#I made this a little shorter than usual ones incase you did want to continue off this. No pressure but how you like it

[oathofpromises]

21. Listening to someone’s heartbeat —Data to Stella after the Vault

Stella's breath came in labored gasps as she hurriedly ascended the stairs leading to the vault. Data had departed several hours prior with the intention of confronting Thordan VII. In this encounter, she knew that he would inevitably confront the deep grief resulting from the loss of Haurchefant. Data would undoubtedly exert his utmost effort to maintain a facade of strength for the people, but the Au Ra knew him too well. She knew that his heart was already succumbing to the weight of anguish. This event was beyond her control, as hard as that was to admit. Which, made it impossible for her to prevent it or even forewarn him. It wasn't her place to mess with the timeline, no matter how much she wished to shield Data from all the pain he would face across his own journey.

With a gradual motion, her hand tightened into a firm fist, corresponding with the onset of rain cascading upon her form. Even now, she retains vivid memories of the rainfall that fell upon her on the very same day. Reaching up, she touched the red blossom necklace laying against her neck. The rapid beating of her heart almost made it hard to breathe. That all seemed insignificant though, once Stella spotted Data. There he was perched upon the staircase, his face hidden behind a cascade of brown hair. She quickly realized that he had indeed already been crying, presumably choosing to wait until the other Scions had departed before allowing his emotions to surface. It was how it always had been for them as Warriors of Light.

The world’s expected them to demonstrate great strength and resilience in the face of numerous challenges. To guide this world in the way of light, yet did anyone stop and realize that they were also human? With their own thoughts, feelings and pain? Silently, she settled herself beside him and tenderly drew his head towards her chest. The rhythmic pulsation of her heart resembled a melodious lullaby, soothing and captivating.

"Data," Stella whispered, her voice barely audible amidst the turmoil of all the emotions. Tears teetered on the edges of her eyes. It was becoming difficult to keep them surpassed, but taking care of Data took precedence over her personal emotions. Right now, he was hurting and needed her support.

In light of her intimate understanding of the severe anguish that lay ahead, how could she offer solace to him? The weight of guilt and self-blame that he was bound to place on his own heart. So many would say it wasn't his fault, and he would try and force a smile. Simply burying how he truly felt deep in his own heart.

Stella vividly remembered enduring prolonged periods of fasting, secluding herself within the confines of her room and rarely emerging, except when her presence was required. Despite the circumstances, it became evident that the Warrior of Light was severely limited in her physical mobility. She was rendered weak by exhaustion and hunger to concentrate on her duties. The situation had deteriorated to such an extent that Alphinaud identified it necessary to gently encourage her to take in nourishment. However, it wasn't until she experienced the echo of G'raha's voice summoning her within the realm of dreams that she mustered the strength to keep going. Regardless of the tremendous suffering it caused, she had to persevere and carry out her duty as the Warrior of Light.

At that moment, talking seemed inadequate, and so she cradled Data against her chest in silence. With the gentle rhythm of her heartbeat providing solace, she relied on its familiar presence, trusting it to bring the other solace once again. Deep down, hoping it would serve as a means to keep Data grounded, enabling him to rely on her and reveal the emotions he concealed from everyone else.

With a tender touch, she delicately placed her head upon his, while his arms enveloped her waist. As they sought refuge beneath the protective canopy of the building, the relentless downpour persisted, drenching the surroundings. Given the current conditions, it is highly probable that the two individuals would succumb to a cold if they were to continue staying outside. With a gentle motion, she tenderly cradled Data's face, his eyes inflamed from weeping, while tears persisted in tracing their path along his sun-kissed cheeks.

"Data, it’s important that you take a nice shower, and we get a fresh set of garments for you. I understand that it's the last thing you want to do right now..but I won't have you getting sick. “

A part of Stella wasn't sure if Data would heed her advice and follow her back to the Forgotten Knight, or if his aching heart wished to remain here. She wouldn't blame him if he did, but just feeling how badly the brunet was shaking against her worried the pink haired Au Ra a lot. A soft gasp escaped her lips, as she felt him nuzzle against her chest. His hands clenching at her shirt, as tears fell from his face onto her own skin.

I'm sorry...that I couldn't prevent you from suffering this, too...

[plume-pigmented-pili]

What Hero? ( part 4 )

Ships: Toxic Logicality, eventual Moceit, eventual Prinxiety

TW: Unsympathetic!Logan, toxic Logically, kidnapping, crying, emotional, physical and mental abuse, threats of physical abuse, Sympathetic!Janus, Sympathetic!Remus, being imprisoned, heavily implied torture (not depicted), severe injury, Please tell me if I need to add more!

Word Count: 2,600 (how do these keep getting so long)

Side note: Written by yours truly and @eeveeeclair246 ! Thanks for reading, find part 5 here!

>~~~~<

Janus sighed, watching the shorter male drift to sleep for a moment. Virgil and Remus were like the children he never had, if he was honest. He had taken them in when he was no older than 25, and they were early in their teenage years. They were complete opposites, but he loved them both the same; Remus was loud and obnoxious while Virgil was quiet and usually stuck to the sidelines. He wouldn’t admit it, but he would lay down his own life to keep them safe.

He decided to watch some T.V. to pass the time, situating himself at the sleeping Virgil’s feet. He got just a few hours in when Remus suddenly burst through the door, looking close to tears, making Virgil flinch awake from the noise and Janus jolt in surprise.

“Janus! Someone took Roman!” He cried, tears threatening to spill. “I found this note when I woke up, claiming he was taken to an abandoned office just outside of town,” He said, rushing over to show Janus the note. Janus stood and met him half way, the tears in the younger villains eyes spilling as he tried and failed to stifle his sobs.

Janus took the letter and read through it, eyes widening in confusion and concerned at the same time as he looked up to Remus again. “Wait. So someone took Roman and left you this note?”

Remus nodded his head. “It says if I want him back safely I have to meet them at their base. Alone,” he said, even though Janus read the note himself. “And I’m going,” Remus added, mind clearly made up as he took the note back.

“Now hold on, you can’t just go! Especially alone. We’re all very skilled in combat, we could take them if we all go together,” Janus argued sternly. By now the shouting had woken Virgil, who sat up behind them with a scowl.

“What’s going on?” Virgil asked, rubbing sleep from his eyes. “Who are we fighting?”

“No one, Vee. I’m going to go find Roman,” Remus said, making Janus sigh and punch the bridge of his nose and retort with, “No, you are not going alone.”

Virgil’s eyes widened as he registered the words, instantly alert and standing up already. “He’s missing?” He asked, panic taking over as he hurried over to the other two. “Why?!”

“I don’t know. But I’m going to go save him,” Remus said, wiping his tears away with his sleeve and turning away to walk out. “I thought you would want to know. Wish me luck, I’ll be back,” He said before Janus could open his mouth to argue, sounding more serious and determined than either of the other two had ever heard him. And with that, he was gone.

Janus frowned, sighing in annoyance be he elbowed Virgil. “Follow him. Make sure he and Roman are safe,” he said, tone calm but serious. “I’ll get ready incase we have to rescue him too.”

Virgil nodded and instantly sank into the shadows, leaving Janus alone once again. He had a feeling he knew who took Roman, and he would not lose another friend to that bastard.

~~~

Patton dragged Roman into the cell room where Logan was waiting. He tried not to cry or flinch as Logan picked Roman up and threw him into one of the cells without care, though the unconscious man thankfully landed on the cot as opposed to the cement floor.

“Good job, Patton,” Logan said, not sparing him a glance . “Now we wait for Remus to arrive. I’ve already left him a note explaining the situation.” The taller man explained with a hint of a smile, watching Roman lay unconscious in the cell.

“Let’s hope he comes..” Patton said quietly, his voice slightly shaky. He glanced up at his boyfriend, but quickly turned away as Logan spoke again, not wanting to be caught staring. Logan hated staring.

“He will. I know he will,” Logan sounded eerily sure of himself. It made Patton shiver uncomfortably.

Logan turned to walk back to the room where they set up their computers, when Patton stopped him. “Wait, Logan?” He asked quickly, arm stretched out a little before he reeled it back. Logan stopped and looked at Patton. “Yes?” Was Logan’s curt reply, sounding a little more than annoyed. When Patton hesitated, he narrowed his eyes. “What is it, Patton? I’m not going to stand here all day.”

“Can I have… a reward for retrieving Roman?” Patton asked shyly, looking up at him with apprehension and pleading eyes.

Logan scowled and rolled his eyes, a common response to Patton’s questions. “It’s ‘may I’. But yes, come here,” he said, pointing down right in front of himself.

Patton did as instructed, eyes lit up as he practically skipped over to his boyfriend. He looked up at him with a hopeful smile, and that’s when Logan grabbed the back of his head and smashed their lips together almost painfully.

Patton flinched a little, a surge of pain running through his mouth, but his heart fluttered with joy. When he was pulled away from the kiss by the hand still in his hair, he saw Logan give his usual cruel, twisted smile before walking away and leaving him there. Poor Patton didn’t know the difference between an actual kiss and whatever the heck he just got from Logan, so he sighed a genuine wistful, happy sigh as Logan walked out.

He felt much better about how he did now.

~~~

Roman woke with a pounding in his head. It took a moment before he could bare to blink open his eyes, but the first thing he noticed was he was no longer in the ally. In fact, he didn’t know where he was all, which was a little disconcerting to say the least.

It took a minute, but the rest of his senses soon opened up and he smelled rust and mold. He took a good look at his surroundings, realizing that he was in some sort of makeshift cell much to his shock and worry.

He heard voices and closed his eyes on instinct, pretending to still be sleeping.

“—Logan.”

“Yes? What is it?” … “What is it, Patton? I don’t have all day.”

Roman almost gasped at the name. Patton was here too? Where?

“Can I… have a reward for retrieving Roman?” Roman resisted letting his brows draw together in curiosity. Retrieving him?

The other person sighed. “It’s ‘may I’. But yes, come here.”

Roman peaked his eyes open and looked over as subtly as possible, seeing some man kissing who he assumed was Patton. But it didn’t look like a kiss, it looked more like painful lip crushing.

“Patton?” Roman whispered once the other man left. He was desperate to see his face and get some answers. Maybe Patton could help him out of here.

“Roman?” Came a hesitant reply, Patton turning to look at him from the other side of the cell bars almost fearfully.

“Patton, what’s going on?”

“Roman, I’m sorry, but I’m not supposed to talk to you,” Patton said, sounding more guilty than Patton ever should. He watched his former friend open his mouth to say something else, before seeming to think better of it and running out of the room. Roman tried to call out to him, but the door shut with a loud, denying thud, leaving him alone. Or so he thought.

“Is there someone else there?” A voice said. It sounded to come from Romans left, but the lights were switched off before Roman could turn his head. Darkness covered the musty room.

“Yeah..? Who are you?” Roman asked apprehensively, turning his head towards the voice regardless of the dark.

“Remy Picani,” the other person said. “And I’m assuming you’re Roman?”

“Yes... What is this place?” Roman tried to sit up, but quickly found his entire body aches too much to do so.

“Hell is one way to describe it,” Remy said, then gave a dry laugh. “You’ll learn to get used to it though. There’s a few rules you need to know though, if you want to survive.”

Roman gulped. Okay.. Hell is more vague than he was hoping for. “Like… what rules?”

“One, don’t make eye contact. I did that and lost almost all my sight,” he said. Roman shivered at the thought, but Remy continued unknowingly. “Two, don’t cry too loud. You won’t get water for a few days. And three, it’s not a rule but it’s helpful, don’t make too much noise when Logan does his experiments. They hurt more that way.”

Roman stared at where the voice was coming from. “Experiments?” He whispered, stomach dropping.

Suddenly, the light flicked on and the heavy door outside the cell opened and shut again, followed by sharp footsteps that seemed to be getting closer. With the light on, Roman realized the voice he’d been talking to was a man in a cell right beside him, curled in the corner. But Roman was much less worried about that man now.

Roman felt himself shake as his cell door was opened and he was greeted by a man in a white lab coat and dusty blue tie. He gave a dangerously sharp smile to Roman, who watched as none other than Patton pushed some sort of cart behind the other man and rushed away right after without making eye contact with Roman once. The big door slammed shut behind him.

“Who are you?” Roman demanded, whole body going rigid. If he could move, he would be backed far against the wall by now.

“My name is Logan. But you will call me sir during your time here,” he said. “Now, I’m sure my good friend Remy has already told you the rules and some good advice. I advise you to listen to him. He’s been here longer than you and knows what makes me upset and what makes my experiments hurt less,” Logan said, turning to grab something from the cart behind him.

Roman shook his head instantly, scoffing at the idea and sound much less terrified than he was. “No! I’m not calling you sir! And where even am I?! What are you going to do to me, creep?” He snapped.

Logan’s twisted smile fell. “You will if you want to see the light of day again,” He threatened. “Now, you are here because I want your brother. Your brother proved to be too much, so I decided to take you and use you as leverage.” Logan supplied, only glancing back at Roman once as he spoke.

“Why would you want Remus?” Roman asked after a moment of hesitation.

“None of your business. Now, for what I’m going to do, you don’t need to worry. You’ll find out soon enough,” he said with so much nonchalance, it seemed inhuman.

“What the-.. Y-You’re insane!” Roman yelled, heart hammering in his ears as Logan walked closer, a metal bat now in his hands.

