#How To Get Your Ex Boyfriend Back By Being Friends Surprising Cool Tips

[kopikokun]

Request 21: Haechan + “How did we get here?” (58) + “Are you high?’ (93) + “Why are you naked?” (109)

pairing; haechan x reader

genre; fluff, suggestive, childhood friends to lovers au

warnings; mentions of unprotected sex

The first thing that jolts you awake isn’t the numbing cold prickling your skin, nor is it the familiar sensation of having the duvet tugged away from your sound asleep body, no, it’s the abrupt animalistic snore in your ear.

You scramble into a sitting position, back resting against the headboard and legs tucked. Your heart lurches in your chest and you place your fist to it like that would do anything to calm its hammering. This paralysing fear only worsens the headache you’re currently experiencing. Cold sweat runs down your back as you face the person—or entity—that had just created that horrid sound.

With the strands of his soft hair falling into his eyes and his smooth golden skin illuminated by the fresh morning sunlight pouring through the blinds, Donghyuck looks beautiful, no, ethereal, nestled away beneath the covers. Your cheeks begin to grow warm. It’s unfair really, how nice he looks, peacefully asleep (besides the trail of spit dribbling from the corner of his mouth, that is). You can’t believe a sound that unholy came from someone who looks like that.

Your eyes dart warily across the interior of the room. Muted grey walls surround you, pictures of varying sizes hanging precariously from nails. A shelf lines the wall to your right, the first and second shelf packed with books of different kinds. Most of them, you recognise, are ones you have too. The college listed them as mandatory and you remember grumbling to Donghyuck about the ridiculous cost of them. On the right of the bookshelf sits a table, crowded with notebooks and eraser shavings. A laptop is half open on the table and there’s a single sticker beside the mouse pad. A familiar photo of you and Donghyuck from high school rests against the wall and past you smiles at you. You’ve been here before. Even though Hyuck just moved in with his best friend Mark last week, you’d been here twice, not including now. Since you’ve known Donghyuck, which was in like kindergarten, his room had somewhat become yours and vice-versa. You turn to face your childhood friend beside you.

Your heart rate begins to accelerate. Why are you in the same bed as Donghyuck? And where the fuck are his clothes?

You vigorously shake him awake, unable to hide your fret. “Hyuck!” He mumbles something in his sleep. “Hyuck! Wake up!”

Donghyuck groans, eyes squinted as they’re immediately greeted by the blinding sunlight flooding the room. He rubs the sleep out of his eyes with the back of his hand, propping himself up with an elbow.

His eyelids are still droopy and you frown. “Are you high?” Some stoner friend of Hyuck’s had come over last night and you wouldn’t be surprised if Donghyuck had taken a hit.

He shakes his head slowly, hair sticking out in all possible directions. “No, I’m just- I think I'm just hungover.” You visibly notice the way the early morning grogginess leaves him and is replaced with a feeling of bewilderment. “Why are you in my bed?” His head swivels to scan the room, face contorted into one of confusion. “How did we get here?”

You disregard his concerns, because both of you being half-naked is far more concerning. You decide to leave that mystery for later. “Hyuck, why are you naked?”

As if he’s just realised the fact, Donghyuck shields his bare chest from your eyes with his arms. “I’m not completely naked! I’ve, uhh,” he lifts the covers, peeking beneath them, “I have some shorts on.” You roll your eyes. That doesn’t help in the slightest. Donghyuck scoffs at your reaction.

The two of you stare at each other in silence, trying to process what’s going on and what on Earth happened yesterday. All you can recall from last night is showing up to Donghyuck’s party, the both of you immediately scurrying to the alcohol and downing anything you could get your hands on. Everything after that has now become one of Mother Nature’s greatest mysteries.

You try to come up with a logical explanation with all the evidence presented to you. You’re in bed in only an oversized shirt and your underwear with Hyuck, and he’s half-naked. You two had gotten absolutely thrashed last night and had no semblance of an idea as to what had happened. Did you two… No, you hadn’t… But, maybe you two—

“Did we have sex last night?”

You flush a deep red. You didn’t expect Donghyuck to bring it up so casually. You bite the flesh of your inner cheek. “I don’t remember. In fact, I don’t remember anything that happened last night.”

Donghyuck huffs. He flops back onto the bed, clasping his hands atop his toned stomach. You haven’t seen him so… exposed before. The last time you had was probably five years ago at your ex-boyfriend Jeno’s pool party. He’s definitely more well-built now, an ab-line beginning to reveal itself. Donghyuck’s cheeks seem to be adorning an adorable pink tint too. “Me neither.”

Seeing his nonchalance, your shoulders loosen considerably. You let your head fall back onto the headboard, stretching out your bare legs. The movement catches Donghyuck’s eye, but he swiftly averts his gaze, clearing his throat. “So, I guess we did.”

“Oh.” Donghyuck nods curtly. “Cool.”

“Yeah,” you pick at your nails, “cool.”

Donghyuck glances to the bedside drawer and then to the rubbish bin. “Did we, uhm, did we at least use protection?”

“Well, shit, I hope we did,” you fiddle with the edges of Hyuck’s covers, “I mean I really like you but I wouldn’t let you raw me the first time we have sex.” You can feel his intent stare, his eyes boring into you, making your skin crawl with unease. “But I’m on the pill, so I should be fine.” Hyuck still hasn’t let up, probably because his childhood friend of fifteen hears just confessed to him. “Follow me to the store to get a morning-after pill, okay?”

Donghyuck blinks. Once. Twice. “Oh, yeah, totally.” You’re praying he doesn’t bring up what you just said.

“You like me?”

Damn.

“Well, yeah.” You tack your gaze onto the ground.

Donghyuck, being the cheeky little bastard he is, shoves his face in your line of sight. He grins, planting both of his palms on your cheeks, forcing you to face him. “Say it again.”

Your face grows crimson. You feign ignorance, averting eye-contact. “Say what again?”

“Don’t act dumb,” Hyuck says, smiling coyly. “Say it again and look at me while you do.”

Your stomach twists, a sudden wave of bashfulness crashing into you. “Hyuck…”

His grin grows wider, a hint of amusement present. “Come on, baby. I won’t ask you again.”

Your face is a deathly shade of red now and the tips of your ears are burning. “I like you.”

Despite the fact that you are experiencing such a nerve wracking ordeal, the half-naked boy before you laughs. He’s delighted. “Say it again.” At your pout he giggles. “Please?”

“I like you. I like you. I like you. I like you, Lee Donghyuck.” You furrow your brows. “Happy now?”

Donghyuck has to stop himself from kissing you right there and then. “Very.”

“Now say it back.”

Instead, he satisfies his urge by pecking your forehead. “I like you too.”

“What the fuck are you guys doing?”

Both you and Donghyuck’s gazes immediately snap towards the door where a disgruntled Mark is leaning against the frame. Mark’s usually all bright smiles but right now, he looks disgruntled. He’s probably crazy hungover.

“I’ve only brought you in here half-an-hour ago Hyuck, and you can’t even keep it in your pants for that long?”

Donghyuck tilts his head in obvious befuddlement. “What do you mean half-an-hour ago?”

Mark scoffs. “I carried you in here? Half-an-hour ago? Because you were passed out on the floor? And I’m a super nice best friend?”

“So, I’ve only been in here for half-an-hour?”

Mark groans. “Are you still drunk? Yeah, I just said.”

“But why are we half-naked?

“You don’t remember?” Mark runs a hair through his disheveled hair, pushing his wire-framed glasses up his nose. “While we were cleaning up, you spilled a drink on yourself and puked on her, dude. Man, you must’ve been really drunk.”

“So then me and—”

“Anyway, can you guys keep it down? I’m trying to facetime my girlfriend.”

Donghyuck snorts. “Looking like that? You look like shit.”

Mark scowls. “Fuck off, asshole. I should’ve just left you on the floor, prick.”

As he storms away, Mark mutters a string of curses under his breath. You and Donghyuck sit in silence again, letting all that information which was unceremoniously relayed to you sink in.

“So, we didn’t fuck?”

“I guess not.”

Hyuck smiles slyly. “You want to right now?”

You reply by whacking him square in the face with a pillow as his laughter rings in your ears and Mark yells at you two to shut up.

[rocorambles]

Let’s Play A Game

Pairing: Kyoutani x Reader

Genre/Warnings: NSFW, Cock Slapping, Cum Play, Fluff and Smut

Summary: Let’s play a game, Kentarou. If you behave, you get a reward. If you act up, you get a punishment. Choose wisely~

You can’t remember exactly how this whole tradition started. It had been a spur of the moment decision you had made when you were both second years at Aoba Johsai in a desperate attempt to get your boyfriend to rejoin the volleyball club. 

Kyoutani loves volleyball, even if he’s too stubborn to admit it, and you can feel something heavy in your chest every time you two pass the gym on your way back home and you see his longing look that he tries to hide from you. But he’s never been subtle and you sigh when he unconsciously tightens his grip on your hand and clenches his jaw as the two of you walk further and further away from the sound of balls ricocheting off of arms, floors, and walls, Iwaizumi’s stern voice echoing throughout the gymnasium, and Oikawa’s cheerful lilt. 

You hope that his love for the sport will overcome his hot headedness when it comes to your senpais. But of course it doesn’t and having had enough of your boyfriend moping around like an abandoned puppy, one day you forcefully drag his growling, snarling figure to the gymnasium, smirking at the way he doesn’t resist all that much despite the scowl on his face. 

All he needed was a little nudge in the right direction and you lecture him about at least trying to get along with his upperclassmen, offhandedly sticking on a promise of a reward or a punishment depending on how he behaves before shoving him through the doors before he can retort. 

If you’re honest, you had forgotten about the reward or punishment addendum, so when you pick up Kyoutani from his first practice back you’re surprised when he tentatively approaches you like a hopeful puppy. 

“I didn’t get into a fight with the third-years.” 

You’re taken aback by both the statement and the quiet tone of his voice and the two of you just stare at each other in silence, Kyoutani in anticipation, you in confusion. 

“You said that there would be a reward?”

You don’t know whether to laugh or gape at your boyfriend and the sound that comes out of your mouth is an embarrassing guffaw. But when all he does is expectantly look at you, you can’t help the soft flutter in your heart and you pull him down by the collar of his shirt, planting a firm succinct kiss on his lips before pulling back and ruffling the top of his head affectionately. And you giggle at the faint blush you see and the upward twitch of his lips he’s trying to hide as you both straighten. 

But the peaceful atmosphere is broken up by obnoxious cheering from behind the two of you and Kyoutani doesn’t need to try hiding his smile anymore, an angry glare spreading across his face as Oikawa and Hanamaki whoop and holler about their kouhai getting some action, Matsukawa giving a thumbs up, and even Iwaizumi smiling fondly at the two of you. 

Needless to say, when the four third-years find out about the little game their Mad Dog and his precious girl have going on, Oikawa and Hanamaki spend most of their time trying to teasingly sabotage their underclassmen after every practice and match, over dramatizing and reacting when they see you show up to pick up your boyfriend, whining and complaining about how mean Mad Dog-chan was. And you can’t help joining them in messing around with your boyfriend, flicking him on the forehead much to their amusement and refusing to touch him, even for a quick peck on the cheek, internally laughing at how adorable he is when he slightly pouts at you, looking like a kicked puppy as he trails behind you, sulking as you both walk home. 

But Iwaizumi takes pity on the fiery athlete, knocking a volleyball against Oikawa’s head and holding Hanamaki in a headlock when the two are being particularly relentless in their teasing, sending a small smile your way when he tells you your boyfriend was perfectly fine and Kyoutani perks up at the compliment, staring intently at you as you grab both his hands in yours and eagerly leaning in as you move forward to sweetly lock lips with him before you giggle and walk back home hand in hand with him. 

It’s a sweet back and forth neither of you ever tire of, but as the current third-years graduate and both of you become third-years yourselves, the stakes go up as both of you officially enter adulthood. 

Yahaba becomes the new referee of your little game and although he’s nowhere near as mischievous or eager about throwing Kyoutani under the bus as Seijohj’s ex-captain, he lets Kyoutani get away with much less as far as temper and attitude are concerned. And you can’t blame him. The three of you are now the highest in the school pecking order, the ones everyone else is looking up to as role models, and appearances are more important than ever especially in a sport where teamwork and morale are so vital to performance. 

And not even Kyoutani dares to argue or grumble too much as Yahaba and you both scold him together when he snaps at an underclassmen for fumbling a ball, refuses to help teach or instruct the new members, knowing deep down that both of you are right, that it’s time to shed his lone Alpha attitude if they want any chance of making it to Nationals. 

But on the other hand, while the new “punishments” are certainly harsher than before, the rewards are sweeter than ever and Kyoutani can’t stop hungrily staring you down when Yahaba gives you a swift thumbs up, rolling his eyes as he flees before he can (once again) witness Mad Dog crashing his lips against yours in a passionate embrace, calloused hands tightly gripping your waist as he practically devours you, tasting every inch of your mouth, not breaking apart until both of you are panting messes, greedily gulping down much needed air before clashing against each other over and over and over again until Yahaba is screaming at both of you to get a room already. 

You wonder if the game will ever get old, ever lose its appeal, but years and years pass and the game continues through graduation, through college. And now here you are, full grown adults, game still going strong and you laugh at the short straightforward text you get from Tsukishima. 

“He was fine.”

If someone had told you back when you were still in highschool that the beanpole from Karasuno and your boyfriend would be teammates, let alone friends in the future, you would have laughed your ass off. But life has unexpected twists and Tsukishima is now a close friend to both of you, a frequent guest at the apartment you share with your boyfriend. And you can’t help but chuckle at how surprisingly well the two get along, their mutual dislike for pointless pleasantries and superficial social niceties joining the two at the hip. 

But there’s no time for too much reminiscing, not when your boyfriend is on his way back home and you quickly prepare yourself, donning a skimpy black fishnet lingerie set and a matching black collar with a silver heart in the front as you coyly situate yourself on your bed and patiently wait. 

Your hand slips under your panties as the front door unlocks and you unabashedly moan as your fingers slowly circle and rub your clit, smirking at the way you can hear a muffled curse and footsteps quickening towards you in response. And when he finally appears in the doorway, you slip two fingers deep inside of you, letting your eyes roll back and your jaw drop open at the stretch. 

You barely have time to grow accustomed to the digits inside of you before a cock is being crudely slapped and rubbed against your face and you can’t help the lewd whine of approval that escapes you as you deeply inhale the familiar musk, tongue instinctively lolling out in a desperate attempt to taste the delicious meal in front of you, fingers beginning to thrust in and out of your increasingly slick hole. 

The only warning you have is a growl before his tip is making its way into your drooling mouth and you obediently let a hand grab you by the back of your head, unresisting as you’re ruthlessly shoved forward, your throat and mouth being forced to accept the hard length until your nose is brushing against the coarse hair of your boyfriend’s groin, the fullness and comfort of being filled on both ends only making you leak even more. 

You don’t know how many times he’s had you in this exact position. All you know is that it’s been enough times that it feels right, feels perfect, feels amazing for your mouth and throat to be used as nothing more than a warm hole for him to use as his hips piston back and forth, cock plundering every inch of your orifice, pleasure coursing through you from being used so thoroughly, from adequately pleasuring your lover, his low grunts and groans going straight to the drenched hole between your legs, and you swear you could cum just like this. 

But Kyoutani has other plans for the two of you and he sharply smacks your cheek with his saliva coated cock and warningly bares his fangs at you when you whine as he pulls out. You pout as you reluctantly stop playing with your leaking cunt, letting strong arms manhandle you into his preferred position, a wanton high-pitched keen coming out of you as you’re put on full display, hands pushing hard on the back of your thighs until you’re bent in half, shaped in a perfect mating press. 

You feel so vulnerable, pussy walls clenching as the cool air hits the apex of your widely spread thighs. And you think that this must be what prey feels like before it’s devoured, breathing becoming shallow as arousal curls inside of you at the predatory gaze Kyoutani has you pinned down with as he licks his lips when he takes a moment to finally fully appreciate the little outfit you’ve put on for him, something dark gleaming in his eyes at the dark collar wrapped around your pretty little neck, marking you as his, practically salivating as his gaze continues down, noticing how your nipples obscenely peek out from between the fishnet material, registering just how little the thin open fabric does to cover your glistening pussy. 

Patience has never been Kyoutani’s strong suit and although he’s managed to tone things down from his wild days as a second-year, leaving the nickname Mad Dog far behind him, some things don’t change and you squeal when your panties are being shoved to the side, Kyoutani not even having the patience to fully take them off before he’s plunging deep inside of you in one swift motion, almost immediately starting a brutal pace as he hammers in and out of you. 

Your measly fingers pale in comparison to the way the cock inside of you forcefully stretches you apart and the position makes your mind go blank as he reaches places inside of you your fingers can never hope to touch. All you know is the way his fat cock drags against your walls, the way the spongy spot inside of you is constantly stimulated with every thrust, and all you can do is take, take, and take as you’re physically held in place by the man above you and inside of you, unable to even writhe, only able to toss your head back and forth in delirious rapture. 

You can feel a familiar build-up growing inside of you, lust, desire, and arousal tangling together in an intoxicating and addicting cocktail and needy whimpers slip past your lips as one of your hands slip down between your legs, furiously rubbing your clit as you breathily tell your lover how close you are. 

And how can Kyoutani not join you over the edge as you fall to pieces underneath him wailing his name, looking every bit like the epitome of debauchery as your neck arches and your face goes stupid in utter bliss, feeling like literal sin as your tight walls clench and milk him? 

Something possessive and warm curls inside of him at the silly smile that stretches across your face as he buries himself one last time inside of you, thick white spurts filling you up, and he can’t help how he leans down to capture your lips intimately, savoring your taste before lightly nipping and tugging at your lower lip with his teeth as he pulls away, carefully repositioning both of you until you’re both side by side, lower bodies still connected as he tucks you under his chin and holds you close, letting you snuggle your head into his toned chest. 

It’s tempting to just melt into his arms, get lost to the rhythmic beating of his heart, but as the pangs of pleasure begin to dull to a pleasant thrum, you think of dinner, laundry, cleaning, and you sigh as you try to wiggle your way out of the comforting hold, only to yelp when Kyoutani responds by pulling you back to him, squeezing you even tighter as he petulantly growls. 

“Kentarou! We need to go wash up and then get dinner started. It’s not good for you to not eat anything after practice. You’re a professional athlete now! You have to take better care of your body.”

You snort when he reluctantly loosens his grip on you, laughing when his stomach rumbles and an embarrassed flush graces his cheeks. But you curiously look at him when a hand gently wraps around your wrist before you can fully escape the cozy warmth of the bed and his warm body. 

“Don’t wash up.”

“That’s disgusting, Kentarou. You came inside of me!”

It’s your turn for your face to heat up at the smug smirk that plays across your boyfriend’s face as he greedily eyes the white trail beginning to make its way down your inner thigh before making eye contact with you once more. 

“Don’t wash up.” 

And you scowl at how pleased he looks as he strategically places himself behind you as he helps you prep in the kitchen, whipping your head and glaring at him as he doesn’t even bother hiding how transfixed he is as the white trail drips further and further down your leg, threatening to land on the kitchen floor. 

“Happy? Now can I please go wash up? I’m pretty sure all of it leaked out by now- KENTAROU!”

You yelp as strong hands grab you by the waist, a strangled moan echoing throughout the space as a familiar hard object is suddenly splitting your lower lips apart once again. 

“Kentarou, wh-what are you-”

“You said you were empty so I’m just fixing that.”

“That’s not what I meant-”

But any rebuttal you have gets lost in gasps and moans as you’re bent over the counter, blinding pleasure coursing through your body all over again as the man behind you wildly ruts in and out of you and you can’t bring yourself to care about what you had been trying to say or do as you let yourself drown in delirious arousal once again. 

Dinner and chores will just have to wait. 

[thiswasinevitableid]

for the meet uglies, sternclay 60 sfw? OwO

Here you go!

60 Sterncly SFW. we’re both on a reality show (like the queer bachelor) where we’re told to be friends but the first time we met, you were incredibly rude and judgmental and I don’t know if I can do this for the damn cameras

“So, Barclay, now that we’re a few days in, what’s your impression of the other contestants?”

“They, uh, they all seem like great guys. We come from a lot of different backgrounds, so that’s kind of interesting to be around but, uh, I live in a place that’s like a big, chosen family, so being in a house with a bunch of types of personalities is kinda, uh, homey.”

“There’s no one you think you’ll struggle with?”

“Uh. Well. I, uh, I don’t like Joseph too much. He came in and he’s so, like, phony from all the years in the FBI. It’s like he’s trying to be polite and charming but really he thinks we’re all idiots for being here. Which, like, buddy, last I checked you signed up for this the same as the rest of us.”

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

“Joseph, any worries about the other contestants?”

“No. I mean, we’re competitors on a dating show, not enemies. I think we’re all trying to show Vincent the best versions of ourselves.”

“There’s no one you’ve had conflicts with?”

“........I, um, Barclay and I got into a small argument earlier about the house rules. But I’m sure if we both stick around long enough we’ll come to an understanding.”

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

“Gentlemen, this cannot continue.” Ned, the producer, sits on the couch across from them. Barclay glares at Joseph, but the other man keeps a cool demeanor. Great, he’s making Barclay look like the big, angry mountain even off camera.

“I thought reality shows needed conflict to thrive.” Joseph cocks an eyebrow.

“They do, but about big things, like love and rivalry. Not how to properly load a dishwasher.”

“I’m just trying to be efficient.”

“My way is perfectly fine.” Barclay snaps, “jesus, I worked in kitchens for years, I know how to get clean plates.”

“That doesn’t make it optimal.”

“Do you have to be right about everything?”

“Gentlemen, you recall we have a housekeeping staff, right?”

“It doesn’t matter” Barclay doesn’t take his eyes off Ned, “we’re supposed to all get along, not all try and prove we’re the smartest guy in the room.”

“See, this is your problem, you need everyone to like you, to see you like a big brother, but you’re missing the fact that at least three of them have decided your gentle giant persona is a threat and they’re trying to oust you.”

“It’s not a persona, it’s just how I am. We aren’t all government shams disguised as men.”

