#I am once again posting at craziest hours. but need to get this off my mind and get to work

[dopepoisonivyoncrack]

Askin's birthday is tomorrow but I have no patience so I'm posting this now <3! (early) Happy Birthday to this dreamy man!

No filters + sketch underneath!

A4 paper, 100% made with colored pencils. Wish I had better quality but my printer doesn't work well with these color pencils and I had to reduce noise a lot so it became blurry.

There was a server chat about heart shaped glasses and hawaiian shirt for him and I love how widely assumed is this tropical vibe for him. There is also that 1 drawing by Kubo of him in casual clothes with hawaiian shirt so its kinda canon I guess. I love this hot noodle so much <3

[fuzzysocksstuff]

Leo has been the leader since day one

Alright, I haven't seen this conversation yet, but I can't be the only one who's noticed this. This isn't my usual post- not that I post often- but art is WIP.

~aannnnyyway~

Leo has been the (back seat) leader of the Mad Dogs since day one.

Mobile users, RIP no seriously, you are digging your own grave

In the first two episodes he shows his potential, he thinks ahead, guides the team, makes astute observations, shows his knowledge of his team (including himself), and makes his own plans (even if Raph has made a plan, he almost always has his own).

I'll go through the first two episodes chronologically.

First is Mystic Mayhem.

-This is a good example of understanding himself-

Leo: So . . . You guys from Jersey?

Mikey: Really Leo?

Leo: What? I can't make a joke in the middle of the craziest thing ever? That's how I cope.

-Leo stops his brothers and forces them to think ahead-

Mikey: Should we just ask him for it?

Leo: And what do we say when he asks us why we want it? That we need to go after our best friend, who disappeared into a wall after our priceless weapons were destroyed by mystical jogger guys?

-Not only is Leo showing how well he knows his dad, he executes his own plan when Raph's first plan fails, without asking his brothers first-

Raph: How'd you get that?

Leo: You know he always passes out after milk and cake.

-Now, this example is a debatable one, yes it shows his understanding of Raph, but it may also just be to shown to establish relationships in general since this was the first episode-

Donnie: A few hours ago I would have called this foolish and impossible. Now I just call it foolish.

Mikey: Say what you want Donnie. Raph'll pull is off 'cause if he doesn't, we'll loose our best friend forever.

Leo: Mikey, don't say that. You know he chokes under pressure.

Donnie: Leo, he's even more self-conscious when you talk about it.

-Here, while happy to see April again, he keeps the team on the task that got them in the hidden city in the first place. It can be argued if this was on purpose or not; but it still showcases his natural ability to lead-

Donnie: According to my calculations, we are in a tertiary-metaverse.

April: Actually, I've been doing some exploring, and we're in a hidden city deep under New York!

Leo: So where's the dog thingy?

-There are even subtle moments where Leo takes the lead; after Donnie takes out Draxum's robot with his tech, Leo is the only one talking to Draxum directly for the team. This is another debatable example, you could say Leo is just being the face man here, but I'd like to include it-

Draxum: Accidently impressive. With a little bit of training you can be formidable as I hoped.

Leo: Okay, well, great, and since you're surrendering. . .

Draxum: Baron Draxum does not surrender.

Leo: Okay, well, when he gets here we'll deal with him. . . oh, ho, ho, I see. You're doing that whole "sinister talking in the third person" thing.

-Here, he is the only one to once again question Raph's decision, and present his own idea instead-

Raph: We just defeated a boss villain. We're heroes. We deserve a name like Mad Dogs.

Leo: Mad dogs? You don't think something like Mutant Ninja Turtle Teens or. . .I don't know. Maybe - we'll keep brain storming.

The very next episode has soooo many parallels to the movie.

Origami Tsunami.

The dialog is long on this one and, despite the humor, throughout this scene Leo guides his brothers to the best mission for their skill level.

Mikey: Yo, Leo, we're gonna be heroes!

Leo: Okay, what's the plan? Solve the city's rat problem?

Splinter: Hey now. I am standing right here.

Raph: Pfft, no way. We're crime fighters!

Donnie: Okay, check this out. The Spine Breaking Bandit!

Raph: Yeah. Go big or go home!

Leo: Yeah, go home in a stretcher. What else you got?

Donnie: Hmm, well this one's kind of lame. Someone stole paper from a delivery truck.

Leo: Not on my watch! This is exactly the kind of junior level mischief we can put an end to.

-Leo then hypes his brothers up for this mission-

Raph: Really? That'll make us heroes? But it's only paper.

Leo: It's only paper. I'm so sorry. Donnie, what did he say? Did he say it's only paper?

Donnie: Yup.

Leo: Did he say it's only paper?

Donnie: Yes, he did.

Leo: Okay! That's what they all say. You think the road to hero town is paved in real crime? No! It's paved with the tears of the poor paper man. And who helps that guy? I'll tell you who; we are who!

Raph, Mikey, and Donnie: Yes!

-When Raph's first plan fails, and he sees how discouraged his brothers get...-

Donnie: Uh, quick question. Did we seriously get schooled by paper thieves?

Raph: I didn't swoop like a boss. I swoop like a noob.

Mikey: Man, this seemed like a really cool idea until we didn't succeed at it.

-...so, Leo gives a "hero" speech, like he does in the movie. Although this motiving speech needs some help, he still tries-

Leo: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Where'd my brothers go? Mikey, where's your. . .legendary optimism? Raph, where's your, ya know, your go-getter attitude? And Donnie, where's your. . . your thing, your - emotionless passion?

Donnie: Here.

Leo: We can still catch these lame old paper crooks and be heroes!

-In continuing this scene, we see the Leo make and execute his own plan, now that Raph's impulsive plan has failed-

Donnie: Yeah, that's gonna be hard. This was the last paper store in town.

Leo: Hmm. . . or was it?

Donnie: Yeah, I. . .I literally just said that.

-Again he takes the lead talking to the foot clan first (could just be that he's a face man here, but nonetheless)-

Leo: Okay twerp. . . and surprisingly big man. It's four against two. So what you say we just call it a day, right?

-Leo uses his observations to guide the team, here when the foot are making their origami soldiers, Leo realizes taking out the paper ninjas isn't a solution-

Leo: We're getting no where fighting these guys. We gotta take out the source.

-After Raph ~properly~ uses his ninpo for the first time, Leo again uses his surroundings to find a solution, in doing so he shows both guiding his team, and astute observations-

Leo: Hm. Mikey, the sprinklers!

-Even at the end of the second episode, they look to Leo for reassurance and support-

Mikey: So. . .does this count as a win?

Leo: Well, I don't know. Let's think about it. Did the bad guys get their big supply of paper? Uh, no. Did they build their army of soilders? No. No they didn't. Are they otherwise Thwarted, and we unscathed?

Raph, Donnie, and Mikey: Yes!

Leo: Hero mission accomplished, my friends!

Alright.

First off, if you've made it this far, thanks for attending my not even close to life changing ted talk. I hope you have enjoyed my rant.

In conclusion,

Leo has the potential to lead, just prefers to do as little work as possible. He almost always passes resonsibility onto someone else, however when he has no other choice but to lead he does it well without realizing it. There are many other subtle examples sprinkled throughout season 1 and 2.

I have more thoughts on this, but this post is already the height of the empire state building.

Class Dismissed.

[autumnmist101]

Secret Life Aftermath

“Ah!” Scar yells falling onto the main street of Scarland. He opens his eyes, blinking away the dizziness before looking at a curious Jellie.

“Oh man Jellie. You wouldn’t believe it.” Scar says sitting up. “It was the craziest thing. I was in Secret Life, and lost all my friends, became a huge villain and I— I won. . . I— I won. . . But. . . it didn’t— it didn’t feel like a game. It— It felt real.” Scar’s smile faulters as Jellie nuzzles against him. “Oh my gosh.”

He picks her up, scratching under her chin as the guilt begins creeping. . . He had killed them. . . He had killed so many of them.

“There were so many— so many deaths Jellie, and— and I was the cause of it. Oh no.” He frowns before Jellie gives a meow. She hops out of his arms and goes to a chest, pawing at it. However, Scar hadn’t listened. She meowed again, much louder this time for Scar to blink.

“Jellie can’t you see I’m having a crisis?” Scar says for her to meow and scratch at the chest once more. Scar gets up and walks to it.

“Honestly, I don’t know what could be in here that could—” Scar stops as the chest opens to reveal his average mess of blocks and such, however in the middle of it all laid a pair of elven ears. A common staple of his first few hermitcraft shops. He looked at his cat.

“You’re a genius.”

______________________________________________________________

“Sweet dreams are made of thee. Who am I to disagree? Traveled the world and the seven seas. Everybody’s looking for something.” Pearl sings walking through her base, three shulkerboxes in her arms. She had adjusted well back into Hermitcraft after losing to Scar in the finale. Though she would admit seeing Gem in her post game state had been quite an emotional rollercoaster. Nevertheless there was still much work to before the end of the season and no time to waste.

“Some of them want to use you. Some of them want to be use by— Woah!” Pearl yells tripping over something. After shaking out the dizziness of the fall, she rolls over and finds a chest. She slowly stands, dusting herself off before going to the front of it.

“I don’t remember leaving a chest here.” She says pulling out a pickaxe. She digs down a few blocks only to find no observers. She blinks before letting out a chuckle.

“Hermitcraft. We’re safe.” She tells herself, patching up the hole. She then opens the chest to find it full of Scar’s Eleven cookies as well as a few bits of Scarland merch. However in the center of it all sat a single book. Pearl takes it, opening it to find just one line of text. She gives a sad smile.

______________________________________________________________

“Okay, how should I start this?” Grian questions to himself as he sours around his base. He had had this question rolling around in his mind for an hour now. However couldn’t fully commit to thinking about it due to other projects needing his attention.

“Okay, how did the last time go? Mmmm. Well a bit better than Scott’s time. Mmm.” Grian hums before landing on one of the stones that overlooked the entryway of Scarland. He had debated flying over first thing when Scar had come back to the world. However decided it best to give the man time to process his victory.

“Pour fella’s probably just realizing everything was real.” Grian sighs before noticing someone flying over. However that one soon became two.

And then three.

And four

And five.

Grian hears a rocket sound behind him before turning to see Tango pass by and join the flock of flying hermits at the entryway of Scarland. Grian himself, having his interest piqued, flew over as well, however remained atop the entry structure. He peaked out to find not only Tango, but also Gem, Etho, Cleo, Impulse and Pearl as well. The group stood in a circle bashfully taking out booklets and chatting.

After a bit, each one begins placing down shulkers, comparing what was inside. Grian debated on using his powers to see in, but knew the glowing purple would give him away. Finally, after Pearl got out a crafting table and made something, the group piled their shulkers next to Jellie before Pearl popped down a lectern. Leaving a book on top of it. The group then dispersed for Grian to swiftly fly off and look busy by the back of his base as Tango passed by once again. Though once he was sure everyone had gone, he flew back to the pile of shulkers. Checking around and telling Jellie to stay quiet, he peaked in.

“Holy Mother of Jackpot!” He exclaims finding one filled with quartz blocks, and another filled with multiple stacks of the different log types. His mind whirled as he checked the others to find similarly important blocks for Scar’s builds.

“What made them want to give Scar all this stuff?” Grian questions before spotting the book. He walks over and reads it.

“Oh— Oh Scar.”

______________________________________________________________

“Okay. Okay. New day. All swept up— Not swept up. Slept up. That’s still not the right grammar but we’re going with it. Anyway, time to get to work grinding so we can start the interior of— Oh!” Scar rambles flying to the main gate where he finds a big stack of shulkers.

“I don’t remember leaving a shulker monster here. Why is— Why is this here?” He questions before looking around. Jellie meows, walking up to nuzzle his leg.

“Hello!? Did anyone leave a shulker monster here?” Scar laughs, “Whose even is this?” He opens it.

“OH!” He cheers making Jellie jump, “Oh we’ve hit the motherload! Ha ha ha! Provided no one’s actually left it here, of course though you know what they say. . .” Jellie tunes him out, deciding to take a more direct approach. She saunters to the lectern, leaping onto the shulker next to it, before meowing.

“Yes Jellie. I’ll get you your breakfast in a moment. I’m just saying that you know finders keepers, looserssss I still can’t remember the rest of the term.” Scar continues as he climbs to the top of the shulker pile. Jellie however, notices a skeleton swiftly walking their way from the inside of an unintentional mob farm, and aiming their bow at Scar.

She hops down just as an arrow lodges in Scar’s shoulder knocking him off the top of the pile. However his footing had apparently given out because after he fell from the top, he stumbled over the lectern and fell with it into a mess on the ground. Jellie meows.

“How was I supposed to know it was there?” Scar huffs removing the book from his head. After standing and fixing the lectern— and making a mental note to block off that area— he looked at the book. Apparent it had been signed as from ‘all the ones he wronged.’ He gulps.

“Well Jellie cross your paws and toes because there’s only two ways this can go.” He says before opening the book and finding a single line for the former villain.

Yes, we can still be friends.

Hi! Meant to post this yesterday but I hope you enjoyed. Happy Holidays to all and a Merry New Years too!

[ka-writes]

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Notes: First of all... thank you so much for the support!!

Second, space vocab: starling: young unidentified species ISF: intergalactic safety force

Anyways, take care of yourself <3!

——————

Warning: flashbacks to abuse, if needed skip past any italicized words, mentions of child labor exploitation (Someone forces Tommy to steal), attempting to drug character, cussing, kidnapping, fear.

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Incase you missed:

Chapter 1:

Chapter 5:

——————

Inspired by:

Humans are Space Velociraptors

By:FreshRoses_InMyGarden_NeedTheRain

Some kids come from storks, others come from crashed spaceships

By: mmmajora

Home Again, Home Again

By: teeth_eater

All works can be found on Ao3

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Ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/33147661/chapters/82290709

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Chapter 6: Causing Chaos

——————

Planet Amari was their next stop. It would take only four hours to get there and usually this would be no problem if they weren’t harboring a human. Let alone the human that had just escaped the Dream Team Ship.

Phil shook his head and focused on the increased security around the boarding docks.

Amair is a planet whose only purpose is to entertain, meaning they already have some of the best security in this part of the galaxy. The added security came directly from the ISF and were now searching suspicious ships.

“Check check, one two.” The microphone turned green, “As your captain it is my duty to warn you about extra security measures. The ISF is boarding ships and checking for abnormalities. Please complete protocol 35.0.” Phil spoke into the mic and waited for everyone’s confirmation.

He got up and started the process of taking maps and blueprints that were not available to the public along with future plans and hid them in a document compartment behind one of his shelves. He then changed his normal illusion monitor and changed it to the default screen.

He stepped out of the cabin and cleaned the surrounding area, while also checking for anything that could be confiscated.

“Tommy. In order to go onto the planet I need you to wear this.”Wilbur confronted.

“No! It looks like one of those serial killer masks!! My face is too beautiful to be hidden.” Tommy scoffed.

“Tommy if you don’t wear it willingly, I will tell Ranboo about-“ Wilbur was cut off by a series of curses and Tommy fiddling the mask around his face. “Good. Put this on too.” Wilbur handed the blonde a bundle of clothes and made his way to the lab. Phil chuckled at the brotherly bond that was already forming.

He made his way down to the lab checking for abnormalities before seeping back to the holding cell. The human was pulling at his clothes while packing things back into the shelf.

“Hello mate! Whatcha doing there?” Phil asked, casually. What he didn’t expect was the human to practically jump out of his clothes in the captain’s presence.

“W-who are you?” Tommy stammered, Phil had completely forgotten he had never introduced himself before.

“Oh! I forgot we haven’t formally met. My name is Captain Philza Mine Craft, but you can call me Phil or Philza, whichever you prefer. I use he/him pronouns and am the legal captain of the SBI Craft.” Phil finished his introduction with an easy confidence, even with the face mask you could easily see the kid’s wonder, “We are currently waiting for a formal check from the ISF.” The human tensed at that, “So if you would please follow me to the common room, so I may hide the holding cell.” The human nodded vigorously.

Once Phil had dropped Tommy off in the common room he made his way to the holding cell. With a few clicks and checks the holding cell made a perfect illusion wall, which molded it into the wall not to be seen by any inspectors or gadgets they may have.

Once he had gotten confirmations from all crew members, he made his way back to the pilot’s cabin. If they were even a minute slower with preparations, security would have deemed the ship suspicious.

They settled the ship at the checkpoint and waited for a security officer to signal them.

——————

Wilbur’s leg bounced anxiously as he wore his disguise. He had finished briefing Tommy about the plan. They would lie about their origins, Wilbur doing the talking, and would get what they needed and get out.

The only thing anyone was waiting on was the guard.

Almost on queue the door began to open and a young starling stood at the door. He seemed to be genetically engineered and had wires attached to his head and 3D glasses.

“Hello everyone! My name is Jack Manifold, and I will be checking your ship!” The starling chirped, “I hope you have both we have to confiscate, because everyone here seems like lovely people. I have to ask where is your captain?”

“Right here mate.” Philza said, stepping out of the pilot cabin. “I am Captain Philza Mine Craft, of the SBI Craft. Feel free to look around.” Phil said with a hint of impatience. Jack didn’t seem to notice and made his way around the Craft.

Everyone sitting in the common room shared a few nervous glances. The only one who seemed oddly comfortable was Tubbo.. Wilbur took note of the behavior and tried to busy himself with the magazine he was holding...

When did he get a magazine?

He was immersed in an article about room design when Jack returned.

“Everything seems to be in order! The only thing I ask is that everyone introduces themselves.” His tone turned serious as he looked at the crew.

“My name is Technoblade. I am the security officer on this ship and second in command.” Techno said without faltering in tone.

“I am Ranboo. I am Technoblade’s hired assistant and do most chores around the ship.” Ranboo said clearly anxious with the attention on them.

“Tubbo, I am a hired gardener and take care of food supplies and medical ingredients.” There was a coldness to Tubbo’s voice as he finished his introduction.

“Dr. Craft, I am a toxicologist. This is my medical student, Tommy, he doesn’t talk much.” There was a suspicious glint in Jack’s eye as Wilbur continued, “We have been working for this crew for two months, before that we were traveling on our own licensed craft.” Jack accepted the answer and finished checking his notepad off.

“Alright, that will be all then! Welcome to Amari! Once I give this report to my manager, you should be able to enter the atmosphere!” With that the cheery starling left the ship and Phil closed the door before disappearing into the pilots cabin.

To say Wilbur was relieved was an understatement.

——————

Things were falling into place.

Once they were on the planet all Tubbo would have to do is add the substance to one of Tommy’s drinks and he would be acting out in no time!

But is it worth it?

He pushed the thought out of his head and finished packing the small packet in his bag before getting off the ship with the rest of the crew.

“Before we head to the shopping center, why don’t we stop by Las Nevada’s? I mean it’s Tommy’s first time on Amari after all.” Tubbo said. Las Nevada’s is the most well known restaurant and casino in Amari. It was the perfect place for Tubbo to start his plan.

“I don’t see why not. Just stay in the restaurant bit, we don’t want to draw any more attention to ourselves.” Phil answered.

With that the group walked into one of the best and worst places in the city, though no one knew of the worst bit yet…

——————

They sat around a booth compartment. It had soft red padding and purple looking palm trees, without the coconuts.

It reminded Tommy of a stereotypical mafia restaurant. Something Tommy never got the privilege of seeing.

It made him very uncomfortable, especially when the waitress gave them drinks in glass cups. He felt like whatever he touched would instantly shatter into a billion pieces.

Techno was taking Ranboo to the bathroom and Phil and Will were talking to a waitress leaving only Tommy and the scary bee boy . alone.

“I told you I was done Miranda!!” A man shouted from a nearby table causing Tommy’s attention to be focused on the couple fighting.

“You had one job. And you failed it boy.” A man slapped his face.

He was in his third foster home again. They had asked him to get at least $50 from people on the subway, he had only managed to score $20, and the man was furious.

“You’re lucky I see potential, otherwise you’d be back in that goddamn group home.” Tommy’s eyes dropped yo the floor, another slap and a hand grabbing his chin to look at the man, “PAY ATTENTION TO ME BOY. I saved you from that hell hole and I can take you back.” The man sneered. Honestly Tommy would rather be there than here.

“Hey!” Wilbur snapped in front of his face, “You with us?” Tommy nodded. The couple was gone and everyone returned. Now Ranboo and Wilbur were sitting next to him and Tubbo was sitting next to Ranboo. Did bee-boy always look so guilty?

After a minute of awkward silence, Phil and Techno started talking, their voices drowned out by the surrounding noise. Wilbur had turned his attention to his menu and Ranboo was writing in his book again.

Tommy reached for his water and Tubbo turned his attention to the human. The mask he was wearing had a flap so he could easily breathe, eat, and drink. He took a sip of water….. was water supposed to be this sweet?

“Why the fuck would someone put sugar in water as a prank?” Tommy mumbled, everyone’s attention was on the human again, “What?” He asked defensively.

“Did you say sugar?” Wilbur asked as if it was the craziest thing he had ever heard.

“Umm… yea?” Tommy said. We’re these people pulling a prank on him? Why was everyone looking at him like that?

“Tommy, can you give me your water?” Wilbur asked, he was genuinely confused by the reactions. After a few seconds he gave his water to Wilbur who immediately took a sip and spit it out.

“What the fuck?!” Tommy asked as Wilbur gave him the water back.

“That is definitely sugar.. Tommy do you feel weird at all?” He asked.

“Erm no?” This was getting stranger and stranger.

“So humans are immune to sugar…” Will said as if it was a scientific breakthrough.

“Yea? Why wouldn’t we be?”

“Well for one, most species go absolutely crazy after eating sugar, for some it could lead to death.” Tubbo informed. He looked even more confused than Tommy felt.

