#DID SHE EVEN TELL LUCINDA THAT IT WAS THERE? | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

rafecameronssl4t · 6 months ago

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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.

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dilly-dahlia · 1 month ago

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guys to me Garroth is actually gigantic (especially in mcd and mystreet, not so much pdh or fcu). like 6’4-5” gigantic. big burly man. absolutely huge. his Jury form in mcd makes him 6’8”

Laurance is six feet tops. if even that. he’s probably a little shorter. and he’s also kind of lanky. like. sleeper build i feel like idk. his Shadow Knight form makes him a little bulkier and 7’ and he brags about being taller than Garroth in that form

Dante is 5’9 1/2” and he makes sure you add that half inch. he pretends to be the tallest because six foot is “the woman’s ideal man” but anyone with eyes can see he’s like three inches below that. he used to get sad that he didn’t have an alternate form that changed his height but then he handed Garroth and Laurance’s asses to them during that spar in mcd season 2

Travis is 5’10” and he lies about being six foot. often. he got the short end of the stick because unfortunately his demon form only makes him like two inches taller while it made the Demon Warlock almost a foot taller. he joked one time that that’s the reason he doesn’t like that form

Katelyn is six foot on the dot in all universes. she uses herself as a measurement when guys tell her they’re six foot. she takes great pride in being tall. she’s actually taller than Laurance by just a smidge and that fact destroys him.

Aphmau (named Adelaide in my mcd rewrite) is 5’5”. she’s average height but next to all of her tall ass guards and friends she still looks short as hell.

Zane is also tall. not as tall as Garroth but he’s like 6’1-2”. he has minor scoliosis though (only in pdh/mystreet) so it makes him look a tad shorter. in mcd he absolutely wore shoes with thick soles to make himself seem taller and more intimidating. his robes covered his shoes though so nobody knew.

Vylad however is only 5’8” (the tall gene came from Garte). he’s the shortest of the trio and that’s another big reason why people don’t typically assume he’s the third Ro’Meave brother, since being unreasonably tall is an iconic gene for the Ro’Meave family. in mcd it’s another thing that makes him self conscious about being an affair baby and in mystreet it gives him more reason to distance himself from his family (that’s a whole spiel i’ll go on it later)

Lucinda is 5’7”. she’s very curvy and seems like she wouldn’t be very strong but she can lift a little more than her own weight. she used to glamour herself to make herself seem a little shorter because she didn’t like being above average height

Nicole is 5’3”. she’s also very light. she taught herself martial arts in modern universes because she didn’t want to get kidnapped. the same could be said for mcd but she probably didn’t start doing that until she and Garroth got engaged

Nana is 5’4”. she’s from Tu’la and people, especially meif’wa, are typically shorter there. if she were in Tu’la she would actually be considered on the slightly taller side. she isn’t very strong but her magicks allows her to basically become a necromancer if she’s desperate enough (she never has been)

Aaron is 5’11” but so many people think he’s six feet. like he’ll say 5’11” and people say “no you look six feet” and then he says six feet and people are like “no not quite” so he uses them interchangeably. unfortunately Katelyn is not the accurate form of measurement for him because some days he’s as tall as her and others he’s slightly shorter (and he’s wearing the exact same outfit)

i think that’s all did i miss anyone??

masterlist

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starhvney · 4 months ago

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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

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athzhowakar · 5 months ago

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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

✒️ Next part : Chapter III

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

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away-ward · 1 year ago

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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.

#asked and answered 270 #asked and answered #devil's night series #devils night #nikova banks #ko's headcanons

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hayleythesugarbowl · 1 year ago

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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🍓🩰

#joey tribbiani x reader #joey tribbiani #friends imagines #f•r•i•e•n•d•s #fanfiction #fanfic #reader insert #x reader

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bread-crum206 · 2 months ago

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A Game of Hearts

Chapter thirty-six: Unfinished Conversations

Summary: Y/N’s father is a VIP for the games, he makes a deal with the Frontman that if he marries his only daughter that he will continue to sponsor the games. However, Y/N is not fond of this decision as she loathes the games and in turn, loathes the Frontman as well. Will she grow to love him? Will he let his walls down?

previous | 36 | next

Series Masterlist

Sleep never came.

You lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, listening to the quiet sounds of In-ho moving through the room. The soft rustling of fabric as he removed his uniform, the faint clink of his belt being set aside, the measured way he moved, like every action was calculated.

When he finally settled on his side of the bed, the space between you felt vast.

You wondered if he was asleep. If he had the ability to shut off his mind so easily, to compartmentalize his pain and lock it away like he did everything else.

Or if he was lying there, just as restless as you.

Minutes passed. Maybe an hour.

Then—

“You’re awake.”

His voice was quiet in the dark, almost cautious.

You turned your head slightly, finding his silhouette barely visible in the dim light filtering through the curtains. “So are you.”

A soft exhale. “I don’t sleep much.”

You hesitated. “Because of them?”

A beat of silence. Then—

“I suppose.”

You could tell he wasn’t used to admitting things like that. Maybe he wasn’t even sure why he was saying it now.

Your fingers curled slightly against the blanket. “Do you dream about them?”

Another pause. Longer this time.

“Yes.”

The honesty in his answer sent a strange ache through you.

You turned fully toward him, propping yourself up on one elbow. Even in the near-darkness, you could make out the shape of his face, the way he was staring up at the ceiling, lost in whatever thoughts he refused to voice.

“In-ho…” You hesitated before continuing, your voice softer. “What were their names?”

For the first time, his body tensed.

You weren’t sure he would answer.

Then—

“My wife’s name was Haneul.” His voice was quieter than before, almost reverent. “My daughter never had a name.”

Your breath caught in your throat.

Never had a name.

Something inside you twisted painfully.

“I’m sorry,” you whispered.

He was silent for a long time. Then, finally, he turned his head slightly, just enough to look at you. His eyes—half-lidded, unreadable—held something different tonight. Something more fragile than you had ever seen before.

“You shouldn’t be.”

You swallowed hard, wanting to say something—anything—to make the heaviness in his voice lessen, but you knew words weren’t enough.

Not for this.

Instead, you reached out, hesitating for only a second before your fingers found his hand resting against the sheets. You didn’t grab it, didn’t push, just… touched.

A simple connection.

For a long moment, he didn’t move.

Then, slowly, his fingers curled around yours.

It wasn’t much.

But it was something.

———————

Alright two in one day!! Yippee! Let me know what you think! Thank you!

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#in ho x reader #squid game #squid game x y/n #squid games x reader #arranged marriage #frontman x reader #x reader #marriage au #the front man #squid game x reader

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carolmunson · 9 months ago

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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.”

#ocs!eddie #orange colored sky

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luckyjiii · 1 year ago

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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.

