#Morning Discussion Time as in Im In Class Right Now HI TEAM

[xxplastic-cubexx]

Alright, lemme correct myself. I believe that Stewart and McAvoy's Charles Xavier is a top.

real ☝️!!!

[thatshappinessforme]

When We Are Together - Pt. 1 (?)

omg...hi. i'm really here rn. posting this. at nearly 4 am on a monday morning. im nervous. i could vomit. so...this has been in my head for forever. literally. the idea is massive. it extends so far. it's seriously a whole universe in my little brain. it took so long to get the basis of this all out on paper, but, i'm hoping this is a series...a long one. the title isn't going to make much sense right now, but i pinky swear we'll get there eventually. so...without further ado...here she is...(EEK!) (also i have no idea how to set this post up so bear with me lol)

so i guess i just lost my fanfic writing vcard💌

_____________________________________________

word count: 2.4k

cw: just a little swearing, maybe a bit of bad writing, also maybe typos?? might be a little boring because it’s mostly to just like set the scene idk? (eventually the plan is to have a lil smut or smth but this really is just an intro lol)

_____________________________________________

The day starts as usual. You wake up to the sound of your alarm and your roommate’s hair dryer blaring through the thin walls of your Brooklyn walk-up. With a groan, you peel yourself out of the warmth of your bed, go to your desk, and open your laptop, holding onto a shred of delusional hope that one of your classes might be canceled for today; they rarely are…but you can’t blame a girl for being an optimist. 

You scroll through your inbox, refreshing, and refreshing – you really don’t want to go to class today. Blame the essay you’d procrastinated that you’d spent all of last night speed-writing. Blame senioritis. Blame the unpaid music publicity internship that you’d been letting eat up your time in hopes of scoring a good job. Blame the frigid snow and ice that seem to be taunting you from outside your window. But, luckily it’s a Friday.

You refresh your inbox one last time, just for good measure. And, something actually comes in. But, it’s not from one of your professors. It’s from some company named “Dirty Hit.”

You raise an eyebrow and open the email, thinking it must be something related to one of the countless jobs you’ve applied for in the last few weeks, preparing for graduation at the end of the semester.

Y/N,

I’m a representative with one of our bands here at Dirty Hit. We’re really impressed with your work and have an opportunity we’d love to discuss with you, if you have a free moment this week at some point. Are you based out of New York? Get back to us when you can. We’re looking forward to hearing from you.

Best,

The Dirty Hit Team

“That’s weird,” you whisper to yourself, reading the short, ominous email over and over again. It’s not everyday that a label reaches out to a random college student to work with them. You’re not really sure what they could possibly be impressed with. You’ve just done minor PR internship work with underground bands from the east coast – that’s not exactly impressive. It sure as hell doesn’t warrant an email.

“Y/N?,” you hear one of your roommates and best friend, Vivian, call from outside your door before walking in, not bothering to knock. The two of you are close, almost like sisters at this point. In some ways, you’re exactly the same person, but in others your polar opposites. She’s a little bit more outgoing than you are, but she always helps to get you out of your shell. “Do you think I can get this guy I’m talking to into the venue tomorrow night? It’s just at The Soundwave, right?,” she asks, plopping down on the corner of your bed. 

Shit. You completely forgot you signed up for an open mic tonight. You’d been playing your songs at small bars in Brooklyn and Manhattan for the past year or so. Songwriting had always been a bit of a hobby for you. So when you’re a broke college student in one of the most expensive cities in the world, you just find tricks to get you and your friends to do fun things for free. You’d learned a while back that performing at open mics usually meant you and your friends could get into bars and clubs without having to pay a cover, so you’d been spending your weekends doing that for a while. It’s all for fun. Sure, you like performing and put a lot into your songwriting, but pursuing it isn’t even quite a dream for you. You have an impending college degree you’ve worked your ass off for. In every sense of the word, music was a hobby for you. 

“Yeah, it shouldn’t be a problem. He might have to pay the cover, but it’s not like it’s the sort of thing where people buy tickets. You know the drill. But, obviously you’re my plus one, so no cover for you,” you nod, still staring at your laptop screen.

“What are you staring at, over there? Everything okay?,” she asks, getting up and moving to stand over your shoulder at your desk. You move your head a little so she can get a good look at the words on your screen. You watch her face as she reads the email, her lips dancing on each of the syllables as you watch her process it. “Dirty Hit? What the hell is that? Sounds like a porn company. Impressed with your work? Do you have a booming, secret OnlyFans I’m unaware of?,” she jokes. 

I laugh and playfully nudge her arm. “No, no,” you giggle, “It’s a record label, I think. I’ve heard the name thrown around a few times at my internship. I think they’re kinda big.” You tab over and do a quick Google search. Immediately, a sea of popular artists and bands pop up under the label.

“Holy shit. Beabadoobee? Bleachers? The 19 fucking 75? I have their fuckin’ poster on my wall. They’re cool as shit,” she reads over your shoulder. “I mean, I have no idea what they could possibly want from me. My resumè isn’t all that impressive. Sure, I’m planning on going into music PR, but there’s no reason why I would stand out against someone who has like…an actual career under their belt,” you ramble, trying to make sense of the 67 words in haunting your inbox. 

There’s a long pause, both of you trying aimlessly to make sense of the email. “Well, you’re gonna email them back, right?,” she eventually asks. You take breath, starting a reply to the email, leaving your cell phone number.

You try to focus on anything other than waiting for a reply. You do your best not to let your mind wander into the what-ifs, but as soon as you get done with your lectures for the day, you check your phone for any response.

Y/N,

Thanks for getting back to us so quickly. The band and management is also in New York for the next few months for a project. We would give you more information over email, but much of the matter is highly confidential. We have a studio space at Electric Lady in Greenwich Village that we could meet at, if that works for you. I know it is rather short notice, but could you meet this evening at some point? Let us know.

Best,

The Dirty Hit Team

You quickly reply to the email on your walk back from campus, confirming the meeting for later this evening. You get back to your apartment and practically tear apart your closet trying to figure out what the hell to wear. You know it’s a business meeting, but it’s also for some mystery band. You don’t want to dress unprofessionally, but you also don’t want to seem uptight. You decide on a black mini skirt with tights and a chunky black turtleneck sweater. You finish primping and step into Vivian’s room, practically out of breath from all the outfits you’ve tried on and scrapped.

“Okay, if you were a band looking for…a PR representative…? Would you hire me?,” you ask her, standing in front of her bed as she looks up from her phone. She looks you up and down and grins, “Of course I would, Y/N. You look great,” she reassures you, sensing you’re anxious, “So, you really think this is just a PR gig?”

“I mean, yeah. What else could it possibly be? It couldn’t be my music. I’m not even on any streaming platforms; I don’t promote it at all,” you say with certainty. She shrugs and smiles, before wishing you the best of luck as you head out the door.

You get on the subway and head to Electric Lady. The train has always been one of your favorite parts about living in New York for college. Putting your pink headphones on, looking out the window into the catacombs that stretch throughout the city, people watching. It’s where you did your best thinking. 

You get off the train and walk through the streets, your headphones on and your music blasting, only interrupted occasionally by Google Maps telling you where to turn and such. Eventually the robotic voice in your ear says “Arrived” and you look over your right shoulder…here it is. You're right on time. You go to open the doors, pushing on them gently; must still be locked. You sigh, assuming that its to be expected. That this is simply upholding a prophecy of some sort that the band and music-industry-folk run behind…until you hear a laugh.

“It’s a pull,” you hear a man’s voice call out with a slight chuckle. From just those three words, you’ve determined that he has one of the thickest English accents you’d ever heard. You look over your left shoulder and see a man leaning up against the wall of the studio smoking a cigarette. “What?,” you ask, confused as you look over to him. He has a hood on and you can’t make out his face, or what he was trying to tell you. “The doors. It says right on them. ‘PULL,’” he chuckles, tossing his cigarette to the ground and putting it out with his Adidas sneaker, walking over to you. “Oh, um, thanks, I’m an idiot. I almost gave up,” you chuckle, pulling the door open this time. The man follows you into the studio, holding the door open once you tug on it. You look back over your shoulder to thank him for holding the door, the first time he’s been close enough for you to make out his face; Christ, it’s Matty Healy.

“I know who you are,” he says to you with a cheeky grin as he starts walking into the back of the studio. You just stand there near the doorway, the gust of cigarette-scented, cold January air lingering around you. You’re perplexed, to say the least. He keeps walking down the hall before finally turning over his shoulder, “You’re just gonna stand there? You have a meeting. Wouldn’t be very professional of you to stand us up,” he teases dryly. You blink a few times before nodding, following him, still in a bit of disbelief that this was the band that had some sort of ‘interest’ in you.

He shows you into a studio in the back. Once he opens the door, there are four other men sitting there, three that you also recognize from your roommate’s wall. The other, a bit older, more professional looking. 

“Y/N! I’m Jamie, I manage these blokes. Thank you so much for agreeing to come meet with us today. I know everything was rather vague on the emails, but…we had to keep it that way. But, now that you’re here, let's talk, yeah? Are you familiar with The 1975?,” the older man asks you, in a super friendly manner as you sit down on a plush chair in the corner of the room. Every eye in the room is glued to you. The air is almost sticky with anticipation. You take a deep breath and try to slap on the most composed, thoughtful, professional smile you can manage.

“Um, yes! Of course,” you nod, tucking a stray strand of your hair behind your ear, “I’m actually a fan of you all. Really, I listen to your stuff with my friends – you’re fantastic.”

“Good, good. We’re glad to hear it,” he grins, looking around at the boys who also all look to be pleased. Even though everyone’s eyes are on you, you feel Matty's specifically, practically burning a hole in the side of your head as he stands, still leaning in the doorway.

“We’re impressed with you, Y/N. So, I’m just going to get on with it. George went to a little bar in Bushwick last month and sent us a video he took of you singing one of your originals…you’re bloody fantastic. We’re going on tour this summer. We want to do something a little different this time with our opener. We want to build someone from the ground up. You’re it. We want you. What do you say? You interested?,” he explains with a wide grin, his tone casual like he didn’t just tell you the craziest shit you’ve ever heard. 

Jamie’s words hit you in slow motion. You look around the room, the air moving from feeling sticky to feeling ice cold, jolting you awake. “I’m sorry…what the actual fuck did you just say?,” you blurt out blankly, any ounce of composure you may have had completely gone. 

You immediately catch yourself, your language, your lack of professionalism, though, “Oh my god, I’m sorry. I…that just came out of my mouth…I-,” your face goes bright red as you desperately try to correct yourself.

The room erupts in laughter, the men you recognize from Viv’s poster nearly barreling over off the sofa. Jamie’s jaw on the floor as he howls, slapping the table in front of him. You look over your shoulder to see that Matty’s still in the doorway, and he’s just standing there with his arms crossed, shaking his head at you with a shit-eating grin.

“Oh, I think we’re gonna get along quite well with this one,” he remarks, licking his lips, weirdly impressed with your mispeakings.

You can’t help but sigh softly and shake your own head when he looks at you like that; something in you shifting as if he’s the only person in the room; as if he was the only person who'd ever laid eyes on you; as if he was the only person ever. As if, the offer you got just moments before wasn’t the most absurd thing that had ever happened to you. As if you didn’t need to thoroughly think this all over. As if you could make the decision right now.

You look back over to Jamie, who’s still chuckling. Before you can give yourself the time to overthink, you swing one of your legs over the other, lean back into the chair and smirk, “Jamie, where the hell do I sign?” 

…and this is how it starts.

[hehebread]

[BKDK] Izuku keeps mentioning a Kacchan to reporters and they think that's his gf

this was a request on twt that i had way too much fun writing. warning for suggestive language!

--

“And is there…. a special person….or a group of people you would like to thank on air today? Anyone who inspired you? Anyone you would attribute your success to? An image of victory per say?”

Izuku’s eyes glimmer as the bright lights of the studio reflect on his irises. “Oh!” He jumps in his seat, his perfectly- coiffed curls bouncing as he nods frantically to the show’s host. “Yes! Yes!” Leaning forward with his hands on his leg, the camera zooms in on his face where the blush is painting his cheeks. “I wouldn’t be the hero I am today if it wasn’t for Kacchan!”

And it’s as if an earthquake alert dropped on the talk show. The host grows this devious grin on his face as he turns to the camera team and says, “Well, well, well, behind every great man is a woman after all.”

Izuku isn’t quite sure why the host is bringing his mother into this since the interview is reaching its end and he has already discussed her influence in detail very early on, but he doesn’t get a chance to ponder.

The host, Yamaguchi-san, leans into Izuku’s space with renowned interest and an interesting glint in his eyes. Izuku feels himself sweating in his oversized maroon-striped suit.

“So, Midoriya-san, Hero Deku, Rising Symbol of Equity and Hope, can you tell us more about … Kacchan?” His voice goes higher at the last syllable, almost sing songs, and Izuku is not sure if he should be worried or not, but he won’t pass an opportunity to gush about Kacchan!

“Ah, Kacchan is very … confident, hardworking, strong, and smart. Kacchan is a hero who knows how to lead a team and perform under pressure, an inspiration to both myself and our entire graduating class, and a”—Izuku can feel the heat rise in his face as he tries to hide in his colour— “a shining star who was closer to me than All Might!”

The host makes a loud ‘AWWW’ noise at the same time as the small audience in the studio. “My, my! Sounds like Kacchan is very important to Hero Deku! Don’t be shy! Tell us more! Is there a physical description to go with your precious person?”

“Ahm!” Izuku fiddles with his fingers as he avoids the gazes on him. There a long beat of silence before he manages to say, “Muscles….Blonde…..Sharp eyes….” With a vague gesture to his middle section, he mumbles, barely audible, “Big, ugh…..” Heart.

“OOOOOOOOOH!” The host goes wild and so does the audience. “So are we talking Hiromi Oshima type big or maybe Rio Natsume, or aaaah Aki Hoshino even ….?”

Izuku feels his ears ring in humiliation as he tries to process what they’re talking about. Something Kacchan has in common with all these beautiful women is his big successful career so Izuku nods. “Yes!” Then, a thought occurs and he rises in his chair. “Even bigger!”

After all, Kacchan’s net worth is higher than these ladies.

“BIGGER?”

“The biggest!”

“Oh my god!” The host is losing his mind now! “And is it … natural? Or did Kacchan get a little help from professionals?”

“No, no, no! Kacchan was a natural ever since we were in school together!” Izuku’s eyes shine with a fire to defend his childhood best friend, no longer trying to hide in his big suit. “No one helped Kacchan get this big!”

“That’s … amazing!” The host shakes his head in both awe and disbelief. “Now we want to see Kacchan in action! When the hero works around the city, defeating villains, does the size get in the way?”

Does Kacchan’s fame get in the way of his work? “Sometimes,” Izuku muses, “But Kacchan never lets the restless and perky nuisances stop him, y’know. With a little shake from his hands, and a few colourful words of wisdoms, nothing gets in the way!” Izuku laughs as he remembers Kacchan’s way of dismissing fans and reporters alike.

“Wow!”

“Of course, there are times where Kacchan’s big firm moulds become springy and hard to control, but I have yet to see an instance where that has been a major issue. ”

Kacchan is still having some adjustment problems with his new hero costume, particularly his grenade mould, but that’s as far as distractions go.

“Does Kacchan not use support?”

“Uhm, only when it’s a dire situation! Sometimes I’m even allowed to provide assistance!”

“You must be very lucky…”

“I am! It feels … exciting and … very special! Kacchan doesn’t trust just anyone, y’know! I can never quite get used to the trust we built together. We are one unit working together.”

“Do you use your hands…. Or something else?”

“Oh, hands! Yes! But anything works really! Whatever Kacchan is comfortable with and needs at the time. Black Whip, combo moves, an iron grip...”

The host furrow his brows and seems to be considering Izuku’s answer before he opens his mouth again. “Uhm, never mind.” He then turns to the camera, smile back on. “Our time is almost running out! Thank you, hero Deku for your time! We look forward to seeing you again in the big screen!”

--

The next day, Izuku wakes up to the headline: Hero Deku And His Mysterious Busty New Girlfriend: The Beautiful and Spunky Kacchan!

He’s doomed

--

He sees Kacchan early the next day.

Having spent the morning talking to tabloids and the host show agents about the misunderstanding and whether or not it was possible to take down the episode at least, Izuku slumps his head on his desk in defeat.

Oh, this is very bad.

He starts thumping his forehead on the wood in sync with the bleeps noises in the phone, already planning his funeral in his head.

Okay, so it seems the suspense around this girlfriend is raking up his popularity, but god, at what cost.

“Nerd, we need to talk.”

Izuku’s soul near flies to the roof at the sound of the door to his office slamming close. Fuckfuckfuck.

Kacchan stands before him with his hand on his hip, teeth snarled and looking ready to tear his flesh open. Oh, this is going to be fun!

After flashing a haughty glare at the glass door to scare away the nosy friends hanging about, Kacchan continues, “About the interview.”

Of course! Yes! His final hour is approaching. “Haahahaha, what about it?” Izuku feels his undershirt cling to his torso, sweat collecting on his face. He directs a shaky hand to a nearby chair. “Feel free to take a seat, Kacchan! You want me to get you anything? Water, tissues, uhm, a knife, a body sized bag, or uhhh, a shovel? I think I have some spare sheets of paper if you’d like to give me a chance to—“

“So…” Kacchan starts.

“PLEASE TELL MY MUM I LOVE HER!”

“…this Kacchan, huh?” Having completely ignored every single word Izuku just said, Kacchan crosses his arms and scowls. “Is she strong? How come I never heard about her before? Since when did you start dating this gravure idol and pro hero, huh?”

“Wha—?”

“So, you just go around giving everyone pretty nicknames now?” Kacchan snorts and his expression darkens before he slams his hands on Izuku’s desk. He looks at Izuku from under his chin, and Izuku swear he can see flames behind his eyes. He growls, “What’s her actual name?”

An alarm bell rings in Izuku’s ears and he stutters, “Ka— Ka— Kat— Katsuko! Bakugan Katsuko…….”

Kacchan’s expression doesn’t change and Izuku feels his heart leap to his throat. God, Kacchan is gonna call his bluff at any minute now. He’s going to reject him then he’s going to break his heart and his bones.

“What’s she like?”

Kacchan shifts forward slightly and Izuku is just know noticing the ample cleavage in clear view. Right there. In front of Izuku’s face. “Uhm. Ah, she’s very, ugh, im- pec— impeccable!! And strong! Muscl— mature!! Breasty too – I mean, pretty! PRETTY!” Izuku bites his tongue then swallows thickly. “Beautiful, actually!” Lifting his gaze to meet Kacchan, he whispers, “Gorgeous. Just the most amazing person in my life.”

Kacchan is staring intently with his sharp red eyes, and Izuku feels his chest swell with confidence he never had before. “Kacchan is my inspiration, and I just … love … Kacchan so much. I wish I had the courage to tell him— um, her that.”

“Are you two serious?” Kacchan asks, impassive but there is silent rage hiding behind his words.

Something flashes quickly through Kacchan’s eyes before he narrows them. It takes Izuku a second to recognise that it’s /hurt/ and then he realise what he has just done.

“No, no, no!” Izuku backtracks immediately. “I don’t even know her that well! In fact, she kinda smells and definitely has sweating problem.” Izuku needs to do damage control and come clean NOW. “You know what? I will call her and break up with her right now. Ha ha ha.”

What the hell is he saying? Who is he going to call?

Kacchan stands up while Izuku fumbles with his phone. “Don’t be a dick,” he says, before he heads to the door.

Izuku jumps from his chair and is ready to chase after him when Kacchan stops him. “How big?”

“Huh?”

“You said Bakugan was big.”

Ah, yes, he did. Tragically.

“Um, y’know just…” Izuku motions with his hands like he’s moulding two doughballs, palms up and fingers wiggling because he’s lost control of his life once he accepted his funeral date, but that’s not even happening anymore so what is he doing really.

He then makes am hourglass shape in the air and belatedly realises that he’s just outlining Kacchan’s shape in front of him. Izuku retreats his hands and puts them behind his back in shame.

Kacchan is looking at him funny. Like he’s trying to figure something out.

“Does she shoot aerial bomb or something? Is that a combat-style quirk?”

Izuku blinks.

Kacchan just sneers and turns around.

“Whatever. I’m doing a photoshoot this afternoon. The Sekushī clothing line is dropping a new summer set and they asked me to model.”

“Se- Sekushi?? You mean, like—” Izuku feels his face go impossibly red. “You’re saying that, you’re going to wear, like…..” his voice goes down to a whisper when he says “…..a b-b-b-b-b-bikini?”

“Swimwear,” Kacchan turns to say over his shoulder, “Among other things.”

The sexy smirk he sends Izuku’s way is doing very, very weird things to Izuku’s body and imagination, things too inappropriate to describe in a work setting.

Kacchan leaves but not without offering the most dangerous challenge to Izuku’s mental wellbeing. “Feel free to drop in.”

Oh, he absolutely will.

“Bring Bakugon.”

Oh, he absolutely will not.

Actually….

Maybe, he will.

