve! It’s a big event” “A big doing-things event” the girl nodded suspiciously. “You almost feel like you have to do things tonight” “Ok but no. This idea of having to do things... it’s kinda cliché. Isn’t New Year’s Eve just so overrated?”  “Maybe. I guess you don’t need to ring in the New Year doing things… if you actually do things during the rest of the year too. But if you don’t…” Mike didn’t finish his sentence, keeping the weird theoretical conversation on a very practical matter going.  “And what if I wanna start doing things tomorrow?” “Well, it’s almost tomorrow, so...” he shrugged and took Layla by her wrist, showing her her own watch.  “Half past eleven? Already?” Layla emptied her glass at once and handed it to Mike, then left and went around the apartment looking for someone, finally determined.  <New Year’s resolution #1: doing things> 

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Sara was quietly sipping on her fruit punch when the stereo system started to blast Lambada at full volume; after she recovered from a near death by choking, she proceeded to look for the person responsible for that atrocity. Meanwhile, around her some people had begun to dance to the tune in a totally unironical way – that made her quicken her pace. “I knew I shouldn’t have left you in charge of the mixtape!” she finally gave the culprit a push from behind “You’re a fuckin’ asshole, you know that?” “I’ve been told, once or twice...” Stone gave her a lazy smile “What, you don’t approve of my musical choices?” “Fuck off” the girl started to walk away, then suddenly stopped “Oh, by the way: all these years you’ve been pulling my leg by saying I’m the shortest person you’ve ever known? Get your eyes checked, champ” she nodded in Demri’s direction while looking pointedly at him. “That’s because she doesn’t count – she’s like some kind of nymph” “Oh, wow, a nymph” Sara kept her deadpan face but seemed to stress the last word “And that makes me a…?” “... a person with dwarf ancestry, no doubt about it” “I hope you choke on one of those stupid pretzels you made Layla buy” she cut it short and made her way to a group of people from where Demri was calling her. “Hey, girl! I’ve been meaning to ask you: what sign are you? ‘Cause I have a faint idea of what you might be, but I wanna make sure I haven’t lost my touch” “Aquarius, what about you?” “I knew it! We’re neighbour signs, I’m a Pisces and I simply adore Aquarius people” Demri grinned enthusiastically, then looked at the others “They’re so full of knowledge and different interests, they always show you a point of view you would have never thought to see from, they-” “Ok, ok, enough with this astrology bullshit” Stone interrupted her, having apparently joined the group “We get it, you really like playing the little witch but cut us some slack, please” “Hey, it’s not bullshit! The planets are actually involved in shaping our personalit-” “Yeah? Then why Chris and I were born on the same day but he’s like that and I’m like this?” “I guess you can blame genetics for that” Sara blurted out, making Layne chuckle loudly enough to get the stink eye from the guitarist. “... that’s because you both have Sun in Cancer but were born in two completely different years, so all the other planets and signs are different too! It’s not so hard to get it, Stoney – this must be the hundredth time I’m explaining it to ya” the other girl didn’t miss a beat, and Sara could have kissed her then and there for the way she had just handed Stone’s ass to him – his embarrassed shitface was priceless. “So… how does this work? How can you actually know which planet is in which sign?” Chris seemed to show genuine interest about the topic, and Demri gave him a radiant grin. “Well, beside the birthdate you also have to take into account the time and birthplace you were born… the latitude and longitude and all those things, and you have to do some calculations to figure out the results, but you use some printed tables to help you with that” she sighed “I knew I had to bring my manual here! It’s old so the tables aren’t up to date, but they would have been good enough for our birthdates… fuck my life” “Hey, I’ve got one huge book that Layla gave me for my last birthday – if I’m not mistaken, the tables there go until 2020… I could lend it to you a few days so you can xerox the pages you need and then we could meet someplace so you can give it back to me? What do you say?” Sara didn’t have to wait for an answer because the other girl had literally jumped on her and was hugging her tightly. “You’re the best Aquarius I’ve ever met! God, I love you, you crazy, beautiful people” “I take it you approve, great” Sara chuckled “Just lemme go in my room to see where I put it – the sooner I start to look for it, the sooner you’ll be able to shed some light upon these amateurs’ miserable lives” She shot a cheeky wink in Demri’s direction and then proceeded to make her way to her room. <Who would have thought to find a fellow astrology enthusiast right here? I have to concede to Layla that, after all, giving this party wasn’t such a bad idea…> The girl smiled to herself: the day was reaching its end but it looked like it wasn’t going to be an entire failure – not something she would have expected after what had happened in the afternoon. She finally opened the door, a hand already going to flick the room’s light on, and when she turned she stood petrified. Apparently, there already were a couple of people on her bed: a girl with a blonde bob was straddling a guy – at least, the hands that were struggling to unclasp her bra seemed to belong to a man. The confirmation came when the hidden figure stuck his head out and revealed himself to be none other than Jeffrey Allen Ament. “Oh – I’m so-sorry, I’ll just go… don’t let me disturb the two of you” she muttered as stiffly as she could, then mustered all her strength and bolted out of the room.    

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The ice cubes in the drinks Layla had been holding in her hands were melting. She had fixed two more for Eddie and her but hadn’t approached the singer yet – and not because she couldn’t find him.  There he was, sitting on the couch, totally absorbed in a conversation with Matt Lukin, who was also sharing a joint with him.  Layla found herself fantasizing about what the hell those two could be talking about, whether they were having a deep philosophical debate or they were just trying to answer age-old questions like “What do teeth taste like?”, “Which armrest at the movie theater is yours?”, “Do pets name their owners?”, “Is the S or the C silent in SCENT?” The girl realized her drinks were warm and downed them both, hoping they would make her more talkative. Right after that she went to grab two beer cans from the fridge and walked through the people at the party up to Eddie at a moderately fast pace.  Eddie saw her coming towards him with some anticipation and just smiled at her. “And that’s why it’s called sand, I swear to god” Lukin pointed out as she was in front of her. “And why is that?” Layla asked and Matt shot her a glance and sighed, as if she was asking a question with an obvious answer. “Because it’s between the sea and the land, of course”   “Right, I’ve never thought about it!” she said as she handed one beer to Eddie. “What’s up, El? Are you having fun?” Vedder asked her and for a moment she thought that was probably the first time he called her like that: that was how Sara called her. She couldn’t say if it was a good or bad sign but didn’t think too much about it.  “Yeah, the party’s been pretty successful so far… I mean, it didn’t turn into a disaster yet and nothing is on fire in the house, so yeah, everything’s alright” the girl replied and couldn’t help being surprised by the number of words which were escaping her mouth.  <Couldn’t I simply say YES, WHAT ABOUT YOU? I guess it’s the alcohol speaking…> “And how come we say things are on fire while it’s actually fire being on things? Ever wondered about that?” Lukin questioned the two as he snatched the beer can from Layla’s hand “Thank you, darling” “Oh you’re welcome! And no… honestly I’ve never thought about that. Well, Eddie, can you just come with me for a second?” <Smooth, Layla, very smooth> she did a mental facepalm at how obvious she must have sounded. “What did I do?” the singer asked, suddenly alarmed, and Layla giggled and thought that he probably was too stoned to even understand shit. “Haha nothing, I just need you… err, need you for something” she pointed at somewhere vaguely around the hall with her thumb. “Uh ok, sure!” Vedder sprang up from the couch and took a last hit before handing what was left of the joint to Lukin. Layla started walking and gestured for Eddie to follow her. When he did she suddenly felt scared – actually terrified. She hadn’t practiced any speech, she hadn’t practiced anything, she just decided she’d tell him and now she had no idea how to practically do it. “Where are we going?” he talked into her ear as she was slowly walking through the people in the living room. “Uhm… just… DOWN THERE…” she didn’t turn around to answer and thought that yelling over the music was a much better option than finding herself face to face with Eddie just yet. “Are we leaving the house?” Eddie frowned as the two of them found themselves beside the front door of the apartment. “Oh no, I just, I thought of a quiet place, you know? To talk and stuff. And I think it’s quieter, here, don’t you think?” Layla said and knew that talk and stuff was up to her and it was too late to back away now. “It is. I honestly thought you wanted to save me from Lukin’s existential questions”  “Hehe well, also. But I also wanted to talk to you” “Oh. About what?” a million things rushed through Eddie’s mind right then. What if she wanted to tell him she was getting back with her boyfriend? What if it was the opposite? What if it had nothing to do about them at all? What if it was just the solution to her mysterious game… <Yeah, that must be it, stop building your usual castles in the air> “About… about things and… failure, you know?” “Failure? What do you mean?” he asked confused. “I mean… you can fail either if you do things without thinking about them or if you think about things without actually doing them, right?” “Yeah…?” Eddie nodded and squinted at her, trying to guess where she was going with this. “And this is one of those there-are-two-types-of-people things. And I think I belong to the second type, I always did” “Uh-huh” “Like, I’m the one who always thinks about doing or saying stuff but rarely does. I'm that type of failure” “I have to disagree with that” “What?” Layla was surprised but also somehow relieved about Eddie interrupting her, so she could have a few seconds more to figure out what the hell she was talking about and where she was heading with all this nonsense. “You didn’t think too much about crowd surfing at our last show, well, not during our set but… I mean, you’re thoughtful and all but sometimes you’re capable of such impetuous acts. And you’re everything but a failure” Layla didn’t know if she was more surprised at what Eddie thought of her or for the fact he could use the word impetuous while high.  “Well, I wish I was more impetuous in everyday life and not just at rock concerts”  “Why are you telling me this?” “It’s… it’s just Mike’s fault!” “Mike?” “Yeah, we were talking about New Year’s resolutions and stuff like that” “Do you wanna know what my resolution is?” Eddie asked, still suspicious about the whole conversation. <So is that what it’s all about? New Year’s small talk?> “Yes, please”  “Well… my resolution for 1991 is… to record this album and not to suck too much, to finally try and make an actual living of this thing that everybody in my family calls a hobby, you know? To play as many shows as I can. And not be fired by Stone” Eddie said and he wanted to add Kiss you to the list but he wasn’t intoxicated enough to say that out loud. “Oh well, that’s a very interesting bunch of resolutions” “What about yours? Being more impetuous and…?” “And…” <And tell you that I’ve been thinking about you, a lot. I think about you even when you’re right there with me. Like, I’m even thinking about you right now. Basically I always think about you. But not in a creepy way. It’s not like I’m listening at your door all the time. I’ve actually done it only once. Or twice. It’s not like I check the time when you get back home at night when I’m casually awake. Because it’s not like I stay awake on purpose waiting for you when you’re out at night. It’s definitely not like I picture your face while listening to your tape when you’re not around. It’s not like I listen to that cassette all the fucking time or anything. Well, to the casual observer of my thoughts it may look like I’m kinda creepy, like I’ve been thinking of you in a marginally creepy way… Oh my god, why am I telling you this? Wait, I’m not actually telling you! It’s all in my head so… nevermind> “... and get my master’s degree and find a real job. And get back into swimming” <See? I’m totally not thinking about you at all> “That’s cool”  “Well, I used to be a pro. I can’t be a pro anymore, I don’t wanna be, I just wanna do it more. I just love being in the water” “I see. I love that too” Eddie agreed and came closer as Layla backed up until she had her back against the door. At the same time, without knowing, they were both thinking about being in the water together. “Anyway, I’m sure you’re gonna reach all your goals. If the record is half as good as the demo, then it’ll be huge” Layla snapped out of her water fantasy, while out of the corner of her eye she spotted an ocean blue sparkly blur pushing its way through the living room and running across the hallway behind Eddie’s back. “Wow, well, thank you” the guy was inches away from her but she was now focused on her friend, getting into the bathroom and shutting the door behind her. <What the fuck is happening?> “... I gotta pee” “Huh?” “Yeah, gotta go. It’s almost midnight so… see you next year, hahaha” she nervously added and walked away, just like that, leaving a confused Eddie staring at the front door.  

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“Seems like she’s conjuring that book directly from Mars” Stone dead-panned: it had been a while ever since he had seen Sara going into her room. This time Layne didn’t laugh at him but thanks to his remark – to his wounded ego’s relief – and had instantly gained a slap on the nape provided by his girlfriend. “The more time passes, the more insufferable you become, Stoney” Demri huffed “It’s like you have some kind of biological need to pester anyone who has the misfortune of being on your way-nevermind! My ally has come out of the cave unscathed!” she added, after seeing the other girl finally exiting the room. Stone turned again and there she was, striding through the hallway like some sort of acid-tripped Starry Night. “Huh, looks like her treasure hunt didn’t go well” Layne remarked, noticing how her hands were empty; furthermore, she kept on walking without sparing their group a single glance until she disappeared from their view. “Annnnnd she’s gone” Chris clicked his tongue and raised his glass high in some sort of toast to Sara. “She’s gone but the real question is: where is she going?” Staley looked alternatively at his girlfriend, Cornell and Gossard, the latter remaining suspiciously silent. “And why?” Chris added after taking a sip. “Why? Well, given the expression on her face and the fact she didn’t seem to give a shit about us or the rest of the world, I think it’s pretty obvious she’s upset for something… or someone” Demri pointed out “But that could be just my stupid Pisces intuition talking, don’t mind me” <Tsk, it doesn’t take an astrologist to tell that the girl’s fucking mad> Stone thought but it wasn’t until he spotted a very well-known person in the corner that it all clicked in his mind.  When he saw Jeff rushing into the hallway, looking around, followed by a blonde girl who was talking to him while fixing her shirt, it all started making sense. <That poor excuse for a vertebrate….> the guitarist shook his head and scrubbed his hand across his face in frustration. “I need a drink” he said, excusing himself from the small circle of friends, and apparently walked up into the kitchen. Instead, he made a bee line to wherever Sara went. 

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“Sara? Come on, Sara! What’s up? Just tell me if you’re ok in there” Layla had been knocking on the bathroom’s door for a couple of minutes when Eddie first and Stone soon after showed up behind her. “What’s happening?” the guitarist tried to assess the situation, without mentioning what he had just witnessed. “It’s Sara,” the other guy answered him, while Layla proceeded to increase the knocking’s intensity, hoping to bother the other girl enough to let her into the bathroom “I think she’s not feeling good” “Oh – you think it has something to do with the food? Or maybe there are too many people in here and she felt dizzy...” Stone kept on feigning ignorance about the real cause of the girl’s distress. “I don’t know, it could be? Layla and I just happened to see her run in this direction and decided to follow her to see what we could do, but she doesn’t seem to be willing to cooperate with us” “And can you tell us what are you doing here, Stone?” Layla huffed, upset because her best friend still had to answer to her pleas to open the door “The less people we are, the more chances we have to make her feel a bit better” “Nothing, I swear I was up to nothing” he raised his hands “I was just going to get myself something to drink when I saw you guys quickly walking in this direction and thought that I should check on you, that’s all”  “What if she… you know… took something and…” Eddie scratched his nape, casually speculating, but Layla and Stone shushed him up almost at the same time. “What? No way, man” “Sara’s not into that stuff. I know what happened. It’s all Jeff’s fault” the girl pointed out and Gossard was surprised to hear that.  <Did she see them too?> he wondered. But if that was the case, he was mostly surprised that Layla would mention it at all.  “Why Jeff? What did he do?” the singer questioned, thinking of another typical round of Sara and Jeff quarrelling and being at each other’s throat. Eddie thought maybe Jeff could have gone too far this time. “I told him to go to Pike Place Market but I bet he didn’t!” she said, still frantically pounding on the door. “What the fuck are you talking about?” Stone had no idea what was going through the girl’s head and looked at Eddie, who seemed equally perplexed. “It took him little time to do all the grocery shopping I asked him to do for the party. I specifically told him to go to Pike Place to buy seafood but he came back with some low quality prawns he must have bought in some fucking convenience store or something closer to home. Sorry Sara, I should have known better!” the girl added the last sentence directly addressing the bathroom door in a louder voice. Stone laughed internally at Layla’s assumption, whereas Eddie thought she must be really worried if she used the F word. “Well, darling, if it makes you feel any better I’m not hearing retching sounds coming from the inside, so I think the food poisoning hypothesis can be excluded” the guitarist patted her on the shoulder, but she kept on knocking on the door. “I’m sorry to inform you that I won’t feel better until my best friend comes out of the cave! She doesn’t know it yet, but I make a damn good Jack Torrance impression and I’m honestly itching to let her see it” “... ouch, maybe it’s better if I go looking for something to drink for her, the situation is quickly escalating” Eddie added and began to walk in the kitchen’s direction, hoping to find something for himself as well. “Please, let it be some chamomile tea because she doesn’t need any more Godzilla fuel” Stone shouted at him, avoiding a brutal push from Layla, who had heard everything. “Can’t you just stop being sassy for a minute? I’m worried, for real, can’t you see it?” “You don’t need to be, trust me. Sara’s ok, nothing happened, really”  “How can you say that?” the girl felt he was keeping something from her.  “Because I know” “And how do you know?” “Because… Well, I was there so I know what happened. And it was nothing. Sara is just making a scene for nothing – which is typical of her, lemme tell ya” “Why do I feel you’ve got something to do with that nothing that happened?” Layla looked at him suspiciously. <I knew he was up to something the moment he arrived! After all, he was talking to her like five minutes before she fled into the bathroom, it must be Stone’s fault!> “Ok ok, I give in! I’ll confess.” Stone raised his hands as a defeat sign and said the first thing that came up to his mind “We were discussing movies and I just shared one maybe slightly unpopular opinion” “That is…?” “I just said that Martin Scorsese is overrated” “YOU SAID WHAT?” “I mean, he directed a bunch of pretty decent movies but-” “A bunch of decent movies? Did you use these exact words?” Layla now could see why Sara wouldn’t want anything to do with the world outside the bathroom. “Yeah, more or less. Anyway, he did something good but… err, I just find him so boring, you know” “Well I think I can speak on behalf of Sara and say you can stick your unpopular opinion up to your you-know-where and apologize to her, Martin and the movie industry” she folded her arms and started tapping her toe as if she was actually waiting for apologies. “And that was what I was expecting, I was expecting her to tell me to fuck off as usual but she just up and left. Maybe she’s in a bad mood” Stone shrugged and silently prayed for the girl to believe his bullshit. “Yeah, she’s been in a weird mood all day” Layla recalled her friend disappearing the whole afternoon and then reacting strangely during their drinking game. “I’ll apologize to her” “Good. Just do it” “But… I can’t do it if you stay here” “Hahaha and why? Are you shy all of a sudden?” “It’s hard for me, you know” “Are you like the poor man’s version of the Fonz? Who can’t physically say I’m sorry?” “Sort of…” “I don’t know if I can leave you and Sara alone, can I trust you?” she sincerely asked. “Oh for fuck’s sake, sure you can! I’m not Jeff” Stone retorted and his remark had multiple meanings but Layla could only grasp one of them, the most obvious one. “Ok, come on Sara, tell this guy off and get out of here! It’s almost midnight!” she addressed her friend again with one last weak knock on the bathroom door and then went back into the living room. “Scout, the coast is clear… now you can come out” Stone had waited for Layla to disappear before addressing again the door; there was silence, when finally a croaky voice came from inside the bathroom. “... that makes you Boo Radley, I suppose” The guitarist smiled to himself: “I guess it does” “I appreciate the sentiment but I just wanna stay alone” “And monopolize the bathroom for the whole evening? Nuh-uh, missy, I won’t all-” “Stoney, what are you doing here, talking with the bathroom door?” a wild McCready appeared out of thin air, looking at his bandmate in a mildly concerned way. “Just trying to find out if it’s made of oak or pine” “Well, try to get an answer really soon because I must go inside!” “Jeez, Mikey, you know you can smoke from the balcony, right? Nobody’s going to call the police” “What did you understand??” Mike grabbed him by the shoulders and started to shake him “I already did that, we’re talking about another kind of emergency!” “What? You lost your contacts and need to put in another pair?” “I NEED TO SHIT! There, I said it! Are you happy, now???”  “... you could have done it from the start” “That’s what I was trying to do” “... too bad we have another emergency going on, so you should find another suitable place for your crap – literally”  “WHAT THE FUC-” “In your shoes, I wouldn’t get excited… you never know when shit’s about to hit the fan” “Fuck off you and your shitty puns, Stone! Where am I supposed to go??” Mike whined, shifting his weight from one leg to another with little jumps. “I don’t know, you could shit in Jeff’s bass case? Or hidden behind the ficus plants, but pay attention because Elias might still be lurking there…” “I’m going to knock on some apartment doors and the first that opens to me is gonna be the chosen savior!” McCready made his way to the front door, but stopped halfway “Don’t think I’m gonna forget how merciless you’ve been with me, I’m having mine served cold” “Hope you’re not talking about your imminent masterpiece, Cready…” “FUCK OFF, STONE” and, thus said, the victim ran outside the VedderAment residence.  Gossard let out a huge breath of relief, then turned again towards the door: “Now, where were we?”  

[stxn-the-mxn]

Supergirl || Freddy Freeman X Reader

Request: Could you write something where the reader is the daughter of Superman and meets Freddy and he starts crushing on her really hard and she crushes on him hard too and eventually Superman and Shazam get them together? - Anon

A/N: This is literally 23k+ words pls read

Warnings: Shazam spoilers

***

Y/N Kent was the new student at Fawcett Central School. Her father had decided that she needed an actual education and not just hero training, and she had been on board until her dad set out the rules.

No powers. No cheating. No this, no that.

Was he trying to kill her? She’d never survive school at this rate. She was no longer looking forward to the first day of school. But unfortunately, Monday rolled around, as it did every week.

***

“Dad, why are you setting so many rules? It’s just school…” You said through mouthfuls of toast, and your dad sighed for the millionth time that morning.

“Y/N, it’s a public school. With regular people. It’s a place for learning, and hanging up the cape for six hours.”

You dropped your toast straight onto the butter knife, which rocketed it towards your dad. Naturally, he caught it without even looking away from his newspaper, which he still chose to read for some reason.

“It goes for six hours?” He nodded, and you collapsed backwards in your chair. Six hours… legally, they can’t make you do that, could they?

“And those six hours start soon, so you better head off.”

