#DID SHE EVEN TELL LUCINDA THAT IT WAS THERE?

[little-estrellita]

Update on my Mystreet binge {Spoilers for season 5, Starlight}

WOOOO.

I remembered most of this season after all! I actually stopped watching shortly after the engagement episode. Right before Derek {Aaron's father} spilled all the secrets to Melissa {A's sister}.

I really did miss the BIG reveals and the downhill roller coaster that is Angel's fall. With this season's finally, I'm terrified of season 6. Only hearing that its.. chaotic to say the least.

Most of the episodes were great. I found myself feeling embarrassed about the whole "alpha" spiel. But that's more due to how the word is used now-a-days that made me cringe in a bad way. Idk where the whole Maria plot was going, thought she was going to try to cause a rift between the main couple?

I loved the cute moments this season! The bonding with Aaron and Aphmau seemed more chill than over the top lovey dovey stuff. They are cute without the pressure of appearing cute. Unlike Travis and Katelyn, which was a great constrast and gave a few giggles. Still find it a bit creepy that EVERYONE is so into their relationship. But rather that than the guys hoping for their downfall just to get Aph. Sylvanna telling her daughter that becoming a werewolf "just because" was disrespectful towards the culture explained why I was so off put by it. Still, think the whole try not to compare Aaron to a dog was funny. {but where did Celestia go? She was there day one then vanished...??}

I also loved Zane and Nana's relationship.. for the most part. I like that Nana was pushy with it while Zane wanted to take things slow. I'm just surprised that he let a lot go by in the name of not rocking the boat. The whole accidental cheating with the brother plot.. it's one of those scenes you know it happened but happily skipped over a bit to save yourself the second-hand embarrassment. Their kiss {while later on said it was just to keep him interested} was adorable! I feel like it was just the way Nana would confess her feelings. And with Zane? He might not have taken the hint otherwise. Garroth's "about time" response to the news was perfect. It showed that he had improved on keeping his baby brother's feelings in mind.. so much so that he noticed the chemistry between him and Nana before they did!

The proposal was also nice. We all knew it was coming, but it still felt special. Only a bit sad that their announcement to his parents didn't go as planned. Especially with Garroth getting snipped. Poor dude can't catch a break. Experimented on when young {which might explain why Garte favors him}, ladies ran from him, and now he's bedridden because.. as Zane would put it .. he's a boob( ╥ω╥ )

Rant over. Have a smug bastard {derogatory, he would make a funny reaction meme tho}

[rafecameronssl4t]

idk if you’ve watched love island uk s8 but for the love island au can u make a story inspired by gemma and luca where reader’s ex comes into the villa and makes rafe jealous and a scene where reader accidentally calls rafe her ex’s name

+ i absolutely love ur stories <3

Guilty as sin? || Rafe Cameron x fem!reader (love island au)

A/n: S8 OF LOVE ISLAND UK IS MY FAV 😭😭 (there will be a part 2 bc it was getting too long but I'll post it soon as well so the wait won't be too long!!)

Warnings: slight angst if u squint ig lol

Word count: 2,746

MASTERLIST (love island au masterlist)

divider by @h-aewo

You spot Rafe across the villa’s airy kitchen, caught up in a conversation with the other guys. Without a second thought, you walk towards them and call his name, excitement clear in your voice. “Rafe! Rafe! He turns at the sound, his brows knitting in slight confusion as you tug his arm, urging him to step aside with you. “Yeah?” he asks, his tone curious as he searches your face.

The hint of a smile curls at his lips when he sees how eager you are. “Sofia just got a text,” you say, a little breathless, unable to keep the smile off your face as you watch his reaction. “A text?” he repeats, eyebrows lifting. “What did it say?” “It said, ‘Girls, there will be a surprise for you tomorrow morning," you reveal, and his eyes widen, the full impact hitting him.

He crosses his arms, tilting his head as he watches you. “Wait—another guy’s coming into the villa?” You nod, feeling his gaze intensify as he studies you with a playful smirk. But before you can say anything, Lucinda’s voice echoes across the villa, singling you out. “Y/n, you simp!” she calls out, half-laughing, clearly catching onto your excitement.

You turn and laugh, calling back with a grin, “I wasn’t telling him anything!” She rolls her eyes in good-natured mock annoyance as she walks past, but you can’t help but giggle at the playful accusation. Rafe’s attention returns to you, his smirk deepening as he takes a step closer, lowering his voice so only you can hear. “So,” he murmurs, leaning in, “are you excited?”

“Excited for?” you playfully tilt your head, looking up at him with a feigned innocence. His hands slip around your waist, drawing you in until there’s barely any space between you, and his eyes search yours, warm with amusement. “The new guy coming,” he challenges, his voice low and teasing.

You pretend to consider his question, tapping your finger against your lips, scrunching your face as though deep in thought. “Mmm��� maybe just a little?” you tease, letting the words roll off your tongue as you watch his expression darken with playful jealousy. Rafe scoffs, his hand falling to your hip as he gives you a gentle push, his smirk still lingering.

“Oh, really?” he mocks, his tone dripping with amusement as his fingers skim the small of your back. You laugh, slipping your arms around his neck and pressing your forehead to his. “I’m joking, I’m joking!” you reassure him, your voice softening. “Why would I even look his way when you’re right here?”

His face softens, a genuine smile breaking through as he lifts you off the ground, his arms tightening around you. He peppers kisses along the side of your neck, each one making you squirm and giggle as you cling to him, laughing. “Rafe!” you squeal, struggling to keep a straight face. “I need to go get ready!”

He finally sets you down, but not before stealing one last kiss. Just as you turn to leave, he smirks, his hand sliding down to give you a playful smack on the ass. You whip around, giving him a mock-glare, but he just grins, completely unbothered. “See you later,” he calls out, chuckling as you roll your eyes and walk away, unable to hide your smile.

~

“Sofia, you look gorgeous, babe!” you squeal, clasping her hands and giving her a little twirl. She giggles, cheeks flushed, excitement lighting up her eyes. The new guy had just chosen her for a date, and you couldn’t be happier for her. With all the girls hyping her up, it’s a moment of pure joy.

Linking arms, you and the other girls make your way to the balcony, eager to catch a glimpse of the date unfolding below. From up here, you have a perfect view, though the new guy’s back is to you, obscuring his face. “What are you girls doing?” a voice asks, pulling your attention. You glance over your shoulder to find the guys walking in, curiosity evident in their expressions.

As they come closer, you shush them playfully, grabbing Rafe’s hand and pulling him toward you. He doesn’t resist, settling behind you as his arms wrap warmly around your shoulders. Leaning back against him, you focus on the figure in the distance. But something about the guy’s tattoos catches your attention.

A chill pricks at your skin, a sense of familiarity hitting you hard. You squint, taking a closer look, and suddenly, it all clicks. Your heart skips a beat, and the realisation makes your stomach twist. “No, no, no, no…” you gasp, ducking down quickly onto the lounge, unable to tear your eyes away. Your reaction sends the others into a flurry of confusion.

“What?” Rafe asks, brow furrowing as he glances down at you, concern slipping into his expression. You press a hand over your mouth, whispering, “That’s my ex!” The words come out in a mix of disbelief and shock as you look back at the girls, wide-eyed. “What?” Lucinda breathes, glancing back toward the balcony with a look of pure disbelief.

“I’m not joking,” you chuckle, though it’s a nervous laugh. “That is my ex-boyfriend.” Rafe stays silent, his arm still around you, his gaze shifting between you and the new guy below. You don’t notice his reaction, too busy processing the whirlwind of emotions yourself. It feels surreal.

“You’re lying!” one of the girls gasps, her tone a mix of amusement and shock. You shake your head, peeking over the edge once more for confirmation. The familiar way he holds himself, the tattoos, even his laugh—it’s all undeniably him. “No, I swear to god, that’s him. Shit!” You cover your mouth, feeling a bizarre mix of dread and disbelief bubbling up.

Rafe’s still silent, his eyes dark and unreadable as he watches you, a slight tension in his grip around your shoulders. But your mind races too fast to register it fully.“How long were you two together?” Leah asks, her curiosity piqued. “Like… a year and a half?” you mumble, still processing, voice distant as you dredge up the memories.

“And how long ago?” she presses. “Uh, ten months ago, I think?” you say, distracted as you peek again at the scene below. It’s hard to believe he’s here, in this villa with you. And as you try to make sense of it, the lingering tension in Rafe’s silence seems to settle heavily over you, but you’re not quite ready to face that just yet.

As you glance back at the date, you catch sight of Rafe slipping away, his expression unreadable. He doesn’t say anything, and you let him go, feeling an odd tension settle in your chest but brushing it off for now. There’s plenty to process already.

~

Once the date wraps up, Sofia rejoins you and the other girls in the makeup room, still glowing from her time with Jacques. You’re finishing up getting ready when Leah gives her an excited smile. “So, how was it?” she asks, her curiosity bright. Sofia’s smile widens, her cheeks flushed. “He’s gorgeous! So sweet, and we just talked non-stop. He’s so easy to be around!”

You smile back, watching her giddy expression. It’s clear she’s caught up in the excitement, and you’re genuinely happy for her, even with the twist of awkwardness lurking beneath the surface. “What’s his name?” Leah presses, a hint of mischief in her tone. “Jacques,” Sofia replies, her voice light and dreamy. But her answer shifts the atmosphere slightly.

The girls glance at each other, then at you, their expressions turning curious and cautious. Noticing the looks, Sofia raises an eyebrow. “What?” she laughs nervously, sensing she’s missing something. You clear your throat, managing a chuckle. “He’s my ex,” you say, unable to help the small, amused smile that crosses your face.

Sofia’s jaw drops, and she stares at you in shock. “No! What? Are you serious?” She looks between you and the others, trying to piece together this unexpected twist. “Yep,” you reply, laughing at her reaction. “It was about ten months ago, though, so it’s ancient history.” “And… how do you feel about it?” Sofia asks, a cautious look in her eyes.

You know she’s asking if there are still any lingering feelings or unfinished business. You shake your head, waving off any notion of that. “I mean, obviously it’s weird seeing him here, but I’m totally over him. There’s no way I’d want to rekindle what we had, you know?” You smile, reassuring her that there’s no reason for her to hold back with Jacques.

Sofia visibly relaxes, a relieved smile crossing her face. “Good. That’s honestly such a relief,” she laughs, and you exchange a small, supportive nod. “How do you think Rafe feels about all this?” Hannah asks, her eyes flicking toward the door where Rafe had left earlier. Her question makes you pause, recalling his sudden silence and the look on his face.

You shrug, trying to play it off casually. “I don’t really know, but he shouldn’t be worried at all,” you say, adding a chuckle to lighten the mood as you resume getting ready for the day Still, a small part of you wonders if Rafe had taken it harder than you realised, and maybe a talk was in order. But for now, you push the thought aside.

~

After Jacques finishes his other date, the girls gather outside to greet him, buzzing with excitement. You hang back slightly, watching as he makes his way through the introductions, charm turned all the way up. There’s an odd, surreal feeling creeping up as you watch him joke and laugh with your friends. Finally, his gaze lands on you, and a knowing, mischievous smile spreads across his face.

“Hi, nice to meet you,” he says with a smirk, his arms opening for a hug. You roll your eyes, giving him a mock look of exasperation. But despite yourself, you lean in, wrapping your arms around him for a brief hug. “Nice to meet you… dickhead,” you reply, tone playful yet loaded with familiarity.

He lets out a low laugh, clearly amused. “Still the same as ever,” he chuckles, giving you a wink that’s both teasing and a little too comfortable. You shake your head, a smile slipping onto your face despite yourself, as you walk with the girls toward the kitchen. They look between you and Jacques with wide, curious eyes, and you can feel the questions bubbling up.

“Well, that was… friendly,” Lucinda says with a smirk, nudging you as you all start gathering glasses and setting things up for the night. You shrug, feigning indifference. “Honestly, it’s just weird, seeing him here. But hey, if Sofia’s into him, good for her,” you say, keeping your voice light, though you can feel Rafe’s absence tugging at the back of your mind.

He had yet to say anything about Jacques since he left earlier, and you couldn’t quite shake the feeling that you needed to find him. Just then, Jacques strolls into the kitchen, joining the group with that same confident smile. His gaze lands on you for a second longer than it probably should, and the other girls exchange glances.

You pretend not to notice, fully focused on making a coffee. Sofia nudges you with a playful grin. “He’s cute, right?” she says, winking at you. You laugh, giving her a shrug. “If you’re into that kind of thing,” you say with a teasing smirk. But deep down, your mind is already drifting to Rafe, wondering what he’s thinking about all of this. The day's only beginning, and you can already tell it’s going to be an interesting one.

~

The guys settle in around the firepit, the evening sun casting a warm glow as conversation shifts toward you. Rafe sits back, sunglasses on, trying to keep his cool while sneaking glances in your direction. You’re in the kitchen with the girls, laughing and seemingly at ease, but Rafe can’t help but feel a subtle edge of tension.

“So, serious question, mate,” Rob starts, giving Jacques a curious glance. “Are you Y/n’s ex?” Jacques just hums with a nod, the smirk on his face saying more than words could. Rafe’s attention sharpens at that, though he tries to keep his posture relaxed, his focus seemingly elsewhere.

“What’s she been saying about it?” Jacques asks with a raised eyebrow, glancing toward the kitchen. “Like, how’s she feelin’ about all this?” Rafe shifts, keeping his composure, though he’s attuned to every word. “Bit awkward having your ex in here, right?” he comments, his voice casual but probing. Jacques shrugs, the ease in his posture unmissable.

“Eh, maybe for her. But me? I’m pretty chill about it. Honestly, I couldn’t give a fuck,” he says with a chuckle, a careless grin spreading across his face. “It is what it is. We’ve moved on.” Rafe nods slowly, assessing Jacques. He can’t help but feel a certain familiarity with the guy—there’s a vibe there, a sort of unbothered confidence he recognizes in himself. It’s disarming, and Rafe feels his initial tension ease a bit.

With a smirk, he leans forward, locking eyes with Jacques. “So… you probably know a lot about her then, yeah?” he teases, his tone light but with a hint of curiosity. He wants to understand what exactly Jacques knows—and, maybe, what he doesn’t. Jacques laughs, throwing his head back in genuine amusement." You could say that,” he replies, eyes gleaming with the kind of familiarity that only history can create.

“You want me to let you know if she’s into you or not?” he jokes, the hint of challenge making Rafe crack a genuine grin. Rafe didn’t expect to find himself relaxing, but something about Jacques’ nonchalant vibe—and the fact that he doesn’t seem hung up on you—makes Rafe feel a little more at ease. Still, he can’t completely ignore the glances Jacques throws toward the kitchen, wondering if this odd triangle is just beginning or if it’ll soon fade into the background.

~

Rob leans back, casting a curious glance at Rafe as the two relax by the firepit. The atmosphere is warm and easy, the soft hum of the villa around them, though Rafe’s attention occasionally drifts to where you’re standing in the kitchen, laughing with the other girls. “So, has she talked to you yet?” Rob asks, trying to gauge the situation.

Rafe shrugs, looking nonchalant, though his fingers absentmindedly trace a line up his bicep, his eyes following your movements in the distance. “Nah, not yet. She’ll come over if she wants to chat,” he says, a slight smirk on his face as he shifts his gaze back to Rob. “Bet she’s feeling a little shocked seeing her ex show up out of nowhere, though. I’d be thrown off, too.”

Rob lets out a chuckle, nodding. “Yeah, mate, can’t blame her. It’d be a bit of a head-spin, wouldn’t it?” They fall silent for a beat. Rafe looks relaxed, yet there’s a certain edge to him, a competitiveness that’s only starting to surface. He leans forward, voice dropping to a lower tone, though his eyes are playful.

“Here’s the thing, though,” he says, his smirk widening as he glances over at the kitchen before turning back to Rob. “Right now, my hoodie? Smells like Y/n’s perfume,” he says with a self-satisfied grin, watching Rob’s face break into a grin of his own. “Does his? Nah, don’t think so.”

Rob bursts out laughing, clapping Rafe on the shoulder. “Oh man, that’s cold,” he says, barely holding back his laughter. “You should walk right up to him and be like, ‘Recognize this scent?’ Just to mess with him a bit.” Rafe laughs along, picturing the scene and almost tempted by the idea, his gaze settling on you again.

He imagines Jacques catching a hint of your perfume on him, subtle but unmistakable, a reminder that there’s a closeness Jacques doesn’t share with you anymore. There’s no threat, not really, but Rafe feels a spark of pride knowing he’s the one wearing traces of you, even if it’s something as simple as your perfume lingering on his hoodie.

There’s a playful but possessive glint in Rafe’s eyes as he leans back, chuckling with Rob. He knows it’s all in fun, but he can’t deny that the thought of reminding Jacques who’s in the past—and who’s in the present—has a certain appeal.

[away-ward]

i cannot for the life of me make a decision about this, so do you have any headcanons on opinions on what banks would've been like if she had gone to high school ?? what tropes or clichés she would've been closest to embodying ?? because we know em was a nerd, that winter struggled for the obvious reasons but ultimately was fine in hs and fairly normal, rika was decently popular but far from the cheerleader level... but banks, i can't place what she would've been like if she'd gone to high school. we know she's very smart, but i can't see her as someone holed up in a library. then, we can also probably deduce that if she had gone to high school, damon would've been crazy protective but i still can't really make a set decision on much else regarding how banks' storyline/personality would've gone if she did indeed attend Thunder Bay prep or some other high school, minus these small details.

i do think she & emory would've got on like a house on fire if she attended TBP as they would've been in the same grade and probably had similar opinions on high school hierarchy and the horsemen and general thunder bay weirdness and extravagancy. they would've dissed people so thoroughly and easily with their quips and banter, for sure.

Ohh I have thought about this.

It can go so many ways, because as same with Emory, the debate is "was she naturally someone different and the circumstances made her this way? Or is it that she survived the circumstances because this is who she is naturally?"

Did Banks do so well in Gabriel's house because that's who she is, or did being in that house make her that way. In Hideaway, she mentions that she never cut her long hair because it was the last part of "Nikova." Additionally, her struggle with Damon is wanting to be her own person and to experience things other teenagers - normal teenagers - experience. But if she were a normal teenager, would she still value those experiences, or would they be mundane and expected?

I chose to think High School AU Banks would fall somewhere in the middle. She'd still be a bit of a tom-boy, and a bit of a rebel. In my AUs, she still lives with Lucinda, but Damon wants her close, so Gabriel pays for her to attend TBP. She's smart, but not without effort. She's not afraid to get involved throw down if she sees something she doesn't like. She's careful, though, and never throws the first punch, so she can always claim self-defense. It's helpful that she's a bit of a sarcastic smart ass and naturally skilled at goading people.

In school, she'd appear to be generally nonchalant about stuff, but she actually has a lot of opinions. It comes as a surprise to the teachers, who were not expecting Damon Torrance's younger sister to be so... outspoken. And argumentative.

Having a bit more freedom, and hopefully a healthy relationship with her brother, she’d probably be known for fighting with Damon in the halls over how protective he is. Like, he can’t even let her project partner talk to her without going all big brother on her.

Seriously, get a life, dude. Maybe if you had as much confidence talking to your little dancer friend as you do telling me what to do, you’d actually have a girlfriend. Newsflash, bro, there are certain things I can’t and won’t do for you.

I don’t see her wanting to participate in any extracurricular activities, but with a school like Thunder Bay Prep, it would probably be expected. I can’t see her wanting to be on a team, so Girl��s Basketball probably isn’t a good match…

Oh. You know, with her being a bit of a sleuth in Hideaway and tailing Kai to get his routine, she’d probably make a good Yearbook photographer. Or maybe working on their school paper. Maybe something along those lines that keeps her out of the spotlight. Though, I don't know what Banks would want to do growing up. Maybe she does go into student government, wanting to make changes that actually make sense and benefit the students, instead of planting a tree as the senior gift for the fifth year in a row (do these people even know what they could do with this much money, or do they only know how to add when it's involving cases of beer and tits?). Maybe she does it because she's tired of seeing Chloe get everything and wanted to challenge her, and then sort of accidentally ended up class president.

Actually, I like that...Emory makes fun of her for it all the time.

Speaking of Emory, they are best friends. Both come from more humble backgrounds, which would naturally make them targets for bullies, but not this time. Because the whole school knows wherever Emory goes, Banks is close by. And wherever Banks is, Damon is close by. And wherever Damon is, the Horsemen are close by. Not to mention, Will is a horseman, and he’s always close to wherever Emory is…

Not that Banks and Em need them. They're pretty good with the tongue lashings, themselves.

Without a doubt, Banks goes to every single one of Emmy’s activities to show support. She hangs out when Emmy’s working on her projects, and helps when she needs a hand. They both have a crush on a Horseman, but they only talk (read: tease each other) about that when they can guarantee no one can hear them.

I headcanon Banks, Emmy, and Elle are a pretty solid trio. Emmy's smart and artsy, Elle's a soft-hearted romantic, always talking about dating but never taking her own advice, and Banks plays the rebel without a cause who loves her two friends.

Anyway, have some pics that would definitely be in Banks' friend's (so Emmy and Elle) camera roll.

that last one's from Banks of will and emmy. (i've never seen love, rosie, so I don't know context. but I know in a willemmy high school au that has yet to be written, this scene will happen)

Let me know what you think! Or if my headcanons helped inspire some of yours. This was really fun, thanks for the ask.

