#I lose my shit when I hear these tracks in game

[kingofanemptyworld]

I’m listening to the Three Houses OST while I work because it’s one of my favorites of all time and I will never, ever get over the genre shift for Shambalah. like it’s just suddenly — EDM! and we will never revisit this for the remainder of the OST. incredible

[honeytrap26]

JJK men when you come home from a night out with your friends.

summary: How JJK men react when you come home from a night out with your friends. cw: !!MDNI!! blowjobs, eating out, just straight up horny woman who love their smexy boyfriends. aunote: Sorry I’ve been gone. Had a lot of stuff come up and I’m currently sick with an awful cold. Just a quick one while I work on the rest. I hope you guys enjoy and happy reading!! Let me know if you want one with the rest of them (aged up) etc.🐼🖤 wc:1k+

Satoru Gojo

Stays up all night to track your little icon on his phone to make sure you and your friends get home safely. He’s laying in bed naked, the covers are lazily draped over him, when he finally sees your icon outside of the house he lets out a giddy laugh and shuts off his phone and pretends to be asleep. Gojo hears you stumble through the door and mutter “Shit” as you bump into the wall. He can hear you slip off your heels and throw them on the ground, the sound of your purse hitting the floor as you make your way into the room. He tries to hide the smile on his face when he hears you sigh muttering “He’s already asleep.”

You strip off all of your clothes and crawl under the sheets next to Gojo. Your lustful eyes are observing Gojo’s face, your hand roams his body, your fingers trailing up and down his strong arm. You straddle his thighs slowly grinding on him while you kiss his chest, lightly licking his nipples. You can feel something begin to harden and rise underneath you, you lean down and give his neck light suck, your hand pushes back his messy hair revealing his half lidded blue eyes looking at you,

“B-baby, please…” he bites his lip letting out a strained moan.

“I knew you weren't sleeping.” you giggle, and pull him in for a passionate kiss. Gojo's big hands grab your ass, giving it a hard smack before he pulls away, he cracks a big smile and flips you over, the back of his hand caresses your face,

“Let's have some fun baby girl.” 

Suguru Geto

Is still up when you get home, he's still playing games with Gojo and the crew. He hears Gojo yelling “Darling! You’re home…gawd dayum… girl….. you’re fucked up. Oh. No. NO. Don’t throw up here! AHH!”

Geto laughs at Gojo’s feet shuffling through the other end. One teammate down.

“SATORU! You’re making us lose!!” Toji yells through his headset. “Oh hey ma, how u doin-Oh shit you’re fucked up too? No- Ow! Don’t smack me. I was yelling at Satoru. Blame him!” 

Two teammates down.

“Shit, come on boys!” Geto sighs, “Haibara you good?” Geto pauses for a moment. “Haibara?”

A ping for the chat box pops up.

"Press F to pay respects to Haibara." Gojo types.

Geto’s head slumps forward in defeat, three down.

“It’s just me now.” he takes a deep breath and focuses on the game. He feels your hands massage his tense shoulders from behind, you lean down and wrap your arms around his neck.

“Hey love, I see the other girls are fucked up… was that your doing?” he smirks, his eyes not leaving the screen.

“I would never do that, it was all Mei this time.” you say, nuzzling your face in the crook of his neck taking in the scent of his body wash and shampoo. You give him a kiss on the cheek.

“Uh-huh…Sounds like both you and Mei planned it seeing as Nanami isn’t saying anything.” Geto let’s out a “yes” under his breath as he gets a headshot kill and captures the flag they lost because of Gojo.

Geto feels your arms leaving his body, he gives your hand a quick kiss before you walk away.

You position yourself underneath his desk and tug at his sweats.

“Babe, what are you doing?” he quickly glances down at you.

“I wanna look at your tattoo. I didn’t get to look at it upclose.” he feels you pull his brief and sweats off.

“That’s not just my sweats-oh fuck…b-baby. Not so-mmmm.” he groans, feeling you lick and suck his balls. His cock jumps up at the sudden ministrations, your licks are sloppy, your teeth graze his cock. Making his body tense up. He leans back in his chair, his hand comes down to guide your head up and down his hard member. He thrusts his hips up into your mouth making you gag a bit.

“Good fucken girl.” he groans, he slips off his headphones.

“I’m back on. Suguru where ya at?” Gojo’s voice echoes through Geto’s headphones.

“Hey fuck face you’re makin us lose!!” Toji comes back in yelling.

“On the right, on the right! Suguru ON THE RIGHT!” Haibara says.

“Got him. Last one. Reloading.” Toji says.

“Shit babe, gonna cum.” Geto grabs your hair and pushes your head down, taking all of him in your mouth. He shoots his load into your mouth, hitting the back of your throat.

“Suguru. Suguru?! SUGURU!!” They all shout in unison as the words DEFEAT pop on the screen.

Nanami Kento

Is dead asleep, man is exhausted. He works long hours so give him a break. He feels bad for not going out with you but he knows you can take care of yourself. You're cackling loudly singing “I'm gonna get some dick tonight. Woop woop.” You stumble into the room and see him sleeping there so peacefully. You grab the blanket and yank it off of him. “Nanamin, Nanamin, Kento, Mr. Big dick Kento. I wanna fucckk.” you giggle and straddle his hips.

He groans, his body shivers from the cold air hitting him. “What are you doing?” he mumbles, still half asleep.

“I want you. I missed you so much, I didn’t get to see you before I left.” you pout, showering his face with kisses. “Sooo wake up..” you kiss his lips. He turns his face away, his big hands come up and hold your waist. He finally opens his eyes, adjusting to the hallway light illuminating the room.

“I’m up. I’m up.” he yawns. “How was your night, beautiful?” he moves your hair away from your face tucking it behind your ear.

“It was good, I’m a little drunk but I missed you more.” you give his hand a kiss and  lay on his chest. Nanami wraps his strong arms around you, he shifts his body so you're laying next to him. His hand gently caresses your hair.

“No Kento, I wanna fuck not cuddle.” you try to get away from him but he squeezes you tighter.

“Shhhh go to sleep. You're drunk” he holds you tighter.

“Nanamin…” you whine. Silence fills the room. His body twitches in response. You sigh and lay there admiring his features.

“He’s already asleep again.” 

Toji Fushiguro 

Is always down to fuck, especially since you decided to be a tease by bending over right in front of him while he was sitting on the ground waiting for Megumi to come back with his books. You tried to run out of the room but Toji grabbed your legs pushing you back onto his face. His nose digging deep into your clothed cunt. If Megumi didn’t come running back from your moans, he would’ve ripped those pantyhose right off and given you a little present before you left.

You open the door trying to be as quiet as possible to not wake them up. Whenever you’re gone Megumi and your husband slept together, but to your surprise Toji isn’t asleep, instead the lights are dimmed down low in the living room and he’s laying on the couch butt ass naked scrolling through netflix trying to find something to watch.

“You’re finally home.” He says nonchalantly, not looking away from the screen.

You pause for a moment to check the time on your phone.

“Toji it's 3am why are you not asleep?” You take off your shoes and hang up your coat.

“You're horny when you're drunk. Just thought I'd make it easier for you.” He smirks, and tilts his head up at you.

“I was DD tonight so I’m not drunk and I have vomit all over me.” You sigh and sit next to him on the couch. He sits up and grabs your legs so they’re resting on his thighs, he begins to massage your feet, moving up your legs. You let out soft moans and sighs of relief.

“Feels good? Seems like a long night.” he says as he leans down to kiss your legs.

“Yeah it was kinda a long night, remember I told you that my friend found her boyfriend sleeping with another girl?” 

Toji nods in response.

“Well she was already drunk by the time I got there and it was a mess, we ran into her boyfriend and his new chick there.” you close your eyes and lean back against the couch. You feel Toji move from the couch to the ground, your legs are on his shoulders now.

“How about I help make you feel better?” he says as he spreads your legs open.

“Toji, I smell like puke.” you chuckle and push his head away.

“Not down here baby girl, you smell sweet just like you did earlier today, don’t tell me you don’t remember what you did. Teasing me like that.” He smirks and pulls your legs closer to his mouth. His hands squeeze your ass and rip your pantyhose apart.

“Toji, that was a nice one!.” you playfully slap his hand.

“Sorry babe, you're irresistible to me.”

[unfinishedslurs]

party king (steddie)

“You want me to what?”

“Go to a party with me,” Eddie says, looking at Steve like he’s the weirdo here. “What’s the big deal, King Steve? You’ve been to plenty of parties.”

“You know, no one actually called me that,” Steve tells him, abandoning his tapes to put his hands on his hips. “Billy started it. I think he just wanted people to call him a king.”

Eddie visibly considers this before nodding, like it makes sense. Which it does. Billy was, in Steve’s private thoughts, an egotistical maniac who needed to calm down.

May he rest in peace.

“But you’ll come to the party with me, right?”

“Give it up, Eddie,” Robin calls from where she’s rewinding tapes. “Steve hasn’t been to a party in forever. He’s basically a grandpa now.”

“Hey!” Steve objects. That’s rich, coming from her. Going to bed at nine some nights so he gets a few more hours of sleep before waking up in a cold sweat does not make him a grandpa. It just makes him traumatized  

“Steeeeeeeve,” Eddie whines, widening his eyes until it looks like they’re going to pop out of his sockets. His exaggerated pout isn't going to do him any favors either. No matter what the kids say behind his back (looking at you, Henderson) he isn't a pushover.

“Why would I want to go to a high school party?” He crosses his arms, leaning against the counter. “I graduated. I have better things to do with my time.”

“Like lose arcade games to freshmen?” Robin asks. He flips her the bird.

“Please, Steve?” Eddie asks. “Pretty please? Pretty pretty please, with cherries and whipped cream and six little nuggets on top?”

“What the hell are you even saying anymore?”

“You want him to eat his babies?” Robin shrieks. “Like Kronos? Is one of them going to cut off his head and free the rest?”

Eddie’s eyes light up, and Steve slaps a hand over his mouth. He doesn’t know who that guy is, and he doesn’t want to deal with the two of them chattering over whatever movie villain he’s assuming is in their weird cult classic films when he still doesn’t know why Eddie is asking him to this party.

He doesn’t even flinch when Eddie licks his hand.

“I’ve been slobbered on by actual monsters,” he says flatly. “Your spit has zero effect on me.”

Eddie bats his eyes and gives his palm a kiss, right where he’d laved his tongue. Steve rolls his eyes and wipes his hand on the side of Eddie’s face.

“Hey!”

“Don’t dish what you can’t take,” Steve says. “Now, why exactly am I getting asked to go to a high school party?”

“Jessica Roberts needs some kush, and she asked me to sell there.”

“Okay? Still not answering my question.”

“There’s gonna be jocks at the party,” Eddie finally confesses, “and I don’t know if they’ll try shit. But given my track record lately…”

“So you need a bodyguard?”

“Hey!” Steve shouts, and is summarily ignored by everyone. So he does what any normal person would do, and slams an abandoned beer bottle against the edge of the counter so it shatters. 

The jocks turn and look at him after that.

Steve glances down at the jagged edges of the bottle in his hands, flipping it like it’s his old ice cream scoop. Yeah, this should work. 

“Leave him alone,” he says, steely inflection to his voice. 

“Or what, Harrington?” One of them asks. “Heard you just been sittin’ in this room all night. What, you hanging around the queers now? Didn’t take you for a f-”

He stops talking when Steve grabs him by the hair and presses the broken bottle against his throat.

“Here’s what's gonna happen,” he says quietly, taking a look at his buddy. He’s let go of Eddie, a lot more spooked now that his friend is shaking in his Nike’s. “You’re going to leave this room. You’re going to leave Munson here alone. You’re not going to bother him, or anyone else in his dragon club ever again. If I hear that you or your little friends are fucking with him, I have a very nice nail-studded baseball bat in my trunk I’d be more than happy to introduce you to. Capisce?”

“Woah, woah, woah,” the guy that was holding Eddie says. “What the hell, Harrington?”

Steve doesn’t break eye contact with the guy he’s threatening. “Capisce?” He asks again, putting a little more force into the word.

“C-capisce.”

“Good,” he says, shoving him away. “Now get outta here.”

They scramble away. Steve walks over to the trash can and throws away the remains of the bottle, running a hand through his hair. He finally turns around to see Eddie staring at him with wide eyes, frozen.

“Sorry-”

“Fuck me.”

“What?”

Eddie’s entire face flushes, like he didn’t mean to say that. “Uh.”

Steve looks at him, and then around the kitchen they’re in. Glass and beer on the floor, music blasting loud enough to set him on edge, a crowd of people that look at him like a zoo exhibit. Fuck, his head hurts. 

“Yeah, okay,” he decides. “We’re going to mine, though.”

“Wh-what?” Eddie looks like a deer in headlights, even though Steve’s offering exactly what he asked. 

“I…have no idea what I’m doing,” Eddie confesses. 

“Oh, are you not…” He trails off, gesturing towards Eddie’s back pocket. “I assumed…”

Eddie laughs abruptly, slapping a hand over his mouth like he startled himself with it. “You know hanky code, Harrington?”

“Can you call me Steve when you’re in my bed?” He’s already got his shirt off, for God’s sake. “Listen, man, if you don’t want this, it’s no biggie.” He starts to get off, and Eddie’s hand clamps over his thigh. 

“No, no, no, don’t you dare. Just gimme a minute, I’m processing.”

“Processing,” he repeats flatly. 

“Yes, processing. I’ve got the guy of my extremely virginal wet dreams shirtless on top of me. I did not think this would ever happen. I didn’t even know you were queer until tonight.”

Steve’s mouth shapes into an “o” of understanding. “You’re a virgin?”

“Jesus, could you focus on anything else I said?”

“You dream about me?”

“Let’s go back to the virgin part.” His fingers start nervously tapping against Steve’s leg. 

“You’re not subtle,” Steve says flatly. “I know when you stare at my ass.”

Eddie colors in a flood of bright red. “What if I wasn’t? What if I was…uh, jealous or something?”

“I guess that’d make sense, since you’re flat as a board.”

“Wh—hey!”

[phonydiaries]

In the Heat of Battle - P x Reader

Requested by @amethyst-huntress

Notes: The premise of this fic was requested by Amethyst-Huntress and I started absolutely foaming at the mouth at the idea, so huge thank-you’s are in order for that nugget of inspiration. Unfortunately, same as last time, I have still barely progressed through the game thanks to my lack of patience and skill, so please forgive that both of my fics take place extremely early in playthrough. Other than that, thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoy!

— 

Where is that damn puppet? You think to yourself, teeth gritted at the deadly inconvenience standing in front of you. 

In the dark and the rain and the constant buzzing noise of Krat, you admit it's easy to get turned around. Even traveling with a companion -in your case, with Gepetto’s puppet- it’s easy to lose track of which gloomy alleys you’d already traversed. Even standing back to back, nudging each other with your elbows, even checking in every so often,“You still with me?” It was easy to get lost. But now, standing face to face with a candelabra wielding automaton and a rabid mechanical dog, you’re  not feeling very generous towards your puppet companion. He’s probably searching for you in a frenzy at this very moment. 

Ha.

Fat load of good it does you. 

The automaton winds up and its eyes flash red across your face. Target locked. The candelabra comes crashing towards your head, but it's met instantly with the clanging cold steel of your sword. The automaton stumbles backwards. Its head cocks unnaturally to the side and you hear something whir, as if in frustration, beneath its face. It winds up again to strike you, but you’re quick and clever; you land a blow in the dead center of the loathsome thing's torso. A sick crunch of metal echoes as you draw the sword out of the brand new gaping cavity in its chest. The automaton sinks to its knees. You look down your nose at it, satisfied at your own skill. The enemy looks to be shutting down, but in a quick, almost desperate motion, its hand shoots towards your foot, grasping wildly. It's cold fingers close around your ankle, but you quickly stamp it out with your free foot. The automaton lets out a weak mechanical wheeze as its hand is crushed beneath your boot. For good measure, you take the hilt of your sword in both hands and slam the base through the miserable things forehead. It crackles, then collapses finally on the ground. You smile darkly at its now lifeless shell. Perhaps a little early. 

A sharp bark cuts through the air and your head snaps to attention. Shit. You forgot about the damn dog. Before you have the chance to raise your sword again, the dog lunges at you. Razor sharp teeth clang dissonantly together and the sound ripples against the glistening walls of the alley. In an instant, you’re knocked to the wet, muddy ground; the iron paws of the mutt are already upon your chest. The mongrel snarls mere centimeters from your face, black oily fluid spilling from its mouth as if salivating. You groan and struggle beneath its weight but regain your grip on your sword just in time to catch its rabid jaw. The dog bites down on your blade, thrashing its head to either side. You strain against its unnatural strength, attempting to pull your weapon free. In one fell swoop you’ll rip it free and decapitate this fucking thing. Your fingers curl tighter around your hilt, you ready a strike, suck in one sharp breath and then-

You freeze.