Joseph’s facade cracks for a moment, blue eyes trying to light Barclay on fire.

“Enough.” Ned shakes his head, “you may despise each other as much as you please behind the scenes. In front of the cameras, please try to act as if you’re not ten seconds away from coming to blows. Agreed?”

They trade a final, furious look.

“Agreed.”

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

They’re a little over three weeks in; Vincent is still doing lots and lots of short, individual dates between the group outings, so the contestants have ample time to hang around the house and get on each others nerves.

Case in point: Joseph was right when he warned Barclay that others saw him as a threat. Chad, Alex, Nico, and Rich have all decided to go after him. Just this morning he’s been told he’s not man enough for Vincent (he shooed a wolf spider out of the kitchen with a broom instead of squishing it), too girly (he offered to make cupcakes if people wanted), and too big (who'd want to fuck a six foot tall puppy).

His mood is not helped by Joseph chatting away on the couch about his former job with the FBI. Barclay swears it’s all the asshole knows how to talk about. Maybe it’s time for Barclay to play a game of his own.

“Hey, Joseph.”

The other man turns, black hair perfectly slicked back like he thinks he’s some kind of movie star.

“I bet you ten bucks you can’t make it until eight tonight without talking about your job.”

The other contestants in the room snicker, several even giving Barclay a thumbs up.

Joseph adjusts his shirt sleeves, “You’re on.”

Ten hours later, Barclay is forced to get his wallet. The other man never mentioned the FBI once. In fact, he did Barclay an even bigger favor; he didn’t talk at all.

He finds the agent sitting on the back steps leading into the garden. Stays standing as he holds out the cash, “you win fair and square.”

Joseph looks at the money, then looks away, “I did it to show I could, not for the bet.”

“I mean, you didn’t have to go, uh, quite so hard on the silence thing.”

“I didn’t mean to. But, um, every time I was going to open my mouth, I realized it was somehow related to work. So I kept quiet.” He sighs, stretches out his legs. He’s in slacks, because of course he is, “I must have been so tedious to listen to, no wonder I was driving you up the wall.”

“Joseph-”

“I really am married to my career. I guess it’s not surprising my last chance for love is on a T.V show.”

“Hey, I get it.” Barclay sits down next to him, “when I was first working in commercial kitchens my hours were crazy; I barely saw my apartment, my friends, my boyfriend who pretty quickly became my ex. But it was what I needed to do to build the career I wanted for myself. To do what I loved.”

Only the crickets and the distant waves reply. Then, “You said you were a private chef now, right? Along with writing cookbooks?”

“Yeah. Kinda surprised you remembered.”

“Listening is a major skill in my profession. Besides, it’s polite to pay attention to what people tell you.”

“What’s your job now? You only ever talk about the FBI stuff?”

“Paranormal investigation. I never bring it up because people assume I’m out chasing Bigfoot with a shaky-cam or trying to communicate with haunted dolls.”

“So...what is it instead?”

“Helping people figure out they’re homes aren’t haunted or the monster on their property is just some owls. I like the challenge of solving the mystery, and I like helping people feel safe in they’re homes.”

Loud voices form inside; the caterers must have refilled the bar. He doesn’t really want to go in. It’s too nice out here.

“You wanna hear about the restaurant my coworkers swore was haunted?”

Joseph perks up, turning to face him, “Yes, please.”

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

He’d been really looking forward to beach day. Six guys are already gone, and Vincent has taken his fleet of suitors to the sunny San Diego shores. Barclay is dismayed to find all but three of the other guys have waxed their chests. Joseph hasn’t, but his happy trail is nothing compared to fucking black forest on Barclays torso. Nico’s gotten half the guys to call Barclay “bigfoot.”It makes him feel like he’s back in high school P.E freshman year, and his body image is rapidly sliding into that of a shy fourteen year old.

“Barclay!” Joseph comes jogging out of the surf towards the towels they lay down side by side when they arrived, “you should come in, it’s really the perfect weather for swimming.” He drops onto his towel, black hair a bit mussed. The swim-shorts that he thought were blue with green spots turn out to have not dots, but tiny UFOs on them.

“I, uh, I’m good. I, uh, I burn easily and I don’t think anyone wants to rub sunscreen on my hairy back.”

“Hey, Bigfoot, what’s wrong? Scared of what’ll happen if the cameras get a load of your gut?”

Barclay growls, stares at his toes. Joseph tracks Nico as he finishes jogging by. Then he calmly picks up a frisbee, aims a throw, and knocks his snapback off his head. He’s sitting down before the other man can work out who threw it. Barclay chuckles, but doesn’t get up.

“Bigfoot’s my favorite cryptid.”

“Uh, thanks?”

“And who gives a shit if you have a stomach.”

“Easy for you to say, you’re cut.”

Joseph grabs his sunglasses, “because I like that for my body. I happen to like yours just as much. Um I, I mean, it seems like Vincent likes it.” He tips his head towards the Bachelor, who gives them both a long once-over.

“...Will you do my back?”

“Of course, big guy.” The nickname sounds so right on his tongue it makes Barclay want to set his head in his lap and ask him to pet it.

It’s late afternoon when Ned herds them all onto a boat which promptly steers towards some cliffs. Joseph stays close to Barclay, pleasant expression noticeably tightening the closer they get to the rocks.

“I’ve been dreading this. Cliff diving is not something I’d pick to do on my own.”

“Heights?”

He shakes his head, “Deep water. I know it’s not rational, and I even checked to be sure there hadn’t been large shark sightings in the area, but I can never shake the feeling there’s something waiting just out of sight, ready to surge up and eat me.”

They all climb up together, Vincent staying on the boat to watch them jump (this is technically a friendly competition to show off how brave they are). As they’re turns get closer, Barclay sees Joseph doing deep breathing exercises.

They hit the edge. The agent freezes.

“Shit. I don’t think I can do this.”

“C’mon, where’s my daring special agent?”

Joseph still doesn’t move.

“You, uh, you wanna jump together? Maybe the megaladon or whatever will eat me instead.”

“Megalodons are extinct; we’d know if they weren’t, same as we know Whale Sharks aren’t.”

“They you are.” Barclay murmurs, smiling.

Joseph manages a smile back, “On three?”

“Yep. One, two” he grabs Joseph’s hand “three”

The water rises to swallow them with terrifying speed, but nothing is waiting for them except one very startled fish. They surface together, Joseph laughing triumphantly, hair plaster to his head and sun shining in his ocean eyes.

If Vincent doesn’t pick him, he’s out of his mind.

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

“Ohmylord, we have to play this.” Joseph cannot believe his luck; he figured the barcade group date would mean a lot of solo time, but here’s his favorite game in the whole wide world.

“Monster Hunt?” Barclay laughs as he lets himself be lovingly shoved down into the seat of a cut-out Jeep, “very on brand.”

“They had this at the bowling alley near my house. I’d play when my parents had league night but couldn't get a sitter. I never could beat the Mothman level without a player two.”

He doesn’t have that problem tonight, even with Barclay distractingly delighted and handsome in the seat beside him. After that, they make it their mission to find every two-player game in the thrum of flashing colors and tinny music. He finds they both like the Bowser Bourbon Smash, and somewhere around their fourth, heated game of air hockey they each polish of one too many of them to stay upright without the support of a game, a helpful show staff member, or each other.

When they get back to the house (their fellow contestants all in a similar state to themselves) they manage to make it to Joseph’s room before collapsing into a giggling heap on the bed.

“That, hic, that was fun. Games are, hic, fun.” Barclay blinks at him, “what’re you laughing, hic, at.”

“You, you got the hiccups. S’funny because you’re so big, like, like watching a, a pitbull with a, um, a” he makes a squeezing motion that his sober self would recognize as “squeaky toy.”

“M’not big” Barclay pouts, “I, hic, maybe everyone else is, hic, just small. Ever think of th--hic--at.”

“S’not a bad thing.” Joseph shifts so they’re facing each other, “like how big you are. Makes you sexy.”

Barclay blushes, “you’re, hic, one to, to talk. You’re hot, so, hic, so fucking out. Got, got those eyes. That, hic, that face” He touches Joseph’s cheek, “love your face.”

“Love yours too.” Joseph says, stroking his beard. Then they’re moving in inelegant tandem, grabbing at each others shoulders and faces as their mouths find each other. Barclay is so warm, whimpering when Joseph rolls him on top, nipping his lips and pawing at him like a puppy hoping for a treat. Joseph is going to hold him close and let him have it.

A clatter from below, one of the other men knocking something over in the kitchen, breaks the spell.

“Wait, wait” Joseph reluctantly slides his hands of Barclays ass, “we, drunk, we’re drunk, too drunk.”

Barclay blinks down at him, pouting a little even as he groans “fuck, you’re, you’re right. Wanna, gotta remember this. Don’t wanna” he yawns, “regret it.” The instant he flops onto his back Joseph climbs into his arms and falls asleep to the slow rhythm of his breathing.

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

After that night, they agree to be more careful; they’re here for Vincent, to see if one of them is his true love. That’s what the contract they signed says.

“More careful” turns out to mean watching their alcohol intake around each other and only touching platonically (including falling asleep on the couch together. They wake up to cameras recording their nap. Barclay isn’t sure what Joseph threatens Ned with, but the footage never sees the light of day).

But unless they’re on a solo date with Vincent, they’re by each others side. Barclay teaches Joseph dominoes and how to make biscuits. Joseph introduces him to terrible old horror movies that they watch on his laptop and compliments his cooking every chance he gets.

They must be doing something right, because they move to the next round week after week, Vincent clearly enamored with both of them. Barclay certainly understands the feeling. Just not for the person who he’s supposed to.

“Joseph? If, uh, if neither of us win, what are you gonna do after this.”

“Go back to work. Maybe pitch my book about U.S cryptids.” Joseph’s smile goes shy for a moment before recovering, “but I wouldn’t worry, big guy; I think you’re the front runner for sure.”

Barclay knows for a fact that Joseph is a fan favorite and the suitor most people think will win. Which is why, when Vincent selects his final four, he’s not surprised Joseph gets the first rose. Then everyone but Barclay is holding one and Vincent is touching his shoulder.

“Barclay, please don’t take this as a sign I’m not deeply fond of you. This wasn’t an easy choice but I, well, I feel like your heart may not be in this anymore.”

He takes Vincent’s hand and squeezes it, “It’s okay. It was wonderful just to get to know you. All of you.” He looks at the final four, at Joseph’s calm, polite expression. He meets blue eyes as he says, “I hope you find someone who makes you happy.”

With that he turns, all too aware of the cameras tracking his exit, his face, how he’ll have to do a final interview and not reveal that he’ll hate Vincent forever but not blame him in the slightest if he marries Joseph.

“Wait!”

Every eye, lensed or no, turns back to the gazebo. Joseph is at the edge of the steps, poised to run. When he sees Barclay stop, he turns to Vincent.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t accept this.” He hands the bachelor the rose, “I hope you understand.”

There’s no soundtrack on set, but strings swell in his ears all the same as Joseph descends the stairs and leaps into his arms, kissing him so hard he still has stars in his eyes when he opens them.

“It’s not a marriage proposal” Joseph whispers, kissing his cheek, “but I do have a question for you.” He pulls back, all cameras on them but his attention for Barclay alone, “would you like to be my boyfriend, big guy?”

Barclay rests their foreheads together, “Yeah, babe, I really, really would.”

[severetimetravelnerd]

Let’s Switch Things Up (ft. MINO) (2)

Part 2

Minho just keeps surprising you.

A/N: Heyy! So this is my new series, that I’ll be updating every Thursday. All images I’ve used in this moodboard that I’ve made are just representative of the emotions, not the way the reader looks :))  Please show this lots of love!

Comment if you’d like to be added to the taglist.

Taglist:   @herewecomeitsjekki  ; @kwonnansi ; @happiestgirlontheeastcoast ; @unabashedturkeytreeslim; @to-all-the-stories-i-love​

I only write on this blog on tumblr, so if you see my work on any other platform, please let me know!

Word Count: 2028

Warnings: Suggestive, snarky? Mentions of cheating

——————————————————————————————————-

He paused and blinked a few times.

“I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard you right. What did you just say?”

You laughed.

“You heard me right. I’m attending my ex’s wedding. And he’s marrying my friend who he cheated on me with.”

He tilted his head to the side.

“I don’t understand.”

You laughed again, a little more bitterly.

“Yeah, neither do I. I’m only going because of my best friends.”

“What do you mean?”

“This is the first time in ages we’ll get to meet in person.” Your eyes softened. “And I really miss them.”

The guy had a light smile on his face.

“I get it now.”

“It’s just that… I know I will be made fun of for not having a plus one.”

You shook your head at his raised brows.

“Yeah, a lot of my old classmates can be mean.”

He inched a little closer.

“Could you tell me what happened? Only if you’re okay with it, of course.”

You shrugged.

“Yeah sure, I don’t mind talking about it.”

You took a sip of water and began.

“So, all of this happened two years ago. We had been dating for three years. And I knew that something was off. It was understandable. He was very busy with his job and I was busy with mine. We weren’t getting time to spend with each other. And every time I tried, it seemed like he would try his best to get out of it.”

You smiled sadly.

“I know. I should have seen the signs. But he was my longest relationship. And we had been friends for years before dating. I trusted him. When he told me that he’d have to spend two months abroad for work, he wasn’t lying and I didn’t doubt him. At that point, things were just really strained and he was very stressed. So, to make things a little easier for him, I introduced him to my friend who lived in the city he’d be working in.”

You paused, grip on your dress tightening slightly. You didn’t notice that he noticed.

“And from there, it’s pretty obvious what happened. Soon, he started ditching my calls saying he was busy. He just never told me he was busy with her. And then, one long weekend, when I flew over to surprise him, I found her in his bed.”

He surprised you when he reached over to hold your hand, gently rubbing his thumb across your knuckles. You stared at him for a bit, trying to gauge whether he was trying to make a move on you or whether he was just being nice. Looking at his eyes, your heart melted a little. He was definitely just being nice.

“Yeah. I really should have seen it coming. But I didn’t. I saw them together and walked straight back out and took a flight back home. I packed up all my stuff and left home for Seoul.”

“You just packed up and left?”

“Yup. Needed a change of scene. I couldn’t deal with being in that apartment anymore.”

He nodded.

“I understand.”

He didn’t really understand, because everything seemed too sudden for him, but somehow for you, who just started talking to a stranger on a plane who seemed scared, it fit. He looked down at his hand. He didn’t know what possessed him to hold your hand, but again, it just seemed right, even if it was something he had never done before. He found himself opening his mouth to ask you something.

“So, they’re getting married now?”

“Yeah. And it’s not a normal wedding. They had to make it an all-expenses paid wedding that goes on for literally three days.”

“Okay. Wow.”

“Yeah.”

And although you looked perfectly content, something told him that you were upset. Again, he didn’t know what he was doing, because he just wasn’t an impulsive or spontaneous person, but he found himself retracting his hand to shake yours. You looked up with an eyebrow raised.

“Hi. I’m Song Minho and I’d be more than happy to be your plus one for this wedding.”

You widened your eyes.

“Oh. Oh wow. Are you sure? You don’t have to if”-

He shook his head. You studied his face for a few seconds before grinning.

“Hi then Minho! I’m Y/N L/N. And I’d love to have you as my plus one.”

---

“So, tell me a bit more about your ex and his fiancé. I don’t want to be clueless when I meet these … interesting people.”

You nodded and whipped out your phone, pulling up some old photos.

“Okay, so I know this is a group picture, but he’s the shirtless one in an apron and she’s the one holding a cake.”

Minho’s jaw got ever so slightly tense when he realised how alone you were in the picture. Sure, your ex’s hands may have been draped over your thighs, but you were struggling to keep a smile on your face. It was so obviously fake. And your ex was so obviously unbothered by it.

“Ah okay. What’re their names?”

“Andy and Liza.”

“Okay, tell me more. How did you meet?”

“Oh right. We were in high school together. At that point, we were just friends, but when we ended up working the same part time job in college, things started changing and one day, after months of flirting, he made me a cake with the icing saying, “Will you go out with me?””

Minho forced a smile.

“Hmmm romantic.”

“It was. It really was. He wasn’t always that bad. He…just got incredibly forgetful over the years.”

Again, Minho found himself saying something he never would.

“So basically, he took you for granted?”

You paused, stunned for a moment.

“Yeah, yeah he did.”

There was a moment’s silence before you turned to him.

“Okay, so if we’re going together, we have to know basic things about each other. So… how do you feel about twenty questions?”

Minho hated twenty questions, but he nodded anyway.

---

An hour or so later, you pouted as Minho helped you with your bags.

“We weren’t done with the game though.”

He finally managed to get the last of his bags and started walking towards the exit with you.

“I know, but don’t worry. We can figure this out once we get to the hotel.”

“Thank you so much Minho. I honestly can’t explain how much it means to me, especially since you’re here on vacation.”

“No, don’t worry about it. My friend was a little busy for the next few days anyway.”

Lies. You would soon learn that whenever his left eye twitched, he was lying.

“No, but still”-

“Y/N!”

You froze. You’d recognise that voice anywhere. Before you could react, you felt Andy’s arms wrap around you as he hugged you.

“Y/N! I’m so glad you could come!

Minho stiffened when he noticed how uncomfortable you were with Andy’s overfamiliarity. Minho didn’t like him. Something about his behaviour with you was odd. Liza also hugged a visibly uncomfortable you and smiled.

“Y/N! The reason this is all happening!”

Your fake smile slipped. And that was when Minho couldn’t watch this anymore. Again, he found himself doing something he would never otherwise do. He walked forward, wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled you closer.

“Hi. You must be the happy couple.”

Your tense body relaxed a little when you heard his voice and felt his arm around you, which was odd. You always took a while to warm up to strangers. Andy’s expression tensed though.

“And you are?”

Minho stuck out his hand.

“I’m her boyfriend.”

Your breath hitched for a second and a light blush spread across your cheeks. You had been planning on introducing him as a close friend. Oh well.

Andy took his hand and smiled a visibly forced smile.

“Oh, I didn’t know she was seeing someone.”

His grip on Minho’s hand tightened.

Minho’s eyebrows shot up. Oh. So, Andy was that kind of guy. The one who felt oddly possessive over his girlfriends no matter how badly he treated them. Scum.

Minho’s grip tightened even more.

“Well, I doubt you know much about her anyway.”

Your eyes shot up from your fake smile to stare at Minho in shock. You did not see snarky Minho coming.

Andy just stood there for a minute with his eyes wide. He couldn’t believe what he heard. When he finally got around to reacting, Minho had already moved on to shaking Liza’s hand and offering her a smile. It was fake, and you knew this because every time he had smiled at you, with that ridiculously adorable smile that just lit up his whole face, you found yourself melting. Andy, however, interrupted your thoughts. In a mocking tone, he asked,

“I’ve known Y/N for 8 years. How long have you known her for?”

You glared at Andy, and wrapped your hand in Minho’s, prepared to leave and apologise to Minho about Andy’s behaviour later, when Minho replied in a tone of pure ice.

“Long enough to know her worth.”

Your jaw dropped. Liza’s smile was long gone and Andy was practically red with anger. So was Minho. On the outside, he seemed calm, cool and collected, but he hated the way Andy treated you and felt so entitled to your kindness. The way he treated you when you were so clearly uncomfortable was just the tipping point. A smile tugged at your lips, even though you made a half-hearted attempt to glare at Minho. He pulled you a little closer, shooting you the smile that made you lose track of thought.

Andy was furious and it was clear Minho wasn’t going to back down. It was also clear that you weren’t going to do anything to stop Minho. It wasn’t like Minho was lying about something. You were at an impasse. So, when Liza awkwardly suggested they show you guys to your room in the hotel, everyone jumped at that chance.

Half an hour later, the four of you walked in awkward silence as Liza led you to your room. She offered you a genuine smile.

“Here you go Y/N. We picked one of the pool facing rooms because you like those.”

You struggled, but smiled back at her. It was their wedding. You were not going to be unnecessarily mean.

You and Minho walked in and when you saw the large bed in the middle of the room, your eyebrows shot up. Natasha, one of the two friends you had really missed, told you that all the rooms had two beds. 

“Why is there only one damn bed here?”

Minho blushed and looked away, but you jumped when you heard Andy.

“Why? Is sharing a bed a problem?”

You turned around to find Andy right behind you, about to lean on your shoulder. Before you could even react though, Minho stepped in between.

“No, absolutely not a problem.”

“Oh yeah? Then why did she sound so annoyed?”

Both you and Liza were glaring at Andy, though for very different reasons.

Minho closed his eyes for a second and decided to just go for it. No matter what happened, he would not let Andy bother you any more than he already had. He wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled you close.

“We had a bit of an argument before getting here. But we’ll be fine, right babe?”

If you thought your heart was beating fast because he called you ‘babe’, when you looked up at him and he placed a soft kiss on your forehead, you thought it would burst out of your chest.

His hand slipped a little lower, from your waist to your hips and played with the knot holding your dress up. He had the most wicked smirk on his face when he mumbled,

“Besides, these things have a way of working themselves out, right princess?”

Andy let out disgusted snort, grabbed Liza’s hand and stomped off, but you didn’t register any of that. You could only register the look in Minho’s eyes and the way your knees were weakening. Did…did you like him?

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

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Any unlawful and unauthorized sharing of these works will result in legal action.

(Reblogs are good :) )

[violetwolfraven]

Ghost Guitar Battle (2/3)

((Part 2 of I have no impulse control and squirreled on this random idea, ignoring those asks in my inbox. Don’t @ me this concept is fuckin awesome if only to me.))

Part 1 here.

Part 3 here.

Warnings: mentions of mind control.

...

12 days ago

“You what?”

Julie was pretty sure she was hallucinating, because this was something she had honestly never expected to happen.

Sure, there were days when she missed this certain ex-friend, but she’d never expected her to actually let go of her ego long enough for something like this to happen.

Carrie sighed before repeating herself, “I need your help.”

“Oh, we heard you,” Flynn said, “We’re just trying to think of reasons why we would ever help you with anything.”

“This doesn’t concern you, Flynn.”

“It concerns Julie, so it concerns me. Why would either of us ever help you with anything?”