Kacchan is going to ruin Izuku

[elysianslove]

hi! how have you been since the hell that ensued after halloween is?

also could you do a batboys college au? like their major and how the reader would meet them and all that jazz? 👉👈

-🐥

hi anon!! i’m not sure what ur talking about @ the halloween stuff hvsdhjs but! here are the batboys hc’s! i’m not very familiar with duke thomas’s character enough to write about him tbh, so he’s not included here :( but if you want me to add him let me know!! i hope you enjoy!!

dick grayson

out of all the batboys i really didn’t know how to choose a major for him

but

i think he’d do law tbh, specifically criminal law 

his main motivation to become a police officer in bludhaven had been to be able to help people in any way he can 

i forgot if it’s canon or not but he does realize how corrupt it is and he quits but that’s another thing we won’t get into that lmao 

anyways yes let’s just stick with law 

meeting you ! 

he shares one or two courses with you

one that’s really early in the morning 

and one that’s later on in the afternoon 

dick is like a magnetic okay

anywhere he goes people are just attracted to him

like literally he will breathe 

but someone call the ambulance there’s a person that’s passed out bc of how beautiful he is

but this is an 8 am class 😃

so there’s no way ur awake enough to notice him

coincidentally he sits next to you one time

and this is the one time

you decide

yeah lemme just fkn sleep is uni even worth it 

dick definitely notices right away but he doesn’t say anything 

he thinks you look so cute passed out on your desk like this 🥺

when the professor signals the end of the class, he watches as people file out and then he just leans over and nudges you slightly 

you nearly punch him bc he scared you ❤️

he just laughs and goes “class is over” 

you just sigh like the guilt starts to hit you and your heart begins to sink

and he sees your disappointed face and just goes 

“i took a lot notes. i can share them w you?”

lifesaver in every single way dick grayson 😻😻😻

you had another class that you had to run to and you were rushing

he was like “dw i’ll just give them to you whenever i see you next” 

and you 🏃🏻‍♀️ outta there

imagine ur surprise when u enter class at 12 pm and he’s there in all his glory 

after the lecture is over, he walks up to you as you’re packing and asks if you want to go to the coffee shop nearby 

to take his notes of course

and you finally register just how handsome he is 

so obviously you say yes wtf

and the rest is history 😼

he asks you out, properly, pretty early on tbh 

so unfazed lmfao 

now you take naps on his shoulder instead of the desk 💞💞💞

soooo into pda 

kisses u when he first sees you

when you’re parting ways

when he feels like it

straight up cuddles w during lectures i’m not even joking 

it’s disgusting how cute you two are 

gets you coffee for all those 8 am classes u have w him hehe

study dates always turn into karaoke sessions somehow don’t even ask lmao

jason todd

english literature 

this is a collective agreement right? 

right

definitely english literature 

i dont even think he wants to go to uni but he’s going to waste time plus this is bruce’s money 😏🤑

your major doesn’t necessarily have to be english literature as well

but you share one class

and my god 

you two disagree on everything

like every little thing

at this point if he says something and you slightly agree internally you’ll still say some opposing shit 

that’s kinda what draws you to him 

at first you genuinely had nothing against him

but then this kind of rivalry developed for no specific reason 

but it was fun

and he was hot

so seeing him get flustered or angry made him even hotter somehow 

but then

but t h e n

you’re not sure if your professor like ships you or something

so you’re assigned a debate topic on one of the books you’d discussed in class/one of the books you’ve read outside, and within each group are the two sides for and against 

not only were you in the same team as jason, but you were on the same side as him

so you had to work with him

the audacity of the professor omg 

but jason needs this course 

and 

well you don’t but it’s too late to back out now 

you two meet in the campus library after deciding on a book with the other two of your team

and 

honestly??? 

you two work so well together 

like insanely well

during the debate you destroyed the other team 

spoiler alert 

doing so well with jason kinda made you like hot and bothered 

seeing him in his zone

sexy <3 

what i mean to say is

you both end up making out in some storage room lmfao 

or hate sex 😏

professor has a phd in matchmaking 🤔😻

i think you two don’t admit you like each other

bc you’re both stubborn as fuck

but eventually you’re literally on his lap on his couch and it just hits you

and you lean back and go

“wanna go out w me” 

and he just shrugs and goes “sure” and pulls you in for more kissing hehe

he’s not v good at the boyfriend thing tbh

you have to chase him around and be like “sir!!! did u forget about me huh!!!”

he doesn’t mean to i promise

he gets all blushy and flustered once he realizes 

only ever into pda if he’s insanely jealous 

will straight up make out w u regardless of where u are or who ur with lmfao 

he’s still getting used to the little intimacies and all 

debates in class are so much more fun now cause he finds it so hot when u get all riled up hehe

that eng lit professor is so happy for you two omg

tim drake

okay i also couldn’t really decide for him

but maybe he’d study something like physics (or maybe computer engineering/computer science) 

idk u have to have a death wish to wanna major in physics so tim’s major it is

i’m not sure how it works for every other uni but my uni requires 6 credits of sciences to graduate 

so let’s say for the sake of this hc u take like just the first level of physics to get 3 credits 

and 

you’re struggling 😃👍🏼

so you like approach your professor with a few questions before the quiz 

but tim is also there

and he kinda makes small talk while you two wait outside the office

and he asks why you’re here

you show him

and he’s like “oh i took this course w the same professor as well, i could help?” 

it’s like an angel had descended from the heavens for you personally 

you take his number and decide to meet up with him after a few hours 

he’s of so much more help than your professor would’ve been, even if ur prof is a really nice and smart person 

and he’s super like

patient with you? 

also he pays for all the coffee and snacks you’re getting after you already get them 

ur like bruh i didnt 

dont pay pls

and he’s like no im loaded let me 😼

swooning <3 

and guess what!! 

you ace the quiz out of some miracle

first thing you do is text him and he congratulates you 

and then

bc ur not blind and tim is so fucking cute

you’re like “can i take u out to thank u” 

tim’s brain stops working but ! 

he does say yes eventually 

he becomes your designated physics tutor + your amazing boyfriend

being with tim is so like

chill

it’s a very relaxed time 

lots of study dates! and cafe dates! all hours of the day whether the sun is up or not 

into pda but to a certain degree 

like yes of course have a kiss pretty baby 

but also it will only be a small peck

any time anyone passes by like common rooms you two will be there snuggling on the couch, one or both of you completely passed out 

damian wayne

business major 100% 

or a bsba econ major, which is basically the business side of economics 

he has to take over his father’s company one day duh 

also i genuinely think damian would excel in this field 

he’s a very keeps to himself kinda guy in uni

like you only ever see him in your common classes and then he just

disappears 

anyways there was this party that everyone was going to, and damian wasn’t planning to

but dick accidentally read some groupchat’s messages and was like are u going

damian went 🏃🏻‍♀️

but dick was like go and try to make friends !!!! 

and dames cant say no to his big bro 🥺 so he goes

stays in a corner on the settings app the entire time

like half an hr in he just leaves and is walking home/back to his dorm when you come like rushing up to him 

you’re zooming 

and then you just latch onto his hand and lean up to press a kiss to his cheek, whispering in his ear “this person’s been following me for like 15 mins just please go along w this” 

he kinda stiffens but when he does notice that there’s a person eyeing you he slips his arm around your waist and just carries on walking

he walks you to your home/dorm and is like

so awkward 

but it’s okay ! ur a people’s person enough for the two of you 

you thank him so much over and over 

and then you’re like 

“can i take you out on a real date?” 

and then he becomes ur real boyfriend hehe

is still super stiff but it’s only bc he’s so hyper aware of how attractive you are

and i’m super positive he doesn’t have that much experience with dating so 

you hold the reigns 

but he’s a great boyfriend all in all tbh 

super attentive, super protective, and so loving 

isn’t into pda especially on college campus but he does like subtle pda

things like linking your pinkies or giving you his hoodie to just parade around campus hehe

end note; i’m sorry if these feel rushed or anything like. i used to be an avid writer for the batboys, but i just haven’t been feeling it lately. i still love to write from them bc i know these boys so well eeeeppp. anyways feel free to request some more!!

[xoxo-teddybear]

Oh, The Lies You Tell - Bakugou Katsuki - pt.8

Bakugou x f!reader

Warnings: angst, trauma, abuse, betrayal, fluff, slice of life, smut, cursing, manipulation, possible spoilers, physical harm, 18+, MANGA SPOILERS

Ep. Warnings: ANGST, cursing, manga spoilers

Summary: it’s time for the battle competition! Or so the students of UA think. Just before the battle starts, a portal opens up and chaos is unleashed. Everything would’ve been fine if Dabi hadn’t exposed the truth.

BAKUGOU’S MASTERLIST

Pt.1 Pt.2 Pt.3 Pt.4 Pt.5 Pt.6 Pt.7 Pt.8 Pt.9

After the long drive, a break, mind-blowing sex, and another long drive, UA has finally made it to the battle competition! The students all marveled in their seats as they looked out the bus windows. The buses for all the schools were parked atop a cliff. The area the students would be participating in was below in and it was nothing but forests, valleys, mountains, rivers, and meadows for miles. This was a race and only the best school and best students will win.

“And welcome to the competition UA,” Aizawa tiredly said. The students all cheered as they exited the bus and stepped foot onto the soft grass. They felt the breeze blowing and felt ready to go. “There’s a building down that path, you can change into your costumes there and wait for further instruction. And Y/N, you won’t be able to be with Rumor on this, so I’ll watch him for the time being. See you all soon.”

The students were excited as they quickly scrambled down the path as Rumor went with Aizawa to wherever.

“Man, after all that time we’re finally here!” Kirishima said. “We’re definitely gonna kick some ass the second we step foot in there,”

“No shit, Shitty Hair. These losers don’t stand a chance,” Bakugou said with a malicious grin. They Bakusquad continued to walk and talk as Bakugou kept his arm around you but he once again noticed your unusual silence.

“Hey..princess, tell me what’s up?” He whispered with a concerned voice. You looked up to him as you snapped out of your haze and stared at him with loving eyes.

“I’m fine Suki...just nervous.” You said with a slight laugh to appear okay. Bakugou took your word for it but still held some concern as he felt somewhere in his heart that there was more to the story.

“About what? You’re one of the best fighters here, you don’t gotta worry about anything. You’ll do great out there Princess. Promise.” He said before he kissed your forehead to reassure you. You gave a nervous laugh as you continued to stare off into space. You were scared.

The league would be coming after you sent the coordinates. Your palms were sweaty and your throat felt dry as you got closer and closer to the assembly building. You wanted to cry so bad for so many reasons. You were lost, you didn’t want anybody to be hurt, you didn’t want the truth exposed....you didn’t want to leave UA...and you didn’t want to leave Bakugou.

Time passed and the others spoke of whatever. You wouldn’t know. You were too busy stressing over the villains upcoming arrival. Class 1-A walked in and took notice of all the schools in the building. Infront of the crowd was a stage and a podium. You felt Bakugou’s grip on you tighten and you laughed as you saw he was looking at all the boys staring at you. You loved your jealous little pomeranian.

Students mumbled and talked amongst each other until a man came up to the podium and addressed everyone.

“Hello students! Welcome to the battle competition, Olympus! Today, all you hero trainees will battle against other schools as you all race to the top of the mountain on the other side of the valley. When you reach the top, there will be people awaiting your arrival to bestow upon you the chalice of victory!” The students cheered at the news and got all riled up. They piped down once the man began to speak again.

“Here’s how this will work. Each class from every school will be given a certain location somewhere out in the field. Don’t worry, it’ll all be at an equal difficulty and distance from the finish line so there’s no advantage for anybody. Once you hear the gun go off, you will all run through the wild to get to the top. Maps will be passed out to each of you right now and along with that, a badge that each of you will get that will tell everyone what team/class you’re apart of and it will connect you and your teammates to one team. Now, classes MUST stick together and everyone must arrive at the same time. Along with the obstacles of nature, some of you will fall into certain traps. There are markings placed at random in the field and once a member of the class steps into it, you will wait until another class gets trapped and you shall battle. Winners get to move on and continue the race. The competition will last for 3 days and if you haven’t made it to the finish line by the morning of the 4th, you must remain where you are so that we can find you and track you by your badge. Everybody clear?”

Students cheered once more as a way of agreement and got ready. “Good. All of you will be directed to the changing areas. There’s over 4,000 stalls, gender is separated, and each student will be able to get their own changing area. Put on your hero costumes and head to your class’s assigned location. Good luck to you all.”

Students got rowdy as they all began to leave the room. You and the Bakusquad stayed and talked for a bit before you kissed Bakugou and left to put on your costume.

You got to your own stall and quickly changed. As you finished you looked in the mirror. You, a villain, dressed as a hero. Comical. But yet, you smiled at the new look. You felt that it really suited you. You snapped out of your gaze and went to the earring hidden in your bag.

“Hello? Can anyone hear me?” You whispered softly into the earring. A minute passed before Shigaraki answered.

“Tell me the coordinates.” You bit your lip in hesitation. Was this really what you wanted to do? You held a shaky breath as you spoke

“43.5647 to 12.8499.”

“See you soon.” And just like that, the call was over. You released a deep sigh in regret and anxiety as you gathered your things and walked to the given location. There you met with all your classmates and Bakugou. He welcomed you with open arms as he pulled you in for an embrace.

“Hey Princess. Everyone already discussed a plan so I’ll fill you in on the way,” He said after he pecked your forehead. Oh his sweet kisses. One of the things you’ll dearly miss when you have to go your separate ways.

“Hi....” Bakugou once again held a frown and concerned stare as your unusual behavior kicked back in. He held you tighter as he tilted your head up by your chin and gave you a loving kiss. He pressed his forehead against yours as your head was still tilted towards the sky.

“What’s wrong Y/N?...Please,” he begged. He knew something had been wrong for awhile and now he was desperate for an answer. You held your breath as you stared at him with sad eyes and a fallen jaw. You squeezed your E/C eyes shut as you shook your head to the ground and placed it against his chest.

“Katsuki, I have to tell you somethi-“

*BANG!*

That was it. The sound of the start of the race. Students began running to the forest and you sighed as you realized this was destiny trying to tell you to not go. You shook off your nerves as you looked towards Katsuki.

“It’s okay, you can tell me later. C’mon,” he said as he grabbed your hand and began to run but with the first step that you took, your eyes glowed and you didn’t see Katsuki or the competition anymore. It was bright and white and all you could see was Korra’s angry face as her eyes also glowed.

“TELL HIM THE TRUTH Y/N!” She yelled with the voices of all the other avatars. Your eyes filled with tears as they shut again and you shook your head.

“I can’t! I’m sorry!” You cried out.

“CHOOSE THE RIGHT PATH!”

“I-I can’t! I don’t know what to do anymore!”

“Y/N!”

...

“Y/N!......Y/N!” Bakugou said as he shook you. Out of nowhere your eyes glowed and you froze in your tracks. Bakugou stopped running when he didn’t feel you follow him and when he looked back he did everything he could to snap you out of your avatar state. After a minute you finally settled and your eyes returned back to normal. You fell into his arms as your groaned in exhaustion.

“Katsuki....?” You softly spoke out as he held you against his chest.

“Are you okay?! What’s wrong?!” He frantically asked. The competition completely left his mind as he shifted his everything to you.

“I’m...im fine. It was just..Korra. She..spoke to me.” You explained.

“Are you okay? Do you need to sit?” He offered as he attempted to walk you to a tree stump so you could rest but you stopped him.

“No, no it’s fine Katsuki....we have to do this competition..” you said with stern eyes.

“No Y/N, I think you shoul-“

“Katsuki.” He looked at you and noticed your serious tone and strong grip as you held onto his arms. “Please.”

“.....okay.” And so you both ran to catch up with your class. You strained and shook off your headache as you thought about your past choices. Fear bubbled up inside of you as you looked towards Katsuki. He seemed focused on the task at hand and so you followed. What you didn’t realize was that under his cool, composed cover, he was nervous. He wanted you to be okay, it was all he yearned for but he also wanted to give you whatever you desired so if going through with the stupid race was what you wanted, then your wish is his command.

You both finally caught up with the class and out of nowhere, a trap was sprung. Denki had stepped into a red zone and all of 1-A’s badges glowed as the ground crumbled beneath them and they all fell into some arena in a cavern. The students plopped onto the ground, some on top of each other, as they all coughed from the dust and examined the area.

“You okay Princess?” Bakugou asked.

“I’m fine Suki,” you reassured him.

“What the hell Dunce Face?! Why didn’t you watch where you were going?!” Bakugou screamed at the poor blonde.

“Cool it man,” Bakugou’s best friend had said as he hooked his arms under Bakugou’s to keep him from attacking the electric boy. “Kaminari didn’t know what the traps looked like. None of us did so it’s good that we can identify them now. All we have to do is wait for another class to fall into another trap so we can fight ‘em and win”

“We’re losing time! Now we have to wait for some dumbasses and if nobody shows up, we’re stuck here! Like losers!” Bakugou said as he huffed and plopped on his ass to the ground infront of Y/N as he placed his chin in his hand. Y/N placed her hands on his shoulders to calm him.

“Kirishima is right, there’s hundreds of kids here and nobody who hasn’t sprung a trap knows what they look like. Somebody is bound to fall down here soon,” you reassured your angry boyfriend. Some of the class settled until a few minutes later, a voice spoke up.

“That you are correct, little mouse. Your opponents are here, but it’s not who you’d be expecting.”

Your eyes shot forward as you recognized the voice.

“Oh no...” you whispered and took your hands off of Bakugou as you stood straight. Everyone turned towards you as they watched you tremble.

“Princess, are you okay?” Bakugou asked as he stood up and held your hands.

“She’s fine blondie. She just knows what’s coming like the smart little puppet she is,” Shigaraki said as he stepped out of the shadows. The class shook and stilled at his appearance and got into defensive positions. The rest of the league popped out of the shadows and the class looked in confusion as they spoke on their concerns.

“What they hell are they doing here?!”

“What’s going on?”

“Should we get help?” The class all asked aloud. You shook off your nerves as you took your hands out of Bakugou’s as he looked at you in worry. You clapped your hands as a gust of wind hit everyone to bring their attention onto you. It was silent as everyone watched you speak.

“..Where are the actual opponents? What did you do to the students?” You shakenly asked. Dabi smirked as he walked back into the shadows and then returned before tossing an unconscious body in front of the class. You quickly ran to him and used your water bending to check on his body and health. The water went all around the poor student until you stopped your movements. He’s dead.

“Heh..you should see the rest of the students, little mouse,” Dabi said as he walked to you and gripped your chin in his hands to make you face him. As he smirked at you, an explosion was sent his way but he jumped and dodged it.

“Get your hands off of her!” Bakugou screamed as he ran to you. He brought you back into his arms as you just stared at Dabi.

“It’s not her you should be protecting, hero,” Dabi hinted. You cringed at his words but Bakugou ignored them as he seethed out a question.

“What the hell do you bastards want?!” He asked and Shigaraki was the first to answer his question.

“Take a guess!” He said as he directed the league to attack. Toga was the first to move as she went towards the girls and attempted to sliced at them. Dabi followed as he sent flames to the ground, but Todoroki was quick and put them out with his ice. The two brothers stared at each other, one with a nonchalant determined face and the other with a cocky smirk.

It was here and now. The attack was happening and it was happening to your class right now. All the students sprung into action as they fought villains, multiple students vs single villains. Sadly, the class were the ones struggling. Bakugou fought at Dabi as he pushed Todoroki away.

“Pick someone else IcyHot! I want this Bastard to myself!” The blonde said before he pounced to the fiery villain. Todoroki shifted as he and Midoriya worked at Shigaraki and you stood in pain at all the violence. You heard screams of pain from your classmates and you felt your own heart breaking. Due to your out of zone state, you couldn’t sense the blue flames coming your way until Bakugou screamed your name.

“Y/N! This isn’t the time for your daydreams! Get your head in the game!” He said. Delivery was a little harsh, but necessary. You quickly snapped out of it as you bended Dabi’s flames away.

“Poor little Y/N. Always a burden, always a bother.” Those words rung in your ears as you advanced towards Dabi. As you jumped mid-air, it was like time slowed down as Dabi’s eyes had slanted as he stared you down. “You sure you wanna do that...little mouse?”

His tone, cold, and your eyes widen in fear. The name, the way he spoke. It was the same voice and degrading name he used when he would attack you as a punishment. You quickly stopped your attack and stared infront of him. You looked up at him in fear as he smirked down at you. You may have changed the slightest bit but you were still a submissive little punching bag to the league. As you both held a staring match, one in fear and one in power, Bakugou blasted Dabi away from you. The black haired man groaned in pain as he felt the burn of the explosion and watched from a distance as Bakugou ran to guard you.

“Are you okay, Princess?” He asked you while he still watched Dabi in caution. You nodded your head and gave a “mhm,” as a reply as you both watched Dabi get up. He and Bakugou jumped at each other as they fought. Bakugou threw punch after punch as Dabi dodged each one while he spoke.

“Princess, Huh? *dodge* Never knew you were into villains Katsuki,” Dabi said as he dodged again.

“Shut up! You don’t know shit! That was her past!” Bakugou screamed as he continued to attack.

“Past?! *dodge* HA! You think your little Princess is an ex-con?!” He laughed in Bakugou’s face.

“She did what she had to!” Bakugou screamed once more. He swung again but Dabi caught his fist this time.

“Really? I didn’t know robbing banks, murdering people, and joining the League of Villains counted as survival,” Dabi said in his face. Bakugou face sprouted a confused look as Dabi threw him back.

“What?” Bakugou seethed threw grinded teeth. Your heart began to race as Dabi continued to talk.

“You don’t know Y/N at all Katsuki.” Dabi said as he gave you the side eye and watched your fearful and angry gaze.

“Stop talking Dabi,” you quietly said, however Dabi still heard. Including Bakugou.

“Your precious little Princess is on our side, hero. She’s a villain. And not just any villain. She’s the best of the best when it comes to the girls.” Bakugou shook his head in anger as he ran back to Dabi and threw punch after punch and kick after kick.

“SHUT UP!” He screamed at the villain but Dabi just dodged and continued. Bakugou was so confused and so angered that his emotions took control. His fighting faultered and Dabi had the upper hand as he attacked Bakugou and threw him into a small boulder. Bakugou groaned as he sat exhausted against the rock. He breathed heavily as he watched Dabi walk to Y/N, take her hand, walk closer to Bakugou, and wrap his arm over her shoulder. “GET AWAY FROM HER YOU FUCKING BASTARD!”

“Heh...do you wanna tell him or should I, Princess?” Dabi asked as he mocked the nickname Bakugou gave you. Your eyes teared as your breath became jagged and you looked towards Bakugou. Katsuki noticed how you didn’t remove Dabi’s arm and just stayed silent.

“Y/N?” He whimpered out as he looked at you for some sort of answer. What the hell was Dabi talking about? Grand theft? Murder? Joining the league? He needs an answer. Bakugou watched you swallow down a nervous breath as you hesitantly spoke.

“Katsuki.....I’m Titania....and...I..I’m a part of the League.” You said with a quivering lip. Bakugou’s eyes went wide as he felt his entire world shatter. The girl he fell in love with and gave his entire being to was an undercover villain. He felt tears stinging his eyes as he spoke.

“W-what?” He questioned. Dabi groaned aloud in annoyance as he threw his head back dramatically and continued the talk.

“Your little girlfriend here is a villain. In fact..this whole attack was her plan,” Dabi smirked out. Bakugou watched you as you kept your head down with a shadow casting over your face. An obvious frown adorned your lips. The lips that Bakugou had kissed a thousand times over and they belonged to the most heinous female villain. Bakugou dropped his head down as his eyes stayed open in shock. He felt a panic attack coming onto him as his breaths got heavier and he freaked out.

‘This can’t be true....She loves me! She would never....she could never do this! It’s Y/N! She’s...She can’t be a villain! She would never lie to me like this...’ Bakugou’s thoughts became too much so he screamed as he got up and ran to attack the both of you. He jumped into the air and released an explosion to the both of you but you both had dodged. When Bakugou dropped back to the ground he quickly ran to you and tackled you to the ground. He pinned you down as he hovered over you trying to scan your face for some sort of reasonable answer or explanation.

“Y/N!” He screamed in your face as he shook with tears falling from his ruby eyes. He watched as your lips continued to whimper and the shadow over your face remained. Dabi used his fire to send an attack towards you both and instead of burning you both, it stung as it pushed you both away. The two of you fell down a tunnel. You both held onto each other as you guys tumbled down a tunnel. When you both hit the ground again, you realized you ended up in a cave away from the fighting. Ahead of you was an opening to the outside world. You continued to lay on the ground as Bakugou stayed atop of you as he cried and whimpered into your shoulder. You gently pushed him off of you as you stood and tried to walk to the exit, but before you’d could take a step, Bakugou quickly grabbed onto your wrist.

You looked down at him with sad eyes as you watched him keep his head down as fat tears dropped from his eyes. He stayed on the ground, seated on his knees as he cried.

“Please tell me it isn’t true, Princess..” he whispered. You felt tears invade your own eyes as you squeezed them shut. You both stayed like that for awhile as you released silent tears.

“I’m sorry,” you whispered as you tried to help Bakugou stand but once he got to his feet he gripped your shoulders.

“Tell me everything! ...NOW!” He screamed with his eyes open and full of tears. You stared at him with an apologetic face as you shook your head.

“We have to go Katsuki, we have to get help.” Bakugou shook his head ‘no’ but allowed you to drag him out of the cave and into the opening. It was getting late and the evening had already started as the blue sky darkened a bit. You stomped your foot into the ground to use your earth bending to figure out exactly where you both were. Once you felt the vibrations, you realized you were too far to even locate the others or even the competition grounds. You guys were lost.

“We’re too far away from everything Katsuki. We should look around a bit and see if we can find our way back.” Bakugou held onto your wrist before you walked again.

“You owe me an explanation when all of this is over, Y/N.” He quietly said with a sad tone.

“...I owe you a lot more than that Katsuki. But I will be giving you an explanation...and with how far we are away from everyone, I might have time to give it to you sooner than you think.” You explained. You and Bakugou walked on with heavy hearts but the both of you both had the exact same question ringing in your minds.

‘What are we now?’

—

You both walked for miles and yet you still got nowhere. Everytime you stopped and checked to see where you guys were, it felt like you guys just got farther away from everyone. You silently begged for Rumor to just find you and regretted not having him just shrink down to a mouse to carry around.

Bakugou trailed behind you. His crying had gone on for some time but eventually stopped, however when it did, his sadness was replaced with anger. He was pissed. He doesn’t know where he was, what he’s doing, what’s going on, and he doesn’t even know who he’s with right now. He’s basically with a stranger at the moment.

Eventually, it grew dark and the sun had set while the moon had began to rise. While you continued to look for a way back, Bakugou was aware of his surroundings and stopped you by grabbing onto your arm.

“Stop walking, moron. Can’t you see it’s dark?” He said as he looked at you with a bored expression. You turned back and scoffed at him in disbelief.

“We’re lost. We have no idea where we are and have no idea how to get back. If we stop now, we’ll lose time and it’ll take forever to get back. And who knows what’s happening now to our classmates?!” You exclaimed. Bakugou shook his head at you when you finished.

“They’re my classmates. Not yours,” truthfully, saying that broke him a bit, but he had to continue, “and if we keep going, we’ll die out here in the wild. We should find a safe place to sleep for the night and find some fire wood to keep warm. Maybe get some food to fight off hunger.”

“We’ll be fine if we keep going. I’ve survived the streets before, we’ll be okay.” You said and attempted to walk again but Bakugou held you back.