The crazed other man just chuckled. “I prefer the term... unique thinking,” he said, stopping just a foot from where Roman lay unmoving on the makeshift bed. “Oh, and do try to keep quiet. Loud noises tend to distress Patton and give Remy a horrible headache,” Logan added, before he lifted the bat up.

~~~

Guilt ate away at his insides with every cry of pain Patton could hear from the other room, where he was curled up under Logan’s desk. He could’ve stopped Logan! Called the cops, told him to stop, anything! But he sat and cowered until the guilt was too much.

After only a few minutes, Patton gained the courage to stand up and walk to the cell room that was echoing with screams. He had to do something. He hadn’t known Logan was going to hurt Roman, or else he wouldn’t have agreed to bring him. He gasped as he was able to see what was being done to a Roman, and ran into Roman’s cell to grab Logan’s wrist before any more damage could be done.

“Logan, stop!” he cried, trying not to look at the terrible state Roman was in. “He did nothing wrong, he doesn’t deserve to be treated this way!”

Logan laughed coldly at him. “You have no power to stop me,” He said, turning to face Patton. The shorter man flinched but made no move to leave or let go of his wrist. “Now go watch for Remus. This doesn’t concern you.” Logan said strictly.

“No! You didn’t tell me you were going to hurt Roman! You said we were just going to keep him to lure Remus!” Patton yelled, glaring up at his boyfriend before freezing.

Yelling was the wrong thing to do however. Patton realized this too late as Logan’s eyes became cold and unforgiving.

“Apologize now, or you will be punished,” Logan hissed, ripping his wrist from Patton’s grip and shoving him back, making Patton fall back against the metal bars of the cell and onto the cold cement floor.

Patton’s breath hitched and he winced as he hit the ground, but despite the paleness of his face he still wasn’t giving up. He looked up at the other pleadingly. “L-Logan, no, please just listen-!”

Logan turned back to Roman. “Fine, no dinner. You will have worse if you do not leave now.” he said decidedly, putting the bat down on the cart to pick something else now.

“Just think about this, please! I—“ Patton was cut off but a loud thudding coming from the ceiling, something that sounded like footsteps. Running footsteps. Hurrying out of Roman’s cell, Patton and Logan looked up to see the ceiling shaking with each thud. Someone was in the vent shafts.

Logan smirked sadistically. “There he is, right on schedule.”

“Who? Is it Remus?” Patton asked, flinching at every bang and moving instinctually closer to Logan.

“Who else would want in?” Logan said, clearly amused. His eyes followed the sounds of thudding. “Of course it’s Remus. He’s so predictable it’s almost not even fun.”

In the cell Roman lifted his head a little with a grunt, listening to their conversation despite how close he was to unconscious. “R.. Remus?” He slurred under his breath, only now hearing the sound of running from above. His eyes widened, hope budding in his chest. “R-Remus! I’m in here!” He yelled as loud as his dry throat would allow.

The assault on the air vent became more frantic at Roman’s voice, the footsteps growing louder. Logan turned to Patton and said something Roman couldn’t catch before he walked away, leaving Patton to take several nervous steps back, waiting for whoever was breaking in to arrive.

One kick to the vent duct and the intruder was in.

Everyone in the room, Remy included, startled as a man dressed in black slid out of the vent and dropped to the floor. To no one's surprise, there stood Remus King, head whipping around before zeroing in on Patton. But everyone jumped again as another black clothed figure dropped down.

“Virgil?” Roman asked, hopefully. His half conscious state had him forgetting that Virgil could travel through shadows, he wouldn’t have to follow Remus through an air vent.

The stranger turned around, only for Roman to see it wasn’t in fact Virgil. But the voice of Remy spoke up again, relief evident in his cracking voice,

“O-Oh my god.. E-Emile!”

>~~~~~<

Tag list: @distance-snake-husband , @uselessamethyst , @broken-pens , @sanderssides-angst , @idont-freaking-know , @kawaiikat54

[spacecadetal]

New Blood (a Kakashi Hatake x OC fic) - Chapter One

Warnings: Use of violence, violence, use of knives, swearing, drinking, death mention, death

Read on AO3 or below the line

As the sun began to rise, Kakashi swung his legs over his bed. Stretching his bare body high in preparation for what the day would bring. Whether that was a mission or battle. Grateful for the previous day of rest, Kakashi couldn’t deny he was beginning to feel the pressures of being shinobi.

Orochimaru had caused devastation around the village. Buildings destroyed, lives taken, and the Third Hokage gone. Because of this, manpower was scarce and in an attempt to assure the village appeared just as strong as before to outside eyes, missions continued to be carried out. Despite shinobi in the village being stretched thinner than rice paper.

To make matters worse, Sasuke Uchiha left the village in pursuit of power and revenge. A squad being sent after him to recover him only ended in disastrous results. The village was lucky not to lose anyone but still two members of the squad were left in critical condition while the rest were in need of proper rest. Unfortunately, this left Kakashi to fill in any gap that was in need of filling.

With a book in hand, Kakashi quickly ate breakfast before he prepared himself for the day. Flak vest on, knives packed, headband fastened around his head, Icha Icha packed in the breast pocket of his vest. Ready for what the day may bring.

“Kakashi, you're needed on an A Grade mission. Intel for a client I’m unable to name at this time. You’ll be leaving tomorrow at dawn” Tsunade had said as soon as he arrived at her office, surrounded by paperwork.

“Who is on this squad?”

“It’s a two person squad. You and Gai”

Ah yes. Another Gai and Kakashi adventure. He had been wondering when he would have another one of those. At least this mission should be amusing with Gai tagging along.

“I see. Is that all?”

“No, actually I’ve been meaning to talk to you. I’ve decided because this village is in need of manpower, we need more genin trained to be prepared for anything Orochimaru or anyone else may throw at us. So I’ve outsourced some chunin from across the country to come to Konoha and help prepare the genin for the chunin examinations. We’ll be holding them earlier than usual”

“So where does this leave me?”

“You’re one of the best we have right now. I need you focused on missions. Because Naruto is under Jiraiya now and Sasuke has gone to Orochimaru, Sakura will be trained by someone else”

“Then who will continue her training?”

“Maia Setsudan,” Tsunade said as she slid the folder over to Kakashi.

Kakashi opened it. A picture of a young woman stared back at him. Long brown hair, dark brown eyes, light skin. A serious look on her face. The record itself was thin. No missions, no history of her training, no rank. Just her basic details and stats.

“I don’t mean to question your judgment but this woman has not been trained in any type of jutsu, by anyone”

Despite all of that, her record appeared clean. Nothing sticking out at him, her stats however pointed to her abilities being of a jonin level and this confuses him greatly.

“Not officially no but I’ve seen her skills and she owes me a favour” Tsunade smiled. “The others are at least chunin, yes they did not continue their training but I’m assured they’ll assist the students in any way they can”

“My decision is final. This is only temporary Kakashi”

Kakashi accepted the decision, walking out of the office. He would never doubt Hokage, never disobey Hokage. They were Hokage for a reason but Tsunade had to have lost her mind.

__________________________________________________

In a little clearing, surrounded by trees stood two out of three of Mais Setsudan’s students.

“Hello, I’m glad to meet you both. And I’m sure it will be good to meet Sakura when she gets back. Nevermind that. I’m Maia, just Maia. No need to call me sensei or anything else. I’m just here to help you guys out”

“Now my speciality is knives. Knives are dangerous weapons if you use them right. You can hit your opponents chakra points if you aim them precisely, with agility and speed you can slice your opponent to ribbons.”

“But it would be foolish of me not to have other stances to fall back on. My belief is that ninja should always have a form that acts as both offence and defence”

Kakashi sat hidden in the trees, legs firmly planted on a branch, watching as this woman gave her students a lecture. Stances that enabled both defence and offence of course was a good idea in theory, but realistically sometimes you weren’t able to do so.

“Ma’am-Maia I’m not really skilled in defence” a student, Moto, quietly spoke.

Nodding to himself, Kakashi understood that this wasn’t realistic for every student. Some were just not capable of performing such jutsu, mostly countering this with other stances to make up for it. Knowing your weakness was as important as knowing your strengths. He would give this Maia Setsudan the benefit of the doubt, maybe she would prove to be a capable mentor after all.

“And that’s okay. At your age I was only learning offence but I also learnt how to defend too eventually”

At your age? So she did have training. Nothing formal that Kakashi could see on her record so the question was: who trained her?

Konoha was in a compromising situation as it was these days. Last thing they needed was someone coming into the village and turning out to be a spy for someone that did not have Konoha’s best intentions at heart.

“Look I’ll show you” Maia said, getting herself into stance.

She began running in circles slowly, a wall of wind slowly forming at her feet and growing towards the treetops, forming to incase her in a dome.

“When I say so, throw your kunai at me” Maia ordered.

As she continued to run in circles, increasing her speed, the dome began to form fully. To Kakashi this was a basic wind wall, nothing special or out of the ordinary.

“Now!”

Moto threw his kunai at the dome but on impact the kunai bounced off the dome, flying back towards the student. Kakashi was ready to move and catch it if necessary, getting into position but as he moved to leap, something stopped him. It was Maia leaving her wind dome, running to the kunai and grabbing it before it was inches away from the student’s eye.

“Why didn’t you block or dodge?” she simply asked, no anger in her tone.

“I-I don’t know it’s like my brain froze”

“Well...just don’t do that on the battlefield…”

She was fast, sure but that was dangerously close and maybe Tsunade should be informed that a student almost got seriously injured during the first day of training.

“With the wall, I generate enough speed to defend myself and if my wall is attacked then my wall deflects my opponents attacks back onto them. This includes attacks involving chakra too”

Attacks involving chakra? How could this be? It only stunned Kakashi because it was a basic move weaponised into something more. His suspicions lead him to the conclusion that the dome was infused with low levels of chakra.

“I can also move with my wall meaning my opponents will be knocked over or caught in the wind trap. A basic form can be transformed and with enough training you can use these basic forms as weapons. My wall works for me because of how comfortable I am with speed but we will find where your skills lie and match your forms to that”

Kakashi had watched the rest of the lesson. Waiting for Maia to slip up, give him a reason to run to Tsunade and tell her she’s made a massive mistake but the almost kanui to the eye was the only slip up Maia had made.

She was attentive to the students. Focusing on their strengths and their weaknesses, giving them small adjustments to help chakra flow. It was a very basic lesson but Maia was becoming familiar with the students and this was the best way to do it.

“Next time I want you two to fight each other. Friendly clean match. I just want to see how you do your thing”

That was lesson over, Maia and her students parting ways into the forest and back to the village.

Shadowing her through the forest, Kakashi watched as she walked on her own. For someone so fast she sure enjoyed dawdling along, taking in the trees and the flowers along her path. Maia was an attractive young woman, Kakashi wouldn’t deny that. Her method, from first impression, seemed fine despite the almost injury but Kakashi wasn’t always going to be hidden in the treetops waiting for her to slip up. Despite all of this, a bigger question remained. Who was she? Because if she was a spy or collecting intel for someone then this put Konoha in jeopardy. Even if she knew Tsunade, doesn’t mean others close to the village hadn’t betrayed it before.

Kakashi decided to continue shadowing her through the village. Figure out what kind of character she truly was. Maybe she would prove him right, meet with some contact in the shadows and show him that her intentions were not so pure as they appeared.

Instead of some thrilling spy chase, Kakashi found Maia’s time in the village quite uneventful. She had taken quite some time picking out ingredients at the food stalls, Kakashi could feel himself yawning as she weighed up two carrots. Maia continued to walk around the market, stopping at a bookstore. A copy of some smutty romance novel in hand as she walked out of the store. Kakashi’s eyebrow rose, he himself was a lover of erotic fiction. Perhaps she was as big a pervert as he was, not that he’d openly admit he was a pervert or anything.

He had been shadowing her for a while before he lost her in the crowd. In the streets now instead of the rooftops. Kakashi frowned for a moment as he scanned the crowd, no sign of her anywhere. Still he continued to walk through the crowd, pretending to be minding his own business.

“Can I help you with something?” A voice said to his right, almost making him jump in the air.

Looking to its owner, he found Maia Setsudan. Height wise she came up to his neck, a little shorter than him but she had glared at him as if she was seven inches taller than him. Brown onion in hand ready to pelt him.

“You were up in the trees during my lesson and now you’re following me through the streets. What do you want?”

She knew he was there? How? Kakashi frowned. He’s not detected by just anyone, let alone a ‘shinobi’ with no formal training and Maia was starting to catch on to that.

“Your hair was sticking out from the tree you were watching me from” she laid it out plainly. “Then I saw you on the rooftop at the market”

Kakashi still was yet to say anything, he just couldn’t believe he had picked a terrible hiding spot to begin with.

“No need to frown. If anything I should be the one frowning. I don’t appreciate being followed”

“I’m Kakashi Hatake, Sakura’s mentor” Kakashi finally spoke.

“Ah… I see. You were just making sure your student was in good hands and I can assure you she is” Maia seemed to be beginning to warm up to him despite him shadowing her. Understanding the concern a past mentor may have for his student.

“Can I ask who trained you?”

There it was, the question Maia hated being asked the most. Her smile has started off as genuine but now she started to smile sweetly, a way to hide her frustration. She told Tsunade she would be well behaved. It was a shame he had to ask, she really was warming up to him.

“A shinobi who left his village”

“A missing-nin?”

“Yes. Is that all?” Maia said directly, her patience fading rather quickly. What is this? Interrogation hour?

“What gave you the idea to allow Moto to throw a knife at your shield if you knew it would rebound back at him?”

“Well… I guess my expectations for formally trained ninja of his level were too high” she said, a puff of air leaving her nose in the form of laugh, “but I’m sure you would have stepped in if I had neglected to do so”

Kakashi swallowed hard. She was trying to playing games with him, something he didn’t care too much for. He could stand around all day, taking her quips but he truly had better things to do.

“If that’s all, it was good to meet you Kakashi Hatake.” she said as she walked by, refusing to look back at Kakashi as she left him standing in the crowd alone.

Maia’s happy place was always in the kitchen. No matter how busy her mother was, working two jobs to support them, she always had time to cook dinner. Maia would watch, standing on a wooden crate, helping peel vegetables and wash rice. It’s no wonder she became a chef.

Cooking was second nature, so was holding a knife. She had cooked her mee goreng, sat herself on the couch shovelling it into her mouth as she dived into the new novel she had bought that day.

Descriptions of lust and sensual touching filled Maia’s focus. It had been a very long time since she let a man into her life, let alone in her bed. But it was okay, she lived vicariously through characters in fictional worlds getting their rocks off instead.

As she turned the page, throwing a noodle into her mouth, her attention wandered to the man following her today. Kakashi Hatake.

One day long ago, her master had told her the story of the child prodigy of Konoha. The kid that made his own jutsu, a jutsu so powerful it could cut a lightning bolt in half. Maia remembered how her master told her that one man should not be capable of all that power and destruction and now Maia had stood face to face with him.

Though she felt as if she stood her ground, she still couldn’t help but feel intimidated by the man. For him to question her abilities and asking questions about her training just showed Maia that he was someone she had something to prove to. To prove she was a capable mentor and a capable shinobi. Not only to him but to the whole village, possibly even the world.

__________________________________________________

Maia ran through the forest, searching for the man she saw wander through earlier. Everyday this man would disappear into the forest and Maia would watch the village gates, waiting for him to return. This day, with her mother working a double shift, she bunked off school, instead she would follow him.

She came to a halt when she heard a sound, like a knife scraping on wood. Creeping slowly, Maia approached a shrub to hide, taking notice of the sound of her footsteps. There she crouched, her heartbeat flooding her ears. She thought she had gone unnoticed until-

“I can hear you” the man said, sitting alone in the forest on a rock, sharpening a stick with his kunai.

A young Maia popped her head out behind the large shrub, shy but curious.

