#I don’t have a vinyl player or else I’d of gotten it

[theworstcreature]

NEOTHEATER SPOTTED

[aiden21]

A Universe of Coincidences Present Mic x gn!Reader

Word count: 4k+

You’d moved into this new apartment expecting nothing other than a change in scenery. You’d initially fallen in love with the view that your balcony provided. You were on a high enough floor that no other building nearby really got in the way, and if you closed one eye and stretched out one hand, it kinda looked like you were holding some of the city in the palm of your hand. You didn’t even care about the fact that the apartment itself was a little small, and you spent most of your free time out on the balcony in a small garden chair, just gazing out at the world happily.

You only went out a few times a week for anything that wasn’t work, this afternoon being one such case, for groceries or other necessities. You had a small list in your hand, not trusting your memory, and got in the elevator. The doors were about to close when you heard someone running and you instinctively pressed the button to keep the doors open. A man trotted inside the elevator, a charming smile on his face.

“Thank you~” He told you, in clear English, and you smiled shyly back at him.

You shook your wrist out of pure instinct, the charms on your bracelet clinging together. It was a black bracelet with red roses and you realized the man was staring at it with cheerful eyes.

“Did you just move in? I don’t think I’ve seen you around this venue before.” He asked, green eyes sparkling behind a modest pair of glasses. He was cute, you told yourself, with his long blonde hair and little mustache.

“I’ve been in 1407 for a few days.” You said, offering your last name and a polite smile. He hummed, nodded, and then when the elevator reached the ground floor all too quickly, he pointed at you with a finger gun.

“Welcome to the building! Enjoy the show!” He said before walking out while whistling happily, his strides much longer than yours. You waved at his back dumbly, already getting the feeling that you knew him from somewhere. You pondered upon that as you walked to the store, feeling like you had the answer on the tip of your tongue. But, alas, you didn’t think you’d ever seen that man face to face before and so you pushed the thought out of your mind for a while.

The following morning found you in comfy clothes, the sliding door to the balcony wide open to let the breeze in. You were unpacking a few things, hanging some decorations, while your favorite album played in the background. You had one of those modern vinyl players along with five of your favorite records, all a gift from your family last Christmas, and you liked to listen to them like that, even though you had the songs on your phone. It’d be a shame to just let the vinyls gather dust, after all. You sang along, placing things on shelves and stacking empty boxes on top of one another. You were far from being a good singer, but being home alone gave you the confidence to try and hold longer harmonies or reach higher notes, all things you wouldn’t be caught doing out in public.

You half danced your way around your living room, putting things in their new places. You stepped out into your balcony, still singing happily. You looked at your plants, reminding yourself that you had to water them once the sun went down.

You stretched, butchering the high note on the song but belting it out regardless, and then you stopped dead when another, much more harmonious voice joined you. Apartments on the same floors technically all shared one long balcony, but it’d been divided by walls on either side so everyone could have their privacy. Thus, you couldn’t actually see who was out on their balcony. But the voice—male, for what you could tell—sounded impossibly close. They kept on singing along to your music, clearly not caring about being heard, and you ran back inside with a hand over your mouth, blushing like crazy.

You tripped on the rug and cursed out loud, knocking over a stack of books. Outside the voice laughed cheerfully and you wanted to bury yourself alive out in the garden. Thankfully, they said nothing after that and, not having seen their face, you managed to swallow down your embarrassment. You pushed back the feeling that you knew that voice, not wanting to even think about what neighbor had caught you singing like a teenager.

You came back from work one day feeling exhausted. You wanted nothing more than to climb into bed, listen to some music, and go to sleep. You stepped inside the building and immediately the guard stopped you in the lobby. He pointed you towards some boxes—at least ten boxes big enough to fit a medium-sized dog inside—and told you that they were yours. Of course they were. During your move a few of your things had gotten lost, you having moved from one end of Japan onto the other, and the moving company had promised you that the boxes had simply gotten mixed up in someone else’s move. You half believed that you’d never see those things again, but lo and behold, you got your things back. Now to get them up to your apartment all by yourself, since the guard couldn’t leave his post at the gate. Wonderful.

The first box was easy.

The third one felt a little heavier.

The seventh one had you gasping and you were honestly considering just leaving the rest of your stuff in the lobby until the end of times. You were tired and annoyed and hungry and still in your work clothes.

The elevator opened with a cheerful ding and you sighed, dragging your feet and taking another box with the word ‘books’ written on top. You attempted to lift it, the air leaving your lungs on that first attempt before you got a better hold of the box. Your back was killing you and your arms hurt, but you carried on towards the elevator. Unable to use your hands, you attempted to balance on one leg so you could free one hand just long enough to call the elevator, but no such luck. You lost your balance and, while you caught yourself in time, the box was heading straight for the floor. But then, fast as lightning, a hand reached out and caught the side you’d lost your grip upon.

“That was close! Almost missed a beat!” He said and you immediately smiled in relief.

“Thank you,” You said, a nervous laugh escaping you. You tried to take the box back, but the blonde man easily took it from you with a friendly smile. He was wearing a flattering red jacket and stylish black pants, his hair pulled back into a messy bun.

“I got it.”

You felt a little awkward, a little dumb, a thousand things, “I don’t wanna bother you.”

“No problemo. Happy to help!” He responded cheerfully, anchoring the box with his hip, and easily calling for the elevator himself. You felt hot under your shirt and you weren’t sure if it was because of the effort of the past boxes or what.

No, fuck it, you knew what it was.

“Hold on, let me get another one before the elevator gets here,” You said, practically running away. There were three boxes left, and you read over the words written on them to try and decide which one would be the easiest one to carry. Or should you take a heavier one? Which would be less embarrassing? You finally picked one that said ‘pictures’ and made your way back, getting inside the already open elevator. He looked over your head, chuckling at the sight of boxes still left behind. He put his box down and told you to wait and you watched in absolute dismay as he stacked the two remaining boxes one on top of the other, easily—easily, the smooth bastard— carrying them over.

You were beet red when he got in the elevator with you, his happy-go-lucky smile threatening to burn you.

“Not to pry, but what’s all this?” He said, almost teasingly, and you had to look away.

“Some boxes went missing during my move. I already got everything else in my apartment.” You said shyly. He hummed, nodding. When you got to the 14th floor, he got off the elevator with two boxes while you carried the other two, thankful that he’d allowed you to help him. He was the one helping you, you knew that, but you still felt embarrassed at the fact.

He’s just a normal neighbor, he’s being friendly.

You got to your door and you pushed it open with your hip, wincing internally at how plain and messy your place was. You lived alone and many of your things had been missing, so you hadn’t bothered with some of your things. Your favorite record was on the counter, right where he placed the boxes he’d helped carry. You turned to steal a glance at his face and you saw him pursing his lips together, trying almost in vain to bite a smile back and you wanted to jump out the window. Still, you inhaled slowly and pushed your embarrassment back, offering him a smile.

“Thanks for the help, really.”

“My pleasure. I’m here all week.” He shot at you with finger guns, almost posing as he did so, and you giggled. He was a little goofy, but you liked that.

“Do you want some help with unpacking?” He asked but you shook your head immediately. “N-no, I’m okay. Thank you, though, I really owe you one!” You gave him a wide, bright smile, and he stared at you for a second. His brows raised a little beneath his glasses and you looked down on instinct, thinking you’d made a weird face. Then you perked up, turning towards your kitchen.

“Oh! Would you like some water? I can also make some tea or coffee if you’d like!” You sounded nervous, you couldn’t help it, but you knew it was the polite thing to do now that he was inside your house.

“I’d love to, but I gotta bounce.” He said, smiling apologetically. You stopped to look at him and then, almost embarrassed, you walked towards the door by his side. “Duty calls, the crowd is cheering, you know how it is.”

You nodded, not really understanding what he meant but smiling regardless. He gave you a small salute and started walking away, you already closing your door behind him. Then, right before it locked,

“It’s Yamada, by the way.”

“Huh?” You asked, reopening the door and peeking your head out. He had another easy-going smile on his lips.

“My name. You told me yours but I haven’t told you mine. I’m Yamada.” With that, he left.

You closed your door with a dumb smile, pinching your cheeks to try and stop yourself from blushing like a teen. You were a grown adult for crying out loud, your cute neighbor helping you out shouldn’t be something to fluster over. Still, you smiled.

You sat right in the division between your balcony and your living room, wanting to feel the night breeze but also wanting to listen to your radio. The device was inside and the volume was low out of respect for your neighbors, and you sighed contentedly as one song ended and another began. Your breath blew away the steam coming out of your mug and you smiled, taking a small sip of your drink. It was a beautiful night, the view of the city looking as if stars had landed on the ground, lights twinkling everywhere.

You always had trouble falling asleep, no matter what you tried. Tea and music helped a little, but at your core, you were a night owl. Most days were the same, you working into the early morning just to make the most out of your nights, but Friday was different. Because on Fridays Present Mic did his radio show and you absolutely loved it. Three hours of music, both foreign and local, only interrupted by one of the most charismatic, funniest heroes out there. What wasn’t there to love?

And now that you had your new place, with that gorgeous view, well, you could’ve stayed out there forever.

“And we’re back! How did you like the new song, listeners?” A familiar, animated voice flowed out of your speakers.

“Tonight, my lovely listeners, I’d like to pose you all with a little situation.” He said, something he did every week without fault. He would ask something to the audience and then, after a few more songs, he’d read a few of the responses he got online. It was sweet and fun and a nice way to interact with his audience, not to mention the only way you had to even speak a word to the guy. For as long as you’d watched the show, your responses had only been read twice thus far and, while frustrated to not get your favorite hero’s attention more often, you were still happy with those two little shoutouts.

“Pardon if I get a little cheesy, but sometimes the melodies of the soul grow tender and you can’t help but wonder a few things.”

You took another sip of your tea, Twitter open in your phone just so you could answer as fast as possible.

“Do you think sometimes life works in our favor?” He paused, chuckled, and then cleared his throat. “See, I think we attract things our way. We write our own songs, if you will. But sometimes I’ll have these moments, where the universe really seems to be trying to get my attention and I won’t be able to tell if it’s really a sign as much as it is a coincidence, you feel me?”

You listened to him intently, your phone forgotten by your side. It was… odd. Really odd. You’d heard this man’s voice over the radio for years but something felt different at that moment. Maybe it was the tone of voice, or the subject being discussed, or who knows what, but you got a different feeling this time. But what was it?

“See, I’ve gotten a few this last week. And I’m sure you all get them all the time. And now I’m thinking that, maybe, if the universe sings to you, it’s only polite to join in, harmonize.”

Something crossed your mind, a quick flash, but you shook your head out of pure instinct. No. There was no way.

“My question, or challenge more like it, to you this week is this: if you think you’ve heard the call recently, answer it. Cause you never know who might be listening to you.”

You saw a flash of green eyes, you remembered two elevator rides, but you kept shaking your head. You even laughed, thinking yourself a total idiot. It was impossible, right? I mean sure the voice was eerily familiar, but that was just a coincidence...

Right?

“Of course, as the dutiful host that I am, I can’t ask you to jam out without a proper beat, so I’ll start. Here’s my attempt at seeing if this week has been anything other than coincidences.”

He went silent and you held your breath for a moment, your expression stuck somewhere between mocking and panicked. Then the next song started playing and it took you about two seconds to recognize it. Was the record sleeve still on the counter? Was the vinyl still beneath the needle, waiting to resume that same, exact song?

A few things crossed your mind at that moment. The superficial, more impulsive side of you kinda wanted to toss the radio out the window. The more intense side of you wanted to scream, because Goddammit, HOW HAD YOU NOT RECOGNIZED HIM AT ANY POINT!? Sure, the few times you two had crossed paths he’d been dressed in civilian clothes, he’d been wearing seeing glasses, and his hair had been held together by a simple bun, rather than the crazy updo that he usually wore. But still, you chided yourself, you’d shared an elevator with him twice already. You’d talked to him, face to face. He’d been inside your home, for crying out loud!

How? Hoooooow?

You groaned, letting your back hit the ground while you covered your face in absolute shame. You stayed down until the song was over and, as other songs played, you started going through every stage of grief, in order.

There was no way, absolutely no way. It was just a coincidence, that was all. Your neighbor just happened to be blonde and handsome and also happened to make a few musical references as he spoke, but that was normal. Anyone could do that. Besides, you’d never seen him in costume; there’s no way a respectable hero would go out wearing casual clothes. What if they ran into danger?

How had you not put the pieces together earlier? You were such an idiot, just talking to him as if he was a normal, cute guy. How had you let him carry your boxes for you!? He probably thought you were so dumb by now. How could you be so blind, so DEAF!? HE’D EVEN TOLD YOU HIS LAST NAME! Why had God cursed you with such stupidity?

At this point he started talking again, reading out some of the responses he’d gotten and encouraging people to ‘go for it!’

Oh God, there was no way you’d ever be able to look him in the eye again. You’d never be able to listen to that song again without thinking of how badly you’d messed up, how badly you’d probably offended him by not recognizing him. You’d just moved in, too, and you didn’t think you’d ever be able to step foot outside again. Why had he even played that song? Had he been the one to sing with you and then laugh at you? Oh great. He knew you were an idiot. Wonderful. It was over. Your life was over.

No, wait, maybe there was some way to fix this. Maybe he hadn’t been the one to sing and laugh, maybe he’d just listened to that from his own balcony and found it funny. Maybe this ‘sign’ was meant for the other person, the one that sang so much better than you. Maybe you were making all of it up in your head, a stupid fan moment where you really wanted him to know you, really wanted to be that close to him without even knowing. Besides, you could still sell the apartment and move somewhere far away.

You groaned again, pulling at your hair. You stared at the ceiling as the music stopped, as he gave his audience his usual, animated goodnight, even as the night air grew colder. It must have been sometime past midnight when you finally decided to act like a normal adult once more. You got up, switched the radio off, and closed your balcony door. You heaved a sigh, suddenly craving another cup of tea and a nice, long bath.

You shoved a mug full of water inside the microwave, not in the mood to boil the water properly. You watched the cup go round and round, the loud humming of the appliance giving you a crumb of comfort. You had to relax, you told yourself. Everything would be fine.

The sound of the power outage mimicked a sad sigh, the absolute silence of your apartment slapping you in the face. You sighed, resting your forehead against the counter. If the universe really did send out signs, then you wanted to slap the universe smack dab across the face. You glanced outside and, sure enough, all of the buildings and houses in your area had been plunged into absolute darkness.

“Anything else?” You asked to the heavens, slightly annoyed.

From the hallway, you heard a loud crash and a high-pitched yelp, and you sighed as dramatically as you could. You grabbed your phone, turned on the flashlight, and ventured out.

It was kinda creepy, you weren’t gonna lie. You hadn’t lived in there for long enough to grow familiar with anything, so the pitch-black hallway made you shiver. It was like a horror movie set up, you thought as you turned. You’d look down the other end of the hall and a monster would be waiting for you, ready to strike you down.

Except, it wasn’t a ghost or a ghoul. It was Yamada—should you call him Present Mic? Which would be less awkward to you?— with his green eyes wide and his hands outstretched. He’d knocked over one of those silver cylinders where buildings hide their fire extinguishers and you blinked a little at the sight. Why did he look so guilty?

“You okay?” You asked, stepping out of your apartment. You were glad that the light was aimed away from you, cause you knew you looked flustered and dumb.

“My phone died.” He offered as an explanation and you nodded as he placed the metallic container back in place. You shined your light down the hall, landing on the elevator and shivering.

“Thank God you didn’t get trapped in there.” You murmured. He looked up at you, then at the elevator and you saw him shivering. When he turned to face you, he looked sheepish.

“That would have been quite the show ender, huh?” He chuckled and you kinda smiled at him in the dark. This wasn’t awkward, why were you making it awkward on yourself?

You shone your light on the ground so he could make it over to you without tripping again, not that there were any other obstacles in the way. He gave you a disarming smile and suddenly you wanted to run back into your apartment and never come out again. Still, with the power out, your nice side won the battle raging in your chest.

“Which one’s your apartment?” You asked, almost a mumble. Yamada looked at you, blinking a few times, and you waved the light around a little. “I’ll walk you over. Wouldn’t wanna leave you in the dark.”

“Thanks!” He said, in English, and you nodded. He guided you down the hall into apartment 1403, which was on the same side of the hall as your own. Remembering your improvised little concert from a few days ago, you blushed madly. Of course you shared balconies, why wouldn’t you.

“Home sweet home,” He said, looking for his keys amongst an endless amount of pockets. He finally found them and you couldn’t help but smile at the keychains dangling from his set of keys. He had a little black cat, a rose, a little cloud, and a rubber duck, the last one making you giggle quietly. He looked at you in the dark for a moment, not even trying to find the right key. After a few seconds he snapped out of it and he unlocked his door in a flash. He pushed it open a little and neither of you moved.

“Aren’t I lucky you of all people were awake to shine my path,” He joked, sounding more nervous than you’d ever heard him, even from his radio show.

“It’s okay,” You smiled kindly, fighting back your emotions. “I did own you one, after all.”

He chuckled, nodding and rubbing the back of his neck. There was a moment of silence, both of you trying to figure out just what you should do next. You moved your phone, the light illuminating the wall.

“Why are you up so late, anyway?” He asked you. You had to bite back a panicked laugh, the events of the night replaying in your head. Not too late to sell the apartment, you told yourself.

“I was making some tea,” You said lamely, hands fidgeting. It was such a dumb thing to say since it didn’t actually answer his question, but it was all you had. “But then the power went out and, I mean, my stove’s electric anyway. I guess I’ll have to wait till tomorrow.”

You added that last part as a segway, a crutch of sorts that would allow you to excuse yourself before you could say anything else that might make you look like more of a fool. It was a shame, really. If you weren’t so embarrassed right now then you might try to keep the conversation going. He was handsome and polite, after all. But no, you had too much in your head, songs and signs and vibrant green eyes and you should probably go now, you told yourself. You mumbled a polite ‘goodnight’ before turning on your heels, already set on going home. Behind you, Yamada hesitated. He swallowed thickly, cursed his dumb brain, and then,

“My stove’s not electric.”

You stopped, frowning.

“Huh?” You turned back, raising the light a little just so you could look at him without outright blinding him. He was playing with his keys, his eyes on the ground. Was that… a blush on his face?

“My stove works even without power,” He explained dumbly, eyes only focusing on you for one second at a time as he spoke. “And I have tea. I mean, I’m not… Do you wanna come inside?” He held out his hands, a quiet and shy offer now between you. It was an invitation, a question and a hopeful wish all in one and his face reflected that perfectly.

You blinked, feeling numb for a second before a warm, tingly feeling crawled up your arms. You wanted to bite back your smile, wanted to convince yourself that he was just being kind, but there were too many coincidences by now.

If the universe is calling, then it’s only polite to respond, right?

“I’d like that. A lot.” You said. His eyes opened wide, forest tones enclosed by a ring of lovely, pastel green, and you smiled. He grinned from ear to ear, finally opening his door fully and stepping aside to let you in.

You hummed for a second, feeling a lot braver than you had in a long while.

“By the way,” You said teasingly, “That’s not my favorite song in the album.”

He blinked, watching you walk into his home with an almost shocked expression. He finally laughed, closing the door behind you both.

[scoopsahoy]

behind closed doors — steve harrington x reader

❋ request ⋰ anonymous asked — 

hi! so i hope you don't mind but i'm lazy haha so i was wondering if you've written anything where reader and steve are trying to resist the urge to have sex but give in anyway and have rlly passionate and heated sex

ぺ  word count ⋰ 2.2k

✰  tw ⋰ none :)

❍  cw ⋰ swearing, sex + fingering, multiple orgasms, top!reader

៚  a/n ⋰ my first fic on this blog! make sure you check out my old masterlist for more stuff :)

✐  masterlist

⋆★⋆★⋆★⋆★⋆★⋆★⋆★⋆★⋆★⋆★⋆★⋆★

You walked up the stairs of your house, Steve close behind. You’d both just gotten off work at FamilyVideo, and his parents were out of town, so you invited him to stay over for a couple of nights.

Even though they weren’t there, your parents were fine with it, as you and Steve had known each other from working together at Scoops Ahoy. You’d been working together for over a year, but you’d never stayed at each other’s houses alone. Usually, you were joined by Robin or Dustin and the rest of the party.

Admittedly, you were nervous. You two had obvious chemistry, which aforementioned Robin and the kids made fun of you for constantly. And when you guys worked alone or he would drive you home, you never talked about it. It was an elephant in the room, for sure, but it never came up.

But tonight, you and Steve would be sleeping in your bed alone. No distractions, nobody else to keep your mind off of it, nothing. Just you and the boy you had sexual tension with.

It didn’t really sink in until Steve closed the door.

Out of habit, you walked over to your record player, putting on The Police’s album Synchronicity. You turned down the volume and turned to see Steve kicking off his shoes.

“I’m gonna go change,” you said, grabbing some clothes from a pile on your desk. “You can change in here if you want.”

“Okay.”

You walked to the bathroom and shut the door, changing into a tank top and a pair of shorts. You took your bra off and pulled your hair down, running your fingers through it to make it presentable.

When you came back to your room, Steve was pulling on a t-shirt. His back looked so smooth and soft, and he had moles and freckles that combined to make his skin look like a galaxy of brown stars.

You cleared your throat and looked at the floor as you walked to your laundry basket and tossing your uniform into it.

“Thanks for letting me stay here,” he said as his voice got closer to you.

