#I'm pretty proud of this one guys. It turned out really well for being written at 2am.

[lowkeyerror]

Summer Secrets

Regina George x Reader

Word Count: 13.2k

Notes: minor homophobia, some angst, cursing, fluff, soft Regina (only for reader), cheating (technicality), takes a lot from the movie but timeline may be different.

Summary: When tasked with showing Cady Heron around school, you two quickly become friends. When Cady comes in contact with Regina George you feel obligated to help her out. Things get complicated from there because you have a soft spot for the mean girl.

An: Full disclosure have never written this much for a single post, but I'm excited to share it with you guys. I hope you like it likes, replies, and reblogs are always appreciated 💜

Masterlist

For some people high school felt like the end-all-be-all of life. It made sense to some extent. Spending your formative years locked in a building with other hormonal youths forced to participate in some social hierarchical bullshit that only benefited the one percent, sounds like a nightmare. If you were lucky enough to do well, you’d get to spend some time as one of the top one percent. However, any wrong turn and you’d be remembered for whatever mistake you made for the rest of your school career.

It sounds over dramatic (cause it is), but it’s true. It’s your junior year in high school and people are still calling Janis Ian a pyro lez. On the other side of things, Regina George still enamored people. Many people fade in and out of popularity but not Regina. She held her crown in an iron clad grasp and would die before she let it slip.

You didn't really understand how Regina became popular. As far as you were concerned popular meant well-liked, but it didn't seem like anyone genuinely liked Regina other than Gretchen and Karen. Regina was cruel, but she was pretty and had money which in some convoluted way made her the queen bee.

You didn't play into the social dynamics of North Shore. You weren't some outcast or loner who was proud of being different, you weren't a nerd who got bullied by jocks, and you were not some popularity-obsessed junkie. You were just a person.

Someone who went to classes, ate lunch, then went to more classes, and subsequently left the school premises. So, while the school might have been a magnet for chaos, you felt like your experience was pretty normal.

Unfortunately, the normal way you went through school was about to drastically change.

For some unknown reason you had been selected to give a new student a tour of the school.

“Alright Katy this is Y/n, she’s going to be showing you around today. You got the same classes and lockers close enough together so, be friends or something and have a nice day,” principal Duvall was quick to usher you two out of his office.

“My name’s Cady by the way not Katy,” she broke the silence as she followed you down the hallway.

You stopped in front of her locker, “Welcome to North Shore Cady, try not to get sucked in to all the chaos.”

The girl gulps as she places her belonging in the locker, “Chaos?”

You take in her appearance, and she shifts under your gaze, “North Shore is kind of like that scene from High School Musical where they’re dancing in the cafeteria singing about the status quo. You seem like a sweet girl Cady, and the last thing you need to do is find yourself with a label on your forehead.”

Cady hears what you say, but she’s stuck on the fact that you called her a sweet girl, “I’ve been home schooled my entire life and now I feel like I’m being tossed to the wolves.”

You laugh, “I’d say that’s a pretty accurate analogy. As your guide, I can try to keep you out of the drama, but you are a new student, so you’ll get some kind of attention.”

You take Cady to homeroom and have her sit by you before class starts. You make a little small talk with her, until you’re interrupted.

“Y/n, who’s the new girl?” Janis plops directly behind you.

“Cady, this is Janis.”

Before Cady could speak to the goth girl, Damian interjects, “Is that your natural hair color? It’s gorgeous.”

Again, before the girl can speak for herself, the boy takes some of her hair in his hand, “See, this the color I want.”

Janis swats his hand out of Cady’s hair, “Sorry about that, Damian is too gay to function sometimes. He’s not the best with boundaries.”

The conversation doesn’t go any further as Ms. Norbury walks in. Ms. Norbury’s attempt at introducing Cady goes comically bad, but it’s not something that she harps on for long before starting class.

The rest of the classes seem to go by quickly and soon it’s time for lunch. You can see Cady’s head spinning as she looks at all the cliques.

“Who do you usually sit with?”

You shrug, “I usually don’t eat in here, it’s super stuffy. But if I do it’s usually either with the stoners or the art kids.

You stand quietly in line before Cady speaks up again, “What’s your label?”

“I don’t have one. I’m not some outcast or jock or anything like that. I’m an actual human being and labels are overrated.”

She nods slowly smiling, “That’s pretty cool.”

One you both gather lunch you go and sit at the edge of the stoner table. You give some greetings before turning your full attention to Cady.

“Ok, don't freak out but I won't be here tomorrow. So, you’re going to be on your own,” you break the news to the ginger.

She falters a bit, “Oh okay.”

You see her eyes land on Janis and Damian.

“Be careful with those two.”

Her eyebrows furrow, “Why they seem cool?”

You elaborate, “They are cool, but they have labels and roles to fit in to. They’ve got an affinity for ditching class and making up schemes. So don’t get sucked in to that stuff alright?”

Cady nods and then you see her eyes sparkle, “Who is that?”

You follow her line of sight and find yourself in a brief staring contest with the school’s queen bee. Your eyes dance over her features and time seems to slow down for a moment, until she finally looks away from you.

“That’s Regina George.”

“She seems important,” Cady says, noting how everyone around seems preoccupied with her.

You counter, “She carries herself that way, so no one really questions it. Regina is the most popular girl in school. The two with her are Gretchen and Karen. Some people call them The Plastics.”

“Got it, so I should steer clear?”

You shrug, “She’s a massive deal and some people would grovel for even a minute with her. She’s got a lot of influence around here. So, I would just say be careful of interacting with her. She’s as mean as she is pretty.”

“I don’t get it.”

You sigh, “It’s nuanced. You shouldn't be seeking out interactions with her but trust me you don't want to turn her away or brush her off if she approaches you. She can ruin the rest of your time here, so careful of her.”

One last time you look in Regina’s direction to see her laughing at some poor kid.

Cady sees this but decides against questioning it. The rest of the day goes by quickly and by the end of the day, you might just consider Cady your friend. You exchange numbers and tell her to make good choices in your absence.

It was some time the following night that you got a text from Cady.

Cady: I think I messed up today.

Y/n: What happened?

Cady: I got invited to sit with the Plastics.

The text conversation ends there as you can’t help but call the girl. She picks up immediately and starts rambling about her day. You silently listen from the other end of the line, almost in disbelief that all of that could happen in one day.

“So, you got encouraged to sit with Regina and her friends by Janis and Damian, who also made you skip class,” you try to follow.

“Yes.”

You continue, “And you have a crush on Aaron, from Calc?”

Cady blushes on the other line, “I don’t know? I just think he’s cute.”

You run a hand over your face, “Jesus Christ Cady, I’m gone for one day and this is what you get in to, Aaron is Regina’s ex."

She scrambles over the phone, “I don’t know it just happened. What do I do Y/n?”

“Tomorrow’s Wednesday, so the best advice I can give to you is wear something pink,” you joke over the line.

“Damian is letting me borrow his shirt.”

You couldn’t contain your laughter.

“It’s not funny, Y/n,” she whines.

“Tell him to keep the shirt. You can borrow something from me instead.”

Cady is grateful but she has a curious tone as she asks, “You don’t seem like the pink wearing type.”

You speak coyly, “What have I been saying about labels Cady? You can’t put me in a box. Fun fact pink is one of my favorite colors.”

Cady’s next words are hesitant, “Maybe if you wear something pink too, they’ll let you sit too.”

“Cady, I have no desire to sit with Regina and her friends, but I don’t want to throw you to the wolves without at least trying to save you. So, for you, I’ll wear the pink, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll let me sit.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Cady praises you over the phone.

You chuckle, “Anything else?”

“Nothing that I can think of. You’re the best Y/n, I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodnight.”

You smile, “Goodnight, Cady."

When the conversation ends you get out of your bed and head for your closet. For the most part it was filled with t-shirts, jeans, sweaters, and the occasional formal attire. You have to go deep into the back of it to actually find what you’re looking for.

You’re hesitant to pull it off the hanger. It’s a simple pink bomber jacket. It’s cute and the material is soft. Cady could wear it. The one thing that gives you great pause about letting her borrow it, is that the jacket had been gifted to you by Regina George.

You had grown up in North Shore, so you were always aware of Regina George. You’d gone through school together, even sharing some classes together. All this to say you knew the girl’s character. She had always been mean.

It was 2 years ago when your parents decided that a family vacation during the summer would be good for everyone in the house. You weren't complaining, it was good to get out of the city.

Your parents had gone all out and rented out a beach front property for the 3 months you had away from school. It was a gorgeous property, and you often found yourself enjoying the scenery.

The last thing you expected to see was Regina George. Yet coincidentally the home your folks rented was right next to a property owned by Regina’s family.

You didn’t have any need to acquaint yourself with her. So, for a few weeks into the vacation, you didn’t approach her. That didn’t stop you from looking at her. You always knew she was gorgeous, but it was a shame her personality didn’t match.

Eventually your staring caught her attention.

“Y/n, right?”

You frown as the sun you were using to read is blocked. You look up to see Regina standing in front of you. Her blue eyes pierce yours curiously.

“Yep, how can I help you?”

“Why so formal?”

You finally meet her eyes, “Well you are the most popular girl in our grade.”

Regina’s eyes divert from yours, “We aren’t in school right now.”

You nod, “You’re right. So, I can just tell you to fuck off.”

She sets up her things next to yours, “You could, but who says I will listen.”

You laugh a bit, “What do you want, Regina?”

She sighs, “Is it a crime to want some company?”

“It’s not,” you answer, before returning to your book.

“I haven’t seen you here before. I come every summer,” Regina tries for small talk.

You sit the book down and give the girl your full attention.

“My parents saved up to rent out a beach front property this summer. They said it’s good for family bonding,” you say.

“I’ve only really seen you,” Regina comments.

You shrug, “My parents are enthralled with each other. They’re rediscovering how much they love each other. Where are your parents?”

You see her shift under your gaze, “My dad is on some business trip or something and my mom is out somewhere with my little sister.”

That first interaction spurred on by Regina started something of a summer friendship. You had no expectations of keeping it when the summer ended. So, when she came to you nervous one of those summer nights saying that it was better not to interact at school, you weren’t surprised.

You told her you expected this from her and that it was fine, but that maybe you could continue this friendship next summer. That night she hugged you for what seemed like forever as an apology.

When school started back it was like you were strangers. You were surprised to receive some texts from her here and there. You’d always answer, and you’d be lying if you weren’t looking forward to summer.

When the next summer rolled around, as soon as your feet hit the sand you were nearly knocked to the ground. The queen bee locked her hands behind your neck and her legs wrapped around your waist.

“You miss me or something, Gina?”

“You have no idea, how much I’ve been looking forward to it.”

She pulls away to look at you but doesn’t unhook her legs from your face. The two of you stare at each other for a moment before you clear your throat. She drops down smiling innocently as a blush spread across your face.

“You look good,” Regina comments.

Your hand scratches the back of your neck, “Puberty or whatever, I guess.”

Her hand finds yours, “So what’re we doing first?”

Last summer was different than the first. It didn’t feel like you were further expanding the friendship, it felt like you were building something different with Regina.

Those suspicions were confirmed when her lips met yours one night when you both were watching the waves.

“You aren’t supposed to kiss me, Gina,” you whisper against her lips.

“Why not?”

You open your eyes to look into hers, “Because when we go back to North Shore, I’m going to miss this.”

She pulls away, “I’m sorry, I just-”

You chase her until her back is flat on the sand. You hover over her lips, before pecking them, “Be mine for this summer Gina.”

You can see the sadness in her eyes as she speaks, “I’m going to break your heart, Y/n.”

Your hand cups her face, “I know, but that’s not your problem.”

Regina shakes her head, “I care about you, Y/n. I don’t want-"

“Just let me down gently baby,” you plead with her.

She sees the desperation in your eyes as they search hers. Regina didn’t want to hurt you, she needed you to stay away from her. For once in her life, she was thinking about the consequences of her actions. However, pushing you away was not an option.

She captured your lips again. You deserved more, but you were begging for her. All she could do was keep her promise and let you down gently.

You thought you had prepared yourself for the summer to end. That was far from the truth because when you woke up the day before you left, Regina was already gone.

You thought she left without saying goodbye. You were wrong. When you went to the patio of your summer home, you found her goodbye. She left you her jacket, a letter, and a seashell necklace.

The letter itself had a few tear stains on it that made it hard to read. You didn’t think Regina was the type to put pen to paper, but you were used to being surprised by her.

I’ve tried writing this a bunch, but I keep fucking it up. I should’ve started with Dear Y/n or something, but that just didn’t sound right. I’m sorry for so many things, Y/n. You told me to let you down gently and here I am leaving without saying goodbye because I'm selfish. I’m mean, I’m selfish and I’m not good for you. When school starts, I have to uphold this image and as much as I want to say that it’s not me. It’s not true. I’m that girl that you know back home, but here with you… I feel this responsibility to be better. This summer meant everything to me. Every moment with you meant everything to me. I wish we could stay here because I’ve never been happier. I will never be happier then I was here with you. I don’t deserve to be. I hope this was gentle enough, baby.

Love,

Your Gina

Reading the letter stirs a plethora of emotions through your system. You let Regina break your heart and you hadn’t faced her since. The thought of getting close to her at school scared you. You knew the girl you had feelings for didn't exist during this time of year and if you got in her way, she’d surely take you down.

The next day you find yourself wearing a pink tank top mostly covered by your black zip-up hoodie. You send Cady a picture of the jacket advising her to find something that matched.

You arrive on campus and patiently wait for Cady to show up.

“Pink might be your color Y/n.”

You roll your eyes, “Shut up Janis and what are you planning with Cady and Regina?”

“I can't shut up and explain at the same time so…”

“I’m serious Janis. Cady is fresh meat for someone like Regina.”

Janis claps her hands together gleefully, “Fresh meat or a blank canvas. Regina stood up for Cady yesterday, which means she's taken an interest in her. Queen bee sees potential, which means Cady is either a successor or a threat.”

“Ok, what does any of that have to do with you?”

Damian enters the conversation at that point, “Oh it’s a part of her plan for revenge on Regina.”

Janis smacks the boy a few times. The end up play-fighting before you get between them.

“Enough! Revenge for what exactly?”

Janis’s eyes darken, “That information is classified I'm afraid.”

You glare back at her, “You shouldn’t drag Cady into this.”

Now it’s Janis who rolls her eyes, “If she wants to help out a friend who am I to stop her.”

You get up as soon as you spot Cady. With one final look back to Janis you say, “Friends don’t use each other in revenge plots.”

Cady’s outfit was simple, but cute and the jacket would go perfect with it. You greet her with a smile.

“Nervous?”

“More than I was on the first day,” she frowns.

You grab her by the shoulders and shake her a bit, “You got this and even if it flops, you have me ok. The biggest thing to remember is you have to be yourself alright?”

“Janis and Damian said I shouldn’t be myself around The Plastics,” Cady put her head down.

“Hey, look at me. You don’t need to try to fit in with them. Regina invited you to sit, which means she wants you there. Think about it like that,” you try to ease her nerves.

She nods, giving you a small smile in return, “That makes sense. Oh shit, they’re looking at me. Do you have the jacket?”

You turn to find Regina and her clique looking curiously in Cady’s direction. Quickly you pull the jacket out of your bag. Cady reaches for it, and you pull it back slightly.

“This jacket is important to me, ok? I need it back at the end of the day,” you warn her.

Cady’s attention stays on the popular girls until she sees Regina’s gaze shift towards you. Again, the two of you are in an intense staring contest.

“I’ll give it back to you at the end of the day,” Cady repeats.

You hand her the jacket and go to walk off. Her arm catches your wrist, and you turn around. It’s a bit too fast and the girl almost falls, so you steady her.

“Careful,” you scold her lightly.

Her voice is light as she questions you, “Where’re you going?”

“To my locker?” You say curiously.

“Well, mine is close to yours so I didn’t really expect you to- sorry it’s silly. You go, I’ll see you-”

This time it’s her that goes to pull away. You drop your hand into her’s leading her towards the lockers.

“No, you’re right. Sorry, I’m just kind of used to doing my own thing. It makes complete sense for us to go together.”

“I didn’t mean to make a big deal out of it,” she apologizes.

Your hand lets go of hers as you get in front of your locker, “No big deal, let’s just get through today.”

Lunch comes sooner than you want it to. You try to hide your nerves for Cady’s sake. She approaches Regina’s table with you not too far behind her.

Before she sits down, she clears her throat and looks at Regina, “H-hey it’s cool if not, but I was wondering if my friend Y/n could sit here maybe?”

Gretchen goes on some tangent about it being disrespectful to ask and says that Cady should be disinvited just for even bringing it up, “I mean who do you even think you are?”

“Are you done Gretchen?” Regina replies not even looking at the girl.

“I- I,” she stutters and sits silently in defeat.

Regina eyes look at Cady as if she’s bored, “Is she at least wearing pink?”

You unzip your jacket revealing the pink tank top underneath. Regina looks briefly at shirt before letting out an exasperated sigh, “Only today.”

The answer shocks Gretchen and Karen, but they don’t say it. Cady sits at the edge of the table while you decide to sit next to Karen, in a way that separates you from the main group.

“Cute jacket. Where’d you get it?” Regina says to Cady.

The question alone makes the food on the lunch tray unappealing to you.

Cady answers seamlessly, “It was a gift.”

It’s a good save. If it hadn’t been Regina’s jacket it would have been the perfect lie. The blonde lets it go with a hum before she starts diving into the stereotypical gossip of the school.

It’s hard being this close to her. You had done what you could to stay away from her at school, but here you were sitting across from her trying your best not to stare.

Gretchen goes on explaining the rules of The Plastics to Cady for what felt like forever. You mindlessly scroll through your phone wishing the lunch period would end.

Cady definitely didn’t need you here. You had decided that you were going to leave the table, but before you did, you felt her eyes on you. It was like you were glued to the seat.

“So, we’re going to my house after school to study. Cady are you in or out?” Regina asks, but it’s really a demand.

“Yeah, for sure I’m totally in,” she says excitedly.

“One day offer loser, are you in?” Regina looks at her nails, but it’s clear she’s talking to you.

Gretchen speaks up again, “Regina you can’t be serious? Sitting with us was one thing, but-”

“I’m sorry, was I talking to you Gretchen?” Her voice was ice cold.

Cady looks at you with eyes that were basically saying ‘pretty please’.

“I’m in,” you say against your gut feeling.

Once lunch is over you all disperse. Cady corners you before you go to your next class, “Oh my god that went so well. Regina even asked us to come over.”

You bury your head in your hands, “What have I just agreed to?”

“Hey, this is a good thing, right? If it's not its only one hangout,” Cady’s hand finds your shoulder giving you comfort.

“You’re right, it’s just- Regina’s kind of intimidating up close,” You mumble.

Cady nods, “Very intimidating. Did something happen between the two of you?”

You make a face that creases your eyebrows, “Who? Me and Regina.”

“Yeah, I've seen you staring at each other, and it just feels like tension,” Cady says.

You avoid the truth skillfully, “Well, I've known Regina a long time. I’ve seen what she's capable of. It’s pretty scary. It’s not really staring on my part more like freezing in fear.”

“She can’t be that bad. I think she’s kind of sweet,” Cady admits.

You shake your head, “What did I tell you before Cady? Regina George is mean.”

Cady scoffs, “Everybody keeps saying that, but no one is giving me any examples.”

“Watch her the rest of the day, you'll get it then,” you say knowing that Regina couldn't go too long without letting her mean streak show.

It didn’t take long for Cady to see what you were talking about. Regina treated their peers like they were beneath her at every chance she got.

When your last class was over, you both made your way to Regina’s jeep. Cady is stopped on the way by Janis and Damian. You decide against staying for that conversation. You expect the ginger will catch up to you.

When you get to the car Regina is already there waiting. It is slightly strange seeing her without a boy or her friends. Cautiously you approach her, but not to close. You keep your head down as you stand what you deem as near enough to her car.

“Get in,” she says after an awkward silence.

Your hand barely touches the door to the back before she speaks up again, “The front seat.”

This causes you to look up at her, but she’s already making her way around to the driver’s side. You follow her orders and get in the passenger seat next to her.

You can’t remember the last time you felt this fidgety. Your hand finds a spot firmly on your knee to keep it from bouncing out of control.

“You gave her the jacket,” It’s small when she says it.

It’s a challenge for you, but you make eye contact with her, “She’s just borrowing it. I would never give it away. “

The conversation dies there as Karen, Gretchen, and Cady arrive at the jeep.

“Regina, why is she in my spot?” Gretchen complains about your presence once again.

You start to remove the seatbelt to get in the back, but Regina’s hand grabs your wrist.

“Gretchen, when did you start asking more than 2 stupid questions a day? Nothing in my car belongs to you. If she were in the driver's seat, I would expect you to get in and shut the fuck up. So, get in the back and stop being so annoying.”

You could see Gretchen shrink under Regina’s words. Part of you feels bad for her, she was just acting in the way Regina usually would approve of. You were already making things complicated when they didn’t have to be.

The rest of the girls pile into the back of the jeep and it’s awkward for a moment, but eventually the chatter starts naturally. Once again you feel out of place.

You can’t stop thinking of the feeling of Regina’s hand on your wrist. Her skin on yours provides you with a sense of comfort. It’s almost like you were remembering that you knew what she felt like. You’re craving her touch; the thought alone makes your face burn with embarrassment.

Pulling up to Regina’s house feels surreal. It’s bigger than you thought. It almost felt wrong to go inside. Regina ushers everyone upstairs quickly trying to avoid her mother. You move the quickest, slightly afraid that Mrs. George might recognize you from the summer. Cady takes time to properly greet the woman.

If being in her house felt wrong being in her room felt even more invasive. It’s as pink as you imagined it be, but not in a childish way.

This is when Cady tries to fold you into the conversation, “Y/n, actually really likes pink.”

It’s so sudden having all the girls look to you for conformation. You try to regain your usual attitude, rather than the bundle of nerves you've become today.

“I think it's pretty cool,” You shrug.

Karen’s eyes widen, “You talk?”

You laugh as the other girls roll their eyes, “Yes, Karen I talk.”

“Well, you haven't said anything this whole time so how was I dose to know,” she tilts her head to the side.

She has a good point. From that point you try to engage me with the girls. It isn't so bad. The more you talk with the others the more you begin to relax.

That was until Mrs. George came upstairs with snacks. You excuse yourself to the restroom. It isn't until you’re out of the room that you realize you have no idea where it is.

“Follow me,” Regina appears from seemingly thin air.

You follow her and the two of you end up in front of the bathroom door. You stand there not saying anything to each other.

“Well, are you going to go?”

“I don’t actually have to go, I was just saying that to leave the room in case your mom recognized me,” you explain.

Regina nods, “Right makes sense."

Another long pause.

“I’m sorry, for coming here Gi- Regina. I was just trying to be there for Cady,” you don't look at her as you speak.

“Looking out for your new girlfriend, I get it,” there’s some venom in her tone.

“She’s not- I’m not into Cady.”

Regina falters, “It’s not my business, I shouldn’t have assumed.”

That was her way of apologizing. You don’t know what else to say. Your eyes linger on her, taking in her appearance this close.

“Stop looking at me like that,” she says before heading back in the direction of her room.

You sigh, “You look good, Regina.”

That seems to stop her in her tracks. She turns to face you again, “You can't say stuff like that.”

You take the opportunity to joke, “Do I need to say you look so totally fetch instead or…?”

She rolls her eyes playfully, “You’re annoying you know that.”

It’s completely different than how she said it to Gretchen. For this small instance in the hallway, she sounds like your Gina. It makes your heart flutter but sickens you all at the same time.

Re-entering Regina’s room you see the girls looking at a weird book. You see the shift in Regina’s features instantly, “Why is that out here? “

“Your mom thought it would be funny,” Karen answers, flipping through the pages.

You can't help but read one of the pages aloud, “Ms. Norbury is a PUSHER, a SAD OLD DRUG PUSHER.”

The book is filled with girls from school, it’s surprising you had escaped the pages. It’s then you’re reminded just how effortlessly cruel Regina could be.

Janis's revenge plot was starting to make more sense. You hated to agree, but maybe she needed a fall from grace.

“I have to go,” you say gathering you're things.

Regina moves to block your exit. She looks at the rest of girls like they’re idiots, “Why aren't you guys grabbing your shit? She has to go that means you all have to.”

The girls scramble to pick up their stuff. Regina grabs her car keys from the vanity, signaling that she was doing drop offs.