#mystreet laurance #mystreet smut #mystreet #mystreet aphmau #idk how to tag this

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yansfanficwritings · 4 months ago

Text

She Likes a Boy [Lucinda x Reader] (MS)

𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍: Before making an embarrassment out of yourself, you decide to find out whether or not Lucinda is in a relationship with anyone. She currently isn't and you debate on confessing to her or not - only to find out she is in love with someone, but it isn’t you.

𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: F!Reader x Lucinda (Platonic), Lucinda x Ivan (Mentioned), Lucinda x Garroth

𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: Lucinda, Garroth, Laurance, Ivan (Mentioned), Aphmau (Mentioned), Kai (Mentioned)

𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐒: Angst, heartbreak (no comfort), no happy ending on readers' side

𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓: 1K+

𝐀/𝐍: Ahhhh don't come for me - I just kept replaying the song and thought Lucinda and angst go well together, I also haven’t seen any Lucinda x reader angst so I thought I’d put in my part. Also don’t come at me if something isn’t grammarly correct - I tried my best by triple checking stuff - I even wrote it down on paper to add to it and remove what I didn’t like. Also don’t come at me if it’s cringe.

Masterlist

“Wait - so you mean to tell me Ivan CHEATED on you?!” You questioned the ginger and she nodded. You couldn’t help but furrow your eyebrow together. Who in their right mind would cheat on Lucinda? Or anyone in general? You could debate the topic if this were the case but it wasn’t. You were just glad Lucinda wasn’t too heartbroken - or maybe she was still processing things?

Either way, Lucinda had decided that today was a good day to have a sleepover, not because she was now single but because you guys graduated from high school just a week ago. Although you both had went out with Aphmau and the other to celebrate, Lucinda wanted to go out with it just being the two of you since you two are pretty close friends.

You couldn’t help but hide your flushed face when she had mentioned that it was just going to be the two of you since she wanted to spend more time with you. You’ve had a crush on Lucinda for a couple of years now and honestly it’s been a pain in the ass building up the courage to ask her out. Not just because there was always a guy trying to date her but because you didn’t know if she liked girls.

There being multiple reasons as to why not to ask her out you had decided to keep quiet - and thankfully you did because just the week before you had even began building up the courage to confess to her she had already gotten with Ivan. You remember going home with your heart shattered and crying until you basically passed out from exhaustion. It was probably a mix of your lack of sleep and crying but it didn’t really matter at the time.

You have always had a fear of rejection. Whether it was a fear of being rejected in front of others, being rejected while the person had a face of disgust, hatred, or discomfort, or just any type of rejection really. You name it. Either way you told yourself you’d try to get over that fear and that next time she was single you were going to shoot your shot.

It took a while but after a year and a half. Lucinda was now “up for grabs” as some of your ex-classmates used to say. You couldn’t help but glare at them when they weren’t looking. How could they even say that about her as if she wasn’t a human being? Well - yeah she’s half witch but you know what I mean.

Two years later and here you were knocking on Laurance's dorm door. You had heard from Aphmau that Garroth had a crush on the ginger and was debating confessing to her. You don't even know WHY you were mad that Garroth was allegedly confessing to her, she wasn't your girlfriend after all, and she was allowed to do as her heart desired and yet here you were watching as Laurance opened his dorm door. What were you even going to tell him? 'Hey, I heard that Garroth was thinking about confessing to Lucinda and I was kind of hoping he wasn't because I have this huge crush on her, but I haven't really had the guts to do so but every time I FINALLY have the courage to do so it seems that someone else has the same idea and usually gets to ask her out before I can.'

You didn't even realize you had zoned out and were staring at Laurance until he let out a flirty remark. "You know, if you just wanted to stare at me, you're more than able to - but it would be better if you were inside with me rather than out here" You blinked a couple of times before holding back a cringe face. You didn't hate Laurance; you guys were actually best friends, but you never liked his flintiness. Not only were they cringe but you weren't interested in him. You let out a nervous laugh and shook your head. He led you inside and you sat down on his couch. He offered you something to drink and you gladly accepted it.

"So, what brings you here?" He asked and you couldn't help but smile softly.

"What? Can't a girl visit her friend? Or am I not allowed to be here? " His eyes went wide as he shook his head and handed you a cup of water.

"Wha- no that's - that's not what I meant, it's just -" You couldn't help but giggles as Laurance tried his best to compose himself after blushing a bit.

"I'm just fucking with you. I um.... It might seem weird to just come in and ask but is it true Garroth likes Lucinda?" Laurance gave you a confused and curious look. He was wondering why you of all people were curious. You never seemed like the type to ask about anyone's love life. The only reason for you to ask such thing would be -

"Do you like Lucinda?" You looked at Laurance with wide eyes. You knew at one point someone was gonna ask so you already had an excuse to your sudden outburst of a question.

"No - no that's not the case. It's just that Lucinda's my best friend and I know about Garroths history, how he was in high school - flirting with girls and stuff. I was just wondering if he was still the same after graduating? I know there was this whole thing with you, him, and Aphmau" Laurance shook his head, assuring you that Garroth had changed after the whole Aphmau issue and that he had no intention of flirting with anyone.

"To answer your question, yes Garroth does like Lucinda and he's planning on asking her today. That must be where he went off to seeing as he isn't in his room." Your heart sunk but hearing Laurance tell you where they might be you decided to rush up there to see if he was ACTUALLY going to confess to her. You felt disgust towards the way you were acting. After all, she wasn't your girlfriend so there was no point in chasing her the way you were now.

You had went to the cafe Laurance told you they were going to be at and surely when you walked in you saw the two sitting down, chatting while drinking coffees? You couldn't exactly tell what they were drinking. You decided to order a drink and casually walk up to them. It wasn't until you heard Garroth ask Lucinda out that you froze. She wouldn't say yes, right?

"Of course I'll go out with you Garroth!" You felt your heart shatter. It wasn't until Lucinda and Garroth looked your way that you realized you were full on staring at the new couple.

"Oh Y/N! I - I didn't expect to see you here?" Your head was spinning as you tried your best to hold back tears. This was the second time someone's asked her before you and you couldn't help but let a couple of tears drop. You were glad the barista called your name because before Lucinda could even put her hands on your shoulder to ask what was wrong you quickly walked to grab your coffee and ran out of the cafe.

You cursed to yourself as it finally hit you. She wasn't in love with you, otherwise she would've never said yes to Garroth nor would she have dated Ivan. It was a one sided crush and you were dumb enough to keep chasing after her. You drove to your dorm as your phone kept bussing and ringing. It was probably from Lucinda. You shut your phone off the minute you got home and went inside.

You were thankful your roommate wasn’t home as you quickly went to your room - locking the door behind you. Another thing you were grateful for was that Lucinda wasn’t your roommate, otherwise it would’ve been hard to ignore her. You curled up on your bed and covered yourself with your blanket as you sobbed. Your heart ached after all and you blamed yourself for not listening to Kai when he told you he was CERTAIN Lucinda had zero romantic feelings for you.

