#Got caught up in schoolwork but i had to finish this piece

[empanadont]

Little bird, why do you fly?

You flee from your cage, reaching for the sun, only to trapped once again.

Little bird, how much more are you willing to bleed? Do you notice all your feathers being plucked, or do you embrace your fall, because the wind on your face distracts you from the ground?

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

How about Fellow and Gidel staying at the Ramshackle dorm? There's plenty of room, might as well let someone in need use it.

(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧ As long as they behave and be nice, of course.

(If they do anything suspicious, our ghost buddies are here to help!)

(Who knows, maybe Fellow could even join ghosts on their "selling NRC's mandragoras" thing. His charisma sure is useful)

So tell me, do you wanna go?

“You guys can stay over as long as you behave and be nice!”

That was the one and only condition you had set. Surely they can follow a single rule, you thought. Right?

Well, things started gone south at around lunchtime. Prior to then, Fellow and Gidel had either been lounging on the sofa or sticking their noses into every possible room, nook, and cranny. “Nice place you got here,” Fellow had commented. “Be sure to take good care of it.”

Then noon arrived, and with it, lunch. You were busy finishing a homework assignment when a shrill hiss met your ears. Grim, you realized, and he’s upset.

You set your homework aside and rushed to the source of the sound: the kitchen. “What’s wrong?! What happened?”

You were met with Grim, Gidel, and Fellow, all to the floor. They tugged on the same tuna can, yanking it back and forth, one side to the other.

“Uh… guys?”

Fellow gasped and leapt onto his feet, hands slapped behind his back, as if to conceal evidence of his act. Grim careened back from his released, rocketing into a wall. He desperately clung to his tuna can, even as he slumped from the impact.

“Hey there, kiddo! Done with your schoolwork so soon?” Fellow asked with an anxious chuckle.

“What were you doing just now?”

“What, us? We were lookin’ to grab some grub! Right, Giddie?”

Gidel nodded.

“Th-They ganged up on me and tried to take my tuna can!!” Grim wheezed. “I had to defend it with my life, yanno!”

Fellow maintained his grin, but not-so-subtly grinding the heel of one foot on Grim’s pronged tail.

“Mee-OUCH!!” he howled.

You sighed and rubbed your temples. “Listen, fellas. I know you’re my guests, and I’d love to have you over for a meal. Really, I would. Problem is, the headmaster only allots us a certain budget every month for groceries, and it just about cover the necessities for me and Grim.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have the resources to provide for two extra people. You can have a piece of fruit or bread or something, but I don’t know if I can do a full meal. I feel really bad, but the money’s tight this month.”

“Wh-What…!” Fellow caught his surprise and reeled it in. “Didn’t you say that you had three other roommates? What about them?”

“Oh, they’re…”

“Boo.”

There was a cold breath at his ear, the soft sound of an invader. A shiver radiated from Fellow’s neck, his fur standing on end. He robotically turned, stiffening when he saw a translucent hand grasping his shoulder and three pale faces returning his gaze.

“Heeheehee! Djdja call us?” the Ramshackle Ghosts chorused.

“H-HIIIIIIIIE!! G-G-GHOOOOOSTS!!!!” Fellow shrieked, jolting back in fear. (Gidel’s reaction was far more controlled, eyes swelling wide.)

“Myah?! H-He totally did a 180!” Grim gasped.

“Your new friend’s real jumpy,” Ghost B cackled. “Oh, this fella will be a hoot to have around.”

��Nice to meet ‘cha. Enjoy your stay, and don’t mind us!” Ghost A added. “We’ll just be floating around.”

“Hey. You guys finally decided to show up,” you said casually. “Heading out now?”

“Yup! Those mandrakes aren’t gonna harvest and sell themselves.” Ghost C exchanged a look with his spectral companions. “We’ll be back before dinner though.”

“Alright, see you then… Oh, wait. I have an idea.” You gestured to Fellow (who was still cowering) and Gidel (who stared at the ghosts curiously). “My guests could make do with some money too. Think they could join you for mandrake picking?”

They took one look at the shivering fur mound that was Fellow. Eerie grins crept onto their faces.

“Sure, why not?”

“O-Oi, oi, oi!!” Fellow hissed. “You’re not seriously gonna sell us out to your dead buddies, are you?“

“Gidel seems okay with it,” you noted, pointing. The cat boy had stumbled forward and was now trying to grasp onto Ghost C’s tail. “I guess he’ll go by himself then?”

His expression fell. “What!! No, he can’t…!”

“They’ll be good chaperones to him, promise.”

“That’s not the problem here! You can’t let a kid wander off with total strangers!! What kinda irresponsible adult does that?!”

Touché.

“Then sounds to me like you should go with him,” you suggested nonchalantly. “You know, as his guardian and all.”

“Grrrrr…! FINE!! L-Let’s get to pulling those screaming weeds then. I won’t say no to a job that pays!”

“Good, good. Happy to be workin’ with ya, fella.”

“It’s FELLOW Honest! Get it right, dammit!”

[dcangel]

SISTER— S.S.

For about a year, Stiles had a sister. He still does, but only the bond remains.

cw; angst, depression, survivor's guilt, no smut, new girl!reader, reader has a crush on stiles. (lowk a yap sesh) 1.9k words

A boy smiled at you from across the room. You’d seen him in your history and chemistry class, which was ironic since you didn’t have any of that with him or his odd friends. He and another boy took turns following each other around like lost puppies— not in the romantic sense. You learned the first boy’s name to be "Stiles" due to the overwhelming warnings and threats from irritated teachers constantly scolding the boy. It was worse when he was with his friends, specifically the boy named Scott.

Scott, you noticed, seemed to have a look of longing hidden behind deep brown irises. His smile never picked up unless others prompted it, and he’d stare off at this tiny ripped piece of paper he would later stow away in his wallet.

Months faded behind your eyes, memories were made, and tears even fell, but you never asked why Scott sometimes looked at his girlfriend, Kira, like he wished her to be someone else or why Stiles sometimes couldn't look at Scott. Those two occurrences were always connected. When heartache would fill Scott's eyes, guilt would flood into Stiles's— but both boys shared grief.

Stiles would endlessly pace around his room, hand on his jaw and white pencil between his fingers. Messy scribbles and smudged lines cluttered his crime/suspect board. Just like his father, stiles was, anyone could see that. A huff here, a frustrated sigh there— his fingers would snap, and he'd swear he figured it out this time, but the lines never met their dots. Stiles told you about a time months ago when walls in his room were covered with pictures and clippings of articles, each connected by different colored strings. Lydia would argue that he only used red, which you later found stood for 'unsolved.'

Lydia was almost the same as the boys— green eyes drifting from her schoolwork and around the room frantically. 'I hear voices,' she would tell you, 'Voices from the past.' Of course, your first thought was that she's insane. What sane person hears whispering voices? Although when you were told the history of your friends and Beacon Hills, you toyed with the notion each of them was a little insane— but rightfully so.

As your friends took turns explaining their own supernatural abilities over school lunch, you turned to the last boy, which you were quite fond of. Stiles. His jaw flapped like a fish's, his chocolate eyes scattering around. He looked to Scott, and at first, you assumed it was Stiles's supernatural instinct to look at his Alpha friend, but when he started to speak, the words didn't stop. He threw out words that didn't go together in an attempt to tell you that he was not, in fact, supernatural like those surrounding you.

'I was, uh... I- How do I-?' He abruptly shut his mouth, his lips pressed to a thin line, not that you were looking at how they moved even when he struggled to push words passed them. He did manage to force a hefty sigh through his nose, though. 'It was an accident- Well, I mean, obviously — Not that you would know —' He shook his head before continuing, but you took note of how the boy couldn't finish a thought without another one barging in. 'I was... possessed by this spirit — evil spirit — who just, uh, well, it brought, y'know... chaos, strife, and pain upon us all, and...' You caught his eyes glance over to Scott, whose gaze was glued to the table. 'Yeah. Yeah, that's it. A lot of people got hurt. Seriously hurt.'

'Some died.' That voice came from Lydia, her face matching Scott's. You had no reason to question if someone close to the group was killed, you didn't know any better. Everything was new to you. Some days, you regretted not asking 'who?'

A man simply called 'Argent' had been inadvertently introduced to you via Stiles and Scott, pondering if he was needed in a new turn of events. 'Something is always going on in this town,' They explained. 'He was a hunter, but he helps us now.' And in your mind, with how little knowledge you held of this new world, you didn't question how they came to know this man.

Your first time meeting him was spontaneous. Stiles had driven you guys to meet Scott at the man's apartment. When the elevator opened and the door creaked with age, boxes caught your eye first, then Argent. His hair was greying, eyes shining with firmness but glossed over with a sense of loss. You've learned it's a look he permanently wears. You were just tagging along, really, following close behind Stiles because you were in a stranger's house, and the boy was your anchor. You weren't equipped with special abilities or senses like your friends, but he kept you tethered to your sanity. You two were the only ones of your friends to be perfectly ordinary humans, and that came with a bond you hoped he thought was special.

You let your eyes wander like they were off-leash animals. Not rabid ones, just curious ones. You often didn't allow yourself to peek around in fear of what you might find. This isn't your world; don't get more involved than you need to. Today, you decided this man was safe. A picture frame sat on Argent's desk the four of you were huddled around. Scott was busy pleading for one last mission before the man moved away for good. Argent was comfortably settled in his position of involvement: none. You could've fully honed in on their conversation and the threats this town faced without someone to stop them, but you were more attuned to the three smiling faces behind the broken glass of a picture frame. Argent, and two women. One had red, short, spiky hair, while the other wore her long, dark brown curls loose with a purple headband. The brunette had deep dimples, long lashes that made you a little jealous, and a brightness you could feel through the glass. She certainly lit up any room she walked in.

You studied what you assumed to be Argent's family, and you wondered why you hadn't seen the brunette around school. She looked young enough to be a high school student, but maybe it was just good genetics.

An elbow in your side broke you free of those thoughts, your curiosities leaving your mind until you're reminded of them days or weeks later. Stiles told you they're ready to head out, and you look to the older man, offering a smile as thanks for his time. He nods at you three, and you leave without a second thought of the two women.

Later in the week, you find yourself at Stiles's house for the sixth time in four days. He's pacing, muttering to himself. You're flat on your back on his bed with your knees up, shoes long disregarded by the front door, picking at your nails. Stiles was always the first one you went to whenever you'd get a fresh set or have them painted. You probably should be going to Lydia since she changes nails like she changes outfits— which most likely costs more than you have in your bank account— but you wished Stiles would react the same way. Sometimes, if the designs were intricate enough, Stiles would grab your hand and bring your fingers closer to his face so he could truly appreciate the amount of detail and dedication. He even paid for your nails once.

A folded scrap of newspaper pinned to his old bulletin board pulled you from your reminiscence. Your stomach softly collided with his jersey sheets when you rolled over to get a proper look— as best you could for the distance, at least. There was no use trying to read the finely printed words distorted by shadows and creases of the old paper, but it was more so the corner of a photograph peeking out behind it that drew you in. You shifted further toward the end of his bed, your neck bending at all sorts of angles in a better attempt at seeing the full photo. Eventually, you huffed in defeat and stood up, Stiles barely showed signs of acknowledgment. A few silent shuffles later, you reached out and touched the bent newspaper, peeling it back to reveal a thumbtack with a red string tied to the handle stuck in the corner of a picture. A picture of the same brown-haired girl you'd completely forgotten about at Argent's house.

You flipped back to the news scrap and skimmed over the text, but it had no relevance to the girl, only mentioning a warrant for an arrest which you immediately recognized as the arsonist, Kate. You recalled briefly hearing her name being mentioned when you went to Argent's house and how she was his sister. You've seen pictures of her online, and this girl wasn't her, she couldn't have been. She looked sweet, her eyes full of life and warmth, something a murderer like Kate couldn't even dream of possessing.

Your first thought was that maybe this girl was Stiles's sister, but that couldn't have made sense because there was also a photo of the girl and a red-haired woman at Argent's house, and there's the fact that her photo is one of the few that remain on Stiles's wrecked corkboard. Unless she was adopted? Maybe the sheriff decided it was too much to take care of two children alone after his wife passed. Argent and the sheriff already seemed to have history, so it was entirely possible except you knew the sheriff would never even think of such a thing.

"I didn't know you have a sister." You felt the words spilling before you even had a chance to rethink your deduction.

The pacing stopped, a pencil clacked against metal. "Huh?"

Suddenly you felt stupid for snooping, the guilt sinking in when you started to speak. "Yeah, this girl here. She— Are you guys related?" You pointed to her photo, comforting eyes and a bright smile staring back at you.