A second blade appears, glinting in the gaslight, right between your eyes. Thick black fluid goes splattering across your face. The mutt goes limp, its full weight crushing your lower torso. A gasp is pushed from your lungs and you roll to the side, quickly shoving the robotic corpse away from your body. You kneel, palms pushing into the slick ground. Your heart is thundering beneath your shirt as you swallow frigid air hard and fast. When you finally catch a breath, you turn your head towards the owner of the blade; Pinocchio, your companion. He wipes the rapier against his trousers, cleaning the sludge from its razor sharp surface. You huff, blowing matted wet bangs out of your face. 

“I had that under control.” You say sharply. P cocks an eyebrow at you, unconvinced. You feel your face burn in annoyance. “I did!” You insist, “Had you given me just one more minute I would’ve been fine. And probably less covered in this.” You jab your weapon in his direction, flecking dark oil across his shirt. He shoots you a slightly apologetic smile. 

He knows you can handle yourself, he does. He just worries. You can’t blame him; you do the same thing. You’ve gotten quite close on these arduous journeys, saving each other's skins more times than either of you can count. As you wipe the sludge from your face, P extends his hand to you and begrudgingly you take it. Swiftly, he helps you to your feet. His eyes flicker up and down your face, narrowing on your cheek. He licks the thumb of his legion hand and streaks it across your cheek, lifting the remnants of black. You scrunch your nose up at him.

“Eugh- enough-” You whine, swatting the hand away. “Where did you run off to anyways?” 

Pinocchio’s legion arm gestures behind his head. You squint through the darkness at the distant yellow lights of Hotel Krat up ahead. You grimace. It’s further still than you thought. “I don’t suppose you found some kind of underground shortcut?” P shakes his head apologetically. You both sigh, knowing you’ve got plenty of dangers yet to face before you’re given any time to rest. These days spent traveling have taken their toll on your bodies, but you’re at least grateful to have a friend in the gloom of Cerasani Alley. Your sword slides neatly into your belt as you walk ahead of Pinocchio. “Back to it then.” 

As the two of you push forward, you notice a concerted effort on your companions' part to stick close to your side. At any strange noise or eerie shadow, P reaches for your hand. You squeeze back in reassurance that all is well. A bit unnecessary? Sure. But you don’t fight it. It’s much preferred to losing the poor boy again. 

Drawing closer to your destination with only a few minor scuffles to slow you down, you reach a dilapidated fairgrounds. Sickly yellow light bulbs buzz overhead and cast an ominous glow across the entire scene. A ghostly music box melody plinks and permeates the air. You look to P quizzically. 

“You’re sure this is the right way?”

P takes in his surroundings and gives you a curt nod. You grimace in reply. This decrepit place gives you the creeps.

Together you silently weave through wooden cutouts of circus performers, checking carefully for hidden enemies. It's suspiciously quiet, save for the phantasmal carnival music that grows louder as you approach an iron gate. Another barrier. Excellent. 

“P?” You step aside and gesture to the locked gate. Pinocchio smiles slyly at you, boyishly pleased that there’s still a few things you can’t do without him. You want to roll your eyes, but you watch reluctantly impressed, as deep violet energy crackles around his fist. In one swift swing, he punches through the gate and leaves a smoking crater where the lock once sat. He shoots you a sharp smile, satisfied with himself. 

And then you feel something. A great mechanical thud rippling beneath your feet. Your heads snap in unison towards the source and your eyes go wide at the sight of the staggering monster in front of you. At least 3 times your size looms the Parade Master, constructed of decaying parts and craquelured paint. Its massive fist alone is as wide as your body, and sways heavily at its side. 

You unsheathe your blade, and its weight sinks your shoulders. It's not ideal for speed you admit, but the vindication after landing those obliterating killing blows to your enemies is unbeatable. Keeping your eyes locked on target, you whistle to catch Pinocchio’s attention. You started doing this early on. Whistles were a good line of nonverbal communication when you couldn’t afford a glance in each other's direction. 

“Flank him?” You suggest. Pinocchio whistles quick and sharp in agreement. Your fingers tighten around the great sword and your chest thrums with anticipation. You jut your chin in the direction of your common enemy. “After you.” 

Without looking, you know his brows are furrowed together in deep focus. You can perfectly visualize the way he lures the puppet away, his steps meticulously timed and graceful. As you wind your way behind the thing, you hear the clang of P’s rapier against tarnished metal. Your enemy rears its arm back, and you follow suit striking its vulnerable back with a satisfying SHUK! You yank the blade out of its now damaged shell and catch the briefest glance at your companion and oh. Oh. The way he looks at you. 

With fascination?

Admiration?

It’s something greater, deeper than that. Your heart skips. But you shake yourself out of distraction, startled at the sound of your own voice calling out. Your lips move before your mind has time to catch up. 

“MOVE!” 

Exactly as you shout it, P dodges a strike from the Parade Master. The brute’s fist lands in the brick pavement, blowing a hole through it instantaneously. You gulp at the thought of your companion lying there instead, crushed. Your skin goes cold. 

No. Never.

Knowing neither of you can afford another lapse in attention, you suck in one long loud whistle between your teeth. The Parade Master whips itself around to face you. Two huge lamp-like eyes glow sickly in your direction. This was intentional. You can distract for now and give your ally a moment to catch his breath. You ready both hands on your weapon and take a step back. The monster lurches forward, its steps accompanied by a horrid clanking sound. 

“Get over here you fucking rust bucket…” You mutter grimly under your breath as the space between you and the looming threat of death shrinks. You breathe deeply and steel yourself, heels digging into stone. You watch carefully as the puppet rushes towards you, arms swinging wildly. Just when the behemoth is about to crush you beneath its huge frame, you duck between its legs and emerge from behind. There’s just enough time to land a solid blow. P’s rapier crosses with your greatsword, both your weapons plunging into the deteriorated creatures back. 

“This one’s mine, P.” You snap, pulling your blade from its fresh wound. 

“Mine.” P parrots with a smirk, retrieving his rapier as well. Being a man of so few words, you can't help feeling amused even given the circumstances. This is good. The beast is growing weaker. If you can both keep level heads this will all be over soon, you think to yourself. 

At least until your enemy decapitates itself. 

Your jaw drops as the Parade Master rips its own head from its massive shoulders. It wields its shiny new weapon like an enormous mace and swings it your way. It makes contact with the ground, and the impact alone is enough to shake your balance. You dive to the side, narrowly avoiding collision with the wall. You struggle to recalibrate, to size up the situation while keeping yourself out of the range of attack. You hear P whistle pointedly across the arena, waiting on your instruction. Your mind races for a plan and comes up blank. 

“Hold on!” You shout, “Just- Just hold on, I’ll think of something.” You’ll have to if you want to leave this place in one piece. There’s nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. All you can think to do is attack. And you do; your blade leaves white hot gash marks on the enemy, but it hardly seems to be enough against such a terrible and towering foe. You’ve angered it now, and it’s in a total frenzy. The Parade Master swings its massive head in your direction again and you raise your sword to block it. Half a second too late. 

As your weapons collide, the impact sends you to the ground. You gasp at the sharp pain that shoots through your skull. There’s a ringing in your ears and a soft dark edge to your vision. You struggle against unconsciousness and fight to keep yourself upright. Things are moving slow; trails of light obscure the events unfolding in front of you. 

You comprehend something catching the Parade Masters' attention, you watch the goliath wind up, you hear something cry out, and then hear nothing at all. A sick feeling churns in the pit of your stomach and bile rises in your throat. Something’s wrong. You search the scene frantically for your ally. Your line of sight flickers from the Parade Masters head to the ground slick with rain. Your throat tightens. With his face turned to the ground, his eyes fighting to stay open, lies Pinocchio. His rapier skitters across the stone, coming to a sudden halt beneath the foot of the Parade Master. 

Something flashes through you, anger, grief, adrenaline; whatever it is, it propels you forward. Your weapon is suddenly weightless as you skid between the monstrous puppet and your companion. The head of the Parade Master collides with your sword and the sound echoes through the arena with an arresting ring. You breathe hard in disbelief of your own courage. Your teeth are bared and your furrowed brow is sticky with sweat. 

“Don’t. Touch him.” You command, and you swear even your mindless enemy hears it. A deep guttural sound is forced from the very bottom of your lungs as you thrust your weapon through the center of the automaton's body. It doesn’t die, but you hear something inside it break, and the creature slows significantly as if becoming too heavy for its own armature. 

You risk a glance over your shoulder. P looks like absolute hell, covered in grime, barely staggering to his feet. Your chest tightens at his condition, but he’s alive. 

Alive. It’s enough. 

The enemy screams in frustration, rippling orange flames and black smoke billow from the place its head once sat. You stare at the hilt of your great sword, still lodged in its heart. 

“P, your sword-” You start, but your ally is already on it, your strategic minds miraculously attuned. He sends the rapier sailing -now free of the parade masters foot- towards your open hand. It whips past your head and slides perfectly into your grasp. With what's left of the enemy in your sights, you take a running start. 

Time seems to slow; the taste of victory teases you. Your head is about to collide with the hulking hunk of metal just as you raise your boot and dig its heel into the hilt of your great sword. Its placement serves as a stepping stone, and you scale the furious beast. You clamber up its torso towards its shoulders and feel heat radiating from the inside. It burns your hands, which grip the edge of the cavernous socket of its missing head. The monster thrashes beneath you like a wild bull, desperate to throw you off. You tighten your grip, the white hot metal searing your palm. You force yourself to ignore the pain as you raise the rapier and plunge one final devastating blow into the blazing cavity. You feel the rapier obliterate whatever mechanism kept the Parade Master alive, and it crumbles finally beneath you. 

Atop the shoulders of your freshly slaughtered enemy, you fall forward with a deafening CRASH. Your body tumbles to the ground. Your grip on the rapier goes slack. Exhaustion ripples through you, and you surrender to its sweet embrace. 

You hadn’t even realized you’d lost consciousness until your eyes flutter open, met by the stunning blue gaze of your companion mere inches from your face. For a moment you forget yourself, the urge to sink into his arms is so tempting. But your pride wins out and you scramble into an upright position, barely awake. Pinocchio lets out a sigh of relief and you see his shoulders relax. Had he been just as terrified as you were at the prospect of losing him? Did that same dread sit in the pit of his stomach? 

Your head swims with what-ifs, but you have no energy to find their answers. With strength that you’re shocked to still possess, you throw your arms around the puppet. Your fingers clutch the wet fabric of his shirt as if he might disappear the moment you let go. His body tenses at first, then melts under your touch. You feel his head settle between your neck and shoulder, solid and secure. Silently breathing in the smell of him feels like waves of relief crashing over your head. 

You wish the journey could end here in the peace and quiet of this embrace, but you feel him begin to pull away and your heart sinks. Face to face with you, his eyes search for signs of damage, for something to mend. His hands find yours and you hiss involuntarily. His eyebrows knit together in concern. You try not to grimace. 

“It’s nothing.” you promise, “Burned my hand, that's all.”

P looks down at your hand and cradles it gently in his own. With painstaking care, he lifts it to his mouth and places a feather-light kiss in your palm, then on each of your scraped and bleeding knuckles. He looks up at you through those thick raven-wing lashes and you notice a trace of your blood left on his lips. The sight makes your head swim and it takes the entirety of your willpower not to catch his mouth with yours. Your posture stiffens as you try to regain your composure. 

“Well it’s not far now, is it?” You ask, deflecting back to the mission at hand. “There will be plenty of time to patch each other up at the hotel. Right?” You offer, already stupidly aching for the return of Pinocchio’s delicate touch. He blinks a few times, as if he were struggling to focus himself. But he nods enthusiastically. You feel a smile creep across your lips. 

As you leave the destroyed fairgrounds behind, you let your good hand slip into that of your companion. The two of you venture forth, certain to never lose track of the other again. 

— 

If you read this and enjoy it please let me know! Seeing your positive comments and tags absolutely warms my heart and motivates me to keep writing. Thank you so much to those of you who took the time to leave me some kind words on my last fic <3

[b0tster]

So I played BBPSX a while ago, but only got through the Gascoigne fight before some other things side tracked me. I'm playing through again now and holy shit the section immediately after him was so well done. The surprise in the sewer tunnel, hearing the song, losing it in the loop only to realize the gate was locked again, fumbling with my items while I could hear them getting closer, frantically running past the rats into the sewer, being followed INTO the sewer. Incredible job

thank you! thats probably my finest original designed moment in the game (even more than the final boss imo)

the idea of a non scripted moment that involves mechanically fumbling for the correct key with ur back pressed against the gate while a terrifying monster approaches you is something that's basically impossible with modern streamlined design sensibilities.

one of the big goals of bloodborne psx was to show everyone how much we lost when we sanded all the rough edges off our games. im really happy that this moment specifically stood out to you :)

[lacystar]

some of my favorite and least favorite details from royal:

when you go with sumire to the shrine and bump into the rest of the thieves, they basically say they all agreed to go together. this is backed up by futaba saying she's going in the morning. this means they specifically went out of their way to not invite you. either theyre shady as fuck towards joker or they knew you were gonna be on a date and didn't want to bother you, but I think its funnier to go with the first one

most of the people in Tokyo's dreams coming true bc of the actualization are met with some doubt or confusion from family members, as seen in passing conversations and the loading screens. this is to show the cracks in the plan and how the actualization hasn't been . well. fully actualized yet. however, the phantom thieves told maruki what they want directly and therefore have their realities so tailor made to them that you have to go out of your way to break them out of it. this includes Morgana. but the only ppl who can hear Morgana are people with personas. this means that some time between Christmas and new years, maruki heard Morgana saying he wanted to be a human and decided to go "fuck it, sure, the cat that the weird kid owns but that ive never met can have his wish too". this tracks because maruki has a persona and is not shocked or confused when he sees Morgana in the metaverse.

Yusuke did not wish for his dead mom to be alive again. just for her painting to hit the trending tab 😭

even if you are dating sumire, like I was, she will not say goodbye to you or give you a parting gift. this creates the awkward situation of her saying goodbye to you at the station with an unusual coldness and disassociation from you, even if you and her are boyfriend and girlfriend. I actually hate this. why the fuck isn't my girlfriend saying goodbye to me.

the winter outfits are the best designed outfits in the game. ann and makoto are in ugly 2010's H&M shit for 90% of the game and then get a fresh wardrobe for the new years.

in contrast, maruki's villain outfit is so fucking ugly. he looks like a golden toenail. the final villain in your game and you have him looking like that? come on man.

not royal exclusive, but Morgana has a talking sprite of himself in his cat form. for some reason, they refused to use this until the end of the game when he "loses" his metaverse form. this makes absolutely no sense, as the talking sprites of every other character changes on their clothes/appearence. why doesn't Morgana's change to his cat version in the real world and why doesn't he just have his "true" form in the metaverse. for some reason, this frustrates me to no end.

when you date sumire, she will not shut the fuck up about her dead sister. also, 90% of your relationship with her is based around her false identity she assumed of her dead sister. you are basically dating this girl's dead sister.

^^^ this is not helped by the fact that her "sumire" sprite looks ugly as fuck and she only looks cute when she's cosplaying as her dead sister. the devs even knew this and changed her back to her Kasumi sprite as soon as they justifiably could 😭

speaking of, royal REALLY REALLY makes it obvious that they see joker x sumire as the canon romance. in the base game I think they saw it as makoto or Haru, but in royal its uncanny how much they push you into dating her. however, she's objectively the worst girl to date because you can only date her at the very end of the game, and therefore only get to experience valentines and white day with her, whereas with most of the other girls you get Hawaii, Christmas, the school fair, etc.

^^^ however, this makes sense, as the realization that you were never dating sumire and instead were instead dating her dead sister would probably come as an uncomfortable surprise to the player. atlus had no choice but to wait until the truth came out to let you date her. they wrote themselves into a corner and then were unable to show off the character who has the biggest model on the poster 😭

when you go around and get goodbye gifts, you cannot say goodbye to certain phantom thieves members if you haven't maxed them out. this resulted in a weird situation where I hadn't maxed out makoto, Haru, and ann, and therefore joker, despite that in universe having helped them through trauma and loss and difficult times, did not say goodbye to some of of his closest friends and teammates . I understand not getting a goodbye gift from them, but its SUPREMELY weird that you dont get a one-on-one goodbye if you dont max their confidants 😭

not royal exclusive, but shinya Oda's voice acting (English) is so fucking terrible its actually laughable. in a game with outstanding voice acting, the fact that this 12 year old sounds like a 50 year old woman really sticks out. this is unfortunate, because Oda is one of my fav confidants and makes him hard to take seriously, but also fortunate because its fucking hilarious.

Akechi's evil Loki costume is ugly as fuck, but is saved singlehandedly because he's wearing thigh-high boots. if you dont believe me, look closely at his thighs. you'll see it.

maruki looks like wilbur soot and it really unsettles me.

