#I don't have it but like still (my cousin does and his coughs sound like he's literally dying it's insane 💀)

[thefatedthoughtofyou]

In Which Steve Gains a Little Weight and Eddie May or May Not Have a Staring Problem { hint: he absolutely does. but who wouldn't? }

Chubby!Steve lovers rise up! He is a blessing upon our houses. 😌

Eddie's been staring at him. For months. Steve had actually had to snap his fingers at Eddie once, right in front of his face. To get his attention. And Eddie had flinched and flailed back dramatically, making it seem like Steve was the offending party when Eddie had been the one staring. He was always staring.

Steve never used to mind people staring. He knew he looked good. Not in a self centered way. Just... people told him he looked good. And he didn't really have reason to argue. Girls definitely liked him. So it just seemed... like a fact. To him.

But lately Steve hadn't been feeling attractive. At least not as attractive. He'd gained a bit of weight. With the gates closed for good and Hawkins back to normal. He'd finally let himself relax. And he'd been eating more, his appetite from before all the anxiety and stress and fighting for his life, and the kids lives, finally coming back.

He still swam a bit. Went for runs every morning. But he was filling out. His thighs were thicker. His stomach softer. He'd heard his mother call one of his cousins "pudgy" when he was young and now everytime he looked in the mirror the word rang in his head like a bell.

He was pudgy. Less defined, soft around the edges. And Eddie kept. Fucking. Staring.

~°~

Steve was laying on one of the lounge chairs by the pool. Eddie was floating in the water, eyes closed, arms moving gently at his sides, keeping him afloat. Steve tugged his shirt down, again, and tried to get comfortable.

It was just him and Eddie today. Robin had to work. And the kids were in school. Steve was just glad Eddie had gotten in the water. So he would stop looking at him. Cuz he'd been doing it again. His eyes locked on Steve, roaming over him, looking at god knows what.

Steve knows what. Wraps his arms around his middle and feels what he knows Eddie has been staring at. Skinny as a rat Eddie Munson who can eat whole fucking pizzas and just... nothing. Steve ate whole pizzas too, that wasn't the issue. It was just, Steve's pizza seemed to settle on his hips now more than it used too.

He hears Eddie make a choking sound and watches him flail and sink beneath the water, popping up a moment later, coughing, and dragging Steve out of his thoughts.

"You good man?" Steve calls, letting his hands fall away from his body. Eddie keeps coughing but gives Steve a thumbs up, then wipes at his face, rubbing at his nose as he stands looking like a wet kitten in the middle of the pool. He clears his throat loudly, shakes his head, coughs once more, and then ducks back under water just to bounce back up, his face toward the sky, the water moving his hair out of his face.

Steve had walked to the edge of the pool, watching Eddie cough. He sits himself on the edge, feet dangling in the water to cool himself off. He could take his shirt off. It would be cooler. But he can't. Doesn't want to. Not in front of Eddie.

He watches Eddie lower himself shoulders deep in the water and then look up at Steve, he smiles, soflty.

"I fell asleep." He says, to belatedly explain his nearly chocking to death. Steve rolls his eyes, snorts, and shakes his head.

"Of course you did." Steve sighs.

"Hey it's not my fault. If you had some nice floaties around here like the goblins have been asking for I wouldn't have almost died." Eddie retorts.

And Steve is about to argue, he wants too, opens his mouth to do it and everything. But he catches the way Eddie is looking at him again and the words die in his mouth. His arms wrapping around his soft middle as he tries to hide, he sits up a bit straighter. Eddie swims toward him, eyes lingering.

"You gonna swim?" Eddie asks, soflty.

"Naw. Don't think so. I'm not that warm." Steve shrugs, kicks his feet in the water a bit as Eddie moves closer.

"You're sweating." Eddie says, pointing out the obvious. Steve glares at him a bit, nothing too harsh, and wipes at his forhead with the back of his arm.

"I'm good. Just my feet in is nice." He kicks water at Eddie, he doesn't even dodge it, just lets it hit him as he keeps swimming forward.

He nods at Steve, swims up next to him, rests his arms on the side of the pool and his chin on his arms, looking up at Steve until Steve turns and looks directly at him. Eddie quickly looks away then. Steve looks away too.

Looks away from the pale skin of Eddie's shoulders. Away from the way Eddie's arms flex as he shifts a bit to get more comfortable. Away from that look in his eyes.

"Do I make you uncomfortable?" Eddie asks out of nowhere.

"What?" Steve asks, leaning away from Eddie a little faster than he'd meant too. Eddie tracks the movement, Steve sees him do it.

"Do I make you uncomfortable?" Eddie repeats.

"No I heard you. It's just-" he pauses, shakes his head. His heart beating a little faster.

"Why would you ask that? You don't make me uncomfortable. I like having you here. If that's... is that what you mean?" Steve asks, stammering a bit. Not really sure what Eddie wants from him. Eddie shakes his head though, slowly. Once.

"No I mean... you've just seemed... different. Lately. Like... you're trying to sink into yourself. Make yourself smaller. Or something." Eddie shrugs, shakes his head like he doesn't think he made sense. But Steve's heart pounds with just how much sense he made. Hit the nail right on the head, actually, in the scary way he has.

"I-" he considers lying. Saying everything's fine. But it's not. And if he says it is, Eddie will think he's done something wrong. And he hasn't. Not really. Eddie's eyes widen, he lifts his head, then stands, leans his hip agaisnt the wall of the pool instead.

"Yes?" Eddie teases, bumping Steve's knee with the back of his hand. Steve huffs a laugh and takes a deep breath.

"I am. Trying to make myself smaller. Like, in the figurative sense. Cuz I'm like, I've gained weight. And I don't... I don't know. I guess I'm just... uncomfortable with that? Not because of you." Steve says, watches Eddie smile at him. For some fucking reason.

"Literal sense. And why does that make you uncomfortable? Not getting as many chicks? Are the ladies of Hawkins really so shallow?" Eddie asks, brushing past his correction and partly mocking Steve, like he knows that's not the issue. And Steve is so thankful, just that small amount of mocking makes him feel a little better. Like he's being silly maybe, about the whole thing.

"Well. Yes. They are. Some of them. But I don't know. It was just a thing. At first. A thing I noticed in the mirror getting out of the shower. Or after swimming. Or trying to fit into some of my old jeans. Just a thing. Just a difference I noticed is all." He shrugs, eyes on the water.

"You're not the only one." Eddie mutters, teeth pulling at his bottom lip.

"What?" Steve asks, he hadn't been paying attention, the words a muddy sound on the peripherals of his hearing. Eddie shakes his head, waves him off.

"Nothin. Don't worry about it." He pushes his hand through the water at his side before looking back to Steve.

"Bodies change man. It happens. Nothin' wrong with it." He shrugs again, lowers himself back to his shoulders and looks up at Steve, his hair a dark cloud in the water around him. Steve sighs, feels silly and stupid for what he's about to say.

"Yeah. Sure. But I used to be hot." He says, matter of factly. Eddie snorts.

"You are hot. Way hotter now than when we were in school." Eddie says, like he can't believe what he's hearing, but also.... Eddie thinks he's hot? Steve watches him for a moment, he's got his face tilted to the sky, leaning back to dunk his hair in the cool water, his pale neck on display as he sighs at the cooless on his head.

"You think I'm hot?" Steve asks, has to, can't not. He'd said it so easily, like it should be obvious.

Eddie's eyes go wide as his head snaps back in Steve's direction.

"What?" His voice cracks. He hasn't blinked.

"You said you think I'm hot." Steve says, he can feel his own cheeks flush. But he can see Eddie's doing it. They had already been tinted pink from the early morning sun, but they were rushing quickly toward red.

"No. I didn't- that's not-"

"You said you thought I was hot when we were in school." Steve repeats, feeling a tad bit giddy as he watches the flush rush down Eddie's neck as well.

"That's- that's not... what I meant." Eddie huffs, petulant, but he crosses his arms over his chest, guarding himself.

"But it's what you said." Steve teases, keeping his face as straight as possible. Eddie huffs again.

"Well I clearly didn't mean to say that outloud okay?" He shakes his head, sinks a little in the water before bobbing back up. Steve just looks at him. Tries to give him the look that Eddie had been giving him, for the last few months.

He doesn't know if it works. But Eddie groans loudly and ducks under the water. Steve laughs as a stream of bubbles reach the surfface, he can hear Eddie screaming under the water. When he surfaces again, his face is still a very nice shade of pink, Steve wants to touch it, to feel the heat of it beneath his fingers.

"I'm sorry okay. I have been making you uncomfortable. I've been staring. I know I have, okay? It's just hard not too. When you walk around looking like that!" Eddie waves his hand frantically in Steve's direction, even as he takes a few steps away from him.

"Like what?" Steve's brow furrows, he looks down at himself, his shirt is a little tight around his stomach, his swim trunks a bit snug around the hips, and his thighs are practically squeezed into them. What was Eddie seeing that he wasn't. He looks back to see Eddie staring again, but his eyes are on Steve's face this time.

Steve watches several emotions pass over Eddie's face as he watches him. He seems to settle on determined and takes a step back in Steve's direction. Then another. He stops just out of reach. Sets his shoulders.

"You're fucking beautiful Steve. I don't- I don't know how you can't see that." He shrugs, like he's helpless, his eyes wide and honest. Steve swallows hard, glances down at himself again and then back to Eddie.

"I'm-?"

"Gorgeous. Like.... fucking ethereal. I could fucking look you all day. Fuck, I mean I basically do. You're like a goddamn peice of art." Eddie's voice is so raw, it catches in his throat. His arms wrapped around himself tight, like he's afraid Steve will be mad at him for some reason. Steve shakes his head, once, trying not to cry. He smiles at Eddie, all watery eyed and goofy, and tugs his shirt over his head before throwing himself into the water. And then throwing himself at Eddie, who catches him easily.

His hands are warm on Steve's sides, warm and so so gentle, like he's not sure he's allowed to touch. He just stares at Steve, throat bobbing as Steve moves his fingers over Eddie faces, tracing his features.

"You're pretty easy on the eyes yourself." Steve says, smiles wide when a laugh bursts out of Eddie. Steve presses closer, chest to chest, arms snaking around Eddie's neck, fingers tangling in his hair.

"Can I kiss you?" Eddie whispers, his lashes fluttering as his eyes dart around Steve's face. Steve's chest burns, and pounds, as Eddie's fingers press harder into his hips.

"Yes. Yeah." Steve breathes, nodding, almost frantic. Eddie smiles, leans in a bit, and then sways away with a grimace.

"What? What's wrong?" Steve asks, suddenly feeling a bit sick to his stomach. Eddie squints at him, shakes his head, closes his eyes with another grimace.

"Full disclosure. I've never actually...like... fully kissed someone... before. So I might not- I mean I don't know what I'm doing." Eddie opens one eye, peaking at Steve to see his reaction around his wincing, scrunched up features. Steve's heart flutters, he smiles and scratches his nails gently against Eddie's scalp, Eddie leans into it like a cat.

"That's okay. I know what I'm doing." Steve assures him, Eddie's eyes go wide for a split second and then Steve is kissing him. A small noise startles out of Eddie when their lips meet and Steve could listen to that all day, it's like music. He pulls back after a genlte press, he can feel Eddie's hands trembling against his hips.

"That okay?" Steve asks, Eddie nods enthusiastically and presses back in, another gentle press of lips before Steve pulls back again, eyes moving over Eddie's face and the soft way he's looking at him.

"You really think I'm beautiful? Hot. Like this?" Steve asks, rolling his eyes at himself, his hand moving to his stomach and then away again. Eddie's eyes follow the movement, the way Steve nearly flinches away from his own touch.

"Fuck yes." Eddie says, he sounds breathless. And then Steve is gasping as Eddie leans down, licks a hot stipe across Steve's stomach, and then sinks his teeth into the soft, fleshy, skin of his hip, right above his swim shorts.

"Eddie! Jesus!" Steve squaks, trying to push Eddie away and pull him closer all at once.

Eddie perks back up, pulls Steve close, and presses his laughter into Steve's neck. And then his teeth are on Steve's skin, and he's gasping again, hands grabbing at Eddie's shoulders. Eddie's tongue soothes over the bite and then he's looking at Steve again.

"You're beautiful. Like this, or any other way. Okay? Always." Eddie says, moving his hands over Steve's sides, giving his love handles a hard, possessive, squeeze. Steve laughs, Eddie's antics tickling, he squirms, toward Eddie, into his waiting arms.

"Okay. If you say so." Steve sighs into Eddie's shoulder. Eddie's hand moves up, over Steve's back and into his hair.

"I do say. You're beautiful. Thin, or chubby, or scarred, or fat, or whatever else you might be in the future. You're beautiful." He pauses, pulls back so he can see Steve's face.

"And I'll tell you that whenever you need to hear it okay? For as long you're mine." Eddie's whispering, speaking so softly into the space between them.

"That sounds nice." Steve says, his throat tight, and burning, tears clouding his vision. Eddie chuckles, his chest vibrating against Steve's.

"Which part?" He asks, moving one finger across Steve's forhead, tucking a loose strand of hair away. Steve sniffles, shakes his head and tries not to cry.

"Being yours." He says, his lips trembling as he returns the bright smile across from him. Eddie nods, Steve nods back. They meet in the middle, another sweet press of lips, Eddie's fingers dig into Steve's soft skin and pull him close, like he's trying to climb inside him.

"Mine." Eddie sighs, Steve breathes the word in like he needs it to live. His own fingers dig into Eddie's back, tugging him closer, smiling against Eddie's lips as he sighs,

"Yours." back into Eddie's mouth.

[uzumaki-rebellion]

A Tattoo and the Bloodsucker Blues Part 14

"Here's to hoping I'll fall fast asleep tonight

And I'll just need to get through this

Born in the darkness, who brings the light?

And I just, I need to get through this

Or just get used to it"

Beyonce & Willie Jones – "Just For Fun"

A.N.: Content Warning(s): 18+. Mentions of violence and religion.

Celeste groaned and rubbed the back of her head where she hit the floor. She ached all over and didn't want to open her eyes just yet. Maybe if she kept them closed, she could pretend everything in her life was normal again.

"Duchess…c'mon cousin, wake up…"

Micah's voice floated above her.

She opened her eyes and coughed. Her stomach still hurt from where Mia punched her. Celeste rolled on her side and covered her face. Micah shook her shoulder.

"We have to get out of here," Micah said.

"And go where?!"

She glanced at her cousin and the once warm rich hues of his brown face had drained away to a pallid coloring. How much blood had he lost?

She rose and stared into his hollow eyes. Fear and shame reflected back to her in equal measure. She glanced around the wrecked sanctuary. It looked like World War III had blown through the church.

Micah touched his wound.

"How bad is it?" she asked.

"I don't think he pierced any vital organs…the bleeding has slowed down. I'm not outta the woods yet."

She stood and surveyed the damage. Father Mbenga's body and head were gone. A deep, mournful sound caught her attention from a pew. Celeste carefully walked toward the noise.

"My God," she muttered.

She found Gadreel curled on his side, one of his wings ripped off of his left shoulder completely. Dark orange clots of his vital fluid darkened the wound area where a hole now lived. The gargoyle leaned back, revealing his entire wounded body to her. His skin bore the marks of a severe ass whooping.

"The father of your child is a fierce fighter," Gadreel said.

Claw marks and missing chunks of flesh aside, the damage to his body wasn't lethal.

"I don't know why he spared me," Gadreel said.

Micah wandered next to her. Gadreel looked up at her cousin.

"Father Mbenga has been too unpredictable…erratic the last few months, Micah. We had the Daywalker in our grasp. But now…"

"I thought he was just under a lot of pressure. I didn't know he'd snap and try to kill us," Micah said.

Celeste glared at her cousin.

"How could you hide all of this from me?" she said.

"This work we do…Micah is under a vow of silence. He is a wetaderi…a soldier… for God," Gadreel said.

"What does God have to do with any of this madness?" she asked.

Gadreel laughed, his voice bouncing against the walls like shotgun blasts. Micah winced, lowering his eyes to the floor.

"It is a tale as old as the beginning of human time itself."

Celeste turned away from the gargoyle and fought to control her emotions and fear.

"I don't have time to listen to bullshit!" she shouted.

"You sound the way Mother Mary did so long ago," Gadreel said.

The gargoyle moved his mouth in a way that mimicked a very human smile.

Celeste cut her eyes at Micah. He watched her with a somber expression.

"Would you have believed me? Had I broken my vow of silence, risked years of moving in the shadows to reveal the truth to you…what would you have done? Called my mama and told her to collect me because I've lost my mind? There are two worlds, Duchess. The one you live in and the one I survive undetected among nightmares. You remember when Grand-mère used to tell everyone that I had the gift of second sight? Well…it wasn't just ghosts she was talking about. I can see things that shouldn't be seen. Supernatural beings count on humans living in ignorance. Growing up, I could see things that no child should ever have to know are real. I think you have the gift too, Duchess. Maybe not as strong as me…but you have sensitivities that draw energy to you. You attract people all the time, and even animals. Don't you remember people saying that animals, old people, and even children were drawn to you?"

"But you were the same way, Micah—"

"Exactly! We give off an aura of some kind…like a GPS signal… that breaks the barrier between worlds and attracts the supernatural the way magnets can pull iron to it. There's a light in you, and I'm sure it's why Terry latched onto you and maybe…other things have found their way near you."

"I've seen Terry's great-great-grandmother's ghost. She came to me after he left New Orleans. Now I know she was really his descendant."

"See? Did you think you were losing your mind for a minute?"

"Just a minute."

"When Terry revealed his true self, you probably didn't freak out as much as a normal person would've. The shock hit you and then you moved on to what mattered. Deep down, I'm sure you instinctively sensed something wasn't right about him or your relationship. The rational part of your mind may have even dismissed unusual circumstances because vampires are the master manipulators…and bay-bee…they can seduce humans like no other. But then they drain you…feed their unnatural bodies and move on to the next willing victim."

Gadreels's lips uncurled into a frown.

"Except, in this case…Terry didn't kill her," the gargoyle pondered.

"We fell in love," Celeste said.

"They are parasites. The only things they're capable of are hate for humanity and hurting others. Bloodlust is their core existence. You should be dead," Gadreel said.

"Yet here I am," she said.

The look in Gadreel's eyes gave her shivers.

"Something is wrong with that…just as something is wrong with you having the ability to carry a vampire's seed," Gadreel said.

He shut his eyes and shuddered. Pain coursed through him, and he groaned under his breath that smelled like raw meat.

"Micah, seek medical attention and then leave this place for good. The vampires who may have survived our battle tonight will hunt you down. They know your face… and your scent. Go as far as you can," Gadreel said.

Micah broke down in tears.

"I'm sorry, Duchess, I did my best to protect you and all the people in this city," Micah heaved out.

"I don't understand…can't gargoyles protect him at night?" Celeste said.

"The familiars and other minions will get to him before we can even discreetly intervene. He must leave and never return. I would suggest leaving the country if you can. The council may help with funds, but your life is in peril here. Go now…quickly. The feral ones heal quickly and might return."

"Is Terry alive?" she asked.

Gadreel nodded.

"He killed many and escaped. Some of his brethren are dead and some scattered. My guess is, he will hide until it is safe to contact you. Unfortunately, there are too many inbred packs and clans in New Orleans right now."

"That's why I called Father Mbenga to send word for help. He messaged as many of our contacts to send the gargoyles here. We had to wait for Terry to show up again. When he's around, the others flock to him. It's our best chance to kill the most vampires. They feel safer when Daywalkers are near," Micah said.

Gadreel choked and spat out a thick glob of bright, orange gargoyle blood that hit the floor in a liquid splat.

"There is a gathering taking place. Our spies and communication networks could not find the source that calls the vampires here in large packs. Something is in the wind and it does not bode well for humans," Gadreel said.

Celeste knelt down and kept her gaze even with the gargoyle.

"What are you really?" she asked.

"I think in your heart, you know."

Gadreel fixed his eyes on Micah.

"Micah, you must escape…leave now."

"What about you?" Micah said.

Her cousin's tone was full of distress.

"I will wait until the sun rises. Perhaps when the humans find me, I may be able to heal in my dormancy when they assume I am some strange statue that appeared in the ruins of this church."

"Terry might find you…and kill you," Micah whimpered.

Watching her cousin's eyes fill with tears, she caught on that these two had a long-standing friendship.

"That's what Daywalkers do…and why they are so precious to the clans. Don't weep for me Micah…you are named 'He Who is Like God' for a reason. Your dedication to me and the council has been admirable for the last fifteen years. It is time for you to escape a fate worse than my own."

"I don't want to leave Duchess. I have to protect her," Micah said.

"You've done all you can. Now she has to do the rest on her own. The Old Ones won't harm her, and the vampires will protect her. Right now, she lives in a sweet spot. She's the safest human on the planet until the beginning of next year when that child is born."

Micah hugged Celeste. Her emotions were ambivalent toward him, but she clung to his shoulders and shed tears for their predicament together.

"Celeste…please…don't keep this baby. You can have others later with a human. I don't want you to live the rest of your life on the run like me, but if you terminate now, we can figure out a new life somewhere, maybe in Mexico or Canada…West Africa, maybe. We always wanted to visit Ghana…connect to the motherland…anywhere, cousin…anywhere…I have enough money saved right now that could cover us for a few years until we settle somewhere far from here."

Celeste shook her head.

"I can't. Maybe if I knew the truth weeks ago…I could've done it…but now…I want to keep her."

"Don't be stupid. All you'll do is curse your life."

"It's my life…and hers."

"Micah, her mind will not waver."

Micah broke away from Celeste's arms and knelt down near Gadreel.

"Then you must stay with her, Gadreel. You can heal at her place. Celeste can revoke her invitation from him and you'll be safe from harm there until you're well. It'll take what, a few weeks for a new wing to grow back?"

"Micah! You can't put him in my house without my consent."

"I'm trying to save your life! If those vampires smell his presence, they'll think others surround you. They wouldn't even think of coming near your house again. Gadreel is your best bet. We can drive him in Terry's truck. Are you strong enough to walk?"

Gadreel nodded.

"I can't leave New Orleans until I know you're not alone in this," Micah said.

"What will we say to our family?"

"They all think I'm the chaotic bisexual with hot feet. I'll tell them I'm on a travel adventure with friends and will return when I feel like it. Don't worry about me."

Celeste glanced at Gadreel. Micah helped the gargoyle stand. He was over seven feet tall.

"He's dormant for twelve hours during the day. He can sit in your sewing room and you won't even know he's there."

Celeste looked the creature up and down.

"Oh, I'll notice him."

"Will you do it? Gadreel saved my life when I was fifteen. A feral vampire almost took me out when I was walking home alone one night after football practice. I owe him, Duchess. This situation is fucked up and I'm sorry you're in the mix."

Celeste took a breath. Life without Micah would've been torture when she was a teenager. He'd been her best friend and favorite cousin for a reason. She loved him more like a brother all her life. Now he had to leave home because he tried to help her survive.

"I'll do it."

Energized by her answer, Micah helped guide Gadreel out of the church.

"Wait, Terry had the keys," Micah said.

"His truck uses a keypad for the doors. He leaves the key fob inside," she said.

Celeste quickly punched in the code on the touchpad under the door handle. Micah lifted the truckbed cover and Gadreel squeezed his bulky body under it.

Celeste checked Micah's wound. He brushed her hands away gently.

"I'll go to the hospital and get stitched and make up a story there. Random stabbing. They'll believe it. Don't talk to anyone in the family about me. I'll notify them with my fake plans. Let the family grapevine fill you in later. I have friends in Atlanta I can go to first, and I'll couch surf until I settle further away. If you change your mind, head to our cousins in California. Word will get back to me."

They quickly hugged for the last time, and he went to his car. She watched him drive off as fresh rain fell down. Looking at the church, Celeste wondered how people would react to what they found later. She glanced around the empty street, feeling a quiet calm. Taking a chance, she ran back into the church and sought for the silver chained rope. She grabbed it and ran back to the truck.

Gadreel moved around in her cottage like a bull in a china shop. His large body appeared laughable sitting inside of Celeste's home. He looked around and sniffed the scents inside.

"He stayed with you here?" he asked.

"Yes."

The gargoyle looked at the pictures on her wall and then turned his attention to her French doors.

"His sentinel is here," Gadreel said.

The shadow was back.

Terry's shadow.

"Do not move," Gadreel said.

He inched closer to the doors and Terry's shadow jerked back, but stayed.

"What is a sentinel?"

"Daywalkers can use their shadows as an emissary to watch over their bodies when they are inactive…asleep. It is a built-in warning system of protection from vampire hunters…and the Old Ones like me. But this is an anomaly. He's using his shadow to protect you."

"From other vampires?"

"Yes, and from other night creatures that roam when humans slumber. I think I am beginning to understand why he left you…why you are still alive."

"Why?"

"Vampires have to feed. They can go three to four days without drinking human blood if they aren't able to secure regular food sources. Once bitten, other vampires will stay clear of you because you belong to another. If he stayed here long enough for his scent to be trapped in this house, then he must've been starving and left to keep from killing you."

"He would kill me? Someone he's supposed to love?"

"He is a vampire, Celeste. He cannot go against his own nature…yet he is doing it. Daywalkers need their shadows with them. He'll become weak without it. Your life meant more to him than his own. Revoke your invitation from the Daywalker. The shadow will return to him and he will no longer be welcome in this house. If you want to keep your baby alive and safe from my kind, then do what I say."

"I'm supposed to trust you?"

"Your cousin did for fifteen years. He was your closest confidante. If he trusted me with his life, then you should do the same."

"You want my baby to live? Aren't you supposed to murder her when she comes out of me?"