She takes Gretchen home first, then Karen, next is Cady. You notice Cady doesn't have on your jacket when you get a glimpse of her. Slight panic bubbles inside of you. If she left it at Regina’s, you'd likely never see it again. You get a text as you come to this realization.

Cady: The jackets in your backpack

Y/n: Cool thanks

When Regina parks in front of Cady’s house you say goodbye and tell her to text you later. When she leaves the car, the energy shifts drastically.

You knew Regina did this intentionally as your house was only a block over from hers. It would've made sense to take you first, but she waited to have you alone in this moment.

“Can we talk?” You see her hands tightly grip the steering wheel.

“Well now is as good as it's going to get, isn’t it?” You say picking at the sleeves of your sweater.

Regina sighs, “You were never this timid on the beach.”

“You and I both know you're a different person there. I never thought I’d be in this situation with you here, forgive me if I’m cautious around the queen bee,” you rebuttal.

Her grip tightens, “You’re scared of me.”

You shake your head, “I’m not scared of you, Gina.”

“Then why?”

You look out of the window, “I’m scared of the way you make me feel. I look at you and all of a sudden, I want to be back on that beach. This is as close as we’ve been during the school year, and I can’t make a habit of this. You let me down gently, but that doesn’t mean my heart isn’t broken.”

“I told you,” it’s a whisper from the blonde.

“I would do it all over again,” you still can’t look at her.

Regina feels herself losing her composure. Before she can drive any further, she pulls over in a random parking lot. She shakes her head as tears build behind her eyes.

“You’re not supposed to say shit like that, Y/n. It’s cheesy and overplayed. It’s something you say to people that you care about, and you shouldn't care about me,” she begins to breathe heavily.

“Gina-"

Her hands find her hair as a groan leaves her, “I hurt you Y/n and you just let me. Why don’t you hate me?”

Your hands reach for hers. She lets you pull them from her scalp.

“Regina, I’m not some stranger you met on vacation 2 years ago. I grew up here, with you. I knew what I was getting into. I did it anyway,” your thumb runs over her knuckles.

“You didn't want more?”

Your eyes soften, “I wanted you in every way you’d allow me to have you, Gina. You weren’t just some summer fling to me. It’s just- I knew you'd never go for that. You have this image to uphold, and I fuck it up.”

“You shouldn’t care about my image. You should be calling me a coward and a liar. I don’t get why you haven’t even tried to expose me,” she goes on.

“I don't care about school politics,” you say.

She sounds desperate as she speaks, “But I do, and you could ruin me.”

Against your better judgment your hand caresses her cheek. She looks up at you and you lean forward.

“I gain nothing from hurting you Gina,” your lips graze hers as you speak.

“Fuck it,” Regina closes the gap between the two of you.

Her lips against yours feels better than you remember. Neither of you are eager to pull away. When you do your forehead rests against hers.

“I was so stupid thinking I could stay away from you,” Regina says trying to catch her breath.

“I missed you too,” you tell her.

“We have to figure this out. I’m not ready to… show this side of myself to the school, but I need you,” Regina admits.

You shrug your shoulders, “We could sneak around. No one has to know.”

She searches your face, “Are you sure?”

You nod, “Positive.”

People often make jokes about famous last words, but that honestly felt like yours. Life became a lot more hectic after you suggested that arrangement between you and Regina.

A lot of it was a blur as she began to pull you into the janitors closet whenever she got the chance. Sometimes for talking and sometimes to makeout.

Off campus you would find yourself at the blonde’s house quite often. The two of would hang out in her room for hours. On occasion she would borrow her mom’s car to take your somewhere out of the city.

While things were going great for you with Regina. Cady was slowly but surely making her move on Aaron. You didn't think it was wise, but if it made her happy, then you supported it.

Cady had also kept her seat with Regina and friends. It seemed like she was finally progressing towards actually becoming a member of their clique.

You hadn’t been around much, but you hoped this meant Cady was done with whatever Janis had been planning. Playing both sides wouldn’t be good for her.

“Are you going to Chris Eisel's Halloween party?”  Cady asks as she goes through her locker.

“Probably, everyone is going.”

She nods her head, “I think I'm going to try to get with Aaron at the party.”

Your eyes widen, “I don't know if that's a good idea.”

Cady dismisses your warning, “Regina and I are cool now. I think I'm going to tell her I like him and see if it's ok that I take my chance.”

You look at her as if she was crazy, “Cady getting with the queen bee's ex-boyfriend is not smart.  Telling her about it beforehand only gives her prep time to take you down.”

“It will be fine.”

You knew that it, in fact, would not be fine. Your suspicions were confirmed later in the day when you were in Regina’s room.

The blonde paces back and forth silently. There’s a scowl on her face. You let her try to cool down for nearly 15 minutes, but at this rate there would be a hole in the floor where she walked.

“So, you talked to Cady,” you lightly poke the bear.

“Who does she think she is? I let her into the most influential group at the school and now she wants to fuck my ex. If she gets with Aaron there’s a chance that I look like an idiot,” Regina was furious.

“How would that make you look bad? You dumped him, right?” you try to follow.

“It makes it look like I’d allow anyone to have the things that I have. Dating Aaron would push her up the social ladder. Being one of us and dating him would make her more popular than me,” she says it like it’s obvious.

“Right,” you’re still confused.

Regina groans before finally sitting on her bed next to you, “You wouldn’t get it. You’re not into the school politics or whatever it is you say.”

You wrap your arms around the blonde and she leans back into your touch, “Just try not to destroy her too bad, ok? She’s, my friend.”

“I’m going to put that ginger bitch in her place,” she threatens.

You sigh, but there’s not much else you can do. You warned Cady that this was a bad idea.

“No more talking about Cady. We have episodes of Malcolm in the Middle to watch,” you kiss the top of her head.

“You’re right, I don’t want her cutting into our time together,” she places a kiss to the side of your jaw.

You knew that whatever happened at that party would be bad, but for now you decided to ignore it for now. In hindsight, it was a mistake. It was almost as if all the time you were spending with Regina made you forget that when everything was said and done, she was mean.

The party’s already in full affect when you get there. It’s almost impossible not to spot Cady in her costume.

“I see you went for the scary over sexy look,” you shout so that she can hear you.

“I thought this is what they meant by costume. Not just a pair of mouse ears,” you can barely make out what she’s saying over the giant plastic teeth.

You laugh, “Well I think it’s pretty cool for what it’s worth.”

“Thanks, I hope Aaron thinks so too. Who are supposed to be?”

You pull out your tiny comb and run it through your hair, “Well me sweetheart, I’m grease lightning.”

She giggles at your antics, “I don’t why, but that makes sense for you.”

You chat with Cady enjoying the party atmosphere until you get a glimpse of Regina, “Wow.”

Cady turns her attention to the blonde, “She looks amazing. Is she-”

“An angel,” you finish Cady’s thought.

Cady watches as your eyes rake Regina’s entire form, “I’ve never seen you look like such a fan of hers before.”

It’s a task as you tear your eyes away from Regina, “I’ve said it a million times Cady. She’s mean, but damn she's pretty.”

“I’m going to go say hi, I’ll be right back.”

You don’t stay to watch the interaction between the two girls opting to get a drink from the kitchen instead.

In the kitchen your quest for a drink is postponed as you see Karen standing on the table, looking as if she was going to fall. In typical North Shore fashion, instead of helping her down people are recording her.

You take it upon yourself to walk over and extend your hand to the girl. She takes it gratefully, but still manages to trip on her way down. You’re reflexes work fast to catch her, and steady her on the ground.

“Y/n, you saved me,” she giggles and jumps up and down a few times.

You laugh with your response, “I did, but be careful next time I might not be around.”

“I was trying to find Gretchen,” the girl frowns.

You sigh, trying to figure out if you really want to take on this task. One look at Karen’s wobbly stance, and you take her hand.

“Let’s find her.”

It takes you longer than expected to find Gretchen. When you get a glimpse of her, she’s yelling at Jason over who knows what. You see if you wait it out if it will end, but it doesn’t. So instead, you decide to interrupt anyway.

“Gretchen!” Karen exclaims as you get closer to the girl with the loose curls.

“Karen was looking for you,” you tell her nonchalantly.

Gretchen looks at her clearly drunk friend and then back to the boy she was arguing with. She points her finger at him, “This isn’t over.”

She then takes Karen by the arm and begins to drag her away, “Bye Y/n.”

Gretchen turns back to you for a quick moment mouthing ‘thank you’ before she goes to take care of Karen.

You’re basically back to the middle of the party. You look for Cady and spot her standing still across the room. Her chest heaves up and down rapidly as she clutches her hand over it.

You follow her line of sight and feel your heart break in your chest. Regina and Aaron are locked in an enthusiastic kiss. Tears threaten to spill from your eyes, but you hold them at bay. You make your way over Cady deciding that the party is over for the both of you.

Your presence takes her out of her trance, “Let’s go.”

She looks over to see Regina looking right at her. Cady doesn’t hesitate to follow your lead out of the party. It’s not until Regina realizes that you’re the one taking Cady, that the blonde regrets her actions.

You don’t know how you end up and Janis’s place, but you do. Janis and Damian are watching some old Halloween movie in her garage. Cady starts telling the art kids what happened at the party. Janis springs up from her seat quickly comforting the girl.

You take this opportunity to sit next to Damian. Its then that you learn that Cady didn’t actually know why Janis wanted revenge. You find out some details you didn’t know either, despite being there for the debacle.

“Now you know that Regina George is not your friend, we’re your friends and we’re going to make her pay,” Janis says with her eye twitching.

“Pause, why are you here Y/n?” Damian acknowledges that you look just as upset as Cady.

You search for an answer, “I brought Cady.”

Janis narrows her eyes at you, “That’s not everything.”

You know you shouldn’t, but as the images of Aaron and Regina cross your mind you can’t hold it in.

Your head falls into your hands, “It’s complicated.”

The moment the two words leave your lips you find yourself telling them everything from the first summer to the recent rendezvous. By the time you're done you’re a mess.

“She told me this would happen, but I didn't listen. I’m so stupid,” you began to get angry at yourself as you harshly wiped your eyes.

“Hey, don't be so hard on yourself,” Janis wraps an arm around.

“And I thought she was cruel before,” Damian looks at you sympathetically.

“She’s not going to get away with this Y/n,” Cady promises.

You shake your head, “Guys, I’m not out for vengeance. I just- it hurts.”

Janis rubs your shoulder a few times, “Don’t worry, we got your back. While Cady focuses on knocking Regina down a peg, Damian and I will make sure she stays away from you.”

Just as the words leave her mouth your phone begins to buzz repeatedly. You peak down at it and can see a bunch of messages from Regina coming through. You reach for it, but Cady takes it and simply flips it over on the table.

“No more, Regina George. “Now, what are we watching,” she says, and you nod gaining back some of your bearings.

So, you spend the rest of your night watching bad horror movies with your friends, trying to keep your mind off of Regina.

The next school day you don’t make it far without feeling a certain pair of eyes on you. Before you can turn to look in her direction Janis and Damian are by your side whisking you into the school building.

“I can’t believe you didn’t like disintegrate under her gaze,” Janis comments.

Damian follows up, “Yeah if looks could kill, you’d probably be dead right now.”

Your gaze stays on the floor, “She can look all she wants as long as she keeps her distance.”

That's basically what transpires your next 6 weeks at school. Janis, Damian, and Cady fail to make any sort of mockery of Regina, the popular girl debuts her rekindled romance, and you fall deeper into your depression.

Regina does try approaching you a few more times, but she consistently gets blocked by Janis, Damian, or Cady, for which you’re grateful. You don’t want to talk to her while she’s busy parading her boy toy around.

Every day is starting to seem longer than the last. You dread stepping on campus, because even if you manage to avoid seeing Regina, she’s all anyone talked about. It was like you were always surrounded by her and it was driving you insane.

It gets to the point where sometimes you periodically skip class, just to walk the empty hallways to get away from her. Skipping class seems to be your downfall as you find yourself being yanked into the janitors closet.

“What the fuck?” Your initial panic only increases when you see Regina blocking the door.

“We need to talk,” Regina says with a sharp tone.

You shake your head, “No we don’t, now let me out of here Regina.”

You try to push past her, but she puts a hand on your chest, “I’ve been trying to talk to you since the Halloween party.”

“For what, Regina? You put Cady in her place just like you said you would. I should've seen it coming,” your words come out harsh.

“I didn’t mean for you to get hurt,” her voice was small when she spoke.

You let out a bitter chuckle, “There was no way I wasn’t going to get hurt. What, you were just going to kiss and date Aaron publicly while keeping me on the side?”

“I don’t care about Aaron, I only care about you,” she shoots back.

“You couldn’t even run it by me. Maybe check to see if I would’ve been ok with it? Regina we were practically dating,” you argue to the girl.

Regina runs a hand through her hair, “I know that. I know I fucked up, I’ve been trying to apologize, to talk to you, but your guard dogs never let me get close.

You scoff, “My friends are protecting me from you.”

Regina sounds incredulous, “So you told them?”

Your hands go up feigning exasperation, “Yes, I told them. I didn’t really have a choice because when I left the party, I was a fucking mess, and they were there for me.”

“It was just a kiss, Jesus Christ you’re acting like I fucked him on the couch,” she complains.

The disbelief in your tone comes out, “You really don’t get it, do you? You want to know why it fucked me up so bad? Despite how mean you are and how vain you can be, I saw something in you. I cut through all the bullshit to find the actual human being with feelings. I got to know you better than anyone else in this hell hole ever will. Underneath all that toxic plastic costume that you wear is the girl that I loved. So, I’m sorry if my hurt feelings are too much for you, but it fucking sucks seeing the person you love kiss someone else.”

You didn't know when you got so close to Regina. The roles had reversed at some point, and you were now the one trapping her against the closet door. Her blue eyes peer into yours looking for any sign of deceit.

“You loved me?”

You close your eyes, “Don’t make me say it again. “

Regina doesn't have the words. She doesn't want to search for them. All she wants to do is kiss you. So, against her better judgment she hurriedly places her lips on yours.

You should push her away, tell her that this isn't an apology. Yet the only thing you can do is wrap your arms around her and pull her into you. The kiss is sloppy, and it sends you both into a frenzy. Neither of you break it even when you both know better.

When the door to the closet is violently yanked open, is when you finally pull away from each other. Aaron stands there looking between yourself and Regina. The blonde yanks the door back shut, and you drop to the floor as embarrassment sets in.

“Fuck, I have to go,” you say trying to pull yourself together.

“You can’t go we haven’t talked,” Regina tries to block you.

This time you’re gentle as you move her aside, “There’s nothing to talk about Gina. You were right, I thought I could handle the heartbreak, but this is too much.”

Leaving the closet your jaw clenches as you see Cady down the hall. Her attention that was on Aaron, shifts to you. Her eyes go wide as she begins to figure out what happened in the closet. You don't give her the chance to comfort you opting to leave the school entirely.

Maybe it was time to embrace the school’s politics. Becoming the outcast, loner, weirdo didn’t sound so bad anymore. Anything to keep you away from The Plastics and The Art Freaks. You didn’t want to deal with either side ever again.

Just like you had done with Regina you ignored all of Cady, Janis, and Damian’s messages. You and the block button had never been any closer. At school you resumed having your lunch outside away from the drama and stuffy cafeteria.

In class you kept your focus on the teacher ignoring any notes or whispers from the trio. It was a challenge, but it was for the best.

You kept your head down when walked the halls and your earbuds in. If you kicked out the outside world then it was like it didn’t exist. You should’ve been paying more attention.

That’s the thought that crosses your mind as you trip right in front of Regina George. You expect to hit the floor dramatically but are surprised when you feel her hands at your waist keeping you upright.

The entire school watches with bated breath waiting for your fate. You too, are curious to see how the queen bee will treat you with the public watching.

“Watch it… loser,” she mumbles, making sure to shove you lightly out of her way.

You can tell her heart isn’t in it, but it looks normal to the public. In some ways it looked like you got a warning, which Regina was kind enough to give to most people.

You didn't dwell on it much. She probably had bigger things to worry about with the talent show happening so soon. The Plastics never missed a year of doing their kind of provocative and surely cringe-inducing dance routine.

Extra credit was being offered in most of your classes for students who went. So, you had decided to go to boost up your grades.

On the night of the talent show, you take a seat in the back row. Most of it is uninspiring. You hate to admit that you really enjoyed Damian’s rendition of the Icarly theme song. It was weird, but in that sort of niche artistic way that made it cool to you.

When The Plastics get on stage you’re surprised to see Cady with them. It was unsurprising to see everyone recording the performance. You’re sure some weirdos would be glad to have that performance at their disposal.

 It is more difficult to watch this year than the previous. Something is more off key than usual. When the cartwheel spot is being set up you see Karen’s knee buckle first then Regina slams into the floor.

When she does, the crowd erupts. You shoot out of your seat as well. This is her worst nightmare. In a digital era, there’s no way that this isn’t going to go viral.

You don’t know why you’re running out of the theater, but you are. You didn’t know where to look for her, but she had to come to her car. You stand outside the pink jeep for what feels like an eternity.

In reality, it was only a few minutes before you could make out the figure of the crying blonde. You wait for her to get closer before attempting to say anything.

“Regina-”

She tries snapping at you, but it doesn’t pack much of a punch behind the tears, “It’s pretty funny, isn’t it? I bet you enjoyed every second of it.”

“Give me your keys,” you say without pause.

“What?”

“It’s dangerous to drive under intense emotion. Give me your keys, so I can take you home,” you reiterate.

Regina wants to question it, but she doesn’t want to ruin tonight even more. She put her keys in your hands. You don’t say anything else, simply waiting for her to get in the car.

When she does, you begin driving to her house. You can see her scrolling through her phone, so you snatch it from her at a red light.

“Stop,” you tell her, knowing she’s looking at her viral moment.

When you get to her house you follow her to her room. She faceplants on her bed and you watch as her body begins to vigorously shake with sobs.

You sit next to her your hand rubs her back soothingly, “I’m sorry this happened to you.”

“You’re not happy that your bestie usurped me,” she says sarcastically.

“I haven’t spoken to Cady, since the closet thing happened,” you admit to her.

She wiped her eyes, “Why not?”

“Well Cady’s the one who told Aaron to check the closet,” you tell her.

“That bitch.”

You nod, “Yeah, I know that she and Janis wanted revenge, but that was low.”

Regina’s eyebrow furrows, “What are you talking about?”

You fill her in on everything and you can see her get angrier at every word.

“You didn’t think to warn me?”

You fight back, “Last time I checked they were failing. I wasn’t in on the planning, and I don’t even know all that they did. But also, I don’t owe you anything Regina.”

Her tongue clicks against her cheek, “I guess that’s fair.”

You speak again, “I don’t really know why I’m here if I’m being honest with you. I saw you hit the floor, and I just felt like I needed to be here for you.”

Regina laughs softly, “Even after all of this, you’re still thinking about how I feel.”

You laugh too, “I don’t think I can help it. I mean you are the Regina George, massive deal and all that.”

She shakes her head, “Not after this. I will never be her again.”

“Is that such a bad thing?”

She looks at you, “I mean it doesn’t feel great, to be embarrassed for the whole world to see.”

“Fair point, but what is it they say about the head that wears the crown. Aren’t you a little bit relieved that you don’t have to be perfect anymore?”

She shrugs, “I guess so. My heart hasn’t been inn it since the last time we talked.”

“Regina, I don’t know if now is the time to-"

Her eyes lock on yours, “Please.”

Reluctantly you nod your head.

“I’m not a caring person. I don't usually give a fuck about anything but myself. I’m selfish and ruthless and cruel and mean. I really am everything that these people are saying about me. Except when it comes to you. I care about you more than I’ve cared about anything in a long time.”

She looks at you to make sure you're really hearing her.

“Kissing Aaron was so fucking stupid. I felt threatened by Cady and in truth I acted how I usually would. But I forgot to consider your feelings because I’m not used to considering others. I knew I fucked up and I wanted to fix it, but you were avoiding me. So, I kept the act because if I lost you at least I still had my power.”

“So, you care about your power more than me?”

Regina frowns, “No, I don’t, that’s what I’m trying to say. In that closet when you told me you loved me, it was like everything just clicked into place. We got carried away and then you left, but if you would’ve stayed just a second longer, I could’ve told you I loved you too.”

“Regina-”

“I’m almost done I promise. I could’ve told you any time after the fact, but it felt selfish. I was trying to do the right thing for once. You said that I hurt you too much and you were right. So, I thought it didn’t matter. I still don’t know if it matters, but if this is the last chance I have to say it, Y/n I love you.”

Your heart could come out of your chest at Regina’s admission. You’d love nothing more than to just pull her in and kiss, but something was stopping you.

“I love you too Gina, but what does that mean for us?”

Regina takes your hand in hers, “I want to be with you. Not just on the beach, but here, everywhere.”

You can sense there’s something she wanted to say, “But…”

“But I want to deal with the situation at school first. I want to change, but I still have to be mean for a while. I don't know if you’ll like that side of me,” Regina looks at her bedsheets.

You let a tiny smile come over your features, “I’m not really into school politics. So, I don't mind if you’re still a little mean. As long as you don't care that I want to be by your side.”

Regina has a smile that matches yours, “I like the thought of you by my side.”

“Good, because I don't plan on leaving.”

You can't wait any longer. You take her face in both of your hands and kiss her softly. Regina melts against your lips. It’s not like the kiss in janitors, it’s closer to your first kiss together. There’s a slight hesitation, but it’s not enough to stop.

“I love you,” she says against your lips.

“I love you too.”

You stayed at Regina’s pretty late that night. It was so late that by the time you got home you were exhausted. When your alarm went off in the morning, you snored right through it. You ended up making it to your third period right before the bell rang to start class.

You took your seat next to Cady. Something about her was different. She looks like Regina, more than usual. She wasn't paying any attention during class, to preoccupied with her makeup.

“What’s up with her?” You say to Janis, who sits directly behind you.

“Oh, well hello to you too stranger.”

You roll your eyes, “I’m serious, Janis.”

The artist shrugs, “I don't know. After last night I called game on the revenge, but Cady said she needed one more day.”

You frown, “Is worldwide embarrassment not enough? She’s viral all over the internet for her fall.”

“I thought so, but this is all Cady,” there’s some hint of worry in her tone.

You want to talk to the ginger, but the moment the bell rings she's out of the class. Once you’re out of class you head to the cafeteria for lunch. As you’re standing in line waiting for the food the loud chatter of the cafeteria drops.

You lift your head up to see why; it’s Regina. She’s not in her usual attire opting for something more comfortable, but just as cute in your opinion. She walked over to her usual table but was stopped from sitting.

You couldn't hear the conversation, but you did hear as Regina’s friend yelled, “You can’t sit with us.”

Nobody in the cafeteria moves to make space for the girl. Her mean nature finally biting her in the ass. You set your lunch tray down loudly, causing the attention to shift to you.

You hate the way everyone looks on, as you make your way towards Regina. Standing by her side in front of the entire school felt strange.

You hold your hand out for her to take and she does. You glare hits all the girls’ sitting at The Plastics table before lingering on Cady, “Let’s go outside, it’s stuffy in here anyway.”

Regina let you drag her out of the cafeteria towards the front of the school. You found a shady spot under the tree and sat there.

“You want me to sit on the ground?”

You look at her and then pat your lap, “You could always sit here instead.”

She takes a seat on the grass next to you, “I wouldn’t want to crush you. I’m so fat now.”

You frown and pull the girl into your lap. She squeals and tries to get away, but you lock your arms around her.

“Doesn’t feel like you’re crushing me.”

Regina looks away from you, “I’m wearing these sweats because I can’t fit any of my pants anymore. It doesn't make any sense because all I've been eating are these nasty bars that Cady gave me.”

You take the bar from Regina. The more you examine it the angrier you get.

“Don’t eat anymore of this shit.”

“What’s wrong with them?”

You feel your body growing hot with anger, “These are Kalteen bars. They’re for gaining weight.”

Regina’s facial expression darkens, “What?”

“I’m going to kill her. This is too far,” you start to stand, but Regina stops you.

“I will handle it,” Regina’s calm tone is unnerving, but Cady deserves whatever hell Regina invokes on her for this.

“Ok, but I’m here if you need me,” you squeeze her lightly.

“Thank you, baby. Not just for being here, but for what you did in the cafeteria. I know you don’t like the attention,” she places a kiss on your cheek.

You blush at her praise, “I don’t like it, but I wasn’t going to stand idly by why Cady tried to humiliate you in front of everyone again.”