♫: She Likes a Boy - Nxdia

⏼ 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐘𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬; 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐬 & 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 ❤︎︎

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dookiechews · 1 month ago

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Aphmau Au Headcanon

I know someone probably must have written this headcanon or fanfiction already BUTT~

I wanna make up a different scenario soo...What if...stay with me..Aarmau and freinds in a Coraline Inspired story, but it is HELLA tragic and has A LOT OF CHARACTER DEATHS....

Aphmau and Aaron, a newlywed couple, relocate to a new home after Aaron receives a job offer in a different city. Aphmau is pregnant but does not want Aaron to know because she thinks that he may not want the baby, given his demanding work life and family commitments. In the meantime, Aaron's dad has been pressuring him to come back home to inherit the family business—something that would require him to leave Aphmau behind and forget about her. Aaron, of course, won't leave her behind because he loves Aphmau too much to forget about her, but tension has been rising between the two of them.

As Aphmau acclimates to life in the house, surreal things start happening. With her eccentric but eagle-eyed neighbors, she discovers a hidden universe through a tiny door in their home. It feels like paradise at first, but as she dives deeper into its reach, she becomes aware that something isn’t right with this place.

Castor – The Chicken Shaman - Castor resides in the flat directly above Aaron and Aphmau. He is referred to as a *Chicken Shaman*, a name which he says comes from ancient days and is mystical. His flat is utterly chaotic, filled with troops of books, used jars of potions, feathers everywhere, and, of course, scores of chickens. His chickens don't really do anything special, but he thinks they have the ability to see into the future. One of them, named Timberly, stared at Aphmau for way too long. The man tells Aphmau something about the house: "It has a hole in its belly. Something is waiting for you to notice it." Nobody ever listens to him, always saying that he's a crazy chicken man... but they probably should believe him.

Katelyn & Lucinda – The Dramatic Duo - Katelyn and Lucinda are not geriatric women, but they re-create those women for a skit that they used to do. They overact their past performances and even put on costumes at unexpected times. They reside at the bottom of the house with dusty old stage equipment, crystal balls, and a career of actors' costumes. They will fight incessantly but agree on one warning: "Whatever you do, don't open that door." They don't know why. When questioned why, they avoid it.

(I would put more characters, but like I'd rather type the story out than have you guys who see this have to read this long as freak headcanon soooo....)

One evening, Aphmau finds a tiny, secret door in the house. Through it, she enters another world that is the same as her own—but better and way more colourful. In the Other World, Aaron is calm, loving, and totally devoted. He already knows about the baby and is delighted about it. The house is brighter, and cozier, and even has a beautifully decorated nursery ready for the child. He assures her, "You don't have to be scared anymore. You can stay here, where you're safe." The longer she's there, the *more she forgets* about the real world—about the pressures, the fears… and even the real Aaron.

The utopia cracks. ‘Other’ Aaron begins to change. His voice warps. His love turns to control. Shadows climb up his arms, his shape melting into a dark silhouette. His soft voice turns cold and hollow. Then Shad materializes. Shad had been pretending to be Aaron, playing on Aphmau's weaknesses, seeking to keep her trapped in his world forever. He did not desire her love—he desired her soul and the power of her unborn child. "You were always destined to be mine, Aphmau. You and the child you bear.”

Aaron had already taken note of Aphmau's unusual behavior when she always stared at the little door. At times, she wouldn't notice him next to her, which resulted in him shouting out her name. He asks what's wrong and tries to comfort her, but she keeps pushing him away and brushes off her aloofness as being tired from cleaning. His stressful job kept him occupied, so he couldn't find the right time. He had to look after his wife and wanted to be able to provide what she wanted, so remaining at home forever was not possible. When Aphmau vanished entirely, Aaron panicked, thinking she either left him or was kidnapped.

Castor came out and told him exactly what had happened. Aaron used the intelligence of Castor's cryptic messages and Katelyn and Lucinda's reluctant assistance to discover how to access the Other World. He found Aphmau being held captive by Shad, her mind befuddled and on the brink of losing complete contact with reality. Aaron struggled through the deceptions and pierced the illusion, desperately reminding Aphmau of their actual life together. “Come back to me, Aphmau! This world isn't real, you know it isn't!" At the eleventh hour, Aphmau regained herself and chose Aaron in the end, dispelling the illusion and shattering Shad's grip.

Despite the world falling apart around them, Shad tried one last time to summon Aphmau back, but Castor's chickens somehow helped them escape by pecking at Shad's shadow long enough to provide them with a head start. (LMAO I can imagine them it’s so funny kkksksksskkh) Katelyn and Lucinda, being the mysterious women that they were, had opened a portal. They knew something was off but could not act themselves. Meanwhile, in real world, Aphmau and Aaron shut the door firmly once and for all. She finally revealed the truth to Aaron about the baby and he couldn't be happier.

After Aphmau and Aaron shut the door firmly for good. Something is not quite right because one of Castor's hens kept staring at the door. Like it's expecting something they didn't.

I would type the mess out of this and make it a fanfic.

#aphmau #aphblr #cocomau #my mind is running wild right now.#aphtwt #headcanon #ao3 fanfic?#maybe #other characters would appear in the fic #but I'm too lazy and don't wanna bor people with my excessive writing

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xyxofspades · 10 months ago

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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

#minecraft diaries #mcd #aphblr #aphverse #laurence zvahl #lucinda mcd

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dilly-dahlia · 1 month ago

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iv. Don't Tell Her

pairing: Gene x Reader

content: pdh, drill team!reader, opposites attract, sunshine/grumpy, angst, suggestive but not explicit, blackmail, images used are NOT an indication of the reader's appearance

summary: The more time you spend with Gene, the more people start commenting on your blossoming relationship. You don't think much of it, but there are things you don't know.

word count: 7.0k

masterlist

The Problem With Popularity masterlist

previous part

There was no better time to bring up what Gene had said to you than a class that had Katelyn in it. And that was your first period homeroom, yes, but Sasha was also in there. You trusted her, but you couldn’t glaze over the fact that she was still one of Gene’s closest friends. You had no doubt that she would tell Gene whatever you said.

And then there was your third period Pre-Calculus class, but Dante was in there as well. He had grouped up with you and Katelyn and Nicole at your table and insisted on sitting there the whole year. You weren’t sure you wanted to talk about that with not only Gene’s brother, but the third addition to the sophomore trio of popular boys. Not to mention he had a big mouth.

That left your fourth period AP Ru’aun History class. Lucinda and Nicole sat by you and Katelyn as well, and maybe you didn’t really want the biggest gossips you had ever met to know about that, but there was no avoiding it. The only other times you saw Katelyn were lunch (along with the aforementioned Garroth and Laurance, who would only harass you to tell them what you and Katelyn were whispering about when they noticed) and English (with Sasha, who you had already explained why you didn’t want to know).