“Because I’m not asking for myself,” Carrie snapped, “It’s about Nick.”

...what?

Nick and Carrie had broken up weeks ago. Why would she be asking for help involving him?

“What’s up with Nick?” Julie asked.

Simultaneously, Flynn laughed out, “We’re not helping you get him back.”

“It’s not about getting him back,” she insisted, “He’s acting weird. Like, really weird. And no matter what’s gone down between us recently, I’m worried about him.”

“Have you tried talking to him about this?” Julie asked, honestly unsure what was going on.

“No, because...” Carrie made a frustrated huff, “Because have you been paying attention to him at all recently? It’s like he’s a completely different person.”

By the look Flynn was getting in her eyes, it was starting to dawn on her that Carrie was being serious about this.

Julie, for one, still wasn’t sure what to think. Truthfully, she hadn’t been paying much attention to Nick lately. She’d been pretty preoccupied with the band, with the guys now able to give hugs and stuff and be seen whenever directly touching her. Plus, there was the new weirdness of figuring out if she and Luke wanted to try out some form of dating. Honestly, that uncertainty was creeping into their songwriting, which they’d still been doing a lot of.

In short, she’d been pretty busy.

Nick had been hovering around but barely starting a real conversation lately, which was weird now that she was thinking about it, but... was that just awkwardness left over from when Julie rejected him?

“How do you mean?” she asked cautiously.

“Well for one thing, he’s actually talking to me,” Carrie explained, “Which he really hasn’t done since the breakup at all. And for another, all he does is ask about you.”

Flynn rolled her eyes, “This is weird how?”

Carrie glared at her, “It’s weird because mostly, he keeps asking if I’m mad about Julie and the Phantoms upstaging Dirty Candi. Bringing up the fact that it happened twice, as if I’m supposed to hold some kind of major grudge.”

“Okay, that’s weird,” Julie admitted.

“You don’t know the half of it. As if that’s not suspicious enough, he asked if I found your band members suspicious. Like, sure, I knew you’d only hurt him cause you’ve got a crush on your guitarist, but—“

“What?!”

“Oh honey, it’s obvious,” Flynn admitted.

Julie really, really hoped it wasn’t and Flynn and Carrie just knew because they’d known her for a long time.

“Whatever,” Carrie said strategically, “Getting back on topic, what really tipped me off is... he asked about my dad. He asked how much I knew about his past, about bands he was in before he made it big, or whatever.”

Okay, that was a big red flag, Julie had to admit. Rule #1 of being friends with Carrie had always been to make sure she knew you weren’t in it because of her dad’s fame. Bringing up Trevor at all as anything other than a dad was off limits, and would have been even more so to Nick.

If he was acting that off, Julie felt a bit guilty for not noticing.

“Look, I don’t know what’s up with him,” Carrie admitted, “But I know something is. Besides just what he’s been talking about with me, he’s been playing jazz in music class. He carries himself differently when he walks. And if nothing else, have you both seriously not noticed how much not like himself he’s been dressing the last couple days? Nick doesn’t wear that many dark colors except for dance performances.”

Wait... there was something familiar in that description.

Reggie had done a good enough impression, according to the others, that Julie and Flynn had a good idea of the style of a certain dark color-wearing, jazz-loving ghost.

A ghost with magical powers they didn’t really know the limits of.

Flynn was clearly thinking the same thing, so there was only one last decision to make.

Unfortunately, Flynn would probably hate Julie’s call on this one, but Carrie had brought this to their attention in the first place and probably deserved to be kept in the loop.

“Are you free to meet at my house after school?”

Carrie nodded, but looked kind of surprised.

Flynn also looked surprised. And mildly horrified. Julie ignored that.

“Good. And fair warning, you’ll need to get real cool with some weird stuff real quick.”

...

Now...

“So you haven’t heard from your boyfriend at all?” Carrie asked, frowning.

Alex was pacing, which meant Julie had to pace with him so that Carlos, Carrie, and Flynn could keep seeing and hearing him.

Maybe that was for the best. She was pretty anxious, too.

“Well, Willie’s not exactly my boyfriend,” Alex mumbled, “We haven’t labeled anything. And plus, he’s risking everything every time he even sees me. That’s not—“

“Alex,” Luke said pointedly, despite the fact that half the room couldn’t hear him, “Get to the point.”

“Right. No. No, I haven’t heard from him. He said Caleb was possessing Nick and he was going to try to help him and that was it. It’s been a day. I’m getting worried. This is the first time he’s really ever stood up to Caleb openly. Who knows what could happen to him because of it?”

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Flynn said.

She didn’t sound very certain, but she was glancing over at Carlos like she was worried this would scare him.

Julie wasn’t that worried. She knew her little brother was tough. And that he actively sought out creepy cryptid videos on YouTube.

“I mean, he’s already dead, right?” Carlos said with a shrug, “So it’s not like he can kill him again.”

Luke raised his hand, beckoning Julie over to come and grab him so the other lifers in the room could hear him.

“No, he can’t kill him, but he can hurt him.”

“Yeah, death’s not the worst thing that can happen to a person, shockingly,” Alex muttered, the worry clear in his voice.

“Wait, what does this mean for Nick?” Carrie asked, “If Caleb’s controlling him, does that make him, like, partially dead?”

That was... that was a good point.

It was just starting to fully register that Nick was really in danger.

God, he didn’t deserve that. He was in danger and it was all because he’d gotten closer with Julie.

“I don’t know,” Alex admitted, “Willie made it sound like Caleb was... shoving him down. Like, Nick’s fighting it, but he’s losing.”

“But he’ll be okay, right?” Julie asked, “Once we figure out how to get Caleb out?”

“Willie said he’s still alive in there, and he’s okay, for now. But... but the longer he stays out of control, the harder it’ll be to get Caleb out of his head.”

Despite all the differences between them, Julie could see the same anxiety she was feeling reflected in the look Flynn and Carrie exchanged.

It had already been two weeks.

All the supernatural stuff aside, that had to be a nightmare, to be out of control of your own mind and body.

“He must be so scared in there,” Julie muttered.

“Yeah,” Reggie agreed, coming over to put a hand on her shoulder so he’d be visible, “And we lost our inside man, so we don’t even know what’s going on in there now.”

Luke smacked him upside the head, “Dude, not helping.”

“Sorry.”

Carlos perked up suddenly, which was... alarming.

Julie knew that look. It was the look he got right before he was about to say something that in all likelihood would cause trouble.

“Do you think we should call Ryan and Chad?” Carrie asked quietly.

“Oh, how would that go?” Flynn shot back, “Just, ‘sorry, your son is under the control of an evil ghost and we don’t know how to get him out?’ That’s a great thing to tell a parent.”

“How long do you think it’s going to take them to notice something’s up on their own, Flynn? Sure, Lizzie needs more attention than Nick does, but he’s still their son and it’s only a matter of time. Heck, they probably know something’s weird already and just don’t know why.”

“They probably just think he’s going through his emo phase. Why make them panic when there’s nothing they can do, anyway?”

“Wait,” Carlos said slowly, “We don’t know what’s going on in there... but what if we did?”

Carrie rolled her eyes, “Yeah, but we don’t anymore.”

“Not in the Hollywood Ghost Club,” he clarified, “In Nick’s head.”

“I applaud your out of the box thinking,” Reggie said, “But we don’t really have a way to do that.”

“We don’t. You do.”

Julie slowly started to realize what he was suggesting.

“What happens if one of you tries to go in and possess Nick while Caleb’s already in there?”

“What happens if you can drive him out?” Flynn realized, “You’d be able to just let Nick go.”

“Theoretically,” Alex admitted.

“It’s worth a try,” Carrie said hopefully.

“It’s risky,” Julie corrected, “What happens if you can’t push Caleb out? Would you just be stuck in there, too?”

Luke shrugged, “There’s no way to know... I’ll do it.”

“Whoa, Luke—“

“Reggie, we’re already dead,” Luke said firmly, “Nick’s not. He got pulled into this because of us. It’s our responsibility to get him out of it.”

“But why you specifically?” he argued, “Why—“

“Because unlike you and Alex, Nick and I have something in common.”

Julie wasn’t sure if he was talking about guitar or her.

Either way, he had a point. She didn’t like the idea of the risk, but she couldn’t see another option that possibly ended in getting everyone back.

“You said you resisted Caleb before,” she pointed out hesitantly, “Before our Orpheum performance. At least a little.”

“Yeah, exactly. Alex and Reggie, neither of you could do that. Going in to try to get Nick out, I’m the only one that stands a chance.”

They both clearly wanted to, and honestly, Julie did, too, but none of them argued.

“Willie said Nick had a chance if he ‘dug deep enough,’” Alex said quietly, “Something about needing to not hold anything back?”

Luke nodded, “I’ll tell him. And I’ll try to find out about Willie if I get the chance.”

They were all well aware how much risk this was taking, and even Carrie seemed hesitant to send Luke into it.

Still, Julie nodded as they made eye contact.

“Make sure you both come out of this.”

[hopelikethemoon]

Jealous (Javier x Reader) {MTMF} [smut]

Title: Jealous Rating: Explicit Length: 3100 Warnings: Smut (jealous bathroom sex) Notes: You can find everything about Maybe Today, Maybe Forever here. Set August 1996. Jealous Javier, as prompted by the glorious @rzrcrst​.  Summary: Javier gets jealous. 

@grapemama​​​ @seawhisperer​​​ @huliabitch​​​ @pedropascalito​​​ @rogrsnbarnes​​​ @thewallpapergoesorido​ @twomoonstwosuns​​​ @gooddaykate​​​ @livasaurasrex​​​ @ham4arrow​​​ @plexflexico​​​​ @readsalot73​​ @hdlynn​​​​ @lokiaddicted​​​​ @randomness501​ @fioccodineveautunnale​​​  @roxypeanut​​​​ @snivellusim​​​​ @lukesrighthand​​​​ @historynerd04 @mrsparknuts​​​​ @synystersilenceinblacknwhite​​​ @behindmyeyes-insidemyhead​​​ @exrebelshocktrooper​​​​ @awesomefandomsunited​​​​ @ah-callie​​​​ @swhiskeys​​​​ @lady-tano​​​​ @beskar-droids​​​​ @space-floozy​​​​ @cable-kenobi​​​​ @cool-ultra-nerd @himbopoes​​​​ @findhimfives​​​​ @pedrosdoll​​​​ @frietiemeloen​​​​ @arrowswithwifi​​​​ @random066​​​ @uncomicalhumour​​​​ @heather-lynn​​​​ @domino-oh-damn​​​​ @cyarikaaa​​​ @ahopelessromanticwritersworld​​​​ @im-still-a-pieceofgarbage @ksgeekgirl​​​  @yabby-girl​​​ @xqueenofthecraziesx​​​​ @punkass-potato​​​ @coredrive​​​ @pascalesque​​​ @theduchessofkirkcaldy​​​ @queenquazar​​​ @sabinemorans​​​ @buckstaposition​​​ @holkaskrosnou​​​ @yespolkadotkitty​​​ @fleetwoodmactshirt​​​ @seeking-a-great–perhaps @kochamcie​​

Tonight was long overdue. Javier had just wrapped up his first week of teaching at the university and you were ready to celebrate his new beginning. 

As much as he had loved staying at home with Josie, it had been patently clear all week that he had  needed something more. Teaching seemed to really suit him. He was meticulous with his lecture notes and you’d helped him work on his transparencies for each class. You were only mildly disappointed that you couldn’t be one of his students, because you knew he’d be a hell of a teacher. 

You glanced at your watch again. It was all of two minutes closer to six. Javier got off at half past five and it would take him half an hour to get to the bar. 

“Would you like a refill on that?” The bartender questioned as he stopped in front of you, gesturing to your half-consumed cherry martini. 

“Can you just hit me with a little more of the soda water?” You questioned, pushing the glass across the bar towards him. “Thanks.” 

“Well, look who it is.” Drawled the familiar voice of Smith Nyman, one of the liaisons with the The Narcotics Bureau that worked across the hall from you at the department. “Who knew you could clean up on your time off.” 

“Cute.” You rolled your eyes, “I didn’t know you drank here. Guess I’m gonna have to find somewhere else to drink.” You laughed, thanking the bartender as he returned with your topped off martini. You took a sip, before turning back to your co-worker, “How are you doing, Smith?” 

Smith tucked his hands into his trousers, shrugging his shoulders. “Looking forward to the weekend.” He settled down on the barstool beside you, ordering a gin and tonic from the bartender. “Mind if I keep you company while I wait on a friend?”

“Yeah! Of course,” You glanced at your watch. “Javier should be here in about fifteen.” 

“He started teaching this week, right?” Smith questioned, cocking his head to the side. 

You nodded, taking a sip of your martini, “Honestly, I think it’s a perfect fit for him. I’m sure it’s killing him not to be home with Josie, but it’s a great gig.” 

“I don’t know if I could do the stay-at-home-dad thing,” Smith admitted, picking up his glass as the bartender returned with it. “Hell, I don’t know if I’m ever going to be a father.” He dragged his fingers through his hair with a shrug. 

“I never thought I was going to be a mother,” You confessed, running your finger along the rim of your glass. “And I don’t think Javier ever expected to be a father. Sometimes you’ve gotta let life throw its surprises your way.” You gestured towards Smith, “So who are you waiting for? A lady friend?” You wiggled your brows suggestively.

Smith chuckled with a shake of his head, his cheeks reddening with a blush. He took a sip of his gin and tonic, tapping his fingers against the bar as he stared straight ahead for a moment. “Not a lady friend.” 

Your brows furrowed together for a moment, before you read between the lines. That would make sense. Smith did tend to get a bit antsy when the other guys would run their mouths about their wives and girlfriends. “Oh.” You nudged him in the arm. “Good for you.” 

“Thank you,” He seemed to relax a little then. “The rest of the guys from the department don’t usually make it out this direction.” He gestured around the bar. “I figured it was safe.” 

“It is,” You promised him, giving his shoulder a pat. “I am surprisingly good at discretion. Your secret is safe with me.” You took another sip of your drink, swirling the liquid around in the glass. “What’s his name?”

“Troy.” Smith tapped his fingers against the bar nervously. “It’s a second date.” He took another swig of his drink, sitting the glass back down on the bar. “How’d it happen for you and Javier? What date did you realize he was the one?”

“Well,” You made a face, biting down on your bottom lip with a short laugh. “There weren’t exactly any dates. But we had been working together for about five years before our relationship began.” You weren’t ashamed of how the two of you ended up together, but you tried to avoid the scrutiny of a one night stand that ended in a pregnancy. “I think I always knew he was the one.” 

Smith hummed thoughtfully, “I haven’t figured out if Troy’s the one.” 

“Maybe you’ll figure out tonight.” 

He tilted his head to look at you, “He thinks I’m the one. Well, at least that’s what our mutual friend told me.” 

“Oh.” You took another sip, glancing past Smith to search for Javier. He should be there soon. “Just play it by ear. It’s always fun and exciting in the beginning. Troy’s probably just smitten with you.” You gestured to Smith as you turned your attention back to him. “Who could blame him?”

“You flatter me.” Smith winked at you and you couldn’t help but laugh, shoving at his arm lightly. 

“Just have fun.” You told him, brushing your hair behind your ears. 

“This seat taken?”

You jerked your head to the left, eyes widening as you were surprised to see Javier standing beside you at the bar. “Javier!” You grinned, “I didn’t even see you come in.” You slid off the stool with your glass. 

“You were occupied,” Javier retorted, his jaw clenched as he nodded his head towards Smith. 

“This is Smith,” You told him, reaching down to take Javier’s left hand into your hold, slotting your fingers in between his. “We work together.” 

Smith held his hand out and shook Javier’s hand, undeterred by his somewhat icy greeting. “I have heard many good things about you, Javier. You’re a lucky man,” He pointed at you. “This one keeps us on our toes.” 

“What he means is, I’m a real ballbuster.” You snorted, shaking your head. “They all sat around eating donuts before I showed up.” You teased, trying to alleviate the slight awkward air that had settled between the three of you. 

Javier chuckled, but the amusement didn’t quite reach his dark eyes as they flickered between you and Smith. “Don’t let me interrupt.” 

You rolled your eyes, giving Javier’s hand three tight squeezes, “Smith’s waiting on his date.”

“Enjoy your dinner,” Smith offered with a warm smile. “And thank you… for the advice.” 

“Anytime,” You said kindly, before you steered Javier away from the bar and towards a table near the back that the waiter had already set up for you. “Bad day at work?” You questioned as you sat down across from him.

“What?”

You arched a brow at him, giving him a pointed look. “If looks could kill, I’m pretty sure Smith’s date would be arriving to find a cadaver right about now.” 

Javier shrugged, his jaw still noticeably tense. “I’ve got a stack of essays to grade, but aside from that, work was fine.” 

Your lips parted, a response primed on the tip of your tongue, but the waitress appeared with two menus and interrupted you before you had the chance. You couldn’t believe he was jealous. 

Except, you couldn’t exactly blame him. Smith had a look about him that actually reminded you a bit of Lance. The only difference was that Smith had a strong Boston accent. He was tall, fit, blue-eyed, and had sandy blonde hair that wasn’t entirely dissimilar from your ex-boyfriend. Oh, and he was apparently not into women. 

It didn’t help that you had just seen Lance last week — a fact that you knew had gotten under Javier’s skin. 

“Javier,” You started once the waitress had taken your drink orders. 

“Hmm?” He questioned, lifting his eyes to meet your gaze. 

“You’re going to break your teeth if you clench your jaw any tighter.” You reached across the table, taking ahold of his hand. “Don’t be an asshole.”

“I’m not being an asshole.”

You narrowed your eyes at him, cocking your head. “Just a little bit.” You rubbed your thumb over the side of his hand. “You’re jealous.”

“Of him?” Javier scoffed, shaking his head. “I’m not.” He shifted in his seat, his gaze flickering back towards the bar where Smith was sitting. “I’m not.”

“You’re a terrible liar,” You released your hold on his hand, winding your fingers through your hair as you sank back in your seat. “Not gonna lie, this jealousy thing could work for me.”

His brows rose upwards, “I’m not jealous.”

“We’ll go with that,” You rolled your eyes, sitting up straight when the waitress returned with your drinks. “Anyways, we’re supposed to be celebrating your first week back in the workforce.” You raised your martini glass. “Shall we toast?”

Javier held his whiskey up, clinking his glass against yours. “To my first week.”

You smiled at him, nudging his foot under the table. “I’m proud of you. Your students are extremely lucky.”

“I think it’s going to be a great semester,” Javier took a drink of his whiskey, rubbing at the back of his neck. “The other faculty are a bit old school, but I think I can break them out of their bullshit.”

“What? Are they still picking your brain for tales of Colombia?”

“Every fucking day.” Javier huffed, shaking his head slowly. “I get it. We were part of something that they all think is exciting.”

“And it was awful.” You pressed lips together as you stared across at him, your eyes flickering over his face. 

“A fucking nightmare.” Javier clicked his tongue against his teeth. “Do they ask you about Colombia?”

“Sometimes,” You shrugged. “I’m not the one whose name is known, however.” You pointed out, “Most of the time people want to know about us.” You gestured towards the bar, “Like Smith and everyone else from Narcotics. They’re curious.”

Javier pressed his tongue to the inside of his cheek as he sat his whiskey back down on the table. “I don’t think that’s why they ask you about me.” 

“You are jealous!” You slapped the top of the table and laughed. “Javier, you’re such a goddamn idiot sometimes.” 

“He was hitting on you!” 

“He was not.”

Javier knocked back his whiskey, sitting the glass down heavily on the table. “You always tell me when waitress and fucking dance moms are hitting on me.”

“Smith wasn’t hitting on me.” You insisted. 

“Maybe you just didn’t realize he was.” Javier gritted out through clenched teeth. “But he was.”

You took a sip of your martini, before following suit and finishing it off in one drink. “I’m going to the bathroom.” You were going to take advantage of that buzz you felt from two martinis. 

“Baby—“ Javier tried to catch your hand, but you moved too quickly. 

You turned around, taking a few steps backwards as you caught his gaze, before you headed down the hallway that led to a short set of stairs that led to another hallway where the bathrooms were. 

No sooner than you had stepped inside the bathroom and shut the door, Javier was knocking at the door. He was no fool — he knew what you were angling for. 

“Are you going to admit that you’re being jealous?” You questioned as you opened the bathroom door to let him in. 

“Oh, fuck you.” Javier seethed with a wicked smirk as he closed the distance between the two of you and kissed you with all the heat he had in his gaze. He pinned you back against the door, one hand at your hip as the other fumbled with locking the door behind you.

You curled your fingers around his tie, loosening the knot enough for you to start unbuttoning his shirt. “Jealous.” You taunted, nipping at his bottom lip — just to get a rise out of him. 

Javier’s fingers tangled in your hair, cradling the back of your head, his mouth hot and greedy as he trailed kisses down the column of your throat. “I’m not,” He drew back, meeting your eyes. “Jealous.” 

You cupped his cheeks with both hands, grinning up at him as you tilted your head to kiss him again. “You are and I love it.”

He groaned against your lips, his tongue sweeping out to drag over the roof of your mouth. Javier ran his hand down your side until he reached the hem of your suede skirt. His fingers met the soft skin there and he slid his hand up over the expanse of your bare leg to grab at your hip. 

You arched your back, pressing towards him as you curled your fingers around the back of his neck. “Javi,” You whispered as he pulled back, his dark gaze settling on yours. 

“I just fucking hate it sometimes, baby.” Javier admitted, working his jaw as he kept his eyes on you. “I don’t fucking deserve you.���

“Yes you do.” You surged forward and kissed him again as you ran your hands over his bare chest and stomach, until you reached for his belt, working to unfasten it. “I love you.” 

Javier peeled your skirt upwards, bunching it around your hips as he slid one hand in between your thighs, his fingers ghosting over your cunt through the fabric of your underwear. “Yeah? Do you?” 

You dragged your teeth over your bottom lip as you sank back against the door, angling your hips towards his touch. “Asshole.” You hissed out as you tugged at his hair, pulling him back towards you.

His nose brushed against yours, lips barely meeting your lips as he breathed out without reluctance that he loved you too. 