“Well this isn’t the streets Y/N. There isn’t a store full of food we can rob when we’re hungry and there isn’t an overhead tunnel at every turn that we can sleep in. This is a forest. So just shut up and listen to me.” He said, his grip on your arm slightly getting tighter. You winced the tiniest bit and Bakugou saw as he quickly took his hand off your arm. He cringed at his action but shook off the bad thoughts. “C’mon, let’s go. We gotta find some shelter.”

You thought about it for a bit and realized he was right. This wasn’t the city. You sighed and bit the inside of your cheek before answering. “Okay.”

As you silently trailed behind Bakugou, you realized you just followed him blindly. It was like he read your mind when he spoke again. “I saw a cave awhile back. We’ll camp out there. Along the way let’s just collect some firewood whenever we see some.”

You followed his orders and by the time you guys made it to the cave, you were all set to sleep. You collected wood for a fire and even leaf piles to sleep on. As you both entered the cave, Bakugou set up your sleeping area and you started the fire with your bending. Once you were done you took a seat infront of the fire and just stared at the bright flame. Here you were in a cave with your....well now you were back to where you started with him. You didn’t know what you two were anymore.

Bakugou finished with the leaves and when he turned around, he saw you sitting on the ground with a blank look. He looked at you with sad eyes and a broken heart before he sighed and sat in-front of you on the other side of the fire. You looked towards him in confusion as to why he sat but then it came to you.

“Talk.” He said as he looked towards you. You stared at him and saw he was working to build up his walls again as if he was preparing himself for disappointment. He was smart for doing so though because disappointment was exactly what he would be feeling. That and probably some severe heartache. You pressed your lips together with a sad look on your face as you came to the conclusion that there was no avoiding the truth now.

“....I’m not who you think I am.” You said and it was like the air thickened as you watched how his jaw clenched and his eyes teared behind his mask.

“My name is Y/N L/N, I’m 16....and I’m a member of the League of Villains,” Bakugou’s breath stilled as he heard the words leave your mouth. He already heard it once but hearing it now as confirmation hurt.

“The story I told you when we were in the kitchen that night was all true. I just left out some details and kind of switched the story around. The place I was born in was a hidden village. The people there had the abilities to control the 4 elements. My parents had me but were killed by the cult I mentioned before. They took my people in so they could use their abilities to create the weapons, but me being so young, I had no idea how to control them. Eventually, I discovered I was the one who could bend all 4 elements instead of just one....I discovered I was the avatar.” You breathed out.

“The avatar?” Bakugou scoffed, “the bridge between the spirit world and physical world? The person destined to bring peace to the world? That’s nothing but a legend.”

“Wellll then I guess I’m a legend so thank you for that compliment.” You said and Bakugou stared at you in shock. He was sitting with the actual avatar. “Blah blah blah, trained with a master, blah blah blah, and that’s when the league found me. They saw my abilities and took me in. But you don’t get to live in the league’s hideout once you join. You work your way up the food chain and so I had to live on the streets and do their dirty work to prove myself. I did it for survival, but in the end, being a villain was all I knew. So I stuck to it. I officially became a member and I eventually became Titania, the best female villain alive.”

“....Why did you come to UA?” He asked.

“I didn’t want to. I came for a job. Aizawa and I were fighting when he took me away while I was injured and offered to take me in and put me in school. Said he saw good in me....obviously he was wrong considering the only thing that triggered me to go was the fact that there was an opportunity to take down UA and prove myself to the league.” You explained. You noticed Bakugou kept quiet and bit his lip as he seemed to have shook a little before asking the next question.

“...What about me? What part did I play in this fucking game you got going on?” He asked. You didn’t look at him the entire time. You kept your eyes on the fire and held a nonchalant face the entire time.

“You were the only part of my UA life that was genuine. I didn’t come here looking for a relationship and I didn’t need a relationship to take down UA.....but then you came into my life. You showed up and something about you...just made sense to me. And it gave me a comforting feeling I never got to experience before. You gave me a break from my chaotic life and it was the refresher I needed.” Bakugou blushed at your confession but still felt sorrow. Your feelings for him were true but that doesn’t change the fact that you lied to him and never told him who you truly were. You were also a villain while he was a hero trainee. This relationship was wrong. He dropped his head as tears began to pool at his eyes.

“.....I still love you, Princess.” He confessed.

“I know...and I still love you Suki..”

“........WHY DID YOU HAVE TO LIE?!” He screamed as he stood up. “YOU LIED TO ME ABOUT WHO YOU WERE!”

“I did a lot of things but I have never lied to you about who I was or what I felt towards you,” you calmly said to his loud proclaims.

“BUT YOU DIDNT TELL ME THE TRUTH EITHER Y/N! ....You didn’t tell me anything. You left me in the dark. You made me fall in love with you...and now I don’t know what to do...” he sobbed out. “You’re a villain...my dream is to be the number one hero...but I love you...but it’s wrong for me to not put you behind bars.”

You just looked at him with a straight face but it was clear you were hurting as well. But you still continued to let him take his frustrations out on you.

“I’m sorry Katsuki..”

“SORRY ISNT GONNA FIX ME Y/N! SORRY ISNT GONNA MAKE ME STOP LOVING YOU! SORRY ISNT GONNA STOP ME FROM BEING ANY LESS CONFUSED!”

A silence fell over the two of you. Bakugou was so hurt and it was all your fault. He didn’t deserve this. None of them did. And yet you still followed through with this horrible plan. You knew what had to be done.

“Let’s just get some rest..we should start our search for home again in the morning,” you said as you got up and walked over to the sleeping area. But this only triggered Bakugou even more.

“Rest?! REST?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME Y/N?! YOU’RE JUST GONNA DROP THE CONVERSATION LIKE THIS ISNT FUCKING IMPORTANT?!,” he said with tears in his eyes as he stood and screamed at you.

“YES! THIS ISNT FUCKING IMPORTANT! IF IT ISNT OBVIOUS, WE’RE DONE. OVER. SO LETS JUST FORGET ABOUT THIS AND FOCUS ON FINDING OUR WAY HOME!” You screamed back. The cave grew empty as silence filled the air. Bakugou felt his heart die in his chest. He loved you, even though you were a villain he still loved you. He didn’t want this to be over..but you? You were really willing to drop this relationship? Just like that?

“So..that’s it? You’re not even gonna try for us anymore? You’re not even gonna fight for us to be together?” He asked with tears in his eyes.

“......there is no more ‘us’ anymore, Bakugou.”

[concentrated-mug-of-me]

okay im gonna try ur welcome. one ask. all from memory. if i fuck up i fuck up.

good morning heartsville this is tank comin at ya the voice of reason the voice of the season here at WLUV the student run radio station here at heartsville high the heart of america its 7 am on the dot and a perfect 68 degrees out there to start the school year off right. just a reminder folks heartsvilles annual community picnic is this weekend so guys grab ur guy and girls grab ur girl and head on down to lookout lake. and if u dont have anyone to grab sounds like youve got some extra love on ur hands and i know one magical matchmaker who just aint gonna let you get away with that. so go get em zanna this ones for you!!!!

when the alarm clock rings u know ive got to start to sing thinkin bout the joy the days gonna bring love is all around it just has to be found my job is making sure ig gegs spread around. i knew the day of my birth that i was put on this eartj to make sure no one suffers extra love so you can leave it to me its my responsibility to pass it on to someone without enough. i seek out the truth im a love sleuth im goin undercover for a lover who might not find another and im lookin for clues and they might point to you so come on gimme ur extra love. hey cindy! who do we got on the schedule today? steve buckman a quarterback i dont know him he must be new well im sure he is feelin a bit lonely ill see what i can do.

two by two just like noah had to do the only trick to love is finding who belongs with who so come on lets start the arks about to depart we gotaa pick up some extra love. (mornin mornin hi hi whatever have a good day) whos got wxtra love? i spy (call call me see ya later whatever) mornin officer klotsky! mornin zanna was your date w dr green a success ohh you bet hes the perfect guy for meee yeah i thought he might be my gratitude to you i cant express all in a days work! we walkes thru the park holding hands hntil dark such a guy i jever thought id meet yeah life is so sweet when extra love is complete so now im keepin the beat down on love street.

zanna karla hi roberta zanna hi (ahatever) whos got extra loce? not i because we got some hreat news uh huh you wont believe this uh uh tell em karla yeah! i forget what it is we’ll be govethee forever oh yeah our loves here to stay uh huh i cant believe we met only yesterday ! e just wantes to thank you fof makinv us fall in love zanna! u know karla i cant actyally make two people fall in love. i can merely favikitate! good morning everyone good morning principal cooper. now zanna i trust you wont be meddling in anyones affairs this year now will you? now principal cooper would i ever meddle in anyone elses affairs? yes you would. ur darn right i would!

two by two just like noah had to do the only trick to love is finding who belongs with who oh well i better go my friend is waiting and so ill see uou later later later later shes so great i know. (hi hi hihi bye bye bye whatever) whos got extra love? mike does! i dont but theres this new guy in town perhaps youve seen him around. mike has a crush on him i dont you do he does okay i do but let me make this clear zanna dont interfere oh please no please no please no pleas no PLEASE heres what im gonna do. (please no!) friday ill walk by and say hi next week we’ll start to speak and boah blah blah blah just be a man forget this stupid plan and quit the delay i dont wanna scare him awayyy no ur just a chicken ow chicken ow HEY NEW GUY wuit it oww. come on! good luck on ur chess match today mike!

excuse me olease but ut seems ive lost my way how bout a map ill explain another day hi im zanna im steve new quarterback of the team howd u know a little birdy told me oh i see what brings u to the midwest a mikitary request my two dads r five star generals in the army ooo im impressed. so we move place to place base to base unpack the suitcase try to make a few friends and then pack up and leave again wherever ive been ive never seemed to fit in. well never fear uts clear you fit in here! so keep up that chin. thanks for the encouragemnet ill see u in class!

oh excuse me. no no its my fault. hey hi zanna kate how are you wait i cant im running late. breakfast sure wnat som yeah what a pptatt would be great. thanks! let me uh uh find you pleae dont a girl no thanks im doing fine. it it wont will change will not ur world ive got no time ive got sats acts aps and gpas and college applications w all those tribulations to get to university then a medical degree so i just cant b distracted by loves triviality. no! yiu just havent met the right girl yet u can philosophize and rationalize but theyre just alibis loves all u need just take it from me okay u can set me up great! when im 33! ill get u yet.

hey zanna!! hey mr dj! wont you play this song for meee from the way that ur beamjn i see that ur schemin to turn somebodys dream to realityy you know me so well well its not hard to tell ur always happy making dreams come trhe its what i do! well in spite of ur list theres always one guy u miss i do who? you i know u got dreams too. no time my friend.

hi zanna. hi candi hi buck hey zanna. whats on the clipboard for today well the school board .. well as im sure you know the schoolboard is meeting with the ciry council to discuss whether or not the linrary should be allowed to carry a copy of hearher has one mommy and one daddy. in my opinion .. oh and if you can think of anyone we could sure use another guy for this years musical. come along buck. yes candi.

the schoop musical, huh? i think i have just the right guy! i seek out the truth im a love sleuth im going undercover for a lover who might not find another and im lookin for coues and they might point to you so come on gimme ur extra love. [i almost fucked up here] well u can cocer your tracks thats a fact jack but you aint gonna shake me to fake or make me take a break from chasin you can duck off the trail but im hot on your trail so come on gimme ur extra love now baby dont try to run from the love gun ive got the place surrounded and bounded the hounds r all around it you may be on the lam from the love caravan but u aint getting away w your love!

cause this is heartsville high where i dream of a love that will stay heartsville high where nothings ever gonna get in my way heartsville high where ive a feeling loves about to begin i hope that this time im gonna fit in. HEY you over there dont be shy come iver here i bet you got extra love what you hoarding it for? lifes got so much in store for someone w extra love. dont try to hide you cant keep it inside you migt as well give up ur extra love cause if u want love to stay you gotta give it away you gotta give up give up give up hive uo your ectra looooooove give up your extra love!

this took me over half an hour to type.

dee,,,,,,,other than the typos (and the whatevers) this is accurate as far as i can tell and how did that all fit in one ask i swear there was a character limit

[estrxlar]

The Ghost Of You

01 - You’re Familiar

This chapters songs:

Daughter Of A Cop; TV Girl

I Hope To Be Around; Men I Trust

Weird Fishes/Arpeggi; Radiohead

—

— Y. L. Perspective

My breath got louder and louder each second I ran. With my bento box hitting my hips, bag tossing around, and my skirt flying up, there was no way things could get any worse.

But luckily just around the corner, I spotted students climbing onto it, which made my feet run even faster.

Near late on my first day? Damn, Y/n, way to start your year.

   Just then, I heard the sharp hiss of the engine, sending me faster towards the vehicle than I had been pacing myself before. But still, the driver was ignorant, obviously not caring how much I needed this. It wasn't like my parents would take me anyways.

"WAIT..! PLEASE WAIT!" I started on the side of the bus, running side to side with the wheels. After a few seconds of loud disruption, it finally stopped. The break was hard, and students inside were heard making remarks of protest.

Sure, I felt bad for the people who had to get a brake check, but I on the other hand was completely out of breath and near dead. Couldn't they spare me?

"I'm, I'm so.. I'm so sorry I.." My breath is short, and loud while I breathe in and out, trying my best to try and explain my tardiness to the driver. He simply sighs, gesturing for me to seat myself already.

While I stumbled down the aisle, I received a few weird glances from fellow students. Some familiar and some new. I couldn't tell if it was because of my reputation, or because I looked like a hot mess. Either way, it was too early in the morning for one to give a damn. And so, I seat myself next to another student, finally resting from the marathon I had just run.

I sighed, rolling my head back, and placed my fingers on my temples. 'I probably look like a mess right now.' I thought, letting out a huge sigh. Once I sat my fingers back down onto my lap, I observed more of the people I was surrounded by.

Some third years I was familiar with, a few that wouldn't dare speak to me, and some that were strangers. Other second and first years I didn't know at all; throughout high school, I thought it'd be best to stay hidden and introverted, especially if I were to become popular in the music industry. Lots of young stars still went to school, and usually got dirt easily thrown onto their title and that's exactly what I would avoid this year.

Bringing me back to reality, I capture a peek coming from the boy I was seated next to. He had fluffy gray hair and seemed just as tired as me. But the bus was so dark, I couldn't completely make out his features.

"Something wrong?" I said to him.

He jumped a little, adjusting his eyes back down to his phone. "S-sorry, I didn't mean to stare. I just- I think I know you from somewhere."

"Lots of people know me, buddy—" I lifted my head, facing him. 'Hey, this guy does pretty familiar. But there's no way I'd forget a face like his. Then again, I have the memory of an 80-year-old woman.' I think to myself, examining his features in an awkward mood.

"Wow, it is you. (Y/n), it's been quite a while!" He smiled widely, reaching a hand out to me. I only froze, too confused to comprehend the situation. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you're doing well!"

"I-Im sorry?" I question, wondering why a stranger would confront me this way. But something was off— I knew him, I just couldn't remember where from. Maybe from previous classes, or from a concert?

He turns slightly, growing a smile on his pale face. "I was trying to figure out if it was you or not, but it is! It's great to see you're better. How are you?"

"Who are you?" I ask back, a bit frightened.

"Uhm, well, I sat next to you in math class during my first year. Remember? I was a little ditzy, kind of annoying, I never shut up about volleyball..?" He asks, hoping to get a hint of nostalgia. "Come on, you've gotta recognize me, right?"

"Wait, Sugawara!" My finger jumps out, pointing to his sitting figure. "I'm sorry I couldn't recognize you! It sure has been quite a while. But I definitely remember you, now! You were one of the people who talked to me during my first year.. thanks for that. Anyways, how've you been?"

"I think that's my line, L/n." Suga pats my shoulder, then places his hand onto his lap. "You've changed so much! I've gotta know how you're doing!"

"I-I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing in your perspective, but thanks anyway. I've been doing just fine." I explain before a yawn escapes my mouth. Sure, this conversation was energetic, but I certainly wasn't.

"Again, so very sorry for being so forgetful. I don't remember much from first year, especially not anything in math, but I sure do recognize you now." I say, hoping my rudeness from before wouldn't have any effect on how he viewed me. Not that I cared, of course.

Luckily, Sugawara was forgiving that day. With a wide grin, he replies, "No need to apologize. People change drastically during high school; we're no exceptions. Although, I would've enjoyed being mutuals with you throughout most of it! I wonder why I haven't seen you around until today... I believe the last time we had talked was around the last day of first year."

"Yeah, we didn't have any classes together. If we had, I'm sure we would have stirred up a discussion. You seem very kind. " I gently smile, rubbing the nape of my neck. I tend to forget any bad memories, and the beginning of high school sure was a fat one.

"What a shame, you too seem wonderful.." He comments, gazing towards me for a split second, before reverting his focus. "A-anyways, it's a bit of a surprise I saw you here. Have you always ridden the bus? I usually take it in the mornings as well."

"I've actually just moved into this neighborhood. My parents work more hours than ever, so they decided it's best if I'm closer to school so that I can get to school and back quickly." I explain, tapping the sage green bento in my lap, before setting it on my side.

Sugawara nods, understanding the circumstances. "That makes sense. I'm sure you'll enjoy it now that you've got a friend in the neighborhood. Although, a girl like you must be quite familiar, right?"

'Is that intended to be disrespectful, or am I just tripping?' I think to myself, asking him to spell out the meaning of that remark. "I'm sorry, what? A girl like me?"

"Oh, crap! I didn't mean that to sound rude— I meant because of your band! I understand you guys are the talk around school, considering you're getting pretty popular in the field."

A sigh of relief leaves my lips, preparatory to my correction. "Oh, my band. I'm not sure I necessarily make friends, more like connections and acquaintances. Only a couple of students know about the band, and usually just the down-low ones. But enough about me, what about you, hm? I assume still volleyball obsessed."

I had obviously steered in the wrong direction with our conversation, for Suga's aura quickly altered at the mention of the sport. "Eh, I'm not as excited about it as I used to be." He says, along with a hint of dissatisfaction in his raspy voice.

"No way. What happened to cheerful Sugawara who asked me, the lamest, to join the girls' team?" I ask, hoping a bit of that childish personality was still inside the older version of Suga. The one which was taller, more masculine, more of a man than before.

"Honestly, can't tell you. 'Teams has been a mess ever since I've joined." He leans back in his seat, stretching his arms out, before placing them around his neck from behind. "We're hanging on my a very thin thread."

"Dang, that really sucks. You never know, things can always turn out better." I say, doing as he did, and resting against the leather seats.

"Yeah, of course. I guess it's pretty hard to keep going after so many fails, haha." A sad chuckle leaves his mouth, as he sighs.

"Anyway, nice talking. I'm outta take a quick power nap; I barely got sleep last night. Mind waking me up when we get to school?"

"Yeah, of course," Sugawara replies. With that, I'm left with laying music in my ears like always, and nodded off to slumber.

—

"Hey, sleepyhead. We're at school," I hear someone say, feeling a tap of a cold finger on my nose. Almost immediately, I shoot up from my position, standing directly above Sugawara while students leave the bus with their bags, having loud discussions of excitement. Was there anything more embarrassing than falling asleep on someone who ghosted you as a friend?

"Dear God, I'm terribly sorry." I panic, brushing down my blue skirt. "That happens on rides, it was a mistake."

"Oh, it's no big deal! Don't worry—" Suga chuckles, standing up from sitting. But before I could let him talk anymore, I started making my way towards the exit of the bus.

"Uhm, I've gotta go! Great talking, though. I'll catch you later, have a good day," I mumble, before frantically leaving the vehicle. 'What a morning.'

— K. S. Perspective

Before I could grant Y/n a polite goodbye, she'd disappeared in just a few seconds. But even so, the measly to,e I'd discussed with her was quite enjoyable. I couldn't believe how much she'd changed.

Long ago, the beginning of high school, Y/n was the type of girl you could barely see, as if she were invisible. I think the only reason I ever even noticed her was because we were seated next to each other in math class, and she immediately caught my attention. But thank goodness I had at least tried making an effort to talk to her, or else we wouldn't have had our conversation this morning. But it wasn't her fault she was so gloomy; supposedly she had lost someone close to her the year before.

Although our talk was brief, it still meant a lot to me. Especially since I was informed that she was finally happy. Looking down at the seat she used, there was a small box with a handle at the top, and a few anime stickers covering it.

'Is this what was making that loud tapping noise on the way here?' I asked myself, examining the box more. Small initials marked 'Y.L.' We're at the bottom, informing me it was Y/n's. At first, I considered handing it to our bus driver, but for the few years I've known him I learned he doesn't return lost things. And so, I leave the bus with it in my hands, ready to start my morning.

"Suga!" I hear a familiar voice call out to me. Looking up, I see my friend, Daichi, and another fellow behind him, Tanaka. The two of them jog towards me, with their scarfs unfolding in the wind. Both I had met in volleyball, and they've been my buddies ever since.

"Hey, Sugawara!" Tanaka exclaims, roughly slapping my back. The bento tosses in my hands, thankfully not spilling onto the floor. Unfortunately, he notices the box and snatches it right out of my hold. "Wow, feeling a bit girly, are we?"

I laugh in response, quickly taking it back. "It's not mine, it belongs to the person who sat next to me today. Hopefully, if I see her again I can give return it."

"Hopefully?" Daichi teases, as we all begin our walk towards the school doors. "Do you know her name?"

"Yeah, her name's Y/n. Know her?"

He lights up at the mention of their name, replying "Oh, I know her! That girl you never shut up about I in first year, correct?"

"Ha, yeah."

Tanaka doesn't understand, digging deeper into the situation. "What?! I've never known good ole' Suga to genuinely have feelings for a girl, unless it was some fling."

"I don't! I used to. There's a difference." I say, as we enter the building.

"If she rides your bus, then why don't you just give it to the driver? She'll probably go looking for it later at the end of the day. That is unless you wanna see her again.." Daichi teases me.

"You see, I would. But the bus driver is sort of a thief, and this girl has had a rough morning as it is. I just wanna be nice." I explain to him. Though a part of me did want to see her again and hope that we could talk longer than we did before.

"Sure you do," Tanaka says, patting our backs. "Listen, this is my stop. I'll catch you guys at practice?"

"Sure thing, bye." We say our farewells, and make our way towards the third-year halls. "What about you, Daichi? Got anything exciting happening this hour?"

"If stressing about volleyball counts, then yes! Most definitely.." He says, clearing his throat. "Watch, like, two people show up."

"Actually, Kiyoko informed us in the group chat that we've got at least four! That's better than last year, right?" I try my best to cheer him up, but it only made him even more nervous. I couldn't blame him. Too much was even more of a burden, but too little was a disappointment and would leave us exactly where we left off.

"It's okay, Suga. I have a lot of faith in our team. I know it's been rough lately, but as long as we try our best, we'll work this out." Daichi smiles, turning towards a separate hallway than mine. "I'm off to homeroom. See you later!"

"Yeah, see ya!" I'm left by myself, giving me more time to focus on what should happen today. - 1st, I have to go through each class and say hi to a couple of familiars, and hopefully not see anyone I've had a conflict with.

- 2nd, I had to give Y/ns bento back to them, but that could only happen if we happened to have a class with each other before, or if we had the same lunch.

- 3rd, volleyball tryouts were this afternoon. I had to make sure and represent myself as a role model, and make it clear I was vice-captain. I wanted nothing more than for the new players to feel safe.

But internally, I knew none of those plans would work out. Especially if I wasn't focused on them. Currently, all I could think about was Y/n, and how refreshing it felt to be around her again. When I was first around her was at the same time when things in my life started to fall apart, and my little crush on her made me feel better about it all. I guess you could say she was my comfort corner, even if she talked to me only once or twice during the week. And sometimes on her bad days, I would be able to at least get a laugh out of her, even if it meant making a complete fool out of myself.

All I wanted was for her not to harm herself or feel lonely, which took a quick turn towards me once the year had ended. Not only had my thing for her end, but my family soon fell apart after my mother had passed away. Of course, I still had my responsibilities like volleyball club and helping my younger sister and my father get through it. But it seemed that everyone would do their own thing, so I did the same. And for a while, I was lonely and didn't cope with the loss very well. Just like Y/n, I distanced myself.

This went on throughout my entire second year of high school, while she on the other hand started to get her life together. She started her band, made and covered a couple of songs, and finally healed from her hard year. Honestly, I didn't even really believe that she was in such a good state, but I was proven wrong today. Ultimately, she truly inspired me to pick myself up and start fresh. And now that she popped up so suddenly, I was back to square one.

