#I once fell asleep on the bus into college and I was wearing a jacket the same colour as the seats

[freckleslikestars]

I love public transport but holy fuck is it hard to use when you’ve not slept properly in a couple days and the motion is lulling you to sleep

[jalapeno-princess]

College Boyfriend Mark

* Okay let’s get this shit started I’m excited

* First things first, I think Mark would be the perfect boyfriend and I’m not being biased because he’s the actual love of my life

* But ANYWAYS

* He hates the thought of you walking/catching the bus to school

* If you weren’t living together, he would probably pick you up from your house/dorm/apartment and take you to school/work everyday

* If you did live together, he would be very irresponsible

* Your alarm would go off and he’d probably turn it off completely just so he could cuddle with you longer

* If you were late to class because of him, he’d just shrug it off and give you a knowing look

* “You’re already late babe, might as well just skip the rest of the day”

* This happens a lot because you can’t help but want to spend time with him

* Your attendance is terrible but honestly who attends classes nowadays

* “Next semester, you should sign up for online classes so you can stay home with me and I can kiss you all day”

* He wouldn’t go to bed until you did so if you had to do an all-nighter in order to study/work on assignments he’d stay up with you

* Would carry you to bed if you fell asleep on the couch/table/desk

* Has a calendar of all your schedules so he can help you whenever you need him to

* Makes you flashcards to help you study

* He thinks his handwriting is ugly af but you think it’s so cute

* Gives you a bunch of his jackets and sweatpants to wear because he absolutely loves how his clothes look on you and he knows you don’t care about how you look at school

* Not that you need to

* He thinks you’re the most ethereal, breathtakingly beautiful being that he’s ever laid his eyes on

* Prepares lunch for you because ain’t nobody got time to pay for campus food

* Even if it means instant ramen

* Or straight up rice

* I’m not even joking one time you were starving and went to open the box of lunch he prepared for you

* And your heart kind of sank (and your stomach growled) at the sight of just rice..not even any sauce

* You were kinda confused until you read the post it note

* “Hey baby, I’m sorry about the lack of food. I tried cooking fish but I ended up burning it and then I tried making chicken but it tasted weird. The rice was the only thing that came out right. Here’s some money for you to buy something to go with it. I love you. Have a nice day! (:”

* Your stomach swarms with butterflies just at the thought of him, how much he loves you and how he takes such amazing care of you

* Holds you every time you cry over school

* “It’s okay to cry baby. You’ve got this. It will all be worth it in the end okay? I’m here for you every step of the way.”

* No matter how hard school could get, you were content knowing you had him by your side

* Every time you jokingly said you would drop out, he would frown at you

* He knew you were capable of great things and he refused to let you give up when you’ve worked so hard to get where you are

* Will walk you to and from all your classes

* Some of your classmates would develop a crush on him and you couldn’t blame them I mean

* LOOK @ HIM

* WOW

* AN ACTUAL GOD

* Y’all know that song by NSYNC?

* “God must’ve spent a little more time on you”?

* Well God spent a lot of time making Mark I ain’t even kidding

* okay BACK TO THE STORY

* There were days you would get jealous because of how many pretty girls had their eyes on your boyfriend

* But Mark would remind you almost every day verbally and physically of how much he loved you and how you were it for him

* He also felt the same about you

* He knew guys would look at you

* And when you told him about how one of your classmates asked you on a date he was furious

* That’s also one of the reasons why he gives you his clothes

* And accidentally leaves hickeys along your neck and chest

* He wants the world to know you’re his

* Jackson almost earned himself a black eye for calling you sexy once

* “Mark, I know she’s your girlfriend but she’s my friend too and I can compliment her-“

* “Jackson, I wouldn’t want you calling my girlfriend sexy either..Even if it’s true that y/n is very-“

* “Shut up Jinyoung you’re not helping”

* Mark loves to leave you cute, supportive post it notes all over your room/textbooks/pencil case/lunch box because he knows how much they mean to you and make you happy

* Cares so much about your mental health

* So whenever you have a breakdown, he takes you away from your computer and brings you to bed and holds you

* Sometimes he even brings you to the beach/park/movies to take your mind off of anything school related

* Runs you baths to help you relax and joins you sometimes

* But it always leads to more

* And the two of you end up having to clean up the mess you both made

* Buys you school supplies because he knows how much you love them

* “Mark, you already bought me highlighters.”

* “Yeah, but this one has Pikachu on it.”

* You now have 12 different highlighters

* And you don’t have the heart to tell him you hardly use them

* “You bought a 64 pack of crayons? I’m a college student I don’t use crayons-“

* “Well you’re gonna start doing so come on babe 64 CRAYONS. Look! It even comes with a sharpener!”

* Contacts your mom a lot and lets her know how you’re doing if you don’t have enough time to do so

* If you were away from home for college and you were homesick, he’d stay on the phone with her to learn your favorite recipe because he would do anything to make you happy

* Bought the two of you matching shoes because matching shirts are so overrated

* If either of you is wearing them, the other will wear them regardless of what you both are wearing

* “Babe, I don’t think the red goes with the-“

* Kisses you to shut you up

* “She’s right Mark, who wears red with purple-“

* Jackson isn’t allowed to hang out with the two of you anymore

* He used to buy you coffee but stopped because it keeps you up at night

* So he makes you chamomile tea instead

* Will help you cheat by texting you the answers on your test

* “Oooh, I’m dating a bad girl. Misses out on class to spend time with me and cheats on quizzes. Kinky. This is exciting...Ow babe what was that for?”

* Him ditching his friends at lunch just so he can spend time with you

* This boy can be on the complete opposite side of school yet never fail to meet you on time

* Sneaks in to your lectures and y’all end up sitting in the far back so you can make out

* One time you forgot to tell him that you were gonna study in the library

* Jinyoung found you and accompanied you

* After a couple of hours, you found yourself falling asleep

* You were in such a deep slumber that you didn’t notice Mark was trying to get in touch with you

* Boy was losing his shit

* He was so worried that something bad happened to you

* Jinyoung noticed your phone was going off and he didn’t mean to snoop but he wanted to make sure it wasn’t something important

* He laughed when he saw all the messages from Mark

* And he found it really cute how whipped Mark was for you

* He let your boyfriend know that you were sleeping and Mark had to take a moment to calm his heart down

* You stressed this poor boy out sometimes

* But he loved you more than anything else in this shitty ass world

* Jinyoung would take you home and as soon as Mark saw you, he pulled you in to his chest and held you tightly as if he was going to lose you

* You left soft kisses along his face as an apology

* You also found yourself on your knees with your head between his thighs but WE’LL SAVE THAT FOR ANOTHER TIME

* He would surprise you with plane tickets to your hometown so you could visit your family while on break

* Your mom always reminds you how lucky you are to have found a boyfriend like him

* He would have to kiss away your tears because you were an emotional wreck at the thought of everything he does for you

* Honestly Mark would be the sweetest, fluffiest, most supportive boyfriend

* That boy loves you so much

* Even if he tells you all the time

* You can really feel it in his actions

* The best boyfriend ever

* 10/10 recommended

* We need more Mark Tuans in this world

[xxfanfiction-emo-trinityxx]

His Smile Will Keep You Safe - Chapter Two

Warnings: biphobia (I guess), mentions of emotional abuse

Word Count: 5 206

Even if you did not want to admit it, you were still shaky from the unexpected encounter with Lars when you were finally home. The whole bus ride over you had fought an internal battle over what to do.

Lars had hurt you in ways no one had ever before, and you had cut all strings to him, for good. But now, going on a several weeks-long tour with him, stuck in a bus every day, being unable to get away?

Yet on the other hand, this was your dream. Going on tour with a band, no matter how big, had been your dream for over ten years now, and you would not allow Lars to ruin this for you. You had promised to never let him ruin anything else for you ever again.

With a sigh you sat down on your bed, elbows resting on your folded legs, face buried in your hands. Lars and you went back a long time. First you had met in high school, and somehow you had ended up going to the same college. That’s where you had fallen in love with him.

Retrospectively, it was still a mystery to you, how you had been able to be in love with someone like him. His mood swings were legendary, he was far too convinced of himself, the first few months you had been in the same college classes, he had managed to completely ignore you, and when he said something to you it had been degrading.

Yet you had been in love. And over time he started to warm up to you. He got friendly, went out of his way for you, turned into the perfect gentleman. And by the beginning of the second year of college you had started dating. You had been as happy as never before in your life, especially considering the ongoing battle with your mental health since you were about fifteen.

For the first time in years, it had felt as if everything was working out the way it was supposed to be. You had a boyfriend who you were in love with, had friends, and even won a photography contest.

But by the end of the second year, it seemed as if luck had left you. Your mental health declined, and soon afterwards you started seeing a therapist, knowing that even with their help the ultimate breakdown was unavoidable. Lars in the meantime seemed to be thriving. He went out almost every night, seemed happier than ever, and spent less and less time with you. In the state of your worsening illness, it made sense to you that he did not want to be around you.

Looking back on it, you should have known earlier that he was cheating. Needless to say that you were beyond heartbroken, when you came into the lecture room, and found him making out with another girl.

He swore he still loved you, that it would never happen again, that he had no idea why he had done it, and being the gentlehearted person you were, you gave him a second chance. This event made you spiral downwards quickly nonetheless. And while you were in hospital to find a good combination of meds to make you feel better, Lars graduated college.

And cheated again.

You had still no clue where you had taken the energy from to throw him out this quickly, and break up with him so cleanly, after you had found out that for months he had had a second girlfriend at the side, especially since you had just been released from the hospital, but you did.

Within half a day you had cleaned your apartment of things he had given to you, stuff he had left over at your place, and all the pictures you had taken together.

But it left scares. The self-esteem of a depressed person is in the gutter anyway, and having the person you thought was the one for life cheat on you did not make anything better at all.

But you recovered. You got better. You fought. Sometimes, when you were about to give up, you remembered that you would not give Lars the satisfaction of knowing that he had destroyed your life, so you kept fighting. You finished college, started getting practical experience, got this job, and now even the offer to go on a tour with bands! Maybe your mental health still was not always perfect, but with the meds, and the occasional meetings with your therapist, the coping mechanisms you had learned, and the support of your family and your boss (who always was very understanding whenever you needed a week off) you were leading a good life. And Lars would not take that away from you, he would not take this tour away from you.

Having come to that conclusion, you took a deep breath, and got up from your bed. Putting on your favourite Beatles album, you started searching for a small suitcase, and began packing.

Deciding on what to pack turned out easier than you had imagined. Thanks to the detailed weather description in the different states this time of the year, you quickly had assembled a small collection of clothes, backed up with shirts and trousers to change into, if the first set got dirty.

Shampoo and shower gel were quickly packed, since you had gotten some sort of solid shampoo, resembling a soap bar, which you were excited to try out. Traveling toothbrush, and toothpaste, body lotion and some facial cream, plus the your favourite basics for make-up, and two pair of different shoes to match cold and hot weather, and the packing was completed.

By now the day had passed, and the sun sunk behind the houses of your neighbourhood, allowing darkness to take its place.

You were still shaking with excitement for the coming day, yet the knowledge of having to spend the following weeks on minimal space with your ex-boyfriend, who happened to be the first and last ex-boyfriend, and therefore the only one, was making you feel sick.

When the clock finally showed 10pm, you decided to go to bed after a quick dinner. Putting an alarm for the following day, you fell asleep surprisingly quickly, even though your mind was still racing, filled with all the amazing things that might happen in the following two months.

~*~

You woke up shortly before your alarm clock was able to tear you out of your sleep. For a moment you wondered where this excited tickling came from that flooded your body the second you opened your eyes, but you immediately remembered. You would go on a tour, as photographer for a band. You would get to travel the country, meet new people, get to know lots and lots of different places.

Never before in your life had you been out of bed quicker. Even though you still had two hours before you had to leave the house, you hurried downstairs into the kitchen. Thankfully your fridge was almost empty, which in any other situation would have been worrisome, but, since you would not be home for a fair while, there was no food that you would have to throw away. Out of the yogurt and the milk you still had, mixed with oatmeal and fruit, you quickly prepared a delicious breakfast that would surely keep you filled for several hours.

After you had eaten, you did the dishes and took a shower. Too unmotivated to blow dry your hair, you dried it off with a towel and pulled the long hair into a ponytail, which resulted in perfectly showing off your shaved side. You still absolutely loved the new haircut. No matter what anyone had to say, for the first time in a long time you felt like yourself. Remembering you had already prepared the clothes for the journey you walked back into your bedroom and dressed into some black jeans, paired off with an old, white band shirt and a hoody.

With still plenty of time left, you carefully applied a little bit of make-up. You did not want to overdo it, since you would probably spend the entire day in a car, but a tinted day cream, and a tiny bit of mascara always made you feel more comfortable. Adding to that was the softly red coloured lip balm you had applied.

Once you were finished, you started making a tour through the house. You started in the bathroom, making sure all the tabs were closed properly. Walking through the rooms you unplugged the electronics, and put the roller shutter halfway down, so it would not be as easy to tell if someone was home. A quick look on your watch told you that you had just enough time to go over to the neighbours to ask them to check your mailbox once a week, so you did that.

And then the journey began.

For one last time you checked if you really had all your documents, your ID, your keys to lock the flat, your money, and your credit card, then you grabbed your suitcase and the bag with the camera, and left the flat, locking the door behind yourself.

With the bus being on time, you arrived at the address, you had been given the day prior, several minutes early. A huge touring bus was standing in front to the house, and Lucas was just in the process of carrying a case, probably containing an instrument, to it.

“Good morning,” you greeted the man, who today had gone without his buns.

“(Y/n), good morning,” he replied, shoving the case into the baggage department, and making sure it was standing securely, “you’re early!”

“9am, wasn’t that the deal,” you asked, handing Lucas the bag with the camera which he was holding his arm out for.

“Yeah, just wouldn’t expect anyone to be on time. The others definitely aren’t. Except for Dallon and Ryan. Just leave the suitcase, and go inside to get to know them,” he suggested.

Handing him your suitcase, you followed his advice, and climbed up the few steps towards the door, which was standing open. The hallway still smelled of plastic, but now there were cases with instruments standing on the floor, making walking almost a little dangerous, especially with how scared you were to accidently fall onto one of the cases and break something. From upstairs you heard the voices of two men, so you followed the sound up the stairs. Here were a couple of suitcases, which probably belonged to the men talking, and to Lucas.

You found the two in the same room in which the meeting had taken place yesterday. The first man you saw was exceptionally tall. His brown hair was styled to stand up on the front and he was wearing a black jacket, paired with a ripped jeans. The other man was standing with his back to you, doodling on the whiteboard. He had blue hair, shaved at one side, longer on the other, just like yours. He too wore jeans, and a red white checked shirt.

Nervously you cleared your throat, causing the two men to spin around to you. The tall one, who had been leaning against the table, had blue eyes, that took you in with surprise, but your attention was entirely fixed on the man at the board. He had turned around as well, and when his chocolate brown eyes found your face, he furrowed his eyes in confusion.

“Hey,” you greeted awkwardly, as you recognized the man who had helped you up yesterday, after you had been pushed to the ground in the rain.

“So we meet again,” the brown eyed one chuckled, his face now showing off a beautiful smile, “how’s the hand?”

The other one turned to him.

“You know each other?”

“Yeah, I had a… let’s call it accident, yesterday, and he was kind enough to help,” you explained, burying your hands in the pockets of your trousers, “Hand’s fine by the way, thanks.”

“That’s good,” the brown eyed man smiled softly.

“I’m Dallon,” the tall one introduced, “I play bass and sing. I guess you’re the photographer?”

“Yup,” you nodded, nervously bouncing on your heels, “Got the job just yesterday.”

“Yeah, Lucas told us. Sorry we didn’t meet any earlier, we just had to do some recording before we’re on the road for the next weeks,” Dallon explained. “I guess you know each other already.”

“Not really,” his bandmate admitted, “I’m Ryan, I play drums.”

“(Y/n), nice to meet you.”

“Dallon, Ryan! Suitcases!” Lucas’ voice boomed through the building.

“That’s our signal,” Dallon chuckled, and walked past you into the corridor, picking up two of the suitcases.

“Can I help something,” you asked, following him, Ryan right behind you.

“No, no, it’s fine,” Dallon assured, but that did not stop you from picking up the last suitcase that was left in the corridor after Ryan also had taken two, and carrying it down the stairs.