You worked his slacks open the rest of the way, shoving his boxers down far enough to free his cock. There was nothing elegant about fucking in a bathroom — but there was something about it that you absolutely loved. 

This had you wondering what things would’ve been like, if you had capitalised on Javier’s bad attitude when you had dated Lance. He had been a perpetual dick those first few months and now you wondered if he would’ve fucked you in a bathroom all those years ago. 

“Turn around.” Javier ordered, his voice low and rough and you felt that pool of arousal in your lower belly burn hotter. 

You rested your forearm against the door, resting your forehead against your arm as Javier’s hands skimmed over your bare legs. He crowded close to you, your back to his chest as he slid a hand around to cup you through your underwear again. He was teasing you — on purpose. 

His fingers pushed the crotch of your underwear aside, sliding between your folds before he worked one digit into your slick center. “Fuck, baby. Look how wet you are. Is that all for me?”

You bit down on your bottom lip as you nodded, your inner walls fluttering around his fingers as he worked a second into you, working them in and out of you. You could feel his cock pressed against your ass, hard and hot and everything you wanted pounding you into that door right then and there. 

Javier’s tongue teased at your ear, his teeth catching your earlobe with just enough pressure to make you moan. 

“Is that all you’ve got?” You quipped, grinding back against his cock. He had mercy on you — he swiftly withdrew his fingers, nearly ripping your underwear down your thighs before he replaced his fingers with his cock in one rough thrust. 

You cried out, louder than you should’ve in a restaurant bathroom — but the angle had him hitting your sweet spot every time he slid into you. 

Javier curled his fingers loosely around your throat, drawing you back against him as he snapped his hips into you again and again. “You have any idea how fucking lucky I am to have you, baby?” He rasped out, his lips brushing over your jaw. “You drive me fucking crazy.”

You reached behind you, fingers gripping at his hair as you rocked back into his thrusts, “Then show me.” You managed, your nails scraping over the back of his neck. 

He groaned out your name as his fingers curled around your throat tighter. Javier’s hand grabbed roughly as he picked up his pace. “Fuck, baby. You feel so fucking good.” 

“I’m close,” You warned him, letting your head fall forward against your forearm. 

Javier gave you exactly what he wanted. He grabbed at your hip roughly, holding you steady as he slammed into you again and again — driving right into that sweet spot until he had you seeing stars as you came for him. 

He was fast behind you, but he didn’t stop pumping into you until your inner walls had milked every last drop of his release from him. 

“I love you,” Javier whispered, turning your head so he could press a kiss to your cheek, his breath dancing over your skin as he lingered there. 

You played your fingers through his hair as you reached behind you, “I love you too.” You laughed breathlessly. “Especially after you fuck me like that. Jesus Christ.”

“Yeah?”

“My legs are trembling.” You told him, biting down on your bottom lip as Javier ran his hand along your inner thigh. “Did you rip my underwear?”

Javier snorted, nuzzling at the crook of your neck. “Maybe.”

“You’re a menace.”

He gave your ass a playful swat, “Which is exactly what you love.” Javier reluctantly pulled free from you, keeping an arm wrapped around your waist to keep you standing. 

You turned around in his embrace, looking up at him from beneath your lashes. “It’s true, I do.” You admitted as you ran your hand over his bare chest. 

“I’m sorry I was a jackass,” Javier told you gently as he pressed a kiss to your forehead. 

“You should be.” You tilted your head to look up at him, “Especially when we go back out there and you see Smith with his boyfriend.”

“What—“ Javier’s brows drew together. “Well, shit.”

“Mhm.” You shoved him in the chest. “Like I said. He wasn’t hitting on me.”

He dragged his fingers through his hair, “Now I really do feel like a jackass.”

“It’s a good thing I love you anyways.” You gave his cheek a pat, before you kissed him again. “Why don’t I close out my tab and we go home?”

Javier nodded, “We’ve got leftover pizza.”

“You’re speaking my language.” You winked at him as you reached out to work at his buttons. 

As much fun as it sounded to spend the night out, an evening in after a long week seemed even more appealing, especially with the mess you’d made of each other. 

[hyunllx]

The Christmas Baker

A Hyunlix Hallmark Fic Chapter 2/5 wc: 3k

Hwang Hyunjin is a rich, cocky, famous dancer that prefers to keep to himself during the holidays. When his roommate drags him along to visit his hometown, however, Hyunjin meets a boy who helps him believe in the spirit of the season. Primarily Hyunjin’s pov with Felix’s pov added in occasionally. series warnings: Extremely cliche. You will probably cringe at some points but its okay. chapter warnings:  None note: This fic is not meant to accurately reflect or portray the members of SKZ. This is just for fun. Read the last chapter here

|--------------------Hyunjin--------------------|

The floorboards of Felix’s guest bedroom shuddered and creaked as Hyunjin paced back and forth in the small space. He always felt the need to move when he was nervous, and to say he was nervous this morning was an understatement. He lingered in his room, eyes focusing on the frost and snow-covered window on one wall and the closed door to the rest of the house on the opposite wall as he walked between them.

Come on Hyunjin, you can’t stay in here forever… he thought to himself, psyching himself up to reach for the door knob. His head raced through all the possible scenarios that would happen when he met Felix and Chan for breakfast, all of them including further embarrassing himself.

How was he supposed to look his best friend in the face when all he’d done during the night was lie awake thinking about his brother? How could he talk to Felix after being unable to sleep due to the boy’s voice saying his name ringing in his ears?

“Hyunjin?” Hyunjin froze as that same voice called his name from beyond the door. He shivered as he turned to knob, undecided on whether he was grateful for the push to leave his room or still not ready to face his host. As the door opened slowly, a bright, sunny, familiar smile greeted him,

“Oh! You’re awake.” Felix’s nose and ears were bright pink and a few snowflakes lingered on his oversized jacket, making him look exceptionally young when paired with his grin, “I finished shovelling out the driveway so we can head to the bakery whenever you’re ready. If you still want to of course-” He added the last bit quickly, nervousness clear in his voice.

“Okay. Uh- let’s go.” Hyunjin agreed without thinking about it, too blinded by Felix’s smile to argue with his own words. 

“Do you like hot chocolate?” Felix asked suddenly as they descended the stairs to leave. Hyunjin frowned in confusion, grabbing his jacket from the hanger by the front door,

“Yeah, why?”

“Wait here!” The boy motioned for him to stay by the door while he rushed to the kitchen, returning a minute later with two coffee to-go cups. The cup was pleasantly warm in Hyunjin’s cold fingers as he took one,

“Thanks.” He bowed slightly, thankful for the heat when Felix opened the door and frigid, biting air nipped his face. At least his hands would be warm while they walked. I should’ve grabbed one of Chan’s big hoodies. He thought to himself. 

Hyunjin paused, realizing finally that they were missing someone, “Where’s Chan?”

“Hm?” Felix looked at him in surprise, like he hadn’t expected Hyunjin to speak while they were walking, “Oh, he went to help shovel out the town hall so people can start setting up decorations. He didn’t tell you?”

Hyunjin shook his head. Chan was known for being selfless and hardworking like that, but he usually would’ve told him where he was going. Maybe it was last minute and didn’t have a chance.

Hyunjin and Felix walked side-by-side in silence, enjoying their hot chocolates to the melody of snow crunching under their shoes. Occasionally the wind would pick up slightly, bringing with it a soft creaking and rustling of the trees lining the streets. Felix only looked up when this happened, checking the buildings around them before looking back down at his cup. Hyunjin admittedly thought the behaviour was odd and watched him curiously each time, though he didn’t want to embarrass the boy by asking out loud. 

As they approached what looked to be the busy town center, they passed under a metal awning that stretched over the sidewalk in front of a storefront. The creaking noise became louder, more like a groaning. Definitely not the trees as Hyunjin had thought before. Felix lifted his head to look around again, concern in his eyes when he turned to look at Hyunjin.

“Get out of the way.”

“What?” Too late. Before he could finish Hyunjin was yanked by the hand, losing his balance and stumbling into Felix, then into the storefront wall. The groaning sound peaked, followed by the roar of snow and ice crashing down to the sidewalk from the awning above, inches from where he’d stood.

“Holy shit…” Hyunjin whispered, then laughed nervously at the realization he could’ve been badly hurt had the mountain of ice in front of them actually hit him, “Thank you.” 

They both paused, realizing their hands were still clasped together. Felix’s palm was warm against Hyunjin’s own, and incredibly small wrapped up in his fingers. Delicate and soft, it left Hyunjin’s heart beating quicker than before.

Why was his heart beating so fast? Why did it feel so nice to hold this boy’s hand?

“Felix! Are you guys alright?” Their hands wrenched apart as a boy jogged up behind them. He was nearly as tall as Hyunjin, and had the most puppy-like face he’d ever seen. His big, innocent eyes were bright with concern as he skidded to a stop on the slushy snow at their feet. A second boy followed behind, slower but with equal concern chiseled into the sharp features of his handsome face.

“Seungmin!” Felix smiled awkwardly, his cheeks and ears red, not just from the cold, “We’re alright, it didn’t hit us.”

This must be the ex-roommate, Hyunjin recalled from dinner the night before, and the on-again-off-again boyfriend. The second boy placed a hand on Seungmin’s shoulder and glared up and down at Hyunjin, clearly checking him over to make sure he wasn’t dangerous,

“Who’s this?”

“Oh,” Felix interjected, shaking his head, “This is hyung’s friend, Hyunjin. This is Seungmin and Minho.”

“Nice to meet you.” Seungmin gave a polite wave and bow, which Hyunjin returned, albeit awkwardly. Minho glared at him a moment longer before giving an unimpressed sniff and turning to Felix,

“Channie is home?”

“Yeah, he’s helping at the town hall right now.”

“Great, we’ll go that way.” Without saying goodbye he turned and headed back the direction they’d come. Seungmin looked back and forth between Felix and the boyfriend who was clearly not going to wait for him,

“Are you sure you don’t need help at the bakery?”

“I’ve got plenty of help.” Hyunjin caught Felix looking up at him as he reassured his friend. Seungmin caught the glance too and grinned at the both of them, giving Felix a nod before dashing off after Minho, now several yards down the sidewalk. Felix let out a long sigh as they were alone again,

“Sorry, that was awkward.”

“It wasn’t that awkward,” Hyunjin lied, following as Felix resumed walking, “Seungmin seems nice.”

“Yeah… he is. So is Minho when you get to know him.” Hyunjin gave a snort of disbelief,

“I’ll take your word for it.” 

They came to a stop at the end of the street, where it met a crossroads along the town’s main road. The bakery was nestled into the crook between the ending building and a larger store, the bakery itself not much larger than Felix’s tiny house. The weathered bricks of the exterior were a dull red-brown, contrasting the bright cream-coloured door. A “Merry Christmas” banner hung over the large front window, strung up between decorative sconces on either side.

The top of a standing chalkboard poked out of the snow piled underneath the window; Hyunjin used his foot to kick some of the ice clear while he watched Felix. 

The boy stood on his tip-toes, reaching as far as he could to pull the top off the sconce by the door. His hand was small enough to fit inside, and he fished around for a moment before producing a key from inside the lamp.

He paused when he noticed Hyunjin watching, pointing the key at him playfully,

"You didn't see that."

A smile spread involuntarily across Hyunjin's face. His mask was slipping, but he barely noticed with the way Felix's eyes glinted with mischief and excitement, his freckles standing out dark against the pink blush of cold on his cheeks. The cup in his hands had long cooled, and he found himself missing the warmth of holding the boy's hand. His heart fluttered, bringing him back to the moment,

"See what?" He asked innocently. Maybe he could let the mask slip this once.

Felix let out a sickly-sweet giggle as he unlocked the bakery, welcoming Hyunjin inside with a wave,

"Come on inside. It'll warm up quickly."

As he stepped inside the small building, Hyunjin felt less like he'd walked into a small town bakery and more like he'd walked onto a movie set. Everything was quiet, dark, waiting to be filled with the warm smells of baking and the taste of delicious treats. Perhaps it was the pastel yellows and bright pinks that decorated the space, but Hyunjin felt the lingering memories of love and happiness here. It felt like home.

Felix led him behind the main counter to the kitchen; ovens lined the far wall and a massive steel table stood at the center of the room,

“Can you help me by bringing out the flour? I’ll get the ovens preheating so it warms up a bit.” He pointed to a second room off to one side, a storage space filled with ingredients like a pantry. Hyunjin nodded, figuring that sounded easy enough.

He failed to anticipate the bags of flour being nearly as tall as Felix himself. And weighing much more. With a sigh of relief he found a bag that was half used, slightly easier to drag along the floor. With white knuckles as he clenched the bag in his hands, Hyunjin pulled the sack into the kitchen and let it rest under the main counter.

“How do you do that by yourself?” He puffed dramatically, earning himself another giggle as he retrieved a brick of butter from one of the large refrigerators,

“I don’t usually need this much. We’re gonna be using up a lot of my ingredients over the next couple of days.”

“Why are you making so many?”

“Well-” Felix spoke as he continued to collect what they needed, placing a large metal bowl in front of Hyunjin with a handful of utensils clattering around inside, “Our little town only has about 500 people here. Some people leave to visit family. So everyone that remains can have at least a couple cookies. Guests too of course.” He grinned up at Hyunjin with that brilliant sunshine smile. His eyes got lost in the wrinkles that formed around his cheeks. Hyunjin shook his head. Why did he keep losing himself like that?

“So… what now?”

“Now you measure out two cups of this.” Felix pushed a large bag of powdered sugar toward him. Hyunjin hesitated,

“You want me to? I’m not a very good cook.”

“Neither is Seungmin,” Felix laughed, “You don’t have to be a good cook to put ingredients into a bowl. It’ll go faster with two of us.”

Hyunjin grimaced at the thought of fucking up some of the cookies, but he figured he might as well try. Dumping the utensils out of his bowl, he followed Felix’s instructions to use a chopstick to level off the cup of sugar before emptying it into the bowl. The same for the butter, the flour, and the other simple ingredients, taking care to get the proportions right. Eventually the dough formed together, soft yet sticky enough to form into shapes.

“You did well!” Felix praised as Hyunjin lifted his mixture out of the bowl to show him, “It’s definitely the right texture. See? I knew you could do it.”

Hyunjin had to admit he was proud of himself for not messing anything up so far. He tossed a ball of dough between his gloved hands with a smile, letting himself enjoy the moment. He'd never gotten to make christmas cookies before. Was this excitement how children felt when they were baking with their families? It was nice, comforting even. Especially when he had someone to guide him.

"Are we cutting them now?"

"Not yet, the dough has to chill for a little bit first." Felix pulled a sheet of plastic wrap across the workstation, plopping his dough in the center, "We'll start mixing the second batch while these are in the fridge."

"Second batch?" He hadn't realized they were making more than what he held in his hands. Felix smiled, taking the giant dough ball from Hyunjin's fingers,

"Of course, this will only make like 50 cookies."

"FIFTY?"

"Why do you think I'm not doing them all the day of?" Felix laughed, putting the wrapped bundles of dough into the refrigerator, returning to their work station with more eggs and butter.

Hyunjin managed his way through the second batch, but by the time he was mixing the final round of flour into the third batch, his arm started to ache with the effort. He paused for a moment to shake out the tense muscles and joints, sighing.

Felix continued mixing his dough with no trouble, a smile on his lips and his deep voice humming a soft tune. Hyunjin recognized it as one of Chan's songs, one he'd choreographed no less. Muscle memory caused his legs to start moving to the unheard beat. Felix caught sight of it and giggled (God why was his giggle so cute?),

"Sorry, it was stuck in my head. You ready to take a break?"

Before Hyunjin could respond, his stomach rumbled loudly, reminding them he hadn't eaten since dinner. They both laughed,

"Yeah, I'm pretty hungry."

"Go take a break out on a couch. I'll put these in the fridge and make some brunch for us."

He didn't have to tell Hyunjin twice. He made his way out of the kitch and plopped down on a couch in front of the big window. It was snowing again, though the flakes were light and drifted in a gentle breeze. Not the driving heavy snow from the night before. The window was cold but the heat of the ovens carried through the building, making the room nice and warm.

Hyunjin pulled out his phone and idly flicked through his music. His fingers eventually found the track Felix had been humming and hit play. It was a slower melody, a song about lost love and heartbreak. What a big softie Chan was. 

Perhaps it was the snow falling outside the window, or homesickness, or the fact that there was a beautiful boy mere paces away from him cooking him food, but the lyrics pulled at his heartstrings differently today. Hyunjin never thought of himself as someone to fall in love. He liked the fast dating life. He liked flings and one-night stands. No attachments, just the high of a good time with someone new and exciting. 

But this feeling... it was new. It beat on his heart like a drum and caused his brain to turn to mush. All he wanted to do was hear Felix’s cute giggle, see his sunshiney bright grin. It was completely overwhelming. 

It frightened him.

“I heard you playing that song.” Felix said as he emerged from the kitchen, making Hyunjin jump. He hadn’t realized the song had stopped, or that his playlist had proceeded to play two more songs after.

“You made me want to listen to it.” He tried to gather himself again as he took the plate of food Felix offered him. Their fingers brushed. Hyunjin’s heart started drumming again. It worsened as Felix sat directly next to him on the couch instead of any of the chairs in the room. Shaking his head, Hyunjin turned to his plate, a small stack of pancakes and a tower of scrambled eggs, still hot off the stove.

“I really love the choreography you did for it.” Hyunjin paused, the eggs in his chopsticks falling back to his plate,

“You know my choreography?” Felix’s face turned bright red, and he too turned to his food to escape the sudden embarrassment,

“I know most of them. I like dancing in my free time. Yours are always the most enjoyable to watch.” A streak of pride cut through Hyunjin’s fluttering nerves at the praise.

“Thank you. Maybe you could show me some time?”

“I’d like that.” They shared a shy smile before digging into their food, both starving after working all morning on an empty stomach.

Felix finished first, setting his plate down before leaning back against the couch, running his fingers through his silver hair,

“It’s snowing again, I’m sorry you couldn’t see more of the town like you wanted.”

“It’s alright. I- I’ve enjoyed it here.” Hyunjin allowed the mask to slip, just a little. Felix beamed at him, resting a hand on Hyunjin’s arm. The affectionate touch was unexpected and his muscles tensed under the boy’s small fingers. Felix immediately withdrew his hand, his smile fading,

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“Noo, no it’s fine…” His brain was fogging over again, “I just- I don’t understand how I feel about you yet.”

“What?”

Shit, shit, shit. He wasn’t supposed to say that out loud.

“Have I done something wrong?” Felix looked as though Hyunjin had kicked him in the face.

“No! It’s not you-” Hyunjin’s body was screaming at him to run away from the overwhelming cocktail of emotions flooding his brain, “I’m sorry, I need to take a walk. I’ll be back-”

He barely finished his sentence before standing and bolting out the door, abandoning his food. He didn’t look back at the hurt in Felix’s eyes. He couldn’t.

[charincharge]

Cruel Summer, Part 6

cruel summer masterlist

AN: Today was ~dramatic~ -- I woke up to learn that someone was posting this fic on AO3 and passing it off as their own. It was a BUMMER, to say the least, and it really threw me off. I haven’t posted fic in a decade, and I was really using this as a fun way to remember how much I loved writing (since doing it professionally can seriously zap the fun out of it). And hearing that someone stole my work made me incredibly upset and feel generally violated. I know it’s just fic, but... I work hard to write it and don’t think it’s too much to ask to receive the credit for it? I hope this chapter doesn’t reflect that because I was really excited for this one! Anyway. TL;DR, I ended up creating an AO3 page, so no one can post FOR me moving forward. I’ve updated my Masterlist page accordingly. And please don’t plagiarize, guys, it’s not cool. Okay. Enough of that negativity. Let’s get back to the important things. Like Rowan.

Rain pelts against Rowan’s window, casting a dark, ominous hue over his bedroom. His first real day off from work, and it’s storming outside, naturally. He’d planned to take it easy and go to the beach, maybe go for a long run. But it looks like that’s not happening now. He knows he’s being punished. This is the universe’s way of intervening and letting him know how shitty he is. Rowan can’t shake the image of Aelin’s hurt face. It is seared into his brain. And there’s only one way to get it out.

Rowan lounges back into his pillows and opens his laptop before typing in Aelin Ashryver into his internet browser. Her Facebook profile pops up immediately, but it’s set to Friends Only, and Rowan definitely isn’t brave enough to add her as a friend. Her Instagram appears next, and Rowan nearly jumps for joy that it’s a public profile.

The first picture is of the back of her head, her blonde hair piled high on top of her head in a messy bun, with tendrils curling around the nape of her neck, overlooking her balcony and the view of the ocean beyond. She’s back, bitches the caption reads, and Rowan can’t help but chuckle. Next is Aelin with her entire family at the head of Ashryver Playland in a picturesque pose with the caption Favorite place with my favorite people (minus @dorhav118 who gets in TOMORROW!!!!). The corners of Rowan’s lips curl downward as his curiosity gets the better of him, and he clicks on Dorian’s profile.

Rowan rolls his eyes at Dorian’s bio: “Hot as a pistol, but cool inside.”

His heart tugs at seeing the first picture. It’s from the pool party the other day, when Aelin was still in her white dress. She’s laughing at something Dorian said, her eyes closed tightly, glass of champagne in her hand, while Dorian smizes into the camera. Reunited and it feels so good <3

“Who kicked your puppy?” Manon asks from the doorway, and Rowan slams his laptop shut.

“No one.”

A wicked grin appears on her face as she stalks into Rowan’s room and slides onto the bed next to him. “I have a pretty good idea.”

Rowan sighs as Manon reaches over and opens the laptop back up, her long nails clacking against the keyboard. “Just as I thought.” She looks Rowan over, from the bags under his eyes to his hair, messy from constantly running his hands through it. “We’re going out.”

Rowan looks out the window at the torrential downpour and gray skies. “Out? In that? Where?”

“I don’t know,” Manon admits, “But I’m not letting you mope and stalk Aelin all day. It’s pathetic, and below you, to be frank. There’s got to be something we can do in this godforsaken town when it rains.”

