#I'm going to be so sad if they leave out Cannonball

[theriu]

River Reads Midnight Sun

Chapter 2: Open Book

In which Edward faces his fears and spends an agonizing amount of time hyperfixating on Bella.

<-Chapter 1

So we jump into chapter two AND next week, as it has been six days since Edward (shockingly) succeeded in leaving town forever (citation needed)! He is chilling (ha) in a snowbank, staring up at the stars, which are truly magnificent. Or he knows they would be, except he can't quite see anything except Bella's face. Yes, the girl has haunted him straight to (checks location on a map) oh he's in ALASKA, okay! I wasn't sure where Denali was, but I was PRETTY sure even Edward couldn't drive a car to Russia. (You'll see why I considered Russia in a minute.)

Anyway, the "unremarkable" face of this girl he's literally never spoken to directly has been haunting him for six days, which is indeed troubling. While he is brooding on this, the thoughts of a new character come leaping towards him. This is where we meet Tanya, a vampire with silver skin, blonde-but-almost-pink curly hair, amber eyes, and full lips. Mary Sue Tanya is stunning and exquisite, at least from Ed's memory, since he still can't see past the face permanently branded on his eyeballs.

So anyway, Mary Sue Tanya does a cannonball into Ed's snowbank, burying him alive with snow but not burying the image of Bella. It becomes clear that she has been crushing on Ed and is sad he will be leaving soon and doesn't return her affections, although he is very polite and gentlemanly about it.

(Honestly, I liked her well enough until we got to the "I'm not used to rejection" line, and then she starts sifting through the memories of all her human male conquests next to the actual mind reader who she is attracted to, to which I say WOMAN REALLY??? I don't think making the guy you like EVEN MORE UNCOMFORTABLE than he's already admitted you kinda make him is an effective way to gain his affections?!)

ANYWAY, thankfully they get off THAT subject quickly and have a really quite nice conversation, wherein Ed apologizes for getting her hopes up by coming to her home territory and Tanya tries to be a good friend. We see a mention of her "long-lost Russian accent," thus my uncertainty about location, and she tells him she knows he won't keep running from his mystery problem because he's the type who faces things head-on. Mary Sue TANYA then runs away across the snow, so light and fast she doesn't even leave footprints, suggesting a connection between vampires and wood elves.

Encouraged by this pep talk, Gary Stu Edward also gets up and runs footprintless across the snow, determined to be brave and go back and face those "bewildered chocolate-brown eyes," and hopefully not eat the girl attached to them.

SCENE CHANGE!

Edward's back in town, and his three vampire siblings/classmates are huddled around him as they head into the lunchroom, being quite adorably protective, honestly. Alice is trying to foresee any problematic eventualities, Jasper thinks it's funny that EDWARD is the one everyone's fretting over instead of him, Emmett is acting like a bodyguard, and Ed is just exasperated with all of them.

To his surprise, nobody at school is thinking about them, suggesting that Bella didn’t blab about his black murderstare from last chapter. After all, a normal human would have asked around about it, because humans and especially teens all like to feel NORMAL and FIT IN and be a "featureless flock of sheep" and WOW, should I be more annoyed at Ed or the author for this intense bias against high schoolers?! But of course Bella isn't like those OTHER kids, she doesn't do things like talk to people when something weird happens!

About this time, Bella walks in and Alice is all, "Act human!" To which Emmett responds by taking out the snowball he compressed into an ice chunk with his superstrength and chucking it at Alice, who casually deflects it across the room at superspeed, where it cracks a brick. This does, ironically, draw attention away from them. Everyone is annoyed at Emmett, which is fair, but also, ALICE COULDN'T YOU HAVE JUST CAUGHT IT INSTEAD OF POTENTIALLY SHOOTING SOMEONE?

Ahem. So Bella's in the lunch line, and Mike Newton, Regular High School Guy And Insignificant Human Rival, is worried about her. Ed starts also worrying about if she might be sickly, what with her translucent skin. (Are we 100% sure BELLA is human?!) The vampires do a slightly better job of acting natural, and Edward decides to refer to Bella as “Bella” and not just "the girl,” "as if she were the only girl in the world," which is HILARIOUS considering where we all know this is going!

After eavesdropping on Bella and Jessica whispering about him looking at her (Bella thinks he's mad at her, after the whole murderstare incident), Bella hunkers under her hair and avoids eye contact, although Ed thinks she keeps twitching like she WANTS to look at him. Then, at long last, lunch ends and everyone starts going to class. There is another internal struggle while Ed reviews what all of his vampire family members have advised about this situation. (Emmett sounding the least helpful, as he has apparently encountered two such delicious-smelling-people incidents that... uh... sound like they did NOT go well?) But Ed is determined to prove to himself that he has the self-control to sit through biology without murdering Bella, so off he goes.

(By the way, Rosalie complains she doesn't want to have to move because they're almost finally out of high school. Again, why are you pretending to be high school students?! It's not like you'll age whether you're there or not?! HOW DOES THIS HELP YOUR COVER??)

Edward gets to Biology to find Bella at their table, doodling randomly. He decides to introduce himself. He gets briefly lost in gratuitously detailed descriptions of her eyeballs and how they are simultaneously like chocolate and strong tea, and how could anyone so frail be deserving of his unwarranted hatred last week? He's also holding his breath, but has enough air in his longs for a reasonably lengthy conversation AND a short laugh, during which Bella is... surprised/startled that he called her Bella? Because her dad introduced her to everyone as Isabella? But she's apparently told multiple people since she got here that she prefers Bella? So he probably could have learned that even without his super vampire eavesdropping powers? WHY is this weird enough to be suspicious, and HOW does it indicate she is intuitive?

Well, the book and Ed believe she is insightful and intuitive, so I guess we should just go with it. Ed does eventually needs to breath so he can talk, and even though just breathing through his mouth is like tasting the FIERY COALS of her deliciousness, and their brief moment of making skin contact is like an ELECTRIC SHOCK, he manages to continue acting normal.

By the way, along with being unconventionally if lopsidedly pretty and smelling delicious, Bella was also in advanced-placement biology at her previous school and Knows Science! Edward realizes this must mean she is ESPECIALLY intelligent for a human, which of course makes perfect sense. After all, she was the first student in two years to look him in the eye long enough to notice they'd changed from the Murderstare Incident's I'm-going-to-eat-you black to today's calmer I'm-probably-not-going-to-eat-you-except-by-accident amber/gold! My friends, may I remind you this man previously admitted he has two medical degrees, a thing that probably required some amount of physically attending college. I really wonder if Ed's standards would be more realistic if he ever once SOCIALIZED WITH HIS HUMAN CLASSMATES.

In an effort to maintain normalcy, they talk about the weather. Bella does not like the cold and wet of Forks. She clearly does not like being in Forks at all. She is vague and grumpy about why she came here, and Edward is so obsessed curious that he may implode (this is the actual word used). We learn (agonizingly slowly) that her mom remarried—and no, Edward, Bella DOES like the guy, he's nice and a minor-league baseball player; and no, Edward, her mom DIDN'T send her here, SHE sent HERSELF here so her mom could happily travel with her step-dad rather than unhappily stay home with her! Ed is certain by now that Bella "isn't like other humans" because he keeps guessing her story arcs wrong and she's just so CONFUSING and UNPREDICTABLE, and this can't possibly be because he's about 100 years out of practice having a normal conversation without a cheat code into the other person's brain.

(Okay, to be fair, there are at LEAST two moments of self-awareness where Ed wonders if he'd be this bad at reading everybody without his mindreading powers. We should give him points for that.)

But despite his difficulties, he DOES figure out that Bella is unhappy, mostly by her sending out signals that a rhino could decipher. When he confronts her with this observation, her response is, "So?" And after meditating on this for an unusually brief paragraph, Ed realizes THE ANSWER:

"She was selfless."

I'm sorry, guys, I need to break for a second, that's the first part that made me laugh out loud. Can someone lend me a combine to harvest all this corn.

(Side Note: As previously stated, I have not read the books or watched the movies, so I could be biased by the negative side of the fanbase. But my general impression of Bella has not lent itself to "selflessness." BUT, it is only chapter two and I am only going off of general hearsay! The amount of poorly concealed disgruntlement is not impressing me, though.)

Anyway, Ed guesses that she doesn't really like her situation but doesn't want people to KNOW she doesn't like it. He continues to marvel at how positively he feels towards this girl, how discerning she is, how *cough* selfless she is, not like an "average martyr" who would actually tell someone she's not 100% happy with her SACRIFICE. Bella gets annoyed, which Ed finds amusing, so there's another adjective for the list. But then she says she's annoyed because she's so easy to read, and Edward can't believe this, because he's never had to work so hard to read someone before! Again, this couldn't possibly be because she's the first person in 100+ years whose mind he can't read!

By the way, Bella also seems to be oblivious immune to the usual red flags normal humans feel around vampires! Ed tries smiling dangerously at her, but the teacher breaks up their conversation with actual classtime, so he gets to angst for a few paragraphs about why he shouldn't find this girl interesting and how dangerous this is for her and yet how MUCH he wants to know more about her. And also trying not to kill her when her thick, black hair flips in his direction and drives his vampire nose bananas.

He books it as soon as the bell rings, having survived the encounter without murdering anyone but with so many new questions about this unremarkable, shy, frail, unmindreadable-yet-highly-face-readable, delicious-smelling, selfless, quietly disgruntled human girl.

