#I thought the idea was cuter and funnier in my head

[bluepicmi]

Pls forgive me for my very cringe comic

[nostalgicnarrator]

Bilbo: Excuse me? Down here! Yes- hi!

Bombur: oh! My goodness they really did hire a Hobbit!

Bofur: just look at em, he’s even cuter than we thought he’d be!

Bilbo: oh! Ah, well, you probably didn’t know- and that’s alright but, a hobbit can call another hobbit cute but, when other races do it…

Bofur: oh!

Bilbo: it’s alright- i better get to roll call- where is-

Bombur: bullpen is down the hall to your right.

Bilbo: thank you!

Bofur: …

Bombur: …

Bofur: …

Bombur: he’s gonna get eaten alive isn’t he?

Bofur: yep.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☁︎ ☁︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾ ⋆⁺₊⋆

This was funnier in my head, probably super isn’t and kinda bad, also no idea if someone has already done this. I also don’t know if this is supposed to be a cop au or what.

[Source zootopia]

[hazybisou]

COLOR WITH ME

blurb

singlemom!reader x nolan moyle

summary: y/n’s daughter made her to color with her and when nolan comes home, she forces him to do so as well.

a/n: i randomly thought of this today during my ap biology class. it was funnier and cuter in my head.

“mama!”

you were in your room, finishing up some homework when you heard the little footsteps padding towards you. you shut your computer with a smile on your face as you got up from your desk and walked over towards the door. your three-year-old daughter was about to turn into your room when you reached out and grabbed her, pulling her into your arms.

you began to tickle her stomach as she giggled and moved her hands to yours to try and get them to stop. “ma-mama stop it!”

you picked her up and rested her on your hip. “hi, baby! what’s up?” you walked out of the room and made a beeline towards the kitchen table where she was at. it seemed like a bad idea to be in a room where your daughter wasn’t but the kitchen was only two feet away from your shared bedroom with your boyfriend so you were still able to keep an eye on her.

she began to purposely slip from your arms, signaling she wanted down and so you let her down before she ran towards the table where her coloring book and markers were spread out all over the place. “color wif me!” she exclaimed with a giggle behind it.

you couldn’t help but smile as you sat next to her, “what are we coloring today, miss honey?” you had began to call her honey instead of her actual name over the past two years.

“hewo kitty.”

you laughed before grabbing two of the other books on the table. “which one,” you held up the two as you watched as her eyes flickered between the two. she pointed towards the one on the left before she leaned forward to grab a yellow marker.

you put done the other book beside you as opened towards a new, un colored page. you both sat there coloring and giggling. you always adored these little moments between you and your little family.

you got pregnant at 18 and gave birth to your beautiful little girl at the ripe age of 19. you were a single teen mom as your ex/baby daddy had left you two months into your pregnancy. you were alone. until your boyfriend, nolan, had come along. you two met through a friend and instantly hit it off. he didn’t mind the fact that you had a daughter. he treated her like she was his. he loved her and she loved him. the bond between them was special and you knew instantly that he was the one when your daughter hadn’t pried herself away like she normally would with strangers.

when you were introduced to the team, they didn’t judge you for having a kid in college. they knew it bad happened to many other people and they respected you for it. they all loved your baby girl. they’d normally come over and help out whether it be with the fact that you needed a babysitter or help cooking, they were there. you couldn’t be happier than you already were.

you were talking with honey when all of sudden you heard the front door open, “babe?” you heard nolan shout out.

“kitchen!” you shouted back not even looking up from the page. you heard the padding of his feet before someone wrapped their arms around you form behind. you lifted your head and looked up at him. “hi,” you whispered as he leaned down to press a kiss to your lips.

“hey.” he let go of you and you went back to coloring as he pressed a kiss to the crown of honey’s head. “what’re you doing?”

“ask her.” you nodded towards your daughter who was smiling at her coloring skills.

she picked up her book and held it up for nolan to see. “daddy, look!” she waved it in his face and he couldn’t help but smile at her eagerness.

“i see baby! it looks wonderful!” he said and she smiled before turning towards a new page.

she leaned forward and grabbed another coloring book that was on the table. “sit,” she handed the book towards him, “and color.” nolan just looked at you with a raised eyebrow but you could only smile at him.

“yeah nol. sit. and color!”

he rolled his eyes and sat down but he couldn’t help the smile that had appeared on his face. he loves his girls.

the next hour was spent with the three of you talking, laughing, giggling, and coloring. these were the moments you’d cherish with you forever. they were special. they were with your babies who you promised to love forever and ever.

help it is so late rn and i’m up but wtv. i honestly feel like this was the one piece that sucked actual booty. yea. bye. also my works will take a couple of days to write so have patience with me.

[kitsumidori]

Another borderlands sketch dump.

Putting it under the cut because of slight blood warning, nothing too gruesome though

1.) The main contribution factor is that I've recently gotten Pokemon Violet and for the past few weeks I've been playing though, finishing the main story arcs, and completing the pokedex.

Why Fl4k with a Clodsier? Well it was originally going to be Fl4k with a Magneton since I have a shiny Magneton named after Fl4k, but I thought this was cuter.

2.) I've mentioned before that Jack wanted to implant an echo eye on Angel, but her body rejected it and Jack never removed it.

This is when the raiders found out about the eye, which made Lilith's silent rage so loud, a flock of rak's flew off.

4.) Probably the oldest doodle here.

Even though I really don't like Ava, I'll defend her this one time and lay the blame on ratboy the false siren.

If you want to get mad at someone, get mad at Troy for actually killing her (and the bl3 writers for thinking this is a good idea)

4.) This was funnier in my head.

The best way I can describe any context to this is that he lost a bet and one of his teammates (mainly Moze) forced him to stand in the streets of Prometheus while wearing an old and crusty shirt that Mr. Chew found, ate and threw up.

The shirt is supposed to say "I use crowded trains to sniff women" and was found on a twitter account that shows t-shirts that have "threatening aura's". I was originally going to draw Nick (L4D2) in that shirt, but I thought Zane would be funnier? Maybe?? IDK. I might do a second version with Nick instead some day.

[trickstarbrave]

you got anymore thoughts on obsidian? i love that lil baby

okay i think i got a couple more (am i just gonna have to start posting the story with him you all love the baby too much 😭) if ive said any of these b4 i am sorry

>loves fire and watching it. he can watch a fireplace or campfire like its tv

>chases rats and other pests. once got in a fight with a skeever his mom had to help him win. hes very sore about that

>he likes the thieves guild members bc his mom does. they dont hold him like a baby tho and he is a bit miffed about that.

>sometimes odahviing tells him abt his dad while his mom is sleeping. obsidian likes that a lot

>loves listening to ansa's heartbeat

>quickly adopts both dragon baby talk and human common baby talk at the same time so he switches between mama and momo (my form of 'mama' for dragons, short of monah

>alduin would be bobo as the shortened form of bormah lmao i just like a tiny little hatchling calling the terrifying world eater smth so cute

>obsidian would in fact like siblings so the whole "parents hate each other for some reason" thing is putting a damper on that

>obsidian one time tries to buy a knife from a blacksmith while out with odahviing. the blacksmith had no idea what this lizard was doing. obsidian was very mad he couldnt also get a weapon. odahviing bought him a little dagger but it wasnt the same. ansa did not understand why he was pouting he is literally a dragon he doesnt even have hands

>has tried and failed multiple times to go into form. wants to match his mom so badly. he throws a tantrum every time. i still havent made up my mind if he should be able to go into it bc i think a small human toddler with sharp teeth and claws and spikes and horns would also be very funny, but also: baby dragon is funnier and cuter

>obsidian eagerly awaits being so big he can eat a whole chicken

>can and will ride on odahviing's head regardless of what form his uncle is in

[notobranzino]

@ofastuteheroics 

[I chuckled lightly when I heard Gwen’s comment about the flower arrangements. My shoulders rolling into a slight, nonchalant shrug in response. I mean, she wasn’t wrong. The few times I’ve brought Gwen flowers, they were usually taken from someone’s garden, and typically busted and falling apart by the time they reached her] You know, I can’t even deny it. Getting you nice flower arrangements and bouquets hasn’t been a strength of mine. The sappy-happy cards are from May, and the cuter, funnier ones are from me. [Figuring once Gwen read them, she’d easily know the difference between them, without even needing to read the signature at the end] Oh, the stuffed turtle and otter are both from me, too. May went with the flowers and I decided the plus was more up my alley. I didn’t realize until now I was apparently going with an ocean theme. [I chuckled out lightly before shrugging sheepishly once more but glanced down at my phone when I felt it vibrate with a new text message. Briefly reading the text from May then smiling over at Gwen] Speaking of May, she said she’ll be here to visit you shortly before her shift starts. [Replying with a brief, “Sounds great, May. Love you,” and then adding an emoji to the end of the text before returning my phone back into my pocket] So, now that you know about May’s new boyfriend, once you’re feeling better and you know, you’re released from the hospital, would you be willing to be my date for the dinner they want to have? I know he wants to get to know me, since he’s really only seen me in passing for brief “Hi’s” and “bye’s,” which is why May thought of all of us having dinner together, but I know I’d probably be nicer, less awkward, and more open to the idea of it, if you were there with me, since I’m always happier when you’re around. [I knew Gwen had a ways to go with her recovery time and the healing of her injuries, so it could wait until she was up to it, but I at least wanted to put the idea out there, so she could think about it before making any decisions] I mean, you don’t have to, if you think it would be weird or something. I don’t want you to feel pressured into it, but just know, if you do decide you’d want to join us, I’d really like it and I have a feeling May would too. Really though, no pressure either way. I’ll love you either way. [I said with a goofy grin as I pressed a tender kiss to the top of her head; all the while gingerly holding her flush to my side as a means of comfort and protection of her]

continued

@notobranzino

Reading Peter Parker was one of my specialities. Accident or not; it seemed like the only memory I didn’t have was what caused the Green Goblin to attack me. What caused me to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Why would I be there? Did I have a connection with the hero himself? Spider Man; he was flying through webs; he came when harms way was happening. But it also pegged the question, why hadn’t he saved me from this? The fall that nearly took my life? Not that I no longer trusted the man under the mask. Because heroes sweep in and save the day; but sometimes the situations are out of their hands. I was one of them. I was smart, I knew why I was suppressing my memory; it was painful to think about. The acts I took to get involved, the why I was attacked. I didn’t want to bring up those thoughts; the pain I must of felt when I fell knowing it may be my last breath. I knew Peter through he was trying to protect me from the truth. I never strayed away from calling him out for his bullshit, or for his lies. But right now the priority was my health, it was getting me released from the hospital; and that’s why I brushed off his lies for now. Truth was even if Peter continued to lie to me about the why Green Goblin came after me; I was a journalist, I would dig deep into the truth. I’d find out one way or another. 

For now I felt my pounding headache, probably from the lights blaring down on me. The aching in my stomach, my arms without the pain meds, I was grateful I had someone like Peter who was on my side, who wanted to help me feel better. A hint of a smile wormed its way along bare lips as he shifted up to stand. Find the nurse; or in his take steal the pain meds himself. I had to laugh to myself which of course caused my chest to give a joint of pain, forcing my hand to press against my chest. “ Don’t cause too many chaos.” I called out to him mas I laughed more so to myself than him. Within minutes the man I adored more than life itself had disappeared. If I wanted to I could turn on the TV but that meant reaching for the remote and risk the chance of hearing news on my accident; what occurred and I suppose a piece of me was scared to death. To learn how I fell, what pushed me over the ledge. Instead I had closed my eyes to zone out the aching coursing through my body. 

Eyes opening when I heard him; Peter; an amused smile on his face. He made my heart race in the good way; not with fear. With joy; I had leaned into his embrace instantly. Gwen had leaned her head down upon his shoulder as arm draped across his chest having a safe hold on him. Love; it drove you crazy; I’d follow him anywhere. We’d figure it all out; London was still an option; but only if it was right for us both. His jokes aside; I had brushed the remark off as I tilted my head up to gaze right into his brown specs. “ If May gets a job here, then maybe you won’t cause as many chaos with attempting to steal meds.” A tease in my voice as I held my own laugh. But I knew Peter; he was happy for May but he also felt weird; I sensed it which is what promoted my words. 

“ I know you’re happy for May, but at the same time how do you feel? “ I wanted Peter to talk to me; I didn’t want his lies, not about how he felt when it came to May dating.

[juminsmysticmc]

OKAY SO HERE WE GO

What would you say about RFA and Minor trio x MC who takes them to the cat cafe? With exception of Zen who would go to bunny cafe :3

RFA + Minor Trio x MC who takes them to the cat cafe

Hey! So we actually have a Cat cafe in our city and I visited it once - before the cats arrived lol.

Actually, I am not fond of the thought of eating in a coffee shop while cats are around me but I can totally understand the love people feel while being there, so thank you so much for your request! Hope you like it!

Jumin

One day you saw this cafe on your Tik Tok FYP and the next day you reserved two seats, not telling Jumin that you had a plan.

Of course your husband was delighted to know that you made a plan for the both of you and was so happy and looking forward to seeing what you, his wonderful wife, planned for him.

Jaehee, however, didn’t quite enjoy the sudden news of his day off.

And so, when the both of you arrived at the cafe, Jumin didn’t quite register what he was doing there.

Thinking you wanted another cat, Jumin looked through the window at the cats who were looking quite grown up.

Nevertheless, you entered the shop with him, making him even more confused about the variety of things to eat.

At first, he was a bit surprised because he didn’t think it was quite hygienic, but he quickly realized that the kitchen was separated from the actual cat cafe and once they had their cake and drink ready for the both of you, you got to enter.

To his surprise, it was funnier than he thought.

The cats slowly approached him, nudging their heads against his leg.

As soon as you were finished with your meal, he even petted them and played with them and Jumin was so happy and had so much fun that your heart grew warmer at the sight of him playing with the cats.

,,Thank you so much, my love, for always thinking of me and planning this for me,’’ he thanked you, stroking your hand and kissing you.

The next day, Jaehee complained and was slightly panicking because of Jumin’s latest project - a Cat Cafe next to the C&R building with Elizabeth the third as model and special cat.

Zen - decided to write it in a stuffed animal cafe because it’s cuter

Idols kept posting their dates in cat cafes and made fans go crazy because of the sweetness they were witnessing, making Zen feel a bit jealous.

He couldn’t go into those coffee shops because of his allergy and honesty, he didn’t quite enjoy the thought of any other animal's fur around him, fearing his nose could swell and make him sick like the last time Jumin brought his cat along.

And so, after you kept informing yourself over and over again, you finally found a very good solution - in Seoul, in the middle of the city, there was one of the biggest coffee shops with stuffed animals and the location seemed just as cute and comfortable as any other cat cafe.

And so, you decided to have a big surprise and actually lead him towards the cafe.

At first, Zen thought it was a joke, laughing as the two of you stood in front of the door. When you, however, really entered, Zen was really touched and just followed you.

Each of you got to sit next to a stuffed animal and honestly, the pictures you took were so cute that he was sure that his fans would just love it as much as he did.

Jaehee did love it too and made sure to join the both of you as soon as she was allowed to go, something Jumin allowed if she would analyze the location for other business ideas.

Zen had so much fun and really acknowledged your way of helping him, making him fall in love with you even more��

Yoosung

Years passed and the two of you eventually had some kind of a routine in your daily life.

Marriage wasn’t the easiest, but you always handled and deeply loved each other.

You and Yoosung were still trying for a family, but neither of you worried until one day Yoosung lost a little cat's family due to bad behavior from the pet’s family.

Unable to save the Mama cat and her little kittens, Yoosung slowly began to overthink the whole thing.

And even worse, Lisa,due to her age, also died.

Somehow, Yoosung was so devastated that he didn’t seem the same.

,,Maybe I’m just not fit as a father and vet? Why… why should I keep trying?’’ he asked you one day, totally hurting your feelings.

But you knew that he was only mourning and you had to help him.

,,Come on, I called in for you. Let’s get out for a bit,’’ you said, taking his hand and leading the way, straight towards the cat shop you spotted a few days ago. 

Yoosung didn’t quite feel comfortable at first, but on the other hand, he was kind of panicking.

But he quickly got used to the cats and after more of them approached him and made him pet them, he felt more and more comfortable.

,,It wasn’t your fault. You did the best to save them all,’’ you finally said, finally helping Yoosung to cry, letting the tears fall as he held the cats.

It wasn’t his fault, he wasn’t the one who killed them. He tried his best and he did fail, but he wouldn’t let this failure drag him down.

It wouldn’t be fair to every other animal.

And after he finally calmed down, Yoosung was an even better vet, person, and husband…

Jaehee

,,Never. You will never get me in the c-fur world,’’ Jaehee laughed when the both of you stood in front of the coffee shop you were trying to get her in.

,,I thought you only hated C-Fur because of Jumin and his cat?’’ you asked her half shocked as you thought that the reason for her hate for cats was simply because of Jumin.

,,No, I don’t really like the fur being everywhere…I’m sorry, I know that you..uhm, perhaps planned a lot for this but…’’ she looked through the window to the inside, the cats were playing with other guests.

Other people were carrying them around and having them on their laps and Jaehee really couldn’t stop her facial expression.

,,No, don’t worry! I will just go there with someone else,’’ you said, thinking out loud if another friend of yours would join you.

She looked at you, big eyes looking straight at you as you looked through your phone for a good contact to ask to go out with you.

Jaehee didn’t seem like one, but she was a jealous one and before you could react, her hand already pulled yours towards the door.

She didn’t want you to go with someone else, that was for sure.

In the end, it wasn’t as bad as she thought and Jaehee had a lot of fun. She, like the others, played with the cats and even enjoyed some really good coffee.

She laughed a lot and loved how the gray cat lay on her lap sleeping soundly and realized how calmling it was to have an animal feeling so safe in her lap.

In the end, this became her new favorite cafe.

Saeyoung

At first you didn’t take Saeyoung seriously when he said that he really wanted to have Elly, but from time to time you could see his actual love for cats, liking the long cat and repairing the cat he destroyed back then. You decided that for your next day, you should bring him into a cat cafe, hoping he would enjoy it.

His bright smile gave you the feeling at first that indeed he enjoyed the thought, but as soon as he saw all those cats, his mood suddenly changed.

You didn’t know how or why, but something triggered him.

But you knew that all you could do was wait for him to open his heart to you and so you kept stroking the cat until he finally said what he was thinking. ,,I’m scared to hurt them,’’ he mumbled.

You smiled as you finally knew what his problem was.

Taking his hand, you led him toward the cat and made him stroke it himself.

,,The cat knows how to defend itself if you’re too strong or do something not enjoyable, so stop worrying and enjoy the moment. You have a lot of copies of Elly and you are really ignoring them all?’’ you asked him, slowly making him laugh and be the old same clown he usually was.

,,Saeyoung! Stop! The cat can’t become a longcat!’’ you hissed as Saeyoung was playing oddly with the cat.

The animal didn’t even complain. It seemed as if the both of them found each other. Still, the stabbing stares from everyone else finally made you understand what Jumin meant when he said that he was a cat abuser…

Saeran

You observed your boyfriend as he had the purring cat on his lap, his hand kept stroking the fur of the animal as he was peacefully smiling down at it.

He was finally at ease and you were so happy.

You also smiled as you observed Saeran enjoying himself.

The past weeks were hard and both of you were stressed, however, knowing how breakable Saeran was and how much love he actually needed, you always made sure to take good care of him.

And not knowing if he would actually enjoy the cafe, you simply decided to bring him along.

To your surprise, he really enjoyed it.

,,The flowers on the table are also wonderful,’’ he said, suddenly kind of waking you up from the daydream you had.

,,Oh, really? I didn’t notice them. I was focusing way too much on you and the cute cat,’’ you laughed and looked at the flowers Saeran meant, making you notice that actually the whole shop had quite pretty decorations.

,,Thank you for taking me along,’’ he said, now looking into your eyes. The cat finally got up and now Saeran could take a slip from his coffee.

,,I never had a cat…or a pet. I don’t remember actually having the feeling of wanting anything alive next to me or an animal to take care of, but slowly, things in my life are changing. You are changing me for the better…I feel free and I never thought that I would feel free enough to even love another animal….I really enjoyed the feeling of loving that cat,’’ he said. For him, his words were oddly making no sense. For you, all he said was relatable.

,,If you want, we can go to a pet shop tomorrow and look at pets? Like, I wouldn’t mind taking care of one,’’ you laughed, not imagining that your adventure to such a cafe would have such a deep impact.

Days later, you adopted a cute little kitten.

Jihyun

,,Jumin seems to like Elizabeth the third,’’ Jihyun said one day as he read the messages on the phone, the phone buzzing with every new message while Jihyun kept looking at the picture his dear friend posted in the group.

You looked over to him as you were trying to feed Lucy, remembering that the cat the black haired man now owned was once his and Rika’s.

Lucy took the fork and began to eat herself as she didn’t want to be fed anymore, while your eyes stayed glued on your husband, who perhaps could have wanted the cat back from his friend.

,,Do you want to have the cat back?’’ you asked him, actually sounding more surprised than you intended.

Jihyun looked at you and smiled. ,,Of course not. I could never do that to Jumin. But I thought it would be nice if Lucy would have had one. I think it’s a great support system for children,’’ he answered and then left you alone with your thoughts as he had to get back to work.

While he was busy, you had some other thoughts and decided to invite him to a cat cafe, taking Lucy with you and enjoying some quality time with your family.

Jihyun used this time to take a lot of pictures: some of you, some of Lucy, and some of the two together.

A lot of time had passed before you begged him to play with one of the cats until he actually did play with them, Lucy in his arms as he taught her how to be gentle with cats.

Of course, you couldn’t hold back and took some pictures with your phone, noticing that his smile was the sweetest.

,,You know, I took you here today because I thought that you perhaps would miss Elizabeth the third and want her back…so we could see how this all is going before we would adopt our own,’’ you mumbled.

Jihyun, quite shocked, began to laugh at you before he explained that it was nothing like that.

,,I’m happy that Jumin has the cat now. I never had such feelings towards the animal. I was just thinking about Lucy. But don’t worry, I have no emotional bonds with that cat,’’

Actually, both of you, after you sorted that out, had planned on buying a cat, but thanks to your invitation to the cafe, you found out that Lucy was allergic to cat hair, just like Zen and instead went for a dog…

Vanderwood

,,They are actually cute,’’ he said as he held one cat in his arms, stroking its fur.

You enjoyed every moment while Vanderwood sweetly played with the cat.

This man was giving you more and more reasons to fall deeper in love with him. 

You somehow won two entries for a cat cafe. Everything was being paid for you and you didn’t want to lose this opportunity and dragged Vanderwood with you. 

He surprised you with a warm smile and a very good mood, enjoying the company of the cats.

,,Wait, she is looking at you, how cute! Lemme take a pic!’’ you said, quickly taking out your phone and turning off the flash to take a picture of the two of them together.

Of course, his beauty made you fall in love with him even deeper and you decided to enjoy the rest of your stay without checking the phone, ignoring the messages of the chatroom.

Later on, both of you laughed about the fact that the cat had the same fur color as Vanderwoods hair and that both of them actually seemed to look alike.

This fact made the two of you go regularly to the cafe. You began to go every second week for years until for the last stay from the both of you, the cute cat died, being loved dearly by both of you.

ᗰᗩᔕTEᖇᒪIᔕT

06.10.2022 // 21:07 MEST

[sambergscott]

notes from the palm springs commentary !! 🏝

i know not everyone has access to hulu and i know i'd be gutted if i couldn’t watch it too so bc i'm lucky enough to have an american friend who let me use her hulu account i thought i'd share the commentary with you all on here <3 

- their first bit of commentary is “there’s a title” (cristin) and “there’s a goat” (andy)... 10/10 anaylsis thanks guys

- andy joked that they talked about waiting for an earthquake but decided they didn’t have the budget to wait that long (he said the glowing lights at the end were real tho 🙄)

- andy: “we’re gonna start off pretty racy” djfdjfkdjgh

- “for all those kids out there, the b99 fans, you probably don’t wanna watch this”.... but andy,, we absolutely Do

- andy was cristin’s least favourite person in the movie

- nyles spread eagle on the bed was in the script not an acting choice

- according to andy there were 700,000 bugs just hatched where they filmed the wedding scenes that they had to edit out in post (also it was suuuuuper cold and cristin was shivering)

- ANDY CALLED HIMSELF A BUTT UGLY WEIRDO. NO SIR. U ARE THE FURTHEST THING FROM THAT.

- the dance move when he clapped his hands over his head “lightly hurt his schlong”

- they had 20-30 options for orchid explosion by fournier, cristin pitched some too that she “does not remember!” (she said that very cute)

- they talk about how great june squibb is and how andy is impressed that she wasn’t complaining about the cold/shooting at 5am/the fact that they improved a lil bit.  “she doesn’t not give a what”

- during the make out scene on the rock cristin goes “ohhh ~spicy~”

- they also had to have a snake wrangler come out before they shot that scene and he was like “uhh i think it’s good?”

- andy was excited about having to get shot by an arrow when he was reading the script (it was also the moment they realised this movie was zanier than first thought)

- the cave was the same place they shot the old batman movies

- they started working on palm springs on november 9th 2016…. hence the wedding date

- cristin said they did about 30 takes (at least) of her opening her eyes/sitting up.. basically the entire first half of the first day shooting she spent doing the same thing

- “i just think you’re the coolest cristin, way to go man!” “you too andy!”

- the beer is fictional and has a meaning behind it.. the tortoise is to do with a myth about the universe or smth

- andy wants someone to make the beer fr

- “so here is cristin in the desert pretending to be hot” “he means physically” “TEMPERATURE HOT… i have no opinions on her appearance”

- they wanted to skip past the set-up-y parts to avoid it being too groundhog day and add diff dynamics and comedic elements that come from that

- according to andy, nyles has been in the loop an “insanely long time” (cristin and andy like that you don’t know the exact number of years bc however many years it’s been nothing has changed for nyles)

- cristin’s fondest memories were spending days in that dusty ass car together (i too would like to be that girl in his car)

- “i like your hat” “of course you do” was improved by andy and jk

- andy said jk is a “national treash”

- andy loved shooting the montage w jk (and he thinks that montage + the scene at the end is why jk signed up to do ps)

- “i went full butt” - andy samberg, 2021

- HE HAS A STUNT DOUBLE CALLED SETH WHO HAS A SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER BUTT THAN HIM (but andy’s butt was funnier so they went with his)

- the very last shot of the movie was nyles getting the handjob in the car

- max or other andy i can’t remember who talked for a while about how talented our andy is. can’t wait for that oscar nom!!!!!