In the hallway the cases had disappeared by now, and outside the door, Jay, Charlie, Luis and Lisa were waiting on the pavement next to the bus. Lucas helped you lifting the last suitcase into it, then walked over to the baggage department, and threw the door shut.

“Only one missing now is light guy,” announced Bill, who appeared in the door, pulling it closed and locking it.

“As always,” Ryan mumbled.

Much to your amusement he did not seem too fond of Lars, which was at least a little bit of reassurance.

“His problem, he’s the one who doesn’t get the info,” Lucas decided, “So, as you all know, first stop on the tour is Phoenix tomorrow. We’ll have a drive of about ten hours ahead of us, meaning we should be there by evening, if things go as planned. Any questions?”

Since nobody spoke up, Lucas reached for the handle of the door into the bus, and opened it.

Following the other crew members on board, your eyes widened at the sight. Facing the door stood a small sofa. Next to it was a door, probably leading into the cabin for the driver; and next to that stood another sofa. Turning to your left, you discovered a small kitchen, fully equipped with a fridge, a tiny stove and a small sink. Next to the fridge, facing the sofas, a table with two benches was installed, offering enough space for about four people to sit. Overwhelmed by the sight, you had stopped in your steps, and now hurried to keep up with the others who had walked past the kitchen.

You discovered that there were two tiny bathrooms, one on each side of the bus, and walking through another door, you found yourself surrounded by bunk beds. In total there were twelve, always three on top of each other, on both sides of the bus and in two rows. Due to the nine people in the small space it was very crowded and you quickly stepped aside, as Luis tried throwing his backpack into one of the upper bunks.

“Where do you want to sleep,” Dallon asked, looking over the other people directly at you.

He must have noticed that you felt slightly lost, so he tried to include you.

Helplessly you shrugged.

“You like sleeping high up,” he inquired, earning another shrug from you, “Well, in this case…”

With just one quick movement he basically threw your suitcase into another of the highest bunk beds.

“Congrats, now it’s your job to guard Ryan an me,” he grinned and winked at you, before he sat down on the lowest bunk bed underneath yours, and started opening his suitcase.

After watching all the other doing pretty much the same, you decided to also unpack. Skilfully you manoeuvred yourself to the ladder that lead to your bed, and climbed up. The bunk bed was not very big, and just high enough for you to sit upright. On one end of the matrass was a shelf for the things you had brought, on the other end you found the tiniest wardrobe you had ever seen. Grinning you opened your suitcase and unpacked your all your things, including the hygiene products, into the small wardrobe.

All the others seemed to be finished at about the same time as you, because the chattering started picking up slowly. Curiously you poked your head out of your bunk, interested in seeing who was sleeping where.

As far as you could tell, Luis had gotten the other highest bunk on your side of the bus. Underneath him, Jay and Charlie had claimed their beds. The two highest bunks on the other side of the bus were empty, but in the middle one, facing the opening band, Lisa had unpacked her things, and in the other one Bill was about to put a couple of books into the shelf. Lucas was nowhere in sight, but you guessed he was sleeping underneath of Bill. And last but not least, Ryan and Dallon had chosen the bunks under you; Ryan in the middle, and Dallon closest to the floor.

“Oh, light guy’s here,” Bill suddenly noticed.

You felt your body going into panic mode as you turned your head, and locked eyes with your former boyfriend. He noticed you too, but pretended not to know you, as he threw his bag onto the bed beneath Lisa.

Releasing the breath you had been holding, you looked down and found Ryan grinning up at you.

“Everything alright up there,” he asked happily, obviously glad that the tour was about to begin.

“Yeah, pretty much,” you agreed, grinning back at him.

“Lucas said you take the most amazing pictures of concerts, how come you haven’t been signed to a label yet,” he wondered, blowing a strand of his blue hair out of his eyes.

“Probably because I never tried,” you confessed with a shrug, making him gasp quietly, “Well, it would take confidence to say my pictures are any good, and I sort of lack said confidence most of the time.”

“Well, well, if that’s the only problem, then let’s make sure you build this confidence during the tour,” Ryan suggested, and then disappeared inside his bunk with a grin and a wink towards you.

You sat back up properly again, and were suddenly faced with Lars. He stood closer to you than you liked, his grey eyes boring into you, and for a split second you had the feeling he was looking into the bottom of your soul, just like he always used to do in college.

“Now what are you doing here,” he asked casually.

Oh, he wanted to play the ‘I pretend not to know what happened between us’-game? Alright, probably better than fighting. You just had the slight feeling that it would not stay at that.

“Uhm, Lucas hired me. As a photographer” you explained, secretly a little proud of it. “And you?”

“I’m doing the lights,” he answered immediately, “so, how are things?”

“Good, things are good.”

You really did not feel like giving him too much insight into your life. He had ripped your heart out, admittedly years ago, but you did not want to offer the painfully stuck-together pieces of it for him to rip them apart again.

“Now that’s a lot of detail,” he chuckled. “Tell me more?”

“What kind of details,” you wondered, already having a feeling what he would ask for. “I have a great job, which I love very much. I started doing aikido a few years back, I got my own flat…”

“And do you have a boyfriend?”

There it was. Of course he would ask that.

“Why not a girlfriend,” you retorted, having already been prepared for this question.

You were about to turn away, but he spoke up again.

“Oh come on, we both know you’re not into girls. As much as you were into me, you can’t be into girls,” he spoke, his voice taking the same snarly sound which you remembered so vividly.

So it had not been just your imagination.

“You haven’t seen me in years, you know nothing about me,” you hissed, causing his eyes to widen in surprise.

But the initial surprise quickly disappeared and got replaced by anger, the same type of anger he always got into when you dared disagreeing with him.

He was about to shoot an evil comment your way, maybe worse, when all of a sudden Ryan’s head popped into your view. He must have gotten out of his bunk without you noticing, and now was standing next to Lars, as if he did not notice his aggressive posture. And yet you were pretty certain that he had a good idea about what was happening.

“You two know each other,” he asked innocently, his brown eyes curiously flickering from Lars over to you, where their expression changed slightly, and they took a short look of worry, before pretending this curiosity again.

Even though you had always considered Lars tall, and Ryan was by far not as tall as Dallon, Ryan still was about two inches taller than Lars. Realizing that he had no way of approaching you now without getting into trouble, Lars just shook his head, and left the bunk area, leaving Ryan and you as the only two behind.

“You alright,” he asked.

For some reason it seemed always to be Ryan who had to help you. You hoped to be able to return the favour one day.

“Yeah, thanks,” you mumbled, dangling your legs off the bed.

“You two got history,” Ryan wondered, trying not to sound too interested.

“A little. We- we used to date, back in college. That was years ago,” you admitted, “I guess a part of me will never get rid of the insecurity he caused in me.”

Ryan was about to ask what you meant, but in just that moment the motor of the heavy bus awoke to life, causing the floor to vibrate.

“Maybe we should join the others,” he suggested instead, and when you nodded, he helped you off the bed.

The warmth of his hands against yours felt so different from what you had once known from Lars. Lars’s hands had always been cool and a little moist, but Ryan’s hands were warm and dry. You tried not to give this realization a second thought, and instead murmured a thank you to Ryan, before walking out into the kitchen, closely followed by him.

~*~

The drive was, as expected, long. Through the windows of the bus you watched the landscape fly by. Never before in your life had you ridden on a vehicle for such a long time.

Suddenly you felt very small and inexperienced. All of the people on the bus with you had travelled far beyond the state borders, and you? The only time you had left the outskirts of Salt Lake City, it had been for a school trip to a farm.

Now the bus was racing past unknown mountains in the distance, and past citied you had only heard the name of. Slowly you began to realize the scale of the state you lived in, and knowing that Utah was only one of fifty… the size of the country seemed unimaginable to you.

You had lost the feeling of time, when suddenly somebody sat down next to you, and tore you out of your trance.

“Hey,” Lisa greeted gently. Her brown eyes flickered to the window and back to you, “the landscape’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

You nodded; your throat seemed to have dried out while you had marvelled at the world outside the city.

“Its’s so vast,” you agreed, turning you head back to the window, your eyes following the mountain tops at the horizon.

“You haven’t been out of the city often,” Lisa guessed, and again you nodded.

“Never had a reason to,” you explained, “I think… I mean I knew how big the country is, but- I feel like I finally understand how much change there can be within a hundred miles.”

“It can be overwhelming,” she agreed.

For a while the two of you sat in silence. A part of your brain registered that she smelled faintly of roses, and it made you smile. She seemed like a cute girl, friendly, innocent. Wearing this flowery perfume matched her perfectly.

Outside, you passed fields and farms, small forests that engulfed the high way, and in the distance the mountains continued spiking into the sky. You had believed that the drive might be boring, but you were too fascinated by the new sceneries that presented themselves to you every second to even participate in one of the conversations that were going on.

Only when Lisa next to you quietly sighed, you turned your attention back to her.

“You okay,” you asked, scrutinizing her worriedly.

“I’m fine,” she replied, but you could tell there was something on her mind.

Her chin was resting in her hand, supporting her head while her elbows were sitting on the table, as if she was following a boring lesson in school. Your eyes followed the direction she was looking into, and found Jay, who was sitting on the sofa next to the door to the driver’s cabin. Realization dawned on you, and you could not help the little smile that tucked on your lips.

“Jay, hm?”

Shocked she turned her head to look at you with wide, brown eyes.

“Is it that obvious,” she asked concerned, and you giggled.

“I know this kind of look, trust me,” you shrugged, “so, tell me. Is there something between the two of you?”

“Ha, I wish,” Lisa groaned, “I don’t think he even knows I exist. All the girls love him, honestly how couldn’t they? And he’s so witty and kind and clever…”

You rolled your eyes in amusement; oh yeah, you knew this feeling only too well. This sort of infatuation was what you had felt for Lars, and in your experience this sort of irrational attraction to another human only caused pain in the end.

But you did not say it. It did not seem appropriate. After all, the two of you had just met yesterday, and while you were the only two women on the bus, which made you somewhat of conspirators, you felt like you would overstep your boundaries with such a comment.

Around noon the bus stopped at a gas station. The air outside was hot and dry, and yet it was nice to feel solid ground under your feet again. You stretched your arms over your head, and yawned sleepily. The warm weather did not necessarily invite for moving around much, yet you decided on walking around for a bit.

Dallon, Luis, Charlie and Bill walked into the gas station to buy some snacks while Lucas started refilling the tank of the bus. Lisa was lingering around in the shadow of the bus, trying to get some fresh air. Looking around further, you found Jay igniting a cigarette several feet away from the station, and Ryan was, just like you walking around aimlessly, trying to revive his legs. Lars was nowhere in sight.

You really wondered how things would go on with Lars. Under absolutely no circumstances whatsoever you planned on ever getting back together with him. He had hurt you enough for a lifetime; you would not give him a second chance to do this again. But it did not seem like he had the same plans. The questions he had asked you on the bus earlier made you feel uncomfortable, and you wondered what he would have done, had it not been for Ryan interfering.

Slowly you started to sweat in the heat of the sun, yet you refused to go back onto the bus. The limited space would start feeling restricting soon enough, and you were not in the mood to be alone with Lars, so you waited in the shadow of the gas station, until Luis and Dallon walked back outside, both holding a bottle of cooled mineral water.

“So,” Dallon asked, turning to you once he had spotted you standing by the side of the building, “tell us a little bit about yourself.”

Nervously you shuffled your feet through the dust.

“Not much to tell there, I’m a rather dull person,” you excused, making Luis raise his eyebrows.

“Your haircut says something different,” he told you, making you smile shyly.

“Thanks, it’s just something I’ve wanted to try out for a long time,” you admitted.

“See, that’s already valuable information, you always tried to fit in, and finally got the courage to do more of what you like,” Dallon grinned.

“If you say so,” you shrugged, “anything else you want to know?”

“Why did you decide on doing photography,” Luis immediately asked.

From the corner of your eye you noticed that Ryan had stopped his pacing in front of the gas station. Instead he had turned towards the group, and was listening in from several meters away.

For a moment you hesitated. Would they judge you if you told them you had always wanted to take pictures of bands, capturing the energy, the music, the beat of the concerts? Why should they though?

“When I first got into music as a teenager, there were rarely good pictures of concerts to be found anywhere. So I sort of decided that I wanted to change that. Not just document a person’s face, or do a close-up of someone playing the guitar, but really transfer the vibe of the concert, the emotions of the music, through a picture to someone who hadn’t seen it live.”

When you stopped talking the men looked down at you, clear awe written into their faces.

“That sounds like one hell of a goal,” Luis finally stuttered out, and Dallon nodded.

“With such intentions, it is no surprise your work is this good.”

“Have you seen some pics,” you asked, suddenly feeling nervous. You had not expected anyone but Lucas to be familiar with your work.

“Lucas showed Ryan and me a few photos from the website,” Dallon explained.

Your conversation got interrupted by the tour manager, who called everyone back to the bus so you could continue your journey. Since you felt tired from all the exciting changes so far, you decided to take a nap.

You crawled into your bunk bed, climbing past Ryan’s bunk which had small curtains drawn in front of it, and settled in your own bed. Pulling your own curtains closed as well, you engulfed yourself in the little, precious private space. Since the ceiling was so close above you, it felt like the bunk bed was a cosy, little cave.

Lying down on your side, you pulled your knees to your chest. Just now you noticed that there was a small, tinted window which allowed you to look outside. Underneath you the bus awoke to life once more, and you watched the landscape pass by again. It felt strange, lying in a moving vehicle, but it sparked a feeling of adventure inside of you. And before you even knew it, you had fallen asleep.

Chapter Three

[one-1-year-gone]

day sixty-three (63)

I was never so tired like today. I took a nap before dinner, when we arrived home from the city. We didn’t even do that much. But I was in need of a nap. Like I even was able to sleep until half past nine (9.30) o’clock, that’s so long. But who gets a teenager body? Not me.

We went to Leith, to a farmers market. It was tiny. It took us like twenty minutes to have seen everything. It took us an hour to get there. A lot of food, just that we already ate. Yeah, so we went back to the city centre and then just randomly walked around. We tried to avoid the places we’ve already been to.

We walked up a hill, walked by the Flodden Wall and Pleasance. Then we had a tour of grocery stores. We went into: Farmer foods, where half of the stuff was frozen food and the other half was garbage food like soft drinks. Lidl was a little throwback to Switzerland, Sainsburys and Tesco are old friends.

Then we saw the Old College of the University of Edinburgh, which is really impressive, the street Southside was full of hipsters and I definitely want to go back there and take a closer look at it. Today we sorta hurried by, cuz we were really freezing. I don’t know what the hell we were thinking, but when we got out of the house today, we just saw the sun and thought “Oh, neat, it’s going to be warm, let’s just wear jean jackets”. We were such fools. It’s October. We are in Scotland. Cover you ankles, you buffoon.

We ended up once again in the Costa on Princes Street. I really like it there. It has a big seating space, it’s not on the street, it’s like an apartment one (1) floor up. Claudia bought one hundred (100) percent chocolate and that stuff is so bitter, I had to dilute it in my hot chocolate. I guess it’s healthy, but it’s also as bitter as battery acid. I don’t know how bitter battery acid is. It’s just a saying and it sounds fancy and I wanna use it.

In Costa the tiredness really took me by the neck and when we got on the bus back home I nearly fell asleep. I just went to lie on my bed until it was time for tea. Saturday is pizza day. Fortunately no more pineapple pizza.

Etage = floor

Calton Hil from North Bridge

I think Arthurs Seat ? There are too many hills around

The Scot monument from North Bridge

[unholyhelbig]

Floorboards & Footprints

This is my entry for #PPHW2, Cabin in the woods. I got a little carried away... What can I say? Horror is my element. 

The fire crackled, sucking away the only coolness that the stone fireplace offered. It was unsure of itself, seeping through the logs and caving out the middle of the wood. It emitted a heated scent; one that reminded Beca of the one camp she went to as a child.

She had taken a white church bus with obnoxious blue cursive on the side. There were only twelve seats in total, six on either side. Not many kids had been signed up to travel three hours through Maine to get to a little get-away for only five days.

During those five days, she had been hit in the stomach with the pit of an ore, got at least thirteen bug bites, and just nearly escaped a runaway arrow that almost shot its way through her eye. She hated camp. She hated the preachy sermons that she sat through, and her bunk mate that silently ate the teenage counselors face off like a flesh-hungry zombie.