But, Lucinda and Nicole would probably find out about it eventually. You’d rather they heard it from you.

“Do you think Laurance still likes me?” You had asked the question to Katelyn, but there was no doubt that Lucinda and Nicole heard you. You noticed the way the writing of their pencils stopped and how they inched the smallest bit closer to you so they could hear.

“Huh?” Katelyn was not as discreet. Her voice was slightly louder than yours, and even though the room was noisy anyway, you would’ve preferred she kept at least a little quiet.

Lucinda and Nicole seemed to take Katelyn’s louder tone as an invitation. They set their pencils down completely and crossed their arms against the table, looking at you expectantly.

You sighed, raising your voice to a conversation level. “Laurance. Do you think he still likes me?”

Katelyn furrowed her brows, sparing you a glance. “I don’t know. Why?”

You rolled your eyes. You didn’t even know why you had asked Katelyn. Nine times out of ten she was dismissive about that stuff. “I was just . . . curious.”

“I thought he was into Aphmau,” Nicole said, pushing the hair that had fallen into her face back. “He did say that, right? I’m not making that up?”

“Yes, he did say that. He and Garroth both told me they like Aphmau, but . . .”

You trailed off, not knowing what else to say without repeating yourself. You opted for another heavy exhale, and rested your chin against the palm of your hand.

“Well, Laurance has always been protective of you,” Lucinda added, quirking her brows as if to indicate something. You didn’t know what, though.

“Why are you asking, Y/n? Did he ask you out or something?”

“No, it’s . . .” You trailed off again and made a vague hand motion. If you told them it was an idea Gene had planted in your head then there would be no doubt that the three of them would discourage you from continuing to talk to him. “You know.”

Katelyn deadpanned. “No, I don’t. That’s why I asked.”

You exhaled. It never took much to make you fold. “It’s just- Gene had mentioned it . . .”

“Gene?” Lucinda asked, her eyes narrowing. “As in Dante’s brother Gene? Gene Accardi?”

“No, Lucinda. Gene Wilder from Willy Wonka.” You rolled your eyes. “Obviously I’m talking about Gene Accardi.”

Lucinda’s brows only narrows more. “Why are you talking to Gene? I know you’ve made friends with Sasha, but I didn’t think you’d entertain Gene.”

“They sit together in physics,” Katelyn bluntly said. You lightly hit her arm, because there was a reason you had been keeping that small tidbit of information from Lucinda for a month and a half.

Just like you had expected, Lucinda gasped dramatically. She stared at you, jaw dropped in dumbfoundment, for a moment before scoffing. “Why did I not know you sat next to Gene in physics? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Do you not see them walk together to lunch every day?” Nicole asked. She didn’t often sit with you and Katelyn and everyone else at lunch, but she was there. You usually saw her across the cafeteria and waved at her.

“No, I don’t because I have A lunch.” Lucinda let out a sad sigh. “I hate having A lunch. I miss so much and I barely have classes with you guys.”

Katelyn shrugged. She couldn’t do anything about it. “I don’t know how to help you. But yeah, Y/n and Gene sit together in physics and he usually walks her to lunch.”

“Like, every day?” You nodded. A sly smile painted itself across Lucinda’s lips. “And you talk every day?”

“I mean, yeah,” you replied. “We’re lab partners, so we kind of have to.”

Lucinda’s smile widened. It unsettled you, to be honest. She only ever smiled like that when she was about to inquire about—

“So do you think he’s cute?”

There it was.

Nicole’s head snapped to Lucinda so fast you swear you heard her neck pop. Your face heated and Katelyn chuckled beside you, probably recalling the toothpick with his picture you had stuck into the hear me out cake Friday night.

“Oh, uhm . . .” You trailed off, scratching the side of your neck awkwardly. You looked down at your paper for an escape. “Hey, do you guys know what question three is?”

“She definitely thinks he’s cute,” Katelyn said, smiling at you. You covered your face, hoping to get the burning feeling in your cheeks to subside. “Gene is her hear me out.”

Both Lucinda’s and Nicole’s jaws dropped, and they stared at you like you had just committed a capitol offense.

“Gene?” Nicole practically exclaimed. Well, she had said it at a normal volume, but the room had quieted since the four of you started talking. You frantically shushed her, not wanting any unnecessary rumors to start. Nicole quieted, and the four of you spent the remaining three minutes of class shooting each other glances instead of talking.

“I can’t believe you think Gene is hot,” Nicole said as she shoved her notebook into her backpack.

“I mean he is,” Lucinda said, raising her eyebrows suggestively. “Gene is so fine and I think he knows it. If he wasn’t such a douchebag I would totally go for him.”

“That’s what Y/n said!” Katelyn exclaimed, shouldering her bag and leading the three of you out the door.

“I did not!” you said, reaching over and smacking Katelyn in the shoulder. The three of you bid Nicole goodbye, as her class was in the complete opposite direction you were going.

“Liar. You put his little stick in the cake and said, ‘If he weren’t so rude I would totally . . .’ And then made that vulgar hand gesture!” Katelyn imitated the hand gesture and shuddered, her shoulders shaking dramatically.

Lucinda laughed and you covered your face in embarrassment. You hoped the two of them would shut up soon because Gene usually joined you as soon as Katelyn left your side. You hadn’t told her he walked with you to physics, and if she found out now you would be dead.

“Aww, the Dancing Queen has a little crush on the bad boy,” Lucinda sang, wrapping an arm around your shoulders and pulling you closer to her.

“That is so cliche,” you said, allowing Lucinda to rest your head against her shoulder. It stretched your neck awkwardly, but you didn’t mind. “And I don’t have a crush on him. He’s just . . . nice.”

Lucinda scoffed, waving to Katelyn as she entered her classroom. “Yeah. Because nice is the word I associate with Gene.” You could feel her eyes roll. “I bet he’s just trying to get into your pants.”

“Which will never happen,” you immediately said, standing straight and shooting Lucinda a glare. “Not only because I don’t have sex, but because I don’t like Gene.”

Lucinda hummed, patting your cheek affectionately. “Oh, clueless sweetheart.”

You scoffed, pushing her hand away from her face. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

Lucinda shrugged. “Not really. I have lunch next and Ivan is gone today. Now, what I wanna see is your interaction with Gene.”

“It’s not anything interesting,” you replied, pushing her arm off your shoulders as well. Now you were really hoping she shut up about Gene because he usually fell into step beside you about now. You were on high alert, looking around for him.

“Please, any interaction with Gene is an interesting one.” Lucinda glanced at you, noticing the way your gaze kept flirting around the hallway. “What’re you looking for?”

“Nothing,” you immediately said. You stopped looking around, meeting her gaze again. “It’s nothing. How’s it going with Ivan?”