- if andy were in a time loop he’d try to catch up on shows for a few years (and then try and leave)

- cristin is horrified that he’d choose to watch all of MASH to get him through a time loop

- cristin LOVED filming all the deaths

- andy said that their dance scene in the denim jacket replaces every iconic dance scene ever like fame/dirty dancing/etc etc and he’s right

- he dropped her in that scene bc his arms are “weak and floppy like a baby calf”

- the tattoo moment was the only fully improved scene

- they REALLY wanted it in the movie

- cristin insisted on the hook hand and eye patch and they obliged and she said she kept the hook hand and put it on her mantle and andy was like “prove it prove it prove it prove it prooooooove it”

- she did Indeed prove it

- orange in the movie significies intimacy and that whole montage is coloured orange to show them falling in love

- they loved shooting the tent scene

- the first night they filmed it there was a sandstorm and rain and they had to hide under a tarp and they came back the next night and they were able to get looser with it bc it was the last day of shooting and they’d basically done the whole thing the night before

- the dinosaurs bit was a “symbolic moment between the characters - they are 2 people who don’t believe they can be loved so they’re feeling something impossible and therefore they should see something impossible”

- the wake-ups were like an acting exercise in a way bc each wake up was diff emotionally based on where they were in the loop

- nyles finally cares about something (her) for the first time in maybe hundreds of years and he immediately gets slapped down :(((

- “suck my dick officer bitch” was cristin’s ad lib!!! (if anyone makes a montage of her life’s work she would like it to either begin or end w suck my dick officer bitch, andy said why not both)

- “for some reason i rolled up one of my sleeves [after nyles woke up after their fight] and then we couldn’t get out of it so that was a lesson! it was a terrible choice”

- andy loves the overhead pool shot

- everytime andy watches the confrontation at the wedding he feels terrible for tala, we love an empathetic king

- re: roy’s arc andy talks about how important it is to relish what you’ve got and it was v v v v sweet

- everyone laughed so hard in the arrow/garbage bin scene

- apparently tyler’s shirtlessness in the shower was distracting for people in early tests and they had to tone it back w colour correction 💀

- cristin was like “did that happen when i had to take my shirt off?” and andy was like “uh huh yeah”

- the goat was on set for a couple of days + apparently cristin would talk to it in between takes 🥺🥺🥺 can she get any cuter

- max talked about how they lucky they were to get andy and cristin and how the movie wouldn’t have worked without them, they were so on the same wavelength and there was an early meeting where nobody else could get a word in bc they were talking so much

- nobody was in it for the paycheck, “it was for the love, and dare i say it, for the art” <3

- they took 3-4 nights to shoot the entire wedding, andy can Not stress enough how much they were rushing

- they haven’t busted out any bloopers yet bc they used pretty much every frame they could/reused them in different places

- cristin doesn’t want to know if nana knows bc the mystery of it is what makes the movie so great!

- andy said there’s no definitive answer to a lot of stuff bc a lot of the people working on the movie had diff opinions

- the french song w the slo mo bit of sarah in the bar was cristin’s choice

- andy is v confused why people think spuds is nyles’ dad,, he’s just tricking him into getting a ride and andy’s sorry to everyone who thought it was real

- cristin liked that the payoff at the end felt like payoff while still staying true to who nyles and sarah are and not just super romantic bc “it’s a romcom!” [andy said throwing his arms in the air]

- cloudbursting was andy’s idea from the very first meeting about the movie but we been knew

- andy: “here’s the ending! nobody knows what it means!”

- the family at the end was the producer’s family, they drove a very long way to do that 2 second scene lol

- andy and cristin were swaying to when the morning comes at the end 🥺

- andy clapped and shouted “WELL PRODUCED” when his/tli’s credit came up hahaha

[narniagiftexchange]

                              THE WINTER NARNIAN GIFT EXCHANGE.

                    for: @lukejulies from @teenagedpevensies.

my best friend, my sibling.           

for @lukejulies from @teenagedpevensies

“Why your Majesty it’s such an honor to run into you here,” Lucy curtsied deeply, giggling.

“Oh yes your Majesty, simply divine, what have you done with your hair?” Edmund bowed, keeping a serious expression fixed to his face.

“Brushed it, for once, your Majesty, and I must say where has your famous body odor gone this evening?”

“You mean you aren’t accessorizing with leaves and dirt anymore? Fascinating. You’re quite the trend setter, your Majesty, and if you must know my dearest sister I’ve taken the liberty of bathing today.”

“First time all week! Daring of you.”

“I thought so, yes.”

“Oh your Majesties! What an honor to run into you!” A noble from Archenland walked out into the hall. She was lady something or other, Edmund couldn’t quite remember which made him a little guilty. A little. To be fair, there were a lot of nobles here, and he was only twelve and had many many kingly duties. Like hiding out from the celebration with his little sister because if either of them went into the ballroom, they’d have to meet approximately 80 guests and then be expected to remember all of them. Very serious business, hiding from festivities.

Cair Paravel had finally gotten all fixed up, so they were hosting a huge celebration. It had taken about a year and a half to finish repairs and cleaning and furnishing, and it was good that the work was over and good to celebrate! But being in a room full of stuffy adults wasn’t Lucy or Edmund’s idea of a celebration. It wasn’t the first gathering the kings and queens had hosted since being crowned, but dear god it WAS the largest by a lot. Edmund had snuck out of the great hall and found Lucy sitting by the door making flower crowns, also having escaped from the chaos.

“Yes, good to see you again, madam,” Edmund said politely.

“Oh, your Majesty! Where did you get those divine flowers?” The lady motioned to the crown Lucy had placed haphazardly on her head.

Lucy and her quickly got into a lovely conversation about the flowers until the lady went to go find the gardens for herself. Lucy sent her off with a flower crown of her own and a brilliant smile.

“How do you do that?” Edmund asked.

“Do what, Ed?”

“Make friends with- well with everyone?”

“It’s not everyone, Tumnus’s nephew still hates me.”

“Impossible.” Edmund dismissed the statement with a wave. “Everyone likes you.”

“I’m just nice, I guess.”

“Well, I’m nice!”

“No, you’re polite, Ed. It’s different.” She took a seat next to one of the heavy wood doors.

“Is it really that different?” He sat next to her.

“Maybe. Or maybe I’m just cuter and sweeter and funnier than you and everyone thinks I’m an angel. It comes with being the youngest.”

Edmund shoved her, she laughed, the door opened, and Mr. Beaver stepped out.

“There you are! You can’t just disappear like that, Susan thinks you’ve been kidnapped. Or assassinated.”

“Oh Mr. Beaver, don’t make us go back in,” Lucy begged. “It’s lasted hours already, and I’m so tired.”

“Who said anything about going back in? Scoot over, I think I can hide away for ten minutes. It’s every creature for themselves at these things. The others can hold their own.”

The summer air in Narnia was heavy and warm, like the mantle of some great beast had been draped over them while they sat in front of a roaring fire. On days when there were no responsibilities to attend to, the teenaged kings and queens would often ride down to the river and swim there for hours, until their whole bodies shivered with the ice of the water. Susan and Edmund started the game of climbing the trees that trailed branches over the water and jumping in, and Peter and Lucy turned it into a competition to see who could make the biggest splash.

Sometimes the river turned their toes to prunes, or they began to fear catching a cold, and then they’d run around the forest, befriending squirrels and tree nymphs, climbing trees and rocks, and dancing and singing in clearings.

“Race you to the top of this tree,” Edmund shouted to Lucy, as she raced to catch up with him.

“No fair! We all know you’re the best at climbing!”

“Sounds like an excuse!” He was the best at climbing and demonstrated this with his graceful ascent into the tree’s lower branches.

“Edmund!”

“Better hurry up then if you want to win!”

Lucy reached the base of the tree, huffing and puffing, with a twig caught on the hem of her dress and dirt caking her bare feet. She jumped up to reach the lowest branch, caught hold of it, and promptly lost her hold. Edmund was seated on one of the middle branches of the tree by this point, watching with amusement.

“You’re the worst!” She called up, but she was grinning.

“Yes, but the best climber.”

“You have to race me later on foot, to make it up to me.”

“Actually Lucy, I don’t have to do anything.”

She caught hold of the branch and pulled herself up.

“One down!” He started climbing again, “only about twenty to go!”

She huffed in response.

They were quiet for a minute, both focusing on not losing their grip as they climbed higher and higher. Narnian trees, even the ones not inhabited by dryads, are particularly lovely. They are exactly the right height, always. They touch the sky or are as short as Peter and either way it’s right. They feel genuine; they make you think, this is a tree that knows, a tree that thinks, and feels. This tree has seen so much and is so beautiful, and being near it feels like being young. Each leaf is its own kind of beautiful, a tiny art piece. And each branch is strong and healthy, and holding onto it feels safe. Or maybe the trees back in England are like this, too. Neither Lucy nor Edmund could quite remember.

“I think I’ve gotten as high as the tree will hold me” Edmund called down after a bit.

“What do you-” Lucy stopped to catch her breath after heaving herself onto a particularly difficult branch, “what do you see Ed?”

“The forest, what do you think?”

“Oh whatever,” Lucy scowled up at him.

“Well, the trees all look plenty green up here. Like a sea of its own. The sky is lovely, it must be about noon, the sun looks to be straight up from here. The clouds look particularly alive today. Oh, is that-?” Edmund carefully stood, clinging tightly to the trunk of the tree, craning his neck to see something closer.

“What is it?”

“It’s a birds nest! Lucy get up here!”

“I’ve been trying! Don’t touch the eggs!”

“I’m not going to touch them, I’m not stupid.”

It was a phoenix nest, the eggs were red and looked hot to the touch. Lucy finally got to the top branch, Edmund giving her a little help by calling directions on where to put her feet for the last few branches, and the siblings stood on the branch together, overlooking the forest.

“We should name them,” Lucy said reverently, studying the three eggs.

“They have parents, you know.”

“Sure, but these can be special names that only we know. Then when they hatch, we’ll see phoenixes flying around and say to ourselves, I wonder if that’s little-” Lucy looked at him expectantly.

“Bartholomew?” He laughed at her scowl.

“You’re the worst. Pick a serious name,” she demanded.

“We should be climbing down, Susan and Peter are probably ready to head home about now.”

“Right.”

“Lucy?”

She didn’t meet his eyes, looked down at her hands instead as she picked at her fingernails. “It’s a bad night.”

It was late; most of the castle was asleep. Edmund hadn’t been, he was finishing the last chapter of the book he’d been reading. And clearly, since she was here, Lucy wasn’t sleeping either.

“Come on in.”

They sat on the floor, beside the mural on Edmund’s wall. They’d painted it for him when he turned 13. It turned out Mr. Tumnus had quite the artistic talent. Trees, tall and strong, the sun shining through the leaves. They’d all helped, and Susan said her favorite part was Lucy’s little squirrel she’d painted in the top left corner.

“What’s bugging you?” Edmund asked her, solemnly.

“Well not- Not bugging me so much as it’s just…” she paused. “No, I guess it is bugging me. We love it here, right?”

“Right.” They’d been over this conversation before, the two of them, and they’d both talked to Peter about it, and Susan, and many times all four of them had spoken about it in tearful tones.

“There’s no place I’d rather be, and it’s home, and we’ve been here for five years, and I’ve never truly really wanted to leave but. Do you ever think about it?”

“The professor’s house?”

“No, bigger.”

“Where our parents are.”

Neither acknowledged that they hadn’t said its name. Neither admitted that they no longer remembered.

“Do you remember what dad was like?” Lucy asked. She looked just as small as she had been, that very first day when they’d found Tumnus’s house empty.

“Brave. Funny. He told us stories.”

“I remember those. Do you remember what mom was like?”

“Worried.”

“And?”

“Kind. She loved us. She used to sing us lullabies.”

“I don’t remember the lullabies anymore.”

“I do. One of them at least. Do you remember anything?”

“A little. Nothing solid. It feels like that place was a dream. Like we were always meant to belong to here instead.”

“We do. We belong there too, but we do belong here.”

They were quiet for a moment.

“Do you think they miss us?” Lucy asked.

“Of course they do.” Edmund sighed. He laced his fingers together, remembering being a very small boy and holding his father’s hand to cross the street.

“Do we miss them?”

“You’re here, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Is there anything else you want to talk about?”

“No, not really.”

“Well, you can stay as long as you’d like.” After a minute, he picked up his book again, and Lucy sat quietly, staring off into the middle distance.

“Edmund?”

“Yeah, Lu?”

“Will you sing one of mom’s lullabies for me?”

Edmund hated singing. ”Sure.”

She scooted over to sit next to him, and he hugged her.

“Um, the only one I really remember is this,” he cleared his throat and began to sing, resting his chin on Lucy’s head. “Sing a song of sixpence, a pocket full of rye, four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie. When the pie was opened the birds began to sing— Wasn’t that a dainty dish to set before the king?”

He sang that song, and remembered another so he sang that one too, and another, and another. When he finally looked down at Lucy, he noticed that she’d been crying.

“I don’t remember any of them,” she said softly.

“I’m sorry, Lucy.” He felt close to tears himself.

She was quiet for a long time, sniffling.

“Do you need to talk any more?” He asked gently.

“No. I think I’m going to go back to bed.”

“Probably a good plan.”

“Thank you.”

“Of course.”

When she left he set to work writing down as many songs as he could remember. He wanted them to always have them.

It’d taken teamwork and dedication and a week of trying but Lucy and Edmund had finally figured out how to scale the pillars of the throne room to perch in the rafters. And they were taking full advantage of it.

“Lucy! Edmund!!” Peter called from somewhere a few hallways away.

“Should we go see what he’s after?” Lucy asked, munching on a scone.

“Of course not, he either wants us to do some chore or other, or he found out about the scones.” They were Peter’s scones, he’d baked them yesterday.

“Maybe we shouldn’t have stolen them?”

“Hey, he bakes a whole batch every week and never finishes them before they go stale. We’re helping.”

“Fair enough.”

“Plus he’s being a jerk.”

“That too.”

Peter had been training all week for a tournament with some important noble. It was supposed to just be a friendly match, but Peter treated it like he did any of his other kingly duties, far too seriously. He was tired from training and tired from still keeping up with all his other work, and he’d been far more snappish than he normally was. This was agreed to be, by the two younger Pevensies, completely justified payback for the way he’d been behaving all week. Plus, his scones were delicious.

“LUCY! EDMUND!”

Peter was in the throne room now, stomping around. Magnificent though he was, and extremely kind most days, their brother acted like a toddler when he lost his temper over something petty. Lucy and Edmund exchanged looks. When Peter was below the rafter they were situated on, Edmund drew something from his pocket. Making a shushing gesture toward Lucy, he daintily dropped the acorn in his hand onto their brothers regal head. Both of them gathered themselves, hiding any trailing sleeves and dangling legs from Peter’s line of sight as he looked up. Lucy muffled giggles into her elbow, and Edmund hid his smile behind his hand. The door to the throne room opened and shut. Peeking over the side of the rafter and verifying that Peter wasn’t there anymore, they allowed themselves to burst out into laughter.

“Glad you find it so funny, now what HAVE you done with my armor?”

And there was Peter, leaning by the door. It had been a ruse.

“Armor? Why brother dear, I haven’t the slightest notion of what you’re talking about,” Lucy said sweetly.

“Get down here.”

“Come up and get us,” Lucy challenged, and there it was. Peter was hiding a grin, and soon trying and failing to climb the pillars of the throne room while they alternatively cheered him on and said he would never catch them, and his missing armor was completely forgotten in their laughter.

A good thing too because the smiley face they’d painted on the armor was still in the process of drying.

“I don’t know, Lu, doesn’t it seem a little. Well, risky?” Peter asked, moving a pawn.

“And how is it risky? It’s just a stag.”

“Yes, a magical stag. One that no one knows much about. I don’t think we should risk it.” Susan said, scribbling away on the paper that rested on the arm of her chair. She was writing a letter to someone, had been writing letters almost constantly for months, and no amount of pestering from Lucy or sleuthing from Edmund or curious looks from Peter had gotten answers as to who it was.

“Risk what? A few days away from the palace? Tumnus and the beavers and Oreius are perfectly capable of looking after things, they always have been before, and there’s nothing too pressing going on! Catching the stag could be big!” Lucy kicked her feet against the legs of her throne as she always did when she was excited. She was already dressed in her riding outfit as if she expected to go out and hunt right then.

“I think we should listen to Lucy,” Edmund spoke up from his game of chess with Peter, one that he was about to win by the looks of it.

“And why is that?” Susan sighed, casting an irritated look at her little brother.

“Because she’s never been wrong before,” he answered easily. “Well, other than thinking Tumnus is a good cook.”

“Is this still about finding Narnia?” Susan asked crossly.

“It’s always about finding Narnia. Lucy found our home, Susan, and we didn’t believe her, and she was right. That has to count for something.”

“I’d nearly forgotten about that,” Peter said thoughtfully.

“Me too,” Lucy said, a soft look crossing her face as she looked out the window at the people outside. Their home.

“Well just because she’s been right in the past doesn’t mean she’s always right,” Susan said, but her scowl had softened considerably. She smiled at Lucy. “No offence Lucy.”

“Still, she’s right about this. And who knows, we haven’t gone hunting well… hardly ever, it could be fun,” Edmund moved a piece on the board. “Checkmate! What does that bring our score to, Pete?”

“You’ve won nearly every game for the past year. I’m pretty sure our score is ‘I am solidly losing’” Peter looked at Susan. “What do you think?”

She sighed, fingers playing with the ends of her dark hair. “Fine. Let’s go hunt the white stag. Why not?” Her eyes glittered. She was excited about this even if she didn’t say so.

Lucy shouted with joy, stood right up and did a jig on the spot. “You won’t be sorry! Edmund! What should we ask it for when we catch it?”

“Well, we have to catch it first! I’m going to go to the library to research it.”

“I’ll come with!” Lucy looked out the window again, to the sea, to the people on the shore. She was glad that they were there. She looked at her siblings, the furrow in Susan’s brow as she thought of what to write next, the twinkle in Edmund’s eye as he headed off towards the library, the grin Peter donned as he tried to read over Susan’s shoulder. Yes, it was good that they were there. Very good.

[redxxstrings]

— if we keep score, bet my money that i’m losing (i was never good at sports)

*pats eli’s head* this fuckboy can fit so much coping in him

he'd never like me.

once kaia realized what the feelings in her chest were — once she succumbed and put a name to them — that had been the only thought that lingered perpetually in her head. it etched itself into her brain; seeped itself into every idea that passed through the forefront of her mind; rooted itself into her very core.

and it hurt.

it hurt because she knew — because there was no way it wasn't true; because she wasn't his type; because she wasn't pretty like all the girls he talked to; because she was boring and broken and sad and because he wouldn't like her.

she bit the inside of her lips, eyebrows knitting together as her eyes, downcast and darkened, watched him. he was talking to a girl while kaia stood off to the side, fingers tightly gripping her jacket sleeve. the girl was pretty — prettier than her; cuter than her; better hair and clothes than her. she couldn't hear what they were saying, but she was probably funnier than her, too — funnier and smarter and better just like they always were.

kaia suddenly felt herself wanting to throw up.

her chest ached and her throat tightened. her head tilted downward to instead stare at the ground as darkness encroached on the corners of her vision. better, better, better — she was better than her and he would never like her back. he would never look at her the way she looked at him; he would never feel about her the same way she felt about him; he would never, never, never—

"...kaia? are you okay?"

hearing him say her name made her head snap up; grounded her again. he had come back to where he had left her, concern now coloring the features that had previously been happy. she couldn't look at him — guilt and nausea and pain made it impossible. looking down again, she chewed on her lip, biting so hard she wondered distantly if she was drawing blood.

"i'm fine." her voice was mumbled and shaky; her vision had begun wavering as unseen tears started burning in them. on top of everything else, now she felt stupid — crying over a guy who was never going to like her in the first place; over someone she was never going to have a single chance with in the first place. she was stupid. so stupid. "d... don't worry about it."

"are ya sure?" eli tried to lean down to get a better look at her face — and when he did, she jerked her head back; snapping it to the other side. "did you remember something else?"

kaia shook her head weakly, her shoulders beginning to shake as it became harder and harder to swallow her tears. "i-i'm—" her voice cracked and broke — the second she heard it, the weak dam in her eyes broke and the tears started spilling down her cheeks. "i-i'm f... fine—"

"h-hey, whoa—" panic and worry suddenly flooded his voice as she covered her face with her sleeves, crying softly into them. "d-don't cry, hey— kaia, what's wrong?"

"n-nothing!" she shouted it too quickly and too forcefully for it to be taken seriously. she wished he would ignore her; wished he had stayed with that other girl; wished he had left her alone to break by herself. she didn't want him to see her cry — especially not over him; not over something she should have seen coming; not over something she should have been expecting. "i-it's nothing, s-so just... just leave m-me alone..."

you'll never like me.

"when've i ever left you alone?" he was teasing her — gentler than usual, but teasing nonetheless. though it didn't make her stop crying, it did make kaia peek up at him through her fingers just in time to watch him pull her into a hug. if he noticed how her body tensed up and grew hot, he didn't comment on it — for that, she was thankful. "i'm especially not gonna leave ya alone while you're crying."

carefully — hesitantly; awkwardly; shyly — she hugged him back, her now bright red face hiding itself instinctively in his chest. despite the position she was in, her heart still sunk — dropped like lead into the pit of her stomach. "...y-you could," she mumbled, shaking voice muffled by the fabric of his shirt. "...i'm... s-sure you'd rather... be with that g... girl..."

"huh?" confused — he sounded genuinely confused by her statement, as if the reason wasn't as clear as crystal. "why d'you think that?"

please don't make me say it.

"...b... because..."

because you'd never—

"i'd rather be with you."

against his chest, kaia's eyes flew wide open. her heart stopped; lodged itself in her throat and cut off her breathing. rapidly spiralling thoughts came to a screeching halt within her head. he wasn't serious, was he? he was joking, right? he had to be — there was no way he would ever... and yet, there hadn't been a hint of deception in his tone — not even one syllable that would imply he was being anything other than truthful.

"y-you... mean that...?"

"'course i do." eli said it without a moment's hesitation as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "you're way better than that other chick, anyway."

better.

for once, she was better.

softly, she pressed her face more into his chest, subtly using his shirt to wipe the remaining tears from her eyes. her grip on him had tightened; his, in conjunction, had gotten firmer. he didn't seem like it at first glance, but he could be surprisingly solid when he needed to be — he was to her, at least. "...really?" she sniffled after asking, tilting her head up just slightly to look at him. "you looked happy talking to her, though."

eli's face scrunched up — had she felt better, she might have giggled at it. "did i? sure didn't feel it." he rolled his eyes, gaze meeting hers afterward. "she was okay, i guess, but. i dunno, i didn't like her."

later, kaia would feel bad for getting happy hearing that. she would feel guilty all over again; would tell herself she was a bad person for it; would remind herself that that alone didn't mean he liked her.

but for now, she let herself smile.

seeing her start smiling made eli's face soften into a smile as well. "hey, there ya go. you're smiling again." taking one of his arms from where it rested around her shoulders, he delicately brushed stray strands of her hair from her face. "feelin' better?"

"a little." she didn't want to admit how much better she felt now — how all it took was a single reassurance and a hug from him to pull her from the depths of her mind. it was embarrassing and, above all else, pathetic how easily he influenced her mood; how it seemed intrinsically tied to him now. with her face growing warm, her eyes darted away from his and off to the side. "...th-thank you..."

humming softly, eli let his arm drop back down to where it had been resting on her. though she wasn't crying anymore, he made no move to release her from his grip — if anything, he seemed almost determined to keep her there. his chin found a comfortable spot on the top of her head; she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

kaia couldn't find it in her to mind.

"anytime."

[misfitjohnnys]

unintentional; hear all the words that I speak

You’ve worked hard for everything you’ve gotten and Mark Lee is a soft twist in your busy life, but you know hiding part of yourself eventually always bites anyone in the ass.

Word count: 20k - part 2/5

Reader x Mark Lee

(M)

masterlist // warnings

There were a couple of days before your flight. You spent the night in your hotel again and immediately spent a good amount of time with Mark. They were in town for another night following. You’d visited with your friends all day and after you dropped them off at home you and Mark stayed up late to watched some shows together with Ten and Taemin, had dinner, and returned to your respective beds. It was amazing to actually have some time to yourself. 

a/n: this chapter contains smut

Even your alone time didn’t feel quite so alone with your constant texts with Mark. You spent good amounts of time with each other and had a few run-ins throughout the day afterwards around his schedule, even spending some time in the city and dropping in to bring him some snacks and such between heavy rehearsals and filming, discovering your way back around your hometown and visiting famous places there. It felt comforting, visiting your family so you didn’t feel at all alone. It was good self-time and that was something you hadn’t had in months.

You couldn’t believe that after just a few days that a boy had you convinced to fly where he was going, but you were excited. Mark didn’t even have to do more than just ask and you were ready to risk it all and that scared you, but it didn’t stop you, not even a little bit. You’d easily explained to him that you didn’t take much time for yourself and had no reason to travel around, so he took it upon himself to invite you to live a little.

You said your goodbyes to your friends, promising them you’d make more trips to come see them and you hoped they weren’t empty; seeing their excited faces when you promised. You always wanted to visit more, but never made the effort or time and it disappointed you about yourself, but your friends knew you and they’d never let you live it down if you didn’t take the opportunity to go on the once in a lifetime trip with Mark Lee.

It had only been five days and you wondered what the hell had gotten into you, following a boy you just met just because he asked you to? Something wasn’t right but you didn’t even care. You hadn’t been so carefree since you were a kid. The flight over was more relaxing than you ever thought it could be because of the hopes of getting off the plane and spending more time with Mark. You had easily transferred your original tickets to a new airport, making it even more simple; as if it was meant to be. You reminded yourself that at least you’d be in Chicago, an easier accessible city that had an easy trip back to Los Angeles. You were flying not super far away or too far out of the path home, so that was nice as well. It was all going according to plan, as if the grace of Gods had given you a peace of mind.

You only wished you could’ve been on the plane with Mark and the others, but absolutely understood why it wasn’t possible. When you arrived at the airport, you carried your bags from the grab and tried to make your way down to car rental, but were stopped by welcoming arms in the corridor belonging to a soft boy in a white face mask.