When Aubrey suggested they actually spend winter break away from the world at a tiny little cabin, she immediately hated the idea. But it seemed like a better alternative than heading home for the holidays. She wasn’t sure if she could handle the late nights with her father tilting his head back and emptying a bottle of buttery alcohol. Her stepmother retiring to her room early like the drinking didn’t bother her as much as it did.

Her girlfriend didn’t mention the idea of heading home herself; her father not making an effort to come home for the holidays. Her own brothers conspiring for celebration in their own family homes. If it bothered her, she didn’t show it, instead pouring herself into creating a perfect weekend getaway.

Beca curled into Aubrey. Despite the heat of the fire, the cold still found a way past her clothes. Her nose was buried in the nave of Aubrey’s neck, breathing in her floral scent as the older woman stroked her hair patiently. It was a loving and tender gesture that Beca was quick to melt into after months of realizing feelings and pulling one another close.

It was an intimate edge of domestic life that Beca didn’t realize she craved. Her arm slung over Aubrey’s mid-section as a checkered blanket covered both of them. The cabin furnished with a rustic charm. The type of cabin that you could only imagine as a happy place; windows fogging as the heat met brutal cold. An imaginary dog curled up on the fur rug that nearly sparkled against the hazy fire.

“This is nice.” Beca decided in a breathy sigh, cuddling deeper into her girlfriend's embrace.

Aubrey let out a bit of a hum in return. She was admittedly content too, turning as she placed a small but affectionate kiss on Beca’s forehead. She felt drowsy herself, listening to her breath deepening as the two of them drifted off into a calm and collected sleep.

Beca awoke with a start, the air bitterly cold and humid all at once. The fire must have gone out, that signature sound not lulling her back into rest but instead lacking completely. The second thing she noticed was how stiff she was- neck plagued with a crick that brought icy fingers to her neck. The room was dark.

She was curled up on one end of the leather couch, the blanket having flung onto the floor at some point during sleep. Beca blinked a few times, dragging her hand down her face as she stared around the room; Aubrey wasn’t anywhere to be seen.  

Beca licked her lips. They were dry and cracked, almost tasting metallic like blood. She pulled herself up shaking away the rest of exhaustion. Her breath was visible in the air, her throat raw and torn. God damn it, Mitchell. She cursed herself for falling asleep in the first place. If Aubrey had gone into the one separate room the cabin had to offer, she would have scooped her up and curled into her like they usually did when she fell asleep during movie nights.

Her socked feet were loud against the wooden floor, long creaks ripping against the silence as if someone had pried them up and reapplied them to the frame sloppily. She didn’t bother cringing away. There was no one to unsettle.

Instead, she wondered to the kitchen, fishing for one of the mismatched mugs that were housed in the cabinet. ‘You’re the bee’s Knee’s.’  The one she grabbed, read. An audible scoff fell from her lips. It reminded her of a certain redhead that would have that embroidered onto a few pillows in a golden thread fit for a king.

She filled the mug with cool well water, steam close to balancing off the liquid itself. It burned as it passed her lips. Dripping down her chin as she hungrily gulped it down letting the water cling to the collar of her college logoed sweatshirt.

“Thirsty?”

The mug fell to the floor as Beca coughed on water. She flicked her eyes up quickly. Neither woman flinched as the glass shattered into a million pieces. It ruined the cute little saying and chip the wings off the cute cartoon bee. “Jesus Christ, Bree.” Her hand had found a way to her chest, trying to still her pounding heart.

Aubrey lifted a perfectly sculpted eyebrow, the ghost of a smirk on her lips “Should I start wearing a bell, sweetheart?”

“Yeah,” Beca let out a sound that was a mix between a snort and scoff. Aubrey had her position at the edge of the counter. Not exactly narrowing her eyes but holding them at an odd angle that looked nearly curious like a cat following a mouse. The light from the moon shaded her features. “I didn’t see you when I woke up.”

“You looked so peaceful. I didn’t want to stir you. I heard a noise.”

Beca furrowed her brow and glanced past the foggy window that rested above the kitchen sink. There was a thick coat of snow covering the ground in pristine white. None of it was disturbed. Trees resting 30 feet beyond the cabin walls. There was nothing but inky black behind the initial wall of bark.

“What kind of noise?”

“Howling, it was just the wind.”

Beca nodded softly, sleep still on her mind. The fire must have blown out the second Aubrey opened and closed the cabin door. It left in them in a stark cold that made Beca fold into herself, pulling her sleeves past her wrists.

“You’re bleeding.”

“Huh?” She glanced down at her feet. Fuck. The glass had dug evenly into the side of her foot, an angry crimson dripping onto the hardwood floor. Usually, Aubrey would have been beside herself; if not for the ugly mess, then for the safety of Beca. A normally protective woman stood rigidly, swallowing thickly as she refused to stare anywhere but at the large rafters that littered the ceiling. “I didn’t notice.”

“You should clean that.” Aubrey’s voice was husky, she took a step back, almost cautious. “We’re out of firewood, I’ll be back.”

A noise escaped Beca’s throat. It’s the middle of the night, Aubrey. She could have said what if that noise wasn’t the just the wind? Instead, she stayed silent. Partly in shock as she flexed her toes and winced. It burned. Aubrey had walked out the door, a flannel covering a tank top and a pair of fuzz lined boots with sweatpants tucked into them. Not exactly the warmest. Beca watched as Aubrey stalked into the woods.

Beca operated on impulse decisions. Her mind buzzing oddly as she hobbled over to the front door. Her fingers moist with blood as she painfully slid on her own boots, forgetting the socks. She slid Aubrey’s jacket on, the woman having evaded it completely.

The snow caved under her first step, movements making her wince for a few paces before she got used the splayed feeling of the cut on her foot. Her eyes begged to trace the prints left in the snow by Aubrey. There were none.

Her breath hitched, but she continued against the slowly deadening wind. She pulled the collar of the jacket over her face, trying to block out the cold as she walked away from the safety of the Cabin’s yard and into the cool darkness of the forest. Still no footprints.

“Aubrey?” Her voice was a low whisper. It sounded deafening in the quiet.

She walked a few feet, ducking under low hanging branches made even lower by the snow piled on the slim limbs. Thorns tore at the fabric of her jacket. She had no idea where she was heading, the floral scent of Aubrey’s perfume on her clothes overwhelming and forging some form of comfort.

A dark form was crouched in front of her. A blob in the horrid darkness. Beca found herself ducking low, hugging the side of the tree as she purposely hitched her breath in her throat. Aubrey shifted her shoulders in an inhuman way. They cracked like broken twigs under a boot tip. A low snarl breaking through the air.

Beca clenched her eyes shut for a moment. Was this Aubrey? It couldn’t’ be. It carried such a primal and unforgiving nature. One that the DJ had convinced her girlfriend carried when she first allowed her into the Bella’s their freshmen year. But this? This was angry, and the air reminded her of the color red.

No, those were eyes. Eyes that cut through the center of the figure and were trained directly on Beca. They were brighter than the blood that soaked into her boot and meaner than Beca had ever seen. Fully unblinking, fully cloaked as snow began to trickle from the air as it found its way through the trees.

She ran.

Aubrey, the beast, whatever it truly was, nipped at her heels, moving with such unimaginable speed. Beca was a wounded animal that had nothing more than the sickly scent of blood attached to her and the allure of a quickening heartbeat that she wished she could hide under the floorboards.

It dragged her to the forest floor, breath escaping her as her ribs came in stark contact with the rocky ground. Her hands- Its hands; were clawed and digging roughly into her skin. Beca hissed as she flipped herself over, trying to edge her foot somewhere under the creature so she could kick it off.

It wore Aubrey’s clothes, but they were torn and tattered. It carried Aubrey’s physical nature and slowly morphed features but had dripping fangs the same exact color as that stupid mug that broke in the cabin’s kitchen. It was coming at her throat, mixing primal animal growls with dripping drool.  

Beca let out a yell of pain as she struggled to hold her arm up enough to block the teeth of the beast. Their pointed ends dug into her forearm with an ungodly crunch, pushing past tendons and dying yellowed teeth with a crimson brine. It’s claws stinging as it thrashed easily, nails starting at Beca’s collarbone and dragging in four even leans down to the tip of her stomach. She cried in distress- letting out a bark of anger as she finally got enough of a hook to kick the creature away from her.

Beca used her impulse, dashing to her feet as adrenaline coursed through her veins. She sprinted, not bothering to dodge away from the low hanging branches or a slippery mix of mud and leaves carved in ice.

She dropped to her knees in a clumsy fall once she burst through the edge of woods, yelping as she cradled her wounded arm against her stomach. She didn’t’ stop- rushing onto the porch and into the golden light of the porch lamp. It was a small circle, her back resting against the side of the cabin as her legs buzzed on separated steps. Breath thick in the air as she scanned her eyes near the perimeter of the woods.

Two rose colored orbs peered at her for a few moments before clouding away. It was gone, whatever it was had left the battle for the safety of the woods. A safety that Beca so desperately wanted to feel herself.

“Oh my god, Beca!” she didn’t realize that the door had opened. Aubrey disregarding the cold as she dropped to her knees on the snow-coated deck. Beca flinched away, letting out a mix between a cough and a pained exclaim. Aubrey was dressed in flannel pants and a long sleeve shirt that was Beca’s. It looked tight on her, but comfortable. She looked undeniably like her.

“Y-you did this to me,” Beca croaked out, voice hot as blood continued to soak through her clothes. Warming her and chilling her all at once.

Aubrey held her hands in the air like she wanted to comfort her girlfriend. Pull her in close and make sure she was okay. But Beca had folded into herself. Cradling a wounded arm between knees pulled up to her chest. She decided to talk her down.

“Sweetie, you were asleep on the couch,” Aubrey tried “I didn’t’ want to wake you, so I went to change but by the time I got back you were gone.” She swallowed thickly “There was a broken mug on the floor.”

Beca blinked dumbly. She hadn’t checked the room, why would she? Aubrey had appeared so easily in front of her being the complete opposite of who she had fallen in love with. Alluring enough to pull her into the forest. A tricky creature that used a weakness and a strength all at once. Aubrey would never leave a broken mug on the floor, she would never go out in the middle of the night for firewood.

Beca let a sob rock through her body as she allowed Aubrey to carefully pull her into a soft embrace, not wanting to hurt the woman. Everything stung, her eyes burning as the beginning of a sunrise turned a dark night into a rain filled day. She wasn’t sure how long they stayed in that position before Aubrey said something, she wasn’t quite sure, about calling an ambulance.

She nodded, fingers still curled into Aubrey’s shirt as she stared out at the large expanse of snow that covered deadened grass. There were no footprints.        

[fabuloussisterofsin]

Hana Chapter Three is Up!

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14258097/chapters/33106503

Summary:Things are getting heated. Shinsuke and Missy are getting close, closer than they both know they should. Tensions are high as a night with friends turns into a flirt fest and denial of their feelings.

Please comment, like, reblog, and leave Kudos! 

Hana: The Vibe 

Missy smiled and made her way over to Shinsuke. "Hey Shin!" She said excitedly. She opened her arms to give him a hug. "How was your filmed promo today?" She asked him.

He hugged her close. "Promo go okay!" He said. "How are you today?"

Missy smiled up at him, she realized she was still clinging to him. "I'm doing okay! Excited for all of our days off tomorrow!" She moved hair from his face. "Hey do you like video games? Have you ever played Cards Against Humanity?"

"I like video games!" He said, arm still around her shoulder. "Never play that other game.

Missy could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She tried to silence it. He was her friend and that was it, but it seemed her heart had different ideas. "Would you like to come to my place and play some video games? Maybe invite the group too? Or just us?" She asked feeling familiar butterflies, butterflies like when she had her first kiss kind of butterflies. She pushed them down.

"Yeah! We invite friends, sound like fun." He said with a smile.

Her heart skipped a beat, his smile gosh his smile was enough to light a up a room. "I'll text them then!" She texted the group chats. "Game night and drinks at my place! BYOB, but pizza will be provided! CAH and Video Games for all!" Missy looked over to Shinsuke. "I have a favor to ask. Could you come over before they get there and help me set up and stuff?" She asked him. "You don't have to." She stated. Missy thought of what Becky had said to her. She wasn't going to fall for him, but she was starting to show the signs, it scared her.

"Sure I help. Let me change out of gear." He said before he half arm hugged her and walked off to the locker room.

"See yah!" She smiled brightly at him and went to go change from gear too. She sighed and felt the pangs of love beginning to blossom.

Shin was looking forward to a little alone time with her. He was beginning to feel something. Something he wasn't sure he had really felt before. Missy got dressed and looked at herself in the mirror. She did her make up and fussed with her hair. She wanted to text Shin a picture of herself. So she did, she took a selfie and asked. "Do I look halfway decent?" She sent a laughing face. He sent her back a sticker of a broadly smiling face. "You look great! I'm waiting outside for you!"

Missy laughed and finished up her look. She hopped out the door and looked for him. "Alright lets get this party star..." She stopped mid sentence and saw him. He was wearing a leather jacket and she could feel the heat rising from her toes to her face. "Started."

He had his leather jacket on and a white t-shirt with dark jeans. "What the matter Hana?"

"Nothing." She said her face blazing with blush. "I Uh..just think I heard my knee pop or something." She lied and the quirked a half smile at him. "You wanna follow me in your car?" She asked him. "Or do you want to hitch a ride?"

"I follow you." He said, adjusting his jacket around his shoulders.

Shin and Missy left the building and she waited for him in her deep blue Chevy Traverse. Once h caught up with her they drove ot her complex. She got out of the car and headed for the door. "Almost lost you on the Highway!" She laughed. Missy tended to speed.

"You speed racer!" He smiled. "There's speed limit you know!"

“Yeah and I was going like five over." She laughed poking fun at him as she fumbled with her keys which were on an Eevee lanyard and had a collection cute little key chains. She opened the door and flipped the lights on. "Welcome to my humble abode." She said to him. Her home looking like a beautiful remake of a well off colonial home, blue and white pervading the space, with dark and simplistic furniture and brightly colored kitchen supplies.

"Nice place." He complemented, looking around.

"Thanks I worked on it really hard." She said as she set her purse down. She flicked the living room lights on and a 54 inch Tv was nestled in a dark wood entertainment center with a large bright blue suede couch. "And this is my living room." She said excitedly. Off to the side was a case filled with Missy's Achievements all the way from Her wrestling days in high school and her NXT titles.

He walked over to look at her titles. He needed a case like this at home, honestly. He felt proud of her, of her achievements.

Missy blushed. “Oh don't look at those." She said walking over to him. There was a picture of her in High school hoisting the belt in pigtails and braces. "I really shouldn't display them so prominently." She said feeling embarrassed.

"Good to know where you came from." He said. "You accomplish a lot."

“Thanks, by as impressive as you.” She said grabbing controllers and games.” You know I tried out for NJPW.”

"Yeah? You came to Japan?" He asked.

“Briefly.” She Said. “I didn’t make it I was in college.” She replied. “I got my shoulder separated by another girl.”

He grimaced. "Mmmm never fun injury."

“Yeah. But I made it through college and then the circuits until I tried out for WWE.” She smiled. “And I got into NXT just after you left.”

He turned to smile at her. "Lucky we needed up on the same bus and you fall asleep on me!"

Missy laughed. “Yeah lucky indeed!” She said. “Shin, help me move the coffee table?” She asked.

He moved her coffee table and looked around. "What else can I do?"

Missy looked at him. “Well we should move the couch a bit.” She thought out loud. Missy tried to push her couch. She fell forwards and laughed into the couch. “I’m special.”

He flounced down in the couch beside her and turned to look at her. "You are special. Special like..." He closed his eyes, thinking for an appropriate word. "Special, like unique."

Missy laughed. “Thanks you’re unique too.” She said rolling over half on top of him. She smiled up at him; the butterflies fluttering in her belly. Her heart was pounding as she placed her hand on Shinsuke’s chest.

He felt a strange warm feeling radiating in his chest. He smoothed her hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear.

“Your heart is beating like wild.” She commented getting closer to him. “Why is your heart beating so fast.?”

He smiled. ”The vibes." He replied.

Missy laughed. “Well what kinda vibes.” She said inching closer to him. Her own heart hammering in her chest. She moved his hand to her chest so he could feel her heart.

He flexed his fingers over her chest, the familiar touch thrilling him. "Good vibes. Exciting."

Missy almost held her breath. She was so happy to have him close. “Yeah, exciting.” She breathed. She got her face closer to his.