(Side Note: I have learned a new word!

"Attar—a fragrant essential oil, typically made from rose petals."

Ex: "Again, I gasped at the clean, wet air outside as though it was a healing attar."

*loud sighing noises*)

So after that brief break, he goes to class with Emmett. Emmett, IMMENSELY HELPFUL EMMETT, asks how it went, questions if it wouldn't be easier to just get it over with, reassures Ed that everyone would understand if he messed up (GIVING IN IS NOT THE SAME AS "MESSING UP," EMMETT), and then vividly visualizes a time he experienced a really good-smelling woman and ate her. Between his earlier blasé-ness about not "wallowing in guilt" over past mistakes and this section's lack of anything indicating regret about that incident, I take back any nice things I might have said about this guy. Emmett, YOU. ARE. THE WORST.

It's so bad that Ed has to bolt out of class AGAIN, although it doesn't help that Emmett follows him and continues to suggest maybe Ed should just get it over with if it's so bad, can Alice or somebody please come punch him. Ed finally gets him to leave and hides in his car. Then, "like an addict" (his own words), he searches the whole school for thoughts about Bella. From his car. My GUY, just how UNREASONABLY powerful ARE your mind radar skills???

He finally locates Bella in gym class, because Mike, who is mad about Ed talking to her, is thinking in logical, complete sentences (as one does) about how satisfied he is that Bella doesn't seem interested in Edward. He also conveniently remembers her asking "what was with" Edward last Monday (after the Deathstare Incident). So apparently Bella isn't QUITE abnormal unique enough to stay totally silent when she encounters a weird thing (not that Edward notices). Ed's response to his annoyance over Mike's satisfaction is to blast "violent music," which seems the opposite of helpful to me.

We end the chapter with Bella coming out of school and heading to her rusty old truck while Ed watches her creepily from his car. She almost hits another student's car when she locks eyes with him, and Ed has to laugh at her sudden increased driving vigilance, as if she might be DANGEROUS! Because of course it's RIDICULOUS to think that BELLA could be dangerous to ANYONE in ANY vehicle, as if the driver's physical frailty has any bearing on the damage a truck can do when crashing into cars or non-vampires at speed.

AND SCENE!

I'm gonna be honest, guys, that one was a couple degrees more agonizing than the first chapter. I dread how much more I'm going to hear about Ed's conflicting desires to eat Bella and be attracted to her simultaneously average yet fascinating allure. She's just so unusually unique and smart and intuitive and selfless and shy and frail and inspires protective instincts, you see, and she's not like ANY OTHER human he's ever encountered, even though we have evidence now that sometimes certain vampires just find certain humans irresistibly delicious, and we can probably extrapolate that those humans were somehow immune to vampire powers, too.

I also highly question Bella's above-average "martyrdom," considering she dropped her guard pretty fast around the cute stranger and basically broadcasted how unhappy she is with her decision, which makes it feel a bit like she did what she did so she could feel good about herself rather than because it was the best thing to do? Being selfless doesn't mean COMPLETELY ignoring your own needs, or justify using your good deed as an excuse to have a poor attitude. Of course, considering that half her traits that Ed notices and marvels over are actually fairly normal, I don't think any of us feel a strong need to trust his assessments of her character.

Next up is CHAPTER THREE: RISK. I'm sure it will feature Edward being very level-headed and undramatic. I think I need to build my endurance back up for this one. (And thanks for the likes and comments so far, they really help keep me motivated! =D)

Chapter 3->

[mvshortcut]

Possible mbs season 2 casting update!!

Not sure if anyone's seen this yet but the mbs disney imbd has Fred Melamed listed for playing Captain Noland:

It's also credited on his wikipedia page!

[laceratedlamiaceae]

I've seen some jokes about a Stede/Ed/Izzy/Jack polycule and I can't help but take it too seriously so here's how I imagine it happening:

Post season 1, Ed rebounds with Jack (who survived the cannonball somehow) and kicks Izzy out now that he has someone else to distract him. Izzy finds Stede because he thinks even Stede is better than Jack, only to realize that he's into the new, confident Stede. Stede realizes that he's actually into Izzy now and the two of them fuck. Meanwhile, Jack and Ed are partying way too hard but it's better than how Ed was doing before.

Stede and Izzy get back to the Revenge prepared for a dramatic confrontation, but Ed just starts crying and Stede comforts him. Izzy and Jack are the odd ones out and they have sad angsty sex while Stede and Ed are having their tender passionate reunion. Izzy and Jack leave and Stede and Ed are surprised by how much they miss them.

Stede and Ed find Jack and Izzy together in the Republic of Pirates, and they all avoid talking about their feelings. Lucius intervenes eventually and gets Stede to talk to Jack while Ed talks to Izzy. Jack starts to respect Stede's brand of lunacy and Stede has, to his dismay, begun to find Jack hot. Ed and Izzy have an actual honest conversation about their feelings (I'm thinking Izzy would have to be held at literal gunpoint for that but that's a possibility here).

In the end, all four of them get together. Stede and Ed have each other for the soft, romantic stuff while Izzy and Jack get rough (in a safe-ish, healthy-ish way). Stede and Izzy get to be calm and quiet together while Jack and Ed are partying. Jack and Stede work together to stop Ed and Izzy every time their whole deal gets bad again. They all constantly infuriate everyone around them because with four people there's always two or three who can be disgusting together no matter what's going on.

[sylvieeee5]

it's finally time...

for episode 3!!!

please pardon my lateness- I had family over last week, and then I got the second booster shot and it knocked me out for a couple days!

But we're BACKKKK

And here's a Sonic for your troubles :)

Oh! And if you'd like to support my poor time management skills, I would greatly appreciate if you'd consider donating to my Kofi! haha. i'm. broke

!Warning!! Book/show spoilers ahead!

1:27

"Welp, guess they jumped overboard. Alright, back to dinner, everyone!"

2:38

How'd you get that figure? Did Kate tell you?

"Alright gang, stay calm, we don't want them to hear us. By the way, we're 120 feet over the ocean, so uh... don't look down."

2:47

Down? Shouldn't you have gone up??

3:12

...do you think constance has a evil plan pre-formed in case she ever decides to go rogue?

3:17

she hopped on the ruse train :)

y'all ever hear a good word and decide hm! nice word! i will use it Always from now on

3:47

what do you mean

4:55

Number Two's plan B is biological warfare!! love that for her

5:00

HDSGDJWAKYGASYDGAKDAGK

5:43

I think you can be as judgmental as you want when it comes to his second mind control scheme in as many years

6:12

fambly,,,

6:25

ahahahaaaaaaaa

ha

7:07

UNBOTHERED Q UE E N

8:08

????????????????????

noland HUH

8:20

babies-

9:05

JKUCAKYCAIUCKUICQHWXKKHGAJCSH DACAJHSHASGSAASU

constance wants a taste

9:59

gambling montage hell yeah!!

10:27

смерть или слава.

i absolutely love that they made her russian vsjdaskdf

11:45

GIRLBOSS

i know nothing about gambling so that was. interesting to watch with no context jasfkjs

11:58

please let the pie truck be connected to moocho in some way please pl

12:41

"I'm highly concerned about the lion in this cave. Oh, what's that? I've stumbled upon a pile of meat and am being invited to sit on it? Well, why not?"

12:54

no it ain't, nathaniel

13:57

roll credits kinda!

14:20

YES TRUEEEE

impromptu parenting seminar with ms perumal. we love to see it

15:23

hehehe! same. haaaaaaaah

16:13

gfhjhgfhgh

okay but how is that considered cheating?? it's a strategy!

16:24

and NO SHAME

17:22

i mean... true enough

then again i somehow doubt this is a legal operation so if you're stealing from criminals, two wrongs make a right! /j

17:43

GIRL PLEASE

17:56

kinda thought this guy was risker when i saw the trailer. guess not!

18:25

Ahhh, you can totally take him. You just have to make it outside and them sic Madge on 'im! Just... don't look.

19:25

oh right, international waters. no laws! don't look that up, i promise it's true

19:47

the earnestness of that line awwww

Good job, Reynie. Applejack would approve!

20:04

Those "water polo" players are lucky Martina's not here. You do not besmirch the name of sports in her presence- unlike Kate she won't hesitate, bitch.

20:24

........?

20:35

SURRENDERRRRRRRRRRR

i love cannonball oh my god

21:28

...that line, and referring to his followers as "family" is.... really reminding me of my own experience in a similar organization. Man.

22:14

...excuse me a second

22:19

NO WE DON'T ENLIGHTEN US PLEASE

22:52

.... given what we know about constance that somehow seems competely plausible

23:32

Not so "equal in weight", huh, Atalanta?

rip milligan's luggage :(

23:57

DFKUFUAKJHJKASDGSJSKDAHJASDGKJGFYJSAYGGFSEY

THAT LINE DELIVERY

BLESS YOU FRED MELAMED

24:16

these are children you two

24:28

OOOOOOOOOH

she just called your ship sad. with class!

love that kate really is expanding her vocab- she didn't lie to milligan in ep 1!

25:30

do they not have passports?? did they leave them behind with the adults?

25:37

yoink

25:53

What happened to "Nicholas, I've moved on?"

26:02

if you're going through the grieving process simply say "no"

26:33

Unlike last season, the bright yellow is actually very effective camouflage in a lemon grove!

(also, little bit of trivia- coastal Italy does have the ideal climate for growing lemons!)