“So like, aliens go psycho when they eat sugar? That’s lame.” Tommy laughed out the last line. Everyone looked at him with concerned glances, “I don’t think I am gonna go psycho after drinking a small bit of sugar water, I mean most people have been eating sugar their entire lives, me being one of ‘em.” Tommy finished and the underlying tension died down. Well except Tubbo’s which felt more like an angry glare meant to affect him in some way.

When the waitress came everyone gave their orders, Wilbur supplying Tommy’s. The rest of the meal was comfortable, with Phil telling stories and the rest supplying jokes and chatter, along with the occasional glare from Tubbo.

To be honest Tommy had never felt so comfortable around anyone before, he wanted so badly to let down his wall around these people. Still there was that annoying voice that told him not to trust them. For once he didn’t listen to it.

I mean what could go wrong?

——————

The plan failed. Shit.

Tubbo was mad. Not just mad, furious.

The others were having fun with the human, yet again. Tubbo had wandered off, he wanted to destroy everything, and yet he simply walked off without a second glance. He could feel the tears streaming down his face.

“Hello bee-boy!” The human scared the droneling, his ears falling flat against his head.

“I am not in the mood to talk.” Tubbo sniffed.

“Oh..” The human’s tone dropped, it was almost as if it was hurt by Tubbo’s words. “That’s alright big-man! We don’t have to talk.” The human settled with that response, with that the pair walked through the busy street in silence. Tubbo tried to throw the human off his trail but gave up after a few minutes.

After fifteen minutes of them wandering around Tubbo spotted a shop and made his way over to the electronic shop. The human followed him into the small store.

It was a small shop with tight isles and jazz music filling the silence. At the register a tall creeper hybrid fiddled with a redstone contraption. Tubbo paid no mind to him and turned his attention to some of the smaller devices scattered throughout the shop. The human shifted nervously behind him.

Once Tubbo found what he was looking for he took it over to the register. Another man stood behind it along with the original one. His eyes shifted to Tommy.

“Are you sure that’s him?” The original man asked, his name tag reading Sam.

“Yes, positive. Dream will be happy with this.” The other man replied, he stretched one of his fingerless black gloves and turned towards the pair. “Hi. I am assuming you have my boss’s patient?” The black hair man asked. He was a blazeling and had a cruel glint to his eye.

Without warning another man came up behind them and slapped a cloth over both of their faces. Within seconds the pair was out and everything went black.

He woke up in a cage.

——————

Chapter 6- End

Words: 2206

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Notes: The next bit will be hard to write ;-; but then we get to the fluffy-angst :D

Also this was harder to write... motivation went poof, but I won’t quit on you!!

<3

——————

Tubbo: *tries to cause chaos—fails

Tubbo: *wanders into a random shop—causes chaos

Tubbo: .-. Wtf

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Chapter 7:

[twixtandshout]

Tagged by @pidgeonpostal! And not tagging anyone else because I have SOILED the original template (soiled it!!) in deference to my [brushes off skirt] mostly clean public-facing appearance.

...I’ve been making a lot of Spongebob memes lately for someone who has not seen Spongebob.

How many works do you have on AO3?

71!

What’s your total AO3 wordcount?

...306,834. Jesus.

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Uh. Many! I do a lot of one-offs (and/or start long things I never finish) in many different places. My top three fandoms by fics written are RWBY (29), Undertale (25), Gravity Falls/Transcendence AU (4).

Bet you can’t tell where my hyperfixations have fallen. 

I’ve also got some Pokémon and Sonic the Hedgehog fics back on my ff.net account, or I think I still do, anyway, but let’s never go back there pls

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1. Sweeter Than Honey (Undertale): Taking a Completely unsurprising first place, with over 600 more kudos than the runner-up, the haphazard Underswap fic featuring a post-college self-insert I wrote just after high school! I shake my head some at how overblown and ridiculous the gap between this and all my other stuff is (c’mon, guys, I’ve written way better fics), but this is also the fic which prompted me (and at least one other person!) to start using they/them pronouns. I’ve gotten a lot of really sweet comments about how seen and appreciated it’s made people feel, so I can’t get down too far about it.

2. To Be A Hero (BNHA): I don’t count myself as part of the BNHA fandom, for a number of reasons, but for something that’s arguably the main motivation for the entire plot, Midoriya’s quirklessness is something I’ve never thought has been handled well. This fic marked the first time I (somewhat tentatively) claimed the disability label (thanks again to Sweeter Than for prompting that realization) to hold that lens over canon. It also really shot up my chart, dang! It’s the only thing here I’d consider “recent.”

3. Three-Sentence Shipping (Undertale): Self-explanatory.

4. Brothers Beyond Bonedaries (Undertale): Ah, the way-overcomplicated AU³ I got nowhere close to finishing. One of the things I really like about Undertale is the interface screw, how Toby Fox uses the medium of the video game to pull off crazy things and enhance his game, but most of the fic written for the fandom seems dedicated to explaining it away, grounding it, rather than taking it to the next step and messing with the medium of fanfiction when you keep the story going. I tried to do something cool like that here, playing with questions like narrator and authorship and breaking the fourth wall, even taking the “final boss” fight to a “totally separate” fic reached through the first by link – but, well, then I never finished it, which probably didn’t make anything less confusing for the poor folks who missed the intent.

5. Spirit and Such (Gravity Falls: Transcendence AU): A whole fic written to line out a particular image I had, which, naturally, never made it to the page. I consider it a bit of a cautionary tale for myself when it comes to writing (near-)original content; there’s a lot I look back on and cringe. I still love the characters, though – well, the important ones – and I think just stepping away from the tried-and-true Mizar formula nets it a star sticker here.

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

>w>; I try, but a lot of the time I just don’t have anything to say? Like, oh, you liked it? Neat. There’s not much to respond to in comments like that, and then I’m weighing falling down on an ~obligation~ to respond to every message in my inbox vs annoying people with copy-paste fluff responses all down the page. Plus I know I make more of an effort to comment on things that didn’t get the attention I feel they deserve, so if I’m driving up my own comment count with nonsense, am I preventing myself from being in a position to receive more comments later? And then if I do comment, am I being too effusive or running people’s ears off explaining things they don’t actually need to know? Sometimes people just want to express interest or admiration and don’t necessarily want a whole peek and guided tour behind the curtain.

Can you tell I have anxiety? x3;

Anyway, I do respond when I can. And I keep most of the comments I’ve gotten to go back and reread. 

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Hm, hmm. Lots of stuff in the TQ Nonsense series would probably qualify! I’m thinking of Unfixable, Wolfsong, and Ethanol. And there’s Bursting Through A Blood-Red Sky (I Can Live, I Can Breathe), of course, but that was always intended to have a fix-it epilogue. It’s just that I wrote it in a couple of hours day-of, stared at it, and decided I didn’t wanna just then. But now that’s As Long As You’re Still Burning Bright (I’m Still Awake), and that’s probably the best romance I’ve written, so that one worked out.

Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve ever written?

Now and then! When the urge strikes. Uhhh, I’ve got a series of Doctor Who x Undertale crossovers I actually made a whole dang verse for that never made it to print. Get a couple great comments on that every few months or so. I think the World Trigger x Undertale crossover is probably weirder, though, by virtue of WT being a very small fandom. My enthusiasm kinda sputtered out on that one.

Mostly I just daydream crossovers with whatever happens to catch my eye at any given moment. I have a lot!!!! Though odds are out on whether I manage to remember any of them once the initial thought’s passed, lol.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Gotten a couple eyebrow-raising comments, but I think mostly I’m just too small a writer to draw that kind of attention.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don’t? think so? Think my tastes are a little niche for most people to bother ^^;

Have you ever had a fic translated?

I had someone apologize once for any language mistakes in their comment cause they had to run it through a translator! That’s not what you asked (the answer is no), but it’s very flattering to think that someone liked my fic enough to read and comment despite the language barrier.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes! :D @pidgeonpostal was gracious enough to agree to co-write Five Nights at Denny’s with me off an idea about shoes. This has fulfilled a long-held dream of mine (collabing with someone, not the shoes) and also introduced me to some lovely people.

What’s your all time favorite ship?

Who has time for just one? ;3c Honestly, I care more about the characters and how the relationship – any relationship – between them changes them than I do about ~A Ship~ as a solid, bounded noun-object. I’ve got characters I like more and less and feelings about who does and doesn’t have chemistry in which directions with whom, but finding anything that agrees with those preferences is hard, harder when you take alloromanticism into account. I’ll play in any sandbox with cool toys, especially if other folks have already built sick sandcastles there.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

[kicks every single unfinished fic further under the bed] What nooo no WIPs here, everything on my account is either finished or does not exist

I’ve got a couple extra chapters of Sweeter Than floating around unposted, but 1. that fic’s a mess 2. high school Twixt and post-college Twixt are different people and trying to contort myself into three other me-shapes just cause people Like this fic is not something I’m super interested in 3. it’s headed for an emotional dip and I’d rather leave it where it is than post two chapters, stall out again, and leave folks with a bad end.

As for other fics... it’s looking more and more likely that v7 of my Yellow Brick Road AU will never actually make it out. >w>; I’ve got some really great ideas, but not enough to make me feel like I know what I’m doing, and that’s a big roadblock. Plus trying to engage with RT’s Atlas-Mantle worldbuilding in any serious capacity is... a headache. I can’t recommend the Happy Huntress Cinematic Universe enough, but it leaves some pretty big shoes to follow! And I’ve got small feet. <w<;

What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue’s fun, probably as an extension of characterization. I love tearing into what makes people tick, especially against the backdrop of their environment, the story they’re in, and the people they’re up against. Voice is a double-edged sword; I’ve been told my writing is really recognizable and individual, but on the other hand, I’ve been growing frustrated with with the limits of my narrative ability. There’s a strong rhythm I keep when I write (you might notice it here, even) but that leaves me feeling predictable and stale. I’m not sure I’m great at setting as a matter of course, but I’m pretty good at describing setpieces where the need comes up; that comes from my background in poetry, as does the fun I have with sublimating and abstracting complex imagery. And I think I bring some needed nuance to the universal. For good or ill, I don’t do what “everyone else” is doing.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Well, writing, for one thing. If I don’t know how something’s going to go and don’t have the urge to write it, it isn’t getting done, which means there’s a billion things that will never see the page and a few hundred more that are never getting finished. I lose momentum easily and have a hard time getting started, and I put way too much standing on finding a foothold with other people; as critical as I am of my work, I have high expectations for the stuff that passes muster, and it never seems to measure up. I’m also really uncreative. Yeah, I can mix up elements and extrapolate events, but coming up with things wholesale is really hard, which is why I avoid it wherever possible and steal/reskin stuff from other places instead.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

Something along the lines of “Hoo boy, I am Not qualified for this but hopefully it’s decent anyway.” Maria’s Spanish lines haven’t been a big deal – I’ve used it sparingly and, as a Latin language, it should be easy for English-speaking audiences to pick up on the gist – but I’ve had a harder time with Tai’s Chinese, both because I have Even Less background there and because it is, of course, an entirely different language system. If I write it out in English or Romanized italics, am I colonizing it or changing the meaning? If I write it out in the presumed-original characters (presumed because it’s Google Translate and who knows if I’m even barking in the right forest), am I confusing or alienating my presumed-majority-English-speaking audience? Where should I put the translations? Should I put the translations? And for Frisk’s sign language, thinking back, are the brackets I used instead of quotes alienating/infantilizing? I like that different characters give the text between a different feel, but I’m not an ASL speaker – and I’m pretty sure the word is “speaker,” which would only reinforce that that demographic would rather I didn’t do that. It’s important for all these characters, I think, that they use non-English language where it makes sense; it’s part of who they are. But as a white monolingual English-speaker, I don’t think I can really weigh in.

What was the first fandom you ever wrote for?

Thaaaat’d be Pokémon, followed closely with Sonic the Hedgehog. Whether those fics are still on my ff.net account or not (pretty sure I’ve purged them, but you never know) I’ve still got a couple saved to a folder on my current laptop, ostensibly so I can look back and see how far I’ve come and more practically to allow for the possibility of furthering group cohesion through public shaming.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

I still like the idea behind The Man Who Is Atlas, and Burning Bright (Still Awake) gets props for being my current fic, though it’s currently in that spot where I’m excited to get new chapters posted but also quietly marking everything up in red pen. I think Harbinger gets the crown here, at least for now.

[lavenderhazelover]

Sleepless nights

I am in no way, shape, or form a writer. I simply just cannot sleep and thus the inspiration for this post. Idk what you would even call it.

Basically, it’s how the boys would help you if you were having trouble sleeping.

Josh:

- after tossing and turning for an hour, Josh rubs his hand on your thigh and asks what’s going on

- you would tell him you couldn’t sleep and need him to tell you a story to help settle you in for the night

-being the natural story teller he is, he quickly obliges and goes into the most absurd story. Usually fantasy related, comical, and poetic.

- you curl up into him, close your eyes, and get lost in his imagination.

Danny:

-you both crawl into bed and turn the lights off. Danny wraps his arms around and you lets out a sigh of exhaustion and comfort.

- you turn to him and run your fingers through his hair and down his jawline. You start with simple questions, such as “how did i make it through my days before you?”

-Danny catches on and asks “you can’t sleep can you?” after frowning and saying “nope” Danny lays on his back and says “fine, pillow talk it is.”

-the conversation quickly turns into your theologies of the world and your craziest conspiracy theories. Danny is humoring most of them and questioning your sanity on others. In the most gentle voice he says “the way your mind works is..... so intriguing”

- you laugh, thank him for the “compliment”, kiss him on the nose, and let him be the small spoon as a thank you for staying up with you. Although you enjoy being the big spoon as much as he enjoys being the little spoon

Sam:

- Sam is already fast asleep and you’ve been laying there for hours with no such luck.

- finally you decide to wake him up. You pinch his nose with your fingers. Once he startles awake, you pretend to have just woken up too.

- “y/n, i know you plugged my nose again” he says through a muffled yawn. “I was lonely and watching you sleep was making me jealous that i wasnt the one sleeping” you respond in the most pitiful voice you can muster

-being the angel he is, he rolls over to kiss you, leans up on his elbow and says “nothing a midnight snack can’t fix.”

- Sam leaves the bedroom and returns five minutes later with a bowl of cereal big enough to feed an entire football team.

- you share the cereal together and once you’re both tucked back in Sam runs his fingers through your hair until your are finally asleep.

Jake:

- When Jake rolls over in the middle of the night, he is surprised to find you missing.

- he finds you in the living room binge watching some new reality tv show you discovered.

-he asks you why you’re in the living room and you tell him you couldn’t sleep and didn’t want to bother him.

- he grabs your hand and says “you are never a bother, only a comfort” and leads you back to bed.

-as you two intertwine your bodies together, Jake begins to hum and run his fingers up and down your back.

-it’s not long after that you fall asleep with a happy and full heart!

Okay, i am an illiterate fool! Thank you to anyone who actually read this. I hope you somewhat enjoy it. If not, that’s okay too. It was mainly just to please myself and distract myself from a sleepless night!

[thestarkerisobvious]

The Lovelace House -- We’ve Done Something Really Bad

inspired by the amazing art work by @starker-sorbet​        

A snugglefic for @mrstarksbabyy​

With great thanks for the betaread by @mrstarksbaby​

You know who you are.

Sixteen:        The Lovelace House

                                We’ve Done Something Really Bad

“Tony, you have to come out and talk to me as soon as you can.  I really, seriously, for serious, just-say-nojoke, really really mean it.  I mean it, Tony, it’s heavy.  You have to come out.  We’ve done something really bad.”

But it was too early, of course.  Even covering up the window with a blanket wouldn’t help.  It was two hours until sundown and even at his strongest, Tony couldn’t come out from under the bed if there was more than an hour of daylight left.  Peter knew that.

But Peter also knew what Tony had told him many times, that when he was fed better there was a great deal of daylight he could tolerate.  “If I am unseen and unheard,” he would say cryptically, but Peter hadn’t asked too many questions.  He simply didn’t have any pigs or sheep to feed Tony whether he wanted to or not. 

Going outside was difficult, Aunt May was beside herself with fear and flitting helplessly about the kitchen or else sitting bold upright on the sofa, looking out the window with wide eyes.  Peter talked her down with gentle, steady words, assuring her he was just going to check on the animals.  It wasn’t difficult, convincing her to do the same, to go and try to lure the cats-that-come-to-the-house and lock them in the garage for the night.  Making it all the easier for Peter to catch one of the barncats and sneak it into his bedroom.

The half-grown kitten snuggled peacefully into Peter’s arms.  They all snuggled peacefully if you rubbed the scruff of their neck long enough.  It didn’t move, or protest at all, when Peter took it firmly by the scruff of the neck and held it down under the bed.  As he felt it’s heartbeat slow underneath his hand his own heartbeat quickened.  Feeling it’s tiny body melt in his hands until it was nothing 

but a pile of fur on the floor, well, that was a sensation Peter could have gone his whole life without. 

Still, it didn’t produce Tony.  

So he went and got another one.

After the second cat died peacefully under his bed Peter began to get really nervous.  The second time he had gone to the barn the barncats had run from him, as if they knew.  Besides, that was the last cat with any black on it – Tony especially liked black cats.  According to him, the Post Daughters never offered him anything but black cats.  Peter was sitting cross legged on his floor, vaguely wondering where a man could get a black cat an hour at 4 o’clock in the afternoon on a Saturday when Tony began to emerge from under the bed.

Peter didn’t close his eyes.  He forced himself to watch his friend transform from the thick, pitchblack smoke into a human form.  It flitted through his mind that Tony didn’t smell of earth and old incense anymore.  Now he smelled of books and Aunt May’s dryer sheets.  He smelled like Peter’s bedroom.

Soon Tony was sitting cross legged in front of Peter, knee to knee.  Peter was concerned to see that he didn’t look strong at all.  He was back to that lean, gaunt look he wore after he had done a great deal of work and needed to rest.  He had silver hair at his temples again.  Peter had sent him all the way to the library in Ithica to check to see if some book titles were there, and Tony always had to rest after trips like that.  Peter cursed himself now.  He hadn’t really needed to check on books in Ithica.  He had just said that to keep Tony busy.

Tony didn’t speak, but his face was full of concern.  He took both Peter’s hands in his and waited patiently.

“Tony, we did something really bad,” Peter said, his voice breaking.  He had been brave in front of Aunt May.  He had been brave in front of Uncle Ben.  He had been brave with Mrs. Drury on the telephone.  He took a deep breath and tried to be brave now.

“Do you remember when I sent you to the Lovelace house to feed on Missy’s fear, and I told you I wanted you to make her not afraid of her father?  But you saw things, you saw other things going on in that house, didn’t you…”

Tony nodded.  “But you told me not to tell you.  You bade me not spy upon them…”

Peter nodded, his breath catching.  “I know, I know.  And I bade you convince Missy to stop monopolizing the new teacher all the time…” 

Peter’s voice broke.  He didn’t try to go on.  He couldn’t believe how selfish he had been.  Every kid had wanted Miss Drury’s undivided attention, but that’s why he had been so irritated at Missy.  Because she was getting it.  Talking to Miss Drury every day after school when Peter had wanted to pick the new science teacher’s brain about Charles Darwin.  The Devil’s Holler school curriculum wasn’t supposed to dwell too much on evolution (Origin of Species wasn’t even in the school library) but Miss Drury had actually been to the Galapagos Islands, and the Darwin Museum in London to boot.  Peter wasn’t the only one who was irritated that Missy seemed to be talking to Miss Drury privately every day.  Yes, Miss Drury had told them “If you have any questions you can call me, day or night,” and given them her private number, but that had been to all of them.  Not just the girls.  Not just Missy Lovelace.

When Peter had told Uncle Ben about how different Miss Drury was, about how she was strict enough to keep the boys Personal Health class completely in line (something Peter considered miraculous) and yet personable enough to get those same boys to ask questions they’d never thought they’d be voicing out loud, Ben had told him “don’t get attached.” 

“Teacher’s like that don’t stay long in schools like Devil’s Holler,” he had said, and Aunt May had told him to shush.  But Peter understood.  First-year teachers, fresh out of college, never stayed more than a year at his backwater school.  Miss Drury had arrived in December after Mr. Huntly accidentally shot his thumb off during a hunting trip and had to retire early.  Arrived just in time for the boys and girls to be split up for health class.  Rumor had it she was the best split-class teacher Devil’s Holler ever had.   It was March now, and rumor had it Miss Drury would be moving back to New York City at the end of May.  Rumor had it she never even unpacked her bags.

Tony was watching Peter’s face closely as he scrubbed away the tears.  Finally he spoke.

“You bade me convince the girl to stop speaking to the new teacher in private, unless it was of great importance.” 

Peter’s breath caught.  “Did I, did I say that?”  He asked, taking a deep gulping breath, his body flooding with relief.  He had said that.  It had been the day that Miss Drury had been fifteen minutes late for his science class because she had been talking down a crying Missy in the hallway.  When she had returned to the class, having sent the inconsolable Missy to the office, she herself was too discombobulated to teach, and declared it a free period.  The rest of the class seemed to think it was a good thing.  Peter was livid. 

“She’s afraid of so many things, there’s so much for you to eat there,” Peter had explained to Tony that night, after drawing the map showing Tony how to get to the Lovelace house.  It sat on the other side of the southern border, where Tony knew the Berthwald seals were weakest.  It was no great matter for him to visit the derelict mobile home where Missy lived with her mom and dad.  “She’s afraid of big dogs and spiders and this house and big cities and half the stuff on TV.  And she’s so afraid of her dad.  When she gets bad grades she gets so scared she shakes.  But when she gets an A?  She cries.  She says her dad hates people who “think they’re smart.”  That’s why he hates me.  Which is fine, but it’s the craziest thing, Tony.  If she gets lower than a C she’ll complain all the way home, but if she gets an A?  She’ll let the paper blow away so she doesn’t have to take it home.  There’s enough fear in that house to feed you the rest of your life.  And, can you make her forget that whole ‘Tom Dylan/Laura Foster’ story?  I’m sick to death of hearing how romantic that story is.  It’s not romantic.  That man cut off his girlfriend’s hands.  I’m tired of hearing about it.”