He breathed deep, trying to calm himself as she came closer.

Missy moved to kiss him. This was the first time the thought had crossed her mind. “Shinsuke.” She whispered moving his hand to her breast.

Shin was being pulled to her, like a magnet. Her breast was soft and firm under his hand. His breathing was shallow, their lips inches from each other when there was a knock on her door. "Fuck." He breathed with a chuckle.

Missy popped up and off the couch in a flash she fixed her self and fought off the heat rising to her cheeks. She felt like she was bowl of jello and not quite sure which was up. She ran to the door. “Hi Kev, Sami and Becky!” She smiled for them. Becky raised her eyebrow at Missy. “Hi shin.” She said knowingly. Missy smiled. “Okay let’s get this party started!” She Said.

Shin got to his feet and took off his jacket, moving the couch to wear Missy had wanted it.

“Okay so I’ve got lots of games and also Cards against humanity and pizza is coming what do we wanna do first?” She asked the group. Becky opted for video games.

Shin settled back into the couch, his arms spread across the back of it. Becky sat beside him under his arm and when he wasn't looking, she stuck her tongue out at Missy.

Missy rolled her eyes. She felt a a twist in her gut. Was she jealous? No she couldn’t be. She was though. She hopped on the couch and snuggled up against Shinsuke. “Well what do we want to play? I’ve got all kinds of games, I’ve got fighting games. Hell I’ve got 2k18!” She suggested.  She looked at Becky and stuck her tongue out back at her. Becky snuggled in close Shin and he looked from one girl to the other then at Sami who was staring daggers at him.

Missy glared at Becky. “Shin wanna play 2k18 with me?” She asked him. “We could all play I have enough controllers!” She said excitedly. "Sure!" He replied.

Missy got up and grabbed hima controller. “Which one?” She asked holding out a dark blue and black one. “And kev and Sami is you wanna play you can join in. Maybe we could do a tournament?”

He reached for the black controller and the guys joined in. Becky leaned against Shin. "Alright, we all guys or girls?" She asked.

“Guys!” Missy said. She flipped through and chose Shinsuke. “Well I’m gonna be Shin.” She spoke making a face at Becky.

Becky chose Stone Cold, Sami and Kevin chose each other, and Shin chose Finn Balor.

The match started and Missy got super into the game. She went right after Becky’s character. A sign and signal to her. “Ohhh Shit Kinshasa!” She said excitedly as she fought Becky.

Shin teamed up with the guys to start trying to throw people over the top rope. Missy got put in the corner by the AI controlling Roman who started to wail on Shinsuke.

"Missy you get me beat up!" Shinsuke said.

“I’m trying not to!” She laughed as she threw Roman over the rope. “There I beat him.” She said sticking her tongue out at Shinsuke. “Ha ha!” She cried out as she threw out Bobby Roode. She went back after Becky and punched Becky out of the ring. “Damn it Missy!” She said.

Shin was locked into combat with Sami.

Missy fought Kevin and threw him out. “Ha Gotcha Kevin!” She smiled. “You’re way too good at this game.” He teased.

Shinsuke managed to throw Sami out. It was down to he and Missy. He turned to her and smiled. "Come on!"

Missy got a dumbfounded look on her face and she turned beat red. “Yeah okay I’m so gonna beat you.” She challenged him.

They battled and eventually Missy tossed him out of the ring.

“Whooooo! I win!” She Said. “Beat cha!” She laughed hugging Shinsuke. She paused a moment their faces close.

He gave her a sly look and booped his forehead against hers before he turned away. "Lets go again!"

“Alright! You’re on!” She smiled at him and bopped his forehead, with her finger. Becky smiled and rolled her eyes. The doorbell rang. “That must be the pizza someone wanna sign for it.”

Shin leaned back against the couch, looking around the room expectantly.

“I’ll get it.” Becky said getting up. Key and sami opted to watch and drink beer. “Alright this time I’m going to beeee Roman!” She chose Roman. Shin picked himself. "I beat you this time!"

“Yeah we shall see!” She smiled and elbowed him. “I’m gonna beat yoooooouuu!” She smiled, Becky laughed “you two are adorable.”

"She going to be mad when I beat her!" Shin grinned. Kevin and Sami started drinking the beer they brought and eating pizza.

Missy smiled. “There is no way you’re gonna beat me!” She laughed as she Superman punched him. “Soo.” Becky said to the boys. “They’re an item soon I do believe.”

"Yeah I think so." Kevin said. "Is that why you were cozying up to him, Bexs?" Sami asked, his face and neck a little redder than usual.

“Yeah I’ve been noticing that missy like never stops talking about shin. What about on your end boys.” She asked. Back over at the gaming center shin had just Kinshasa’d Missy’s character.

"Shin's pretty quiet. Ya know? He's a pretty private guy."

Becky sighed. “Well they need to get together.” She said to them. “Shit! No there is no way I’m gonna let you beat.” Missy said to Shin.

"I going to beat you!" He smiled, their characters grappling.

Missy stuck out her tongue and concentrated. “Nooooo way.” She exclaimed trying to reverse.

He rolled her up for a pin and she couldn't kick out fast enough. "Yeaoh!" He said, holding his hands up in the air before he turned to her with a sly smile. "I beat you." He said slowly.

Missy looked shocked. “Damn it!” She said to him and looked at his sly smile. She playfully pushed him. “I do think you could actually beat me though.” She laughed. Becky smiled. “Fight fight fight!” She laughed.

Shin stood up and did his hand motions. "Come on!" He knew how she looked at him whenever he did it in the ring.

Missy bit her lip. Flustered in every sense of the word. “Well I Uh um eh hmph!” She Said to him. Becky laughed. “Ooohhh someone’s all worked up!” Becky teased.

Seeing how far he could push her he.stretched upwards, deliberately exposing part I his lower belly.

“I am not!” She protested angrily. “I’m not at all!” She peaked at his lower belly. “Yes you are!” Becky said. “Isn’t she Kev and Sami?”

"Be nice to her." Shin said crossing the room and pulling her to his side.

Missy blushed hard and moved out from under shin’s arm and stormed out of the apartment to her balcony. Muttering to herself.

Shin held his hands up at them. "Enough enough!" He walked out on the balcony with her. "Sorry Missy-chan."

“No it’s fine.” She said looking out at the stars. “I just needed some air.” She lied. She was only upset because the comments were hitting so close to home for her.

He leaned his back against the banister. "We tease them back. Sami like Becky, you know."

Missy smiled. “Huh now that’s a pairing I wouldn’t have noticed.” She laughed. “I’m all for it.” She smiled at him. She walked over and gave Shin a hug. “I just really did need some air.” She hugged him tight.

He hugged her tight and before he could stop himself he kissed the top of her head.

Missy froze in his arms. He kissed the top of her head. She was as stiff as a board unsure of what to do.

He just held her close. "You sure you okay? You are tense." “Ummm Yeah.” She said to him. “I’m..I’m fine.” She relaxed her body but her mind was racing. She could feel that warmth and that desire growing in her heart. It was trying to break free.

He rubbed his hands up and down her arms. "Loosen up hana. Relax!"

Missy looked up at him, her eyes shining. She looked up at him with a look in her eyes that she had never given him before. One that told him everything.

He ran his hand through her hair and brought it to rest on her shoulder.

She kept looking at him her heart almost bursting, she wanted to kiss him but she couldn’t. Instead she buried her face in his neck.

His hand was on her lower back, rubbing a soft slow circle there. He had this curious feeling like he was home. The closest he had come to that feeling since he left Japan.

For the first time since she was a child, missy felt safe. She felt safe and calm in his arms. She nuzzled his neck. “Don’t let go.” She whispered.

"I don't want to. Ever." He admitted.

She hugged him tight and let out a relieved sob.

"No cry hana!" He said, pulling back to look at her. He held her upper arms gently. "What wrong”

“For the first time in my life, I feel safe, and that I belong somewhere, for the first time in my life, I’m happy.” She said looking up at him.

He gave her a small smile. "I glad, hana. You belong right here. You safe with us."

She hugged him tight. I belong with you. She thought. “Yeah, just whatever you are whatever you end up being I’m happy that you’re in my life.”

He nodded. "I happy you in my life too. He said, brushing his hand through her hair. Missy nuzzled him and then started to laugh. Sami, kevin and BEcky were all eating chips and drinking watching them.

Shin made a face and held open his arms. "What you all looking at?" He taunted.

“It’s cuuuute.” Becky said. Missy laughed. “We’re just...were just friends.” She said the lie tasting bitter on her tongue.

He nodded. "She need comforting. Because you are mean!" He said. "You want someone to pick on? Sami like you Becky!" Becky blushed and missy laughed. “Ha not so funny now!” She laughed before they headed inside. Missy popped on a movie and sat on the couch. Kevin took an individuals section and missy made Sami and Becky sit together. Shin smiled at the two. "There! Now you couple!"

Missy laughed and sat down next to Shinsuke. The took up their normal bus ride cuddle positions. “See not so funny now.”

"Yeah! We pick on you little while! When you two get married?" "This is awkward." Kevin said, taking a swig of his beer.

“Then bring your wife next time.” Missy said. “Poor woman.” She fist bumped Shinsuke. “Listen y’all can leave if you like.”

Becky and Sami got up at the same time. They looked at each other than down at Shin and Missy. "I'll see you later Missy. Sorry." "Come on Bex, I'll go catch a cab with you." "Yeah, I'm going to. Later guys." Kevin added.

“By guys sorry this was disaster!” She said to them. “We can try again later, or never again.” She said to them.

Shin pouted a little. "Sorry Sami, shouldn't have told on you." Sami looked at. "Well you don't say it, but you like her."

Missy blushed. “And she likes you, but you two are stubborn.” Becky shook her head. “I’ll see you the day after tomorrow for training. No hard feelings.” She Said Missy.

When the room was clear Shin sighed. "That went terrible."

“Yeah...I guess we won’t be having game nights anymore.” She Said. “I feel like a real shit heel.” She Said standing up and walking away from him into the kitchen.

"That was me, not you." He said. "I am a jerk. " “You’re by a jerk.” She said grabbing a piece of pizza. “I think tempers were hot tonight She said munching. “I’ll brb.” She Said as she went and put her pjs on. A pair short shorts and a tank top. “Okay I’m back.” Her hair was down and around her shoulders.

He tried not to look to hard at her as he ate his piece of pizza. "I should leave too."

Missy pouted. “Come on stay the night play some more games with me.” She munched. “Bff sleep over.” She suggested.

"Yeah, make things worse." He said. "They really tease you if they find out I stayed."

“No one has to know.” She shrugged. “Our little secret.” She suggested.

He nodded. "Okay." He was halfway interested in the movie she had put in. "Watch movie with me?"

“Yeah.” She said sitting down and cuddling with him and it wasn’t long before she was passed out on his lap.

@shinnakafan384 @obeydontstray @loveshinsukenakamura @wrestlethedevil @leaveharmony

Tag you so you can take a gander if you wish! 

[iamartemisday]

Jane Foster Week Day Five

.05 Respect

Jane met Bucky Barnes three times before learning his name.

The first time was in the middle of a coffee run. She had been in London for two days, and the switch from small-town America to big city Europe had so far been debilitating to her sense of direction. Nearly an hour of walking took her from a lamp post with yellow graffiti on it to a telephone booth across the street from the lamp post. Jane realized she'd gone in a circle and kicked the phone booth in frustration. Her toes aching, she gave up her fruitless search and walked back towards home, going in what she hoped was the right direction.

A man sat on the bench by the bus stop. His head was bowed, a ball cap covering his face. He wore a thick coat over a few layers of clothes. He had a backpack under one arm which he held as though it were a child. Jane assumed he was asleep until she was about to pass by him when he suddenly lifted his head.

"Excuse me," he said, so soft she almost didn't hear, "do you know when the bus will be here?"

"I'm sorry, I don't," Jane said. "I'm new here, too."

"Oh…" He glanced away, the cap hiding his eyes once more. The rest of his face was scruffy with a splotch of dirt here and there. It matched the ratty look of his clothes all too well, painting a fuller picture of why he'd be sleeping at a bus stop in the middle of the day.

Jane took a few wadded up bills out of her pocket and handed them to him. "Get yourself some lunch, okay?"

"You don't have to-"

A bus rounded the corner, slowing to a halt in front of them. As the doors opened, Jane smiled at the man. "Your bus is here. Have a good day."

She continued down the street and looked back when she head the bus pull away, but of course, he was gone.

**

The second time, she had gained a much better grasp of London's geography. Her mother took her out in the day and showed her where to find everything she'd need. Grocer here, pub there, bookshop here, pub there, movie theater here, pub there. Jane knew every pub within a five-block radius even though she hadn't had a drink since college. Trust her good old British mum to have her priorities in line.

Jane was out one evening after a few hours of browsing the bookstore. She left as the sun was going down and starting what she'd expected to be an uneventful walk home. Halfway there, she realized someone was following her.

She took a sudden sharp turn left, and sure enough, the person behind her followed. Though they might just be going in the same direction, the dread in Jane's gut told a much different story. Jane Foster always trusted her gut. It was how she got to Puente Antiguo and had her big adventure with Thor.

Her stalker sped up. He was two steps behind her now. Jane discreetly checked her pockets, but there was nothing she could use as a weapon. She clutched her purse. It was a gift from her mother. Mrs. Foster never understood why Jane didn't carry a bang. Jane would have a perfect answer now, assuming the person behind her just wanted money and not something else.

There was a thud, then a grunt, and then another thud. Jane whirled around to find a large man on the ground with a lump on his head. A second man disappeared into the shadows of a dark alley. Jane barely recognized the outline of his baseball cap and backpack.

**

The third time, he was at the park. Jane took one look at him and marched back into the cafe from whence she came to get a second corned beef sandwich. She sat on the bench with him and placed it in his lap.

"Eat," she said when he stared at her for a full minute rather than dig into his sandwich. "Go on. It's good."

"Why are you doing this?"

Jane finished her sandwich and tossed the wrapper into the garbage. "Because I want to. And because you helped me with that mugger the other day. And because if someone needs help, you help them."

"What makes you think I need help?"

"You've been wearing the same clothes every day."

He looked down at his even more rumpled shirt and an old jacket. Then he picked up the sandwich and nibbled on the corner. His eyes widened as he registered the taste and finished the whole thing in three bites.

"I know," Jane giggled. "Never thought I'd like corned beef so much."

He almost smiled. He stopped at the last second and heaved a sigh. "I'm leaving tonight."

Jane furrowed her brow. "Leaving London?"

"Leaving England," he said. "I have to. I don't like staying in one place for too long."

"Where are you going?"

"Away," he said vaguely. "That's all I know right now."

He got up and started to leave. For reasons unknown even to her, Jane went after him. He had much longer legs and got as far as the gates before she caught up to him.

"I'm Jane," she said. "I don't think I ever told you."

He nodded. His eyes were clear, crystal blue and made her think of how handsome he must be under all that hair. "I'm glad I got to meet you, Jane."

"What's your name?"

He looked over her shoulder, nodding at someone or something. Jane didn't know. When she turned to look there was only the usual crowd of families and couples basking in one of the rare sunny days London could expect. She looked back at the blue-eyed man, but of course, he was gone.

**

The first time Jane heard his name was on a news report almost a year later.

'The public is warned that James Buchanan Barnes is armed and extremely dangerous. Call the number on your screen to report any sightings. Do not attempt to apprehend him yourself.'

This was the thrilling news report Darcy was watching when Jane shuffled out of her room like a zombie, desperately hungry for caffeine.

"Coffee's in the kitchen," Darcy said. God bless her. "And did you hear about this terrorist guy who bombed a UN meeting in Vienna?"

"Nope, sure haven't," Jane mumbled. She felt around the kitchen cupboard and found a mug. After a few sips, she was awake enough to understand what a tragedy had occurred and how this was yet another reason the world would probably end soon.

'Here we see Barnes outside the UN building just before the bombing.' The screen zoomed in on a blurry photo of a man with a weapon in his hand. His face was uncovered. Jane squinted, trying to recall where she'd seen that face before.

It came to her like a bucket of ice water dumped over her head.

"No way," she whispered.

"You say something?" Darcy looked at her curiously.

Jane swallowed bile and forced herself to be calm. "I was just thinking out loud. I'll be in the lab if you need me, okay?"

Darcy shrugged and switched channels as the piece about James Buchanan Barnes ended. She left it on a TV show she'd been following while Jane went to her lab and stayed buried in her work until the next day dawned.

