#I run out of words to tell you how good Kelsi is you just have to start trusting me

[starryluminary]

A scene from ballet flats kicked off outside your bedroom door by @n00dl3gal (who also commissioned the comic!)

I get all giddy inside every time I remember this scene. I’m glad this is the one I was asked to draw cause MAN is it one of my favorites. Have I told you yet that you should read this fic (maybe even the whole series of Kelsi fics?) Cause. Wow. Yknow

The fic in question:

[loveroftoomanyfandoms]

Cooking Up Love, Chapter 13

Pairing: Chef!Matt Murdock x F!Journalist!Reader

Rating: T

Story Summary: Here

Warnings/Tags: Hallmark levels of fluffy, cheesy goodness (and speed that their relationship develops, lol), no use of Y/N, Matt is not a vigilante, idiots in love, misunderstandings, minor Foggy/OFC

Word Count: ~3200

A/N: We're almost to the end! Thank you to everyone who has read, liked, and commented on my little self-indulgent Chef AU -- y'all keep me writing!

As always, thanks to @theradioactivespidergwen for the line break -- it's being put to good use!

Tag List: @yarrystyleeza @hailey-murdock @mattkinsella @bellaxgiornata @danzer8705 @chezagnes @shouldbestudying41 @thepunisherfrankcastle @mattmurdocks6thscaleapartment @roseslovedreams

"Wait, Matt actually accused you of screwing him over and using him just to make a name for yourself?" Skyler asked as you sat in your kitchen together after work later that evening. "I don't remember anything in your article worth him getting upset over when I read it yesterday."

You shook your head. "That's because there wasn't anything! I absolutely raved about both his culinary skills and his food, I talked about how much care and consideration he puts into perfecting his recipes, and I even mentioned his volunteer activities at Clinton Church."

Skyler shook her head. "Walk me through the conversation again."

"I emailed him my article then decided to call him a little later to let him know that I had sent it over. He seemed a bit put off but I wasn't sure if he was still upset with me over running out on him the other night or if something else was bothering him, so I asked him if he had read it. Suddenly he just went off on me, saying how all journalists were exactly alike and how we're always looking for the next big scoop no matter who we screw over in the process, then he said that he thought I actually cared about him and that I was no longer welcome at Daredevil." 

Your voice broke, the hurt and anger in Matt's voice upsetting you all over again. "The worst part of it is that I do care about him, Sky, I -- I think I might have been falling for him."

Skyler reached out and gave your hand a gentle squeeze. "Oh, honey, I'm so sorry."

You shook your head with a sniffle. "I hate to admit it, but maybe Kelsie was right and Matt was just stringing me along but got tired of waiting until my article was actually published to stop speaking to me, so he just made an excuse."

Skyler made a face. "Ugh. First off, don't ever use the phrase 'Kelsie was right' in my presence ever again. Secondly, didn't you say that he opened up to you about some personal stuff but asked you to keep it off the record?"

You nodded. "Yeah, and I did. I didn't mention anything to do with that in the article."

You pulled up your work email on your phone, opening the attachment you had sent Matt so you could read over it once again. "I didn't even -- wait, what is this?"

You scrolled through the document, your blood turning to ice in your veins. "Oh shit. Oh no, no , no, no, no, no. "

A look of alarm crossed Skyler's face. "What's wrong?"

"This isn't my article."

"What? What do you mean, that isn't your article?"

I mean , the article I sent Matt is not the article I wrote, Sky." You handed your phone to Skyler. "It's got my name on the byline, but I didn't write this. It's no wonder Matt was so pissed at me though -- this article is a smear campaign."

Skyler's eyebrows raised as she read through it. "Someone had to have switched the documents. Did you leave your computer unlocked and unattended at any point today?"

You shook your head. "No, of course not, I--"

You sighed. "Wait, yes. I was getting ready to send my article to Matt when Kelsie told me I had a package downstairs that I had to go personally sign for."

Skyler raised an eyebrow. "Let me guess, there was no package."

You nodded. "Exactly."

Skyler tapped at your phone screen. "Um, did you also send it to Max and Carrie and tell them Ellison approved your article and said to go ahead and send it to them?"

You shook your head. "No, why?"

"Because it looks like you did."

"What?" You grabbed your phone, scowling as you saw that the same attachment had been sent to the people who handled the layout for the physical paper as well as the digital edition. "Oh, but hell no. It's a good thing you caught that."

Skyler shook her head in disbelief. "That absolute bitch. I'm going to destroy her."

You sighed. "I don't know how I'm going to prove Kelsie is the one who wrote it and planted it on my PC though."

Skyler grinned. "Oh, I do. You didn't know that you can see who the original author of a document is and look at a document's editing history, did you?"

You shook your head.

"I bet Kelsie didn't either. I need your laptop."

You retrieved your laptop and pulled the document up on it before letting Skyler take over. 

After a few clicks, Skyler nodded. "Sure enough. Not only is she listed as the original author of the document, but her digital signature is all over it."

You shook your head. "We need to go talk to Ellison."

You sent him a text message. Are you still at the office? I need to talk to you about something important.

A few seconds later, he replied. Yeah, still here trying to get this editorial column done. What's up?

I'll be there in 10 minutes. Don't go anywhere.

You saved the file to a flash drive, grabbed your keys, then you and Skyler practically ran to the Bulletin.

As soon as you got there, you booted up your computer and printed a copy of Kelsie's fake article. "Okay, let's go talk to Ellison."

You picked up the printout of Kelsie's fake article from the printer before you and Skyler headed to Ellison's office.

He looked up at the two of you tiredly. "Whatcha got for me?"

"Sabotage," Skyler replied. "As well as sneaky, underhanded, unethical so-called journalism."

Ellison's brow furrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"I have reason to believe that Kelsie swapped my Restaurant Week article out with a fake one in an attempt to discredit me," you explained. 

You set the copy of the fake article down on Ellison's desk. "I wound up sending this to Chef Murdock, who was understandably upset by it and is how I caught it. And not only that, but Kelsie sent it to Max and Carrie while I was away from my computer."

Ellison's eyebrows raised as he read the fake article. "What makes you so sure it was Kelsie?"

Skyler scoffed. "Isn't it obvious? She's an evil, backstabbing bitch."

You shook your head. "Kelsie's had a personal vendetta against me ever since I got promoted to Features and has been going around all week accusing me of 'stealing' the Restaurant Week feature out from underneath her."

"And she's been saying all sorts of horrible things about Chef Murdock," Skyler added before pointedly looking at you. "Things that probably aren't even true."

Ellison sighed. "I knew she wasn't very happy with me for passing the Restaurant Week feature to you, but I wouldn't have suspected that she'd actually resort to sabotage."

He set the article down. "However, you both know that simply providing me with a copy of an allegedly-written article isn't enough. I need solid proof."

Skyler set the flash drive down on Ellison's desk. "Here's your proof. You'll notice that Kelsie is the original owner of the document and has edited it multiple times, and I bet if you look on her computer you'd find it there as well." 

"Plus if you review the security footage from around 1:30 today you'll probably see her poking around at my desk." You set copies of the time-stamped emails sent to Max and Carrie. "She sent me on a wild goose chase trying to find some package I needed to personally sign for while she sent the fake article to Max and Carrie for publication."

"I wouldn't be surprised if she was behind the email server conveniently going down on Wednesday afternoon so you couldn't email your article to Mitch then," Skyler added. "It's a good thing you decided to print it and turn it in anyway."

Ellison sighed. "Do you still have your original file?"

You nodded. "She deleted it off of my computer here at work but I keep a copy of all of my articles on an external hard drive at home."

"Good. As soon as you get home, resend it to Max and Carrie marked urgent and CC me so I'll also have it digitally. In the meantime, I'll get Phil to pull the security footage from today."

"Okay." You bit your lip. "Um, is it okay if I take Monday off? After the week I've had I need a mental health day."

Ellison looked at you sympathetically and nodded. "Yeah, sure. And for what it's worth, I'm sorry for all this."

You shrugged. "Not your fault. What I don't get though is why Kelsie also chose to go after Chef Murdock so hard."

"I think I can answer that," Skyler said, handing you her phone. "Take a look at Kelsie's Facebook."

You looked at her latest post, which was a picture of her cozying up to a handsome, dark-haired, blue-eyed man. Romantic weekend away with my love, the photo was captioned. "So?"

Skyler shook her head and pulled up Kelsie's boyfriend's profile. "See who she's dating?"

Your eyebrows raised as you read his bio. "Huh, yeah, I guess that makes sense now." 

Skyler showed it to Ellison. "Did you know this?"

Ellison shook his head. "No, I had no idea. It does explain why she was pushing so hard about getting the feature switched back though."

You nodded. "That way she could control the narrative."

Ellison sighed. "Let me go ahead and call Phil. Don't forget to CC me on that correction to Max and Carrie so it's documented."

You nodded. "Okay."

"I'll send out a staff-wide memo on Monday after everything is said and done, but in the meantime, don't say anything to anyone else on staff about this. I don't want it getting back to Kelsie so she can try to cover her tracks."

You and Skyler both nodded. "Yes, sir."

As you left the office and were headed back down the elevator, Skyler asked, "So what are you going to do about Matt? Still want me to kick his ass for you?"

You let out a light laugh. "No, that's okay. I'll just… move on, I guess? I mean, I'm going to send my actual article to him but he made it pretty clear that he didn't want anything else to do with me so I doubt he'll even open my email."

"Then it's his loss."

You stepped out of the elevator as the doors opened. "Thanks, Sky."

Skyler bit her lip. "What about Foggy? You think I should cancel my date with him tomorrow?"

You shook your head. "No way. Just because it didn't work out with me and Matt doesn't mean you shouldn't at least give Foggy a chance."

You gave her a wink. "Besides, just because I'm not welcome at Daredevil doesn't mean that you can't bring me some takeout from there, especially if you're dating the other owner."

Skyler laughed and gave you a hug. "Thanks, bestie."

"Let me know how it goes, ok?"

Skyler nodded. "I will."

You headed home and grabbed your laptop so you could send the correct article to Max and Carrie, CCing Ellison on the email with the explanation "Sorry, wrong attachment sent. Please use this attached copy in the print and online editions on Monday." .

You opened a new email and attached the correct file.

To: mmurdock@daredevilnyc.com

Subject: Explanation About Bulletin Article

Attachment: Restaurant Week Feature V1.doc

You took a deep breath.

Dear Matt,

You probably won't even open this email, but I wanted to let you know that the article I sent you earlier today was not the article I had written about you, nor is it the article that will be appearing in Monday's edition of the Bulletin. Long story short, someone else on staff replaced the file for my article (which I had given a hardcopy of to my editor for approval on Wednesday) with the one I erroneously sent you earlier today.

I promise I never meant to hurt you and I swear I would never use you (or anyone else, for that matter) just to get a lead on a story or try to pad my portfolio. This past week was one of the best of my life and it was genuinely a pleasure spending time with you and getting to know you… both inside the kitchen and out. 

You bit your lip, trying to decide if you should tell Matt exactly how much he had begun to mean to you. Ultimately you decided against it, instead closing with ' Wishing you all the best in your future endeavors'.

You added your work signature, then sent the email. 

You sat back and sighed. While it hurt knowing that you would never get to find out if the spark you had felt with Matt could've ignited into something real, you also knew that you would treasure the time you had spent with him forever.

"Matt, there's a gentleman on the phone asking for you," Karen said as Matt and Foggy prepped for brunch service on Sunday. "Says he's from the Bulletin."

Matt nodded and wiped his hands. He had called the editor on Friday evening and had left a voicemail disputing the information contained in your article and asking for a resolution. "I'll take it in the office. Thanks, Karen."

He could feel both her and Foggy watching him as he exited the kitchen and headed to the office.

He picked up the phone and transferred the call. "Matthew Murdock speaking."

"Chef Murdock," the man replied. "This is Mitchell Ellison. I'm the editor over at the New York Bulletin. "

Matt was hit with a pang. You had emailed him again on Friday afternoon but with his hurt over your article being so fresh and so raw Matt had been letting your email sit unopened in his inbox until he was ready to hear what kind of (undoubtedly poor) excuse you'd had for using him. 

He cleared his throat. "Mmhmm."

"I just wanted to call and personally apologize for the feature article you received in your email on Friday. That was not the article I had approved for publication and I wanted to let you know that after a brief internal investigation, the person responsible for it is being terminated first thing tomorrow morning. I assure you, we do not stand for such unethical behavior at the Bulletin ."

Matt winced. While he was extremely hurt and angry with you, he hadn't actually set out to get you fired. "Thank you for letting me know."

"I'm sending over the feature that I actually had approved for tomorrow's edition of the paper and I must say, it's some of the best, most honest writing I've ever read. I think you'll be much more pleased with it."

Matt heard his inbox chime with a new email. "I think it just came in."

"Great. Apologies again for the mistake."

"Mmhmm. Thanks for returning my call."

"Of course. Have a good day, Chef."

"You too. Goodbye."

Matt hung up and sighed, then popped in his earbuds and pulled up Ellison's email.

From: editor@nybulletin.com

Subject: NYC RESTAURANT WEEK FEATURE

Attachments: Restaurant Week Feature V1.doc

Chef Murdock, 

Attached is the article that has been approved for this year's New York Restaurant Week feature. If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to reach out.

Mitchell Ellison

Editor-in-Chief, New York Bulletin

Matt opened the attachment and tapped the keyboard command to begin his text-to-speech program, surprised to hear your name on the byline. He would have thought that whoever had been reassigned the article would get credited, especially since the editor-in-chief had said that your employment at the Bulletin was to be terminated.

Either way, Mr. Ellison had been right -- the rewritten article was immensely more positive than the previous one had been and actually included information that Matt had revealed to you during your recorded interviews… as well as information that hadn't been recorded and therefore only you would be able to include.

Matt's brow furrowed. Something's not adding up.

He closed out of the article, then navigated to your email.

He took a deep breath and opened it.

"Dear Matt," his text-to-speech program dictated,

"You probably won't even open this email, but I wanted to let you know that the article I sent you earlier today was not the article I had written about you, nor is it the article that will be appearing in Monday's edition of the Bulletin. Long story short, someone else on staff replaced the file for my article (which I had given a hardcopy of to my editor for approval on Wednesday) with the one I erroneously sent you earlier today. "

Matt tapped the spacebar on his keyboard to pause his program, filled with an odd mix of confusion and relief. So if you hadn't actually written the first article you had sent him… who had and why?

He tapped the spacebar again to continue.

"I promise I never meant to hurt you," your email continued, "and I swear I would never use you (or anyone else, for that matter) just to get a lead on a story or try to pad my portfolio. This past week was one of the best of my life and it was genuinely a pleasure spending time with you and getting to know you… both inside the kitchen and out. 

Wishing you all the best in your future endeavors, sincerely yours…"

Matt navigated to the attachment, sucking in a breath as he realized that the article that the Bulletin 's editor-in-chief had sent him a few minutes before had been your article -- your real article, apparently.

Matt groaned and covered his face with his hands. He had been so caught up in his worry about getting hurt again that he had never even considered the possibility that you hadn't written the other article.

"Everything okay?"

Matt shook his head as Foggy entered the office. "I messed up."

"What do you mean?"

Matt sighed and said your name. "I was wrong about her, Fog, I was completely wrong. She didn't write that article."

"She didn't? How did she wind up sending it to you then?"

"Apparently one of her coworkers had replaced the file for her real article with the one she sent me -- I'm assuming as some form of sabotage or something. The editor at the Bulletin told me that the person responsible is being terminated first thing tomorrow morning."

"So did you get to read the real article?"

Matt nodded. "Yeah, it's right here."

Foggy moved to his side and leaned over his shoulder so he could read it.

After a few minutes, he straightened. "Damn, Matt, that was beautiful."

Matt nodded. "I know."

"So what are you going to do?"

"Apologize profusely and hope like hell that she'll forgive me."

Matt sighed. If you didn't forgive him, at least he had the memories he had made with you over the past week.

But if you did … Well, he wouldn't screw up a third time.

[allthingsfangirl101]

Broken Heart Part 4–Troy Bolton

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Reader's POV

It's been three years since I told Troy how I felt and he turned me down. After that awful day, I couldn't face him. I spent the rest of the school year with my head down.

I went to class, played the piano in rehearsal, and then went right home. I spent my lunches in the theater, practicing the different pieces. Kelsie and Ryan tried to get me to hang out after school but I politely told them no.

I shut down. I wasn't happy. And nothing my friends tried to do to cheer me up worked.

After high school, I got a full-ride scholarship to Julliard for piano. I'm a junior and I've started looking for jobs after graduation. Over Spring Break, I talked to Ms. Darbus about being hired on as the music teacher and helping the theater department at East High.

After talking with Ms. Darbus, I ran a few errands for my mom. I was walking down the street when I heard someone say my name.

"Y/N?"

I turned around, my breath getting caught in my throat when I saw Troy at the end of the sidewalk. He smiled as he lifted his hand and hesitantly waved. I bit my lip, waving back. He must have taken that as a good sign because he walked over to me.

"It's nice to see you," he smiled.

"You too," I said under my breath. It was very clear that there was an awkward tension between us.

"How have you been?" He asked.

"Good. . . You?"

"I'm good," he chuckled. "How's Julliard?"

"It's been really great," I said, slightly relaxing a little more. "I actually just talked to Ms. Darbus about working at East High after I graduate."

"Really?" He asked. "That's amazing, Y/N. Would you take her job?"

"No," I said, smiling slightly. "I would help her with the music for the show but would mainly teach choir. I also might play the piano for the orchestra and band."

"That's incredible," Troy smiled. "I'm really happy for you."

"Thanks," I said, nervously tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. Silence fell between us, neither one of us knowing what to say. I looked away from him but could feel him watching me.

"I miss you," he whispered. I looked up at him and started nervously chewing on my bottom lip.

"What?" I asked, my voice barely audible.

"I miss you, Y/N," he repeated. "So much."

"Troy," I stuttered.

"Can we go get coffee?" He asked. "I'd really like to catch up."

                              * * * * *

After we ordered and got our drinks, Troy didn't head to a table. Instead, he headed outside. I smiled when I noticed we were heading towards our park and our favorite bench. That smile quickly went away as we sat down.

Neither one of us said anything as we people watched. Sitting next to him on our bench weighed very heavily on me. I wanted to scream, cry, demand an explanation, and run away.

"I broke up with Gabriella."

My head shot up, my eyes wide when he blurted that out. "Because of me?" I asked under my breath.

"No," he quickly said. "Well, sorta."

He laughed awkwardly as he reached up and scratched the back of his neck. He sighed when he saw the look on my face.

"Gabriella thinks we broke up because of distance," he mumbled. He cleared his throat as he continued to explain. "But actually, I broke up with her because I couldn't stop thinking about your confession senior year. In fact, I've spent the last three years going over everything. I mean everything. I thought about when we met. I thought about our friendship. I thought about when things could've changed for you. I thought about whether things changed for me."

"Troy," I said, his name getting caught in my throat.

He looked away from me, watching as an older couple walked by. Without looking at me, he said under his breath, "I spent the last three years trying to get the nerve up to call you."

"And what would you have told me if you'd gotten the nerve?"

Troy looked up at me, something in his eyes changing. He slowly reached over and grabbed my hand gently, like he was waiting for me to pull away.

"I would've told you that letting you go senior year was the dumbest mistake I've ever made," he said with a small smile. "Like dumber than jumping into an audition with Gabriella."

He waited for me to laugh, but I didn't. I cleared my throat as I sat back, pulling my hand out of his. His smile faltered when I pulled away but only for a second.

"Y/N, the thing is. . . When you. . . I wasn't. . . It's not that I didn't. . ."

I waited patiently as he struggled to find the right words. There was a second when we just stared into each other's eyes. I broke the staring contest and looked down at my untouched latte.

"I think I'm in love with you."

I looked up at him and immediately tried to study him. Part of me wanted to believe him, but the other part of me held back.

"You think?" I whispered. "That's not. . ."

"I know that doesn't sound very reassuring," he sighed. "But I have spent the last three years thinking about you. I've been thinking about us and everything we've been through together. If you look at us from an outside perspective, I was a jock who protected his musical best friend. Until. . ."

He looked away from me, but I caught a glimpse of his regret. He continued without looking at me.

"Until I met someone who took my attention away from you. I never wanted. . . I never meant for her to replace you, Y/N. I'm so sorry."

When his voice broke, I reached over and grabbed his hand. He looked up at me, hope in his eyes as I intertwined our fingers.

"The whole year Gabriella and I did long-distance, I found myself wanting to talk to you more than her," he said without looking away from me. "I found myself thinking about you more than I thought about her. I realized that you were who I wanted in my life, not her. You were the one I wanted by my side. You were the one I loved."

My eyes filled with tears. Troy smiled as he reached up and caught a tear with his thumb.

"I didn't mean to make you cry," he whispered, his hand still holding my face.

"I didn't mean to cry," I whispered back. "I'm just a little confused."

"Well, maybe this can clear it up for you."

I held my breath as he leaned in, still holding my cheek. I gasped when his lips pressed delicately to mine. Troy slowly broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against mine.

"I know I'm in love with you," he corrected his earlier statement. He leaned back, finally dropping his hand as he whispered, "I know I don't deserve a chance with you. I know I messed up senior year. I know I don't deserve you. . ."

I cut him off by grabbing his face and pressing my lips to his. I felt him smile into the kiss as our lips moved in sync. The tears continued to stream down my cheeks as we kissed.

I have wanted to kiss Troy since freshman year. Finally being able to show him how I felt was unlike any feeling I've ever had. He let out a small laugh as he broke the kiss.

"I love you, Y/N," he said, slightly out of breath from the kiss. "I can't live without you. Please tell me I didn't lose you."

"You didn't," I whispered.

"Really?" He asked, his voice breaking slightly. I reached up and caught a small tear that had escaped.

"I love you, Troy," I said, my voice breaking. "I never stopped."

He smiled before quickly pressing his lips back to mine. I giggled into the kiss when I heard two coffee cups falling. We broke the kiss and looked over at our cups now on the sidewalk.

"I think we spilled our coffees," Troy joked. I laughed as I turned towards him.

"That was your fault," I whispered. "You owe me another one."

"How about I owe you something better?"

"Better?" I stuttered.

"A date."

[shijjii]

You're all I need

Ryan wanted to scream at his sister, he was typing a message in his phone to express his annoyance while walking

Ducks: There are approximately 1,010,300 words in the English language, but I could not string enough words together to properly express how much I want to hit you with a chair. Seen

Ryan rolled his eyes and stuffed his phone back inside his pocket. He was walking around one of the quads in U of A, alone, because his sister decided that it was more fun to flirt with someone rather than showing her brother around

He sees there was a small stage by the quad and a growing crowd, but what surprised him was the familiar floof of curly hair bouncing as he nodded at someone

It was Chad Danforth, he was talking to someone but Ryan couldn't careless to whoever he was talking to as he made his way to where the jock was

He was about to call out when someone else called Chad, he sees him turn and walk to where the person was and suddenly, he was up on the stage with a girl beside him. Chad was holding on to a guitar, he looked to the girl, slightly nodding at her and they both started

"you're all I need"

"woah" Ryan mumbled under his breath, he didn't expect the jock to start singing in front of a crowd. He sees Chad look up and for a moment, he was sure that Chad saw him and smiled as he continued to strum the guitar and sing with the girl

"to get by"

"like a sweet morning dew, I took one look at you" He was completely in awe, this was different from when they were still back in East high. It looked like he was really enjoying himself up there. Chad stopped looking at the girl and faced the crowd

"and it was plain to see, you were my destiny"

"is he looking at you?" Ryan turned to see one of the jocks smirking at someone else "that creepy fag" he furrowed his eyebrows, they made an action of gagging and saying "ew, gay"

"what's wrong with being gay?" Ryan stepped up, crossing his arms

"everything" one of them said in a tone as if that explained everything

"nothing is wrong with being gay, it is completely normal to like someone regardless of their gender" they scoff at him, shaking their head as if he just said something ridiculous

"you defending a fag?"

Ryan's thoughts were all scrambled and his mouth opened before he can even think of what he was going to say "I think I have every right to defend my boyfriend"

he sees them tighten their lips and roll their eyes, saying something along the lines "not worth it fighting a fag" walking away from him, leaving Ryan to look back to Chad who was still looking his way

"like an eagle protects his nest, for you I'll do my best" Ryan decided to move closer up front to see Chad more, and if he's correct, he sees a glint of relief in Chad's eyes as he walked up

"Stand by you like a tree, dare anybody to try and move me" now he was sure that Chad is looking at him and no one else, maybe it was the nerves getting to the jock and he just wanted to look at someone who has heard him sing and seen him dance before

Ryan smiled at Chad, who continued to sing, the crowd was singing along with the two students that were on the stage. He felt a little bit guilty that he just claimed that he's Chad's boyfriend even though they weren't, he'll just have to talk to the jock about the situation to clear out any misunderstanding between them. He didn't want to destroy their friendship.

When the two finished singing, they thanked their audience and stepped down the stage. Chad said something to his friends, giving the guitar before making his way to where Ryan was. He's aware that everyone was looking at them when Chad smiles his way

Ryan crosses his arms as Chad greeted him "hey there, stranger" he shook his head, a smile making its way on his lips

"you were good up there"

"you liked it?" The thespian nodded, still smiling at Chad "never knew you can sing like that, Wildcat" he sees the jock throw his head back and laugh, he placed his arm on Ryan's shoulders "there are so many things that you don't know about me"

they started to walk away from the crowd, he hears some of the students wolf whistle at them and someone shouting "go get it, Chadders!"