A floorboard cracked, and the shadow on the bulletin board grew as Stiles got closer. You turned to him just in time to catch his eyes connect with her photo. His jaw opened, but there were no words to fill the empty space. You could tell by the way his eyes briefly squeezed shut that her face brought bad memories to light. Maybe she was an ex of his? You truly hoped not since that would mean he's not over her if her picture is still in his room.

"That's- She's-" A sigh of frustration. "Her name is Allison." His eyes dropped, and the guilt he spoke to Scott with re-entered his voice. You hadn't considered the possibility of it being a sensitive subject, and you'd do anything to keep Stiles from being upset with you, but before you had a chance to tell the boy to forget it, Stiles was on the move again.

His hand ran up his forehead, his fingers rubbing at the creases before carding through his hair. "She was Scott's girlfriend, you would've probably loved her." Stiles finally looked up at you for what was probably the first time tonight. "She sacrificed herself to help Scott save me. She shouldn't have... shouldn't've died." You picked up on how he was referring to the time he was possessed by the Nogitsune. His eyes carried so much grief, guilt, and loss. How could a boy so young bear more trauma than most ever would? Still, Stiles read the persistent curiosity in your eyes. "She was my sister, but we're not related."

[tainoidiot]

If I may, can I request a jealous fic with any of the dork squad (jervis, riddler, or crane) 💕🥰💕

I think I'll do BTAS Jervis for this one!

* I'm finally not sick anymore, and all my schoolwork is finished so istg I'll post more I prommy-

BTAS Jealous!Jervis Tetch x Reader

+ "Alright! How do I look, my love?" Jervis asked you, showing off his signature indigo coat and tophat to you with a wide grin. All you could do was shrug and laugh, grabbing at his coat. "You know this is just a potluck my friends are hosting, right?" Jervis huffed, placing his hand on top of yours "I like making a good impression on people. And the first step with that is a fetching outfit!" He smirks, to which you shook your head and giggled "Baby, you look like an undertaker for clowns.."

Jervis faked a gasp, pushing you away "From my own beloved! I won't have it, I won't!" Placing his hand on his forehead and doing a dramatic fall onto the couch. You took his hand and smiled "Come on, we're gonna be late. Let's get going."

--------

+ Jervis sat at the park bench, nervously tapping his foot as he looked around. You had wanted to introduce him to your friends for a while now, but seemed to have forgotten that he wasn't really sure what to talk about around people. He didn't want to start going in on the lore of Lewis Carol, but he also just hated sitting there...

That's when he caught a glimpse of you talking to one of your male friends. This made him feel even worse, being that Jervis already felt pretty bad about his own image. Is this someone who could snatch you away at any second? Oh god, they're so attractive too! Why are you dating him when this guy was so perfect?! That's it! He won't take this!

Jervis got up, practically giving this guy the death stare as he walked over. As soon as he got to you, Jervis wrapped his arm around your waist. You jumped, not noticing him at first. "Jervis! You scared me!" You chuckled and smiled at him "Hm, yes.. my apologies." He growled, making it very clear how he felt in the moment. Catching onto this, you decided to excuse yourself from the conversation and pull him to the side.

"Is everything okay? You sound off." You asked with concern in your voice. Jervis shook his head and.. stopped. God, this entire attitude of his was silly wasn't it? He sighed and bit his lip nervously "Yes.. Yes everything is alright. I apologize for taking you away from your conversation." But it didn't take long for you to piece together what that was about. "Wait a second.. Jervis, are you jealous of him?"

"I can't exactly help it! He's so incredibly attractive, and you look like you're having such a nice time alongside him. Why would you want me when you could have that kind of man on your arm?" He asked, his voice squeaking a bit. You frowned and took his hands in yours "Jervis, no way do I want to be with him when I have something so much better." You explained. "But I'm older too. You already get looks from people from that, plus my reputation.." you could almost see him shrinking. It broke your heart.

"Baby, no way. Do you remember when I told you I loved you?" He nodded. It was dark, cold too. But you both made time out of your busy schedules to meet up and talk. It didn't take long for you to realize that you loved him, mostly because it was the first time you felt wanted by someone. He wanted to be with you, and it made you feel wonderful. "No guy can ever top that." You reminded him, wrapping your arms around him into an embrace. He smiled and reciprocated.

How silly of him, indeed.

[daily-whistlepaw]

No way ur on day 1296

yes way I am

(And I could go on with even more screenshots of my folders, that's a lot of files and probably a good part of the reason my laptop makes more sound than an airplane)

I carefully number them all and yes I have been at it for three years and a half by now. If you scroll down this blog you will see them all day by day.

Daily whistlepaw began early 2021 (january 10th to be exact), but I had been thinking about it since late 2020 and was mostly inspired by daily squirrelflight. I too had a thing I wanted the authors to do and after some careful consideration of if I'd actually be able to do it and not have it be a short stint, I just began.

You will see that my early art is quite different because I grew A LOT while drawing Whistlepaw every single day (with a few misses that I caught up as soon as possible, that's why sometimes you'll see a few drawings posted the same day when I was too tired or swamped with schoolwork the day prior or so). It's been a long project so far and I am spiteful and will not stop any time soon. Daily whis is my silly obligation of the day, the One Thing I know I will do in a day, no matter if it's a detailed piece or the hastiest class doodle. I do not like missing days and will often make a traditional piece on the spot with other people around if my daily quota hasn't been reached and I manage to find even the smallest opportunity.

Honestly a big reason it ever go so big was that I had a lot of time in those early years of daily whis. the schoolwork wasn't as heavy and I was just freestyling this all for funsies and I got attached and it led to three and a half years of daily whistlepaw, some very nonsensical or half batshit ideas/headcanons (gotta use those starphones more), a whole google docs to try and keep things more organized that I began working on a little while ago and should finish, and just a lot of fun. Usually I keep these sappy rants for the big day celebrations, but Whistlepaw has genuinely become a huge part of my life and the one thing I default to doodle whenever I'm bored. Most of my profile pictures and even my phone background are all drawings I did for daily whistlepaw. My friends know that cat as ME; When I draw something for a silly joke of ours, it's Whistlepaw I use and I don't see myself stopping anytime soon.

The Erins have acknowledged my existence (at least in an oblique way) in that article about Whistlepaw they did a little while ago and new material for Whistlepaw is actually being written in the books. Whis is a relatively major part of ASC and Ivypool's Heart, and even then I have my own entire world with this little blue cat. Heck, I began an original little story that's been posted as part of the daily drawings on occasion now and it is just very fun to be doing all of this and that's the main part of this. I enjoy this. I love this actually. Whistlepaw is my silly character, mostly divorced from canon, yes, but what does canon have to offer? I like the Whistlepaw I draw every day, I like drawing every day, I like the years-long effort I've put into this and how much I've grown because of daily whis and how much daily whis has grown with me.

Sometimes it feels like a chore, but that's the rare occasions when I am tired or dealing with a bad case of artblock and daily whis, when pushed a little harder, is often a good part of what drags me out of artblock again, and it is good exercise to draw every day. You only becomes good at something by doing it regularly and the massive improvments I made with my art here are quite good proof of that.

So to finish an answer that truly shouldn't have been this long, but I like talking. Yes way I am at day 1296 and I'm aiming for day 2000 and more!

[changingplumbob]

New Goth Household: Chapter 3, Part 5

Keira and Marta discuss the jerk that is Marta's emotionally abusive ex. Milton tries to make a friend and Joey throws himself in to his work.

Keira: And by he we’re talking about the sorry excuse of a man that belittled you for years, right

Marta: Liam

Keira: I thought you said he was through pursuing you when he realised you were no longer afraid of him

Marta: I thought so. But he waltzed in and wanted me to make his coffee order. I mean I couldn’t say no, the boss was right there watching

Keira: Did he say anything else

Marta: That I make him crazy. That he misses me. I told him, I’m in love with a beautiful girl. His response was rather vulgar

Keira: That piece of trash

Marta: He never believed I was bisexual. Thought he could woohoo liking girls out of me

Keira: Please tell me you spat in his coffee

Marta: Carino I need this job, we need savings. We can’t live in that mansion forever and I want to be able to pay my own way with you

Keira: But-

Marta: He doesn’t know who you are or where we are, he can’t harass us beyond wanting crappy coffee.

Keira: I just want you safe

Marta: Whenever I’m with you Keira, I feel safe

Alexander: How was your first day of school

Milton: Okay I guess. Except when they asked me if my mum or dad were picking me up and I had to say neither

Alexander: I’ll call your teacher about it

Milton: Please don’t. I’m already the kid with no parents, I don’t want to be the kid who makes trouble

Alexander: If you’re sure

Milton: I am. Look I’m all finished with homework so I’m going to go to the library room

Alexander: You think he’s okay

James: It was always going to be tricky love, but I think he doesn’t seem too downcast

Joey: Wait- he just turned up like some stalker creep

Marta: I’m used to him pulling stupid stunts

Joey: But you haven’t been together in ages

Marta: He thinks he owns me, or owns my happiness

Keira: Yeah I don’t count as a partner because I’m a girl

Milton: Adults sound stupid

Joey: You’re telling me kid

Alexander: You get promoted yet

Joey: Even I’m not going to get promoted on my first day. The producer did have a flip out though, kept flinging me panicked emails, and I thought I was paranoid

James: Did you sort it

Joey: Oh yeah. I had to take some time off other tasks but I managed to make a programme to tackle all the issues. Even got praised in the afternoon meeting

Following dinner Alexander takes time to play with Milton and make sure he ends the day happy. James looks after the other youngsters, making sure the cats are content.

Alexander: I haven’t read anything but textbooks in ages

James: It’s always nice to slow down. Did Milton get to bed alright

Alexander: He was cracking jokes so I think he’s okay sweets

…

In their room Keira and Marta are having quite a passionate make out session.

Marta: You’re kissing pretty hard carino

Keira: Sorry, I just want to help you forget whatshisface

Marta: Ay dios mio, I can’t even remember his name

Keira: Good, we’re working

All the young adults take advantage of the home gym while James preps breakfast for everyone

James: Gertrude they did not order this with cat fur dressing

Joey: Can you see my muscles yet

Alexander: I guess

Joey: You seem crabby

Alexander: Milton’s still insisting on sharing a room. It makes it hard for me and James to...

Joey: Do something abut getting hard? You know you can just put him somewhere else

Alexander: He’s my brother, I’ve got to look after him

Alexander washes is dishes in the guest bathroom where James finds him.

James: You all caught up on homework

Alexander: Yes Mr Goth, I’ve finished my schoolwork

James: *chuckles* well Milton is at school, the cats are napping down here, our bedroom is pretty empty right now if you’re up for it

Alexander: I’m always up for it. It’s felt like forever since we’ve been together and I have been dreaming pixel part dreams

James: So glad I landed a younger man. Come on love

School only made Milton tense but afterwards he invited over classmate Reynaldo. The two set themselves up int the dining room battling voidcritters. Could Reynaldo be Milton’s first childhood friend? Unfortunately I did make it trickier to raise friendship so we’ll have to wait and see.

Alexander: Milton, come and eat

Milton: Just as soon as I win this battle

Reynaldo: Never!

Marta: Kids are so cute

Joey: Guess who got promoted! It’s ya boy Joey

Alexander: Still talking about yourself in the third person when you brag

Joey: It helps highlight my skills. I just demanded some challenges, took extra training and ta da! I’m now a project manager

Marta: Is that good?

Joey: It’s closer to the dream. Well the career dream, not the sleep with as many women as I can dream

Joey chose to work hard during his shift (seriously, I didn’t select it) so is feeling like he needs to stretch his creative skills. He starts knitting a new pair of socks upstairs while Marta checks out what drama is on TV. When Alexander is finished with his homework he joins them and they chatter away until Keira finally finishes her work. Joey is ending his knitting when he gets a hook up txt from Tuesday.

Tuesday: Congratulations on your promotion!

Joey: You here to congratulate me then?

The two head to Joey’s room where Tuesday takes a moment to chat before diving in.

Tuesday: You know how Monica has always fancied you

Joey: Really? But she’s less than attractive

Tuesday: To you maybe. Anyway she’s got her sights set on Derick and was asking about how we practice together and I get the feeling she’d like to practice with you. If for nothing else than making Derick jealous

Joey: Yeah I’m sure my killer good looks have nothing to do with it

Tuesday: Focus. My point is, if you have fun with her, make sure to include me. I’ve wanted to get a better look at her boobs for ages

Winterfest is certainly over so its time for a cat costume change. Hamlet gets a mysterious cape while Gertrude gets to be a lady knight, en garde! Joey tried to fit in some creative time to wipe away his threatening burnout before work but didn’t quite manage it. Fingers crossed he doesn’t overdo it today.

It may be raining but if you’re underwater it makes no difference. Keira has another day free of classes before her exams and takes the time to do some more diving. She gets a new underwater photo and cements her love of sea creatures.