It turns out there’s not that many options for what to do when it rains in the small beach town. Mostly everything is outdoors or beach oriented. But Manon decides that the aquarium is a good indoor activity, and it happens to be next to a brewery – for when they get bored. The pair Uber there, not wanting to deal with the hassle of worrying about sobering up. If Rowan’s not allowed to mope and be pathetic at home, he’s going to do today right. And do it drunk.

Despite it being one of the few indoor activities available, the aquarium is fairly deserted when Manon and Rowan arrive. It’s dark and damp and cool and strangely soothing, and Rowan lets Manon lead the way. She heads immediately for the reptile room, thrilled to see the alligators and lizards and snakes. Somehow Rowan isn’t surprised by this development.

They branch off into a small Amazon Rainforest room, filled with frogs and fish and even more snakes on low hanging branches, and Rowan nearly jumps out of skin when a large bird caws in his direction.

“I fucking hate birds,” he grumbles as Manon cackles in delight. “Can’t we see… cuter animals? Like, turtles and seals or some shit?”

Manon rolls her eyes and leads him straight to the shark tank. It’s open, so they can lean over it and look at the giant creatures. Rowan grits his teeth, only slightly terrified at the image of the fin cutting through the surface of the water.

“You know what you’re feeling is totally false,” Manon comments casually.

“Huh?” Rowan says, trying to maintain his calm façade.

“Sharks aren’t predators of humans. That’s the Jaws effect in action. It completely changed our perception of sharks and actually sparked a hunting frenzy that has put sharks in danger, even though they were just an important part of the ecosystem. Fuck you, Spielberg.” 

Manon purses her darkly painted lips and twirls her white blonde hair, leaning over the tank further. Rowan shakes his head at his roommate, who looks like she wants to reach into the water and pet the fucking things. He’s never seen her so affected before. 

“Why are you like this?” he asks, and she laughs.

“You’re not thinking about her anymore, though, are you?”

Rowan flicks her off. “I wasn’t.”

“A few more rooms will get you right back to that terrified place and not thinking about her at all. Don’t you worry.” She winks and leads him into an incredibly dark room, which is only lit up with glowing jellyfish. Manon is right, and within a few minutes, Rowan is feeling calm again. He lets the dark and schools of weird underwater creatures soothe him, and after they finish at the aquarium, Rowan is grateful he let Manon drag him out of the house.

“Beer?” she asks, and Rowan nods readily.

“I think I earned it.”

“Shut up, you fucking loved it. Think we should get a fish tank?” she asks, and Rowan shakes his head immediately. Manon is strange enough without tending to creatures from the deep in their apartment.

They brave the rain, realizing they both forgot umbrellas, and make a mad dash down the street. Rain soaks Rowan’s shirt, but he feels light. They duck into the brewery, and Rowan shakes out his hair, spraying water all over Manon, like a wet dog. He’s never seen her look so horrified.

“You’re lucky I set my makeup, so it’s immoveable every day,” she says with narrowed eyes. “First round’s on you, asshole.”

Rowan orders them two beers fairly quickly, despite the brewery being packed with patrons (he guesses this is where everyone goes when it rains). But when he turns around to hand Manon her drink, he’s surprised to see her mid-conversation with the very last person he wants to see.

“Rowan!” Dorian calls him over with a wide smile, and Rowan grimaces as he joins them. “I was just introducing myself to your stunning roommate,” Dorian says, and Manon rolls her eyes. But Rowan knows she’s beaming internally with the praise. Manon knows she’s beautiful and doesn’t let anyone forget it, despite her lack of interest in men.

“Uh, hey, Dorian, right?” Rowan says, pretending like he wasn’t just browsing the man’s Instagram profile merely hours ago.

Dorian laughs heartily. “Rowan, come on. We’re friends. Any friend of Aelin’s is a friend of mine.” He grins again, and Rowan can’t help but stare at his incredibly white teeth. He wonders if he whitens them. He must, because no one’s teeth are that naturally white. Or straight.

“Come sit with us!” Dorian points to their table where Aelin sits with the same two people from last night.

“Sure!” Manon says, the same time Rowan says “NO!” emphatically.

“Come on,” Dorian pleads. “We have a big table, and the place is packed. You’ll be lucky to find standing room otherwise. Please, Aelin would be horrified if I let you leave without saying hi.”

Rowan’s stomach churns, but he feels trapped. He can’t say no. “Lead the way,” he says, and Dorian smiles another blinding smile.

“Great.”

He leads them to their table, and to say that Aelin looks shocked to see Rowan approach would be an understatement.

“Look who I found!” Dorian exclaims, gesturing to Rowan and Manon, who stand next to the table awkwardly. “Chaol, Nesryn – these are two of Aelin’s friends, Rowan and Manon.”

The brunette dude, Chaol, gives Rowan a tight smile and short head nod, but the woman, Nesryn, stands and shakes both their hands politely.

Rowan and Manon slide into the two empty seats, and of course Rowan is directly across from Aelin. She looks at him curiously as he takes a large sip of his beer.

“So, how do you know Aelin?” Chaol asks, breaking the awkward silence.

“Rowan works at the park,” Dorian explains. “And Chaol is Aelin’s ex-boyfriend and my other best friend,” Dorian chuckles.

“It’s not as awkward as it sounds,” Chaol says with a laugh.

Aelin squints her eyes and looks at Chaol. “Mmm… it kind of is.”

Manon snorts. “You’re a handful, aren’t you?” she says, leaning toward Aelin, and Aelin flips her golden hair over her shoulder and shrugs.

“Two handfuls, thank you very much,” she says and feels herself up, showing how her chest spills over her hand, too much for one to grasp fully.

“Aelin!” Chaol chides, and Rowan can feel heat creep up the back of his neck as he stares at Aelin’s ample cleavage as she lifts it up.

Dorian cackles, his laugh piercing through the room as he tips his head back. He reminds Rowan of Manon when he does it, so amused with others’ discomfort.

Rowan glances back at Aelin’s chest, and when he looks up, she’s staring back at him, one brow raised in question. He immediately finishes the rest of his beer, downing it in one gulp.

“I need more beer. Anyone else?” Rowan asks, and to his surprise, Chaol stands and offers to come with him.

The pair stand side by side at the bar, waiting for their drinks, and Rowan is unsure of what to say to his current crush’s former paramour.

“So…” Chaol begins, and Rowan cocks an eyebrow at him as he leans against the bar. “You were at The Mason Jar last night,” Chaol says, naming the dive bar where he’d met up with the guys the night prior. “Aelin booked it to the bar when she saw you,” Chaol continues. “You guys, like, a thing?” he asks, curiosity seeping through his anything but innocent question.

“What?” Rowan says, bowled over. “No. Uh. Not at all.” Rowan is more than flustered. “I thought she and Dorian were…”

And at that Chaol tips his head back and guffaws. A deep, full-body belly laugh, erupts from his mouth. “Dorian?” he gapes, his brown eyes wide with disbelief. “And Aelin?” He shakes his head. “No. No no no. Never.” Chaol pauses. “They kissed once when they were thirteen, but other than that. No. Dorian is her person. Which is why it could never work between us, even though we tried for five fucking years,” he sighs and scratches the back of his neck uncomfortably. “But, no. They’re definitely not.” Chaol looks at Rowan, and Rowan feels like he’s seeing through him completely. Chaol smiles softly. “You really thought? Hmmm.”

Rowan is stunned. Seriously stunned. He has no idea how to react. Or how to process this new information. Dorian and Aelin are not dating? They’re just… friends? So, Aelin is available? And has been flirting with Rowan for the past week, and Rowan just shot her down? Rowan rubs his forehead with his hand, which he thinks is the only thing stopping him from banging his head against the bar in shame. Rowan is an idiot.

An idiot who needs to apologize to Aelin. Immediately.

“This was, uh… enlightening,” Rowan says as he accepts his drink from the bartender, and Chaol can’t help but laugh again.

“Did you do something stupid?” he asks cheekily.

“So stupid,” Rowan says, shaking his head.

“Yeah, she was kind of in a mood after she came back from talking to you,” Chaol says, and Rowan groans. Chaol holds up his hands in surrender. “Just trying to help!”

Rowan turns to him fully and examines the brunette with his concerned brown eyes and has to ask, “Not to be rude, but why?”

“Because Aelin deserves to be happy,” he says resolutely. “And I kept her from being happy for a really long time because I’m a selfish bastard,”Chaol admits way too freely. “But, how could I not?”

“You still love her,” Rowan says, and Chaol shrugs.

“I think once you love Aelin you always love her. For better or worse.”

Rowan motions to the table. “I’m gonna…”

Chaol smirks. “Yeah, get to it.”

But back at the table, Aelin and Dorian are nowhere to be found. Manon sighs, obvious to Rowan’s distress.

“She went to sign up for karaoke.”

“Oh no…” Rowan groans.

“Oh, yes,” Aelin says, bounding back to the table, exuberant.

“Don’t worry. I signed you up, too, Rowan,” Dorian says with a grin.

Aelin frowns, her eyes filled with apology. “I told him not to.”

Dorian rolls his eyes. “And I told her that if Rowan wants to hang with us this summer, he’s gotta get initiated.”

“It’s fine,” Rowan says, smiling in what he hopes is a nice and not creepy way to Aelin. She looks momentarily confused, but she doesn’t have time to think about it because she’s called up to do her song with Dorian almost immediately.

The pair sing “Shallow” flawlessly. And now that Rowan knows they aren’t dating, he can see their friendship all too clearly. Aelin and Dorian love each other fiercely; their passion rages through everything they do, but it lacks a spark. It’s platonic, Rowan finally realizes. He’s been such a fucking fool.

Rowan’s name gets called next, and his stomach is is knots, wondering what song they’ve chosen for him. When he gets to the front, though, he nearly laughs. They’ve chosen a song he could sing with his eyes completely closed.

Shorty get down, good lord… baby’s got ‘em up all over town…

Strictly biz she don’t play around, cover much ground, got game by the pound

Getting paid is her forte

Each and every day, true player way

I can’t get her out of my mind

Think about the girl all the time…

He knows the song is comeuppance for calling Aelin friendly last night, but he crushes it nonetheless, singing his heart out, performing for the masses. When Rowan finishes, the crowds go wild, applauding like crazy.

He sees Aelin bolt from the table before he can get back off the stage, and decides to follow her. She heads down the long hall back to the bathrooms, and his long stride helps him catch up quickly.

“Aelin!” he shouts, and he’s grateful that she pauses, but her arms are crossed over her chest, a clear defensive stance that tells him to keep his distance.

“What?” she snips, obviously pissed. They haven’t actually interacted with each other since last night, and Rowan knows she has every right to be angry with him. “I thought you wanted nothing to do with me? What are you even doing here, Rowan?”

“I’m an idiot,” he blurts out, and he can see Aelin’s face morph from pissed to amused. She bites her lip to hold back her smile.

“I mean, I know that, but why do you think that?” she says, her blue gold eyes glowing with challenge. He takes a step closer to her, and she backs up until she can’t back up anymore, pressed against the side of the hall. He pauses his approach, not wanting to make her feel cornered. If she wants space between them, he’ll let her have space.

“I was so out of line last night,” Rowan apologizes. “You were right. You were just trying to be friendly. I was being a dick. I thought…” Rowan pauses. He doesn’t want to be this tongue tied, but she flusters him, and he can’t get anything out how he wants to. “It’s not harassment when I want to be touched. By you.”

Aelin’s eyes narrow. She looks suspicious as she examines him. 

“I knew I was good at karaoke, but damn, I didn’t anticipate this kind of turnaround…” Aelin smirks and takes a breath, and Rowan risks taking another step forward. She holds up a hand and presses it against Rowan’s chest. He didn’t realize how close he’d gotten to her. Warmth from her palm seeps through his shirt, and he breathes heavily. She looks up into his eyes with curiosity.

“Seriously, what changed your mind?” she asks.

“If I say Chaol’s name right now it’s just going to make things weird,” Rowan says, dipping his head slightly, and he can’t help but notice her tilt her head up to him. He zeroes in on her lips, leaning down to get even closer.

“You’re right,” she says with a soft laugh. “You were still a jerk.��� Her eyes flick to his lips, and Rowan darts his tongue out to wet them. 

“I know,” he breathes softly. “And I mentioned I was an idiot, right?”

Aelin nods and leans in to close the gap between them, the charge, the magnetism between them now palpable, strumming through Rowan’s body, pulling him downward. 

“Hey guysss,” Dorian drawls as he walks past them quickly, and Rowan straightens up suddenly. Aelin darts under his arm, freeing herself from being backed into the wall. He sees her take a large breath. “I was wondering where you’d gone.” Dorian looks between them, and then grabs his stomach. “I have to pee so bad. Don’t mind me!” He continues down the hall. “As you were!”

Rowan goes to finish his apology, but the moment is gone, and so is Aelin. He needs a moment to compose himself, and when he makes it back to the table, she’s already deep in conversation with Manon and Chaol and Nesryn about the latest karaoke performance. Apparently in his absence someone murdered “Bohemian Rhapsody” and not in a good way. But Aelin acknowledges Rowan’s presence with a flash of a smile, despite not breaking her conversation.

Manon side eyes Rowan suspiciously, and Rowan brushes her off. He’s not ready to talk about whatever just did or did not happen in that hallway.

Their chatter is aimless but pleasant as afternoon bleeds into evening, and eventually they all decide to disperse and head home. Rowan never gets a chance to speak to Aelin alone again, but when he and Manon are in their Uber heading home, his phone flashes with a Friend Request from Aelin Ashryver.

“Hmm,” Manon hums pointedly as Rowan bites back a smile. He spends the rest of the night in bed, scrolling through Aelin’s social media. As he’d originally planned to do with his day. Only now, he doesn’t feel as mopey or pathetic. He lets the rain, still relentless, lull him to sleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~

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[myherowritings]

masterlist

© myherowritings — all rights reserved. reposting, modifying, copying, or translating of any kind is not allowed. do not read my writing as asmr. do not plagiarize. thank you and have fun reading!

SOCIAL MEDIA AU MASTERLIST

HAIKYUU!! MASTERLIST

TODOROKI SHOUTO

i. animal instincts

with your shapeshifting quirk, you take on the duty of becoming the resident undercover therapy cat for class 1-a. one day, you see todoroki restless in the middle of the night and try to comfort him in cat form. but what happens when he confides in you his feelings you weren’t meant to hear?

ii. into your arms

you’re prone to tripping and todoroki is prone to being there to catch you. or, in which you’re a bit of a klutz and, for a reason he can’t explain, shouto wants to make sure you never get hurt.

iii. an otome addiction

you become obsessed with the characters in the otome game, mystic messenger, and your boyfriend todoroki gets a little bit jealous.

iv. strawberry scented dreams

the 3 times todoroki falls asleep on you + the 1 time you fall asleep on him. shouto is always sleepy and needs some rest, and your shoulder just happens to be the comfiest place to get it.

v. can you keep a secret?

you and shouto are secretly dating and none of your classmates know. during a study session in todoroki’s dorm, kaminari, sero, and midoriya find your lacy thong under shouto’s desk and try to figure out whose it is.

vi. frosting fights

midoriya has been feeling sad lately, so you and todoroki (try to) bake him a cake in the middle of the night. 

vii. the panty thief

modern au. “my cat steals underwear and i come home to find you chasing my cat to get your underwear back.” in which todoroki is a new cat parent and you’re his new neighbor whose panties keep disappearing.

viii. overheated 

it’s super hot out and you feel like you’re dizzy and about to faint. todoroki is there to cool you off with his right side.

ix. jealousy for dummies

jealous of all the time shouto has been spending with yaoyorozu, you hatch up a plan with bakugou to give todoroki a taste of his own medicine.

x. ghostwriter masterlist [smau]

college au. you’re an aspiring writer with a longtime crush on the ghost hunter on campus, todoroki shouto. when you two are paired up for a semester-long journalism project, you come up with the perfect, foolproof plan to get him to fall for you.

xi. hearts intertwined

roommate au. you and todoroki have been roommates for months now but have barely had more than a two minute conversation. when quarantine hits and everyone is on lockdown, you find yourself forced to spend more time with him and actually end up…enjoying it?

xii. fictional crush

class 1-a has an avatar: the last airbender marathon and you can’t help but swoon over your fictional crush, prince zuko, leaving todoroki feeling a little jealous.

xiii. letters of my love [smau]

tatbilb au. you and your friends mail out your past love letters because you want to see your old crushes’ reactions. on accident, you mail your current crush’s letter. to make it seem like your crush on bakugou is gone, you fake date another letter recipient, todoroki shouto. 

xiv. eat the rich [series]

ceo/barista au. todoroki shouto was a wealthy, young ceo who inherited his father’s enterprise. you were a barista at a local cafe who wouldn’t mind some extra cash. one day, shouto came in during an early morning shift and tipped you such a large sum of money, you were certain it had to have been an accident. to your surprise and complete pleasure: it was not.

BAKUGOU KATSUKI

i. one hell of a knockout

boxer au. bakugou is a young pro boxer climbing his way to the top of the charts. one day, his friends kirishima and ashido invite you to a match. unbeknownst to you, you end up accidentally distracting katsuki during a fight and he gets a punch landed on his face.

ii. take you out

you ask bakugou out on a picnic date to the park, but he thinks you’re challenging him to a fight. you can’t tell who is more confused when the day finally comes.

iii. kitty kisses

your boyfriend and your cat don’t get along. bakugou keeps trying to come up with different ways to get your cat to finally warm up to him. (or, in which katsuki spends 3 hours baking treats for a tsundere cat.)

iv. “you’re hot when you’re angry”

you and bakugou get into a disagreement, you get pinned underneath him, and he smirks and realizes just how hot you are when you’re pissed.

v. a soothing touch

pro hero au. katsuki is sore and stressed from a long day at work but is too stubborn to let you give him a massage.

vi. “she’s my wife”

pro hero au. when bakugou forgets his lunch in the refrigerator, you decide to deliver it to him at his agency. but when you’re there, the new receptionist calls you a bitch. bakugou responds appropriately. 

vii. cold shoulder

pro hero au. whenever you and bakugou get into a disagreement, he blasts the air conditioner until you have no choice but to ask him to cuddle.

viii. the appreciation post

pro hero au. one of the responsibilities of being a pro hero in this day and age is having a social media presence. you tag bakugou in an appreciation post while he’s out in public and he gets embarrassed in the best way possible.

ix. slip of the tongue

pro hero au. during a charity interview with the top three heroes, deku and shouto “accidentally” give away ground zero’s crush on you. you’re asked about bakugou in an interview of your own and, during a fit of excitement, accidentally let your crush on him slip.

x. the jealous type | fanart

class 1-a has a game night in the common room. bakugou sees you and todoroki getting too close for comfort and can’t stop himself from getting jealous.

xi. a forgotten anniversary

pro hero au. it yours and bakugou’s one year anniversary, but he’s so busy with hero work that he forgets. you’re hurt and upset, but katsuki may have a few tricks up his sleeve…

xii. shirt on, bra off 

aged up au. bakugou sees you take off your bra, one-handed, and he can’t help but be in a bit of awe. 

xiii. bear hugs

you see your childhood friend, bakugou, for the first time in years and you greet him with a giant bear hug...only to find yourself in the nurse’s office right after. 

xiv. call me b-a-b-y

bakugou absolutely hates when you call him pet names. he hates the smile on your face when you say it, hates the way he can’t stop blushing-- he hates it. right?

xv. fever talk | fanart

pro hero au. “side effects may include: light-headedness, disorientation, and accidental confessions of love.” you help nurse a fever-ridden ground zero back to health, but little did you know it should have come with a warning.

xvi. the language of flowers

you decide to make the most of your nature quirk by giving your crush, bakugou, endless bouquets of flowers. 

xvii. fact or fiction? [18+]

pro hero au. ground zero’s crush on you has become painfully obvious to everyone, leading to an incessant amount of shipping. one day, he gets himself off to one of the many lewd stories about the two of you and you find out.

xviii. paparazzi

pro hero au. you and ground zero go on your first date as a public couple and the paparazzi won’t stop harassing the two of you. bakugou decides to take you to his house to cook for you and things begin to heat up in the kitchen.

xix. number neighbor masterlist [smau] 

college au. in which bakugou katsuki is a grumpy and sarcastic college student just trying to get his degree and you are his bubbly number neighbor who is determined to become his new “bestie.”

xx. all that ass [nn scenario] | fanart 

a number neighbor bonus fic. one night at the gym, you see a handsome guy with so much ass, you take a picture on the sly and send it to your number neighbor, bakugou, to freak out over. but what you don’t expect is for bakugou to reply with a picture of you from the same gym.

xxi. honey, honey

pro hero au. ground zero, deku, and shouto are scheduled to have a meet-and-greet at a primary school to boost their rankings. there, bakugou unexpectedly meets a kindergarten teacher with a sweet smile who likes to call people honey.

xxii. under my patrol

pro hero au. after seeing your boyfriend cheat on you on a night you were supposed to be on a date, you mope alone at a bar. stumbling home, you crash into the famous hero, ground zero.

xxiii. found a treasure

modern au. “it’s nice that your voice was the first thing i heard today.”

xxiv. mistletoe kiss

holiday au. after a few weeks of dating, you and katsuki still haven’t kissed. you hope that will change under the mistletoe this holiday season.

KIRISHIMA EIJIROU

i. the pizza delivery guy

modern au. your roommate orders a pizza with the special instructions, “send your cutest delivery boy ;)” and you’re left in begrudging awe when it actually works.

SHINSOU HITOSHI

i. you suck at gaming masterlist [smau]

youtuber au. you’re a youtuber known for your chaotic yet wholesome content and shinsou is a gamer who keeps getting accused of being an eboy. one day you upload a video trying your hand at gaming and shinsou tweets out about how much you suck.

ii. borrowed sweaters, stolen kisses

aged up. in a game of truth or dare, you’re dared to sneak into your crush’s dorm and steal one article of clothing to wear the next day. it just so happens that the hoodie you snatched was shinsou’s favorite sweater.

iii. turn on your airdrop masterlist [smau]

modern au. you’re at a theme park when kaminari dares you to airdrop memes to the first device that pops up and reluctantly, you give in. but never would you have thought they’d send you memes back… nor could you have guessed the person you were feeling a meme-connection with was your first love and first heartbreak, shinsou hitoshi.

iv. maybe it’s fate [toya pt. 25]

a turn on your airdrop written chapter. after discovering the mememate you fell in love with was your ex-boyfriend who broke your heart, you find yourself alone in a bar with a dead phone in a poor attempt to cope. the person who helps you at 3 a.m. is the last person you want to see.