[starhvney]

𝐒𝐔𝐁𝐉𝐄𝐂𝐓 𝟑 | 𝟏𝟔: 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃

𝐂𝐖: um... more violence and mentions of traumatic injuries, cussing but like how offensive is that in comparison to the other stuff at this point

𝐀/𝐍: oh snap it’s going down (intense traumatic experiences)

𝐖𝐂: 4,600+

𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐎𝐑: the one, the onlyyyy @arienic !!! *blows airhorn*

𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 ☆ 𝐍𝐄𝐗𝐓 | 𝐀𝐎𝟑 | 𝐅𝐈𝐂 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 | 𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊𝐒

laughter carries through the air, the mix of everyone’s joyous voices in the room warming your chest the same way your hot chocolate warmed your hands. you settle back into the ro'meaves’ couch, the worn-in material allowing you to sink into the cushions where you were lodged between lucinda and dante. 

“okay!” aphmau squeals, clapping her hands excitedly in the center of the room. “it’s time to exchange the secret santa gifts!”

you’re perfectly content where you sit, though, with a soft smile on your face as you glance around the room. everyone was bundled up in their sweaters and cozy pajamas, excitedly getting up to give and receive their gifts and giggling as they bumped into each other. oh, you suppose you should get up when lucinda’s hand grasps onto your arm to help you along with her, the mature scent of her perfume wafting along your face and the tinkling of her bracelets pleasantly gracing your ears.

“c’mon, sweetie. you can’t fall asleep now,” she coos playfully.

“i wasn’t! just enjoying the moment,” you defend, only earning a teasing look from her in response before she prances off with an amused huff.

you shake your head, chuckling quietly to yourself as you pick up vylad’s gift, shuffling around the crowd and earning a hair ruffle from dante and a nose pinch from teony as you go, the two of them being the touchiest of your friends as always. not that you minded—coming from anyone in this room. you kind of enjoyed that you were close enough to them for them to want to casually reach out to you in a sudden burst of affection. it was cute.

vylad immediately turns to look down at you with a dimpled grin as you hold out your gift, giving you a grateful nod. “hey! merry christmas.”

“merry christmas,” you return, shuffling on your feet as he starts to open his gift, starting to feel a bit nervous if he’d like it.

his face lights up as he opens the box, mouth cracking open in surprise as he reaches in, pulling out the 35mm camera film bundle you got. “woah, there’s so much! and a calligraphy set too?”

“yeah… sorry i didn’t get as much film because it can get kind of expensive… but i thought i’d get you something you’d use the most.”

“no, no, don’t apologize. this is perfect!” he insists, his voice full of genuine thankfulness. “how did you even know i liked all of this? or what kind of camera i had?”

“i totally interrogated your mom about what kind of camera you had. shout out to zianna,” you laugh. “i remember you talking about liking photography and how you liked to write, so…”

“wow. i’m not secretive but i didn’t realize i was that easy to read,” he muses, wrapping an arm around your shoulder for a hug. “you really put a lot of thought and effort into this, i can tell. this is so awesome.”

“aw, i’m really glad you liked it.” you sheepishly return the hug before stepping back again.

“i more than like it, i love it. thanks!”

a gentle tap on your shoulder diverts your attention from the heartfelt scene you were in. nana gives you a sweet smile when you turn to her, her eyes forming into crescents as she presents a rather large pink gift bag with a cute snowman on it.

“hi! i was your secret santa,” she giggles as if it weren’t obvious.

“oh! thank you, nana.” you smile, taking the bag from her as she bounces expectantly on her toes.

“go ahead and open it!” she ushers, tail swishing behind her, the tiny jingle bell on the bow she used to decorate it tinkling.

you laugh lightly as you appease her demands, pulling out the tissue paper to reveal quite an array of gifts.

“so, i remember you mentioning you thought the cookie cutters i had were super cute when we were making those sweets for everyone… so i got you some! and—and those are some earrings that reminded me of you, and—oh! that’s a blanket with kitties on it,” she rambles, pointing out each thing with a shimmer in her eyes. “that’s a cute journal i got for you because we had talked about how you wanted to start writing down your favorite memories so you never forgot them. remember?”

“wow, nana. you didn’t have to get all this for me…” you murmur, mouth agape as you admire the hardcover journal in your favorite color, its pages glinting gold around the edge.

“of course i did! you were one of the first people to actually care about me and try to become my friend at the school.” she rocks on her heels, hands folding behind her back. “you mean a lot to me, so i wanted your gift to be special.”

pulling in a big breath, you swallow thickly, overwhelmed by the affection poured onto you. your friends’ laughter buzzes in your ears as you reel in the moment, eyes wide. “thank you, so much… you mean a lot to me, too.”

“but, um…” she murmurs your name, face turning gravely serious. “i have to tell you something.”

strange. this isn’t how you remember this going.

“if you want to come back to us, you have to wake up.”

“…what?”

“wake up.”

a sharp inhale through your lungs pulls a veil of darkness over your eyes, replaced by a gray ceiling. there’s no warm laughter, no welcoming fireplace; just the cold, damp room you’ve been forced into for who knows how long now. your fingers dance across the thin sheets, chasing after the ghost of warm hands encasing yours, only to be met with the scratchy material irritating your skin.

your neck hurts; externally as you reach up to feel a crusted-over bandage, and internally as a lump forms inside. vision blurs and fingers tremble as a pathetic sob wracks your chest, the choked noise of pain echoing in the empty room. turning on your side, you gasp for air, your breaths tight and panicked. you can move again, you realize, but when you attempt to sit up and stand your body gives out on you and sends you sprawling onto the hard tile floor. using what little strength you have, you use your arms to drag yourself to the bars of your cell, grasping the bars and resting your cheek on the rusted metal.

tears pour down your face while your chest heaves unevenly, soaking into the gauze on your neck and staining your dirtied clothes. weakly, you lift your hand again, realizing through your hazy eyes how thin and pale you’d gotten. you’d been fully drained, your body pulling whatever it could from your muscles and bones just to keep your heart beating. more cries leave your lips as you reach up to your neck once again, tugging at its tight constraints with an angry cry. as it loosens with an uncomfortable crack from your skin a wave of fear washes over you, freezing you in place.

what if your head fell?

short breaths are sucked in through your mouth as you try not to move, slowly loosening the bandages again until they finally give free, unraveling onto your lap. you stay still for a few moments, staring at the dark red below you, before reaching up to feel where the blade had been lined against your neck. there it is: an indent, perfectly horizontal, reaching across where your jugular was.

she must not have completely beheaded you. if she did, would you not have woken up?

a feeling of utter hopelessness creeps into your veins starting from your hands and feet until it spills out in the form of more tears, a piteous weep leaving your lips. none of this makes sense to you. not the pain… not anything she said about your parents… or the man… or men behind it…? she mentioned two, didn’t she? no, no that’s not what she said…

not what she said about…

not what she said…

no.

what exactly did she tell you?

why can’t you remember it?!

there was something important! information you had to keep if you got out of here! what is it?!

“what happened…” you hiccup, lungs catching and stopping, breaths hiccuping. “what did you…”

your fingers dig into the metal, pressing uncomfortably into your bones as you manage some strength in your lungs and scream at him, “what did you do to me?!”

the muscles in your throat strain in protest, cracking your words as they echo in the empty corridor. raspy coughs leave your throat as your remaining strength gives out and you go limp where you sit. it’s a few minutes like this—maybe even an hour—before quiet footsteps slowly make their way toward your cell. you don’t bother looking up, only acknowledging who it is when someone kneels down by the door. black jeans, a dark blue shirt… it matches his hair.

he watches you from the side of his eye as he sets down a tray, sliding it under the door. when he moves to get up again, he hesitates, as if there's something he needs to say.

“please kill me,” you rasp, making him jump as he whips his head over to you, his eyes darting down to your fingers where they grasp onto his wrist. “just kill me. i can’t do it again.”

he gives you a look, eyes widening and lip curling. you can’t tell what it is. pity? disgust?

this is the first time you've really looked at him up close. a few scars litter his skin, his steel gray eyes startlingly harsh through his dark lashes. his nostrils flare as he pulls away from your touch, standing and backing away as he looks down on your miserable slumped form.

“i can’t,” he mutters. “but… i wouldn’t bite into your food too hard.”

you stare up at him, confusion muddling your features.

“and wait until dusk. that’s two hours from now.”

he turns on his heel and stalks away, glancing back at you once more over his back before quickly running back up the wooden staircase, leaving you alone as fast as he had appeared.

don’t bite into your food too hard.

the tray is by your feet, nothing but a pile of mush on it. you’re not sure what kind of food it’s supposed to be, but it most definitely wasn’t crunchy or solid. shakily, you reach out to the tray and pull it into your lap, hesitantly hovering your fingers over it.

what are you doing…

wriggling your fingers down into the semi-warm substance, they soon meet the cold center where a metal object is buried inside. your eyebrows pinch together when you pull it out, shaking the food away to reveal a… key. did he just…?

he gave you the key to the cell. he’s helping you escape.

two hours from now.

“thank you,” you whisper to the void, even if you know the boy is long gone.

would he be punished for this? a part of you worries for him, but the selfish want for self-preservation has those thoughts pushed to the back of your mind, replaced by the memory of warm arms around your shoulders. you had to get back. this wasn’t the end. you didn’t have to die here. a joyful weep wobbles from your lips, as you begin to count the seconds. how many are in two hours?

one mississippi… two mississippi…three…

eight hundred and thirty-three…

five thousand six hundred and twenty-seven…

seven thousand two hundred.

you had eaten the plate of food to the best of your abilities, despite its bland taste and rather disgusting texture. it was like southern grits, but if it were slimy and void of any good flavor. still, you stomached it, and it at least gave you the strength to stand up on your legs without falling. your breathing was labored from the effort, but you had to do this, and you had to do it now.

nimbly sliding your fingers through the door’s bars, you fix the key into the lock and twist, a satisfying click meeting your ears as the door gives way to your weight leaning on it. it squeaks in the silent hallway, and for a moment you stand completely still as it swings all the way open. 

you were free.

run. run run run run run run!

you take off towards the wooden stairs, careful to keep on your tiptoes, sliding your feet across the stone to make less noise as you go. slowing down at the wooden stairs, you’re careful to make a minimal amount of creaks as you ascend them, holding your breath as you listen closely to the floor above. there’s no talking, no shuffling or movement. did they go somewhere else?

at the top of the stairs, there's a wooden door. quiet prayers for it to be unlocked leave your lips as you approach it, and you have to stop yourself from letting out a cry of relief when it is, opening up to a dimly lit, huge room. 

you were in a log cabin, though a mansion seems more suitable as a title. tall windows span up to the ceiling on one wall, overlooking a familiar scene of a forest. plush couches and red carpets littered the large space, setting up what was an over-the-top lounge room.

tentatively, you walk out from the doorway, looking up to realize it was somewhat hidden behind a staircase. the place seemed empty, but you sure weren’t going to stick around to find out. the only thing you can hear is your uneven breaths as you make your way to two large red doors, hands shaking as you push the heavy wood open. the sound of crickets beginning to chirp and fresh air enveloping your face is overwhelming, making your shaky steps stutter in place as you stare out at the tall trees ahead.

looking around, the coast is still clear. was what ein told you a red herring? this seemed too easy. running out to the empty driveway, you step beyond the pavement toward a nearby cliffside, looking over the forest beyond. there was nothing else in sight for miles, except for…

a tall lookout tower in the distance.

your face blanches, and the small amount of nutrients you had in your stomach comes rushing back up your throat in an instant. they were that close to you the whole time.

sputtered coughs leave your lips as you lean forward, hands resting on your knees while black spots your vision. what if they were just letting you go now? have you never been in control this whole time? not since the moment you moved? since the moment you were born? is there any point in escaping this?

there’s no time to delay anymore though, not when you’re taking off again towards the driveway, cutting into the treeline where you’re sure the road led off to. your lungs burn as they try to keep up with your legs, your throat barely taking in enough oxygen for you to stay conscious. you feel like you’re out of your body, merely spectating a memory as you weave through trees. your face feels cold and numb, and you vaguely feel the pain of your bare feet getting scraped and stabbed by the forest floor. black is beginning to spot your vision and the next moment your toe catches on a root, sending you tumbling down a steep hill with a sudden cry.

rolling to a stop, you gasp for air, yet none comes as panic continues to riddle your lungs.

“...you mean a lot to me…”

it feels like warm hands are lifting you, urging you to keep going, and as you stumble forward you realize you’ve made it to the road. warm asphalt meets your feet as you continue to try and catch your breath. the sun had set by now, disorienting any sense of direction you may have had in the first place.

as soon as your vision clears, you’re blinded by headlights and the screeching of rubber against the road—

you're sent flying, your hands painfully scraping as you land on your back. it feels like you’re dying, lungs on the verge of collapsing. even if it was your captors, you don’t think you could run or even crawl away, the stars in the sky beginning to spin and melt above you and the noise of the world around you turning into warbled echoes.

“oh my… is that… missing… girl that… gene… with.” a woman appears above you. you can’t make out her features. “holy shit… logan! call… help! …hospital…!”

“help,” you gasp. in a last attempt at freedom, you grasp onto her shirt.

“shh… you’re… okay, hun… safe…”

a tall man looming over the both of you is the last thing you see. strong arms lift you from the jagged ground; the bitter, metallic scent of your blood is the last thing you sense before the terrifying freedom of darkness overtakes you.

☆

over a week. it’s almost been two.

garroth stares blankly at the empty fireplace, stuck in the same position he’d sat in hours ago. he chews at the inside of his cheek again, wincing when he draws blood this time. 

there's no telling where you are now or what’s happened to you. and it's all his fault. if he’d just walked with you down the sidewalk. it was two houses down. only two. that careless decision took you from him and everyone else who cared about you.

when you come back… if you do… he wouldn’t blame you if you hated him. if you never wanted to talk to him again, or even look at him. he deserved your resentfulness. he wouldn’t even mind it if it just meant you were back safe.

“hello?” zianna’s voice carries from the kitchen, her tone indicating she’d picked up a phone call. 

vylad shifts from where he sat on the other side of the couch, turning down the volume of the tv that had been playing mindless background noise to his and garroth’s thoughts. his head turns to better hear their mother’s voice, only to flinch when the shattering of porcelain on the floor and a sharp gasp from the woman breaks the silence.

“where is she?”

garroth swallows, eyes widening before shooting up from his spot, sprinting into the kitchen and nearly crashing into the counter. he's gripping onto the marble top as he stares down his mom—the woman leaning back into the corner with a face void of color. her sweet, green eyes are glossy with tears, hand reaching out to zane whose eye flicks between her and the shattered plate in concern. for once, he looks to his two brothers without malice or annoyance, instead holding zianna’s hand with care as he leans in to overhear the other end of the line.

“and she’s okay?” she whimpers, shaking her head as she looks around, attempting to move. “where? where?”

garroth sucks in air, only just realizing he’d been holding his breath before rushing to his mom, lifting her over the shards threatening to slice her bare feet. she dashes over to snatch her keys up from the hallway table, sliding her feet into some sandals by the door—before stopping in the doorway, and turning to face her sons once again.

“i’m headed there now.”

as soon as the phone is pulled away from her face, questions hastily tumble from their mouths.

“she?”

“did they find her?”

“where are you going?”

she covers her mouth, pulling in a deep breath in an attempt to pull herself together in front of the kids. they were only kids. she was only a kid.

“yes—she—” she clears her throat, wiping at her bare face. “they found her. she’s in a hospital an hour from here. i’m headed there now—”

“i’m going!” garroth interrupts, startling the woman and making her jump in place.

“yes… all of you can come. i’m not even—” she waves them forward, pausing by the mirror and beginning to fix her hair—before shaking her head, footsteps quick as she goes off to the garage door. “just get in the car, boys. i need to call garte…”

all three of the boys follow, the youngest boy pulling out his phone and sending off a text as they scramble for their seats in the suv. zianna’s hands tremble as she starts the key in the ignition.

vylad: they found her.

laurance: wait what?

katelyn: please don’t tell me you’re lying

lucinda: is she okay?

travis: where???

nicole: which hospital???????

dante: are you serious? did they find her just now?

aphmau: she’s at nahakra hospital

teony: can we see her?

laurance: i don’t care i’m going anyway

nana: i’m crying please tell me she’s okay

aphmau: i don’t know there’s no details yet

katelyn: i’m going too

aphmau sent a location.

“mom.” zane’s voice cuts across the near-silent car. “it’s night. you’re driving crazy.”

zianna clears her throat as she slows down, and when garroth glances over she quickly wipes her face again, shaking her head. “i’m sorry boys, i’m just—oh, that poor baby. please, please let her be okay.”

the drive there is a long one, both having stretched on for far too long and blurring together in garroth’s memory as they now sit in the small hospital’s lobby.

“we can’t go see her at all?” sylvanna presses. the poor receptionist who they'd been badgering for the past hour shifts in her seat.

“i’m sorry, ma'am. all i can tell you is that she is alive and stable. but i can’t give you details or let you through unless you’re family.”

“she is family.”

“...i’m sorry. please understand i can’t do anything more until a doctor gives the clear. you can take a seat and have some refreshments until then.”

katelyn sighs, shifting as she glances at the analog clock above her. nana and aphmau let their heads bobble against her shoulders as she moves, hands clutched onto each other, exchanging words of worry that didn’t leave their lips.

12:40 am.

“no, man. they’re not even letting us see her,” laurance mutters into the phone, sighing tensely. “yeah, just come tomorrow if you want… yeah, i’ll text. yeah. bye.”

“was that dante?” aphmau shifts her head, voice quiet.

“yeah. his mom won’t drive him this late and he was trying to get… gene to come back from out of town to get him here.” his lips sour at the name, but he seems too tired to dwell on his own reservations. “...i think teony and lucinda won’t be coming until tomorrow, too.”

“makes sense…” nana rubs her swollen eyes, her nose still red. “the only reason i could come is 'cause aphmau picked me up.”

travis is uncharacteristically quiet, eyes round and knees hugged to his chest as he stares at the adults in the room.

following travis' line of sight, garroth glances over at the receptionist's desk. even his dad was here… his arm wrapped around zianna’s hunched shoulders as they exchanged hushed whispers with travis’s dad and… two people he’d never met before. aphmau had said something about aaron’s parents earlier, seeming confused herself, but why would they be here? or travis’s dad, for that matter… and what could the group of them possibly have so much to talk about so secretly and with such intensity?

“...fuck this. i’m finding something out,” he mutters, earning a questioning look from laurance as he stands from his seat, slowly making his way to the stairway and slipping through the door, thankful for sylvanna’s distraction to the staff.

they mentioned that you're in a room on the third floor. his feet skip every other step as he huffs his way up the flights, stopping at the thin window and glancing inside with narrowed eyes. the coast is clear, so, after catching his breath, he pushes through the door, glancing around the hall. he can hear distant chatter around the corner, and recognizes the familiar cadence of your mom’s voice. a pang of guilt and shame runs through him, his eyes dropping to the tiled floor as he moves closer, listening to her despaired, hitched breaths.

“...yes ma’am. torn ligaments in her feet, a fractured wrist, pretty deep fissures on her whole body… it’s all healed. the stitches pushed out of her skin. i really have no way to explain this except for an ancient magic that hasn’t been used by anyone for a long time. this kind of practice would be…” the doctor clears his throat, pausing. “ah, but… aside from her external injuries, our biggest issue is what came back on her brain scan… and her blood results.”

“what is it?” a gruff voice urges.

“she had large amounts of midazolam in her system. it’s a sedative that can cause some serious issues with hallucinations and memory recollection if abused. judging by the scan, it seems like she had a pretty consistent flow of it, but there’s also not enough information to tell how much she's been affected by it, and how much damage it's done.”

garroth’s mouth curls, hand coming to cover his face as the blood drains from his face.

“and…” the doctor seems to be choosing his words carefully, voice gentle. “there's more. not only was she given large amounts of midazolam, but her brain shows signs that we would see in a person who went through something highly traumatizing. it’s likely she will suffer from dissociative amnesia among other ptsd symptoms. i can’t tell you how she will react when she wakes up, as it varies among each patient… but she will require a lot of psychiatric help. i don’t mean to make this worse, but this is the worst case i’ve ever seen.”

bile rises up garroth’s throat, and he’s forced to swallow as he slides down the sterile, white wall of the hospital hall. another choked weep leaves your mother’s lips, but not before the doctor speaks up again.

“but also…” he hesitates. “while her other injuries mysteriously have been healed, she has strange scarring on the upper half of her arms and legs, as well as a scar along her neck. they’re very precise. it's a quality that, in my personal opinion, one would expect from an experienced doctor… and when she arrived, the outfit she was wearing was a patient’s two-piece with the number three on it. we don’t have much other information as of yet.”

“oh god… this is all our… fault…” your mother incoherently babbles. “my baby… what have i done to you…”

“ma’am…?” the doctor sounds uncomfortable, confused. “i don’t…”

“please just leave us be for a moment.” your dad’s voice cracks.

a quick tap on garroth’s shoulder has the boy jumping out of his skin, whipping his head up to see the scolding face of a nurse peering down at him.

“young man… you know you aren’t supposed to be here,” she says, voice firm but eyes at the very least understanding as she keeps her voice at a whisper. “go back to the waiting room. you’ll get to see her eventually. okay?”

garroth swipes a hand over the back of his neck, the cold sweat making him shiver as he stands. his eyes are glassed over as he nods, stumbling back to the stairwell without another word.

©starhvney 2024. do not plagiarize, feed to any AI, or repost my works to any sites.

tag list: @orinlin @pain-in-the-ashe @youmake1mistake @arienic @wasting-away-on-the-internet @angelhyperfixates @remiechu @valentique @kalegrinch @izzybella1807

[hayleythesugarbowl]

Hi!! I love your friends writing!! I have an idea and it’s totally fine if you don’t like the ideas, but what if Joey and reader broke up, ( he cheated or whatever you want) before all of the friends met. And she gets introduced to him as like one of the others sister/school friend.