26:48

free snacks for the road ayyy

27:02

they sound like they're looking for their lost dog shakjdsl

27:21

sebastian's brokennnnnn

27:54

UH OHHHHHHH

28:03

UH OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

28:48

the engineering on that luggage cube must be insane because the ones on top are essentially floating

29:08

which was not very from your perspective! was that a diss?

29:23

and now i'm laughing bc i'm thinking of the chekhov's gun bit from the goes wrong show s2 ajaskhjh

29:46

And there's an example of one right there!

30:05

"But today I learned that morality is relative!"

so has reynie's "oh no humanity might be evil" arc been replaced with a "humanity's evil so i'm gonna lean into it lmao" arc?

30:31

constance over there like "oh? really? yes a completely figurative saying imagine that"

30:50

highly, highly accurate

and also

31:13

31:40

jeffers was in curtain's drama club in college and curtain couldn't stand him but he was on board for the evil scheme stuff so what can you do.

32:13

aaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAA???

32:46

more evidence for the drama club theory. gotta pose dramatically before even attempting to hail one of the numerous nearby cabs to follow them! you go king.

Alright! That was episode 3: A Gold Bar in Fort Knox. I feel like this was sort of a transitional episode, and I'm... not sure how I feel about that. The Shortcut and the people on it were a huge part of the book's journey, and here... it's just used to get from point A to point B, rather than being an interesting stop of its own. With that, I'm gonna have to give this one a 7/10. I really hope they do more with Noland and Cannonball down the line... But I am fascinated to see where the brainwashed Mr. Benedict plot goes...

See you all shortly for episode 4!

[orange-waterfalls]

I'm Havin' Feelings Fer Ye

Captain Magnum x gender neutral!reader

@lovefor-xreaders ty for the prompt!

A/N: Guess who has no life and wrote an entire 2,000 word fanfic all in one day? THIS ASSHOLE! im so fucking bored guys, please, this is all I have. Send prompts. Uh... Rated T for cursing and violence. I think mostly angst, fluff at the end.

Word Count: 2.3k

--

You danced around the ship with some of the other crewmates to shanties the captain sang. You found treasure! You actually found treasure! You had honestly expected to die at some point… but you didn't! And you found treasure! That was wonderful! You were starting to think the heist wasn't such a bad idea! Even though Mark's… gone… you'd be alright! You had treasure! You'd be alright…

Captain Magnum watched you as you danced around, a smile present on your face. It made him feel all weird inside… he'd lived long enough to know what love feels like… probably. This was not it… he didn't think… he honestly didn't know. But when he watched you spin and kick your feet and laugh… he felt real happy…

You danced for a while before you eventually got tired and sat down, panting. The captain and the crew were messing with the treasure. Picking it up and letting it fall back into the chest, examining it, biting it…

These people were weird…

You held out your hands for your share of the treasure, since you were being patient. He looked to you and set a small coin in your hand, curling your fingers and patting them. You squinted at him, wondering if he's actually serious. He seemed to be, since he headed to his quarters immediately after. You frowned, looking at the coin. You'd talk to him about that later…

Captain Magnum felt a bit bad about only giving you a coin. What else was he supposed to do? You might've left if he gave you more treasure! He couldn't have that! Then again… that seemed a bit manipulative… eh, you'd be fine. He sat down in his chair and thought about you.

You were an enigma to him.

He'd felt this way before… but it was so… prominent this time… why was he so fond of you? It's not like you were special! You just had beautiful skin and sparkly eyes and the most stunning smile he'd ever seen and...

Goddamnit, he was in love…

He sighed, wondering what he was going to do about this, when he heard a sharp knock at his door. He jumped a bit, not expecting anybody since it was pretty late. He stood up and walked over, opening the door. You were standing there with your arms crossed. He was going to greet you, but you looked pissed. He wondered why. Then, you held up the coin.

"Are you kidding?" You asked accusingly. "I'm your first mate, you trust me enough to choose where we go, and you give me this bullshit?" You started walking towards him. Despite the height difference, he felt a bit intimidated by you. He stepped back.

"Listen, I be th' cap'n. I already told ye, me share be more fair than others," he stated. You glared at him and he felt his stomach drop. "Ye knew wha' ye were gettin' into, ye can nah be angry," he crossed his arms. You sighed.

"Fine. Whatever," you mumbled as you left the cabin. He opened his mouth to apologize, but nothing came out. He closed his mouth again. You were already gone anyway. Nothing he could do about it now. He'd get some sleep and you'd be fine in the morning.

--

It had been a few days since you found the treasure. You weren't talking to Magnum. He kept glancing at you as you were swabbing the deck. Your smile was replaced with a frown. It was less of an angry frown and more of a sad frown, but it made him feel just as bad. He waited a while to talk to you because he didn't want to mess it up. He eventually decided that it was a good enough time to do so, and he walked over to you.

"Mornin', first mate! How did ye sleep?" He asked. You paused for a moment, but you didn't answer. "Uh... 'twas a bit windy last night, huh? Glad we got all th' loot inside..." you still didn't look up, but your frown got tighter. He patted his hands on his legs and sucked in a breath. "Wonderful weather we be havin'?" You finally stopped mopping and turn to him.

"What do you want?" You asked, exasperated. He frowned.

"Are ye okay? Ye seem upset…" he commented.

"Oh, no yeah I'm totally fine!" You scoffed. "My best friend's dead, the guy who killed him won't even bother giving me any sort of compensation, I may never see my family or friends again, but sure I'm fine." You stated, mopping vigorously. Magnum sighed and looked at your face. You looked like you were on the verge of tears. He opened and closed his mouth, trying to find the right words.

"I... I be sorry. I'll give ye more treasure if... If ye promise ye won't weigh anchor…" he finally managed. You stopped and turned to him slowly. His eyes widened. "No, no, no! Ye... I didn'... um…" he gulped as you raised an eyebrow at him.

"Uh-huh. Go on. I'm waiting." You demanded. He took a deep breath.

"I... I find ye endearin'... 'n I wants ye t' stay... wit' me... specifically." He said. Your face softened a bit, to his joy. He smiled.

"I… have people back home." You said. His smile fell. "I can't just… leave and… not tell them anything…"

"Then tell 'em! Write 'em a letter or somethin'! That would be fine!" He said desperately.

"What am I supposed to say? "Hey, guys! I eloped with a 7 foot tall pirate and am now sailing the seven seas as his first mate"?"

"...yes?" He said, unsure. You sighed and looked down. He held his breath, waiting for whatever you were going to say next.

"What am I supposed to tell his family?" You asked softly. He took a deep breath.

"I... I dunno. 'n... I be mighty, mighty sorry about wha' I did t' yer friend... But... I... I be... I reckon I be in love wit' ye…" he said shakily. You looked up at him, your eyes widened. You could see a tint of red on his suntanned cheeks. He avoided your eyes for a bit before you chuckled. He looked at you. You smiled at him warmly. He returned it.

"I…" you began, blushing. You were cut off by the sound of a cannon.

"Avast! Prepare to be boarded!" A voice boomed from above.

"Oh, God, not again," you whined. Magnum reached out to put a hand on your shoulder, but another cannonball whizzed past you two, making you fall in different directions.

"Ye hide. I'll take care o' this," he instructed. He unsheathed his sword as you hid behind a nearby barrel, watching him to see if he'd need any assistance.

"Who be thar? Show yourself, yellow-bellied cur!" He yelled. You blinked, processing what he said. "Yellow-bellied cur". Huh. That was new. You heard wood creaking behind you and ducked further behind the barrel. You slowly rose and saw a man standing in from of Magnum. He was taller than you and had an average build, and was wearing a pirate outfit. His clothes looked… cleaner and more fancy than Magnum's. He was holding a sword and had a peg leg.

"Who are ye callin' a yellow-bellied cur?" He said in a low, rough voice.

"Obviously you, shitlord!" You said, quickly covering your mouth with your hand afterwards. The man turned and looked at you. He raised an eyebrow, smirking. You suddenly felt… violated.

"Well, well, well. Wha' 'ave we here?" He chuckled. "I may jus' keep ye fer meself." You laid your hand on a revolver.

Magnum tightened his fist around the hilt of his sword and swung. The man blocked it and stumbled back.

"Ye lay a hand on them, ye're dead." He growled. The man smirked and tried to jab at his side. Magnum managed to block it in time. The two captains went on sword fighting for a couple minutes while you stayed behind the barrell. The other man's crew was on the ship fighting the rest of yours. You felt a bit useless, so you grabbed the revolver and aimed towards the other pirates. You grazed two in their legs, and nailed one in the shoulder. You lost track of Captain Magnum after a while. While you looked for him, you heard something land behind you. You yelped and spun around, seeing the invading captain.

"Ahoy thar, darlin'," he smirked at you. You held the revolver up to aim at him. He scoffed. "C'mon, darlin'. Thar's no needs fer that. I won't hurt ye… Much."

"Go fuck yourself," you snarled.

"Such naughty language fer such a sweet thin'." He laughed. "I'll 'ave fun wit' ye."

"Oh, yeah, that doesn't sound creepy at all. Great," You sighed. He took a step towards you and you cock the gun. "Don't move, asshole." You warned.

"Oh, come on now." He chuckled. "We both know ye're too soft t' shoot me. So, why don't ye-" You shoot. The bullet hits him in the side. His eyes widened as he stared at you in disbelief.