“I don’t want to talk about her anymore. Karma will get her soon enough and her world will be burnt to a crisp,” Regina’s smile is small yet sadistic.

Maybe a few hours ago you would’ve warned Regina about taking it too far. Potentially you would have said something about the moral high ground. However, upon learning about the weight gaining bars, you decided that Cady needed to be humbled quickly.

You and Regina decide to ditch the rest of the school day. You spend the day at her house watching tv in her bed. It only takes a few episodes before you fall asleep, still feeling some grogginess from your morning.

After a few minutes of your soft snores, Regina begins her plot. She knew this would not only destroy Cady, but the entire population of girls at the school. They deserved it after the talent show and lunch today. If they thought she was a problem when she was mean, nothing could prepare them for when she felt vindictive.

“What’re you doing so far away,” you yawn and make grabby hands at the blonde.

“This is called full proof revenge,” she holds up the burn book.

Your eyes widen as you read ‘this girl is a fugly cow’, “Oh shit.”

“Come here.”

You follow her orders. She opens the book to a page that has your name and your picture, but no description, “Where’d you get this picture of me?”

Regina shakes her head, “Not important. You need to write something mean about yourself here.”

You give her a questioning look, “Why?”

“Because it’ll look suspicious if you aren’t in it,” she hands you a marker.

You don't think about it too much as you write ‘Gay Loner Weirdo’ above the picture.

“Simple, elegant, classy,” you hand the marker back to her.

“Timeless if you will,” Regina jokes.

You nod feigning insight, “Yes, it was either that or Regina George sympathizer, but that felt too new. Gotta make them think I was always in there.”

The two of spent the rest of the day enjoying each other’s company. It was a nice change for once. You found yourself thinking that you could get used to having Regina to yourself like this.

You expect chaos the next time you step onto campus, but you aren’t prepared for what you walk in to. The halls were a mess. Girls are fighting, running, and screaming everywhere you look.

“This is insane,” you whisper to yourself.

“This is what happens when you fuck with Regina George,” the girl appears by your side faux distraught on her features.

You don’t get to answer her before principal Duvall calls for all the girls in the gymnasium. A situation like this was unprecedented in the history of the school. So, it didn't surprise you that none of the faculty knew what to do about it.

They were trying some weird truth and unity trust fall that you thought was a shitty idea. Things were cringy at first, but it seemed like the message was working on a few girls.

When Janis gets up there things take a turn for the worst as she begins to air out Regina and Cady’s dirty laundry, “… and I find it so ironic because while Regina’s been calling me a pyro lez she's been busy having summer beach romances with Y/n. Pretty fucking gay if you ask me.”

She lets out a scream before falling into the arms of the student body who began changing her name and carrying her out.

The only students left in the gym were yourself, Cady, and Regina. Cady’s remorse finally manages to kick in and she starts to apologize. She doesn't get too far in before Regina storms off. You stay hot on her heels as Cady follows the two of you. Regina makes it all the way to the front lot before she turns around to start arguing with Cady.

The closer Cady gets to the blonde, the further Regina goes into the street. You’re somewhere in between trying to mediate the situation.

“Why don't we do this somewhere private for once? Where the while school isn’t involved,” you suggest.

“I don't have anything to say to her except that she's parading around as a cheaper version of me. She can imitate take it all, but she’ll never be as good as me,” Regina spits out.

“Regina, I’m-"

You look between the girl’s and that's when you see the bus coming from the corner of your eye.

“Regina!”

You scream her name, and your body moves on its own as you forcefully tackle the girl to the ground. You make sure to protect her head with your arms as you go down on the concrete. Everything feels like it’s slowed down as your arms connect with the concrete.

That feeling is nothing compared to the pain you feel in your leg. You cry out in pain at the feeling of your leg being run over by the bus.

“Oh my god, Y/n. Someone help, quit standing around like idiots. Call an ambulance or something, make yourselves useful,” Regina yells as the entire school looks on.

She repositions herself so that your head is in her lap as she holds your sobbing figure. She can’t help it as her own tears begin to fall.

When the ambulance comes, you’re loaded in and rushed to the hospital. As much as Regina fought to get into the ambulance, they wouldn't let her. She knew you were going to need surgery on your leg, it had to be completely broken. All she could do was worry and count down the moments until she would be able to see you.

It took a full day for you to wake up after the accident and another before you were allowed visitors. Regina was the first person there.

The first thing she did was kiss you, “Don’t ever do anything stupid like that again.”

You laugh tiredly, “I believe the words are thank you.”

“It’s not funny Y/n, you could’ve died.”

You readjust the bed to sit up straight, “I wasn’t going to let you get full on hit by a bus Gina. My leg will be fine after rehab. The doctor says I'm lucky that it broke clean, but I might have some permanent nerve damage.”

“But you'll still be able to walk?”

You nod, “It’ll take a few months, and I might have like a permanent limp, but I’ll be able to walk."

“You saved my life,” her hand interlocks with yours.

“I mean we don't know that. You could've survived being hit by the bus,” you joke further.

“Oh yeah, totally would've survived. Probably would be walking around with the hottest neck brace on the market,” she rolls her eyes.

“Super fetch neck brace,” you add.

She groans, “I love you, but you have to stop saying that.”

“I love you too, but I’m going to keep saying it,” you kiss the back of her hand.

Regina isn't the only one who stops to visit you. You’re a little surprised to see Cady stop by. The popular persona was nowhere to be seen. She looks the same as the first day you met her.

“I know you probably don't want to see me, but I came to apologize… for everything. I did exactly what you warned me not to and got caught up in the school politics,” she stands by the forest while she talks.

You motion for her to have a seat, and she does so cautiously. You let out a breath before addressing the girl, “I did warn you, but sometimes you have to make mistakes to learn and grow. When you sent Aaron to the closet, I was so upset with you. Maybe I could’ve forgiven you then, but your attitude just went downhill from there.”

“I know.”

“I’m not even mad about it anymore. I’m more upset about what you did to Regina. Some of that shit was pretty low, Cady,” you tell her.

“I know, I got caught up in Janis’s plan. I was so excited to have friends that I thought going along with it was ok, but it wasn't. What makes it even worse is that I got carried away and became someone I’m not. And now you're here in the hospital because of me,” she can’t look at you.

“Cady you weren't driving the bus.”

She stands her ground, “It’s the domino effect of my actions. No one would’ve been-"

You cut her off, “Cady this isn't your fault. You sound crazy. I literally kind of threw myself in the path of the bus. It was my choice, and I stand by it. Instead of taking accountability for things that aren’t your fault, maybe you should focus on the things that are your fault.”

“Like with Regina,” she says to herself.

“Regina, Janis, hell even Ms. Norbury. Apologize and mean it, that’s a step in the right direction,” you tell her.

“How do you always manage to have the right advice?”

“We're all just actual human beings at the end of the day Cady. Falling into these boxes that we think are desirable takes us out of the reality of the situation.”

She takes in your words and then stands, “I’m going to go work on being an actual human being. Maybe when it's all over, we can be friends again.”

You salute her playfully, “Go get em tiger.”

Despite your injury, time seems to go by in a blur. Rehab is hard and the handful of meds you have to take is annoying, but it’s worth it. You were doubtful about returning to campus before the end of the year, but you found yourself cleared a week before Spring Fling. You’d have to use a crutch, but for the most part you were alright.

“You know we don’t have to go to the dance, right? I’m content staying here and finally finishing Malcolm in the Middle,” Regina says as fixes the sleeves of your suit.

“I know, but I have to let my adoring public know that I’ve escaped the clutches of death.”

Regina stops her movements, “I’m being serious, Y/n."

You place a hand on her waist, “I want to go out and dance with you. Or at least attempt to.”

Regina blushes under your touch, “Might be a little difficult with the crutch.”

“It can sit on the bleachers for one dance,” your eyes are love-struck, staring at Regina.

Her face heats even more under your gaze, “Let’s go your adoring public awaits or whatever.”

For the second time in your school career all eyes seem to be on you as you enter the dance. It could be the fact that you looked good, or maybe that you were walking in with Regina George on your arm, or more likely that no one had seen you since the bus ran over your leg.

“Do people ever do anything besides staring,” you say to the blonde.

“Nope,” she pops the ‘p’ on the word.

You don't get particularly far into the dance floor on account of your crutch. Instead, you find yourself situated by the punchbowl. You urge Regina to go dance, which she does reluctantly.

“You know rumors were going around that you’d lost your leg,” Janis appears by your side.

You look down at your leg, “Still there.”

“Look I wanted to say I’m sorry for how everything played out. It wasn’t cool to try to involve you in the drama and I shouldn’t have said anything about your thing with Regina,” she apologizes.

“Apology accepted, I’m just ready to move on from everything,” you say earnestly.

“Janis,” Regina says cordially, as she puts herself in this conversation.

“Regina,” the girl answers in the same tone.

With a respectful nod the girl in the purple tux takes her leave.

“What was that about?”

“Well, I' told you that I wanted to change. The first part of that is making amends. Janis and I had a talk, we both apologized. So now, we’re civil with each other,” Regina reveals.

“That’s awesome baby, I’m proud of you.”

She looks away from you as embarrassment coats her face, “Yeah whatever, don’t you owe me a dance?”

You laugh and lean your crutch against the wall before offering her your hand. Your leg is strong enough for the two of you to sway together as a slow song plays.

“People are still watching, I think it’s the Regina George factor,” you say so only that she can hear.

“I don’t really mind it. It lets them know you’re mine.”

A goofy smile plants itself on your face, “Oh, am I?”

Regina nods, “All mine.”

You lean in closer to her, “Weird way to ask if I'll be your girlfriend, but I accept.”

Regina begins to sputter which keeps you smiling. The smug look on your face drives her crazy. She’s quick to place a soft kiss on your lips to regain some control of the situation.

“That’s so not fair,” you say against her lips.

“It’s girlfriend privileges,” she counters back.

When the song is over principal Duvall calls for the nominees for Spring Fling king and queen to go up on stage. You stand to the side and cheer loudly as your girlfriend gets on the stage. Tension slowly builds as the man reads of the kings name first before holding the envelope with the queen’s name in it.

Silence takes over the crowd as principal Duvall announces Cady as the queen of Spring Fling. When the girl gets on the stage, you notice she’s not dressed for the dance at all. The casual attire with a letterman jacket seems like a change of pace for her.

She takes the microphone and starts to apologize publicly to everyone she has wronged. She breaks the crown into pieces sharing it with the girls on stage. She also throws some pieces into the crowd before getting off the stage.

The ginger makes her way over to you and hands you a piece of the plastic crown, “Glad you could make it.”

You smile at her, “That was probably the corniest shit I have ever seen, but you seemed like an actual human being on that stage.”

“Learned from the best. I’m going to go talk to Janis, but I’ll see you around?”

“Definitely,” you reassure her and watch as she goes off to continue righting her wrongs.

Regina comes not too long after Cady goes. She leans her back against you lightly and you wrap an arm around her.

“I'm ready for summer,” she mentions offhandedly.

“Why?”

She tilts her back to look up at you, “I'm ready to sit on the beach and relax with my extremely hot girlfriend.”

Her eyes sparkle as they peer into yours. This moment feels like it could last forever. You get to be with the Regina George in a room where anyone can see. Yet you resonate with her words deeply. Nothing sounds quite as good as having the girl all to yourself, soaking up the sun. You can almost see the book in your hand while the blonde rests her head in your lap.

“Me too.”

[maplesyrupsainz]

Congrats on 1k angel! So proud of you and your incredible mind! May I please request a Charles Leclerc blurb with number 5 off the prompt list? My bashful, shy self would melt, especially with it being written by your hand.

pairing: charles leclerc x fem reader y/n (she/her)

genre: blurb

warnings: none

prompt: five [driver] trying to get you to go on a date with him

a/n: thank u so much omg this is the sweetest ask ever i hope this lives up to ur expectations 🥹🥹🫶🫶🫶🫶 it's kind of SO LONG hahahaha but it was fun to write tbh i couldn't stop 😛

my masterlist | 1k celebration

you knew nothing about formula one whatsoever. well, you knew it was fast cars driving around in circles. somehow your best friend had finally dragged you to a race after begging for what felt like forever.

so here you were, stood in the middle of the paddock alone, lost and extremely confused. your friend was dating a driver and had said they would both meet you at his garage, however you did not know where you were at all.

“lost?” you heard a male voice from behind you, startling you slightly. “oh, sorry. i didn't mean to scare you.”

“you're fine,” you brushed it off, “i actually am super lost.”

“yea, you're not keeping it much of a secret.” he chuckled softly, causing a slight blush of pink to rise onto your cheeks. “where are you trying to get to?”

“my best friend, i'm supposed to be meeting her at..” you paused softly as you unlocked your phone to check the garage name you had been texted earlier that morning. “alpine.”

“ah!” the man's eyes lit up with some sort of recognition. “you are kika’s friend. i will take you to her.”

“oh, it's really okay if you just send me in the right sort of direction. you don't need to go out of your way for me,” you smile at him softly, willing him to leave you alone with your eyes – you are much too shy to be spending too much time with a man, a very attractive one at that.

“oh don't worry, i couldn't leave a girl as pretty as you out here alone. follow me,” he wiggled his eyebrows at you before turning on his heel, with you following behind meekly.

“so,” the dreaded word left his lips; now you were going to have to converse with this gorgeous man. “how long have you known kika?”

“my whole life, we went to prom together and everything.” you smile to yourself at the memory, and he lets out a laugh that sounds like music to your ears. the mindless small talk seems to come somewhat easy to you with him, a first for sure. you almost feel disappointed when you see what is clearly the alpine garage ahead of you.

“ah, here we are.” he smiles at you, before suddenly offering his hand to you. “by the way, i'm charles.”

“y/n,” you say and nod softly at him, taking his outstretched hand to shake hesitantly.

“y/n,” he repeats, studying your face much too intently, causing the pink blush from earlier to return to your cheeks. “and what are you doing this evening, y/n?”

you shrug and mumble out a reply along the lines of claiming to be hanging out kika and her boyfriend, pierre. in reality, you have no plans at all but the way this stranger says your name sends your head spinning and butterflies filling your stomach.

“let me take you out.” he states abruptly, catching you off guard completely. you have never had a man as gorgeous as charles hit on you so blatantly before.

a small laugh escapes your lips as you begin to shake your head before speaking, “i'm not sure about that..” you see charles’ brow furrow slightly at your reply; a man so beautiful must be shocked by a rejection.

“y/n! charles! you guys met!” you almost sigh in relief as you hear the voice of your best friend behind you, and the feeling of her grabbing you into an embrace that you gladly return.

“kika, i'm so glad to see you,” you say, muffled into her hair as you hug. she lets go of you, holding you at arms length and studying you intently, making you laugh.

“you just get more and more beautiful every time i see you!” she exclaims in glee before turning to charles, “hi charles, i'm glad you got to meet my beautiful friend.”

“the pleasure is all mine,” he flashed a grin at you, causing the butterflies that lay dormant in your stomach to take flight again.

“anyway, i just wanted to say, y/n,” kika looked at you mischievously, “me and pierre have something on tonight. i wanted to check that you're okay keeping yourself entertained this evening?” you narrowed your eyes at her. you knew exactly what she was doing.

“actually,” you look up at the new voice in the conversation, to see pierre with his arm slung lazily over charles’ shoulders. “how about you and charles hang out, y/n? i think you'd get on.”

“what an amazing idea!” kika lets out a squeal, clapping her hands together.

“no, i–”

“i'll see you tonight then, y/n. 7?” charles winked at you, before turning on his heel and heading back to his own garage, you assumed. you groaned.

“guys...”

“oh y/n/n, you'll thank us later, i'm sure.” pierre, laughing at your obvious discomfort.

[dragon-kazansky]

The song in our hearts

Lestat De Lioncourt x Female Reader

A musician with a heart that sings and an admirer who wishes to see his songbird thrive. Two beings in different worlds get caught up in each other when someone threatens to steal his songbird's spotlight. Loving Lestat isn't simple, and your life will never be the same again. What is eternity without chaos?

{Masterlist}

{Previous Chapter} - {Next Chapter}

Chapter Two - Duet

“A date? With your mystery man?” She squeals. It didn't take much to make Amelie happy, but this felt like she could burst with joy any moment.

“Yes. Well, no. It's not technically a date. He has asked me to join him in his home to play for him.”

Amelie stares at you with wide brown eyes. “At his home?”

“Yes…”

“Should I come with you? I mean, is that safe? You don't actually know this man.” Her concern grows in an instant.

“Well, I…” You didn't really think. You had been swept away in the moment, lured in by his pretty eyes and sweet words.

“You have to be careful. He could be a creep.”

You bow your head down slightly and sigh. You were a little embarrassed to admit you had pretty much rushed into it and agreed to go to some strange man's house. 

Amelie sees the expression on your face and steps forward, placing a hand on your shoulder. “Look, how about I come with you, but stay outside? If there's trouble, scream.”

You smile. “Alright. Thank you, Amelie.”

“Hey, that's what friends are for.”

Amelie walks you home that night. She makes sure you're safe inside your home before heading home herself.

The next week your performance goes pretty much the same way. However, while playing your piano, you can't spot your admirer at all in the crowd. That makes you feel a little down. You finish your performance and head back to your dressing room.

The flowers on your dressing table brightens your mood. Amelie is sitting in the stool waiting for you. She offers a small smile as you walk over and check the note in the flowers.

‘Tonight. 10pm.’

His address is written underneath. Amelie looks down at the note and then up at you. “Are you sure?”

You stare at his nice handwriting. “No… but I'm going to do it anyway.”

“Okay,” she says softly, grabbing her coat. You grab yours and take her arm as you both leave the theater. You don't tell the manager of the theater where you're both going. You know exactly what he would say.

When you reach the street Lestat lives on, both you and Amelie stop to look up at the building. It's not the kind of place you could afford, that's for sure. Lestat definitely has money.

“This guy is too good to be true,” Amelie comments. You don't reply, only look up at the balcony where you see him standing. He's watching you silently. “So, you going in?”

“Yeah.”

Amelie removes her arm from yours and watches you cross over toward the house. She remains on the other side of the road, making herself comfortable near the wall of the opposite building. You approached the gates and let yourself through.

You knock on the door and within a few moments it's opened. Lestat stands there with a smile, his eyes lit up with delight. He's wearing a suit, similar to what he had worn the previous week.

“Hello,” you greet him shyly.

Lestat grins. “Hello.” He holds his hand out, gesturing for you to enter his home. You take a step through the door and walk into the hall. Lestat closes the door behind you. You turn to your right and see the living room. 

Lestat comes up beside you. “Make yourself comfortable.”

You glance at him and then head over to the sofas, taking a seat. You keep looking around the room taking it all in. Just how much money did he have? Not that you cared for money, but Lestat was obviously proud to show off.

“You look nervous.” He takes a seat across from you and crosses one leg over the other. “Is that why your friend wants for you outside?” He chuckles.

“Uh… Well… She was just worried about me.”

“Do I make you nervous?”

You swallow thickly and then nod your head. His grin grows wide and he begins to chuckle again. He found you so amusing.

“You wanted me to play the piano for you, yes?” You ask, needing to move along the conversion. You're not sure how to feel about him staring at you the way he was.

“Yes.” Lestat stands up rather quickly and you follow him with your eyes as he walks right past you. Turning in your seat, you watch him approach a piano. You hadn't noticed it there when you came in, too occupied with him.

Lestat beckons you over. You stand and make your way over to him, putting a little distance between you both. He wears a smile, bus doesn't say anything about the distance. He simply gestures to the piano bench. You glance at it before sitting on it.

“Play me something.”

“Any requests?” You ask, feeling nervous all of a sudden. Normally having a large audience is enough to set your anxiety off, but tonight it was just him.

“Your favourite piece.”

You look at the keys and slowly hover your fingers over them. Your favourite piece. Ah yes. You know what to play.

You begin.

Lestat watches the way your hands move along the keys. He listens to the notes you grace him with. Music fills his home and for the first time in a long time he feels something stirring within him. Listening to you play was like having a spell cast over him. 

He closes his eyes and listens.l to every note. You had talent. Beautiful talent. The whole world should hear you play as far as he was concerned. 

He only reopened his eyes when he noticed you had finished. You were looking at him expectantly.

He smiles. “Perfect.”

You smile too.

“You, my dear, have talent. To hear your play is my greatest delight. I hope you never stop sharing your music.”

His words please you. Other than those in the theater, you didn't get to hear many other compliments. Lestat was new and exciting to you.

“If I may?” He gestures to the piano.

“Oh, um, yes, of course.” You go to get up but he waves his hand.

“No, remain seated. I wish to join you.” He slides onto the bench with you. 

You're hyper aware of how close he is to you as he opens a book of sheet music up and props it up on the stand. “Please allow me the honor of paying this piece with you.”

You glance at the sheet music. Your heart is racing in your chest. He wants to make music with you. His hands are hovering over the keys waiting for you to join him. You move your hands into the same position and wait for his cue. He counts down quietly in French and you both begin to follow the music sheet.

Once again the room is filled with music. Two pairs of hands dance across the keys of the piano, almost chasing each other. The thought that he is perhaps playing a game with you crosses your mind and it makes you smile.

He wanted you to feel welcome in his presence.

One of his hands crosses over yours to play a note on your side and you can't help laughing slightly. You decide to play the same game and do the same on his side. Neither of you are even looking at the sheet of music anymore. The music plays without a hitch, with you both knowing this piece by heart. It has become a moment of bonding. A moment of trust.

Lestat smiles.

When you reach for the last note his little finger on his left hand brushes along your hand. His skin was cold, but you were a little more focused on how you were feeling to take much note of anything else.

“You look flushed.”

You look up at him feeling a little shy again.

“Why don't we get comfortable over there?” He asks, standing up. He holds out his hand to you. You glance at it before accepting his hand. He helps you up and guides you over the sofas again.

You sit down and he decides to sit beside you this time. He smiles as he watches you.

“I am… enamored with your talent.”

“I am flattered, but… I also don't understand. What's so special about my music?”

Lestat leans forward slightly. “I know pure talent when I see it. You possess it so naturally.”

“Not really. I spent many hours with my piano over the years.”

“And yet it comes naturally to you now. At what point did you stop reading the music I chose?” He smiles.

You look at him with a soft expression realizing what he was saying. You supposed he was right. You didn't need sheet music. You never used any when you performed, and he had noticed.

“Watching you perform always makes my night and I want you to never stop playing.”

You can't help but stare into his eyes as he looks at you. You're lured in by his gaze, his voice, his smile.

“So, you just want me to keep on playing?” You ask.

He chuckles. “Yes, and perhaps come here again from time to time to play for me.”

You smile. “I'd like that…”

You had enjoyed your time here in his home. You still don't know much about Lestat De Lioncourt, but you hoped that might change soon.

“Wonderful.” He grins. He reaches out and lightly brushes some hair behind your ear. You can only stare at him.

“I should let you get back to your friend before she thinks something untoward has happened.” He chuckles.

You snap out of your haze. “Oh, right… Amelie…”

Lestat chuckled again and rose from his seat. “You still look flushed. Perhaps some air will do you well.”

You rise from your own seat and nod, not trusting your voice right now. Lestat guides you to the door and leans against it once it's open.

“I have enjoyed having you in my home.” He smiles.

“Me too… I mean, I have enjoyed being here.”

Lestat chuckles and looks out through the gates. He can see Amelie waiting impatiently for you. He can hear her thoughts of concern. His lips twitch as he turns back to you. “Don't be a stranger.”

You smile at him and take your leave.

Amelie meets you halfway across the road and loops her arm with yours instantly. “Well? What happened? What did you do? How did it go? Is he a creep?”

You smile softly as you look at her. “I played piano with him. It was a nice evening, and no, he is not a creep. He is… strange.”

“Strange?”

“There is something about him I can't put my finger on, but I like him. He was very nice to me.” 

Amelie can tell by your little dreamy smile that you are thinking about him. She is both concerned and amused by these turns of events. As long as you're safe, she will support your choices. You know this.

Amelie takes you home.

As you walk away with her, Lestat, standing on his balcony, watches you go. His lips are curled into a grin, and he feels like the luckiest man in the world tonight.