"You are a portal. All women are portals for life to come through. If you revoke your invitation, I will tell you how to save your child…let it be born human."

Celeste gasped and moved closer to Gadreel. Terry's shadow loomed over them. Even through the rain outside, enough moon and starlight kept it visible.

She touched her stomach. As a mother, she had the power to protect the little one inside of her, no matter who the child's father was. Celeste loved Terry. Her time with him had been special, but something instinctual and primal took over her mind. If her daughter had a chance to be human, she would do what it took to make it so.

"Terry…you are no longer welcome in my home. I revoke my invitation to be here. Leave this place."

Terry's shadow arms flew up, and it rushed toward the double doors as if it wanted to ram the glass. Instead, it disappeared like water being shut off from a faucet. Instant and abrupt. Celeste touched her chest and exhaled hard.

"Sit," Gadreel said, pointing to her sectional.

She sat down and he crouched down on his haunches, tucking his only wing flat against his back. The pink glow from her lamps gave him a surreal expression. Although he was scary looking, there was a strange handsomeness to his sharply angular face. If someone walked into her home, they would think she was holding a conversation with Satan.

"What I will tell you will determine the fate of your child. So listen to me well. Terry wasn't a human before he was born. His mother was a vampire. Someone I knew when we lived with God."

"What?"

Gadreel closed his narrow eyes and sighed.

"The Old Ones…we were the angels that followed Lusīferi when God cast us out of heaven. Lusīferi wanted the first man and woman to have free will, but God wanted to inflict predetermination. They didn't trust humans."

"They?"

"God is neither male nor female. God is not even their name. If I said it in the language of heaven, you would perish. Human ears cannot handle the power or the mere utterance of the word."

"In the beginning was the word."

"Yes. The word that started creation. It was God's name…God calling upon itself. Lusīferi—"

"Satan?"

"Lusīferi…when they were banished, they chose to become a woman for Lilitu. Some humans called her Lilith…Adam's first human companion."

Celeste jumped up.

"I don't want to know this…just tell me how to save my baby!"

"You are frightened. I understand. You have been led to believe one version of the creation and being confronted with the truth is unnerving. But you must hear it."

Celeste nodded and rubbed her right hand on her thigh out of nervousness. Gadreel clasped his hands together, his claws clicking against each other.

"Lilitu was unhappy with Adam, and Lusīferi gave her comfort. They became lovers, and Lusīferi turned Lilitu into a vampire like her. All of us who stood with Lusīferi became vampires. But several millennia passed and those of us who followed the daystar yearned to return with God. God told us we would have to fight our siblings for ten thousand years, and we did. Our wings were restored to us, but not our ethereal beauty."

"What does this all have to do with Terry? Get to the point, please. I can't take any more biblical parables. My life and my baby are on the line."

Gadreel ignored her and continued.

"Lilitu and Lusīferi fed on humans and ruled over the fallen ones who stayed loyal to them. But a thousand years ago, they parted from one another. They wandered the earth in separate places. No one knows why. But over two hundred and sixty years ago, Lilitu fell in love with a human man here in New Orleans. She fell pregnant with a child. Terry."

Celeste's eyes grew enormous. She slid down from the sectional onto the floor and tucked her knees into her chest.

"Terry was the first and only known vampire conceived with the seed of a male human. Lilitu did not want her baby born a vampire. She sacrificed herself so that Terry could be born human."

"How did she do that?"

"I cut off her head while she was in labor and left her body in the open so the sun would do the rest. She burned away, leaving a human child behind. When nightfall came again, I took the child and left him on the doorstep of the Guidry family who his father belonged to. People who didn't know of his bloodline adopted him. He was their actual family. Terry's father had stepped out on his wife with Lilitu…then sold their child away, not knowing what he had done."

"I can't believe this."

"You must. It was Lusīferi who rescued Terry from the lynching. Turned him back into something Lilitu never wanted for him."

Celeste burst into tears and covered her face, fully understanding what she had to do to save her own child. Kill Terry so that his vampire blood wouldn't taint the baby.

"He wants this child you carry, Celeste. He wants to be in her life. It's why he fought so hard in the church and killed so many…even his own kind who want you dead. Terry has turned away from his clan. Has done so for ten years. They need him, but if they can't keep him, they will take your baby and use her for their protection and my destruction."

"Why did you help his mother?"

"She was innocent. She'd been a human once. I wanted to curry favor with God and show him that humanity was worth fighting for. Purely selfish reasons."

"Then why did you follow Lusīferi in the first place?"

"I thought she was right so long ago. But on earth, she changed into someone I did not understand. Her hatred for humans turned into feeding on them to spite God and his creation. I tried to save Terry once before. Now I want to help his child avoid his fate. You must find him on your own and kill him. Only then will the baby live properly. Your blood bond with him connects you and the child. Break that bond and you will be free."

Gadreel stood and wandered into the sewing room. She closed the door behind him and rested on her bed. Normally she would pray, but would God listen to her pleas to save a baby born of fallen ones?

In the darkness, she wept.

For herself…her baby…and Terry.

Part 15 soon come...

Masterlist.

Taglist:

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[chuuyaa-nakaharaa]

Yep.

I accidentally reblogged it on my main the first time RAAAHHHH

Sensory issues lead to horrible spatial awareness to getting your elbow joint broken again whoops

—@dazaii-osamuu

You broken your elbow joint?? What. I didn't even know you could break that.

[thatmarvelobsessedteen]

Not planned...at all

Cassian x reader

Azriel x OC! reader's cousin

Short Summary: Two girls, cousins, somehow find themselves inside a slightly modified version of their favorite book saga ACOTAR. What will happen to them, things have changed and not just their situation but themselves...are those pointy ears they now have?

Chapter 6

The clear sound of the door fully opening stops me from further shaking Roxanne but my hands stay on her shoulders, seated on my knees on the floor.

Turning my head to the door I'm pretty sure my jaw hangs close to the floor.

Tall, scary tall from my spot on the ground, bat wings very big by the way, golden brown skin, hazel eyes, dark hair and even his face looked elegant. The guy looked like classical beauty, the man looked like fucking Azriel of the bat boys!

And I bit his hand?!

Next to him another man slightly taller, hazel eyes, black shoulder length hair pulled back half up in a bun, golden brown skin, he was built like a damn wardrobe with membranous wings just as large.

Damn him, that's Cassian!

So that...purple eyes, yup Rhysand! He's the shortest of the three but the guy is still taller than me. His hair does kind of look blue black as described in the books, he looks paler than the other two but that's likely because of the mountain.

We've just been captured by the High Lord of the night court!

High lord of the night court that knows how to read mind unless you make a mental wall, shit!

I harshly elbow Roxy and give her a look which she thankfully gets rather quickly, her brows frowning in concentration.

Tnowing myself I decide against focusing on putting up defenses, my focus will likely break with one of then just looking my way so instead I just overflow my mind with anything and everything.

From Rick trolling the High Lord of the night court to that video of a T-Rex dancing to Despacito I saw once or just plain screaming I can clearly see it work when Rhys hissed and glared at me.

I keep eye contact for as long as a can manage with an amused smirk on my smirk, but obviously I wasn't about to waste all my time sigh seeing the bat boys watching the one in a healthy beautiful relationship.

Sadly it's when I look at Cassian and the catchy song in my mind immediately changes to a pocketful of sunshine that my genius plan bites me in the ass. Because of course when looking into that man's gold looking hazel eyes I'd me internally screaming "take me away, a secret place, take me away..."

In my defense it was absolutely necessary!

Of count show earns me Rhysand's first words, at least directed towards us and out loud.

"What is up with both of you?"

The words come out instinctively as an answer.

"A lot of things Mister High Lord."

Of course that's all it takes for Roxanne to cough in a feeble attempt at covering her laugh. Which I don't even bother doing as I laugh proud of my shit answer that's only halfway a joke.

Moving to sit criss cross and leaning back on my arms I give all three men my biggest smile, yes that is the only effective way to look at their faces from down here.

[harfanfare]

How to win the heart of jack how?

How to win a heart of Jack Howl?

a/n: Dearest Anon, I hope you are still here. I tried my best to write a good story. I hope you and every other reader will enjoy it!!

1. Get him to act as your boyfriend.

You don't know who that boy from Savanaclaw is, but at the moment, you can't care.

Your step hastens unwittingly, and you find yourself running towards the white-haired boy in a gymnastics shirt. He must be returning from daily training because even Mr Vargas doesn't torture his students so early in the morning. You glance at him once more, and you're sure that he will be a perfect fit for a plan you got into.

His ears twitch at the sound of your resilient steps, and he sharply turns your way before you bump into him. Of course, you would have slowed your pace and avoided any accident, but he catches your arms and stops you abruptly. You wonder how strong he may be if he didn't even budge.

"Uh... [Last Name]-senpai...?"

He looks at you with a slightly concerned look.

Oh, so he does know you? Wonderful.

"Hello there," you breathe out, gently getting out of his arms. You hope that being so winded doesn't leave a terribly unfortunate impression. "I… I know that we hadn't really talked with each other—yet—but I would… really, really appreciate it if you could help me with something."

A boy glances at you with vary.

You consider yourself lucky that he doesn't brush you off.

"…What do you need me for?"

You put on the most charming smile you can afford.

"It will sound really stupid, but… could you please act as my boyfriend? Be my fake date?"

…

"What?" A boy stutters the question. Before you can answer, he scrutinizes your surroundings. "Is someone stalking you?"

You shake your head energetically.

"No, no. I… just got into a bet with my cousin. And, well, to summarize the two-hour talk I may have told her that I will bring my boyfriend to a family dinner…" You watch how his expression changes slightly. Falls. "…But, obviously, I wouldn't drag anyone to my house. So, I was thinking about going with someone there and ' breaking up' in a few days. Oh, and I- I can pay you for your help!"

Your hands link in a plea.

"I-" Jack can't find any words he could offer you. Should he help you or just leave…? "[Last Name]-senpai, I really don't know what to say…" He trails off. "…Why me?"

His question animated you. You throw your hands in the air and wave in his general direction.

"I mean, look at you!" You exclaim, hoping a great amount of enthusiasm in your voice will work in your favour. "You seem like a hot, reliable guy. Kind. Charismatic."

Jack looks stunned. "Ah? W… What…?"

"You look exactly like the person I described to my parents!" You don't stop talking. His sudden bashfulness makes you speak even more confidently. "Please, if you aren't dating anyone right now, help me!"

…

Jack's eyes are avoiding yours as he scratches his nape. The silence stretches between you two, and you feel your heart sinking with regret each quiet second.

But then he coughs.

"…I don't like this idea," he mumbles, and his gaze meets yours. You notice the rosiness on his cheeks. The blush probably appeared because of the awkwardness of this situation and not because of a sudden crush on you, though. A pity. "But you look… desperate. You've got the spirit, and I will have you in debt. So… I will try helping you."

"Ah!"

You can't hide the smile that spreads on your face. You jump to Jack and pull him into a tight hug. He tenses under your sudden touch and lightly tries to push you off.

"Thank you so much…!" You cry out. After wiping a dramatic tear, you step back from him. You lower your head when you feel your face heating slightly in shame. "So… What is your name?"

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎

2. He's still not convinced. Do something.

The bright screen of his phone has his undivided attention. A beautiful moon in the sky is already forgotten even as it's dazzling in its full beauty tonight.

His eyes skim through the chat. The last message you sent was dated five hours ago, and he hasn't been able to push it to the back of his mind. It still clung to him when he listened to lectures and exercised. Now, when he had done everything he had planned for today, and it was getting dark, he can't stop from pondering.

He scrolled to a top of a chat and began going over the conversation for the tenth time.

Chat: [Name] sent you an invitation. Accept to friends?

Chat: Jack accepted an invitation. You're friends now!

[Name]: Hi Jack!!

[Name]: Thank you so much again for agreeing to such a weird deal hahaha

[Name]: Can we meet tomorrow during lunch break to talk about it?

[Jack]: Sure

[Name]: [happy sticker sent]

…Should he regret his decision? But, if he was to turn down your offer, you would have a serious problem, no? Maybe that's what you should get for lying—a lie always has short legs—but…

Jack can't bring himself up to call the whole thing off.

It's not because he is too shy to walk away from that situation. Maybe he doesn't want to leave you by yourself since you picked him from over three hundred students in NRC. And maybe he likes helping people. And your help - he has you in debt, hm - in his studies might be crucial in the future.

Or so he hopes.

Ping!

His heart skips a surprised beat when a sudden message appears after the sticker message.

[Name]: …I see you are still online

[Name]: Can't stop thinking about that chat? Hehe

Jack's fingers hover over the screen before he types a reply.

Jack: I can.

He lied.

Jack: That all just happened so quickly

[Name]: After sleeping, you might feel easier with that idea

[Name]: Tbh I doubt I will be able to sleep right now

[Name]: Soooo

[Name]: Wanna play something?

He doesn't even have a short moment to consider your offer before another notification pops up.

Chat: [Name] invited you to play a game of UNO CARD. Click here to join in!

…

Jack sighs.

And taps the link.

He will go to sleep soon. He can't miss his morning training, after all.

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎

3. Be a helpful upperclassman.

"Ah. It's that vending machine."

"[Name]-senpai…"

You lean against the cold metal, and Jack slowly looks at you. He heard your steps but didn't react until you made your presence too obvious to ignore. You smile cheerfully at him, not minding the stiffness he treats you with.

"Just [Name], Jack-kouhai," you tease and take two steps to stand next to him, facing the front of a vending machine. Behind the glass, colourful cans reflect the bright lights of corridors' chandeliers. "I see you have a problem here."

There is a bottle of pear-flavoured water trapped between the glass and a lower shelf, where lay packs of biscuit cookies. It doesn't seem to be stuck too hard to give up hope of getting it out, but neither are the other items on the machine. Everything is attached too loosely.

You believe that if you tried to tilt the whole thing, a bottle wouldn't be the only thing that would fall down.

"There are three ways you can get out your precious water, Jack," you hold three fingers in front of him. "You can buy something from a higher shelf—but both things can get stuck—you can punch the machine (gently, Jack, gently), or try reaching that bottle from below… Although it will hurt when you try to squeeze your arm through the window you usually take your drink from," you count solutions on your hand as you talk and then smile at Jack with anticipation.

"…I will go with buying something else, then." He looks like he'd rather give up on the water but still pats his pockets and takes another coin from his pocket. "…I don't have enough to buy anything more right now... Can you wait here while I go for my wallet?"

"No! …Can I have your change?"

…Well. With a grunt that resembles a resigned sigh, he hands you a coin.

You put it in the machine, along with several more you had on yourself, and tap a button next to the big pack of jellies on the highest shelf. With a soft clack! candy lands on a bottle, and with a hard crash, it makes it to the end. With a bottle.

It feels like a big victory when you squat to take both items out.

"We won!" You announce, throwing him his water, and then spare no time to open the jellies. "You can take half of them," As you shift the pack toward him, Jack hesitatingly takes a handful. You grin. "See? Having such a great upperclassman as me is an ultimate investment in life."

"Is that so," Jack ponders. ...Somehow, he feels entertained by your show. If you 'asked out' Ace Trappola instead of him, he would be your perfect partner in this kind of antics. "By the way, senpai, could you check an essay I've done? I need to turn it in tomorrow. That would be even more helpful than help with a vending machine."

The look he gives you says that he doesn't think you can correct his work to make it score top marks. You know you can't do that too.

"……..Heh."

So much for trying to be a helpful senpai.

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎

4. Get to know him.

"Do I really need to answer these questions?" Jack sounds concerned, and you can't help but chuckle at the hesitance in his voice. "They are weird…"

You take a sip of your drink. It is sour but in a very pleasant way. Well, you couldn't really expect less from the special item on a Monstro Lounge's menu. Even the occasional, time-limited and experimental dishes are quite tasteful here.

Jack sits across you, with his arms crossed as he studies the two-paged paper quiz you handed him. At his left, there is a glass of refreshing lemonade you insisted on paying for. Your fake-and-still-unsure boyfriend in question hasn't left yet, so you guess that treating him was a great idea.

"It's an instant way to know someone. I came up with the idea."

"That's the matter…"

He almost scowls, and you grin at the statement.

"We need to know some basics about ourselves. I wrote my questions for you on this sheet of paper," you point at a thin file in front of him, and shift another one in his direction. "And you can write anything you want to ask me here."

Hm.

Jack isn't sure if he wants to know anything particular about you. Anything more.

"…Okay," he replies, eyeing you carefully. Then, with a pen in his hand, he begins to write his questions for you.

It takes him several minutes to fill the page. When he hands it to you, his firm, right-slanting handwriting flashes at you. Your lips curve as you note that it fits him very much.

But then you start reading the questions.

And your smile drops.

"I can't answer these questions, Jack," you protest, and Jack squints his eyes at you in confusion. "I have no clue about the names of the muscles I focused on when we had a Vargas Camp," At your comment, he starts deflating, and you pause in a second. And then, after rereading the questions again, you pout sulkily. "…Couldn't you ask anything about my great personality?"

"…Then, is there anything I need to know before 'dating' you?" Jack scratches his neck, dropping his gaze at a lemonade before him.

"Now you make it sound as if I was dangerous," you laugh, but you can feel how your voice is a little strained. Just a little bit. "Either way, I won't tell you! You're getting me in a two-in-one special: you get precious me and my darkest secrets. It's a great deal."

"It's not."

You wave your hand as his response is as if it was physically brushed away. "The real question is: do I need to know anything about you?"

Jack huffs, but when he closes his eyes, you know he thinks about it seriously. It doesn't take a long while for him to speak up again.

"I think… I'm a pretty normal guy," he says and looks at you as if he wanted your reassurance. Your mouth 'no', and by the glance he sends you, you know how unimpressed he is. "I might not reach high standards if you or your family have any."

If he was sitting next to you, you would pat his arm, but you can only playfully step on his shoe under the table. You tap it twice, and when Jack looks up at you, a full grin plasters on your face.

You laugh. "You're good to go. I think you are more than living up to my parents' unfounded low expectations of my boyfriend."

"…Now I wonder why so."

"And you will keep on wondering. You won't ever hear this story~." You hum. "Well. Maybe one day."

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎

5. Have faith in yourself. (It doesn't need to be justified).

"Now we turn left…"

"It's on the right."

"It's left."

"Right!"

"It's left."

"It can't be left! On the left we have mandragoras..."

"We just passed the alley where they were, [Name]."

Jack sighs. Moving around the botanical garden shouldn't be this hard. You two have been there many times, but now the corridors stopped looking familiar as new roots started taking over the paths. It was a time for flowers to blossom.

Going there was a mistake. You can't even remember what were you going to search for here, but if you asked Jack, he would probably remember.

You don't want to ask him, though.

"Well, you can go right, and I will go left," you huff, crossing your arms. "We will see who will get out of here before the lunch break ends."

You turn around on your heel, and as you step to the left aisle, Jack catches you by the back of your shirt's collar and quickly jumps next to you. Then, by standing back to you, he grabs your arms from behind and pushes you forward. You began taking shaky steps towards the right alley.

"No," says Jack. "We will have a joint PE lesson. Both of us need to eat something before that. Let me guide, [Name]."

"I don't have a choice anyway," you note that although his grip on your arms is steady and would be hard to break out from, it isn't painful. It's almost gentle as he forces you to go ahead. "And don't assume I don't know the way…!"

"I hear the voices of others. I will find an exit faster," he says. "Bear with me, and we'll get out of there."

"…If we don't, you will have to admit publically that your sense of orientation sucks."

"Then, shouldn't you do the same if my lead is correct?"

You slowly start to recognize the plants and where you two were.

He is guiding you correctly.

"…No."

Jack hums, and you can tell he's amused by the disappointment in your voice.

"Then I will keep it a secret to myself."

"I have a great sense of orientation, just- not today!" You protest as you tug on his sleeve. He doesn't stop pushing you so slightly to guide you two to the exit. "Don't remember this kind of lies, Jack."

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎

6. Cheer on him.

"Here's water."

"Thanks."

Jack takes cold water and sits down next to you. A bench is sturdy enough that it doesn't squeak, even as you sit in the middle of it. With no problem, he takes off a cap you struggled with—he doesn't need to know this, however—and quenches his thirst.

He also accepts the towel your hand him with "thanks".

"You are going to have a match with RSA in two weeks, right?" Your question sounds more like a statement. Jack wonders if you would show up at his training if it wasn't for it.

"Yeah."

"Our school will have a whole day without lessons just to watch it."

Jack nods.

Maybe if it wasn't RSA, it wouldn't be the deal it is now. But you can count only on one hand the NRC students who don't feel competitive when the academy is mentioned. Even the people who aren't going to play, behave as if they were going to, with their cheering and hyping each other.

Cheering… NRC students will have to prepare some banners to support their team. And practice the cheer itself. Probably Pomefiore students will have to engage. They might not be very interested in sports events, but they won't let RSA beat them in terms of aesthetics.

Maybe the strong rivalry isn't that bad at all.

"By the way…" You trail off and don't speak again until Jack looks at you. "Even though we will be cheering on your team, all of my cheers are dedicated to you."

"Khe-"

Oops.

Jack chokes on his water in surprise, but when you move with concern to pat his back, he moves away, coughing into the crook of his elbow, and putting up his other hand to stop you. He eventually stops choking and sighs deeply.

When he looks up, and when you get to see his face, you notice a faint blush on his cheeks. His eyes crinkle wary. "…Are you trying out a pick-up line?"

And you tried being encouraging.

"No! I wanted to be supportive!" You protest. "Would you like it to be a pick-up li-?"

"No thanks," he says curtly. Then, clears his throat, and after making sure he can hold your gaze, he starts paying attention to his voice, to not have the next words come out as a mutter. "…But thank you for being here."

…

You smile softly and can feel your heart warm up.

But you ruin the atmosphere as the mischievous grin spreads up your face and meets your eyes. "Are you trying out a pick-up line, hehe? Don't look at me like that. I would very much like it to be."

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎

7. Have fake dates.

"Did you know that couples usually post some photos from their dates?"

You don't look up from your screen when you say it. Jack glances at you, who has been coming to his room whenever you had a chance. You started taking his bed as yours. He always grunts as you do so, but you noticed that a blanket you brought with you on a colder day is always folded and overhanging the headboard.

"What do you mean?" He asks, not stopping flexing his arm with the dumbbell. You turn the screen of your phone towards him, showing a Magicam profile of a girl he doesn't know.

"Like, uh. We should get some material to convince everyone that our relationship is very entertaining," you say, scrolling through the posts.

There are lots of pictures of said girl and her boyfriend. From amusement parks, oceanariums, festivals, bookstores, restaurants… You look at Jack as you got to the last image. "They look happy. And enamoured with each other."

Jack thinks about something.

"Do you think just posting photos is enough to prove the 'trueness' of our relationship?"

You grin. "That will convince introverts. All the people who didn't see us."

Jack actually laughs. "Right," he says, and as his voice steadies, he returns to doing his exercises. As you think the topic is ended, Jack speaks up so quietly that he almost mouths his words. "Then we can get… a few."

His eyes are intensely glued to the floor when you look at him.

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎

8. Talk about the rules. (Find out whether you can fake a kiss. (Fake kiss?)

"Are we ready?"

Jack asks, for the last time correcting the cuffs of his shirt. A suit he picked fits him; it's similar to the uniform he wears every day, but it's even more elegant. He leaves it unbuttoned, and whether he was wearing a tie, it would cover the little buttons of a white shirt he wears underneath.

He doesn't, though, but you don't say anything. You can't really say anything, because he looks so astonishing that something similar to awe grips your throat. Jack looks gorgeous. Not only in very classic clothes but also freshened up. His hair is puffier than usual, and you would love to play with it if it would ruin its tidiness.

You also dressed yourself up. You thought you were unusually pretty tonight, more than ever.

Jack doesn't agree but doesn't deny it either. He just stares at you, and by the way, his chest expands and stops, you start to wonder if he stopped breathing.

But he finally breathes out, and you don't dare to check if he has a desired blush on his cheeks or not.

You start walking toward the hall of mirrors, where one could take you back to your family home. Your home.

"Once again, leave all the questions related to romance up to me," you say, winking at him. "I read so much fanfiction I can come up with a realistic, heartwarming backstory of our relationship immediately."

"Don't tell them anything weird."

He says so, and you chuckle.

"They will probably tease us, so don't be shy to ignore them," you continue. By the time, you are standing before a big mirror. Its surface shines brightly, and in a brief moment, an image of your hometown is already displayed. Your house is close, very close. "And… just be yourself, you're charming."

"…If you say so," Jack says. He looks as if he wanted to say something, and you wait before he speaks up with hesitation. "Shall we hold hands?"

…

You didn't expect that.

But you aren't going to refuse.

You intertwine your fingers with his and grin. Your heartbeat rises once more again, and you know, that it won't slow down until you return back. Jack squeezes your hand back.

"Next step in our relationship, I see," you say with a smile. "You have warm hands."

You stand there for just a little while, stopping Jack from going through the mirror, but it's too long as another thought crosses your mind.

"Wait. Do you think they will ask us to kiss?" Stupid you, stupid you, stupid you, stop talking, stop talking, stop talking, laugh to cover the awkwardness and throw the topic away. You laugh. "No. They wouldn't. Never mind, don't think about that."

Now you try to go through the mirror. Jack's hand, which still holds yours, stops you midway. You have no choice but to look up at him and confront the gaze he wishes you didn't see.

"…If the situation will be tragic enough, we can do it," he says and coughs. "But it might be awkward, but I don't think I could fake a kiss."

"Neither could I," my chest will explode in a moment, you note. Somehow, you grin with mischief, but it isn't as malicious as you wished it to be. "So our very unfakeable kiss would convince everyone."