The One With the Ex || Joey Tribbiani x reader

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ masterlist • f•r•i•e•n•d•s masterlist ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

summary: after joey cheats on you and breaks your heart in high school, you run into him again years later and find out the past might not be exactly what you thought it was

word count: 3.2k

warnings: presumed cheating, drinking, suggestive material

a/n: hope you enjoy this love and this is what you wanted. i wrote this kinda quick and just went with it so let me know if it’s any good lol!! also i imagine this to take place in s1 but imagine it however you want. enjoy!! 🍒💌

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~°~❦~°~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

      Central Perk.

     You came to a stop before the sign on the front of the coffee shop where Rachel had told you to meet her. 

     You took a deep breath. You were excited to see her after so many years—eight years, to be exact. You were best friends all throughout middle school and part of high school, but then you’d been in different circles and, especially ever since you’d moved out of the state, you had lost touch.

     When she heard you were going to be in New York visiting some family, you both had made plans to see each other and she had suggested here.

     You pushed open the door and saw Rachel, sitting in a chair and sipping from a yellow mug.

     “Rachel?”

     “(Y/n)?” She ran over to you, giving you a big hug. “Wow, you look great!”

     “I could say the same about you,” you said, as she led you to the couch opposite the chair she’d been occupying and you both sat down.

     “So tell me,” she said, “What’s new with you since high school?”

     Where did you even begin? 

     “Well, college,” you started, “and now I’m a—”

     You cut off as you saw someone enter the room. Someone you would recognize anywhere.

     “You ever wonder why restrooms are called restrooms. I mean, you don’t rest in there,” the man said as he walked from the back towards Rachel.

     Joey Tribbiani.

     You hadn’t thought you would ever see him again. Not after all this time. Not after what he did to you.

     But it was definitely him. He had the same hair, the same style, the same swagger that he walked with like he was just so damn attractive.

     And he was so damn attractive, you thought as you looked at him. Curse him. Curse him and his good genes.

     “Hey Joe,” Rachel said, “I’d like to introduce you to my friend, (Y/n).”

     Joey turned to you and his eyes widened. He stared at you for a moment before turning back to Rachel.

     “And (Y/n), this is Joey.”

     “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Joey,” you said, keeping a pleasant expression on your face.

     “The pleasure is all mine,” Joey shook your hand, “(Y/n).”

     “Ok, am I missing something here?” Rachel looked confused, “Do you two know each other?”

     “Yes,” you and Joey said at the same time and Rachel’s brow furrowed.

     “Rach, can I talk to you for a minute?” You said, dragging her away from Joey and towards the other side of the coffee shop.

     “What is he doing here?” you whispered.

     “Joey? He’s a friend of mine, why?”

     “We kind of have a history,” you said, rising a glance over at Joey but he was already sitting down and eating a croissant. Typical.

     “Did you guys used to date or something?” Rachel looked at you.

     “That’s one word for it,” you bit out, “Yes, we dated. Until he cheated on me with Lucinda Figglebottom in senior year of high school.”

     It had been many years since you and Joey had dated. Since you had walked in on him making out with one of your classmates who he swore was just a friend. Since he had broken your heart.

     And you had moved on a long time ago. You had hardly even thought of Joey and what he did to you. Time had made you numb to it as time has a way with doing to all things. 

     But seeing him here, with Rachel. You felt like you were 18 again and you remembered why you had hated him for so many months. 

     And Joey didn’t even look affected, you thought. He had been surprised to see you, sure. But he clearly hadn’t been hurt as you had. Why would he have been when he’s the one who cheated on you?

     “Wow (Y/n), I had no idea—” Rachel said apologetically.

     “How could you have known? It’s fine, it was a long time ago, and we’re all adults here,” you assured her. 

     “Most of us,” you mumbled under your breath. 

     You and Rachel walked over to where Joey was sitting.

     “Well,” Rachel said, “Now that we’ve got the introductions out of the way. (Y/n), you were telling me about your life now.”

     Now that Joey was here listening, you felt the need to exaggerate the better points of your life. That would show him that you were different now from the girl who ran out of the room crying when she found her boyfriend cheating on her and spent the next few months crying until her tear ducts didn’t have any tears left. 

     “My life?” You started, “Oh you know, I travel a lot, when my work allows it. But, I try not to leave my husband and kids in that big house alone for too long. You understand, of course.”

     The fact that you had a house was the only true part of that sentence. Rachel looked at you curiously. 

     “Oh, speaking of work, I have an audition,” Joey said, standing up. You sighed. You were pretty sure he hadn’t even been paying attention to anything you just said.

     “So you’re still acting?” You couldn’t resist, “I assume it’s going better for you than when I knew you?”

     “Yeah, well, I’d better get going,” Joey said, not quite meeting your eye. “It was good seeing you again (Y/n).”

     He stood up and left in a hurry before you could say anything else, and you and Rachel were left alone.

     “Oh my god he’s still in love with you!” Rachel said.

     You spun around, “What?”

     “Did you see the way he looked at you? I mean, he didn’t flirt with you or ask you out or try to look at your backside or anything.”

     You stared at her baffled, “And that means he’s in love with me?”

     Rachel nodded and you shook your head, “No. Trust me. He does not want to get back together with me and I certainly don’t want to get back together with him.”

     You were both silent for a moment before Rachel’s face lip up as she looked like she had an idea, 

     “Hey, why don’t you come to Monica’s birthday party this Saturday. It would give us another chance to catch up and you could meet some of my other friends.”

     “Is Joey going to be there?” You asked her, trying to keep your tone casual.

     Rachel opened her mouth to respond but you cut her off. Why should it matter if Joey was going? You could be in the same room together, for goodness sakes. You weren't going to not go just because Joey might be there.

     “Never mind,” you said, “I’ll be there.”

₊˚ ✧ ‿︵‿୨୧‿︵‿ ✧ ₊˚

     You walked into Rachel and Monica’s apartment that Saturday, feeling better than you had since you’d been in New York again.

     The low cut, tight dress you had picked out and the heels you were wearing made you feel confident. Confident enough to walk in there and not care if you saw Joey or not.

     In fact, you hoped you did see him. Then he could see how moved on you were and how much you didn’t care about him.

     “Hey, (Y/n),” Rachel called, “You remember Monica.”

     Monica walked over and stood next to Rachel. “Hey,” you greeted her, “It’s nice to see you again. And happy birthday.”

     Monica smiled at you, gesturing around the apartment, “Make yourself at home. We have drinks over there and hors d’oeuvres over here.”

     You thanked her and walked with Rachel towards the table with snacks and plates. You caught a flash of blue fabric to your right and you looked there seeing Joey. He was standing with a woman and he had his arm around her shoulders as they laughed about something.

     Joey can date whoever he wants, you thought bitterly. Why should I care?

     “On second thought, let’s go to the drinks table,” you told Rachel.

     She followed your gaze and nodded, walking over with you to pour your drinks. You caught Joey’s eye as you passed by him and his eyes widened as he saw you.

     His gaze trailed down your outfit and then back up to your face before he looked away quickly.

     You would make it though this, you resolved, taking sip of your drink.

     That one drink quickly turned into several, however, and you found yourself feeling lighter than you had all week. 

     You met all of Rachel’s other friends and after she left to go to the bathroom, you walked over to the drink table again and scanned the room for Joey. You didn’t see him and you scolded yourself for looking.

     “Can I make you a drink?” A tall man came up behind you and you smiled up at him.

     “Sure thing,” you slurred as you watched  him pour different alcohols into a glass for you. 

     He made two and then handed you one of them, which you downed very quickly. He grabbed your wrist and led you to a corner of the room that was less populated.

     It took all of three seconds before his hands were on you. An alarm went off in the back of your head but you ignored it. Maybe this was what you wanted. 

     Seeing Joey this week had brought up a lot of bad memories and right now you just wanted to forget. The man you were with began kissing your neck and you saw a gleam in his eye. You knew you should be getting away from him but you couldn’t make yourself. You didn’t want to.

     You let him push you up against the wall and as he brought his lips to yours, you kissed him back. People were looking but you ignored them. You wrapped you arms around him and flipped around so he was against the wall. As the mystery man smiled down at you, he began sliding his hands down your dress and you helped him by fumbling for the zipper on the side and starting to unzip it. You stopped as you felt someone’s presence behind you. 

     “(Y/n), it’s time to go,” Joey came up behind you and you felt his hand on your waist. He discreetly zipped your dress back up. Where did he even come from?

     “Get off me,” you whispered-yelled, turning to face him.

     “(Y/n), you’re very drunk,” he whispered back.

     “So?”

     “Come with me before you do something you regret,” he pulled you away from your corner of the room.

     You scoffed, “Are you sure you’re not just jealous?”

     Joey looked like he wanted to say something else but settled for. “(Y/n), come with me. I’m trying to help you.”

     “I don’t need your help,” you tried to elbow him but he just griped your arm harder and pulled you away.

     “Where are we going?” You spat as he dragged you out of the room and across the hall.

     “My apartment,” Joey said. 

     “No,” you squirmed in his grip, “I don’t want to go anywhere with you.”

     Joey ignored you and opened the door to his apartment, dropping you down on the couch. 

     You stood up in outrage, but your head spun and so you sat back down.

     “Here,” Joey said, handing you a mug of coffee, “drink this.”

     “Why are you doing this?” You tried to figure out amongst the fog in your brain what in the world Joey was thinking. You hadn’t talked or seen each other in years since you broke up—which was his fault— and now he was acting like you were friends. 

     Joey didn’t answer you, just waited until you took a sip of the warm, bitter liquid before walking back into the kitchen and digging in the fridge. 

     “What if I want to go back in there?” You asked him, trying to get his attention.

     “And let that guy stick his tongue down your throat again? He was taking advantage of you, (Y/n).”

     Was he? You couldn’t think. “Why do you care?”

     “Because,” he said, standing up straight and walking over to sit down next to you, “I care about you, (Y/n). Just because things ended…the way they did, doesn’t mean I don’t care about you.”

     “You hurt me, Joey,” you tucked your hair behind your ears. All of a sudden you felt like crying. Yes, the many years that had passed made you numb to his betrayal. But deep down, you still hated him. 

     Joey rubbed the back of his neck. “I know,” was all he said.

     And he looked so sincere. So vulnerable. So much like he had when you were together. God, he was gorgeous, you thought. You leaned in closer to him.

     “You hurt me a lot,” you whispered, closer to his face now. 

     He scooted back, away from you and you closed the distance again.

     You put your hand on his shoulder and he shrugged it off. “(Y/n)—”

     “Do you want to hurt me again?” You were practically on Joey’s lap now. “Then kiss me.”

     You leaned forwards and Joey abruptly stood up. He looked flustered and you wanted him to get back on the couch and kiss you. Kiss you until you stopped being mad at him and you could pretend everything was like it was before.

     “(Y/n), you’ve had a lot to drink. Try to get some rest, ok?” He walked out of the room and you laid your head down on one of the pillows. 

     You wanted him to lay with you and hold you in his arms and—

      What were you thinking? This was Joey Tribbiani, the man who had kissed another woman while you two were dating and had broken your heart. What were you doing thinking of him that way?

     Snap out of it, you told yourself. 

     And then your eyelids drooped and you struggled to keep them open. You gave in and let sleep take you for the night.  

₊˚ ✧ ‿︵‿୨୧‿︵‿ ✧ ₊˚

     You awoke with a start, looking around and blinking sleep from your eyes. You glanced down at your shirt—no, Joey’s shirt. And Joey’s bed. 

     You sat up in horror. Fragments of the night before came back to you. 

     Joey walked in carrying a mug with coffee. Something about it felt vaguely familiar about the past night. He handed it to you and you took it from, griping his forearm.

     “Joey, I’m in your bed.”

     “Yeah,” he said sheepishly, “You fell asleep on the couch but I didn’t want to you be cold so I—”

     “But we didn't—”

     “No, of course not! I would never—” He looked down, “How much do you remember from last night?”

     You strained to recollect anything. The pounding in your head wasn’t making it very easy. “Enough to remember that I made a fool of myself.”

     And forced myself on you.

     “That’s not—,” he started, “well, I wouldn’t say you made a fool of yourself.”

     “Oh god,” you ran your fingers through your tangled hair, “of all the things that could’ve happened. Waking up in the bed of the man I’m supposed to hate!”

     Supposed to hate. You realized it after you said it. You’d thought you despised Joey. You did. But all you could remember was Joey brining you back to his apartment last night and saving your butt. Another memory came back. 

     “I should thank you,” you told him, “Y’know, for rescuing me.”

     Joey shrugged, “I would have done it for anyone I cared about.”

     You were so confused. Confused about how you felt about Joey and how he could be acting so kind right now when he had been such a jerk to you.

     You supposed people changed. It was a long time ago, and you knew that. But you had to know why. 

     You couldn’t believe you were about to ask this. But after all that had happened in the past 24 hours, you had courage enough to manage a weak, “Why, Joey?”

     “Well, when you know someone really well—”

     “No, not that,” you said, “I meant all those years ago. Why?”

     Joey sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. 

     “(Y/n), if you’re talking about why we broke up—”

     “Why we broke up?” Your voice rose. Just when you were starting to soften towards him for helping you. “You mean why you cheated on me?”

     “Let me explain,” he said, calmly, “Lucinda and I really were just friends.”

     “Is that what you told yourself after you made out with her? I’d say you were really good friends.”

     Joey continued. “She had just broken up with her ex and so she asked me as a friend, to kiss her so he’d get jealous and want to get back with her. Her ex was supposed to walk through that door, not you. But I promise, we were always just friends. I was just helping her out. I would’ve asked you, but she was so embarrassed about it that she didn’t want anyone to know.”

     Wow. What were you even supposed to say to that? If that was true then… 

     “But, why didn’t you say anything?” 

     “You didn’t really give me the chance,” he confessed. You supposed he was right. After you’d caught him with Lucinda you’d ran away and avoided him in any way you could.  You’d never come into contact with him again until a week ago.

     “But if I’d have known—” you broke off, “I was in love with you Joey.”

     “I felt really bad for screwing things up,” he said, “I loved you too and I missed you a lot afterwards. But I didn’t know what to do and so I just let you get away. It’s the biggest regret I’ll ever have.”

     “It’s not your fault Joey,” you said, “It was a misunderstanding and that’s that. I can’t believe I hated you for so many years.”

     “God, if I could just go back,” Joey said.

     “Maybe we don’t have to,” you looked up at him.

     “If you’re saying we should kiss right now, then I definitely agree,” Joey smirked and you laughed.

     You leaned towards him and brought his lips to yours. It had been a while since you’d done this, with Joey or anybody. It wasn’t perfect but it was exactly what you wanted. You pulled away, smiling. 

     “I’ve been wanting to do this since the moment I saw you in Central Perk,” Joey admitted. 

     “Really?” You said, teasing. “Creep.”

     “It is not my fault you’re that gorgeous, (Y/n).”

     “You’re not bad yourself,” you said, kissing him again.

     “So, while you’re in New York, maybe I could take you out sometime? Again.” Joey added.

     “I’d like that a lot.”

     You were thrilled. You had gone from hating Joey to kissing him in his bed. What a wild week. You knew that a lot of time had passed since your’s and Joey’s relationship and it would take some time to get to know each other again. But you wanted to do it. You wanted to make up for the time your missed when you could have been together.

     “We should tell Rachel about this,” you said, “She’ll probably be ecstatic. She had this crazy idea that you were still in love with me after all these years.”

     Joey looked into your eyes, brushing the hair back from your face.

     “I don’t think it’s that crazy, (Y/n). I don’t think it’s crazy at all.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~°~❦~°~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ˋ°•*⁀➷ hope you enjoyed this!! tysm to @hopefulinlove for requesting this!! always love writing for joey. have a lovely day <3🍓🩰

[carolmunson]

thinking about the orange colored sky verse but maybe sorta sad. (james taylor’s cover of ‘walking my baby back home referenced, a good cozy listen.)

something in my chest tells me that peach starts to deal with some post-partum depression after baby lu is born. lucinda is a colicky baby, where gwen was weirdly easy despite some longer sleep training.

eddie doesn’t catch it at first, thinking the lack of sleep from having a newborn and a four and a half year old to deal with is just weighing on both of you. snippy, argumentative. never going to bed together anymore. never spending time alone. he thought you just got quiet cause you were always tired. you’d spend extra long in the bathroom. robotic when you made dinner - and you’d barely even eat. you’d opt to sleep on the couch while gwen played barbie’s with her aunt and uncle.

it’s not until one night he wakes up from lucy crying on the baby monitor that he gets it. with his glasses on he looks at the screen, you’re already in there bouncing lu on your hip. but it’s not just lu that’s crying.

“please, please go to sleep baby,” you beg, sniffling, “please. i’m so sorry you don’t feel good. i’m sorry if i did this. i’m so sorry.”

ed frowns, slowly getting up from the bed and putting his slides on before padding down the hall to the nursery. your face wet with tears, matching the baby in your arms.

“here, i’ll take her sweetheart,” he soothes, offering his arms. you give him the baby, where some rhythmic bounces and some soft singing puts her right to sleep. so easy with her dad for some reason.

once the baby is back down in her crib, he guides you back to the bedroom and keeps the light off. when the door closes he steps in front of you, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

“we’re gonna go to the doctor tomorrow, okay?” he says softly, “we’ll see if the lovebirds can watch the kids and we’ll talk to the doctor.”

“i’m…i’m trying my best,” you choke out, “i feel like a bad mom.”

“you’re not a bad mom,” he assures, arms wrapping around you to pull you to his chest, “don’t say that peach. you’re such a great mom.”

“she hates me,” you blurt out, a deep seated sob cracking front your chest.

“oh, no, no, babe,” he whispers into your temple, “shh-shh-shh, no she doesn’t. no one hates you. you’re doing such a good job.”

eddie chastises himself for not catching on sooner, for letting you hurt like this for the past couple of months without even realizing. he feels his own heart sink when he holds you close to him. because of course you’re a good mom, and an amazing wife and partner — maybe he wasn’t telling you that enough. maybe he hasn’t been supportive enough.

“do-do you still love me?” you ask snottily, looking up at him with wet eyes.

“peach,” he whispers down at you, wiping a tear from your cheek with the back of his fingers, “i’ll stop loving you when i’m dead. and even then, i don’t even know if that’s enough.”

you laugh a little, a weak smile stretching your cheeks, “you’re so corny sometimes, it’s embarrassing.”

“it’s good to know you’re already feeling more like yourself,” he teases back, leaning down to kiss you, “but we’re going to the doctor tomorrow, yeah?”

you nod, breaking away from each other so you can both crawl back into bed at the same time. and it had been a long time. his arms snake around you, humming the same song he hummed to lu, the same song he’d hum to gwen, the same song he’d hum around the apartment in New York after a good date night. after you ‘said yes’. all the good parts. and they were all good parts.

“after i kind of straighten my tie, she has to borrow my comb,” he sings soft, a barely audible melody, “one kiss then, we continue again. walkin’ my baby back home. i’m just walkin’ my baby, back home.”

[athzhowakar]

Queen of Hidden Evils (Chapter II)

✒️ Maegor × Toxic OC wife

✒️ Summary: Lord Rosby has accepted King Maegor's marriage proposal for his widowed sister. The Rosbys arrive at the Red Keep for the wedding. Rhaena sees Maegor's new wife and feels that she needs a taste of her uncle's new wife too. (Wedding & bedding ceremony)

✒️ Trigger warning: Mature content

✒️ Previous part: Chapter I

Red Keep:

The sound of carriages and horses approached the gates of the Red Keep. The carriages finally arrived and the travellers stepped out. The herald announced, “Lord Jon Rosby and Lady Elinor Rosby, the Lord and the Lady of Rosby. Lord Rosby's sister, Lady Lucinda Rosby and his niece, Lady Prunella Stokeworth.”

The guests saw a young silver haired lady standing there to welcome them. She was dressed in a purple silk gown. The lavish dress and the ornaments made it easier for them to recognise her.

Rhaena did not really want to welcome them but Maegor insisted that she should. So as it was planned, Rhaena stood there along with her ladies-in-waiting and watched the newly arrived guests with the eyes of a hawk.

Rhaena did not know how to feel about Lucinda. Her uncle had married several women besides herself. She found Ceryse to be rather stubborn and Alys was an adulteress who tried to betray none other than Maegor himself. Tyanna was an evil sorceress and Jeyne seemed rather uninteresting. Elinor seemed to be full of hatred while lacking courage to kill Maegor herself.

However, Lucinda was not like any of them. Rhaena wondered how she must have felt when she became the cause of her husband's death and why she remained unmarried for so many years.

Rhaena saw Lucinda walking towards her. She had worn a black gown and a grey headdress which was studded with rubies. It was an odd combination of colours but nevertheless, it looked good on her. Lady Lucinda, a woman of eight and twenty years of age, was way older than Rhaena and Elinor, the only surviving wives of Maegor. There was no hint of child-like innocence on her round face. However, she was extremely beautiful in a way that no one else was. “Where was she hiding all these years?” Rhaena wondered.

Soon enough, Rhaena and Lucinda were standing face-to-face. Lucinda greeted Rhaena with a curtsy and a smile on her face.

“Your admirers don't do justice to your beauty, My Lady,” Rhaena said.

Lucinda laughed and said, “You flatter me, Your Grace. My beauty will go begging in front of your youthful face and beauty.”

Rhaena instructed one of the servants to show the guests, their chambers. She then walked to Maegor's chamber and found him wiping the sweat off his body.

Maegor looked at her and smirked. “I was sparring in the training yard. If I had known that my wife was looking for me, I would have returned earlier,” he said.

Rhaena sighed and replied, “I came here to tell you that the Rosbys have arrived. And Uncle, I saw her.”

“Whom?” Maegor asked.

“Lucinda Rosby,” Rhaena replied.