“Are you a shinobi sir?”

“I used to be” the man said, unbothered.

“I thought they killed shinobi that ran away”

“They do but they haven’t found me yet”

Maia took a moment to absorb what the man truly said. He was on the run, jumping from town to town till he would eventually die.

“Can you teach me?”

“No way, the last thing I need is something kid exposing me to the whole village”

“But sir, I think I’m meant to be a shinobi”

“Yeah and? Every kid does”

“No, look”

Maia had begun running, running and running in circles. Her speed was unusual for her age, not as great as it would be when she grew older but still impressive. Maia had practised this for months, hoping to impress him so he’d take her on as his student. He began to stroke his chin in thought. Maybe this kid could be shinobi after all, however the shinobi way had the potential to be isolating, trapping. Once that was your path you could never leave and if you did, you’d be on the run for the rest of your life.

“What's the name kid?” the old man asked.

“I’m Maia!”

Next Chapter

[spidyboyholland]

The Boy Next Door-Tom Holland (chapter 4-the first day)

CHAPTER 1/CHAPTER 2/CHAPTER 3/CHAPTER 4/CHAPTER 5/CHAPTER 6/CHAPTER 7

pairing: tom holland x female reader 

summary: itʻs your first day starting at a new school, luckily you have tom holland to help you navigate. 

warnings: swearing and maybe some sexual content 

Today was the day. The first day back to school since everything happened. A new school meant new classes, new teachers, new friends, etc. You were extremely nervous, the night before you had stayed up late stressing about what to wear. Luckily Tom had texted you last night, reassuring you that you had him today, and he would help you get around. That made you feel extremely better. Haz also texted you making sure you were ready. Both Haz and Tom were extremely sweet boys, though yesterday there seemed to be some weird tension between them while getting coffee.

You put on your mom jeans, white crop top, and over sized flannel, paired with some white converse and a dainty gold necklace. You decided to leave your hair down because you didnʻt want to seem like you were trying to hard. You pack your backpack with the basic class essentials along with some earbuds, phone charger, chapstick, and some other stuff you thought you might need later on in the day. 

Taking one last look in the mirror, you start heading downstairs. Your Mom wasnʻt cooking breakfast for you in the kitchen like she had been the previous days, she had work today. You poured some cereal out and ate it quickly, you had to walk to school so you needed more time. Grabbing your backpack you head out the door.

The weather was sort of cold and over cast again today but luckily it wasnʻt raining so the walk to school was rather pleasant. One benefit of moving out of the city was there was much less noise everywhere, everything was much quieter in North Ridge. The walk to school was pretty short, shorter than you expected, which was good because now you had more time to find your locker and classes before school started. Being late on the first day would be horrible. 

You walk up to the really nice big brick building, following the lead of some other students. The halls were busy and crowded with teens hanging out before class. You check the note you left on your phone, “locker #44″. You look around to check the number on the lockers and see that you needed to walk farther down the hall to reach #44. 

You can feel the stares of everyone in the hallway. It was obvious you were the new girl. You might of been able to get away with it in the city, being able to blend in, but there is way less people here, so people notice when theres a new girl in town. 

You finally reach locker #44 and attempt to open it. These damn lockers. You thought to yourself as you struggled to get it open. You heard a loud slam against the lockers only three feet away from you. Looking up you notice a tall good looking black haired boy in a blue and yellow varsity jacket. 

“Hey.” He said smiling with his extremely white and straight teeth

You looked over his shoulder and noticed he was with an entourage of boys, most of them wearing the same varsity jacket as him. 

“Uh hey” You sort of ignored his presence as you continued to attempt to open your locker. 

“Need some help?” He offered putting his hand out near your lock

You shrugged and chuckled a bit, I probably look like a fucking idiot. 

“Yes please” you respond while handing him your phone with the combo on the screen and taking a step back allowing him to help you open it

Looking up, you notice his piercing blue eyes. 

“Im Noah by the way. I saw you at Tomʻs party. Y/n right? ” He said as you heard a slight click and then the locker swung open

“Yea, and thank you so much. Speaking of Tom, have you seem him at all this morning by the way?” You ask as you started putting your books away into the locker

“I saw him outside with Laila, but hey, if you need anymore help just let me know. “ He said smiling and then walked away with all his friends behind him

You sigh as you continue putting all your books away. Tom was with Laila, again. 

You get startled by another person slamming there hand into the locker right next to you. 

“What the actual fu-” you look up noticing that its Harrison 

“So I noticed you met Noah and his boys.” 

“Why does everyone at this school have a thing with slamming their hands into the lockers “ you say laughing and closing you locker

“What did Noah say?!” Haz asked urgently as if Noah had just attacked you or something

“Nothing Haz! He was actually really nice, he helped me open my locker and stuff”

“Donʻt be fooled by his good looks y/n. Tom hangs out with Noah and those guys all the time. They are all douches y/n. If any of them bother you tell me and I will personally fuck them up. “ 

“Does that include Tom?” You ask 

“Why?! What did he do?!” He asks taking a step forward looking down at you

“Nothing! I was just asking...” 

“Oh... okay. Well I love Tom but he turns into a dick around them. I keep my space from Tom while at school. “ You notice Haz scanning the halls for Tom keeping a lower voice incase Tom were to show up 

“I thought you guys were best friends though?” 

“We are. Just not at school. Different story at school. And donʻt ask why, thats just how it is here.” 

“Okay. Where is he anyways? Noah said he was outside with Laila...” You trail off the sentence looking at down at your feet

“I donʻt know. Might be.” He changes the subject quickly “Wheres your first class?” 

“Uh...” you take a look at your phone for your schedule, “I have physics first, you?” 

“Fuck, I have calc, here follow me I can walk you to physics. “ You smile as you follow Haz through the halls. It feels good to have a friend here, it would be miserable knowing no one. You couldnʻt help think of Tom though, he texted you last night promising to be here for you today, and yet he is no where to be found. 

Following Haz down a different hallway on the left, he guides you to a typical physics class room. 

“Here you are, and two minutes early too. I donʻt think I will have time to walk you to your next class but it is probably in this same area. Just ask someone, if you get lost.” 

“Thanks Haz, see you later?” You ask as you start to open the door

“Definitely.” He said as he smiled then turned around heading out into the hall

You walk into the class room, noticing a bunch of people already in the class, everyone looking at you. You walk up to the teachers desk to introduce yourself

“Hey! I am y/n. I just transferred here.” The teacher is middle aged woman, she looked pretty nice

“Ah yes, y/n! My name is Ms.White. Feel free to take a seat anywhere. It is the start of the quarter so everyone will be getting new lab partners. “

“Got it, thank you!” You say as you find a seat in the very back 

Everyone else comes in the class, sitting with each other, catching up on their weekends. Lots of people stare at you but no one really talks to you or sits next to you.

“Alright class, time to start. Take your materials out, and ge-” 

As you are taking your notebook and pen out of your backpack you hear the teacher interrupted by someone walking in loudly

“TOM” you hear the teacher yell

This causes you to jolt your face up and see Tom standing in the front of the class

“You are three minutes late. This is the first day of the new quarter Holland and you are already late. “

“Sorry Ms. White. Wonʻt happen again.” He notices you and smiles a bit

“Go take a seat at the back. You can be partners with y/n” The teacher directs him to the back of the class as you see him celebrate a little 

“Hey stranger” he whispers as he takes a seat next to you

“Hey” you say looking down 

The class goes by pretty slowly. You are extremely surprised by the amount Tom knows. You sort of pictured him as a dumb jock who has killed his last brain cell with the amount of partying he does, but he managed to answer all the questions extremely fast and correctly as well. 

After class was over you started packing up you stuff back into your backpack 

“So, hows your first day going love?” He asks while waiting for you

Did he really just call me love? Is he seriously pretending like he didnʻt ditch me this morning? 

“Its going fine. “ You say as you sling you backpack over your shoulder and walk past him

“Woah woah wait up y/n!” He yells as he jogs up to you “Where do you think youʻre going?” He laughs 

“Calculus.” You say back coldly

“Whoa y/n.” He stops you and pulls you into a much less crowded hallway “Whatʻs going on? Are you mad at me or something?” He quietly asks while trying to grab your hand

You shake his hand off yours and look up to him

“Where were you this morning? Because I met Noah, and he said you were outside talking to Laila.” 

You see the look in his eyes change as soon as you mention Noah. He looks mad and sad and frustrated all at the same time. 

Shaking his head he says “Wait what? You met Noah?! What did he say? Did he do anything to you?!” Tom asks 

“The fuck Tom? No he didnʻt actually, he helped me open my locker and told me where you were since I couldnʻt find you at all this morning. “

Tom looks down at his feet, “Y/n im sorry. This morning with Laila was nothing. She was just trying to talk to me as usual and shit but it was nothing. And please donʻt listen to anything Noah says. He isnʻt really a good guy.” 

“Says you.” You snap back

“Y/n I swear, Im sorry I wasnʻt here this morning but Im here now. “He says as he wraps his arms around you 

You want to squirm out of his arms or push him away but you donʻt. You just wrap your arms around him and enjoy the moment. He smells really fucking good. 

He unwraps his arms from you but continues to hold your hand. 

“We good?” He asks with puppy dog eyes 

“Yea yea I guess” You say shrugging 

“Okay good! Whereʻs your next class?”

You spend the rest of the day with Tom, you have pretty much all the same classes except you have digital journalism as an elective in the afternoon and he has football. 

You notice Haz multiple times more that day, smiling and saying hey. 

At the every end of the day you were waiting outside of the school because Haz told you to wait up for him. You notice Noah and all his boys walking out of the school, this time with Tom next to him as well. 

“Hey y/n” Noah says as he puts his arm around you

You struggle to get his arm away from you pretending to laugh a bit 

“Hey Noah...” You say as you glance over at Tom. He looks at you but doensʻt say anything

“How was your first day?” He asks while leaning against the railing

“I donʻt know it was good I guess...” You answer while trying to look at Tom to see if he was going to say anything 

“I saw you and Thomas hanging out all day? You guys fuck or something at his party?” He asks in a sort of mean tone

You see Tomʻs face shoot up when he asks that. Tom pretends to laugh it off but you can feel tension 

“What the fuck no... we literally just met on Friday.” you snap back at Noah while taking a step back

“Damn thats longer than he usually takes to fuck. Right Thomas?” Noah asks Tom while looking back at him 

“Shut the fuck up dude...” Tom says 

“In fact, shouldn;t you be with Laila right now?” Noah teases while the rest of the guys laugh 

“Ha ha very funny dicks. Now if youʻll excuse us, me and y/n have to get going.” Tom says as he grabs your hand pulling you to the parking lot 

You can hear the boys behind you yelling stuff like “wear protection!” and “be gentle on her!”. It makes you so mad. Mad at them, but more mad at Tom for not saying anything. 

Tom opens the passenger car door side for you and you hop in. He starts the car and you guys drive off in silence. 

“Y/n Im sorr-” He starts but you interrupt him

“What the fuck Tom? What the fuck was that? “ You yell at him

“Y/n Im sorry! Thats just how they are,  I told you they are dicks.” 

“Then why are you friends with them?” You snap

“Im not really. They are the football guys though so I have to see them a lot. Haz is my actual friend. I just donʻt have lots of time to hang out with him at school, plus if Noah and the boys saw me with Haz they would tear him apart.” 

You just sit in silence till you get all the all the way home. You guys are just sitting in his car in the driveway.

“Y/n I didnʻt know they would be such dicks today, Its because youʻre new, and really beautiful, they donʻt know how to get your attention any other way”

“Tom you should of said something instead of just taking that shit.”

“I know... Im sorry. Next time I wonʻt let that happen, and please ignore all the shit they said about Laila and stuff. I did all that stuff back then. Thatʻs not me anymore I swear. “ He says while getting out of the car and opening your car door for you

“Tom I donʻt give a shit about what you did in the past. I care about what you do now.” 

“Okay good, in that case...” he trails off the sentence and looks down at your lips

holy fuck. 

He puts his hand on your face and leans in slowly. Your lips connect in a light but passionate kiss. Your lips move in perfect sync. His stays on your face but he moves his other hand around your waist. You feel his body push you into the car, as he continues to kiss you. The kiss lasts for multiple more seconds before you pull away. 

“Am I forgiven?” He asks somewhat out of breath, his face still very close to yours

“I guess.” You says smiling. He leans in for another kiss, this time it is more like a long peck, before he backs up. 

“Can I drive you to school tomorrow?” He asks with his hands around your waist 

“Sure.” 

“See you tomorrow love.” He says before leaving one last soft peck on your lips. 

You smile as you skip happily back into your house

“Im home mom!” You yell to her in the kitchen with a very sing songy tone

“Hey honey! Did Tom drop you off?” She asks 

“Yep!” You say, still smiling, making your way upstairs. 

You close your door and lay down on your bed, smiling, thinking about Toms soft pink lips that tasted slightly of coffee. 

You hear a ding from your phone. Hoping its Tom you rush to check it. Only to see a text from Harrison. 

“Thanks for waiting up for me then going home with Tom.” 

Shit. 

authors note: heyyyyy so this is another kind of long chapter, also there will probably be some spelling errors and stuff in it for a bit until I look back through it to fix it. Let me know if you guys liked this, if you guys want to be tagged in it, and if you have any suggestions for future chapters! Thanks!

[wildfire317s-oc-box]

Name: Willow (no family name listed as she is an orphan)

Hair color: brown

Hair style: originally her hair is an absolute tangled mess but after she is found by the others it gets brushed out and put into semi-tame pigtails

Eye color: grey

Skin color: undead white

Age: physically shes maybe a month or two older than Klot, technically shes around 68.

Species: vampire (originally feral)

Fang placement: third from the left and right respectively

Lineage: she has no clue just that shes been hiding in the forest near town for the last few centuries being mistaken for a ghost.

Nicknames: little willow, little ghost girl, baby bat, sapling, thumper

Fashion sense: anything that will fit, would probably wear a paper bag if she needed to

Height: due to her almost never getting a proper meal her growth was stunted and shes actually a little bit shorter than Klot.

How she got there:

She was orphaned when she was still in her early to middle double digits and she got dropped off at a nearby orphanage. When that burned down about three years later she was left to her own devices and decided to dig herself a hideout in the woods that used to be either a fox or badger hole but had been abandoned. The main reason she hadn't been found earlier was because she almost never left her hideout because she remembered that mortal grownups were dangerous so she hid whenever she heard or saw anyone coming. But as the years passed the bugs and small animals she survived on started to avoid the general area of her hideout so she had to venture out more often. Eventually she started having to steal things from shops in town and peoples houses while they were sleeping. One dark stormy night when the clouds were so thick you couldn't see a speck of moonlight and wind blew so hard she could hardly control her flight pattern, a combination of a flash of lightning and a stronger gust of wind sent her spiraling through town and into a lamppost, crash-landing her half-starved, unconscious self right into the path of sunshine and her grandpa. Who of course suspecting he had finally caught a vampire picked her up by the scruff (while she was still a bat) and carried her back to their house where he put her in a cage in the basement. And she was stuck like that for a few nights barely moving a muscle and struggling to stay conscious until Polidori (who by now had figured out she was in-fact a vampire) actually began to grow concerned and began prodding her with a twig he found every now and then, to every couple hours, to every hour just to see if she was even breathing (which due to the massive amount of garlic he stored down there came out as more of a wheezy cough). His prodding only had a major reaction once after he put a smaller but still realistic bat dummy in the cage with her while she was sleeping and attempted to take it out again when she was awake, causing her to struggle to her feet and (while holding onto the cage bars) attempt to shield it with her body, face-planting to the floor and giving herself a bloody nose after he closed the cage again. After another week he started questioning what he was doing and if it was right so he decided to let Sunshine attempt to care for her which was a good thing considering she probably would have died otherwise. So Sunshine decided to keep her up in her room on her desk and of course Oskar ended up finding out. (This would be after Oskar eventually explains the whole vampire thing to her only after being prompted by ms.vonwitchblood) After explaining the situation both Oskar and Sunshine make an attempt to nurse her back to health. And over several days of sneaking and shenanigans (and baths in the bathroom sink to get rid of fleas) Willow is up and running again and attempts to fly out the window not realizing its closed, and bounced back to land on her butt and transform back only to reveal to both Sunshine and Oskar that she is an absolute ragamuffin-gremlin-child that is almost certainly feral. So she backs herself up into a corner and curls up into a ball and after about an hour its decided that Oskar should take her over to Stellaluna and Isabella's house for now. After another few weeks and many conferences with the teachers, the count, and Stellaluna its decided that she would continue to live with Stellaluna and Isabella (and technically Buck as well) and go to school with the rest of the little vampires. This is where she meets her new best friend and technically adopted big brother. Eventually She gets dragged into a shopping spree by her new friends/classmates when her adopted moms take them to a netherworld mall (well her adopted moms did the actual shopping, her classmates helped her pick things out) and she ended up with a new outfit (she also talked Buck into getting a new outfit).