**

The fourth time they met, the world actually was ending.

Thanos was laying waste to their planet. The Avengers and every ally they'd ever had were fully mobilized against the threat. Jane had been awake for two days studying Thanos's gauntlet. After losing her sixth computer attempting to measure the energy output, she found herself in the corner, curled up in a ball and crying.

"I can't do this…" she sobbed to herself. Darcy had been evacuated days ago with the rest of the civilians. There was no one left to hear her cry.

Footsteps so soft she might've imagined them stopped in front of her. Someone kneeled. Someone brushed her hair behind her ear and caressed her cheek.

"Doctor Foster?"

Jane didn't need to look up, but she did anyway. His hair was shorter and more styled, but still long. His face was clean shaven. His eyes were older, as were hers, but still beautiful. "What are you doing here?"

"Same thing as you," he said, "saving the world and stuff. I didn't know you were a scientist."

"I didn't know you were a superhero."

He chuckled, though nothing was funny. He wore all black from head to toe, including his newly rebuilt prosthetic. Made from pure vibranium, she'd heard. Stronger than Cap's shield. "I have to go now."

Jane nodded, though in her head she cried out for him to stay. "I saw those reports about you and the UN building…"

His face fell.

"But I didn't believe it," she added quickly. "I mean… maybe I should have. We barely knew each other and they say you never really know a person, but I guess you just never seemed the type to me."

"I didn't?" He sounded like no one had ever said that to him.

"You seem like too good of a person."

If he was going to cry, he wouldn't do it in front of her. He left the lab, stopping at the door and taking one last look at her. As if he wanted a memory of her in case this was the last time. "After we’re done saving the world… you want to go get some corned beef sandwiches?"

Jane smiled. "I'd like that."

He closed and locked the door behind him, and they both got back to work with renewed vigor as the greatest battle Earth had ever faced raged on.

**

The fifth time, they stayed out all night, celebrating how great it was to be alive.

[hellsbellssinclub]

Welcome to Gotham. Part 1?

Note to self: Never listen to Welcome to Night Vale while reading Batman Comics. You will get fic ideas and you will not be able to get rid of them.

I hope I didn’t make it seem like I was ripping off the podcast too much. Please enjoy. I may or may not write more and am very much open for ideas.

The radio spits and hiss static before a calm and soothing Voice echoes from the speakers.

“An angst filled city where the skyscrapers reach to the sky. The smog is thick. And where we all choke on the desperation of hopes and dreams while people in capes fly over us at night; Welcome to Gotham.”

A soft piano is played for several moments. It is both haunting and beautiful and for some reason you are reminded of your grandmother. Even though your grandmother never had a piano.

“Hello Listeners. I have been asked to start off this show with a message from the Gotham Community College Council. The message is the following:

‘You may have noticed that there is an out of place classroom in building 3E that has a door plaque that says ‘Art in real life’. If you see the classroom please do not enter it. The College Council is eight-four percent sure that it is a portal to another dimension and would like to remind everyone that accidently entering another dimension and not returning for several weeks is not a good reason for absences nor for missing any tests. So please, leave that classroom alone. The matter being investigated.’

And now for the news. The eight-car pile-up down by the GCPD has been cleared away. Commissioner Gordon has released a statement saying that no one was seriously harmed and the pile-up was with mostly parked cars with no one in them. GCPD has arrested the persons who caused the crash but has not released any details as to why the crash happened. Traffic in the area will now resume its normal, slug like pace in the coming hour.

A new vigilante has appeared on Gotham’s Cape Scene this month. Who is he and what does he want? Is he a vigilante? Or is he a rogue pretending to be a vigilante? He wears a red helmet that in certain lights looks like the head of a male genitalia and a very nice leather jacket. Unlike most of the Cape Scene in Gotham, this young man uses an excessive number of guns and bullets and has a habit of killing people. So far, the young man in question has taken out several drug rings and has made himself the Crime Overlord of Crime Alley.

A rather strange goal if you ask me. But hey, whatever floats your boat Mr. Overlord. Whatever floats your boat.  There has been no word on the street as of yet if or when Batman will have his confrontation with the young man, that sources say is called The Red Hood, but keep your eyes peeled and be prepared to duck and cover if you see either of them! No one likes to be hit by a stray Batarang after all. Or a bullet for that matter.

In more exciting news, The Riddler was defeated today by an eight-year-old girl named Suzie. Little Suzie is an avid fan of puns, riddles and crossword puzzles and was one of the many school children who were taken hostage at the museum yesterday while on a school field trip. Before any of the Bats managed to even break into the building, little Suzie not only completed all of the puzzles that The Riddler had left, she also threw a several thousand-dollar statue at the rogue’s head, knocking him out.

Nightwing spent at least five minutes crying with laughter at the sight of little Suzie standing over The Riddler’s unconscious body in triumph. Robin was the one who had to cuff The Riddler seeing as Nightwing was incapacitated by his own laughter. Bruce Wayne, the owner of the statue used to knock out The Riddler, has congratulated Suzie on her puzzle solving skills and good aim. The billionaire has replaced the statue with another one from his collection and has not asked for payment from anyone for the destruction of the last one. What a great guy.

Let’s have a moment to talk about safety for a moment. In the last few weeks there have been many sightings of what appears to be Ninjas. But since they look very obvious and Ninja like, this presenter is slightly hesitant to call them that. I mean, what kind of Ninja advertises that they are a Ninja? I thought the whole idea of being a Ninja was to not be seen or noticed?

Anyway. Safety. It is not a good not safe idea to heckle, curse out or attack these strange Ninja people. They have been proven to be armed and dangerous and are more than willing to leave you upside down on a light post if you annoy them. So far there have been no deaths from these strange Ninjas but it would be best to avoid them just in case.

And now, the weather:”

Instead of the weather you hear a song about waiting for a bus in the rain. You are extremely confused and have a very bad feeling that this song is going to be stuck in your head for the rest of the week.

“Welcome back listeners.

One of the newest trends for the Gotham Twitter threads has been ‘I’mtellingbatman’. And it has been a hit. While it is completely unfounded whether or not Batman actually reads these tweets, they are extremely funny and amusing to read. For instance, this one is from R33ne_Moyt who said: Nightwing has been sitting on my roof petting my cat for the last 10min. plz give her back. #i’mtellingbatman. #ineedtofeedher.  And here is another one from 59oiler that said: Robin fell asleep eating a chilidog and is now covered in it XD. #i’mtellingbatman #plzletthisboysleep.

I have to say, if you have twitter and the time I would suggest you check it out. It will surely brighten your day.

Gotham City Mayoral Council has released a new statement today about the upcoming election. The Statement released explains that the new laws saying that you cannot run for mayor if you have committed serious offences or have been a part of any major gang such as Black Mask’s or Joker’s is in no way discriminatory. It is rather a precaution to ensure that they person whom is chosen for Mayor is not a figure head for any gang leader or rogue or that they are no planning to take over the city and rule as a dictator. Gotham City has strict laws on dictatorship and with having certified insane people ruling and or governing the city.

Our time is coming to an end listeners. Coming up next is the relaxing hour of sweet and soft songs from the local worshipers of the Green. Thank you, listeners. And Goodnight.”

The Voice is gone. And all that is left is static once more. You are left wondering how you came across this station in the first place.

[razzleblg]

Flower Boy Intellectual (Wonhui)

Word Count: 1,265

Tags: romance, swearing, libraries, coffee shops, mentions of other members, college AU, weed brownies, mention of Samuel

Tiny rain droplets raced down the coffee shop window, stopping then speeding up in intervals. Junhui watched them slide while trying to work on his homework. College was kicking his ass but it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle. He only had difficulty concentrating because of this one thing.

Jeonghan came over with freshly brewed Earl Grey tea, which he kept a stash of for his friends when they had something troubling on the mind. His small café, “More Pastries Than Coffee,” had become a hangout for the kids who wanted a quiet time alone to read or study. The dim, soft yellow lights and couches that were various shades of brown provided a comfortable and lived-in feel, even though a coffee shop is no place to live.

“Whatcha thinkin’ ‘bout, Junhui?” Jeonghan asked in a quiet voice so he didn’t wake Jihoon and Joshua up. They were working on stuff for their music theory class and fell asleep an hour prior.

“Nobody,” Junhui sighed. He watched more rain drops race and disappear into the little window puddle at the bottom.

“Oh, it’s definitely somebody. Tell me, Junnie.” Jeonghan sat across from Jun and handed him his tea.

“Don’t you have weed brownies or something to make for tomorrow morning, hyung?” Jeonghan gave Junhui a look. “So, there’s this guy that I saw at the library and he looked so soft and attractive. He was totally adorable and I smiled at him and everything… but I tipped over a book cart.”

“Jun, you’re so stupid. You should’ve talked to him.” Jeonghan rubbed Jun’s back like a mother would her distraught son.

“I would’ve but he looked so intellectually advanced and kind of intimidating. But, like, also super soft and cuddly. I’m afraid I’ll say the wrong things.”

“It’s okay, I’m pretty sure I know who you’re talking about. If it’s who I’m thinking of, you should be totally fine. But you can’t find him in my shop, you’ve gotta hang out at the library to see him.”

“Can’t I stay until the rain stops?” Junhui pouted and looked out the window to see a slightly empty street. Street lamps lit up small areas and made the town look warm and inviting.

“Of course you can, Junnie. Now, I don’t know when Jihoon and Shua are gonna wake up so lord have mercy on my soul.”

Junhui sat in the section he last found the boy, hoping he could find him again. The library was silent and nearly vacant, save for a few students who were trying to get volunteer hours in. They briskly walked around, shelving books that people had left on the table or on the cart. Junhui had been sitting in his chair for three hours, studying for his Astronomy exam that he had coming up. There was no sign of the Intellectual anywhere.

Until he walked in.

Wearing a light blue pullover hoodie that covered his hands, the boy walked into the library with a stack of books in his hands. His hazelnut-colored hair fell into his eyes. Junhui thought he looked like a flower boy.

The boy dropped the stack into the book return and set off to find more to read. Junhui wondered how the Flower Boy Intellectual could look so cool while searching for a book. He had a very innocent and gentle look. Relaxed face and dreamy eyes.

Junhui had been staring for too long. The boy looked over and raised his eyebrows with an unamused expression on his face.

“I won’t say anything too harsh since you’re cute and you’re not staring at my butt,” the Flower Boy Intellectual started. His voice was deeper than Junhui thought it would be. Like, Mariana’s Trench type of Deep. “But, next time you wanna stare, come talk to me first.”

Jun was dumbfounded. He opened his mouth to say something but couldn’t find the words. He would usually be very confident and kind of cocky but this guy is something different. This guy was turning him into a softer version of himself. Instead of speaking, Junhui just smirked and walked over to Flower Boy.

“I know you were staring at me before you tripped the other day.” The smirk disappeared from Junhui’s face and appeared on Flower Boy’s.

“Oh, um, you saw that?” Junhui scratched his head awkwardly.

“I’m pretty sure everyone in the library heard about it, plus I was standing right in front of you.” They sat in silence for a bit before Flower Boy spoke up again. “I, uh, never caught your name.”

“It’s Junhui, Wen Junhui.” Jun reached out his hand to shake Flower Boy’s. “And yours?”

“Wonwoo, Jeon Wonwoo.” Wonwoo grabbed his hand and pulled him close. “How about you take me on a date? I’ll meet you at More Pastries Than Coffee at six tomorrow night. Don’t keep me waiting.”

“U-um, yeah sure I’ll see you.” Junhui pulled back and let go of Wonwoo’s hand. Oh my fucking god, Junhui thought. I’d not only like to thank God but Jesus as well for this life-changing moment that is happening here at this very moment. “I hang out at the shop all the time so I definitely won’t be late.”

“Hand me your phone, please.” Jun hurriedly attempted to dig his phone out of his pocket. Wonwoo took it and put in his number. He handed the phone back to Junhui who looked at the screen and did a mix of cringing and blushing. Wonwoo had entered himself as ‘Babyyy ^-^.’ “I sent a text to myself from your phone, so I have your number. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow night then.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow.” And with that, they parted ways, Wonwoo slightly giddy about his date and Junhui screaming into the phone at Jeonghan about Wonwoo.

Junhui arrived at More Pastries Than Coffee an hour early with jittery nerves. Jeonghan greeted him once again with a cup of freshly brewed Earl Grey and a smile on his face.

“Junnie, are you nervous about your date?” Jeonghan asked him.

“Hell yeah, Jeonghan-hyung. He’s so cute, oh my gosh, I don’t wanna screw up and barely say anything like I did at the library.” Junhui played with his own fingers in hopes to distract himself.

“Throw your nervous vibes out the window because Seungcheol is coming back home and he’s bringing his nephew with him. If you’re nervous about your date then I’m gonna be nervous about Samuel’s visit.”

“Okay, hyung.”

“Remember, be yourself, and don’t try to be a nervous dickwad, please and thank you.” Junhui sat on the couch in the shop scrolling through his daily dose of memes while he waited for Wonwoo to show. At 6:01, he started to panic because oh my goodness, what if Wonwoo had gotten hit by a fucking bus or something?

At 6:05, however, Junhui’s theory had been proven wrong, and Wonwoo walked in the coffee shop door with his signature oversized pullover and specs resting on his nose. Junhui held his breath for ten seconds because wow, he’s beautiful.

“Are you ready to go, Junhui?” Wonwoo asked, motioning towards the door.

“You bet I am, baby,” Junhui replied, his usual relaxed self coming back to him. It was Wonwoo’s turn to blush.

They walked out the door with Wonwoo’s arm and Junhui’s waist, his hand tucked in the pocket of Jun’s leather jacket, and Junhui’s arm thrown around Wownoo’s shoulders. Jun smiled at himself and Wonwoo for scoring this Flower Boy Intellectual.

In the background, there would be Jeonghan lurking for pictures.

And there you have my first entry for @write-svt ^-^ strong power, thank you

-Aleah

[dorkwhowrites]

Leather Jackets (Chapter 1)

Group: Bangtan Boys

Pairing: Jikook

Genre: Fluff/Angst

He’s a bad influence and Jimin knows it better than anyone else.

Jimin has seen him too many times wearing a leather jacket, his dark brown hair styled in a mess, a cigarette that always dangles from his lips which are curved in a lopsided smirk that Jimin begrudgingly admits he finds very attractive.

But he is a bad influence and Jimin must stay away,

He remembers his mother always warning him right from when he was a small child that he should stay away from troublemakers at all costs.

“Jimin-Ah,” she would say. “You are a nice kid. Don’t mingle with the bad kind”

Jimin follows that advice to this day and that’s why even though he finds the leather jacket wearing boy with his perfect hair, cigarette and boy oh boy that attractive little smirk he stays away because he knows it's better this way.

But it only takes so much time for the other boy to notice Jimin looking at him from the bus stop but look away in a flash when their eyes meet and naturally he’s curious because what is a good boy like that doing here?

Jimin looks out of place among the graffiti-covered walls and the cussing teenage boys with their hands always wrapped around a beer can and one clutching a cigarette.

Jimin isn’t like them and he stands out with his plain clothes and naturally, the other boy is curious about him.

It only takes him long enough to start a conversation.

“Hi,” Jimin hears the boy say and for a second Jimin thinks that he is hearing voices or is the boy actually speaking to him.

He blinks slowly and looks at the boy.

“Uh,” he says.

“You dropped this,” is all the boy says handing Jimin 5,000 wons.

Jimin blinks again before taking the money and he mumbles incoherent thanks and the boy just nods as he walks away.

Jimin’s bus comes and he gets in and buys a ticket and takes a seat in the far back as he counts the money that he earned through tips.

He finds he has a 10,000 won instead of a 5000 and he realizes that he never did drop his money on the ground.

Jimin is left wondering why the guy gave him money that wasn’t even his.

The next day as soon as Jimin gets off his shift he walks to the bus stop his pocket heavy with the extra 5,000 won that the boy had given him, that he hopes to return to the boy if he sees him.

And he does, the boy is lying across the lap of some girl sitting on the bench blowing out smoke and laughing along with the other kids around him.

Jimin almost walks away but he turns back and walks up to him.

They all stop laughing as Jimin clears his throat.

“I…want to uh give you back your money,” he says to Jungkook who sits up removing the cigarette.

“My money?” he asks and Jimin melts because he has never heard a voice that sweet.