[spicywriter]

HIDE AND SEEK : JOHN PRICE

cw: stalking. knife play. fingering. shit gets wild.

an: posted for the first time. enjoy, nasty fucks. more writing coming soon;)

I can’t let him get the satisfaction of seeing me tremble within my skin. I can’t let him win every single time he decides to scare me by roaming outside my house, trying to instill a sense of dread inside me. I can’t even talk to anyone without making sure they don’t lose their lives— especially guys.

I know that if a guy even wishes to talk to me, he’s probably going to sew their vocals chords shut. No, he’s definitely going to. No amount of security can confine this man. Nothing. Everything I’ve tried has failed. He always finds some way to maneuver around the system. But that’s okay, because this time I’ll show him that I’m not scared of him. Even if I am, like every night, he’ll stop by— he’ll roam around my house like always, sometimes would send me a text message, and then he’ll leave.

But this time I’ll find the perfect moment, just a small crack in his plan and I’ll flee away from here. He’ll be here soon. Just the thought of him makes my hair stand. I focused on my breathing, listening intently to outside noises. My head whips towards the noise of a branch cracking outside. He’s here.

I grab a knife just in case things don’t go accordingly— and tiptoe towards a window in my living room. I peeked through the tiny opening while looking at his hooded figure, my breath hitches. He halts in his steps, taking out his phone, seeing his fingers rapidly pressing on the screen.

I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket before slowly taking it out…

Unknown number: I must be looking good today, seeing how hard you’re staring at me.

Furrowing my brows, I look away from the screen and back at him just to see him looking right directly at me. Shit.

He begins walking west from my front door, starting to roam around my house like usual. I wait for a minute, knowing that he’ll be on the opposite side from my front door, and then I rush towards the door. But I immediately freeze hearing keys jingle. Wait a damn minute, why is he here? He’s supposed to be on the other side.

I hear him inserting the key in the lock. My legs develop a mind of their own as I dashed to the nearest wall and hid behind it. The door cracks open, revealing a tall hooded figure as he starts to walk around. Few minutes later, I hear his footsteps going upstairs. Now’s my chance.

I charge for the door when suddenly I stopped dead in my track. “Going somewhere, my love?” I gulped and slowly turned around and there he was, walking downstairs. I feel the liquid adrenaline pumping through my body. I just froze, I couldn’t even move an inch. His deep British accent voice rings inside my skull

“You’re too scared to run, aren’t you?” I whimper involuntarily. He’s right. My knees begin to tremble while he grin widens, knowing he got under my skin. I come back to my senses before holding my knife up— my hands slightly shaking violently.

“Stay the fuck away from me.” I muttered out, my voice slightly cracking.

“Do you like games, love?” He questions challengingly, his words drenched in cockiness. I shake my head slowly. He slightly smirks before continuing.

“How about a game called Hide and Seek? If you can hide for ten minutes without being caught, then I’ll leave, forever.” He raises his eyebrows, studying my face. For someone who has been infatuated with me for almost three months, disappearing altogether in ten minutes doesn’t sound promising. Either way, I don’t care. I’ll do whatever it takes— and if ten minutes is all it takes, then so be it.

“Start counting.” He commands, before he exits out of the front door and circling my house— making sure I don’t try to officially run away in the process. There are absolutely no hiding spots in my fucking house. I managed to find a compact space in my closet, just enough for my body to squeeze in.

A few minutes later, I hear the front door close— and his heavy boots clanking on the floor. I count the minutes in my head. Approximately seven minutes later, I realize that I don’t hear him.

I quietly crawl out, making sure I don’t creak my floor which ends up taking some time to reach. He’s nowhere. I have about fourteen seconds, and it’s over. I swiftly moved— being cautions of my surroundings as I make my way to the front door. Counting down the seconds in my head, I reached for the doorknob, twisting it and flipping the door opened on the last few seconds.

Before I could dashed out, someone grabs me by my waist and pushed me on the hard cold floor— my back colliding harshly with it. “Gotcha. Did you think you can really outsmart me? You have no fucking idea who I am. You can’t get past me even if you wanted to. I hope what I’m going to do next answers your previous questions, yeah?” He hisses before hovering above me— his hands are on my throat, slightly knocking the air out of my lungs.

I struggled, attempting to shove him away but my efforts are futile. Suddenly, he leans down close to me and presses his lips onto mines— this shouldn’t feel good— I shouldn’t like this. The way his lips mould with mine, leaving no space between us. How is tongue explores my mouth greedily, licking into me. How he touches me everywhere. I don’t have a damn choice— I managed to roughly push him off of me, gasping for air. My chest was slightly burning while my heart was racing rapidly.

One of his hands is around my throat while the other grabs the knife is my hand that I had long forgotten about. “What should I do with you, hm?” I struggle against him, but his strong hold is tight. He waves the knife around my cheek, my shaking body risking getting sliced. “or maybe I should cut that pretty tongue of yours.” He slightly scoffs, the tip of the knife slightly pushing onto my bottom lip, making a tiny cut as blood tickles down my chin.

“Open your mouth.” He orders, and I comply, feeling his grip on my throat slowly loosen. I opened my mouth which was slightly twitching and trembling in fear before he slowly inserts the knife, the flat blunt surface of the cold metal on my tongue— being careful not to cut the inside of my mouth. “Or maybe I should…” his sentence trails off as his eyes set on my throbbing cunt. He slowly leads the tip of the knife between my legs, only a centimeter away from my core. “Take it off.” He demands, gently gazing against my clit through my shorts.

“Come on sweetheart, take ‘em off.” His tone sounds so reassuring but his actions are the complete opposite. My fingers move and hook around the hem of my shorts, pulling them off roughly. I can feel the pool of my arousal painting my thighs and soaking my panties.

His orbs instantly latch down there. “Does this excite you? How fucking adorable.” His smokey laugh pinches my ears, and I feel the humiliation swell my skin. The knife slips under the hem and cuts off the string on both sides.

I gasped— completely bottomless, and aching. He turns his knife around so he grips the sharp metal, the tight grip making his palm start to bleed. The handle stops at my opening— then I feel it slowly pushing inside, causing me to moan slightly. “Come on baby, let it out.” He commanding voice booms out while he thrusts deeper— his thumb circling on my clit roughly

The pleasure builds more and more until it explodes inside of me, flooding my system with immense pleasure. My eyes flutter shut and my mouth hangs open as my entire body tenses— it’s almost unbearable. He moves my hair aside, pressing his warm lips on my neck and placing featherlight kisses there.

“Good girl.” He praises, before embracing me in his strong arms. “No matter where you go or what you do, you’ll always be my prey— and I’ll always hunt you down.”

— © SPICYWRITER 2024.

[mysteriouslyjovialcolor]

Qatar 2024

-YESSSS!

-Safety Car?? Franco?? Oh god, Williams

-“George Russel gets away well… second phase: here comes Max Verstappen”

-“Sergio Perez gets away well” Oh how we love to hear it

-Oh god Kevin- Shit that was Nico; that tire gamble didn’t pay off

-“Got hit by Stroll. I know he would do it. I could tell” Yeah the Williams is so cursed

-How is Lewis p9?

-Yuki p10! (I don’t remember where he placed in qualifying)

-Oh god another safety car? Who was that? Yuki?? Oh Liam

-“Speed on the straight is worrying” :(

-I love that there seems to be a fire lit under the Red Bull but can Max chill for a second? That car might still give up half way

-Woah Kevin! (That Haas/Vcarb/Alpine battle is so fun to follow)

-Max please, think about the tireeess

-“blistering pace” If they jinx him istg

-“Tsunoda-San” Love Jenson and Yuki’s relationship

-“The Frenchman has got his man”

-“It’s surprising how difficult the top 8 is finding it to overtake when the rest of the field seem to be doing it just fine”

-Yo? Zhou?! Omg!

-Max and Lando battling for fastest lap

-“How slow are we compared to others?” Hate that Merc so much

-No way both Saubers just over took Yuki. What’s wrong with his car?

-“The threat from the undercut disappears as each revolution of the tires go by” Idk why that sounded so poetic

-Okay Mercedes, starting off the pit stops

-Oh- that wasn’t very good

-“Is the car broken?” Back to back L’s

-Magnussen, Gasly, Alonso, threatening everyone’s pit stops

-Jenson’s voice is so soothing

-Okay halfway through

-“Speak louder please”

-…

Did Alex lose a mirror?

-“Max has got his wing mirrors” Vengeful, petty Max is my favorite (obviously it’s aimed at the FIA, don’t draw other conclusions)

-That yellow flag was so clear. Why didn’t he lift? Was there a problem?

-What the actual hell! There’s a whole mirror on track! Why is no one doing anything?? Are we waiting for someone to go over it and cause more damage???

-Ohmygodd! They are! They were fricking waiting!

-Now??? Now??? Now you want to call a Safety Car???

-Can’t even enjoy the pit stop games with this bs

-This is such incompetence. The hell is wrong with them?

-I need Zhou to get a point. I really do

-Safety car restarts make so nervous

-NO CHECO!!

-Nico too??

-I wanna cry

-Didn’t get to appreciate Max vs Lando in all that chaos; that was very cool

-Plus Charles! On Oscar!

-Charles, Charles, Charles, Charles, come on mate

-All of the cars are so close now

-“Albon just rammed me”

-Oh shit a 10s penalty

-“That seems unbelievably extreme” Why are we surprised about this? It’s the FIA

-Oh shit that’s- oh god

-Lewis penalty too?

-Zhou!!!!!

-Lewis retiring?

-Are they really saying he won’t race in Abu Dhabi?

-Can Bottas overtake Albon so that Sauber can celebrate like crazy??

-“F***k off” “Go for it Kev” Hahaha

-Cheering so hard for Sauber right now

-Okay I knew that wouldn’t last long but Zhou! Zhou! Zhou!

-“Denied pole but not denied victory!” Wohooo

-“Karma is a wonderful thing. Yes! We did not drive unnecessarily slowly today!” Tell them GP!

-Max, Charles, Oscar podium!! Let’s go, Let’s go, Let’s go!!!

(Also congratulations to Alex Albon for finally finishing a race)

[la2yn0va]

DBD chapter concept: Darkly Dreaming.

New killer: Dexter Moser Morgan. AKA The Bay Harbor Butcher

Legendary Skin: Brian Moser

——

Weapon: A Ceramic Knife

Power: Dark Passenger

The dark passenger being a more active entity in the realm allows the butcher to find his prey more effectively. The dark passenger revels the location of any survivor interacting with an object for 2 seconds, and allows dexter to go completely undetectable, stalking and learning about his next victim.

Stalking: Dexter stalks similar to Ghostface. Completely undetectable.

Blood Slide: Once dexter hits a survivor, their blood is added to his collection. Hitting then grants dexter the ability to dash towards his victim once, or grant himself a 10% haste for 3 seconds.

Special Ability—Dark Passenger: Dexter can tap into his Dark Passenger, gaining enhanced speed and heightened awareness. This ability increases his movement speed for 15 seconds and allows him to see all survivors within a certain range, regardless of obstacles. Survivors who are affected by the Dark Passenger also suffer from the Obsession status effect. Dexter can only use this power when a survivor is marked as his Obsession.

Perks:

Im getting hungry again~ Time to hunt my dear driver!

The Hunt Begins: Dexter can track the actions of survivors for a limited time. Each time a survivor interacts with an objective, their aura is revealed to Dexter for 2/2.5/3 seconds, allowing him to plan his next move.

“Tonight’s the night” — Dexter Morgan

Don’t stop. NEVER stop! The hunger keeps growing, and you must KEEP GOING FOR ME.

Hex: Harry’s Code: The Hex Totem creates an aura that blocks all generator repairs within a 25/30/35 meter radius. While the Hex Totem is active, survivors who cleanse or bless the totem suffer from the Exposed status effect for 60/70/80 seconds. If the Hex Totem is cleansed or destroyed, all survivors suffer from the Exposed status effect for 60 seconds.

“You are a FUCKING. SERIAL KILLER!!" — Debra Morgan

We’re in heaven dear driver! There’s no one and nothing left to stop US!

Scourge Perk: Final Judgement: For every survivor you hook on a Scourge Hook, all survivors suffer from the Exhausted status effect for 20/25/30 seconds. Additionally, any survivor within 24 meters of a Scourge Hook will have their healing and repair speed reduced by 15/20/25%.

“Jesus Christ Morgan, YOURE the bar harbor butcher!” — James ‘Albert’ Doakes

Survivor: James Doakes

Perks

It’s not just from training. You can smell danger from miles away.

Military trained Instincts: When you are within 12/15/18 meters of a killer, you can hear their heartbeat and terror radius at an increased volume, giving you an early warning of their presence. You also gain a 5/6/7% increased vault speed for 8 seconds after hearing the killer’s terror radius begin.

“I know a predator when I see one… and you’re not getting the jump on me.” — James Doakes

Fear doesn’t get you anywhere. Only action does.

Not time to fear: After being unhooked, you gain the Unbreakable status effect for 15/20/25 seconds. During this time, you can recover at 50/75/100% faster speed. Additionally, after escaping the killer’s grasp, your speed is increased by 5/10/15% for 7 seconds.

“You think I’m scared of you? You don’t know shit about me.” — James Doakes

You’re always on the hunt. The only question is: Who Will you be the prey?

Surprise Motherfucker: After interacting with a generator, you gain the Haste status effect for 4/5/6 seconds, increasing your movement speed by 5%. This effect can only be triggered once every 30/25/20 seconds. Additionally, if you are in a chase and the killer loses sight of you for 3 seconds, the effect is extended for an additional 4 seconds, you will not leave behind scratch marks or make grunts of any kind for 10 seconds.

“I hunt. You hide. That’s the game, right?” — James Doakes

[angelicyouth]

Youth ; Chapter 1

⇢ pairing: kenny mccormick x marsh!reader x craig tucker

⇢ synopsis: ❝Growing up with the boys as the sole girl of the group, it was only natural for them to grow protective over their pseudo-little sister as the years went by.❞

⇢ [AO3 link] ; [series masterlist] ; [next]

“....-N…. Y/N..? Helloooo? Y/N!”

I jolt when I hear someone calling my name through the music I’m listening to. I take off my headphones and let it hang around the back of my neck, answering without looking away from the computer screen in front of me.

“My bad, what?” I question disinterestedly as the music continues to play faintly below my ears. The clicking of my mouse can finally be heard since I threw my headphones on for full immersion a while back.

“The guys are coming over, throw on some pants.”

I take my eyes away from the RPG that I’m currently playing and when I notice that my brother is wearing nothing but boxers and a graphic tee, I lazily lift an eyebrow at him.

“What?” He mocks as siblings typically do when he notices my condescending gaze and I roll my eyes at him, saving the progress I’ve made on my game.

“Clyde got that new video game we were talking about last week.” He continues to say as he lifts his body up from his laidback stance against my door frame, typing something on his cellphone. Probably the guys telling him that they’re on their way.

I hum a simple hmm in answer to him as I get up from my chair and stretch the kinks in my body after spending the past few hours sitting down.

"Oh yeah, do you know whose burrito is in the fridge?” My brother distractedly asks as I take my time walking to my closet to look for some shorts to throw on.

Similar to my brother, my current attire is just an oversized band tee and my underwear. On me, however, it reaches my mid-thighs. Dwarfing my body, I wear these types of shirts often to sleep as a makeshift pajama dress, meaning I forgo any bottoms since no one but my family sees me like this. Because of this, my brother and I wear each other's shirts, which is often the cause of our mom’s headaches when we fight over clothes.

“You know it’s mine.” I quickly glare at him as I pull the article of clothing out from its designated shelf.

I do this carefully so that I don’t disrupt the other pajama bottoms its in between because Lord knows that if I fuck up this area in my closet, I’ll carelessly handle my other clothing until the whole closet becomes a rat's nest.

It’s already messed up here so it shouldn’t matter if I do the same to everything else. I’ll clean it soon anyways… Not.

“Yep, I know. I already ate it.” He laughs, a shit eating grin on his face as he slams my bedroom door shut. The sound of his feet quickly hitting the floor can also be heard as he runs to wherever the fuck he decided to hide.

“STAN, YOU DICK!” I yell, pulling up my shorts in anger.

I grumble and pout to myself while I do a quick check in the mirror to make sure I’m presentable. I was looking forward to reheating my leftovers after getting in a good amount of progress on my game.

Why the hell do siblings touch shit that isn’t theirs? Ugh. And the audacity he has to directly ask me about it when he already ate it. If he's still hungry, I'll just give him a knuckle sandwich.

I throw myself onto my bed to check my phone since I went MIA for the past couple of hours that I was preoccupied with the gaming world. The date catches my attention and I grimace when I notice that tomorrow would be the first day of sophomore year. It’s easy to lose track of summer when this shitty town is covered in snow all year round. Hearing the front door slam open and multiple muffled voices overlapping, I bring myself downstairs to the living room and spot Clyde putting a disc into the gaming console in front of the television.

“Sup?” I call out to no one in particular with multiple variations of hey being thrown back at me.