"Stop wishing for it to happen."

"I haven't been wishing! But well, maybe I might start doing so. Someday. Sometimes. Ah, let's just go!"

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎

9. Lose the previous reason to date.

The dinner went well.

You never once regretted choosing Jack as your partner in crime, but now you were so proud of yourself, as your mother talked happily with Jack, and dad listened to their conversation, sometimes commenting.

Your cousin was actually convinced about your relationship with Jack. She even offered to have a double date and recommended places interesting enough to have memorable dates. She felt happy for you, and it was warming your heart but also freezing it by turns.

You had to politely brush all her offers off because… Well, Jack agreed to be your date until today.

You've been painfully aware of it, as Jack's hand holds yours since you left your house.

Even when you got to the mirror, where no one from your family could see you anymore… Even when you got back to school, your hands were still linked, but you didn't want to point it out. Jack could have backed out and it was the last thing you wanted.

But everything must have an end.

"Thank you," you breathe and smile slightly at him. Looking him straight into the eyes beyond your strength. You part your hands very slowly before you turn to get to your dormitory. "Goodnight, Jack."

…

As Jack turns and walks back to his dormitory, he can't help but think about a single thing. Even the dinner he was stressing about him the whole day has been already forgotten.

The next morning you will wake up, and you two "won't be together".

Jack scowls.

If you ever have been.

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎

10. End the play.

"Thank you for your hard work~," you smile cheerfully when getting to his room. For the last time as a "partner", if you still hold that title. You put a glass bottle on his desk. "I've got you a pear compote, so you won't have the heart to throw it out."

"I… wouldn't do anything like that even if it wasn't it," Jack says, and doesn't move away when you sit on the bed next to him. He can smell the light perfumes you wore today and almost feels the warmth of your body, sitting so close to him.

There is a silence between you before you decide to break it.

"So… that's it, huh?"

You smile, and something in Jack breaks again. He feels as if was falling, but expected the fall itself… Since he met you properly, he knew you will part your days in a few weeks.

But if he could lengthen the time…

Even if it meant sacrificing the part of his pride…

He would try anything.

His face is covered with blushes, and his mouth twists with embarrassment when he notices how lame is the only excuse he can come up with now.

"Can-" He doesn't stutter but fights with his words. How can he say what he wants so you will understand? "Can we pretend for a little more? I'm sorry, but I told my mother that I have a partner, and she's excited to see you."

…

"So a next dinner!" Your hands clasp with enthusiasm, but you know you need to hold them to stop them from shaking. You need to keep calm and be a cool senpai. "Then, we are continuing our fake dating, hehe?"

Jack purses his lips, and to your surprise, he aggressively shakes his head.

"We can't. She will know if it's fake," he says in a dead-serious tone. Your mouth curls in a smile you try to cover with your hand.

"So we should be serious," you conclude, imitating the voice Jack used just before. And then you stand up from bed and make your way so that you are just before him. You put your hands on your sides. "But I am waiting for a proper confession."

Jack sighs softly.

"…You're making this hard for me," he says, but stands up. The morning rays of sunlight come through the window and enlighten his figure. His eyes shine with gold, and somehow you can't look away from them."…And it's weird because I wouldn't like it if you stopped complicating things." He puts his hand over his heart. "I simply want to stay by your side, now and… in the future… That's the only thing I wish now."

[panthera-tigris-venenata]

For your 'Send me silly Descendants prompts, pretty please.'

Chad's younger sister, Chloe Charming the sporty perfectionist friend of Red from the pocket watch, is much younger than him.

And he loves to make her and Dizzy laugh.

Thank you, this was fun!

I accidentally added Anthony, because Anthony and Chad pretending they can stand eachother for the sake of their sisters/cousins is simply too much fun and I like it.

I hope you like this little story, too!

Chad theatrically crowns himself with a fake crown – the same one that he printed all the way back on Carlos's 3D printer – and declares:

„I am King Chad Charming the Great, ruler of this magical realm!“

His little sister Chloe giggles and reaches out to straighten up the crown and the cape, which he might or might not have put on sideways deliberately. He crouches down so she could reach more easily.

Dizzy Tremaine, Chloe's new favourite playmate, on the other hand, seems to be frowning. Weird.

„Isn't that, like, high treason?“ the Isle girl asks, and, excuse me, what?!

He glances over at Anthony Tremaine, who in true Isle kid fashion refused to let Dizzy go alone, mostly out of pure paranoia, and also just to annoy Chad, and who is now smirking. That prick.

He covers his mouth with his hand as soon as he notices Chad looking.

Before Chad can figure out how to respond to being accused of treason over childish game, his sister takes care of it:

„No! It's just playing pretend!“

„That means it's not real and doesn't count,“ he adds just to be sure.

„Oh!“ Dizzy brightens up, „Like when CJ and Harry kidnaped me and threatened to feed me to the sharks if Anthony and Harriet don't kiss!“

…Chad is starting to be mildly concerned.

The sight of his suddenly blushing step-cousin is worth it, though. 

As Tremaine does not seem to be up for an answer, Chad decides to get back to the game.

„I am a famous hero, for I have slayed many terrible beasts-“

He plans to pretend Chloe and Dizzy are the beasts and to chase them around for a bit.

Chloe has different plans, though.

„I think you'd make for a fine princess, though,“ she says, „And I'd be the knight rescuing you from the vile monsters!“

…Or he could be a princess. That works too.

„I'm a princess, locked up in a tall tower, guided by the horrible dragon that has kidnaped my from my parents,“ he laments, straightening the ill-fitting crown yet again, „Whatever will I, abandoned maiden, do? Whoever will save me?“

He chooses to ignore snickering Anthony and instead focuses on the giggling girls.

He breaks the character a bit to smile at them, before wringing his hands in exceragated distress again.

„Wait, no, not yet!“ decides Chloe suddenly, „You must look like a princess first! We should give him a makeover, don't you think, Dizzy?“

Sure. Makeover. Sounds fun.

„Can we?“ Dizzy looks at him with wide eyes, immediately copied by Chloe, and, well, of course they can. They squeal with joy and bolt to Chloe's room, to get the „accessories“ and „make-up kit.“

Anthony tries to hide his laughter so hard that he gets a coughing fit, the bastard. Serves him right.

Chad glares at him across the room, which leaves the other boy utterly cold, which is absolutely not fair. Chad is a prince and his glaring should make people a little bit nervous, if nothing else.

The door flies open and the two girls run straight to Chad, dragging him down to sit. They chatter happily as they comb his hair and add frankly obscene amount of hair clips into it, before finishing the hairdo with Chloe's most sparkly and glittery tiara.

„Can I take a look?“ he asks, curious to see what they have done.

„Not yet!“ snaps Chloe. Okay, cool.

Anthony carefully schools his expression blank and then notes that „You should just be glad you lot don't have any dye around, man. Though pastel pink wouldn't be half bad on you, I admit.“

As Chad is still trapped on the chair by the girls and their make-up brushes, he settles for glaring at Anthony again. Up until Dizzy comes in with eyeshadow and he has to close his eyes.

„Why won't you make Anthony a princess, too?“ he asks sweetly. The little hands stop, hovering above his face, as Chloe and Dizzy contemplate.

„Absolutely not,“ refuses Anthony.

Yeah, no. If Chad has to suffer through make-up, so has Anthony.

„You wouldn't want to spoil their fun, would you?“ asks Chad slyly, having opened his eyes and staring at the other boy, very much implying he would be a bad older cousin if he refused.

„No, absolutely not. I'm not even pretending to be a princess.“

„Anthony, please!“ Dizzy.

„Pretty please!“ Chloe.

„Play with us, Anthony!“ Dizzy.

„Pleaseee–“ both of them.

Chad inwardly smirks.

„Fine,“ sights Tremaine, „I will play with you. I will be the foul beast guarding the princess in her tower and you will have to fight me.“

Over pouting Dizzy and cheering Chloe, he finishes: „I can put on my make-up on my own, thank you, and why, yes, I can fight, little princess. Wanna try?“

Chloe thinks it over a bit, while Dizzy settles for finishing Chad's eyeshadow. Chad still thinks that if Chloe put her leg down, she'd get Anthony to agree.

Probably.

Possibly.

Her wide eyes and excited little jumps work at Chad without fail, at any rate.

„Not yet,“ decides Chloe finally, „Do your make-up first and I'll find us suitable weapons.“

„The sparing ones, the ones that dad keeps in the chest for you – you know where, right?“ reminds Chad, just in case.

She just rolls her eyes and whines that yes, of course she knows, but, well, better safe than sorry. Judging by Anthony's curt nod towards him, this might as well be the first thing they ever agreed on.

Chloe and Dizzy are not getting hurt on their watch.

Dizzy finishes Chad's makeover and proudly drags him in front of the mirror, where Anthony is carefully applying dark smoke-eyeshadow and glittery highlighter and somehow pulling it off.

Almost as good as Chad.

„I look exquisite,“ Chad announces just as Chloe barges back in the room with an armful of training weapons.

„You look fine,“ agrees Chloe, and why, thank you.

„You, however, need help,“ she tells Anthony before sticking lipstick to his hand and a tiara at his head.

„I do NOT wear a tiara!“ protests Tremaine, taking it off his head immediately, „And I ought to be the monster, remember?“

So Dizzy snatches the tiara for herself and Chloe all but throws a sword at Anthony, who, unfortunately, catches it. Shame.

Shame all the more that he copes with Chloe's unconventional sparring approach quite well.

„Keep up!“ Chloe yells and suddenly, there is a sword in his hand too. So Chad joins the whirlwind, feigning a hit at his sister and stopping before he touches her.

„Am I not the princess?“ he asks, blocking Dizzy's hits – she is concerningly skillful for such a tiny little thing.

„Not anymore!“ announces Chloe brightly.

„The princess turned evil!“ cheers Dizzy.

And, well, that works.

[sallyf4ce]

wolves

chapter IV

-> sally face x f!reader

-> enemies? to lovers

-> previous | next

cw: drugs, cigarettes, violence, homophobia

*does not follow original plot of sally face*

summary: (y/n) and travis make up (ish), (y/n) gets hurt again (you really shouldn’t be surprised), larry gets a little moody (i don’t think he likes (y/n) very much), sal makes a move on (y/n) (although he doesn’t know he did)

“You’re (y/n), right? New kid?” Travis looks at you as you press the wet cloth to your nose. You nod.

“How’d you know?”

“Sal said it. he muttered. The disgusted look on his face was proven a facade by the blush on his cheeks.

“You’re in love, buddy.” you laugh.

“No i’m fucking not! You’re so fucking stupid, what the fuck? Who could love a faggot like Sally f-” you cut him off my shoving his head into the wall roughly. You don’t know what came over you, but being homophobic is still homophobic even if you’re in denial. You convinced yourself that it wasn’t about sally, it was just you being an ally. Way to kill the mood, travis.

“You pull that shit one more time and I'll leave you without teeth, blondie. Or would you rather i tell your dad that you hit girls?”

He squirms underneath your palm. “Sorry.” he looks at you with a pleading face.

You sigh and let him go. “S’fine. You need to learn how to control your anger, though, fuckface. You’re not gonna get anywhere with that attitude.” stuffing the bloody towel in your bag, you lead him out the door.

“I hate you.” Travis scoffs.

“What did i say?”

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><

“Larry, she’s already closer to travis than she is to us and they just met. Travis is a full-on dick, and they’re being all friendly! I didnt even know that was possible!” Sal chucks his bag in his locker. He hasn’t known you for long, but longer than travis! Plus he’s way nicer, too! Why’d you have to go and get all friendly with his bully?

“I don’t fucking like it either, sally face. Maybe we should just stay away from them.” Larry crossed his arms and leaned against the lockers.

Sal didn’t want to stay away from you, though. You were sweet, he was sure, just a little distant. Plus you just sort of intrigued him. He wanted to know why you were like this, what happened to you, why you had a prosthetic. Maybe it was hypocritical of him, though. He's only told Larry and Ashley about what happened to him, so he shouldn’t be picking at your trauma. you’ll tell him when you feel comfortable with it, but you’d need to be comfortable with him for that. and right now, it seems like you’re pretty comfortable with his bully.

“let’s go, dude. class starts in 5.”

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><

After grabbing your schedule with Travis, you set your stuff in your new locker (which smelled pretty good, surprisingly.) and began walking to your first class, math. Travis laughed at you when you read your schedule outloud and you gave him a whack on the head. What an idiot. He headed off to his first class, english.

you opened the door to the classroom and coughed to get the attention of the teacher, Mrs. Packerton.

“Ah, lovely! Class, say hi to (y/n) (l/n)!” she smiles as you awkwardly wave.

“You’ll be sitting in the back, right beside Sal.” an inaudible groan leaves your cracked lips as you make your way towards him, trying not to make eye contact.

“uh, here.” he moves over. you plop yourself down next to him and open your notebook.

“we’re doing a test right now. i’m pretty sure you won’t have to do it, since it’s your first day and all.” his blue hair bounces as he looks over to you again. it looks fluffy.

“you wanna touch it?” he chuckles. you don’t want to come off creepy, but he’s offering, right?

you reach out your prosthetic hand but quickly pull it back and switch it, realizing you can’t actually feel with it. he chuckles at your mistake and leans in to your touch.

you were right. it felt like clouds, puffy but still silky. it wasn’t combed properly, though.

“Mr. Fisher and Mrs. (L/n), you little lovebirds. hands to yourselves, please.” Mrs. Packerton laughs a little. “Ah, young love.”

you quickly pull your hand back and flush.

“stupid old lady.” you mutter.

“Mrs. P’s nice, she’s just a little… enamoured in her students’ love lives.” sal laughs.

“stop, you’re making her sound like a pedophile!” you cover your mouth to suppress your laugh and sal’s face heats up even more. He made you laugh!

You both quieted down as Sal continued his test and you doodled in your sketchbook.

“are you okay? after travis, you know.” he hummed, a mix of concern and jealousy swirling in his eyes.

“uh, yeah. i’m fine.”

“You sure? Your lips look pretty busted.”

“It’s all good.”

“why do you hang out with him, anyway?” he turned his test upside down and faced you again.

“what do you mean?” you’re confused.

“he hit you in the face first thing in the morning. If i was you, i wouldn't really like him.” sal gripped his pencil.

“are you jealous?” you question, a smirk on your face.

“No.” his expression is hidden behind his mask. you look into his eyes, trying to make him blush.

the blue is a different blue than the one you saw yesterday. it’s lighter, almost like a porcelain blue.

“whatever you say, porcelain face.”

“porcelain face?”

“your mask, and your eyes, i guess. they’re like a porcelain doll’s.”

he hums.

“what are you then? metal hand? cyborg? fist of steel?”

“you forgot iron fist.”

“iron fist?”

“sure.” you grin. sal’s heart flutters again.

“Alright children, please hand in your tests and nicely file out the class. The bell will ring any moment.” Mrs. Packerton smiles sweetly and starts collecting tests. You grab your bag and leave the class.

Sal looked around the room for a bit, looking for you. A flash of (h/c) hair leaving the room catches his eyes. He tries running after you, but you’re already heading towards your next class.

•Lunch time•

“Shut the fuck up, Trav. I said she was stupid, not stupid hot. I don't know where you got hot from! I literally never said it.” You shoved his shoulder. He just snickered and continued teasing you.

“Hey, (y/n)! Come have lunch with us!” Sal saw you walking with travis. He waved you over from the cafeteria. Travis immediately stopped laughing and sneered. He quickly began walking over to sal, raising his fist.

“Leave us alone, fucking fag-” travis swung at sal but you stepped in front of them, raising your arm to cover sal’s face since he was taller.

Travis throws punches like a wrestler, You already knew that. Maybe you shouldn't have used your real hand to catch it.

His fist slammed into your forearm roughly and you flinched.

“Fuck- travis, go cool off. Now. Leave.” you hold onto your arm. It stings, but it's not broken. You’ll be fine.

“You’re all a bunch of-” he stops mid sentence as you give him a glare. It sort of said ‘you’re gay too, dumbass.’ he scrunched his eyebrows and walked off.

“Oh my fucking god!” a girl with brown hair ran over to you and lightly grabbed your arm.

“This her, sal? Are you (Y/n)?” she looked at you. She seemed very sweet. Kind of reminded you of your cousin.

“Uh- yeah- can you let go?”

She smiles in apology and lets go.

“You didn't have to do that, (y/n).” sal scratches the back of his head. You’ve gotten hurt twice because of him. How are you supposed to be friends if the only thing sal does is hurt you?

“I think maple might have an ice pack in her lunch. Can you come sit with us?” He hopes you say yes.

“Yeah, okay.” you needed the ice pack and travis was nowhere to be seen, so you didn’t really have a choice.

“Hey, (y/n).” Larry grumbles as you walk to their table. It seems he’s upset with you.

“I just saved your buddy from travis. Not to your liking or something?” you look up to him. If something’s wrong, he should just fucking say it. Not beat around the bush like a pussy.

“Yeah. you and travis seem to be getting along well.” he finally makes eye contact with you. Sal and the girl seem uncomfortable.

“We all got our issues, asshole. Some of us just know how to deal with them better than others.” You sneer. He’s allowed not to like Travis, but he’s not allowed to be a bitch to you because you actually understand his actions and choose to help him instead of ignoring him.

“Whatever.” he spits. You turn to sal.

“I’ll get my own ice.” you begin walking away. “Also, watch your dog.” you hear sal chuckle as larry groans. He walks up to you before you can leave, Larry throwing his arms up in the air in disbelief.

“Hey, uh, (y/n)? I’m sorry you got hurt. Could- could i make it up to you somehow?” his hand is on yours. It’s warm, he’s probably blushing hard under his mask.

“Sure, sally. How would you do that?” you spin around to face him. You can see his mask rise a little and his smile peaks through.

“Do you have a phone?” he pulls his cell out. It’s just a simple black flip-phone with a few paint splatters.

“I do, it’s in my locker. I dont have my number memorized, though. Stupid area codes.” you mumble. “You wanna come get it with me?”

Sal looks back to his friends. Ash is nodding frantically while Larry twirls a cigarette through his fingers, still mad.

“Alright.”

taglist: @purelydarling @deadpoetsandhoney @ghostfacefricker6969 @percyyzz @whatsurgamertag @kiillian @potatochic2003 @beingaweebishell @glitterydonutangel @izzydrawsandwrites @angellicbitch @elebeleb @dream-of-eros @mr-bombastic

[seelestia]

pssst hey your cool(?) virtual cousin here. would u like to visit my virtual house this weekend my husband will be cooking his signature slow-cooked bamboo shoot dish oh and also bring ur detective bf too, i'd like to interrogate talk 🙂nicely🙃 to him - yknow just some family bonding time <3 /j

pffffft i'm imagining poor zhongli having to take care of two hu taos sldkslkdls he's going to grow some white hairs lmao

childe helps him out to create a youtube channel and sends him scripts for zhongli to read.... some lines sounds a little questionable for an audiobook but what does he know, maybe it's just how young ppl these days talk? some kinda slang he doesn't really understand? but why do they all sound so romantic???

meanwhile childe cackles as he watches zhongli's latest asmr video goes trending and people are having a mental breakdown over his clueless friend's voice saying "welcome home, would you like to have a bath first, or dinner, or perhaps... a kiss?" slfjslkskdsl

hmmm i see i see *notes down on clipboard*

hhhhhhh yes i saw that trailer last night with my brother and i was like 'hmmm ok al haitham kinda cool' while he was all 'wow dehya girlboss badass'... 

i'm pretty sure they have a bot (or some kind of automation?) for monitoring the blogs :/ yeah i heard about that too hence the usual 'no spam liking!' rule on most blogs... but like, how many likes are counted as spam?? and within how many seconds?? ah well... i think i've moved for good anyway, tumblr can do whatever as long as my new blog is safe lol

me: m-mono anemo? / hyv: mono anemo :)

(pls hyv mercy i don't have any vayuda turquoise gems anymore xiao and jean and kazuha ate all of it-)

hskdjskdks probably... oh well i guess i'll just settle with seeing him from time to time on the rare times my brother kindly graces my noob acc with his fully built teams... one day, diluc will come home. that day might not be today. but one day....

LOL IKR shameless behavior i swear /lh and thank you!!! may all zhongli wanters be zhongli havers!!! i am crossing my fingers for everyone who pulls for the ceo of geo himself!!! hmmmm maybe i should try the 'apply element to character to increase the probability of the gacha' approach hshdjhd zhongli come home the power of money compels you

ah ok that's good! gotta eat your meals when you're still growing!! hehe zhongli wouldn't need to worry i always eat my meals altho i only have them twice per day - but i'd like to think that he'd watch contentedly as i happily nom on things tho he will probably give me a disapproving frown when he sees that i'm holding my chopsticks incorrectly oops

how dare you put the question next to the cool because i can vouch that it is the absolute truth. (/lh) i can visit but i must warn you that heizou said he is very much looking forward to it i am concerned. will our family bonding time become a heated debate... i'll go make some tea when that happens.

zhongli and constantly being surrounded by gen z's in modern au gives me life, and then we have venti who has perfectly integrated into the said generation without fail 🚶 oh, zhongli, the way you can put us all to sleep with just a few words <//3 (maleficent's spinning wheel could never fkekkdkfks) and childe definitely promised him a box of imported limited tea for it JFKWKKDS

v3.0 hype, aaaaa !! i didn't get to watch the livestream in real time, but i heard it crashed for a bit??? 2.8 flashbacks it feels like yesterday when people were fawning over inazuma's release and thinking that miko was the electro archon fwjfksjedk. sumeru just arrived, but it made me more excited for fontaine now because i just know i'm going to vibe with the city !! and it makes me think of a historical au with nobleman!ayato *COUGH*

and you're not just going to get diluc too !! tighnari and albedo will be added to the standard banner soon, so that's some new varieties to lose our 50/50 to ;D

mono anemo until there is a commission titled emergency and it's an eye of the storm FWSKDKS PHYSICAL XIAO, LET'S GO. (/j)

i usually have kokomi to heal heizou or klee when they take damage, but having zhongli will definitely and significantly increase the survivability of the team !! >:) my hp artifacts that i saved for yelan are waiting for you, grandpa. (/lh)

i shall need all the calcium and protein !! but the pride i feel knowing i'm the same height as xiao SENDS ME EVERY TIME. indeed, you are the super cool virtual cousin who has me on a leash and i thank you deeply for that, rin, nyehehe <3

p/s: your dynamic with zhongli reminds me of the down bad enthusiastic talker + the listener who sips tea who admires said talker fjwkdkkas

[cherry-gemz]

Healing Hands: Chapter One

Summary: You find yourself abroad in London as the Chief of Pediatrics. Everything has been running smoothly until you are faced with an undiagnosed case and the doctor assigned is anything but willing to face defeat. Will you be able treat the child's unknown disease in time, along while facing uncharted waters with love in the workplace?

Parings: Henry Cavill {Dr. Cavill} x Y/N {F!Reader}

Rating: Overall series 18+ only, Chapter is PG

Word count: 2200 +/-

Tags:  @evansamericanass @meowpurrbooks​ @lilithpaijiee @pterodactylterrace 

A/N: Trying something new at writing Henry fanfic. IDK if it’s any good, but either way wanted to start writing. LMK if you're interested, comments and tags welcomed! 💜

P.S. I am no means in any medical field or sorts, so if I get something incorrect on a term or process, bear with me xo.

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

You knew that it was a gamble moving to the UK for the Chief of Pediatrics position. But it was time for a change. You needed to leave Eugene, Oregon. Start fresh. There was too much pain there and you had to get away. So when your cousin, who was a nurse from Brighton informed you that there was a need at her hospital for the highly-visible role, you thought why the hell not? You'd score a free round-trip to England of anything and actually see some family you've never met if it didn't pan out. 

Little did you know that you'd fall in love with London: the weather, the people, the imagery of it all. Oregon weather wasn't all too different, so you acclimated well. It had been a few months of you settling in: understanding more of the language barriers despite it still being English. Knackered, cuppa, trollied. 

That is until you had a run in with the division chief of Pediatrics, Dr. Cavill. The staff adored the renowned and painstakingly handsome doctor. And while you could appreciate the view as well, you never were on the same page with his ideals. His defiant behavior of undermining your direction of the unit was becoming a thorn in your side. 

But this time, this time you'd had enough. He mentioned to a patient's parents, while with the speciality case, the hospital could take on their son's situation as priority and receive around the clock care. You threw down the patient's file on your desk and pinched the bridge of your nose. It was a lost cause, you had looked into the patient ever since you started the role.

The child seemed perfectly healthy and lab tests may show no signs of illness. But the chronic pain and fatigue were unexplainable. You empathized, but the poor child has undergone so many tests that at this point it was about providing facts to the parents. And right now, there was no cause of alarm. You weren’t a Dr. House, this wasn’t television. You didn't have the staff to dive into any research or clinical studies. You had a hospital to run, employees to pay, other lives needed saving. 

You picked up the phone to the case nurse on the pediatric floor. 

"Hello? Yes, this is Dr. Y/LN. Can you please remind Dr. Cavill of our 5pm? He's late. Thank you." 

Slowly hanging up on the phone, you turn back to the patient's file. The boy, Jon Foulger, was just shy of his ninth birthday. No positive results for Lupus or Guillain-Barré syndrome. But This case had been bothering you, poor Jon had been in the hospital for three months and still no progress on a diagnosis. While you were never known to give up on a patient, you knew giving false hope to the parents was detrimental not only to the family, but to the same of the hospital's integrity. You were in a high esteemed role now, you knew that you had to discuss further with Henry on his actions. 