“Uh yes,”

The boy looks at him and then takes the money from Jimin’s hands before shoving it in the back of his jeans pocket.

“Why are you returning it back?” the boy asks.

“Because it isn’t mine,” Jimin simply answers.

The boy doesn’t say anything and Jimin takes it as a cue to leave and so he does and walks to the bus stop not looking back and when he finally does their eyes meet for a brief second before he sees the boy putting the cigarette up to his mouth and taking a huge puff while lying back down on the girl’s lap.

Jimin looks away too and sees his bus coming. He gets in and pays for his ticket and then once again takes the last seat on the bus his mind only thinking about the boy with the leather jacket.

Jimin’s mother told him a lot about bad people.

She told him to not mingle to stay away from all those who are bad and Jimin never questioned her.

But now he wonders what bad means?

He would consider someone like the boy who gave him those extra 5,000 won as bad because he smoked cigarettes and by the looks of it didn’t bother to go to college but yet Jimin finds himself held by him in a secure way as he dabs on Jimin’s cut with a little cotton pad.

Jimin hisses

“Stay still,” he says in a low voice and Jimin does staring at him. He has warm brown eyes. But what intrigues Jimin are the other boy’s piercings on his ear.

He stares at them in a longing way as he remembers begging his mother to let him get one.

She said no, of course.

“You are fixed up,” the boy says distracting Jimin. He sees the boy getting up and Jimin finds himself staring at his butt before he mentally curses himself and decides to look around instead.

For someone who looks that intimidating the boy’s house doesn’t match him in any way.

The walls are a pretty baby blue color and there are plushies everywhere. Jimin would have never thought someone like that boy would have a room full of soft toys.

“You should be more careful,” Jimin hears the boy’s voice.

“I…,” Jimin said. “What happened again?”

“You fell face first on the ground,”

“Oh,”

“I saw you and you were unconscious and you hurt your head,” he continues. “So I thought I’ll get you somewhere safe,”

“Oh…uh…thank you,” Jimin says.

“You don’t feel dizzy, do you?” the boy asks.

Jimin shakes his head no.

“Can I uh get some water?”

“Sure,” the boy says disappearing in the kitchen. He returns with a glass of water and gives it to Jimin who gulps it down in one go.

For a few seconds after that, they stay silent.

“I think I should go now,” Jimin says. “Thank you for helping me”

“Are you sure you can get home?”

“Uh yeah I’ll…I’ll get the bus,” Jimin stutters.

“I can drop you,” the boy says.

“No, no it’s fine,” Jimin says. “You’ve done enough already”

“It’s no big deal,” the boy says. “I’ll just get you home safe”

Jimin ponders over the offer for a second before giving in.

“All…all right,” he says.

The boy smiles at Jimin.

“Let’s go then,”

Jimin nods setting the glass down and stands up following the boy outside. The boy locks the door and they head to the boy’s truck.

The boy holds the door open for Jimin who gets in. The boy gets in and starts the truck.

Jimin tells him the name of his street and the boy just nods his hand already on the radio.

“Do you mind?” he asks.

Jimin shakes his head no.

Soon the sound of a slow soft song fills Jimin’s ears and he finds himself liking the music.

“The Smiths,” he hears the boy voice. “It’s called Asleep if you were wondering”

Jimin just nods as he listens and is a little happy when the boy puts it on loop.

A few minutes later they are near Jimin’s street and the boy stops the car.

“Thank you so much for the ride uh…,” Jimin says.

“Jungkook,” the boy smiles.

“Oh thanks, Jungkook,” Jimin says.

“It’s no problem…”

“Jimin,” Jimin says.

The boy smiles again and for the first time in the day, Jimin smiles back at him.

He then gets off the car and gives the boy a small wave as he drives away and Jimin walks to his home with a little smile on his face.

That night he falls asleep listening to a Smiths album.

Jimin considers himself lucky that he works for someone like Seokjin.

Seokjin isn’t too pushy and actually understands that Jimin has studying to do and the pay is quite okay, so Jimin doesn’t mind.

The days can be slow, the diners a little too rude.

Jimin remembers once a woman had thrown a glass of water on his shirt because her noodles weren’t hot enough. At least Seokjin understood it wasn’t his fault. But sometimes he gets lucky and gets some good tips.

And today was a particularly slow day until he sees a group of people walk in and to his surprise, it’s Jungkook and friends.

It had been two weeks since Jungkook had helped Jimin and the boy has been on and off of Jimin’s mind and Jimin is completely in love with The Smiths thanks to him.

But now he has a job to do.

Jimin walks up to them with a notepad and pen.

“Order,” he asks with a smile.

“Hotdogs,” he hears a loud voice.

“Taehyung shut up,” he hears another voice. “No hot dogs,”

“Hyung,” the brown haired boy named Taehyung whines but he is ignored by everyone.

“We are getting five cheeseburgers and fries,” Jungkook says.

Jimin jots it down.

“Anything else?” he asks.

“No thank you,” he smiles.

Jimin nods before walking away. He gives the ticket to Seokjin who seems very glad by the sudden business.

Jimin feels sorry because Seokjin works so hard in the diner.

Jimin returns and finds Jungkook and his friends laughing when suddenly Jungkook meets his eyes and he gives Jimin a smile. Jimin smiles back and then he is called by Seokjin to take the orders away and Jimin does as he is told and brings them to the table.

“Thank you,” Jungkook says and Jimin smiles leaving the table and joining Seokjin in the kitchen.

“Are we closing up after they leave?” Jimin asks.

“Yeah, I guess,” Seokjin sighs. “I don’t think anyone is gonna show up at this time”

Jimin nods and returns to the counter where he sees Jungkook and his friends eating and Jimin’s heart feels heavy.

He doesn’t even remember the last time he sat down with ‘friends’ and had a meal. Well, he never had friends, to begin with, expect for a boy until 7th grade who left school and gave Jimin his number so they could talk but Jimin lost it and now he’s alone. He is quite frankly used to it but sometimes he does wish he could have friends like everyone else does.

Jungkook and his friends finish up their meal and Jimin clears out their table.

When they leave, there is a huge tip for Jimin almost as much as their bill.

That night for the first time in days Jimin eats something else than ramen.

3 days pass until Jimin sees Jungkook again.

He is standing at the bus stop waiting for his bus when he feels a tap on his shoulder, Jimin takes out his earphone and sees Jungkook.

“Hey,” Jungkook says.

“Uh um hi,” Jimin says.

“How have you been doing?” Jungkook says. “Um I mean your head is it okay?”

“Yeah, I am fine,” Jimin says.

“Oh, I am glad to know,” Jungkook says and smiles.

Jimin smiles back and they stand there awkwardly until Jimin speaks up which shocks both of them even more so Jimin himself.

“I have been listening to The Smiths,”

“Have you?” Jungkook asks a little surprised.

“Uh yeah they’re great,” Jimin says.

“Yeah, they are,”

Just then Jimin’s bus comes.

“Uh, I’ll see you later then,”

Jungkook nods.

“Yeah, bye,”

Jimin gets in and puts on The Smiths again while thinking about Jungkook.

It’s days later and Jungkook has a habit of showing up at the diner but now he’s alone and he gets a chicken sandwich most of the time and he shows up at the closing time almost always and the more Jungkook comes to the diner the more Jimin gets to know him.

For example, Jungkook loathes mustard with a passion and he literally can’t live without ketchup, he always wears leather jackets and that his favorite band is Nirvana and he likes to sing which shocks Jimin the most because he never imagined Jungkook the kind of singing.

When he leaves and Jimin starts clearing all the tables he hears Seokjin.

“He comes here a lot,” Seokjin says.

“Uh yeah,”

“I wonder why,”

“To eat?” Jimin says as if stating the obvious.

“Are you sure?”

“I guess so,”

“He talks to you a lot,” Seokjin says. “Are you guys friends?”

“Uh yeah, sort of,” Jimin says. “He helped me once when I fell down and fainted”

“Oh,” is all Seokjin says as he puts the rag away and removes the apron.

“Why are you asking hyung?” Jimin asks.

“Oh nothing,” Seokjin says.

Jimin doesn’t answer but he senses that Seokjin was definitely acting weirder than usual.

They leave the diner together and Jimin gets the bus home and to his disappointment, he doesn’t see Jungkook today so he puts on The Smiths and gets lost in his thoughts already.

Over the next few days, Jimin listens to Nirvana and he falls in love again and makes a mental note to tell Jungkook that he has an excellent music taste when they meet but it’s been over two weeks and Jungkook hasn’t shown up.

Jimin feels stupid already because he was looking forward to seeing a stranger for whatever reason and he actually thought they were friends and he was being completely silly because of course, they weren’t. Jungkook just came to the diner because he liked the food, it had nothing to do with Jimin and Jimin feels like kicking himself because he builds up hopes over something that never existed.

So he just takes the orders of the few people that did come to the diner, clean the tables and then listen to Nirvana and The Smiths whenever he could as he tried not to get too sad because Seokjin has been giving him weird looks over the past two days and Jimin knows the question will start anytime. In some ways, Seokjin is like the older brother that Jimin never had.

One of such nights when Jimin is cleaning tables again he hears the jingle of the bell of the door and Jimin glances up at the clock and it’s almost 7:30 pm and almost nobody ever comes to the diner this late.

Jimin turns back to look and the sight he sees is a surprise for him.

It’s Jungkook,

When Jimin looks at him Jungkook smiles.

Jimin’s heart warms because Jungkook is just like he remembers him sitting here exactly three weeks ago talking about ketchup but he looks so different.

It’s hard to miss the swollen eye and torn lip and the bandages wrapped around Jungkook’s knuckles but he is still wearing his signature leather jacket and has a smirk on his face as he sits down.

“Can I get a sandwich now or is it too late,”

“I’ll tell hyung,” is all Jimin says as he leaves and goes to the kitchen where Seokjin is busy cleaning the kitchen. Even though it’s past their closing time Jimin knows that Seokjin would cook for Jimin because business has been particularly slow and Seokjin could do with some extra money.

“Hyung, a sandwich,” Jimin says.

“We have a customer?” Seokjin asks as he sets down the brush and Jimin nods.

‘Is it your friend?” he asks.

“Huh,”

“I don’t remember his name,”

“Jungkook,”

“Yeah, him,” Jimin says.

Seokjin just nods.

“I’ll get you that sandwich,” Seokjin says as he begins and Jimin leaves to find a lone Jungkook observing the décor of the little diner.

A few minutes later Seokjin calls Jimin back for the sandwich and Jimin takes back to Jungkook who smiles at Jimin and just as Jimin almost leaves he hears Jungkook’s small voice.

“Can you sit with me?”

Jimin stops thinking for a second. He is done with cleaning and his shift technically already ended and he knows for a fact that Seokjin won’t mind so he just nods sitting down.

Jungkook smiles widely and Jimin smiles back.

“Did I tell you I listen to Nirvana now?”

“You do?” Jungkook asks clearly surprised and Jimin nods.

Jimin nods.

“But I still like The Smiths better,” he says and Jungkook laughs.

“Each to their own,”

“Yeah,” Jimin says. “You have a really great music taste”

“Uh thank you,” Jungkook says as he bites his sandwich and Jimin looks away because they have once again run out of things to say but for some reason, Jimin wants to talk more.

Jungkook finishes his sandwich and Jimin stands up taking his plate and takes it back to the kitchen where Seokjin takes it and washes it.

“So he’s finally back huh?” Seokjin says.

“Uh yeah,” Jimin says. “But why are you giving me that look”

‘Nothing,”

Jimin doesn’t say anything and goes out to clean the table and to his surprise, Jungkook is still sitting on the chair.

“Do you need anything else to eat?” Jimin asks. “I am sure hyung wouldn’t mind…”

“No, I am full,” Jungkook says with a smile. “I just thought aren’t you leaving soon”

“Uh yeah,”

“Well, then we can walk together to the bus stop,” Jungkook asks and Jimin feels a hint of hesitation in Jungkook’s voice.

“Sure,”

Jungkook smiles again as Jimin cleans the table and then sweeps the floor again before Seokjin closes the place.

“Bye hyung,” Jimin says to Seokjin who nods waving with a smile as he walks away to his car and Jimin and Jungkook walk to the bus stop.

Surprisingly neither of them talk but it still feels nice to have someone walk with him and Jimin has a light smile on his face and when he looks at Jungkook he smiles at him and Jimin feels his heart getting warm yet again.

They reach the bus stop and Jimin gets a little disappointed.

“So,” Jimin says. “I’ll see you soon”

Jungkook nods his hands shoved in his pocket as he lets out a long sigh.

“Jimin,”

“Yes,”

“Do you…do you have anything that you’re doing this Saturday?”

Well, Jimin does have a paper to work on and a lot of chores that has piled up but he’s sure he can manage as he shakes his head.

“No,”

“Oh, so would you like to hang out with me?” Jungkook asks.

“With you,”

“Um, yeah,” Jungkook says. “No pressure”

“It does sound fun,”

“So will you come?”

“Yeah, sure,”

Jungkook gives him the widest of all grins he has seen.

“All right,” Jungkook says. “I’ll pick you up at your street”

“Okay,” Jimin says as he sees his bus.

“Your bus is here,” Jungkook says.

“Yeah, I’ll uh see you then,” Jimin says. “Bye,”

“Goodbye,” Jungkook says as he walks off his hand still stuffed in his pockets and Jimin gets into his bus and to his disappointment the empty seat in the back is taken but it still doesn’t dampen his mood because he is glad he saw Jungkook today after about 3 weeks and he smiles as he puts on The Smiths and thinking about Jungkook.

He wonders a lot about the boy, who is he? Where does he come from and everything else but mostly about the split lip and the swollen eye the other boy was sporting.

Jimin only hopes it’s a one-time thing.

Jimin had last seen Jungkook on Monday when he came to the diner and since then Jungkook hasn’t shown up and Jimin doesn’t even have his number so that they can talk and Jimin almost expects Jungkook to cancel their plan and he would be lying if it wouldn’t disappoint him.

After all, Jimin has taken out about 15,000 wons from his measly saving so that he could pay for stuff if they do go out somewhere but it doesn’t seem like it would happen.

So on Saturday when he is on the way home from his shift he gets a call and it’s an unknown number.

Jimin picks up and it doesn’t take him long to recognize the owner of the voice.

It’s Jungkook.

‘Where are you?” Jungkook asks.

“Walking to home,”

“Stay there,” Jungkook says. “I am coming to pick you up”

“Uh okay,”

Jungkook hangs up and Jimin waits to lean on the wall until Jungkook shows up in his car.

Jimin gets in and he has to stop himself from not staring at Jungkook’s face. He has a cut on his forehead and his lips look even worse than before and Jimin thinks Jungkook senses it as he puts The Smiths and smiles.

“You love them right?” he says and Jimin nods and decides not to question Jungkook because he senses that he doesn’t want to talk about it but there is some awkward tension in the air and Jimin decides to break it.

“How did you get my number?”

“Your boss,” Jungkook says. “He wasn’t giving it to me at first, I really had to request before he finally gave in”

“Oh,” Jimin says.

“I am sorry,” Jungkook says. “I should have gotten it from you but I completely forgot”

“It's fine,” Jimin says and smiles. “

Jungkook smiles back.

“Where are we going?” Jimin asks.

“To the movies,”

“Oh,” Jimin says again remembering the last time he has been to the movies. It was when he was 11 to see some animated movie with his mother; it was a sort of treat because he had got the best grade out of everyone.

Now he doesn’t have money to spare for luxuries like that because Jimin has a lot of things to be taken care of. Watching the latest releases isn’t his priority.

“You don’t like movies,” Jungkook asks.

“Uh no,” Jimin says. “They are pretty fun”

“Yeah, they are,” Jungkook says. “Also a few of my friends are coming”

When Jimin hears that his heart sinks a little because he doesn’t know what to expect from Jungkook’s friends. They could be nice but Jimin wouldn’t feel the sense of familiarity that he does with Jungkook and that makes him slightly uneasy.

“Don’t worry,” Jungkook says. “They’re all really nice”

Jimin just nods as he gazes out of the window until Jungkook finally stops the car.

“We’re here,” Jungkook says and Jimin steps out of the car and they walk to a group of people.

“Guys, this is Jimin,” Jungkook says with a big smile.

“Oh I finally get to meet you,” a brown haired boy says as he gives him a boxy grin. “I’m Taehyung”

“Hi Taehyung,” Jimin smiles and they all introduce themselves and Jimin smiles at them and nods. They’re all a lot nicer than Jimin ever expected them to be.