You slung your back over your shoulder, looking both ways before speeding to school. People probably saw, but they were also probably used to it, what with the Justice League and everything. 

You came to a stop in an alleyway across the road from the school, where no one would see you. Walking out, you saw a group of six kids standing in a line.

“Big school. 2,000 students. You might think ‘wow, so many strangers’ but not if you think of each of them as possible future friends, then it’s ‘wow, so many friends’!” The shortest girl said as you all crossed the road.

The young girl kept talking, saying something about the principal. Someone in that group must be new too. Walking into the school, you felt a tad overwhelmed by everything. Security guards checked all the bags as you entered the halls, and you began to panic.

Had you left some alien thing in there? Were you about to expose yourself on your first day? Would everyone figure out who you are? Would that affect your dad? Would th-

“Excuse me?” 

A boy, about your age, looked at you with concern etched on his face. His eyes were trained on your face, examining it. Was this a regular occurrence? Would I have to deal with this daily? Why did I not mind this boy staring at me?

“You’re new here, right? I haven’t seen you around before, so I figured.”

You passed the security guard your bag, forgetting all your thoughts as the boy talked to you.

“You seem scared. Don’t be. It’s just a new school.” He smiled, and you felt like you would melt on the spot. Who was this perfect boy? He picked up his bag, giving you a small goodbye before walking off to the girl who had been talking before.

You noted that he had a crutch. A disability, most likely.

Maybe school wouldn’t be so bad. 

***

By the time lunch rolled around, you had discovered that school was definitely bad.

Classes were boring, teachers were aggravating and some kids just weren’t fun. 

Stepping into the cafeteria, you were overwhelmed by the smell of it all. Was any of this legal? You grabbed a tray, copying everyone else and stood in line for food. A small tap sound from behind you made you aware of the boy from this morning standing behind you.

As you were pushed out of the line, you faced all the tables of kids, not exactly knowing what to do. 

“Follow me.” Crutch boy - you still didn’t have a name - led you to a table where another boy was already sitting.

“Flight or invisibility?” He said, and the boy with the red hoodie looked up, annoyance on his face.

“If you could have one superpower, what would you pick?” No one had time to respond before he kept talking. “Everybody chooses flight! You know why?”

Red hoodie - once again, you still didn’t have a name - spoke up, a shit-eating grin on his face.

“So they can fly away from this conversation?” You chuckled, thinking about the times you’d do just that when you and your dad argued.

“No, ‘cause heroes fly! Who doesn’t want people to think they’re a hero, right?” This kid was trying to get some kind of point across, but you weren’t sure what exactly that point was.

“But-But invisibility? No way. I mean, that’s pervy! Spying around on people who don’t even know you’re there. Sneaking around everywhere.” Red hoodie stood up, leaving the table, storming away. Crutchie’s voice grew louder.

“It’s a total villain power, right?” The whole cafeteria stared at crutchie as he picked up his crutch and went after hoodie.

You stood in silence, everyone’s eyes moving to you. Crutchie turned around, gesturing for you to follow him again, so you did.

“Then they did this study, and this is a real thing. They asked people the same question, you know, what power would you want? But this time, they made it so that the answers were anonymous.”

Shit, this was actually really interesting… 

“And-And most people, since they knew that it was secret, said invisibility. And I think that’s ‘cause most people don’t feel like heroes on the inside, deep down.”

You had followed hoodie and crutchie down the hall to the boys' bathroom, hoodie trying to escape this conversation.

“You’re gonna run away. I mean, you stole my Superman bullet.” Your head shot up at the mention of a Superman bullet. If he lost it, you could always get him a new one…

“Dude, I get it, I get it. You’ve been screwed over way too many times. You don’t trust anyone,”

You stood by crutchie’s side awkwardly, feeling like you weren’t meant to be hearing this.

“But that’s the thing about invisibility. You end up all by yourself.” You kept your eyes focused on anything that wasn't crutchie or hoodie. This seemed like a personal conversation.

“I didn’t steal your dumb bullet.”

Hoodie slammed the bathroom door behind him, leaving you and crutchie outside.

“Sorry about that. Billy’s just like that.”

So that was Billy. You still didn’t know who crutchie was, though. He didn’t seem like he was planning on introducing himself, so you took that job for him.

“I’m Y/N.” You stuck out your hand out of instinct. That’s what your dad always told you to do. Crutchie shook it gently, giving you a confused smile.

“I’m Freddy.” Crut- Freddy said. 

“Look, we still have ten minutes of lunch left. You wanna discuss superheroes over some shitty cafeteria food?”

You watched his jaw drop before it changed into a smile. He held out his hand, which you happily took, leading you back to the cafeteria.

“So, who’s your favourite superhero?” He questioned before you’d even sat down.

“How about we say it at the same time? Like on the count of three?”

You watched as his smile widened, yours automatically doing the same. He counted up from one, taking pauses in between, at the times when he started laughing a bit.

He reached three, both of you yelling a bit louder than intended.

“Superman!”

“Superman!”

He let out an odd, yet adorable, laugh, which made you giggle too.

“God, you’re literally the best person I’ve ever met.”

Your mind wandered back to the conversation earlier, and the stolen bullet.

“Hey, if you want, I could get you another Superman bullet.”

Once again, Freddy’s jaw hit the ground. Jesus, could you be any more amazing?

“Wait, really? How?”

“My dad, uh, he knows Superman.”

Nice save Y/N. 

“Holy shit! Have you met him?”

You were in deep shit now.

“Oh, yeah, a few times…”

***

The bell rang, and students piled out of their classrooms, in a mad dash to get home. You waited for Freddy, who happened to be in your current class, to finish talking with the teacher about the mark he’d gotten on a report.

“Freds, we should probably go.” 

You’d started using the nickname at lunch after a small game of Superhero Would You Rather. When asked if he’d rather have his childhood nickname as his superhero name or have his least favourite person pick his superhero name, he had decided that Freds would be a better name than anything the Breyers would come up with.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming.” The teacher sent him off with a wave. 

You walked outside with him, neither person noticing your incredibly close proximity. He walked over to the group of kids from this morning. His friends, maybe. He greeted them all, apologising for holding them up.

“No, actually we’re waiting for Billy. Did you see him insi- oh, hello.” 

Four pairs of eyes met you, and you tried not to freak out.

“Oh, guys! This is Y/N. She’s my new best friend. Y/N, this is Darla, Mary, Eugene and Pedro.” Freddy smiled proudly, acting as if he’d just won an award for something.

“Well, Y/N, it’s lovely to meet you.” The tallest girl, Mary, said, her voice incredibly sweet.

“Not to be so forward, but would you like to come over for dinner tonight?” Freddy spluttered out, his smile not faltering.

You smiled too, nodding in acceptance. From behind the group, you saw Billy coming down the stairs.

“Hey, how was it today?” The same girl asked, but got no response.

“That good, huh?” You joked, Billy sending a small glare your way, which surprised you. You hadn’t done anything to him.

The whole group headed to cross the road, only for a car to come speeding down the street, headed straight in your direction. Fuck, you couldn’t get hit by a car. Not here. If you did, everyone would find out your little secret.

Freddy noticed the car and immediately pushed you away, allowing himself to be rammed into.

“Freddy!” You screamed as he was knocked to the ground, his crutch being tossed aside. Two boys jumped out of the car, laughing.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” You yelled, gearing up to punch the two unless they had some reasonable excuse, which was impossible.

They picked Freddy up off the ground, shoving him against the car. 

“No way that’s gonna buff out.” One of the boys said, shoving Freddy again.

“You gonna pay for that?” 

“For the dent you made almost hitting me? Yeah, sure, um, do you guys take these?”

He held up his two middle fingers, making you snicker louder than intended. Your laughter ceased as they threw Freddy to the ground.

“What’s so funny, new kid?”

You stepped forward, not listening to Freddy’s yells for you to stay back.

“New kid? That’s the best you’ve got? Jeez, at least try to be creative.”

You hands curled into fists, trying your hardest to not just obliterate them right there.

“Aww, do you need your fake family to stand up for you?”

You were seething by this point, but you knew that if you did anything, you were absolutely screwed. All you could do was watch, hoping for some assistance. The boys kept taunting Freddy, kicking him as you all yelled for them to stop.

“What are you gonna do? Go home and cry to mommy? Oh, yeah, you don’t have a mommy.” 

That was the last straw. Just as you reared back to punch the dickwads, they were hit over the head by Freddy’s crutch. Billy threw the crutch over to you, and you caught it with ease.

“Man, sorry about that. That wasn’t fair, but then again, guys don’t play fair, so.”

As Billy took off, the boys in pursuit, you kneeled beside Freddy, easing him onto his feet. Handing him his crutch, he ignored it at first, leaning against you in a hug/physically support kinda situation.

“You’re still coming over tonight, right?”

“Jeez, Freds, you could’ve died and that’s what you’re worried about?”

He shrugged, smiling sheepishly.

“Yeah, I’m coming over tonight.”

***

Slamming open the door to your home, you ran in yelling about your day. Your dad was at the dining room table, reading some book he’d recently bought. You skidded to a halt, slamming your hands onto the table, causing a chunk of wood to break off.

Your dad raised an eyebrow, as you chuckled nervously, chucking the wood into a trashcan full of other wood pieces. Your end of the table grew smaller constantly.

“Sorry. Anyway! I made a new friend at school!” Your dad smiled, finding your excitement extremely infectious.

“And! And! He invited me over to his house for dinner!” Clark couldn’t say no to you, especially not when you’d been so adamant about not enjoying school earlier.

“Well, since we won’t be able to have our daily conversation over dinner, we might as well have it now.” You sat down, bouncing your leg extremely quickly.

“So, how did you meet?”

“Uh, he just helped me get over my first-day nerves. And we sat together at lunch, talking about superheroes. He absolutely loves superheroes! You’re his favourite, by the way.” You smiled, leaning on your hand.

“And then after school, these kids almost hit me with a car, but he jumped in front of me… they beat him up.” You trailed off, feeling tears spring to your eyes. “They, uh, they beat him up ‘cause he has a disability. And something about a ‘fake family’.” Your father leaned over, wiping away your tears.

“Oh, uh, it’s getting close to dinner time. I should head out.”

“Maybe get changed first. Dress up for your new best friend.” He winked, as you lit up red. 

“Dad, seriously? I really can’t do anything with you around.” You tried to act seriously, but your dad kept winking with different eyes, and you walked away, sighing as you tried to hold in laughter.

You hated that he was right. You also hated that you were going to be late because you were trying so hard to look nice. Why were you trying to look so nice? Were you trying to impress his family? Maybe. Yeah, that was it. Impress his family.

“Y/N, you’re aware of the time, right?”

You were out the door without a response.

***

Freddy paced in his room, as fast a pace as he could manage, panicking. Billy hadn’t come home, Y/N was coming over and everything was in utter chaos.

The doorbell rang, and Freddy wished that he was able to run down and get the door for you, but he was still getting down the stairs as Darla swung the door open. 

“Y/N!” She immediately pulled you into a hug which you happily accepted.

“Darla, I wasn’t expecting to see you.” 

Freddy slapped his forehead. God, you were about to be so confused. He didn’t explain the whole ‘group home’ situation. He wanted to explain everything, but Eugene had already appeared at the door.

“Eugene?”

Freddy moved as quickly as possible but still wasn’t able to beat Mary to the door. He saw your eyes darting around the room, your eyebrows furrowing more and more.

“What’s next, Pedro?”

Said boy, upon hearing his name, poked his head around the corner.

“Okay, I’m very confused.”

“Y/N! Follow me!” Freddy called from the stairs, and you walked through the crowd of kids, stopping to hug Darla.

“Welcome to my home. Sorry about that, I should’ve said I lived in a group home. I’m a foster kid, by the way.” He looked down, as if ashamed.

“Freds, if you think I’m gonna judge you for being a foster kid, you’re dumber than I thought.” You laughed by at the end, making Freddy laugh softly too.

Looking up, you saw a Batarang on a shelf. Walking over, you admired it, examining it closely.

“Yeah, that’s my Batarang. It’s a replica, obviously, but it’s really sharp. Like ‘could definitely kill you’ level sharp.”

You gave him a jokingly concerned look.

“I’d show you my Superman bullet, but, yknow…”

“Hey, as I said, I can get you a new one.” Placing a hand on his back in comfort, you felt him tense under your touch. You pulled away, afraid you were being too forward with the boy you’d met that morning.

“Hey, what happened to Billy?” 

“Oh, he probably ran away. I wouldn't be surprised.” He shrugged, going to sit down at his desk. You chose to sit on the bed, being careful not to hit your head.

You sat in silence for a while, both of your minds racing. Freddy thought about you, and how he actually had a girl, who wasn’t his family, talking to him. A pretty girl, none the less. You thought about Freddy, your first-ever friend. In less than 24 hours, he had quickly become the second most important person in your life.

He moved from the chair to beside you, sitting close to you, but with enough distance that it wasn’t awkward or uncomfortable.

“Yknow, I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who likes superheroes as much as you.” You broke the silence, glancing over at him through the hair that fell around your face.

“I could say the same about you. I was amazed when you said you liked them. And we both think Superman is the best, which makes it even better.”

He was utterly adorable. The way he rambled, stumbling over words as his mind worked faster than his mouth, never ceased to make you smile. You hadn’t even known him for 12 hours, but there was already something there.

“Dinner!”

Freddy glanced over at you and took this as another opportunity to continue the little trend you’d started. He stood up, smirking slightly, and held out his hand.

“Follow me, again?”

“You’re a dork, Freddy.” You laughed, immediately placing your hand in his.

***

“Freddy, could you do the dishes, please?” Rosa gestured to the kitchen, and Freddy huffed, making his way to the sink.

“If you want, Mrs Vasquez, I could help him with the dishes.” You offered, Rosa smiling warmly, thanking you for your offer.

You walked into the kitchen, seeing Freddy at the sink, collecting the dish soap and sponges. 

“Need any help?” He turned his head, nodding slowly. He handed you a towel, mentally telling you to dry the dishes after he’d cleaned them.

You could hear Rosa and Victor in the other room, talking about Billy. Rosa was on the phone, talking to someone about Billy. She mentioned something about him running away 23 times.

Freddy was also listening in, unaware he was splashing soapy water everywhere. 

“You know guys, I’m happy to look for Billy. More than happy.” He splashed soap onto your nose, and you blew it off. He was yelling back into the living room but eventually gave up and turned back to the dishes. “But no, you gotta wash the dishes, that’s what’s more important. What are you gonna do, Freddy? Run after him? Hahaha. Very funny.” 

You placed your hand on his wrist, and his eyes flicked up to yours. His tense expression softened, and his dishwashing pace slowed. Neither of you broke the eye contact, finding no actual reason to.

A slam on the window made you yelp, clutching Freddy’s wrist tighter. He screamed, clinging onto your arm. The man at the window held up a sign, saying not to scream. Both of you had done so anyway.

“No, no! I said don’t scream!” 

Freddy ignored his request, screaming out for Victor.

“It’s me! It’s Billy! It’s Billy!” The man whisper-yelled, trying to stop Freddy, who continued to yell out for Victor. 

“You asked me ‘flight or invisibility?’. I thought it was stupid but now I look like this and I need your help! Meet me back here after lights out?”

Holy shit. It was Billy.

As Victor entered the room, Billy ducked back behind the wall.

“‘Sup, bud? You alright?” Victor said, and Freddy froze, thinking of a lie.

“Sorry, Victor, we’re just a bit distraught about Billy.” You spoke quickly, trying to sound truthful.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m just… I’m really sad. Because Billy’s gone.” Freddy spoke, far less convincing than you. “And, you know, maybe it’s my fault. Maybe I did it. Uh, you know, maybe I-I snore.”

“Hey, hey, hey. Not your fault, son, all right?” Victor pulled him into a hug, Freddy standing awkwardly still, as you stood beside them, eyes darting to the window. “We’ll find him, ‘kay?”

“You don’t snore that bad. But you kinda smell.” Victor left the kitchen, as you tried not to laugh. Freddy gave you a “haha very funny” look, before turning back to the sink.

***

“Hi, Dad, uh, I’m gonna be home a little late tonight.” Freddy watched you talk on the phone, making sure no one woke up or caught you sneaking around.

“No, yeah, I understand. I just figured you wouldn’t mind. No, I’m not going out this late. Just, the family decided to watch a movie and wondered if I wanted to stay.” Freddy was impressed at how easily you lied to your dad.

“Yes, thanks, dad. I’ll be home later. Goodnight, love you.”

You hung up, turning around to meet Freddy. With a raise of your eyebrows, you held out your hand. Freddy giggled like a little schoolboy, grabbing your hand. You snuck down the stairs, helping Freddy to miss the bum step.

He unlocked the door, pushing it open incredibly slowly to avoid it making any noise, closing it in the same fashion. He brought you round to the back of the house, seeing Maybe-Billy ahead of you, looking in a car mirror.

Freddy charged over, as fast as he could charge.

“Hey, stop right there! How do we know you’re not a supervillain using telepathic abilities to make us believe that you’re Billy?” He held up his phone, 911 pre-dialled. “All I have to do is press dial on this thing.”

“No, no, no I have proof! I have proof, here. Look, I lied okay.” He grabbed his backpack, ripping it open accidentally. “I took your bullet.” 

He pulled out the bullet, in its plastic bag, only for it to slip out. You lunged forward, catching it just in time. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, Freddy and Billy worried about the bullet while you were more concerned about them noticing your reflexes.

“That was close. Nice catch.” 

“Guys, you know it’s me. And I know we’re not close friends or anything, but you guys are the only people I know that know anything about this caped crusaders stuff.”

“That’s Batman.” You and Freddy muttered in sync, leaving Billy extremely confused.

“What?”

“Forget it. Can I?” Freddy gestured to the glowing lightning on Billy’s chest. Billy nodded, and Freddy moved closer, outstretching his hand towards the suit. The lightning substance had some kind of elasticity to it, as it reached out to meet Freddy’s fingertips.

Freddy let out some kind of shriek or joy, which made you giggle lightly. He truly was a dork. He continued to play with the lightning, as you decided to try as well. The feeling was strange and sent a tingle down your spine, but you kinda liked it.

“Oh my god…” You whispered, a smile growing on your face.

“It’s crazy, right?” 

“What are your superpowers?” Freddy piped up, and you eyed Billy excitedly.

“Superpowers? Dude, I don’t even know how to pee in this thing?”

“Oh, that’s far too much information, Billy.” You said in disgust.

“Okay, c-can you fly?” Freddy suggested.

“Freds, he just got his powers and you think he’s able to fly already? Flying is difficult.” You said, not even realising what you said. The boys looked your way confused but didn’t question it.

Not even a minute later did Freddy have his phone out to keep video evidence of this. 

“Okay, let’s do this,” Billy said, preparing for his first flying attempt. “How do we do this?”

How the hell did he end up getting superpowers?

“Just, um, just like, Superman it.” Freddy imitated the sound of Superman flying, and you raised an eyebrow. Dork. “Obviously, you have to jump. Come on.”

“How is any of that obvious?”

“Try, uh, to believe you can fly. I know it sounds stupid but, I did this deep dive into the pyramid studies of superpowers and, uh, in 6 out of 10 cases, belief is the key.” 

You looked down, embarrassed by your rambling. Unfortunately, by looking down, you missed Freddy’s lovestruck gaze and Billy’s knowing look.

“Belief, belief, belief. Okay, okay. I believe I can fly?” Billy questioned his own words, which really didn’t help the belief part.

“No, yeah, I believe I can fly.” Billy ran towards a nearby car, leaping onto the hood. “I believe I can fly.”

He came crashing to the ground, and not in a graceful manner whatsoever. Billy looked at you and Freddy, both of you busy crying from laughter at his descent.

“D-did you believe?” You struggled out between the laughter. You found yourself struggling to breathe, laughter still pouring out. Freddy noticed the pain in your eyes as your chest and throat clogged with giggles.

“Woah, you okay, Y/N?” He said wiping away the stray tears escaping from your eyes. He had stopped laughing some time ago, but after he had heard your laughter, which sounded beautiful to him, he hadn’t wanted to stop you.

But now you were basically choking on laughter. Freddy flicked your arm, quite hard, and you stopped laughing, instead having to fake a yelp of pain. Blending in with humans was hard.

“Thanks, but also, ow.” You rubbed the spot he hit, hoping to at least come across as hurt. They seemed to believe, luckily.

“Oh, you wanna try invisibility?” Freddy suggested, still holding his phone out. Wait, did that mean he had video evidence of you actually dying from laughter?

“How do I do…?” Billy looked at you and Freddy for help.

“You… Forget it, you know.” Freddy sighed, deciding to give up on the whole ‘believing’ thing.

Billy stood still, eyes closed, possibly believing he was invisible. Freddy nudged you, before whispering something about tricking Billy. You were definitely on board.

“Oh my god! It worked!” You yelled, and Billy snapped his head up.

“Where’d you go?” Freddy looked bewildered. He was surprisingly very convincing.

“I’m right here, you can’t see me?” Billy had a stupid look on his face, not knowing you could see everything.

“I’m invisible!”

Billy danced around, looking like a complete idiot. You were trying everything to not burst out laughing again, but it was very difficult, considering how much of a fool he looked like.

“Hey! Nice outfit, dipshit!” A random passerby called out, breaking Billy’s gleeful jig. He looked at you and Freddy, and you both cracked up again.

“W-we may have been testing invisibility and super-intelligence at the same time.” Freddy wheezed out, his phone shaking from the laughter that reverberated through his entire body.

“Freeman, Kent, I’m gonna come over there and beat you two.”

Billy pointed angrily at the two of you, a spark of lightning exploding from his fingertip, hitting an electricity box on a pole. It sparked and exploded, and since you were right beneath the pole, Freddy pulled you into him to get you away from the sparks.

“Are you alright?” Freddy asked, dropping his phone to place his hand on your face. He had genuine worry in his eyes, his eyebrows furrowed softly.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m good.” You mumbled, not even noticing yourself lean into his hand. He did notice, as did Billy, and while Billy stifled obvious schoolboy giggles, Freddy was an alarming shade of red.

After a few seconds, he pulled his hand away and you tried not to whimper at the loss of his warmth. A small whine escaped, but it was quiet enough to go unnoticed. 