Maegor placed a necklace on her neck and kissed her ears saying, “Do not fuck her before I do.”

Rhaena snapped at him, “What makes you think that I am going to do that?”

In response, Maegor said no word and kissed Rhaena on her lips.

The wedding took place a week later. It was attended by all the Lords and Ladies of the Seven Kingdoms.

The ceremony took place in the Grand Sept atop Visenya's Hill. When it was time for the ceremony, Lucinda and Maegor stood in front of each other. Lord Rosby removed his sister's cloak and Maegor placed a cloak of his own house colours her shoulders. They took their vows and the septon declared them man and wife.

The wedding feast however, took place in the Red Keep. It was a grand feast with meat of seven kinds, fishes of five kinds and wine of eight kinds. Lucinda sat quietly at the high table beside Maegor and ate only lamb meat. Maegor noticed that his wife did not even drink a single sip of wine. He was curious but still, he did not exchange any word with her during the feast.

Rhaena seemed to be more excited about this wedding than Maegor himself. Maegor knew the reason even if others didn't. As the feast ended, she announced, “My Lords and Ladies, now it is time for the bedding ceremony.”

Everyone started shouting, “Bed them! Bed them! Bed them!”

Rhaena announced, “My Lords, you may escort Queen Lucinda to the King's chamber. My Ladies can help the King. His Grace is more than willing to go if beautiful ladies call him.”

Maegor did not know whether he was supposed to feel embarrassed or angry at Rhaena's words.

The Lords were afraid of touching Lucinda. Who knows what might incur the wrath of Maegor the Cruel? So they just accompanied her as she walked towards Maegor's chamber.

The Ladies weren't interested in disrobing Maegor either. However, Rhaena seemed unnaturally enthusiastic about that. She joked about Ser Bennard Stokeworth, Lucinda's dead husband and his paramour's death as she pinched Maegor and took off his clothing one by one.

Finally, Maegor entered his chamber in only his pants and found his fully dressed wife standing in front of him.

“The Lords weren't interested in disrobing you, it seems,” Maegor remarked.

“Mayhaps it is because, the last man who saw me naked died,” Lucinda replied with a straight face.

Maegor was slightly disturbed by that. With an awkward smile, he said, “And the women who see me naked stay alive all the time. That might have encouraged the ladies to disrobe me.”

With a scary smile on her face, which widened as she approached Maegor, Lucinda asked, “Did it really?”

“Mayhaps,” Maegor replied.

He held his wife's waist and pulled her closer. Lucinda made him sit at the edge of the bed. Then she sat on his lap. Maegor pulled her face closer by holding her chin and kissed her lips. The reciprocal was fierce and Lucinda managed to bite his lower lips and draw blood.

Lucinda's left hand glided on Maegor's bare back. Her right hand was playing with the hair on his chest.

“You seem to like my chest hair a lot,” Maegor said.

“I have never seen anyone with silver chest hair before,” Lucinda replied.

Maegor slowly untied the laces of his wife's gown. Once he was done, he was met with the sight of her milky white teats with pink nipples. Lucinda bit her lips as he began to play with her nipples.

Seeing that, Maegor squeezed her teats which made her gasp. He did that again and she bit his ear and then kissed it. She tried to stand up but Maegor pulled her back to his lap.

“Not so soon, my little berry,” Maegor said.

He started sucking her nipples and Lucinda could not stop herself from moaning. He then placed her on the bed and pulled off her gown completely. She was then fully naked in front of him. He touched the stretch marks on her belly and licked her navel.

Her cunt was properly shaved. However, Maegor could see some tiny sprouts of hair from which he could deduce that her cunt hair was black just like the hair on her head. He pinched the clitoris which made Lucinda scream.

“Your Grace! It hurts!” she screamed.

“Pleasure comes after pain, my little berry. Have patience,” he replied, laughing.

He teased it as she kept wriggling and after sometime, she shot her fluids right at him. Lucinda took heavy breaths. Maegor then left her clitoris which was sore by this point. He then proceeded to put one finger inside her cunt. It slid inside very easily. That one finger was followed by two more. Lucinda grabbed the bedsheet and her nails bore holes into it as Maegor moved his fingers in and out of her cunt. She reached her peak once again. She felt Maegor taking out the three fingers that were inside. She had thought that it was over but just then, Maegor inserted his entire hand into her cunt. She screamed so loudly that it almost burst Maegor's eardrums. But he did not care. He continued to do what he was doing. Soon enough, his wife reached her peak once again and shot a load of fluid right at him.

By this time, Maegor's bed looked so wet that a man would assume that someone had urinated on it.

Maegor took off his pants and let out his cock which looked like a snake which was ready to bite. His cock was painfully hard. He thrust it inside Lucinda's cunt and kept moving it in and out. He lifted her legs and put them on his shoulders for better access. Within no time, his wife reached her peak. Maegor tightened his grip on her thighs and quickened his pace. Lucinda had no control of her throat anymore. Her sounds of pleasure were echoing in the corridors. She screamed as she peaked again.

Maegor loosened his grip a little and taking advantage of that, she tried to pull down her legs from his shoulders. But Maegor tightened his grip, not letting her move. He kept thrusting her as deeper as he reached his own peak of pleasure and spilled his seeds into her womb. Lucinda stayed still so that his seeds may take root.

..

..

..

..

To be continued

[xyxofspades]

LAURCINDA ENJOYERRRR

i haven’t thought about laurcinda in ages…but they have honestly so much chemistry. specifically in mcd ofc. like the whole witch/sk double whammy combo?! also their sassy personalities?!!!!!!

YEAHHHH THEY JUST HAVE SUCH A DYNAMIC I CANT EXPLAIN IT

When Aph was out fumbling around the wolf tribe in her owl disguise he and Lucinda started talking across the jail cells. She’s one of the only women he’s ever met who could meet his banter and then exceed at it. What a woman. He’s never really had it thrown back in his face with such vigor and honestly? He’s here for it. It’s fun.

They both think they’ll more than likely never see each other again after they leave but later back in Phoenix Drop- what the hell is that rumbling and oh my god there’s a big tower here now what the hell? Lucinda????

Garroth goes to give her a stern talking to about doing…. Whatever it is she did but Laurence somehow convinces him to let him go talk to her instead. Laurence gives her a stern talking to of his own but the conversation naturally ends up into the two of them bantering again. (“You can’t park here.” “Park my tower?” “Yeah, you can’t park your tower here.” “So where can I park my… tower?”)

They hang out a lot after work. Either at the tavern or at the town square, sometimes the docks.

Laurence asks her about her magic one day while she has him helping her in her lab (which is really just him handing her stuff off the shelves). She replies with “What, no magic of your own?” fully able to feel Shad’s influence in his veins.

“Well it’s not mine.”

“Who’s to say?”

“What?”

“It was given to you. Who said it’s not yours now?”

That’s all they say for now, the rest of the evening spent in comfortable silence. They do talk about it again in more depth at a later date. Probably over drinks.

Lucinda tells him about the family that disowned her and how they rekindled their bond. Laurence tells her about the family he lost. Lucinda tells him about her past engagement. They both crack insane jokes at Zane’s expense now, not in Garroth’s presence, of course.

Oh also

Lucinda, left. Laurence, right

[luckyjiii]

a vampire's kiss {l.z.}

WORDCOUNT - 6.1k

Paring - frat!Laurance Zvhal x reader

tw/cw- alcohol, thigh riding, fingering, oral (m and f), protected sex, edging, sorta softdom!laurance, facial, pet names, marking, biting, very minor hair pulling, multiple orgasms, pussydrunk!laurance, dumbification

Not grammar checked sorry! >~<

Halloween was just around the corner. In the college town that meant children trick-or-treating, spooky decorations being hung up, and the town’s Halloween festival. However, for the students of Falcon Claw university, this meant many parties. The week before Halloween was like any other for you, classes, going home, hanging out with all your friends, especially your best friend Travis, then rinse, and repeat. 

Travis and you arrived at class early to find your favorite seat and to talk with some privacy. “Soooo y/n..My frat is gonna have this totally epic party this weekend and I think you should come!” He was always too energetic in the mornings. “Hmm well are there going to be any vampires there?” Travis raised an eyebrow at you and gave you a look of confusion.

You leaned in and whispered into his ear as more students walked in. “Travis I have a thing for vampire, if there’s one there I’ll fuck them.” Travis’ jaw dropped and he whipped his head towards you letting out a gasp. “Y/N! You naughty girl!” He laughed at you and as the teacher walked in. He knew exactly who he had to tell about this.

Laurance arrived at the frat house and headed to his shared room with Garroth as he passed Travis and you leaving Travis’ room. He didn’t know what was going on between you two. The two of you claimed to be best friends but knowing Travis, he wasn’t sure how he could only be friends with someone as beautiful as you. 

He heard the front door close and Travis peeked around the corner. “Laurancee you’ll never guess what good news y/n told me!” He said in a sing-songy voice that never failed to annoy Laurance. “So you know how you like her?” Laurance’s eyes widened at that. 

“How did you know what Travis..?” Travis scoffed and gave him a mischievous smile. “You don’t try hard to hide it. I see you making heart eyes at her everytime she comes over but anyways, she said she’d get with anyone dressed as a vampire if you know what I mean. Just wanted to tell you!” He winked as he ran off. Sometimes Laurance wondered what was wrong with that boy. Also though..he would keep that in mind.

Inside one of the bathrooms of the frat was Laurance, Aphmau dressed as a purple werewolf, and Lucinda dressed as some anime character that nobody could name off the top of their head. He sat on the toilet lid in his vampire costume as Aphmau carefully did his makeup. “Laurance, stay still!! The makeup is gonna get on your clothes!!” He wasn’t used to getting makeup put on him and the brush Aphmau was using to make him look paler tickled. “Yeah, don’t mess up the costume I made you. Why’d you ask for it and for us to help you on such short notice?” Lucinda questioned while tilting his head. Honestly he felt a little foolish doing all this for you but I’d be worth it. 

“Y/N said she likes vampires!” Travis interjected as he peeked his head into the bathroom and flashed a cheeky smile. He then quickly left before any questions could be asked. Aphmau let out a more exaggerated gasp than Lucinda as they both asked. “You like y/n?” He nodded his head before a quick careful was yelled at him. “Laurance why didn’t you tell us we could have helped! You know I’m like the matchmaker!” The ravenette scolded him.

He sighed before he spoke. “I just didn’t want everyone to know. Can you help me?” Aphmau squealed as the two girls agreed to. Finishing up his makeup, Aphmau added small designs to make him look, in her words, like a sexier Edward Cullen. He looked in the mirror to see and even he had to admit he looked more handsome than usual.

After putting on his cape and parting ways from the girls was the final part of his look, the fangs he ordered online. He didn’t really understand the hype of vampires but from what he had seen online and asked, girls liked the appeal of danger and getting bitten. Putting them in he felt a bit silly again and really questioned if this was all worth it. His thoughts were interrupted by his roommate Garroth. 

“Bro you look good but I thought you were gonna be Ghostface?” He sat on the bed next to him and smiled. “Ah man change of plans, you look right at home as a cowboy.” Laurance laughed as his worries went to the back of his mind. If he was like this for the rest of the party and just stopped worrying so much tonight would go smoothly. 

Garroth got up from the bed and motioned him to follow as the party was about to start. Some people were already there but it was about to hit full swing. Aphmau and Lucinda waved him over as he came down stairs to talk about their plan.He saw Travis slip out right before the clock hit nine, where waves of many people filed into the house. He tried to look at the people coming in but none of them were you.

You arrive at the party well after it was in full swing. You were still on the fence about going until Travis appeared at your front door. “Y/N there’s a vampire waiting for you at the party!” After that you threw together a slutty sleeping beauty costume, which really consisted of a short pink dress with some white and gold accents and a crown on your head. 

Now at the party you didn’t really know what to do. Aphmau was talking to you but you were scanning the crowd for your vampire. Travis was pushing through the crowd to find you. “Y/N! Mr. Vampire is over there!!” He yelled barely enough to hear over the music while pointing. 

You turned your head to see a tall sandy haired man talking to Lucinda. A black cape was draped over his long figure. You saw him turn his head towards your direction to see that your Mr. Vampire was Laurance, one of Travis’ friends. 

Laurance had caught your eye over the time you had known the group, never being too close to each other. He was handsome with his blue eyes that reminded you of the ocean. His olive skin always looked like he had just gotten away from the beach. The warm smile he always gave you in the brief moments you talked. The way he smelled, and your favorite thing, the intense gaze he had when you two met eyes during group hangouts. 

Now in his costume you couldn't see the warm guy you had grown to kinda know, but you would be lying if you said he didn't look good. The white

makeup made his skin paler but you wondered if you could make him sweat it off. The blood around his mouth made his lips pop out more, they looked soft. 

You took a sip of your drink for courage and started to head your way to him. “Laurance she's coming this way, take this." Lucinda put a vile labeled ‘liquid confidence’ into his hand and walked away. He popped it open and chugged it, feeling an additional sense of self-assurance he felt a tap on his arm. 

He turned around to see you. He was stunned at how gorgeous you looked. All doubts he had before were long forgotten as the off the shoulder dress led his eye directly to your cleavage. He glanced down and noticed just how short the dress was, stopping mid thigh. He let out a wow under his breath. 

“Hey, your Laurance right? Wanna dance with me?” You leaned in so that you wouldn't have to yell. He nodded as you grabbed his hand and led him to the dance floor. This being your first party in forever and always only dancing with your friends you weren't sure how to even dance together. 

Your feelings of indecisiveness melted away under the feeling of warm hands on your hips from behind you. Turning to see him, Laurance pulled you closer and started to sway your hips to the beat of the song. He leaned down to whisper in your ear. 

“You look really pretty tonight princess.” It was so simple but something as simple as that turned you on much more than you'd like to admit. The minutes and songs blurred together as dancing with him was the only thing that mattered at the moment. 

However it couldn't last forever and he offered to get a drink before dancing more. Waiting outside the packed kitchen for him to return, Aphmau approached you. “Hii y/n!!! I saw you dancing with Laurance!" She said, raising her eyebrows in a knowing way. 

“Isn't he just the besttt? He's sooo cool and a really really good guy. You guys would be super duper cute together.” You nodded giggling as she spoke, sounding very drunk. It wasn't long after more babbling about Laurance that she was pulled away by Aaron and Laurance came back. 

      “Hey princess, ready to get back to dancing?” He said while you turned to face him and he handed you a drink. His back was facing the light coming from the kitchen and was only illuminated by the flashing party lights. This is the first time tonight you had really gotten a good look at him, and maybe you thought this because you had been deprived of sex for so long, but if the room wasn’t full of people now you would’ve jumped into his arms and begged him to fuck you, but that wouldn’t be happening, at least for now.

“Are you calling me princess because you don’t remember my name??” You asked, trying to tease seeing if this confidence was just an act. However you were quickly proven wrong as he pulled you close to him. Your head was pushed against his chest as he whispered into your ear. “Y/N I could never forget the name of a beauty like you.”

A heat crept over your whole body, he had such a way with words. He loosened his grip on you so he could look at you, but kept his arms wrapped around your waist. He leaned down making your faces inches away from each other. “Princess can I..?”

The moment was interrupted by the two of you getting bumped by someone, after all you were still standing by one of the entrances to the kitchen. “OH MY IRENE I’m so sorry Y/N-chan and Laurance-kun!!!” Kawaii-chan, in a pink anime costume you couldn’t bother to recognize, apologized. 

“Kitty watch where you’re going!” Behind her was one of the other boys from the frat that you thought was her boyfriend, Zane. He was dressed completely the opposite of her in a grim reaper costume. Which would be funny seeing them together if they hadn’t just ruined your kiss. “It’s fine Kawaii-Chan.” Laurance said with some annoyance in his voice. She apologized again and ran off with Zane outside. 

Although the mood was ruined, your feelings for him at that moment were not. If he was to just steal a quick kiss and go back to dancing with you it would be enough in your opinion, even though you and him both know you want more. Before anything else could happen Travis placed a hand on your shoulder. 

“Heyyy y/n! You having fun??” You could tell he was slightly drunk by the slurring of his speech. “You don’t mind if I take her rightt Laurance??” He said, pulling you away before the other could say anything. Why was everyone trying to disrupt you two right as things were getting good?

“Travis what the fuck! Why’d you pull me away?? We were about to kiss..” You said super annoyed at the second distraction tonight. All you wanted to do was make what you told Travis come true with a super hot vampire. You rolled your eyes as he realized what he did.

“Oh my IRENE I did not mean to..Well my bestest friend have fun.. But not too much fun!” He pushed you back into Laurance’s direction. Pushing through the crowd you could barely see him, not because Travis took you far, but because lots of party goers decided to migrate to the kitchen to get drinks. It’s like the universe was trying to keep you apart right now.

You felt a hand grab your wrist, it was Laurance after he saw you and decided to just head your way. He pulled you through the crowd towards the stairs. He muttered something under his breath before being stopped mid crowd. This time it was Garroth and Laurance let out a very annoyed groan.

“What is it Garroth?” Garroth opened his mouth to say something but he saw you trailing behind Laurance and closed it again. He thought for a second before whispering something to Laurance that you couldn’t hear. All you saw was the annoyance washing off Laurance and him nodding his head. “3:30..ok got it.” He repeated back.

You didn’t know what that was about but you did notice Laurance switch from holding your wrist to your hand, which made your face heat up. As he continued to lead you up the stairs you peeked into the crowd and saw Travis winking and giving you a thumbs up, you laughed and winked back. Leading you through the less crowded hallway you saw many doors closed and some people you knew in the cracks of slightly open doors.

Finally at the end of the hall you arrived at Laurance’s room. You had seen most of the other rooms except for this one, which was the one you were most curious about. Would his side of the room be clean and mature like him? Or maybe you would see that he’s super nerdy and the opposite of what you’ve expected.

The door opened and you were pulled into the room. You looked around and honestly it was nothing too special , green sheets on the bed, some posters of things he liked. Being so busy inspecting his room you didn’t notice him let go of your wrist and the door closing made you jump, he had also shed his cape and red suit vest leaving him in his white button up and black pants. He let out a chuckle which just made you all fuzzy inside. Seriously, how had he not had a girlfriend by now?

“Finally I’ve got you to myself.” He said as he hugged you from behind. His embrace was warm and comforting, you could get used to this. “Princess, I really like you.” He said turning you around and leaning down to eye level. “Can I..?” You didn’t even know what to say, it’s like all the words you’d ever known disappeared from your brain, you thought this would be a one night stand but him saying those words gave you hope for more. With a blank mind you just nodded your head yes.

He closed the gap between you two and it felt like fireworks were going off in your stomach. You had thought about this moment in passing maybe once or twice but never thought it would actually happen, or even be this good. He placed one hand on the back of your head and tightened the one around your waist to deepen the kiss. You tangled your hands into his slicked back sandy hair messing it up as he slipped his tongue into your mouth. 

Without noticing he started to lead you towards his bed. You became aware of this when the back of your knees hit the edge of the bed. You fell backwards onto the bed without breaking the kiss. As the kiss went on the needier and sloppier it got. He switched the positions to where you were now placed on one of his thighs as he sat on the edge of the bed. 

Both of his hands were placed on your hips and helped you gently rock back and forth. You gasped, breaking the kiss for the first time since you locked lips. You laid your forehead on his shoulder as you let out small, quiet moans directly into his ear. You let out a remarkably loud moan as he bit into your exposed neck with his fangs. He bit in a number of other spots on your neck a few more times before starting to suck leaving small marks around your neck. 

You wrapped your arms around him the best you could to stabilize yourself to speed up. The feeling of the fabric of your panties and his jeans rubbing against your clit was addicting. As it continued you start to feel arousal bubbling and a burn in your thighs from moving yourself.

Slowing down as you felt yourself wearing out Laurance bit you neck again and stopped moving, making you yelp and whine from a lack of friction. “C’mon princess don’t give up on me now, I know you're close I can hear it.” He said as he sped up the movements of his hands again. You were falling apart in his hands like putty, and you prayed to Irene that it wouldn’t be the last time.

You don’t know how much more of this you could take. Between his fluctuating speed of moving you, all the marks he was leaving on you, and the praises he gave you you were teetering on the edge of an orgasm. You were thankful your moans were drowned out from everyone else at the party with the blaring, but muffed for you, music. 

Everytime you signaled your peak to Laurance he slowed you down making you whine again. It happened more times than you could count as your head spinned with the intoxicating cycle till you couldn’t take it anymore.

“Laurance please” You whined, just a little bit more and you would’ve cum but now your orgasm had been ruined “Please don’t stop again please” You begged him lifting your head from his shoulder and looking at him with watery eyes. The cocky smile he had dropped and a worried look appeared on his face. He captured you into a tight embrace.“I’m so sorry princess you sounded so pretty I couldn’t help it, you ok?” You nodded sniffling, as your face fell back into his shoulder. 

He let you go and held your hips again tightly, this time determined to make you cum. He started moving you again, building up his pace. You held him tight as you scratched his back through his shirt leaving marks that stung. The familiar feeling of pleasure starting to boil over had appeared. All you could do was tap his back to warn him before your orgasm washed over you like a tsunami, you swore you saw stars.

When you came back from the high you released him from the tight squeeze you didn’t realize you had stuck him in. “Don't let go now, we're just getting started." He said as he laid you down onto the bed. 

He lowered himself until you couldn't see head below your skirt. He licked a strip over your clothed pussy as you let out a whine. He pulled down your panties with his teeth making direct eye contact with you. 

He threw them somewhere behind him. Nervousness and arousal bubbled in your stomach as his fangs grazed your thigh. He licked another stripe into your wet fold. His tongue flicking your sensitive clit sent waves of pleasure flowing through your body. 