“We are probably gonna miss half of the movie if stand here,” the green haired one named Yoongi says.

They all nod and go in to buy their tickets and Jungkook pays for Jimin’s tickets before he can even so much as protest. He feels extremely guilty as he sits down between Taehyung and Jungkook and the movie is a horror one and Jimin never liked horror so he closes his eyes most of the time until he hears a small voice in his ear.

“Are you okay?”

It’s Jungkook.

“It’s scary,”

“I am sorry,” Jungkook says. “I should have asked you what movie you liked before we came”

“It's fine,” Jimin smiles because he doesn’t want Jungkook to feel guilty about it.

Jungkook just nods leaning back as Jimin tries to watch the movie. He is more than relieved when the movie is finally over and all of them decide to go to a restaurant nearby.

They all get burgers and fries and Yoongi pays and everyone cheers as Jimin feels guiltier. He is sitting between Jungkook and a girl named Sana who he vaguely remembers as the same girl whose lap Jungkook was lying on when he had first seen him.

After finishing their meal Jungkook and Jimin leave together.

Jungkook drops Jimin home while they listen to The Smiths again and it all feels so perfect that Jimin has a grin on his face that falls slightly when Jungkook stops the car at Jimin’s street.

“I…I had a lot of fun today,” Jimin says.

“Oh really, I’m glad,” Jungkook says scratching the back of his neck.

“Yeah,” Jimin says.

“We should hang out again,” Jungkook says. “Like maybe even just the two of us”

“That sounds fun,”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Jungkook says.

“Yeah, I guess I should go now,”

“Yeah,”

“Goodnight Jungkook,” Jimin says.

“Night Jimin,” Jungkook says as Jimin steps out of the truck and Jungkook starts his car and drives off and Jimin walks to his home and he feels like he is the old Jimin again.

Because home just doesn’t make him as happy as Jungkook does.

He is bad a voice keeps telling Jimin but Jimin ignores it as much as he can.

He is with Jungkook in some abandoned park that no one cares about anymore and Jungkook is on his second cigarette as he narrates an incident involving Yoongi and it’s funny and Jimin is laughing but he sees the bruises that litter Jungkook’s hands and how the swollen eye is back and he has so many concerns but he keeps quiet because he doesn’t want to make Jungkook mad and make him leave.

“Yoongi hyung is hilarious,” Jungkook finally finishes and takes a huge drag blowing out smoke and Jimin nods.

“You don’t smoke, do you?” Jungkook asks and Jimin shakes his head no and only thinks about how his mother would disown him if he ever so much as touched cigarettes.

But she probably would never approve Jimin hanging out with someone like Jungkook because the boy reeks of everything that his mother despises.

“Boys like that, they go to jail,”

Jimin pushes the thought of his head because he knows Jungkook isn’t like that and he knows it.

Jimin glances at his phone. It's 2 pm and the time for Jimin to start his shift at Seokjin’s diner.

“Jungkook I have to go,” he says standing up. “To work”

“Stay please,”

“Jungkook I can’t…”

“It’s just one day,” Jungkook says. “Your boss can manage”

‘I need the money,” Jimin wants to say but he doesn’t.

“Just for a day,” Jungkook says. “You work yourself too much”

Jimin knows Jungkook is right because for the past two years that he has been working at Seokjin’s diner he only took 5 days off. He was a loyal worker and he knows Seokjin won’t mind.

“All right fine,” Jimin says.

Jungkook grins.

Jimin sits back down and Jungkook lies on the ground staring at the clouds and Jimin does the same and they point out the shapes of clouds and laugh together and Jungkook puts on some more good music and they talk a lot about everything but nothing in particular and Jimin looks into Jungkook’s warm brown eyes again and he gets a fluttery feeling in his heart that is hard to ignore and he wonders what does it mean and why does he finds himself smiling when Jungkook smiles.

When it’s past 8 pm and Jimin finally realizes he sits up in a hurry.

‘I…I have to go,” Jimin says.

“Huh,”

“Homework due,” Jimin says as he grabs his backpack and Jungkook gets a call and Jimin hears him curse and nod.

“Jimin, I am sorry I can’t drop you,” he says. “I have to get Taehyung”

“It’s no big deal,” Jimin smiles. “I’ll get a bus”

“Uh okay,”

“Bye Jungkook,”

“Bye Jimin,”

Jimin walks in a hurry to the bus stop and prays that the bus shows up on time and luckily it does. He gets in and sits on the last seat cursing himself over how could he forget that it was over 8 pm. He has never been irresponsible before. He even missed work today and even though he had the best time with Jungkook the guilt doesn’t go away.

‘It’s all his bad influence,” Jimin hears a voice that vaguely sounds like his mom.

Jimin looks in the dusty mirror at his home and he sees his eyes are puffy and red.

He has been crying, a lot.

He missed University yesterday and when he went to the diner Seokjin took one look at him and told him to take the day off despite Jimin’s repeated requests that he wants to work.

“I’ll pay you for the day,” Seokjin finally said. “But go home and get some rest”

Jimin stops protesting and he tears up again as he hugs Seokjin and the boy pats his back.

“It’s gonna be okay,” he says and Jimin appreciates it even though Seokjin has no idea what the hell is going on with Jimin.

Jimin isn’t a weak person by all means but for the past two days he has been a wreck and it all started when he got a call.

“Jimin ssi,”

“Yes,”

“We are speaking from the nursing home,” the woman on the other end says and Jimin sits up straighter because they never call unless…

“Your mother’s condition has been worsening so we had to move her to the ICU this morning,”

“And?”

“The doctors can’t say when they will let her out of the hospital but the charges for the treatment…I mean you have to bear them”

Jimin’s heart sinks as he gulps only praying it’s the amount he has saved up.

“How much is it?” Jimin asks.

The woman says a hefty sum and it’s just exactly how much Jimin had managed to save and now he can pay his mothers’ bills but he isn’t quite sure how will he pay for any of the other bills’ that have been piling up.

“I’ll make a transfer,” Jimin says.

“Okay,” she says.

“Can I see her?”

“Not yet,” the doctor says. “But they will move her to the general ward by tomorrow”

“Okay,” Jimin says as he hangs up and he goes by his day unaffected and he works empty stomached all day and goes home to eat some of the leftover kimchi he had in his fridge and he has almost nothing left to eat and he has no money for groceries until Seokjin pays him at the end of the month which is another 10 days away.

The next day he finally gets to visit his mother and the subway ride is costly but he has to see his mom.

He arrives at the hospital and asks the nurses for her room and goes to her and what he sees breaks his heart.

His mother looks skinnier than she has ever been her bones visible her skin an ashen color as she lets out labored breaths her eyes closed.

Jimin sits down next to her and holds her hand and then he cries because he has held it in for too long and he wants to cry all he can because he is struggling every day and he just wants his mom to be okay but she only gets worse and it dawns on Jimin that if his mum leaves he will be alone and he doesn’t want that.

He wishes to be a little kid again but he has no choice but to work every day so that he can make sure that his mother lives because he clings on the littlest of the hopes that one day his mother will wake up and that keeps him going but as he sees her frail body he really isn’t sure what he believes anymore.

Ever since he got back home he has been crying and he isn’t okay and he is hungry but he already has eaten the last two crackers he had and he is saving the last packet for the following days and he has almost given up on life and on everything else as he stays curled up on his bed the tears long dried out on his face, his pillow damp when he hears loud banging and Jimin doesn’t move hoping whoever it is just goes away but they don’t and Jimin gets up wiping his face even though he knows he doesn’t even look half presentable as he opens the door and finds Jungkook.

‘Jimin, oh my god,” Jungkook says and pulls him into a hug and Jimin wants to push him away but he melts in because he wants to feel okay again.

Jungkook runs his hands through Jimin’s hair in a calming way and they stand there for a long time until Jungkook lets go.

“Jimin your phone was dead,” Jungkook says. “You weren’t at the diner. I was so worried”

“I…” Jimin begins but he doesn’t find the words to utter out and Jungkook understands as he closes the door.

“Sit down,” he says softly and Jimin sits.

“You don’t have to tell me,” he says.

Jimin nods and Jungkook begins wordlessly clearing the clutter that has piled up. He picks up the books throws the trash and sweeps the place clean all while Jimin wordlessly stares too far gone.

“Have you eaten?” Jungkook asks when he is done but Jimin doesn’t reply so Jungkook checks the kitchen and comes back biting his lip.

“I’ll be back in some time,” he says and leaves while Jimin doesn’t move and when Jungkook does come back he has a whole month worth food with him.

“Eat,” he says as he places some kimbap in front of Jimin.

Jimin eats and suddenly ravenous he finishes it in no time not caring as he washes it down with a can of soda and a bag of potato chips and when he is done Jungkook clears the stuff and tells Jimin that he has kept the rest of the food in the kitchen.

He comes back and sits next to Jimin.

“Now tell me how are you doing?”

And Jimin cries into Jungkook’s arms and they stay like that for a long time and Jungkook just gently pats his back until Jimin finally stops crying.

“Jimin it's’ gonna be all right,” he says and Jimin believes him because he really does need the hope.

Over the next few days Jimin goes back to the diner, he feels better, much better as he had visited his mother and she seemed a lot better and they took her to the nursing home again and things have been going well, Jungkook keeps checking on him even though Jimin feels much better.

Jimin does tell him about his mom and he feels a strange weight lifted off of his chest because he never told anyone.

His mother had a car accident when Jimin was 16 and she went to a coma and since then Jimin began working odd jobs juggling school and everything else along with having to pay for his mom to stay at a nursing home cum hospital thing and by the end of it Jungkook had hugged him again and Jimin was just grateful.

The diner has some changes too, especially in the food and the décor and there a lot more people visiting and Jimin isn’t complaining at all because it just means more tips for him.

Seokjin looks happier than usual and promises Jimin a raise and Jimin is quite happy.

It’s all because of Seokjin’s new friend Namjoon who had some suggestions to fix up the place and their business is doing much better now.

Jimin likes Namjoon hyung too, he always has a smile on his face and is quick to help Seokjin and usually comes late when they are closing down and helps Seokjin with the cleaning and they go back to home together while Jimin takes a bus or has Jungkook drop him though he prefers the latter because it means spending more time with Jungkook something that he loves now.

And even though Jimin likes Jungkook so much and the fact that Jungkook has helped him so much, he doesn’t know how old he is or what even his last name is or what does he do as work and why does he always have bruises?

Jimin has questions and that need answers.

Jungkook stays nights at Jimin’s house now and it’s just them watching some movie that Jungkook gets on Jimin’s old TV and it’s a new feeling for Jimin who has to sacrifice his studies to spend some time with Jungkook and every time he does that he sees his mother clicking her tongue in disapproval at him.

They watch classics and new movies but nothing horror for Jimin’s sake and Jungkook gets popcorn as they sit on the wobbly sofa until one of them falls asleep.

When Jimin has university the next day Jungkook even makes him breakfast to go to and Jimin is so grateful to find a friend like Jungkook that he feels he got luckier than he deserved to.

When Jimin gets back from the diner Jungkook usually is already at Jimin’s home because Jimin gave him his spare key and they watch another movie and eat Chinese food that Jungkook got.

After the movie is done Jimin and Jungkook clean out everything and since the next day is a Sunday neither of them is particularly keen on sleeping so they talk and Jimin finds himself staring at Jungkook’s lips more than often and he marvels over how soft and pink they look.

“Have you ever been in a relationship?” Jungkook asks.

The question breaks Jimin’s attention as he slowly shakes his head no.

“Never,” Jimin says. “Have you?”

“A lot,” Jungkook answers. “Nothing serious, though”

“Oh,”

They both sit still for a while and Jungkook clears his throat and looks at Jimin before looking away and then he gulps a little.

“There’s…there’s something that I want to do,” he says.

He leans in and presses his lips on Jimin’s in a swift moment and they kiss and Jimin doesn’t push him off because he knows just how much he always wanted to kiss Jungkook’s lips but he never admitted it even to himself.

The kiss feels perfect and Jungkook tastes slightly like ash and mint probably from the mint candy he has been sucking on and his lips move in a perfect sync against Jimin’s and Jimin never wants to stop ever but Jungkook does.

“I am sorry but I just had to,” he says. “I can leave now if you want”

“Don’t,”

“Okay,”

This time Jimin is the one who kisses Jungkook and he places his hands on Jungkook’s shoulder and he feels Jungkook’s hands on his small waist and they hold him in a secure way yet so gently and he feels a rush because of the simple touch through the fabric.

They kiss for a long time and they stop only to catch their breaths.

“That was my first kiss,” Jimin says.

“How did it feel?”

“Pretty good,” Jimin says. “You are a good kisser”

“I am flattered,” Jungkook grins.

Jimin blushes and he feels Jungkook press a kiss on his cheek.

“You are so adorable,”

Jimin blushes a deeper shade of pink at the statement.

“So,” Jimin finally says. “Now that we have kissed I think I am entitled to some answers to questions I have”

“Ask away,”

“What’s your last name?” Jimin asks.

Jungkook laughs.

“You want to know that?”

Jimin nods.

“Jeon,” Jungkook says. “Jeon Jungkook”

“Okay,” Jimin says. “How old are you?”

“18,”

“You are younger than me,” Jimin says surprised.

“I guess so,”

“You should call me hyung you brat,”

“Hyung? Nah,” Jungkook says. “I’ll call you Jiminie”

“No,”

“Jiminie,”

Jimin rolls his eyes.

“I have another question”

“I am getting sleepy,” Jungkook whines.

“Just one I promise and then we can sleep,”

“Fine,”

“Why are you so obsessed with leather jackets?”

“I don’t know, they just keep me warm,”

“Okay,”

“Anything else?” Jungkook asks.

“Not for now,” Jimin says. “We can sleep”

“Thank you,” Jungkook pecks Jimin’s lips.

They go to Jimin’s bedroom and sleep on Jimin’s little bed and it’s not exactly uncomfortable but they don’t mind much.

Jimin is happy at least for now.

Notes:

This is not the end. There are more chapters to come.

[lilyharvord]

Imagine Cal wearing sweatpants and Mare getting all blushy when she looks at him and he tries to flirt and she just

Gather round children,cause its…..FIIIIICCC TIIIMMME!!!!(modern setting of course cause why the f not?)

Car Rides and Thieves

I had decided that I wasthe biggest moron in the universe for staying at Maven’s apartment to finishthat dumb project. I should have had him drive me home, but I’d been so tiredand it was two in the morning and I’d fallen asleep on the couch, and now itwas just a mess. My best option was to try and sneak out and just pretend thatit hadn’t happened. I mean, we weren’t dating or anything but if I went toclass on Monday and saw him sitting at his desk with a smug ass grin on hisface because he just told everyone that I had stayed the night, I would hangmyself from the doorway. Don’t get me wrong, Maven wasn’t horrible, all thetime. He could be a great guy, he was smart, kind, charming, okay awkwardcharming, but still cute. He was like a puppy that bounced around your feet anddemanded to be picked up and hugged. I didn’t mind that too much, okay that wasa lie, I hated it. I hated having to pay attention to people, I hardly hadenough time to pay attention to myself. 

I grabbed my book bag bythe side of the couch and swept my notes and paper and pens into it beforetiptoeing through the living room and into the hallway that led to the door.The kitchen was on the other side of that hallway with a half wall and an opendoorway separating it from the hallway. There were a few sounds coming from inthere, and I paused in the doorway to the living room, thinking about how Icould get around that open doorway. In the end, I ground my jaw and thought,screw it. I tucked and rolled in a somersault and coming up in a crouch, in caseMaven was awake and in the kitchen, I crept toward the door with my backpressed against the half wall. 

I managed to avoiddetection and then grabbed my boots and started to pull them on, as I didsomeone asked, “Would like some coffee before you go? Or should I just letyou pull off your mission impossible stunt thinking no one saw it?”

I froze in terror, andthen slowly turned and stood, holding one of my boots in my hand while theother was barely on my foot. Leaning with his back against the doorway to thekitchen was Maven’s older brother, Cal. He was older than Maven by a good twoyears, and was in college now. Maven said that it was actually his brother’sapartment that we were staying in to work on our project, but his brother wassupposed to be out of town for the weekend. Maven said that he stayed therewhen his brother wasn’t because he preferred it to his family’s housein the suburbs of New York. 