"Something about me, captain," you set the gun down and walked over to him as he fell to the floor. "My best friend is dead. I'm feeling a bit pissed. And I have shot a man before." You got on one knee and leaned down next to his ear. "I'm not as soft as I look." You stood back up and walked back to the middle of the deck.

Captain Magnum was frantically walking around. The crew looked okay, so you sighed. The captain heard and spun towards you. He smiled widely as he ran over and enveloped you in a hug.

"Oh, thank Poseidon. Ye're okay. If I had lost ye I... I... I dunno wha' I'd do!" He stammered, petting your head. "Ye're okay, right?" You smiled and hugged him back.

"I'm alright, Captain," You whispered. He sighed and held you for a while before the previous first mate cleared his throat.

"'tis real touchin' 'n all, but we should prolly repair th' ship." He suggested. Magnum turned to him, glaring.

"Ye interrupted a bondin' moment t' tell me that?" He glowered. You bit your lip to keep from laughing. The crewmate opened his mouth to respond, but almost immediately closed it and started picking up pieces of wood. The other crewmates followed suit.

"We should help them," you declared. Magnum looked at you, his eyebrows knitted together.

"But do we 'ave t'?" He asked hopefully. You smiled and pulled away from him. Despite wearing a couple layers, he could feel the absence of your warmth. He sighed and helped clean up.

--

It took a while, but you all managed to clean up the deck. You'd probably need to buy more wood to repair the boat, but you figured it'd be fine. It was dark now and everyone had retired to their quarters. Except for you. You sat on the deck, staring up at the stars. Magnum left his quarters to check on you. He got worried when he saw you weren't asleep. He walked over to you, ruining the mood a bit with how loud he was. He dropped next to you with a loud creak of the floor. You didn't look at him.

"Ahoy," he greeted.

"Hi," you responded bluntly. You both sat there for a moment while he came up with things to say.

"Are ye okay?"

"Yep."

"Okay. That be good." Silence. "Wha' are ye doin'?"

"Just… stargazing."

"Okay. Why?"

"Felt like it."

"Oh." More silence. "Are ye thinkin' about 'im?"

"Yes."

"Do ye want t' talk about 'im?"

"No. Not tonight. Maybe another time."

"Ok... 'tis a tad cold tonight."

"Yeah. I guess so."

"Me cabin be th' warmest... If ye... Wanted t' sleep in thar... Wit' me... That would be alright…" You whipped you head towards him surprised. He noticed your panic. "Or not! That be fine too! I understand. Sorry fer botherin'. Goodnight!" He started to stand up, but you took his hand. He looked at your interlocked hands, flushed, then back at you.

"That would… that'd be fine." You said shakily. "I just… want to stay out here a bit longer."

"Ok," He nodded and plopped back down. You retracted your hand and tucked your knees to your chest, looking back up. He continued to look at you for a second, smiling, before looking back up. You chuckled.

"He loved space…"

--

Captain Magnum could listen to you talk for hours. You start talking about stars, then about Mark, then you get to talking about your other friends and family. He listened to everything you said because he knew it was important to you. You started to yawn after 45 minutes and you leaned on his arm. He froze in place, not wanting to bother you. Eventually, he looked down at you to see if you were asleep. Once he confirmed you were, he effortlessly lifted you up and carried you to his cabin. He gently set you on the large, warm bed. He wasn't planning on getting on it with you. You weren't there yet. You hadn't even told him you loved him back. He couldn't in good conscience get into a bed with you. He sat in his chair and looked at you. You were so…

"Gorgeous," he said under his breath. You cracked an eye open.

"Right back at you," you slurred. He blushed. You held out your arms. "Come into bed," he blushed deeper.

"No, I don't reckon I should…" He tried to say. You whined and he just couldn't. He stood up and carefully climbed into the bed with you, making sure to keep a bit of space between you two. That was pointless because you immediately turned over and snuggled into his chest. He gently moved his arms to embrace you tightly. He set a small kiss to your head and just lied there, wanting to treasure this moment.

Your eyes closed again as you heard him say "I love you". You smiled.

"I love you, too."

If I didn't say it before SEND PROMPTS

[ehenyeoongg]

A CONTRACTUAL MARRIAGE

Pairing: CEO Lee Taeyong x Kang Jiyeon  Word count: 1.7k

Synopsis: She recently found out that she was pregnant with his child. But towards the end of the contracted marriage, she noticed he was acting more hostile towards her. After the contracted marriage, she decided to keep the baby a secret, until her best friend decided that her break up was not a good enough excuse to not attend the party she had organised for Jiyeon.

"Chaeyeon! Where did you get it?" I asked my best friend who held a beautiful strapless blue midnight gown up.

"I asked my mum about it. She said she would love to see you in it. Sister, your body is perfect for it. It's like she actually made the dress for you." She over exaggerated. I thanked her and changed into the dress. It was loose, and hid the small baby bump that had begun to form a month ago. She did my makeup and helped me choose my jewelry. When we were ready, we got into the white limousine waiting for us outside.

I scrolled through Instagram as we were on the way there and a post caught my eye.

[KIM MINHEE AND LEE TAEYONG SEEN TOGETHER. WHERE IS MRS. LEE?]

I switched my phone off and placed it in my bag. Soon, we arrived at the venue. I got out of the car and the cameras started flashing immediately. Reporters asked questions and I ignored them and continued walking as bodyguards helped control the crowd.

We walked into the room and I noticed people were staring at us. God, why is everyone looking at us? Is it the dress? The makeup?  It must've been the posts.

I looked around and two people caught my eye. There he is, and with another woman. Why should I care? It's not like he ever loved me anyway. I looked away and excused myself to go to the washroom but Chaeyeon pulled me back.

"Hey beautiful, where are you going? I helped you with your makeup and dress, you better not mess this up." she walked off.

I turned around and noticed that he was gone from his place beside Minhee. I looked and saw him walking quickly towards me. I turned to walk away but he followed me and pulled me into an empty hallway.

"Why are you here?" He asked, his hand gripping my wrist tightly.

"It's my best friend's party and hasn't our contract ended already? You don't have to pretend to be a caring husband anymore. We're over, you said it yourself. You didn't want anything to do with me anymore." I snatched my hand away before walking off.

"Jiyeon!" he shouted after me.

"You're already with another woman, why care about me?" I heard his footsteps and quickened my pace as he caught up with me.

"Minhee? Jiyeon, No," He held me by my bare shoulders and turned me around to face him, "She told me you'd be here and I agreed to attend. I was looking for you all over Korea, but couldn't find you. Where were you?" I kept quiet.

"Kang, No. Lee Jiyeon. I care for you. I love you." his warm hands held mine.

"Love? The day we met, you-"

"The day we met. Yes, I followed you, but I wasn't stalking you. You were drunk, I just wanted to help you return home safely, but you refused to tell me where you lived and I had to bring you over to my place. Then you walked straight to my room and.. You know the rest." He took in a deep breath.

"Jiyeon, if anything you are the best wife in the world. I'm sorry if I hurt you and if I was cold toward you. I was just scared that someone would steal you away from me and use you as my weakness. I'm sorry I wasn't truly honest about my feelings towards you. Before you came into my life, I didn't know the meaning of joy, happiness or love. But during our entire relationship, all you did was open my eyes to everything. You turned my life so colorful even my hairstylists can't argue." he pointed to his red hair. It had been white when I met him, then blue. When I saw him with his red hair, I thought his head was bleeding.

"Jiyeon, I'm sorry." I wiped away the tears on his cheeks that fell as he spoke. He pulled me into a hug and I hugged back as he rested his head on my shoulder.

“I-”

“Marry me, Jiyeon. For real this time, no contract.” I looked up at him with tears in my eyes and nodded.

"Let's go, the party's starting." Mark appeared suddenly. Taeyong nodded, and I was about to follow the younger boy out, but he pulled me into his arms. He wiped my tears away and held my face as he looked into my eyes.

"Wait, promise me you won't ever leave me again?" I nodded.

"Promise." I kissed him and he gave me another kiss.

"And you'll put this back on?" there was a ring on his pinky finger. I threw it away into the river that day, where did he find it? I nodded and smiled at him as he took the ring off and put it on my ring finger. We walked back into the room, my arm linked through his.

Minhee looked surprised to see us.

"Hey, lovebirds." Chaeyeon invited us to a table. Doyoung sat beside her.

"Let the show begin." Taeyong gave a questioning look as the pair turned to face the stage where Mark was standing on.

"Good evening everybody. I hope you have all had an enjoyable time today and I am sad to say that this gathering has come to an end. Oh, but before we end, shall we watch a clip?"

The lights dimmed as a few people brought in a projector and screen up on stage and set it up. Two figures stood in a hallway. The smaller figure looked like a girl. Minhee?  Her voice blasted through the speakers.

"I told you to ruin them. I even paid you. How much more do you need to get rid of her? I'll pay you everything. Just separate Lee Taeyong and Kang Jiyeon! Kill her if you have to!" She shouted at the person standing in front of her and the clip ended.

There were murmurs all over the room.

"As you all know, a few accidents have occurred over the past few days, which our dear Mrs. Lee has been involved in. So, after countless nights, my team and I have been searching for the culprit."

I turned in Minhee's direction as she stood up. The car accident, kidnapping.. Everything was all planned by her?

"No, that wasn't-I.. Taeyong.." she slowly walked closer to our table as a few detectives burst through the double doors and ran over to her. Taeyong's eyes burned with fury as he stood up from his seat glaring at her.