Peter shook his head hard, trying to rid himself of the memories.  He took a deep, steadying breath.  Tony was holding his hands firmly and looking closely at his face.  Peter squeezed those hands and nodded.

“Good.  That’s good.  I’m glad I said that.  That was one good thing we did, then.

“Because last night Missy called Miss Drury at her house and asked if it was okay that her dad was planning on burying her mom in the backyard.  She didn’t think it was right, but she was worried because she knew she couldn’t her mom in the bedroom forever.  Because the body was attracting flies.

“Miss Drury told her to leave out her window and walk to our house, and I don’t know how she even got up the nerve to do it because she’s afraid of the dark, AND my house, but she did it.  Miss Drury took her car and met her at the end of our road.  We never even knew she was there.  Miss Drury took her to the police and she’s at her Aunt’s house.  We wouldn’t have even known about it if Miss Drury hadn’t called us this morning.

“Tony, Mr. Lovelace killed his wife, and now nobody knows where he is.  The police told us not to worry about it but that’s because Mr. Lovelace is Sheriff Bentley’s cousin.  Uncle Ben asked for a policeman to park in our driveway and they just laughed at him.  Aunt May is really scared.  Mr. Lovelace threatened us over the phone more than once and he sent us that weird letter?  And I guess he and Uncle Ben had an argument out by his property when one of their dog went missing… and we all know what happened to John Wickam.  And the last time he saw Uncle Ben he said some things but I don’t know what.  No one will tell me anything.  But Missy and Mike both told me he once said he’d shoot me if he ever saw me…”

Tony nodded calmly.

“Is there…?  Do you know?  I know I told you I didn’t want to know what was going on in that house, but…”

“He has declared to his family that he shall shoot you with his army pistol if you cross onto his property.  He believes you mean to marry his daughter.  And he has explained the use of the same weapon upon your Uncle Ben.”

Peter’s shoulder’s sank.  “He called last night sounding drunk but Aunt May just hung up on him and took the phone off the hook.  Uncle Ben’s cleaned out the riffle and loaded it, and I haven’t even seen that thing since we first moved here.  It’s serious, Tony.”

He shook his head hard, straightened his shoulders, and held onto Tony’s hands tightly, and looked him square in the eye. 

“I really, seriously, for serious, just-say-nojoke, really really need you to find Mr. Lovelace.  I need you to find him and kill him.  Before he even gets on our property…”  His voice broke.  He took a deep breath and tried to continue.  “I know it doesn’t have to hurt.  Take the light out of his brain first, because I don’t want him to suffer…”  But Tony was shaking his head sadly.

Holding Peter’s hands,  Tony leaned forward until their foreheads were touching, and when he spoke, he spoke very gently.

“I cannot.  

“In your fifteenth year you forbade me from ‘killing people again.’”  He nuzzled along the side of Peter’s face, stroking along his lips with one thumb.  “The spell for unbinding me from your prohibition are in the books that were burned…”

Peter sobbed and sank into Tony’s arms.  Tony pulled him completely into his lap and rocked him back and forth, gentling him and caressing his hair while Peter wept with relief.  

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

AUTHOR’S NOTE:  Yes, Peter has done something very bad with the power he had available to him.  However, I must point out, that had Peter stayed in New York City he would have also done something very bad with the power available to him, the results would have ended in Uncle Ben’s death.  This is a painful part of the hero’s journey, but it is a vital part.

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

Master Post (Not THAT Master Post, I mean the Table of Contents)

Please direct all discussion/questions/constructive criticism to @witchwayisright​ 

[thecoolkidsbasement]

Nancy Drew - Midnight in Salem ‘Fix it Fic’

So because I wanted to take a little writing break from my Inventor’s Absolution fic (so I wouldn’t suffer from the burnout of writing exclusively in one universe for so long), I got somewhat invested in writing a ‘fix-it fic’ for Nancy Drew’s Midnight in Salem game because it was Terribad(TM), and then got un-invested by the time I finished the scene LMAO I don’t think I’ll ever seriously put more time into it (maybe I’ll post it on AO3 + FF.net since it’s a completed scene and to get more eyes on it), so I thought I’d just leave it here for the Clue Crew to enjoy if they so wished. Basically I wanted a rewrite of the game in ‘novel form’ to fix dialogue, plot holes, puzzles, and other various things that I felt needed improvement in the story and plot. This starts at the beginning of the game, shortly after the Book of Apologies thief escapes, and before the opening talk between Nancy Drew and Deirdre Shannon.

Enjoy! Fic under the cut, thanks for reading (and apologies if Nancy seems a bit OOC, I tried doing a mix of ‘new Nan’ with ‘old Nan’. Happy reading, happy writing!

Amongst the verdant firs of the Salzburg forest, our young detective, Nancy Drew, navigates her way back to Moosham Castle after a book thief apprehension gone awry. Through the crowning tops of the wavering trees where they split amongst the drear sky are the towering eaves of the historical estate—the only guide she has in returning to the castle’s footbridge. She surmised the hike back would be a strenuous one, and furthermore considered herself lucky to not have rolled her ankle, or worse, broken a leg, from the way she launched herself over the bridge’s edge as carelessly as she did.

Not a story for Ned, that’s for sure, she decided while rummaging through her shoulder bag to examine the few pieces of evidence her book thief had dropped in their escape; an expelled home-made smoke bomb; a key with an usual blade, the teeth spelling ‘AW’, left abandoned in the cage lock that the Book of Apologies was bound with; and a torn plane ticket to Boston, Massachusetts.

Which was boarding at 3:40 PM.

Tomorrow.

I’ve got to find them before they get back to the states, or else I could lose their trail! Nancy lamented as she pulled her phone from her pocket to check the time, while also seeing several missed calls from a River Heights number — proven earlier to be that of Deirdre Shannon’s. Tucking her phone away, she decided she’d respond later with a lingering thought of how odd it was that Deirdre was calling her. Repeatedly. But right now she had other things to worry about, like how she would apprehend her book thief!

The Vienna International Airport is about a 4-hour drive away. With this ticket I at least know what flight my thief will be on and what seat they’re in! I’ll have to get past airport security first... I wonder if there're any open seats left on this flight?… Nancy puzzled as she climbed up a steep hill, using the rocks protruding from the earthen ridge as makeshift foot holds for a quick return back up to the main road. Brushing dirt off her hands and clothes, she took notice of a tear clean through her pants leg—most likely snagged on a sharp rock or thorny bush while she was running.

Definitely not a story for Ned, the detective sighed to herself as her phone buzzed once more in her jacket pocket. It was Deirdre, again.

The two hadn’t seen each other since the old town hall fire in River Heights last year, and they certainly weren’t on friendly terms once the truth and Nancy’s innocence had come to light… not that they were friendly beforehand, but reveling in Nancy’s short stint in prison certainly didn’t do their tense acquaintanceship any favors.

"Okay, Deirdre, you now have my undivided attention.” Nancy remarked once she answered the call. “What is it?”

“You know, when someone calls you in a panic and tells you not to hang up, it’s probably pretty important that you not hang up!” She snapped from the other side of the line with a huff.

“I’m sorry, but I told you I was in the middle of something. I said I’d call you back later, didn’t I?” She reasoned as she began walking the road back to the castle, lined on either side by dense trees, and examined the tear in her pants again as she walked.

“This isn’t something that can wait! I—…” All the ire in her tone died to a tense silence, in a pause so long Nancy removed her phone from her ear to check if the call dropped. The phone service out amongst the forest wasn’t the best, but her phone confirmed they hadn’t disconnected.

She put her cell back to her ear. “Deirdre? Are you still there?”

“I need your help, Drew.” Deirdre admitted quietly, her voice reluctant and almost ego-bruised, as if she were thinking better of having called the detective in the first place. “My cousin’s gotten into some trouble, and I thought I could help her, but—… but it’s a lot more complicated than what she told me over the phone. It’s worse than I thought it’d be.”

“What kind of trouble?”

"Like I said, it’s complicated.”

Gauging the distance of the road ahead, the peaking towers and the outer curtain walls of Moosham Castle cut through the trees. Nancy hadn’t realized how far she strayed until now. “Well, it looks like I just came into a bit of free time… if you’d like to talk about it?”

“I thought you said you were in the middle of something?”

“I was. I was literally chasing down a suspect when you called and got a little lost on my way back to the castle.”

“…A castle? Where in the world are you, Nancy Drew?”

“Austria, at this place called Moosham Castle. I was trying to locate an artifact for my dad on behalf of a judge friend of his, and—it was the craziest thing!— When I had my back turned, someone dressed all in black appeared out of nowhere and stole the artifact, disappeared in a puff of weird blue smoke, and jumped out the window!”

"Are you saying this guy got away? And here I thought Miss Nancy Drew always got her perp,” Deirdre said with blatant smugness in her voice.

You didn’t see them—they must’ve scaled up the outer wall somehow to come through the window… and they were quick. If they hadn’t stopped when they did to open up the book, I never would’ve caught up to them, Nancy realized glumly. Whoever this person is is crazy athletic, and they knew what they were doing. They knew that the book was here, and they had the key to get it open. This was no random robbery.

“I didn’t think anyone used the word 'perp’ anymore, Deirdre,” Nancy replied with a soft teasing, which granted her a scoff from the other end of the line. Possibly an eye roll, too. “Anyway, back to your cousin. What kind of trouble is she in?”

"Right. Well—… to make a long story short, my cousin, Mei, lives in the infamous Salem, Massachusetts. About a week ago one of Salem’s most historical mansions was nearly burnt to the ground, and now the entire town believes she was the one who caused the fire! They don’t have any evidence she did it, which is unbelievable, but any idiot can see she wouldn’t do something like that—!”

“Deir—Deirdre—Deirdre!” Nancy finally had to yell just to make herself heard over her incensed rambling. “Why would the town believe your cousin Mei would do such a thing if there’s no evidence? What evidence did they find? Did she provide a strong alibi? One that someone, or multiple people, can confirm? Are there any other suspects?”

"God, I forgot about that annoying thing you do where you ask a million questions a second,” Deirdre huffed exasperatedly. "I don’t know what evidence the police have. When I tried reaching out to them, they just laughed at me when they found out I was Mei’s cousin—like they thought it was funny I was trying to prove her innocence! Like it was so obvious Mei would do this and I just couldn’t see it! I had to leave before I gave them the smart-ass piece of my mind… it would’ve only made the situation worse for her.”

“I’m so, so sorry to hear that happened to you, Deirdre… really, I am.” Nancy offered genuinely, just as the footbridge was coming into sight, and she quickened her pace to meet it. “It sounds like your cousin is being falsely accused, or at least he police don’t seem interested in looking into other suspects.”

"Mei hasn’t been accused.” She clarified before sighing defeatedly, grumbling with a tight jaw. "…Not yet, at least, on official record… but everyone in Salem thinks she did it and we both can see where this train is heading. The only people here who see the truth are me and Mei’s older sister, my other cousin, Teegan. Nancy, Mei didn’t do this, and like I said, the situation’s really complicated… more complicated than I can explain over the phone. It’d be easier in person.”

“Are—Are you asking me to come to Salem?” Nancy inquired dubiously. She expected their exchange to be more of a mentoring; for Deirdre to ask for her advice on how to pursue the matter and that would be the end of it, so for her to imply—no, outright admit she needed Nancy to come to Salem—it became clear just how ‘complicated’ this problem really was.

And how desperate Deirdre was to save her cousin.

"You’re really going to twist my arm, aren’t you?” Deirdre groaned. "Yes, that’s exactly what I’m asking, Drew. I’m not going to beg.” There was an abrupt pause. "…I might say please, though, if that’ll convince you, but you can never breathe a word of that to anyone!”

As Nancy stopped on the footbridge to lean over the railing, the open window of the north-tower marked where the thief had jumped from the ledge to a sheer drop below; it was almost too high up to jump from without breaking your neck, and the exterior walls were built with smooth stone weather-worn from the years. How could the thief otherwise get up there, let alone get back down as quick as they did without injuring themselves? Perhaps a hook and rope? Climbing tools? Pure agility, athletics, and clever leverage? Perhaps through some other tools or means unknown to her? It seemed clean, professional, planned, and most importantly, puzzling.

“Do you know how far the Boston International airport is from Salem?” Nancy inquired while digging into her shoulder bag to produce the thief’s torn plane ticket, upon remembering it’s destination out. The detective wondered, was it merely coincidence that the Book of Apologies was stolen in the same week a fire vandalized a Salem landmark? Since Moosham Castle and the book itself both had a connection to the witch trials, it couldn’t be completely improbable that there was some deeper relation between the pieces, and her thief’s flight out to Boston only solidified her gut instinct.

“Boston Logan? Uh—it’s like an hour drive from Salem, I guess?” Deirdre said quizzically. “Does that mean you’re coming?”

“I’m definitely coming. In my book thief’s escape, they left behind a torn plane ticket. They were going to the Boston International Airport. The destruction of a Salem monument, the theft of an important artifact involving the witch trials, and the thief’s flight coming into Boston can’t be coincidence. I don’t know if my thief will be in Salem, but I’d bet they’re still linked to the town somehow.”

“That sounds pretty far-fetched, if you ask me.”

“I guess I’ll find out when I get to Salem. I’m going to see about taking an afternoon flight out of Austria tomorrow—think you can hang tight until I get there?”

“As if I have a choice,” Deirdre bit sardonically, before a softened sigh allowed her to continue in a kinder tone. “I’ll pick you up from the airport. Just text me your flight details, and try not to get in at, like, 2 in the morning or something. I’m not afraid to leave you at the mercy of a taxi driver.”

“I hear you. We’ll figure this out, Deirdre… I promise.” Nancy declared, and despite the silence from the other end, she knew Deirdre was still there—listening and careful.

“…Thanks,” She replied, before quickly hanging up as if it would hopefully diminish the tender gratitude in her reply.

[thatqrfanblogger]

Valentine’s Fic #2 — “Dinners and Drinks”

Lams fic

--

The first dinner Alex has with John is the night they meet, long after the French one and the loud dad friend have left (he’s too drunk to remember their names right now, but he’ll get to know them later; after all, Aaron Burr taught him earlier in the night that knowing a man’s name is no guarantee of friendship anyway).  It’s 3 AM and the bar is closed, so they Uber to the first 24-hour Drive-Thru they can find that serves fried chicken and eat it in the car on the way to John’s apartment. Alex panics when he spills the half-finished strawberry milkshake John ordered, he knows getting those stains out can be a bitch and the fines are expensive, but John reassures him he’ll pay it off; money is no object.  Alex can’t imagine what that’s like.

They don’t sleep together that night, but they do wake up in the same bed, legs entangled, and there’s an aftertaste of John’s lips on his alongside the greasy food and the shake and the beers.  Alex’s clothes are on, if rumpled, with only a sock on the floor and a shoe in the bed to indicate there was any attempt to take them off.  John’s shirt is on, but open and unbuttoned, chest pressed against his back, his heat radiating through the thin fabric of Alex’s thrift-store T-shirt. His arms are strong and snug around his waist and Alex considers staying there, but only for a moment— John’s snore is too loud against his ear, and Alex has a lot of work to do.  He leaves his name and number on a Post-It note on the nightstand, just to make sure John won’t forget him when he wakes up.

He doesn’t.

The second dinner they have together is at some fancy Italian restaurant and bar Alex can’t pronounce, and he briefly wonders how much money his date has, but John is the same friendly freckled face he was back at the dive bar, and talking to him is actually easier this time around, now that they know each other a little and aren’t stumbling through the effects of alcohol.  Alex orders the spaghetti and meatballs with the hopes of sharing it and maybe recreating a certain Lady and the Tramp scene, but John orders the margherita pizza, so he settles for drinking in his loud laugh and his eyes and trading ideas about activism and politics until the check comes.  Alex promises to pay it next time.

He does.  He does it at a place about half the price John brought him to, but John doesn’t care, just shares the same side of the booth and leans on him when they’ve ordered too many drinks.  A man who knows John’s father sees him and makes a few comments that Alex would probably punch him for if not for the fear it might get John in trouble.  John seems pretty close to fighting the man himself, but instead, he drags Alex into the bathroom and fucks him angrily until Alex forgets the burning questions the interaction brought up.  When he remembers them again, he’s already kissed John goodnight at his apartment door, already on the cab ride home to the much smaller apartment he’s not ready to let John see.

He plays out the whole scene in his mind again, and realizes there are probably things John’s not ready for him to see either.

When they go to that new French restaurant, neither of them pay.  They’re meeting with John’s friends for the first time since that first night, and the one that suggested the place insisted on covering the cost: “Don’t even bring your wallet.  Just bring your beautiful self.”  So he does.

They both give Alex a warm welcome, even though he can’t remember their names, and laugh in a nice way when he asks them.  The big one answers with “Hercules Mulligan,” which is both the coolest name Alex has ever heard and the only one that feels right for such a man, when he thinks about it.

The one who insisted on paying is much more coy.  “I have many names,” he says with a smirk.

John rolls his eyes.  “We call him Lafayette.  You’ll learn the rest of his name later.”

With that, they sit down.

Alex barely remembers the food; he’s so caught up in enjoying the company.  It turns out they’re just as fun sober, although that doesn’t last too long once Lafayette starts ordering rounds of drinks for their table.  By the end of it, Alex feels like they’re his friends, too.

“I like them,” he confesses to John when they’re given a moment alone outside.

“They like you, too.”  Alex fills up with pride, but then he notices John’s worrying his lower lip, looking oddly hesitant.  “You know, those guys, they’re… they’re like my family.”  There’s more behind that, something he isn’t saying, but Alex decides not to push, not tonight anyway.

“It’s a good thing they like me, then,” Alex says with a laugh.  John laughs with him, and that’s that.

A phone call that starts with Washington asking about John somehow ends with Alex in a tux, preparing for what might be the most stressful dinner of his life.  He has no idea how or why he let Washington rope him into this, but he’s relieved (and a little surprised) to see John more formal than he’s ever seen him: slicked hair, expensive suit, and uncharacteristically solemn and polite, calling the Washingtons “sir” and “ma’am” and so tense and deferential that even Washington tells him to ease up a bit.  Mrs. Washington’s approach is kinder, but she makes the fatal error of asking him about his family, and John forces a grin, looks down at his plate for a distraction, gives a very short answer, and then compliments the food.  The Washingtons share a look, not quite brief enough for Alex to miss, but they move on to talking about cooking techniques, and Alex feels John relax beside him.

He doesn’t fully relax, though, until they’re in John’s apartment, sitting at his mini-bar together.  Some nights, John mixes drinks in the craziest combinations Alex can come up with, but tonight, they stick to beer.  John’s return to his natural ease puts Alex at ease as well, but only somewhat: there’s something he needs to ask about tonight, something he’s been putting off for too long.

“…I mean, it was a little bit nerve-wracking at times, but really, I mean, that went a lot better than I expected.  Your parents are really great, you know?”

“Foster parents,” Alex corrects.  He does know, but they didn’t take him in until he was sixteen, and he moved out as soon as he started college; they still don’t feel like family to him in that visceral way that his mother did, or even the father who left him.

“Tomato, tomahto,” John says with a wave of his hand, “Anyway, I’m glad I met ‘em.  They seemed to like me, don’t you think?”

“Definitely,” Alex says.  He takes a deep breath.  “When do I get to meet yours?”

“What?”  John looks like a deer in headlights, and Alex almost regrets asking.

Almost.  “What’s the deal with your family, John?  You always get all weird when they’re brought up.”

John picks at the label on his bottle.  “You already met them.”

“You know what I mean.  Your real family.”

“Well what about your real dad?” John snaps back.

“That’s not fair and you fucking know it, John.  I’ve told you everything I know about my family, you haven’t told me anything about yours, and if I knew where the fuck he was, do you really think I wouldn’t have at least called him?”  There’s an embarrassing little shake in his voice when he’s done, and he chugs more beer to clear his throat; he needs to keep it together for this.

John reaches for him, but Alex pulls away, so he pulls his hand back and awkwardly sets it on his lap.  “Sorry, I didn’t…  I know that wasn’t…  I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

They sit in silence for a moment.

A thought occurs to Alex.  “Did they disown you?”  He’s not sure how likely that is; he’s pretty sure John could never pay for his lifestyle on his own, devil-may-care as he is with money, unless he’s just in a perpetual state of bad credit debt.

“No, not—  No, he hasn’t.  They haven’t.”  More label-picking and silence.

“No, not” what?  Not yet?

Not yet.  Oh.

Alex addresses him as gently as he knows how, “Your dad, he… he doesn’t know. Does he?”

John doesn’t look at him.  “About us?”

Alex cautiously reaches a hand towards him.  He doesn’t pull away, so Alex takes one of his hands in his.

“About you.”

John meets his eyes at last, looking smaller than Alex has ever seen him.

“No.  He doesn’t.”

[loveisbraveandwild]

Hi! This is my “how i met taylor swift” story! i’ll never be able to express how much the privilege of being invited by taylor herself into her home to hear the lover album early, eat her rice krispy treats, and tell her i’m proud of her means to me, but here’s my attempt at least telling the story. it’s a long story so if you hate reading click here to watch the video i made about it!