@awanderingghost @theprettiesthead @cosmixstar @theblueslytherin @katherine2098 @sawendel @floofdeloop @sitkafay @bigbaddie45 @bluscryn

@secretisme4

[swarvey]

Enamored with Paper Rings right now. It’s written so, so well 🥺 Do you have any headcanons about meeting Harvey in college/taking over the farm years after that?

meeting harvey in college | harvey x gn!reader

summary -> after meeting harvey during college, the two of you hit it off right away, slowly growing to become more than friends.

a/n: ahhh tysm!!!! that means a lot <33 i hope you enjoy!! reader and harvey are at med school btw

harvey

the two of you met during freshman year of university while taking the same course

after being placed in the same group project together for the semester, you hit it off with him right away

harvey, though? it was pretty much love at first sight.

you best believe this man purposefully chose his seat near you because he thought you were cute. not that he'll ever tell you that

it didn't help that he was completely enamored with your personality

(nearly imploded the first time you laughed at one of his jokes)

knew he wanted to be with you pretty much right away, but he also didn't want to rush you

so, being the man that he is, he waited patiently until you were ready to express your own feelings before showing you how much he cares about you.

freshman year

"this is impossible," you groan, letting your head fall onto the mattress beneath you. "i quit."

harvey laughs, rolling his chair over to the bed and gently lifting you up by your hoodie. "unfortunately, you can't quit," he tells you, smiling at your frown. "the rest of our groupmates quit half a semester ago, so it's up to us to save our grades."

you sigh deeply as you force yourself to sit up, grabbing your laptop and pulling it onto your lap. as you begin to work — swearing under your breath about your "good for nothing groupmates" — harvey sneaks a look at you once in a while, admiring the way you bite your lip in thought and squint your eyes at the screen.

he wants to be with you, of course he does. he thinks any guy who doesn't should get schedule a check-up with their doctor, since they obviously aren't thinking straight. no, the problem isn't that he doesn't have feelings for you — it's that you can't seem to tell he does. while he knows he should use his time at college to explore and meet new people, he can't shake the fact that, to be frank, you're really the only one he can picture himself with.

"harvey, can you look at this? i swear this doesn't make sense."

"sure!" shaking out of his daydream, harvey sits beside you on the bed, trying not to pay attention to the way your arms are pressed against each other.

while others may move on after realizing their feelings aren't returned, harvey figures he doesn't mind waiting a little bit, especially if the reward is having you all to himself.

sophomore year

"how do i look?"

harvey turns to look at you as you emerge from your bedroom, bashfully showing off your halloween costume with a broad grin. you're dressed up as one of your favorite video game characters, your hair and make-up done perfectly by your friend. she stands next to you with a proud look on her face, eyes digging into his skull. he can basically hear her daring him to say you look bad.

"amazing," he voices, watching as she nods in satisfaction and walks away.

"honestly, harvs, you couldn't have been a little more creative?" you ask, tugging at his lab coat. "you realize we're in med school, right? so half the people we see tonight are going to be wearing this."

he shrugs, rubbing the back of his neck. "well, i couldn't think of anything else," he mumbles. "it's not like i'm trying to impress anyone, anyway."

you hum, nonchalantly fixing his collar and centering his stethoscope. "well, at least you look all cleaned up — maybe you'll catch someone's eye," you tease.

yet again, you don't notice how he stiffens, letting out a quick breath when your hands graze his neck. it's been a year now, and harvey has no idea how you haven't noticed his feelings for you. still, he's been patient, and he truly doesn't mind waiting; it's not like there's a downside, in his mind. the two of you have grown even closer since freshman year, even finding time to see each other during the summer.

"alright, ready?" you ask, grabbing the sides of his arms and laughing when he jumps. "geez, harvey, i know it's halloween, but you don't have to be so on edge. i'm here to protect you!" you cross your arms, feigning toughness.

"really?" he doubts, giving you a questionable look.

you nod, the air leaving your lungs when your friend pokes your side. "we're all doomed if you're supposed to save us," she jokes. you laugh as she starts pulling you to the door, calling for harvey to follow.

he barely hears her, though, hearing only your bright laughter and seeing only your amused eyes.

i can wait.

junior year

harvey is growing tired of this.

he watches helplessly as you talk to a senior — a senior who is clearly attracted to you, by the way — and allow him to pour you another drink. he scowls at the greedy look in his gaze, his eyes raking you up and down as you sip out of your cup. he knows you're clueless and remembers how excited you were to socialize at the formal, especially since this upperclassman is known to be at the top of his class, but truthfully?

he doesn't give a damn.

"oh, harvey!" you say, eyes brightening when he walks over. he doesn't even look at you as he grabs your arm, locking it with his. he can feel you staring at him, his ears burning with embarrassment as he faces the senior.

"what are the two of you talking about?" he asks, his hold on you tightening when the older student leans forward slightly.

"nothing of concern," he says, eyeing your hand clutching harvey's arm. "just some personal techniques i've learned over the years."

harvey's lips form a grim line on his face as he glares at him, the music playing in the background seeming to fade away. he can sense the intentions of the other student, knowing if he weren't there, he would be purposefully getting you drunk to do god knows what with you.

"we're leaving," harvey declares, "but thanks for sharing your insight with them. i'll be sure to ask all about it when we get back."

without another word, harvey drags you out of the room despite your small protests, focusing only on getting you away from the creep. he lets out a breath of relief as you make it outside, resting his hands on his knees for a moment before straightening to look at you with worry-filled eyes.

"what were you thinking?" he scolds, scanning you quickly as if checking for injuries. "can't you tell when someone is trying to take advantage of you? how much have you had to drink? here, take my jacket, it's getting chilly out—"

his words get caught in his throat when you lean forward and hug him tightly, your head resting on his chest.

"what would i do without you, harvey?" you quietly ask, pulling away to look at him with a gaze he's never seen before. "no one's ever cared about me like you, you know that?"

harvey clears his throat, looking away as he gently wraps his arms around you. "i think you had a little too much to drink," he says, attempting to pull you off. "i'll take you home, okay? we can talk more tomorrow—"

before he can finish his sentence, your lips are covering his, your arms now thrown around his neck as his hands find the small of your back. after a moment of shock, he's kissing you back, eyes shut as he pulls you closer to him.

when you break off, he looks at you with wide eyes, blinking as he registers what just happened. his cheeks are tinted red.

you yawn, grabbing his arm once again and leaning on him. "i'm tired," you mutter. "let's go home."

"r-right, let's get you to bed. we can talk about this after you get some rest." wordlessly, he begins to walk you home, hoping with his entire being that you won't forget this by the morning.

senior year

adrenaline rushes through harvey's body as everyone throws their caps into the air, celebratory horns blaring in his ears as everyone begins to file out of the stadium. he can hardly believe it's been four years already — it feels like it was just yesterday he was meeting you in class for the first time, already drawn in by your curious eyes.

after greeting his parents and taking some pictures with them, he promises to be right back before racing off to find you, his bouquet of flowers still in hand. he quickly searches the crowd, knowing you should be around this area, but is stopped in his tracks when you practically pounce on him.

"we did it!" you exclaim excitedly, swaying him from side to side. your family watches amusedly as he shyly waves at them. "we actually graduated, can you believe it?"

"well, i can believe i graduated," he teases. "i'm not sure about you."

"hey! i used my resources well throughout college, alright?" you defend, pushing him away lightly.

"i'm kidding." he pulls you to his side, quickly stealing a peck on your lips when no one's watching.

you sigh, looking down at the cap in your hands. "i can't believe it's over," you express. "it went by so fast."

he nods in agreement, watching as everyone celebrates with their families. "keep in mind, i spent nearly three of those years chasing after you."

"you never said anything!"

"did i need to? i'm sure everyone else knew except for you."

"and whose fault is that?"

"alright, enough fighting!" harvey's mom laughs, walking up to your family and greeting them. "let's take a picture of you two."

"ready?" his dad calls, angling his camera. "smile!"

after developing the photo a week later, harvey notices that, while you're brightly grinning at the camera, he's too busy smiling down at you, reveling in the fact that all his waiting didn't go to waste.

[dutifullyscreechingdragon]

Blitzø x human! Assassin! Reader

Blooming feelings

Summary: After the first few murder fiascos, you and Blitzø start catching feelings for each other. His attempts on your life morph into dates and you can't take each other as seriously as you should on the battle ground.

A/n: heyyy, I'm sorry for the slightly belated posting. The last few days have been a bit haywire for me... Anyways, I hope you enjoy the part two. Here you have the links to all the parts currently available:

Part 1: First encounter

Part 2: Blooming feelings -> you're here:)

The smoke bomb went off, you could hear the shattering of glass and the revving of the motorbike. Y/n was gone.

"And she's gone..." Blitzø stated and was about to leave through the portal, when Moxxie pulled his sleeve:

"Sir, there's a card on the floor"

Blitzo picked it up, it was a note. In a neat handwriting the following was written:

Despite being sent to kill me

(and failing miserably),

you're chill

Call me:)

314 159 2653

Blitzø texted you this very evening. He wanted to do this instantly, but had to withhold himself - gotta preserve the reputation

You were getting ready to bed, today was a long day, right after the pleasant encounter with Blitzø, you had to rush off to deal with a murderer and then get your bike into repair. Oh and you also had to buy yourself new cargo pants, your current ones were getting a wee bit to bloodstained for your liking.

Today was a busy day. So only now, about to go to sleep, did you have time to actualy process what happened in the morning. That being you giving the attractive imp(?) your phone number... And, since he still didn't call or text you, you were staring to have second thoughts... Have you read too much into the whole thing? Was it strictly professional for him?

That's when your phone went off

Unknown: whadup, gurl

Cut the guy some slack, he was low-key nervous and was trying to come off as suave

Y/n: Blitzø?

Unknown: ya, who else wuld be txting u

Y/n: should I take offence?

Unknown: idk, do u find that offensive

Y/n: kinda?

Unknown: soz, I'll show u a picture of a horse I drew and you'll forgive me

Unknown: deal?

to be fair, Blitzø didn't know what he was writing. He had no intention of offending you and panicked, texting you the first thing that came into his mind. Thankfully, you found it amusing and texted him back:

Y/m: deal:)

He sent you a picture of a horse. You though it was really good, so that's what you texted him back. He was ecstatic and instantly sent you a few more.

Needless to say, that soon enough your gallery was filled with various drawings of horses.

In the span of the next week, you and Blitzø texted quite a lot.

He offered you a job at the IMP pretty early on:

Blitzø: ya know, when u end up in hell, a gal like you culd work for me

Y/n: why are you so sure I'd wanna work for you?

Blitzø: why wouldnt u?

Y/n: idk u trying to kill me is kind of a turn off...

Blitzø: ahhh come oooon it's not that big of a deal

Blitzø: ill take u horse riding or smth

Y/n: can't say no to that hahaha

After that reply, Blitzø got so hyped up, he literally ran out of his office and shouted:

"Fuck yeah she loves me back, ya hear that Mox," Blitz looked very much proud as he showed his employee the text chain

"Uhhh Sir, I wouldn't make such quick assumptions-"

"Shhh don't ruin the moment" Blitzo retorted pressing his finger into Moxxie's lips to silence him.

Sometimes you'd get a notification in the middle of a job and it'd be Blitzø sending you a selfie of him ( and sometimes some of his friends as well) in the middle of a fight with a caption like:

"another normal day at work (nearly got killed)"

Or

"brunch went wrong"

Or plainly

"how u doing? "

And sometimes you'd reply with a selfie of yourself, creeping up to some guy you're about to murder. Which would cause Blitzø to text you:

Blitzø: update?

And you sending him a picture of you, potentially covered in blood, standing over a dead body.

At this point, he wasn't shying away from nicknames. He'd call you babe, sweetcheeks and sunshine.

You'd usually settle fro something along the lines of hot stuff, pretty boy, love

However, Blitzø does a lot of stupid stuff, which is when idiot, dumbass, etc. come in use

"How ya doing, hot stuff", you'd say, winking at Blitzø, causing him to try and lean on a non-existent doorframe and ultimately topple to the ground, sending you (and Millie, who witnessed it) a fit of giggles.

You and Blitzø's murderous rendezvous start to become more.. date-like. There is a lot of flirting and very little shooting done.

Sometimes you wonder, whether you guys should just drop the pretences

Moxxie and Loona are steadily growing sick of all of this. Millie finds it quite endearing, actualy.

You were presently engaged in a hand to hand combat with Blitzø. You performed a serie of punches, trying hard not to hit any super vital points. This sent your oponent tumbling on the ground.

"Youuu do punch Hella hard, babe," Blitzø drawled out "that's Hella hot "

You chuckled at this and threw him an ice pack with the words:

"Take that, wouldn't want to cause permanent damage to that pretty face of yours"

Blitzø would never admit it, but that made him blush very much, which would've been very much visible if it wasn't for his red skin (the blush was still fairly visible, just less intense).

or another time:

With one swift movement Blitzø tackled you to the ground. He smirked:

"Ya know, I could get used to this view, babe" he started nonchalantly "maybe different setting, like a bedroom" he smirked at your startled reaction "though if you prefer this place, babe, then I guess why not? I'm not picky " he continued his flirting.

You look up at him deviously, buckling your hips forward and in one movement flipping you both, positioning you on top:

"I think this is way better" you smirk at him triumphantly

"Whatever you say babe. Whatever gets us to fuck"

You didn't expect him to be THAT straightforward (honestly, that one is on you, having known him for quite some time you should've seen that coming), deep red blush cowered your cheeks. You were rescued by Loona's groan and frustrated shouting:

"Get a room! Stop defiling the fucking pavement"

The closer you grew together the more comfortable would Blitzø feel with invading your private space. He would sometimes launch "surprise attacks" on you (the reason was that "he missed you very much"):

It was the middle of the night, when you groggily opened your eyes to see Blitzø mere centimetres away from your face:

"Whatcha dreaming about?" He asked. You were about to shriek, but caught yourself in time. Meanwhile, Blitzø continued "Wake up, Im here to kill ya" his voice was far too giddy.

You were very tired. Exhausted.

"Mmmm, go to sleep, Blitzie," you pushed him lightly off you and onto the bed, wrapping your arm around him, "kill me tomorrow"

In retrospect, this wasn't very professional, but Blitzø didn't seem to mind...and judging from the soft purring in the morning, he even enjoyed it.

At this point, you're very accustomed to each other's habits. You also have a set date and time for the Blitzø's murder attempts:

You were anxiously pacing the street. It was a nice Tuesday morning. 9.15 am precisely and it has been 15 minutes since Blitzø was supposed to attack. He always showed up on time. To your murderous rendezvous.

You were about to pick up your phone and dial him, demanding an explanation (you were worried sick: What if the imp died on one of his jobs?), when he showed up, out of breath (clearly had been running) and with two coffee's in tow.

"Hey babes, d'ya miss me?" He said in his suave voice.

"You're late to your weekly murder attempt on my life" You said in a flat voice.

"Ahhh soz, there was a fucking line ot the coffee shop" he replied nonchalantly

"and the fact that you argued with the employee for ten straight minutes because they couldn't get Y/n's order right and then misspelled her name didn't do much to help" Moxxie muttered under his breath, but of course everyone heard him.

"Come on, Mox, don't embarrass Boss in front of the girl" Millie said and winked at you.

"Anyway," Blitzø said stretching out the first syllable, "I got your coffee. Just how you like" he looked at you with pride, as if he had to fight a glorious battle for it (he sort of did)

"Awwww thanks, love, that's so sweet" you smile and give him a soft peck on the cheek. You take a sip of your coffee, its delicious, just how you like it.

Once you're done drinking your coffee and are fairly caught up with the drama that you didn't manage to cover in your texts and calls, Blitzø commands:

"Now, M&M get into your positions. We're way behind schedule!"

a/n: I hope you enjoyed this chapter and have a great day (or night) <3

[sparklepirate]

Alright, final thoughts on Inheritance.

;-;

Eragon continues to be the guy of all time. I love him. He really displayed a maturity in this book that I think supersedes anything we've seen of him in all the previous books, and just like... His strength really is that he is compassionate and thoughtful towards everyone. Even Murtagh, now, too. He had the realization of how close he was to sharing his fate, sought to understand him, and that was ultimately what led him to realizing his true name had changed, tearing down Galbatorix's wards, etc etc. I don't know that I could properly articulate everything about him here, but Eragon definitely became the hero he needed to be by the end of the series, 100%. He is the only person who could've possibly thought of the final piece of magic to defeat Galbatorix. Even the dreams of starlings are equal to the worries of a king. Ahhh, it's so good. ❤️ I'm so proud of him.

On the other hand, Barst was some bullshit. Bro. Like, on the one hand, it was a very good climactic battle for Roran to participate in, and his triumph was the perfect culmination of his character- cunning in battle, cunning in strategy, the intelligence and charisma to sway everyone around him into cooperating and working together, sheer determination so intensely strong that he was able to crush and Eldunarí with his bare hands. His role was perfect! But Barst as a villain was kinda... Well, first of all, he came completely the fuck out of nowhere. He wasn't mentioned at all until they were already on their way to Uru'baen, and then he was only MENTIONED. They didn't hype him up enough before the actual battle in my opinion. And ONE human and one Eldunarí being enough to beat the QUEEN OF THE ELVES in hand to hand combat...? I mean, I guess that could work but... Ehhh... I dunno. It kind of felt like an excuse for Islanzadí to die, and Roran to triumph more than anything. It was cool, but it was probably the weakest part of the plot in my opinion.

That said though I think it's pretty safe to say this was my favorite book of the series. I'm having trouble recalling all the iconic shit (I took a pretty long break from reading about halfway through the book) but there was soooo much cool stuff in here. The Nasuada being kidnapped and being helped by Murtagh arc is GOLD, Vroengard was amazing, and all the battles were SO well written??? I need to study these books more closely just to learn how to write compelling fight scenes. Honestly, it's gripping stuff. I was on the edge of my seat, despite knowing how everything turns out.

Nasuada is amazing, Arya is amazing, Saphira is amazing, Roran is amazing, MURTAGH is amazing... I think I already liked basically every character in this series going in, but I somehow like them even more now that I've read it again. Everyone is so good, and interesting, and I want to be everyone's friend. I think the only character I liked less this go around was Orrin (sorry to my Orrin stan friend out there). That said, though, I don't dislike him, I think I just went from positive to neutral about him.

Orrin honestly just didn't get nearly as much screen time as I remembered? We only see him a handful of times throughout the book and each time the only thing he's doing is getting drunk and making an ass of himself, though... Idk, he also has a point? He has his own unique point of view, and his own unique experiences that lead him to his own ideas of how to conduct things, and it is definitely kind of true that like no one ever really listens to him or takes him seriously, despite being the King of Surda for w while at that point. I don't think there was a more graceful solution to the division of power/territory after Galbatorix was killed than what was decided upon, because like... Realistically, Orrin was never gonna be high king. He had good reason to assert for the throne, sure, but actually ascending to the throne? That is SUCH a far reach for power, unless the aim was to assimilate Surda in and have all of the humans under one crown. Nah, Nasuada giving up territory and ascending to the throne was the better choice, even if I do empathize with Orrin's point of view. It seems like Nasuada did as well, because even though she was persistent, she seemed to be gentle and sympathetic with him. He even had his line about like... "Why do you even want to do this?" "None of you would understand." Idk. Very interesting, but not tremendously notable compared to others, and he definitely was a bit of an asshole at times.

Murtagh my beloved my BELOVED I'm honestly just gonna make a whole separate essay post about him because his shit is Complicated™️ but one little note it was such a small detail at the end but I love that he said to Eragon "Hey check in on Arya about killing Shruikan. It couldn't have been easy for an elf to kill a dragon." And Eragon hadn't even THOUGHT of that and Arya probably would've been the last thing on his mind but he still was just so thoughtful. He is thoughtful like his brother and he cares so deeply and AHHH!!! And actually I want to see him and Arya be buds. I think they would have a cool dynamic. And also I love that he never once hesitated to acknowledge Eragon as his brother and just wanted to be with him and finally Eragon also acknowledged him as a brother too that last scene with them was just so good 🥹

Also I love how Thorn's like only spoken line in the whole series (until November) is to boop Eragon on the forehead and say "Hi. Thank you for not killing my rider. :)" and Murtagh is just like "Yeah thanks for that. 😒"

Love how quick Saphira and Fírnen hit it off lol. They really played tag and wrestled for like five minutes and then were like "Alright we're gonna go fuck like now see y'all later ✌️" And Eragon's like "Is this??? Okay???" And Saphira's like "Pfft dragon's don't mate for life 🤷‍♀️" Their little romance was so cute.

CAN WE FUCKING TALK ABOUT QUEEN AND RIDER ARYA??? That shit is by FAR the wildest endgame decision Chris made because like. That. That's so fucking. Oh my god??? Like, one, poor Arya!! She just wanted to be a rider and have adventures! She probably would've either spent her time happy herrying eggs across Alegaësia, or she would've gone with Eragon to Mount Arngor, but you can NOT convince me that she would be particularly happy as queen. She's grieving the loss of her mother that she barely had a relationship with, and denied the other eleven leaders for a full week before they convinced her to do it!!! Girlie!!! You deserve to be happy!!! And, two, the obvious point of holy shit that is such an enormous power imbalance in favor of the elves. Like, there is a REASON the riders were separate in the first place!! And, you know, Galbatorix JUST died and now there is another rider/monarch and it's the ELVES who have historically been both the most powerful race, and the race with the best relationship with the dragons. And Arya is the ONLY RIDER LEFT IN ALEGAËSIA!!! Because Eragon is gone (and stubbornly convinced that He Shall Never Again Return Oh Woe Is Him) and Murtagh is... Also gone to an extent. He at the very least holds no political power. Basically everyone hates him, and those that don't can't do more than, like, pardon him, for whatever that's worth. I just can't see this not rubbing people the wrong way, and not coming to an eventual head. Nasuada and Arya are both great, but I just get the feeling there is going to eventually be some sort of conflict between them, no matter how much neither of them want it. I do think Arya is perhaps the least corruptible person, other than maybe Eragon but... I don't knowwww maaaan it's complicated!!

Also I regret to inform everyone that rereading the last little bit did make me ship Eragon and Arya a teensy tinsy itty little bit. Just a liiiiittle bit. Like idk the last fairth and the telling each other their true names and calling each other their true names and Eragon's grief at leaving and his vow to love her forever and her insinuation of maybe one day just got to me alright???

There were a lot of cool magic things in this book! Like the pocket space that the Eldunarí were kept in? Cuaroc's body? More shit that I'm forgetting? God I would just love, like, a magical encyclopedia or something idk. Lots of cool shit. And artifacts!! I want to learn about more magical artifacts.

Also at my Galbatorix stan mutual? I'm a certified Murtagh Girlie™️ and therefore obligated to hold a grudge but like. I do get it. He is a... Very competent villain.

Alright I think that's it for now but. Wow. Man oh man. There is a reason I love this series. I'll probably think of some more things to talk about later, and I'm gonna be participating in the Big Bang, and I'll probably post about The Fork, The Witch, and The Worm as I reread that but yeah!!! Can't wait for November!!

[billthedrake]

GOALS (PART ONE)

Story idea by and collaboration with top son Turner (bimgm36@gmail.com).

[SCOTT]

"So what are your goals, Mr. D?"

We were sitting in a side area of a large cinderblock-construction room that was part of a gym the next town over. It was more of a lifter's gym for serious dudes, and a change of pace from the corporate health club I normally went to downtown. And certainly a change from the country club where I golfed on the weekends or on days off.

But when I hit 50 and decided to get a personal trainer, I'd scoured the online listings and read reviews and came across a familiar face: Austin White, a baseball player who'd dated my daughter back in high school. Well, he wasn't playing baseball these days but had graduated from college and was now working back in a nearby suburb as a personal trainer.

"You don't have to call me Mr. D," I reminded him. "You're no longer dating Shannon."

The trainer flashed a pearly white smile. He definitely had Lady Killer written all over him. Strikingly handsome-cute, laidback, and no small amount of easy charm. "Sorry, Scott," he laughed softly. "Old habits..."

I smiled back. "Yeah.... hope you didn't mind me looking you up." It had seemed like a great idea at the time, but now that I was face to face with Shannon's ex boyfriend, I realized there was something a little awkward about it all.

Austin put me at ease. "Glad you did, Scott," he said. "But you didn't answer my question."

"My goals?" I prompted, recalling what he'd asked me. "Well, I turned 50 last week..."

"50's a number," he said, challenging me some. "Not a goal."

I nodded. "I guess I've let myself go some, to be honest. I'd like to get back in shape... healthier. And I guess there are some personal reasons, too," I admitted shyly.

He flashed that Lady Killer smile again. "I'm a professional Scott... you can tell me."

I chuckled. "Well, I'm hoping to rekindle things in the bedroom, you know?"