"ignore them" he sees Chad quickly flip a finger at them before moving Ryan to somewhere else

"so, you really liked the song?" he nodded at this "you have a very good voice, Chad"

Ryan didn't know where they were headed but he didn't mind, anywhere with Chad was better than anything else. They get to a quiet corner with a bench when he remembers what he just said to the homophobic asses earlier and turns to Chad with a frown

this time, the jock had a confused look on his face mixed with concern

"you okay, Ry?" asked Chad, gently patting the bench, so now they were both sitting side by side

"yeah, it's just that there were these two assholes that said everything was wrong about being gay"

"oh"

"yeah and I uh, well, I stepped up and said there's nothing wrong with liking someone regardless of their gender" he sees Chad grin "but they asked me if I'm defending... A fag... And they were referring to you.." the jock nodded, his grin not disappearing

"and I said... That there's nothing wrong with defending...... My boyfriend" there was a long silence between the two of them, Ryan was making sure that he wasn't looking at Chad's face, he was scared of a lot of things, those assholes could've been wrong and that Chad wasn't gay and he'd take it offensive, he was scared of what expression the jock was making right now but then he hears him stifle a laugh

"I wasn't informed that you're my boyfriend now" Ryan gaped at him

"wait-"

"yes, Ry. I'm gay"

"but-"

"I sang that song up there for extra credit and also for someone" the blonde sat there frozen, Chad took this as a sign to continue, running his hand through his hair

"Recently I have this friend, back then I thought she's an ass but turns out she can be nice when she wants to and she told me that her brother- the guy I've been crushing on for a couple of years now- was visiting the campus. I had to almost beg on my knees to my professor just so I can move the date of the singing when he was really here to hear it" He was still processing everything that Chad said when he felt him nudge his shoulder

"I never expected that we were boyfriends, I didn't get a message from him or anything but you're saying that the guy that I like defended me and basically said that I'm his boyfriend. This day couldn't get any better"

"wait-" Chad groans in his palms but he sees that there was a smile on his lips

"Ryan, how oblivious can you get?" the thespian shifted in his seat to get a better look at the jock who has his palms on his face now, peaking through the gaps of his fingers

"you're saying that you've liked me for a couple of years now? Since when??"

"since baseball game"

this time, it was Ryan's turn to groan. He leaned back and stared up

"you're saying we could have been making out since then?" he hears a snort

"I tried my best to tell you but you were always around Kelsi and Sharpay, then I hear that you're going to prom with Kelsi so I cried my heart out to Taylor and she devised the plan of me asking her out in front of everyone" he feels Chad shrug "we thought that you'd finally come to your senses but then Tay said she miscalculated and maybe just solidified that I'm straight"

"yeah, that was a complete miscalculation on your guys' part since I cried my heart out to Kelsi saying that I have no chance with you ever" another silence between them but this one wasn't uncomfortable. Both of them were leaning back and their pinky fingers were touching. Scared to be the first one to initiate anything intimate

"so, we're complete idiots" Chad asked, looking at Ryan with a soft smile "yeah, we are" he replied. The look from Chad gave him some courage as he moves his hands and intertwined them with the jock

There was a warm feeling in his chest as he feels Chad's fingers tangled with his, he sees him take Ryan's hand up and put a kiss on the back of his hand

"I'm your idiot, right?" he asked when Chad didn't say anything. He feels the breath on his hand when the jock chuckled "yes, you're my idiot. You're all I need"

[fandom-imagines-stories]

Sweethearts

Troy Bolton x Reader

Words: 4327

Summary: Following the efforts of a smaller, eviler version of Sharpay, the reader doubts her abilities and her relationship. Troy must restore her faith in herself in time for the perfect Valentine’s day dance. 

Notes: Can I Have This Dance is literally my favorite scene from the whole series so I had to use it for this. Highly recommend listening to it before reading to get the feel.  Let me know what you think! I’m so sorry it's so long, but I really loved getting into the romance. I’m pretty proud of this one, so just a little extra love would be very appreciated.  (There’s also a 17 Again reference in here, if you catch it) Also, I couldn’t decide which gif I liked more, so I had to use both!

-

You couldn’t help the slight squeak of fear in your voice as the group of girls walked towards you. 

“Hi Sharpay.” You greeted anxiously. She flipped her impossibly shiny blonde hair over her shoulder. She really was terrifying when she wanted to be. 

“I heard that you might be signing up to perform in the Sweetheart’s Showcase.” She raised an accusing brow. 

“Oh, um, yeah.” You stammered. “I was thinking about doing a duet with-”

“Blah blah blah, I know that. What are you wearing?” Her glare intensified, as did your confusion.”

“I-I don’t-” “Just make sure it isn’t pink, okay?” Sharpay ordered and her little pack nodded in agreement. “Pink is my color.”

“O-okay.” Was all you managed to say. She and her posse strutted off, but Madison gave you a lingering stare. You gulped. Sharpay may be the leader, but Madison was the shark of the group. Once she smelled blood, she would not be stopped. And ever since you’d started dating the basketball captain…

“Guess who?” A pair of hands covered your eyes. Maybe it was from his time spent on the roof, but Troy always smelled like fresh summer air. 

“Hmmm… Mrs. Darbus?” You giggled. Troy’s arms wrapped around your middle and lifted you off the ground, making you laugh more. He swung you around before setting you back and spinning you so you were facing him. 

“Ha ha.” He snarked, eyes sparkling in a particularly suspicious way. “What did ‘Her Majesty’ want?” You shrugged.

“She told me I couldn’t wear pink for the show case because it’s ‘her color’.” You laughed. “I wouldn’t dare try to outshine the Princess of Pink.”

“Yeah… about the showcase…” Troy looked at the floor. You felt your heart drop a little.

“You want to back out, don’t you?” You sighed sadly. “I mean, I get it. Performing in front of everybody freaks me out too-”

“Woah woah woah.” Troy laughed, that sparkle shining brighter. “I was just hoping that you would wear this.” He dangled a chain in front of you. The necklace was a stunning heart-shaped charm made with little red gems.

“Troy.” You gasped, a smile stretching from ear to ear. “It’s beautiful.” 

“I figured you’d be stressed out over the showcase and the paper so I thought you’d like a little early Valentine.” He shrugged and you pressed a sweet kiss to his cheek before turning around so he could put it on you. His fingers grazed your skin as he draped the chain around your neck.

“I wish I had something for you.” You whined, draping your arms around his neck as his arms fell to your waist. 

“Just promise me a Valentine’s Day kiss and that is all I need.” He grinned and pulled you closer for a kiss. 

It was quite a shock to the status quo when you and Troy started dating. The shy editor of the school newspaper and the star player of the basketball team made an interesting pair. But when Mrs. Darbus paired the two of you together to paint set in detention, something just… happened. You opened up around Troy more than you could with anyone. You helped him realize that there was more to him than basketball when you got him to sing with you at your vocal recital last year. Somehow the two of you just worked. 

“I hate to interrupt,” Taylor scoffed. “But the yearbook won’t edit itself.” You gave your best friend a look and Taylor smirked. 

“Sorry Troy.” Gabriella laughed, grabbing your hand and dragging you down the hall. “We’ll see you at lunch!” The three of you rushed down the hall and Troy went to go find Chad.

“Ugh, he is so dreamy.” Libby, one of Sharpay’s sophomore groupies, sighed. Madison made a sound of disgust. 

“And yet somehow he got stuck with that.” She watched you vanish into the journalism classroom and closed her locker. “Shouldn’t the Crowned Prince of East High be with someone a little more, I don’t know, worthy of his attention?” 

“Who, like Sharpay?” Libby asked, applying another coat of lip gloss. Madison smirked. 

“Yeah.” She turned her head to the jersey-clad boy retreating down the hall. “Like Sharpay.”

-

“So can I have this dance?”

“Can I have this dance?”

Your eyes were locked together as the room erupted with applause. You were in Troy’s arms before you had the chance to move. 

“You guys, that was amazing!” Gabriella squealed with excitement. 

“I couldn’t imagine anyone better to sing it.” Kelsi smiled, tucking the music into her folder. Even Taylor was impressed.

“I still think you two should give it a shot.” Troy nodded towards Taylor and Chad. You laughed into his shoulder as excuses tumbled out of their mouths. 

“Let’s go, I think my mom is making some nachos.” You laced your fingers through his and told everyone you’d see them tomorrow. After practice rehearsals were exhausting for Troy, but he knew how happy it made you. Besides singing with you was the perfect way to relax after a long day of practice of running and shooting hoops. Plus, your mom made killer nachos. 

His truck sputtered to a start and he winced. You giggled and earned a playful glare. At least it started this time. Sometimes, the two of you were stranded in the school parking lot until Troy could get his truck to start. You never minded. With minimal bumps and jolts, Troy was able to get to your house. 

“I think the song is really coming together.” You said as the two of you made your way to the front door. “Ryan said he’d love to choreograph something for us.” 

“How sweet.” Your door opened and Madison gave you a seemingly innocent smile. You stopped so suddenly Troy almost walked right into you. 

“Maddie.” You tried to seem pleasantly surprised. “What are you doing here?”

“Didn’t your mom tell you?” She laughed and pulled you inside- rather forcefully you might add. “My mom and her are in the same book club! She invited us to join you guys for dinner.” She looked over your shoulder and a little menacing glint appeared in her eyes. “Oh, hi Troy.”

“Hey.” He greeted uncomfortably, following you inside. 

“I hope you don’t mind the extra company tonight.” Your mother beamed. “Julie was saying how excited Madison has been to work with you two for the musical and I thought it’d be fun for you kids to get to know each other.”

“That sounds great, Mr.s Y/L/N.” Troy put on that charming smile of his and pulled your chair out for you. Madison stood for a moment, as if she was expecting him to do the same for her. Being a gentleman, he moved her chair back before taking a seat. 

“So you guys were talking about your number for the Sweetheart’s Showcase?” Maddie asked, eyeing Troy in a less than subtle way. He glanced at you with the same slightly scared look he had when he had to sing with Sharpay at the resort. 

“Uh, yeah. Ryan said he had some choreography in mind.” Even after over a year of dating, sometimes the way he looked at you still gave you butterflies. “I mean, I think just singing would be fine-”

“You guys have to dance.” Maddie blurted. She flipped her hair over her shoulder- just like Sharpay, but like, pettier. “What I mean is, it would be so romantic, don’t you think?” 

“I agree.” Your mom said excitedly. You shot a look. 

“I’m sure what Ryan has planned will be great.” You concluded, hoping to drop the subject. You didn’t really want to discuss your super romantic duet in front of Madison. 

Dinner passed painfully. The only thing keeping you from screaming out in frustration was Troy’s silly antics. From funny faces to pretending his chips were fighter planes, he distracted you from Madison’s subtly back-handed comments. The adults mistook them for compliments, but you knew exactly what she meant. 

“Wow, I am totally beat.” Maddie exclaimed just as the parents started to go out to the porch, like adults do. 

“Oh, I guess we’ll call it a night.” Her mom frowned. 

“You stay and have fun, mom.” She smiled sweetly. “Troy can give me a ride. Right, Troy?”

“Um,”

“Great!” She practically skipped  to the front door. 

“You really are too good to be true, Mr. Bolton.” Her mother gushed before stepping out onto the back porch with your parents. 

“I’ll walk you out.” You said, not really sure if you were irritated, confused, or a little impressed. 

“You’re coming to the game tomorrow night, right?” Troy asked as you made your way down the front steps. Madison was already in the front seat, checking her reflection in the mirror. You shrugged. 

“Actually I was thinking about catching a movie.” His shoulders sagged with disappointment. You shook your head. “Of course I’ll be there!” You exclaimed with a laugh. Troy put his hands on your cheeks and leaned in for a goodnight kiss. 

“Oh Troy!” Madison called from the truck and the two of you pulled a part. “I should be getting home. I’m totally-” She yawned dramatically, “exhausted.” Troy sighed, settling for a light kiss on your cheek. “Goodnight.”

“Night.” He reluctantly ran to his truck and you went back inside. Before the door closed, you couldn’t help but smirk as you listened to the sputtering sound of his truck refusing to start.

-

The sound of the crowd was a driving force on it’s own. Troy raced across the court, keeping his eyes locked on his teammate. Chad passed him the ball and he made the shot, that satisfying swish of the net drowned out by the cheers. After a tiring week of practice and rehearsals, his body was pumping with adrenaline. 

“Go Troy!” He picked your voice out over the chorus of cheers. He found you at the edge of the bleachers towards the top and flashed you a smile before taking off again. Gabriella helped you hold up your #14 sign and Kelsi came back from concessions with the popcorn. You and Kelsi weren’t usually ones for sports, but ever since you’d started coming to games you’ve all had a blast. The buzzer sounded. 

“That ends the third quarter here at Wildcat Stadium,” The announcer’s voice boomed. “Hornets 40, Wildcats 58.” 

The fans hollered and you caught Troy’s eye again, giving him a grin that lit up the gym. He pressed his lips to his fingers and pretended to toss the air-kiss like a basketball. You pretended to catch it, accidentally stepping in the strap of the purse behind you.

There was a wave of gasps from the crowd and both teams stopped to see what the commotion was. Troy looked up to see a horrified Gabriella and an empty space where you had been standing. 

“Y/N!” He yelled, running across the court to where a group of people had gathered, including the school nurse. 

“Give her some space! Back up!”

“Let me through! That’s my girlfriend!” Troy pushed his way to the font. You were on the floor, but you were sitting up, trying to catch your breath. 

“Is she okay?” Gabriella yelled down at him. Behind her, Maddison tossed her purse over her shoulder and vanished into the crowd. 

“I think I'm okay,” You groaned. “Just got the wind knocked out of me.” You tried to stand, but cried out when a sharp pain shot up your let.” 

“Take it easy,” Troy soothed, kneeling at your side. 

“Where does it hurt?” The nurse asked. 

“My ankle.” You moved your leg so she could examine it. 

“Looks like it might be sprained.” She sighed. “Let’s get you to my office and take a closer look, okay?” 

Troy put your arm over his shoulder and helped you stand. The nurse took your other arm and gave Troy a reassuring smile. 

“I can take it from here. You go win this game, Mr. Bolton.” 

“But-”

“I’ll be fine, Troy.” You kissed his cheek. “Go get em Wildcat.” The nurse helped you limp out of the gym and Gabriella and Kelso followed close behind. 

Sharpay watched the whole scene from the very top of the stands, eyes narrowed with suspicion. She had seen Maddison pull her bag away just when Y/N fell and it definitely was not a coincidence. The little pirana was playing a dangerous game and Sharpay was not about to let her win. 

-

The show case was just a night away and your ankle still ached whenever you stepped on it, even after a week. You tried not to let it show when Ryan was teaching you the steps, but they hardly let you practice at all. Taylor was furious you were still going through with it. Mrs. Darbus was at least more than willing to let you rehearse during homeroom. 

“And, one two three, one two three,” Ryan tried not to sound irritated when Troy took another wrong step. 

“Sorry.” He grimaced. Ryan just took a deep breath. 

“Just start from ‘wherever we go next’.” He instructed and you tried to remember the steps. “And one two three and lift-” Troy lifted you up and spun the way Ryan showed him. When he set you back down, you stepped wrong. 

“Ow!” You cried, stumbling backwards into the piano. 

“That’s it. You can’t do this anymore.” Taylor said sternly. “You’re going to hurt yourself even more and then you won’t be able to dance at all.” 

“I can do this. It already feels better.” You insisted and she scowled. Troy took your hands in his, the sweetness in those perfect blue eyes just making you feel even more guilty. 

“We can figure something else out.” He felt awful for even pushing you this far. Tomorrow was Valentine’s day and you’d barely had a quiet moment, let alone long enough to destress. “How about we just call it a day? We can go to a movie tonight and just hang out. Just you and me.” You shook your head. 

“I can get this. I just need a second.” You felt ridiculous storming out with crutches, but it was what you had. Troy moved to follow, but Gabriella shook her head. 

“Just give her a minute.” 

You didn’t notice the troop of girls following you to your locker and you were too frustrated to care. You could get this right. Troy had worked too hard with after practice rehearsals and countless hours going over the music with you for you to mess all of it up now. Sometimes you couldn’t help but think he was too good for you. 

You opened your locker and watched dozens of paper Valentine’s float to the floor. At first, you thought this was a sweet gesture from your boyfriend. Then you actually read them. Talentless Freak. Get off the stage. East High’s Resident Loser. 

“Looks like Y/N has an admirer.” Madison sneered and her group of underclassmen terrors erupted with cackles, drawing more people out of Darbus’ room. You set your crutches to the side and picked up one note in particular. Troy’s Tragic Charity Case.

Your heart dropped and the laughing just got louder. You couldn’t even run. You had to stand there and listen, looking at the cruel smirk on Madison’s face as the words echoed in your head over and over again. Charity Case. 

“Y/N- oh my god,” Gabriella exclaimed, looking at the mess of fake Valentines. “Let’s get out of here. Taylor.” 

“I’ll drive you home.” Taylor picked up your crutches and the two practically guarded you as you made your way down the hall. 

By the time Troy got out into the hallway, most of the girls were gone, leaving only the notes scattered across the floor. He didn’t find you until you were already at Taylor’s car. 

“Wait!” He yelled before you closed the door. “Where are you going?”

“I’m going home.” You sighed, brushing away a fallen tear. “Everyone is right. I can’t do this. Even if my ankle was fine, I couldn’t pull off something like this.” 

“What are you talking about?” 

“I’m sure you can find a better partner, Troy. There are girls that would kill to perform with you.” Or sprain a few ankles. 

“Kelsi wrote that song for us.” If he kept looking at you like that, you’d break completely. 

“I’m sorry Troy.” You shut the door and Taylor drove off. Gabriella put a comforting hand on your shoulder. You couldn’t bear to look back. 

“It appears that I’ve lost three students.” Mrs. Darbus sighed, waiting for him back at the doors. “Care to explain?” Troy ran his fingers through his hair. 

“She’s not going to perform and I can’t do it without her.” He couldn’t imagine singing something so personal, so full of emotion, with anyone but the girl that he loved. Mr.s Darbus just gave him a knowing smile. 

“I suggest talking to her, Mr. Bolton. Show her the truth.” He opened his mouth, but she stopped him with a wave of her hand. “You’ll know what to do.” Her expression changed. “Now, I'm afraid that there’s quite a mess in the hallway I must take care of. As well as a few girls to track down.” She bowed her head and went inside. 

Troy’s head was spinning. He needed to fix this. After a few ideas came to mind, he pulled out his phone. Mrs. Darbus was right. He knew what to do. Hopefully. 

-

A light knock on the door pulled you from your sanctuary of blankets. Your mom slowly opened your bedroom door with a small smile. When she heard what happened, she had no problem calling you out for the rest of the day. 

“Why don’t you come down for some dinner, sweetie?”

“I’m not really hungry.” You pulled a loose string from your quilt.

“I really think you should come downstairs.” Her smile grew suspiciously and she left the door open a crack.

Eventually, your curiosity got the better of you and you tossed your blankets aside. The lights in the kitchen were off and the doors to the patio were open. You stepped outside and gasped. The twinkling lights looked like stars and little notes hung from the trees. In the middle of it all stood Troy and a candle lit dinner, complete with a bouquet of chocolate covered strawberries. 

“Glad you could make it.” Troy beamed, motioning for you to sit down. You did and he passed you a basket of breadsticks. “Don’t worry, my mom helped me cook.”

“Troy, this is…” You couldn't even find the right words. You started to read some of the notes. Deserves a standing ovation. Her recital rocked the house. She’s the best friend I could ask for. 

“When I saw what those girls wrote, I wanted to show you what East High really thinks of you.” Troy explained, placing a hand on top of yours. “Sharpay even wrote one.” You both laughed when you read it. She’s one of the few people I can bare sharing the stage with. You blew out a breath. 

“The thing is, I can handle being called talentless and all of that.” You took the folded piece of paper out of your pocket. “This one just… I don’t know.” Troy gently took it from you , his hand tightening around your as he scanned those four awful words. At first, he didn’t get it. You had changed him in all the best possible ways. You made him want to be himself. You inspired him not to be scared of what everyone thought. So how could someone say you were just a charity case?

“You-” He took a deep breath, still wrapping his head around it. “You don’t actually believe this, do you?” You shrugged. 

“I mean… sometimes, I guess.” You tore off a piece of bread and rolled it between your fingers. “When it’s just the two of us, I feel like nothing else matters. But when I see you out there on the court, I can’t help but wonder… why me?”

Troy almost looked hurt. He started gathering little heart shaped pieces of paper from the tree and walked around the table. You stood as he put the notes in your hand, reading aloud as he handed each to you. 

“September 17th, 2006. The day that we met. When we got stuck painting sets, you were one of the only people to talk to me about something that wasn’t basketball. You made me feel like a regular guy.

“October 31, 2007. The night I convinced you to come with me to Chad’s Halloween party. I was a pirate and you were Elizabeth Bennet. That was the first time that you really opened up and were able to be yourself around people who weren’t just me and Gabriella.” His eyes locked with yours. “Look at the back of your necklace.”

You flipped the heart charm around and read the date engraved in the silver. 

“January 3rd, 2007.” You felt tears building. “My recietal.”

“Being on that stage with you made me see a whole different side of both of us. Our voices fit together like we weren’t meant to sing with anybody else.” He brushed a hair out of your face. “It was the moment that I realised I was in love with you.”

“I love you too, Troy.” You cried, closing the space between the two of you. He was right. It felt like you weren’t meant to kiss anyone else. When you pulled away, you were both grinning. “Do you think we can still perform? It’ll be difficult but I still want to sing.” He just grinned bigger and kissed your forehead. 

“Ryan and I already have a plan. You just have to come to rehearsal tomorrow morning.” You nodded and the two of you sat back down to finish dinner. 

-

You couldn’t remember the last time you were this nervous. You and Troy were learning and rehearsing with the system all day and the number would hopefully be unforgettable. But there was so much that could go wrong and you were absolutely terrified. You nearly jumped out of your skin when Sharpay appeared behind you. 

“You don’t have to worry about Madison. She has enough detention to keep her from anymore plotting. And I had no problem reminding her who was in charge of any and all sabotages.” She smirked, eyes scanning your outfit. “Good choice.” And that was probably the closest thing to approval from Sharpay Evans that you would ever get. 

Ryan came to make sure everything was secure and connected, reminding you when you needed to stand and be ready. He assured you everything would be fine. 

“Looks like you’re on.” He gave you an encouraging thumbs up. You took a deep breath and used your crutches to walk across the stage. The audience murmured as you sat on the swing that hung from the ceiling. The lights were bright enough that you couldn’t see Troy stage. You gripped the necklace around your neck for courage. There was no backing out now. 

“Take my hand. Take a breath. Hold me close and take one step.” As you sang, Troy slowly made his way onto the stage. His smile made your nerves disappear. “Keep your eyes locked on mine and let the music be your guide.” With every word, Troy walked closer to the swing. His eyes asked if you were ready. You gave him a small nod and he swept you up in his arms as you both sang the chorus. 

“It’s like catching lightning, the chances of finding someone like you.” The choreography was a stunning mix of lifts and spinning in Troy’s arms, your feet never even touching the floor. “It’s one in a million, the chances of feeling the way we do.”

Troy lifted you up one more time and set you down gently before beginning the next verse. 

“Take my hand, I’ll take the lead. And every turn, will be safe with me.” He twirled you slightly and you fell back for him to catch you, kicking your leg out so your skirt flared. “Don’t be afraid, afraid to fall.” His strong arms wrapped around you and he swung you around. “You know I’ll catch you through it all.” He let go as you were pulled up into the air. The audience gasped. You had forgotten they were there. “And you can’t keep us apart.”

“Even a thousand miles can’t keep us apart.” He almost forgot the words as the light practically made your white dress glow against your skin. Your necklace sparkled. As cliche as it sounded, you looked like an angel. 

His wires lifted him up to meet you. 

“Cause my heart is where you are.” And so the floating waltz began. “It’s like catching lightning, the chances of finding someone like you. It’s on in a million, the chances of feeling the way we do.” You felt like you were dancing on clouds. Troy couldn’t stop beaming. 

“And with every step together, we just keep on getting better.”

For the bridge, the wires had you circling each other on opposite sides of the stage, slowly getting closer. 

“Oh, no mountain’s too high and no ocean’s too wide. Cause together or not, our dance won’t stop. Let it rain, let it pour, what we have is worth fighting for.” You finally came back together. “You know I believe that we were meant to be.” With Troy holding you, you leaned back into another tumbling spin in the air. 

The final chorus slowly brought you down to the floor, you sitting back down on the swing. 

“So can I have this dance?” Troy stood in front of you, bowing to kiss your hand as if he was really asking. 

“Can I have this dance?”

-

General Tag: @rae-gar-targaryen; @takemepedropascal; @childhood-imagination;  @mylovegoesto;

[prettywordsyouleft]

10 Dates | The Wedding Date (Final)

Summary: Kim Junmyeon was the epitome of a perfect catch - he was successful, handsome and everything you currently didn’t want in a man. Yet after agreeing to his request to give him 10 dates in total to change your mind, you realised you might have been looking for someone like him all along.

Pairing: Kim Junmyeon x reader

Genre: dating au / romance

Warnings: none

Preview | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

You shared a watery smile with Junmyeon as you listened to the vows being spoken around the wedding venue right now. He beamed back at you, mouthing that he loved you. You raised your hand to your chest to let him know it was mutual and then turned back to the couple before you, your tears spilling down your cheeks when Kelsi choked on her words.

You never had expected to feel this overwhelmed watching your longest friend get married, and to Chanyeol, Junmyeon’s business partner, no less. You also weren’t prepared to look beside you to Ayla now sobbing openly, her hand clamped over her mouth to muffle some of her emotions. Smiling, you reached for her free hand and gave it a squeeze.

Weddings were just beautiful to be a part of.

And once Kelsi and Chanyeol were announced as husband and wife, you watched their first kiss together, glancing behind the loved up pair to Junmyeon again. You could tell he held the same thought as you did right now as well.

You could still taste that very kiss from your own wedding two years ago.

And once the photographer had taken enough photos of the wedding party afterwards, you moved into your husband’s arms, staring up at him lovingly. “It was beautiful.”