“I missed you.” He told you, giggling behind his mask and grabbing your suitcase to bring it to the car that brought him. You couldn’t believe he was being so generous. He knew you all of what? Five days? It felt crazy, spending so much time with him felt unreal. You’d only been separated for a few hours and it felt like you’d known him for centuries. You sighed happily, stepping into the car and having him follow, sneaking his hand to hold yours and making you blush. “I’m gonna take you to lunch, my treat.” He laughed, seeing you blush and feeling like he finally had the upper hand in a conversation. It was weird, with Mark you felt like you were in control more than you ever did at your job. He made you not think about work, which was the biggest payoff of all.

He took you to a quiet hole in the wall pizza place, soft Jazz music played in the background as you sat in a booth together, looking over the menu amongst small playful jokes.

Being with Mark made you feel like you were in a dream. There were so many questions you had, so much love to explore, but he felt just slightly out of reach, simply because you felt like you couldn’t be completely honest with him and it shook you to your core, sighing and fiddling with your fork in hand until you were snatched out of your daydream by some soft words coming from his mouth.

“You okay?” He asked, reaching out to gently touch his fingers to the top of your hand across the table, a touch that felt almost too intimate; like sparks running through your brain.

“Yeah, I’m fine, just thinking a lot.” You warned him, shrugging and seeing mild worry continue on his face.

“Thinking about work?” You smiled because for once, you weren’t.

“Yeah.” You lied, smiling softly and seeing him get up and move to the other side of the booth next to you, your left side brushing against his right and you felt warm; whole. “I’ve got a lot on my mind. Vacation doesn’t come easy.” You told him, trying to relieve the tension of the conversation as he wrapped his arm around your waist, earning a soft gasp from you. He bit his lip nervously, looking over at you.

“You wanna see some funny stuff? Maybe take you out of your head?” He asked, grinning widely and putting his phone on the table. His background made you grin wide, a picture of him, Haechan, Johnny, and Jaehyun as his background and it made you want to hold him and tell him how precious he was, but you stopped yourself, sighing and wondering just how much cuter he was going to get. You looked over at him dreamily as he opened his phone to some videos that looked like they were just recently filmed, the hair colors matched up.

“Yeah, show me stuff, tell me about your friends.” You teased, seeing him blush. He knew you knew who his friends were, just not to what extent.

“Okay so here’s Taemin forgetting his phone and Ten found it, so we decided to fuck with him.” Hearing him swear with your own ears made you giggle even more than the video you were being shown. You’d seen it on Instagram while scrolling through earlier in the airport, but he didn’t have to know that. You kept glancing back and forth from his face to his phone, smiling dreamily and wishing the moment would never end.

Mark still felt out of reach, but in the moment you felt so connected. “You know, it’s actually funnier if you watch.” He teased, making you blush and squeezing your side before swiping to another video. This time it was of Taeyong sleeping on top of Lucas, hearing Mark’s faint laughter next to you through the phone speaker. “Okay so Taeyong came to wake us all up, but ended up laying on Xuxi and fell asleep, we all just kept laughing and teasing him to wake up and he refused.” Mark kept giggling, you’d seen that video too, but from a different angle and in their vlogs from when they were recording, so it made it even better, making you laugh and seeing a more intimate outtake of them. You felt special, even hearing Lucas’s nickname felt like private information even if you did already know what they all called him.

Mark kept swiping, showing you more videos that you didn’t expect until he came across one that felt way more private than you could’ve ever imagined. On screen showed Mark walking around their temporary dorm, something you’d only seen from the vlogs, but the video never got even near close to being posted. Mark was walking around, singing quietly to himself and you saw Jongin sleeping on the couch. It made your heart race a little, feeling like you were intruding a bit, even more so when Mark continued walking and stepped into Ten’s room to see he and Taemin kissing, Taemin’s arms around Ten’s waist before hearing Mark scream woah, woah, woah! before turning around and saying haha well, I, uh, wasn’t supposed to see that!

He stopped the video, turning to you and smiling. It felt like he’d definitely shown you something you didn’t need to see. You hoped it was with reason. “You know, I had no idea that they were gay. Or had a thing for each other. I knew nothing.” He shrugged, locking his phone and putting it down. “I’ve learned a lot about everyone since we got to America you know? I always thought I was like, really close with these people, but there’s always so much more to learn when you’re with the people you see every day. There’s always something new. Does that make sense?” He asked, turning to you and waiting for a response, you could only catch his eyes, blanking on his question when you saw his lashes flutter. You had to muster up some words.

“Yeah, I, I really do know what you mean.” You told him, knowing you had to keep the information secret. He trusted you and that was terrifying. Why did he? You felt like you could open up to him, swallowing and trying your best to continue a conversation. “My best friends, the ones you met?” You saw him nod, content on listening to what you had to say. Mark was a change of pace, that’s for sure. “I had no idea they were big partiers. I was always the one who avoided parties in school. College and all,” You continued, shrugging and snuggling in closer to his shoulder, looking back down at the table because it felt like looking at him was too much. He gently rubbed your side, comforting you. “They’re so different and as much as I love them, I feel like we’re just on so many different levels and they don’t really get me.”

“That makes sense.” He told you, nodding and taking a sip of his drink. He let you continue.

“I didn’t even know that Seulgi had lost her virginity even.” You scoffed, shaking your head and hearing Mark make an understanding noise. “But then she was at the party making out with guys I didn’t even know?” You sighed, slightly frustrated. “I feel like I don’t even know my friends anymore and it’s partially my fault, you know?”

“I actually do.” He laughed and you could feel his grin even without looking at him. “That’s how i felt when I saw Taemin and Ten. It felt like they were hiding something and I didn’t want them to feel that way. They told everyone like the next day, but it felt weird to have that hidden from us.” He explained further. It still felt weird that he was willing to show you that video, but you didn’t want to comment.

“I’m glad you understand.” You both shared a laugh, seeing the server quietly bring the check to your table. You pulled out your wallet and felt Mark pull out his faster. You snorted, seeing him move his hand to shove your wallet back down, but not fast enough before your card was out and on the table. Mark sighed, shaking his head.

“You know, I haven’t had anyone but my members or my parents buy me dinner?” He told you and you had to look at him, seeing the faint warmth on his cheeks. He made you feel like jell-o and you had no idea what took over you, but you turned to him, reaching up and placing one hand on his cheek to pull him down for a kiss, lips pressed plush against each other with a decent amount of pressure and feeling. You pulled away and avoided looking at him, staring back at the table.

“Well, now you can say someone treated you.” You spoke quieter than you wanted, nerves still unsettled in your stomach.

All you heard was a quiet “Thank you.” before you felt him squeeze your side again. Normally you weren’t one for affection, but Mark made it feel fine.

When your card came back to the table and your signature was down, you felt Mark let go of your waist and reach down for your left hand to tug you out of the restaurant, giggling as you made your way down the streets. He put his mask back on and you could still easily see the outline of his smile that never left his face.

“Hey, you know?” He started; voice muffled by the mask. You wished you could see his face, but knew it was dangerous territory for him to remove it. It was better for the both of you if nobody saw him or knew where he was, especially in a big city like Chicago. “You said you didn’t know your friends partied a lot right?” You narrowed your eyes, confused at his question.

“Yeah?”

“You know, if they hadn’t been partiers, then we never would’ve met.” He giggled, sounding like an excited schoolgirl talking to her crush. You couldn’t help but snort, rolling your eyes and you couldn’t believe he’d just said that to you.

“Mark Lee, you are a sap.” You laughed, shaking your head.

“Yeah, I get that a lot.” He laughed.

-

“So, when you google us, what comes up?” Mark asked, sitting cross-legged at the edge of his hotel bed that you were so gladly snuggled into the front of.

You’d spent what felt like minutes, but was actually hours, lying in bed with Mark in his hotel suite even when you had your own to return to. It seemed pointless to get your own room because you had a feeling that would happen. He called you over as soon as he woke up, pulling you from your slumber and dragging your sock covered feet to his room. You had put on some decent pyjamas and felt somewhat presentable, but when you saw Mark also wearing shorts and a plain jumper, you felt fine. It was chilly in the November air, but you shared a laugh about the both of you only ever being comfortable relaxing in shorts. The simple things with Mark were the sweetest.

“Let’s see.” You grinned, pulling out your phone and typing in SuperM into the google search. “Okay, so the Avengers of K-Pop,” You started and saw Mark snatch your phone out of your hand, laughing and shaking his head.

“No, oh my god, stop.” He laughed, embarrassed and shaking his head. He hated the idea of comparing themselves to the Avengers, it made him cringe in the worst way possible. It was fun to joke about, but hearing people say it made his eyes roll.

“Who are you, like Iron Man?” You joked; smirking at him and seeing him roll his eyes instead of just thinking about it.

“No indeed not.” He grinned widely. “But I’m glad you think so highly of me. Iron man would definitely be Taemin-hyung.”

“Mm,” You nodded, grinning again. You knew what he meant, you knew how capable and iconic Taemin was, but he didn’t have to know that. You liked boosting his ego. “Who would you be, then?” You smirked, a joke teasing at the tip of your tongue. “Absolutely fully capable Mark?” Your smirk grew stronger, seeing his mouth gape in surprise. It was fun to throw little tidbits out, they weren’t too suspicious. You knew the common jokes and used them to your advantage.

“You fucking know about that?” He asked with a sigh, rolling his eyes again and dramatically laying himself back on the bed. “You know, I can’t ever speak to you again.” He joked, covering his face with a pillow. “I was like 15! I couldn’t even spell capable!” You both snorted, crawling over to him. It was adorable to see him so embarrassed, feeling like you had the upper hand. Mark was cute when you were in control. You felt just a little bit powerful. “Okay, maybe I could spell capable.” You scooted over to him, laying your head right next to his and sighing contentedly.

“You know, that song is kind of a bop.” You giggled, watching him turn his head toward you with an embarrassed grin. It was his turn for silence, sighing contentedly as he looked in your eyes. “What?” you asked.

“I just like that you listened to my music.” He said quietly, sighing and dreamily looking into your eyes. You swallowed a bit nervously, but shook it off. You knew a lot more than he thought you did, but it didn’t seem to interfere. Maybe eventually you’d let him know how you felt about him and why. He was all you could ever imagine and more. You felt whole then, never wanting it to end. He leaned over and pecked your lips, giggling to himself before doing it once more, slightly longer, a little more pressure.

You blushed harshly. “I’d do anything for you.” You laughed with a serious hint in your voice, causing you both to snort out of the cheesiness of it, laughing loudly together on the bed when you heard the door open, looking up to see a fresh head of white hair, gasping slightly when you caught a glimpse of Baekhyun standing in the doorway. It was the closest you’d been to him and it took you by extreme surprise, but you had to act cool. You couldn’t be suspicious but you were mesmerized. You had to act like you were only meeting your friend’s friend, but your heart was beating sporadically in your chest.

“I don’t mean to interrupt, I am sorry.” You heard him laugh, sitting up yourself and scooting closer to Mark out of shyness. You hadn’t met him before, only seen him on stage and you felt more overwhelmed than you would’ve liked.

“Baek-hyung!” You heard Mark exclaim, introducing your name properly with one excited giggle and following with “This is who I’ve been hanging out with the last few days!”

“Ah, you’re the one he won’t stop talking about, huh?” Baekhyun teased and Mark pouted back in response. It felt good that he’d been talking about you. “Nice to finally meet you.” Something about him was off. You hoped he was alright, but you knew how celebrity life could be, especially with all the chaos that EXO had been through, but maybe he’d just been so busy all day he was tired. “He wasn’t at the noraebang but you saw him on stage, huh?” You hardly noticed the question.

“Hi,” You spoke softly, waving at Baekhyun and it almost didn’t feel weird. He felt like a normal person and you didn’t really expect that. You expected to be much more bashful, but Mark kept you at least a little bit grounded, and for that, you were thankful. “I like your hair!” You told him, feeling a little awkward that those were the first words you spoke to him, but he seemed to be more excited than worried. He giggled and shot you a quick and excited “thank you” before slipping into the bathroom.

You grinned, grabbing Mark by the shirt and pulling him in closer to you, pressing your lips harshly against his. You slipped your bottom lip between his and heard his breath catch a little, his arm traveling down to your waist, squeezing softly as you pulled him in even closer, feeling his lips part slightly. The rush of this being as far as the two of you had gotten in six days felt intense, like lightning was traveling between you and it almost hurt to pull away when you heard the bathroom door open again, both of you laying back to face the ceiling. You had to be more careful, grinning dreamily as you felt like you were seeing stars and you heard Baekhyun slip out of the room.

“Maybe we should, uh, do that more.” He spoke softly, reaching over to gently hold your hand once you were alone again.

“Buy me dinner first.” You teased, damn well knowing why he rolled his eyes at you. “You know, I think you’re more Captain Marvel.” You grinned wider, returning to your joke from earlier.

“And why is that?” He looked at you dreamily, waiting for explanation, but you were lost in his eyes. It took you a moment to gather your thoughts enough to form a coherent sentence and not seem like an obsessed idiot.

“Okay, so you’re a rapper right?” You asked, biting your lip in thought.

“Yeah?”

“And you’ve got a lot of lines, you’re carrying the group pretty well.” You tried to be vague. mustering up the right words. “You’re also passionate, obviously.” You earned a giggle from him. “And, I don’t know, you seem just a little bit cocky.” You joked, smirking and reaching out to touch his hair. He pouted, looking over at you and scooting just a bit closer.

“I’m cocky on stage, not gonna lie, but,” He sighed, shrugging his shoulders just a bit. “I’m not at all confident off stage.” he pouted just a little, awkwardly smiling. Hearing him talk himself down was a little bit of a sad moment, making your heart ache and before you met him, you didn’t really ever think about how human they all were. They had their own quirks and they were people before fame too, but from what you knew, Mark was so young getting into the company, maybe he didn’t have any interactive experiences to gain his confidence. It made you a little sad. “I get so nervous with people and I talk a lot, I’m always scared of conversations.” he sighed, smiling just slightly. “Except from when I’m with you.”

You snorted just a tad, giggling and playing with his hair a little more. “I think you still get nervous around me. You’re practically shaking in your boots right now.”

“God, I know I do.” Mark sighed in defeat. “I get really nervous around people who don’t know me. Like, don’t know what I do normally or anything like that.” It was the first time he had mentioned you not knowing who he was, especially so forwardly. You smiled nervously, nodding and not wanting to say anything else in fear of you reading him a little too hard.

It felt like hours had passed, snuggling into Mark’s side and making yourself comfortable on his chest. Something was ripping into your heart and you felt wrong, but it was too late to say anything, so you stayed quiet. Mark didn’t mind. He seemed to enjoy the silence. He ran his fingers through your hair and he made you feel more calm, but the guilt rained on your conscience. It felt wonderful to lay there with him, but you wondered how he would feel if he knew you were a fan. Would he like you less? Would he have pursued you in the first place if he knew? The answers were up in the air, but you felt like you knew the answers to both of those anyway. You knew how it probably would’ve felt if he knew. It would be so much less likely that you were in this position, but part of you wished you knew the true answer. His fingers felt good combing through your hair, that’s what mattered right then, nothing else.

You’d spent a couple hours lying in bed with Mark, at one point you napped together, getting taunted by both Lucas and Ten when you woke up, feeling Mark toss a pillow at them for you. “Come on guys, we’re trying to sleep!” Mark spoke groggily, pulling you out of your slumber to see Taemin and Ten on the other queen-sized bed, bright smiles and ready to further tease the two of you.

“Come on, get the fuck up! We’re going out!” Taemin got up and nudged the two of you, deciding to lay across the both of you and was being, oddly, the normal one. From what you knew about him at least, which happened to be more than you wished you did in that moment. Taemin made you feel fine, he actually made you the least nervous of all, but you couldn’t help but to think about the fact that it was because of him you ended up there in the first place. Maybe you knew that he was such an open person even as an idol. Taemin was different. He was weird and comfortable. You liked Taemin a lot, but you already expected to from your prior knowledge on him.

Taemin approached you in Walgreens to talk to you, completely comfortable. He told you he would come to your party. He invited Ten and Lucas to your party just so you had the chance to meet them. It made you think about how thankful you were for Taemin. Maybe he would be the relief if anything were to go wrong. He didn’t care who you were in Walgreens and that felt nice. Maybe he knew, maybe he could tell and didn’t care either way. Mark obviously didn’t know. He couldn’t, there no way he would’ve acted the way he did, you were sure. It was terrifying to think about if he did and knew you weren’t telling the full truth.

Sometimes it got to your brain, feeling like you wanted to start over with no memory, just learn about Mark, Ten, Taemin, Lucas, all of them authentically, but it hurt not knowing how they would feel if they did know. It plagued your mind as you went to your room to put on your clothes, excited to be invited out with the guys even if it scared you. It was the first time you’d gone out with them all outside of Walgreens and the concert. You kept thinking about what Mark said about wishing he could just be normal. You wished that vaguely again for him, wondering if you’d connect the same way if you’d met him differently. You were pulled from your thoughts by a knock on the door that made you jump.

You had a hotel room alone a few doors down, but you’d spent the entire day in their room just laying around with Mark and enjoying the intimacy. He felt good to be around. It was sweet, but you felt nervous standing there alone in the room because it was rare you were by yourself, even at home. The second knock made you even more nervous, anxiety running through your veins even if you knew someone was eventually going to come to find you to go out. You had a feeling you knew exactly who was at the door though. You finished your hair and put a cute hat on, making your way to answer. You were wearing your favorite crop top and a comfortable but fancy pair of leggings, it was your more casual ‘going out’ outfit, a decent contrast to the suits or outfits you normally wore going out for work parties or client meetings. You grinned when you opened the door, seeing Mark very nicely but casually dressed, smirk playing on his face as he stood there in all black with just a simple green velour jacket, the same one he wore on stage that night you saw him do his solo. It made your heart race. He looked just as hot as when you saw him on stage; the same feeling you got gnawing at your insides. Something was different than when you saw him just a few minutes ago.

“I’m here to pick up someone special.” He giggled playfully, stepping in and you had to take a breath because he looked gorgeous. It was him in your hotel room again, but this time you were alone, and it surprised you, but exciting all the same. He snaked his hands around your waist and pulled you in tight, pressing his lips to yours in a bold move considering it was Mark. You parted your lips slightly into the kiss, but something felt different, Mark felt more relaxed than he ever had with you before and it felt good.

Mark’s warm body pressed against yours and you almost worried that getting dressed was useless, but you had to push it to the back of your mind, snaking your hands up to cup his cheeks. There was something different in the kiss, like Mark was finding something in you that he had been searching years for. You couldn’t believe he seemed to want you so badly, even if it was just kissing. But when he bit gently on your lip and tugged, pulling a soft whine from your throat, you knew it was more. Something in you told you to stop him, but you ignored it, wanting to enjoy yourself because you wanted it just like he did. You hadn’t felt the passion since before your second restaurant opened and you missed the human touch like that so desperately. You didn’t ever have the time for hookups, but right then it felt like you had all the time in the world, kissing him was all you had time for, even if your other friends were probably ready to go.

“Aren’t they waiting on us?” You whispered, feeling his lips trail down your neck. It felt hot, breathy gasps coming out of your mouth and you felt your eyes roll back at the soft feeling of his tongue along your skin, little nips and kisses making you feel like the only two in the world. He ignored your question, backing you up until you felt your calves hit the foot of the bed. You gulped, feeling wrong for letting him indulge in you, but you couldn’t make yourself stop him. You wanted it just as bad as he seemed to. You felt his hands go lower, gently but nervously trailing down to your ass, soft touches making you feel delicate. You gasped a little, swallowing and moving his face to put his lips back to yours. “You sure about this?” You whispered against his lips, moaning softly into his mouth as he led you back to lay on the bed.

“Yeah,” He answered simply, smiling against your mouth again as he asked for entrance with his tongue, easily opening your mouth to accommodate. You couldn’t believe you hadn’t kissed him like that before, electricity passing through you with each stroke of your tongue against his. He felt so good, hands moving back up to push your shirt up. He giggled nervously, asking permission with his eyes and you easily nodded. “Are you alright with this?” He asked, eyes hooded and fiddling playfully with the hem as he pushed it gently up your skin, soft gasps as you tried to calm yourself down because fuck, it was really happening.

You vocalized your thoughts before you could think. “I can’t believe this is happening.” You whispered, feeling his mouth back on your neck the second he had your shirt off.

“Me either, I haven’t, um, had this in a long time.” He swallowed nervously, his vision going foggy when his eyes had purchase on your chest that he seemed too scared to touch. A blush tinted his cheeks further when you pulled his face to look at him instead.

“I hope it’s okay.” You whispered before you could stop yourself, your own face feeling hot as he kissed you harder, with more want than before. You felt so connected and you were too distracted to feel guilty, paying more attention to the fingers dancing on your thighs and between your legs, gasping when you felt him attempt to rub through your leggings. The pressure felt nice, sacred, like a god was touching you, but you wanted more, squeezing your legs around his hand and trying to get him to better focus on kissing you.

“More kissing please.” You whispered against his lips, his hand pulling away to soothe over your hips. You sighed, pressing your tongue boldly into his mouth and hearing him moan the quietest noise. You had him, but you made him nervous, you could tell. You were the older one and you knew that made him even more scared.

“I-I don’t know what to do.” He spoke nervously, catching your eyes and you could see just how flushed he was. His face had makeup on it that definitely needed to be touched up and it drove you crazy that it was because of you. “Can you, um, guide me, like, with what you like? I-“ You interrupted him by touching his hand, biting your lip with a soft smile.

You reached down to his hand to guide him, it felt like you were on autopilot again, slipping his hand under your waistband and your heart felt like it was going to burst any second. He slipped his own hand under the waistband of your underwear and your eyes found the ceiling, nervously hoping that it would be okay. Sex made you scared. You didn’t have the best experiences, but you prayed that Mark would be gentle. When his fingers glazed over your clit and gave you small soft circles, your prayers were answered, spreading your legs just a little more as you reached up to crash your lips together harshly, feeling his fingers drag down your slit and you didn’t even realize how wet you were, nerves making breathing even harder to remember how to do.

“Fuck,” you heard him whisper against your mouth, gently dipping his finger inside of you easily and making you gasp when he curled it inside. He scooted you back up to lean against the headboard, moaning softly when he slipped a second finger inside, your whimpers edging him on to keep curling them inside of you, quickly finding your g-spot and making your vision blur. “You’re so wet,” He spoke breathily, his arousal apparent against your leg when you nudged it against him.

Your leggings felt hot and you had to get them off, pulling your hands away from Mark to push them off rapidly along with your underwear, tossing them to the floor and leaving your lower half exposed as well. He didn’t stop his ministrations, cocky smile on his lips when you looked at him. You swallowed thickly, feeling like you were on a cloud as his fingers worked inside you, hips moving along with his hands. “You’re so, fuck,” he couldn’t even finish his sentence, lips attaching to yours again as you panted, grabbing at his wrist to get him to slow down. He didn’t seem too interested in that idea, only pushing you a little further. “I love doing this,” he told you, eyes catching yours and you had to take in a breath of air. It was too hot.

“I-I think I’m gonna come,” You warned quietly, feeling the heel of his palm move against your clit and the moan that came from you only pushed him further. He pulled his fingers from you, scooted down the bed and settled between your legs with a smirk. His mouth was on you immediately and you gasped loudly, his tongue playing games on your clit and when he pressed the flat of it against you, you arched your back, feeling an orgasm rush through you. “Fuck, Mark.” you whimpered. He grabbed your hands, tangling your fingers together as he rode you through your high and gave you soft kitten licks down your slit, giggling as he was proud of himself, you could tell. It took a moment to come back to reality, Mark laying at your side and gently playing with your fingers as you tried to come down.

Once you came to, you weren’t sure what came over you. You saw nerves come over his face and you couldn’t help but giggle, straddling his lap and placing a hand gently over his crotch and for a split second you felt bad for starting on your way to ruining such a wonderful outfit, but you weren’t bothered enough to stop. You kissed him for the millionth time, tongue fighting for dominance in his mouth and it felt better than you could’ve imagined. You felt him gasp into your mouth when you undid his belt and zipper, immediately tucking your hands into his jeans to wrap around his length.

You bit his lip and definitely felt like you were the only person presented with this opportunity. You gladly took it, stroking him and feeling his chest rise, eyes closed and continuing to messily kiss you, his hands grasping at your thighs and squeezing to ground himself. He didn’t speak, he was quieter than he had been since you met him. You sighed, loving the way he felt in your hand. You tugged gently on his lip with your teeth, pulling his arousal out of his boxers and he gasped lightly at the air hitting him. You wanted to look down and see exactly what you were in for but comforting him with kisses felt like a better idea.

He lasted a lot shorter than you expected, but you weren’t surprised, enjoying making him feel good enough to come so fast. You felt proud, his mess sticky on your thigh and you were quite impressed that he’d managed to avoid his clothes, which excited you because he looked perfect, all fucked out in the face and looking at you dreamily. You giggled, tucking him back into his pants.

You could tell he was perfectly content with not going any further. It didn’t quite feel right yet. You watched him get up on wobbly legs, giggling to himself all the way to the bathroom to grab you a towel. He blushed harshly when he saw you still sitting on the bed, naked with his come on your thigh. You blushed as well, giggle coming out of your mouth and you had to admit even just looking at him again made you feel good, so perfect and beautiful and someone you’d looked up to for a while. He sat next to you, damp towel in his hand while he giggled, easily cleaning your thigh off and trying his best to clean up the small mess on the bed sheets.

You had a thought, grinning to yourself. “Well, you’re definitely absolutely fully capable.” There was no way in hell you were going to stop yourself from making that joke, giggling harshly when you heard him groan.

“Well that’s good to know because it feels like I’ve only been imagining doing that shit for years.” You liked when he swore, you noted. He laughed, shaking his head and tracing his fingers along your hips and sides. You hadn’t gotten back dressed yet, spooning with your back against Mark and playing with his arm while he fiddled. You snorted, sighing contentedly. “But you really cannot make that joke after sex.” He teased, squeezing your waist lightly.

“Good thing we didn’t have sex then.” You smirked, looking back at him with a quirked eyebrow. “I’m one hundred percent willing to snatch your soul, then make a joke and have you hate me afterward.”

“Please, say less.” You heard him say nervously, nuzzling his face into your neck. You could tell he was spent, but it was also fun to play with him. “Maybe we can one day, though, hm?” He asked sleepily, peppering soft kisses under your ear.

“I mean, I’m game.” You bit your lip, not believing how bold your words were coming out. You definitely had the upper hand, but he did surprise you just a little sometimes.

