#Jeez I mean he is ONLY FIFTEEN

[boyfhee]

⋆ NOW WE DATE ! · psh

CHAPTER SEVEN · ruin our friendship

SYNOPSIS · everyone knew you were sunghoon's biggest fan— or so you claimed to be— it didn't take a scientist to guess after your nonstop gushing about him during enhypen's debut. now, they didn't know you found him 'so babygirl' not until you accidentally tweeted it on your main.

warnings · food mentions + written part under the cut ( 1.02k )

the weverse live went smoother than expected. 

well, it’s not like you had been anticipating some sort of commotion or whatsoever, but you did expect random bouts of awkwardness every ten to fifteen minutes because first, both you and sunghoon lie slightly towards the introvert side of the myers-briggs type indicator; and second, you both are aware of everything that has went down between the two of you in past two to three days. moreover, being awkward is natural when you’re meeting someone for the first time— which is not exactly true because you did meet sunghoon at the backstage of music bank from nine months ago when iris and enhypen were promoting their respective albums, but if greeting each other in hallways counts as meeting people then you probably have already met three-fourth of the industry. 

“i kind of imagined you as someone who prefers vanilla or something, instead of chocolate,” and you certainly didn’t expect sunghoon to take you out of ice cream just three hours before midnight. 

“i like all the flavours but nothing tops chocolate,” you say before eating another spoonful from your cup. “i even did a commercial for melona as a kid, although it’s not chocolate. you can still find it on youtube, i guess,” singing wasn’t really your forte, unlike acting. you’ve had quite an active childhood from the ‘job’ point of you, for you always had a few commercial shoots here and there every few months. your career as an actress didn’t blow up until after you had debuted in iris. even as a childhood actress, you only had minor to second lead roles except one in ‘crushed,’ which accounts for your first main role and also is the drama that brought you into the spotlight before debut. 

you feel sunghoon smile as he unlocks his phone to switch to another playlist— it’s for both of you since one of his’ airpods is with you and listening to music while having ice cream sounds like a perfect date, as friends, of course. though, you’d be lying if you claim your heart didn’t do a little something when sunghoon offered you his airpods. “why did you ask me to get ice cream with you, though?” 

“i just wanted to spend some time with you,” a pause. you stop on your way, albeit a few steps ahead of him, turning around to look at sunghoon’s flustered face that was adorned by the dim streetlights. a series of silence follows, a string of fluttering gazes along with heartbeats that could be heard clearly if they get any louder. before you could say anything, sunghoon stuffs his phone back into his pocket out of panic. “wait— don’t get me wrong. i mean, you’re cool and fun to be around so, you know— please don’t misunderstand,” 

and a soft chuckle falls off your lips. “jeez, hoon, you’re all good,”

the comforting silence never leaves, it’s rather amusing to the two of you. considering everything that has happened so far, from your silly tweet to him assuming you’re dating jaemin and everything that he ends up blabbering in front of you, anyone would end up getting awkward. fortunately, that isn’t the case for him. perhaps, the heavens are on his side, and maybe that is all he needs to muster up the courage to say his next words. “to be completely honest, ice cream was an excuse because i was sort of hoping we’d get to know each other better,” 

“yeah, i’d love that,” your voice isn’t much louder than a whisper, but you know your words reached him anyway. the smile dancing on his face holds numerous tales, if one could notice closely. “by the way, you still didn’t tell me the thing that could potentially ruin our friendship,” 

“i did, didn’t i? i texted you,” 

“and you want me to believe that?” you scoff, remembering his response. even if it was supposed to be a coverup, you did find yourself too stunned to react at that moment. “i mean, i won’t judge you for the things you like to be called and all, but we both know what you said back then was a lie,” 

another pause, another session of silence trailing around along with the slight tension lingering in the air. you look at sunghoon and he’s looking anywhere but at you. one second, his eyes are on the ground. the next, they’re traversing places with his lips pressed into a thin line. it’s when you realise how difficult it is to read his expression, an exasperated sigh falls off his lips. “okay, i think i’m being annoying, so i won’t force you, even though i’m—”

“you’re not annoying. also, i don’t think i’m ready to tell you so wait for me till then, and i promise i’ll tell you when the right time comes,” and it’s embarrassing how easily his words can fluster you. “besides, i don’t want to ruin our friendship yet,” even if you think you have a faint idea of what he might be hiding, you’d dare not get ahead of yourself because at the end of day, you and sunghoon are just friends. sure, you do like him a little more than friends but you’re almost convinced that it’s just a silly little celebrity crush. it’s not the first time you’re fawning over a celebrity, even if it’s your first time being so crazily interested in someone, but you like to think it’s a stage between strangers and friends, and nothing more. 

“oh, by the way, um, there’s ice cream on your lips,” he points the corner of his mouth with his index finger, hoping it would give you an idea, but when you miss the spot after a couple of attempts, assorting to your phone’s front camera to get a clearer look, sunghoon finds himself taking the tissue from your hand, proceeding to wipe the ice cream off your lips himself, completely and terribly unable to hide the blush on his cheeks. and the moment you tried to tell yourself that you aren’t in love, is when you realised you already were. 

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n : need me a sunghoon, like rn .... also visgenes...visions + engene....iris and vision? yk u see w ur iris and ability to see is vision do u see the vision here bc that's the best i could come up with

[rottenblur]

Study break|J.MILLER| part four

Summary: After that intense brunch date with the Millers, Joel had been ignoring you. What better way to get your mind off him than to get drunk and make out with a stranger. Would you do it again if you knew you were gonna get caught?

Warnings: Alcohol, implied thigh riding, making out with a stranger, getting caught hehehe, jealous! Joel, thigh touching by said stranger, weed, truck sex, reader fails to give joel road head, over the clothes touching (reader to joel) crossfaded reader. Smut MOST SMUT IVE WROTE FOR THIS SERIES, joel fighting some guy for you, angry!joel unprotected sex (use a condom plz) violence for like two seconds

“You’re a lethal fuck baby.”

Three long, fucking cruel days of Joel ignoring you, he set you in place and just expected you to be okay with being high and dry.

You responded to his text, he read it and didn’t respond. He makes breakfast every morning, not even glancing at you once.

A fucking asshole. It was infuriating, you keep messaging him hoping he will respond but, nope he leaves you on delivered, as if you aren’t living in the same house.

You pass him in the hallways late at night when you can’t sleep, yet he never responds more than a “hm” to your desperate “hey”.

On a late Saturday night, you and Sarah are laying around, scrolling through your phones till she gets a notification.

“Hey..you wanna go to a party?”

You look over to her, turning off your phone.

Honestly, anything to forget Joel was a good idea in your books. Didn’t matter at what cost, or where… with who.

“Yeah..i guess” You replied.

Her face lights up and she almost mauls you, pulling you into the tightest hug you’ve ever felt.

“REALLY??? My baby is growing up so fast, she kisses your forehead.

“I dont have any party clothes tho, Wore my only dress yesterday.” You pull her off of you to look at her.

She looks at you, gets up and walks over to her closet.

“Are you fucking kidding me, I got everything you could ever want in here.”

You sigh, walk over and start looking through her dresses. None in sight that are even close to knee length.

I mean what’s better to get over a guy by getting drunk in a slutty outfit, and fucking a stranger?

You and Sarah both decide on a outfit, yours a purple mini dress with rhinestone straps that glimmer in the light.

Sarah’s a flowy floral, white dress, honestly she would look like a angel if it wasn’t so short.

“Jeez Sarah I look more like a slut than you do, that’s new.” You say as you both admire each other in a body length mirror.

You spend the next fifteen minutes listening to music and doing your makeup.

When you both look like you should be working a street corner, officially you’re ready to go to a shitty frat party.

You and Sarah grab your phones and head down stairs. Joel and tommy are leaning on the kitchen island looking over some blue prints with a beer in hand.

“We are going to a party so don’t wait up.” She smiles and gives them a twirl showing off her outfit, they both smile then both of their gazes fall on you.

They are staring at you like you’re their prey. Fucking devouring you with their eyes.

Joel’s eyes fall on the hem of your dress, falling just above mid thigh, he furrows his brows and adverts his gaze.

“Yeah alright, text me if you need a ride.” He practically mumbles then tommy pipes in.

“Shit Sarah you’ve converted her.” He laughs and sips his beer.

“Oh shut up, she’s the one that wanted to go.” Sarah says while shoving on a pair of heels.

You look at Joel to see his reaction, it for sure wasn’t a happy one. “Thanks for the ride offer, Mr. Miller.” You wanted it to hurt. When you bend over to pick up your shoes, you made god damn sure he saw your dress ride up revealing the black lace of your panties.

You can hear a grunt as you slip on your shoes and stand back up, rolling your eyes when his catch yours.

You shut the door behind you and you’re off.

Arriving at the party, groups of people are gathered on the lawn. The music is so loud you can hear it from the sidewalk, what the fuck. What the fuck were you doing at a college frat party with Sarah, willingly.

You brush away your shame and step inside. Guys with bass pro hats, covering a horrible mullet. Dressed head to toe in carhartt, the cherry on top is the timberland boots.

Every single god damn one of them looked the same, then one catches your eye.

A guy dressed head to toe in black, other than a green flannel, fucking perfect. He looked like he was only here for the free liquor, probably was best friends with one of these yee haw mother fuckers as a kid.

The only possible reason you could imagine why he would be here, a fucking frat.

You search the liquor table for something other than white claws or bud light, a bottle of jack daniel’s catching your eye, bingo. You grab the bottle screwing the cap open and taking a sip, you wipe your mouth.

A tap on your shoulder makes you turn around, it wasn’t Sarah, she was long gone talking to one of her boy toys.

It was a tall, mullet bass pro wearing mother fucker. Jesus you didn’t have time nor patience for them tonight.

“Hey girl, you can’t just take the whole-“

You flip him off and walk towards your target boy toy. If he was in a band, you’d gladly be his groupie.

Another swig of whiskey to calm your nerves and you’re strutting over to him. He’s perched on a large window sill nursing a cigarette, a bong laid carefully by his feet. Probably the only stoner in here.

You approach him and think of the easiest way to pick up a conversation, got it.

“Hey, can i bum one off ya’?” He looks away from the open window and smiles at you. “For sure, cutie.” He reaches into his pocket pulling out a pack of marlbaro golds and offers it to you.

You take one, putting it between your lips. He sits up, making room for you, you sit down next to him.

He leans in, lighting your cigarette with his. You inhale, pulling away and exhaling the smoke.

“You aren’t one of those frat girls are you?” You laugh at his comment, shaking your head and inhaling once again.

“Nah, my friend dragged me here.”

A lie, but he doesn’t know any better. Saying that you actually wanted to come to this stupid party would do you no good to a guy like this.

He puts the cigarette between his lips, and shifts to pick up the bong.

“You want some? It’s some quad shit really good.” He pulls out a bag from his flannel, packing about a half ounce of weed in it. I mean, fuck it.

You nod your head, picking up the whiskey bottle chugging a good amount and passing it to him, he declines. “What’s your name anyways?”

He takes a nug out, grinds it onto his hand, pitches it and puts it into the bowl.

“Tyler.” He lights the bowl filled to the top with purple and green weed, inhaling till the weed goes through, he pulls out the bowl and inhales the smoke.

A slight cough into his sleeve and he’s passing the bong to you. You take a swig of liquid courage, not that you needed it at all.

The music is slurred, the only features you can make out on his face is his long black hair, his dark brown eyes and a eyebrow piercing. God imagine if his name mattered, if you would even remember it tomorrow.

You pinch the remaining bits of bud, putting it into the bowl. He looks to you, putting out his cigarette onto the hardwood floor. You’re sure the frat DEFINITELY loves this guy.

You take one last drag of your cigarette, passing it to him and taking his lighter.

“How’d you get invited to this anyways, you don’t look like a frat asshole.” You point to his outfit.

He lights the bowl, you inhale. “Yeah i sell some of these assholes shitty overpriced weed.” He laughs, you finish the bowl and set the bong down, he takes a slow drag off your cigarette.

What he said hits you, so does the weed. You bust out laughing, so hard you start coughing.

“I only give pretty girls like you the good shit.”

Oh shit. Mixing the amount of whiskey you had plus the weed was a bad idea. At least you weren’t thinking about Joel.

“Fuck, you’re too sweet, too hot.” You slur.

He passes back the cigarette to you, everything was so calm. You almost forgot where you were for a second, you were fucked up.

You take a drag off the cigarette, throwing it onto the floor, stomping it with your shoe. He smiles at you, then leans in, dodging your lips and going straight for your neck.

He kisses up and down your neck, sucking every couple kisses, he dips down where your dress falls. Right on your tits. He shoves a hand in your dress dancing around your inner thigh, you let out a whimper when his thumb grazes your clit.

Fuck was it the alcohol or was it hot in here.

Then you remember exactly why you don’t drink, your stomach turns upside down. You pull his head away from your neck, smiling to him.

“Hey, I’ll be right back.”

He smiles and nods, picking up the bong as you walk away, stumble away would be more realistic.

You take the bottle with you, running up the crowded stairs and search for a bathroom.

A open door, no one occupying it with a quickie either, bingo. You walk in, pulling out your phone searching through your contacts with blurry vision.

You take a sip, sit yourself on the floor as the phone beeps. To your surprise, they answered.

“Hey, what’s up.” You can hear the mumbles of tv in the background.

You look at your phone, fuck. You swore you called Tommy, not fucking Joel.

It was late too, he was staying up to pick you and Sarah up, such a sweetheart wait no you’re mad at him, what a fucking dick.

“Fuck i meant to call Tommy mm b-“ He cuts you off before you can finish your slurred words.

“Nah, he’s asleep I’m all ya get. Sarah ready too? You sound pretty fuckin’ ready.” He states, did you ready sound that bad?

You sigh and take a gulp of liquor, setting the bottle on the floor and answer. “Yeahhh I dont know where she is, pretty sure she’s with a guy-“ You pick the bottle back up, taking another sip. “Call her yourself bro” You say giggling at your words.

You can almost picture his face when you said that, fingers pinched on his nose bridge, furrowed brows.

“Bro? Who the fuck are you talkin’ to darlin’? I’m leavin now.”

He hangs up the phone, you shove your phone back into your bag, take one last sip of your bottle and head back downstairs.

You’re on top of whatever his name was, you’d already forgotten. Too drunk to have shame, too high to care who it was.

You can feel how hard he was, kissing him was basically just teeth and spit.

You were desperate for each other. If you got up now there would be a wet spot on his black jeans, from you or him, No one knows. Your hips uncontrollably rub against him, your dress riding up for the whole fucking party to see.

You hear your name be called faintly through the pounding of loud music and talking. Then a tap on your shoulder from a rough large hand, oh fuck.

You turn your head to look, your face met with a broad chest in a black t shirt, you look up. Fuck.

“C’mon time to go.” He’s fucking fuming.

Tyler pulls your face back for another kiss, you’re lifted off him like you don’t weigh shit.

“The fuck is this? Your dad or something?” He remarks.

Joel laughs. “What are you 19 or something? Fucking kid.” He mumbles, You stumble aside. Joel steps towards him, tyler stands up, boner and pre cum stain for everyone to see.

“Who the fuck are you old man?” He spits out and goes to grab your arm.

Joel hits him, he falls back with a bloody nose. Probably broken. He was a skinny alternative boy and Joel was you know Joel.

“Wanna try to touch her again?” He picks him up by his collar, you’re frozen in spot. It was kinda hot, him fighting some guy for you.

“Jesus man are you her fucking boyfriend or something, she came onto me. Guess your old ass can’t hit it right.” He should have just left it alone.

“Hey, shut the fu-“ Joel looks at you and before you could finish your sentence, Tyler was on the floor with a fucked up face. You could hear the crunch of his bones against Joel’s strong fist.

Joel grabs your arm and starts pulling you out of the party. “What the fuck was that, Joel seriously?”

He looks at you, adjusts your dress and pulls you towards his truck. “I fuckin’ told you darlin’.”

He picks you up, putting you into the passenger seat, buckling your seat belt and slamming the door. “Told me-“ He walks over to the driver side and hops in.

“What the fuck did you tell me? That bullshit with Tommy?”

He doesn’t say anything, just starts driving. You huff to yourself and take off your shoes.

You get to a stop light, he looks at you. “Yeah, wasn’t bullshit. So much for being mine right?” His grip on the steering wheel tightened, was it Tyler or were you soaking fucking wet over how angry Joel was right now.

“You were fucking ignoring me, you think I don’t want you? Even now.”

He looks at you and the light turns green.

“I was ignoring you ‘cause—“ He looks away, his knuckles white against the black leather of the wheel. “-I can’t fucking control myself no more.” He sighs.

He looks back to you, looking you up and down.

“God did you have to dress so slutty?” His hips rut up, you had him exactly where you wanted him, or at least where drunk you wanted him.

You blush, reaching your hand to the growing bluge in his grey sweatpants, showing you everything you could ever want to see.

His breath hitches. “Fuck, you’re drunk.”

You smile at him and start rubbing him through his pants, he looks down.

A dark wet spot grows on his pants, god he was perfect.

“Darlin’ I can’t drive if you keep doing that.”

You nod and pull his dick out of his pants, his tip was angry and leaking. You thumb his tip, dragging the pre cum down his length pulling a groan out of him.

He looks at you, you unbuckle your seatbelt and adjust in your seat, leaning over to him. You spit on his tip and force him down your throat.

“Fuck- Jesus.” He grunts out.

You bob your head up and down trying to take him all in your mouth, working the rest with your hands, you can feel the car speeding up.

When you feel him about to cum down your throat, he pulls you off and parks the car. You look around, you’re at the bottom of his street, thank god it was too late for anyone to be awake.

“Look we can’t—“ he cuts himself off, looking at your dripping mouth, your dripping cunt peeking out from your dress.

“-Fuck it, come ‘ere.” He adjusts his seat, making room for you, leaning back his seat slightly. Your first time with Joel fucking Miller was gonna be in his truck.

You climb onto his lap, straddling him. He looks at you, reaches down and rubs your clit through your panties.

“Look at ya, all fuckin’ soaked for me” He pushes your panties to the side, pulling you up and notching his tip to your slit. Your breath hitches and you look at him with furrowed brows.

He leans in connecting your lips with his, then pushes his tip into you with a grunt. He disconnects your lips with a sigh. “You’re such a tease.” He grabs your face, making you look at him as he thrusts all the way in you, splitting you apart.

“Fuck—you’re too big.” You shut your eyes, working through the stretch of him.

“Look at me baby.” He fucks into you without remorse, a steady pace with no mercy.

You can feel him in your stomach, he pulls you back into a kiss. You’re moaning into his mouth and his balls are slapping onto your ass such a filthy sound.

He reaches his hand down, oh fuck. Was it the alcohol or could you come right fucking now.

“Oh fuck Joel—mm like that” You mumble into his mouth, he’s fucking you dumb. His fingers find the perfect pace bringing you to your orgasm.

He pulls away from the kiss looking at you with those beautiful, soft brown eyes, and scrunched up face. “Shit darlin’, wanna feel you cum all ‘round this dick.” He groans as his hips pick up a unbearable pace, his tip kissing your cervix with each stroke.

You whimper, and with a nod from him you’re coming fully undone around him, fucking you through your high.

“Fuck you’re squeezing my dick so fuckin’ good.” When you’re coming down from your high, pulsing all around him, his face relaxes and he pulls out. Pulling up your dress, jerking himself till thick white ropes pour all over your lower stomach and clit.

“Jesus.” Is all you can breathe out.

He kisses your forehead, and looks you up and down, blush covered cheeks, sticky white ropes now ruining Sarah’s dress and your panties.

He was out of breath, he looked more fucked than you. You ruffle his hair and climb off him.

“So what are we gonna do now?” You say looking over at him as he pulls up his pants, He looks at you in bliss.

“We do it again. You’re a lethal fuck baby.”

Taglist: @paleidiot @slvbl

(Comment to be added to taglist)

Masterlist: here

Part three: here

Part five: coming soon..

AN: probably wouldn’t have finished this if SOMEONE ( @slvbl ) DIDNT BULLY ME INTO IT. I hope y’all enjoy this. The smut is kinda short but ANGY joel MAKES ME HAPPY. I named tyler after a guy that ghosted me on tinder LITTLE DID HE KNOW HE WOULD BE GETTING BEAT UP IN MY FIC MWAHAHAHAH lmk how yall feel bout this part yall need to get into my inbox i need inspiration 😘

[fiction-box]

Hello! I would like to request F!Reader x Felix

It is the Winter Ball. One of them is weary of the dancing, the crowds and the merriment and decides to take refuge in the Training Grounds - only to find that the other had the exact same idea. They decide to do something that's more fun than dancing - a sparring match. Bonus points if reader is wearing a fancy gown the whole time.

Whenever your time allows - thank you in advance!

You are very welcome, and I would like to thank you for being respectful of my time.

I seem to be on a roll with these longer stories. I don't know why - more ideas just keep pouring into my head, and of course I want to do every conflict justice.

Thank you for giving me freedom with perspective! I wanted to write something from the view of Felix since I had yet to truly write for him.

Requests are open. The story will continue under the cut.

You stood by yourself on the sidelines of the great hall, your purple dress sparkling against the downward lighting of the chandeliers. There was nothing particularly interesting about you right now; you simply surveyed the dancers on the checkered floor. Dimitri led Mercedes through an elegant twirl, Ingrid talked Ashe through the steps of the waltz, Annette and Sylvain engaged in a heated discussion over something that probably wouldn’t matter in about fifteen minutes…

…and Felix was staring at you.

The swordsman had refused to do any more than the bare minimum for the ball. That meant that despite his suit - one required by the Archbishop’s insipid dress code - his hair remained up off his neck, and his back pressed against the wall.

Dorothea had been making eyes at him from across the room for the past three minutes now. Felix told himself that was the reason he kept staring at you. If he and the songstress never made eye contact, she wouldn’t do anything stupid. Besides, she didn’t seem interested in asking anyone to dance; the brunette would only be accepting such invitations tonight.

Why the hell did he even care?

He didn’t, but he followed your line of sight to Dimitri. The boar switched partners to lead Hilda around the floor, an exchange initiated by the up-tempo of the cello and Mercedes’ apparent request for a break.

Why the hell did you even care?

…did you-?

“Jeez Felix, you’re so obvious.”

Sylvain.

“Trying to find the courage to ask her to dance?” the redhead teased. “I could help you out, you know. I’ve heard I’m an excellent wingman.”

“Do I look like I’m interested in moving right now? And since when have you ever helped anyone but yourself?”

“Ouch. I mean, you’re certainly not helping yourself- your suit coat will get wrinkled if you keep leaning against the wall like that.”

“As if I care!” Felix pushed off the wall to contest Sylvain at his full height. He did care. “There’s no point in this - we shouldn’t even be having a ball right now.”

“No- No- No- Hey look, no sweat, okay?” Sylvain verbally backpedaled, putting an arm around his friend’s shoulder to guide him toward the refreshments. Subtly, he ran his hand along the wrinkles of his coat to smooth them out as they walked, “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, but soirées like these don’t happen very often.”

“So?”

“So, you have just as good a reason to be here as everyone else in this room. You can wait however long you want before asking anyone you want to dance, but it’s pretty frowned upon to return to a party once you leave, you know?”

The heir of Gautier knew him too well. Nonetheless, he did make a good point. There was no need to rush to be flustered - he probably had an hour before the final dance of the night.

A drink found his hand, and the two nobles took up a space several paces away from the table. Felix couldn’t stop his eyes from searching for your shimmering gown.

You were still standing alone, still watching the dancers.

At least your eyes weren’t fixed on the boar this time. The son of Count Gloucester glided a blue-haired lady across the floor, her dress trumpeting as he gracefully led her back and forth. Your attention followed their sweeping motions.

Maybe you really did just want to dance.

His classmate’s hand came to rest on his shoulder again, “I’m just saying, you hate to see it, Felix. A beautiful girl like that, standing all by herself. You better make a move before someone else does - or before I take too much pity on her and ask her myself.”

He had called you a girl, “Stay away from her.”

“I’ll put in a good word for you, kay?”

But he headed the opposite direction. The bluenette watched him connect with a pouting Dorothea, immediately starting some banter he was sure he couldn’t care less about.

Felix found himself growing impatient, despite everything his friend said moments ago. If he was going to do this, he might as well get it over with now. That way the two of you would either get as much time as possible to spend together, or he could end his attendance at this event because the one reason for which he cared to stay wanted nothing to do with him.

Only, there was no place to put his drink.

Since you were standing by the southern entrance, and he loitered near the drinks at the western wall, you could see him out of your peripheral. That meant you could catch him too easily if he were to look at you again. Not that it wasn’t already considered rude to stare.

Taking a sip of the cool, vanilla drink, his mind began to think it through a bit. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to make eye contact. It would give him an excuse to approach you.

And another thing - although you hadn’t been alone the whole ball, you hadn’t been approached by any men, either. Even working to put his bias out of the way, you were objectively attractive. It didn’t-

Goddess, and you belonged to a house in the kingdom, too. A young, available, attractive noblewoman standing by herself at - judging the crowd - the largest social event of the season.

A mumbled ‘What the hell…?’ parted his lips as he surveyed the room again. He might actually understand Sylvain, for once. Logically, this whole scenario didn’t connect.

Finally finishing his drink and handing off the glass, he found it in himself to turn to face you.

You were not there.

His heart skipped a beat before his gaze scanned the dance floor for your dress, your hair, anything. Upon coming up empty, his mind shoved one thought to the front of his mind.

You left the ball.

Again, why? There were too many important people here for you to just up and leave. You hadn’t tried to mingle this whole time, content with simply watching everyone else twirl about the floor. Then, the moment he became too preoccupied with his drink and with Sylvain to pay attention, you vanished.

In light of recent events, it looked like Felix was about to copy you.

With no further reason to stay, he tried not to make a show of striding to the southern entrance. The last thing he wanted was for someone to chase him out or call him back in, especially if that person had red hair or…or connections to the Mittelfrank Opera Company.

His feet instinctively wound the path to the training grounds. He needed to blow off some steam and get out of his head so he could get some proper rest tonight. Even so, if his mind wouldn’t relent, he would work his body so hard that he’d sleep as soon as he finished bathing himself.

Music trailed him, but it couldn’t compete with the creak of the doors to the training grounds. Once the door shut behind him, Felix was well and truly alone. The notes of the orchestral violins couldn’t penetrate the thick wood and metal, and no one else had any reason to come here tonight.

Still, his actions quickly caught up with him. What was he doing here? Why did it feel like he was running away?

Get a grip.

He wasn’t running away, he just wasn’t wasting time, either. Heading to the rack, Felix grabbed a steel sword. It didn’t matter which one, so long as it was heavy.

The sand of the center pit caved beneath his feet. There was no need for a training dummy to warm up. Routinely, Felix swung the sword over his head. His arms needed to be steady even while his attacks retained momentum and strength.

…10…11…12…

Any time a thought of the ball wormed its way into his head, Felix would shove it out. No point in dwelling on his failure to act - the two of you were far too young for anything serious to happen. No need to worry about Sylvain finding you - after what he said earlier, there was no way he would leave all the other ladies in that room for the one he knew Felix was interested in. He knew Sylvain that well, at least.

…57…58…59…

Why the hell wasn’t this working? Usually he could focus on this. This one thing that belonged to him, that he had done endlessly before that insufferable ball, and that he would continue to endlessly pursue after it. His training should belong to him! This was supposed to be how he grounded himself.

Felix was having a very difficult nig-

The doors to the entrance groaned, a delicate piano solo floating in through the opening as the moonlight guided a figure into the facility.

Upon recognition of the shimmer of your gown, the swordsman lowered the weapon from above his head.

…82…?

Thoughtful of the ongoing formal, you pivoted around the door, slowly and mindfully closing it in an apparent attempt to make as little noise as possible. Finally, you exhaled and turned to the center of the grounds.

“Oh- I- Sorry! Sorry, I’ll go.”