Her experience with professor Polidori:

She isn't really sure what to think of him at all, she still has the bat dummy he put in her cage. Her new family, friends and teachers are hoping that she actually managed to change his mind about vampires.

Her experience with her peers:

She gets along great with everyone despite being a shy, feral little bat with next to no contact with anyone else. She and Buck basically become like Klot and Ashley where they are rarely ever separated but she is also pretty close to Oskar, Klot and Ashley. And Gothetta (much like how she is with Klot) decided to be the mom-friend. Since they are the youngest Willow and Klot tend to play together a lot whenever none of the others can/want to, and they also tend to team up on their teachers whenever either one or both of them want something (sure the count can turn down one set of "pouty bat eyes" but can he turn down both at the same time? I doubt it). Stoker did try to steal one of her blood-cookies once, he did not try a second time since she nearly bit his fingers as a knee-jerk reaction from having to defend her food from raccoons. Sometimes the others joke that she is the rabid vampire that polidori is always going on about but she doesn't care because its funny and it may or may not be partially true. Belladonna eventually gains her trust and befriends her through giving her cookies. She and Buck like Sunshines rebellious and mischievous side, mostly because she finds it funny.

Her home and school life:

She is very curious and tends to get in to things so her adopted moms and brother have to keep an eye on her so she doesn't accidentally mess up a potion or something. She likes it when all of her friends come over and they can all play and go on fun trips. She is a bit shy whenever Ludwig comes to visit but she likes listening to him play music and tell stories and she is getting used to him. She occasionally steals Buck's old/original hat (which is comedically big on her) which he finds hilarious since it droops over her eyes. She (understandably) has lower grades than everyone else but due to her situation prior to her discovery, she has been given a pass until she can actually catch up, and Belladonna has been tutoring her whenever her great uncle visits the castle and she comes with. While she was still getting used to being around other people she would occasionally take off to her hideout but eventually she showed the others where it is and while she did leave some things there in case of an emergency she took most of her stuff to her new home. Her hideout is actually somewhat reminiscent of a hobbit hole; sturdy, dry and a decent temperature but she had a pile of dry leaves, hay and anything made of fabric she could scavenge from town as a bed. She keeps the bat dummy in her coffin next to the teddy bat she got at the mall and her waist scarf which she has had as long as she can remember.

Her personality and behaviors:

She is very sweet but she is still pretty shy and almost definitely still a bit feral (much like buck who is still a bit of a stray). She is definitely a bit more cautious while out in the town than she is in the forest but then again she knows where all the danger is in the forest. Due to her still being a bit feral she doesn't usually eat around others, the most she will do is grab her plate and eat in the corner and she doesn't let anyone touch her food once she has it but she is getting a bit better at being less food-territorial. She also tends to keep anything of relative value she finds on the ground while she is in town so she has a few small collections of things that people lost or left behind, Buck occasionally helps with this since they share a room and they keep their horde in their closet. She does not like storms so whenever theres a bad one she will either hide in the corner the farthest away from all the windows and any doors that lead outside or go curl up with either of her adopted moms or if that fails her adopted brother, if all else fails she will go curl up the dragon. She is very curious so she is always asking questions which occasionally do not have answers. Only Lenny and Buck know this but she can unhinge her jaw like a snake, Buck thinks its cool, Lenny finds it mildly intimidating. She has a habit that pretty much everyone has noticed, whenever she is concerned about something where ever she is she will start doing the thing that rabbits do when they are trying to warn eachother of oncoming danger (basically thumping her foot on the ground repeatedly at high speeds) do call attention to it, which she picked up from observing the rabbits in the forest along with learning to run and jump like them on all fours incase she gets knocked to the ground. When it comes to blood she tends to either go after larger animals in the woods or follow her "adopted mom's" lead, she never bothers the rabbits because they taught her a lot of what she used to survive and earned her respect and protection.

[yourfriendlyneighbourhoodauthor]

What happens next? pt 8 (Avengers x teen!reader)

Wooh! So sorry for the long wait, I know as a reader of fanfiction that it is a bit discouraging when the writer does not update for a while. But I just wanted to say a huge thanks to anyone that has read this series or has taken the time to comment, every bit means so much to me. It took a while to update because I lost passion for the story but I didn’t want to leave you on a cliffhanger. That said, you are more than welcome to take this idea and the characters and write your own stories but I would love to be tagged in them! :) Thank you to everyone who reads this!

What happens next? pt 1    What happens next? pt 2

What happens next? pt 3    What happens next? pt 4

What happens next? pt 5    What happens next? pt 6

What happens next? pt 7

Masterlist

Synopsis: THE FINALE WOOH! The prank is one to remember and there may be a little retribution coming to the home of a certain barbie ;)

It had been many late nights of planning fueled by caffeine and sugar. The Solstice Ball was finally arriving. In a couple of days the prank would be over. The plan was set. On the night, you and Charlie would enter the ball and then ‘coincidentally’, you would both go to the toilets at the same time. Here was the smart part. The school had one of those air systems with the big man sized vents. They went all around the school. In the bathrooms there were little vents that you and Charlie were going to climb through.

One could be thinking; why the hell are you both running around James Bonding this shit up when you could just walk around like normal humans.

Well, unfortunately, with all the past pranks that had happened, even the Solstice Ball was being supervised. And by supervised, they really meant it. In every sense of the word. The doors to the rest of the school were going to be locked and there were security guards hired to walk around the perimeter of the school. Luckily, you and Charlie would already be inside but, the sprinkler system was in the boiler room. Which would be inside the school. Which was locked off. Which also couldn’t be entered from outside the school because of the guards.

So for the sake of the prank, you and Charlie were about to be turned into vent system cleaners for the night. There was so. Much. Dust.

You had picked out your outfit a few weeks before the ball, it was this F/C dress/ F/C suit that you had found at this old store. You had also been with Charlie when he had his suit fitted. It had been a birthday present from his mum.

You walked out of your bedroom, the walls finally having been decorated with posters and pictures, and entered the common room. Tony and Charlie both smiled when you walked in.

“You look great Y/N,” Charlie hugged you.

You exhaled a nervous breath, “Thanks, Charlie,” smiling, you continued, “you look amazing too The tailer did a great job.”

Charlie did a mock twirl and curtsy, pulling a laugh from you and Tony.

Tony stepped forward, his eyes twinkling happily. “I”m proud of you, Y/N, I know it hasn’t been easy for you, but you have been so brave and strong. And, you can’t prove that I said this, but good luck with your prank.” You and Charlie both thanked Tony. Natasha came running in with a camera and flashed you three smiling together before you could blink. Tony yelled after her and with a quick goodbye ran off in pursuit of the Black Widow.

You and Charlie looked at each other and laughed, leaving to go to the ball.

The theme of this year was ‘movies’ and yes, you may not have followed that theme and actually gotten an outfit from a movie. But you were pretty confident that you could improvise, should anyone ask.

Entering the school’s hall, The walls were covered with posters from the latest releases on one wall, as well as older classics on another. There was space for dancing, surrounded by tables of various colours. Red ones with hearts all over them, black and white ones with bullet casings in the middle, yellow and blue ones with smiles everywhere. The music playing was quiet, the atmosphere not at the dancing level yet. Everyone was still coming, the room slowly filling. Teachers were at stations around the room, chaperoning. You spied Miss Fletcher at the punch table, eyeing it to make sure that no one spiked it. The senior class a few years back had gotten way too out of control when one student decided to liven things up.

The opening announcement, by the lovely Stacy Bryers, just the all round angel of sucking up while simultaneously flipping all the teachers off behind their backs, was short and far from sweet in your eyes. Although, in your opinion, nothing was sweet about Stacy. You looked up from your knife, contemplating suddenly picking up knife throwing, and caught Charlie’s eyes. He pointed to his watch. You both stood up and headed to the toilets. Once you were in, you looked for the vent on the walls. It was pretty high up, but if you stood on one of the sinks, you could reach it. You had a screwdriver in your bag and the map that would lead you to the boiler room, along with a small torch.

The problem would be if anyone needed to use the toilet, so you had to work fast. You placed your foot on the sink and placed your hand on the wall to brace yourself. You grabbed the screwdriver and began to unscrew the grate. Sweat was threatening to break out as your heart beat a mile a minute, the adrenaline pouring through your body at the thought of being caught. You heart was thumping in your head, almost masking the sound of the door opening as you unscrewed the last screw. You launched yourself to the ground just as the door opened.

Stacy, Brianna and Jess sauntered in, laughing about some superficial joke one of them had made. You froze, shoving the screwdriver away just as they finally noticed you. Stacy’s eyes lit up, a smirk forming on her face as she placed her bag on one of the sinks, careful not to wreck her nails.

“Fitting that you’d be in here,” Stacy remarked casually. You smiled internally at the thought of Charlie’s uncle coming later to arrest those ‘chosen few’. That was one of the things that was stopping you from launching yourself at Stacy and not the floor this time. Jaw clenched, you prayed that the grate wouldn’t come crashing down.

You tried to think of something that would get Stacy out of the room quickly. Nada. Your brain short circuited and came up blank. Like staring down at an english test without having read the material, or when the video buffers. The barbie queen took this as a sign of weakness. Show no mercy.

“Is that outfit one of your parent’s?” she leaned in conspiratorially, “looks to me like it should have been crushed under all that rubble,” Her face belayed nothing, just that same fake smile plastered on. “Hell, if your parent’s dressed like that, maybe they should have died!” Jess and Brianna nodded in silent agreement.

But you, you were fuming. Something inside you snapped and you stepped right up to Stacy. Surprisingly, you were not that much shorter than her, only by an inch or so. You glared at her.

“You know what, Stacy? I’m done with this. Whatever you have against me, whatever the fuck, you think is a good excuse to torment me day in and day out, I’d love to hear it. Unless, it’s all about you as usual,” you put on a questioning expression, “is it trouble at home?”

Stacy’s eyes flickered and you paused for the briefest moment. Shock ran through your mind before the mindless anger took over again. “Even if your house life is shit, you have no right, no right. At. All. To harass me every day. I swear to you, if you don’t fuck off, I will make your life miserable, don’t think I don’t have proof of all the things that you’ve sent me. There is still such a thing as a paper trail these days,” you smirked, “not to mention that Tony Stark is my legal guardian,”

That moment would be one for the hall of fame. You would be telling this story for years to come. The look of pure shock on Stacy’s face was the best thing that you could have ever been gifted with. If only you could have recorded it.

Jess stepped forward menacingly, preparing to give you a makeover in the form of a black eye with the help of her fists. Before she could achieve that masterful art piece though, Stacy’s voice stopped her. Jess turned to look at her.

“She just insulted you and you want me to just leave it?”

Stacy picked up her bag, nails long forgotten, “We have better things to do than be here with this low life,” And with that, Stacy turned on her heel and left. Soon followed by the rest of team barbie.

Seconds of silence went by before you jumped in the air, fist bumping in victory. You yelled quietly in celebration until you remembered the prank and the grate on the wall. In no time, you had removed the grate and were on your way to the boiler room. Jumping out and landing on your feet, you brushed off as much dust as you could and waited for Charlie, who arrived not a moment later.

Soon, you too had filled the water tanks with dissolvable jelly powder, turning the water a nice shade of pink. The switch for the sprinkler was marked DO NOT PRESS. Charlie held his hand above it, “Who follows those rules anyway?” You smiled as he pressed it, both of you sprinting back to the hall with a pair of keys that Charlie had managed to find in the janitors coat.

You opened the doors to find mayhem. Everyone was either running out of the hall, running for shelter under the tables, or dancing wildly under the sugary liquid. Seems like someone did manage to spike the punch after all, judging by how well these people’s motor functions were. You turned to Charlie, “Is your uncle almost here?” He nodded, pointing to one of the open doors that lead to the car park. Faint blue and red lights were flashing outside.

Charlie had given his uncle, Officer Murel, the profiles of Stacy, Jess and Brianna just incase they tried to run away from the ‘rain’ and not just hide under a table or something. Luckily, Stacy had realised that this was a prank and was yelling at people to remain calm, her ‘natural leadership’ emerging. More like the fear she put into people if they didn’t listen to her. You nodded to Charlie and he ran to turn the water system off just as his uncle entered the building.

He walked up to Stacy, with two other officers that you didn’t know. He looked at her for a few moments before speaking, just as the sprinklers stopped. “Are you Stacy Bryers?” She nodded.

“Thank God you’re here officer, there’s been a prank-“

Officer Murel interrupted her, “Yes, we can see that, but I’m here for another reason,” He stepped forward and pulled her hands into cuffs before she could protest.

“Stacy Bryers, you are under arrest for public indecency and vandalism, you have the right to remain silent, any you do or say can and will be held against you in the court of law.” Stacy’s face was bright red, the vein in her forehead popping out.

“What?! I never, I wouldn’t…What are you talking about?!” Meanwhile, the other two officers had also ‘arrested’ Jess and Brianna for the same reasons, with just about the same reactions. You were almost in tears trying to hold in your laughter at Jess’ insistance that, her father would be so angry, and Brianna’s, we are going to sue you so much that you won’t be able to afford a night’s meal.

Charlie came running in just at that moment and halted in front of his uncle. “Uncle Josh? Is that you? Oh I can’t believe it how are you!” They hugged and Stacy stood in shock before Charlie turned to her, “Oh yeah, this was all a prank but thanks for the footage!” He threw finger guns her way then pointed to the phone in your hand. You smiled and waved, stopping the recording before sprinting to Charlie’s car before Stacy could get the footage and delete it.

When you were both safely away, Charlie pulled up to the curb. You both burst out cheering in joy. The prank had worked! You thought of all the times in the future that you woule be telling this story. It would never get old in your eyes.

You hugged your best friend. “Thank you for everything, Charlie. You’ve been such an incredible help and I can’t tell you how much I love you.” Charlie smiled at your words.