'It's been a while, Y/n'

—

HEYYY SHAWTYYYS.

Give me notes.

SO, I've finally rewritten the first chapter of my fanfiction!! It took a while, but I did it. If you didn't know, I started this story about eight months ago, and I had no writing experience. Now that I'm reaching the climax of this story, I decided I should edit the chapter, especially since they sucked ass! Nothing much was changed, just far more detailing and extra feelings.

Overall, thanks so much for reading the first chapter. Please vote if you enjoyed it!! It helps others know that it's worth reading. And if not, no worries. Thanks anyways. I love you all so much!

- your friendly Suga simp

[crybabybomin]

The new girl - Choi Bomin

Pairing: reader x Bomin

Words: 2.143

Warnings: none

Masterlist

You are a dancer. You love to dance and you always practice after school. You just moved to Seoul so you are transferring to a new school and class today. You probably won’t make that many friends since you are always busy with home work and dancing. It's not that you don’t want to its just that dance is more important to you. And you best friends are dancers too. You aren’t famous like a Kpop group or something but you are quite popular since you’ve been on certain shows and some of your dances went viral.

You moved to Seoul because you were asked by this famous choreographer(Jay Kim) if you wanted to train with him, so of course you said yes. You moved alone because your parents still had their jobs back home, but they were very supportive of your dreams as long as you also focus on school.

Your alarm went off for the third time and now you really have to get up or else you will be late. You go out of bed and take a shower to wake yourself up. You are really not a morning person. So you get dressed and eat some breakfast. You put on your shoes and some music and you walk to school. Its a big school compared with your old school but it seems fun. Some students looked at you because they might know you or since you are a new student.

You ask a student were they register is. So she walk you there and you ask the lady for your class number and class room. So after that you walk to your class room and since class already started everybody looks at you. The teacher looks at you and says “and why are you late?” You look at her and don’t know what to say but then the class president stand up and says “miss, she is the new student.” He smiles at you nicely and you bow your head a little to say thank you. The teacher looks at you again and says “oh I'm sorry, can you introduce yourself?” You look at the class and say “Hi, my name is Y/N and im a dancer. I just moved to Seoul alone so it’s kind of new for me. And I hope we could be friends.”

They started whispering because now they were certain that you were the girl they have seen on tv and in those dances. So a random girl stands up and asks “are you that girl from those dances on instagram?” You laugh and say “yeah that’s me.” Everyone looks kind of shocked and now the teacher starts saying something again “come on guys, we already have two idols in our class. No need to be this shocked.” And everyone looks either at the boy in the back of the class or the pink haired boy in the middle. They smile at me and I smile back.

“Y/N, you can sit next to Bomin.” The teacher says and points at the boy at the back of the class. You walk to the empty spot besides him and sit down. “Hi, im Bomin nice to meet you.” He says and looks at you. “Nice to meet you too, at what page are we?” “page 25, also if you want me to show you around the school I can do that in the break time.” “thanks and sure why not” you reply and he looks back at the teacher and you both focus on the class.

Then break starts so he waits for you and you both walk trough the school. Most people smile at you but 2 or 3 girls give you a jealous look and you ask bomin “Those girls must love you or something because now they hate me” and you chuckle. Hate doesn’t get you anymore since people are going to be jealous anyways. “ahh yeah they do that to anyone who I talk to really even  just my friends, I don’t know why. I’m sorry for that” he says. “It’s not your fault so don’t apologise for something you don’t have any say in. They are the ones who should apologise to you.” He looks at you with a smile. You think he looks very handsome but everyone can see that but from up close he is even more handsome. But you aren’t here to fall in love so you focus on something else. “I think we can become good friends Y/N” he says and that does make you feel happy because you don’t make friends that fast. “Yeah I think so too Bomin.”

A couple of weeks later

You and bomin became good friends and you also became friends with this other boy Sanha. It’s easy being friends with them, because you know its not fake. You’ve had friends that only wanted being friends with you because you have followers. But they are famous themselves so it’s not that they gain anything from this.

Now you guys are in PE class and the new assignment is a dance. So everyone looks like they want to team up with you but then the teacher says “No it’s a duo dance so the tango or you can create your own dance. So go stand into two lines with one for boys and girls each” you look next to you and you see that you are standing next to sanha and he looks at you and then at bomin behind him. Then he says to the teacher “sir I can’t do this assignment since I have an ankle injury and I need to rest.” The teacher looks at him and says “Thats okay just go sit on the bench.” So he walk away and the teacher motions to bomin and the boys behind him to go a place forward. So now you are paired with Bomin.

You guys sit next to each other and discuss which dance you would like to do. “I know this couple dance my trainer did so we could do that one. We could also ask for his help since he made the choreo” You show him the video of the dance to say you won’t let go and he agrees to do it. So you start little but decide to hang out that afternoon at your dance studio. So he texts to his members that he will be home later.

That afternoon you learn the full choreo from your trainer and you both go home. But he calls you so you answer. “hey we only have a week to learn this dance and the teacher expects the most of us so do you wanna practice like tomorrow or something.” He asks, you think about it and agree that you need more practice. “yeah we need to practice more but tomorrow I can’t I have this workshop but after that day I’m free.” You say and you hear him hum and he says “yeah me too but where are we going to practice?” “uhh our studio is full at that moment so it can’t be here, can we do it at your company. Only if the manager agrees of course.” You say “wait he’s here right now so I can ask him.” And he puts you on hold and you hear faintly talking and then he picks up again “hey im back and the manager is okay with it. But I warn you in advance there might be members of mine walking around or looking at us.” “I can deal with that haha” you say and you both laugh. Then he needs to go and you both hang up.

The next day goes by quickly and now you are standing in front of Woollim entertainment. You’ve never been inside a company like this. You text Bomin that you are there because he said he needed to pick you up since at the register the might think she is a fan. So you walk in and just wait. Then you see him and walk up to him. “Have you been waiting long?” You shake you head and say no. “i have to warn you even more about my members. I told them you were coming and now all of them wanna watch.” You laugh and say “That’s funny, but it’s okay im used to audiences anyway. And they could give feedback you know.” So you two walk to the practice room and you see 9 boys sitting there. When the door opens they all immediately look at you and you bow to them “hi, im y/n. Nice to meet you.” Then one of them stands up and says “yah bomin you didn’t tell us it was y/n that was coming. Im Jangjun by the way and I’ve seen a lot of your videos.” You laugh and every one starts introducing themselves.

After that bomin says “are you going to stay while we dance or are you going to leave.”

A member said that they just want to see it one time. And the others agree. So you two do the routine and its kind of romantic so when you are done too members are screaming and whistling. Bomin gets red and you think its so cute and you smile at him. You keep denying you have a crush on him but this assignment isn’t helping with reducing it. So the members leave and you and bomin start practicing and after an hour you take a break.

“you wanna get some ice cream?” He asks you and you nod. So you leave the building and get some ice cream. You start walking around Seoul and he randomly grabs your hand. You look at him but he keeps staring forward. Sanha would tell you sometimes that Bomin likes you but you kept saying that we was lying. You start blushing and look straight ahead but then bomin looks at you. You feel his eyes burning on your face. Then he stops walking and stand in front of you and puts his face right in front of yours. “Do I make you blush?” He says with a smile. And you look down at your shoes. “you're so cute y/n.” And he starts walking again. Then you get yourself together and you think about what just happened. Maybe he does like you. So you decide to tease him. “yah bomin, you must have a crush right, I’ve heard from sanha that you do.” You say and his eyes widen “what did he tell you? That bish.” He says and you chuckle “well he only told me that you had a crush. So what is he like do I know her?” “Yeah you know her and she is cute and nice, she always sees the bright side of something.” He says and now you start blushing “Well why don’t you say that to her. She would be so lucky to have you as a boyfriend, you are handsome and nice.” You say and he looks at you very seriously. You both sit down on a bench. “but what if she doesn’t like me Y/N. That will be so awkward and I still want to be friends with her.” He says and you find it so cute. “Bomin just do it, what if she does like you but is scared you don’t and she loses feelings? Then you missed your shot.”

“Okay, so Y/N I like you as more than friends and I don’t know if you like me back so I hope I havent ruined our friendship wi-“ he keeps talking but then you kiss his cheek and he stops and looks at you. You just look at him and say “so Sanha was right all along.” He looks confused and you say “he told me you liked me but I didn't believe him.” “so you like me too?” He asks and you just realised what actually happened and start blushing. You look down and say yes. “Okay good so it’s not weird when I do this.” He says and grabs your chin and kisses you. When you pull away for air just look at him with a smile. “Do you wanna be my girlfriend?” And you nod and he hugs you really hard. “hey bomin I would like to breath.” And laugh. He puts you down and looks at you “I can’t believe I'm not dreaming this.” He grabs your hand and you walk back to the company.

The PE assignment goes really well and you get a high grade. And you both thank Sanha for playing match maker. And his members keep teasing him, but they are happy for you.

[brashierc]

Baby Brash

July 13th, his 20th birthday. That night was the reason why you were here today. If that night wouldn’t have happened you wouldn’t have peed on a stick this morning, it wouldn’t have been positive and you wouldn’t be sitting on the bed at your OBGYN’s clinic awaiting for her results. 

You’ve been best friends with Connor since you both were 7. That was 13 years of friendship. 13 years of listening to him go on about photography, 13 years of supporting him and his dreams no one else really supported when he first got started in high school. 

It was also 13 years of being asked how long you two had been in a relationship. 

Girls and boys can be best friends without falling in love. Or well, that’s what you always said to everyone when they asked. You’d been in love with Connor since you were 17, but you knew he’d never feel the same, so you kept that feeling pushed way back into your brain.

Connor was there for you through every boyfriend, just like you were for his girlfriends. The heartbreak and the first time discussions after the fact. 

“Alright,” The Doctor walks in after tapping on the wooden door with her knuckle twice. “So your positive was correct, you are pregnant.” 

You sighed, shoulders sinking. “Really?” 

“Yep, really really pregnant.” She smiles, handing you a few brochures. “Let’s go over your options.” 

You look up with wide eyes, horror running through your veins and emotions. 

“Let’s not, thanks Doc, but I’m already attached to this kid, and if you knew the Dad you would be too.” 

She smiles, nodding but telling you to take the brochures just in case. 

She refers you to one of her colleagues who’s an Obstetrician with her practice and can take you through your pregnancy and birth. 

You take the information she gave you and leave with a small smile and a polite wave goodbye to her front office receptionist. Once you’re back in your car you let the new totally settle in. 

You were having a baby, with Connor, at age 19 and 20. Super cool. 

On Connor’s birthday everything went a little crazy. Shawn threw a rager, wanting to celebrate his newest addition to his team, and his friend who was turning the big 2 0. He flew you out to where they were so you could be there to celebrate and surprise Connor.

Everyone went a little crazy, everyone. 

Brian was so blacked out that he took Alessia back to his room with him, forgot that he invited her in, and called Shawn from the bathroom freaking out that she’d followed him home. (Even though we were all in the same hotel) 

Shawn was the only one that didn’t go hard. Knowing he had shows and other obligations like filming music videos and meeting up with Chance the Rapper. He supervised, and not well, but had a blast watching everyone be stupid and make fools of themselves. 

Connor was a clingy needy drunk, so throughout the night he just became more and more glued to your side. He hadn’t seen you in months, and missed you so much. It all started when he wanted to dance to the slow songs with you, hands on your hips, holding you close. You fell into his embrace, missing being held in such a way, and feeling so safe with Connor. He planted a few kisses to your neck, and one just behind your ear learning very quickly that that was your weak spot. 

After you let out a shaky moan of his name, tucking your fingers into his hair, you were a goner. You both quickly found your way back to his room, falling on the bed nakedly exploring the other between the sheets. 

By morning? You both swore to never speak of it again, pretend like nothing happened, and move on. Everything was normal, it literally was like nothing happened. He still picked on you, you still gave him shit in front of the guys, but you both were still there for the other in ways no one else could be. 

You clicked on his contact; ‘Bri’s lil bitch C David Brash” 

Brian really changed Connor’s name in your phone to the best thing you’d ever seen, you wouldn’t dare change it. 

“Whattup?” He answered on the third ring, and suddenly, you’re emotional. 

“Hey,” You choke out, looking around trying to distract your brain.

“What’s wrong?” His side of the phone shuffles, and becomes marginally quieter.

“Nothing,” You whisper, “What are you doing?”

“I’m talking to you, tell me what’s wrong?” 

“It’s nothing Con.” 

“You’re upset though, I can hear it.” 

“When do you come home again?” 

“I come home next week, I have to meet my counselor and then register for classes. I get into town on Monday, and I leave Friday.” 

You nod, knowing full well he can’t see you. “Can we meet on Monday?”

You need to tell him, and you won’t keep this a secret from him longer than you have too.

“Um yeah, I fly in at like 8, wanna meet for coffee and breakfast or something?” 

“Yeah perfect.” 

“Okay…..? Ready to tell me what’s wrong yet?” He asks.

You sigh, “I should let you go, you’re probably busy.” 

“No, hey,” He protests. “I wanna talk, I miss you.” 

You smile, insides running warm when you hear his voice say those words. “I miss you too Baby Brash.” 

You can hear him sigh and you can practically see him rolling his eyes. “So you watched the newest video?” 

“Of course I did, got your post notifications on.” 

“No you don’t.”

“No you’re right, I don’t, I have Shawn’s on.” 

At this he laughs, like a snort and everything and it makes you feel good, to be able to get him to laugh like that again, to hear that laugh. 

“Brashier, we gotta go!” Brian yells at him in the background.

“You’re literally standing behind me, why you gotta yell?” 

“Because I felt like pissing you off.” Brian snickers. “Who you on the phone with? Gots a girlyfriend?” Something must happen on Connor’s side of the phone because suddenly all you can hear is boys yelling. 

“Connor that’s the fourth girl you’ve been on the phone with today!” 

“There is no hot sex going on over here!”

“PASS THE WEED MAN!” 

“Shut the fuck up!” Connor’s voice is back, “Jesus it’s just Y/n, could you…?” 

“But we wanna say hi!” Shawn and Brian whine. 

You giggle and blush a little at the attention. 

Connor shuffles the phone, and then you can barely hear him, he’s really muffled but you make it out. “She’s upset about something, so could you fucking leave for a minute. I was getting her to talk and then you fuckers walked in.” A few seconds later and he’s back crystal clear. “Okay they left, you still there Honey?” 

“You didn’t need to kick them out.” 

“But I wanna talk to you.” 

“They just wanted to say hi.” 

“But you’re my best friend.” He whines, “They’d steal all your attention.” 

“You need to go, I’ll see you next week okay?” 

“Okay, love you kid.” He says softly.

“Love you too Brash.” 

**

He walks in, looking all nerdy cute, face down into his phone. 

iMessage from Bri’s lil bitch C David Brash: Im here where u is

“If you ever looked up from your phone you’d know I’m here too Bitch.” You say from your table, laughing when he jumps and looks over at you. 

“You scared the shit out of me.” He laughs, smiling really wide when you stand and give him a big hug. “Fuck I missed you Kid.” He sighs into your neck, letting your scent relax his stressed out mind.

“Missed you too.” 

 He takes the seat across from you, thanking you for the coffee you already had ordered and sat in front of his seat on the table. He takes a sip as you take a deep breath and shut your eyes to give yourself that last push of encouragement. 

“Connor?” 

“Yeah?” 

“I’m pregnant.” You blurt. 

It’s then that you realize your eyes are still closed, opening them one at a time to see his reaction. It’s comical almost, the sight of him, jaw dropped, eyes bugging, body frozen. 

You give it a moment, a second to really settle into his brain, you needed to do the same when you found out. Hell, you’re still doing that. 

He clears his throat, shakes his head a bit, but his eyes continue to flare out at you. 

“Excuse me?” He croaks. 

“I’m pregnant,” You nod, watching him nod with you. “And it’s yours.” 

He hums, and continues to stare at you. You take a sip of your decaf coffee, wincing at the weird taste. 

“Fuck man, I don’t know if I can handle 9 months of decaf, that shit is gross as hell.” 

This seems to snap Connor out of whatever daze he was in. 

“You’re being real right now?” He looks around, “Is Brian here filming me? Is this a prank or something? You got me, you got my reaction, turn it off now.” 

You sigh, worried he would think something like that. You just sit there, staring at him.

“You’re being real?!?” He says with persistence in his voice, leaning closer to you. 

“That night we swore to never speak of again? Well, we’ll be talking for at least the next 18 years.” You shrug.

He’s still in shock, just staring at you with a glazed over glance. You just nod and smile a little at him, trying to coax him through his shock.

“I-” He gapes, “Um, we...I...condom!” 

You giggle, shaking your head at him while rolling your eyes. “Really? That’s what you’re gonna do? Blurt ‘condom’ out like it’ll fix everything?” 

“But I used one!” He’s becoming defensive. Snapping at you in ways he’s done in the past when he’s stressed to the brim and can’t control his emotions. You can count the amount of times snapped at you on one hand. 

“They’re only 98% effective, if that, Connor. Or maybe it broke or something. It happened, and I’m pregnant.” 

“No! We can’t, a baby?” 

You take a deep breath, trying to tell yourself that he’s just in shock and that he’s gonna be happy about this, someday. He doesn’t mean the way he’s reacting right now. 

“How are you calm right now?” He asks in shrill. 

“I don’t know Connor, life happens. It’s not perfect but we’ll figure it out.” You shrug, raising your voice a little to match his level.

“Fucking shit,” He tugs at his hair, face grimancing as he groans. 

You sigh, grabbing your purse, collecting your phone and coffee and stand to leave. His head whips up when you stand, and he watches as you straighten out your shorts before starting to walk away.

“No, don’t go.” He pleads.

“Talk to me when this settles Connor. I can’t be here to watch you freak out. My hormones are all sorts of fucked up right now and I’m trying to stay positive about this whole thing but your reaction isn’t helping.” 

He gets up and follows you out of the coffee shop, racing to meet you at your car before you can leave. 

“Wait, talk to me, please.” He blocks your door so you can’t close it. 

You look up, tears in your eyes that tear his heart apart. “We really did turn into Ross and Rachel huh? Just like everyone said throughout high school. Except we won’t end up together, we’ll always be the Ross and Rachel before they got together.” 

He shakes his head, “I’m your lobster.”

**

Connor sits on your couch three days later. This was the first chance he’d been able to actually come over, any other conversations have been over the phone or text message since your meeting at the coffee shop. 

It’s kind of awkward, the both of you sitting in silence as you try to not bring up the elephant in the room. 

“I’m sorry,” You clear your throat, wincing as you lean forward and start this conversation. “I’m sorry that I up and left you on Monday. That wasn’t cool. I dropped a big ass bomb on you, something we would have never expected in a million years, and then just got up and left you alone. My hormones are whacked out right now but that’s not an excuse. So I’m sorry for being a shitty friend and making you go through that shock alone.” 

“Hey,” He shakes his head, turning towards you on the couch, scooting closer. “Don’t be sorry. I was kind of being a jackass. I shouldn’t have flipped out like that.” 

You sigh, smiling up at him. “I missed you, a lot.” 

His hand falls on top of yours, fingers intertwining. “I missed you so much, you have no idea.” He sighs, letting his eyes rake over you for a moment, imagining what you’ll look like with a baby bump. “How the hell am I supposed to leave for tour?” 

“Just go, I’m not due until May. You’ll be back in December, that’s plenty of time.” 

“You’re pregnant, I want to be here for appointments, picking out and setting up the crib, cravings, all of it!” 

You smile, reaching over and caressing his cheek. “Then talk to Shawn, sit down with Cez, explain it to Brian because he’ll lose his shit if you leave him without a solid reason behind it. We’ll figure it out, and make do.” You shrug.

He nods, leaning into your hand a little. “You always make everything better.” 

“That’s because I know you Connor David,” You tap his cheek twice, “I know how to handle you.” 

He grins, rolling his eyes before flopping back into the corner of your couch he’s claimed as his. “Have you told your mom yet?” He asks, throwing your fluffy white and black throw blanket over his lap. 

“No,” You sigh, kicking your feet up and relax across from him on your sectional. He smirks as you take a breath, reaching over and grabbing your feet to give you a foot massage. “What are you doing?” 

“Gotta get used to pampering you, might as well get a head start.” He murmurs. “Are you scared to tell your mom?”  

“I mean not really. It’s not the ideal situation I was hoping for when I thought about having kids. But like, I can’t complain. I’m honored to have your kid Con, I think I got lucky when it comes to the baby daddy part of this.” 

He tilts his head, looking over at you with a blush on his cheeks. 

“I guess you could say I got pretty lucky with the baby mama part.” He mutters, watching you from under his lashes, grinning when you roll your eyes and throw your head back to hide the apparent blush forming across your cheeks.

**

Your guest bedroom that once used to be your small library and office area has now been bombarded with camera gear, a full sized bed covered in basic grey sheets and a black comforter.

Connor spoke with Shawn and Cez the first chance he had when he got back to tour. He explained the situation, as awkward and unexpected it is, and expressed his need to be home more for you and his unborn child.

Both were very understanding to him and his needs, granting him a week off a month ensuring that he’d still be able to get enough footage but also time at home. It also gave Shawn and the crew a moment of peace and not having to worry about cameras so much, not that Connor is like the crazy paps. 

But now that Connor will be home once a month it made sense that he move into your spare room instead of having to stay with his parents or pay for a place he really wouldn’t see all that often. It was the perfect set up, to be there and help you when you need it. 

You two were still adjusting to living together, or with another human (of the different sex). 

You walked into the apartment from class, stopping short when the first thing you saw in your kitchen was Connor, in only his black Calvins.

“Bro,” You shield your eyes setting your backpack on your bar stool, “Can you wear pants?” 

Connor looks over at the sound of your voice, a slice of cheese between his fingers, munching on a bite. He looks down, and then back up to you holding a hand over your eyes. 

“I’m in boxers, I’m not naked.” 

“No one wants to see your dick though,” You shake your head, grinning as you say, “Been there, done that.” 

He chuckles, leaning closer to you and peeling your hands away from your eyes so you can see his smug smile. “You weren’t complaining then.” 

Your jaw drops and you blush as he raises an eyebrow at you. “Well,” You stutter, “I mean,” He smiles, getting the best reaction out of you. “Shut up, go put clothes on!” You smack his arm shooing him to his room. 

**

You both were getting really good and creative with ways to hiding your pregnancy. The only people who knew were the team, and family. Not even friends from your high school knew.

The issue with hiding this was the fact that Connor was gaining a lot of attention from Shawn’s fans. You didn’t blame them, no matter what brought them to become a fan of his, it at least brought more attention to his work and was getting him that much more popular. This just meant that you had to take hiding your pregnancy to a whole new level.

For a while you were able to just wear some big sweatshirts to cover the smallest bump you had. When sweatshirts weren’t able to work so much you then resorted to really flowy shirts and a big purse you could always swing in front of your belly. 

There was even one time that Connor and the whole crew were in town. They had invited you to lunch since no one had seen you since Connor told everyone. But at the end of lunch the manager came to tell the group that the paparazzi had followed Shawn and his own lunch date. 

You were panicked while everyone just rolled their eyes and grumbled about how someone had probably called them so pictures of Shawn and his date could be taken. You looked to Connor and gulped as he laughed with Brian about a meme he was showing him. 

“Y/n, you okay?” Shawn asked from across the table.

He was always so kind, and it boggled your mind how he could always see everyone, even when there were thousands in front of him, he could see everyone and notice every mood change.

Connor looked over after Shawn’s question and noticed your worried expression.

“Um, I’m,” You looked down at your shirt that very clearly showed off your small baby bump. “We haven’t told-”

“Oh shit,” Connor mumbled now noticing what you were referring too. “Fuck they’re gonna get pictures of us.” He looked to Shawn.

“I totally forgot,” Shawn rubs his forehead. “I’m so sorry you guys.” 

“Do you have anything to like hide behind?” Brian asked.

“No, I didn’t bring a jacket because it’s so nice out.” You shake your head. 

“Actually,” Connor cringes, looking at Josiah. “Do you still have your pocket reflector?” 

Josiah nods, handing it to Connor. 

“We’ll head out first, and then you guys go with Brian and maybe they’ll won’t pay you much attention. We’ll take a walk down the block or something.” Shawn stands, giving you an apologetic smile before walking out with his date.