“Oh, yeah. It’s no problem.” You looked over your shoulder to see him slowly stepping toward you.

When he was less than a foot away, a shiver ran through your body. He chuckled.

“You good?”

You turned to look at him.

“Yeah. Just uh... cold.”

“Oh, here.” He reached over and gripped your hands. “Wow. You weren’t kidding.”

You let out an awkward chuckle as he squeezed your hands gently. He looked at you and you pulled your hands away, slowly walking past him and to your dresser to take off your jewelry.

You could feel the tension shoot up as he looked at you again.

“How’s Dustin?” you asked.

“He’s good. He’s been talking to Suzie a lot.”

“He really likes her, huh?”

“Mm-hm.”

He walked over to you again, stepping in front of you. You looked up at him and raised your eyebrows.

“We should talk about the elephant in the room,” he said.

“Okay.”

“I know the kids like to tease us and everything.”

“Mm-hm.”

“Does it make you uncomfortable?”

You shook your head. “Not really.”

“Why not?”

You shrugged. “I don’t know.”

You walked away from him again, stepping to the other side of the room. “Is it maybe because they’re right?”

“Right about what?”

“That we like each other.”

You smirked. “I don’t know. I mean, I’ve only been in one relationship before.”

He stepped over to you, getting within a couple of inches. You took a deep breath and bit your lip as he softly cupped your face.

“Do you like me?”

Without giving you a chance to answer, he leaned down and kissed you. You kissed back, having wanted to kiss him forever. You placed your hand on his wrist, the other hand going to his waist.

When the kiss broke, you smiled. “So much it hurts.” You pulled away and walked back over to your record player, changing the vinyl to All Out Of Love by Air Supply. “I got a new one yesterday.”

You put down the needle and started bobbing your head. You felt his hand pull your hair off your shoulder, and his lips connected to your neck. You threw your head back a bit, closing your eyes and letting out a deep breath.

You spun around and connected your foreheads, breathing in sync with him. “We should watch a movie tonight,” you said.

“I’ve probably seen all of the ones you’d suggest,” he whispered.

“I got some new ones.”

“Probably seen them.”

You chuckled. “Okay.” You kissed him again and he lifted you onto your desk. You wrapped your legs around his thighs, your arms on his shoulders. You felt his hands slip under your shirt, gripping your ribs.

“We could go for a swim,” he said between kisses.

“My pool’s filthy. We could play a game. Monopoly?”

“I’d beat you at Monopoly.” You both chuckled. You pulled him in for another kiss, running your hands down his back.

“Monopoly’s not my favorite game anyway,” you said as he moved his lips back to your neck. After a few seconds, he pulled away.

You looked at him, seeing how puffy his lips were.

“What?”

He shook his head. “Just thinking.”

“About what?”

“How I’m glad I took the job at Scoops Ahoy because I never would’ve met you if I didn’t. And how I don’t wanna screw this up.”

“Oh,” you said softly. “Yeah. I mean... You’re right.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Huh?”

You pushed yourself back onto your feet and slid out from between him and the desk, walking to the foot of your bed.

“I mean, we haven’t even gone on a date yet. Maybe we should just take things slow. We shouldn’t rush things. That’s how you ruin friendships.”

“Oh, yeah. Okay. Take things slow. We can go on a date. We don’t have to rush this.”

“Exactly.”

“I mean, we don’t wanna do what every kid our age does and jumps into it, right?”

You nodded. “Right. I mean, we should be setting an example.”

“Yeah.”

“And trying to prove our parents wrong about all us wanting to do is have sex.”

“Exactly.”

“I mean, how much better is this? Being responsible and mature. Controlling ourselves and being adults.”

“Absolutely.”

“Good. Then we agree.”

“We agree.”

“Good.”

You stood there staring at each other for a moment.

“Fuck it,” you said after a moment, walking over and kissing him passionately. He picked you up and tossed you onto your bed, quickly getting on top of you. You felt him grind into you, making you softly moan.

You reached down and pulled his shirt off, tossing it on the floor. He reached down and pulled your shorts off, and they landed on his shirt. In less than a minute, you were both completely stripped.

He pulled away a second later, looking you in the eye.

“What?” you asked.

“Do you want this?”

You smiled. The idea of him stopping mid makeout session to ask you if you wanted to have sex made you happy. It was so obvious that yes, you wanted it, but he didn’t care. He needed to know that you were one-hundred percent okay with this.

“Yes. I want this.”

He returned the smile. “Do you have condoms?”

“In the nightstand.”

When he had the condom on, he kissed you again, his right hand traveling down to grip your thigh.

“Ready?” he asked.

“I’m ready.”

He connected your lips as he slipped into you, making you moan into his mouth. You gripped his shoulders tightly, throwing your head back. He continued thrusting, picking up speed almost instantly.

Your toes curled tightly, your nails digging into his skin.

“Shit,” you whispered. He was bigger than your ex-boyfriend, who was the only person you’d ever had sex with. That was so long ago, that Steve being inside of you was almost a foreign feeling.

Steve continued to kiss you. He made it a point to make it feel good for you too and to let you know he wasn’t just in this for the sex. He wanted you to know he liked you, not just your body.

His hands were exploring your body, landing on your chest. As he pounded into you, he squeezed your breasts, causing you to let out a loud moan when his thumb grazed your nipple.

His lips attacked your face and neck, leaving red bruises everywhere they touched. When his stomach brushed against your clit, you cried out louder than you intended. His hand shot up to your mouth, looking you in the eye.

“Don’t get your parents to walk in.”

“They’re not here,” you said into his palm.

He smiled as he took his hand away from his mouth.

“Then make as much noise as possible.”

You nodded as he picked the pace back up. You threw your head back and felt his lips on your neck again.

“Holy shit, Steve,” you moaned almost pornographically. You heard the headboard of your bed hitting the wall, probably leaving marks in the paint.

You swiftly flipped him over, placing your hands on his chest for stability. His hands gripped your thighs, guiding you along.

You’d never been on top before. You hadn’t had sex that much before Steve, so you didn’t really have any experience in general. So being on top was a foreign feeling to you.

Having someone pinned under you between your legs as you bounced up and down on them was different than how you thought the night would go, but you were happy it ended up this way.

“Fuck,” you moaned to yourself as you closed your eyes and felt Steve’s hands traveling up your body to your breasts, cupping and squeezing them. “Steve, I’m close,” you whined.

He flipped you back over and slammed into you, making you gasp and moan loudly. Swears escaped your mouth left and right, echoing throughout your room.

You were so close to the edge that it hurt. Your nails dug into his shoulders, your eyes clamped shut, and your toes curled tightly.

When you came, you were sure you deafened him. You were louder than you meant to be, and he kissed you to muffled your voice.

You were in a state of euphoria, the only thing you could focus on being him slamming into you and your high. It was, by far, one of the most intense orgasms you’d ever had, and your entire body trembled in pleasure.

Your heels dug into his hips, somehow pushing him further into you, which heightened your orgasm.

As you cried out, you felt a tear roll down your left temple and into your hair.

As soon as he saw it, he stopped thrusting and wiped your face.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

You sniffled. “Yeah. That was just really intense.”

“Was it too much? I can stop if you need-”

You shook your head and reached up to cup his face. “I don’t want you to stop. I’m okay. Seriously.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, absolutely.” You pulled him in for another kiss and he began moving again, and you were moaning again.

You flipped him over again, getting your balance before you started moving. His lands landed in the same place as before, squeezing your thighs.

You ground into him while he was inside of you, rotating your hips slowly. He closed his eyes and let out a soft moan, throwing his head back a bit. His fingers pressing into your skin, and his legs were bent to support you.

“Y/N,” he moaned softly, which was enough to make another orgasm build in you. “I’m getting close...”

“Fuck, me too.”

You were bouncing on him as fast as you could, trying to get both of you there at the same time.

“Y/N, holy shit, I’m so close.”

He reached down and started fingering you, making you gasp loudly. Your legs almost gave out, and you threw your head back, your orgasm taking you by surprise.

You cursed his name as he came in the condom, making you feel warm. You both let out relieved moans as you did your best to let both of you get the most out of it.

When you slowed down after a few more seconds, you breathed heavily in unison with him before opening your eyes to see him looking up at you.

“I didn’t realize how beautiful you look from this angle,” he panted.

You smiled before slowly pulling him out of you and collapsing next to him.

“Holy shit,” you breathed. “That was by far the best sex I’ve ever had.”

He pulled you in close and kissed your forehead. “Ditto.”

“I’ve never been on top before.”

He looked at you. “Really?” You nodded. “You’re a natural at it.”

You chuckled. “Thanks?”

“Why don’t we go out sometime? Maybe get some dinner or go to a movie or something.”

You looked at him. “Really? You want to?”

“Absolutely.”

You smiled. “Okay.”

He stayed over that night, holding you tightly as you slept.

[fiddlepickdouglas]

Viva Las Vegas, Pt. 14 - Unexpected Meeting

Summary: Sunset Curve Alive AU, Willex, who will they run into?, 3.2k

@trevor-wilson-covington is the bestie who makes these lovely edits, we stan supportive friends

WARNINGS: death mention, emotional trauma

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13

“Man, I need a break,” Reggie was saying as he strolled with Alex down an unfamiliar street in the early evening, stretching his arms. “I mean, being in the studio all the time has been good, but on top of everything else it’s just so much!”

Unsure where they were headed, Alex walked a few paces ahead on the sidewalk, casually navigating for both of them. He squinted as he looked at Reggie.

“Reggie, you dropped, like, all of your classes once we signed on.”

“Nope!” his friend exclaimed, tilting his head in a proud manner. “I just needed two electives to graduate. It’s okay, though, man. Not everyone finishes their math requirements as a freshman.” Reggie patted Alex’s shoulder, as if it were any sort of consolation.

“No, good for you Reg,” Alex said. His parents had paid for all this private tutoring and even gotten him to take some college credits early. Of course, his only serious plan after high school had been the band so it was all wasted effort, but then all of their attempts with him amounted to that. He was learning to feel less guilty over it. It wasn’t his fault they never cared about what he wanted.

“How long do you think Luke and Bobby are gonna be workshopping their parts together?” Reggie asked.

“Long enough. Where are we going, exactly?”

“Oh, I was just kind of keeping an eye out for anywhere interesting.”

Alex blinked. “I thought we were headed somewhere specific.”

“I’ve only been to this side of L.A. like, once, so I don’t think I’d make a good tour guide,” Reggie stated.

And just like that, Alex’s mind thrust itself back into remembering Willie. He was getting better at not crumbling completely in the moment, but it still felt like his heart was temporarily dunked into a dark ocean of misery. It would remain waterlogged and heavy inside his chest for a while.

“Alex?” Reggie was saying, looking at him with concern. “You okay?”

Snapping his thoughts back to the present, Alex sighed as he looked back at Reggie.

“I’ll be fine.”

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jean jacket and pressed his arms against his sides. Shoulders hunched, he continued through the crowd. Focusing on walking would hopefully help it wear off. He made every step purposeful, trying to get the weight in his heart to fall through his feet. Reggie’s hand on his shoulder made him turn.

“It’s still rough, isn’t it?” he asked gently. “If I said something - ”

“It’s not your fault,” Alex tried to assure him. “Sometimes it just comes out of nowhere. Besides, I can’t make you and everyone else walk on eggshells.”

“Maybe not, but we’re in this with you. It may have been different for us, but we all met Willie. I’d never seen you warm up to anyone that fast. Even after a few months, it’s still fresh; don’t force yourself to be better for us.”

Pausing on the sidewalk, Alex looked up at Reggie. He tried to smile as gratitude edged its way in, relieving most of the heaviness in his chest.

“I appreciate that, Reg.”

“Of course, man.”

“So,” Alex took a deep breath to let everything else wash away as they kept wandering. “You made it sound like you had a lot going on. Is everything at home okay?”

Reggie shrugged. “Eh...no change there. My mom went to stay with her sister after the last fight, so my dad’s been trying his best to take care of everything, but he’s too upset to handle it well. My little sister has just been sleeping over with friends anyway, and I can handle myself, so - ” he shrugged again, “ - you know, I do what I can.”

Alex nodded. He had nothing really to comment, and Reggie knew he was always there to support him. This wasn’t anything unusual for him, but it still wasn’t right. Neither of them spent much time at their own homes, so wandering through the city like this kept them occupied when they weren’t with the rest of the band. Looking up at the store signs around them, he saw a record store about a block ahead.

“Hey, why don’t we check that out?” he suggested.

“Yeah!” Reggie said, dropping any ounce of gloom from the previous subject and skipping along to catch up with Alex.

A small bell rang as they came through the door, and they immediately began filtering through shelves of records and CDs. Peeking toward the back of the store, Alex could see a counter that offered a menu of food and drinks, some tables, as well as the smallest stage in the world. This seemed like a neat little place.

“Oh,” Reggie started after a while. “I got us a gig playing at my cousin’s wedding.”

“A wedding?” Alex said skeptically, turning from the Pansy Division vinyl he was checking out. “When we’re trying to finish a record and go on tour?”

“It’s Conrad, okay, he’s family! And he said we could make the setlist.”

Alex shrugged, considering that was fair.

“...with his approval.”

At that addition, Alex could only sigh and shake his head.

“And then maybe, you could, I don’t know, finally ask Bobby to be your date?”

Reggie put down the Mötley Crüe album he’d been examining and looked up at him in shock. Alex realized he’d possibly been too blunt. But immediately Reggie began to cover it up, laughing and shaking his head.

“What?” he said, his denial completely transparent. “Was that a...was that supposed to be a joke or something?”

Giving him a look of pity, Alex put his hands on his hips.

“You’re really gonna try to pull the wool over the eyes of your gay friend?”

Caught, Reggie looked back at him in defeat and bowed his head.

“I’m gonna guess you noticed a while ago?”

Nodding, Alex tried to soften his demeanor. 

“There’s been something up with you two for months. How come you haven’t tried to talk to him about it?”

Reggie knit his brow and began fiddling with his fingers.

“Well, I’m a little confused by it, to be honest. Cuz, I mean...I like girls, right?”

“Yeah, so?”

“But I like Bobby, too.”

“Okay.”

His friend looked up at him, expecting more of a reaction. Alex leaned against the shelf and folded his arms.

“Do you think there’s something wrong with you? Because you’re talking to the king of wrong feelings.”

“Well, sometimes I feel like that, but not really. It’s something else,” Reggie said.

“Like what?”

“Well...we’ve been friends for years. It just sort of crept up on me and I don’t know what to do. What if he rejects it? He’s one of my best friends.”

Thinking for a moment, Alex looked down at his feet. He didn’t blame Reggie for being worried. He’d had a mini crush on Bobby for a couple weeks back in ninth grade and had the same dilemma. It was easier for him to get over, though, simply because it had faded quickly.

“Well, I wish I could say if it’s meant to be it’ll happen, but sometimes…”

Sometimes it dies in a fire before there’s any chance of knowing.

He shook his head to get rid of the awful thought and ignored Reggie’s look of concern.

“But if I know Bobby, I don’t think it’s going to harm anything. I think you should go for it, Reg. I truly, honestly, will back you up on that.”

A smile spread wide across Reggie’s face.

“Thanks, man!”

Without fretting over it for another second, he turned back to the shelf of CDs he’d been perusing, and Alex did the same. There was a crazy good selection, and Alex wished he could get his hands on a record player. Playing CDs on a boombox worked for some things, but there was a level of charm in playing something on a vinyl record that appealed to him even more. He made a note to get a small notebook to carry in his fanny pack, hoping to return to this store and make a wishlist of sorts to work toward.

“Do I see Alex and Reggie of Sunset Curve?” A familiar voice said from behind.

Both of them turned to find Flynn standing in the aisle, braids tied up into a high ponytail and eyebrow arched in her usual smart fashion.

“Hey Flynn!” Reggie exclaimed, pulling her into a hug. Alex went in for one afterward, happily surprised.

“Hey guys!” she said, grinning.

“What are you up to?” Alex asked.

“Gonna be performing in a bit,” she said excitedly. “Just a warm up before the main group comes on. I’ve been working on some of my own stuff; I think you guys would love it! Got time to stick around?”

“Sweet!” Reggie raised a fist for her to bump. “I’m down. Alex, wanna stay?”

“Yeah, sounds great!”

He had yet to see what Flynn was capable of. If he were to judge only on knowing she’d been in a duo with Julie, he expected it to be good.

“Also, you should try the burritos here,” Flynn told them. “They are to die for!”

The endless click-rollll-click-click-click of his board filled his ears as Willie moved through the street, feeling the wind pass over him in the way that made freedom feel like he could clutch it in his hands. He’d actually spent today not worrying about Alex. It felt good not to dwell on what little past he had access to. Of course, he still had repetitive dreams about the few memories that had come back, but the backwards one with Caleb in it hadn’t come back ever since he’d gotten to LA. Moving forward felt...nice.

He had spent the morning sketching at the beach, getting all sorts of practice in. The beautiful waves, seagulls, the different activities all around him. Somehow a group of young college kids had gotten him to join their volleyball tournament. Willie wasn’t sure if he’d ever played it before, but once he caught onto the game, he’d gotten surprisingly good. It felt nice to roll up the hem of his jeans and dig his toes into the warm sand while playing with a group of strangers. They’d nicknamed him Mowgli, whatever that meant. He liked the sound of it though.

Heading off to work after cleaning himself up, he realized he could spend all his free time that way. Peacefully sketching, meeting fun people, and enjoying his surroundings. Was that all it took to be happy? Willie chuckled at the thought of how much Caleb had stressed over rising to the top of his business game, never appearing to be satisfied with any of it. Leaving Vegas remained the best decision he’d ever made. Of course, he wasn’t always proud about his method of burning down the shed, but it had been one of those...heat of the moment things.

Willie skated up to the back entrance and shook his hair out after lifting off his helmet. Just a few short hours of making food, some chill entertainment, and he could peace out for the night. He headed inside the store and right into the small kitchen. Thankfully, the store didn’t fit too many patrons and it was never hard to keep up with orders, and Kyle had a system so he never had to leave the kitchen. This basically meant he could jam to the live music during the lulls between orders with no interruption.

Kyle entered the kitchen just as Willie was tying on his apron.

“Hey, dude, thanks for coming. We actually got two acts coming in, so it should be a full crowd. Katelyn can be the MC for the first bit, but do you mind taking over for the second half?”

A twinge of excitement came over Willie and he lit up. He’d never gotten to try being an MC before.

“Don’t mind at all!” he said.

“Alright, man!” Kyle exclaimed. “First two orders up: swamp style nachos and a bog burrito.”

“Got it.”

“We’re up for a big night with these performances,” the girl hosting hyped up the crowd. “Let’s give it up for our artist of the night: Flynn Taylor!”

Reggie cupped his hands over his mouth as he hollered along with everyone else’s applause. Alex clapped with a mouthful of nachos. Flynn stepped onto the stage behind a set of deejay turntables, smirking as she began flipping switches and turning knobs.

“Thanks for coming out here everyone,” she said into the mic. More applause and whistles echoed through the room. “We’re gonna make a lot of noise tonight, so let me hear you get pumped!”

As she began playing a beat, Alex bobbed along, immediately interested. He didn’t know a thing about mixing, so he was highly impressed with the different sounds she was using. Then Flynn picked up the mic and began rapping and the whole room cheered.

“...I’m a princess, I don’t need a prince, boy I’m priceless...I’m here to shut it down like a night shift…”

“Man,” Reggie leaned over to Alex. “She’s so good! I say we book her to open for us ASAP as possible.”

Alex merely snorted and chuckled at Reggie’s misuse of the acronym. He actually enjoyed the idea of having Flynn rapping to open for their rock shows. Gigs where all the bands sounded the same got a little flavorless sometimes.

“Also,” Reggie said as he took a huge bite into his burrito. “This is the best burrito I’ve ever had.”

“Lemme try some, you can try my nachos,” Alex said.

All Reggie could say was Mm! as he passed the burrito over.

The final beats of the first performer echoed in the kitchen where Willie had been dancing, waving various kitchen tools around. He’d thoroughly enjoyed the whole set, and wondered what sounded so familiar about the girl who was rapping. Before he could spend more time thinking about it, Kyle came in.

“Okay, you ready?” he asked.

“I just keep people busy and then announce the next group, right?” Willie guessed.

“Yeah, man, you’ve got this!”

“What’s the next group called?”

“Downslide. And they brought some merch, so it’s a good idea to mention that to the crowd as well.”

“Okay,” Willie nodded, slipping out of his apron. “Maybe I could put their t-shirt on or something, you know, sell the look?”

Kyle looked impressed. “Yeah! I’ll go see what they’ve got.”

He left the kitchen and hardly a minute later returned with a jacket.

“They said you could wear it for the night. Not gonna lie, I wish I could wear this, it’s a sweet jacket.”

Willie slipped it on, and turned around. He didn’t often wear jackets, but whatever it was made of was pretty soft.

“Guess I’m ready,” he said, giving Kyle a hand slide and fist bump before leaving the kitchen. He stepped up behind the microphone and looked out at the crowd, and further back, the empty store.

At that moment, he heard the bell of the store door ring and two guys walked outside. Through the window, a familiar leather jacket passed. Then, he saw a head of blonde hair follow, turning to look both ways to cross the street, and his heart grew to fill all the empty space in his chest. It was unmistakable. It had to be.