I felt dumb saying it, particularly to a dude as young and jacked as Austin. But he didn't miss a beat. "That's a pretty good motivation, Scott," he grinned. "And common, too. It's good to be honest with yourself about what drives you." He picked up his clipboard to take notes. "OK, so we know a big goal... any others?"

I filled him in on some lingering back and hip issues. They didn't keep me from being active, but they affected my golf game sometimes. "I'm afraid I haven't always prioritized being active," I said, no longer embarrassed but feeling proud I was taking the first step to being a better Scott Delahunt. "You know, long hours, lots of sitting at a desk..."

"Still doing the executive thing?" Austin asked.

"Yes. CFO," I clarified. "Though at a different company than when I last saw you."

"That's cool," he said. "And we'll work on your back and hip and see if we can improve your overall mobility... training's not a substitute for physical therapy of course but it can complement it," the guy added thoughtfully. "I work with all types of clients, but I specialize in men over 40.... you know more functional training and flexibility."

"Sounds great," I said.

"I just want to make sure my clients are on the same page with expectations."

"I'm putty in your hands, good sir," I half joked.

He laughed. "All right, Scott," he said, standing up from his chair. "Let's do some measurements and a few diagnostics." Austin had put on some muscle since high school for sure, and the form-fitting zip-up and joggers showed off a body that was big but that somehow didn't look overly musclebound. This young dude was definitely gonna be some inspiration for my own fitness journey.

I stepped on the scale. "198," Austin read out. "And 6-foot-even?" he asked.

"Maybe a hair shy, but yeah, 6 foot." I stepped off. "I really would love to lose the spare tire," I said, patting my midsection. I didn't have an outright beer belly, but I had some major love handles and midlife spread there.

Austin's easy smile was gone and he was in full business mode. "We'll work on it," he assured me, gesturing me over to a mat to do a timed plank. "There's no quick fix," he explained as he started the stopwatch. "No crash diets, either... I believe in strength training first as a foundation and then we'll work on the rest, OK?"

"Yeah," I grunted. I was holding my own I guess, but my lack of regular exercise was biting me in the ass, hard.

I did better on some of the diagnostics and not as hot on the other.

"I told you, Austin," I said. "You're getting a real project." Pulling out the self deprecating humor.

He was still in business mode. "I'm not one of those hardass trainers, but I have only one rule, Mr. D," he said, his old nickname slipping back. "No comparing yourself to anyone else. If you're on social media, I want you off it. In here, for 60 minutes twice a week, it's going to be about you... what you're doing and what you can do better and how we can get you there. Not any of the other guys. OK? "

"Got it," I said. It felt weird being bossed around by a man half my age, but Austin was the one with the Instagram body. I'd follow his lead.

We walked on toward the locker area. "And one other thing you'll learn about me, Scott," he added with a wink. "I have more than one rule."

****

[AUSTIN]

"Beast!" I grunted in encouragement as Scott pumped out a personal record on the bench press. He even did two reps without my spot, before I helped him on the third. As I helped guide the bar back into pace I saw his exertion-red face and concerted look break into a wide smile.

Psychology is a big part of my job. Every client is different and has different things that motivate them as well as different reasons they weren't motivated before they came to me. Being a trainer doesn't mean being a miracle worker, but you try to figure out what's going to work for a man or woman in the gym.

But I'd never seen a man respond so well to encouragement as Scott. I honestly didn't know what to expect when Shannon's dad first contacted me. But I always liked the guy, and he'd always made me feel welcome when I was over at the Delahunt house. He'd always take the time to say hello or chat and ask me how the baseball season was going or what colleges I was considering. When anyone else had grilled me about college, it felt like pressure - like "are you good enough for my daughter" BS - but with Mr. D, it felt like genuine interest.

Now that I'd been training the man for over a year, I'd gotten to see another side of him. He was guarded at first, but after a few months he'd started being more open. Something about the extra time to chat in the gym does wonders for getting the conversation flowing. He didn't talk ill about Mrs. Delahunt, but the man was clearly frustrated in his marriage. I was getting the picture of a man who'd thrown himself into a high-powered career and who liked to show off the spoils of financial success. And he wasn't happy.

"Give it a couple minutes rest," I said as Scott sat up, stretching his arms a little and rubbing out the burn in his triceps. "And maybe we can try for 10 more?"

"Oh yeah," the executive said enthusiastically. "Let's do it."

As he cooled down for a bit, he asked. "You doing anything this weekend, Austin?"

I was putting two fives on the barbell. "My Dad's coming to visit."

Scott looked into my face. "You're not excited are you?" he said, observant as hell.

I sighed. "I don't know, Scott... a dumb part of me looks forward to it every time.... but when he's here, it's like we don't have anything to talk about. He'll spend a couple hours with me, then go meet up with one of his buddies instead."

Scott didn't try to tell me it was OK. Or make excuses for my Dad. He just listened. "That's tough, guy," he finally said. "I guess some parents aren't good with the emotional stuff."

He got into place and went for another set. I had to spot him for a good deal of that one rep. I could read the disappointment in his face.

"Give it a longer rest," I urged. "Refocus. You got this, Scott."

The next attempt wasn't pretty, but it was all Scott. And the beaming look of pride in his face after was one of those moments that makes my job worth it.

[SCOTT]

"You hear from Shannon lately?" Austin asked between squats. He'd been pushing me more on leg days lately, and I was starting to see progress.

I never knew for sure why Austin and Shannon broke up, but Austin was a grade ahead of Shannon and gone off to college before her. A part of me wondered if Austin still had a thing for my daughter, but I figured this was just something to talk about, the connection that first brought us together in the gym.

"Not lately. I only hear from her when she needs money," I said wryly.

"Oof," my trainer gave a "that hurts" wince. "For real?"

"I exaggerate some," I explained. "But not a lot. Sometimes it feels like she sees her Daddy as a living, walking credit card."

Austin gave me a reassuring, empathetic look. "Well, at least she's probably having a blast in college, right?"

It was the perfectly timed joke, and it made me crack up. "That she is, buddy," I said.

I got in place and knocked out another set of squats. It was a struggle, but I got to eight.

"Nice," I heard Austin say. Then he added some weights.

"Sorry if I'm out of line, Scott, but Shannon is a spoiled B. She kind of always was."

I grimaced. He was right, but I didn't appreciate him talking about my daughter like that. "Maybe she is, but I take some responsibility in that. Kelly too... we both spoiled her growing up. We just wanted her to have the finer things, you know."

Austin gave me a look that said he felt contrite, even if he wasn't saying his apology out loud. "Better than the opposite, Scott," he said. "You're there for her, that's what matters."

"Things been rocky with your Old Man lately?" I asked.

Austin shrugged. He had a jock's bluster, but I could tell he hid how much things bothered him. Even discussing his relationship with his father, he tried to pass it off in an even, unaffected tone. "Worse. I haven't heard from him in two months. I left a couple of voice mails, but felt like some desperate chick wanting a second date."

"I take it you speak from experience in brushing off desperate chicks," I teased, trying to change the subject.

Austin grinned. God, he really was a strikingly handsome young man. "Ah, I talk a big game, Scott. Truth is, I guess I'm just waiting for the right one, you know."

It was adorable to see this muscled up ex-jock act shy, and endearing too. "I'm sure she'll come, Austin," I assured him. "Probably sooner than you think."

He looked at me as if he was trying to decide whether he could share a secret. He did. "It'd be a 'he,' Scott."

"Oh," I muttered dumbly. It didn't even occur to me that Austin would be gay. In fairness, I knew him first as Shannon's boyfriend.

The guy went into reassuring mode. "I don't generally share my personal business," he said. "With any of my clients..."

There was the Mr. Business side of my trainer coming out. Serious, professional.

"I'm glad you did, Austin," I said. "Um, is that why things didn't work out with you and Shannon?" Maybe none of my business, but I was curious as hell.

He didn't seem fazed by my question. "Yes and no. I mean I didn't decide I really preferred men until college. But even in high school I felt I wasn't 100% into dating the girls I was with. No disrespect to your daughter..."

"None taken," I assured him.

I did another set. It was getting really fucking hard now. "Let's stretch some," Austin said, a signal we were done with squats for the day.

On the mat, Austin guided me through some gentle stretches.

My curiosity was still getting the best of me.

"So... you have any boyfriends in college?" I asked. Before stopping myself. "Sorry... that's none of my business."

He didn't admonish me but just said softly. "Yeah, like I say I don't advertise my personal business."

[AUSTIN]

Like with a lot of clients, I told Scott not to weigh himself at home constantly. We'd step on the locker room scale once a month. That way, he'd be focused on strength and diet and not on the ups and downs.

I could tell he was nervous that day as he stepped on, wearing only his compression. I tried to act normal around Scott Delahunt, but the man was my type to a T. Older, just the right amount of muscle, clean cut daddy. A year and a half of training had done wonders for an already good looking man. His back had a nice curve and definition and his shoulders and arms were swells of rounded muscle. He still had a little padding on his middle but his gut was solid muscle behind it. He'd definitely lost some extra weight.

"190!" he beamed. "I haven't weighed 190 since my 30s," he said as he stepped off the scale and turned toward me. Scott wasn't overly hairy but he had a nice pelt of light brown hair on his now defined chest and torso.

"And some of that is extra muscle," I reminded him. "So... you told me your goal when we started... any luck in the bedroom?" I tried to make it sound professional, or maybe buddy-to-buddy. But lately I'd been thinking way too much of Scott Delahunt having sex.

He shook his head. "Not really," he said. I expected a sad sack expression but instead he just replied, "But I've decided I'm doing this for me, actually."

"Yeah?" I asked. I wasn't sure if he was just parroting what he thought I wanted to hear.

"It's about time I focused on what makes me happy, you know?"

"You should," I said. "You deserve that."

He gave me a grateful look. But he didn't respond. Instead, it was like he was displaying his body for me. Not lecherous exactly, and I think I did a damn good job of hiding my attraction to him. But it was like he wanted a gay dude's approval of his improved physique. Some straight dudes have hang ups about gay men checking them out, but I've met a couple of buds who feel they can trust me with my assessment of them physically.

I ventured a compliment. "You're looking really good, Scott. Muscle, definition, and the slimmer midsection are really coming together," I said. "Incredible progress, really."

He ate it up. "I couldn't be doing it without you, buddy. For real."

I forced myself to stop ogling his half naked body, as I told him I'd see him for our session Friday.

When I got home, though, I jerked off. A nice heavy load just imagining mounting Scott doggy style and pounding him hard and fast. As I cleaned up, I had to laugh at how turned on I was by this 51 year old corporate exec. Like, I always had to pine for the unavailable ones.

I just hoped for his sake that Scott Delahunt was getting laid that night.

[SCOTT]

It was tough getting back into the gym after two weeks. Austin kind of laughed as I showed my frustration at not being able to bench nearly as much as before.

"Been there, Scott," he patted my shoulder as I sat up. He'd been doing that more lately, touching me. Nothing too weird or invasive, kind of like one close buddy might do for another. But knowing Austin was a gay dude made me read something into it, I suppose. Not that he'd be into a middle-aged man like me. But I did find myself wondering a lot about the kind of men Austin was into. I chalked it up to idle curiosity. Austin had opened up a lot to me as we trained and talked, but he kept one part of himself private.

"How was Italy?" he asked.

"Incredible," I replied. "Villa in Tuscany, good weather, amazing food... what's not to like?" I started.

"That's awesome," Austin said. He seemed to enjoy living vicariously through his clients' vacations, and I knew that as a trainer he probably didn't have the time or money to do any big travel.

I nodded. "Yeah, but this sounds spoiled as hell to say... but I would have been as happy on one of your Smokies camping weekends." Austin grew up in the east part of the state and still enjoyed getting up into the mountains from time to time.

He gave me a sympathetic look. "Yeah, why's that?"

I shrugged. I felt like sometimes I unloaded a lot onto my trainer, but it was like he was the one guy who'd understand. "I dunno... With Kelly, it sometimes feels like things have to be perfect... you know, THE best winery and THE best private tour... and she spends half the vacation posting the pictures on Facebook so her friends all know how she's having THE best fucking vacation.... sorry, man, I know I'm being a jaded asshole."

Austin patted my shoulder again. That touch against my warm shoulder through my workout shirt. "Not at all, man. You just have a better perspective on life is all." He gave me another pat. "Ready for another set?"

I nodded and got back into place. We finished up at the bench and went to do a superset of dumbbell exercises.

I was a little out of breath when we finally paused.

"Tough, huh?" Austin said, reading my face.

I nodded, not quite formulating a word. "Yah. Sorry."

"Take a sec," he assured me. He had me drink some water.

As we went to do some stretches and core work, our conversation resumed.

"So... I didn't know you were into camping," Austin said.

"I'm not," I replied. "At least I haven't done it since I was a boy scout. But the idea of getting away from Brentwood seems real appealing sometimes."

Austin squatted down next to me and reached over to pull my hip to correct my form. "No offense, Scott, but you're Brentwood through and through."

I laughed. "Yeah, I guess," I said. Austin was originally from a small town in east Tennessee and had moved to the Nashville suburbs when he was 12. He seemed to have mixed feelings about the tony suburbs we lived in, and I had a hard time figuring them out. "Guilty as charged."

"I'm just razzing ya, Scott," Austin said, that easy going charm coming back.

[AUSTIN]

I'd taken a break from the apps. I told myself it was healthy to do so, but maybe it was healthier to get laid. In case, Scott's break from the gym somehow made me miss the guy. I was becoming crushed out on my client. I told myself that was because I wasn't getting any daddy ass.

My profile was clear. 24yo total top clean cut jock into masculine 40+ daddies. Inexperienced OK. Married or DL OK. Just be willing and ready to take care of my 7.5 inch cock. No-strings fun only.

I had a great set of pictures that got a lot of bites. That first weekend of Scott's vacation I got messaged by five men. Two just weren't my thing, two were smoking hot, and one was OK. I messaged the smoking hot daddies back and clicked with a businessman staying downtown. He wasn't Scott Delahunt hot but he was my type. 48, balding, strong barrel chested build, trimmed goatee. He was married but played when he was out of town. I assured him I was totally discreet.

It had actually been six months since I'd hooked up with a guy. I remembered now how fun it could be. Even dealing with the traffic heading into downtown. When I got to his hotel room, he'd just gotten out of the shower, freshly cleaned for me, and had a towel wrapped around his waist. He had a soft belly, not big but more along the lines of what Scott had when he started with me. His front was incredibly furry and I found the swirls of hair incredibly hot.

"Hey," he grinned as he led me in. He could barely take his eyes off me. I'm not an egotist... well, I am a little. But it's great to have that silent appreciation of my looks. His words made it explicit. "Man," he said in a deeper-South accent. "I thought you wouldn't live up to your pictures, but you're incredible."

My eyes swept his body too. He wasn't the hottest man I'd ever slept with but I loved his real dad-ness... married-with-kids Southern daddy, deep voice, ex-jock vibe. "I'm liking what I see, too," I growled, pulling my shorts up to let my boner ride up. I had been looking forward to some release real bad.

He seemed like he'd won the lottery ticket. "Dang! You really do go for older guys don't ya?"

"Exclusively," I said. I loved the chance to be direct with men about my sexual preferences. I stepped up to him and ran my hands along the soft furred belly before slipping my hands around his waist to pull him toward me for a kiss.

Some married guys aren't into kissing. I forgot to ask if Business Daddy was OK with it. He was. Or made an exception for me. He was used to soft kissing from a woman and was surprised by my approach. But he got into it and was soon pawing at my T-shirt, feeling up my muscle.

I was getting worked up, fast. My fingers undid his towel and felt up the bare buns. Some men like Scott Delahunt had to work to develop a thick round ass. This guy had the genetics for it. I could be satisfied with a nice slow BJ from a hot daddy, but knowing from our DMs that this guy wasn't virgin made me really want to tap his hole.

"What are your thoughts on the D word?" I growled. Business Daddy seemed real into me, and I felt I had the cards, at least enough to push this.

"Daddy?" he asked, to clarify.

"'Dad' is even hotter to me," I said, taking his wrist and guiding it to the hard ridge in my mesh shorts. Instantly his thick fingers curled greedily around it.

He gulped. "Never done that scene," he admitted. "But if it turns you on, buddy..."

"It turns me the fuck on," I assured him. I kissed him again then kissed and licked along his ear lobe. "Why don't you get down and suck my dick, Dad?" I whispered.

He had a naughty look on his face as he crouched down. The man wasn't all that hung and his shorter dick stood out like a spike from his hairy crotch as he got down. He peeled down my shorts, like he was unwrapping a Christmas present.

"Dang... fucking big piece ya got, buddy," he hissed, taking it in his hand and licking it. "Go easy on me, will ya?"

"Yeah, Dad," I hissed, not wanting to get out of this scene now that I had the green light. Then I felt his warm mouth descend on me. Business Daddy wasn't experienced but I wasn't his first cock either. It was a nice sweet spot. I imagined my father doing this to me. Sucking me, learning how to suck me.

"That's it, Dad," I grunted. "Suck your boy. Love your hot fucking mouth on my dick, sir." Some guys were turned off by my verbal approach, and others were way turned off by the incest scene. That's one reason I sometimes found hookups not to be satisfying. It was hard to develop a rapport to go deep with a one-off guy.

But Business Daddy was getting into it, sucking me more fully now, with a bit more of a slow suction that was getting me worked up. I watched his balding head bob up and down on my crotch. My own father had more hair, though it too was thinning. Like Scott Delahunt's.

"If you keep sucking, Dad, I'm gonna cum," I warned. "But I really wanna fuck you, sir."

Business daddy pulled off and took one admiring look at my spit wet dong. "Damn you are a pervy fucker," he laughed.

I kicked off my shorts and peeled off my T-shirt. "Yeah I'm a perv," I replied. In the past I might have felt embarrassed but now I was unapologetic. I fisted my cock and looked him in the eye. "When was the last time you got fucked?"

He seemed to be on the defensive now, and I worried I let my horns get the worst of me. If I fucked this up....

"Two years," he said softly. "I don’t usually...."

"You enjoy it?" I questioned him.

He nodded, blushing some. "A little too much."

"You got ready for me, right?" I just wanted to remind him of the reason I was there and not hooking up with one of the other guys.

He nodded. "You're intense, you know that right?" he said. Like his physical attraction to me was countered by a vibe that just wasn't working for him.

"I'm just horny, man," I explained. "I haven't fucked a guy in six months. I fucking miss it."

"A dude like you... I would have thought..." he started and didn't have to finish.

"Let me eat you for a bit," I said. "I want you to want this, man."

He nodded and got on the bed, pulling his legs back. Fuck, that hole was beautiful. Furry dad trench with a nice tight hole. I got in place and examined it, taking my time before leaning in and licking. Business Daddy was squeaky clean and I took the opportunity to go to town, really feasting on that ass like it was my last meal.

It was a nice cool down from the BJ and the Dad-talk earlier but also worked me up in a way.

"Lube?" I asked when I finally pulled back. He gestured to the small table on the other side of the bed. I went around and Business Daddy scooted to reposition himself on the bed.

I took my time fingering him, talking with him about men and cocks and fucking. I avoided the Dad-Son stuff since I wanted to build the vibe rather than kill it.

"So..." I said as I now slid three slick fingers in and out of his stretched tightness. I had the conquerer gene in me, I suppose, because I LOVED the idea of getting a hole that had barely been fucked. "We talked a little earlier... I'm on PREP and get tested regularly... I'd love to get in you raw, sir."

"I've never done that," he whispered, but I could see his shorter, fatter dick throb as I worked the first inches of his insides.

"Is that a NO?" I challenged him. I was going to respect his wishes, but I was gonna do my damnedest to get the fuck I wanted then.

"Go ahead, man," he said. "I trust ya."

I scooted up and lined my bare cock against his ring. It took some work, alternating fingering with some teasing with my cock. But I finally breached him in a way that was comfortable for him.

"Easy," I hissed as I rubbed his soft belly and pushed deeper. "Just going slow here.... you got this."

He took a deep breath and nodded. "Feels good actually," he said. His eyes had been on mine but now he looked all over my body. "You're so fricking hot."

I grinned. "You like the jocks, huh?"

"I do," he replied. Not embarrassed, but forthright.

"You wanna tell me about any of them?" I was pushing the envelope for sure, but my cock was almost bottomed out in his hole.

He gave me a grin. "I don't play around at home... but there's the neighbor kid. Got a football scholarship at Ole Miss... hot fucker."

I plowed in. Business Daddy accepted me, his dick thwapping excitedly at the full penetration. "You wish he was here fucking you now?"

"God, man," Business Daddy was the one getting into the pervy headspace now. He reached up and clenched at my sides. Hungry. I gave him the kiss he craved. Then I started thrusting into him.

"I'd love both of you guys at once," he admitted. "Tag teaming me."

"That'd be hot," I leered, really getting into this. I rarely got to do this level of verbal with a guy, and it was really working me up. "Two jocks... taking turns.... opening up that Daddy hole."

"Yes," he hissed... "fuck me, stud!"

I was getting more athletic with my pumps. "Been too long hasn't it, Daddy... since you had a young cock in ya?"

Maybe the D word was pushing it, but Business Daddy picked it right up. "God yeah, son. Fuck your Dad!"

Oh jesus. The surprise of those words, and the deep Southern accent of them had my balls pumping. Not a pre-orgasmic warning, but the real deal. I was ejaculating hard into this older business man.

"That's it, son. Get your nut. Show Dad what ya got." For a man who didn't seem into pervy role play, he sure knew what to say now.

I growled my way through my deep orgasm and then kind of fell on him, reclaiming a kiss as my dick pumped out its dribbles into his conquered hole.

I gathered my senses and got back into the original position, squirting some lube on his spike and slowly pumping him as I urged him off. I even had him describe that Ole Miss tight end in detail. His whole body went beet red as he came, and I knew it was a major orgasm for him too.

We made small talk afterwards. He even said he'd hit me up next time he was in Nashville. "You're a wild one, buddy... but I sure as hell enjoyed the ride."

[SCOTT]

"You got anything going on this weekend?" I asked Austin as he had me do some shoulder raises. I'd been trying to find a nonchalant time to bring it up.

He examined my form and counted my reps silently. "Good," he said as I finished the set and set the dumbbells down on a bench. "Nothing really going on. What about you, man?"

I stood squarely to face him. He was the young jacked stud, but I was getting more proud of my body after a year and a half of working out with him, and more confident in my skin, so to speak. "Well, the Titans have a home game Sunday. I was wondering if you wanted to go see them with me," I ventured.

There came that pearly white smile again, and an excited kid-like look. "What, you got tickets?"

"Two of them," I boasted. "I got 'em through work. A buddy of mine was going to go but had to back out." That second part was a lie.

Austin showed some concern. "Man, I'd love to. Hell, I'd really love to. But I can't afford that." I got the feeling he was an independent-spirited man who didn't like to be beholden to others.

"The ticket's just gonna go to waste,” I said, “and I'll enjoy having someone to go with." I saw his resolve start to melt, so figured I could lay out the rest of my plan. "It's an afternoon game, we can get a hotel downtown for the night and live it up a little. Come on... Kelly's doing some girls trip to Napa, and I have a real bachelor's weekend I want to enjoy."

Austin smiled. "Well, when you put it that way.... jesus, I can't believe you have fucking Titans tickets. You go often?"

I could sense a real envy in his tone. "Yeah, from time to time," I admitted. "I did season tickets a couple years ago, but Kelly griped that my Sundays were all taken up."

He smiled. "I bet these tickets are great seats, too, aren't they?" Teasing me.

"Pretty damn good," I smirked. "We're gonna have a blast, buddy."

[AUSTIN]

I was in a good mood. Strike that, I was in a great mood. The Titans had beaten the Texans but even if they hadn't I just enjoyed being in Nissan Stadium and shouting my lungs out. Scott seemed bemused how into it I was but didn't say anything. The man struck me as something more than a fair weather fan and less than a diehard fan.

But I was grateful for the ticket and that he'd had me tag along. He insisted on covering the hotel room. "Trust me I got a million hotel points to burn through," he countered. So I got the tab as we grabbed beers in one of the downtown bars.

It was a lot of regular guy talk. About the game and the upcoming Titans season. About how September can be the best month in Nashville. About his wife's wine trip and their fall plans. About the cheat day Scott was having and how my metabolism let me get away with stadium concession food and day drinking on occasion.

God, he looked good. Great even, in his snug pale blue Titans T-shirt that clung to his arms and pecs and the hint of dad gut he was still chipping away at. I never saw him outside of the gym, at least not since I'd dated his daughter. He was so focused working out, like that was a second job to him. But this was Scott Delahunt in the mood to let down his hair. Smiling, happy, joking.