Freddy picked up his phone, which was still recording, and checked for cracks, of which there was none. He sighed in relief and turned back to Billy.

“The lightning emblem! It was staring us in the face the whole time. Literally!” He exclaimed, both his and Billy’s face lighting up with excitement.

You spotted a metal climbing frame at a nearby park. Metal conducts electricity. Could Billy do something to it?

“Hey, guys? You wanna try that electricity business on that thing?”

Billy and Freddy shared similar expressions, probably of weird and possibly dangerous ideas forming in their minds. 

Billy walked faster than everyone, mainly because you stayed behind him to talk with Freddy, though you would’ve been able to keep pace with Billy.

“This is insane, right?” Freddy exclaimed though you shushed him, as you were passing by homes. “We know an actual superhero now!”

If only you knew, Freds. If only you knew.

“I know, it’s kinda strange. You think he’ll be good at it?”

“With some training, maybe. Maybe Robin level, but nowhere near Superman.”

“No, no one can compete with Superman.” You smiled.

“Well, maybe Batm-”

“I’m gonna have to stop you there.” You giggled. Freddy chuckled too, agreeing that his statement was a bit far-fetched.

Up ahead of you, you could see Billy messing with the metal climbing frame. His electricity was surging through it. The metal was a conductor after all. He looked impressed with himself for actually controlling his powers.

After another minute or two, you and Freddy reached Billy, in awe of what he had done. You stayed back, still a bit worried that something could go wrong, and your invulnerability would show through and then there’d be a shit ton of explaining to do.

“Billy, we gotta give you a lightning themed superhero name now.”

A screech resounded in your ears, and you had to fight the urge to scream in pain. Unlike your dad, you hadn’t fully controlled your superhuman hearing. So distant sounds were extremely loud, and it hurt. A lot.

Freddy gestured in the direction of the scream, telling Billy to go be a hero. It wasn’t getting through to him, though.

“Jeez, Billy, you kinda suck at being a hero.” You said, pushing him in the direction of the scream.

“Oh, right!” He started to run in the right direction but suddenly shot across the park, crashing into a figure.

“Hyperspeed, check!” Freddy cheered.

You groaned, massaging your temples. It was painful, not being able to just give Billy real superhero advice that you had gotten from your dad.

You heard the interaction, trying not to scream. Billy was utterly useless. You were so caught up being frustrated with Billy that you didn’t notice Freddy walking over to join Billy. When you did notice has wasn’t by your side, you looked around for him.

Jogging after him, you got to his side pretty quickly.

“I’m sorry, who are you?” The woman with Bill asked, concern on her face.

“His name,” Freddy approached them all, a smile on his face “is Thundercrack. Hero to the people. With the power and speed of lightning all in one.”

You were about ready to ditch the boys, just out of pure frustration. 

“Dude that sounds like a butt thing.” 

“Mr Philadelphia.”

“That’s a cream cheese thing, dude!”

You hit your head against a tree repeatedly, not realising it was splintering until it toppled over in your direction. It was about to land on you when someone stopped it. It didn’t take a genius to figure out it was Billy.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” You walked back to Freddy’s side. Freddy’s eyes were wide with concern as he hugged you quickly. He didn’t need words to convey his worry for you.

“Uh, as I was saying,” Freddy started again, “Powerboy, cause he’s got all the powers. Cause sometimes, pepper spray can’t protect against evil.”

“Powerboy, do you know these children?”

“Like, like a teeny little bit. I don’t really know-” Freddy smacked him in the chest. “Yeah, they’re like, my managers. They’re like miniature managers.” 

“Yeah, we’re his managers.” Freddy nodded, and you once again sighed in disappointment. This was difficult work, and you were unsure when you became a babysitter.

“Powerboy’s not gonna work either, okay? So work on something else…”

“Hey, hey, hey...”

“Electricity manipulation, hyperspeed, super strength! Dude, you’re stacked!” Freddy had that giddy look on his face again, that you couldn’t help but love. “You’re as cool as Superman!”

“Almost.” You corrected, in sync with Freddy. 

Looking into his eyes, everything seemed to go in slow motion for a second. Was that normal, or some time-stopping ability you were yet to discover? You made a mental note to ask your dad later about it.

You were thrown back into a regular pace by the woman Billy was “protecting” shoving cash into your hands.

“I didn’t see you or what’s happened here. I don’t wanna know, just don’t hurt me.” The woman jogged away, leaving the three of you behind.

You looked at the money in your hands, Freddy glancing over to look at it too.

“Holy shit… we just made 73 bucks!” He took it out of your hands, but not in a rude snatching way, as he gave you an apologetic look afterwards. 

“73 bucks?” Billy gaped at the money, and an idea flashed through his mind.

“Guys? It’s late. You should go home…” You said, but the boys didn’t listen, too busy awing over the money. “Guys?”

Billy muttered something about having an idea, and just like that, they were walking away, leaving you behind. You contemplated leaving them behind and going home, but when Freddy turned around, and everything went slow again, you had to grab his outstretched hand once again.

***

“I’d like to purchase some of your finest beer, please,” Billy told the woman working the counter, in quite an over-the-top voice. You and Freddy stood behind Billy, hidden by his wide figure.

As he walked away, you and Freddy met the eyes of the cashier, and with an awkward moment of silent eye contact, walked back to join Billy at the fridges. You kept glancing back at the counter, suddenly nervous for some reason.

Something didn’t feel right.

“I don’t know about this…” You muttered, hearing Freddy hum in agreement.

“I mean, we don’t have a fake ID.” He continued your thought perfectly. Maybe he was the one with the superpowers.

“Guys, would you two relax? Look at me, I am the fake ID.”

A terrifying thought crossed your mind. Was Billy gonna take this seriously? Or would he abuse these new powers for his own personal gain? 

The doorbell jingled, and all of a sudden there was shouting from behind you. Spinning around, you saw two men in ski masks with guns. You let out a surprised yelp, alerting the two robbers to your presence.

Their guns pointed towards you before their eyes even reached the three of you. Freddy stood to Billy’s side, while you were directly in front of him. No one has time to think before a gun is fired.

The bullet zooms towards you, and at the last second, Freddy pulled your arm extremely hard, the bullet just grazing your arm as you collapsed onto him. The bullet hit Billy in the torso, right where you had just been.

The bullet clattered to the ground, as the three of you breathed heavily. You and Billy had just almost died, and your entire weight was on top of Freddy. 

“Bullet immunity.” You gasped, as the bullet rolled next to you. You got off Freddy, wildly aware of your red face, and his very similar one.

“Y-you have bullet immunity!” Freddy exclaimed as you helped him up, handing him his crutch. He pulled out his phone, opening the camera.

“I’m bulletproof.”

“Today is December 8th and this is video proof of authenticity.” That damn smile was back. That damn smile that you couldn’t help but replicate. “Shoot him again.”

“Freddy, what the hell?” You expected Billy to argue with Freddy, and avoid getting shot again. But no, he encouraged it, inviting the robbers to shoot him in the chest. And they did, each bullet like the last. 

You watched as Freddy shoved them in his pocket, and when he noticed you staring, he murmured something about memorabilia.

“W-w-w-wait!” Everyone faced Freddy, who still had his camera out. “We don’t know if the suit is bulletproof, or if you are. Shoot him in the face.”

You sighed into your hands, walking away from the group of idiots. You walked down another aisle, listening to the gunshots ringing. Dumbasses, the lot of them. You tuned out everything, simply pacing up and down the aisle.

The smash of glass hurls you back into reality, as you watch the robbers land outside on the pavement. Freddy joins you, a familiar concern on his face.

“You almost got shot…” He places his hand where the bullet grazed, his panic and worry blinding him from the fact that his hand was very close to your waist. 

You were very much aware of his hand but tried to ignore the warm feeling it brought.

“Yeah, I’ve had a bit of a shitty night, huh?” A sudden boost of confidence struck you. “Luckily, I’ve had two heroes to look after me.”

Freddy turned a light shade of red, nervously giggling. Billy appeared behind him, a smirk on his face and beers in his hands. 

“You two done being gross? I got the beers.” 

You happily took a beer, needing one after tonight. Your dad wouldn’t care. You couldn't get drunk, anyway.

“Sorry about your window! But you’re welcome for not getting robbed!” 

Freddy and Billy took a sip of their beers, immediately spitting them out. You, however, kept drinking yours. Their eyes widened as you chugged the whole bottle in a minute.

“Damn, alright.” Billy chuckled, as Freddy just watched you with amazement.

“You guys aren’t gonna drink those, are you?”

“No, not at all. Tasted like vomit.”

Billy headed back inside, buying some regular junk food, using up the rest of the $73.

“Yknow, habanero jerky, if you eat enough of it, could burn a hole in your stomach,” Freddy said, earning a disgusted noise from you. “Probably not you, though. Probably got stomach superpowers.”

You snorted softly. Stomach superpowers? Weird. You glanced at your phone, noticing the time. It was late. Very late.

“Shit, I’m sorry guys, I have to head home.” You sighed. “I wish I could stay later, but my dad wants me home now. It is a school night, after all.”

Freddy and Billy shared similar, sad expressions, though Freddy’s looked sadder. You awkwardly hugged Billy’s giant form, not noticing Freddy’s glare on the tall boy-man. 

And then, you moved to hug Freddy. It was much tighter than the one you gave Billy. You didn’t want to let go, and something told you he didn’t want to either. As you did pull away, you pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” You smiled, walking away from the boys, a stupid smile forming on your face. 

A similar smile appeared on Freddy’s face, as he placed a hand on his cheek. Billy nudged his shoulder, as they watched you leave.

“You’re whipped, Freeman, absolutely whipped.”

“Yeah,” Freddy grew extremely flustered, “Yeah I am.”

***

You rushed home, almost slamming through the door in excitement. Your dad flicked on the hall lights, making you freeze in your tracks.

“Uh, hi dad! I just got lost finding the bathroom.” You didn’t even try to sound convincing. 

“You are aware of the time, right?” He leaned in the doorway, pointing at the clock on the wall. It read 12pm.

“Yeah, uh, the movie was long.” Your dad raised his eyebrow, and you sighed. “No, uh, one of the kids, Billy, just got superpowers. Freddy and I were helping him out.”

“He got superpowers?” You dad asked, curiosity splashing across his face. “Overnight?”

“Yeah, basically. And since Freddy and I know the most about heroes, we had to help him get used to it.” You walked into the living room and sat your dad down. “Let me tell you everything.”

And so, you did. You explained everything; the lightning and sparks, and how Freddy had pulled you out of the way. The woman, and the tree, and how Freddy had comforted you after it had almost crushed you. The service station, the robbers and how Freddy had pulled you out of the way of a bullet.

You were about to tell him about Billy being bulletproof when your dad cut you off.

“You talk about Freddy a lot.” He smirked and your eyes widened. Talking about Freddy a lot hadn’t been intentional, but he was just always there. He was your first friend, and he liked the things you liked, and he talked to you and he was adorable and sweet and kind and h-

“Do you like Freddy?”

You froze. Did you like Freddy? With everything you’ve said in the past few minutes, all signs pointed to yes.

“I… I think I do. But I only met him today. Is that too soon?” You fell into a panicked ramble, every thought about Freddy spilling out into a chaotic sentence that didn’t make sense to anyone but you.

“Okay, okay, calm down. It’s okay to like people early on. Ever heard of ‘love at first sight’?”

“Dad! It’s not ‘love at first sight’.” You argued though something told you that maybe, just maybe, that was exactly what it was. Was ‘like at first sight’ a thing. Love seemed too strong at this point.

“You wanna talk about it?” Your dad placed a hand on your shoulder, as small tears slowly slipped out of your eyes. Why were you crying? This situation didn’t warrant tears. You weren’t sad, or angry or anything. You were just overwhelmed.

Overwhelmed. 

There were far too many emotions swirling in your head. Good and bad. You couldn’t do this right now. You hadn’t known Freddy Freeman for a day, and yet you were undoubtedly head over heels for him, but you weren’t ready to admit that to anyone.

“I… I’m tired. I’m gonna go to bed.”

You ran out of the room without a second thought.

***

Arriving at school, you instantly spotted Freddy and his family across the street. They were hard to miss, in a good way, of course. After last night, you were conflicted about whether to avoid Freddy or be around him, but unfortunately for you, your mouth moved faster than your brain.

“Freddy, wait up!”

He spun around, smiling brightly as he locked eyes with you. It was then that you noticed that Billy wasn’t there. Odd. but he did technically run away yesterday, so maybe he didn’t go with Freddy last night.

“H-Hey, Y/N!” He stumbled over his words, earning small giggles and chuckles from his family as they headed up to school without him.

“So, you have first period with me and Billy, right?” He asked, very clearly planning something. Freddy, you now discovered, always looked like he was up to something. 

“Um, maybe? Do you have science first, with Ms White?” He nodded, his smile still there. “Well, then I guess we have first period together. Why?”

“You’ll see. Just stick with me and Billy.” You raised an eyebrow at the mention of Billy, who was still a no-show. “Yeah, no, he’ll be here. He had something he needed to do first.”

As if on cue, a loud crash caused you to jump out of your skin. Spinning around, you saw the same boys who had beaten up Freddy staring at their destroyed truck.

“I’m gonna assume that’s what he needed to do.” 

“Yeah. Come with me, I wanna rub it in a little more.” 

Walking over to the boys, you both examined the destruction. The car was absolutely destroyed, and there was absolutely no way it could be restored. Freddy wandered over to the boys, a smirk on his face.

“You know guys… I don’t think that’s gonna buff out.”

You subtly high-fived him as you walked away from the car, but as your hands met, he intertwined your fingers. From the way he kept walking, he hadn’t even acknowledged what he’d done, and from the way your mind was racing, you really didn’t mind.

You entered the school building, passing through security easily and heading over to your locker. Freddy’s locker was across the hall from yours, so while you did, unfortunately, have to let go of Freddy’s hand, you easily kept your conversation going across the hall.

When you went across to join him, the conversation topic quickly switched to Billy and his new superhero alter-ego. You wished you had the confidence to reach over and hold his hand, but luckily for you, Freddy instinctively did it for you. 

“So, last night, when we went home, we found out how he can switch between forms.” He whispered excitedly, his voice rising every now and again as his excitement grew, but a soft hand squeeze from you was enough to quiet him down.

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw a flash of red and brown darting towards you and Freddy.

“Morning, Billy.” You said as Billy caught up to you, eyes instantly darting to you and Freddy’s interlocked hands. He raised an eyebrow, directing it specifically at you, and you really didn’t have an explanation.

“Nice job with the Breyers car.” 

The school bell rang, and as everyone else moved off to class, the two boys pushed you into a storage room to hide. You tried your best to ignore the lack of distance between you and Freddy.

You looked up, meeting Freddy’s eyes. His face was as red as yours felt. As awkward as you both felt being so close to each other, you couldn’t look away from him. Without even noticing, you shuffled closer to him.

“Coast is clear, let’s go.” Billy stepped outside, scanning up and down the hallway. He went to leave, but upon not hearing the sound of Freddy’s crutch hitting the ground, he looked back into the closet, seeing you and Freddy.

“Guys? Guys! Seriously, can you do this some other time?” He groaned, causing Freddy to whip his head around, still blushing. Billy chuckled, and Freddy gave Billy a look that screamed ‘we don’t speak a word of this’.

As Billy headed for the front door of the school, you still stood frozen in place. Freddy had been so fucking close to you. Your heart had been racing, your mind screaming and all the emotions from last night had almost come tumbling out.

“Y/N? You okay?” You reached for his hand, even though he hadn’t reached out as he usually did. He happily accepted your hand in his, feeling a familiar warmth as your hand slid perfectly into his.

Billy had been watching over his shoulder, finding a certain enjoyment in the pure awkwardness of the whole situation between his- his friends. As you and Freddy walked down the hall, hand-in-hand, Billy caught the soft smile on Freddy’s face. 

“Absolutely whipped.” He muttered to himself.

***

You sat on an empty oil barrel, watching as Billy used his lightning powers to blow up his school books. Freddy was throwing the books, both of them quite enjoying themselves. You didn’t know what to think.

Billy was a superhero now, and sure, he was still figuring out his abilities, but he didn’t show any signs of wanting to be an actual hero.

You had hoped that Freddy would teach him what actual heroes did, and yet he was encouraging Billy. You couldn't hate them, though. Billy was your friend, and Freddy was- well, he was something special.

“Hey, Freds?” 

Freddy dropped the English book he was holding, jumping at your voice which he hadn’t heard since the three of you had found the abandoned warehouse. He had been surprised that you didn’t want to participate but didn’t question it, afraid that if he was nosey he would lose any chance of actually getting you to like him.

“Y-yeah? What’s up?”

“I was just wondering if we were gonna spend the whole day exploding things? Why not test out some other skills?” You suggested, hoping to actually get something done today, and not have wasted a day that you could’ve spent actually learning something at school.

“Well, yeah, we could. What do you have in mind?”

“You’ve got your camera with you, right?” Freddy nodded, and your idea fell into place.

You brought the boys over to another part of the warehouse, pulling an empty notebook out of your bag.

“Freds, can you set up your camera, please?” He happily obliged, as you scribbled out a warning message onto the notebook. Freddy finished setting up the camera and started recording. You held up the sign in front of the lense.

A few seconds later, you flicked it over to reveal the page reading ‘Super Strenght Test 1’. 

“Right, super strength test, go!” Freddy informed Billy as you moved the page away, only to reveal Billy doing some weird dance-thing. You gave him a death stare, careful not to trigger your heat vision accidentally. 

Billy noticed your glare, and he was surprisingly intimidated.

“Oh.” He walked over to a stone pillar, rearing his arm back to punch it, and as his fist collided with the stone, it cracked and crumbled, leaving Billy and Freddy wide-eyed, while you simply watched on, impressed.

“Right, well, how about we test flight next?” You pointed to the old skate ramp outside, the boys’ faces lighting up.

***

The next few days continued much the same, with you writing down what test you were doing and making notes of Billy’s attempts, Freddy recording it all, sometimes helping Billy with the tests and Billy just trying not to die as you put him through all these tasks.

Your dad was yet to find out about you skipping school, though you knew he wouldn’t be too mad, especially if he knew what you were doing.

Billy had failed most of the tests, only succeding in hyperspeed and super strength currently. Freddy had pulled out the weirdest tests, like time-reversal and telepathy, while you stuck with the more classic superhero ones. He couldn’t teleport, but he was immune to fire, as you and Freddy found out the hard way. 

At the end of the day, you always found yourself at Freddy’s house, uploading the videos of Billy on YouTube. With each video, the superhero name changed, your personal favourite being ZAP-tain AMERICA. 

During these days of “superhero training” you found it difficult to stay out of the Superman-related conversations. Freddy often compared Billy to your father, and recently, you were discovering a new-found struggle of lying and keeping secrets from Freddy.

You told your dad everything, so he was up to date on Billy’s situation, often giving you tips that you always had to say you “read online” to keep from being suspicious. He still didn’t know you were skipping school, thinking that this training was the reason you were always home late.

In reality, you were home late because you didn’t want to leave Freddy’s home. You liked it there, and you liked his family, and yeah, you definitely liked him.

***

This morning, after you’d obviously ditched school, you once again found yourself discussing Superman.

“More powerful than a locomotive.” You nodded, agreeing with Freddy

“Locomotive? What are you, an old prospector?” Billy teased, as you thwacked him in the chest.

“He can leap tall buildings in a single bound.” You stated, gesturing to a massive office building in the city. It was a way away, but Billy hoisted you and Freddy over his shoulders and just ran.

Freddy looked dizzy when he was set down, so you rushed to steady him. He thanked you, that adorable smile returning. You smiled back, as Freddy fumbled for his camcorder. He almost dropped it, and you went to catch it, before realising he had added a wrist strap onto it.

“Right, so, single bound, ‘kay?” You turned to Billy, before looking at the giant building. Maybe you should’ve picked a smaller one.

Billy prepared to jump, and as he left the ground, he went flying into one of the windows. You gasped, hearing the screams from inside. You hit the recording button on the camera, stopping it in a rushed panic.

“Let’s edit that one before posting it.”

A few minutes later, Billy came out of the building, looking quite embarrassed.

“What’s up, Bill?” You giggled at his expression.

“I had to take the elevator.” He mumbled under his breath, but you heard it anyway. You laughed loudly, Freddy looking extremely confused. You whispered what Billy had told you, and Freddy lost it.

“Oh, yeah, yeah very funny.” Billy glared at the two of you, who were clinging to each other in an uncontrollable fit of giggles.

“You two are useless. I’m hungry, let’s get food.” Billy started walking towards a nearby shopping strip. As your fit of giggles ended, you trailed behind Billy, your hand in Freddy’s once again. It was a force of habit, now.

As per usual, you and Freddy wandered a tiny bit back from Billy, discussing whatever came to mind.

“Your phone’s charged.” Electricity came out of Billy’s fingers, hitting passerby’s phones. He kept doing it, some people looking impressed, while others looked weirded out. 

You caught up with Billy, both of you stopping for Freddy. Freddy had his typical expression on, which meant he was either planning something or that something was just on his mind.

“You know what? You really need, like, a mic-drop catchphrase after you do something cool.”

You sighed. A catchphrase? You loved Freddy dearly, but sometimes his ideas weren't exactly that good.

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Of course Billy had been. Billy and Freddy were two halves of a whole idiot.  “I was thinking, what about, what about this? ‘That’s why you don’t mess with electricity.’.”

You snorted. That was truly, utterly terrible. Freddy seemed to agree, considering his raised eyebrow, and humoured smile.

“Catchphrases, obviously, aren’t one of your superpowers.”

“Your phone’s charged,” Billy said, again, striking one man’s phone which sparked and exploded, and the man was most certainly not impressed.

“You need to stop doing that.” You patted Billy on the back, making Freddy laugh.

Billy, however, wasn’t laughing, a suspicious expression on his face. You went to ask what he was planning, but he picked you and flung you over his shoulder, hyperspeeding his way out of the shopping mall, leaving Freddy behind.

“Billy? Y/N? You’re coming back, right? Guys?”