At 5:30pm on July 21st, I was sitting in my bed on tumblr and a message pops up on my screen that says “Taylor Nation CONFIDENTIAL MESSAGE.” Me, not trusting anyone on this site, clicked it thinking it was fake there’s no frickin way i got the dm. I read the url and the message about four times until i finally sat up out of my bed and immediately text sam, my best friend in the whole world. she texts me back in all caps, as a real friend does, and then she facetimes me. I missed what she first said but i will never forget her saying “i got mine on twitter.” After talking to her on the phone, i finally reply to tn.

monday and tuesday go by and nothing happens. on wednesday at 2:54pm I text sam “tn forgot about us” then at 2:57 my long live ringtone started blaring and i pick up and this guy is like “is this grace ----” and im like yes and he says “this is x with taylor nation.” ive never jumped up and screeched louder in my life. he tells me our conversation is confidential, confirms where i’m from, and then asks me if i can go to rhode island. here’s my reaction to my phone call. 

on friday, whilst in target, having saved taylor nation’s number in my phone, i get another phone call from them. they tell me the original location has been leaked and ask me if i can get to nashville. i’ll never be able to emphasize how grateful and privileged i feel to not only be able to have gone to sessions but to be able to say yes without needing to confirm anything with my parents and to be able to change my plans, after having booked a flight to RI (don’t worry i got a full refund!)

the following saturday i woke up at 3::30am to catch a flight to nashville. sam and my flight got in 4 minutes apart from each other. the rest of the day is a story for another time but basically i freaked out because i met about 2 dozen other swifties that i’ve been friends with for a long time. i had lunch and dinner with them, we went to the taylor swift education center, and we hung out in the hotel together. the day ended with me meeting emma, someone who i hardly interacted with but admired so much because of her blog.  

sunday morning we woke up and freaked out and spent the morning trying to stomach food and getting ready. then we went to the hotel and got to the meet up spot at 3:15ish. there were so many people i knew there and it was the craziest experience ever. at 4 a woman from tn comes up and gets us and steals our phones, etc. an hour later they bring us out to the buses and that’s when i started to get really, really overwhelmed and start crying. i would have fallen to my knees if sam hadn’t caught me.

i’m the last person off the second bus and we round the corner and once again, i start crying. fast forward and we’re in line for food (which i did not eat) and i see these adorable little labels for the food that look like taylor’s handwriting, once again, sobbing. i turn to sam and say “she loves us so much.” even if she didn’t write those cards, someone took the time to sit down and hand write them and even the smallest act went the longest way for me. 

we get in line to enter the room and about 30 minutes later they open the doors. five minutes later she jumped out and says “hey guys!” she looked the exact same as she does on my computer screen, fake. her hair was perfect, she was tall (not as tall as i imagined though), smiling, beautiful, gorgeous, all the good things. she then tells us not to share anything that happens in this room and when taylor looks you in the eye and tells you to do something you do it. 

half way through we take a little break and sam and i are in line for the bathroom when i see people coming back in the session room i immediately tell sam to sit down and we do, not moving an inch. front. row. seats. two feet away from her chair is probably an overstatement. i don’t know how it happened but we were two frickin feet away from where she was sitting. she comes back and plays the rest of the album. 

then they take the minors first and then the ~adults alphabetically. my last name starts with a B but i still didn’t meet her until about 1:30am on august 5th. when they open the door and call me in i see her reflection and she’s like dancing? i look to my laugh and there she is, im crying writing this, like real tears. 

i want to keep most of our conversation private but she immediately said “Hi Gracie!” when i talked in. i heard stories than when you hug taylor swift she never lets go first, this is indeed true. i told her i loved her in her ear while we were hugging and she said it back. then she told me she knew a selfie i had posted but she had never liked and i freaked out. i told her i’m studying political science and gender studies and i want to run for office one day and she was so excited and proud of me. i thanked her for my first notice when she put me on her story and told her why my favorite taylor song is my favorite taylor song. we talked a little bit about the album and she told me she was proud of me twice and i told her i was proud of her twice. we took our picture and she let me make sure i liked it and the only thing i remember is seeing my smile and being like “thats it” because i looked had never smiled so big. 

the next day taylor posted a picture wearing the bracelet i gave her when told her i was bi and thanked her for her allyship and i just about passed out. i spent the day in nashville and got to open my picture at!!! the!! bluebird!! cafe!!! click here for some soft video content of it! 

this entire experience was a whirlwind from start to finish and i wouldnt change a second of it. taylor, on the off chance that you see this, and on the bigger off chance that you read this, thank you. being able to look you in the eyes and tell you how proud i am of you is something i’ve dreamt about since i was about ten years old. i never thought i would be able to do it. thank you for inviting me into one of your most intimate spaces, entrusting me with your art, and ranting about politics and gender studies with me. thank you for baking for me and for introducing me to my best friends. i wouldnt be nearly as confident, stable, happy, or supported without you and the people you’ve brought into my life. i love you so much! 

[tamersmile888]

Wolf Pack: Chapter 15 Season Finale

Life is unpredictable. One minute you're having the best time expecting things to stay the same forever. The next day you wake up and everything's changed. You don't even see it coming.

The storm took us by surprise when we least expected it. No one had any idea that everything we knew would be turned upside down in an instant. Swept away in the path of a tempestuous thief. It took our homes, our memories...and our loved ones.

All gone. Like they were never there at all. We lost so much. Artwork, photographs, restaurants, the museum. The storm even washed away Arcadia Bay. It took our friends. Our family. Grandpa Stephen, Trevor...Karen.

There was so much sorrow and devastation. Words couldn't describe the pain and the burdens the storm put on us. But we still had so much to be grateful for. Our lives and the world around us may look different from this point on, but thank God for the ones who were saved. In times like this, we had to be brave and uplifting. We were stronger than the storm and we were determined to rebuild. We could never replace what we lost, but we could create a brighter future. One day at a time.

                                (Build by Starshine on the gallery)

It had been a tough time for all of us. We were all impacted in some way. For me and my friends, it was a lot to deal with. It was the end of senior year. We were about to graduate. Then the storm blew in and it took some of our classmates with it. We thought it would be good for us to get away, so we rented a cabin in the woods for a couple of days. Just to escape for awhile and take our minds off of everything.

We settled in, made food and juice drinks and just hung out on the patio. I kept an eye on Lyla to make sure she was in a good place. After Abraham lost his parents, he joined the army. He said he wanted to honor them in some way, to make up for all the ways he messed up. I don't think he could handle staying here knowing that they weren't around anymore. We ended up losing him too. Lyla was holding up pretty well, but she could dive into her moods sometimes. I wanted to be there for her if she needed me to be.

For the most part, everyone was in high spirits. Diaz and I talked about our plans after graduation. I was all set for art school, which hopefully led to a career as an artist. Diaz was still on the fence. He didn't really know what he wanted to do. I told him that was okay. He had time to figure it out. He could always be Oscar's busboy if nothing else worked out. He said if there was free food involved, he might consider it. All jokes aside, Diaz was smart and charismatic. Whatever he decided to do, I know he'd be great at it.

All through the night, we listened to Jag play some mellow tunes on his guitar and had a pretty chill time.

We laughed about old times like the day I was first introduced to the squad and how everyone was interrogating me. I didn't mind. I was just glad to make so many friends on my first day. Even though we're not as close with the others as before, I still miss them. It's always hilarious whenever the whole gang gets together. Thankfully, they're all okay too. 

We also reminisced about our parties at the drive-in. Thank God that was still around too. Diaz said he was going to tell his kids about it one day. Maybe it would become a tradition for all of us. Something to keep us together, like a family. Cheers to that.

Later on that night, we watched a movie together.

Girls choice. It was kind of hard to get into at first, but once it picked up it was surprisingly entertaining.

Immediately after it went off, me and Jag went to the work-out room. In desperate need for bro time.

June checked in with Lyla, making sure she was okay. Lyla said she was taking it moment by moment. She was managing. They talked for a while. I was glad she was opening up. That she didn't have to go through this alone.

We ended the night binge watching Game of Wolves. I had to keep explaining everything to June who was actually getting into it. And with all the jump scares, we did way more snuggling watching werewolves than we did watching royal couples sip chamomile.

Lyla, Diaz and I were the first ones up in the morning. The early birds. I made everyone breakfast and Diaz turned it into a competition to see how long it would take me. I'm sure it had nothing to do with him starving and this was his way of getting me to move faster. Since I finished in record timing, Lyla assigned Diaz on breakfast duty for tomorrow morning. He quickly reminded her that we would be on the way back home by then. She said she expected him at her house by 10 AM anyway and that she was a waffle girl.

While we ate, Diaz challenged everyone to a game of Truth or Dare. I was totally in.

Everyone else was a little hesitant to join in, but after Diaz promised we wouldn't get too crazy, they hopped on board.

We gathered back on the patio to start the game.

Diaz chose dare. Of course. I dared him to prank call Oscar. He was totally down. He disguised his voice and called Oscar using a phone app, putting it on speakerphone. He told him he found the “Roller Rink” money and if Oscar wanted his share he should meet him at Riverbank park in an hour. There was a long pause on the other line then Oscar hung up. It was kind of hilarious, but I really hoped no one got hurt because of it. Anything involving an angry Spooky could not end well.

Lyla chose dare and Diaz dared her to rummage through the garbage. That was not a challenge for Lyla. She actually enjoyed grossing everyone out. She really dug in there. Making certain all of this wasn't for nothing, she scavenged until she found something good.

Only Lyla would find a treasure map in a can full of garbage. She said she would do some hunting when she got home. Collectibles were easy money.

Because I couldn't resist making an idiot out of myself for the sake of laughs, I chose dare. Lyla dared me to let her give me a makeover and take a selfie, which I then had to post on my social media. I think I looked pretty good in guyliner. The 80′s wig I would have to get used to though.

It was June's turn, but she chickened out and went for truth. She said she had nothing to hide. So I asked her, “What's the craziest thing you've ever done?”

She said one time she, Asher and Shantiya were walking home from the mall. They were getting tired and they didn't have money for S-rider, so she went up to the road and stuck out her thumb like she'd seen in the movies. Some old hippie couple driving a rundown floral RV stopped by and asked if they needed a ride. They got in the back of the RV, sat on the shaggy rug, and the old couple told them stories about their college band while they drove them home. She made sure they were blocks away from her actually house, but they arrived safely. They never told anyone. Until now.  And I wished I hadn't asked.

Hitchhiking is dangerous. She could have gotten hurt. She said she'd never do again, but she enjoyed the  experience. She loved hearing other people's stories. It gave her a greater appreciation for life and strangers. 

Finally, it was Jag's turn. He also chose to reveal his deep (but hopefully less scary) secrets, so June asked if he had finally kissed Chandler. He signed that a gentlemen doesn't kiss and tell. It was pretty much obvious from the smile on his face. His face told it all.

Later on in the day, June and I snuck off on our own to get some alone time. I brought up the tragic issue that our friends were having trouble trying to find a couple's name for us. The majority was going for SJ, but we both agreed that was uninspired. She liked Jean. We both loved wearing jeans. Why not pick a name that perfectly described our relationship? My personally favorite was Juse. It rolled off the tongue quite nicely.

We got a kick out of trying to come up with the silliest combinations. Then we just embraced each other and sat in silence, enjoying each other's company. A few blissful moments later, June came up with the perfect name for us. “Sun. We shine brighter when we're together.”

We'd been through a lot over these past few months. More than anyone should ever have to go through. But having each other made it easier. I would do whatever it took to make sure I was that light for her because in the cloudiest days and the darkest nights, she was my star.

[soundofseventeen]

The Princess and the Frog (Kim Mingyu)

Hello! We’re almost to the posts that originally started this! Enjoy my other main boy! 

Masterlist

*Fairy Tale*

You sighed, sitting by the window sill. This was one of your rare moments of peace, and you were going to enjoy it while you could. You always loved this window, because it showed practically the entire garden for the kingdom. It was your favorite place to hide, since this hallway was rarely used. It was easy to hide from work here, and from the royal family. 

It wasn’t that the royal family was… bad, per say. The king and queen were actually quite nice and treated the staff wonderfully. It was a good job to work here, given how some kingdom staff were treated. They’re son wasn’t even that bad, he just… Got on your nerves a lot. He constantly teased you, given you were around a similar age. You were kind of friends, but not enough to actually have either of you admit it. 

You honestly did love working here. You had a job, a safe home, food to eat, that was more than a lot of people. 

You just... needed a break sometimes. 

You gazed across the gardens, watching some of the gardeners tend to plants. You also watched as the king and queen took a stroll, maids following closely behind them, looking deep in discussion. 

You wondered what that life might be like. To be able to just take strolls in the gardens in the afternoon, simply talking with your love. It must be nice. 

“Oh miss! There you are!” One of the other maids came running down the hall, finally having found you. 

“Yes, how can I assist?” You stood, maid mode coming to life. 

“Well… There’s another toad in the kitchens…” She said shyly, and you couldn’t help but let out a laugh. 

“Very well. Let’s go catch a frog.” You smiled, linking your arm through the maids, walking down the hall. You both turned the corner just as the prince turned the opposite one, silently sitting on the very bench you were just sitting on. 

*Today*

“Hey Gyu!” Mingyu picked up his head from behind the counter, smiling at Seokmin. “Here’s your fish order.” He smiled, setting the cooler on the counter. 

“Excellent, thank you!” Mingyu grinned, opening the cooler and peeking inside. “Oof, not a great catch today, huh? I guess I can try to push the sandwiches today.” 

“Well, I had more, but the craziest thing happened this morning.” Seokmin sat on a stool, Mingyu quickly pouring him a coffee. “This morning I was checking the lines, like usual, and as I pulled one of the nets in, all these dogs like… attacked!” 

“Seriously?” Mingyu asked, taking the cooler off the counter. 

“Well, okay not attacked. They just charged me, and considering I wasn’t expecting it, I panicked and let go of the net, letting all the fish go. Plus, through all the chaos, my net got torn, so now I’m down one. That’s actually why I’m late, I was looking for a new one.” 

“No luck?” 

“They’re all so expensive or not great quality. I’d either go broke or would have to buy a new one next week again.” Seokmin sighed, sipping his coffee. 

“Did you check the thrift shop? They have all kinds of weird stuff. You could probably find a decent net there.” 

“...We have a thrift shop?” Seokmin asked, looking at Mingyu. 

“Yeah, a couple blocks away. You’ve never been there?” Seokmin shook his head. “Here, let me get the address for you. They have all kinds of weird things, so it’s definitely worth checking out. Wonwoo got a really cool classic nutcracker there a while ago.” 

“Why’d he get a nutcracker?” Seokmin chuckled, looking at the paper Mingyu was scribbling on. 

“You think I understand anything he does?” Mingyu grinned, handing Seokmin the piece of paper. 

“Fair point.” He smiled, putting some money on the counter for the coffee. “I’ll check it out. See you later to pick up the cooler!” He got up, giving Mingyu a wave and exiting the cafe. Mingyu shook his head, taking the cooler of fish into the back, moving them to the fridge. He smiled to himself, stretching his arms are getting ready for a day of cooking. Jun wouldn’t be in for a couple hours, so it was just Mingyu for a bit. He had walked out to the front, sighing at the empty cafe. 

It wouldn’t be like that in a couple hours, even an hour maybe. But he always liked it best like this. He could be alone with his thoughts, and just do as he pleased. No one was there to tell him what to do. 

He jumped as the phone rang, laughing to himself as he went to answer it. 

“Hello?” 

“Hi, is this the cafe?” The other end said, Mingyu grinning. 

“Yes it is. How can I help you?” 

“I’m from the daycare down the street. I kind of need some treats for today for the kids. I know it’s short notice, but is there anyway I could order some pastries from you?” Mingyu looked at the clock on the wall. 

“When do you need them by?” 

“Before 3, preferably.” He did some quick math in his head, knowing when Jun would be coming in and how long it would take to make the treats. 

“Yeah, I can do that.” He nodded. “What’s the address?” 

*Fairy Tale*

You slowly walked down the halls, body tired and mind sleepy. You wanted to go to sleep, but with all the hustle and bustle of the castle as they prepared for another set of suitors for the prince to come, everyone was still in work mode. You made your way to your bench, plopping down and letting out a groan. You always hated when princesses came to woo the prince, mostly because none of them had managed to do it. It always ended up being so much work, then for nothing to change and you having to do this all over again later. At least this time it looked like a bunch of princesses coming at once, and the king was making him choose someone this time. 

You looked out the window, a small smile at all the lights strung through the garden. It looked truly magical out there, especially at night. This would be the perfect romantic setting for the prince to finally fall in love. 

You were almost about to fall asleep when you heard a croak. You looked at the windowsill, and saw a big frog sitting on the other end.

“What is it with this kingdom and frogs…” You muttered, shaking your head at it and then looking back out the window. 

“I could take offence to that.” You heard a voice, looking up and down the hall. No one else was in the hallway, just you. Well, you and the frog. But it couldn’t be the frog talking, that’s ridiculous. 

“Wow, I must be tired.” You said, looking back at the sill. 

“Maybe you should go rest then.” Your eyes widened, looking at the frog. It just spoke. 

“What… Who… What?” You said, rubbing your eyes. Maybe you just imagined you saw the frog talk. Yeah, that’s it. It’s mouth didn’t actually move. You just imagined it did. That has to be it. 

“Wow, such an informal way to speak to the prince.” 

“I’m sorry, the pri… the prince?” You looked around, trying to find Mingyu. This had to be a prank. 

“Did you not recognize me?” The frog said. You slowly shook your head, and you swore the frog pouted. 

“Damn. So I really am a frog.” He turned to face the window, you sitting frozen. 

“Wait… So you’re… You’re really…”

“I’m the prince, yes.” 

“What… How… Uhm… Can you explain?” 

“I kind of… Met with a witch.” 

“Why?” You asked, more confused. Even you knew not to mess with witches, why would Mingyu seek one out?

“Because… Wait, why would I tell you?” He said, looking towards you. You just raised an eyebrow at him. 

“Because I’m currently the one that’s a human and you’re a frog.” 

“...Fair point.” He said, looking back at the window. “But you need to swear to not laugh.” 

“I make no full promises, your highness, but I can try.” 

“Okay, I went to her to figure out who my true love is.” He admitted, you just blinking at him. 

“Why… Why would you-”

“Because it’s my last chance. My father gave me until this next birthday to pick a bride, otherwise he’s going to arrange the marriage himself.” 

“So why don’t you just pick some princess? Literally any of the one’s to visit this castle would probably die if you proposed.” 

“Because I wanted to try to find my true love. I don’t want to spend my life married to someone just because…  I thought I could do it, but now it’s getting closer to my birthday and I… I’m running out of time.” 

“So you went to a witch?” 

“I was hoping to have her help me find this person, but instead she turned me into a frog. What she wants me to get from this, I don’t understand.” 

“So you’re like… You’re a hopeless romantic, huh?” 

“Shut up.” He muttered, taking a big breath. 

“...What if I helped you?” 

“What?” 

*Today*

“Hello?” Mingyu called, walking through the front door of the daycare. He tried to balance the treats, looking around. No one was inside, it looked like all the kids were outside playing. “Is anyone here? I have treats!” 

“One second!” He heard, looking around, not sure where the voice had come from. He spun in a circle as you walked in, a smile on your face as you watched him twirl. He stopped as he saw you looking at him, an amused look on your face. 

“Oh, hi.” He said, slightly blushing. 

“Hello. I’m assuming you’re the treats I heard about?” You said, eyes widening a bit. “Not that you’re the treat! I meant… I meant you have the treats… You are the person who brought them. For the children. Yeah.” You rambled, Mingyu letting out a laugh. 

“Uhm, yes. I have the treats.” He held them up a little bit, looking around the room. “Where should I put them?” 

“Oh, over here.” You said, trying to hide your face. You were so embarrassed that you literally just called this guy you had never met a treat. How did that happen? You led him to a counter, clearing some of the crafts from the day to another table. He set them down, starting to unstack the boxes. 

“I hope these work. You just kind of said whatever, so I brought some of the more popular things that kids like…”

“Oh, I wasn’t the one that called. That was my boss.” You said, waving a hand, looking over the treats. You had to admit, they looked really yummy. 

“Oh… Well-”

“These look great though!” You said, taking the top of the box off. “The kids are going to inhale these.” 

“Awesome.” He grinned and you half swore you fell in love. A part of you felt like you had seen him before, but you knew that if you had seen that smile before you would definitely remember him. 

“Oh! Payment!” You said, skipping to the office. Mingyu looked after you, half amused by you. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but there was something about you that he just felt comfortable about. 

“Here you go!” You smiled, coming back into the room, handing him an envelope. 

“Oh, thank you.” He smiled, and you both stood there quite awkwardly. “So, are you new here?” 

“Oh, uh, no. I’ve actually worked here for a while.” You smiled, scratching your head. 

“Ah. I’ve never seen you here before so-”

“How often are you here?” You asked. 

“Well, not that often, actually. I’ve been here a couple times when you have festivities and events and such, but otherwise uhm… Not much.” He quickly looked around, rambling a bit. “I’ve just… I don’t think we’ve met before.” 

“Hi.” You grinned, holding out a hand. “I’m Y/N.” 

“I’m Mingyu.” He smiled, shaking your hand. “I should… I should get back to the cafe.” 

“Alright.” You nodded, pointing back to the treats. “Thanks again for that. The kids are going to love it. My boss thought the kids should have a nice treat today.” 

“Not a problem. It was easy to make.” He waved them off, starting to leave. “Hey uhm… If you wanted to, I have some extra ones back at the cafe. If you wanted to stop by later, I could give you some.” 

“Okay.” You smiled, nodding your head. “I’ll try to stop by.” 

“Okay.” Mingyu grinned, waving one last time and officially leaving. You giggled to yourself, turning back to set up the pastries. 

*Fairy Tale*

“Y/N, we might as well just give up.” Frog-Mingyu said as you pulled him out of your bag and placed him on a chair. 

“Mingyu,” You said, formalities dropped a while ago. What were you going to do, he’s a frog. “We have to be close. They’re bound to be here somewhere.” 