You look to Connor and Brian as Connor is unfolding the reflector that creates a decent sized circle. You just laugh out loud when he offers it to you. 

“What?” He asks.

“What the fuck am I supposed to do with this?” You laugh taking it from him. “It definitely doesn’t look like I’m hiding anything.” You’re sarcastic tone makes the boys chuckle. 

“Here,” Brian hands Connor an old disposable camera. “Pretend like you’re taking my picture as we walk to the car so it looks like she’s actually using it.” 

You just laugh harder and so do the boys at this elaborate plan to cover your pregnant belly. 

** 

At 5 months your little one is now starting to move. You’re really uncomfortable at the moment, in the stages of dealing with pregnancy and the symptoms. 

Tonight is no different, if anything, it’s worse. Baby Brash (literally) has the hiccups and it’s causing your belly to move every 30 seconds or so. So sleeping at the moment isn’t a reality. Finding a comfortable spot to fall asleep isn’t a reality either.

iMessage from Papa 👶: Stop moving, I can hear your bed springs, lord help our child when you get laid.

You rolled your eyes at Connor’s message. He changed his name in your phone when he finally saw what you had him under. He even changed your name in his phone to ‘Mama 👶’ with the baby emoji. 

iMessage to Papa👶 : Tell your child to stop moving so much then

You watched as he read the message, but frowned a little when he didn’t start responding. You jumped when your bedroom door creaked open, revealing Connor in a worn white t shirt and plaid pajama pants. 

“Hey you,” He crawls into your bed, shuffling under your covers with you. “Hey Kid,” He smiles, leaning down to plant a small kiss to your belly. “Stop moving in there so Mama can go to sleep. She’s keeping me up because you’re keeping her up.”

You roll your eyes again, glaring at him. “Really?”

“You told me to tell the kid.” He shrugs. 

His hands have found their way to your belly, rubbing soothing circles in hopes of calming his baby down and lulling you to sleep. 

You sigh and let your eyes flutter close.

“What hurts tonight?” He whispers.

“My hips and back.” 

“Roll to your side for me.” 

You do as told, and moan a little when he starts massaging at your tender hips. Your lower back is so tired and your hips are sore. 

He keeps rubbing and tracing designs on your skin until your breathing evens out. He rolls away a little to go back to his room before your rolling towards him, and resting your head on his chest.

“Don’t go.” You whine.

**

His whole life flashed before his eyes when he got the call. His whole life. 

That’s the only words running through his mind. 

His whole life.

“What did she say?” Brian as he drove to the airport. 

“She said that she was being transported to the hospital and because she’s pregnant they wanted to take her in for more testing just to double check that everything was okay.” 

“And what happened again?” 

“She was driving home from work, her light went green and she proceeded through the intersection when some dipshit in a fucking truck ran the red and hit the back of her car, sounds like it’s totaled but luckily he just hit her trunk, so she wasn’t hurt to much.” 

“She’s okay though right?” Brian asked again.

“As far as I know, but I’ll keep you updated. Just tell everyone else for me okay?” 

“Of course man. Just go take care of her and that Baby.” 

Connor takes a shaky breath as he looks out the window. 

“Connor,” Brian said, surprising him by using his full name. “You need to breathe.” 

“My whole life was in that car Brian, my whole life was sitting in the driver's seat of that car, and-” 

“You need to breathe Connor.” 

“I’m trying!” He snaps at Brian, “But I’m freaking out! My girl and our baby were in an accident today and I’m not there with them! So please forgive me if I’m a little scared and panicked.” 

“I know you are, you just gotta stay calm. Positive thoughts lead to positive outcomes.” 

“You really need to stop doing that weird fucking yoga thing with Shawn. It’s changing you man.” Connor jokes, trying to lighten his own mood. 

**

By the time Connor’s landed you’re already home and resting. He bursts into the apartment like a bat out of hell, slamming the door and flipping the lock before throwing his bag to the ground and racing to your room.

“Jesus, be a little louder why don’t you.” You comment when he falls into your room.

“Are you okay? What did the doctor say? Is our Bean okay?” He throws himself onto your bed, hands instantly searching for your ever growing bump.

“We’re okay.” You whisper, threading your fingers through his hair to calm him down. “I told you we were fine and that you didn’t need to come home.”

“Right,” He scoffs. “Like I was just gonna stay miles away from you after you’ve been in an accident.” 

“But we’re okay! You’re parents, my parents, our siblings, everyone was there with me. Really we’re okay.” 

“Okay, okay.” He nods, laying down with his head beside your big belly, rubbing and tapping at it, smiling when he feels a few kicks. “My Bean is kicking?” He looks up at you.

“Yeah, has been for a week or so.” 

“Why didn’t you say so?” 

“Well,” You frown, looking away. “To be honest I planned on pretending that the first time Bean kicked when you were home next was the first time so you didn’t feel like you were missing out on anything.” 

Connor smiles at you, shaking his head and leaning up to plant a kiss to your cheek. “Thank you for planning to lie to me.” 

You giggle, before shifting to sit up more. You reach for the papers on your bedside table and hand them to Connor.

“What’s this?” He asks, looking down. His face falls, frown dropping his lips eyes looking up at you. “What is this? Why are you handing me this?”

“I think we need to talk about it.” You shrug.

“Not right now.” 

“Connor this is serious, it’s not just us anymore. We’re having a kid, we need to have a Will drawn up.” 

“I understand that, but I don’t wanna talk about it right now.” 

“Connor, in the event that something happens to one of us, we need to know what the other wants.” 

“Stop, stop, stop talkin’ like that!” 

“Connor,” 

“Please,” He tugs at his hair, “Please not right now. I understand we need to know, I get that and we’ll have it drawn up but I don’t want to talk about it right now. All my nightmares came true today.” He looks at you with sad eyes. “I haven’t told you this, but lately I’ve been having a few nightmares that something happens to you and our Bean, and I’m not there to help you or protect you.” He shakes his head, eyes squeezed shut. “And that happened to me today. You both were in an accident, and I wasn’t here.” 

“Connor,” You say again.

“I get it!” He snaps. “But I don’t like the thought of losing you okay? I’m fucking in love with you, and I don’t really have you, but I thought I lost you when I got that call. So can we stop talking like this for the day? Please? Please can you give my heart a moment?” 

You stare up at him with wide eyes, your heart rate picking up at his words. 

“You’re what?” You whisper, caressing his cheek.

“Huh?” 

“You’re in love with me?” 

His eyes go wide in panic now that he’s realized what he’s said.

“Are you being serious?”

“Yeah?” He nods.

“Why haven’t you said anything!” You slap his arm.

“I don’t know, you never-”

“I’ve been in love with you since Junior year!” You keep slapping his arm.

“Stop hitting me!” He grabs your hands, interlocking your fingers.

“You never said anything!” “Neither did you!” He responds.

**

Things were different now, you still hadn’t really said officially what you two were now, but it was this weird in between stage of best friend and boyfriend.

He would kiss you sometimes, and always hold your hand, he’d even let a few pet names slip, but when asked by others he still referred to you as his best friend. 

It confused you to no end, because now that something changed he’s moved into your room, claiming that he would just sneak in every night anyway, and now you had room for a nursery. 

“Babe?” He called from the nursery, seated criss cross on the ground, staring up at the ceiling while waiting for your response. “BABE?” 

“What?” You call back, walking down the hall to the laundry room.

“Can you bring me a water?” 

“Really? You can’t get it yourself?” 

“I’m building the crib!” 

“I’m doing your laundry!” You yell back, leaning against the dryer, rolling your eyes at his request.

“Please?” He asks softly. When you don’t respond he resorts to baby talk he knows you can’t resist. “Pweety Pwease? I’ll give you kisses.” 

You groan, waddling down the hall to the kitchen, grabbing him a cucumber mint flow from the fridge, and grabbing yourself a watermelon lime one. You make your way to the nursery, throwing him the water before taking a seat in the new rocking chair Shawn bought you guys.

“How you doing there Pretty Mama?” He smiles looking over at you. 

“I’m tired, and big.” You whine, looking down at your very pregnant belly.

“I think you look really pretty.” He blushes, looking back at the crib.

“You owe me kisses.” You pout.

“Do I?” He looks at you, “What if I was crossing my fingers?” 

You gasp, furrowing your brows and crossing your arms across your chest. “That’s so mean. You’re pregnant best friend just waddled her way to the kitchen and back to bring you your precious water and you won’t give her kisses like you promised?” 

He’s up on his knees crawling towards you. “Girlfriend.” He hums setting his hands on your thighs so he can lean closer.

“What?” 

“You mean my pregnant girlfriend.” He corrects you.

“Do I?” You asked softly, biting your lip as you stare into those blue eyes.

“I sure hope so.” He whispers.

“Is that what I am? Your girlfriend?” 

He pulls back a little, brows furrowing in confusion. “What do you mean? I thought-”

“Yeah me too but then you told the guy at the baby shop that I was your best friend.” 

He sighs, hanging his head. “It’s so natural, or I don’t know, programmed in my head to introduce you that way. But I thought we turned into something more when we confessed.” 

“Me too, but when you did that it through me off.” 

“Babe,” He smiles, rubbing his hands up your legs, “We live together, we sleep in the same bed, we kiss, we love, we laugh, we fight, we’re pregnant.” He let’s his right hand wander to your belly. “I consider you my girlfriend. I hope you consider me your boyfriend.” 

“I do.” 

“So then why are you pouting?”

“Because I really want kisses.” 

“Oh my goodness.” He laughs, leaning forward to cover your lips with his own. He kisses you deeply, pecking your lips three more times before pulling away. “Better?”

“For now.” 

“Okay.” He laughs, shaking his head before going back to building the crib.

**

“Boyfriend?” You yell from the bedroom when you hear the door open.

“It’s Boyfriend and his friends!” Connor yells back. “Girlfriend?” 

“Yes?”

“Where are you?” 

You quickly finish tying the bow to his gift before making your way to the living room where Shawn and Brian are seated on the couch.

“Hey!” Shawn jumps up, giving you a hug before looking down to your belly. “Can I touch your belly?” 

You laugh a little, “Yeah go ahead, thank you for asking.” 

“Of course, it would be a little rude to just go ahead.” He says touching your belly. 

“Can you tell that to the rest of the world?” 

“Hey Bean!” Shawn says to your belly. “Uncle Shawn got you the coolest thing ever!” He says before running to the couch to show you a small guitar case. 

“Shawn you didn’t.”

“I couldn’t help myself, I was looking for a new one and saw this little thing.” He pops the case open. “I’ll teach Bean how to play and everything!” 

“There you are!” Connor smiles when he enters holding three beers and your favorite flow flavor. He walks up to you, planting a wet smooch to your lips before handing the boys their drinks. 

“I have something for you.” You grin, holding up the little gift wrapped box.

“Oh yeah?” He takes it from you. 

He unties the bow, rips the paper, and opens the box to reveal a small blue Polaroid camera.

“This is so cute,” He says holding it in his hand.

Shawn gasps and Brian stands up in excitement.

“Where’d you get this honey?” 

“It doesn’t matter,” You wave him off, bouncing on your toes in excitement. “What color is it?” 

“Blue?” He asks, looking up at you, and then over to the excited boys next to him that are punching the other in the arm.

“And blue is for what?” You pull it out of him.

“Blue is for….” He stares at you, “Blue is for boy.” His eyes light up. “Blue is for boy?” 

“Blue is for boy!” You squeal.

“Oh my god! Blue is for boy!” He wraps you up in his arms, kissing your neck. “It’s a boy, we’re having a boy!” 

“ITS A BOY!” Shawn and Brian cheer.

**

You groan in pain as you feel another contraction hit. You’ve been in labor for three hours now and your little boy does not want to come see the world.

Connor tries not to wince or complain about his hand he’s sure you’ve severely bruised. He breathes with you through the pain, running a soothing hand over your head and taking your matted hair back away from your forehead.

“There you go Baby.” He whispers, “You’re doing so good.”

“I love you Connor David,” You smile at him, “But I want to fucking kick you in the balls right now.” 

He winces at the thought and shakes his head. “I’m sorry Baby,” He looks away. “I wish I could take your pain away, I wish it were me.” 

“Me too.” You relax when the contraction stops.

“Still holding your hand?” The nurse smiles when she walks in to check on you. “You’re better than most Dad’s, they usually wimp out by now from the pain.” 

“He never lets go, no matter what.” You smile up at Connor.

“You’re my lobster Baby,” He leans down to kiss your lips.

**

//

written by: @shawnm521 

[abdicatedarchive]

Cherish’s House Party || Chase and Savvy

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍: cherish’s house party // 15th of january.

𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: chase x savvy ( @savvy-cassidy ).

𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐒: underage drinking.

𝐃𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐒: two cheerleaders playing ping pong and having a good time gossiping

Chase had come over to find beer pong in the kitchen and no one to play with until he saw Savvy. "Savvy, I challenge you to a game of pong" he said as he pulled her over to the table lightly. "That is if you can take the heat" Chase teased as he racked up the cups. Gabrielle was off doing something, and he always enjoyed talking to Savannah. Maybe he would even hear some good gossip out of it. 

Savvy was, as usual, sipping on her drink and mingling around the party. That is, until she was ushered over to the beer pong table. "when have i ever not been able to take the heat?" she scoffed and finished off the drink in her head. "good thing i get better at this game the more i drink," the brunette was already a bit tipsy. 

"I mean that's just the science behind it" said Chase laughing a little, "once you have double vision then you get two cups at once" he joked. Once the cups were racked he grabbed two balls and washed them off in the sink. "Ladies first" he said as he handed her the ping pong balls and went to his side of the table. "So tell me, have you seen anything interesting at the party so far?" Chase asked.

"i think i just try harder when my vision is blurry so i really work twice as hard on trying to have good aim," she commented with a laugh. "how polite of you. not too many of the males around here have manners," she joked. taking the ball she took her shot, seeing it bounce off of one of the rims. "off to a great start. hm. ive been in two bedrooms and neither were occupied at the time i stumbled upon them, i thought that was pretty interesting because that never happens. also, staci poured a full beer down sara's shirt when she told her to be careful not to spill it."

"Well, I was in the cheer chat during the men suck discussion, so I'm on my best behavior" he said sarcastically, he didn't mind. Especially when it came to all the girl's boyfriends being kind of shit. There had been a lot of newly single moments recently on the team in general. He was happy with his girlfriend so hating on men was definitely an option, it kept him in line with his own relationship. Chase caught the ball when it bounced off the rim and held it while he waited for her to throw again. "Well Sara had it coming with that comment, and you never tell someone with a full cup to do anything" he joked, "Staci's got low impulse control that's for sure". "to be fair, i think we all have our moments of sucking so dont worry it isn't just men," although they did seem to have far more moments, but that was beside the point and she didn't feel the need to bring it up. on her next attempt, she sank the ball, "yesss hopefully now im getting somewhere. and you're right on both of those counts. what about you what interesting things have you seen thus far?"  Chase took the ball out of the cup and chugged the whole thing. "Well" he said catching his breath, "I saw one guy constantly changing rooms, so I investigated a little" he said throwing his first ball and it sinking into the cup. "And it turns out he is talking to two girls at this party, and I am 30% sure they are texting each other about this cute mystery guy that they're talking to" Chase said as he tried the other ball and missed. "So I cannot wait to see how that turns out"  Savvy lifted her brows as he took a breath, knowing that whatever he was about to say was probably quite the story. Lifting up the cup, she took out the ball and chugged the liquid, something a good friend of hers had taught her to do well over the years. "dont they know that the circles around here are small? its like we've all slept with each other by association."

"Everybody is sleeping with everybody" said Chase letting a small laugh fall from his lips as he waited for her to throw again. "Speaking of, who is your newest conquest? I have to live vicariously through others now that I'm back with Gabrielle" he said, intrigued to know what the girl was up to. She was one of the most beautiful girls in school, it only made sense that she had guys at her beck and call.  "That is putting it lightly," she chuckled, setting down the now empty cup and setting up her next shot. it circled the rim of the cup a couple of times before finally sinking inside. "conquest? you mean like, have i hooked up with anyone tonight? chase. im a lady. you think i do that kind of thing at a party where there are loads of people who could walk in at any moment?" the girl was rambling playfully before eventually answering, "jet." mostly because everyone likely already knew anyway, it happened at most parties. it was like knowing that someone was going to end up throwing up in the bushes, jet and savvy were going to hook up. "how is that going?"  "A lady never tells" said Chase, knowing full well that there was always Jet. He was hoping there was maybe some variety in there, but Jet was ... well he was kinda it. He was that guy in town for sure. "Oh that's still going?" he said with a smile, "He is super hot, and I heard he's very good in bed. Good for you" Chase replied. Chase chugged the cup and put it to the side before continuing. "It's going great, it's a race right now to see who is the drunker one and who is in charge of getting us home. I'm hoping she's the responsible one tonight, but who is to say at this rate. She could be off taking shots with Juliette right now, and they're both so tiny they'll be on the floor in minutes" the boy said with a laugh.  "We have a nice arrangement. It's very convenient. Plus, I wont have to worry I won't get off, which is definitely a big plus. Like an old, yet reliable habit." Savvy had to laugh at her own description, the alcohol definitely making her sound a little ridiculous. "Maybe someone else will get a turn, i just dont really want it to be when i have beer goggles, because ew." Crinkling her nose at the thought she shook her head. "so who do you think is winning? how drunk are you?"  "I get that, what you know is better than something new. And if it works for you, then why bother with anything else" said Chase, completely understanding. That was something about being with Gabrielle that he loved, it was always good because they had been at it for so long. "She only drinks liquor so probably her, but it has been me before and I am working my hardest at it" said Chase laughing a little, he didn't mind taking care of her at the end of the night. It was fun when she took care of him though. "Knowing her, it's who she is with. She can either drink a lot because she's having a really good time or a really bad time. But if it's in between she won't be drunk at all ... just a little buzzed"  “Something new can be exciting, if it’s the right something new,” Sav pointed out with a shrug. “It is always nice to have a safe option though too.” Because who didn’t like options. “Yikes she could be going pretty hard right now. So that will not be a fun morning for her. “  "It can be, but I am a sucker for the classics. Only one girl out there for me" said Chase with a small smile. He was soft for Gabrielle like that, sure he would be having a great deal more fun as a single guy at this school, but there was nothing that beat to comfort of being loved. "She'll be fine. No matter what I'll make her breakfast, even if I'm about to yak" said the boy. 

“Oh isn’t that just adorable,” to be fair, there was a time when Savvy may have thought the same thing, when she was dating someone she liked to think it would be for the long haul but that was rarely the case. “Breakfast too? Damn you really are one of the good ones.”  "Yeah the perks of her family taking me in, we get to spend every morning together no matter what rooms we sleep in" said Chase with a proud smile. He also treated her very well, just going above and beyond whenever he could. It made him feel like he was repaying a debt to her family. "What do your mornings with Jet look like? Or is it purely a party affair?" he asked, curious to know more.  “That is a pretty unique situation so I guess you should enjoy it as long as possible because you lucked out there. Do they let you stay in the same room though?” Sav was glad that her friend was happy though it seemed to be going well and that’s what was most important. Her brows raised at his question “we usually have each other for breakfast,” she answered as if it was nonchalant. “And then go out for pancakes because were fucking starving.”  "Yeah, I am milking it as much as physically possible" said Chase in all earnesty. He was certain they would not separate for college, but if they didn't get into the right schools then they would be screwed. Having a child together, even though it was a secret bonded them past the usual high school relationship, but it was hard to explain that to anyone because he couldn't. "That's a hearty breakfast, lots of vitamin d in that one" Chase joked, proud of himself for that one. "Pancakes is always a good dessert after a hearty breakfast"  “I can’t say that I blame you, I think most people would do the same thing. But hey im glad that it works out for you and you’re both happy with it, that’s honestly all that matters,” the girl nodded with a shrug. She couldn’t help but chuckle, “vitamin d, good joke. Best of the night so far. But agreed pancakes are the best. A nice way to refuel.”  "You can tell who at this school has a major vitamin d deficiency" said Chase with a small chuckle as well. There were a lot of people who just needed some kind of release, any kind. Whether it was a boxing class or getting laid, people needed to do something. 

Savvy couldn’t help but chuckle and nod in agreement, “you are correct about that, I wish them all the best, honestly. Might help some of their piss poor attitudes.” "I think that might be our big ticket to victory this cheer season" said Chase feeling the alcohol start to hit him. He hated to admit it, but a lot like his girlfriend he was a light weight. 

"everyone getting laid? you might be on to something with that," she chuckled and nodded in agreement, "you down for the count on this game, or what? i can already see your eyes getting glassy, you're sucha lightweight," she teased him.  "I did some shots earlier, but I think it's all kicking in now" said Chase, the room was a little spinny. "All I am is bone and muscle, there's nothing to absorb the alcohol" he said to defend himself, but it was the honest reason he couldn't handle too much to drink.

[rosepetalmark]

Not in the Stars

2.5k words

Renjun x Reader

warnings: alcohol mention

in which you plan to confess your love for your best friend to him at a party, but the universe has other plans in store for the both of you. 

You like Renjun. A lot. 

That was one sentence in your five years of friendship with Huang Renjun that you never thought you’d say to yourself, let alone admit to. 

You don’t know where these feelings came from, but all you know is that they’re strong and on your mind twenty four seven. Everything he says and does captivates your mind, causing your feelings for him to grow even stronger.

It’s as if these feelings for him suddenly hit you like a brick one day. You were strictly best friends last week, and now you have these unexplainable deep feelings for him, eating you alive and begging for you to confess to him.

It’s not that you’re opposed to dating Renjun, it’s just that he’s been your best friend for several years and he means so incredibly much to you. You just don’t want to risk losing him or making things between you two weird if he doesn’t feel the same. 

So you suppress your feelings. As long as you have Renjun as your best friend, that’s all that matters, right?

Jaemin always makes you second guess yourself, explaining that the dynamic duo that you and Renjun are would be ten times more incredible if you were dating. Since you’re already best friends and know everything about each other, why not date? Only bigger and better things can come from it he always says.

Although Jaemin makes strong points, you’re still scared Renjun will turn you away, mainly because you’re ninety nine percent certain that he only views you as a friend, nothing more and nothing less. 

Yeah you have sleepovers  and spend hours late at night talking on the phone with one another, but that’s what best friends do. If Huang Renjun has any feelings for you, you’re sure someone would have said something by now. 

You get the typical stares from old people when you make your daily trek to school in the morning, him waiting outside your house for you at exactly seven forty two, smiling so bright the second you walk out your front door.  

You constantly get mistaken as his girlfriend whenever you go out together on the weekend, which always causes a deep pink blush to appear on Renjun’s cheeks. He’s always quick to brush it off though, making it clear to everyone around you that you’re strictly best friends, and that neither of you view each other in that way. 

Boy is he wrong.

Everything about Renjun makes your heart flutter, and that’s something that scares you.

For starters, he excels so well in school. For someone who spends eighty percent of his time doodling instead of taking notes, he aces every test and can recite every piece of information that’s been discussed in class with no problem.

He’s caring and funny, and so unapologetically himself. He takes you to art museums on your spare time, talks about the latest conspiracy that’s on his mind, and always insists you go for milkshakes every Sunday night.

And boy was he cute. The way he tilts his head all the way back and crinkles his eyes when he laughs makes your heart absolutely melt.

Huang Renjun makes you happy and positive and there’s nothing more in this world that you want than to hold his hand and kiss him in public, as well as call him your boyfriend so bad. 

It wasn’t until you were out late with him, hanging out on the roof at Jeno’s house, trying to escape the loudness that was coming from inside. Jeno was throwing a kickback to celebrate the beginning of summer, something he does ever year, in which there’s always too many people inside, and you and Renjun find yourself on the roof trying to seek solace in the stars. 

Renjun looked so ethereal in the moonlight. There was nothing more that you wanted to do than press your lips ever so gently against his, and hold his hand while staring up at the stars displayed so brightly above you both in the dark sky. 

“What are you thinking about bubs?” Renjun asked, referring to the nickname he gave you when he found out that’s the name you gave your favourite stuffed rabbit when you were a child. 

God the way his voice sounded in this moment made you weak. The tipsiness you both experienced earlier was wearing off, causing your lack of hydration to become present through your raspy voices. 

But you don’t care. You’re with Renjun, and you are warm and comfortable and in love. 