But your eyes hadn’t adjusted to the light of the torches from the darkness outside, so your eyelashes fluttered as you reached past the door.

“No need,” Felix frowned. “You chose to come here, I don’t own the place.”

“Wait, Felix?” you marveled, turning back around only to blink against the light again. “I didn’t recognize you. I thought you were someone on maintenance.”

What. “What kind of maintenance staff wears a suit?”

“I didn’t get a good look, okay?” you defended, your eyes finally staying open and guiding you to where he currently stood.

Being this close to you now…it felt strange. Your makeup had been expertly applied, supposedly with help from Mercedes and Annette, the tailoring of your dress was much more obvious…

“But why are you here? You’re dressed for the ball, and I remember seeing you when I walked in.”

“You first,” he countered. “What did you think you were going to accomplish here in an evening gown?”

That caught you off guard. Your eyes found a spot on the ground beside you before trailing to the wall.

“I don’t know. I didn’t really have a plan. I’m not even sure why I’m here - I just feel like I’m supposed to be.”

His eyes narrowed, “What, are you trying to trick me into thinking this was fated or something?”

Your gaze drew back to him, confusion etched across your face.

“What?”

“Sylvain must have said something to you then, is that it?”

But you only looked more lost than you did before, “I’m sorry, I don’t follow. Sylvain and I haven’t spoken since…” your line of sight shifted above his head and slightly to the side, “…two days ago…? Professor Byleth puts us on stable duty every few days.”

The bluenette’s knuckles turned white as he clenched the hilt of his sword. Sylvain never said anything about this. Felix had no clue you were spending so much time together.

“Forget it,” he insisted, “you’re here, so we might as well do something productive. Spar with me.”

“In an evening gown? You practically said it yourself, I can’t do anything wearing this.”

Goddess save him, he did not know how to handle this situation. In terms of guiding the conversation, he did not think this through. There didn't seem to be a way for him to keep changing the subject or coming up with an idea for you to stay here, either.

All his defense mechanisms were failing, and he was becoming frustrated.

“Okay, your turn,” you crossed your arms, saving him for a moment. “Why did you leave the ball to come here?”

“There wasn’t a reason for me to stay, anymore.”

Some of the light in your eyes dimmed, just enough for him to catch it happening. Just enough to make him wonder why.

“Hang on,” he recovered, “you know I left to come here.”

“That’s not a question,” you affirmed.

“But you didn’t leave to come here. So why weren’t you at the ball?”

Your brows furrowed slightly, “I was at the ball-“

“No, you left before I did,” he asserted. “What were you doing in the time before you arrived here?”

Perhaps he was revealing too much. It shouldn’t matter anyway, and a normal person wouldn’t care this much. Even so, if you wanted to say you were just “called to be here”, he could reasonably contest that any information was up for grabs.

The way you stared at him had a way of making his neck warm. It was like you thought the answers were hidden in his eyes, your gaze focused as you supposedly retraced your night.

“Well, I did leave the ball for a little bit…” you recalled slowly.

After allowing you a moment, he pressed a bit, “Why?”

“Oh- Well, um…I needed to use the ladies’ room? At least, that’s the only other time I can remember leaving.”

The ladies’ room…?

Goddess, he was such a fool.

It was his turn to turn his head to the side, “I see.”

If his eyes could have burned the sand, the whole pit would be glass right now. 

His thoughts were quickly interrupted. Out of the corner of his eye, Felix noticed you slipping off your shoes.

“What are you doing?”

“Well,” you started, kicking the raised flats to the side before picking up a training lance from where someone had discarded it, “this dress doesn’t have sleeves, and I figured that if I took my shoes off, it would be easier to move. The slit up my leg should keep me mobile enough, so long as I don’t have to run.”

Damn, you were actually going to do this.

You lowered into a fighting stance upon returning to the pit opposite him. A smile lighting up your face.

“The sand feels so weird. It makes me wonder if this is what the beach feels like.”

But the two of you lived in Faerghus your whole lives, so he couldn’t tell you.

“Don’t think I’ll go easy on you just because you’re dressed differently.”

“Right, then let’s get started.”

You looked prepared to assume the defensive position; a smart move, considering that too much movement might mean you would slip on the long fabric of your clothing.

Felix far from opposed. He was used to being the offense, anyway.

Placing one foot in front of the other, he crossed the grounds and held his sword up to strike. Quick and easy - the point would go to him before you could even-

Your eyes widened, “Felix, wait! Don’t-!”

He hadn’t registered your words fast enough to stop himself. Intuitively, you held your lance up to defend yourself, and that’s when Felix realized what you were so worried about.

The weapon he was using wasn’t meant for sparring.

Breaking above your head, the wooden pole of your lance gave in. Felix stumbled forward, fighting for his balance as you rolled to the side in an attempt to protect your head.

He hissed, cursing himself for making such an amateur (and deadly) mistake, “Damn, my bad.”

“Goddess,” he heard you breathe, your eyes wide from your position on the ground, “I thought I was about to die.”

That was a thought. His eagerness to train and avoid an awkward encounter with you nearly...well, it wouldn’t have been pretty.

Leaving you to get yourself up, he moved to trade the steel sword for a wooden one. The noble also elected to take off his blazer and leave it behind, giving his arms better range of motion.

Turning back around, he noticed you were still struggling to rise to your feet.

“Seriously? It can’t be that hard.”

But just watching you made him want to take it back. The sand had become uneven from when you dodged toward the ground, and your dress kept finding its way under your feet whenever you tried to stand. Whenever you pooled the fabric out of the way in one area, it only gathered in another to slide under you. Not to mention that after so much struggle, the yellow grains were all over your skin and gown. It looked uncomfortable, at best.

Frowning, Felix approached, “Hang on.”

With your consent, he placed his hands at your waist and lifted you to the point you could stand again. You thanked him, a light flush on your cheeks that he tried not to think too hard about.

“I’d say that was embarrassing,” you started, “but considering I very nearly earned a trip to Manuela a moment ago, I don’t think I should care.”

“Sorry about that.”

“Nothing bad came of it, so I don’t mind. Still, you should work on your etiquette.”

The swordsman raised a brow, “Excuse me?”

“You left me to fend for myself in the sand for two minutes while you went to exchange your sword and take off your coat. It’s like I’m not even here,” you teased, approaching the training racks. “And then not only did you prioritize your sword over helping me, but you couldn’t even grab me a new lance.”

“I’m here to fight, nothing else. If you have a problem with that, no one’s forcing you to stay.”

In all fairness, you were right. He was too wrapped up in being with you to register that he was about to hurt you, and then he was too worried about how he almost hurt you to remember to help you back up again.

Why was he so bad at this?

Thankfully, you seemed to ignore the more bitter parts of his previous statement and took it for what it was - a proposition to rematch.

You found your places opposite one another, preparing for a genuine spar. Felix watched you sink into your defensive position again, nodding to confirm you were ready. 

This time when he charged, his sword remained in a lower position. He wanted to slice upwards, reading your potential roll to the side while still being ready to follow up swiftly.

The moment he brought the sword up into you, you pivoted and thrust the lance forward. It would have technically impaled him, but you were courteous enough (and skilled enough) to angle the weapon so it slid against his side instead.

Felix halted the momentum of his arms, bringing them down slowly and preventing the hit he would have landed on you.

“That one goes to you.”

Switching sides with you, the second son ran his hand along his side. A warmup, nothing more. You wouldn’t go down easy, and neither would he.

You were once again prepared, and Felix signaled that the second round had begun, but he did not rush forward. If you wanted to hit him, you would need to put yourself at risk.

It didn’t take long for you to catch on, though you make a point to approach at a casual walk.

“Are you serious?”

“Are you? You think I’m foolish enough to run at you after I couldn’t stand on my own? If you wanted to go fast, you should have taken up offense again.”

Once you were close enough, you suddenly lunged twice and brought your lance down and across his body. Felix lept back before charging forward, but you came in with a block.

You held strong against his resistance, but your feet couldn’t find a proper stance thanks to your limited range of motion. He probably had your fear of slipping on the fabric again to thank, as well.

Deliberately, Felix stepped on your dress.

A gasp parted your lips as the heels of your feet slid forward. You fell backward only for Felix to step forward and catch you, one arm around your back, one hand holding his sword to your throat.

“Th-that’s not fair, and you know it,” you protested, breaths quickened from the adrenaline of almost falling.

“You chose to come fight in this. You think your opponent is going to care how you’re dressed?”

After a moment, you relented, “Fine, you win this one.”

Usually, Felix would be okay with the “whatever means necessary” ideology. When it came to you, however, it only worried him. Did he really need you to have a disadvantage for him to win?

He lowered you to the ground before picking you up again, presuming you would take longer to regain your footing if he left you on the sand. You were set upright on your feet at the solid edge of the pit.

As he reached the other side of the sands, he noted that you still looked bitter - probably about the last point. Perhaps that could work in his favor.

However, even after several seconds, the emotion in your eyes didn’t go away. You appeared almost…insulted?

In the back of his mind, he retraced his steps. You yielded the point how you normally would, and you weren’t a sore loser. You appeared more baffled than anything when he had tripped you…

Shit.

Felix had completely manhandled you out of the training area.

And that would explain why you were simultaneously glaring daggers into him and scanning him up and down.

“Don’t worry, I’ll attack this time,” the bluenette managed. In fear of being wrong and coming off egotistical, that was probably the best apology he could give right now.

“Whenever you’re ready.”

No, you were decidedly not happy.

He approached, trying to build as much momentum as possible before choosing to open with a block. If you were looking to parry an attack, he would be left with an opening. If you were looking to block him too, he would likely knock you to the ground and gain the point.

Maybe then he could offer to help you up properly.

No, he needed to stay focused. He was training right now, not apologizing.

Effectively distracted, neither of his plans came to fruition as you reached out and grabbed his cravat, pulling it down and causing him to run past you.

“Wh-!”

A dull stab at his back shoved him out of bounds, taking away any chance he had at regaining his balance. He tumbled to the ground.

“You’ve been impaled, that’s mine.”

He wanted to be mad, but he was more shocked than anything. After all, he could hardly complain after doing a similar thing to you last round.

A hand in his peripheral offered to help him to his feet. Accepting it, he rose, picking his sword up off the ground.

At least that seemed to get everything out of your system, “Maybe you were right, we can’t really accomplish anything serious while we’re dressed like this.”

“It’s not like we…”

A song loud enough to be heard from within the training ground bounced against the walls. It caught him off guard, especially since he hadn’t been able to hear any music since you closed the doors earlier. Whatever they were playing now, the whole orchestra was involved.

“The last dance already?” your head turned to the entrance, as well. “There’s no way…”

“Did you promise someone a dance?” he guessed.

“Something like that,” you worried. “I told Annette and Mercedes that I would be sure to dance with at least someone tonight after all they did for me. I…kind of got carried away watching earlier, and then I got scared I would forget the moves, and then I left to come here.”

He didn’t know what to say, but there was no way you could go back now. Sand covered your slightly tousled hair, your gown, and he was sure it found its way into your shoes. Your cheeks were still somewhat red from earlier, and…

It was all his fault. He even stepped on your gown without thinking.

Goddess, he really needed to start using his head.

Tossing his sword into the sand, Felix took the lance from your hands and threw it aside too. Swiftly, he retrieved your shoes and placed them in front of you.

“Felix, there’s no way…” but you slid them on anyway, “…and the song already began. It will be over by the time I get there.”

Face unreadable, your classmate extended a hand to you. “Do you think it would count if we started now?”

“Wait, what? You…want to dance with me?”

“If you don’t want me to be your partner after everything that’s happened tonight, I’ll understand-“

You took his hand, placing your own on his shoulder and facing him completely, “You lead. I’m still not certain how this one goes.”

It was a lie. It must have been. The moment the pair of you felt the music together, you were off. The strings followed a simple waltz - an accessible dance that even most commoners could perform. An obvious choice for the last dance of the night.

He knew his frame to be stiff, but it didn’t matter. Especially not when you were so blatantly stealing the hypothetical show, swaying and leaning back as the two of you spun gracefully around an invisible point on the ground. Your arms barely ghosted his own.

In a rare moment, he wished his dance partner were less aware, less experienced. He wanted you to lean on him so he could lead you through the dance, but he knew that was not in your nature.

You were charming, assured, and independent. The dance belonged to you, so much so that he felt like a mere prop. He supposed that was how it went in the theatres Sylvain had always dragged him to in the past. The women stole the spotlight while the men were evaluated on how good they could make their partners look.

There was no doubt. You deserved a better partner.

“Hey,” his voice was unsure. It had been several measures since he last used it. “I…you shouldn’t be dancing with me.”

“What are you talking about?” you smiled, coming back to his chest and resuming your normal posture.

“I mean you should be in the great hall, dancing with someone that would actually do you justice,” he suddenly didn’t want to face you. “I feel like I took that away from you. I spend all my time here working with a sword - my last dancing lesson ended when I was twelve.”

He stopped himself, spinning you away before he could say too much. This was about you. You had missed what could have been one of the biggest days of your life. He pulled you back in and met your eyes. Felix missed an event he already planned on skipping.

“...it’s nice. I prefer it. This way it’s just us.”

“Just us?” he hoped you couldn’t hear his heartbeat.

“Oh- I only mean- I don’t have to worry about anyone staring at me because I don’t know the steps or anything.”

It was beginning to make him angry, if only because it made no sense, “Why do you keep saying that?”

You were caught off guard, slipping up for the first time tonight. Felix finally felt useful, steadying you enough to fall back into the orchestra’s rhythm.

“Well, it’s true, isn’t it?” you lowered your voice like you were telling him a secret. “That’s what my sister told me. She and everyone that visited the manor.”

Blinking a bit, you turned to the side, “I’m doing it wrong. My steps are too wide. My arms are too heavy. I must be repulsed by my partner if I’m leaning back that much. Those kinds of things.”

Your partner merely scoffed, “Jealous.”

He hadn’t meant for it to slip out, but he knew.

“They can’t do what you can. There are nobles all over Fodlan like that; people who don’t like being shown up. They’ll say anything to make you give up or feel bad about yourself, but they lack the ambition to do any better themselves.”

“You really think so?”

“Have you met anyone better at dancing than yourself?”

“Well, I…I’ve never seen myself dance before.”

“Then take my word for it. Show Professor Byleth if you doubt it, but just be prepared for her to demand a rematch for the Heron Cup.”

Honestly, Felix didn’t know why he was being so forward about this. It was just another unjust part of the world they were all tripping over themselves to fix, he supposed. Still, if dancers could be trained for the battlefield, he saw no reason for his house to settle on an amateur.

The piano slowed to play a few high notes and end the song on a major chord. Accordingly, the two of you came to a stop.

“Thank you,” you stepped away timidly, “for the dance…and…”

“I wasn’t trying to make you feel better. Manuela could teach you - you could do this on the battlefield much better than whoever actually won the competition.”

You hummed, probably pondering the thought.

Presuming it was time to head back before you both could be found and accused of something mindless, Felix picked up your weapons from where he had discarded them. He caught you brushing the sand off your skin and down your dress before he left to put the items away. The blazer he set aside earlier found its way to his back again, his cravat tucked in appropriately.

You waited across the hall to hold the door for him. Once you both walked through, it shut with a final thud, sealing away everything that happened in the training grounds that night.

He saw you talking to Professor Byleth after class the next day. Although he couldn’t hear what you were saying, some part of him hoped you chose to take his words to heart.

Perhaps it had been a good time to host a ball.

[opposums-love-arson]

Scream Queen Book 1: Conventional Final Girl

The Epilogue

Chapter 8 / Masterlist

Hey guys, just letting you know after the epilogue I won’t be posting on this account anymore! I’ll keep it up for a while though. Anyways, if you want you can follow my main account @total-lost-boys-simp for more stories and eventually a sequal to SCB1CFG! It was great getting some new readers & just know this doesn’t mean goodbye! Thank you for everything!

It’s been what, a little less than a year? About eight months, I think. I still have these bone chilling dreams about Billy & Stu. One minute we’ll be close, watching a movie like Friday the 13th, Pieces, Maniac, or even Sleepaway Camp. Next I’ll hear the phone ring. Quickly I’ll say, “I’ll get it,” and move myself off the couch leaving a space between them. The person on the line will say, “Hello (y/n), it’s been a while,” instantly I could recognize it as Ghostface. Looking back at the couch the boys would be gone, no trace of them ever there. “Who is this?” I’ll ask, even though I know the answer all too well. I’d hear a laugh on the other line before being yanked back into someone’s arms. Looking at who it is I’ll be filled with dread just seeing the masked killer as they raise the knife over their head. Suddenly I’m being pulled away by a blood covered Stu saying, “We have to get help!” When I look back for the murderer we stop at a door…

Looking forward I’ll see the deranged killer in the stark white mask yet again but this time he’s taking it off to reveal himself as Billy looking in my direction with a Kubrick Stare. “We all go a little mad sometimes,” he says before raising a gun that barely misses me. That’s when I realize it’s not me he’s aiming for. The person he does shoot changes every time, it could be; Sidney, Tatum, Casey, Steve, or even Principal Himbry… but they say the same thing each time, “Save me (y/n),” before they bleed out on the floor. Next thing I knew both Billy and Stu come charging at me, tossing me to the ground. They’ll hold me down as they run the Buck 120 knife all along my body. It’s so vivid, I can feel the chilling alloy steel grazing my skin all the way from my jaw in my abdomen. They whisper nonsensical things in my face. And when one of them raises the knife above their head and plunge it into my body, everything just goes white.

“Hey, earth to (y/n)?” I hear Randy call me from the counter.

“Hm? What’s up?” I asked, snapping my head in his direction leaving my thoughts behind.

“You’ve been staring at the shelf for almost fifteen minutes,” He complains

“Guess there’s just too good of a selection?” I said with a false smile and a shrug.

“Yeah sure, just up and pick a movie,” Randy said, rolling his eyes.

“Jeez did anyone ever tell you that patience is a virtue?” I laughed out as I snatch up a copy of Amityville Horror.

“Still staying away from slashers?” Randy asks, a sympathetic look in his eyes.

“Yeah, they just remind me too much of that night…” I said, look down and scratching my arm.

“anyways...What are you and your dad gonna do tonight?” He asked, trying to change the subject.

“Hmm? Oh Neil just wanted to stay in and watch some movies, maybe order some pizza?”

“He adopted you over half a year ago, start calling him Dad for once!” Randy said, cackling at his own words.

“Yeah yeah whatever, see ya later!” I shouted as I left the store.

So much has happened since October of last year. The day after ‘That Night’ Neil told me about what Stu and Billy did to my mom. It was just Neil and I from then on so he decided that I should officially be his daughter! Neither of us see it as replacing Sid or my own parents, if anything we see it as a better way to remember them and keep them close. The town held a mass memorial for all of the victims. The individual funerals were hell. I just wanted to say goodbye to my friends, my mother and my sister but there were reporters and news vans at every turn.

It’s never been the same after I not only lost Tatum and Sindey but also… Stu and Billy. I get it, I shouldn’t have anywhere near a soft spot for those two but I do. I don’t excuse anything they did because it tore apart everything that made me happy in the world. That doesn’t mean I don’t see why they did it. Billy was hurt and driven mentally insane once his mother abandoned him because of the affair. And Stu, at the same time he might be a spoiled rich kid but he was also manipulated into all of it by Billy. In a way, neither of them had full control of what they did.

I like to think that had they not run away on ‘That Night’ they would’ve been sentenced but also would’ve been able to get the psychiatric help they really needed.

“Neil, I’m home!” I shouted as I opened the door. No response.

“Neil?” I called out again, suspicion rising in my voice. No response again.

“Are you here?” I asked, looking around the living room, the kitchen, upstairs in his room, Sid’s room, my room, every room in the house.

“Neil?!” I called out again this time with frantic breathing and hot tears itching at my skin.

“Oh woah, woah, kiddo it’s okay!” Neil came from around the corner running to me.

“I thought- I thought you were gone! That they took you! Where were you?!” I asked, clinging to his sleeves and he pulled me into a hug.

“Shh shh, I was in the garage working on the car, kid,” He said as he rocked me back and forth.

“I already lost mom and Sid. I don't want to lose you too, Dad,” I said as I thought back to how I found Sid and Tatum at Stu’s house…and the officer who sat me down to tell me how my mom passed away.

“Hey, it’s okay, I’m okay, we’re okay,” Neil softly said, trying to calm me down.

“Ya know what, you got a letter on the counter, looks like it might be from a family member, go take a look,” Neil said as he ruffled my hair.

Going downstairs I look on the kitchen counter, sure enough there’s an envelope with neat and somewhat familiar handwriting. Huh no return address, I thought to myself. I’m careful not to rip the paper as I open the envelope. As I looked inside I saw a few polaroids and folded paper inside. Taking the polaroids out ran my blood cold. One of them was a picture Mrs. Riley took of Sid, Tatum, and I from our final sleepover. The next was of our group at the fountain, all of us, but Sid and Tatum’s faces were crossed out and small Ghostface doodles were placed over Billy and Stu’s. The last two were pictures of me, Stu and Billy on Stu’s couch at one of our movie nights. Placing the pictures down I look at the paper… on the folded front said; To: (y/n), from: Yours Truly. The letter itself said;

Dear (y/n),

It’s been a while. We’ve really missed you. How’s your mom…oh wait. We just wanted to check in and let you know we’re doing fine after you killed us. Or well, almost killed us. We bet you’re wondering how we’re still alive, Right?

Well for starters, the knife? A retractable prop, bit of a let down since you didn’t actually stab Stu, right? Then that gun, we switched out Dew-fuses’ bullets for blanks while you ran to his car. Really explains how Randy lived. You most likely knew that already. Also when you kick someone against a coffee table, you should really check their pulse next time.

We hope you haven’t gotten too comfortable thinking we’re gone for good ‘cause trust us baby, we’re coming back for the sequal.

P.S. you should pick up the phone.

Sincerely,

Yours Truly

Just as I finished reading the letter I heard a ringing from the telephone in the lounge area where Sidney got the call the night we were attacked. Cautiously I walked over to it, fear in my chest making my heart race and my palms sweat. “Hello?” I asked, swallowing nothing out of pure nervousness.

“Hello, (y/n), miss me?” Asked an all too familiar raspy off pitched voice.

“Oh shit.”

Tag list; @katie-tibo @thatoneuchiha @honeybee54321 @lolwey @livingordeadwhoknows @theomegaofvodka

I’m sorry for the inconsistent posting, please forgive me 😭 also let me know if I should put a sequal in the works? Thank you so much for reading!

[arthropod-concoctions]

(AO3 - prev)

Jimmy wasn't in Tumble Town. Instead of the mesa he'd claimed to build his empire in, Jimmy found himself in a snowy field surrounded by gargantuan walls made of blackstone. Had someone pranked him by terraforming his surroundings while he'd been in the game? Probably not; there wasn't enough time for that. He'd been inside the game for five weeks, so that was... about fifteen hours for outsiders. Not nearly enough time to gather enough blackstone to do all this.

I still can't believe I died so early again. To an enderman of all things! Jimmy thought to himself. Well, no point lingering on that now; he'd apologize to Tango the next time they played. Right now he wanted to get out of these walls and see something familiar.

He flew to the top of one of the walls to look around, but he only saw forests, no familiar scenery. He shuffled across the wall to see more-- shuffled, because whoever had dropped him into this snowfield had also put a thick, cumbersome coat on him. It got in the way of his movements and made it very hot, so he began to take it off-

Wait a minute. He was in the middle of a snowfield, yet didn't feel cold at all; in fact, he was getting very warm. Wasn't that a symptom of hypothermia? Suddenly, he noticed that his arms were very pale, unhealthily so.

“Oh no,” he whispered to himself, and put the coat back on. “Right, change of plan: I need to get out of here.” He activated his elytra again, and flew away from the blackstone construction.

He didn't have to fly long to find signs of civilization; he quite quickly came across a large street with many buildings along it. It was deserted, and didn't look like the building style of any other emperors, but Jimmy landed anyways. Then he decided to do something he probably should have done earlier; he checked chat.

Strangely enough, his chat didn't manifest as the book and quill he'd designed, but instead as a small red device. Still, it showed him the most recent messages of the server he'd ended up in:

Tango joined the game

<joehillssays> Howdy Tango, welcome back!

<Cubfan135> Tangooooooo

Tango was here! Jimmy didn't know the other names, but that didn't matter; finding Tango would already be very helpful. He decided to send him a private message; better not to alarm these strangers.

You whispered to Tango: tango

Tango whispered to you: tango

You whispered to Tango: im lost

Tango whispered to you: im lost

You whispered to Tango: where are you

Tango whispered to you: where are you

The fact that his messages to Tango immediately got sent back was worrying. Maybe Tango's chat was bugged, and somehow bouncing messages back instead of showing them to him...? Regardless, Jimmy sent him one more message.

You whispered to Tango: im so sorry about that death btw

Tango whispered to you: im so sorry about that death btw

Unsure of what else to do, Jimmy made his way to a bench and sat down. He was beginning to sweat; would it be safe to take off the coat yet? His arms still didn't have any colour in them, so he decided against it.

After a few minutes of waiting, someone flew past on elytra, noticed Jimmy, and landed in front of him. It wasn't Tango; this was someone wearing a brown sweater, with curled horns jutting out from his blond hair.

“There you are! Why weren't you responding to chat? And what are you in Scarland for?” the stranger asked Jimmy.

Jimmy wasn't sure how to respond; this person didn't seem at all concerned about the fact there was someone new on the server. He decided to get straight to the point: “I think I'm freezing to death.”

“Oh jeez. The deep frost finally got to you, then?” he stepped towards Jimmy, and put his hand on his forehead.

“I mean, you are a little cold, but I thought that was just part of your bit this season,” he said. “You feel, warmer than the last time I high-fived you. And- dude, you're sweating! Tango, buddy, I know hardcore worlds can get intense, but did you forget the difference between hot and cold?”

Jimmy hadn't ever high-fived this man. “I thought getting warm was a symptom of... did you just call me Tango?”

The man's eyes widened slowly. “...Yes? That's your name, silly!”

“No it isn't,” Jimmy said, and frowned. If he got mistaken for Tango, did that mean...?

“Oh. Okay, that's fine, uh... do you remember my name?” he spoke slowly, and had a concerned expression on his face.

“No. Look, dude, I think something went-”

“WHAT!?” the man interrupted Jimmy. “You don't even remember your best friend Zedaph? Okay, you are clearly not feeling well. Take that big coat off, I think you're overheating.”

Jimmy did take the coat off, leaving him with a short-sleeved undershirt. His upper arms were even paler than his hands; they were almost blue. Zedaph took the coat and draped it over the bench they were sitting on.

“Tango, you just lay down for a moment. I'll stay here with you, and I'll call X when he gets online, and then he'll get you checked out, okay?”

Jimmy started to lay down, then changed his mind. “No, I feel fine, but dude, I'm not Tango. My name's Jimmy, and me and Tango were-”

“Ah-bah-bah-bah, don't get so worked up, just get some rest,” Zedaph interrupted him, and pushed him flat onto the bench. He was surprisingly strong; or maybe Jimmy was just lighter than he was used to. Zedaph sat down on the bench next to him, and began writing something down, muttering to himself: “Okay, symptoms: amnesia, weird body temperature, talking in a London accent for some reason...”

Jimmy sighed, and laid down. How had he ended up in this situation?

---

One moment Bigb was rushing up the stairs of the Box, trying to help Ren. The next he was... sitting in his lap?

When he turned his head to see Ren's be-sun-spectacled face right next to his own, he immediately jumped up. He also squealed, which would've been embarrassing if not for the sound Ren made, which was louder and lasted much longer.

“He-hey, Ren! Fancy seeing you here,” Bigb said to Ren, trying to sound casual. He had not expected to see him again; he'd expected to end up back on BasicCraft with Tom. Maybe this was the afterlife? He was pretty sure Scott had mentioned an afterlife some other time.