Milton got another pop up about inviting Reynaldo over after school. He lost his first tooth during recess (one of his front oversized ones) and is not happy.

Milton: Why do we have to lose them anyway

Reynaldo: If you were an adult with kid sized teeth it’d be weird

Milton: How many do we have to lose

Reynaldo: I think it’s kind of the same one over and over again until we become teens and they shift

Milton: Sounds logical to me

Keira has also been taking time to use the easel Kayleigh gave her and today finished her first masterpiece! Mum will be proud. Alexander is indulging in his culinary hobby again by making everyone mac and cheese. I know I don’t have hobbies installed right now but I’m going to keep playing like I do. Joey arrives home and yep, he’s experiencing burnout. Time to use a vacation day to unwind I think.

James is busy giving lessons on love to Marta and Keira when Alexander finishes cooking.

Joey: Man I feel rubbish

James: You don’t look too good son

Keira: Burnout maybe?

Joey: Please, I’m a genius. That said, I have taken tomorrow off

Alexander: Milton! Come eat!

James: It’s good he’s making a friend

Of course before everyone can be finished Hamlet jumps up and helps himself to the food.

Derick: Yo bro, how’s it

Joey: Not too shiny my man. Hoping some partying can lift my mood but my roomates have exams tomorrow

Derick: Dude I have exams tomorrow and I can still enjoy a keg

Joey: Us bro’s are built differently. Is Monica here

Derick: Monica? Probably. She always seems to be wherever I turn

Joey: You ever tap that

Derick: Na, I don’t dabble with amateurs. But why are we talking about her, come on in

Joey taps the keg but try as I might, the keg stand interaction doesn’t work

Monica: Joey, you came

Joey: Always do

Monica: *blushes* You know you have pretty eyes

Joey: I do, lashes make a difference, but let’s cut to the chase. You don’t need to flirt with me. If you want to practice to impress Derick I’m happy to help

Monica: Really? Just like that?

Joey: If the woohoo is on offer I’m happy to oblige

Joey: But you know, it’s not going to be sparkles and rainbows. Be sure you want this

Monica: I do, and make sure to give Derick a good review

Joey: About that, Tuesday really wanted to help

Monica: She did? But I’m straight

Joey: Same here but playing with more people can increase your skills

Monica: Okay but if she’s involved she has to take some cute pics to “accidentally” send Derick

Joey: I’m sure she can manage that. Shall we go upstairs

Monica: No. Not here. I want Derick to think I’m good, I don’t want him to think I’m easy

Previous Part ... Next Part

[the-anxious-youth]

Hey y’all! Lil Update

So I finally got around to finishing one piece (the live action) and it’s inspired me to finish my requests I had for them so I’m going to get working on that as soon as I get caught up with my schoolwork. I’ll open requests again once I get through the ones I already have just to make sure they get done first. Anyway I hope you’re having a lovely day/night and I’m looking forward to getting back to writing for you guys❤️

If you want to be added to the taglist for any one piece characters or all of them just send me an ask and I’ll put it on my Google doc so I don’t forget it

[arrantsnowdrop]

Dementors - Fred Weasley x Reader

Summary: Takes place during Prisoner of Azkaban. Reader is in her fourth year (one below Fred/George) and has been having a rough year because of the Dementors. Fred steps in to help.

Warnings: mentions of anxiety and stress

Word Count: 4,500

A/N: I’ve had this fic idea for a few months now, and finally got around to writing it! Fred is genuinely the love of my life and I hope you enjoy reading! :)

The Hogwarts Library was your favorite place to study. It wasn’t necessarily because you enjoyed the silence more than anyone else, but rather stemmed from your inability to work when other people were around. The moment you broke off from your group of friends’ “study sessions” and started studying by yourself in the library, you fell in love with its quiet yet comforting ambience.

Studying alone didn’t necessarily mean you were lonely while studying. There was an unspoken sense of camaraderie between the regulars who frequented the library most nights of the week. Hermione, for example, had become your unofficial “study buddy” during your second year, with the two of you sharing a table or a couch to do your work on every time you were in the library together. Despite her being a year younger than you, she was one of your closest friends.

Even on nights like tonight, with buckets of rain falling down outside and the wind howling louder than a banshee, the library remained one of the coziest spots in the castle.

It was Saturday, one of the few nights Hermione didn’t come down to join you, and so you’d abandoned your normal desk near the windows in favor of a cushioned armchair near the fireplace (which Madam Pince only lit on nights like this).

You relished the warmth radiating from the fire in front of you, admiring the soft, flickering light it cast on the piece of parchment in your lap. You were taking a break from your half-finished potions essay, transfixed by the rain cascading down the tall library windows like a small waterfall.

You squinted as a dark figure floated into view, brows furrowing as you recognized it as one of the many dementors assigned to Hogwarts’ ground this year. You shuddered, quickly reverting your eyes to your essay.

How ironic, you thought, that you were writing about the Calming Drought when you hadn’t felt calm once all year.

You came from a muggle family, and while many creatures of the wizarding world were still unfamiliar to you, dementors were one aspect you wish had remained secret. They terrified you, to put it plainly.

You hadn’t slept soundly since the first day of the semester when one of them had just floated into the train compartment you were sharing with Harry, Hermione, and Ron. You’d almost passed out right then and there, and you weren’t even the person it was interested in.

You understood why they were there, but you still hated them. You could hardly go anywhere without seeing one hovering lifelessly through a window or lurking slowly over the Quidditch Pitch. As Hermione had said herself, you didn’t need to be near one for it to make you feel absolutely awful.

And while you didn’t like to think of yourself as an anxious person, the dementors’ presence this year had completely degraded your mental state. You were sleeping less, eating less, and trying to cope by putting all your effort into your schoolwork. At least when you were preoccupied with an essay or studying, you’d get a small distraction from the horrible creatures that permeated your everyday life.

“Oi, (Y/n)!”

You jumped about five feet in the air at the sudden noise, essay and quill falling unceremoniously to the floor. You groaned, twisting in your seat and eyes widening at the sight of Fred Weasley approaching you, a concerned look on his face.

“Sorry, love, didn’t mean to scare you,” he apologized sincerely. You gulped, ignoring the term of endearment, and shook your head dismissively.

“It’s alright,” you replied with a wave of your hand. “Just caught me off guard is all.” You reached down to pick up the items you’d launched off your lap. When you sat back up, Fred was walking over with a chair he’d grabbed from a nearby desk. You gave him a small smile as he sat down next to you.

“I’m assuming you’d like help with something?” you teased knowingly. He grinned and nodded.

“Hermione said you were in the middle of writing a potions essay, and seeing as Georgie and I have spent the last week studying for our potions OWL, I figured I’d come ask you all the questions Hermione couldn’t answer for us,” he explained. “If that’s okay with you, that is.”

You feigned offense. “Wow, Hermione first then me? I see how it is, Weasley.”

He rolled his eyes, pulling a crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket and smoothing it out on his thigh.

“These are our areas of concern,” he said, handing the paper to you.

“Areas of concern?” You raised an eyebrow as you scanned over the paper, chewing your bottom lip lightly as you tried to figure out what topics you could actually help him with. You glanced up at him, cheeks flushing at the sight of him watching you intently with a small smile on his face.

You’d always been a bit infatuated with Fred Weasley, but then again, who wasn’t? Fred and George were Quidditch legends, insanely popular (but in the truly social way, not the stuck up “I’m better than everyone” way), and quite smart. They were funny but caring, and stood up for anyone who needed it. He was also a year older than you, and thus you regarded him as completely unattainable.

“I understand everything up until this here,” you said finally, pointing at where ‘Draught of Peace’ was written. “I think this is where the fifth year curriculum begins, and obviously I’m not there yet.”

“I will gladly accept whatever help you can give,” Fred replied, grimacing as Madam Pince interrupted him with a loud “Shh!”

You startled again, exhaling quickly and glaring at Fred for causing the reprimand.

“Someone’s jumpy today,” he said, brows furrowing slightly. “You alright, (Y/n)?”

“I’m good, thank you,” you replied, looking down at Fred’s list once again. You went to hand it back to him, only to find him staring at you with an apprehensive look. “What?” you asked defensively.

“Have you been sleeping lately?” he asked quietly. You gulped, realizing you hadn’t concealed the dark purple bags under your eyes before you’d left your dorm.

“It’s just been a tough week,” you replied firmly, shoving the list into his hands and reaching down to gather your things.

“(Y/n)-”

“It’s late,” you stated, cutting him off before he could interrogate you further. “How about we get together to study sometime this week? That way I can find all my essays from this year for reference.”

“That works fine for me,” he replied hesitantly. “Are you-”

“I’m free any day except Wednesday, and Thursday morning because I have a Charms test,” you interrupted again, standing up quickly. “Just let me know whenever.”

He nodded slowly, pushing himself out of his seat as well, concern still etched across his face. You tried to give him a reassuring smile.

“How about tomorrow in the Great Hall? After my Quidditch practice,” he finally suggested. You nodded eagerly.

“Sounds perfect, I’ll see you then.” You gave him a small wave and rushed towards the doors, trying to ignore your heart beating ten times faster than normal and the memory of Fred’s worried gaze.

• • •

When you woke up from yet another night of hardly any sleep, you realized you had absolutely no idea when Quidditch practice was. You had walked down to the common room looking for Harry, but lo and behold, Oliver Wood was already up and annotating a book on Quidditch strategies at nine in the morning.

Practice was from three to five on Sundays, as you quickly found out, meaning you had a whole eight hours to stress about studying with Fred before it actually happened.

You spent an hour trying to fall back asleep and another working on your potions essay, then decided you’d had enough of your own room and went to bother Hermione in her dorm. You found her sitting on the carpet surrounded by a copious amount of notes, with Lavender and Parvati helping her sort through them.

“Transfiguration,” Parvati explained as you sat down to help them. “We have a test on Friday.”

“A bloody hard one, too,” Lavender said, slightly exasperated. “Four chapters worth of short ended questions and two essays.”

“Where’s Kellah?” you asked, realizing the fourth inhabitant of the dorm was missing.

“Interrogating McGonagall about all this.” Lavender jabbed a figure at a stack of notes spitefully.

“Maybe Kellah will convince her to give us all bonus points,” Parvati suggested. Hermione laughed softly, head still bowed over a lengthy piece of parchment in front of her.

“I hear you’ve got a study date with Fred Weasley this afternoon,” Hermione said, glancing up to give you a grin and an eyebrow wiggle. You groaned, blushing as Lavender and Parvati squealed.

“It’s really not that serious-”

“Except that it is!” Lavender all but shrieked. “You’ve liked him for forever!”

“Sweet Merlin, this is your chance!” Parvati gushed, grabbing your hand and squeezing it tightly. “I’m genuinely so excited about this.”

You laughed and shook your head. “I’ll be sure to give you all updates tomorrow, though I can’t promise they’ll be all that interesting.”

The four of you continued to talk about your looming study session with Fred as you combed through Hermione’s notes.

“This’ll be good for you, (Y/n),” Parvati said thoughtfully. “I mean, Fred’s a great guy, he’s always cared about you-”

“Maybe hanging out with him more will help with the whole, y’know, anxiety situation,” Lavender added. You shrugged.

“I mean, I saw him for literally five minutes yesterday and he’s already figured out that I’m not sleeping,” you said, chewing your bottom lip. “And I don’t why but the thought of him knowing everything makes me nervous.”

“Why?” Hermione asked curiously. You shrugged again.

“I guess I just don’t want him to be upset, or worried.”

“(Y/n), Fred would never be upset with you,” she said reassuringly.

“I think it’s romantic that he’s all in-tune with your emotions,” Parvati said wistfully.

“And he cares,” Lavender sighed, staring at the carpet emotionally. You rolled your eyes.

“Thanks, guys.”

• • •

At 2:30, you tried to convince yourself that you were heading down to the common room to relax, not to catch a glimpse of your favorite Weasley twin on his way to practice. That was a lie.

Fifteen minutes later, Fred Weasley ambled down the steps with the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, laughing loudly with George while Oliver trailed behind them muttering something about maturity. Fred’s face lit up as he caught sight of you curled up on the couch and smiled at you brightly. You gave him a small wave in return, hoping he wouldn’t be able to see the faint blush on your cheeks.

“I’ll see you later!” he called on his way out of the room. George paused in the doorway to give you an exaggerated wink, giggling when you glared at him before turning to catch up with the rest of the team.

You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding, cursing your quickened pulse and sweaty palms - he’d only been in the same room as you, for Merlin’s sake, there was no need to get so worked up.

And yet Fred had all your nerves on edge as the clock on the wall ticked closer and closer to five o’clock. You pulled out your potions textbook and a spare piece of parchment, deciding to make a few notes for later.