In love. 

You’re in love with Huang Renjun and you can’t keep it in any longer.

Maybe this would be the best time to tell him. Every time you’re completely sober, you push the idea to the side, trying your best to forget your feelings for him even exist. What if Jun doesn’t feel the same? What if he does but months down the line you figure out you’re better off as friends, and then when you try to get back into your non-romantic routine, everything feels off? You always worry that things will go wrong and Renjun will eventually stop being your friend.

Not tonight though. Renjun looks gorgeous in the moonlight and the little bit of alcohol that remains in your system is acting as your source of encouragement, convincing you to confess to him right now and hope for the best outcome possible. 

“Love,” you reply nonchalantly. 

“Love?” he questions, staring back to you, seemingly surprised with your response. 

“Yeah. Just wondering what the universe has in store for me, you know?” you ask, turning your body to face his direction, criss crossing your legs over one another. “The idea of love both intrigues me and freaks me out. It’s exciting anticipating what will come from it, but the fear of something going wrong down the line makes me not want to pursue it, you know?” you say, staring innocently into his eyes.

He cocks his head, an intrigued look falling on his face. He purses his lips, looking as if he’s going to say something, but remains silent. 

You both remain in silence for the next several minutes, which causes your thoughts to wander. What if Renjun has caught on? Maybe he’s thinking of ways to turn you down gently. Or he’s trying to express that he somehow knows you’re talking about him, and he’s trying to do so in a similar manner. 

But the silence is killing you, and you want nothing more than for Renjun to say something. Anything to get your thoughts to shut up, and your heart race to stop rapidly beating.

“I think you shouldn’t be scared of love,” he finally says. 

Taking a deep breath, he looks off into the sky, admiring the many stars laying millions of miles away from you both. “I get that you never know what may come out of it, but I think it’s worth a shot to know you tried, and to experience something you’re not fully sure is going to work,”  he speaks softly.

“Take a look at the universe for example. It’s so big and undiscovered, yet millions of people are fascinated by it. We’re obsessed with the stars and galaxies and the possibility of aliens- which I know for a fact exist by the way, yet we’re not afraid to spend our time discovering them and giving them our attention. I think of love in a similar manner. Yeah the thought seems so broad and scary, as there’s so many things to experience and discover, but I think it’s worth it. You’re only going to learn new things about yourself and life, so why not give it a shot?”

He clears his throat, and pays his attention back to you. He has a look of determination in his eyes, and that only makes you grow even more anxious.

“Aren’t you a wise expert on love, Mr. Huang,” you chuckle.

“Well what can I say? I do a lot of thinking on my spare time when I’m not bickering with you,” he laughs, positioning himself on his arms so he can get a better view of the night sky.

“Hey!” you shout, pushing onto his arm, causing him to lose his newly comfortable position and to fall on his back. “What are you thinking about Ren? You have this sour look on your face.”

“Well your idea of love got me thinking,” he says softly, staring into your eyes.

Nervousness takes over your body. You have no idea what he’s going to say, and every second of silence is eating you up.

“And?” you say abruptly, eager to know what he’s about to say. 

“I’ve been thinking about this for a while now, and I don’t know, I never thought much of it because I’m a wimp, but I think I’m going to ask Yeri out” he confesses, a small smile forming on his face. 

The mention of Yeri makes your heart sink. Yeri. He wants to ask out Yeri. Not you. 

Of course he likes Yeri. What isn’t there to like about her? She’s really pretty and polite, and they’re both the editors of the school newspaper, so they spend a great amount of time with each other. 

God this hurt. 

“Oh really,” you respond, with a less enthusiastic tone replacing your prior happy one.

“Yeah. We’ve been getting to know each other a lot more ever since we got asked to do this editorial on the basketball team, and I think I may have feelings for her”

“Well, um I think you should go for it Renjun, “ you reply, looking off into the stars to help keep what’s happening off your mind. If you look into his eyes, you’re certain you’ll start crying.

If it’s not you, you’re glad he has an interest in a girl with a golden heart and personality. 

“You think? What if she doesn’t like me?” he asks nervously, fiddling with the rings on his fingers.

“Like you said Ren, you never know what will come from love. Why not give it a shot if it’ll lead to potentially greater things not only within yourselves, but life in general? And if she ends up only seeing you as a friend, it’s okay. You’ll find someone one day who loves every part of you.”

And you can’t help but know deep down that that person is you. If Yeri rejects him, you’ll be right here to help him pick up the pieces, if not, you’ll still be here. As his best friend. Renjun deserves all the love and happiness the universe has to offer him, and despite being sad he shows no romantic interest in you, you’re glad he finds it in an amazing girl. 

“Alright cool, I guess I’ll ask her out on Monday when we meet up to discuss the paper then.” he says, smiling to himself. 

He looks so happy. Ecstatic even. You haven’t seen him smile this big since he won first place in your school’s art show.

“She’s here you know, at the party,” you say to him. “You should do it now.”

“You think?” he asks, eyes wide. 

Renjun was never one to act on impulse. He’s a man with a plan, and always has to do things by the book or else he’ll lose his hair. He likes structure and time, a complete flip from your bold and impulsive self. 

“Yeah, why not? You’re both here, you look really cute right now, and the stars are out in your favour, shining bright to provide you with the courage to do so.” 

This makes Renjun smile. You’ve always been a help in boosting his confidence, and you’re glad to be of assistance in such a nerve-wracking yet exciting period in his life. 

Standing up, he dusts the possible dirt off his legs. He crouches over, looking into your eyes and grabs your hand. “You’re the best y/n. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“As I with you,” you reply, a soft grin forming from your lips. “Now go downstairs and ask her out before she leaves.”

Standing back up, he begins walking to the door. “I’ll let you know how it goes!” he half shouts, pressing his hand to the door handle,  and making his way back into the house. 

You’re now left alone, on the rooftop, with just the stars and your thoughts. 

Why didn’t you bring up your feelings to him sooner, you thought. Now you’re only left sad and alone, because you were too scared to tell your best friend you’re in love with him. Confessing to him seemed so perfect in your mind a couple minutes ago, but sadly the universe has other plans in store for you. 

You decide to get comfortable and lie down, and begin to look at the constellations that are possibly present within the night sky. You can still hear the loud, most likely drunk people just a floor below you, and the vibration of the music hitting your body despite being away from the noise. But you don’t care. It’s just you and the sky, and you’re doing everything in your power to forget about the party below you, and to focus on the stars. 

As you point out the orion in the sky, you feel a buzz in your back pocket, indicating that you’ve got a text. Reaching for it, you unlock your phone, and see a notification stating that Renjun messaged you. Pressing on the messages app, you click on his name and read the following:

jun bug: she said yes!! we’re going out on tueday after we’re done editing :) (2:17 AM)

“Yes.” Yeri said yes. 

You’re happy for your best friend, but for yourself, you’re heartbroken. The possibility of dating him is now slim to none, especially since a potential girlfriend is in the mix, only making you more sad for yourself. 

You make sure to reply quick, and in a way that’ll make him happy, and hopefully provide you with the positivity that everything will be okay.

y/n: i’m so happy for you ren <3 (2:18 AM)

As you press send, you feel the tears start to slide down your cheeks. You’re happy for him, you really are, but you can’t help but wish that things went differently, and that you were in Yeri’s position. 

But as Renjun said before, love can be scary. It’s a learning experience, and if it doesn’t work out, you just need to take what you can from it, and hope for the best in the future. 

So you’ll take his words, and you’ll try your best to move on. 

It’ll be tough, but you hope to god that one day he’ll just be your best friend, and that this heartbreak won’t last with you forever. 

[picturebookmakers]

ATAK

In this post, ATAK talks about his fascinating creation process and he shares illustrations and development work from some of his wonderful books – including sketchbook pages for his forthcoming picturebook ‘Piraten im Garten’, which is due to be published in 2020.

Visit ATAK’s website

ATAK: My process is like hip-hop. Mixing and sampling.

I have a big box where I put material that I’ve found on the street or in magazines. Then in the summer, when I’m sitting in the summer house, I stick everything into sketchbooks.

These are important books for me. I often use them when I’m looking for an idea. I like to make connections between this and that.

Sometimes I steal things. Here’s an example of where I used a painting by Caspar David Friedrich in one of my images. This is a very important painting for the German culture; it’s romantic. It’s the first painting that’s like a window. You see with him and you’re led into the picture.

‘Wanderer above the Sea of Fog’, Caspar David Friedrich, 1818.

When I take something to use in my own work, it’s more about the idea of composition and atmosphere. It’s not just a reference that people will know.

This is the sketchbook for my picturebook ‘Topsy Turvy World’. The publisher asked me for a book for children, and as I was tired of working with long texts, I thought this one should be a wordless book, where the images tell the whole story.

We have a German tradition from the 18th century of ‘bilderbogen’. This is like the origin of comics. They’re one-page stories. I was looking at some of these and I found some interesting ideas for ‘Topsy Turvy World’.

Here are some pages from the sketchbook.

Not everything made it into the final book; some of it was too heavy for my publisher, so he kicked it out. The smoking people had to go, otherwise we couldn’t have sold the rights in America.

Then there was a problem... My sketches had a lot of life and were fully-worked, so to transform them into the final artwork was very hard. After the rough version, I had this feeling that I was already finished with the book. Making the final ‘clean’ artwork felt like a kind of discipline.

My original paintings are always much bigger than they appear in the books. I never work to the correct size or format.

I often sell my paintings, but here is one I’ll never sell. It was done for the first children’s book I made, called ‘Comment la mort est revenue à la vie’ (How death came back to life), written by Muriel Bloch and published by Thierry Magnier.

It’s an important painting for me. I came from the comic world – black and white graphics – where I would draw out the whole scenes with all the details. In the middle of working on this painting, I had to go out to buy some food, and then I came back and thought, “Oh, it’s enough.” There’s a big difference when you work with colour. It’s like a sound, like a kind of music. This painting was very important for me in understanding colour.

Before I start working on an image, I often have a rough idea of what’s going to happen in the scene, but I leave a lot of space for other things to come in... And when I’ve started to work, I might see something in my studio or in a book, and it goes into the image.

I like this open process. And I like to be surprised. It’s very important for me that I don’t know in the beginning exactly what’s going to happen.

My way of painting is very old school. Traditional. Sometimes I paint over the top of something and you can see the trace of it behind. You can’t really fake things like this on the computer. For me, my original artwork is more important than the finished book. I once had an interesting discussion about this with Blexbolex. It’s completely the opposite for him: he sees his books as being the original artwork.

After ‘Topsy Turvy World’, I made a book called ‘The Garden’.

The original German edition was almost like a book for bourgeoise women... But for the French edition, they reimagined it for kids. It’s much bigger; you can really go inside. And the French publisher asked me to make some flaps to open up on the pages, which were not there in the original edition.

The sketches for ‘The Garden’ are almost nothing. It was very important that I didn’t repeat the process of ‘Topsy Turvy World’, where the sketches were very close to the finished artwork. I couldn’t work like this again. So the sketches here are very loose, but I knew exactly what was supposed to be in the pictures.

Working like this, you must have a very strong relationship with the publisher – one of absolute trust. I also have big problems with deadlines; I’m always late. With this book, my publisher Antje Kunstmann was so good. She phoned me every morning: “Hallo, here is Antje!” It was so important to know she was there, almost like a mother. It was a similar story with Wolf Erlbruch and his book ‘Duck, Death and the Tulip’. He was working for four years on this book. In the end, Antje came to his home and was waiting on his sofa for two days to take the last drawing!

The latest children’s book I made is called ‘Martha’.

I started working on it after reading an article in National Geographic about the passenger pigeon. I was fascinated. Because it’s a real story, it was not easy for me to make this book. It’s easier when I’m given a text because I have more distance.

Again, I worked very loosely in my sketchbook. These sketches are just indications – so I know something is here or somebody is there. It does help me that things are more open.

I don’t have sketchbooks where I draw from reality. I’m not good at this. You’ll never find me sitting in a crowd, making sketches. I watch and I observe instead. And I have books where I write ideas or note down interesting forms and shapes that I see.

Here are some pictures from ‘Martha’.

And here’s an idea for the dust jacket, where the kids could cut and draw on the paper, and make origami out of it to give a kind of rebirth. Martha is gone, but maybe she’s not gone if the kids could bring her back. The publisher didn’t go for this idea.

I went to art school but never finished. Just after the Berlin Wall came down, I was studying visual communication. There wasn’t a good atmosphere at my art school. I wanted to find like-minded people and work as a team, but it felt like most of the students were only interested in being artists, but not in working together. Then my daughter was born, and I never finished art school.

I’m now teaching art as a professor. The other teachers have diplomas, and I feel like I’ve come from the working class. I do like intellectual work, but when I work with students, I want to see something. I can only talk about what I see. I need it very visual. It has to catch me.

From when I was nine years old, I wanted to be an illustrator. In east Germany, illustration was a part of publishing. All the novels had illustration. It’s still unique now to see this, but in east Germany it was normal... So my plan was always to be an illustrator. This way I could wake up when I wanted, have no boss, listen to my music all day, and make my own work.

Speaking of music... The type of music I listen to when I work depends on the specifics of the book. For example, I made a book for Nobrow called ‘Ada’ (from a word portrait by Gertrude Stein). The idea for the artwork was to make handmade pixels, so I listened to a lot of electronic music; ping–ping–ping! It’s about energies. And for me, the music is also very important because I travel a lot and it can be hard to come back to your work – but when I listen to the music, immediately I’m back in the project, in the zone. It’s all connected – the music with the book.

Here’s my playlist for ‘Martha’.

Distortions – Clinic Go – Sparklehorse & The Flaming Lips VCR – The XX Song For A Warrior – Swans Avril 14th – Aphex Twin Quiet Music – Nico Muhly First Song For B – Devendra Banhart Last Song For B – Devendra Banhart How Can You Mend A Broken Heart? – Al Green Ash Black Veil – Apparat I Know They Say – Spectrum Opus 55 – Dustin O’Halloran Lost Fur – Karen O & The Kids Unfinished Business – The Go-Betweens Sometimes – My Bloody Valentine Lies – Sin Fang Bous Debussy: Suite Bergamasque, L 75 - Clair De Lune – Alexis Weissenberg Nimrod (Adagio) – David Hirschfelder Atmosphere – Joy Division Still Life – Elliot Goldenthal The Lake – Antony & The Jonhsons Flying Birds – RZA

I used to make hardcore comics with friends. This was our first, which we made before the wall came down. My work has changed completely. I can’t understand this now; it’s like another man made it! And they are not funny. It’s a very small humour; you really have to look for it.

Then, after my daughter was born, I did my own comic series called ‘Wondertüte’. In the comic scene, everybody told me that this wasn’t a comic. But for me, it was totally a comic. I liked the comic medium, but I didn’t see why there had to be only one way. From all my old comics, this is the one I like the most.

The idea comes from the ‘learn English’ books we had in school. It’s a bit like a poem, but with a more open structure. I think my older work was very closed, and this comic is where it really started to open up. I made it for me, not for the mainstream. I got no money for it. But you could find it in kiosks. Somebody told me he saw it in a kiosk in a very small village. He said it was very important to see this comic displayed in-between all the nice, fancy stuff... My audience is not many people, but they are passionate.

I don’t really consider myself as a children’s book illustrator; it’s not like this. But it gives me a lot more freedom. Some of my friends find themselves working on one comic for years! I respect this, but for me that’s like a jail. With comics, you have to take such care with narration. You go from one panel to the next panel to the next... The comic medium is a question of time. In a children’s book, the reader looks at one page for perhaps two minutes or ten minutes. They go deep inside. It’s a completely different work. Also in a children’s book you have a stage; it’s really like theatre.

I also think it’s very important in children’s books that you read the book again and again. You read a comic maybe once and then you kick it out or you give it to somebody. But a children’s book is like a ritual between parents and kids.

This is a cover version of the German classic book ‘Der Struwwelpeter’.

The stories here are new and full of humour. I made this book with Fil (Philip Tägert). It was after ‘Topsy Turvy World’, and for me it was so important that I could be free with the pictures. The publisher said make what you want. And it felt so good.

There are hundreds of different versions of ‘Der Struwwelpeter’. As with the ‘bilderbogen’, this was like the beginning of comic stories.

I once found an old version of the book from Denmark with an extra chapter. They didn’t trust all that dark stuff and they made up new stories. So in our cover version, we had this idea to make one chapter where literally nothing happens! We tried to make it as boring as possible, with the pictures saying exactly the same thing as the words. It was so hard to make a boring illustration! It’s really not easy!

My new book will be published next year. It’s for my little son; he’s three years old. You could see it as a connection between ‘Topsy Turvy World’ and ‘The Garden’. It’s called ‘Pirates in the Garden’. The German title is ‘Piraten im Garten’, so the title is like a poem; you hear it and you don’t forget it. I like this title very much.

This book will will be very simple, a bit like Sesame Street. One word on each page, so you make associations between the word and the image, and the parents can talk about it with their kids.

I’m working in the sketchbook at the moment, and I want to make the sketches really good. For ‘The Garden’ and ‘Martha’, I kept the sketches really open. But for this one, no. I know this is going to be my last book for children. And it’s for my son, so I’m going to make it special. In the future, perhaps I’ll make art books in small editions, more paintings, stuff like this, but not books in a commercial way again.

When I made ‘Martha’, I was thinking, “who needs this?” It wasn’t mainstream and I was so confused. It’s different from when someone asks me to make a cover or a painting; I’m never thinking about who needs this. But this was different. Sometimes you just don’t know if what you’re doing is important or not. So I was kind of depressed working on that book. This is the main reason it took me such a long time.

I sometimes feel very alone working as a children’s book illustrator in Germany. My style is not at all mainstream and I always just made my books for fun. It was never a big passion of mine to make children’s books for my whole life. But I always liked the roots.

So for my final children’s book, ‘Piraten im Garten’, I will make it for myself and for my son.

Illustrations © ATAK. Post edited by dPICTUS.

Buy this picturebook

Verrueckte Welt / Topsy Turvy World

ATAK

Jacoby & Stuart, Germany, 2009

A fantastical picturebook where mice chase cats, penguins live in the jungle, and cars fly! There’s few things that children enjoy more than catching grown-ups telling fibs. Discarding what’s obviously wrong is how they find out what’s right.

It’s a time-honoured children’s game; ATAK’s just given it a new twist, using lots of classic tall stories, and adding a few new ones as well.

German: Jacoby & Stuart

English: Flying Eye Books

French: Editions Thierry Magnier

Spanish: Fulgencio Pimentel

Italian: Orecchio Acerbo

Norwegian: Magikon

Slovak & Czech: Baobab

Portuguese: Planeta Tangerina (Portugal)

Portuguese: Companhia das Letras (Brazil)

Dutch: Boycott Books

Chinese (Simplified): TB Publishing Ltd (Everafter Books)

Buy this picturebook

Der Struwwelpeter

FIL & ATAK

Kein & Aber, Switzerland, 2009

Like a rock band covering their favourite songs, ATAK and FIL tackle the classic stories of Zappelphilipp, Hans-guck-in-die-Luft & Co.

And just as a Heavy Metal cover might sound harder than the original, you’ll also find tighter morals, harsher imagery, politically incorrect humour, and that ever-so-subtle touch of evil that has been pervading this book for more than 160 years.

German: Kein & Aber

French: Fremok Editions

Buy this picturebook

Der Garten / The Garden

ATAK

Verlag Antje Kunstmann, Germany, 2013

In silence, the garden wakes up. Thus opens this picturebook by ATAK, as an invitation to walk in a garden with a thousand surprises – a haven of peace, populated with animals and strange characters.

You’ll discover with wonder, the treasures and the tranquility of the garden, and you’ll observe the seasons and the passing of time.

German: Verlag Antje Kunstmann

French: Editions Thierry Magnier

Spanish: Niño Editor

Portuguese: Companhia das Letras (Brazil)

Korean: Bear & Cat

Buy this picturebook

Martha

ATAK

Aladin Verlag, Germany, 2016

Martha tells the tale of the extinction of North America’s native Passenger Pigeon – its shockingly rapid decline caused directly by humans – and is told from the perspective of ‘Martha’, the last of the species who died at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914. The story begins with a feeling of greatness and awe, describing flocks of birds that were once so numerous that they would darken the skies for days, their beating wings as loud as motors.

German: Aladin Verlag

French: Les Fourmis Rouges

Korean: Sanha

[bensbuttercup]

After Hours (B.H.)

Summary: A noisy neighbor and a knock on a door may have Cameron biting off more than she can chew

Word Count: 7,816

Authors note: This may be a little piggy back off of Claire’s Office Hours and you should all go read it because it’s absolutely beautiful.

Cameron sighed as she set her mug of coffee down on the nightstand next to her bed, the now empty mug taunting her. She thought about walking to the kitchen to brew yet another cup but she deemed the time and effort it would take not worth the caffeine boost she would get. She pulled her caramel brown hair into a messy ponytail on top of her head before wrapping the rubber band that was once around her wrist around the messy mass of hair she had grasped in her right hand.

Midterms were quickly approaching and Cameron knew she should take her free Friday night to work on the essays she needed to complete before her tests. Her playlist for the night consisted of a mix of her favorite artists from when she was younger that she still held on to, a mix of Shawn Mendes and the boys’ One Direction solo hits had been on a continuous loop for hours now. 

It was nearing midnight and Cameron was putting the finishing touches on the research paper she was writing for her current events class, six hours had added up to fifteen pages of writing and three pages of sources. The almost completed paper was something Cameron was glad she had finished in just a number of hours, a testament to how hard she was working this semester.

After saving her word document a final time Cameron opened Spotify at the bottom of her computer, she saw her History of Rock Playlist under the current one she was listening to, she had a paper for that class also, and she knew she should probably work on it but that class was of little interest to her past the first essay she had written.

Minimizing Spotify Cameron turned back to the countless tabs she had open on the internet, quickly she closed all of them, the feeling giving her an odd sense of satisfaction and pride. Cameron yawned as she slowly slid out of her bed, finally deciding that the cup of coffee to tie her over wasn’t that bad of an idea. She padded into the kitchen of her apartment, two fuzzy socks on her feet, one blue with reindeers and the other pink with wolves on it. The slippery material of her socks easily glided on her tile floors allowing her to not have to lift her feet to move smoothly.

As Cameron waited for her coffee to brew she heard a crackling noise through her wall before loud music began to vibrate the counter she was leaning on. Watching the coffee that was already in the mug ripple to the beat of the rock music that was playing next door Cameron closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. She didn’t know who her neighbor was but she knew they often enjoyed playing seventies and eighties rock at odd hours of the night. Often she could sleep through it but tonight Cameron was shocked when she heard the beat of a bass drum join in. The sound clearly wasn’t coming from the song but from a drum set.

As her keurig spit out the last of her mug of coffee Cameron picked the milk up out of her refrigerator, willing herself to keep calm while she made her coffee. She picked her backpack up from next to the kitchen table and retreated back to her room, her sky blue and black under armor backpack slung over one shoulder, her new mug of coffee in the other hand. Cameron began pulling her textbooks for her international trade laws class out of her bag when the sound of a cymbal from next door made her jump. The small startle caused Cameron to bump into her nightstand, she watched in shock as the full mug of coffee wobbled on the edge before settling flat again, only a few drops of the warm liquid running down the sides of the mug.

Cameron closed her eyes and took a deep breath silently thanking god the mug didn’t fall as she pushed it further back onto the small wooden table. She put her textbooks on the bed before carefully crawling back on to her soft mattress. She settled her brown throw blanket over her lap before pulling her laptop desk back to its place in front of her. She looked over the stickers on her laptop, various cute drawing of animals with funny sayings and stickers from her Hogwarts house covered the metal. She slowly opened the computer up and the sound of Shawn Mendes’ song “Particular Taste” filled her room.

The steady drumming of the bass next door picked up again and the music got even louder, Cameron sighed turning her own speakers up even louder. It seemed like a constant back and forth for half an hour, who’s speakers could be louder, who could cause the most problems for their neighbor.

Cameron knew the battle was pointless, that someone with a drum set in their apartment would be able to cause more havoc and disturbance than someone with a decent stereo set. Around one in the morning Cameron’s trade law essay still sat untouched, the google doc she was using open, the cursor blinking steadily. She noticed it was in time with the bass of the drum next door, and that annoyed her even more.