“What sorcery is this!?” Ren responded, not sounding casual in the slightest. “Why- How is there an impostor of the king in thine own throne room?”

“Impostor? Aw, I thought you liked the matching dog ears,” Bigb replied, scratching his own ears. Yep, still furry. Then, noticing the small crown on Ren's head and the throne he was sitting on, he added: “Wait, are we doing this again? Uh, my lord.”

“Well, of course I like the ears. But-” Ren paused, and tilted his head at Bigb. “Ah, I see. You are my old self. My PEASANT self! Oh, how it doth pain me to see this reminder of how I once was... BEGONE!”

“Wow,” Bigb said. “Rude.” He'd remembered Ren having a dramatic flair as king, but he was fairly certain he'd been nicer last time.

“I am the king, and I can be rude to whomever I doth wisheth! Now leave me, I must ponder!”

Well, two could play at that game. “You know what?” Bigb said. “You look stupid in that big cape.”

Ren's face dropped, and Bigb saw him shrink down into his throne. “Oh,” he said, much quieter than before. He looked utterly crushed by Bigb's remark.

Bigb stuck out his tongue at him, and turned around to leave... but Ren's sad face made him feel bad. So he turned back around and said: “I'm sorry, my lord. That was mean.”

“Yes... yes, I'm sorry as well,” Ren replied, wiping a tear out of his eye. “I should not be so rude to my own image... but I can make it up to you!”

“You can?”

“Yes! From this point onwards, I declareth thee... the royal stunt double! If ever I need a vacation from ruling, or I get a bad haircut or something, I will calleth upon you to take my place for a meeting or two.”

Bigb raised an eyebrow. “And what's in it for me?”

“Huh? You... you'll have a position in the royal court of King RentheKing! That is the greatest honor in all of Hermitcraftia!” Ren called out, spreading his arms wide.

“Right, of course, of course,” Bigb responded, then scratched his ear again. “...Are you sure I look enough like you for that though? I mean, we don't even have...” he trailed off, as he took a good look at his own arm for the first time since getting here. Why on earth was he white?

“Yes, of course, you are my splitting image! Come, stand beside me,” Ren ordered, so Bigb approached him again and stood next to his throne. Ren grabbed his chat and turned on the camera.

“Look, our faces are identical! As soon as you don some proper royal garb, no one will tell the difference.” Sure enough, the screen showed two Rens: one with a crown and cloak, and one with the floral shirt Ren wore at the start of Double Life.

“Oh. Yeah, that makes sense,” Bigb said slowly, staring at the screen. “I have no questions about this at all.”

---

Martyn felt the characteristic thud of getting dropped into a new world, and opened his eyes to see he was laying in a flat field of grass.

“Are we going again already? Surely not, it's been like thirty seconds since the last game. I didn't even hear the rules this time,” he said to himself. He got up, and immediately saw that wherever he was, it was not at the start of a Life game. Giant rectangular pillars loomed before him, and he turned around to see two huge seahorse statues. He also noticed he wasn't wearing his own clothes; instead he was wearing a dark blue dress, and his limbs were pale green and felt numb.

He was undead like Cleo, and was wearing a dress like Cleo's. “If this is some kind of punishment for being mean to my soulmate earlier, it's-”

his statement to nobody in particular was interrupted by the sound of fireworks nearby. Martyn immediately whirled around to find the source-- was someone coming at him with a firework crossbow?

It almost seemed that way when an explosion of green and yellow lights in his peripheral vision made him jump; but the person who emerged from the explosion was unarmed. They looked a bit like Skizz, but with a significantly more eccentric fashion sense. They smiled at Martyn.

“Howdy Cleo, welcome back! How was the death game?” they said in a voice that sounded nothing like Skizz's.

Oh, so that's the game we're playing, Martyn thought. It was best to stay under the radar until he'd figured out what was going on, he thought; so he decided to play along.

“Oh you know... you know how it is with death games,” he replied, talking slower than usual, hoping to mimic Cleo's voice. It seemed to work, as Cleo's friend didn't look suspicious of him.

“Not really. It's been a little while since I did one. Maybe I should ask Grian to invite me next time,” they said. “Anyway, I'm about to go mine out some nether tunnels, do you want to help?”

“No. I'm gonna go... recover for a bit,” Martyn said. The more he was alone, the longer before someone caught on to the fact he wasn't actually Cleo. It's a good think we have similar accents at least, he thought.

“Okay, see you around!” the stranger responded, then used a pull-string firework rocket and elytra to take off into the sky. Martyn watched them fly away for a few seconds, then turn around and go back towards him.

“By the way, Cleo, I have a lot of blackstone now, so if you ever need any for your builds, just tell me and I'll give you some, alright?”

“Yeah, alright. Look, can you just-” Martyn was interrupted by the sound of yet another person flying in using elytra. He turned around and saw Scar landing on the ground and walking towards him, leaning on his cane. This was someone he knew-- he wasn't sure whether that was better for him or worse.

“Howdy Scar! Did you have fun in the death game?” Cleo's friend said, while grabbing a totem of undying from their inventory. That worried Martyn; he really didn't want to end up in the middle of a fight right now.

“Hi Joe,” Scar said to them. Then he turned to Martyn: “Look, Martyn, something's gone horribly wrong, as you can probably tell-”

“Who's Mahrtyn?” Cleo's friend-- Joe, apparently-- interrupted.

“This is,” Scar responded, gesturing at Martyn. “Wait, did he not... had you not told Joe?”

Martyn didn't respond. Well, there goes that plan, he thought. Joe stared ahead for a moment, squinting, then a smile broke across their face and they turned to Martyn.

“Oh my gosh, Cle- Martyn, that's amazing! I'm so happy for you! Is it okay if I call Quinn?”

Martyn didn't know who Quinn was, but evidently Scar did. “No, Joe, that's not what I-” he started to say, before breaking down into laugher. It was a loud cackle, very un-Scar-like; and Martyn suspected he knew why.

Joe's smile faded. “...What?” they said accusingly. “Did I not understand this correctly? Also, Scar, why are you British now?”

When British Scar had recovered slightly from his laughing fit, he said: “No, Joe, listen- first of all, I'm not Scar, I'm Grian. Somehow we all got swapped into each other's bodies when coming back from Double Life. So this isn't Cleo at all, this is Martyn.”

“Oh, okay,” Joe said. Then they blinked and said to Martyn: “Wait, no, cancel that. You mean you aren't my good friend Cleo?”

Martyn sighed. “No, sorry dude.” At this point, pretending otherwise would only make things worse. Martyn held out his hand-- or rather, Cleo's hand-- to Joe. “I'm Martyn, nice to meet you.”

Joe stood still for a second, thinking, then shrugged and took it. “It's a pleasure,” he replied. “Welcome to Hermitcraft, I guess.”

(next)

[apupp3tw0-strings]

The Trouble with Ads

Date: October 31st, 2131

After searching and calling out for quite a bit, rolling around Castle Town on my skates, I failed to notice when I wandered into Addison Alley/the shopping district until I accidently bumped my way into one of Spamton's old friends, Flash (the yellow one). Pretty much since my first interaction with the Addisons, any time I've found myself running into Flash, he's been constantly asking me about Spamton. Which like, isn't a bad thing. I'm glad at least one of the Addisons is concerned enough to try and keep tabs on the situation but, when it happens every time I run into this guy, it starts to get awkward. That's why I've, um, kind of been avoiding the shopping district and Flash as much as possible. (I'm not exactly proud of it! But like... There's not a lot I can tell Flash. Not to mention anytime I'm with Spamton and he spots Flash or any of the other Addisons, he jumps into my inventory pockets or some other hiding spot! ... Same deal with the Swatchlings too actually. Gyeeeeeeh...)

Of course Flash had heard me calling for Spamton and asked what was up, it's not like I was being all that quiet. (I mean, how would I expect Spam to hear me if I was?)

"He's not missing, is he?" Ooooh boy. I didn't not want to be in this situation. In fact I tried to escape it a bit... But also I couldn't just pretend like everything was alright. They had heard me calling for him!

"Gyeeeeeeeeeeh..." I tried to turn around, maybe it I was lucky I could still skate off the other direction before they asked more questions. "Well, um, m-maybe. He wasn't in his room in the castle when I got off school."

"Tch." Another, pink, addison piped up from a nearby tea stand. "Of course he has a room in the castle." The more I got to know Click, the Pink Addison, the less I liked her. He might've been the one who I promised I'd bring Spamton to talk to all of them eventually, when he was ready, and the one who said they wanted to apologize, but Click is a bit of a jerk! I've seen how she acts sweet to customers and stuff, but anytime Spamton comes up in conversations she's not even part of, she'll always make some rude comment. (I'm kind of ashamed how much Click's behavior reminds me of Taffy...)

After shooting a glare Click's way (thankfully I wasn't the only one who found his behavior rude), Flash turned back to me. "Did he leave a note or any other thing saying where he was going?"

I shook my head. "Jevil said he went out to look for some place to read in peace but other than that, I don't know." I honestly should've just said no and left there. I don't think the Addisons needed to know all the details. ... But then again, they WERE his friends, at one point, and Flash at least seemed genuinely concerned. Not to mention, I'd been searching for at least fifteen minutes to half an hour with no luck and I didn't want to leave Papa waiting in the school parking lot forever.

At that point, the Askers also chimed in with questions, trying to provide some help at narrowing the places Spamton might be down. I didn't exactly want to mention to the Addisons that some of places Spamton tended to hang out before Papa and I brought him in or before I got Remie to make him and Jevil rooms in the Castle were dumpsters and alleyways (I'm not sure if Spamton would've also wanted to hide that from them, or would've gladly told them in an attempt to get them to feel guilty), but when the Asker asked if there were any like, libraries or bookstores nearby, I mentioned the closest to that might be the Cafe.

"But... I don't think Spamton would head there."

"Why not?" Flash asked in response.

"He has an erm... Complicated relationship with Swatch."

"Jeez, has he been able to maintain ANY good relationships?" Click chimed in again, uninvited.

This time I was the one to shoot her a glare. "I mean, I'd hope my friendship with him is a good one."

The ad just took another swig of his tea before making another un-welcome remark. "Sure kid, keep telling yourself that." ... If I wasn't already focused on locating Spamton, I would've punched Click in her stupid pointy nose.

Shortly after that, another Asker commented how'd it'd be a shame if someone here knew where Spamton might've been, before mentioning a can. I took Click bringing up the tin can sticking out of Flash's pocket before the gears finally turned in the yellow ad's head and they remembered it. Click face palmed and shook his head.

So, apparently some time earlier, Flash got a spam call on this literal tin can that they thought was some other addisons from a different division but actually turned out to be Spamton. (... Of course Spamton would spam call people even on a tin can and string phone.) Though it turns out after figuring out it was Flash on the other end, Spamton got cold feet before abruptly hanging up once an Asker pointed out to Flash that it was actually Spam on the other end. (This guy is as oblivious as Blane... Maybe more so.)

After the reveal that Flash had a direct line to Spamton this whole time, we started following the string. I would have preferred Flash not come with, but I guess now I was stuck with him since he had the can phone and was already coming with me. (At least Click was staying at his stand. It would've been even more tense and awkward if she'd tagged a long.) There was maybe like, a minute of awkward silence before Flash tried to break the ice.

"So um... It's Halloween up in the Light World tonight, isn't it?" I wasn't even aware Darkners knew what Halloween was. I mean, I know they don't celebrate it and Jevil sure didn't know about it when CK and I explained it to him and Spamton a couple weeks ago. I guess maybe some of the Cyber World citizens know about it because literally the internet?

"Hmm? Oh um. Yeah." I replied. I still didn't exactly want to talk to Flash. I barely wanted him to even be there. So much awkwardness...

"You going Trick-R-Treating, kid?" I guess it does make sense for an advertising Darkner to know about holidays like Halloween. How else are they expected to advertise stuff around it?

I nodded before responding. "I was actually gonna get ready for it after I picked up Spamton. Thought maybe I could use it as a chance to introduce him to my friends."

"And yet you keep him from his own, huh?" That caught me off guard. Flash had a point, was it selfish of me to want to introduce Spamton to my friends while his own hadn't seen him in years?

"G-gyeh!? I-I'm not doing it on purpose!"

"Hey, hey, relax kid, I was joking!"

"Gyehh... It's just... I don't think he's ready yet." It wasn't a lie. I'm still not sure he's ready. "Any time he sees one of you, he hides. He never likes talking about you all and... If my Papa is right... I think he's scared." ... I'm not sure he'll ever be ready.

"Scared? Why would he be scared? I know he had some serious social anxiety back in the day but, he knows us." Flash paused for just a moment, looking at me in a bit of concern. "We were his friends." ... Was he trying to convince himself of that statement?

"... I don't know. There's probably multiple reasons." I tried to keep walking "... I guess, when I think about if I was in his situation. If I got super popular and my friends sort of left me, even when I really needed them... I'd be scared too." ... I... Ever since meeting Spamton, since learning his story, I've thought about that scenario more than I can really count. Even if it may be incredibly impossible, I'm still scared of it. Of everyone leaving me for something so stupid. Of not getting the help I need when I need it most. ...

It feels less impossible after what happened a couple weeks ago.

Flash paused, perhaps confused, perhaps concerned. I couldn't exactly tell. I was still trying to follow the string. "... Do you actually think your friends would leave you?

"Maybe? I dunno. I don't... Sometimes it feels like I don't fit in with them." Why was I pouring my heart out to this random Darkner I barely knew? Was it just because I wasn't thinking? ... Was it the odd sense of familiarity? Was it just because they were Spamton's former friend?

"Psh. What? You seem to fit in fine with that other Lightner kid." Right. Flash only knew about CK because CK was the only other Lightner to come here asides from Kris. And I mean, Flash wasn't wrong. CK and I catch on like a house on fire. (Sometimes literally with CK's magic.) We've been like that pretty much since we were babies.

"CK's different. He's my cousin and we live in different towns. My main friends... They sorta remind me of you guys?" It is eerie how much the Addisons remind me of my friends. When I first met them, I thought it was just the colors, but since having more small interactions with the ads, no. No it's more than that. There's these subtle little quirks and things that both parties seem to share. Little mannerisms and behaviors that I'm not sure anyone else would really notice. ... It's weird.

"Huh? ... That meant to be a good or a bad thing?" ... Was it meant to be a compliment? Was it an insult? I... I don't know. I feel if anything it might be making me see my own friends in lights I really would prefer I didn't see them in. Lights I don't want to think about because of what they might imply. ... Yet lights that are getting too bright to ignore.

"... I'm not sure." At that point, we reached a point where the thread led into an alleyway before stopping with the other can, laying near the wall across from a dumpster. I turned to Flash. "You remind me of my friend, Blane, though. Good and bad." ... Blane's always been one of my more... interesting, friends. He often goes too fast for me and is constantly getting into trouble, often roping me into it with him, but I still wouldn't trade him for the world. He can be a dunce and a jerk, but I still think he's a genuinely caring person who has my back. ... At least I hope he does. ... I hope they all do.

After that, I headed into the alley, Flash did too, though I had hoped maybe at that point they would leave. ... No. No he wouldn't. Which proved things a little more difficult when I did find Spamton after hearing the lid of the dumpster slam close after calling out for Spam. Upon opening the dumpster, I found Spamton holding his nose in pain (I'm guessing he caught it on the lid when trying to close the dumpster), before I could exclaim his name though, Spamton was quick to try and pull me into the dumpster and cover my mouth.

"[Sound off] KID !!" He hissed while gripping the handkerchief tied around my neck before I tried to wriggle my mouth away from his other hand. (It smelled like garbage, unsurprisingly.)

"W-what? Why-?" I asked before Flash piped in from the background asking if I'd found Spamton. The look Spamton gave me, that pleading, begging look... Yeah it was probably a very bad idea to have brought along one of the Addisons. A very, VERY bad idea. But also... This might be one of the only times I'd be able to get Spamton to confront his past. Even if it was through a bit of force, when else could I get him to talk to them? If he was just afraid, there was no way he's going to just get over that unless forced to face them, right?

... But then again. Was it really my place to make that call?

Either way, if I kept standing with my head in the dumpster, eventually Flash would come to investigate anyways. In a panic I stood up and tried to hide Spamton behind me, one of my hands holding the lid mostly closed. I probably should've said something after that but... Once I locked eyes with Flash again, I froze. The Askers kept pressuring me to just tell Flash the truth but... at that point I think my anxiety was starting to spiral. I couldn't stop sweating as I ummed and "well"ed while trying to avoid eye contact with Flash.

... I was lucky that eventually Flash got the message that Spamton had no interest in seeing them and I was just nervously stalling to try and not hurt their feelings.

"He still doesn't want to see me, does he?"

I gave a sheepish nod, still trying to avoid eye contact.

"Ah, well... As long as he's alright, I guess I'll get going." And with that, Flash left. ... I feel even if I had tried to convince Flash to stay, Spamton still wouldn't have changed his mind.

After a few moments and Flash had long since gone, Spamton finally popped back out of the dumpster.

"IS HE [Going going gone!]"

"Yeah" I sighed before taking Spamton back home, making sure to avoid the shopping district this time.

Can someone tell me when I signed up for this? And more importantly, where I can fricking unsubscribe?

To Be Continued.

[justagamerandaweeb]

Confliction - Modern AU! Sekido x Reader

It was a cool Thursday afternoon in Japan in October. Outside in a park, stood a muscular, young man, with shoulder-length hair. That young man, is Sekido and he seems to be deep in thought, conflicted about a few things. One of those things is (Y/N), one of his many great friends, whom he has developed feelings for.

It was only fifteen days ago when he realized his true feelings toward his beloved and yet, he felt so conflicted. It felt wrong to like her because of the friendship they had and he feared he might bring it to ruin.

As he stood in the park, the thick branches with the beautiful orange trees providing him a comfortable shade, he awaits (Y/N)'s arrival. Today was the day he'd confess. Despite his intimidating demeanor, he felt nervous, nervous that she might reject him, but he waited nevertheless. It would be about another ten minutes when she'd arrive with her all too recognizable bright smile.

He felt his heart in his throat; the mere presence of her fills him with a lot of nervousness. He then clenched his hands and takes a deep breath to calm down his nerves. Walking up to her with open arms with her, he greets her happily and says, "Hey, (Y/N)."

"Hey, Sekido, how are you?" you greet him as you hug him back. "I'm doing fine, how 'bout you?" For some reason, he felt his heart skip when you asked him how was he doing and he liked it.

"I'm quite alright, thank you for asking." you both begin to walk as you asked him, "Why did you call me here anyways? Is there something wrong?" you asked him as you were walking beside Sekido.

"I wanted to spend time with you. We've barely gotten the chance to." he softly said to you.

"Oh, well that's quite sweet of you." and you smiled at him. Jeez, that smile... It made him feel so warm and fuzzy inside, and his emotions were bouncing everywhere.

You leaned your body forward a bit before speaking, "So, how've you been?" a simple question, but one he found difficult to answer with how he felt right now. "I've been doing okay, for the most part. How about you?"

"I've been well, Zohakuten is entering his freshmen year after graduating middle school, and the other three are doing well as usual." His demeanour seemed cool and composed, but on the inside, he was far from composed. Why is speaking to her so difficult? We're best friends! We've known each other so long! So why is confessing to her so difficult?! Sekido then remembered what Karaku had said.

"Get straight to the point with her, from the way you've described her, she's not someone who likes to wait. Take her to some café or to the park and get on with it."

Well, that's easier said than done... Sekido then brings her over to a nice secluded area in the park. They both sit down and he starts.

"There's a reason I called you here, and it's not just to hang out and catch up."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Its... It's just that... We've known each other for so long, and we have so much in common with each other... And..." Sekido was struggling to find the words to say. Come on... Just tell her how you feel, and then let the conversation flow...

You notice this and say, "And? What's wrong?" you said as you put your hand on his shoulder.

He felt his body warm up when you touched him. He puts his hand where his heart is and his breath was trembling every time he inhaled. He grabs his shirt his shirt to calm himself down as he was slowly breathing in and out.

"Are you alright?" You asked him, concerned about why he was acting like this.

He nods as he says, "Yeah, yeah, I'm okay. I'm okay..." He pats his chest and looks at you. "I just... " He sighs out of frustration from not having the right words until he said, "Oh fuck it... I like you, okay?"

"Oh... Well, I like you too." You said smiling at him.

"No..." He stammers, "Not like that. I mean, I like you. Do you get what I'm saying? I have feelings for you. Feelings that I just now realized 2 weeks ago. I know there's a fat chance that you don't have the same feelings for me, but... You make me feel happy, when nothing else doesn't. I... I..." he sighs, "Oh fuck it..." Sekido cups your cheeks and looks at you before kissing your lips.

Your eyes widened in shock at Sekido's act, but you didn't stop him. Slowly but surely, you melted into the kiss in, kissing back with more passion and love.

Sekido didn't know what else to do, so he moved his arms to your body, and wrapped his arms around you. Whenever you two quickly disconnect the kiss, you two would always go back for more.

You put your hands on the back of his hand and his cheek, and him wrapping his arms around your waist, have a sense of intimacy.

You both stop and both of you were quietly breathing, with both of your breaths trembling. "So... Does this mean you have feelings for me?"

You nodded and said, "Ever since I laid eyes on you at that pool party Douna had invited me to, I couldn't stop thinking about you. Everything about you is so... Perfect."

"But, I'm mostly angry, all the time... I act like an asshole around everybody around me... And the other three are the only ones that see right through me..."

"I'll be honest, even though I was a little off put by your attitude, it didn't take long for me to realize that through all of that rough skin, you truly do care." She smiles at him softly.

"And besides, you and I have been friends for as long as I can remember." She nudges his arm at her little joke.

Sekido blushes as he avoided eye contact with her and groans out of embarrassment. He then looks at you and says, "What were the signs?"

"Last year of September, when you and your brothers had invited me to go out to eat, they tried to give us some time alone. I also tried to get you to walk with me and then when we had both gotten dessert together alone, I tried confessing to you. Yes, your brothers knew about my feelings towards you, but, I had begged them not to tell you."

He hides his face in one of his hands, clearly feeling embarrassed and ashamed for missing your hints. "I'm such a moron..." Your hand rubs his back in a comforting manner as she speaks. "It's alright, at least we got the whole confession thing out of the way." She says, smiling at him comfortingly.

He looks up at you and says, "Was that the only sign, or was there more than one?"

"You want me to list them?"

He stares blankly at you before dropping his head and saying, "You say that alone makes me realize how much of a fucking dumbass I am... God fucking dammit!"

"Hey, hey hey, I told you it's okay. I hate missing signs too. But now that you confessed to me, and when we kissed, it made me realize that I'm not the only one that has the same feelings." You said as you cup his cheeks and kissed him.

Sekido hears the sound of his heart beating in his ears and they started to heat up. He then clears his throat as he says, "Well... Do you wanna get something to eat..?"

"Sure, where do you wanna go?" you asked him. "Actually... I'll go wherever you wanna go. Whatever it is, I won't complain."

You then gasp as you grab his hand and started to jog. "I'm glad you said that, 'cause I go the perfect place we could eat at!" you joyfully said as you were dragging Sekido. He then looks down to see you holding hands with him and smirks as he gladly followed you.

Mini time skip

You both stood in front of a restaurant that you were quite familiar with, as a matter of fact, it's one of your favorites in the city. Sekido never tried this restaurant before, but with you, he's willing to try new things.

He holds the door for you to go in, and you went on through. He closes the door and follows you to the checkout.

"Table for two?" The waitress asked and you two nodded. "Okay, follow me please." and she started to walk from the hall of tables full of people eating. Once she found an empty table, she gestured you two to sit.

You pulled up the chair, and sat down. Sekido follows suit, and sits next to you. "Here are your menus, I send someone to give you your drinks, what you like to drink?"

"(F/D)."

"And you?"

"Just water."

"Okay, I'll send someone to give you your drinks, and take your orders." the waitress said. "Okay, thank you, ma'am." you said and she responds, "No problem." and started to walk away.

As she was walking away, Sekido looks at you and says, "So... When I kissed you, back at the park, how was it? I kind of felt a little guilty kissing you without warning." he said with a light blush on his face.

"Oh. Well, while I was surprised at you kissing me like that, but, I liked it. Since I had the same feelings for you. And when you kissed me, my body felt warm. If it makes you feel any better, I melted into you kissing me, because that was my first kiss."

His head perked up when you said first kiss. He then looks at you and said "That was your first kiss?"

You faintly blush as you answered him, "Yeah, it was. I may be a social person, but I usually don't have a connection with people like that. That is, until I met you. And when you kissed me... I felt happy." you said to him as you touched his thigh.

He looks down at your hand on his thigh and looks back at you before leaning in to kiss you. You close your eyes and felt him peck your lips.

You both open your eyes and you smirked at each other. "I think we're getting sidetracked, aren't we supposed to look at the menu?" you asked him, and his face changed. "Oh, right. Sorry about that." he says as he grabs the menu and opens it to see the list and you giggled.

You didn't even open your menu folder because you know every dish in there, since that's how much you knew about this place. While Sekido was not going through the menu and he thought to himself, Jeez, these prices are ridiculous. Makes me wonder if we're gonna split this thing 50/50... No, don't do that. Pay for the whole thing, like a real man would do on his first date.

He kept going through the menu until one of the dishes caught his eye. The description reads that it was a dish that had linguini pasta, with boneless chicken breasts, shrimp, red onion strips, and peppers. Cajun jambalaya pasta? I've never heard of this before... Sounds good just from the description... I think I might get it.

A waiter then comes with a black platter that had both of your drinks. He puts your glass of (F/D) on your side and puts the glass of water on Sekido's side with a glass pitcher. "Alright, I am going to be taking your orders, what will you two being ordering today?" the waiter says as he takes out a pen and notepad.

"I'll take a (F/F)."

"Okay... And what about you, sir?"

The jambalaya pasta."

The waiters eyebrow rose up as he says, "Oh, the cajun jambalaya? Good choice, I have a feeling you might enjoy that one." he then put the pen away and said, "It might take a while for us to get your food done, if that's the case, we apologize, since were having a really busy day."

"No, I dont blame you, you do got a lot of people here." you said as you smiled at the waiter.

The wait smirks and said, "Thank you for your understanding. Enjoy your drinks." and walks off. You look at Sekido and said, "So, jambalaya, huh? Nice." you said smiling at him and giving a thumbs up.

"Thanks. I've never gone to this place before..." he says as he sips his water. "And you saying that means I made a good choice in terms of food." and he takes another sip.

"You bet I did." you said, giggling at him, and he smirks. He then sees your hand was still on his lap, so he took the opportunity, and grabbed your hand and hold it.

You softly gasped as you look down to see your hands holding each other. You look at him to see a blush on his face, and you smiled.

Time skip

At least 30 minutes went by, and the man that bought your drinks came back with a huge platter that was safe to assume was your food. He puts your plate down, and then puts Sekido's plate down.

"Here you go, enjoy your meal. Would you like a refill, ma'am?" and you nodded. "Would you like me to refill that pitcher, sir?" and Sekido also nods. He grabs your cup and the pitcher and said, "Enjoy your meals." and smiles as walks off to refill your cup and the pitcher.

You both look down at your food and started to mentally salivate. You both couldn't wait to hork these down. Sekido then grabbed the fork and pierced a piece of shrimp and chicken and twirled them on the linguini.

He was about to eat it, but stops as he turned to you and says, "Do you wanna taste it for me? I've never tried this before and want to see your approval." He said, lightly blushing at you.

You smiled as you grabbed your fork and knife, and started to cut a piece of your (F/F). "Here, I wanna know what you think too."

He looks at the food, and opens his mouth for you to put the food in it, and you follow suit. You both put the fork in your mouths, and swiped the food off and chewed.

Sekido's eyes widened from the taste of your food, while you hummed from the taste of the jambalaya. "So... How does it taste?" you said while chewing.

"It's good... What about mine?" he asked you and you gave a thumbs up. "10 out of 10." and smiled.