***

After that day, you found yourself being pushed aside in Freddy and Billy’s escapades. Everything became less about training Billy to properly control his powers and use them for good, and more about just figuring out what they could get away with.

Billy claimed that everything was helping him become a better superhero, but you weren’t sure how a strip club, lair, and video games helped with that. Freddy didn’t agree nor deny with what Billy said, and you honestly felt a little upset about that.

You would have thought that Freddy, of all people, would take this at least somewhat serious, considering his love for superheroes. Even your argument that Superman wouldn’t abuse his abilities like this had no effect on the boys.

So that evening, after uploading all the videos Freddy had taken while the boys played video games, you packed up your stuff to leave.

“I’ll see you guys at school, hopefully.”

They didn’t notice, too wrapped up in their game. You couldn’t ignore the tears that rapidly fell from your eyes. Going down the stairs, you were met by Rosa and Victor, who were still hanging up Christmas decorations.

You really loved Rosa and Victor, and you hoped they liked you too, considering how often you were around. It would be awkward if they didn’t like you.

“Hey, Y/N, are you alright?” Rosa asked, and in a split second of confusion, you forgot about the tears streaming down your face.

“Uh, I just hit my elbow on a table edge. Yknow how much that hurts, haha.” You could tell that they didn’t believe you. “Uh, Freddy and Billy were ignoring me. It’s stupid, don’t worry.” You spoke quickly, trying to pass it off as nothing, but the crack in your voice said otherwise.

Rosa brought you over to the living room, inviting you to sit down. She sat beside you, while Victor sat across, both looking at you with concern in their eyes.

“They’re ignoring you?” Rosa placed a hand on your knee, in a comforting manner. God, she was the best mother on this planet. 

You nodded, not speaking in fear of your voice breaking again. You wondered if you were stupid, being so broken over two boys, who you’d only known for a week, ignoring you.

“Just know that they don’t hate you, especially not Freddy.” You looked at Victor in surprise. What did that mean? “You’re all he talks about, ever. Not even Darla gets to speak at the dinner table now.” He chuckled, while you flushed.

“H-he talks about me?” You wiped away some tears, a small smile forming. Freddy talked about you. All the time. Rosa and Victor nodded, smiles on their faces too.

“He really likes you, Y/N. Billy does too, but nowhere near as much as Freddy does. We honestly can’t thank you enough for bringing them closer.” Rosa hugged you, Victor piling on top.

“Thank you, so much. But, uh, I should head home. My dad will start to worry.” 

They nodded, walking you to the front door. As you opened the door, a creak from the stairs alerted you to Freddy’s presence. He came down to the door, hugging you tightly.

“See you at school tomorrow.” He whispered, kissing your cheek quickly. You were frozen as Freddy gave you a final hug and went back upstairs. You had forgotten that Rosa and Victor were there until Victor whispered a “told you so”.

“Heh, um, well, I’ll probably see you tomorrow?” You smiled, hand instinctively going to your cheek.

“And probably more days after that.” Rosa giggled. 

With a smile, you left the Vasquezes home, now looking forward to tomorrow. 

When you arrived home, you didn’t even notice your dad in the kitchen. He definitely noticed you, and the stupid smile on your face, and the way you were humming to yourself. It didn’t take a genius to know what was going on.

“What did I say about love at first sight?” He said, to no one but himself.

***

Walking the school halls, all you heard were whispers about Philadelphia’s newest superhero. Thanks to the videos you and Freddy had taken, Billy- you were yet to decide on a superhero name- was quickly gaining popularity.

It seemed as though everyone only had superheroes on their mind. Obviously, that included your little trio of friends. It was somewhat nice, being the talk of the town, even if no one knew you were the talk of the town.

“Hey, yknow, you guys gotta wonder who’s filming those, right?” You looked curiously at Freddy, as did other students. A wave of worry crashed over you, something feeling off. “I mean, that’s bravery in and of itself.” 

“I mean, is it, though?” Billy commented, and then you knew that something was definitely not gonna go well today, so you kept your mouth shut.

“Yeah. I’d argue maybe even more brave.” 

“Holding a camera?” 

“Staring in the face of danger?” You felt the urge to make some comment about how neither of them had faced any real danger before, but you knew that would simply lead to a neverending run of questions, curious ones from Billy and concerned ones from Freddy.

You blocked their bickering out as best as you could, but the second the Breyer brother approached, you got ready to punch either of them if needed. They grabbed Freddy’s shirt, and you stepped closer to him, protectively.

“Hey, Freeman.”

“I-I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Freddy glanced at the fist around his shirt, before looking back at Burke.

“What? Is your bestie gonna hit us with a wheelchair this time?” Brett raised an eyebrow, mocking Billy. Your teeth clenched together. 

“No, maybe not him, but I have another best friend.” Shit. You could see where this was going.

The brothers turned to you, half of your body covering the side of Freddy.

“Oh, so you need your girlfriend to protect you, too?” They mocked, using stupid sing-songy voices. You flipped them off, glaring.

“She’s not my gir- No. My other best friend. Who might hunt you down and destroy both of you.” You really wished Freddy could shut his mouth every once in a while.

“Okay, Freddy.” You and Billy both whispered, attempting to drag Freddy away from the Breyers, but to no avail, Freddy stood his ground.

“You may have heard of him… Uh, uh, The Human Power Storm. Frequency Flinger, Sir Zaps-A-Lot. Yeah. He’s a man of many names.” You sighed. Neither you nor Billy looked impressed in the slightest. Freddy was wonderful, but sometimes he really needed to know when to stop.

“You know the Red Cyclone?” The Breyers, understandably, didn’t believe Freddy in the slightest. I mean, why would you? “You? My ass you do.”

“Oh, we’re a lot closer than you think. Maybe even at this very moment.” 

“Prove it.”

Oh no. Oh god no. It would’ve been a great time for you or Billy to jump in and shut Freddy up, but both of you knew how suspicious that sounded.

“I will, tomorrow. Tomorrow he’s gonna come to lunch.” You stared at Freddy, wide-eyed. This was not happening. “And… Right, right, Billy?”

Billy looked petrified, eyes darting between Brett, Burke, Freddy and you. Both your faces held concern and just a hint of fear.

“Oh, yeah, and then Superman’s gonna be bringing us dessert, right?” Freddy’s eyes immediately landed on you, and for once you didn’t fluster at this.

“Yeah, Y/N here knows Superman. Right, Y/N?” 

Everyone's eyes fell to you, including the highly skeptical eyes of the Breyers. If there was any time to be frozen with fear, this was not the time you expected. With a sharp inhale, you nodded quickly, as to get it over and done with.

The bell rang, and finally, the crowd of students disappeared. It felt stupid, but you wanted to cry. The Breyers remained in front of you, and you had never felt so intimidated.

“Tomorrow at lunch. You’ll see.”

“And when they don’t show,” Shit, they were including Superman in this? “Then we’ll kick both of your asses.”

Your hand found Freddy’s, squeezing it tightly out of fear and pressure. What were you meant to do now? Freddy started walking, Billy following quickly behind.

“So, wait, my identity's a secret so no one I know can get hurt. Except when it makes you look cool, then it’s all good.”

In a common occurrence from the past few days, you insisted on keeping your mouth shut, instead choosing to focus on the feeling of Freddy’s hand against yours.

“Billy, it’s not like they’re supervillains-”

“They’re close enough.” You murmured.

“They're just super douchebags.” 

“So you’re breaking your own rule? Got it.” 

You were amazed that no one had figured out Billy’s identity, considering the volume at which the two boys spoke. For someone determined to keep a secret, Billy was awfully loud.

“This thing is as much mine as it is yours.” You couldn't even find it in you to argue that; 1) no, it really wasn’t and 2) why didn’t he include you.

“Starting to think you think it’s all your thing.” Billy stormed into his classroom, Freddy hopelessly calling after him. When he gave up on Billy, he turned to you, a desperate look on his face.

“Y/N? Do you want to stay for dinner tonight?”

***

“All hands on deck,” Victor called, everyone besides Billy putting their hand in the centre of the table. You hesitated, until Freddy placed his other hand on yours, bringing it up to meet the others.

“Thank you for this family. Thank you for this day. Thank you for this food. Sorry Billy’s hand’s on vacay.”

You absolutely adored the Vasquezes and their crazy family that all perfectly worked together. Everyone’s hands dropped, grabbing cutlery and eating.

“Big news in Philly. Got a costumed hero. He’s doing good.” You smiled at the mention of Billy until you saw the looks on Freddy and Billy’s faces.

“Yeah, but is he, though?” Eugene piped up, everyone immediately intrigued by his comment.

“Ooh! Controversy, into it. Share with us your perspective, Eugene.” 

This was sure to be an interesting dinner.

“Just saying, he’s what? Charging people’s phones? So what? I can charge a phone with a plug.” You smiled at Eugene. That was an extremely valid point. Billy was, in no offence to him, kinda useless right now.

“Preach. Pedro, any thoughts?”

“Costume’s stupid.” You giggled, fully agreeing. It did look kinda dorky. Everyone else laughed along too, except Billy, which was even funnier to you. “Big white cape like he’s getting married or something.” You burst out into giggles, remembering when you had told Billy exactly that.

As you giggled, you didn’t notice Freddy’s hand on top of yours, or the smitten gaze he had. Everyone else, however, most definitely did.

“What if he didn’t get to pick his costume?” Billy finally spoke up, drawing everyone’s eyes to him. “Ever think about that?”

“You’re a specialist Freddy, and I’ve heard that you are too, Y/N. What do you two think?” Rosa prompted you and Freddy.

“Yeah, guys, let’s manage to see the positive.” Billy eyed you both warily, and as you went to speak, Freddy immediately cut you off.

“Okay, well, I think it looks likes he doesn’t have gratitude for what he’s been given.”

You wished Freddy had telepathy, just so you could tell him to not make this personal. But alas, he had no such ability.

“Very specific. All right. Y/N, what were you going to s-”

“Maybe to the superhero, gratitude doesn’t mean having to be clingy.” Bill retorted.

“Clingy? Wow, interesting take.” 

You didn’t want to be overdramatic, but you were sure you had never been more stressed in your entire life. 

“You know, maybe sometimes a superhero just wants a little me-time.”

Shit, they were making it personal. You kicked Billy under the table, only getting a glare in return.

“You know, me-time could also be construed as pushing away his family.”

You could feel the confused gazes burning into you like lasers. This had to be the most suspicious conversation ever.

“Family. Is that what they are now?” 

You hid your face in your hands, sighing in annoyance. Why did you ever think that this would be a nice, normal dinner with your friends and their family, especially after school today?

“It’s a classic symptom of “Superhero Syndrome”. Coined by German psychologist Heinrich Von German-Something, where superpowers become an all-consuming narcotic.”

Billy immediately got up from the table, and you watched with a fearful look in your eyes as the chaos came to an upsetting end.

“Son, we’re still eating dinner.” Victor tried to call Billy back, but it was useless at this point.

“What he needs is a sidekick,” Freddy called after the boy, and then everything clicked. 

“Name one cool sidekick.” Billy stormed up the stairs, leaving the rest of the family sitting awkwardly. You didn’t realise how nervous you looked until you felt Freddy’s fingers tracing small circles on your leg. The action was calming, and you shuffled closer to him.

“Darla, why are you so quiet over there, baby? You’re never at a loss for words.”

From the way in which Darla glanced at Freddy, Billy’s empty chair and you, you realised that Darla knew a lot more than you thought. 

“I’m eating.” The small girl mumbled through food, just to get her point across.

Once dinner wrapped up, Freddy went to head upstairs, until you reminded him that Billy was up there, and that didn’t seem like a good idea right now. Instead, you took him out to the front porch, sitting on the steps, gazing up at the sky.

“It’s beautiful up there.” You mumbled as Freddy sat beside you. For a while, the two of you sat in silence, just gazing at the sky and the few stars you could see. The night sky always reminded you of the first flying lessons you had with your dad, back when you first started developing your powers.

“Yknow, I’ve always wanted to fly.” Freddy broke the silence. “It probably sounds stupid, but flying sure sounds better than walking, especially with this stupid thing.” He chucks his crutch to the ground, both of you wincing at the sound of it hitting the ground.

You don’t speak, not because you’re ignoring him, you just don’t know what to say.

“This… This was a bad night for you to come over. I’m sorry it went like that.”

“It’s fine. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of other dinners for me to join in.” You didn’t notice the impact of your words, but for Freddy, the idea of you coming to more dinners was like getting hit with a ton of bricks.

Freddy instinctively moved closer to you, which was no longer a big deal to either of you, but this time Freddy was trying a something else. He moved ever so slightly closer, and you finally realised what was happening.

You moved closer too, your heart practically running a marathon. The moment seemed perfect, and for a while, it was. He was about a centimetre away from you now, and that distance was only getting smaller.

“Freddy!” He jumped away quickly as the front door swung open. Rosa smiled sweetly, not realising what had just been happening. “Could you walk Y/N home, please?”

***

By lunch the next day, you were still thinking about last night. You had almost kissed Freddy Freeman. Twice. The first time, Rosa had stopped you just in time, asking if Freddy could walk you home.

The second had been outside your home. He had just dropped you off and thought that would be his chance. Unfortunately, your dad had other plans, swinging the door open, also not aware of what had been going on. He had thanked Freddy for walking you home, and you looked forward to the day when Freddy realised he had just met his idol.

They were the only thoughts that clouded your mind as you sat with Freddy at the lunch table, a massive crowd waiting for Billy and apparently Superman to appear.

You were unfortunately skeptical about Billy showing up, especially after what Freddy told you about this morning. Billy had walked to school with Freddy, and then immediately ditched. Freddy didn’t want to believe it, but he didn’t think Billy would show either.

You looked worriedly at Freddy, knowing that there was no chance Billy would show. The Breyers were staring you two down, and you were getting very nervous with all the eyes on you.

“I’ll just call him. I’ll just make sure.” He got out his phone, holding it up to his ear. “It’s ringing.” 

Freddy was not a good liar in any way, shape or form. Not one single person here believed him. You knew that if you didn’t know the truth, you wouldn’t believe him.

“Red Cyclone, hey! Hey, what’s going on?” He paused for belief. Of which there was none. “Oh, that’s crazy! Yeah, it’s Freddy, by the way. Yeah, it’s crazy! Great story.” Someone from behind you snatched his phone away and you knew you were screwed.

“He’s not talking to anyone.” The crowd laughed and booed, and you immediately lived in fear of what the Breyers were gonna do.

“I was! I was! We’re friends. I know him, I do!” The crowd dissipated. “I know him! I know him! Uh, yeah.”

The Breyers laughed at your humiliation, and you latched onto Freddy in fear. You were royally screwed now.

“Shit.” You muttered in unison, giving each other frightened glances.

The Breyers dragged you out to the back of the school, to the alleyway between the school building and the hall.

Brett dragged Freddy aside, while Burke grabbed onto your shirt. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Brett carrying Freddy by his underwear, and when you looked back, Burke’s fist collided with your face. It didn’t hurt, nor did it leave much of a bruise, so you simply let him at it.

Better to let him get it all out now.

You did, however, get in one good punch on Burke’s face.

“Eat shit and die, Kent,” Burke yelled, punching you again.

“Eat shit and live, Breyer.”

Once the boys let you be, you rushed to help Freddy back to his feet. He looked like he was in a lot of pain, so you tried to act like you were hurt too, just to make him feel better.

“Are you alright? Burke packs a pretty mean punch…” Freddy’s hand traced where he had seen Burke punch you.

“Nothing I can’t handle.” You grinned, which made Freddy smile too. His smile, however, quickly turned to a grimace.

“We need to find Billy,” Freddy grumbled, not just annoyance, but anger in his voice. As if on cue, you spotted a spark of lightning in the distance. You spun Freddy around so he could see the sparks too.

“Found him.” 

***

Freddy marched up to Billy, who was performing some stupid show in front of a crowd of people. What a surprise. Billy was abusing his powers. He even had a box laid out for money. Why, of all people, did Billy get to have superpowers?

“Hey. Hey!” Freddy pushed the crowds out of the way, anger seeping through his words.

“Hey, young man!” Freddy kicked Billy’s speaker, causing the music to stop. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! What are you doing? I’m in the middle of a show right now. How can I help you?”

You scoffed, rolling your eyes. Was Billy really this much of an idiot?

“We just wanted to say thank you for showing up to lunch today.” From the look on Billy’s face, he had just recalled his plans. “Yeah, I got a little something called a, uh, suitcase wedgie, right? I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of it, but it’s when someone grabs your underwear like that,” Freddy acts out his words as he goes, the crowd all with their phones out, “and holds you like a suitcase and walks you down the hallway.”

You scrunched up your nose imagining how painful that would be.

“And this was my underwear.” He throws the stretched out fabric in Billy’s direction, though it doesn’t go anywhere near him. 

“Gross.”

You stepped in line with Freddy, looking up at Billy in disappointment. 

“You said you’d come.” You uttered sadly.

“You said I would come!” You jumped at the outburst, grabbing Freddy’s wrist in shock. “I never said I was… I’m a superhero, dude!” 

You very quickly went from being disappointed to just angry.

“Yeah? Well, you’re acting real heroic.” You spat out. “How much people paying you today?” The venom lacing your words was thick, even Freddy looked at you in surprise.

“Listen, I have serious responsibilities now, okay?”

“Oh yeah, very se-”

“But that’s cool because I can carry that burden with my… hands! Lightning with my hands!” 

One strike of lightning struck much further away than you anticipated, hitting a distant bridge. It hit a wheel on a bus, and the bus came crashing off the side of the bridge. You gasped, catching Billy’s attention. He looked at the accident, before hyperspeeding away.

“We’ll just walk, I guess?” You asked, turning around to see Freddy already walking in Billy’s direction. 

The walk was long and tiring, and probably not good for Freddy in the slightest. You could see the whole situation unfolding, sighing as Billy did all the wrong things. What you wouldn’t give to go be better than him.

Reaching Billy, you saw a news reporter leaving, but there were still news cameras everywhere.

“Guys! Did you see that?”

“Yeah. You electrocuted a bus and almost killed these people.” Freddy stated, but it clearly wasn’t getting through to Billy.

“And then I caught it! Guys, I caught a bus with my bare hands! I caught a bus like people catch fly balls!” If it was any other day, you’d be impressed, and proud of Billy for using his power for good, but today you weren’t happy, and neither was Freddy. “Like, who does that? I do that!”

“Billy! You do nothing.” Freddy cut him off. “You take selfies and make people pay you.” You placed a hand on Freddy’s shoulder in comfort. “You know, forget it. I can’t really talk to you when you look like this.”

You and Freddy turned to leave, Freddy’s hand finding yours instantly. 

“You just wish it was you.”

You both froze, turning back around to face Billy. 

“No shit! You think? I would kill to have what you have.” You felt tears welling in your eyes. You had figured out why Freddy was so angry not too long ago. “Because everything I do is, like, some desperate attempt to get people to notice me. To not feel sorry for me.” He glanced over at you, seeing the tears on your cheeks. 

“I mean, look at me! Look at me. Do you even see me? ‘Cause most people don’t. ‘Cause they don’t want to. And now you don’t either. I mean, you think this is who you are? I mean, Billy, you’re 14 and now you’re no better than the Breyers.”

You could hear Freddy choking up, so you stepped in to help him.

“All this power, and all you did was turn into a show-off and a bully.” Your voice cracked, tears heavily flowing now. Freddy took your hand again, his one source of comfort, leaving Billy alone.

“Whatever, kid! I do what I want! And I’m like mid-20s probably! Maybe even, like, 30.”

You and Freddy didn’t turn back, storming away from the asshole you had once considered a friend. 

You were a fair distance away when you heard the sound of glass shattering from behind you. Judging from the height of the broken window, there was only one person it could be.

“Billy?” Freddy questioned, as said boy flew- wait flew?- towards you.

“Guys! I need your help!”

“You can fly?” Freddy exclaimed, his smile coming back. Billy was about to respond when another figure flew from the building, grabbing Billy and sending him to the ground. The concrete where they hit broke as easily as the glass, and you immediately went to inspect it.

Freddy joined you, staring into the open floor.

“Who’s the other guy?”

There was no response, but you and Freddy had the same thought.

“Supervillain.”

Screams could be heard in front of you, and you looked up to see swarms of people running out of a nearby shopping mall. That’s where they had to be. Why else would people act like that?

“Freds, this way.”

Freddy made his best attempt to run, only tripping a few times. Eventually, you made it into the mall, seeing the heard of people running in a panic. Billy was nowhere to be seen.

“Billy?” Freddy called out. “Billy?”

“Billy, where are you?” You joined in, yelling, searching for any sign of Billy.

So far, nothing. Freddy called out a few more times, but you had stopped, seeing the bald man scanning the mall. That was him. The supervillain. It took a few more seconds for you to register that the supervillain was flying towards you.

He grabbed both you and Freddy, slamming the two of you up against some lockers. Your heart was beating at an irregular pace. How did your dad do this?

“Billy. Where is he?” The bald man asked, and you tried your best to stay calm. Freddy was not doing well in the calm department.

“Supervillain…” He said quietly, his eye wide with fear. This was the sort of shit you see on TV and in comics, not everyday life. “Supervillain! Supervillain!” 

His screams were useless. No one was coming to your rescue. 

“Worse. Much worse.”

You didn’t want to cry, but there was a high probability you would.

“Radioactive anthromorph?” Freddy asked. “Psychic energy manipulator? I won’t let you read my mind. My mind is blank. You can’t get in.”

“I don’t need to read your mind.” He slammed both of you against the lockers again, making you whimper in fear. “Because you are going to tell me. Where is he?”

As hard as you tried, you couldn’t find Freddy’s hand.

***

You found yourself outside Freddy’s home, still being held by the supervillain. Fear was rushing through your veins, and guilt, knowing that if you were able to use your powers, you could’ve easily stopped this.

The supervillain rang the doorbell, and the door was immediately swung open, Darla only seeing Freddy at first. He was shoved inside, you pushed in next, hitting into a wall. You hissed in pain and caught Freddy’s concerned glance.

“How quaint.” Mr Supervillain said, glancing around the room. Everyone’s faces held similar expressions of terror. “Actually, I take that back. What a shithole.”