At one-forty-two Cameron pulled on her ponytail and groaned before pulling a hoodie on over her tank top, if she was going to confront her obnoxious neighbor she could at least be comfortable and covered.

With her feet clad in two mismatched fuzzy socks, her legs barely covered in a pair of blue Hawaiian print sleep shorts and a baseball hoodie from her ex-high school boyfriend covering her torso, Cameron set out on a mission. She quickly walked to the apartment next door and knocked firmly four times, the sound of her fist on the wooden door echoing through the empty hallway. She crossed her arms over he chest, her bottom lip pulled between her teeth as she heard the speakers noise cut off, the Queen song that was on left hanging in the middle of a line.

“Fucking finally,” Cameron let out a relieved sigh and turned to walk back to her own apartment, assuming her neighbor finally got the idea. Cameron was about to step back on to the tacky red carpet that ran down the middle of the hall when a deep voice from behind her caused her to jump slightly.

“Can I help you?” Cameron paused in the middle of the step she was taking and turned on the ball of her right foot. She went to throw a quick and sharp remark back at the individual who had the audacity to ask if she had a problem when he was the one blasting music at nearly two in the morning.

“Actually-” when Cameron locked eyes with who she thought was an obnoxious stranger who lived next door her breath got caught in her throat. “Hi Ben.” Cameron caught herself saying. Stood in front of Cameron was perhaps one of the most beautiful men she had ever seen.

Ben Hardy, or just Ben, as Cameron knew him, was her TA for her History of Rock Music class and he also led her discussion group. Cameron had never cared much for rock music but it was one of her older brothers favorite styles and with a space left in her schedule for one more elective she decided to take the class as a way to hopefully bond more with her brother.

She never knew though how attractive her TA could actually be until she had walked into class the first day. She was wearing a pair of ripped dark blue jeans and a hoodie from the school softball team she played on and she walked in feeling underdressed as she caught the TA’s eyes. He was wearing a pair of clearly ironed back dress pants with brown shoes and a maroon sweater. Ben was always dressed nice in classes and discussions, his hair tastefully messy on top of his head, and Cameron always felt underdressed in his presence.

However, tonight was different. Now Ben stood in front of her in nothing but a pair of gray sweatpants, the white band of Calvin Klein boxers poking out of the top of them, his happy trail dipping under the fabric along with his v-line. He wasn’t wearing any socks and his hair still looked damp, his bare chest on display in front of her.  Cameron looks down his arms, the veins popping out from between his muscles under his skin, a pair of drumsticks in his right hand, his left leaning on the doorframe.

“Miss Price!” Cameron watched a smile grow on Ben’s face when he realized it was her. Ben knew that Cameron was ogling him, and he wasn’t complaining about it. Cameron watched as Ben looked her up and down slowly, causing her to shift slightly uncomfortably on the balls of her feet. With a yawn he languidly pushed himself off of the doorframe and spoke. “Cat finally got your tongue, Miss Price?” Ben asked.

Cameron went to open her mouth to speak but nothing came out. “It’s- it’s Cameron,” she stumbled over her words, “you can call me Cameron.” She felt her cheeks heating up while Ben’s eyes continued to map her figure out, as if she wasn’t swimming in a hoodie too big for her.

“Well Cameron,” Ben twirled one of his drumsticks between his fingers as Cameron watched mesmerized, “If you want to come in for a drink to make up for me keeping you up so late I wouldn't mind.” Cameron stood in the hallway still, stunned. Ben, her TA, was asking her if she wanted to come into his apartment for a drink, and she was considering it.

Cameron wanted to say no but instead she found herself saying, “I’m not- I’m not old enough? And you didn’t keep me up I was doing work.” She squeezed her eyes shut after she admitted to the fact that she was still only nineteen. Ben would definitely make fun of her now, she should just leave while she still had some of her pride left. Ben laughed deep in his throat and ran a hand through his still damp curls, Cameron watching the way his fingers curled around the ends of his hair.

“As far as I’m concerned you’re legal where I’m from,” Ben shrugged, “and it’s not like I’m going to call the cops on myself for giving alcohol to a minor.” Cameron felt her already prominent blush spread further down  her neck and she was thankful her hoodie covered it.

She watched the way Ben’s biceps flexed as he turned around to walk back into his apartment, the muscles from his shoulders down into his hands rippling as he continued to twirl his drumstick between his nimble fingers.

Cameron shifted from foot to foot as she thought about just how nimble his fingers were, what they could possibly do to her. Besides her high school boyfriend she still kept in touch with and had the occasional hook up while they were both home Cameron was lacking in the experience department. However, she couldn’t help but find her TA attractive.

“If someone doesn’t think he’s attractive then they’re stupid,” Cameron mumbled to herself as she shuffled closer to the entryway of Ben’s apartment.

Ben set his drumsticks down on the counter in the middle of his kitchen and moved to a tall, thin, liquor cabinet he had next to a case of glasses and pulled out a bottle of wine as well as a shorter bottle of another liquor. Ben’s back muscles flexed and pulled under his skin while he had to reach up to pick a wine glass off the top shelf of the cabinet, his muscles relaxing again as he reached for a shorter glass that was directly in front of him.

Wearily Cameron slid her feet slightly closer to the molding that separated her from the threshold of Ben’s apartment and watched as he pulled the cork out of the wine bottle and tilted the glass slightly while the red alcohol flowed into the clear glass. After re-corking the wine bottle and setting it aside Ben opened the other bottle which already had some of the liquid missing and added a small amount into the shorter glass. He lifted the shorter glass to his lips and took a small sip before setting it down again.

After setting the glass down Ben looked over to where Cameron was tapping her foot against the ledge of the slightly raised molding before raising his eyebrows at her. That was the first time Camerin noticed the slit in his right eyebrow, he definitely had a scar there where the hair couldn’t grow anymore, and she wanted to know why. Suddenly Cameron found herself wondering everything about her TA. Hell, she didn’t even know how old he was, all she knew was that he was attractive and was inviting her into his apartment for a drink.

“I’m not gonna kill you y’know?” Ben laughed as he picked his drumsticks up again. “Sorry I’ve already had a drink tonight,” he admitted. “I am nowhere near intoxicated, juse loose.” Cameron nodded slowly, her bottom teeth between her lip as she slowly slid her left foot over the molding and on to the hardwood floor of his apartment. She noticed how his floors were a shade lighter than hers and his carpet was an off white instead of the coffee brown her carpet was. Other than that their apartments seened nearly identical. Soon after realizing she could be just as comfortable in his space as she was in hers Cameron slid her right foot into the apartment also and found herself shuffling in a few feet further.

“You want to close the door?” Ben asked from his seat at his drums, “don’t want anyone to walk in and steal you.” Cameron rolled her eyes at the teasing and reached her right foot back to close the white wooden door, the click of the lock securing itself stirring up a feeling on uncertainty inside of her. “Thanks, love!” Ben added once he knew the door had closed, “oh and the wine’s from a fresh bottle if you want to try it. Something my mum sent me after I got the TA gig.”

“Your mom sent you it?” Cameron felt her smile grow as she walked towards the kitchen, slowly reaching for the glass of wine on the counter. Somehow it was endearing to her that Ben held on to a bottle of wine his mom had sent him in celebration of his new job.

Ben adjusted himself on the stool in front of his drum kit before speaking, “yes she did,” he stepped on the bass pedal twice. “You should feel special that I opened it for you,” he nodded to a beat he had in his head as he airdrummed over the actual ones. Cameron smiled as she lifted the glass to her lips, tilting it and let a small amount of the wine slide into her mouth. She quickly swallowed it while nodding.

“I do feel special,” she moved closer to where Ben sat at his drum kit. She was becoming increasingly comfortable in his space and was thankful she didn’t let her nerves get the best of her this time. “Maybe you can show me something?” She asked quietly looking over to where Ben still sat at his drums, observing her.

“Yeah” he nodded, this time pulling his own bottom lip between his teeth for a moment. “Yes, definitely,” he paused for a moment looking around his apartment, “maybe go set your drink down and come back?” Cameron easily complied and quickly made her way back over to the kitchen, setting her wine down on the counter a few feet from where she had picked it up. Just when she was about to turn around to walk back over to Ben a stack of sheet music caught her eye, the words ‘My Blood’ were poking out from under a few other papers.

Carefully, Cameron moved the papers above the sheet music aside to see the full title, ‘In     My Blood’. She smirked with her newfound information before happily walking back to Ben in the middle of the living room. Maybe he wasn’t so bad after all. “So,” she said quietly watching as Ben dropped his arms to rest on his thighs when she walked back in, “what do you want to -- teach me?” The last two words came out slightly more suggestive than Cameron intended them to and she bit her tongue hoping he wouldn’t comment on it.

Ben sat up straighter and nodded looking up at the girl who was standing in front of him, “oh teach you,” he cleared his throat, “right.” Ben looked around the room for a moment, obviously thinking about something but Cameron wasn’t quite sure what he was looking for. Suddenly he held up a finger as he stood up and walked over to a closet in the corner of the living room. He opened the door and wheeled another drum stool out and guided it with his foot over behind the other.

“I use that closet for all my extra blankets and seasonal clothes,” Cameron mumbled as she wondered what else Ben had in there. It was also odd to her that their apartments were nearly identical yet they both led such different lives in the two spaces.

“I have towels and blankets in there also,” he commented after hearing her, “it just happens to be the easiest  place to keep my extra stools.” He reached forward and patted the leather of the stool he was originally sitting on, “you gonna come over or-” he trailed off at the end.  

“Oh right!” Cameron laughed as she walked over towards Ben. He was so close to the stool in front of him that she had to pick one leg up and move it over the stool before almost straddling the seat trying to get comfortable. “What’s next?” She hummed in question.

Cameron felt Ben lean in closer to her and her breath hitched when he spoke lowly next to her ear, “want a pair of drumsticks? Or do you want me to show you how it’s done first?”

“Maybe - maybe you could play something simple?” She asked trying to focus on the drums in front of her and not the beautiful being who was sitting behind her.

“Simple,” Ben spoke lowly behind Cameron as he shifted so his legs were spread slightly open, his knees on either side of her waist, “I can do simple.” He shifted slightly so his foot could comfortably reach the pedal to the bass drum on the floor, his knee brushing along her thigh in the process. Cameron couldn’t help the involuntary shivers that climbed up her spine at the slight touch.

“You okay?” He asked her quietly before he started pressing his foot down steadily on the pdeal, beginning to keep time.

“Mhum,” Cameron mumbled as she drew her bottom lip between her teeth again, a nervous habit. Ben nodded, satisfied with the response before he snaked his hands around either side of her, a stick in each hand as he began to tap out a simple rhythm on his drum kit. She intently watched each flick of his wrist as his foot still kept a steady beat on the bass, truly mesmerized by the amount of focus and control it must take to do that many things at once.   

She was shocked when she felt his chin come to rest on her shoulder a few seconds later, but she kept her eyes focused on his hands, trying to distract herself from just how close he was to her. She could feel the heat of his body radiating through her hoodie and she wanted to sink back into him and be completely enveloped in his warmth. “You see how I’m just keeping the time with each of my hands?” Ben asked knowing she was still watching his movements. Cameron just nodded, not feeling the need to speak in the moment.

“That’s all you have to do, nothing too crazy, just simple,” he spoke slowly his voice getting lower and lower with each word, “one, two, three, four.” Ben kept repeating the numbers as he kept his hands steady while he played, not wanting to show Cameron how nervous she was making him. “You want to try?” Ben pulled his arms back and rested one on each of her thighs, the first true skin on skin contact they had.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, willing her heart rate to slow slightly. His skin was so warm against hers and it was a feeling she didn’t want to give up. “I don’t think I’d even be half as good as you,” she mumbled looking down to the drumsticks in his hands. Ben laughed lightly from behind her, the breath he let out ticking her neck slightly.

“It’s not about being good, it’s your first time playing,” he pointed out, bouncing his right hand steadily on her thigh while he spoke, “it’s about learning.” He tapped her left hand with the drum stick, silently telling her to take hold of it. “Good,” he smiled as her hand wrapped around the slim wooden stick, “just hold it firm,” he carefully moved the stick so it was positioned correctly in her hand. “Just let your wrist be flexible, it really is all in the wrists.”

“Gotcha’, all in the wrists,” Cameron noticed how the drumstick was still warm in her hand from where he was holding it just seconds earlier. “Can I have the other?” She asked quietly.

“Nope,” Ben shook his head behind her as his right hand began tapping out the same rhythm he was earlier, “just follow me.” Cameron easily kept up with Ben whose foot was still keeping time with the bass drum. “You’re getting it already!”

“Yeah,” she nodded watching their hands hit the drums in sync, “I am!” It was a small victory for Cameron as she often found learning new things exciting and fulfilling. It was all apart of learning and growing while she was away at college. “Can I try the other?” She spoke with more confidence. In the short time she had been in Ben’s apartment he had done nearly everything to make her comfortable and besides the obvious flirting between the two of them, she couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend the morning hours of a Saturday.

“Well,” Ben hummed craning his neck to look up at her face, “I think first something has to go.” Cameron went to ask what when she felt Ben’s free left hand trail up her thigh and under her hoodie. She accidently let out a surprised squeak when his fingers brushed against the strip of exposed skin between the waistband of her sleep shorts and her tank top, Ben raising an eyebrow and laughing at the noise.

“What was that?” He asked as he pressed his lips against her neck. Any other time Cameron would have assumed the act was meant to be sexual but the obvious smile he had on his lips led her to believe it was meant in a more playful and affectionate manner. “If I wanted to hear a squeak toy I’d ask my mum to send me a video of our dog back home.”

“Your hands are cold!” She argued as he moved her hand over the fabric of her tank top, his fingers pressing gently into her side trying to see if he could get the same reaction out of her again.

“I’m warming them up,” Ben dropped the drumstick in his right hand and it bounced on the floor a few times before settling flat. Cameron was distracted from watching the drumstick when his right hand slipped under her hoodie also, his lips moving steadily against the skin of her neck, “not my fault you’re ticklish.”

Cameron let out a content hum and moved her head to the right allowing Ben more access to her neck. Ben’s hands brushed down her sides to rest firmly on her hips as he let his teeth scrape over the skin of her neck before closing his mouth over where he had just nipped, his tongue soothing the area while he sucked gently.

Cameron couldn’t help but let out a quiet moan at the feeling of his quick and nimble lips on her neck, skillfully dancing around her skin sucking what she assumed would be hickeys into her skin. Surprised by her own moan Cameron’s eyes snapped open and she went to pull away from Ben. However, when she tried to move his hands kept her firmly anchored to the drum stool.

“What’s wrong?” He asked against her skin. Despite her embarrassment Cameron still kept her neck moved slightly to the side, hoping the feeling of Ben’s skin on hers wouldn’t disappear completely. She shook her head sighing out a quiet “nothin’’ as her eyes fluttered shut, the light of the apartment suddenly too harsh for her.

Suddenly Cameron’s eyes snapped open and she straightened her neck out, “actually I want to play more,” she mumbled.

“Yeah?” Ben mumbled as his hands started pulling her hoodie up slowly. “This okay?” His hands stilled, the fabric of her hoodie still bunched in his hands as he waited for Cameron’s approval to remove it.

“If it helps,” Cameron swallowed thickly when Ben removed his lips from her neck to pull her hoodie over her head. Her arms lifted and the fabric was easily removed from her body and discarded on the floor next to them. One more soft kiss was left on the back of Cameron's neck before she felt him back away from her completely.

Cameron knew her outfit was quite skimpy and tried not to blush as she felt Ben’s eyes trail from her neck that was now covered in blooming hickeys and down her torso. She had just expected to ask her neighbor to turn their music down so had opted not to put a bra on and her spaghetti strap tank top left little to his imagination. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to get used to the new chill of the apartment as Ben backed away to pick up the drum stick that he had dropped earlier.

He handed her the second stick and she gripped it in her hand, her eyes following his foot as it went back to rest on the pedal of the bass drum. Ben began to keep the same time he had earlier and rested his chin on her now bare shoulder, the warmth of his skin contrasting how cold hers now was. “You wanna just experiment a little bit,” Ben spoke matter of factly, “do what feels natural.”

“What feels natural,” she nodded as her shaking hands started messily tapping along to the rhythm of the bass drum that Ben was tapping out with his foot. After she had played along to the beat for a few seconds Cameron felt his hands come around her front to rest on either one of her knees, she could feel his breath ghosting over the shell of her ear.

“Keep playing,” Ben spoke lowly as his hands began to run up the inside of her thighs. Cameron’s hands stuttered as his fingers keep dragging further and further up her legs, a low chuckle sliding past his lips. Cameron tried her hardest to stay focused, to ignore how gently his fingers were tapping the same rhythm she was supposed to be playing into the soft skin on the inside of her thighs. Despite Ben’s efforts to encourage her to keep playing Cameron found herself dropping one of the drum sticks out of frustration, out of frustration in herself for being so easily affected by him.   

She tried to close her legs around his hands but Ben had other ideas, “you gotta be good,” he mumbled pulling lightly on her earlobe with his teeth. “It’s okay of you can’t keep playing but you have to tell me what you want then,” he added. Cameron let out a shaky sigh as her head fell back and rested on his shoulder, her eyes shutting as his lips started working over her neck again.

“What is it that you want dove?” Ben hummed as he nipped along the side of her throat.

“I- I don’t know,” Cameron replied trying not to get totally lost in the pair of arm lips that were on her neck.

“Oh no,” he laughed against her skin, finally pulling away, “you have to know.” Ben pulled away from Cameron’s nack completely and he reached up to gently pull the rubber band that was holding her ponytail up out. With her hair now free Ben’s fingers began to gently run through the smooth strands, trying to avoid any knots he found.

“I really don’t,” her hazel eyes opened to meet his blue ones, “I’ve only been with one boy,” she made sure to use that word, “and he doesn’t care much about more than just getting off.”

“How old was he?” Ben was genuinely curious how old her ex-lover had to be to not know how to properly please a woman.

“He’s my age, nineteen now,” she easily replied, “we still umm- see each other when we’re both home.” Ben felt his breath catch in his throat realizing with the only other person she had been with was nearly ten years younger than he was. Maybe it was the lack of experience in college that had her ex hitting a roadblock in the pleasure department. He hadn’t properly learned himself until he was with a girl three years older than himself in college.

“I’m twenty-eight,” Ben felt the need to share the information incase Cameron was uncomfortable with being with him due to the age difference they had.

“Don’t look it,” was the response he earned form the girl who was sitting on the stool in front of him. Her head still rested on his shoulder, her eyes again closed as her fingers gently tapped the beat from earlier into his knees.

Ben let out a small laugh, “I’ll hope that was a compliment, but if you are comfortable I wouldn’t mind taking this a little bit further. I could show you how a man is really supposed to treat you.” He watched as her eyes opened again, rolling the same way they did in discussions when he tried to make a joke that wasn’t at all funny. It was her small attitude that had Ben attracted to her in the first place, she was always ready to bite back with a sharp remark and she often said how she felt regardless of how it came across.

“A man?” She asked looking up into his eyes again, “you’re still in school yourself, don’t get too far ahead buddy. Wait,” she paused, “what are you in school for anyway, I wasn’t paying attention the first day.”

“I’m going for my masters in Ethnomusicology,” Cameron’s eyes grew slightly larger upon learning the name of a degree she never knew existed. “Why are you in my class anyway?”

“First off rude,” she leaned up to start kissing down the front of his throat to occupy herself as his hands came back down to run up and down her thighs. “I’m double majoring, Accounting and International Business, and I’m in your class,” Ben let out a low moan when she found a particularly sensitive spot on his neck, “because there’s this bullshit in the curriculum about having to take non-business electives.”

“So you’re saying you were forced to take my class?” He asked while she added a new hickey to his growing collection. “To fulfill your Visual and Performing Arts credit? Like so many other students who don’t care about my class.”

“That’s what I’m saying,” she nodded sitting up and turning in the stool to face him. As she turned around Ben stood up and adjusted the band of his sweats. “Where are you going?” She wondered if she had said something wrong.

“Just to get another sip of my drink,” he replied as he wandered into the kitchen, “relax!” Cameron weighed her options before standing up, following him across the room and to the kitchen. She easily slid on to the tiled kitchen floors and over next to Ben who was finishing his glass off, she picked her glass of wine up and took a small sip before setting it down again.

Just as she set her glass down Ben walked over to her and trapped her between his body and the counter with his arms. Cameron let both of her hands come up to rest on his triceps and squeezed gently while tipping her chin up to brush her nose along Ben’s cheekbone. She saw him take a deep breath in and smiled, kissing his cheek. “You nervous or something, Mr. Hardy?” she teased with the name some of the students would often use.

“Y’know I hate that,” he replied before turning his head slightly to the side. She felt his breath brush over her lips and closed her eyes, waiting, hoping. Cameron was grateful he had taken the hint when she felt his soft lips cover hers. She didn’t immediately kiss him back but instead took a moment to learn which way he tilted his head and if he wanted to take the lead or not. Once he urged her to join in with a small pull on her bottom lip Cameron found herself moving a hand from his tricep up to cup his jaw.

“Wow,” Cameron let out a small laugh when she pulled away from him, a blush now coating his face and neck, slowly spreading into his chest also. Ben’s hands found her hips and he started to push her up his counter. Cameron took it as a hint and reached behind her to brace both arms on the countertop helping Ben push her up.

“Thank you, Dove,” he hummed in response placing a gentle kiss on her lips before stepping back. It was then that Cameron looked down and realized that Ben was half hard in his sweats, the outline was very visible. “You gonna let me show you how a lady should be treated now?” He wondered.

Cameron looked down again before looking up to meet his eyes, “but--”

“But nothing,” he cut her off, “it’s a simple yes or no. If you’re uncomfortable we can stop here and I’ll make like an oven pizza or something.” She couldn’t help but laugh at his offer but shook her head at the same time.

“I want to,” she assured him, “I just don’t want it to be bad?” It came across to Ben as more of a question than an answer. He moved forward again, his hands gently spreading her legs so he could stand between them, flush against the counter.

“It couldn’t be bad,” he reached up to rest his hands under her tank top, his thumbs sliding under the waistband of her pajama shorts. “You don’t have a lot of experience so you’re still learning. I wouldn’t consider that bad though. Here,” he started working her shorts down slowly, giving her time to stop him if she needed. Cameron pushed herself up with her hands so he could finish pulling her shorts down and watched as the blue fabric fell to the floor in front of her. “Ever had someone make you come with just their fingers?”

Cameron took a sharp inhale through her nose at his words, they sounded too natural flowing past his lips but in her mind they should have sounded dirty and vulgar. “Umm-” she hesitated, “my ex once,” she pulled her lip between her teeth, “other than that I’ve never really been able to so--” she didn’t need to finish her answer.

Ben stayed silent as he trailed his fingers up the inside of her thigh closer and close to the edge of her panties. He watched his own hand as it toyed with the elastic of her purple panties with teal flowers, the colors no where near matching her pink tank top or blue pajama shorts. “Ben,” her whispering his name snapped his out of his daze and he leaned in to connect their lips again.

The kiss wasn’t rushed or rough, it was slow and passionate as Ben’s fingers slipped into her panties. His right hand cupping her heat before he slid two fingers between her slick folds. “Fuck,” he mumbled pulling away from her, “you’re soaked already.”

“No shit,” Cameron’s eyes were squeezed shut as she dropped her head to Ben’s shoulder. His index and middle finger gently stroked up and down her heat from her opening to her clit over and over until she was practically shaking under his touch. A few seconds later he slid his index finger inside of her, he had been with enough girls to know how to have Cameron a pile of putty in his arms. He carefully let his finger prod inside of her for a few moments while he trailed his lips down her jawline and to the front of her throat.

He turned his hand to get a better angle and pulled his finger our slightly before bending it a ‘come hither’ motion to find the soft ridged spot inside of her. When he felt a sharp intake of breath enter Cameron’s body followed by a low and long moan he knew he had found what he was looking for. “Can you take another?” he asked against her skin.

“Can I-” Ben brushed his finger along the spot again knowing she was about to give another sarcastic response, “fuck please,” she gasped. Smirking against her skin Ben let his middle finger join his index finger, his thumb coming to rub slow circles on her clit.

“Ben--” Cameron gasped, mouthing along his shoulder, her eyes still shut tight as he felt her clenching around his fingers.