Twenty more minutes passed by and you checked your watch. Fuming, you stood up from your desk and headed down to the pediatric floor by the lift. 

As you briskly walk down the hall corridors you can't wait to give Cavill a piece of your mind. You turn the corner and ram right into a brick wall, or so you thought.  Your hands instinctively pick up and see placed on the doctor's firm chest. You immediately flush and lose composure. 

You knew he was a good-looking man, but this up close and personal was a whole other level. His dark hair and curls were fluffy and good enough to touch. His piercing steel blue eyes looked at yours and made immediate contact. His bone structure made the Michaelangelo's David blush. 

"My apologies, Dr. Y/LN. Didn't see you there," his voice was like butter. 

You straightened out your white coat, "Ahem, yes. Well I seemed to have been lost in thought. My apologies as well."

"You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, almost an hour ago…" you shifted your weight to stand a bit taller. He towered over you with his muscular frame and height. 

"Patient...Jon Foulger. We must discuss the repercussions of your current actions."

"Jon-Jon," he replied stoic. 

"Excuse me?"

"He likes to be called Jon-Jon."

"Well yes, let's go to my office and discuss further, please Dr. Cavill."

"As you wish," he replied and pivoted his heel to the nearby lift.

The rise up to the 12th floor was a quiet one, awkward overall as you knew you had to give a coaching and hated the notion. You missed practicing medicine; while you enjoyed the administration of your position, the thrill of helping others and using your hands were erased with cases of employee performance reviews, reports, budgets. 

He coughed into his fist and then held his strong hands in place in a clasp. 

He finally broke the silence, "Enjoying London?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Have you had any time to take a holiday?"

"Um, no. Been too busy."

"It might do you some good," he replies as he looks to check his watch. 

You huff, "Somewhere you need to be, Doctor?"

"No, just checking the time."

His arrogance irritated you and now you weren't feeling as badly to give him his coaching. 

The lift opened as you arrived at the floor and he held out the door for you to exit first. You nod and walk to your office, your kitten heels clicked on the hospital's linoleum floor and the sound echoed through your ears. 

As you both enter your office you stride quickly to your desk to assume dominance of the room. 

Henry stood near the doorway, admiring your photos and certificates on the wall. 

"I knew you were American, but Stanford Medical? Interesting, thought you were from Oregon. When will you be returning?" You can't read him if that was a compliment or sarcasm. 

"Dr. Cavill, would you be so kind to shut the door," you state firmly and sit down, ignoring his comment about your return to the states.

His brow peaks and he nods, turning to close the door. 

"Please, have a seat," you say. 

"I'd rather stand, thank you," he replies and you know this is going to be a difficult conversation. 

"Well this will only take a moment then. Your recent behavior with the Foulger family, while I commend you for your dedication, has been slight askew with the hospital's protocols."

"Is that so?" His voice dropped and his brow arched. "In what way, Dr. Y/LN?"

You cough as the drawl of his mouth turns upward and you can swear there's a smug smirk across his face. 

"Well...for one...you've promised around the care of the child. Now simply put, we've exhausted all efforts for a diagnosis and until Jon...Jon-Jon…shows any new symptoms, we are at liberty to provide him comfort care for the remainder of the evening, but he will need to be discharged in the morning. We've exhausted him enough with MRIs, blood tests. I'm at a rock in a hard place, Dr. Cavill."

"The rock or the hard place where you give up on a child's well-being simply because you haven't thought to see him as a person? Rather as a number on your statistical analysis of how functioning this hospital is?"

His eyes pierce through you and make your knees grow weak. The nurse staff usually talks about him being a cuddly bear, always making the children laugh and smile. But this man before you, why he's no cuddly bear. He was a beast of a man. A grizzly in fact. 

"Now see here, I will let you know that this case is very important to me. All the children are. But what you fail to see is that for whatever reason you've gravitated to this particular case, you're chasing something that doesn't exist." 

His broad shoulders and strong neck tense at your words. He blinks methodically, as if he's scoping out his prey. No, don't let his charm and rugged good looks distract you. This is a man who is used to getting what he wants and you are a woman who knows perfectly what to do with that.

"And I believe you're blind, Doctor."

"Excuse me?" Your voice was shrill and short. "This is borderline insubordination. I'd be careful with your next words, Cavill."

"Pardon my frankness, Dr. Y/LN, but I've been here longer and know these patients in and out," his voice raised and you could see the hint of a vein showing on his thick neck. "Some of the children come from very poor and debilitating environments. We can't just cast them off once a diagnosis doesn't stick simply because we need the bed or we're done trying!"

"DR. CAVILL," you exclaim and let out an exasperated sigh. His demeanor changed and his upper lip curved slightly. 

“Dr. Y/LN. With all due respect, I think you’re making the wrong judgement call here. Things are not adding up with Jon-Jon, if we just give it a few more days...I feel like we’re making progress and I’ve labored enough research into it-”

"Again, while I appreciate your passion...”

“Passion which you need to show for the patient-”

You raise your hand to silence him, “This is not up to you, Dr. Cavill. As Chief of Pediatrics, this is my call. We will discharge Jon tomorrow if he does not show any new symptoms. If you disobey any further protocols, I will have no other choice but resort to disciplinary action. Do I make myself clear, Doctor?"

You press your hands on your desk and lean inward, portraying your stance. 

"Perfectly," he responded. 

"And another thing, I -" you start, but he turns and abruptly walks out of your office, leaving your door open. 

The nerve! Did he really just do that? Where does he think he's going? Didn't I just tell him I'd resort to disciplinary action?!

You rush out of your office and you see him striding through the hall. His strong posture, shoulders back eluded to years of boarding school perhaps or military. You noticed his fists were clenched and it gave you slight satisfaction that you chipped away ever so slightly at his ego.

It was going to take a lot more than that to send you packing, you thought. 

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

The next day came and went. You had confirmed that Jon-Jon was discharged with the floor nurse and while you were relieved to have handled that quite professionally, you knew it did not bear well with the rest of the staff.

You were still getting your feet wet and learning more about your team. It was solid overall, many years of expertise collectively, but they treated you like the outsider you were. No requests to meet for lunch or drinks after work. No camaraderie birthday cards seeking your signature or date night advice. Just the normal days in and out, pulling many late nights in your office, up to the point of exhaustion. You'd collapse in your double bed after work, stare at the ceiling of the small room you rented from your cousin, Laura, and try to drown out all the bustle of seven people in the same 3 bedroom flat. 

Just like any other day, You sat alone during lunch. But that never really was ever a bother being used to it now. You were excited about an audiobook you were meaning to dive into and right when you were about to use your airpods, that's when you noticed him enter the cafeteria. 

His presteen, crisp white lab coat was tight around his build. You could tell he took fitness seriously and wondered what he was hiding underneath it all. You unknowingly licked your lips as you watched him search for a fruit out of the bowl off the commons counter. Curious to know what he fancied: was he into a sweet apple or something more tart like cherries. 

He picked up a peach and squeezed it with his massive hand, making it look quite comical considering his size. His eyes met yours and you quickly looked away, trying to now draw any attention to yourself. You fumbled with your phone as you connected to the audiobook and heart his footsteps approached your empty table. 

"Good afternoon," he said. His voice was deep, smooth, and inviting. Not at all like the day before in your office. 

You play coy and don't bother to look up, fidgeting with your sandwich. 

"Hello," you reply distantly. He made you nervous. Would he bring up yesterday's conversation? Will he continue to look that delectable each day?

He smirked and took a bite of the fuzzy peach. There was a slight crunch as he dug his pearly whites into the rounded fruit. The velvet and thin layer of skin eased off and entered his mouth; he chewed slightly and let the piece swirl around with his thick tongue. 

You peered to look at him and his stare hadn't relented. He took another bite. This time the luscious juice slips out of the white-yellow fleshed fruit and down slightly on his chin. Oh, to be that piece of fruit and have him ravish you that way.  How he’d expertly use his hands over you and taste you with those lips.

He can tell you're still distant, however he notices you're unable to tear your eyes away from him. 

He walks over, closer to you now, and you can smell his cologne: a woody aromatic scent tied with a hint of suede. It's downright delicious and with the mix of the peach, your senses are in overdrive. 

What is it with this man and his ability to excite and anger you all at once? You not only want to put him into his place, you want to do so right here on the cafeteria table and have your way with him.

"Lovely day, isn't it?" He smiles devilishly and places the half eaten fruit on the table next to your phone and walks away. 

Your cringe and use all your might to not look back at him. He's going to make this very hard for you, very hard indeed. 

[theforbiddenpriestess]

The Pharaoh & His Princess

Ten |

A New Baby

"Anippe, just what are you doing?" the man yelled.

"I'm trying to see Uncle Seto and Aunt Kisara's new baby!" the princess replies from above.

"Get down before Mahad sees you!"

Anippe pouts, "Shada, please, can I go in?"

Shada shook his head before extending his arms so Anippe could jump into them.

"Sorry princess, but the rules are clear. You cannot enter Priest Seto's chambers unless his approval or the Pharaoh's."

Anippe crosses her arms as she lets out a scoff.

"Come on now, jump," Shada says.

Anippe just stares at Shada's wide-open arms and prepares to jump from her high position before she hears the chamber doors open.

She rapidly changes her position so she can jump inside the chamber before Shada's strong arms whoop out of nowhere and grab her.

"No! Let me go! Please! I want to see the baby!" Anippe yells as she struggles against Shada's arms.

"Well with all that ruckus you're causing, I don't think I'll let you in."

Anippe stops what she's doing and turns to her Uncle.

"Seto!" she beams.

He just raises an eyebrow at her.

"Can I please please see my new cousin? Please?" Anippe begs.

Seto sighs as he pinches his nose bridge.

"Fine, you can enter. But under one condition."

Anippe glows in happiness as Shada looks at Seto, uncertainty.

"You are on your absolute best behavior. Kisara is still tired from giving birth and your cousin needs to sleep. Meaning you are silent as a cat. Understand?"

"I give you my word as princess of Egypt," Anippe replied dead serious, making both Seto and Shada speechless.

For a moment Seto just looked at her eyes and she looked back at him, firmly.

Seto's face broke into a small smile.

"Very well. Come along now."

Between Shada and Seto, Anippe quietly marched inside the chamber and took notice of Kisara's form. She was silently sitting on the bed holding the new family member in her arms.

Servants and midwives rushed out of the room while others stayed at the end of the room, silently for instructions.

Kisara perks up at Anippe's visit.

"Hello Princess, are you here to meet your new cousin?"

Anippe nodded, "Indeed I am."

Kisara gently turned the baby in her arms so Anippe could see its face. A baby boy was gently sleeping in her arms. His sleeping face, snuggled to her chest. His soft breathing and sudden coos.

"He's your new cousin, Astennu." Anippe heard Seto say.

The crowned princess could only stare at the new baby.

He had soft brown hair, just like Seto. His skin tone was a mix between Kisara's pale skin and Seto's tan skin. But, what color were his eyes?

"I see you beat me in meeting the new family member." her father's booming voice announced.

Entering Seto's chamber with a small smile, Atem nodded at his daughter before settling his attention on Seto.

"I am proud of you both. Now you will know the best gift of the gods, parenthood," he said, strolling over to his daughter's side.

"Hiya Papa," Anippe whispered with a huge smile. Atem looked down at his four-year-old summer princess.

"I thought we were going to come to visit your new cousin together." Atem pouted sarcastically.

Anippe blushed in embarrassment.

"Oops, I forgot."

Both Atem and Seto chuckled before going back to looking at Astennu.

Shada rolls his eyes, knowing Anippe was trying to look innocent. Somehow Anippe noticed Shada's little stunt which made her stick her tongue at him. Shada looked offended.

"Kisara," Anippe began, turning away from the priest so she wouldn't be scowled for her rude behavior.

"Why did you name him Astennu?"

Atem shot Seto a cheeky look whereas Seto sent him a death glare.

Kisara giggled.

"Well princess, contrary to Egypt's traditions and your parent's custom, I didn't name our son. Seto did. He'll answer that for you."

Seto coughed nervously, making Atem and Shada grin at his suffering.

Anippe turned to her uncle, intrigued at his response.

"Well you see, Astennu means god of the moon. Just like your parents named you after goddess Anuket, Astennu is named after Khons."

"Why?"

"Er, well."

Seto sighed before crossing his arms, and rocking them side by side like he was holding a baby.

"When you were an infant, you couldn't stop crying one night and no one was there to attend to you. So I rocked you back to sleep under Khon's gaze."

"What does that have to do with his name?" Anippe pressed but was silenced by her father.

"He's getting there, be patient. Continue."

"Well before I entered your room, I was dead set on not having kids. I lost my mother in a village fire and was abandoned by my father until reuniting with him a couple of years later. I did not have a good childhood. However I met Kisara and just like me, she had a horrible childhood. Yet, she wanted children to give them a life she didn't have. Unlike me, who was traumatized by being a failure of a parent. I was scared and unsure if I could grant Kisra that wish."

Kisara smiled tenderly at Seto.

"But when I held you, Anippe, and rocked you back to sleep, I talked to Khons."

Atem smiled softly.

"Watching you sleeping, how you held onto me, I knew what Khons was trying to tell me. That I had to let go of my fears and embrace my new life. That life with a child wouldn't be so bad."

Seto chuckled, "Here we are now, four summer years later."

Seto stopped rocking his arms and smiled at Anippe.

"That is why he is named Astennu. To honor the god who allowed me to see beyond my fears and flaws. However, I would like to thank you too. For teaching me that I can be a father."

Anippe smiled at Seto's words.

"I'm happy for you."

"So am I," Seto replied with a smile.

Suddenly a horrid sound rang across the room.

Young Astennu was wailing for immediate attention.

Anippe cringed at how his screams pierced through her ears.

Atem coughed before picking up Anippe.

"Well, we've been intruding for a while now. We'll come by again tomorrow. This time together, right Anippe?"

Anippe nodded.

"Goodbye, and thank you!" Kisara managed to say as the midwives tried calming Astennu down.

Before stepping out of the room, Atem leaned over at Shada, and whispered in his ear, "Can you bring the gift I have for them from the room next to my chambers?"

"Yes my Pharaoh!" Shada replied before sprinting out of the room.

As the Pharaoh and Princess walked down the palace's hallways, the little girl couldn't help but hear the rapid whispers of the staff. The excitement in the palace was everywhere. Everyone was thrilled with the arrival of the new baby.

Once Anippe and her father were a good distance away from them, they found Mahad and Isis in one of the spell rooms.

"Ah, I assume you met the new baby," Isis spoke with a gentle smile.

"Yeah! He was so tiny! It was super exciting too!" Anippe exclaimed eagerly.

"Everyone in the palace is excited to meet the new baby." Mahad chuckled.

Turning to her father, Anippe asked, "Was my birth this exciting Papa?"

Both Isis and Mahad became silent, watching how Atem tried keeping his face expressionless.

Anippe felt her father tense.

Isis suddenly scooped her from her father's arms.

Before Isis could begin to walk away, Atem slowly leaned over and kissed his daughter's forehead softly. Refusing to meet her curious eyes, Atem's lips turned to a small melancholy smile.

"The day you were born, is a day Egypt will never forget." is all he managed to whisper to her before Isis began to walk away.

"Come Anippe," is all Isis whispered.

Anippe turned back and frowned at the scene unfolding in the spell room.

Mahad was embracing her father as if he was trying to soothe him.

But why?

It wouldn't be till a few years that Anippe would learn the truth of the day of her birth.

Note(s):

In ancient Egypt, women had the full right to name their children as they carried them. This is why Kisara doesn't answer Anippe's question, as Seto named their child.

This week’s adventure was inspired by one of the artworks done by @siosiri

[bangtanreadingcorner]

despite it all • park jimin

chapter one — bandaid

plot — you never could ignore someone who needs help. not even a gang member.

words — 3.1K

You were walking home from a night out with friends, the pleasant buzz of alcohol in your veins making you feel giddy and floaty as you hummed softly. The street was quiet but in the distance you could hear people laughing, sirens of an ambulance, a barking dog and it gave you a sense of security and familiarity.

What was most definitely not familiar was the man rounding a corner, and almost slamming into you. You yelp, taking a quick step backwards, heart stopping before it skyrockets. You have apparently underestimated the amount of alcohol you've had to drink because that quick step causes you to loose your balance, and unable to regain it, you fall to the ground, landing ass first.

You contemplate just sitting there until the morning but when the man you almost bumped into lets out a pained groan, your eyes flicker up to him. Horror fills you as you take in his blood stained appearance. There is blood on his shirt, his pants, his face. His one hand was holding his side and his knuckles are bloody.

You scramble to your feet, suddenly much more sober than you were two seconds ago, "Oh my God, are you okay? Ah, nevermind, stupid question. You're covered in blood, you couldn't possibly be okay. Is there someone I can call for you? Ohhh, I know, I can call an ambulance."

A hand grasps around the wrist of the hand going for the phone on the inside pocket of your jacket, fingers strong and grip tight. His voice is low and husky when he speaks, "No. No ambulance."

Trying to press down the mounting panic in your chest, you swallow thickly. "Dude, not to be stating the obvious, but you are covered in blood."

"Most of it's not even mine." He says around a cough, eyes drooping, bracing himself against the wall.

Your eyes widen when you process his words and you twist your wrist in his grip, wanting to pull away and run. You clear your throat, running your eyes over him. "Well you look like you're going to be fine, so I'll just go."

He nods tiredly, letting go of your wrist, a strand of his blonde dyed hair falling into half closed, exhausted eyes, his breathing hard, and your heart twists. You want to help him and you're about to offer, when you remember his words from just seconds ago.

Most of it's not even mine.

Which means that he probably hurt whoever's blood is on him. Which means that this is a dangerous person, the kind of person you run from, not help. Judging from the tattoo in his neck, he's in a gang. You don't know what exactly everything about the different gang tattoos and what every stripe or cross means but everyone knows that anyone with a serpent tattoo is part of the most dangerous gang in the province. Maybe even the country.

You walk past him, intent on going home and forgetting about this incident. Your try putting it out of your head as you cross streets and your small apartment comes closer, but it doesn't work. At the next street you have to cross, you look back, and see the man still bracing himself against the wall as he walks slowly. He stops, resting with his back against the wall.

You bite your lip, your heart at war with your head, torn between doing the right thing and the safe thing. You look at the man again – gang member or no, he's still a person who needs help – and your heart wins the fight.

"Fuck it." You mutter to yourself before taking of in a light jog, back to the injured man. His body tenses up, like he's preparing for a fight, and his eyes snap open when he hears you approaching, hard and cold and it terrifies you a little. It's almost enough to make you turn around again. But then recognition flashes in his eyes and his tensed shoulders relaxes. You look at him silently for a moment and then you blurt out, "Where are you hurt?"

"None of your fucking business." He breathes, moving his eyes from you to the night sky.

"Rude." You clack your tongue at him, risking a step closer. "Are you bleeding anywhere? Or is all of this blood the other guy's?"

He looked at you again, something feral and definitely dangerous glinting in his eyes. "Who says there was just one?"

Instead of fear, you can feel your annoyance rising, "Can you answer the question and stop deflecting?"

His brows furrowed, clearly confused. "What are you doing here? Weren't you on your way home or something?"

Fully annoyed now, you glare at him. "I'm trying helping you, you ungrateful ass."

Amusement flickers in his eyes, "Well you're not doing a very good job of it."

"Well, you're not making it very easy." You retort, deciding to just take matters into your own hands. You step close to him before taking his arm and bringing it around your shoulders, noticing that he winces when you lift his arm. "Let's go." You tell him, tugging gently until he starts walking in the direction he came from and where you're going.

"You have no idea who I am, do you?" He asks. You glance up at him, seeing a smirk on his lips.

"I have some idea." You say, giving a pointed look to the tattoo in his neck.

"So, you know I'm in a gang." He concludes. "And that I most likely got my injuries from doing something illegal."

"Yes." You nod. "And speaking of injuries, are you bleeding?"

"Not that I know of." He answers. He wobbles a bit and you stop, waiting until he regains his footing before continuing. "And you don't care?" He asks curiously.

"Of course I care and in normal circumstances I'd probably call the police, but you're hurt and you need help, not the police. So, I'm going to help you."

"What if I'm an assassin with a thing for cutting woman into pieces?" He sounds amused, like this whole situation is a source of entertainment for him.

"Wouldn't that be a way to go." You deadpan.

He snickers and then goes quiet for a while before asking, "Are you going to call the cops?"

"Are you going to hurt me?" You ask instead of answering.

"No." He sounds like he means it but that doesn't really reassure you. "Not unless you give me a reason too." And that actually does make you feel a little better.

"Well, there you go then." You tell him.

"I should just take your word for it?" You can feel him looking at you, but you ignore his gaze, focusing on watching your step. He wasn't resting all of his weight on you, you could tell, but the added weight still slowed you down and caused strain on your muscles but you ignore it, intent on helping him.

"Considering the fact that I'm taking a stranger who is a literal gang member and a potential killer into my home, you really don't have any ground for that argument." You inform him matter-of-factly. You rewind your words and lament that maybe your are as crazy as your cousin accuses you of being.

"Your home?" He whistles, but starts coughing halfway through. "Buy a guy dinner first."

"Hah!" You scoff, ignoring the way your cheeks burn from his teasing. "I'm helping you. If anyone is going to be buying dinner, it's going to be you."

"I'm Jimin, by the way. If you're going to help me, the least I could do is tell you my name." He says, and when you look at him, he looks sincere and a little shy.

"Y/N." You tell him.

You reach your apartment without any incidents or without running into anyone – a man covered in blood would have raised questions – and you navigate it in the dark, leading him to your couch before going back to the door and locking it and flipping on the lights. You turn back to him, watching as he looks around your place. You couldn't help but feel a little self conscious. "I know it's no palace, but it's mine and you're only gonna be here for one night. Unless you plan on leaving directly after I help you."

"I like it, it feels comfortable. Like a home." Jimin tells you, face softer than its been since the moment you met him. You stare a little, but then you notice the blood on his face again and you look away.

"You should go and take a shower. I'll give you the biggest clothes I'll have, so don't worry about that. I'll wash yours and put it in the dryer, so it will be clean for when you leave. I'm pretty sure if you walk down the street with blood stained clothes in broad daylight, someone is bound to call the police." You are rambling and you're perfectly aware of it, but you're nervous.

He nods and gets to his feet, wincing. "Which way is the bathroom?"

You point, "Down the hall to your left. Do you need help?"

Jimin gives you a slight smile, "I'll manage."

You wait until you hear the shower running before you go to your room, hunting down your biggest hoodie and pair of sweatpants. You knock on the bathroom door, letting Jimin know you're leaving the clothes outside the bathroom door.

You wait on the couch for Jimin to finish, wondering what your mother would say if she could see you now.

You bite down a smile when Jimin comes out of the bathroom, towel drying his hair. The sweatpants are obviously too small, ending high above his ankles, the fabric stretching over his thighs – and if you spend an extra second looking at those muscular thighs then it was no one's business. The hoodie seemed to fit just right, but he didn't zip it up. Your eyes is glued to his chest, not because it was eye-catching – oh and it was eye-catching alright, a defined six pack was waving at you almost mockingly – but because of the bruises.

"Like what you see?" Jimin's teasing voice brings you out of your staring stupor.

"I-" You cut yourself off, suddenly choked up by emotion.

His eyes widened and he walks as quickly as he can to you. "Hey, no, no, it looks worse than it is. You should see the other guys."

"That doesn't really make me feel better, but thanks for trying." You tell him, blinking hard, and getting up from the couch. "I'm going to get my first aid box."

While in the bathroom, you toss Jimin's bloody clothes into your cleaning bucket, making a mental to wash it as soon as you're done helping him.

You walk to where he's sitting on your couch, going down on you knees so you could face him. You notice the gun laying next to him and your heart almost jumps out of your chest. You give him an unimpressed stare, "Seriously?"

He gives you a smug smirk, "It's for protection."

"From what? My bandaids?" You ask sarcastically.

"Gang member, remember?" Jimin says, like you need the reminder, and you pull a face at him.

You ignore his chuckle to inspect his face, and the first thing you notice is how attractive he is. (But that doesn't matter because you're only helping him and then he's leaving.) The second thing you notice is that there is just a few scratch marks on his face, nothing too serious. You clean it up with some antiseptic, a little impressed that he doesn't even wince.

"Okay, I need to take a look at your chest now, make sure none of your ribs are broken, so will you sit a little forward?" You ask him and Jimin does as he's asked.

"You don't seem too bothered by the presence of a gun." Jimin comments, obviously curious as you run your hands over his ribs (he tenses for the first five seconds then relaxes), pressing against it, feeling carefully.

You shrug, "My dad was a cop, and while he didn't parade his around, I got used to them nonetheless."

"Past tense." Jimin observes, eyes on your face. You can feel his gaze and it causes goosebumps to rise on your skin. "Is he dead or retired?"

Your hands falter for a moment at the blunt question. You swallow thickly, continuing your path over his ribs. "He died in the line of duty."

"What happened?" He asks.

You look him in the eye, "He got caught in the crossfire of a gang war."

"Oh." Jimin sounds like someone knocked the breath from him. Silence falls around you and it lasts until you finish your exam of Jimin's chest before he says, "I'm sorry."

You look up, "Are you really?"

"What's that suppose to mean?" He frowns at you.

"Don't say something you don't mean. I'd prefer it if you said nothing at all." You eye the bruises on his chest, wondering how people can do that to each other. "There doesn't seem to be anything broken but you definitely cracked a few of them and it's gonna hurt like a bitch, come the morning."

"How do you know all of this?" He questions.

"I'm a paramedic." You answer, reaching for his left hand, remembering that his knuckles was bloodied before the shower.