At some point you dozed off, your lack of sleep catching up with you as it often did in the middle of the afternoon. You’d become a frequent napper in the last month or so, finding it easier to fall asleep when it was still light out. Today, however, was not the best day for one of your four hour recovery naps.

You woke up with half an hour to spare before you needed to be in the Great Hall. You went back up to your room, gathered your typical study things and changed out of the pajamas you’d been in all day, opting for a sweater and a new pair of sweatpants instead. This time, you made sure to dab concealer under your eyes, erasing all evidence of your insomnia before you left Gryffindor Tower.

There were only a few students sitting in the Great Hall when you got there. You took a seat in the middle of the Gryffindor table and inspected the baskets of assorted snacks in front of you as you set your bag down.

One of the first years, a girl named Amara, pushed a basket of pumpkin pasties towards you from her seat across the table. She gave you a shy smile. “I know you like them.”

“Thank you, Amara,” you said, grinning at the young Gryffindor and grabbing two of the pasties.

“What’s that about?” she asked as you pulled your textbook out of your bag.

“Potions,” you said, setting the book on the table in front of you. “I’m helping Fred study for his exams.”

“Fred Weasley?” Amara asked with wide eyes. You chuckled.

“The one and only.”

As if on cue, Fred made his way through the doors of the Great Hall, head turning as he scanned the room for you. He grinned as his eyes met yours and hastened his pace just a little bit. Your heart skipped a beat, admiring the way his sweatpants hugged his legs and the slight flush to his face.

“Hello, love,” he said, sliding into the seat next to you. You gave him a small smile, eyes widening as he wrapped an arm around your waist. If he noticed the blush tickling your cheeks he ignored it.

“And hello to you, too, Amara,” he continued, giving her a wave. “You look lovely today.”

She squeaked, face turning a bright shade of red as she scampered down the bench towards her classmates. You rolled your eyes, giving him a playful slap on the shoulder.

“You’re a menace,” you scolded.

“Sure am,” he replied proudly, removing his arm from your waist and clasping his hands together on the table in front of him. “So, potions.”

You nodded, flipping open your textbook to the Wit-Sharpening Potion (which you’d bookmarked earlier). “This is the first thing in the fourth year curriculum.”

“Which is where Hermione left off,” he added with a nod.

“I’ve already read it over,” you explained, pointing at some of the annotations you’d made earlier. “So we can review it together and then you can copy down all the important bits to study later.”

He looked down at himself and then gave you a sheepish look. “Do you by chance have something I could write on?” he asked. You sighed, reaching into your bag to grab a piece of parchment and a quill.

“You’re going to be the death of me, Weasley,” you said sarcastically.

“Oh, I hope so,” he replied cheekily, giving you a heart-melting grin.

You spent the next hour or so guiding him through the effects and recipes of each potion. He actually did a surprisingly good job at paying attention, taking detailed notes and only interrupting every once in a while to point out Amara staring at the two of you from a distance.

“She’s so cute,” you remarked softly, watching her gossip energetically with her friends.

“She reminds me of you when you were a first year,” Fred said. You gave him a confused glance.

“What do you mean?”

“Very enthusiastic, easy to rile up,” he explained.

“Now I understand why you and George pulled so many pranks on me,” you groaned, turning the page to the chapter on Skele-Gro.

“It’s was our job to terrorize the new students,” he said, raising his hands in defense. “Peeves’ orders.”

“Uhuh,” you said sarcastically, unable to keep the grin off your face.

“This is the stuff Madam Pomfrey gave to Harry last year!” Fred said excitedly, pointing at the book. You grinned and nodded.

“Yes! Now what’s it made of?” you asked, covering the ingredient list with your hand.

Fred’s nose scrunched as he concentrated. “Erm, puffer fish, and an arm bone, and…spiders?”

“One spider,” you corrected, lifting your hand off the page. “And a bunch of other things.”

“Chinese chomping cabbage, five Scarab beetles…” he mumbled, scribbling onto his parchment as he squinted at the list.

“Invented by Linfred of Stinchcombe,” you added.

“Funny name,” Fred chuckled.

“Which one?” you asked. “Linfred, or Stinchcombe?”

“Both.”

You giggled softly, gaze trailing upwards as the light emitting from the ceiling changed from a pale yellow to a deep blue. The floating candles gleamed brightly against the dark night sky. Despite the change, there was still enough light shining on the tables for you to be able to work.

“Lovely nighttime ambience,” Fred remarked from beside you.

“You sound like you work in real estate,” you replied, gaze moving from the ceiling to the large window at the front of the hall.

You inhaled sharply, noticing the all-too familiar silhouette of a dementor floating just beyond the glass.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Fred asked softly from behind you. You hardly noticed the hand he rested gently on your arm, focused entirely on the dementor hanging in the air like a twisted puppet.

“Dumbledore said they weren’t going to come on the school grounds,” you muttered.

Fred followed your gaze to the window, and you felt him stiffen behind you. “Ah.”

You turned back around in your seat, knocking his hand off you, and cleared your throat as you looked back at your notes.

“I think we can move on, yea?” you said, flipping to the next chapter.

“(Y/n)-”

“Antidotes,” you announced, clapping your hands together dismissively. “Very specific healing potions-”

“(Y/n)!” Fred interrupted, reaching out and covering your hand with his own. You sighed, finding yourself feeling oddly uncomfortable under his concerned gaze. “What, Fred?”

“Exactly, what the bloody hell was that?” he asked, a bit harshly.

“What are you talking about?”

“The dementor!” he said exasperatedly, frown deepening as you shivered. “(Y/n)?” His voice was much softer this time.

“I don’t like talking about them,” you said finally, shutting your eyes and taking a deep breath. “They scare the shit out of me.”

“Are the dementors why you haven’t been sleeping?”

Your eyes snapped open, giving Fred an incredulous look. “I’ve been sleeping just fine, thank you.”

“I hope you don’t think last night in the library was the first time I’ve noticed,” he said softly. Your heart skipped a beat. “All year you’ve seemed…more reserved. Tired. You yawn all the time, I hardly see you eat.”

“I’m just…stressed,” you managed, glancing at the pumpkin pasties you’d set aside earlier. The dementor had taken your appetite away completely.

“It seems more serious than that,” Fred muttered, placing his hand on top of yours and squeezing gently. 

You sighed, glancing down the table to where Amara and her friends were staring at you intently. “Could we continue this conversation elsewhere?” you asked quietly. Fred nodded, helping you put your things in your bag.

“When did it start?” he asked as the two of you walked towards the doors at the end of the Great Hall.

“It’s been all year,” you admitted, cringing at the way Fred exhaled sharply. “I didn’t know you noticed.”

“Of course I noticed,” Fred said, pushing the door open for you. “You’re worth watching.”

You blushed and followed him down the corridor. “Where are we going?”

“I was thinking the kitchens?” he said. “It’s warm there, plus the house-elves are just starting dinner.”

Fred stayed by your side as you walked down the stairs, hand brushing against the back of yours lightly every time he took another step down. You bit your lip, imagining how it would feel to get to hold his hand.

“How was Quidditch practice?” you asked softly, breaking the silence. Fred looked down at you and gave you a small grin.

“You really want to know?”

You nodded.

“Absolute shit,” he replied, emphasizing every syllable. You stifled a laugh as his brows furrowed in frustration. “Wood has been up in everyone’s business for weeks trying to get us to learn this new play. You know who invented it?”

“Who?” you asked curiously.

“The Pride of Portree!” he said exasperatedly. “They’re bloody professionals, and Wood can’t seem to understand how we’re not performing as well as they are.”

“Wood’s a bit of a lunatic when it comes to Quidditch,” you agreed.

“A bit is an understatement,” Fred snorted, stopping at the fruit bowl painting that concealed the entrance to the kitchens. “Do you want to tickle the pear or should I?” “Don’t think I’ve ever been asked that before,” you laughed. “You can do it.”

Fred reached out and gave the two dimensional fruit a tickle, grinning as it turned into a door handle. He pulled it open. “After you, m’lady.”

“(Y/n)!”

You grinned and waved hello to Krafty, one of your favorite house-elves.

“Hello, Krafty,” Fred called, pulling the door shut and coming to stand beside you.

“Mr. Weasley,” Krafty said, giving a slight bow. “Krafty must go help work on dinner!”

You glanced up at Fred as the house-elf scurried off. “I didn’t know you knew Krafty.”

“George and I come here all the time to steal food before bed,” he explained, grabbing your hand and tugging you towards one of the tables. “We know quite a few of these guys.”

He sat down and patted the bench next to him, grinning as you followed suit and rested your head against his arm.

“Comfortable?” he asked. You nodded.

“Your mother’s sweaters are always so cozy,” you mumbled. “I stole one of Ginny’s old ones to sleep in.”

Fred chuckled. “I’ll just ask her to make you one.”

“I don’t want to burden her,” you whined.

“She loves you, she won’t mind.”

“I miss your mum,” you said. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen her.” “You should come visit,” Fred suggested. You shrugged, sitting up straight. “Maybe.”

Fred reached around your back and grabbed a roll out of a basket behind you. You gave him a confused look as he forced it into your hands.

“Would you please eat this,” he said. “I haven’t seen you eat a full meal in weeks and it’s starting to make me nervous.”

“Sorry,” you mumbled, taking a small bite of the bread.

“I don’t mean to make you feel bad,” Fred said softly, “it’s just that you have to eat.”

“It’s not like I’m trying not to,” you explained. “I want to eat, but I get so…so nervous that I stop being hungry.”

“Because of the dementors?” he asked.

“Yea.” You cringed at how small your voice sounded.

“Why do they freak you out so much?” he asked genuinely. “I mean, they’re creepy and all, but you seem more affected by them than most other people.”

“You remember how one came into our compartment on the Hogwarts Express?” you asked. “At the beginning of the year?”

Fred frowned and nodded. “Don’t think Ron slept for two weeks.”

“Yea, well, I haven’t really slept since then,” you muttered.

“(Y/n), it’s been months,” Fred said incredulously, wrapping his arm around your shoulders. “I genuinely have no idea how you’ve been functioning this whole time.”

“I know it’s bad,” you sighed, leaning into his chest and trying to ignore the way his caring tugged at your emotions. “But it’s just…so dark in my room at night. And I’m always the last one awake and I feel so alone, and then I’m just reminded of how lonely and terrified and cold the dementor made me feel.”

“You have to sleep sometimes,” Fred said, pulling you in closer to him. “I read somewhere that you’ll die if you don’t sleep at all, and you’re clearly alive.” He pulled back and gave you a once-over. “Well, kind of.”

You snorted. “I take a lot of naps.”

“Is it easier to fall asleep during the day?”

“Yea, and I can hear people moving around and talking and stuff, so I don’t feel as isolated I guess,” you said.  Fred hummed, thinking to himself.

“Would it be okay if I proposed a rather outlandish and potentially polarizing solution,” he said finally.

“Uh, sure,” you replied, motioning for him to speak.

Fred cleared his throat. “You could, y’know, if you wanted to, come sleep with me. Only if you were okay with it, of course.”

You were sure you’d heard him wrong, eyes bulging as a faint blush appeared on his cheeks.

“Jesus, (Y/n), don’t look at me like that,” he teased with a nervous chuckle. You blinked, trying to force your face into a more normal expression.

“You…you want me to sleep with you?” you asked.

“Not sexually!” he clarified quickly. “Just like physical sleeping, and I could keep you company so you wouldn’t feel lonely.” A pause. “Unless you’d prefer sexually.”

You felt your face turn increasing shades of bright red, stuttering for an answer as he grinned at you adoringly. Your eyes widened as he reached out and grasped your thigh gently, staring down at his hand and then back up at him.

“Would this be a bad time to tell you I fancy you?” he asked quietly, his eyes searching yours for any trace of an answer.

“No,” you managed breathlessly. “This is a perfect time.” His lips were on yours in an instant, your eyes fluttering closed as one of his hands came up to cup your jaw, the other resting on the small of your back, coaxing you closer to him.

You sighed, wrapping your arms around his neck as he slipped his tongue into your mouth, kissing you senseless and caressing your face with his thumb.

And suddenly you remembered you were still in the kitchens. In the kitchens snogging Fred Weasley.

“Fred,” you murmured, pulling back and taking a deep breath. You opened your eyes, relishing in the sight of Fred panting, his eyes still closed. “Fred, we have an audience.”

He opened his eyes slowly, blinking at the small crowd of house-elves watching you from a distance, all donning shocked expressions. “Krafty! Doesn’t (Y/n) look ravishing this evening?”

Krafty blushed furiously, turning around and hurrying away with the platter he was carrying.

“Fred Weasley!” you scolded.

“I wasn’t completely joking, you know,” he muttered, looking back at you. “You look gorgeous. Absolutely stunning, inside and out.”