You were grabbed by the supervillain again, and he scanned you up and down, his brow furrowing. Shit, did he figure you out? He threw you back with the other kids, and you stumbled backwards into Freddy.

Freddy dug in his pocket, hoping to find his phone, but an ominous chuckle from Mr Supervillain gave you a good idea of where Freddy’s phone actually was. He pulled out the familiar black phone, dangling it mockingly in your face.

You were all shoved onto the couch, ordered to stay like you were dogs. Mr Supervillain unlocked the phone, his eye glowing. When did he have hacking as a power? You all watched him, too scared to look away.

A sudden pressure on your hand made you look down, seeing a familiar hand in yours. It had only been an hour, but it felt like much longer since you had had Freddy’s comfort. You moved closer to him, shaking with pure terror. 

“F-Freddy?” He looked down at you, and you didn’t have to say anything for him to pull you in closer. You had Freddy, but you wanted Billy here too. You wanted protection and safety and the knowledge that you’d be alright. You wanted your dad.

The familiar sound of a phone ringing startled you, and whoever was on the other side quickly picked up.

“Freddy, you were right. I’m so sorry I yelled at you.” You heard Billy through the phone, and both panic and relief set in. 

“Come home, Billy. Come home.” Mr Supervillain spoke, eyeing you all evilly. You shuddered under his gaze, holding Freddy tighter.

“Billy! Supervillain! Supervillain!” Freddy yelled, hoping to be heard through the phone. The call abruptly ended, Mr Supervillain stalking around the house once more. He picked up a Christmas wreath on a door, throwing it to the ground.

“Who are you? What do you want?” Mary asked, Darla clinging to her jacket.

What do I want? I want...” The lights flickered, and the sounds of rumbling thunder could be heard from outside. You saw the golden glow outside the frosted window, knowing who was on the other side of that door. “That.”

Eugene whispered a quiet “Whoa” from beside you as Billy landed outside. 

“Kick his ass, Billy!” All five of you turned to Pedro in surprise. You had never heard him speak that loudly.

Mr Supervillain pointed his hand at you all, a cloud of dust and smoke billowing out, the face of a monster forming in the cloud.

“No, no, no, this isn’t real. This isn’t happening.” You repeated your mantra to yourself, only stopping as Billy pushed some hair out of your eyes. You looked up at him, as he leaned close and whispered in your ear.

“Don’t look at that. Just focus on me.”

And you did. You gazed at Freddy, studying his face. For a while, you managed to forget about your surroundings. Not fully- how could you forget about the monster snarling and growling at you?- but enough for Freddy to be the main thought circling your mind.

“Let them go and I’ll come inside,” Billy yelled.

“Oh, first you come inside, and then maybe I’ll let them go.”

Billy did as told, storming towards the house. As he did, Mr Supervillain pulled the monster cloud away from you, and you relaxed a little. You were still on edge, but noticeably less so. Billy opened the door, fully entering the house.

“Good boy.” Mr Supervillain walked towards Billy, a smirk on his face. “Cause that’s all you are, isn’t it? How old are you?”

Billy stared the supervillain down, taking into account his glowing blue eye.

“Basically 15.” Mr Supervillain grabbed Billy’s face, humming in disdain.

“When I was a child, the old man told me I wasn’t good enough,” From beside you, you heard a faint whisper of “Evil monologue.” from Freddy. “Yet here you are, a coward. Run from me and the wizard chooses you? You’re not a hero.”

You almost yelled that he was more of a hero than Mr Supervillain would ever be, but the sudden feeling of Eugene clinging to your coat stopped you from going anywhere.

“But I’m gonna give you the opportunity to be one.” Mr Supervillain continued. “Give me the power of the champion.”

“No, don’t do it, Billy!” Freddy yelled, regaining the attention of both Billy and Mr Supervillain. The supervillain walked towards the couch, all six of you tensing up. You jumped slightly as a beam of lightning, not dissimilar from Billy’s, shot out from his hand.

It hit a door, seven rows of repeating images appearing, and an ominous glow from beneath it, as well as smoke that most certainly didn’t give you a good vibe. It opened itself, revealing what looked like a cavern of some sorts. 

“Give me the power and I’ll let them go.”

“Billy, no! You can’t do that!” You found your voice, yelling at your friend. From beside Freddy, Darla stood up, running to Billy. Mary followed behind her, calling for Darla not to go over there.

“Don’t go, Billy!” She pleaded over and over again, hugging the tall boy-man. You felt tears prick at your eyes, huddling your face in Freddy’s side more, so as to not see anything that could unfold.

“No, I have to.” Billy stumbled out, and you looked up, seeing Mary trying to pull Darla away. This was all too much. “It’s what a good brother would do. Right?” 

Billy walked towards the open door, Mr Supervillain not far behind.

“Billy,” Freddy said, trying with any hope to get Billy to stay. His attempts were useless, as Billy entered the door. You all watched on hopelessly, but the still-open door gave you and Freddy an idea.

“Freddy, we have to go help him.” You said, quickly forgetting how afraid you had been just a few minutes ago. You heard scuffling behind you, spinning around to see everyone gone. “Guys?”

“Y/N!” Freddy’s voice called from upstairs. “Get a weapon!”

You looked around, spotting the open kitchen door. You ran in, grabbing a small, but a sharp, knife and running back out to join the others. They all had their own weapons, but you glanced wearily at Pedro’s.

“Pedro, is that a lamp?” You asked, and he looked between you and the lamp.

“It’s an ugly one.” He stated, and you saw no reason to argue.

“Well, let’s go get your brother back.” 

You stepped through the door, glancing around everywhere. You marvelled at the beautifully terrifying cave surrounding you. It seemed to go one forever.

“Well, Y/N, where do we go now?” Mary asked, still holding onto Darla.

A familiar yelp of pain echoed through the cavern, followed by the voice of Mr Supervillain. It didn’t seem like much to go off, but you had some help. You pointed forwards, knowing exactly where to go. 

“There.”  

The cavern tunnels opened up into a strange temple-like place. You pushed everyone behind some rocks, blocking them from sight. You couldn’t have them getting hurt. You watched on, as the supervillain continued to speak, telling Billy of his past.

Billy started to push himself off the ground.

“I get it. I get what that’s like. Feeling like you’re all alone in the world.” Mr Supervillain demanded Billy to stand. “Feeling like there’s that one thing, if you could just find it. Then you’d finally be good enough.”

Billy stood, Mr Supervillain holding out some staff-thing.

“The champion’s name. Say it.”

Your leg bounced in anticipation, as the same dust clouds swarmed around the supervillain like earlier, except this time they formed seven full monsters. They surrounded Billy, snarling and baring their teeth.

Each one was horrifying, towering over Billy. Their mangled faces sent shivers down your spine, yet you couldn’t look away from them. Their glowing red eyes seemed to speak, digging into the deepest corners of your mind.

“Look, no offence, mister, but I don’t think those things have your best interest at heart,” Billy argued, and as you stared intensely at the scene unfolding, you missed Freddy’s call for everyone to follow him.

But his hand back in yours, pulling you with the group was enough to get your attention. The monsters spoke, their gravelly voices haunting. They spoke to the supervillain, telling him of his actions. 

“Don’t listen to this child.”

“Take the staff.”

“Hold it and say the champion’s name.”

They were using him. This wasn’t a team effort for them. These monsters had simply taken another victim for their own personal gain. From what Billy said next, it seemed he had realised what was going on too.

“They’re using you. You have to see that, that they are using you.” He said as you and the five others gathered in the centre of the room. Freddy poised himself, replica Batarang in hand. 

He looked at you for confirmation, and you nodded. He threw the Batarang as hard as he could, and everyone watched as it soared through the air. As he threw it, you handed him your knife, so he’d still have some protection. You could fight without a weapon, he couldn’t.

“Say your name.” Mr Supervillain said, just as the Batarang came in contact with his head. It clattered to the ground, Mr Supervillain, the monsters and Billy all turning to face you.

“His name…” Freddy smirked, as you all got into a fighting position. “Is Captain Sparklefingers.” You finished.

“And we’re gonna keep throwing things at your big, fat, ugly-eyed head until you let our brother go,” Darla said, and you were amazed by the young girl’s bravery.

The monsters were taken back into the supervillain's body, taking quite a dramatic exit. He moved towards your little group, each of you taking a few steps back in fear. Out of the corner of your eyes, you saw Billy reaching for the discarded Batarang.

You drew your eyes away from Billy, scared to give away his plan. Sparks erupted as he picked up the Batarang, and even more flew as he stabbed it into Mr Supervillain’s shoulder. Billy flung the supervillain into the rock wall, hopefully knocking him out for a bit.

“Boy, am I glad I didn’t sell that Batarang.”

Now wasn’t the time to be mad about Billy trying to sell Freddy’s stuff, but you’d grill him later about it. Billy came down the stairs, looking back at the supervillain every now and again, juts checking he was still out.

“Pedro, is that a lamp?” You let out a soft snort at the question you had asked earlier. Pedro sighed, muttering the same answer he had given you earlier.

“Come on, come on, come on.” Billy pushed you all to start running, and you did, not wanting to be there when Mr Supervillain came to. “Guys, I appreciate the thought, I really do, but I don’t think your weapons are gonna help. I mean, Y/N, you don’t even have a weapon.”

“Don’t need one.” You shrugged, Billy giving you a skeptical look. 

As you turned the corner, you all stopped, one singular thought in everyone’s minds. Eugene was the one to voice the collective thoughts.

“The door was right here.”

“Billy, how do we get outta here?” Mary asked, but everyone knew that it was unlikely that Billy had any idea.

“What, you think I know? I don’t know!” He rushed over his words, as he so often did.

“This way!” Darla pointed at a tunnel through the caves.

“Go, go, go. Follow Darla. Good job Darla. Go, go, go!” You all ran through the cave, waiting to find some kind of exit. Or at least something that wasn’t a tunnel. Unfortunately, it just seemed like tunnels.

“How long are these tunnels?” You groaned as you turned yet another corner into yet another long strip of rocks.

“Hey, Y/N?” Freddy spoke up, completely out of breath. This was unfair for him, having to run so much. “I’m sorry I dragged you into all this.”

You looked at him, bewildered. His eyes were downcast, staring at his feet as you both strayed behind the group. You lifted his chin up, looking into his gorgeous brown eyes.

“You didn’t drag me into this. I chose to come along, and up til now, it’s been pretty fun.”

He would’ve kissed you right then and there if it weren’t for Billy’s frantic screams for you to catch up, and the looming knowledge or the supervillain finding you. So you simply took his hand, as you so often did and ran as fast as Freddy could bear.

“Pedro, Pedro, come on.” You heard Billy up ahead, growing more frantic with each second. He turned around, seeing you and Freddy up the back of the group. “Freddy? Freddy, keep up. Darla, stay in front. We gotta hurry.” 

The tunnel ended, and you found yourselves on a bridge, stretching across a frighteningly deep chasm. You tried not to look down, but your curiosity overpowered your sensibility, as you glanced into the neverending pit.

Any wrong move and you could be falling down there. Great, well at least it was a motivator and not just a giant pit of doom. Past the bridge, there were simply more rocky passageways.

“Would it have hurt,” You complained. “To put up a signpost, maybe?”

Pedro, Darla and Eugene stopped, scanning their eyes over the room. As you moved closer, you saw that it was filled with doors. So many doors, it could have beaten the scene from Monsters Inc.

One of these has to be a way out, right?” Mary asked, and everyone’s eyes trailed upwards, even more doors coming into view.

“Yeah, I would hope so.” 

Eugene opened a door, and you peered inside. Three alligators in suits sat at a table, seemingly playing cards. Their heads snapped towards the open door, charging forwards. Eugene slammed the door in time, shaking his head.

“Not this one.”

Pedro opened the next one, revealing a misty view. A shadow moved forward, and as it broke through the fog, you saw a strange-looking creature. It reminded you of something out of ‘The Mist’, a book you had read earlier this year. It snapped suddenly, lunging at Pedro, who slammed the door on it. It kept writhing until Pedro finally got it inside.

You opened a door, seeing nothing but a forest inside until a giant eight-legged creature descended from the treetops. It’s eight beady eyes glared into your soul and you found yourself frozen in fear. The spider snapped its fangs, scuttling forwards. You felt like you could cry, almost screaming until someone closed the door on it.

“Y/N? Are you alright?” You nodded, only barely registering Freddy’s voice. 

“Okay, no more doors. Nobody open any more doors.” Billy announced, watching Freddy shaking you away from you fearful state.

When Freddy did bring you back, he sighed in relief.

“Jeez, let’s keep you away from doors, huh?” You smiled, thankful for Freddy and everything he ever did for you. You moved back to the group, standing exceptionally close.

“Come on, Billy. What are we gonna do?” Darla cried.

“Darla, I don’t know.”

“Yes, you do. Just think. How’d you get out last time?”  Everyone’s voices were filled with panic, fear and nervousness, the sound of rocks breaking alerting you to a certain supervillain’s nearing presence.

“Uh, last time, I thought about the subway, and I was on the subway.”

“Okay. then, Billy, look, think about the subway.” Freddy babbled. “Think about any place except for here, okay?”

“What is this, The Wizard of Oz?” You said, trying to bring a bit of light into the situation. Only Freddy laughed, and it was more of a short sound than a laugh. Everyone was far too on edge right now.

You saw the moving glow of the staff from down the tunnel. You didn’t have much time now. If Billy didn’t think of someplace soon, you’d all be dead. Or injured, at the very least. Either way, it didn’t end well for you and the Vasquezes.

“Billy? Any time now…” Your eyes darted between Billy and Mr Supervillain, panic rising like a volcano, waiting to explode. The lightning symbol on Billy’s chest glowed brighter, but so did the light emanating from the staff held by the supervillain.

Your eyes remained on Mr Supervillain as he shot his hand out, a beam of light coming straight for you. If Billy didn’t get you out of there soon, you were all dead meat. To everyone’s relief, your cave surroundings disappeared just as the lightning was about to hit you.

When regained your bearings, your jaw dropped at your surroundings. Mary frantically covered Darla’s eyes, while you did the same to Eugene. In the midst of the chaos, you lost Freddy in the crowd. Billy’s height helped to navigate the exit, and as much as you tried to focus on the red and white in front of you, the noises coming from left and right were heavily distracting.

You pushed open the doors, feeling relieved to be out of there. It was crowded, and sweaty and sticky and you hated it. None of you were particularly impressed with Billy right now.

“Why are you covering my eyes?” Darla asked, Eugene nodding in agreement.

“Really? This is the first place you think of? Wow!” Mary rolled her eyes.

“You’re welcome!” Billy had a point. At least you weren’t dead.

“Why can’t I see what’s inside?” Darla asked again, Eugene nodding again.

“You two are not old enough.” You and Mary said, only taking your hands off their eyes once the door had properly shut.

“Old enough to know that was great music.” Darla smiled, and you couldn’t help but smile at the girl’s innocence.

“Not my thing,” Pedro muttered softly, and you suppressed a slight chuckle. You looked around, realising a certain blue jacket-wearing boy was missing.

“Where’s Freddy?” 

As if on cue, the strip club door swung open again, Freddy stumbling out, saying something about “Siracha”. You raised an eyebrow, but hearing Freddy wish them a “holly, jolly Christmas” made you laugh.

“Freddy! What are you doing?” Billy yelled as Freddy rejoined the group.

“Uh, n-nice people.” 

“Nice people? Come on.” You marched over to Freddy, grabbing his arm gently.

“Is that glitter? They have glitter! Can I get glitter?” You had to commend Darla for always finding a positive, even when they were all being chased by an evil supervillain. 

“No, not from them.”

A sudden crack of thunder had you all turning around to look back at where you came from, seeing a flash of lighting, much like Billy’s. Mr Supervillain was back on your trails. He burst out of the roof, a plume of smoke billowing from the building.

“Shit.” You muttered. 

“Go, go go. Everybody, go!” Billy pushed everyone to start running, but you simply looked worriedly at Freddy, who was trailing.

“Freddy, Freddy, Freddy!” Billy rushed behind him. “One, two three. Up, up. Up we go.” He picked up Freddy, bridal style, hyperspeeding ahead of everyone. You all kept running, not looking back at the supervillain, in fear of being spotted.

You all ran into an alleyway, the Christmas Village just across the road. Glancing around, you did a headcount, finding exactly six others, thank god.

“Alright, all people accounted for, let’s move.” You spoke, mainly to yourself. As long as you could count the six heads, you knew that you hadn’t lost anyone. Six heads. Just six. Six. Wait, zero?

Everyone else had run into the carnival, leaving you in the alleyway. Your eyes darted around, searching for Billy’s towering figure. In the distance, you spotted a familiar white cape in the distance and ran in that direction.

Billy was being surrounded by people with their phones, all taking photos and videos f him. You pushed through the crowd, only getting hit a few times. One person’s phone connected with your nose, and you yelped in surprise.

“Y/N?” Freddy’s voice sounded from inside the circle. He could recognize you just from you exclaiming out of pain? You couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or not. Right now, it was very good as he fought his way through the crowd to drag you with him.

“Shazam!” 

A lightning strike hit the ground, and soon Billy’s tall alter-ego was gone, replaced by his regular self, who was refreshing to see amidst all the chaos. You pulled Billy into a quick hug, finally finding a chance to.

The crowd murmured about the sudden disappearance of “Powerboy” and you and the Vasquezes made your way out of the crowd, hiding behind one of the booths. You thought you had a moment to rest until you realised that Mr Supervillian would have seen the transformation lightning. Your cover was blown.

“Champion!”

“Shit.” You muttered as the seven of you watched the supervillain fly over the top of the carnival

“You don’t deserve that name. Hiding behind innocent people who will now die. Because deep down you’re still just a scared, little boy.” You all shared very similar glances at the mention of people dying. Fuck, where was your dad when you needed him?

The crowd of carnival-goers was silent, simply watching Mr Supervillain above them. Then, all at once, all hell broke loose. People were running everywhere to get away from the ensuing battle. Mr Supervillain began his destructive descend upon the carnival, blowing boots up and striking the Ferris wheel.

It sparked, shifting to the side. You could see everyone on the ride, panicked and fearful. You even felt bad for the Breyers. Even they didn’t deserve to die. The wheel was collapsing, and none of you could do anything. Except for-

“Well, you guys wanted me to be a hero.”

“You kidding? Okay, no. Old guy’s up there, harbouring multiple spiritual entities.” Freddy rambled, tripping over his words.

“Plus, he has the same powers as you.” You added, “And, no offence, but I mean, he knows what he’s doing.”

“Plus, I mean, you’re one of my best friends I don’t want you to die.” Freddy finished, muttering the last part nervously, his eyes moving between you and Billy.

“If a superhero can’t save his family, he’s not much of a hero.” As panicked as you were, a smile spread across your face at Billy’s words. You were well aware of Billy’s familial struggles, having been both Freddy and Billy’s go-to person to talk about problems they had.

“That was a decent catchphrase,” Freddy said, making you both smile and smack him in the chest at the same time.

“Shazam!” And just like that, your big red friend was back, ready to destroy whoever dared to mess with his family and friends, in your case. He jumped into flight, seeming to have already perfected a skill he gained that morning.

You felt useless, watching Billy do all the work as you simply stood with the others. You should have been up there, by his side, kicking evil ass with your friend. But then again, Billy could protect all of Philadelphia, you just needed to protect his family.

You all watched the fight intensely, trying not to alert anyone to your whereabouts. Billy seemed to be winning, from what you could see. He sent the supervillain hurtling to the ground, a resounding thud echoing throughout the empty carnival.

Billy flew down, landing across from where you were all huddled.

“Or try that again!” He looked to you all for approval, only receiving an ‘eh, sure’ from Freddy and a ‘never say that again’ from you.

“Billy, look out!” Freddy yelled, having seen Mr Supervillain preparing for his next move. Billy ducked just in time, but you and Freddy both felt that his move was not over yet.

“Laser eyes! Guys, he’s got laser eyes! Too bad your aim sucks balls!” 

You were about to tell him that, no they weren’t laser eyes, when the wooden planks behind him exploded, revealing one of those damn monsters again. It lifted up Billy, throwing him with ease.

You all watched on in fear as Billy landed in a nearby carnival game booth, Mr Supervillain stalking over to him.

“That’s his power matrix.” You said, watching both his glowing staff and glowing eye.

“His what-what?” Eugene looked at you in bewilderment.

“When the demon guys leave his eye, he loses his powers,” Freddy explained, you simply nodding along with what he said. “That’s why the Batarang hurt him.”

“Hey!” Mary suddenly shouts, you all turning to stare wide-eyed at her. “Over here!”

“Wait, what are you doing?” Concern and confusion are etched onto Freddy’s face, but realisation flashes across yours.

“Divide and conquer.” You said, Mary confirming your statement. “If we separate the monsters from the eye, he’s just an old man.”

“Gather the mutts” Mr Supervillain unleashes the monsters, and you all take off running. Mary and Darla are leading, while you help Freddy at the back of the pack.

Freddy is snatched away from you, and you speed up, yelling at yourself to not look back and keep running. You hear Pedro and Eugene yelping, knowing they got taken to. You speed ahead of Darla and Mary, only to hear the sounds of them screaming for each other as one more monster takes away your last two friends.

It’s just you, running as fast as you can. As fast as you can without using hyperspeed. You hide in a ring toss booth, hoping that the monster didn’t see your tumble in. Your breathing is heavy and ragged, but when the coast is all clear, you make a run for it.

Turning the corner, you see Mr Supervillain holding Billy, and not superhero Billy, but regular Billy, down into ice water. He’s not transforming, so you figure he isn’t able to. You look around for anything to help with, seeing a gun from some shooting gallery game lying discarded beside you.

You pick it up, aiming it towards the supervillain.

“Hey!” He turns to face you and the barrel of the gun. You fire, sending the bullet hurtling towards him. You suspect he’ll catch it, and it won’t do anything, but maybe it’ll distract him just long enough for Billy to transform.

And that’s exactly what happens. He perfectly catches the bullet, which was level with his eyes. You can sense the monster behind you, and now it’s too late to stop it. Just as it reaches out to grab you, you see Billy’s head leaving the water. You sigh in relief, happy that your plan at least worked out for him.