“My birthday party is tomorrow. That’s the deadline from my father.” 

“What’s he going to do, marry you off as a frog? There’s nothing that can be done until you break this curse.” 

“He could go find the witch and demand to change me back. He’s the king.” He sighed, and you let out your own frustrating sigh. You had been everywhere with him, trying to figure who his true love could be. All he knew was that he had to get a kiss from his true love for the curse to be broken, which made it all the more difficult on your part. Not too many maidens were willing to just… kiss a frog. 

“We have until tomorrow night then!”

“Y/N, it’s hopeless. Do you know how many maidens are in this kingdom? Not to mention that they might not even be in this kingdom. This was a stupid idea and I just need to accept my fate.” 

“I’m sorry Mingyu.” You muttered, feeling bad you couldn’t help him more. Slowly over the last few days, you started to see a new side of Mingyu. He was actually… Almost charming? He actually had a decent sense of humor too, not to mention how sweet he turned out to be and how much he really cares about his people and worries about if he’ll be able to be a good ruler. He also told you that he often sneaks into the kitchens and has been learning to cook for the past couple years as a stress reliever. If you hadn’t known better, you could have sworn you were falling for…

No. You couldn’t do that. He was the prince. No. 

“It’s not your fault, Y/N. You should go get some sleep. Tomorrow’s going to be a long day.” 

“You too. Goodnight Mingyu.” You got up, leaving the room. You sighed to yourself in the hallway, suddenly feeling very sad. You quickly shook your head, making your way back to the servants wing. 

You were about half way there when you realized you left your bag in Mingyu’s room. You groaned, quickly turning around and sneaking back. It would be bad enough to be caught sneaking into the princes room late at night. You lightly knocked on the door, not getting a response. As you opened the door, you saw your frog-prince asleep on the chair. You quickly snuck in, grabbing your bag. You were about to leave when you looked at the prince momentarily. 

You weren’t sure what prompted you to do this, but you felt yourself lean towards him, lightly placing a kiss on his head. You sighed, about to leave the room when there was a blinding flash of light, causing you to cover your face. 

As you lowered your hands, you let out a silent gasp. 

Mingyu was human again. Still asleep, but human.

Before you could process what was going to happen, you quickly fled the room, Mingyu startling awake.

*Today*

You took a deep breath, opening the door to the cafe. As you stepped inside, there were only a couple people sitting around, plus a guy standing behind the counter reading a book. You slipped onto a stool, looking around the cafe. You had to get directions from your coworker to get here, you couldn’t believe you’d never come across this place. It was pretty cute. 

“Can I get you something?” You looked up, the guy with the book eyeing you. 

“Uhm. Can I have a coffee?” You asked, waiting for a response. He looked at you for a second more, not responding. You were about to take it back when he shut the book, pulling out a mug and filling it with coffee. He set it in front of you, pointing to a basket down the counter. 

“Extras are in there if you want them.” He said, picking his book back up. 

“Oh, thank you.” You smiled, getting up to grab some cream and sugar. Once you mixed everything together, you took a sip, letting out a sigh. 

“Let me guess, you’re waiting for Mingyu.” 

“How did you…” 

“Girls usually wait here for him.” He nodded his head towards some girls down the counter from you. “They’re here every day at this time knowing he comes back in soon.” 

“Oh…” You said, suddenly feeling awkward. 

“You’re Y/N though, right?” You looked back at him, raising an eyebrow. 

“Uhm. Yeah?” 

“He told me you would come by.” You almost swore you saw a smile, but it was gone as quickly as it came. “He called me to set aside some of the pastries for you in case you came in before he got back. Hang on.” He suddenly left, leaving you at the counter. 

He came back a minute later, putting a plate in front of you. There were two pasties on it, both almost perfectly made. 

“Oh, thank you.” You said, going for your wallet. 

“It’s on the house.” He said, going back to his book. 

“But I-”

“Look, Mingyu catches a lot of people’s attention. It’s how his life has always been. But not that many people manage to catch his attention. It’s on the house. Plus he would be extremely offended if I let you pay.” You felt your face burn a little bit, a small smile on your face. 

“Well thank you…” You looked for his nametag. “Jun.” 

“Don’t mention it.” He said, officially going back to his book. You smiled, taking a bite of the pastry, sighing about how delicious it was. 

*Fairy Tale*

Mingyu sighed, leaning on his elbow, looking at the crowd of people in front of him. He couldn’t figure this out. Last night, he went to sleep as a frog, and when he woke up this morning he was human again? He swore he heard the door shut when he woke up, but by the time he got to the hallway he couldn’t see anyone. How did that happen? Did his father already know and already went back to the witch? Did the curse break some other way? What on earth could have done it? 

“Alright son, did you make your decision?” His father asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. Mingyu looked up at him, inhaling deeply. He looked at the group of princesses his father had selected for him, not sure what to do. He knew he’d probably be content with any of them. Could probably marry any of them, rule nicely together, have some polite children, and live an okay life. 

But would he ever be truly happy with them? 

Part of him remembered someone last night. He swore he remembered getting kissed by someone. But was it just a dream? It had to be. If his true love had come and kissed him, surely they would have woken him up. Why would they have run away like that? Not to mention the only person that knew about the curse was you...

Mingyu’s eyes widened. What if it was you? But it couldn’t be… Could it? 

As if on cue, you walked into the ballroom, carrying a tray of pastries. You had a polite smile on your face as you set the desserts out, avoiding contact with guests like you had been trained to do. The staff here was particularly excellent and sneaking in and out of parties. Mingyu found you rather quickly though, you not leaving his sight. 

“Yes, I have.” Mingyu said, pushing himself out of his chair, walking through the crowd. 

You had just put the last treat on the table, ready to leave the room. Desserts were usually the last part of these parties, hopefully meaning once you cleaned up you’d be able to return to your windowsill. You turned as you saw Mingyu approaching you, internally panicking. You had avoided him all day, scared of what happened last night. Hopefully you could make this quick and painless.

“Good evening, your Highness-” You had started, going into your formal conversation mode. You couldn’t make it very far, since when Mingyu reached you he lightly put his hands on either side of your face, bringing your face to his. You heard the gasps in the room, but were shocked enough of the fact that Mingyu had simply kissed you. He slowly pulled away from you, keeping his face close to yours. He looked into your eyes, taking a deep breath. 

“It was you, wasn’t it?” He whispered, and you tried to figure out how to use words. 

“What...?” 

“You’re the one that saved me, aren’t you?” 

“Your Highness… I-”

“Y/N.” He said, causing you to look into his eyes. You slowly nodded your head, and felt your heart pound as he grinned. 

“I knew it.” He said, leaning forward to kiss you again. You pulled back again, looking at him. 

“What about your father and the princesses and-”

“Hey, hey.” He looked at you, the smile still on his face. “I had until today to pick someone, didn’t I?” You nodded your head, and you swore his smile just grew. “Well, if you would choose me, I choose you.” 

*Today*

You took another bite as the bell on the door dinged, Jun simply waving a hand. Mingyu walked behind the counter, smiling at you. 

“Hey, you made it!” He grinned, you nodding your head as you chewed. You quickly swallowed, swearing Jun was smirking at you. 

“Yep. Thought I would try to check it out.” You said, pointing at the pastry. “This really is delicious. It’s almost better than the ones you brought today.” 

“I thought those were for the kids.” Mingyu joked, a smirk on his face. 

“They were, but it doesn’t mean there weren’t extras.” You teased back. “We don’t have that many kids, you know.” You laughed, painfully aware of the mild glares you were getting from the girls down the counter, watching you chat with Mingyu so casually. 

“That’s fair. There was one more that I tried, kind of an experiment. Hold on.” He winked, setting his coat down and walking in back. Jun just shook his head, trying to not laugh. 

You smiled to yourself as you felt a warm breeze blow past, confused that you didn’t hear the door open. Jun seemed to experience the same confusion, making eye contact with you before you both fell unconscious. 

You woke up a bit later, confused as to where you were. You blinked a few times, seeing the bright colors of a… could you be in a tavern? You slowly picked up your head, resting on a counter. You looked around, seeing a couple other people laying on the counter down from you, attempting to wake up themselves. You saw Prince Jun standing up behind the counter, holding a hand to his head. 

“What the…” He looked up, meeting your eyes. “Y/N?” 

“Jun?” You both looked at each other, pure confusion. “What’s going on…” 

“I don’t know…” He looked around, trying to put the puzzle pieces together. 

“Do you think we were…” You stopped as you saw Mingyu come from around the corner, looking around. “Mingyu.” You said, causing him to stop and turn to face you. 

“Y/N! Jun!” He laughed, coming around the counter to hug you. “Where the hell are we?” He asked, looking up at Jun but still holding onto you. 

“I have no idea…” Jun said, looking around. You could tell he was looking for his own love, hoping for them to come from around the corner. 

“Other people have to be here, right? If we’re here and Jun’s here, others have to be here too, right?” You offered, trying to provide some comfort. “Maybe she’s just not in this particular place. Anything specific for where she could be?” Jun looked in thought for a second, eyes suddenly widening. 

“I know where she is.” Jun said, quickly running from the building before you or Mingyu could say another word. 

“Looks like we have a new adventure, huh?” You said, placing your hands on Mingyu’s arms as he continued to hug you. 

“I guess so. Can I ask one favor this time?” You turned your head to look up at him. “Can I be the one to save you this time?” 

“Only if you turn me into a frog, mister.” You grinned, leaning forward to give him a quick kiss. “Come on, let’s see if we can catch up to Jun.” You grabbed his hand, pulling him from the building. 

“Of course princess.”

[zankivich]

Neighbors: Shawn x Plus-Size Reader Chapter 2

a/n: hi friends. Feeling kind of down about all things writing at the moment, don’t know if I’ll continue at all. But this was already written so I figured I might as well post it. If you don’t hate it and feel like letting me know that’d be cool. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday. bye 

*Shawn’s pov*

He walked down the hallway jingling his keys and taking his time. Then just in case, he walked back to the other end. If anyone was around to see him, they’d surely think he was crazy. And maybe he was. This is the life that he had been destined for. Walking up and down the hallway of his apartment building in the hopes that the girl next door might pop out.

He’d been doing it for weeks and so far had only been successful twice. Since the night of their first meeting, and the subsequent morning after where they’d puked together for a couple of hours, she’d been stringing him along like she had the carrot and he was a rabbit. At first he’d thought maybe she wasn’t interested, was even going to give up, and try to move on. But, he’d stumbled upon her juggling a whole bunch of groceries one night and the conversation that followed told him that maybe he wasn’t crazy at all.

“Here let me help you.” He’d said reaching for the bag she’d be trying to balance between her knees.

“I had it.” She mumbled in response.

“Just let me help you. Accepting help isn’t the greatest weakness in the world you know.”

She was maybe the most stubborn woman he’d ever met in his life. And Jesus did he love every little bit of it.

“Thanks.” She said begrudgingly.

He followed her into her apartment which was much different than his own. Less bachelor pad, more grown woman with her shit vaguely together. She had a couch and a coffee table, and all of her furniture was mix match and different. It fit her somehow. And the longer he was in there the more he felt like he was learning about her. He peered over at where she stood in her kitchen, hip casually propped against the counter as she stared at him with crossed arms. He stepped further away from the living room, choosing instead to join her at the counter. He thought about the way her waist had felt under his hands when they danced, and the way her laugh sounded as they drank tequila. He wasn’t quite sure what to do about how much he thought about her. And the look on her face wasn’t exactly one of love and adoration. All of the confidence he had felt after the cuddling and the dance had completely washed out of him.

“Can I ask you something?”

He leaned against the other side of her counter, his legs long enough that they rested on either side of hers.

“Sure.”

“Do you like… do you not want me around?” He mumbled eyes on his fingers which were fidgeting with his ring. “Cause I kinda thought that we might of hit it off in my apartment. I mean I know there was alcohol involved so maybe...I just don’t want to bother you if you don’t want that.”

She stared at him for a second, and he got the feeling that she was trying to decide whether or not she was going to be honest with him. When her face softened, it was as if a wall came down, and he had somehow moved on to the next level of knowing her more deeply.

“I… guess I’m just confused on why you want to be around so much.” She shrugged.

He nodded trying to wrap his mind around everything that she was.

“So it’s not that I make you uncomfortable. Or that you don’t like me?”

“No I,” She paused and her cheeks darkened. “I like you.”

He smiled at her, completely incapable of stopping the twitch of his muscles. And maybe she rolled her eyes and tried to play it off, but it didn’t matter. Now he knew.

So he took some extra time every now and then--or every single time he entered the building--to see if she might come around. It was a tuesday night and that meant that she should be getting home from work any minute. He’d landed in Toronto that afternoon for a break after promo, having spent the day with his sister and mom, and all he wanted was to ask her about her day.

When he saw her get off the elevator this time, his heart leaped in his chest. And not just in the way it had been doing since she’d knocked drunkenly on his door at two am looking for salt. There was a man with her this time and his arm was draped casually over her shoulder like it belonged there, and yet he’d never seen anything that looked more wrong. He moved quickly to get into his apartment, not wanting to be found creeping in the hall while her date dropped her off. The saddest part was having to physically restrain himself from staring through the peephole, but his heart already felt broken and he wasn’t in the mood to torture himself more than he already had.

He changed out of the outfit he’d worn, both to show his mother that he wasn’t completely helpless without her, as well as to maybe make the pretty girl next door notice, and grabbed angrily for his guitar. His fingers were itching, he couldn’t get his feet to stay still, and his stupid heart wanted very much to head in the direction of his next door neighbor. It was the perfect combination for a song, and a wounded heart.

*Y/n pov*

You notice when Shawn leaves town. Mostly because you were constantly looking for him. Not in a weird way, you hoped at least, but just in a way of wanting to see him. After he had somehow gotten you to blatantly admit that you liked him--without any discussion of what kind of like that was--there hadn’t been much more development. You didn’t have his number, and he didn’t have yours, and despite the fact that you were literally inches from each other, it felt like he was so far away. He’d admitted to liking you too. That was the craziest part of it all, and yet both of you were just kind of watching from afar wondering what the hell either of you had meant by that.

That was partly why you’d gone out that night. Your best friend, Stu, had watched you sulk long enough apparently, and despite the fact that he didn’t know the crush you had was on the rockstar next door, he’d had enough of your moping. So he transfered you to a bar straight from work where you drank and moped and ate tacos. There were worse ways of moping, you guessed. When he dropped you off, arm wrapped around your waist to balance you in your heels the way only a true best friend would, you stared longingly at the door that you really wanted to be behind.

“You gonna be okay babes?” He asked.

You nodded sullenly. “Don’t mind me. I have a hitachi wand that does everything a man could ever wish to do for me.”

Stu wrinkled his nose and you smiled for the first real time of the night at your best fiend.

“You are just so hopelessly gay. Go home to your boyfriend. Stop worrying about me. I’ll be fine.”

“Fine. If you decide you finally want to talk about something that’s bothering you, you know I’m just a call away.”

You didn’t have the heart to tell him that this particular burden could only be solved by six feet, two inches of pasty Canadian. So, you hugged him and let him get on with his night instead.

You changed back into your oversized t-shirt and shorts, and settled about baking something that would make you forget about Shawn. You found the process of creating something from nothing to be particularly soothing, and thought that maybe it might help. And if not that, certainly the added bottle of wine would do the trick. There was no thinking about Shawn when you made the pie crust. There was no thinking about Shawn when you were sauteing the apples. And there definitely wasn’t any thinking about Shawn on your third glass of wine when you swore you saw his face in your caramel sauce. What a shit show.

The pie was just coming out of the oven when you heard your neighbor blasting some very sad shit. It sounded like maybe it was an alternative band that would once have been a emo/scream-o band in 2008, but had evolved. Shawn happened to look like an innocent puppy with big floppy ears every single time you’d ever seen him, so the music was even more puzzling then it would’ve been for any one else on the planet. Even more puzzling was the conscious understanding that he was home. He had to be… You scolded yourself. Going over to that man’s apartment tipsy for the second time in a row would be absolutely ridiculous. No. Just no.

And that is how you ended up outside of your neighbor’s apartment for a second time, far less done up than when you’d cuddled in his bed. In your fuzzy slippers and oversized tee you knocked hard against his door, hoping that he would be able to hear you over the depressing music.

*Shawn’s pov*

The knock on the door is the last thing in the world he wanted to deal with. He had half a mind to pull the rockstar card and ask for them to fuck off. Despite being twenty-three years old, he felt more like a sappy teenager than ever, and he just wasn’t in the mood to have someone tell him to turn his music down when the woman he liked was probably in love with someone else. They had definitely never defined any sort of relationship; hell, he hadn’t even talked to her more than a couple of times. He had no right to be hurt by her living her own fucking life, but…he was.

When he opened the door and she was standing there in fucking fuzzy slippers with a pie in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other, he thought for sure he must be dreaming. But she had this adorable, awkward grin on her lips that he wanted to kiss, and knew that his brain wasn’t even remotely capable of imagining such a beauty.

“H--Hi.” He mumbled, dazed.

She blinked her annoyingly long lashes at him.

“Hey. I...I didn’t know you were home again.”

His ears perked up at this.

“You noticed that I left?”

Her cheeks reddened and he felt his heart reform itself in his chest. Wow.

“No I--I just…” She stuttered. “I heard the music. Sounded like maybe you could use some pie.”

No one had ever baked for him before. And he didn’t know he wanted it, needed it even until right in this moment.

He smiled at her. “So, you baked me a pie?”

Her lips parted drawing attention to her mouth and his eyes traveled there unwittingly. She was beautiful and he was maybe just a tad bit hopelessly into her already. Her big, brown eyes rolled at him so hard he thought they might pop out of her head. She cocked her hip in the most sassy manner he’d ever seen, but all he could do was remember what it had felt like to hold her hips in his hands, what is had felt like to mold himself to the back of her body. His mouth was suddenly dry.

“I did not bake you a pie. I baked a pie. I bake when I’m stressed, and you are just simply reaping the benefits from my hell of a life.”

“You’re stressed?” He frowned before suddenly moving into action. “What are you doing standing in the hallway? Come in.”

He slid the wine from one of her palms sliding his hand there instead and pulled her into the safe confines of his home. Shawn thought that she looked like she belonged on his couch. And the visual of her tucking her legs under one of the oversized pillows his Mum bought him made his whole chest feel warm. He made a mental note to thank her for buying the pillows again.

He popped the cork on the wine and poured each of them a glass, tucking some plates and silverware under his arm before making his way back to her. When he sat down his knee brushed against both of hers which were folded sideways so that her body was angled towards him. They both looked at each other before awkwardly looking away and take a gulp out of their respective glasses.

“So, what’s bothering you, honey?” He asked propping his arm against the hand he had leaned against the back of the couch.

She shrugged twirling the glass around in her fingers.

“It’s not that I’m bothered by anything. I just went out to dinner with a friend, and he and his boyfriend are like ten years strong, so everytime we go out together it feels like he’s pitying me. But he’s my best friend, and I love him. So even though I don’t really like to bother him; he kinda calls bullshit.”

The guy who dropped her off.

His eyes widened. “Boyfriend? Like...as in a gay boyfriend?”

Her eyes immediately turned to slits and he’d never seen someone’s face change so drastically so quickly.

“Yea? Is that a fucking problem?”

Nice fucking going, moron.

“No! No, no, no. That--That’s wonderful! I mean...I love gay people!! Honest. I--I met the fab five at this netflix event thingy and Tan France totally exposed me to the power of a printed floral shirt.”

She stared at him like maybe she thought he was the dumbest fucker alive, which he most definitely was. Even if she was single, he was going to end up with her hating him before he’d even gotten a chance.

“Hmmm.” She hummed seemingly deciding that he probably wasn’t a homophobic asshole. “What do you say we eat the pie now?”

She set the pie on one of the plates and instead of cutting either of them a slice dug her fork directly into the cripsy center of the pie. The room filled with smells of cinnamon and apples, and his stomach rumbled appreciatively. Then, out of nowhere, she was lifting the fork towards his mouth instead of her own, and he immediately fell even harder. She seemed to stare accusingly at her hand, as if she wasn’t sure why she’d made that decision, so he moved to close the gap between his mouth and the fork lest she change her mind.

“Oh my god.” He groaned around the metal. “You fuckin made that?”

She chuckled at him and the smile on her face nearly did him in more than the pie did.

“Like I said...I like to bake.”

“Will you bake me things all the time? I mean you should be selling this!” He rambled plucking the fork from her fingers to take another bite. “You might just have the cure to cancer in a pie, and no one knows about it.”

“Shawn, I assure you there is no cure for cancer in my pie. There may be connections to heart disease with all the butter, but no cancer.”

Bummer.

“That’s okay. I still support you in all your endeavors.” He assured her.

“Well thank you...As long as you as support me.”

They smiled at each other and all of the tension from the last couple of weeks wasn’t there anymore. He got to just be with her, and it felt absolutely amazing.

They drank wine on his couch and ate her ridiculously incredible pie while catching each other up on their lives. It was wild to think that they’d only spoken a couple of times, because he kind of felt like he could tell her anything. There wasn’t any judgement there. He never knew how good it could feel to just have someone to talk to.

“So this is like...the biggest promo tour you’ve ever done?” She asked.

They’d discarded the pie and had settled close enough to each that their thighs were touching. The wine and the candles he’d lit earlier had each of them feeling warm, and her thighs were poking out of that big t-shirt that he kind of wanted to knot his fingers in and pull her closer. But he didn’t. He liked the idea of just being with her without trying to hit on her, and something about that felt important to him. He liked her that much.

“It’s definitely the most intense. Andrew is working really hard on navigating my cross-over from ‘teen pop star’ to ‘genuine adult artist’. I think the music will speak for itself. He kind of agrees with me, but wants to put me in as many situations as possible to make that happen. It means performing a lot, which is when I’m happiest, so I’m okay with it.”