KAMINARI DENKI

i. play me a song [smau]

youtube/celeb au. you’re an actress and singer who is highly adored by youtuber, kaminari denki. after his endless simping and thirsting on twitter, you finally decide to reply to one of his tweets.

TODODEKU

i. pinky promise

a quirk sends todoroki back in time and there he sees a four year old midoriya crying in the park. what better way to cheer him up than with some strawberry ice cream?

HEADCANONS 

HC: bakugou meets his s/o’s unsupportive parents

HC: pro hero shouto meets his quirkless s/o working at a hospital

HC: todoroki absolutely does not get along with his s/o’s male best friend

HC: shouto takes care of sore s/o

HC: bakugo + kirishima get a surprise kiss from s/o

HC: todoroki and s/o bake brownies and things get a little messy

HC: todoroki and s/o go to hanami (flower viewing)

HC: s/o peppers kisses all over todoroki’s face + he turns bright red

HC: todoroki and s/o have your first date at the aquarium

HC: iida + midoriya + todoroki react to their s/o whose nose twitches when cold/concentrated

HC: sleep deprived s/o with todoroki + bakugou

HC: getting high with kirishima + bakugou + todoroki [18+]

HC: baku + kiri + todo react to s/o being catcalled

HC: you’re harassed by a stranger and, to make them stop, you grab your friend [shouto + katsuki] and give him a kiss to prove he’s your boyfriend

HC: boyfriend!denki headcanons

HC: how baku + todo + kami kiss their s/o and what they taste like

HC: bakugou + todoroki cuddling headcanons

HC: bakugou + todoroki react to their s/o squeezing their butt

HC: bakugou + todoroki find their crushes diary and accidentally read it

HC: bnha as fuckboys (kami + todo + kiri + shin)

HC: autumn with todo + baku + kiri

HC: valentine’s day with baku + todo + shin

HC: shin + todo + baku replying to flirty anons

FAKE TEXTS

FT: prank texts on your crush todoroki

[waywardnerd67]

Be Who You Are

Summary: She fell in love at first sight. Their relationship was everything either of them could dream of concerning the life they lead. However, their dream quickly turned into a nightmare leaving scars deep beneath sight of others.  Characters: Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, OMC (Unnamed), Reader Pairing: Dean x Reader / Dean x OMC (unnamed) Warnings: Angst/Cheating/Sexual Identity Questions Word Count: 3019 Prompt: “I trusted you!” A/N: This is for @katymacsupernatural​ Make Me Feel Challenge! This is based on a real conversation I had with my ex-husband one week before we got married. Be yourself. Love yourself. Love each other.

(Y/N) looked down at her phone, “After two in the morning…” she whispered looking to the empty side of the bed.

Getting up, she slid into her slippers and made her way out of the bedroom she shared with her boyfriend, Dean Winchester. Walking into the kitchen, she was surprised to find Sam sitting at the table with his laptop and coffee.

“Can’t sleep?” she chuckled as she startled him.

“Jesus… you scared the crap out of me.” Sam took a deep breath, “Yeah. Found a case but can’t seem to get a hold of Dean.”

(Y/N)’s hand trembled as she grabbed her own coffee mug, “Do you think he got into trouble?”

Turning she watched Sam shrugged, “I really don’t know. I tried tracking his phone but it’s off. I think I’m going to call Jody and see if she can help me out.”

“You want me to tag along?” She decided that coffee was a bad idea and started to heat up the water in her kettle.

Sam shook his head, “No, you stay here for when Dean comes home. Just make sure you give him a slap upside the head for me.”

He placed his cup in the sink giving her a side hug, “Will do. Be safe Sam.”

She watched him walk out leaning against the counter. It was unlike Dean to shut off his phone and being out late. After making her tea she wandered into the library sitting down at her own laptop. Her heart beat rapidly as she ran her fingers on the keys on her laptop. She did not want to spy on her boyfriend, but the last couple of months he had been disappearing for hours at a time.

Pulling up the cell site she typed in his phone number and watched as it lit up on the map. He was on the move heading towards The Bunker from Omaha, Nebraska. Immediately, her shoulders relaxed seeing he was okay. She shut her computer, heading back to her room and called his cell.

“Hey sweetheart.” His deep, raspy voice sent shivers down her spine.

“Where are you? I woke up and you hadn’t been home yet.” There was an unsettling feeling deep within her stomach.

He cleared his throat, “I���m sorry, Sam called me about a case so I decided to check it out on my own. Turned out to be nothing. I think Jody called him about a case in her corner of the country so he’s headed up there while I come home to you.”

She wrapped her arm around her stomach as pain radiated from it. He was lying to her. He had never lied to her even when they first met. (Y/N)’s mind began to race as she began to question everything he had recently told her.

“(Y/N)? You there?” his voice pierced through her thoughts bringing her back to her reality.

“Y-Yeah, sorry handsome. Drive safe and... w-wake me when you get home.” She tried to keep her voice even and calm though she was screaming madly within her mind.

Saying goodbye Dean ended the call and tears began to stream down her face. Questions were flying through her mind and then her stomach lurched upward. (Y/N) quickly grabbed her trash bin emptying her dinner into it. She tied off the bag picking it up and heading towards the bathrooms. Tossing the bag in the corner as she walked towards one of the sinks. Splashing water on her face and drinking a handful to wash out the vomit taste.

(Y/N) looked up to her reflection. Her face was ghostly pale except her puffy eyes that shined with a new wave of tears. She could not tell what was water droplets and tears. There was only one reason he would lie and her stomach dropped. Swallowing hard, she drank another handful of water before reaching over for the washcloth hanging from a hook. Running it under the cool water, she brought it up to her face dabbing it against her warm skin.

Taking a few deep breaths, (Y/N) made her way back towards their shared room. She stopped in front of her old bedroom running her finger tips over the knob before wrapping her around it, turning and opening the door. She still had a few personal items in there and her old blanket. (Y/N) lay down pulling the blanket over herself and let her tears flow freely until her body gave in to exhaustion.

***

(Y/N) squinted her eyes against the blinding sun shining down on her. Glancing over to her right she found Dean laying next to her on Baby’s hood. Her favorite memory of her relationship with Dean. Their clothes were covered in ghoul gunk so they pulled off to a nearby lake washing them out as best they could. Dean had pulled a blanket out from the trunk laying it out over the hood. With nothing but their boots and under garments, they laid out under the sun waiting for their clothes to dry.

Her eyes traveled the length of his body. Biting her bottom lip when she looked upon a sizable bulge within his boxer-briefs. Her attraction to Dean had always been there from the moment they met cutting vamps’ heads off. As they grew closer as friends and partners her feelings ran deeper for him.

“Take a picture, it lasts longer.” His deep drawl made her shiver.

“I would but my phone is dead.” (Y/N) chuckled.

Dean smirked peeking open one of his eyes, “So, you would take a picture of my nearly naked body?”

(Y/N) nodded unable to form words as Dean sat up reaching towards the wipers of Baby. When he turned back around he held his phone up the distinct click of the camera app. (Y/N) tried her best to cover herself as Dean’s laughter echoed throughout the empty clearing they were parked at.

“Dean! Don’t take pictures of me!” she shouted, sliding off the hood and hiding by the passenger door.

Dean slid off the hood as well pulling the blanket with him. He held it out for her and wrapped it along with his long arms around her, “Why wouldn’t I take pictures of a beautiful, naked woman?”

(Y/N) turned in his arms scoffing, “Naked yes, but beautiful…” she was cut off by his lips pressing against hers.

“You’re the most beautiful woman I have ever met. Not just your smokin’ body, but you’re a badass with a machete and you know every song made by Zeppelin.” He chuckled running one hand down the back of his neck.

“Dean… this life is filled…”

Looking up into his eyes all words ceased to come out of her mouth. All she knew in that moment, (Y/N) only wanted to be in his arms and by his side. She pushed herself up pressing her lips against his his and wrapping her arms around his neck. It was a slow, passion filled kiss that sealed their fates together. Where he would go, she would follow and vice versa. Dean scooped her up suddenly, a loud giggle escaping her lips as he opened the door to the backseat. They spent the rest of the night making love and sleeping in the back of Baby.

***

(Y/N) opened her eyes slowly as she tried to move, unable to do so. She found an arm secured around her waist and the happiness filling her heart from the trip down memory lane vanished. She glanced back seeing Dean sleeping peacefully behind her. Turning carefully to face him, he rolled onto his back and the blanket slipped down to his waist.

Dean was just as handsome as he was that day at the lake. Over the course of seven years, he had new scars scattered throughout his body. The crinkle lines fanned out on either side of his eyes were a little deeper when he laughed or smiled. Salt and pepper was spreading from his temples and even more so when he let his beard grow out. Even over forty now, his body was in tip top shape. Constantly sparring with Sam and training by himself.

The heaviest on her heart made her chest ache, but looking over him made a deep ache throb between her legs. No matter what was going on or how hurt she was by him lying to her, (Y/N) needed him. She needed to know he still needed her. As her trembling hand pulled the blanket off of them gently. The animalistic need to be with him was masking the ache in her chest.

Pressing her lips against the tender spot of his neck made him stir slightly. A small sigh escaping his lips as her own trailed down his chest. Sitting up, (Y/N) carefully straddled his waist, slipping an old t-shirt of his over her head leaving her body bare except for her panties.  Leaning down, she peppered his lips with soft kisses.

When his eyes opened a small smile spread across his face, “Well good morning to you too, sweetheart.”

Pressing her lips firm against his, running the tip of her tongue over his lower lip deepening the kiss, “I need you,” she whispered against his mouth as no other words were needed for Dean to react.

After a morning of love-making in various places in the Bunker, they ended up in the library drinking coffee as (Y/N)’s feet rested on his lap. The ache in her chest was still there but not overwhelming her like it had the previous night. Dean’s eyes were skimming an article on his computer screen with a small, satisfied smile was on his lips.

Over the next few weeks, things seemed to settle back to normal. Working a few cases together and for the last few days relaxing within the Bunker. Her feet were resting on Dean’s lap as he was reading articles online. His phone buzzed against the table and when she looked up there was a familiar look upon his face. His eyes read the text on his screen as the crinkles flanking them spread from the wide smile crossing his face. Just as quick as it appeared the smile disappeared.

“What is it?” (Y/N) sat up removing her feet as Dean closed his laptop.

He stood up from the table, “It’s Claire. She needs some help with a case in Omaha, Nebraska since Jody and Donna are with Sam. Should be no more than a few days. I’m going to go get my stuff.”

Dean leaned down kissing the top of her head as he walked past her. The mention of Omaha had her stomach dropping and heart pounding. Her eyes landed on his phone resting on the table and before she could think, (Y/N) picked it up. Unlocking the screen with a simple swipe, she found the message still up from him reading it.

“Red Dirt Motel - Room 1111. 8PM.”

It was an unfamiliar number with no name assigned to it. She locked the screen setting it back down when she heard Dean coming from their room. He pulled her up into his arms hugging her tightly and then kissing her.

“I’ll text you to let you know we’re safe. Love you.” He slipped his phone into his pocket as he headed for the door.

“I love you too.” She whispered upon hearing the door shut close.

Within the hour, she was in her car following the directions on her GPS to the Red Dirt Motel. Blaring her music to drown out her thoughts and all the unanswered questions overwhelming her. Four hours flew by and she found herself in the parking lot of the motel staring at Dean’s car. It was parked next to an old red pick-up truck with Nebraska license plate.

A large lump of bile lodging in her throat as she made her way towards the door marked 1111. As she was in front of the door, she could hear Dean’s deep moan coming from the room. Her stomach lurched and she wrapped her arms around herself. (Y/N) found herself leaning over the hood of Baby. When she was confident that she was not going to vomit everywhere, she turned back towards the door.

Pressing her ear to the door, she could hear the echo of skin smacking together and moans. Pulling away from the door, tears streamed down her face and then her body felt like it was on fire. Burning rage flowing through her veins, she slammed her fist against the door.

“Go away!” Dean yelled out as a low moan from whomever he was with came through the door.

She pounded on the door again hearing him cursing before swinging open the door, “What the fuck do you…”

His green eyes went wide and his face paled upon seeing her standing there. He was clutching a thin sheet around his waist and that is when (Y/N) caught a glimpse of who he was with. Suddenly, she felt like all the air had been knocked out of her.

“Handsome, who is it?” the naked man on all fours called out over his shoulder.

Her eyes connected with Dean’s once more before she turned on her heels heading back to her car. She could hear him calling out to her but her focus was to get as far away as she possibly could from the scene before her. The last thing she saw was Dean hurriedly getting into Baby as the dust from her tired peeling out hid him from her view.

(Y/N) had to pull over a few times during the four hours back to the Bunker. Unable to to comprehend where she missed the signs of Dean being attracted to men. Sure, there was a little something between him and Castiel that edged the border between lovers and friendship. Other than that, she had never once noticed him being any different around men than just being a typical dude.

When she entered the Bunker, Sam was waiting for her with arms wide open. Immediately, she unleashed the tidal wave of tears that had built up.

“D-Did… did you know?” she whispered looking up into his hazel eyes.

He shook his head, “No. All I know is what he just told me which was that you found him with someone else.”  

(Y/N) scoffed, “Yeah. I can’t stay here and I know he will be here soon.” The look on Sam’s face told her that he already was.

“He’s waiting for you.” Sam gave her an extra tight squeeze before he made his way towards the Bunker door.

She took a deep breath before walking towards their room. Standing at the door she found him sitting on the bed with his head in his hands.

“How long?” she asked walking into the room keeping some distance between them.

When he looked up at her, his olive eyes were shining with tears, “Six months.”

(Y/N) went to her side of the bed grabbing her bag from under it, “What’s his name?”

“Does it matter?” he asked standing up as she placed the bag on the bed.

“No it doesn’t. It will take me some time to find a place of my own, but for now I will go stay with Jody and the girls.” She went to the dress on his side to grab some clothes.

Dean placed his hand on her shoulder making her flinch, “Y--You’re leaving?”

She spun around knocking his hand off her, “Of course I am. I can’t live here with you.”

“(Y/N), I don’t want to lose you. I want to be with you. I love you.” His voice cracked slightly and tears slipped down his cheeks.

(Y/N) stepped away from him, “Dean, I don’t care that you’re attracted to men. It’s fine, honestly. However, I can’t give you that. I lack the required parts for that and I don’t want to be in an open relationship or a poly relationship. It’s best to end it now so we can both move on with our lives and live them how we want.”

She turned back around grabbing her clothes and other items needed as he spoke, “It’s over between us, (Y/N). I drank a little too much after a hunt and was curious. I went there to tell him it was off between us because the last few weeks with you made me realize you’re all I want. It will never happen again.”

She tossed all her things in the bag as he came up behind her wrapping his arms around her. She turned pushing him as hard as she could away from her.

“I trusted you!” she yelled as he moved towards her again, “Stop! Don’t come near me. You need to find out who you are and just be him. Just be who you are no matter what that means. I will work something out with Sam about getting the rest of my things once I have a place. We need space apart from each other. Figure out who we are as individuals.”

Grabbing her bag, she walked out of the room towards the garage. When she reached her car she heard him calling out to her.

“(Y/N), wait!” As she turned towards him, he was holding out her blanket, “You f-forgot this.”

“Thank you.” she whispered, placing it over her bag in the trunk.

He grabbed her hand, “Is there anything that will change your mind?”

She shook her head as he let go of her and she got into her car. As she pulled out of the garage, (Y/N) looked back to see the man her whole world revolved around retreating back into the Bunker. For the first time in a long time, she had no idea what life had in store for her. All she was sure of was letting go of the one she loved most was the right thing to do.

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[plussizeappreciationfics]

OS: Lost a friend

Idea by: My muse @ticklikeabomb​

Pairing: Chris Evans x Plus sized reader

Summary: You thought that Chris appreciated you, but you were wrong

Warning(s): crying

Word count:< 1,5k

Picture(s) found on: Pinterest/Google

“Can I be honest for a second?”

Is what you heard while inhaling softly, gently closing the door to Chris’s apartment with a small smile resting on your face. Hearing his voice always eased your tensed body and sent a rush of tingles down your spine. You were happy that he was home while sneaking into his apartment. You just had gotten off work and decided to surprise him with his favorite snacks and a list of movies available on Netflix, ready to be watched.

 You turned around on the tip of your toes and swiftly looked around the actor’s apartment, realizing that his voice was coming from his bedroom, the door being wide open. Your heart skipped a beat when you saw Dodger walk out of the bedroom, his tail wiggling in excitement once he saw you walking over to the living room area and dropping the bag of snacks on the small coffee table.

 “Hey Dodger!” you whispered while petting his head as he had rushed over to you, you loved that dog to pieces. The thought of being able to relax with him and Chris on the couch…and maybe finally having the courage to tell the actor about your romantic feelings for him made your stomach churn in excitement and a little discomfort. You’ve never mastered the art of confessing your love.

 You and Chris had been friends for a few years now, it didn’t take you long to fall in love with him. But the unfortunate part was that whenever you wanted to tell him how you felt, the actor got together with someone else. To have him gush about his girlfriends or crushes, pained your heart. It was always hard putting up a fake smile or pretending to be thrilled and excited for him while all you wanted to do was kiss him and show him that you were the one worthy of his love and affection.

 But that was unfortunately a dream that hadn’t come true, yet.

  “Let’s get comfortable” you mumbled to yourself while shaking your head, not wanting to dive into the memories of Chris gushing about the women he was in love and attracted to. He just had gotten out of a relationship, and still was mourning it a little. It was mean to admit that you were glad that him and his now ex didn’t work out as they were just too different from one another. The relationship was dysfunctional from the get go, but Chris didn’t want to let go due to the fact that his attraction just kept growing, despite the obvious red flags being present at every moment he spent with his ex-girlfriend.

 A soft sigh left your lips while you removed your jacket and dropped it on the couch, tiptoeing your way to Chris’s bedroom and ready to give him a good scare before trying to convince him to the movie evening you had planned ahead.

 Dodger was hot on your tail when you arrived at the actor’s bedroom, the door being wide open and seeing him sitting at the edge of the bed while facing the window, his back turned to you.

 “It’s just that, ugh” a frustrated sigh left his lips while his shoulders tensed up. Your stomach churned in discomfort as you had to stop yourself from rushing over to your crush and give him a soothing shoulder massage. He held his phone to his ear while running a hand through his hair, clearing his throat before continuing.

 “[Y/N] just has been so clingy lately and I don’t know how to tell her to cool it down. Like she’s always been this way since I met her but I really feel like she’s suffocating me…”

 Crack.

 That was the sound of your heart breaking in your chest, crumbling into tiny pieces while the soft smile that had been resting on your face slowly turned into upside down. Tears immediately filled your eyes and made your vision blurry while you tried to understand why Chris had said that about you.

 He let out another sigh, still not knowing about your presence before continuing to vent into his phone.

 “I think she needs to find herself a boyfriend, someone who would actually appreciate and enjoy her clinginess because I’m read to snap at her and tell her to leave me alone. I need space from her, bro”.

 You hadn’t realized that the tears already had cascaded down your cheeks while you cleared your throat and watched Chris jump and turn around, gasping before ending the call without a further word.

 He quickly got up and walked over to you, regret instantly washing over his face while he stared at yours that was drenched with salty tears. “[Y/N]…” was all he was able to whisper, feeling so bad that you had to hear him talk all this shit about you, and still being fucking oblivious to the reason why you were clingier than usual.

 “Save it” is all you croaked out, realizing that Chris didn’t deserve to know the truth about your feelings for him. He didn’t appreciate you as a friend so why the hell would he want you as his girlfriend? It was clear that the two of you weren’t bound to last as a couple, so with that sad realization, you turned around and rushed to the living room.

 “[Y/N], please wait!” Chris called out behind you but you shook your head and quickly got your jacket from the couch and then made your way to the front door, your heart aching heavily in your chest and your day ruined. You didn’t bother to look back at the actor while opening the door and leaving his apartment with a broken heart.

  ~~

  “She looks happy…” Chris muttered while staring at the recent picture you had posted on Instagram. It was of you and your boyfriend, Owen. The two of you had been dating for nine months and he was the best thing that had happened to you.

 The bright smile on your face could make the sun jealous for beaming so beautifully. You hadn’t bothered to add a caption to the picture of you and your love, you just had wanted to share your happiness with the world. And the world appreciated it deeply, only poor Chris was in his feelings.

 It had been a year since you had caught him talking trash about you and walk out of his apartment. He called you countless of times and left you many messages to which you never responded. He was confused to why you didn’t give him a chance to explain himself, the stupid bastard still couldn’t put two and two together and realize why his words had affected you so much.

 It was Scott who had to break the news to him and then watch in disappointment how Chris just sat there, confused as hell and in denial of what just had been told him. It actually took his a few days to swallow the huge pill and finally understand your behavior throughout your friendship.

 That only added more to the guilt he already was drowning in, but it increased his determination in reconciling with you and making sure that your feelings were being acknowledged.

 But things never went his way as you had cut him off and moved on, not wanting to ever be friends with the actor again. The pain he had inflicted to your heart had almost been impossible to get over, but you eventually did. And then you met your now boyfriend and his love and affection made you forget about the heartbreak.

 “Chris, just accept the fact that it’s over. You gotta let her go, man” Scott spoke while watching his brother frown down at the picture of you. He softly shook his head before taking a quick sip of his beer, tuning out the people and music at the bar they were currently at.

 “But I want her to know that I’m sorry” the actor sighed and closed his browser app, then quickly tapped on the messaging app and on your contact.

 “I’m sure she knows, but wasn’t in the right mindset to let you explain yourself” Scott said, feeling bad for his brother but fully understanding your point of view as he had been through the same thing with his ex-friend and crush.

 “Let her go, bro” he repeated himself to which Chris closed his eyes for a few seconds and slowly nodded his head. It pained his heart to know that you never wanted to talk to him again, but knew that you had every right to feel the way you did.