“Are you looking for Gene?” Lucinda clearly ignored your question. You hadn’t expected her to answer either, as she typically dodged any question about her thing with Ivan.

“No, I am not looking for Gene.”

“You’re totally looking for Gene!” Lucinda perked up, looking for him as well. “Does he normally meet you?”

There was no point in lying to her. Lucinda had an uncanny intuition and seemed to always know when she was being lied to. If it was something she was really interested in, then she would dig and dig until she found the truth.

You sighed. “Yes, he usually meets me right after Katelyn goes to class.”

“Aww, he wants to spend time alone with you.” You rolled your eyes. “I think he likes you.”

“You’ve never even seen us talk.”

“No, but Laurance did tell me that you and him danced at homecoming.” Lucinda raised her eyebrows at you suggestively. You turned your head to look at her.

“Laurance told you about that?”

Lucinda hummed as she nodded. “He sure did. Well, he was really telling Dante but I just happened to overhear.”

That was code for she interrogated him about it to no end. And of course, Laurance folded. Lucinda had a way of getting what she wanted.

You didn’t know what else to add. You only softly exhaled and turned your gaze back up ahead, where Mr. Vega’s room would come into view if you turned the corner. Gene hadn’t shown up still, and you wondered for a moment if he just didn’t want to walk with you and Lucinda. But looking around again, you still didn’t see him anywhere in the hall.

“Looks like Gene didn’t join me today,” you said, shrugging like it was some sort of tragedy. I’m all actuality, you were grateful for it. If he had decided to join you and Lucinda it would have set off a whole slew of questions. While you were a bit saddened (just the smallest bit, really, not any sort of feeling that would be memorable) that he didn’t show up, you didn’t mind.

Lucinda huffed, jutting her lower lip out in a pout. “You win today.”

You chuckled, playfully pushing her in the direction of the cafeteria. “Whatever. Go to lunch.”

“Fiiiine,” Lucinda sighed, letting her arms drop to her side and dragging herself along the hallway like a rag doll. “I’ll see you later, I guess.”

You waved to your friend before stepping into your classroom. You had partly expected Gene to be seated at your lab table already, but it was empty. You grabbed a paper from the basket at the door before walking to your seat and settling in. You pulled out your physics notebook slowly, hoping with a small part of you that while you were doing that Gene would walk through the door and sit beside you.

He didn’t. The tardy bell rang and Gene still wasn’t next to you. When Mr. Vega went to shut the door a couple minutes later, Gene still didn’t saunter in like he owned the place. You glanced at the empty seat beside you again before turning your gaze to your teacher as he began talking.

Maybe Gene was just absent. He might’ve gotten sick over the weekend, or something. Or maybe he was just skipping the class. You knew he was trying to be present in class more so he didn’t upset his mom, but you imagined he still skipped his other classes. Actually, you knew he did. You had seen him wandering the halls a few times at the same time you were delivering something to another teacher.

About halfway through the period, one of the students sitting close to the door stood up to answer the knock that had sounded. Mr. Vega didn’t stop teaching until whoever was at the door approached him and handed him a slip of paper. You didn’t realize it was Gene until you looked up at the feel of his fingers brushing across your shoulders. The action made you shudder and you immediately sat straight, hairs on the back of your neck standing up.

Gene laughed. “Scared you.”

You glared at him, relaxing back into your slightly slouched position. “Why’re you late?” you whispered. You knew that if he were more than five minutes late to class then he would’ve just skipped, and him being twenty minutes late was shocking to you.

He shrugged, keeping his voice low as well. “Needed a break.”

“Why not just skip the whole period, then?”

“And leave you all alone? I’d never do that to you, bunny.” Gene’s lighthearted tone was paired with a flirtatious wink, which you rolled your eyes in response to. He huffed out a breath of amusement before answering honestly. “I got caught.”

“Gene Accardi got caught skipping,” you teased, sparing him a glance and playful smile. “I didn’t think someone like you would be somewhere obvious enough to get caught.”

“It wasn’t me, doll, it was the smell.”

Your brows furrowed. “What do you mean the smell? Were you smoking pot? Oh, my god, are you high?”

Gene stifled a laugh, pretending it was a coughing fit when Mr. Vega paused his lecture and glanced his way. Gene offered a sly smile and small wave before the teacher continued.

“No, doll. I am not high nor was I smoking pot. You’re so quick to judge,” he teased, nudging your arm. You nudged his back, which made him smile. “I don’t actually-”

“Gene and Y/n.” Your eyes widened and the hairs on your neck stood up again at the sound of Mr. Vega’s assertive voice. You slowly turned your head to face him, finding that not only he but the entire class was looking at you and Gene. “Do the two of you have something to share?”

You shook your head, a timid, “No, sir,” slipping from your lips.

“Not at all,” Gene said. He lifted his hands in a the class is yours manner, like he was passing the baton. You suppose he was, if you really thought about it, since so many of your peers had stopped paying attention to Mr. Vega’s rambling about . . . something. You weren’t too sure.

You shared a glance with Gene once Mr. Vega continued talking and had to bite back a smile to prevent yourself from laughing. Neither of you spoke to each other for the rest of the period, but the two of you continued to playfully and lightly tap each other. It wasn’t until the bell rang that you allowed yourself to giggle.

Gene followed you out of the class, quickly falling into step beside you.. He stayed beside you for a moment, but it wasn’t long before you had to take larger steps in order to keep up with him.

“So you were twenty minutes late because you were smoking pot?” you asked, though it was more of a jest than anything. He certainly didn’t smell like marijuana, though he did have a certain smokey scent he didn’t typically have . . .

“I was not smoking pot, Y/n.” You chuckled at his use of your actual name. “I already told you I don’t get high.”

“You never said that.”

Gene rolled his eyes. “Okay, I started telling you I don’t get high before Mr. Vega interrupted us. Anyway”—Gene placed a hand on the small of your back and pushed you in front of him to bypass a group of freshmen that were congregating in the middle of the hall—“I was just smoking a cigarette.”

You scrunch your nose, looking back at him. The smoky aroma about him suddenly made sense. “You smoke?”

“Why’s that a surprise?” he asked, his brows furrowed. “Did you really not know that?”

You shook your head, and Gene fell back into step behind you. The two of you were approaching the cafeteria, but oddly enough you found yourself wanting to keep the conversation with him going. “You don’t think it’s gross?”

“Why would I think smoking is gross?”

“Because it’s basically a stick of cancer!” you exclaimed. The two of you stopped at the wide entrance to the cafeteria, though you were standing closer to the wall so you weren’t in anyone’s way. “You’re gonna get lung cancer and die, Gene.”

“Do you care if I die, bunny?” Gene asked. He was leaning against the wall, his head slightly lowered to be more on level with you. He laughed in response to your scoff. “Y’know, you’re pretty cute when you’re mad.”