You blushed. “I, erm, fancy you too,” you said, realizing you hadn’t said it back before. “In case you were wondering.”

Fred grinned, pushing himself to his feet and reaching down to help you stand up. “Let’s take this back up to my dorm, yea? We can make tea and look at that potions book a little more, and then maybe you can spend the night?”

You looked up at him, beaming at the thought of spending a night in Fred Weasley’s arms, and potentially sleeping well for the first time in months. “That sounds marvelous, Freddie.”

[thefallennightmare]

Guilt-Thirteen

Pairings: Andy Barber x Reader

Warnings: fluff, mostly angst, swearing, and some implied smut here and there.

Summary: When a murder hits the small-town reader lives in and personally attacks the family she works for, she would never image the toll that it would take on her as well. But not for the reason people would think. The last thing Reader thought she would find herself in during the murder trial was falling in love with her boss, Andy Barber and him returning those feelings.

Authors Note: Tags are open!

Tags: @emimaki @liecastillo @patzammit @evansgal @posiemax @iamemy4 @falling-solar-system @tothemoonandbackx3000 @beckygirl95 @artis1979

Jacob’s laughter sounded through the open space of the home as we watched a movie on the T.V. I lounged deep into the large couch, giving him a warm smile. It was nice to see him happy, not worrying about his trial that was beginning next week. I knew that he needed a calm night before the hell that he would endure so I would make sure that whatever he wanted to do tonight whether it was watch movies, play video games, or gorge ourselves in sweets we would do it all.

The doorbell sounded from the front door and Jacob perked up. “Pizza’s here.”

“I got it.”

Handing the driver a little extra cash, I took the pizza with a smile. When I went to shut the door, however, I noticed a car that wasn’t the one the driver had entered parked in front of the house. Fear prickled at my skin, seeing a figure behind the wheel, staring at the house so when the door shut, I made sure the locks were locked.

While we ate and watched T.V, I could tell something was suddenly wrong with Jacob.

“Everything alright, Jacob?” I asked.

“Is my dad alright?”

His question caught me off guard, so my mouth fell agape. Talking about Andy was something I didn’t want to do tonight because I couldn’t stop thinking about what his decision was going to be. I kept replaying the moment before he left for his date with Laurie tonight.

Andy and I were alone in the living room while he waited for Laurie to get ready for their date. Jacob was in his room finishing up some schoolwork for the day. I sat on one end of the couch while Andy was on the other end, his eyes burning into me. We remained silent the entire time, not knowing what to say after I told him my true feelings. It hurt not knowing if he felt the same, but I didn’t want to hear him say it unless he was with me completely.

The strong urge to look at him filled me and when I did, my heart jumped to my throat. His eyes were red and puffy, a clear indication that he had been crying. I know when I told him he had to make a choice between Laurie and I that it killed him, but I refused to wait around for him any longer.

“Did you mean it?” His question came out quiet.

I nodded without hesitation. “I love you, Andy.”

Andy’s sweet lips parted, getting ready to speak but when Laurie entered the room, he stood to his feet. I was watching the two of them walk out of the house, Andy’s hand on her lower back, covered by her green dress.

“Y/N?”

Snapping back to Jacob, I nodded. “Uh, I think your dad is dealing with a lot right now. I know he’s worried about this murder gene.”

He squinted his eyes at me. “You didn't hear?”

I shook my head, so Jacob filled me in on a big piece of information I missed because of our breakup.

“Dad and my grandpa both tested positive for the murder gene.”

If my heart could hurt anymore, now was a huge indication that it very well could take more hits. Andy was terrified of testing positive for that gene, and I wished I was there for him the past week.

“When did he tell you this?” I asked.

Jacob set down his empty plate on the table in front of us. “Last weekend. We went on a fishing trip, and he told me about it. He was really upset the whole weekend and I figured it was because of that.”

But I knew that there was another main factor for the way we acted last week, our breakup.

“I think when this is all over, we could use a vacation, huh?” I joked with Jacob.

The clock in the hallway chimed letting me know that it was already midnight. Jacob had gone up to bed hours ago deciding not to wait up for his parents. I, however, could not decide on what to do. Laurie mentioned that I could stay the night in the guest room because she and Andy were planning on being late and she didn’t want to leave Jacob alone.

I wanted to stay up and wait for Andy to see what he decided but the exhaustion of the day was catching up to me, a yawn falling from my lips.

Suddenly the front door busted open with Laurie trying to carry in a very heavy Andy, a very drunk Andy.

“What the hell happened?” I asked them to run up to them, helping Laurie support his weight.

Laurie gasped with exhaustion. “He had too much to drink at dinner.”

The anger was very evident in her voice so putting all of feelings for our breakup to the side, I placed a hand on Andy’s cheek, forcing him to look at me. The sadness was bright behind his eyes.

“I’ve got you,” I breathed and turned my attention back to Laurie. “Laurie, you look exhausted. I’ll take care of him.”

A flash of relief came across her face. “Are you sure?”

I nodded and soon was left alone with Andy, who looked like absolute shit. I slowly walked him over to the couch and set him down, not so gently.

“I’m sorry,” he slurred. “I’m such a fuck up.”

I remained quiet as I helped him out of his shoes. Once he was laying on the couch, I tried to go into the kitchen to get him some water, but he grabbed my hand, stopping me.

“Please don’t,” he hiccupped, “hate me.”

“Just rest, okay? I’m going to grab you some water.”

When I set the full glass down on the table in front of us, I sat on the edge of the couch and started undoing his tie.

“What're you doing?”

I sighed. “I’m trying to make you comfortable. Do you think you could sit up for me?”

Andy did what I asked, and we were face to face when he sat up. I would love this moment if his breath didn't smell of whisky. My hands slid underneath his dress shirt, pulling it down over his shoulders and I motioned toward his pants.

“Are you fine sleeping in those?”

He cupped my cheek and caused my lips to quiver at the touch that I missed so much. “Are you going to leave me?”

“Do you want me to stay?”

Andy nodded with broken eyes and in that second, I knew that he needed me more than I thought.

“Okay, I’m going to grab you some blankets from the closet. I’ll be right back.”

I quickly grabbed a few blankets and extra pillows from the hall closet but when I returned to the living room, Andy was no longer on the couch and was sitting on the floor in the corner of the living room. Tears were falling from his eyes and his breathing was erratic from crying.

“Hey, it’s okay. I’ve got you,” I cooed while kneeling in front of him.

I brushed some loose strands of hair from his forehead and let him lean into my touch.

“I can’t do it, Y/N. I’m trying hard to be strong for everyone, but I can’t do it anymore,” he cried.

My hand gripped his arm as I tried to hold back my own cries, knowing that I was part of the reason for his breakdown.

“You don’t have to do it alone anymore, Andy. You have me.”

Broken eyes met mine and Andy shook his head. “I don’t want to murder anyone.”

Pieces of my heart fell into my stomach when I heard how destroyed he sounded with his confession.

“Oh baby,” I sobbed. “You’re not going to, okay? Because you’re nothing like your father.”

Andy looked down, shaking his head in disgust.

“Look at me.” I demanded.

He continued to stare at the ground so ignoring the small voice that would disagree with my next action, I climbed into his lap and lifted his chin so he could look at me.

“I refuse to let you think that way about yourself. I know who you are in here,” I pointed to his chest. “So does Lauire and Jacob. We will never think of you any different because of this bullshit test you had to take.”

Andy went to speak but I stopped him. “This trial is not going to be easy, but I’ll be here with you regardless of what we went through. I care too much about you guys to sit by and do nothing. No more solo missions trying to clear Jacob’s name. We do this together, understand?”

He could only nod with my grasp on his chin.

“Good.”

I lifted my hips off of him, but Andy gripped them, locking me onto his lap. My body was assaulted with nerves not knowing what he was going to do only because I didn’t think I could handle kissing him right this second. Yes, I promised that I would be by his side through all of this but that didn’t mean we were back to how we used to be.

Andy laid his head against my chest, wrapping his arms around my back. Blowing out a shaky breath, I mimicked his actions and laid my cheek against the top of his head. We stayed like that the rest of the night in each other's arms, letting ourselves become vulnerable to one another again.

I only hoped that with me opening my heart slightly to him, it wouldn’t come back to haunt me again.

[trash-gobby]

Headcannons for dating Jennifer check as male reader. Thank youuu!

Jennifer Check X Male!Reader - Headcanons

Pairings: Jennifer Check X Male!Reader

Characters: Jennifer Check, Reader

RATING: PG

⚠️Warnings!: Non-explicit implications of sexual activity (basically a YA not at all description of sex).

✨Jennifer is bi (female lean) and has a hard time trusting any men, so if you caught her eye and she sees you as more than another lamb to the slaughter, you’ve got to be someone special.

✨You met when because you both went to the same school, and share the same science class.

✨Jennifer was your lab partner and that’s how you started talking. You knew she was the one of the most popular and beautiful girls at the school, but at first you weren’t that interested.

✨I think that’s part of the reason she found you so attractive. She liked that you weren’t always trying to get her attention like the other boys at school.

✨She would subtly flirt with you while you worked on your assignment, and you’d sometimes flirt back, but only really for fun. You made it clear that you were only really interested in getting through school in one piece and focus on your future college/uni prospects.

✨Jennifer is definitely gonna tease you for this, but inside she finds it pretty charming that your so dedicated to your schoolwork.

✨After she gets turned into a succubus, she’s gonna try to pursue you more aggressively. This is in your final year of high school, close to prom, when you’ve finished your finals and there isn’t really much left to do, but wait for the letters to come back from the universities/colleges you applied for.

✨At this point you start to really see Jennifer as someone you could build a relationship with, though you can tell something is really troubling her behind her very overtly promiscuous attitude.

✨She’ll most likely be the one to ask you out somewhere where you can be alone, like a picnic under the stars after seeing a movie. Her plan is to kill you like all the other boys who came before.

✨However, when you express to her that part of why you were really into this intimate date was you wanted to make sure she was doing okay, because you had noticed how much her attitude and behavior had changed and you were worried about her, she’ll pause.

✨This moment of hesitation is because she hasn’t really been asked (outside of Needy) how she is doing by anyone. Her parents are basically absent and indifferent to her suffering and trauma, and all the boys who express interest in her are more invested in getting in her pants then talking about her struggles.

✨She won’t believe you at first and try to get you in a compromising sexual position so she can gauge your response.

✨You’ll push her off you and say your not ready for that kind of commitment yet, and your interested in really getting to know her on a personal level, outside of the conversations you’ve had at school.

✨She’ll act angry, but when you really push that you just want her to be happy and okay, she’ll start to calm down and eventually that will turn into tears.

✨Jennifer hasn’t really gotten a chance to open up to anyone about her traumatic experience at the hands of Low Shoulder, who sacrificed her. She’s had a hard year and an even harder time coming to terms with her new life.

✨She won’t know how to give you all the details at first, but she’ll tell you some approximation of the truth (leaving out the part where she was turned into a succubus).

✨You’ll sit there and listen politely, hanging on her every word and making sure Jennifer knows you're really listening, you care about what she has to say.

✨When she’s done it’ll feel like a weight has been lifted off her to some degree. She’s still holding onto her demonic secret, but she’s told someone what happened and it feels liberating enough, that she’ll hug you all of the sudden. A way of saying thank you for being there and listening to her without judgement.

✨After that night, she’ll want to spend a lot more time with you (like a loooot).

✨You’ll be attached at the hip and it’ll encourage her to be less liberal with eating/killing random boys.

✨When you graduate she’s gonna want to do something spontaneous, like a road trip to Mexico.

✨On this trip she’ll feel comfortable with finally bringing up status as a succubus and saying how being with you has changed her perspective on how some men are actually not complete douche nozzles.

✨You’ll be shocked obviously, but you’ll come around to it, and except Jennifer as the girl and demon you’ve fallen in love with, despite her habit for killing nasty men.

[writing-mlm]

Reference for crushes

Nathaniel Kurtzberg x Male!reader

warnings: none

word count: 1611

prompt: Hey hey hey how are you doing? Hope your good! Could you please do an Nathaniel Kurtzberg x male reader where the reader he new in the school and The teacher sits the reader next to him and Nathaniel realize that the reader is into drawing to because he's drawing in class and forgot to take note of the lesson? If not it's okay 😊

Have a nice day/night

Nathaniel had gone through an entire pack of pencils within a week, all of them had gone towards large pieces he had somehow managed to do despite schoolwork and avoiding any akuma attacks. So when class finally rolled around and he could only find the eraser of a pencil he looked around to find someone he could ask. And then you walked in, a minute late along with the teacher.

“Class,” She spoke, her eyes wandered over the room to make sure she had everyone’s attention. “This is (y/n), he’ll be your new classmate. You can sit next to Nathaniel,” There was a pause where he hadn’t registered that you would be sitting next to him, he only truly realized it when you had started up the steps.