"Now, Ms Kim. What do you have to say to defend yourself?" Doyoung stood in front of Minhee. "You harmed two lives when you put Mrs Lee in danger. And remember, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." Wait, how did he know? I gave Chaeyeon a glare and caught Taeyong staring at me with an open mouth when I looked away from her.

"Two?" he asked.

"Surprise?" I said.

"You're pregnant!?" 

"Yes, she is." Minhee hid a smirk. "But I don't think she will be any more," She broke free from the detectives holding her down and ran toward me with a knife in her hand. Taeyong pushed me out of the way and she stabbed him instead. I watched as her eyes widened and she pulled away.

"TAEYONG!" he fell to the floor as Minhee ran away with the detectives chasing her.

"GUARDS!" Mark shouted and some guards ran after her as I sat on the floor with Taeyong's head on my lap.

"Take care of the baby, I-"

"What are you saying!? You're not gonna die. The wound wasn't that deep. All you need is some stitches." Mark interrupted him.

"You ruined my one chance at acting heroic, Mark Lee. But it hurts like hell, help me get up."

THREE YEARS LATER

"Jagi! Not in front of the kids." I said and he pulled away from me before turning to face Taehyun and Chae Ah. He helped me out of the pool and shook his head. Water from his now green hair splashed all over me. We walked to the barbeque grill where Doyoung and Chaeyeon were grilling some meat.

"Taeyong, can I have some lettuce?" Doyoung pulled on Taeyong's hair.

"Ha ha. Very funny." Taeyong laughed sarcastically while passing the bowl of lettuce to him.

"Appa!" Taehyun ran over to us.

"Taehyun, don't run by the pool." he slowed down and I watched as he slowly toddled over to us.

"For you." he pasted a plaster over Taeyong's scar on his lower abdomen. The plaster had a doodle of a smiley on it.

"Thank you." he gave Taeyong a kiss on the cheek before running off to play with Chae Ah.

"Let's get this party started!" Mark and Johnny walked into the backyard with some more meat. Lucas cannonballed into the pool and the water splashed onto the two children.

"Ah! Leg cramp! Taehyun! Save me!" Taehyun jumped into the water to save Lucas. Chae Ah cried and Ten picked her up, giving her a lollipop. She stopped crying as soon as she put the lollipop in her mouth.

"A drama queen, just like her mother." Ten said.

"Yah! Since when was I a drama queen?" Chaeyeon scolded Ten and was about to run after him.

"Jagi, it's not good for the baby.." Doyoung pulled Chaeyeon back, his hand resting on her stomach. More boys came from the beach to help grill the food and play with the children.

"Weren't we supposed to surprise them together?" Chaeyeon whispered to me and I shrugged.

"Taehyun!" Lucas walked to her with Taehyun on his shoulders. She tiptoed and whispered into Taehyun's ears.

"It's a secret, okay.." He shrugged and bent down to whisper in Lucas' ear.

"WOOHOO! WE'RE GETTING A BABY SISTER!!" Taehyun and Lucas danced around excitedly.

Chae Ah cried again. "I don't want a baby sister.." her pout reminded me of her mother.

"You're not getting a baby sister, sweetheart. The baby in mummy's tummy is a boy!"

"I don't want a boy.. I want a puppy.." To console her and stop her crying, Ten pretended to be a puppy which made her face light up.

"Woohoo!" Someone suddenly lifted me up and jumped into the pool.

"Lee Taeyong!" I resurfaced above the water and someone cannonballed beside me.

"Lee Taehyun!" he swam to us and clung to Taeyong's arm.

"Who taught you to do that?" he pointed his finger at Lucas. They need to stop hanging around each other.

!image credits to owner!

[heyyyharry]

My Girl Series: Chapter 15 - My Girl

…in which Harry and Y/N go back to where it all began. {end of book 1}

Series description: Y/N falls in love with the older boy next door who doesn’t feel the same, years later they meet again at a funeral.

AU: actor!harry, older!harry, younger!y/n; (4-year age gap)

Chapter 14: Home Truth - Y/N discovers a family secret, and Harry is in despair.

Book 2: Masterlist - Thursday, May 16 // First preview - Thursday, May 23 // First chapter - Friday, May 24 (WATTPAD) and Saturday, May 25 (TUMBLR) // 12pm GMT.

Warning: nothing but angst and plenty of mistakes because I didn’t proofread.

A/N: listen to this while reading. And let’s see if you can find all the parallels between this chapter and the first one. ;)

OC version

.

Ten years ago, in the town of Holmes Chapel, a little girl started her first journal entry with a story for her class assignment. She defined true happiness as the older boy next door who owned her heart. Her parents' marriage had proven that true love didn't exist, yet Harry showed up and all her walls came tumbling down.

Every day before bed, Y/N would write about him in her pink notebook, about the possibility of an unknown future where they lived happily ever after. She was so young. And everything was easy, until it was not.

He was hers, until he wasn't.

One night she went straight to bed without writing about him. There was nothing to write about the person you were no longer friends with.

She'd been losing sleep, asking herself why Harry never came back to their treehouse, why he didn't say hello when he walked right past her with his friends, how he could just stop knowing her. She kept wondering, yet she waited, and waited, and waited.

She waited, until he left her.

For two years since he was gone, she'd been expecting a call, a letter, anything that let her know for him she still existed. But every day came a new disappointment as she checked her mailbox to find nothing from him.

Eventually, Y/N took her mother's advice to write to Harry first. She began with a draft in her pink notebook, putting her heart and soul into every single word on the paper. But once she'd finished it, her fear of never getting a response overpowered her need to reach out for him. So she kept it to herself and decided to write even more letters that she would never send; just to get the overwhelming sadness out of her system, and for her to miss him a bit less every day.

Now 24-year-old Harry was alone in his bedroom, too focused on those words to even notice the sun was rising. With tears running down his face, he imagined her reading everything to him.

Dear Harry, she would begin in each letter before telling him about her day, her silly thoughts, her plan for the future, how much she'd missed him, and asking him questions like 'are you coming back?' and 'do you think about me sometimes?' All of those things made his heart wrench in a way that healed him and tore him up at the same time.

The bone-deep fear grew much larger now that he'd reached Y/N's last entry written the night before her first time on a date. The love she had for Blake was proof that she had moved on from Harry once and would do it again if she wanted to. So apparently, Harry had less time on his hand than he thought. It was in that moment of dismal stillness that all the voices in his head started screaming at each other. What should he do now? One wrong move would inevitably lead to major consequences. But if he didn't make a move, he'd have zero chance of winning her back.

As his ringtone pierced through the silence like a cannonball, Harry's eyes sparkled with hope. He had prayed that it was her until seeing the name Niall on the screen made him gutted. Harry held the phone at his ear, falling down onto his back and darting his tiring eyes to the ceiling.

"Harold," his best friend spoke first. "Do you know the brand of that camera Isey's been using lately?"

Harry sighed at the question, laying an arm on his forehead. "I don't know, mate. Why don't you ask him?"

"I did text him but he hasn't replied. Thanks anyway, I'll wait until he comes back from Holmes Chapel."

The town name caused Harry's eyes to shoot open as he sat straight up on the bed, eyebrows drew together. "Why's he in Holmes Chapel?"

"Yesterday he came to visit Smiley, I mean Bambi, then decided to stay for her father's wedding. But...which one of you is dating Y/N? Are you back with Ruby now, because—"

"Sorry mate, I'm—I'm gonna have to call you back," Harry interjected those endless inquiries before hanging up on Niall without further explanation. There was not enough time to raise questions of his own about why Isaac didn't tell him anything and went to see Y/N alone. He didn't even feel betrayed, he just felt scared as he grabbed his car key and bolted towards the door. He couldn't lose her now, not again, not this way.

.

.

.

"This is it," Y/N mumbled to herself as she walked through the door. The air was sweet and the sky was clear, a perfect day for a wedding.

There was nothing outside but sunshine, yet just to step into it made her heart thump in her chest. Something about seeing her garden for the first time in years away from home was so strange. Maybe it was the giggles of children, or the screaming of their parents who warned them about spoiling their outfits, or loud conversations of overly excited relatives who only showed up when there was a wedding or a funeral.

The white decorations went a bit over the top for a wedding that was supposed to be small. Knowing Marcy, Y/N wasn't surprised. She thought it was smart to be extravagant on the white and having pastel as the dress code, now the scene really did look like a beautiful mosaic.

But it wasn't just the wedding that had changed her backyard entirely. It was also the fact that Marcy had turned this spot into the dream garden Tam had always wanted, with all types of flowers Y/N could name or even more. The grass was always green and fresh as her stepmother made sure that it was watered and trimmed regularly. The sprinklers would come up in the early morning to wake up the flower kingdom that used to only exist on the other side of the fence. Apparently, Bradford wasn't the only one well-taken care of since Marcy came around.

Y/N went to find Isaac, trying to avoid the cousins she disliked, the aunties who always pinched her cheeks, and those uncles who always asked whom she was dating. And even though she wasn't actually thinking about him, like a habit she still darted her eyes to the tree standing tall in the backyard next door.

There it was, her childhood fort made of wood — the only thing that stayed the same in this town despite how many years had passed. It stood there, tall and proud, unbothered by the changes in weather and time, surviving through all the storms. If only people were the same, Y/N thought to herself. Sadly, the human heart was a delicate little thing. It had to change in order to adapt, otherwise, it wouldn't stay alive.

"Hey."