“Yeah?” He whispered quietly, making you gasp when he placed a hand over your chest, gently thumbing over your nipple. You felt heat rush to your core again, closing your eyes and trying to push it away. “I’ve never wanted someone like I wanted you.” He spoke seriously, gravelly voice making you almost whimper from the effect it had on you. You whimpered just a little when you felt his teeth on your skin, not expecting him to bounce back so quickly. You reached up, unable to take it anymore as you grabbed his hand and put it between your legs again, guiding his fingers to rub against your clit. You breathed harshly, eyes screwing shut as he gave soft delicate strokes to the bundle of nerves. “You’re so good.” You loved the praise as much as you loved praising Mark. You felt like you were in heaven, eyes rolling to the back of your head until-

“Okay, okay, okay! Guys, we’re all ready!” Lucas’s booming voice was heard in the hallway, pulling you out of your daze and aching core for Mark. You heard ferocious bangs on the door, but Mark didn’t stop, only speeding up his fingers and making you gasp even harder. More bangs on the door finally stopped him and he pulled his hand away with a defeated groan, giving a light pat to your tummy with a kiss on the cheek. He yanked himself out of bed easily, grabbing your stray clothing items and tossing them your way with a shy smile. You ignored the arousal you had, it could wait.

“Get dressed, baby!” The pet name made your heart throb. He grinned, gently tossing your clothes toward you and when you sat up, he gave you a light peck on the lips, running quickly to the bathroom as he shouted “Just a minute!” at the door, multiple voices of laughter could be heard and you thought you could die from embarrassment. You pulled your shirt back on quickly, then followed with your leggings. Mark came back out, huge grin on his face and it made your heart melt.

“God, you’re cute.” You told him, seeing his eyes glance down at the slick between your legs as you pulled your underwear and leggings on. You felt your cheeks heat up and felt so good in that moment. He wanted you and you were glad to let him have you. Eventually at least.

“I mean, I try.” He giggled bashfully, bouncing on his toes excitedly as he watched you pick your hat up from the ground, not even realizing it had been tossed off. You laughed a bit, feeling like a little kid in a candy shop. Mark was all the candy you needed. You heard more banging on the door, hardly paying any attention to it.

“Hurry up, lovebirds!” You heard Ten’s singsong voice and sounds you knew as Taemin’s laugher through the door. It was oddly calming and made you feel even better. It felt like you were in a high, the world surrounding you felt so surreal. You bit your lip, looking over at a starry-eyed Mark. He looked so proud, like he’d just won a medal. You had to say something.

“Also, I have to point out, you’re also really good at like, everything you did.” You had to remind him, seeing him flush made you feel good, giggling to yourself as he readjusted his pants and made sure he looked okay in the hotel mirror. The room was much less nice than the last one you stayed in, but Mark didn’t seem to mind and that felt good too. Before you fixed your makeup, you kissed him firmly on the lips, seeing his eyebrow quirk up.

“I’m gonna get the door.” He whispered between your kiss and one he pressed to your hand that he brought up to his face. It felt more intimate and loving than it should have, but you played it off as just him being sweet. You smoothed out your foundation and reapplied your lip balm, feeling satisfied with how you looked when everyone walked in.

“Well, someone looks nice!” Ten told you, giggling and stepping to where the mirror was in your room. “Actually, it’s me.” He laughed, grinning widely. “So, are you guys ready?” He asked, making you and Mark look at each other, dumb dopey smiles played on your faces.

“Yeah, I, uh, think so.” Mark giggled and reached over to gently grab your hand in his. “Ready?”

You nodded, sighing contentedly when all three of the boys complimented you. They had a habit of doing that. It was innocent, but sweet, nonetheless. They made you feel important. Nothing like compliments from famous boys, they made you feel more validated than anyone. It shouldn’t have been that way, but a boost to your self-esteem was never the worst thing ever.

“You know? Ive been hanging out with you guys for what? Five days?” You asked, sighing contently as they each laughed softly.

“I mean I guess you’re the eighth member of SuperM now.” Ten joked, causing the four of them to erupt in laughter and you felt good, squeezing Mark’s hand as you made your way down the hallway.

“Hm, I guess so. I can’t sing, dance, write, or anything, but I guess I can make jokes.” You laughed again, making Lucas cackle loudly in the hallway. It made you smile, it felt like you were in a daze. You felt like a part of them, you felt like you belonged there with them and that was rare for you to feel, even with close friends sometimes you didn’t quite fit just right, but these boys never made you feel alone and you loved it. Part of you wished you’d spent more time with Baekhyun or Jongin or Taeyong, but you were still perfectly content with the four you knew. They made you feel so close so fast, like you’d found a new group of friends you could relate to. They felt so judgement free when you knew they were the center of harsh judgement back in Korea. It was sweet.

They took you bowling. They put you on a team with Lucas and Ten while Mark and Taemin were on the other team, ready to destroy the three of you. “We’ll take it easy on you, princess.” Taemin teased you, making you roll your eyes and look over at Ten, who easily scoffed at his boyfriend.

“You never win anything, and Mark has no coordination.” Ten snapped back, shrugging and picking his ball. He was coming with clapbacks easily against the eldest of your group. “At least between the two of us, there’s like 4 braincells. The two of you share one.” Ten was giggling to himself, laughing harder when Lucas made a disappointed face.

“What do you mean the two of us?” Lucas pouted, trying to be cute to get on Ten’s good side. The latter snorted.

“Not you, baby. You’re… on another level.” Ten grinned, making Lucas laugh back in response.

“God, you guys are mean to each other!” You spoke playfully, choosing your own ball to put into the game. “My friends always tell each other we love each other and then call one another a bitch when we’re away.” You laughed along, seeing Lucas shrug in your direction.

“Kun-ge says I have no braincells too, its normal.” Lucas told you, nudging your arm. For a second you forgot that the other members existed, smiling when he mentioned another member. It made you happy to hear that they so gladly talked about and to each other freely. You were glad they were close even when they weren’t together. “What are you smiling about?” Lucas interrupted your thoughts, nudging your side. You couldn’t exactly tell him what was on your brain.

“Just,” you started, sighing happily. “I love hanging out with you guys, you’re all so fun.” You giggled, glancing over at Mark who looked so happy to just be here. It felt good to see him enjoying himself.

“Ah, is that what it is?” Lucas asked, leaning against the table you were sitting at. You felt it move slightly and it almost scared you how big he suddenly seemed. A gentle giant. Lucas was much sweeter than you expected him to be. He pulled you from your thoughts again, sweet but low voice cutting through your brain. “You like Mark?” He asked, nudging you and giving you the most playful smile.

You sighed, feeling a blush creep across your cheeks, feeling yourself get weak the second you heard his voice. He didn’t feel real. Maybe this was just some really good dream you didn’t know how to wake up from. “Yeah, I think I do.” You saw Lucas smile, nodding and gently placing a hand on your shoulder to comfort you. From what? You weren’t sure. You were positive he was just being nice, but it was comforting, nonetheless. “It’s so crazy to think we’ve only hung out for a few days, but it feels like a lifetime.” You sighed, feeling your cheeks warm even more as you looked over at Mark, who was currently warming up and pretending to throw the ball with Taemin. You vaguely remembered how Chanyeol and Jaehyun had gone bowling in the idol Olympics previously, and a giggle came from your mouth, smiling at the similarities and almost a little surprised at the fact that they all seemed so competitive. It was enjoyable to see Ten teasing the other boys, attempting to tear down their egos all while Taemin looked amused, quirking an eyebrow up at his boyfriend who seemed unaffected. You watched Ten stomp over to you, grin wide on his face, but you could tell he was ready to stomp Taemin and Mark into the ground. You knew he loved winning.

“Come on, it’s go time.” Ten told you, gesturing that it was your turn to first throw the ball. “Make it count, babe.” Ten giggled, nudging you forward. You looked back at Mark who was cheering you on, getting a small smack on the shoulder from Taemin who told him he can’t cheer for the competition. Mark easily chose to ignore him, shouting readily at you as you attempted to get into position and ready to start the game off well. You were the first to go, so it was a lot of pressure.

“You got this! Lets get it!” Mark made you laugh loudly, shaking your head and grinning as you tried to focus. You set your arms up and quickly tossed the ball, biting your lip and hoping for the best. You heard him shout out a “whoop, whoop!” before you even saw the pins, looking up and gasping when you saw you’d knocked 9 pins down, only leaving one for the option of the strike. You had to do it, positioning yourself again and tossing the ball once more, biting your lip as the ball actually made the perfect path toward the pin, making everyone start cheering for you. It felt good.

You scored a strike, causing Ten to walk up to you and dramatically kiss you on the cheek, his proud mother energy jumping out and making you snort again. “God, I love you!” Ten said, patting your back playfully and fully ready to see Taemin strike out. Ten was all for them losing, it excited him.

“Hey, that’s Mark’s job!” Lucas loud-capped his friend, giggling when he saw Mark covering his eyes with his hands. He couldn’t believe that Lucas has just said that out loud, but you didn’t mind. It made you feel good. Everything the boys did made you feel good, you wondered again what you did to deserve being with them, it was a thought that plagued your mind constantly and the fact that everything moved so fast made you worry that it was just an extreme fever dream and you’d wake up in your bed in an actual reality. Taemin and Ten were cracking up laughing at him, but you saw Mark red faced and smiling shyly when you looked over at him.

“I’m so sorry for his outbursts.” You laughed harder, walking over to him and feeling him slip his arm around your waist.

“He’s really funny, give him credit.” You teased, seeing Mark shake his head and relax into you. “I think collectively you all have 4 braincells, two of them belong to ten, one and a half belong to you, one half is with Taemin.” You snorted, hearing Mark burst into laughter.

“Hey, now, no fraternizing with the enemy.” Lucas pouted jokingly, crossing his arms as Ten and Taemin both threw their balls at the same time, obvious competition between the two of them. You loved their relationship dynamic; it was nice to see them together. They both ended up making bad scores, Taemin only hitting two pins total in both throws and Ten ending up with only three pins and a gutter. You and Mark both sighed together, shaking your heads and laughing at the chaos unfolding in front of you, Mark’s hand still around your waist.

“Your turn.” Taemin said through laughter, nudging Mark’s arm and laughing at himself.

“Gotta go now, my forbidden love.” Mark joked, pecking you lightly on the lips and you felt like it was almost too sweet, uncomfortably sweet.

“God, no don’t say that.” You told him, hearing his laughter as he walked over. “I’ll never be forbidden.” He was incredibly cute, almost too cute. You felt a little conflicted. You were weird with public displays of affection, feeling slightly awkward that he was so willing to be sweet and cheesy in front of his friends, but you tried to push it off and act normal. That was your first fear with Mark. It made you feel horrible because he was genuinely so nice. You swallowed a bit, hoping he wouldn’t get too soft and sweet with each other that often. It wasn’t who you were, and it made you feel weird, but you tried your hardest to push it to the back of your mind. You watched him throw the ball and end up with seven pins, giving his team 9 in total, so you were still very much in the lead after Lucas took a gutter.

“He’s not brawn or brains.” Ten explained to you, making you snort and sit back down on your side of the lanes, facing directly across from Mark, who was fidgeting in his chair like a child as he watched Taemin take his turn.

“That’s okay, he’s funny and that’s what matters.” You heard Ten and Lucas both laugh at your joke. “The muscles are purely for comedic affect right?” You grinned, hearing Ten snort loudly and Lucas’s pout was soft. “They seem a little pointless.”

“See, at least someone thinks I’m funny!” Lucas patted you on the back and you felt soft, happy at how close you felt like you were getting. It felt nice to find someone who didn’t care or know about your mild fame, just playing a simple game of bowling after hours. Your fame was selective, yes, but you still had a name around the places you’d opened restaurants. You got crowded by fans, even if it wasn’t nearly as bad as it was for the boys you were with, but you felt like you could really relate to them; just sitting around and enjoying the game with people who didn’t see you as an object or liked you for your money or to make themselves feel important and you slightly worried that you had only seen them as objects before. You felt like you saw them in a different light than normal, maybe hanging out with them was what you needed to not feel like an obsessive fan. To see them as people similar to your level was a gift more than any.

You couldn’t believe idols made you feel normal than people you grew up with, sitting and enjoying yourself felt foreign, in disbelief that work wasn’t a problem.

Until the phone call.

You had to leave, kicking off your shoes quickly and making your way to a quieter common area with one shoe in hand as you tried to focus on the words through your phone. You broke down into soft sobs when you were gently told that one of your workers was tragically killed in a car accident. You were needed back home.

You tried to keep up the mood, but everyone could tell something was wrong. Mark made his way over to you, grabbing your hand and gently pulling you to a more secluded place. “Baby, what’s wrong?” He asked, cupping your cheeks and even though it felt weird to be touched in public like that, you allowed it, letting tears gently fall from your face and trying to be quiet in order not to cause a scene.

“One of my managers.. My.. friend.. Just got into an accident.” You told him through sniffles, reaching up to dab your tears away. “She-she’s dead. I’m sorry, I- I need to go outside.” You swallowed, trying to calm down just a little.

“Baby,” He sighed softly, pulling you into a hug.

“Yeah?” You sniffled again, letting his arms embrace you as you kept your own arms by your sides. You didn’t have the strength to wrap your own arms around him, sitting in defeat and feeling like it was all your fault. Someone died and it felt like it was your fault. It was a feeling that was nagging at you.

“You’ve got one shoe on.” He told you, making you slightly laugh, another tear falling from your eyes. “Where’s your shoe?” He asked, pouting as he pulled away to cup your cheeks again. It felt weirdly relaxing to be treated so tenderly. You felt a little off and a joke was nagging at your insides in the most awkward of moments.

“The bowling alley needed a sacrifice. I gave it my left shoe.” You joked, wiping your tears again when you felt Mark laugh, shaking his head and placing a small kiss to your forehead.

“Give me a second.” He grinned, stepping away from you only to return with your shoe and jacket in hand. “Let’s get you home okay?” You could tell he was a little disappointed, walking you outside to wait as the boys got ready to leave. They didn’t at all mind leaving so you could be more comfortable, and you thought that was sweet of them. They reminded you they had plenty of time to do other things and bowl some more in the future. They even hoped you’d join them again. It oddly felt good that they were wanting to continue including you, even if you ruined their night. You hoped you didn’t, but it was hard to feel that way.

You spent nearly the whole night crying in your hotel room, sobbing into Mark’s chest and trying to come to terms with the fact that not only had you lost one of your workers, but your friend who had been with you from the beginning of your restaurant experience. Hannah was the general manager of both uptown stores in Los Angeles and on the way home that night, a drunk driver had fatally crashed into her car. You were torn on what to be more upset about: having to find someone to tragically take her place; an ache that felt heavy in your chest, or being upset that you had to leave Mark to handle the situation. It felt unreal and you felt selfish. You’d forgotten about your work for days and you had stretched it too far. It felt like it was your fault. She was working later hours because she wanted you to have a good time, so it felt wrong to even still be gone. You couldn’t believe it.

“Mark, I have to go home.” You sniffled, grabbing a hold of his t-shirt as he ran his fingers through your hair, trying to comfort you as best as he could. You could tell he didn’t know how to handle the situation, but he was trying his best and he made you feel better.

“It’s okay, it really is.” He reminded you, kissing the top of your head over and over again. He hardly knew you on a level to assist and treat you like he was. He was so kind, and you didn’t understand why. You didn’t feel like you deserved it. You’d been lying about what you knew this whole time and the guilt was getting to you in the moment. Before, it was just a passing thought when he mentioned fans and how he was treated, but it was nagging at you. You hoped it wouldn’t come down on you. Maybe it was because you were blaming yourself for someone dying and it was cruel karma coming to haunt you. You stayed silent, trying to relax in Mark’s arms. “You could come visit us before we go home.” He said quietly and you swallowed, forgetting that he did in fact live in another country. That was eating you alive too and if it were to ever go any further with Mark, you’d have to settle for a long-distance relationship and it didn’t seem realistic. It was nagging at your soul and you didn’t know how to say it, so you tried your best to stay calm in the crisis of your brain.

“I’ve had a really good time with you.” You felt like it was moving too fast. You knew it was moving too fast, but you didn’t care. Time was different when it was with Mark, your head was spinning and you felt a few tears well up in your eyes and hoped Mark would pass them off as being upset about what you should’ve been more upset about, which was your friend. You should’ve been less selfish, but you couldn’t help it. It all came crashing down at once and you couldn’t stop it.

You looked over at the boy you were snuggled up in bed with and felt like your whole world was lying down in bed with you, soft eyes met his and he didn’t hesitate to kiss you, a gentle press of lips trying to tell you that it would all be okay, but you knew better. You kissed him back harder, not wanting to let go and you pulled him closer by his cheek, his arms wrapping around your figure and holding you like you were precious to him. You felt needed in that moment. Maybe Mark needed you like you needed him. He was a new experience. You sighed into his kiss, feeling him trace soft circles into the small of your back. He moved his lips and kissed across your face, kissing all the tears and part of your worry away. You needed him and that scared you.

You were pulled out of your head with a knock on the door and in a second it was open, Ten quickly explaining that Mark had left your extra keycard in their room and they wanted to check on you because it had been hours since they heard from you. Mark pulled his face away from yours but still had you in his embrace as Ten and Taemin entered the room and sat at the edge of the bed, both comforting you by laying their hands on your legs through the blanket. It felt weird being around them in your pyjamas and not at all dressed up, but you didn’t care much.

More knocks were on the door and Ten made his way to the door to allow a few faces you hardly saw with Lucas enter the room. You laid eyes on Taeyong and Jongin for the first time outside of the concert and dinner and it felt almost unreal for them to come in, but they entered with soft and tender bare faces and were there to comfort you as well. You felt better, Taeyong coming over to rub your shoulder.

Jongin offered a small smile, waving and coming to give you a small hug from your bed.

“Hi, I’m Taeyong, nice to meet you again.” He introduced himself, but he didn’t need to. His soft voice was even more gentle in person, handing you a few napkins and a bag full of snacks. You saw a white-headed boy slip in the door. “and Baekhyun-hyung.” Baekhyun waved at you, the pair individually coming to give you soft hugs and comfort you in your time of need. It felt odd that they were the ones hugging you, you felt like the more famous one now, them taking their time out of scheduling to comfort you and give you their time. “Sorry we haven’t been around much; we’ve been a little busy.” Taeyong shrugged shyly, rubbing your shoulder before retracting to his friends. You could feel Mark relax a little bit.

“We didn’t get a chance to explain last time, but Taeyong is in NCT with me, Baekhyun and Jongin are in EXO.” Mark told you, making you grin because it was adorable that he thought in all the research you had him convinced you did, he still felt the need to explain. It made your heart warm. “We’re all in the same company and they wanted to make SuperM with all of us in it.” You nodded sweetly.

“It’s really, I mean seriously, really nice to meet you all. You didn’t have to do all this, honestly.”

“It’s no problem, seriously,” Ten reminded you, squeezing your leg in promise. “We thought you needed some company. We all wanted to say our goodbyes.”

“Well hopefully it won’t be the last time I see you guys, right?” You only got mild shrugs and that worried you, but it was something you’d return to later. You didn’t want to overthink anything right then, it was too hard.

“We thought we should throw you a little going away party, get your mind off things, yeah?” Baekhyun said sweetly, handing you a cheap but sweet bouquet of flowers and you had to giggle, pulling yourself out of Mark’s grip to see his smile. He looked just as happy as you, feeling like people he cared about were all in the same room, like it was a huge important moment in his life. It was only a brief meeting with him, but you were happy. You saw Baekhyun, Jongin, and Taeyong sit on the other bed, setting out a few RedBox movies. The most American thing they could do, so it was amusing, but still meant the world. You giggled at their selection of horror films and sweet romance movies. There were about four DVDs and you couldn’t care less about what they were. They were there to spend time with you and that’s what mattered.

“We brought, um, movies!” Jongin said shyly, kicking off his shoes and sitting cross-legged on the bed. Lucas pulled out his laptop from his bag and went over to set it on the TV stand to plug into the television monitor.

“We couldn’t say goodbye just like that!” Lucas reminded you, making you giggle. “We thought you might need some extra company!” He was right, you did. You felt even more important in that moment, laying contently with Mark

You were sitting in a hotel room with the people you’ve looked up to for years, you should’ve been the happiest person in the world, but the situation was nagging at you and it didn’t feel right. You tried to push it off as Lucas picked watching Paranormal Activity, excitedly popping popcorn in the hotel microwave as he danced his way around the suite. He had a habit of making everyone laugh, he was good comedic relief. “I told you guys he was funny.” You reminded, snuggling your head into Mark’s neck as the credits played and Lucas continued to make a scene. It was entertaining to say the least.

“He’s annoying is what he is.” Ten spoke playfully, causing everyone in the room to erupt into laughter, making Lucas pout dramatically, coming over to lay on top of Ten and Taemin both. You loved their chemistry, it made you so happy to see them enjoying themselves.

“You’re not annoying to me.” You told Lucas and everyone else was laughing again. “I count, right?”

“I like you, you’re nice.” Lucas grinned, immediately jumping up when the microwave beeped and running full force over to it to grab the bags. He made two for each bed, equally handing them out.

“At least someone can entertain him.” Baekhyun played along, grinning and taking a sip from his drink. “No, it’s all jokes. We love you, Xuxi.” Lucas giggled again and moved himself to the opposite bed with the other members.

“Sometimes.” Taeyong added. You felt like a part of the family, feeling Mark play with your hair as he relaxed. The room went dark from Jongin turning the lights off. It felt calming and your worries were pushed to the back of your head.

“God, I love horror movies.” Taemin added once the title menu came on, bouncing excitedly as he ate from one bag of popcorn for he and Ten. Ten continued to gently rub your leg through the blanket and relaxed at the edge of your bed with his boyfriend. You’d learned so much about them and you didn’t want it to stop. It scared you that this would all be a distant memory, but you pushed it off as best as you could, just to reminisce in the moment for just a while longer.

The movie played as everyone remained silent. You were sure they didn’t know how to comfort you or offer support, so the silence was sweet. It was about halfway over when you felt Mark snuggle even closer to you, not minding PDA for once in your life. You smiled tiredly, trying to hold onto your last moments with him because you hadn’t even decided when you were leaving yet. You knew you’d have to leave as soon as possible, but since they were in town for a few days, maybe you’d have a little more time tomorrow. Mark pulled you from your thoughts with a quiet whisper. “I’m gonna miss you.” You felt tears well up in your eyes, silently sniffling and trying to keep yourself calm, but it was a tipping point and you weren’t sure how to come back from it.

You looked at him, teary eyed. “I’m gonna miss you too.” You whispered, choking up as you spoke. Ten must’ve heard it, because he squeezed your leg comfortingly with soft strokes, nuzzling his head into your leg and you saw him grab Taemin’s hand. You loved their relationship and your whole world had changed in a matter of a few days. It felt unreal. You were tired, but you didn’t want the night to end. It was the most you’d felt important in a long time to people who weren’t only after you for fame, money, or investments. You felt like you had new friends that had nothing to do with business and that was pure bliss. You didn’t even realize when you’d fallen asleep.

-

You woke up the next morning still tangled in Mark’s arms in an otherwise empty room and it was about the best you’d slept in years. The sweetness of seeing his face close to yours first thing in the morning was incomparable. You brushed his hair out of his face and thumbed over his cheek with your body in his sleeping arms. You sighed sleepily, nuzzling your face back into his neck comfortably and you felt him shift awake, not saying anything even if he was conscious. You laid there for a moment, just staying in his embrace was more than you could ever ask for, but the thought of having to leave was nagging in your brain. It felt wrong. Seven days now. Seven days ago you met this precious boy that felt like he had changed your life.

Seven days ago you made him sleep on a hotel bathroom floor with you and you just woke up in his arms. Seven days ago he was Mark from NCT and today he was a possible love interest. You couldn’t help but feel at least a little excited. You hadn’t forgotten about the fact that you had to leave or why, but it felt different to have people you loved so specially comforting you. You felt like you didn’t deserve it, but you weren’t questioning it anymore. You had to live in the moment.

“Good morning.” Mark spoke groggily, sighing into your neck and placing a kiss under your ear that felt way too intimate to be real. He continued kissing your neck lazily, innocent pecks that felt like electricity on your skin. He always made you feel like his touches were charged, lighting your skin up and sighing into his affection.

“Good morning.” You spoke softly, closing your eyes and letting his lips smooth over your raised skin. He left goosebumps in his trace, soft noises as you pressed your body closer to his. You loved his warmth, feeling the blankets shift over the both of you and you knew you would miss his touch, his fingertips tracing underneath your shirt, tickling your skin but it felt good. He felt good, amazing even. You felt selfish, keeping him in bed when he should be getting ready for the concert. You still had to buy your plane ticket home, but for now you were trying to push those thoughts away, relax into the boy who felt like he’d give you the world.

You felt Mark suck lightly on your neck, surprised and jumping slightly at the action, but his tongue felt good as it soothed the bruise he was trying to make. It was too early to push him away and you didn’t want to, basking in the glory of him wanting your touch, just to be close to you. “What are you doing?” You playfully asked, giggling as he pulled his face away with a dopey smile.

“Um, I think I’m, uh, kissing you?” He said softly, his cheeks bright red as he tried to be confident, but it wasn’t exactly his forte. You didn’t mind, pressing a soft kiss to his lips and trying not to get too intimate, not sure exactly what his actions were inciting, but kissing in the morning felt so different, lips gently pressing over and over again against each other until you tried to part your lips, feeling him pull away suddenly. “Wait, I-I haven’t brushed my teeth.” He made you giggle, shaking your head and sighing at him.

“Go brush your teeth then.”

“Brush them with me.” He said sweetly, voice bathed in childish wonder, grinning at you. You rolled your eyes, pulling yourself out of his grip and slinking out of the bed and over to the sink where you pulled out the toothbrush he’d used before and pulling out your own. You had a weird feeling it would happen again and even though keeping the toothbrush he used felt odd, you hadn’t even thought much about it, but you thanked yourself for doing it. It was the most tender and innocent thing you could do, standing there together in the mirror and brushing your teeth. It felt right. It felt like you were a couple living their married life. You could only dream.