I jump over the back of the couch and settle myself in between Kenny and Tweek, with Tolkien sitting to the right of the coffee addict. Kenny automatically pulls my legs up to settle over his lap, resting a hand on my calf as he fiddles with his phone with the unoccupied one.

“How the hell do you guys not have any cheesy poofs? What kind of household is this? I’ve been busting my balls for years waiting for this game to come out and when the day finally arrives, I can’t even enjoy it with the best snack ever?? I’d expect this from broke ass Kinny but not the Marsh’s!” Cartman complains as he follows the ever aloof Craig over to where the rest of us are lounging, stomping his feet from the kitchen to the dining room in a normal Cartman-like tantrum.

“Shut up, fatass! Stans ordering pizza so stop complaining before we put a limit to your slices!” Kyle threatens from the kitchen while Kenny and I roll our eyes.

“You’re welcome to leave.” I sarcastically mumble with my eyes still trained on Clyde setting everything up. He always looks really cute when he's concentrating.

“Oh shut up Y/N, this is your poorass pantry I’m talking about.” Cartman shoots back as he dramatically plops down on a seat at the dining table, his head down on the tabletop and his arms stretched out on either side next to Butters. I flash my middle finger at his pathetic display and see that Craig is sending him one too so I snicker when the black haired boy and I make eye contact.

“Instead of bitching, here's a suggestion. Why don’t you make your fat self useful for once and get some at the store then? You can even take it back to your house and just stay there for the rest of the night.” I snark back despite the sickeningly sweet tone of voice I adorn.

“Aye!” Fatass sits up and yells back at me before Kyle walks into the room, rolling his eyes.

“Dude. You can lay off the snacks for one night, can’t you? Cause you know, I’m pretty sure you have enough fat stored in your body to last you without any type of food for a few months and you’d still be alive.”

“Shut up, Craig!”

・ ��� ・ ⋯ ・ ─ ⊹ ♡₊˚๑

Loud, but this is just a typical night in with the boys. The boys, meaning Team Stan, Team Craig, and of course, Butters. We all hang out together as one but like any other group, there are cliques within it. I guess they formed when we were younger and would play games that required opposing teams having to go against each other.

Having to split, these are the groups that always formed when we played stuff like catch or basketball, and why the guys in each respective teams are a bit closer to one another as opposed to the other team. They naturally formed because Stan, Kenny, Cartman, and Kyle live near each other whereas Craig, Tweek, Tolkien, Clyde, and Jimmy live closer to one another.

Of course, I’m usually in my brother's “team” and this works out for us because Butters typically likes to sit our games out and play moderator instead.

Speaking of. My brother, Stan, and I are actually twins. Because of this, our parents decided to separate us and have Stan and I go to different schools when we got into elementary. They wanted to encourage us to be independent individuals and to make our own friends, instead of being comfortable with sticking together after we went to preschool together. Yes, we met all the guys and became friends with them when I still attended the same place as my brother, but my parents were worried that I wasn’t spending enough time with other girls my age.

Even though I went to a separate elementary school and middle school than the others, I still grew up and spent all of my time with them when we were outside of school. Because of this, I’m still as close to everyone else as they are with each other.

This year, however, my parents finally decided that we were old enough to make the decision of whether or not my brother and I wanted to finally attend the same school. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity to go to school with my older brother and our friends. Well, okay. It was more like I insistently begged them and they finally caved in and gave me the green light to transfer.

Gathered around the television on either the floor or the couches and with pizza in our faces, Kyle silently curses as he checks his phone.

“My ma wants me home early since tomorrow is the first day of school.” He informs us, wincing when he remembers the start of a new school year.

“Ack! I completely forgot!” Tweek’s eyes widens and twitches as he clenches his shirt in first day jitters.

“Oh gee, me too! But that means we’ll finally be able to go to school with you, huh, little buddy?” Butters nudges me with his elbow and I smile into the can of soda I’m drinking from.

"Yessss! I can’t wait! I’ll finally be able to meet the other schoolkids at South Park!” I beam, throwing my arms around the blonde and hugging him in euphoria.

Growing up with the boys and being the only girl, everyone has naturally grown to be rather protective over me as they see me as their pseudo-little sister. This meant that they constantly whisked me away from others our age and would promptly pull me away if I ever did something as simple as wave to someone outside of the group. They called it taking me away from the lame-o’s, as Cartman constantly reminded me.

Of course, I knew the other people that my friends are cool with like Timmy, Scott Malkinson, and Dovahkiin. They tag along with us from time to time and it’s a refreshing change of pace when they do.

“I’m also excited about the commute! Finally, I get to catch some more sleep in the morning because mom or dad don’t have to drive me thirty minutes just to get to North Park!” Cue me dramatically fake sobbing into Butters shoulders as he consoles me by petting my hair.

“There, there, buddy. You won’t have to worry anymore!” I giggle as Craig pulls me away from the little cutie.

“Lameee, I already see your ugoo face enough. I don’t need to see it at school either.”

"Shut up, Cartman. How do you think we’ve felt seeing your fatass in and out of school for all of our lives? That’s a decade too much.” Kyle tiredly says.

“Aye!”

“Well, I’m excited to finally see my bestie at school!” Clyde throws his arms around my shoulders from behind me. We giggle to each other in excitement as I place my hands on his arms.

“I’m going to get so much second-hand embarrassment when I finally get to see you try to flirt with a girl, Clydey.”

“Y/N! You wound me! Did you forget that I’m the most handsomest, most charming, and most smoothest guy in school—no. In all of South Park!” Clyde boasts while I continue to laugh, consolingly patting his arms in pity for his delusions.

“Besides, I wouldn’t think to do that anymore now that I have my baby girl going to school with me!” He says as he puckers up his lips and exaggeratedly makes kissing sounds towards me.

I’m still laughing as I lightly block his face from me. Clyde is always so silly and more sensitive than the guys (ahem, a crybaby, ahem), making him my partner in crime in stupid antics like this.

“Dude.” Stan pinches the space between his eyes and furrows his brows at the obnoxious flirting. The boys and I play flirt all the time for fun, but mostly to annoy my brother.

“You’re like this now, Stan, but wait until tomorrow. In a small town like Shit Park, a new student will be the talk of the school.” Tolkien slyly smirks, trying to get into the ravenette’s overprotective head.

“Oh shit. Fuck, I forgot. You’re fresh meat.” My brother stares at me uncomfortably, his face going pale at the overwhelming thought.  

“Leave him alone, guys… Besides, my princess will have her trusty knight by her side.” Kenny gloats.

When we were younger, there was a fantasy game we liked to play, involving a “Stick of Truth” that we fought for. Kenny chose to be a princess at that time to cheekily spend more time with me, another princess in the game. The pet name stuck and has been something he’s fondly called me from then on.

“More like mangy dog. You’re just going to drop her as soon as you see someone else with legs and a pulse, McWhoremick.” Craig deadpans, setting Kenny off as he clenches his jaw in anger.

“Anyways!” I cut them off before it escalates, “I’m most excited to see the poor girls you guys have dated!” I teasingly smirk.

“No. No, no! Respect my authoritah, Y/N! I'm seriously! Don’t come anywhere near those stupid skanks, nothing good ever comes out of girls!”

Cartman always gets defensive when his ex or any of the girls that the boys know gets brought up. Probably because the guys still clown him for the voicemail they got ahold of when we were kids, crying and threatening to commit suicide if she didn’t get back together with him. They like to joke around and say that they’d use “dying pig Cartman” the way those rappers use voicemails in their hit songs.

・ ─ ・ ⋯ ・ ─ ⊹ ♡₊˚๑

As I lay in bed after the guys go home, I restlessly toss and turn, repositioning myself in bed for hours into the night. I can never sleep due to both excitement and anxiety before the start of any school year. Deeming all my attempts futile, I pull out my phone from under my pillow and text the group chat to see if anyone else was in the same boat as me.

GROUP CHAT (EVERYONE)

N/N: yoooo

Toolshed (Stan): nooooo (barf emoji)

N/N: aye! fucking RUDE >:(

N/N: imma stuff you back into mom’s womb

HumanKite (Kyle): LOL gross dude.

theCoon (Cartman): not as gross as ur mom’s jew vagina

HumanKite (Kyle): Shut the fuck up, fatass.

theCoon (Cartman): you know, its ironic you call me that when you have a fat bitch mom!

SuperCraig (Craig): idk cartman, your mom’s must be gaping to have been able to push a fat baby like you out

Mysterion (Kenny): LMAOOO tru dat

Mysterion (Kenny): phat pussy

theCoon (Cartman): AYE! at least my mom didn’t willingly fuck a soulless ginger like urs craig!

SuperCraig (Craig): (middle finger emoji)

Tupperware (Tolkien): Your mom literally did, Cartman…

HumanKite (Kyle): Fucking dumbass.

theCoon (Cartman): details, DETAILS

theCoon (Cartman): his parents are still together so she still does!

HumanKite (Kyle): Yeah, but that just means your poor mom has to work hard to make enough money to feed herself and 10 other people because you eat enough for an army.

theCoon (Cartman): shut up you fucking JEW!!!

N/N: i can’t sleep :(

Toolshed (Stan): no one cares lol

N/N: shut up

N/N: you know how theres always a twin who's less attractive, even when they're identical?

N/N: that's you, stanley

N/N: ur just bitter cause im the cuter twin

Toolshed (Stan): ur literally ugoo but i admire ur confidence i guess

Tupperware (Tolkien): I never get why you always insult each other's looks, you're literally twins

ProfChaos (Butters): poor buddy

ProfChaos (Butters): want me to hop on my switch? we can play animal crossing together until you get sleepy :3

Mosquito (Clyde): oooo, i can’t sleep too so i’ll also visit ur island :D

theCoon (Cartman): laaaame

theCoon (Cartman): kick these pussies out of the chat ffs

theCoon (Cartman): lets hop on our PCs and start an online campaign instead

FastPass (Jimmy): hop on this dick instead :P

Mysterion (Kenny): AYO??

Mosquito (Clyde): LOL, NO HOMO BRO???

FastPass (Jimmy): nah bro, all the homos (sunglasses emoji)

Mysterion (Kenny): AYEEEE

Toolshed (Stan): LMAOOO

FastPass (Jimmy): lmao wait no i was just kidding (crying emoji)

theCoon (Cartman): you guys are fucking idiots.

N/N: ewwww, with cartman?? who can be that desperate, even as a joke jimmy? (barfing emoji)

Mysterion (Kenny): want me to swing by N/N? i know a few ways to make you tired (winking emoji) (smirk emoji) (devil emoji) (tongue emoji)

SuperCraig (Craig): (middle finger emoji)

Toolshed (Stan): DUDE.

WonderTweek (Tweek): Want me to oo br ing you coffee eee tomo rrow Y/N?? ??

Tweek’s twitching often has him typing like this. He doesn’t bother fixing his typos since it’s not hard to make out what he says, anyways.

N/N: my gate is open butters :3

N/N: idk clyde, you trampled on my flowers last time.. >:(

N/N: ily tweek!! <3

Mosquito (Clyde): Y/NNNNN!!! T—T

FastPass (Jimmy): he did it on purpose too, Y/N

FastPass (Jimmy): i saw him

FastPass (Jimmy): i kept telling him not to

FastPass (Jimmy): he laughed like a maniac and everything while he did it

FastPass (Jimmy): he also threatened to chop down your trees

Mosquito (Clyde): LIEEEEES

Mosquito (Clyde): DON’T LISTEN TO HIM Y/N

Mosquito (Clyde): people are always trying to take me down because im HANDSOME so SHUT. UP!!!

Mosquito (Clyde): jealousy is a disease, jimmy, and i hope you get better soon because it looks UGLY on you!!!

・ ─ ・ ⋯ ・ ─ ⊹ ♡₊˚๑

Despite sleeping late due to playing on my switch with Butters and Clyde, I wake up earlier than my alarm multiple times. Because of this, I decide to give up on going back to sleep when I notice that it's not that long until I should start getting ready anyways. I opt to pass the time on my phone instead, scrolling through social media like Coonstagram.

With my morning routine out of the way, I barge into my brother’s room without knocking to make sure he’s not still asleep so we’re not late to the bus stop… and also, to be annoying. After confirming that he is, in fact, awake when he throws a comic book at me, I go downstairs to eat some breakfast.

“I can’t believe you and Stan are already starting your second year of high school… Soon, you’ll be off to college like your sister and leave your father and I behind.” My mom laments as she places a plate of food in front of me.

“Don’t worry, mom. I’m pretty sure Stanley will still be living with you guys until he’s at least 35!” I smile sweetly at her while I spread butter onto my toast, as a muffled AYE! can be heard from upstairs. She tiredly sighs at us for getting onto each other's nerves so early in the morning but I continue to innocently eat my food.

“You remember what we talked about, right?”

“Hmmm..?”

“Even though you're going to school with your brother and the others now, I still want you to try to branch out into other things without them. You’re in high school now and I don’t want you to miss out on once in a lifetime opportunities and experiences because of the boys,” The brunette continues.

“Yeah mom, I know. Don’t worry, I’ll make new girl friends when I try out for sports. Maybe volleyball? Or basketball. I don’t know—something. I still haven’t decided yet.” I shrug around a mouthful of food.

“You know that's not what I mean, Y/N… Just think about at least trying to join, maybe, I don’t know. Cheer? We don’t care if you don’t make it, but at least just attend tryouts? Who knows, maybe you’ll like it.”

Ahhh, and there it is. Even after all these years, my parents are still trying to push me to be more independent from my brother and the boys by doing more female dominated activities.

“Pffffttt!” Shelley snorts behind a glass of orange juice and I glare at her, angrily stabbing at my poor eggs.

“Why are you even here? Shouldn’t you be on campus, at your dorm or something? I bet she’s ditching classes, mom! Wasting all that college tuition!” I tattle annoyingly on my elder sister in spite.

“Shut up, TURD!” She voices over me, kicking the leg of my chair and making me pout even more.

・ ─ ・ ⋯ ・ ─ ⊹ ♡₊˚๑

When my brother and I walk to the bus stop, I’m still pouting at what my mom reminded me of. I get more upset when I think about how we have to take the bus, even though most of the guys know how to drive.

Admittedly, we’re not of age to even get our license yet but some of us have their driver’s permit. They learned a little earlier because all of our parents are pretty chill with us learning how to drive as South Park doesn’t get traffic at all. This eases their anxiety as there are barely any other drivers on the road.

It doesn't ease my anxiety though, which is why I never learned to drive. I mean, why would I need to when I have a servant—oops, I mean brother, who can? The only problem is that none of our parents have gotten any of the guys cars to freely use (except for richass Tolkien) and aren’t planning to until they can legally drive.

“Mmph mmmph mmph? (What’s up with you?)” Kenny asks me before pulling down his parka’s hood.

“I don’t know, man. She’s been pouting since breakfast. Just ignore her,” My brother shrugs in answer for me and I pout even more.

“Probably that time of the month,” Cartman snarks before Kyle punches him in the arm.

“Shut up, fatass.” He says so I seek comfort from the ushanka wearing teen for coming into my defense, hugging his arm and leaning my head against him so I can comfortably mope.

“Hey! I asked how you were first. Come here, Princess.” Kenny whines and makes grabby hands at me but before he can do anything, the bus pulls up. As I look around at the new faces sitting all around me, Kenny grabs my arm and pulls me to the seat beside him.

“What’s wrong, beautiful?” He asks, putting his arm around me but I just shrug in response.

“Is it because you didn’t get enough sleep last night? You know you don’t need beauty sleep when you’re already so pretty. And Tweeks bringing you coffee, yeah? Just wait a few more minutes and you’ll be able to get your fix,” He gently offers but I just shake my head.

“Are you nervous for your first day? Don’t worry baby girl, daddy’s here.” He teasingly says while winking at me, and it works. I crack a smile because of how cheesy and ridiculous his words are and softly slap the hand that's on my shoulder, leaning my head against him for the rest of the ride.

・ ─ ・ ⋯ ・ ─ ⊹ ♡₊˚๑

South Park High looks the same as it did on orientation when we got our class schedule, prior to the first official day of school. Even then, I’m not as nervous about transferring to a completely different environment since I have my boys with me.

Kenny still has an arm around me as he walks me to my locker, until Craig pulls him by the hood to take him off of me, choking him in the process.

“Fuck! You asshole!”

“Can any of you guys not get into trouble on our first day of school?” Kyle sighs with his eyes closed, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose when he and the others get to us. I finally get my much needed coffee and hug Tweek out of appreciation.

“That’s like asking Cartman not to eat.” Clyde snickers to the guys, eliciting laughs all around and lifting my mood up even more.

“Aye!”

“Ngh! Whoever gets to the cafeteria first grabs us an empty table, right?” Tweek interrupts while we voice our confirmations, my arm wrapped around his lower back from our earlier hug as I sip on my warm cup of caffeine.

“I’ll pick you up after class for lunch, N/N.” Craig’s monotonous tone reaches me, leaving no room for a no as the others pick up conversation around us.