“Alex...” he breathed quietly into the microphone. Adrenaline immediately went out to his extremities. The crowd before him looked bewildered as they waited for him to announce the next group.

Glancing offstage, he saw Kyle give him a strange look. Willie shook his head, unclear what message he was sending but ultimately knowing he couldn’t stay at his current spot. Before he could think anything else, his legs were bounding out the door. It felt like every ounce of blood in his veins knew. The search was over.

Reggie and Alex had just reached the opposite corner. He wasn’t going to miss his chance.

“Alex!” he cried, running to meet them.

He immediately thrust his arms around a surprised Alex, gripping him tightly, burying his face into his shoulder.

“Oh my god, Alex!” he said, panting. “It’s so good to see you.”

He didn’t feel the hug didn’t reciprocate, and instead Alex grabbed his shoulders and pushed him away. The darkness of the street seemed to envelop him.

“What are you - ?” Alex started, staring back at Willie like he’d just been assaulted. Then shock wiped over his whole face. Then confusion. And then a pain came over all of it that made Willie’s concern grow.

“What - what is it?” he asked, all the excitement gone.

Alex wouldn’t look him in the eye, and he raised a hand to hold the side of his head.

“No, this isn’t real,” he whispered to himself, shrinking backward and shutting his eyes. “This can’t be real.”

Willie glanced over at Reggie, who also stared like he was seeing the impossible. He could see Alex shaking and heard a rattled breath, and felt tension grow thick in the air. Quickly, he went to take Alex’s face in his hands.

“Alex, hey, look, it’s me,” he soothed. He fought to get a look directly into his eyes. “It’s me, Willie.”

Finally, the green ocean gazed back at him, turbulent and restless. What once had been a grounding rhythm of waves had turned into a maelstrom of despair. Even worse were the tears welling up right before him. Willie watched the storm rage for a few seconds, seeking for a moment of calm.

“What’s wrong?” he murmured, lowering his hands. Alex looked so wounded it frightened him.

“How are you alive?” Alex begged to know.

Blinking, Willie sat back, astounded at those words. While he agreed it was a miracle he was still alive, he couldn’t fathom why Alex would ask such a question. He chuckled merely out of discomfort.

“I’m here.” Willie glanced at Reggie, looking for an explanation. “Flesh and bone. Why? What happened?”

Alex looked at him incredulously, jaw hanging open. He looked so tightly wound and so scattered all at once. 

“Caleb told me you were dead.”

Willie blanched inwardly at the mention of Caleb, but even more so at the rest of that sentence he’d been utterly unprepared to hear.

“He...he - ” he stammered for a moment. “When would you have even talked to him?”

Sharing a look with Reggie, Alex took a deep breath. Then he looked back at Willie hesitantly.

“We see him all the time. We work for him now.”

It was Willie’s turn to drop his jaw.

“We’ve been signed to his record label for a few months now,” Reggie pitched in.

Directing his gaze to the ground, Willie puzzled for a minute.

“Why would I be dead?” he asked, looking back up at Alex.

For a minute Alex simply gazed at him wordlessly.

“I don’t know,” he said. There was a pause as both of them finally looked at each other, fully aware that this was real. And then Alex threw his arms around Willie to return the hug. Willie had to raise himself up on his toes to avoid falling over, and he tightened his grip to remain steady. He felt joy spread through his whole torso and breathed a sigh of relief as hands tangled into his hair. “But that doesn’t matter. I’m so happy to see you.”

[sleekervae]

The Neighbour [0.3]

Something was irrevocably different with Remington; Emerson picked it off right away. On an early Tuesday afternoon, with the air thick and humid and the sun beating down like a plague (no pun intended), Remington was fussing over himself more than usual. He had changed out of four or five different outfits, playing with his hair, and was it appropriate for him to wear makeup? Eva hadn't seen him with it on, yet. No, it was probably best to keep it casual for now. Then again, he had a fantastic highlight that worked absolute magic under the sun...

It was around eleven thirty when Remington finally came down, dressed down but still presentable in a simple pair of ripped skinny jeans and a t-shirt. Emerson and Shy were sat on the couch as they watched Netflix, Pepper situated between them. Remington stopped short when he saw the pair cuddled up on the couch, he smiled deviously.

"Eugh! You guys are so flippin' cute it's gross!" he gushed, putting on his diva voice.

Shy chuckled softly, "Hi Rem,"

Emerson's attention diverted to his older brother, intrigued to see him all ready to go out somewhere.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Coffee with Eva," Remington replied simply.

"The neighbour with the cat?" Shy said.

"Yeah," Remington nodded, "Emerson tell you she gave us a loaf of bread last week?"

"He did," she smiled, "Poor thing, I felt for her. She looked so flustered at the pool,"

"Well, moving is a bitch already. Throw in Covid 19 and you got a real thorn in the ass," Emerson said, then turning back to his brother, "You gonna' be social distancing?"

"We're going to drink our coffee and walk around in the park," Remington replied, "She works from home anyway,"

"So, who asked who for the coffee?" Emerson asked.

Remington shrugged, stopping at the hallway mirror to fix his hair again, "She brought up how she hasn't had a chance to get around the neighbourhood, so I offered, she accepted. She has our vinyl too,"

"Which one?" Emerson asked.

"Boom Boom Room,"

"Side A or B?"

"A,"

"I'd approve either way,"

Shy couldn't help but subconsciouly squeeze Emerson's arm, a glimmer of excitement bursting behind her eyes, "So, she's a fan, too?"

"Took her a minute to figure it out. Didn't even bring up Em or Seb, so clearly she pays more attention to me," the blonde smirked.

Emerson glowered at his brother, "Yeah, yeah, go for your cup of fuck-off-ee," he grumbled.

Across the street, with her room strewn in discarded clothes that just didn't make the cut, Eva finally felt confident standing in her denim skirt and black tee. On any other day she'd have paired the ensemble with her pleather jacket, but it was too damn hot out. Even with the window letting in a cool breeze, the air was uncomfortably humid. What did she expect when moving from the Emerald City to Los Angeles?

Eva made sure to close and latch the window shut before she left, not eager for Pluto to go off on another reign of terror. Stopping to grab a fresh face mask, her phone suddenly began to vibrate in her purse. She figured it might have been Remington sending her a text, but the screen flashed to the Blocked Caller ID. Eva rolled her eyes and denied the call.

Stepping out into the humidity, Eva waved her hand over her face as she stepped out of the complex courtyard, just at the same time Remington was locking the door to his house. As soon as she caught his eye, he was all smiles.

She was glad to see him; a little relieved, even. He looked cool, cool enough to appear on some grungy magazine cover. All he needed to complete the look was a cigarette and maybe a skateboard, too. The messy blonde hair, the glimmer in his eyes brought back the warmth she associated with his presence and as she came to meet him at his car, his spicy cologne danced up her nose and imprinted itself in her olfactory memory.

Remington had never been more wary of how his hands shook, his left hand he stuffed into his jean pocket and the right he gripped his car keys with a vice-esque grip. He found himself mesmerized briefly by the fit of her skirt, her black t-shirt tucked in smoothly but not too tight to over expose her figure, but just enough to give Remington an idea. Her short brown hair fell delicately over her face, one side pushed back behind her ears and exposing her stormy blue eyes to the sunshine. She was the embodiment of innocence and grunge wrapped into a perfect five-foot-six package.

"Glad you didn't stand me up," he grinned.

"Well, I kind of happen to live right over there," she drawled, pointing to her balcony, "It'd be kind of awkward and hard to hide if I tried,"

"You look really nice," he nodded after a brief moment.

"So do you," she agreed with confidence, "Where we off to?"

There was a forested park not far from where they lived. Despite the pandemic, the fields were filled with older kids playing games of soccer and basketball, there were vendors out trying to sell their ice cream, a couple girls were scattered across the grass and sunbathing. It almost all seemed so normal, if not for the fact that the kid's jungle gym had been fenced off so no child could climb upon it.

The pair walked side-by-side, him with his iced black coffee and her with a green tea frapp -- no whipping cream. The gravel path they walked was shaded by a canopy of lush green trees, providing some relief from the hammering heat. Remington kept his gaze locked on her, worried to miss a moment where she'd crack a smile or briefly run her tongue over her lips. Her fingers appeared so dainty yet he could spot the small calluses at the middle joint of her thumb, and some paper cuts on her middle and index fingers.

"So, how does a ghostwriter get hired?" Remington asked, "Do you just openly advertise 'hey! If you're a lazy author, come hire me'?"

"No," Eva shook her head with a giggle, "I used to write articles for the newsletter at my college, and then a friend of mine forwarded me an email about a client who was looking for a ghostwriter. I didn't know much about it but the money was pretty good. It was a grant application for requesting financial aid for survivors of residential schools,"

"Sounds depressing," Remington said.

"It was pretty heavy shit," Eva admitted, "But, I did get fifteen-hundred for a six page application. Well worth it, I'd say,"

Remington blew an impressed whistle, "So you make pretty good money off of this?"

"Let's just say my student debt has decreased significantly since I took up the profession," and she took a brief sip of her drink.

"You ever publish anything under your own name?" he asked, "Eva Kuznetsov is a cute pen name. Evelina sounds more mature, though..."

Eva shrugged, "I think about it sometimes... but it's just easier to write under someone else's name and let them have all the glory. Say, if they happen to do something stupid to forever tarnish their career, that won't come back to bite me in the ass,"

Remington smirked, "Like a particular fantasy author who's made some pretty heavy comments concerning the trans community?"

"Let's not even talk about that, my heart still breaks when I think about it," Eva sighed, "To answer your question, however, if I got confident enough I may try to publish something in the future,"

"What else do you like to write?"

Eva opened her mouth but closed it quickly, pressing together her petunia pink lips as she visibly swallowed whatever words were about to pass through them. When she looked up at Remington again, his brown eyes dark like soaked coffee grinds that sent her into a caffeinated headrush. What would he think if she actually told him...

"I write poems, some short stories," she somewhat lied.

Remington's smile grew wider, mischief glimmering over his face like light beams reflecting over windchimes in a saturated dusk, "You hesitated just now," he spoke curiously, "What else do you write?"

Eva glanced down at the ground, a nervous giggle bubbling out and knocking the air out of her lungs, "Okay listen, don't judge me, it's just a hobby of mine,"

"Oh God!" Remington gasped, "Do you write porn?"

Eva laughed again, her pale cheeks flushing in red, "Well... I do happen write some naughty shit... in my fanfictions,"

Remington stopped dead in his tracks, taken aback by her answer. He totally thought she would say something along the lines of erotic fiction on a platform like Literotica. For understandable reasons, he had some mixed emotions about fanfictions.

"What kind of fanfiction?" he asked, somewhat bordering on the third degree.

"... Um..." she glanced at him again, the smirk on his lips compelling more giggles to burst from hers. She pressed her hands together over her nose and mouth, and Remington laughed as well.

"Okay listen, I promise," he put his right hand over his chest, "I promise I will not judge you for whatever smut you write for whoever," he assured her.

"It's not... yeah, I guess it kind of is," Eva chuckled nervously, "I usually write for stuff like Criminal Minds, but more lately I've gotten into writing for Euphoria..." she trailed off, timid as she waited for his response.

"Alright, that's actually not bad," he nodded, "I'll be honest, you didn't strike me as somebody who write fanfics,"

Eva glanced timidly at her scuffed sneakers, kicking up pebbles and dust, "Are fanfic writers supposed to look a certain way?"

"I don't know, actually," he simpered.

"I don't tell a lot of people that I do it, mainly because their first impression is either 'what the fuck' or 'OMG we should collaborate' and I'm just like," she hung her head back, "Nooo!"

"You're more of a soloist then a team player, then?" he teased.

"Let's just say I tend to work better alone," she replied, shrugging her shoulders as though the comment should mean nothing. But Remington found it odd that Eva was out here all on her own, never brought up her friends or family. He didn't see many personal effects in her apartment, neither.

"Is that why you're out here by yourself?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" she replied.

"Well... don't take this the wrong way, but I haven't really seen you with anybody. You don't talk about your friends or your family,"

Eva shrugged again, "They're all back in Seattle. Besides, opportunity was drying up over there and I just wanted a fresh start," she said, "Besides, Pluto's my friend,"

"Well, that's a given," he replied, "Are your parents up in Seattle?"

"My dad is," she nodded, "I don't know what my mom's doing," Remington's silent was her cue to go on, "I um... we haven't really spoken, her and I,"

"You have a falling out?" he asked suddenly.

Eva glared down at the gravel again, "You can call it that. She's a pilot and she's always flying, and so you know, I never really got to see much of her growing up. And then, she suddenly shows up for my college graduation and expects us to be one big happy family, like she has it in her head that she can make up for all the birthdays and shit she's missed. And I just didn't know what to say to her. I don't know who she is, but she's my mom," she glanced up at Remington again, "And I don't know why I'm telling you all of this,"

Remington wasn't bothered by her unloading, it seemed as though Eva needed to get things off her chest more than she realized. Her smile was sardonic and her voice petty like a comedian on stage, putting on the brave 'I don't give a fuck anymore' face.

"I find sometimes it's easier to unload to new people then it is to your friends," he said, "What does your dad do?"

"Chem professor. Which is ironic because I seriously sucked at chemistry," she replied.

"Show me a kid who didn't struggle in chem, honestly," he said, "But do you get along with your dad?"

"For the most part," she chuckled, "He's still confused as to why I choose to write anonymously, but that's his problem. What do your parents do?"

Remington chewed on the inside of his cheek, "My mom's kind of like our manager. Does a lot of production and behind the scenes stuff. And I haven't seen my dad for nearly twenty years,"

Eva was silent for a moment, studying him. He spoke with a firm grin, yet still trying to shadow that flicker of sadness within his face.

"So we both have parental issues... that's nice to know," she put on a teasing grin, "Maybe that's why we make such good friends?"

Remington swallowed thickly, "So, you are indeed confirming we are friends?"

"I am," she smiled, "It'd be nice to have whatever few I can scrape up,"

"That fact that you also live across the street means that you're now stuck with me," Remington grinned with pride.

"True," Eva hummed appreciatively, taking another sip of her drink, "Somehow, I don't think I'll mind, though,"

When Remington drove her home she gave him a sweet and polite goodbye, a hug which made his confident exterior falter for a second long enough for her to witness it through the flush in his cheeks and his lack of response. His words tripped over the length of his tongue when he tried to flush out a proper goodbye and he felt his hands began to quiver again.

And when he went to open his door, he took one last glance. The small brunette turned at the same time and met his gaze, but he was too far away to hear her sharp inhale. And when he finally went inside he fall back against the door, staring into space with the biggest grin he'd had on since... well, he couldn't remember when he last felt so excited.

[meleuki]

Sleeping Arrangements

Duff Mckagan x Reader 

Warnings: SMUT, straight up sex lads. 

Word Count: 4,900+ 

Request: hey!! can I request duff smut but like where it’s the reader’s first time and she’s super nervous but duff is reassuring and gentle and stuff idk whatever you want really lol I really love your writing.

A/N: This is a fucking long one, and I'm so sorry it took me so long. I’ve now begun to work on the other requests, but alas, enjoy! Also @guns-n-crue cause duff ur main hoe.

"So, wait where am I sleeping?" Duff's kind voice pondered the arrangements that the rest of the band and I had just made for the night.

I had two spare mattresses set up in the lounge room, taken by Axl and Slash, the couch that sat next to the beds was already occupied by Steven, who had passed out not long after we'd gotten home from our night out. There was a spare bedroom on the ground floor, but with a single bed, and Izzy had been relieved to discover I had saved the secluded room for him to lay his head, but where would Duff sleep? I had a double bed up in my room, but surely he wouldn't want to sleep there.

"You have a double bed don't you?" Duff questioned, looking up the staircase to the upper floor before shrugging his shoulders, "I guess I'm sharing with you,"

I gulped, doing my best to calm my now raging nerves, "Y-yeah, I guess so,"

My heart began thumping rhythmically against my chest, speeding up anytime the thought of Duff in my bed appeared in my mind, being so close to him would be challenging for my body, I knew I'd ache to touch him, to press myself into the tall blonde's side as he wrapped his arms around me, but we were merely friends, and I merely had a crush on the bass player. A liking for him, that only Axl knew of, and that I hoped Duff would never learn about.

I quickly looked over at Axl, who looked more amused than anything. The mischievous smile that spread across his face as we made eye contact made my shoulders slump, he wasn't even going to try and get me out of the awkward situation, he was going to endorse it.

"Alright then, see you two in the morning," Axl chuckled, flinging himself back onto his bed, but not before giving me a knowing wink, dripping in suggestion.

I sighed at the red-head, quietly following Duff up the stairs and into the decently sized space that I called my room. Vinyls were stacked into a few boxes that had been pushed into the corner of my room, band posters took up a majority of the empty space of the white painted walls, some fairy lights hanging here and there. As I closed the bedroom door behind me, I took in the new decoration inside my room, sitting on my bed, slowly undressing himself - Duff. His chunky black boots thumped against the carpet as he chucked them to the end of the bed, next to be thrown off was his leather vest, followed by his fishnet shirt and then his denim jeans, till he was left in his boxers. I couldn't take my eyes away, the sight before me one I knew that I'd probably never get the chance to adore any other time than right now.

"Are you... just going to stand there?" Duff chuckled, standing up and making his way over to my vanity, sitting down to look over his face, "Or do I have to undress you?"

I froze, letting out an uncomfortable breathy laugh at Duff's words. I slowly began to slide my denim jacket off, letting it pool on the ground around my feet. The old band tee I was wearing came next, slowly slipping over the skin of my stomach before I lifted it over my head, letting it drop around my feet, joining the denim jacket. I froze as I heard Duff turn around in my vanity chair, his eyes falling on my half exposed body. I gulped nervously as his eyes roamed the entirety of my torso, soaking up the sight before him.

Duff stood up from the vanity, coughing awkwardly as he made his way over to my bed, sitting down on the edge, leaning his arms against his knees as he continued to look me over. His eyes raked over my body, devouring the eye candy before him.

"Um, Duff?" I questioned, my thumbs hooked in the sides of my jeans, my eyebrows furrowed curiously as I looked at the blonde man. Duff's eyes looked up from my legs, his brown eyes making contact with my shy orbs, glistening with nerves.

"Sorry, that wasn't right of me," Duff apologised, shaking his head at himself as he began to move the covers of the bed around, so he could shuffle himself under them comfortably. I almost sighed as he turned his back to me, I knew I wouldn't mind having him look me over as I got undressed, if I wasn't so conscious of my body and how it looked. I'd never been intimate with someone, the fear of them being quick to judge clouding my decision, always ending in me saying no and regretting it afterwards.

"Duff?" I took a step closer to the bed, crossing my arms over my stomach, looking down at my feet as he turned his body towards me.

"Yes?"

"Would you take my virginity if I asked?" I blurted out, squeezing my eyes shut as my nerves jumped about inside my body. I could feel the tension in the room rising, the feeling of Duff's eyes on me was overwhelming, even if I couldn't see him staring.

"Well," Duff began, "Are you asking?"

I opened my eyes slowly, unbuttoning my jeans as my eyes met his once again. I watched Duff as he sucked in a breath, standing up from the bed abruptly.

"Yeah, I am," I sighed, sliding my jeans over my hips and down my thighs, letting them collect into a heap around my ankles before stepping out of them. Duff made his way over to me, his eyes taking in the sight before him, now without restraint. I went to cover up my stomach again, almost regretting my decision to ask him as he looked me over; but his hands caught mine before I could wrap them around myself.

"Don't do that, you're beautiful,"

Duff moved one of his hands across my stomach, the leathery pads of his fingertips running across my skin smoothly- but he paused.

"I'm not the guy you want to do this," Duff's eyes met mine, "I'm not- I'm not- uh,"

Duff's hand fell away from me, retreating back to the side of his body. It felt like someone hit me in the gut, a straight cold punch to the abdomen. I could feel the pressure on my lungs as he slid himself back into the bed, sliding across the sheets until he was closest to the wall, his back turned to me. I was left in a sports bra and underwear, completely exposed, in a way I'd never been before. There was a man in my bed, and for the first time in forever, it was a man that I wanted to touch me all over and tell me how pretty I was, but that man wasn't going to dare lay a finger on me during the night.

Duff's breathing was heavy, I could see his back rising and falling with every breath as I crawled into bed next to him. I lied down closer to his body than I probably should have, my warm breath touching his bare skin each time I released any air.

"I'm cold," Duff started, "And you breathing on me isn't helping, (Y/N)."

There was a pause before I shimmied back in the bed a little, putting a few more centimetres of distance between us, but nowhere near enough to stop the feeling of my breathing against Duff's back.

"What're you playing at-" Duff went to speak, drawing his arms tighter around himself.

"If you come closer," I cut him off, pausing slightly as I thought about what to say, "The closer you are to me, the warmer you'll be."

Duff halted his movements, before flipping over completely, his arms shooting out to wrap themselves around my waist and pulling me flush against him. Our legs tangled together, my knee sliding between the heat of his thighs as my feet moved against his shins. I pressed my hands to his chest as he buried his face in the top of my head, inhaling deeply.

"Is this what you wanted?" Duff whispered, pulling his face away from my head and looking down at me. I peered up into his brown eyes, slowly moving my hand up to trace the heavy, tired bags that seemed to be weighing the muddy brown orbs down.

"Duff I want so much more than this," I paused as he closed his eyes, enjoying the touch of my fingers, "But if you don't want to, then it's okay, you don't have to."