He then nods and took a bite of the jambalaya and God, did it taste like heaven to him. He wasted no time, and began chowing down on the plate. You giggled at the way he was eating like an animal, but you can't blame him, jambalaya just smacks that hard.

The waiter came back with your drink and the pitcher and puts it on the table. He then says, "I take the foods delicious?"

You then look at Sekido and did a little exhale laugh as the waiter chuckles, "I told him he would enjoy it. Anyway, enjoy, thank you for eating with us. Would you like a receipt for when you go?"

"Uh-huh, sure." you said as you took another bite of your food. "Alright, I'll be right back." and walks off yet again. You both continued to eat as Sekido started to cough from eating too fast. He then grabs the pitcher and pours the water into the cup and drinks it, letting out a exhale of relief.

You giggled and pat his back. He then scoffs but softly smirks as a way of saying he was joking with you.

The waiter came back with the receipt and puts it on the table. Here's the receipt, and once again, thank you for eating with us." he walked away one final time.

You took a sip of your drink and then took a bite of your food. Sekido followed what you did like a mirror, and he too sipped his water and took a bite of his jambalaya.

He then softly shoulders you and said, "You want the rest? I'm sort of full at the moment." you smiled at him as you nodded and gestured to him for you to swipe the food on your plate.

He did and put his plate on the table. He then took out his phone and decided to do whatever he does on it while you were chowing down on (F/F) and jambalaya.

Sekido then notices the receipt on the table and checks on how much the dishes cost and his eyes widened in surprise. That much!? Well... I can't complain now, I ate the food and everything... Guess I gotta pay for it.

He took his wallet out and put the amount of money that was required to pay. Once you were done eating, you let out a sigh of satisfaction while you cover your mouth as you burped.

"Oh, 'cuse me. Man that was delicious. I'm in the room for dessert though. You wanna go get ice cream?" you said to him. "Whatever makes you happy for this date." and stood up and pushed the chair. "Cool!" and you followed suit.

You both were walking to the entrance to leave and Sekido held the door open for you. You look back at him and smirked, only to accidentally bump into someone. "Oop, sorry, sorry!"

"Oh it's no problem, I got too excited getting here!" A girly voice said to you.

The girl had lime green eyes, and her hair was pink, to green at the end of her twin pigtails. "Well, at least we can come to even grounds." You said as you extended your hand to her, and she shakes it.

"An apologetic, and respective young lady, what more could a man want?" a man that had fire-like hair said while walking behind the pink to the green-haired girl.

"Apologies she's just excited to come to this restaurant, aren't you, Mitsuri?" and she nods, not denying the fact. "Yup, it's one of my favorite restaurants out of the entire city!" and she smiled.

The fire-haired man chuckles and says, "Well that just means that you'll help me choose which is the best dish." he grabs the door handle and says, "Thank you for holding the door handle for us, sir. You two have a nice day now." and walks with the green haired lady.

"Those two looked nice together." you said. "Yeah, they did. But let's not focus on that, let's go get some ice cream, yeah?" he said.

"...Are you getting jealous, Sekido?" you said in a playfully teasing manner. Sekido scoffs as he says, "No, not at all." and you laughed as you shoulder-tapped him. "Relax, I'm just joking with you. C'mon, let's go get us some ice cream!" and you grabbed his hand and walked.

Time skip

You both arrived at the ice cream shop and went inside to feel the cool temperature of the store. Sure you were wearing a hoodie, but you still felt a little cold. Sekido noticed this and takes off his jacket and said, "Here."

You grabbed his jacket and put it on to see him lightly blushing at the fact you're wearing his jacket. You softly smirked at him as you said, "Thanks." He looks down at you and says, "No problem." with a light blush on his face.

You both walked to the counter, and looked down to see a bunch of ice cream on display. Ranging from the original flavors, to the unique ones like Rocky Road, Death by Chocolate, and he gasped when spotted his personal favorite, Matcha Green Tea.

"Hello you two, what can I get you two?" the man asked you. You went first and said, "Can I get a (IC/F)?"

He nods and says, "Okay, and you?"

"Matcha." you did a double-check when he said matcha ice cream. People unironically eat that? And it was to your surprise that he was one of those people. You thought that he would like pistachio, but matcha?

"Would you two like a cone, or a cup?"

"Cup, without a doubt." you said, not giving him a second to respond. "Okay, (IC/F), and matcha coming right up!" and then squats down to open the display case.

You look at him and whisper, "Matcha? Out of all flavors? I didn't think you would be the type of person to like that."

He chuckles. "You and me have a lot of catching up to do if that's the case." he said with a smug smirk on his face.

The man bounces back up to display two cups of ice cream in his hand. "Here you two go, and that'll be 1,071.90 Yen."

Sekido then took out his wallet again and gave it to the cashier. The cashier grabs it and says, "Thank you, you two have a nice day!" he said waving to both of you as you both left the store.

You both were walking on the sidewalk as you were both taking scoops of your ice cream and eating it. You look at him and make a fake cringe face as you said "Still... Matcha?"

He chuckles and said, "Shut up..." and takes another scoop of it. You chuckled as well as you scooped up your ice cream and ate it as you both were walking beside each other.

Time skip

You both arrived at his place, and yawn as he grabs his keys and opens the door. He notices that the house was quiet, and nobody was here. He then took his shoes off and said, "Looks like we got the whole place to ourselves for the time being. What do you wanna do?"

You took off your shoes as you said, "Hmm... Oh, I know! We should make dessert!"

"After already getting ice cream?"

"What, a little more sugar gonna hurt? Besides, if you have the right ingredients, I know the perfect dessert to make!"

"And what is that dessert?"

"Meringue! It's my favorite, I make it at least once a month!" you said in a joyful tone.

Sekido mustve think you were a connoisseur when it came to food, because he never heard of this before. But, whatever makes you happy, he'll make it with you. "Sure, why not?"

You smiled and went to the kitchen, and to your surprise, it was moderately big, it connected to the living room on the left. But that didn't distract you for too long as you open the refrigerator and grabbed 3 white eggs, then you preheat the oven to 425°F as then grabbed some lemon juice, and some granulated sugar.

You grabbed a medium-sized metal bowl and put it in the empty sink and asked him, "Do you have a whisk by any chance?"

He then points to the pantry and you opened it. There was a lot of stuff in here, thankfully you noticed the whisk before you got lost in looking in here. You plugged the whisk up and then searched for a white egg separator, so that the yolk wouldn't get in, and to your surprise, they had one.

You cracked the three eggs and threw away each yolk. And here comes the worst part, waiting 20 minutes volume to be better. As you were waiting, you asked Sekido, "Hey, you think you can turn on the TV so we can speed up time?"

He nods and said, "Sure, what do you want me to put on?" he said as he grabbed the remote.

"(F/S/M)."

"Okay." He then plays it and put the remote on the couch and sits down. You followed suit as you sat down as you watched the (M/S). Sekido looks down at you before slowly wrapping his arm around you.

You softly gasp as you felt him do this and you look at him. You both made eye contact with each other and giggled as you both leaned towards each other and kissed.

20 minutes later

As you two were watching the (M/S), you check your phone to see that 20 minutes have gone by and remembered what you have to do. "Hey, Sekido, I gotta make the meringue. As nice as this cuddling might be, Imma need you to let me go, alright?"

He chuckles and said, "Alright, but you better make it quick." he says as he lets go of you. "Relax, it won't take that long." you said as you went back to the kitchen and grabbed a teaspoon. You then poured half a teaspoon of lemon juice and poured into the bowl.

You then grabbed the electric whisk and turned it on to be medium-low speed and then slowly moved up to medium speed. As you were doing this, you scooped up 15 mL of a teaspoon of sugar four times, and dumped it with the mixed egg whites.

You then set the whisk on high and started to fully mix it. You move the whisk around the bowl to make sure you wouldn't miss a single inch so it wouldn't taste bad.

Two minutes have gone by and the mix had a creamy white look to it, you poked it and felt the texture with your index finger and thumb and felt that it was smooth. You then turned off the whisk and picked up the metal bowl.

You then opened the pantry and picked out pie bread. You unwrapped it, and poured the meringue into the crust. You grabbed a knife to smooth it out. Once you did that, you put it in the oven and put the time for 4 minutes and 30 seconds.

You walk back to Sekido and plopped back right into his arms. You sighed like an exhausted mother taking care of children of three. He chuckles as he wraps his arms around you and kissed your head and continued to watch the (M/S).

4 minutes and 30 seconds later

You heard the oven beeping, giving you the sign that the meringue was done. You put on some oven mitts and opened the oven to take out the meringue. You put it on the table and grabbed a knife to cut the meringue pie. You grabbed some paper plates and gave each of you a piece.

You both picked up each others pieces of the meringue pie and took a bite of it. Once you did, you hummed from satisfaction by how proud you were able to make this. Sekido took another bite as he was rapidly chewing the pie.

You pat him as you said, "Relax, the pie isn't going anywhere." looks at you and said, "Sorry, but you bake really well." he said while chewing the pie in his mouth. You giggled as you took another bite.

Mini time skip

After each of you had about two pieces of meringue pie, you put the rest in the oven and washed your hands. You open your phone to see that it was 8:30 and it was getting dark outside.

"It's getting late and I should probably get going. I had a great time hanging out with you, Sekido." She flashed Sekido a smile before putting her phone in her pocket.

After saying her goodbye to Sekido, Y/N turned to the door to leave. Sekido stood there for a moment, he had seen an opportunity to convince her to stay for perhaps... Something more.

However, he stood there, frozen, he didn't know what do or say. What are you doing?! Make a move, convince her to stay with you! He yelled at himself in his thoughts. Eventually, he regained himself and quickly followed her.

Once you had both of your shoes on, you unlocked the door and was about to walk out until Sekido stopped you. "Hey, (Y/N)..."

You look back at him and said, "Yeah?"

Sekido stood there looking stuck before shaking his head and said, "Do you mind if you can stay a little longer?" he said with a blush on his face.

"What for?"

"Well, for you not to walk out in the middle of the night, how far do live from us?"

"I live about 35 minutes away from you guys, but I can handle the walk, I do play in sports after all."

"Perhaps stay a little longer, I'd... I'd honestly like you to stay a bit longer...It's too late and it's dark out. A lot of things can happen, bad things at that. I'd prefer it if you stayed here, just for the night." Sekido softly said to you while retaining his serious tone.

""Well, when you put it like that..." She says, slowly closing the door again. "I guess you're right, it is pretty dark." She peeked outside the window observing the darkness that was illuminated by the dim streetlights. "Well, one night couldn't hurt." She smiled softly as she began taking off her shoes.

Sekido stood there watching you as he thought to himself, Bout time you did something smart, but hopefully your next words land smoothly. Don't fuck this up. His inner thoughts scolded. "(Y/N)..." Her gaze shifted to his when he called out her name.

"..."

Don't you dare be fucking blunt.

"... Do want to sleep in my bed?"

YOU FUCKING MORON!

Both of you stood there, a bright blush dusting your cheeks after the sudden question. He stammers trying to come up with an excuse but not really succeeding. His gaze shifts to anywhere but you before he then speaks in a flustered and shameful tone. "I apologize for that... inappropriate question. It's fine if you want to leave, it's clear I got too ahead of myself and-" Sekido was unexpectedly cut off by the sudden feeling of his lips on her soft ones. It didn't take long for him to quickly give in to the desirable sensation as his arms quickly wrapped around your waist while you wrapped yours around his neck.

The kiss both of you shared then began to get more heated, both your tongues dancing with one another. Eventually, the kiss came to an end due to lack of air but was delicious no less.

As you were about to speak, you were quickly cut off by Sekido who brought you into his arms in the bridal carry, venturing upstairs to his bedroom. Once you both entered, he gently placed you down so you could once again stand on your two feet.

"Before we continue this, I would like to know something..." Sekido began, staring into your eyes with his usual serious glare but with with a hint of concern. "Do you really want this?" He asked placing a hand on your shoulder. "I understand that we've been friends for a year, yes, but I would like to know if you're truly comfortable with this. So please, be completely honest with me." His tone of voice held a little bit of concern, way more than what he would usually use even toward his brothers.

You then got on your toes and wrapped your arms around as you hugged him. He slowly wrapped his arms around you as well as he kissed the side of your head. You both stopped hugging as he says, "So you want this?"

You nodded and said, "With every fiber of my being." and kissed his lips. He then picks you up and places you on the bed. He then grabbed the rim of your pants, but then looked at you to see if he had your approval, and you nodded.

He then pulled down your pants to reveal your (F/C) panties and took off your shirt to reveal your (F/C) bra.

"Goddamn... Your so hot..." you blushed red when he said that, and chuckles. He then took off his shirt to reveal his toned brown skin. He was about to take off his pants, but you stopped him when you said, "W-Wait! Can I... Take them off?"

He then smirks as he lets go of the rim of his pants and you crawled up to his standing figure. You then grabbed the rim and then pulled down to reveal his black boxers and you blushed.

He then got on the bed and then kisses you as he touches your cheek. You both started to touch down each other's bodies as you both wanted to feel every inch of each other before the main event.

You both stopped kissing and caresses your cheek. "You okay?" he says as while touching down your body. You respond to him, "Yeah... I'm okay... Just a little nervous is all... You know, about doing this..."

"I don't blame you since I'm nervous about this too... But, we can try, and overcome this fear while we do it together..." He said with a faint blush on his face.

You giggled from the way he said that and said, "You sound like an anime character..." and he grumbled in response. "I'm trying to make the moment less stressful..."

You giggle again, but wrapped your arms around him. "Well, I feel less nervous now and more comfortable doing this with you."

He chuckles, "Yeah..." and he cups your cheek. You both stared at each other for a little bit before capturing each other's lips. You both felt warm as you both were kissing each other on his bed.

You both stopped kissing and Sekido says, "I wanna touch you..." he says as his hands were almost touching your bra.

You then sat up and put your hands behind your back to unhook your bra, but were having a hard time for some reason. You giggled from a little bit of embarrassment, and then took off your arm straps and turned your bra around so you could take it off more easily.

Once you unhooked it, and it dropped on the bed, you instantly covered them up with your hands. Sekido tried to move your hands, but you quickly moved you moved away from him.

"What's wrong?" Sekido sits up, "Are you worried I might not like them?" Sekido asked you, genuinely concerned about why you were covering your breasts. You stayed silent for a bit before Sekido touched your shoulder and said, "I still love you just as you are, you know that, right?"

He then went under your arms and started to fondle your breasts, making you gasp.

"Seki--" You turned your head to talk to him, but then he kissed you, silencing you as he was touching your breasts. Your hands slowly dropped as you let him touch your breasts more and more.

"S-Seki...do...." you said in between kisses. Your nipples started to get ridged, and Sekido saw an opportunity. He then turned your body around to face his, and stopped kissing you as he went down to your breasts and started to suck your nipple.

You gasped and then let out a quiet moan, but then quickly covered your mouth since you couldn't believe you moaned. Even Sekido was surprised. "Did you just moan?"

You were about to lie, but there would be no point since it was only the two, so you nodded. He then smirks and says, "I liked it..." he licks your breast, and you moan again. "It tells me I'm doing a good job..." and started to continue sucking your nipple.

You moaned and wrapped your arms around his head as he picked you up and placed you on his lap. He wrapped his arms around your waist as he was switching left and right sucking your nipples.

And as he was doing this, you felt something poking your bottom region. Is... Is that his... You thought as you felt it move there. You then gasped and then groaned out his name, "S-Sekido... Your..."

He then stops and looks at you to see a blush on your face. He then looks down to see his erection poking your area, making his eyes widen. He then takes you off his lap, but couldn't help but look down on his cloth-covered erection, and you couldn't stop looking too.

Sekido notices this and says, "Are you... Grossed out by it?" he said as his legs were open showing off the bulge in his boxer briefs. You softly shook your head and said, "N-No... It's normal. You're just excited is all..." Seeing the bulge in his boxers made you feel excited as well.

Your hips started to rub against each other as you felt a tingling sensation down there, and your face started to heat up. You then sat back on Sekido's lap as he says, "Wh... What are you-" he cuts himself off by groaning when you started grinding your hips.

You softly moan as you wrap your arms and legs around him. You softly moan as you felt his bulge rubbing against your spot. Sekido groans as he was getting his bulge grinded on as he put his hands on your waist. He then started to kiss your neck and your shoulder as you continued to move your hips on him.

'S-Sekido..." you moaned out his name as you felt your spot getting wet, so you stopped and said, "I'm so h-horny for you... " and kissed him.

He melted into your kiss as he moved your hands off your waist, and onto your back. The bulge in his boxers was constantly twitching from how damp his boxers were. He looks at you and says, "Take them off..."

You blushed over the fact that you knew exactly what he meant. But that didn't stop you. You then got off of him and grabbed the rim of your panties and slowly took them off and then threw them on the floor.

You then look down at his boxers and look back at him and said, "M-May I?"

"I did say take them off... Didn't I? God that was corny..." you giggled at his failed attempt to look sexy, but you still did what he asked. You crawled up to him and grabbed the rim of his boxers, and pulled them down.

Once you fully pulled them down, you were in awe of how big he was. He looked to be 7 inches long, and 4 inches thick. Both of you blushed red as you were both looking at each other's genitalia.

"Wow... So we're gonna do this..." you said in a soft, quiet tone. "Yeah..." he says as he looks down at his cock and looks back at you and says, "Come here..."

You then crawl up to him and then he sits you up and then kisses you. You softly moaned as you cupped his cheek. He then wrapped his arms around you and you both collapsed on the bed.

"Sekido... I... I want to..." He kisses you and says, "I know, trust me, I know... But I want this to be as tender as it can be. You want it to feel special, right?"

You softly nodded and then he grabbed your hand and place it on his cock. He then gets to your ear and whispers, "Stroke it for me..." and your face turned red.

You were about to speak, but then you felt two fingers go inside you. You moaned at the feeling of his fingers inside you moving. He goes against your again and says, "Move it..."

You slowly moved your hand up and down onto his cock and put your head on his chest. Sekido's breath trembling as he thought to himself, Holy shit... I'm really doing this with her... Even with my fingers, her insides are wrapping around me so tightly...

You would occasionally whimper you felt him move his fingers a little more deeper inside you, but you felt good so you weren't complaining. Sekido cups your cheek and then kisses you with his right hand, and as he's doing this, he looks down at you stroking his shaft, and his pre cum leaks out.

He then closes his eyes and started to french kiss you, letting both of your tongues twirl with one another. Just when you were about to stop, Sekido grabs a hold of your tongue with his mouth and you thought, H-Hes sucking my tongue... And goes back into kissing you.

You both stopped kissing as you both were breathing heavily as you were both out of breath. Sekido nuzzles under your neck and says, "Fuck... Your hand is so soft... It feels like I'm gonna..."

"A-Are you..?" you ask him, in a shy, flustered tone and he says, "A little... But I don't want to cum just from you stroking me, it would be embarrassing..." he then looks at you, and says, "I'd rather cum if we make ourselves good when we taste each other..." and you blush profusely red.

He then took his fingers out of you and got on top of you. But he wraps his arms around you and then spun until you were on top of him. He huskily says, "Turn around..." and you immediately compiled.

Your back was faced against him while looking down at his twitchy shaft. The thought of him being inside you made your mind fill so much dirty stuff, your younger self would be shocked to visualize them.

You then laid down to the point where you were face to face with it, and Sekido could see your wet pussy. He softly gropes your ass as he spreads your lips out to reveal your wet, pink, insides.

The sign of it made his cock twitch and your eyebrows rose up from the sight of it. You look back at him and said, "S-Should I..?"

He nods and then wasted no time licking your slit. You gasped and moaned as you said, "H-Hey! No fair..." and then you started to suck it, both of you pleasuring each other orally.

Both of you didn't know what you were doing, but you were just doing what felt right, and followed back on what to do when you two were watching porn secretly.

Sekido stops licking you and says, "You taste... So fucking good... I want more..." and then he stuck his tongue inside you, making you yelp.

Your toes lightly curled from the feeling of his tongue moving around you. It was like he did this before, but in reality, he didn't. You continued sucking his cock but more rigidly as you were too distracted from his tongue. You then decided to suck more of him, and then started to deepthroat him.

He moans, but still continued to eat you out. As he was eating you out, he thought to himself, Fuck... If this keeps up any longer... I might not last... Her mouth... Its... So warm...

He then started to suck your juices from your pussy and you moaned, sending vibrations onto his cock. He grunts, and bucks his hips, making his cock go deeper into your mouth. You then kept bobbing your head, and Sekido kept moving his tongue inside you to taste you. That was until you both felt something.

You clench your eyes close as you felt the knot in your stomach getting tighter and tighter, and Sekido does the same, only that his cock was constantly twitching. You stopped sucking his cock, and started to stroke it.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! I'm gonna... fucking... gonna! He grunts as he spurts his cum onto your hand as you continuously kept stroking his ejaculating cock.

That didn't mean he finished alone, no, you whimper as you felt yourself spraying your juices into Sekidos mouth, and you could've sworn you heard him swallowing some.

You both were heavily breathing as you were both recovering from that experience, both of you would twitch at random times after coming off your highs. "Fuck..."

"Yeah, f-fuck..." you said as you were looking at your hand that was covered in cum. You open and close your fingers as you see slimy white lines stretching between your fingers.

"You want me to get a rag for that?" Sekido asked you and you nodded. You then rolled off of him and he got off the bed and went to the bathroom. You look at your hand again to see his cum dangling on your palm, it almost dropped on your chest when Sekido gave you three pieces of tissue to clean it off.

"Thanks." and you cleaned off the cum off your hand. He had some tissues of his own as he cleaned the cum off his cock, making him slightly flinch whenever he touches himself.

You both finished cleaning and sat down on the bed, both of you blushing after what just happened. And then you moved close to him and kissed him as he wrapped his arms around you.

He then puts you down, and he was on top of you. You both exchanged tongues and were twirling them against each other, and could taste the remains of your juices on his tongue

You both stopped kissing and cupped your cheek and say, "I want this moment, with you... For both of us..." he said as he started to grind his hips onto your slit, making you whimper from sensitivity.

"Do... D-Do you have protection?" you said as he then stops and says, "Oh, yeah... Yeah, I think I do." he then opens his cabinet and took out a piece of wrapper.

"H-How long did you have that?" you ask since you were genuinely surprised at how he pulled one out so quickly. "Karaku gave me these for whenever something like this would happen. For an annoying bastard, he is kind of smart."

He then tore the wrapper open and took out the clear piece of latex. He rolls the latex down on his shaft and goes back on top of you. "You ready?" Sekido asks you with genuine concern in his voice.

You wrap your arms around him and kissed him. Sekido, while kissing you, lines up his cock to your entrance and slowly entered himself inside you.

You both stopped kissing as Sekido strokes your face and says, "You okay?" You nodded and said, "Y-Yeah... Yeah, I'm okay... G-God, your big..." you softly said while trying to make yourself more comfortable.

"Don't move, okay? That'll make more harder to make yourself more comfortable. Just relax, okay?" Sekido said as if he genuinely cared about you, like he didn't want to hurt you while in the process of doing this. "Here..." he hugs you and kisses your body.

You softly moan as you felt his lips kissing down your tender body. This felt like something that would come out of an erotic fanfiction that people would read in their free time, but this was real life, and you were loving every single second of it.

He then started to lick your nipple, and you groan from the feeling of his wet tongue going up and down. He then started to suck on it again and you wrapped your arms around his head. "S-Sekido..."

He stops for a brief moment to say, "God, I love you..." and went back sucking your nipple. Those three words stuck with you and so you kissed his head and said, "I love you, too, S-Sekido..."

He stopped sucking your breast and looks at you and says, "I can't wait anymore, I want to move so bad, is that okay?"

You nodded as you grabbed his face, and kissed him. You both closed your eyes as Sekido started to move your hips. He moans in your mouth as he felt your warm, wet insides around him, even with the condom on.

He then wraps his arms around you and stops kissing and says, "You feel... So fucking good..." and puts his head on your shoulder. You follow suit as you responded to him, "S-So do you..."

You close your eyes as you begin to moan in pleasure from his slow thrusts. You felt the warm air of his trembling breath up against your neck, and it made you feel like jelly.

You then wrap your legs around his waist and then he started to move at a more moderate pace. He started to moan a little more louder than before, but he was still moderately quiet about it.

"(Y/N)... Baby..." he mutters out as he was thrusting his hips, making the bed slightly shake and creak with every thrust. He started to kiss your neck and you whimpered.

He then stopped thrusting as and said, "I wanna try a new position, is that okay with you?" he said cupping your face. You then nodded and said, "If it's okay with you, then I won't argue."

He smirks and kisses your lips. He then puts you on your side and gets behind you, and spoons you. You could feel his wet latex-covered shaft grinding against your ass, and you liked it like a degenerate. He then lifted your leg up and went back inside you, making you both groan and moan.

"You feel tighter than before when you like this... I'm not complaining, though. I love it..." and started thrusting his hips again. He kissed the back of your shoulder and said, 'Does it feel good, baby? Do you want me to go faster?"

You nodded and said, "Y-Yes... It feels good... Please go faster, I wanna make you feel good t-too..."

He grabs your chin and turns your head to make him face you and said, "Oh, but you are making me feel good. But for you, I'll try my fullest to satisfy you..." and started to move his hips a lot faster.

You then moaned and then whimper as you felt him thrust deeper inside you, hitting your spot. "I love you, (Y/N)..." and he kisses your lips again. You cupped his cheeks as you both had a passionate kissing session, all while having the bed move and creak through every thrust he did.

You clamped down on him and he groans as his hips started to stutter from the feeling of your warm, wet walls tightening around him. Sekido stops kissing you and lays his head on your shoulder and kept thrusting his hips.

Both of your minds felt like white noise as you were both thinking about nothing but each other. This sense of intimacy and love made you both feel fuzzy inside, and you both loved it.

He then started to moan as he says to you, "(Y/N)... I think I'm gonna..." you then responded to him and said, "M-Me too..." you said as you felt the knot in your stomach form again.

He then lets go of your leg, and wraps his arms around your waist as he closes his eyes and let his hips go into autopilot. You started to whimper as you felt close and closer to your climax, but you tried to hold on as long as you could so you both could cum at the same time.

Sekido's breathing started to get louder and shakier as he felt his cock twitching. He gets behind your ear and says, "Are... Are you close?" and you nodded. He then started to move his hips deep inside you to the point where you couldn't hold it in any longer and came on his cock.

You let out a soundless scream as you felt yourself cumming on Sekido's cock. Shortly after, Sekido thrust inside you one last time, and grunted as he lets out a sigh of relief as he came inside the condom.

You were both sweating profusely as you both would lie on the bed, randomly twitching after coming off another high. He would slowly take himself out of you and remove the condom filled with cum. He throws it away, and turns you around to hug him. "I love you, so much..." Sekido softly said to you as he kisses your forehead.

You wrapped your arms around his body as you lay on his chest and said, "I love you, too, Sekido..." and you yawned as you felt tired. Sekido yawned as well he said, "Get some rest, I'll take you to your place when you wake up tomorrow..."

"Okay..." you let out another yawn as you close your eyes and drifted off to sleep. Sekido kisses your head and closed his eyes as he went to sleep.

What started out as a date, ended as a intimate and loving night alone. You two will never forget about this moment, till the day you both pass away.

[vanosslirious]

BBS Dialogue Prompts #322

ʙʙꜱ ᴅɪᴀʟᴏɢᴜᴇ ᴘʀᴏᴍᴘᴛꜱ & ꜱᴇɴᴛᴇɴᴄᴇ ꜱᴛᴀʀᴛᴇʀꜱ: [ 13 ]

SMII7Y

Goddamn, how am I supposed to clean that?

True, I can just rappel down.

It doesn’t even set up on these walls.

I feel so professional right now.

Bro, stop, I’m on a scaffold, it’s dangerous.

Dude, I don't have my rope.

Wow, it’s like a different world in here.

The outside is still disgusting, I’m going to be 100% with you.