“You don’t have to! Isn’t your class at the other end of the school? I don’t want you to have to go through all that trouble for me.”

“Yeah, dude.” Stan side eyes him, having heard our exchange.

“You’re so short, I don’t want you to get lost in a sea of people and miss lunch.”

“Pffft, Craig! Even if I did get lost, I wouldn’t miss the whole lunch period.” I smile fondly at him, letting go of Tweek to adjust my backpack’s strap.

“Yeah, if anything, I can pick up Y/N.” Kenny pipes up as Craig furrows his brows at his interruption. Stan rolls his eyes at the both of them, deciding to leave the conversation and go talk to Kyle instead.

“We have the same class, you idiot.”

“And? Everyone knows I’m faster than you.”

“Says who? My legs are literally longer than yours and I’m the tallest of the group. One step from me is equal to, like, four struggling steps from you. Three if I’m being generous.”

“Ugh, you guys are annoying. I have the class before lunch with Clyde so we’ll just meet you guys there, okay? Sheeeeesh,” I make the decision for them.

“You rang, beautiful?” Clyde drops his prior conversation with Jimmy and Tolkien midway to nosely join ours at the mention of his name, leaning his arm on me like I’m an armrest.

“Shut up, Clyde.” The three of us say as I shove his elbow off of me.

・ ─ ・ ⋯ ・ ─ ⊹ ♡₊˚๑

When it’s finally lunch time, Clyde and I enter the cafeteria to see that a few of the guys managed to snatch a table for us so we head straight to the lunch line to grab some food. On our way there, we stop by a table and say hi to Jimmy, Scott, Timmy, and Dovahkiin.

“You go here now, baby Marsh?” Dovahkiin types out to me on his phone, an eyebrow raised.

“Yep! My folks finally decided to let me go to school with everyone!”

“Oh boy.”

“Hmmm? And what do you mean by that? I don’t like your tone, Dov.” I playfully shoot back.

“More trouble this year :p”

I laugh, “We’re not that bad! Actually… that’s valid. Whatever! You’re just jealous that you don’t get the attention of being the new kid now that I’m here!” I stick out my tongue at him and push down the bill of the hat he’s wearing to cover his eyes.

His melodic laugh can be heard and I smile, feeling proud that I was able to get a sound out of the notoriously mute Douchebag. I notice that a few other students look our way in surprise from the corner of my eyes.

I settle myself in between Craig and Kenny while Clyde takes a seat at the other side of the table between Tolkien and Tweek. The rest of the school day goes fine and the day after goes similarly. The third day, however, is different. It’s during one of our passing periods when I’m at my locker to switch out my books that it happens.

I share all of my classes with at least one of the guys so I usually have a buddy with me throughout the whole day. While Butters normally walks with me during this passing period, he had to use the bathroom and told me that he’d just meet me at class. When I close my locker door shut, a group of girls come up to greet me.

“Hi! My friends and I were wondering what your name is, new kid.” The black haired girl smiles at me. She’s really pretty and I can tell from that, her silky hair, and cute sense of fashion that she’s probably popular with others.

“Oh! Hi! My name is Y/N!”

“Cute name! I just wanted to formally introduce myself. My name is Wendy Testaburger. I’m the student body council president and co-captain of the cheer team,” I nod at her words, impressed. Holy shit, she’s only a sophomore and she was able to get people to vote for her for president?

“My name is Heidi Turner! It’s nice to meet you!” A girl with light brown hair introduces herself next. Her headband is so cute and unique with a flower sitting to the side of it, I’m in awe of her personal style and confidence.

“I’m Bebe Stevens! Stick with us and you’ll be fine, okay new kid? We’ll let you know which boys are a waste of your time!” The blonde giggles, twirling curly hair around her perfectly manicured finger.

I can’t help but to think that the aura she exudes is more mature. Maybe it’s because of the higher end attire she's sporting? Or maybe… it’s her rack..? Ah fuck, don’t look there, stupid! Eyes up, idiot! God dammit, this is all Kenny and Clyde’s fault!

“The name’s Rebecca McArthur but you can just call me Red! If you want to try out for cheer, let us know so we can tell you when our coach has a date set for tryouts!” Wait, are they all cheerleaders? The boys will be jealous of me once they find out about my new pretty friends hehe.

“We actually wanted to ask if you’d like to have lunch with us, too. Find us in the lunchroom if you ever decide to and feel free to sit with us! It doesn’t have to be today, but anytime you feel like it! We’ll see you around, okay?” Wendy invites me as the rest of the girl say their byes.

While being the new kid means that a good amount of people have been greeting me in the hallways or going up to me in class to introduce themselves, this was the first time that I’ve been invited to sit with someone for lunch. I’m so excited that I inform my lab partner of the news.

“no one new has invited me to sit w/ them at lunch since i came! :D” I write out in my notebook before sliding it across the two-person lab counter to my seatmate in science class.

“duh, it’s cause ur bro + his friends are super overprotective of you. no one can approach you even if they wanted to since you’re with them all the time :P” Dovahkiin writes back and I frown at this revelation.

“huh… that makes sense, i guess? oh god ew, i hope no one thinks that im dating any of them :x my brother?? CARTMAN?? vomit!!”

“its ok, you can tell anyone that im ur bf if they do :D” I softly hit his arm with the back of my hand even though I’m rewarded with his melodic snickering.

By the time lunch comes around, I’m giddy when I grab my food with Clyde. I tell him to go on ahead of me and he doesn’t question it, probably thinking that I want to stop by Timmy and the other’s table again. I don’t, however, and scan the room until I find the table that the girls are sitting at.

I sit next to Wendy and Bebe after I skip to their table, the ravenette patting the seat between them with a smile on her face. It feels nice talking to the girls as we get to know each other, with them asking me about how I’m adjusting to the school and what classes I have.

“We have another friend, her name’s Nichole, but she said she has to do something in the library today.” Red informs me and I soak up the information, enthusiastically nodding my head at her words.

“Speaking of Nichole, we actually noticed that you hang out with her boyfriend and his friends.” Bebe nonchalantly brings up as the girls all glance at one another.

“Oh, what! Wait, so that means your guy’s Nichole is the same one that's dating my friend Tolkien, then? No one else has a girlfriend that I know of,” I smile up at them.

“Mhmm, we actually noticed that you're really close to the guys,” She continues. The other girls seem interested too as they give me their undivided attention.

“Haha, yeah. They’re like my brothers!”

“Really? You just started going to school in South Park though?” They’re all surprised.

“Yeaaah, but I’ve known them all my life! I’ve actually lived in South Park all my life too. I just went to school in North Park until this year,” I say as I munch on my fries.

“How? Are you neighbors with one of them or something?”

“That, but I also went to preschool with them. If you guys have always been in South Park like me, we probably even went to the same preschool! I can’t remember shit from that long ago though so you guys probably don’t remember me too,” I shrug.

“Huh. I’m surprised that you guys kept in contact throughout the years then.” Wendy says to me in thought this time, the other girls nodding.

“Hmm, I can see why you'd say that. But my brother’s one of those dumbasses, so…”

“What?!” All the girls exclaim. Their unexpectedly loud response causes a casualty in my fries. I look at the fallen piece of food under the lunch table and mourn the tiny loss.

“So that makes you twins then..? Unless one of them flunked, resulting in you getting stuck in the same grade with him. It’s honestly believable with how dumb those guys are but we’ve gone to school with them all of our lives and we know that none of them have been held back a grade…” Wendy mumbles out and I laugh, agreeing with her statement.

“Yup, twins! I’m a Marsh!” I proudly boast, smiling wide with my teeth showing. Wendy chokes on her water and all the girls share a meaningful glance with her.

“Pfffft, oh man! We wanted to warn you about those dumbasses because we always saw you with them, but we just thought they got to you first and you were oblivious to who they were. I didn’t think you grew up that close with the guys, much less being related to one of them!” Bebe laughs at the unexpected turn of events.

I blush, flattered that they cared enough about a new girl like me to want to warn me about who they thought the ‘wrong crowd’ was.

“Not like you can say anything though, Bebe. You dated one of them,” Red scoffs, entertained at Bebe’s slowly reddening cheeks.

“That doesn’t count! Who even counts relationships from when they were in elementary school?!”

“Wait… Does this mean you’re the same Bebe that dated Clyde?” My entire expression does a complete 180 as I cross my arms and lift an eyebrow at the blonde.

“Dude. You used him for shoes.” I continue, furrowing my brows at the mortified girl.

“I was just a selfish little kid! I didn’t know any better! At least I didn’t date Eric Cartman!” She throws Heidi under the bus in an attempt to divert the attention away from herself. I continue to stare at her, unamused.

“Well, Wendy and your brother dated on and off when we were younger!” My eyes widen as I turn my head to the person sitting on the other side of me.

“Aw, dude.” I say to her in a mixture of pity and disgust, the expression reminding the girls of when Stan would say it. If there were any doubts about my bloodline, this further confirmed it for them.

“I-I-It’s not like that anymore! I haven’t thought of him in that way since elementary school!” It’s Wendy’s turn to get red in the face and embarrassed.

“Yeah, it’s the other Marsh. Homegirl has a type~” Bebe snickers at the other girls but I don’t hear it, still in disbelief that my brother managed to date someone as pretty as Wendy, regardless if their relationship wasn’t legit due to their age.

Before anyone can say anything else, the bell signals the end of the lunch period and the disbelief remains throughout the day. I catch up to the guys outside of the lunchroom and they waste no time questioning me.

“What the hell, Y/N! Why’d you eat with those bitches?! I know it might be hard for you but I thought I warned you to stop being so stupid!” Cartman seems irritated as the other guys echo their sentiments at having seen me eating with the girls. No, their exes. I squint my eyes at my dumb brother and at the fatty.

“Hello? Y/N! Don’t tell me your weak ass got brainwashed in an hour?! Jesus fucking Christ, woman!” Fatass continues while shaking my shoulders. I roll my eyes and push his grubby paws off me.

“You’re an ass. Heidi’s such a sweet girl. I don’t know why I’m so surprised that you managed to fuck that up,” I tell him as we continue to walk in the hallways.

“Nuh-uh! She was the crazy bitch in the relationship! She manipulated me! She took advantage of all this,” He waves his hands over his body, “For her own selfish gain!”

“What is there to even gain from you? A few pounds?” The guys laugh and I fistbump Craig.

“And you! Bro. Brooo. Wendy? When will you surprise me for once and not embarrass me for being related to you?” I cross my arms while Kenny hugs me from behind, throwing his arms over my shoulders and smiling at Stan from over my head.

“Nah, she's nicknamed Testabitch for a reason, babe.” Kenny takes out the lollipop in his mouth to reply and I push his hand away from my face when he offers the sweet to me.

“She’s not your babe,” We hear from Craig’s deep voice as he eyes the blonde in disgust at his offering.

“Did Bebe say anything embarrassing about me?” Poor Clyde tugs on my jacket to get my attention. I offer a sympathetic smile and hug the jock, breaking out of Kenny’s hold.

“Don’t worry Clydey, she seemed embarrassed that I knew about her using you for shoes.”

“Don’t hug him for being a fucking simp, Y/N. It’s his fault for being a dumbass. The only thing that bitch is good for is her fat rack.”

“Shut up, fatass.” Of course, Kyle is the one who replies.

“Shit, right? I couldn’t stop staring at them!” I turn my head towards Eric to say.

“Y/NNN!” Clyde whines in betrayal and I pet his head in apology.

[deadprompts]

𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚆𝙰𝙻𝙺𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙳𝙴𝙰𝙳 𝚂𝙴𝙰𝚂𝙾𝙽 𝟽 𝙿𝚁𝙾𝙼𝙿𝚃𝚂.

content warning applies. change any pronouns / wording if necessary.

you're either with us or you ain't.

you do the same damn stink eye as your dad

i'm not saving you anymore.

you should be dead.

i love a gal that takes me to dinner and doesn’t expect me to put out.

you're sitting over there talking outside both sides of your mouth.

i know i had to make a pretty strong first impression.

you’re lucky. don’t forget.

i just bent over backwards to show you how reasonable i am.

it's gonna be dark soon.

did you just threaten me?

you see, now i just think you're lying.

kid. i ain't gonna lie. you scare the shit out of me.

are you kiddin' me?

do soy sauce packets count as food?

i'm dealing in certainties, and i'm doing my part to give them what they want.

what'd he have? a knife?

i get why you did it.

i would not have messed with that guy!

hot diggity dog! this place is magnificent!

i don’t give a shit if you think you’ve found the secret to life.

if you keep thinking everyone's an enemy, then enemies are all you're gonna find.

let me give you some advice.

you should go before you find out how dangerous we really are.

that takes guts... and then there's you.

people want someone to follow.

same goes for you too right?

little pig, little pig, let me in!

i want you to think about what could've happened, think about what happened, and think about what can still happen.

don’t pretend you don’t know the score.

anyone wanna finish the game? come on! i was winning!

it ain’t just about getting by here. it’s about getting it all.

people can try and you set you in the right direction, but they can’t show you the way.

listen, i like you, so i don't want to go hard proving a point here.

we'll win. but we need to wait for the right moment.

i hear your concern. i'm not insensitive to it.

people say i have an expressive face.

i always found it hard getting close to anyone.

that remind you of anyone you know?

if you knew us, if you knew anything, you would kill us.

well pardon me.

look, just put it down...

we need to talk.

hope you're not trying to hide stuff from us 'cause that generally doesn't go over very well.

i feel like i ought to give you a signing bonus.

you bunch of pussies!

nobody's evil. they just decide to forget who they are.

i think i've made my position very clear.

i'm serious. do you want me to prove how serious?

bet you thought you were all gonna grow old together.

whatever you had going for you... that is over now.

what's about to happen is gonna be hard to watch.

if you're having problems of that nature, come to see me.

some people are evil. i've seen it.

i was gifted these pickles.

how about a "thank you?"

i can't be the only one to notice that you got a fat lady in charge of keeping track of rations, can i?

he's an idiot.

you'll get yourself killed.

you should know, there is no door number four. this is it. this is the only way.

speak when you're spoken too.

in case you haven't caught on, i just slipped my dick down your throat, and you thanked me for it.

i can see this is hard on you guys.

we provide security for others. we bring civilization back to this world.

you guys have a barbecue or something and not invite us?

i'll find you.

you were thinking about someone else.

my apologies for leaving the place a bit of a mess, but we got a litany of other shit to attend to!

you like ice cream? we have ice cream.

me? i ain't doing shit.

you got your friend killed.

not making a decision is a big decision.

drink from the well, replenish the well.

suck my nuts.

he's a coward. they're more dangerous.

don't be rude.

this must be hard for you right?

no matter how things go down, i got your back.

we'll crack open some tequila, we'll talk, we'll work it out.

you don't have to do this.

your people are making me lose my voice doing all this yelling.

i'd like to take it back to awkward silence now.

i mean, you have been king shit for so long.

we made it. we can make it. we can.

you're not me.

it’s because you got no guts.

was the joke that bad?

is that you? underneath all that man bush?

thanks for saving my life before. and other time. oh, and the other time.

get on your knees.

you really want to see all these people die? you will.

i am indeed a smarty pants.

what the hell, man?

we're the ones who live.

don't wander around here on your own.