You wanted to bask in it; seeing him step closer to lay his free arm across the small of your back. He stood there for a second while both of you brushed thoroughly, smiling at yourself in the mirror. You felt his hand slide lower, gentle hand giving a soft squeeze to your ass when you saw his eyebrow quirk up. You could tell he was trying to not act nervous, but when you saw the blush on his cheeks and the slight raised outline in his boxers, you felt your stomach get tight. You smiled, reaching your own hand over to slide your palm over it, hearing him choke just slightly at the sudden feeling, looking at you with sweet, needy eyes. You gently massaged over his arousal, grinning before pulling away to finish and rinse your mouth out. Mark followed, shyly cleaning himself up. He looked shyly at you, apples of his cheeks bright red and he was clearly feeling embarrassed.

It was silent, but it was a happy silence, reaching over to grab his hand and tug him back to the bed, immediately pulling the covers over the both of you as you tangled your legs together. You heard him clear his throat, feeling his arousal on your thigh but choosing to ignore it for the time being. You could tell he was embarrassed about it, biting his lip and grazing his eyes over your face.

“What are you waiting on?” You asked, smiling and slightly biting your lip as well.

“I’m just.. looking at you. Um, you’re, um, really beautiful, okay?” You felt your heart pound, reaching up to grab his cheeks and pull his face to you, giving him a hard, open-mouthed kiss, his tongue easily sliding into your mouth and causing you to let out a soft moan into his. He kept his lower half still, just wanting to keep it at kissing because you could tell he was scared, reaching his hand to run through your hair and rest at the nape of your neck to pull you impossibly closer, fading away into the feeling that was Mark kissing you. You wondered how you’d gotten so hooked so quickly, but you shoved the thoughts away, reaching down to move his hand to your waist.

“Kiss my neck.” You whispered against his mouth, feeling his head move and the delicious feeling of his lips on your skin. You felt like you were weightless, giving into his touches as his fingers lightly danced under the hem of your shirt, tracing soft circles into your flesh. He was so gentle, sucking so tenderly on your neck. You could tell he wanted to relish in the moment, not moving further than your neck. You kind of enjoyed that he was so nervous, taking his time with you and making you feel so wanted.

“I-I’m so nervous.” He admitted, pressing another soft peck to your cheek and you felt your heart grow three times in size, wanting to protect and make him feel better. You knew how nerve-wracking this could be for him. It was scary to think that he might be terrified, but you picked his face up and placed another soft kiss on his lips.

“Then.. How about.. Just kissing for now, okay?” You told him and he nodded, hoping it would ease his nerves. “Until you feel more comfortable, yeah?” Mark was so nervous. You stayed like that for a while, his tongue exploring your mouth like it was a new planet, soft kitten flicks against your own. It felt good. Kissing Mark felt better than anyone else you’d kissed by a landslide and your body felt like Jell-O, melting into his arms and easily pulling him on top of you. Mark pulled away for a second and swallowed, giving you a shy smile before laying his head on your chest. It was a moment of intimacy you hadn’t yet shared, and it felt so new. You ran your fingers through his head of black hair, enjoying the feeling of his soft strands through your digits. You heard him sigh happily, nuzzling into the soft fabric of your t-shirt.

“You make me feel.. so happy.” Mark spoke, but his voice sounded defeated, making your chest ache in guilt. You wished you hadn’t made him feel so vulnerable, just as he made you feel. it felt wrong. You felt your eyes well up slightly with tears and you couldn’t help it. You felt like you’d fallen for this boy in just a few days and it was insane but being here with him was enough to ground you a little in an attempt to lengthen the time you had with him. It wouldn’t last forever, and you knew that. It was so soon into everything, but you felt like you were willing to risk it all for him.

“You make me feel happy too.” You told him, kissing the top of his forehead before he picked up his head and returned to your lips, hovering over your body in an attempt to get closer. You felt his arousal against your thigh and giggled, feeling him shift awkwardly.

“Sorry, it, it just happens sometimes.” You giggled at his explanation but cut him off with more kisses, continuing to lay in your bliss with him. You could tell he was embarrassed, but you had to assure him that it was fine. “Morning and all,” He lied through his teeth, giggling awkwardly.

“I don’t mind it, really.” You laid back down comfortably, sighing. You laid like that for a moment, running your fingers through his hair as you continued to make out. It was only a few minutes before he regained his confidence, slipping his tongue back into your mouth and crawling to hover over you. It only took a minute and it boosted your confidence to know that he wanted you so badly, but you didn’t mind his hesitation. “I kind of like it.” You swear you felt him shudder against you.

“I, uh, think I’m okay now.” He laughed, grinning and there was a hint of danger in his eyes. You tested the waters, slipping your thigh between his legs and heard him moan softly, letting him gently grind down against your clothes. It was a cute sight, seeing him so needy. You almost felt desperate, loving the way he made you feel. Someone having so much attraction to you so suddenly. It was moving way too fast, but the rush was like no other with Mark. You felt like your time was running out, reaching down to grab his hand and place it directly over your chest under the fabric, feeling his hand shake in yours as you guided him to massage the supple flesh, groaning into his mouth at the heated touches, soft thumb massaging over your nipple. He moved his other hand to go under your shirt as well, making you gasp and arch into his touch. You felt yourself getting wet and adrenaline was pumping through your veins. Your body was hot, feeling Mark’s lips travel down your neck, softly kissing your skin and not leaving marks. It didn’t feel appropriate.

He lifted your shirt and pulled your upper clothing over your head, putting his lips back to yours when you were only in bottoms. He loved the touch, skin to skin contact was his go-to.

He made you nervous, shaking hands stilling as he tried to gain his resolve and his kisses were slower. You put your hands over his and urged him to go further and that was all he needed, gently toying with your nipples and gaining another moan against his lips. “Mark?” You started, breathing heavy as you sat there, topless and vulnerable. “Do you want to have sex with me?” You heard him swallow, both opening your eyes slightly to look at each other through hooded eyelids.

“Yeah,” He nodded softly, kissing under your ear with the softest lips. “I would like that, yeah.” You grinned at his nervousness, reaching down to softly cup the bulge in his boxers. Your heart was racing, hearing his soft moans against your lips. “Only, if, um, If you, um, want to..” Your giggle was all he needed, grinding softly into your hand before moving his own to remove your bottoms and underwear, an awkward attempt to do for him. You could feel how shaky he was, but once his fingers were on you, slickness coating his digits. You could hear him gasp, slightly embarrassed that he was touching you. “God, you’re so wet, fuck.” You were reminded how much you loved when he swore. It felt so foreign, so not used to hearing idols curse like he did. You loved it, trying to pull his length out of his boxers with your own fumbling hands when he toyed at your clit, following exactly how you’d shown him to do.

“Please fuck me.” It slipped out of your mouth faster than you could stop it and you heard him audibly groan, his brain short circuiting as he tried to make you feel good. His fingers moved down to slip one inside of you, easily moving it and making you moan as he curled it forward, teasing you from not being quite enough. Either he was a natural, or he’d gotten really good practice, but when you felt him slide another in next to it and continuing, you were gasping for air. He smirked devilishly and that was almost the first time he felt confident enough to feel like he had the upper hand. He used his free hand to fully free himself from his boxers and easily sliding off his shirt one-handed. It was kind of impressive and extremely hot that he was able to do so while still making you feel fucking amazing.

You got a glance at his mostly naked body for the first time and it felt like heaven in the daylight of the window, your mouth nearly watering. He moved back to hover over you, giggling against your mouth again when you pulled him in for a harsh kiss. You reached down to pump his arousal a few times and you were only slightly nervous, feeling like he was possibly the most perfect size for you. He felt good in your hand and it was rare that you’d thought that before. He removed his fingers and you felt empty, but ready for him. You retracted your fingers and laid your arms beside you, ready as you spread your legs further for him to slide between. He lined himself up with your entrance and your heart was racing a million miles a minute. When he entered, you felt your eyes roll to the back of your head and you were right. He was perfect, kissing you hard for a period of adjustment. You were wet enough that you didn’t need it, but it was nice to know he was so considerate, waiting just a moment before he pulled out slightly, snapping his hips back into you as he lifted your legs to wrap around his waist. He felt like a god, his warm body against yours and rocking his hips in perfect rhythm with yours, each thrust earning a light gasp. You reached your hands up to pull his face down to kiss you again.

“Fuck, you’re good.” You told him, edging him on and feeling his hands grip your waist firmly, passionate thrusts picked up slight rhythm and rocking his hips into you. It was hard not to ask him to fuck you into the mattress, but this was great for now. It was already about the best sex you’d ever had, and you’d be sure to mention it to him.

“God, you’re perfect.” He was sure to remind you through noises of his own, lifting your hips up to hit an even better angle and you thought you were seeing stars. You had to laugh when he struggled to kick the covers off of the bed but were pulled back in with a particularly intense thrust.

“Fuck, oh fuck.” You moaned, edging him on to keep going. You slipped your hand between the two of you to rub quickly at your clit and that took Mark by surprise, blinking and glancing down with a loud groan.

“You’re going to kill me, you know that?” You could tell he still had some innocence due to his surprise, snapping his hips harder into you and making sure to hit the angle you were most vocal about. You threw your head back into the pillow, gasping and you’d never felt like you were going to come so fast before in your life. You moaned louder and louder, feeling yourself continue to get closer and closer.

“Mark, Mark, fuck.” You warned, gasping softly and seeing him look directly into your eyes, needy and blurry vision as he continued his rhythm.

“Baby, I’m gonna come.” He warned, losing his resolve and his hips were moving sloppier and sloppier, but it felt so good you didn’t care. You were the first to come, having to cover your own mouth with a loud moan, shaking lightly under his touch as he continued, pulling your hand away from yourself and gripping at the bedsheets. You were spent and you felt him gasp, pulling out quickly and making sure he came on your stomach, biting his lip hard enough to draw blood as he watched it splatter on your stomach. He was embarrassed that he’d come so hard, but you didn’t mind even a little bit. “Holy shit.” He laughed softly, nervousness and tiredness taking him over. He collapsed next to you to catch his breath, both of you panting messes as you stared at the ceiling. It took quite a bit of time to snap back into reality, but you decided it would be best to shower together. You know, to save water, you both joked, grinning and making sure one another was able to stand properly inside. You’d never showered with anyone before, so it was a new level experience. The intimacy was so different.

Once you were dry, you and Mark laid in bed for a while, tangled in comfortable clothes and enjoying each other’s arms. You had a lot to plan that day, but relaxing was more important in your brain. Everything else could wait for Mark. You found that out quickly.

Morning coffee turned to afternoon coffee with Mark and picking your plane tickets pulled a few tears from the both of you, but you still had one more night to spend with him and you tried to hint around at plans for seeing him again soon, but you were going to play it by ear until the funeral was over. It seemed like the best decision and it was nice to hear that Mark had wanted to pursue any further. You sat in a coffee shop for what felt like hours, just listening to each other and cracking jokes. You had no idea what had unfolded at the hotel room. You were in for it before you ever knew.

-

Baekhyun had seen something that night in the corner of his eyes as you all laid in bed. He saw a flicker of a light in your half-opened suitcase. It wasn’t uncommon knowledge that Baekhyun had a hard time with seeing his members in relationships. He knew that things went very wrong in the idol world, he’d been in the situation before and gotten crushed, but something bugged him about you. It felt suspicious that you had just so happened to find them at the store and seemingly had no issues remembering who everyone was so easily. Even his family had a hard time memorizing everyone in his groups for a while. You seemed nervous when seeing him, he remembered seeing you slightly amazed when you laid eyes on him for the first time. It seemed odd, but especially unlikely that you caught on so quickly and so easily let yourself follow around some boy in a band you never met before then. Most people wouldn’t follow a stranger like you followed Mark.

Something felt off. It might’ve been a little too nosey to worry about what he was seeing because after a few seconds the light stopped flickering, but he couldn’t stop thinking about it. He wondered why the light was flashing green more than anything. Something didn’t feel right, but he would save it for the end of the movie. He didn’t want to intrude or dig while you were two feet away. It didn’t stop him when everyone else poured out of the room to leave a sleeping you and Mark in bed to spend your time together. Everyone agreed it would be best to leave you both there.

He wanted to know what was going on in your suitcase. It was sitting half open on the floor near the window, just enough for the beam of streetlights outside to crack through. He felt slightly guilty diving through your things, but it begged at his curiosity enough to check it out. If something was fishy, he was going to be the one to snoop. He, as quietly as possible, unzipped the remaining zipper of the suitcase and gently flipped it open, unveiling a collection of NCT, WayV EXO, and a Shinee lightstick. Maybe he was going crazy, but it didn’t seem like a coincidence. The WayV lightstick was by far the hardest to find and mostly had to be pre-ordered or specially found, so that was the one that had the most of his attention. Coincidence his ass.

He was pulled from his snooping when Taeyong lightly knocked on the door. “Baek-hyung?” his soft voice spoke and Baekhyun knew it was probably best if he left. Taeyong didn’t see Baekhyun leave with the others and he was concerned, he shouldn’t have stayed in there when he knew you and Mark were sleeping. Something didn’t feel right, Taeyong wanted to check on his senior. Baekhyun was slightly angry, but he would explore the options later. It seemed like a topic to research later.

It was the next day and Baekhyun was sure that you and Mark were gone, spending the last little bit of your time together until you had to leave. He had his idea. He was ready to investigate further, being sure he held onto the extra keycard to get back into your room when he had a free moment. He wanted to know what was up because he was extremely protective over his members. He’d been in the game long enough and as the leader, he felt responsible for knowing who his members were trusting themselves with. He was always skeptical of people in general, but something about the situation felt absolutely off.

He walked into the empty room with Taeyong, who was buzzing in his ear telling him how he didn’t think it was a good idea. Baekhyun shushed him, feeling like it was his right to know why he felt fishy about you. He got his answer when he opened the suitcase again, revealing all the lightsticks yet again tucked right up under your clothes. Baekhyun was in disbelief. Taeyong was confused, furrowing his brows and not understanding exactly what was unfolding in front of him. Your SuperM one wasn’t there, it was sitting nicely on the bedside table. Baekhyun rolled his eyes at that. Maybe packing your suitcase wasn’t the best moment to have that amount of variety. You knew what was in your suitcase, but you had easily avoided Mark ever seeing you go into it. It was much easier to hide than you thought, but because of a malfunction, you were being scoped out.

“Wait.. lightsticks? As in.. for a fan.. of us…?” Taeyong asked softly, wondering why Baekhyun looked so annoyed. He reached down to uncover the lightsticks, seeing another thing pointed out to him. It was an NCT keychain you’d ripped from your keys the second you got back to your hotel after you saw them there. You knew they hadn’t seen it on there in Walgreens, but you didn’t want to take any chances and tossed it in your suitcase the second you got back.

“Looks like it, doesn’t it?” Baekhyun grunted, aggravated and looking up at Taeyong, who obviously didn’t understand the depth of the situation, but if anyone were to ask him, Taeyong didn’t care so much. “we’ve been being lied to, just to get to Mark.” Baekhyun explained, seeing Taeyong frown. He felt sad that someone would even think of doing that to his friend, but he hoped that Baekhyun was just being dramatic and maybe it wasn’t as bad as it seemed. Baekhyun spotted your wallet, biting his lip and wondering if he should look inside. For some reason you hadn’t taken it out to lunch, only stuffed your credit card and ID into your phone case. Who knew you’d regret it later? Baekhyun checked inside, shaking his head with slight angry laughter. “There’s literally a photocard of Lucas in here.” He rolled his eyes again, annoyed and wondering how he’d let Mark get so far into this trap. “And there’s one of me too!” He felt even more annoyed.

Inside, Taeyong hoped it wasn’t that serious, but he had a heavy feeling that it definitely was as the case played out in front of him. Baekhyun did what he shouldn’t have done and pulled the photocard of his face out of the wallet while Taeyong wasn’t looking, he grabbed the damaged keychain from your suitcase and set the luggage back up exactly how it was. He shook his head. You also had an EXO pin connected to one of your jackets by the chair, but Taeyong quickly ripped it off and stuffed it into his pocket before Baekhyun could see it, he didn’t want Baekhyun to make any further moves and that would’ve been the icing on the cake.

Baekhyun frowned and he could tell Taeyong was disheartened, genuinely not expecting you to have hidden something like that. He always thought the best of people, but he was extremely confused in that moment. “So we’ve been being lied to?” Taeyong asked, his brows sad and furrowed at the explanation that Baekhyun was trying to unfold. You were in for it. There was a reason Baekhyun didn’t trust anybody. Even when Chanyeol made friends in Dallas a couple years ago, he felt iffy. He normally was fine with fans, happy to indulge, yet of course very wary about how things could go.

“I think so. And they’re out together right now. I bet he has no idea either.” Baekhyun grumbled, rolling his eyes and making his way back to their own hotel room. “How fucked up can you be to lie to someone for days like that?” He asked hypothetically and he was annoyed deep in the pit of his stomach. How could he let that happen? He was supposed to be the one protecting them, but he got too distracted with traveling around America. He felt disgusted. With you and himself. Baekhyun saw the disappointment in Taeyong’s eyes, and he was sad that he’d made his friend sad, but the overwhelming urge to make sure you got what you deserved was taking over most of his brain. Baekhyun didn’t want Mark to be upset, but he hated that someone had gotten to him and a liar didn’t deserve to get the boy. A liar didn’t deserve Mark.

“Are you going to tell him?” Taeyong asked softly, entering the room and slightly scared of what Baekhyun was going to do. He didn’t know exactly what his senior was capable of, but from what he heard, it wasn’t sounding great. Taeyong didn’t want Mark to be sad and he partially didn’t even understand why it was such a big deal, but he knew Baekhyun wouldn’t be this upset without reason. He had to trust him, even if it didn’t feel right.

“I don’t know yet.” Baekhyun sighed, thumbing over the photocard he had stuffed into his pocket. He didn’t even know how to present the information without seeming like a total asshole because it wasn’t only Mark involved. Taemin, Ten, and Lucas had all gotten involved too and made friends with you and he didn’t know how to go about it in the best way possible, but he knew Taeyong would be too timid to say anything. Your secret was safe with him, but it was whether or not Baekhyun wanted to blow it up and make them all understand how serious the situation was. It wasn’t just soft romantic heartache; it was lies and deceit and you getting to know his friends was based off of lies and neglect for the truth. Baekhyun didn’t trust anyone outside of his company, and that was why. It was his biggest fear and it was involving people he cared about. It made him sick.

Baekhyun sat on the bed for a while, trying to figure out what to do as he looked at the broken NCT keychain in his hands. You’d soon regret buying whatever you wanted out of their collections because this was what was coming to bite you in the ass. You didn’t even remember you had the photocards in your wallet, but you had purposely ripped the keychain off. It wasn’t a good look. Now it really did look like you were hiding something- which, unfortunately, you were. “The plan is to leave tonight right?” He happened to say just as Ten was making his way into the door.

Ten questioned Baekhyun with your name, wondering if it was who he was talking about. “Actually, I think Mark said they looked and tickets were better for tomorrow morning.” Baekhyun quickly realized he wasn’t ready to bring his information forward yet, staying silent and shaking his head as he stuffed the keychain in his pocket. The timing was bad, he knew it. “Mark said he wanted to have one more night together.” Ten shrugged, making his way over to the bed to lay down as he waited for Taemin to finish with his hair appointment. Apparently he was getting it cut and wanted to surprise his boyfriend with it. “At least he’s getting laid I guess.” Ten snorted, scrolling through his phone and making himself comfortable. “I think so at least, I have no idea.” He shrugged again, not thinking his comment was worth more thought.

Baekhyun didn’t even want to think about you and Mark possibly having sex. He really hoped it hadn’t happened. The thought disgusted him. He hated liars. He hated people who treated them like objects, and it felt like that was exactly what you were doing. Realistically, he knew that you probably didn’t even know that what you were doing was such a low blow, but it didn’t stop his angry thoughts, making Taeyong pout and sit on the bed to try to comfort him. Baekhyun waived him off, shaking his head and sighing to pull out his own phone to distract his ever-running mind.

Taemin showed up about 20 minutes later, excitedly making his way to the bed to wake up Ten, who had accidentally fallen asleep while waiting on him. He laid on top of Ten to wake him up, giggling when he got slightly annoyed and tried to shove him off. Baekhyun watched, nose turned up in annoyance. He was thinking about if that was how you and Mark felt. He knew better than anyone that sudden interests could be intense, so he wasn’t opposed to Mark finding someone so quickly, but he was opposed to the idea of a relationship based off of lies and deceit. The thought of relationships had disgusted him, rolling his eyes and he tried to ground himself, knowing he needed a breath of fresh air. He sighed, standing up and deciding to go on a walk. Maybe for a drink, he didn’t know. “I’ll see you guys later, okay?” His voice sounded defeated.

Baekhyun didn’t want to be angry, but the situation kept playing over and over in his head and he didn’t know how to stop it. The keychain and photocard felt heavy in his pocket and he was almost mad that he’d even picked them up. He knew he did it with purpose, but what was the point if it was just going to make everyone upset? You’d made friends with not only one, but four of them and they enjoyed your company so much, he felt guilty carrying the burden of disappointment. He was conflicted. He thought Mark deserved better, but part of him thought it was better if he didn’t know. Maybe after you left, things wouldn’t go any further and you’d be just memories to each other. Maybe he was thinking too hard about it, he didn’t know. He knew he needed a drink.

Baekhyun made his way down to the hotel bar and opened a tab immediately, tipping back some shots and trying to relax. He ordered a light cocktail and decided to call one of his other friends in on the situation. He didn’t want to seem crazy. Taeyong was no help unfortunately, but maybe someone else could help him figure out exactly what to do.

The phone picked up after one short ring. “Chanyeol?”

“Why are you calling me at 4am?” Chanyeol was always a jokester, but he knew if it was Baekhyun at this time, then it probably had to be serious. It was mid-day for Baekhyun right then, so he didn’t even think of the time difference. He hadn’t even realized that he didn’t respond. “Is something wrong?”

“I don’t know, Chanyeol.” Baekhyun sighed into the receiver, placing his fingertips to his temples to regain what he was trying to figure out in his mind. Things felt blurry, especially for him to be getting day-drunk at a hotel bar. He felt a little pathetic. He was nervous to even consider telling them now, the alcohol ridding him of the anger and bitterness of the situation, and he was just sad that his friend was being lied to. He got sad when he drank, he knew that.

-

You and Mark had wasted most of the day, just hanging out and enjoying each other’s company, especially after the upsetting night. You felt so close to him in such a short amount of time and he felt like a part of you already, inching his way into your heart and it felt good, but so far away at the same time. You were leaving him soon and weren’t even sure if you’d see him again before you left, but you hoped you’d be able to spend at least some time with him before it was over. You knew he’d be back in california at the beginning of the year, but that felt like centuries away and nothing was for certain that you’d even be able to take time off to visit him again, but you hoped. God, did you hope you could.

You made your way back to the hotel, stomach full of food from the day exploring with Mark. He had taken you to a place he found on google, then as you made your way through the park, you ended up with more snacks than you could’ve imagined. You forgot what it was like to explore your own palette outside of Los Angeles, so experiencing it with Mark made it all better. He told you about his Canadian food and what he would eat at home and it made you giggle. He was definitely one of the most interesting people you’d ever talked to in your life. You wished your time could last forever with him, even standing in silence with him and walking in the breeze felt more comforting than with anyone else you’ve ever been with in your life. He was so full of energy and ready and willing to explore new things. You’d never had that before.

You were here for the last official night, Mark walking you inside of your hotel room to get your shoes off and try to relax for the last time that you were sure it would happen. Mark grabbed you by the hand and pulled you to him, reaching his hands up to your face and pulled you in for a kiss, but this one was different. This one meant something more, this one made you feel like it wouldn’t be the end. It felt like Mark wanted to hold onto you forever and not let go. His mouth was warm, and his breath was hot against your face, his tongue immediately gaining entrance and you felt like you stood there, limp and letting him kiss you like the world needed it.

You softly snaked your arms around his waist, gripping his shirt and leaning into the kiss. You didn’t want to leave Mark and that made it that much more apparent in the moment. His mouth moved gently down your face and onto your neck. You sighed at the touch, not knowing if you wanted to get into it that night. It felt a little wrong, almost as if it was expected and that made it feel like you should wait. Like it wasn’t the time. You reached up to pull his face back to yours, kissing him passionately again and feeling him softly moan into your mouth. It felt wrong to cut him off, but you had to do it to save your sanity. You wanted things to last longer with Mark. “Just kissing, I just wanna kiss, okay?” This time you were the nervous one. “Just for now.” You’d told him to calm himself down the night before, but being slow with him felt better, even if your resolve was short lived. You wanted him, but lying in bed tangled together for just a few more minutes was incomparable.

He nodded heavily, smiling against your lips. “Okay.” He spoke into your mouth, kissing you harshly again. Kissing Mark just felt so good, pressing your body even closer to his. His warmth felt like magnetism, grasping at his shirt again. “Wait, wait, wait,” Mark giggled, tugging off his jacket. “It’s um, a little warm.” He giggled softly; blush heavy on his cheeks. He wanted to stay there forever. The look in his eyes felt like he adored you, making your chest tight.

“God, you’re cute.” You told him, brushing his hair out of his face. He giggled softly and shook his head.

“Thank you. You’re pretty cute yourself.” You felt like your heart was melting, kissing him again and backing him back to the bed. It felt more comfortable for you. Mark sighed, crawling over you and it was shockingly the softest, warmest moment you’d had with someone. He repeated your actions, brushing your own hair out of your face. “You really are.” You bit your lip, looking up at him for what you felt like was forever. He sighed, grinning shyly before laying his head down in the crook of your neck and settling his body right up next to yours. You ran your fingers through his soft hair. You would miss it much more than you ever intended. You felt like you’d known him for years and it was only a week. He’d opened your eyes to so much more than you thought someone you idolized could. Him, Taemin, Ten, Lucas, and the others. They made you open your eyes and realize just how human they were. You thought you felt that way before, but it was so different.

“You’re amazing, Mark.” The words came out quickly, blushing heavily and feeling silly for saying it. He giggled too, laying his hand on your stomach, thumbing over your skin through your shirt.

“You’re just saying that.” He brushed it off, shrugging and just trying to comfort you. He thought you’d been through a lot and just having someone there with you probably felt better than anything else at that moment. Soon you’d be home and he could tell your work stressed you out, so he was trying his best to be there for you as much as he could.