“Shazam!”

The lightning strike sends Mr Supervillain flying backwards, but he catches himself, properly flying to the open tent where you and your friends are held captive. Billy rises from the shattered ice, seeing all of you held kidnapped.

You’re struggling against the arms of your captor, as are your friends, but the monsters are stubborn, and they’re not planning on letting go anytime soon. Mr Supervillain stands at the centre of it all, awaiting Billy’s first move.

“Nice trick. Catchy. One simple word. I have a better trick. Four words.” You all stare at the supervillain, fear, stress and now pain on everyone’s faces. You can’t look away from Freddy and his face contorted in pain, and you find him doing the same.

“Kill the special one.” 

Everyone’s eyes flick to Billy, expecting a monster to go after him. What they aren’t expecting, however, is for the monster holding you captive to growl, bearing its teeth, poised and ready to kill you with no hesitation.

There are screams of protest, and the monster nears. You can’t tell if you’re breathing properly, but your guess is no. The loudest screams are from Freddy, who you can tell is crying from just his voice.

“Don’t hurt her!” He screams, only to be cut off by the monster holding him tighter, his words turning to hisses of pain.

Your head is in the mouth of the monster, and by now you’ve given up fighting. If this is how it ends, so be it. There could be worse ways to go out.

“Stop!” Billy yells, and you let out a breath you were unaware you were holding in. the monster puts you down, and all you want is to be by Freddy’s side. Billy comes closer to the tent, Mr Supervillain smirking as if he’d achieved something. As he walked closer, the monsters held on tighter, taunting and tormenting Billy.

“Billy, there’s one more demon guy in his eyes! You gotta just rip it out of his face hole.” Freddy yelled, before having a monster hand clamp over his mouth. He fought against the monster but to no avail.

“It’s where he gets his power!” Mary finished. The monsters moved in, surrounding Billy, all of you still held tightly in their many, many arms.

“Reach for it. I dare you.” Mr Supervillain taunted, as Billy knelt to the ground before him. “Wise decision. Hands on the staff.”

“Billy, don’t do this. Billy!” Freddy protested, but once again, no one listened to his pleas. You all joined in his plea, begging Billy to not do as told. 

Billy ignored you all, doing as he was told, wrapping his hand around the glowing staff. As he did, the monsters dissolved, leaving all of you to gather yourselves. Freddy stumbled right over to you. You caught him in a hug, feeling the exact level of comfort you both needed after that.

“He called you special. Why?” Freddy’s hands found your face, holding it softly as if he was scared to hurt you in any way.

“You saying I’m not special, Freeman? I’m a little offended.” Now did not seem the time for jokes, but hey, wasn’t that the perfect time to pull one out?

“You are so special, Y/N, but I need to know what he me-” He was cut off by Billy grabbing the staff, and slamming it into Mr Supervillain. He went flying backwards, buying you all some time.

“All hands on deck.” 

You knew what Billy was doing. He had told you exactly how he got turned into his superhero self, so you stayed behind when everyone else held onto the staff. They all waited for you to join, but you didn’t move.

“Y/N? All hands on deck. That includes you.” Freddy smiled, but you just shook your head. He tilted his head in confusion, going to pull you over as Billy said something about running out of time.

“Y/N, come on.”

“I think I’ll be fine on my own.” You smiled, knowing that finally, the time had come.

“Freddy, come on, we gotta do this now.”

They all grabbed the staff, waiting for Billy’s next instruction. Freddy and Billy kept looking back at you, as you kept an eye on Mr Supervillain in the back.

“Say my name.” 

At the same time, all five of this Vasquezes yelled out the same thing.

“Billy!”

You laughed softly, having had a feeling that that would happen.

“No, not my name. Say the name I say to turn into this guy.” You saw the realisation on their faces, as they all got ready to yell again.

“Shazam!”

The most powerful lightning strike you’d ever seen came crashing down, and for once, you didn’t have to run or hide from the sparks. It felt nice finally being able to be yourself. Once the light died down, you saw that the five kids and teens had been replaced with five adults.

Freddy’s crutch fell to the ground, and your excitement grew wilder. You stood beside Billy, seeing the five identical lightning-shaped glows coming through the fog. Your smile widened as they emerged, buzzing with happiness. This was probably the best-worst day of your life.

Pedro stood in green, Darla in purple, Eugene in grey, Mary in red and Freddy, your Freddy, down the end in blue.

You watched as they all gawked at themselves, impressed by their superhero counterparts. You were kinda jealous that you didn’t get a cool adult transformation, but that had been your choice so you wouldn’t say anything.

“Guys,” Freddy said, and when you looked at him, you saw that his feet weren’t on the ground. “What’s happening?” He kept moving upwards slowly, and something clicked in your mind. “I can fly!”

You giggled at his excitement, unable to forget your current thought. Freddy said something, back when Billy first became a hero. Belief was the key. Freddy had always believed he could fly.

Even in a grown-up body, his excited laughter was still as dorky as it was usually. You were so distracted by Freddy and his everything, that no one noticed Mr Supervillain rising from the floor.

“Guys. check out these guns.” Pedro said, and everyone looked at them grinning in shock and surprise, Darla even leaning over to poke said ‘guns’.

“Hey, Y/N, are you sure you’ll be fine without superpowers?” Freddy asked, to which you just smiled and shook your head.

“No, I’ll be fine without your superpowers, specifically.” You explained, leaving them as confused as they were before. 

“No. It’s not possible.” You all turned to see Mr Supervillain, rising from the ground.

“Gee-whiz mister,” You had to hold yourself back from laughing at Billy’s childish words coming from his grown-up body, “Sorry I took your cane. You want it back?” Billy snapped it in half, and you couldn’t stop smiling like an idiot.

“Guys, I don’t believe in violence, but I think we should kick this guy’s butt, like, really hard,” Darla said, everyone getting ready to fight. Freddy floated in the corner, holding up two middle fingers at the supervillain.

Mr Supervillain shot out his lightning at Darla, sending her flying backwards. The blast set the booth alight, but you watched Darla speed away from it. She ran back over to you all, stumbling a bit, but you steadied her.

“Guys, I think I can move really…” She sped her way inbetween Mary and Freddy, “fast.”

“Hyperspeed! Check!” Freddy pointed excitedly.

Mr Supervillain sent out the monsters again, and for once you weren’t scared of them. You eyed one up and down, searching for where you thought would be it’s weaker spots. All hell was about to properly break loose.

“Billy! The eye!”

Mr Supervillain lunged at Billy, sending them both up and out of the tent. It was just the six of you now, against six monsters. Perfectly balanced. 

“Look out!” Eugene spun around just in time, as a monster lunged for him. Lightning strikes sparked from his fingers, sending the monster flying backwards. He looked down as his electrified hands, as did everyone.

He accidentally set off another spark, hitting exactly where Darla was. She was, once again, flung backwards, but ran around to where Eugene was.

“You almost exploded me.”

Another monster appeared behind Pedro, and he put out his arm to defend himself. He hadn’t been expecting to catch the monster's arm and hold it away from himself. He threw the arm down, punching the monsters, as it soared backwards.

You and Freddy held similar expressions of unadulterated joy and excitement. Sure, Philadelphia could be destroyed by a supervillain and actual demons, but you were superheroes!

You saw a monster sneaking up behind Freddy, and without thinking, set your heat vision in action. You burned the monster, not stopping until it had run away to deal with its injuries. Everyone watched you, slacked jaws.

“What? I said I didn’t need your superpowers.” You said nonchalantly, though your mind was screaming about how good of a reveal that was.

“Y/N, you have superpowers? Oh my god, you have superpowers!” he went to lift you up to his level, but you simply floated your own way up. “Holy shit, you can fly, too!”

“Freddy, you’re flying right now, don’t be too impressed.”

“Yeah, but you can fly without having to say the word!” You had never seen Freddy geek out as much as he was right now. He was questioning everything you could do but didn’t ask how you got your powers. You told him everything you could do, and you felt that if he wasn’t losing his mind, he might have made the connection he needed to make.

The monsters didn’t seem to get hurt easily, as they kept coming back to attack you again. Mary got tangled up in the branch-like hands of one but threw it off her. You were busy helping Darla with an exceptionally big one when you heard Freddy from beside you.

“Dude, I’ve studied the fighting techniques of every single superhero. What do you got?” The monster you were fighting had scurried off to fight someone else, so you kept a watchful eye on Freddy.

The monster flicked its long claws out before they grew and sharpened even more.

“Well, that’s terrifying.” The monster prepared to lunge for Freddy, but he started running away from it. He took to the sky, the monster, unfortunately, having wings and following him. You wanted to go after him and help, but Eugene was having some problems and he would’ve needed more help.

“Eugene! Zap him over here!” You called, gaining Eugene’s attention. He zapped the monster, and as it flew towards you, you readied yourself to punch the ugly thing. You did, sending it soaring, ripping a hole in the tent.

You had to stand on your toes to high-five the now very tall boy. You used your arctic breath to freeze on of the monsters temporarily, allowing Pedro to weaken it more. The sound of whooping caught your attention, looking over to see Freddy flying through the carnival, the winged beast not far behind.

The monster crashed into the Ferris wheel, and it was then that you remembered that there were still people on the wheel. The impact from the monster caused the wheel to bend more, sitting at a terrifying slant.

“Oh my gosh, those people!”

You watched as one woman fell out of the side of her chair, clinging on for dear life. You wanted to go save them, but you couldn’t. You didn’t have anything masking your identity, and the Breyers were up there. 

The woman fell, and Darla ran to catch her. As the woman landed in her arms, you sighed in relief, before pinning around to punch the beast sneaking up behind you. Looking back, the wheel was still bending under its own weight.

“Pedro! Try and hold it up!” You instructed, said boy doing exactly that. And he did it well. The wheel was no longer collapsing, perfectly held in place by Pedro. You once again sighed, only for it to be revoked when you saw a four-armed monster on top of the wheel.

“Shit.” You didn’t really have anyone else to send out after the monsters. Did you risk the reveal of your identity? Your thoughts were whisked away by Darla cartwheeling in to save the day. She grabbed the two citizens, taking them safely to the ground, as Freddy flew past, still battling the flying beast.

“You’re not gonna believe this,” You used your enhanced hearing to listen in on him, only half paying attention to the monster you were fighting. “but you’re actually the first villain I've ever fought. It’s, like, kind of a huge deal for me.”

The monster growled, sending Freddy off flying again. You turned your full attention to fighting a beast, punching it a few more time, successfully knocking it out. Your mind drifted to Billy, wondering how his epic showdown was going. Hopefully, he was winning.

You watched Darla save a screaming Santa Claus, running him to safety, as Eugene electrocuted the monster, yelling out some Street Fighter reference while doing so. The monster you had just been fighting rose, targeting Pedro next.

You could see the conflict on his face, as the monster charged. You had to help, so you lunged onto the monsters back, punching it repeatedly. It simply flung you off its back, and slammed you against a wooden wall. You felt dizzy, trying to stand up, only to fall back down.

You saw Pedro getting tossed aside, same as you had been, and watched as the beast pulled the Ferris wheel down. The support beam snapped, while the other one continued to bend, the monster still pulling it as hard as it could. It continued to tip over, at a much more rapid rate now.

It seemed that everyone besides the Breyers had been saved, and you could hear them screaming. You were about to risk everything and save them when a blue streak pulled them from their seat. The wheel hit the ground, all people finally off the ride.

From above you, you could hear the Breyers screaming, while Freddy had an amused expression on his face.

“Is he giving us suitcase wedgies?”

You giggled softly, busy finishing off another monster fight with Mary. Freddy finally got his comeuppance with the Breyers. He landed, harsher than the other times, just to get the last laugh. You rolled your eyes at his childishness, before flying up to meet him.

“Nice going, hotshot.” You smiled, earning one back. 

“Yeah, I really showed those monsters what I’ve got.” He grinned proudly, his cape flapping in the wind. He looked happier than he ever had.

“I know, the Breyers were really screaming.” You giggled. Freddy suddenly dove down, swooping you up into his arms, which only made you giggle more. He flew back down to meet the others, and it seemed that the monsters had backed off for a bit.

“M’lady,” He said, placing you softly on the ground. You floated back up, pecking him on the cheek before touching the floor again.

“My hero.” You said, in an overly-dramatic and mocking tone. That sent you both into a fit of giggles, the other four watching with amused looks.

“This is nice, but maybe do it when you both look the same age,” Eugene commented, which made you and Freddy glow a bright red. “It’s just a little weird.”

The other nodded, and you smiled at the ground bashfully. No one noticed the monsters charging at you again. 

Two of them latched onto Eugene, who kicked and punched as hard as he could but couldn’t shake them off. Mary swooped in to kick the one that Pedro hadn’t seen, sending it hurling out of the tent, landing near two more of the creatures.

Mary and Darla went to take care of those three, while one more came after you, Pedro and Freddy. It was easy enough to keep one down with the three of you, so you ran to help Darla, who’s hyperspeed wasn’t doing much right now.

You went to land a hit on its ugly face when it dissolved right in front of you. Turning around, you saw Billy reaching in to rip our Mr Supervillain’s eye. You all watched as the glowing blue orb was torn from the socket, the demon entities being sucked back inside.

Eventually, the orb was fully removed, and the supervillain collapsed to the floor. Billy held the glowing orb in his hand, staring at it.

“Here’s the thing about power. What good’s power, if you got nobody to share it with?” 

All five of your friends landed behind Billy- Freddy had insisted on carrying you bridal-syle, and who were you to deny him his fun- looking at the defeated man before you. 

“Ta-da!” Billy exclaimed, presenting the evil orb to you all.

“That’s disgusting,” Pedro stated, and you had to agree with him.

“Fatality.” Eugene once again referenced Street Fighter and laughed in amazement of himself. “I got the voice.” He smiled, everyone smiling in approval too.

“What’s that?” Your heads snapped in Billy’s direction, the laughter ceasing quickly. Billy was staring at the orb, bringing it closer to himself. “I can have anything I’ve ever wanted?”

“Billy.” You said, your eyebrows furrowing. What was he doing? Realisation dawned on everyone, protests coming from every person.

“No, no, no!”

“Stop it!”

“Don’t look at that!”

The orb was at eye level now. Was Billy really about to do exactly what Mr Supervillain had done? He couldn’t be that stupid, could he?

“Billy don’t do it!” Freddy yelled, and you all jumped as Billy suddenly pulled the orb away from him. You groaned, rolling your eyes.

“That wasn’t funny, Billy.” You walked up to him and punched him in the shoulder. He yelped in pain, grabbing his shoulder. You walked back beside Freddy, happy with yourself.

“Jeez, you pack a mean punch.” It was then that the six of you realised that Billy didn’t know you had superpowers yet. Well, he’d find out eventually. “You got super-strength or something?”

“Actually, yeah, she does,” Freddy announced, the others nodding in agreement.

“Well, anyway, we can talk more about that later. You really think I’m gonna put a demon ball in my head? That’s disgusting,”

There was a debate between the seven of you as to whether Billy’s joke had indeed been funny or not. The consensus said no, except Eugene.

“Uh… Guys.” Mary said, regaining everyone’s attention.

You all looked to see a crowd of people walking your way. You ducked behind Freddy and Pedro, jumping down to hide in the fallen Ferris wheel, both of them looking at you strangely.

“No disguise. No secret identity.” You whispered, Freddy immediately nodding and making sure to cover up your entire figure while you hid, along with Pedro. 

The crowd clapped and cheered, while you all just stood awkwardly. Darla waved to the people, in her energetic little kid manner. 

“Alright, we did it!” Billy cheered, his family moving to line up with him. You wanted to be up there, but you’d have to wait until you got a costume and an alter-ego for that. “Hey, alright, yeah! We did it! We did it!”

The crowd cheered louder and louder, more people coming to applaud the heroes. You smiled from below the Ferris wheel, picturing Freddy’s face as all his dreams come true.

“Hey, you guys are all safe. There’s no more danger anymore.”

Your friends still stood awkwardly, not really knowing what to do, besides Freddy who was completely owning this moment. He was truly in his element. 

Eventually, the crowd died down, people leaving to go home after that night’s adventures. You floated up to join everyone else, who were still on a high from everything that had happened in just an hour.

“They all really love you guys.” You mused, earning happy smiles from everyone.

“They’ll love you, too, once we get you a costume,” You smiled softly at Freddy, his compliment meaning a lot to you, “I mean, how could someone not love you.” He rushed out his words, mumbling them quietly.

If he had been in his normal teenage body, you would’ve kissed him right there.

“Oh, guys, what do we do with this?” Billy gestured to the orb.

“Put it back where it came from, I guess.” You shrugged, not really having any other idea. “Which would be the temple cave thing. You transported us out of there, can you get us back in?”

Billy gave you his typical “I don’t know” face before it switched to one of concentration. He focused on taking you all back to the temple. Nothing seemed to happen, so you thought of something else.

“What if you all try?”

You watched them all concentrate on teleportation. You thought you might as well try too, closing your eyes tightly. When you opened them again, the bright lights and skyline of the city were gone, replaced by the rock walls of the temple.

“You guys can teleport!” You said, in a very Freddy-like manner.

Billy held the orb, looking for where it went. His eyes darted wildly, but Freddy’s locked on to something, Terminator-style.

“The pedestal, over there.”

“You sure this is gonna work?” Billy asked, placing the orb over the pedestal. A weird cage thing solidified around it, holding it floating in place.

“Told ya,” Freddy announced, as seven plumes of smoke left the orb. The plumes rebuilt broken statues of the monsters you had fought, each one even as terrifying in stone as they were in real life.

You just hoped they remained as stone for many years to come.

“You guys know what this place is, right?” Freddy asked, and you nodded in excitement. He had whispered it to you earlier, and you had to try very hard not to geek out.

“A dark, haunted cave with demon statues,” Darla said, and she wasn’t wrong.

“Well, yes, but also…” You and Freddy looked over at Billy, who looked at you weirdly. You saw the confusion being replaced by realisation, and then excitement.

“Lair! We got a lair!”

No one else was anywhere near as excited as you, Billy and Freddy were, but that didn’t matter.

“We got a lair.” Freddy smiled stupidly, giggling to himself.

“What’s a lair?” 

***

That night, after Freddy had flown you home, even though you insisted you’d be fine on your own, you had told your dad every single detail of the events that had just occurred. 

Two hours after your return, your dad knew everything. Billy skipping school, going with Freddy to find him, the bus, the argument, the supervillain, getting kidnapped briefly, the monsters, the temple, and the final battle.

He had listened intensely, saving his questions for the end of your story. When you wrapped up your story with Freddy bringing you home, your dad opened his mouth to start his questions.

“Are you hurt?” Head shake no.

“Did any of them get hurt?” Head shake no, again.

“So they know about your powers?” Head nod yes.

“And Freddy brought you home?” Head nod yes.

“And you’re together now?” Head nod y- wait, what?

Your jaw dropped open, as your dad didn’t try to hide his laughter. You burned red, fiddling with your hands. Your dad either maintained boundaries or never had them, and there was no in-between. 

“W-We’re not together. Sure, I like him and I think mayb-” You looked down, not only because you were saying too much, but because you felt your phone buzzing in your pocket.

You saw Billy’s contact, looking at it in confusion, but you picked up the call.

“Billy? What’s up?” You saw your dad listening in.

“I need your help with something. You said the other day that your dad knows Superman.” Once again, your comment has landed you in deep shit.

“Uh, yeah, what about it?”

“Can you get him to come to school for lunch tomorrow?” Your eyes darted up to your dad, who could hear the entire conversation.

“I’ll, uh, see… what are you planning?”

“I thought you’d want to help me surprise Freddy.” Now that Freddy was in the picture, you couldn’t back out.

“Oh, yeah I’ll see if I can get him immediately.”

“Thank you so much, Freddy will be thrilled. See ya tomorrow.” He hung up, and you looked sheepishly at your dad.

“So, uh, abo-”

“I’m going.” You blinked a few times as if that would confirm that you heard your dad correctly. “Look, I want to meet this Freddy you keep talking about. Make sure he’s good enough for my baby daughter.”

“Fine, just be gentle with Freddy. I don’t want him running away from me.”

“He’s in love, he won’t go running.” Your dad smirked, seeing how flustered you got. You stood up from the couch, heading out into the hallways, but not before turning back around, trying not to laugh at your dad’s childish actions.

“I’m going to bed before you embarrass me more.”

***

Freddy walked through the cafeteria, trying to find a table with some empty seats. He spotted one up near the back and redirected his path. Sitting down at the table, it wasn’t long before everyone at the table got up and left.

Freddy acted like he didn’t care, but deep down, he felt a pang of sadness. He hadn’t seen you since before school, and he already missed you. He wasn’t ashamed to say that maybe he might be in love with you.

“What are you doing?” The annoying voice of Brett Breyer came from beside him. “Waiting for your imaginary BFF to show up?” Burke went to grab a chip from Freddy’s plate when his hand was swatted away by yours.

“No, just waiting for me.” You sat down at the table, moving your chair closer to Freddy’s. The brothers walked away to a different table, not before Burke knocked Freddy in the head with his elbow. You gave them both middle fingers, much like Freddy had done when they almost ran him over. 

“Sorry, I'm late. I got caught up in class,” You lied, “Teacher wanted to talk to me about a paper we had to write.”

“All good things, I suppose?” Freddy smiled, leaning on his hand. 

“Yeah, yeah. She said it was an outstanding piece of writing.” You kept lying, only feeling a pang of slight guilt.

“Well, yeah, duh. You’re smart enough to go to MIT or Harvard or something.” You went an alarming shade of red. Freddy always knew the right thing to say, even when you were blatantly lying to him. “Just, don’t go there without me.”

“I’d never dream of it, Freeman.”

Your little moment was interrupted by four trays hitting the table, and four people sitting in chairs. Freddy looked at his siblings in confusion.

“What are you guys doing here?” 

“Well, we’re having lunch with you,” Mary said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“But you guys have different lunch periods.” 

“Well, we made a very special arrangement.” They all nodded in agreement. You tried to look past their not so great acting and lying skills.