Duff sighed, and I felt his fingers begin tracing shapes along my back, sliding up and down the skin slowly, like he was savoring the feel of it.

"It's not that I don't want you, I'm just not the right guy, I'm not-" Duff paused again, "I shouldn't, because I'm just some drunk and I want you to have someone that you deserve."

"Duff I want you to do it, no one else," I cupped his cheek with my hand as his eyes opened, staring down at me, "I trust you, with my everything. I trust that you'll be gentle, and I trust that you'll make me feel beautiful, and I believe you're the only one that could do that."

"Are you sure?" Duff's hands moved lower on my body, sliding across the skin of my hips, his fingers grabbing softly at the flesh.

"Yes," I let my hands slide to the nape of his neck, tangling my fingers in his messy, long hair. Excitement was building in the pit of my stomach. I could already feel it beginning to get slick between my thighs at the thought of what was to come next.

"Okay."

That was all it took, one word, one whisper of closure, and we were on one another. Duff's lips melted against mine, guiding me through the motions as he rolled on top of me, his hands grabbing at my hips with force. His mouth swallowed the sound of my moans, drinking them up like a sweet can of soda on a summer's day. I couldn't help but think we would wake the boys downstairs, but when Duff's hand travelled below the elastic of my panties, I knew I could care less. The feeling of his fingers circling over the one place I'd dreamt of him touching had me writhing against his body, hips bucking into his touch, silently yelling for more. My hands gripped at his shoulders as he slowly removed his hand from my panties, sliding his fingers along the insides of my thighs, my body quivering at the feel of his hands on me; extremely calloused, yet as soft and as gentle as feathers.

Duff’s head dipped down to the skin of my neck, his lips pressing airy light kisses against the warm flesh. His breath flowed between each kiss, making the hairs on my arms stand up stand up at the new sensation. My nerves were on fire, and even the feeling of Duff’s hip bones pushing against my inner thighs had my eyes rolling behind their curtains.

His hands played games along my exposed skin, teasingly slipping under the bottom hem of my sports bra before sliding back down to my waist, again and again - each time his fingers crept higher and higher up, till they were sliding gently over my nipples. I gasped as he began toying with them under the fabric of my bra, rolling them between his middle and pointer finger as his lips trailed up my chest and neck. Our mouths made contact once again, this kiss one hundred times hungrier than the last.

“What are you comfortable with?” Duff breathed out, his hands still busy with my breasts, kneading them in his hands as he broke the kiss for a second to speak.

“Anything,” Kiss, “as long as,” Kiss, “it’s gentle.”

“You got it,” Duff smiled against my mouth, “I’m going to make love to you.”

That sentence seemed to spark something inside my body, like a lick of flame to kindling - I could feel my body heating up. The heat spread from my stomach and chest throughout the rest of my body in waves, slowly producing a sheen of sweat that stuck to my skin. My hands grasped at Duff’s hair as he began trailing his hands down my body once again, his fingers pushing into my skin with enough force to make me hold my breath, but not nearly enough force to be painful. Duff lent back onto his calves, his hands moving my legs so each one was perched over his shoulders. His fingers traced shapes over my legs, his lips pressing little kisses against my knees as he leaned himself forward, revealing my lower half to him; the only form of privacy being the thin piece of cotton that covered my heat. I stared up at him expectantly, having very little experience as to what was to come next, nerves beginning their trek to overtake my certain mind, wavering my decisions like jelly.

One of Duff’s hands moved to grip my waist, his thumb stroking soothingly over the skin as he detected my sense of uncertainty.

“I’m gonna use my fingers on you, alright?” Duff slid his hand in a small window-wiper motion across my side, “You still okay with this?”

“Yes, I am,” I swallowed my anxieties, doing my best to shove them to the back of my mind. I wasn’t going to let my insecurities stuff it all up for me this time, especially with a guy like Duff, who I’d dreamed about for a very long time. I finally was being given a chance to receive the loving I’d always wanted, no way in hell was I just going to let my anxiety throw that away.

I sucked in a breath as Duff traced his fingers above my pantie line, giving it a second before diving down beneath the material. The calloused feel of his fingertips made my stomach jump. His middle finger dipped down lower, tracing the tip of his finger along my folds, occasionally pressing against my entrance, and then sliding back up again; all the while his thumb massaged my clit with expertise. Duff slid his middle finger down my slit once more, his finger slipping past my entrance, my mouth falling open slightly as he began to cautiously sheath his long finger within my walls. I clenched around him, the feeling of his fingers felt way better than my own, way better than any feeling anyone had been able to give me.

I reached my hand down to grasp at Duff’s wrist, causing him to pause in his actions as I whimpered out one single word; “More.”

Without hesitating, Duff reached his pointer finger down to join his middle, pulling his finger out of me, getting them slick with my arousal, only to push them both back in; harsher this time, a little bit rougher. My back arched slightly off the mattress at the feeling of being full, his fingers were touching places inside of me I didn’t know existed. He curled them, pressing them upwards against my walls, hitting a spot that made me cry out, my voice hoarse. Duff leaned down closer to my face, pressing his forehead against mine as my legs slid further down his arms. Sweet nothings and encouragements spilt from his pink lips, fuelling the fire in my stomach. His fingers moved at a leisurely pace, his hips pressing against my ass as it raised slightly from the bed. I gripped at the sheets of my bed, balling them up in my fists out of desperation to release some of the tension that was building like a wildfire in my stomach.

A high-pitched whine left my lips as Duff pulled his hand away from me. I would’ve cringed if I weren’t so invested in keeping his hands attached to my body. His eyes darted down to my clothed crotch, his mouth falling open slightly at the slick noises that sounded throughout the room as his fingers drew away from my arousal. His hands glided across the skin of my thighs, gripping them just above my knee and pulling them down from my shoulders before he leaned forward again, his bare torso pressing against mine. I moaned at the feeling of his weight on top of me, my hands moving to drag and tangle themselves through his blonde hair, attaching his lips to mine with a passion I didn’t know I possessed. A grunt of surprise echoed in Duff’s mouth as he welcomed my tongue into the kiss, flicking his own against my muscle. My lips grew tingly as we both continued our exploration of each other - my hands wandering down his chest and over the curve of his stomach and waist. I trailed my fingertips back up his body, scraping my nails over his shoulders, slowly reaching further down his back, pushing his body harder against mine. There was barely any space left between our bodies. I could feel our sweat mixing as we kissed, the hunger and lust for sex growing deep within our minds and filling the room with a tension that would be hard to re-invent. This was the raw desire of animal instinct running through our veins, and I was ready to let it take control.

Duff rolled his hips up into my crotch, rubbing the tip of his hard cock against my clit. A sharp breath entered my lungs as he detached his lips from my own, gyrating his member against me, painfully slow.

“Fuck…” Duff let out a breath of content, his jaw clenching shortly after the curse left his mouth, his eyes peering down at me, “You’re so beautiful… incredible.”

Duff’s head dropped down, his dirty blonde locks brushing softly against my forehead as he groaned, the sound coming from deep down in his throat. I raked my nails gently across his back, sliding them up and down the smooth skin. Whimpers and moans of my own released themselves from deep inside my throat, piercing the air like steel tipped arrows. Duff’s hands planted themselves next to my shoulders, pushing himself up above me. One of his hands lifted up from the sheets, trailing along the strap of my sports bra. Duff sat himself up, kneeling between my legs, his hands now both trailing along my bra, caressing the skin just underneath the hemmings. I moved my arms above my head, giving him the ok to take off the piece of clothing. I gasped as the cold air hit my nipples, hardening them into peaks. The sound of my bra hitting the floor somewhere distant in my ears. My panties were next - Duff wasting no time in hooking his fingers around the elastic and slipping them down my leg, tossing them to the side and leaving me completely bare beneath him.

“Are you going to take yours off?” I hooked my fingers underneath the edges of Duff’s boxers, giving the elastic a little tug before looking up at him.

“Not yet, I wanna taste you first,” Duff mumbled against my lips as he pressed his nose into the flesh of my cheek, hands slipping down on my body to grasp at my hips. My breath caught in my throat as Duff began to lower himself towards my now exposed heat, pepper-light kisses planted after each few centimetres his face hovered past. His lips pressed against my clit, his tongue flicking out not soon after to make me jump, my back arching up off the bed. I felt my hips roll forward towards Duff as I settled down; the feeling of his open mouth kisses against my wet slit making me sigh with satisfaction. The feeling of being loved so tenderly was so new to me, or maybe it’d just been so long since I’d felt it - ever yet, it was refreshing. I felt as if I was drinking the loveliest flame and letting it lick at the inside of my throat, my voice growing hoarse and desperate as Duff continued his actions on my sensitive bundle of nerves, wrapping his lips around it and sucking harshly.

I whined as Duff pulled his face away from me, wiping his mouth off on the back of his hand as his hazel eyes stared down at me. Something I couldn’t place my finger on rippled behind his eyes, they looked almost glassy as he looked over my body, soaking every inch of it into his memory. I sat up on the bed, leaning forward to attach my mouth to the skin just below Duff’s chest, sloppily kissing along the pale skin, savouring the taste of him on my tongue and the smell of him invading my senses, bringing me an overwhelming sense of calm.

“Lay back for me,” Duff held onto my hands as I drifted my back down onto the mattress, obeying his words, “Good girl.”

I raised my legs up, slipping them around Duff’s waist, pulling his crotch against mine softly. The material of his boxers soaked up the arousal dripping from my heat, leaving a dark patch against the underwear.

“Do you think you’re ready for me?” Duff slid his fingers along my cheek as he looked down at me, the strands of his blonde hair swaying gently over my face - almost ticklish. All I could manage in response was some enthusiastic nods and eager moans, never having been so needy for someone’s dick in my life. I reached my hand out to the side, coming in contact with the bedside tables draws. My hand scrambled for the draw handle, eventually gripping it and dragging the draw open as fast as I could. I heard the rattle of a few things being thrown around in the wooden compartment.

I saw Duff’s eyes dart to the draw, a chuckle leaving his lips, “Condoms, right.”

His hand disappeared out of sight for a few seconds, diving for one of the small, square packets that had been strewn across the top of a few notebooks. The small rip of plastic rung in the air, and I held my breath as Duff’s arm returned to his side, his left hand moving to help him shimmy his boxers down his legs - the piece of clothing soon joining mine on the floor. I was transfixed by the sight of his cock before my eyes, hovering above my core as he rolled the condom down his length. The nerves grew in my stomach as he placed one of his arms beside my head, the realization that this was really happening settling in my brain.

“Duff, wait I-,” I cut myself off, thickly swallowing as the blonde shifted his gaze from my arousal to my eyes, concern displaying itself clearly in the hazel orbs.

“(Y/N), you don’t have to, we don’t have to,” Duff sighed, moving his other hand up to stroke his fingers along my jaw, a soothing gesture that seemed to calm my nerves slightly; enough to clear my judgement of what was going on.

“I want to Duff,” I sighed, “Just-”

“Just what, baby? You’ve gotta communicate with me,” Duff cooed, his fingers continuing their caresses along my face.

“Could you kiss me through it please?” I mumbled, closing my eyes as Duff’s breathy laughter washed over the skin of my cheek.

“Whatever you need, honey,” Duff whispered, his lips pressing a kiss against my cheek after he finished talking. A trail of light pecks wandered over the flesh of my face, his mouth soon coming into blissful contact with mine. Distracting me from any disruptive thoughts, making me grow ever thankful at the fact that I had a guy like Duff to guide me through such a process.

I felt a slight nudge against my entrance, wincing as the head of Duff’s length slid itself inside me. The soft coos of Duff against my lips made me relax, and soon the feeling of him slowly slipping into me becoming welcome by my body. The feeling of being full was so new, yet so undeniably delicious. My gasps and sighs were being swallowed by Duff, our breath mixing as we kissed. I could faintly taste alcohol on his tongue, my mind wondering how long it had been since his lips wrapped around a bottle of vodka.

“Ah!” A cry left my lips as Duff’s hips snapped forward suddenly, completely sheathing himself inside of me. I could feel myself clenching around his cock, my eyes fluttering shut as the feeling of being completely and utterly full ran throughout my body.

“You okay?” Duff lightly grazed his lips across my forehead, whispering the words as calmly as he could.

I nodded, giving his neck a small squeeze as encouragement to continue, his hips immediately withdrawing from me, only to slip all the way back inside again. His hips stuttered as he made the first few thrusts, the feeling of my already tight walls clenching around him making it hard for him to maintain his composure. Eventually his rhythm grew steady as I stretched to accompany his size, the heat in my body growing hotter by the second. All I could feel was his body against mine - the sweat, the heat and the energy pouring out of our pores and contaminating each other with a lust that almost felt like rage, bubbling up inside of our stomachs and chests, constricting the pipes within our throats. It was an animalistic desire to get rid of this rage, an anger to finish what we had started, to reach our peaks. The very new feeling of Duff buried inside of me was uncomfortable, yet the man who sat above me was desperate for me to enjoy every moment of our time together. His hand slipped down between our bodies, clammy with sweat, and attached the tips of his middle and pointer finger to my clit. The sensation made me jolt, my body tensing as the pleasure I was now receiving helped make the awkward feeling of being full a little more bearable.

Duff’s thrusts set a slow, but heavy rhythm. The knot in my stomach was building as he continued to swirl his fingers around my bundle of nerves, his other hand pressing firmly into the mattress beside my head. I reached my hands up to tangle themselves in his hair, swiping a bead of sweat off his forehead before it had the chance to run down into his brow. My hips began moving on their own accord, rocking to the rhythm Duff had set, my mouth falling open as the head of his cock brushed against a certain spot inside me.

“Right there, huh?” Duff grunted, moving his hand from my clit to my hip. I could feel his fingers digging into the flesh as he pulled my lower half up slightly.

Duff thrusted again, the same spot he hit before coming into contact with his length once more, much easier this time. I couldn’t help the choked noises that left my throat, or my fingers clawing at his shoulders as my eyes fluttered shut under his fiery gaze. His hips continued to work, the sound of skin slapping against skin ringing out through the bedroom as he hit that spot over and over again. My whole being was overwhelmed, the knot in my stomach growing tighter by the second. I couldn’t produce coherent words, a feeling all to unknown flowing through my veins. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me further into him as he continued to slip in and out of my heat, grunts and moans of appreciation for the feeling of my body leaving his lips in flurries. I clawed at his back, arching up into him as I cried out, feeling my orgasm approaching.

“You gonna cum for me baby?” Duff didn’t slow down, his position staying the same, his voice almost desperate for me to finish, “Come all over my cock, come on.”

I whined, throwing my head back and letting out a loud cry of satisfaction as the knot in my stomach unravelled, my release flowing out over Duff’s length. I could feel Duff grunting into my neck, his sweet words and encouragement guiding me through my euphoria as he kept thrusting into me, working towards his own high as well as elongating mine. It wasn’t long before Duff’s hips halted, twitching ever so slightly as he came, biting down into my shoulder.

We sat like that for a few minutes, tangled in each other's embrace and silently going over everything that had just happened. My hands traced along Duff’s jaw, his forehead pressed against mine, breathing heavily, eyes closed. I’d never seen him look so peaceful or at home, it was almost like he’d drifted into a state of complete serenity, and I felt empowered by the fact that he’d found it buried inside me.

“Did you enjoy yourself?” Duff whispered, his aura not shifting in the slightest.

“I did, thank you,” I closed my eyes, leaning up and placing my lips gently against Duff’s. It seemed the most proper way to give him a seal of approval and gratitude, putting my lips back on his just made sense. My heart fluttered as I felt the pressure of him kissing me back, shivers running down my spine as if I’d just walked outside on a fresh winter morning.

“Good,” He sighed.

[melbee]

Electric Love

CHAPTER 5

David Lee Roth Fanfiction

Oh see, don't ever set me free

I only wanna be by your side

Girl, you really got me now

You got me so I can't sleep at night

- you really got me

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

Saying goodbye to Holly must’ve been one of the most hardest things I had to do in my life. I knew that we would see each other soon, as we promised to meet up whenever we both were available, but I realized that she wouldn’t be here for everything, and somehow I would have to survive by myself.

Well not totally by myself...but you get the point. Tears were shed, hugs, a few knocks on the head and final waves as I stood near the window that overlooked the front parking lot of the apartment, as the red Ford drove away into the sun which had begun its descent.

“You know I have these beautiful bay windows over on the other side, since the sun sets over to the west. It’s much prettier.” I heard Lewis voice out as I turned around to look at him smiling, motioning with his hands toward the other room.

I smiled, “Sure, I would love to see it.” I walked over to the windows and peaked at the sun that was steadily falling with every passing second, and realized Lewis was right. It was beautiful. I imagined those right off the beach in Malibu had the joy of watching it in full every evening, and sighed in contentment.

“It’s nice isn’t it? The light beginning to fade.” Lewis said as I felt his presence as he too made his way over to the windows and leaned in a daze.

“Yes, it reminds me of Arizona, those sunsets weren’t so bad..” I said laughing as I envisioned the many times as kids me and Holly would drive out into the desert during the weekends.

“Yes, but doesn’t it get dreadfully cold when it’s finally dark out?” Lewis asked facing me.

I shrugged as I looked over at him, “Well yes, doesn’t it get cold in California?”

Lewis plastered a sinful grin as he giggled, “Honey, quite the opposite..”

I smiled and laughed, as I stood from my position making my way over to the couch. “Oh?”

Lewis got up as well as he stood walking over and begun looking at nearby fabrics left forgotten on the counter, “Well perhaps in Bel air or some shit, but here? In Hollywood? Baby it gets hot.”

A confused looked etched my face, “What do you mean?”

Lewis rolled his eyes and sighed, “Chica, you’ll figure it out one day..”

I gave him a weird smile as I shrugged. While I had no clue what he meant by hot, I had a sneaking suspicion he wasn’t talking about the weather. It was something else. I felt a chill run down my back at the thought.

“That’s besides the point... I was hoping we could go over some things, projects and sorts. I’ve got quite a few but a recent one I just picked up. I’ve been looking at designs, it’s hard to tell which would look good.” Lewis said as he sighed. I made my way over to him as I fingered the skills and the velvets, and even the.. spandex?

“Spandex?” I said as I grabbed the piece of black and tight fabric, as I heard a giggle come from my left.

“Yes, that was a bit of a client’s request. Rockstars these days...” he said as he looked at it thoughtfully.

“Oh rockstars? I heard you dealt with musicians. Who are you working with now?” I said.

His eyes bugged as his jaw dropped before slapping his face, “LORD! I completely forgot to tell you that over the phone didn’t I? Gosh I’m so stupid!”

I laughed as I shook my head.

He sprung to life suddenly, as he walked out of the room, much to my confusion. I was close to following him until he came back with stacks of what looked like paper cutouts from magazines and posters.

I grazed my hand over the first one. A beautiful tall man, with leggings that hugged every inch of his curves, a plethora of chest hair and a Jean cutout jacket that seemed to sparkle even from the picture. He had fluffy blond hair, and a look that I’m sure would make any girl drop to their knees.

It suddenly dawned on me who this was. “Are you working for..”

“Van Halen? Yes! Isn’t it wonderful. Trust me I was shocked when I got a call they wanted me to make some clothes. I mean.. come on..” Lewis gasped as he started flipping over the different pictures of the guys.

I laughed as we stared at all the different members of the band, Eddie, His Brother and what I assumed was the bass player stood in many pictures. Every time we passed by ones with the blonde haired guy, I couldn’t help but get confused at who that was.

I know I wasn’t exactly the most literate music fan, I couldn’t help my tastes were a bit old fashioned.

“So the blond guy...he’s..” I started to say as Lewis gave me a wild look.

“David Lee Roth? Do you not know who he is?” Lewis gasped standing back in horror.

I looked sheepish as I scratched my arm, “I know a few songs by them.. I haven’t really gotten a chance to listen to them fully.”

“Oh god.. that’s it! Impromptu music sesh’.” Lewis said as he made his way over to a cabinet bringing out an old record player, and opened a cabinet adjacent which was stocked with vinyls of all types. He looked through, as I made my way over to him, before he gasped and grabbed the first album to come out.

“Van Halen 1. No bullshit just straight up rock n roll.” Lewis said as he put the track on as a familiar song came on that I’m sure I heard on the radio at some point.

He beckoned me to sit down on the couch as he grabbed the pile of pictures of Van Halen, nodding his head back and forth to the music. I smiled finally getting to understand the meaning behind the meolodies. Some of the songs were quiet sad, Jamie’s Cryin? It irked me they could play such powerful and rocking music, and the lyrics were much deeper then what they appeared to be.

When Eruption started playing I couldn’t help but gasp, at the sounds that were emitted from the record player. The guitar wailed with power and sophistication. “Wow!” I said to Lewis, who just smiled at my reaction.

“You should here him play it in concert. Holy fuck, Eddie is the cutest little thing with that impish grin, he just plays that shit like he’s washing his car.” He said as he sighed looking at the pictures once more.

“Oh I’m sure..” I said imagining myself at the concert. “Do they play to big crowds?”

Lewis gave me a dumbfounded look before nodding his head vigorously, “Huge! Every single one of them are controlled by those guys, I’m telling you..”

“So what outfits are you making for them?” I asked as Lewis set the pictures down, as he got up.

“All for their shows mostly, specifically for the one coming-“ He paused with dramatic horror as his eyes bugged. “Chica!!! Their show is coming up!”