The voice caused her head to spin. Instantly, Y/N put on a smile when she saw Isaac, who was wearing her father's pastel blue shirt in order to match the theme.

"Wow, you look..." The man was speechless for two seconds as he saw her in the dress Marcy had picked out. He tried to look for a better word, but he couldn't come up with anything else so he settled with "...beautiful."

Y/N giggled as she shook her head, standing with her hands behind her back and trying to hide her rosy cheeks from his charmingly timid blue eyes.

"Thank you," she said. "You look beautiful yourself."

"To be honest, I think I'm way too underdressed," he replied, opening his arms to look at the shirt that seemed too oversized for him. The way he lifted an eyebrow questioningly at himself made her giggle. When he finally looked up and flashed her a grin, they shared the kind of glance that sent both into silence for a long moment.

"We should go find our seats," she blurted, turning away to leave yet he stopped her just in time.

"Hold on." Isaac took her wrist, taking a step forward to close the distance between them. Before Y/N could ask, he carefully tucked the wavy strand behind her ear since it kept falling out of her bun, no matter how many times she'd tried to brush it back into place. As his eyes twinkled with another smile, Y/N was certain she had never seen a blue so warm.

"Pastel pink suits you very well," he said in an undertone, his fingers which had previously wrapped around her wrist were now intertwined with hers.

"T-Thanks," Y/N muttered shyly as she followed him, they were the last ones to find their seats so the wedding ceremony could begin.

Even though Y/N's idea of love had changed constantly throughout the years, her adoration for weddings never had. To her, a wedding was like a temporary happy ending. No matter what had happened before or might happen after, in this moment, there was nothing but bliss. This was the closest reality could ever get to fiction, and for someone who'd been writing fictional love stories her entire life, it was good to live through a moment like this once in a while.

All the guests rose up when Marcy's favorite song 'Yellow' began to play. Most eyes were on the beautiful bride as she marched down the aisle, holding her father's hand and a bouquet of daisies that Y/N had helped her arrange last night. Meanwhile, the twenty-year-old kept her eyes on her father, who had already burst into happy tears. Seeing him cry was all it took for Y/N to start sobbing as well.

"Dumbass Marcy picked the worst day to wear non-waterproof makeup." Her lips twitched in amusement as her father kept wiping off his bride's running mascara every five seconds.

"She looks good though," said Isaac, who couldn't stop beaming now.

Y/N nodded to agree. She could never deny the fact that Marcy was naturally pretty and was always the center of attention. But today she looked radiantly gorgeous, probably because happiness was the most authentic real-life filter. Y/N was content, knowing a woman could only look that happy when she was madly in love.

Bradford had gone through so much, starting from his wife's betrayal and tragic death, to rumors about him being unfaithful and a cold-hearted liar, to his daughter's hatred for she had loved her mother too much to understand. After everything, this was the ending he deserved. And Y/N was very proud of him.

.

.

.

"Y/N! It's happening!"

Y/N widened her eyes as her overexcited best friend grabbed her by the arms and pushed her against the lockers. They had caught the attention from a few other kids in the hallway, however, Celine was too thrilled to even care.

"Blake Roman is gonna ask you out!"

"Blake and I are only study buddies." Y/N snorted. Holding her books to her chest, she told the shorter girl, "I know he doesn't like me, at least...not that way."

"But he does! He told Flynn who told Marcus who told Amala who told me that he was gonna ask you out today! God, I'm so happy for you!" Celine squealed, shaking Y/N violently before pulling her into a suffocating hug. The tiny girl expected her friend to jump or even scream, yet her actual reaction was much disappointing.

"I really like Blake, but..."

"No, but! But isn't good!" Celine rebuked Y/N's thought before she could even finish it. Straightening her arms, the smaller one pulled away, seemingly so upset. "You like Blake, Y/N. Just stop there, alright?"

"Blake and I are so different. Besides, have you seen the girls he used to date?"

"You're not turning him down because you're insecure, are you?!"

"I'm not!" She was. "Boys like Blake..." Or boys in general. "They're gonna leave you eventually."

Celine's hardened expression was exactly in the card, but the words that came out from her mouth was definitely unexpected.

"It's still about Harry, right?"

The tone of the question made it seem more like a statement. Following her instinct, the first thing Y/N did was counter the remark, yet deep within she was still second-guessing what her true answer might be.

"Not everything I do is about Harry."

Celine couldn't look less dubious. At a time like this, she would normally start ranting about why Harry wasn't worth it, but she knew Y/N would shut her ears to such opinions as always. Of course, she couldn't understand the kind of love her best friend had for a boy who'd been gone for two years. Therefore, she hated how Y/N refused to acknowledge the fact that Harry might not return.

"Please go out with Blake," Celine said, taking a deep breath. "Don't put your entire life on hold just because you're missing someone."

And just like that, she walked off, knowing her words would stay behind as they were already engraved in Y/N's brain.

.

.

.

"Harry, where the hell are you?!"

"Jeff, I—"

"What's wrong with you?! The whole team is waiting!"

Honestly, Harry didn't know what was wrong with him, like when he skipped the BAFTAs, when he canceled his schedule at the last minute to take Y/N back to Holmes Chapel. And now he was returning to that old town for it might be his last chance to win her back. The reason that he'd put his career and reputation at risk, the only person who mattered above all, was the one he'd let down.

"I'll explain to you later, I promise. I'm so sorry," he told his manager and didn't even let the man speak as he hung up the call to keep on driving. He knew he might not make it back before the wedding was over. He could only hope that she would wait. She'd waited for him her whole life, yet a couple minutes more seemed so expensive.

As he drove, the only thing playing in his head were the words she'd written in her journal, which he'd left behind when he was in a rush. Still, he remembered everything and now those words wouldn't leave him alone.

'Dear Harry,

This might be the last letter I'm writing to you. I'm going on a date tomorrow, a real date, can you believe it?

Blake finally asked me out. This would be my first date ever and I'm sweating just from thinking about it. If you were here I know you would give me a ton of advice, something like 'don't let him touch you where you don't wanna be touched', and I would roll my eyes and tell you you're overreacting. Fortunately you're not here. But don't worry, we won't go that far. I really like Blake, and you might like him too once you see how sweet he is to me.

As I said in one of my letters, when there comes a guy I really like, I will stop writing to you and let you go. I feel like this is it. This is the one...'

.

.

.

Since her family didn't usually have guests, Y/N was pretty surprised when she got home to find her mother talking to their neighbor in the kitchen. The last time she spoke to Anne was the day Harry left, after that she had no more reasons to spend time with his family to get updated on how they'd been. Now that Anne was here, she was hoping to get some news about Harry.

Of course, Tam had no idea that her sixteen-year-old daughter was standing right outside and listening to this conversation. If she had known, she wouldn't have said what she was about to say.

"You must be so proud. If I were you I would tell the whole town that my son just signed a big movie contract, and his girlfriend is a model."

"I'm about to go knock on every door," Anne replied as they both shared a good laugh.

Meanwhile, heartbroken Y/N flopped down on the bottom stair with her hands on her chest. She couldn't make a sound or else they would know she was there, but she was too hurt to even move. When the front door opened, she almost didn't notice, until her dad appeared and paused as he saw his teenage daughter sitting right there.

At first, he couldn't understand why she seemed so sad, until he heard Anne laughing in the kitchen. He took a guess that his daughter had sat there long enough to hear something about Harry which she didn't want to hear. The look on her face had said it all.

He parted his lips, yet no sound escaped. He was never good at talking about feelings and giving advice on growing up and falling in love for the first time. That was why he'd left it all to Tam to be the consultant in the house. However, seeing Y/N like this made him wish he had tried to be her friend. Now he'd missed another chance to get to know her as she was quick to run upstairs without saying another word.

Y/N locked herself in her room and sat with her back against the door, holding both knees to her chest. The moment she spotted the pink notebook lying on her bed, Celine's words came to life once again. She'd been putting her life on hold for him, while his life still moved on as the earth kept spinning round. He'd got a movie contract and was dating a model. Here she was, saying no to every chance of happiness she could get, to keep her door wide open for someone she hadn't heard from for two years.

What was she doing?

The buzzing of the phone in Y/N's pocket made her flinch. She pulled it out, expecting it to be Celine but it was a different name that she saw.

⌲ Blake: Can I see you tonight? I have something important to say to you.

So it was true, Y/N thought to herself as she went over that question a couple times. Blake did want to ask her out. However, she wanted to say no. This relationship hadn't even started yet and she could already envision all the different scenarios of him leaving her.

Sighing, the girl typed down her answer, knowing it was for the best if she'd just turn him down and be alone. But when she was done and ready to press send, she hesitated. No. This wasn't the right way. Her life had to move on, she had to start somewhere.

After contemplating for a little bit more, she came to a decision to delete it all and type down something else.

⌲ Sure. Where do we meet?

It took less than two seconds for her phone to buzz again.

⌲ Blake: I'll come over at 8.

When Y/N read his reply, her heart came to a halt. She exhaled through her mouth, tossing her head back against the door to roll her eyes upward, staring at the ceiling. This could be the worst decision or the best one she'd made. She would never know if she didn't try.

.

.

.

Y/N loved the view from her treehouse. When she was sitting up there, looking at the trees and the roofs and the field behind her yard, she felt like she was on top of the world. She remembered thinking that someday she would build her own house in a tree where she and Harry could live happily together with their little family.