"That explains a lot." He grabs your wrist with the hand you're not holding, holding onto it almost gently. "Look, about what you said just now, you're helping me despite the fact that it could have been one of my people that killed your dad." He squeezes your wrist, looking into your eyes imploringly. "I mean it."

You shrug, tilting your head. "Yeah, well, my mom always said I can't hold a grudge to save my life."

When you're done cleaning up and bandaging his hands, you pick up the bottle of pills you brought with you. You shake out a few pills before standing to go and fetch him a glass of water. You held out the water and the pills onto him, "Here. You've got to be in a world of hurt right now."

"What is that?" He asks, eyeing the white tablets laying on your hand.

You sigh, "Just some paracetamol. It's all I have. Just because I'm a paramedic doesn't mean I keep hospital grade medicine stocked in my home."

"Four of them?" Jimin's eyebrows went up. "Are you trying to overdose me?"

You squint at him, "Don't be such a baby. I take three at a time for my headaches and I am willing to bet my right kidney that you're hurting worse than my headaches usually are."

You pack up your first aid box and when you put it away, you bring the bucket with Jimin's bloodied clothing. You filled it halfway with water and then walked to the kitchen. You empty half your salt supply into the water before using your hands to rinse the clothing.

"Why are you washing my clothes with salt?" Jimin's voice comes from behind you.

You startle for a second before taking a deep breath and answering him, "I'm not washing it, I'm rinsing it with cold water and salt, to get the blood out of your clothes."

"Seriously? That works?" Jimin asks, surprise clear in his voice.

"Yep."

"I could have saved so much money that I wasted on new clothes each time I had a bloodstain on something, if I had known that." He whines and you look over your shoulder, finding yourself strangely endeared when you see the pout his lips is pulled into.

"I'd rather not know." You snort, shaking your hands off and heading to the sink to wash them. You dry your hands, leaning against your counter as you let the clothes soak for a bit.

"You haven't asked." Jimin says out of nowhere. He was leaning against your fridge, looking exhausted, but his eyes watched you intently.

You know what he was talking about. The bruises, and where he got them, the other guys he mentioned. He had been expecting you to ask, and you never did. You cross your arms over your chest. "It's none of my business."

"It's not." He agrees.

"See." You give him a slight smile.

"Still. Most people would ask." He says, tilting his head as he looked you up and down.

"Yeah, well, I figure I'm better of going down Plausible Deniability avenue and Better Of Not Knowing street in this case."

That gets a genuine laugh out of him, his eyes scrunching and a breathtaking smile on his lips. It's bright and cheerful and your stomach swoops. You are unable to not smile back at him.

After rinsing his clothes and putting it in the washing machine, you go back to the living room, only to find Jimin fast asleep on your couch. Something inside of you goes very soft as you watch him sleep. He looks years younger, completely relaxed.

You take the step ladder from your kitchen and tiptoe back to your room, getting the extra duvet from the top of your closet. You grab one of the four pillows on your bed and you head back to the living room. Gently, you lift Jimin's head and slip the pillow underneath it, half afraid he would wake up. When he doesn't, you breathed a quiet sigh of relief and throw the blanket over him. As you tuck him in, you spot the handle of his gun, pressed into the back of the couch.

You hope the safety is on.

***

When you wake up the next morning, Jimin is gone.

Placed on top of the pillow and folded duvet stacked on your couch, is a piece of paper with writing on.

Y/N,

I put your clothes in the washing machine after getting dressed, so you just have to dry it. I figured it was the least I could do after all the trouble I gave you.

I mean what I said last night, I really am sorry about your dad.

If you ever need my help, doesn't matter if it's something dumb like a lift somewhere or something a little more serious like taking someone out for you, you can find me at the bar on 17th Street. Chances are, I'll be there. If not, ask for Taehyung and tell him Jimin sent you.

Thank you for everything.

- Jimin -

P.S. I hope I see you again someday.

***

chapter 2

A/N: this is going to be a multi-chapter/part story. I don't know how many yet, just that there will be more!! Also, I am not a medical professional, so just go with the medical inconsistencies. I promise they won't be too far fetched.

[bausbitch]

I'm sorry

Reid x reader

ANGST AHAHA

Req but @blankets-for-bees

Warnings: kidnapping, established relationship, gunshot, Spencer being an ass at first, also this IS NOT really funny as my other works //read: I'll try because I'm just such a naturally good comedian,,,or a mental asylum escapee,,// 🤩 OH and a happy ending

Spencer had been,,,,

Awfully cold to you

For the last 6 months

Yeah, it was beginning to get on your nerves

It felt like living with a whole ghost 👻

And it wasn't like it was his work

You two had the same job for fucks sake

You even shared a home

But lately

Spencer would ONLY talk to you at work

And only when it was life or death

So basically when hotch paired you two up

And omg

The team

They had no idea

So they insisted you two sleep in the same room on this case

Bc you two are their fav couple!!!!!

But they didn't know that for the last six months

You were practically single

Except you couldn't go anywhere

And you wouldn't go out to flirt with people

Because you were a good s/o

*cough* unlike Spencer *cough*

Ok so this usub

The universe said

Fuck you, yn yln 🤩🤪🤡

This particular unsub

Kidnapped failing couples

And threw them in a house

A giant doll house

And sedated them

And played with them like dolls

And made them kiss and stuff

Like

Idk how to explain it

Like when you were little

And you didn't know you really LIKED liked girls

But you were always making your Frankie and ghoulia monster high dolls kiss in the first grade????

Or like

I think it's like ep 12 season 5

My best friend and I watched that one

Sigh

I miss her

Anyways

When you finally moved rooms

You walked in

And it felt like the weight of the world was lifted

Off of your shoulders

Don't worry the world is still pretty heavy

Issok though the world doesn't have to be a skinny legend

WAIT

This is supposed to be an angst

Ok

AHEM

Angsty angst angst

So you were like

Hell yeah

I'm gonna go chill in the jacuzzi

Then I'm gonna come back

And I'm gonna have a level head

Key words: come back

See, I don't think you have the facilities for that, big man

Okokok

So you were vibing in the jacuzzi

Then you saw Spencer

And

Gasp!

A woman that didn't look like any of the girls on the team was going into his room!!

You knew

You were being irrational

But you were like

Son of a bitch >:(

Alexa play jealousy by Monsta x

Anny. W. Ays

You went into the room

Or at least you knocked

And gasp

She answered

Ok

She seemed,,,

Suspicious

Probably bc she's the unsub yn you dumb bitch

And you were like

"Hey is Spencer in there?"

Like you WEREN'T his h*cking gf

And she straight up

PUNCHES YOU

Ok more like

Knocks you out with a blow to the face

And draws you inside

Ok now Spencers pov bc you're getting too much attention and he needs an explanation for making me play jealousy

Spencer

Oh god that I don't believe in how do I explain him

He was having a tough time

Ok wbk he's smart as hell

But when I comes to people who are FINE

Such as yourself

He gets a lil

*Patrick star from Spongebob noises*

So

Even if you guys had literally been dating for like

Five? Six? Years

He was starting to get scared

Bc

Ok so you guys had said the L world

You said it all the time

But

Spencer

He

He wanted to propose to you

Like

On one knee

Ring and everything

But he was scared

He was really really scared

Bc he wouldn't know what to do if you said no

Which

Why would you

You two were practically already married

You literally had a drunken, unofficial ceremony at Rossi's place one time

But he felt like

You wouldn't be ready

So he was like

Ok gotta set up a back up plan

If they reject me

And I have to go to work and see them

How do I not see them

How do I live without them?

Ah

I ignore them

😌

Plan: set

Spencer : fucking idiot

SO HE

He acted like you weren't there

And he eventually thought you were mad at him

Bc you weren't reaching out any more

Dumb bitch they think YOU'RE mad at them

Okokokok

Back to kidnapping

When he woke up

He was,,,,

*drum roll*

In a house?

A really nice house

Or at least the bedroom was nice

Or the roof of it

And what he could see from his peripheral vision

He could see you though

He could feel you

You were laying on his chest

Your arms around him

And he could tell you were still asleep

His serotonin levels went up higher than they had in months

Over the last six months he hadn't said a word

And he'd let you sleep on the couch

Smh and I thought he was a genius

But he missed you

But he had to make sure he was ready

To be honest

He probably knew what he was doing was irrational and the definition of idiotic

He also knew that by doing this he was maximising his chances of you not wanting to marry him

But he just

"Y'all hear smth?" -Spencer Reid, about his problems

Annie Oakley

Anyways

While he was too busy making heart eyes at your sleeping figure

Ya boy forgot to check if he could move

Turns out,,,,

He couldn't

Bc,,,,

*puts hands together like cat in the hat does*

This unsub, like I said before

SEDATED YOU TWO

So he waited

Until

The woman he unwillingly let into his hotel room, all by the service of a gun and a threat to his life 😄

Came and did whatever the fuck she was gonna do

Play with you guys more than my 6th grade crush played with my heart

And she did😋🥳🤩!!!!

But don't fret

She wasn't gonna hurt you

You had actually concluded the deaths were accidental

Just like me

Okoko so

She was strong

Like really fucking strong

Because she hauled both you and Spence

Into a little dining room

And served and fed you breakfast

You were connected to iv tubes

But still

But everything

The creepiest detail

According to me at least 💁✨

Was how all the food and everything

Were wood

Like

Toys for kids

Or something karuna satori would use in an asmr video

-

You woke up in the middle of,,,

Watching a movie on the couch with Spencer????

It was still daytime

Or so you thought

Bc the unsub pulled up

WITH A GUN

You don't have many things in life rn, but here's a list if things you do have, to cheer you up 😋

A lovely hole in your arm! V v useful for holding very small, thin, cups!!!

A v sad Spencer Reid! Comes with his own tears and despair!!! How fun!

And last but not least!

A wonderful speech from our sponsor!! //read: the unsub//

"Why must everything bad always happen to me! You two are very bad dolls! No one is a good doll, you're all useless and now I have to kill you >:("

Lmfao why does she sound like my bratty baby cousin

Anyways

"The FBI is at the door! Which one of you called them? You whore! It was probably you!"

First of all,,, how dare she

You didn't even THINK about other men in the 6 months your boyFRIEND ghosted you

So

Jokes on her

Second of all

You were bleeding out and Spencer was wiggling behind you

Probably a victory dance smh 😤

But then

GASP!!!

she went upstairs 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️

And you heard voices

Morgan!!! Hotch!!! *insert police's name*!!

Then you passed out bc

💥bloodloss💥

And when you woke up

Spencer was fine

Physically

But he was hunched over

"Yn I'm so sorry. I love you so much and I was so scared I'd lose you if I proposed too early, and now I'm probably going to lose you without even saying a word. Honey I love you, I love you so much-"

And you were like

Hold up

LET GO OF MY HAND MF YOU MAY BE SKINNY BUT YOUR STRONG WTF

Then

"Did you say purpose?"

And he was like

"Yes(?) "

And you kissed him for the first time in sixth months

"Yes I'll marry, now let go of my hand"

[kkita]

♡Bakugou, Midoriya and Iida when their S/O pranks them♡

Requested: By @ocean-0-eyes

A/N: I had so much fun writing this! Thank you for the request, this is my first time writing for Iida, sorry if he's a bit ooc! 💕

Bakugou Katsuki

"Yeah, 1 pm sounds good!" You smiled, as you hung up, Bakugou turned his head to you, "Who was that?" He asked, his face was already frowning. "Oh, just some old friend, he came from America and he just needs someone to tour him around!" You answer, "But do you really have to tour him around?" He grunted, "Of course Katsuki! He's my friend!" You answered, "He?" Bakugou's eye brow rose, "Yeah, I'll go change into something else" you said as you pranced to your room.

You picked out the most alluring dress you could find, it was up to your mid thigh, white and frilly, to top it off you put a black bow around your collar. The dress hugged your figure just right, as you walked back to the common area, Bakugou's eyes immediately landing on you, "What the fuck?" He whispered under his breath, "What do you think?" You asked him innocently. "What do I think? I think that you're going out just to impress the little guy, why this dress specifically?" He said with a low tone.

"Uh, cause it's nice out? Whatever Katsuki, I need to go, I'll see you later mkay?" You pretend walk away, your heels clacking on the wooden floor, "Uh I don't think so princess" Bakugou said, grabbing your wrist, "I don't fucking think so, going outside to meet a guy to give him a tour in this fucking dress? You gotta be kidding Y/N" He whispered into your ear, his hands creeping up your waist. "Katsuki, it.. was a prank, I'm not going out" you chuckled, he pulled away.

Giving you a stern look, "Are you fucking serious? I'm done!" Bakugou says as he walks back to the couch, you follow him. "Come on Katsuki! I was just kidding!" You said, peppering his face with kisses. "He's not coming until next month!" You joked, "Shut up Y/N!" Bakugou yelled, as his face flushed. "Cutie.." you said, snuggling up to his chest.

You accepted a dare from your friends that if you can get Midoriya jealous they would have to pay up, but if he doesn't then you have to pay them. Of course you wouldn't give up the chance of seeing your boyfriend jealous, so you planned things up and worked on the plan. Jirou would pretend to be your 'guy friend' as you texted Jirou, giggling and occasionally looking up at Midoriya's expression, it hasn't really changed.

Midoriya Izuku

He was just focused on watching the movie, so you texted some more until you got up and stretched. "What's up Y/N?" Midoriya asked. "Nothin' much Izuku, my friend just called me up to catch up with him, he's my child-hood friend!" You answered. "A-ah, okay then.." He timidly said, fiddling with the remote. You watched his expression turn into a gloomier one. You started to walk to your dorm room to dress up. You went ahead and wore a blue and white sundress, your shoulders were exposed as your waist was cinched, your waist was more enhanced. You threw some white sandals on as you went back down.

You see Midoriya with the same anxious expression he has when taking a test. "How do I look?" You asked him with a sweet smile. "Pretty! N-No beautiful!" He stuttered, "Ah you're too sweet!" You said, "Do you want me to accompany you?" He asked, standing up."It's alright Izuku, I'll be alright alone" you replied. Midoriya walked closer to you. "I mean, you'll be alone with a guy, in that dress.." he trailed off, as he picked up the end part of your dress. Your mouth going up in a smirk. "Are you okay with that?" You teased.

"O-of course not! You look really good in this dress and I'm scared that he might take you away and you'll leave me and-" he rambled on, but you just pressed your lips on his, as he eased into the kiss. You pulled away, "It's alright Izuku, it was a prank" you cheekily smiled, "Uwah, Y/N! So not fair" He huffed, crossing his arms, "Sorry, Izuku, it was a dare!" You admitted. "It's fine I guess, well you're already dolled up, why not take my beautiful girl for a date?" He said, "How'd you get so confident hm?" You teased yet again, "I-It's nothing" He scratched the back of his head. 'The girls are gonna pay up tonight' you thought to yourself.

Class rep, they say he's the most calm and collected pfttt- You wanted to test that calmness of his, so you asked your cousin to call you and pretend to make plans with you, acting like your first love, kinda weird ngl. "Hey Kuroo, yeah? Wanna hang out today, maybe later at 3, of course I'm excited too! See ya!" You smiled, as you turned towards Iida, he was focused on his notes and books. You creep up behind him, "Is it okay to you if I go and hang out with a friend?" You asked, he turned to you for a second before going back to his work.

Iida Tenya

"Yes, it's not like I can stop you can I?" He said, highlighting a word, "Would it be okay if he was my first love too?" You let it slip out, you could see how his hands grip his highlighter a bit tighter (that rhymed). "I suppose, just be back before 5, the gates will be surely closed by then" He went on about, as usual. "Alright then Tenya, I'll just go and change" you waved a hand at him dismissively.

Picking out a white tight crop top, and some blue denim shorts, with daisies embroidered on the bottom, braiding your hair into two and putting on his white sneakers. Iida turned around to see you wearing that.. "You're going out wearing that?" He asked, pushing his glasses up. "Well yeah, I wanna look presentable!" You reasoned. "Do I look good?" You shyly asked, "Too good.." he whispered, "What was that?" You asked, "I said yeah!" He coughed, his face burning up. "Gee thanks Tenya" you said.

"You don't have feelings anymore for this boy right?" He suddenly asked, as his began to scribble things down his notebook. "Of course not! I have you, I'm just catching up with him" You said, checking yourself out in the mirror, you checked the time, 2:37 pm. You took your bag and phone "I gotta go Tenya, I'll see later hm?" You said as you went out your dorm room, Tenya closed his book as he followed you out. "Hm? What is it Tenya?" You stopped in your tracks.

"I just wanna come with, just in case he does something undesirable" he explained, with his hand motions again. "It'll be alright Tenya, he's trustable!" You said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "But still! Such acts might still happen, I simply cannot let that happen to you" he came up with a lot more excuses.

"Just say you're jealous Tenya" you laughed, "I-I would never!" He was baffled really, but nonetheless you were right. He looked away from you. "Am I right?" You asked, with a teasing smile, "Perhaps.." he mumbled, covering his face with a hand. "Don't worry, it was just a prank! That wasn't my first love, that was my cousin!" You exclaimed, he was taken aback, "O-Oh" was all he said.

"Well you should've said so! You definitely interrupted my study session" he pouted, acting as if he wasn't jealous a minute ago. "Sorry Tenya, I just wanted to see how it's like!" You said, "Well, it's not a pleasant feeling you see, let's just go back to your room and forget this never happened" he said as he started walking back to your room, but you couldn't help but laugh a little.

☆彡Sen

[darkfairy-tales]

Inception - Chapter Two

Description: As an omega, Hongjoong was always treated wrongly in his pack. So when he is forced to be with an alpha who wasn't his mate he runs away. With little to no idea on where to go. With a small hope of finding his mate.

Character: ATEEZ, EXO, THEBOYZ, etc

Pairing: Ateez x Hongjoong, Hongjoong centric

Warning: Mentions of blood, violence, etc

Hongjoong woke up to various voice whispering. Well at least they were trying to whisper it seemed. But it was loud. "No! He is sleeping with me!" A loud voice stated. He heard a hiss and a sound of someone smacking someone's head followed by a whine. "Shut up you idiot." Another voice said. "Look he is waking up." he heard Mingi's voice say. Hongjoong sat up slowly rubbing his eyes. He looked around seeing all the seven alphas standing around the bed looking at him. His face flushed. "I-is there something wrong?" He asked in a small voice, shyly. "No no nothing is wrong! We were just watching you-" a short hyper alphs spoke up but was cut off by yeosang whose ears were red probably out of embrassment. "We were just looking over you." Yeosang said in a better words. "Alright! It's about time everyone introduces themselves!" Mingi spoke up.

"Hii! I am Choi San! I love plushies. And I love you too." the alpha with cute dimples, San, introduced himself. His words making Hongjoong blush. "Hello! I am Jung Wooyoung! The sexiest man well werewolf. At least in this household. Pleasure to meet you my mate." the alpha with deep beautiful eyes, wooyoung, spoke up doing a sexy pose. Yeosang shooked his head. "Don't mind him. He is..... crazy." Yeasang said making Wooyoung whine and Hongjoong giggle covering his face with his little hands.

"I am Jeong Yunho. The happy virus! Will you go out on a date with me?" The tall alpha with a goofy smile, Yunho, said. Putting his hand out like a prince asking a princess for a dance. Hongjoong placed his hand on Yunho's playing along. "I would love to." He said blushing. His heart beating wildly. Mingi coughed looking at Yunho with a funny look. "Anyway I am Choi Jongho. I am the strongest here. I will protect you forever hyung." Jongho said a bit shy but also looking bold and confident. "I am Park Seonghwa. I won't call myself a head alpha. But I am the oldest here. And I lead these childrens." Seonghwa says snorting when Yunho complained about how they were not children.

"I am Kim Hongjoong. F-From Dark Rose pack. I was born in 1998. Uh... and I don't really have anything to say." Hongjoong says looking down. "You are the second oldest here then! You are the same age as Seonghwa and Yunho hyung. Remaining of us are younger." Wooyoung says with a silly grin. "Come on. Let's get you something to eat. I made some braised chicken. With Seonghwa hyung's help." Yeosang says. Jongho helps Hongjoong get up from the bed. They all went downstairs and into the kitchen and let Hongjoong sit down on one of the chairs as they also sat down around him on the dining table while Yeosang went to serve the braised chicken to Hongjoong along with rice and some side dishes.

"Eat up. You need to gain more energy." Seonghwa says with a smile. Hongjoong looks around unsurely. "Are you guys.. not eating?" He asked. "No. Why? Want to eat together?" Yunho asked. "It's just.. in my previous pack they don't let me or other omegas eat until the alphas do. I mean most of the pack does that. So.." Hongjoong trailed down. "That's so cruel! We don't do that here! Don't worry. We eat whenever we want. Wherever we want. It's doesn't matter hyung." San says. Hongjoong starts eating, a bit shy being surrounded by seven alphas. This was all so new. He had never been looked at in this way. With so much love and care. It was almost overwhelming. But he liked it.

Mingi leans down wiping the corner of his mouth while he was eating. "You got some sauce there." The younger giggled. "Hyung is so cute." Wooyoung says as he leaned down on his arns watching Hongjoong making the omega turn beet red. "I am so glad that you are our mate. We can't ask for anything more. You are perfect." Seonghwa says with a kind smile making Hongjoong's heart flutter.

After tons of compliments, teasing and funny arguments Hongjoong finally finished eating. He offered to do the dishes but Jongho, the maknae didn't let him. "You don't have to do anything. We can handle this." He younger had said as we went away with the dishes to wash them. Hongjoong could only pout feeling bad for making the younger wash them. "Okay! Who wants to go out! I want to run. And also go to meet Jongin hyung and others!" Yunho hollered. Everyone agreeing. "Who is Jongin hyung?" Hongjoong asks looking up at Mingi. "He is our brother, well cousin brother. We are a part of the same pack, Aurora. They just live in the different pack house. Our territory is spread wide. There are many of us in different pack houses. And we have a name for every pack house. For example we are called ATEEZ. Jongin hyung is from EXO. They were the one who started all this. They gathered around our cousins and close friends and made Aurora. There is also a pack house named BTS. And also THEBOYZ." Mingi explains. "You are going to meet them today! I am sure they will love you!" Wooyoung says.

"I will go with you all?" Hongjoong asks. "Yes of course. We are going to run together." Yeosang says. Hongjoong's eyes sparkled at the thought. "Really! Yay! I am happy. I was never allowed to go outside. But I can run with you all today." He exclaims happily but the others froze. "You were allowed to go outside?" San asked frowning not knowing what to think about it. "Yeah. They never allowed me to run with them. The most I could do was stray inside or around the pack house. They never let me go into the woods. At least since 5 years." Hongjoong said, a sad look on his face. "Oh goodness." Seonghwa mumbles surprised. "It's okay now. You can go with us everytime you want to." Yunho says.

They all got ready to go. They put their extra clothes in bag, one bag for each one of them. They went out of the house turning into their wolf forms. Hongjoong look at how almost all his alphas had black fur. They were giant. Bigger than him. And no doubt stronger. He was shy as he changed into his wolf form too. The others looking at him. His wolf had white fur in contrast to the seven alphas. Yunho howled a bit as he walked towards Hongjoong nuzzling his head against the omega in a loving manner. Seonghwa barked signalling everyone to get ready for the run. All of them had the bag which contained their between their jaws. Seonghwa started running, but not too fast towards the west. The others followed him including hongjoong. They goofed around even in their wolf forms in order to make Hongjoong feel at ease.

After twenty minutes, which seemed short considering they ran very fast, they reached a huge pack house. Seonghwa led them towards the small outhouse they had outside where they changed back into their human forms putting on the clothes they bought with them. Hongjoong was blushing red looking at his alphas. He put on the clothes Wooyoung packed for him. He put on the black pant first. It was comfortable to wear and just his size. Next he put on the white sweatshirt which was a bit bigger. And it probably belonged to Seonghwa considering it had seonghwa's scent on it. "All done?" Seonghwa asked. Everyone nodded. "Our joongie hyung looks so cute." Mingi squeals pinching hongjoong's cheeks leaving the omega pouting.

"Let's go then." Yunho says excitedly. They exited the small outhouse. They walked up towards the huge house, seonghwa ringing the door bell. The door was opened by a tall man with huge but cute ears. "Welcome everyone! Come in! Come in! I see we have someone new today. I have a guess on who he is." The man said letting them in looking at hongjoong and giving the others a cheeky smile. Hongjoong was holding the back of Yunho's shirt as he stood behind the tall alpha hiding himself out of shyness and also from the way he felt so nervous. Other people came down the stairs. Hongjoong looks at them, his eyes falling on one of the male who was obviously pregnant being held by who he assumed was the mate.

"Wow Hyung. How are you feeling? Is Jongin hyung still being annoying?" Yeosang asks the pregnant omega teasingly causing the omega to grumble. "Chanyeol and Baekhyun are more annoying than anything. And I don't know if I want to stab them or spare them." the omega grumbles. They all went to the spacious living room. "Introduction first!" San says leaning his back against the large couch. Everyone introduced themselves to Hongjoong. He relaxed realizing the others were really nice and welcoming. "So who is the new addition we see?" Beakhyun, the omega also the mate of the alphas Chanyeol and Sehun asked, referring to Hongjoong. Seonghwa wraps his arms around Hongjoong's shoulder gently. "He is Kim Hongjoong. Our mate." He says. "I knew it!" Chanyeol hollered clapping. "Our you say?" Minseok who was the oldest and also omega asked. "All seven of them are my alphas." It was Hongjoong who answered. Lay, the beta who was the head alpha's mate gasped. "Oh my god. That's wow... Goodluck handling these seven rowdy pups." He said jokingly. "Which one is your previous pack Hongjoong?" The head alpha Suho asks. "Dark Rose." Hongjoong answered looking down. He was not proud of the fact that he was from Dark Rose since his uncle took over. His uncle was the reason the pack had a bad reputation.