“I promise, I’m not.” You told him, sitting up a bit and he followed suit, looking over at you for more of an explanation, but you drew a blank, only leaning in to kiss him again, his lips warm and soft against yours. His lip slipped between yours and begged for entrance and you happily let him, getting a little more excited than intended when his tongue mingled with yours, sparks feeling like they were flying around you as you kissed, feeling him bite your lip and gasping in response. Maybe it would be good to be with him one last time, but you would let it work naturally, not just because you felt like it was right. Because you liked each other, and it felt like the best step. You’d been there a day longer than intended, but your flight was tomorrow morning before their concert and you weren’t thinking about that. You were thinking about Mark; nobody or anything else.  You pulled away for a second. “You’re one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met.” It wasn’t a lie. He stayed silent, pressing his lips back to yours in response. You didn’t mind at all.

Your kisses were slow and measured, mouths mending together and pulling you closer, Mark’s hands finding purchase on your hips when your arms went around his shoulders, pulling him closer. His fingertips felt hot when they slipped under your shirt at your waist, tracing over your skin like he had to map you out, just to be precise. You sighed into it, kissing him even harder with slight noises into his mouth. You didn’t mind his touches, but they still were so new to you every single time. He loved that you enjoyed them so much, scooting in a little closer to you to lay your head back on the pillow. You felt like you were in heaven, kissing him like it was your only responsibility in the world anymore. You could do it forever. “I-I want you to touch me.” You told him, hearing his shy giggles in response. “Before I have to leave.”

His fingertips made their way to the hem of your bottoms, slow and soft movements as if asking for permission. You weren’t going to deny him that time, reaching down to grab his hand to push the waistband of your pants down. He helped you pull them off between kisses, only lightly massaging the skin of your thighs for a few minutes. Mark liked contact, that was obvious. You had a small worry that he was only in it for sex because it had gone so fast, but part of you didn’t care. You’d gotten so close so quickly and he hadn’t left your side. It had to mean something to him, you felt it.

He slipped his hand between your legs, lightly playing at your clit through the crotch of your underwear, letting out a staggered moan at the contact. You were in for it, you knew it. He slipped his fingers under the fabric, easily sliding two fingers in and groaning softly to himself at how aroused you were, biting his lip when he slipped another in with ease. You moaned again, hips pulling forward and wanting him to go further, reaching up to pull his face up to kiss him once more. You needed it, you needed his touch, especially if it were the last time and it very well could be.

“Hey, hey,” He stopped you, pressing his forehead to yours and giving you a gentle peck on the lips. He stilled his fingers and made you grind your hips back to continue the friction. You looked at him, eyes hooded.

“Yeah?” It came out as more of a moan, sighing heavily but you could see the slight fear in his eyes, pecking him on the lips once more as he gathered his words.

“I-I don’t want this to just be, uh, you know.” He was smiling a little, but you could tell it was a nervous smile. It made you a little worried, but his words shook your heart, making your chest feel tight. “I want, um, it to be more than this, you know.” He was shaky with his words, but your smile comforted him, blushing heavily.

“Me either.” You assured him, leaning forward to kiss him hard on the mouth, feeling his soft noises against your lips. You hoped he felt better, knowing exactly how he felt about the two of you. You felt him kiss you harder, returning his noises and slipping your tongue into his mouth. You could feel how hard he was shaking, and you wished you could calm him down. It was the third time you’d done anything, but it felt different. Mark wanted you and this felt like the best way to show it, pulling away to smile at you and you returned it gladly, sighing and feeling him relax just a tiny bit. You wanted to assure him further. “I like you a lot, Mark.” You reminded him and he giggled, biting his lip and pecking you on the lips once more before curling his fingers inside of you, pulling a gasp from your throat you didn’t expect. He found your spot so quickly, abusing it, making you only able to stutter out gasps. “Mark, fuck.” You breathed out, seeing his confidence grow. You didn’t know why he was so good at it, but he made you feel better than you could’ve imagined, quick movements curling toward himself and you were reacting better than he thought you were. He felt his dick twitch in his pants, adjusting to be a little more comfortable and you bit your lip, reaching over to place your hand over his jeans, palming over his arousal.

“God, I want you so bad.” It made your chest tight, biting your lip and loving how he ground up into your hand, eyes nearly closing. The sound of his fingers inside of you edging him on. You wanted him too and it was driving you a little crazy how good it felt to have him like this, but you didn’t want it to stop. You quickly moved to undo his jeans, feeling his fingers slip out of you. You sighed, moving over him and pushing him back to lay on the bed. You hovered over him, pushing his jeans down his thighs. You could see how red his face was and it excited you, teasing your fingers over his boxers as you earned sweet and soft gasps from him. He was sensitive and it was cute. Everything about him was cute. You reached your hand into the waistband of his boxers, tugging them down as well and he helped you pull them off, trying not to giggle as he struggled to pull his own shirt off as well. You laid there, smiling at his naked figure. You could look at him all day, seeing him flush and feel exposed. “I-I’m not really that used to this,” He reminded you and that almost made it better, shutting him up with soft kisses.

“It’s fine, you’re doing great, okay?” You scooted down his body and heard him gasp when your face got near his stomach, almost in disbelief at the thought of you going down on him. It wasn’t even a thought he had, but he was happy to let you do it, wrapping your fingers around his length and placing your mouth on his tip, trying to go easy on him because he was already having a bit of a fit, head thrown back into the bed sheets and moaning wantonly. It was a fun sight to see, him losing control. You liked when he did, but you wouldn’t tell him that. You moved your mouth slowly, taking just a bit of him in at a time, swirling your tongue around the head and giggling when he whined. You pulled off, jerking him off a bit so you could talk, bring him back to earth. “You’re so cute.” You told him, hearing him sigh and lay his arm over his head.

“It’s so embarrassing, I’m sorry.” He told you, covering his face and moving his hips into your hand.

“No, I love it.” You told him, sighing happily and taking the head into your mouth again. His gasp edging you further to suck, tongue digging into the slit. You’d never really been so interested in giving head before, but Mark made you feel much better about it, he was so shy and loved it so much. You pulled off, seeing his chest rise and biting your lip. You hoped he could last longer, but you weren’t sure, moving to crawl back over him, chest to his to press your lips back to his again. “Please fuck me.” You told him, getting a shy grin in return.

“Okay.” He nodded, kissing you back and flipping you to where he was hovered over you, moving his lips to your neck immediately and pushing your shirt up and over your head, biting your lip because it was the most skin on skin contact you’d had. He felt warm and comforting, his body over yours and settling between your legs. He reached down, tugging your underwear off and playfully tossing them off to the side.

“Someone’s confident.” You joked, seeing his eyebrow quirk up, staying silent.

He opened your legs further, thumbing over your clit and making you gasp in surprise, laying your head back just a bit as he lined himself up, still perfectly wet enough to slide inside. Your moan was much louder than you wanted, seeing his eyes shut and his hands finding purchase at your waist, gentle thrusts making your whole body feel hot. You gasped loudly when he gave a hard thrust, crooking his hips just right to make you moan. Loud. “Fuck,” You whined. “Mark, please.” You saw him blush harder, leaning down to kiss you as he continued his shallow thrusts, moaning deeply into your mouth. It was heaven with Mark, completely focused on you and nothing else. It wasn’t long before you were both done for, wishing it would last longer but the feeling and pleasure was so heightened, you couldn’t help it. Picking up thrusts and going faster, his hand slipping up to thumb over your nipple. You groaned, feeling his hips snap into yours and stimulating your clit. He hit you in just the right ways, gasping as your orgasm came closer and closer. “Mark, I-“ He nodded, panting heavily.

“Me too, baby, me too.” The pet name made you feel hot, gasping as the wave crashed over you, throwing your head back into the pillows and clenching around Mark. Hearing him moan himself made you shudder and he quickly pulled out, making a mess on your stomach for the second time. You had to giggle, knowing it was because it was him that you didn’t mind. He laid next to you, laying his head on your chest and feeling too tired to clean up his mess. He reached over for a towel you’d used for your face earlier in the day because it was close, quickly asking you if he could use it. “Is this towel okay?” He asked between pants, you laying there a heavy breathing mess. You nodded, trying to regain your composure. You were so tired. You were never like that with anyone else.

You laid like that for a while, trying to forget about the fact that you’d be leaving tomorrow. You didn’t want to think about it. Mark had his arm laid across your waist, holding you close to him and thumbing over your skin with soft sighs, relaxing as you both laid there, completely spent and enjoying your last night together.

You fell asleep in his arms, hands running through his hair and you woke up spooning before you realized you’d fallen asleep. Nobody had ever made you feel that good in your life, so you dealt with the consequences of falling harder and deeper for someone you hardly knew. You vaguely wished it was just sex, so things were less complicated, but that wasn’t nearly as easy of a case, but you’d deal with it later. You always said that, and it got you in trouble. You hoped it wouldn’t.

[trashmouth-tozier89]

Welcome to the Loser’s Club, Asshole! - Ch.1 | T W O

Warnings: swearing, a very mild sexual innuendo - everything you’d expect with Richie

Word Count: 3,740

Pairing: Richie Tozier x Reader, Platonic!Stan Uris x Reader

A/N - second chapter of my first series! i’m really liking the way this is turning out, considering i’ve never written a rewrite of a pre-existing movie/book! i’ve not planned what each chapter is going to contain, so i’m praying this works out in the long run. if you haven’t noticed, i don’t particularly have a schedule for publishing these chapters, but i am just trying to get them all out as soon as possible so it can be more of a binge read than having to wait :/

If you wish to be added to the taglist, send in an ask or pop it in the comments! :)

Welcome to the Loser’s Club Asshole Masterlist 

“Take everything but the Delicious Deals, guys. My mom loves ‘em” Eddie instructed as Richie swung the kitchen cabinet doors open with full force, taking out whatever food he could find. “Hey! First you said the Barrens and now you’re saying the sewer. I mean, what if we get caught?”

Eddies seemed hesitant, his words coming out in whispers towards the end of his sentence. Eddie was rather obedient when it came to authority; he didn’t like standing up to people he thought were right. But Bill had insisted the sewers were the perfect place to search for the missing 7 year old, so he tried his best to convince Eddie; “We won’t Eds, the sewers are p-p-public works. We’re the public, aren’t we?”

“Hey, Eddie, these your birth control pills?” Richie pitched in, pointing to the bottles of pills which filled a whole cabinet; he smirked at the joke, proud like he always was.

“Yeah, and I’m saving it for your sister. This is private stuff” Eddie retorted, Bill sniggering in the background. The boys went to leave the house, and head to the Barrens, before being stopped in their tracks by Eddie’s mother.

“Eddie bear, where you boys off to in such a rush?” She spoke, in such a sickeningly sweet tone; anyone could tell she was disguising ill intentions. Sonia Kaspbrak was the kind of mother who was very protective over her child; Eddie could never go anywhere without some kind of interrogation. That’s just the way it was in the Kaspbrak house. They boys stood silent for what felt like minutes, but thankfully was only a few seconds, trying to piece together an excuse. There was no way they could tell her they were going to the Sewers, she’d have gone berserk.

“Um… j-j-just my backyard Mrs K” Bill stuttered out, thinking up something on the spot, “I got a new-“

“A new croquet set. Jeez, spit it out b-b-b-Bill” Richie chimed in when Bill was unable to finish his sentence; Bill wasn’t always the best at lying to peoples face, but that was practically Richie’s talent.

“Okay” Sonia wasn’t sure if she believed them or not, specifically whether she believed Richie or not, but she accepted it anyway because surely her son wouldn’t lie to her. “Oh, and sweetie, don’t go rolling around on the grass. Especially if it’s just been cut. You know how bad your allergies can get”

“Yes Mom – let’s go” Eddie practically whispered, wanting to leave as soon as possible; he didn’t exactly like his mother like most children should. It was a complicated relationship.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Eddie knew exactly what his mother meant by this, and so huffed loudly while approaching the woman who was slumped down in her armchair, planting a small kiss on her cheek. He knew he was going to be the pit of Richie’s jokes for the next hour or so, especially considering Richie was now sniggering rather loudly from the hallway.

“Do you want one from me too Mrs K?” Richie chuckled, but before he could even look in Sonia’s direction, Eddie was shoving him out the door chanting “No, no, no”. Thankfully, Richie was out the door in seconds, so Eddie quickly apologised and shut the door behind him.

***

“Mom, are you in here?” Y/N shouted as she walked into the backyard shed, hoping to find her mother in there considering she was nowhere else to be found. With the house all furnished and looking like a real home now, Y/N was starting to feel a lot more settled in and like Derry was where she had lived her whole life. Her mother had even agreed to let Y/N turn the backyard shed into a birdwatching hut that she and Stanley could spend their time birdwatching in; it thankfully had a window at the back which looked straight into the forestry behind the house, so all it would need was a little makeover and it would be perfect.

“Just here, love. What do you need?” she shouted back, watching Y/N’s face light up as she entered. Y/N’s mother had spent the last hour or two painting the walls of the shed green so that no bird would be afraid to fly near it. It wasn’t the way she wanted to spend her first day in Derry, but when she heard how excited Y/N was when she got home and exclaimed she had made her first friend and that they had bonded over birdwatching, she was more than happy to help her daughter make friends.

“Can I spend the day with Stan and his other friends?” Y/N questioned, a spring in her step at the idea of spending the day with her newly found friends; though she had realised she only actually knew Stan’s name. She just referred to the other 3 as ‘the short one’, ‘the one with the stutter’ and ‘the cute one’. She wasn’t really sure why, but she really hoped that the cute one would be there when she met up with them. There was something about him that made her want to get to know him.

“Of course love, but be home by 5 at the latest” she answered, pressing a kiss to her daughter’s cheek and sending her on her way. Y/N rushed out to the front of her house, waiting patiently for Stan and the rest to arrive after agreeing on the phone the night before that he would meet her at her house. Only after a few minutes of waiting around, she heard the skidding of bike wheels against the tarmac road before looking up to see the boy with the stutter slamming down his brakes.

“H-h-hey” he smiled, looking your way and then behind him to see the three other boys speeding down the road at a speed nowhere near as fast as he’d been going. Y/N giggled at the sight of the boy’s faces of annoyance.

“Slow down Bill, we can’t keep up!” Stan yelled, slowing down once he got in front of you.

“Don’t blame me, blame Silver!”

“Yeah Stan, it’s not Bills fault he finishes fast” the boy with glasses shouted as he too pulled up, shortly followed by the short one. Y/N let out a small snigger at the boys joke, and he looked to her with a smirk on his face, while the others looked at her like she had just committed a crime. Not many people laughed at his jokes, and when they did it was usually out of pity, so it was nice for him to receive some admiration. “I don’t think I ever properly introduced myself; Richie Toziers the name, and doing voices is my game”

The boys all rolled their eyes at Richie’s poor attempt of a British accent, but Y/N chuckled rather loudly at his introduction. She liked his humour, it was unlike any she’d heard before, but that was in a good way; it was funnier than she’d heard before. She shook his hand, but instead he went to kiss it gently as if she were a princess.

“A-and I’m Eddie.” The small one chimed in from the background, a wide grin on his face as he looked at her. She smiled back, sending a small wave over to the boy who instantly sent one back, blushing a little. Eddie seemed quite shy, she realised, but that wasn’t to say that was a bad thing; she’d just have to let him warm up her a little.

“It’s lovely to meet you Eddie. And you’re Bill” she grinned; looking towards the boy she’d heard the name of a few times already. He nodded, smiling back. Bill always loved making new friends; in fact all the boys did, so she was more than welcome to join the Loser’s club. “I’m Y/N L/N; I moved to Derry a few days ago.”

“A-are we ready to go?” Stan urged, finding it a little awkward that he had just been standing here for the past 5 minutes while the other 3 boys practically drooled over Y/N; he understood, she was pretty, very pretty indeed, but at least he was able to control himself. He did find it rather amusing how hung Richie was; he would normally have been spurring out vulgar comments and pickup lines by this point, but he hadn’t said a crude joke at all, well not to Y/N. The thing was, he didn’t want to scare her away; Richie had a tendency of being too loud and vulgar most of the times, and this tended to earn him eye rolls and scoffs instead of laughs. His jokes were purely his humour, and most people didn’t have the same humour as Richie.

“Bill decided the Sewers would be better to look” Eddie mentioned, considering both Stan and Y/N hadn’t been there that morning to hear the conversation. Stan was fine with it, he didn’t really want to be searching for Georgie in the first place and either way they were splashing around in shitty water. Y/N, however, responded with a look of disappointment and… worry?

“Is that okay, Y/N?” Richie asked rather quickly once he noticed the look on her face; admittedly it was a little embarrassing for him but he didn’t want Y/N to feel uncomfortable- seriously, what was happening to Richie?

“O-oh, yeah it’s fine. I just, I wouldn’t have worn once of my nice dresses if I knew we were going to the sewers…” she muttered, playing with the hem of the skirt adorned on her body. She wanted to impress the boys, specifically Richie, so she wore one of her cuter dresses that she thought made her look nice. Why was she trying to impress the boys?

“You could go ch-ch-change if you want, we have all day” Bill offered, but she could tell his face was desperate to get going and searching for whatever it was they were looking for.

“No, that’s okay.” She grinned, not wanting to hold the boys up. They all mounted their bikes, while Y/N stood awkwardly, until they noticed she didn’t have her own bike. She had never been much of a bike rider in her childhood, so she never saw the need to waste her pocket money on one.

“You can ride on the back of mine, if you want?” Richie offered, cheeks blushing as he noticed the boys were sniggering; it wasn’t loud enough for Y/N to hear, but Richie had. He couldn’t comprehend why this girl made him feel so nervous, when usually he was what he liked to a ladies man. After watching the boys mock him, he tried his best to make them shut up by adding a Richie quirk to his question; “That is, if you can manage to keep your hands to yourself, sweetcheeks”

“I think I’ll manage that just fine, thank you” she smirked back, climbing onto the back of the bike and wrapping her arms around the boy’s waist, watching as the other boys laughed at Richie’s expense. She felt him clench slightly as she touched him, but she thought nothing of it; however, she had begun to feel a little guilty for what she said. As Richie and the others started cycling to the destination, Y/N felt it needed to apologise; “I’m sorry if that was rude”

“It’s all good, sweetcheeks. Maybe you could make it up to me later” he quirked up, his confidence suddenly skyrocketing when she giggled softly into the crook of his neck. He was glad she found his jokes funny; it meant he wouldn’t have to hold back from being himself to impress her, even if he didn’t know why he wanted to. Probably just because she’s knew to the group, he thought to himself, yeah that’s why.

“Oh yeah, and what would that entail?”

“Well, you’d come around to my house, because my parents won’t be in. I’ll take you up to my room and-“

“Beep beep Richie” Stan shouted from his bike in front, stopping Richie from finishing the awful sentence considering he knew Richie would happily have gone into full detail of their sexual escapades, and Stan didn’t want to hear that. Thankfully for the rest of the ride, the group were silent, and it only really took them 5 minutes to arrive at the sewer entrance.

***

“That’s poison ivy, and that’s poison ivy. And that’s poison ivy” Stan stated, pointing at almost every plant and tree they passed walking down the riverbank.

“Where? Where’s the poison ivy?” Eddie hesitated, being the germaphobe he was. He searched every plant, inspecting them to ensure he was in no danger. There was no way Eddie was going to let himself get a rash from poison ivy; he could probably catch one just from standing near it.

“Nowhere, not every fucking plant is poison ivy Stanley!” Richie complained, rolling his eyes in the direction of the two boys who he knew were panicking over nothing. Stanley looked over to Y/N for some backup, and after inspecting the bigger plant closely, she easily confirmed it was, in fact, not poison ivy. One thing Stanley had learned about Y/N so far was that along with birdwatching, she was an avid nature lover; she could name a plant just by its leaf or a butterfly just by its wing.

“Okay, well I’m starting to get itchy now and I’m pretty sure this is not good for my-“ Eddie started complaining, before Richie cut in again; “Do you use the same bathroom as your mother?”

“Sometimes, yeah”

“Then you probably have crabs” Richie retorted, stepping further into the sewage pipe with Bill far in front of him. Y/N had followed suit, forgetting all about the dress debacle she encountered earlier; she’d have never got to do something like this back in her hometown, she wanted to seize the moment.

“That’s so not funny”

“Aren’t you guys coming in?” Richie turned around and asked, seeing Stan and Eddie still lurching at the entrance of the sewer. They were hesitant, extremely hesitant, to go any further than they already were.

“Uh-uh, it’s greywater” Eddie shook his head, gulping in disgust from even the sight of what Bill, Richie and Y/N were treading through.

“What’s greywater?” Y/N questioned from next to Bill, looking worried that this may have been a mistake after all. And Eddie’s answer proved her correct.

“It’s basically piss and shit, so I’m just telling you; you guys are splashing around in millions of gallons of Derry pee. So…” Eddie pointed out, and watched as your face contorted into one similar to his; disgust. Richie on the other hand, had waded the end of his stick in the sewer water and lifted it up to his nose to sniff; “Are you serious? What are you—“

“Doesn’t smell like caca to me, senor” Richie retorted in a poor Spanish accent, if you could even call it that.

“Okay, I can smell it from here”

“It’s probably just your breath wafting back into your face.” Richie responded, making Eddie huff in annoyance.

Eddie took a deep inhale, trying his hardest not to freak out at Richie’s utter stupidity; not being very successful in his attempts. “Have you ever heard of a staph infection?”

“Oh, I’ll show you a staph infection” the boy in glasses retorted quickly, still messing around in the water with the stick he was holding. Eddie was not giving up on shaming Richie at all; “This is so unsanitary. You’re literally; this is literally like swimming inside of a toilet bowl right now. I mean, have you ever heard of Listeria?”

Richie chucks an old plastic bag on the end of his stick which had been floating in the shitty water towards the smaller boy, eliciting a loud scream and a very harsh response: “A-Are you retarded, you’re the reason why we’re in this position right now-“

“Guys!” Bill shouted over, interrupting the smaller boy and earning the attention of all 4. When they all looks over, they saw Bill holding up a shoe; Richie, Stan and Eddie were able to understand exactly what this may have meant, but Y/N was no clearer.

“What, what is that?” Y/N questioned, searching the boys faces for answers; Eddie looked disgusted that Bill was holding it with his bare hands, Richie looked sad as he readjusted his glasses, and Stan looked scared. But none of them were answering her question, and it was getting on her nerves.

“Shit. Don’t tell me that’s…” Stan trailed off, not wanting to say the name, but Bill caught on quickly.

“No, G-Georgie wore galoshes.” Bill spoke sadly, thankful it hadn’t been his brother’s shoe. Y/N was still searching for some answers, and when no one spoke for a second or two, she took the opportunity to try and find some; for all she knew, ‘Georgie’ had simply lost his shoes recently while playing in the sewers, and Bill was trying to find them. That was the only reasonable explanation.

“Okay, guys, can someone please explain what’s going on? What exactly are we looking for down here, and who’s Georgie?” She asked, trying not to show her slight anger at being ignored, but her tone implied very obviously that she was impatient for an answer. However, the boys were left speechless; none of them wanted to tell Y/N about Georgie in case Bill wasn’t ready for her to know, but they knew Bill would struggle to talk openly about it. He hadn’t even been able to admit verbally that the boy was obviously dead.

“G-g-g-Georgie wa-is, is my brother. H-he went missing a few months ago, but I know he’s down here somewhere.” Bill answered quietly, watching as the girls face dropped from anger to sadness within a second of hearing the word missing spill from the boy’s mouth. Oh, she thought, that’s why we’re down here. We’re searching for Bill’s missing brother. Dead brother – there was no way he could’ve survived down here for months. As she looked at Stan’s face, she could tell they knew Georgie was dead too, but she couldn’t say that to Bill.  

“I-I’m so sorry Bill, I, I didn’t know. We’ll try our best to find him, okay” she assured, making her way over to put a comforting hand on his shoulder. He nodded slightly, sending her a sad but grateful smile. The tension was as awkward as it could’ve been, until Eddie brought the attention back to the shoe.

“Whose sneaker is it?” Richie and Y/N both leant over to inspect the inside of the shoe that Bill was shining his torch light on. It read very clearly, written in a black marker, B.RIPSOM. Y/N’s mind was cast back to the school day, where she heard another girl murmuring about someone named Betty Ripsom who had gone missing weeks before; they talked about it as if it was normal, something that didn’t even matter. At the time, she thought it was just a myth or a story she had made up, but now Y/N understood it was real. She peeked to watch Richie’s breath hitch in his throat before announcing to Stan and Eddie; “It’s Betty Ripsom’s”

“Oh, shit. Oh, God. Oh, fuck! I don’t like this” Eddie swore, feeling himself beginning to panic.

“How do you think Betty feels? Running around these tunnels with only one frickin’ shoe” Richie joked, hopping to mimic the action described. Y/N slapped his arm harshly, sending him a look which clearly said that’s not funny, dude. When he noticed he was in fact the only one laughing at the joke, his face dropped immediately.

“What if she’s still here?” Stan proposed the idea, watching as the 4 considered the suggestion. After a second, Bill and Richie carried on down the tunnel, flashlight in hand. Y/N was much more hesitant now, not wanting to go any further in the case of ending up like Betty. Or Georgie.

“Y/N, Eddie, come on!” Richie shouted without even looking back.

“My mom will have an aneurysm, okay, if she finds out we’re playing down here, I’m serious. Bill?” Eddie complained, waiting for some voice of reason for Bill considering he usually had the good ideas. Although, Eddie was beginning to think that today, he didn’t have the good ideas.

“If…If I was Betty Ripsom, I would want us to find me. G-g-georgie too.” Bill answered back, trying to convince the other boys and girl that this was important for him, and Betty and Georgie. He wasn’t doing this for fun, or to splash around and play, he wanted to find these people and restore them justice. And to prove that Georgie was alive.

“What if I don’t want to find them?” Eddie spoke up, earning the attention of the others. Y/N was rather shocked, but she agreed; she hated to say it but finding them would most likely end up with them going missing, and she didn’t want that. “I mean, no offense, Bill, but I don’t want to end up like G… I don’t want to go missing either”

“He has a point” Both Y/N and Stan spoke at the same time.

“Y-y-you too?” Bill stuttered out, and she could tell his heart was breaking at their words.

“It’s summer. We’re supposed to be having fun. This isn’t fun. This is scary and disgusting” Stan complained, his voice cracking on almost every word. Before anyone could say anything more, the sound of a splash behind them caught the attention of all 5, turning to see the source of the commotion. Y/N was out the sewer in an instant, stopping by Eddie and Stan’s sides to try and catch a glimpse of what may have been making such a large splash.

Their eyes landed on a boy, around their age, thrashing around in the water. He had attempted to stand up, before falling again.