“Uh- sorry,” He shook his head as he scooted over to make space for you to sit.

“Thank you,” There was a dialect in your tone that he couldn’t quite pinpoint but he liked it. Anything to get his mind from Chloe who had decided to talk to Adrien louder than she needed to.

“Do you have a pencil?” He asked while his hand moved up to shift his hair from his face so you could see him. “I promise to give it back at the end of the lesson,” It had taken him an embarrassing amount of time to build the confidence to ask for a pencil but when you grabbed a pencil case from your bag without question he relaxed.

“I got so many, don’t worry about giving it back,” He missed your smile as he stared at the sheer amount of pencils you had. Mechanical and wooden but he noticed a lean towards the mechanical ones. There were also half-broken erasers and shaving bits nestled in the crooks and crannies.

“Okay, thank you,” You stared at his eyes for a second before the teacher cleared her throat, and you were pulled into the lesson. Although not for long as you caught sight of a tree and just had to draw it.

—

The bell rang just as you finished up an entire page of doodles and realized you had missed the entirety of the lesson.

“Here-“ Nathaniel paused as he saw your page of drawings and smiled. “You draw? Those are really cool,” Normally it was second nature to cover up your drawings and shield them from literally everyone around but you just nodded and allowed his eyes to wander over every line and poorly erased part of the page.

“You can keep the pencil, I already told you that,” You laughed as you stood up and grabbed your notebook from the table. “Do you maybe want to get lunch together?”

“Uh- yeah… totally,” He nodded through his stuttering before he snapped out of it and tore a piece of paper from his notebook. “Here’s my number,” You watched as he quickly wrote down his number and handed you the paper before briskly leaving the classroom.

“Thanks, Nathan-“ The door had closed at that point and you were left standing in a nearly empty classroom.

——

“First time in Paris?” He asked as you slowly drank the smoothie from a nearby bakery. It was small talk, he totally knew how to do that. Totally.

“My second, I lived in Macon before here.” You nodded as you spoke, the feeling of a brain freeze slowly crept up on you. “But it’s nice, lots of nice sights,”

“Macon is really cool! I've seen pictures and they always look nice,” While he didn’t notice, you could see his knee bouncing up and down as he talked but paid more attention to his face. Red hair swooped in front of his face and all you could think about was pushing it behind his ear like they do in the movies or how he would look with his hair tied up.

“But you start to lose inspiration when you’re drawing the same five things,” You stirred the smoothie as you spoke, the straw gripped in your hand like a pencil.

“Oh- I didn’t get a chance to ask but can I get the lesson notes? I completely forgot to copy them,” There was a small laugh shared between the two of you as he nodded.

“It’s crazy how much I forgot to pay attention, today is one of the rare times I’ve actually copied the work,” As he dug through his bag, you quickly pulled your phone out and made sure you didn’t look weird and set it down just as he turned to face you again.

“I used to just ask the teacher to email me but that’s a bit scary here,” Your tongue darted out as you licked your bottom lip that had somehow managed to get dry.

“Things here can get pretty scary, you should get the akuma app. Helps steer clear of attacks when they happen,” You had completely forgotten about the whole hero thing, Paris with their Ladybug and Chat Noir. It would be cool to draw them since you needed practice with poses and they seemed like the best reference.

“Thanks, we never had any attacks in Macon, what’s it like?” The sound of pictures being taken mixed with your words as Nathaniel took pictures of the work he had done and the sparing notes.

“It can get pretty overwhelming,” He sighed, his shoulders slumping as he spoke. “But it’s easier when you have a support system,”

“Good thing I found you, huh?” You smiled, hesitant that he would disagree and leave but he smiled and nodded.

“Yeah, good thing,”

——

The next day during class you had remembered to pay attention to the lesson but your mind kept drifting to an unfinished anatomy study you had done in your sketchbook. You couldn’t figure out how you wanted the drawing to look but the idea of somewhat long red hair couldn’t leave your mind.

Of course, you had figured out you wanted to draw Nathaniel but you were never good at directly drawing others. Having probably done two portraits for fun you didn’t trust yourself enough to even draw something inspired by him.

But he was good at those, you had caught a glimpse of his Ladybug drawings at the cafe and they were really good. He was even good at drawing the second eye!

“Nathaniel,” You whispered as the teacher read out a passage.

“Yes?” He whispered back, staring at you from the corner of his eye.

“How do you draw people so well? Did you sell your soul?”

“Yup, super cheap price you should try,”

—-

“I need the blue pen-“ You cut yourself off as you stretched your arms. You could feel your joints popping after being in such an awkward position for so long.

“I’m using it,” Nathaniel muttered, his back to you as he sat at his desk.

“You have like seven blue pens next to you!” You reminded, eyes focused on the ponytail you had pinned his hair up into.

It had been nearly five months since the cafe lunch and things had been going smoothly, your friendship with Nathaniel had definitely become the strongest of the ones you had with your peers but you couldn’t help but want more than a friendship.

“Why do you even need it?” He huffed out as he handed you the pen. “You hate coloring with pens,” The blue pen slipped from his fingers and fell into the palm of your hand as you stared down at your drawing, it was all inked already, all it needed was shading.

“I wanna try blue shading,” You didn’t, but you liked the way he looked at you, it was soft.

You had never actually experienced liking a boy before, mainly not knowing just what a crush was but Nathaniel was definitely one. The first one you knew of while liking them since looking back on a lot of your friends you could tell who you liked romantically. There was a part of you that told you he liked you back, you were one of the only people he allowed to see his drawings and you even got to draw in his sketchbook.

“I like you,” You said without any thought behind it, the words casually slipping out as you uncapped the pen.

“What?” He choked on his spit and you paused, the pen barely on the paper.

“I have a crush on you,” As the words slipped from your lips again, you watched as he spun around in his seat and blinked.

“Me? You like me- like romantically?”

It was too late to play it off as a joke so you sat up and licked your lips, your eyes still on his face which had turned a light shade of red.

“Yes, Nathaniel.” There was a moment of silence that fell over the room before he spoke.

“Why me?”

“I just do- why is this hard to believe, Nathan?” The floor creaked under you as you stood up from your spot and pulled Nathaniel up from the chair. Your hands went to his shoulder before you looked at him. “You’re lovely, there’s a lot to like about you,”

“Thanks?” By that point he had pulled his arms close to him but didn’t pull away, his eyes set on your nose the whole time.

“Do you feel the same way?” Hopeful he would say yes, you felt your stomach twist as he hummed in approval.

“I do,”

“Nice, so do we date?” You asked as you removed your arms from his shoulders and took a step back to give him space.

“I wouldn’t mind that,”

“Can I draw you?”

[achitka]

The Light of a Golden Moon

Chapter 27: The Light of a Golden Moon

Tía Pepa ftw.

The Light of a Golden Moon

Pepa sat with her husband on the sofa in their room. Félix was unusually gloomy since returning to Casita so Pepa recounted the story of Antonio’s judging of game the kids had been playing earlier. This at least elicited a smile and grunt from him. It was clear he had other things on his mind.

“Tell what you’re thinking, mi amor,” Pepa said as she stretched out on the sofa laying her head in his lap.

“I’m not really thinking, I’m remembering,” he said and gently stroked her hair.

“Oh?”

He nodded and then said, “I was almost three when we fled the village and I truthfully don’t remember much about that place. But the flight through the forest and across the river. The running. The feelings of impending doom, the sounds and smell of it…that’s what I got from the people we talked to tonight. Bits and pieces of that fear. Something terrible is happening outside.

Pepa looked up at the cloud forming above them. She did not want Félix to have to deal with that right now. Irritated, she blew at it as if it were a candle and the cloud immediately dissipated. Pepa just stared at the spot the cloud had recently vacated and caught Félix’s startled expression.

“You’ve learned something new, Corazón?” He asked still stroking her hair, “I like the tiny rainbows at the end, mi vida, nice touch.”

Pepa’s brow furrowed as she remembered the first time she’d done that. She was stuck at home with Mirabel just before Antonio was born. She’d fainted while working and Julieta told their mother, in no uncertain terms, there would be no work for her until the baby came. Her mother conceded but, only just, and had pulled Mira from school to wait on her. Now that Pepa thought about it, that happened far more than it should have. In fact, that week before Antonio came, the kids were getting ready for the spring festival. Mira was supposed to be playing her guitar in the school’s annual talent show. Camilo wasn’t participating that year as he was finishing schoolwork, he’d put off to play fútbol. Mira was sitting near a window looking out at the Encanto and could see the trees starting to bend in the winds she was inadvertently causing because of a contraction she was having.

“Are you alright Tía Pepa? Should I get Mamá?”

“No Mira, just a reminder of what’s to come.” Pepa closed her eyes and took a deep breath as the baby rolled.

“Oh, can I get you anything?”

“No, no,” she said as she twisted into a more comfortable position, “but why don’t you play the song you’ve been practicing? You have such a beautiful singing voice. Maybe it will settle this one,” she said pointing at her stomach. “I’ve only heard bits of it and I think I would love to hear you sing it all, if you don’t mind.”

Mira’s brow furrowed but she quickly stowed that away, smiled as she nodded and picked up her guitar.

A la nanita nana, nanita ea, nanita ea, mi niña tiene sueño, bendito sea, bendito sea.

A la nanita nana, nanita ea, nanita ea, mi niña tiene sueño, bendito sea, bendito sea.

Fuentecita que corre clara y sonora, ruiseñor que en la selva cantando llora:

calla mientras la cuna se balancea, a la nanita nana, nanita ea.

A la nanita nana, nanita ea, nanita ea, mi niña tiene sueño, bendito sea, bendito sea.

“Ah that’s better,” Pepa said when she finished. “Mira, that was delightful. Put this little one right to sleep.”

“Thanks, Tía,” Mirabel said as she set the guitar down.

“Did your Mamá teach you that song?”

“No, I learned it from Abuela, she used to sing it to me when I was little and it just kinda stuck with me.”

More likely, Pepa thought, it was one of the last good memories she had of her Abuela. Pepa waved for Mirabel to come closer. She dutifully came over and knelt next to her. Pepa stroked Mira’s hair, she looked so much like her brother with Juli’s nose and said quite seriously, “Mira, are you really gonna be okay with there being a baby being in the nursery with you?”

Mirabel bit her lip but again she shrugged as she smiled and said, “Sure, I mean, I kinda always wanted a younger brother or sister…”

Pepa saw the hesitation when she answered that gave proof to the lie, but said, “I’m sure this little one will adore you completely. You’re sure to be their prima mayor perfecta.” Mira blushed and Pepa wondered then if Casita could create another room without the door already being there. Truth was nobody ever asked, or more rightly, Mamá never asked. “Well, I’m going make you a promise Corazón. I’ll keep this one,” she said as she waived a hand over her stomach, “in my room until I’m well and sure they will be able to sleep through the night. All you have to do is teach me that song, deal?”

Mirabel smiled and nodded. She picked up her guitar and sat on a cushion near where Pepa was sprawled on the sofa and played the first few chords. Pepa knew the song, but now, at least, her sobrina was no longer moping near the window, wishing she were anywhere else but here. Her irritation with her mother was causing a cloud to form above them and not wanting to get Mira all wet, Pepa blew at it, trying to shoo it away and was amazed when it immediately dissipated. She’d have to remember that trick. She smiled at Mira’s expression of wonder at that small feat of control and said, “Wow, that was amazing Tía. Didja see? Right at the end, there were tiny rainbows chasing away the cloud.”

Pepa came out of her memory when she heard her husband ask, “Pepi, you still in there?”

“Hmmm? Oh, sorry Félix, just remembered something.” Pepa got off the sofa and Félix did as well. “Hopefully tomorrow will give some better answers than we found tonight.”

[proserpina-magnus]

i loved your blurb where the marauders comforted the reader about her eating issues. i have struggled with and eating disorder for two years now and i sadly when to the hospital recently. your fic made me feel so much better. I was wondering if you could write another one like that where james is sitting at dinner with the reader and he eats with her. again i love your writing all well <33

Hi!! I'm glad you found comfort in the blurb I wrote! I'm sorry you have struggled with eating issues and I hope in the future you can slowly lead yourself into a healthy life style that makes you feel safe and comfortable! I hope this blurb helps you. If you ever need someone to talk to, my dms are always open!

One where he helps you back into a healthy eating habit [ James Potter ]

Word Count: 1609

[ warning: female reader, eating issues/struggles, petnames such as "baby", background wolfstar + peter, James Potter in-fact strutted, not edited well ]

James had known about your eating issues, so he tried his absolute best to be a good boyfriend and help you in any way he could.

He first started to leave you small candy as gifts, always keeping sweets in his pockets. When you refused most of it, he only frowned but understood.