He had half expected the others to judge him over the fact that he was a part of Dark Rose pack. But he felt a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I am glad you came out from that hell hole." Kyungsoo says. "Exactly. I don't know if we ever knew each other or so. But me and Kyungsoo also came from Dark Rose. It was long ago. But yeah we ran away there. And we met others after that. We understand what you must have gone through in that pack." Baekhyun says. "I am sorry." Hongjoong says. "Ayee why are you saying sorry. It's not your fault." Chen says. "The head alpha is my uncle. I am.. I am Kim Hakjoon's son. I was... I was supposed to take over the pack with my mate. But my uncle took away everything. If only I was strong I could have made it better for everyone." Hongjoong says as tears filled his eyes.

"Oh my god I didn't recognized you are Hakjoon alpha's son. You have grown so much. We have seen you in different occasions. Your parents were great leaders." Baekhyun says surprised. "Whatever happened. Leave those memories behind. Now you can have a new start and have new beautiful memories with all of us." Kyungsoo says as a sob escapes him. His pregnancy mood swings hitting him. Jongin hugging his omega quickly whispering comforting words. The sight made Hongjoong smile. Yunho noticing the smile on Hongjoong smiled too. He pulled the omega on his lap. Hugging him from behind. Wooyoung complaining at the side about how Yunho was hogging their baby all alone.

"Hongjoong as a welcoming party how about we have a hang out but only for us omegas and betas. Alphas can go do something on their own." Minseok suggested with a bright smile. "And here comes trouble." Chen mutters yelping when Minseok hit him while giving him a glare. "That would be great." Hongjoong agrees. "Okay then Suho do call the others to get their omegas here!" Lay says clapping his hand. Suho sighs as he calls THEBOYZ and BTS. Telling them about what happened. "Come come!!! We need to get ready for the hangout." Baekhyun says with a smirk. They all stood up. Hongjoong was led upstairs by the older omegas. "Hyung we expect you all to give us our omega back on time." Yunho shouted over them.

"Oh no. We don't have food ready. Omg there are going to be four hungry and pregnant omegas." Chen curses under his breath. "Minseok is going to have your head if he can't find his favorite snacks." Wooyoung said bursting out laughing. "You are gonna know the struggle one Hongjoong gets pregnant." Chen said with an eye roll. "So we shall get the snacks and food ready shouldn't we?" Jongin said. "Okay let's get back to work boys! We don't want angry, hungry and frustrated omega and betas today. So we might as well get to work." Suho said. They split their works and got to work to keep food and everything ready. Seonghwa and others were happy knowing Hongjoong was fitting just right in with the others. They all went to set up the large room upstairs where the omegas and betas usually hangs out when they are together. Every alphas in the house ready to make their mates happy.

[Inception Masterlist]

Hello everyone! Haha this is going to be a mess. But a beautiful one. Imagine Exo, BTS, Ateez and TheBoyz together 😂😂 Chaos. And yes that chaos is about to happen. Stay tuned for the next chapter! 💀 It is gonna be filled with fun.

I hope fans especially, especially mutifans, would love this hehe ❤ Please don't forget to like and reblog this. Thank you everyone. Love you all. Buiii~ ♪ ♬

[pietromelim]

First night of Christopher Lightwood and Grace Blackthorn!

Enjoy the reading!

Grace watched Christopher as his hands moved,making another one of his experiments.

She was getting used to his presence,as well as being in his new lab,located in the Devil. Her mother would be scandalized if she knew Grace were in such a place.

But she didn't really care,she was with Christopher,being with him made her feel good,as if she did not had to hide anything. She could be true to him,he would never judge her weakness.

-Thinking about something?-Christopher asked,looking at her.

Grace blinked. She could say she was thinking about him,but then,she would not like to put him in such situation.

She knew Christopher well enough to know that beakers and test tubes were easier for him to handle then the mysteries of women.

But a part of her wanted to reveal the feelings she had for him. Perhaps he felt the same way,but that was much more unlikely. He probably would be silent,and their friendship would be ruined.

And she would miss him so much. She only had Jesse,but her brother had his own life to live now,and she would not like to bother him.

-I liked this new lab of yours. It is better than being in Matthew's house,is it not?-Grace asked.

Christopher shrugged.

-I suppose. But i don't have Henry's help here. He is my mentor,and i'm still getting used to doing all by myself.-Christopher said.

-I can help you,though i cannot do much. I don't understand this whole science thing,but it does sound very interesting.-Grace said.

-I wouldn't want you to help me. There are serious risks here,like getting burned and having your clothes nearly destroyed. I'm used to it. But think about it,what if your ivory dress gets ruined? I wouldn't forgive myself for that.-Christopher said.

Grace smiled,though Christopher wasn't looking at her in the moment. She was so in love with this scientist boy,and he had absolutely no clue about it.

It scared Grace a little bit. She always knew how to hide her emotions and be convincing. And yet,something in him made almost Impossible for her to hide anything.

-I'm flattered that you care about me that much. It is nice to see that Jesse isn't the only one that cares about me.-Grace said.

-Well,we are friends. And i care about all my friends.-Christopher said.

Grace sighed. Perhaps if she had friends when she was younger,things would have been different in her life. But listening to Chris talking about them as friends caused a bad sensation in Grace.

Was he really that blind? Could he not see that she loved him?

Unrequited love really was a pain. Maybe she deserved that,since she had done many awful things. Maybe that was just her punishment.

She had the power to make men love her. And the only man she loved felt only friendship for her.

-But do tell me. What are you working on this time? Is it somehow related to that gun over there?-Grace asked.

-It is! I am not sure if you aware of this,but gunshots cannot kill demons,because there are no runes on it. And the runes usually cause the gun not to work at all. I want to fix this. If we could use firearms against demons,it would make everything much more safe for the Shadowhunters.-Christopher said.

-It surely would. Are you sure you can fix this though? I simply don't wish to see you get hurt in a explosion.-Grace said.

-Don't worry about me,Grace! I have dealt with more explosions than you can imagine!-Christopher said.

If that was supposed to make Grace feel more relaxed,it certainly didn't. She had heard from Lucie once,that most of the clothes of her cousin were grey due to ashes.

But that never stopped him from doing what he loved. And that was one of the many things Grace loved in Christopher.

He never cared about the Enclave's opinion about his passion. He would prove them all wrong one day,Grace was sure of that.

-This is it. I am about to make a test! Make sure to cover your ears,Grace. The sound this gun makes is quite loud.-Christopher said.

Grace did as he said. A few seconds after that,a huge noise echoed in the lab.

Grace closed her eyes,but she could feel the smell of burnt.

-Well,this was a unexpected outcome.-Christopher said.

Grace opened her eyes,and saw him there,standing. The gun was on the floor,completely destroyed. There was smoke around the lab.

Christopher turned around to look at her,and Grace's eyes widened.

-Chris! It exploded near your face!? You are covered in ashes!-Grace said,worried.

Christopher scratched the back of his neck,he seemed to be embarrassed.

He took off his goggles,only around his eyes there was no ash.

-I didn't thought it would actually explode. I was waiting for something weaker.-Christopher said.

Grace shook her head. Maybe she was not good enough to help him with his experiments,but she could help him with something else.

-You need a bath,as well as clean clothes. Go get them,i will prepare everything here.-Grace said.

-There is no need Grace,really. I am quite used to all of this.-Christopher said,before coughing.

-There is! You are not decent. I don't want to invade the room you share with your friends,but i will if i must.-Grace said.

There seemed to have little point in refusing to do what she was saying. Grace was right though,being like that could not be good for his health.

Or maybe it had something to do with the fact that he desperately wanted to Grace feel like she had somekind of importance when with him.

And did she have,but he couldn't bring himself to say that. So much for a Shadowhunter,a warrior trained to destroy demons. And he was afraid to reveal his feelings for that beautiful girl.

As he found the clean clothes,he could not help but remember the reactions of his friends when he revealed to them the existence of a friendship between him and Grace.

They all looked quite shocked at first,specially James. It wasn't really like Christopher to have ease in talking to girls. Even more with a girl like Grace.

Thomas was the first one to say that he was okay with it. Grace was his cousin as well,after all. James eventually accepted it,though he and Grace were not in the best of terms right now. Matthew said he would not be against their friendship,but made very clear that he did not trust Grace and never would.

Deep down,Christopher felt like they didn't really knew Grace well. They saw Grace as she once saw herself,as Tatiana's blade. But she was no longer that.

She had feelings. She had emotions,just like everyone else. She made mistakes,like any other human being. She had her flaws and her imperfections. And Christopher loved everything about her.

When he returned to the lab,the door of the small bathroom was open,and he could see Grace there,standing in front of the bathtub.

-At least one of your hands are clean,or you would need another shirt.-Grace said.

-I never saw someone prepare a bath this quickly. I didn't knew of this talent of yours.-Christopher said.

-Mother made me prepare her baths,since we had no servants at the Blackthorn Manor. I am used to it.-Grace said.

If Christopher had a chance to see his aunt Tatiana again,he would make sure to give her a piece of his mind. How could she treat Grace like that? She did not deserve such things.

-I can barely see anything without my glasses.-Christopher said,his hand almost touching his glasses.

-No! Your hand is full of ashes! I will get it for you. You will also need help in taking that shirt off.-Grace said.

Christopher blushed.

-Excuse me?-He said,confused.

-There are ashes in your shoulders only. But if you touch your shirt,it will make it worse.-Grace said.

It was almost like she had not realized how close their bodies were. And she was going to help him take his shirt off? Christopher would never see something like that happening with him.

Well,at least not with Grace being the girl. Maybe she was only being gentle,but still. They seemed to have intimacy acting like that.

And they didn't.

Grace quickly unbuttoned his shirt,and helped him take it off,without getting more ashes in it.

She suddenly realized what she was doing. Christopher stood before her,his face was almost pink. His chest revealed to her.

He was quite handsome,and that was not surprising. There was one thing she knew about Shadowhunters,and that was the importance of training. That was one of the side effects of the training.

He almost looked like a statue,if it were not for the black runes in his skin. Grace had only one rune,and she did not knew the name of any of those runes he had.

For her own surprise,she did not blush at the sight of him. She had saw a shirtless man before,and that was her brother.

But Jesse was weak by then,and Christopher's body was completely different. She felt like touching it,but she couldn't lose the control.

-Go Chris. Get rid of the ash in your face.-She said. There was also in his hair too,the grey was quite notorious against his brown hair.

Without a word,Christopher entered the bathroom,closing the door behind him.

Grace took a deep breath. That was definitely something she would keep to herself. They had no understanding,and that attitude could not repeat itself.

-Grace? I need my glasses. And i forgot the clothes on the desk.-Christopher said. The door was closed but she could still hear him.

Grace took no time in finding the glasses and the clothes,but she took some moments to decide what she was going to do next.

Even though he would be in the bathtub,she knew how she would see him if that door opened. The most intimate way two people could see each other. Was she really prepared for that?

Grace never saw herself being in love before,that was probably why she was taking so long. Being inside that bathroom with Christopher would mean she was no marriage material for any gentleman.

But why was she supposed to care? Christopher was the gentleman she loved,so if she had to marry someone,it would be him,wouldn't it?

And it wasn't like Christopher would say anything about that,so she had no reasons to feel scared or nervous. She took off her heels before going inside.

She entered the bathroom. Christopher was in the bathtub. His hair was wet,and she could see his shoulders,dripping water.

There were still ashes on his skin. Had he not seen them there?

-Here it is. Turns out you are not that good in getting rid of the dirt,right?-Grace said,grinning.

-What do you mean?-Christopher asked,putting his glasses on.

Grace went to the left side of the bathtub and grabbed the soap.

-This bath will be pointless if you don't wash this all off properly.-Grace said,as the soap in her hand travelled through his shoulder,the edge of her fingers could feel his wet hot skin.

If Christopher was supposed to ask her to stop,he didn't. It didn't seemed like he had a problem with what was happening.

-I am sorry that it did not work. I know how important it was for you.-Grace said.

Christopher smiled,shooking his head.

-It is not surprising. I just wanted to create something big,like Henry and Magnus did with the Portal. Something that would help not only the Shadowhunters,but the Downworlders as well. Maybe it is just a silly dream of a silly boy.-Christopher said.

-It is not silly,don't say that. Everything begins as a dream,but eventually you will make it come true.-Grace said.

Christopher looked at her. His lavender eyes seemed full of hope,and of something else that Grace didn't quite knew.

-You really believe in that? Why do you have so much faith in me? I have been told many times that i am just a failure.-Christopher said.

-We have a few things in common. So what if they said you will always fail? Just because someone says something,it does not make it true. I believe you are capable of changing the world,Christopher. You were responsible for creating the antidote against the Mandikhor. You should not be underestimated.-Grace said.

-But you still have not answered my question.-Christopher said,smiling.

-Why i have faith in you? Well,you had faith in me. Everyone always thought that i would only do what my mother wanted me to,not caring if someone would get hurt. They thought i would never change. But you believed in me. You believed i could do better,that i could be better. And i am now,thanks to the faith you had in me. That is why i believe in you. You were the only light for me when i was in darkness.-Grace said,her eyes looking straight at Christopher's eyes.

It took less then seconds for their lips to crash against each other. Christopher's wet hand went to Grace's face,as she placed her hands in his shoulders.

They got breathless after the kiss,both panting heavily. They felt an absolute need to feel each other's touch,as if it were the only thing that could keep them alive.

Suddenly,Grace was in the bathtub with Christopher. Water splashing all over the small bathroom.

Christopher was certainly surprised. He was not even expecting the kiss,he would never dream of something like that.

But now that it was happening,he did not wanted it to stop.

-Wait Grace,your clothes...-Christopher was saying,but Grace interrupted.

-They are in the way. Can you help with them?-She asked,the wet dress made her curves even more visible.

Christopher nodded. He was completely enchanted by Grace,and she was not using her powers on him. He wanted that,just as badly as she wanted.

They got up,and Grace turned her back to him. He remembered when he talked to Anna about how it was like to be with a girl. His sister made sure to teach him how to untie both dresses and corsets.

Only the Angel knew how grateful he was to Anna right now.

Grace stood before him,in her feminine perfection. He loved her so much,and she was much more beautiful than he ever thought.

-Are you sure about this? I do not want you to feel like you are doing something you don't want to do. This will only be okay for me if it is for you.-Christopher said.

Grace smiled,those stupid girls from the Enclave could say whatever they wanted about Christopher's dancing skills,he was a true gentleman in what really was important.

-This is much more than okay. I want you to love me,as i love you. Can you do that?-Grace asked,forgetting completely about any possibility about using her powers.

Christopher nodded.

-I have been doing that for quite a while now.-He said.

They kissed and loved each other. A love strong enough to change two people for the better was a love worth fighting for.

And they would never give up on that special love of theirs.

[fantasiesandbooks]

Hearts Don't  Break Round Here iv

I don’t own any of the photos.

  Prologue Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4  Part 5

There were a lot of people in the big living room. Chanyeol’s mother was chatting nonchalantly with the ladies while his father and friends went to another room to play some cards and talked about business. Chanyeol was playing chess with Baekhyun when he heard the clock announcing it was 10:00 pm. He was feeling anxious because he wanted to finish the game already and go to the kitchen to find you. Probably she has already finished with the dishes by now the boy thought sadly and let out a sigh.

“Is something wrong?” Baekhyun asked him while looking at the chessboard still concentrated in doing his next move.

“No” Chanyeol said.

“You seem... desperate” Baekhyun said and gave him a quick glance.

“I’m not. It’s just that I hate this game. We should had brought the deck of cards” Chanyeol complained.

“You only said that because you’re loosing” Baekhyun smiled cheekily at him.

“No. I’m saying it because it’s boring” Chanyeol countered back. Baekhyun moves his queen over the board and said triumphantly “Checkmate”.

Chanyeol groaned in frustration, put his hands over his face and leaned back on the sofa. Baekhyun chuckled at his friend’s reaction.

“That’s not the way a gentleman should sit young man” Chanyeol’s grandma, who was passing by in that moment, scolded him.

“Sorry grandma. I’m tired” Chanyeol excused himself and sat properly again.

“So? That’s not an excuse for you to sit like that. Do you think I’m very comfortable with these heels?. ” Her grandma asked him rhetorically. Chanyeol and Baekhyun looked at her feet, although the heels weren’t that high, for a woman of her age must be tiring going around with that shoes or at least that’s what both boys have thought.

Chanyeol shook his head at her in response. “I’m not but we have an appearance to take care of” She said solemnly.

Chanyeol looked awkwardly at his friend and get his posture straighter. “That’s better” She said pleased.

Baekhyun gave a little snort and the old woman turned to looked at him. “May you pardon but who are you, young man?” Chanyeol’s grandma asked Baekhyun.

The boy cleared his throat and answered her “I’m Baekhyun Byun Mrs. Park. Nice to meet you”.

“Nice to meet you Mr. Byun. How do you know my grandson?” The old woman asked him.

“We go to the same school” Baekhyun answered.

“Ah! Wonderful” Chanyeol’s grandma said. Once her gaze returned to Chanyeol, Baekhyun relaxed a little bit.

“And how are the preparations going for the founders ball?. It’s the upcoming week and the last time I came here I’ve told your mother she had to buy your suit before all the good ones disappear” The woman said to Chanyeol.

“She bought it. It’s in my room along with the shoes” Chanyeol answered flatly. - The city’s founders ball was a massive event in which all the upper class get together to celebrate the city’s foundation every year. Most of the men and women from the age of 15 to 18 had to initiate the celebration with a special dance. Although neither Chanyeol’s nor Baekhyun’s family were part of the founding families, their presence was still required in every major event.-

“Aren’t you two excited for it?” Chanyeol’s grandma asked enthusiastically and went to sit next to his grandson. Chanyeol rolled his eyes “Not really. It’s just a dance granny.” Chanyeol said.

“Well, you should be. It’s one of the most important events in this town and the fact that this year you were chosen to be in the opening dance must bring you such a pleasure” The old lady explained.

“Granny I don’t know how to dance nor I’m interested on learning. For me it’s like an endless torture until that day comes” Chanyeol said bluntly.

“Don’t be dramatic boy” His grandma scoffed. “You could meet your future wife there. That’s how I meet your grandpa. He was my dance partner and we were flawless on that dance hall” The woman said proudly. Chanyeol looked at the other side and sighed.

“Are you going to the ball too Mr. Byun?” Chanyeol’s grandma asked the boy sitting in front of her.

“Yes Mrs. Park. I have to be on the opening act as same as Chanyeol” Baekhyun explained although not very thrilled about it.

“Oh... and by the way you said it I can see you share the excitement of my grandson too” The old woman said sarcastically.

“Yes ma’am” Baekhyun said awkwardly.

“Oh boys! Most of the families here in town would killed to be represented on that ball”. Chanyeol’s grandma sighed. “These modern times are killing the best of our traditions”.

“More like the traditions are killing us” Chanyeol muttered.

“What was that Chanyeol?” His grandma turned to looked at him quizzically.

“Nothing granny. I coughed” Chanyeol lied.

“Well I’ll leave the two of you. I need to talk with your mother” The lady said and used her walking stick so she could stood up. Chanyeol and Baekhyun stood up too as a way of courtesy and Chanyeol helped her getting straight.

“Thank you” She said to the tall boy. “Good night boys”. Both boys said their farewells and saw her walking away.

“Let’s get out here” Chanyeol said quietly, Baekhyun nodded and went after him.

Both of them were sitting on the house main entrance’s stairs waiting for Baekhyun’s driver to pick him up. They were throwing little rocks to see which one went further on the road.

“I didn’t remember the ball until your grandma mentioned it” Baekhyun said.

“I can’t say the same. She doesn’t let me forget it” Chanyeol complained.

“I don’t want to dance either but I guess we have no choice” the brown haired boy said resigned.

“I know” Chanyeol sighed.

“My mom told me I will have to dance with my cousin Genrieta” Baekhyun grimaced at the thought and Chanyeol sneered.

“There are no exclusive partners in the opening dance. You switch from time to time during the act” Chanyeol remembered.

“There aren’t?. Thank God” Baekhyun sighed in relief.

“The only thing that comforts me, it's knowing that this is the first and last ball in which I��ll ever have to participate” Chanyeol said.

“You know, I wished every night since I was 15 for not to be chosen for this, then one night I felt asleep while studying and forgot to ask for my wish. This is the consequence of that day” Baekhyun said bitterly and Chanyeol chuckled.

“Lets forget what my grandma said. There’s no point in torturing ourselves with that today” The tall boy suggested.

“I guess you are right” Baekhyun sighed.

After a couple of minutes in silence, with only the sound of the rocks crashing against the floor, the brown haired boy asked out of the blue “ So what is y/n’s job here?”.

“She works in the kitchen and sometimes she helps with the rest of the house chores.”

Chanyeol answered. “Why do you ask that?” he looked at his friend inquisitively.

“I was curious. She wasn’t wearing a maid’s uniform” Baekhyun shrugged.

“That’s because she spends most of her time in the kitchen or doing errands when Jongin is not around” Chanyeol explained.

“Who’s Jongin?” Baekhyun asked him. 

“He is the one who does most of the errands and also takes care of the animals“ Chanyeol explained.

The brown haired boy nodded “Is it the boy that y/n likes?”

Chanyeol shook his head “No. He is her brother and my best friend”.

Baekhyun looked at him surprised “I have thought I was your best friend”.

“From school” Chanyeol pointed out. “Jongin is like my brother. I have known him since we were babies. We had grown up together” Chanyeol explained calmly.

“Ok so if he’s like your brother then y/n is like your sister?” Baekhyun said curiously. Chanyeol wanted to say no but he didn’t want for his friend to knew about his feelings for you.

“Mmm... My relationship with her is different”. Chanyeol said awkwardly.

“How come?” Baekhyun asked him. Chanyeol went quiet and was trying to think what to say to his friend when they heard the engine of a car approaching and both boys focus their gazes on it. It’s was Baekhyun’s driver who had arrived to take the boy back to his house. Thank God Chanyeol thought.

“Oh look! Joseph is here” Chanyeol said. Both boys were standing and dusting off their pants when the car stopped in front of them.

“Good night Mr. Byun, Mr. Park” Joseph greeted them. Chanyeol and Baekhyun greeted the man back.

“Thank you for inviting me” Baekhyun said to his best friend and gave him a handshake and a pad on his back.

“No problem” Chanyeol said and smiled at him.

“Hey would you like to go to downtown center on Sunday? I don’t want to be on my house bored all the weekend” Baekhyun said to him.

“Ok. I’ll see you around 12:00pm?” Chanyeol asked him. “Sure. That way I don’t have to get up early” Baekhyun said enthusiastically and Chanyeol snorted.

“See you mate” Baekhyun said as he was hoping inside the car.

“See you” Chanyeol said back and waved at him goodbye.

When the car was moving away Chanyeol let out a heavy sigh. This day had been so long and tiredness was catching up with him. He walked inside the house lazily and looked at his mother coming out of the living room.

“Chanyeol” Her mother said. “Are you all right darling?”

“Yes mom but I’m tired. Can I be excuse for the rest of the evening?” Chanyeol asked his mother, tiredness clearly in his voice.

“Of course honey” The woman said and cupped her son’s cheek affectionately “Are you sure you are ok? I can tell Emy or Nana to take a cup of tea to your room”.

“I’m fine. I just want to sleep” Chanyeol yawned.

“Ok, then. Rest well my child” Chanyeol’s mom said. She smiled at him and grabbed his head gently to gave him a kiss on his forehead”.

“Good night mom” Chanyeol said and went up the stairs.

Once he was settled under his sheets, Chanyeol thought about Jongin and what he had said earlier to Baekhyun. He hadn’t seen him today and although he knew he was working again thanks to you, he still wanted to see him and talked to him. 

At first he had thought in giving him some space to calm himself down but as the days went by, he felt the weight of the other’s boy absence.  That’s why he decided to wake up at dawn on a Saturday morning, put on his field attire and went out to look for him at the place where he’d know he could find him at this hour. He ran down the stairs and entered to the kitchen. Mrs. Patmore and Emy were taking out some pans and pots to start making breakfast. Both looked at him surprised.

“Good morning” He panted and scanned the room rapidly.

“Good morning” both women said.

“Mr. Park, what are you doing here? It’s too early and we have barely started with the cooking” Mrs. Patmore said to the young boy.

“I know. I’m looking for Jongin” Chanyeol breathed out.

“I sent him downtown to pick up some errands” Mrs. Patmore said.

“He’s still outside” Emy said as she was looking out the window.

Chanyeol ran towards the back door as he said a quickly “thank you”. He opened the door hurriedly and went down the stairs that led to the side of the house. Jongin was walking through the garden at a slow pace, he was kicking at a rock while heading towards the main entrance when he heard someone calling him from afar. He turned around and saw Chanyeol running towards him and screaming something he didn’t understood.

“What?” Jongin yelled.

“Wait” Chanyeol screamed louder and the other boy came to a halt. Once the tall boy was in front of his friend he bent over a little bit and tried to regulate his breathing. “Why are you up so early?” Jongin asked his friend weirded out.

“I want... to talk with you” Chanyeol said in between breaths.

“I can’t right now. I have to come back before they served breakfast” Jongin said and started walking again.

“I know” Chanyeol said while following his friend “I’m going with you” he said.

Jongin sighed “Chanyeol if you want to discuss something about y/n, that’s not a way of starting a morning for me.” 