But growing up was when you realized not everything was possible like it was in the mind of a child, that people didn't live on trees, that it wasn't always good to be alone all the time, and the boy you thought would be the love of your life couldn't be the love of your life forever.

As the wedding party went on, Y/N decided to find her escape on the treehouse. It was the first time she'd been up here since the night of her mother's funeral. She sat on the edge, watching the children chasing one another in her backyard and thinking about when she was their age. However, she wasn't depressed as she thought about the past anymore. After everything that had happened, her falling out with Harry, her finding the truth about her mother, she realized life was too short to hold onto grief. Everything you had today could disappear tomorrow. In order to enjoy life to the fullest, it was best to just treat memories as a place to visit once in a while, not a place to stay.

"Smiley!"

Isaac's voice pulled Y/N's attention away from her jungle of thoughts. She looked down right by the fence where he stood with a massive smile upon his face.

"What are you doing in your neighbor's treehouse?"

"This is my treehouse actually."

The way she scrunched up her nose made him laugh. Though Isaac was a bit confused by that answer, he simply shrugged it off and asked, "can I join you up there?"

"Sure. The ladder is over there."

When Y/N said it, she temporarily forgot the promise she'd made to Harry when she was fourteen. As soon as it came to her mind, Isaac was already on his way up. But then she thought to herself, maybe even if Harry had been there, he wouldn't have cared. She'd never let anyone else enter their treehouse, not even Blake, because she used to take that promise so seriously, thinking this place must've meant the whole world to him. Now she didn't really know if it still meant anything to him.

"Be careful!"

"Don't underestimate m—Shit!"

Isaac nearly missed his last step on the rope ladder, and the look of relief on his face when she reached for his arms made her laugh so hard.

Once again, she had someone else by her side as they sat on the edge of the treehouse with their feet dangling in the air, feeling the breezes blowing through their hair. She felt his eyes on her as she watched her father and Marcy laughing with the wedding guests.

"Bored of the party?" He asked in an attempt to gain back her attention.

"Not a family gathering kind of gal, you know what I'm sayin'?" Her fake American accent as she did a peace sign got Isaac chuckling and rolling his eyes playfully. He looked around after she'd gone back to silence. There were so many questions he wanted to ask, beginning with the reason why she'd told him this treehouse belonged to her. But it wasn't necessary anymore now that he'd just seen ‘Y/N ❤ Harry’ carved on the floor.

"So...this is Harry's..."

Y/N seemed a bit puzzled by what he said, until she also spotted the words that she didn't even remember were there.

"He let me have this place when he left so it's mine now." She laughed slightly, but Isaac knew she found no humor in those words. Taking a deep breath, she added, "in the language of angsty teens, this was where I came to cry."

Her joke made both of them chuckle.

"This used to be my favorite place in the world," she said in a hushed toned after the laughter had died down. "Harry...used to be my favorite person in the world."

This was the first time she'd ever admitted her feelings for Harry to Isaac. The last and only time she spoke about Harry to him was on their first unofficial date, otherwise, Isaac would've misunderstood the nature of their so-called 'friendship'. Now she felt like Isaac deserved to know more.

"Two of my hardest goodbyes happened here," she went on, lowering her voice and her smile was no longer there. "The first one was Harry, the second was my first boyfriend Blake. Both left me to follow their bigger dreams, but for me at the time, they were everything I'd ever wanted."

She paused for a long time, yet Isaac didn't try to throw in a comment. He was just waiting for her to go on. So she did.

"I wanted to be somebody's first choice so bad that I forgot to make myself my first choice. Now I know that everyone is allowed to leave, and the only person I can control is myself."

"Right." Isaac agreed, nodding his head. "So if we cannot love ourselves, then when people leave us, we've got nothing left."

"Right," she repeated his word while holding his gaze.

He could soothe her like no one else, it was impossible to stay anxious or upset with Isaac around. That was why she must tell him what had been bothering her since yesterday, knowing he was too good of a person to say anything first.

"I shouldn't have dragged you into my mess," she spoke, giving him a dreary smile. "I've caused you so much trouble already, and I've never done anything good for you. I'm the worst friend ever."

"You didn't drag me into anything." His voice right now was as soft as the look in his eyes. "I walked straight into the trouble, because it's yours...and when it comes to you, I don't mind."

When he reached out and placed his hand on her neck, her entire body tensed up. He thought she might withdraw from his touch, but instead, she stayed still, eventually relaxing her muscles as their eyes met once again.

"If you think you're supposed to do something for me, don't." He shook his head, his eyebrows pulled together. Y/N had never seen Isaac upset or worried and this was the closest he'd ever got to being sad. She couldn't help but blame herself for doing this to him.

"I don't...I don't deserve you..." she faltered.

As much as she wanted to give him the chance that he wanted, she knew her brain had built new walls after what had happened with Harry. It would take time to tear them down brick by brick and it would be cruel to ask him to wait for her to pick herself up and start again. One thing that she'd learned from her own experience was, no one besides yourself was worth the wait.

"Who are we to decide who's good for us and who's not?" he told her, lifting his other hand to cup her face as well. A small lock tumbled in front of her face, resting just in front of her cheek, but with one swift slide of his thumb, it was brushed out of the way. He looked so nice like this, especially in the natural lighting when the color of his eyes matched the ineffably blue and distant sky above their heads. She was now reminded how much she'd loved that color since the first time they met, the color of hope.

"Look," he began again as she didn't say anything. "I'm not gonna pressure you into doing anything you're not comfortable with. I know you need time to figure things out, but I'm not going anywhere. You can take your time, and just...just let me look out for you like this. That's all I ask."

Y/N remained silent, this time she nodded her head. The frown on his face was soon washed off by a hopeful grin as their eyes locked.

"Thank you," she faintly mumbled before her lips alighted on his cheek, as soft as a feather.

.

.

.

"Harry Styles?!"

Harry had spent most of his energy and patience driving as fast as he could from London back to Holmes Chapel. The last thing he wanted when he arrived was for any of the wedding guests to recognize him. He almost turned down the request to take a photo with the woman, but she was quick to grab him by the arm before he made it to the door leading to the backyard.

"Do you remember me?" She asked, sounding thrilled to bits. Now that Harry had got a good look at her face, he finally realized who she was.

"Aunt Lynn?" His eyes widened in shock. Lynn was much skinnier than the twenty-year-old she used to be, and her hair wasn't purple anymore so Harry had a hard time trying to recognize her. The only thing that hadn't changed was the way she chewed her gum while speaking. Though Y/N used to go on and on about how annoying it was, Harry hadn't got a chance to talk to the woman long enough to notice, until now.

"Baby Harry Styles?!" She gasped, reaching up to pinch his cheeks. "Oh my god, I remember when you were a little boy and now you're much taller than me."

"That's...great...But I really need to go." He grabbed her shoulders, pushing her away politely. "Have you seen Y/N?"

"I didn't know you two were still hanging out now that you're famous."

Harry rolled his eyes, ignoring the unnecessary remark. "But have you seen her?"

"She was with another handsome boy," Lynn said, bringing the champagne glass to her red lips to take a sip. "Man, I remember when I was her age. She's so me."

"Thank you," Harry spoke fast as he slightly pushed her aside so he could stride towards the door. This time it was her laugh that stopped him halfway.

"What?" He lifted an eyebrow in confusion as the woman shook her head, a huge questionable smirk appeared on her face.

"This is the first time I've seen you chase after little Y/N and not the other way around.”

She might've said it as a joke, but there was something about those words that did him damage as he turned away. He stepped into her backyard, scanning his anxious green eyes around to search for a figure of the girl he loved. He was too lost in his own head to acknowledge how much this place had changed, or the curious stares people were giving him for some could recognize who he was.

'I'll always love you most of all. You'll always be number one, no matter where you are, or if we'll ever meet again.'

He looked so hopeless, wanting to call out her name but he didn't want to draw any more attention on him. He could feel anxiety and fears growing within him like an unstoppable snowball rolling down the hill. His heart started to beat harder and faster as his adrenaline levels rose. 

'I know this letter will never get to you, but it's doesn’t hurt to imagine, right? Maybe after reading this, you would realize that you love me and don't want me to be with another boy. So you would get into your car and drive from London back to Cheshire to tell me those three words in person.'

And then he finally saw her, in the only place she would go to when the crowd became overwhelming. For someone who could spend the whole night at some bar dancing away her sorrow, she strangely enjoyed being alone. But she wasn't alone. She was with Isaac. In the treehouse that was once her and Harry's. He could hear the sound of his heart cracking open as the pain that felt almost as if it was physical choked the breath out of his body.

'I'd be waiting by the treehouse so when you came, I would run into your arms...'

Everything once whole was now shattered. The sweat soaked through his shirt and the pressure within his chest made it feel like it was going to explode. Somehow he was still sane enough to notice she was wearing pink. He hadn't seen her in pink for so long, if only he could tell her how much she resembled the girl she was trying hard to get rid of. She looked good, happiness really made her shine. He wished he could read their lips to know what they were talking about. But if he could, would those words break him even more than the genuine smile on her face?

'...and just like in every romantic movie, we'd kiss and live happily ever after.'

He wasn't mad at her for breaking the promise she'd made when she was only a child. It was when she leaned in and kissed his best friend's cheek that he realized everything was over. The first and only time he'd chased after her, he ended up showing up too late. Harry knew there was more to that friendly kiss, for someone with trust issues and fear of attachment like her to get intimate, there was always a reason. She was willing to give Isaac and herself another chance, what she could've done a long time ago had he not been in the way.