She did this thing sometimes where she would hum while she thought about something. He had half the mind to call Charlie Puth and ask what key she was humming in because it sounded absolutely beautiful to him.

“Do you get to come home often?”

He nodded watching the way her eyes dipped to her lap. His fingers itched around his wine glass to tug her chin up so he could see them again. It felt like her question might be more layered than either of them was ready to admit

“Yea. I come home as often as I can. I mean...there are definitely times where I’m gone for weeks at a time, and when tour comes around I’d be gone most of the year, but even if it’s only for a couple of days I try to fly home. Toronto feels like a safe space...It--It recharges me.”

It feels like barriers are being broken. Like they’d been standing on opposite sides of the room, but with every passing minute, they were stepping close to each other. And he wanted that, wanted to know her as deeply as she’d let him. He got the feeling that she wasn’t used to opening up, and he wanted nothing more than to change that.

“But uh… What about you?”

She reached for the bottle of wine on his coffee table, refilling both of their glasses for the fourth or fifth time.

“What about me?”

He rolled his eyes and used his head to nudge at her shoulder playfully. What happened instead was that his head just kind of stayed there.

“Well I know you like to bake...I know you like tequila. I know salt on your fries is a must. And I know that you hate the idea of accepting help. I wanna know more.”

She took a deep breath and he felt her shoulder lift as she exhaled. She smelled like cinnamon and lavender. It was intoxicating.

“It’s not that I hate the idea of accepting help,” She mumbled. “I just am used to doing things without it.”

“How come?”

“You ask a lot of questions you know that?”

He nodded. “I figure if I keep asking eventually you’ll answer one of em.”

“Funny. You’re funny.”

He took another sip of wine and maybe he nuzzled his face a little more into her shoulder.

“You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to. I’m just here to listen.”

It takes a long while. They sit in silence and drink another full glass. Somehow it’s not awkward between them. He actually feels rather content. He thought that maybe he could sit in silence with her forever, and it’d be okay. Just as long as he could sit beside her with her hair tickling his forehead.

When she speaks it takes him by surprise. Mostly because of the sound starting as a rumble in her chest and hitting pleasantly at his ear. She doesn’t start out deep at all. She just tells him about her family at first. She used to be super close with her mom, but their relationship is complicated apparently.. She has three older brothers, who she thinks made her as tough as she is. But there also wasn’t a lot of time for emotions with four kids and a single mother, so maybe that has something to do with her struggle to let people in. She had a cat growing up that died while she was away at college, and she hasn’t adopted an animal since. One of her favorite albums of all time is The Stranger by Billy Joel. She’s always wanted to visit Amsterdam since she read The Fault in our Stars in high school. Peanut M&Ms are her favorite candy.

He realizes somewhere between the story of her mother taking her to see a scary movie for the first time--and how she’d been braver than any of her brothers--and the story of the time she broke her arm against a bully’s face, that she’s kind of absolutely incredible. And he’s not sure why that makes him smile so much, but it does. And he can’t help it. And he’s not sure that he’d ever want to.

“What is so funny, sir?” She asked when he’d been smiling into her shoulder like a maniac for over ten minutes.

They’ve drunk so much wine that all of his inhibitions are gone, and all that’s left is the truth.

“Nothing’s funny. You’re just insanely wonderful is all.”

He can feel her roll her eyes and before he knows it his wine glass is being pulled from his fingers.

“I think that’s enough for you, bud. Time for bed.”

“What? Nooooo, I wanna hear more about your eighth grade emo phase!” He whined indignantly.

“Another time. I have a feeling if I keep getting you drunk like this, there are gonna be some very angry record execs looking for me.”

She got up off the couch and helped him into a standing position. He was maybe a little more wobbly than he’d like, but it wasn’t as if he was hammered off a little wine. Nonetheless he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and let her drag him towards the bedroom. Maybe because he just wanted to be close to her.

“No one would dare yell at you, ever, sweetheart. I’d fire them on the spot.”

She chuckled and squeezed appreciatively at his hip in a way that shot sparks across his skin.

“It’s nice to know someone’s looking out for me.”

They make it to his bedroom, which isn’t too different from the guest room they slept in last time. It’s just a little bigger, and so is the bed, and he’s got pictures of his family and friends on the dresser. Most of his awards stay in his old bedroom in Pickering, but his first artist of the year award for the MMVAs sits on his desk, because it was from Canada, from home, and it served as a reminder of everything he’d accomplished.

“You okay now?” She asked once he made his way safely into the bed.

He yawned reaching for her hand with his own.

“I’m fine. Come lie with me though.”

“Shawn, I should go back home.”

He sighed squeezing her fingers tightly in his own

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Just for a minute. Please?”

It takes a little tugging before she is lying beside him. He can’t help but hide his face in her hair again, the smell of lavender so calming in his nose. His arm snakes around her waist without ever talking to his brain first and through the haze he recognizes the important of checking in first.

“I--Is this okay? Please tell me if it’s not.”

He’s hold her gently with his hands and they’re not making eye contact, and he just needs to know that it’s not wrong. That she wants it too.

“It’s okay.” She murmured and laid her hand on the arm covering her waist to give it a gentle squeeze.

“Are you sure?”

“I promise. Thank you for asking.”

They fall asleep with their legs intertwined and their bodies pressed together. He sleeps better than he did the entire time he was away.

***

*Y/N’s point of view*

It just becomes a thing that you do all of a sudden. You’ll knock on his door, or he’ll knock on yours and you wind up sitting on his couch for hours. It’s like you’re...friends. Friends who fall asleep holding each other every now and again, or all of the time. He talked to you about music stuff, and it never felt gloaty or pompous. It was his world and he let you into it, because he said it made him feel good to talk to someone outside of it all for a change. Some days he spoke industry talk that went over your head a lot, but you listened anyway. Other days he spoke of melodies and songs and his passion for his work. And those were always your favorite because his eyes lit up and he stammered more and he just had the most perfect look in his eyes to you.

Besides the times when he’s talking to you about record labels and industry mishaps, you find yourself forgetting that he’s not just your neighbor. You get the feeling that he prefers it that way. Neither of you acknowledge what it is exactly that you’re doing. Is it friends? Is there a deeper attraction there? He didn’t seem to want to push you towards any particular decision, and quite honestly you were still having trouble wrapping your mind around everything that he was. But that didn’t stop him from pulling you into his bed at the end of the night and tucking your head under his chin. It didn’t stop him from holding your hand at random times, or insisting on you sharing a blanket despite the multiple ones available. It was a weird sort of limbo that you found yourself in.

It’s another night of hanging out, only this time in your apartment, when the scale tips a little more out of balance. You were sitting criss-cross applesauce beside each other eating takeout with chopsticks when he brought it up.

“So…” He hedged, around a mouthful of lo mein. “I wanted to ask you something.”

“Sure, what’s up?”

“I have to go away for a little while. I’m spending some time in New York. Couple of talk shows, a little recording, some meetings.”

You nodded. “Do you want me to like… water your plants or something?”

“Water my--No! No, why would I...No. I was actually wondering if you wanted to tag along.”

“Tag along? Like go with you...To New York?”

“Yea!” He said eyes bright and puppy like. “Look it’s not that weird. I have friends come visit me on the road all the time. You know how I told you I get lonely when I’m doing those long ass business meetings with all the old folks, it drives me crazy. Come with me.”

It feels weird. And not just because this thing between the two of you keeps festering but because you also haven’t really hung out outside of the confines of your apartment building. Leaving the country feels fast, it feels... like maybe it means something. You’re just not sure what.

“I don’t know Shawn... Can I think about it for a couple days?”

He nods, smile not dimming in the slightest.

“Of course. It’s uh--it’ll probably be next week. Andrew is getting flight information together now so I asked him to get an extra ticket just in case. There’ll be a spot for ya.”

“Okay. Yea, okay.”

You sit in silence for a while each of you munching on noodles. It’s not necessarily awkward, but it lacks the usual comfort that you two had had since the very beginning. Shawn proceeded to fidget with his food sending you random glances over his kung pao chicken. You didn’t know what to say, so you stayed quiet.

“Listen y/n did I--”

A knock on the door interrupts him, and quite frankly you’d never been so happy for unannounced company.

At the door is none other than your best friend, the light of your life, Stu, and suddenly you realized that you’d neglected to have the “my neighbor’s a rockstar” talk with him. So much for welcoming unannounced company.

“Stu!” You gasped. “What’cha doin’ here bud?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Bryan was getting on my nerves, and I needed to come vent. Since when are you so squeaky?”

“Squeaky? Who’s squeaky? I’m not squeaky!”

His eyes slanted closer into slits. He knew you better than anyone and that very rarely played to your advantage.

“Are you fucking someone in there?!”

Very. Rarely.

“Shhh! Would you keep your mouth down, no one is fucking anyone.” You hissed.

“Okay, okay. Sorry, jeez!”

You both took a second to take deep breaths and calm yourselves the fuck down. Shawn thought this might be the perfect time to intervene apparently.

“Is everything okay, sweetheart?”

Those fucking pet names of his would be the death of you.

“Ah ha!”

Your best friend cheered as if he had just cracked the fucking case, and promptly kicked your door open to reveal Shawn sitting on your couch in shorts,  black tube socks, and a headband on like he was either about to work out or do a face mask. What a shit show.

He paused, box of lo mein in hand, and a bite of food he was definitely stealing from your container still raised to his mouth.

“Uh...hi?”

“Excuse me?!” Stu exclaimed. “You’re telling me I’ve been at home worried you were falling into a downward spiral and your ass has been sitting up in here canoodling with Canadian treasure, Shawn Mendes?!”

“Canoodling?! We are not canoodling Stu!”

“Why are we yelling?!” Shawn asked.

You sighed. “We’re both pisces and over-dramatic, it’s kind of our thing.”

“Awww, I didn’t know you were a Pisces.”

Jesus.

“Oh this is normal.” Stu nodded sarcastically.

“I’m sorry. Hey man, I’m Shawn. You must be Stu, I’ve heard a lot about you”

Stu stared at Shawn like he had three heads before staring at you like had four of them. There must have been some unofficial best friend rule that said if one were to ever hang out with one of the biggest selling pop acts of the decade and not tell said best friend, you were kind of the worst.

He took a deep breath before rolling his eyes and moving past you to plop down on your couch.

“I’ve heard absolutely nothing about you, Shawn. Please do tell.”

You looked to your couch where the boy you sort of liked and your best friend were suddenly interacting. It felt as if your bubble had been popped. Like it wasn’t your own little secret with Shawn anymore. And you couldn’t help but wonder what New York would like, what it would be like if the whole world knew you were friends. This terrified you beyond belief.

Slowly, and not without difficulty, you make your way back to the couch where the two men are talking about the fact that Shawn lives next door. You picked up your noodles and tried not to freak out at the latest development. Shawn peered over at you as he was talking and seemed to notice that things weren’t a hundred percent okay.

So smoothly you barely noticed yourself, he rearranged himself on the couch ever so slightly so that his shoulder was pressed more soothingly against yours. It was something he’d only done a couple of times before, and it had only been when you were noticeably stressed. But you peered over at Stu and his eyes seemed to be zoned in on the lack of space between the two of you. And your mind imagined that on a grander scale, of hundred of thousands of people scrutinizing your every move, your every atom. It made your skin itch, and your chest feel a little tight. You shifted on the couch, leaning slightly farther away from Shawn so that you were sitting on individual cushions again.

Shawn looked at you, Stu simultaneously looking at the both of you, and you sort of wished you could melt into the couch. It was definitely the most awkward hour of your life, and you had someone manage to go through puberty.

***

By the time Stu leaves, it is after one in the morning, and your body and mind are thoroughly exhausted. The apartment is silent as Shawn and you work to clean up the mess from your dinner. You can feel him peering at you, but you try to ignore it, try to work through the awkwardness that has settled between the two of you. You feel more separated from him than ever and you can’t help but be surprised at how shitty of a feeling that is.

Shawn stood next to the sink as you loaded the dishwasher, leaning his long limbs against the counter. You have your head down by the plates when he brings it up.

“So I feel like I’ve done something wrong.” He murmured.

“You didn't. Everything’s fine.”

“Yea, see the problem is that I don’t believe you.”

You stood up reaching over him for another glass to slot into place never making eye contact.

“Well that’s not my problem. I told you nothing is wrong, just drop it.”

“Hey,” He muttered reaching for your arm gently to stop you. “Why are you angry with me? Talk to me.”

His thumb nips at your chin, titling your eyes upward so that you have no choice but to meet his. When the room is empty and no one else is around, it’s so easy to get lost in this. His thumb sends sparks across your skin, and you want to just nuzzle into his chest and go lie in your bed for a little while. And in moments like this, more than anything, you want to demand that you tell him what all of it means, because his hands on your hips don’t feel friendly ever.

“I can’t…”

“You can’t what? Tell me what’s going on inside your head right now.”

Your eyes flicker down to the tattoo on the back of his hand and you press your thumb against the ink as if it will give your more courage to speak. Maybe it does. Or maybe it’s just the comfort of his skin touching yours.

“I can’t go to New York with you. I--I can’t be seen standing next to you.”

You see the hurt flash in his eyes and your whole body completely rejects the notion that anything could ever be allowed to hurt him, that you yourself could ever be capable of such a thing.

“No. No--shit, Shawn I don’t mean it like that. I’m not embarrassed of you. I just...I don’t think I’m ready to have people stare at me like that. The way Stu was looking at us tonight? He’s never looked at me like that. I’m not ready for that kind of scrutiny.”

Shawn’s eyes dropped, a curl fighting its way from underneath his headband to fall into his eye. You reached hesitantly up to tuck it back into place only for Shawn to wrap his hand around your wrist and keep you there.

“So it’s not that you don’t want to be my friend anymore? Or that I fucked something up talking to Stu?”

“Of course not. You’re actually kind of perfect. I think if Stu wasn’t definitely endgame with Bryan he probably would’ve hit on you tonight.”

Shawn nodded letting your wrist go so that he could wrap his arms around your waist instead. You nestled your head against his chest and sighed a sigh of relief as the tension eased slowly out of the room. He held you close swaying your bodies gently back and forth. You could hear the rhythm of his heart and you worked to match your breathing to his. It calmed you immensely, and made everything else seem insignificant.

“Sorry for overwhelming you, honey.” He mumbled into your hair.

“It’s not your fault. It’s okay.”

“I’ll wait for you ya know? For as long as you need.”

It’s another weighted statement, that neither of you know what it means. Or, maybe you both know what it means and you’re just not willing to admit it yet. But, he lets you wrap your arms around his shoulders, and he lets you hide in his chest for a little while longer. And apparently he’ll wait for you for as long as you need. Even if neither of you quite understand what he’s waiting for. For now, this is enough you suppose.

[bangtanbabeloveyourself]

Tarot Card Taehyung Ch. 2

Pairing: Female witch reader x warlock Taehyung ft. Jimin

Genre: Fantasy, angst, friends to lovers, future smut.

Word count: 5.7k

Chapters: 1|2

Summary: After hours of talking, Y/N decides that going to New Orleans with or without Taehyung. A nosy black bird causes a fateful encounter with a beautiful but mysterious stranger. A bad draw of the cards may prove more dangerous than anyone could have predicted. 

Posted: July 15th, 2019

You stared at yourself in the mirror, having just put your barely-damp hair up in a bun on the top of your head. You had found another wit--warlock. Well, technically your grandma did, but that’s not important. What is important is the fact that you now have someone to ask all of the questions you had built up since your grandma had passed away. 

The only thing you couldn’t seem to figure out was why your grandma had never mentioned him before. Apparently this was his third year coming to your grandma’s, yet she never mentioned another magical being. A loud shrill whistle from the kitchen interrupted your thoughts. You shook your head and left the bathroom, walking out to take the kettle off the stove. 

You looked over to find Taehyung pouting out the window, his mind on other things. You sighed and rolled your eyes. “Stop pouting over there. You really didn’t think I was going to let you sleep with me, did you?”

He turned to you, his arms crossed in front of him. “Kind of, yeah. Am I blind or did you not have a painting of me downstairs?” 

Your cheeks flushed bright red before you busied yourself with pouring two cups of tea. “I told you! Sometimes the magic just takes over when I paint. I didn’t do it consciously.” 

“Uh huh. I know that’s what you’re telling yourself, but I can see through you.” He said as he walked over and plopped down on your sofa. 

With his back turned to you, you paused for a moment, fanning your face slightly. You weren’t lying. You really had no control over that painting, but Taehyung wasn’t wrong either. If you hadn’t figured it out, you’d both probably be in your bed right now. An enticing idea too, but learning more about your culture outweighed it. Besides, sleeping with him would probably complicate things. It's best to stay professional, right?

Taehyung cleared his throat, turning back to look at you. "Yo, witch. Are you coming or what?" 

You narrowed your eyes at him before grabbing the two mugs. "That's awfully close to a very unkind word Mr. Kim. I'd be a little more careful if I were you." 

He rolled his eyes and accepted the mug you brought him. "Oh please. You couldn't stop saying the word earlier. Now I'm not allowed to call you that? What would you prefer I called you? Hermione?" 

You set your mug on your coffee table before plopping down next to him on the couch, causing him to spill some tea on his hand, a smug smile on your lips as you hear him curse. 

"Aww, poor baby. Karma's a bitch," you teased before reaching for your mug, blowing on the top before taking a sip. 

He set his mug down, blowing on his now reddening hand. "Yeah, she's a witch too," he said with a pout on his lips. 

You rolled your eyes before turning to face him. You crossed your legs and leaned back against the armrest of the couch. “Oh stop. Come here.” You reached out to grab his hand, holding it between both of yours. You closed your eyes and stayed silent. 

Taehyung watched you with annoyment. It was just a slight burn and you jumped at the chance to use your magic. It was the same with all witches. Once you discovered you had powers, you used any excuse you could think of to use them. Everyone was so magic reliant. He hated it. 

Your sigh brought him out of his thoughts. He raised an eyebrow. “What now?” 

You smirked and moved your hands, revealing his still reddened hand. He looked at his hand and then back to you, his eyebrow still cocked up in confusion. You gave him a condescending smile before you smacked the burn on his hand, causing him to cry out. “What the fuck was that for?” 

You crossed your arms over your chest and pouted. “I do not use every excuse to use my magic.” 

His eyes widened slightly before he shrugged- an attempt at feigning innocence. “Who said that?”

You narrowed your eyes before raising your hand to smack his hand again. This time he jerked his hand back. “Fine, fine. How did you know that’s what I was thinking?” 

You wiggled your hands in front of him. “Magic, duh.” He rolled his eyes and tried to comment but you cut him off quickly. “I can see and hear what a person is thinking, but only when I have direct access to their palms. And I can only hear what they’re currently thinking. I don’t have access to other parts of their mind or memories.” 

He pursed his lips before he rested his arm against the back of the couch, resting his head in his uninjured hand. “So you can basically read minds by touching people’s palms? You know, you’d make a great palm reader. I could use an assistant when I travel.” 

“And con all of those poor women of their money like you do with your powers? No thank you. I have a little more respect for my abilities than to use them to be a con artist.”

He ran his hand through his hair. “Well, I’ve got to make a living somehow. This just happens to work for me.” 

"Most people get normal jobs." 

He shrugged. "If I had a normal job, I wouldn't have been able to travel as much as I have. I wouldn't have seen what I've seen." He lowered his voice. "I wouldn't have found you." 

You stared at him for a moment before you saw the smile creeping on his face. You shoved his shoulder. "Oh whatever. Get over yourself. Those pretty boy plays of yours won't work on me now." He raised an eyebrow and you shook your head, leaning back against the armrest again. "Tell me more about magic. Tell me about where you're from. Tell me how you met my grandma." 

He pursed his lips before sighing. "Fine. Just stop being so mean to me. I am a guest after all." 

You rolled your eyes before pulling your legs up to your chest. You rested your chin on top of your knees. "A guest whom also broke into my house. I could have called the cops." 

"Fine, fine. You win. Geez.” he mumbled before taking a sip of his tea. 

You smiled softly before giving him your full attention as he started his story. 

***

“And she smacked me upside the head for that.” 

You giggled and nodded. “Yeah, that’s exactly something she would do too.” You rubbed your arms before sighing.

Taehyung frowned. “You miss her a lot, don’t you?” 

You nodded. “I do. She was the only one that cared to teach me about magic. It was scary going through this. My mom was never any good at it so she stopped trying long before she had me. But because of that, Grams was the only one that could help me.” 

“Why didn’t your mother try to send you to the academy? If she came from a magical family, she would have had knowledge about it.” 

You furrowed your brow before crossing your arms. “Honestly, I don’t know and that’s what pisses me off the most. I could have had a chance to be better at this. To be around other people like me. Instead, she home schooled me and only let me talk to Grams about it. She wouldn’t even let me talk about it around my dad.” 

Taehyung bit his lip as he watched you. He could see how frustrated you had gotten. “Well, no use getting upset about it now. The past is the past after all.” 

You looked over at him, a boxy grin spreading across his face. You couldn’t help but softly smile back. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” 

 Finally, after hours of talking, you stood from the couch and stretched a bit. "Alright. It's best to get some sleep now. It's going to be a busy day tomorrow." 

Taehyung cocked his head to the side and looked at you. "Why's that?" 

You smiled before giving the top of his head a soft pat. "Because I'm leaving." 

"Leaving? Where do you plan on going?" 

"To that academy you talked about. I need to explore my roots. The only real question here is whether or not you're willing to go with me." You looked down to him, fidgeting with the fabric of your shirt as you awaited his response. 

He sighed as his blue eyes met yours. "If I let you go alone, you're going to cause some sort of trouble. I know it. But I'm also not particularly fond of my home. I haven’t been back since I left. So I think it's probably best you go alone."