Maybe that's what led me to let my hair down too.

"It was my professor," I blurted.

"What?" he asked.

Maybe I enjoyed catching him off guard. But I clarified. "You once asked me who I dated in college. It was my Chemistry professor."

Scott looked at me like I was kidding him. "Are you teasing me?"

I shook my head. "Nah. You're the first guy I've ever told actually. Buy yeah for two years... I don't know if dating was the right word, but it wasn't casual either. He was my first boyfriend."

I kind of wondered if Scott would be put off by the admission. Or even the gay talk. But he seemed laidback about it, and he'd been the one to ask. He took a sip of beer and eyed me up, like he was still trying to decide if I was on the level. "Was this while you were his student or after?"

"While," I replied. "Though we kept hooking up after. That's when I decided maybe I wasn't so bisexual after all."

Scott seemed nervous with that comment but didn't object. Instead, he shook his head. "I would have guessed you would have gone for another college dude."

I shook my head. "Not my thing." Here goes. "I'm only into older guys, actually."

"Really?" Scott was moving from incredulous to amused. "What are we talking about?"

I shrugged. It was kind of a relief to have this open dialogue with the man. "95% of the time, men in their 40s or 50s."

"I knew a buddy in college who was into cougars," he laughed. "The guys gave him a lot of guff, but Taylor got laid so fucking much..." Scott was laughing as he recalled old times then seemed like he had something on his mind.

"What?" I asked.

He paused and looked at me. "Nothing, buddy." He held up his now empty pint glass. "Can I get the next round?"

"No doing, Scott," I said, standing up. "I'm buying."

[SCOTT]

Bringing Austin along to the game was the right call, I realized. I'd never seen a guy so thrilled. He'd been to a couple of games before, but it was a rare treat for him. I was happy to have given him that.

I didn't have any ulterior plans. Then again, maybe I did and just didn't admit them to myself. I told myself I was just having a good time, too. Hanging out with Austin felt freeing, like my college days. Before my career and family, and before the country club set I socialized with. I liked my golf buddies just fine, but there was always that one-up-manship. I could play that game, too, but with Austin, I didn't have to.

We got a little tipsy but didn't go wild. I told Austin he should just enjoy the downtown nightlife on his own. He clapped a hand on my shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. "No offense to you heteros, Scott, but drunken hos aren't my idea of fun," he laughed.

I loved that he was freer with me. Not guarded, able to talk about being a gay man. I think stupidly I assumed gay guys didn't have the same problem with sex, of finding regular and compatible partners. But I could tell with Austin, he had some dissatisfactions of his own. I almost asked him about it in the bar, but figured I'd mind my own business. I hoped he'd feel free to share with me some time.

It had been in the back of my mind. What sex with a guy would be like. Yeah. I'd fooled around some in college, but that was just that, fooling around. Naughty fun I'd have with some buds when we didn't have girlfriends or weren't getting enough. After I met Kelly, I'd fantasize about other women, sometimes a lot. I figured most guys do. But I never gave much thought to men.

But as Austin and I got ready for bed in the hotel room, I was thinking of it. His eyes were on me. Quiet lust in his eyes that made me feel sexually attractive in a way I hadn't felt in years. This wasn't some cougar in some downtown hotel bar giving me the heavy eye, this was a young hot stud with an Instagram fitness body. Just a dusting of hair but also lots of pale, smooth muscle.

And, as he strutted out of the bathroom in his boxer briefs, I could see the definition in his round ass and the thick bulge of his crotch. It wasn't fair a young man this perfect should be hung, but I had a good idea he was. I tried not to let him catch me looking at his package, but he gave a soft smirk as I darted my glance away. He ran his thumbs along the waist band to adjust the underwear, but his eyes had a question in them. Maybe a plea.

"Good night, bud," I said. Forcing myself to slip into the covers of one of the two beds, as if my heart weren't racing a million miles an hour.

"Good night, Scott," came his reply. Almost soft, not cocky. I'd been nervous until that point, but that voice gave me a boner beneath the sheets. And the very fact I was responding to his gentle masculinity added to the thrill. A feeling I hadn't felt before but maybe wanted to for a while.

He turned out the light.

[AUSTIN]

I was so hard, I couldn't sleep. Scott Delahunt had starred in my JO fantasies a lot lately, and I knew after this weekend he was gonna be in them a lot more. I tossed and turned and tried to think of other stuff. I tried to think of the Titans season but then I'd remember one of the coaches I wanted to bone.

I hoped the beer would catch up and help me sleep. It didn't. I don't know how long I lay awake. Maybe an hour. I decided to go to the bathroom, where I could jerk off in privacy. It wouldn't take long to get my nut and take the edge off.

"Can't sleep either?" I heard Scott say as I scooted to get off the bed. His voice wasn't quiet but wide awake.

"No," I gulped.

"Anything I can do to help?" came his voice in the dark.

My heart pounded. "God, Scott." I was SO close to just saying, "come over and suck me off Daddy." Instead, Scott could tell the frustration in my voice.

"I'm serious, Austin. If you wanna ask me, I won't judge." he said. Then, "I actually kind of want you to ask me."

My heart melted. Here was my dream man, vulnerable as hell. Maybe I'd made him feel that way. Maybe it was just fate.

"Would you join me in my bed?" I asked. Into the darkness of the room. I thought of turning on the lamp but didn't want to break the spell that was set between us.

Scott didn't answer, and I first I though I'd fucked it up big time. Misread what he was suggesting. But then I heard his mattress squeak and then felt his warm body bump against mine beneath the sheets. I scooted over to give him room.

The man was shaking some, but his hands were not wasting time eagerly touching my body. I knew from his touch he'd been thinking about this, wondering what my muscle would feel like. I let him feel and reached down to take off my briefs in case he wanted to feel more.

"Fuck!" he hissed.

"We can take this slow, Scott," I assured him as my own hands were pawing at his older muscle. I'd never get sick of the feel and rougher skin of a middle aged man. And the idea of what he represented to me. Power, authority, experience. I kept my urges in check and slowly caressed his warm back.

The man pulled his hands back some and like that he was peeling his own underwear off. Baring himself for me.

I don't know what I felt first, his hard dick against mine or his lips pressing into a kiss. It wasn't until that kiss that I realized how much I'd pent up. And how much Scott had pent up himself. He was married, maybe nominally straight or whatever. But this man wanted me.

In my past times with older guys, I insisted on getting serviced. It was part of my thing, I guess, my power trip. But I'd heard enough of Scott's marital woes, that I knew I had to give him a real blow job. I kissed my way down his hairy chest and still padded middle and started licking his cock.

His dick was on the smaller side, between 4.5 and 5 inches and was the hardest dick I'd ever encountered. I was grateful for his size as I opened my mouth and took that cock in.

"Yes," he hissed excitedly.

I rarely suck cock and if I do, it's as a teaser for foreplay. So I'm not an expert, but I must have been better than Mrs. Delahunt.

"Suck me buddy!" Scott gasped. His fingers were in my hair, on my scalp. Not possessively, but more appreciative. Like he'd forgotten what pleasure like this was like. I was reminding him with steady and faster mouth strokes.

I backed off a few seconds before he came. I needed this daddy's mouth on my cock before orgasm removed his willingness to suck me. I climbed up and met Scott in another kiss before I pulled back and scooted up to line up my arching, hard prick to his face.

"Take your time," I urged. Not "please suck me" or "would you blow me too?"

I didn't need the pleasantries. I felt his warm wet tongue lick at my head. Tentative as hell, but it was the kind of tentative fear of not doing it right than not wanting to do it.

"Feels great," I assured him. Now running my fingers through his hair. Appreciative, but definitely possessive. I pushed into his mouth. About three inches. Enough to fill him but not trip any gag reflex. "Just take me, man. Nice shallow strokes... there." I was doing most of the work. Maybe I'd train Scott how to be my cocksucker. The very idea got my balls boiling with my load.

Even if he wasn't doing the work he was doing his best. Sucking at me, trying to keep his saliva contained while forming a ring around my softly pistoning cock. I was thick as well as long, and I knew I was a lot. But the man was acting like a champ.

"I'm gonna cum in your mouth, Scott," I warned him. Giving him an out. He had three seconds to do something about the situation. He didn't, so like that I was firing off big. A heavy load right into his mouth. I pulled back so he'd get it mostly on his tongue. I thought he'd feel more comfortable swallowing it that way, but mostly I wanted him to taste me. To know what my cum was like.

I pulled out and felt my prick twitch in the aftershocks.

The man deserved any release I could give him. I scooted back down to suck him to completion but as I approached his crotch, I smelt that familiar bleachy-floral scent. And felt his hands grip my head to stop me.

"I... just came," he admitted.

[futbol16]

Rio Manuela ・ England Lionesses/Barcelona Femení

This is a platonic story with the England lionesses and the Barcelona Femení girls. The character has a given name, but the story is written in second person. I was also bored enough to make an edit so hope you like that as well.

Id love any feedback you guys could give me! English is also not my first language so excuse me if anything is incorrect. Enjoy!

Word count: 3,7k words

It’s been a month since you and your team have won the 2022 EURO’s and to say team spirit was still high would be an understatement. It was one of the many reasons why your team felt like a big family, especially with being one of the younger ones. 

You were an incredibly successful player at the ripe age of 24 and by many fans' requests, you had been working on a biography. Although you had been keeping it on the down low, it was no secret.

That is exactly why the team was buzzing today as it was the release day of the movie. You on the other hand weren’t only excited but anxious as well. You didn’t have the best upbringing and you were scared of how the world would react to this side of your story. Moreover you were nervous about the team’s reaction, only a handful of people knew and even they only knew what you let them know.

“IT’S MOVIE NIGHT TONIIIIIGHT!” - Ella screamed as she ran around the pitch as training started. A few of the girls laughed at her excited antics, they too couldn’t wait. 

You laughed even bigger as you felt her jump on your back, screeching in your ear when you nearly dropped her.

“All right girls, gather around. We’ll do skill exercises today and a bit of strength training, I need all of you to be ready for the match that’s in two days.”-Sarina called you guys over.

Warming up in pairs you stood in line with the rest as you started training.

You looked up from your feet as you spotted Hempo getting ready to cross the ball. Picking up your speed you jumped into the air hitting a perfect header to the back of the net. Despite it only being a scrimmage in training you ran to the blonde smiling at her and celebrating.

“This is why they call you Barcelona’s bird.”- she grinned, making you chuckle.

“I think it’s also the name, you know, Rio and the movie with those blue birds?”- Rachel spoke up from behind the two of you, most of the team heading for their water bottles as training came to an end.

“Oh, yeah i guess that makes a bit more sense”-You laughed as a look of embarrassment washed over Lauren’s face, nudging her in the shoulder.

“Maybe, but I’m only Barcelona’s bird when I play for them, here, with the national team, I'm England’s lioness just like you guys.”- you smiled at the two then shrieked as they both squeezed the water from their bottles at you. Running away, the other two laughed loudly as they chased you around.

Lucy grinned as she watched the three of you. Turning to the other two as they waited for you. 

“Her biography is out today, right?” - Keira asked with a hopeful expression.

“Yeah, god the kid’s so young and she’s got a movie done for her, makes me feel old.”- Lucy chuckled, though with a proud smile on her face.

“Mhmm, the younger ones are really excited to watch it tonight.”- Leah continued.

“Pretty sure the whole world is. I mean she’s one of the best players in the world, it’ll be interesting to see her journey throughout her younger years.”- Leah’s smile faded a bit at that, she was one of the few people that knew, knew the little you shared.

Sitting in the relaxation room of the national team’s facility, all 23 of you got yourselves comfortable. Carrying three bowls of popcorn you thanked Leah and Alessia as they each took one and handed them to a group of girls allowing you to sit down between Lucy and Ella.

“WHO’S READY TO GET STARTED??”- Ella once again shouted forcing you to cover your ears with a smile as the others cheered.

 “Okay I was thinking about first watching the trailer and then we can start the movie.” - the others voiced their agreements as one of the girls started the trailer. Sitting back comfortably you crossed your arms over your chest as you waited patiently, this would also be your first time seeing the finished product, seeing the story of your football career.

The opening scene flashed across the screen showing you sitting in your cubby in a locker room, your England jersey proudly hanging behind you, the number 10 and Manuela printed onto it.

"All my life I had to fight, no one believed in me, so I had to believe in myself.”

Your back was to the camera as you walked through the tunnel leading you to the stadium’s football pitch. “To all of you, I have one thing to say. I’m not like you, because I’m not you. I am Rio Manuela.”

As the trailer finished, the girls seemed even more interested in your biography than before. Glancing around you took in some of their expressions before your gaze landed on Leah who smiled at you reassuringly and nodded her head. Smiling back at her softly you turned back around as the movie started.

1998, 𝖣𝖾𝖼𝖾𝗆𝖻𝖾𝗋 10, 𝖱𝗂𝗈 𝖽𝖾 𝖩𝖺𝗇𝖾𝗂𝗋𝗈

Soft cries indicated your arrival into the world, the nurse handing you to your father as he looked down at you with tear filled eyes.

“She’s so beautiful.”- he looked up at your mother, a tear running down his face.

“Have you got a name ready for her?”- one of the nurses asked with a polite smile turning towards your parents.

“Marcia Rio Manuela” - your mother answered, watching as your father placed a gentle kiss onto your forehead, your soft cries subsiding.

2002, 𝖱𝗂𝗈 𝖽𝖾 𝖩𝖺𝗇𝖾𝗂𝗋𝗈

Age 4

“Come on Marcia”- your father extended his arms as he scooped you up, turning back towards the reporter as she asked him something in Portuguese. Quickly getting bored, you got distracted with the short curls on his head, reaching up playing with them as he smiled at you.

Giggling at him you snuggled into his neck as the reporter decided to wrap up with her questions.

You smiled as a few other happy clips were seen playing on the screen. Willing yourself to not tear up, you felt Lucy wrap an arm around your shoulders from your right, allowing you to lean into her.

2007, 𝖲𝖾𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗆𝖻𝖾𝗋 21, 𝖱𝗂𝗈 𝖽𝖾 𝖩𝖺𝗇𝖾𝗂𝗋𝗈

Age 9

Your little feet hurried towards the ball as you played with a few of your team mates. Hearing your coach call you over, you picked the ball up trying to put it under your arm as you walked towards him.

“Listen Marcia, mom is here to pick you up, she said you needed to go somewhere. Go get your stuff, she’s waiting for you.” the smile fell from your lips as you took in what he was saying.

“But coach practice is not over yet, I wanna play.” - you all but whined, not happy with having been interrupted while you were so close to scoring a goal.

“I know amada (sweetheart), but your mom is waiting for you.” - he smiled at you sadly, confusing you but you blamed it on him also being sad about you having to leave.

Nodding your head you took off towards your mother who didn't spear you a glance as she opened the car door for herself, waiting on you as you got in too.

You didn’t dare ask questions after getting a harsh ‘quiet’ after your first two. 

The car pulled into the driveway of the familiar family house, getting out and into the house, you watched as your mom pulled out suitcases throwing different articles of clothing into them.

“I wasn’t told until after we landed in England that my father had died during one of his missions at the Navy. I remember I was in such despair as the words slipped out of my mother’s mouth. But I know I was also upset that she took me away from home, from all that I knew.”

You spoke into the camera, sitting on a chair with a gray background behind you. Your face showed one of sorrow as you ran your fingers through your hair.

“I decided to go by my middle name after that, Rio, in honor of my dad. He and I both were born in Rio de Janeiro and he always told me his happiest memories were from growing up there, he loved Brazil, it was his home” a small smile made its way onto your face

2010, 𝖫𝗈𝗇𝖽𝗈𝗇, 𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝖠𝗋𝗌𝖾𝗇𝖺𝗅 𝖥𝗈𝗈𝗍𝖻𝖺𝗅𝗅 𝖢𝗅𝗎𝖻 𝖸𝗈𝗎𝗍𝗁 𝖠𝖼𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗆𝗒

Age 12

“Go Rio, drive forwards, come on!”- your academy coach shouted at you as he saw your hesitation. Nodding to yourself you sped up coming face to face with one of your opponents, making eye contact with her you sent her a devious look before megging her and running around her to collect the ball. 

Moving past her you skillfully dribbled past four other opponents, looking up you saw you were one on one with the goal keeper. Pulling your leg back you aimed and then watched as the ball soared through the air and hit the back of the net. Your teammates screamed as they piled on top of you, the whistle being blown signaling the end of the match. 

The camera zoomed in on your face as you grinned, your coach sending you a proud thumbs up.

2012, 𝖫𝗈𝗇𝖽𝗈𝗇, 𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝖠𝗋𝗌𝖾𝗇𝖺��� 𝖥𝗈𝗈𝗍𝖻𝖺𝗅𝗅 𝖢𝗅𝗎𝖻 𝖸𝗈𝗎𝗍𝗁 𝖠𝖼𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗆𝗒

Age 14

“Good job girls, practice is done for the day. Go home and rest alright?”- your coach smiled at the young girls as they ran off towards the locker room. Hanging back a bit you took your time getting to the changing room.

Entering you were met with one of the taller girls on the team, a red head. Her name was Grace and she really had it out for you. “You could’ve passed more today.”

A few of the others looked up from their own chatter, now paying attention to what was about to go down in front of them.

“You weren’t open, you can’t expect me to pass to a player that’s clearly being marked.”- you answered her with an unimpressed look, this wasn’t the first time she came for you.

“Oh shut it Manu, we both know it’s only because of your huge ego.”- she seethed her palms pressing onto your shoulders as she tried to shove you back, but you didn't budge.

Raising an eyebrow at her, a small smirk made itself present on your face.

“That’s all you can do? Come on, I thought you wanted that ball.”- you commented with a smug look. Out of the corner of your eye you saw the short blonde girl stand up about to intervene before this would go the wrong way, but you gently shook your head. She sat back down with a worried look on her face. 

Focusing back on the redhead in front of you, you barely dodged her hit as her fist grazed your cheek. A collective intake of breath was heard throughout the locker room as she tried again, this time you ducked before hitting your elbow to the back of her knee. You watched as her knee buckled and she fell on her bum. Deciding that you’ve had enough, you made your way out of the locker room.

It was half an hour after practice, all of the girls had been picked up already. You sat against the wall as you seemed to zone out staring at the ball in your hands. The sound of boots hitting the ground woke you out of your trance, looking up at your coach as he exhaled.

“Has she not come yet?”- you shook your head at his question, though you thought the answer was obvious enough. - “I’ll be back in 15 minutes, if you’re still here I’m taking you home myself.”

With that you stood up making your way back onto the pitch which by now was lit up by the big lights. Fooling around with the ball at your feet, you already knew you would have to walk home alone.

Entering the apartment you shrugged your coat off as you chucked your training bag onto your bed. Making your way into the living room you spotted her figure hunched over what you assumed to be paperwork.

“Where were you? My practice ended an hour ago.”- you asked her, rightfully upset as she barely acknowledged you.- “You were supposed to pick me up.”

“You’re here now, aren’t you?” - you scoffed at that.- “Eat whatever you find and then go to your room, I’ve got work to do.”

“Diane failed to act like a mother, I could count on one hand the amount of times she’s cared enough to show up for her daughter.”- your academy coach spoke as he looked back on those times. He sat in front of a maroon background as he scratched his chin.- “I’m glad Rio had the academy, she had us and we supported her through everything.”

You felt a few of the girls glance towards your way, Lucy squeezed your shoulder as she sensed your discomfort.

2014, 𝖩𝗎𝗇𝖾 6, 𝖤𝗇𝗀𝗅𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖶𝗈𝗆𝖾𝗇’𝗌 𝖭𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇𝖺𝗅 𝖥𝗈𝗈𝗍𝖻𝖺𝗅𝗅 𝖳𝖾𝖺𝗆

Age 16

“We both made our debut for the national team in 2014. She was one hell of a player, I think that’s why many didn’t like her at first. Even when we were younger and in the academy, if she wasn’t looking for trouble, trouble found her. People always looked down on her. And then she’d step out onto the field and prove them wrong.”- Leah Williamson spoke as she chuckled at the childhood memories you shared.

A few videos were shown of your debut, your first goals and first assists for the national team.

The girls’ eyes widened as one of the clips showed you jumping over a defender trying to slide tackle you, the ball held firmly between your ankles before you landed at the other side of her and ran towards the goal. 

2016, 𝖴𝗇𝗂𝗍𝖾𝖽 𝖪𝗂𝗇𝗀𝖽𝗈𝗆

Age 18

Hey Rio, why are you still here”- a young Leah Williamson appeared on the screen. You were still in your training gear as you smiled at her sheepishly.

“Well..you know.”- you pulled your lips into a tight smile.

“She didn’t come to the game?”

“She doesn’t come to any of them, never has, said she’s got more important things to do”-you looked at the blonde with a confused expression she dragged you towards the stands where her mother and brother stood.

“Rio sweety, come here.”- her mother wrapped you up in a hug as you reached over and ruffled Jacob’s hair who only groaned at your actions. - “Come on, you’re having dinner over at ours.”

You and Leah grinned as you swung an arm around each other, walking out the stadium.

Behind you Leah smiled fondly at the memories grabbing ahold of your hand as you reached it out to her and squeezed it.

2017, 𝖲𝗉𝖺𝗂𝗇, 𝖥𝗎𝗍𝖻𝗈𝗅 𝖢𝗅𝗎𝖻 𝖡𝖺𝗋𝖼𝖾𝗅𝗈𝗇𝖺 𝖥𝖾𝗆𝖾𝗇í

Age 19

“I met Rio this year actually. She amazed us all right in her first training session. We quickly became friends, because we both were the rookies of the team.”- Maria Leon, Mapi laughed into the camera. - “She’s got this amazing personality too. I remember this one time -it was actually when she got her nickname- I remember she scored a banger of a goal with an assist from me and I was so happy I just ran through her legs and lifted her onto my neck”- she laughed out loud, her voice fading as the clip played on the screen, both of your younger selves laughing loudly at each other as someone - you assumed Leila Ouhabi- filmed the two of you, laughing along before speaking up.- “And there goes Barca’s bird”

2020, 𝖲𝗉𝖺𝗂𝗇, 𝖥𝗎𝗍𝖻𝗈𝗅 𝖢𝗅𝗎𝖻 𝖡𝖺𝗋𝖼𝖾𝗅𝗈𝗇𝖺 𝖥𝖾𝗆𝖾𝗇í

Age 22

“What was your favorite goal of the season so far?”- the interviewer asked you in a post match interview, your hair still damp with sweat and a bit out of breath.

“That absolute rocket I just scored!”- you exclaimed happily, adrenaline still coursing through your veins from the win as you pointed your thumb behind you to the pitch. The rest of your team was seen dancing around and celebrating.

“How does it feel to score a winning goal in the Copa de la Reina?”- she asked you as you bounced on the balls of your feet.

“Absolutely fucking amazing!”- you screamed into the camera as you got up close. The camera man and the interviewer laughed out loud as you got swept off your feet and onto the shoulders of your captain.

Mapi ran up behind you as you were seen waving at the camera while Alexia walked you back to your team to celebrate with you. - “That bicycle kick was one for the history books!”

“Bar-celo-na’s li-ttle bird, Rio,Rio! Our goal scoring hero,hero!”- your chants were screamed by the fans in the stadium.

Watching your bicycle kick being played on the screen a sense of pride filled your chest again as you heard not only the fans in the stadium screaming for you but your national team mates sitting around you as well, a few of them leaning over to pat you on the head or shoulders.

 It definitely was still one of your favorite goals.

2021, 𝖡𝖺𝗋𝖼𝖾𝗅𝗈𝗇𝖺, 𝖲𝗉𝖺𝗂𝗇

Age 23

Another interview was shown on the screen. It was one with a few of your Barcelona teammates, some of your trophies laid out on the ground.

“OH, MIS BEBÉS!”- you shouted as you hugged the two Ballon D’ors close to you. Alexia and Jenni laughed loudly at you as you grinned back at them.

“Those are definitely her favorite trophies.”- Alexia turned towards the camera.

“Are you kidding me? They’d be my favorite trophies too.”- Jenni jokes.

“Don’t worry Jenni, you’ll get your own.”

2022, 𝖴𝖤𝖥𝖠 𝖤𝗎𝗋𝗈𝗉𝖾𝖺𝗇 𝖶𝗈𝗆𝖾𝗇’𝗌 𝖥𝗈𝗈𝗍𝖻𝖺𝗅𝗅 𝖢𝗁𝖺𝗆𝗉𝗂𝗈𝗇𝗌𝗁𝗂𝗉

Age 24

England vs Germany

“Germany has always been a great threat to any country they’ve played against. Today the England Lionesses face them at home grounds, at Wembley Stadium.” - the commentators were heard as your team lined up for the anthems.