'But life isn't a movie. Someday when if you realize that you love me, hopefully, I'll still be here waiting for you.’

Harry left her house with his head hung low. On the way back to his car, he thought about everything, about their first kiss, their last kiss, their first time, their last time, and all the other in-betweens that he didn't appreciate enough until they were gone. In his head, he replayed the same two words he had said to her many years ago, the ones he didn't think she would hold onto until long after he was gone, the ones that he wished were still true knowing they weren't anymore.

‘Your girl, always.’

[dukereviewsmovies]

Duke Reviews: Alice In Wonderland

Hello, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Duke Reviews, Where Today We Are Continuing Our Look At Disney...

By Looking At Walt Disney's 13th Animated Feature (And One Of My Favorites), Alice In Wonderland...

This Movie Sees Young Alice (Voiced By Katherine Beaumont) Following A White Rabbit To The Merry, Topsy Turvy World Of Wonderland, Where A Person Can Grow Big Or Small Or You Could Run Into Funny Creatures Like The Mad Hatter Or The Cheshire Cat...

So, What Are We Waiting For? Let's Journey Down The Rabbit Hole As We Watch Alice In Wonderland...

The Movie Starts On A Summer Day As Alice Is Listening To Her Sister Read From A History Book To Which Alice Is Bored From...

Wandering Off Without Her Sister Noticing, She Lays Down On A Riverbank Wishing That She Had A World Of Her Own Which Leads To The First Song...

And For Song To Start This Movie Off, It's Okay But It's Not My Favorite Song Of This Movie However, We Do Get To A Song I Do Like Directly After This One...

It May Be Brief But I Do Like I'm Late For What It Is And I'm Also Glad It's Short Because Having One Song Directly After Another Can Be A Problem In Some Films...

Crawling Into The Rabbit Hole, Alice Soon Finds Herself Going Down,Down,Down The Hole Until She Catches Up With The White Rabbit Until He Enters A Large Hallway With A Small Door That's Barely Big Enough For Alice's Head...

With The Doorknob On The Door Suggesting That Alice Drink The Bottle Marked Drink Me On The Table To Shrink Down To The Door's Size, Which She Does...

However, When She Goes To Open The Door, He Admits That He Forgot To Tell Her That He's Locked...

But Luckily A Box That Says Eat Me Appears Which The Doorknob Says Will Help Her Reach The Key However, When She Does She Grows Too Big...

Weeping Hysterically, She Drinks The Drink Me Bottle Again To Become Small, She Goes Right Through The Doorknob And Into A River Of Tears Which Is Where She Meets The Dodo Who Sings Our Next 2 Songs...

And While The Sailor's Hornpipe Song Is Short Like I'm Late, The Next One Which The Caucus Race Song, Is A Good Song And Really Makes You Want To Run Around The Room...

Running Into A Thick Forest, Alice Meets Tweedle Dee And Tweedle Dum Who Do Another Short Song...

It's A Cute Song, But I Think I Prefer The Version Done In The 1985 Version Sung By Edie Gorme And Steve Lawrence...

(Start At 0:09)

But We'll Talk About That One On Duke Reviews Xtra On Thursday And Friday...

But Hearing About Alice Being Curious, They Tell Her The Story Of...

(Start At 0:34)

And I Love This Sequence The Song Is One Of The Best In This But The Ending, Of Course Is Very Sad...

Getting Up To Leave The Two Boys Stop Her As They Attempt To Tell Another Poem Called You Are Old, Father William As Alice Sneaks Away...

It's A Cute Song For As Long As It's On Screen But Again For A Better Version I Refer Again To The 1985 Version Where It's Sung By Sammy Davis Jr....

Coming Upon The White Rabbit's House, She Goes To Talk With Him Only For Him To Confuse Her With His Housemaid, Mary Ann...

That's Because She's Not In Wonderland But On A Deserted Island With 6 Other Castaways...

Ordering Her To Fetch His Gloves From His Bedroom, Alice Gets Them Only To Eat A Cookie That Makes Her Grow So Big That Her Arms And Legs Are Sticking Out Of The Windows And Doors...

Going To The Dodo For Help, He Gets A Chimney Sweep Named Bill To Rip The House's Chimney Off, But Bill's Scampering Causes Soot To Rise Inside Which Makes Alice Sneeze And Shoot Bill Out Of The Roof Like A Cannonball...

Having No Other Option, Dodo Decides To Burn The House Down Which Leads To Another Short Song...

It's A Cute Song, But There Are So Many Short Songs In This Movie They're All Starting To Sound The Same...

Luckily Though, Alice Finds A Carrot In The Rabbit's Garden And Eats It, Shrinking Down In Size To 3 Inches...

Going Into A Garden Of Flowers Where The Flowers Are As Tall As A Tree, They Come To Life And Entertain Her With Our Next Song...

(Start At 0:05)

And It's One Of My Favorite Songs In This Movie...

It's A Fun Song Which Shows The Different Types Of Flowers And Bugs In Wonderland With My Favorite Being The Rocking Horse Fly...

But Their Attitude Changes When Alice Reveals Herself To Be Not A Flower Which Then Causes Them To See Her As A Weed...

After Being Shooed Away By The Flowers, We Move Into Our Next Song As Alice Meets The Caterpillar...

Who Despite Her Best Efforts To Ask Him How To Grow Tall Again, Continues Interrupting Her And Instructs Her To Recite Various Bizarre Poems...

Eventually Growing Angry At Alice's Displeasure Of Being The Same Height As Him, He Becomes A Butterfly As He Tells Her That One Side Of The Mushroom Will Make Her Grow Taller And The Other Side Will Make Her Grow Smaller...

Eating One Side Of The Mushroom, Alice Grows Back To Her Normal Height After A Pointless Scene Involving A Bird That Just Wastes Time...

Wandering Through The Woods, We Get Our Next Song As Alice Meets The Cheshire Cat (Voiced By Sterling Holloway)...

After That Encounter, We Get My Favorite Scene Of The Movie And Favorite Song Of The Movie As Alice Meets The Mad Hatter (Voiced By Ed Wynn)...

Disney Showcase: Ed Wynn

Other Characters He's Played For Disney Other Than The Character He Plays In This One:

The Toymaker In Babes In Toyland

The Fire Chief In The Absent Minded Professor

A.J. Allen In Son Of Flubber

Uncle Albert In Mary Poppins

Ed Parker In Those Calloways

Mr. Hoffstedder In That Darn Cat

And Rufus In The Gnome Mobile (Which Was His Final Performance Before His Death)

Going Back To The Story, There Is Also The March Hare (Voiced By Jerry Colonna, Who You May Remember From Casey At The Bat From Make Mine Music) And The Doormouse

After That Song, They Maniacally Go About The Table, Offering Alice Tea Without Actually Giving Her Any Until The White Rabbit Shows Up, As Hatter And Hare Attempt To Fix His Watch Only To Destroy It As They Send The Rabbit Flying Through The Air...

With Alice Saying...

She Tries To Go Back Home Through The Tulgy Woods, Where She Confronts Many Creatures But Doesn't Find Her Way Home Which Causes Her To Cry As We Get Our Next Song As Alice Cries..

It's A Sad Song But I Don't Know, I Just Don't Care For It...

Finding The Cheshire Cat Again, He Tells Her That The Only Way Home Is Through The Queen Of Hearts, So He Creates A Shortcut To The Queen's Maze Where We Get My Second Favorite Song...

Which Leads To My Second Favorite Scene In The Entire Movie, The March Of The Cards, And This Scene Is Just Amazing And Full Of Color As We See The Cards March, It Is Honestly A Spectacle To See...

With The White Rabbit Announcing The Arrival Of The Queen Of Hearts And The King, The Queen (Voiced By Verna Felton) Notices The Painted Roses Which Leads To Our Next Song...

Finding Out It Was The 3 Painters, She Has Them Ordered To Be Beheaded Before She Meets Alice Who She Invites To Play A Game Of Croquet With Her...

But As They Play The Cheshire Cat Appears And Attaches The Queen's Croquet Mallet To The Bottom Of Her Dress, Believing That Alice Did It The Queen Is About To Order Her To Be Beheaded.

But With The King Demanding A Trial, The Queen Starts The Trial Of Alice...

Having A Frantic Chase All Throughout Wonderland, We See Various Characters From Alice's Journey Through Wonderland Until She Ends Up Back In Front Of The Doorknob Who Is Still Locked...

Asking To Get Out Anyway, The Doorknob Laughs Saying That She Is Outside, Showing Her That She Is Actually Asleep Under A Tree In The Park And All Of This Is Just A Dream...

Saying To Wake Up As An Angry Mob Grows Closer And Closer, Alice Eventually Wakes Up To The Sound Of Her Sister's Voice As They Walk Home...

And That's Alice In Wonderland And Despite Sometimes Having Songs Coming One After Another, It Still Is One Of My Favorite Disney Animated Movies..

The Story Is Very Adventurous, I Love The Characters, Most Of The Songs Are Good, I Love Ed Wynn As The Mad Hatter, I Love The Queen Of Hearts As The Bad Guy, It's Just A Great Disney Animated Feature Altogether And I Say See It...

Be Sure To Check Out Duke Reviews Xtra This Week, As We Look At Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland, The Burton-Less Sequel, Alice Through The Looking Glass And The 1985 TV Version Of Alice In Wonderland That Was Done By Irwin Allen...

Till Then, This Is Duke, Signing Off...