“Holy shit, what happened to you?” Richie shouted, and it was at that point Y/N realised what was wrong. The boy turned his head to face the crowd, and Y/N saw he was bleeding from his nose and stomach. Y/N sprinted over to the boy, Stan and Eddie following suit, to help him up. He had some serious injuries, and she could not figure out how we had a ‘H’ carved into his stomach. That was, however, when it clicked in her head.

Henry Bowers.

[amazingphanisnotonfire-imagines]

Steve//Boys Like You (part 2)

Request: Please do a part 2 to “Boys like you” ??!!!! The reader can end up with Billy ??

part 1 part 3

“Hey! Helloooo.” A finger snaps in front of your face and you jolt from your thoughts. Two weeks ago Steve and Nancy got back together and they’ve been the longest two weeks of your life. And you once went to summer camp with Carol. 

“Huh? What?” You ask and look around. Stood beside you in none other that Billy Hargrove. The new kid in town and the king of Hawkins High. Taking over Steve pretty much as soon as he arrived. 

“You’re stood in front of my locker.” He says and you look between him and the lockers you’re leaning on. Steve, Nancy, Carol and Tommy are talking about a double date they’re going on tomorrow and so you’ve been stuck on the outside. But then again, they were already talking before you arrived and you’re not entirely sure they’ve noticed you yet. 

“Oh, sorry.” You mumble a quick apology and move out of his way. He nods before opening his locker. 

“No problem.” He replies and starts to sort through the contents of his locker which is surprisingly quite clean. “Why’d you seem so shocked for me to be talking to you?” He asks and you look at him confused. Why is Billy Hargrove talking to you? You’d think you’d be the last person he’d talk to seeing as though your friends with Steve. 

“Oh you know. Not a lot of people notice me, let alone involve me in conversation.” You shrug and start picking at your nails.

“Aren’t you best friends with Harrington? I thought that would be grounds for everyone to notice you.” 

“Apparently not.” 

“Hmmm.” He hums and you look at him expectantly. 

“What?” You urge him to talk. He opens his mouth to speak but is cut off by Steve shouting your name, making his jaw clench. You smile slightly to yourself before looking at Steve.

“Yeah?” You ask, finally happy to be included in a conversation so you don’t have to talk to Billy anymore. 

“Can I copy your English homework?” He asks and your face drops. You can tell Billy is watching the entire interaction, his gaze burning a hole into the side of your head and you can almost feel his smirk as he sees you be ignored by the former king.

“...yeah. Sure.” You force a smile and hand him the homework. 

“Thanks! You’re the best. I’ll get it back to you later.” He says happily and shoves it in his pocket.

“You can give it back to me after school.” You tell him and he looks at you confused.“You know? When I come over?” 

“Ohhhh, yeah about that. Me and Nancy are hanging out tonight. I totally meant to to tell. Sorry, but we’ll hang out soon I promise.” He apologizes and you sigh. 

“Okay.” You nod and go back to leaning on the locker. 

“Anyway so David-” He goes back to talking to Tommy and you almost forget that Billy is still stood beside you. Almost being the operative word. 

“Ohhhhhh. I get it.” 

“Get what?” You ask, your tone harsh as you turn to look at him. 

“You’re in love with Harrington.” He teases and you roll your eyes. 

“What! Are you out of your mind?” You argue but his smirk grows. 

“No, but I think you are. Harrington? Really? He likes girls like Nancy Wheeler.” He replies and looks the pair of them up and down. “Like, really?” 

“I’m kind of like Nancy Wheeler.” You shrug and look down at the floor.

“Exactly. So maybe you should think about what’s wrong with you. He likes the original model, not the knock-off brand.” He replies and your eyes widen. 

“What the hell?” You spit, pushing yourself off the lockers so you can look at him properly. Your gaze is harsh as you stare at him, you’re basically shooting daggers at him, but he seems unfazed. 

“Look, I didn’t mean it like that. All I’m saying is that you can do a hell of a lot better that Steve Harrington. Maybe you wanna take a look at yourself as to why you continue to be his second best. But in my opinion your much prettier than Nancy ‘priss’ Wheeler.” He explains making you scoff. 

“I bet you say that to all the girls.” You roll your eyes. 

“No, I tell them they’re prettier than whoever they’re second best to.” He replies sarcastically. 

“Of course. It was lovely talking to you Billy, but I’ve got places to be and backgrounds to blend into.” You reply and start to walk away. You’re bored of being ignored by the people you don’t want to be, and taken notice of by the guy you’d rather not be. 

“For what its worth, I don’t think you blend into the background.” He shouts after you and you walk quicker. 

“Goodbye Billy!” You wave him off, not bothering to turn around. 

“Just think about what I said.” He says and you roll your eyes. Yeah, like thats gonna happen.

-----

Turns out that did happen. All day you’d been thinking about what Billy said, and every time it seemed to sting more. Why didn’t Steve want you? You’ve known him for longer, you know basically everything about him. You have been through a hell of a lot together. And you’re kind of like Nancy. Just a cooler version. Ew, who calls themself cool? Not cool people apparently. No wonder Steve likes Nancy and not you. She’s the perfect girl next door, and you’re the actual girl next door. 

“Pssst. Did you think anything more of what I said?” Billy’s voice makes you jump and you lift your head from the homework you’re doing to glare at him. Sitting in the library alone after school is supposed to mean you’re left alone. Not being bothered by some asshole who can’t keep it in his pants. 

“No Billy. I have better things to do than think about whatever bullshit your spouting today.” You reply sweetly and his eyes widen at your tone. 

“Ouch. Somebody really is butthurt about Harrington not loving them.” 

“Shut up Hargrove.” You spit and he rolls his eyes. 

“Oooo, resorting to last names now? You’ve got more fire than I thought Y/l/n.” He says with a playful tone in his voice and you fake gag. 

“Jesus Christ, do you ever quit.” 

“Hmmm. Nope.” 

“Why are you doing this Billy? I already have enough boy drama I don’t need you sticking yourself into it.” You ask, eventually giving up on the homework in front of you. 

“Believe it or not, I’m actually trying to be nice to you.” He says and you raise an eyebrow. 

“Why? We’ve never had a conversation before this morning and now I feel like everywhere I turn you’re there with your stupid smirk and big hair.” 

“Ooooo. Are you flirting?” He winks.

“Ew. No.” You argue. “Why are you being nice to me?” 

“Because believe it or not. I was in a position similar to yours once.” He replies and a smirk spreads over your lips. He narrows his eyes at the look on your face while you lean into him.

“Awww, you like Harrington.” 

“Was. Jesus Christ, maybe your less like Nancy and more like Steve.” He shakes his head while you laugh. “Back in Cali I had a friend who I thought I was in love with. We were best friends and neighbours and she helped me through some very difficult times. But when it came to actually noticing me, she always looked straight through me. Right to the cuter, funnier guys around me and I put up with it. I did her homework, I supported her when she needed me. Hell, I even cleaned up her messy breakups. Always there for her, but never really seen.” He starts to explain and you can see him become more and more uncomfortable. 

“What happened?” You ask and rest a hand over his. He looks at your hand and then at you, and you send him a soft smile. 

“She started dating my other best friend and I was pushed even more into the background. Although we did kiss, just once. After a party where her and her boyfriend had an argument and she came to my house. I told her everything would be okay and she kissed me on my sofa. Then the next day...she was back with him. And I had to deal with being in the background again.” 

“Billy...I had no idea. I’m so sorry that happened to yo-Wait, did that actually happen?” You narrow your eyes. 

“No! I can’t believe you fell for that.” He laughs loudly and tears start to prick at your eyes. “You really have to be careful about who you tell your secrets to...and who’s around to hear them.” 

“You’re an ass!” You shout and grab your stuff. 

“I was only teasing! Come on Y/n.” He grabs your arm, pulling you back to him. But you’ve had enough. Steve treats you like trash, like your only his back up plan. And Billy just thinks your some stupid little girl who’s problems are to be made fun of. Tommy and Carol only acknowledge you when they want someone to bully, and Nancy always looks at you like she’s wary of you. Like your some sort of femme fatale who’s gonna seduce her boyfriend right from under her nose. You should be so lucky. 

“You know what Billy?” You start angrily, getting in his face. “You may walk around like your king of the school, but all you are in a lonely, pathetic little boy who thinks if he’s mean to enough people and sleeps with enough women he’ll manage to fill the void in his heart that he’s had since a child. But thats not how it works. Grow up Billy. Otherwise you’re gonna be left behind.” You shout before storming out. You’re almost out of the school when a hand on your upper arm pulls you back.

“Y/n? Y/n are you okay?” Steve’s worried voice makes you feel sick. Great, thats all I need.

“Go away Steve.” You sob.

“What?” He asks confused.

“I said leave me alone Steve! Go find Nancy or something.” You shout and push him away from you making him stumble a bit. You run out the school quickly, the doors swinging behind you and you can still hear Steve inside. 

“Y/n?” He says confused.

“Y/n! Wait up.” Billy shouts from down the corridor as he runs after you. 

“Hargrove? What did you do to her.” Steve asks, pushing Billy’s chest. 

“Nothing worse than what you did.” He spits and Steve’s eyebrows knit together in confusion. 

“What?!” He asks and Billy takes the opportunity to push past him and follow you. 

“Y/n! Y/n, I’m sorry okay. I didn’t mean it. I just-I dunno. Sometimes I don’t think before I speak.” He shouts after you and you stop abruptly, making him walk into you. 

“Sometimes?” You ask sarcastically as he steadies the two of you. 

“Yeah. Why don’t I make it up to you?” He suggests, his expression softening. And you can almost see a smile appear, instead of that stupid smirk. 

“How are you gonna do that.” You cross your arms looking away from him.

“Let me take you out?” 

“Excuse me?” You ask, quickly looking at him. 

“As an apology. We can go to that diner that everyone seems to go on about. And I’ll buy you whatever you want.” 

“Is this a date? Because I’m not going on a date with you.” You narrow your eyes. 

“No! Its an apology.” He replies. “It’ll could be date...depending on how it goes.” He winks making you roll your eyes. “Oh come onnnn. I know you don’t have anything better to do.” 

“Fine. But any funny business and I will not hesitate to kick you where it hurts. Got it?” You warn.

“Got it.” He nods.

“Good. Now lets get out of here.” 

“Don’t you need to tell Harrington.” He asks and you look at him like he’s got two heads. 

“He doesn’t control me. And like he’d notice.” You say the last part sadly and Billy sighs. 

“Thats my girl.” 

“Your girl? Have you got short term memory loss?” You ask, your mood picking up again at the opportunity to tease him. 

“Sorry. Thats...a girl?” 

“Wow, Billy. You’re so good with words.” You tease and he laughs. 

“Get in the damn car.” He shakes his head and you giggle softly. You’re about to get in the car when Steve shouting your name stops you. 

“Y/n, I’m so glad I caught up with you. Nancy cancelled our plans so we can hang out again.” He jogs towards you. 

“Sorry Steve. I have plans with Billy tonight. I’ll see you around.” You shrug and send him a small smile before getting in the car. He looks at Billy suspiciously, who’s just smirking at him. 

“What’s your game Hargrove.” He asks.

“Nothing. Just treating a pretty girl to a nice night. Something you should have done a long time ago. But after tonight she’s gonna be so over you...and with a bit of luck, under me.” He replies with a wink before also getting into the car. Steve goes for him but it’s too late. He’s already driving off and now Steve starts to worry. 

What if he ends up in the background of your life? 

[lizzybeth1986]

Quick Thoughts on The Royal Retcon Book 1 Chapter 11

• You've gotta admit, guys. This series spends more time retconning various aspects of their original story than they do on the actual premise.

• The food fight was wild and chaotic, the background history is always welcome, seeing Jess and Blake was nice and the moonlit hot springs scene was a nice change from everything...but my head is spinning from the constant shifts, okay?

• To avoid seeing my QTs in your dash, blacklist the following tags: #trh quick thoughts, #trh qts, #trh qt reblogs, #long post.

• Screenshots:

Hana: The Abhirio YouTube channel

Maxwell: @thethots-plicken and @itsbrindleybinch

Drake: The HIMEME YouTube channel

• Title: The Prodigal Father

Alternative: Most Parents in TRR Shouldn't Have Even Been Parents To Begin With

• The last chapter ended with a surprise twist: the return of Barthelemy Beaumont, father of Bertrand and Maxwell Beaumont. We had a lot of questions. Did Bertrand know he wasn't dead? Did Maxwell not know he wasn't dead? What the hell was he doing all these years and why had he left his sons in such a horrible position?

• Turns out the writers may have taken a leaf out from a Hindi serial or something coz - drumrolls - he was in a coma!

• Why do we never hear much about this so-called illness or even have a name put to it. What mysterious illness caused Barthelemy to deteriorate so much that he was trying out miracle cures from quacks and that he ended up in a coma for years? Why were his next of kin not informed when he came out of it or while he was rehabilitating? Why the heck wasn't Maxwell telling his wife this, or Bertrand his girlfriend? There is so much about this plot that doesn't even make sense.

• How does Barthelemy remember Drake from the court days but not Savannah ("Liam and Drake, you're so grown up now! Miss Savannah, you're lovelier than your reputation..."). Somehow he knows what's been said about Savannah and about Hana's accomplishments - wait if he'd been mostly getting his body back in order, how would he know this stuff? Who is telling him this? (Godfrey?? Is that why he's so faux-patriotic around us now??? Is that his real reason for visiting Cordonia only once a year or something?)

•

In Liam and Drake's cases, Barthelemy says the same thing about how Maxwell outdid himself by bringing the MC to the House, and that she has brought prestige to the Beaumonts. It's in Hana's and Maxwell's cases that the dialogue is different. In Maxwell's it's obviously as his daughter-in-law that he greets you, and in Hana's he speaks of now having two "daughters" in his house.

• Barthelemy then gets to the more serious part of his departure - the fact that Bertrand had to shoulder the responsibilities of being Duke earlier because of Barthelemy's condition, and that now Bertrand can relax while his father takes care of things at the estate. Is that care for his son talking...or his desire for control? I'm leaning towards the second.

• I'm pretty sure Bertrand is leaning towards the second because he's looking pretty resistant about this sudden change. His bride-to-be, Savannah, in the meantime, is super happy to meet her father-in-law and son's namesake. Hah. That'll change.

• Maxwell is nervous. Because he wants his father to see how different he is now, and how responsible he has become, but doesn't know what his old man will think. Don't worry, Esther says, plan this smartly and you'll get a new Pictagram follower!

• In any case, Maxwell's friends promise to help him get through this and support him, except for Drake who thinks he can impose limits (like "no singing"), because, yknow. The universe has to revolve around his comfort zone. Must be a Walker trait.

• More Jess and Blake nuggets! You get an option to ask them how they met, and they tell you about the cruise they first worked in (and presumably where Jess' sister met Liam's brother and (optionally) married him) and how they used to butt heads often. Nice RoE nugget, too bad the writers have so far barely even remembered Liam's brother who is from that series!

•

Yeah yeah I know that Kiara is probably back in Castelserraillian like the other courtly ladies (or chilling in a hotel somewhere in Texas), but if they're all supposed to be there for the wedding Savannah might as well have included her. Not only is Savannah a stinky fiancée and a stinky person in general (not a surprise considering her family), she is also a stinky friend.

• I repeat: my MC Esther has done practically nothing for Savannah. Nor has Hana. Why are we such a huge part of her ceremony again when she already had a long-time friend from court who had actually helped her and actually cared?? Only because we're the ones on an extended holiday in her ranch? Then say that - why do you need to make such a long speech about friendship while snubbing the one woman who made a damned effort to help you? (oh...right. I keep forgetting. Kiara is only remembered when people want to use her 😒).

• At the start of the rehearsals, Savannah tells Jess about the horse-riding-to-the-altar tradition, complete with a saddle that's been a family heirloom. Bianca and Leona, apologetically, inform Savannah that they had to sell it. Savannah tries to mask her disappointment, but fails. Barthelemy in the meantime, jumps in, in what he assumes would be "saving the day" (it's not, Bartie Sr. It really isn't)

Bartie...dude...you just got here. You can't already know what'll make your daughter-in-law happy when you've only spoken to her for all of five seconds. Plant your ass at the back of the congregation where it belongs!

• The girl really really wanted that saddle, okay Bartie Sr? Allow her to grieve that lost dream ffs.

• This scene I guess is helpful because while it still places Bartie Sr rather awkwardly in the "father trying to make amends and be caring" category, it gives you an inkling of why that persona doesn't sit so well on him. Bartie Sr may assume that this is something a caring parent does, except that what he's really doing is taking over, making all the attention revolve around him, believing he knows best and not listening to anyone. Even when he's being "nice".

• That saddle is going to come back some way or other, and it's probably going to be a diamond option, for which the free option is Savannah walking down the aisle with Bartie Sr. Eh. She threw a tantrum at my reception so her boyfriend could marry her, I'm not about to get her her dilapidated saddle. She can make do with her crusty father-in-law.

(The other possibility is that [at the end of the chapter] Bertrand left the house to get it or something idk, and it might be free after all. Is it too late to ask for the entire WEDDING to be a diamond option?)

• So this exchange leads us all to the Beaumont brothers remembering their childhood. Maxwell views it all through rose-coloured spectacles, Bertrand has very different memories of that time. Which is such a change from the previous series! I mean, wasn't Bertrand the one who kept going "my father's legacy, my father's legacy", while Maxwell was the one who didn't have very good memories of that time?

I can always imagine that Bertrand's views on his father must have changed when he started taking on the responsibilities of a father himself (thus making him view his childhood as 'not normal'). And Maxwell may well have come to appreciate Bartie Sr once he began taking House responsibilities. But guess who is breaking their heads to make these "connections". Us. Not the writers. Not the team in charge of this story.

• There are two PoVs to this scene: Maxwell's and Bertrand's. Maxwell's is the one that is lighter, funnier, showing us a wilder side of his brother, Bertrand is given the meatier one, with intrigue and a hint of plot.

- We're taken back to when Bertrand's motorbike was just purchased, and the boys choose to take it for a test ride. The Bertrand shown here is kinda similar to the one in the 6-years-ago flashback in Book 1, just...younger and cuter. Apparently in the time that Bertrand was living alone in a house with Maxwell, he aged like an avocado.

- What's with using this team and using the Waverley kids' faces for the Beaumont brothers??

- Young Bertrand and Maxwell don't mind living on the wild side - taking the Cavilieri Novanta 9S on a test drive through different areas in the estate, planning how they'll debut this beauty at the Beaumont Bash and generally making a racket. Bartie Sr scolds them from the window of his office, then asks them to come up and see him there. Bertrand opts to protect little Maxwell from his father's ire by going there alone, and then telling his brother that their father is "very proud" of them. Maxwell doesn't question this (the writers have forgotten that Young Maxwell was perceptive even as a little boy, so I'm not quite buying that he simply accepted what Bertrand said at face value), and jumps instead into planning a logo for their biker jackets (he suggests a kraken and a tiger). They can also opt to have a special kraken-related handshake.

- Bertrand, however, fills in the blanks, speaking to us about what he witnessed at the office, and what actually transpired.

-

This conversation is the point of the whole scene, and is connected to the Young! Drake scene in the sense that Bartie Sr and Godfrey are from the Great Houses that Constantine mentions are opposing the alliance with Auvernal. While they don't tell us what has disappointed these two so much, we do get the idea that they are displeased esp with the Queen because she has somehow convinced Constantine to not agree with what the two are planning so quickly. It's very possible that their frustration with Eleanor might have gotten them involved in some way with her death, but it's also possible that there are other players involved.

- Bertrand does not focus much on this bit because Bertrand is young and his priorities are different. The interesting thing about using these childhood flashbacks for the characters is that we will always get an incomplete picture, if only because the kids' priorities are different, and for them these side discussions will always count as "adult stuff". Big, scary, too complicated to understand.

- We do get a mention of Maxwell's weight (finally!). The writers frame it as Maxwell losing his weight after his mother's death and getting his regular exercise with his brother. This we get to know by Bartie Sr's fat-shaming comment about not wanted to see Maxwell get back to his "wide suits" (Seriously. Fuck this guy).

• Hypocrite alert! Godfrey who treats his perfectionist daughter as a failure just for existing and being a girl, now thinks he can yap about "being too hard" on one's children. Go fuck yourself Godfrey Not Gao (this nickname was brought to you by @callmetippytumbles).

• The bit that's most important to Bertrand is that he tries to pass an overdue bill to his dad, and his father ignores it to concentrate on "bigger" things. Which kinda leads you to believe that the problem existed waaaaay before Bartie Sr started believing in miracle cures for his mysterious illness. In fact I'm pretty sure both those things might be fabricated.

• So that's what Bertrand is trying to tell us. That Bartie Sr expected his sons to understand responsibility when he was not exactly ready to live up to that example himself. It still doesn't make sense though, considering every time Bertrand spoke about Bartie Sr it was as if he had to uphold the same legacy, and everytime Maxwell spoke about him it was to highlight what a disappointment he was to his father...and funny enough they've now switched roles.

• Anyway, Maxwell is now more inclined to believe Bartie Sr has turned a new leaf, while Bertrand is wary. He is not wrong about the controlling aspect though, even when his dad is trying to be nice he's being a controlling ass.

• Hana comes in and comforts Bertrand, in a scene I found pretty touching. She knows plenty about controlling, overbearing parents who expect plenty from her but fail to measure up to the little that she asks of them. I love how she makes the point that, having support or company of any form, works to lessen the pain of that kind of upbringing...and she knows this because she never had it.

• The bonding that takes place between Hana and Bertrand is lovely, although it's marred by the fact that were we going by the original idea of the Beaumont brothers' lives, Maxwell would be the one she'd be comforting.

• Two bits that stood out to me were where Bertrand offered to make up for all those years of disappointment and pain that Hana suffered, by being a sort of stand-in older brother now - and Hana's response to the whole idea of mending bridges:

I love the fact that she says this even as she still maintains her complicated relationship with her mother. It's small but a lot more than she was allowed to say earlier. In Book 3, a lot of what they had Hana say to Lorelai was more for Lorelai's benefit than her own (constantly educating her and telling the family that the most important thing was that they be happy together). Her responses were centered around Lorelai's comfort, not Hana's conflict. At least here, she gets to state (while safely away from her parents) how complicated her relationship with her parents is. I just hope this is not the last time we hear about it.

• It's now time for the rehearsal dinner! Everyone's seated at a pop-up restaurant Blake and Jess have made for the wedding, and includes the courses for the special day. It's bruschetta, a quiche and the wedding cake for dessert.

•

Auntie Bitch I hope you realize that the biggest freeloaders in this house are your own nephew and niece! Drake doesn't have a job until his wedding is over (unless one counts moaning and griping while enjoying shit that his BFF has paid for, his job (oh...wait...maybe that's why "Constantly Complaining Freeloader" was listed as a job description in his Italian Restaurant scene lmao)). The other biggest freeloader is your niece, who didn't mind accepting money from Maxwell and then turned around and acted towards Bertrand like she didn't need his damn money that she was already using.

• Also for the amount of complaining Leona has been doing for her own niece's wedding she might as well have not hosted them at all. You took the responsibility, you made all the guests you were hosting do work for you and spent all your time mocking them for not having the kind of specific skillsets you grew up with. If you wanted to stay alone with your sister in this crusty dilapidated ranch where you probably don't even pay people fairly, you could have told Savannah to go somewhere else. Like Applewood. Or Ramsford idk. You couldn't even save the saddle your niece would have wanted for the wedding, and if that's not a pointer to what a failure you are, Leona, IDK what is. So maybe stop acting like you're better than the nobles and keep quiet.

• Bianca states that she has never depended on the Crown yet somehow left behind both her children whose well-being was largely being maintained from the Crown coffers???

• But also given the response to Liam I have a feeling we might have a flashback from her next chapter. While she doesn't appear as angry as her sister, there is definitely an underlying bitterness there that I think the narrative might explore before we leave Texas. Idk.

• Bartie Sr focuses his attention on us again, insisting that he is like a father figure to us. You can either firmly refuse (my favourite option), express pride in House Beaumont (which pleases Bartie Sr no end) or be polite (in which case Liam lets out a cryptic "how generous of you" aimed at Bartie Sr it one point, showing us that he's not very impressed. Hmm. Hmm.)

• Bartie Sr is being controlling again, complaining that the quiche is not an elegant main course and insisting to Savannah that she try whatever he is demanding for the wedding. He keeps saying "trust me Savannah, you'll love it!" as if he knows her tastes better than she herself does.

• Chuck tries to offer cake, and Bartie Sr in his eagerness to refuse accidentally tosses it over on Leona's clothes.

• That's kiiind of a breaking point with Leona, and to sum it all up, THIS happens:

Jess has seen and participated in utter chaos, okay. So for her to appear all flummoxed and say "it was...a lot", it really, really has to be a lot.

• My favourite parts have to be Hana and Liam thoroughly enjoying the food fight and finding it cathartic, because they're the two who most need to channel their repressed energies into that kind of catharsis. Drake and Maxwell don't feel this need as much as they do because they already have ways and opportunities to channel it.

• The fight allows both the nobles and the Walkers to meet on common ground - common enough ground that Bertrand can (if we choose) finally tell his father that he and Savannah can manage their own wedding, thank you very much.

• Funny how Bertrand is expected to stand up to his father and ensure that what Savannah wants is not ignored, yet Savannah herself never makes even a quarter of the effort that he does, in making Bertrand comfortable in her home. Why does Bertrand have to do all the work in this relationship? Why do I only see Savannah complaining when Bertrand is not doing things exactly as she wants them to be done, yet not even lifting a finger when he's the one who needs the help and reassurance? Perhaps the best option is if he becomes runaway groom.

• We get to give one (1) solitary fuck about the country we're leading when we're back in the bedroom after this whole skirmish has gone down.

• LI diamond scene! At a moonlit hot spring nearby. The scenes mostly include the mandatory admiration for the lingerie, awe at the scenery and once the sex is done, an exploration into family and children from the would-be parents.

Liam: Calls the MC a "twilight goddess fit for worship" as soon as he sees her with her lacy lingerie in the moonlight. If you've done those scenes, there's a mention of the Forgotten Falls and the Blue Grotto and how Liam has a penchant for whisking the MC away to secluded watery places. (Liam also mentions finding a matching pearl to the first one they got at the Blue Grotto, even though the writers have practically forgotten what has happened to that first one 🙄).

The MC can choose to either go fast or slow in the love scene, and afterwards, Liam wonders aloud whether all families are complicated. The MC can counter this, by telling Liam they can ensure their child never gets to the point that Bertrand or Hana have by ensuring the child has their space to be open about how they feel.