[nozomijoestar]

LIFTING THE SPOILER WARNING ON THIS POST FOR LAUNCH DAY

Here's my initial analysis and thoughts on Asuka's ending (character episode) in Tekken 8

caught yearning in 1080p

handsome

thinking abt getting students now that the Zaibatsu ate shit (btw you don't find out the Zaibatsu is pretty much on track to being done with no leader again, which is why they continue the tournament presumably after the final battle unless you look through the character episodes, not the main story, for some fucking reason)

Asuka finally smiled at her accepting her and the feeling is mutual, this ending had great role reversal in the sense instead of previously only getting clear insight into Lili's feelings and thoughts now we're openly getting them from Asuka in response- she also felt tempted to give in to her old reaction first think later ways but here she's finally thinking before deciding it doesn't matter why, she enjoys fighting Lili and she finally seems to recognize what Lili's schemes are about on a level (wanting Asuka's attention and getting back at her for having lost), this is the closest so far we've ever gotten to a "I like you too"

EDIT 2/1/2025 : You can see too during Asuka's voiced over inner thoughts that she keeps her warm feelings of missing Lili to herself spoken in a softer tone than she ever has to Lili's face, and when Lili shows up in person seconds later Asuka's excited surprise is in her blink and miss it cry of, "There you are!"/"You're here?! " (You can translate this either way but I prefer the latter because it's less literal while conveying more of the surprise at Lili's timing) Before remembering to snap into her irritation/half hearted frustration demanding to know what Lili wants now, then her tone softens just for another instant when she says Lili is an idiot (Aho carrying a sense of affection and playfulness in calling someone dumb for Kansai vs calling someone a Baka which in Kansai is the genuine insult version, I hear the opposite is true for Kanto dialect speakers, specifically Tokyo) but oh well (what can I do about it? > Implied)

Asuka is engaging in the same behavior of hiding her honest emotions as Lili also does toward Asuka, she couldn't just admit "I was thinking about you and I missed you actually" she has to play her part in their little game, a part she has long since accepted, as much as Lili can't say the same outright but says it in her pursuit of Asuka's attention and wanting a fair battle against her

Wonderful voice acting by both Ryoko Shiraishi and Laura Blanc, but especially Shiraishi

this is on top of the teasing and compliment she gave Lili's ability in the same scene, and also correcting Lili on the Kazama Motto Asuka learned, which only Asuka could have told her at some point suggesting further closeness

"Softness overcomes hardness" you two are (HOPEFULLY) starting to change your relationship to be softer (also the hilarious hypocrisy of Asuka BARELY being a person living by any softness in practice)

I love that she even refers to Lili as "That noble (rich) girl", an ojou-sama, which is far better than calling her by nothing or using a rude form of You (anta) as in the past (and generally she's given up calling Lili by rude terms be it in the story mode or otherwise including Shaheen's ending, which is honestly more about AsuLili than him lol, it's also incredible seeing Asuka glad Lili's life was protected and joking about Lili being a handful with someone else)

And despite provoking Asuka in a very shitty way reminiscent of Feng, the premise of this ending is Asuka beating Lili at the tournament so Lili will honor her word of putting Asuka's dojo back the way it was before she bought it- which Lili does after losing rather than refuse out of spite, even if she then uses taking it in a fight to provoke Asuka again, it's nice that she IS willing to listen to Asuka when it comes to promises

honestly if you cut the entire scene into only my screenshots here it still looks so fucking gay

Video source ( @ 1:03 )

This is the de-facto best Asuka ending yet, at last she's happy, hopeful, not confused, and at some form of peace and connection in her life

ALSO ASUKA DIDN'T CALL LILI A DINGBAT SHE CALLED HER AHOU (Idiot/Moron) LIKE ALWAYS AND IT WAS SOFT THIS TIME 😭😭😭😭

Plus Asuka might finally get the dojo back up and become the next leader with Jin's image being fixed and thus how people would see Asuka since they're related, as well as the current war being over- though Reina's new devil bullshit will probably ruin this in the future

EDIT: I FORGOT TO MENTION

PAIR OF BIRDS; BIRD MOTIF FOR KAZAMAS RETURNS

I doubt these are Jun's birds specifically it's more likely just symbolic of Asuka and Lili if it means anything at all. Also doesn't have to specify meaning lovebirds, in general their characters will always be put together. But it is funny how Jun's birds always appear to show her connection to someone she loves, so there could be a parallel here that Asuka's bird imagery would represent the same sense of connection. If it is a visual metaphor for lovebirds though by the time we get Tekken 9 then, the cinema of it all.

ALSO Harada has said Jun attracts animals because of her spiritual mastery over martial arts. She's at a level of power where animals don't run because of sensing her aura; she can suppress her fighting spirit. With how at peace AND in control of herself Asuka is in this ending, maybe the birds imply she can move in a similar direction from here on. And it makes sense too because Asuka has returned to a state of equilibrium now that she doesn't have the stress of the world being in chaos affecting her. As a person who prefers being in control, she's back to feeling some control over her life.

----

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE:

1. It's great that the tone of their relationship is now friendlier, but like in story mode and other places they appear as a pair, we're never shown anything on how they started transitioning from fighting all the time to agreeing to listen and partner up in general, nevermind during a global war they're supposed to have their own personal stakes in beyond not wanting to die (those personal stakes ended up being entirely irrelevant anyway which is it's own problem)

There's a problem present where you're shown the end result of an emotional shift with none of the journey or even a simple scene explaining how they got there, much like the main story and other characters in general many plot points and character changes are resolved off screen showing only the results with no explanation the majority of the time. In the main story this gets even more egregious because even how a character knows specific information usually doesn't get explained at all either unless it relates to Jin understanding the devil gene. This writing makes a lot of things simply happen like it's checking off a list.

In essence, WHERE is a scene connecting Asuka who did nothing but fight Lili and get pissed with her to the Asuka who's tolerant of her, is more catty and accepting than outright angry, is now willing to joke and play around with her, who taught Lili the Kazama Motto she learned (though I guess this one you can say Lili found it while looking up Asuka's family, something we ALSO don't get Asuka's thoughts on beyond surprise) and so on

2. The fact this scene ends with provoking another fight, as much as I like that it's friendly now, isn't the best direction. This fits again into problem 1; there's no on screen room to let these characters breathe and illustrate what made them change now to the viewer. There's no fresh angle given about their relationship outside fighting or even a new approach on their relationship within it. There's no pause in the formula which many people are tired of (and people are already back to calling Asuka a useless piece of shit who's a complete fucking joke, and I can't really blame them entirely because on a surface level all they see is the exact same situation as it's been for twenty years of cutscenes).

Also the logic of having this scene exist is confusing in itself. Nothing in the game story clarified if Asuka sat the tournament out or did participate but was eliminated and decided to follow Lili's progress in Rome as a spectator. A scene explaining either of those would give better weight and context to this one.

3. Zero mention of Asuka's father or his current condition

4. Having Lili imitate what Feng Wei did to dojos like Asuka's is the cruelest way she's ever provoked her. Whereas before it was often ridiculous, silly, and teasing, involving an event that led Asuka to spiral adds something uncharacteristically spiteful toward her from Lili's end. Insofar as what Lili has previously used to get her attention anyway. Keeping Asuka's trauma out of it has always seemed to be a line Lili was willing to respect. And it's off too because this is happening when they're supposed to be becoming friends/are friends now. It's too personal to be brushed off the way it is.

The only way I can rationalize it is if Asuka has let go of her anger towards what Feng did in part (but she still has a special intro where she wants to attack him on sight saying they finally meet so, I don't fuckin know, that may as well have been included as an easter egg if they're gonna do nothing with it) or she never really gave enough of a shit about the entire thing in the first place. You can make a loose argument using prior games to show Asuka never really cared about the revenge aspect as much- but her behavior sorta contradicts this at the same time. So really who fucking knows. Based on how she reacts here I guess it's not a big deal at this point cuz she doesn't get mad and jumps into messing around with Lili like a friend anyway.

Maybe this could be explained too by whatever made them act friendly now in the first place, but again we never saw that. So instead it comes out worse than if we knew.

5. WHY THE FUCK DID THEY MENTION THE ENTIRE MAIN KAZAMA FAMILY WAS ELIMINATED BY OGRE IN THE STORY MODE THEN HAVE THE NEWS NOT IMPACT ASUKA AT ALL

We also never see them discuss what Lili knows about the family in any depth between themselves

Viva le sex gay I guess but now I have more questions than answers and that's a problem when the game acts like I've been given answers it never provided. I got something I wanted but with nothing to show for it.

EDIT 1/27/2024 : However that won't discount that I do love what I received and the potential it represents; I adore this shit.

[mediumtires]

oh man oh MAN i’m still not over this i will never be over this it’s been so LONG. so long. and people were doubting his abilities his skill in the car his legacy and they were all wrong :) they were all wrong because today lewis hamilton won for the first time since jeddah 21, after 945 days, at his home gp and not because of a safety car or because other drivers crashed out but because he’s quite possibly the best driver on the grid when it comes to tyre management and understanding what a race needs, what the car needs, he’s adaptable and he knows exactly how to drive this fucking track and that’s what’s won him this and he deserves it so so so so much, more than anyone else on this grid, do not tell me otherwise. lewis winning silverstone one last time with mercedes, after they went winless last year, before he leaves for ferrari, BREAKING ALL THE RECORDS is the most fucking poetic thing one could possibly conjure up in their sick mind. it was fucking beautiful and healing because this man has gone WINLESS SINCE 2021 when he lost the championship in the worst possible fucking way a driver could lose a championship, a record breaking, unprecedented title that he should have had, that should have been his, and he had to wait NINE HUNDRED AND FORTY FIVE DAYS to be back on the top step of a podium DO YOU UNDERSTAND????? i fear you don’t. this man was starting to doubt his place in the sport, his skill, his talent, his own legacy, which is unmatched, which makes him the greatest driver of all time, he was questioning all of it because he kept losing out to his teammate and literally every other driver on the grid, because he was given a car that was not worthy of fucking wins or podiums or even at times points. do you understand what this means after winning seven titles, after merc went undefeated for so long, after he was at the top of the game? to then suddenly fall to the absolute back of the grid being unable to overtake A HAAS? having alonso go “this man only knows how to start from p1”? bro ITS BEEN YEARS. this shit has taken years off his life and my life and he worked so hard to be back up there. it’s fucking insane to think where they were at the beginning of the year or last year or 2022 (nowhere). he gave everything to this team, to this sport, to his career. this is literally all he has ever wanted to do, he has committed his entire life to this and for two years he was made to feel like he was Done and Washed and people were literally moving on from him, pundits weren’t even rating him for the season anymore. don’t you tell me this was the car or the tyres or the mclaren strategy. i don’t wanna hear it because i don’t care. this was lewis back in his element for the first time since 2021. they couldn’t have taken this win from him even if they had wanted to, those last 15 laps he was Locked The Fuck In. he wanted it so bad and he deserves it more than anyone else and i have been feeling absolutely everything about this the whole entire day because it was the perfect win on the perfect weekend even though i wish he didn’t have to wait 945 days for it. but man. let’s hope things are looking up from here. let’s hope merc get their shit together for the rest of the season. let’s hope lewis has only good races from here on and can see his legacy with merc out on a high. let’s hope he can show those motherfuckers. war is over man. war is finally fucking over.

[urfavstargirl1]

the darkest night - part 1 of 3

summary: 12 year old reader searches the woods for best friend!eddie who hasn't been at school in weeks. After finding him and learning the true reason for his absence, she comforts him and by nightfall, their relationship takes a new turn

cw: best friends to lovers, hurt/comfort, angst, kissing, trauma (mentions of Eddie's dad going to jail), cursing, etc.,

a/n: absolutely had a lucky strike of inspiration from the song lyric shown below. I contemplated making this all one piece or a mini series and my impatient self wanted to already post it even tho im not done so mini series it is.

word count: 3.4k

The darkest night, never felt so bright with you by my side, 5 Seconds of Summer

May 19th, 1978

With every step you took, you could feel the dense earth soften beneath your feet. Stray leaves fell from the trees with every gust of that warm, almost summer, breeze. 

When you left your house, the sun shone brightly, beating down your back as you pedaled down the streets of your hometown, Hawkins, Indiana. 

After passing through your best friend Eddie’s neighborhood and later, his uncle’s trailer at the Forest Hills Trailer Park, searching for your beloved friend, you almost cursed him for practically sending you on some scavenger hunt and a tour of Hawkin’s greatest hits when he wasn’t at either place.

But you were determined to find him. And any sense of frustration at your prior luck seemed to dissipate as the shadow of the forest beyond the Hawkins National Lab protected you from that powerful celestial being of the sun above.

“Eddie,” you called out.

You trudged between the trees, pushing your bike alongside you, scanning the surrounding area.

“Eddie, where are you?"

The bird chirped from their spot perched in the trees overhead.

"It’s me, your best friend in the whole world, Y/N. Wherever you are, please come out, Eddie,” you yelled intermittently as you followed the trail of the old abandoned train tracks.

You took out your trusty compass and followed the path just south of Lover’s Lake. It felt like your little twelve year old legs had been walking for miles. God only knows how big this midwestern haven could span.

But after a while, you started losing patience. Where was he?

“Eddie, this is the worst game of hide and seek we’ve ever played. And besides, we’re too old for that shit,” you exclaimed.

Even alone in the middle of the forest, a small alarm sounded in the back of your head. If your parents heard you say such a word, you would be in big trouble. Good thing it was just you. 

“Eddie, you little shit,” you humphed as you approached the massive boulder the town seemed to agree on calling Skull Rock.

“Eddie, I swear to god if you–” You frustratedly said under your breath as you turned to the other side of the rock, and almost tripped on a pile of… Eddie Munson and his backpack?

“Eddie,” you gasped and looked down at him. His head hung down and his gaze was cast somewhere in the nearby distance, as if the pile of leaves a few feet away were that captivating.

“Eddie,” you dropped down to your knees, “Where the hell have you been?”

You instinctively wrap your arms around his stiff body, engulfing him in the tightest hug humanly possible. You held him like that for a few moments, softening your grip as any anger at having spent the whole day looking for him dissipated.

“I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” you whispered into his neck, feeling the pricking of buzzed hair at his scalp against your skin.

You pulled away slightly, if just for a moment, to see his face. His chin was turned down and he avoided your gaze. For a split second, he bit his lip and looked up at you, frazzled and afraid.

You didn’t say anything. You just returned to your position with your head in the crook of his neck.

As you held him, neither of you said anything. All you can hear is the deep breath he takes, inhaling the comforting scent of your hair.

He slowly slithers his arms around you and holds you back, increasing the tightness of his hold till you can feel him holding on for dear life.

If something wasn’t wrong before, you could absolutely tell it was now.  

“Eddie,” you whisper as you pull away from his grasp, wanting to look at him face to face again.

“Hmph,” he grunts under his breath as he tightens his hold on you, not letting you get away so fast.

So you sit there and hold him. The sounds of birds chirping and the two of you breathing the other in, audible in the air. You stroke his head, with hair buzzed short, or rub circles along his back.

You’ve never seen Eddie like this. If you weren’t so worried, you might even be afraid.

“Eddie,” you softly ask after minutes of silence. “What happened to you?”

You can feel him shake his head next to yours.

“Eddie, I need you to talk to me okay?”

Eddie’s lip quivers, but he doesn’t say anything.

“I just want to know what happened.”

He shakes his head again.

“Please, Eddie,” you whisper and furrow your face in the crook of his neck, feeling the slow and steady stream of hot tears beginning to flow down your cheeks.

“Why weren’t you at school all week? And why are there a bunch of reporters at your house and your uncle’s trailer?”

Eddie winces and makes a noise signaling pain. But then he begins to feel the warm wet tears on your cheek smear into the skin of his neck and pulls away slightly.

He looks at you incredulously, in shock to see you cry over him.

You take a moment to look him in the eye. His big brown eyes are red and slightly puffy. He sniffles and you smile at him painfully.

“It’s bad,” he whispers and looks away.

You grab his hand and give it a tender squeeze. You don’t expect him to say too much after that. Even though it doesn’t satisfy your curiosity, you wanted an answer and he gave you one. He doesn’t seem well enough to do much more than that.

So you nod and look at him.  

“Really bad,” he adds under his breath.

“I’m sorry,” you respond, at least hoping he might be able to tell you when he’s ready.

Eddie doesn’t say anything for a while, but you continue to gently touch him by rubbing circles along his back or squeezing his left hand which hasn’t let go of yours since you first grabbed it.

“Who do I have to fight?” You asked, finally breaking the peaceful albeit confusing silence.

“What,” Eddie grumbles into your neck. You pull away and find a small smile on his perplexed face.

“Who do I have to fight? Whoever it is that made you feel this way, tell me their address so I can go and give them a piece of my mind. No one messes with my best friend and gets away with it,” you explained triumphantly. 

“Silly girl,” Eddie chuckles as he tucks a stray strand of your hair behind your ear.

“I’m serious Eds. I’ll call backup too.”

“What? You and Raggedy Ann and Andy gonna take on the man?” Eddie asks sarcastically as he absentmindedly drags his fingers along either side of your arm.

“Eddie,” you scoffed as you lightly smacked him in the chest. You made a show of looking around, as if there was someone to hide from, “I told you that in secret.”

Eddie giggles at your reaction, always loving the way he could push your buttons like teasing you about still playing with dolls. Any other moment it would have annoyed you, but now, it puts the biggest smile on your face.

“But if it comes down to it, then yes. We’ll do whatever it takes to fight for justice.”

Eddie’s hands fell defeatedly to your thighs and for some reason it made a weird shiver go down your spine. Before you could even think about why it happened or what it meant, a hardened look fell upon Eddie’s face.

“No need, sweetheart,” Eddie said tensely. 

Even though Eddie was your best friend, he sometimes called you “sweetheart”. He almost always only used it as a joke. Like if you said something goofy or made fun of him back, he’d say something like “Yeah, yeah, whatever you say sweetheart.”

Sometimes the other kids at school would hear you two talk to each other like that. A lot of them would ask if you two were dating. You could have sworn that even some of the teachers started to think so too because they would sit you two next to each other in class.

Even though it wasn’t true, because Eddie was just your best friend, you didn’t mind the special treatment from your teachers.

Otherwise, you had never really given much thought to the name before. It was just one of Eddie’s signature quirks.

But the way he says it now feels strange. There’s more weight to it. The way he says it. The way it feels in your chest when you hear him call you that. It’s all sort of different now.

“What makes you say that?”

“I don’t think Raggedy Ann and Andy have the power to defeat the darkness that is the Hawkins Police, or worse, my dad,” Eddie says as though he’s just told a hilarious joke.