I gasped realizing he was right, remembering the billboard I had drove past on our way here. I feared the worst at his reaction. Did he not have all the outfits ready?

“Oh don’t worry. I’ve got most of them finished, I’m just finishing the bedazzled sequins on David’s chaps, and Michael’s cowboy pants.” He said as he grabbed my hand pulling me off the couch and into a separate room, that reminded me of a seamstresses room.

“Do you know hand stitching? Or bejewelling by chance?” Lewis asked as he unzipped a hanging bag and grabbed a pair of pants that by my astonishing surprise, were assless.

I smiled and laughed, nodding my head yes. As I rubbed a finger down the material “Yes, I love bejewelling! I always got As in that class in college.”

He grinned grabbing a container of crystals, and some sort of machine that imprinted them into the material. “Well great this bottom half still needs finishing. Also bear in mind that these are swarovski crystals, and I’d love if none of them get lost somewhere.”

My eyes widened as I nodded my head. He quickly showed me how to use the machine, before he made his way over to a pair of cowboy pants, and grabbed slashes of leather. “I’ve got to finish these up. Don’t worry we’ll have it all done quickly. I’ve got my friend Mari from the front desk she used to help me out, but she’s going to be help us on Saturday to load everything up to the venue.”

“Oh I met her at the front desk. She’s very nice!” I said laughing as I begun placing the crystals on the pant carefully.

“Oh she’s wonderful, poor thing won’t go to the venues anymore though...” Lewis said sighing.

“Oh really, why?” I asked. Curious if it had any thing to do with her bold words when she warned me about rockstars earlier.

“Poor thing, her heart got broken.” He said clicking his tongue, as I heard the sound of snips and tears as he worked.

“Oh.. By who?” I said.

He suddenly stopped as he gave me a look, “David.. He.. well I guess you could say they had a falling out. He wasn’t really interested in her, but she was completely in love.. I think he kissed her and well..”

“Dissed her?” I said as I frowned going back to my work.

“Yes, something like that. He played with her emotions a lot and well, she’s never been able to see him again.” Lewis said as he sighed.

“Is that why she was so stand offish about your clientele?” I asked

I looked over to see Lewis nodding, “She wanted to quit helping me out, but I told her she needed to find a way to balance her life again and so this is the only solution. That’s why I needed a new assistant. I can’t just pay someone to walk the outfits to the car and leave.”

I nodded in understanding, but what confused me, is why Mari would be so heartbroken she couldn’t even do her job properly. What exactly did that guy do to her? I hadn’t even met him yet, and he already sounded like an asshole.

“David’s very.. peculiar. He’s very eccentric, and sometimes that makes him a little insensitive at times. However, I think he means well for the most part. It’s understandable, ever since his claim to fame he would be more egotistical.” Lewis said as he continue to cut through the pieces of leather and sowed them onto the jeans.

I nodded my head in understanding, but I still didn’t believe that was a good enough excuse. Was he that clueless enough to not be careful with manipulating someone’s emotions? Something didn’t sit right with me, but I chose to ignore it until I got a better judgment.

“So what are the other guys like?” I asked Lewis, slightly humming to myself as I felt an onslaught of exhaustion hit my face as I realized that the road trip had definitely taken a toll on my body.

“Oh they’re lovely..wild... crazy as ever for sure..but a lot of them have different personalities.” Lewis said as I turned to him.

“Oh yeah?” I smiled.

Lewis laughed, “Yes, well Michael Anthony—he’s the bass player by the way— he’s a lot more calmer then the rest and very sweet, but so funny. He’s got a great smile.”

“Both the Van Halen brothers while they might be similar, they are polar opposites in a lot of ways. Eddie’s a bit more quieter, but is so cute and charming. Al is a bit wild, but he’s funny, and has a good time.” Lewis said.

“So you know them on a personal level?” I asked, realizing how familiar Lewis spoke when referring to Van Halen, and I had a hinting suspicion he was closer to them then what he put on.

Lewis laughed nodding his head, before shrugging. “I got the call almost a year ago that they wanted costumes, and I guess they liked my work so I continued. I’ve been to lots of there shows over the year, and their parties.”

I gasped, wondering how fun hanging out with celebrities would be. “Did you get to travel?”

Lewis smiled and nodded. “The best part was probably getting to go to Japan for a couple days, and a night in Sweden. I’m telling you they must ditch all the ugly people to Norway, because EVERYBODY was so attractive.”

I laughed, trying my best to picture the scene in my head.

We continued on for hours until I was just about finished, and my eyes were starting to fall from exhaustion.

Lewis noticed my tiredness and smacked his arm much to my humor. “Jeez, I’m a totally idiot! I totally got sidetracked! You must be dead tired right now.” He had finished his pants and was now cleaning up. he stood up and walked over to me signaling for me to get up.

I stood up smiling and laughing, “Are you sure I can’t help finish this last bit? I’m almost done.” I said holding my hand to my mouth as a yawn passed my lips.

Lewis frowned making a tsking sound, before grabbing my hand and leading me to my room. He turned on the light, and pointed to an adjacent door. “There is a bathroom in there, and a closet to the left side of the wall. Help yourself with a shower if you want, just don’t be in there too long. The neighbors upstairs run an indoor ‘kiddie’ pool, or some shit..”

I smiled suddenly getting the urge to hug him, so I did. Patting his back thoughtfully, before pulling away. “Thank you Lewis, truly.”

Lewis smiled, before grabbing my cheeks and squeezing them. “That’s what friends are for.”

I smiled, as he walked away before standing at the doorway giving me a happy smile. “I’m so glad you’re here, Rosie.”

I laughed, “I am too.”

“I want you to know that no matter what happens or where you go in life, I have full belief that you will excel in life. I see the passion for designing in you. It’s a wonderful thing.”

I blushed tucking my hand over my ears. Lewis beamed tapping the door softly with his hand, his rings making a solid thumping sound. “Goodnight. We will be up early tomorrow, I’ve got some of Van Halen’s tour designers coming to get the clothes ready for fitting, before the show. Mari will be here on the following Saturday.”

I nodded my head sighing loudly. “Sounds exciting. Goodnight.” With that Lewis closed the door silently, leaving me to breathlessly plop my body onto the bed, a slight creaking noise resonating through the quiet atmosphere.

I held my head in my hands, before looking up in exasperation. “Well I guess I’m fucking doing this thing.”

With that I prepared myself for the day ahead, that I had no doubt would be as eventful as they come.

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

When morning came, I was ill-prepared from what would meet me through the front door.

Sure, I assumed that Lewis had a few designers he worked with and maybe they would bring in a rack of clothes, possibly some bags to help transfer them, but I had no idea the size of what the operation really was going to be.

So when a flank of men and women combined dressed in suits, and skirts came in with clothing racks of various styles of pants, shirts, and even scarfs I knew I had not prepared myself enough.

Lewis smiled brightly as the people came in, as I watched as a smaller figured girl holding a box of fabrics, with pretty brown hair struggle to keep up with the pace. I sprinted over to her, grabbing onto the other side to help her pick it up.

“Here I let me help you.” I said with a huff as I picked it up, much more effortlessly then I anticipated.

“Ooh!” I heard a cry come from the other side as we walked backwards over to a table and set the box down. I walked backwards to see the girl raise her eyebrows questioningly at me.

I smiled as I wipe my slightly sweaty palms on the side of my jeans as I raised an arm for her to shake. I could see hesitance in her eyes before she gave me a small smile and shook it.

“Hi, I’m Rose.” I said laughing as I stood back awkwardly. I couldn’t tell if she liked me or not from the odd look on her face as she stared.

She suddenly gulped as she nodded her head quietly. “I’m Annie.”

I smiled nodding my head. “Nice to meet you Annie. So, I assume you work with all these people?”

She shrugged shoving her hands into her pockets, “Yes well, it’s a way to meet ends. I love fashion.”

I laughed and smiled, but couldn’t help but turn at her odd comment. If she loved it so well, why did she say it as if she would rather be doing something else?

Her eyes glazed over, as I sucked in my cheeks at the awkward silence.

“Oh there you are!” Lewis said as she grabbed my shoulder, and looked over at Annie.

As if she was a brand new person, Annie suddenly smiled so brightly. “Hey Lewis!”

He laughed grabbing her into a hug, as she giggled wrapping her arms around him. I couldn’t help but frown slightly at her sudden bold and excited nature around him. Did she not like me? Why was she so cold and hesitant, but suddenly a new person around Lewis?

They pulled away from the hug as Lewis noticed my odd look, but decided not to comment on it. “Well it seems you guys met.”

I smiled looking over at Annie who had quieted down to only a small smile. The original glint in her eyes slightly coming back as she set her gaze back on me.

I laughed trying to cheer up the awkwardness, “Yes we have. Wow! I didn’t know this was all going to be as formal as it was!” I said trying to change the subject.

Lewis shrugged as he surveyed the busy room. “Believe me it wasn’t always like this, but we’ve all built up ourselves a lot over the past year. We’re closer then ever.”

I smiled, as he motioned for me to follow him into the room we were in last night working on the outfits. “So as you know this is my work room. We do most of the making here, and we also organize the clothing for before and after the fittings.”

I nodded my heads as the people from before stop there chattering as they all looked at me with curious expressions.

Lewis laughed, “Okay guys don’t bite. This is Rosie, my new assistant. She’ll be helping with all our preparations.”

The room immeasurably lifted as they all came walking over, a few girls laughing as they pulled me into a hug. Complimenting my hair and whispering how pretty I was.

One of the guys with a bright smile walked over embracing me tightly. “Lewis, you’ve got yourself a keeper.” He winked.

Lewis rolled his eyes trapping me in a playful arm lock, “Channing, she isn’t up for sale.”

His eyebrows quirked, “Really? So my man finally likes the front hol-“

Lewis turned tomato red, as he slipped his hand over Channing’s mouth. He laughed putting his hands up in mock surrender, as Lewis still recovering from his blush as he shook his head.

I giggled in understanding. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but many men in the fashion world tended to be, a bit blatant in their...preferences? I had a slinking suspicion that Lewis was the same way.

They all backed away, as I saw Annie who had been behind us quietly make her way over to the girls as they all began surveying the work.

“Wow! These chaps look great!” One woman said as she grazed her finger down the side of the seams.

Lewis winked at me, grabbing my hand and brought me over to the table where the clothes lay. “Well I happened to know a girl.”

The woman smiled, and looked at me in surprise. “The cross-stiching at the ends are impeccable! The crystals are placed wonderfully.”

I laughed as I shrugged, “It isn’t too complicated.”

She rolled her eyes playfully, “You’ve got in you girl. Id love to see some full ensembles.”

The other girl with red pigtails that reminded me of Holly giggled, “Yes, those outfits would for sure sell some more tickets to the concert.”

They all giggled in response except for Annie who only smiled, as her eyes glazed over in a thoughtful look.

“David’s going to love them. I just know it.” The woman said as she grabbed a hanger and clips from the rack as they all begun ensembling the outfits into bags and secured them.

“Oh he’s going to just love her, Molls” The One with red hair, said as she winked at me. “Have you met the boys yet?” Her eyes glinting with curiosity.

I simply shook my head, crossing my hand over my chest. “No, I haven’t gotten the chance. However, I’ve heard a few of the stories.”

“Yeah well, trust me they aren’t as available as you think they are.” I heard the quiet voice of Annie ring out as she stepped away from the rack.

Oh. I had wondered what her hesitancy was. Did she see me as some threat? I didn’t have the slightest idea as to why, though. I had no intention of even getting to know them, rather then actually..

Molly sighed sympathetically patting Annie’s back. “Babe, I just don’t think-“

“I don’t really want to talk about my personal life. I’ll bring some of the stuff down to the car.” Annie said with a tight lipped smile as she walked away.

The red head, noticed the tension and smiled, “Rockstars will surely be the end of all of us.”She walked over to me grabbing my shoulders. “I’m Liz by the way.”

I nodded, “Nice to meet you, Liz.” I looked over to the woman who had a small frown over her face. “You too Molly.”

She snapped out of her haze and gave me a wide smile. “Anytime, girl. We’ll be seeing each other soon.”

We heard thundering footsteps come into the room, as I looked over recognizing that it was Lewis, who must’ve slipped out the back while we are all talking. This time his signature smile was gone, as a deep perturbed looked etched his face.

“What’s wrong?” Molly said as she gave Lewis a concerned look.

“I just got off the phone with Noel. They’re all hungover as hell, right now. Apparently they all pissed somebody off at some bar.”

Liz snorted, “okay, that’s their regular Tuesday. What about it?”

Lewis sighed as he shook his head, “No, it was someone important I guess in the industry. Anyways, they’re kind of off the rails a bit still, at least David is. They had to put him in a..” Lewis then seemed to be battling his smile, as he bit a lip.

Molly gave him a humorous glance. “What?”

Lewis began laughing, “They had to put David in a straight jacket.”

I couldn’t help but smile along with the rest of group as we all snorted and giggled, at the idea of a rockstar being put in a straight jacket for being so off the walls.

I hadn’t even met David, and he already seemed like quite a character. What irked me even more is that I felt as if I did know him. I acted as if I was battling whether he was a weird guy, or just a gigantic asshole. I didn’t know what I would do when I met him. However, I knew it wouldn’t be a boring conversation.

I pictured the man in the magazine articles, his hair wild, like a mane of a lion. He had such a lustful look in many of his doctored, professional looks. However, I couldn’t help but admire the ones with him performing. That wild look, the giant smile, something told me deep down that, that was the real David. Under all the glitz and glamour, there was just a man going after one big dream.

I finally looked back at the people to realize only Channing, Liz, and Lewis had stayed in the room. I watched them all converse animatedly as Channing brought out a notebook and was hastily writing things down. They all seemed to be conversing about the outfits, as they all waved their hands widely with deep expressions.

I smiled realizing I had finally found my people. True artists. I walked over to them, as they wrapped up their conversation.

Channing smiled embracing me in a hug, “It was nice meeting you, Rose. I’m already counting the days till our next partnership.” He said as I kissed my hand, with a suave look in his eyes.

“Okay Romeo, back off.” Liz said as she laughed grabbing me in a hug. “We’ll be seeing each other in a couple days.”

“Really?” I said as I looked over at Lewis. He smiled nodding his head.

Lewis gave me a knowing look as he winked. “Chica, we’re seeing Van Halen. And I’ve got backstage passes.”

They all began to laugh as the day seemed to close with that single thought.

I was going to meet Van Halen.

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

[kissygrayson]

LANDSLIDE: Chapter Four - The Birthday Present.

... in which Y/N and Harry fall in love at University.

series masterlist

.

.

.

Y/N fumbled with the laptop in front of her. She was currently sat on the sofa in the living room, her laptop open on a website filled with skateboards and sneakers, her eyes scanning the screen to find something her younger brother Issac may like. He was turning 14 at the weekend, her parents had planned him a huge birthday party on the beach - even tho it was early September.

She groaned closing the laptop over. This was hopeless, everything Issac loved she couldn’t seem to find anywhere. He was into skateboarding, comic books, music, everything she could easily find but everything he already had. Deciding on leaving the laptop behind and going to the mall, she quickly flung on some joggers and an oversized hoodie, while having the idea to send Harry a quick text.

y/n: hey, you busy?

harry: just got finished with class so no, everything okay?

y/n: u wanna help me find a bday present for my brother, i would love u forever :)

harry: i’m down! i’ll pick u up in 10!

10 minutes had passed and Y/N was now stood at the steps leading up to her flat. She checked her phone a million times to see if Harry had left any messages to say where he was at, but she knew him and knew he wouldn’t text and drive. A car horn beep pulled her from her thoughts.

“Y/N” She heard Harry call from a car across the street.

“Hey, thank you for coming” She smiled while getting into the passenger seat of the car. Harry gave her a smile. Y/N took her phone from her bag then connecting it to Harry’s car.

“Make yourself at home” he joked with a smirk, he liked that she was comfortable around him. Y/N smiled back, Fleetwood Mac then blasting throughout Harry’s car.

“You are perfect!” Harry laughed.

Y/N rolled her eyes “I know Harry, I know. It’s really hard sometimes. But you’d know more than anyone” she flirted back.

Harry shook his head with a huge smile. She had to stop before he fell in love with her.

.

.

.

They had arrived at the mall after parking and finding the nearest bathroom because Harry swears he was going to burst. They then went on the search for a birthday present.

“So, what does he like?” Harry asked. She had told Harry a few things about her siblings. Like Issac had fallen off his skateboard a few months ago and broke his elbow, Oscar seen Issac's cast and wanted to be just like him, so he tried to do the same thing. Y/N then had two younger brothers with broken elbows.

“He’s big into skateboarding, but I don’t know he has so many” Y/N said her thoughts trailing off to the thousands of skateboards that sat in her garage.

“Let’s go in here” Harry said pointing to a small record store. He remembered Y/N said he liked music.

Y/N’s eyes lit up when she stepped inside. Rows and rows of her favorite bands and singers albums laid in front of her. She spotted a small section of The Beatles vinyls, alongside it were The Clash and a few older bands she knew Issac loved. Harry had wandered over to the other side of the store looking at the record players, trying to find the perfect one for her.

Y/N approached Harry. Her hands stacked with vinyls. The Beatles caught Harry’s eye.

“He likes The Beatles?” He asked. Seriously could this girl be any more perfect he thought to himself.

“Loves them, but also all this stuff too” She laughed pointing down to The Smiths, Nirvana, Elton John and Queen albums in her hands.

“I think he’s my new best friend” He joked. “This one is pretty decent, Zayn has it back at the flat” He then said pointing to a white record player at a decent price. Y/N nodded gesturing for Harry to get it from the shelf.

After paying for their items and going into a few more stores but having no luck finding anything else they came across the vans store. Y/N dragged Harry inside after spotting the shoes Issac had wanted for ages, nowhere in Italy selling them. She got his size and a gift card for him to get some back to school goodies and they headed to the next store.

“Are you getting anything else?” Harry asked as they awkwardly stood in the middle of the mall not knowing where to go next.

“I mean I’ll take a look in the skate shop on the way out, but I’m not sure. Maybe come to Topshop with me so I can get something nice for the party?” She asked with a sweet smile feeling bad she had been dragging the boy around all afternoon. Harry nodded the pair walking across the mall to Topshop.

“This is cute” Harry said pointing to a green patterned dress. Y/N held back a laugh.

“I can't tell if you’re joking or not” She stuttered not wanting to offend the boy. Harry let out a loud laugh starling some people in the store.

“You’re so cute” he said putting an arm around her shoulders and smiling down at her. Y/N laughed hitting his hand.

“I really hate you”

.

.

.

They had finally gotten everything they needed, now stood in the last store where Harry wanted to buy a new pair of boots. Y/N had successfully gotten Issac a present, as well as a birthday card and a few things for her youngest brother so he didn’t feel left out. Harry had sneakily bought a skateboard for the birthday boy leaving Y/N in shock and admiration. Harry had never meet Issac nor had he spoken to him, but he felt like he needed to get him a little something just because, why not!

“Harry?” the pair heard a female voice say from behind them. Harry quickly put his head down recognizing exactly who it was.

“Someone’s calling for you?” Y/N said confused. Harry muttered for her to be quiet and keep her head down, the pair focused on the boots in front of them.

“Harry, I know you can hear me silly” the person laughed getting closer. Harry sucked in a breath mentally praying to god before turning around.

“Sophie, hey” He said finally letting out the breath. Y/N’s eyes widened at the mention of his exes name.

“What are you doing here?” She asked, looking the girl beside Harry up and down. Trying to keep her nasty comments at bay.

Harry gave her a fake smile then lifting his bags a little “Shopping. We should get going tho, right Y/N/N?” He said looking at the other girl. Y/N nodded quickly noticing how uncomfortable Harry was.

“Y/N/N, do I know you?” Sophie asked, jealously lacing her voice.

“I don’t think so” She said. “Also, It’s Y/N” She quickly added, not wanting the girl to call her by that nickname. Harry tried to hide the smirk that crept on his face.  

“Sophie!” A loud voice echoed throughout the shoe store. She rolled her eyes in response. She really wanted to stay and grill Harry’s new girl.

“Bye Sophie” Harry smiled awkwardly leaving the store and a jealous Sophie behind.

“Well, she seems lovely!” Y/N joked. Harry shook his head laughing as they made their way back to the car.

.

.

.

“Thank you for today” Y/N smiled as Harry pulled up at her flat. He looked at her, a huge smile on his face.

“We should do it again soon” He said.

Y/N smirked “Are you asking me on a date Harry?”

Harry let out a laugh, his cheeks turning a little red. She really had a hold over him.

He tipped his head to the side, a silly smile on his face. “Well, would you go on a date with me Y/N?” He asked

“Let me think about it” She smiled back before saying “I’m joking. Of course I’d love too”

“Cool” He said.

“Cool” Y/N repeated back. “Well I should go, gotta get ready for my flight tomorrow”

She unclipped the seat belt, grabbing her belongings while Harry helped her take them to her front door.

“I’ll see you in a few days” She smiled.

“Can I just do something for a second?” Harry boldly asked. Y/N’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion but she nodded anyway.

Harry leaned forward, a hand coming up to caress her cheek, his lips then coming up to meet hers. Y/N leaned into his touch, the pair sharing a kiss outside her front door.

Harry pulled back, the smile on his face as big as the sun in the sky. Y/N’s the same.

“Goodnight Y/N/N. Have a safe flight tomorrow” He said pressing a kiss to her forehead. Y/N gave him a small wave as he made his back down the stairs and back to his car.