 So, with a heavy sigh, he started typing away while softly biting down onto his lower lip.

 I just want you to know that it was never my intention to hurt you. I hope he loves you with his whole heart and soul because you deserve nothing but the best. If you ever need me, I’ll be here waiting for you, if not, then know that I’ll always love and appreciate you, [Y/N].

 Read at 6:3 p.m.

 Chris locked his phone and felt himself close to tears as you had read his message, but again didn’t bother to answer. This wasn’t the closure he had hoped for, but knew that it wasn’t worth dwelling on as he already was a forgotten character in your life, but you not in his.

Tag list: @jamesbarnesappreciationclub  l @pleasantdreamqueen l @disneymarina l @koizorahana l l @harleycativy l @itik-angsa l @sparklemichele l @melaninmarvel l @amethyst09 l @the-force-of-imagines l @bossyboyd03 l @enigmaticaphrodite l @pebblesz892 l @stars8melanin l @brittyevans l @toc1985 l @janeyboo l @badassbaker l @earthtocynthia l @lafayettes-baguettes-1 l @winters-beauty l @cannonindeez  l @ilovefanfic86 l @foureyedsiopao l @adorablespecialsnowflakes l @brittanyovens l @kanupps06 l @jazmynejack l @oliviajmarvel l @thebookwormslytherin l @theunsweetenedtruth l @talannalew l @littlexmissxfandomxlover l @amethyst-dreams-and-candy-canes l @dedebebe13 l @challaxkillmonger l @crimsonash330 l @booklover2929 l @aranelgrey l @panda-duuu l @thisismysecrethappyplace l @killmonsgyal l @lokislilcaribbeanprincess l @titty-teetee l @honey-anon l @queenxchallaxkillamonger l @princess-evans-addict l @hp-hogwartsexpress l @malindacath l @supernaturaltrashy l @letsdisneythings l @scorpionchild81 l @shado-raven l @alisoncdariel l @plutoneu

-Emmanuelle 💋❤️

[peaceoutofthepieces]

chapter 15.5

When I Live My Dream (Please Be There To Meet Me)

song for the chapter: in my head - peter manos

To go along with chapter 15! This scene feels more important to the storyline than the Sobbe one, but probably still not absolutely necessary? (But please, read it 🙏🏻). The temptation to write a full length VDS fic is so fucking strong but for now at least, take this ☺️

Lucas finds Jens at the skate park. Of course.

It’s more difficult than he expects, because Jens isn’t skating with his friends or even skating by himself. Lucas has to avoid all the dips and ramps and other people zooming past him, dangerously close, to find the shelter Jens has taken refuge in. It takes him longer than he expected, due to the fact it could barely be considered part of the skate park, as tucked away and inconspicuous as it is. Jens is sat at the back, arms resting lazily on his raised knees, head tipped back against the metal wall and cushioned by his hood.

He lifts it when Lucas steps towards him, and it’s only then that Lucas notices how tired he looks. He musters a small smile and flicks his hand in a wave. Lucas moves to sit down next to him, pulling down Jens’s hood to ruffle his hair on the way. Jens pulls a face and huffs at him, but Lucas catches that slight uptick at the corners of his mouth. He gets settled down and mimics Jens’s position, only with his arms crossed. The rest of the skate park is mostly hidden from here, but there is a nice view of the rest of the city.

There’s nothing but silence from Jens until he releases a heavy sigh, and Lucas rests his head against his arms so he can look at him. “Your silence is a little concerning,” Lucas admits.

Jens only sighs again. “Sorry. I should be letting you have more fun than this. You probably didn’t come the whole way out here just for this.”

Lucas shrugs. “It’s really not that far. I probably would’ve come here anyway. You’re just like, a minor inconvenience.” Jens shoves him and he laughs, teetering dangerously to the side before Jens grabs him and pulls him back into place. Lucas doesn’t know if it’s only his imagination, but he thinks they’re a little closer than before. He bites his lip before saying, “It was either stay at home with the possibility of murdering my dad, or come to you. It wasn’t a hard decision.”

That earns a faint smile. Jens mirrors his position, now, and asks, “Is he really that bad?”

Lucas only shrugs. His parents in general are a topic he mostly works to avoid. Most of his friends back home know the story, more out of necessity or the fact it was impossible to hide rather than Lucas’s desire to tell them. He told himself one of the good things about coming here was that that could be different. He just wasn’t expecting Jens.

He was of course aware there would probably be numerous new crushes available, sure Antwerp wasn’t lacking in pretty boys. He just didn’t expect one to befriend him out of nowhere.

He certainly didn’t expect the crush to begin morphing into actual feelings, the kind he’s only ever harboured for Kes before now.

It’s the only explanation for why he says, “Probably not as bad as I make him sound. He was always an okay dad, but he ended up being a shitty husband and then seemed to decide the two titles went hand in hand. He ditched my mom and dragged me to another country with him because it was decided she couldn’t take care of me and I couldn’t take care of myself. It didn’t matter that a bunch of my friends offered to let me stay with them, or that I didn’t want to leave. Everything that’s happened in the past year just made me angry at him and now we can’t speak without me screaming at him and him dismissing or ignoring me. Or occasionally screaming back.”

He gives a wry smile and another shrug to go along with that, surprised at the relief that runs through him when Jens just nods in understanding. “Robbe went through something similar. He got into a flatshare, though, and I think he’s actual had a couple of civil meetings with his dad recently.”

Lucas’s smile turns a little more genuine. “Is that you telling me ‘it gets better’?”

Jens shrugs. “If that’s what you want to hear. Otherwise I can just tell you parents fucking suck and curse him to hell and back with you. But I’d rather not, because I know you hate it, but he brought you here. So.”

Lucas’s heart stutters in his chest. Jens says it much too casually, but he’s looking away again now, picking at a thread on his jeans before rubbing his hand over his knee. He only turns back at Lucas’s intake of breath, looking at him through his lashes. Lucas is disgusted at the amount of power this boy has over him already. He hates how weak it makes him feel, how untethered he is from everything but the warmth filling his chest. He’s falling hard and fast for a guy that will never return his feelings. For a guy that kissed his ex-girlfriend, well within Lucas’s sight, just two days ago. He’s ridiculous to think he has a chance. Idiotic. Completely mad.

It’s just that it’s hard to fully remember that when Jens looks at him like this.

His heart doesn’t really know how to deal with it at the moment, so he grins again. “So I should really feel lucky, because I’m just blessed to know you?”

Then Jens is grinning back at him, comfortable with the more familiar tone of their usual back and forth. “Obviously. Just imagine now, going back in time and having a choice. You couldn’t live without me.”

Lucas scoffs, because he’s right.

“Not that I’m against it, but why exactly are you hiding here?” Lucas questions after a moment, antsy with the way Jens is still looking at him and the length of the silence.

“I’m not hiding,” Jens denies. “The others were here earlier, and I didn’t feel like leaving yet. Decided to wait around so I could hang out with this pretty Belgian guy.”

Lucas narrows his eyes at him. “You know I’m not from here.”

Jens blinks. “Oh, you thought I was talking about you? No, no, this was supposed to be my alone time. I enjoy my own company.”

Lucas gawks, then punches him in the arm, though he’s unable to hide his amusement. Any and all joy from Jens is infectious, but there’s nothing Lucas adores quite like this genuine laughter, the quiet giggles that don’t seem entirely in his control. Then Jens strokes his hand dramatically down Lucas’s face, says, “No, of course it’s you, darling,” and Lucas stops working.

He manages to half-heartedly swat Jens’s hand away, about five seconds too late, and Jens just continues to laugh quietly at him. Lucas slumps against the back of the shelter, resting his head against the cool ridges, and watches Jens resume his earlier position, head pillowed on his arms and gazing back at Lucas with an unfair amount of fondness.

“I’m glad you’re not mad at me,” Jens says quietly. “I missed you yesterday.”

Lucas smiles. “I’m sorry I didn’t reply to you. I think I was a little mad, until a while ago. I got pretty used to Kes ditching me for his girlfriend, and it sucked, and I had other friends then. You’re kind of all I’ve got here. When it was just us beforehand I kinda forgot it wasn’t the same for you.”

Jens closes his eyes, shaking his head slightly. He blows out a breath and refocuses his gaze somewhere around Lucas’s chest. “Jana’s a bad habit I haven’t learned to quit yet. That’s the first and last time I crossed that line since we broke up. It would’ve been much better for me to stay with you. You’re good for me.”

Lucas raises a brow and feels that ridiculous flutter again. “Yeah?” Jens hums, nodding. Lucas doesn’t know why he says, “Why didn’t you, then? Stay with me, I mean.”

Jens licks his lips and Lucas can’t be blamed for how his attention is immediately drawn to his mouth. “Because I’m stupid. And I was scared. That I was getting stupid and I’d fuck things up with you, or you would get sick of me. My friends are pretty much limited to Jana and the boys, and it’s not like I can just hang out with Jana anymore. We tried at first but it—I think I needed a little more time than I gave myself then. Robbe’s busy with his new boyfriend, which I don’t begrudge him, because he deserves it and the guy’s hot. It’s fine with Moyo and Aaron, but they’re their own little duo, and I’m kinda sick of listening to them talk about all the girls they’re gonna hook up with but never do. I’m kinda sick of just. Being there.”

Lucas’s heart aches, and he hates himself a little. “Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.”

Jens huffs, smiling again. “Basically.”

Lucas gives him a sympathetic smile. This silence feels both comfortable and charged, and Lucas lets it linger a little longer before saying, “I’m kinda glad you’re stupid.” Jens raises his brows. “You probably never would’ve accidentally tagged me in that comment otherwise. Then I’d still be the weird loner new kid and that’d just be depressing.”

“Well, you’re kind of still the weird new kid. Just less of a loner.” Lucas rolls his eyes, but rewards him with the bit-down beginnings of a laugh. Jens’s voice is uncharacteristically soft when he adds, “I’m glad I was stupid, too. But I don’t think it matters that much.” Lucas furrows his brow at him, and he finishes, “I was always going to find you.”

That’s when the rain starts. Jens glances out of the shelter at the sound, which quickly grows deafening. He looks back at Lucas with an expression that can only mean ‘oops’. They’re stuck here for a while.

Lucas’s heart speeds up in that adrenaline fueled way that lets him know he’s about to do something very, very stupid. He gazes back at Jens, and he can’t manage more than a whisper to say, “Your ex was right.” Jens looks half-confused, half-hurt before Lucas says, “You are a very bad idea, Jens Stoffels.”

Then he kisses him.

He’s gratified when Jens doesn’t freeze, but responds instantly. His hands grasp Lucas’s shoulders before moving to cup his neck, dragging him closer. The hunger in his kiss matches Lucas’s, touch for touch, and Lucas finally allows himself to bury his hand in Jens’s hair and lick into his mouth.

The fact that he’s kissing a boy is pushed aside by the fact that he’s kissing Jens. It’s at least ten times more mind-blowing.

Jens is giving as good as he gets, clearly practiced in what they’re doing, and it sends a jolt down Lucas’s spine every time he tangles their tongues together and nips at his bottom lip. Jens’s hands don’t go far, settling against his neck or along his jaw or in his hair, but Lucas can’t stop his from roaming. They move from Jens’s hair to his face to his waist and back again, as hungry as his mouth and unable to get their fill. It’s more than he’s ever had and it still doesn’t feel like enough. It doesn’t satisfy the tug pulling at his stomach or fill the gaping well in his chest, desperate for this feeling he’s never been given enough of. His heart hurts with how much he wants it and with how real that want is. He can’t imagine ever having enough. He can’t imagine ever telling himself he doesn’t want this.

With how the boy is currently kissing him, Lucas feels like he’s never wanted anything as much as he wants Jens. He has the startling realisation that Kes is nothing but a fleeting thought in his mind. Right now, he can’t fathom wanting to be anywhere other than right where he is.

He’s suddenly giddy with it, grinning too much to really keep kissing properly, but Jens continues to press his lips to his, unrelenting even as his own grin spreads to match it. That laugh that Lucas adores bubbles out suddenly, and it only makes Lucas have to kiss him again. It really becomes impossible, then, so Lucas goes to pepper kisses over Jens’s face at the same time as Jens moves to kiss along his jaw, and they fall into a full fit of laughter, Jens collapsing into Lucas’s chest with his face scrunched up adorably. Lucas winds his arms around him and laughs into his hair, heart stuttering when Jens sneaks a kiss to his collarbone. Lucas tightens his arms around him and presses one to his hair.

Once they’ve calmed down, Jens shifts until they’re on the same level again. He turns towards Lucas and presses his forehead to Lucas’s before saying, “Fuck, you’re beautiful.” Lucas feels like he might burst.

This time, Jens kisses him.

[classic80sand90smovieloves2]

Meeting and Dating Ray Sinclair

(My borderline alright gif)(Welcome to my first underrated movie headcanons post! This is from the movie Something Wild (1986))

(If you’re going to learn anything about me from this blog then you’ll learn that I’m a big fan of criminals.)

- You and Ray first met while you were dating a friend of his. He’d just gotten out of a stint in prison when you and your boyfriend had happened across him on the street. The two men greeted each other warmly as you stood off to the side, wondering who the hell this guy was.

- Finally, your boyfriend turned and introduced the two of you, letting Ray get his first good look at you. That was all it took for him to decide he wanted you and let’s just say that when Ray wants something...he gets it.

- He doesn’t immediately try to put the moves on you. If there’s anything Ray is its conniving and cunning; he’s willing to wait to make sure he gets things right. He studies your relationship, taking note of its weak points; all the touchy subjects and things that make you incompatible.

- At the same time he gets closer to you, showing you a good time and getting you addicted to the rush of adrenaline and the thrill that comes with being around him.

- Isn’t it sad that a man you barely know brings more excitement to your life than your own boyfriend. But that’s kind of the point, isn’t it? That’s exactly what he wants you to think but it isn’t like he’s putting up a facade. He’s showing you exactly what it’s like to be with him, he just knows that the lifestyle will be too alluring for you to resist.

- Ray isn’t a great person, he knows that, everyone knows that. He’s a conman, a criminal, a bastard, the list can go on. Him being vindictive and two faced with your ex boyfriend is just the tip of the iceberg but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t actually care about you. He loves you that’s for sure, enough to plot an entire scheme to get you for himself.

- Honestly, all your relationship needed to fall apart was a little push and he was happy to provide it. A little instigation on his part and the two of you were exchanging screaming insults.

- It was only a matter of time before you two officially split up and let’s just say it wasn’t on good terms. Ray was the one who swooped in and comforted you, calling your ex an ass and offering to get your stuff from his apartment.

- To be fair you weren’t all that upset, it felt like a weight had been lifted off your shoulders. You hadn’t realized how much he was dragging you down. You were finally free to do whatever you wanted and so...Ray asked you to run off with him.

- You’d been happily prancing around your room when he first asked, too caught up in your own excitement to hear him correctly so you had to ask him to repeat himself.

- When you finally heard the question you were shocked, the smile faded from your face a bit as you processed what he was actually asking you. Sure you’d wanted to leave your town for a while, see the world a little and live your life but could you really do it, and with Ray for that matter? Sure he was attractive and you liked him a lot but this was a huge step. You couldn’t exactly go back once you’d started.

- It took you a minute to come to your decision. You were free... and you were gonna stay free. You packed up your things, kissed your life goodbye and hopped in the car with him, never looking back.

- Whatever you want to do the two of you will do. Is it considered a date if you’re just living out your lives together?

- You rarely leave each other’s sides and you rarely want to. You’re as comfortable as can be with each other.

- Lots of pda, homeboy would legitimately fuck you in public if you let him.

- His go-to pet name is baby and he calls you it often.

- Ray can be a real sweetheart when he wants to be and he saves all his sweetheart points for you. You’re the only person he’s ever nice to without there being an ulterior motive behind it.

- He honestly thinks you’re the most amazing girl he’s ever met. You’re beautiful, smart, sweet, talented; the list could go on and he’d happily read it out to you if you cant see what he does.

- He loves having you model clothes for him. He’d steal you expensive outfits just so he could watch you try them on and tear them off you afterwards.

- Acting gentlemanly has never been like a conscious decision of his, he just opens doors for you (etc) because that’s what you’re “supposed to do”.

- You do a lot of moving around so get used to being in cars and packing up your stuff constantly.

- Sleeping in the passenger seat of his car while he drives to your next destination. When you’re awake, he likes to keep one hand on your thigh and the other on the steering wheel.

- Ray has no shame and that’s a fact. He isn’t afraid to make a fool of himself for you.

- He always checks on you when he thinks something may be wrong. He may overreact a little in certain situations but it’s all coming a good place.

- You catch him staring a lot, sometimes it’s innocent other times it feels like he wants to eat you alive.

- He’s really protective of you, that’s part of the reason why he watches you so much. He doesn’t like having you out of his sight just in case something happens to you or you need him.

- He finds nearly everything you do amusing. You could be killing someone and he’d find a way to make a teasing comment about it.

- He takes pride in seeing you become more like him. Whenever you do something wild he can’t help but smile.

- He’s probably taught you how to use a gun. You spend some weekends sitting in an isolated area with him, shooting cans off of broken fences and bins.

- Learning how to patch him up and reset his broken noses. Get used to blood, that’s all I’m saying.

-Sometimes he genuinely amazes you with how tough he is. You don’t think you’ve ever met anyone in your life that can handle a broken nose like it’s just an inconvenience.

- He likes going through your things so I don’t suggest owning things you wouldn’t want him finding. He does it out of curiosity and boredom rather than suspicion so don’t read into it too much.

- He’s very...convincing. It’s hard to resist him when he asks you to do something or asks to do something to you.

- Play wrestling and just being overall kinda rough with each other.

- He’s one hell of a kisser. He takes your breath away on a daily basis.

- He likes to people watch and make fun of everyone with you.

- He has a thing for your shoulders. He just always seems to be touching them in some way whether it be laying his head on one or wrapping his arm around both of them.

- Late night trips around town. You have a lot of fond memories under the stars.

- Even if he thinks something is silly he can’t help but do it for you just to see you smile.

- Keeping a list of all the motels and hotels that you’ve visited...It’s a long list.

- He likes being able to carry you into your motel room/bedroom after you’ve fallen asleep in his car or on the couch. There’s just something about it that’s so precious to him.

- Sleeping in his shirts with your head resting on his arm and his body pressed against your back.

- Probably has your name tattooed somewhere on him. He also may or may not have gotten it done while in prison.

- Be prepared for a lot of surprises, he likes seeing the look on your face when he catches you completely off guard.

- Likes when you play with his hair. You can always calm him down with it, it’s your own little secret weapon against him.

- Fights are screaming matches but he never lets either one of you walk away. You’re going to fight until things get fixed and that’s just how it’s going to be even if he has to stand by and watch you cool off for an hour. The both of you can go to bed angry with each other but you’re still sleeping side by side and that’s final.

- He hates upsetting you; he always apologizes and knows exactly what to do to make things better though.

- To a certain degree he knows almost exactly what you need and want. Sometimes it’s annoying how right he is about you but other times it’s helpful. You find solace in the fact that there’s certain things about you that he’s just dead wrong about or that he doesn’t know about at all.

- Occasionally, he gets kind of insecure about your relationship because he isn’t sure if he can provide you with the future that you really want. Sure, his adrenaline junky, carefree ways are fun now but how long are you going to think so?

- He has high hopes for you even though you’ve chosen to spend your days with a dirtbag like him.

- He’s often quick to jealousy but he hides it well...to people other than you at least. You know the way he is so you can always spot the little quirks and cues that tell you he’s getting ticked off. That and the fact that he’ll grill you on who “that guy was” after you’ve walked away from them.

- Sometimes he’s ready to start a full on fist fight after hearing someone use a pickup line on you. Other times he likes to stand around and listen to guys talk about or attempt to flirt with you just to see how quickly their faces fall once they realize you’re together. Occasionally he’ll do both of those things just for the additional ego boost.

- He’s willing to fight for a woman like you.

- He likes telling you about his different robberies and schemes. Whenever he commits some kind of crime he just has to brag to you or mock the people he just messed with.

- You’re probably going to have to visit him in prison at least once, just saying. But hey, if you’re with him you already know what you signed up for

- He’s never afraid to admit how much he missed you.

- Even if you broke up with him (probably because of him being in prison, let’s be honest) he’d still be caught up on you and wouldn’t be able to stop himself from trying to get you back by any means necessary.

- He absolutely melts on the inside whenever you tell him you love him, especially if it’s after a fight or when you’re getting back together after a long time apart.

- Ray is a charmer so it wouldn’t be hard for him to get your parents to like him, it’s probably best that you leave out the fact that he’s been to prison though.

- You probably have a Vegas wedding on a whim one night pretty early into your relationship because that’s just how your relationship is. Funnily enough, you don’t regret it one bit.

[scullyy]

I Know A Place

Word Count: 2.2K Summary: On one fine spring afternoon, Clementine and Louis discuss the logistics of building a house. A/N: This is totally self-indulged just gimme them talking about their house pls ;-; and this is my 30th clouis oneshot?? What??? Doesn’t feel like it, but thank you to those who have been with me since the start. I’m very much in my feels :’) also pls listen to the song it was my inspo for this, it is such a beautiful song okie ily enjoy <3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIqngAXHzTI

-

Louis let the dandelion twist within his fingers, focused on how its seeds flew away with the soft spring breeze. The warmth of the fresh sun relaxed every limb, his eyes fluttering each time the piercing rays danced through the leaves above. There was no need for a jacket today, which he took as a good sign. Overgrown grass pricked his arms as he lay at mercy to nature, he could easily fall into the green earth if given the chance. Swim in spring forever.

"Earth to Louis!" A quick and sudden hand wave in front of his face broke him away from his minds quiet slumber. He instinctively reached up and pulled it down to his chest, resting it above his heart. He smirked at the resulting groan. "Did you hear anything of what I just said?"

"One hundred per cent. You were going on about my dashing good looks."

She broke her hand free and prodded at his chest. "Ha, you wish." Clementine focused back on the task at hand...whatever it was remained a mystery to him. She refused to show Louis until it was done, it seemed to involve a lot of flowers though, as she had a small pile of yellow and purple flowers resting beside her.