You swatted his arm. “I’m not mad. I’m just saying, smoking is so bad for you. All of your teeth are gonna fall out by the time you’re thirty and you’re gonna contract respiratory issues. Besides, how can you stand the smell of it?”

“Um, I ignore it obviously.” Gene rolled his eyes like what he had just said was common knowledge. Maybe it was, but you wouldn’t know since you didn’t smoke. After a moment, Gene looked out at the lunch room and spotted the table you typically sat at. He saw that Katelyn was already sitting down with everyone else. He could tell Laurance was interrogating her, probably about where you were, and Garroth cut in every now and then. “Did you think about what I said?”

“About what?” you asked, looking up at him.

“Prince Charming and the casanova,” Gene said. He raised a brow and flicked his gaze to yours, a smirk pulling at his lips. “How they still like you.”

“They don’t. They like someone else,” you said, trying to leave it as open ended as possible. You didn’t want him knowing who it was that they liked, just that they liked someone and that someone wasn’t you. “And even if they did, they wouldn’t tell me. We all agreed not to make any moves like that on each other last year.”

Gene’s brows furrowed. “Why? Surely a pretty girl like you and two hunks like that would want to be all over each other. You three were the talk of the school last year.”

You nearly chuckled at Gene’s word choice, but were able to push the urge down. “We were, but . . .” You shook your head, wanting to dismiss the topic. “The girls here aren’t very kind. I don’t really want to talk about it.”

You offered a soft smile, trying to lessen the blow and let Gene know that you weren’t completely dodging his questions or statements. Besides, if he really wanted to know he would probably do his own digging and find out himself.

Gene slightly narrowed his eyes at you. It was an action so subtle that you weren’t even positive he did it. His gaze flitted all around your expression before he hummed and pushed himself off the wall. Your eyes followed him and your body turned when he started walking around you.

“Anyways,” you began, wanting to change the topic of conversation. You shifted your weight to rest on one leg, popping your hip. The change made you shorter than you already were, and Gene smiled in amusement. “I didn’t get to tell you because you so rudely ditched me, but thank you for the dance on Saturday.”

“It was my pleasure.” Gene bowed, and you rolled your eyes in response. “I bet I was the best dance you’ve ever had, right?”

“Bye, Gene,” you said, already turning. You assumed he walked away at some point during your trek to the lunch line because when you stopped to look back he was gone. It wasn’t long until you saw Nicole’s red head of hair bounding up to you from your peripheral. When you looked at her, she was smiling cheekily.

“So, you and Gene,” she said, raising her eyebrows at you.

“Shut up.”

—

The sun was unusually hot. Phoenix Drop had weird weather. August was usually fine, though a chill always entered the air by the time school started. It wasn’t long after that September became the blazing pits of hell for a week before the temperature gradually dropped down to freezing for winter.

Normally, the Silver Starlets practiced in the school provided T-shirts and shorts. However, Coach Geter always let the team wear whatever they wanted to practice when the sun was scorching. She always made everyone smother sunscreen across their skin, though.

You could still feel the sun’s golden rays going through the sunscreen and burning your skin, but you didn’t mind. Your mom always gave you a tube of mysterious ointment that worked wonders on any sunburn you got. Despite that, maybe wearing a camisole and athletic shorts for practice wasn’t the best decision you’d made in your life, but it was just so hot.

Because of the heat, the drill team took breaks more frequently. You were sitting on the bottom level of the bleachers, water bottle resting on your lap so you could gulp down water while you fanned yourself with one hand and scrolled on your phone using the other. Your hair was tied out of your face, but it wasn’t doing much to combat the heat.

Cadenza came and plopped down beside you. The bleachers shook and squeaked from her sudden weight, and you groaned when she leaned against your shoulder.

“Get off of me. You’re sweaty,” you said, pushing her body off yours.

“But you’re sweaty, too.”

“I know that, but if we’re both sweaty and hot and we get close like that then our sweat will just gather and make it even hotter.”

Cadenza scrunched her nose in disgust. She leaned back and propped herself on the seat behind her, manspreading in the same way her brother did after his own practices. Even though they weren’t blood related, they were practically the same people.

“I hate this,” Cadenza groaned. You chuckled, looking over at her. Her eyes were closed and she faced the sky, letting the sun bake her skin.

She was one of the newer additions to the Silver Starlets. Previously, she had been captain of the cheer team but renounced her position once she found out she’d made the prestigious Phoenix Drop High drill team over the summer. Ivy was the cheer captain now, and from what you’d heard the program had only gone downhill.

“I bet you like it more than cheer, though.”

“Yes. God, the girls on the cheer team are so mean and do nothing but gossip.” Cadenza opened her eyes to roll them. You chuckled as she turned to face you. “It’s no wonder they weren’t good enough for drill.”

You laughed. “That was you last year.”

Cadenza waved her hand, dismissing your statement. “That’s irrelevant. Anyways. I came over because there’s a couple people looking for you under the bleachers.”

Your brows furrowed. Who the hell was looking for you under the bleachers?

“I don’t know their names,” Cadenza continued, “but it’s that group Laurance is always going on about. The one with silver hair and the other with blue eyes. And Zenix, actually. I do know his name.”

The lightbulb clicked in your head. It didn’t surprise you that it was them looking for you, but it was surprising that they were even looking for you to begin with. You wondered why. You also wondered why Cadenza only knew Zenix’s name. He was usually the one people forgot. And thinking about Cadenza’s track record with guys, you realized why.

“Oh, my god. Do you think he’s cute?” you asked, furrowing your brows.

Cadenza scoffed, though the action came off as dramatic and obviously forced. “What gives you that idea?”

You deadpanned, blinking at her. “You’re into skinny, lanky guys. Plus, why else would you know his name and not Sasha’s? Or Gene’s, for that matter.”

Cadenza scoffed again. She didn’t actually say anything, but she kept scoffing and sputtering like she was trying and failing to come up with a defense for herself. “Go talk to them.”

You laughed at the way she snapped at you and dismissed your thoughts. You softly shook your head before standing up and setting your things down. You checked the clock on your phone. You only had a couple minutes until Coach Geter called you back, so you were quick to run behind the bleachers.

Sasha smiled and waved once she caught sight of you. She was sitting on a box of supplies, both Gene and Zenix standing in front of her. They turned to look at you when you waved, and you watched as a smirk painted itself across Gene’s lips. He had been holding a cigarette, but at the sight of you he snuffed it out against one of the bleacher’s support beams.

The gravel crunched beneath your feet as you briskly walked over to them. Sasha had pushed herself off the box of supplies to stand beside you once you finally made it over to them. The three of them had already changed out of their school uniforms. That wasn’t surprising, considering school was over, but most people went home and changed before doing whatever they did. If they stayed at school, they typically stayed in their uniforms.

“What happened?” you asked, your voice coming out as a pant. You wanted to bend over and catch your breath, but you could imagine Katelyn snapping your back straight and telling you that your airflow was getting cut off by crouching.

“Wanna go to the park with us?” Gene asked. You deadpanned.

“First of all, you really made me run all the way over here to ask that? Why couldn’t you just text me? Second.” You motioned to the bleachers, more specifically what was on the other side of them. “Do you not see that I am actively doing something?”

“Just skip,” Zenix cut in, shrugging as if his solution were the most obvious in the world. You had spoken to him the least out of the trio that made up the Shadow Knights, but you still considered Zenix a friend. You weren’t sure if he shared the sentiment.

“I can’t just skip, I’m the captain,” you said, rolling your eyes. “And besides, it’s like a million degrees.”

“We would be sitting under shade,” Gene said. “C’mon, don’t you wanna hang out with us? Or with your best friend?” He motioned to Sasha.

You glanced at Sasha, who glanced at you and shrugged.

“Don’t look at me,” she said. “I didn’t know I was his trump card to get you to come with us.”

You laughed, shaking your head. You looked back at Gene, thinking. “I mean, I could join you guys later?” you suggested, shrugging. “Practice ends at six. I’d just have to go home quick to change, but I can definitely join you after. Maybe at like 6:30?”

Gene hummed in thought, but Zenix was the one that responded. You found that odd since he didn’t typically talk when you were around. “Yeah, that’s great,” he said, nudging Gene. The two shared a glance, but you weren’t sure what it could have meant.

You were about to inquire about it, but Coach Geter blew her whistle. The high note rang through the air and echoed in your ears when it was through, and you heard the bleachers shake as the drill team girls set their things down and began getting off.

“Okay, I’ll see you later, then.” You offered them a smile and one last wave as you ran off, pausing at your backpack to get one last drink of water before joining everyone else on the field.

Gene watched, and as he looked through the gaps in the bleacher seats he thought about what he was doing.

His initial plan had been to slowly chip away at your goodness. Very slowly he would break you down and rub away at your kind heart like he was a sheet of high grit sandpaper and you were a block of wood that needed to be shaped. Then, once your spirit was broken down, he would swoop in and offer a spot in the Shadow Knights like a saving grace. It would work, he’d figured, since you seemed so eager to please.

But the more he talked to you, the more he didn’t want to do that. He found that not only were you harder to break than he anticipated, but that he enjoyed the air of light that followed anywhere you went. It made him feel warm.

Despite that, he tweaked his plan. You’d need more incentive than just being broken down to even consider joining the Shadow Knights. So, he talked to a friend of yours.

—

“Aphmau!” you called, jogging up to where the group was gathered under one of the large trees. You had changed out of your sweaty athletic attire into jean shorts and a loose shirt whose collar hung off your shoulder, and your cowboy boots from earlier had been exchanged for more breathable footwear. “I didn’t know you were coming along.”

The freshman stiffened next to Gene. She nervously glanced at him before nodding and shifting her gaze to you. “Yeah, I . . . S-Sasha invited me. And I figured since she’s your f-friend that . . .” Aphmau trailed off and made a vague motion with her hand.

It was a lie, but you didn’t know that. You had seemed physically exhausted when the group of them saw you trudging along the sidewalk, trying to follow where they were based on the location Sasha sent you. It seemed that seeing Aphmau with them had brightened your mood.

And it did. Seeing her with Sasha and Gene and Zenix showed that your two major friend groups were combining despite the way Laurance spoke of them. It meant Aphmau was giving them a chance, and if she was, then the probability of everyone else doing the same was higher.

If you knew the situation of why she was there, though . . . Well, your reaction would have been very different.

You gave her a warm smile. “Well I’m glad you decided to come along.”

Aphmau gave you a curt nod. Although your smile made her visibly relax, she was still tense. Her shoulders were held high and her head was lowered and she kept fidgeting with the golden band on her finger. When the five of you found a nice space to sit down together, she stayed close to you and tended to only speak directly to you.

“Are you wanting to go to Ivy’s party this weekend?” Sasha asked, glancing up. She didn’t ask anyone in particular, just left her question in the air.

“Who’s Ivy?” Aphmau asked.

“This girl. Hot pink hair, green eyes. She comes to our table sometimes and talks to Garroth,” you said. Aphmau made an O shape with her mouth and nodded. “I didn’t even know she was having a party this weekend. I was wondering when the first one was coming up.”

“She probably kept it from you,” Gene said, meeting your gaze. “Y’know, considering her obsession with Prince Charming.”

You rolled your eyes. Ivy had always been salty about how close you and Garroth were. It only worsened when word got around that he liked you last year. “Don’t remind me. I swear, she went crazy last year.”

“What happened?” Aphmau asked, leaning forward slightly. She didn’t seem as anxious after talking for a bit. She was probably relieved that the Shadow Knights (plus you) didn’t actually do bad things. For the most part, at least.

You sighed, leaning back in the grass as you recalled the memories. “As you know, last year Laurance and I dated. I had a bunch of classes with him so we got really close.”

“Aren’t you a junior?” Zenix asked. You noticed he liked to pretend he wasn’t paying attention to anything, but the chances of him listening were higher than the chances of him not.

“I transferred from Scaleswind. The way their credit system is set up is different from here. Basically I already had a bunch of sophomore credits, I just needed freshman credits,” you explained, waving your hand to dismiss it. “Anyways. I had a bunch of classes with Laurance but Garroth was also in most of those classes. Guess who he ended up liking.”

Aphmau raised her eyebrows at you and you nodded, pressing your lips into a line. “I didn’t know until after Laurance and I started dating, though. I don’t think I would’ve found out either, but I did because Ivy kept leaving notes in my locker telling me to ‘stay away from her man because I have my own.’ She also recruited a bunch of other people to leave, uhm . . . colorful notes as well.”

There was a new one every day. Every day you would open your locker and a neon sticky note would be stuck to the door or slowly flutter to the ground. You’d kept them in a box while you were getting them, and you still had that box somewhere in your room buried deep beneath your bed. You didn’t know why you kept it.

“Wasn’t there also a rumor that you cheated on Laurance and got pregnant?” Gene asked. Aphmau’s eyes widened and she turned to Gene.

You inhaled sharply, having forgotten that detail. “Oh, my god. I forgot about that.” You stared off into space for a moment, blinking as you tried to remember anything else that happened because of that. “There were a lot of people saying I cheated on Laurance. Most of them were the girls obsessed with him trying to show that they were better options.”

“That’s terrible,” Aphmau said. You could tell she wanted to offer more words of comfort, but she didn’t know what else to say

You shrugged. “It’s why we broke up. We talked about it and agreed that being together only caused drama, so we ended it mutually.”

“I’m surprised he was so mature about that situation,” Sasha cut in. She was laying on her stomach, kicking her feet and rubbing her thumb over a long blade of grass she had pulled from the ground. Her shiny nails caught the last rays of sun as it set and sparkled. “I remember he hated conflict and confrontation when he was in the Shadow Knights.”