He kept trying new things, ranging from eating with you alone or taking you on dates that involved food. He even decided to cook your favourite foods for a date idea, he was thrilled when you ate everything and praised him for the meal.

You had been slipping back into your harmful eating habits again, skipping meals and trying your best to only drink water. James caught on pretty quickly, making a note to himself to get you back on a healthy eating track.

You gathered your things up, Care of magical creatures class had just ended. You look at James who is walking over to you in a confident strut, a smile on his face.

"Hi baby, can I walk you to the dining hall?" James asked, his hand resting on the low of your back. You sling your bag over your shoulder, shaking your head.

"Sorry James, I'm going to the library," you tell him, slipping away from his hand but he only moves closer. You both walk out into the hall, getting pushed to the closest wall by all the running students who are trying to get to the dining hall.

"I didn't see you at breakfast," He says, pulling you by the waist to get closer. Your head rests on his shoulder briefly, cuddling into his body.

"Yeah, I ate in my dorm. okay, I'm heading this way," You lied, smiling as you both walked down the crowded corridor.

"I'll see you at dinner?" He asked, a small worried feeling filled his gut. He was determined to help you in any way he could, he cared deeply about this and took it seriously.

"Sure James," you began, leaning up on your toes to kiss his cheek gently, your hand on his forearm for support. "Alright, I'll see you later,"

You part away from him, waving as you twirl to walk faster down the corridor to the library. James has a goofy smile on his face, watching you walk away.

"I better see you at dinner!" James calls out, getting shushes from talking paintings. He makes a shrug to them, giving a glare to tell them to piss off.

"Okay!" You yell back, waving your hand as you walk out of talking distance. James watches you leave for a moment, before heading towards the dining hall.

He catches up with Sirius and Peter, his arms swinging around them as he pulls them towards him.

"Where's [ name ]?" Peter asked, turning his head to see if you're where following them.

"She's going to the library," James answers, ruffling his fingers between Peter's blonde locks, making him giggle.

"She wasn't at breakfast prongs," Sirius tells James, giving him a small look. James shrugs, nodding as they get to the Gryffindor table. They plop down, shoving food onto their plates.

"I know. after I eat I'll pop into the library 'n give her a small snack," James plans, placing one of your favourite sandwiches to the side of his plate to save for you. The boys nod, soon Remus joins them at the table and they start to talk about classes.

James finishes his lunch, putting your sandwiches on a small plate as he bids his friends goodbye. He almost skips to the library, a small smile on his face.

"Hi baby," He whispers, sliding into the chair beside you. You sat in the back of the library, bookshelves hiding you from the rest of the students. You feel James kiss your head, sliding the plate next to your open book.

"James, what are you doing here?" You ask, giving him a confused stare. He smiles, gesturing to the sandwich.

"I'm bringing you lunch," he says, moving his chair to bump with yours.

"I already ate breakfast," you lied, pushing the plate away from your schoolwork. You almost frown at the thought of eating but smiled instead at the small action James took. His small actions always meant the most to you, it made you feel cared for and loved.

"Okay? Now you're going to eat lunch, you need three meals a day to fully function and be healthy," James states, pushing back the plate as he gives you a knowing look.

"I'm not hungry," you protest, going back to writing on your parchment paper. You were just about the dip your quill in ink before your book and parchment got snatched from you.

"Hey! James!" You gasp, trying to grab your work but he only pulls it away from your grasp.

"You can have it back after you eat," James reasons, sliding your work to the other side of the table. You go to stand up, but James only pulls you back down with a gentle hand on your wrist.

"James I don't want to," you whispered to him, you felt his hand slide into yours. He gave it a gentle squeeze, a knowing smile on his lips to give you some comfort.

"I know, but you need this to stay healthy. You deserve to eat okay? You don't have to torture yourself anymore," He assured, his eyes holding a comforting look in them. You sigh from uncertainty, turning your gaze to the plate.

"It's your favourite, you'll enjoy it. You deserve to enjoy this," James whispers into your ear, you turn away from him. You feel slightly embarrassed, so you lean your back against his chest as you pick up the sandwich.

You place it to your lips, taking a small bite. You chew for a slow minute, uncertainty in your veins. But James slides his hands around your waist, his chin resting on your shoulder.

You swallow it, instantly taking another bite. You realize how hungry you had been, so you gladly finish the rest of the sandwich.

"Can I have my work back now?" You asked, James presses his lips into your hair. He grabs your stuff, placing it back in front of you.

"Thank you, I'm glad you're eating, I know it's hard for you but you make me so proud," James praises you, which makes you give him a genuine smile. He takes the plate, pulling away from you as he pushes the chair back into its original place.

"You're not going to stay?" You ask, looking up at him as you dip your quill back into the ink pod, a confused look on your features.

"No, I can't. Sirius wants to... uhm, go fishing," James says, lying through his teeth. It's obvious that wasn't the truth and you roll your eyes at the thought of James doing something stupid, again.

"Alright, I'll see you at dinner?" You asked, James smiles proudly as he leaned down to capture your lips against his.

"Of course, but I really need to go! I'll see you at dinner!" James yells as he walks away towards the doors, his loud voice earns him a shush from the Liberian. He gives a mouthed apology, making you giggle.

—-

You finish your class of the day, hurrying along with the rest of the students as you all rush to the dining hall. You see James chatting loudly with Sirius at the Gryffindor table, but to your surprise, he's soaking wet.

You slid next to him, feeling his cold lips against your cheek. You shiver away from him, letting out a small sound of disapproval.

"You're wet," you claimed, seeing as James takes out his wand and mutters a quick spell to dry himself. His hair was a puffy mess, making everyone stare and gasp at his crazy curls.

"Just for you baby," James winked, which earned a laugh from his friends. You chuckle, pushing food onto your plate. Weirdly, all your favourite foods had been made for dinner.

"Charming," you mumble, taking a sip from your cup. You take a piece of food, the first bite being the hardest. James's hand comes to rest on your knee, giving a small smile.

You swallow the first bite, sighing as you cut another piece. Thankfully, the next few bites had been easier than the first. James kept you laughing the whole dinner, making you completely forget about your food. By the time you knew it, your plate was cleared.

"Have sum' more," James huffs, piling some tasty sweets onto your plate. You give him a look, but he only returns it with a look of his own. The pastries looked absolutely dazzling, they looked too good not to eat.

You take a bite, smiling as your taste buds get filled with a glorious warmth. You have to deny letting out a moan from satisfaction, the pastry tasted amazing.

James smiled at your obvious well liking to the food, he nuzzles into you, happy that you're enjoying your food.

"I'm proud of you," James whispered, kissing your shoulder as he earns a groan from Sirius.

"Why do you never kiss me like that?" Sirius whines, making everyone laugh. James kisses Sirius's shoulder, rolling his eyes.

"Happy?"

"Yes," Sirius chimes, giving a wide smile to everyone. James yelps when he gets kicked in the foot by a jealous Remus.

James pulls his attention back to you, a smile on his face. He's beaming at you, a proud look on his face. He was so incredibly happy you ate, he was proud of you with every fiber of his being.

[xxblackballoonxx]

The Heart Underneath: Chapter 7

***This fic is being posted simultaneously on FanFiction.net and Ao3. I originally began it in 2016, and then life was life, and now I'm bringing it back because it deserves to be finished! I intended this story to be canon, but I cannot accept the events of the beginning of Season 4, so I'll write it with the ending that I intended. ***

Oh readers, I love young John and young Martha so much.

Chapter 6 Chapter 8

The Heart Underneath

Chapter 7: 13 and 14

John had been working at the grocer's for a couple of months, stocking shelves and running deliveries for the Averills.  Between their father being absent and their mother passing, the elder Shelby siblings had to come together to earn money.  Aunt Polly had moved in full time to run the house and take care of Finn, while they all insisted that Ada and Martha continue school.

John had been thrilled to finally get out of schoolwork, but worried about the girls.  He had arranged his hours so that he could walk them to school, and then depending on how his day went, he would often meet them after school.  Mrs. Averill still remembered a young John and Martha, eating candy outside her store, and she knew what it meant to John. To both of them.

It was a sunny fall day, John had finished his final delivery early, and headed over to the school. On days that John didn't meet them, Ada and Martha would go off with friends from the neighborhood, before returning home for supper.

While he missed the consistency of walking Martha (and less so, Ada) every afternoon, he loved the look of delight on her face when he was there to meet her, leaning against the gate to the schoolyard. How her friends subtly nudged her (which wasn't subtle at all), and she would say goodbye to them before walking ahead to meet John. He lived for it.

John got there just before school let out, taking up his usual spot by the gate, slouching against it. He had some penny candy in his pocket, purchased with a tip from a delivery, and planned to share it with Martha while walking as slowly as possible towards home. He knew all the long routes now.

The doors opened and kids came flying out, some running, some joining up with groups of friends, others sulking as they went straight home. John looked up and saw Martha coming towards him, the sun glinting off of her long blonde hair, a smile on her face as he caught her eye. Prettiest girl in Small Heath, he thought to himself, grinning.

"John! You're here."

"I am. Ada good?"

"Yes, she's going to Lily's house before supper, so it's just you and me."

John reached out and took her hand, and they started walking down the street, clearly not going home straight away. This had become their routine, finding time alone when and where they could. Sometimes just walking in comfortable silence, or John would listen to Martha chatter about school, or John would tell Martha about something funny that happened that day.

After a few blocks, John reached into his pocket and pulled out the candy.

"Got this for you." He said, leaning down a bit to watch her face.

"Oh, thank you!" Martha responded with genuine happiness, taking the bag from his hand and pulling out a piece.

She smiled up at him and handed him a second piece, which he popped in his mouth. It was all he needed, a sunny day laughing with his favorite girl.

Everyone in the neighborhood knew John and Martha belonged to each other, and as much as all the local boys found her beautiful, even they did not step over that line. The thing was, John knew at some point he would have to make it official with Martha. He had been secretly fretting over it for weeks.

The pair continued down a quieter street, Martha enjoying the feeling of her hand in John's, the feeling she got when he handed her the bag of candy. The way his eyes lit up when he saw her outside of school. They were the subject of a lot of chatter amongst the girls in her class. And the latest question had been: had John asked Martha to be his girl yet?

Martha was completely unbothered by it, she already knew what was to be. That her and John were soulmates, that they were meant to be together forever. She could sense that John didn't want to rush things, and she didn't either.

What none of her friends knew was that most nights she crept up to John's room and they slept in the same bed. She knew enough from hearing the older girls talk about what could happen in that scenario, and it really was just her and John sleeping in the same space. Closely. They never talked about what it would mean eventually, but they both had a vague sense of where those nights would go in the future.

John had dazed out for a moment while walking, biting the inside of his lip as he thought about his next move. He had been thinking on it for days and was terrified it would go wrong.

Towards the end of the street sat an empty house, making it probably the quietest place in Small Heath during daylight. They often sat on the stoop before making their way home. John slowed to a stop just before the front door, taking a deep breath and turning towards Martha. He was taller than her now, and looking down into her bright green eyes, he knew he was doing the right thing.

Martha looked up at him as John slowly reached out to touch her cheek softly, tucking stray hair behind her ear. She placed her hand on top of his, and they stood staring at each other for a moment, having one of their unspoken conversations. His right hand went up to the other side of her face, and he leaned down, touching his lips to hers.

In John's mind, time stopped right then, as a spark lit inside him. He wanted to be nowhere else, with anyone else, ever again. He knew this was more than just his first kiss, it was his first kiss with the girl he loved. He opened his eyes and pulled back slightly, looking at Martha to make sure she was ok. She smiled at him, slightly blushing, and then wrapped her arms around his middle, pulling him close to her. She had felt the same spark.

It could've been hours, standing there together. John slowly rocking back and forth, as he leaned his head on Martha's, taking in the feeling of her arms holding him. Martha kept her eyes closed, head against his chest, wanting to remember every ounce of the moment.

They finally both took a step back, and John rubbed the back of his neck. Action was one thing. Speaking was something else.

"Um, Mar ... you know, um, how I feel about you. You're my girl, right?" He said nervously, watching her face closely for a reaction.

"You know I am, Johnny. But now I can tell the girls at school you asked me, they'll love that." Martha responded, laughing, and kissing his cheek.

John grinned and grabbed her hand, taking off running back up the street, Martha's hair flowing behind her as she ran in step. He could still taste the sugar from the candy on her lips.

After an entire meal of watching John and Martha smiling at each other, Tommy bit back the urge to ask what had happened and waited for John to come to him.

A few months after Mrs. Shelby's death, when it became apparent to Tommy that Martha was still sneaking up to John's room most nights, he talked quietly to Polly about what to do. They both knew the late night visits were innocent for now, but there would come a point where they wouldn't be.