“I love you too Y/N, and hey, you’ve been great as well.”

Charlie dropped you off at the Avengers tower before heading home. You stood watching him drive off before going up to your floor.

That night you sat with the Avengers and told them everything that had happened in the prank. Everyone agreed that it had been a huge success. You all laughed when you showed them the arrest video and you found yourself in tears on the floor with Clint and Natasha.

You knew that you were still healing, and it would still take time before the scars began to fade. But in that moment, you knew that this was finally your home.

Tag list: @bellero  @phonegalhelp  @rheawinchester  @rosegoldquintis  @what-the-heck-life  @denim--wrapped--nightmares

[dasirunrunrun]

Good Grief - Chapter One

Jungkook makes a habit of showing up drunk to a nearby flower shop. Bad puns and fluffy pining ensue.

Or, a college!au in which BTS are all frat boys, Namjoon is a science club president,Jimin just wants a good party, and Jungkook is hopelessly fascinated by the girl who takes care of flowers in her free time. author’s note:  hiiiiiii!! so this is my first ever fanfiction, and to be completely honest- it’s a long ride. so strap in, and get ready for a rollercoaster of emotions. Also there is a soundtrack/playlist for this fic! If you enjoy listening and reading (or, if you just want to have a g list of songs) you can find it here ! disclaimer: All mentions of the university in this fic are purely pulled from my ass— I don’t claim to know anything on a deep, spiritual level about university clubs, classes or frat parties. Side characters, that aren’t specifically Bangtan Members™, are all made up and therefor fictional .

If you’d prefer reading on AO3 the link is here

chapter warnings: mentions of alcohol (and drunkenness) chapter notes: this chapter is all for getting things rolling and introducing characters! it’ll pick up for sure after this! 

words: 4.2k

Chapter One

track: do i wanna know? - arctic monkeys

There are loads of things you can expect while working in a flower shop- Like, for one, an abundance of bees, butterflies, and other bugs that enjoy the flowers just as much as humans. Or, the knowledge that your bouquet will go to a receiving, flustered, significant other. Those things are expected. Those things are welcome, even.

But, hearing an obnoxious, loud knocking at the backside shop door, at 21:30, is definitely not on that list.

It wasn’t like the gentle knock from the delivery guy in the middle of the day— No, this was a banging, brutish sound coming from the other side of the Hibiscus green house. At 21:30.

With my vast experience of watching horror movies, I thought I was well prepared for this kind of situation. I had convinced myself that i’d be a badass main character— with double pistols and a sick ass soundtrack in the background. Now though, with a probable axe murderer on the other side of the door, I couldn’t bring myself to move, let alone play something like Highway To Hell in the background.

So here I am, at 21:30, staring at the door shake with every rap from the lunatics’ hand.

They say panic brings on hysteria, and maybe hysteria is what brought a surge of curiosity to my head in that very moment. Who even comes to a flower shop this late? For a robbery? Maybe. But there’s barely any money to be made from selling flowers. My family and house is a clear example of that.

Fortunately, my thoughts were interrupted by a voice cutting through the silence— coming from the very door that was, just a moment ago, victim of a massive beating. “Hiiiiii- I’m sorry for disturbing so late,” came a very slurred, very sugary yell from behind the door.

I held my breath, trying to decipher what age of male could be the host to that scratchy, rough voice. When another intrusion of thought, this time: “Excuuuuusseeee me” came. His voice picked up, louder — echoing off the walls of the shops, which had me ducking a bit behind the counter for useless cover.

I stared at the screen door, faintly able to make out the shape of the “knocker.” He didn’t look so huge, maybe taller than me, but not in a way that screamed “old man.” I counted to three, allowing myself to gain the composure that was needed.

With newfound courage, that was promptly pulled straight out of my ass, I cleared my throat, and moved to the door. The walk there felt like eternities, and my heart was beating so loudly there was a good chance that he probably heard it. I took a deep breath, hand on the doorknob, wondering just how I could make an escape if this turned out to be a terrible idea. Giving a three second prayer to a God I wasn’t sure I even believed in, I pulled open the door.

I was met with a very drunk, as expected, very attractive boy- looking around the same age as me. His black hair fell evenly into his eyes, as he moved to tilt his head to the side in obvious curiosity. The boy’s lips broke into a grin— making him look like a sort of soft, inebriated bunny. “Hi ther-”

“We’re closed,” was the first thing out of my mouth, cutting off his dreamy sigh. He stood straight up, looking put off- in that drunk kind of way. I tried to clear my throat, hoping that it would give me the authoritative image I was going for.

“If you’re closed then why are you answering the door?” Was the unhesitating, sloppy, strung together sentence that was returned back to me. Although his face remained the very description of amused humor, I could only be reminded of a five year old boy- immaturely sticking his tongue out.

I didn’t respond, too stunned with the quip to try and reply. My thoughts were running wild; trying to think of an escape plan (incase things went south), and at the same time, trying to find a way to roast the kid back. It was a very conflicting, and telling, moment for me as a person.

“Haha, caught.” The boy sung back to my lack of response, bringing up both of his hands in the ‘finger gun’ pose. His voice sounded lazy, like he had lost the energy to keep up this conversation. “Yah, are you a perpetual liar?”

I found myself bristling at his accusation. It took all the willpower I possessed to not shoot something snappy back. “You need to leave.” I informed, trying not to let the  irritation I was feeling seep into my voice. I had to look up to meet his eye directly, and that, besides being held up from going home, was the most annoying thing. “If you don't— i’ll, i”ll probably call the police, or something.” The threat was weak and held little to no truth. That much was obvious, even to my own ears.

Drunk- door knocker gave an almost smug chuckle- the sound airy in the silence of the shop. “Alright, alright. Fair enough,” this time the response was definitely toned down, but still holding the same causal flow of someone who was undoubtedly inebriated. “I’ll go.” A pause. “Don’t want you ‘probably’ calling the police or something.” The last comment was, beyond any doubt, snark. And for the second time that night I felt the urge to slap him.

I blinked, trying not to let the shock show on my face, as he saluted me before turning to walk back down the road.

I leaned my back against the nearest wall, waiting to see if another sudden knock was to erupt from behind the locked door. To my absolute relief; there was none. The moments after seemed to pass like hours; silence encapturing the room like a net.

Letting out a breath I didn’t realize I had been holding, I slowly allowed my body to slide down — using my back against the wall as a prop and comfort. The situation, in reality, was terrifying. The strangers ease of words, and light smile had brought most of the tension to leave my body. But with silence as my only companion, the question of: What would have happened had it not just been a random drunk passing by? rose to my head. A shiver climbed up my body— urging me to wrap my arms carefully around my torso.

A buzz from my phone sent me jumping to the side— immediately feeling the panic sneak back up my bones. Illuminating light flooded from my phone, indicating a message from “Mom” with the following text of: ’lock up quickly, you’ll need to eat before sleeping xx’

Sending back a short “okay x” in response and quickly gathering my things, I made my way out of the shop— careful to lock everything up, and double check the security alarm.

The walk home wasn’t far; ten minutes by foot, notably shorter by vehicle. The air was crisp, but still warm enough for only a light jacket. Spring was approaching faster than expected, which meant the flower shop was also attracting business. The image of the boy floated back into my head at that moment, making me puff out a breath in indignance.

What was that about? The situation was too bizarre to even try and normalize. Though, after much pondering, it made a bit of sense. Our flower shop was down the street from a major frat neighborhood. Drunk college students should’ve been expected to be roaming by every now and then. Even so, adrenaline continued to pulse through my bloodstream. Nearly five years of closing up shop for mom, and nothing like this had ever happened. I made a quick promise to myself to never mention this to her. She’d just get worried, and then insist that she should be the one closing up shop again.

But she had enough on her hands. What with trying to raise two twin boys. I mean, Dad was there, but working night shifts at the factory didn’t leave much room for “family bonding.”

I let out a soft sigh into the night air, nearing up on our small house in the process. The warm glow of light filtered out through the blinded windows, and just the sight brought a welcome feeling of comfort. Feeling my face give way to a soft smile, I brought myself to move into the house. Immediately, the smell of home cooked food, and familiarity fell on me.

“Mackkiiiee!” The pet name, usually put to use by my little brothers, rung in the air. Turning my face to the left, I was met with the scene of Max and Jamie- sitting on the ground with, what looked to be a drone, in between the two of them.

“Look at what we did!!” Max squealed excitedly, motioning to the black drone with over enthusiastic flicks of his arms.

“Your brothers are at it again.” The voice came from behind me, my mom, somewhere at the kitchen table. “Doing their little tinkering.” She clarified, as if that wasn’t clear to me.

“Oh,” Was all I could manage to push out of my throat. It’s ridiculous to be jealous of two 10 year olds, but honestly sometimes life was unfair. Here I was, 19 years old, working as hard as possible just to land B’s in school. While my brothers were already crafting their own devices. I watched the boys, seeing their eyes flicker back to me with obvious expectancy. “It’s awesome, kiddos.” I smiled, forcing all of the petty immaturity out of my body. “You guys are modern geniuses,” I grinned “Einstein would be soooo jealous.”

This proved to be the correct response, because moments later, the perfect image of joy was captured in the smiles that broke out on their faces. The two boys clapped hands together, then moved onto trying to take the device apart and give me an explanation of their expertise.

I let out a fond scoff, before moving to the kitchen and talk with my mom. She was sitting at the table, having already made a plate for me, with a newspaper clasped between her fingers. “Was everything in order at the shop?” She questioned lightly, raising her brown eyes to look over at me.

I pulled out my chair, taking a seat as memories of the situation from earlier replayed over in my head. “Yep, all good.” I lied smoothly, forking a piece of almost burnt chicken into my mouth.

“And for school tomorrow? Should I ask your father to give you a ride-”

“No,no,no” I rushed out, voice muffled by the chicken stuffed in my mouth. “I’ll take the bus.” I amended, after taking a sip of water,watching the shock leave her face and dawn into realization.Guilt flashed in her eyes like a warning. I let out a soft sigh and sat back in my chair, “it’s no big deal mom. Thursday’s are my free days, remember? I only have News Club, anyways.”

She didn’t look convinced, if anything even more discouraged. “I know, I know,” She murmured. “I just- you must be the only college kid without a license-”

“Ma’-” I cut her off for my own sake, really. I’d heard her complain over the “supposed sob story” that was my driving education (i.e nada) for years. It wasn’t like it was anyone’s fault but my own. My mom had always offered to pay for my driving classes, and then, of course, the payments to a car. But, that always felt selfish to me. Plus, with perfectly usable public transportation- why was that necessary?

“Well at least-” I stood up then, not wanting to hear her attempts at trying to “make up for it” when it wasn’t necessary.

“I’m going to bed now, ma” I said lightly after shoving my dishes into the dishwasher. “Thanks for the food- it was great.”

《                                               》

track: seeing stars - børns

The thing about university is: it’s not highschool. There is absolutely no comparison between the two. In university, if you chose to be “out of the loop,” it works. Because you aren’t forced to have everyone’s life shoved down your throat.

And that’s pretty legendary.

But unfortunately, as president of the newspaper club, it is my genuine job to have everyone’s life in my throat. Or, more accurately, in my computer.

“Nora,” The use of my name meant things were getting serious. “I’m telling you, the biggest story at the moment is the binge drinking epidemic in the frat houses.” Mary’s hesitant voice made me look up from my computer- pen in hand. “It’s absolutely revolting-” Her lispy voice was cut off by Jona’s laughter from another cubicle-like desk across the room.

“Mary, nobody cares about a little drinking from the school’s “infamous party house.” That’s old news.” Jona’s argument was accompanied by a signature eyebrow raise. Jona, our best journalist, had a lot of opinions; and he never chose to be quiet with them.

“He has a point.” Seokjin chimed in, to the left of me, looking much like a secretary: with a clipboard in hand, and coffee in the other. Seokjin was our vice president, and my best friend- to add. We’ve been attached at the hip for almost my entire life. Every memory I possess: he’s apart of.

“Yeah- you’d say that. What with being apart of the same frat.” This time the interjection came from Finn— sitting on top of his desk with a soccer ball in his hands. He gave it a toss, catching it moments later as he added: “you probably just want to avoid the bad press for Sigma Butter Alimony, or whatever it is”

Seokjin tilted his head to the side “it’s actually Sigma-”

“Pause.” Jona’s loud voice came across the room, causing all heads to swivel his direction. “Jin’s in a frat? Scratch that, the frat?” His face was the epitome of disbelief— eyes wide, mouth slightly agape as he stared at Seokjin. “My mans skinny as a twig, how is he out here with those guys?!”

Seokjin shrugged, unable to keep a smile from playing on his own lips. Mary let out an exasperated sigh, flopping into her office chair with a short grumble of words.

“So,” I started, glancing around the room to see all of their eyes had been averted back to me. “What i’m hearing is: we don’t have a cover story.” I let my words fall over the silence of the room— gauging everyone’s reaction.

The spring semester had just started, which meant stories were basically nonexistent. There was no interesting news to be told, because there was nothing interesting happening. Clubs were just getting started, most scandals were tamed or too old to even be considered news. Sport season was only just starting again, so that cut out all athletic stories. It was the great depression of Newspapers. A news article drought.

A chorus of agreements went around the room, making my shoulders sag with disappointment.

“What about the science club? Apparently they’ve been accepted into a famous science fair competition.” Finn suggested from across the room— his blonde hair was disheveled, probably from running his hands through it so much. “We could interview the president, Namjoon, and the star student Ju—”

I adjusted my glasses, flicking my eyes back to the white, blank screen of my word document. “We should wait until the competition is completed for that one. That way we can touch on the results- make a real story.” I kept my voice neutral, leaning back in my chair as silence, once again, filled the room. “We’ll keep that on the back burner.”

Mary threw her hands up, her curls bouncing with the movement.

“Then i’ve got nothing.” Finn shrugged, his face looking as blank as the current “article.”

I stayed quiet for a moment, mentally holding myself back from smashing my head against my desk. “Mary,” I kept my eyes glued to the computer screen “what all do you have on the frat story?”

I faintly heard a scoff coming from Jona, probably, and a low whistle from Seokjin.

I knew, just as everyone else, that the story wasn’t too complex- or even intriguing. But with no cover story there was no article, and this needed to be out by next week: at the latest. I looked up just as Mary bounced out of her chair, curls flinging wildly around her face.

“I’ll send all of my writing to you by the end of today!” She lisped out the words, voice full of excitement with a lower undertone of pride. In all fairness, this was her first cover story.

“Good, do that.” I watched as she moved around in a little dance— a smile tugging on the corners of my lips from the sight. “I’ll be heading out then, make sure to clean and lock up before you all leave.” I informed the crew, trying not to laugh at the scene of Mary attempting to rub her victory in the other two boys’ face.

“See ya’ boss.” Came Finn’s reply, flicking me a peace sign as I turned away.

Seokjin, as expected, followed me out only moments later. The air was warm, the beginning of spring manifesting itself in the weather. As expected, almost everyone was taking advantage of the sun: studying in the grass, unpacking picnics, while others had games of frisbee and soccer going.

As Seokjin and I walked, I ran over the previous conversation back and forth in my head. Despite the positive outcome, I couldn’t help myself from feeling a surge of disappointment at the lack of stories. A story like the one we were planning on writing, the one about the frat boys, was simply gossip.

“It’ll be okay.” Seokjin was staring at me— his face the perfect picture of calm and collected. He didn’t specify what he was talking about, but I knew right away. It always seemed like he could read my mind.