Your head jerks back slightly from his abrasive words and casual tone. Eddie’s dad? And the police? What happened?

“What? Didn’t you hear, sweetheart?” Eddie grins at you in a way that makes your insides crawl. “Daddy’s dancin’ to the jailhouse rock.”

Your eyebrows scrunched together. Eddie wasn’t making any sense. His dad? Jail? And yet the thinly veiled Elvis reference wasn’t even the most surprising part.

“Your dad’s going to jail?” You say when the pieces finally come together.

Eddie never really had any great stories to tell about his dad. They had a… different kind of father-son relationship. Eddie once told her that he’d wished his dad could have taught him how to fish or play catch instead of teaching him how to hotwire a car.

“Looks like the cats out of the bag,” Eddie says with such casual confidence.

“Eddie, I don’t understand,” you grab his shoulders and try to find some sort of understanding just from the look in his eyes.

“Looks like little Eddie Munson’s an orphan now,” Eddie shrugs, still mysteriously smiling.

“Eddie, don’t say that,” you whine as you throw yourself against him in another bear hug. You don’t understand how he’s being so calm and casual about this right now. Or how he could make jokes at a time like this.

“It’s true,” he whispers as he gently tightens his grip around you.

“What about your Uncle Wayne? You could stay with him, right?”

Eddie loved his Uncle Wayne. He’d constantly tell you about the movie marathons in his trailer or the memories of Wayne taking him and his mom to Benny's Burgers on Sundays.

“Yeah, I moved in yesterday.”

You pull away and look into his puffy eyes. The brown of his irises a pool of pain and longing. Too much for any twelve year old boy to handle.

But that explains why Eddie’s been gone. 

Your parents watched the 6:00 news at dinner every night. They started talking about some high profile criminal case but with not many details able to be released just yet. You were sure Eddie and his family would make breaking news tonight.

“What do you say we just run away?” You asked.

Eddie scoffs, “Yeah? And go where?”

“I don’t know,” You shrugged. “Anywhere.”

Eddie took a moment to think about it before saying, “Let’s go to London.”

“London? Why London?”

“It’s far enough away from here,” Eddie sneers.

“It wouldn’t be because it’s home to all your favorite bands, is it?” You ask teasingly.

“Well, it doesn’t hurt to be in the home of the greatest rockstars to ever live,” Eddie says giddily.

You giggle and extend your pinky finger out, “Okay, pinky promise?”

Eddie smiles at you warmly. For the first time all day, he looks happy. He hooks his pinky finger around yours and says, “Pinky promise”.

You and Eddie continue to hang around his favorite hiding spot, Skull Rock, for a little while longer before heading back to his uncle’s trailer and your home before dark. 

When you get home, your parents engulf you in a hug and wail about your absence. 

“Where have you been?”

“We’ve been worried sick?”

“Don’t you ever leave without telling us where you’re going again!”

“We heard about what happened with that Munson boy?”

“It’s not safe for you to be out with him!”

But after a while it all just turned to noise.

You made it home safe and sound. No one got hurt. What were they so worked up about?

And you didn’t understand why they would say things like that. They had known Eddie for years now. He’s the same boy he always was. Eddie wasn’t the one who did the crime, so why was he getting punished?

The thought of all that happened that day kept you well up into the night. As you stared up at your ceiling, you couldn’t help but wonder about Eddie.

What was he doing? Was he sad that his dad was going to jail? Was he relieved to at least be with his Uncle Wayne? You bet he misses his mom now more than ever.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

You turn your head toward the window and climb out of bed, your cotton night dress swooshing as you walk over to it.

You draw the curtains and look out the window to find Eddie down on the front lawn. He mouths something, but it’s too dark and he’s too far away to really see.

But you know what it is. This isn’t the first time Eddie’s done this. 

You see him climbing along the side of your house and up to the second story. You open the window when you see his figure come closer.

“Eddie, it’s one o’clock in the morning,” you whisper as he climbs through the window. He enters the room and stands before you. The streetlights outside illuminating his pale skin, white t-shirt, and plaid pajama pants.

“I know, I couldn’t sleep,” Eddie smiles at you, replying in a voice much louder than a whisper.

“Eddie shh!” You shush him and turn over your shoulder, worried the noise might wake your parents.

Eddie’s smile drops and you frown. 

“I know, I’m tired but I couldn’t sleep either,” you say as you wrap your arms around him. His muscles relax and he returns the gesture. 

“What’s keeping you up?” Eddie asked. Obviously the weight of the week’s events were heavy on his mind, but what could be on yours?

“I’ve been thinking about you. Worrying and hoping you’re okay,” you replied earnestly. There was nothing you had to hide. Not from him.

Eddie pulled away and looked at you incredulously. Stunned to think anyone could care enough to lose sleep over him. 

“C’mon,” you sleepily jerked your head to the side in the direction of your full size bed. It was about the same size as the bed in Wayne’s trailer. It’s funny how he had never really made that connection till now.

You don’t say a word as you pull back the covers and climb into the warm bed with soft pillows. You even make a show of scooting your Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls over for him. 

“Can you put those away,” Eddie cautiously asks as he hesitantly walks over to the other side of the bed, “I feel like they’re watching me.”

You roll your eyes and get up to put them in your closet. For a boy who loves scary movies, he sure does have a weird fear of dolls. Not that you would ever understand since you were too afraid to watch said movies with him.

You make your way back to the bed and see Eddie kicking off his shoes and moving to lie down with you. You get under the cover and he does the same. You face each other and in your borderline sleepy state, you smile at him, feeling much more at ease with him here.

“Does Wayne know you’re here?” You asked.

The few times Eddie’s gone to your house like this was usually when his dad was on one and Wayne was out at work.

“No, he’s got the night shift.”

“Oh,” you reply. You wonder if Eddie felt scared being in that home all alone. If it was still hard to sleep even though his dad was gone now.

Even though you secretly liked when Eddie snuck into your room at night, you always worried that you might get caught or Eddie would hurt himself on the way down or something.

But tonight, you’re glad he’s here without pretense of worry.

You snuggle closer to Eddie and rest your cheek against the cotton fabric barricading you from the skin of his chest. You can hear his heartbeat. The rapid rhythm like music to your ears.

Eddie wraps an arm around you and leans down to press a kiss against the top of your head. 

Eddie’s never done that before. But the act makes you feel warm and like your insides have turned to goo. You tilt your head up to look at him. His soft smile and sleepy eyes visible in the pale moonlight. 

For a brief moment, you smile back. 

There’s so many things you wish you could say but don’t know how. Eddie already knows that he’s your best friend. It’s obvious to anyone that you love and care about him. You don’t want to seem like you pity him, but you worry about how he’s doing with all the changes that are going on in his life. You want him to know that no matter what happens, you’ll be by his side. But how?

The only way you know how, the only way you can possibly sum up all of those feelings is to grab a hold of his shoulder, and reach up to bring your lips to the side of his face, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Not too soft but not too firm. One that lets him know you’re there. Warm and alive and together.

Your hand on his shoulder slides back down to his chest, where you can feel the vibration of his heart beating even faster than it did before. 

Eddie looks down at you and you look back up at him but you can’t quite read his face. His eyes are a little wide, but the rest of his expression is neutral. Not sure if your action was received the way you intended, you start to worry. Did he not like it? Was it a mistake? You think you should probably apologize…

But then Eddie cups your cheek and leans forward and before you can even do or say anything, Eddie’s lips are brushed against yours. His chapped lips press a soft kiss to your smooth ones. His lips linger as he applies pressure to yours. And somehow your body knows just how to respond. Your lips return the same pressure as you kiss him back, feeling him smile against you.

You didn’t even realize your eyes were closed till he pulls away and they flutter open. He smiles at you shyly and you gleam back at him. 

Eddie just gave you your first kiss. The first girl Eddie’s ever kissed is now you. 

Your mind is racing with thoughts. You can’t believe Eddie just kissed you! On the lips! It was weird and unexpected, but you kind of liked it, maybe even enough to want more.

For a moment, you contemplate kissing him again. Like a fool, rushing back in for seconds. But before you can, Eddie uses the hand along your cheek to pull you close to him, letting your head rest against his chest again. 

You’re lying breathless pressed against Eddie’s warm body. Perhaps it should be a relief that after an amazing yet unexpected first kiss, you don’t have to worry about what comes next. You could just enjoy it for what it was: a beautiful moment with the boy you love most.

But that’s just it. The boy you love isn’t the same boy anymore. He’s gone through some hard things. He’s changing right in front of your very eyes. And the love you once had for him isn’t the same kind of love you’re starting to have for him now. 

As summer begins to near, you realize it’ll be the first summer you spend together as something different. Because you aren’t kids anymore. You’ll never be those innocent kids again.

[anubisandco]

Chapter Two: The little silver ring

Patrick Hocktetter X OC ( Delilah Huggins)

A/N: also don't know if You guys can tell but english isn't my first language so I'm sorry for any mistakes I am still in the process of learning this language!

Summary:

Patrick didn't know what she was, and He hated it. Delilah Huggins was something he couldn't figure out, He hated her. He hated the way she made his chest feel. Delilah didn't know a single thing about Patrick, nothing substantial at least. But she wanted to know him, everything about him.

Someone has to lose the game. The game that Patrick was very good at cheating at.

~~~

It’d been months now of this game with Patrick, and Delilah had just started to think that maybe he was becoming fond of her. With the way, he’d come over almost every night, and walk her to her classes. He’d begun to hold her hand in public, which at first had bothered her, she didn’t want people to think they were together when it was clear that Patrick didn’t really date, it was just something he wasn’t capable of. 

She’d made it very clear one night that she did date and if he wasn’t able to commit to something then he’d better stop where he was because she wasn’t going to do anything with him if he wasn’t serious. The way he looked at her, he was thinking something over in his head she knew that much. 

Instead of answering her he just smiled and went back to digging through her closet, what he was trying to find was beyond her. It was better than when she found him going through her underwear drawer. 

Everything had fallen into a nice little routine of cat and mouse when she saw them in the hallway together, Gretta leaned against her locker and Patrick was standing over her. Delilah didn’t know what they were talking about but the way Patrick eyed Gretta like she was something to eat made Delilah’s stomach turn. She stopped dead in her tracks. 

Just two days earlier she’d insisted to Reggie that they weren’t together, that she wasn’t interested in him that way. If that were the truth why did her chest hurt so bad at the sight of him with her? 

Her eyes began to water for a second, she wasn’t about to cry in the middle of the school hallway over some jackass like Patrick Hockstetter. Delilah shook her head and the hurt gently turned to anger. 

She’d been told a thousand times by so many different people, some who didn’t even really know her, that this is what he does. She debated about turning around and finding a different way to class but decided against it. 

Patrick after all wasn’t the only guy who was interested in her. 

Delilah held her head high as she walked right by the two of them, Gretta laughed at something he said. His gaze flicked away from the girl's face for a moment landing on Delilah’s form as she weaved her way through the hall, his eyes met hers as she walked by. The glacier-cold look she gave him made him stand up straight. 

He reached out to grab her arm but she pushed right past him. 

Gretta said something but he didn’t hear her as the two of them watched Delilah fade into the crowded hall. 

He tried later to catch her after her next class, but Reggie had been waiting there already. Patrick sneered at her cousin as he sulked away, god he hated feeling this way. He didn’t even know what he felt, the way his heart got all screwed up around her made him want to punch something or someone. 

She made him violent, more so than usual. 

The rest of the day all he could think about was her face in the hallway. 

Patrick didn’t know what she was, and He hated her for it. It was her fault he was like this, he didn’t care about anything before he’d seen her get out of Belch’s crusted Trans AM that day. He didn’t really care about her anyway, that’s what he kept saying when he snuck into her window. When he’d hold her hand in the halls when he’d carry her shit just because. 

She was loud and talked a lot, she fought with Henry way too much causing a scene anytime they saw each other. She was mean, and the way she looked at him like she didn’t know if he was real made him ich. 

For as headstrong as she was, she was also such a pushover. Patrick never asked to touch her he just did, he never asked to come over because he knew she’d be waiting with her window unlocked. For all the shit she gave the other guys about their behavior she never said a word to him. 

That very night was the first time he’d never been able to push her window open. She’d locked it. He sat there in the tree just outside of it for a long moment, his hands still trying to pry the thing open. He couldn’t even see in, her thick grey curtains were closed so tight he wasn’t even sure her lamp was still on. 

His grip tightened on the wood his knuckles went white. 

Patrick banged his fist on the glass for a second or two, his anger getting the better of him. 

How could she lock her fucking window? How could she close her curtains, this wasn’t fair. He hopped down from the tree landing in the Huggins's front yard, He looked back up at her window for a moment before he slinked off into the Derry woods to haunt them instead. 

Delilah sat on her bed watching her window, or the curtains that hung in front of her window, she waited and waited. Her clock ticked away and then she heard it, heard him. He pulled on her window for a few until he finally got her message. She’d pissed him off, he hit her window so hard she thought it’d break for a moment. 

Then it was quiet. 

Her bedroom door opened slowly, she turned to see Reggie standing there. He wore his plaid pajamas having just finished getting ready for bed. She nodded her head and he entered her room closing the door behind him so they didn’t wake his mom who slept just down the hall from the two of them. 

“I’m sorry.” He sat on the end of her bed, picking up the old stuffed elephant she had into his lap, “ He’s such an idiot.” 

“ yeah, I mean I told him what he didn’t wanna hear so what else could you expect.” She shrugged pulling at the threads in her blanket. Reggie was quiet for a moment. 

“ I told the guys I’m not gonna hang around much anymore if he’s around, Henry said he didn’t even know why he hung with us anyways, so it seems like they’re cool if we ditch him.” He was quiet when he said this. The peace offering hung in the air for a moment. 

Delilah laughed. 

“ Nice to know Henry likes me more than Patrick.” Her giggles made Reggie start up. 

“ I wouldn’t say he likes you but you don’t stick dead animals in his locker.” 

Delilah's face screwed up in disgust. Her clock read a solid ten thirty. 

“ Thanks, Reg, for not telling me ‘I told you so’, even though I totally deserve it.” 

“ No, don’t blame yourself Dee. This is what he does, he picks someone to torment till he gets bored. I’m just sorry it was you.” 

“ Yeah. Me too.” 

~~~

Leaving her math class the next day she scanned the halls before she stepped out into the crowd, she knew Patrick would be lurking around somewhere, probably still angry at her for last night. Once she made sure he wasn’t around she made her way down the halls sorting through her stack of homework. It had been nice and quiet all day without him following her everywhere. She’d even had a nice conversation with a guy named Conner, he apparently sat behind her in biology. 

Delilah smiled at the thought when a cold hand grabbed her arm yanking her into a classroom, she heard the door slam behind her. Her head and back hit the wooden door with so much force it knocked all the air out of her lungs, her eyes closed against her will. She shook her head trying to shake the fuzziness away as she opened her eyes. 

Patrick was all she could see when she opened her eyes, his nose brushed hers, his breathing was fast and ragged. She struggled against his hold for a moment, but his grip was tight bruising even. 

“ You can’t do that.” He hissed. He was still angry, flaming even. He was trying to hold it together and was doing such a poor job of it. 

“ Let go of me!” Delilah responded with the same venom, he couldn’t order her around when there wasn’t anything between them when he was flirting with Gretta yesterday. 

Patrick said nothing for a second, he didn’t move his head either, if anything he got closer. 

“ You can’t lock your window.” 

“ Why? Huh does it bother you that much, does it bother you that I don’t give a shit.” She rolled her eyes and his grip tightened. She squealed a little and his eyes narrowed. “ You can’t be mad at me Patrick, we aren’t anything, not even friends.” She whispered. 

She couldn’t get out of this until he decided to let her go. They both knew that and Patrick had all day. 

“ Don’t act like seeing me with her yesterday didn’t bother you, you’re a shit liar. You can’t act like such a bitch any time I do something you don’t like, next time take your cousins word.” His words hit her in the chest, anger bubbled up to the surface and before she could catch herself her hand had already hit his skin and left again. The sound seemed to echo in the empty room. 