They had agreed that Tommy would handle talking to John, and Polly would talk to Martha, when they felt the time was right.  Tommy had kept it short and to the point, asking John to come to him if anything happened with Martha beyond hugging or holding hands.  Polly had kept to the facts with both Martha and Ada, never once mentioning she knew about the sleeping arrangements, but Martha had gotten the message.

Tommy sat in the parlor, waiting for a signal. Usually John would read to Finn before he went to sleep, and he could hear the stairs creaking now behind him. John gave Tommy a look, who in turn nodded and grabbed his jacket.

"Going out for a quick errand with John-boy, Pol, be back shortly."

The brothers walked in the dark for a moment, Tommy giving John space to speak first.

"I kissed Martha today, first time." John said looking over at Tommy.

"And how was it?" Tommy responded, smiling at the look on his little brother's face.

"It was ... incredible. It felt right.  And you said ... well, you said to come speak with you when things moved beyond holding hands and such."

"I'm happy for you, John. For both of you.  Just remember what we talked about, alright? I don't want you two to get into that kind of trouble. You're too young, Martha’s too young.  It'll change your life in a way you can't take back. When you're ready to do more than you are now, we'll talk again."

John nodded and listened to Tommy intently. He didn't want to ruin Martha's life or take away her plans for the future, and he didn't want that for himself either. He knew they were both still too young for things to go that far, but he felt better knowing just exactly how things worked between a man and a woman.

That night, as John lay in bed thinking over the day's events, he heard his door creak open.  Martha crept in the room, closed the door quietly, and laid down next to him. Like every night she did this, John pulled the blankets back up over both of them. Unlike every other night she'd done this, things had changed now. The charge between them was there.

Martha put a finger to his lips and then ran her hands through his hair softly.

"I know we have to be careful, John. When the time is right, we'll know it. For now, can we just be here together?" She whispered.

He pulled her closer, pressed his lips gently against hers, and then wrapped his arm around her.

"Me and you, always." He whispered back, as they both closed their eyes and waited for sleep.

[sparklysung]

✨OPEN CURTAINS – h.r.j.✨

© sparklysung – 2021. all rights reserved. no reposts, modifications and/or translations allowed.

pairing – huang renjun x female!reader

genre – smut | non-idol!au, neighbours!au

warnings – voyeurism, exhibitionism, masturbation

word count – 849 words

summary – renjun had never been so grateful about his cute neighbour forgetting to close her bedroom curtains.

note – soo this was my first smut. please don’t be too harsh on me, it was kind of difficult to describe everything i had in mind while writing. also, i’m sorry if it’s cringy lmao. let me know what you think!

part i ; part ii ; part 3

after long hours of working on finishing his schoolwork, renjun found himself about to pass out from exhaustion. with the end of the semester getting closer and closer, the workload was getting heavier as well, resulting in the poor boy getting less sleep and spending most of his time studying. the pressure had his stress levels reaching the roof and the little amount of free time he had to himself only added to his long list of frustrations. it was getting harder for him to focus on anything, his train of thought getting lost with whatever seemed slightly more interesting.

that’s why his eyes unconsciously drifted towards his neighbour’s window, you, curious to see what you were up to at the moment. maybe you were also studying? he’s heard from his friend group that you were one of the top students in your class, so that would only make sense to him. or perhaps you were just relaxing after a week full of tension, netflix playing on your laptop while you laid down on your comfortable looking bed, munching on some snacks. 

what he definitely didn’t expect was seeing you walk into your room with only a small towel covering your most private parts, hair wet from just getting out of a refreshing shower to get rid of any stressful thought that had made its way inside your head during a tough week at school. his breath hitched on his throat when your towel dropped to the ground, drops of water sliding down your naked body, feeling his face flushing and pants tightening.

you must have forgotten to close the curtains before getting into the shower, you couldn’t have done it on purpose just to tease him. renjun knew he should have looked away and kept studying, but he couldn’t find the strength within himself to do so. you looked so pretty, moving around your room carefree on your birthday suit, choosing pieces of clothing to wear. one of his hands made its way to his pants, palming his clothed cock. his lips were swelling from how hard he was biting into them, trying his best to muffle the sinful sounds that escaped his pink lips.

he couldn’t help but wonder how would you look like kneeling in front of him on the floor before using your small, soft-looking hands to pump his hard member. he wondered how your pretty little mouth would feel like if it was wrapped around him, spit dripping down the side, gagging when the tip reached the back of your throat. would you let him take control? or did you like being the one dominating? renjun was more than certain he liked bossing around in bed, but he swore to every god up there that if you ever let him have a chance to touch you and please you, he wouldn’t even mind being pegged by you. 

renjun freed himself from the confinement of his pants, pulling them down just enough to pump himself comfortably. “oh, fuck” he mumbled out of breath, running his unoccupied fingers through his hair. he was getting worked up faster than he expected, already close to his high, almost tasting his release. the movement of his hand more erratic and sloppy as his eyes trailed up and down your body, tightening his grip on his cock whenever your gaze wandered close to your window. his heart was pounding fast, so fast that it almost hurt his ribs. he didn’t want to get caught by you jerking off so shamelessly to you dressing up, but it felt too good to stop now. the thought of it made a low moan escape his lips, feeling the knot on the pit of his stomach about to snap. would you like seeing him all fucked up just by the sight of you? would you maybe want to touch him and let him take care of you?

his hips began bucking up into his hand fast and hard, almost fucking his fist while chasing after his orgasm. just as you were pulling on a lacy pair of panties and an oversized shirt, his dick twitched on his grip, releasing white ropes of cum that reached his hoodie and stained his sweatpants. his eyes closed tightly, eyebrows furrowed and slightly shaking by the strong wave of pleasure that was taking over his body, giving a few more deep thrusts into his hand to ride out the rest of his high. renjun kept his eyes shut, head thrown back while trying to control his uneven breathing. his hand stroked lazily his softening cock a couple more times to extend the feeling, but eventually, it got too much.

coming down from his high, eyes slowly opening to look at you for the last time before getting up to clean himself, he felt the colour drain out of his face. he didn’t even try to cover the mess he had made of himself, cum-covered fist holding his exposed dick, flushed face, heavy breathing and dishevelled hair, as your eyes stared right back at his with an indecipherable look.

–lia:)

[heejojo]

hating park

summary: y/n has hated Jay for a long time but what happens when they now share a practice space?

pairing: Jay x gn reader (with a Sunoo, Niki, Jungwon, Jake and Heeseung appearance)

genre: crack, angst, fluff

word count: 1.4k

a/n: I hope you enjoy this, I'm currently working hard to improve my writing. requests are accepted and highly welcome. have a nice day!

If there was something you hated more than peanuts, it was Park Jongseong and you hated peanuts a lot. It was the way he talked, the way he did everything and the way he was better at you in everything you both did without putting in much effort. Of course, you can’t blame him or the heavens for giving him such a photographic memory nor can you blame the heavens for giving you such a slow brain.

Although his cocky personality infuriated you to no end, you respected him as an academic rival and maybe in another life, where you’re not so hard-headed and he isn’t so arrogant, you could be friends but since you’re not, might as well live with it now.

“So for the debate, we’ll split those who volunteered into two teams. For Team A, we have Y/N, Niki and Sunoo. In Team B, we have Jay, Jake and Jungwon” your English teacher said. You groaned inwardly, you were up against Jay again but thankfully, this time you had people you knew in your team. Giving Sunoo and Niki a funny face making them burst into laughter and the class give you weird looks, you focus on your work. Suddenly, you feel a paper plane thrown to your back. When the class ends, you join Riki and Sunoo to discuss the debate. It was going to be an impromptu debate from what your teacher had said and they weren’t going to give you the topic until five minutes before the program started to see how well you could all do under pressure. It made no sense but you had no place to complain about it. While studying with them, you guys began arguing about random things. “No Sunoo, mint chocolate isn’t that good and I'll carry this for life,” you said backing Niki up. When there were world wonders like chocolate and Oreos would you want to take mint chocolate? “It tastes like toothpaste and chocolate bro” Niki deadpanned. You burst out laughing while Sunoo started fuming. “I don’t blame you, only pretty people like it” Sunoo retorted. Niki and I glanced at each other and continued laughing. Out of nowhere, three people came and sat down with you guys. Jay, Jake and Jungwon. “Do you mind if we practice together, neither of us knows the question so it would be fun?” Jay asked. “No, absolutely not,” you said. You did not want to stay in the same area as him for too long. “Y/N it’ll be okay, it’s just for the project so it’s fine” Niki comforted. “Fine” you grumbled and Jay chuckled to which you sent him a glare and moved to the other side of the room. Cocky idiot.

You would never admit it but you did enjoy your time with the other boys even if they were like children. Jungwon was very serious but knew how to have a good laugh. Jake laughed at literally anything to which Sunoo followed. Niki enjoyed teasing Jay which you were secretly delighted about. Your relationship with Jay improved a bit and you were able to let down your walls. Jay had such an amazing work ethic which you respected a lot and he was able to tune out his swollen head attitude which you were thankful for. You learnt a lot from him and you realised he put in a lot more effort into his schoolwork than you had thought he did.

As the day for the debate neared, you all were put on edge and anyone who looked at you could see it so when you got a call from your friend Heeseung telling you to come to see him in an empty classroom you were pretty surprised. “Hello, Y/N I know you’re really busy in preparation for the debate and stuff but please can you meet me at the empty music classroom? I have something to give you” he asked. “Sure, no problem. I’ll be there in five minutes” you responded and hung up. When you enter the classroom and meet Heeseung, he quickly puts something into your hands. “Open it,” he says, pointing to the piece of paper in your hands. You look at him sceptically, “What is this?” you ask. He refuses to tell you and continues to urge you to take a look at it. “I’m not opening it until you tell me what it is,” you say. “It’s the debate topic, I took it from the office” he quickly spits out. You hand the paper back to him immediately. “Why did you take this!?” you whisper-yelled.

“I did that because I knew how much you wanted to win, I saw the look in your eyes. The envy and the sadness anytime your parents compared you to Jay. You worked really hard and you deserve to win at least once” he said. “Even though, you shouldn’t have done that. Do you know what will happen if you get caught? Throw that far away and don’t give it to anyone. I acknowledge your looking out for me but if I lose this debate I’ll know I tried my best but lost it fair and square but if I win after taking this, it’s cheating. I have less than a year to go before I graduate so I can still take my parents comparison but your reputation will be shattered if people find out what you did. It’s better to do the right thing using the right means” you told him. “I can take care of myself, thank you for caring about me but I would never want to win like this” you continue. “I hope you get rid of that,” you say as you pack up your things to go back to the class. “Are you really sure about this?” he asks you one final time. “I don’t need it, Jay puts in a lot of hard work as well and it will be breaking my work ethic if I take this,” you respond. “Do you fancy him, is that why you don’t want to take this” he queried. You pause for a while before saying, “Even if I do, it doesn’t relate to this” you say and leave the classroom. Once you leave, you go to the bathroom and stay there for a while thinking about what had happened and how it felt so unreal. You already felt a headache arising and rested for a little while.

Taking a deep breath, you leave the bathroom and go meet the debate members. You couldn’t focus during practice and Sunoo noticed and asked, “Hey, are you okay? You’re looking a little pale”. You forced a smile and nodded, telling him you were just nervous about the debate. You could feel Jay’s eyes drilling holes into your back and when you turned to face him, he stared at you for a while before continuing his work.

The day of the debate came and although you were nervous, you did your best as so did the other people on your team. Jay’s team spoke with so much passion, you were almost convinced. After the judges had finished compiling the results, your team had won by a point and Sunoo and Niki wouldnt stop talking about it. “It’s because of my top tier arguing skills that we won” Sunoo gloated. “All those skills and you still can’t make us like mint choco,” Niki said. “All those looks and your crush still can’t like you back” Sunoo shot back which made Niki shut up. You shook hands with the people on Jay’s team, congratulating them and left the arena to be alone.

As you stayed in the debate room alone with your thoughts, Jay walked in with an ice cream in hand and offered one to you which you gladly took and stayed in comfortable silence with each other. “I saw you and Heeseung,” Jay said out of the blue. You stopped eating and your heart started racing. “He glanced at you and continued, “I know you didn’t open it and I heard all those things you had said. I’m sorry if I made you feel inferior in any way”. You didn’t know what made you laugh but you did and he looked surprised. You composed yourself and said, “Sorry, I have a habit of laughing during serious situations. So don’t have to feel bad for getting top place especially when you put in that much effort.” you said and continued eating ice cream. “You’re a good person when I started knowing you and realized I judged you too harshly and was blinded with envy,” you said. You both feel back into silence knowing that neither of you had any ill blood towards one another.

“What’s so bad about liking me?” Jay asked trying to lift the mood. “Shut it, Jongseong,” you tell him.