You tangled your fingers into his hair, messing it up more than you already had. You pulled him closer and spread your legs wider. His tongue poked at your hole, making your legs shake. Being so sensitive from your prior orgasm you were sent over the edge by him sucking and flicking his tongue over your clit. He licked up everything you gave him as you rode out another orgasm on his face. 

He lifted his head, seeing that all the makeup around his mouth to chin had been smudged in some parts and completely washed off in others. The only cohesive part of it was that it was shiny from your juices. Your head was just spinning from the sight of this. 

“Ready to give up yet princess?” He said with a smirk. He just couldn't get enough of you, if you would let him he would've stayed between your legs forever drinking up every sweet drop you gave him. But you both wanted something more satisfying than that. 

You shook your head in disagreement. Giving up and ending this was the last thing you wanted to to, especially since there was no guarantee for a next time. Even though you were weak, you grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him up towards your face to kiss him again. Locking lips, you could taste yourself but honestly you didn’t mind.

His hands roamed your body until his left found a place on your boob and his right went under your dress. You gasped and moaned into the kiss as two of his fingers entered you. Your back arched as your chest hit his. You moaned out his as he sped up the pace of his fingers.

His fingers curled and hit just the right spot, it was like he knew your body like the back of his hand. “L-Laurance…please” You gasped out, he hummed in response too occupied with moving his finger to actually speak. With every movement a loud wet squelch could be heard. Your head started to spin with all the pleasure you had felt within the last hour.

You had completely forgotten what you were going to say to him as you lost the ability to speak long ago but it’s like he knew what you were going to say. “After this just one more ok princess?” You nodded weakly, his fingers made you lose all strength you had ever had. Each time he moved his fingers in and out of you, another orgasm threatened to spill out of you. 

You squeezed him tight again as you came, unable to count how many times this has happened. As you panted heavily he rolled over next to you leaning against the headboard of the bed, giving you some time to breathe. “Can you give me one more y/n?” You lazily nodded, however you wanted to return the favor before that.

You reached for his pants and sluggishly struggled a couple times to take them off due to your shaking hands. He smiled at your desperation and helped you by quickly unbuttoning them and pulling them and his boxers off, throwing them somewhere with the rest of the rest of the disregarded clothes. He looked absolutely tasty only in his button up and with his fanged smile. Looking at his dick you practically drooling as you grabbed it. Quickly you shuffled to be in between his legs and licked the precum off his tip. He let out a groan as you sucked it and slowly started to bob your head up and down his length. 

Whatever didn’t fit into your mouth was in your hand, which was moving in unison with your head. He thought just giving you pleasure and hearing you moan was enough, but this was his own personal heaven. He held the hair falling into your face back as he let out more delicious sounds. Praises fell from his lips like a prayer giving you an incentive to quicken your pace. 

Even though this was mostly for him you deeply enjoyed it as well. You loved hearing all the sounds and praises he let slip out from his soft lips. You also loved that now he was falling apart just as you had not too long ago. It was the confidence boost you needed to deep throat him and swallow around him. He pulled you up by the hair making you let out a moan as his nut landed on your face.

“Sorry princess, you just look so pretty with it on your face.” He said between pants. You swiped your thumb over the slit to gather some cum as he reached into his side drawer to grab a condom, making a small groan come out from his mouth. He looked back to see you eating what you had collected on your finger and a heat spread across his body.

You watched with careful eyes as he ripped the condom package open and slid it onto his dick. He leaned to give you a quick kiss one last time before pulling you from out between his legs. You positioned yourself gripping on his shoulders  and slowly lowered yourself onto him, wincing in pain as you slowly sank down. He had done his best to stretch you out with everything before but, his dick was bigger than his fingers. You buried your face into his chest, smearing his cum onto his shirt, you felt so full.

You let out a breath and gave him a signal to start moving. He thrusted upwards into you as he held your hips tightly to keep you somewhat still. He didn’t waste any time quicking speeding his pace. “God y/n, you don’t know how long I’ve been waiting to do this.” He moaned out. All you could do was reply with a muffled moan, that wasn’t muffled just quite enough and he could still clearly hear and he thanked Irene he could.

Every thrust into you he could feel your boobs bounce against him which egged him on more. He had fucked all the sense out of you and you let him use you as essentially a sex toy. All you could think of and say in the moment was him and his name. You had unbuttoned, or better described as ripped off the first couple of buttons on his shirt to feel more of his warmth. You melted under every single one of his touches. 

The constant drag of him against your walls was almost too much for you to handle. He overwhelmed all your senses, you felt him all over, his cologne hit your nose every once in a while, all you could hear or think of was him,  and the taste of him lingering on your tongue. At this point he was slamming into you and every slam would release a loud moan from the both of you. The room was filled with the sound of skin slapping and the  sounds of sex that you would definitely hear and make pretty obvious what was going on if you stood outside the door.

A multitude of orgasms had hit you but you just couldn’t get enough. Everytime he would even consider slowing down you begged him not to. The sense of time or space had long been gone for you two. Everything blurred together and the only thing keeping you grounded was the constant pleasure running through Your veins. Your head began spinning again from pleasure and you couldn’t hold yourself up anymore, folding and putting all your weight against him. “Just one more ok y/n?” He said in a smooth, chocolatey voice that you just couldn’t resist and let out a sound in agreement. 

He switched positions once again to have you lay under him after noticing how weak you were. He began to move again and a few quick thrusts almost sent you over the edge again, however he noticed this and began his sick trick of trying to delay the inevitable. For every few quick thrust were many agonizingly slow ones to string you along a little longer. He couldn’t help it. You looked so beautiful underneath him and he never wanted the moment to end. The way the makeup you put on much earlier in the night was smudged and mixed with his, the hickeys and bite marks on your neck, the way you called out his name, the face you made as you came,  and your stupid little dress he couldn’t believe he hadn’t ripped off you the moment you were alone were all too captivating to him. It could, and would, never get enough of it.

“Lauranceee, please stop teasing” You whined out, this time the edging felt like death. Everytime your sweet release was placed in front of you it was swiftly stolen away. You couldn’t handle anymore of this. “Only if you beg princess.” He said between pants, this is something he desperately wanted to hear. You honestly didn’t know if your brain could process doing that, being so blank.

“Please Laurance please I’ll be a good girl, just please let me cum.” You begged like your life depended on it. He let out a soft sigh and sped up, almost slamming into you once again. His olive skin glistened under the soft light illuminating from a smaller desk lamp next to his bed. You both wished the moment could last forever, it felt like a little secret you two shared underneath the moonlight hidden away from everyone else.

“Can I cum?” You asked desperately, tightly closing your eyes as he hummed in approval. This one was the most intense one out of all of them. You could wear your vision went white as he fucked you through your orgasm and you felt a warm liquid seep into your body. Tears streamed down your cheeks from the overwhelming pleasure running through your body. You never thought you would come down from it, of course though you did. 

He pulled out of you and tied up the condom, throwing it into a nearby trash can. Your legs felt so heavy you didn’t think you would be able to move them for the next couple days. “Was I the vampire you've been dreaming of?" He asked panting next to you. Not realizing what he said you nodded in agreement, too out of it for the words to really set in.

           You closed your eyes and reached out next to you for him, noticing that he got up. Your eyes slowly opened to see him in his closet grabbing a towel, noticing he had almost magically put on a fresh pair of boxers. He walked back over to you and started to take off your dress to clean you up. He wiped everywhere as clean as he could get it. His words sunk in and embarrassment spread over your body. “Wait Laurance, how did you know about that?” He feigned a look of innocence.

“Know about what?” You could tell he was obviously lying with that tone of voice. “About the vampires..How did you know I wanted to be with a vampire tonight?” He shrugs, smiling as he took out his fake teeth. “A little birdie told me.” He said in a teasing tone. You knew exactly who he was talking about, Travis. You weren’t complaining but questioned why they had planned this. If he had just told you his feelings you would’ve accepted his feelings, Aphmau wasn’t lying when she said he was a great guy.

He squatted next to the bed to be eye level with you.“Alright I’m done teasing, Y/n I have two questions for you. One, do you want to put back on the dress or wear something more comfortable?” You chose the second option as the dress was too short and tight to wear comfortably after everything you had done tonight. “Two, do you want to go home or stay here?” You softly scoffed, even though you did want to see him all cozy in your small apartment and lay in your much bigger bed, you probably couldn’t. Your body, mostly your legs, felt so heavy and you were absolutely exhausted. You told him pretty much everything you just thought.

“Well I could and would get you back home if you really wanted to.” As much as you would love to have that you would just rather stay here and you shook your head no. He got up and got you both a pair of his pajama pants as well as a shirt. “Do you want to borrow underwear too? I think yours are a little bit of a mess right now.” He said with a slight laugh, turning to face you. You nodded and he came back to help you get dressed.

He helped you sit up and slip everything on, it all smelled like him leaving an amazing aroma around you. He settled into the bed next to you, up until now you didn’t realize how tight of a squeeze it was. You rested your head on his chest as he wrapped his arms around you. You guys looked like a couple and you loved it, which sparked a thought into your head.

“Laurance, tonight was amazing and I was just wondering if we could actually start going out?” He left out a warm laugh as he hummed in agreement. “You know usually you're supposed to do that before you have sex.” You giggled as you drifted off into sleep.

You woke as you heard the sound of someone trying to get into the room. You looked at the clock on the nightstand to see it read 3:30am. Assuming it was just someone from the party that was still going on outside looking for a room you tried to fall back asleep on Laurance. Until they were persistently jangling at the doorknob. You gently shook your now boyfriend awake. “Honey there’s someone trying to get in.” The pet name had just slipped out your mouth, it was a happy accident.

He slowly awoke and cupped your face, giving you a quick peck on the lips“Honey? I like it, but who would even..” He glanced at the clock before panic sprung onto his face. He jumped up from the bed and quickly began cleaning up the clothes and hiding them away. You heard an aggravated sigh from the other side of the door before a bang against the door jolted you up right. “Laurance if you don’t let me in I swear to Irene.”

You recognized that voice, it was Laurance’s roommate Garroth. Laurance ran to unlock and open the door greeting him with a smile. Garroth pushed past him to grab a few things. He quickly greeted you before turning to Laurance. “No offense to you two but I am not sleeping in here tonight.” He said and left as quickly as he came closing the door behind him. The dots connected together in your head as you remembered their earlier conversation.

Laurance crawled back into bed with you and cuddled back up. His arms made you feel safe again and his warmth was a warm welcome compared to the cold air that filled the room. However, this time you couldn’t fall back to sleep as easily as he did. Your heart was beating hard enough it rang in your ears. You were too delusional to realize but you were cuddling with a very attractive man.

You looked up at him and all you could think of was how his tongue had split you open hours earlier. You began to squirm thinking about the memories, trying to get them out of your head. This led to him waking up again, you apologized as he sat up. “You ok y/n?” He sounded very worried about you. You blushed and couldn’t meet his eyes. “Just couldn’t sleep, that’s all.”

“Why? Can’t stop thinking about me? Princess I’m right here no need to imagine.” He pulled you into a kiss and put his hands on your thighs, he just couldn’t get enough of you. You pulled away knowing if you let it go on any longer you wouldn’t get any sleep all night and your body was still affected by your prior actions. “I think we should head to bed. We can do whatever my imagination comes up with tomorrow, I’m not going anywhere.”

He sighed in agreement as he laid back down as he held you tight. After some sleepy play fighting, you entangled your legs together having one over the other. He held your face and looked at you in such a loving way you didn’t know was possible and gave you one last kiss before you drifted off into sleep.

[rjthirsty]

Ikemen Princess Prologue

Based off the otome game Ikemen Prince, I've created an AU where the princes are (mostly) female, and MC is male. Several character names have been changed to suit their new gender (notes will be provided), and lore has been altered to work with the new setting and my accompanying headcanons.

Words: 2k Tags: AU with Gender Changes, My First Long Fic, Chaptered, Scheduled Release A/N: You can find this and other chapters located on my ao3 account or on the Ikemen Princess Masterlist on my tumblr blog. Lucinda = OG Luke, Leni = OG Licht, Jean = OG Jin, Candice = OG Clavis.

Chapter Six: The Prince(sses) Speak

“Wait– Leanne?!” I blurted out. It had only been a few hours earlier that I’d met her in town, and at the time she’d been dressed like everyone else. Yet here she was, wearing clothes that probably cost more than my house, sitting calmly at the table with a smirk on her face. She looked like she belonged here.

“Please be more careful, Emmit.” Suriyel warned. “You mustn’t address a princess like that.”

“Wait– what? You’re a princess?!” Suriyel’s warning had barely even registered. I was still reeling from seeing Leanne looking so… regal. I knew there was something about her when I first met her, I could feel it in the way she presented herself, but dressed up to the social level she held, her presence was even more powerful and majestic.

“Yep, that’s right. We’re all part of the royal family here. Prince and princess a’plenty.”

My eyes wavered as I looked over the other seven people sitting at the table. Each one of them also looking at me, sizing me up. The shadows started creeping from the corners of my vision and I had a strange swimming feeling in my head, threatening to pull me away from being in the present. I had never fainted before, but at the moment I was sure it was about to happen.

This has to be a dream, right? This sort of thing just doesn’t happen to people like me!

Suriyel grabbed the back of my arm by my elbow as she had done earlier when directing me into the castle. Her grip was firm, and whether it was there to reassure me or warn me, I wasn’t sure, but it helped me find something to ground me and anchor me in the moment. My head felt fuzzy, staticky, but it was settling and the shadows that were tunneling my vision receded.

“Thank you all for answering my summons so promptly,” she began, addressing the royalty at the table. “As previously discussed, we will now proceed with the ceremony to appoint the next Belle.”

That was the second time ‘Belle’ had been mentioned, but… why was that so important? I felt there was something at the back of my mind, buried under all the stress from today, and I couldn’t quite reach the reason I knew the name.

“To start with, the young man’s name is Emmit.” My name coming out of Suriyel’s mouth snapped me back to attention. I’d have to figure it out later. “Now, since this is your first meeting, I’d appreciate it if you’d all introduce yourselves… starting with you, Princess Lucinda.”

“Do I have to?” Lucinda sighed. She wasn’t dressed like the rest, wearing clothes that made me think she was the same status as I was, a commoner. Granted, they were nicer than mine, but she still was not as fancily dressed as the rest of the group.

“Your Highness…” Suriyel didn’t have to say anything else, her tone was enough to prod Lucinda into agreeing.

“Okay, okay, I’ll do it.” She gave another long sigh and sat up from where she was leaning over the table.

She had been slouching with her chin in her hands and elbows on the table, but now that she switched her position to lean back in her chair I could tell she was taller than she originally looked. Her rust-colored hair was long and tied back in a loose braid, which did nothing to keep several of the strands too short for the low braid from hanging around her face.

She threw an arm over the back of her chair, and set it tilting back with a slight push of her booted feet. She was wearing pants, as well. Not entirely uncommon, but not something I expected to see for a princess. “I’m Lucinda Randolph. I’m the Seventh– no, the Eighth Princess or something like that.”

Okay… Was she really a princess?

“I’m the Seventh Princess, Nokto Klein.” In direct contrast to Lucinda, Nokto leaned forward to slide her hands onto the table. They were neatly folded on top of each other, and I noticed that only a few of her fingers had nail color, not all of them. Her silver hair was done up in several intricate braids, and still somehow left a long veil of silver running down her back. I had no doubt that Nokto was royalty from the way her clothes whispered the sumptuousness of luxury, just like her voice. “You’re welcome to visit me anytime… in my bedroom.”

I tried not to hold eye contact for too long. The way her red eyes sparkled and the way she looked at me left me feeling uncomfortable. I glanced away, trying to break from that seductress spell she was casting on me, only to find myself looking at a mirror of Nokto, another set of red eyes that were trained on me.

“And next up is my twin sister…” Nokto finished her introduction and prompted her twin.

“The Sixth Princess, Leni Klein.” Leni spoke with finality. Her hair was also silver, like Nokto’s, but it was pulled back into two french braids that ended near the nape of her neck. I couldn’t really get a read on her, giving the most basic introduction. Her clothes were stiff like her expression, and I had a feeling that was all I was going to be hearing from her.

Yves was sitting next to Leni, the blond man I’d met at the same time as Nokto. “I’m the fifth born, First Prince, Yves Kloss. I’m telling you my name because I have to, but that doesn’t mean you get to address me by it.” Yves had a stylish cut to his warm blond hair, but his eyes were sharp and ice cold.

Ouch. Noted.

“I’m Jean Grandet.” My eyes moved to the next seated at the table, and she gave me a warm smile. Her hair was mahogany colored, and her eyes burgundy. She dragged her fingers across her brow to catch her side-swept bangs and brush them back behind her ear. “I’m the eldest of this lot, and that makes me the First Princess. We’re all problem children here, but do your best with us, okay?”

I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do with any of you. But her words were kind and I felt a little more at ease.

“I’m the Third Princess, Candice Lelouch.” She was the one with Chevalier earlier today. Her wisteria-colored hair was pulled back into a set of ponytails. “Just call me Candice, okay?”

She seemed nice enough, but that amusing glint in her golden eyes gave me pause to wonder what it was that she was enjoying. I certainly wasn’t enjoying the current situation. And this wasn’t the first time I’ve seen that look in her eyes. She had the same dancing light in them earlier, after my run-in with Chevalier.

“That show you put on earlier today was quite amusing.”

Ah, there it is.

“You liked it too, didn’t you, Chev?” She turned her gaze on the woman next to her.

“It was ridiculous.” Chevalier remarked. Her gaze was still a frozen lake as she stared at me. “But considering the courage you showed, I will at least tell you my name. I am the Second Princess, Chevalier Michel.” The cut of her light blonde hair did nothing to help the sharp angles of her face, or the sharpness in her eyes.

“And that makes me the lucky last.” It was like looking at night and day, or winter and summer, when I turned my attention to Leanne she was warm and welcoming. Her dark hair had two tight french braids running along one side, the rest of her hair loose at the side part and swept over to cascade down her left side. “I’m Leanne Dompteur, and I’m Rhodolite’s Fourth Princess. It’s good to meet you again, Emmit.”

“Um– yeah, you too.” I repeated the expected words back. “But I still don’t actually know what’s going on…” It seemed to me that everyone else did. “Why am I here?”

Yves interjected, “Excuse me? You came all the way to the palace not even knowing that?”

“I was abducted, thank you very much.”

“What?” Lucinda broke in, “Suriyel, did you kidnap him?”

“I am saddened to hear you say such dreadful things about me,” Suriyel said in the most even tone I’ve ever heard, she didn’t sound sad. “He is here of his own free will.”

“I am?” I blinked and jerked my head towards Suriyel who was still standing next to me, her hand still holding onto my elbow.

“You are. Aren’t you?” Her violet eyes shined up at me and she gave me an innocent smile that still felt terrifying to look at. Like a snake that has caught its prey in its sights. That smile told me to shut my mouth, and shut my mouth I did.

“It is a long-held tradition in Rhodolite that each new ruler shall be chosen by a commoner, and the commoner selected to fulfill that solemn duty is given the title of Belle.”

That’s why I knew that name! It had been so long since I had learned about it that I had forgotten. The last king took the throne before I was born, so no one has talked about it for decades.

“Oh, right! And they’re called Belle because they have a pure, beautiful heart, right?” It was all coming back to me, and I was getting excited to be part of this historic moment. “That’s what allows them to make the correct choice, right?”

“Yes, that’s right,” Suriyel gave a single nod. She seemed to be waiting for me to take the next step and come to a conclusion on my own as to why I was here.

Wait… 

“...You mean…”

Wait, wait, wait– no, that’s not right.

“...I’m the next Belle?”

“That’s what I’ve been saying all this time.” Suriyel affirmed the answer I came to. “You will be choosing one of the members of the royal family here to be the next ruler of Rhodolite.”

[moseslikellamas]

Cinders in the Dark pt. 2

Pairing - Benjicot Blackwood x Whent!OC

Summary - Lucinda continues to explore the basement of Harrenhal. Lord Blackwood pokes his nose into her business much to her continued annoyance.

Warnings - Magic, delusions, frightening imagery, blood, blackmail, forced cohabitation, not canon, Kieran Burton fancast.

Word count - 2.4k

Lucinda was somewhere deep in the bowels of the castle. She hadn’t the foggiest where she had been last night when she’d woken up except that she’d had to climb stairs to leave it. So she'd just started with the first staircase off of the main hall. It had been a cramped staircase compared to the rest of them but still massively wide. And of course, no railing. So she’d hugged the wall as she descended, torch in one hand.

Unfortunately for her, the Maester who’d mapped the place hadn’t bothered to go downstairs. Understandable as the black stone walls made it eerily dark even with all of the torches lit. She worked to light any hanging torch she came across but the hallways never seemed to grow any brighter. Occasionally she would disturb a host of bats which would screech en masse as they flew to some other dark corner. Bats didn’t bother her, the symbol of her house. She felt a sort of kinsmenship with them. Both of them liked dark undisturbed corners of the world.

The more she tried to focus on the details of her dream, the more it seemed to slip away. Until at last she was too frustrated to continue. She turned back, following the chalk marks she had made along the way. It was impossible to explore without some way to mark the way back. She’d done a myriad of substances before finding one that didn’t sink into the walls. Chalk was powdery enough it didn’t immediately absorb into them. But eventually she knew they did. If she visited previously marked hallways, the walls would always be bare after a day or so.

Reluctantly she climbed back up the stairs, pausing to check the book every now and then. Sometimes the ink she used acted funny when she added to the book. Smearing in such a manner as to make it illegible and forcing her to start over. Now she held the book open for hours before even attempting to close it. She had done her share of remapping and didn’t relish having to repeat anything down under the earth. The lack of windows made her feel a bit uncomfortable after a while.