Today was definitely a good day.

.

taglist : @vinylhazza @cryinabtharvey

[sfthearts]

Sunshine part 4

This took me too long for 0 reason but it’s cute and it’s hella fluff so enjoy

It had been almost 2 months since Adelaide and Brendon met, and they had been inseparable ever since. Every chance they got they were either talking to one another on the phone or physically with each other, linking hands and sharing little soft kisses on lips, cheeks and foreheads. Brendon had developed a preference for kissing Adelaide’s forehead, solely because it made her smile up at him with such a wholesome look, he thought he might melt on the spot. Adelaide deeply enjoyed kissing his cheeks, and each freckle she saw upon them, and she especially loved when he was waking up from a nap and they were flushed pink. They both took quite a liking to each other’s lips on their own, however.

Brendon had grown to love Pumpkin, not that he wasn’t already a fan, and even joined Adelaide on her morning walks with Pumpkin sometimes. He began to love his time Pumpkin so much that he even had considered adopting a dog of his own.

Brendon spent much of his time with Adelaide thinking about how beautiful she was, inside and out, and Adelaide found herself doing the same of Brendon.

Brendon had recently joined a band that was gaining a lot of traction, and combined with Brendon’s solo projects getting their own attention online, things were starting to pick up quickly for him. Adelaide had recently gotten a promotion at work as well, so all in all, both of them were absolutely ecstatic with life.

It was a calm Sunday afternoon, and Brendon and Adelaide had devoted their day only to each other. Adelaide was curled up on Brendons couch with her head in his lap as he played with her hair, a vinyl softly played from his record player. They’d talk every once in a while, but mostly they just enjoyed each others company. Brendon truly felt blissful for at least an hour, however Brendon began to grow restless.

“Hey, you wanna go for a drive?” Brendon says to Adelaide as they laid lazily on his couch in each other’s arms.

Adelaide nods in response, smiling up at him. She hated to admit it so soon, but she would follow this boy anywhere he asked her to go.

She was falling for everything about him and she knew it. His kind, soft eyes that squinted up when he smiled, the way he already would do anything just to look out for her even though they’d only met a couple months prior, the sweet and soft side of him that seemingly only came out when he was speaking directly to her or about her, all of it. To her, he was perfect. He constantly reminded her how beautiful he thought she was, and she loved that. She wasn’t used to that kind of attention, and it felt strange at first, but she found herself slowly growing to enjoy it. She would often try to give him the same reassurances, but he always brushed them off.

Brendon felt his heart skip a beat when she smiled up at him so softly. He matched the smile as Adelaide stretched, and the two walked hand in hand to Brendon’s car. He unlocked it and opened Adelaide’s door, helping her inside and closing it once more. He settled in his own seat, and headed off down the road.

Adelaide looked out the window at all the passing cars and buildings, getting lost in her thoughts. She doesn’t hear Brendon when he asked her a question until he gently placed a hand on her leg, rubbing it slightly with his thumb.

“Oh sorry, what?” She said, shaking herself from the daze she was in.

Brendon chuckled and repeated himself.

“You doing okay over there cutie? Too warm? Too cold?”

Adelaide shook her head and smiled.

“Perfect” she stated, and grabbed for Brendon’s hand to hold. He happily obliged and took her smaller hand in his. She absentmindedly stroked her thumb over the top of his hand as he drove. Brendon noticed quickly and smiled, the soft motion helping soothe any anxieties he was feeling.

Adelaide looked like she was off in her own world again, and Brendon began to worry.

“Is everything okay? You just seem like you’re somewhere else today” he asked, looking over quickly before putting his focus back on the road. His brows scrunched up with concern.

“Yeah, yeah I’m okay. Just thinking” Adelaide says quickly, bringing his hand up to her lips to kiss it.

Brendon feels his anxiety wash over him like a wave. “Thinking? About what?”

“About you. All good things, don’t worry.” Adelaide confesses. Brendon smirks when she says this.

“About me? Well pretty girl, I’m thinking about you too. I’m always thinking about you.” He says sweetly.

“I’m always thinking about you, too.” she replies as her heart melts.

“Adelaide I�� I really, really like you.” Brendon tells her sincerely.

“And I really, really like you.” she countered quickly.

Brendon took a quick breath before finally saying what had been on his mind for a while.

“We’ve been seeing each other for a couple months now and I knew from the minute I saw you that I was all in, and I hope you are too, and we spend a lot of time together now so I was wondering… Adelaide, would you officially be my girlfriend?”

Her face broke into the biggest smile she’d ever smiled.

“Yes Brendon, yes!” She says excitedly, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek.

Brendon suddenly pulled the car off to the side of the road. Before Adelaide had a chance to question him, he explained with a smile.

“I had to pull over so I can kiss you properly,”

And kiss her properly he did.

Once they were both out of breath, cheeks flushed, and lips swollen, they decided to get back on the road and continue their little scenic drive. Her hand was firmly clasped to his for the remainder of the trip, and a slight smile remained on both of their faces.

Brendon pointed out some large homes off in the distance, telling Adelaide about a few parties he had somehow managed to attend there.

“Brendon! I can’t believe you snuck into mansion parties in the hills!” Adelaide chastised him while laughing. He laughed as well, stating that there was no way he’d have the guts to do it now, but a few years back he’d been a lot more daring.

They chatted and giggled some more, as Brendon navigated them along the narrow streets.Brendon had driven this same path many times before, when he needed to clear his head, and Adelaide was happy to join him this time.

He drove with no destination in mind, just until he came to a dead end. Usually he had turned around by this point, but he was enjoying their time together. He liked exploring with Adelaide, even if it was just exploring the residential streets of Los Angeles County.

“Well, where to now?” He asked, turning to face his dream girl sitting in his passenger seat.

Adelaide craned her neck to look up at the sky, noticing what looked to be storm clouds nearby.

“I think it’s gonna rain, let’s head back to your place and make hot chocolate!” She said excitedly.

Brendon chuckled and nodded at her request, turning the car back around and heading in the direction of his house once more.

Once they arrived, Adelaide practically skipped to the front door and bounced as she waited for Brendon to catch up. She could smell the rain coming soon, and the sky was almost black with clouds.

“It hasn’t rained like this in FOREVER! I’m so excited!” Adelaide said, bubbling with excitement as they walked inside. Brendon giggled at her optimism, making a mental note to try to be more like that.

A thought suddenly occurred to Adelaide as she removed her shoes at Brendon’s front door, just before the sky let out its first big clap of thunder. She gasped and began speaking anxiously.

“Oh my god, Brendon. I’m so sorry, can you take me home? Pumpkin is terrified of storms and I can’t leave him alone, I just didn’t… god I’m so sorry-“

Brendon cut her off with a light kiss to her lips.

“Hey, don’t worry about it. I’ll take you.” He said softly, unlocking the door. Adelaide slipped her shoes back on quickly.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think about him being alone, I was just so excited. Now I feel bad.” She says quietly, walking outside and back to the passenger side of Brendon’s car once again.

“Baby, you don’t need to feel bad. I’d be more than happy to hang out at your place instead, if you’re okay with that?” Brendon offered.

“I’d love that.” Adelaide replied.

The drive was quick to her apartment, and they got inside just as the rain started to pour down in sheets.

“You go find him, I’ll be waiting right here for you.” Brendon said with a soft smile. Adelaide gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before going to find her spooked dog.

She found Pumpkin hiding in her bedroom curled up on her bed, body shaking.

“Hi buddy, it’s ok, I’m here now.” She tells him quietly, laying on the bed next to him and softly petting his head and neck. He scooted closer and licked her hand appreciatively.

“Let’s go sit on the couch, who’s out there?” She asks the dog excitedly, which made him perk up and jump off the bed in a hurry, curious to see who had come to visit him, because obviously anyone visiting the house had come for the dog.

“Hey there pup!” Brendon said happily as the dog bounded into the living room to see him, Adelaide ran to catch up.

The dog joined Brendon on the couch quickly, panting and sniffing and licking excitedly as Brendon laughed. Suddenly, the sky seemed to open up again, and another loud crack of thunder sounded through the apartment, accompanied by a flash of bright lightning. Pumpkin’s demeanor changed in an instant, as he became shy and scared again. He quickly tried to curl up into Adelaide’s side on the other end of the couch, desperately craving her soothing touch.

Brendon’s face fell into a sad frown, as did Adelaide’s.

“I’m so sorry for all this Brendon, if you want to go home you totally can-“ Adelaide started, but Brendon interrupted her.

“No way! And miss spending time with you? Forget it. Plus, there’s no way I’m going back out in that mess.” Brendon said, gesturing toward the window.

“I can go make us that hot cocoa we talked about if you want to stay here with him. Just tell me where everything is and I’ll make you the best hot cocoa you’ve ever had in your life.” Brendon said with a wink and a smirk.

Adelaide giggled at his confidence and told him where to find everything he would need.

“You got it gorgeous. Sit tight, I’ll be right back.” Brendon turned to leave the room, but Adelaide stopped him.

“Oh, and Brendon?” She added as he began to walk away. He turned back around at the sound of her voice.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you. For being so patient and sweet and understanding.”

He smiled softly.

“Don’t mention it.”

[phoebenavarro]

in honor of bmc closing here’s some notes I took on my phone after I saw the show in may and never actually got around to posting lol

under a cut cause long

Jeremy’s striped shirt is very reminiscent of Ness’s shirt in Earthbound (hc: Jeremy is a huge Mother fan, he loves Earthbound and he’s played fan translations of Mother 3) (he always wanted a group of friends like Ness has in Earthbound, people he could save the world with. He’s always had Michael of course, but he wanted to be part of a party like in an rpg) (and by the end of the show he does)

Love all the details behind Jeremy’s bed-- empty soda cans, the n64 and NES, and ROB

All the details in the set are great, like the posters at school and in the mall. There’s a poster for the GSA that says “Don’t fear queer”

Jeremy sounds like he’s about to cry as he says “I was just trying to get to my locker” when Rich is writing on his bag :(

“No, I always sweat this much” *furiously wipes forehead with sleeve*

“I get it, you’re a virgin!” the look of pure MORTIFICATION on Jeremy’s face

Christine touching Jeremy’s chest and he clutches his heart and looks like he’s about to have a heart attack (MOOD)

Christine stopping herself from info dumping at the beginning of ILPR but then seeing that Jeremy’s interested and the words spilling out of her is SUCH an ADHD mood

Jeremy mouthing “fuck, no” when Jake first is talking to Christine

Anthony Chatmon is a very cute Jake. He makes him very endearing. He’s very earnest but also a complete dumbass LMAO

When Rich’s Squip glitches and he’s laying on the ground, Jeremy just walks away lol

When Rich is singing about his penis in the Squip Song, Jeremy points at his crotch and is like “your....?”

The projections behind the Squip people are SO COOL (all the projections are super cool I love them)

“All I have to do is give the Guy Who tor........... ments me six. HUNDRED- yeah he’s scamming me”

I adore two player game!!!!!! The choreography and the projections are great and its a super creative way to make a song where the characters are doing something as visually boring as playing a video game interesting to watch

Michael when Jeremy and his dad are talking is really the epitome of “your friend and their parent are arguing in front of you and you don’t know what to do”

“I think I just blew my bar mitzvah money on a wintergreen tic tac” is SUCH A GREAT line I love it

The squip: “You make everyone around you nauseated” Jeremy: huge smile, mouths “wait what”

The Squip likes to be tall

Literally being able to see the gears turning in the Squip’s head as it watches Jeremy interact with people. It’s absolutely fascinated

The Squip looks so happy and supportive when Jeremy does something good unprompted? Like it gives Jeremy a little thumbs up when Jeremy adds the “She’s french” line when talking about Madeline

Sync up is so awesome and I straight up can’t imagine the show without it now that it’s there. Like I love how Jeremy masters the Squip hand choreography and he’s totally in sync (ha) with everyone else

Okay but I am DYING at the play being set in Athens............. Georgia (like... I went to school there! Go dawgs!) (I saw a production of midsummer once where the “you’ll know him by his athenian garb” meant that Demetrius was wearing a bulldogs sweater)

The Squip is absolutely BAFFLED when Jeremy is talking with Christine and being a huge fucking dork and she’s actually into it. And it’s just fascinated by here. Love it. I think it realizes then and there that she can’t be as easily manipulated as someone like Brooke, and I think that’s why it tries to kind of steer Jeremy away from her.

The Squip is like. So pleased with itself during all of Guy I’d Kind of Be Into

“DID YOU KILL EMINEM” “Noooooooooooooooot exactly” (low key the funniest line in the show)

Brooke and Jeremy are actually really cute and I get really sad for her cause she clearly likes him a lot and he just ends up hurting her (which was not his intention, but like, it still happens)

You can see the beginnings of the Squip’s plan forming as it watches everyone sing “I’m tired of being the person that everyone thinks that I am” during Upgrade

Loser Geek Whatever is. God. So relatable. And so many lines in it hit me so hard because like, someone put that experience into words

You can see Michael on the screens in the set walls saying Jeremy’s name for a second after the “optic nerve blocking on” line

I need a recording of the intermission music it’s so funky and I love it

I LOVE brooke’s dog costume it’s adorable

Jeremy says “fucking incredible” while the Squip is dancing during halloween

The Squip rolls its eyes at Jeremy for not realizing that Chloe is hitting on him and gives Chloe a look like “I know, he’s so oblivious” when Chloe laughs at Jeremy for not getting it

Chloe falls over on the bed during Do You Wanna Hang

The Squip flops face down on the bed when it gets shut down because of the alcohol and then it just stays there for the rest of the scene

Literally everyone in the audience gasped when Jeremy called Michael a loser

Michael does some of the same choreography from Two Player Game during Michael In The Bathroom and it hurt my heart

“pucking your way through the cast of midsummer” okay but what cast of midsummer HASNT had that one person that dates/hooks up with multiple people in the cast

I realized that the reason the Squip tells Jeremy that he has to leave NOW is cause it knows Rich is about to set the house on fire, not because everything else went poorly for Jeremy

Rich set a fire is SUCH a fun number, I love everyone’s slippers/pajamas and I love Brooke throwing her banana peel off stage and flinging her headphones off

I love Jeremy’s outfit in the scene where he yells at his dad. He looks really good okay, even if he’s being a dick

Pants song is lovely, also at the “do you love him” line there was like a record scratch sound effect (Michael: yup, that’s me. You’re probably wondering how I got into this situation.)

God... I love Pitiful Children. It manages to be funny at the beginning and then it turns into an incredibly threatening villain song by the end of it... Extra disturbing because Jeremy is so into it

I LOVE everyone’s costumes in the play - all the sequins, and I love Brooke and Chloe’s wigs. (Bit unrealistic that those would be costumes for a high school play but they’re so cool I’ll let it slide)

Gotta mention Jeremy’s vocal glitches, they blew my mind. Can’t believe Will Roland just does that (also I’m sad the line about vinyl isn’t on the cast recording cause that was low key my favorite glitch)

Jeremy flipping off the Squip and then the Squip twisting Jeremy’s arm >:(

The Squip’s death is so cool... I love the effects. Technical theatre rules

I love everything about Rich realizing he’s bi. Compulsory heterosexuality really do be like that sometimes

“Hi Rich........ Bye Rich” Michael I love you

Rich like, trails his hand up Michael’s stomach and Michael laughs and smacks his hand away and then he’s horrified cause he hurt Rich’s burns

I gotta mention the Hello Kitty shoes because I still can’t believe they’re real!!!! I love them and I love Jeremy with all my heart!!!!!!!

“Embrace the traits that make you so odd!” Love is stored.... In the Brooke (She’s so sweet and also I think she really did like Jeremy in part because he’s “odd” so get fucked Squip)

Troy Iwata’s Michael has a different jacket for VIMH. He’s got a Japanese flag patch and there’s a different thing on the back. I couldn’t read it but it’s different from George’s. The details!

Voices in my head is lovely and it makes me so happy

(Sorry I still can’t believe BMC didn’t get nominated for at least sound design cause the sound design was amazing. Imo it also deserved a lighting design nom. Sigh. Maybe if they’d gotten more Tony noms it wouldn’t have closed so soon.)

But yeah. It’s been two days and I already miss BMC on broadway. But I am looking forward to the show having a very successful future being licensed for school productions and other local productions!

[xsixxx]

Bad Influence, Chapter Two

Authors note: You guyyyys, thank you so much for all the love on my first chapter, I literally didn’t expect anyone to actually read it! 😭😂 I hope you all enjoy this next one! Like before, feedback is definitely welcome & also, I just wanna say that I’m British, so if some things I write sound wrong (like in the last chapter, I kept wanting to type “revise” instead of study 😂), please let me know, as I’m trying to make this sound American, as obviously that’s where it’s set! Thanks 🖤

Warnings: Language, lil bit of drug use ooo

Tags: (I love you guys for wanted to be tagged, thank you so much) @triplehaitches @freddiessmallnipples @fire-and-blood-got @scarecrowmax @lovesick-heart0

Fall 81’

“Mads, can you turn it down?! Jesus Christ!” I yelled though the poster-clad door.

She pulled open the door & grinned, “what’s wrong, don’t you like listening to your boyfriend sing?!”

“Maddie seriously, I kissed the guy like 6 months ago to prove a point, when are you going to let it go?!” I asked, rolling my eyes. “You kiss Nikki like every other fucking weekend, & then some.”

“Shut the fuck up, Beth!” She hissed, grabbing my hand, pulling me into her bedroom & slamming the door behind me. She glared at me, arms folded across her chest. “If Daddy hears you, he’ll loose his mind & I’ll never be allowed to leave the house again!”

I laughed at her stern expression, “lighten up Mads, he’s downstairs, he didn’t hear. What times the gig tonight then?” I asked, gesturing towards the vinyl player that was still spinning the new Too Fast For Love album.

“Doors open at 7, they’re on at 8.” giggled Maddie with excitement. “I can’t wait!”

“You’ve been going to every one of their gigs for months now, how’re you not bored?”

“Nikki makes sure I’m not”, she winked at me, laughing. I scoffed, cringing at the thought of that arrogant asshole touching my baby sister.

“Please just be careful Mads, I don’t trust that guy.” I looked around her room, adorned with band posters & flyers, a lot of them advertising Mötley Crüe gigs. I looked at the small print of Nikkis face on one of them & I could swear he was smirking at me through the ink. I shook my head.

“I know, I know, he’s the devil”, she laughed, “you sound like Daddy!”

“Ha, right! I’d hate to know what Daddy would say if he knew what you were actually doing when you go & see that band!”

“You’re not going to tell him, right? He’s only just started letting me go without you chaperoning me!”

“& risk having to go to one of those depraved, shit shows with you all over again?” I scoffed, “no, I’m not going to tell him.”

Maddie smiled warmly, “you’re the best, sis. Now help me pick an outfit, I wanna look hot for Nikki.”

•••

I was just finishing up with Maddies hair when Daddy knocked on her bedroom door. He opened it & recoiled slightly when he caught sight of his youngest daughter in the tight red PVC skirt, bejewelled bralette & knee high boots we’d settled on.

He shook his head, “I don’t think so Madeline.”

“Oh Daddy, come on!” Maddie whined, “It’s what everyone wears, it’s a rock show!”

“Well you’re not everyone, you’re my daughter & I raised you to have more respect for yourself. Change please Madeline!” He said sternly, raiding his eyebrow at her. “Elizabeth, are you ready to go?”

“Me? What? I’m not going,” I said, shaking my head, “I have college work to do, this semester has been killer.”

“Elizabeth, I spoke to you about this after the last gig your sister went to, when she came home drunk & thought I hadn’t noticed? I asked you to chaperone her again & keep her out of trouble.” My father said, raising his eyebrow again.

“What?! I thought you were joking! Daddy, she’s 18, she’s old enough to make her own decisions!”

“She’s not old enough to drink, which means she is being irresponsible & she needs someone to keep an eye on her.”

“Excuse me, I am here!” Huffed Maddie. “Daddy, I don’t need a babysitter, I had like one drink last time, it wasn’t a big deal. Please don’t keep treating me like I’m a child!”

“Madeline, you are my child,” my father stressed, his face softening, “I understand that I may seem unfair, but the things I say & do are to keep you safe. I know you’re not a kid any more”, he gestured to her scandalous outfit & shook his head, “but you live under my roof & you will live by my rules. Either Elizabeth accompanies you, otherwise you don’t go.” He finished, turning & opening the door. “& get changed into something more appropriate!” He muttered as he closed it swiftly behind him.

“Fuck!” Maddie yelled, stamping her heeled foot in exasperation.

“I’m sorry sis”, I said, standing up & walking towards the door. “We’ll do something fun tonight though, don’t worry.”

“What?! Beth, you’re gonna come, right?”

“Maddie, seriously? I love you, but no. I can’t stand that sorta crowd, the music gives me a headache & I do not wanna see that pompous asshole you’re fucking. Plus, I’ve got college papers stacking up, I just.. No, I’m sorry.” I trailed off. Maddie looked like she was torn between crying & throwing something at me.

“You’re kidding?! You’re not going to give up one evening to help me out here? I’m you’re little sister, we’re supposed to stick together!”

I stood in the doorway of her bedroom, shaking my head.