Freddy’s eyes moved to his little sister.

“Darla, what’s going on?”

“Why are you asking me?” She asked, innocently, though she suffered from Freddy’s issue of always looking slightly suspicious.

“Freddy Freeman.” You all hid your smiles as Billy walked into the cafeteria. You heard a wave of silence pass across the entire room. Freddy covered his face in surprise and embarrassment. “This guy taught me everything I know about being a dope superhero. True story. You should get some pointers from him.”

Billy sat down on the seat besides Freddy, really laying his acting on thick. “What’s going on, my best bud in the whole world? Hey, Y/N, you’re here too! And also new kids that I’m meeting for the first time but seem very cool.”

You let out a short string of giggles, only continuing when you saw the dumbfounded looks on the Breyers faces. 

“Uh… I invited another friend. I hope that’s okay.”

You couldn’t keep the smile off your face as you saw your dad walk in, red cape and all. Every single person in the room gasped, pointing at the man that just walked through the door. As your dad approached the table, Freddy turned his head away from Billy, noticing the shadow.

He looked up, letting out an adorable yelp of shock as his idol stands beside him. You move a seat over, letting your dad sit down. Freddy seemed to be frozen in shock, only his eyes moving. You had a stupid look of affection on your face, so utterly in love with this dork.

Freddy suddenly broke out of his frozen state, a sudden tsunami of questions spilling out. He barely left any time for your dad to speak. Your dad glanced down, seeing your gaze on Freddy and the lovestruck expression on your face.

The bell rang, and Freddy sighed, going to grab his crutch and go to class. Billy held out an arm to stop him, and Freddy looked at his brother in surprise.

 “We got special permission to miss the last lessons of class, we just have to stay in here.” You explained, “But they only let the two of us stay. Apparently any more than that, and it would be way harder to explain.”

Freddy said goodbye to his sibling, your dad also wishing them farewell. Once they were gone, your dad dropped his proper superhero facade, but not completely.

“So, Freddy,” You smiled at Freddy’s gasp of shock at hearing his name coming from his idol’s mouth, “I hear that you’re some new, hotshot superhero, alongside Billy here.” Freddy nodded along, wondering if Billy had told Superman everything.

“Well, if you need any tips, I’ll make sure to get back to you.”

“Sure, dad, you can’t even message me back and I’m your own kid.” You snorted, not realising what you had said. Freddy and Billy stared at you wide-eyed. “What? Did I say som- Oh. well, haha, surprise?”

You looked to your dad for help, but he was looking at the clock on the wall.

“Well, my time is up, I have work. See you after school, Y/N. Have fun explaining. It was great to meet you, boys. Freddy, you have permission to date her.”

And with that comment that left you and Freddy a burning red, your dad ran out of the school building. Billy went to speak but just ran out with no words.

You turned to the curly-haired boy, who was staring at the door in which your dad had run out of.

“Freddy, I’m s-”

“I’m in love with you.”

“W-what?”

Freddy grabbed your face, practically smashing his lips against yours. It was extremely messy and chaotic, and neither of you knew what you were doing, but it was perfect. You pulled apart eventually, both of you giggling like preschoolers.

“I’m in love with you, too.”

[the-cydonian-texts]

It had to be you (Count Orlo x Female Reader)

Chapter 1: Serendipity

Summary: your friend Marial gets you a job as her assistant. It’s your first day. You’re late and afraid you might have wasted your chance, but luck is just around the corner. 

Notes: well, this turned out longer than I thought, and, if I may be honest with you, I’m still not sure how is it going to end. But I’m having a lot of fun writing it so...

The title comes from a song by Ray Charles that I was casually listening to when I began writing this fic.

Anyway... I really hope you like it guys ;)

Warnings: Cursing.

Words: 2015

Read it on AO3

Gif by:  awesomethingsandsuch

-------------------------------- 

It's your first day of work and you’re already coming late. You should have paid more attention to Marial, when she showed you the way to the empress’ chambers the day before. But no, you were too busy daydreaming and admiring the beauty of the palace to even attempt to memorize all the corridors and doors. Now you’re rushing through its vastness, hoping you’d be right on time when needed and still have a job by tomorrow.

You walk as fast as you can, while successfully avoiding bumping into someone or something. People in the corridors look at you like watching a fly who has flown inside a room and now tries to find the way out. You hear murmuring and laughs behind you. You blush with embarrassment; nervousness makes you stumble, and almost fall down next to a group of not-very-friendly-looking nobles.

“Well done.” You thought to yourself. “You’ve already fucked it up, haven’t you?”

You hurry around the corner at the end of the hall, so distracted by your own thoughts that you don’t see the young man walking in your direction. You bump into him violently, the impact making both of you stumble back. The man gasps in shook drooping the book he was holding in his hand.

“I’m…I’m so s-sorry.” You pant while picking up an old dark brown volume from the floor.

“’Meditations and… Other Metaphysical… Writings.’” Between sharp deep breaths, you read the golden letters written on its spine, before handing it back to him.

Your gazes meet and you blush, unable to look away from his gentle brown eyes. Your own mind goes blank and you get a funny feeling in your stomach; breathing shallow and irregular.

The man’s eyes are wide open and his lips slightly parted in amazement. Once he realizes he’s been staring at you for too long, he breaks eye contact and shyly adjusts his glasses. If you weren’t too busy trying to gather your thoughts together, you could swear he is blushing too.

“No, I-I-I am sorry. I should have paid more attention.” He finally replies, looking down with regret. “A-a-are you, alright?” His voice raspy and insecure, his big brown eyes examining you with concern.

“I am. Thank you.” You say. The man’s expression relaxes at your words.

“W-well. In that case. I-I must go. If you excuse me.” He awkwardly bobs his head to you and begins walking away.

“W-wait. Please. I have to be at the empress’ quarters, but I think I’m lost. Could you please show me the way?” You beg him, don’t even trying to hide the desperation in your voice. Besides, he seems like the only person around who would agree to help you, so you don’t waste your chance. The man meditates your request for a moment, while you hold your breath hoping for an affirmative answer.

“I-I suppose I can do that. Please, follow me.” He finally replays, giving you a quick smile, and turning around to lead the way to the empress’s chambers. You follow him instantly, trying to keep up his pace.

“I am Y/N. By the way.” You finally dare to speak once silence has become too awkward. “I’m the new empress’ girl. I’ll be assisting Marial.”

“I am Count Orlo. Nice to meet you.” He says with a gentle tone, nodding at you. Then focusing on the corridor ahead.

“Nice to meet you too.” You give him a sincere smile while trying to remember why his name sounds so familiar.

Even though you will probably lose your job, you are rather thankful for getting lost and meeting Orlo. He appears to be a very interesting and kind person. Not to mention, he is also very handsome; something you find yourself admiring from time to time as the two of you walk through the palace. The image of his hypnotizing big brown eyes and his pink parted lips refusing to leave your mind.

Quickly, you shake those thoughts away, as you’re not supposed to be having them. He’s a noble, you a serf, and, for your own sake, it would be better if you learn your place from the start. Besides, someone like him would probably be already taken, he may even have… kids…

“No. You can’t be him!” You suddenly say, a little too loud for your own liking, making Orlo’s heart skip a beat.

“W-what do you mean?” Orlo gives you a questioning look, visibly startled by your abrupt and blaring comment.

“Well… Earlier today, I heard some men talking about this guy in the emperor’s court, who was nothing but a coward and an insufferable know-it-all. Also, not the kind of man a woman would gladly fuck. Hence, the name they gave him: Orlo the Virgin. But…” You quickly cut yourself off, realizing what you just said.

Orlo clenches his jaw and let out a hurt sigh. A hint of sadness appears in his eyes, and your heart breaks into pieces. “Way to go, idiot.” You mentally punish yourself for being so thoughtless.

“I’m sorry. I-I-I didn’t mean to…” Words get stuck in your mouth. You know you hurt him, but embarrassment and remorse hinder you from articulating a proper apology. You decide to remain silent. Your stomach tied in knots.

“Empress’ chambers are at the end of that corridor over there. Have a good day.” Without looking at you, Orlo points at the nearest hallway and walks away in the other direction.

“Orlo, wait!... Please.” You say before he disappears into the lounge he is heading to. Orlo stops midway, but his back remains facing you.

“Don’t think I’m saying this just to be nice or because I pity you…” You say, moving towards him.

“Sorry. It’s that supposed to be an apology?” His tone bitter and littered with disappointment.

“I’m just being honest. Please let me finish…” You make a pause hoping he would listen to you. Orlo still avoiding to look at you.

“When I heard those idiots, I mean, those men talking. I was expecting to meet a hideous man. Like a creature with crooked teeth, a face full of pustules, and...” You pause, acknowledging that you’re starting to sound like an idiot.

“What I’m trying to say is…” You walk to stand beside him while attempting to find the right words that match your true feelings. His eyes fixed on the floor.

“I just met you, therefore I can’t attest to the truth of their words, but something tells me that you are a very interesting person. Also, if I may…” You hesitate for a moment, unsure about whether you should say what you’re about to. Orlo’s expression seems softened by your words, still, there’s suspicion in his eyes.

“You are way more handsome than I would have expected.” You let out. It really doesn’t matter if your words come as inappropriate. That’s how you feel and you don’t have the intention to hide it.

Your honest remark makes him blush, and your heart melts. Orlo looks the other way, hiding his face from you. He breathes sharply and his muscles tense.

“I-I-I have to go.” He finally replies and leaves.

You remain still; staring blankly at the place where, just a moment ago, Orlo was standing in. A swarm of thoughts rushing through your mind, but all with two words in common: ‘What if…’.

What if you just messed everything up? What if you read the situation wrong and made him angrier? What if…

“Oh! There you are!” Marial’s voice snaps you back to reality. “Where the fuck you’ve been, Y/N!?”

“I-I…” You freeze. Marial grabs you by the arm and drags you towards the empress’ chambers.

“You’re lucky to have me as your friend, Y/N. Otherwise, you would hold the record for the Shortest Period of Service ever.”

***

The shift is over. You had a busy day, but not a bad one. The empress was very nice to you and you are very thankful for that. As long as you be there when needed and do everything you've been told, you're going to be fine.

Tired, but unable to sleep, you lay on your bed, staring at the ceiling. Indeed, you didn't lose the job and it relieves you, but your mind is busy with something else.

The thoughts about what happened earlier today rushing through your mind, making you uneasy. You wish you could talk to Orlo just one more time, and thank him for helping you, but you are quite sure he hates you already. The mere thought of it saddens you.

You wonder why those men said something so rude about Orlo. Judging by the look on his face when you told him about it, you can be sure it wasn’t the first time he heard those kinds of things; which makes everything even worse.

Yes, he is surely a little awkward and shy, but he is also one of the few people in Peter’s Court that has treated you with respect and has seen you as a human instead of a tool. Maybe that’s the reason why the other men treat him like they do. He’s one of the few who appears like having a soul.

***

You don’t see Orlo for the next 3 days, and his absence is affecting you more than you wish; more than you would like to admit. If the Count is trying to avoid you, he’s making a pretty damn good job.

“Are you alright Y/N? You look a little… sad.” Marial’s voice brings you back to reality.

“Yes. I guess.” You reply, trying not to sound so serious, but Marial’s expression tells you failed.

Suddenly, someone enters the room. Your heart almost jumps from your chest when you see Orlo’s standing in the doorway.

“Y/N. May I talk to you?” Orlo says with a serious expression. Without a second thought, you follow the Count to an adjacent room; leaving Marial with a confused look.

“I apologize for leaving like that the other day. It was disrespectful and childish.” He says once you are alone. The look in his eyes is sincere and you realize how truly sorry he is.

“Apology accepted. I’m glad you don’t hate me for what I said.” You say followed by a warm smile. Orlo blushes and breaks eye contact instantly.

“N-never.” He says, shyly smiling back at you. “I-I noticed you can read. If you want, I can recommend you a pair of volumes I’m really fond of.” His face lightness as soon as he speaks about books. It is clear he enjoys sharing his reading passion with others, and you can’t help but melt at how cute he looks.

“Sure. I’m looking forward to it!” You reply moving closer to him. “Thanks for helping me find the right way the other day.” You say before, placing a light kiss on his cheek. Orlo tenses at the sudden contact, his breathing quickens.

“I-I-I...” He says, moving away from you and nervously looking around.

“Oh! I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I-I don’t know what I was thinking.” You hasten to say, looking down embarrassed.

“N-no needs to apologize, but thanks.” He says, awkwardly bobbing his head. “Have a nice day, Y/N.”

“Have a nice day, Count Orlo.” You smile gently while nodding at him.

Your eyes remain fixed on the count as he leaves the room. A long blissful sigh escapes you as soon as he is gone.

“Care to explain to me what did just happen, Y/N?” Marial asks while moving in front of you to take a better look at your face.

“Oh my god! You like him!” She exclaims when she notices the stupidly sweet expression on your face.

“Shut up Marial. We have things to do.” You reply, quickly grabbing a cushion from a chair and fluffing it; pretending to do something useful while trying to hide your embarrassment.

You are not sure what is what Orlo makes you feel, but it seems too good to ignore it. Hopefully one day you’ll find out, for now, you must concentrate on your work.

[masterofmaagnetism]

A Monster in the Dark - Chapter 9

[ self ship fanfic about Nightmare Bonnie and my insomniac s/i :) ]

[ Previous ] [ Next ]

NightBon’s silence was starting to get suspicious, and Cane was 90% sure that if it could grin, it would.

Even with the underlying fear of what it was planning, he held his ground. Besides, ignoring the monster had been doing wonders for his focus. He’d managed to find out that there was, in fact, a Christopher Afton that had been bitten at Fredbear’s Family diner, so all he needed now was if the nightmares had plagued him before the bite or if they hadn’t haunted Chris at all, instead attacking his brother, who they simply thought was him.

The nightmares couldn’t have possibly happened after the bite- from what Cane could tell, the poor kid’s frontal lobe had been bitten clean off, therefore removing his ability to feel fear or even dream.

“You can’t ignore me forever,” he heard NightBon begin to whine from the living room, rolling his eyes at its ability to underestimate him constantly. It was sad though, how quickly NightBon got bored of staying quiet. He was enjoying the peace.

“I sure can,” he muttered under his breath, perking up at the sound of snickering. He assumed NightBon was sitting on the bed behind him, until he noticed the quiet sound of whispering.

He slowly turned around, both surprised and somehow not when he saw the monstrous bear from his nightmares sitting on his bed, three much smaller bears sitting on various parts of him.

To be honest, Cane had always been rather chill with this one. He’d never seen the inside of Freddy, as far as he remembered, so even the nightmarish version seemed chill enough that he didn’t instill the same fear in him.

“Oh, so you’re finally coming out to play, huh?” he questioned, gaining another chuckle from the bear. He only now noticed that the bed didn’t dip with the weight of the animatronic, despite the fact that he was huge, proving that they couldn’t make themselves solid.

His attention was immediately caught by the bear’s hand (paw?) moving though, and his gaze stayed locked on it as Freddy moved it up to his mouth, holding his index finger up to his maw as a signal to stay quiet.

“We wouldn’t want Bonnie to come charging in, now would we?” he teased, his voice a low rumble and somehow more comforting than horrifying, the exact opposite of Nightbon’s voice.

Wait. If he didn’t want NightBon hearing… “It doesn’t know I can see you, does it?” Cane asked, his voice lowered to a near whisper. He’d learned that NightBon’s hearing was shit, so he didn’t need to make his voice any softer than this.

Freddy shook his head, his cubs noticing and copying the movement in their own frantic little way. “I’m the only other one strong enough to appear, but it’s rather amusing to watch it fumble from afar.”

“I’m guessing y’all aren’t exactly… friends. At least, not anymore?” God was he glad Freddy would answer his questions, NightBon had been less than helpful after it first appeared.

Freddy nodded again, tilting his head slightly when a grin flashed across Cane’s face. “Oh, sorry, I don’t- I’m not happy y’all aren’t friends anymore, it’s just so nice to have someone cooperative instead of that jackass.”

The chuckle that came from Freddy this time was a low, amused rumble, one that almost made Cane feel… safe. Interesting how that worked.

Before either of them could say anything, the alarm on Cane’s phone that he set for leaving to go to work went off, causing the human to jump and the bear to just give it a curious look. 

Cane quickly shut it off, shoving his phone in his pocket and making sure he had everything. “Hey,” he said, catching Freddy’s attention again, “I’m not calling you Freddy. I’ll come up with a name for you when I get back, okay?”

He didn’t wait for an answer, simply grabbing his bag and darting out the bedroom door. He kissed Cheesy Dip on the head as a goodbye before heading out the front door, not even checking to make sure NightBon was following.

---

He could already tell something was off when he got to the diner that day. Scrap was nowhere to be found, and the animatronics were switched on.

Well, Sequin and Salem were switched on, he hadn’t been to the other two rooms yet.

Sequin was the obvious singer of the two. She was actually the shortest of the four, standing at only 6 foot while the others were 7 foot. Still, she was his second favourite, seeing as snakes were his favourite animal.

She was actually the most ambitious of the animatronics, since she didn’t have legs. No, her lower half was all snake. It wasn’t likely she’d leave the stage because of it, but it was incredible, and the way it moved made her almost seem like a real snake.

She was also the most muted of the group, being made out of a dark brown metal. Her eyes, however, were a bright yellow. Scrap told him it was because it made it look like she had little suns in her eyes. Azriel said it was actually because it made her look more snakelike.

Salem, on the other hand, was the only other mammal, being an opossum and all. Their “fur” was a greyish cream colour, and they did actually have fur, sort of. It felt like fur, but he knew it was just that fake fur that all animatronics got.

Their eyes were a deep brown, bordering on black, but they always had this playful glint to them. They were programmed to move off the stage, according to Azriel, so they had to look approachable.

But at this moment, neither of them looked anywhere near approachable.

And then they looked at him.

Canetheus turned on his heel without hesitation, heading out of the room so fast that it almost looked like he was running. This had to be a prank of some sort, Azriel and Scrap were just messing with him.

That seemed pretty plausible, until he ran into a hard, cold chest. He froze, unable to look up at the animatronic that was now holding him by the arms, making it impossible to move away from the metallic chest.

Cane had never been scared of Spade before, but now he was wishing he’d never even looked at the bat.

“You’re smarter than the nightguard,” he whispered, leaning down closer to Cane. “For that, I’ll give you a headstart. The office is in the back of the building. Let’s see if you can make it.”

The second he was released, Cane took off toward the back, running faster than he even knew he could. He could hear Sequin laughing, probably at how scared he was, and only vaguely noted that it sounded a lot more human than the programmed laugh he was used to.

He made it to the office in record time, glancing around for anything he could defend himself with. No weapons, unfortunately, but he could close the doors on either side of him, and the vent behind him.

And, thank god, there was a camera system. If this was what the nightguard went through every night, he’d have to congratulate them later on surviving literal hell.

That is, if he survived.

---

NightBon was losing it as it watched Cane dash through the halls of the diner towards his only hope of surviving, gaining a harsh glare from Spade.

“What? This is hilarious! He’s gonna WISH he only had to deal with me after this!” it exclaimed, a little disappointed when Spade just rolled his eyes and returned to his stage, getting ready to run for that office too.

It could only assume Spade thought it was going a little too far just for some attention, but it decided to ignore that little fact. After all, Cane had let it in, and it was only fair that he stop trying to block it back out.

So what if it could possibly be making things worse, all it knew is that if he was scared of the monsters in real life, he would be more open to the monsters in his mind, aka NightBon.

Right?

[zayray030]

3 Times Damian Hated Their Height Difference And 1 Time He Loved It

Summary: Damian hates the height difference between him and Raven but sometimes it might not be so bad.

The height difference between him and Raven never did bother him. Sure sometimes he would be slightly annoyed that she was tall but that's how he felt about literally everyone around him so it didn't count. That's at least until Drake discovered their relationship and had teased him constantly. How Drake had discovered it Damian has yet to find out but he has a suspicion that Logan had told him but he couldn't accuse without solid facts so for now he was stuck not being able to attack anyone.

Anyways, back to Drake. He had made constant height jokes and this time one had struck a nerve.

“So tell me demon, you choose a tall one cause of mommy issues or-” Damian wouldn't have known why Drake would have thought he would date Raven because he had jumped on him before he had a chance.

“Damian! NO!” yelped Dick as he leaped from the couch in the living room and rushed to pry Damian off Tim.

After that incident Drake had stopped making consistent height jokes. Of course he never completely stopped. Sometimes when he was feeling extra spiteful he would make one but he never crossed the line by bringing in Damian's mother.

That was as best as things were going to get.

Damian had decided he wanted to take Raven out to the mall so she could spend the Wayne fortune as she desired for a date. Of course she had protested immediately but he wasn't the son of Bruce Wayne and Talia Al Ghul without a reason. It had taken a little pleading but she had finally allowed it and they were currently in a small cafe, taking a small break.

They were enjoying some cupcakes that Raven had forced him to try when their day went south. A tall, blond guy with bright blue eyes had approached their table, a group of guys behind him, and the look on his face immediately made Damian on edge and when he shot a lazy smirk at Raven Damian had to hold himself from stabbing the imbecile with a fork.

“Hey, baby.” his voice was deep and suited his muscular body. Damian couldn't quite help the jealousy rising.

“Bye, asshole.” she replied immediately after only giving a fraction of a seconds worth of attention before immediately turning back to Damian. Damian felt a flare of happiness go off in his chest but it disappeared when the imbecile still hadn't left.

“Oh come on, baby.” he pouted before he immediately smirked again, leaning over her. Raven leaned back and his face scrunched slightly in anger. “I can show you a good time. Better than whatever thi dweeb is showing you.” he said cruelly, turning to look Damian up and down letting out a slight scoff indignation rose in Damian and before he could attack him he felt a calming presence take and a voice spoke in his mind.

‘Don't worry. I can handle it.’

“I said no. Come on Damian. Let's go. Call your limo driver. We're leaving!” she declared dramatically and he saw the other boy pale. Apparently he had finally realised who Damian was.