Caption: Spring Fling

Hana: The two women mostly admire each other in silence (Hana tells the MC she would simply like to look at her as the MC gives a twirl) and the MC suggests expanding the "sample size" of Hana's lingerie because Hana in the moonlight is a vision. Hana offers to massage the MC's shoulders, and speaks about wanting to get away from the chaos and check in on her. Hana wants to take as much of their alone time as possible to check if the MC is doing okay, which IMO is her way of maintaining a relationship - by giving her partner space to talk about how they feel, something she rarely had the opportunity to do. She also admits to how exhilarating the food fight was. Hana is playful and teasing in her love scene, and brings the MC to the point where she will beg for more.

Once they are done, the two speak about how being in this place is like being in a fairytale, and there's a particularly lovely line nestled in this bit:

I wished for storybooks with scenes just like this as a kid. Not ones where the princess got rescued by the prince or the knight...but where she found love and happiness on her own...and the freedom to embrace them.

It's...it's so beautiful 😭

Caption: Woodland Nymphs

Maxwell: Now obviously Maxwell has the most personal experience among the four this time, since it's his father that returned home, and it's his family that is now dealing with some tough, complicated questions. Some of that shows in this scene. It begins with Maxwell seeing the MC in her lingerie and confession he almost forgot she had them...which is a good thing otherwise he would never be able to concentrate on anything else. He speaks to her about all the things he loves about her and about their relationship - especially how much they make each other laugh. Underwater, the two let go of their restraint and make love with abandon.

The conversation that follows is the most important, exploring Maxwell's feelings about his father's return. He doesn't have a lot of memories of his father - most of it was from when he was very young, or from Bertrand's eyes. Maxwell is very happy that Bartie Sr has returned, and wants him to see how happy he is with the MC. He speaks of wanting to tell him about the social season, about marrying the MC, about his bestseller book. There is a cute bit where the MC asks whether he would tell Bartie Sr about the hippo tattoo and Maxwell seems almost terrified by that option. But overall, there is nervousness in his scene, and also hope. He definitely is invested in making his old man proud. Proving himself has always been a theme with Maxwell, and that need possibly will increase with the arrival of his father.

Caption: Blue Lagoon

Drake: Calls the MC in her lingerie in the moonlight, "art that should be in a museum". The two admire each other in their new lingerie, and then admire the scenery. Drake has brought the MC to the hot spring mostly because it was rumoured to be called "Makeout Point", and he's always been curious to see what the big deal was. The MC can point out the beauty and romantic potential of the area, mentioning that she can imagine a sixteen year old swooning if her high school sweetheart brought her there, "or a duchess, if her marshmallow brought her here". During the love scene, Drake likens her to a siren, the sex can either be rough or gentle and the MC can either take control or allow him to.

Towards the end, the two talk wonder how their child might be, who they would resemble. There's a bit of banter back and forth about how the world is not ready for their collective sass 😄 I think because Drake is the most comfortable with his own family now, that his conversations with the MC about family focus largely on his memories of good times, and on what their child will be like.

Caption: Spring Fever

• Why the hell are you guys ruining all that nice lingerie in water!!!

• After a few days, and presumably on the day of the wedding, Savannah comes to us, shocked and worried, telling us that Bertrand is gone. This could be either a fakeout leading to him trying to get something nice and romantic done for her, or his insecurities cropping up IDK.

• General Thoughts:

- As much as I'd LOVE for the twist to be that Bertrand has realized this marriage will never work and has called it all off, I know for a fact they won't let that happen. Either his insecurities have come to a head with Bartholemy's return and he needs time to clear his head, or he's gone all heroic and tried to get Savannah's saddle for her, which we then have to pay diamonds to retrieve.

- Some way or the other that saddle is going to feature.

- They'll have Bertrand do something heroic I guess so that Leona will FINALLY stop being a whiny asshole. And Savannah as usual? Will not even lift her little finger.

- I'm more worried about what Bartie Sr will be upto once he's back at Ramsford estate! Esp given that his controlling has already begun at an event as innocuous as a wedding. ALSO given that this man will be back in Cordonia!!

- We're obviously going to get more hints about our pregnancy in the coming chapter, that I'm sure we'll ignore coz we don't want to jump into conclusions like the last time.

- Hana's bonding scene with Bertrand reminds me a little of a scene in Book 2, where she speaks of how Bertrand reminds her a little of her father...in, like, a good way.

- If it turns out that Godfrey and Barthelemy were indeed involved in Eleanor's death, it will be the ultimate irony. It would mean that the present occupants of the duchies that were once undermining the Crown...are now their stanchest allies. Lucretia and Olivia's parents vs Olivia, Godfrey vs Madeleine, and Bartie Sr vs Bertrand and Maxwell. It would be a nice contrast.

- Istg if they try and make HAKIM AND JOELLE suspicious too I will literally throw hands 😡

- Jesus, the amount of retconning going on in this book. That scene would have lost nothing by making Bertrand the guy who was desperate to prove himself to his father and Maxwell the one who had mixed feelings. Having both of them overhear that conversation rather than one would have been fine too. But this is one in a looooooong list of things that the team is shifting around, believing no one will notice. Maybe I should just call this series The Royal Retcon from now on because there is more of that happening than actual babymaking!!

- I'm pretty intrigued by Liam's lukewarm reaction to Bartie Sr personally. What does he know. Why doesn't Liam tell me and why doesn't the MC ask!!

- Bartie Sr spends surprisingly little time with his own namesake, but perhaps I shouldn't be so surprised since Junior's own parents are hardly seen with him either.

- Next chapter is the wedding (if we can find the groom, that is), Savannah getting her dream entry (possibly if we pay the diamonds) and hints that we may be pregnant that will culminate in the big reveal at the end. Yay?

- I know I haven't gotten out a QT for Book 1 in two weeks but those past two weeks have been filled with lots of IRL stuff. Hopefully I'll get back to that soon.

- Until next week, folks!

[clownsgobeepbeep]

heheh chase

My original idea for this was a lot funnier and cuter, but I decided to go with a completely different fic 

There’s still another thing I have to write before this, that thing being a little more angsty because of certain reactions uwu

But anyways, this takes place in the future after the Ula and Atlas issue uwu

At this point, it was clear that nearly everybody knew about what had gone down just the other day.

It first started with the family who, despite not meaning to, listened to the words being yelled out, muffled yet not unheard through the walls. Now, the sound that was heard yet muffled was the loud music coming inside the bedroom belonging to Ula.

Just outside the bedroom door stood her siblings, making strange faces as they heard the loud music booming from inside. They turned to each other before finally speaking.

“This is like when Schrader left.” Cordelia whispered as Davey gave a nod. “Except she’s not listening to his favorite song but instead My Radioactive Love.”

“Radioactive what?”

“Love. You know, that band she would always listened to when we were younger and she would dressed all black with the thick eyeliner.”

“Cordelia, it’s My Chemical Romance.”

“Davey, I’m pretty sure it’s My Radioactive Love.” Cordelia stated in a matter-of-fact-ly tone before Davey rolled his eyes, then looking back at Ula’s door before grabbing the doorknob. He hesitated for a bit as he gave his younger sister a glance, Cordelia nodding before Davey turned the knob and slightly opened the door to see their older sister lying in bed as the music inside basically hit them in the faces.

Ula’s back faced the door as her large scar was exposed and she didn’t seem to be moving very much. So, Davey quietly shut the door again before he and Cordelia turned to each other.

“Maybe she’s asleep.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Cordelia deeply sighed before giving a gasp, though she covered her mouth before Davey felt a bit of panic as well.

“What are you guys doing here?” came their father’s voice as he approached them, glancing at the door they stood next to. “Kids…”

“We were just checking up on her!” Cordelia exclaimed in a whisper before Lennie released a deep breath, shaking his head slightly.

“Ula needs some privacy right now, okay?” Lennie pat the kids’ shoulders before they gave nods. “Just...go and check on the pups, yeah?”

Once again, the siblings nodded before doing as they were told after leaving. Lennie on the other hand, he bit his lip before grabbing Ula’s doorknob to cautiously open her door, peeking in to see that she was still in bed. He gave yet another sigh, then starting to close the door until a voice stopped him.

Don’t close it.

“What?” Lenie turned around, scanning the area as the voice was nothing more. In fact, it probably wasn’t his voice and just his...imagination.

“Dad?”

Lennie turned around again and he blinked in surprise as he looked into Ula’s room, realizing that she had now been staring at him after having turned down her music.

“Ula, hi.” he gave a slight wave after having opened the door just a bit more. “Are...how...um-”

“I’m fine, dad.” Ula replied as she now sat up in bed, Lennie noticing that Mana had been inside the room the entire time as he now placed his head onto Ula’s lap. “Did you need anything?”

“No, no. I’m fine, just wanted to see how you were doing is all. Do you maybe want some ice cream?” Lennie offered before Ula shook her head. “Maybe some waffles?”

“I’m okay.” Ula gave a shrug before Lennie stepped into the room.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Lennie questioned as he stared Ula directly in her eyes, watching as she gave a gulp before biting her bottom lip. There was a silence between them before Lennie noticed her lip quiver and her hands started to shake a bit, tears at the corners of her eyes before she shut them and opened her mouth.

“No…” Ula shook her head with a sob, Lennie hurriedly approaching her after having shut her door. Meanwhile, Mana rubbed his head on Ula whilst licking her hands to comfort her as best as possible.

“Ula, come here.” Lennie now got on Ula’s bed, sitting down before inviting her into his space, Ula accepting and hugging his body as she lay her head against him. “Hey, it’s okay….it’s okay…”

“N-no it’s not…” Ula shook her head as Mana nudged her side, curling up beside her with his head layning on her. “I’m such an idiot dad!”

“Ula, don’t say that. That’s not true.” Lennie stroked her hair before moving it out of her face. “You’re not an idiot.”

“But I am!” Ula sobbed as she felt Lennie kiss the top of her head. “I-I-I….I...A-Atlas-”

“Ula, breathe.” Lennie lifted her head so she could look up at him, Lennie staring at her messy face as tears poured out of her eyes rapidly.  “Just breathe right now, okay? Calm down, let it all out.”

Ula stared back up at Lennie while gasping for air, sobs never ceasing as Lennie wiped her eyes with his sleeve. After a while though, she eventually did calm down, yet her tears remained.

“Dad...I...I-I’m such an idiot…I’m such a fucking idiot…”

“Ula…”

“I-I did-did-didn’t even, let him talk! All I did, was, was yell at him…” Ula continued as she buried her face into her dad’s chest, hugging him tighter whilst being careful not to hurt him. Mana scoot himself closer towards the both of them, curling up on Lennie and next to Ula who he attempted to lick her.

“Ula, Ula please listen to me.” Lennie now held Ula’s face after she had looked up at him. “Ula, it’s not your fault.”

“B-but-!”

“Ula, I know...I know he didn’t get much of a word in, but...look, I know where you’re coming from. I agree with you in that it wasn’t very nice of Atlas to think those things about you, and Schrader.” Lennie stroked her hair once again, his other hand still holding her cheek as his thumb rubbed over one of her cheek swirls that had faded into a duller red. “Couples, they sometimes argue. Sometimes they but heads and can’t always agree on everything with each other.”

“But dad! I t-threw him away like he wa-was nothing! He’s my b-best friend!”

“Ula, best friends also sometimes have their own arguments. Not everybody is perfect.”

“What about mom?”

“Well, that’s a different story.” Lennie chuckled with a tiny smile, wiping Ula’s tears once again. “But Ula, look. You can’t be so hard on yourself, especially if the two of you are just taking a break from each other. Because, you didn’t break up, right?”

“No…”

“You guys are still together, even if Atlas....isn’t here.”

“He left because of me.”

“He left because he was too upset, and I know you would have probably left too. It can be upsetting being around somebody who hurt you, I know. But in time he’ll come back and things...things will hopefully get better.”

“Dad.” Ula now looked at Lennie in the eyes, finally having actually calmed down despite her voice being the slightest bit shaky. “Dad, I need you to be honest with me right now.”

Lennie gave a nod as Ula wiped her nose, steadying her breath.

“Dad...do you think Atlas had a point thinking those things?” Ula started as she now glanced away. “Thinking that...I still have feelings for Schrader?”

“I...I don’t think it was right of him to jump to those sort of conclusions so quickly.” Lennie replied with a bit of a smile, thought it was forced and another attempt to reassure Ula. “But, even if you did have feelings for Schrader still...it would only be right for Atlas to know this.”

“Would it have been wrong if I did still have feelings for Schrader?”

“Well…” Lennie scratched his head to ponder for a moment. “Like I said, you would have to tell Atlas about it, especially if you told him it wasn’t true that he thought that.”

“Well it isn’t true, I don’t feel about Schrader that way anymore.” Ula shook her head. 

“Okay, but Ula, if you did love Schrader still…” Lennie now gave her a real smile. “Then just know that I’m with you all the way. I support you no matter the path you decide to take. With either boy, both boys, or neither one. As long as you’re happy. Even if you don’t know what you want in life, it’s okay.”

“Okay…” Ula nodded before sitting up to wipe her eyes once again, then turning to Mana who still looked at her worriedly. “I...I love Atlas...but...I...well, I k-k-know I sa-”

Ula was then interrupted by the sound of knocking, Mana hopping off her bed before he rushed over to it, somewhat alert as he feared anything could hurt Ula more now. He barked at the door, especially as more knocking was heard.

Lennie turned to look at Ula who nodded, so he spoke in the direction of the door.

“Come in.”

At the sound of Lennie’s voice, the door slowly opened to reveal a surprise to Ula and Lennie. Speak of the devil.

“Schrader.” Ula breathed out as said young man walked inside, Mana’s demeanor taking a turn to a much more excited one as his tail began wagging.

“Hey, Nungen.” Schrader gave a bit of a wave before clearing his throat upon noticing Lennie. “Mr. Blueblood.”

“Hey Schrader.”

“What are you doing here?” Ula wiped her face in attempt to hide the fact that she had been crying earlier.

“I just came to check on you, if that’s alright.” Schrader crouched down to pet Mana who began licking his hand. “And I also brought you a milkshake, and Sonny gave me some cheesecake he made specifically for you.”

“Oh, wow, thanks.” Ula finally managed to give a smile as Schrader smiled back at her. “You didn’t have to.”

“Sure I did. You’re not in the best situation right now.” Schrader approached Ula and Lennie before giving him an apologetic look. “I’m sorry I didn’t bring anything for you or the kids Mr. Blueblood.”

“Don’t worry about it Schrader.” Lennie gave a thumbs up. “We’re all fine.”

Schrader gave a nod, opening his mouth to speak before he was then interrupted by a loud gasp that startled everybody.

“Nooo!”

“What was that?” Lennie tried to see what was going on, hearing barks and footsteps before the bedroom door opened even more as something ran in. “Oh no-”

“Puppies! Come back!” Cordelia shouted as she and Davey ran down the hallway and into Ula’s room where all the axolotls were now gathered after having been chased by the siblings. 

“Dang it, get out!” Davey also shouted before running back out, an axolotl having run off to be chased again by Davey. “Petunia!”

“Dad I’m sorry!” Cordelia exclaimed as she now grabbed one of the axolotls who wiggled around in her arms. “They escaped!”

“Hey, I’ll help out.” Schrader gave a chuckle as he set down the things he brought for Ula, then grabbing one of the axolotls, then noticing the mother of them all. “Hey there Kala.”

Said axolotl then turned away with a stern expression, giving him the cold shoulder before hopping onto Ula’s bed to snuggle with Ula and Lennie, specifically Ula however.

To this, Schraderd gave a bit of a shrug, then picking up another axolotl before taking the two he held back to the room they belonged in. Cordelia also followed behind him with another one as two remained, as well as the parents.

Ula gave a bit of a laugh before Lennie and Kala turned to her in curiosity, Ula smiling as she stroked Kala’s head.

“Funny how...every time Atlas leaves off to some far off place, Schrader’s here.” she then turned to Lennie who gave a bit of a nod, then feeling as Ula gave him a hug while giving a sniff.

“Schrader’s a nice boy.”

“Yeah.” Ula nodded seeing as Schrader came back with Cordelia, letting her get one of the axolotls as he grabbed another to take them back to their room. She then looked down at Kala who nudged her head on her arm, doing it so that Ula’s arm was on her back.

“Thanks dad...I think...I’m okay now.”

[akisazame]

“Okay, weird pillow talk.”

The DVD commentary meme got me thinking about cut content, which reminded me of this huge swath of words I had to bulldoze out of Greg’s chapter of solutions because they were just not going the way I needed them to. What really bummed me out about this is that my personal favorite bits of Greg/Rebecca dialogue that I wrote happened to be in there, and at the time I wasn’t using tumblr so I figured it’d all just sit in my slush file until the end of time because there was such a slim chance I’d ever write a fic where I could reincorporate it. WELL NOW I’M BACK ON THIS BAD WEBSITE SO HERE IT IS.

This text is obviously kinda rough since it never went through my probably-too-rigorous revisions wringer, so that and an absurd amount of commentary are behind the Read More.

The first draft of Greg’s chapter went swimmingly right up until the necessary conflict of Rebecca and Greg hashing out all the weird bullshit inherent in 104′s plot. My first tactic had Rebecca swinging wildly for the fences, really cashing in on the theme of Greg identifying himself as a runner-up and Rebecca’s inability to stop thinking about the other guys (but like, come on, Nathaniel is clearly a better kisser than Greg). This picks up directly after their post-kiss “I know I’m just some dalliance to you” argument, but instead of Rebecca softening in the face of Greg’s “I bet you say that to all the guys” comment, she bristles and drops a truth bomb.

She hates this, she hates this so much, and she panics. "I moved to West Covina for Josh Chan," Rebecca blurts out. She hadn't meant to say it, has no idea why she said it. It's absurd, after the excessive word mincing she did when she actually was trying to say it to Josh, to just casually drop it now as a non-sequitur. She slaps both her hands over her mouth and stares at Greg, wide-eyed.

And that’s exactly what Greg has been waiting to hear.

There's a long beat where Greg just stares right back at her. Then he scrubs both hands over his face and sighs. "Thank you."

Rebecca blinks. "What?"

"For being honest," Greg says. He shrugs and sticks his hands into his pockets, nonchalant. "I'll just be going then? Great. Have a nice life, Rebecca."

He's halfway to the door before Rebecca fully processes what's happening. It can't happen like this. She can't fuck this up again. "Can you please just hear me out?"

For a half second she thinks he'll ignore her and keep walking, out the door and out of her life. But he doesn't. He stops, turns, looks back at her. She can't interpret the expression on his face.

In a way this all rings true, but at the same time it doesn’t feel earned, and a dramatic storm-out definitely wasn’t the way to go with a time travel redo of a scene that ends with Greg dramatically storming out.

She finds her way to the couch and sits, elbows resting on her knees, chin cupped in her palms. "I moved to West Covina for Josh Chan," she repeats, the thesis statement of her whole goddamn life. "And when I did it, I thought that Josh Chan was the only person who could possibly make me happy. But that's not true at all." Those damned emotions are back again, and she takes a deep breath, swallows them down. "I haven't been fair or even nice to you since the moment we met."

I really liked the “thesis statement of her whole goddamn life” line. “I haven’t been fair or even nice to you since the moment we met” was luckily resurrected for Rebecca’s post-coital crisis.

As she spoke, Greg had been slowly making his way back through the apartment, and now he lowers himself down next to her on the couch. "I'd say that's accurate."

Rebecca tilts her head in her hands to look at him. "But, uh, don't take this the wrong way? You haven't been especially fair or nice to me, either."

Here’s where the published chapter dipped back in for a hot second: Rebecca asked what the purpose of their date was, except instead of “Why waste your time, if you didn’t think it could go anywhere?” she said “It’s pretty clear you never believed any of my lies about Josh.” Then they had the whole “maybe liked or maybe past tense” back-and-forth, leading into the kiss. But instead of really going to town on Greg’s face, Rebecca softballs it (can you tell I did a surgical 180 on “It's the type of kiss that Rebecca, who's never learned how to modulate her feelings of affection, truly excels in”? because I fuckin forgot I did that), and then realizes she has more shit to say because first draft Rebecca was massively self-destructive.

She slides her hands down to his shoulders and breaks the kiss, but she doesn't move away, instead pressing her forehead to his, noses touching. "Hey," she says, breathless, "I need to tell you something." Before it's too late, she doesn't add.

"Lot of things you have to tell me today," Greg teases. He tries to pull away, maybe to silence her with another kiss, but she holds firm, arms encircling his neck to keep him in place.

I thought Greg’s reply was really cute (I imagined it in the same cadence as “Long name I have, what is that, Polish?”), but I’m sure he liked getting a blowjob better.

I have to tell you today because we might not get another chance, she thinks frantically. Rebecca's allergy to honesty poisoned so many of her relationships, but it manifested at its worst with Greg, who almost seemed as though he wanted to be lied to. When she told him he wasn't second place, he wanted to believe it. Even today he'd admitted that he wanted to pretend she could love him best. As much as she wants to tell him that again, it's not healthy. It's never been healthy.

Part of the reason all this had to go was that the drama overstayed its welcome. By this point it felt like the whole thing was needlessly treading water.

She closes her eyes and swallows, choking back her doubts. None of this is real anyway, Greg had said. He's wrong, at least for right now, but he could be right. If she really screws this up, she can throw it all away. Maybe that's cowardly, but it's the only thing giving her courage. "The truth is, I've spent a truly embarrassing amount of today thinking about other guys."

"Okay, weird pillow talk," Greg mutters.

GREG IS SO FUNNY IN THIS DRAFT OH MY GOD. I’m sorry, Greg. But, again, you got that blowjob you’d been waiting for, so.

"You thanked me for being honest," Rebecca shoots back, leaning back just a bit so she can glare at him, "so I'm gonna keep being honest. When I woke up this morning, I was thinking about another guy. Right before you picked me up, I was thinking about two other guys. When we were at the taco festival, talking about stuff, sometimes I was thinking about other guys." She presses her lips together, exhales through her nose. "When you were kissing me in the kitchen, I was thinking about another guy."

I don’t know why I thought I had to give Rebecca’s inner monologue its due diligence, because it’s so completely unnecessary. At this point I’d been noodling away at this chapter for a month and a half (for whatever reason, the Homeland Security Advisory System section when Greg and Rebecca get back to her apartment was the very first thing in the document) and I was coming off of having mostly finalized Josh’s chapter, so I guess I thought complete reckless honesty was Rebecca’s natural evolution.

Greg has clearly had enough of whatever he thinks she's trying to do, because he reaches up and unhooks her arms from around his neck. "Okay, stop..."

"What I'm trying to say is," Rebecca says, wriggling free from his grasp and reversing it, grabbing hold of his wrists, "I'm not gonna, like, never be thinking about anyone else when I'm with you, because I don't have one of those Men In Black memory erasers, despite the fact that I could really use one sometimes, and also because I'm a person, who interacts with other people, and has feelings about other people." He's just staring at her, incredulous, and part of her wishes she hadn't done this, that she had just played along with him from the moment they stepped into the apartment, but how would that have changed anything apart from not having to waste half a year hating each other? "But that doesn't mean I'm not capable of putting you first. I know I can. I'm sorry I've done such a terrible job of proving it."

NOW WE’RE IN IT. This is the part I hated cutting, the part I tried really desperately to fit back in somehow. Rebecca loves other people so fiercely that she can’t ever detach herself from any of them, even in situations when she should, and her taking a constant interest in other people is completely incompatible with season 1 Greg’s inferiority complex and self-deprecation. (Also I’m definitely laughing at how I had Rebecca break off mid-monologue to question what the fuck her writer is even doing.)

There's a moment where Greg doesn't say anything, just continuing to stare at her like she's a complicated puzzle to solve. Rebecca forces herself to keep breathing, to keep calm despite the fluttering of her heart in her chest.

Then, just when she thinks she's about to pass out from anxiety, Greg says, "Neuralyzer."

Rebecca blinks. "What?"

He leans back a bit, just the hint of a smile on his face. "A neuralyzer. The Men In Black memory eraser. That's what it's called."

"Oh my god." She lets go of his wrists so she can swipe at his arm, which he skillfully dodges. "You are such a nerd."

"For knowing a fact about a classic film from our childhood? Please." She swings for him again, still annoyed, but this time he catches her hand, pulling her off-balance so she sways towards him. Then his other arm is around her waist, catching her, pulling her close. They fall into this kiss as naturally as breathing, his lips parting beneath hers as he begins to really smile now, and she finds herself smiling too, helpless.

This is way cuter and funnier than anything that actually made it into the chapter and I’M SAD ABOUT IT, STILL, TO THIS DAY.

When they break apart again, this time she's the one who doesn't want to move away. She tries to chase after him but he ducks his head, pressing a kiss to her jawline instead. "I want to believe you, Rebecca..." he breathes against her skin.

She must be broken, she thinks, because for some reason her body has decided that Greg's whispered admission of mistrust is what's gonna flip her switch from amorous to ravenous. Or maybe it's some weird time travel brain chemistry thing, because this is right about the time she would've been getting laid by the rando guacamole vegan. Whatever the reason, her eyes flutter closed and she tips her head back slightly, wordlessly encouraging him to keep kissing her; he takes the hint and continues, trailing down her neck to the hollow of her throat. "It's okay," she says, wrapping both arms around his neck so she can pull herself closer, pressing her body against his. "You don't have to yet. Just..."

Honestly I think at this point I STILL hadn’t decided if they were going to fuck at the end of this chapter, which is ABSURD. That indecision definitely contributed to the circling the drain feeling that this draft had. At least I got to mine out the “weird time travel brain chemistry” bit and double down with “the transitive property of getting fucked in another timeline” because I feel like I’d lived my whole life up to that point just to write that sentence.

She doesn't get to finish her sentence because he's moving her, pressing her down on the couch beneath him, sliding his hands up under her shirt. A quiet voice in Rebecca's brain points out that this is weird, going from her strange confessions directly into a hot and heavy makeout sesh, but the rest of her brain reminds her that at least this time she's hooking up with her actual date. Besides, her body is wholeheartedly consenting to this activity, and who is she to judge?

This inner monologue is still pretty funny, but this is the point where I stopped, stared at the draft, and muttered “what are you doing?” like Rebecca to the Hitler documentary. I had basically 1300 words that, while occasionally funny and insightful, barely propelled the narrative. I still fought for some of it for a while (similarly, I had a joke that I fought tooth and nail for in revisions for Nathaniel’s chapter), but in the end Greg’s chapter was better without all that weird random baggage.