You rolled your eyes. “Fine, don’t go with me then. But I’m going whether you come with me or not. So I’m going to need you to leave now, I need to get to bed.” 

Taehyung stood before giving you a cheeky grin. “You mean, I’m not sleeping with you tonight?” 

You narrowed your eyes at him, fighting back the blush that dared to spread across your face. “E-excuse me?” 

Taehyung laughed before walking towards the door. “I’m just kidding doll. Although, you did seem to really want me in your bed only a few hours ago..” he trailed off as he cracked the door open.

You shot a glare at him and he put his hands up in surrender. “Aii. Calm down, I’m only joking. I can’t ever catch a break with you,” he muttered as he walked out of your apartment.   

And with that, Taehyung had headed back down to his tent. You shook your head and finally plopped down onto your bed. Today had been one of the craziest days of your life. You had so much running through your head. You wondered how you’d ever get to sleep. 

You turned over in your bed, looking out the window to see the top of that obnoxious purple tent and the faint light inside it. Maybe you should have let him sleep in your apartment. You shook your head and rolled onto your back. No, you didn't want to risk anything happening between you two. He was just a pretty faced con man. You couldn't fall for those deep eyes or that smile either.  

But on the other hand, your grandma did like him for some reason. She let him stick around at least. He had a certain charm to him. He was infuriatingly likeable. Taehyung did appear to care though. He may seem immature, but he did also hold your grandma in high regard.

 You yawned softly before rolling over to your side again to see the light in his tent had gone out. You pursed your lips before finally reaching over to turn out your lamp when a small black figure at your window made your gasp. You squinted in an attempt to make it out better. It looked like some bird, a raven, maybe even a crow. Before you could get a closer look, it suddenly spread its wings and took off, moving to land on the top of Taehyung’s tent before letting out a loud caw. 

“Stupid bird.” You muttered before finally flipping your light off and closing your eyes. 

***

The next morning passed quickly as you attempted to get everything in order to allow you to go on this unexpected trip. You had to go to work and figure a way around your schedule. Luckily, your boss was very understanding about the situation. He was a sweet older gentleman (whom you were certain had a thing for your grandma before she passed away) so he helped you and even gave you your check early to help accommodate for your trip. You tried to refuse it but he wouldn’t have it, despite your insisting that you had enough money saved back. After that you had to go back and pack. 

You and your indecisiveness made it almost impossible to pack effectively. You had clothes thrown about your apartment as you tried to fit as many items as you could into as small of a bag as you could. You wanted to travel light but you still wanted to be prepared. 

As you continued to rummage through your clothing, there was a knock on your door. Before you could answer, Taehyung had cracked it open and attempted to come in. “You’re not naked, are you?” he asked as he continued to peek into the room. 

You rolled your eyes. “No, I’m not. But you’d love it if I was, wouldn’t you?” 

He smirked as he opened the door the rest of the way and stepped into your apartment. “Could you blame me if I did?” he asked cheekily. 

“Yes.” You stated simply as you tried to shove another shirt into your bed. 

He watched you with amusement. “You know, you could just use a second bag.” 

You groaned before stopping completely and looked over to him. “I’m trying to avoid using a second bag. I don’t want to bring too much with me because they charge by the bag.” 

Taehyung nodded before he walked over to your closet by the door. “Do you still have Minnie’s bags? I know she had a very special one for trips. She let me borrow it once. It was gray and it had a little crescent moon on it.” 

You walked over to the closet and reached up on the tip of your toes to grab a box that continued some of your grandma’s things. “I think so. I always remember her using that bag when we went on trips together. I didn’t have the heart to get rid of it.” 

“Well, it’s a good thing you didn’t. It’s a magic bag. It can hold ten times as much as a normal bag could without ever stretching out the bag.” He said as he dug through the box as you held it. “Ah ha! Here it is.” He pulled it out and showed it to you. It was slightly bigger than a satchel bag and was a light gray with a darker gray moon on it. 

You put the box back in the closet before closing it and taking the bag from Taehyung. “This would make all this packing a million times easier. Thanks.” You beamed up at him. 

He gave you a soft smile in return before you made your way back over to your bag and started to unpack it and pack the satchel bag instead. “This is going to make a world of a difference. I have no idea how long I’m going to be gone so I can pack a lot more with me just in case.” 

“You don’t know how long you’re going to be gone? What are you expecting here doll? A Lord of the Rings type journey? It’s just New Orleans. A few days should suffice.” He said as he cleared your clothes off of a spot on the couch and sat down. 

You blushed softly. “It may seem childish, but maybe I could find more family down there. Maybe I’ll really like being in that community and want to stay for awhile. You never know.” 

He sighed before leaning back against the couch. “If you say so. I’m telling you, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. You’re going to be disappointed. After Katrina hit, a lot of the community left, including the magical community. Before I left, the community was less than a hundred people. I can’t imagine that the population has grown since then. Not the real magical community at least.” 

“What do you mean the real one?” 

“You’ve seen some of the cult movies, right? The witchy shit is becoming more popular these days. Every outcasted girl wants to be a witch. Every outcasted guy wants to be a vampire. That community has grown bigger in New Orleans over the years. It makes me worry for you.” He looked you over once, causing you to stop folding your shirt. 

You put your hands on your hips. “And why does that make you worry for me?” 

“If you couldn’t figure out on your own that I was a warlock, how are you going to be able to tell the difference between the fake ones and the real ones?” he said with a smirk spreading across his lips. 

You rolled your eyes. “Oh please. We both know I was able to figure it out. I just figured it out a little differently than another witch might.” 

Taehyung clicked his tongue. “Okay, so if that’s true, then are you telling me you’re going to bring all of your paint supplies with you and try to paint a witch? Then what? Go and search for her in the city? That could take weeks!” 

You shrugged your shoulders and continued packing. “Well, not exactly, but sort of, I guess. That’s why I said it might take a while. I’m in no rush for this. I’ve waited this long. Another couple weeks won’t kill me.” 

He sighed before running a hand through his hair. “You’re something else Y/N. You really are.” Before you had a chance to comment, he stood and walked back towards the door. “Well, when you’re done packing, come get me. I’ll take you to the train station and see you off.” 

You nodded to him and then he left, leaving you to your packing. With all of the extra space you had, you were able to pack about two weeks worth of clothes. That in itself would have made you ecstatic. The fact that you could fit your sketchbook, pencils, all of your bathroom things and still had plenty of space had you on cloud nine. Magic truly was amazing. 

After a final sweep of your apartment and a quick trip to the gas station for snacks, Taehyung and you set off to the train station. It was only about a twenty minute drive and the would be awkward silence was covered by the sound of the radio playing and the soft singing by Taehyung. 

You had tried to occupy yourself by scrolling through your phone, but you found your mind wandering as you listened to his voice. By the end of the car ride you and Taehyung had managed a couple of duets together which caused you both to laugh as he parked the car. 

“You have a very pretty voice.” You said softly to him as he opened the door for you. 

It may have been the first time you’ve really seen him blush before. “Oh, uh thanks.” He cleared his throat before he continued. “Now, I’ll go with you and wait until your train leaves, but after that you’re on your own.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a little black book. He handed it to you. 

“What is this?” You asked as you started to flip through the book. 

“It’s a book of useful information for you. Some people you can try to find, safe places for witches to go, stuff like that. It might be a little out of date though. I haven’t been there in over 6 years. But the academy address should still be the same.”

You closed the book and tucked it into your satchel before smiling up at him. “Thank you, Taehyung. I really do appreciate it.” 

He ran a hand through his hair and pulled his phone out to check the time in an attempt to hide his blush from you. “Yeah, well we should probably get going in there. They’re probably going to get started boarding the train soon.” 

He reached down to grab your hand, tugging at you to follow along. He quickly realised what he did and dropped your hand. “S-sorry. Force of habit.” 

You smiled softly and shrugged. “It’s not a big deal. Thank you for coming to see me off. I really wish you would change your mind about coming with me though. I think you’d be a much better guide than this little book.” 

He waved off your words as you both found the train that you were going to be boarding. “I told you, I’d really rather not go back to that place. I left for a reason, you know.” 

You shrugged before you sat down on a bench near the train. “‘The past is the past after all.’” You quoted him. “Besides, it couldn’t have been that bad. If it’s been over six years, it’d probably be a good time to come back.” 

He shook his head before sitting on a bench across from you. He pulled out his deck of tarot cards. “Sorry doll, nothing you say is going to convince me to change my mind.” 

You watched as he began to shuffle them. “Do you ever go anywhere without those cards?” 

He gasped, as if offended. “I would never. You might think it’s all a con, but I trust the cards. If they’re used right, they can be very useful tools.” 

You rolled your eyes as you see a few girls starting to notice him. “Oh sure, and they’re not just a tool to pick up and con those poor unknowing girls.” 

He looked at you and smirked. “Is that jealousy I hear, Y/N?” 

You scoff. “You’d love it if it was, wouldn’t you?” 

“Ahh, deflecting the real question. That says a lot about you doll, whether you believe it or not.” He said before turning his attention to one of the girls that had walked over towards him. They began talking about his cards and you rolled your eyes as you tried to focus on something else. 

You looked around the station. There weren’t many people. Granted, this particular train station was not very large. As you looked around, you noticed a single black bird perched on top of your train. The more you looked at it, the more you felt like it was staring at you. You didn’t like the vibe it was giving off. It made you feel uneasy.  You continued to stare at it as you pulled out your phone and snapped a quick picture. As soon as you snapped the photo, the bird cawed and moved down a couple of train cars. You didn’t know what was going on, but you had a strange feeling about this bird. But it was just a bird. Why were you worrying so much?

You were brought out of your thoughts when you heard the obnoxious laugh from one of the girls attempting to flirt with Taehyung. You rolled your eyes before you got up, Taehyung not even noticing you leave. Instead, you decided to follow the bird. You felt a little silly at first, but you couldn’t shake the feeling that you needed to follow it.  Every time you got closer to it, it would hop over to the next train car and wait for you to get close again before hopping over to the next. 

You probably looked like a moron following around this bird. You tried your best to make it seem like you were just wandering about instead of following a random bird. As you approached the rear of the train, the bird spread its wings and took flight, but only for a short distance. It flew over to an opened door before dropping to the ground. This time the bird waited for you to catch up. You were only a few feet away from it before it cawed at you and walked through the door and flew down a long corridor. You hesitated for a moment, checking to see if there way anyone around before heading in after the bird. 

You walked down the long corridor, listening to the soft caws coming from the bird. You really felt stupid. This was just a mindless animal. But then why would you keep having this weird, unexplainable feelings? It just didn’t make sense. Something was going on. Being so lost in thought, you never noticed when the cawing stopped. You rounded the corner that the hallway had taken and ran directly into the person in front of you. 

You fell back a little before you bowed in an attempt to apologize. “I am so sorry! I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.” 

You heard a chuckle before you looked up to the man in front of you. You nearly gasped. He was breathtaking. Deep brown eyes framed by wavy blonde hair parted down the middle; plump pink lips turned upwards into a smirk. “Well hello to you too.” He took a step back, giving you a bow in return. “No need to apologize. I wasn’t watching where I was going either. Although, I’m afraid I’m not sorry for running into such a beautiful lady.” 

You felt the heat rise to your cheeks immediately. “Oh, well uhm. Thank you.” 

He smiled at you which only made your heart ache. His smile was so genuine that it even touched his eyes, crinkling as if they were smiling as well. “My name is Jimin. And you are?” 

You extended your hand to offer a handshake. “I’m Y/N. It’s nice to meet you Jimin.” 

He took your hand in his, giving it a firm shake. “Likewise, Y/N. Now, can I ask what you’re doing all the way down this corridor? You don’t look like you work at the train station.” 

You blushed before you let out an uneasy chuckle. “Well, you’d be right about that. I, uh, was just bored. We got here a little too early and I was restless.” As if you would actually tell him you were chasing a bird. 

He raised an eyebrow. “We?” 

You nodded. “Yes, my friend is waiting for me by the train. He got caught up in some work thing and I got restless so I left.” 

Jimin nodded before he motioned towards the exit. “Well, let’s get you back out there so you don’t miss your train.” You started to walk back, feeling Jimin’s eyes on you as you walked. “So, where are you traveling to?” he asked as he moved in step with your pace. 

You wrapped your arms around yourself as you held back a wince. The weird feeling from earlier had changed. It had started to become almost painful. The funny feeling had turned into a dull ache.  You tried to ignore it, chopping it up to hunger pains as you tried to focus on Jimin. 

"Y/N?" Jimin asked as he noticed you falter in your pace. 

You shook your head and tried to give him a smile. "I'm sorry, I zoned out there. What did you ask?"

He looked you over once before turning his attention to the exit. "I was just wondering where you were traveling to."

“Oh! I’m actually on my way to New Orleans.” 

This piqued his interest. "New Orleans? That's crazy. I'm heading there as well." 

"That is crazy. Are you going for business or pleasure?" You asked as you finally reached the exit. 

He motioned for you to go first, giving him the opportunity to look you over again, a wicked grin growing on his lips. "I'm hoping for a bit of both."

After you both made it back out to the station, you could see your train had started to board. You turned to Jimin and gave him a smile. "Well, I guess it's time to get going. It's my first time on a train, so I'm a little nervous."

Jimin gave you a soft smile and a reassuring pat on your shoulder. "I'm sure you'll be alright. You seem like a pretty tough lady. Now, you go on and have a good trip. Maybe we'll run into each other again." 

You nodded. "I hope you have safe travels! Thank you for walking me back. The last thing I needed today was to miss this train." You said with a chuckle. 

"And we wouldn't want that. If you don't hurry you won't get to say goodbye to your friend." Jimin said as he pulled his sleeve up to check the time on his watch. "It's almost time to go." 

You gasped and started to head off towards Taehyung. You turned to wave to Jimin. "Here's to hoping we get the chance to meet again in New Orleans!" 

The smirk that appeared on Jimin's lips sent another ache in your gut. "I hope we do, Y/N."  And then he walked off towards the opposite end of the train. 

You looked after him for another moment, resting your hand on your stomach. You really needed to grab something to eat. You rummaged through your bag until a hand grabbed your shoulder and made you jump. 

"Aiiish. Calm down, doll. It's just me. You're going to miss boarding." Taehyung said as he grabbed your hand and tried to give you a little tug. "Hey, Earth to Y/N. What's wrong?" 

You shook your head before turning to walk past Taehyung. "Oh, uh. Nothing. Let's go. I'm going to miss boarding." 

"That's what I just said." He mumbled as he followed after you. “Where did you go, anyway?” 

You shrugged off his words before stopping in front of your train car. “Nowhere important.” 

Taehyung looked you over once before sighing and shoving his hands in his jacket pockets. “I don’t have a good feeling about this anymore, Y/N. Are you sure you really want to do this?” 

Taehyung didn’t have a good feeling either. Maybe you shouldn’t go. No, you had to go. Taehyung just didn’t want to deal with his family. You were going to find our more about yours. You squeezed the strap of your grandmother’s bag before nodding. “Yes. You coming into my life was the push I needed. There’s no point in putting this off. I need to know more.” You turned to look at Taehyung. “Thank you for that.” 

He waved you off. “Just be careful. Not all witches are good witches. Use my book, okay?” You smiled and nodded before taking the step up onto the train. You walked through the door, moving down to find your seat. As you moved to your seat, Taehyung stayed in his spot. 

He had started to get a headache as soon as you had left, but it wasn’t a normal headache. With every pulse, your name would flash into his mind. It made it incredibly hard to focus on his tarot readings. That’s when he went to look for you. It eased once he saw you, but now that you were boarding the train, it was starting to get worse. Something wasn’t right, he just couldn’t figure out what.

Finally Taehyung moved to sit on the bench. Maybe getting off of his feet would ease the pain, but he rammed his knee into the side of the bench, his tarot cards flying out of his pocket and spilling onto the concrete. He cursed as he rubbed his knee before leaning down to pick up the cards. 

He gasped at the way the cards had fallen. All of the cards were facing down except for the card on the very top of the scattered pile. The Tower. An ominous card that always indicated some form of disaster. He shook his head as he quickly gathered his cards back up.

It was just a coincidence. It wasn’t real, right? Y/N was just going to New Orleans. It’s not like she’d actually find anything down there. He tucked the cards back into his pocket before it hit him. She might not find anything, but something might find her. 

The loud shriek of the train whistle made Taehyung jump. He turned to look as the train slowly began to move. Something bad was going to happen to that train. Something bad was going to happen to Y/N. And she has no idea.  

‘Damn witches and their cryptic magic’, he thought before he took off in a full sprint, trying to catch up to the now moving train. He had to run with everything he had in him before he was able to grab a hold of the railing on the back of the train car. Once on the safe side of the railing, he collapsed onto the ground panting. He leaned his head back against the door of the train car as he looked at the now shrinking station. He was going home whether he wanted to or not now. 

After taking a few minutes to catch his breath, Taehyung finally stood and opened the door. Luckily very few people had gotten on the train at the last station. No one paid him any mind as he made he was down the little hallway. He peeked through the windows of every room before he finally found yours. 

He knocked on the door and waved to you. You gasped and stood to let him into the room. “Taehyung! What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t going to come.” 

He gave you his big boxy grin and shrugged. “I couldn’t let you go through New Orleans during Mardi Gras all on your own. If you’re going to be down there for as long as you say, you’ll be staying during it,” he said as he moved into the car and sat down on the seat across from where you had been sitting. 

He didn’t want to lie to you, but he also didn’t want to worry you. He wasn’t entirely sure what these feelings were, or if anything was actually going to happen. For now, it was best to just see how things went. He might not be able to do much, but he knows that if something happens, he needs to be there for you. 

You crossed your arms before sitting down across from him, trying to hide the smile that threatened to break onto your face. He actually did care enough to come with you. But you couldn’t let him know you wanted him here. You couldn’t let him know that it made that stomach ache go away. He’d never let you live it down if he did. You cleared your throat. “I can handle myself, you know.” 

He gave you a soft smile. “I’m sure you can. But I couldn’t get your voice out of my head.” He put his hands into his jacket pockets, his fingers moving over his tarot deck.  “I think I’ll regret it if I don’t go.”  

[dearmrj-loveme]

Dear Mr. J

I am stressed

Let me bring you back to last Monday. Everything was all good and normal, I worked my regular hours from 8 to 5 at my office job. Then from Wednesday to Friday I worked after my office job from 5 to 9. Needless to say I was very tired. I was okay though, Then on Friday my office mate decided to confide in my that she has put in her two weeks notice. I cried. But now I have even more work at work because they are giving me her work and I was originally doing some of the work she was doing. It stressed me out so much that I was losing hair. It was that freaking bad. I do not want it again. I am only 23 years old I do not want to be bald by the time I am 24 from stress. 

I am still waiting for my email from the college to let me know if I am accepted or not. Every day that goes by I get more and more anxious. I just want to be able to go back to school with no issues. I just want to learn and attempt to male my life even just a little bit better. I want to get my degree and find my place in this world. I want to fit in and be acknowledged for a job well done in something that I love doing.

I did see my therapist today and she made me delete all of the apps that I would spend money on: ex: Wish, Mercari, Tappytoon… to name a few. I have no self control at all. She literally called me an eight year old with a bank account. I could not defend myself because she is in fact right about that. She also told me I should think about opening a second bank account at a different bank and make it a savings account so that I could save money better. I think I might but I need to choose a bank first and I am very picky about stuff like this. She also told me that I need to take my meds everyday and to set an alarm so I don't forget. I am very bad at remembering to take my meds. oops.

My mom told me that once the house is fixed she will be putting it up on the market. I don't like the idea and it makes me uncomfortable but I do not blame her. I kind of always figured the house would always belong to my family. I have lived here almost my full life after all. I grew up in this house and it holds so many memories of my dad. I will miss it. However, since she has told me that I am now stressing on how much money I will need for a down payment on a house of my own. I want to get something small with a large backyard for Jaxon to run around in. I think he would like that very much. I cannot even dream of affording my own house right now but I am hoping for a brighter future. One where I am money smart and know how to handle my life better. 

So, I was at this bar on Saturday after a long day of babysitting and while I was there Trevdog got shit faced and jumped on stage with the band that was playing. He knew them so they weren't mad but then he fell into the drum set and then started singing with them. He got told by the owner or the music coordinator that he needed to get down and then they unplugged him mic. Trevdog got mad and tossed the mic stand into the crowd before stealing the lead singers mic. After that the whole show got shut down and they got kicked out. By far the craziest show I have been to in a while. I felt really bad for the band members since their set got ruined but they played it off pretty well. I will be going to another one of their shows and hopefully I can see the full set this time.

I have been trying to draw again but it has been so long. I lost the will to draw and write after my dad passed away. I am trying to get back my muse and get back into the arts again but it is very hard. All I can think out about is him while I try to draw a picture. The only time I can really do any art anymore is when I have a mental breakdown and paint something new on my walls. If I ever get a drawing out of me I will be sure to post it. 

[peterparkyourassonme]

mr. hot stuff; tom holland [rewrite+new chapters] ONE

pairing; tom holland!teacher x student!reader word count; 4.4k summary; mr. holland is a fairly new science teacher at the readers high school. she might be surprised when she finds out her inappropriate crush on him is mutual warning; teacher x student NOTE; I am rewriting this series. this is the old first two chapters edited and rewritten into one longer chapter. same will follow for the unedited chapter three and four next week. after I’ll post a complete new chapter. ENJOY!  my other work| part two | three 

‘Bye mom’. You step out of the car and wave your mom goodbye before shutting the door behind you and sighing. First day of school, senior year. The only thing you have to do today is pick up your schedule and get introduced to new teachers all day. The first day of school isn’t ever that bad. It’s not a lot of work. 