He seemed more surprised than she was, his brown eyes were wide his mouth open just a little. His pale skin was already pink where she’d hit him. Neither of them moved for a long time. In his surprise, he’d let go of her and she took the opportunity to run. The classroom door was left open behind her. 

~~~ 

At the end of the day she was greeted by yells as she made her way down the front steps of the school. She recognized Reggie’s voice immediately, and sometimes Vic’s. 

Racing down the steps She stopped cold a few feet from the Trans AM. 

Reggie and Patrick were on the concrete of the parking lot, Both were bleeding and showing no signs of stopping. Henry cheered them on from the hood of Reggie’s car, Vic watched with a panicked look on his face trying to tell them both to stop before someone got killed. 

There were a few kids watching but many hurried on by, not wanting to get caught up in the Bowers gang business, if two of them were fighting it was best not to get caught watching. 

“ Delilah thank god.” Vic finally saw her standing there, her eyes didn’t leave the blood splattered on the pavement. Henry let out a whoop as Patrick landed a good blow. 

“ You have to help me stop them!” Vic pleaded, She couldn’t look away from the mess in front of her. Vic grabbed her arm in the same place Patrick had, she felt the pain but didn’t move. There were voices yelling behind her as a rush of teachers and the principal came out of the from the school. 

Once The two were pried apart, they took a look around them as if they had forgotten where they were. 

Reggie looked terrible, his lip was bleeding and he had a cut on his forehead, possibly a black eye and that was just what she could see. The gym teacher spoke harshly to him something Delilah couldn’t hear, Reggie stood calmly now that he was away from Patrick he spoke in a pained whisper. He couldn’t look her in the eyes. 

Patrick on the other hand couldn’t stop looking at her. Everyone gave him space as they spoke to him, his nose was bleeding into his mouth and his face was definitely gonna be all blue later, his knuckles were split making his hands bloody. He wasn’t listening to a word of what they were saying. He seemed bored now, they’d spoiled his fun. 

It took a while before they were able to leave, Delilah stood by the Trans Am with Vic, Henry had left a long time ago muttering something about getting home before dinner. Delilah hadn’t said a word since they’d taken Reggie and Patrick back into the school building. 

“ I just want you to know Reggie tried talking to him before any punches were thrown.” Vic tried his best to comfort her. “If you can believe it Patrick threw the first one, just swung outta nowhere. Hadn’t even said anything.” 

Delilah closed her eyes. 

~~~

It was late, everyone in the Huggins house had gone to bed hours ago, Delilah lay awake in her bed, looking at her ceiling but not really seeing anything. She couldn’t seem to sleep at all, throwing her covers off she got up slowly, creeping her way out of her room and downstairs. 

Staring into the fridge she pulled the blanket she’d brought with her tighter around her shoulders. 

With her snack in hand, she went to head back up the stairs when something in the backyard moved. Delilah stopped and looked out the glass doors, she could hardly see anything but she knew she saw something move. She moved closer. 

There was a figure standing in their backyard just watching the sky, She was terrified until she saw something she recognized. 

Their hand clenching and unclenching, it was something Patrick did. 

Delilah slid the back door open as quietly as possible, she stepped out onto the concrete porch. It was cold under her bare feet. 

“ Patrick?” She whispered, “Patrick what the hell are you doing?” 

God she really hoped this was actually Patrick, if it wasn’t she was screwed. 

He turned around slowly, His bruises were slowly blooming on his face, his nose had a bandage over the bridge. His hands remained the way they were, only now they were crusted over. She took a small step closer, she couldn’t go very far before she ran out of porch. He didn’t move. He was still watching the sky. 

She looked up for a moment, it was cloudy, meaning it’d be raining tomorrow morning. 

“ Delilah.” He rasped, She looked back at him, his brown eyes had something soft in them in this moment. She wasn’t sure what it was. 

Her favourite feature of his had to be his eyes. They were cold and distant, but pretty nonetheless. This was the first time she’d seen them soft and maybe even a little sad. 

“ What are you doing here?” She shook her head, after this afternoon this was the last place she thought he’d come. He crept towards her, slowly. He must have been medicated, Vic had called her earlier saying something about Reggie cracking his rib. Patrick didn’t stop until the toe of his boots touched her bare toes, he reached out like he had never touched her before and gently grabbed a lock of her hair. 

She didn’t move whether out of fear or awe, she didn’t know. 

“ I wanted to see you, but-” He trailed off like he forgot what he was saying. 

“ But?” 

“ But your window.” He let go of her hair and rested his hand on her neck, his grip was gentle, and his skin was warm like he had a fever. “ Your window was locked.” He muttered more to himself than her. 

She smiled, he hadn’t bothered to check her window, because it wasn’t locked she’d flipped the latches when she had gotten home from school. 

“ I wanted to see you.” He repeated looking back at her like he remembered she was there, “ I had to see you Delilah, and it makes me mad.” 

“ Why does it make you mad?”’ 

He shook his head now, even drugged up Patrick wasn’t one to share valuable information. 

“ Because I don’t know what you are.” He said it like it was the most important thing in the world. 

“Maybe I’m not anything Pat hm? Maybe I’m not anything.” 

His face screwed up into a frown, he didn’t like that answer, because it was wrong. He looked around the yard again, taking in all the flowers her aunt had insisted they plant for the summer. He took in the old playset she refused to get rid of even though Reggie and Delilah were clearly to big for it now, she claimed it was sentimental and then complained that Reggie could never really mow the grass under it. 

“ You don’t understand. Delilah you’re everything.” He looked back up at the sky, “ I don’t like that you’re everything.” 

She didn’t know what to say to that, his hand clenched and unclenched again and again. If he had his lighter he’d be flicking it right now. Then she realized that he probably wouldn’t remember all of this tomorrow. 

Delilah took a step back, his hand fell from her neck and hung at his side. 

“ Go home, Patrick.” She smiled softly at him, he cocked his head almost like he didn’t understand.

“ No.” 

“ Yes, I have to go to bed and you need to go home before anyone else sees you standing out here, they’ll call the cops.” She knew reasoning with him was insane she still did anyway. 

Delilah turned and went inside he followed for just a few steps before she shut the glass door locking it behind her. He stood and watched as she went back upstairs. 

Patrick closed his eyes, the world around him was buzzing, it was so bright and he didn’t like the feeling. 

~~~

The next morning Delilah scanned the parking lot for him, she figured he wouldn’t be here but because of what happened last night she couldn’t help but hope just a little bit. She waved goodbye to the boys as she went her separate way, she heard whispers around her. They were still talking about the fight from yesterday. 

Some making up wild rumors about what happened others changed the story altogether, She couldn’t help but roll her eyes. 

Delilah spent the entire day looking for him, even if it was just a glimpse. The look Gretta gave her in math told her all she needed to know. He hadn’t shown up this morning, and she couldn't blame him. He knew he’d just get into more trouble. 

~~~

Patrick knew she was asleep, it was way later in the night than usual. Still he slid her window open slowly, he smiled a little when he realized she’d left it unlocked again. This time though he closed it behind him, He’d gone out for a walk and his feet had taken him here, unmedicated this time. 

He remembers part of last night but it was mostly a blur, he had tossed the rest of the pain meds into the quarry this afternoon. 

He stood in front of her window at the end of her bed for a moment looking around her dark room, Patrick didn’t know what he wanted. But he’d wanted to be here. She wasn’t even awake, so half the fun was gone. 

Something shiny caught his eyes on her vanity across the room, he crept his way over as quietly as possible stepping over everything she had on her floor. The little silver ring with the pink butterfly-shaped gem sat there on the white wood. Patrick had seen her wear it everywhere, he looked at it like it might bite him. She moved in her bed as he was stuffing it in the pocket of his jeans. 

“Hello?” She sat up a little rubbing the sleep from her tired eyes, Patrick didn’t move. When she was just a little more awake she seemed to process who it was in her room, She reached to turn her lamp on. 

“ Don’t.” He spoke quietly, she clicked it on anyway as she sat up fully now. 

“What the fuck?” She shook her head. 

“ Turn it off.” He moved back over to the window. 

“ You can’t just come in here when I’m asleep Patrick, what is wrong with you?” She hissed not listening to a word he said, He kicked one of her shoes out of the way it made a dull thud as it hit her closet door. Finally he got fed up and went to turn the light off himself, Once in the dark again he stayed standing by her bedside. 

She was looking up at him like she still couldn’t believe he was here. 

“Pat-” He cut her off with a loud sigh, 

“ Delilah, please.” She was unsure of what to say, he never said please, to anyone for anything. He sat on her bed as close to her as he could get, his back was to her. 

“ Okay.” She whispered, She watched him for a few minutes just letting him be. “ Listen if you’re gonna be here you might as well get some sleep.” She poked his spine gently, while he had no problem touching her however he wanted, she wasn’t ever sure he would be okay with her touching him, and it wasn’t something she usually wanted to press him on either. 

She waited for a reply when she didn’t get one she continued, “ Take your shoes off, and let’s go to sleep.” An invitation. 

He turned his head in her direction just a little bit before he slowly reached down to unlace his heavy black boots, he kicked them off and laid down on the bed next to her, he didn’t get under her blankets. If she was being honest it was like sleeping next to a corpse, he didn’t move a muscle. 

“ You have to leave before the morning.” She told him firmly, Reggie seeing him here was the last thing she wanted, hell her aunt seeing a strange boy who’d beat the crap out of her son the day before eating breakfast at her table was something she didn’t wanna deal with. 

His hand twitched on his chest when she turned on her side to face him. 

She was warm next to him, Patrick wasn’t sure if he liked this. This feeling, he was comfortable and yet so uncomfortable. He hardly ever slept, but for the first time in a while he felt his eyes struggling to stay open, he couldn’t seem to make his head turn to look at her. He hardly ever struggled so it was frustrating. 

His mind was stuck on the feeling of her touching his back, it was just for a second, barely anything but it’s like she’d set him on fire. He could feel it even now. She’d never done anything like it before, never reached out like that towards him, Her hands always stayed away. He’d never been one for people touching him, sure he would grab them all the time but it was different, there was a difference. 

Delilah was almost asleep again when he spoke. 

“ Do it again, that thing.” His eyes flicked her way for a second before gazing back at her ceiling, at the posters above them. Her eyebrows furrowed. 

“Do what?” She whispered in the dark. 

“ Touch me.” 

His answer was so simple yet it took her breath away, he looked like he was in pain when he said it, but Patrick wasn’t one to ask for something he didn’t really want. She didn’t move for a moment wondering if this was a trick or something, it was a possibility. Anything was possible in these moments, in the darkness. 

Delilah moved as slowly as she could giving him time to either move or change his mind, with a slightly shaking hand she took one of his hands off his chest and held it gently in hers, his skin was cold through his black shirt, his hand was soft. He was tense like a cornered animal, but he didn’t pull away or yell at her. He was trying not to freak out. 

“ I can let go.” She offered, loosening her already lax grip, His hand tightened holding onto her now. 

“ Shut up.” He rasped, “ Just shut up.” Delilah nodded and laid her head back on her pillow, He was still as stiff as a corpse next to her but the way he held her hand was something else, something she didn’t want to really think about too hard. 

So she closed her eyes and just breathed him in. 

Patrick waited until she was asleep to turn his head, his nose brushed hers just slightly. Their hands were heavy on his chest, he could hear every creak and shudder of the house, he could hear the bugs outside. He decided that he wasn’t gonna leave, even though she told him to that just made him want to lay here longer. 

Patrick closed his eyes and focused on the sound of her breathing and the feeling of her hand in his. 

~~~

Patrick was sitting on the end of her bed, his shoes already back on his feet. He watched her race around her room getting ready for school, she’d already had to yell at him for trying to follow her into the bathroom when she went to shower. 

Her hair was wet a dripping onto the back of the shirt she’d picked out for today, she carried her brush with her as she scanned her room for something.

“ Have you seen my ring?” She asked brushing one section of her hair at a time, he felt the weight of the little silver ring in his pocket. 

“ Nope.” 

“ Liar.” 

“ Didn’t even know you had a silver ring Babe.” Patrick smiled kicking a stray sock on the floor, he’d dug through everything she had on her floor when she showered this morning. 

“ Yes you did Patrick, you pointed it out once.” She hissed slipping a jacket on her shoulders, She then turned to look at him. 

When he didn’t move she went to her window to pull it open, “ Out with you.” She gestured for him to leave. He laid back on her bed, hands behind his head. 

“I'm starving what’s for breakfast.” 

“ Patrick.” 

He stood up and she relaxed a little only for her shoulders to tense right back up when he made his way to her white bedroom door. 

“ You can’t go out there.” She scrambled to get between him and the door, his grip on the handle tightened when she gently grabbed his wrist. “ Reggie will kill you.” 

“ I hope it’s something sweet.” He hummed twisting the knob. 

He stepped out into the hallway to come face to face with Reggie, whos eyes bounced from his cousin to the very unwelcome guest. 

[bullet-prooflove]

4000 Followers: Barcelona - Matthew Keller x Reader

Tagging: @rosielou94 d @kmc1989@toheavenwmydrms@noxytopy

Companion piece to:

5 Times - Keller almost tells you he loves you.

Three Minutes - It takes three minutes for Matt Keller to lose his humanity.

Transactional - In the wake of your injury, you leave Keller a Dear John letter.

It takes a couple of months for Matt to track you down. You’ve rented an apartment in Barcelona, near the town centre because your working a legal gig for the Picasso Museum. Your business has been flourishing in the time you’ve been apart. You’ve bounced from Frankfurt, Vienna, Milian and now to here. Matt’s always been a few steps behind you, he’s missed you by twelve hours back in Italy.

Matt has never done this before. He doesn’t chase after women, he’s usually the one that does the leaving. The fact he wants to follow you, it speaks volumes.

When you enter the apartment he’s sitting on your couch flicking through a Spanish fashion magazine, his brow furrowed. He sets it down on the coffee table as you close the door behind you.

"I'm not giving you security details for the museum." You tell him drifting towards your desk to check your laptop. To your surprise it looks untouched.  

"You know that's not why I'm here." He says as he raises to his feet and approaches the desk. His fingertips caress the tiny terracotta dog perched on the corner. It’s new, an unusual piece, not expensive but he knows it’s a sign, one that you’re planning to stay for a while.

“No I don’t.” You say distractedly as you close your laptop. “Because you don’t give me a reason behind anything you do, why you leave, why you stay, why you turn up in my place in Barcelona. I get nothing from you Matt.”

“Avery…” He says softly, his palm coming to rest upon yours and you pull away because his touch, it always leads to the same damn thing. “You know how fucked up I am.”

“Yea,” You tell him meeting his gaze. “It’s a good excuse to hide behind when shit gets too real isn’t it?”

This right here, this is why he loves you. You see through all of his bullshit, you call him on it. You are the first person who has ever bothered to scratch beneath the surface of his psyche. The only one that sees him.

“Avery.” He whispers, catching your hand. He squeezes it lightly and your fingers twitch underneath his touch. You don’t have much mobility in it anymore, Woodford saw to that. “Please just let me show you.”

“We’ve played this game before and we both know where it leads.” You say as you draw away, your hand slipping from his. It feels like a knife plunging into his chest but he gets it, your protecting yourself because he is not a safe bet, he never has been.

You watch as he removes his wallet from the back pocket of his jeans before he takes out a ticket stub and places it on the desk beside you.

“This is from the night we went to that art show in MOMA, you were wearing that dress, the blue one with the white flowers.” He murmurs as his hands come to rest on your hips. You tip your head up to look at him and for a moment he allows himself to hope, he prays that this is the time he can finally get the words out. “I remember because…”

…that was the day I fell in love with you.

But the words they just won’t leave his lips, they die in his throat as he cradles your face between his hands, his forehead coming to rest upon yours. He realises in that moment that it’s never going to happen. Those words they’re associated with so many terrible things in his life. There’s no pleasure in them, no joy, there’s just anguish and grief.

“I can’t tell you what you want to hear sweetheart but I promise you I feel it.” Matt whispers against your lips. “I feel it with every fibre of my being."

“You should go.”  You tell him, your palm coming to rest upon his chest before you push him away lightly. “You’re just going to break my heart all over again.”

You twist away from him then, because your eyes are stinging and you don’t want him to see that weakness in you.

“Avery.” He rasps and sigh as you turn back towards him.

“Matt look…” You trail off because the last thing you expect to see is Matthew Keller on one knee in front of you, a little black box in his hand.

You recognise the ring, Alexandrite with an accent marquise cut, set between two diamond leaf clusters in a rose gold band. You’d been devastated when you’d had to sell it to pay Matt’s legal bills but you’d owed him, because he’d killed a man for you, saved you from something worse than death.

There’s a lot of history attached to that ring. It had been taken from your family in the late 1930s along with the rest of their belongings before they’d been shipped off to a concentration camp in Germany. Out of the four family members that went in only one came out, your Grandmother. That ring was the only memory she had had of her own family. It had been the first thing that you and Matt stolen together. It had been residing in a collection of stolen Jewish artwork, along with other Nazi memorabilia. The other shit that man had had in his collection…

You’d burned that place to the fucking ground afterwards.

“I hate shit like this.” Matt had told you after you’d deposited the three stolen pieces of artwork you’d managed to rescue inside Peter Burke’s porch. He’d find it in the morning, get it back to the place it belonged to.

“All she wanted is to see this ring one more time before she died.” You’d told him as you sat in the passenger seat of his car, looking at the circlet inside the tiny black box. “They took everything from her.”

“We did a good thing here tonight.” He’d told you as he’d walked you to your door that evening. “Consider this one on me.”

You’d taken him to bed for the first time that night.

And now he’s on one knee in front of you, with your Grandmother’s ring.

“I might not be able to say it.” He tells you, his eyes meeting yours. “But sweetheart trust me when I say I feel it.”

Love Keller? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

Interested in supporting me? Join my Patreon for Bonus Content!

Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee