#I will drag my favorite girls along with me wherever I go apparently

[rita-repulsa-ke]

the witch-hunter part 2

Fic Summary: Rio and Agatha go on an incredibly anachronistic adventure to help a deadly killer resurrect the woman she loves. There's flirting, kissing, and Agatha's ongoing issues with commitment.

Also, it's now officially a Killing Eve crossover (though still pretty heavily Agatha/Rio focused)

Chapter Summary: Rio hears out a supplicant. Agatha is jealous, Villanelle is heartbroken and Eve is dead.

Part 1 here.

If you’re only in one fandom (ie everyone), just treat the other one like I’m doing original characters and it will probably all make sense? Also, I am writing this two days before the finale of the Agatha show, so there is a chance that may radically change things. Nonetheless, we proceed.

Cast List:

Agatha - A prideful, sarcastic, cruel witch, involved with Rio in a way she currently refuses to label. Uses very anachronistic speech even for this fic.

Rio - Feral green witch, Death in a very literal sense, extremely enamored with Agatha but not always nice about it. Loves knives.

Villanelle - Russian witch-hunter, psychopath, would murder the world to get Eve back.

Eve - stubborn, mystery-obsessed, in love with Villanelle. Currently dead, but surprisingly comfortable with it. Also a big fan of knives.

If you like it, comment/reblog. Honestly, I'll probably write it regardless, so it's really just for my ego.

They both felt the witch-hunter coming, Agatha because she’d long ago bespelled herself to know when someone sought her with foul intent, Rio because she had been expecting this meeting for some time now.

Unfortunately, that awareness happened only a few minutes after they'd gotten back to the inn. Agatha sat up from their shared lumpy mattress and Rio snarled with frustration, tugging at the other woman’s sleeve, her lips still warm with the memory of gentle, honeyed kisses.

Agatha’s kisses were often lies, but sometimes a lie told sweetly was better than the truth. “Agatha,” she said, then repeated, like an incantation. “Agatha, Agatha, Agatha.”

“You felt it too,” the other woman murmured. “He’s here.”

“She,” Rio corrected.

“Really? Huh. Maybe a wronged member of our sisterhood, then. It would be about right, a witch killing other witches," Agatha said, chuckling to herself.

"It would be familiar."

Agatha tossed her hair and Rio could see the edge of her smile, cruel in a way she found very appealing. “You kill a handful of witches and suddenly people act as though that’s your whole personality.” She glanced down at Rio, stubbornly refusing to get out of bed. “Hey, you never gave me a number. How many more witches has she killed than me? I really want to know.”

“Come back to bed,” Rio deflected, folding her hand over Agatha's wrist. “Come back to kissing me. Make good on that statement about thanking me without words. Right now.”

“Can it wait until after we deal with the threat on our lives, please? Or my life, anyway.”

“Same thing,” Rio said, for the pleasure of watching Agatha digest that, then go unnaturally still, her cheeks flooding with color.

“What is with you today?!” she snapped.

“Still allergic to romance, huh, Ags?" Rio purred, her point proven out by how quickly Agatha scrambled out of bed, putting physical distance between herself and the concept of romance.

“It’s,” Agatha said, then seemed to decide she was better off not finishing that thought, remarkable foresight for Rio's favorite person.

“Icky? Gooey?” Rio said, accepting at last that she was going to have to get up, doing so with a biiig stretch, then idly slashing her knife through the air, pretending she was preparing for a fight.

Well, if it came to that, she was, but it wasn't a fight with the woman hunting them.

“Can we discuss this later? Time is ticking away and a woman is on her way to kill us,” Agatha said, always in a hurry not to discuss things that made her uncomfortable.

Us, Rio noted. Us, us, us.

Rio slid to her feet, closed the gap between them in the space of a single breath. Agatha didn’t back away, that would have been too embarrassing and she was almost certainly too slow to succeed anyway, but she was adorably tense as Rio leaned up and kissed her.

Agatha’s real kisses were claims, assertions that Rio was hers. Her false ones were sweet, soft, the lie of a gentle, caring lover, coaxing and manipulative.

When Rio initiated, there was only one modality, a searing hunger that often turned violent, teeth and tongue and bloodied lips, turning her lover’s mouth into a battlefield upon which she waged war. When she pulled back, Agatha was panting, skimming her tongue over her lower lip to taste her own blood and Rio loved that the tang of copper was on both their tongues.

While Agatha was still reeling, Rio leaned up and bumped her forehead against the other woman’s. “Mine,” she said. “All mine.”

Agatha went the color of a tomato, and Rio pivoted to look at the door to their room. “Ags, she’s coming.”

Agatha opened her mouth, then closed it, briefly at a loss for words, a situation so rare that Rio could remember all the times it had happened before. Agatha had words for every situation, even if they were rarely the right words.

“Together, then,” Agatha finally said, spinning to face the door.

Huh, Rio thought. Right words.

***

The witch-hunter kicked in the door with an old-fashioned booted foot and Agatha almost did the stupid thing, blasted that foot and the presumed body behind it with the full force of her magic.

But anyone who had killed some untold number of witches was likely to have some tricks up her sleeve and when the woman stepped through the door, brushing aside shards of wood with ease, Agatha was immediately glad she'd shown rare self-restraint.

Even though Rio had told her that the hunter was a woman, she was still surprised by what she saw. The woman in question was pretty, in her mid-twenties, blonde, obnoxiously tall. She was also wearing an insane number of protection amulets, hanging off her in jangling mess. One glance told Agatha that most of them were the type made to throw magic back at the caster, such that anyone blasting her full force would likely fry themselves. Agatha wondered how many of her victims had gone out that way, with no further effort needed.

The hunter carried a small crossbow in one hand and an obnoxiously big knife in the other. She moved with a fluid quality that reminded Agatha of Rio, as though she might simply flow between one point and the next.

The moment she crossed the threshold, though, she froze, her breathing coming in quick, short bursts, her hands gone white-knuckled on her weapons.

For a moment, Agatha thought it might have been her wards, but no, they’d hit the protection spells and shattered, exploding a few amulets as they did so.

Instead, the hunter was staring at Rio, trembling like someone having either a religious experience or a seizure.

And Rio was staring back, her head tilted, hip cocked, looking at the other woman with a focus Agatha was all-too-familiar with, the kind that meant Rio had developed a new fixation.

“Oh come on, don’t do this!” Agatha whined. “I know it’s a really, really big knife, but size isn’t everything…”

Rio snorted, but strolled past her, toward the stranger. One of the amulets had shattered violently enough to throw shards of metal out, scratching the woman’s cheek.

Rio reached up, dragged her fingers through the blood and stuck them in her mouth. Agatha's stomach burned like the time she'd swallowed a salamander, fire twisting around in her guts.

“You,” the witch-hunter said, her words carrying the accent of the Russian Empire. “I know you. But somehow, you are even more beautiful than I imagined.”

Hey, shove off, I saw her first, muttered the petty part of Agatha’s brain.

Then the hunter's eyes drifted past Rio to Agatha and there was a hatred so intense in them that for a moment, Agatha knew what her own eyes must have looked like when they chained her to the stake.

“You know me,” Rio agreed, her voice dropping into a cadence Agatha associated with witchcraft, incantations, the tone she would have used on a dark night for a dark spell. “You serve me. You dream of me. You have made such sacrifice to me, over and over, so many bodies, so many lives taken. Speak, supplicant. Tell me what you would ask of Death.”

The witch-hunter fell to her knees in front of Rio, who fingered her hair absently, making Agatha's teeth clench so hard her head started to ache. “Please,” the hunter said, her voice shaking. “I will make whatever sacrifice you desire. I will kill anyone, everyone, the world, all for you. Please. Please, I beg you, give her back to me. Give Eve back to me.”

Agatha was starting to get a very different bad feeling. “Rio. Sweetie. Honey pie. Want to explain what the hell is going on here?”

Rio looked at her and Agatha fought the urge to flinch. The mask had slipped entirely and what looked back at her was Death, the promise of an ultimate end from which even Agatha could not escape.

Like hell I can’t, she thought and as she had at their first meeting, faced Death head-on and dared it to take her.

“The pet names are new, Ags. Keep that up,” said the nameless end of all things, her smile a skeletal rictus. “Sorry. I may not have told you the entire truth. In fairness, you lie to me all the time.”

“I do not,” Agatha lied, then continued on before she could be called out on it. “So all that about her having killed more witches than me—“

“You’ve been alive longer. But she would have caught up eventually.” Rio’s fingers were still in the hunter’s hair, twining it absently around one finger like a ring and Agatha fought the irrational urge to comment on it, when there were bigger issues at hand. “Maybe even soon. I wanted to talk to her first, though.”

“And all that stuff about being easier to find—"

“Real. I really did want to stay. We never stay. I wasn’t in a hurry.” She laughed. “I mean. Why would I be?”

Agatha narrowed her eyes, took a small step forward and then was sure. Past the final mystery, past heat death, was Rio, her Rio, uncomfortable, defensive, shifting her weight, not quite meeting Agatha's eyes.

“Wait, was that guilt?” Agatha said, and it was so rare she got to throw Rio with a non sequitur instead of the other way around, she took a moment to enjoy the puzzlement on her lover's face, followed by the smallest grimace. “Your big romantic gesture with the puppet show. That was guilt, wasn’t it! You felt bad about lying to me.” She couldn't help it, she was practically crowing with delight. She wasn't sure she'd ever seen Rio guilty. She might have placed a sizeable bet it wasn't even possible, but here they were.

Sometimes it was great to be her.

“You said romantic,” Rio muttered, which was as good as a yes. She was going to milk this for longer than was healthy or necessarily safe.

"Right," Agatha said, forcing herself back to the matter at hand, there was plenty of time to gloat later. "So why did you want to talk to the pretty girl who is trying to kill me with her mind?”

Rio glanced at the woman on the floor and Agatha immediately wanted those eyes back on her. “Is she pretty?”

“Yes,” the witch-hunter said. “I am.”

“And humble, too. Give me some answers here, pllllease,” Agatha said.

“Impatient,” Rio said. “She’s been praying. To me. With each witch she kills, she’s been praying. For me to return her lover."

“Oh. Well, that’s impossible,” Agatha said, waving a hand dismissively. “So can we kill her now?”

The woman on the floor was almost as fast as Rio and somehow signaled her intent even less. She almost reached Agatha before Rio intercepted her.

The ensuing battle lasted five seconds. Agatha whistled. “Slowing down a little there,” she told Rio, who had the hunter pinned under her, knife against the woman’s jugular. Rio twisted around at a completely unnatural angle to look at her and bared her teeth in a snarl. Agatha shrugged, nonchalant. “Just saying. I almost saw that one.”

Her fingers itched to touch Rio, to run her fingers through her hair, to dig into the muscle at the back of her neck, to make herself known to every sense the other woman possessed.

“Your girlfriend is very annoying,” the witch-hunter said.

Agatha groaned as Rio started laughing, too long, too loud, her knife hand never wavering while she went into hysterics. “Girlfriend,” she gasped out, and then continued giggling, discordant and grating as always.

The hunter looked confused, her eyebrows knitting together, flicking her gaze between the two of them, an open question in her eyes.

Rio finally mastered her own amusement, then tapped the woman’s cheek with the tip of her knife, opening an unlikely wound, a flowering brand that cascaded blood over smooth skin. “Try and hurt my girlfriend—"

“Stooooop,” Agatha complained.

Rio continued unabated. "Try, and I will let her end you,” she said, with a glance back at Agatha, her expression one of violent delight.

Agatha pressed two fingers to her lips and blew her a kiss, for the sheer pleasure of watching Death, unstoppable apocalypse, meteoric end, go as rigid and still as the corpses she loved.

"If you let her, would that get me back to Eve?” The witch-hunter asked, stubbornly refusing to stop existing so that Agatha could take her woman to bed.

She pictured saying that sentence out loud to Rio. It was hard to say which would come first, an end to the hysterical laughter that would follow or the heat death of the universe.

“Yes,” Agatha answered quickly.

“I was not asking you. I was asking Her," the hunter said, putting a completely unnecessary emphasis on the pronoun.

Ugh, this was all going to go to Rio's head, wasn't it?

“Not in the way you mean,” Rio said, bounding up, spinning in place. “Ags, we are going on a trip.”

“What?” Agatha said, startled, shaking her head. “No, no, we are not. We have things to do, this is not the time for adventures…"

Rio sauntered over and wrapped her arms around Agatha's neck. “You mean you have things to do," she said. "How many years have I gone along with your plans, served your causes? I’ve torn cities apart for your petty, selfish wishes.” Agatha felt her mouth go slightly too dry, unused to things between them getting this serious. “My turn, I think.”

Agatha swallowed, held her ground, refused to back down on both practicality and principle. She was so close now, she knew she was. “The book—“

“You have so much time. It will wait.” Rio seemed to be weighing her, a hint of disappointment in her expression already, as though she was already expecting Agatha to fail whatever kind of test this was.

This wasn't at all fair. They did things Rio wanted! Most of the things they did involved killing people, which, as far as she knew, was exactly what Rio wanted.

But somehow, she couldn't bring herself to say no and watch that disappointment grow. “Fine. Fine, okay, fine," she snapped, the words tumbling out. "How long is this ridiculous quest going to take?"

Rio looked genuinely surprised, as though she'd expected Agatha to hold out longer. Agatha wasn't sure if that made her feel good or weak. “A few weeks, at the most."

“Sure, great! A fun few weeks with a woman who wants me dead and my—“ Say it, just say it, if you don’t she’ll use it forever, sometimes force is the only way to win. “Girlfriend.” She then immediately tried to blaze past it, but she did mentally record the stunned look on Rio’s face for her own future enjoyment. “But no matter where we go, what she wants isn’t possible.” She waited for immediate negation, didn't receive it, though she did hear the hunter snarl somewhere behind them. “Right?”

Rio's smile stretched and stretched and stretched, a smile that could eat the sun, and in her eyes were tsunamis, meteors, bombs falling, the final few blinks of an eye before the inevitable. “Agatha, you’d spoil everything if I let you. Come along and see. A good journey never starts at end.”

Agatha watched Death herself spin around and skip back over to the woman who’d remained on the floor, hands behind her head. Pretended she didn‘t hear her repeating the word ‘girlfriend’ under her breath.

“What’s your name?” Rio asked the woman on the floor.

“Eve calls me Villanelle. That is good enough," The hunter said, still laying where Rio had left her, hands behind her head.

There was a portent in that name, one Agatha could almost read, except her mind was too busy churning with other things.

“Supplicant,” Rio said, her voice taking on the rumble again, the one that made the hair on Agatha's arms stand on end. “Villanelle, Oksana, Beloved of Death, I will help you reach your heart's desire."

Beloved of what?!

The woman stared at Rio for a moment, barely seeming to understand the words, then sagged forward with a choked sob, collapsing straight into Death’s open arms.

“Oh come on!” Agatha snarled. “Stop touching her!”

*** Eve was in the dark. It wasn’t so bad, really. The dark was a hieroglyph, one she was working on translating. She was beginning to see the shape of the problem. If she stayed here long enough, she was sure she would find an answer.

There was only one snag, a single brass hook in her skin attached to a taut line, keeping her connected to mortality, stopping her from losing herself completely in the work.

Once upon a time, Villanelle had made her a promise.

She'll be on her way, Eve thought. I'd better work fast, then.

I can't wait to see her again.

[bb-eilish]

tomorrow x together - making out

A/N: my requests are open again ♡ and omg i’m sorry the post is glitching-i’m trying to fix it

warnings: kissing, suggestive stuff, fem!reader, established relationships

yeonjun- He finally had the weekend off and the very first thing on his to do list was spend time with you, whether that be watching a movie or cliff diving, he just wanted to be near you no matter what you were doing. So, you both picked a movie and nestled into your bed.

The words “this movie is really good” was about to leave your mouth before you felt a hand slither under your shirt and around your waist pulling you closer into him. The sudden jerk caused a cloud of his cologne to circle around you and you couldn’t help but to bite your lip.

Too busy lost in your lewd thoughts you didn’t notice Yeonjun leaning closer to your neck, dragging his lips and nose across the skin. The gasp you let out has him breathily chuckling against you, “can you do me a favor?” He almost whispers against the back of your ear, you feel the hairs on the back of your neck stand up as you hesitantly nod. “Look at me”, you mull it over in your head quickly and go to face his direction, you apparently didn’t do it fast enough because one of his hands finds your jaw and forces you to look at him. You can’t help the whine that leaves your throat, his gaze is lustful as he moves closer and closer to your lips.

Kissing Yeonjun was a one way ticket to ruining your underwear, the way he touches you along with his confidence always has you gushing. This kiss was of course no different, he deepens it by trailing the hand on your jaw to the back of your neck. Abruptly stopping, you wonder if you did something wrong.

“come here” he lets out and starts manhandling you into the position he has in mind, which happens to be on his lap. Hands stopping on your hips, he can feel blood rushing south and his pants tightening just by the look you’re giving him. Wide eyes that don’t hide how badly you want him to touch you.

“That’s better, isn’t it? Now I get a perfect view of my favorite girl” The smirk that adorns his face has you clenching around nothing. You can’t help but avoid his stare, looking anywhere you can that’s not him. The anxiety leaves you when he starts trailing kisses up and down your neck, you grind into him in desperation and he groans against your collarbone.

Lips make their way back up to your jaw and soon your mouth, this kiss was different than the last. He was more needy and eager, his teeth nipping you a few times. His abandons your waist in favor of the swell of your ass so he can push you into his growing erection. The action has both of you moaning into each other’s mouths. He soon pulls away and his lips some how look even hotter while slightly swollen and red.

“Can you do me another favor?” He asks breathily.

You curiously nod, “go ahead and lay down for me, alright?”

soobin- You’re backstage waiting for txt to finish their performance, eyeing the flat screen on the wall in front of you, you can’t help but to eye soobin. His stage presence was lethal, the way he paired gyrating with sinful facial expressions made you clench your thighs in need. Soon enough they’re done and your eyes immediately find him, he frantically eyes the room until he meets your gaze. As he makes a B-line towards you he adorns a facial expression you can’t figure out.

“Are you alright?” You ask concerned when he makes his way over, he clears his throat and curtly nods. Grabbing your hand and dragging you off the couch you were sitting on, you kept saying his name in hopes he’d reveal where you were going but no dice. Wherever he was taking you it was important, after going down some windy halls he opens a random door and shoves you inside closing the door behind him.

“What’s your prob-“ He cuts you off with a searing kiss, you gasp into his mouth and he wraps his arms around you, pulling you even closer. Your upper back soon meets the closed door and your hands find purchase on his broad shoulders. Unfortunately you pull away, “what’s wrong?” You pant while never breaking eye contact.

“What’s your prob-“ He cuts you off with a searing kiss, you gasp into his mouth and he wraps his arms around you, pulling you even closer. Your upper back soon meets the closed door and your hands find purchase on his broad shoulders. Unfortunately you pull away, “what’s wrong?” You pant while never breaking eye contact.

“I need you so bad” He mutters against your lips, going back in for more. His hands unwrap around you to settle on your hips so he can grind into you better. The feel of his hands has you keening and moaning into his mouth.

The dress you’re wearing soon bunches around your waist while he maneuvers one of your legs off the ground and around his waist. The new angle making his rutting 1000x better. You try your best not to ruin his hair or makeup but it’s so hard, you’re going crazy over the feeling of him.

beomgyu- He was finishing up a dance he was practicing, you knew how hard he worked so you decided to be a good girlfriend and order some lunch for you both.

As you press some buttons on your phone you let him know it’ll be here in 30 minutes, he nods and goes to sit down beside you on the floor of the practice room. He was kinda sweaty and panting but that only seemed to make him more attractive, you stare at him through the mirror in awe at the way his slightly damp hair sticks to his forehead and his flushed face.

He meets your gaze through the glass and sends you a wink, “you are such a tease” you whine.

“Weren’t you just staring at me?”

“it’s not my fault you’re hot”, rolling your eyes like it was basic knowledge. He shyly chuckles at your confession and slyly scoots closer making sure you’re not aware.

He decides he’s close enough when he strikes and his skillful fingers attack your sides, you loudly gasp while giggles are being forcibly ripped from your throat. Your hands find his and try their hardest to remove them from you, but it’s in vain.

“b-beomgyu, beomgyu. S-stop please” You plead as your body jerks. You try another approach and test your luck in desperately crawling away, it seems to be working until he flips you over and continues his laughter inducing torture.

He doesn’t know what comes over him but the way your writhing underneath his body has him slowing down his attack, he fully stops and gazes into your hooded eyes. He understands how hot panting can be now, without hesitation he leans down and connects your lips while his hands are on either side of you.

You immediately kiss back and smile into it, it was all innocent until he groans into it and licks your bottom lip. Opening your mouth your tongues meet and you’re suddenly very aware of the feeling in your underwear. It only gets worse when he sucks your tongue, you pull away slightly and mutter, “gyu, please touch me”

He groans at your desperate plea and goes to lift your shirt but the sound of knocking totally ruins the moment and sends you two flying away from each other. The door opens and a staff member comes in to drop off the food you ordered.

You both thank her and glance at each other, laughing at what just happened.

taehyun- He was on vlive while you were behind the camera. He was talking about…you have no idea what he’s talking about. Probably card magic, his full attention is on the live and you know these last for a good amount of time. Thankfully there’s a couch where you’re waiting, but you just want his attention, you want him to touch you and talk to you.

A brilliant idea pops into your head and a very grinch like smirk spreads across your face. You are thankfully wearing shorts and thankfully Taehyun is an ass man. Now…how are you gonna get his attention without alarming the live. You grasp your phone and type “i miss you:(“, soon pressing send. You get into a nice pose that’s subtle but seductive.

His phone dings and he excuses himself while checking it, you know he reads it because he soon meets your gaze and his mouth parts in silent gasp. His eyes are glued to your ass but he soon looks back at the live. You know it’s not over as he keeps stumbling over his words, and the cherry on top is when you once again text him, “i may or may not be wearing underwear”.

He checks his phone once more and tries his hardest to come up with an excuse, soon going with “sorry guys pd nim needs to talk to me” He ends the live with a rushed apologetic smile and quickly stands up after it’s over, rushing over to you.

You bat your eye lashes and innocently say, “Taehyun you’re all done” The smile on your face doesn’t throw him off though, he pushes you back into the couch with a shove to your chest. “you’re so needy, hm?” He says before attaching your lips, the way he can put you in your place with just a kiss confuses you but you’re definitely not complaining.

He gets fully on top of you and breaks away, your hands find his sides and grip his shirt while he makes out with your neck. The feeling of his heavy and hot kisses on your sensitive neck has you holding in moans.

You can feel his warm hand trailing down to the hem of your shorts, “are you actually not wearing underwear?” He questions against your neck.

You let out a giggle and say, “not sure, you’re gonna have to check”

hyuka- You were both in his group’s dorm having dinner with everyone, Soobin wanted to have a “family” dinner so you all sat at the table together. You didn’t mind at all, free food.

You were about to have another bite from your plate when your eyes meet kai’s from across the table, you expect him to look away but he holds your gaze until Yeonjun starts talking to him. If he wanted your attention he definitely got it, you soon feel the urge to pee so you excuse yourself.

You leave the table and make your way to the bathroom, you’re about to close the door until a hand wraps around the edge of it and pushes it open.“Kai, whatre you doing?” Your eyes are wide with shock, this was not like him.

He closes the door behind him and you don’t miss the way he locks it as well, his hands find your waist and backs you up into the sink counter.

“I wanted to see you”

“You just saw me at the table?” Your eyebrow quirks at his reasoning. He rolls his eyes as he leans in, you now understand as his lips roll into yours. Kai was never this bold but you’d be lying if you said this side of him didn’t turn you on. The way he dominated the kiss and touched you like you weren’t made of glass made you clench your thighs.

Of course he notices though, so his hands find the backs of your legs and hoists you up on the counter. You clamp your legs around his waist and he lets out a low groan into your mouth. Sucking your bottom lip he grinds into you, you can tell he’s enjoying himself from the grip he has on you and the bulge in his pants.

“what’s gotten into you?” You murmur against his lips, hands finding his cheeks.

He chuckles breathily and gives your lips a few pecks before answering, “I just miss you is all” You both smile and get back to kissing, Kai has other plans as his hands make their way up your shirt and to your bra.

“Kai, we can’t do anything here. They’ll hear us” You warn, “And what if I want them to hear?” Your eyes widen and you find his lips again. You have no idea what’s up with him but he’s making you melt.

[haileygarciasunshine]

Welcome to The Serpents

Pairing: Sweet Pea x Fem!Reader

Written: March 6th, 2021

Posted: March 6th, 2021

Warning: None.

Word Count: 1,066

Summary: Friends to Enemies Trope ish

Author’s Note: I’m not sure if anyone actually reads these things but here goes. This year has already been very tough for me. Everyday I struggle with the loss of my grandma. I’m not going to lie, it has put me in a very dark place for the past three months. However, I’m starting see change and a small twinkle of hope. I’ve decided I wanted to take better care of myself and that starts from the inside. I saw myself going down the dark path of being an alcoholic, unfortunately it runs on the both sides of my family. It dawned on me that I was following the similar path of my family members. As I realized this, I decided I would stop drinking. Let me tell you, the thirst makes me realize just how much power and hold it had over me. I’ve officially been four days sober. Anyways, thanks for reading my thoughts!

Author’s Note Part Two: I’m accepting requests so please feel free to send me some! Request Here

Sweet Pea Masterlist 

“Come on, Y/N,” Betty whined as she leaned against a set of lockers beside yours. 

Sighing, you rolled your eyes. “Why is it important to you that I come?” You frowned, turning to face her. “Jug’s going to be there.”

“Yeah.” She nodded in agreement, her eyes twinkling with mischief. “But I need my sister.”

“You talked Polly into going?” You questioned tilting your head as you raised an eyebrow in question.

Scoffing Betty shook her head. “You know Polly can’t come.” Her shoulders slumped slightly. “Besides, I need my favorite sister there.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere, Betty Cooper.” You grinned. “I’ll be there if it means that much to you.”

Squealing, Betty threw her arms around your shoulders pulling you in for an enthusiastic hug. 

“Thank you! Thank you!” 

Giggling you couldn’t stop the giddy feeling from bubbling up inside. The overwhelming feeling of someone boring holes into you caught your attention. Lifting your gaze over Betty’s shoulder, you were met with a pair of harsh chocolate ones. 

Sweet Pea always seemed to be lingering in the background, wherever you were. Sending you a harsh glare, he disappears just as fast as he appeared. Frowning you furrowed your eyebrows together in confusion. Sweet Pea had always been hostile towards you since the moment you met, for no apparent reason.

Pulling away, Betty’s hands rested comfortably on your shoulders. Her illuminated face quickly fell. 

“What is it?” Her voice dripping with concern.

“Hm?” You questioned bringing your attention back to the blonde in front of you. “Oh, uh, nothing.”

“He was around wasn’t he?” 

Your silence was the only response she needed.

“He doesn’t hate you, you know.” She spoke, walking beside you towards the parking lot.

“Yeah, well, it doesn’t feel like that.” You shrugged. Your hands resting on either side of your backpack straps that rested along your shoulders.

Betty let out a huff. “You both are the most stubborn naïve people I’ve ever met.”

“Hey!” You exclaimed furrowing your eyebrows together. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Betty let another huff tumble past her lips. “Nothing.” She shook her head. “It means nothing.”

----

“I’m going to Jug’s tonight,” Betty spoke, bursting into your room. “Cover for me?” She questioned plopping down on your bed beside you.

Giggling you rolled your eyes. “Don’t I always?” 

Making herself comfortable, she laid down beside you. “You’re the best.”

“Yeah.” You giggled. “I know.”

“What are you going to do about Sweet Pea?” She questioned. 

You didn’t have to look at her to know she had raised an eyebrow at you.

“Why do I have to do something?” 

Betty groaned. “How long are you two going to dance around your feelings?” 

“I...I don’t have feelings for him.”

She snorted, rolling on her side to face you. “Riiight.” She dragged out the word.

“What?” You questioned in confusion, turning your head to face her. “I don’t!”

Rolling her eyes, she let the subject go.

---

“I’m nervous,” Betty spoke, her face twisting with the uneasiness she was feeling.

“Don’t be.” You spoke, placing your hands on her shoulders. “You’re hot. Jughead’s going to love it.”

Nodding her head, she attempted to swallow her nerves. “But-”

“But nothing.” You cut her off. “Betty, there’s nothing to worry about. I’ll be on the side of the stage waiting with your dress in hand.”

“You’re the best.” She spoke her voice quivering slightly. Pulling you in for a hug, you could feel her body slightly shaking. 

Standing beside the stage, you gazed around the crowd in White Wyrm. Your eyes locking with the familiar pair that normally sent you a harsh stare. Much to your surprise, he was gazing at you softly.

Your breath hitching in your throat, before you dropped your gaze to the floor before you as butterflies erupted in your stomach. Sweet Pea had been harsh to you the moment you met. Your thoughts often betraying you as they filled your mind with all the possibilities that you could’ve done to make him hate you so much.

Betty walked onto the stage with a confidence you hadn’t seen before. Your face twisting in awe. As she went on with the Serpent dance, you couldn’t help but think about Sweet Pea watching your sister dancing. Frowning, your stomach burned. Turning in the direction he was in, you were met with an empty space. Furrowing your eyebrows together in confusion, you frowned. Gazing around the room, you couldn’t find the comforting chocolate eyes you had come to like.

“I don’t hate you.” A familiar husky voice spoke from behind you.

The hair on the back of your neck stood at attention as goosebumps began forming on your arms.

Turning to face him, you were confused to see him gazing at you with an emotion you hadn’t seen before.

“What-”

Reaching up, he scratched the back of his neck, dropping his eyes to the floor. “I...” Sweet Pea’s voice trailing off as it seemingly got lost in his throat.

A strong wave of confidence washed over you. Stepping forward, you came into Sweet Pea’s view. 

“I...I don’t hate you either.” You breathed, feeling the butterflies in your stomach once again. “Quite the opposite, actually.” You spoke, smirking at him.

“You don’t?” His expression etching itself into confusion. “I’m sorry.” 

Grinning, you stepped closer to him closing any remaining space between you. Your chest flush against his. Quickly, you placed Betty’s clothes on the counter freeing up your hands. Placing hands on his, you traveled up until they laced in his raven hair. Leaning down, he rested his forehead against yours as he closed his eyes.

Betty quickly rushed off the stage once she was done, chirping at you about her clothes. Giggling, you unwrapped yourself from Sweet Pea, grabbing Betty’s clothes and handing them to her. 

Jughead approached your group, placing Betty's Serpent jacket around her shoulders.

“Welcome to the Serpents,” Jughead spoke, giving Betty a chaste kiss. “Let’s get out of here.”

Nodding her head, Betty wrapped an arm around Jughead’s waist as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Leading her through the sea of Serpents, she quickly turned around glancing at you and Sweet Pea.

“You guys coming?”

Gazing upwards at Sweet Pea, a dusty pink danced along his cheeks. Grinning, he mirrored Jughead, placing an arm around your shoulder. Leading you through the White Wyrm.

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[unwrittenlibrary]

Little Lion

Summary: a trip to the zoo and the birth of leo’s nickname.

Warnings: none this is a fluffy piece.

Word Count: 2.6K

Notes: leo is about 8 months old in this. this piece is set before Tonight, We Fall in Love.  if you haven’t read the little lion series, it’s not necessary, but it can be found here 

-

You had never been to the zoo before and it was strikingly obvious. Your parents had hated it when you were young and once you reached the age where you could go alone your parents had scared you out of it with how terrible they made it sound. 

So, you had never been to the zoo before, but Harry has a season pass and Leo apparently loves it so here you were outside the entrance tapping your foot nervously and feeling out of place as families rushed past you. 

You knew it was just a zoo, but you weren’t sure how it worked or what you were supposed to do. Especially with a baby who was younger than a year. All he did was babble, what enjoyment could he even get from a zoo?

“Y/N.” You feel Harry’s hand wrap around your bicep gently. “What’s got you zoned out like that?” He presses a kiss to your forehead in greeting. 

You send him a nervous smile before bending down to greet Leo in his stroller, “Never been to the zoo before. I’m just a little nervous.” You tickle Leo’s feet that are hanging out of the stroller and he giggles in response.

You see Harry try and repress a smile, “Nervous about the zoo?” He asks with a hint of a laugh. 

“I’m serious, Harry.” You frown as you stand up to look at him. “I’ve never been to one and my parents always made them sound awful, so I just don’t know what to do here.” You look past him towards the front gate, where a screaming child was being dragged out by his parents. 

Harry holds a hand out to you. “Come on. There’s nothing to be nervous about. The worst part is the food prices.” 

“I'm trusting you.” You latch onto Harry’s hand and he begins to push the stroller and pull you towards the front gate. “I promise I will not let you down.” He grins cheesily at you and you feel any nerves you had wash away. 

It was just a zoo afterall, what was the worst thing that could happen?

“You have tickets?” The girl at the front gate asks in a monotone voice. She looks like she’d rather be anywhere else and you have to agree. 

The loudness and smell at the entrance was already giving you a headache. You look up at Harry with wide eyes, were you supposed to buy tickets? 

“I have a season pass. She’s my free guest?” He holds out his phone, which has a green card with a small barcode on it. 

The girl nods and scans the barcode. The small machine in her hand turns green and she smiles a bright, obviously forced smile. “Enjoy your day.” 

“Thank you!” Harry exclaims as he forces the three of you into the park. You follow him silently as he stops in front of the huge printed map. 

“What’s your favorite animal?” Harry turns to you and asks. You pause unsure of what to say. What was your favorite animal? “Um…” You look at the map, eyes scanning over the small photos of the different animals in the zoo. “Giraffes.” You say as your eyes land on their picture on the map. 

“Then giraffes we shall see.” Harry says as he starts on the path towards their enclosure. “Leo always gets excited for the elephants so we might have to stop there for a bit.” 

You follow behind Harry, taking in your surroundings. “He’s the baby, we can stop wherever he wants.” There were huge signs filled with facts about the plants and animals, along with benches and marked bricks thanking donors. 

The pathways were smaller and less crowded than the main areas of the zoo. And they were surrounded by trees that gave it a calming element. 

So far, you didn’t really mind it. 

“You say that now but wait until we’re staring at flamingos for an hour because every time you move away Leo starts to cry.” Harry teases as he stops in front of the monkey exhibit. 

Harry unstraps Leo from his seat softly, “Ready to see some monkeys, little guy?” Leo reaches his arms out for Harry as he reaches in to pick the boy up. 

You stand by the stroller as Harry begins to walk towards the crowd of people surrounding the enclosure. He stops and turns with a confused smile, “You coming?” 

“Oh.” You look down at the stroller and back at him. “I thought you wanted me to watch this? What if someone steals it?” 

Harry shakes his head. “I can see the stroller from up there, I just don’t wanna push it through everyone and be a dick.” A mother gives Harry a stern look as she walks past and he smiles apologetically. “Sorry.” 

You laugh softly as you leave the stroller and make your way towards him. “Smooth. Cursing around all these little kids.” 

“Mine can’t talk yet, so I’m not worried.” Harry smiles brightly and you can’t help but smile back. He was unabashed and bright and you were definitely falling in love with him. 

The two of you make your way towards the monkeys and Leo begins to babble excitedly when he sees the animals jumping around. 

“Woah.” You mumble, amazed at how close you were to the animal. Who even came up with this concept? You think as you stare through the plexiglass. 

You’re broken out of your thoughts when Harry tugs on your hand softly. He gives you an apologetic smile as he leads you away. “He was getting antsy. It’s time for a new animal.” 

You nod as Harry straps Leo back into the stroller and begins to push. “Have you really never been to the zoo before?” He asks as the two of you walk along the pathway. 

You don’t look away from the flowers when you nod. “My parents always thought they were unsanitary and gross. So, we never came. Then I never had a reason to when I was older, nobody was bragging about going to it during recess anymore, so I didn’t feel it was necessary to go.” 

You come to a stop in front of another enclosure. Gazelles this time. There are less people stopped, so Harry doesn’t bother taking Leo out of the stroller. 

“I loved the zoo when I was little.” He continues walking. Leo was obviously unamused by the animals just grazing the field. “I loved animals. I wanted to become a zookeeper for awhile.” 

You can’t help the teasing grin that spreads across your face. “A zookeeper? What stopped you from following that dream?” 

“I decided I was more suited to watch from afar than up close.” You and Harry laugh as you come up on the next crowd of people. The next exhibit is giraffes, far larger than the other two you had seen and absolutely beautiful. 

You had chosen them only because they were the first animal that caught your eye on the map, but seeing them in person made you speechless. 

Is this what you had missed out on when you were younger? This feeling of absolute awe? 

“Majestic.” You can’t think of anything else to say and Harry smiles happily as Leo stares just as entranced as you. 

“Yeah.” He agrees. You know he’s staring at you and begin to feel nerves creep back into your system. Maybe you hadn’t been so nervous about the zoo, but being at the zoo with Harry and Leo.

You had only been together around three months now and your dates were usually sans Leo. The last thing you wanted to do was embarrass yourself in front of Harry or not know how to handle Leo and the zoo. You wanted him to be as serious about this relationship as you were. And you knew you needed to show him you could and that you wanted to bond with Leo. 

“Thank you for bringing me with you guys today.” You turn to face him again. “It’s a lot better than I had pictured.” 

Harry smiles, but you see the relief in his eyes. “I’m happy you came.” 

You move on from the giraffes and you know next is the Lion enclosure. There are signs posted every few feet and once you get close enough you can hear the excited chatter coming from the crowd. 

“What’s going on?” You ask Harry as he cranes his neck to try and see. “Can you see anything? This is quite the crowd.” 

Harry nods. “The lions are up and moving around. People are just excited.” 

“Well let's go.” You lean down and begin to unbuckle Leo. 

“I don’t think I could see the stroller from up there.” Harry frowns as he realizes the depth of the crowd. “I can watch it.” You offer, a little sadly. You kind of wanted to see what the commotion was. 

Harry shakes his head, “No. You take Leo and go. I’ve been here a bunch, I can see them anytime really.” Your eyes widen in excitement as Leo reaches his arms out for you. 

“Are you sure?” You secure him on your hip. Harry smiles at the sight of you. “I’m positive. I’ll be right here.” 

You nod quickly before taking off. It’s pretty easy to squeeze through the crowd, most of it was just parents who were attempting to keep an eye on their child up front. 

You come to a stop behind the younger kids who made up almost the entire front row of the crowd. You were tall enough to see over them so you knew Leo could see from his spot on your hip. 

You watch as the lion takes his place on the rock placed smack center in the enclosure. The female lions deciding to lay around him. 

There were a couple cubs not too far from them that were tumbling around and that’s what seemed to draw the massive crowd. Everyone was intrigued by the small animals and what they were doing. 

“You like lions?” You look down at Leo, who’s staring excitedly as the lion on the rock. The animal is eyeing the crowd focused around the cubs, no doubt meaning to protect them if needed. “They’re pretty cool, huh?” 

Leo doesn’t respond, which was to be expected, he really only babbled and made sounds at this age. You and Harry had been doing some animal sounds with him the other in preparation for the zoo, but he had only picked up a couple. 

A younger kid screams in excitement when he notices the cubs and runs towards the area where you can see the cubs best from. 

You notice Leo starts to move around and decide it’s probably time to move on, before he gets too antsy or you get stuck in a big crowd and can’t find Harry. 

As you begin to move away the lion lets out a roar that makes the crowd jump. Leo turns to look again and claps excitedly. 

You laugh, “Yeah that’s a roar, buddy. Pretty cool, huh?” 

Leo watches the lion roar again, and decides to roar back. It’s small and definitely not the right sound but you know what he’s trying to do immediately. 

He does it again and you laugh excitedly. “Looks you like you’ve got your very own little lion.” A woman comments from behind you. She has a kind smile and a sleepy baby in her arms. “Your son is very cute.” 

“Oh.” You almost correct her, tell her you’re just the girlfriend. But you decide against getting into the story with a stranger who was just trying to be nice. “Thank you.” She nods before stepping away to follow her older child. 

You look down at Leo. “You hear that? You’re my very own little lion.” You tickle his tummy and he laughs brightly, roaring subsided. 

Harry’s sitting on a bench waiting for the two of you when you finally exit the crowd. “Hey!” You call as you walk towards him. 

Harry looks up and his face lights up at the sight of the two of you. “Hey! I heard the lion roar, that’s cool.” He stands up and you let him take Leo from your arms. 

“Super cool. But I think my favorite part was seeing this guy roar.” You run a hand down Leo’s back and he rests his head on Harry’s chest. 

“Yeah?” Harry laughs softly in order to avoid shaking Leo too much. “Yeah.” You nod. “You really liked them, right little lion?” 

Harry looks at you for a moment. “Little lion?” 

“Oh.” You look up at Harry again. “Some lady said it to me when he roared and I thought it was sweet.” 

“It is.” Harry begins to walk as you push the empty stroller behind him. “Fitting. Little lion.” He presses a kiss to Leo’s forehead.

“I thought so.” Harry stops in front of a small, jungle themed cafe. “You hungry? He looks a little tired and we can take a small break.” Harry gently places Leo back into his stroller, making sure to cover the baby with a blanket.

“I could eat.” The two of you make your way inside. It’s set up like a small buffet where you grab what you want before going to cash out. 

The two of you grab small meals and drinks before making your way towards the woman standing alone at the register. 

She punches everything into the computer before looking up at the two of you. “28.50.” Your eyes widen at the price as you move to take your wallet out. 

“I got it.” Harry hands over his card and you frown. “You paid for the tickets, I can pay for lunch.” 

“I have a season pass and you got in free.” Harry laughs as the woman hands him the receipt. 

“Have a good day.” She mutters as the next customer places their items on the table. “Thank you!” You smile kindly. 

“Still…” You trail off unsure of what you could do to thank him for inviting you today. “I want to contribute somehow.” 

Harry sits down at a small table and parks Leo next to him. You sit down across from him and let your lips form a pout. “Harry…” 

“Tell you what.” Harry laughs at your pouting. “You can buy a small stuffed animal for Leo when we leave.”

“Sounds good to me.” You grin as you bite into the burger you picked up from the line of food. “Maybe I’ll buy him a lion.” 

Harry smiles. “Yeah. A lion for the little lion.” 

“Sorry.” You look over his face to try and gauge what he thinks of the nickname. “I thought it was cute. Especially with his name and sign and all.” 

Harry locks his ankle with yours under the table. “It is. I love the nickname. I love that it came from you.” 

“Well, I stole it really.” You look down embarrassed. 

“Well, either way, he’ll learn it’s from you.” Harry shrugs. “We can tweak the story a bit.” He grins cheekily and you laugh. 

“Thank you for today.” You smile nervously. “I’ve had a lot of fun with you guys.” 

“Days not over yet.” Harry takes a sip of his drink. “We’ll have even more fun after our lunch.” 

“I’ll hold you to that, Styles.” You give him a fake stern look and he just smiles. 

“How could you not have fun with the two of us?” He leans down and presses a soft kiss on a sleeping Leo’s forehead. Then turns and smiles brightly at you. 

“That’s a good question.” You smile as you stare at the two boys in front of you. 

You had never been to the zoo before, but Leo and Harry made it a lot of fun. You wouldn’t mind coming back with them. You think as you watch Harry stuff french fries into his mouth and Leo nap peacefully next to him. Definitely wouldn’t mind.

-

i’ve always meant to write how leo got his nickname and never got around to it. glad i finally have this piece out! hope you enjoy! 

[adenei]

Next Steps - Ch. 6

Welp, here it is! The engagement chapter. To the anon who requested a romantic proposal - I hope this fits the bill. Enjoy! There will be one more chapter with the party back at the Burrow :)

****************************

Will you?

The whole week had been perfect. It seemed to move quickly, but also incredibly slow at the same time. The ring was really starting to burn a whole in Ron’s pocket, but today was the day. After another leisurely afternoon by the pool, they were all going to get cleaned up and dress nice for a dinner reservation at a restaurant not far from the Spanish Steps.

Hermione had made mention once of how romantic she thought they were, and how after seeing them during the day, she’d love to see them illuminated by the soft glow of the streetlights and stars at night. So that’s what Ron had planned for. He’d made sure that Harry and Ginny had made a habit of bringing the camera wherever they went, taking pictures at their tourists' destinations to document the trip. 

Ron walked out of the bathroom after taking a shower and noticed Hermione standing on the balcony in the baby blue dress she’d chosen to pack. It was knee length and had a V cut in both the front and the back. She’d somehow managed to tame her hair in a soft plait that lay to the side. Ron stood there watching her in awe. I’m going to ask her to marry me tonight. My beautiful, smart, amazing girlfriend. He hoped she had no idea it was coming. It wasn’t often when he’d gotten to surprise her, but so far this vacation was full of surprises. 

Hermione turned around and smiled shyly when she noticed he was watching her. He smiled back and then continued getting dressed. It wasn’t long before Harry and Ginny were knocking on their door and they apparated to the point closest to the restaurant.

“Ron, this place is incredible!” Hermione said when they were seated. 

“Yeah, I don’t think I’m going to want to go back to English cuisine after all this for a week,” Ginny joked.

“We’ll just have to find all the good Italian places in London, then,” Harry resolved.

“Or learn how to cook some of these dishes at home,” Ron offered.

“All wonderful ideas. I can’t believe we leave tomorrow. It feels like we just got here,” Hermione lamented.

Everyone agreed as Ginny asked when they’re portkey was departing.

“Well, we leave Rome at 10:00,” Ron said. Our connection at Bern will be a little longer than last time though. They have a 10:30 we’ll catch to Paris.”

“What time do we depart from Paris?” Harry asked, playing along.

Ginny and Hermione both looked at him. “We thought you knew?” Ginny asked.

“I do, but there’s one more surprise Ron has up his sleeve,” Harry said as he grinned. The girls both turned their attention to Ron.

“We’ve made arrangements to stay in Paris for the night, so we’ll be able to explore a bit of the city before catching our 11:00 portkey to London on Sunday morning.”

“I’m most looking forward to French breakfast,” Harry said.

“Ron, that’s amazing! Which sites are we going to see, oh please tell us!” Hermione said excitedly.

“Well, actually, I was hoping you could help by picking out your favorites, since you’ve been there before.” Ron said.

Their dinner came and Hermione was eagerly chattering through all of the places she thought they should see and trying to prioritize them because they only had the day, and she didn’t want to thoroughly exhaust them.

Harry and Ron shared an unspoken glance, where Harry was impressed at Ron’s ability to throw her off the trail of what was to come, and Ginny noticed. She gave them both a questioning look, but they pretended not to notice her. 

They decided to get gelato from a nearby shop after dinner, and enjoyed it as they walked towards the steps.

“I’m so excited we get to see them at night!” Hermione gushed. “I hope it’s not as crowded as it normally is during the day.” She leaned over and kissed Ron on the cheek. “Thank you so much for the best vacation ever. I can’t believe I even entertained the thought of choosing work over this.”

“Well, as long as you do well to remember this the next time we’re planning a holiday and try to argue that work is too busy, I think I can forgive you,” Ron said playfully. He held her hand in his as they approached the steps.

Hermione led him up the first few steps as she looked around in amazement at the sight in front of her covered in the soft glow of the night sky. “This is beautiful, Ron. I can’t even begin to tell you how happy you’ve made me! This whole trip has been a dream come true!” she said as she turned back to him.

“Well, hopefully I can make you even happier now,” he said softly.

“What do you mean?” she asked him. Her puzzlement turned to shock as she watched him reach into his pocket. He pulled something out that was small, but he covered it in his hand as he spoke.

“Hermione, I’ve been holding onto this for about a month now, trying to plan the perfect moment, but it’s been really hard. It’s been torture to hold onto this all week, knowing that there was something really important that I wanted to ask you, hoping you wouldn’t find it on accident, and that I could keep it a surprise.”

It was then that he bent down on one knee, while he kept Hermione’s hand in his. Her other hand shot up to her mouth as she realized what he was about to do, and she was trying really hard to prevent the tears from welling up in her eyes, not letting the emotion overcome her. “I love you, Hermione. I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember, even when I was too young and stupid to even wrap my head around what it meant. Sometimes I still can’t believe we made it out of the war alive, and as well as we can be with everything we went through. 

“I’m secretly glad you’ve dragged me along to all of those therapy sessions to work through everything we’ve been through, and that you’re always there to listen, even when I don’t want to talk. You haven’t given up on me when there’ve been times where I deserved it. We got through a whole year apart, after we just barely got together, and I’m so happy that part of our lives is behind us now.

“I’m still amazed that I get to wake up next to you every morning when I’m not off on a mission, and I know without a doubt that I don’t want to live this life without you by my side. You’re it for me, Hermione. Will you marry me?” He let go of her hand for the briefest of moments to open the ring box, revealing the most gorgeous ring she’d ever seen in her life. It was perfectly suited for her, proving just how well he knew her.

Hermione hadn’t realized that both of her hands had moved to cover her mouth, tears were streaming down her face despite the fact that she’d tried to control them and she was nodding fiercely. She finally found her voice and heard herself say, “Yes, yes, of course!” It was almost like an out of body experience. They could have been surrounded by a million people and Ron would have been the only one there with her.

There wasn’t a thing in the world that could take the grin off of Ron’s face as he stood up and took the ring out of the box to slide onto Hermione’s ring finger. The ring box clattered on the ground as he took her face in his hands and kissed her with a great deal of passion.

“I love you so much,” he heard her say against his lips.

“I love you, too,” he said as his lips met hers again. 

Distantly Hermione thought she heard clapping and cheering, and it was then that she finally remembered that they were in public. In Rome, standing on the Spanish Steps. She remembered Harry and Ginny were probably there, too, and had witnessed the whole thing. Hermione looked around to find them, and saw them a few steps below, the camera in Harry’s hand and Ginny jumping up and down. 

“You’re engaged!” Ginny shouted as she ran up the steps and tackled Hermione in a hug. “Let me see, let me see!” Ginny grabbed Hermione’s left hand and inspected the ring. “Merlin, it’s beautiful! I didn’t know Ron had it in him.”

“Hey! I’m right here, y’know,” Ron said as Harry came up and hugged them both.

“Congratulations!” he said, grinning from ear to ear.

“Did you both know?” Hermione asked them.

Ginny shook her head. “I had no idea. Harry had to hold me back when I tried to follow you up the steps.” She looked at him. “You knew, didn’t you?” she eyed him.

Harry nodded guiltily. “What do you say we get out of here and go have a celebratory drink back at the hotel?” he suggested. 

“That sounds perfect,” Hermione said as she looked at Ron. “You’re amazing,” she said as she leaned in for another kiss.

“So are you,” he said smiling down at her.

“We’re engaged,” she looked down, admiring her ring.

“That we are. Thanks for saying yes, by the way. It would have made for an awkward night if you hadn’t,” Ron joked.

“You’re mental if you really thought I’d say no,” Hermione teased.

“One can never be too sure,” Ron laughed.

With that, they headed to the apparition point to go back and celebrate on their last night in Italy.

[youngbloodlisk]

Moonlight Boy // Merman Kevin AU

Part 2: Discovery & Confrontation

series masterlist

Kevin wakes up with a big stretch, right as Jacob leaves the bathroom.

Jacob, with a towel wrapped around his waist, rubs his hair with a smaller towel and notices his friend waking up.

"Hey, how was yesterday's exploring?"

Kevin can think of many words to describe it.

Insane, weird, terrifying, beautiful...

"Interesting." Kevin mumbles out with a deep morning voice.

"And tiring, apparently. I assumed you'd wake me up to tell me all about it and show me what you found."

"Not this time. I could barely keep my eyes open once I hit the bed. I didn't even change. I'm still in yesterday's clothes."

"Well, you better get up and hit the shower, since you didn't last night."

"You're right. You just got out?"

"Yeah, bathroom's all yours."

Kevin throws a thumbs up into the air and rubs his face to assist the process of waking up.

His body feels sore. It reminds him of growing pains from when he went through puberty...

The kind of pain you feel when your body is going through a change that it isn't used to.

He assumes he's just sore...

Eventually, after far too long, Kevin drags himself out of bed and trudges to the bathroom.

Mostly because he really needs to relieve himself, so that comes first. He then turns on the bathtub faucet and pulls the tab to make the shower turn on.

He takes off his clothes, which absolutely reek for some reason. The strange, almost crunchy feeling makes sense. They were soaked in salt water and then air dried. But why do the clothes have to smell so bad?

That island gets weirder and weirder by the minute.

Fully naked and feeling thoroughly dirty and disgusting, Kevin steps into the shower. The water flows down his body and he sighs at the comfortable feeling of the warm water. He closes his eyes, deciding to just stand there for a moment, enjoying the water.

Around ten seconds, however, and Kevin starts to sway back and forth.

Not by his own will, mind you. This is happening without him doing anything.

He feels an insane rush through his entire body, feeling as if the breath has been knocked out of him.

Before he can process anything that's happening, he sees a blue flash in front of his face and he's tumbling over. Kevin grabs onto the shower curtain, which only drags it down with him, before he hits the floor hard and the curtain rod gives a loud crash.

Kevin groans and tries to move his legs to stand up, but he can't.

In fact, he realizes, he can't even feel his legs at all.

The look on Kevin's face is absolutely priceless when he turns and looks behind him.

Where his legs should be, all he sees is a long, blue tail.

Such a thing like you only see in movies and those fake "Mermaids Are Real!!!" videos online.

(Although, Kevin is suddenly questioning just how fake those online videos actually are...)

"Kevin! Are you okay?" Jacob's voice snatches Kevin's attention away from the strange new development. "Did you fall? Are you hurt? Do you need help?"

"I'm fine, Cob. I fell over, I'm okay. I just... might be a while..."

"Might be a while? What does that mean...? Do you need help? I'm coming in, okay?" Kevin instantly realizes in hindsight that even though "it's just Jacob", he definitely should have locked the door. His heart drops as the door handle turns.

"No! Don't come in!" Kevin yells with urgency, which only worries his friend more.

"Why not? I've seen you naked before, Kevin. Are you hurt?"

"I'm not hurt, just leave me alone! I'm fine!"

Jacob is absolutely not buying it, but he decides against an argument.

"If you say so. If you need help, just yell for me!"

Kevin sighs with relief.

He has to gather his thoughts before he can deal with anyone else's.

First question: how the hell is he supposed to get rid of this thing?

Is he stuck like this?

Newsflash, it's pretty hard to dance their choreography onstage without legs.

Water activated it. Maybe no water will make it go away. He just needs to get dry.

Easier said than done when half of the tail is still under the running water and he can't reach the faucet to turn it off.

He props himself up onto his elbows and starts to crawl, in an effort to at least get into a position where he might eventually dry off.

Kevin flips himself over and finally gets a better look.

What the hell...

He's a fish...

He's... a fish...

What the HELL...

Deal with the how and the why later. Just get rid of it.

Kevin looks around for a towel... and, of course, they're all on the other side of the bathroom.

He does, however, spot the hairdryer. It's sitting on the counter, plugged up, and the cord is hanging low enough that he's able to pull it down.

It hits him pretty hard in the chest when it falls off the counter, but he really doesn't care.

He cranks it up to the highest setting and starts trying to evaporate the water.

Jacob is getting far more suspicious now.

First the crash, the water is still running, he heard Kevin grunting, and now the hairdryer is on?

"Kevin? What are you doing?"

"Nothing! I'll be out in a few minutes!"

It takes a lot longer than a few minutes, but eventually the hairdryer has done it's job.

Another flash of blue covers Kevin's vision, and his body feels a quick tingling rush again.

"Oh thank goodness." Kevin clutches his chest when he sees his legs reappear.

Finally, something normal and familiar.

He notices that he feels as if he's just taken a full shower. Smelling himself, he smells clean.

Thoughts fill his mind...

Why did this happen?

Why him?

What does this mean? Every time he touches water, he becomes a fish boy?

How did this happen?

How is this even possible?

He's read about mermaids and mermen in fairytales but seeing that stuff in person... it's terrifying.

Should he tell anyone?

Should he tell Jacob?

Kevin knows he can trust Jacob with anything, and Jacob will be willing to help him try to figure this out.

Telling Jacob seems like an okay idea.

Kevin stands up and grabs a towel to wrap around his waist.

He doesn't even pick up his clothes before he leaves the bathroom.

He gets dressed while he tries to work out a way to tell his best friend that he's a... merman...

Wow, that's such a weird word when it's you...

As Kevin plays through different scenarios in his mind, he can't decide on one that seems like it would 100% go over well.

Not yet, at least...

He starts to think that maybe he needs to figure this out on his own before he tries to tell anybody.

"Kevin? You okay?" Jacob snaps Kevin out of the spaced out trance he didn't even realize he was in.

"Hm? Yeah, I'm good. Time to go?"

"Yeah, everyone's waiting downstairs."

The day consists of final rehearsals for the concert taking place that night.

Stage placements, equipment checking, full run through, first soundcheck, the like.

Kevin leans against an equipment container after they've gone through their setlist for the second time.

Sweat is practically dripping off of him and his breathing is heavy.

"Kevin!" Eric calls out, tossing a cold water bottle at the boy when he looks up.

Kevin thoughtlessly catches it, but the moment he feels it covered in water from the cooler, he drops it and grabs the towel nearby (which was meant to be used to wipe off sweat).

He doesn't know if anything will happen, but he's certainly not in the mood to take a chance. He dries his hands off as fast as possible.

Kevin definitely doesn't miss the strange look his youngest member is giving him, having watched the whole thing happen.

"Okay, guys!" The Boyz's manager claps his hands loudly to catch all 11 members' attention. "Lighting and graphics need some time to work on last minute stuff, so your break time is gonna start earlier than expected. The car will take you wherever you want, just make sure you have a way to get back to the venue by 3pm. Go."

Kevin picks up the water bottle with that same towel and, once checking that it's still sealed, returns it to the cooler. Very carefully, of course, making sure to keep his hands from touching any ice or water.

Everyone piles into the car, far too small to actually fit all eleven boys plus staff members... but they squeeze in nonetheless.

Kevin isn't quite sure where he's going, but he knows he's gonna join Jacob wherever Jacob decided to go.

Which ends up being a juice bar, to which Changmin decides to tag along.

"What can I get you guys?" A blonde girl with a straight ponytail, a pastel patterned shirt, and a notepad walks up their table.

"Umm... I'll get a cola. Q, what do you want?" Changmin points to the extremely over-complicated smoothie title on the menu for Jacob to read aloud for him, not feeling quite confident enough to attempt it himself. To be fair, Jacob isn't totally sure he said it right either.

"Alright, and for you?" The waitress turns towards Kevin, and Kevin notices that she tenses slightly when he looks up at her.

"I'll have a Banana Beatbox."

"Good choice, that's my favorite. I'll have those right out for you."

Jacob kindly thanks her as she turns and leaves.

The three boys make small talk of their own type, and the waitress soon returns with the drinks. Kevin looks to her name tag and finds out her name.

Emma.

"You three aren't from around here, are you?" She asks, setting down the drinks.

"Ah, yeah. I'm sure the accent gave it away." Kevin smiles. "We're actually from South Korea."

"Wow! I've heard people say they're visiting from America, England, Canada, and Spain before, but I've never heard South Korea. How long will you guys be in town?"

Kevin can't get past the strange look she has on her face. She keeps glancing at him...

Once Emma's question is answered, she wishes them well on their trip and tells them to enjoy their drinks before leaving again.

What Kevin doesn't know is the conversation taking place only a couple tables away, between three girls and a boy. One of those girls being Emma.

"What are we supposed to do? We know it's him, we know he isn't gonna be here long, but we don't know if anything... actually happened to him."

"Of course something happened." The curly blonde girl shakes her head in response to the brunette girl. "We left the moon pool right before the moon started rising, and there was no shoe at the bottom of the pool then. We went back right after the moon was gone and suddenly there's a shoe in the pool and a driver's license with his face on it near the land entrance. He has to have powers."

"Fine, Rikki, if you're so sure..." Emma chimes in. "You talk to him."

"She can't just walk up to him and say she needs to talk to- oh, okay, maybe she can."

Rikki takes long strides, walking right up to the table.

"You." She stares Kevin straight in the face.

"Me?"

"Come with me."

"Why?"

"That's what I need to find out." She takes his drink out of his hand and puts it on the table, taking his hand and pulling him out of his seat.

"Rikki, I was joking." The boy says.

"Lewis, I wasn't."

Kevin is thoroughly confused as he's dragged into the back room by this Rikki girl, being followed by her friends.

Once they're all inside with the door closed and being held shut by one of the girls, Rikki says nothing. She simply takes a drink out of the hand of one of her friends and pours it on Kevin's arm.

"Rikki!"

The exclamatory nature of the scolding from Rikki's friends perfectly match Kevin's internal panic as he tries desperately to find something around him that he can dry his arm with (to no avail).

"Well, what did you expect me to do?"

"Maybe start with a simple... did you go to Mako Island last night?"

"That's not how I work. He easily could have lied! He can't lie about this!"

"You better catch him then."

"Then I'll be on the floor too, do you want that?"

Kevin feels that same rush he felt that morning. The still unfamiliar tingling feeling, and the blue flash in front of his face. He feels himself wobbling and falling.

The suspicions of these four strangers are confirmed with the loud smack of Kevin's body hitting the floor.

"Okay... what do you want from me? How did you know that was gonna happen?" Kevin's panic only grows, realizing that now four people know about this, but they somehow knew about it already.

"Are you Kevin Moon?"

"What's it to you?" Kevin is thinking the less information he gives these strange people, the better.

"Do you wanna dry off or not? Answer the question." It's clear that Rikki is quite a hothead.

"Rikki, he might be able to dry himself." The brunette comments.

"If he could, he would have. Or... if he knew he could... what's your power, Kevin?" Rikki directs yet another question to him.

"Power? What the hell are you talking about?" Kevin is desperate for answers and a normal body, hoping these people can give him at least one of the two. Preferably both.

"Dry the poor guy." The brunette says with a sympathetic tone, almost seeming to pity Kevin.

"Cleo, we're trying to get answers here-"

"So is he." Cleo gives Rikki a look, and Rikki sighs.

She extends her hand out, slowly curling her fingers. Kevin lets out a started noise when he feels his body begin to heat up.

Fast.

It's only a matter of seconds before he feels a rush and is able to stand up.

He backs up as far away from these people as possible.

"What do you want from me?"

"We wanna help you." Cleo holds a genuine look and tone.

"How would you be able to help me?"

"We can answer questions, give you insight as to what's happened to you." Emma takes a step forward.

Kevin simply gives them a totally confused look, and Rikki rolls her eyes.

"Us three are mermaids, you're a merman, it's not rocket science."

Kevin takes a minute to let it sink in.

He's a merman. An actual, real life merman...

"You mentioned Mako... this is because of that weird pool isn't it?"

They nod in response and Lewis pipes up with a very good point.

"We should go somewhere we can really talk. It won't be long before people get suspicious about us being in here."

[rocket-remmy]

Captain Moose and The Vicious Vampire || Otto and Remmy

TIMING: Late September PARTIES: @gravityfissure and @whatsin-yourhead SUMMARY: Remmy tries on their new fair prize for size. Otto needs to stop taking walks at night.

Ever since Bea’s birthday party, Remmy had been feeling an uplift in their mood. There was still a lot to be worried or even upset about, but if there was one thing they had learned, it was that attitude was more important than the situation. If they could just keep their head up, then things wouldn’t seem so bad. Couldn’t be so bad. They would find a way to fix things, and they’d find a way to fit into their new life. Even if they still felt that little tremor of panic when they went outside. Going for walks daily had helped, but Remmy still had an aversion to going outside at night. Today, they’d donned their new craft fair socks and spent most of the day walking around the common. And the more they walked, the more confident they felt. In fact, they began wondering why they didn’t go out more. There were so many people who needed help. A kid whose ice cream had fallen needed a new cone. A woman who had lost her phone needed help finding it. (They found it one of the trash cans wrapped in her sandwich paper). A man was following a girl home and Remmy stepped in to stop him, giving a pleasant, innocent smile and badgering him till the girl was safe inside.

 But there was more to be done. They couldn’t let anyone see their face, though, right? They needed to be careful about this. They needed some sort of disguise. Perhaps a mask. Maybe even a cape, to cover themself with should the need arise. Morgan was out for the night, as was Deirdre, and Remmy took it upon themself to dig through the linen closet, grabbing the first things they could find that looked good enough. Snipped it to fit right, cut out holes or the eyes, and then donned their favorite shirt-- “Home is wherever my dog is”-- a pair of black pants and their only pair of boots. Gloves for extra measure, in case punching needed to happen. It was with this set up-- a cape with little cat’s with witch’s hats on, and a bandana for a mask that was a pink, sparkly galaxy, full of glitter-- that they found themself trouncing through the alleys of White Crest. And when they saw a shadowy figure following someone down an alley, they knew it was time to swoop in. 

It was late and recent events had left Otto feeling more drained than he cared to admit. Being dragged along on Deirdre’s shroom adventures had very real and damaging repercussions. One that had ended in the operating theatre and doctors claiming it was no small miracle by which he’d survived the impaling he’d suffered after his ‘fall’. The pain meds he’d been given took the edge off, but work rolled on and there was hardly any time that could be taken off even for a through and through laceration meaning the walk home at 3AM was inevitable. 

 The pain meds were also the reason Otto failed to notice the creature silently stalking him down the alleyway until it launched itself at his back colliding with enough force that he staggered, tipped over some bins and fell with an echoing clang while claws slashed and teeth gnashed; seeking purchase anywhere they might be capable of rending flesh from bone. “Fuck!” blind fingers scrabbled, seeking anything that might be able to help until they curled around a trash can lid dragging it across and shoving it in the way of the creature’s teeth. “”Help!” as if that would do anything. In a town like this he was almost certainly done for. Hells, what an underwhelming way to go out.

 The poor man in the alley was thrown from his spot by the larger, hulking figure. Remmy swooped down quickly. “Halt!” they shouted, the towel rustling behind them. The vampire, confused, turned to look at them. “Why don’t you pick on someone your own, erm--” Remmy looked the vampire up and down, realizing how much taller they were than them, but swallowed, standing confident again, “--strength!” Yeah, that made sense. That made a lot of sense. The vampire, still confused, dropped the other man and turned to face Remmy. “And who the fuck are you supposed to be, then, huh? This ain’t comic con, kid, go back to where you--” but before he could finish his sentence, Remmy had grabbed the front of his shirt and was tossing him up and over them. He landed hard on his back at the entrance of the alleyway, crashing into a few trash cans on his way. Remmy smirked. “Wanna try that again, villain?” they asked, before turning to look back at the guy. His arm was already in a sling, it was a good thing they’d shown up. “Are you alright?” they asked, holding a hand out to him. 

 Otto tasted asphalt and felt the sting of the ground against his face as he skidded to a stop. He also felt a wet stickiness against the lower right quadrant of his tee and a pain that made him suspect the stitches he’d gotten had popped, his hand immediately went to as voices continued behind him. Pushing himself over awkwardly, Otto propped himself up against one of the walls staring at the weird scenario playing out in front of him. A scenario whereby a masked and caped hero seemed to think it fitting to swoop in and save the day in- was that cape printed with cats wearing witches hats? The fuck? He blinked in apparent confusion, those pain meds must’ve been doing something seriously fucked up to his head. No way was his imagination usually this creative. But then the caped crusader was rag-dolling the vampire into the bins and Otto couldn’t bring himself to question the weirdness of this. “Uh.... sure?” his eyes flickered back to the pissed off looking vampire getting up out of the trash as he cautiously took the proffered hand and clambered to his feet still looking over the figure’s shoulder, “might uh-- wanna do something ‘bout that guy.”

 The poor, innocent civilian looked pretty banged up and scared, but that was okay. Remmy was here to rescue him now. Turning back as the villain rose from his heap on the ground, shaking garbage from his limbs and glaring them down. “Don’t worry-- I’ll take out the trash!” They spoke with a crooked smirk on their face, before running straight at the vampire, catching him off guard. Two punches to the face startled him enough to nearly topple him again, and Remmy spun to give him a good kick straight to chest. The vampire went flying from the alley, landing in the middle of the street and tumbling a few feet before skidding to a stop. “If I were you, I’d give up now,” they said, hands on their hips, as the vampire scraped himself up from the street, skin scored from the asphalt. Shaking his head, fangs bared, he leapt at them. Remmy shook their head, disappointed, before striking up another stance. They quickly moved out of the way, expecting him to turn and follow them but-- “Hey!” the beastly man kept going, charging at the victim in the alleyway. “Oh no!” they shouted, leaping for the vampire, trying to stop him before he got to the man. Fists dug into the vampire’s shirt, yanking, and the two went tumblring to the ground hard, rolling just past the wounded man. “Don’t even think about it,” they demanded, wrenching his arm up behind his back.

 Otto could only stare at the weird scene unfolding in front of him. The corny one-liners ripped straight out of some kind of comic strip that he’d normally roll his eyes at. Hells was this what his life had become? But the stranger seemed intent on fulfilling their caped crusader fantasy and hey? Who was he to stop them from punching his would-be assailant in the face. It was kind of entertaining to watch all things considered, at least, it was until he had a full grown vampire bearing down on him again. “Oh fuck!” he ducked out of the way just in time to see them both go toppling by and feeling the need to help grabbed the nearest thing he could find; a half broken baseball bat sticking out of a dumpster. It would have to do. Rushing up to the duo he slammed the wood with a sickening crack against the back of the vampire’s skull twice for good measure. If he could just get a decent angle it wouldn’t be hard to shove the splintered bat through this bastard’s heart. It was the least he deserved Otto just needed to find an opening.

Remmy ducked and rolled with the vampire, slamming him to the ground, just in time to be thrown onto their own back, slamming against the ground. It didn’t exactly hurt, but the surprise caught them off guard enough to not be able to right themselves in time to dodge the incoming fist to their face. The vampire’s hand curled around the eye patch on their face and yanked, pulling off. Remmy tried to push them off, only to hear wood crack against the back of his skull. The man flopped down, face first into the cement. Ow, that was gonna hurt in the morning. Wincing, Remmy shoved them off and scrambled to stand, stumbling only slightly. They looked down at him, then over to the man they’d been trying to save, watching him raise the splintered bat above the vampire’s heart. “No!” they said, running over and grabbing for the bat. “Don’t kill him! You can’t kill him!”

 The cry for mercy came right at the very moment the splintered wood of the bat plunged downward piercing the flesh of the dazed undead creature. Good riddance. Otto thought, grunting as he put his full bodyweight behind the act before the piercing scream echoed off the walls of the darkened alley. There was a bright flash of flame as though the figure had been doused in gasoline before vanishing into nothing but ash and leaving Otto to fall to his knees breathing hard. The clatter of wood on asphalt rang loud and clear. The tremors came a few moments later as the adrenaline began to subside. “He-- He was trying to kill me!” 

 “No, no, wait--” Remmy tried again, but they were too late. The wood splintered through the vampire’s back, and in an instant, he was dead. They stood still for a moment, unbelieving of their eyes, before dropping to their knees. “You killed him,” they stuttered, “why-- why would you do that? I had it handled!” They stood up again and began rooting around the alley, looking for a container-- something they could scoop the ashes up into. They needed to move them. Even if that vampire had been attacking someone, they needed to lay him to rest somewhere that wasn’t an alley filled with garbage. “You can’t-- you can’t justify killing with more killing! That’s not how it works! You have to-- someone has to break the cycle,” they said to the man, “someone has to be better.”

 “You had it handled? How do you call him almost ripping my throat out two times handled??” There was a minor note of panic in his voice as Otto waved at the pile of ash that was being blown away by an autumnal breeze drifting through the alleyway. He tossed the piece of wood aside, backing up one step and then two away from the strange caped crusader. “Break the cycle?” his expression mirrored his look of disbelief at the sheer faith this individual seemed to have in law, order and justice. He couldn’t help the slight huff under his breath “break the cycle of death? In this town? Good fuckin’ luck with that.” No way that was going to happen after all. But hey if they wanted to hop on that train bound for failure who was he to stop them? “Sorry Captain Washline, that sort of sunshine BS really isn’t gonna fly here.”

 “But he didn’t rip your throat out! I saved you!” Remmy insisted, feeling their chest heave again. This man was yelling at them when all they’d done was help. Sure, they made a little mistake, but everything had turned out alright. Except for the dead vampire. Remmy found a jar and started scooping the ash into it, looking over at the man with a furrowed brow. “Yeah, well, with that attitude, of course you wouldn’t think it was possible. But it’s gotta start with someone,” they muttered, standing up straight. “It’s Captain Moose to you, too,” they snapped, closing the lid on the jar. “And you’re welcome. For saving your ass.” They brushed their hands off and started heading out of the alley way. “You can believe whatever you want to, but I’m going to believe in the good of people. Even you, Mister Stakes-a-lot.” 

 “I don’t count near brushes with death as good things but thanks.” Otto answered shortly still wondering how of all the people in this town to come to his rescue it was someone dressed in a witch hat cat cape. The town certainly knew how to make a niche even its so-called heroes didn’t stick to the norm. His eyes narrowed a fraction, half tempted to ask if there were antlers to go with that name. “Aye, sure,” he tipped a salute from his temple, scoffed and backed into the alley. Hells he needed to stop going out after dark. 

 As the man said his last words-- more like spat-- Remmy stuck the jar in their pocket and sighed. He was backing away and taking off now, not even a thanks in tow. But then again, they hadn’t done it for the thanks, right? They’d done it to feel like they could still help someone, that they still could be worth something. They sighed again, gathering up their cape and brushing off their pants, then turned to head out of the alley as well. They patted the jar in their pocket. “So,” they asked, glancing left and right, “where should we spread your ashes?”

[vigilantesanonymous]

and the thing is, i’m not scared anymore (part 3)

In which you are a healer being held against your will by the First Order. There are legends swirling around the galaxy of a great Sith healer, one that can bring a man back to life, all without Jedi power. But to you, you’re just a girl stuck on a planet with nowhere to go, left to rot there for the rest of your life. That is, until a cocky and utterly charming Resistance pilot crashes in to save you. (So kinda like Tangled but make it Star Wars. Only kinda though.)

Word count: 2811 (she’s a long one)

***

Back on the base in D’Qar, Poe took great pride in introducing me to everyone. I felt like I annoyed him, being his perpetual shadow, but if it did bother him, he didn’t let me know it. He would make sure I knew who to talk to, and introduced me to all of his friends. Finn, the former Stormtrooper, and Rey, the Jedi in training. Both of them shared a look when they noticed how Poe oh-so-casually had his arm slung over my shoulders. Or how protective he would get if any of the other pilots started talking to me for too long, pulling me away because he “has to show me something important”. Any time I was to meet with Leia to see if I could remember any other important information, Poe always made sure that he was free to escort me to her and stayed with me the entire meeting, always there to lend a supportive hand squeeze or knee rub if I was nervous. I heard whispers that he had even turned down a mission just to be with me for one of those mundane meetings. And Poe Dameron is not one to turn down a mission. 

I really want to believe that he feels something more than the bond of a friendship. But who am I kidding? The first man that I meet outside of the First Order, like me? It’s too much to hope for. Something like that wouldn’t happen, it would be too good to be true. I forbade myself from really considering that it could be a possibility. That didn’t stop me from indulging in the occasional daydream, however, of Poe running out of his X-wing to swing me around in his arms and-

I’m pulled out of my thoughts by a knocking on the door. Speak of the Devil, and he shall appear. “Mind if I come in?” Poe asks. He’s in his flight suit, presumably back from a spin around the galaxy. He’s the only man I’ve ever seen make those putrid orange suits look good.

“Yeah, of course!”

“So I have something for you,” he says as he plops down next to me on the bed. “You haven’t tried gi dumpling soup,” he grins. “I got some for us, so you can try it. You tell me, my chambers or yours?” This is one of Poe’s favorite pastimes: finding foods from all over the galaxy that I haven’t tried. All I had was whatever was in the Imperial rations that they pushed at me. Sometimes I still think it hasn’t fully settled in yet that I never left that room where I was kept, because he’ll ask me if I’ve tried something, and then rave for at least ten minutes about how “It’s so good, you absolutely have to try it, I mean you haven’t lived if you haven’t tried it at least once!” I mean, he’s said that too about doing a barrel roll in an X-wing, but we’re taking baby steps, and starting with food first. 

“I don’t mind, we can eat it wherever,” I say, really not answering his question. I would eat in a womp rat pit if it meant I got to be with you, I think to myself. 

“Okay then, I’m making an executive decision. We’re going back to mine.” He takes my hands in his and pulls me up, forcing me to follow him down the hall to his quarters. Though his are somewhat larger than mine, Poe apparently insisted that my quarters be as close to his as possible. Leia was unwilling to uproot the other people living in the rooms next to him, so Poe had to settle for having me just down the hall from him. 

We set ourselves up comfortably on the bed, my leg hanging off the side and swinging lazily as we dig into all the goodies Poe brought. 

“Woah, this is really good!” 

“See, I told ya!” Poe says with his signature grin. “Have as much as you want. Have my portion too, if you want.” His stomach growls, making us both giggle. “Okay, maybe don’t do that. Maybe I just said that to be nice,” he chuckles before digging into his own bowl. 

“You know you don’t have to do this for me, right?” I ask.

“I know. I do it because I want to.” Poe tries to act nonchalant but I can see there’s something stirring behind his dark eyes. “Do you not want me to?”

“No! I really like this- I just…” I taper. “I worry about what everyone says around the base.”

“What do they say around the base?” He tenses up, defensive. 

I sigh, embarrassed. “That I’m naive. And that I’m too dumb to see this for what it is. I don’t know what they’re talking about- I like being friends with you. I really do. You’re the first person I’ve connected with. And I appreciate so much all that you’ve done for me Poe- I really don’t know how I will ever properly show you my gratitude.”

“I’ve already told you, you don’t have to repay me for anything. You saved my life, okay? I think we’re even there.”

“That was not even that bad of a wound that I healed-”

“-It could have become life threatening, but you healed me and that’s what counts. And for the guys on base? They’re just jealous that you’re talking to me instead of them, I’m sure of it.”

“Who knew being humble was part of your charm,” I joke, making him blush.

“I have been wondering something though,” he says slowly.

“And what is that?”

Cut off from his thoughts, we whip around to the sound of a knock on the door. It opens, revealing none other than General Leia herself. “I thought I would find you two together,” Leia says with a tender smile. “I have a mission for the both of you, if you’re up to it.”

“Trying to get rid of me already General?” Poe says with a playful sigh. 

“Always, Dameron,” she chides back. 

“What is it General?” I ask eagerly. 

“As you know, we have a spy providing valuable information to us. The spy wants to meet, but to leave the ship would be too risky for them. Therefore, we have to come to them. I have an idea.”

*

Leia’s idea was for Poe and I to look like First Order snobs, so that way we would blend in on the Finalizer. The plan is to slip in, get information from the spy, and slip out. The only thing about it? It sounded just a little too easy. 

“This doesn’t seem right,” Poe says as we walk down the hall. “I mean, no one noticed us coming in? No troopers, no guards, no nothing? I don’t trust this.”

“You shouldn’t,” a malicious voice says from behind us. Before I can even comprehend what’s happening, stormtroopers flood into the hall in front of us, effectively cutting us off from our path. I spin around to be greeted with the sight of a tall red headed man in a general’s uniform. “I can’t believe the Resistance would really be so stupid as to take the bait,” the man says with a confident smirk. Wait- red hair, general… General Hux! “Take the girl to holding quarters. As for the pilot- execute him, and make it quick.” 

Poe’s face falls as he looks over to me. For the first time in my life, I see the hopeful glint leave Poe’s dark eyes. He swallows hard, and a sense of finality that I’ve never felt before comes over me. It can’t end like this; I won’t let it.

“Wait!” I cry. Hux snaps his head to me, looking both annoyed and intrigued. “You can’t kill him.”

“Oh, and why is that?” he sneers.

“Because,” I start, trying to steady my voice. “If you kill him, I will never, ever, stop trying to get away from you. I’ll do everything I can to make sure that your masters and your men die, and refuse to use my power for them. But if you let him go-”

“No!” Poe chokes out, but a Stormtrooper puts a hand over his mouth to allow me to finish. I can see him begging me not to say what I’m going to say next.

“If you let him go,” I say quietly. “I will never fight you. I will do anything you say, anything you want me to. I will never try to get away from you again, and you can lock me in another cage and I’ll accept my fate and just rot there for the rest of my life. But you have to let him go. You have to let Poe live.”

A devilish grin spreads across Hux’s features. “His life for yours? You really want to trade your life for a scrappy Resistance pilot’s?” He looks me over, seeing that I’m genuine and I mean to keep my promise. “Fine.” He turns on his heel to Poe. “This is your lucky day. I’m feeling generous, and our little girl’s speech here has changed my mind. You will go back to your base and never return. Understand?” He looks to the head of the squadron, his features twisting in disgust. “Get him out of my sight and off of this ship as quickly as possible.”

The Stormtroopers turn in unison, shoving Poe down the hall. He tries to jostle out of their grip, get their hand off of his mouth, but to no avail. We lock eyes for a split second, and then he’s pulled out of sight. That’s the last I see of my best friend.

Alone in the hallway, Hux latches onto my arm and drags me down the hallways to one of the prisoner holds. “You stupid, naive girl,” he huffs as he drags me along behind him. His nails are digging so deep there will be bruises left behind for sure. I’m trying to keep up with his pace but the towering man’s gait is too much for me to keep up with. “You think that he cares for you? You are just another tool to the side of the Resistance, nothing more. He left without saying a word, and you sacrificed your life for him!” One of the shiny black doors of the prisoner hold slides open, Hux flinging me inside like a rag doll. “Welcome to the rest of your life,” he says with a smirk.

“Wait!” I grip onto his wrist, not letting him pull out of my hold on him. “Did you really let him live?”

Hux sneers, his face inches from mine. “Of course I did. Poe Dameron being alive will only cause Kylo Ren more agony, which is exactly what I want. He has been prowling the galaxy for you, and the fact that there’s another man out there means that he’ll never, truly have you.” He straightens up, looking around to make sure that no one heard him before stepping back. “I’ll be punished for saving your precious little pilot, but seeing his inevitable tantrum will be worth it.” And with that, the black metal doors sliding back together seamlessly and Hux is gone. 

I sink to the floor, tears dripping off of my face onto the polished black metal. It’s freezing in here, which only adds to the overwhelming feeling of despair that’s enveloping me. Who knows if Hux will even keep his promise? It wouldn’t be the first time that a member of the First Order lied to get what they wanted. Especially with all that talk about Kylo Ren… It’s only meant to confuse me more, I’m sure. I could be here stranded, separated from Poe, and he could even be- no, I can’t think that, I won’t. If I lose hope, then they’ll have me in their grip forever. But if I fight them, and keep hoping against hope that Poe will be okay, then I have a fighting chance. 

*

Time passes slowly. The lights in the hallways are always on, making it impossible to sleep. Marching of Stomtroopers can be heard in the never ending hallways, the same stomp at all hours. It’s either that or the haunting silence of the ship. The sound of space is blocked out, so I don’t even have that to comfort me, to escape into. Every surface is hard and uncomfortable, so even if I try to lay down each and every one of my bones hurt. The room is too small to pace; I only make it two and a half strides before having to turn on my heel. I know that someone will come to rescue me, but when? It already feels like it’s been weeks, but I’m sure that realistically it’s only been a few days. 

My mind keeps wandering to Poe. Why couldn’t I have just swallowed my pride and told him how I feel? I keep replaying our parting in my mind, wishing I had screamed out that I loved him before we were separated. 

But is it love? Or am I just being naive? I’ve never been in love before- I read all about it in the fairytale books that I had back in my prison, but those are just stories. I’m not a princess, and there isn’t a prince that will come save me. Just because he broke me out of my prison doesn’t mean that he loves me. It was a mission! Maybe I am just a means to an end for the Resistance. Maybe there really is no one in the galaxy that I can trust. 

For the first time in days, the doors to my cell slide open. I’m greeted by the sight of two Stormtroopers. Great, I think, Poe’s voice echoing in my mind. More of them.

“We’re here to escort you to Supreme Leader Kylo Ren,” one of them says. Even through the garbling of the helmet, that voice sounds familiar to me. 

Realization washes over me quickly. “Finn?” I whisper, just barely audible. 

The trooper looks down the hall before poking his head in, pulling off the helmet. Sure enough, Finn is underneath, grinning at me. “This is a rescue. You really thought that we were going to leave you here?!” 

“I just really can’t believe it!” I can feel my heart thumping out of my chest with excitement. I still feel in a stupor of shock, I mean after being stuck for so long this feels like a dream. “Who’s with you?” I ask, looking over to the other person.

“I think you know,” Finn says with a wink. “We need to get out of here though, like now.” He shoves his helmet back on, shoving fake shackles around my wrists. 

Poe. I can feel it that it’s him. The two of them line up behind me, the three of us walking briskly down the hall. I try my hardest to contain my excitement at being rescued, and it’s all I can do to keep from crying tears of joy at the sight of the Falcon. “Let’s get you outta here, Sweetheart,” I hear Poe’s voice say through the garbling of the helmet. They easily shoot the two troopers in front of the Falcon who no doubt were trying to figure out who the ship belonged to. I toss off the fake shackles, sprinting into the ship and sitting in complete awe as we zoom away from yet another one of my prisons. 

On our way back to D’Qar, I hear someone coming down the hall. In their haste to get out of danger, Finn and Poe forgot to take off their helmets. Slowly, the man in front of me pulls off his helmet, revealing Poe’s grinning face underneath. “Miss me, Sweetheart? Because I sure missed you.”

“Poe!” I slam myself into his arms, feeling them pull me off the ground to swing me around. “I missed you, so much. I almost thought you were dead, and I just… I never thought I would see you again.” My eyes begin to sting as I feel tears start welling up in the corners of my eyes. 

Poe cups my face in his hand, pulling me up to look at him. “I would never, ever leave you, you hear me?” His thumb rubs slowly across my cheek, the two of us just gazing into each other’s eyes. “I was too scared to tell you before, but I realized something. I realized that the scariest thing in the galaxy is losing you. And the thing is, I’m not scared anymore, because I know we’ll come back to each other, always.” He takes a deep breath, pausing before continuing what he’s going to say. “I love you,” he breathes. 

“Poe?”

“Yes?”

“Just kiss me already.”

[queenlists]

A Year of Tate

A/N: We’re at 92! Thank you to everyone for the support, I really appreciate it! Almost to 100, I love it! I love you all. I can’t thank you enough.WARNING: abuse, character deaths, suicide, and murder. The normal AHS warnings. Also, this is a long fic! The masterlist will be located at the bottom in case you would like to check out more of my work! I hope you all enjoy this fic ✌

Post Date: 1/24/2020

JANUARY

He was different. Not in the quirky teenage boy kind of different, but he was a real ticking time bomb. He said things that I should have taken much more seriously, but I didn't. I never did. I always thought Tate Langdon wouldn't do that. He could never. He means well! I defended Tate with every bone in my body. I even defended him when my parents tried having me steer clear of him. He said he wanted to do two things: teach the school a lesson they'd remember and make a statement that'd shake the town or maybe even the country. I rooted for him, thinking it'd be something crazy. Something wild, but I never thought it would be this. My Tate? The boy I stole many kisses from. The boy who surprised me with my favorite snacks. The boy who told me he loved me every second of the day. I couldn't believe it. I still can't. Helping Constance move out of that evil house after Tate's funeral while Addie ran around the house was the least I could do for the Langdons. She allowed me to keep one thing of his, so I kept his sweater. I put it on as soon as I grabbed it. It still smelled just like him. I knew she was having a hard time living without him as well as she knew I was dying without him. Putting down a box, I sighed and looked at Constance. Even in grief, she held her head high and walked in strides. Constance turned to me with a small smile spread across her face, wrapping me up into a tight hug before putting her warm hands on my face, staring into my eyes with a smile "You're a good girl, (Y/n). You always have been!" This was one of the only times I could say I saw the mother in Constance.

We were ready to leave the house when all of a sudden Addie came running to me with the biggest smile on her face "Tate's here!" Sighing, I let her take my hand and lead me to wherever. Figuring that Addie was coping by playing pretend because there was no chance that Tate would be here, I willingly followed. However, much to my surprise, he was here. He was actually here! He stood there with that same goofy smile plastered on his face. His eyes lit up as they got familiar with me once again. My heart sank to my feet as I began to back away from the man I once loved. Holding onto Addie's hand tightly, telling myself that I'm crazy and that I am so sad that I must be making up images of Tate. His smile faded as his eyes began to water and redden before squeaking out "(Y/n)?"

I was gasping for air at this point. There was no way he could be here right now! I can still hear those heavy boots padding the floor. I can still see those heavy guns rushing to Tate's room. I can still feel them rip me away from Tate and take me out of his room. I can still hear those deafening gunshots. I can still taste my salty tears. I can still see the blood splatter that remained in his room before the cleaners made it. I remembered his death so well. Constance was moving houses. We were just at his funeral days prior. So, how is he was here perfectly the way he was before?

FEBRUARY 

"Never leave me," He whispered in my ear. His grip on me was tighter than it had ever been. "You can never leave me. You will never escape me," he muttered with a wicked grin before giving me a quick kiss on the nose. He's always had a weird way with words, but something told me he meant exactly what he said and meant it exactly how it was said. It's been a month since we reunited and he was different. His possessive words used to send butterflies to flutter around in my stomach, but now all they do is send chills up my spine. "Promise me right now that you're mine forever," he gripped my face in his hands as his eyes burned into mine. He began to uncomfortably squish my face in his hands as he shook my head "Promise me!" The tone in his voice startled me as I quickly nodded "I-I promise. I promise that I'll never leave you. I'm yours!" I gasped out, cocking an eyebrow at my dead boyfriend who laid down on his back pleased with my answer. I bit my lip as he stared up at the ceiling. He came back different. Very different.

MARCH

I drummed my fingers against the cardboard box as I tried to breathe. Sniffling as tears ran down my face, I've been pacing in this gas station bathroom for thirty minutes now. "Just use it, (Y/n)! There are only two possibilities: you're either pregnant or you're not," I muttered to myself in hopes of gaining some courage to take this test.

Finally, I was able to. I set the test down, refusing to look at it. I didn't want to know yet. I wasn't ready. I examined myself in the mirror. Who am I anymore? My face was blotchy and my eyes were reddened from the constant tears. My lip was busted along with bruises peppered up and down my arms. I pulled down my sleeves as I ripped my eyes away from the harsh reality. Tate Langdon has always been the same kind of person. Unstable and unpredictable. This time, he had nothing to lose. The nothing to lose part only made him even more dangerous and wicked. I was scared to leave him in fear of what he might do, but also I just couldn't bring myself to leave him as I loved him too much. Even if he hurt me.

Constance knew just what her son was capable of. She warned me to leave Tate. Hell, she warned me to leave Tate before his death! She knew who her son was. She tried. She tried and I thought she was the most cold-hearted person there was, but she was right. I should have left, but she knew just as well as I did that I couldn't bring myself to leave Tate. Addie never bothered to come over anymore once she saw what her big brother had done. "He hurt you! I'll never forgive him!" I remember her yelling as she ran home. I watched her leave, wishing I could do the same. Toss Tate to the side and move on, but I couldn't. I glanced at the test: positive. I slid to the floor, sobbing. He was always right there. Right here. Inside of my heart and now a part of him lived inside of me.

Coming home, I saw Tate waiting for me. Glaring at me from the window. Hatred and disgust burned in his eyes as he watched me stop walking and stand there on the sidewalk, looking at him. That look used to be foreign to me. Before his death, I only got smiles from Tate. His eyes used to light up at the very sight of me, but now..now that was history. That look of disgust and hate was the new norm. I remember when he first looked at me that way.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I sniffled, wiping away the tears that fell during our fourth huge argument of the week. "You make me sick. I should've shot you when I had the chance!" Tate spat at me, shoving me away from him before storming out of the room.

Oh, how I wish he would have. We locked eyes for a few moments before he turned around, vanishing from the window. He didn't deserve to be a father. He didn't deserve anything good in life. I had to do right by my baby. I had to leave for good.

APRIL

I ran.

I ran as fast as I could.

I ran as I heard his voice rattle that old house to its core.

"Come back, you're all I have!"

Even after I turned the corner, I still ran.

I knew I was well out of his reach, but I kept running until I felt that I was safe.

I loved him.

I loved him so much that it hurt.

I loved him with every fiber of my body.

With every inch of my soul.

But, Tate Langdon was, is, and always will be bad news.

I should've known it sooner.

Why'd I ignore the signs?

No one comes back from the dead the same!

I should've left.

I should've left when Constance first told me to.

I should've left with Addie.

I should've left when he first hit me.

But, I didn't.

Now, I have to.

For you. 

"Bus 6290 arrived! If you are on bus 6290, please head towards the terminal with your ticket ready!"

I smiled at the sound of the staticky voice blaring through the speakers as I tried to catch my breath. Running a hand down to my stomach, I nodded "We made it!"

MAY

Settling into a new house can be rough alone especially when it's a new house in a new city in a new state!

The murder house was loud. Laying in bed, I could hear everything minus Tate screaming at me. I could hear everyone. It was so crowded and so loud day in and day out, but here it was quiet. It was just my baby and I. It was a relief. For once in months, I've had some relief.

I found a doctor here. Apparently, I've been pregnant since February! This baby is going to be born sometime in October. October was the month Tate and I made our relationship official. I remember telling Constance and Addie like it was yesterday:

"I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I told you mom, Tate and (Y/n) are in love!" Addie exclaimed, looking at Constance with a smug smile on her face. "Yes, I know. You were right. I just didn't think Tate would stoop so low," Constance rolled her eyes and took a long drag of her cigarette. "Why are you such a bitch, Constance?" Tate spat, shaking his head. "Oh please!" Constance scoffed. "You're so unbearable! Let's get out of here, (Y/n)" Tate grabbed my arm, leading me out of the house as Addie followed us. As Tate practically dragged me out of the house, Constance locked eyes with me as her eyes began to redden before she looked away with her head low.

I always took Constance's expression as she felt bad for ruining the announcement, but now I knew better. She was upset that I got wrapped up in the grasp of her beloved son.

JUNE, JULY, AUGUST, SEPTEMBER

Not much has happened these past few months. I got a job, fixed up a nursery, got the hang of keeping up with a house and bills.  I made myself and my son a home here. Now all there was left to do was wait until his arrival.

As I relaxed on the couch, my phone began to buzz beside me. Picking it up, I instantly began to smile "Hey Addie! How are you?" "Oh, I'm great. How about you? How's my nephew in there?" Addie and I talk every single day. We have for the past few months now. She cheered when I told her I left the state, telling me it was about time. She kept me up to date on everything including the family that moved into the murder house. The Harmons. Apparently, the daughter of the Harmons, Violet, is heavily involved with Tate. Addie told me that she went over there to warn Violet, but it was too late. She was wrapped up in Tate just like I was. 

"Would it be awful of me to admit that I'm jealous and that I miss Tate?" I muted the phone, facepalming hard as I realized I said my thoughts out loud. "You don't miss Tate. Not this Tate. You miss the old Tate," Addie explained, sighing at the end. She was right. I missed our memories. The laughter, jokes, music, dancing, and extreme puppy love. I don't miss the yelling, the dirty looks, the hitting, and the arguments. She gets to have those now. She can have them forever.

OCTOBER

I've had pains for a while now, but I've been pushing through. The pains aren't enough to set off any alarms in my doctor's head. They're normal at this point. Braxton Hicks are what they're called. Since everything checked out, I was given the go-ahead! This pregnancy had been easy so far. He is a quiet boy and I love that.

"Now, you should not be traveling at this point!" Constance declared through the phone. "We can come to you instead!" I smiled as I rolled my suitcase towards her house, unknowingly. "Too bad because I'm already here!" I laughed as I heard shuffling before the door swung open.

Constance didn't hesitate to hug onto me tightly with Addie joining in seconds later. I decided I've gone through this alone long enough and I was ready to have a family nearby when he decided to make his arrival.

-------

"I want to be a pretty girl, mom!" "No!" They were at it for so long now. I tried to intervene, but I thought it wasn't worth it. I've witnessed them go at it many times before. I didn't think this fight meant any real significance. I thought this would be forgotten in a day's time, but I was wrong.

I was so wrong.

Screaming, I watched as Constance began to drag Addie's lifeless body to that wicked house. "Constance, no! You know she would hate you for this. You know she would hate it there!" I knelt down beside Constance and pulled her hands away from Addie "She would be so unhappy, Constance. Let her go!" I sobbed before holding onto Constance. I should've done more. My vision blurred with tears as I looked over at Addie. My best friend was gone. I held onto my stomach as the Braxton Hicks began to intensify. Before I knew it, I was hunched over gasping for air as sweat dripped down my face. A paramedic grabbed me before I could hit the ground. I could hear Constance crying out, but my vision began to double as everything spun.

The world began to turn black as I frantically looked around. Through the swirls and distortion, I saw him. Tate. Just standing there, looking at me. He wasn't looking at me from inside of the house nor was he on the lawn. He was across the street, perfectly blending in with the rest of the gasping bystanders. He watched me with intensity. What the hell is going on?

---------

There was so much going on. I knew I was screaming, but I couldn't hear it. There was blood everywhere. I wanted to faint. I felt like fainting. Sweat dripped down my face as the nurse held my hand tightly. "What's happening" I manage to scream loud enough that I could hear myself. "You're having your son!" The nurse exclaimed, gently dragging her gloved thumb against my knuckles. Constance had her hands over her cheeks as she watched in amazement. My eyes wandered around the room until they found him. Tate was standing there in the corner of the room. I knit my eyebrows together and squinted at him. His eyes were watery and red-rimmed. His lips were red and swollen. His face was blotchy. Tears slid down his face like a constant running waterfall. He stood behind everyone else and watched the birth of his son. As I laid there, watching the birth of a new Tate Langdon.

NOVEMBER

The smell of freshly brewed coffee filled the air as Constance flipped pancakes "He's a growing boy! He needs his food," Looking at (B/N), I knew he wasn't a normal baby. I'm no expert, but something just isn't right. "He's a month old. I don't think he should be this big," I knit my eyebrows together as I watched my one-month-old son walk towards me. "He's a Langdon! Tate was the same way. They move fast. When is that girl coming over to take my grandson from me?" Constance handed (B/N) a player with pieces of pancake on it which he happily took. "You mean Violet?" I giggled, packing the last of (B/N)'s clothes "She should be over soon. Don't worry, he'll be back in a week. The Harmons are great with him," Constance rolled her eyes as she assisted (B/N) with his feeding.

--------

"It's past dinner time! (B/N) is asleep. That girl is no good! Tell her she can't take my grandson anymore. On Halloween, Tate can come over instead or you two can just communicate on that laptop screen. He is too fragile to be stood up at such an age! I would never trust-" Constance rambled on about how Violet lied and how she deserves another cupcake. Though, I'm not sure what kind of significance a cupcake is to their relationship. I never got cupcakes from Constance. Maybe Violet hates them? I don't know. All I know is that Violet never came and that just was not like her.

------

I refused to go back to that house and I refused to be alone with Tate. Violet knew this, so she agreed to bring (B/N) to Tate and back again. Every other weekend without fail, Violet would be there at the front door with a big smile on her face.

I grabbed my laptop and requested a video call from Violet, but it failed. Something was wrong.

DECEMBER

It's December. I don't ever hear from Violet anymore. The visitations stopped. I see Mr. and Mrs. Harmon in town and they always tell me she's acting weird at home as well. Every bone in my body told me to not do it, but I had to. I had to know what was up.

I stared at that wicked house, sighing before walking up to the door. Before I could open the door, I heard the infinite chatter. It was louder than I remembered. "It's fine. They're just restless right now. I sense more than before," Billie Dean sighed, looking at me. Constance recommended that I go to the house with Billie Dean as she is seen as a friend there. Steadying my breathing and regaining composure, I opened the door slowly. Stepping in, my body froze in place. I couldn't move. I couldn't take a step forward nor could I take a step back. "It's the trauma. You don't have to move any further," Billie rubbed my shoulder gently before proceeding to walk further into the house. "Violet!" Billie called out. Nothing. "Violet?" Billie called out again, this time a wave of concern washed across her face. As if she was hearing something or someone, something or someone that I could not hear. Billie looked at me defeated, whispering "Will you please show yourself?"

Show yourself?

Soon, Violet appeared with tears streaming down her face. Billie wrapped Violet into a hug as Violet began to sob loudly. "How did you pass?" My heart shattered as Violet pulled out her phone, waving me to come closer. There was no way that Violet was dead. No way! I carefully moved closer as we all watched the video.

The Harmons put surveillance cameras in every room including bathrooms after the house was broken into. Just so they could check footage from anywhere whether they were home or not. I watched as Violet took a lethal amount of pills. I watched as she laid down in the bathtub to die. I watched as Tate ran in, screaming and crying. I watched Tate try to make her puke it up. I watched Tate succeed, but it wasn't enough. I watched as Violet went limp in his arms. I watched Tate accept her death and drag her body out of the bathroom. Violet quickly ended the video afterward "I didn't really want to die. I couldn't accept it. My parents don't even know. Don't tell them, please!" Violet begged as she looked back and forth from Billie and I. Agreeing, we wrapped Violet in a big hug.

Losing Violet made me gain trust in Tate. He tried to save her. He tried his hardest. He did everything he could until the very end. Tate hid it from her in fear of what that news could do to her. He only ever blamed himself. Tate really was a new person. Where did all that evil disappear to?

JANUARY

"Constance!" I screamed as I ran, following the blood smears "(B/N)!" My heart sank as I followed the endless trail of blood. My throat ached as I screamed their names, hoping for someone to say something. Hoping for a sound. Hoping for a cry. Hoping for something! I pushed the door open that the blood seemed to lead to, bracing myself for the worst. Constance stood there in her silk robe as (B/N) sat on the floor in a pool of blood, giggling. A pool of blood that belonged to the babysitter I had hired for the night.

"I told you. Langdons don't play well with babysitters."

masterlist

[chasseurdeloup-retired]

Puppies and Poltergeists || Layla and Kaden

TIMING: Before the exorcism LOCATION: White Crest Animal Shelter PARTIES: @laylacooke and @chasseurdeloup SUMMARY: Layla just wanted to see cute puppies and met Mamma Langley instead. AKA alright maybe this is why people don’t trust Kaden to do his job.

This ghost shit was bad. Really bad. But it wasn't exactly a good excuse for Kaden to give to his boss as to why he had to stop working for a bit. And he just took time off, too, he couldn’t do it again so soon. Plus, normal everyday shit should be fine. It would keep his mind off it while he waited. The animal shelter was a welcome break from all of it. He could do something normal, actually help something maybe. Instead of just destroying everything wherever he went. He got a warm greeting from the staff as he walked in and said hello. Everyone there knew him by now and he did his best to keep up with all the changing faces of volunteers, but he knew the core staff well enough by now. More importantly, he knew just about every animal in there at any given moment. Hopefully today was a day when he wouldn’t have to clear out any stray monsters that found their way there by accident. He was in the kennels checking on all the dogs, saying hi to some of his favorites when he felt a chill run down his spine. Normally he’d suspect werewolf but now… Now he was worried it could mean a ghost. His head shot around to look, as if he’d see anything if it was the ghost. There was nothing unusual, though. Just a girl. Teenage if he had to guess. Red hair. “Can I help you with something?”

Layla had needed something remotely happy in her life, and puppies always made her happy. She had looked up the local animal shelter online to see what their hours were, and even though she was sure Ulfric, Celeste, and Ariana would say no, they couldn’t say anything about her just visiting. So when she had arrived and signed in, the sound of tiny barks, big barks, deep barks, and all kinds of barks made her heart warm. It had been the first honest smile in weeks, and she didn’t want to ever have to leave. Seeing a small fuzzy dog sitting in the corner of its kennel looking sad, Layla felt her heart melt, “Hey little guy. Having a rough time too?” She was just about to open the cage, when she heard a voice behind her. Turning around, she noticed a man standing there, “I just came for a puppy pick-me-up. It’s been a rough week, to say the least. Have we met?” He looked familiar, but she couldn’t quite place him.

His mouth pulled into a thin line, trying to determine if those were his hunter senses or just the paranoia sending signals tingling through every nerve. Kaden couldn’t deny how on edge and anxious he felt every single moment since the bar and then Blanche. It could be a werewolf, it could just be a typical teenage girl. Something deep in his bones really hoped it was the latter. “Well, can’t argue with that. If you’re looking to adopt, I can help you find someone. I mean, they’re all great dogs but you know, sometimes a fit is better than others.” He approached the cage, crouched down, and started calling to the dog. “This is Indy. Aka Indiana Bones.” Tentatively, the small fluffy dog pittered over to the front of the cage. “He’s a good boy, but was found on the streets. He’s just a little timid. Could be a really good companion, though.” Now that the dog was up at the front of the cage, licking Kaden’s fingers, he nodded to her to indicate that she could reach in and pet the dog. It’d be fine, he wasn’t a nibbler and didn’t startle too bad. “I don’t know if we’ve met, though. If you’ve called out animal control recently, though, you probably saw me. Kaden, by the way.”

Why did this guy seem so familiar? She couldn’t place it, but did it really matter? Instead, she watched as he crouched down to greet the small dog. Layla couldn’t help but smile at his name, “That’s adorable.” Watching Indy walk over to the cage and lick Kaden’s fingers had warmed her heart. Bending down, she slowly approached the cage, not wanting to startle the little dog. Reaching out with the hand she had broken, she let him sniff the cast, before feeling him lick her fingers, which caused her to laugh, “O-m-g, I wish I could take you home with me, but I don’t know how my housemates would feel.” She was already falling hard for the little dog and letting her heart get attached. “I haven’t called animal contr-” Kaden. Animal control. It was coming back to her now. Wow, Grandpa, you’re actually kinda hot. She didn’t dare say it outloud. She had already had beef with this man online, if she were right in her assumptions of who he was, “Sorry, animal control. I blanked for a moment. Thought you were someone else.” With a soft, hollow smile, she looked back down at Indiana Bones.

Something about the way she was looking at him made him slightly suspicious. How did she know him exactly? And should he know her? Kaden was pretty sure he’d remember the red hair at the very least if he did. Still, the dog liked her and she seemed good with him, how bad could she be? “Who did you think I was if you don’t mind me asking?” He couldn’t let it lie. Even though he should. “Do you want to take him outside in the fenced area so you can visit him pro--” Before he could finish his question, a gust of wind burst through the kennel and the dogs started barking. All of them. Sure, it happened a lot that one would start, a few would join in. Not like this. Putain. “Actually it might be best if you come back tomorrow. I can reserve him f--” The lights flickered. He knew he shouldn’t have come here. But why now?

Crap. Layla was about to have to explain herself. Should she tell him who she was? All it would take was calling him grandpa. Of course, then he might have kicked her out and taken away the one bit of happiness she was experiencing, “Uh, just an old teacher I had back in high school.” It was a bullshit answer, but maybe it would work. Luckily, for her, he had moved onto the possibility of taking Indy outside. However, before he was able to ask her, she felt the same gust of wind come through leaving her feeling uneasy; her sensitive ears picking up on the same thing the dogs were. Chills ran down her spine, and she turned her attention back to Kaden, “You know, that might be a good idea…” Seeing the lights flicker had raised Layla’s heart rate. But hearing the soft moan of Indy sent her eyes straight back down to the small dog that was back to cowering in the corner, “What about Indy? Is there any way I could take him home and bring him back tomorrow?” Stress apparent in her voice, she wanted to get out as quickly as possible, but leaving the poor little creature there was pulling at her heart.

Kaden’s face scrunched. “A teacher? Really?” He wasn’t old enough to be a high school te-- Shit. Guess he was. Just put into stark perspective how young she really was. Considering she looked like she was fresh out of school. And somehow looked like she’d seen more hard times than a lot of people twice her age. As much as he’d like to help her, he was glad she agreed to leave with him. For a moment. Putain. That look she gave the small dog tugged at his stupid heart strings. It was worse when Indy whined for her to come back. As much as he wanted to help her and the dog, now wasn’t the time. “Not right now. Processes. Have to-- He’ll still be tomorrow.” And if we don’t leave right now, you might not. He put a hand on her shoulder. The lights cut out again, this time taking longer to come back with an eerie flicker, “Come on, we have to go.” He tried to keep the panic rising in him out of his voice, but he hardly succeeded.  “I’ll keep him safe, I pr--” He cut himself short. He needed to keep that word from his vocabulary. “I assure you, I will make sure he’s safe.” There was a rumble in the ground; it felt like an earthquake was coming. The growls and whines only escalated. They couldn’t stay here, the ghost would tear this place apart. “He’s safer if we leave him right now. Trust me!” Kaden tried to drag the girl away from the cage. But where? Shit. Closest way out was through the back hall that lead outside. He ran and pushed the door open only for it to slam in his face first try. He pushed again with his shoulder and it was open long enough for her to go through and for him to follow behind.  

There was some freaky shit going on, and Layla could sense it. Whatever had decided to join them had caused her ears to hurt and had almost made her want to bark and howl along with the other dogs in the area, but she resisted. He definitely didn’t need to know she could howl. However, she did take his warnings seriously and as much as she wanted to grab Indy, she knew there probably wouldn’t be time. Instead, she moved towards the cage one last time, and swore she’d come back, “I promise I’ll be back. I swear it!” Her fingers held onto the wire frame of the cage for as long as she could, until she was led away, “What the hell is happening in your animal shelter, Grandpa?!” Shit. She just revealed who she was. As she watched him manage to keep the door open long enough, Layla slid through, but the sound of barking and howling broke her heart. Please leave those precious things alone. Please. The thought had quickly crossed her mind to try and get back in, but she stopped herself knowing that it wasn’t the smartest or the safest move. She did, however, have Kaden to deal with, since she had accidentally outed herself.

The fluorescent lights above them started humming and buzzing as he led her through the hallway. Kaden’s brow furrowed as she called him grandpa. “Look I know you said I was old enough to be a teacher but cut the crap.” Kids these days. “And it’s not my animal shelter I just work here and you have to le--” Before he could say anything more, there were sparks shooting off above them as the lights sputtered out. Fuck. This was bad. “Door. Now.” He led her to the end of the hall to the door leading outside only it wouldn’t budge. Not an inch. The handle was shut tight and wouldn’t turn. He slammed on it with his shoulder. Nothing. “Fuck!” he cried out, frantically looking for another option. He ran back to the door they just came through. Same thing. The only door still open was to the one of the storage through rooms in the back. Guess they were going that way. Not where he wanted to deal with a poltergeist but they had few options. “Come on. Dealing with angry spirits here, move it.” One step inside the room and shelves started to vibrate. Bad, this was bad. He heard a crash. “Running would be good, time for running.”

In all the commotion, Layla tried to listen to what Kaden was saying, but between leaving Indy and the other dogs, and apparently fleeing for her life, she was having a little trouble focusing, “Look, you can scold me or whatever once we’re out of here, but until then-” Before she could finish, she was cut off by him directing her where to go. Seeing the distress in his face, she tried not to panic, but she could feel her heart pounding hard in her chest and every instinct was telling her to ‘wolf out’. She couldn’t. Not here. Instead, she kept quiet, except for the occasional scream as she noticed the spirit wreaking havoc everywhere they went. It was when they had gotten where they were going, that Layla realized pretty much anywhere they went, they were shit outta luck, “Are we gonna die at the hands of an angry ghost?” She managed to squeak the words out as they started running again.

Midway through running, Kaden felt something shift, like a cold chill was sinking into his body. His vision blurred and faded a bit, like he was being pushed away. “Oh, I’m not going to die today,” a chilling voice came from his mouth. It was like his own but different somehow. “But you are.” His hand reached out and grabbed her by the shoulders to throw her to the ground. It was his hand but not his will. He wasn’t the one who had pushed her and he wasn’t the one leaning over her now. His body was, but his consciousness was in the back seat, watching. He couldn’t find the control. What was happening, why was he doing this? Who took-- Poltergeist, that was right. His mother was a poltergeist. He had to remember, he had to fight this. Kaden could feel a little control come back and he tried to back away. “No!” he shouted. He couldn’t tell if it was him or the ghost, both were fighting for control. His hand reached back and pulled out a knife hidden behind his belt. The small silver one he kept on him. He hadn’t reached for it-- His mother, she must have-- The floor vibrated and the clatter of the shelves grew louder again. “Your family must be so disappointed in you,” he felt himself saying as he brought the knife closer to the girl.

Before she had realized what had happened, Layla found herself slammed to the floor and the wind knocked out of her. The daze she was in hindered her from getting up, and by the time she realized what had happened, Kaden was leaning over her small frame. His voice had seemed different, like he wasn’t in the driver’s seat any longer. The redhead could see the internal struggle going on, but the words cut deep into her soul, “H-How do you know about my family?” Tears seeped out of the corners of her eyes as fear coursed through her veins. However, a slight glint caught her eye and caused her to shift focus to the knife. Her fear increasing, Layla could feel the change in her fingers as they began to prematurely grow into claws.  

Kaden didn’t know about her family. At all. Why did his mother? Should he know? Was the ghost just bluffing? It didn’t matter. His hand gripped her wrist, pinned down her arms. He was so focused on the claws pushing out from her fingernails that he didn’t even notice the knife sinking into her flesh. He heard the sizzle of her skin, the burn of the silver contacting a werewolf. Fuck. “I knew of them. And I know they won’t let their legacy be tarnished. The same way I won’t let mine be thrown in the gutters,” his mother’s angry wails said through his voice. Kaden still didn’t know what was really happening and he wasn’t one to extend sympathy to werewolves. He considered letting his mother have this one. All werewolves were a plague as far as he was concerned. Whenever he saw a lupine creature snarling in the woods, he never hesitated to shoot first. When he felt the chill down his spine that alerted him to the presence of a werewolf nearby, it made his skin crawl. He’d never killed any wolf while they appeared human, but he wasn’t exactly kind to them either. But now, right now, all he could see was a scared teenage girl. Even with her hands shifting to show the monster within, he didn’t see that. He couldn’t, even if he tried. Kaden knew there was a poltergeist inside of him taking control but in this position he truly felt like a monster. How could he not? His hand rose again, this time aimed at her heart. Kaden forced his voice out, a scream, and tried to throw his body away as the room began to shake even more.

As the knife began to dig into her body, Layla let out a blood curdling scream. It had been the first time she had ever been exposed to silver as a werewolf and the pain was nothing like she had ever felt before. Tears ran down her face, as she so desperately tried to break free; a guttural growl chasing the scream as her teeth became sharp. Her body was starting to shift and before long the sickness that she felt, mixed with pain, would turn into the breaking and rearranging of bones, but the poltergeist’s hauntingly accurate words sent shivers down her spine, “Leave me alone!” The words were spat out in between the pain she was feeling, but as she saw the same knife, bloodstained already, pulled back and at the ready to end her young life, a defensive growl came out and she ripped one of her hands free ready to slash Kaden. Sending a swipe in his direction, Layla felt her claws connect with skin, tearing into flesh managing to free her other hand. Pushing him off of her, the redhead quickly dragged herself away from him in the opposite direction and as closely to a nearby wall as she could. Fear ran through her body, and she clutched at the left side of her stomach trying to stop the blood that was pouring out, “What do you want from me!? All I wanted to do was look at the dogs...Please just let me leave...I don’t want to die yet. I’m sorry, for whatever I did, I’m sorry.” She was sobbing by now. While instinct was telling her to run, she was afraid to go near Kaden and knowing that the ghost haunting them still lingered in the vibrating room somewhere left her frozen in place.

It wasn’t his will that brought his control back, it was the sharp screaming pain of claws digging into his arm. Kaden slammed into the shelf next to them as she pushed him out of the way and felt some of the air leave his lungs. It hurt like a bitch. All of it. At least he had control back and got to feel every ounce of pain for himself. Still, there was an odd sense of relief that she was alive and that he hadn’t killed her. Shit. He was relieved that he didn’t kill a werewolf? He could hardly argue with the crashes of items falling off shelves, the sputtering and flickering lights. The anger his mother felt was more than fucking justified right now. Bile churned up into his throat. Whether that was because he’d just been possessed and then fucking thrown across the room by a werewolf or because he’d let that werewolf live, he wasn’t sure. “I want you to get the hell out of here,” he croaked out. A shelf in the back came tumbling down as he said that. Shame gripped at him from all sides. He’d terrified a teenage girl to the point of begging for her life. But he was also trying to save a werewolf. He could feel himself splitting in two, trying to grapple with the situation at hand. He had to leave without her, right? That was safest. Shit, but she was bleeding. Who cared? One less werewolf in the world wouldn’t be the worst thing? Would it? But if she didn’t die and he called 911 for her and she implicated him-- Fuck. “I don’t want to hurt you. That ghost does. You need to run!” The shelf near him creaked and he looked up just in time to dodge out of the way as it slammed to the ground. “Now!”

Layla was trying to calm herself down, but with every breath came more pain and the natural flow of blood from her gut. Tears still streaming down her face, she pushed herself back harder into the wall scared to death of both the man and the poltergeist with the death wish. She wasn’t sure if Kaden was talking to her or the ghost, but it didn’t matter. Her eyes had gone down to the slash on his body. She had never intentionally tried to hurt anyone before, and even though it wasn’t the time or place, she had felt horrible for what she had done. She wanted to ask him if he was okay, but his words telling her to get out gave her the permission she had longed for so she could pass him. Scrambling to her feet with a cry of pain, Layla started to take off down the hall, but stopped. She couldn’t just leave him there with the thing threatening both of their lives. With a split second decision, she turned around and ran back to him, “I’m not leaving you here to die. You may not think highly of the thing I was cursed to become, but that’s not me. The bite is not me.” Sticking out her free hand, claws already retracted leaving nothing but traces of blood on the tips of her fingers from the shift as well as where she had slashed him, Layla hoped he would accept her help. They were both going to make it out of this thing alive.

Kaden pushed himself up on his hands and knees, kibble that had been scattered on the floor in the crash crunching beneath him. Whenever he got to his feet, his plan was to turn and run in the opposite direction, hope that his mother’s ire would wane the farther he was from the situation. He fully expected that the girl would bolt for the door just as he said. At least he fucking hoped she had that kind of self preservation. And if she didn’t, he’d have to make the distance himself. When he looked up and saw her standing there, hand outstretched, he froze. Why was she back? “Do you have a death wish?” was all he could manage at first, but his hand was taking hers anyway. What she said hardly mattered one way or another right now. He didn’t know if he did or didn’t believe it. What he did know was working together would only bring more of his mother’s wrath. And he wasn’t wrong. As soon as they started to run, another shelf came toppling over in front of her. Kaden grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back out of the way. Storage tubs burst open and kitty litter lined the floors. This was the last place he wanted destroyed. Too late for that. He climbed on the fallen shelf and offered her a hand for balance as he picked his way through the clutter. The door was so close. How much worse could it get in the meantime?

As soon as he took her hand, Layla was up and following him, but no sooner did they move towards the door, a shelf was thrown in their direction. Clutching her side and heart racing, she was grateful Kaden hadn’t just used her as a shield to block himself, but instead saved her, “Thanks…” Watching him move forward and climb onto the shelf, she reached for his hand, but before she was able to latch on, Layla felt a sudden burst of energy send her flying backwards, her body landing hard on the floor as it slid through kitty litter and other debris coming to a hard stop. Everything around her was spinning, and she moaned, as she tried to move.

Kaden should have known they couldn’t get out of there that easily. Putain. Really the smart thing to do would be leave her and take off, get away. His mother only wanted to see her hurt because he was nearby. If he left, she’d be already. But his stupid heart was bleeding seeing her get tossed across the floor. He grumbled and climbed back over the shelves to help pull her up. “Come on,” he said as he tried to help her up and back over the shelves for a second time, watching her back in case she got thrown again. This time he was ready to grab her in case any forces said otherwise. “Don’t make me regret this fucking awful decision, let’s move!” Hell he’d fucking fireman carry her out of there at this point if he had to. He pushed her along through the shelves. The room was still rumbling like an earthquake, but the door was just an arm’s length away.

Feeling him grab her, Layla forced herself up and held onto him as they had finally made it over the shelves together. Him yelling at her wasn’t exactly helping her head, let alone her nerves, but she knew he had good reason to. They were so close. They just had to make it a few more feet, and they’d be home free; at least she had hoped. As she inched closer, Layla reached out her arm going for the handle. The sound of the poltergeist continuing to rattle the building forced a little quicker step in the young wolf, and before she realized it, she was at the door. Grabbing the handle, she pushed down and started to pull as hard as she could, but nothing, “Why isn’t the door opening? WHY ISN’T THE DAMN DOOR OPENING?!” She was in a state of panic. At this rate, they were never going to escape.

They made it to the door. One more second and they were out. Only the door wasn’t opening. Of course the door wasn’t opening. Kaden nudged her aside and tried the handles himself. No luck. Putain. He saw another option. It was just going to be painful as shit. And he hoped she wasn’t too exhausted. “Come on, you’re a wolf, right? You have super strength?” He turned to the side and leaned his shoulder in. “On the count of three, together. Should be enough to break this down.” He nodded and braced himself. Then counted down. One. Two. Three! He ran and slammed into the side of the door with all his might, hoping they did enough to finally escape.

Layla had taken a beating. Her body was worn out. She was thirsty. And she just wanted to sleep, but she’d be sleeping forever if she didn’t give this one last push, “Yeah. I can do this.” You can do this, Layla. Following his lead, the teenager positioned herself and on his count, she slammed into the door with what little strength remained, which turned out to be just enough. The door hitting the ground and the momentum sending her out into the cool night air was relief if she had ever felt it. While she was concerned for Indy and the other animals inside, Layla knew it would be a death mission if she had gone back in, but she would be back as soon as she could, and her hope was that whatever that thing was had left the puppies alone. Looking over at Kaden, as she tried to catch her breath, a smile slipped over her lips, followed by a laugh with tears chasing it, “I-I don’t know what that was, but...we made it...we’re out…” Chest heaving and adrenaline pumping, Layla hadn’t noticed how much blood she had lost. She was just grateful to be free and alive.

The door rammed down and once he could stop and stand still, Kaden bent over and rested his palms on his knees, trying to remember how to breathe. He wanted to sleep for the next decade. They weren't’ safe yet, though. And her stab wound wasn’t looking great. Not that he should care any. “Poltergeist. Spirit of my dead mother.” He wasn’t sure why he was admitting all this to her. Hell he hadn’t come close to even admitting he knew what a ghost was when he first met Blanche all those months ago. Guess he figured after nearly getting killed by her, she deserved to know. “You good enough to get yourself home? Cause you should go there. Fast as possible.” He looked over at her, hoping she had enough adrenaline to get her to safety. “I’ll put in your name for Indy. The second I can. Just need a first and last.”

Okay, that was the last thing Layla had expected to hear. Never had she faced anyone’s dead mother before, but there was a first time for everything, especially in White Crest, “Well, I guess that makes sense why she was after me then.” She glanced back to the building one last time, before taking a slow deep and quivering breath, “Yeah, I’ll make it. I’m not too far out.” She could feel the sweat dripping off of her face, and with her remaining strength straightened herself up preparing to run home, “Thanks. I don’t know how I’ll be able to get him, but I need that little guy in my life.” She looked in the direction of home, and just before she took off running, she looked back to Kaden, “My name’s Layla. Layla Cooke.” Not thinking anything of it, she took off running hoping to make it home to someone who could help patch her up knowing her own first aid skills were somewhat limited, but knowing this was a night, she wouldn’t soon forget.

[deviant-reads-stuff]

Books I Read Throughout 2020-Part One

For many of us this year has been incredibly stressful and difficult. There were times throughout this year that my mental health had suffered, but there were also times where I couldn't have been happier. If I were to make any comparison to what the year was like, I would say that it was like the scariest and exciting roller coaster that anyone has ever been on. During the year, while the world seemed to burn around us and everything terrible happened, I managed to surpass my reading goal for the year. Something I did not expect to do, especially since I had months where it seemed that I couldn't finish anything. In times like this, I think it's important to take a step back and look to the positive things, even if they are small.

Here I am going to give a brief description of the first 10 books that I read, with a small snippet of what I thought of the books at the time.  

Book One - The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Finished Reading on January 4, 2020

"It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will be busier still.

By her brother's graveside, Liesel's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger's Handbook, left behind there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordian-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found.

But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up, and closed down.

In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time."

For years I have heard good things about this book and for many, this is an all time favorite. I was excited to pick this one up, especially since I had read

I am the messenger

by this author and loved it.  While I do not view this book as an all time favorite for myself, I do think it was beautifully written. I just personally wished that it was a bit shorter at times as it seemed to drag on. Despite feeling that it was a little long, my favorite part of this book was the role in which Death plays. I won't mention anything more in case some of you are still contemplating picking this one up.

Book Two - All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries #1) By Martha Wells

Finished Reading on January 5, 2020

"In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety.

But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn't a primary concern.

On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied 'droid—a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as "Murderbot." Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is.

But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth."

This was a novella that I greatly enjoyed, but unfortunately I have not kept up with the series. I believe my library did not have the rest of the books and at the time I didn't want to purchase them. As my library continues to get the rest of the series, I will gladly continue to read them. I thought the story was unique, and at times funny. I would highly recommend this series to anyone who wants a science fiction book that is quick and easy read.

Book Three - Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them By Newt Scamander

Finished listening to an Audiobook on January 7,2020

"An approved textbook at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry since publication, Newt Scamander's masterpiece has entertained wizarding families through the generations. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is an indispensable introduction to the magical beasts of the Wizarding World. Scamander's years of travel and research have created a tome of unparalleled importance. Some of the beasts will be familiar to readers of the Harry Potter books - the Hippogriff, the Basilisk, the Hungarian Horntail ... Others will surprise even the most ardent amateur Magizoologist. This is an essential companion to the Harry Potter stories, and includes a new foreword from J.K. Rowling (writing as Newt Scamander) and six new beasts!"

I am not one who will usually listen to audio books. I have an incredibly difficult time listening to anything that is over 3 hours because it's hard for me to really concentrate on the storyline. On occasion, though I will listen to them, depending on the length of the title and if the general consensus is that the audiobook is better. Fantastic Beast was a great audio book to listen to when I took my daily walks. I was able to delve a bit deeper into the wizarding world and learn more about the creatures briefly mentioned in Harry Potter.

Now, I do want to briefly bring into attention that I will no longer purchase anything written by JK Rowling. I have always distanced myself from creators as I use books and music to escape, but it has come to my attention that JK Rowling has repeatedly done harm to the trans community. That's not something I agree with or can support in any way shape or form. For those who do continue to purchase and read JK Rowlings work, that is your choice and I will not say anything about it (unless it is actively causing harm here). This is my own personal choice and opinions on JK Rowling.  

Book Four - The Near Witch

Finished Reading on January 9, 2020f

"The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children.If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company.And there are no strangers in the town of Near.These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life.

But when an actual stranger-a boy who seems to fade like smoke-appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true.

The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him.

As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi's need to know-about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.

Part fairy tale, part love story, Victoria Schwab's debut novel is entirely original yet achingly familiar: a song you heard long ago, a whisper carried by the wind, and a dream you won't soon forget."

I am going to be perfectly honest. I will pick up everything that V.E Schwab writes eventually. Including this book, I have read 10 of her books and I have enjoyed every single one of them. The Near Witch is one of V.E Schwab's earlier works that had previously gone out print. Recently, the book has gone back into print and received a cover change. The story takes you to another world with superstitions, magic, and adventures. While it is apparent that this is an early work of V.E Schwab that does not mean that it's not a great book to pick up. This book brought me back to the type of books that I read when I was younger and it was an overall great experience.

Book Five - How's Moving Castle By Diana Wynne Jones

Finished Reading on January 12, 2020

"Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate. But when she unwittingly attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie finds herself under a horrid spell that transforms her into an old lady. Her only chance at breaking it lies in the ever-moving castle in the hills: the Wizard Howl's castle.

To untangle the enchantment, Sophie must handle the heartless Howl, strike a bargain with a fire demon, and meet the Witch of the Waste head-on. Along the way, she discovers that there's far more to Howl—and herself—than first meets the eye."

Howl's Moving Castle is probably one of my favorite stories of all time. I first watched the animated film by Studio Ghibli. In all honesty, I have a hard time determining which version is my favorite. The movie and novel do have some differences, but I think both can be enjoyed. Howl's Moving Castle shows how the pressures placed upon us and how we view ourselves can have a negative impact on ourselves, but only if we let it. Sophie struggles with being eldest daughter, and struggles with seeing her worth, but as the story progresses, we see how resilient and strong she is.

Book Six - Bird Box By Josh Malerman

Finished Reading on January 21, 2020

"Something is out there, something terrifying that must not be seen. One glimpse of it, and a person is driven to deadly violence. No one knows what it is or where it came from.

Five years after it began, a handful of scattered survivors remains, including Malorie and her two young children. Living in an abandoned house near the river, she has dreamed of fleeing to a place where they might be safe. Now that the boy and girl are four, it's time to go, but the journey ahead will be terrifying: twenty miles downriver in a rowboat—blindfolded—with nothing to rely on but her wits and the children's trained ears. One wrong choice and they will die. Something is following them all the while, but is it man, animal, or monster?"

I had originally watched the Netflix movie before listening to the audio book. I was curious about the book as I noticed a lot of people was divided on whether or not the movie was better than the book. Although I thought the audio book was great, I definitely enjoyed the movie more. Normally this is never the case, but I thought the book was adapted well onto the screen. What are your thoughts on it? Was the movie better than the book?

Book Seven - Skyward By Brandon Sanderson

Finished Reading on January 25, 2020

"Defeated, crushed, and driven almost to extinction, the remnants of the human race are trapped on a planet that is constantly attacked by mysterious alien starfighters. Spensa, a teenage girl living among them, longs to be a pilot. When she discovers the wreckage of an ancient ship, she realizes this dream might be possible—assuming she can repair the ship, navigate flight school, and (perhaps most importantly) persuade the strange machine to help her. Because this ship, uniquely, appears to have a soul."

Skyward was the first Bandon Sanderson book that I've ever picked up, shocking I know. I was not disappointed at all. Skyward brought me out this world and I found myself rooting for the girl who fought for everything that she's ever had. If you haven't picked this ne up yet, what are you waiting for?

Book Eight - The Name of the Wind By Patrick Rothfuss

Finished Reading on January 30, 2020

"My name is Kvothe.I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep. You may have heard of me.

So begins a tale unequaled in fantasy literature--the story of a hero told in his own voice. It is a tale of sorrow, a tale of survival, a tale of one man's search for meaning in his universe, and how that search, and the indomitable will that drove it, gave birth to a legend."

I first read this book in 2015 and picked it up again earlier in the year. I personally feel like I enjoyed the book more the second time around. It's a lengthy and often slow story of a man telling the story of his life. I have often described this book as having a similar ambiance to The Lord of The Rings and Harry Potter. Don't get me wrong though, this is a completely different story of those two series, but I couldn't help but draw a comparison.

Book Nine - Red, White, and Blue By Casey McQuiston

 Finished Reading on February 15, 2020

"First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz is the closest thing to a prince this side of the Atlantic. With his intrepid sister and the Veep’s genius granddaughter, they’re the White House Trio, a beautiful millennial marketing strategy for his mother, President Ellen Claremont. International socialite duties do have downsides—namely, when photos of a confrontation with his longtime nemesis Prince Henry at a royal wedding leak to the tabloids and threaten American/British relations.

The plan for damage control: staging a fake friendship between the First Son and the Prince. Alex is busy enough handling his mother’s bloodthirsty opponents and his own political ambitions without an uptight royal slowing him down. But beneath Henry’s Prince Charming veneer, there’s a soft-hearted eccentric with a dry sense of humor and more than one ghost haunting him.

As President Claremont kicks off her reelection bid, Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret relationship with Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations. And Henry throws everything into question for Alex, an impulsive, charming guy who thought he knew everything: What is worth the sacrifice? How do you do all the good you can do? And, most importantly, how will history remember you?"

I needed something lighter and easy to read after The Name of the Wind. Red, White, and  Blue did not disappoint, and I was whisked into the life of Alex Claremont-Diaz and Prince Henry. This LGBTQ+ book is full of entertainment, self-discovery, drama, and love.

Book Ten - Cress (The Lunar Chronicles, #3)

Finished Reading on February 17, 2020

"In this third book in the Lunar Chronicles, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they're plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.

Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl imprisoned on a satellite since childhood who's only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker. Unfortunately, she's just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue of Cress goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a higher price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has."

The Lunar Chronicals is a guilty pleasure of mine. Each book in the series is a re-telling of famous fairy tales. Cress, the third book of the Lunar Chronicals, is a sci-fi/ fantasy re-telling of Rapunzel. While each book follows a different fairy tale, the whole series comes together and forms an epic story. As we follow a shy young girl, who spent her life locked away from everyone suddenly get swept into the resistance, we learn that hope is always possible even in hopeless situations.

[sergeanttpoliteness]

➹tickle war➹(miles morales x reader)

Requested by @ponyboys-sunsets ➝ GIVE ME ANYTHING WITH MILES PLEASE GOOD LORD I LOVE HIM literally just y/n and him being super h*ckin cute! like cuddling and we get in like a tickle fight or something and it’s just so cute! 

Did you really have a good cuddling session if it doesn’t turn into a tickle fight?

word count: 3.1k

a/n: oof, i had some terrible writer’s block so finishing this was the most fulfilling thing ever omg. hello @ whoever’s reading this! i’m sorry this request took so long, i really need to learn how to write faster lol, but it’s here and it’s short but cute and i love it. i didn’t really edit it tho so if there are any mistakes i’m sorry. i forgot to say this last post but holy shit thank you so much for over 150 followers! and 620 notes on my first peter b. story (working on part 2 btw wink)??? the heck?? that’s nuts, i hope every single one of you enjoy what i write (: request are open if anyone is interested, especially since valentines day is so soon, so feel free to send something if you want! also i’ve decided that mcdonald’s in miles’ universe is called mcdonnie’s bc why not lmao

You could be too messy sometimes. Things to add to your next year resolutions (you were also too lazy to start right now— again, one more addition to the list): for the love of future you, stop throwing stuff wherever just because you don’t have the energy or will to properly place it in its appropriate spot. If only you’d worked on that flaw earlier, for right now you had your toothbrush inside your mouth— your tongue crying out from the icy pinch of the mint— frantically rummaging through your room, seeking for your favorite jacket. The weather that night didn’t necessarily call for the use of a coat, and it’s not that you were the fashionista of the generation (you tried your best… most of the time), but it was the last detail your outfit needed for it to be impeccable, and of course you’d turn your room upside down just to find it. It wasn’t as disastrous— perhaps for future you, yeah— but at least you got ahold of those pants that had been missing for weeks which sweetly hugged your figure in all the right places, along with a two-year-old calculator (hey, no more asking your classmates for an extra one) that’d do wonders for your brain during math class.

In the midst of your hunt, a clatter outside caught your attention. No big deal; you did live in New York, after all— the complete opposite of a ghost town. However, you later realized it wasn’t outside. No, it was your window. It happened again— clink! You recoiled, a small yelp escaping your throat. When it continued, you contemplated running away and calling your parents, frightened like a small child who suspects there’s a monster under their bed; but the detective in you (and stupidity, since this is exactly how people die in horror movies) drove you to investigate. You opened the curtains with a determined attitude, your expression hard and stern, but that temporary bravery fled out of your body the instant you laid your eyes upon the dark faceless figure staring back at you. You screamed— or tried to, taking in mind the toothpaste— scrambling to grab the nearest object to attack. But your vision adjusted once the light from your bedroom illuminated the intruder, and your rushing heartbeat eased with the laughing face of your boyfriend.

You rolled up your window, a distressed crease between your eyebrows. “Mwolth, whot thwo fwock!” You exclaimed through the abundance of toothpaste, tilting your head back to stop it from leaking through the sides of your mouth. Miles’ snickers, although adorable, heated your cheeks further from the humiliation.

“Sorry! I didn’t think it’d scare you that much.”

“Y—” You began, but raised a finger, telling him to wait, and ran to the bathroom. After spitting out the toothpaste and rinsing your mouth and sink in the record time of six seconds, you barged back into your room and to your open window. He was nowhere to be seen, until you looked out in search of the boy and your vision shifted below you: he sat against the brick wall, his knees close to his chest. You sighed, rubbing your eye as you chuckled at him. “You’re one hell of a boy.”

He showed you a crooked grin. “Is that good or bad?”

“It’s good. Why didn’t you just, uh, I don’t know— knock on my door like a normal person?”

“Well, ‘cause I’m not like other guys,” He joked, his voice husky and mysterious, a smolder adorning his face. You closed your eyes as you laughed and he shrugged. “I just wanted to be a romantic boyfriend, y’know, and throw rocks at your window!”

You let out a dreamy sigh, fanning yourself. “So romantic, giving me a heart attack.”

“What can I say? I’m the master of romance.”

“Alright, master of romance, get in before one of my neighbors sees you and faints.” You waved your hand before walking away, continuing to ransack your dresser. Miles climbed the rest of the wall and up to the opening casually with his hands inside his pockets, as if it were the most common ability a teenager could ever have. He gasped when he entered and took in the chaos your room had become: the floor cluttered with crumpled schoolwork and socks (why did you have so many socks?), a mountain of pajamas on your bed, and the mess only incremented as you tossed and additional shirt on your desk.

“What the hell happened here?” He frowned, stuck where he stood due to the path full of obstacles. You cursed under your breath and slammed the cabinet closed, moving on to the last one.

“I can’t find my jacket,” You grumbled, your scowl exchanged by a puzzled stare as a shirt you wore when you were eight dangled in front of you. “God, I really need to take out a lot of stuff.”

Miles jumped from each clean spot to another, pausing when he noticed an old broken Spider-Man keychain tangled with a wool friendship bracelet. He carefully grasped it with his fingers, his mouth twitching. “I’m not surprised.”

You glanced back at him, your brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

His face twisted at your question as he laughed. “Y/N, I love you, but you can really be the messiest person at times. Like, look!” He jangled the keychain and your eyes lit up, your hand reaching out to take it. “This thing is from like seven years ago— I got it from McDonnie’s, too. I bet you ‘accidentally’ misplaced it and it just disappeared.”

“Dude! I was so sad when I lost this keychain, I blamed this kid in my class and said that he stole it. Apparently he didn’t,” You mumbled sheepishly, and then hissed when you saw the purple and black bracelet wrapped around the metal ring. “I used to be friends with this girl and she gave me this bracelet.”

“What happened to her?”

“Our friendship ended when I accidentally dropped her hamster down the stairs.”

His eyes widened in horror, but moments later he was wheezing as he sat down on your bed. “Damn, Y/N.”

“Look, I felt terrible afterwards. I just wanted to see it roll in the plastic ball thingy,” You grimaced, apologizing in your head to the spirit of the unfortunate creature you accidentally murdered. Before you started crying, though, the irritation bubbled up in your chest and you rubbed your temples. “I still can’t find my jacket!”

“I can give you my jacket, i-if you want.” Miles offered shyly, flustered and ready to slip off his coat.

He paused when you rested your hand on his shoulder, which later came up to playfully poke his cheek. “What a cutie. But I don’t want you to freeze to death, not exactly the date that I was plan—” You stepped on something and you peeped down. You cried out for the exact article of clothing you just wasted ten minutes searching for peeked out from under your bed. “Oh, found it!” You gasped, lifting the jacket, hugging it as if you’d just found your long-lost child after sixteen years. You slipped your arm inside one sleeve, your other hand simultaneously tugging Miles’ while you prepared to leave your room.

“Shouldn’t we clean this up before we leave?” He gestured to your surroundings. You scanned the disorder, biting your lip as you deeply considered it, your skin itching because of the area identical to a wreckage.

You dismissed your discomfort with a whine, pulling his wrist again and dragging him through the mess and out of the room with you. “I can do that later, let’s go!”

You didn’t exactly know where you were going; so when you jumped off your apartment complex’s stairs and into the sidewalk, you turned around and stared at Miles like an expectant puppy willing to follow its owner to the end of the world. “Where to, captain?” You cheerily asked.

“You’re weirdly hyper today.” Miles pointed out, but not as a complaint— no, not at all. Your euphoria was responsible for his stretching smile and the electricity in his fingertips; it enhanced your beauty to a degree that it was blinding, a supergiant star whose radiance fondly enveloped the boy and heated up his entire body with its dripping gold. It was a heat wave he’d willingly succumb to— he’d float in your grace, suffocate with your allure, feel it all over as you happily linked your arms together, sending that spark running through his veins.

“I guess it’s just the rush you get on a Friday night, you know?” Yes, that was definitely it— it’s not like you took a power nap you woke up from twenty minutes ago, and consequently, had to inhumanly speed through your steps to get ready before Miles arrived; what are you talking about? But it also was almost impossible not to be as joyous when you’d missed Miles’ presence for an entire week. Yes, phone and video calls patched up that loneliness and longing, but it was just a bandaid for a larger wound— you didn’t know you could be so needy; a surprise, indeed, when you’d find yourself craving to jump through your cell phone’s screen and snuggle into the boy’s embrace. “I’m also really glad to see you, though.” You bashfully admitted.

“It was just a week.” He laughed, except that he’d missed your touch just as much, if not more. And you weren’t offended that he didn’t kiss your forehead and reveal he did as well, really, because you knew the truth by the way he walked so unnecessarily close to you in spite of the broad path.

You snuggled your head on his shoulder, sighing in bliss. “I don’t care, you still owe me a lot of cuddles. And I also don’t have no idea where you’re taking me— maybe you’re about to kill me, or something.” You said lowly, your eyes wide.

“It’s… kinda a desolate place, but I promise I didn’t pick it so I could kill you.” He giggled, bumping his shoulder into yours. You lifted your head and narrowed your eyes at him, scoffing.

“That’s exactly what a murderer would say.”

Gladly, your claims that Miles was planning to execute you in the middle of nowhere were nothing but an amusing belief; that surely would’ve been a lamentable twist, especially for you. However, you somewhat started to wish it had been your fate as you panted heavily and dropped on your knees on the muddy grass of the seemingly endless hill you and Miles were climbing. “I give up,” You breathed out, sprawling your limbs defeatedly. “I think I’m gonna go into cardiac arrest.”

Miles glanced back at you and rolled his eyes before resuming his strides. “God, your P.E grade is probably terrible.” You didn’t reply, though, and he didn’t hear any exaggerated struggling noises. He turned around, his gaze settling on your body which appeared dead resting in the same place you stopped. “C’mon, babe, we’re almost there!”

You didn’t budge, solely weakly waving your hand at him. “I was nice knowing you, but I think this is where I meet my demise.”

He looked heavenward, taking a deep breathe to recharge his soul. You were damning the gloomy clouds for obscuring the glimmering stars when Miles’ face, staring down at you, popped into your sight. You smiled, your hand reaching up to try and touch his cheek as you cracked up. “Hi.” You said innocently with a childlike expression.

The corner of his mouth lifted upwards. “Hi. Get up.”

“It’s really comfy down here.”

“I bet, probably better than the hammock that’s up the hill.” He smirked when he attracted your attention.

“A hammock? You got a hammock up there?” You inquired in disbelief. His grin vanished, and his voice was high pitched as he dubiously shrugged.

“Kind… of? It’s not your usual hammock you’re probably thinking about.” He gently nudged you with his foot and you complained, turning to lie on your side. “I’ll give you a piggyback ride.”

The words ‘piggyback ride’ excited you too much, almost to the point that it could be used as a weakness against you as you scrambled to your feet and moments later leapt onto Miles’ back. You were lucky your boyfriend had super strength, you thought, especially for instances where your laziness and lack of durability got the best of you while walking up the steepest of hills you’d ever witnessed. You’d endure your short workout again or climb every mountain, though, if it meant you’d get to curl up against Miles on a hammock made out of his webs; your body resting on top of his, your legs tangled like an unbreakable knot, your mind fuzzy from the loving circles the boy caressed on your scalp while your thumb rubbed his shoulder. It was the type of intimacy no other could compare to— just the two of you, immersed and drenched with the eternal adoration you shared. The security and serenity of his embrace overwhelmed you enough that at any time the breeze would slightly swing the crib, you’d flinch, similar to when you jerk awake after almost dozing off. His chest vibrated with his giggles and you gazed up at him. The boy had been boring into you for the past few minutes; it wasn’t necessary to see it, you could just feel it (how could you not, after all, considering your close bodies?).

“This hammock kinda sucks.” You breathed out, feeling his arms squeeze your waist when the hammock wiggled harder.

“How can you say that?! It’s literally made out of webs.”

“Miles, it’s so small— I feel like if I even breathe too much I’m going to fall off.”

“So ungrateful, man.” He grumbled, shaking his head with a half-smile that stretched wider after you left a tender kiss on his jaw.

“I just don’t want to break a bone, you get me?” You sighed in relief when the wind, your current nemesis, calmed down. “That would kinda suck.”

“It would be funny.”

You poked his stomach and he squeaked like a stuffed animal who had a tag that read ‘try me!’. He grabbed your wrist, pouting down at you. “Take that back or you’ll be the one with a broken bone.” You warned, but Miles returned the jab, and your body jerked away from him as much as it could.

“If I fall, just know that you’re going down with me.” He raised a playful eyebrow. You tried to prod him again, but the boy didn’t allow you to get your hand near him by slapping it, poking your rib immediately after. You let out a malicious laugh, for he had no idea what was coming to him as you went in to tickle him for real this time. It wasn’t as easy, though; Miles put up quite the fight, one arm shielding his stomach while the other pushed your evil hands away. “You’re… entering… a dangerous… zone right now—” His sentence was repeatedly interrupted as you two fought a battle which would only result in falling to your deaths. Although he could only protect himself for so long, because in the brief millisecond he remained unguarded, your fingers found themselves attacking his abdomen. You straddled his waist as he screamed with laughter and writhed underneath you, kicking his feet all over the place.

“Y/N—“ He yelped, his eyes crinkled and glossy. “P-please!”

You stopped— you were no ruthless demon who tortured people with tickles; still, your shoulders bounced up and down at the sight of his wide eyes as he attempted to catch his breath and regain his strength. “I won!” You laughed, squishing his cheeks to taunt him, leaning down closer to his face with a smug smile. “Sorry.”

“I’ll only forgive you if you give me a kiss.” The seduction and cheekiness laced in both his voice and eyes were a good try, but it simply made you snicker more at how goofy the boy appeared. It did work in some way, though, because it fueled the desire to meet his lips further. Who were you to not comply to such yearning, anyway? Miles took ahold of your hands, intertwining your fingers, leaning up to catch your expecting mouth. You rested your hand on his chest to deepen the kiss, the swaying of the hammock a long-forgotten worry as all you could care about was the boy under you, his dainty and nervous fingertips lingering on your hip, the prickling that engulfed you when you felt his hammering heartbeat under your touch. He’d captivated you entirely, beckoning you to dive into a pool of his warmth that clouded all your senses; enough that you didn’t perceive his hands sneaking up your sides until—

You squealed into his mouth, a jolt running through your gut when he began to tickle you. You pulled away from the kiss and struggled to breathe as a fit of giggles left you, feebly pushing him away. In an attempt to move away, though, you leaned too much to your right— oh, shit was all you thought as you lost your balance. A short cry was the only sound you made as you began to plummet down to the grass. Your last moments were nice, you guessed; at least you got to make out with Miles for a while before dying, so perhaps you could accept your death peacefully. But you didn’t hit the ground. You breathed heavily and opened your eyes, the world upside down until you strained your neck to look up at the sky; you hung by your foot, which had entangled itself with the white string of the hammock, and your eyes drifted to Miles’ gigantic eyes.

“Holy shit!” You shouted, your body going limp when it became too tiring to continue staring up. “Holy shit! I almost fucking died!”

“Are you okay?!” Miles questioned, panicked. You heard a thump and soon your boyfriend stood in front of you, his hands on his head. When he saw you helplessly flailing your arms, however, he doubled over with laughter, slapping his knee.

“Miles! Please help me!”

“Okay, okay— uh, do you have like a knife, or something?”

“Why the hell would I have a knife?!”

“I-I don’t know! Self-defense, maybe. Let me see—” He dug through his pockets, and your (already red) face went pale when he took out his keys, flashing you a sympathetic tight-lipped smile.

It was going to be a long night.

[charmingcentry]

GSA

Entry for Day 4 - High School

Summary: Beca has had a big crush on Chloe Beale ever since freshman year and thinks she has no chance at all with her. That is until Fat Amy and Jesse swoop in to save the day.

AO3

-

There are officially 179 school days left until Beca is out of this shithole.

Don’t be fooled by the brunette’s high marks in classes or how she frequently participates in school events, Beca Mitchell can’t tolerate dozens of people on this campus. The awful stereotypes and insignificant drama is what ruined the whole “high school experience.” Not that she expected much when entering in as a freshman, but ever since then, she dreads her school. The maintained 4.2 GPA and involvement within the school community is only kept because unlike many people at her school, Beca actually wants to attend college.

She doesn’t talk to people much other than her best friends Fat Amy and Jesse Swanson, both from completely separate friend groups. Fat Amy, is apart of what is considered the “popular” group and Jesse is categorized into “geeks and nerds,” it was luck that pushed Beca towards the two drastically different people.

Beca preferred to seclude herself from friend groups, usually sitting on the field and listening to her music which apparently deems you as a “loner freak,” just another example of why the brunette hates this school. She could’ve chosen to partake in socializing with people but conversations weren’t her thing. Sure now she sits by Fat Amy’s table or Jesse’s but she doesn’t talk much, usually studying or on her phone.

After school, the brunette doesn’t go anywhere… she’d rather stay away from home. Even after dozens of offers from Amy and Jesse for a sleepover or just to hang out, Beca would rather stay within school property, typically finding herself on the bleachers at the baseball field. Maybe not the best decision, especially after many excruciatingly prolonged conversation with a redhead, Chloe Beale.

“I like your bracelet.” Chloe compliments, pointing at a black-beaded bracelet with the colors of the rainbow on six of the beads. Beca looks up from her Calculus textbook.

“Oh, thanks… “

“What are you doing here?” The redhead asks, sitting next to Beca as she notices what she’s reading. “I’ve always had trouble with limits… especially these ones.” Chloe points to a problem in the textbook.

Without thinking Beca goes through the problem in her head. “You just factor out the numerator then it’ll cancel out in the denominator. Then you plug in this number for x in the expression you’re left with.” Her mouth became dry and could feel her stomachs doing flips when Chloe grinned at her

“You’re smart… no wonder your mister’s favorite.”

Beca raises an eyebrow. “Sure…” “Anyway, you didn’t answer my question, what’re you doing here?” The redhead asks once again, moving in closer to Beca

The brunette swallows down a lump in her throat and stutters. “I- just, need some time for myself.”

“When the softball team is practicing?”

Beca notices the blue and white school jersey. “Oh… I mean, I don’t really pay attention so. I don’t mind.”

A whistle blows and Chloe shoots up. “Oop! There’s coach, I’ll see you around Bec!”

The redhead runs back onto the field as Beca looks back at the problem Chloe pointed out and swallows another lump in her throat.

It’s not that Beca doesn’t know the girl, she does… it’s just that Chloe may be the girl Beca has been pining on ever since freshman year, the only other girl in her grade that was nice to the brunette. She wasn’t the stereotypical popular girl nor was she a stereotype in general… Chloe was, Chloe. The redhead was honest, compassionate, intelligent, and extremely friendly… and kind of hot. But Beca knew she wasn’ t gay. Yet still, the brunette couldn’t get over her.

Fat Amy and Jesse are heavily aware of Beca’s crush on popular softball player Chloe Beale, the blonde being one of Chloe’s best friends. The brunette never discusses anything related to her romantic feelings, yet her attitude and demeanor towards the redhead clearly show how she feels for her. Fat Amy noticed when their Physics teacher had people go into partners for a project.

Beca was sitting at her desk, looking around to see who doesn’t have a partner, Fat Amy paired with this kid named Bumper so the brunette was left on her own. The teenager sighs and contemplates asking their teacher if they could be individual for this project too until someone pops up.

“Hi, Bec!” Fat Amy turns her attention to her two best friends

Beca’s cheeks go pink as she shuffles around in her seat. “Uh, hey Chloe.”

“You have a partner?” Chloe asks, sitting in the seat directly in front of Beca. The brunette shakes her head. “You wanna be mine?”

Beca readjusts her sitting position once more as she twirls her pencil in her left hand. “Y-yeah that’d be cool.”

The teacher calls time for partner search. “Well, text me to see when we can meet up okay?” Beca nods. “Awes.”

The redhead smiles and winks at Beca before returning to her original seat. “Yeah! Awes.”

Fat Amy chuckles at how the brunette places her head in her hands and mutters an incoherent phrase. The blonde returns her attention to Bumper who is staring very intensely at her…

Jesse noticed during an interesting interaction between the two during the passing period…

“Okay look, I’m just saying! You’re way too smart to be at this school Beca.” The brunette rolls her eyes as she walks down the hall to their next class, World History. “Like really? You’re always receiving A’s and shit, then you still stay here?”

“Yeah, Jess because it’s nearly end of the sophomore year where am I supposed to g-

A redhead walks past the two, she smiles at Beca, along with one of her signature winks. The brunette immediately shuts up and waves awkwardly at Chloe. Beca looks behind her to see Chloe still walking until she hears Jesse clear her throat.

“Sooo… Chloe?” The male teases, nudging Beca in the shoulder.

They stop in front of their designated classroom. “Shut up Jess, never speak about that again.”

Her friends are extremely supportive of Beca, Jesse even going as far to say “I’ll be the best lesbro you’ll ever have,” which the brunette finds slightly annoying. But Beca couldn’t believe how supportive her two friends are, she found that’s why she’s always stayed with them - no matter what happened, Amy and Jesse were and are always there behind the brunette.

-

“Hey, Jesse come here for a second.” Fat Amy says, waving her hand over to Jesse during a break they had during their Economics class. Jesse immediately comes on over like a puppy and sits next to the blonde.

“What’s up?”

“You tired of the sexual tension between ginger and Beca?” Jesse lets out a laugh and notices how serious Fat Amy sounds about this question.

He clears his throat. “Yeah, kind of. Like it’s obvious Chloe likes her back… all those winks and flirty moves and crap…” Fat Amy nods.

“So I have a plan to convince the little gremlin that Chloe likes her back.” Jesse leans in to listen more.

“What is it?”

“Drag Beca to GSA.”

Jesse widens his eyes. “She wouldn’t Amy, like never.”

“Whatever, we’re gonna do it, Swanson, whether Beca likes it or not. It’s for her own good”

The teacher calls their attention back to the board and the class resumes… the two are going to have to do a lot of dragging to get Beca into the GSA classroom.

The bell rings to dismiss the fifth-period classes, signifying that lunch is starting and it is now time to drag Beca into the Gay-Straight Alliance classroom. Fat Amy and Jesse walk out of their economics classroom quickly, on their way to find wherever Beca would be. Usually, the brunette alternates between the two’s friend groups, sitting at either table throughout the school week. Some days Beca goes to her usual alone spot, so it’s usually a challenging task to locate where the brunette may be.

“Is she supposed to hang out with me or you today?” Jesse asks, the two scanning the cafeteria room for a petite brunette with headphones around her neck. Amy looks around, their friend is nowhere to be seen.

“I think she’s on her own today, come on, let’s go find that gremlin.”

The two acquaintances walk out of the cafeteria towards the quad area of the school, their heads darting around every direction to find Beca. They walk near an area with a tree and find Beca laying down under the shade, headphones covering her ears and her eyes were closed. Fat Amy storms over to the serene brunette and pulls her up by the arm.

“Dude what the fuck!” The brunette yells, trying to resist Fat Amy’s grip around her arm as her headphones fall around her neck. Jesse leans down to gather Beca’s school belongings and holds Beca’s other arm down. “Jesse you too? Okay, what the hell is going on…”

They begin walking over to the GSA classroom and unbeknownst to Beca, Chloe will be attending the meeting as well. As the two friends begin dragging Beca to what seems her inevitable doom, the brunette tries to pull away. “Beca you’re going to a GSA meeting and that’s that.” Fat Amy declares, turning left around the corner of a school building.

“What! No! Why!” Beca says, still trying to plant herself to the ground

“For your… own… good!” Fat Amy says, opening the door to the GSA classroom and shoving the brunette inside. Of course, being the good samaritans they are, stick with Beca for the meeting to make sure she won’t run away. The teacher who supervises the club, waves over at the seemingly distressed friend group and hands the three a sign-in sheet.

“Amy, what’re you doing here?” A taller female brunette asks, walking over to the three, she notices Beca. “Hey, newcomer!”

Beca turns back around after frustratedly signing herself into the club. “Uh, hey.”

“I’m Stacie, you’re in my Chemistry class.” Beca raises an eyebrow. “Oh yeah, you know that you hang out with us sometimes…”

“Yeah… these two-” Beca points at Jesse and Fat Amy. “Dragged me in here and I have no clue why…” Stacie smirks. “What?”

“Nothing. Just our president is late so the meeting isn’t starting yet.”

The group of four took their seats at a table near the front of the classroom as the rest of the club talks amongst themselves. The main ones talking were Jesse, Fat Amy, and Stacie while Beca was sitting in her seat, pouting like a 5-year-old. Just as she’s about to drape her headphones back onto her head, the door opens and someone runs in.

“So sorry I’m late guys, let’s get started.” A familiar voice rings from the side of the room, Beca turns red the minute she hears the voice and her head subconsciously focuses on the president of the club… Chloe Beale. “How’s everyone’s first we-

“Chlo! We have a new member.” Stacie intervenes as she points at Beca who is sinking slowly in her seat. The redhead looks over at notices the brunette and gives Beca an endearing grin, the two of them both blushing crazily. Beca waves awkwardly as Chloe gestures her to stand up The brunette follows and hesitantly stands, waving at all the people within the club.

“Introduce yourself Bec! Don’t worry, we don’t bite.” Chloe winks, walking closer towards the brunette.

“Okay well… I’m Beca Mitchell and uh, yeah. That’s it.” The brunette immediately sits back down as the redhead lets out a giggle of her extremely awkward demeanor.

“She’s also candidate for valedictorian guys~” The brunette tries to hide her amused grin and playfully rolls her eyes. Fat Amy and Jesse high-five one another as Stacie gives a thumbs-up to Chloe. “Glad you joined us here today Bec… okay, the topic of today’s meeting, going to middle schools and promoting GSA and support!”

A smile slips onto Beca’s face as she admires how Chloe looks when she’s in charge and leading a group.

-

The lunch bell rings and everyone begins gathering their belongings, Beca especially as she doesn’t want to go through any more of the awkward tension surrounding her. Just as she’s about to walk out, she feels a soft grip wrap around her wrist. Beca turns around and notices Chloe, smiling softly at her.

“Hey, I’m glad you came today Beca.” The redhead says as Beca begins to walk closer to her crush. Fat Amy, Jesse, and Stacie walk past the two and smirk, walking out without their friend. “I’ll keep this short but I was wondering if you would be interested in coming to my softball game? Friday? First one of the season.” Chloe entices, still holding onto Beca’s wrist. The brunette is shocked by the invite and the corners of her lips perk up.

“I- yeah sure. I mean, yes. I know a lot about… softball. My favorite sport actually.” Beca blurts out, distracted by the smile Chloe gives off. The redhead’s grin becomes wider as she slowly lets go of her wrist.

“Great! See you then Bec.” Chloe leaves the classroom as Beca follows her out as well.

As Beca makes her way to the final period of the day, she realizes what she had just said about softball during their interaction. Her face scrunches up as she pounds her fist against the palm of her other hand, knowing damn well she had just lied to her crush.

Beca sure has a lot to learn about softball.

And that GSA meeting sure won’t be the last.

[romancingromanoff]

What Happens At Disney.... Part 2/3

youHe: 

Just a bunch of Disneyworld fluff! Also more one-on-one time with Nat in this one; you get a makeover and her and Ariel compete for best redhead.  

Part 1 here//Part 3 here

Tony coughed, “So now what?” The rest of the crew is standing around awkwardly in what Cap calls their “civilian clothes.” He’s sporting a plain white tee and a blue baseball cap (of course, because America) while Tony has opted for a more business casual look with a fancy short sleeved collared shirt and a tie. That’s about as casual as he gets but you just hope that he can try and relax and have fun today. There’s nothing that Thor could wear that wouldn’t make him look like a super granola California surfer guy. His man bun is attracting a lot of female attention, but then again, you suppose that that happens most of the time anyway. Bruce, of course, manages to look awkward in whatever clothing he’s wearing. He has a lot of purple shirts but he’s decided to go with the one you got him for Christmas with a small pocket over his left breast that you told him was where he was supposed to put his matching pen you also had made. You think it’s sweet that he’s wearing it today. Clint is also wearing some shorts and a tee along with some actual worn in sneakers; he probably blends in the most with the crowd.

Then there’s Nat- your girlfriend. She could pull off anything of course but today she’s just wearing some shorts, a black tank, and some combat boots. She’s quite the opposite of yourself in terms of the color palette she prefers but you secretly love that her neutral-toned basic pieces allow her red hair to shine and frame your favorite part about her- her face and those green eyes. Her hands are casually in her front pockets and she would almost seem relaxed if not for the fact that she was perpetually scanning the area around her and moving her eyes around to check for potential threats wherever she goes. You sigh and grab one of her hands into your own and pull her towards one of the stores and motion for everyone else to follow behind you.

“Well, me and Nat are going to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique so can you boys wait for us nearby? Thor, I think they sell giant turkey legs at that stand over there,” you see his face perk up at the mention of huge slabs of meat and he’s gone before you can blink.

“Aw, c’mon Thor! You can’t just push the kids out of the way like that!” Bruce groans and goes after him followed by Clint, Steve (who has entered reluctant babysitter mode) and Tony because apparently he just coincidentally wants to “go in that vague direction.”

“Okay, but I am not allowing them to touch my hair,” Natasha warns and you just give her a peck on her cheek before dragging her into the store. It’s like what you imagine Princess Jasmine’s salon is actually like as there are golden chandeliers, giant mirrors, and long silky curtains and drapes of all different colors decorating the giant space. Two of the stylists greet you with great big smiles and start giving you information on all of the different packages they offer.

“Of course not,” you smile. “Remember, this is my makeover, buddy. And I don’t want you stealing away my thunder anyway when you’re already a billion times prettier than me.”

“Get in the chair, you dork,” she snorts as you take a seat in the styling chair and the ladies begin their work. You decide to go with some simple makeup (just a little bit of blush, neutral eyeshadow, winged eyeliner, some lipgloss in the shade that Aurora wears, and light mascara with only a tiny bit of sparkly highlighter) and a giant Elsa-braid.  

“Oooh, help me pick out the perfect ears!” you squeal dragging Nat over to a wall of an assortment of glittery Minnie Mouse ears next. A pair of sparkly white ones with a red bow catches you eye which Nat notices and she reaches up to grab them for you.

“If I have any input, I’d like to see wearing these in the bedroom,” she says in that sultry voice as your face blushes and she slips them onto you.

“Shush, Nat, this is a public place with little kids,” you swat at her but can’t help but catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror and you tilt your head modeling them off for her as she smiles watching. “But I do look really good in these,” you admit. “I didn’t know you were into that kind of stuff,” you say to her in a lowered voice and pray that the store is busy enough that no one can hear your private conversation over all of the noise. She just gives you a grin which tells you she’s up to no good and pulls out her phone to show you a pair of very expensive, but stunning cat ears from a website you personally would have been afraid to visit off of private browsing mode.

“I don’t know, maybe playing cat and mouse could be kinda fun,” she says suggestively and you give her a quick kiss on her lips.

“Hey, don’t make me mess up my lipstick,” you warn with a laugh.

“Not until we get home, I promise.”

You meet with the boys just in time to stop Thor from consuming half of all of the turkey legs this poor vendor has and Tony suggests that you all go on a ride.

“How about the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train?” you suggest. “You know, from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs?”

“I understood that reference,” Steve’s got this huge smile on his face when you mention what was one of the only Disney animated films that came out pre-WWII. 

“Well, apparently the ride is just as old as you Capsicle,” Tony mocks him and pulls up his phone which he has on a website that shows all of the times you have to wait in line for a ride. “Because the train broke down while the dwarfs must have been hi-hoing to work.”

You can’t help but get a bit sad and your sulk a little bit before Nat gently rubs your arm and shoots Tony an angry glare. “Buuuuuuuut,” he begins obviously intimidated by Romanoff. “Luckily, I am an engineering genius so I’ll see what I can do to fix it.”

Perhaps the only perk of having a super egotistical genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist for a friend is that they never take “no” for an answer and can talk their way into pretty much anything when you need a favor from them. The seven of you eventually found your way to the control room which was underground in the infamous tunnels that only workers were allowed to see. 

“I don’t know, Tony, I get kind of claustrophobic and being underground probably isn’t good for my stress,” Bruce worries as Tony is nagging him to help him with the tools. 

“Hey, it’s the happiest place on earth, so get the hell in here,” he says and you hear Bruce groan. You, Clint, Nat, and Steve just decide to awkwardly wait outside while they’re arguing over mechanics and Tony is criticizing the Mouse for “not having adept technicians” when you decide you’d rather go explore around the corner and at least look for a bathroom. You excuse yourself and head into the labyrinth that is Disney’s Underground Maze and can’t help but stare at all of the half-human half-animal creatures you run into. There’s Chip & Dale without their costume heads on so it just looks like two normal guys’ heads floating on top of the bodies of some obese chipmunks, the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland is standing in a corner cursing out his girlfriend over the phone, and someone else with Tigger’s head and a woman’s body almost bumps into you. That’s when you stumble upon what looks like another dressing room and you peak in to find that it’s full of all of the Princess character-actors putting on their makeup and wigs.

“Oh my God, you’re Y/N!” a super perky voice catches you by surprise and you almost trip over yourself before the owner of that voice manages to catch you. She’s wearing the most magnificent mint green ball gown which is sleeveless. You know it’s a wig, but she’s got the most voluptuous red curls that frame her kind face so nicely that you can’t help but stutter as she smiles at you. After all, you’ve always had a thing for redheads and though she’s a little too bubbly for your taste, you have to admit that she’s very beautiful.  “Wow, it is so cool to meet you!” Princess Ariel exclaims before she starts complimenting you on all of the work you do. “I’m such a huge fan of yours!”

“Thank you very much, it’s nice to run into someone that thinks so,” you say. “And I’m such a big fan of your’s, I mean, of Ariel’s since I guess you are her.. or.. are you? Um, what should I call you?” you feel so embarrassed tripping over your own words confused about what the rules are for breaking out of character but she just laughs it off. You had no idea that the employees here could be so nice.

“I’m off the clock right now so you can call me Stella,” she winks and you try to play it off like you totally know what’s going on. “How long are you going to be here in Orlando?”

“A couple of days. I really want to visit all of the different parks.”

“Well,” she reaches into the dressing room and grabs what looks like a sticky note and a Mickey Mouse pen. “Let me know if you’d like someone to show you around, you know, after hours. I can give you the secret tour; get us a dinner reservation somewhere nice,” she winks at you again and then you finally catch on to what she means after she hands you the note which you see has a phone number on it. 

“Oh, uh-”

“Thanks, but my girlfriend knows I won’t kiss her if she’s been eating seafood,” you whip around to see Natasha standing there looking like she’s death itself about ready to take this poor girl away to hell. 

“I, uh, I gotta go,” Stella hurries into the dressing room closing the door after her and you’re left with an angry assassin with her arms crossed just waiting for an explanation.

“Natasha, I swear, I had no idea she was flirting with me.”

“I know. That’s exactly how she took advantage of you,” she almost darts into the room but you block the door before she can go kill anybody.

“Hey, she was not taking advantage of me,” you retort. 

“I saw how you were mesmerized by her hair and that stupid starfish clip.”

“It’s a wig, Natasha. You know I like my women to be naturally redheaded... even if they get a little green sometimes,” you playfully push her understandingly taking her two hands into yours and pulling her closer. “I only have eyes for you,” you whisper and she rolls her eyes trying to resist the puppy  eyes you’re giving her.

“Okay, but if she flirts with you again then I’m ripping that wig right off.”

Natasha won’t let go of your hand as you find your way back to Tony and Bruce who have finally finished repairing the ride. Coming back up above ground, the sun’s glare kind of blinds all of you and you notice Clint looks especially bothered.

“Hey, save that perfect hawk-vision of yours,” you pull out a pair of sunglasses from your bag and offer them to him.

“Thanks,” he says slipping them on over his squinting eyes before Thor, Tony, and Nat erupt in laughter. Clint just stands there confused for a second as his eyes readjust just before he realizes that the sunglasses you’ve given him are from the Pixie Hollow collection and are bright pink with tons of sequins all over the winged-shaped frames.

“You know what? My eyesight needs protection more than my masculinity, which I am completely comfortable with, so you guys can just go blind. Have fun staring at the sun,” he proclaims trying to block out the sounds of Tony struggling to breath from laughing too much and Thor’s giant belly laughs.

“Hey! I will expose you!” he threatens. “Security! Security?! Yeah, this guy has a giant weapon on him! Yup, the hammer guy? That's him. He’s right here.”

Thor turns around so fast with his hammer up to Clint’s chin. “You be silent right this instant, Barton, or else I shall smash you fairy princess glasses with my hammer right here and now.”

“No! Those are mine!” you scream as Natasha just keeps recording everything happening on her phone. 

To be continued...

[jaysomehero]

The Smell of Sunflowers. A Short Story.

We all think from time to time, about being loved unconditionally, a mother's touch, a lover's embrace, acceptance of one's self. We as humans crave it. From the moment you are violently screaming your existence into the world to when you are peacefully closing your eyes for the very last time.

You are put onto a path, one that takes you through this rugged, beautiful, odd journey, By accident, by purpose, by chance. You are introduced to individuals that teach you a thing or two about yourself. This story, is like that. Lessons learned, and purposes found.

A short, brief love story. If you are not doing much, perhaps offer a bit of your time.

I digressed, I was never really good at introducing a topic or story. You can say this is my first. If I remember correctly it starts around the same time as it is today. Cold, fall is passing and winter engaged. Although it was cold I remember being so warm, kind of glowing. Rebranded with new purpose. Cold air wrapped itself loosely and swiftly, felt like lace around my face, I was walking to work, I worked fast food at the time. I was a cook and typically moving in a hurry to work, with my music turned up loud enough to where I felt I was there. I really like to walk with my headphones in. The feeling and vibes, I could paint hearing the assembled sound of instruments. I could see the vibe attached with my music, I felt like I could describe it so well. My first love, music.

I loved waiting till the last minute, then bolt out the door energy drink in hand and moving like a bullet through the wind. Gotta love that youth, am I right? I just started Graveyard, and I got told it wouldn't be my usual coworker. I was used to working with.. Well for personal reasons I can't give you a name, so let's call her Molerat, as derogatory as that can sound, I find it appropriate. Usually an innocent girl, she just had a way of flipping a script and twisting your words into a balloon animal. One that you were unaware that you apparently made.

I don't have much at the moment I care to tell you about Molerat. Other than that I was not going to be working with her that night, I came in that night, per my usual timing a few minutes late, head to the back dropped my bag off, my bag I carried had my wallet, keys, an extra flannel red in color, my portable speaker, phone charger and typically an extra energy drink in addition to the one I had already. I took my energy drink and speaker to my work station which would be the grill area, back then this ritual, I believed made the shift more enjoyable, even though it was not enjoyable.

The smell of grease and burnt meat would be swimming toward my nostrils. The last of a dinner rush would be exiting and as the previous shift members were heading out and I settled in

Enter.. my coworker for the evening, I remember her wearing this thin black jacket with a flannel underneath, carrying a skateboard technically a long board, and a rasta colored satchel. She had this piercing above her lip, not in the middle but on the side. It looked cute honestly. She had these big doe like eyes, and lips that pursed like to together like those old style Hollywood actresses. After everyone from the last shift left, and we both were settled in, I attempted to introduce myself to her, in this story ladies and gentlemen, no names will be used. So call me Crow, cheesy I know but there's a purpose the name plays on and we'll get to that later. I remember awkwardly sticking my hand out like I was closing a business deal or something. She glanced at it and told me her hands were dirty. I think she said like a few minutes later. I felt a little rejected but not completely devastated. I mean after all we were both just there to scrape up some money and go home. I still wanted to push my boundaries though, so I get my speaker and turn it on. One especially great thing about working graves was no managers or shift leaders to tell you you couldn't play music out loud and best believe I took full advantage of it.

So I offer her the option to play music, most people when asked to play music don't often play THEIR music. To me it was a intimate thing to share music, intimate in a way without touching or talking like you got to hear the vibes these people vibe with.

We exchanged music, swapping song from song, the kitchen was filled with tunes of all kinds vibes in the air, from gritty, fast paced punk, through the lyrical morose of indie, to the feeling of joy and excitement in old and new songs. "Musical Soulmate" was what she called me before the night was over. Hummingbird is what I'm gonna call her. She was precious and pretty like a small Hummingbird. Like a floating little daisy that smiled and made me feel warm.

All these vibes and phases that my music helped me through. Being projected and straight into the ears of Hummingbird, This moment as I look back I would wanna call this phase the Color Yellow. They said Vincent Van Gogh ate the color yellow to cure his depression, unfortunately and ultimately succumbing to depression. I suppose the god of Death wasn't keen on just waiting around for such an artist to arrive. Bet he's painting some really beautiful things right about now, I really appreciated his pieces that included sunflowers. Those are my favorite, You gotta really give it to Death for giving life meaning.

Happiness is what the color yellow resembled and happiness in life was what I mark this brief period of my life. This happiness would be a story of love.

Eventually November flew by and December idled, blink and you'll miss it. Hummingbird and I grew more accustomed to each other. Although no feelings of love were declared you could see it, if you were there. That we were screaming it everyday at each other with every word, action and song played. You see I was supposed to be leaving to Oregon sometime within the next year, and December was well on its way to concluding a long and significant year in my change. New Year's eve, I still remember, Hummingbird and I shared our first kiss. Bringing in the new year together I was supposed to be getting to a party that night with a few friends. That kiss made me realize that there was nowhere else I'd rather be besides next to my Hummingbird. Nowhere else I'd wanna go, unless she was right there with me. So I canceled that move.

These next monthes would be confusing, exciting, and terrifying. As the phrase suggests Falling in love was exactly that. Falling, and falling and falling not stopping until you do, we were such careless lazy lovers. Living those days inside each other, it wouldn't be until the eve month of summer that a very specific surprise would arrive. The Crow and Hummingbird would be intertwined for life by the bond of birth. We were pregnant. We spent the summer trying to wrap our heads around it all. Having no car and living in the desert was a big drag, and a big challenge. It felt like I couldn't keep a job either. We were tasked with getting to know the best and worst parts of each other through the pregnancy. There were times of doubt, and times of reassurance. Keeping in mind this is a love story.

We'd eventually get a car and life was easier and through Fall and through the Winter we spent out on the road and on our own, flying wherever we wanted to be, enjoying every holiday as our last ones alone before the fruit of our trees would join us. I significantly remember Christmas 2018, how much I felt grown up, happy and carefree with my beloved. I wasn't just a Crow anymore, I was a Lovebird. Crows can be lovebirds too! The only purpose for using the name Crow. Lol That night is and will always be unforgettable. This is a love story.

January arrived and the month we both waited for. Again another January brought upon a new change, but this time for both of us. Our young, strong daughter was brought into this world on the 15th of January bearing the sign of the Sea Goat like her father before her. Blue eyed and resembling the beauty of her mother. Another light in my life was lit. Both of my girls were here. My beloved and my precious little girl. This is a love story.

This year would be a year of also many changes. For the better I do not know. For the worst I would like to think not. Lots of growing I witnessed in my daughter and in my beloved Hummingbird. I've never seen more growth from one person than her. She willingly let herself blossom and bloom into a woman. Becoming stronger, wiser, and even more gorgeous. Aging like fine wine. No jewel, no treasure, no goddess rivaled it. This is still a love story.

Somewhere along this year maybe the ending of the summer, there was doubt. Lots of doubt. I see it now, I lost strength and I didn't lose it naturally, I let myself lose it. Doubt was only natural. Love as you know is what we as humans crave. To not feel alone in a world that individualizes each and everyone. To eventually feel alone while being in love is a nasty thing. Nobody deserves such a thing. Maybe somewhere along the lines or between them there was a long lost feeling I forgot to tend to. A strong feeling. Ancient in age and has been felt since the dawn of man. If left unattended could consume the best of a man. This... Is... Still... A... Love... Story...

Lots of yelling, lots of hurting, lots of choices made. In the short time from September to November. Ladies and gentlemen this is a still a story.

Where we are left now is at the end. There are no more friends, there isn't a lover, there will not be a happy ending. Because To be frank I don't know what has ended or what has begun. I deserve no sympathy, no sad songs, and especially no love.

I the Crow, did this to myself, and I the Crow am the only one that has to be the one to fix myself. There is no smell of sunflowers and the one who smells of sunflowers is the same as the color yellow. They are happiness, they are good. Listen when I tell you that emotions run logic into the ground if left unchecked. Good men lose the battle everytime, we are warriors and not everything has to be a fight with hands. I used to think I knew how It all worked and how I could be better than I was.

Truth is I left those demons unchecked. I destroyed what I was given. I'm lost and I just want to see my girls. Hold them both in my arms. I don't want to give up. I don't want to hate. I don't fucking want to feel like this anymore. This is a love story. This is our story, this is my story, the story of a Crow that didn't learn anything and repeated his cycle. What's left is to move forward. There's only one way direction travels and that way is the only way to go. I apologize and will continue to do so till my final breathe.

I've learned its humility that humbles you. A tragedy that wisens you, and finally clarity is reached when you finally have faced those demons.

To my Hummingbird, I love you and will always love you. I'm on a path right now for a better and wiser me. Stronger and good of spirit. I do this for myself. But... I do, do this to maybe one day reunite. To meet each other again for the first time. It won't be soon, but I do truly hope to live in your arms and you in mine once this journey is completed. We could maybe be one, once more.

I'm alive and well. I don't wish to disrupt you and your peace but I do wish to hear from you and our daughter. Your well being and adventures. Thanksgiving will be here soon. I'm thankful we got to meet. Thank you.

Forever yours, the Sunflower

The Crow, The Alien, the Strutman, the Lovely Love, Kylo Ren, Jaysomehero

J. Thomas

[ravenclawbaz]

Guitar Hero Is Gay 

big thanks to @mintaero and @neck-mole for being beautiful betas!

read on ao3

BAZ

Tonight was supposed to be relaxing. I got home from work, took a well-deserved shower, and ordered from my favorite takeout place.

I’m on the couch with my food, my feet propped up on the coffee table, and about to press play on Teen Wolf when my phone vibrates next to me. I expect it to be Fiona checking in and letting me know she won’t be home tonight, as usual. But it’s not Fiona. Of all people who could be texting me at nearly 12 am on a Friday night, it’s Simon bloody Snow. Snow: heyyy pen is it too late for that ride???? if it is i hope u made it home safe :DD 

Pen? Ah, he must’ve been trying to text Bunce. Shame that Snow only texts me when it’s on accident. Not like we’re best friends or anything, I cocked that chance up at the beginning of the term. Apparently spilling silver nitrate all over someone’s arm is an not effective way to make a friend. I’ve overheard him telling Penny that him and I are ‘arch enemies’ because of it.

It only stained for a week at most, he’s just dramatic. Me: wrong person, snow. pretty sure that was meant for bunce. Leave it to Snow to fuck up my plans. This night was for rest and relaxation, two very foreign concepts to me, and now it’s turning into a night for Snow and complicated feelings. My phone buzzes a few times in quick succession; double texter. Snow: wish you wouldn’t call me snow :,( Snow: tellpen to come pick me up she knows where Snow: asap, pitch Snow: actually don’t she’s in no state to b driving I groan and shut off the telly, throwing aside my plans for good, and text Snow back while I put my untouched takeout in the fridge. I wasn’t that hungry anyway. Me: are you drunk? can’t you just take a cab home? The response is almost immediate. Snow: a cab? do i look like i want to get kidnapped??? Snow: do u WANT me to get kidnapped??? Slipping on my shoes and grabbing my keys from the bowl next to the front door, I head out to my car. Looks like I’ll be picking up a drunk Snow tonight. Me: you are a grown man, i don’t think anyone will try to kidnap you. where are you? Snow: that one place. the orca or something. u coming to get me?? Snow: u don’t have to Me: you mean the dolphin?

Me: and let you get kidnapped by a cabbie? be there in 15. Snow: yeah that’s theplace! thanks babe

On second thought, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. Dealing with a flirty drunk over text is manageable, but not in person, and not when that person is Snow. All I can hope is that he passes out before he can say anything he’ll regret. About 15 minutes later, I’m parked on the street outside The Dolphin. I roll down the passenger window and scan the passersby, catching sight of Snow leaning against the wall near the front door. The neon lights from the bar are painting his features in a soft glow and he looks carefree, chatting up a girl in front of him. What have I gotten myself into. Cupping my hands around my mouth, I yell out his name. He takes a startled step back from the girl and whips his head in my direction. When he sees me, he grins and breaks into a run toward my car. Not before saying goodbye to his friend, who doesn’t look too happy that I’m stealing Snow from her. He pulls open the passenger door and lets out a dramatic sigh as he slides into the seat. The smell of alcohol and cigarettes wafts over from where he’s now slumped over, and I roll down the windows. I don’t know if Snow smokes, but there’s a lot I don’t know about him.

“God, Baz. You never told me you had such a comfy car.” Leaning his head back on the rest, he closes his eyes and fumbles with the seat belt, clicking it into place before I take off. “You never asked. Where are we headed?” I tap my fingers to the beat of the song against the leather of my steering wheel; I don’t recognise the song, but Snow must, because he’s begun to hum along to it. I force myself to focus on the road, trying to ignore the low humming. “See, I know it’s in here somewhere,” I glance at him to see that he’s giggling and tapping his pointer finger against the side of his head, “but I can’t seem to find it.” “Are you taking the piss? You don’t know your own address?” Unbelievable. I’ve a drunk Snow in my car, and nowhere but my own flat to take him. Unless I drop him in the street, but even I’m not that cruel. “Would you be mad if I said I don’t?” He must notice the disapproving look on my face, because he’s quick to defend himself, “Hey, don’t give me that look! Pen and I only moved in last week. You can’t expect me to just know these things. Especially not in this state.” Looks like he’s coming to my flat, then. “You are the worst drunk.” I mutter under my breath and turn up the radio, hoping he’ll get the message that I’d rather drive in silence. He’s asleep when we get back to my flat, drool dripping down his chin and onto the window he’s pressed up against.

I nudge his shoulder and he jerks awake, banging his head in the process, then wipes at his mouth. “Sorry,” He slurs, opening the door and pushing himself out, before falling right back into his seat. I take a deep breath and close my eyes, still processing the turn of events this night has taken, and walk around the car to help him out. Wrapping an arm securely around his waist, I shut the car door with my hip and pull his arm over my shoulder, linking our fingers together to keep it in place and Snow upright.

It’s quite difficult climbing up four flights of stairs while 80 kilos of a drunk uni student hangs off your shoulder. Thankfully, we only stumble a few times. There’s only one close call when Snow trips on the last step, almost sending us tumbling down backwards. I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if this night ended in at least one broken bone.

We make it to my flat and I let go of Snow to dig the key out of my pocket, pushing him back to rest against the wall. The last thing I need is to drag 80 kilos of unconscious uni student through my flat. My neighbors already think poorly of me, best not have them think I’m a murderer.

I push the door open and grab for Snow again, having to use more strength to hold him up as he starts to lose more of his own. Shutting the door behind us with my foot, I shuffle him over to the couch, which I unceremoniously drop Snow facedown onto. It’s not a small couch by any means, but he’s quite broad, so I take out the cushions in the back to make room.

I point an accusing finger at him, “You stay there,” like he’d even be up for wandering around in his current state, “I’m going to get you some stuff.”

He just grunts in response, burying his face into the cushions.

I make my way through my flat, gathering things that Snow may need—a glass of water and some aspirin, pillows and blankets, and some pyjamas that he isn’t even sober enough to change into.

When I walk back to the couch, Snow has flipped onto his back with his hands resting under his head. He’s awake, but just barely. He stares up at me as I set the water and medicine on the table, then drop the rest of the things onto the floor. He’s still wearing his shoes, and it looks like I’m going to have to take those off.

I begin to unlace his boots, and silently curse how hard they are to take off. Not because I have something against taking shoes off, but because Snow will not stop staring at me. I’m not facing him, but I can feel his gaze on the top of my head. He doesn’t let up the whole time I undo his shoes and peel off his sweaty socks. (Gross, but so is allowing someone to sleep in socks.)

Grabbing the pillow off the floor, I motion for him to lift his head up. He listens, and I place it underneath him, picking up the blanket as he lays back down. His stare is unnerving, and I’m not sure he realises how intensely he’s looking at me. It wouldn’t be as creepy if he’d just say something, anything, but all he’s doing is forcing me to look back at those blue eyes.

I’m leaning over his face to tuck the blanket into the crease of the couch when he finally opens his mouth.

“Pretty,” He whispers, and all I can do is stare right back at him. Our faces are close, too close, and I jerk away when his eyelids begin to droop.

I stand up straight and look down at him. “And you’re drunk. Goodnight, Snow.”

He yanks the blanket up to his chin, pulling it out from where I just tucked it in as he turns away from me, muttering a string of unintelligible words. I shrug them off, not worrying too much about what a half asleep Snow has to say. Especially not if it’s another meaningless compliment.

As I’m stepping away from the couch and heading to my room, away from Snow’s drunken words, I finally let my shoulders droop; drop the façade that I find myself putting up anytime I’m around Snow.

After shutting my bedroom door quietly behind me, I cross the dark room and flop face-up onto my bed, kicking off my shoes. I don’t bother with getting under the covers, just roll over onto my side, and curl my knees to my chest.

---

SIMON

I’ve fucked up.

This much is evident as soon as the sun wakes me up. My eyes aren’t open, but I can tell that it’s bright wherever I am, and wherever I am is not my room. The pillow I’m on is too squishy, and I can feel the dip in the cushions beneath me—something that my back is really not appreciating. My neck aches, my head is throbbing, and where the fuck am I?

Maybe I could solve that mystery by opening my eyes. I groan and roll onto my side, rubbing at my eyes with my fists to try and force them open. They finally cooperate, and I slowly start to crack them open, giving myself time to adjust to the harsh light.

Definitely not in my own flat, then. Whoever owns this flat has really nice carpet, I’ll have to ask them about that.

No, now is not the time for thinking about carpet. I never think about carpet. I lift my head up a tad and catch sight of a pill bottle and a glass of water.

Every muscle in my body screams at me to just go back to sleep, but I ignore them and swing my legs over into a sitting position, feet planted on the floor. I rub at my eyes again with one hand, reaching out with the other to grab three of whatever medicine this is.

I could be drugging myself without looking at what I’m taking, but at this rate, I think my body would thank me for the sweet release from this hell.

I’m not even sure what all happened last night, but I don’t think I want to know. Searching my brain for any clues proves to only worsen my headache, the memory of flashing lights and alcohol too much for my brain to handle.

God, Penny is going to kill me. First, I go home with a strange person—okay, they may not be strange, but there’s always a chance—and then I don’t text her to let her know where I am. To let her know that I’m safe.

I look down at myself, doing a quick once over to make sure that, yes, I do have clothes on. Thankfully, they’re clothes that I recognise, the ones I was wearing last night. Penny will be so proud.

I’m so caught up in my own little hangover world, I jump when I hear a noise from behind me. I turn around too quickly—I’m seriously going to pay for this—to find the source of the noise. As if this entire situation could get any worse.

There, leaning against the wall of the hallway and smirking, eyebrow raised in what seems to be its permanent state, is Baz fucking Pitch.

“Morning, Snow.” He pushes off the wall and stalks toward me, glancing at his bare wrist like he’s checking a watch, “Or should I say afternoon?”

I groan and turn back around, dropping my head into my hands and rubbing vigorously at my eyes once again. This has to be a dream. There’s no way in hell that out of all the people I could possibly have gone home with, it ended up being him.

He was a complete ass during chemistry. I’d really thought there was a chance if us being friends, but then he had to go and pour chemicals all over me. Penny tells me I hold grudges for too long, and that I should just forgive Baz for making an honest mistake, but she doesn’t know how gross that shit is. It stained for weeks! Okay, maybe not weeks, but long enough for my disdain toward him to grow every time I was reminded of it. (Which was quite often. It’s hard to not look at your arm for a week, especially when it’s all brown and blotchy.)

Besides, he didn’t even have the decency to apologise. Or help me wash it off. He just raised that arrogant eyebrow of his and carried on with the lab.

Anyway, that whole incident began this weird dynamic between us; not exactly hate, but far from like. Merely tolerance accompanied with condescending eyebrow quirks from Baz, and resentment filled glares from me.

And now I’m here, sitting on Baz’s couch, while he leans coolly against it behind me.

“Would you like something to eat?” And now he’s offering to feed me? That snaps me out of whatever haze I’m in, and I quickly stand up. My entire body protests every single thing happening, but I’d rather have a killer headache than subject myself to this torture for one second longer.

“Leaving so soon?” He watches while I lace up my boots, then follows me to the door. “I take it you’ve finally remembered where you live.”

“First of all,” I stop in front of the door, hand on the doorknob, and turn to look at him. “I have no idea what you mean by that. And second, I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, really, but if you say one more word I think I might throw up. Please, for the love of God, shut the fuck up.”

That seems to catch him off guard, because he drops the smirk, taking a step back from me.

“I just mean,” I sigh, dragging my hand down my face. “I have the biggest headache, and I’m probably going to vomit any minute now, so I’m not appreciating your cocky attitude.”

“I’m not—”

“Shush,” I press my finger against his lips, which he looks down at with disgust. “Thank you for picking me up, but let’s just go back to the way things were, yeah? You doing nice things is creeping me out. I prefer broody, evil Baz to whatever this is.” He grabs my wrist and pulls my finger away from his lips, then stuffs his hands in his pockets.

“Alright, I can do that. Goodbye, Snow. See you Monday.” He says.

I give him a quick wave, then pull the door open and step out. Without looking back, I rush away and down the stairs, only hearing the click of his door closing when I reach the bottom of the first flight.

It’s raining when I step outside, and my shirt doesn’t provide much protection, but it’s all I have. Putting aside the fact that I’m going to be completely soaked by the time I make it home, the rain feels nice. It isn’t doing much to relieve my headache or calm my nausea, but the smell of the rain covers up how horrible I smell. I can��t believe Baz touched me when I smell like this. At least I think he’d have touched me to get me up to his flat.

A night of drinking and being around clouds of cigarette smoke doesn’t do much for personal hygiene. I’ll be happy to finally be in my own home, in my own shower, washing myself of my regrets.

The waves of nausea finally start to hit me full force, and I pull off into an alley where no one can see me. For the first time today, I do something that my body is thanking me for, but I really hate it.

When I’m finished, I step back out onto the pavement, pulling out my phone to check the time. I ignore the endless notifications from Penny, quickly shoving it back into my pocket before it gets soaked. It’s mid-afternoon. There are people running about, doing their own things. None of them spare me a second glance.

I pick up the pace as I near my flat, pressing the buzzer repeatedly—I’m not sure where I left my key, but that’s a problem for later. Penny finally lets me in, and I can sense her annoyance even before I step into the building.

She’s standing with her hands on her hips when I open the door. I take a breath and close it behind me, preparing for the questions she’s about to lay on me.

“And where do you think you were last night?” I step past her toward my room, stripping off my soaked shirt and throwing it in the general vicinity of the bathroom. She follows. “You couldn’t have bothered to call? Text? Where were you, Simon? If you went home with someone and didn’t tell me last night, I swear to all that is holy I—”

“Penny, oh my God. I’m sorry for not calling or texting, but I’m safe, yeah?” I take off my wet trousers next, not caring if Penny sees me in just my pants. It’s not like she hasn’t before. “I went home with Baz. He picked me up.”

“Baz Pitch?” She scoffs. “You went to Baz Pitch for a ride home, and he gave it to you? This is one for the books. How’d you get his number anyway?” She says as she falls back onto my bed, crossing her arms behind her head to look up at me.

I sit next to her, not worrying about the butt-shaped wet mark that I’m going to leave on the sheets. “I got it when we worked together on some lab a few months ago. I was going to text you, but drunk Simon thought it would be a wonderful idea to text Baz instead.”

“What’s that thing about drunk thoughts?”  I groan at the knowledge of where this is heading. “Oh yeah, ‘a drunk mind speaks a sober heart’, or something like that.”

I lay down on my back next to her, “For the last time Penny, I don’t like Baz like that. We’re just… acquaintances. And I think it’s ‘drunk actions are sober thoughts.’”

“Whatever, same thing. And did you say acquaintances? That’s at least an improvement from arch enemies.” She drops her head to the side to look at me, then shoves my shoulder. “Let’s see those texts.”

Oh yeah, I should probably check what I said to him. Not that I particularly want to, there’s a very high chance I said something embarrassing. I stand up and grab my damp phone from my discarded jeans and sit back down on the bed cross-legged, opening my message with Baz.

Ah, here’s the regret I’ve been anticipating.

“What is it? I know that look.” Penny sits up beside me, peering over my shoulder to get a look at my phone.

She really laughs this time, letting it all out at the stake of my dignity. “Oh, Simon,” She manages to get out through laughter that shakes my already unstable bed. “You called him babe? Oh, this is hilarious.”

My cheeks heat up and I tilt my phone away from her, scrolling to the first text. Drunk Simon is worse than I thought, because I know for a fact that I was completely aware of who I was texting. Apparently pretending the text was meant for someone else is a Simon certified way of getting it on with an acquaintance. I refuse to call him a crush, even safely in my thoughts.

“You’ve got to talk to him! He went out of his way to pick you up, that has to mean something.” Penny has always been one for the romantic. Though, in this case, I think she’s just tired of mine and Baz’s immature hatred for each other.

As I’m about to respond, I remember something from last night.

Baz leaning over me, black hair falling and framing his face. He didn’t have it slicked back last night; I must’ve caught him right before bed. I remember grey eyes staring straight into mine, too close. I remember saying something to him. Calling him pretty. Oh fuck.

So, let me get this straight. I text Baz, drunk, asking him for a ride. A ride that he gives me. He takes care of me and lets me crash at his place. Then I drunkenly call him pretty, only to wake up in the morning and insult him. But of course, not before rushing out of his house like I’d rather be anywhere else. No wonder he looked so confused.  

This changes things. Now, the promise of going back to the way Baz and I were before makes my stomach twist, somehow a worse feeling than that of the nausea that accompanied my hangover.

I hate that I have to, but I’m going to have to fix this.

I finally let Penny in on my internal struggle. “I called him pretty, Pen. I don’t think I can ever look into his eyes again.” I mumble into my palm. I shut my phone off and drop it onto the floor, wanting to forget that last night and this morning—afternoon, whatever—ever happened.

“You really have it bad, don’t you?” I nod and rest my head on her shoulder, absorbing all the comfort I can. I definitely need it.

After a few minutes of allowing me to sulk, she pushes me off and jumps up, clapping her hands together. Oh no, this is her plan position. “Well? Are you just going to sit around and pout all day, or are you going to get your ass up and get that boy?” She grabs my hands, pulling with all her strength to yank my unresponsive body up and off the bed. “Take a shower and put some clothes on, you look like hell. I’m going to make you some hangover food.”

She hurries out of my room and off to the kitchen. I envy how enthusiastic she can be while I stand here feeling like a bag of utter shit. But she’s right, nothing is going to happen with Baz unless I step up and do something. Having gained some of Penny’s confidence, I skip off to the bathroom, feeling like things might go right for once.

---

After I’ve showered, eaten, and gotten another pep talk from Penny, we sit on the couch to watch reruns of the The Great British Bake Off. She hovers over my shoulder while I stare at my texts with Baz, trying to think of something to say. I settle for a simple ‘hey Baz’, which Penny isn’t very impressed with.

Baz: i hope you aren’t already drunk again, i don’t have time for picking up the trash tonight.

Nice, an insult. Penny insists that it’s just friendly banter, but having finally accepted my feelings for Baz, it feels… different.  

Me: ha. you’re not funny.

Me: but no i’m not drunk at 5 in the afternoon, give me some credit

Me: are you busy tonight? i feel really bad about the way i acted and want to make it up to you

Baz: what do you have in mind?

Me: come over to mine for dinner? 6:30?

Baz: so soon?

I turn to look at Penny—she’s watching this entire disaster play out—and she must know what’s coming from the pleading look on my face, because she tilts her head and gives me a glare full of disappointment. “Give it to me straight, am I getting kicked out of my own flat so you can have a boy over?”

“No.” I click my phone off, then say quietly, “Might kick you out of the living room, though.”

Having expected something of the sort, she only rolls her eyes. “I want you to know I’m only doing this because I know you’d do the same for me.”

My phone vibrates with another text, and I answer that instead of Penny. She turns her attention back to the TV.

Baz: but yes, i can. please tell me you’ve showered since i last saw you.

Me: i have

Me: you’re still not funny.

Baz: i am

Baz: i’m going to need your address. that is, if you’ve finally remembered it?

I sigh and type out my address, hitting send and dropping my phone onto the couch. I feel Penny’s eyes burning a hole into the side of my head, so I turn to look at her.

She crosses her arms, looking amused. “I can’t believe you’re making me hide in my room so you can get it on with your nemesis.”

“He’s not my nemesis!” I say defensively.

“Simon,” she places a hand on my shoulder, “those are your exact words. This is all on you.”

“Sod off. I’m gonna clean up a bit. Baz will be here soon.” I gently push her hand away and stand up, walking off to my room. Time to go through the painful process of deciding what the fuck I’m going to wear.

One thing’s for sure, I need to make up for how much of a piece of shit I was. Something nice that doesn’t make me look like I’m trying too hard should do the trick. I settle for light jeans and a navy blue jumper that Penny says brings out my eyes.

As 6:30 approaches, I tidy up around the flat and order some pizza. In what feels like a too short amount of time, there’s a knock at the front door. Penny is still sitting on the couch and I pull her up, dragging her down the hall to shove her in her room.

“I love you. No eavesdropping.” I close the door before she can respond, and hurry back to answer the door. After quickly brushing imaginary crumbs off the front of my jeans, I open the door to find Baz standing next to the delivery girl, both of them looking extremely uncomfortable.

“Oh, er, Baz. You can come in.” I open the door wider to let him step past me. The pizza girl hands me the boxes and I reach into my pocket for the payment, she takes it and gives me a slight nod before leaving. I close the door behind her and turn to face Baz, who’s already taken off his jacket and hung it on the hook next to the door.

“Sorry about that,” I push past him to put the food on the coffee table, going on to the kitchen to grab some plates; he follows.

“I’m not sure if I can forgive you, we walked up the stairs together too.” I laugh at that, not even wanting to imagine how awkward of a walk that must’ve been.

“That’s rough.” We walk back into the living room, plates in hand. “I can understand if you never want to talk to me again.” I set the plates on the table, sitting down on the couch and waiting for Baz to do the same.

“When you invited me over for dinner, I didn’t think it’d be pizza on the couch.” He sounds amused, which just annoys me.

“Yeah, well, it’s what you’re gonna get. Don’t act like you don’t do the exact same thing.” I shove a plate into his chest.

He rolls his eyes, but there’s no real annoyance behind the action, and sits down an unsettling two feet away from me—all the way at the other side of the couch. We’re off to a great start.

I reach forward and open the box, taking out a few slices of pizza and dropping them onto my plate. Baz gives me a sideways glance, something I interpret as judgmental, but I only stare right back and add another piece of pizza to my pile. He finally gives up with the looks, getting some food for himself.

With my plate on my lap, I pull my feet up onto the couch and turn so I’m facing Baz, sitting with my back against the armrest. In my head, it felt like a good idea to sit this way. It makes for easier conversation when we can actually look at each other, but he’s still sitting facing forward and now it’s just weird. It’s too awkward to change positions again though, so I stick by my decision, and continue to stare at the side of his head.

We eat in silence for a bit, Baz still looking forward, but pulling one foot up to tuck underneath his thigh. He still has his boots on, but it’s nothing new to this poor couch, and I’m just glad that he’s seeming to get a little more comfortable.

Eventually, when we’re almost finished with our food, the silence teeters into extremely uncomfortable territory, and I speak up.“I know I’ve said this like, a million times, but I’m still really sorry about last night. I had no right to ask you for a ride, forget my fucking address, then crash at your place.”

“It’s fine, Snow, honestly. Besides, you didn’t even mean to text me, right? You called me Penny.” He sets his plate down on the table, kicking off his shoes and pulling his feet onto the couch to mimic the way I’m sitting. Finally.

“Right, yeah. I totally meant to text Penny.” I put my plate on the table too, pulling a pillow into my lap to hold for support.

He narrows his eyes at me, which is never a good sign when Baz is the one doing it. “See, the way you said that gives me the feeling you’re not being completely honest. You’d never lie to me, would you?” He looks amused, eyes wide and intrusive.

I huff and look away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I think you do.” The couch creaks as he leans forward to rest his chin in his palm, “Tell me, how’d you manage to do that? Our names are way different and we haven’t texted in what, at least two months? My name has got to be far down in your messages.” Fuck Baz and his logic. But more importantly, fuck me for being such an idiotic drunk.

He’s smirking when I look back at him—which I absolutely hate, for the record—and I give him an evil glare. At least, it feels evil to me.

“Fine. I may or may not have texted you and pretended I thought you were Penny.” He turns his hand into a fist, chin still resting on it, and grins like a madman.

“And why would you do that?” I wish he’d wipe that smug look off his face.

I look around the room, looking for an out from the conversation. Well, there’s always one thing that can diffuse a situation. “Wanna play a video game?”

The expression on his face falls into one of confusion, and he cocks his head. “Huh?”

“We need something to do. C’mon,” I walk over to the TV and sit down in front of the cabinet with the games.

Baz hesitates, but eventually follows. “What kind of video games are we talking about here?” He says as he sits down next to me.

“Wii games, like Mario Kart and Just Dance. Those kinda games.” I open the cabinet and pull out two remotes, handing one to baz.

“Oh, yeah. I’ve played those before.” He grabs the remote and slides the strap over his wrist, of course he’s one of those people. Did you really even play a Wii game if there was never a risk of smashing your TV screen to pieces?

“Any suggestions?”

“Well, we can rule out Just Dance. I’m not playing that.” He scans the several rows of discs—Penny and I have a problem—and settles on a game, handing it to me and getting up and walking back to the couch.

“Guitar Hero, huh?” I go to join him, grabbing the plastic guitars from where they rest against the side of the cabinet. “You sure you’ve got what it takes to beat me?”

“You’d be wise to not underestimate my strumming abilities.” He snatches one of the guitars from my hands and snaps the remote into it. “Let’s do this.”

I sit down next to him and position the guitar comfortably in my arms while he gets the game started with his controls, “You don’t really strum these guitars. It’s more like… fingering.”

He gives me a blank stare, holds it for a few long seconds, then goes back to navigating through the menu. “Yeah, I’m not going to call it that. You pick the song.”

After scrolling through the options, I settle on Vampire Weekend. The beginning of “A-Punk” starts to fill the air, and shit, Baz was being serious when he told me not to underestimate him. Risking my victory at this song, I turn my head to glance at him, and his fingers are moving much faster than they really need to be.

Baz nearly destroys me, but I catch up at the last second and beat him by a hair.

I drop my guitar when the song ends and look smugly at Baz. “What was that you said about underestimating your strumming abilities?”

“I obviously let you win. Let’s do another.” He flicks his thumb over the bar, scrolling through to pick a new song.

“Sure you did.” I mutter. Baz ignores me.

“Do you want to play this song next?” I look to the screen, where “Hungry Like The Wolf” by Duran Duran is highlighted.

“Yeah, sure. But we should add a little challenge to this,” Apparently, I can’t keep my dumb mouth shut because I say, “If you think you’re so good—” Don’t suggest it, Simon. Don’t do it. “—then let’s up the stakes this time.”

Baz quirks an eyebrow at me, silently urging me to  go on. I’m not so sure that I want to.

But I can’t be the only one who’s feeling this way, can I? The tension in the room any time me and Baz interact is thick enough to cut, and I don’t think it’s the kind of tension that arises from hating each other. No, this is a much different tension. A gay kind.

So, deciding I have nothing to lose���besides Guitar Hero, of course—I go for it.

“Loser has to give the winner...” I hesitate, make sure this is really what I want to do, then continue, “a kiss.”

Baz’s response is immediate, like he’d been expecting me to suggest that. “I see your goal here, but you do realise that no matter who loses, both of us are going to end up getting the same thing?”

“Yeah but that’s not the point. The point is that the person who loses has to give the kiss. There’s a difference between giving and receiving.” I mean, I’m not wrong. There is a difference, but I’ll admit that isn’t very good justification.

“I’ll just pretend that makes sense. You know you’re going to lose though, right?”

“We’ll see about that. Maybe I was holding back the first time too.” Baz starts the song, and I position the guitar more comfortably in my arms.

The song starts to play, and I am seriously screwed. Did he change the difficulty on mine when I wasn’t paying attention? I thought I really had this one in the bag, but I guess that’s what you get when you’re cocky.

It’s safe to say that by the end of the song, he has completely destroyed me.

He rests his guitar and his lap and turns to face me, “About that kiss…”

Warmth floods my cheeks and, God, of course I had to lose when there were stakes. Well, a bet’s a bet. I set my hands on the couch in front of me and push into them, sitting up and leaning towards Baz. I stop when my face is inches away from his, and his eyes flutter closed.

I can’t let him get the satisfaction of winning, it’s just not fair. We never did specify that the kiss had to be on the lips, though, so I lean in and give him a quick peck on the cheek.

He cracks open his eyes and glares at me.

“Really?”

“Hey, I never said it had to be on the lips.” I’m still close to Baz, my hands on the cushions, and I’m about to sit back down when he grabs me by the back of the neck and pulls me in.

I widen my eyes in surprise as he presses his lips against mine. Oh, okay. That’s happening. My eyes drop closed, but he’s already pulling away and picking his guitar back up.

I’m staring at the side of his head, my mouth hanging open, and he has the audacity to act like nothing happened.

“So, how about ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’?”