“Beth, please. I know it’s not your scene, I know. But you could have fun, if you just let yourself!” She tried to force a smile, but she could see it wasn’t working, so she tried the guilt tactic. “We used to do everything together after we lost mom, we were inseparable. Since you started college, all you do is sit in your room studying, I feel like I never see you anymore. Please, for me, just come out & let’s hang out like sisters again. I don’t even have to hang out with the band after, it can just be a Beth & Maddie night!”

I groaned, & she squealed with excitement, knowing she had successfully guilted me. She jumped on me & wrapped her arms around my neck. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!!”

“We are not going backstage though, I mean it. We’re watching the gig & we’re coming back home Mads.” I said seriously & she nodded her head. I sighed as I dragged myself to my bedroom go get changed, already dreading the night ahead.

Later that evening

I stood awkwardly at the front of the boisterous crowd that was jumping up & down in time to Take Me To The Top. The air was humid & sweaty & I’d been elbowed in the face at least 3 times. Vinces leather encased crotch was exactly my eye level & I could see Nikki smirking at me from off to the left. I couldn’t fucking wait to go home.

Vince crouched down as he sang the last line & planted a kiss on an all too willing blonde with huge tits that had been flashing her enhanced assests next to me throughout the whole gig. I rolled my eyes for about the 100th time that evening as they wrapped up the song &, with it, the show.

“Thank god.” I said, spinning around towards the exit.

“Woah, where do you think you’re going, Princess?” I felt my jaw clench. I closed my eyes & took a deep breath to prepare for the encounter.

“Home.” I said bluntly, turning around to face the sweaty, backcombed, mess of a man that stood with his arm draped around my little sisters shoulders, smirking at me

He ignored me. “So, you couldn’t stay away, huh? Let me guess, you’ve gotten past the too-good-for-you phase & now you’re in the looking-for-some-excitement phase?” He grinned wickedly.

“Sorry Sixx, you’re way off. I’m definitely still too good for you.” I said, smiling at him as sickeningly sweetly as I could.

“Figures. Poor Vinny will be heartbroken, he’s been dying to get into those bunched up panties of yours.” he said, flashing that infamous arrogant smile once again. He turned to Maddie, “come on doll, let’s head back stage, Tommy’s got some stuff that’ll lighten up your stiff of a sister.” He laughed. I saw Maddie elbow him & mutter something under her breath, that caused Nikkis smirk to widen.

“We can’t, I’m sorry, I promised Beth we wouldn’t stay. The show was fucking savage though, you guys killed it, as usual.” Maddie said, before kissing Nikki quickly & turning towards me, but the devil caught a hold of her hand.

“Come on babe,” he whined, pulling her back towards him, “it’s been a while & I’ve missed you,” he mumbled against her lips, stroking her cheek. I watched her melt against him once again, caving into his will. I could see why my little sister had been taken in by him. That sultry voice & those wicked eyes, I could see that he had a skill for manipulating & dragging people down with him, but making it all seem so appealing at the same time. The devil wasn’t a little red man with horns. The devil was Nikki Sixx & he was beautiful & dangerous & smooth as hell.

“Please Beth?” Maddie pleaded, a hint of desperation in her eyes. I knew there would be no dragging her away at this point.

“Fine, but only because I’m not leaving you alone with him.” I shot Nikki a piercing look. “& only for like 10 minutes, Daddy will kill me if I don’t get you back soon.” I said, which triggered a snigger from Nikki.

We headed backstage & into a dimly lit room. I walked through & immediately spotted the 3 lines of coke cut up neatly on a small glass table in the centre of the room, just before Tommy leaned over & snorted one up without any hesitation. Vince was sat on a dingy little couch, being straddled by the busty blonde from earlier. Mick was sat on a chair, clearly trying to stay as far away from the scene happening literally everywhere else in the room, swigging straight from a bottle of vodka & tuning his guitar.

“Yo Sixx, Maddie, vacuum this mess up!” Tommy yelled, beaming. Nikki obliged, immediately heading over to the table & expertly sniffing up the powder before picking up a bottle of Jack & chugging it down. He turned & looked expectantly at Maddie, waiting for her to rinse & repeat. She hesitated & slowly looked at me, the guilt written all over her face.

I lost it.

“You are fucking kidding me Maddie?! Fucking coke, are you mad?! Nah, that is it, we are fucking leaving.” I yelled, grabbing her hand, kicking over the little glass table, shattering the bottle of Jack & sending the remaining coke up into a powdery white cloud. Nikki strode over, blocking the doorway before I had chance to drag Maddies ass out.

“You better move out of my fucking way Sixx.”

“Beth come on, it’s fine honestly, I’ve only done it a couple of times, it’s no big deal-“ Maddie protested.

I ignored her, fixing my eyes on the devil standing in my way. “I said move.”

“Or what, Princess?” He replied, his voice deadly smooth.

“Nikki, come on man, if the girl wants to go, she wants to go. Move out the way dude.” Said Tommy, his voice sounding apologetic.

“She can go.” He replied sharply. “But you can leave my little play thing.” He purred, putting his hand under Maddies chin & tilting her head up to look at him, those green eyes flashing sinfully.

“Excuse me?!” Both she & I yelled together.

“I am not your fucking toy,” said Maddie angrily, swatting his hand from her face & shoving him away from her. “How fucking dare you?!”

Nikki laughed harshly. “Of course you are!” the coke & drink making him bolder & ruder. “You’re a groupie, a fun way to end a good show. What else did you think this was?” He asked, visibly amused.

Maddies face flushed a deep shade of pink in embarrassment, before anger visibly took over. “Fuck you, you fucking asshole!” She screamed, before pushing past him & out of the door.

I glared at Nikki with disgust. “Looks like I’m not the only one who’s too fucking good for you.” I spat, barging past him & after my sister, eventually catching up with her.

“I’m so sorry Beth.. I didn’t mean.. I thought he liked me yanno.. God I’m so fucking stupid.. I’m sorry..” She managed to say between her sobs.

“Come on babe, it’s fine, let’s just get you home.” I whispered, wiping away her tears & putting my arm around her. “We’ve got some fucking posters to take down.”

[mistyyygoode]

My Angel - 2: The Morning After

Therese started to wake up to the smell of fresh coffee invading her nose. She opened her eyes and looked around, slightly confused since she wasn't in her own room. Then, the memories of last night started to flash through her mind. A small smile spread across her lips as she thought about what had taken place. She pulled back the blanket and stood up from the bed. She looked around before spotting her underwear on the floor. She picked them up and slipped them on before walking over to Carol's dresser, wondering which drawer held the shirts.

"What are you looking for?"

Therese jumped slightly and turned to look at the blonde, who stood in the doorway. She was wrapped up in a red, flannel robe, and held a cup of coffee in her hands. "I, uh... shirts. I was looking for a shirt or something to wear." She explained quickly.

Carol walked further into the room, placing her mug on top of the dresser before opening the second drawer. She pulled out a short, white nightgown. "This should work," she said as she handed it over to Therese.

Therese slipped on the garment, seeing it stopped right under her bottom and that it was slightly see-through. She looked up at the older woman, seeing the small smile on her lips.

"I like it," Carol said before picking up her much. She started walking back toward the door. "Coffee?"

"Yes, please." Therese nodded as she followed after the blonde.

They entered the kitchen and the brunette got a better look than last night. Most if it was white, the countertops, the cabinets, and even the appliances were all an off-white color, just like the rest of the house. There was a table in the middle of the kitchen, which was also white. Therese started to gather that white was the color of the home.

"Still two creamers and one sugar?" Carol asked.

"Yes," the younger woman smiled over the fact that Carol remembered after all this time. She took a seat at the table and kept her eyes on Carol as she walked around the kitchen gracefully.

Carol walked toward the table and set down another coffee mug. "Here you go."

"Thank you," Therese gave a soft smile before picking up the cup. She took a sip and hummed softly.

"You're welcome. Are you hungry? I can't cook much, but I'm sure I can figure something out... or we could always go out."

Therese, still sipping on her coffee, looked up at the blonde. She set down the mug and thought for a moment. "It's up to you. If we do go out, I'd like to stop by mine on the way, so I can get a change of clothes... if that's okay?"

"Of course, it is." Carol smiled softly. "As long as you're willing to wait for me while I get ready. I shouldn't be longer than thirty minutes."

"Of course," Therese smiled.

Carol placed a kiss on Therese's cheek as she got up. She walked over to the sink and washed out her now empty mug. "I'll be back," she said before leaving to get dressed.

Therese stayed in her seat for a while, slowly sipping on the hot beverage. Once she had reached the bottom, she did the same as Carol, rinsing it out and setting it on the drying wrack. She then walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. On the one wall were pictures of Carol and Rindy, from when she was a baby until now, showing her growing up through the years. On another wall was a painting of skyscrapers, Therese guessed it was Los Angeles, somewhere she had always wanted to go. Next to that was a smaller painting of Paris, another place she had always wanted to visit. Under the paintings sat Carol's record player and her collection of vinyls.

Therese knelt down and started to look through the vinyls. When she saw Easy Living by Billie Holiday, a smile spread across her lips. She took the record out of its sleeve and place it onto the player. After placing the needle in the right place, she turned it on and listened to the first few notes. She started to dance around the room, slow and soft, keeping her movements to a minimum since she didn't want to knock into anything. She had lost herself in the music and wasn't paying attention to anything until she felt a pair of hands on her hips. A small shriek left her lips as she jumped.

Carol's laugh instantly filled the air and her perfect smile was on her lips. "I didn't mean to scare you, angel."

"It's okay," Therese sighed, blushing. She turned to her lover and smiled to herself when she saw Carol's usual red lipstick and her mink coat. "I should put my clothes back on... I'll be back."

"Okay," Carol smiled.

Therese left the room and walked back toward the master bedroom. After finding all of her clothes, she put them on and headed back to the living room.

Carol still had a smile on her lips as she took one of Therese's hands in her own. She guided the other woman out of the apartment and toward the elevator. Once they were downstairs, she got them a taxi, and Therese gave the diver her address.

She lived in the same apartment as she was when she first met Carol, but the furniture in the home had gotten better with her now successful career.

They arrived at the building quickly and Therese guided the older woman up to her apartment. After she unlocked the door, she held the door open with a small smile. She followed Carol inside, and said, "I'll be right back," before disappearing into her bedroom.

Carol sat down on the sofa and looked around. It was different from the time she had visited Therese. It was more elegant, nothing too extreme, but it looked nice. She looked up to see small, black heels, up long, silky-smooth legs, to a black button-up dress with a collar, and a white lined pattern that made the younger woman look taller.

"You're gorgeous," Carol said as she took up.

Therese looked down as she blushed and smiled. "Thank you."

The blonde walked closer to Therese and placed her finger under the younger woman's chin, making her look up. "I mean it. You're the most gorgeous woman I've ever laid eyes on."

This comment made Therese blush even more than she was before. She tried not to smile like a fool, but her action fell futile. Before she could thank her lover again, Carol kissed her lips softly.

"We should get going before breakfast turns to brunch."

___

Carol and Therese sat across one another, looking at their menus.

As usual, Therese had no idea what she wanted to order. She let out a frustrated sigh.

"What's wrong?" Carol asked, not looking up.

"I don't know what to get."

"You have a problem with making decisions... don't you?"

The brunette looked up with a small frown on her lips. "Yes," she said honestly, although she wished she could have said no. It was one thing she hated about herself.

"Would you like me to pick for you?" Carol looked up as she raised a brow toward the younger woman.

"Yes..."

"How about a stack of pancakes... or a cinnamon-sugar coffee cake?" the older woman asked as she read off from the menu. She felt like she was talking to a child, it reminded her of times with Rindy.

"I-I, uh..." Therese sighed again. "I don't know."

"Okay, then you're getting pancakes," Carol said as she flipped the page to read over more items.

Their waiter came around with their coffee, and to take their orders, and their menus. Once he had left, Carol looked across the table, seeing Therese slowly sipping on her coffee with her eyes down. "My offer from last night still stands." She said, pulling the younger woman from her thoughts.

"Hm?" Therese looked up.

"My offer... from last night. It still stands."

The brunette took a moment to think. At dinner, Carol said something about wanting her to move in. "Oh!" she said once she had realized it. She let out a small sigh as she set down her coffee cup. "I think... maybe... I need some time to think about all this. Everything last night seemed to happen so quickly that I didn't think very much. I mean, I don't mean it's a no. I just—"

"I understand," Carol said, cutting off the younger woman's rambles. "Take all the time you need."

"Thank you."

"What are your plans for this afternoon?" the older woman asked, changing the subject.

"I have to be at work by one... I should be off around five or so, but afterward I'm free." Therese explained.

"Are your workdays always like this?" Carol asked as she picked up her coffee.

"No. There's no real schedule to things. I have deadlines, but no actual time I have to be at work unless I'm turning something in, I have to go to a meeting, or I have to see someone about something."

"Sounds interesting."

"What about you?"

"The usual nine to five, Monday through Friday," Carol said before sipping on her drink.

"Oh... I hated that schedule at the toy store. I always felt like I had to get up too early."

"I agree, but I think I'm used to getting up early because of Rindy."

Therese contemplated her next words. "How is she?"

"She's good..." Carol gave a forced smile before sighing and returning back to her coffee.

Therese could tell that she had chosen the wrong things to say, but instead of apologizing, she stayed silent. Before she had the time to think up another topic, their food arrived, and they both thanked the waiter. She looked down at her three pancakes staked on top of each other and was thankful she chose it over the coffee cake – or rather Carol did for her. Their meal was mostly silent besides asking one another about how their food was and talking to their waiter when he came by to check on them.

After they were finished, Carol paid the bill, and they headed back outside onto the street.

Therese took a deep breath as they walked down the sidewalk. It was still silent between them and she couldn't stand it. "I'm sorry."

"What for?" Carol asked as she lit a cigarette and took a deep drag off it.

"For asking about Rindy... I can tell it bothered you, and I'm sorry." Therese explained.

"Don't apologize. It's just..." the blonde sighed this time before taking another drag. "It's a touchy subject. I guess everyone else knows not to ask or talk about it, so I don't. I haven't talked about her since I last saw her, and it wasn't a pleasant visit." She explained bittersweetly.

"I'm sorry..." Therese said again as she looked down at her feet.

"Please, stop apologizing. It's okay. It's just how things are."

"Can I... can I ask what happened?" Therese hesitated.

"Of course," Carol said before taking another puff before tossing her cigarette onto the ground and stomping it out. She took a deep breath, trying to swallow back her emotions. "She's not interested in seeing me anymore... I'm sure Harge had told her what happened. It's her choice if she doesn't want to see me anymore. I'm not going to force her. I don't want to be one of those parents."

"I..." the brunette stopped herself from apologizing again. "That's horrible."

"It's okay... it's just how things are. I spend most of my day at work, so that keeps me busy. After work, if I'm not having dinner with Abby, I either pick up something on the way home or make what I can and watch TV." Carol explained.

"How often do you have dinner with Abby?" Therese asked.

Carol smiled to herself, sensing the jealousy in her lover's tone. "Three times a week. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. But, on Fridays, we usually go out. I'll probably be seeing less of her now. She's finally found a woman she finds intriguing enough to be her girlfriend." She said the last part in hopes to calm the younger woman down.

Therese let out a small sigh in relief, but not loud enough for Carol to hear. "That sounds nice. I mean, not that you'll be seeing her less, but—"

"I know what you meant," the blonde said softly, chuckling. "Would you like to come with me sometime next week? Maybe even Friday? We all could go out to dinner."

"I'd like that." Therese smiled before looking down at her watch to read it was half-past eleven. "Shit..."

"What's wrong?"

"I have to be at work in thirty minutes... I have to get a few things from my apartment before going." Therese said with a bit of annoyance in her tone. "I'm sorry," she said as she looked up at Carol.

"Don't be sorry. If you need to go, then go." Carol said as she stopped to hail a cab.

"Thank you," the younger woman said before getting inside the taxi. She looked up at the other woman. "I didn't get your new number..."

"I'll call you," Carol said before closing the door with a smile.

[daveslutstaine]

So I was tagged by @no-its-jimmy @theslumberofthebeast @the-sinniest-of-binniest @sturmxundxdrang and @motleycruesixx to answer 21 questions, but because I'm really behind on these tag games (I'm really sorry for that btw but life has been... Like That ya feel?) So I'm gonna do @polska-tankietka questions, as well as @mottokuro and @pierrotquinn and @damageincs and @louder-than-love since a lot of the questions are basically repeat questions. Thank you you precious people 💖 love ya

Nickname: Andy

Zodiac: Virgo

Height: 5'2 (157.8 cm I believe)

Last movie I saw: Bandersnatch. It's fucking amazing tbh

Last thing I Googled: 5'2 in cm

Favorite musician: Dave Mustaine, Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Till Lindemann, Scott Ian, and Chuck Schuldner

Song Stuck in my head: it's a bizarre mix of "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen and "Story To Tell" by Death

Other blogs: @ithirstforpapa being my ghost blog and @acornflakewithadream being my Rammstein blog. They're barely active and idk what to do with them tbh

Do I get asks: yeah and I appreciate everyone who sends me asks uwu

Following: ?????? Like 800 I think

Amount of time I sleep: like 8-6 on a good day

Lucky number: don't have one

What I'm wearing: my Batman onesie since it's cold as fuck and all my pj pants are in the laundry

Dream job: Guitarist

Dream Trip: Venice Italy

Favorite food: enchiladas, sopes, chorizo tacos, and pancakes too!

Play any instruments: Guitar. I might go back to playing violin again but I'm not too sure at the moment

Languages: Spanish and English but I'm also learning German

Favorite songs: Atm it's "Catch The Rainbow" by Rainbow, "In My Darkest Hour" by Megadeth, "Dust In The Wind" by Kansas, and "NIB" by Black Sabbath

Random fact: Despite the fact that I don't listen to this band, I have an old cd from my childhood that my mom gave me of a band I used to love called Conjunto Primavera and it's of their greatest hits. I don't listen to it but I like having it for nostalgic reasons

Describe yourself as aesthetic things: records lying all over the damn floor with the record player playing some thrash metal, battle vests complete with studs and spikes, bullet belts and leather jackets, spiky arm bands, guitars, lit candles, wallet chains, Sanrio stationary, abandoned places, and soft blue/pink/purple lights

Gender: Woman

Sexuality: Bisexual

Hogwarts house: last time I checked I got Ravenclaw

Favorite animal: I fucking adore Water Bears/Axolotls/Tigers

Number of blankets I sleep with: 3

Where I'm from: tornado alley also known as Oklahoma in the USA

When I created this account: sometime in early 2014

Why I created it: an old friend dragged me into this hell and I haven't gotten out since then

Followers: 652

What color and style is your hair? My hair is currently three different colors since I'm not bothering with dying it. The top is dark brown, the middle is a dark red, and the bottom is blonde. I almost always have my hair down and it's a little bit past my shoulders.

What color are your eyes? A really dark brown that they look black

Do you wear glasses? Yeah and I can't see clearly without them. My eyes are incredibly fucked but because they both have different issues (one near sighted and the other far sighted) I almost see double with my glasses

Do you wear braces: I probably should but nah

What is your fashion style? Typical 80s thrasher mixed in with a little bit of punk and goth

Full name: mmm I don't feel comfy giving that info out so just stick to my nickname plz

When were you born: in September

Where are you from and were do you live now? The United States and I'm ain't going anywhere else to live

What school do you go to? I graduated already so none

What kind of student are you? I was the type of student that was clearly dying yet is somewhat functional, and somehow doing fantastic in their studies

Do you like school? Kinda

What are your favorite school subjects? I really liked my medical terms/anatomy classes

Favorite TV shows: I'm a slut for Black Mirror and Bojack Horseman

Favorite books: "A Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

Favorite pass time? Playing guitar, listening to music, and watching Dave Mustaine interviews

Do you have any regrets? Oh boy you have no idea. There is one regret that to this day upsets me and thats letting other people control me for their happiness and not doing more to stop it

Would you like to get married? Mmmm, I'm not sure honestly. On one hand I think marriage is unnecessary and I can just live happily with my partner without it and it's just a fucking ton of stress to deal with the planning and shit, but on the other hand, I guess it would be nice. Idk I'll see what happens

Would you like to have kids someday? Yeah actually! I'd love to be a mom!

How many? The max number is 3. Any less than that is okay but any more than 3 is a big no from me chief

Do you like shopping? It depends really. If I'm out shopping for cds/vinyls then yeah that's pretty fun. Band shirts? Also fun! Other types of clothing? :(

What other countries have you visited? Mexico to see my relatives. My family and I really want to go again sometime soon but it's pretty dangerous rn especially since we have to cross what I call a no go zone. That and we can't afford to go anyway

Are you named after anyone? Nah

When was the last time I cried? Uhhhh I almost cried while listening to "When The Smoke Is Going Down" by Scorpions last week if that counts. Idk man I can't cry much these days

Do you use sarcasm enough? Sometimes.

What's the first thing you notice about people: their eyes, voices, and the air they give off

Scary movie or happy ending? Spooky scary uwu

Any special talent: I'm a good cook if that counts

Do you have any pets? Nah. If I ever do get a pet though, I'd love to have a scorpion! I fucking love arachnids, especially scorpions

What sports do you play? No thanks I hate sports

I'll now tag @everyones-idol-goro @dirtgrub @toomcflyforawhiteguy @runnin-with-the-devill @metalslutt @davesjames @lonelydayinpurgatory and anyone else who wants to participate

[klimtandbencbatch]

Sounds Like a Deal

I promise PROMISE I’m gonna get back to answering prompts, I’ve been in a bit of a writer’s block funk lately, but this came to me in the shower and I had to write it

Hey, I’ve got some new specs on some tech I’m making for you. Come over. TS

There’ll be wine if you say yes ;) TS

Stephen read over the texts again and again as he rode up in the elevator towards Tony’s new penthouse - the man had gotten it a few months back, and had apparently already wheedled and begged and bribed his way to an extension on the apartment (read: bought the ones underneath it), and had tricked it out with a smaller version of his workshop at the compound. He’d invited Stephen over almost completely out of the blue. And while Stephen had initially been ready to say no, he fixated so hard on the winky-face emoji that he found it impossible to decline.