"You were talking about having a balcony." He chimed in, letting the sunrays consume him once again.

Surprising her, Clementine looked back at him, letting the peaceful moment truly sink in. His soft face glowed beneath the afternoon sun, the desire to brush a loose dread from his face grew a little stronger, but she decided against it, letting him rest instead. "My friend at school had one and I thought it was the coolest thing ever."

Louis could totally tell she was watching him, smirking a small bit. "They are cool. My parents' bedroom had a balcony and when they weren't home I'd sit out there and people watch."

"You would watch...people?"

His eyes fluttered open, trying to decipher her emotions. Concern, perhaps? "Well, I would watch them and try to guess what their lives were like. So, a balcony it is! What else do you want?" He swiftly changed the subject in hopes it would get rid of the definite look of concern on Clementine's face. Luckily (and surprisingly) her lips softened back into a smile.

"You said you wanted a piano, so where do you want it to be?" She went back to the flowers in front of her, her fingers swirling in between the petals and stems. It had been a long time since she had done any sort of craft, let alone this task specifically.

"Hmmm, perhaps in front of the fireplace."

"Oh, so there's a fireplace now?"

Louis winked and gave her a finger gun with both hands. "Yes, on floor three hundred and twelve. That can be my music room, I'll have sheet music neatly filed away, different songs for different occasions. I'll have the piano leaning against a tall window, so I can look out at the world while I play." Reminiscent of his old house in a way. The family piano was on the second floor, propped against a wide window in the corner.

Clementine let that image soak in; Louis in clean clothes, jazzing up their home as the sun - bright as the one now above them - poured itself over his shiny, mahogany piano. Maybe she would sit beside him or just watch him from the door, either way, what bliss. "We're really doing all nine hundred and fourteen floors?"

"Hey, it was your idea."

She chuckled to herself as she ripped off a loose stem from her creation. "Hell yeah. You still wanna teach me how to play?"

"Damn right I do, you'll soon be able to play better than I can!" Whenever Clem sat beside his piano his heart skipped a few beats, she fit there so perfectly beside him. The bench was made for two, but he couldn't imagine anyone else taking up that space beside him. He didn't want to, it was always her.

"I'll never be able to play as good as you." She muttered, fiddling with the yellow petals of one of the smaller flowers. Her mind drifting away to his musical prowess, he was truly a king behind the keys.

The non-human sputtering noise Louis made almost put her to tears. "Puh-lease! You can shoot better than me, hunt better than me, run faster than me-" He began to count off his fingers on how she was practically perfect in every way.

"Not anymore, dummy." She wiggled her bandaged knee above them, showing off just how redundant his point was.

He waved it off, his head shaking rapidly. "That don't mean nothing! I've seen you zip around on those crutches, but just to make things easier, how does an elevator sound? Wait-no no! A massive staircase that can turn into a slide."

"You and your damn slides." Total dork. Her dork.

"What? They're fun!"

"This house is gonna look ridiculous from the outside." Nine hundred and fourteen floors, slides, windows reaching the roof and purple to top it all off. It seemed like a house that had 'Louis' written all over it.

Louis brushed it off with another dramatic wave of his hand. "Nah it'll be 'right, speaking of the outside, what do we want? A garden? Perhaps a jumping castle? A trampoline!?"

"As long as there's a treehouse I'm fine."

"Hell yeah! A woman of fine taste," Her giggles echoed all around him, he could live in that sound forever if it were possible. "Also, no roads around the house. I lived in a city, it's not fun waking up to morning traffic every day."

"No roads? How the hell are we gonna travel?"

He shrugged casually, seemingly having an answer for every question and rebuttal she threw his way. "We'll walk. Besides, given your luck with cars, it's probably the safest option."

Clementine scoffed, clutching at her chest. "Okay ouch. At least I know how to drive."

"Is that what you call it?"

She prodded at his ribs, bringing out a meek giggle from him. "If you're gonna bully me I'll leave."

"Okay, I'll stop," He held his hands up in defence, his grin growing wildly when she grabbed one and laced her fingers through it. "It'll be quiet. No guns or weapons, no walkers, no violence. We'll be able to forget every bad thing that happened." His thumb graced along her bumpy tattoo, rubbing away at the dried dirt that hid it away. Remembering the story behind it, he winced at the sordid ending

For Clementine, there was a lot she would like to forget. Somehow Louis made it all better, his superpower. Taking the bad and reminding her that they don't spoil the good and there were always more good memories than bad when it came to their intimate time together. "Can it be by the sea?"

"The sea, huh?" He purred, surprised at this revelation.

"Yeah. I always liked the beach. Maybe we'll get lucky and find an old beach shack, stay in there."

"The sea it is! I promise to remember the sunscreen," He was sure there would be a red tinge to his cheeks after today, but the risk of a painful burn was worth it to talk to Clementine. Weather like this was rare, it reminded him of how the world was before. He and Marlon used to play soccer beneath this sun, running back and forth on the grass till one eventually fell to the ground in defeat. "Y'know, I fall more in love with this house every day."

"Me too," They stayed in silence for a while, the only sounds being the raw Earth; chirping birds, a distant cricket. One could forget about what was happening beyond the walls of the school. "Okay, done!"

Louis opened one eye, trying to get a good peek at what was within her hands. "Whatcha got there?"

"Sit up!"

Her wish was his law, Louis pulled himself up beside her, their knees brushing against the other. His smile was totally goofy and lop-sided; a combination of drowsiness, warmth and love.

Within her hands lay two crowns, made with a bunch of yellow and purples flowers. "It's kinda messy but..." She gently placed one atop of his head, covering her shy smile at how it slightly drooped to one side. "Every king needs a crown."

Louis' fingertips pinched one of the vibrant petals, shivering at how soft it was. "You've been making this for me the whole time?"

Clementine threw on her own crown, grinning from ear to ear. "My babysitter taught me how to make them, haven't done it in a while." It balanced neatly on her curls, the petals bouncing in the breeze. A mighty fine matching pair they were, a king and queen of no land but they didn't mind one bit.

Louis shimmied in closer and pecked the tip of her nose. "I love them." He was truly the grandest king in all the land, with the most beautiful and charming queen with him.

Clem wasn't sure if the burning of her cheeks was from the sun or from her cheeky boyfriend. Most likely a combination. "I dunno about you but if I spend any longer out here I'll fry."

"Me too, wanna go find AJ?" He stretched his arms up to the sky, glancing around the courtyard. The only other kids he could see was Willy on the watchtower and Ruby and Violet by the greenhouse.

Clementine stretched her own leg, trying her best to conceal the oncoming cramp. A dull ache she was slowly getting used to as the days went by. "Yeah, I've left him alone for too long."

Her crutches were leaning against the picnic table, waiting diligently as ever. He passed them over to her, waiting till she was comfortable before taking off, his arms at the ready to grab her, just in case. "Maybe we can have a throne room."

It took Clementine a second to register what he had said. "Hold up, a throne room? Really?"

"Of course! We shall live like royalty, only the finest for us." He opened the hallway door for her, letting her go in first.

"Says the guy who grew up on expensive taste." She didn't even try to hide the sarcastic tone, having an ex-rich boyfriend provided ample jokes for her and by god, she was gonna take up the chance to use them.

"Okay, perhaps, but you have not experienced fine dinging until you have tried a Pâté-" He immediately stopped talking when he saw Clem's face drop. Following her stare, his face too fell at the sight before them.

Clem disturbed the silence by letting out an obvious and fake cough. "AJ, what are you doing?"

The tot dropped a paintbrush from his grasp, specks of purple paint splattering on the wooden floor. "Oh...hi Clem, hey Louis." He had the same innocent glare in his eyes that Louis gets whenever he fucked up, which was a face he had on the daily. Like a puppy caught eating away at a shoe.

Who? Me?

"Where did you find all of this paint?" Louis peered into the dirty tin bucket, his eyes bombarded with more purple paint than he had ever seen before. It was a bright lavender shade, reminding him of the plants in his mothers' garden.

AJ slowly rose to his feet, hands held tightly behind his back and eyes glued to the floor. Guilty. "It was in Tenns' old room. Please don't be mad."

Clem couldn't take her eyes off the door, who could? It was bright purple! She stuttered for a moment, trying to process what could possibly be going through AJ's mind. "I don't even know what you're doing." Is this the reaction her parents had when they found her drawing on her bedroom walls? Just pure confusion and a dumbfounded wonderment??

AJ looked up at her, his big brown eyes pleading his innocence. "Well, you and Louis always go on about your purple house but I don't have enough paint for the whole school, so I thought I'd paint your door."

The couple stood solemnly with both their jaws wide open, their eyes locked onto the wet paint, making their once simple brown door a pastel purple. They both had to admit, it was a lovely colour. Briefly sharing a knowing glance, Louis kneeled down to AJ first, shocking the young boy with his sudden and wide smile. "How could we ever be mad? This is awesome, kiddo."

Clem admired the smooth stroke of his handiwork, he had been practising his colouring a lot more than usual recently. He would be a natural talent in no time. "This is so nice of you, goofball," She motioned for him to come closer, giggling when he barreled his small body into hers. "Thank you, for giving us our purple home."

[halictus-writer]

Welcome to Seattle (Ch. 1 of 5)

Remus had wanted to move to Seattle for most of his twenties, but when it finally happened it was underwhelming. In all his daydreams, real-estate-app-checking, and job-hunting, he always accounted for an extra person by his side. That extra person was always the same man: the one who Remus had been in a romantic relationship with for the last six years, who Remus had built a life with, who Remus knew like the back of his hand, and who had broken up with Remus an hour before Remus’s 26th birthday party.

A month later, Remus unlocked the door to his Seattle studio apartment, began submitting job applications to local newspapers, and finally started writing his novel. His friends were worried about him being alone, but as he assured them in their daily group-texts, Remus was doing fine. He was finally living the life he had envisioned having for himself, the one he would have had if he had never met his now-ex-boyfriend. If he ate a lot of comfort food and often dined alone, then that was just self-care, not some need for pity from the friends he moved away from.

Seattle was a five hour drive from his past life: the town he went to college in and then never left. Five hours was just long enough to keep his ghosts at bay, but also short enough that his friends could visit him for a weekend. James and Lily were like Remus and his ex: they had met in college and ended up staying and building their lives together. The other bonus about Seattle was that Dorcas and her partner Marlene lived just outside the city. Dorcas had been Lily’s freshman year roommate, and they had been close friends ever since. Once James and Lily got together, the four of them–– Remus, James, Dorcas, and Lily–– formed a group chat and texted constantly. The name of the chat switched a few times a week, but it stayed the same as “Seattle? More like sea ADDLED” ever since Remus moved. After Dorcas introduced Marlene to the group on one of James and Lily’s visits, she was promptly added to the chat.

***

Remus was catching up on the group texts as he sat alone in a booth of the Italian restaurant around the corner from his apartment. He smiled as he read James’s increasingly-frantic texts beginning fifteen minutes ago. Apparently, Lily had set up some sort of parental controls in his phone, and the only change she had made was to prevent him from typing and sending any word that contained the letter “E.”

James: H3LP! I can’t type the l3tter 3

Lily: What? I can’t understand you, I think you’re misspelling words

James: The l3tter 3

*Dorcas changed the name of the chat to “The l3tter 3”*

James: Dorcas. Not h3lping. Lily, did you do som3thing to my phon3??

Lily: Have you tried turning it off and back on again?

James: I only f3ll for that the first 3 times, Lily

Marlene: Do you mean the first three times, or the first E times?

Having finally caught up, Remus joined in.

Remus: James, I think you just need to give up and adjust your vocab to only include words without the letter 3.

James: Stop calling it the l3tter 3, it’s the l3tter 3 and you know that

Dorcas: This is too good

R3mus: See? I adapted  

James: W3ll th3n R3mus, l3t’s s33 you g3t by without the l3tter 3

Remus: Without the letter three? That would be tragic

Remus looked up from his phone, still smiling, as the man he presumed to be his waiter approached. Remus’s smile turned to a face of surprise when he looked up at the man’s face. The man was gorgeous. His long black hair was currently braided and tied up into a bun. Remus quickly chastised himself for wondering what it would look like let down before he remembered that he was allowed to think those thoughts again, now that he was unwillingly single.

The waiter’s name tag read “Sirius,” and Remus instantly felt a camaraderie with him for having to get through life with uncommon names. Remus asked for water and a few more minutes to look at the menu, having been distracted by his phone so far. He watched the beautiful waiter walk away, appreciating the fact that his dress shirt was tucked in to tight jeans.

When he returned to his phone, he discovered that Lily, Dorcas, and Marlene were all trying to write sentences without the letter E. So far, Lily was doing the best, but their texts were all punctuated by one or two of James’s “H3LP M3” messages.

Sirius returned with a glass of water and two napkin-wrapped silverware rolls. He placed one in front of Remus, and then held onto the other one somewhat awkwardly.

“Is it just you dining tonight?” He asked.

“Uh. Yep.” Remus answered, hoping his embarrassment hadn’t reached his face yet. He was prone to blush, and his complexion showed it quite visibly.

The waiter seemed almost happy about this–– probably just overcompensating for embarrassing Remus about being alone, Remus thought–– before asking for his order. One margherita pizza ordered later, and Remus got to watch him walk away again.

Remus had been on the hunt for the perfect margherita pizza, and had already tried a few other restaurants in the city. It was Remus’s favorite comfort meal (brownies were considered a comfort dessert). But, since eating an entire pizza for each meal was not “healthy,” Remus had to save the pizza nights for his really bad days.

As he waited for his pizza, he returned to his phone. James had regained the ability to type the letter E, but now they had moved on to voluntarily omitting other letters from their sentences. Marlene and Dorcas were prompting Remus to “blow them away” with his journalist skills, and write a sentence without the letter A. Laughing, he began.

Remus: You think you just did something there, don’t you? Well, I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but numerous sentences could be constructed without the use of the first letter of the English lexicon.

*Lily changed the name of the chat to “Remus ruined the joke”*

*James changed the name of the chat to “Remus ruined the joke gin”*

James: gin

James: wit no

*James changed the name of the chat to “Remus ruined the joke 4g4in”*

James: LILY! WHY C4N’T I TYPE THE LETTER 4

*Dorcas changed the name of the chat to “The letter 4”*

***

The pizza was excellent. Remus decided after the second bite that he had found his oasis. Any bad days in the future would end at this very restaurant, with this perfectly crisp crust and perfectly fresh basil. The pizza was so good that he didn’t even care when the hot waiter came back to ask how everything was and he could only nod and grunt in reply, having just taken a huge bite. Sirius merely laughed and left to take another table’s order.

***

When he brought the check, Sirius also brought a small plate carrying a square layered cake.

“Oh, I didn’t order this, I think maybe it’s for a different table?” Remus said, as the cake was placed in front of him.

“It’s for you, actually, uh, on the house.” Sirius answered, smiling a little sheepishly. “It’s tiramisu, our best dessert here.”

The cake did look familiar, and Remus realized that he had walked past a display fridge full of the Italian dessert when he entered the restaurant. “Oh, well, thank you!” Sirius gave him one last quick smile before turning to take drink orders from a family nearby.

The gesture was sweet, Remus decided. He had been eating alone, new to the restaurant, and the waiter (or more likely owner) had told someone to bring him a free dessert, hoping to persuade him to come back, or tell his friends to visit, or something. It was a good business decision, really. No other strings attached.

Little did the owner know (as Remus had now decided the waiter wouldn’t have brought the dessert unprompted), Remus was already planning on coming back. And, unfortunately, while Remus did have a large sweet tooth, he also had an aversion to the texture of wet cake. The flavor of the tiramisu was good, and Remus could see how other people would like it, but he just couldn’t get over the soggy, coffee-soaked cookie consistency.

He managed to eat half of it, and push the other half around the plate to make it look like he had eaten maybe two-thirds. Remus tipped exactly twenty percent, slid out of the booth, and pulled his jacket on.

Seeing him leaving, Sirius smiled at Remus from across the restaurant, and Remus gave a little wave in return. Sirius was just a friendly waiter, Remus decided, and the free tiramisu didn’t mean anything. Happy about finally finding the perfect pizza place, Remus walked outside, into the cool night air.

[broadstbroskis]

toes | auston matthews

inspired by the song toes by layne elizabeth

It’s the kind of late summer night that actually gives you hope that fall is coming- cool, low humidity, and yet not overly windy. When some of your friends had texted about meeting up that night at a rooftop bar while the weather was still nice, you’d jumped at the chance- both to see your friends again and to actually go out. It’d been a hectic summer between graduation back in the spring, the job and apartment hunt, and then actually starting the new job. You were excited to see your friends, catch up, and relax for a night, to not think about anything too stressful.

Your friends’ table in the corner of the bar has been pretty loud all night, friends sharing stories about their new jobs and roommates. It’s exactly the kind of night you needed, low key, relaxing, stress-free…

“Auston!” One of the guys shouts suddenly and there appears your ex-boyfriend, Toronto Maple Leafs star center, drawing whispers and stares from all around.

What was that about a stress-free night?

Auston rolls up, exchanging high fives, handshakes, and hugs around the table, but wisely stopping before making it to you or your best friend. “Hey.” He says softly instead, slipping into the seat next to you. Somehow the only available seat? Where did all these traitors come from? “How’s things?”

“Fine.” You plaster a fake smile onto your face and then nudge your best friend. “Hey, bathroom?”

She senses that it’s not really a question, more a request and stands, leading you through the crowd to the bathroom and pulling you inside. There are a few girls waiting in line, but you two make your way past them into the corner where a mirror is, looking more to talk anyway. “Are you okay?” She asks instantly.

“I’m-” You blow out a big breath. “I don’t know.”

You and Auston had met last December and to say things had progressed quickly between you guys would be an understatement. It was only a few days before you two were practically inseparable whenever he was in town; you’d met his family when they came in for a string of home games, and he’d come to Christmas with yours, despite the short period of time you’d been dating. Your friend group and his friend group could be found out together all the time and if you weren’t all together, it wasn’t uncommon for you to come back from class to see him hanging out with your friends or for him to call you from a road trip and find you out to lunch with some of his teammates’ girlfriends. 

And then, as quickly as it’d all come; it’d crashed to the ground. To this day, you can’t quite figure out exactly what the cause was. You just remember lots of tears, some fighting between the two of you, and an agreement not to see each other.

And then, the next day, a photo of him posted on someone’s twitter with a girl on his lap.

A few months later and you’re settled about this more- it’s not the girl that bothers you more than it was the fact that the whole thing felt like a slap in the face. Did you mean that little to him that he could just replace you that easily?

Auston had gone home after their early playoffs exit and been doing his own thing ever since. You had kind of thought you’d never see him again once he came back- that your friends would go back to being your friends and his would be his, as much as that sucked for both of you to lose friends like that.

Your best friend purses her lips at your uncertain response to her question. “Well, I’m here for you, no matter what. If you want to leave, we can.”

“No,” You shake your head. “I don’t want to ruin the night. It’ll be fine.”

“Okay,” Your best friend shrugs as the two of you leave the bathroom. “Your decision. Just remember; just say the word and we’re out of here.”

You’re almost regretting your decision to stay when you get back to the table and the seating arrangement hasn’t changed, but you’re determined to stick this out. If Auston can be fine about this, so can you. 

Except it’s pretty clear to you after a short and frustrating period of time that you are not fine with this. But you’re determined not to let this ruin your night, so more alcohol it is.

Slipping away to the bar, you order a shot as well as your next drink and then lean against it, breathing slow, deep breaths that should be calming. The whole bar suddenly seems hotter, even though it’s definitely only gotten cooler out. 

The bartender returns, sliding both your drinks over, and offers you a total. You fumble for your debit card for a second but a hand is sliding over your shoulder with a card before you can reach for yours. “I’ve got it.”

Of course it’s Auston. You can’t fight the bitter laugh that escapes and reach for the shot, tipping it back as he waits for a drink of his own to arrive. “Come on,” He tries for teasing. “Is my presence really that awful for you?”

“You know,” You’re just drunk enough to have this conversation- tipsy enough to be loose-lipped, but not so drunk that you don’t know what you’re saying. “That’s a great question, isn’t it?”

Auston steers you to the end of the bar, where the crowd is a little less and the noise is a little lower. “I didn’t mean it to be. Awful for you, I mean. I just wanted to see you.”

You can’t help but give him a look. “You shouldn’t have ambushed me! If you wanted to see me, you should have asked me!”

“Yeah, and you would have answered if I had?” There’s a moment of silence between you two, since you both know you probably wouldn’t have, at least not right away. “I’m sorry,” He apologizes. “I didn’t come here to fight with you tonight, YN.”

You raise an eyebrow. What could he really have expected? “Then what did you come for?”

“I was hoping…” He starts. “I wanted to see…”

“Spit it out!”

“I want to get back together!”

You actually choke on your drink. “What?”

“Come on.” Auston reaches out and rubs your shoulder soothingly. You hate how his touch still makes you feel, both comforted from the gesture and like all your nerve endings are on fire. “Is it-is it a surprise? We were good together! Or at least, I thought so.”

“We were great together.” You agree, feeling a little hysterical. How is it still getting warmer on this freaking rooftop? “Until we weren’t. And then I didn’t hear a single word from you until tonight, when you announce you want to get back together!” You’re pretty sure you’re mildly panicking, not at all helped by what Auston says next.

“I loved you.” It’s so soft, you’re almost sure you misheard it until he follows it up with the rest of his declaration. “I loved you then and I still do. I don’t want to lose this, YN.”

“Well, I can’t do this like last time, Auston.” There are actual tears running down your cheeks and you hate yourself a little for it. “I can’t jump into something that crazy and be broken again afterwards.” His thumb comes up to brush your tears away and you see him go to interrupt, to probably say something about how this time won’t be like last time, and you continue. “And don’t say it won’t be like that again; you can’t guarantee that!”

“I can’t,” He says, sounding reluctant to admit it. His hand is still softly stroking your cheek, keeping the two of you closer than you’ve been since your break-up. “I just know we’re better together and I want to do this again with you.”

The moments like that are the ones when you remember why you were with him in the first place. “Let’s start with dinner first.” You say, and can’t help the smile that spreads across your face when you see Auston start to grin. “And then maybe we’ll go from there.”