You walked up to the doors when you got a pat on your shoulder. ‘(Y/n)!’ Your best friend greets you. ‘Oh my god, (B/F/N)! How are you?’ You hug her closely. ‘Well, first day of school, eh’ She gives you a half smile. ‘Same’ you laugh together. You hadn’t seen her in a while since you have been working most summer. Of course you had some sleepovers and you went shopping together, but it hadn’t been the summer you dreamed of.

(B/F/N) looks to her side where her eyes meet one of the cutest teachers in the school. Well, not one of the cutest. The cutest. ‘Mr. Hot stuff has returned for another year’ (B/F/N) comments as you watch him walk into the school. You  always call him Mr. Hot stuff, because you both hadn’t picked up his name over the last year. Neither of you had had him as a teacher. ‘Let’s get our schedules’ You say. (B/F/N) nods and hooks her arm with yours.

‘We barely have any classes together!’ You exclaim. ‘This is cruel’ (B/F/N) yells. ‘We’ve got to at least have science together, right?’ You ask with a sigh.

Senior year will suck if you don’t have classes with (B/F/N).

‘I don’t know, I have science from..’ She looks over her schedule. ‘Mrs. Johnson, damn it. I hate her’ (B/F/N) says with a disappointed expression on her face, the poor girl despises Mrs. Johnson.

‘Let’s see… Mr. Holland? I’ve never heard of that teacher. It does mean we don’t. have. science. together..’ You say, clearly annoyed. ‘You have got to be kidding me. I gotta be honest I have no clue who that is.’ She says disappointedly. (B/F/N) and you chatted a bit before the bell rang. 

‘Shit, I gotta go. See you at lunch’ (B/F/N) says to finish off the conversation and speeds off into the crowd. ‘See ya’ You softly say, but she’s already to far away to hear.

You sigh and pull a hand through your hair. Who knew the first day could have such a disappointing start. You didn’t really want to go to class now. So you stand still in the hall, staring and thinking at and about nothing, waiting for the crowd to become smaller. You sigh once more and turn around. 

Crash! 

You walk headfirst into someones chest, losing your balance and falling to the ground. Seconds later a hot liquid spills over your head and onto clothes. You gasp in pain. On your way to the ground you had twisted your leg, in result you sprain your ankle. You reach for your foot. ‘Fuck’ you curse under your breath.

‘Shit, I’m so sorry’ a British, male, voice speaks up. British? You wipe the drink, that appears to be hot tea, off of your face and look up to look Mr. Hot stuff right in his eyes.

‘Are you okay?’ He asks and squats in front you. You feel your face heat up. You and (B/F/N) had been drooling over this man since he had first entered the school. Never had you known his name, age or the subject he teaches. Or even that he’s British.

‘I think so. My ankle hurts.’ You say and looked at your ankle. His eyes widen in worry. ‘A- and I feel a bit dizzy’ You add. ‘Uh-h I’ll take you to the school nurse.. let’s do that. Can you stand up for me, love?’ He seemed really scared. Like he was about to be fired. Or something like that.

He holds out his hand for you to take. You shiver at his touch. His hand folds tightly around yours. He tried to pull you up, supporting your back with his other hand while you tried to balance on one foot. ‘Okay, now try to stand on your other foot, slowly’. He supports you by holding you around your waist, your arm was around his shoulder. You put your foot down on the floor and bite your lip in pain. ‘Maybe we shouldn’t do that’ He comments, seeing that you’re definitely in pain. You both chuckle at his comment.

‘Do you know where the nurses office is? It’s my second year and-’ He started rambling about that he hadn’t visited the nurse before. ‘It’s close to the gym’ You say. ‘That’s.. all the way across the school’ He concludes and combs his hands through his hair in frustration. ‘Is it okay if I…?’ He gestures towards your body with his hands. ‘Hm’ you hummed and nod yes. He scoops you up and carries you to the nurses office.

You couldn’t believe it. Your life isn’t that exciting. And here you are in the arms of “Mr. Hot stuff”. It’s the craziest thing that had happened to you at school ever.

His body was warm and tight. His torso pressed against the side of yours. One of his arms is underneath the cavity of your knees and the other supports your back. You hold onto him, arms around his neck. You don’t even know each other, but it could’ve been more awkward. You tried not to lean your head on him, that’s a bit weird in your opinion.

You and Mr. Hot stuff had rushed into the nurses office. Luckily there was no one else. ‘Oh girl, what happened to you. You can sit her down there, handsome’ The nurse winks at the teacher that worriedly carried you to the table. The school nurse was a very sweet middle aged woman. ‘We were b-both in a rush and I knocked her over when we walked into each other. She must’ve twisted her ankle and she said she feels a bit dizzy and-’ She stopped his rambling and starts taking. ‘Okay, now get out of my office she’s gonna be fine’ The nurse says. 

‘She is? Great, that’s great’ He sighs in relief. ‘I’m gonna try and catch up with my class, are you sure she’s gonna be okay?’ He had moved to the door opening, leaning on it. ‘She’s gonna be just fine’.

‘Okay, good. Again I’m so sorry for causing this’ He gestured to you. ‘No worries’ You say. He gave you a dashing smile before disappearing. The nurse started to look at your ankle.

‘Was that your boyfriend? He must be a little older than you’ She commented. You chuckled at her comment. She gave you some aspirin. ‘I’m pretty sure he’s a teacher, but I have no clue who he is or what he teaches’.

‘How’s your head?’ She asks. ‘I’m not dizzy anymore, I just have a bit of a headache’ you rub your head. ‘Your ankle will be fine, you take a quick nap right here to cure your headache and you’ll be good before next period.’

•••••

After an hour you were woken up and carried on with your day. At lunch you told (B/F/N) what had happened and she flipped out. Before you knew it eight period rolled around, science from Mr. Holland. You finally get to find out who he is.

You get to the class and when you finally got to the door to give Mr. Holland a handshake you were face to face with that dashing smile once again. He shook your hand before realizing it was you. ‘Mr. Holland-’ he starts and then realizes it’s you. His eyes lit up and the corners of his mouth turned up again. ‘Hey, you’re okay’ he lets go of your hand. ‘Yeah, got some aspirin, am doing fine’ you smile. ‘Good, I was kind of worried’ he scratches the back of his neck and chuckles. ‘I’m (Y/n), by the way’.

•••••

You were on the phone with (B/f/n), talking about Mr. Holland or Tom, as you’d like to call him. ‘It’s been two months since I first entered his class and I’m failing, because he’s distracting me. Not on purpose, but still. He is just so hot. And he’s a great teacher, but he’s an amazing person as well’. You say. ‘Maybe you should transfer,’ You both start laughing. ‘I’ll admit I’ll never do that, please don’t transfer I love your Tom stories’ she says. ‘Me too hah- I’m sorry I have to go my mom’s calling me’

‘(Y/n)!’ you hear your mom from outside your door. ‘What?’ You ask as you open the door. She storms into your room with your grade list on her phone. ‘I got an email from school and it’s not looking good. Do I need to take your phone away again? Or should I give your house arrest? You decide. Is (B/F/N) in your science class, because honestly this is just ridiculous. She must be distracting you. She’s exactly like her mother, god.’

‘Mom I’m doing the best I can!’ you go against her. Your mom started rambling about (B/f/n).

‘Well, she’s not the distraction’ you mumble to yourself. You look back to your mom. 

‘She’s not even in that class!’

‘Well, you better fix this’ she pointed at you and was about to close the door. ‘I will gosh’. You held the doorknob and slammed it in her face. ‘Stop being so disrespectful!’ She yells once more before you hear her stomping down the stairs. ‘Christ’ You say with a scrunched up face.

•••••

‘That will be all, class dismissed’ Mr. Holland says. Students raise from their seats and rush out the door. You take all the time you need to collect your notes and pens. You hang your bag over your shoulder and leave your seat. ‘Bye Mr. H’ you were about to walk out of the classroom when Tom stopped you.

‘Actually (Y/n), could you stay back for a second?’ Mr. Holland asks. You feel your face heat up and you start to stutter. ‘Yeah, yeah sure, what for?’ you put your back down again and take a seat at one of the lab tables. He took the seat next to you.

‘(Y/n), you haven’t been doing exactly great in my class. And I get it, science can be boring and difficult, but I believe that you can get through this year with a little bit of a push. So I would like to offer you tutoring sessions after school or in free periods’ He proposes.

Tutoring sessions. “great” you think. It’s not like you were gonna say no. ‘Sure. I hope it’ll help boost my grade’ You say. ‘It will, trust me.’ He smiled at you. Butterflies rushed through your stomach. Just because of that smile. Than it occurred to you. You’d get to spend extra time with Tom, just the two of you. Now that’s not too shabby.

‘What time do you finish classes today?’ He asks you. ‘Around four’ you respond. ‘Hm what about tomorrow?’. ‘Two thirty’. He sighed. ‘Would you mind showing me your schedule?’ 

‘Oh not at all’ you say and pull your phone out or your pocket. ‘We could meet up on Monday and Friday. On Monday I’ll go through all the new information with you and on Friday we’ll go through everything we did throughout the week. Sound good?’ He looks at you. A little curl of his hair gets out of the grip of his hair gel and fall onto his forehead. You admired how precious he is. And nod in agreement.

‘Bye Mr. Holland, thanks for the offer’ You wave goodbye and walked out of the door he was leaning against. ‘Anytime (Y/n). I’ll see you in class’ He smiles at you as he watches you walk away.

•••••

You did not think the tutoring was gonna help, but it actually did. Your mom hadn’t been paying a lot of attention to you when your grade raised. She was too busy with other things to focus on you at the moment. At first you didn’t know, but after a while your parents sat you down and started the conversation that flipped you life around.

‘We’re getting a divorce.’

As if it couldn’t get any worse. It’s such an unfamiliar situation to you. You don’t know how process it. The next week sucked. Since you didn’t get a good nights rest, you weren’t able to focus on anything. You don’t tell (B/f/n). You aren’t ready. It was a form of denial. Class was a blur. You did not care about anything. You just want to go home and hide in bed.

You looked at the clock. In five minutes class would end. You watched the hands of the clock tick every time another sixty seconds passed. ‘Class dismissed, have a good weekend everyone.’ your Spanish teacher says and snapped you out of your trance. ‘Finally’ you think to yourself.

You walk to your locker to get your coat. You put some of your books in when you hear your name echo through the now empty halls. You turn your head around. You see Tom at the end of the hall with his bag in his hand, his coat hangs over his arm. With he other hand he waves at you. ‘I was gonna get some tea, do you want any? Free drink am I right’ He asks with a little wink.

Shit.

You forgot it’s Friday. You have tutoring today. You hold the air in your lungs back so you won’t rudely sigh. ‘I’d like some coffee if that’s alright?’ You give him an apologetic smile.

‘Naturally, I’ll see you in 5 minutes’. He walks away and you sigh deeply. Tears build up in your eyes. You sigh once more, wipe away your tears and slammed your locker door shut.

You walk into the classroom you and Tom had planned to meet. When you walk through the door you bump right into him. You fall to the ground and he falls right on top of you. Tom tilts his head up. He looks at you and pushes a strand of hair out of your face. ‘Are you okay?’

You nod yes. He gets up with a grunt and then pulls you up. ‘Bit of a deja vu there’ He chuckles. ‘Well, it actually happened before’ You laugh with him. ‘I’m glad I don’t have tea with me this time’. You both laugh and get inside.

••••���

‘Y/n are you with me?’ Tom softly snaps his fingers in front of your face. You pull your head up from your fist and you removed your elbow from the table. ‘You’ve been a little distracted today is everything alright?’ He puts a comforting hand on your upper arm. ‘I’m fine.’ you flash him a weak smile.

Tears prickled your eyes.

‘You’re clearly not. (Y/n) what’s going on?’

He squeezes your arm and turns his upper body towards you. ‘I don’t know..’. you mumble. ‘Is it about a guy? Or a girl that’s fine too. You’re doing fine in school so uh’ He rambles on. 

‘My parents are getting divorced’ You clear the air. ‘Oh’ was all he said. ‘And.. ‘ you hesitate on opening up to him, but you decide to anyway. ‘my mom is acting crazy and it’s driving me crazy. I’m tired all the time, it doesn’t matter how much sleep I get. I haven’t really been seeing my friends that often because I have a job after school and well, these tutoring sessions two times a week. Everything just seems like it’s working against me.. I-i’ You wipe away a tear and sob. Your look down at your fidgeting hands as you sigh, tears falling from your eyes. Tom’s jaw was dropped and his eyes were soft. 

‘Oh my god this is so embarrassing. I’m sorry’ you say and loathe yourself.

He wasn’t sure of what he was about to do, but he just went for it. ‘No it’s okay.. c’mere’ he softly says as he reaches forward to you. You move with him and you both stand up embracing each other. Your hands creep around his waist and you rest your head against his chest. His arms travel around you and rest above your arms. One of his hands hold the back of your head. The side of his head was pressed against the top of yours.

Ever since Tom had bumped into you that first day of school he felt there was a special connection between the two of you. The tutoring sessions had made his feelings grow stronger and stronger. He knew it was wrong , but he couldn’t help himself. The time had finally come where he could just hold you tight and keep you in his arms without feeling guilty. The feeling that he was doing something extremely wrong. That would disgust others.

He inhales your scent and strokes your hair. You keep sobbing against his chest. ‘It’s gonna be alright’ He whispers and sways you from side to side.

You stand there for awhile, hugging, you sobbing, him whispering things to soothe you. Your heartbeat starts to settle and your breathing pattern stabilizes. You pull away from him even tho you don’t want to. ‘I’m so sorry’ You immediately say and wipe away your tears. ‘No, no it’s okay’ Tom says and lets go of you.

“I want to be here for you, (Y/n). I see you’re going through a rough time and I’m here for you, I can help you through this” Thoughts like these bounced around his head, but he kept them there. ‘Let’s call it a day’ Tom gestures towards the studying equipment on the table. You nod with a smile.

Tom closes up the classroom and walks you to your locker as if he was one of your friends or a fellow student. You were deep in conversation and hadn’t even realized you were already at the door. He holds the door open for you. You smile at the gesture and walk down the front stairs of the school. Tom had to go to the parking lot and you had to go to the opposite direction since you didn’t have a car and the bus didn’t drive at this hour. ‘I have to go left’ You say as you were about to say goodbye. ‘Wait, are you walking home?’ Tom asks. ‘Yeah, I mean it’s just a thirty minute walk’ You shrug.

‘Let me give you a ride’ Tom offers. ‘Mr. Holland, you don’t have to-’ You politely decline. ‘I know, but I want to. I’d rather get you home save’. He smiles at you. ‘Okay, I guess’ you gave in and walk to his car with him. ‘Nice ride’ you compliment him on his car. ‘Thanks’ he says with a chuckle.

Silence falls during the car ride. You had been on the road for about ten minutes. ‘Thank you Mr. H-’ you weren’t finished yet, but Tom cut you off. His eyes were focused on the road. One hand on the wheel the other on his thigh. He had gotten out of his blazer so now he was wearing a shirt that was unbuttoned at the top. Curls dangle upon his forehead. It was a pretty hot sight. ‘You can call me Tom i-if you’d like’ He wanted to slap himself. “Smooth one” he thinks to himself. ‘Sure. Thank you.. Tom. For helping me and being here. A-and for the ride of course’. You say with a little smile even tho he couldn’t see it. Your face as red as a strawberry. ‘Of course, anytime (Y/n). If there’s something that’s bothering you or you’re not feeling well, know that I’m there for you.’ The soothing words smoothly came out of his mouth. You smiled down at your lap.

•••••

Weeks had gone by. Your parents were still fighting a lot and you couldn’t wait for this divorce to be done and one of them out of the house.

It’s Monday and you are in your tutoring session.

‘(Y/n), as much as I enjoy our sessions I don’t feel like you need them anymore. We honestly don’t talk about science anymore’ Tom says 10 minutes in. No. Nooo!, you didn’t want it to end. You had gotten to know Tom over these weeks. He is a 23 year old science teacher from London. He transferred to the US because he got offered a great deal here and it was always a dream of his to live in America. He has 3 brothers and a dog named Tessa. He always dreamed of being an actor, but his passion for teaching was bigger and since he was quite the genius he graduated early and became a very young teacher.

‘How’s things at home tho?’ He keeps the conversation going. ‘Not great. They just yell all day. About nothing. “You parked your car to far away from the house, asshole” you imitate your mother. ‘Language’ Tom says trying to come off as serious but he starts laughing soon after and so do you. ‘Just imagining having to go back there today.. it’s exhausting’ you sigh.

‘(Y/n), since we’re done with science.. I uh.. I could- we could grab a coffee or something. I know a place just out of town’. He had you at ‘we could’. ‘I’m sorry that must’ve sounded disturbing. I mean you wouldn’t have to go home for like another hour or so. ’ he suggests. ‘I’d really like that, actually’ you smile up at him.

‘You go get your stuff, I’ll pick you up at the lot exit. So no one gets suspicious’ he awkwardly chuckles. You couldn’t blame him you both knew he was right. You nod and go to your locker.

You stuff all your books into your locker so your bag won’t be heavy. You take some lip gloss out of you bag and apply a thin coat of the glossy liquid while looking into the little mirror on your locker door. As you swipe the brush against your lips a thought occurs to you. “You’re technically going on a date” The thought makes you blush. “A date with a man. An older man. Who is you’re teacher. He can lose his job (Y/n)”. You think. ‘Shit’ you whisper. But you decide to just go with it and be selfish for a little while.

Tom took you to a nice and cozy cafe. Very warm. Much like an idea of a home. You sit in a booth, knees touching. ‘I hope this isn’t.. weird for you’ he said and looked at you while sipping his tea. 

‘I mean being here with you is great.. it’s good, but I mean thinking of the way we’re connected it is pretty strange, isn’t it?’ you responded and took a sip of your own drink. ‘True. As long as I’m not making you uncomfortable-’. ‘You’re not. We connect on some kinda level which makes this feel, normal? Like we know each other really well. Like you aren’t my teacher’ You lowered your voice as you mentioned his position. You both were comfortable, but of course it was a little awkward. ‘I feel that too. That connection’ He said. You glanced at each other and both looked back at the table.

You and (B/f/n) had been growing apart over the last few weeks.

“You’re always away. Working, having issues with your parents, studying or being all over Tom” some examples of what she had cried about before. “I have to earn money, my parents are getting divorced and I have to keep working on my grade. Mr. Holland is helping me with that!” You stressed his name. “You don’t even think about our friendship anymore.”  “(B/f/n), once the next break is here and the divorce is done I’ll have so much time. We’ll have so much time together”

“I don’t have time to wait” she said coldly.

“What do you mean?” You asked, your mouth opened in shock.

“You can go find a new best friend. I would tell you to go fuck yourself but why don’t you go fuck Tom instead” she walked to your front door and looked back once more. “And when you do fuck him, let me remind you that he’s 23 and you just turned 17. He’s an adult, you’re a minor. he’s your teacher, you’re his student.” She opened the door before walking out she said; “What you’re doing is illegal”. With that she walked out slammed the door behind her.

“Screw you!” You yelled back, but she was gone.

‘So how are you and your friend uh.. (B/f/n)-’ he snaps his fingers in front of his face as he remembers the name. ‘- how are you two?’. You cringe, because of the mention. ‘I can go find a new best friend.. in her words’ you chuckle thinking about her. How stupid the fight was and how you miss her, even tho she was being quite a bitch. ‘So not good, huh?’ he gives you an apologetic smile. You shake your head no. You and Tom keep talking. About deep stuff, but also about nonsense. More than an hour had passed and you both had some drinks. Tom looks down at his watch and asks for the check. You reach over to your bag. But Tom insists on paying.

•••••

‘That was fun’ Tom says as you’re driving back. ‘Definitely. It was the highlight of my week.’ You say with a smile painted on your face. ‘Well, maybe..’ he mumbled. One of his hands is on the wheel another clenched into a fist and presses against his face as his elbow rests against the window. ‘maybe we should uh.. we should do it again sometime?’ his voice pitched as he asks you. Your smile widens and you grin. ‘What? I couldn’t understand you, your hand was in your mouth’ You tease him. He lets out a soft laugh at your comment and hangs his head down with a smile. ‘I asked if you wanted to do it again sometime, maybe?’ he coughs to steady his voice and removes his hand from his face and waves it around. ‘I’d love that, Tom’. His eyes widen and his eyebrows raise. ‘Well, how about we do it on Monday on tutor hours? You don’t need it anymore anyway’.

‘Sounds like a plan.’

-

sunday night 9:30 pm

I got some work to do. Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow ;) - thomas

Ugh same I still have some homework to do. See you tomorrow! :))) - (Y/n)

••••• IM BAAAAACK, again. It’s been over a year since I first released mr. hot stuff and I love this series. I was sad about the fact I never finished it. life got in the way. but since it’s summer I decided to put some life back into this story. but i want to start fresh. if i’d just upload part five no one will read it since people who read it probably don’t remember. so im rewriting this and putting more thought into the character, story line, grammer.. and hope to deliver quality content. I decided to mash part 1+2 and 3+4 together so they turn into 2 larger chapters. And a new part is coming! you can expect part two next week. im glad im back. 

if you have any requests, comments or concerns you can hit up my ask box! if you want to be tagged let me know. and if your friendly and want to talk? my dms are always open :)

MRHS tags; @agirlwithpointlessideas @bishopl @bloodysleepy @zon-chan @mad-kidx9  @spider-strange-iron-loki @bubbles1642 @meerkovo37 permanent tags; @smexylemony @tom-hollands-blog @quackson-queen @randomsandfandoms1967 @the-hero-of-queens @princess-chocolate-drop @justanothershawngirl @rumoured-whispers @elenapatricia99 @dashlilymark @angelicvipbeauty

have a lovely night and I’ll see you soon <3

-sab