Let me hear it, gimme it.

It’s all downhill...

Might be awhile until I have another one.

I didn’t think it was that close.

I’m sorry, this normally doesn’t happen.

I was literally about to say that.

Put it on the roof!

Yes you can!

Bro, let’s look at the sights together.

Bro, we were supposed to leave it up there, how did you grab that?

You know what, you bring up a good point.

Line it up but right next to me.

VANOSSGAMING

You tip zero?

Is that the delivery man’s fault?

Yeah, let’s do this.

Wow, it takes two hits.

Well, now you can show us the way.

I feel like I’m being pranked.

Is it made out of cheese?

Finally one that doesn't work so well.

Ah, fucking get me an audition.

I shot you point blank.

GRIZZY

Wait, wait, is there another one?

I have five keys.

This is me and you, old lady.

What did I miss, I literally closed my eyes for a second.

I tried to take her down!

I'm gonna murder this old hag.

Somebody is flying out that window.

You have IQ?

I don't know if that's how it works.

Bro, I can't even explain that, I'm just dogshit.

TERRORISER

I'm going back in there, aren't I, for fuck sake.

Time to die, I guess.

He's walking through walls now, sick.

I know he's behind me, fuck this…

Alright, bitch, buy me some candles.

Shut up, stop talking.

How did I win?

How come you didn't message me on my birthday with the calendar?

Sorry, didn't mean to scare ya.

Jeez, you are sick.

ELILIKESRICE

Vampires holding guns in general is funny.

I thought you can read my mind.

I drink blood 'cuz it reminds me of kool-aid.

God, just put on a shirt, please!

I'm only 5'10.

He wronged us too many times.

They hit the pentagon.

I sacrificed myself.

Help, I'm gonna die, you fucks.

That's it, I've had enough.

BASICALLYIDOWRK

I'm getting hit by everything, bro.

I'm not paying my mortgage until we win.

You guys got about fifteen more minutes for my prescribed Adderall kicks in, and all the wind is fucking flowing in.

Press the fucking button, you dipshits!

Cut him off, it's the last guy, cut him off.

You got this, I believe.

We already qual'd, you dumb ice-cream fuck.

You can, but it's just going to be hard.

I don't know what that means.

I heard a door open.

JERICHO

Get off of the keys!

How do I get out of here?

Now, cut me in on the deal, exactly as you promised.

Wow, that is really difficult.

I'm just gonna go ahead and do this real quick.

Can you carry my body back to the van?

We have forty-two seconds left.

Don't be a hero.

I don't know how to activate it.

What is this bag here?

NOGLA

No, I got it covered.

Hold on, I gotta kill this guy.

That's my title.

Honestly, I zoned out completely.

Watch how bad this guy is.

No one has paid a penny yet.

If it was ten thousand, it would’ve selled.

You guys do whatever the fuck you want but leave me alone.

Stop what you're doing!

Okay, I figured it out, it’s this way.

BLARG

I'm on top of this man, and he's not dying.

I might have gotten executed in the back of the head.

That was violent.

Wait, just stand still.

This is such a-brother-and-sister-and-guy-we-bought-drugs-from-moment!

Yay, reviving the better player.

We're going for a ride!

How do I not die?

I think the door hit the dog in the head, because there's blood everywhere. 

Oh, I fell over and died.

WILDCAT

What did you get, did you get something good?

He's not near the bikes, fuck off!

Dude, he was just with us.

Only the killers can hear dead people.

I think you and I have the best read on our friends, you know, that's why I want to work together.

That fucking guy flopped the fuck over.

He's trying to act all scared around me.

I knew you were a bad boy.

What do you need to help him do?

Why do you ask a question and run away?

BIGPUFFER

He never gonna find me.

I can't kill anyone.

I'm out of ammo.

I lost so many points!

You can teleport through the sewer system? 

Fuck you, how about that, huh, you little idiot!

Really, you're gonna do me like that?

I literally didn't notice you.

Wait, what did I just see for a second there?

Wait a minute, I'm getting eaten!

H2ODELIRIOUS

I don’t think he can hit me.

Maybe he can’t see me.

I’m a spectral anomaly.

Where the hell did you go?

It’s not personal, it’s just you.

There’s a rabbit taking a bath.

This is my nightmare!

Alright, I should be scared.

That’s not what I meant!

I’m in the garage, I just heard her.

FL0M

Are you just blowing up vaults, dude?

Alright, hacker.

I can't believe they got beyblades in this game, this is incredible.

Oh my God, you can kill them.

Back the fuck up!

This is the heist, motherfuckers.

Hey, knock that shit out.

Make sure they're fucking dead.

Alright, I might've shot him.

Wait, you got the submarine, what the fuck!

[study-coffee-chicago]

Holiday Away (A Halstead Brothers + Halstead Sister Imagine)

A/N: I figured I'd write a festive imagine! Don't forget to vote and comment!

Enjoy! 

"Hey! The Halsteads are here!" Hermann exclaimed as you, Jay, and Hailey walked into Molly's.

"Three-fourths of us," you answered. "Will's at work."

"He'll be here later though, Hermann. Don't you worry," Jay reassured him.

"Good," Cindy said. "We have more than enough food.

"Where's everyone else?" you asked, meaning the rest of 51. You knew that everyone's schedule always got screwed up during the holidays, so some people on their normal shift got stuck working a different one.

"Pretty sure Stella and Kelly picked up a bit of overtime, so they should be here soon. I don't know when all the rest of them will be here," Herrmann answered.

 "Well, I went out with Gallo, Violet, and Ritter last night and Gallo and Ritter were three sheets to the wind when we left, so they're probably sleeping off hangovers," you said.

At this, Jay's eyes widened. "You didn't tell me that. Did they get home okay? I told you to call me or Will if you needed a ride home."

"Violet said she'd get them back to her apartment at least. And, she texted me when she was back, so don't worry. Jeez, have a little faith in me, Jay."

Jay rolled his eyes.

"Guys, we can continue this conversation when we have some food," Hailey said.

Jay nodded. "Good point."

The three of you grabbed Thanksgiving food with all the fixings from the bar and sat down.

The minute you sat down, in waltzed Adam, Kim, and Makayla followed by Kevin and... you gasped.

"Vanessa?!" you exclaimed and jumped up.

"Looks like they pulled it off," Kevin said as you ran up to her and gave her a hug.

You pulled away and gave a confused look to Kevin. "Pulled what off?"

"We all knew for months that she was coming home for Thanksgiving, but we decided to surprise you."

"Well, consider me surprised!"

"Alright, grab some food and then you can catch up!" Hermann yelled. "Cindy will murder me if all this food she and her book club made goes to waste!"

"Christopher!" Cindy yelled.

Hermann shrugged. "What? It's true."

You all laughed and then let the rest of Intelligence fill their plates while you helped Jay push together a table so that you could all sit together.

When Vanessa sat down, you decided it was time that you broke out your Spanish...despite how rusty it was from two years of online Spanish classes plus your current gap year between undergrad and grad school.

***

Half an hour later, Kelly and Stella walked in. And then, fifteen minutes after them, came Gallo, Violet, and Ritter.

"Hey!" Stella yelled. "If anyone wants drinks, c'mon up to the bar!"

"They ain't free, though!" Hermann yelled again. Cindy gave him a side-eye. "Fine. Fifty percent off, but only because it's a holiday. And, Lee Henry will be here with the other kids soon, so if he wants a drink, don't give it to him! He's still a few months away from the legal drinking age."

A few of the first responders laughed and then you waited for a few people to get up and go to the bar and then you went up.

When you ordered your drink from Stella, you had to yell over how loud it was starting to get. Some of the doctors and nurses from Med had just walked in, so there were even more people here. You couldn't believe it had only been you, Hailey, and Jay just a little over an hour ago.

"Hey, Y/N," Stella greeted. "What can I get for you?"

"Something fruity and a bit strong," you said.

Stella raised her eyebrows and she shared a look with Kelly who was sitting at the bar right next to you.

"Everything okay?" Kelly asked.

"Yeah, everything's fine," you answered. "Just started to get a bit crowded in here and I know my social meter will go down in about an hour."

"Your what?" he asked.

"I won't feel like being around people in an hour," you clarified.

"Fair enough," he said.

Then, Violet came and stood next to you. "Hey, Y/N. You hungover at all from last night?"

You shook your head. "I only had two drinks last night, remember? And they were super spaced out. You have any trouble getting Gallo and Ritter back to your place?"

"The hardest part was getting Gallo in and out of the car and up the stairs. Luckily Ritter wasn't as drunk as Gallo so he helped me with that part."

"Good. He drinking anything tonight?"

Violet smiled. "Well, he said no more drinking last night, but in about hour he'll probably break that. But, Ritter promised he'd only have two drinks tonight so I don't have to deal with both of them like I did last night."

"Well, that's good."

Then, Stella came out with your drink and you handed her some money. When you got back to your table, Makayla asked if you'd play her in Trivia Crack, to which you happily obliged.

***

You had been here for a little over three and a half hours and to say it was loud would be an understatement. Stella and Kelly were here, and so was Gallo since they didn't have close family to go to. Violet and Ritter had left a while ago to go spend some time with their families and Adam, Kim, and Makayla had left so that they could break into the pie that Makayla and Kim had made last night and Adam promised that they'd decorate for Christmas tonight, too. Will was here and since he had to drive himself home, he was capping himself at two drinks, so he wasn't as loud as Jay was because he was officially three sheets to the wind as of two drinks ago (Hailey had officially cut him off and Stella would now be serving him soda water with a splash of alcohol on the straw so that he assumed the drink was alcoholic). And there were lots of first responders who you hadn't met who were on shift and just stopped by for a Thanksgiving meal because they weren't able to spend the day with their families since they were working.

Unbeknownst to you, Hailey had had many a panic attack in her life and had been watching your body language. She had noticed how your brow was slightly furrowed all the time and how your eyes seemed to be hyper-focused on your drink in front of you and how your foot was bouncing on the leg of the chair.

"Can we go home soon?" you asked.

"I just got here," Will said. Then he caught your gaze. He too noticed your face. "Okay, how about we leave in an hour?"

An hour. You could do that.

"Okay. An hour. Yeah, that works," you agreed.

***

At least, you thought you could do an hour. Everything was normal and then you had to use the bathroom. You didn't go in there to avoid people, but to actually use the bathroom. But, when you were walking to the bathroom, you finally grasped how many people were there when you had to squeeze past people and were constantly saying excuse me and sorry.

There were too many people here and they were judging you. They were looking at you, talking about you.

You finally made it into the bathroom and, by some miracle, it was empty. You stood at the mirror and gripped the sink as hard as you possibly could because you needed to get out of here and you needed to do it now.

You couldn't go back through the crowd, but you didn't have your phone to text Hailey. It was still back at the table.

You still needed to pee though, so you made your way into a stall and you tried to focus on your breathing.

Was it getting faster? Shallower? Or was that all in your head?

Fuck, you didn't know anymore. You didn't know anything. You didn't know why you were feeling this way and why you always dreaded having to be around people and why you hated the holidays, but it happened and it always happened. And every year, you forgot how bad it was and then you agreed to do things and then Thanksgiving rolled around and you knew you were in a hellish month and a half of having to do too many things and see too many people and wear too much makeup and—

Oh, God. Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, oh, God.

It was happening.

You weren't to the point of hyperventilating, but you knew that in about a minute your breath would be coming out in gulps.

You grabbed your left wrist with your right hand and dug your nails in as hard as you could. You hissed at the pain, but it gave you something else to focus on. You needed to get out of here and into Jay or Will's car before you became the talk of everyone's next shift.

"Y/N? Is that you?"

Shit. Stella.

"It- It- I'm fine," you said. But, even you wouldn't believe that statement.

"Doesn't sound like it. Are you sick? Do you want me to get Hailey? Or Will or Jay?" She asked.

"H- Hailey. Get Hailey."

"Okay. I'll be right back. Just, stay here."

Then, you heard footsteps and the sound of the door opening and closing.

Oh, no. Stella knows. Now people are gonna know you can't even handle seeing people for dinner and what if they tell people? What if they check you into the hospital for a psych eval? It wouldn't be crazy since you were around doctors and nurses. Or worse, what if Jay, Hailey, and Will didn't want to deal with you since you ruined Thanksgiving and they put you on a 72- hour psych hold? What if they—

"Y/N, hey, it's Hailey," Hailey said gently. "Stella's outside the bathroom. She's just telling people that there's an issue with a toilet so they don't come in." She paused and you looked down and saw that her feet were right outside your stall door. "Can you open the door?"

Slowly, you opened the door.

Hailey's eyes wandered down to your left wrist, which she saw was scratched up and she made a mental note to make sure it got cleaned when you got home. But, she knew that the important thing to focus on right now was your breathing.

"Y/N, I know these suck, okay? But, I'm gonna have you squeeze my hand and just focus on my breathing, okay?"

You nodded. "Sit- Sit down?" you asked.

"Sure, we can sit down."

You moved about ten feet and then slumped against the bathroom wall next to Hailey. She knew the floor was probably filthy, but she didn't care. All she cared about was making sure you, her little sister-in-law, was okay.

It took multiple tries and squeezing Hailey's hand as hard as you possibly could, but you eventually got your breathing back to normal.

Hailey wrapped an arm around your and pulled you into her as you finally began to cry.

"It's okay," she said gently. "It's okay."

You just continued to cry.

You had ruined Thanksgiving.

"Do you wanna go home?" You nodded. "Do you want me to have Stella take you out the back way and then Will can meet you there? I would take you, but Jay's drunk and he'll be more likely to listen to me than to Will when I tell him we need to leave later." A ghost of a smile appeared on your lips as you nodded. "There's that Halstead smile. Now, I'm gonna go get Stella and then have her stay in here with you and I'll talk to Will, okay?"

You nodded one more time and she squeezed your hand once more and then stood up and left the bathroom.

Not fifteen seconds later, Stella walked in, taking Hailey's place.

"C'mere," Stella said and held her arms out.

You stood up and hugged her as the last of your tears trickled down your cheeks.

"Let's get you outta here, kid," Stella said and quickly got you out of the bathroom and thorough a door marked employees only which was a door five feet to the left of the women's bathrooms. Then, you and she weaved your way through the many boxes in the back until you finally made it to the back exit.

When you got out, you were met with the smiling face of your oldest brother.

"Hailey said it would probably be best if I took you home and I think I agree. I don't need a shiner from having Jay punch me when I'm trying to shove his drunk ass in my car."

Will expected a laugh from you, but when nothing came, he just thanked Stella and led you to his car...which was parked half a block away.

"What do you say I stop at the gas station and grab us each a pint of ice cream, hmm?" Will asked when he started driving.

"We already had pie," you answered, your voice monotone.

"It's Thanksgiving. No one's counting. And, I think we should."

You shrugged. "Okay."

"And Jay doesn't get any because he'll just puke it up anyway."

"Get some for Hailey, too," you reminded him quietly.

Will smiled. He was just happy you were saying something instead of just answering questions.

"Do you know her favorite flavor?" he asked.

"Strawberry," you answered. "But, I think she only says that one's her favorite because Jay doesn't like it so he won't steal it."

Will laughed at that. "Okay, one pint of strawberry ice cream for Hailey, one pint of cookies n crème for you, and one pint of whatever looks good for me."

***

"Not so fast, missy," Will said after you walked in the door, grabbed a spoon from the kitchen, and made a beeline for your room. You turned to face him. "Gotta clean up your wrist first."

"How'd you know about that?" you asked. "And, they're barely even there. It's fine, Will."

"Hailey texted me about it while I was in getting ice cream and you were in the car. And, I don't care if they aren't deep. I'm cleaning them. Simple as that."

You knew there was no point in arguing with him and all you wanted to do was go to sleep after you ate your ice cream.

"Fine," you agreed and then put your ice cream on the counter and made your way to the bathroom.

You pushed yourself up onto the counter while Will busied himself grabbing supplies from the first aid kit.

"Jay really keeps this thing stocked, doesn't he?" Will commented.

"Him and Hailey are cops," was all you said to that.

Will just nodded, sensing you didn't want to talk that much, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't try like hell to get you to talk about what happened. After all, as the oldest, wasn't it his job to get to the bottom of it?

"Hand please," Will said after he got the alcohol wipes and bandaids out. You obeyed and held out your left hand, palm up. Will quickly inspected it. And, you weren't lying when you said the scratches were just superficial. "They're not deep at all."

"Told you," you mumbled.

Will busied himself with washing his hands and then opening the packet of alcohol wipes, hoping you'd say something. You didn't.

"This is gonna sting," He told you, and you bit your cheek as he wiped down your wrist. Then, he waited for it to dry and put a bandaid on it. "There. All better."

You got off the counter. "Can I have my ice cream now?"

Will knew bribery wasn't a good way to get someone to open up and though he would never use it on a real patient, you were his little sister, and therefore, that rule didn't apply to you.

"Depends," he began, "You gonna tell me what happened back at Molly's?"

"Nothing really happened," you told him. Because it was true. Nothing technically happened; your nervous system just decided to screw you over.

"People just don't have panic attacks for no reason, Y/N." He wasn't saying this in a rude way but in a caring way.

You sighed. "Jay's stubbornness is rubbing off on you."

"Good."

"Fine. There were too many people. I'm gonna go eat my ice cream now... in my room... alone."

"Just remember to throw it away when you're done," Will reminded you because he knew that was all he was going to get out of you right now. "Don't need an ant infestation in your bedroom."

You just nodded and made your way to the kitchen and grabbed your spoon and your pint of ice cream from where you had left them.

When you got into your room, you changed into a pair of comfy pajamas and then sat on your bed and opened your ice cream.

Then, you popped in your headphones and opened an audiobook on your phone, so that you had something else to listen to instead of your own thoughts, and started eating your ice cream.

Half an hour later, you had thrown away your empty pint of ice cream and laid in bed, ready for sleep to finally overtake you.

But, all you could think about was how you had ruined Thanksgiving and how you still had to somehow make it through Christmas and New Year's with all those people and parties without this happening.

Eventually, you cried yourself to sleep.

***

"How's the headache?" Will asked Jay the next morning.

"Will? What? I know you have a key, but—"

"I asked him to stay," Hailey said, walking out of the kitchen holding two cups of coffee. She handed one to Jay and left her cup of coffee on the table. Then, she pulled a bottle of Advil from her hoodie pocket and handed it to Jay. "Take 'em, mister."

"I will," Jay answered. "But, why'd have Will stay?"

"Well, between you being drunk off your ass and Y/N having a rough night, I can only deal with one thing at a time. He's here in case you were still drunk and Y/N had another panic attack."

"I'm gonna be honest here," Jay began, "I only vaguely remember last night."

Will and Hailey quickly filled him in, even though he remembered most of the night up to when you had to go home.

"So, did she talk to you?" Jay asked after he downed the pills and took a sip of his coffee.

"If you mean did she tell me anything useful, not really. She just said that there's too many people."

Hailey nodded. "That can happen. Overstimulation and stuff like that."

"Maybe I can get through to her," Jay suggested. "Sometimes I get that way with fireworks."

"That's a trigger, Jay," Hailey stated. "Not the same thing." She paused. "Or it could just be everything piling on together."

All of a sudden, something clicked in Will's head. He remembered working a case a couple years back where a woman came in and had chest pain. As it turned out, she was just having a panic attack. After speaking with Dr. Charles, they learned that the cause of it was the holidays on top of everything else happening in her life.

"Maybe it's all the people she has to see between now and New Years," Will suggested. "We had a patient come into the ED because of that once, thought the panic attack was a heart attack, happens more often than you'd think."

"Well, we can't force it out of her..." Hailey trailed off.

"True," Will agreed. "But I can phrase it as a yes or no question."

"And if it is, then what do we do?" Jay asked. "No Christmas parties? Just do Christmas with us four this year? Stay in on New Years?"

"We'll figure that out when we get there. But, start thinking of ideas just in case."

***

"Hey," Hailey said gently when she heard movement in the kitchen from her place on the couch next to Jay. She had been reading while Jay had been watching football highlights from the many games that happened yesterday. She nudged Jay and he turned his head to look at you. "You want some breakfast? Or, more like lunch now, I guess."

"I got it," you said. You knew if you talked any louder that you'd start crying, so you quickly made your way to a cabinet and took out a bowl and then a mug so that you could focus on making your breakfast.

You hadn't even had time to spoon yogurt into your bowl before Jay was up and placed a hand on your shoulder.

"Hey, talk to me, kiddo."

At that, you finally broke. You cried like you had last night. Except, this time, Jay wrapped his arms around you in his overprotective-big-brother way that always took away your bad dreams and worries when you were a kid.

"Let us in, Y/N," Jay whispered. "What's going on?"

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to r- ruin Thanksgiving!"

"Oh, no," Hailey said as she made her way over to you, holding a cold glass of water for you to drink when you could. "You didn't ruin in."

"I did! I'm sorry!"

Jay pulled away from you and put his hands on your shoulders. "Hey, look at me." You looked up at him. "You didn't ruin anything. And, even if you did, I didn't remember the second half of last night anyway."

The last part almost got a smile out of you. Almost.

"Do you know why any of this happened?" Jay asked.

Hailey sighed. Her husband obviously still didn't understand regular anxiety as she did. So, she decided it was time for her to step in. "What he's trying to say is, what was happening before you ran into the bathroom? What was the last thing you were thinking? Because sometimes it's not one specific thing that you can easily identify."

You looked down and thought for a beat.

"I was thinking that there were a lot of people."

"Okay, good. That's really good, Y/N."

And, I know that there's a lot of people we have to see and parties we have to go to for Christmas and New Years and- and I didn't want to tell you I don't want to go because you guys might think I'm stupid—"

"Whoa, hey," Jay said quickly, effectively cutting you off. "We'd never think you're stupid."

You wiped your nose as it started to run.

"You should. I think I'm—"

"Nope, none of that," Jay cut you off again. "How about you eat and then go take a shower and then we can watch movies all day? Because Lord knows this hangover's kicking my ass."

You nodded. "Yeah, yeah, okay."

Then, you took the glass of water from Hailey and chugged it before going to take a hot shower to wash away your multiple breakdowns from the past twelve hours.

***

"Hey, you—"

"I got something," Jay told Will over the phone as soon as he heard the water running. "And, as much as it pains me to say it, you were right, about the holiday anxiety thing."

"She told you that?"

"I don't know if she meant to say it or it just tumbled out, but yeah."

"So, what do we do?" Will asked.

"How much time off do you have saved up?"

Will sighed. "Jay, what are you planning?"

"I'm not planning anything. This just popped into my head, I swear. So, how much time off?"

"Enough. Now, what were you thinking?"

"What if we go up to the cabin, say on the 19th? We can spend Christmas and New Years up there. I'll ask Voight for furlough later and get back to you. I don't think it'll be an issue, though."

Will sighed. "Listen, that's two and a half weeks. I have enough, but everyone wants off for the holidays. But, if I can't swing it, you just bring Y/N up there and have Christmas without me."

"Will—"

"No, I'm serious. I'll be fine. I'm more worried about her." He paused. "Wait, how's she getting time off?"

"I'm gonna talk to her about going tonight so that she can request time off when she goes into work. It's easier for her to get off than it is for us, anyway."

"Yeah. Well, let me know. And, I'll talk to Goodwin tomorrow. Y/N's doing better then?"

"A bit. She was still upset, but then me and Hailey talked to her. She's showering now and then we'll see how she is."

"Okay, keep me updated."

"Will do. Let me know if you get the time off."

***

3 weeks later

"Why are we leaving so early?" you complained when you and Jay were carrying things out to his truck.

"Because we have to pick Will's sorry ass up. And, if you don't complain anymore, we'll stop for breakfast on our way to pick him up."

You looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "You're not lying to me?"

Jay shook his head. "Nope. Now, how about you jump in the trunk and I'll hand you everything?"

"We're covering this stuff with a tarp, right?" You asked.

"Oh, yeah," Jay agreed.

It was snowing a little bit right now, so you knew as you drove north, that the snow would only get heavier.

"Good." You looked at the boxes sitting on top of Jay's suitcase, duffle, and toolbox. "Are any of these presents?"

Jay handed you your suitcase and your set it down in the bed of the truck. "No snooping. Some you will get tonight, though."

"Tonight? Really?" you asked excitedly.

"Just a couple little things from me and Will."

"You wanna give me a hint?"

"Hmmmm, how about no?"

"How about yes?"

"No."

"Fine."

Ten minutes later, the truck was packed and you were doing one last double-check through the house while Jay said goodbye to Hailey. Voight said he needed at least one detective in Intelligence for the next few days, so Hailey was gonna fly out early in four days—on December 23–and then Jay would go and pick her up while you and Will stayed at the cabin and then she'd stay up there through New Years and ride home with the three of you.

Now it was time to grab breakfast, pick up Will, and then it was off to Wisconsin.

***

You thought that you were dying. Actually, maybe that was a little too dramatic. You just wanted to jump into an ice-cold lake. Maybe that would make your headache, dizziness, and nausea stop.

You leaned your head against the window. You had taken Dramamine fifteen minutes ago when you three had stopped at a gas station to grab drinks and go to the bathroom, but it wasn't kicking in yet.

"Will," you groaned.

"You okay back there, Short Stack?" he asked and turned around.

"No. How long does this take to work?"

Will studied your face. "You look a little pale." He turned back to face forward. "Jay, take that exit up there and pull into the first parking lot. Y/N looks like she's gonna throw up."

Jay glanced in the rearview mirror. "I'll turn down the heat," he said and fiddled with the dial. "Five minutes, kiddo. Hold on for five minutes."

"It takes about thirty minutes to an hour to kick in, so when we find somewhere to stop, we'll stop for about twenty minutes, and then you should be good. Just close your eyes."

"Okay," you mumbled.

Will said something to Jay, but you didn't catch it.

"Yeah, I'll get it out when we stop."

"Okay, good," Will said.

You didn't know what they were talking about, but frankly, you didn't care. You just wanted the spinning to stop.

Five minutes later, Jay pulled into the first parking lot he saw, which happened to be one for a church. And there was no one in the parking lot other than you, which you were grateful for because you really didn't need other people seeing we you throw up the breakfast that you had eaten earlier.

The minute Jay put the truck in park, you were out of the truck and doubled over.

You heard a door slam and then Will was right next to you.

You dry heaved a couple of times.

"Ugh," you groaned. "I just wanna puke so that it'll stop, but nothing's coming out!"

"I know, I know," Will said. "But sometimes that's all it is."

You groaned again. "I wanna sit down, but I don't wanna sit in the truck because it's too hot."

Will looked around and he saw the church entrance covered by an awning, keeping the area below it free from snow. "How about we walk over to the doors and you can sit under the awning? How's that sound?" You nodded and started walking towards it with Will staying close to you in case you got dizzy or something like that. "Jay's grabbing you some Benadryl from the first aid kit and some water. Hopefully, that'll help."

"Yeah, because I'll be asleep until we get to the cabin," you said as you slumped against the building.

"Exactly."

Will was squatting in front of you, but you needed him to sit down next to you.

"Sit down," you ordered.

"Why?" Will asked, a smile appearing on his face. "So you can use me as a pillow?"

"Yes."

"Fine." He reluctantly agreed and slumped down against the building and you quickly leaned against him and closed your eyes. "Better?"

"Hmm, much."

You heard quick footsteps approaching and opened your eyes.

"Here," Jays said and squatted in front of you two and held out a pill and a bottle of water. "Take this. And then I gotta get a picture of you two to send to Hailey. You two are adorable."

You took the pill and water from Jay and glared at him playfully.

"Yeah, yeah," Will said. "Laugh it up, Jay. But, your ass is sitting in the back because I'm driving now and Y/N needs the front seat so she doesn't puke."

Fifteen minutes later, your Dramamine had finally kicked in and you were back on the road, this time with Will driving, you in the front seat, and Jay stuck in the back.

***

"Perfect. Got it," you heard Jay say as you were just starting to wake up.