Damian didn't say anything. He just picked up the cupcake, called over a waiter, paid for their meal and stood up with Raven. He held out his arm and she took it before practically dragging him away. He could distinctly hear laughter behind them and he ducked his head in shame.

He's supposed to be able to do this. He's supposed to protect Raven. He's supposed to-

“You're not supposed to do anything honey. I love you no matter what.” said his pale lover before leaning down to peck his cheek. Damian didn't say anything. Just leaned into the girl's embrace.

If you accused Damian of using sparring sessions against Garfield he wouldn't deny it. He didn't think he could come up with a convincing enough lie anyway.

This time he was being extra brutal towards Gar and Gar couldn't deny that this time he did deserve it. That didn't mean he wasn't going to complain about it.

“Ow, common dude! I just asked if she- agh!” yelped Gar, barely just ducking away from a knife that was close to taking off his head.

“How dare you!” Damian hissed, anger and embarrassment clear on his face.

“Come on, bro! It was a normal question people ask-” Gar yelped again and jumped away from Damian's sword. He was slowly starting to regret that he had no filter when speaking to the shortest Wayne but he doubted the lesson would stick.

“Don't you dare ask me that again!” hissed Damian, grabbing the front of Gar’s shirt, eyes full of anger and hatred.

“Got it!” squeaked Gar.

Damian quickly got off of Gar before giving him a judging look. “Your form was terrible and if I had been a villian I would have easily been able to kill you. Work better Logan.” he said, scoffing at the end before walking out.

Well that was the last time he was ever going to ask Damian of Raven had ever pegged him.

He couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe that this was happening. If Logan ever found about this he would never hear the end of this.

Those were the thoughts Damian should have been thinking but instead he wondered if the dildo in Ravens hand was going to fit in him.

See, when Raven had noticed her boyfriend on edge she had gone to investigate knowing that he wouldn't tell her himself. In the end after weeks of researching why her boyfriend was on edge she had found out it was because Gar had made a comment about their sexual activities.

Normally, if she had found out he did that she would have stabbed him a million times. But it made her think. And eventually her thinking had led her to buying a strap on.

“Don't worry. It'll fit.” she said, sensing where his thoughts were coming. “If you don't want to do this I-”

“I want this.” he cut her off. He still looked slightly worried but he wasn't lying when he said that he wanted this.

“Good boy. Now, lie down.” she said to Damian. She smirked when she saw him shiver slightly before lying down. She waved her hand and both his and her clothes had vanished, leaving them both as naked as the day they were born.

“Stay still. If you move you won't like the consequences baby boy.” she said huskily.

“Yes, mommy.” he whimpered. Unlike how normally he would hate handing over complete power or control to anyone he was left completely free for Raven.

Raven smirked again before sauntering over to the bedside table and grabbing out a bottle of lube from the drawer. She walked back over to the bed and kneeled over Damian, pale skin contrasting heavily to his darker skin.

“Good boy Damian. Now, continue like this. I don't want you getting hurt honey.” she said.

“He's mommy.”

“Good boy.” she repeated and she saw Damian blushing at the praise. She spread his legs until his small, fluttering pink hole was left in front of her. She couldn't help but admire the twitching gem and brought a hand down to rub at the small opening.

Damian gasped and she could feel the huge effort he was going through as not to buck his hips to meet her fingers. She smiled. He was such a good boy.

She took her hand away and Damian let out a pitiful whine. “Baby. Don't be impatient.” she said sharply.

“Yes mommy.” he said, properly chastised. Raven quickly poured some lube on her hand and she quickly placed her fingers back around Damian's hole.

She took her time fingering him. She would occasionally crook her fingers so she could reach his prostate. Damian continued being a good boy and didn't move as she prepped him.

“You're such a good boy Damian for mommy. Waiting so patiently. Time to give you your reward.” she said.

“Thank you, thank you mommy!” Damian let out a blabbering of thank you’s. He was drooling and cross-eyed from Raven playing around with him while prepping him.

Raven strapped the strap on to her, thankful that she bought one of those dildos that have a vibrater for the person using the strap. Raven lubed up the dildo thoroughly before positioning it in front of Damian's entrance. She looked over at Damian and the only thing she could feel was eagerness. She slowly punched in and Damian let out another loud gasp. If she hadn't been an empath she would have been slightly worried but she could feel how happy Damian was about this.

When Raven finally bottomed out she held still slightly, waiting for Damian to adjust. When she felt him become impatient she started thrusting, failing at hiding a smirk everytime Damian gasped.

Damian was rather disappointed in himself when he came not long after without a hand on his cock but the feeling of shame settled down when Raven came soon after him, rocking into his still sensitive body. He let out a small mewl when she pulled out.

He curled into himself and tried to stop himself from shaking. Raven always made it her mission to make him cum before her and to bring him the highest pleasure.

“You were so good for me, Damian.” she cooed, and Damian felt himself become cleaner and when he finally cracked his eyes open he could no longer  see his semen on his stomach. Raven gathered him in her arms and Damian felt himself relax and he soon went lax against her.

“Thank you, beloved.” he said, finally breaking the silence that had settled into the room.

“Any time baby. Also Damian.” she added, lightly gripping his chin to face her. “No matter what anyone ever says I love you how you are and I never  want you to change because of some outdated rubbish people still believe in, okay.” and it wasn't a question, it was a statement.

“I-” Damian couldn't continue his sentence and just put his face back on her chest.

“It's okay, baby. And anyway, I think you look pretty.” she added.

“Tt. I love you two” he said. “And I like you being taller than I am. Sometimes. When no one makes a comment about it.”

“I love being taller than you as well. Now get some sleep. You're going to need it.”

“How come?”

“I talked to your dad about you feeling insecure about your height.” Damian started trying to twist out of his lover's hold but she was stronger than what she looked. “Don't worry, he doesn't know anything embarrassing. Anyway, he contacted Big Berda and her husband Scott Free. She's going to have a small chat with Gar and Tim tomorrow.”

And in the quiet night, the laugh of two birds could be heard.

[dvoz-alternate]

Idol Room Scenario

Request: can you do a mingi x reader when the reader is their senior in a gg (kinda like bp, twice, etc) and both groups go to idol room for an episode 🥺

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AN: I have actually really wanted to make something like this for the longest time and now I’m able to make it for you! I am pulling some of my ideas from a post I made earlier this year! Also the Queen of Hearts is my favorite card in the deck and the group is based on a straight royal flush sooo…. For the sake of the fic you are born just a few months before Seonghwa, so Jan-Mar.

Summary: Part of an all girl group you are the leader of Royals. Both groups have heard of each other and seen each others works/MVs/live streams/etc., but have never met in person and happen to be fans of each other. For the most part all they know are names and faces. Royals and Ateez are doing a collab on an album and their companies thought it would be a good way to introduce each group through the idol room.

Word count: ~1500

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The MC looked over towards ATEEZ’s leader, “So, it’s true that you are going to be working with the Royals on your upcoming album?” “It is true and we are really looking forward to doing this collab. There is going to be a lot of new concepts between our groups,” Hongjoong said leaning forward slightly on his stool. The other MC spoke up, “And neither group has met in person right?” The group of boys all shook their heads. “Perfect than this would be a perfect time for us to introduce the girl group Royals to the set!” the MC gestured off stage to where you and four other girls entered from. Mingi’s jaw dropped slightly seeing one of his favorite groups join them for the episode. Yunho noticed the look on Mingi’s face and casually raised a hand to close his mouth. His eyes instantly locking on your form.

Smiling you walked onto the set with two of your members in front of you and two behind you  lining up next to the MC who introduced your group. Glancing at the MCs and then to the boy group ATEEZ you sucked in a quick breath before quickly recovering your smile. Your members have teased you before about your attraction for the giant rapper, but now you were finally seeing him in person. Bowing you introduce your group flashing a stunning smile. You were partially dreading your personal introduction but you pushed on. “Hi I’m (Y/N), the leader of the Royals and the queen of hearts, and more specifically the queen of your heart,” you gave a wink and a finger heart to the camera and to the boys before immediately hiding behind your taller group members who chuckled at your embarrassment. Mingi and the rest of the group couldn’t help but remember their first person intros when they first started. 

Sitting in the stools the MCs turned to view both groups, “Alright, so what do you know about each other.” You shared a look with Hongjoong and he nodded at you to take the lead, “In all honesty the most we know of each other is each other’s name.” “And position within each group,” Hongjoong added. Feeling eyes on you, you slowly moved your attention from the MC to where you thought you were being stared at. Seeing the flame colored hair you tilted your head slightly giving him a warm smile. Facing flushing from being caught Mingi ducked his head running a hand through his hair. “Well how about this,” an MC said looking between the two groups, “let’s have each of you guess who is older before revealing how old you actually are.” The other MC spoke up, “Seonghwa why don’t you try guessing?” Standing the dark haired male in leather went to stand in front of your group. Taking a good look at all of your features he came to a conclusion, “I think based off the music videos we have watched that you’re all at least born in 1999.” Your group all glanced at you giggling. “Was I wrong?” Seonghwa asked turning to look at his guys for help even though they were just as clueless. “I mean you were mostly right,” you offered teasingly. “Wait what?!” several of the boys jumped from their seats staring at you. “Wait a minute… who’s the oldest?” you asked as you clasp your hands together pointer fingers scanning over the group. “I am. I was born on April 3, 1998,” Seonghwa said raising an eyebrow at you. Eyes widening your jaw dropped. “What, no! This should be illegal!” you and your group stared gobsmacked at the eight boys in front of you. “I’m just a few months older than you,” you gestured to Seonghwa. “What?! You look so young!” Mingi’s eyes were comically wide. Everyone started laughing at how much chaos had broken out over this topic. 

“Alright, alright. Between your groups, who holds the sex appeal,” the MC decided to move onto the next topic. Collabately from both ATEEZ and Royals everyone pointed at Wooyoung before they turned on you. “Wait no! No!” you quickly waved your hands around, “I’m definitely not the sexy one in the group. I’m just cute.” A choking noise came from Mingi and Jongho thumped him on the back. “Then what do you call this?” the MC pulled up your groups most recent music video which you covered your eyes with your hands. “I don’t know I just do that…” you called your words trailing off slightly embarrassed. Your crush however was watching the screen intently with cheeks slightly pink. “How and why are you the only one dancing in those heels?” Mingi asked prying his eyes away from the screen where you were dancing in ridiculously high heels. “Ah, I’m the shortest in the group so it was to help make me appear taller, and it fit the theme of the music video,” you shrug. “So you had to learn that entire choreography in those death traps?” Yunho asked. Nodding you explained, “Yeah it was definitely an experience. I learned the choreography beforehand and then had to relearn it in the heels.” “I can’t believe you actually did the splits like that though,” Wooyoung said as they watched the part where you go into the splits as you all point up and out in the opposite direction. “We have watched the reaction video of you on youtube when you saw you had to wear those heels, and it’s probably still one of the cutest things ever,” Mingi didn’t mean to call you cute out loud, but when he thought back to you staring wide eyed and mouth open like a fish he couldn’t help it. Cheeks burning from Mingi calling you cute you covered them with your hands. 

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Each group performed their preferred arrangement in front of each other along with random dance play. You couldn’t help but jump in and dance Mingi’s part when Wave was played. Both groups intermingling knowing the dance to each groups songs. 

“So we have one last thing to do before we end the show,” an MC said standing between each group. “Finally we will do a lyric battle between the groups, and to make it a little more even would one of you volunteer to join the Royals for the final game?” Sheepishly Mingi stepped forward rubbing the back of his neck. Your heart started racing as you held a hand out for him to join you. The rest of ATEEZ already knew about the giant’s crush on you so they decided to give him a hard time and something about “abandoning the group”. “I think we need to redo our opening,” Yeosang teased as they all recounted back to their time with Oneus. After they finished you wrapped your arms around Mingi, “You know if that’s the case then I might just have to keep him.” Mingi’s face darkened at your words with his blush now touching his ears while everyone “oohed”.

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Stepping off the stage together you and your group faced the boy group. “It was really nice being able to meet you all officially,” you told them your group bowing. “We look forward to spending the next few weeks working with you as well,” Hongjoong lead his group in reciprocating the courtesy. You and Mingi both seemed to have the same idea lingering behind the others as they started leaving. Brushing your hair behind your ear you looked up at the smiling giant. “I still can’t believe we actually get to work together,” Mingi said following behind you as you went to pick up your bag. “Likewise. You’re an extremely talented group of guys, and am a big fan of a certain rapper,” you turned to look at him as you adjusted you bag over your shoulder. The red haired rapper’s smile seemed to grow bigger for a brief moment before it disappeared, “Wait… do you mean Hongjoong?” Giving his shoulder a slight shove you laughed, “No, no. This rapper has red hair and a ridiculously deep voice,” you giggled as you watched his smile reappear and he rubbed the back of his neck. “Oh!” you started digging through your purse before tearing out a small piece of paper from a notebook and a pen. Mingi watched as you scribbled on the paper before you handed it to him. “Hopefully we can talk more than just during the project time period,” you told him tilting your head slightly. Mingi stared in shock at the small piece of paper. You had scrawled your number on it with a cute heart at the end. He also didn’t noticed that you had started to walk away before you called out to him. “Mingi! Come on! Our groups are going out for lunch!” Snapping out of his trance he pocketed the paper before running after you.

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masterlist

[sweetinsecruity]

another yeorry ask! yerim is convinced that if she kisses a frog she’ll find her prince! in an effort to do this, runs off path from a nature walk with her parents, lipsoul, after a frog! when she finally catches it, she kisses the top of its little frog head. yeojin, who had similarly escaped viseul, falls from a tree in that moment, right in front of yerim. obviously, yerim reasons that yeojin is her fated prince! -🌸

Every little kid likes fairy tales, but by the time they're in high school that love of children's stories is usually swapped out for television dramas. Yerim is a little different though, she never quite grew out of her fondness for classic bedtime stories. The idea of being swept off her feet into a magical adventure by a prince or knight was enchanting to her. However, kids can be cruel and because of her seemingly childish interests, Yerim was a bit of a social outcast in middle school. Still wanting to see the best in everyone she would simply brush off any mean comments and continue with her day. Her mothers, on the other hand, were no as okay with how Yerim was being treated so when she was set to start high school they decided to homeschool her. Of course, Yerim didn't mind she loved the idea of her mom teaching her interesting facts about marine biology and math. And so Yerim happily stayed in her lovely world of kindness and fairy tales. Something Jinsoul and Jungeun found odd about their daughter however was her fascination with frogs. Of course, they knew it stemmed from her immense love of Princess and the Frog. But the couple worried because their daughter would chase after any frog or toad she saw wanting to kiss it. They didn't want Yerim to get sick so they would get her frog plushies in an attempt to stop her from kissing real frogs. And for the most part that was an effective method. Today, Jinsoul had planned a nice nature walk to teach Yerim about different kinds of plants and luckily Junguen had the day off work so she decided to join them. The family happily followed the hiking path as Jinsoul pointed out neat looing plants and gave lengthy explanations of their names. Even though this was technically a school trip Jinsoul was mostly talking to her wife, who simply nodded along. The ever-curious Yerim slowly began to tune out her mother's rambling as her eyes landed on another path. She skipped over and followed it. She continued going that way humming contently to herself for a minute or two before she heard some rustling. Inquisitive as always she decided to figure out what made the noise. Yerim's mind raced with possibilities. She could find anything really; a fox, a fairy, maybe even a unicorn. When she does get to the tree she heard the rustling coming from her excitement turns to pure elation. There, right in front of her, was the most adorable frog she had ever seen. Yerim shrieks and sprints over to the little reptile and scoops it up into her hands. She stared at the little creature in awe for a moment before gently petting it. "Don't worry little frog," she whispered, "I know that there is a prince trapped inside you, and fear not for my kiss will save you!" She says dramatically leaning and closing her eyes. She paused just before kissing the frog to squeal one last time. Then Yerim softly pecks the frog on its head. The very moment she does Yerim hears a loud cracking sound and an even louder scream. Startled she drops the frog, who hops away immediately, and opens one eye. Then the other one and when she looked at the foot she saw a cute blond girl rubbing the back of her head. And of course, her jaw drops. 

Yeojin, unlike Yerim, was a somewhat troublesome child. No matter what her parents tried they could just never keep her out of schemes. On her last day of middle school Yeojin managed to light the school's pool on fire. This got her expelled and banned from any of the district's high schools. The only option left for her mothers was homeschooling. Yeojin didn't care much for homeschooling. She loved her moms sure, but whenever she pranked them Vivi would just end up making her feel guilty. But when she suggested the family go on a hike Yeojin was instantly excited. So the next day off they went. Vivi almost instantly regretted suggesting this as her daughter wouldn't stop teasing her and Haseul for being 'fruity'. Eventually, Haseul got fed up too and suggested they play hide and seek. Yeojin instantly agrees and runs off into the woods, leaving her mothers with some lovely peace and quiet. So there she sat, perched on a tree branch evilly rubbing her hands together. Then she heard footsteps coming in her direction and was worried about being caught. Yeojin then moved up on the branch to cover herself with leaves. She couldn't really see who was below her so Yeojin did her best to maneuver the branched so she could see. Then she heard it 

CRACK

All Yeojin thought when she heard that was "Fuck" and before she knew it she was lying flat on her back winded.

After Yerim managed to close her mouth she simply screams "HOLY HECK!!! IT WORKS!" While jumping around. For someone who was very much in pain that scream was not a welcome sound. "Oh my GOD be QUIET" Yeojin groans. Immediately Yerim's hands fly to cover her mouth "Oh I'm sorry. I was just excited that it worked." She apologizes in a much softer tone bending down. "Ugh, it's fine my head just sorts hurts," Yeojin says rubbing her temples, "Wait. What did you mean by 'it worked'?" The shorter girl questioned. "Oh! Well, your majesty, I saved you from living an eternity as a frog with my kiss." Yerim says springing up again and bowing dramatically. It was Yeojin's turn to have her jaw drop. Yerim is beaming when she goes to wrap Yeojin into a warm hug, then helps the shorter girl up off the floor. "Well, you're certainly a pretty princess! I'm so sorry you had to be a frog for so long." Yerim says, gently taking leaves out of Yeojin's blonde hair. "O-oh, um thanks" She replies hesitantly " You're not too bad yourself" She returns while dusting herself off. "Wow, it's so nice to be complemented by a princess," Yerim says dreamily as she spins around. "OH!" Yerim exclaims causing Yeojin to jump "What's your name princess?" She asks grabbing Yeojin's hands "Um, well, my name is Yeojin" The shorter girl mumbles out blushing a little from Yerim's bluntness. "Oh, that's a beautiful name" She sighs in the middle of her sentence "Princess Yeojin." Yerim pauses again "I LOVE it! My name is Yerim!" She exclaims jumping happily "Ok cool nice to meet you Yerim." Yeojin says with some more confidence. "Do you live in a castle princess?"  Yerim asks with shining eyes. Something about that nickname makes the shorter girl feel incredibly shy but she shakes her head no as a response. "Oh, then where you live?" Yeojin decides at that moment that she likes Yerim. "Well I live town," She replies simply. Yerim nods excitedly "Princess come with me you should meet my lovely mothers!" There is was again the dang nickname that made Yeojin's stomach do a flip. 'Just indigestion I guess' Yeojin concludes. "Alrighty sure, why not. Lead the way Yerim." She says gesturing forward. Immediately Yeojin is dragged through the woods by the taller girl. After maybe ten minutes of walking the pair approach to women with their arms linked casually strolling. "MOMS LOOK!!!!" Yerim practically screeches causing both Yeojin and the other women to cover their ears. "Yerim sweety what?" Jungeun asked turning around. "Mom look I kissed a frog and there was a Princess!" She says pushing Yeojin towards her parents "Uh nice to meet you?" Yeojin says offering a hesitant hand. Jinsoul does a double-take and Junguen nearly faints. "I'm sorry Yerim darling but what?!?" Jinsoul says shocked. "Well, this is Princess Yeojin! and she was trapped in a frog's body and I freed her with a kiss!" Once they hear the short girls name both parents to look at each other then back at Yeojin who simply shrugs and waves. "Well, this isn't how I wanted to meet Vivi and Haseul's kid Soulie." Jungeun says laughing inwardly "Agreed," Jinsoul says with a nod. "Woah you know my moms?!?'' Exclaims eyes wide. "Yes, Yeojin we do. All of us are good friends." Jinsoul explains and the shortest girl simply nods. "Mom! It's Princess Yeojin. Don't be rude." Yerim scolds her mother shaking her head in disappointment. "Um well sweetheart, how do I say this," Jungeun says cautiously looking at her wife who simply nods at her "Yeojin..isn't really a princess and I'm sure that she was never a frog darling." Yerim's jaw drops again "WHAT!?! Princess?" Yerim shrieks turning to Yeojin "Is that true?" She questions softly. Yeojin looks down "Yeah I'm afraid it is Yerimmie. I just happened to fall out of the tree after you kissed that frog I guess." Yeojin says as kindly as she can. Yerim simply nods and lets the information sink in for a moment before simply smiling and pulling Yeojin into a hug "That ok Yeojinnie don't worry about it. You can still be a Princess though. I'll just call you princess sometimes oki?" Yerim says surprising happily. "U-uh yeah cool with me," Yeojin says with a blush. Then the group heard a loud "YEOJIN YOU LITTLE SHIT! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!!" The girl in question rolled her eyes "Gimme a sec" She said taking a deep breath "OVER HERE!!!" She yells back. A minute or so later Haseul and Vivi come jogging up to the group. "Oh well looks like you guys finally met Yeojin," Haseul says to Jinsoul and Jungeun, who just nod. "Oh, you must be my little princess's parents! I'm Yerim it's wonderful to meet you!" Yerim exclaims extending her hand. Vivi and Haseul both turn and stare at Yeojin "Princess?" Vivi questions her daughter. "Long story" She replies with a shrug. "Alright then, whatever you say." Vivi says teasingly. So the families return from their walks together each pair hand in hand happily chatting on their way home. 

AAAAAAlrighty so this one is a LONG one lol. Anyways I hope with is good and I hope you all enjoy reading it :] also plz excuse any errors, I did proofread but it's late and my brain is a little fried so i may have missed one here or there. Anyways until next time - Rose 💜