“I know,” The confidence in my voice was stronger than I was feeling. I clasped my hands loosely together, behind my back, as we walked. “You’re not mad, are you?” I was hesitant to ask: not really wanting to hear the answer. “I mean, this is about your frat house- your friends.”

He gave a light shrug— “A story is a story,” a pause was given in lieu to him bumping his side against mine. “Especially if it’s true. And who knows,” we passed a group of people playing guitar— having a jam session “maybe the story could help some of those who go too hard.”

I nodded along, shoving my hands deep into my pockets. I hadn’t thought of it like that, but then again— i’m not sure anyone besides Seokjin would think of it like that. He always looked at the world as if it were infinitely good— and everything was able to be fixed.

“So, your frat-” My attempt at pulling some details out of him was interrupted two boys from behind us.

A chorus of “Seokjin!”s rang in the air, pulling both me and the boy in question to a halt. We swiveled, almost in unison, to the duo walking behind us. A boy with striking orange hair, and a friendly face— accompanied by a hauntingly familiar mop of black hair, and a soft bunny smile.

I felt the air punch out of my lungs— eyes widening at the same moment that the boy, himself, glanced over at me. I watched his eyebrows knit together, an intense concentration flooding into his expression as he stared me down.

Seokjin was the first to speak, smiling lightly at the other two boys. “Jimin, Jungkook,” his voice held only amusement “‘m surprised to see you two up and moving after that party last night.”

The party last night. I flicked my gaze between Seokjin and Jungkook, the latter of the two still looking like he was trying answer the mysteries of the universe with every passing second.

The orange haired boy, the one who Seokjin nodded to first, Jimin- let out a laugh that held nothing but sunshine and friendliness. “It’s what we do, Jin-” His words were interrupted by the boy next to him.

“Do I know you?” The question had me blinking, and taking a step back all at once.

“No, you don’t.” I kept my voice firm— seeing the confusion in Seokjin’s face and the raise of eyebrow Jimin sported out of the corner of my eye.

“Are you sur-”

“Yes.” I interrupted, nodding my head along with the word.

“How sure?” He questioned again, looking utterly stumped.

“Pretty sure.” I squeaked out.

There was a long pause, no one daring to speak.

“Like what percentage of ‘sure’ are you at?”

“What?” I glanced over at Seokjin— watching him shrug back at me in response. He looked just about as miffed as Jungkook.

Jimin, once again, let out a loud laugh, clapping Jungkook on the shoulder as he did so. “Kook, you aren’t going to pull any girls with those lines.”

I flicked my eyes back to Jungkook who was biting his lip in obvious concentration, his head slightly tilted. The similarities from the previous night came so vividly that I found myself taking another step back. “I-I probably should get going…” I put lightly, bumping Seokjin’s side as a wordless goodbye.

Jungkook’s mouth dropped open— in either realization or protest, I couldn’t tell which. And, honestly, I wasn’t interested in staying to find out.

Seokjin nodded in response, mumbling something along the lines of ‘text me’ but i was too busy getting the hell out of there to take any real notice.

《                                        》

track: if you wanna stay - the griswolds

The walk to the bus stop felt much longer with the newest set of revelations on my mind. Jungkook. So that was his name. He was cute— in the way that, i’m sure, every girl recognizes.

I pushed my hands roughly through my hair— trying to simultaneously push the thoughts out as well. “Stupid Jungkook, stupid drunk knocking, stupi–”

My little rant was cut off by the doors of the bus opening in front of me— revealing a very bored looking bus driver staring at me expectantly. I hadn’t even heard the vehicle pull up, too lost in my own reverie. I nodded to the driver, pushing myself into the bus and picking the most familiar seat in the back corner.

It was a short bus ride, only 10 minutes, but enough time to finally stop thinking about that night. I made my way to the Flower Shop— walking in to be greeted by the soft smell of blooming flowers, and my mom, sitting behind the counter in deep conversation with a customer. I moved to the back storage room, grabbing a green apron and tying it around myself before starting with the plants.

Making my rounds around the shop, checking on flower pots and the progress of new blooms— it was a calming job. Easy to see why my mom loved it so much. There was also something so satisfying in being aide to the growth of something.

An hour or two passed, and my mom was yelling out a goodbye– giving me instructions like any normal day. I waved to her leaving figure, taking the spot behind the counter as more customers began to enter.

It was a busier day today, giving me a distraction that was well appreciated— and by closing time, I had almost forgotten completely about last night and the odd encounter with Jungkook today. As expected, no drunken knocks, or bunny smiles were thrown at me tonight. And locking up went as easy as it usually proved to be.

Replacing the relief I should’ve been feeling, there was another set of emotions. Too many to describe, though the familiar pull of disappointment hit me like a brick: surprising me more than anything else. I wasn’t sure what the disappointment was directed at anymore, but the feeling of it followed me the whole way home.

[seriestrash]

What Pretty Is

Prompt: Riley grows insecure about the triangle that once was and fears Lucas will get bored with her and realise he chose the wrong girl.  Note: I have written something similar to this before which you can read here. As I was sent similar but more specific prompts I decided to write another version. All anon asks are attached at the bottom of the post :)

Word Count: 2268

◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇

Unfortunately, Riley Matthews is no stranger to being bullied. Also, the quirky brunette has gotten used to other people having a say in her relationship, even though it upsets her. So when the two insecurity triggers collide Riley’s reaction is anything but rational. 

It all started one afternoon at school. Classes had ended and Riley fiddled in her locker with her books when two girls whom Riley had never met before approach. There was a stranger leaning against either side of Riley’s locker, one blonde and one redhead, each with devious looks on their faces. 

“Hello,” Riley gave them a smile each and held back her nervous laughter at how odd it seemed. 

The blonde girl nudged her head down the hallway and Riley followed the direction she was trying to highlight. Riley spotted Lucas and Maya walking together. Riley knew they had last period together and was waiting for them to all go to the bakery to study. Her best friend and boyfriend were in hysterics, laughing at something. Riley smiled at how happy they looked and the redhead let out a patronising ‘aww’. Riley turned to give her a funny look when the blonde girl snickered, “She doesn’t get it.” 

“Get what?” Riley was growing increasingly uncomfortable with the situation. 

“That your boyfriend clearly likes someone else,” The redhead placed a hand on Riley’s shoulder. 

The brunette shrugged her off and closed her locker, “That’s just our friend.” 

“We know,” The blonde nodded, “We’ve been following this whole triangle thing since the beginning of the year too.” 

“There is no triangle,” Riley stated calmly, “There never was and we’re all happy with how things ended.” 

“Or so you say,” The redhead scoffed. 

The blonde was very condescending as she spoke, “I mean the blonde beauty verses the pretty brunette? It just doesn’t seem to add up.. But nonetheless Lucas picked you for whatever reason, but eventually he’s going to realise you’re some naive little school girl and he should have gone with the obvious choice.” 

“How do you even know about that?” Riley crinkled her brows in confusion the blonde verses brunette statement.

But the redhead answered a different question. “Because everyone sees it and the sooner you do, the better.” 

Just then Lucas and Maya finally approached with quizzical looks wondering who the two strangers were. Quickly and without a word they skipped away together. 

“What was all that about?” Lucas asked as he took Riley’s hand. 

“Oh nothing,” Riley lied. Truth be told she was shocked by their encounter and even though these two strangers were saying nasty things to her, Riley was too confused to emotionally process it all. No, that would come later. 

“Ready to go to the bakery?” Maya asked with a grin. 

“Absolutely.” Riley nodded. 

Once at the bakery the six friends sat in their usual spot to study. Riley remained distracted the entire time. Her mind wandering back to the incident in the hallway at school. How could two strangers just boldly approach someone they don’t even know and insult her and her relationship? Once Riley got past this thought, knowing that the world isn’t as kind as she’d like, she starts to wonder if what they said was true. After all, it was an outside perspective to the situation. Maybe they weren’t all happy with the way things worked out. This thought was dwelling on her when Lucas whispered, “Riles, are you okay?” 

“Oh yeah,” Riley smiled, “Just tired.” 

“You sure?” Lucas asked not completely buying it. 

Riley nodded and continued on studying. Of course that was just a front as her mind was solely focused on those girls and what they had to say about her relationship. 

Then Riley’s mind is brought to the real world again when Maya took a tuff of Lucas’ shirt and yanked him forward, saying something intimidating in his face. Riley didn’t catch what warranted the close encounter but she wondered why, after months of seeing it happen that it bothered her now? She knew why, Riley knew the girls by her locker had gotten into her head but Riley couldn’t help but notice how Lucas smiled at Maya when she did it and wonder if he’s always reacted like that, she wondered if the whole thing has always seemed so... flirty.  A pang of jealously in Riley’s chest quickly turns to guilt for feeling that way. Maya is her best friend, she’d never do that to her and Lucas, he'd never either. 

Still, Riley noticed their jokes and laughter a lot more now and a whole week passed of close observing and she only became more aware of things. Ultimately, it built up so much that one afternoon Riley just got up from her seat at the bakery and left her friends without a word. 

It’s Maya that came to check on her. 

“Riles, what’s going on?” The shorter girl asked once she caught up. 

“Nothing,” Riley shook her head and thought quickly, “I have a really big headache, I thought I was going to be sick. Sorry for running out like that.” 

“Oh, honey,” Maya grew concerned, “You should go home, I’ll take you.” 

“No, no,” Riley said quickly, “I don’t want you to get sick incase it’s contagious. 

“Are you sure?” Maya asked with a coaxed head. 

“Positive,” Riley forced her smile, “Thanks for caring though.” 

“Always,” Maya gave Riley’s hand a tender squeeze, “Just text me if you need anything.” 

Once Riley parts with Maya - whom returned to the bakery and explained what was going on - the brunette made her way home with a quick stop along the way. Once Riley entered her room she empties the contents of her paper bag onto the desk. 

This brings us to the present, the part of the story where the quirky brunette loses her rational thought and goes ‘full Riley’ on the situation. She picks up the packet hair dye and makes her way to the bathroom where she starts to mix the peroxide solution. 

Twenty minutes later Riley emerges from the bathroom, towel drying her damp hair. When she renters her bedroom she’s startled to see Lucas sitting in her bay window. He chuckles at her jumpy nature and apologises for giving her a fright. 

“Lucas, what are you doing here?” Riley asks. 

“Maya said you weren’t feeling well so I brought you a snack and thought I’d come over to check on you,” Lucas waves a to go bag from the bakery in his hands, “You were in the shower so I thought I’d wait.” 

“That’s very sweet of you, but not necessary,” Riley fidgets with her hair, throwing her damp locks down her back.  “Like I said to Maya, I would hate for you to get sick too.” 

“Are you sure that’s all that is bothering you?” Lucas asks, “You’ve been acting kind of strange for the past week...” 

“I know I can be too much sometimes but I’m just sick okay?” Riley snaps. Completely uncharacteristic for her. 

“Whoa,” Lucas stands and takes a few steps towards her, “Where did that come from?” 

“I’ve just been thinking a lot about us this past week,” Riley folds her arms close to her chest, guarded. 

“And?” Lucas raises a brow, almost terrified of her response. 

“I don’t think we’re going to work out,” Riley can only mumble. 

“Why not?” Lucas asks quickly. 

“Because we’re not compatible..” Riley shrugs one shoulder. 

“What do you mean, ‘not compatible’?” Lucas scoffs. “Riley, I thought we were really happy?”

“For now,” Riley frowns, “I just think that we work better as friends.” 

“How could you possibly think that?” Lucas asks with wide eyes and exaggerated hand movements, “Riley, things were terrible between us when we tried to be just friends. We’re not friends.”

“Maybe we should try because I don’t want to lose you,” Riley is on the verge of tears. The emotional toll of all the nasty things the girls said to her are starting to break the brunette down. 

“You’re not losing me.. I just don’t understand why you’re trying to break up?” Lucas is by her side in a second once he realises she’s upset. 

“I’ve just been thinking lately about how you might have made the wrong choice.” Riley tries to steady herself, “Choosing me instead of Maya.” 

“That’s what this is about?” Lucas frowns. 

“Everyone has always thought you two are a better fit for each other...” Riley doesn’t hold eye contact when she speaks. 

“Since middle school, people have been telling me how I feel and because of it I was miserable for months.” Lucas shakes his head. “I honestly don’t care what people think anymore,” Lucas lets out a frustrated groan. “I’m so sick of everyone trying to tell me how I feel.”

“I’m sorry,” Riley shies away at his outburst, feeling guilty for another reason now. 

Lucas notices her shift away from him and tries to soften his approach, “I only care what you think. Your opinion is what’s mattered most to me since I arrived in New York.” 

“I think that they’re right,” Riley says quietly, “And if not Maya specifically I think you should be with someone more like her.”

“Where is this coming from?” Lucas’ face drops from frustration to desperation. 

“I’ve just been questioning things lately. I don’t know,” Riley shakes her head, “You called Maya ‘The Blonde Beauty’ and me ‘The Pretty Brunette’.. They’re not exactly the same thing.”

“Riley, I’m a guy,” Lucas says seriously. 

“I hadn’t noticed,” Riley says sarcastically with an eye roll. 

Lucas lets out a slight laugh at her joke and leads her to the bay window where they sit. 

“I said those things to Zay after first meeting you in the subway,” Lucas explains, “I told him about two strangers with little to go off other than you’re looks.” 

“Still, pretty is-” 

“Pretty means soft,” Lucas gently cuts her off, “Pretty meant how warm your eyes felt when your smile reached them. Pretty was the shyness in your voice when you said hello.” 

“That’s what it means?” Riley coaxes her head. 

Lucas nods and takes Riley’s hand in his, “When we first met I didn’t have much to go off other than pretty. If someone was to ask me about you now, looks would never be the first thing that would come to mind. I’d describe your kindness, your unwavering ability to put others before yourself, the unmeasurable amounts of belief you have in everyone.” 

“Zay would have hated that,” Riley tries to joke as she wipes a fallen tear off her cheek. 

Lucas laughs softly, “Riley, you have an incredible talent for seeing the best in people but you find little positivity in yourself. Riley, I like you, for what’s on the inside. Being pretty on the outside is just a bonus.” 

“If you really liked me then why was there ever a triangle?” Riley’s voice is soft as she speaks. 

“Because people kept trying to tell me how I felt,” Lucas says firmly as he forces her gaze, “And when I finally stopped listening to them things were clear as ever. It’s you Riley. I’ll always keep choosing you.” Lucas brushes against Riley’s knuckles with his thumb, “I don’t think I even have a choice in the matter. It’s always going to be you.” 

Riley can’t form words in that moment, all she can do is look at Lucas with love in her eyes. 

“So are we good?” Lucas asks filling the silence, “Are you good?” 

“Perfect,” Riley nods and initiates a hug. Lucas reciprocates without hesitation and nuzzles into Riley’s neck. He opens his eyes for a moment and something strange catches his eye, causing him to pull away. 

“Riles?” Lucas asks bringing a hand up to her head, “Why is your hair orange?” He gently grips the wet clump of hair and pulls it forward.

Riley yanks it away with a look of embarrassment on her face. “I was trying to dye it blonde but I didn’t leave it in long enough so it went orange.” 

“Just a patch?” Lucas tries to hide his smirk. 

“You’re supposed to test a patch out first before dying the whole thing,” Riley frowns. 

Lucas fails at holding in his laughter. 

“Are you laughing at me?” Riley all but pouts. 

“No,” Lucas shakes his head, giggles still escaping him. “Well, yes.” 

“Stop!” Riley buries her face in her palms. 

“It’s just, of course you try and be responsible during a rash decision,” Lucas says fiddling with the orange patch again. 

“Stop making fun of me,” Riley whines. 

Lucas contains his laughter and softens. “I’m not going to stop you from doing things you want. Riley, I’ll never stop you from being who you are.” Lucas speaks and Riley finds his gaze again, her cheeks still pink. Lucas continues, “Sure, if you genuinely want to dye your hair blonde that’s fine but if you’re doing it because you think being more like Maya will make you a more likeable person, then no. You have beautiful hair, Riley and like I said that’s nothing in the list of things that make you wonderful. Your soul is beautiful, that’s what counts the most.” 

“You like me, don’t you?” Riley asks sweetly, really feeling how much Lucas cares about her.

“I fell on the subway that day too, Riley,” Lucas smiles sweetly, “For you.” 

In that moment and all the others following it didn’t matter to Riley what two mean girls in the hall - or anyone else - said about her relationship. She liked Lucas and he liked her. 

◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇

All anons credited here for inspiring this one shot :) Thank you so much for your prompts :)

[theepolynesian]

The Elf and the Dwarf (ch. 4)

Summary: Erebor was reclaimed and the line of Durin had not ended. You were an elf and now that your quest was over, you didn’t know what to do especially since you gained feelings for a certain King Under the Mountain.

Chapter Summary: Visits and Apologies

Chapter Categories: Humor, Small Bit of Angst, I guess. Idk

Previous Chapter: Chapter 3

Next Chapter: Chapter 5

The next month passes by quickly. Half of the dwarves helped rebuild Dale including the Company minus Thorin, Fili and Balin. Since becoming the heir to the throne, there was a lot that he needed to learn and both Balin and Thorin helped him with that. Some dwarves also chose to stay behind to protect and rebuild Erebor.

Y/n had not seen any of the members of the Company aside from Bilbo. He had not yet gone home and chose to wait until the Coronation was over to leave. Of course, he sent word to Drogo asking him to watch over the place incase any of those Sackville-Bagginses came by. He once told y/n that they were an annoying bunch especially that Lobelia and she laughed.

Half of the Kingdom of Mirkwood also aided, but Rivendell did not. Bard did not want the Rivendell elves to make this long journey especially since they had enough help as it is.

Lord Elrond returned home, reminding y/n to be conscious of her heart. The question of choosing a mortal life came up once again and for once in y/n’s life, Lord Elrond snapped at her saying that because he was not her father, he did not have a say. That shocked her, but it made sense. While her brothers and Arwen looked alike, she was different. She was shorter and more humanlike.

After apologizing for snapping at her, Lord Elrond explained that she was given to him by her father for safekeeping. There was a certain darkness that was brewing and it was not safe for her. He had also explained that her mother was of the human race and had died during childbirth.

She had, once again, asked about the mortal life and he told her, rather reluctantly, that she could choose to become mortal whenever she wanted to, but advised her not to do so just yet and she didn’t.

Y/n has been getting daily visits from Bilbo and continued to spend a lot of her time with Bard’s children, teaching them to protect themselves with the permission of their father.

He didn’t want them to be so defenseless like they were when orcs attacked their home. What started off as three children began to turn into 20 children/teens, 30 dwarves and 40 men. Training them had become a part of y/n’s daily life.

“Alright children, remember!” y/n shouts as the lessons come to an end.

“Always keep your guard up,” they respond. Tilda, Bain, and Sigrid help her with putting the weapons away. “It’s a nice thing you’re doing here, lass,” a voice from the doorway says and they all turn to find Dwalin with his usual weapons attached to his back.

The children look at her and she nods towards the door. They leave her alone with the dwarf warrior.

“It’s the least I could do after Bard’s kind hospitality,” she says, pulling a tarp over the weapons. The only weapons the children were allowed to use were wooden sticks and dull arrows.

“You could be doing the same thing in Erebor!” Dwalin argues as he takes a seat on one of the chairs.

“I’m not going back to Erebor. I’ve made a life here in Dale. I have a purpose,” she tells him.

“Which is the same purpose that was supposed to keep you at Erebor!” he shouts and she winces, tucking her hair behind her ears, a habit she had when she was scared.

Dwalin sighs, knowing exactly why she tucked her hair behind her ears.

“I didn’t mean to scare you lass. I really didn’t. It’s just that it’s not the same without you,” he tells her, massaging his temples.

“And yet, its been a month and the only person that came to visit me was Bilbo. It is obvious that I do not matter to the company given the fact that no one had even made the small effort to say hello. I’m fine Dwalin. I love it here. I belong here,” she tells him, pulling out her bow and aiming for the targets located both high and low.

“Is it because you’re with people who are the same height?” he asks and that causes her to miss her target and smash into the wall behind. That question had taken her aback. She was never one to judge anyone and he knew that. For him to suggest that was an insult to her heart.

“Why would you even ask such a question?” she asks him, gaining her concentration back.

“Because it’s obvious. You have more in common with the people here than you do in Erebor.”

“It is highly insulting, master dwarf that you think I left you all behind because of a simple height difference. While it is true that I have more in common with the race of men, that is not the reason I left,” she says, plucking her arrows out from their intended targets.

“Then why?”

“Because I cannot stand to look at Thorin knowing that he will never love me back!” she shouts, rounding on him.

She sighs, not believing that her temper got the best of her yet again. She must pull more of her mother’s side rather than her father’s side.

“My father warned me of dying of a broken heart and by staying here I will not do so,” she says putting her arrows back.

She walks to the door and he follows her.

“Will you at least come to Erebor tonight? For the coronation. The city of Dale has been invited. I don’t see why you wouldn’t come,” he tells her.

“I am going, but as a guard. I have become Bard’s personal advisor and guard in exchange for a place to stay,” she tells him.

SECOND PERSON POV: (A/n: parts below belong to my short little imagine thingy. Well technically it belonged to this story. Continue on)

You both turn the corner only to be pushed to the ground in a heap of limbs.

You look up to find Fili smiling down at you.

“You know, when I imagined being between two dwarves, this is not what I was thinking of,” you say, smirking up at him.

He smirks back and asks, “oh yeah? And who is the other dwarf?”

“Not you,” you reply, shoving him off and standing up.

“Don’t give me any ideas,” Dwalin growls as you help him up and you can’t help but send a wink his way.

“Dwalin and Thorin eh? I can’t say that I didn’t see it coming,” Fili mutters and you just punch him in his shoulder.

“What do you want Fili? Besides wanting to feel me up?” you ask him as you walk back to the way he came.

“Uncle let me have a free day and I wanted to come and visit you and apologize for not talking to you sooner,” he says, hanging his head in shame.

“It’s something that’ll take a while to forgive, but I’ll work on it my little lion man,” you respond. He looks at you, smiling slightly.

“Now about that fantasy of yours,” he starts and you tug his mustache braids, making him shut up. You look to Dwalin as he chuckles.

“What I wouldn’t give,” he says and you blush.

“Where is Kili?” You ask trying to change the subject. “Probably having sex with that elf of his,” Fili shrugs. “You sure are horny aren’t you?” you ask him. “Want to do something about it?” He asks, wiggling his eyebrows. You tug on his mustache braids again.

“You’re getting on my last nerves. Anyway, her name is Tauriel and you’d do well to remember your future sister in law,” you tell him.

He shrugs.

“How is managing the gold coming along?” You ask. “Balin is the only one that Thorin trusts to enter it. Not even Dain. It is getting harder and Balin has been trying to put it away but there’s just so much one can do,” he informs you and you nod.

“That’s when you’re supposed to offer help lassie,” Dwalin says. “What can I do? Your kin do not like elves so they would not like me. Besides you guys must’ve had treasurers before why not create them now?” you ask.

“Because trust lies low in the walls. Especially with Thorin being almost killed,” Dwalin growls out and you stop, heart beating hard. 

“It’s fine lass. Thorin can handle himself. Tossed the dwarf out of Erebor. Ever since then his trust dwindled down to those of the company,” Dwalin explains. You sometimes hated how he could see right through you, but majority of the time you were grateful.

“I would’ve strangled that dwarf myself. Any who, instead of putting just Balin, put Kili and Nori there too. I know Nori is the last person you’d want there but who else can you spare? Oin is a healer, Gloin needs to keep those furnaces going, Bifur makes money by selling toys, Bombur is busy cooking, Bofur is busy mining, and Dori is too busy henning over Ori while he’s working on his scribes. Those two are the only ones available,” you explain.

“Which is why we need you back,” Fili presses. “I can’t. I’m an advisor for the King. The only advisor,” you say.

“Uncle never mentioned it,” Fili mutters.

“Not a surprise. He hasn’t spoken a word to me since basically calling me a traitor. Your King is a piece of work,” you huffs. “Thank you,” a gruff voice says. 

You all turn right to find Thorin.

You immediately look down, embarrassed.

“Fili, Dwalin. I have a meeting with Bard and ask for you two to attend. I will be there in a moment,” Thorin says and Fili looks at you nervously.

“Go on little lion man,” you say, smiling at him.

He nods and the two dwarves walk away trying and failing to remember when the council room is.

“Y/n. I shall hope that you are well,” he starts, trying to make small talk. “As well as I can get I suppose,” you say. He sighs.

“We did not leave off on the right foot did we?” He asks as you both continue walking. “No we did not, but that’s how we always are, isn’t it? Always getting into fights. Never liking each other,” you say, putting your arms behind your back.

“I never said that I didn’t like you,” he replies.

“It was implied. It has always been implied from the moment I met you. It’s because of the ears,” you say, laughing to ease the tension. Thorin only cracks a little smile, but it is gone in a second.

“That was not my intention,” he says. “And yet that’s what it seemed like. What are you doing here Thorin?” you ask him, stopping. You just wanted him to get to the point.

“I came here to apologize. For everything. For treating you like filth, for not trusting you, for like you said basically calling you a traitor. Just for everything that I have done to you out of ill-will,” he lets out looking you in the eyes.

“It’s going to take me a while to forgive you, Thorin,” you say.

“And i know that and I will wait for eternity if I have to,” he replies and you giggle. “You’re a silly dwarf,” you respond. He just smiles in return and you continue walking.

“So about you, me and Dwalin,” Thorin says, smirking. Your face turns very red.

“Nothing to be discussed,” you retort, quickening your pace and he just watches you, laughing.

A/N: Sorry, this is absolute shit and is absolutely rushed. As per usual, this story was written for myself so if you see any mistakes, that’s probably why. I also wrote this whole story (and am continuing to write it) after I finished watching The Almighty Johnsons so you see a bit of Anders in here. I apologize for this crap and I’ll try to make future chapters better.

[iblogwithgrace]

Quote of the day: A goal should scare you a little and excite you A LOT. - Joe Vitale

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I hope you enjoy today's post.

The Day that Changed Everything It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Externship had come to an end and we were ready to get on with it. By the dates on the calendar, we were to start our bar final exams on the 28th of August and end on the 1st of September, 2017. My study calendar had factored in those days. I was prepared to be done with everything a week before the bar exams started. Then I heard what seemed to be the worst news I had heard all year round. Our bar exams had been moved forward. Yes my dear, forward. The MCQs had been moved from the 24th of July to the 29th of July and the main exams had been moved to the 15th to the 19th of August. My chest was tight, my body was weak and my head was splitting. A few days before, when I was preparing my last study timetable, I kept having this nudge to plan as though the time was shorter since we knew that Sallah was on the 1st of September but I said no, that my head already felt like it was splitting with the amount of work that I had to do. We heard this on the 14th of July. I remember because it was Xtrim’s birthday. That evening, to calm my nerves, I went out to buy a few things to take my mind off things. I am one of those who suffer from ‘’see and buy’’ sometimes.  I had been contemplating moving to an executive room. If you had between four hundred and twenty five thousand naira (N425000) to eight hundred and fifty thousand naira (N850000), you could get yourself a fairly decent room with privacy to stay in. With this news, I was sure. I didn’t want a clash of nerves. I didn’t want to look for where to study. Lagos campus is very small and as much as possible, I wanted to avoid people.

Portfolio assessment timetable also came out that day. Portfolio assessment is when you face a panel and give an account of your externship experience. The panel would open the confidential letters given to you by law firm, your attendance, your ethical dilemma and your slideshow. Don’t play with this process. People of God, it is possible not be called to the Nigerian Bar even if you pass the exam if you do not pass this assessment. It was starting on Monday. That first week, it was just portfolio assessment. But cruelty is first nature to Lagos campus so they made sure we came to thumbprint twice a day that whole week in our regulation wear. They weren’t going to leave us with all that time to study.  Everyone was preparing as much as they could. Some human beings are so sold out to the work of God and to His word and true to it, they put others before themselves. One of these people is my dear friend and brother, Ikenna Okoli. People like him were busy encouraging others and helping them revise as much as they could. The week after was revision week and the Saturday after that was the day of MCQs. Incase you think we were getting ready only physically, you’re wrong. During externship, we had started praying on the roof top from 10pm till 11pm every Saturday night. The closer the date to the exam got, the larger the crowd. People were afraid. That’s what law school does. The environment was tense and people found solace in praying with other people. We had fasted and prayed from the 17th of July. We met in the chapel behind class and prayed and on the day of MCQ, I can testify that God came through for us. A whole essay for about four questions was missing in criminal litigation. Because of this, we were given extra time. Extra time for them to read out the question and ten minutes extra to enable us finish our work. I heard that in some places, they had more than ten minutes. Ten minutes in that exam is as good as sharing bars of gold. I’m sure you can imagine the way we thanked and celebrated God after the exam. Some people are bold and guess what? I am not one of them. These people actually went back to calculate their scores in the different courses. I left that life behind in university. One was down, the main hurdle remained.

Closer to the Day The days went by really fast. We continued to revise. We had the compulsory mooting session for two days. We had to dine as well. All these things activities, the week before the bar finals. I can only attribute it to God that I finished almost every topic more than once. I crammed a few cases but I still wasn’t done learning my drafts. I even solved some past questions based on the emphasis made during revision. I couldn’t read every single day, we were doing so much at the same time and my brain was reaching its full capacity sooner than I expected daily. Sometimes, I couldn’t sleep. It was probably because I was tensed so I watched cartoons to help me calm down. Sometimes, it worked, other times, I just had a headache. I could tell that my body was trying to go down but I settled it by praying and taking communion and I was rejuvenated. I had summaries of everything that I had read. That’s what I read the morning before every paper and some of the laws too.

The first paper was property law. I wasn’t afraid at all. Just the usual exam jitters but I was fine. The exam was generally good. I had said that I would win an award in property law and criminal litigation. During the exam, one question didn’t make any sense at all. It seemed like it should have been the question for a different scenario. Towards the end of the exam, my suspicions were confirmed and the question was corrected. They didn’t give us any extra time but I had a few extra minutes and I had premeditated that this was an error so thankfully, I was able to cancel and re-answer in good time. We gathered in the chapel to thank God for the success of the paper and went on to prepare for the next.

I loved criminal litigation. Sincerely, I did. Maybe it had to do with the lecturers who taught it or the fact that it was straightforward. The exam on the other hand was tricky. Question one  was the length of my whole body. I spent a total of one hour two minutes on question one alone. There was 1a which was on charges. They had told us the court to draft in. The confusion was in how many counts to draft and whether to or not to add the people together. I ended up with twelve counts. Each count is repetitive so you’ll find yourself repeating the same words over and over again. I kept praying to the Holy Spirit to give me speed and help me finish all the other questions and finish them well and God came through for me. I finished and I was grateful. I was very unsure of a lot of my answers so after the exam and we were well out of the hall, I asked my friend and seat partner, Tobi Babalola what he wrote just to check if I was correct or not. I don’t think Tobi likes revising after the exam because he always said very little. Thursday morning, I had corporate law exam, that morning while I prayed and read my bible, God have me a word. With God, nothing shall be impossible- Luke 1:37. The day before, I had sown a seed in someone’s life and she prayed so much for me. Also, a friend of mine had called me to tell me that God told him to tell me to be anxious for nothing. For me, these were all good signs. My new roommate Folake and our adjoining roommate Lisa had prayed that afternoon as we stepped out. I was ready to go and then I opened my Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) just to confirm the section for auditors. This I think, was the greatest mistake I made in law school. When I entered the hall and saw some questions, all I have to say was don’t mess with your revision classes. As in, at all. Then the confusion started. It was number three, an optional question. It was about auditors. As soon as I saw it, I jumped for joy since it was the last thing I had just looked at right. Number two was obviously easier but because I saw auditors I went straight into it. As soon as I started writing the answers, I became confused and started cancelling. I don’t know why I didn’t just stop in my tracks and go through all the questions in that number to be sure that they were what I could tackle. Maybe I would have realized on time and stopped and started answering number two but I didn’t. By the time I was done with the question, I was demoralized because I knew my best bet was to answer the other optional question but it was too late. Time was already gone and there was nothing I could do about it.