“Yes, you are,” he murmured before kissing you softly.

“Junmyeon,” you chided when he pulled away, smiling at you mischievously. “I meant the ceremony.”

“So did I. You looked beautiful the whole time.”

“Which wedding are you talking about?” you wondered with a small smirk and Junmyeon tenderly ran his hands over your bare arms.

“Sue me for thinking of our wedding, Mrs Kim. Though this one was very nice, and you look breathtaking today too.”

“You’re wicked.”

“You’re the reason I couldn’t concentrate. I’m happy for Chanyeol and Kelsi, but I can’t help but think of our special day either.”

“I’m guilty as well,” you admitted with a giggle and Junmyeon grinned, pulling off his suit jacket and slinging it over your arms. You shook your head in wonderment. “How do you know whenever I’m cold?”

“Isn’t that my duty as your husband?”

“What’s mine then as your wife?” you asked and Junmyeon leaned in so he was close to your lips again.

“To accept all my love.”

“I do that every day, you cheeseball.”

“Look who’s talking,” another voice commented and you turned to see Ayla standing there, dabbing another tissue under her eyes. “You’re both cheesy.”

“Jealous, Ayla?”

“Intensely. When does the bar at the reception open? Maybe if I drink enough wine, I might feel less lonely.”

You smiled and stepped over to take your friend’s hand. “Or maybe you can accept that you keep making eyes with Oh Sehun and go share a drink with him.”

“And what, suggest he takes me on ten dates? That might have worked for you and Kelsi, but it won’t for me.”

Junmyeon chuckled. “You never know, Y/N was adamant it wasn’t going to work for her and now look at where she’s at.”

You glanced up at your husband and smiled happily.

Those ten dates sure had a lot to answer for. And knowing Kelsi had tried the concept with Chanyeol herself only made it seem more dreamlike. Admittedly, Chanyeol had needed twelve whole dates before he decided she was the one for him.

You had known much sooner than that.

The reception wore on and toasts were shared, along with more tears – mostly from Ayla. She had cried at your wedding, and now she was crying on Sehun’s shoulder, the tall man attempting to calm her down as Kelsi and Chanyeol shared their final farewell before taking to the honeymoon suite in the hotel the reception was being held in.

And as you moved up to your suite for the night, you felt Junmyeon’s love before he even reached to taste it from you once the doors were closed.

Much later, now entangled against his bare body, the moonlight cascading over his skin, you leaned in to kiss his arm gently, leaving a trail of kisses until you found his swollen lips. You were spent from all your love-making, and further, from the day.

Weddings were beautiful, but they were also exhausting.

“Love you, Y/N.”

“Love you too.”

“Can I ask you something?” he said a moment later and you opened your eyes to cast your gaze to his face. Despite his satisfied, love-drunk appearance, Junmyeon was strangely curious and the tiredness within you was replaced with curiosity. You nodded once. “I noticed, you know.”

“Noticed?” you echoed, your eyebrows knitting together.

“Mm,” he hummed into your skin, kissing your bare shoulder. “You didn’t take a single sip of alcohol tonight.”

“Oh, that.”

“When were you planning on telling me?”

“I’m not sure if I am or not, but I didn’t want to take any chances.”

Junmyeon kissed your neck before continuing. “Have you taken a test?”

“It came back positive this morning.”

“No wonder you didn’t tell me,” he breathed, sounding relieved that you hadn’t known long. “Fancy taking a pregnancy test on the day of our best friends’ wedding.”

“It’s not the right time to go announcing anything like that. Let them have their honeymoon first,” you mentioned and Junmyeon nodded against you. “But I think we’re pregnant, Myeon.”

His hand immediately moved to your torso, rubbing at it affectionately. Giving him a look, he laughed at you. “I’m doing this to promote growing vibes.”

“That’s not how babies are made.”

“No, I’m well aware of what it takes to make one,” he replied lowly, the embers that had died within his eyes from your passion heating back up. “So if one hasn’t started growing in there yet, I’ll just have to keep trying.”

“Is that so? Do I need to be pregnant?”

“I want a mini-you.”

“That’s not fair, I want a mini-you first.”

Junmyeon chuckled. “So, twins?”

“Why am I not as outraged as I should be about this?”

“Because you want it as much as I do. Our family is growing.”

“Is this what you imagined when you were younger?” you asked, referring to when he had crushed on you as a teenager. “Did you ever think you and I would end up married and debating over how many babies we want to have?”

“I don’t think I was quite so ready to consider children when I was barely done with being one myself. But I was hopeful for a lifetime with you.”

“It’s so weird to think you hoped for that. How did you know back then that I was the one?”

Junmyeon smiled. “I don’t know, it’s just always been you for me. Maybe you’re my soul mate.”

“Maybe I am,” you mused, leaning in to kiss your husband. Pulling back, you grinned. “When we’re back home, let’s make an appointment to confirm if I’m pregnant or not.”

“Sounds good to me.”

You soaked in his elated expression, running your hand over his face gently, in hopes you could feel the emotions under your fingertips. You couldn’t love this man more even if you tried. Smiling, you thought back to when it wasn’t like this for you, when you had almost turned him away. How foolish your past self had been towards such a pivotal person for your world. Your smile grew and Junmyeon pecked your palm as it crossed paths with his mouth.

“What are you thinking of now?”

“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever thanked you for liking me so much.”

“You don’t have to thank me for liking you.”

“I do,” you countered, sitting up a little. “Had you not fought for us back then, I would have walked away from all of this.”

“You’re right.” Junmyeon became thoughtful. “Okay, so maybe a thank you is in order. And you’re welcome. I knew I wasn’t going to let you go by me this time around. So thank you for staying with me after Italy.”

“Which Italy trip?” you asked with a giggle, having returned to the place where the magic had truly started to happen between you for your honeymoon. This time you had taken a month there, and whilst you still loved the place, it wasn’t your dream anymore.

Junmyeon was.

“Both. You could have decided after the honeymoon that married life didn’t suit you.”

Rolling your eyes, you shook your head. You fell silent as you continued to think about the earlier parts of your relationship. One thing stood out to you. “We never finished all ten dates.”

“We both agreed we didn’t need to count them anymore. Besides, we’ve had hundreds of them since then.”

“Still… can I count today as the tenth one?” you asked and Junmyeon waited for you to explain. “Remember when you said; give me ten dates to see if there was something worth trying for?”

“Baby, we’re married already. You can’t say no now, you definitely said I Do two years ago.”

“Humour me,” you stated and Junmyeon smiled, knowing he had asked you to do just that on that fateful first date.

“Okay, today is the tenth date. Was it worth dating me this long?”

Leaning in closer, you nodded as you cupped his face in your hands. “You won’t regret being with me forever?”

“God no. Forever seems too short anyway.”

You nodded in agreement. “Good, because after ten dates with you, I only hope for an eternity more of them.”

“An eternity with you?”

“Would you rather just another ten dates?”

“Let’s space them out if that’s the case,” he encouraged, holding up both his hands so he could eliminate fingers as he counted. “A pregnancy date, sleepless nights with a newborn date, crying together when we drop them off at school for the first day…”

“You’re clearly only thinking of me being pregnant now. What about us? We don’t go missing just because we’re going to have a child.”

“Twenty years together,” he tacked on, and starting listing off other events that would lead up to your elderly years.

“Let’s have our very last date when we stop breathing,” he announced with a tearful smile, joining you in being overwhelmed of the future together. “A death date might be fun.”

“By then, we might be excited to return to how we look just now too.”

“You’ll age beautifully, I just know it.”

“I can’t imagine a day where you won’t be handsome to me,” you breathed and he nuzzled you affectionately. “Well, we did say until death do us part.”

Junmyeon shook his head. “We don’t part in death. Didn’t you just ask if I would be with you forever?”

“Stop before I really start crying, Kim Junmyeon,” you whispered and your husband caressed your face, trailing his thumb under your eyes.

“Give me your forever,” he requested earnestly and you choked a little on your tearful laughter.

“Just forever in total?” Junmyeon nodded at your recycled line from your first date. You nestled into his chest, listening to his heart beat erratically. “Alright, let’s see where forever take us.”

_________________

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[allisonxmoynihan]

always be my baby ~ p. moynihan

Note: This is Part Two of the fic! If you haven’t read part one yet, or need a refresher, you can do so here! Thank you so much for the endless support and I hope you enjoy! 

Word Count: 3,491

Life had returned to normal: you were back at school surrounded by your friends, exploring in your downtime, spending time with Olivia and Kelsie, and you and Pat were friends again. It wasn’t easy to forgive him, but a couple months after your dad’s birthday surprise you decided it was time, and the right decision, to at least let him back in as a friend.

It was the Tuesday of Thanksgiving week, and you had just finished your last class before Fall Break. You found yourself sprawled out on your boyfriend’s bed as he sat on a beanbag next to you playing video games with a few of his friends.

“Hey, babe, what time are you heading home?” Sam asks you, turning his head to look over at you.

You shrug your shoulders looking up from your phone, “I don’t know, some time tomorrow morning probably? Are you heading home at all?”

Sam turns off the game console before coming over and plopping down next to you, “Nah, I’m staying here for the break, my mom’s meeting me in Boston on Friday morning for brunch”

You adjust your head so that you can listen to the steady beat of his heart and you smile, content that today was a good day for the two of you, as his arms wrap around your waist, one hand going and twisting strands of your hair gently in his hands. It wasn’t that you and Sam had an unhealthy relationship, because for the most part everything was perfect, but sometimes the two of you would bicker nonstop to the point of you having a meltdown in Olivia’s dorm and him ignoring you for days afterward. 

“You’re going to eat crappy dining hall food alone on Thanksgiving?”

He sighs, “yeah, but it’ll be okay princess, they’re supposed to have mac n’ cheese that day too”

You lift your head up excitedly, “Why don’t you come home with me tomorrow? My parents are dying to meet you anyway, and besides no one should have to be alone on a holiday!”

He presses a gentle kiss to your forehead, “anything for you, but you have to come to brunch with my mom then.”

~*~

Thanksgiving Day at your house was always hectic. Somehow your parents always got stuck with hosting, and your mom would be stuck in the kitchen all day as your dad and brothers played sports in the backyard as your grandparents sat at the kitchen table keeping your mom company. As soon as you got your driver’s license you got put on emergency grocery runs. 

“y/n, I don’t have the stuff for the pumpkin pie or the sweet potatoes,” your mom says as she scrambles about the kitchen, checking the turkey. “Oh, and I need stuff for brownies and stuffing!”

You stand up from the kitchen table and grab your car keys, “anything else?”

Your mom shakes her head fervently, “hurry,”

On the car ride to Shaw’s your favorite song came on the radio so you turn the volume up and start belting out the lyrics, a wide grin plastered to your face as you slow for a red light. 

Sam immediately goes to turn the volume back to an inaudible volume, “babe, really?” he asks, looking at you as if you were crazy.

You feel your face lose color as you continue to stare ahead, a little hurt that your boyfriend of the last five months would do something like this when he clearly knew it was your favorite song. You fight off the thoughts that Sam held you back from being completely happy, that Patty would never do something like this. You silently curse at yourself for constantly comparing Sam to Pat, as you turn into a parking space, but it was no secret that Patty would never treat you the way Sam did. 

In the five months of dating Sam, he was always quick to call you out on your weaknesses and shortcomings, using your poor grades on a test to boast about his 100%, and even getting annoyed when your goofy and childish nature was highlighted. But time and time again you decided that the good outweighed the bad in the relationship.

Completely disregarding your sudden and distant behavior Sam slips out of the car and strolls towards the door. You take a deep breath, grabbing a shopping cart and hurrying after him. You finally catch up with Sam who is waiting for you in the produce section. “What did your mom need again?”

You force a smile onto your face, hoping you’ll sound somewhat positive, “sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie stuff, and stuffing,” you say, starting to pick up various sweet potatoes and put them in a bag. 

“Here, let me get it,” Sam says, taking the bag from your hands and grabbing more sweet potatoes. You glance up, seeing Patty across the produce section and a big, genuine smile erupts on your face as you wave to him. Pat smiles back before going back to investigating which head of lettuce was the best. Sam clears his throat, directing your attention back to him.

“Why don’t you go get a box of stuffing mix and then meet me back here? Stuffing should be aisle three.”

You nod, walking off as Sam continues to fill a produce bag with sweet potatoes. Feeling a presence next to him Sam glances at the brunette boy next to him who is preoccupied with picking up various sweet potatoes, inspecting them, and putting them back in the crate, all while glaring at Sam.

“Who the hell are you? The boy finally asks.

“Sam Loughlin, what’s it to you?” 

“That’s a pretty douchey name,” the boy mutters under his breath as he finally selects a sweet potato and adds it to his cart.

“Excuse me?”

“How do you know y/n?” the boy asks, continuing his inspection process of sweet potatoes just like he’s probably seen his mom do a million times over.

“I’m her boyfriend, who are you anyway?”

The boy turns and glares at Sam, his eyes blank of emotion, “Patrick Moynihan, the love of her life.”

As if on cue you return at that moment with a couple of boxes of stuffing in your hands. Patty looks down at you, “Hey y/n! Tell Nate and Luke I say hi, and of course to your mom and dad.”

You smile, tossing the stuffing into your shopping cart, “yeah, same to you Pat, Happy Thanksgiving!”

Sam stands beside you possessively, snaking an arm tightly around your waist, and you go to look at him and see him seething with anger and you go to ask him what’s wrong but nevertheless he waves you off.

“Pie crust and pumpkin filling is all that’s left on the list. Let’s go,”

~*~

By the time you got home and dinner was ready you were exhausted and couldn’t wait for the day to be over so you could call Olivia and discuss your Black Friday shopping plans that occurred every year. And Thanksgiving dinner couldn’t have been any worse.

“Mommy, I wish Patty was here,” Nate whines, pushing his green beans to the side of his plate.

“Eat your green beans or no dessert, sweetie pie,”

“Daddy, do you think Patty will come over later tonight like he used to and have dessert with us and play football with us?” Luke chips in.

Your dad looks over at you, sorrow filling his eyes, “Uhh, no honey, I think Pat has his own family plans this year,”

Your mom, sighs, “well his jokes would be much appreciated right now after a long day of cooking,” she laughs as she places a spoonful of green beans onto Luke’s plate who groans at the sight.

“He wasn’t here to help with the turkey either!” your dad exclaims.

You glance up at Sam, hoping he’s not upset or angry, but to your dismay annoyance and disgust are written all over his face. And you know you’re going to hear about it after dinner.

Your grandma cuts up her piece of turkey, “y/n, what happened to that sweet boy we all liked? He was kind of tall. Goofy. Very goofy. But he had sweet eyes,”

“Marilyn, his name is Patirck,” your grandpa explains, placing his hand on your grandma’s shoulder who turns to look at him.

“Oh hush up and eat your stuffing, Charles”

You laugh, shaking your head at your grandparents, envious of their deep affection towards each other. 

Sam exhales loudly and you look up at him. He lifts his chin to the right towards the kitchen and dismisses himself from the table walking into the other room. Your mom looks at you worriedly, “I’ll be right back” you whisper, following Sam into the kitchen. 

You walk in to see Sam standing tall, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. You immediately feel sheepish, like a small child that disobeyed their mother.

“I can’t fucking take anymore of this bullshit tonight” Sam says in a hushed tone,

“Take what? What’s going on?”

“That asshole from the store, your family raving about how great he is even though may I remind you he cheated on you. I didn’t really want to come here in the first place, especially if it meant you falling for your fucking ex all over again,”

You sigh loudly, “whatever, if you don’t want to be here then go, I don’t have to put up with your attitude either.” 

Sam rolls his eyes, a scowl taking over his face, “I’ll send you the address for brunch, and don’t embarrass me.” He says before walking to the front of your house and slipping into the shadows of the night.

Later that night you called Olivia to discuss your shopping plans but also to vent to her about the events that went down that night.

“I’m just so sick of Sam getting mad whenever a guy says hi to me or something, like he’s in a frat for crying out loud, he has girls on him all the time”

“Yeah, I don’t know y/n, it’s just weird”

“And he’s annoyed that my family was upset that Patty wasn’t there, like I’m sorry they grew attached to him in the thirteen years of knowing him”

Olivia sighs heavily, finally selecting on the blush pink nail polish instead of the cherry red one.

“What?”

“I don’t want to be mean, but y/n you’re my best friend and I just want you to be happy. But if you want my honest opinion, I’ve never seen you more unhappy than you are with Sam and that’s including when Pat broke up with you”

After finalizing your plans with Olivia for Saturday you find yourself painting your toenails and watching dance moms when you get a facetime call from Patty.

“Hey, Pat!” you smile, starting a second coat on your toes.

“Hey, what are you up to?”

“Watching dance moms and painting my nails, and I guess talking to you now,”

Pat smiles, “Remember when I let you paint my nails and you wouldn’t let me take it off”

“And all the guys chirped you for being ‘so whipped’”

Patty grins, “yeah, that was a good memory”

There’s a comfortable silence that falls over you before Pat starts telling you about his grandparents and how they’re doing, and also asking about yours. 

“Well I’m glad they’re doing well y/n, that’s great news,”

You nod slowly, pouring over your conversation with Olivia about Sam. You zone out contemplating what you should do. She did have a point, you were extremely unhappy and have been for awhile, but at the same time you saw how good Sam could be, and that potential was enough to keep you there.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Patty asks, concern filling his voice.

“Oh, it’s nothing,”

“What did that asshol you were with earlier do something? I’ll fight him.”

You laugh to try and fight the tears that were stinging your eyes, but they inevitably start rolling down your cheeks, “What’s wrong with me? Why am I not enough for anyone? Sam. You. Literally everyone,” you croak out, rubbing furiously at your tears.

Patty’s face softens, “c’mon don’t say that, y/n, you’ve always been enough,”

“Then why’d you leave me? Why’d you cheat?”

Patty sighs, rubbing his hand across his face, “I don’t have a good explanation. I was lonely and drunk and I missed you and didn’t know what to do about it, but that’s all besides the point. y/n you’ve always been good enough, okay? You’re too good for the majority of guys in the world, including me.”

You sit there, rubbing the seemingly never ending tears that were pouring down your face.

“Hey, c’mon, just like Abby says, ‘save those tears for the pillow!’”

You smile slightly, “Hey, there’s that smile!” Pat gushes.

You roll your eyes, ��you’re such a dork,” you say as you wipe more tears away.

Pat continues to try and cheer you up by telling you knock-knock jokes, because they’re your favorite, recalling funny moments from the past, and filling you in on all the embarrassing moments from his time at school.

Suddenly Pat sits up in his bed, “you should just leave him,”

“What?”

“Leave Sam. He doesn’t treat you right, and I know I’m one to talk, but y/n c’mon, the guy treats you like an object,”

You lean over to turn your light off and slip in under your bed covers, getting comfy in bed. “I can’t leave him, Pat. He’s a good guy, trust me. You just don’t know him,”

Patty sighs and quickly changes the subject to the most random of things, his voice low and soft as you drift into slumber. Patty sits and watches you sleep for a bit, remembering the times you were falling asleep next to him, and before he hangs up he whispers ever so quietly, “I never stopped loving you,”

~*~

The next morning you were supposed to meet up with Sam for brunch with his mom, but you weren’t really feeling it that day. You strolled down the streets of Boston wearing your oversized sweatpants, Patty’s Nobles hockey sweatshirt that you had never given back, and a pair of birkenstock sandals. 

“The hell are you wearing, y/n come on, this is a nice restaurant and my mom is coming, remember?”

You roll your eyes as he looks at you disgustedly, “Yeah, about that, I’m not staying”

“Jesus, why do you always have to go and make a fool of me wherever we go”

“See that’s the thing, you turn everything on how it affects you, and sorry to break it to you but not everything is about you.”

“What the hell are you going on about now?”

“I don’t want to be with you anymore. I’m tired of always stressing about how I look and how my actions are going to impact you. I’m not even living for me anymore, I’ve become your puppet and you still can’t stand being around me”

He rolls his eyes, “Well if you’re leaving, go. I don’t really need you around”

~*~

That night your parents are out with your brothers at a hockey game, so you find yourself home alone in desperate need for a distraction. You find yourself baking brownies when you hear a knock at the door. You frown, dropping the measuring cup into the flour jar, and going to check who’s at the door.

“Oh, hey,” you say, stepping to the side to let Patty in who gladly walks right into the kitchen and taking a seat at the kitchen island. You follow him so you can resume your cooking, breaking the silence Patty says, “you still stress bake?”

You nod, whisking the eggs into the batter.

Patty is slow to nod, “Liv told me you might be upset and I wanted to come and check on you.” you look at him with a blank face and he stammers, “y’know because we’re friends. And that’s what friends do”

“I’m fine.”

Patty props his elbows up so he can rest his chin in the palm of his hand and watches you pour the batter into the pan. He takes you all in, the way your hair is falling out of its bun, how you have flour all over the front of your shirt, and how you gently scrape at the sides of the bowl to get the excess batter out. Deciding you have enough batter in the pan you start licking the extra batter out of the bowl and sucking your fingers that have batter stuck to them as well.

“What?” you ask looking up and noticing Patty’s stare.

“Nothing,”

“Is there batter on my face?” you ask as you smudge your hands across your face, wiping at the batter that was never there in the first place.

Patty laughs watching you, “no, you’re good,”

“Then why are you staring at me”

Patty’s face momentarily goes red before he shrugs it off, “I’ll help you with the dishes,” he stands up and takes the bowl from your hands and starts washing all the utensils you used.

Taking a seat at the island, you watch Patty wash the dishes and think about all the times he’s done this same exact thing before.

“Hey Patty?”

“What’s up”

“This is going to sound really silly,” you look down at your feet fumbling with the hem of your shirt, “but, um,”

Patty shifts his weight to one side and leans against the counter, “I’m sure it’s not silly”

“That’s because you haven’t heard it yet,”

“y/n what’s wrong?”

“Patty, I really miss you, and I’ve dated so many guys trying to forget what it felt like to have you by my side, but none of them are you”

His face softens, “I really miss you too,”

You laugh slightly shaking your head, “Everything in me is saying to give you a second chance like you asked five months ago, but I’m scared”

“y/n, please just give me a chance, I know I can be the guy you deserve to be with.”

You're silent and go to put the brownies in the oven before turning to grab some water.

“Kelsie says that you did it once before so you’re just bound to do it all over again, so how do i know you’re for real this time”

Patty sighs, grabbing a towel from your pantry and starting to dry the dishes in the sink.

“I know you’re just trying to avoid my question,”

Patty sighs, putting the towel down and turning to look at you, “you really want the honest story?”

You nod, going back and sitting at the island.

Patty takes a deep and shaking breath before he starts, “Because ever since we were six years old and I saw you yell at Timmy Moore for pushing Olivia off of the swing, since we were eleven and I forced Ciara to become friends with you so I could go to your birthday party with her, since we were thirteen and we started becoming really good friends. y/n it’s always been you; it was you on the playground on September 6, 2007, it was you when Ashley Turner had a big crush on me and everyone told me to ask her out, it was you at the eighth grade dance, it was you when I left Millis High and went to Nobles, and it was you the whole time in Michigan, and fuck, it was you at Providence too. It’s never been about anyone else but you.”

You sit there, dumbfounded, at a loss for words, staring straight back at him. He only shakes his head and goes back to drying the dishes before saying, “I can leave if you want,”

“Please don’t go again,”

Patty looks at you, walking slowly over to where you were seated, “y/n, i never stopped loving you”

A lump gets lodged in your throat as you look back up at him, “me too, patty,”

He cups your face in his hands, “please, give me a second chance, I won’t let you down,”

Your heart practically melts at his touch, at his words, and you can’t help but stare at his lips, “if you mess up moynihan I’m having my dad come and beat you up”

Patty laughs, pressing his lips to yours for the first time in a year, “if i ever hurt you i will come over just so he can beat my ass,” he mumbles against your lips, pressing them to yours one more time as the oven timer separates you two.

“Looks like i should be staying for dessert too,” Patty smiles watching you go over and take the brownies out of the oven,

“You’re such an idiot,” you laugh,

“Yeah, an idiot that you love y/n. An idiot that you love,”

[writing-essence]

Fear - Jonathan Crane

Pairing: Jonathan Crane x (female) Reader

Warnings: Language

Summary: Reader is a student as Gotham State Univeristy and is taking Dr. Crane’s psychology course.

Author’s Note: Hopefully I have the energy to make this a series! I enjoyed writing this one 🥺 -Kelsie

Word Count: 1,536

Gotham State University was your favorite place to be during the spring. Sometimes it felt like the only place in Gotham that had life. Spring was when the cherry blossoms on campus bloomed, flowering the pathways between buildings in a soft pink carpet. Not to mention the campus was always bustling with students and animal life.

Spring term had just started for you, a sophomore at GSU, and you were currently sprinting through the main building on campus. It was the first day of class and you were already running late. Rude glances got thrown at you as you pushed through the crowd of students in the psych hallway but you couldn’t care less. You couldn’t start this term as the girl who was late. First impressions mean everything.

You ended up overestimating how much time you had to get to class, and busted loudly through the door two minutes before class even started. The lecture hall fell silent and all eyes drew to you, panting in the doorway. A deep blush spread over your face and you dropped your head as you quickly made your way to the back of the hall, trying not to draw any more attention to yourself.

“Could I ask you all to sit down at this time? Class is starting,” Whatever chatter had started back up after you entered quickly died down as the professor stood up from behind his desk. He adjusted the mic next to his face awkwardly before making his way toward the front screen.

You squinted from your seat in the back of the hall. He seemed a bit young for a professor. Especially for one at GSU.

“I’m not going to spend the first day introducing myself and going over a syllabus,” He said, monotone, “You don’t need to know about my personal life and I don’t need to know about yours. You’re here to learn,”

You frowned. This guy seemed like a party pooper. It was a slight relief though, you had already done three icebreakers in other classes this week. It would be nice just to jump into the material.