Winky-face. That meant something, right?

Their relationship had shifted from Iron Man and Doctor Strange to something more personable, a bit more intimate. Stephen Strange and Tony Stark hung out occasionally, now. Which, Stephen guessed, it was led to this. Wine and tech specs on a Thursday evening.

He stepped off the elevator as the doors opened with a quiet tinkling of chimes, walking right into Tony’s living room. He smiled, some of his nerves melting away. The man really had an eye for interior design. The place was spacious, but somehow still homey, the modern-ish furniture not too new-age to be alienating. The couch looked especially inviting, but Stephen could already hear music coming from down the newly-installed (according to Tony) spiral staircase.

He headed down, his hands tucked in the pockets of his pants as he made his way towards the sound. He chuckled quietly to himself as he began to recognize it, humming along as he caught sight of Tony’s hair bobbing about behind some holoscreens and projected blue prints.

“Chuck Mangione,” he said as he came in, pointing up towards the ceiling. “Nice choice.”

“Hey, yknow, rock usually does it for me, but this isn't exactly a big - rockets and stuff project, so I figured I’d tone it down. Something more your speed,” Tony answered with a smile, nodding over towards a nearby table. “Dum-E’s got the wine, if you can wrestle it away from ‘im. You’ve got a problem, mister!” he called after the bot as it wheeled across the floor, whirring excitedly and swinging a bottle of shiraz dangerously by the neck.

Stephen laughed, jogging over after the bot and politely working the bottle from its grip. “An even nicer choice,” he murmured, glancing over the label.

“Oh, don't act all sommelier on me,” Tony said, tweaking a few more things with some quick gestures of his hands. “Just pour me a glass. It’s got alcohol in it.”

They began to look over Tony’s plans that he had - a new set of stabilizing gloves for Stephen to use in combat. “I’ve got it so it’s sort of like that Copperfit stuff, or whatever. The Brett Favre commercials.”

“Yeah,” Stephen agreed, looking more closely at the sketch floating in front of him.

“You put it on, and it'll amplify your body’s energy signature. So you'll be stronger, and it’ll help steady your hands in the meantime.”

Stephen made a sound of disbelief, looking over at Tony as the other man sipped from his glass, swirling it and making a face of mock contemplation. “How long have you been working on this?” he asked.

Tony flushed slightly, though Stephen had to scrutinize him pretty hard to pick it out. “Oh, yknow. About a month. Just - everyone else has some sort of stupid tech thing from me. Didn't want the new kid to feel left out.”

“He doesn’t," Stephen assured. “This is - Tony, this is really incredible.”

Tony nodded, his eyes glazed over as he looked at the plans. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers, gesturing up. “Herbie Hancock.”

Stephen paused, listening before a smile broke over his face. “Yeah. Very good.”

Tony looked smug, exaggeratedly holding out his pinky as he downed the rest of his wine. "Well, when you appreciate fine jazz as much as I do…”

——————————

Neither of them were sure how it happened, but another bottle of wine later, they'd made their way upstairs, looking over Tony’s vinyl collection and plopping record after record onto the old player that Tony had in his lounge.

“Oh, wow,” Stephen breathed, pulling one out of the collection with an air of reverence, holding it carefully in his trembling hands. “‘In A Silent Way’. Is this - ?”

“An original, yep,” Tony said, smiling. God, Stephen was cute up close. Strip away all the magic and robes and belts (why so many belts?) and he was a kid in a candy store. Tony could practically see the memories flitting across his face.

“This was the first record I ever bought with my own money,” Stephen laughed. “Damn. It’s in beautiful condition,” he said, sliding it out of its jacket, his mouth slightly agape in awe.

“You got a collection somewhere in that madhouse you call home?” Tony asked, looking around to see where their third bottle had gotten off to.

“…I had one, yeah,” Stephen answered, slowly putting the record back. “I, um. After my accident, I sort of… Lost it. I went nuts looking for a doctor to fix me, any surgeon that would - take me on and make me whole again.” He shook his head, looking down at his hands as they shook slightly, his scarred fingers spread wide. “I sold everything I owned. Most of my watches, all my furniture, my suits, my - my record collection, too. A few of them had been my dad’s, the ones he - managed to buy when he scraped some extra money together.”

Both men were silent for a bit. Tony let the information sink in, making sure to file it away for later. Just before the silence got too awkward, Tony cleared his throat, pulling the album back out and holding it out to Stephen. “Take it.”

“I can't do that,” Stephen said immediately. “It’s an original, Tony, it’s worth - “

“Take a look around you, sweetheart,” Tony said, gesturing to the rather plush lounge they were standing in. “Does money look like it matters to me? I want you to have it. Consider it an investment in your new collection. Something to start with.”

Stephen smiled, laughing a bit. “I - don’t know what to say,” he admitted, his hands closing around the record as he admired the cover again.

“Say you'll come over for a wine night again,” Tony offered, reaching out to place a hand on Stephen’s arm, squeezing gently.

“Do I get to walk away with another record?” Stephen teased.

“Hey, if you play your cards right.”

They shared a laugh for a moment, their eyes holding one another's gaze. Stephen broke first, looking down to appreciate the album in his hands again.

“Thanks, Tony. Seriously. For - the gloves, and the - honestly, for the best night I've had in years,” Stephen sighed, offering Tony a small, genuine smile.

“Hey, any time,” Tony said, finally locating the third bottle. “Ah ha! Now, help me finish this little bastard, and then I'll let you go home.”

Stephen grinned, slipping his new record out of its sleeve and placing it on the player, standing back as the music began to play. "Sounds like a deal.”

[in-this-light-on-this-evening]

99 Question Tag

@your-basket-case tagged me - thank you so much dear!!! I'm a giant sucker for tag games, so here. WE. GO.

1.DO YOU SLEEP WITH YOUR CLOSET DOORS OPEN OR CLOSED?

Actually it's always half open because I need that air to circulate hah!

2. DO YOU TAKE THE SHAMPOOS AND CONDITIONER BOTTLES FROM HOTELS?

Only if I like the smell.

3. DO YOU SLEEP WITH YOUR SHEETS TUCKED IN OR OUT?

Tucked in! How can you sleep with sheets tucked out omg?

4. HAVE YOU STOLEN A STREET SIGN BEFORE?

I WISH

5. DO YOU LIKE TO USE POST-IT-NOTES?

Hm not really. I usually keep a big notebook/notepad on my desk and I fill it with things to remember, drafts, etc

6. DO YOU CUT OUT COUPONS BUT THEN NEVER USE THEM?

We don't have as a big coupon culture here in Italy as it happens to be in America but sometimes I do!

7. WOULD YOU RATHER BE ATTACKED BY A BIG BEAR OR A SWARM OF BEES?

Bear.

8. DO YOU HAVE FRECKLES?

No but I wish I had them!

9. DO YOU ALWAYS SMILE FOR PICTURES?

For selfies yes, for other pictures not so much.

10. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST PET PEEVE?

I have to many, honestly, but I guess Cancelled Culture and psycho stans are the biggest at the moment.

11. DO YOU EVER COUNT YOUR STEPS WHEN YOU WALK?

Maybe.

12. HAVE YOU PEED IN THE WOODS?

Yes. Traumatising experience.

13. HAVE YOU EVER POOPED IN THE WOODS?

You insane? I'm too scared of pooping in the woods.

14. I think I deleted this question on accident.

Lost in time and spaaace!

15. DO YOU CHEW YOUR PENS AND PENCILS?

Chewing pens and pencils? In this economy?

16. HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE YOU SLEPT WITH THIS WEEK?

3 with my imaginary lover.

17. WHAT SIZE IS YOUR BED?

I think it's an European King sized but I'm not 100% sure. I WANT THE CEASAR ONE.

18. WHAT IS YOUR SONG OF THE WEEK?

Hm, I'm still losing my mind over "Almost (Sweet Music)" by Hozier but I just discovered the new James Blake's album and that, as a whole, is a big mood for this week as well.

19. IS IT OK FOR GUYS TO WEAR PINK?

Bitch yes?

20. DO YOU STILL WATCH CARTOONS?

Sometimes.

21. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE MOVIE?

Hm, nothing comes to my mind at the moment.

22. WHERE WOULD YOU BURY HIDDEN TREASURE IF YOU HAD SOME?

I can't tell you. It wouldn't be hidden anymore although:

23. WHAT DO YOU DRINK WITH DINNER?

Diet coke or water because I'm too broke for wine.

24. WHAT DO YOU DIP A CHICKEN NUGGET IN?

Nothing. I die like men.

25. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FOOD?

Sushi, pizza, pierogi, carbonara, tomato & corn salad, fried mozzarella, tiramisù.

26. WHAT MOVIES COULD YOU WATCH OVER AND OVER AGAIN AND STILL LOVE?

Stardust, Dead Poets Society, Mean Girls, Little Miss Sunshine

27. LAST PERSON YOU KISSED/KISSED YOU?

A guy that broke my heart last year.

28. WERE YOU EVER A BOY/GIRL SCOUT?

Yes!

29. WOULD YOU EVER STRIP OR POSE NUDE IN A MAGAZINE?

If I wasn't an ugly potato... yes.

30. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WROTE A LETTER TO SOMEONE ON PAPER?

2 years ago, I think.

31. CAN YOU CHANGE THE OIL ON A CAR?

32. EVER GOTTEN A SPEEDING TICKET?

Who do you think I am? A redneck?

33. EVER RAN OUT OF GAS?

No.

34. WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE KIND OF SANDWICH?

Rye bread + thin spread of cream cheese + lettuce + thin slices of chicken or smoked ham + tomatoes + red onion + pickled artichoke

35. BEST THING TO EAT FOR BREAKFAST?

Granola. Dry. Straight from your hand as if you're a starving horse in disguise.

36. WHAT IS YOUR USUAL BEDTIME?

00:00-01:00AM

37. ARE YOU LAZY?

I'm not lazy. I procrastinate.

38. WHEN YOU WERE A KID, WHAT DID YOU DRESS UP AS FOR HALLOWEEN?

Back in time Halloween wasn't a thing in Poland, so unfortunately I didn't dress up.

39. WHAT IS YOUR CHINESE ASTROLOGICAL SIGN?

I'M A HORSE.

40. HOW MANY LANGUAGES CAN YOU SPEAK?

3: Italian, Polish and English

41. DO YOU HAVE ANY MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS?

Nein, but I'd like to get Wired subscription.

42. WHICH ARE BETTER: LEGOS OR LINCOLN LOGS?

What are even Lincoln Logs... Did Lincoln harvest the logs himself, though?

43. ARE YOU STUBBORN?

Yes and no. Depends on the situation.

44. WHO IS BETTER: LENO OR LETTERMAN?

My tit.

45. EVER WATCH SOAP OPERAS?

Not anymore.

46. ARE YOU AFRAID OF HEIGHTS?

Not really. But if I find myself on the edge of something high without a fence, I'll probably panic and casually fall down.

47. DO YOU SING IN THE CAR?

Do I sing? No. I PERFORM.

48. DO YOU SING IN THE SHOWER?

Only when I'm home alone.

49. DO YOU DANCE IN THE CAR?

Yeah, sometimes when the inspiration and the right bop kick in.

50. EVER USED A GUN?

A glue gun.

51. LAST TIME YOU GOT A PORTRAIT TAKEN BY A PHOTOGRAPHER?

Does the mugshot for the drivers licence count?

52. DO YOU THINK MUSICALS ARE CHEESY?

Depends.

53. IS CHRISTMAS STRESSFUL?

The concept by itself isn't stressful. My family tends to ruin it with the overdramatic stress.

54. EVER EAT A PIEROGI?

BITCH THAT'S MY MOTHERLAND'S MEAL WE SNIFF THAT SHIT LIKE COCAINE.

55. FAVORITE TYPE OF FRUIT PIE?

Apple, rhubarb, pear.

56. OCCUPATIONS YOU WANTED TO BE WHEN YOU WERE A KID?

Doctor, fashion designer, archeologist, paleonthologist...

57. DO YOU BELIEVE IN GHOSTS?

Yes. I've had paranormal experiences and I'm still not over it.

58. EVER HAVE A DEJA-VU FEELING?

Very often.

59. DO YOU TAKE A VITAMIN DAILY?

No. I die like men.

60. DO YOU WEAR SLIPPERS?

Yes!

61. DO YOU WEAR A BATH ROBE?

I don't have any but I would like to wear one of those super cozy and soft ones!

62. WHAT DO YOU WEAR TO BED?

Hmm, depends. Now I'm wearing a hoodie, leggings and socks because it's cold as fuck.

63. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CONCERT?

I'm pretty sure it was DeMono, a Polish band. I casually saw them with my parents when we were on holiday back in 1997.

64. WALMART, TARGET, OR KMART?

I'M NOT AMERICAN BITCH. TESCO.

65. NIKE OR ADIDAS?

Both actually!

66. CHEETOS OR FRITOS?

What the fuck are FRITOS? I've never tried them, so I can't answer lol!

67. PEANUTS OR SUNFLOWER SEEDS?

BOTH. I'm a sucker for NUTS.

68. EVER HEAR OF THE GROUP TRES BIEN?

Of what now? Is this another American thing I'm not aware of because of my ancient and unbothered European nature?

69. EVER TAKE DANCE LESSONS?

Nein!

70. IS THERE A PROFESSION YOU PICTURE YOUR FUTURE SPOUSE DOING?

I don't care, really. I do care about them doing what they love and want to do. If they'll be happy about it, so will I :')

71. CAN YOU CURL YOUR TONGUE?

Sí, señor!

72. EVER WON A SPELLING BEE?

We don't have this in Europe asdfkgkf

73. HAVE YOU EVER CRIED BECAUSE YOU WERE SO HAPPY?

Kind of.

74. OWN ANY RECORD ALBUMS?

I have regular cd's but I would love to start a vinyl record collection.

75. OWN A RECORD PLAYER?

Not yet!

76. DO YOU REGULARLY BURN INCENSE?

I used to but I don't do that anymore.

77. EVER BEEN IN LOVE?

Yes but nobody loved me back.

78. WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN CONCERT?

QUEEN. On the more possible side: Andrea Boccelli, The Struts, George Ezra, MORE HOZIER, The Killers, Arctic Monkeys... The list goes on!

79. WHAT WAS THE LAST CONCERT YOU SAW?

HOZIER. It was a magical experience, I love him so much, I want to cry 😭♥️

80. HOT TEA OR COLD TEA?

Both.

81. TEA OR COFFEE?

Tea.

82. SUGAR COOKIES OR SNICKERDOODLES?

Both.

83. CAN YOU SWIM WELL?

Avarage just so I don't die sucked into the abyss.

84. CAN YOU HOLD YOUR BREATH WITHOUT HOLDING YOUR NOSE?

Wait, people CAN'T do that? What dysfunction do you have? It's literally so easy?

85. ARE YOU PATIENT?

Yes, very much but in the last couple of years I've started slowly losing my shit in certain situations.

86. DJ OR BAND AT A WEDDING?

Band.

87. EVER WON A CONTEST?

No. I'm an avarage bitch that thinks she's more than that but the truth is that I'm not a winner.

88. HAVE YOU EVER HAD PLASTIC SURGERY?

Does the surgery on my toe count?

89. WHICH ARE BETTER: BLACK OR GREEN OLIVES?

BLACK

90. CAN YOU KNIT OR CROCHET?

Not yet but I will learn at some point!

91. BEST ROOM FOR A FIREPLACE?

Living room.

92. DO YOU WANT TO GET MARRIED?

If I meet the love of my life then yes. The bar is too high, though, so I'm not sure if that's gonna happen haha!

93. IF MARRIED, HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN MARRIED?

/

94. WHO WAS YOUR HIGH SCHOOL CRUSH?

His name was William and that was the most embarrassing moment of my life because a bitch that considered herself as my "friend" told everybody that I had a crush on him. When he got to know it, he basically humiliated me in front of the entire clique, if not the whole school. I hate him ever since and it's been already 10 years or so.

95. DO YOU CRY AND THROW A FIT UNTIL YOU GET YOUR OWN WAY?

No.

96. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?

My dog is my son.

97. DO YOU WANT KIDS?

Kids? In this economy? On this planet? Just for my liking? Absolutely fucking not. That would be a crime and absolute torture for them and I don't want them to suffer as I do.

98. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR?

Black, emerald green, gold, yellow, purple.

99. DO YOU MISS ANYONE RIGHT NOW?

Freddie Mercury.

I tag: @santonicababy, @chaotic-pansexual, @songparade, @fossa-poplitea and everybody else who wants to do this! :’D

[comicsinkcorporated-blog]

Interview with Emily Fitch: Chiptune artist

CI: How did you first get into chiptune?

EF: I just think 8-bit ish music just has a pleasant sound to it. I really wanted a way to make a tribute to my favorite music, but also to be able to sort of deconstruct it. Making covers by ear like this is just as much of an exercise in song structure for me as it is a music piece I'm creating. And of course it conjures images of what modern games might have been like if re-imagined in the 8-bit era which is always fun to imagine.

CI: What are your musical inspirations?

EF: I'm really into Katamari music, spanning the whole series. I really love the upbeat tone and the quirky, experimental-ness and it's something I want to emulate in my music. I also love a lot of vocaloid produces like AVtechNO!, Sasakure.uk, Treow/Electrocutica, and Camellia. Akira Yamaoka was a big inspiration for me, the music and sound design of Silent Hill is really what first got me interested in making my own music.

CI: So you’ve worked on music for games and short films, how do you approach writing music for them in comparison to your other music?

EF: Making music for any media where timing has to be taking into account really changes the way you look at it. I'm usually really free form, I just sort of find something that I like the sound of and try to find a way to build on it. But if I'm working with animation and something happens visually that I want to accentuate, I might have to suddenly take the piece in a whole new direction to make it fit. When it comes to games, I have a lot of things in mind. I usually have notes from the developers about the general feel of the track and in what situations it might play. I'm especially conscious of looping tracks, especially if they play in an area the player spends lots of time in. You need to make sure it doesn't get too stale or repetitive too quickly or the music becomes a distraction from the game rather than a part of it.

CI: Do you have any plans for future chiptune albums?

EF: Before I put out any of my chiptunes as an album, I want to undertake the process of remastering them. I've been working on these for nearly 4 years and I've gained so much more experience and gotten a hold of better samples and I'd want to bring everything up to a more consistent standard before re-releasing them.

CI: Do you have any plans for any physical (including Vinyl) for your music?

EF: I really love making physical media! For my first album STARGROOVE, I went really hands on. I spent hours designing the inserts for the CD, I was in an office depot for about two hours trying to get them printed the right size, and I folded everything and assembled each CD by hand. I only made about 30, enough to give away to my friends and family. I really like physical goods, especially when it comes to music.I'd love to make more CDs in the future, not too sure about vinyl though. I don't even have anything to play it on myself!

CI: So on your youtube page, you’ve done chiptune covers of a lot of popular game songs. Which songs stands out as your favorite work so far?

EF: It's really hard to pick! I find myself going back and listening to my older chiptunes a lot. If I had to pick a few standouts, I like Copied City from NieR Automata. I feel like I was ably to capture the delicate, atmospheric sound of the original track. I also really like all of my JoJo covers, just because it's so much fun to use chiptune for guitar.

CI: What game song do you hope/plan to tackle in the future?

EF: One day I am going to chiptune the entire NieR soundtrack...one day...

CI: In recent years Chiptune has become a more widely practiced form of music. What do you think the appeal of the genre is?

EF: There's a big nostalgia factor for sure. (I'm not sure if that really applies to me, my first game console was a PS1...) There's something that's really appealing about taking simple sounds and using them in unexpected ways. And now that we don't have to worry about channel or hardware limitations, you can take the chiptune sound and blend it with all kinda of other instruments and any genre you want. The flexibility make chiptune a really fun genre to work with.

CI: Could explain the idea behind ASSCAT?

EF: ASSCAT is humanity's divine savior, descending upon the land and bringing untold cosmic wisdom to those who would heed his infallible word.

One day my friend Rina (@Oceanroost) and I were roasting some of her old high school poetry she found and she said "Hey! Why don't I write you a song?" Like, an hour later she sent me ASSCAT. It was just too good not to make a song for. That song ended up becoming a big collaboration in my friend group, all of us working on album art or making remixes. It's become kind of a tradition for us to make an ASSCAT song every year and the lore sort of built itself up over time. ASSCHAN has kind of become my unofficial mascot too.

CI: And lastly is there anything else you want to say to readers? EF: I would just like to day, if you have something silly you like to do for fun, then have at it. I never thought anyone would really be interested in my covers, they were just something I did when I didn't feel like I had the brain energy for making "real music." Even music itself was something I just considered a hobby for a long time before I really started to feel like it could be a profession I would enjoy. Draw bad art, write dumb songs, sing about all-knowing space garfield, make things that make you happy and you just might make others happy too.