You nodded. “He still does. I think in that situation he just recognized how much it was hurting me, so we cut it off.” You nodded again. Silence enveloped the park, and you were left awkwardly flirting your gaze from person to person. “Enough about me, though! Someone else talk.”

Another second of silence passed. You drummed the tips of your fingers against your arm, waiting for someone to break it.

“Gene’s got his eyes on a girl,” Zenix blurted, jerking his head back to avoid the pebble Gene threw at him. Sasha laughed, readjusting so she seemed more at attention.

“Yeah, she’s all he talks about lately,” she teased.

“I don’t know who you’re talking about,” Gene said, acting as if he hadn’t just thrown a rock at Zenix.

“You know. You spend a lot of time with her,” Zenix said, vaguely motioning. The interaction made you chuckle, and you and Aphmau simply watched.

Gene furrowed his brows, pointing to Sasha. “You’re not talk about Sasha, are you?”

Zenix hit Gene in the shoulder as Sasha scoffed. “It better not be me,” she said, though there was a knowing tone to her voice.

“Gene, don’t be an idiot.”

Gene held his hands up in defense. “She’s the only girl I hang around a lot.”

“Someone you’ve been hanging around a lot lately, stupid,” Zenix rolled his eyes.

“I still don’t know who you’re talking about,” Gene said. His tone indicated that he did know, however, and his reluctance to talk about or acknowledge it made you laugh.

You phone buzzed in your pocket, and you pulled it out to look at the notification. It was your mom, who was calling you home because she needed a third opinion about a debate she was having with your dad and sister. You texted her back and pushed yourself to your feet.

“Alright. I’ve gotta go,” you said, lifting your arms above your head and stretching. “I’ll see you all tomorrow, kay?”

You were met with nonverbal responses. Aphmau nodded and Sasha waved up at you before going back to scrolling on her phone. Gene saluted, and his gaze followed you until you got into your car and drove away. He turned to Aphmau, his expression colder and more taunting.

“See?” Gene smiled at her, a mocking lilt to his tone. “We aren’t all that bad.”

“Around Y/n you’re not,” Aphmau said, though her voice was soft and timid. Now that you were gone her shoulders tensed again and that heavy pit in her stomach returned. “If I didn’t know better then I’d think you’re normal people.”

Gene hummed, amused. He reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a cigarette box. He reached into the other and pulled out a black and silver lighter. “We are perfectly normal, Y/n is just a little too sweet to be involved in everything we do.” Gene pulled one of the white sticks from the box and placed it between his lips. He cupped his hand around it, protecting the flame as he lit the cigarette.

“She doesn’t need to know everything anyway,” Zenix added, rolling his eyes as if it were common knowledge.

“Well she’s your friend, isn’t she?” Aphmau asked, her brows furrowed. She had bent her knees and had started holding them against her chest. “Don’t you think it’s . . . bad to not be yourself around her?”

Gene removed the cigarette from his lips and breathed the smoke out, waving Aphmau off. He balanced the stick of cancer (as you had so graciously called it) between his pointer and middle fingers. “She’s fine. She’s a tough girl with thick skin. Didn’t you hear her talking just now about Ivy and her little cohorts?”

“If she’s so tough then surely it’d be okay to tell her,” Aphmau mumbled. She hadn’t meant to say it aloud. Gene hearing her even try to fight him in any way was the last thing she wanted, but when Gene pinned her with a glare that could kill, goosebumps rose on Aphmau’s skin.

“Remember our deal,” Gene reminded, tauntingly tapping his finger against the phone that sat beside him in the grass. “You tell Y/n and I make sure everyone sees that picture.”

Aphmau swallowed. She nodded. She held Gene’s gaze for a moment, too scared to glance away but feeling smaller every second he kept looking at her. She thanked her lucky stars when she heard her mom calling for her.

“APHMAU! ¡VAMOS! ¡La cena estará fría cuando lleguemos a casa!”

Aphmau’s head turned so fast in the direction of her mom’s voice she heard it crack. She nodded. “Okay, mom! I’m coming!”

“You know Spanish?” Zenix asked as Aphmau scrambled to her feet. The girl quickly nodded and, not wanting to be pulled into any other conversation, bolted to where Sylvanna’s car was parked.

Aphmau nearly slammed the car door shut once she had settled into the passenger seat. It was something Sylvanna would’ve gotten onto her for if she hadn’t already been going on a tangent.

“I know you said you wanted me to give you privacy when you’re hanging out with friends, and I really tried, Aphmau, I really did. But I just had this feeling and I couldn’t stand the thought of my baby being hurt, so I went all around the park to find you. And then I saw you with that group and was relieved for a moment because you’re okay, but then you looked so uncomfortable and- Aphmau, those three aren’t troublemakers, are they?”

Aphmau instantly shook her head, reciting some of the script she had written for herself if her mom asked questions. “No, not at all. It was a . . . Just a long day! Yeah, I’m just, so exhausted, you know?” Aphmau laughed nervously, fanning herself with her hand and looking out the window.

“Okay . . . Anyways, your grandma decided to come over with empanadas, so for dinner we’re having that with the green salsa you like and- Is he smoking?” Sylvanna squinted, leaning over the center console in an attempt to get a better look at Gene, who was in fact smoking.

Panic coursed through Aphmau’s veins. She had never been good at lying, especially on the spot. “No! He just . . . Uh . . . He has asthma! That’s an inhaler.”

Aphmau laughed nervously again, leaning forward to pretend to scratch something on her leg in order to try and block her mother’s view. It was lucky that Gene had lowered the cigarette from his lips and turned so the puff of smoke wasn’t visible.

Sylvanna nodded, though she gave her daughter a suspicious glance before she started driving along. She had started talking again, but Aphmau wasn’t listening. She only caught a few stray words and figured it was something about her grandma asking about her father or asking how Aphmau was doing in the private school she was paying for.

And just when she had gotten out of the shower and was drying her hair, her phone buzzed. She flipped it so the screen was up, sighing when she saw the message.

She was in deep now.

first fic with the new color schemeeee idk do we like it

anyways chapters are gonna be slower to come out now but i hope you all are supplied with this because now we are getting INTO IT. with the way next chapter goes the stuff in this one might be irrelevant but trust it will be important later. little reminder that gene is an ass in pdh but y/n’s an “i can fix him” girl so she’ll fix him 🙂‍↕️

TAGGING: @garrothswiferealnotfake @wasting-away-on-the-internet @mellozhi @pushingdaisies1 @orinlin @luckygirldotgov @snowblossomsx @lucciluvr @oliemolliever @endo-bunny @purpledsun @angelhyperfixates @siochandess @dontcrackurpinkytoes

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starhvney · 8 months ago

Text

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.

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

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