“Yeah I think this team has really shown just how good they are. They’ve got great quality and obviously a good mix of experienced and inexperienced players. Every single one of them has great potential, and you know, working together and cooperating, the sky has no limits, this team has no limits and hopefully we get to show that to the world at the final match.”- Sarina Weigman spoke at the press conference.

Dropping to your knees you allowed the tears to fall freely as the final whistle was blown. Looking up at the sky you placed a kiss on your pointer finger before pointing upwards.

Soon you felt a body colliding with you, Leah’s familiar blonde hair clouding your sight as the two of you hugged.

“We fucking did it!”- she all but sobbed, holding you tighter by the back of your head. You laughed in glee, pulling back you wiped her tears.

“We fucking did! My captain, my Leah, we did it!” - you told her proudly as her tears kept flowing down her face. Pulling her up you gave her another squeeze before she sent you towards Lucy.

Falling into the arms of who you considered to be your big sister she spun you around before inviting you to slide into the confetti pooling on the pitch.

2022, 𝖲𝖾𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗆𝖻𝖾𝗋 21, 𝖴𝗇𝗂𝗍𝖾𝖽 𝖪𝗂𝗇𝗀𝖽𝗈𝗆

“Who do you think you can thank your success to?”- you were asked. Leaning back in your chair you briefly glanced at the dark blue background behind you.

“I’d rather answer another question first.”- you lightly laughed as the person behind the camera nodded.

“What do you think your greatest trait as a player is?”

“Hmm, I’d have to say my drive to succeed for not only myself but for the club, the country and most importantly my teammates.”- you answered with a thoughtful look on your face.

“Oh it’s definitely her passion for the sport. I have met many great players, myself being one of them, she’s one of the players with the greatest passion towards football. I really do admire that about her.”- Lucy answered halfheartedly in a separate interview, sitting in front of the blue background.

“The strength she has, not only as a player but as a person as well. Her mother sort of..abandoning her…in some sense, obviously hurt her a lot, it would hurt anyone, but not everyone would be able to fight in spite of that. To continuously show up and prove others wrong.” - Alexia answered the same question with a sad smile on her face but a proud look by the end.

“Her love for the sport and for the people around her. She has such a loud and fun energy to her, on and off the pitch. She’s hard to forget.”- Leah smiled with a chuckle.

“Well I mean if nothing else works then she’s got a real good death stare. Like you can see the opposition back down from her…but most of the time I guess her skills are good enough”- Ella laughed as Allessia sent a jab at her ribs, laughing as well before answering. - “Yeah, she’s got it all.”

“Back to the first question, why do you think you succeed and continue to succeed in football?”

“My family.”- you answered, crossing your arms over your chest.

“Your family?”- she asked with a somewhat confused face.

“Yeah, it’s thanks to them that I’m still here. I’ve learnt everything from them and they continue to make me not only a better player but a better person as well.”- you smiled big with a light blush coating your cheeks.

“By family, do you mean your parents?”

“No, I mean I know my dad’s watching me from up there and I know he’s proud of me, that’s more than enough for me. But my family is my club team and national team. All 46 of them have my back and I have every single one of theirs.”- you answered truthfully. - “And I absolutely adore every one of them.”

The girls cheered as your biography ended, some with tearful looks on their faces, others with big smiles but all of them with a proud glint in their eyes. 

Your mother might have not cared enough, that redhead at the academy might have caused you more trouble than you would’ve liked and yeah, your abilities were definitely doubted by many at the start of your career, but you knew you were right where you belonged.

 In the arms of your teammates, your best friends and sisters. And when you’d be back for preseason at Barcelona, you’d be with the other half of your family. 

Football gave you a home.

[slippinmickeys]

Twenty questions for fanfic writers

I was tagged by @agent-troi and @randomfoggytiger Thanks for the tag, guys!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

53

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

712,000 exactly, which is sort of creepy?

3. What fandoms do you write for?

The X-Files mainly, though a million years ago I wrote two fics for JAG, and technically, I have a His Dark Materials fic (but it's an XF crossover)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The Mesas of Deuteronilus Mensae

Prompt Drabble Collection

The Annapolis Grant

Three Part Harmony

A Companion Unobtrusive

5. Do you respond to comments?

I try to! Comments are the only payment fanfic writers get, and it's an incredibly valuable and underrated currency. Fanfiction as a community is one of the most generous you'll find, and I'm incredibly proud to be a part of this particular one.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Oh man, probably La Comtesse de Saint-Germain.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

In this day and age I feel like we deal with enough shit, so I try to end most of my fics happily. I think A Gem-Like Flame probably has the most uplifting happy ending, but then, I'm a sports nerd.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I haven't yet.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Um, probably pretty vanilla het MSR. No shame.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I've only written one, but it turned out really well, I thought. It's an X-Files/His Dark Materials novella-length crossover that takes place in Lyra's world, pre-Lyra, called Out of the Little Grove.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Anyone who steals my fic is going to catch these hands.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, a couple of years ago someone asked if they could translate one of my fics to Russian. It's out there somewhere.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I jumped in and helped @monikafilefan get Five Years and a Lifetime over the line for a fic exchange a couple of years ago. A fun, collaborative experience, that was like 85% Monika. It's a great fic, check it out if you haven't!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Mulder & Scully are my OTP. Always and forever.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I'd love to finish Madam Scully's Spiritual Services, Inc., it's an AU where Scully works for her sister's Psychic Boutique while prepping for med school. Scully ends up being actually psychic and she helps newly minted FBI agent Fox Mulder solve a series of murders. I have it almost completely plotted (except for the nitty-gritty hard stuff), but I don't think I'll ever get it done, sadly. It's just too big a story to tackle with where I am in my life. Though I never say never.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I'm decent at dialogue, have a pretty firm grasp on plotting, and, I hope characterization.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

My character work is probably my weak spot, which is why I have so much fun writing fanfic--the character work is already done, I just get to play around a world where everybody already knows the characters.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

When I do it, I hope like hell that I'm doing it right. I think it's necessary for some stories and you just hope you're properly respecting a language you don't speak.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

The X-Files, in the year of our lord nineteen hundred and ninety eight.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

It's a toss up between Proof of Life, an AU where CNN conflict reporter Dana Scully is kidnapped and imprisoned with fellow kidnap victim and photojournalist Fox Mulder, and they, you know, fall in love. And North of Zero, a post-col novel where Mulder and Scully get William back and have to save the world. The one I totally pantsed (made up as I went along), and it came together like alchemy. I love that story. If you don't like AU, you'd like Proof of Life. If you don't like post-colonization stories, you'd like North of Zero. I don't always like everything I've written after I'm done writing it (a writer's life), but I'm incredibly proud of both of those fics.

Tagging @monikafilefan because she's already tagged, and anyone else who wants to do this!

[whoseafraidofliloleme]

𝐄𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝.

Summary: Kang YN was only in London to support her sister. Instead she finds love.

W/c: 4.3k 😂.

Genres/Tropes: Written One Shot. Regency au. Bridgerton au. Strangers to lovers. Love at first sight. Fluff. Comedy. I'm not the nicest to Eloise and I am not going to apologise for it.

Permanent Taglist: @honeyhuii @chirokookie @nyxtwixx @clar-iii @centheodd @prdxinvade @hiqhkey @junnniiieee07 @love-4-keum @acciomylove @sproutswonies @youkwim @kpoplover718 @anotherimaginesaccount @ashxxgyu @bubblytaetae @strwberrydinosaur @xiaoderrrr @shinkenprincess-oh

AN: This was supposed to be short and simple, a little fun one shot, Instead Im here with over 4,000 words. This has been a labour of love that I've spent the last week writing so feedback will be very appreciated please. Cause it's so long there's a read more 😂.

Enhypen Masterlist

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

You did not want to be here. This was only the first ball of the season, and you were already done with it all. The only reason you even agreed to come for this season was because you wanted to help Jennie unnie.

A new Duchess, somehow Jennie unnie had become a favourite of the Queen’s and for that reason, you had been roped into coming and helping her out. You didn’t hate that, you thought your brother-in-law, one Kim Namjoon, Duke of Kennington was pretty cool.

That’s a lie, when you first met the guy, you thought he was the biggest nerd ever. It didn’t surprise you in the slightest that your well read, always curious sister found her soulmate in a genius.

They were adorable from start of last season till now. However, what you didn’t want was for Jennie unnie to rope you into helping her for this new season. After the drama of last season, you just wanted to fade into obscurity.

But no, you were stuck at this ball, doing Jennie unnie’s bidding. Looking around and taking notes about what went well and didn’t at Lady Danbury’s ball so you can report to Jennie unnie of how she could make her ball the best on of this season.

The small reprieve was that you’d made friends with Penelope Featherington, who was a brilliant young lady, with wit and charm. You didn’t understand how she wasn’t married to some equally handsome and wealthy lord.

The gentlemen of the ton if you were being honest left much to be desired. These so-called gentlemen. You’d read Lady Whistledown and done your own research into the most popular of them.

You knew Penelope held a flame for the third Bridgerton son but really after what he’d said about her, you personally wouldn’t forgive him but from conversations with Penelope revealed, she was more than ready to forgive if there was a good reason.

Jennie unnie and you had worked hard to make Penelope shine this season, getting her out of the control of her horrible mother, was only the first step. Getting her wonderfully made dresses that suited her was the next. And now here at this ball, making use of your knowledge and your brother’s connections to get Penelope on the radar of the type of gentlemen who would be perfect for her.

You were proud to say that this plan of yours was working. Penelope was happily dancing with a Lord Justin Jeon and from the looks of it, he seemed quite taken with her.

“Miss YN, how is Jennie unnie and brother-in-law? Are they well, Namjoon hasn’t replied to my letters” You heard Mr Benedict Bridgerton. So busy in watching Penelope, you hadn’t seen him come and stand next to you with his younger sister Eloise.

“Unnie is great, Namjoon oppa hasn’t broken anything in quite a few days so all is well in their household. I don’t know why you are worried about your letters not being replied to when you seem to come and crash at my brother’s residence every day it would seem Mr Bridgerton” You replied, turning to give him a smile.

You did like Benedict Bridgerton, he was a good sort and a very good friend to your brother-in-law. What you didn’t like was his younger brother and sister who unfortunately was scowling, looking at Penelope dancing.

“The sister of last season’s diamond shouldn’t be standing on the outskirts of the ball, I say this dance is almost ending. Would you give me the pleasure of the next dance my lady?” Benedict said smiling at you. You couldn’t help but giggle at what he said.

He knew as well as you did that you didn’t enjoy dancing, you never had. Too many instances of having your foot stepped on by men and consequently broken feet because of them had led to you apprehension.

Thankfully you were saved from replying as Penelope and Lord Jeon returned to where you were standing. The bright smile Penelope was wearing had faded in seeing Eloise who from the looks of it was attempting to murder Penelope with her eyes.

The atmosphere had gone from jovial to tense, in a way even Lord Jeon could feel it. Seeing Eloise was seconds away from erupting on Penelope, you made the choice to lead her away, taking her arm without saying anything to the others around and took her towards the refreshments table.

You never got there however as you were bumped into by a gentleman. It seemed like he had been pushed by his friends as they were standing by watching with wide eyes and Penelope looked at you are wondering what your reaction was going to be.

The shock of being bumped into you faded in seconds as you realised that there was lemonade running down the front of your dress. You looked down at your ruined dress, it wasn’t a favourite of yours, but you were still mad, this gentlemen had ruined your dress. You looked up at him ready to shout at him, propriety be damned.

That’s when you noticed the group of gentlemen that had pushed this gentleman in your way. Viscount Park Jimin was laughing with his stupid friends. Not caring about the poor boy who was apologising to you, ignoring him and Penelope’s attempts at calming you down. You made your way to him.

Not expecting you to come to him, Jimin looked at you in shock as you stood in front of him in anger. Although he had expected your anger, he was hoping it would be aimed at the boy he sent to spill his drink on you. Then again, he did want your attention for a reason.

“Milord, you think you are so very funny but in reality, you are not funny and showing yourself to be a child” you said scathingly. This man, he did not deserve to be called a gentleman with how he acted, and you had been dealing with him since before Jennie unnie got married to Namjoon oppa. You didn’t know why he took so much joy out of making fun of you or teasing you.

“Oh, such words from such a pretty mouth, does your dear brother and sister know you have a tongue as sharp as knives” Jimin said, his eyes gleaning with amusement. Every interaction proved his hunch about you correct.

You were the perfect lady for his younger brother. Now all he had to do was get you to interact, fall in love and his younger brother would be set for life. Not to mention, he would get the acute joy of being the annoying older brother that Namjoon wasn’t in your life.

Not dignifying Jimin with an answer, you walked away and went back to Penelope. Telling her that the two of you were leaving.

At home, you ranted and raved to Jennie unnie and brother about how much Park Jimin got on your nerves. Namjoon oppa just laughed, knowing that Jimin only did it to get under your skin and he was testing to see if you were a good match for his younger brother.

Jennie unnie, played the part of sympathetic sister but inwardly thought it was quite good that you’d found your match in terms of arguing, bantering and messing around with.

A few days later, your small little family was having a picnic, you were telling Penelope about some of the shenanigans that came with Jennie unnie’s wedding. Things that never made it into Lady Whistledown.

Your sister stopped you to tell you about how you were having guests for dinner.

“Unnie why are you inviting that heathen of a man Viscount Park. Is it not bad enough that I must deal with him at all the balls, now you want me to have dinner with the man too” You whined. You knew Jimin liked to wind you up and it annoyed you to no end that he succeeded in annoying you. Being made to play nice at dinner was the last thing you wanted.

“My dear sister, we are meeting his younger brother, I haven’t seen Sunghoon since the lad went off to university, you’d like him you know, he’s a good sort” Namjoon oppa told you smiling at the way you refused to admit that despite all the annoying each other, You and Jimin did share a strong sibling bond.

“Well, if he’s anything like that man, I do not want to make his acquaintance” you said before turning to Penelope.

“Do you think if we just turn up at Lady Danbury’s for dinner tomorrow, she’ll kick us out?” you asked Penelope. Who laughed at the absurdity of your suggestion, of course Lady Danbury would kick you out for turning up uninvited.

Logically you knew this but it was nice making Penelope laugh, she had been sombre in the last few days since that unfortunate ball where you had lemonade thrown on you and in the time you went to confront Jimin.

Eloise Bridgerton had found Penelope and it was lucky that the second oldest Bridgerton daughter had left by the time you got there because by the way Penelope had looked, you already annoyed would’ve lashed out at her.

“Madame, I’d think you should meet me before judging me on my brothers’ atrocious manners” A voice you didn’t recognise remarked from behind you. Turning around you saw a beautiful man, with the most alluring brown eyes, his hair styled in the way most men styled their hair but it looked royal on him.

He wasn’t wearing anything extraordinary, but he looked fascinating. You had never cared for handsome men. They were dime a dozen in the London ton but there was something about this handsome gentleman, you wanted to know more about him.

A throat clearing, had you turning to look at your sworn enemy. Park Jimin was smirking at you. Why was he smirking, you still felt in a daze, you hadn’t recovered from gazing at the most handsome man you’d ever seen. It took you a few more seconds to blink and regain your mind.

That is when you made the connection. The reason Jimin was smirking at you, somehow this pest of a man was related to the most handsome man you’d just seen. This was horrible.

Jimin wanted to burst out laughing. You and Sunghoon had been staring at each other for much longer than should have been allowed. The way you both were gazing into each other’s eyes.

If Jimin believed, he would think this was love at first sight. His matchmaking skills were brilliant, last season he got Jennie and Namjoon hyung together and now this season he will get his brother and you together. Maybe with one son married, his mother will leave him alone about marriage.

Sunghoon couldn’t believe he was in the presence of a literal goddess. This lady, sitting with Namjoon hyung and who he presumed was Namjoon hyungs wife and Miss Penelope Featherington. She was the type of lady the poets wrote poems about, the type of beauty that caused wars. He had been blessed by the gods that this beautiful lady was gazing at him.

Sunghoon had been ready to snap at his Jimin hyung when he cleared his throat and took your attention away from him. But in looking at his hyung, he saw that self-satisfied look in his eye. Oh lord help him, his brother planned this. He had something up his sleeve.

In any other situation, Sunghoon would try to get out of whatever scheme his brother had cooked up. They generally didn’t end well for Sunghoon, it was either lectures from his mother or lectures from his father.

He hasn’t decided which was worse, his father’s disappointment or his mother’s exasperation at his antics. Even though he tried to explain that it was never his fault but no one believed him.

His hyung was an expert at getting out of trouble and making sure that Sunghoon got into it. However, in this case if it involved this beautiful lady, he would happily go along with his hyungs scheme. For once this scheme would be in his favour, he would get to reap the benefits of it.

“So, YN are you still unhappy about Jimin and his brother joining us for dinner” Jennie unnie teased. Glaring at her, you saw everyone looking at you are awaiting your reply. The temptation to get up and run was real but that was far from lady like behaviour. Thankfully you were saved from replying by a sudden unexpected summer storm.

The rain saved you and you would forever be grateful to that. The rain also gave you a wonderful view of handsome men in wet clothing. You knew Jennie unnie was admiring Namjoon oppa, Penelope was very openly looking at Jimin’s six pack that had become obvious with his shirt sticking to his chest. In that same vein, you were having the time of your life looking at Park Sunghoon, dripping wet.

Dinner that night was an interesting affair for the whole family. Jennie unnie, Namjoon oppa and Jimin were not even hiding the fact that they’re matchmaking scheme was working brilliantly. Penelope was amazed at how you went from a young lady that never blushed or cared for a gentlemen’s attention, was preening, swooning and smiling beautifully at Park Sunghoon.

Then again Park Sunghoon was acting the exact same way. Penelope had never seen a man prouder of himself for being the reason a lady smiled. It was adorable to see how enchanted with each other you both were.

Penelope had the privilege of seeing a love match being made right in front of her eyes. She’d seen the previous matches of Daphne and Anthony; it was known in the ton that Bridgerton’s only ever had love matches.

Penelope had even had a hand in helping these couples. Probably not in the best way but her whole point was to show a mirror to the ton of their hypocrisies. It made sense why Eloise hated her, most of the time Penelope hated herself for what she had done. Penelope shook her head, looking back at the sweet beginnings of a love she hoped would last a lifetime.

You couldn’t help yourself in how you kept glancing at Sunghoon. That felt new, he had given you leave to use his first name. It felt almost illegal to be able to say his first name. This man had come out of nowhere into your life and it was only the second meeting, first actual conversation and you wanted all his attention on you all the time.

You wanted to unravel all his secrets, know each and every thing about him. Stand by his side during the bad, horrible and absolutely dreadful times. You also wanted to be there during the good, happy and blissfully content times.

You didn’t believe in love at first sight but that is what it seemed to be happening here with you. You didn’t understand it, how did this man completely make you want to live a life as his wife when you barely knew each other.

“That is what courting is for dear sister, to get to know this man you want to spend your life with” You turned to Jennie unnie confused and then looked around the dining room, the men it seemed had gone into the smoking room, not that any of the men smoked but they were probably gossiping more than you ladies were. It wasn’t unheard for you to get so carried away in your own thoughts that you completely miss what is going on around you.

“Did I completely miss the end of dinner? Lord help me I’m making such a fool in front of Sunghoon” You cried appalled, this was just what you needed for your future husband to think that you were one of those ladies that spent more time wool gathering than actually doing lady like pursuits.

Namjoon once, the men were in his office. Turned to Sunghoon. He knew exactly what he wanted to say to his maybe not even maybe future brother in law. After tonight’s dinner it was only a matter of time before Sunghoon became a part of your small little family.

“Sunghoon it should go without saying that my priority is my sister. You have no doubt heard from your brother how dear she is to me. Therefore, I should let you know that you aren’t the only person to come enquiring about YNs hand, whether it be wanting to court her or bringing a proposal” Namjoon told Sunghoon and Jimin. Though he was sure that it didn’t mean anything as YN had told him her opinions of these various gentlemen and the simple fact that she didn’t like them enough to marry or be courted by them.

Jimin looked at Namjoon confused, this information was something Namjoon had kept from him, which was unfair of him. Jimin should be aware of how much competition his brother has. More importantly Jimin needs to know their names so he can tell them to back off from his future sister-in-law.

Sunghoon didn’t know how to react to the information presented to him. He was at war with himself about how to react with this information.

On the one hand there was jealousy and the other hand there as fear. He was jealous of the gentlemen that had shown interest in you already and the fear was what if you already had feelings for one of these gentlemen.

Which wasn’t an issue, he was willing to fight for you. If he had to show you that he was the perfect gentlemen for you then he will. This dinner only solidified his feelings for you and now he couldn’t wait to court you.

“Namjoon hyung, I will be asking YN to dance with me twice at the next ball and before I leave tonight, I’d like to ask for her hand in courting. Her opinion is first and foremost to me, even more than yours hyung” Sunghoon said. He knew that what he said was out there and that this might ruin his standing with Namjoon hyung. But it was important for Namjoon hyung to know where exactly he stood when it came to you.

“You want to court me? After the fool I’ve been making of myself in front of you” Sunghoon heard YN say from behind him. He turned to look at her, there she was standing behind him asking him the silliest question. Which solidified that he was falling in love with the right person for him.

“Madame, you have intrigued me from the beginning and the more I find out the more I want to sit with you and talk about every single thing in the world. Not just that but I hate balls, the fakeness of these events is tiring to say the least but with you, I want to go to every ball because it gives me the opportunity to dance with you, show off to the entire ton that I have the most beautiful lady on my arm” Sunghoon said, looking you straight in the eye. He was praying that this speech of his had endeared you to him, that he had a chance to win your love.

You didn’t know how to reply to him. This was something that you dreamed of. Finding the man of your dreams, who saw you and wanted to get to know you. This was unreal and you were so shocked that you just nodded to his question. You couldn’t wait to start this new adventure.

That night was spent staying up with Jennie unnie and Penelope giggling about the fact that you were now courting and you had a suitor.

Since Sunghoon had become your suitor. You didn’t have a dull day. Everyday there were flowers coming from Sunghoon. You didn’t know much about the language of flowers but Penelope took much pleasure in telling you all the meanings of the flowers Sunghoon was sending you.

It was getting to the point that Jennie unnie was giving the flowers away because she had run out of rooms to put the flowers in. With the flowers, Sunghoon would come calling, as early was allowed for men to come calling.

At some point, Namjoon oppa told Sunghoon to just come for breakfast. So, for the last few weeks you’d been having breakfast with Sunghoon. If Sunghoon couldn’t come in the morning, then he would come around in the afternoon to take you on promenades.

Every single ball that you both found yourselves at, Sunghoon was writing his name in your dance card. Making sure that he was dancing with you for your favourite dances.

If you were being honest, you knew you were in love with Sunghoon. How could you not fall in love with this gentleman that was doing all that he could to make you his. Every conversation that you had, the things that you kept on finding out about this man was making you fall deeper and deeper in love with him. You had confided in Jennie unnie and Penelope that if Sunghoon didn’t propose soon then you would be asking him to marry you. Unheard of for women to be the one asking but you were getting impatient and wanted to marry Sunghoon already.

Now it was halfway through the season, and you were having the time of your life being courted and falling in love with the gentleman courting you. Jennie Unnie’s ball was tonight, it was the marking of the halfway point of the season. It was crazy that you didn’t want to be a part of this season and now you were having so much fun that you didn’t want the season to end.

Your sister and brother-in-law were greeting people and you were around the ballroom making sure everything was going well there.

Penelope was going back and forth with you about the dinner table and kitchen. Making sure its all going perfectly. The Queen had already made her appearance, she seemed very happy with this ball.

She made a small speech and then left in a flamboyant manner fitting of a queen. She was also very interested in your courtship with Sunghoon. You were pretty sure she had told Jennie unnie that she would sponsor the wedding.

A hand on your arm made you turn to the person who touched you. Seeing that it was Sunghoon you smiled. He tilted his head towards the orchestra that were starting to play music for the waltz. Nodding your head, you let him lead you onto the dancing area. Holding you close, both of you danced. You thought it would be similar to your other dances. Neither of you were a fan of talking during dances so you enjoyed the silence when you danced. Just the music and Sunghoon holding you close were the only things that mattered.