Chanyeol grabbed the other’s boy shoulder to stopped him “It’s not about that. It’s just...”

Chanyeol sighed in frustration “You have been avoiding me since that day and I wanted to give you some space too for you to clear your head up but... can’t we just be back to how things were before I told you about my feelings for her?” Chanyeol asked him, hope visible in his eyes.

Jongin sneered “I have known about it even before you told me”. At that Chanyeol looked at him bewildered.

“You do?” Chanyeol asked him baffled.

“Yeah. There’s this look you have when you see her. Like your eyes light up and to be honest, for me it’s kind of awkward to watch” Jongin said, scratching the back of his neck and averting his gaze from the tall boy.

“I...mmm... sorry. I have thought I was more discrete” Chanyeol said embarrassed.

“I get that you can’t help it but...” Jongin sighed “We are talking about my sister. And you are my best friend and like a brother to me”.

“I know and I consider you like that too” Chanyeol said. “I’m not going to talk about her with you if it bothers you but please don’t judge me for loving her”.  The tall boy looked at the ground.

Jongin looked at him intently and after a moment of silent he said “I won’t”.  Chanyeol lifted his gaze. Jongin was looking at him, his stare softened and gave the tall boy a side smile. “Are you coming with me or not?” Your brother asked his friend.

“Let’s go” Chanyeol smiled at him.

Along the way Jongin and Chanyeol started catching up with each other. Chanyeol had told him about his report, the detention and the stories that Nana had told him about you and your brother. Jongin as well as you, laughed at the memories.  There came a time in which both got quiet and just were looking at their surroundings. Chanyeol wondered if you would be awake by now and his mind kept lingering with thoughts about you. Every time that would happen he felt a mix of emotions and although most of them were good, there was also the fear that didn’t leave him.

“Jongin” Chanyeol said hesitantly.

“What?” The other boy yawned.

“I know I just told you that we wouldn’t talk about my feelings for y/n but if I don’t say this I’m gonna go mad” Chanyeol said.

“What is it?” Jongin sighed.

“I’m scared” Chanyeol confessed.

“Scared? Of what?” Jongin asked weirded out.

 “That she doesn’t like me back” Chanyeol said quietly.

Jongin stopped walking and groaned “Just tell her already. That way you won’t get crazy and you won’t make me going crazy”. You brother said frustrated.

Chanyeol looked at him “Are you serious?” He asked bewildered.

“Yeah. I talked to her about it” Jongin said.

“You told her I like her?” Chanyeol asked alarmed.

“No. I talked to her about what would mean for her to be with someone out of our class. She said she just wants a good man, regardless of his position.” Jongin explained.

“And you are ok with that now?” Chanyeol asked his friend.

“I believe it’s not that simple but she left very clear that at the end it’s her decision so you might as well take this as your chance to talk to her about it” Jongin said. 

“Will you be ok if we... you know... date?” Chanyeol asked hesitantly.

“The idea it’s still weird to me but I guess I would get used to it. You know my dad isn’t around much because of his job and for that I feel it’s up to me to take care of her. I know you are a good boy and her happiness is important to me, if she finds it with you I’ll be ok” Jongin said.

“That means I have your blessing?” Chanyeol said curiously. Jongin laughted at his friend “You could say so. But even with it you will have to talk with my father eventually”.

“I’m good with your approval for now” Chanyeol said “Don’t get me wrong. Your father is a good man but he is quite intimidating”. Jongin snorted at his friend’s last words. “I guess we’ll have to see how it goes” Your brother said amused and Chanyeol gulped.

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

In the afternoon Chanyeol was in his room sprawled on the bed with Toben playing with his pillows. The boy was troubled with thinking how could he confessed his feelings towards you.

“What if I just say I like you y/n?” Chanyeol asked himself. 

“Would it be too straightforward?” Chanyeol said and the puppy barked as in response.

“I wished I could be you right now buddy, that way I wouldn’t be so concerned with these things” Chanyeol said in despair.

He sat up on the bed and looked out of the window “Maybe if I write something to say to her it would be easier” he thought and went over to his desk. He sat on the chair and took out his notebook and a pen.

“Ok, I can do this” The tall boy encouraged himself.

Y/n I think you are beautiful and I like you “No. This is so simple” He said and crossed off the words written on the paper.

Y/n, we had known each other since we were babies and we have been friends but now I like you “No no no this doesn’t sound good” He said seriously.

Chanyeol was so immersed in his thoughts that he didn’t hear when you entered his room so you could pick up his laundry basket and took it to Emy for her to wash his clothes. Toben started barking when he saw you but Chanyeol thought it was the puppy’s usual way to ask for attention so he didn’t even turned to look at him.

“Y/n, you look lovely today...” Chanyeol was saying while he was writing.

“I don’t think so. My apron is soaked and stain with food and my hair is a mess but thanks for the shallow compliment” You said sarcastically.

At hearing your voice Chanyeol got startled “Good Heavens! You scared me. What are you doing here?” he said frantically. Chanyeol closed his notebook quickly and tried to cover it with some sheets and anything he could find on his desk.

“Relax, I’m just here for your dirty laundry” you said as you look around the room for his basket.

“The basket is near the closet” Chanyeol said as he stood up and stuck on his place near the chair.

“What were you doing anyway?” You turned to looked at him and he looked at you like a deer in the headlights.

“I was... doing my homework” Chanyeol cleared his throat.

“Really?” You said inquisitively “You never do your homework on Saturdays” you pointed out.

“Yeah well... I do now because this way is more convenient” Chanyeol said.

You eyes went from his to the things he had on his desk. You couldn’t see anything weird on it. Chanyeol followed your gaze and took a step aside so he could prevented you from looking at his things. Your gaze returned to his face but he avoided it and said “Are you going down?. I could help you with that” The tall boy said and rushed towards you so he could carry the basket.

“It’s alright. I can carry it.” You said and shrugged.

“No, I insist” He said as he took it out of your arms. “Can you open the door for me?”.

You did what he asked and both exited from his room with Toben following you behind.

“Thank you” you said as you two were walking down the stairs.

“No problem” He said.

“So, how are you today?” Chanyeol asked you.

“I’m tired but good overall. What about you?” You asked him.

 “I’m good.” Chanyeol said nonchalantly.

“It’s good to hear that” You said and averted your gaze from him.

“Hey, do you happen to know where is Jongin?” Chanyeol asked you.

“He must be at the stables now. Do you need him?” You asked him curiously.

“Yeah, I need to ask him for a favor” Chanyeol answered.

“What kind of favor?” You asked the tall boy.

“It’s regarding the ball” Chanyeol said awkwardly.

“Oh yeah. It’s this upcoming week, isn’t it?” You asked excitedly.

“ Yes” Chanyeol said, not sharing your excitement at all.

“Do you have a partner?” You asked, trying to sound calm but deeply inside you were fearing for his answer.

“Yeah, it’s my cousin Chloe. My uncle will visit my grandma and he’s coming along with his family” Chanyeol explained.

You felt your shoulders relaxing at hearing that and hummed in understanding. “That’s good” you said.

“Do you think me going with my cousin it’s good?” Chanyeol sneered since he knew most of his classmates will mock him for not getting a real date.

“Well I mean, you won’t have to get all the trouble of looking for a girl to be your partner that night” You explained, trying to cover the relief you felt due to it.

“You are the only one that sees it that way” The tall boy pointed out.

“Sometimes I’m curious about that ball. It must be nice getting all dressed up and dance the night away” You said, trying to imagined that scenario.

“Believe me, it’s far away from nice” Chanyeol said dismissively.

You two arrived at the kitchen where Mrs. Patmore and others servants were preparing dinner. “Good afternoon” Chanyeol greeted everyone and they greeted him back.

“You can leave it here and I’ll take it to Emy, thank you.” You said and smiled at him.

“Are you sure?” Chanyeol asked you.

“Yes. You can go and play with my brother now” You said teasingly.

“We are not going to play” Chanyeol scoffed “We are going to talk about men’s stuff” He said as he stood taller.

“Whatever, see you” You said as you were walking away towards the laundry section of the house.

“See you” Chanyeol said out loud. He smiled and turned around to headed towards the stables.

 “You are good for today buddy. I’ll see you in the morning” Jongin said as he was caressing his horse and saying his farewells. He started walking towards the entrance of the stable when he saw Chanyeol approaching. “Hey, are you still working?” Chanyeol asked his friend.

“No, I just finished for today. What’s up?” Jongin said to him.

“I need a favor” Chanyeol said hesitantly.

“Ok, what is it?” Jongin asked him weirded out at seen his friend’s awkward demeanors.

“I can’t tell you here. Let’s go where no one can watch us” Chanyeol said quietly.

“Ahh... should I be concerned for my safety?” Jongin joked as both of them were walking towards the woods.

“Ha ha. No” Chanyeol said sarcastically and Jongin laughed.

 “You want me to what?” Jongin laughted out loud while Chanyeol gave him a pointed look.

“Are you done laughing at me?” Chanyeol asked irritated.

“I can’t help it. Of all the things I could have imagined this one I didn’t see it coming. You want me to teach you how to dance?” Jongin said, still shaking from all the laughter he had seconds ago.

“I’m desperate. I don’t want to make a fool out of myself at the stupid ball” Chanyeol explained.

“But why me?” Jongin asked.

“Because you know how to dance. I’ve seen you when you dance with y/n, Nana and your mom. You moved so graciously that it seems effortless. People always comment on your good dancing skills and I want to be good too” Chanyeol pointed out.

“I appreciate the compliments” Jongin said. He wasn’t so sure about this idea but at seen Chanyeol’s pleading face he sighed and said “Fine. Do you know the dance steps?”

Chanyeol showed him the main steps for the opening act. Jongin thought his friend wasn’t that bad but there were parts where the tall boy look stiff on his spins. “Ok I think I got it. You are not that bad but there are points in which your posture stiffens and you have to loosen up a bit on the spins. Here, look at me” Jongin pointed out. Your brother started counting and dancing around while doing so. He was standing tall with his arms simulating being around someone else’s body. Chanyeol looked at him and he thought Jongin could be a wonderful professional dancer. His eyes were glued to his figure like he was mesmerized by the way his body moved.

“Got it?” Jongin asked him once he finished.

“I think so” Chanyeol answered doubtfully.

“Lets try it then” Jongin said and extended his hand towards his friend for him to take it.

“What?! I’m not dancing with you” Chanyeol said bewildered.

“I’ll play the lady role, I should be the one embarrased not you” Jongin retorted.

“Just one time” Chanyeol pointed a finger at him.

“Yeah, now hurry up. I’m hungry and I want to go home” Jongin urged the other boy. Chanyeol took his hand and settled in front of his friend.

“Take a step closer” Jongin indicated him “You have to keep this hers and yours hands up all the time and place the other at my back”. Chanyeol did what he was told but still he felt uncomfortable about it.

“Uh... like this?” Chanyeol asked him.

“Yes” Jongin said. “The man is the one that leads the dance so I’ll start counting and you will have to guide me, ok?”. Chanyeol took a deep breath and nodded. “And... one, two, three...” Jongin counted and Chanyeol moved on cue. Both boys were swaying between the trees. Jongin marking the steps and each spin they have to make while Chanyeol was trying to synchronize his feet with his friend’s voice. After 15 minutes he had decided it was enough practicing and stopped dancing.

“How was I?” Chanyeol asked short of breath.

“Not that bad. You still have a week left for practice” Jongin said and gave him a pad on the back.

“I think one time is more than enough for me” Chanyeol said and Jongin snorted at his words.

“As you wish but maybe it would be more helpful if you practice with a women” Jongin suggested.

“Yeah because It’s so easy to find one who is willing to practice” Chanyeol said sarcastically.

“You could ask your mother… or y/n” Jongin said nonchalantly.

“No” Chanyeol said firmly “I don’t want her to think I’m clumsy for dancing”.

“She already knows you’re clumsy for some things, one more wouldn’t make the difference” Jongin said teasingly and Chanyeol smacked him in the head. Jongin laughed and took off running towards the kitchen, Chanyeol followed him behind

“You’re going to suffer once I catch you” the tall boy yelled.

It was dinner time and there was only Chanyeol and his mother on the dining room since his father hadn’t returned home from his friend’s house. “Mom, do you think dad is going to come home late?” Chanyeol asked his mother who was sitting in front of him.

“I don’t know darling. You know your father always lost track of time when he is discussing business” The woman said to his son “Why you ask? Do you need anything from him?”.

“No” Chanyeol answered rapidly “Actually, it’s you the one I want to talk with”

“Ok, regarding what matter?” Chanyeol’s mom asked him.

“After we finished here, do you think you could come with me to the ballroom and teach me how to... dance?” Chanyeol asked him hesitantly. His mother looked at him taken aback by the sudden request but answered nevertheless “Ahh... sure” and both of them continued with the dinner as usual.

Once in the ballroom Chanyeol closed the door and turned to look at his mother who was standing in the center of it. “Son, I must ask. Why did you ask to teach you?, Wasn’t enough the lesson you had at school?” Chanyeol’s mom said weirded out. “Not really, I’ve never danced with a girl before and I don’t want to look like a fool at the ball” Chanyeol said shyly and his mom looked at him fondly. “Is it just that or you want to impress some girl?” His mother looked at him quizzically. Chanyeol looked at her wide eyed for a moment. It was as if she had read his mind because when he asked her about this he thought of you.

He tried to hide his nervousness “That’s not it” he said dismissively “I just want to learn because you don’t know when it will be useful”. “Alright then, don’t tell me anything but I’ll will find out, eventually” His mother said teasingly and he gulped slightly. The woman instructed him just as Jongin did for the body and arms posture.

“Now put you hand on my back” She said and Chanyeol placed it between her back and her waist.

“A little bit higher darling. We want you to make a good impression not to be imprison for getting touchy with a girl” The woman said jokingly.

Chanyeol moved his hand and cleared his throat “here is fine?” His mother looked up at him and smiled “there is fine.” Chanyeol smiled back at her and she started counting. Mother and son stayed there for a while trying to perfecting his dance.

At night Chanyeol was laying on his bed with Toben beside him. He had spend the last couple of hours writing his confession and once he thought it was decent enough he sighed heavily. “I think I’m done Toben” He said exhausted and placed his head near the puppy’s body, who was snuggled against a pillow.

The dog nudged him softly with his head and Chanyeol turned to look at him.

“I’m going to put this on the desk so you don’t chew it” The boy said and stood up taking his notebook and pen with him. He ripped the sheet from his notebook, folded it, and put it on the desk.

He went over his bed and knelt before it to make his prayer. Toben went over to his side and laid in front of him “Maybe I should use you to deliver my message. That way she couldn’t refuse to it since you are so cute” He said and the dog licked his cheek. Chanyeol chuckled at his actions and looked at the ceiling.

“God, you know I don’t ask you much but this is something I really really really want. Please make that y/n likes me back” Chanyeol said quietly. Once he finished with them he laido on the bed and felt asleep.

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

There was a lot of people in the plaza already. It was 11:00 am and Chanyeol was sitting on a bench already waiting for Baekhyun. He didn’t want to be late so he left after breakfast. He was looking around, saw people taking a walk and some others going from one place to another since they were working on the shops nearby and the market. In that place he could noticed the difference between the people of the city. The relax and slow pace from the upper class ones who were walking and going from shop to shop without any rush in their lives while the pace from the medium-lower class was quicker, without taking a second look at their surroundings due to their busyness. He wondered how that people must have felt. If they would think that life was unfair to them. He put his hands on his pockets since the air was chilly and he felt the sheet brushing his palm. He decided to take the note with his feelings for you with him since he didn’t want that anybody from the staff or his parents could read it. He still wasn’t sure about when it would be the right time to tell you all of it but at least, having that note on his pocket made him feel like in any given moment when he gathered the courage, we would be ready for it. He was lost in his thoughts when he spotted you. You were wearing a green cloak that covered your upper body and your hair was loose. You were walking across the other side of the plaza and had a bag on one of your arms. Chanyeol stood up and went to meet you.

“Y/n” Chanyeol yelled and you turned to look around. Once you saw him you smiled fondly at him and he smiled widely.

“What are you doing here?” You asked him.

“I’m waiting for Baekhyun. And you?” Chanyeol said to you curiously.

“Mrs. Patmore send me because she wants some butter and flour to make a pumpkin pie” You explained.

“Oh” Chanyeol said as you were looking around to cross the street. “And what are you doing after that?”.

You looked at him quizzically “Jongin and I are going to the Evans house. Junmyeon and the others had invited us to hang out there. I believe the boys are going to play football and I will be with Kate”. “That sounds good” Chanyeol said.

“Yeah. It will be nice to do something different” You said smoothly. “What are you gonna do with Baekhyun?”.

“I don’t know. Maybe walk around here” Chanyeol answered. He wasn’t thrilled about the idea of you seeing Junmyeon again. Although the black haired boy gave him the impression of being a good person, he couldn’t stop thinking he was his opponent in a way. In that moment, your friend came up with an idea. “Hey! Do you think that Baekhyun and I can go too?”Chanyeol asked you.

“Sure, if you want to. But there’s gonna be only servants”. You pointed out.

“So?” Chanyeol asked weirded out.

“Do you think your friend wouldn’t mind?” You asked him.

“Oh, He’s not like that. He gets along with them too. Actually with everybody” Chanyeol explained. You nodded in understanding.

You two arrived at the shop, you entered and turned to look at Chanyeol, still holding the door for him to come inside. “Come” you said and gestured him inside. The boy entered hurriedly and started looking around. The place had a lot of shelves and a smell like cinnamon and bread.

“Good morning Mrs. Wang” you greeted the woman behind the counter.

“Good morning Y/n, boy.” The woman said and gestured towards Chanyeol. “Is he your boyfriend?” The woman asked you curiously. You giggled and Chanyeol��s cheek turned to a pinkish color.

“Oh no! Nothing like that. He’s just a friend” You explained.

“Oh sorry for the misunderstanding. It’s just that you never brought anyone with you aside from your brother” The lady said.

“He was around” you shrugged casually.

“Ah, in that case you should meet my nephew. He will arrive next week. Jackson is very charismatic and I’m sure you two would get along” The woman said excitedly.

“No” the word slipped from Chanyeol’s mouth with his serious voice and he knew he had made a mistake right away. Mrs. Wang and you turned to looked at him.

He looked at the two of you in shock and averted his gaze towards the counter behind the woman. “No... way there’s strawberry pie here” He said and his features changed from ones of seriousness to ones of excitement. You looked at him weirded out but said nothing to him.

“Sorry Mrs. Wang. Sometimes he gets really excited for the things he likes” You excused him. The lady chuckled “It’s ok girl. Don’t we all get like that when it comes to pastries?”.

You chuckled hesitantly “I guess so”.

“Anyway. What can I get you?” Mrs. Smith asked you.

“I need 1 kg of butter and flour please”. You said.

“Ok. I’ll come right away” Mrs. Wang said and went to the back of the store.

“What is wrong with you?” You said quietly to Chanyeol.

“Nothing. I just noticed the pie.” Chanyeol said. “I’m going to buy a slice. Do you want one?”. 

You shook your head “No, thanks”. Mrs. Wang came back in that moment with your things and your paid for them.

“Mrs. Want could you give me two slices of that pie?” Chanyeol asked him and smiled at the lady.

“Sure”. The woman said as she took the pie from the shelf. She cut it, wrapped the slices in paper and put them in a bag. She handed it to Chanyeol and he gave her the coins.

“Thank you kids. Come back whenever you want and have a wonderful day”. Mrs. Wang and smiled at you.

“Thank you Mrs. Wang” you and Chanyeol said at unison. You two walked over to the door and the tall boy exited first, holding the door for you.

“See you” you said as you waved goodbye. You were walking with Chanyeol when he asked you “Would you stay with me while I wait for Baekhyun?”.

“Sure. If Mrs. Patmore says something to me I’ll just say you distracted me” you said smoothly and Chanyeol frowned at you.

You two went to sit on a bench near the Plaza’s kiosco. Chanyeol opened the bag with the pies an took one out. You could smell the sweet scent of the freshly baked pie and your stomach crumbled a little bit. Thankfully, Chanyeol didn’t hear it since he was so focus eating it.

“It’s delicious” Your friend muffled.

“Can I have one bite of it?” You asked him as your were looking at the pie with hopeful eyes. Chanyeol looked at you and handed you the slice. You bit it and it was as if there was an explosion of flavors inside your mouth. You could taste the strawberry marmalade, some nuts and almonds in there too. It had a sweet flavor but not cloying, it was perfect.

You looked at Chanyeol in delight “This is so good” you muffled and he nodded eagerly. You tried to take another mouthful of it when Chanyeol snatched it from your hands. You looked at him surprised “Give me more” you complained.

“You said one bite” Chanyeol said with his mouth full of pie.

You scoffed “When I share my food with you I let you have as many as you want”.

“Really? What about the bisquets Nana always make for you and you only let me have 5” Chanyeol countered back.

“Five it’s a lot” You said.

“She makes an entire jar” Chanyeol pointed out.

“I care about you. I don’t want you to get fat or have diabetes later on” You said. Chanyeol snorted “How thoughtful” He said sarcastically as he took another bite. He had his smug face and was humming happily.

“Fine, don’t share” You said and turned to look the other way. Chanyeol was looking at you amused. He just love how easy was to tease you. Your back was facing him, you heard him grabbing the paper bag, he stood up and walked to the other side to face you. He put the bag at your eye level.

“Here. You can have the other one.” He said and shook the bag gently. Your frown soften and you looked at him. He was smiling mischievously at you.

“It’s not for Baekhyun?” You asked him hesitantly.

“Nah, It was for you” Chanyeol said.

“Then why didn’t you say so earlier?” You asked him as you took the bag from him.

“You said you didn’t want it“ Chanyeol shrugged and sat beside you “but I know you too well to know that you saying that means that you don’t want it in that moment but 15 minutes later you will”

You squinted your eyes at him “Well, Thank you”. “Your welcome” He sneered.

You ate half of it in one bite and the tall boy looked at you in disbelief. “Good heavens, at least try to chew it before you eat the other half” Chanyeol said surprised while you were humming cheerfully.

You swallowed and said “I did but I can’t help it. It’s so tasty”.

Chanyeol shook his head amused. He remembered when you were younger and Nana had to hide all the cookies and chocolate to prevent you from eating them in one sitting- Out of Jongin, you and him, you were the pastrie’s lover. You preferred sweet over sour and that haven’t changed-. Once you and Chanyeol finished eating you stood up to put the garbage on the trash can. Chanyeol was cleaning his clothes from all the crumbs when he noticed a spot of jam on his shirt.

“Oh no” He said mortified while you sat back next to him. He took the jam with his finger and ate it. You looked at him amused. 

“Do you think the stain will come off?” Chanyeol asked you.

You sneered “I’ll try my best with it”. Chanyeol nodded and you noticed he also had a little bit of jam and crumbs on the corner of his lips.

“You also have some on your mouth” you signaled the spot and Chanyeol rubbed his hand over his mouth.

“Done?” Chanyeol asked you but the reddish dot was still there.

“No” you chuckled. “Here, allow me” you said, sat nearer him and used your thumb to rub off the jam and the crumbs. 

Your gaze was focused on the task at hand that you didn’t noticed the slightly pinkish color on Chanyeol’s cheeks and ears.

“Done” you announced and smiled at him.

“Thank you” Chanyeol said awkwardly and tried to smiled back.

You looked at the front and sighed.

“I feel happy now that my belly has something sweet in it” you said joyfully and padded at it softly .

“You always get extra happy when you are eating sweet things” Chanyeol pointed out.

“And I’ll keep eating them while I can” You said happily.

Both of you went quiet for a couple of minutes. You were enjoying looking at the people passing by and hearing the birds chirping. Chanyeol on the other hand, was debating inside his mind whether if this was a good time to tell you about his feelings for you. Should I tell her now or not. Maybe not. But what if Junmyeon asked her out first?. No, that can’t happen because I’m gonna be there too. 

How do I start the conversation

Wait! I have the note in my pocket. He thought and went to reach it. He feel it on his hand

But I can’t read it now with her here and I don’t remember most of it, Damn! Or should I go straight to the point? Y/n I like you.  Should I had brought something special like flowers or chocolates? Ahg... get it together Chanyeol. This is your chance ok?, don’t blow it.

Chanyeol cleared his throat and sat straight. “Y/n” he called you and you looked at him curiously.

When you settled your gaze on him he could feel himself shrinking a little bit “I... need to tell you something” Chanyeol said.

You looked at him quizzically “I’m listening”.

“You know... I...” You were looking at him intently, he had to avert his gaze and looked at his surroundings.

He sighed “maybe this is not a good time but it’s a beautiful day so I think maybe it is a good time. I don’t know how you can tell if it’s the right time, and we are here sitting and it’s a beautiful location too...” he was babbling went you cut him off.

“Yeol I’m not understanding anything of what you are saying to me. Take a deep breath and continue” you said.

Chanyeol breathed in and followed your gesture of exhaling “What I’m trying to say is that... I li...” he was saying when Baekhyun’s loud greetings interrupted him.

“Hey! Good morning everyone” Baekhyun said loudly. You looked at him startled and Chanyeol cursed under his breath.

“What’s up mate? How are you?” Baekhyun asked him cheerfully and gave him a pad on the back. Chanyeol tried not to let his frustration be shown on his features. The brown haired boy didn’t wait for his friend’s answer and turned to look at you “Y/n you look so beautiful today. How are you?” Baekhyun smiled widely at you.

“Thank you” you said shyly. “I’m good and you?” You asked him.