“My name is Dr. Crane and the syllabus is emailed to you if you need to read it,” He mumbled before turning toward the projector with a clicker, “We’re starting off this course with fear, something that I feel as if fuels everyday life,”

“That’s a huge claim,” A student from the front said loudly.

“You can leave if you disagree,” Dr. Crane stated simply, not bothering to even look toward the student, “And you raise your hand in this class if you need to say something,”

Yeesh. You wondered if this scary persona was a part of this lesson on fear.

“Fear is one of humans most important emotions. It’s what kept our ancestors alive from, let’s say, wooly mammoths, and it’s what keeps you from jumping out the window at every one of life’s inconveniences. It’s both biochemical and emotional- which is an important part of today’s lesson,” He clicked his clicker and the projector quickly switched toward a slide explaining the biochemical and emotional responses to fear.

You scrambled quickly to write everything down as quickly as he was saying it but ended up with a page full of unreadable scribbles instead. You were better off just sitting back and listening to what he had to say.

“Biochemical responses to fear are universal while emotional responses are purely individual. This is why some people enjoy scary movies and some people don’t,” He continued, the slides on the projector clicking loudly as they slid in and out of place, “Biochemical responses are part of survival. Without them, none of us would be here today. Some physical reactions to fear include sweating, increased heart rate, and high adrenaline levels. The common “Fight or Flight” response is also a biochemical response to fear,”

You slowly started to zone out as you watched him ramble on more about emotional responses to fear. Every once in awhile he’d readjust his glasses that kept slowly sliding down the bridge of his nose. As he readjusted his glasses his hand would hit the mic causing a soft scratching noise to echo throughout the hall. You couldn’t tell if it was just your boy-less spring break but you were starting to find his awkwardness endearing.

“Now fear is incredibly complex, and the causes of them are purely individual. Phobias can be caused by trauma or just a general lack of control. Other people fear things simply because of the physical response they get from it. Take heights for example: you look down and you feel your stomach drop. Are more scared of being so high or is it just the feeling you get? Is this something that can apply to all fears? Does this make all phobias treatable?”

What he was saying was actually pretty interesting and you would’ve been a lot more focused on it maybe if he wasn’t so damn attractive. Instead, your eyes watched carefully how his hair flopped as he ran his hand through it. Your stomach did a bit of a flip as he turned toward the hall of students.

“That’s all for todays lecture. I’ve sent an email out of a paper I want on my desk before next class on Thursday. Read it carefully,”

Shit. You completely blanked on the last half of the lecture, too busy watching him and not listening. As the rest of the class quickly got up and out of the class, you fumbled awkwardly trying to shove several notebooks into your bag at once. Once everything was inside your bag you brushed your hair out of your face awkwardly before realizing there was only a few students left in the hall and they were quickly making their way out. You glanced over toward Dr. Crane’s desk and made eye contact with him briefly before he quickly looked down at the folder opened in front of him. You blushed furiously before quickly leaving the hall.

-

The paper was supposed to be written about a phobia or yours, but for some reason, you just couldn’t think of one. You sat in just the light of the buzzing computer in your living room for an hour trying to research different phobias seeing if you could find one that you related to, but couldn’t.

The door to your shared apartment opened and closed quickly and you turned around in the squeaky desk chair, watching as your roommate slumped against the wall, defeated.

“How was work?” You asked, noting the grease stains on her apron.

“Great,” She mumbled, “I need a drink,”

You rolled your eyes before turning back toward the computer. What if you went meta? With just one quick search you found it, phobophobia: the fear of phobias. It wasn’t a fear you had but it’s not like that was none of his business.

-

Thursday rolled around quickly and you confidently placed your paper on his desk ten minutes before class started. The lecture hall was empty besides two other students and Dr. Crane who sat behind his desk watching you curiously.

“You’re early today,” You blushed, embarrassed that he remembered you from Tuesday.

“I figured out how to manage my time better,” You awkwardly stated before spinning around and walking toward the back of the class.

That class period he spent reading through the papers that were turned in as a documentary of the Stanford Prison Experiment played on the projector. It made you uneasy, watching the raw clips from the 70s. You could definitely see how fear played into this experiment.

You looked away from the screen and down toward Dr. Crane who sat flipping through the papers. How could he remember you so clearly from Tuesday? There were at least 100 students in this class alone, not to mention his other classes. Did you make that bad of an impression?

He looked up at you, most likely sensing your stare and you quickly glanced back at the screen. Another blush slowly crept across your face.

Near the end of the class, he slowly handed the papers back out. It was only the second day of class- how was he able to know everyone’s name? You finally decided that he must’ve just been really good at associating faces with names. Maybe you didn’t make as bad of a first impression as you initially thought. Maybe he was just really good at recognizing people.

He walked up toward you slowly before sliding your paper in front of you. You avoided eye contact, pretending to be invested in the documentary, but watched as he walked away.

As the documentary ended, the film in the projector started clicking loudly and Dr. Crane finally turned it off.

“I want a paper on The Stanford Prison Experiment on my desk Tuesday before class,” He said loudly as he turned the lights back on, “Try to write it better than this last one, the average score was 70%,”

You looked down quickly at your paper where a neat 100% was written at the top of your page. You sighed, relieved, before noticing the note written underneath it.

See me after class

[maggotzombie]

LIEBE LIESE: ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪᴠ – 𝒲𝒾𝓃𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒸𝒶𝓃𝒹𝓁𝑒𝓈

→ CHAPTERS LIST — CHAPTER III: HONEY LIPS WORD COUNT: 7,5k A/N: The overdue chapter is here (and several hours later than promised). I want to apologize once again for delaying it so much. I have this chapter planned in my head since I first started writing this fic but I couldn’t bring myself to write it for some reason. This is basically a get to know character, hope y’all like it.

HENRY TAKES a deep breath as he slowly wakes up and her scent fills his nostrils. He rolls to his back and, with his eyes still closed, he instinctively reaches out for the warmth of her body but the other side o the bed is empty, cold even, making his eyes snap open right away. Liese isn’t snuggled up in a very small space in the mattress like he wanted to, he’s alone.

Sunlight pours into the apartment heavily, the thin white drapes doing nothing to block it. As his eyes scan the vast open space, Henry is disappointed to not find her hourglass-shaped body anywhere.

He sits up. “Liese?” The man calls, his voice filling the space and bouncing back to him.

No response.

Sighing, Henry clenches his jaw and pushes the covers away from his lap before standing up. At the chair by the corner of the shelving, his clothes are neatly folded, the black boxer briefs on top of the pile. He then notices the blue slip of paper above it.

Without a second thought, he picks it up.

Hi, handsome.

Good morning! Sorry I’m not there. I have to go to work and I couldn’t bring myself to wake you up. You looked so heavenly sleeping. I’ve made you breakfast, hope you like it. It’s in the microwave and there’s coffee on the pot. You can leave my keys with Mr. Ferris at the front desk, he’s trustworthy ;) Can’t wait for our date tonight!

P.S.: I really hope you understand my handwriting because doctors really suck at it and I tried really hard. If not, you’ll find a text in your phone saying the exact same thing :p

Liebe, Liese xo

Henry smiles, still staring at the piece of paper. Her handwriting is really difficult in some parts, especially when e’s looks like i’s and o’s like a’s. But he did understand it and now he couldn’t stop smirking like an idiot.

* * *

Liese rests her chin on the heel of her hand, looking at her friend. “This is a power couple right here, I’m telling you,” Sierra states, holding her phone out to the others.

They have been discussing the success of this year’s benefit gala for the last ten minutes and now the subject is the silver-haired woman. The official photos of the event are circulating the internet and this is totally normal, considering the celebrities that have attended it. But her friends are way more interested in her photo with a certain actor.

“This is like the Queen B and Jay-Z of white people,” Her friend continues, making people laugh.

“That’s Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie,” Kelsie points out.

“They aren’t married anymore,” Sierra makes a face, shaking her head.

“We also have different lines of work,” Liese says. “Beyoncé and Jay-Z are musicians while Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are actors.”

“Girl, I don’t care about that,” Her fellow doctor looks at her like she’s demented. “The point is that beautiful babies would come out of you with this much good genes.”

The woman laughs, shaking her head and standing up. “Great time to start doing our rounds, huh?” She says, walking away.

“We’re continuing this later,” Sierra says, walking beside her.

She shakes her head. “Nope, we’re not.”

They focus on their patients and each visit takes its own time as they pay very close attention and listen to everything they have to say, also making conversation other than the routine questions. Liese gets a text from Henry in-between visits and she replies to him quickly with a smile on her face while walking towards the next room.

Right away, the woman notices something’s off with the little girl they’re visiting. She doesn’t make eye contact with both doctors; her replies are single-worded and her mother does almost all the talking. While she desperately wants to engage in a conversation with her and find out exactly what’s bothering the girl, Liese needs to see other patients as well. So, she returns to her room after she finishes the rounds with Sierra.

A soft knock on the doorway has the two occupants looking at her. “Hey, I’m back,” She smiles softly. “So, I’ve noticed someone is a little upset today,” Liese starts. “And I was thinking: ‘What would I do if I was feeling down?’” She taps her index finger on her jaw, looking up as if in thought. “Then, I remember. Chocolate, obviously!” The woman shakes her head. “So, I went to the vending machine and got this for you,” She slowly reveals the candy bar, finally walking into the room. The little girl beams at her immediately. “But you shouldn’t eat all at once,” The doctor suggests, sitting on the bed and offering her the bar.

“What do we say, honey?” Her mother asks, sitting in the armchair next to the bed.

“Thanks, Dr. H,” Carol says quietly.

Liese smiles fondly at her. “You’re welcome, love,” She says.

Most of the kids call her “Dr. H” because it’s harder for younger ones to say “Hartmann”.

“Dr. H, can I ask you something?” Carol looks up at the doctor, completely ignoring the candy.

She tilts her head slightly. “Sure.”

“Can I braid your hair?” The little girl asks out of the blue.

“My hair?” Liese frowns, taken aback by the sudden request.

“Yes,” She nods. “Your hair is very pretty,” She praises and the frown on the doctor’s face just deepens.

“Well, thanks. But where have you seen it?” She asks.

Liese’s go-to hairstyle for work is a simple bun. It’s practical because it keeps her hair out of her face when she needs to run around the ED and it’s sanitary because, well, she works in hospitals. It’s also very appropriate in a working environment. So, she is utterly confused by the girl’s statement.

“On your Instagram,” Carol replies like it’s obvious.

She immediately panics inside, wondering how many of her patients check her social media.

“Oh,” Her eyebrows shoot to her hairline before she frowns slightly again for a second before snapping out of it. “Okay, sure. But I only have one hair tie,” She points out.

“It’s fine, turn around,” The little girl says excitedly, sitting her chocolate bar to the side.

Liese glances at her mother who shrugs off with a smile before she turns around. She pulls her hair out of the bun and down her shoulders, combing it slightly with her fingers and smoothing down the roots. Carol’s eyes shine in excitement as the silver locks pour down Liese’s back. Then, the doctor rests her hands on her lap, waiting for Carol to start braiding and she does so after shyly asking permission to actually touch her hair.

“It’s so smooth,” Carol beams, running her little finger through her hair. “And shiny!”

“Do you know why I dyed it?” She asks, trying to access how much stalking the girl did on her Instagram.

“Because you lost a bet with Otto,” She replies, starting to braid the right side of her hair.

Liese chuckles, amused by her calling her brother by the name but also concerned. “Yes, you’re right.”

“Who’s Otto?” Her mother asks, frowning.

“He’s Dr. H’s little brother,” Carol explains.

The expression on her mother’s face is of pure chock as Liese nods slightly. “Guess I need to be very careful of what I post, huh?” She muses, trying to make less of the awkward situation.

“And I should start monitoring what this young lady is doing online,” The woman replies, giving a pointed look at her daughter.

“Mom!” Carol whines and the doctor chuckles.

The little girl works quickly, tugging and twisting Liese’s hair skillfully. She braids each side, joining both of it on the back of the doctor’s head with an imperceptible knot. Carol easily convinces Liese to let her take photos of the braid with her phone so she could see it.

“Oh my God,” The doctor says, truly surprised by the professional-looking braid. “This is so gorgeous, thank you so much, Carol,” She looks at the girl.

She smiles, resting her head on her hands. “I wish I had hair like yours,” Carol confesses dreary.

The look on the woman’s face softens. “Is that why you’re upset, sweetheart?” She asks, turning her whole body towards her and giving her full undivided attention. The little girl shrugs, eyes falling to her lap. “Honey, you don’t have to worry. Your hair will grow back and I bet it’s gonna look prettier than mine,” Liese tries to reassure her.

Leukemia is a real bitch. Like any other type of cancer, it makes you suffer throughout the very brutal treatment. When kids experience it, in Liese’s opinion, it’s even worse. It’s hard to explain to them what’s happening and why they can’t be around so many people like before because their immune system is too compromised.

She shrugs off nonchalantly. “I guess,” She murmurs, her eyes still focused on her fidgeting hands.

“You know what you can do while it doesn’t grow back?” The doctor starts, trying to pique her interest.

“What?” Carol asks, still avoiding eye contact.

“You can wear wigs!” Liese says. “Mel from down the hall says it’s very cool to have a different hairstyle or hair color every day,” She adds. “You should talk to her,” Liese suggests.

Finally, Carol snaps her head up and looks at her mother. “Can we do that?” She asks, excited again.

“Sure,” Her mother nods with a smile.

The little girl looks back at Liese with a huge grin on her face in which the woman corresponds. “Dr. Hartmann to the nurse’s station,” The female voice says on speaker.

“Well, that’s me,” The doctor says, standing up from the bed with her phone in hands. “Thanks for the brai – Oof,” She puffs when Carol throws herself into Liese’s arms, hugging her neck tightly.

“I love you, Dr. H,” The little girl says and it surprises Liese.

She then smiles, hugging her small body. “I love you too, Carol,” She replies. “I’ll check on you later today, okay?”

“Okay,” She nods, sitting back on the bed.

“Thank you so much, Dr. Hartmann,” Carol’s mother says when she reaches the door.

“Sure,” She smiles before finally leaving the room.

While Liese was comforting the little girl, Henry walks into the medical facility. Right after he passes through the front door, he realizes that coming there might not be a good idea after all. He has no clue as to where he can find her and she’s working; he shouldn’t be bothering her at work.

“Sir, can I help you?” A young woman at the front desk asks, breaking his thoughts.

“Ah, yes, ma’am,” He smiles politely, approaching her. “Do you know where I can find Dr. Liese Hartmann?”

She makes a face. “I don’t, actually,” Then she chuckles. “But if you go to the nurse’s station on the first floor, they can page her,” She says. “Elevators are through there,” She instructs.

“Thank you,” Henry offers a smile.

“Big fan, by the way,” She adds quickly as he starts to move away.

The man’s smile grows wider. “Thank you,” He repeats, finally walking away.

He follows the young woman’s instructions and gets in the elevator to the first floor. The building only has two floors above the ground level but it looks exactly like a hospital. Nurses and doctors are walking around in scrubs, patients and relatives.

Patients. That’s when Henry is sure it wasn’t a good idea to come there. The patients in that facility are kids from two to sixteen-years-old and he’s fucking Superman. Right now he’s just praying they won’t recognize him because it’s gonna be hell to leave if they do.

“Good morning, ma’am,” Henry says when he approaches the nurse’s station. “I’m looking for Dr. Liese Hartmann. The lady at the reception said you could page her from here.”

The woman double looked at him and her jaw dropped while he was talking. They were talking about him just a few hours ago.

“Uh, sure. Yes, I can do that,” She recovers quickly when he stops talking. “One second.”

“Thank you,” He offers her his breathtaking smile and, boy, she could have fainted.

Smiling at him, the usual effect Henry’s charm has on women, she picks up the phone. “Dr. Hartmann to the nurse’s station,” She says over the phone and her voice is amplified by the speakers. “Give her a couple of minutes.”

“Alright. Thank you so much,” Henry replies, smiling at her again.

It’s doesn’t take a couple of minutes, though. The man pulls his phone from his pocket to check a message and a flicker of silver catches the corner of his eye. He looks up to see the gorgeous doctor coming out of a patient room wearing blue scrubs and a lab coat above it. She looks absolutely stunning with her hair down her shoulders in beachy waves and the waterfall braid.

Liese’s eyes go straight to him and she hesitates for a split second, surprised by seeing him there. Then she smiles, walking towards him.

“Mr. Cavill, hello,” She greets him professionally.

He gets the hint and plays along right away. “Dr. Hartmann,” Henry nods, shaking her hand. “Pleased to meet you again,” He adds and she offers him a mischievous smirk that only he understands in that way.

“Likewise,” The doctor replies. “I’m very glad you took up on my offer to meet the facilities. Should we talk about the details in my office?” She offers suggestively.

Henry nods. “Lead the way.”

With a smile, Liese motions to the elevators he just came from and they walk towards there ignoring everybody gawking at Henry, especially Sierra who was practically arranging their wedding earlier. The elevator ride to the ground level is silent because they aren’t alone but both of them are trying to hold back the laugh.

The walk to her office has fewer eyes on them but it’s only when Henry sees her name on a door that he smirks. She opens the door for him still in a professional way and he walks in. Liese quickly follows, closing the door and having him on her as soon as it clicks closed.

She giggles with his lips on hers. “Hey,” The woman says, before pulling him down at the neck and kissing him deeper.

“Hi,” He breathes out, a silly grin in his face and forehead resting against hers. “You are gorgeous, by the way,” He praises.

She rolls her eyes, moving away. “I’m literally wearing scrubs,” Liese deadpans.

“It doesn’t matter,” The man smiles, looking at her walk around. “So, I’ve come to drop this off,” He says.

Her keys dangle from his hand and the doctor smiles, leaning against her desk. “You could have left it with Mr. Ferris,” She says as he approaches her.

Henry puts his hands on each side of the table, trapping her against it and his body. “I could,” He leans down and kisses her neck softly. “But then I wouldn’t have an excuse to come see you,” Henry adds, kissing the other side of her neck.

She giggles, taking his face with both hands and kissing his lips. “Did you sleep well?” Liese asks, looking into his eyes. “I swear, you looked so at peace when I left that I couldn’t bring myself to disturb you,” She says.

“I did, actually,” He replies, taking a seat at one of the comfortable chairs in front of her table. “Your mattress is wonderful. It’s like sleeping in a cloud,” He says and the woman chuckles. “Matter of fact, it’s the first time in a very long time that I sleep past nine.”

“Why? Kal doesn’t let you stay longer?” Liese asks with a content smile on her lips.

“Well, that and I just can’t stay in bed at all,” The man nods.

“I can think of ways to make you stay,” She starts and Henry’s eyes darken immediately, looking up at her.

“Hmm, I like where your mind is going,” He says, leaning towards her and reaching his hand to caress her thighs. “You have a nice office,” The man adds but he hadn’t even taken a look around her office. “Tell me, have you ever had some fun in here?”

The doctor smirks, pushing his shoulder back and straddling his lap.

Henry’s hands immediately find her waist. “Not today, Mr. Cavill,” She whispers against his lips. “Perhaps when you come back for your visit to see the facility,” Liese teases with a hand caressing his chest. “Right now, I’m afraid I’m kicking you out.”

He was about to kiss her lips when Liese suddenly stands up, making Henry pout. “Seriously?” He asks, looking up at her incredulously.

“Mmhm,” The doctor hums with a nod. “One of my friends was already naming our children earlier. I don’t want to give them the tea,” She confesses. “But I’m looking forward to our date tonight,” Liese smiles at him.

“I’m looking forward to it, too,” He replies, standing up and bringing her body closer to his with one hand. “Our children, huh?” He says as they part their lips.

Liese chuckles. “Yeah. Apparently, our ‘good genes’ would result in beautiful babies,” She makes air quotes.

“Well, I concur,” Henry nods, making the woman chuckle again.

“Let’s take baby steps, okay?” She says. “The date first.”

“Sure. Pick you up at seven?” He suggests.

Liese nods. “Sounds great,” Then she stands on her tiptoes to kiss his lips while resting both hands on his chest. “Now, allow me to walk you out, Mr. Cavill.”

“Please, lead the way, Dr. Hartmann,” He plays along again, making her laugh in amusement.

She straightens her clothes a little before opening the door and walking out with Henry following. At the door, they shake hands again. “Thank you for coming by, Mr. Cavill. I really appreciate your interest,” The doctor says and Henry almost laughs at the real meaning of those words.

“Of course, ma’am. I’ll have my manager to call you with a date,” He replies.

“Great. Have a nice day,” Liese smiles.

“You too, ma’am,” The man smiles before walking away.

The woman watches as he walks towards his car and turns her back when he gets into it. Amelie, the young woman at the front desk, has a smirk on her face when Liese looks at her.

“He looks so much more handsome in person, right?” She says, smiling like a real fangirl.

“I’d say so, yes,” The doctor agrees, chuckling at her.

“And he smells so good too!” Amelie adds excitedly.

Now Liese laughs. “Yeah, okay Amelie. If anyone asks for me, I’m in my office,” She says, already walking back there.

She sighs when she closes the door and a silly smile plays in her lips. The keychain sitting in her desk makes her feel like a teenager as she recalls everything that just happened in her office.

But she doesn’t allow herself to keep doing that as she has a lot of work to get done. So, the woman pushes off the door and walks around the desk, sitting behind it. Liese puts her keys into her purse before focusing on the paperwork that needed attention.

That’s when there’s a knock on the door and then Sierra slips right into the room without even waiting for an answer.

“Nooo,” Liese whines, sitting back on her chair and pitching the bridge of her nose.

“Soulmates, you guys are soulmates, I’m telling you!” Her friend starts, taking a seat at the chair Henry was in minutes ago. “You guys look so good together. Brangelina ain’t shit compared to you guys.”

“Sie, I really need to read these,” She points at the documents.

Her friend nods. “I’ll be quick. He’s just so handsome…”

Liese rolls her eyes and sits back on her chair. For the next forty minutes – yeah, that long –, Sierra explains how they’re perfected for each other, even googling Henry to point out things they have in common. Lunchtime is no different, except this time her friend has allies to convince Liese as to why she should ask the actor out on a date.

In the afternoon, the woman has the desired peace she wanted to go through the paperwork carefully. She gets a lot of things done until the time to leave arrives but she actually goes back to Carol’s room. They talk for a while and Liese asks the little girl to teach her how to do the waterfall braid by herself.

Before she could be late for her date, she gets an Uber home. “Good evening, Mr. Ferris. Got anything for me today?” She smiles kindly at the elder man, leaning on the front desk.

“Dr. Hartmann, hello,” He smiles at her. “Just a couple today,” Mr. Ferris says, turning around to the mailboxes. “A very polite gentleman came looking for you last night and I told him your apartment number because he didn’t seem like a bad person to me,” He says calmly as he turns back around towards Liese with her mail. “I hope it’s alright for you. If not, I’m terribly sorry, I-”

The woman interrupts him, shaking her head and resting a hand above his. “It’s quite alright, Mr. Ferris. Really,” She reassures him. “Also, I’m sure you saw him leaving this morning,” She winks at him.

“Well, I’m not one to pry on anyone’s business,” He shrugs off, making her laugh.

“You’re the best, Mr. Ferris,” Liese leans forward to kiss his cheek. “Thank you so much,” She says before moving away.

The elder man chuckles at her. “He seems to be very nice, Dr. Hartmann,” Mr. Ferris adds.

“He is, Mr. Ferris,” She looks back at him. “And you can call me Liese,” The woman smiles.

“Sure. When you start calling me Carl,” He says nonchalantly, smiling at her later.

Liese waves at him before getting into the elevator. She doesn’t bother to check the mail; she simply discards it on the console table by the front door. The doctor goes straight to the bathroom, taking a relaxing shower. Then she applies a face mask and realizes she doesn’t know what to wear.

The woman panics as she stares at her closet. “Hey, gorgeous,” Henry says as he picks up the call and Liese can sense a smile on his face, making her smile as well.

“Hi, handsome,” She giggles, amused by the exchange. “Where are you taking me? I don’t know what to wear,” She confesses. “And don’t worry about ruining surprises, I don’t know many restaurants and I won’t Google it.”

Henry chuckles at her bluntness and she feels a chill running down her spine just by the sound of it. “It’s a place called Clos Maggiore,” He replies.

“Sounds fancy. Okay, I know exactly what to wear. You’ll love it,” She says, picking a hanger and looking at the dress.

“I’m pretty sure I’d love anything you decided on,” The man replies.

Liese snorts. “I wouldn’t be that sure,” She says. “Anyway, I have to get ready.”

“There’s still an hour and a half until I have to pick you up,” He points out.

“Yeah, well. Some of us weren’t born that handsome,” The woman replies. “Plus, I’ll make sure you will need to pick your jaw from the floor when you see me,” She teases.

He chuckles again. “Okay, I’ll let you go then. See you soon.”

“Bye,” Liese blows him a kiss before hanging up.

The woman leaves the dress on her bed and picks a pair of high heel sandals. She also decides on jewelry and then washes the face mask off. Liese decides on a simple makeup and, by the time she’s styling her hair, her phone starts to ring. Propping it against the vanity mirror, she answers the FaceTime call.

“Hey Gustav,” She says.

“Lis, it’s poker night. You coming?” Her brother asks without even looking at her. “Oh wow, you’re all dolled up,” He says, finally looking at her.

She frowns. “It’s Wednesday,” She points out. “And, no, I won’t come. I have a date.”

Gustav laughs right away. “No, you don’t. I don’t believe that for a second,” He says and she rolls her eyes. “What are you really up to?” He asks.

“A date,” The woman insists. “I don’t have time to talk right now. I will call you later if feel like it,” She says, pulling her curling iron down.

“No, don’t hang up. Come to poker nig-” Her brother tries but she hangs up on his face anyway.

She ignores Gustav calling again and puts on the dress, smoothing it on her body while analyzing her reflection on the mirror. Heels, accessories and some perfume later, the woman gathers a few things in a small clutch. When she picks up a trench coat from her closet, Henry sends her a text, letting her know that he’s waiting for her in the lobby.

On my way down.

She replies before shoving her phone into the clutch. Liese dresses the coat and turns off the lights, waking out of her studio apartment. The elevator ride is very quick and, soon enough, she spots Henry’s large form when the doors open. He has his back towards her and turns around when he hears the sound of heels against the floors.

True to her words, Henry has to pick his jaw from the floor when he sees her. The burgundy velvet dress hugs her form perfectly, the deep V neck showing the curve of her breasts. She styled the silver hair with beachy waves, much like he had seen in the morning, looking very natural.

“Y-You’re… Uh… Wow,” Henry stutters as she walks towards him. “You’re stunning,” He manages to blurt out.

Liese chuckles slightly, greeting him with a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks, but I don’t believe it,” She says. “You said the same thing when I was wearing scrubs,” Liese explains with a pointed look and he chuckles.

“It’s not about the clothes,” The man replies with a soft look on his face and she almost melts.

“Well, you’re very handsome yourself,” She praises, a hand running under the lapel of his coat.

Henry’s wearing a deep blue three-piece suit with a gray dress shirt, two buttons popped open to reveal some chest hair. On top of that, he has a thick dark coat. His curled short hair falls over his forehead, making him look both adorable and extremely hot. Overall, he could make Liese wet if he smirked at her.

She’s simply glad that she went all the way because she’d feel extremely underdressed if she had chosen something different.

“Thanks,” He smiles at her.

“Looking very good, Dr. Hartmann,” Mr. Ferris says and suddenly Liese remembers him.

She looks his way and smiles. “Thanks, Mr. Ferris.”

“Shall we?” Henry asks and she looks back at him.

“Sure. Good night, Mr. Ferris,” The woman bids goodbye to the elder man.

“See you soon, sir,” The actor says to Mr. Ferris.

“Have a good time,” He wishes.

“Thanks,” The couple replies at the same time.

Henry leads Liese outside with a hand on the small of her back. “This one,” He steers her to a black Bentley, completely different from the SUV he drove her there yesterday.

“Nice car,” She praises as he opens the door for her.

He chuckles. “Thanks,” He says.

The man walks around the car while she buckles the belt. “How many cars do you have?” She asks, looking at him with a smile.

“A few,” Henry shrugs off and she raises both eyebrows. “I like cars,” He says and she chuckles.

“Sure,” She says.

“How about you?” He asks, starting the car.

“As of now, zero,” Liese replies. “The only car I want it’s my brother’s and I haven’t been lucky these last few years.”

“Really?” He glances at her.

“Yeah,” She nods. “I don’t mind taking the tube, in fact, I don’t care at all.”

“You’re very humble, aren’t you?” Henry chuckles.

“I am, actually,” She says. “I appreciate you taking me to this restaurant, don’t get me wrong, but I also could do a pub with oily snacks and a pint,” The man glances at her again with an amused expression. “I was raised with boys,” She shrugs off.

“At least I already know where our second date is gonna be,” He says.

“Oh, honey. You’re so hopeful,” Liese jokes and laughs at his expression.

The ride to Covent Garden is not long but filled with chit chat. Soon, Henry pulls over in front of the restaurant. He leaves the car and quickly makes his way around it to open the door to Liese. He helps her out and offers his arm like a real gentleman.

With arms linked, the couple gets into the restaurant, not before Henry could praise Liese again. “Good evening,” The hostess smiles at them as they approach.

“Good evening. We have a reservation under the name Cavill,” He says.

She nods, quickly typing on her iPad. “Of course, allow me to show you to your seats,” The hostess says, turning around.

The couple follows her into the bar section, the walls covered by green plants, what both amazes Liese and makes her wonder if it’s real. Red leather contrasts with orange wood and brown seats. Two rooms are just like that before they get into a room with cherry blossoms covering the ceiling with twinkling lights intertwined in it.

“Oh wow,” Liese murmurs, looking up at the cherry blossoms.

Henry has to guide her the rest of the way because she isn’t able to tear her eyes away from it. The hostess leads them to a more secluded table but placed in the same gorgeously decorated space.

“May I take your coats?” The woman guiding them asks.

The man nods and then proceeds to help Liese out of her coat. She’s still mesmerized by her surroundings to the point she doesn’t take her eyes away from the ceiling as Henry helps seat down too. He removes his coat, handing it to the hostess before taking a seat across from Liese.

“A waiter will be with you soon,” The hostess says, holding both of their coats. “Have a nice diner.”

“Thank you,” Henry says to the woman and then looks back at his date when she leaves. A smile forms in his lips. “Well? What do you think?” He asks and she finally looks back at him.

“This place is gorgeous,” She says, reaching out to take his hand. “Thank you so much for bringing me here,” She adds sincerely and Henry smiles wider.

“You’re very welcome,” He starts. “But it’s not as gorgeous as you are,” The man praises once again.

For the first time since they’ve met, Henry sees Liese blushing. At the moment he opens his mouth to say something else, the waiter arrives at their table. He handles both of them menus and waits for them to decide on what to eat. Henry picks a bottle of wine and the waiter praises his choice before walking away.

“Très bien,” Liese says in French in a joking manner.

He smiles at her immediately. “Do you speak French too?” He asks, teasing.

“Non pas du tout,” She chuckles at her joke and he joins her. “I mean, I can remember bits from school but, fluently, only German and English.”

“When did you move here?” Henry asks.

“I’m British, Henry,” The woman giggles, answering his question. “I did live in Germany for a while when I was a teenager, but I was born and raised in Hampstead,” She explains.

“I’d never know,” He shakes his head slightly. “You very German-looking,” He adds.

“Well, my mother is half German and my father is totally German,” She says. “Granddad married a German lady, had my mom, she met my dad in an exchange program she was doing there. When she came home, he came looking for her shortly after.”

The waiter comes back with appetizers and the wine bottle Henry ordered. “Thanks,” The actor says to him. “Cheers,” The actor raises his wine glass to clink with hers.

“Cheers,” She smiles and takes a sip.

“About your parents,” He continues the conversation. “Sounds like a Hollywood rom-com,” Henry says and then, he leans forward on the table. “While we’re in this topic, I’m intrigued,” He starts.

“Okay,” Liese nods, nibbling on the appetizer.

“Do you know that I’ve played Superman, right?” He asks, frowning slightly while looking at her.

“Of course,” The woman nods again.

“Oh, okay,” He nods too. “It’s just because you’ve never mentioned anything related to it and people usually point it out right away,” He explains.

Liese chuckles at him. “I work with and very close to children, Cavill. I’d consider myself a really bad doctor for not knowing every superhero film, cartoons, and animations,” She says.

“It makes sense,” Henry agrees, chuckling along with her.

“I just never mentioned because I didn’t think it would gonna make a difference. Would it?” She asks, resting her chin on her palm.

“Not at all,” He shakes his head, opening a smile. “I’m glad you didn’t, actually,” He smiles. “So, tell me, how long have you been working at the foundation?”

Liese proceeds to tell him that she’s one of the founders of it, that’s why she’s the head of the medical staff. Angela Davies, the little girl that named the foundation, was the woman’s patient at St. Thomas’ and is in remission to this day because of her efforts along with her friend, Sierra Jones. So, the two doctors and the patient’s father, who happens to be a millionaire, started the foundation to help other kids.

Liese’s phone doesn’t stop ringing into her purse and she finally looks at it when their food arrives. There were three missed calls from Gustav along with a bunch of texts of him whining about her missing poker’s night. She ignores all of it and leaves her phone at the table, focusing back on their meal.

The conversation is very easygoing, but the doctor does most of the talking. Henry is trying to get to know her the best he can. She tells him that she practically has three jobs; the formal one at St. Thomas’ Hospital, at the Angela Davies Foundation and a private practice in which she sees patients at home, usually on her downtime. But she explains that she chose not to get paid for the work she does at the foundation and she’s very proud of it.

“I’m really sorry about this,” She says suddenly, taking her phone off the table after the third buzz.

“If you need to take this, I’m okay with it,” Henry reassures.

“No, it’s fine,” She shakes her head, locking the screen. “It’s just my brother annoying me for not coming to poker night,” Liese waves her hand nonchalantly. “He doesn’t believe I’m on a date,” She rolls her eyes.

The man frowns, pretty sure he had seen the name ‘Gustav’ on the screen. “How many brothers do you have, anyway?” He asks.

“Too many,” She widens her eyes slightly, taking a sip of the wine. “After my parents had my older brother,” The woman starts to explain after seeing his face.

“Anton,” He says.

“No, Wolfgang,” Liese corrects him with a chuckle. “Yeah, well. After they had Wolfie, they wanted a girl but Anton came along. They tried again and had me. It was supposed to be it. However, when I was five, my mother got pregnant by ‘accident’,” She makes air quotes. “Identical twins, Gustav and Otto.”

“No way,” Henry chuckles at said ‘accident’.

“Yeah,” The doctor nods. “So, I have four brothers,” She rests her chin on her palm. “This tends to scare guys away,” She confesses, looking at him.

“Well, not me,” He says with a smile.

She smiles at him too. “How about you?” Liese asks, picking up her fork.

“Oddly enough, I have four brothers, too,” The man replies.

“Any sister?” Now she’s the one with the questions because she genuinely didn’t know anything about him.

He shakes his head. “Only brothers.”

“Oh,” She makes a face. “Your poor mother,” The woman jokes.

Henry chuckles. “She’s a strong woman,” He says, clearly proud of her.

“I bet,” She smiles. “Are you older than the rest?”

“No,” The man shakes his head again. “I have three older brothers; Piers, Niki, and Simon; and one younger brother, Charlie.”

“Well, at least you’re not the one who’s always being compared to the others,” Liese chuckles.

“My family is not like that,” He explains.

“Good. Mine neither,” She sips her wine again.

“What do you mean when you said your brother doesn’t believe you’re on a date?” Henry asks, interested in that.

The woman pauses for a bit, licking her lips. “I don’t… Go on dates,” She replies slowly.

“What?” He laughs in disbelief. “You’re one of the most stunning women I’ve ever seen in my life. How come you don’t have guys asking you out?” The man asks, completely dumbfounded.

“I mean, they do,” Liese shrugs slightly. “I just don’t go,” She explains. “My last relationship was… disappointing, to say the least. So, I kinda gave up on that and focused on work,” Liese confesses. “I have a lot of that, anyway,” She chuckles bitterly.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Henry says, sounding genuine. “And I hope you didn’t give up on it completely.”

“Well, I’m here, ain’t I?” She smiles at him.

“And I really appreciate it,” He says and gets a wink in response as she takes a bite of the food.

Liese’s phone vibrates on her lap and she has an idea. “This might sound idiotic, but do you mind if I take a photo of you?” She asks out of the blue. “I mean, you handsome as fuck, but I think it’d make my brother shut up,” She explains and he laughs.

“I don’t mind as long as you let me take photos of you too,” He bargains. “I’d love to brag about you to my brothers.”

“Photos?” She raises an eyebrow with a smile. “Well, that escalated quickly. I just need one,” She chuckles, raising her phone towards him. “Give me your best, Superman,” The woman says after taking a few pics of him serious and he chuckles at her words. “Thanks,” She bites her lips, choosing one picture.

“My turn?” He asks, taking his phone from the inner pocket of the jacket.

“Snap away, handsome,” Liese says, cropping the photo so it just shows from his cute chin and below. “Cameras don’t love me as they love you, though,” She smiles, glancing up at him. “I’m not a Hollywood star,” Liese teases him and looks back down at her phone and sending the photo to Gustav.

“I have to disagree on that,” The man says. “You look amazing,” He adds. “But I want you to pose for me, too.”

He’s snapping photos of her since she said he could but she poses to him anyway and he takes quite a few amazing shots. Then, the woman’s phone vibrates on her lap again with a new text from Gustav and she glances down at the notification.

Hm, Jaeger-LeCoultre. Fancy. Very. Fancy. Who’s that? Show me his face.

She rolls her eyes at the text and decides to turn off the phone. “What did he say?” Henry asks, amused by her reaction.

“I think the only thing he saw was your watch,” She says, rolling her eyes.

He chuckles. “So, poker night?” The man furrows his brows.

“Well,” Liese chuckles. “My brothers always included me in everything and my family never had the gender separation nonsense. Like, this is for boys and this is for girls,” She explains.

“That sounds like parenting done right,” Henry says, making her smile wider.

“Exactly! That’s how I want to do in my family, too,” She says.

The lamp goes off in his head as the man sips the wine. Finally, the questions that really matter to know one’s intentions for the long term.

“You want a family?” He asks.

She nods right away. “Of course. And a big one, too,” She replies, unintentionally pleasing Henry with it. “I think I’d feel void without at least three kids,” She chuckles. “I don’t know about you, but my teenage mornings were very chaotic with a family of seven and I honestly miss it.”

“Mine was, too,” Henry smiles, nodding too. “And I quite agree with you. I’d feel like something’s missing.”

“Yes!” The woman doesn’t hide her excitement. “But I’d like to have more than one girl so she won’t suffer alone the pain that is to share the bathroom with boys,” She chuckles.

“Two girls sound nice,” He agrees again. “To be honest, I can’t stand the thought of guys touching my baby girl or girls. So, I change my mind, no girls,” He says and she laughs.

“You’re so silly,” Liese shakes her head slightly. “So, tell me more about that role you’re trying to get. The one that has hair like mine,” She asks and she’s glad she did because Henry’s eyes light up right away.

For the rest of the diner, she listens Henry talking about this fantasy character named Geralt. He explains how he’s annoying the hell out of the producers since he heard Netflix would make a TV series of it.

They share desert and the actor doesn’t allow Liese to pay half of the bill. He helps her to put her coat the foyer of the restaurant and slips his own before they step out in the cold night. Once again, Henry makes sure to open and close the door for Liese before rushing to the driver’s seat.

Henry tries to persuade her into going to his house by saying that Kal misses her, but the woman declines politely. She has to wake up even earlier tomorrow for her shift at St. Thomas’, so, sleeping in his place is completely out of question.

The drive back to her apartment building is much faster but equally entertaining as they continue talking. However, when he parks in front of it and immediately reaches the door handle, Liese stops him with a hand on his arm.

“Thank you so much for the amazing evening, I had an amazing time,” Liese says honestly, a satisfied smile playing on her lips as she stares into his eyes.

“I had an amazing time, too,” Henry says, smiling at her. “You’re a wonderful woman,” He watches as she unbuckles her belt.

“And you’re a real gentleman,” She starts to lean closer to him. “A dying kind,” She whispers against his lips before sealing it with hers.

His large hands cup her face and she pulls him closer from the neck, deepening the kiss. Things start to get heated quickly and, with a simple hand on her waist, Henry pulls the woman over the car console to his lap. She runs her hands on his chest and he doesn’t realize as she stuffs something in the front pocket of his suit jacket.

She stops everything when he slides his lips to her neck and collarbone, squeezing her ass and making her moan. “I have to get in,” Liese whispers, capturing his lips one last time tonight. “Don’t let Kal have this one,” She says, patting his chest and confusing him as she climbs out of his lap. “Have a good night, Mr. Cavill. I’ll call you,” Liese pecks his lips and winks at him before opening the door and leaving his car.

Henry is completely baffled as he watches her hips sway with a semi hard-on into his pants. Then, a few seconds after she disappeared into the building, he chuckles, shaking his head.

“What a woman,” He says to himself, pushing his hair out of his face and restarting his car.

The man drives home and Kal greets him as usual. He puts food for the big bear before starting to undress. His mind was already going a thousand miles while thinking about Liese, but then he finds what she stuffed into his pocket. Slowly, he pulls the small, lacy piece of underwear from it.

Now it makes sense what she said about not letting Kal have that one.

Henry stares at it for a whole minute, wondering at what point the woman slid it off because he didn’t notice at all. She was definitely wearing it because it smells like her and it’s still warm. With his mouth still dropped open, Henry grabs his phone and snaps a photo of the pantie.

Are you kidding me? When did you take this off?, he texts her.

While we’re slightly making out in the car. I hope you liked the gift ;p, she texts back almost immediately.

I did, but I prefer taking it out myself, Henry replies.

I’m sorry, my shift at St. Thomas’ starts very early tomorrow. I’ll repay you soon, I promise xo, her last text says.

The man simply shakes his head with a smile on his face while Liese does the same in her apartment.

* * *

— CHAPTER V: BOYFRIEND MATERIAL

[sincerelyreidburke]

Hey again! So like, you are under no obligation, and I send you too many asks anyway but... if you're down for writing Spencer's reaction to A FROSH GETTING EVAN THE AUDACITY I would be so pleased :) lol

First of all: you don’t send me too many asks. I believe the phrase you’re looking for is “I enable you to write fun things often”. Which is highly encouraged, in this establishment.

Second: yes. And for those who aren’t Via, let me enlighten you. Spencer is a Kiersey College drama club OC, part of the group of characters I created to enhance Quinn’s college drama club experience (and to have more fun on “Quinn Theatre Hours” Monday nights). You can read a comprehensive introduction to the drama club cast in this fic, which tells the story of the week leading up to Quinn’s casting in Dear Evan Hansen his freshman year.

Spencer is... hm, how shall we say. A giant asshole. He’s a junior theatre kid who fully expects that the role of Evan will land neatly in his lap. This ficlet depicts as much. It takes place pretty much simultaneously with the casting fic I linked to above.

This is also a precursor of sorts to a longer drama club fic, which I’m working on, that Via has also asked after. Stay tuned for that, because there is where you’ll see some serious, well... drama.

Until then: Spencer can choke. I’m entertained by the fact that I’m now being asked to write things from the point of view of the bully. Here’s what you asked for!

//

Today is going to be an amazing day.

And here’s why. Spencer has been waiting— all week, certainly, but also for months, even since the school year began, to see something he finally gets to see today. During all three of his years at Kiersey, the spring musical has been something to look forward to, but especially this year, with so much riding on it. Today, the cast list goes up for the biggest show of his life. Today, he confirms his place in a  role he’s been dreaming of playing for months. Today, he starts to lead this year’s cast.

He knows that the show was chosen for him. Dr. C is notorious for it— she’s not shy about choosing shows based on who she has available for casting. It’s resourceful, Spencer has told her time and again; after all, you have to work with what you have. It’s like how she chose Book of Mormon last year for him— well, and for Reid, he guesses, but mostly for him. And how the director at his and Kelsie’s high school chose Thoroughly Modern Millie for the two of them their senior year.

He planted the seed for Dear Evan Hansen in Dr. C’s head last spring, an offhanded mention in a conversation, right around the time Book of Mormon was closing. He forwarded her a few articles over the summer, just to jog her interest, and he and Kelsie even went to New York to see the show in June, so he typed up a review and sent it her way. When he arrived on campus this past fall, he was thrilled to hear she’d taken his advice. It would be their spring 2018 show.

His audition went just as expected, and he read for Evan during his callback. So this morning, when he rolls out of bed at five-thirty sharp, it’s the first thing on his mind, without a doubt in it. Today is the day he starts being Evan Hansen.

He deserves this.

To start his great day, he grabs a morning workout, like always. In the gym, he sees one of the freshmen who auditioned, using an elliptical and wearing pink leggings. She has curly, golden blond hair piled into a high ponytail, full lips, and tan skin. Her name is… Maddie? Mallory? He isn’t sure, but what does it matter anyway. She was in callbacks with him last night, and she wasn’t projecting well.

So he doesn’t say hello, and doesn’t even think she’ll notice him until he passes her as he’s leaving. She’s refilling a water bottle with stickers all over it, and she waves. “Hey, Spencer.”

“Oh!” He pretends to be surprised. “Hi, Maddie.”

“Uh.” She chuckles a little, and shakes her head. “It’s— Maggie, actually.”

“Oh. Sorry about that.” He stops in front of her, and bends down— she’s a little short— to deliver a word for the wise. “Hey, by the way… don’t take it too hard if you aren’t cast in a bigger role today.” She arches an eyebrow, and he continues, because she ought to know. “There just aren’t a lot of roles that would fit… you, y’know?”

It doesn’t look like Maggie understands what he means, but she shrugs and folds her arms, all standoffish. “Well, good luck to you, too.”

“Thank you!” He flashes a smile. “It’s always great to see beginners joining the musical.”

Maggie purses her lips and scowls as he turns to go. Huh. What a bitch. He was only telling her what she needed to hear.

Well, it’s her loss. Freshmen rarely ever get speaking roles. And it’s not like Zoe is going to anybody besides Kelsie.

He texts his girlfriend on the way out of the gym. Kelsie is an early riser, too, but she doesn’t work out in the morning like he does. By now, in her morning routine, she’ll be through with her shower and doing her hair.

They meet for breakfast every morning, but this morning, it’ll be a quick affair. The cast list goes up at 9:00 sharp in the Beckett Performing Arts Center lobby, and they have every intention to be the first ones there.

So Spencer showers and gets dressed, donning a blue shirt for the occasion. He meets up with Kelsie in the lobby of their dorm, and they walk to the dining hall hand-in-hand, leaving right around 8:00. It’s sunny out today, but still freezing cold.

“So,” she asks him, as they stroll down the sidewalk. “Any bold predictions?” She pauses to grin and bump against his hip, as she adds, “Besides the obvious.”

Spencer beams. He loves their relationship for so many reasons, but especially because they support each other so well. “Well,” he begins, pulling his stocking cap down on his head. “I think Reid is a dead ringer for Jared.” Which will be easy, because although Reid is unfunny at best, Spencer is used to working with him; he got well accustomed to it on Book of Mormon.

“Oh, absolutely.” Kelsie nods. “And I think… Claire, as Heidi? I can’t be sure, but—” She pauses for an exaggerated eyeroll, which is absolutely warranted, because Claire is such a goody two-shoes it’s insufferable. “I know Dr. C likes giving her principal roles.”

“Which I, for one, do not understand,” he quips.

“Tell me about it.” Kelsie sighs, then shakes her head. “But I could see Claire going that way.”

“I could, as well.” He pauses, racks his brain of the names on the audition list. He checked it religiously, to see who was trying to get involved, even after he had secured his spot as first on the list. “And… hm… alright, I’m not saying I’d like to see Danny Cho as Larry, but given they didn’t run his part in callbacks at all last night…”

“Mm,” Kelsie hums. “I think you’re right. That’s a shame. His singing is suspect at best.”

“And his acting…” He sighs. “I hope he can pull it off.”

“Maybe he can.” Kelsie swings his hand a little, and they sidestep for a rushing student who must be late to their eight-AM class. When they regain sidewalk space, she looks to him, smoothing her bangs, and asks, “And Connor?...”

“Hm.” Spencer’s mind lands on someone, but it’s an underwhelming thought. “Cole?”

“Oh.” Kelsie pauses, like she forgot he existed. Which is easy to do, because Cole, the sophomore he’s thinking of, is quiet and irrelevant. Spencer was surprised to see him audition; he played guitar in the pit for Book of Mormon, and from there he always assumed he was a fly-under-the-radar type. But he read all of Connor’s parts in callbacks. “Well, he has the look.”

“It’s a typecast,” he agrees. “He seems… sketchy?”

“Right? Kind of a weirdo,” Kelsie says. She raises an eyebrow at him, and asks, “Do you think you could work with him?”

“Well, it isn’t like I’ll have much of a choice,” he remarks. “But who knows? Maybe someone else will get Connor.”

“Maybe.” Kelsie pauses, then smiles and says, “You can do it.”

He kisses her cheek, as they walk along. “Thank you.”

From there, they move onto a rehearsal schedule tangent. It’s not until they’re almost at the dining hall that casting gets brought up again. “What about that kid?” Kelsie asks, suddenly, almost laughing. “The really short one, the freshman? Could he beat out Cole or Danny?”

“Oh…” Spencer thinks he knows who she means. “Scarf kid?” When she nods, he laughs out loud. “I highly doubt he’ll be seeing the cast list. I mean, Kels, he’s a freshman.”

“That’s true.” She shrugs. “You did get Anthony freshman year, though…”

He straightens a little as he walks, because it still makes him proud to think about Sweeney Todd freshman year. “I reserve myself as a small exception to the rule.”

Kelsie grins. “You’re gonna be great, babe,” she says, and even though he knows he will be, it still feels nice to hear it.

Breakfast is very nice. He has scrambled eggs and sausage patties from the grill, and she has a fruit salad with unsweetened tea, in accordance with her New Year’s weight-loss diet. They have a breakfast table in the corner, by tradition, and they even see Reid when they’re in there. He’s eating with his girlfriend, and flashes jazz hands at the both of them, with a grin. “Happy casting day!”

Spencer wonders, just slightly, if Reid has seen the cast list yet. He may be a student, but he’s drama club president all the same, and maybe he has pre-existing knowledge. But on second thought, Spencer doesn’t think Dr. C would do that. She doesn’t even give him advance knowledge of casting, and he would venture to call himself her favorite student.

So he just waves to Reid, because he and Kelsie are on their way out. “Morning, Reid.” There’s something like a shit-eating grin on Reid’s face, so he can’t resist asking. “Have you seen the list yet?”

“Oh, yeah, dude!” Reid kicks back in his chair. “Didn’t you hear the good news? I’m Evan!”

Spencer’s soul leaves his body. “You— I’m sorry, what?”

“I’m so excited.” Reid smooths out his hair before he dusts off his graphic tee. “Tell me— do you think I’ll look good in striped blue?”

This is not real life. “You can’t be serious.”

“No, tell him, Bri!” Still grinning, Reid looks to his girlfriend, this chubby art student who always has ceramic work on display in the admissions lobby. “Weren’t we just discussing how lovely my angelic voice will sound on Words Fail?”

Bri nods, with her chin in her hands. “Oh, for sure.”

Reid throws his hands up, all smiles. “See?”

Kelsie steps forward, like she’s about to say something. And just as Spencer’s heart is set to beat out of his chest, Reid doubles over and bursts out laughing. “Jesus, Spencer,” he says, smacking the table. “I’m just fucking with you, dude. Could you not tell I was joking?”

“Well, he’s a little on edge,” Kelsie cuts in. “We both are.”

Reid shrugs, putting his hands behind his head like his dining hall chair is actually a lounge chair on the beach. “Well,” he remarks. “I have seen the list, but it’s not up for another…” He glances at the big clock on the wall in the dining room. “Fourteen minutes, so you won’t hear any leaks from me.”

“Wait, really?” he asks. “Have you actually seen it.”

Reid shrugs, making a face like he’s just been instructed to ‘do a silly one’ in a family portrait.

Spencer hates Reid Burke. He’s never really been sure about this fact until today. It’s partly the fact that Reid is still kind of grinning, like this is some big joke— Reid treats everything like a big joke— and partly the fact that he knows, even if he resorted to groveling (which he will not), that he truly won’t get any leaks out of him. Even with fifteen minutes left until he’ll see it himself, it’s tantalizing to know that Reid is sitting right here with full knowledge of the cast, and won’t say a word.

And by the way, what the hell, Dr. C? Since when does she leak the cast list to students?

But standing here being mad at Reid isn’t going to make the list go up faster, so he rolls his eyes, as Reid zips his lips, and says, “Well, I’ll see you later.”

“Bye,” Kelsie adds, like she is less than enthused that she wasted three minutes of her life on this useless conversation. Which is exactly how Spencer feels.

“Idiot,” he mutters, as they walk away, and doesn’t even care if he’s in earshot. “He almost gave me a heart attack.”

“Spence,” Kelsie says, taking his hand to squeeze it. “You know you have nothing to worry about.”

“I know,” he replies, because she’s right, “but what’s up with Dr. C letting Reid see the list early? How does that work? I practically picked the show—”

“It’s bullshit,” she replies, as they bust their breakfast trays. “You should say something to her, later.”

“I think I will,” he says. He’s already planning what he’ll say, as they leave the dining hall and head at a brisk pace in the direction of Beckett. It’s a quick walk, fueled by both of their adrenaline, and when they reach the double doors, Spencer takes one last breath of crisp winter air before walking inside.

Dr. C is in the lobby, crossing from the direction of Beck 1C, where the board is, back toward her office. She’s in a multicolored knit sweater, and she holds her head high, a surefire sign she just did something important. “Good morning, Dr. C,” he says, with a chipper wave. “Is the list up? We wanted to be the first ones to see it.”

“Yes.” Dr. C nods, adjusting her glasses as she stops a moment to talk to them. “It was definitely difficult to cast, and… some people may not be happy, but it’s the best fitting for the programme, as we say.”

Her wording is cryptic, but it always is. Two and a half years in her inner circle, and he knows her well. “Ah, I’m sure you picked the right people,” he says, with a wink.

Dr. C looks between him and Kelsie, then nods. “I’m confident I did,” she says, and it gives him an extra thrill of excitement. A quick glance to Kelsie and she’s smiling like she won the lottery. “Have a nice morning, you two!” Dr. C says, as she starts for her office again.

Kelsie blows her a kiss, and Spencer waves. When they meet eyes again, he takes her hand, and looks to the corner where the bulletin board is.

“Ready?” she asks him.

It’s time.

“Never more ready,” he replies, and together, they walk to the board with its promised sheet of paper.

The anticipation is adrenaline enough. Spencer knows what he’ll find on the list, but is still eager to get to it, to see his name at the top. They round the corner, and there’s the list, fresh white against the board’s maroon paper base. It’s only a few more steps.

When they get there, Kelsie sees it first. She leans forward, then recoils, like she’s been burned. “What?!” she cries, loud enough to be heard inside the actual auditorium.

“Kels? What’s wrong?” He wonders if Claire beat her out for Zoe. He consults the list to investigate, and— and— oh.

Right around then is when the world stops turning.

*

“Quinn Cooper?” Kelsie is staring at the list, her arms crossed over her chest, a permanent scowl etched on her perfect face. “The scarf freshman? Are they kidding?”

Spencer feels frozen. He stares at the list in disbelief, reads it up and down again and again. He feels like he’s been standing here for twenty minutes, but it’s probably only been two or three.

DEAR EVAN HANSEN

Cast & Crew List

Evan Hansen: Quinn Cooper

Connor Murphy: Cole Kolinsky

Zoe Murphy: Claire Deshaies

Heidi Hansen: Allison Halterman

Larry Murphy: Daniel Cho

Jared Kleinman: Reid Burke

Cynthia Murphy: Kelsie Wilkes

Alana Beck: Maggie Atkins

U/S Evan: Spencer Bergen

It’s fake. One of Reid’s practical jokes. They’re all out to play a big junior-year prank on him. Everyone is in on it. Including the scarf freshman.

There’s. No. Way.

“This is—” Kelsie sputters, then shakes her head. “I can’t believe this.”

“I won’t believe this,” he says, speaking for the first time since he saw the list. “There has to be some kind of mistake.”

“Um, I would sure hope so,” she says, popping the p in ‘hope’. “This is— this is a joke.”

Quinn Cooper. The freshman the size of a hobbit. Who wears scarves to every drama club meeting. Who’s barely been at Kiersey for half a year. Who just stole the role of his dreams right out from under him.

Spencer absolutely cannot believe this. “I have to talk to Dr. C,” he says, and it’s more an out-loud realization than anything, but he turns on his heel and marches straight for her office as soon as the words are out. “Like. Right now.”

*

But talking to Dr. C is a useless affair. “I work with what I’m given, Spencer,” she says, sitting behind her desk like some kind of supervillain, more closed-off to him than he’s ever seen her. “The cast may not look exactly how you imagined it, but some of the newer students showed real promise this year.”

“But Dr. C—” He paces in front of her desk. “I suggested the show. I practiced all summer. I thought for sure—”

“Spencer, I chose the show on my own accord,” she says, evenly. “It’s true I take input from students, but that has no bearing on my casting decisions.”

He throws his hands in the air. “But you have to see how this is unfair to me—”

“I think,” she cuts in, in this icy tone that’s usually reserved for people who fuck up majorly, and never for him, not in his entire time at Kiersey, “that once you see how the cast falls together, you’ll respect the casting decisions I made as your director.”

He sputters and rants, but he doesn’t dare disrespect her, no matter how much she’s betrayed him.

And so it goes. He’s lost out on his role, in his spring musical, to some no-name freshman who probably can’t even belt.

And just in case there needed to be a cherry on top, he’s his understudy. Of all things. How humiliating.

Spencer’s life is over.

It’s not until much later that day, when he’s sulking in Kelsie’s dorm room, mourning his lost musical season, that the idea for a solution crosses his mind.

It’s sort of her idea, but sort of his. She, at least, brings it up. “Spence,” she says, nudging his arm. He’s been scrolling mindlessly through Twitter for who knows how long, while she flips through her newly acquired script. “Y’know… you’re his understudy.”

“Well, jeez, Kels, I hadn’t noticed,” he snaps, dropping his phone onto the bed. “Thanks for reminding me.”

“That wasn’t my point,” she replies, scowling. “What I meant was… you’re his understudy.”

He knows she isn’t stupid enough to say the same thing twice over, so he tries to read her meaning. She’s gesturing, like she wants him to get it, and on top of the day he’s had, he doesn’t appreciate being made to feel like an idiot. He’s about to tell her as much when something dawns on him.

Something in the form of very, very useful knowledge. “And that means…” he says. “I perform if he can’t.”

A wise smile crosses Kelsie’s face. “Exactly.”

“So all we have to do is…” He nods. It’s taking shape in his head now. His spring musical season may not be completely lost.

Kelsie’s fingernails dance over his knee. “You’re getting it.”

“Figure out a way to inhibit his ability to perform,” he finishes. He loves her so much. “Kels. You’re right.”

“I’m right?” Her smile goes innocent. “What are you talking about, babe? That was all your idea.”

For the first time since before the saw the list, he smiles, too. He wonders if he looks as conniving as he feels. “I might be able to figure this out,” he says.

“That you might,” she replies, with a nod. “All we have to do is figure out what that looks like.”

To save his musical, Spencer is very much willing to figure that out.

[butterflydreaming-writes-fic]

*sweats* I'm excited to offer a gift fic for @imthatpeculiarone in this round of the Profound Bond Gift Exchange: Reunion. 

Title: This Wheel's on Fire 

Word Count: 3,419 

Fluff, Rated Gen

An old Lincoln Continental with faded paint nearly hits Baby in the supermarket parking lot. Dean slams the brakes. His untasted coffee takes a dive, and Dean is quickly slapping take-out napkins from the glove box stash even as he slides into an open parking spot. He takes a minute of the limited time he has for this errand to get himself calmed down.

His temper flares up again when he sees that he’s parked next to the gold Continental. He doesn’t have time to move the Impala to another spot, so he slides over the bench seat. The Fiat on that side is crookedly parked but still leaves enough space for Dean to open the door more than four inches.

Phone in hand,  he scrolls through Jody’s text messages for the list. While he was driving to the store, she’s added more. He grabs a shopping cart on the way in, notes where the freezer with the ice is, and speeds up an aisle toward the bakery section, where he almost collides with a guy striding through the T-intersection.

“Shit! By bad,” Dean says, stopping short of running the startled man down.

The man squints. His blue eyes burn brighter. “That would be the second time today,” he accuses.

“What?” Dean asks.

The man rolls his eyes. “I don’t have time for this,” he gripes as he beelines for another section of the store.

Dean doesn’t have time either. The cake is ready when he gets to the bakery counter, but they’ve written “Congratulations Kelsy” instead of “Kelly.” To fix it, Dean would have to wait for the only person on staff with the rare skill of being able to write with decorator gel to get back from a break of unknown duration. He takes the cake as-is and a tube of Cake Mate. He rattles through the aisles for the rest of the supplies, eyes the coffee cart, but opts to get in the shortest of the long checkout lines instead.

The cranky guy gets in line behind him.

Their eyes meet and lock. For a second it looks like the guy might yield and move to another line, but as Dean is starting to unload his items onto the belt, the guys interrupts.

“Can I go ahead of you? I only have three things.”

“Sorry, buddy,” Dean says. “I’m on a clock.”

“I’m not your buddy,” Blue Eyes snipes. He eyes Dean’s purchases, expression a mix of irritation and confusion.

“Man, what is your issue with me?” Dean protests. “Look, I haven’t had my coffee yet, so maybe I’m missing something. But I’ve gotta finish shopping and be gone in sixty seconds, OK? There’s a pregnant lady waiting for her cake and baby shower games. I’ll be out of your life in five minutes.”

The man’s face suddenly brightens. “You’re going to a baby shower.” The brilliance of his smile is like white sparks. Dean feels his body respond to the warmth of that smile even though the sudden transformation from pissy to friendly throws him.

The checker has started scanning Dean’s purchases. He gives her the sticker with the barcode for the cake. “And six bags of ice,” he tells her.

Blue Eyes asks, “Is the party for your partner?”

That startles a laugh out of Dean. “No,” he answers, a drawn out negation. “My friend is hosting. The mom-to-be is from her church.” He adds, “I’m not seeing anyone currently.” He gives the guys his own friendly smile.

Dean’s lure lands, because the man extends a hand. “I’m Cas. By the way.”

“Dean.” They shake hands. Cas has a strong grip. In the fleeting skin to skin contact notes the slight callous and Cas’s long fingers. He has good hands.

“It's a happy occasion.” Cas sets down his purchases: a guinea pig plushie, pack of gold gift wrapping tissue, and a glossy white bag decorated with rainbows and unicorns. A tween must be having a birthday. 

Dean reaches for his wallet to pay. It’s not in his pocket. “Crap.” This grocery store isn’t set up to take pay apps.

Cas catches on. “Dean, I’ve got this,” he says. “It’s just,” he gestures at the bags, “diapers and candy bars.” 

“It’s a lot,” Dean objects. “I’ll Venmo you the money right now.”

“I don’t know Venmo,” Cas says. He tells the cashier, “I’ll pay for mine with his.” To Dean he says, “Let’s exchange phone numbers and we can settle up later when we’re not holding up a checkout line.”

“Are you sure?” Dean asks.

“I believe in trusting people.” Cas nearly bumps Dean’s hip putting his card into the payment terminal. When the path is clear, Dean pushes the shopping cart past the checkstand, but for a long moment Cas and Dean are crowded into each other’s personal space. 

“You said you haven’t had coffee yet. Can I buy you a cup?” Cas points to the coffee cart. “I know you’re short on time, but we can get each other’s contact info while they make our drinks.”

They both order drip coffee, black. The barista doesn’t have any brewed, and offers a choice between Americanos or a five minute wait.

“We can blame our delay on traffic,” Cas suggests.

They opt for the wait.

“OK, give me your number,” Dean says after they take a table in the tiny dining area. “If you want I can bring you cash after I drop off the party stuff.”

The cart is too big, so Dean takes out the bags and sets them on the table, leaving the cart parked out of the way. He’ll need it when he gets the ice on the way out. They start out chatting about movies and end up in an oddly intense discussion about social justice and the existence of a benevolent God in the minutes until the barista calls out that their coffees are ready.

Dean takes the lid off and slugs the coffee. He can’t help the sound that comes out of him, even though it is borderline inappropriate for a grocery store. “That’s scalding,” he says, eyes watering, “but so good.” Cas is smiling at him. “My friend woke me up with the shopping emergency,” Dean explains. He gestures to his coffee-splattered clothes. “And then some dick in a crappy Continental makes a illegal left on the way in here — “

“Excuse me ,” Cas interrupts with flashpoint ire. “That turn was both legal and clear , and if your boat hadn’t been taking up two lanes we would not have had that near miss!”

Dean takes a long swallow of hot coffee before he gets in a fight over Baby’s honor. He takes a mental half-step back as he realizes that Cas was the driver earlier. Dean has a bad temper, he knows it, and he’s learned to be better about it than he was in his twenties. Cas had saved his bacon with the money thing, and he had done it in spite of thinking Dean was in the wrong.

“Look. Thanks for the help,” he says. He’s sincere but somehow it comes out sounding aggressive. “I mean it. Thanks.” Without saying anything more, he grabs his bags and stalks out. He makes it all the way to Baby before he realizes. He gets the shopping bags in the trunk and goes back for the forgotten ice.

Cas is walking directly toward him. For a solid three strides across the asphalt it is a game of chicken. They stare daggers at each other, oblivious to any traffic around. Nearly simultaneously, they both realize that Cas is walking to his car, which is parked right next to the Impala, and Dean is walking back into the grocery store. They pass each other; the absence of acknowledgement is an acknowledgement in itself.

Dean makes it back into the store, loads up a shopping cart with the ice Cas paid for, and pushes the rattling cart out the door and across the lot to his car. The Continental is still in its spot. Cas hasn’t left yet; he is sitting in the driver seat. Dean can’t get into his driver’s seat until Cas leaves, so he loads the ice into the trunk slowly. He finishes his coffee.

When Cas still hasn’t left, Dean walks around the Lincoln’s large ass end and raps a knuckle on the back window to get Cas’s attention. He waits for Cas to roll down the window a few inches, before pitching his voice to him. “I can’t get in my car until you pull out,” he tells him.

“Your shopping cart is in the way. I’ve been waiting until it’s safe,” Cas informs him.

Dean just shakes his head and walks away, dragging his cart to the corral at the end of the parking row. He lobs his empty paper cup into the same trash can he dropped the mess from his spilled coffee into. He watches Cas back out of the space, smooth and easy, the engine of the Continental bumbling like a contented bee as he drives away. Dean jogs back to the Impala and slides into the driver seat before a car can take the newly empty spot, not that anything would fill the space like that late ‘70s Lincoln Continental Mark V. 

He gets a weird feeling looking at the empty space. It feels like a missed opportunity. He wishes he’d kept his mouth shut about the left turn. How many times had someone cut him off in traffic or made a bad lane change, and how many of those times mattered after? None. He and Cas had been having a good conversation, connecting.

Dean tunes the radio to the classic rock station, relaxes with the comfortable and familiar, and heads out. Kelly’s address is less than five minutes away, but too many of the residential streets dead end, and by the time he finds the right path through, it’s been a quarter hour. there is space for him in the driveway, though, and he pulls in so that he can unload the ice bags. He tosses one on his shoulder and knocks on the unfamiliar door.

* * *

“I should have handled that better,” Cas says to the stuffed animal, his last minute gift for Kelly’s baby-on-the-way. Her house is close by and he knows the way, so he finds himself thinking about Dean, feelings a mix of irritation and deep attraction. Dean, who he will probably never see again.

Because he knows that quite a few guests will be attending her party, he parks the Lincoln around the block to leave space along the street in front of her home. Kelly Kline-Rooney and her husband Jefferson have a newly remodeled, two-story Craftsman home with a large yard and back garden. Cas drew the plans for the remodel, and over some difficulty with the contractor, he and Kelly became friends.

He’s arrived early to help with set up, but Jody, the organizer — who he meets for the first time — shoos him out of the kitchen, so he gets to spend the time with Kelly. “How are you,” he asks her, “and how’s the baby?”

“I’m good,” she says, “we’re both good.” She heaves a little sigh and fidgets in her armchair. “Actually, I’m a little wound up. I haven’t finished painting the mural in the nursery, and all of a sudden I feel like there won’t be enough time to get anything finished before my baby gets here.” She smooths a hand over her belly. Her expression changes and she gasps, “Oh! Give me your hand.” She takes him by the wrist and pulls his hand toward her baby bump.

He feels her baby kick, all that life, gearing up to meet the world. Cas has to admit, because Kelly has enthusiastically roped him into the experience of her pregnancy, he has become more interested in the idea of having children. It has broadened his outlook.

“Kelly,” he finds himself saying, “I met someone today.”

Her eyes sparkle with interest. “It’s not even ten o’clock yet!” she laughs.

“I met him at the grocery store,” Cas says, shrugging. He smiles, thinking about Dean. His smile breaks as he recalls how it played out. “Unfortunately,” he confesses, “we didn’t part on good terms.”

“Cas,” Kelly mourns. “What happened? Tell me all about it?”

“This beautiful man,” he starts, thinking of Dean, his deep voice and the way he spoke with conviction and certainty. The way he made direct eye contact. The sexy freckles and the shape of his lips.

“Yes?” Kelly prompts when Cas gets lost in thought.

He laughs. “He is… very attractive,” Cas emphasizes. “You know I’m not overly focused on appearances, but Dean.” He shakes his head and looks heavenward. His eyes fall to his hands. He picks at his fingernails. “We almost got into a car accident, and that’s what we ended up fighting about. But before that, we got coffee together and talked, and we exchanged numbers.”

“Well that’s good!” Kelly encourages. “Something sparked between you. You can call him and smooth things out.”

“I wasn’t in the wrong,” Cas grumps.

“No, sweetie. I’m not saying you have to apologize or anything. But you can talk. You only just met. Sometimes first meetings don’t go all that well because of sparks.” She gives him a robust pat on the knee. “I’m rooting for you.” Inching forward in her chair to get up, she sighs, “I miss drinks with booze in them. How about we get some fancy lemonade and pretend it’s rosé?”

“I’ll get it,” Cas says so that Kelly doesn’t have to rise. He enters the kitchen with a hello for Jodi and gets introduced to Patience a moment before she leaves to answer the front door. Cas can hear her greeting the newcomer, and he stops mid-pour when he hears the deep timbre that answers. He finishes pouring Kelly’s sparkling pink lemonade before he musters the question for Jodi, “Is that Dean?”

“You know each other?” Jodi responds with cheerful curiosity.

Patience comes back in, holding up a grocery bag. “Dean came through. I’m going to help him bring in the bags of ice — “

“I can help with that,” Cas interrupts.

“Would you? Thanks!”

The look on Dean’s face when he sees Cas is… not what Cas expected. Dean’s eyes light up, and there is a genuine wonder in his surprise.

  * * *

Missouri’s granddaughter, Patience Turner, waves for Dean to come inside. “Hi Dean! Jody’s in the kitchen.”

“Hiya, Patience. Where can I put the ice? I’ve got five more bags like this.”

“There’s a big cooler out on the barbecue patio,” she says. “Through the living room. I’ll get you some help unloading the car.”

The living room already has a dozen people in it. Dean exchanges salutations with the people he knows and exudes charm at the rest. He shakes out the bag of ice into the cooler, which looks big enough, and scopes out the landing spot for the cake. There is a long table already stocked with plates and plastic cutlery; it has some gifts on it that will need to be moved to join the pile of gifts on the coffee table. Dean registers that one is a white gift bag with unicorns and rainbows on it, stuffed with gold tissue.

Patience is in the entry with Cas.

For a solid beat, Dean doesn’t know what to think, because something in his chest turns over like a big engine revving up. Once the wheels of his mind get going, he still continues standing there like an idiot. “Hey, Cas,” he says.

“Hello, Dean.”

Cas turns and goes out the door. When they reach the Impala, they are alone together, and it is awkward. It is definitely awkward. Cas stands by the trunk, expectantly.

“Here, let me get that,” Dean says. As he unlocks and lifts the heavy lid of the trunk, they are standing too close again. Dean should mind that Cas’s keeps getting into his personal space, but he doesn’t. He wants to get closer. This level of attraction makes him stupid, and he feels the urge to make an offhand comment to sabotage himself.

But then Cas says, “I’m sorry we parted on a bad note.”

“Yeah, um,” Dean answers, “me too.” He knows it’s not enough, not when he’s gotten a second chance. “I mean, I’m sorry, too.” It’s hard to believe it can be that simple, but Cas’s face lights up with hope, so maybe it is. 

“Between the two of us, I’m sure we can get all of this in one trip,” Cas says, and now they have to get moving. Apparently, he is also a pro at self-sabotage. It’s weirdly comforting.

They don’t get much of a chance to talk alone after that. Dean fixes the writing on Kelly’s cake and catches up with Jody, while Cas makes party talk with the people he knows. They chat, but not alone, not until Dean is volunteered to fire up the barbecue and Cas escapes outside with him.

It’s a gas barbecue, and clean. There isn’t much to do while it heats up. “How do you like your burger?” Dean asks, because food is an easy topic.

Cas shrugs. “Well done?”

Dean shakes his head. “A good cut of grass-fed beef, medium rare — that’s a burger to sink your teeth into. Juicy, fresh.”

“I don’t eat much red meat anymore,” Cas says. “I sneak a trip to White Castle once in a rare while.”

“White Castle? You’ve gotta let me make you a real burger, Cas.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Trust the Meat Man,” Dean says, pointing both thumbs back at himself.

Cas squints at him. “You’re very confident in your opinions,” he says.

Dean’s not sure how to take that. “Shouldn’t I be?”

“There’s more than one side to things,” Cas answers.

“A right side and a wrong side?” Dean teases.

“Dean.” Cas gives him an eye roll and a look, a real cut the crap look that delights Dean. He knows he likes arguing with someone who can hold his ground.

“You’re easy to get riled up, y’know that?”

“Am I.” Cas’s tone is flirty.

“Or maybe it’s just easy for me to get your wheels burning,” Dean flirts back.

“How, by disparaging my car?” Cas asks.

Dean blinks. “Your car?”

“You called it ‘crappy’.” He does the air quotes. “It’s not. There’s a lot to love about an old car. As I would think you would know, since you have one yourself.”

“Did you just compare my Impala to your land yacht? How does a guy like you even have a car like that?”

“I like it,” Cas defends.

“It’s still not a Chevy,” Dean says.

“I have never understood the Ford - Chevrolet rivalry,” Cas comments. “They’re not sports teams. It’s bizarre.” He’s serious.

“OK, OK,” Dean responds. “I’m not trying to be an asshole,” he says. He adds on, “It just comes easy to me.”

“So we should just kiss and make up?” Cas asks, making eye contact.

Dean licks his lips. Damn, if that isn’t an invitation.

They both glance at the sliding glass doors and the potential audience inside. “Ah, the garden shed,” Cas starts. “There might be some needed equipment.”

“Yeah, barbecue stuff or,” Dean agrees.

As soon as they are inside the painted shed, they are in each other’s personal space again. There is nothing accidental about the kiss that follows. Cas’s hands grip Dean at the hip. Dean puts his hands on Cas’s jaw. He holds his head and kisses him deeply, eager to feel him. He gets Cas’s lower lip between his own and gently lingers as they explore each other’s mouths.

They make out for as long as they think they can get away with. But the barbecue is unattended, and they know someone will wonder where they’ve disappeared to if they are gone too long.

Dean makes the moment they have last as long as he can. “I guess we should get back,” he murmurs, nuzzling at Cas’s neck.

“Mmh,” Cas makes a noise that could be agreement.

“What are you doing after the party?” Dean asks.

“Probably helping clean up,” answers Cas.

“Funny, me too. What about tomorrow?”

“Well, tomorrow I have to run some errands after work. Grocery store shopping.” Cas’s eyes are twinkling.

“Oh. I see. How about I do the shopping, and cook you a nice dinner? My place?”

“You’re on, Meat Man,” Cas agrees.

* * *

[somedayonbroadway]

Okokokokok High School Musical AU pretty please with a cherry on top?

Hahahahahahaha YES

Okay, so…

Characters-

Jack Kelly — Troy Bolton

Katherine Plumber — Gabrielle

Medda Larkin — Ms. Darbus

Spot Conlon — Chad

Crutchie Morris — Kelsie

Racetrack Higgins — Taylor

William Snyder — Jack Bolton (only sort of)

Albert DaSilva — Zeke

Finch — Jason

Sarah Jacobs — Sharpay Evans

David Jacobs — Ryan Evans

I know… it’s a bit of an odd list. But like… go with me on this.

Over Winter break, on New Years Eve, Jack and Katherine meet at a ski lodge. Katherine went with her family. Her father, her mother and his older sister. Jack is up there after running away from his foster home and trying to get in contact with his birth mother who just recently got out of prison. He believes she’ll be at this party.

They both end up at a party. Jack has a hood pulled up over his head to try and hide. The cops are looking for him by then. Snyder’s pissed. Katherine is with her father, talking about school.

The karaoke machine gets set up. Jack is trying to get out of the room because he’s scared of getting caught and Katherine is minding her own business.

But they happen to be the two random people pulled from the crowd and dragged on stage. Jack tried to get away, barely stopping himself from punching someone in the nose. And Katherine shyly tries to tell them no thank you, but they both end up there and catch sight of one another. And they freeze.

Jack tries to leave again, now not wanting to embarrass himself in front of this pretty girl who just stops him by saying she’s willing if he’s willing.

And they end up singing together for the first time. And they actually sound really good together.

After they’re finished, Jack catches sight of some of the cops again and he bolts, only for Katherine to follow him outside and ask him what was wrong. He plays it off. Says it’s nothing. And she lets it go.

They end up exchanging phone numbers on the balcony. And they come so close to kissing when the ball drops.

But Jack has to run.

A couple weeks later…

It’s the first day back at school after the break. Jack is happy to have something to do rather than sneak out of his home and avoid his foster father, a Mr. William Snyder. He’s been in this home for about a year on his own.

Snyder and him don’t necessarily get along.

Anyways, Jack is stoked about seeing his friends again. He’s on the football team. The quarterback. And his teammates all very much look up to him. His coach, Mr. Todd Kloppman, adores him and wants him to get a scholarship with his skills. And Jack has his mind set on that.

Snyder didn’t want to let him play sports to begin with. But Jack told him it was the only way for him to get into college. So Snyder let him.

It’s Jack’s escape from that house.

In homeroom, after meeting up with his best friend Spot Conlon who also happens to be in that class, Jack spots a familiar face.

Katherine.

She sees him too and smiles at him. She looks nervous.

He moves to sit by her and talk to her a little. She admits she just moved to Manhattan from Chicago and just got transferred into Roosevelt High School. Jack offers to show her around and she accepts.

Spot gives Jack a look and Jack ignores him. Spot loves to tease him.

While Jack is showing Katherine around, she quickly starts to learn that this school has very tight cliques.

One of them being the drama kids.

As they walk by the theatre, Katherine sees that there’s a sign up for auditions for the next school musical and she jokes that her and Jack should sign up because they made such a good team up at the ski lodge. Jack laughs.

And in comes the Ice Princess.

Sarah Jacobs.

She is the queen of the school, pretty much. Pretty, rich and popular. She’s an amazing singer, trained in music, dance and acting as well as starting her own fashion business. (I know she is very different from the Sarah Jacobs we know, but come on, she’s gonna slay).

Sarah and her twin brother, equally as talented, equally as rich, but not quite as popular, David Jacobs, are walking over to sign up for auditions. That’s where Katherine and Sarah meet for the first time.

Sarah, the queen that she is, pushes past Katherine to sign up, signing the whole sheet before she turns around to say hi to Jack, who she believes she is destined to be with until the end of time. Jack does not feel the same way. But she tries to subtly tell Kath to get away from her “property” (i know it’s not mean girls but you can’t tell me Sharpay wasn’t based off of Regina George in some ways). Katherine doesn’t take the threat too seriously, as she is a nice, easy going person.

David is in the background. He has a slight crush on Jack, but would never act on it because he knows Sarah is basically in love with the guy.

(Tangent. Y’all can’t tell me Ryan wasn’t supposed to be gay in the first movie. He 👏🏻 was 👏🏻 totally 👏🏻 gay👏🏻, but Disney was too scared to own up to it)

Anyways,

Jack continues to show Kath around the school as Sarah hatches her master plan to keep Katherine out of the drama clique. She goes to Race, honor student on his way to being valedictorian, and tells him about Katherine. Race does a little digging and finds out that Katherine is wicked smart and recruits her for the Scholastic Decathlon, catching her and Jack in the halls at their next break.

Race rushes up to them and tries to talk to Katherine but ends up seeing Jack and says something sarcastic instead and he and Jack get into a small argument that Katherine can’t quite follow. She tries to defend Jack but Race says she doesn’t know him well enough yet. Katherine asks what Jack did to this kid who seems to be at least two years younger than them. Jack said he didn’t do anything to him.

His little brother just loves to fight.

Race just glares at him and says something like “you know what you did” and then turns his attention back to Katherine, officially inviting her into the “brainiac” clique.

She does join. But at that moment she just says she’ll think about it.

Then she asks Jack a little about Race. He admits that Race is his half brother and he lives with a foster family on the other side of town while he lives with his foster dad just down the street. She asks why they don’t live together and Jack tells her that it’s a long story. But eventually he tells her that since Race showed signs of being really smart at such a young age, it was decided that he needed to be placed with folks who would cater to his needs better while Jack was just normal.

The family’s that were willing to foster Race never wanted to take in two kids. So the system split them up.

Jack says this in fewer words. But Katherine figures it out.

Katherine takes Race up on his offer, finding out that Race is set to graduate the same year as Jack.

Later, while Jack is at football practice, he’s having an extremely hard time focusing as this girl has just come into his life and made him think about things he’d never thought about before. Like, how he might want to ask Katherine out on a date or how he enjoyed singing with her or how everyone had a specific thing they were expected to do, but what about other things?

His teammates don’t appreciate his inability to focus and wrestle with him a little, just playfully, to try and help him get back into the game.

He loves his teammates.

Later, after practice, Jack is the last one in the locker room where Race comes in and drops him off and bagged lunch. He tells Jack that he wasn’t hungry at lunch. And Jack just hugs him for a second before asking him if he’d seen Katherine around.

Race teases him for a minute before Jack asks him if he wants a soaking. So Race tells Jack that Katherine went to the auditorium. And he gives Race a kiss on the head before he goes to find her.

When he gets there, he sees Sarah and David auditioning. Katherine is standing in the back of the other side of the theatre. They see each other but make no move to get closer. Instead, they watch the amusing but well done audition of their classmates.

Sarah and David are obviously both talented, but Sarah is obsessed with having the spotlight while David is very creative and does love to try new things and welcomes change.

The audition process is finishing up. Jack does not miss the way Sarah hisses at Charlie, the innocent pianist on her way out. He just tried to put in his thoughts on how his song should be performed.

He’s a composer and student director of the band.

Miss Medda, the drama teacher, asks if there’s any more auditions. Charlie says he doesn’t think so and no one else speaks up.

So Medda goes to leave.

Katherine is standing in the back, unsure of what to do. But eventually, she speaks up. She says she wants to audition.

Medda tells her that it’s too late and that she’ll need to come back for the next production.

Jack gives her a sorry look.

And Katherine just shrugs, willing to accept that. But as they both go to go their separate ways, Charlie trips up on stage, setting one of his crutches down on a misplaced prop. Without even thinking about it, both of them rush up to help him.

And he thanks them as he pulls himself back to the piano. And tried to get his things back in order. He apologizes to them for not being able to audition. Jack says he wasn't going to, that he wasn’t good enough for that anyways. And Kath and Charlie both don’t believe him. So Charlie starts to play the audition song, telling them that Sarah and David sang it in a way that didn’t quite capture the meaning behind it.

The song is I Never Planned On You/Don’t Come A’ Knockin’. Because it can be.

Katherine and Jack sing the song easily. Katherine admits she used to love to sing and her fatherhad taught her violin. Jack admits he used to play the piano with his mom and his little brother and THATS WHY THEY CAN READ MUSIC BECAUSE ITS NOT THAT EASY TROY AND GABRIELLA.

Anyways…

Before Charlie can even say anything, Miss Medda is clapping for them and telling them that they better find themselves at callbacks the next day.

Katherine is excited.

Jack is terrified.

Jack goes home to an empty house. He eats the food his brother gave him and does his homework and goes to bed. When he hears the door open, he pretends to be asleep.

Snyder’s drunk again.

The next morning, Jack sneaks out through the window and goes to school.

When he gets there he finds that the callback list was posted. And he tries to walk the other way. But Spot catches up to him.

He teases Jack, expecting it to be some kind of joke. But Jack just rolls his eyes and Spot asks him if he’s serious. Before Jack can answer, Race rushes up to him and jumps on his back and teases him too.

Jack admits he hadn’t meant to audition. He’d just been screwing around.

Katherine tries to defend him but his friends still tell him that he wasn’t supposed to do drama. That he was an athlete and that he didn’t have time and that it was weird for him to want to sing and dance.

But Katherine says that she loved to sing and dance and she was a straight A student and she had played soccer at her old school.

And these kids would be amazed.

People would start admitting things. Things that no one knew.

Albert loved to bake.

Finch likes to dance.

Other things happen.

Spot is concerned by this. He needs Jack to focus on the playoffs that are coming up. Jacks the quarterback. He has too much of a responsibility.

He tries to enlist Race’s help. Race is hesitant, not wanting to upset his brother. But Spot convinces him it’s for the best.

They both hold somewhat of an intervention for their friends where Spot gets Jack to admit that he doesn’t think the audition is important and that Katherine couldn’t come between him and his team.

It’s not what he means. He means that if Snyder found out he was auditioning for musicals and pining after some pretty girl he’d get the living hell beat out of him.

But he can’t just say that.

He doesn’t know he’s being recorded.

Race shows Katherine the tape and immediately feels guilty.

He calls Spot and tries to tell him they made a mistake after Katherine tells him that auditioning in the first place was stupid.

Jack doesn’t understand why Katherine suddenly wants to back out when he goes to see Race after school. And Race gives him a sorry look. So Jack convinces Katherine to do it again and promises her that he’ll do it with her if that’ll be what makes her happy. And he sends her off to Charlie while he talks to Race.

Race is shocked and asks Jack if he would even be allowed. Jack would tell him not to worry about it and Race would just hug him for a minute, telling Jack that the family he was with was thinking about fully adopting him.

It would break Jack’s heart. But he’d try to tell Race that that was really good, that he should be happy. Race wouldn’t think so. He’d say that he didn’t want to belong to someone else. That he was fine exactly where he was and that he’d rather move in with Jack when Jack turned eighteen.

Jack would tell him that everything would be okay. That it would all work out for the best.

And then he’d tell Race to get him while he went to rehearse with Katherine.

Sarah would overhear Jack and Katherine rehearsing. So she’d go to Miss Medda and convince her to move callbacks to the day of Jack’s big game and Kath’s competition.

Charlie, the little genius, overhears this conversation and immediately starts to form a plan, enlisting the help of Race and Spot.

Race and Katherine hack into the school electrical system and mess with the power on the football field. They also cause a chemical reaction at their own competition, forcing an evacuation.

Jack and Katherine rush to callbacks with their friends right behind them and they get up on stage.

Katherine freezes, looking at Jack and shaking her head, silently telling him how scared she was. But Jack just takes her hand and starts singing.

And they get through it. (Something To Believe In).

Medda gives them the part and gives Sarah and David their understudies. David congratulates them. Sarah is pissed.

Everyone goes to watch the football team win after that. And Jack and Katherine kiss for the first time.

Spot admits to Race that he’s got a secret too. Then he proceeds to ask Race out.

And Jack sees it happen.

But he doesn’t say anything.

He goes home that day happy.

Snyder however, is not quite so happy.

When Jack gets home he’s almost immediately thrown against a wall. Snyder is tipsy at that point. He’s angry. He wants to know why Jack was out so late. Jack says he had a game. Snyder doesn’t believe it. So Jack admits he was with his friends.

And Snyder just hits him.

It happens every now and then when Snyder’s not completely forgetting that he exists. Snyder needed some extra cash. He hates that he has a kid living with him. Jack can deal with it every once in a while.

What he hates is being locked in the basement closet.

And Snyder knows that.

He locks Jack in and leaves him. And Jack cries for a minute before he can think to call his little brother with the phone that Snyder forgot he had.

And Race brings Spot and the cops with him to get Jack out.

Race and Spot get there first. Spot holds off Snyder so Race can get Jack out of the closet and Race holds Jack for a minute until Spot runs down with the cops. They try to talk to Jack and take him upstairs.

Before he goes with them, he tells Spot that if he hurts his brother, he’ll kill him. And Race can’t help but laugh.

They arrest Snyder and Race admits that his foster family found out they’re going to have their own baby. And they wouldn’t have room for him anymore.

The brothers are relocated. This time together. To a home of one Miss Medda where they find out Charlie is her adopted son.

And they all lived happily ever after.

Or, at least, survived the school year.

[imagine-riverdale]

Rich Part One- Reggie Mantle Imagine

Rich Part Two (coming soon)

Anissa knew her parents wanted her to marry someone from a wealthy family. A family up to their standards. Anissa’s parents come from a long line of entrepreneurs that date all the way back to the early 1900s. Anissa grew up in California where her parents had made most of their money, and everyone she had gone to school with knew that her parents had money. So, when her parents announced that they had bought a new business in Riverdale, a small company that sold antique jewelry, she was keen on moving there and helping oversee the buyout. Though her family already owned half the town.

That’s how Anissa Vaughn moved to the small town. Her parents opted to stay in California, but Anissa ended up with a nice apartment not too far from the jewelry store and a driver whom drove her to and from school. Still, no one at Riverdale High knew whom she was, that she was the daughter of Gregory and Kelsie Vaughn, and she was keen on keeping it that way. Even the workers at the jewelry store thought she was just hired in to work the register.

So when Anissa moved to Riverdale, she wasn’t sure what to expect. She half expected everyone to recognize her, but no one did. So Anissa lived as a normal girl, going to school, work, then home and repeat. That was, until she met Reggie Mantle. Reggie was the quarterback and captain of the Bulldogs, which turned Anissa away at first but eventually Reggie won her over.

Reggie kept pestering Anissa to go on a date with him. He showed up at her work multiple times with flowers, had tried asking her out in the cafeteria and even shown up at her home with chocolates. Finally after many attempts Anissa agreed to go on a date with him when he had shown up at her work, empty handed and announced that he understood she didn’t want to go out with him and that he would leave her alone.

Their first date ended up being to Pops, which was a change for Anissa, she was used to her dates taking her to expensive restaurants, so it was a welcomed change. After six months of dating Anissa and Reggie loved each other, neither saying those words yet. Anissa had yet to inform Reggie of her family’s money, which she hoped to keep that way for a little while longer.

“Hey.” Reggie smile upon greeting his girlfriend.

“Hey handsome.” Anissa smiled as she set the inventory sheet down for the jewelry store. “Missed you.” She hummed kissing him.

“I missed you too.” He laughed wrapping his arms around her. “So, my parents are out of town for the night, you think you can sneak away from your parents?” Reggie asked as Anissa sighed.

“I’m sure I could my love.” Anissa smiled. “But what if instead you snuck over to my place, my parents aren’t in town, for the whole weekend.” She stated with a grin. “We could have the whole place to ourselves for a few nights instead of one, and I don’t have to work at all this weekend, which is a miracle.” She stated as Reggie smiled.

“I have football practice tomorrow after school, but after that I can come by.”

“Awesome, I’ll grab our usual from Pops and a movie.” She smiled. “Warning though, my parents don’t keep alcohol stocked at the apartment.” She stated as Reggie nodded.

“Good thing I don’t need alcohol to have a good time with you my love.”

-

The next day Anissa went home and cleaned the apartment she lived in, though it wasn’t that dirty anyways seeing as she wasn’t home often. Nevertheless she cleaned the whole place and tidied her room before finding some movies and picking up her order from Pops. Around an hour later Anissa opened the door for Reggie to enter her apartment.

“Hey.” She grinned up at him as she opened the door. “Come in.”

“I think this is the first time I’ve ever been to your place.” He mentioned pressing a kiss to Anissa’s head.

“I think so too.” She stated before taking his hand and leading him towards the kitchen counter. “I got dinner.” She grinned showing him the food from Pops.

“Have I mentioned that I loved you?” Reggie asked causing Anissa to pause her platting of food before turning to Reggie.

“What?” She asked. “You love me?” She asked again just as the front door of the apartment opened.

“Honey are you home?” Anissa heard the voice of her mother causing her to free in her spot before hearing her father.

“Anissa Ann?” He called causing Anissa to look at Reggie before moving around him.

“Mom, dad.” She stood in front of them, her mouth open. “What are you doing here? In Riverdale?” She looked between them.

“We came to visit you honey! Plus we had to come check on all the properties.” Her mother stated pulling her into a hug. “Oh who is this?” She spotted Reggie behind her.

“Oh.” Anissa turned to Reggie. “Mom, dad, this is my boyfriend Reggie. Reggie, these are my parents Gregory and Kelsie Vaughn.”

“Did you say, Gregory and Kelsie Vaughn? As in the two people who own half of Riverdale?” Reggie asked shaking her parents’ hand as Anissa nodded.

“Yeah.” She said softly.

“You said your parents worked in Greendale.”

“Well it’s good to know we have someone looking after our girl whilst we’re in California.” Gregory stated as he shook Reggie’s hand.

“Wait, you live in California?” He asked looking towards Anissa whom was looking at the ground. “Not in Riverdale?”

“Oh goodness, no honey.” Kelsie stated. “We still live in California, we sent our dear Anissa down here to overwatch the buyout of the jewelry store.”

“The jewelry store.” Reggie looked at Anissa. “You’ve never mentioned any of this to me? You always told me your parents were out of town. You said you worked at the jewelry store not that you owned it. What else aren’t you telling me?” Anissa sighed.

“Reggie, you have to understand why I didn’t tell you. I didn’t want you to treat me differently knowing whom my parents were.” She said as her parents moved around the apartment.

“Honey it looks amazing here.” Anissa paid her parents no mind.

“Well you never really gave me that option.” He stated. “You lied to me the whole time we were together.” He told her. “Did you actually want to date me or was that to another part of your elaborate ruse to hide who you were?”

“Reg, it wasn’t like that.” Anissa said watching Reggie grab his coat. “Reggie please.” She grabbed his arm as he headed for the door. “Can we talk about this Reggie? Please, just give me a chance to explain.”

“You had six months Anissa.” He stated opening the door to the apartment. “Everything you’ve told me about your life has been a lie and I’ve had enough lies for a lifetime.” Reggie stated. “I thought I loved you but guess I loved the you that you pretended to be. We’re done Anissa.”

“But I love you.” She said just as Reggie shook his head before quickly leaving, causing Anissa to turn to her parents. “Why didn’t you call and say you were coming?” She asked as the tears began flowing down her face. “God. Dinners on the counter.” Turning she headed into her room, which is where she stayed the remainder of the weekend.

-

When Monday morning rolled around Anissa slowly exited her room, dressed and ready for the day. Her parents both sat around her small dining table with breakfast.

“Darling, come here.” Kelsie motioned her daughter over and looking over the inventory list from the jewelry store. “You’ve done an amazing job with the jewelry store. We’ve never had revenue like this in just six months.” She stated.

“Thanks.” Anissa mumbled grabbing an apple. “I gotta go. Driving myself.” She grabbed the keys to her personal car. “Eduardo is yours, I don’t need a driver anymore.” She stated heading out of the house.

Once Anissa arrived at school, she immediately sought out Reggie, unable to find him she headed to her classes. The day went on before she stopped at the football field after school, where the bulldogs were practicing. Anissa stood by the bleachers watching Reggie practice for awhile before Reggie noticed her.

“What are you doing here?” Reggie asked coming towards her.

“Reg, I just want to explain.” She stated softly.

“What’s there to explain Anissa?” He asked. “You lied to me, about everything.”

“No, no I didn’t. I just didn’t tell you the whole truth about my family, please just give me a chance.” Reggie laughed.

“Nah.” He shook his head. “I know all I need to Anissa. Just stay away from me.” Reggie headed into the locker room to change. Anisa stood still for a minute before leaving the school and heading to the jewelry store where she met with her parents.

“Oh Anissa!” The manager Terri greeted. “These are Mr. and Mrs. Vaughn, the owners!”

“Terri, I know.” Anissa stopped in front of her parents. “Mom, dad.” Anissa sighed.

“Baby.” Anissa mother smiled. “This place looks amazing. You’ve done so well.” Kelsie rested a hand on her daughter’s shoulder.

“Yep.” Anissa nodded looking around. “Your office is set up in the apartment upstairs.” She stated. “Fully furnished apartment, might I add.” She said leaning against the counter.

“Honey.” Gregory looked around and smiled turning to her. “You have done a phenomenal job angel.” He told his daughter with a smile. “We are so proud.” Anissa nodded.

“Well since you two are here, I’m taking the day off.”

“Honey,” Kelsie went to grab her daughters’ arm but Anissa stepped away quickly.

“Mom, don’t right now, okay? I can’t deal with you guys popping in randomly right now.”

“Anissa.” Her father called after her.

“Dad stop!” Anissa turned towards her father. “Just stop okay? I’m so not in the mood right now. Every time something good happens in my life you guys show up and ruin everything okay? Just give me space.” Anissa backed out of the shop and headed back to the apartment.

-

The weeks passed, Anissa’s parents left back for California, leaving the jewelry store for Anissa to run. Anissa continued her new routine, she’d head to school in the morning, head to work at the jewelry store then grabbed a quick dinner at Pops before heading back to her lonely apartment. After she and Reggie split it wasn’t long until everyone in Riverdale found out whom Anissa’s parents were and eventually her friends stopped talking to her.

“What are you doing here Anissa?” Terri asked noticing Anissa inside the jewelry store working the register. Since they found out that Anissa’s family owned the store, Anissa mainly stayed in the office upstairs working on things from there.

“Needed a break from the stuffy office.” She mentioned. “It’s hard to track down antique jewelry.” She rubbed her head and glanced at the clock. “I should get going, I’ve got a ton of homework. You’re good to lock up?”

“Yeah, head home Anissa. Take some time to care for yourself.” Anissa nodded.

“Thank you, Terri.” She said softly before heading out and going to Pops. “Hey Pop, can I get a bacon cheeseburger with fries and a strawberry shake.” Pop Tate nodded and quickly headed back to make her order.

“See you didn’t skip town with your parents.” Cheryl Blossom stated taking a seat in the booth across from her. “Why stay?” This question caused Anissa to lean forward.

“Why do you care Cheryl? Afraid that I have more money than you and will become more popular? Cause I assure you, that’s not gonna happen. I’m here for one reason.” She said sighing. “I’m finishing the school year and leaving, so don’t you worry Cheryl.” She stated whilst shaking her head.

“That’s not what I’m worried about Anissa. I’m friends with Reggie, I see how he’s hurting.”

“Cheryl.” Anissa shook her head. “Reggie broke up with me.” She stated. “We’re over with. History. That’s all it is ever gonna be.”

“I don’t believe that for a second.”

“Doesn’t matter if you believe it Cheryl. We have two months left of school, then I leave, and Reggie can forget all about the rich girl whom lied to him.” Anissa stood as Pop showed up with her takeout. “Thank Pop.” Paying him Anissa glanced back at Cheryl. “I’d appreciate it if you kept my plans of leaving to yourself.” Anissa headed back to her own apartment.

As always, thank you all so much for reading. Part Two will be out sometime next week!

REQUESTS ARE OPEN FOR RIVERDALE CHARACTERS.

[elopez7228]

Scenic Route 34/47

Read on AO3 : https://archiveofourown.org/works/18268208/chapters/43229774 

Start over : https://elopez7228.tumblr.com/post/620919089893933056/scenic-route-0147

***

Rey sat in the grass, contemplating the decision she had to make. The car was ready. BB8 was chasing crickets around.  Right now, almost no one knew her location on the remote campground. But she couldn’t stay there forever. She was furious at Ben...but somehow she couldn’t forget about the night they had spent together. Just thinking about it sent shivers down her spine.  

No, she had to act rationally.

It was a mistake to let Leia and Ben take advantage of her. She had been too rash, too trusting for her own good. She didn’t doubt Syed’s intentions; she had also seen Skylar’s brutality with her own eyes. And something told her they wouldn’t be fooled by bear spray twice. She wished she had been even firmer with Ben that it was his responsibility to reign in the lunatics on his team...

But the doubts crept in. What if he couldn’t do it? Or, what if he didn’t actually want to? Worse yet, what if he never really loved her at all? It was hard to wrap her head around his actions. His kisses were ardent, by all accounts he was even more earnest than he had been that night in Jackson Hole.

Sleeping with him hadn’t felt like a trophy fuck or a one night stand, she had felt like an empress. He’d been so focused on her pleasure, on unraveling her with a gentleness that almost seemed out of character. Still as driven as ever, but sweeter, somehow. No one had made love to her like that in ages.

Was that all in order to get his hands on the microchip? Beneath all her righteous anger she’d hoped that it had been a misunderstanding. Maybe then it would’ve been less painful.

Maybe it was time to embrace the obvious: Cupid had it out for her. Just like with Finn, when things were finally looking up, everything came crashing down.

What now?

She thumbed through her contacts mindlessly. She ought to check in on Poe, but she hardly felt like it. Calling Jessica seemed even worse.

It rang just then, startling her.

Ben Solo.

Was he about to tell her that Syed had been put in the naughty corner? Probably not.

“Yes, Ben?” She sighed.

“Please don’t hang up.”

She wasn’t going to, but it was nice of him to insist. She relented.

“What is it this time?”

“Syed and Skylar are looking for the Falcon. You can’t hope to get away in that car.”

“I see you haven’t been successful in convincing them to leave me alone. Also, this is escalating rather quickly, isn’t it?”

“Look, I’m sorry I put you in this situation, I—“

“Yeah, I suppose you should be,” Rey tried to cut  him off, but Ben was determined.

“Whatever I did before, I regret it, and I’m trying to protect you now. So let me finish. You need to change cars.”

She snorted derisively. “Do you think I have that kind of money? Besides, your mother trusted me with the Falcon, am I really just suppose to let it rot somewhere?”

“No, no, don’t worry. I’m sending Kelsi Ren your way. Switch with her, and try to gain a few hours on Syed and Skylar.”

“And if I refuse?”

“You won’t make it past ten miles. Syed’s out for blood.”

“Is that a threat?”

Ben hesitated to respond. Rey could hear his uneven breathing on the other side.

“Rey, I know I fucked up,” he said hoarsely. “You don’t have to forgive me, but you have to trust me.”

“Trust is a big ask. As for forgiveness, we’ll see. I guess I don’t have a choice about the car...”

“I’m not trying to force you, but it’s your best option. I mean it.”

Rey rolled her eyes. Really, what alternative did she have? She sighed again.

“When will Kelsi be here?”

“Ten minutes, she’s on the way. When she gets there, switch the registration papers too. Don’t talk to her, don’t answer any questions.”

“It’s not like I’ll invite her to tea,” she grumbled as she hung up.

Ben wasn’t kidding: a large Lincoln Nautilus pulled up next to the Millenium Falcon in a matter of minutes. To Rey’s chagrin, it wasn’t quite large enough to fit her mattress, so they were back to sleeping in the car. At least this one had air conditioning. That would be a welcome change.

She supposed she should call Leia about the Falcon soon. She had promised to deliver both the car and the dog, but perhaps Leia would be receptive to the “looming killers” argument. Desperate times called for desperate measures...

Kelsi emerged from the car. Rey had seen her on stage before, but she was different out of costume, in broad daylight. She looked good in her ripped jeans and hiking boots, though she appeared younger now. Short platinum blonde hair framed her face, which was well-hidden beneath a combination of dark sunglasses and a tattered shawl that wrapped around her shoulders.

“Are you Rey?” She asked casually as she approached.

“Yeah. Here’s my car,” she replied, gesturing to the aging Oldmobile Cruiser.

The blonde grimaced, muttering something about a shitty last minute plan under her breath.

“Here’s the keys and the papers. The tank is loaded. Where’re you headed?”

Ben’s voice echoed in Rey’s head: don’t answer any questions. She realized it was time to play the clueless tourist again, since everyone seemed to think she excelled at the role.

"I don’t know,” she said, giving Kelsi her blankest smile. “I’ll just hit the road I guess. Go wherever life takes me.”

“Whatever,” Kelsi grumbled, mostly to herself. In an almost mechanical gesture, she handed Rey the keys and the registration document.

Now it was time to move the contents of the Falcon. Rey cleared out the glovebox, suddenly noticing that the toy car was gone. She panicked when she realized that Luke’s address was still there. Had Ben found it the other night? If that was the case, he now knew her location and her destination. And that meant he knew his uncle’s address. But he never once said anything. Another day, another game of hide and seek.

“Ugh, this piece of crap reeks of dog!” Kelsi complained. Behind her, Rey snorted. Good luck with that, princess.

Finally, Rey moved BB8’s toys and food bowl to the back seat of the Lincoln before getting behind the wheel. The engine revved up smoothly, and she instantly knew this was a major upgrade compared to the Falcon. It also came with a leather interior, GPS, and Bluetooth. Score! The rest of this trip was going to be so much fun.

She put her sunglasses on and adjusted her seat. Time to hit the road again!

For a little while she basked in the feeling of relief, forgetting that she was currently a crazy old woman’s pawn with no other plans in life, on the run from a pair of assassins and leagues away from her dying ex-husband.

She drove carefully out of Bozeman on Highway 89. She connected her phone to the Bluetooth system, finally deciding to give Poe a call. The conversation was brief as Finn was stable and nothing had changed. Rey neglected to mention her own circumstances because she didn’t want her friends in England to worry more than they already did.

Now that she thought about it, she wasn’t as scared as before. Was this her new normal—travelling alone, confronting bears, flirting with rockstars, and outrunning gangs? Despite the risks, she had never felt more alive.  

She slowed the car as she approached what looked like a police barricade. Rey was about to pull the window down when the officer standing there motioned for her to keep going.

But by now her good humor had suddenly disappeared. Ben had said that she wouldn’t make it ten miles in the Falcon. Was this barricade the proof? Did FORCE really have the means to intercept her like that? The idea was so terrifying that she pushed it away.

She was headed even further west, in the direction of Idaho. It was 8 AM now. If she drove for another twelve hours, she could spend the night in Reno, Nevada. From there, San Francisco would only be four hours away. Rey would find Luke Skywalker, give him his dog and the microchip, and live the rest of her average life in peace.

Eventually, she would have to call Leia Skywalker, but right now she needed some dial-in advice from her Fairy Godmother.

“Rey, good morning! How was the concert?”

Concert? Maz’s question was brimming with so much enthusiasm that it took Rey’s brain scrambled to catch up. Ah yes, that concert. Before...before everything. The old woman listened patiently as Rey explained the events of that night, and the unexpected consequences.

“Rey. Rey! Listen to me, I don’t quite get the story behind this micro-SD thing, but it sounds important. So as far as I understand, group A hid this thing on you without your knowledge, and group B, the gang, is looking for it. And you’re angry at group A but you forgive them, while also being in love with the leader of group B, who you’re in a spat with right now. Is that it?”

“I am not in love with—“ her voice broke off mid-sentence.

Who was she kidding? She couldn’t even lie to herself anymore.

Maz was silent, allowing Rey to internalize her revelation.

“What about him?” She asked Rey gently, “Is he not in love either?”

“I don’t know, Maz. He’s been chasing  me for a week with his smoldering looks and his  but-I’m-a-sentimental-beast  love songs. And last night he was—“

Rey sighed.

“Last night he was so genuine. Or so I thought. I believed his affections, and I believed his words too. But this morning he was sending me mixed signals. On one hand he was rummaging through my stuff while I slept, but on the other he just gave me a new car.”

“Rey, I’ve met Syed. She didn’t seem like a very nice woman. I’m willing to believe that she will hurt you, especially now that she has a bone to pick. So why is Kylo Ren risking himself to protect you, after he put you in danger?”

“Ben Solo. It’s Ben Solo who’s trying to protect me, not Kylo Ren.”

“What’s the difference?”

As Rey mulled the question over in her head, it dawned on her that she had always seen a clear distinction between Kylo Ren and Ben Solo. Why?

“Kylo Ren is just a persona. He’s a spy who operates the gears and collects the debts for FORCE. Ben Solo has a more complicated backstory involving his parents, and he doesn’t stand a chance against real villains like Syed Ren. He was the one who kissed me last night.”

“And the man who was looking for the microchip as you slept, who was he?”

“Definitely not the same guy who offered me a car so that I could escape.”

“It looks to me like this boy has a lot of soul-searching to do. I don’t know if you can help with his problems. Take the car for now and get as far away from them as you can! Go find yourself some shelter and let the boy figure out his own life. He’ll come back to you if he really means to.”

Rey contemplated this in silence. It was simple enough to worry about herself for now and let Ben come back when he was ready. It seemed reasonable, doable.

When their conversation came to an end, Rey stopped at Three Forks to get breakfast and buy a few more supplies for the journey. Ideally, she would make as few stops as possible to really stay ahead. Feeling a renewed sense of determination, she was ready to face the world again.

This part of the Rockies was different than the area east of the Teton, which she had passed on arrival. In Wyoming she had driven past dry mountain prairies that were almost desert-like. The other side of the mountain chain was much hillier, reminiscent of the Alpine countryside. She spotted grassy knolls, valleys, and snowy mountain peaks set against the flowery plains.

She followed the valley south, feeling lighter and lighter with each passing kilometer. There was no one behind her. No menacing SUV, no Syed in sight. Could it be that all her worries were immaterial?

Well, there was one person she still had to worry about contacting: Leia Skywalker.

[bugheadfangirl]

Christmas Surprises

(Secret Santa gift for @sweetbettycooper Merry (late) Christmas! Hope you enjoy!)

Betty's POV

Thoughts swim inside Betty's head as an impatient nervousness courses through her body. Just one more minute, one more minute of the agony of the unknown. Sixty seconds; thirdty seconds; ten seconds; one second. She takes another second to compose herself and ready for whatever the results may be. With all the strength she has, she glances down at the plastic pregnancy test she had bought the night before when Jughead was asleep. There was only one explanation for the queasiness and exhaustion she'd been experiencing for the past few weeks. Jughead, of course, thought the change in season and temperature had given her a cold; but Betty has a different theory.

The pink little plus sign on the screen confirms her suspicion, she's pregnant. Betty gasps at the sight and drops the plastic test onto the floor with a thud. Her stomach turns and causes her to crouch onto the floor and empty her breakfast into the toilet. After a few heaves, there's a knock on the door. "Betts, are you okay? Can I come in?" Jughead's voice comes through the door.

"No!" Betty quickly responds without a thought. She knows she has to tell him eventually, but the worry about what his reaction would be stops her. They had just moved in together a month or so before. Plus they both have to return to college after their winter break ends. In the mist of all these thoughts, a new one arrives; what if it was a false positive. There's only one true way if knowing. She shoves the test in her pajama pocket and flushes the toilet. She pushes herself carefully off the floor and opens the door to see Jughead's worried expression.

"Is everything okay?" He asks wrapping his arms around her waist and bringing her to him. "You've been throwing up a lot. Maybe you should see a doctor." He places a gentle kiss on her cheek making her cheeks turn a rosy pink.

"I'm fine, Jug. I'll go and get it checked out. I'll be okay. I promise." Betty gives a small but worried smile. "I'll be right back. I love you." She slips out of his arms and rushes to their bedroom.

After shutting the door behind her, she slides out if her pajamas and puts on an outfit before dialing the doctors. After two rings, one if the office workers picks up. "Hello, thank you for calling. How may I help you?" A friendly voice answers.

Betty takes a deep breath before responding. "I would like to schedule the earliest possible appointment with Kelsie." She bit her lip and catches a glimpse of herself in the wall mirror. Her hair is a mess, dark circles are underneath her extravagant green eyes. She looks like a mess, much less a step away from being a mess herself, and just a few weeks before Christmas.

"Of course. May I ask what brings you in?" The lady response and a shiver of anxiety runs through her. Betty peaks through the door to make sure Jughead wasn't listening through the door. Luckily he's laying on the couch on his computer writing his novel. She closes the door and continues.

"Well, I've been feeling queasy for a few weeks and have been vomiting. I just took a pregnancy test and it came back positive. I want to make sure the results were correct." Saying it out loud and hearing the words coming out if her gives her a surreal feeling. Jughead and her had made a plan; they were going to wait until marriage to try for a baby, wait until after graduating college. She'd been taking birth control pills, had she missed a day?

She sprints to the bathroom to check as the lady replies. "Sometimes drugstore tests can give a false positive. She's free this afternoon at twelve if you'd like to see her today. The next availability after then is next week Wednesday."

Betty finds her birth control pills and sure enough she missed a day. "Shit." She mutters under her breath. She regains her posture and collects herself. "Yes, this afternoon works fine. I'll see you guys then." She hangs up the phone lays her head in her hands. This is all her fault, and she can't imagine what Jughead's reaction will be.

After spending a minute in the position, she takes a deep breath an returns to the bedroom and collapses on their bed. Sleep over takes her and she drifts off into a dream.

~

A few hours pass by when Betty slowly opens her eyes. She shifts her body to see Jughead next to her arms wrapped around her waist. He smiles seeing she's awake and brings her to his chest. "Good afternoon, Betts. Did you sleep well?" He whispers in her ear.

At the mention of afternoon, Betty's heart begins to race and adrenaline courses through her. "Jug, what time is it?"

"It just turned twelve. Why?" His blue eyes gaze into hers. Panic starts to rile up inside Betty. She's already late and she hasn't even left the house.

"My appointment. I should be there by now. I have to go, but I'll be back soon. Take care." She kisses his cheek before getting out of bed and slipping on since shoes. Her quicken her pace as she gets into her car and makes her way toward the doctors.

She arrives a few minutes later and waits in a creme white painted waiting room trying to focus on anything but the high possibility that she is indeed pregnant.

A couple sits down next to her with a young baby in their arms. She glances at them from the corner out of her eye to see the baby's tiny tiny hand wrapped around, what Betty assumes to be, the mother's pointer finger. A smile grows on her face. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing if this is what her future holds.

"Betty Cooper." A lady's voice calls breaking her out of her daydream and the anxiety returns to her. It might not be bad for her, but what about Jughead?

Betty slowly gets out of her chair and walks to the nurse standing outside of the door. "Please follow me to room three." The nurse instructs.

It doesn't take long for them to arrive to the room. She plops down on the patients chair. "Hello, I'm nurse Kelly. So what brings you in here today?" The nurse places her glasses on and begins typing on the computer.

"I missed a birth control pill and I think I may be pregnant. I took a home pregnancy test and it came back positive." Betty's voice wobbles a little. She tries focusing on the pictures of African animals but they do little to ease her nerves.

"I see. When was your last period?" Nurse Kelly questions looking up at Betty from her computer.

Betty tries to recall the last time, she didn't have one anytime recent. Then it dawns on her, she completely missed her period this last month and it hasn't shown signs of coming this month either. "Two months ago. I missed my period last month and my period hasn't shown signs of coming this month."

Nurse Kelly returns to typing on her computer. "Have you had any nausea? Any vomiting or unusual exhaustion?"

Betty nods, her heart pounding so hard she can hear it. "All of it. That's actually what prompted me to take the test in the first place. I know people have false positive tests all the time, I didn't want to tell my boyfriend if it turns out that's what it is."

Nurse Kelly types a few more things into the computer before getting up. "Okay, I'll go tell Dr. Kelsie that you are here." She gives a small understanding smile before walking out the door.

The silence in the room is unbearable. Betty's mind races through every single possible outcome that may happen. It may be a false pregnancy and she'll be paranoid every single time her periods even the slightest bit late, or she could be pregnant. She can't help but imagine the disappointed look on Jughead's face. His whole future would be ruined, she'd have to quit college to take care of their baby. Or what if he wants nothing to do with her and their baby? They've been through everything together, her murderous father and his voyage into the Serpents. What if Penny comes after their baby. Tears swell in Betty's eyes as she imagines the worst.

Just as she's about to burst into tears, Dr. Kelsie walks in holding a clipboard. "Hello, Betty. I see that you missed a birth control pill and got a positive for a pregnancy test, correct?" All Betty can do is nod her head. "Okay, here's what we can do. We can do, you can pee in this cup and we'll run it for a hormone produced during pregnancy. This one is a much more reliable than the home pregnancy tests." She holds out a small bottle out in front of her.

Slowly, Betty slides off the chair and takes the bottle from her hands. She exists the door and walks to the bathroom feeling awkward, like all eyes are on her when in reality nobody seems to pay any attention to her.

After her trip to the bathroom collecting the required urine sample, she walks back into the room and hands it back to the doctor.

"Perfect! I'll go and test it. I'll be right back with the results." Dr. Kelsie smiles and leaves the room. As Betty patiently awaits the results, she glances at her phone to see a missed call from Veronica. Sighing, she returns the call. Veronica picks up on the second ring.

"B! I have an emergency!" She shrieks into the phone taking Betty off guard.

"V, what happened? Is everybody okay? Anybody hurt? Hold on, let me text Jug." Betty starts to freak out opening her messages to her and Jughead's.

"No, not that kind of emergency. Christmas is next week and I still haven't gotten anything for Archie. I have no idea what to get him. I peaked at what his present for me is, and Betty, it's gorgeous! I need to get him something equally as special!" She cries into the phone.

Betty sighs in relief. "Just get him a new guitar. Whatever you get him he'll love. Now I have to go." She's about to end the call when Veronica stops her.

"Betty, this needs to be more special than some silly guitar this has to be huge. What's going on? You sound so serious. Is everything okay with you?" Veronica's worried tone brings her to tears.

"Veronica, I'm at the doctors right now awaiting some news. I'm so scared." She sobs into the phone. "It's only been a few minutes, but the not knowing is killing me."

Now it's Veronica who has the serious tone. "Oh shit. What's going on? Are you okay? Hold on I'll be right there."

"No! I'm fine, it's just. I think I'm pregnant. I took a pregnancy test at home and it was positive, so now I'm here. V, what if its positive? What am I going to do? What will Jughead say?" A single tear strolls down Betty's face as the door slowly opens. "I'll call you back." Before Veronica can say another word, she hangs up the phone and wipes her tear away.

Dr.. Kelsie sands at the door with a serious expression that sends chills down Betty's back. "I have the results. Betty Cooper, you're pregnant."

Jughead's POV

Jughead stars blankly at the glowing screen of his computer. He's spent the last hour trying to finish a chapter of his novel but hasn't made progress at all. "Damn it!" He yells in frustration. He's supposed to get a chapter in by Christmas, but all that occupies his mind is the box hidden in his underwear drawer. This morning, Betty had acted so distant and strange. What if she was regretting buying an apartment and moving in with him? Maybe he was rushing into this too fast. He doesn't even know how he's even going to ask her. They'd agreed on no gifts, so what if she refuses to even see what it is? What if the unbearable happens, what if she says no?

His disruptive thoughts are interrupted by the sound of his ringtone playing. He rushes out if his seat and answers the phone without looking at the caller ID. "Betts, is everything okay?" He answers without a pause.

"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not Betty." Archie's voice answers with an amused tone. "What's wrong with Betty that has you so worried?"

Jughead sighs in frustration at he sits back down on the couch. "Betty's been sick lately. She was acting so strange and out of character this morning. She left in such a hurry to her doctor's appointment, I was hoping for some news. So why have you called upon me?"

"I think Veronica saw my present for her. She's panicking right now. What if proposing to her isn't the best move? You're planning on proposing to Betty right? Or did you change your mind?" Archie's worried voice comes through the phone.

It takes everything in Jughead not to bang his head against a wall. "Why do I tell you anything? Archie, she's used to getting fancy accessories, not to be mean, but I highly doubt she realised what you are planning on doing with it. She probably thinks it's a Christmas gift and nothing more. Now please me alone. I have to finish this chapter and I'm no way close."

He's about to hang up when Archie keeps talking. "Well what should I do? She already knows about it. It's not much of a surprise."

"If you are so worried about it being a surprise or not, then just do it now. I have to hang up so Betty can call me if she needs me. Tell me how it goes though." Without hearing another word, Jughead hangs up and looks at his missed calls. Nothing. This is going to be a long week.

Betty's POV

The week turns out to be a long excruciating experience. Jughead works on his novel all night leaving Betty in her bed alone with the weight of keeping a secret from him. They barely spent their time together, and when they did, it was awkward and full of small talk. She ended up telling him she has a cold and it should get better soon.

It's Christmas eve and Betty is at the Doctor's for the first ultrasound. A part of her feels guilty about keeping the baby a secret causing him to miss seeing the baby for the first time in person, but the fear of his reaction holds her captive. She isn't even entirely sure what her feelings towards being pregnant are, which is partially why she's glad about being alone. She needs to figure out her feelings for herself without the influence of Veronica or Jughead.

Dr. Kelsie sets up the machine and lifts up Betty's shirt exposing her bare stomach. She then smothers on a clear cold gel that makes her stomach turn. Then, Dr. Kelsie presses a metal wand against her stomach covered with gel. The moditor lights up with with a hollow circle that represents the womb. "You see this right here?" Dr. Kelsie points at a small oval shape in the middle of the screen. "That's your baby." She points at the smaller circle attached to the oval. "That's the head and the oval part is the body. If you look closely you can see the little arms and legs beginning to form. From what I see, your baby looks completely healthy at eight weeks old. We will be able to tell the gender at sixteen to twenty weeks. Would you like a picture of the ultrasound?"

Betty stares in amazement at the monitor. Never in a million years she would have thought that a single imagine would evoke such emotion and sincere love. Tears swell in her eyes as she laughs as the baby moves a tiny bit. Then she turns her attention to the doctor and nods. "Yes, I would like a copy."

She spends a few more minutes listening to the heartbeat before going home and falling asleep on the bed.

~

Christmas morning soon arrives and Betty awakes to the smell of eggs and toast. She slides out of bed and peaks out of the door to find Jughead in the kitchen making breakfast. "Goodmorning Betts." Jughead greets noticing her in the doorway. "You sleep okay? You were whimpering in your sleep." His blue eyes darken as he says this.

A small smile forms as she walks to his and curl to to him. "Just a nightmare. But it's better now that you're here. Before Jughead gets a chance to respond, she kisses his lips.

They continue to kiss for a moment longer before he breaks away and scrapes some eggs onto a plate and hand it to her. "Eat up. I made extra in case you're hungry." He smirks before kissing her cheek and disappearing inside their room.

After Betty gets done with her breakfast, she starts the fire in the fireplace and warms herself in front of it. Jughead comes back into the living room and sits next to her. "I have something for you." He takes out a small box poorly wrapped in wrapping paper.

Betty stares at him in disbelief. "Jug, we agreed, no presents. You're a gift itself. But now that you mention it, I have something for you." She gets up and disappears inside their room. She produces an envelope from the hiding spot and returns to her seat next to him by the fireplace.

He gives her a stern look and shakes his head. "Betts, I can't accept whatever it is. But I have to insist you take this." He puts the box into her gentle hand.

"And I have to insist you take this." She sets the envelope down into his hand. "It's important. More important then whatever this is." She holds up the box.

Jughead sighs giving in. "How about this, we both at the same time open our gift." Betty nods her head agreeing and they both tear into their gift. She opens the box to see the most beautiful engagement ring in shape of a rose.

"Jug . . ." Betty gasps looking up at him with tears in her eyes.

"Betts . . . is this what I think it is?" Jughead holds up the picture of the ultrasound.

She nods as the tears roll down her face. "Yeah. I'm pregnant, Jug. You're going to be a dad."

A silence overtakes the room. "Jug, are you upset?" Betty asks breaking it.

"Are you kidding me? I've never been happier." Jughead smiles the purest, brightest smile Betty had ever seen. He then takes the box from her hand and get on a knee and holds out the ring. "Elizabeth Cooper, I love you like nobody has ever loved anyone. I swear I will protect you with my life, and I will love you more each and every day. I have never been a people person, but for you I am. I adore you with everything I am, and unexpected as it may be, I love our baby already. You'll never be alone. So will you be my partner for life and marry me?" His blue eyes had a look of the utmost vulnerability.

"Yes!" Betty cries out, this time in pure joy. Jughead slides the engagement ring on her finger and pulls her to him. Their lips meet and move in a series of passion and love. In that moment by the fire, their future starts.

[joannaofportugal]

JOANNA BRAGANZA // CHALLENGE 002

a series of songs that i think suit joanna’s character and lifestyle.. songs i may be found listening to when writing her voice, her mood, her actions.. some are based around relationships whereas others are simply self-monologues. 

oh sweet nuthin’ — the velvet underground // say a word for polly may, she can’t tell the night from the day, they threw her out in the street, but just like a cat she landed on her feet. 

the tune itself has a joanna-vibe to it, and the song oozes her troublesome nature but she has luck, and luck is one of the most important things to behold in the florentine courts. 

i know (feat. fiona apple) — king princess // and you can use my skin, to bury secrets in and i will settle you down. 

a sketch of an affair with a man who is in a committed relationship, joanna and her ambition to step on another person’s head just to get a title, recognition and at the least of it, stardom. 

like a girl — lizzo // woke up feelin’ like i just might run for president, even if there ain’t no precedent, switchin’ up the messaging. 

joanna is a rebellious girl in the year of 1455, a streak lost on history and covered by marriages and children. joanna isn’t about to let anyone stand on her. 

want you in my room — carly rae jepsen // on the bed, on the floor ( i want you in my room ) i don’t care anymore, i wanna do bad things to you. 

any empowering song can suit joanna, in a modern-day setting she would be the girl who’s all up in pop princesses, too. 

if you could know — shannon and the clams // where am i goin’? are we here? my brain’s overflowing, is filling with fear, i am not ready. 

a declaration of joanna’s immaturity and inexperience which may cause her to fail at the tasks she so badly wants to finish. 

harry — kelsy karter // i’ll treat you better than the girls you’re hangin’ out with, take you to heaven, and i’ll show you all around it, i’ll never ever let you down. 

immature as she is, joanna would also be the girl who begs for chances. to put her heart on the line, though everyone should know that her heart is beaten black and blue to protect it from heartbreak. 

motivation — normani // i’ma break you off, let me be your motivation, to stay and give it tonight, and, baby, turn around, let me give you innovation.

the same as above and the must is certainly something modern-day joanna would listen to. 

mother’s daughter — miley cyrus // must be something in the water or that i’m my mother’s daughter, don’t fuck with my freedom. 

one, she would be a cyrus fan. two, her mother is extremely important and will be famous throughout the coming years for her role in bearing many children for portugal, and supporting the country throughout it’s trials. joanna is proud to be her mother’s daughter. 

boyfriend — ariana grande // i know we be so complicated, but we be so smitten it’s crazy, i can’t have what i want, but neither can you. 

when joanna set her sights on the second prince of england she didn’t think about her family nor the relationship between england and portugal. the only thing she cares about, in all cases, is herself and so she only thought of how good they’d be together... rather than the case that’d bring both countries unsatisfied looks from the pope himself. 

don’t start now — dua lipa // if you don’t wanna see me dancing with somebody if you wanna believe that anything could stop me. 

no one can stop joanna’s path of destruction or ambition. that’s the message. 

now i’m in it — haim // i, i ‘can’t get a hold of myself. i can’t get outta this situation. 

everyone has times of doubt and joanna is no different despite her outward persona. for she sometimes finds herself wondering how to get out of bad mistakes. 

patricia — florence + the machine // you only take as much as you can grab with two hands, with your big heart, you praise go above. but how’s it working out for you, honey? do you feel loved? 

a letter to a lover who acts in moderation and practises chastity and charity. the differences between joanna and others. 

good looking — suki waterhouse // the skyline falls as i try to make sense of it all, i thought i’d uncovered your secrets but turns out there’s more. 

joanna finds love interests easy, for there is no secret to loving someone or becoming adored. though sometimes she finds it hard to unmask boys who pretend to be something they are not, and this is a song mixed in with confusion and a curious need.