I prayed hard after this. I tried to exercise my faith. I wasn’t aware that a greater confusion was waiting for me in Civil litigation. To a great extent, civil litigation exam was easy. There was just this confusion about whether question four was representative action or class action. A lot of questions followed later under that number that were truly dicey. This was a compulsory question so my only option was to attempt it. I was close to the end but I was weak. The combination of corporate and civil litigation in my head made me kiss the First class goodbye even though I struggled to believe that it was still a possibility.

Professional ethics was long. We were asked literally everything. But it was the end and we were done. We prayed and prayed over our exams. There is absolutely nothing that God cannot do. I am still a strong believer of that. Then we rejoiced. Our time with each other was cut short because the NBA conference was starting that weekend and some lawyers had paid to use our hostels and not hotels. Does this make sense now? That exams were moved two weeks forward and suddenly, there was money to renovate old facilities. The hostels were even fumigated while we were in class writing one of our papers. Suddenly, everything made sense to us. It was the worst type of realization to have. The insensitivity of it all.

Results were scheduled to come out on the 7th of October. It was later moved to the 21st of October. It came out in the early hours of the 22nd. I couldn’t check so my friend Chukwuemeka checked for me. It was a 2.2 people. I was hoping that if I didn’t make the first, at least, a 2.1. I had called my friend Bond, he made a 2.2. I didn’t know what to say. I called Nosa, same thing. Nonso? The same thing. When I heard mine, I was weak. The first thing I did was to get down from my bed, kneel down and thank God. I told my parents and sent them a screen shot of the result. I couldn’t believe it oh. God? Na me be this? Chai! Law school has finished me. These were my thoughts. A few of my friends were disappointed too. Marcus for one. I was sure he would make a first but he didn’t. Ikenna was my biggest fear. He was the one helping everyone. Praying for others and leading the prayers. I was afraid that he would be mocked. That God will be mocked. People called me and I laughed about it all. I had so much to say. Everyone simply thought I had taken it well but I hadn’t. I was bleeding badly inside and putting up an appearance for everyone to see. I was glad that some of my friends had made it. Viola Echebima, Cyril-Okafor Jennifer and the baby girl herself Faith Onimiya made the first. This gave me comfort and joy. Especially Faith. Faith and I had become good friends just before the exams through Tolu Ajiboye who I met during my law firm placement and absolutely loved.

Searching for a Job

I didn’t realize the intensity of the grade I had made until I started attending job interviews and it was a question to be asked. A particular law firm that I had done so well with actually told me that it was the reason they couldn’t take me. For months I bled and laughed. My sisters Chisom and Ijeoma tried to encourage me. Ugo said it didn’t stop anything. I had heard their words but kai! Do you understand that I made a first class in my University. I am smart. It was like my worst fear (the stories they told in class) had just happened to me.

I didn’t pray anymore. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to, I just didn’t have the strength to. I lived through the days. I started going through a healing process with my friend Soma. She had been dealt an even heavier blow. Finally, a day to my call to bar, I got into an argument with my mum about my attitude towards my call to bar. I told her I didn’t want any serious celebration. I kept emphasizing it. When she confronted me about my attitude, I decided to explain why to her and that’s when I burst into uncontrollable tears. Chiderah wept. Actually wept. It was nothing small at all. I knew what I had worked for and the disappointment was huge. I wept and I wept hard from the debt of my heart. My mum held me and encouraged me. Then she prayed for me in that way that only a mother can. I knew she understood. After that, I started feeling better. I went out and bought two dresses. One of which was going to be my reception dress. I started inviting people to my reception and all. I had had a flicker of hope. I still didn’t have a job but life was looking brighter and livable.

Where I am Now The truth is, getting a job was very difficult. One, because I actually wasn’t applying anywhere initially. I wasn’t interested in getting a job in a law firm. I had no particular plans. I was simply exhausted by the educational system, by life as a whole or what my life seemed to be like. When all my friends started going to job interviews and getting offers, I realized that I should actually be looking for something. I had several disappointments. I failed an LSAT test. I was told that I did well during my interview but that they couldn’t take me because of my law school result. From some firms, it was just silence. Deafening silence.

Thank God for a good family and a great support system, after what seemed like the longest time, I got a job in the best firm in the country to start my  NYSC. By God’s grace, I was retained. This is my story. But I know people who never got good places or the expected results for their efforts. I’ll tell you something, you have to take life one day at a time where you are. If you don’t have a job, keep applying to different places. If you can, pursue your other interests while applying. One thing you need to understand is that your time is your greatest asset. So if you still have control of it because you don’t have a job yet, try your hands on interesting things. You may find that your other interests may become very profitable and help you discover a new path. Whatever the case is, use your time well. It is the one thing I currently desire most, to have control over my time.

I’ll leave you dear reader with this advice- you could be a law student, a lawyer, or simply a human being reading this. While my analogies will be in relation to the bar exams, I believe you can apply it to whatever area of your life. LIVE: Live your life. Let your imaginations of your life while you’re in law school outlive law school. Plan your future so much and don’t hinge it on your law school result. Invest in yourself.

Plan to pass the bar exam. While living, know that the strength of your law school result does open crucial doors for you. My friend Viola didn’t attend one job interview. The law firms were requesting for her and not her for them.

Shut out the doors and windows of fear. No matter the stories they tell, that it happened to someone does not mean that it would happen to you. Remind yourself daily about the grade you want and confess it till everything in you agrees with it.

Study: no knowledge gained is wasted. Look at it as building your knowledge base and not just reading to pass. It may become fun to you amidst the stress.

Find your strength. If discussions are your strong areas then discuss. Whatever is your strength, find it and build it.

Pray. This story does not sound like the story of God coming through for someone, so why should you pray. I may not have gotten the grade that I wanted but I’m definitely getting a life that is greater than what I desired. It hurts to wait for it all to pan out but patience is actually a virtue. Through it all, some diehard fans have stuck through with arsenal, why won’t you wait it out with God?

I hope you enjoyed reading this story. I hope you learned a lesson or two reading it. I did.

Thank you for coming back. If you would love to contribute to this series, send an email to 1ladynigeria@gmail.com

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Video of the week: https://youtu.be/vABYvE83y3w

See you soon. Lily of Nigeria.

[yatterzuk]

Quahog Heat – Review & How Did You Do Poll

Hey there readers, it would appear the crime spree that wreaked havoc in our towns is over and I can once again waffle on about what I thought about an event in general. Yes, Quahog Heat saw us spend 4 weeks investigating everything from Robbers to Card Sharks, and there certainly wasn’t a dull moment. 

Well it all started with a teaser from TinyCo that some 80’s Detectives were heading to Quahog, and soon we were all speculating who might make an appearance. And I think I can safely say none of us predicted Pamela Anderson in their cast of potential characters, lol.

And I have to say when I saw Donuts and MacGyver I started to think I was in my other game, Tapped Out. But no, soon sadly my Quahog would be overflowing with donuts whilst my Tapped Out premium currency cupboard was bare, lol.

The game update unfortunately had some of the usual App Store delays, and I’m honestly not sure there’s an awful lot TinyCo can do about this, they are at the mercy of the various app stores when it comes to the updates appearing for our games, but I do get the there’s frustration when one set of players can play whilst another sits twiddling their thumbs. All we can hope is these delays get shorter and that TinyCo continue to acknowledge players who are starting events late through no fault of their own.

The event certainly started on positive note for me, as once again we were seeing an event with a link to the Family Guy TV show, Erik Estrada, MacGyver and Pamela Anderson had all made appearances, so that was a thumbs up.

I was also immediately delighted to see this was a 4 week event, I think this is starting to work well for events, I prefer it to the 6 week events.

This event also seemed to be about bringing back some more 80’s nostalgia to the game, as many do forget Family Guy was at one time just one big parody of the 80’s. It’s the comfort zone era of the show, and it’s therefore no surprise the game is pulling so much from that decade now.

I also decided to try a different kind of strategy in this event, purchasing the Week 1 premium character costume, Chopper Cop Quagmire, to see just how good a leg up it would give me going forward in the event. I rarely buy premium character costumes unless it’s a must have, such as Tai-Jitsu Lois. But with the rare drop on Police Tape I thought it’s now or never to try this strategy. And at first I was very disappointed in my purchase, he seemed only to be a little help at first, allowing me a cheaper room investigation.

It wasn’t until Phase 2 his true worth started to become apparent, as I kept pulling Kingpin Consuela from investigations at a high heart level and having Chopper Cop Quagmire helped me defeat her over and over, allowing me to build up loads of resources to exchange for Detective Badges, I ended up with not only enough to buy all the Phase 2 prizes but even had enough to see me through Phase 3 when it launched. So a worthwhile investment of clams that allowed me to relax a little during the event when drops went out the window and others started to struggle. But he wasn’t the only big help, the other was a freemium unlock Erik Estrada, only problem was many if you struggled to unlock him.

But now let’s take a mor in-depth look at the event, and yes I will say this from the off, a lot of players found the early Phases extremely tough going.

FORMAT: A 4 week event that brought back the dreaded timed characters. Now 4 weeks was fine, but the event started to show issues in the first days with the very early poor drops of Police Tape, this in turn impacted on player’s ability to unlock Erik Estrada within the 7 day timer period. Making handcuffs, essential for unlocking him,  a random investigation drop was never a good idea. And not unlocking him had a detrimental impact once you entered Phase 2, as you lost his ability to do cheaper Investigations and having him as a much-needed extra character to have for Police Tape drops. I honestly believe those who didn’t get him, or were delayed getting him, struggled with due to a knock on effect throughout the remainder of the event. He was probably the most valuable of the freemium unlocks, so I’m interested to see how many managed to get him, and if you feel you were hindered if you didn’t have him.

CONTENT: More Family Guy TV show linked content. As I said earlier Family Guy related content to keep us happy.

INVESTIGATION RESOURCES: I felt the task lengths were fine for drops but the rare frequency was a real issue at times, we just couldn’t get enough Police Tape to complete countless Investigations, this made the random nature of the Investigation prizes an issue, as nothing worse than grinding out tasks all day to get enough Police Tape to do an investigation to only find a worthless box of donuts at the end of it. This kind of random drop is ok if we’ve unlimited resources to use to investigate but not good when things are tight.

CHARACTER DROPS: With regards to gameplay it was good to see less characters have multiple tasks for different drop items, I know there was still some crossover but that will always happen as core characters that were unlocked in the early Districts are used in events to allow newer players to join in events. I really think TinyCo got the balance quite well in this event and used a good ratio of characters and buildings with drops. Also good to see more old characters being use for even just Donut drops, players have been asking for that for a long time..

CHARACTERS: What did I like, well we got quite a few new freemium characters as opposed to just a whole lot of costumes. Although we got load them too.

WEEKLY CHALLENGES: The weekly challenges were once again tough, and many struggled with the 1st one which meant their chance to get what seemed like a coveted prize, The B-Team van, gone. I think these challenges will vary between easy and very tough, and you never know what to expect until they drop.

STRUCTURE: For the most part there was no surprises, everything you needed to do in each phase was spelt out early by simply moving through the first few parts of the main Questline for each Phase. And we’d had a mini run of Investigation gameplay in the previous short event Undercover Gigg-Olo.

GAMEPLAY: They seemed for a while to be taking on board issues that derailed previous events, but seem to have fallen into bad habits again, the rare drop on Police Tape was an inexcusable error, but I have to say they seemed to slow down the amount of content as the event went on and the final Phase was very light and hopefully this allowed players to catch up some.

SUPPORT: There has been definite improvements in this area, but more work needs done, for a small company they are trying hard to have a good system in place. However there is still an over reliance on sending standard responses to players, which at times either appears to ignore their concerns or miss the nature of their complaint completely.

MYSTERY BOXES: It’s no mystery what my feelings on Mystery Boxes are, I’ve long despaired at the way TinyCo implements Mystery Boxes in events. But in one way they seem to be responding to concerns by putting returning characters in as potential prizes rather than too many useless decorations. But they also still have too many repeatable resources and the odds of winning the top prize can be brutal.

BOSS BATTLES: These weren’t too bad, freemium players could attack up to every level within the 24 hour time frame but it would see you lose a little sleep. But at least the choice was there if you wanted to go for it, in past battles there was nothing freemium players could do to attack never mind defeat at the higher Boss levels. Also was good to see few of the bosses were Family Guy characters. Just a shame they never brought back Bertram as a returning character.

QUESTLINES: Now the dialogue and tasks were fantastic, no issues at all there, but what I do find troublesome is having a character with a timer needing to be activated to be able to progress a Main Questline. This causes a delay in players getting new content if they delay activating the timer, or they panic and activate the timer too soon and end up losing out on the character.

DROPS: Rare drops on an essential item should raise concerns with the development team immediately, as should random drops you can’t control on a timed character. These really are errors that shouldn’t be being repeated 3 years after the game’s launch.

EXCHANGES: The exchanges really got better as the event went on, so there was some improvement in this area.

So fellow addicts, that’s just some of my thoughts, and I want to stress they are just my thoughts, they in no way reflect what Bunny or Lotty felt about the event, but before I ask for your thoughts I want to say one last thing about the event and that’s how fantastic the animation has been yet again, really top work from the guys at TinyCo.

Anyway that’s my ramblings, now I want you to tell me your thoughts. But please don’t turn this into a boiling hot What the Deuce post by releasing the your ire in your comments as Bunny will throw me head first into the nearest jail if you do. Please give us your feedback and thoughts in a fun in the sun sort of way. Tell us what you like, don’t like? What you’d like to see more of, what you’d like to see less off. Share with us everything and anything you think would improve FGQFS, as TinyCo do read this blog and of course Bunny also takes your feedback to TinyCo. And if you can please take a minute to complete the end of event poll at the end of this  I’d be very grateful.

And just incase you can’t see the poll or find it jumps about when you’re trying answer, here’s the direct link:

https://goo.gl/forms/ASrxG4eM6FJ4ovxo1

~ Russian Tigger

Quahog Heat – Review & How Did You Do Poll was originally published on Yatterz