You blinked and opened your eyes to see that you were exiting the highway and then you turned to see Jay throwing himself back into the seat where he had been sitting. That got your attention.

"What happened? What were you doing?" you asked and shot up in your seat. Your question was answered by Jay just smiling at you sheepishly and pressing a few buttons on his phone.

A notification popped up on both your and Will's phone.

"Check your phone," Jay told you.

You glared at him and reached for your phone.

It was a notification in the group chat between you, your brothers, and Hailey, which you had named Halsteads x4.

There in the chat was a picture of you sleeping with your mouth wide open and a spot of drool on the front of your hoodie.

You looked between Jay and Will twice and then looked down at your hoodie.

Yup.

The drool was still there.

You wiped at your face just in case there were drool marks near your mouth that the camera didn't pick up.

"That picture doesn't go anywhere except that chat. You hear me?" you ordered.

"Hmmm, I'll think about it," Jay said.

"Yeah, me too," Will agreed.

"You two are assholes."

Will laughed. "Love you, too."

Then, another notification popped up in the same group chat. It was from Hailey.

Awww, she drools almost as much as you, Jay.

"Ha! Shots fired!" you yelled. "I am so glad you married Hailey."

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," Jay said sarcastically. "Just park up there," he told Will.

"What are we doing?" you asked.

"We're switching drivers," Jay answered. "I can maneuver this truck on the backroads better than Will. We don't need to run head first into a tree tonight."

"I drive fine, thank you very much," Will argued.

"You almost gave me a heart attack when you slammed on the brakes. Twice! I'm surprised you didn't wake Y/N up!"

"Well, I'm not getting out of the front seat, so you get to sit in the back, Will."

"You are so lucky you're the youngest," was all Will said to that.

***

"So, which one of you is checking for mice?" you asked when Jay put his truck in park in front of the cabin.

"I sprayed that place with rodent repellant and set so many mouse traps before we left in July, you'll be fine," Jay told you.

"No!" you yelled immediately. "You have to go check. I'm not gonna be screaming for one of you to come downstairs in the middle of the night to come catch a mouse for me!"

"Just go check, Jay," Will agreed.

"And you're not coming because...?" Jay asked.

"I'm the one who gets to tell you if your mouse bite is infected if you get bitten. And, you have a gun, I don't."

Jay sighed and unbuckled his seatbelt. "Yes, because if a mouse runs in front of me, I'm gonna shoot it, which is gonna put a hole in the floor. Think, Will!"

"I do more thinking at my job than you do!" Will argued.

You leaned your head against the passenger seat.

Hailey will be here in four days...Hailey will be here in four days..., you kept repeating to yourself.

"Just make sure there's no mice, please. You both do lots of thinking at your jobs. Just, go check the cabin, Jay."

You swore you heard him say that he hated being the middle child when he got out of the truck.

***

Half an hour later, you and Will finally entered the cabin. Jay had confirmed that there were no mice and he hadn't seen one...except for the one in the oven that he burnt to a crisp and then took care of it and put the oven on the self-clean cycle while he searched the rest of the cabin. And, if he did see any more mice while he was searching the rest of the cabin and had to get rid of them, well, he made sure not to tell you that because he wanted you to be able to sleep tonight.

"I get Mom and Dad's room, right?" you asked.

"Yeah," Jay confirmed. "Until Hailey gets here. Then you switch with me and get the loft."

"I should get to share a room with Hailey and you and Will should just stay upstairs," you said.

"I'd like to sleep with my wife, thank you very much." You burst out laughing and Will almost dropped the box he was carrying. "Not like that! Jesus Christ!" Jay tried to walk it back, but it was too late.

"As long as we don't hear any noises, feel free," Will joked with a shit-eating grin on his face. This, in turn, earned him a punch in the arm from Jay.

"I don't need to think about that, you nasties!" you yelled. "La, la, la, la, la, la!" you yelled as you made your way to your room to put down your suitcase and duffle.

Ten minutes later, you had everything inside and had just finished putting fresh sheets and blankets on your bed.

You walked out of the room and asked about the thing you wanted to do the most since you learned about it this morning.

"Can I open my presents now? Please?" you asked.

Jay and Will laughed. "It's like you're five," Will commented.

"At least I don't snoop for my presents. Jay," you said and turned and glared at him.

"That made me into the detective I am today."

"Oh, bullshit!" Will yelled. "But, yes, you can open your presents."

Jay walked upstairs to the loft and came down with two bags.

"Merry early Christmas, kiddo."

You took the bags from him and quickly opened the bigger one first.

Inside, were two Christmas sweaters. One was gray and had a pug wrapped in Christmas lights on it and the other was green and said Fleece Navidad and had a sheep with a Santa hat on it.

"They're so cute!" you exclaimed.

"We figured you needed something festive," Will said. "And, me, Jay, and Hailey all have the dog one so we can match."

"That part was Hailey's idea," Jay chimed in. You opened your mouth to say something, but Jay quickly cut you off. "And she's bringing them up with her. Our's are not here."

You gave him a fake pout, causing both he and Will to laugh. Then, you moved on to the next bag.

"A face mask...body scrub...shower fizzers...fuzzy sloth slippers...nail polish," you said as you took items out of the bag.

"Hailey had the idea for a little self-care kit for you," Jay explained. "So, most of this stuff was her idea."

"Um, I found the slippers, thank you very much," Will said.

You laughed. "Thanks, you guys. I love it."

"I vote hot chocolate and at least the first two Home Alone movies," Jay suggested. "Everyone good with that?"

"As long as you spike the hot chocolate with Bailey's," Will said.

"I second that!" you agreed.

Jay rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'll spike the hot chocolate."

***

"Wake up. Y/N, wake up," you heard Will say as he began to gently shake your shoulder.

You rolled over and opened your eyes. "Hmmm. We're on vacation. Let me sleep."

"It's 2:00. You've slept like fourteen hours."

That got you up.

"What? How?"

"Well, you fell asleep on the couch last night—"

"I know that. I mean how did I sleep that long without waking up once?"

"You were tired. Now, get up and get ready. We're cutting down our Christmas tree."

"What? I thought there was a dinky fake one that mom and dad left in the attic from when you and Jay were little."

"Yeah, but we thought it would be more fun if we cut down a tree. It's cold out, so wear layers. And before you ask, yes, coffee is already made."

"Okay, I'll get ready. Hopefully, Jay doesn't hurt himself with the chainsaw."

"Better him than me."

"Will!"

He put his hands up in a sign of surrender. "What?" Will laughed. "It's true!"

You chucked a pillow at him. "Now get outta here so I can change."

***

"Wait!" you yelled as Jay turned on the chainsaw after the three of you picked out a tree.

"What? What's wrong?" Jay asked as he quickly turned off the chainsaw.

"I need you to pick up the axe."

"Why?"

"Yeah, why?" Will parroted.

"Just humor me and pose like you're gonna chop down the tree. Or whack it once. I don't care."

"Why?" Jay asked again.

"For an Instagram post."

"You're not gonna let this go, are you?"

"No."

He sighed. "Fine."

You took out your phone and filmed Jay taking a whack at the tree with the axe.

Then, you pocketed your phone and walked closer to Will. "We don't have a lumberjack, we have a lumber Jay."

Will smiled and shook his head. "That's what you're gonna caption it, aren't you."

"Yup. Shocked you know what that is."

"Oh, Jay's gonna love that. And, I am not that old."

"I'd beg to differ."

"Can I use the chainsaw now?" Jay yelled.

"You're good!" you yelled.

"Will, get over here and direct me!"

Will walked over and you trailed behind him—at a safe distance—to watch this.

"Why am I directing you and not Y/N?" Will asked.

"You know how she is with directions. You're helping me shove this thing into the truck so I can back it up to the door of the house so we can get it inside, too."

"I have very valuable hands!"

"There's extra gloves. Now, c'mon! We're burning daylight here!"

You laughed. "Okay, now you are both officially old!"

***

Later that night after getting the tree inside and decorating it, Jay and Will were both immersed in their card game upstairs on the floor of the loft. They tried to convince you to come play with them, but they were playing Euchre and you had no idea to how to play, and to be honest, you had no desire to learn how to play.

So, you decided now was the perfect time to sneak off to Jay's truck and try and find the wifi password for it.

You grabbed Jay's keys off the hook by the door and then quietly opened the door and went outside.

You thought the smartest thing to do would be to open the driver's side door with the key instead of hitting the buttons.

You did this and then got in the driver's seat and looked for the wifi network.

Nothing.

You reloaded your settings and even turned your phone off and on again, but still nothing.

You turned the key in the truck and the engine quickly revved to life.

But, this alerted your brothers and they came running outside before you could even attempt to put the password in.

"What the hell are you doing?" Jay yelled as he yanked open the door. "Get out! Now."

"Jay, relax," Will told him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure Y/N has a perfectly fine explanation for this." He locked eyes with you. "Don't you, Y/N?"

"I wanted the wifi."

"For?" Jay probed and raised an eyebrow.

"To watch the Hawks game."

"To watch—" Jay looked down and shook his head and started laughing. "You wanted my truck's wifi to watch the Hawks game?"

"Yeah," you answered quietly. Even though you were 22, Jay could still easily change into the scary detective in front of you in a heartbeat.

"Why didn't you just come tell me?" he asked.

"Because I thought you'd say no."

"And you're right."

"Jay! Why would you—" Will started, but Jay quickly cut him off.

"Right that I won't let you connect to it. But, I'll pull the truck around closer to the cabin, put it in auxiliary, and then you can watch the game on my laptop. That sound okay?" 

"Yes!" You jumped out of the truck so that Jay could get in and move it.

At the end of the night, the three of you were all exhausted from cutting down the tree and the game was high scoring and went into a shootout that Jay almost forgot to go back outside and turn off his truck.

***

The next day was a very relaxing day. You used all your self-care stuff and read a book and drank warm wine throughout the day while Jay and Will spent time in the barn doing who knows what.

The next day was spent similarly, except for the fact that it was mostly Jay who was holed up in the barn all day while you convinced Will to make cookies and watch all of the Santa Claus movies with you.

Will periodically went out to the barn to help Jay, and even though you wanted to go in, every time you tried to, you were stopped by either Jay or Will—one time Jay had to actually carry you back inside the cabin—and they wouldn't tell you a single thing about that they were doing in there.

Now it was finally the 23rd and Hailey was going to be here soon. Jay had to wake up early to get to the airport to pick her up, but he had promised that he'd bring breakfast back for you and Will, mainly because Will couldn't cook and you hated cooking things for multiple people (you always made either too little or too much).

***

Once Jay got back with Hailey and the four of you ate breakfast, you quickly led Hailey into your room.

"What's the rush?" she asked with a big smile on her face.

"I need help wrapping Will and Jay's gifts and I need to do it before they make me go upstairs because Jay snoops and there's a lock on this door."

"Ohhh. I got it."

"Also, did Jay tell you what the two of them were doing in the garage? They've been holed up in there for two days and when I try to go in, they stop me."

Hailey shook her head. "Jay didn't mention that."

You crossed your arms over your chest and cocked an eyebrow. "Are you just saying that because he told you to say that or because you actually don't know?"

Hailey laughed. "I really don't know, Y/N. You look like Jay when you do that, though. He does that a lot in interrogations."

You quickly uncrossed your arms. "Please never say I look like him again."

Hailey shook her head. "Okay. Now, what are we wrapping?"

***

"You wake 'em up," you hissed at Will on Christmas morning.

"No, you," Will argued back.

"You've seen the body parts! I don't need to see a penis on Christmas!"

"Well, I don't need to see my brother's penis or my sister-in-law's boobs. Seeing a patient's for medical purposes is different."

"You're older!"

"That's seriously the best argument you could come up with?"

"Yes, now—"

"You know we can hear you, right?" Jay yelled from the living area below you. "Me and Hailey have been up for an hour."

"Oh, well this is awkward," you said quietly so that only Will could hear you.

"We're coming down now, Jay!" Will yelled down and then proceeded to get out of bed and walk downstairs.

When Will was downstairs, you made your way over to the closet and changed your shirt into the sweater with a pug with Christmas lights on it. Then, you grabbed Will's from the dresser and headed downstairs.

"You forgot this," you told Will.

You had suggested that all four of you wear your matching Christmas sweaters today and Hailey enthusiastically agreed. After that, Jay texted you that this would be Hailey's first Christmas where she's not alone or with her family and he wanted to make it as special as possible. And, it would be the first one where they were actually married.

Will quickly put on the sweater and Jay threw a Santa hat to you.

"You're Santa this year, kiddo," he told you, which meant that you would be the one passing out the presents.

"Ho, ho, ho," you said and placed it on your head.

Then, you grabbed your present to Jay and Hailey to give to them.

***

Half an hour later all the gifts were open and you thought you had done a pretty good job with your gift-giving this year. You had given Hailey and Jay a set of brand-new pots and pans since they were always complaining about the ones they had. And then, you added something small for each of them such as a pack of fancy face masks and tea for Hailey and a six-pack of beer from around the world for Jay. For Will, you had gotten him a customized stethoscope with the Blackhawks logo and their colors inscribed with his name. You reassured him that Maggie had helped you order so it was up to doctors' and nurses' standards.

"We have one more gift for you and Hailey," Jay said.

You looked around. "Where?"

"Grab your shoes and come out to the garage."

As the four of you walked out to the garage in the cold weather and through a dusting of snow on the ground, you asked Hailey if she knew what was going on.

She said she had no idea.

"Merry Christmas," Jay said with a huge smile on his face as he opened the garage.

Sitting in the center of the garage was what looked like a homemade hockey net, made out of what looked to be wood and painted red and black for the Blackhawks and then rope tied in small knots between the posts as the net. There were two hockey sticks and when you looked closer you saw that one said your first initial followed by Halstead on the shaft of your stick and then H. Upton-Halstead on the shaft of Hailey's. There were also two pairs of hockey skates and a burgundy bag filled with hockey pucks.

"Now you see what we've been doing in the garage for so long," Will told you.

"You two built all this?" you asked, astonished, as you picked up your stick.

"We just built the net," Jay answered. "Me and Will know a guy from playing pickup who knows a guy who makes custom sticks, so he made those." Jay looked at Hailey with a puzzled look. She looked like she wanted to cry. "You okay, babe?"

"I just- I don't know how to skate," she answered quietly.

Jay put an arm around her. "That's okay. I'll teach you."

"We thought of that," Will said and quickly came back with a folding chair. "You can bring this on the river to help keep your balance." He turned to you. "As for you, I'm teaching you how to hockey stop."

"Why?"

"Because, when we play two-on-two, you're on my team and I don't want to lose."

Jay scoffed. "We both know I'm the better shooter here."

"The rule is we have to keep the puck on the ground. No wrist shots, bud. I don't feel like having to do impromptu stitches."

"Hmm, we might actually win," you said.

"What do you guys say?" Jay asked. "After we have cinnamon rolls for breakfast, wanna start skating? And then we can come in and all work on lunch together?"

"You promise I won't have a broken arm after this?" Hailey asked.

Jay laughed. "I will try my best."

Then, the four of you went back inside and ate a breakfast of cinnamon rolls and coffee. Then, you brought everything down to the frozen river and started lacing up your skates for a day on the ice.

Over the next week while you were at the cabin, Hailey successfully learned how to skate and how to protect the puck with her stick, and Will successfully taught you how to hockey stop—you were better at stopping with your right skate forward than your left skate—and Jay taught you how to do a wrist shot. And, nobody needed stitches or broke an arm or any other bone.

You would say that this was a great way to spend Christmas away from everyone, but still with the people you loved.

A/N: See? I told you it would be festive! As always thank you for reading and please remember to reblog and comment! As always, if you want to be added to my taglist, just tell me and I'll add you!

Taglist: taglist: @theambracer88 @virtualreader @kelelas-life @celyndavies @brookerz122493 @musicismyescape27 @anotherfan07 @thexplosivegirl @dreamingwithlens @xoxmariaxox @911ls-tarlos @iamasimpingh0e @i-like-sparkly-things @herecomesthewriterwitch @liampayne88 @glitterquadricorn @luvreading67 @smoothdogsgirl@afriendlyneighborhoodhufflepuff@actlikesummerr @lcothr523 @star-wars-lover

[jennay]

Christmas with Jamie

The request:

Cute oneshot where Jamie and reader have a cozy night in and they're baking cookies & drinking hot chocolate and then Jamie's brushing and braiding her hair?? 🥰

Master List

"You promised you'd be home by now." You whine to your boyfriend, "How often do we have a slot in our schedules to do something fun?"

Jamie knows that Christmas is one of your favorite Holidays, and it's the only holiday you've ever asked him to clear his schedule for. "I know, love. I'm on my way. I'll be there shortly. Don't start without me, please."

Did you listen? No.

It was getting late, and you were tired. You could at least get the cookies in the oven. That way, they would be ready by the time Jamie got home.

You set a timer and lean your elbows on the counter while you scroll through your phone and wait for Jamie. You weren't mad at him by any means. You just missed your boyfriend.

Fifteen minutes later, the timer goes off, and Jamie walks through the door. "It smells like you started without me."

You set the cookies on the countertop to cool off. Smiling, you rush to him. He doesn't have time to take off his coat or drop his bag before you are wrapped around his body. "I missed you." You quietly say.

Jamie loved to know he was needed. He desired affection and love just like anyone else, but you were the only one who could make him melt the way he did. "I missed you too." He kisses your forehead. "Can I take off my coat?" He laughs.

"No, because then you'll be over there, and I want to climb in your skin right now." You squeeze him tighter. "Let me love you."

"Darling," He pulls back and tilts your chin. He gently kisses your lips and says, "You terrify me."

"Whatever. It's the only way I know how to show my love. Jeez." You joke.

Finally, you release him from your grip. You take this time to set out the frosting and other candy snacks that you thought would work well on sugar cookies. You're growing impatient, and you're about to start without Jamie. "Hurry up!" You whine. "I need cookies in my mouth."

You can hear Jamie's footsteps getting closer, and when he appears, he's wearing a Christmas Grinch onesie. "What do you think?" He poses with his hands on his hips and a cheesy smile.

"I think I've fallen in love with you all over again." You giggle. "Come help me decorate."

Jamie plates the cookies and brings them to your workspace. "Love, you forgot the most important part." He grabs the mugs from the cupboard, "Hot chocolate. How could you forget?" He laughs.

After the two of you are finished in the kitchen, Jamie suggests watching whatever Christmas movie you want. He instantly regrets letting you choose when he remembers you have a ritual of watching Nightmare Before Christmas, not only on Halloween but doubled as a Christmas movie.

“Go ahead and start it.” He says as he leaves the living room.

You dip your cookie in your hot chocolate and take a bite. The combo was heaven to your taste buds. You start singing along to the movie, and Jamie can’t help but admire you. He thanked the universe for you every day.

Jamie sits on the couch next to you, but your eyes don’t move from the TV. He puts his hand on your leg, and finally, you acknowledge him. He points to the ground between his legs with a brush in hand. One thing that Jamie quickly learned about you was that you loved your hair being played with, and you would never say no to him brushing your hair, but he was the only one that could touch your hair outside of you. He didn’t tell you, but the last few days that he had been late from “work,” he was actually at his mother's house being taught how to braid. You often complain about not being able to see the back of your head for French braids. He took it upon himself to learn for you.

You can feel him parting your long hair into sections which is new. Usually, he split it down the middle and started brushing from the bottom. His fingers against your scalp feel euphoric. You shut your eyes and enjoy the sweet touches. It isn’t till he gets to the other side that you realize he is braiding. You smile to yourself. How you got so lucky was beyond you.

Jamie finishes putting the small rubber band in your hair. He smooths out the top and says, “Look at me.”

He is greeted by you smiling at him. “Did you just braid my hair?”

He grins as he places his hands on each side of your cheek. “Yep.”

“Babe,” Your bottom lip sticks out, and you completely melt. “Thank you.” You sit on your knees and observe him for a moment. There before you sat the most thoughtful human you’d ever met. He was full of surprises and always found a way to impress you. “I love you.” You wrap your arms around his neck and kiss his soft lips. “You taste like frosting.” He mumbles. “Delicious.”

You laugh. “You don’t need frosting—you’re already delicious.”

I am officially on vacation. You can still send requests. :)

[luckyduck0]

🜸ultra comet fire🜸

“So, you mean to tell me that in the span of one hour,” A voice says, holding up their pointer finger. “You served a guy named Nyxx, coffee, and then got saved by him from a giant mutant lizard-scorpion-whatever, and then he took you to the hospital?”

Nodding, Xen stared sheepishly at the person in front of her. “Yup, that about sums it up.”

The person in question was Xen’s friend, Sandy, who was treating her to a fast-food dinner after hearing about her hospital visit.

“Jeez, how’s that work? Did he just leave ya there?” Sandy asks, stuffing a fry into her mouth.

“No, no!” Xen denies, shaking her head. “He stayed until the doctor said I was good to go. Then he actually…drove me home?”

“What?!” Sandy exclaimed, slapping her hands on the table. “You let some random guy drive you to your house?!”

“He’s not random! And he was just doing it cause he was nice!”

Sitting back down barely containing herself, Sandy breathed deeply. Now, Xen was going to get an earful, as well as a long parental lecture about boys.

“Alright, alright. So, he saved you?”

Arching a brow, Xen answers hesitantly. “Yes?”

“And you sensed no ulterior motives?” Sandy questioned, looking Xen in the eyes.

“Of course not.” Xen replied, stern.

She may have only know him for a short while, but Xen could tell Nyxx was different. A good different. He saved her, went of his to get her help and make sure she got home. He was mysterious and a little standoffish, but he still did so much for her.

“Then…I guess there’s really nothing to worry about.” Sandy said, slumping back against the booth seat. “Just, call me next time you get into danger, alright? This city’s got a shit ton of problems, I don’t need you getting kidnapped by a league of evil-doers as one of them, got it?”

Sighing with relief, Xen nodded happily. “Will do, San! Anyway, wanna go see a movie? There’s this new one that just came out, it’s about like, aliens or something!”

“Yeah, sure.” Sandy agreed, pushing up from the table with Xen.

—

(Fifteen minutes earlier)

Smoke fills the air as a fire raged inside a burning building. Police and firefighters had rushed to the scene, conveniently not noticing a tall figure jump out of a third-story window.

“Didn’t I tell you not to make a mess this time”

Ada’s voice pierced through the comm, making Nyxx wince from the sound.

“It was tougher than expected.” He replied, landing on the sidewalk and easing through the crowds.

“Clearly! You knocked down a building, Nyxx!” Ada yelled.

“I didn’t knock it down,” Nyxx stated, turning into an alley. “That stupid Flame Ghoul was stronger than I realized. A lot stronger than Intel told us. Not my fault he’s a lousy informant.”

With ease, he climbed up an apartment buildings’ fire escape and landed on a roof.

Ada groaned and Nyxx could practically hear the pinching of her nose. “Listen, we just got another report that says those damn Imps are out and about again, so get to these coordinates and I’ll meet you there. We’ll talk about your…screw-up with the Sergeant later.”

“Whatever.” Nyxx replied, cutting the comm off.

He glanced at his wrist, where a fancy, high-tech looking watch set. A hologram appeared as he jumped from roof to roof, coordinates showing what looked to be a location not far from where he was.

Great, he thought, now I’ll get a lecture in person too.

Ada was sort of his superior, in a way. She was a third year at EDEN and had lots of experience under her belt. She was the one recruited him in the first place, actually.

However, that didn’t make her mom-ing any less annoying.

—

Xen hadn’t thought about that night very much. In fact, she’d barely thought about it at all! She had much more important things to worry about…

…is what she would have said, if her near-death experience plus also getting save by a really hot guy hadn’t totally turned her brain into mush.

When he brought her to hospital, he insisted he could pay for any expenses. She wanted to object, but she was also a poor, fresh-out-of-college graduate and had eight dollars to her name. Then after that, he insisted to take her home himself, as she could still possibly be in danger.

“I’ll get ya home, least I can do after all this. Oh, and…hold on..” He mumbled, pulling out a piece of paper and writing on it. “Here ya go, it’s my number. In case anything happens, call me. I’m not sure how that monster behaves yet, so it’s possible it might come after ya, so keep it handy.”

Did she keep the note and memorize it and reread it a million times? Maybe.

But she also didn’t have a phone, as she lost it on the train. She was mainly hoping nothing bad would happen, cause she definitely did not have a device to call him on. At the same time, though, she really wanted to see him again.

And who could blame her?

Nyxx was kind and strong, and very, very attracted. And you don’t get saved by those kinds of people everyday.

“Uh, hello, Earth to Xeeeennn?” Sandy said, snapping her fingers in the other’s face.

Flinching, Xen flashed back to the present and turned to Sandy, who looked a bit put-off.

“Oh, sorry, what were you saying? Is the movie starting?”

“Uh, no, it just ended.” Sandy furrowed her eyebrows. “Jeez, you can be such an airhead sometimes. Were you sleeping with your eyes open or somethin’?”

Noticing everyone else is in the theatre leaving, Xen felt a little embarrassed. Could she really be that distracted by Nyxx?

“Ugh, whatever. Let’s just go, I already see the cleaners rollin’ in. Come on.” Sandy took Xen’s hand, leading her to the doors.

They threw away the trash and walked into the lobby. Sandy waved to one of her friends working at the counter, then stretched and yawned.

“That movie was pretty good, all things considered. Hey, wanna come over tonight? We could paint our nails and talk about our crushes!” Sandy said, posing dramatically.

Xen laughed, covering her mouth. “I’d love to, but I’ve got the opening shift tomorrow. Maybe next time.”

“Ughhhhh, why do you work so much? Try living a little, Xen. Maybe going to a few parties might loosen you up.” Sandy poked at her, smirking.

“I’m perfectly fine the way I am. Besides, the whole life of the party slash laidback misfit is way more your style.” Xen stated, nudging the taller girl.

Sandy chuckled, stuffing her hands into her pockets. “Yeah, guess you’re right. No one can compare to my utter brilliance.”

Xen just laughed, pushing past the front doors and into the parking lot.

Approaching Sandy’s beat up, Scooby-Doo-style van, the girl’s are stopped by a scream.

“Look at that! In the sky!”

“What the hell?”

“Run!”

“Holy shit!”

Both Xen and Sandy turned to the commotion, noticing a large green object heading straight toward them.

Launching many expletives out of her mouth, Sandy ran to the van, hopping in and starting the engine.

“Oh crap, we gotta go! Gotta go gotta go gotta— Xen? Xen?! What the hell are you doing?! Hurry up!” Sandy commanded, shouting from her place in the driver’s seat.

But Xen was frozen, staring up at, whatever it was. She couldn’t move. This wasn’t like the fear she got from the lizard-mutant, no, this was way different. Not even her fight or flight response was kicking in. She was utterly helpless, and there was a sick feeling that she wouldn’t be saved this time.

Xen probably wouldn’t have even had enough time to call Nyxx, let alone find some way to communicate with him.

Another shout from Sandy came from the van, but Xen didn’t hear it. A weird static was filling her head, like the buzzing when a TV stops working right. It was all she could do to keep staring, to keep calm, to accept it.

Before she can think, however, Xen is yanked away before the green thing hits the ground.

—

(All the way on the other side of the city)

Nyxx strolled alongside as Ada led him through a warehouse. He, unfortunately, had to listen to another one of his upperclassmen’s tirades.

“Oh, and don’t even get me started on your lack of discipline! You think because your so strong that you can just run around all half-cocked and then get sympathy when you fail! Like, obviously! Did you not see him prioritize getting soda over killing the damn Leech Ghouls?!” Ada complained, stomping down the poorly-lit hallway. “What’s even worse, literally nobody calls you out on it! Not even Red or Stein! And Stein is the nit-pick of the century!”

Nyxx just rolled his eyes, leaning his head back to look at the ceiling. The only reason they were in this place was because they got a report of the Imp Ghouls running around terrorizing the place. Pain and Panic, loyal servants to that damned Devil.