The stairs seemed to stretch longer on the way back up and she wondered if she had gone further than she thought. Time meant nothing to her down here, there was no way to tell how much had passed. Once she finally emerged back to the ground floor, she could see no light coming in through the windows. If it was dark already, it was late. The summer sun didn’t set for ages this time of year. Taking that into account she decided to visit the kitchen before retiring for the night. She should’ve been exhausted but she was only hungry. Weaving through the long and winding halls, she finally emerged into the kitchen.

The room was empty, the fire nearly died out when she arrived. Fires never stayed lit here, even with constant stoking. It was too damp, too exposed to hold the heat. She added a bundle of wood before grabbing a bowl of soup and eating quickly there. She threw back a goblet of wine and cleaned up her mess. She glanced around one last time before leaving, making sure nothing was out of order. The first signs of exhaustion were beginning to build behind her eyes as she swayed walking back. The wine was probably a mistake, especially as she had to climb all of those god forsaken stairs before reaching her room. Harren the Black must have been an idiot. Didn’t he think about having to climb all these stairs?

Once in her room, she carefully set the book down on her cluttered desk. It was covered in scattered maps and scrolls. She used to have a few spell ingredients too, but she figured the witch who lived in the tall tower stole them back. She’d only seen her out of the corner of her eyes, always in windows up in the tower. No one else ever seemed to see her and she didn’t bother to go visit her. Lucinda had enough to deal with without pissing off a witch. So she didn’t disturb any more spell ingredients she found about the castle and nothing else vanished from her room. Whatever the witch knew about the castle wasn’t her business, she just wanted to map the place. But there would be more time for that tomorrow. She stripped off her cloak, dressing down for the night. Then she climbed into her big bed and promptly passed out.

Lucinda woke to a crackling noise outside of her room. Before she bothered to get up, she looked out the window. It was still dark. Sighing, she flung the covers back before creeping towards her door. She didn’t immediately open it, first she lightly touched the door handle. It was as cold as ever. Then she dropped to the floor and peered under the door crack, nothing. Only then after standing, did she crack it open.

The door across from hers was burning. Flames licked up the door and had spread onto the stone above it, leaving scorch marks. She pulled her own door open all the way now, staring at the burning door. The wood popped and groaned in the sweltering heat but it didn’t buckle or give way. She took a step closer and without thinking grabbed the handle thursting the door open. Inside stood the knight, skinless holding his sword. He had no eyes, just smooth muscle stretched across his face where they should have been. His teeth were exposed in a terrible grin. She started screaming then, she fell backwards scraping her hands on the rough stone floor as she scuttled away from the monster. She knocked her head against the back wall and groaned as the flayed man approached. He was still burning and when he opened his mouth, the caw of a crow sounded.

Lucinda woke to someone aggressively shaking her. She heaved a gasp, frantically glancing around at her surroundings. A hand lay on her cheek and she screamed again before managing to bring the person across from her into focus.

“L-lord Blackwood?” She asked, still dazed.

“Aye, that’s me. You were screaming bloody murder, woke me out of a very pleasant sleep I might add.”

Annoyed, she narrowed her eyes at him before clearing her throat and attempting to stand.

“I’m sorry to have woken you. If you’ll excuse me.”

He’d had to assist her up and she resented him for it. She resented that he was here at all, she would have to pretend to go back to sleep. Instead of riding out like she wanted to.

“It’s that weirwood bed you’re sleeping on, you know.”

She sharply turned her head to look at him, snapping “What?”

“The nightmares you’re having. It's because your bed is made of weirwood.”

She looked at him incredulously. “Did you go into my room again?”

He rolled his eyes at her which only made her angrier.

“Aye, I borrowed that book of yours. There were some interesting things there.”

She couldn’t believe the audacity of the man.

“How do you know it's made of weirwood?” Her curiosity had gotten the better of her despite her ire.

“I know what petrified weirwood looks like.” His voice was bitter as he replied, his eyes hard.

It was the first time she felt a bit uncomfortable in the Lord’s presence. He’d proven he didn’t mind violating boundaries and the look on his face said he’d done a lot worse.

“Stay out of my room.” She didn’t bother with titles then, snarling it.

Still in her personal space, his eyes burned into hers.

“No. I don’t think I will.”

She was taken aback by his causal tone. She would go to her father first thing in the morning. They couldn’t let this man stay here any longer than necessary. The castle fed on negative energy, if there was a place that yearned for the unpredictability of chaos it was here. This Blackwood hazard was the last thing they needed. It wasn’t lost on her that the burning knight had emerged from his room. She shuddered remembering the exposed muscle.

She didn’t respond to him, just shoved her shoulder into his as she walked back to her room. His hand caught her by the bicep, stopping her attempt to leave.

“I would suggest you find a different bed. It truly will help you sleep better.”

She was seething as he talked and when he finished she ripped her arm from his hold. Then saying nothing, slammed her door closed.

Inside her room she looked closely at her bed frame. The wood was a queer gray, dark and muted. She supposed it could be weirwood. She hadn’t seen the wood petrified but she’d seen it alive. The weirwood heart tree here at Harrenhal was a twisted ugly thing. Its face is an expression of twisted hatred. She didn’t visit the tree. It would weep blood from time to time and when the leaves blew in the wind, it sounded like whispers. The white wood was a brilliant contrast against the black stone walls blocking it in and a stream ran along the massive godswood.

Her father had declared them as followers of the old gods when they’d moved into the castle. A queer notion to Lucinda and one she avoided discussing. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in the old gods, she just didn’t want to encourage them to engage with her. She did her best not to call upon any gods, prayers were never answered in a straightforward manner. It was safer to put herself out of asking all together. Still she would visit the godswoods on occasion to keep up appearances. The forest stretched on twenty acres. A ridiculous amount of land and she did not dare venture further than the heart tree, afraid of getting lost.

Lucinda turned away from her bed and walked to her window, watching as the sun rose up over the hills. Dawn was her favorite time of day. It meant another night was over and she could begin her search again. Her mood soured when she thought of the guest next door from her. She dressed quickly before fleeing down the stairs, determined to catch her father before breakfast. Her father spent most mornings out on the main tower balcony, where he could catch the sunrise. Something they used to do together when she was younger. But when she arrived up there she found the balcony empty. Frowning, she left to try the main hall. Maybe he had decided to break his fast early.

She did find her father in the main hall, but he was not alone. Lord Blackwood was seated beside him, as they chatted away. Upon seeing him she had turned back around, meaning to leave and speak with her father some other time. But her father called out to her before she could exit unseen.

“Lucinda! Come in, no need to shy away.”

She could have throttled him at that moment. Instead she spun around, a tight smile on her face. She took a seat across from her father and grabbed a roll. Taking a bite she tried very hard not to let her displeasure show on her face.

“I was just discussing with Lord Blackwood here his plans to stay on a while longer.”

That made her look up, her expression clearly shocked. She glanced at the bothersome man beside her father and found him nearly laughing at her. She quickly schooled her expression.

“I told him you’d be glad to show him around the castle. Plenty to see and who would be a better guide, eh?”

She choked on her drink when he said that. She coughed, sputtering for a moment before pulling herself together. Not bothering to look up she replied, “Of course, father. It would be my honor to guide Lord Blackwood on a tour.”

“Splendid. It’s all settled then. Lucinda, dear I meant to tell you, Orwyll has noted a marked increase in blown out torches. You are remembering to close the windows back, right?”

She furrowed her brow at his question. She hadn’t remembered leaving any open but shrugged it was likely she had forgotten to close a few.

“I’ll keep a better eye out. I’ll tell Orwyll not to worry.” If I ever see him, she thought to herself.

“Well, I won’t stick around to ruin your time. Your step mother and I are planning to head out for a ride today. The weather should be nice enough for it.”

Despite how angry she was with her oblivious father she smiled at that.

“Of course, have fun.”

Then it was just the two of them at the table. Her expression immediately morphing into one of displeasure and disgust.

“Do you have no decency?” She asked him once she was sure her father had left.

“You should’ve seen the look on your face when he announced I was staying.”

She abruptly stood from the table, stalking out of the room. Her hands were balled into fist and she was nearly sweating from how angry she was. She’d grown used to her miserable existence and had found ways to cope with her lot in life. She didn’t know how to handle the infuriating man who was mucking everything up. She stood at the base of the stairs, torn between going upstairs to grab her map or running out the front door to ride away on Starlight.

“So, where are we headed?”

She spun around to face him, unaware that he had followed her out.

“We’re not going anywhere. Why exactly did you extend your stay? Better yet, why are you headed to the vale anyway? Surely whatever the reason is, awaits you urgently outside these walls.”

He peered down at her with an amused expression before walking closer to her, closing in on her personal space. The stairs were behind her, which forced her to step up.

“My business is my own. Your business is mine because I outplayed you. You should’ve talked to your father first. Now, where are we headed? Or shall I interrupt your fathers lovely planned day to tell him his daughter is an ungrateful, rude host?”

She stood there feeling a range of emotions, none of them good. She settled on letting him win for now and vowed to talk to her father later.

“Fine. Let’s go grab my map.”

[im-obsess-with-pixel-characters]

Posting headcanons on here cuz that's what the cool people do on this app (or so I've heard)

Mystreet addition!

• Travis and Sasha are cousins, that didn't know they were cousins until post season 3 (I basically looked at them both and basically said; "this would be some good family drama")

• Dante got a tongue piercing because Gene dared him to get one

• Travis and Sasha used to sneak off Friday nights to hang out without anyone knowing

• Aphmau and Zane had SOME feelings for each other post season 1 (I adore Zanemau)

• Katelyn and Travis were pretend dating for like the majority of mystreet

• Travis was given SO mucuch money by Michael even tho Micheal was only giving Travis a SMALL portion of his money per month, Travis still has too much money till this day

• Garroth can't and I mean CAN'T be trusted near a stove

• Laurance semi knows how to cook, he knows the basic at least because of Cadenza

• Zane is a baker and cook

• Vylad took a part-time job that ended up becoming his job for like 2 years (he was working at a flower shop) until he moved to a fashion industry with Zane

• Zane was a designer when he signed up for a fashion industry and then got into modeling due to one of his work colleagues convincing him to try it

• Zianna taught his 'sons' how to sew stuff

• Lucinda is just the same Lucinda from mcd, she's immortal okay?

• Michael is very ancient and used metal rulers to punish Travis, most times about lower than average grades that he gets (aka anything under an A)

• in middle School Travis was the definition of "President perfect" he was likeable by everyone he was naturally pretty and was always one to show up early also a straight A student

• Dante till this day still doesn't understand how he and Travis became friends in middle School, Travis is like this goddess while Dante was some late average grade normie

• Laurence took ballet

• Gene almost got sent to a violin academia by his mom cuz he was so good at violin

• Dante had a 'little' crush on Travis but decided to just back away from that she tried to ignore it since Travis and Katelyn are "Dating"

• In high school Zane and Vylad betted on how gay Garroth was, whoever won that bet even if it's years later had to do whatever the person who won said, and if it's something expensive then it'd be a one-time

• Garte is actually better in my universe (I can't fully defend him yet, all I can say is that he did help Zianna through tough times)

• Vylad and Zane has the same father but Zane is still older then Vylad by a few Days

• Vylad and Zane are twins even if they don't look like it

• Vylad and Zane would hang out in secret always anytime they can hang out

• all the Ro'maeve brothers are multilangual

• Travis speaks so many languages, (list; English,French, Spanish, Korean, Japanese, mandarin, Malaysian, Italian,German,Tagalog,Arabic,Russian,Thai, Vietnamese,Icelandic,Polandic, that doesn't include the fact he knows sign language and Morse code)

• Travis and Gene both knows sign language and would talk shii about people and also gossip in private while not being in private

• Sasha knows sign language but doesn't bother to tell anyone she's here for the gossip

• Dante and Zenix is fed up with Gene and Travis and started communicating through

• Travis understands Morse code only because Dante taught him, but Dante thought Travis forgot how to do Morse code which was his own problem

• Travis barely remembered anyone from the street when he first moved in with the guys, it was so strange that even other people that barely knew Travis was interested

• Lucinda try to figure out what was happening with Travis but had no idea, her magic doesn't extend to ancient magic anymore since she has modernized her magic. Even with the blockages she has she tries to figure out what's wrong Maybe by a potion but she found no specific potion that could do it most of those potions were illegal and she sense no specific potions she sense Magic

• but Lucinda never stopped searching for why Travis didn't remember anyone besides Dante, since there was no record of any major accidents involving Travis or the valkrums

• Micheal gave Travis a box of crystals cuz he had a obsession with crystals (still do) and Travis was shocked by the amount of emeralds there was in that box there was around 50 something emeralds if counting the broken shards, if counting the whole emeralds there would be like 35 which is still a lot

• Terry once threatened Micheal to turn his physical form into a relic due to a factor that Michael was trying to erase an important memory and Terry wasn't having it that day

• Travis would endlessly rant about crystals to Vylad which had started to make Vylad actually interested in crystals and start looking into them and then got obsessed over it with Travis

• Dante as a teen was a hoarder, he grew out of it eventually

• Gene, despite being a horrible person in general in high school, he tried his best to be a better person around Dante trying not to influence him cuz he is far much more aware the fact that Dante can be influenced by him and he does not need Dante to be on his level of trouble

• Gene is far nicer to Travis than other one of Dante's friend, most likely due to the fact there was already this out of nowhere trust bond that existed when Dante first introduced Travis to Gene

•Zane had braces throughout freshman year and no one noticed cuz he had a mask on, then he got retainers mid season 3

• Zane is diagnose autistic

• Garroth and Aphmau is undiagnosed ADHD even though Travis has multiple time told them to get diagnosed due to the fact of the symptoms they had visibly and every time they always have this conversation;

"well are you a psychologist?"

"No"

"then how can you see the ADHD symptoms?"

"Cuz I have ADHD!"

"oh..uhm well you pay for a psychologist then!"

And then Travis actually gets them appointed to a psychologist for a ADHD diagnose and they got an actually official diagnose because of Travis and his ridiculous amount of money

• Vylad is dyslexic and Travis would spend hours after school in the library with him teaching him stuff, even if that means getting home late which Michael usually don't mind cuz he's never home until midnight Vylad got his permission card to stay late from his mom

• Vylad is the reason Zane is into my little horsey, Vylad actually introduced Zane to so many cartoons that now they can binge watch any kind of cartoons that Vylad puts on the platter

This whole post is just me ranting about stuff I wish were canon but isn't Canon, but hey no one can really stop me from posting this :]

[that-one-i-think]

Duck it! Time for another fic concept while I try and get motivation to actually write. Different OC and we are getting thrown right into it. (Since it us a concept, good chance of messl)

The Man from the Twilight Forest

(Title not official, just a place holder)

"You have failed."

Aphmau throws her hands up in the air, frustration evident in her voice as she yells "HOW?"

"Well, I-"

"NO NICK! Why am I failing?" Aphmau runs her hands through her hair, yanking and pulling as she tries rationalize it. "I have followed every teaching of Hyria, listened to every piece of advice from Lucinda and Zoey but its... it's just. not. working."

"First, my name is Nyx and I ask that you respect my name as I respect yours, second-" Nyx glides his hands through Aphmau's hair, grasping her hands with his, carefully pulling them away from her head, "-you are failing because you are taking their advice."

"I-"

"Walk with me, and I will tell you all you need to know." He puts out his arm, the smile on his face growing as Aphmau takes it. "Now come with me. One can not learn magic in a guard tower unless you want things to get messy, of course."

The two exit the guard tower, Nyx taking careful measure to walk at a languid pace for Aphmaus comfort. As they make their way through town they feel eyes piercing their backs, barely concealed whispers as they watch their Lord arm in arm with the cloaked foreigner. Aphmau's eyes gazes up at her companion but only a soft smile is on his face, ignorant or ignoring the actions of the villagers around them.

Pink meets brown as their eyes meet as smirk makes it way onto Nyx's face. He leans down, lips ghosting Aphmau's ears and he whispers "Do you think they are staring because I am bald?"

Snrrt

Aphmau snorts out, her right hand barely covering her mouth in time to conceal her laugh. Behavior unbecoming of a lord, she knows, but what is she supposed to do. Divines above, she knows she has no poker face so the two walk in relative silence. The stares that unnerved her, now forcing her to contain her giggles as they walk past the gates.

Now out of the ear shot of the guards, Nyx begins his lesson. "Now, as I begin, I do want to say that I have no ill will towards Hyria, Lucinda, or Zoey, but they are not the best to listen to for magic."

Nyx grabs a large stick with his left hand, breaking it off of the tree as they arrive at a small brook. He drags the branch through the water, watching as it breaks apart and flows. "Much like this brook, magic flows through the veins of Zoey, Hyria, and especially Lucinda. Zoey, as an elf, is born from the magic of the elven forest. An immortal where healing magic comes as natural to her as breathing to us. She can not help you learn because she never had to learn herself. She only had to control it and focus."

Aphmau nods, eyes following the brook as they stroll upstream. "Hyria, while she did have to learn magic, has centuries of experience. She is so advanced that all of her teachings are keeping in mind the future that she doesn't focus on the now. It most likely doesn't help when you take into account her realation with Irene."

"What about Lucinda?"

"Lucinda may be close in age but I don't believe she was even close to your level of magic. She has such a natural talent for magic that I don't believe she ever was a begginer."

Nyx looks down at his companions' face, confusion written all over it. He stares up at the sky, his brown lips pursed together as he tries to form words.

"Think about it like traveling through the forest-" He twirls the stick in his left hand as he thinks "- Zoey is traveling a paved road through a cleared forest. She faces no trouble, not even a bump, as she walks on the road. Hyria travels down a well worn path, one that she created herself. She walks this path everyday and knows every detail, what used to be memorization now just pure instinct. Lucinda is making her own path but she already knows where she needs to go. A map in hand with knowledge of every flora and fauna she will encounter."

"I see... so what am I?"

"You are human." Nyx smiles as he succeeds in repressing a chuckle at his companions 'no shit' face.

"I think I may listened to the wrong person."

"Let me finish and we'll see." He then hits the brook with the stick dragging Aphmau's attention back to it. "Humans magic works much like this brook. It flows from our bodies and with a lot of effort we can redirect it to fit our needs. We don't always have the ability to go our own path or follow a steady road and instead must focus on channeling the stream."

"So what you are saying is that I have to go with the flow?"

"Yes but there is more to your issue than that."

"Nyx, if you don't give me a straight answer I will walk all the way home by myself."

"Patience, my dove, now look." Nyx points his stick forward, and that is when Aphmau spots the dam. Old sticks and mud piled on top of each other and water seeping out of the holes. The beavers that created it have long since abandoned it.

"In the most simple terms, your magic is blocked and the little of it you have access to drains as quickly as you can muster it." Nyx unhook his arm from Aphmau before carefully removing his cloak and hanging it up on a tree. She eyes him for a moment before asking "What are you doing?"

"Hanging up my cloak because I don't want it to get wet."

"What do you-" "Lady Aphmau, you will find that patience is one of the needed qualities for magic."

Nyx hops onto the dam as sticks and leaves cruch under his boots. He makes his way to the middle before standing just by the middle of the damn. "Your biggest issue is the fact that you have no access to your full magical power. There is a block and once we get through that block-"

Nyx jams the stick into the center of the dam and yanks it backward, causing the center of the dam to collapse, letting the water flow and become the powerful stream it once was. Aphmay watches as the mud and gravel path that they walked on turns into a river bed.

"-your magic will flow freely." He takes a careful step back from the edge, parts already giving away from the rushing of the water. "Though we do have to be careful not to release too much or else the pressure will break you."

Nyx turns all the way around, seeing Aphmau has decided to try and join him on the dam. He tries to tell her to get off, but before he can utter a word, the dam breaks.

Water rushes through, and Nyx grabs Aphmau and pulls her on top of him as his back hits the water. "Just like that." Nyx grunts as the stones dig into his spine, and his clothes are doused.

"I AM SO SORRY! I DIDN'T MEAN-"

"It is fine, Lady Aphmau," Nyx leans in close to Aphmau's ear, "though we should really get up before one of your guards kill me with their bare hands."

"Oh! Right! Right, right. Totally. Sorry."

They both stand and step out of the river, Nyx absolutely dripping compared to Aphmau's mostly dry form.

"We will start your training tomorrow," Nyx wraps his cloak around himself, a grin on his face before he adds, "Hopefully in a place with no running water."

My inspiration for this character was honestly Zane from Ninjago and Isaac from animated Castlevania. So like, a more intelligent Gaara. I kid you not, I wrote this to avoid actually writing my fic.

[xerith-42]

That AU where Aphmau Blows up

Shout out to @thornsofrustandash for the idea. This just came to me like a prophetic vision.

Okay so I usually change Aphmau's name because I hate calling her that, but I have warmed up to just shortening it because Aph is a really cute nickname and it's more accessible to people who can't be bothered to keep track of the 5th Aphmau rename they've read this weak.

This post is me pushing my garrancemau propaganda so if you aren't down with that, idk what to tell you you just don't have taste /j

If you're reading this, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I know this isn't what we wanted, I know I'm supposed to be better than this. I was once a lord, I should know the responsibility that comes with it, and I shouldn't be so selfish.

But I need to think for myself. Have I not earned the right to selfishness after all those years of sacrificing myself for others? That's why I have to do this. I'm sorry.

Aaron, I need you to look after Lilith. I know she's going to miss me, but you're a great father and you have plenty of people who will help you with whatever you need so long as you ask for it. That's what I've always tried to tell you, and I'll keep telling you from the great beyond if I have to.

To my guards and friends, I'll miss you dearly. I wish we could share one last celebration with one another, but after this, there will be plenty of reason for celebration. Please don't let the tragedy of my death outweigh the triumph of my accomplishments. Remember me fondly, keep love in your hearts, and go forward knowing that you are some of the best companions a woman could ask for.

And to my head guards... [There's a noticeable teardrop staining the page and causing some of the ink to bleed] I'm sorry. For everything.

Goodbye.

Aph

A tear slipped down her face again, one that Aph was quickly wiping away as she folded up the letter and left it on her bedside table. She glanced over at her bed, where Lilith was swaddled up in a blanket and snuggling her favorite doll, one Laurance had carved for her. Aph's heart dropped at the image, the final thing that would make her doubt what she was about to do.

She had to remind herself that it wasn't a guarantee it would kill her. Only a possibility. She could hear Zoey rightly correct her that it was a high possibility, but she had to do this. Aph walked over to her daughter, placed a final kiss on her forehead, and then left her home. The Phoenix Alliance was quiet. It usually was, but somehow it felt even emptier under the light of the full moon. As if they're city was as abandoned as the one they had found on the island.

Her eyes kept catching on the sings of life. A guitar leaned up against a stand, the sound of cows snoring in their pens, and the many clothes strung along the drying racks reminded her that they lived here. They were making a home here. Aph had a home. The relic fragment pulled at her, reminder her that she had to protect her home. She had to. She couldn't stand seeing that sad look in Vylad's eyes anymore.

She nearly sprinted past Lucinda's house after traveling through the portal. She couldn't let anyone find her. They might be able to talk her out of this. Luckily she knew the path like the back of her hand. The forests of Phoenix Drop had changed quite a lot over 15 years, and yet they were exactly as Aph had remembered them.

The fragment in her pocket started to pull at her further and further, as if responding to the magic around the closed portal. Aph pulled the piece out, turning over the small purple orb in her hands.

"Take me to him," She commanded, and a burst of light instantly went off, magic springing from the fragment and latching onto the frame of the portal. It flashed red, and the portal was open. She could almost see him. Aph reached her hand through, and when she did, she could instantly feel the heavy blue fabric she knew so well. "Garroth!"

Aph pulled, yanking him out of the dimension and to the floor, where he was instantly followed by Zane who now stood before her. The relic fragment in her hand continued to spark with magic even as she tried to close the portal. Both Garroth and Zane needed a moment to readjust to being in the overworld. It was Zane who took less time, who realized where he was, and who he was in front of.

Bright white angel wings filled Garroth's vision as he looked up at the lord he loved so dearly.

"A-Aph?" Garroth muttered out. "What are you doing?"

"Saving your life," She answered, a smile evident in her voice. Though it faintly echoed with an unfamiliar sound, overlapping with the voice of another. "I'm sorry I couldn't do it before!"

"Wait!" Her hand shot forward, reaching straight for Zane's chest as she held onto the fragment even tighter, trying to hone and focus all the stray magic that was jumping from it.

"W-What are you doing?!" Zane gasped out as he saw her eyes start to glow white. "YOU'LL KILL US BOTH!!" Finally, she had clarity. Zane had put it so well. In order to succeed, she had to kill them both. A relic for a relic, a life for a life.

"That's the plan." Aph turned around and looked down at Garroth, her eyes becoming amber for this final moment. "I love you." A blinding white light filled her eyes, and an explosion rang out across the land.

"What happened?!" Dante nearly screamed as he raced to the explosion site. He prayed that Alexis would find no refugees were harmed, but all thoughts were swept from his mind when he got a clear view of the crater where the forest once was. Black and purple essence was scattered across the destroyed land, some parts were still actively on fire, and near the edge of the crater was Garroth. "Garroth?!"

Dante didn't get a reply. Garroth was still in shock, his hands trembling, and his eyes trying to cry. He was trying, but all he could seem to do was shake.

"Garroth, what happened?" Dante's voice sounded far, like he was talking to someone else. Garroth fell to his knees as he saw what laid at his feet where she once stood. A leather bound notebook with a rather crude "Aph" carved into the front of it. It was worn, clearly loved, and when Garroth traced his fingers over the poor thing like it would break, he could almost feel her life force coming from the pages.

It should have been louder. Garroth should have been filled with anger, something violent, something heard. Instead, the moment he held her diary in his hands, Garroth broke out into the sort of weeping he hadn't allowed since he was a child. Since the last time he lost someone this important to him. Garroth's crying was quiet. His tears were plentiful, but the sound was reserved, only a few sobs escaping between gasps for breath.

"Dante!" Travis called out, only seeing the backs of the two men. "Dante, what's going--" He stopped short when Dante turned around and he saw the tears streaming down his face. It made both men freeze at the sudden display of emotion. "What... What happened?" Dante glanced back at the weeping Garroth, and opted to step away and bring the conversation somewhere he couldn't hear.

"I-I don't really have any details yet. Garroth's not exactly comprehensible right now," Dante explained with a shaky voice. Travis faintly wanted to hold his shaking hands, just to console him a little. "Seems like nobody else was harmed in the explosion... Except..."

"Except...?" Travis repeated.

"A-Aph. I'm pretty sure she was the uh... The cause." Travis could hear his heart beating in his head as the entire world came out of focus. He couldn't really process what Dante said at first, and when he did, he felt numb. Like he should have some big reaction to the information, but instead it just left him feeling cold. "I-I'm going to keep looking around, see if I can't find a sign that she's alive."

"Yeah, y-you should do that. I'm... Enki help me, I don't know what I'm going to do."

"You could help me." Travis didn't have the heart to tell Dante his effort would be fruitless. It's not like Dante would listen anyways.

"I think I'm going to go tell the others." Dante nodded, before walking back towards the site. Travis' body moved without his own will, his legs suddenly having a mind of their own. His head felt heavy and yet also weightless, and he felt dizzy. Things only came into clarity for a moment when he saw Katelyn limping down the path through Phoenix Drop towards him.

That was when Travis got a hold of himself again, and he was suddenly racing towards her, catching Katelyn's weak form in his arms like it was instinct.

"Katelyn? What are you doing out of bed?!" Travis almost yelled.

"Like I was gonna sit still after hearing that," Katelyn groaned as she leaned against his weight. Travis' arm wrapped around her waist to hold her up like it was nothing. "What happened?"

"Still figuring that out."

"Where's Aph? I-Is she safe?" Travis's heart dropped, and he could feel the beginning of tears.

"I-I don't know."

"You don't know what?! Where she is or if she's safe?! You're her guard you should--" Katelyn stopped her yelling when she saw the tear finally slip down Travis' cheek. "No, no, no. Don't--"

"I-I'm sorry, Katelyn."

"No! She can't be!!" Katelyn was suddenly fighting against Travis, trying to break free from the grip he had on her waist. Instead, it just turned into Travis pulling her in even closer, wrapping both his arms around her tightly as Katelyn began to wail. The sound of her agony was enough to finally push those stubborn tears from Travis' eyes as e clung onto her.

They barely noticed the figure rush past them. His vision was somehow hazier than usual with the added tears in his eyes. It was when he stumbled into the crater and saw the man standing before him that the whirlwind of emotions quieted down, and Laurance was able to hear his own thoughts, feel his body again.

Mere moments before he felt an unholy amount of pain, a miserable feeling of mourning consumed every part of his body, and when he saw what remained he realized why. He saw Garroth's absolutely pitiful expression as he clutched onto her diary like a lifeline. Laurance's mind was quiet at first. Just him. Just the realization of all he had lost in a single moment. And all he was now able to lose.

Finally there was a sound to rival the explosion, a single noise to encapsulate the grief. A miserable scream that cracked and broke as it continued to tear through the land as Laurance came to terms with everything he had lost, and everything he was about to lose. The poor man could only fall to his knees and scream as it all came crashing down on him. A cacophony of voices filled his ears, only making it worse as tears forced their way through glassy eyes.

The voices of the calling were the same, yet because they called for something new, none of them sounded right. Nothing was right. Laurance's body felt like it was being ripped apart all over again and it didn't even matter this time because she was gone. He had failed her and possibly doomed everyone because of it. Every time Laurance tried to focus on the anguish of her loss, it was always weighed down by the agony of his own curse. The curse he bore for her sake was now meaningless.

Eventually Laurance's voice went hoarse. It was only then that he finally looked up and saw Garroth. The man he had spent so long fighting to get back, the man who he was ready to rip apart the realm barrier for, the man who was so loved he had more than one person willing to do that. Adoration and love swelled in Laurance for a moment, and emotion got the better of him. Laurance threw himself into Garroth's arms, and Garroth caught him and held him like it was the easiest thing in the world. He held Laurance's sobbing form and continued to weep himself.

Neither knew how to feel about the few tears of joy they initially shed while holding each other. They didn't last very long, and were rather quickly overshadowed by mourning. Garroth managed to stand up and walk the two of them away from the crater, before he collapsed against a tree and allowed his body to finally relax.

Neither Laurance or Garroth spoke for quite some time. It was just the two of them and her diary. At some point Garroth must have decided he'd had enough of wearing the heavy armor, but he never set Laurance down. Even as they walked through the streets of an empty Phoenix Drop that Garroth wanted nothing more than to explore. He'd need time to adjust to their new world, he knew that, but he always dreamed he'd do it hand in hand with the people he cared most about. He never imagined it would be him and Laurance stumbling into Aph's empty home at the top of the hill, and then collapsing before they could get to their own bed.

Now Garroth lay on the floor, Laurance still on top of him, and both of them seemingly run out of tears. That wouldn't last long.

"We should at least get to bed," Garroth suggested quietly. He was met with the sound of Laurance's sniffles.

"I can't," Laurance answered.

"Why not?" Laurance sat up, finally getting off of Garroth and letting him sit up. Laurance tried in vain to wipe his eyes, knowing it likely wouldn't do anything.

"I-I can't. I can't be around you for much longer."

"Why? What's wrong?" Laurance's body began to tremble. His blood ran hot. If his voice weren't already so hoarse, Laurance might have screamed. No no no this couldn't be real-- "Laurance, please talk to me."

"I can't!" Laurance backed away from Garroth, but refusing to move too much. He wasn't sure if he moved if he would have control of his body. He couldn't take the risk. "Calling!" That's all Garroth needed to hear.

The calling. He'd helped Laurance with it before, and Aph had told him how it was harming Laurance. Neither knew too many specifics unless Laurance disclosed them, but Garroth did know exactly what he was saying. There was no doubt that Dante's effort to find her was meaningless. She was dead and Laurance knew the second it happened. And now the calling had simply switched targets.

"I..." Garroth's voice trailed off. What was he supposed to say?

Aph would know what to say.

The thought made Garroth feel like crying all over again, but he didn't dare look away from Laurance. Especially not when he saw his eyes flash red.

"I'm sorry," Laurance whispered. "I love you." And like that, he was gone. In almost an instant Laurance had stood up and taken off, faster than Garroth was capable of keeping up with.

"Laurance!!" He desperately cried out, scrambling to stand up in his heavy armor, and barely making it to their door before he realized it was hopeless. As the sun started to peek over the horizon, Garroth looked out upon an almost empty Phoenix Drop, and he couldn't contain his anguish anymore. Garroth fell to his knees in the doorway of his beloveds home, and wept for his lost lovers once more.

hi i actually have a lot more ideas about this but this post is really long and writing this au is literally hurting me so I'm gonna make another post with more stuff later okay bye

[starhvney]

𝐒𝐔𝐁𝐉𝐄𝐂𝐓 𝟑 | 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟏: 𝐑𝐔𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐒

𝐂𝐖: story is beginning to diverge from canon, teenage girls being mean asf, corny teenage drama, lucinda insults someone for having a crooked nose hahahahhdha(i also have a crooked nose, do not take offense my crooked nosed sisters!!!)

𝐀/𝐍: I wrote in some unimportant characters that very much fit the “mean popular cheerleader girl” stereotype, cause… plot. if you happen to be a cheerleader: ily, you’re awesome, and i do not think you’re a bitch! i just cannot resist the 2000s stereotype undertones that are littered in PDH, and had to do it to em. ok cool enjoy the reading guys!

𝐖𝐂: 5,900+

𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐎𝐑: @arienic

𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 ☆ 𝐍𝐄𝐗𝐓 | 𝐀𝐎𝟑 | 𝐅𝐈𝐂 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 | 𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊𝐒

the tension you felt for the next few weeks was truly nerve-wracking. as the days grew colder, aphmau raved to you every morning in her warm coat and scarf about how she couldn’t wait for the snow—and while you were excited too, a little buzzing noise in the back of your head bothered you like a mosquito trapped in your bedroom.

when was her next move?

it’s not like you were scared, per se. you have a good strong network of people now, who you were pretty sure would defend you 'til their last breath if anything were to happen. no, you weren’t scared of ivy anymore. but damn, would she not let go of the spot she’s earned in your brain.

was she plotting something that would be harder to refute than just some measly rumors? was she smart enough to do something like that? or was she taking so long for her next move just to reopen your scab just as soon as you thought it had healed over?

honestly, you haven’t seen much of her if at all since the sports festival. which was shocking, because all of your friends—including garroth—had been glued to your side for most of the day, and you’d think maybe she’d at least try to talk to the boy in some of your classes. but now she merely was in and out of the classrooms like a ghost, her two little ducklings following after her.

maybe you scared her off when you threatened her in the bathroom, and she decided to back down for good! that would be the best-case scenario, right? she thought long and hard about her actions, realized her immaturity, and decided to make a change for the better.

“can i talk to you?”

…

how is it that every single time you decide to venture out in the hallways alone, this guy manages to find you?

“what do you want, gene?”

there’s no mocking laughter, or offended scoff, or a wrinkle of his nose. honestly, you hadn’t seen much of him, either. his little trio have continued on in their ways without much care for you or aphmau, and honestly, you kind of respect it. kind of.

once you told him to—more or less—fuck off, he did. unlike ivy, there wasn’t any shit-talking or catty comments or disgusted glares. he truly did leave you alone, as did sasha and zenix. while you still weren’t their biggest fan, it definitely put them on a higher pedestal than ivy in your eyes. they were not the greatest, for sure, but they were at least open about it. and the amount of fucks they didn’t give was honestly a bit entertaining—as long as you weren’t on the receiving end of their antics.

this was the first time you’d talked to gene or even made eye contact with him in what was way over a month by now. so while a part of you was saying to just ignore him, the unsettling calmness in the way he approached you had you curious… and honestly a bit concerned.

“i don’t want anything.” he rolls his eyes with a sigh, looking around. “i just have something to tell you.”

“really?” your disbelief is evident in your tone, arms crossed and eyebrow raised. “don’t want to threaten me with those pictures again?”

“i don’t have the pictures anymore.” he pulls out what looked like a burner phone, a stark downgrade from what he had before. “don’t even have your number anymore, my old phone shattered and i haven’t been able to buy a new one yet.”

“wow.” you deadpan. “all that blackmailing and evidence down the drain, huh?”

he wrinkles his nose in distaste. “yeah, well. i wasn’t the one who broke it.”

“oh? finally pissed the wrong person off, huh?”

he rolls his eyes. “how it broke doesn’t matter. i’m actually trying to help you out here, so can you just shut up?”

you open your mouth to shoot something else his way, but honestly, you find yourself at a loss for words and snap your mouth closed again.

there’s a pause like he was expecting a different reaction, before his eyebrows lift in surprise.

“ivy is up to something, but i’m letting you know that i don’t have shit to do with it. i'm not entirely clear on what since she doesn’t have those pictures anymore, but she’s plotting on your downfall.”

“what, you two aren’t buddy-buddy anymore? i thought you would be on the same side.”

he scoffs, genuine offense wrinkling his features. “that is insulting as fuck. of course we’re not “buddies”. i fucking hate preps, the little pricks.”

amusement threatens to quirk at your lips, but you bite down the urge. gene was a prick too, but at least he was funny.

“look,” he sighs. “i know we didn’t have the best end to our friendship—”

“that’s putting it lightly.”

“—but,” he shoots you a look of annoyance, “ivy annoys me more than you, and i hate her style.”

“pink hair not your thing?”

“oh my fucking—” he groans into one of his hands. “i mean i don’t like the way she goes about being an asshole. at least i’m open about it, and it’s funny bad. she’s just… bad in an annoying-bitchy-backstabbing-way. i’m not a fan.”

“so… why are you telling me this?” you shrug. “i definitely haven’t given you any reason to help me out.”

he presses his lips together, straightening his back. “honestly, you’ve earned my respect. i still kinda like you. plus, you’re friends with my little brother, so. you get extra little brownie points from me. don’t you feel honored?”

“not particularly.”

gene opens his mouth to quip something back, though instead flicks his eyes up to something behind you, suddenly looking annoyed. following his line of sight, you look back to see two girls lingering by a turn into another hallway, standing close together and whispering like journalists who had just heard the juiciest gossip. when they notice you both looking their way they scurry off down the hall, whispering excitedly and giggling.

the hell?

“…i’m not trying to get involved in this one, as shocking as that sounds. just thought i’d warn you that you’re not in the clear. and… i’m not the reason for it this time.” he starts stepping back, hands shoved in his disheveled blazer pockets and lazily turning away from you with a wave. “bye.”

…that’s it?

“…thanks?” you call out, lip curled in confusion.

“you’re welcome, kitty.”

…

“i take it back.”

☆

gene’s warning floated in your head for the next few weeks, and you couldn’t let it go. if he of all people reached out, then your paranoia about the situation surely wasn’t for nothing

and it. sure. wasn’t.

it started with a few nasty looks in the hall, mainly from the cheerleaders. it made sense, since ivy was on the team surely they would go with what she said over some rando new girl.

on top of it, ivy was still… unnervingly quiet about it all. and as the days went on, she seemed to behave more and more… depressed. whether she was faking it or truly felt that way, honestly you couldn’t tell.

more weeks go by with more and more weird looks. more people leaning to whisper to their friends as you walked by. honestly, you’d been tempted to stop one of them and ask what the problem was. after all, if a rumor had started, how is it that none of your friends or you have heard?

it progressed to a few cryptic notes left in your locker, from scribbles of random insults to things like ‘everyone knows what you are’ and ‘we know what you did’. honestly, it was more irritating than nerve-wracking like you’re sure the senders intended for it to be, and all you did was scoff and throw the scraps of paper when you saw them. every once in a while someone would “accidentally” knock into your shoulder with theirs in the halls. at first, you didn’t pay it much mind, but once your binder had clattered to the floor for the fourth time, you’d be stupid not to catch on.

it wasn’t until nearly winter break that you finally got your answer. 

everything about the day felt off. from waking up to icy sidewalks and walking to school alone (aphmau went to school early for tutoring), to—for once in the past month—finding yourself alone as you walked through the halls to class. it wasn’t bad, but you felt a strange sense of nervousness.

when you open. the bathroom door to see not one, not two, but five girls from the cheerleading team by the mirrors, you almost consider spinning around and waiting until after homeroom.

instead, you walk into one of the stalls with (metaphorical) balls of steel, not sparing a glance at their pointed stares as you pass by. you take your time, too, hoping they’d be gone by the time you came back out.

silly, shouldn’t you know your luck by now?

once again, you consider just leaving when the girls are still crowded around the sinks taking their sweet time giggling under their breath and typing on their phones. you squeeze your way to the open sink by the furthest wall from the door, stuck between them and your nearest escape.

spider-lashed eyes darted up and down your figure—quite obviously—and a few beats passed like this of you washing your hands while they stared like you were in their way.

your name falling from one of their lips genuinely startles you, however, and you nearly jump in your skin as the sound. you’d expected them to simply stare and whisper like they had for the past few months, so the fact someone was finally speaking up both drove a cold spoke of anxiety into your veins and made you a little eager at the same time.

“…yeah?”

the girl who said your name was one of the seniors, and was model tall. a lot of the cheerleaders were either around your height or taller, but she made you feel short in comparison. it was—truthfully—really intimidating to be specifically called out by her, especially knowing ivy definitely twisted the truth to get all of these girls on her side. she could be really kind for all you knew, but that didn’t matter if ivy had the first say.

she steps forward, a perfectly manicured hand tosses her hair over her shoulder before getting placed on her hip. looking down at you from her tall nose, she fixes her lips in a way that said maybe she wasn’t all that nice.

you should stop giving people at this school the benefit of the doubt.

“that’s your name, right?”

“…yeah.”

“well, i was just wondering about something. you must think you’re pretty sneaky, huh?”

“i don’t.” you raise your eyebrow. “i can’t say i’m following.”

she scoffs, the other girls rolling their eyes and giving each other looks, like they were all in on an inside joke that you weren’t a part of.

“dating both laurance and garroth at the same time? acting like just an innocent friend but playing them behind their backs? we heard everything.” she lets out a short, mockingly dry laugh. “how you’re just trying to add them to your already long body count?”

so she went ahead with that narrative, did she?

“that’s what you heard, huh?”

another girl steps forward, and you vaguely register hearing the late bell to homeroom ring.

“you seem pretty shameless about it. especially now that you’re dating gene. trying to get the best of both worlds, huh?”

“huh?” you respond dumbly, face wrinkling in confusion.

“still trying to play dumb?” she pulls out her phone, tapping on the screen and turning it towards you. “we have the evidence.”

there’s a picture of you and gene leaving the school, and by the looks of his outfit it was the day you went to go meet his mom. she slides her finger on the screen to show another picture, this one your recent conversation with him just a few weeks ago.

damn. no one in this school knows how to mind their business, huh?

it makes you wonder though. did gene purposely stop you in the hall so those girls could get that picture? was he lying to you after all?

no. gene would have no reason to be a part of this. while you didn’t trust him, you believe he meant it when he said he had nothing to do with this.

“okay? those are two pictures of us talking. are you and i going to be dating the next time you talk to me?”

“ew.”

you throw up your hands with a deadpan expression, looking back over to the first girl. “my point proven. so, now that we’ve established you’re stupid enough to fall for amateur level gossip, what else would you like to accuse me of?”

“excuse me?” she scoffs.

“you’re just saying that to get out of the fact that you’ve been caught.” another girl starts. “we’ve seen how ivy’s been acting lately. you’ve been bullying her because of her crush on garroth, cause you want him all to yourself. like you didn’t already have enough attention.”

you narrow your eyes. it is a little over eight in the morning. you’d barely woken up an hour ago, and there’s currently not enough fucks in your head for you to give.

when you fought ivy towards the beginning of school, you told mrs. hwit you wouldn’t get into one again. you’d hate to see the disappointment on her face, but a quick crack to the nose would honestly be less trouble than trying to understand the scattered reasoning they were giving you.

very suddenly you find yourself… at a loss for words. they wouldn’t listen to you anyways even if you did give a solid argument. they just wanted more fuel for their gossip, and whatever energy you had to defend yourself dissipates at the thought.

just as you’re about to try and shimmy away from the group, the bathroom door squeaks on its hinges as it swings open. it reveals a familiar face, the daughter of the very teacher you’d just been thinking about mere seconds prior. she’s boredly looking down at her phone while walking in, half humming half sighing as she twirls a finger curl around her finger…

you expect her to maybe stutter in her steps or seem surprised when she looks up, but as soon as her red irises flick up to the scene in front of her, she saunters right around the group and up to your side without even a flicker of a change in her expression.

“oh, there you are. what’s going on?” she says, leaning between you and the cheerleading group to reapply her lip gloss in the mirror.

“we’re just talking to her,” the senior says, suddenly sounding much more casual than she had been before.

lucinda very softly scoffs under her breath, standing to her full height and spinning on her heeled mary janes to fully face the group and—whether meaningful or not—cuts you off from the girls.

“oh, really? what about? i love a little gossip in the bathroom.”

the girls look at each other with very minuscule grimaces on their faces, like a pest has just run over the tiles in front of them. it was quite obvious they were doing it in a way to single her out—which honestly would’ve worked on a shy or quieter kid—but lucinda’s complete nonchalance and total patience for a reply just made them appear… humorously awkward.

“about how she’s been bullying one of our cheerleaders. she even beat her up!” one finally speaks up.

“oh, did she? that sounds very unlike her.”

“yeah, she did—!”

“can i see the proof?”

they collectively stare at lucinda dumbly for a second.

“uh, well ivy has the pictures and screenshots, so.”

“but none of you do…?” lucinda crosses her arms and curls her lips judgingly, like they had all just told her two plus two was three.

the senior scoffs. “no—”

“so you don’t have proof. have you seen any of this proof?”

“no, not yet.” the girls suddenly look defensive and a bit embarrassed. “ivy was going to report it to a teacher before she showed it to everyone else.”

“so, you haven’t even seen this “proof”? i’ve heard girls whispering about this for a month, and you’re still believing her with no proof? are you serious?” lucinda deadpans, the sultry valley girl rasp in her voice the cherry on top to her total 1 v 5 take down.

“well, obviously we believe ivy over a slut who hangs out with delinquents and dates guys like gene!” the one who had the pictures of you on her phone argues, her face red.

“well i’ve heard the football boys whisper some real interesting things about you.” lucinda reaches back to grab onto your hand, pulling you into her side. “you’re quite the one to be making slut allegations, slut.”

the girl gasps, and lucinda pulls you with her to walk around the group. you think that’s the end, but she seems to have a few more snide remarks up her sleeve as she slows down again, red eyes judgingly piercing into the group.

“all of you are fucking pathetic. pull your heads out of each other’s asses for once, and you may be able to breathe some fresh air instead of regurgitating ivy’s shit you swallowed.”

she turns to the tallest girl—the senior who had confronted you first.

“oh, and by the way, i heard you complaining in class the other day about that crooked ass nose of yours,” she says, hand squeezing around yours as she stares the girl down. “say anything about her again and i’ll break it. then you can get a nose job for free! on me, bitch.”

there’s a few offended protests that echo through the group, though they seem to be grasping for straws as no more insults come from their mouth other than reworded shouts of the same allegations from before. lucinda doesn’t bat an eye, walking right out the door and dragging you along with her into the hall without looking back.

“unbelievable.” she scoffs, ginger curls bouncing as she hastily walks with you down the hallway.

you stare at the tiles, listening to the clicking of her heels on the floor. it’s a while and a few more turns before she stops, and you snap out of your zoned out daze only to realize she hadn’t led you back to your homeroom door. 

“why are you crying?”

where are you now…? mrs. hwit’s room?

you open your mouth to refute lucinda’s strange claim, though shock yourself into silence at the shaky uneven breath you draw in.

oh.

you were crying. 

you guess that’s why the lines of the tiles were a blurred mess under your feet.

“i…don’t know,” you mutter, bringing your blazer’s sleeve to your face with a sniffle. “i don’t know.”

lucinda sighs softly, pulling you into a hug. she smells like a rich feminine perfume, her charm bracelet tinkling by your ear as she pats your hair.

“overwhelmed?”

nodding and gulping down the lump in your throat, you feel a bit embarrassed as you try to gather yourself. crying in the middle of your school’s hallway was not necessarily on your bucket list.

“you’ve had to put up with a lot this year—this semester. it’s okay.”

you’re not sure what it is about lucinda that makes your tears flow so freely in front of her. she wasn’t necessarily scary or heartless, but you definitely never expected to be breaking in front of her out of all your friends. maybe it was her calming voice, or the pure confidence she exuded—but either way, her casualness about it all helped you gather yourself within a few minutes.

“better?” she asks as you pull away, pulling up her sleeves to pat your cheeks dry.

“yeah,” you whisper.

“good. while we wait for your face to… not look like you’ve been crying,” she pulls your arm, walking into mrs. hwit’s empty classroom. “we’re telling my mom.”

“right now?”

“yep.” she pops the ‘p’ as she says it, marching you right up to her mother’s desk.

the gray-haired woman quirks a brow, slowly raising her eyes to the two of you with an almost knowing look on her face.

“can i help you, ladies?”

lucinda unpockets her phone, opening her camera roll and clicking play on a video. the screen is black and for a moment there’s nothing but rustling noise and faint voices.

“…you’ve been bullying… as if… attention…”

there’s a moment of quiet before the familiar squeak of the bathroom door clarifies the scene.

“oh, there you are. what’s going on?”

your eyes dart over to a very smug lucinda.

holy shit, she was recording?

the rest of the video plays as you stand in awe, barely registering hyria’s stern look as lucinda’s threats are replayed at the end. she spares you a wary glance, and after a few mutterings of explanations later, she finally looks over to you with full attention.

“i’m proud of you.”

“…what?”

“i am proud of you. for opening yourself up and confiding in your friends. i can see how close you’ve allowed yourself to get to, not just lucinda, but to quite a few friends. and good ones at that. compared to how… tense you were at the beginning of this year, i’m proud to see how far you’ve come.”

you swallow down the lump in your throat.

“thank you.”

she leans forward, narrowing her eyes. “and we can add on the fact that you didn’t rip any hair or clobber anyone’s faces this time… yes?”

sheepishly, you recall her stern warning from your first fight with ivy, shifting on your feet. “…yes ma’am…”

she taps her hands on her desk. “good. we will talk about this more later, but for now you both need to get to class. i have some reports to fill.”

once again, you find yourself being led in a daze back to homeroom, lucinda scoffing under her breath every few seconds and shaking her head while tapping on her phone. you don’t snap back until you walk through the doors and everyone’s eyes—including ivy’s flick up to you in 

“well, there you are. i hope you have a good excuse for being twenty minutes late—”

“it’s excused. mrs. hwit sent you an email,” lucinda speaks up, just barely slowing in her steps as you both walk to your seats.

“…alright. thank you, miss hwit. these teacher’s kids…”

lucinda barely pays any mind to the last remark, her eyes held on ivy’s with a malignant smile curved up on her lips. you don’t even bother to check ivy’s face, watching the cracks in the tiles before sliding in your spot next to kate. you can hear lucinda take her seat in front of you, 

there’s a very gentle pull on your hair, trying to get your attention.

“what happened?” katelyn whispers, and when you don’t immediately respond she whips her head to the ginger in front. “why are her eyes red?”

slowly the girl twists in her seat, tapping an acrylic nail with a wry look on her face. she offers no context to the concerned teens next to you, instead intentionally flicking her eyes to ivy before leaning closer. “oh, it’s on, bitches.”

☆

every class you went to after homeroom you were accompanied by at least two friends on either side of you, even ones you didn’t think knew of the situation from this morning. you had giggled about your formation of bodyguards and insisted you were fine, but whether they continued to ham up their protective act out of genuine concern or because you found it so amusing you weren’t sure.

while it was definitely entertaining, you had to draw the line when laurance nearly skipped one of his classes to sit with you in yours and travis tried to follow you in the bathroom when none of your girl friends were around.

now you practically had a circle formation around you, and both you and aphmau find yourself squished together between your friends while you all walked to lunch

“i don’t know what to do!” aphmau whines under her breath, tucked by your side. “i mean, why would anyone even spread a rumor that i’m dating aaron? and what does ivy gain from saying you’re dating gene?”

you lift a finger. “one, from what you said, it sounds like whatever… mark or scent or whatever that aaron left on you must be a part of werewolf dating culture. plus there’s the whole thing of everyone calling you the female alpha. you should talk to him about it—”

“i told you, i tried, but i didn’t even get to bring that part up! he was upset when i told him how lily was trying to use him and had the nerve to say he was disappointed in me! like i don’t even like you and i’m looking out for you! i mean… we both haven’t been very nice to each other, but—”

you hold up your other hand, groaning under your breath. “—everything leads back to those three girls. this is such a mess.”

her shoulders slump. “i know… i’m getting sick of it.”

you hold up a second finger.

“to answer the second question, ivy is doing this because she’s shallow and can’t comprehend why a boy would want to hang out with a girl unless it’s out of romantic interest. so she’s “sabotaging” our relationship with garroth so we’re not “competition”—in her eyes at least.”

“…that’s kind of sad.”

you let your hands fall while your mosh pit of a group makes it to a table, sighing as you take your seat.

“yeah, it is.”

“hi!” someone whispers excitedly next to you, and the higher pitch could mean nothing other than…

“oh! hey, nana.” you smile at the beaming meif’wa, who was holding something behind her back.

“oh, and hello, aph!” she says sheepishly, taking the seat next to you and giving a small wave to aph. “i just thought… i would make something for you since you helped me with making friends and i really look up to you. so… i wanted to give you this!”

she pulls out a small pink box with a clear top that had some winter themed cookies inside, and a bracelet with pink beads and a few bows decorated throughout.

“…this is for me?”

she nods, her fanged teeth poking out from her lips as she smiles. “i made some cookies for all of our friends, but i made a friendship bracelet for you and aphmau. i have the matching one, see?”

she lifts her wrist, showing off a bracelet with much more vivid pink hues than your muted one—a show of her consideration to preference despite the still super cutesie design. the amber doe eyed girl next to you leans forward, gasping excitedly when she’s handed a bracelet with purplish-pink tones.

“so… if you guys want them you can keep them.”

“of course i want it! thank you, nana!” aphmau squeals, leaning over to hug her and rounding you up in the embrace in the process.

“yeah, thank you. this is adorable, honestly it made my day.” you smile.

nana’s eyes light up, sparkles shining in the girl's eyes. “you do…? i’m so glad!”

aphmau looks like she’s going to say something else before the attention of the group is taken by lucinda, who rushes to sit at the table while giggling under her breath.

“what did you do?” teony deadpans.

there’s a sudden screech from a girl on the other end of the cafeteria, and after your heart jolts from the startle you quickly turn to look around, lucinda’s snickering growing a bit louder and obvious. a few of the cheerleaders are wiping away at their uniforms and backing away from a familiar head of carmine hair, who was standing in utter disgust and shock while staring down at her hands.

it takes you adjusting yourself in your seat, but you can see the food on her tray was no longer… food. instead it had melted into a pretty disgusting looking goo, almost like snail slime as it seemed to splatter all over ivy’s face and uniform. the girls who had previously been standing next to her were unfortunately subjected to being in the splash zone, the booger substance also smeared on their neat uniforms.

your eyes widen, jaw going slack as you turn back around to look at lucinda. “you… can do that?”

she quirks a brow, shrugging and looking smugly at the scene behind you as it unfolds.

“remind me never to piss you off,” laurance huffs, staring at the scene with a bit of a satisfied smirk tugging at his lips.

katelyn grits her teeth. “don’t tell her who you like either or she’ll turn them into a frog.”

“that was one time.”

“like, five months ago!”

“oh, whatever.”

garroth, who has been staring at the scene with equal shock to yours leans over, a bit of a grimaced smile on his face. “well, as much as this karma bit seems nice on the surface, i hope it doesn’t cause you more trouble.”

you blink, before slowly shaking your head and laughing under your breath. “honestly, i don’t even care if it does at this point.”

there’s a beat of him looking at you in surprise, before he also begins to laugh. “you know what? fair enough.”

☆

another week passed, and snow had begun to coat the ground. you had begun to wonder if taking the bus would be worth it to avoid the frigid air blowing in from the distant mountainside, a thought aphmau had also pondered with you after one too many slips on the sidewalk just in the past few days alone.

thankfully, pondering on the issue wasn’t something you had to do for long after you’d both mentioned it next to the one and only laurance zvahl.

“thank you so much again for driving us, cadenza!” aphmau beams, tapping her shoes on the floor of the blue volkswagen you both had eagerly scrambled into.

“yeah, of course! i couldn’t live with myself if i left two cute girls to freeze on the streets!” she dramatically declares, grabbing at her heart and clenching her fist.

laughter bubbles from both yours and aphmau’s lips.

“i see where laurance gets it from.” you raise your eyebrows.

“hey! i’m this charming on my own, thank you very much.” he scoffs, turning to face you two. “by the way, did you two hear?”

“hear what?”

he leans towards the backseat, elbows on the middle console. “ivy, lily, alex, and a few of the cheerleaders got busted for everything. they’re in iss until winter break.”

aphmau’s jaw drops. “they got suspended? for real?!”

cadenza nods her head, lips pursed at the juicy gossip. “even the seniors had started to hear all those rumors, but honestly most of us took your side over ivy’s. but the fact that everyone started to know about it means the school had to do something. i think it’s deserved.”

since the beginning of this week, you did notice the girls weren’t really around, constantly getting called out by administration with a gloomy look on their faces. you got called out once, just to give a rundown of everything that happened, but since then everything went… quiet.

turns out while you had been in the counselor’s office, the whole school had an assembly and was given a big talking-to about bullying and how if any teacher heard or got a report of a student spreading rumors, they’d get severe punishment.

that threat probably wouldn’t be taken too seriously, and would likely be ignored by next semester. but at least it worked as a public shaming that would hopefully deter ivy from messing with you again. not surprisingly, gene and his “gang” flew completely under the radar once again, fading into the background while everything else went to shit.

a part of you wanted to say the whole thing seemed like overkill, that it wasn’t that big of a deal. but honestly, the peace you’ve felt this week for the first time in months overrides your embarrassment that this all started over you—and aphmau too.

while cadenza turns up her music and laurance turns to stare out at the snow, you turn to aphmau with a small bit of curiosity in your eye. while one side of the issue had been resolved pretty outright… you’d noticed something really strange about the way aphmau very suddenly quit complaining about her issue with aaron. in fact, you’d noticed them walking very calmly together and even laughing–seeming to get along quite well considering their fiery past.

“so…” you start, narrowing your eyes and lowering your voice.

aphmau looks back, a bit unsettled at your sudden change in mood.

“yes…?”

“about that aaron guy.”

her face shifts to a strangely flustered expression, amber irises flicking away as she slowly shrugs. “what about him…?”

weird…

“you two seem to be getting along now. what happened?”

“uh, well!” she shifts in her seat. “it’s kind of a crazy story.”

you nod expectantly.

she deflates, eyes darting up to the front seat before back at you. “now..?”

you nod, eyebrows impatiently raising on your forehead.

“okay!” she groans under her breath. “so… you know that online friend i told you about? like, the one i’ve been friends with for years now? fc?”

you nod, face wrinkling in confusion.

“well, it turns out that fc… is aaron.”

…

…

“what?”

“yeah. it turns out we’ve actually been friends all this time… and enemies? without knowing it. so, we decided to give each other a try at being friends in real life and start over. turns out he’s pretty nice.”

“he’s pretty nice?”

she shrinks into her seat, looking a bit frightened by your demeanor. “yeah…? i mean, i was pretty mean to him too, so…”

“so… huh?! he’s pretty nice? he was a dick to you for the past five months, and now you’re friends in one week?”

she grins awkwardly, shrugging. “yes?”

cadenza whips her car into her spot, making laurance dramatically gasp and place his hands on the dash–saving aphmau from any further of your scrutiny. with two fingers, you motion from your eyes to hers, before slinging on your backpack and leaning in with a hissed whisper.

“you’re not off the hook, young lady.”

“okay, mom,” she sarcastically responds with an eye roll, slipping out from her side of the car with a dramatic huff. this conversation definitely wasn’t over, but at the very least you could be happy that the situation was… resolved. for now.

©starhvney, 2024. please do not steal or repost my works as your own.

tag list: @orinlin @pain-in-the-ashe @youmake1mistake @arienic @wasting-away-on-the-internet @angelhyperfixates @remiechu @valentique @kalegrinch

[thekatebridgerton]

dating your enemy sibling with gregory and lucy? i guess it fits perfectly both ways

made it a mafia au. Because I wanted the real mortal enemies feel to it.

"Lucy how could you!!" Richard looked on the verge of an apoplexy at the sight before him, his sister and his worst enemy! in his own home! doing...doing... unspeakable things in his bed

"Oh brother I was going to tell you" Lucy said in that oh so musical accent that made her sound like an actress from an old movie "I'm so inlove with Gregory you see" she raised the covers to cover herself, giving a smirking Gregory a soft kiss.

Gregory didn't even pretend to be embarrassed " Do you mind Richard? we were in the middle of something"

" I could kill you!!!" Richard howled looking for his gun "I could kill you both!"

"he'd have to find his gun first" Lucy whispered into Gregory's ear, as they both watched an irate Richard leave the room, slamming doors and calling henchmen to get rid of Gregory (henchmen who were honestly more afraid of Greg than they could ever be of Richard, even if Lucy wasn't holding the purse strings of their payroll)

"Well that was fun wasn't it?" Lucy said getting up from bed wrapped in the bedsheet and leaving Gregory smirking at her in all his naked glory "Nice endurance by the way, your bedroom skills are top notch"

"Well, my mama taught me that when one meets a special lady, one should treat her right, and my sisters in law hammered the lesson down" Gregory shrugged watching Lucy get dressed with every intention of leaving him there to find his way out

"My compliments to the Madams Bridgerton" Lucy smiled "you were an absolute gentleman"

Gregory laughed, he hadn't been a gentleman when he'd been making every effort to desecrate her brother's bedroom with her "Hey Lucy? does this mean you're my girlfriend now?" he asked nonchalantly, giving Lucy his biggest puppy dog eyes.

The thing is that Gregory Bridgerton knew that Lucinda Abernathy had only slept with him to spite her brother. Richard was a pain in his ass most days, always competing with Gregory for everything, ever since Greg ratted his uncle out for human trafficking, Richard had had it out for him, always aiming for everything Gregory wanted and trying to kill him. The man just couldn't accept that Greg was superior than him in every way, so Gregory liked to remind him of it. With a few shots to his sternum if necessary. Honestly, Richard was alive because Bridgertons enjoyed toying with their enemies, not because Greg didn't have the motivation or the capacity to put a bullet in his head.

So when Lucy Abernathy approached him in one of Kate's parties, Greg was intrigued, he'd never paid attention to Lucy, mostly because Richard was Richard and he couldn't imagine the sibling to that particular dingbat being particularly keen on his acquaintance . Still, Lucy was a welcome surprise, perfectly pragmatic, well adjusted and intelligent (despite being the sister of a nutcase like Richard) They'd spent all night talking and he found himself absolutely enamored with her practical and unsentimental approach to life. Lucy Abernathy wouldn't know romanticism if it hit her with Kate's mallet of death and Gregory LOVED IT.

So when Lucy said "wanna get out of here?" Gregory followed. He let her use him. And when she was done, he went for the kill. Mostly because, from what he knew of his worst enemy's little sister, Lucy wouldn't have touched him with a ten foot pole unless Richard had crossed her and crossed her he did. To Gregory's good fortune.

Lucy looked at Gregory's earnest smile, for a guy who had a tendency to shoot Richard every month or so, he was surprisingly sentimental, he even bought her dinner before she took him home with her. Those Bridgerton puppy eyes were already making her feel bad, so what if Gregory Bridgerton was the type of guy who believed in happily ever after and also ran a side business of contraband armament on the weekends. Nobody had ever told her that the Bridgerton baby boy had a sentimental side, heck Lucy didn't know it was possible to BE sentimental when one was that deeply involved with the Mayfair crime underworld and yet here he was, Gregory Bridgerton, asking her if they were an item.

Lucy sighed, she was so going to regret this "Yes Gregory, I'm your girlfriend now"

Gregory smiled like all his birthdays had come at once "I have got to take you to meet my family then"

"Take it easy Bridgerton" Lucy warned, darned the guy moved fast "don't blow it" besides what's the worst that could happen? dating him for a while would be fine, she liked Gregory well enough and it's not like she was going to marry the guy just to spite Richard. With a uncle like hers Lucy had never had a normal boyfriend before, maybe Gregory was her one chance to experience how the normal side of relationships.

Meanwhile Gregory was already plotting how to make Lucy his for the rest of his life.

What's the worst that could happen indeed.