“Ecstatic. I got to wake up later than usual and it’s a wonderful day” Baekhyun said and opened his arms wide. You chuckled at his energized self. “Are you going to honor us with your company this day?” Baekhyun looked at you expectantly.

“No, I’m sorry. I was just keeping your friend company while you arrived. Now that you’re here it’s my time to go back to the manor.” You said apologetically. Chanyeol was quiet the whole time thinking of all the time that took him to prepare himself mentally for this moment, only to be blow out by his friend.

“Oh well, I totally understand you have to fulfill your duties” Baekhyun sighed. “Although I hope one day you and I can have a longer talk” he smiled at you.

“Of course. Actually, me and my brother are going to hang out with some friends at the Evan’s house. Chanyeol wanted to come too, didn’t you?” you said and asked Chanyeol.

“Oh yeah, I was going to tell you about that” Chanyeol said to his friend.

“Cool. I’m totally up for it. I’ve never had friends around my age who were servants before” Baekhyun said excitedly but Chanyeol’s surprised face made him realized he had made a mistake. The brown haired boy turned to looked at you “Oh my god. I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean for it to sound like that” he said rapidly, remorse readable on his face.

“It’s ok. You’ll see that we are more fun to hang around with” you said and smirked at him.

“Just watch your words with the rest of them. Some are more... sensitive”.

“Yes. I’ll keep that in mind”. Baekhyun said.

You started gathering your things and looked at Chanyeol “So I’ll see you at 02:00 pm there?” You asked him.

“Yes. We’ll be there” Chanyeol answered.

“Do you know how to get to the house?” You asked him.

Chanyeol thought about it for a moment “I... no”. He admitted. You shook your head in amusement “you have to go the other way from our house. Take St. Margaret street and go up five blocks. You’ll get to St. Brook street and you will have to turn to your right. It’s a yellow house with white fences.” You explained. “Got it” Chanyeol said and Baekhyun nodded.

“Well, I’m going. Enjoy the rest of your day” You said to both boys.

“See you later” Baekhyun said to you.

“Be careful” Chanyeol said and you nodded. 

Baekhyun was saying something to Chanyeol when you started walking away. Almost immediately you remembered something.

“Oh Chanyeol” you said and said boy looked at you.

“What did you want to tell me earlier?” You asked him curiously.

“I...” Chanyeol said hesitantly. You and Baekhyun were looking at him. “Nothing important. It can wait” he said. You kept staring at him, he seemed nervous?. Awkward?. You couldn’t quite describe his features.

“Are you sure?” you said after a moment.

“Yes” Chanyeol reassured you.

“Very well then, bye.” You said and with that you turned around and continue your trip. That was weird you thought to yourself as you kept walking.

The boys were walking around when Baekhyun remembered the news he received before leaving the house. “Hey, I forgot to mention that my aunt Jane send me a letter saying that my cousin Genrieta has a terrible cold and she will not be able to come to the ball”.

“Oh! I’m sorry to hear that. Do you have a backup plan for a partner?” Chanyeol said curiously.

Baekhyun looked at his friend surprised “I have thought with this the committee will spare me the dance” he said baffled and his friend sneered. “As if... they are not going to give back the money your family invested in having you in the opening ball. They are capable of pairing you with anybody. Even with an older woman”. Chanyeol explained and Baekhyun grimaced at his comment.

“Ahg... I rather get sick” Baekhyun said and Chanyeol shook his head in amusement.

According the plaza’s clock it was 01:20 pm when Chanyeol and Baekhyun headed towards the Evans house. After a while Chanyeol stop thinking about his fail attempt in talking with you and talked with his friend about how his day had went so far.

“So am I going to meet Y/n’s brother?” Baekhyun asked out the blue as he was kicking at a rock while Chanyeol was focused in reading the names of the streets.

“Yes” Chanyeol answered.

“Is he scary?” Baekhyun asked. Chanyeol laughed at that.

“No, he is good. Although when it comes to y/n he can turn into a whole different person. Once when we were kids he beated two boys by himself because they were picking on her and she started crying” Chanyeol explained and Baekhyun looked at him bewildered.

“Why didn’t you help him?” Baekhyun asked him.

 “It was at school. If I’d have been there, believe me I would had fought too” Chanyeol said.

“You know how to fight?” Baekhyun said quizzically.

“Yeah. Jongin’s father taught us” Chanyeol answered.

“So their father it’s the scary one. Cool cool” Baekhyun said sarcastically.

Chanyeol sneered “Not really. I mean, he has this aura that it’s imposing, as well as his appearance, but he’s very cool once you know him” he said.

“Does he works for your family too?” The brown haired boy said curiously.

“Yes. Actually their whole family works at my house. Jongin’s father is one of the foremen, his mother is one of the first maids and Nana is his grandmother” Chanyeol explained. Baekhyun nodded in understanding.

“You speak very fondly of them. Seems like you are very close” Baekhyun  pointed out.

“Well Nana is like a grandma to me. She was my mom’s nanny too and she raised me alongside with Jongin, then y/n was born and it was the three of us. It’s thanks to that woman that I have a second family” Chanyeol explained and gave his friend a little smile.

“I haven’t thought y/n was younger than us. She doesn’t look like that” Baekhyun said.

“Don’t tell her that if you don’t want to get beaten” Chanyeol said teasingly.

“And have you met the boy that she likes?” Baekhyun asked curiously. Chanyeol frowned at him.  Ahg, here we go again. Why is he so persistent? Chanyeol thought annoyed. If he answered him no, his friend would keep pushing on the subject and he wasn’t planning on helping him getting you. That simply was not going to happen so he had an idea. Maybe if Baekhyun knew the boy you liked he would leave the subject and leave you alone. 

“Yeah. His name is Junmyeon. It’s one of the boys that works at the Evans house” Chanyeol said unfazed.

“Oh. But like she really likes it or it’s like a silly crush?” Baekhyun asked him. “She’s head over heels for him. We went to see a play at the park with him and other friends and she was drooling over him the entire time. It was gross to watch” Chanyeol said irritated at the memory of that day.

“But they are not dating. I still have a chance” Baekhyun said confidently.

“I don’t know mate. He’s handsome and taller than you. A lot of the girls in town have a crush on him.” Chanyeol said bluntly.

Baekhyun scoffed “I’m handsome too. Plus, I’m very charismatic and her grandma loves me” he said smugly.

Chanyeol snorted “Yeah, you are like his third grandchild after the small talk you had with her” the tall boy said sarcastically.

“Just wait and see” Baekhyun said determined.

Chanyeol sighed heavily. Maybe he will have to confessed his love for you to his friend before he had the chance to talk to you about it.

When both boys arrived at the front gates they could see a bunch of boys on the garden running around and yelling.  You were walking alongside with Kate and both were carrying jars with cold lemonade.

Jongin spotted Chanyeol and Baekhyun and he went over to them.

“Hey!” Jongin said out of breath.

“Hey mate!” Chanyeol greeted him. “This is Baekhyun. A friend from school” The tall boy said gesturing at the brown haired boy. “Oh hey! I’m Jongin.” Your brother said. He smiled at Baekhyun and offered him a handshake.

“Baekhyun. Nice to meet you” The shorter boy smiled back and took his hand.

“Y/n said it would be alright if we came to hang out with you. It’s that ok?” Chanyeol asked  your brother.

“Totally. We need two more in our team. The others are crushing us since they had Bailey” Jongin said pointing at the tall boy who was celebrating with his team another point they had scored.

“Hey guys! We had just gotten two more to play on our side” Jongin yelled at his team in which there was Jongdae and Junmyeon also.

The last one went running to meet them.

“That’s awesome, we really need some help” Junmyeon panted. “What’s up mate?” The boy greeted Chanyeol.

“Hey. This is Baekhyun, a friend from school” Chanyeol said.

“Hi! I’m Junmyeon. Nice to meet you” Junmyeon said politely and shook his hand.

“”Hey. Baekhyun” The brown haired boy said.

“So you are rich kid too, huh?” Junmyeon asked him and looked at him quizzically since he wasn’t wearing expensive garments. His clothes were very similar to Chanyeol’s.

“Yeah. My family is rich but not Park’s level rich” Baekhyun explained awkwardly as he felt the scrutinizing gaze of the others over him.

“Well, still you’re considered from the upper class”. Junmyeon chuckled a little.

“Anyway, we need to get back to the game. We need a striker and a center midfielder.” Jongin said.

“I’ll be in the center” Chanyeol offered himself.

“Are you good at the front?. You will play with Jongdae” Junmyeon asked Baekhyun.

“Sure” Baekhyun said nonchalantly.

“Ok then. Let’s go to introduce you to the rest of the team” Junmyeon said and started jogging towards the field followed by the rest of them.

“You lied to me” Baekhyun muttered angrily to Chanyeol.

“What?” Chanyeol asked weirded out quietly.

“You had said he was taller. We are the same height. After seen that I totally have a chance.” Baekhyun said quietly and Chanyeol rolled his eyes at him.

While they were playing you and Kate were sitting under a tree. You two were chatting while you watched the boys running from one side to another. Everybody seems like they were having a good time. You could heard the familiar voices of your brother and Junmyeon giving instructions on how to protect their goal and Jongdae’s peculiar voice yelling at Baekhyun to pass the ball.  Your eyes landed on Chanyeol. He was jogging and stopped when he was beside Jongin. He was saying something to his friend while he was scrunching his nose.- A gesture he did sometimes after he had made some kind of effort- Jongin said something and the tall boy laughed. You liked to see him like that; happy, smiley, as if in this moment he could forget about the lessons and the etiquette and just be a regular boy.

“Your eyes are going to make a hole in his face if you keeping looking at him like that” Kate said to you and you turned to looked at the blanket in which you two were sitting on. The other girl laughted at your reaction.

“Shut up. I wasn’t looking at him in any way” You said dismissively.

“Uh, I sense someone likes our tall and dorky friend” Kate teased you.

“I don’t” you tried to sound confidently.

“Good thing he likes you too” Your friend said teasingly. “No he doesn’t” You assured her. “He... hasn’t told me anything”.

“You know, our bet it’s still on. I just hope he tells you something quickly so I can stop doing everyday’s errands, at least for a while” Kate said and laid on the blanket.

You sighed and turned to look at her. “Do you think I’m wrong?. That I should forbid myself from looking at him like that?” You asked quietly. “No, you are not wrong. You are a human being with feelings like the rest of us, regardless of our positions. I’m almost sure Chanyeol likes you. Obviously, you liked him too. Unfortunately, we still live in a world where people care more about social status and money than other’s feelings. The question is if you two would bear others people’s opinions”.

That left you thinking. Just as you had said to your brother, you could bear it as long as you had someone who was willing to stand beside you and you wanted to believe that Chanyeol could do that. But what if he couldn’t?. Why couldn’t I just keep my crush on Junmyeon?. Things would have been easier that way. You thought and sighed heavily.

“Are you ok?” Kate asked you.

“I don’t even know how that happened” You said and the girl looked at you confused “You know. Me liking him, sort off” You said quietly “I have thought that I liked Junmyeon but for the past few days I’ve been thinking about him a lot”.

Kate sat back straight “Well you have known him since forever. You spend a lot of time with him. He’s a good boy and handsome too.” Your friend looked at Chanyeol briefly “You could say he’s one of the few that can be considered like a whole package”. The girl pointed out. “I know but it’s my friend. It’s my brother’s best friend.” you said.

“Y/n feelings change and when those feelings are good and transform in something more beautiful, I think you shouldn’t be afraid of them.” Kate said sincerely “You have a lot of things on your mind right now. Looked at them, they are all playing without a worry on their minds and here you are sitting and feeling bad over nothing. Just clear your mind for the time being and cheer up” Kate said. 

“I’ll try” You sighed.

In that moment Baekhyun came running towards you two.

“Girls Can you give some water please?” The boy panted and tried to catch his breath.

“Sure.” You said as you grabbed the jar next to you. You poured over the water and handed him the glass.

 “Thanks” he said and took a sip from it.

“What were you doing?” Baekhyun asked you.

“Nothing, just chatting about girls stuff.” Kate said nonchalantly. “You are the newbie?” She asked him.

“Oh. May you pardon, I think we haven’t been introduced. I’m Baekhyun Byun, nice to meet you lady...”. The brown haired boy said and extended his hand so she could put hers on his.

“Kate” she said and Baekhyun kissed her hand. She smiled at him.

“Hum, this one has manners” Kate joked and Baekhyun smiled proudly. You chuckled at your friends.

“As every man should with every woman” Baekhyun said solemnly and finished drinking his water.

“Thank you so much.” He said and handed the glass over to you. “Now I have to go back and tried to save our team’s honor. If you’ll excuse me” He said and bowed gently at you.

Kate and you giggled as he walked away “he’s kinda weird, but cute” she said and you agreed.

After the game finished the boys were heading towards the wood table that was placed near you and Kate. You two had prepared some sandwiches and a salad and were already sitting at the table. “Ok boys this is all the food we have so be sure that everyone had 1 one sandwich on their plates before you go beast mode with them” Kate said and everybody agreed. You were sitting at one corner of the table with Jongin on the other side. You had Baekhyun and Chanyeol sitting in front of you and the rest of your friends scattered around the table. “These are so good” Jongdae muffled as he had another bite of his sandwich and everyone at the table agreed.  “Thank you boys. It’s always pleasant when someone says something good about our cooking” Kate said proudly and she winked at you.

“So you guys are excited for the ball? We heard your families name’s are included in the opening act.” Junmyeon asked Baekhyun and Chanyeol.

“Not a bit” Chanyeol said and Baekhyun nodded.

“Why is that?” Jongdae said curiously.

“One, we don’t know how to dance and two don’t have a real date” Chanyeol explained.

“But there are a lot of pretty girls at the ball, aren’t they?” A boy named Mike asked them.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol turned to looked at each other “Well...” they said hesitantly “there are some but most of them tend to be mean”. Some of the people around chuckled.

“That’s sounds bad” Jongdae chuckled.

“Yeah” Baekhyun and Chanyeol said at unison.

“We also celebrate that day but in a different way” Junmyeon said, referring to the servants. The rich boys turned to looked at him curiously.

“We didn’t know there was also a ball for you” Baekhyun said.

“It’s not as fancy as your ball. It’s more like a party. Everyone brings food, drinks and the music is different. More... lively if you want to call it like that” Kate explained.

“And certainly were are not dressed up in our finest clothes. It’s more comfortable that way” Jongdae sneered. “That’s sounds more fun than the things we do at our ball” Baekhyun said.

“Do you have to take a partner to the party with you?” Chanyeol asked.

“Not really. Everyone can dance with whoever they like” Junmyeon shrugged.

“That’s better. That way you don’t have the pressure to invite someone” Chanyeol said and most of the boys at the table agreed.

“I guess sometimes not being in the high society has it’s perks” A boy called Yixing said and smiled.

“Yeah” Baekhyun and Chanyeol sighed sadly.

“We could invite you to one of our parties, right everyone?” Junmyeon said and everyone at the table agreed. “But you will have to dress up a little bit less fancy than this” Jongdae said, gesturing at the boys garments.

“This is not fancy” Baekhyun pointed out.

“The fabric is” Jongin pointed out.

“Yeah, Maybe it’s worth 3 times my daily wage” Kate joked.

“When it’s your next party?” Chanyeol asked.

“By middle of November” Jongdae said.

“Cool. Thanks for the invite” Baekhyun said cheerfully.

“Sure mate. Just make sure you know how to dance by then. Some of the girls around would not take a no for an answer” Junmyeon said mischievously and the rest of you laughed and focused back on your meals.

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You, Jongin, Chanyeol and Baekhyun were walking back home. You could spot the sunset rays looming over the shape of houses and trees, painting their leaves with orange and golden rays. Chanyeol and your brother were walking a few steps ahead of you. Baekhyun was walking alongside them but once he noticed you were falling behind, he slow down his pace and walked next to you. He could tell you were lost seeing the silhouettes and facades of the houses.

He cleared his throat and said “Seems like it is a wonderful afternoon, isn’t it?”.

You turned to looked at him a little bit surprised for the sudden realization that you have a companion now “Oh, yes it is” you confirmed.

“Did you have a good time talking about girl’s stuff with Kate?” Baekhyun asked you awkwardly. “Yeah” You giggled “It’s always nice to talk with a girl that has the same age as me. She has become one of my best friends”.

“That’s good” Baekhyun said and smiled at you.

“Do you have a lot of friends?” You asked him.

“Not really. Chanyeol has been my best friend since my family and I moved here. I know other guys from school but I don’t consider them as my friends. You see, in our school most of the friendships we make is because either our parents know each other or because the families of those boys could be great allies for businesses. With him it’s different because we have a lot of things in common and I feel I can talk to him about everything” Baekhyun explained.

You knew what he was talking about, Chanyeol had a special ability to make people comfortable even if they had just met him.

“I know what you’re talking about” You said while you looked at the tall boy discussing something with your brother.

 “Y/n?” Baekhyun said and you focused your gaze on him.

“I been thinking about the ball since we were talking about it at the table and I was wondering if you would you like to come with me to the ball?” the brown haired boy looked at you expectantly and you looked at him wide eyed. “I...” You said doubtfully and focused your gaze towards your brother and Chanyeol, both boys laughing loudly at something you didn’t know what it was.

”Please, I’m desperate. My cousin Genrieta who was supposed to be my partner got sick and she will not be able to come. Chanyeol said the committee will pair me with whoever the want and honestly I don’t want to dance with an older woman. I don’t even want to dance at all”. Baekhyun said, you could see the despair in his features and you felt sorry for him. You knew this could be a mayor mistake but he look so miserable that you didn’t think about it thoroughly and agreed.

“Ok” You said hesitantly “I’ll go with you but just as friends.” You said firmly.

“Really?” Baekhyun face lighted up “Thank you so much. You are the best” he said and grabbed your hands to kiss them.

“Ok now let them go” You said as you pull your hands away from him.

“Sorry It’s just that I’m so relieved” Baekhyun said and realized about something “oh! Don’t worry about the dress. I’ll get you one”.

“Thanks but I won’t accept it. I’ll see what I can find. Me or my grandma could make one” You said.

“No, you’re helping me and I won’t make you or your grandma work. I insist. I’ll make sure you will look like a princess out of a storybook ” Baekhyun said solemnly. You shook your head amusingly “Thank you” you said and both kept walking.

“Yeah I’m going to tell the guys this news” Baekhyun said and took off running to catch up with Jongin and Chanyeol. “No” You tried to stop him but it was too late. “Let me explain them first” You trailed off and facepalmed yourself.

“Hey guys! Guess what? I’m not going to suffer with the anxiousness of getting a partner for the ball. y/n agreed to go with me” Baekhyun said loudly and the other boys came to a halt.

“What?!” Chanyeol and Jongin said at unison and looked at Baekhyun in astonishment.

“Yeah well, she took mercy on me and accepted to be my partner” The brown haired boy said again. You could feel everyone’s eyes on you. Jongin looking at you in shock, Baekhyun seeing you as his salvation and Chanyeol had a big frown on his face. The one that he always has when he is confused or mad.

“I... am trying to help him” you said and averted your gaze towards the floor.

Baekhyun looked at Jongin and tell him “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of her”.

Jongin noticed the tension in the air and tried to distract the shorter boy from it “You better. Now, changing the subject, why don’t you tell about that play that made us won. Where did you learn that?” He said, put his arm around Baekhyun’s shoulder and pulled him to keep walking.

Chanyeol didn’t faltered his gaze on you. He inhaled sharply, shook his head in disapproval and turned around to keep walking.

You felt small after that and the only thing you wanted was to avoid him at least until the ball has passed.

 Baekhyun has left for his house and you, Jongin and Chanyeol were almost at the manor. The walk was silent most of the time since Jongin knew Chanyeol was mad and he wouldn’t want to talk to anybody. You on the other hand, felt so awkward and uncomfortable and the thing that angered you was that you didn’t even know why your friend was acting this way.

You were helping one of his best friends after all. Wouldn’t that was a good thing?

“What were you thinking when you tell him yes?. You don’t even have a dress” Jongin scolded you as you were passing the entrance gates. “I didn’t think of that and he really seemed desperate” You said honestly.

“You should have thought things through better” Jongin sighed and walked towards the kitchen’s door.

“Yeah you should” Chanyeol said angrily as he kept walking but you took him by the arm to stopped him.

“Ok what is your problem?. I don’t understand why you are so mad.” You snapped at him.

“You really are that desperate for going to a ball that the only thing it tooks for you to saying yes was his pleads?” Chanyeol spatted.

“I’m not desperate for going to a stupid ball with your class. He said you told him he will have to dance with anyone your committee will paired him, even older women. You know how mean boys and girls can be. They will make fun of him.” You said angrily.

“Oh that’s rich of him!. You know that was just an excuse to get you going with him.” Chanyeol scoffed.

“No! I didn’t know that and it didn’t seem like that” You said sternly. Chanyeol sneered “Oh come Y/n! you know he’s interested in you”.

“He has been kind with me but same he has been with Kate. We are friends.” You stated.

“Yeah right!” Chanyeol snorted and turned around to keep walking.

“I would have done the same for you” You yelled at him.

“Then why didn’t you? Why didn’t you offered to go with me instead of him?” Chanyeol looked back at you. There was rage in his stare but so there was in yours.

“Because you never asked me to” You spat.

Chanyeol and you kept looking at each other, both breathing rapidly and when you felt your eyes started getting watery you decided to averted your gaze and walked towards the kitchen’s backdoor.

Chanyeol followed your figure walking away with his gaze, he pulled at his hair in frustration and slammed the entrance’s door once he went in.

 Chanyeol’s parents were talking inside the studio. Chanyeol’s mother was sitting in one of the couches looking at his husband dumbfounded.

“That can’t be possible” She managed to say. Chanyeol’s father was leaning on the desk, his back facing his wife. The tension on his shoulders was visible.

He sighed in frustration “Well it is.”

“I don’t understand. How are we in bankruptcy?” She said.

The man turned to looked at her “I invested the money on the train’s project. Jack told me and the other investors that it would be a success and that we will double our investment by this year but the roads aren’t even finished yet” he explained.

“But maybe with my money we could managed to live for a few months” Chanyeol’s mother said hopefully. His husband sat next to her and gave her a regretfully look “I invested all the money”.  She sighed sadly “Oh my lord!”. She covered her face in frustration.

“What are we going to do now?” She asked him.

“We don’t have other choice but to sell the house” Chanyeol’s father answered.  She looked at him as if he had gone crazy.

“But what about the employees? Carson, Mrs. Patmore, Emy, the farmers, Nana and her family?” She said, realization sinking in her.

“We can’t afford to bring them with us, maybe just Carson. I will have to talk with my mother so we can live with her and ask her for help with Chanyeol’s college tuition” The man said. Chanyeol’s mother started sobbing and his husband tried to soothe her.

The next morning all the employees were gathered at the foyer since Mr. Carson has told them that Chanyeol’s parents wanted to talk to all of them. You didn’t see Chanyeol going out for school nor you had wanted it it. You were still mad at him for the way he had reacted last night so you had decided that you won’t speak nor look for him. He was the one that had overreacted. He should apologize not me you thought

“Why would they want to talk with all of us?” Emy whispered to you but you shrugged since you don’t have any idea of what this could be about.

“Mr. and Mrs. Park are coming” Mr. Carson announced and everyone went quiet.

“Thank you Carson” Mr. Park said.“Good morning everyone”.The man said and all the employees answered his greeting.

“First of all I want to tell you that all of you had been excellent employees. Me and my family really appreciate all your effort throughout the years that you have been with us.” Chanyeol’s father said and turned to look at his wife briefly to take an inhale of breath.

“That being said, I’m afraid that I don’t have good news. Some of the businesses in which mine’s and my family’s money were invested didn’t go as planned and we are now in bankruptcy.” He said flatly and some of the employees started murmuring and whispered things. 

“Silence please” Mr. Park requested.

“Truth is we don’t have the money enough for you to keep working with us nor to maintain this house so we will have to sell it”.

You, Jongin and Emy were looking around in shock. You were so taken aback that your mind started running with thoughts about you and your family. You will have to find another job and that would have to be soon.

“Please don’t panic. We will put the house on sale as soon as we can. In the meantime you still have a job here and your wages will arrive on time but you will have to start looking for another one. I’ll make sure to speak with all the people I know so you can find a job with them if you like and the idea is that by the end of the year this house will not longer be ours” Mr. Park finished his speech and the questions started coming from every way.

All the employees were in shock, some were anxious and you didn’t know what to do. You turned to look around the crowd and saw Nana near the stairs. Her features were full with sadness and she was holding the hand of a crying Mrs. Patmore. Mr. Carson was with them and he was trying to soothe the cook.

“Mr. Park can I talk to you?” One of the first maids named Susan asked him.

“Of course. Everyone who wants to talk to me feel free to come to the studio. I’m sorry for this situation and know that if I find the way to solve this, I’ll let you know. But I thought letting you know about it would be better than if I have kept it from you” The man said firmly although in his features you could see there was sorrow and remorse.

Chanyeol’s mom was crying silently next to his husband when they both went upstairs. Some of the employees got back to their work although you could felt the despair in the air.

You placed your hand over Jongin’s arm and he looked at you “What are we going to do?” You asked him quietly.

He looked at you with sadness on his eyes “Look for another job” he said simply.

“Do you think we will find it fast?” You asked him.

He took your hand in his and squeezed it “Let’s have hope in it. We are going to be fine” he told you although he wasn’t so sure about it.

Thank you for the support and the love. I hope you like this new series and enjoy this chapter. Sorry for taking so long to post it but I’ve been so busy. I’ll try to come up with the next one as soon as possible. Also If you have any comments regarding this chapter  feel free to send me a message. I think it would help me a lot.^^