“Ya know, I think you’re over-thinking this. I’m pretty sure the reason nobody gets on my ass about stuff is cause I make the right calls. Ya told me to save people, Ada.” Nyxx said, pointedly looking at the woman.

“Ugh, I know what I said, but that doesn’t mean you can just abandon missions. That Scorpious mutant is still out there, probably running around in the sewers. And I’m the one that gets blamed for it, remember? Cause everyone thinks you’re my protege. Bullshit..”

Nyxx only shrugged, all he had to do was bring down Ghouls and bring their souls to be exorcised or judged. It wasn’t his place to decide their fate, all he had to do was capture them.

Sure, maybe he wasn’t doing too good a job of that recently, but people still understood why.

He just wished Ada could as well.

For all her hot-headedness, Ada was very smart and talented. She was one of the top students at EDEN, and her combat skills were incredible. She claimed she could do anything, and so far, she made good on that claim. Out of most people at the academy, Ada was definitely one of his favorites.

Except for her nagging. That was one quality he could live without.

“Ada! Ada, do you read me?” A voice from her watch questioned, urgently.

“Intel? Yes, what’s up?” Ada stopped, putting a hand on her hip.

“Listen, I need both you and Nyxx to go to downtown, quick. Something big just exploded in a theatre parking lot and we’re not entirely sure what it is. We need you to get a read on the situation, hurry.”

“Shit, okay, I got it. We’re on our way.” Ada closed the call and swiftly turned around. “Nyxx, let’s go.”

Nyxx only nodded, breaking out into a run to follow her.

—

When Xen came to, her ears were ringing. Everything around her was a dizzying haze. All she could see what a greenish smoke, and what looked to be rubble on the ground. Something warm drips down her face and before Xen can register it, she’s being dragged across the ground.

“Dammit, Xen! Wake up! We need to go!” A distant voice yells, one she slowly recognizes as Sandy.

“S-Sandy?” She coughed, pain wracking throughout her body.

What happened? The last thing she remembered was leaving the theatre.

“Oh my god, holy shit, are you okay?” Sandy stopped, kneeling down to hold Xen steady.

“I—” Another cough, this one feeling worse than the last. “I don’t know.”

Sandy was in utter distress at this point, looking around wildly, shouting for help. But Xen couldn’t concentrate, there was this buzzing under her skin. Her head felt like it was on fire and being beaten like a drum at the same time.

Suddenly, flashes of memories fly into her mind. They aren’t her memories, though, she’s awake enough to know that. There was a picture of a desert, then a stark-white room with medical supplies everywhere, and then fire. Green fire, all around, everywhere. It consumed everything it touched, including people who looked like doctors or scientists. A sharp pain enters her head, along with what sounded like high-pitched screaming.

“Gah!” Xen shrieked, squeezing her hands over her ears.

“What? What’s wrong?” Sandy panicked.

Xen couldn’t answer. The burning feeling was worse, it felt like it was through her entire body now. The screaming only became louder as her muscles seemed to ignite more and more. Almost to the point of an exploding sensation.

She doesn’t know when it happened, but quickly, her entire body became enveloped in flames. Green fire, just like the memories. Just like the thing in the sky.

Her screams were agonizing now, and they mixed well with the ones in her mind.

Xen knew Sandy was freaking out, but she couldn’t stop it. Her entire being was in complete pain overdrive.

She can’t tell when it stops, when the screams go silent and the fire goes out. What she can tell is, is a cold darkness covering her. Whispers of something she can’t quite grasp, until she’s completely enthralled in darkness.

—

On the outside, there was Nyxx and Ada. Nyxx was cocooning Xen inside of shadows, seemingly stopping the flames. Hopefully.

“Is she alright?” Ada asked, standing above the scene with a grimace.

“I don’t know, it looked really bad.” Nyxx replied, his tone uncertain.

He hadn’t expected to see Xen again, especially not under such horrible circumstances. It had only been a week since her last brush of death, and he was certain she was out of residual danger.

Nyxx would be lying if he said he hadn’t thought about her. His mind had wandered to the girl a few times, wondering if she was alright. He’d ordered one of the EDEN cadets to keep an eye on her, in case that mutant came looking for her before he could find it. The whole reason he even gave her his number was so he could help her out if need be, so why hadn’t she called?

Was he too late?

Had he failed to save someone again? Someone counting on him?

Nyxx hated that feeling, it scared him.

“Is she gonna be okay?” A girl asked, rubbing her nose as tears ran down her face.

She must be a friend of hers, Nyxx noted in his head.

“I’ll do everything I can to help her, I swear.” Nyxx assured.

He wanted to say everything would be alright, but he couldn’t say that. Empty promises were much worse than harsh truths. All he could do now was try his best to save Xen.

Nyxx didn’t get very far, though, because something exploded out of the crater in the middle of the parking lot.

Both he and Ada quickly turned, standing to attention at…whatever the hell was crawling out of that thing. They looked like a bunch oozy slime balls, but he could see their exoskeletons, which were clearly made of metal.

“Now what in the hell…” Ada faltered, gagging at the way they moved. “They look like worms, but worse!”

Nyxx glared at the scene. The weird neon-colored worms kept coming out of the iron rock thing that blasted into the concrete. And they were also, forming? Into each other. Honestly, Nyxx just wanted to wipe them from the Earth immediately.

Summoning shadows, he turned them into spikes and shot them like arrows at the slime worms. They just consumed them, though.

“Well, fuck.” He swore, running out of ideas.

“Great, now I can put, defeating a giant slime monster on my list of accomplishments to hold over your head.” Ada cackled, unlocking her bo-staff and running at the things with swiftness.

Her efforts are in futile though, every hit just slides through the worms. Nyxx, whose great at multitasking, tries to figure out both what it is and how it can die.

“Okay, seriously, can we please get out of here?!” The other girl pleaded, yanking her hair in frustration.

“I need to help Ada, but how. I can’t just leave Xen…” Nyxx mutters to himself.

Ada continues her struggle with the slime monster, occasionally throwing rocks and car pieces at it.

“God! Why isn’t anything working?!” She shouts, grinding her teeth.

Nyxx doesn’t get a chance to do anything though, because the slime monster finishes forming. A loud roar emanates from its mouth, and now it looks more like a four-legged snake with multiple heads.

“Fucking fantastic.” Nyxx rolls his eyes.

“Shit, what should we do?!” The girl asks, causing Nyxx to turn back to her.

“You shouldn’t do anything, just get out of here. I’ll take care of Xen.”

“What?! No! I’m not— wait, how’d you know her name was Xen…?” The girl asked, looking at him with suspicion. “Wait a second. Tall, white hair, white coat, and an attitude…holy shit! You’re him!”

Nyxx stares, puzzled. What……?

His confusion is short lived, as a loud blast comes from the other direction. Ada, having jumped out of the way, barely missed being crushed by a slimey hand. It retracted back into the mass of ooze, which totally wasn’t gonna haunt Nyxx’s dreams or anything, and slowly came toward them.

Ada sprints back to him, barely needing to catch her breath. “Okay, okay, Nyxx, call backup. I have no idea how to kill this thing and it doesn’t seem like a typical Ghoul.”

Screeching from the monster interrupted him, though, as his attention is drawn yet again to the monster. Knives stick out of its green slime skin, but they don’t fall away, and seem to be extracting some kind of poison into it.

But just from the make of the knives, Nyxx knew exactly who it was.

Turning around, he was greeted by the sight of Red. In full EDEN uniform attire, he stood on the top of car, holding a spectacularly sharp knife.

“Red?!” Ada exclaimed.

“Intel told me you two might need some help, so here I am.” He spoke, his voice flat and monotone as usual.

“Hey, Red.” Nyxx nodded at him. “I assume you’ve got a plan?”

“The makings of one, why?” Red questioned, walking toward the group.

“Cause I need to get her to Tsubaki and the other girls at the school so they can heal her.” Nyxx stated, looking from Red to Xen, who was still wrapped in shadows.

“Right. Well, hurry it up. Ada and I can handle things here.” Red dismisses, walking past and gesturing Ada to follow. “Do be quick about it though, I can almost smell all the blood she’s lost.”

Nyxx winced, but hurried to pick Xen up and find the quickest way out.

“We’re taking her to a hospital, right?” Xen’s friend implored.

“Something like that, but we need a ride.”

“Ah. I have a van.” She states, pointing to a an almost replica of that one van from the ghost cartoon.

“Great, let’s go.” He rushes over, using a shadow to tank the back doors open.

The other girl jumps into the front seat, starting the van and pulling speeding out quickly.

Nyxx looks down, unveiling some of his shadows to see the girl. She was trembling, and her face was scrunched up in discomfort. Vein-like lines trailed from her eyes to her neck, like an infection. Nyxx didn’t know much about human diseases, but green stuff on the face really shouldn’t be there.

His arms instinctually tighten around the girl, a feeling of both anger and worry settling over him.

“Don’t worry, Xen. You’ll be alright, I’ll make sure of it.”

—

ANOTHA ONE FOR MY GIRL @3xen ENJOY LOVELY

[dead-dead-dove]

abandoned wip - SKK shoujo rei fic but its unedited

It had been around a year or so since Osamu Dazai was bought into the Port Mafia. Initially, he had only really joined hoping to expose himself to the horrors of humanity. Violence and death, carnage, hope and despair.. that was the true nature of humans - and he desired to observe it. But after a while, Dazai had realised that maybe he had a purpose there, in the mafia. On the battlefield.

And since having joined and settled in, he had seen and been through a wide range of experiences - some good, others horrific. It was truly a fascination to the mind of one who sees itself as inhuman. After all, being a Mafioso at the young age of fifteen was quite the thrill-ride.

Osamu, however, wasn't exactly sure as to where he'd place 'being partnered up with the King of the Sheep' on that scale - but he knew it wasn't the worst of the worst. He had an agressive (and slightly arrogant) air about him, and he was easy to piss off. That was something that Dazai seemed to get a kick out of, while psychoanalysing his seemingly human ways.

"Mackerel... Mackrel..! Jeez.. are you even listenin' to me?"

Dazai flinched at the voice - how long had he been ignoring him for again?

"Ah- huhh?? What were you saying Chibi? I couldn't hear you from up here!~" He teased - poking fun at the others height, poorly disguising the fact he simply wasn't listening. After all, he was far more focused on his own thoughts. And the video game he was playing.

Since they were sitting on a nearby beach together, Osamu had also chosen to sit on the tallest rock he could find - of course, giving him even more of a height advantage to his smaller co-worker.

The nickname 'Chibi' or 'Chibikko' had always made Chuuya grind his teeth. He wasn't even that short! That shitty Dazai.. always making silly snide comments..

"Shut up, bastard! I'm sixteen, I'm still growing!" He retorted, with a slight pout in his voice. He stuck his tongue out, recieving a mocking giggle.

Chuuya kicked at the sand underneath his feet, hoping for it to scatter into his partner's face. (Which it did not.)

"Oh, Chibikko.. do you truly wish to hurt me so? Tch-tch.. you never learn, do you? Your brain must be smaller than my own to match your height.~"

"Oi!! I'll have you kn-"

"Anywho," He continued, interrupting him. "I've been thinking - since it's summer, and Mori-Sensei did say we can have the next 6 weeks off of work.."

"Hmmm? Go on.."

"We should spend it together!! Right?? How about we hit up the arcade tomorrow? Maybe even get some Ramune and snacks on the way~"

Chuuya snorted. Spend the summer? Together? With him? Ha, what a joke! He wasn't about to become some cocky bastards dog... again. He had, quite frankly, gotten his fill of that experience last summer.

"Haha! Nice joke, Mackerel. C'mon, be more serious."

"Huhh?!" Dazai said in return, pouting. "I was being totally serious! I mean, what else are we s'possed to do? Come onn chibiiii! We'll have plenty of fun!"

Nakahara sighed, failing his attempt to hide the smile tugging at his lips. Running a hand through is messy ginger hair, he finally gave in. "Alright alright.. I suppose it can't be that bad.. fine."

"Yay!!" An immediate response - was he reallythat excited? It was just a summer break to spend time with a co-worker, - a friend, even - it wasn't anything particularly exciting. Friendship can do strange things to ones emotions.

"Well, now that that's settled, should we head back? It's pretty late.. wouldn't want the petit mafia boy to stay up past his bedtime..."

"Shut up, shitty Dazai!" Chuuya took a swing at him - missing just narrowly. "But, I suppose ya do have a point, it is a bit late... and I dunno 'bout you, but I don't fancy facin' Mori-Sensei's wrath if we're out too late.."

"Exactly!" Osamu responded, sliding himself down from the rock and standing up. He slung his coat around his shoulders, and placed a hand on the other boy's head. "I'll race ya' there!"

"Eh?! Wait up! You can't start before me, you stupid mackerel!!"

"Haha, yes I can! Quit bein' a slug if you're that slow!~"

"Shut up!!"

[END OF CHAPT. 1]

[casspurrjoybell-20]

FOOLS - Chapter 10 - Part 1

BOOK ONE: The 'Fools Fall in Love' Trilogy

*Warning Adult Content*

Noah Wright

Sam instructed me to go to the movie theater.

He got a job there almost a week ago and I guess his boss, Jenny, already loved him and Sam claimed he could get us in for free.

When we walked in, Sam told me to 'stay right here, I'll be right back' and he dashed to an 'Employee Only' room.

I shifted from foot to foot, standing off to the side as I watched customers buy popcorn at the concession stand and waited for Sam.

Emily wasn't working tonight I noticed, good.

Why did I think 'good' at Emily not being here?

Who cared if she saw Sam and I there?

She knew Sam and I were friends.

I had gone to the movies with Jason and with Carter before.

Yet with Sam it felt... different?

Maybe because I know he's gay?

But, Carter was bisexual and hanging out with him alone didn't make me feel weird.

So I didn't know why Sam would make a difference.

I looked down at my appearance.

I should've just stayed in my sweatpants and t-shirt.

Oh God, it seemed like I was trying to impress Sam.

No, I smoked weed in my school clothes, that was why I changed, I didn't want to reek of Marijuana with Sam.

Which is why I also drenched myself in cologne.

Oh God, did I have too my cologne on?

I lifted up my shirt to my nose.

Nah, I smelled good.

Sam smelled good too.

Fuck, I had to leave.

Maybe I should tell him I don't feel good and I should just bring him back home?

But after I thought that, Sam stepped out of the forbidden room and walked up to me with a mischievous grin and all thoughts of ending this evening early flew out the window.

"Hehe, I asked her if I could use theater eleven and I also may have kissed up to her a bit and fed her compliments," he laughed like he was a genius.

"Hold on, I'll get us popcorn and drinks," and again I was left waiting but that time, I was able to watch Sam.

He was leaning over the concession stand.

I didn't know what he was saying but the girl working looked to be giggling and she twirled her hair around her finger.

Then, a minute later, she grabbed him a large bucket of popcorn and two cups.

He came back to me, still grinning,

"The girl at the concessions doesn't know I'm gay and she flirts with me all the time. Am I bad that I played along with it to get us free popcorn?"

I laughed.

"Gimme my drink," I said, yanking a cup from him to go fill it.

Once we had our drink, we walked all the way to the back of the building to theater eleven.

Which supposedly, was never used.

Meaning, it was just us two in there.

We sat all the way in the back row.

"So are we going to be watching a blank screen?" I asked with my tone laced with sarcasm.

"No," Sam said pointedly.

"I also got Timmy, a coworker of mine who works in the movie area to set up a movie for us," he smiled.

"Wow, five days in town and you already have everyone wrapped around your finger."

"Four days," he corrected me with a smirk.

"Well, if I didn't know any better, I'd think this was a date."

What the fuck did I just say?

Christ, I wanted to punch myself in the mouth.

Sam's cheek immediately burned pinker than his crew new.

"Ahh hahaha, no, don't flatter yourself, jeez."

Then Sam pulled on the collar of his sweater.

"Is it hot in here? I feel hot," he laughed nervously again and I felt myself smile.

Then, my smile dropped when Sam started taking his crew neck off, almost lifting his under shirt off as he rambled about how hot it was.

I laughed, pulling his white shirt down to help him out.

"Dumbass," I commented and when his pale, pink sweater was off, he smiled at me.

"Meat-head."

"Shut up."

About fifteen minutes in, the movie started but I couldn't tell you what it was.

Sam and I were talking the whole time.

"Yeah, so I used to live in Chicago," Sam told me.

"But, my parents got too worried about everything that's been going on with, ya' know, police brutality and the protests and riots. Haven and I went to a BLM march and it turned nasty real quick, people getting hurt and we got tear gassed."

"Damn. I saw all of that on social media and the news but I'm sure it's more intense when you're there than what videos show you."

"Oh definitely. The videos were only half the horror but that's why we moved," Sam explained.

Then almost cautiously, Sam asked me.

"How... how long have you lived here?"

"Uh, pretty much forever. I went into foster care for a little over a year when I was like twelve? But, I was just a town over, so it didn't make much of a difference," I told him.

I'm not too sure why I didn't just ended it at 'pretty much forever.'

That was enough information.

"Foster care? Why were you in foster care?" Sam asked, looking genuinely curious and already I started feeling anxious and irritated.

"Well, you already fucking know the answer to that one," I muttered.

"No," Sam denied hastily, placing a hand on my arm.

"Please, let me explain this morning. I was with Emily at work on Saturday and Jason was there and we all just got to talking about everyone and then you were brought up and Jason told me not to talk about your parents because it was a touchy subject and that's it, I swear but that was still invasive and totally disregarding your privacy and that was so wrong of us."

My jaw was clenched tight and I tried not to feel mad but I was.

Especially at Jason.

Who the fuck was he to tell someone else about my personal life?

I didn't even want to look at Sam because part of me also felt ashamed.

What kind of ominous shit, 'don't talk about Noah's parents' is that but then, soft fingers were on my jaw and I was facing Sam.

"Hey, I'm sorry. Truly. That was not okay and if I want to know more about you, I'll go to you. I promise."

I exhaled, feeling my anger drain some.

"Okay," I whispered.

"Okay," he repeated in the same gentle tone but his hand remained on my face.

I looked down at his mouth and my heart felt like it was beating out of my chest... and I looked back up to meet his eyes- his vibrant green, wide eyes.... and I felt myself lean into him and...

A loud noise erupted from the movie on the screen, breaking us both apart.

What the fuck?

Was I about to kiss Sam?

Sam exhaled, his hand on his chest as he chuckled.

"Freak, that scared the shit out of me," he confessed.

"I totally forgot there was a movie playing."

"Wow, did you just swear?" I asked, teasingly.

"Shut up. I do swear," Sam told me matter-of-factly.

"I just don't have a trucker, potty mouth like you."

I laughed and we stayed in that empty theater eleven, joking and talking as if I never tried kissing him.

I dropped Sam off a little past 6:30 pm but it wasn't until after I got home that I realized Sam had left his pink crew neck in my car.

[casspurrjoybell-17]

Hart and Hunter - Chapter 4 - Part 2

*Warning Adult Content*

Dane Hunter

"You're also my mate and I love you. Let me fuss."

He sighs but submits as I continue to check him over, taking his pulse and removing the sunglasses to see if his pupils are responding to light.

They're still blown wide, the irises nothing but a thin ring of amethyst around a black core and I slide the glasses back in place as he winces in pain.

His skin is still a little cold and clammy and I grab a blanket from the back seat and cover him. I know he doesn't like it when I hover but he doesn't understand how ingrained the instinct is.

My mom had her first child 'me' at twenty-three, and her last 'Ingrid' at thirty-seven.

With seven siblings spaced over those fifteen years, I naturally became a kind of third parent... a second dad, almost.

I sometimes had to make decisions in my siblings' best interest that they wouldn't have decided for themselves, bedtime, bath-time, when enough was enough.

I'd carried that sense of responsibility with me to the service and while it hadn't made me popular, it had served me well.

Julian's not a child, though and he's not my subordinate.

He's my equal and my partner.

But sometimes I struggle to find the line between caring and control, between doing what he wants and doing what I think is best.

I try to compromise.

"When was the last time you saw a doctor?"

"What?" he asks, his eyes snapping open behind the sunglasses as he turns to look at me.

"I just mean... have you been to a doctor? Had x-rays, blood-tests?"

"The hell are you asking me, Dane?"

I tug on my hair and sigh, realizing we should have had this conversation a long time ago and that I'm doing a bad job of bringing it up now.

"Look... Wolves have markers in our blood. A human doctor wouldn't know what they are but they'd know it was something unusual. They'd probably think it was a disease of some kind. Same with x-rays. Sometimes our bones or joints don't look quite right. So, we avoid those things. What about you? Could I take you to the hospital right now if I needed to or would you end up in a secret government lab somewhere?"

"Jeez, Dane," he sighs and leans into the headrest again.

"I'm fine. And I don't know. I've had plenty of blood tests. I used to get them pretty regularly when I was younger because..." he bites his lip, probably thinking I'd rather not hear about his exes.

"Anyway, no men in black ever showed up to take me away and I've never been sick enough to need the ER. I don't need it now, either."

"How do you know?" I challenge.

"Have you ever passed out like that before?"

"No, I haven't but we've got an obvious line of cause and effect. My senses were already at full receptivity from reading the store. I touched the symbol and whatever energy it held knocked me flat. I'm already feeling better."

"You stopped breathing, Julian," I snap, frustrated by his refusal to see things from my side.

"If I'd passed out and stopped breathing, would you just take me at my word that I'm fine?"

He doesn't speak for a moment and then clears his throat.

"No. I guess I wouldn't. I'd be worried, too. How did that work, anyway?"

I squint, confused.

"How did what work?"

"You were in the military. Don't they do random drug tests and stuff all the time?"

Sighing at his attempt to change the topic, I give up and start the car, turning my attention to driving us home.

"They do but I wasn't the only one. We've got... networks, I guess. Shifters and Wolves at different levels in the chain of command. The higher ups shield those lower down."

"Who shields the higher ups?"

I stop at a light and check my rear view mirror as I catch the wail of sirens in the distance.

If Stephanie called the cops when we left, they'll be here soon.

The station's only a few streets away.

"Does it matter?"

"Just curious," he mutters, slouching in his seat.

"Yeah, that's what the cat said, too."

He mutters something else but before I can ask him to speak up and share with the class, more sirens distract me.

These are louder and coming from a different direction.

The light turns green but I stay where I am, not wanting to block the path of emergency vehicles.

A moment later, an ambulance flies around the corner, sirens screaming and zooms off in the direction we'd come.

Julian presses his hands over his ears, being sensitive to sound as well as light and twists to look back through the rear window.

"Stephanie didn't call 911, did she?" he asks.

"No, I told her not to. They wouldn't send an ambulance without confirming one was needed, anyway. Must be something else."

I turn the car around.

"What are you doing?" Julian asks, sitting up.

"Why are we going back?"

"Just curious," I say, throwing his line back at him with a crooked smile.

We pass Stephanie's shop and see her standing outside with her arms crossed, frowning and shielding her eyes as she looks down the street.

At the end of the block, two police cruisers, a fire engine and the ambulance have parked in front of Jeffrey Lagrange's bicycle shop.

I pull into the nearest parking spot I can find and unclip my seatbelt to get out.

Julian reaches over and grabs my arm.

"Wait... where are you going?"

"To check it out. Stay here."

"Like hell."

He fumbles with the buckle of his own belt.

I reach over and take his hand, putting the tiniest trace of Alpha in my voice... just enough to get his attention.

"Julian."

He stills and looks up at me warily.

"What?"

"You're okay, right?"

"Yes. I told you, I'm..."

"Okay. I believe you. Now I need you to listen. Stay here and rest. I'll be right back. Please," I add, after a slight hesitation and squeeze his hand.

He looks at me tensely and then... to my relief... he relaxes, whatever he sees in my face having convinced him.

"Alright. Don't take long."

"I won't."

I lean over and kiss him before getting out and walking toward the scene.

A cluster of officers gather near the front of the shop and a pair of EMTs attend to a crying woman.

As I approach, one officer... a rookie I don't recognize... turns and lifts a hand.

"Sir, keep your distance. This is a crime scene."

At his side, my former boss, Chief Laura Coleridge, turns and lifts grey brows at me as she waves the officer off.

"Hunter. Fancy seeing you here."

"What's going on?"

She nods at the shop.

"Mr. Lagrange's store was burgled last night. Apparently, he confronted the thief."

My interest sharpens.

"Is he hurt?"

"Nope."

I glance at the ambulance but Coleridge continues before I can ask what, in that case, it's for.

"He's dead," she says.

I pause to absorb this information.

"Homicide?"

She shakes her head.

"Unclear. I got a feeling, though. You know the one."

I do... instincts aren't just a wolf thing, humans have them, too and Chief Coleridge's are especially well-attuned.

The one she's referring to gets honed in cops over time, the feeling that something is off with a scene.

"So, what brings you to this neck of the woods?" she asks.

"According to Erickson, you and Hart were here the other night as well."

Silently cursing my erstwhile co-worker and knowing that Coleridge will find out soon enough anyway, I tell her what Julian and I had discovered so far.

"Actually, I'm glad you're on the case already," she says.

"I was just thinking of calling you."

Taking out her cell-phone, she pulls up a photo and angles the screen at me.

"That mark you found in Wong's... it looks something like this?"

I study the image and nod.

The symbol in the photo is different but similar in style.

"Not exactly but yeah."

I show her the photos I'd taken earlier.

"Wong will show you where it is... I told her to point it out."

She taps her screen and to my surprise, my cell-phone pings and I see she's sent me the image.

"We found it near the body," she says.

"This is evidence," I remark, although she's obviously aware of that as well as the fact she shouldn't share it with someone who's not a cop.

She nods, hands on her hips as she surveys the scene, watching as police, paramedics and other personnel do their jobs.

"Look. I know you said you're done with the violent stuff, Hunter but I think we could use you on this one. Hart, too. You want in?"

I glance back at my car.

Julian will absolutely want in.

He's eager to put his Fae abilities to the test and what happened today won't dampen that enthusiasm one bit.

On the other hand, the thief may have just proven himself more than capable of delivering on his threats.

Maybe what Julian doesn't know won't hurt him.

"Chief. Come look at this," an officer calls from the scene.

Chief Coleridge raises her brows at me in invitation but I shake my head.

"Nah," I say.

"Not this time."

She gives me a knowing look and pats my arm.

"Call me when you change your mind," she says and walks away to see what her team has found.

[countenanceblog]

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Gwyneth stared blankly into a bowl of brown lentil soup. She was seated at the table in Ralph's kitchen. Tall, slender Rufus walked past her shirtless. She eyed his happy trail evilly. "Hey, 'Gronk', enjoying yourself?"

"What? Well, as a general rule, I look content, but internally there's this terrible turmoil and emotional depth," said Rufus, talking directly out of his ass.

Gwyneth smiled. And then frowned. "I need to talk to you about something. It's important. Really important."

Rufus made a strange expression. "Is it more of our juvenile tactics? We had like fifteen-odd people in here last night and all we did was chase our tails."

"No," she stated bluntly. "That's not it at all."

Rufus raised an eyebrow, not quite sure what Gwyneth was getting at. "Alright, then spill it. What's so important that it has you looking all serious?"

Gwyneth took a deep breath, trying to find the right words to express herself. "It's about us, Rufus. I mean, about you. I... I have these feelings for you, and they're not just friendly or casual. They're deeper, and I don't know how to explain it."

Rufus gave her a sidelong glance, a grin tugging at the corner of his lips. "Feelings, huh? You mean like indigestion or something? Too much of Ralph's cooking, maybe?"

Gwyneth rolled her eyes, frustrated with Rufus' inability to take things seriously. "No, not like that. I mean... it's like when you're around, everything else fades away. You're the person I want to talk to, to be with. You drive me insane with your sarcastic banter, but I can't help but find it endearing."

Rufus shrugged, still playing it cool. "Well, I guess I am pretty awesome. Can't blame you for falling for my charms."

Gwyneth let out an exasperated sigh. "You're impossible, Rufus. Can't you just for once be serious and talk about feelings without trying to joke your way out of it?"