For brothers they werealmost two different people. Cal had the same hair as Maven, but thesimilarities stopped there. Where Maven had sharp features, his brothers weresofter. Where Maven’s eyes were the color of crystal clear shallow ocean water,his brothers were the color of a roaring fire. My eyes dropped a little and Istiffened in surprise when I noticed his lack of a shirt. He wore only a pairof thick grey sweatpants, which hugged his waist and showed off a very generousset of v-lines- 

Oh no, no, no, no Mare, Ichided myself as I forced my eyes back up to his. My mouth was sandpaper drythough, and I couldn’t manage to say the words, no thanks. 

He raised a brow at mysilence and then said, “Or we could sit here and stare at each other.”

“I wasn’t staring!” Isputtered, which drew a smile from him. I narrowed my eyes then and raising mychin defiantly I said, “Maven told me you weren’t going to be here thisweekend.”

He raised his brow andsaid, “I told him I was going out on Friday and I would be back Saturday.I don’t know where he got the idea that I wouldn’t be here this weekend.” Heglances back at the guest room where Maven must have been sleeping and thenglancing back at me he continued, “I didn’t know he was going to bring hisgirlfriend over either.”

“I’m not his girlfriend.”I blurted out again. He chuckled at that, and then pushing off of the doorwayhe said, “I know, I saw you sleeping on the couch when I came in thismorning.” 

I shifted uncomfortablyand then said stupidly, “It’s a good…nice.. ugh… good couch.” Imentally slapped myself. God dammit Mare, he’s not that good looking that youcan’t put a coherent thought together! His lips curled up in another smile ashe said, “If it happens again, you are more than welcome to sleep in mybed, instead of on the couch.”

My mouth went even drier,if that was physically possible, and I replied stubbornly, “It won’t behappening again…it was an accident that I fell asleep here in the first place.” 

He raised his brow againand then said, “I wouldn’t mind if you did it again.” 

        I scrambled for the door handle then, alarms ringing in myhead, screaming at me to get out of here. Apparently he didn’t remember me froma few years ago when I had awkwardly run into him in the hallway on my way toclass. He’d stared down at me, and then looked down at my hand which washolding the book he had been holding by one of the ends. I had accidentallygrabbed it in my hand when we’d run into each other, but I had to congratulatemyself on the fact that I hadn’t pulled it out of his hand completely. He hadsmirked anyway though, as if we were sharing some private joke, and said, “Thief.”

Ihad stood there, completely dumbfound, and then being the dumbass I was, I meethis eye and replied, “Obviously.”

        Flash forward to now and he was still incredibly gorgeous,and I was standing in the hallway of his apartment with one shoe on, trying desperatelyto get out the door. My mind was in a tailspin though and I furiously triedpushing and pulling the door to no avail. This was stupid, completely andutterly stupid. What the hell was wrong with me? I thought as I tried yankingon the door again. Before I could rip it off its hinges though, he appearednext to me and then reached around me and unlocked it. I froze then as I felthis body heat pushing through my thin jacket. I slowly turned to meet his eyeagain and he whispered, “Just a safety precaution, you never know who couldslip into these places in the middle of the night.”

        I nodded weakly, trying to force myself to bend down and putmy other boot on. He took a step back, much to my gratitude and I quicklypulled on my shoe. He watched me with an amused grin, and then asked, “Do youneed a ride home?”

        I shook my head quickly and then replied, “Nope, no, I’m perfectlygood. I have a subway card, I have bus fare, I’ve got taxi money. I’m perfectlyfine, thank you very much.”

        He leaned against the wall again, but with the size of thehallway, he might as well have been standing chest to chest with me. I finishedtying my boots and then standing up, I swallowed again and whispered, “Thankyou for the offer though.”

        He smiled for real this time, the kind of smile that wouldmake girls change their mind and turn around to go into the kitchen and drinkwhatever the hell he offered them. I bowed my head then and went to open thedoor only for him to close it and say, “You wouldn’t mind if I check your bag wouldyou? You did try to steal my book once.”

        I turned three different shades of red, each one darker thanthe first as I met his eye again. He let out a laugh upon seeing that and then openingthe door for me again he teased, “Only kidding, I trust you.”

        I laughed weakly and then backing out of the now opendoorway, I said, “Thank you again for the offer, and uh, the couch.”

        He dipped his head, as if it were nothing and then said, “Anytimeyou need a nice couch to crash on, mine is always open to you Mare.”

        I tensed in surprise then, and shifting uncomfortably, Iasked, “How did… how did you know my name? I never told-“         He held up the tag to my bookbag, which had my name written on It in my sixth grade penmanship. I blinked inawe for a second and then gasped, “Thief.”

        He smirked at that then held it out to me with a wink. “Obviously.Now are you sure you don’t want that ride? The next train doesn’t leave untilnine, and that’s an hour away. I’d hate for you to die of hypothermia beforeyou and Mavey can present that project of yours.”

        I snatched the bag tag from him, and then glanced down thehallway at the staircase, and then back at him. What would it hurt, he wasright, it was freezing down in the subway station, and it would be nice to sitin a car instead on a subway seat. I shifted my bag to my other shoulder andthen whispered, “I mean, if you’re not busy…”

        He shrugged and then reached behind the door and grabbedsomething. He came back with a sweatshirt and then yanked it over his head. Iturned away from that image, trying to keep myself from staring at the way hismuscles rippled as he did that. He bent down and went to grab a pair of shoesthen asking, “Where do you live exactly?”

        “Bronx.” I supplied hesitantly. He poked his head around thecorner at that, and then asked, “You wouldn’t happen to know Cameron Cote wouldyou?”

        I tried not to frown at the mention of that name, and forceda casual air into my voice as I replied, “Oh yeah, Cameron and I go way back.”

        He grabbed a set of keys hanging by the door and then closedit behind him as he stepped into the hallway. “I tutor her brother, and I typicallygo there to tutor him. Do you guy’s live close?”

        “I live about ten minutes south of her.” I supplied, and heseemed to think about that for a minute before saying, “Near Summerton street?”

        He started to walk, tucking his hands into the pockets ofhis pants. I took two quick steps to catch up and then said, “Yeah.”

        We walked in silence then, and I tried not to stare at hisprofile as we went. He held the door open for me at the bottom of the stairs,and I ducked under his arm as I went, earning a lighthearted chuckle from himbefore he followed me into the garage.

(///)

        The ride was mostly silent, although we did make small talkfor a little while, the two of us obviously just feeling each other out. Heglanced at me out of the corner of his eye as we pulled up to my family’sapartment, and when he threw the car into park, I fished in my bag for the cashI had, and held it out to him. He blinked in surprise at it, and then said, “Whatthe hell is that for?”

        “For gas.” I said simply as I offered it again. He laughedand pushed my hand away, saying, “Please, it wasn’t that much.”

        I sat there then, unsure of what to do. He grinned at me,before saying, “Do you need an invitation to get out? The door is unlocked.”

        Blinking stupidly, I shoved the money back in my pocket andthen fumbled to open the door before climbing out in the snow. He smiled at me,and I told myself that the goosebumps on my arms were from the sudden cold andnot that smile. Closing the door, I gave him an awkward wave, and then turnedto walk away. He rolled down the window though and shouted, “Maybe you want mynumber? You know, in case you ever need a ride again?”

        I glanced at him over my shoulder, my stomach clenching insurprise. I walked back towards the car and then said, “I don’t think-“

        “You never know, I can always get you out of a situation ifyou need it too.” He said as he fished around in his pocket for a second andpulled out his phone. I shifted my feet in the snow for a moment, debatinggiving him my number. I hadn’t even given Maven mine; we had planned this wholething through email. Was it wrong to not give him my number, but to give it tohis brother? In the end though, I pulled my phone out and gave him my number.He smiled as he sent me a text, and then winking one last time he said, “Onlyfor emergencies, right?”

        I nodded quickly, and then thanked him again. He rolled upthe window then, and I stepped away from the curb as he pulled away. When Iturned around my sister was standing on the doorstep, her work bag on hershoulder, and her mouth wide open. I rolled my eyes as I walked by her. “Closeyour mouth Gee, you’re attracting flies.”         She closed her mouth like a trapand then flipping around she said, “You gave him your number!”

        “Yeah so? I know him.”

        She smirked then and said, “You told mom and dad you wouldonly give your number out to your boyfriend and guys you trusted.”

        I froze on the steps, remembering that conversation from afew weeks ago, and then glaring at her over my shoulder I said, “He’s not myboyfriend, he’s just a… friend, who helped me out and gave me a ride.”

        She rolled her eyes and replied, “Sure Mare, if you say so.”

        I opened my mouth to tell her where she could shove it, butshe had already turned and put her headphones in. She started down the street,and I turned and stormed up the steps before buzzing our apartment. He wasn’tmy boyfriend, and he would never be that. He was older, much more mature forwhat I could tell, and he obviously had no interest in someone like me. Hecould have any pick of the girls at the university he went to, I told myself tokeep from looking at my phone to read the text again. The door unlocked and Irushed inside, pretending that none of that had just happened.  

You know what, I love thislittle one shot, and I love this little miniverse, so you know what, f it, I’mmaking a massive verse for this universe. Stay tuned for the next part. (:

[silaskaine-blog]

two that happened, two that didn’t, and one that will ;

I.

TREES AND LIGHTS LIT UP every store front in Brooklyn, garland wrapped around the posts, New York City was dripping in Christmas cheer. At least, it looked that way. The cheer failed to reach Silas. Eleven years old, he was walking to a deli, wondering if he could manage to sneak onto a bus. It was cold outside, and Silas jerked the black fleece a little higher, an attempt to cover his ears. The wind cut through the too few layers, a testament to the scarce nature of money for things that people needed to live. He looked homeless, except he was clean, and in a lot of ways he really was homeless.

He paused outside a store before going in. Nimble fingers moved to shelves, tucking away food into his pockets, wishing it was something warm. He was contemplating on attempting to take something from the deli counter when he was grabbed by the back of his jacket. "Shit." Hauled into the manager's office he unloaded his pockets, watching as the food was taken away. The police were called. The officer showed up and glanced at him. It's Christmas, son. Shouldn't you be home, opening presents? Silas snorted, sticking out his hands to be cuffed.

At the station, he sat. He waited. The cop who took him was working the phones to get him picked up. Silas watched the cop's face, his eyes, pinpointing the exact moment he started to pity him. The rumble in his stomach was loud, but he'd be back on the streets before long, and he'd fix that. He hated that cramped house, the lumpy, too small bed, the smell of alcohol that seemed to drip off the walls, alcohol and cockroach pesticide that never really seemed to work. Suddenly, the cop shifted. He hung up the phone, glancing as another cop gave him a sandwich. You like onions? "I don't care." And he didn't. Without a second thought, the cop opened the sandwich and gave him half. You foster parents will be here soon. Eat. And he did.

II.

SILAS WAS GLANCING OVER THE MANUAL, and he held up a finger. "Stop badgering me, I can install this just fine." He flipped a page and nodded, before ducking into the water closet, a wrench in hand. Wires were the problem for the electric water heater. He heard Rose snort from the kitchen, Whatever you say. She was a sassy old lady, and he narrowed his eyes at her, before setting back to his job. Glancing to the wires and inputs he shrugged. It wasn't that complex. Barely needed to read the manual, he scoffed and set to installing it.

Roughly two seconds into rewiring the input, he yelped a sound that could have only been equated to a kicked dog. "Turns out you have to turn off the electricity!" He yelled to Rose, a small on his face despite nearly electrocuting himself. Oh, really, who would have thought that to install an electric water heater, you'd need electricity. "Right?!" Silas yelled back before moving to the breaker. He flicked it off. "Won't be long now." Did you burn your hand? "Just a little singed, just fine. Nothing like the time I nearly caught myself on fire with the stove." Rose swatted at him with a spoon and Silas laughed and scampered away to finish the task.

"By the way, Merry Christmas. Your son was nearly barbecued." I have no pity when he nearly dies from stupidity. Silas bellowed a laugh, shaking his head. "You'd miss me." He said, but just under the realm that was her hearing. When she popped up a few minutes later, he slammed his head on the door and hissed. "You gotta stop doing that." Also, I left you something on your bed. I know you're not fond of Christmas, but still. Just a little something. Her fingers latched around his neck and she pulled him in to kiss his cheek. "Ay, ay. We're Kaine's. No mushy shit." Every once and while, Silas.

III.

VANESSA'S BODY HIT HIS HARD, an attempt to knock the breath from him. Immediately, she started to nip at him, pressing her cold nose into his warm neck. Silas groaned. It was Christmas, he knew. He knew this because she was up at some God awful hour, despite the fact that they were at a party last night and only got home three hours ago. Their apartment was small, they could barely afford it. Silas was working two jobs and going to college full time, chasing that engineering degree, and trying to put food on the table. Vanessa was consumed with dancing. They had a couch, a bed, a television, but otherwise they were the picture of a struggling urban couple.

He chuckled as she rolled him over, kissing him awake. Get up, I have something for you. He groaned again, "I'm up, I'm up." You're not, your eyes are still closed. "Why do you always terrorize people on Christmas? We just want to sleep." Silas rubbed his face, scratching at his beard. He needed to shave before his shift tonight. Opening his eyes, he looked at her in the half light, and she scooted further down his lap so that he could lean against the headboard. Their apartment was too small to fit a tree, but she had a box beside her.

She was about to press the gift into his hands when he shook his head. "Me first." You got something? We agreed on no gifts. "And look how well that worked out." She snorted. "I got you two actually." Vanessa's eyebrows shot up. Silas hated Christmas, she knew that, everyone knew that. From between the headboard and the mattress he pulled out a small box. "I know we have a lot plans, and right now, they're not really coming to fruition--" Nice word. "I'm a relatively smart guy, baby, I know a few words." He shook his head, getting off track. "Anyway, there's no one else I'd rather struggle with, no one else I'd rather have holidays with, no one else I'd rather build my life with. So, will you marry me?"

IV.

THE SCENT OF PRIME RIB WAFTED THROUGH THE HOUSE, an impressive feat considering the size of home. His mother loved Christmas, and gifts had already been done, the morning giving away to a leisurely afternoon. Silas sat at the bar, watching his mother and father. His father laughed and scrunched his nose at the bitter taste of the cranberry sauce dressing she was using. His mother smeared a streak of the sauce on his nose in protest. And Silas just shook his head, and watched the snow fall a little harder.

His mother was the best at cooking prime rib. Hers was second to none, just as her fudge was the same way. He always ate too much food on Christmas, and then fell asleep on the couch watching reruns of old Christmas movies, his head in her lap. Her fingers would brush through his hair while his father read a book, the fireplace roaring and making the living room smell like nutmeg and warm cedar. From his half sleep, he could hear his father's voice, telling his mother about something interesting that he read. His father loved history, and usually prattled on about some factoid he had found interesting.

The midday nap would end, and then, as was every Christmas tradition, they would get dressed up and head to the alpha's home for a small dinner party. It was filled with laughter, too much eggnogg, his mother rolling her eyes at her two boys, given that Silas and his father usually teamed up to start a football game in the backyard. Or capture the flag. Silas was hoping for Capture the Flag this year.

V.

STANDING IN THE DRIVEWAY WITH HIS ARMS CROSSED, Silas immediately regretted the decision he had made. The way Catriona was looking at him was a pretty good indicator she was not pleased either. Worry etched over his face, as he watched Saoirse back the car out of the driveway for the first time. I can't believe you got them a car. "A car, singular, I'd like to point out. It's safe." It was not a luxury model, but for two teenagers who had just gotten their licenses days prior, it could have been a Ferrari. They'd have to share, mostly because he didn't want the driveway to look any more like a car park than it already did. You know they were hoping for the Camaro. They both looked at each other at the same time and said, "Over my dead body."

Glancing down the street again, Silas nudged Cat. "C'mon, it's fucking cold out here." You're only wearing your thermal. "Wolf blooded, babe." He could feel her eyes rolling. You feed the deer? "Yeah, at like six. They're getting fat, gonna need to lay off the corn a bit." Another eye roll and he laughed. He paused, tapping his knuckles on the counter. "They'll be fine, right?" Trust me, they need to get out of this damn house. Silas nodded, agreeing. He loved them, but every once and a while he wanted time without them. They'd be getting that, it seemed. He exhaled.

"Another successful Christmas," he said and leaned over to kiss Cat. "They're probably going to be gone for a while so..." You're saying Santa came and that-- "The most logical thing to come next is you, exactly what I'm saying. Read me like a book." She swatted at him before dragging him to the bedroom.