“The last few months have been the most wonderful times of my life. Never have I been happier that I listened to Jimin hyung and came to London for the season. My life was boring and without colour before you Kang YN. You have brought fun, excitement and a whole rainbow into my life. I just have one question, will you do me the honour of being my wife?” Sunghoon said as you were dancing. You looked at him in shock. Did he just propose while you were dancing, had you just imagined that you didn’t know what just happened.

“Milady if you are going to reject me, please let me know” Sunghoon said as he walked with you from the dance floor to where you had been before standing with Penelope.

Turning to Sunghoon to give him his reply, you stopped. Just looked in his eyes, you both had a few conversations in those moments, unsaid words, things neither of you were brave enough to voice but could be conveyed through your eyes.

“Well after such an impassioned proposal, how can I say no.” You said to Sunghoon a little loudly. Knowing that all those around you were listening to this conversation. After hearing what you said, Jennie unnie came barrelling towards you and swept you into a hug. She was so happy for you. Namjoon oppa was happy you were happy, and it was so obvious how much Sunghoon loved you. Once your sister let go of you, Namjoon oppa gave you a short hug and let Penelope hug you tightly as well. After the hug, you saw Jimin smirking at you.

“I am not living with this man. Once we are married, your brother is not allowed in our home” You said to Sunghoon, that made both men laugh but Jimin stopped when he saw that you had a blank expression. You were being serious. Just as he was going to retort, you burst out laughing.

“Oh dear sister, you had me there. I was about to use my status to make sure I can visit my brother and new sister” Jimin said jokingly. He would never pull rank on you and Sunghoon. He would turn up regardless of your wishes anyway but you both knew that the teasing was your way of showing affection to each other.

“Well now we have to tell the Queen, shes very adamant that this wedding she sponsors ends better than the last one” Jennie unnie said. She was slightly put out that she wouldn’t get to plan your wedding like you had helped her.

But with the Queen footing the bill, you had to go with whatever she wanted. Although considering the Queen wanted this wedding to be a success, she may be more willing to let you sisters have the things you wanted at your wedding.

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

[birchbow]

Hey birch! Quick ask for your writing on POF. What do you like the most about your Kurloz and Gamzee? If you could pick a few favorite things or traits from the versions of them you created, what do you think those would be? It's ok if you skip, I just got curious. I love your epic clown sagaaa 🥰🥰

!!! :Oc oh huh! My favorite traits are almost always the ones that create friction--some of those are neutral but create drama and some of them are outright negative, lol. Short answer, PoF Gamzee's a reckless coward and PoF Kurloz is incredibly dangerous and proud over top of a deep well of insecurity. Long answer.....under the cut, lol.

The Gamzee I write is, and I say this with authorial love and tbh no moral judgment, kind of a coward. He's not scared of the same stuff as most of us would be, he's good at combat and he likes pain, but also he's hugely, deeply afraid--of lots of stuff, but especially being left behind, and that drives a ton of his characterization.

Being left/abandoned is a pretty returning theme for a reason! From the very first chapter, when Gamzee's internal monologue is basically, "Well, time for the thing that made me happy to Go Away again. Hopefully if I'm good and I wait well enough, it'll eventually come back." He's been captured on his first mission, is his family going to leave him to die? Karkat's cocooning, is he ever coming back? Kurloz is poisoned and the family is turning on him as a suspect, are they done with him forever? He's the lynchpin of the Cult of Flesh's heresy, are his gods going to turn their faces away from him?

And when he feels like he has been abandoned, he goes through cycles of rage and then retreating from the rage, because being angry is holy but being angry is bad and drives people away, but being angry feels right, but-- It drives him to be overly obliging, trying not to drive people away, and it pushes him to be vicious when somebody seems to be interfering with his grasp on the things he values. It makes him a very sweet guy who'd do just about anything for the people he cares about, and it makes him clingy and dependent and blindly devoted, and prone to lashing out when he feels like they don't care about him as much as he cares about them!

I identify with a lot of that as an author, but I also just feel like it dovetails pretty neatly into the scant amounts of canon characterization we get for Gamzee, so I find it very compelling to read/write!

-

As far as Kurloz goes, what I like most about him as a character is probably like...his pride? And (especially because this is a kinky sex fic) the shame that goes along with that.

On a very surface level, the concept of the Grand Highblood as a grumpy, proud old guy who's getting reluctantly dragged in the direction of a still terrible but less hemoist society is very funny to me. Make up a bigoted old man and then force him to knuckle under repeatedly to the people he's bigoted against. But also on a more-plot-less-humor level, a character who's made himself a very strict code of "this is what's expected of me and I will fulfill it no matter what it does to me" is RIPE for drama. Especially when the plot of the story is then giving that character something that suddenly he finds he values at least as much as that code and pride, and making him struggle with that.

The counterpoint to that being; it's fun to set up a character as a proud, badass, dangerous son of a bitch, and then give the POV/the readers a shot straight into the shit that he's hiding behind that "I'm untouchable, don't fuck with me" pride. Sadism, especially as extreme as I've written into Kurloz, can be an intimidating thing! On the surface it's part of the mask, part of the scary persona--but it's really compelling and interesting to me to then sidestep that mask and go into the roiling mess of sexual shame and religious guilt and uncertainty and self-loathing. MAN I love writing the Brother Immortal scenes, you guys.

[thephantomthiefneito]

ABOUT THE ADMIN!

I've realized I haven't spoken much about myself aside from my boundaries and guys know like nothing about me!! I know it's not required you know me when but I'm terrible at being dark and mysterious..

This is just gonna be random facts about me because I love to talk about myself

Basic Things To Know! +me yapping

⨳ I roleplay! I'm a literate/somewhat Novella roleplayer on discord. I can write most characters if I study them for a bit and I'm in the fandom but not Katsuki and Izuku for some reason.. I have written Katsuki before but I never know what to say. I kind of write the same things over and over again. It's sad and embarrassing. </3 I'm most confident in my portrayal of Iguro Obanai from demon slayer. He's my favorite character and I think I write him pretty well!

⨳ I'm an artist! Sometimes.. I do commissions but I consider myself a beginner artist. I can't draw hands or perspective well and I suck at anatomy. But I do have pieces that I'm proud of! I'm not linking them though because I don't feel like searching for them.

⨳ I love music! Since like elementary school, I've been heavily involved with music. I played the violin and I was first chair until the end up middle school! I haven't picked it up since then because quarantine kinda ruined it for me and I SUCK at tuning instruments so I ended up taking theatre in high school. When I get my violin tuned, I might start playing again. I haven't stopped loving music though. I have two guitars (That I have no desire to play) and I'm kind of obsessed with the drums. I got out of classical music and really want to be in a band. I also really want to share my music taste.

BOOM playlist link

I kinda JUST made that playlist because I usually just listen to playlist based on their music genre but I didn't want to link all those playlists!!

⨳ I'm 16! Turning 17 this year! I'm also aroacespec I'm not sharing my name on this blog because that's not really important and I can't see any reason you'd need to refer to me out of character. But if there is a case, then you can call me Z. Also for pronouns, just use he/him because I'm roleplaying Monoma. I'd prefer if you didn't use they/them pronouns on me unless you're talking about me and other people! Grin!

⨳ My favorite characters are Aoyama, Monoma, Touya, and Jirou!

⨳ I LOVE KAREOKE! I used to go to this karaoke place ALL THE TIME with my friends and it was like the best place ever!! I don't think they do karaoke anymore which is SO SAD!!! But I'll manage.. (6 months without karaoke has really taken a toll on me/j)

⨳ I have a really silly jester doll. his name is ugly and I got him from a thrift store

He's my bestfriend. Be nice to him ⨳ I prefer fruit candies over chocolate ones! ⨳ Apparently I have a southern accent? I didn't notice it until a few weeks ago and I brought it up to my friend and they were like "No yeah you do have one" and I was like WHATTTT ⨳ I used to be REALLY into cosplaying on tiktok but then I kind of lost interest in it.. I want to start doing it again but tbh I don't really know if it's my thing,, I cosplayed from JJBA and it was SO fun. The lines for the makeup was my favorite thing to do. Of course, I didn't have costumes or wigs for any of the characters I cosplayed. The only character I did relatively well on was Ermes because I had boxbraids in 😭. People were like "You're literally Ermes irl!" Because I'm lightskinned with boxbraids cosplaying a character that's lightskinned with boxbraids and I thought that was really silly. I want to cosplay her again because that was one of my favorites. I would share the cosplay but I'm not really up for sharing my face on here yet or at all LOL ⨳ OC writing is one of my favorite things to do. I actually have a huge story for an OC named Seiko Yamakawa who's a my hero OC. I referenced his story in the roleplay sample I posted XD I wrote him with one of my friends and we're designing a whole class for our OCS. Their story is set a good few years after the events of MHA and I'm hoping one day I feel the urge to write it and post it online so other people can see our hard work. I have a lot of OCS I want to post on here but I'm a slow artist and would have to make a bunch of refs for them because I like for their information to be complete. I have an OC that I'm considering making a roleplay blog for. He's the first MHA OC That I remember making after quarantine (All the ones I made back them are not to be spoken of..

⨳ IBS tummy ache survivor.. I'm just like Hinata Shoyo

OKAY I don't know what else I could possibly put here without doxxing my whole family/j SO I guess that's the end of my rambling!! I really just wanted to talk about myself and I would have done it on my main blog I just really didn't want to...

I was debating writing this because I really want to be one of those super mysterious blogs that people are like "Wow! they're so in character! This is literally the real Neito Monoma!" But I've already spoken so much out of character and I can't keep my mouth shut for the life of me (Yes I can that was a lie.)

anywayz hi guys!!

this is gonna be linked on my pinned post btw like most of everything else is

[seiya-starsniper]

20 questions for fic writers!

TRIPLE TAG THREAT from my faves @arialerendeair @bazzybelle and @honeyteacakes, I love you guys so so so much!!!!! 💖💖💖

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

I have 36 in total published, a whole bunch more in drafts!

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

167,076 which is crazy when you consider 146,736 are just from THIS YEAR

3. What fandoms do you write for?

The Sandman, currently! I have a couple of WIPs for other fandoms but I just haven't gotten around to them.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Dreams for a Dozen Cats - 527 kudos A Dream for a Viscount - 513 kudos and if I get burned, at least we were electrified - 504 kudos Wake Up & Smell The Flowers - 457 kudos Let's conspire to ignite - 397 kudos

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do! I've been bad about it lately, but I love responding because I absolutely adore the dynamic of being able to communicate with my readers. It's just a tiring exercise and I have to be really in the mood to do it! But I absolutely love and adore every comment I receive 💖💖💖

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

A sweet dream - it's the only one where I've used the tag Main Character Death! The ending is quite hopeful, but the death is in fact permanent, take care if you choose to read it!

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Hnnnnnnngh I have absolutely no fucking idea because they almost all have really happy endings! That's like asking me to pick a favorite child. Honestly though, if you want sappy and sexy romance throughout an entire fic with literally zero conflict, then my happiest ending is probably A Dream for a Viscount. If you want ANGST ANGST ANGST with a massive payoff and a lot of hurt/comfort leading up to a soft ending, my happiest ending is the one in and if I get burned, at least we were electrified

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not on AO3! In my ff.net days though, whew lordy the salt was strong whenever I wrote somebody's NOTP and dared to publish it. Those were some interesting days.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Well, seeing as I am a mod for @monsterfucktoberbingo....I think you can probably guess what type of smut I write LMAO. I do write quite a bit of omegaverse too just to spice things up 😄

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I have! Back in my ff.net days, my teenage self LIVED on the high school fandom crossover fic. I shall never return to those days ever again, but I had a good time. I also recently wrote this Dreamling/SnowBaz crossover for my beloved @bazzybelle💖💖💖

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge! I never really participated in fandoms where fic stealing was common thankfully.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I have! I have absolutely no idea what site it ended up on, but I've had my fics translated into Russian and Chinese.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not in a really long time! When I was a teen, I used to RP characters with my friends as a writing exercise, and then that would turn into a fic! I also absolutely LOVED the round robin fic culture back in the old livejournal days. (can you tell I'm dating myself heavily lmao)

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

00Q hands down. I'm still reading old favorites to this day. Although, I will admit Dreamling is a pretty damn close second considering *gestures vaguely(

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Oh lord, I have quite a few, published and unpublished. Most of my published unfinished WIPs are just rotting on ff.net and I've made my peace with them. Unpublished WIPs...I have quite a few SamBucky fics that never made it out of drafts and I'm really sad about that because I really loved that ship at one point :(

16. What are your writing strengths?

I have a few I'm pretty proud of: - Succinctness: I can tell a whole story in under 10k words. One-shots are my bread and butter. - Angst: Do you want to cry? I'll make you cry and wring your soul out with no regrets. - Fluff: On the opposite end of the spectrum, if you want to feel soft and like you're snuggling with a cloud, I can do that for you too. Fluff is such a delight to write, because I like to feel good, and I love making others feel good too 💖 - Dialogue: I love writing dialogue. It's such a delight to try and figure what a character would say when placed in ~situations~

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Whew lordy, here we goooooooooooo: - Longfic/Multichapter fics: I can and have written longer fics, but it's highly demotivating for me. I am struggling so hard to finish my multi-chapter fics right now, it's a nightmare. I'll get there, but... - Descriptions: I AM SO BAD AT MAKING SETTINGS AND DESCRIBING HOW PEOPLE LOOK. I'm sure some people will disagree with me, but I some days I truly hate my inability to describe things the way I want to, or the way I've seen other people be able to. It is a thing I am working on, for sure, I know it's just a matter of practice. - WIP hell: I start and stop things at the drop of a hat. Rest in pieces to all my ideas stuck in partially written states - Plot Summaries: I can write a whole thing and be utterly unable to give you a plot summary. Save me hahahahaha

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I LOVE IT. It's not for me since I only speak English, but I love coming across it in fic.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Yu-Gi-Oh!

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

...heh. I thought this was gonna be harder but it's definitely and if I get burned, at least we were electrified. This fic dragged me out of lurking in fandom to full on writing and participating again. It's my most canon-adjacent fic. It's got angst and action and feelings. It has tentacle sex. It has the Corinthian being indulged within an inch of his life. This fic is a love letter to myself, it the reason I am here, in sandman fandom, writing as much as I am. Is it my best written story out of all my fics? No, it was my first fic after a long writing hiatus and while I consider it a well written piece, I also like to think my writing quality has increased since I first wrote it. But it is my favorite fic, for all the reasons above, and for the sheer joy it brought into my life then, and in the subsequent months after.

Tagging: @valiantstarlights @five-and-dimes @chaosheadspace @ironwoman359 @silver-dream89 @rosaren2498 @bruce-wayne-simp @acedragontype and whoever else wants to do it!

[bombingqueen]

Season 2 and 3: The Winchester's and the Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Demon Deals

Season 2 rating: 9/10

Best episodes from S2: Simon Said, RoadKill, and AHBL I & II

Worst episode: Hollywood Babylon (Just boring)

Season 3 rating 6/10

Best Episodes from S3: No Rest for the Wicked and The Kids Are Alright

Worst episode: Red Sky at Morning (just boring)

Sterling K. Brown is amazing his role as Gordon Walker is great.

I wish the special children plot line lasted longer. I believe so much more could have been done with them.

Ellen and Jo are not the best written characters on a re-watch. I liked them first time but not anymore.

Love episodes with 'human' monsters

Law enforcement episodes are some of my favorites

Dean doesn't have the best mental health in season 1 but in season 2 and 3 he has really started to derail. Couldn't keep his father save and he might lose his brother to an undetermined future.

Sam does stupid shit when he is emotional especially when Dean is involved.

Bella Talbot is a Boss Bitch. I like her more this time around.

Ava is adorable even if she turns into a little serial killer. "I just helped steal some dead guy's confidential files! I'm awesome"

I want to know the story behind 'funky town' Did happen before Sam went to Stanford or when he started hunting with Dean again?

Honestly, Gordon acting like Dean wasn't gonna hunt his ass down for murdering Sam is hilarious

Sam always blames himself for situations out of his control. Makes me sad.

I'm pretty sure that the hotel in Playthings is an Antebellum home.

2.12 Everytime I watch Nightshifter, I can only think of this:

2.12 Dean is such a simple man :" I like him. He says okey-dokey." What a fuckin dork. I love him.

2.12 Sam is so exasperated and bitchy this episode

2.12 Victor Henriksen was short-lived. Would've have been nice for the boys to have an ally in the feds.

2.12 The ending is amazing

Sam continues to believed that he can't be saved

Jared Padalecki is amazing and terrifying in 2.14 Born Under a Bad Sign

2.14 Demons really be trying to make the boys divorce

2.14 The Jo scene is so uncomfortable and the actors did amazing job of portraying it

2.14 I literally read a fanfic where Dean was in the place of Jo. It was some good shit not gonna lie

2.14 I'm pretty sure Meg was shocked that Dean would literally help his brother get away with murder. What's one more crime?

2.14 I have to give it to Meg. She was really trying to get Dean to turn against Sam and kill him. Hell, if she stopped possessing Sam after using his body to kill Dean, Sam would have embraced his dark destiny

Poor Sam. Dean knows what Madison meant to him in more ways than one

Wish we saw more of the lawyer and Deacon from 2.19 Folsom Prison Blues

2.19 Dean having fun in prison and fitting is so well is such a vibe. Sam's being disturbed by it was amusing.

2.20 Even in a world where they were never hunters, Dean still becomes an alcoholic

2.20 Wincest fics having DJINN are my favorite. Good shit right there

2.20 Dean wants Sam to be happy but not at the expense of losing their relationship with one another. Bruh, that shit is depressing.

Aww! Sam is Azazel's favorite

Andy is me in AHBL

Sam flexing his leadership skills in cold oak. Feel like a proud momma

Sam's first death hits hard. The relief on his face when he sees Dean coming for him. The last thing before death he sees is Dean allowing him to let go safely. And Dean just holding onto his world with desperation as his soul dies along with Sam.

Sam finding out about Dean's deal is heartbreaking. He was taken from his brother by a demon, finds out about his demon, he was killed violently, and then he is resurrected only to find out his brother sold his soul. Poor Sammy.

I forgot how shocking Sam's descent into savagery is. Blood thirsty little giant. Don't blame him though. I would be pissed off to if I was stabbed in the back literally and metaphorically

John really climbed out of the bowels of hell, saved his boys, and yeeted to Heaven

Dean becoming catatonic after Sam's death is so sad; his entire world just ended. Family may not end in blood but he is sole survivor of his own blood

Jensen Ackles flexing his acting chops with his emotional scenes begging for his brother to be okay and then having a monologue over his corpse is so fuckin good. Makes me cry everytime.

Demons calling Sam the Boy King or any alternative will never not be cool but it will continue to be funny

I like episodes involving their childhood and baby Dean tried so hard for Sammy

I actually didn't care for blond Ruby the first time I watch the series but I like her more during the re-watch. She is awesome and snarky

As much as I like Bella, she is fuckin dumb for stealing the colt like what the hell man. She reaped what she sowed right there

I used to find mystery spot funny but is more depressing than anything. Sam was barely holding on to his sanity and his moral compass was derailing fast

The way Dean begins to become more unhinged as his deal grows closer made my heart hurt

Lilith poked a goddam bear torturing and killing Dean in front of Sam's face. Gotta give her props; she had fuckin balls considering Sam's future. Guess Lucy didn't give her the memo or just didn't care since he was stuck in the cage. Having Sam Winchester on your ass is probably worse than facing Dean. Unhinged Sammy is somethin else

[emeritus-fuckers]

okay well these look fun and im kind of curious while at the same time i think Maybe i have a vague idea of who it'll be

(i'm a serial papa simp but i'm open to the ghouls if one of them fits better ^^)

there are a few cardinal truths about me and those are generally Stoner and Horny, i smoke weed religiously (i vape actually) and i have a very high libido despite being aceflux. i tend to fluctuate between introverted and extroverted, sometimes i'm the quiet one in the corner and other times i'm vying for the center of attention, yk? i either need to be reined in or enabled

Your match is young Nihil

He is very horny, pretty much all of the time.

Once you’ve explained aceflux to him (cause he can be a little slow to understand things), he is really understanding.

If you need to be enabled he is your guy. He totally goes with it.

He loves watching you be the center of attention, this man adores attention so he just joins in.

Reining you in might be a bit harder for him.

But he looks out for you. He’ll always pull you back if you really need it.

He is more than happy to smoke with you.

He also gets a little giggly, and then he tries to serenade you by playing his saxophone.

But then he'll settle down and lazily strum an acoustic guitar. Often he'll start singing too. It creates a very chilled vibe and it sounds amazing.

He’s happy to stay in when you are feeling introverted.

If you are in an outgoing mood, he’ll take you to some of the coolest parties.

He's been learning mixology, so if you do go out with him, he'll insist on making all the drinks himself.

He names a cocktail after you, its the one he thinks has turned out the best. He's very proud of it and when you taste it you can see why.

When you tell him how much you loved it he grins and says. "The cocktail still doesn't taste as good as you."

~

This post is a part of Match-up Event. The Event ended on July 15th.

Written by Nyx

[imhereforscm]

YOUR ICHTHYS x DUI STORY GAVE ME AN IDEA. Well, it's an idea that's been in my head for a while, but you made it come back, so I'll share it with your amazing self because I want your opinions on these two!! Because seeing early Ikky and Dui put me in a pretty gay, pre-MC mood. ☺️

So, similar idea, but with Zyglavis and Scorpio when Scorpio first ascended to godhood. ✨ I'm just imagining the King handing off Scorpio to Zyglavis like "This is yours now. Fix it." Because really, Scorpio doesn't know how to be his own person; he was raised following orders like a puppet and now Zyglavis suddenly has to teach this new god how to be a god.

And Zyglavis is obviously much kinder than those nasty humans he was with so Scorpio is low-key clingy and protective of Zyglavis. (I feel like that's where his rivalry with Leon comes from... One day, Leon was provoking Zyglavis into another fight and Scorpio jumped in like the guard dog that he is; at first, the little human-turned-god amused Leon but things always escalate quickly between those two.) It doesn't help that literally all of the gods are biased against Scorpio for being human but he's so hyperfixated on beoming a better god for Zyglavis that he doesn't notice all the human slander.

Then Scorpio feels oddly possessive over everything Zyglavis 'owns', that includes the Department of Punishments(hell if he's gonna let some loud-mouth lion slander Zyg's department~).

But also... Punishing humans?? PuNiShiNg tHoSE FiLthY CrEaTuREs?? Count him in!!!

So after displaying a large amount of loyalty and dedication to Zyglavis to the Department of Punishments, the King decides Scorpio can be Zyglavis' vice-minister. And no one understands why, this guy's literally been here for two months and doesn't understand that gods don't need to sleep.

But... Yeah, amidst all of this, Scorpio developed a tight-knit relationship with Zyglavis. ✨ And I saw you were taking requests and I want your unrestrained opinion and thoughts!!!! Pretty please with all of Dui's cherries on top! 🍒

OMG THIS IS TAKING EVERYTHING IN ME NOT TO JUST DO A ✨KEYSMASH✨ AND ADD MEMES, BECAUSE IT'S SO GOOD.😭💝 (I'm trying my best to communicate like a normal goldfish human here, lol)

I CAN ACTUALLY SEE THIS. IT'S SO WELL THOUGHT OUT!! AAHH OMG THE TALENT!!

(Also, just a little detail I have thought of which you most likely already have too. Scorpio would probably be a bit wary about making mistakes at first, because he would think that just like in his human life, Zyglavis or the king or something, will torture him for his mistakes and stuff. So when Zyglavis reacts kindly, he'd get an emotion and he'd be like- "huh??? Da fuck is that??? A heart attack???" Not knowing he's experiencing a feel🤧)

Also that's a hella good thought on how Scorpio's and Leon's rivalry came into being. I was actually questioning that some months ago, but I hadn't thought of anything. SO YEAH, I FEEL LIKE YOUR IDEA IS THE ANSWER TO ALL OF MY QUESTIONS!🌸🌷

My unrestrained opinion is that: this thought is wonderfully thought out and the emotional depth you've added, puts the cherry on top! At least for a while, because when Dui spots it, you bet it'll descent into his belly.

The relationships of the gods (whether they're romantic or those of friends) are so precious!!! 😭😭💝💝💝💖💖💖 Like- they're so cute and AAHH I WANNA HUG EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM AND CONGRATULATE THEM FOR BEING SO WELL WRITTEN

You: "What happened to the cherry?"

Dui: *rubs his belly with a proud smile*