Rufus crossed his arms, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Why would I do that when it's so much fun to watch you squirm?"

Gwyneth's frustration reached its peak. "This is exactly what I'm talking about. You never take anything seriously. You hide behind your sarcasm, and it's like you don't want anyone to get close to you."

Rufus' expression softened slightly, a flicker of something genuine in his eyes. "Hey, that's not true," he trailed off. "There's a human being somewhere in this hollow shell I call a 'meat suit', and recently I've finally gotten the chance to meet him. In my meat suit."

"You're so eloquent," joked Gwyneth. "Did you get to meet him because you slept with my cousin? Is that why you're being all . . . avoidant? Right now?" She stood up from her seat. She was only a few inches shorter than tall Rufus. Her dark eyes locked with his green ones. Morning light poured in through the large windows at either end of the long room.

Rufus bit his lip. "Please, don't put me in this position. She's eighteen. I feel, well, I feel obligated to be there for her. I don't think she's ever had a boyfriend, judging by – "

"Dude," Gwyneth cut in. "She's had three or four."

Rufus frowned. "Oh. By Hel, why didn't you just tell me you had feelings for me? I've made moves on you! Just a week ago I tried grabbing your ass, and you slapped me!" Gwyneth chuckled a little. She spoke firmly.

"Yeah, I did. That made me like you. You're an idiot. You're not supposed to grab a woman's ass, ever. Not like that, with both hands, and . . . jeez."

"Man alive," intoned Rufus. "Harsh. What do you want me to do? Break up with Maggie? We haven't even – "

"Yes," snapped an unthinking Gwyneth.

Just then, Timothy Rockland emerged from his cave wearing only his boxers and a t-shirt. "This is why Xander hates you, Rufus, isn't that funny? Just because you've got girls crawling on you." Rufus inhaled.

Gwyneth raised an eyebrow sharply. She looked directly into Timothy's penetrating eyes. "Plural? Who are the others? How many are there?" Rufus' head sank low.

"He stole those two freshmen girls off my brother. For a while, anyway," said Timothy without an ounce of regret.

"By Hel, Bailey and Sasha?! What did you do to them?," Gwyneth demanded, pounding her fists on Rufus' nearly hairless chest. "What did you do? You fuck . . . "

Rufus grabbed her wrists in his hands. "I'm sorry, okay? If you gotta know, I made out with them. That's all. I swear. You realize the timing of this couldn't be worse, right?" Gwyneth was beginning to look deadly.

"Why's that?," Timothy asked the both of them.

"Look at the news, Timmy," said Rufus. "Go and look at the news. Turn on your computer." Gwyneth slipped free of his grip and stormed out of the kitchen huffing. "Fuck, Timmy. Was that really necessary?"

"I just tell the truth," said Timothy.

Rufus grunted. "Yeah, look where that gets us."

"You mean look where it gets you, Rufus. Look where your bad decisions get you, man. It's a good thing you don't have any other secrets to hide."

Rufus changed gears visibly. "Can I have one of your chicken and noodle things? I'll buy you two to make up for it. I swear." Rufus nodded as if in agreement to his own proposition. Timothy just shrugged.

"Three," was what he had to say. He handed Rufus one of his eastern-styles microwavable dinners. "Tomorrow."

"Man," said Rufus. "You're really adult for a high school kid. No nonsense, huh?" Aleister Fawkes walked into the room. His sunglasses were definitely on.

"You should put some hoisin sauce on that," said Aleister to Rufus. "Why aren't the cops here?"

Timothy laughed. "Why would they be here? For Xander again?" Aleister tapped on the countertop.

"Yeah, he was yelling all night," said Aleister.

Rufus smiled widely. "You're lucky he didn't wake you up, Timmy." Timothy waved his hand at the two of them.

"You guys are nuts, I'm gonna go read the news."

Rufus and Aleister watched Timothy leave the kitchen, and Rufus shook his head in amusement. "Timmy, the little truth-bomb dropper. I gotta admit, he's got a point though. My life does tend to be a series of bad decisions, one after another."

Aleister leaned against the counter, his cool demeanor never faltering. "You're not wrong there. But hey, we all make mistakes. The key is learning from them and trying to do better next time."

Rufus smirked, watching the bright-lit chicken noodle meal rotate. "I don't know if I'm capable of learning, Aleister. I'm just here for a good time, not a long time."

Aleister chuckled softly. "That's one way to look at it, I suppose. But deep down, I think you're more than just the sarcastic facade you put up. There's something more to you, Rufus."

Rufus glanced at Aleister, raising an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? And what's that?"

Aleister grinned, his eyes glinting behind his sunglasses. "You have a heart, Rufus. You care about your friends, even if you show it in your own unique way. And when it comes down to it, you're fiercely loyal."

Rufus scoffed, trying to downplay Aleister's observation. "Yeah, yeah, don't you go getting all sentimental on me now. We've got enough drama to deal with without you analyzing my personality."

Aleister chuckled again, undeterred by Rufus' attempts to deflect. "You know, you and Gwyneth have more in common than you realize. Both of you put up walls to keep people out, but deep down, you both yearn for connection and understanding."

Rufus shot Aleister a sideways glance, not entirely comfortable with the direction of the conversation. "Look, I appreciate the psychoanalysis, Dr. Cool, but can we talk about something else now?"

Aleister shrugged nonchalantly. "Sure thing, Rufus. Let's talk about the controversial Doge of Spain City, Bartholomew Villareal. I heard Timothy's a supporter."

Rufus rolled his eyes, grateful for the change of topic. "Ugh, that guy. Villareal is a walking disaster. He's all about promoting himself and his ego, but he doesn't care about the people he's supposed to be leading."

Aleister nodded in agreement. "I can see why you feel that way. He does seem to be more interested in power and control than actually making a positive impact."

Rufus leaned against the counter, crossing his arms. "Exactly. I mean, I don't care much for politics, but even I can see through his facade. It's all about the image, not about serving the community."

Just then, Gwyneth returned to the kitchen, her expression slightly softened. She looked at Rufus and Aleister with her dark, intense eyes, feeling a mix of frustration and affection for the two of them. "Discussing politics again? I thought you were apolitical, Rufus."

"That's what makes me so political," quipped Gage. The garage doorbell rang. Aleister perked up.

"I'll get it," he told his friends. Aleister walked over to the door while Gwyneth and Rufus had a hushed exchange. When the door opened, redheaded Sasha and blonde Bailey were standing on the other side. Visibly they were scared. "What's up, ladies?"

"The lockdown is over," said Bailey.

Sasha piped up. "Do you guys know what's going on?"

[complete-in-ix]

Hide And Seek

Rated: M Warning(s): Major Character Death, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Cannibalism(?), Suggestive

Description: Junghwan only wants to find his friends after they ditch him without even taking him to the party they were supposed to go. He does find them, but also much more than he could have ever bargained for in the progress.

(Read on Ao3)

Honestly, there was no way that Junghwan could have predicted how tonight was going to go. Meeting Yedam and Doyoung at the edge of town for a party at some friend of a friend’s was supposed to be the plan, but he should have known that something was wrong when neither of them showed up to pick him up at 10:00 like they had planned. Doyoung, he could excuse, but Yedam? He was never late. Junghwan didn’t think much of it at first, scrolling through his phone until his parents leave, reassuring them that his friends are on their way. 

By the time half an hour passes, Junghwan knows that something is wrong. Neither of his hyungs are answering their phones, and none of their other friends know where they are. Haruto-hyung had seen them heading through town earlier, but they had been going in the opposite direction of the party. Junghwan wracks his brain for a potential answer. There’s nothing in that direction of the woods other than an abandoned building that might have used to be a low-rise apartment or something, now known as a hotspot for teenagers to do… Whatever it is that teenagers sneak out to do. Junghwan, freshly fifteen, only has a vague idea of what his hyungs might be ditching him to do, and he decides that he wants nothing to do with it. 

For some reason though, his entire being burns with curiosity. Sure, it might be wrong to intrude on their private time as a couple, but they do deserve it for ditching him. It’s not like there’s anything else he has planned for tonight, and he can still make it to the party tonight even if he goes over to sneak in on his hyungs… No, no, that’s not right. He isn’t interested in that, he never will be. So why…?

He tries his best to shake the sudden temptation out of his head. That place has gotten dangerous anyway. Every year, at least one person disappears or turns up dead around that area, and Junghwan has no intention of being the next. Then again, what if they’re next? He has to go now, if only to make sure they’ll be okay. What? No, they can handle themselves. Junghwan’s supposed to be having fun at the party, anyway. 

He makes it three steps out the door before his resolve breaks. It doesn't matter how well they can handle themselves, he has to make sure they'll be okay—if only to soothe his own conscience. Damn his soft heart.

Despite the late hour, the streets are still decently populated and any silence is broken by the distant sound of conversation or a pet barking. For some reason, this doesn’t reassure Junghwan at all. He’s jumpy as he makes his way through town, flinching at every sound and scrambling to hide every time a car passes by. 

It’s strange, really. He’s done his fair share of sneaking around in his life, but none have felt as high-stakes as this, like he’ll be killed if he’s caught. He’s never been one to have these kinds of thoughts. He nearly trips over himself to cram himself into an alley as he hears a car approaching from behind, pushing himself between the tight walls as if its shadows are pulling him in. Without meaning to, he lets a slightly deranged laugh escape his lips.

“Jeez, I must be possessed…” he mutters aloud. 

Somewhere in the alley’s corner, something smiles as Junghwan slips out to continue his creep to his friends.

Junghwan finds his resolve starting to crack as he approaches the abandoned building that his friends are supposedly ditching him to be in. The light from the streetlight he stands under seems weaker than the rest, barely illuminating the outer walls. The forest beyond it shrouds it in darkness, and it gives Junghwan a distinct impression that it’ll swallow him whole if he goes in.

He’s just about to chicken out and run back home or to the party when he spots something that cements his feet to the floor—another shadow next to his. He knows damn well it can’t be his own shadow cast by a different light source, the next streetlight is too far away and this shadow is much more defined than his own—darker and sharper around the edges. 

When he turns his head to look at it, it moves with him, but in the wrong direction. 

A scream bubbles up in his throat and he clamps his hands over his mouth to stifle it. The other shadow follows. 

He doesn't know how long he stands there, frozen in terror and starting at a fucking shadow , but his joints crack when he moves again, startled by a whisper.

Follow me.

No fucking way in hell. 

Follow me.

Follow who, anyway? Junghwan just has to find out where that voice is coming from so he can go in the opposite direction.

Follow me.

Hold on. Did that other shadow just get bigger?

Follow me.

FUCK THAT. 

Junghwan finally manages to snap out of his fear-induced paralysis when the shadow takes a step, and he bolts. His feet feel like they’re being yanked around by some invisible force though, and resisting the pull is like trying to pull them out of a block of concrete. He unwillingly runs himself straight into the building that he had been trying to avoid, his hand shooting out to pull the door open and slam it shut behind him before he can stop himself. He tries the door again as he catches his breath, but no matter what he tries, it won’t open despite the lack of a lock.

Well, shit.

He holds his breath to listen for anything else that might be following him or puppeteering him or whatever other weird possession straight from a fever dream that might happen, but there’s nothing except for faint voices coming from somewhere upstairs.

Could that be his hyungs?

Well, he’s past caring about that now. Something just possessed him out there, and if it isn’t his hyungs then he might as well be dead where he stands. Still, the temptation to find his way up to check if it’s them persists, like a serpent weaving its way in and out of his mind and whispering in his ear. 

“Fuck it, let’s just go,” he mutters to himself, though he has a distinct feeling that he isn’t the only one who heard.

He creeps up the stairs, sticking as close as he can to the areas lit by the moon. After a few flights, he starts to pick up faint voices from a room in the distance. His heart starts to race as he gets closer, though he can’t think of any reason why. He should be relieved that he found his friends, because there’s no mistaking that laugh as Doyoung’s, but he only feels dread. 

The whispers lead him straight to the end of the hall, and he debates bursting in with a few select words to have with them about leaving him behind to look for them at an old, dangerous, probably haunted hideout, but an invisible force yanks him into the room beside theirs instead. 

His throat closes around his scream before it can escape him, and he spends a few moments trying to catch his breath in silence. When he regains his bearings, he notices a rather large split in the wall dividing the rooms that gives him a perfect view of his friends inside.

All his previous fear leaves his mind when he takes in the sight of Doyoung on Yedam's lap, wearing a skirt that looks to be tied on with some kind of sash.

Well.

He can't deny it looks good on him. 

Yedam’s smiling at something Doyoung is whispering in his ear, a soft giggle leaving his lips that resonates eerily in the dead silence. He turns away from his boyfriend, playfully dodging what would have been a kiss to the cheek—a normal sight, if it weren’t for the way his grin glinted in the moonlight. Junghwan frowns—he’s seen Yedam smile like that a million different times at almost every hour, there’s no reason this should be any different. 

Then again , maybe it is a little different this time, since he’s hiding behind a cracked wall in an abandoned building at the edge of town watching his hyungs flirt like some kind of creep. What had even possessed him to come, anyway? They’re the ones who had ditched him, and yet here he is, peering through the crack to see Doyoung squeezing Yedam’s exposed thigh through the hole high up in his ungodly ripped jeans and ghosting his lips over his neck—yeah, he should really get out of here before things get weird. 

As quietly as he can, he gets up from his crouched position on the floor. He internally thanks his dancer’s joints for not cracking as he stands, not wanting to give away his presence and have to explain why he’s here to his two hyungs who are obviously here to do… Whatever it is that couples do in abandoned buildings on the edge of town. He really doesn’t want to know. Right as he tiptoes one step towards the empty doorway, a movement in the halls catches his eye. It's too dark for him to make anything out clearly, but it looks suspiciously like a human shadow. Is someone else here? Forcing himself to keep his breathing steady, he takes another step out. It was probably nothing. 

Then again, "nothing" doesn't soundlessly dart down the hallways towards him at a speed too fast to be human. Startled, Junghwan stumbles backwards, nearly tripping into a crumbled section of the floor. The exposed rebar makes a traitorous creak as he steps on it, much too loud to be drowned out by the couple’s sweet nothings to each other in the next room. Frozen in place, Junghwan has a clear view through a wider gap in the wall right at eye level. He glances through it just to check if either of his hyungs had heard, though there's no way they hadn't. 

Sure enough, he makes direct eye contact with Yedam. The older boy just stares up at him, grinning with that oddly wide smile. Perhaps it was the moonlight playing tricks on Junghwan's eyes, but had Yedam's teeth always been this sharp? And had he always had that many? He doesn't have any time to dwell on it as the silence stretches on, broken only by a low growl that Junghwan feels more than hears. 

"I hear something.” 

Doyoung sounds about as tense as Junghwan feels. What had any of them been thinking, coming out here in the middle of the night? Images from the past two years flash through his head—Hyunsuk-hyung and Jihoon-hyung’s closed-casket funerals, Mashiho-hyung’s broken and bloodied hand hanging out from under the sheet on the gurney, Yoshinori-hyung’s lifeless eyes during Junghwan’s last conversation with him… Whatever had gotten to those four is still around, and all three of them might be next.

"It's probably just a mouse," Yedam soothes. The older boy finally breaks eye contact with Junghwan to reassure his boyfriend, but Junghwan can’t find it in him to move. His fight or flight response is jammed on “freeze” instead, the cold grip of horror keeping his feet rooted to the floor. 

"A mouse? I'd see them in this light!" Doyoung hisses—how he would manage that is beyond Junghwan, who can’t see anything beyond what the moonlight touches. Junghwan watches as he brushes aside Yedam’s hand on his cheek to survey the room and can’t help but notice his eyes shine strangely in the moonlight, just like a cat. Human eyes don’t do that. Junghwan must be hallucinating

"I only saw a shadow," Yedam murmurs, his soft smile morphing into another creepy grin as he locks Junghwan into another silent staring contest. 

Speaking of shadows… Despite the way the moonlight falls over his face, Yedam doesn’t seem to cast one. The light bends around him, like some kind of constant 360 spotlight. Either Junghwan is going insane or something is very, very wrong. Junghwan’s chest starts to tighten up the longer he holds eye contact with what might not be his hyung, unable to move even while all his senses scream at him to run.

"I know there's someone there," Doyoung growls. His eyes flash again as his gaze sweeps the room again, bright silver in contrast to the almost pitch black that they were before. Another growl rumbles through the room and Junghwan wants to scream. Yes there is, something’s here and we all have to get out of here now!  

If only he could, but his throat refuses to work under Yedam’s gaze, barely expanding enough to let him breathe. His hyung’s eyes pierce into his soul, rooting him in place and muzzling his screaming instincts, leaving a cold calm behind in their wake. Stay, they seem to say. No way, I’m leaving, Junghwan wants to respond, but his feet won’t move.

"Not as far as I'm aware,” Yedam lies, his gaze still rooting Junghwan in place.

"Why don't you believe me?" Doyoung huffs. Yedam holds eye contact for a second longer before turning back to Doyoung with a honeyed whisper of  “It’s just the two of us.” It drips off his tongue straight onto Doyoung’s lips, and Junghwan pointedly looks away while he gets pulled in, no longer weighed down by any eye contact. He tries his best to tune out Doyoung’s muffled groan, beyond uncomfortable at the sound of his friends making out. The only good thing about the noise is that it disguises his slinking out of the room, pressing close to the wall. A few steps down the hall, he hears a soft “Maybe you’re right,” breathless and slightly muffled. Junghwan nearly sighs in relief. 

"It's just another night," Yedam affirms, his voice so sweet that the hairs on the back of Junghwan’s neck stand up. Sure, there’s something off about both his hyungs tonight, but Doyoung’s weird eyes hadn’t given Junghwan the bone-deep chill that Yedam’s… everything had. He forces himself to keep moving, hyper aware of every sound that reaches his ears—which unfortunately includes Doyoung’s shaky sigh as Yedam presumably kisses his neck. He speeds up ever so slightly, which proves to be a mistake as his foot disturbes some crumbled bricks. He nearly stumbles again in his haste to duck out of sight, hiding behind a doorway across the hall.

"But I swear I heard a creak," Doyoung grumbles, though Junghwan can tell by his breathy tone that whatever Yedam is doing has softened his resolve. He cringes at the thought, he really doesn’t want to know what they could be doing. 

"Just kiss me." Yedam’s purr only solidifies Junghwan’s thoughts further, and he slips from the room and continues down the hall. This time, he figures he’s far enough that he doesn’t have to hide until their sounds and just focuses on getting the hell out of dodge, until a loud creak and another set of footsteps catch his attention. 

"I’ve always been paranoid, I can’t let something that I’ve heard go even if I can’t see it,” Doyoung mutters, mussed and restless as he storms out of the room. His hair is a mess and his now—unbuttoned shirt hangs off one shoulder, but for some reason he makes no move to fix anything, instead untucking it from his skirt and—Junghwan looks away before any more observations can be made. There aren’t many other places to hide, so Junghwan goes with his next best option: running a few steps down the stairwell and hoping that they don’t come any closer. From here, Junghwan has a clear-ish view of Doyoung’s shadow on the walls as he stalks from room to room.

"Why won’t you just listen to me? Just come back here.” Yedam’s footsteps join Doyoung’s, but there’s still no shadow. Junghwan holds his breath as they draw closer, directly to the stairwell instead of checking every room like Doyoung is. Yedam had been helping Junghwan hide earlier, so maybe he’ll cover for him again, at least long enough for him to get away...

… Until Yedam reaches the top of the stairwell, grinning down at Junghwan with nothing but malice in his eyes. “Wait—now I hear it~" 

Run.

Junghwan doesn’t spare himself any other thoughts, doesn’t linger on how Yedam—still without a shadow—whispers the same word that blares in his mind like a goddamn siren at the exact moment it occurs to him, doesn’t notice the disembodied shadow flitting across the walls towards his own until it’s too late. A single missed step is all it takes. His ankle rolls, unable to take the harsh impact, and he slams into the railing. The only thing keeping him from tumbling backwards down the stairs is a tight grip on the back of his hoodie, pulling him up to his feet, then off the ground. He chokes and flails, lashing out in a blind panic at whatever’s holding him. His feet connect with nothing. 

“I knew that sound meant someone was there. Did you really think the shadows could hide you from us?” 

Junghwan barely recognizes the voice as Doyoung’s through his own panic. Even if his head had been clear, that guttural, hoarse growl is a far cry from his friend’s silvery tone. Yedam says nothing, just smiles serenely down at Junghwan and locks his jaw shut yet again. Then again, it’s not like he can be in the right mind to say anything as Doyoung shuffles into view. 

The first thing that Junghwan notices is the way he’s shirtless and hunched over, bent almost double. His spine protrudes painfully far, almost splitting off from his body. His shoulders look tense, bunched up to his back and pulling his elbows against his sides. He sways as he approaches, as if it hurts to walk. As he gets closer, Junghwan starts to hear sickly wet cracks and pops every time Doyoung takes a step. What the hell had happened to his friend in those rooms? He had just been checking if someone was there—and there evidently had been, if he could walk in looking just fine and walk out looking like… This. How could they be so calm? Yedam still hasn’t said a word, just smiles down at Junghwan with those too-many teeth. Doyoung finally reaches Yedam’s side, and Junghwan nearly gags at the sight. His once-flowy skirt is soaked through with blood, dripping onto the floor at his feet. It sticks to his legs, which now bend at an angle that no human can achieve. It’s a miracle that Doyoung’s still standing, really, with the way his knees knock together while he stands on tiptoe. The stench of iron chokes Junghwan further, permeating every breath that gets past the collar of his hoodie digging into his throat. 

“Is that Hwannie I see? How nice of you to invite him over for dinner~” Doyoung rasps. His mouth cracks in a twisted grin, so wide it tears his cheeks open. He barely flinches, even as more blood runs in rivulets down his face. Junghwan's legs no longer feel like his own, refusing to move no matter how much he wills them to. 

"The shock is gonna wear off soon. Don't play with your food, babe," Yedam chides. Shock. Yeah, that would explain the ice creeping down his back and paralyzing his limbs one by one. Doyoung huffs, a rough, rattling sound, and Junghwan internally begs his legs to move. 

“Come on, Damie, loosen up a little!” Doyoung whines, “let’s have some fun this time!” His fingers jerk and twitch as he speaks, another series of cracks ringing out through the abandoned hallways. Junghwan can’t even scream when Doyoung’s arms break themselves, bones piercing through his skin and contorting his hands almost beyond recognition. Junghwan’s gut twists violently at the sound. If his hands weren’t occupied with keeping himself from being strangled, he would be trying to claw the sound of squishing flesh out of his ears. 

“Alright, if you insist,” Yedam sighs, that hopelessly endeared one that means he’s resigned himself to being his boyfriend’s keeper despite his best efforts.

Doyoung jerks upright like a puppet with its strings pulled taught, a garbed groan leaving his throat before his chest explodes outwards. All Junghwan can see is a mass of red, flesh and bone cracking and crunching as another pair of arms unfold from the space where his organs should be, ribs rearranging to accommodate the new pair of limbs. He collapses onto his knees, somehow catching the weight of his mangled upper body on twisted fingertips. His knuckles crack as his fingers dislocate and pop back into place, the entire structure of his hands rendered completely unrecognizable by the time it stops. At this point, they along with the extra limbs that had burst from his chest look like… paws. All over his exposed body, his skin splits open to make room for fluffy red fur, though Junghwan can’t quite tell if his fur is actually red or if it’s just stained with blood. His spine rips itself from his back, cracking down behind him like a whip and Junghwan realizes that it’s not his spine, it’s a fucking tail . It leaves a line of red splatters along the floor and ceiling, and a small, delirious part of Junghwan’s mind wonders how his hyung can handle this amount of blood loss. 

Too late, it finally hits him that his friends never had to worry about whatever had been killing the others. His friends are what’s been killing the others. 

 Yedam reaches over and unties Doyoung’s skirt before Junghwan can think of looking away, and all hell breaks loose.

Junghwan hits the ground, his ankle smarting when he lands, and Doyoung—what used to be Doyoung—launches itself straight down the stairs at him, bloody jaws split into three. He ducks to avoid it and it flies over his head, crashing into the wall and sliding a good way down the stairs when it's momentum overtakes it. 

"Dumbass," Yedam sighs, still somehow impossibly fond as if his boyfriend hadn't just turned into a monster and made an attempt on Junghwan's life. "Don't let your hunger get the best of you!"

He casually strides down the stairs, hands in his pockets as a twisted roar resounds from somewhere downstairs. 

Junghwan tries to stammer out something, beg for his life, ask what the hell is going on, anything—but only a pathetic whimper escapes him. 

"What's wrong, Hwannie? Not up for hide and seek? If you win, we'll leave you and the rest of the town alone~" Yedam singsongs. "I can't tell lies, you can trust me on this."

Despite his best attempts to resist, something takes a cold grip on Jungwhan's head and forces him to nod, jerky and unnatural. 

Yedam's grin grows impossibly wider at the "response", holding up three fingers as he approaches Junghwan, slowly folding them back down as he speaks. 

"You'd better hurry and hide, then. You've used up your head start."

Whatever force that had been holding Junghwan's feet to the ground finally releases him, and he takes off the right as Yedam swipes at the air where his head once was with viciously clawed hands. 

Junghwan blindly flings himself down the stairs, his ankle screaming in pain with every step. The rough scrabbling of claws down the hall warns him of Doyoung's presence and he banks to the right as soon as he reaches the bottom of the stairs. 

He isn't a second too soon, if the hot breath from Doyoung's three-sectioned jaw just missing his foot is anything to go by. 

Sharp claws rake across his back a second later and he hits the ground hard, his entire body lighting up with pain. A large paw holds him down, claws piercing through his skin. To his surprise, Doyoung doesn’t kill him immediately. No, he reaches down and clamps his jaws around Jungwhan’s arm, rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth easily slicing through his flesh.

“Come on babe, you promised me the first bite!” Junghwan can barely hear Yedam over the sound of flesh tearing and his own screams. Doyoung stops to growl in the direction of the stairwell, a familiar low rumble that Jungwhan can feel more than hear. So, he’s been a dead man this whole time.

“Fine, fine. Go ahead, then,” Yedam grumbles, still as casual as ever as he steps down the stairs. He stops right next to Junghwan, kneeling down to meet Junghwan’s eye. The darkness around him seems to melt into him until they form the shadow that he should have. He smiles at Junghwan, his lips pulling back to reveal teeth that reach his ears. “Just be nice this time, make it quick.”

Junghwan’s scream dies in his throat with nowhere to go, his head crushed between Doyoung’s triple-hinged jaws. 

Somewhere at the edge of town, two monsters have a feast. The more beastly of the two crunches through an unfortunate young human’s rib cage, brutally enough to crush the bones but delicately enough to leave the organs underneath relatively undamaged. It nudges the monster next to it, a more humanoid one that’s busy gleefully ripping through the human’s liver.

“Hmm?” the second monster asks. The beast gently paws aside the human’s lungs to reveal his heart, pushing it toward the monster, who coos and kisses the beast’s bloody muzzle.

“Thanks, babe.” The beast affectionately licks the monster’s face, it’s tongue curling around the monster’s jaw and leaving a mess of blood and drool. The monster only giggles and rips the human’s heart from his chest, taking half in one bite and offering the other half to the beast. It gladly snaps it up, blood dripping onto its red fur. 

The beast stands up and shakes itself after a few moments of silence—broken only by the squelch of flesh tearing, spattering its companion and the walls and ceiling of the hallway it’s in with blood. It takes off down the hall without waiting for the monster, the front four of its six paws leaving bloody prints as it goes. It disappears within seconds, leaping through a broken window at the far end of the hall and retreating, unseen, into the surrounding forest. 

The monster cradles its victim’s face for a moment, smooth fingertips leaving red streaks on his cheek as he stands up to leave. It finishes the last bite of his liver before he goes, calmly walking out in the same direction the beast went. 

“Goodbye, Hwannie,” it whispers over its shoulder, “You tasted the best out of them all.”