“That’s it,” he coaxed, “you gonna come for me? All over my fingers,” he moved to kiss her forehead. “You can, I got you Dove.” Ben smiled to himself when he felt one of her hands grip on to his free one and he squeezed back gently as his name started to leave her mouth mixed with a string of curses. Ben looked down to watch his fingers slide in and out of her and had to stop for a second, telling himself it was about Cameron right now and that his pleasure could come later.

“Ben, I’m almost there-” she mumbled pulling on the ends of his hair with her free hand. She bit down lightly on his shoulder and Ben smiled to himself knowing it would most likely be bruised in the morning, it would still probably be bruised Monday for class. His thumb on her clit started moving faster at the thought of watching Cameron fidget throughout class Monday, her neck still covered in the hickeys he had left. She would probably wonder if anyone else in the room knew who left them there, if anyone noticed the marks on their TA’s neck and hers and was able to put the two together.

Mixed up in his own thoughts Ben didn’t realize that Cameron was on the edge of her orgasm until she clenched unusually tight around his fingers, “that’s it,” he mumbled kissing her cheek as he heard her let out a series of quiet moans and gasps. “I got you,” he reminded her, he had picked up on the fact that she loved being praised and told she was right in class. Whenever she got an answer right or he or Professor Lee agreed with one of her opinions her face would light up.

“Ben,” she cleared her voice her voice a little hoarse, “stop I’m sensitive,” she added. Ben’s fingers stilled completely inside of her before he carefully pulled them out. He brought them up to his lips and slowly sucked them inside his mouth, his eyes closing at the taste of her. He moaned around his fingers for the effect and pulled them out, wiping them dry on his sweats leaving a wet spot on the gray fabric.

His eyes opened when he felt three fingers gently drag down his stomach and grip on the waistband of his sweatpants, the hand shaking slightly. Ben looked down and saw Cameron’s hand, which was much smaller than his, gripping his sweats right above the string that held them up. “Y’know,” Ben started, “you seem so much more confident in class and discussions, and based on your writing I would say that you were gifted with all the confidence in the universe--” he trailed off.

“But?” Cameron wondered as she looked up into his eyes.

“But,” Ben reached up to cup her jaw, his thumb running over the peak of her cheekbone, “you need to learn how to me more confident in yourself. Where’s that girl I saw the second day of class?”

Cameron raised an eyebrow trying to think back to January, the third day of classes? “The one who had her backpack over one shoulder after class and walked straight down to me and Professor Lee to tell us that she would be doing her album review on Shawn Mendes’ self titled album because he was basically a modern day Frank Sinatra. You held yourself with such confidence.”

“She’s different,” Cameron shrugged as she was now playing with the tie on his sweats. Her fingers were perfectly manicured in a silver sparkle color, pulling at each end of the bow.

“She shouldn’t be,” Ben replied tilting her chin up to connect his lips with hers. He rested his hands on her hips and rubbed gentle circles into the skin there. He wanted her to take the lead on this kiss and hoped she realized that.

She was slow, unsure but started adding more pressure to the kiss once she realized that Ben wasn’t. Soon he felt her hands pull at either end of his sweatpants’ string with a purpose the knot coming undone, the two ends falling from her hands. “I--” she looked up to him.

“You?” Ben asked pulling away from her enough to see her face.

“I want this,” she nervously tugged the band on his sweats lower, “I just want it to feel good for you too, it doesn’t have to be all about me.”

“But what if I want it to?” Ben asked playfully raising an eyebrow as he poked her sides to make her smile. “I like to know that they girl I’m with is enjoying it,” Ben leaned closer to Cameron’s ear, “it kinda turns me on even more.”

“Ew!” She laughed pushing him away from her, but his hands still kept a tight grip on her hips. “Don’t talk like that!” She said referring to the purposely over seductive voice he had just used. Ben smiled as he buried his face in the crook of her neck leaving gentle kisses there as he allowed her to relax in his hold. “Can we,” she trailed off trying to find the words she wanted to use, “can we go to your room maybe? If it’s not too much, I’d just be more comfortable.”

Ben smiled and took Cameron’s hand allowing her to slide off the counter, her still sock clad feet hitting the floor as he led her towards his bedroom.

Once inside Cameron realized it was the same size as hers, with the same furniture and the same bed frame. His walls were covered in family pictures that weren’t organized in any specific way and a brown comforter was on his unmade bed that definitely had too many pillows.

“It’s really soft!” Ben let go of Cameron’s hand and flopped down on the mattress. A loud and over exaggerated ‘oof’ slipping past his lips as his back hit the bed causing her to smile and quickly pad over to the side of the bed he didn’t just flop down on. She sat on the edge and wasn’t sure what to do until Ben reached over and pulled her down into him, her head hitting his chest.

“It is really soft,” she mumbled rubbing her feet together nervously, unsure of what to do now. Hoping he wouldn’t mind if she got comfortable she skillfully pulled her socks off just using her feet and kicked them off the edge of the bed. While she was making sure they had landed on the floor Cameron caught sight of the clock, it was nearly three-thirty in the morning, she hadn’t realized she had already been over that long.

She went to sit up and Ben looked at her confused, “where ‘ya going?” He asked with a long yawn.

“Home,” she replied, a hint of sadness evident in her tone, “it’s late.”

“Exactly!” Ben sat up and wrapped his arms around her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder again, just like it had when he was showing her how to play earlier. “It’s late and I can’t let you walk home at this hour,” he turned his face into her neck and smiled into the soft skin there.

“Really?” She sighed reaching a hand back to run it through his now dry hair. Ben nodded into her neck and she allowed her muscles to relax into his hold, she felt him squeeze her gently before  pulling her to lay down with him again.

Without words he allowed her to get comfortable, her leg swinging across his hip as his hand came to curl around her bare thigh. His thumb brushed across the stretch marks on the curve of her ass before she trailed gentle kisses down his jaw. “I never--”

“Another time,” Ben let his eyes close, “I’m too tired and I know you are also. Just stay the night and let me make you breakfast when we get up and then we can talk about going all the way another time.

“Okay,” was the simple response Cameron gave before her hand came to rest on his bare chest, fingers drawing shapes into his skin. Once her fingers stilled and her breathing came slow and even against the skin of his neck Ben pulled the blanket over the two of them and placing a kiss on the top of Cameron’s head, before closing his own eyes. The two falling asleep, limbs tangled around another person for the first time in months.

[i-am-not-anon]

Under the eye of an institution

part 4

Summary: Logan and Patton (both 16), the older students, are expected to look after two groups of freshmen in Watersouth boarding school for boys. Both of them despise the tradition of bullying that is subjected to the newcomers by older students. The two respectively get a student in their groups who is a little different from the ordinary crowd: Roman and Virgil (both 15).

Author’s note: Hey, a new update! The school year has started, now it’s time to continue as normal.. at least as normal as it can get. Message me for getting into the taglist, please.

Triggers: Bullying, abuse, violence, violent punishments, panic attacks, self-deprecation, name-calling, i n s t i t u t i o n

Other parts here

...

Patton had invented a new little game for his group for their morning session. He really wanted his students to have a good team spirit, so they sat in a circle and tossed a pen to each other. The catcher had to remember the thrower’s name and hobbies.

Virgil sat quietly in the ring, watching as the pen was tossed from friend to friend. He wondered if many of his classmates knew each other before the school started or had he missed everything by sitting alone last evening. Finally one of them tossed it to Virgil.

”Y-your name was G-g-g-eorge Ken-kennedy and-and-and you like f-ffootball,” Virgil gasped out. He saw two of them glance at each other, but the rest seemed fine with him. He took a breath and tossed the pen for the next boy. ”You are Virgil Glasgow and you like music,” he remembered. Virgil looked down, a hint of smile on his cheeks. Maybe- just possibly- he could be alright here.

…

Roman looked very pleased with himself as he handed the essay to Logan after their morning session. Logan got to take a look at it at their next break.

My misbehaviour

I always get in trouble. I wonder why that is. Dad calls me a rascal and mum calls me empty-headed sometimes. I think that’s true. I always do things and only think afterwards. I don’t understand how people have time to think about their every move first. Other people call me loud mouthed and annoying. The funnest thing I have been called was a hurricane. My old teacher Ms. Williams said that. She was super nice. We had way less strict rules in the other school. I could talk to my friends at class and she would only interrupt us when it got off-topic.

I always forget everything. My friends think i’m hilarious as I forget my pencil case or bag all the time. We have a laugh and go search for it. Would it be punished in this school? Have other students got in trouble yet? They remembered all the new rules straight away. I guess I’m just stupid. I have a little raisin brain. But I have more fun than them because I don’t care what other people think.

I almost forgot to write this essay but then I still did it. We were playing football outside and it was super fun. I did not score but others did and we cheered like crazy. I like sports. I wish they would only teach sports in school so I could be the best. I can do four push-ups when somebody sits on my back.

I just always get in trouble. I can’t help it. Dad says I need to try harder just like you said, sir. Do I need to write sir in essay? But I’m trying very hard. I jus forget everything. If you find a way to stuff all the rules in my raisin brain I would be glad.

Best wishes,

Roman Pears

…

Roman’s essay really made Logan think. He decided to take a closer look at it after classes, maybe let Patton read it as well. The few times that Roman came to him for misbehaving that day, he just simply reminded the boy of the importance of the rules. Roman was very glad about it, after rushing through his homework he immediately headed outside, planning to spend the rest of the day playing as many soccer games there would be this evening.

...

Virgil was leaning on the wall at the same spot as yesterday, wondering if he was destined to be a loner as a small group of students approached him. The boy who the other four followed, wasted no time in opening a discussion with the shy student.

”I heard you called Mr. Brass an Ass yesterday,” he began.

Virgil looked at him. What was his intention? To mock him? He nodded cautiously.

”I just thought it was super badass,” the boy grinned. His followers nodded vigorously. ”I thought we should make it a thing, y’know.” More nodding.

Virgil rubbed his ear anxiously. ”Y-y-y-you wa-want to g-get me in t-tr-tr-ouble?”

The other boy chuckled. ”No! It was so cool, we could annoy him! It’s all of us students against him. He shouted at you anyway, I assumed you’d want some revenge?” The other boys nodded like their life depended on it.

”He-he’s’s go-going to r-r-r-remember m-e and th-think I-I-I started it,” Virgil argued. There was no way Mr. Brass would not remember him. He was the only stutter in class.

”Exactly! You’re going to be famous,” the other boy encouraged. ”Mr. Brass can’t possibly punish us all, so you would be spared as well as everyone else.” The boy patted Virgil’s shoulder. ”You can be part of us. Such a savage, there’s no need for you to stay alone. We’d be happy to have you in our team.”

Virgil glanced through the boys before nodding. In an institution like this belonging to a group must be safer, and almost everyone else was already part of one. He did not have much to lose.

...

”Hey Patton,” Logan greeted, taking a seat at the table his friend was doing his homework on. ”Do you possibly have a second?”

Patton lifted his gaze from the papers, smiling to Logan. ”Of course, buddy! What’d you got in mind?”

”I made Roman write me an essay about his behavior. He’s the one who gets in trouble more than stays quiet. I think there’s something very extraordinary about the way he has written this. Would you take a look?” Logan slid the three pages to Patton, who frowned at the sight.

”Three page essay, Lo? How..”

Logan looked at the other boy over his glasses. Was he really going to criticize Logan’s methods of discipline?

Patton got the hint, sighing. ”Sure, sure. Let me look at it.”

He glanced through the essay, smile passing his features as he read. Patton put the papers back down. ”This boy has a good heart, that’s for sure.”

”I don’t understand, Patton. Why does he not follow the rules, then?”

”Maybe it’s difficult for him,” Patton suggested. ”Maybe he is trying his best.”

”Do you really think so?”

”Well we can’t assume right away, but that’s a possibility.” Patton patted Logan’s knee. ”Give the guy a bit of time to settle in.”

”I’m just worried he will either be sent to the Principal’s office or some teacher sends him out of the class,” Logan sighed. ”I just hope he doesn’t get into any big trouble.”

Patton nodded. ”I hope so too.”

….

”Shut up, thickhead!”

An older boy pushed Roman from behind, making him tumble on the ground.

”Nobody wants to pass the ball for you anyway so stop shouting about it so damn loud.”

Roman sat on the ground, confused. A few of his new friends stood further away, watching the situation. Another second-year student joined in. ”Yeah, Patrick is right, you’re bloody annoying. We should disqualify him from playing.”

Roman grimaced. The two boys laughed. ”Keep that in mind, little rat. Stop screaming like a girl or we’ll sew your mouth shut.”

The younger boy lifted a hand to his lips, which caused the two to laugh again. ”Okay, let’s continue,” Patrick said, leaving Roman be. They boy stood up, joining the game again, trying to keep the new rule in his mind to his best ability.

..

”Here! Here! Pass-” Roman fell to the gound again, having no time to react as he was pulled back up from the collar of his shirt. ”Who’s your tutor, you imbecile?”

Roman glanced at the boy nervously. ”Logan.”

”Logan who?” Patrick demanded, shaking the younger student.

”Umm.. Logan..” Roman couldn’t remember his tutor’s last name for his life.

”Andrews,” one of Roman’s classmates shouted from the crowd.

”Yeah! Logan Andrews,” Roman repeated as Patrick didn’t let go of his collar.

The older boy released him, pushing him out of the field. ”Go tell Logan that he must order you to lick your slacks clean,” he shouted after Roman.

Roman glanced at his slacks, which knees were obviously green and brown from all the pushing.

The older boys laughed after him as he jogged to the main building.

….

Taglist: @daring-elm @creativity-killed-thekitten @heck-im-lost @uwillbeefoundtonight @gabe-killed-me-with-ace-cream @just-another-rainbowblog @buddypallady @aromanticandaromatic @marshmallow-the-panda

[kirishwima]

“It’s what you gathered from our talk, but you were wrong.”

di haven’t written about them in forever sooo, im making this into some angsty iwaoi :3c

*****

“So I guess it-” he stuttered, his tongue refusing to let his words form right, “it means that I’m in love with you.”

Oikawa held his breath, the tightness in his stomach turning into a gordian knot. He clenched and unclenched his hands, staying limp by his sides as he awaited a response.

Iwaizumi was sitting on his bed across him, the volleyball he’d been twirling in his hands now perfectly still between his palms, resting simply on his lap.

How did they end up here?

It didn’t really matter. Oikawa knew this time would come eventually. He knew it from the first moment he’d laid his eyes on Iwaizumi’s toothy grin across the playground all those years ago. Knew it when he let Iwaizumi take his hand in his, when he’d accepted all the bugs and dirt ‘presents’ Iwaizumi would give him, how he’d fluster at the pleased look in Iwaizumi’s eyes.

Knew it when years after, he’d feel his heartbeat shake and rush at the mere sight of his childhood friend, his best friend, when the guilt pooled in his stomach at the thoughts his head would conjure.

So the moment had come.

The time to confess his guilt to Iwaizumi.

“So I’m in love with-with you”, he breathed, “and if you want to-to pretend this never happened, or if you want to talk about it then-then we can do that.”

Iwaizumi never met his gaze.

He kept staring down at the volleyball, tracing it’s lines with his hand.

“We should talk about it”, he said after a drawn-out silence, “if we don’t it’d just make things awkward.”

It’d just make things awkard.

Awkward.

Oh. Oh. 

Was it-Was that it?

Was this Iwaizumi’s way of rejecting him?

“Yeah...yeah, I understand-” Oikawa started, doing his best to steady his breathing, before Iwaizumi interrupted him.

“But do you mind if we don’t discuss it right now?”

Oikawa looked down to the floor, nodded and hoped the earth would split open and engulf him whole, hide him in her core and burn this day out of his mind.

“I’ll see you tomorrow at practice, and in class, and we can talk about it after school.”

He nodded again.

With a sigh, Iwaizumi let the ball drop from his hands, rolling on the floor and stopping at Oikawa’s feet.

He felt Iwaizumi get up, felt a hand reach for his shoulder before it stopped, falling back to Iwaizumi’s side.

“I’ll see you tomorrow”, he heard, followed by the gentle click of his bedroom door closing shut.

Breathe in.

Out.

He reached down, picked the ball up, his fingers clenching into the plastic until his knuckles turned white.

“Argh!”

He threw it on the wall with a flurry of rage, ignored it as it connected to it with a loud thud and fell back down, bouncing once, twice, and rolled out of sight and beneath the bed.

Only then he let himself unclench his chattering teeth, let his fists unfurl and reach up to his face where wetness already seeped out of his eyes, salty and painful as he fell onto his knees, as the heel of his palms pushed against his eyelids.

“Let me disappear”, he muttered, “let me disappear into the bottom of the earth and never be seen again”

But the earth didn’t open up, didn’t swallow him down into nothingness. 

And so he remained there, until his tears ran dry and his head throbbed.

****

The next morning, Iwaizumi didn’t come meet him outside his door like usual.

He didn’t walk with Oikawa, didn’t chastisize him for staying up until late watching volleyball matches on youtube.

Oikawa clenched his fists, rubbed at his reddened eyes, and walked to school.

He went through the motions of morning practice, didn’t let his eyes wander in the locker room, didn’t let his mouth open and ask if anyone’d seen Iwaizumi.

And from the looks of it, no one dared ask him why he didn’t come to school with him either.

He pushed himself to focus only on the training, on the burn of his feet as he ran, faster than he ever thought he could, until the emptiness of his stomach threatened to spill from his throat in exertion.

He took his position on the court, picked up volleyball after volleyball and hit it with full force, ignoring the confused gasps of his teammates.

His concentration only broke when, 30 minutes into their hourly practice, the door to the gym slammed open and shut, a heaving figure running through and coming to a halt at the edge of the court.

“I-I overslept.”

Iwaizumi stood there, sweat dripping on his brow, his hands resting on his knees.

He had an expression of disbelief on his fae, eyes wide, mouth slack.

Oikawa knew he’d have to be the one to tell him what to do, where to go. He knew he had to step up as the leader of this team, even if his heart ached at the mere sound of his best friend’s voice.

“We’re doing tossed and returns. Go to across the net to receive tosses.”

He saw Iwaizumi nod from the corner of his eye, and with that, everything that’d stilled returned back to motion, a shared breath exhaled from their teammates.

Oikawa kept hitting ball after ball until his palms oozed with blood.

****

Classes came and went.

Oikawa, usually the ideal student, let his head lean down and as close to his books as he could let it without getting scolded by their teachers, let each word become a blur beneath his glasses.

Girls in his class came up to him, put their hands on his shoulder and asked what’s wrong.

But how could he tell them?

How could he tell anyone that the one person he ever fell in love with was going to reject his feelings as soon as the last bell rang? That he already knew, that this prolonged silence was killing him, that he’d regretted ever letting that damn confession slip through his lips?

He just smiled half-heartedly, gave an excuse of being up all night and let the girls coo over his reddened eyes, their words blendign into nothingness in his ears.

He didn’t know how he’d make it through that finall bell.

*****

As soon as the last bell rang and the teacher bid them goodbye, he gathered his things, sluggishly, as if there was no strength in any cell of his body. He slung his backpack over his back and trudged towards the door and out into the hallway, merely nodding at the chorus of greetings and goodbyes around him.

He made it out the school gates and into the quiet residential streets, the setting sun beaming pink tints on him, when a pair of footsteps joined his, hurrying to his side before slowing to match his pace.

“I must’ve yelled your name out a million times and you didn’t so much as flinsh”, Iwaizumi exclaimed, standing straight and preening down to Oikawa’s hunched form with an unreadable expression.

Oikawa shrugged. “I must’ve zoned out.”

Neither boy spoke for a while, until they reached the empty park merely a block away from their neighbering houses. 

Oikawa kept walking, when he noticed the ever-bearing presence beside him disappeared.

He turned his head, noticing Iwaizumi stopped a few feet behind, his head tilted down before he exhaled loudly and looked back up, matching Oikawa’s gaze with his dark eyes.

“We should talk before going home.”

Here it was.

Oikawa turned to face Iwaizumi, yet his head remained tilted to the side, trying to avoid the rejection in his best friend’s eyes, to shield himself as much as possible from the hurt that was about to erupt in his chest.

“I think I already know what you want to say” he said, trying to keep his voice as steady as he could.

Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow.

“I gathered it from what you said last night, that you don’t feel the same way so we could just-let’s just skip the awkwardness yeah?”

“I don’t feel the same way?”

Iwaizumi’s voice sounded so innocent, a naive curiosity that tasted putrid in Oikawa’s ears.

Oikawa huffed a heartless laugh, the familiar tint of pain behind his eyes slowly seeping in.

“You said we’d talk the next day and then left. I’m not an idiot, I can read between the lines Iwa-chan.”

“So you think I’m rejecting you?”

“That’s what I figured, yeah.”

“It’s what you gathered from our talk, but you were wrong.”

Oikawa looked up at that, and held his breath as he realised how much closer Iwaizumi had gotten whilst he wasn’t looking.

In the setting sun, with pink tinting at the edges of Iwaizumi’s face, his eyes clear, clearer than Oikawa had ever seen, a soft smile, the sort that Oikawa could’ve sworn he never saw his best friend sport before, greeting him as he looked up to meet his eye.

“I’m..wrong?”

Iwaizumi hummed in agreement.

“I just...I needed a while to think about it. About how to tell you that I love you too but without making it...creepy?”

Oikwawa simply stared. His brain had stopped working. Or he died? Maybe he was stuck in limbo? He could see the blue screen of death of computer monitors glazing over his eyes.

“I’ve wanted to confess to you for so long and you just beat me to it and-I guess I’ve loved you since we first met, when you smiled that stupid smile and told me to come look for UFOs with you-I guess that was it for me.”

Oikawa blinked, slow, owlishly.

Was Iwaizumi flustered? Was that reddened colour on his face a blush or was it the setting sun playing tricks on his eyes?

“I love you too. I-uh, I’m sorry I made you wait a day before I could tell it back to you.”

“You. You. You love me?”

Iwaizumi nodded.

“You and I”, Oikawa pointed to them both, “we’re in love.”

There’s a smile forming in the corners of Iwaizumi’s lips and Oikawa has to rub his eyes to believe the sight in front of him.

“We’ve been in love for hell knows how long and we. We love. each other.”

He kept at it for a while, babbling mainly to himself, trying to convince his brain that this wasn’t a hallucination, or a dream because-how could this be real?!

“Should I like, kiss you now or something so you can shut up, or is that rude?”

Oikawa’s mouth flapped open and close, his eyes widened comically.

Iwaizumi shrugged.

“Yeah okay, I don’t care if it’s rude I’ll just kiss you now so.”

He put a hand over Oikawa’s wide eyes, a gentle warmth engulfing his lips in the dark.

When he regained vision again, Iwaizumi’s hand moved away from his eyes in favor of cradling his jaw, a shit-eating smirk ebbed on his best friends face.

Oikwawa blinked once more, before he muttered the first coherent phrase his mind could conjure.

“You are so gonna treat me to ice cream for letting me cry all night thinking you don’t want me.”

Iwaizumi kissed him again, and again, until his pout turned to a huffed laugh.

“It’s a date then.”

*****

[seovienrose]

soccer club captain mingyu x yearbook editor reader au! pt 2

continue from pt 1

mingyu is very close to seungcheol, the soccer club former captain and school alumni as he came to monitor the progress of soccer club under mingyu’s leadership

the 10 players, lining up and standing across each others trying to pass the ball to each other as a warm up

so the team was divided to into 6:6 with seungcheol as the goalkeeper for the opposite team 

the game started with a loud whistle and seokmin got the ball, trying to score into the opposite goal, he passed the ball to the team’s striker, mingyu and mingyu striked a goal easily

jihoon, then tackled a ball from seokmin and almost landed a goal but was blocked by chan, the team’s goalkeeper

after 2 hours of games, the practice ended and mingyu’s team won with 8:6

seungcheol knew he entrusted the soccer club to a reliable person 

“good game today mingyu and others, i have lots of fun monitoring and playing with you guys today! good luck with upcoming regional tournament! now lets go to mcdonalds boys its my treat!”

since its been half of the year, the yearbook committees had gotten so busy to catch up with activities within the months (sports day, academic decathlon, language week etc)

since that bread and milk day, mingyu and you didn’t come across each other except that time you met him at the school gate and he blushed suddenly

what drugs he’s consuming

anyways, you were discussing with yearbook journalists and photographers about having them manage their time properly according to upcoming events due to midterm examinations coming soon

a lot of teachers complained that some yearbook committees had to miss classes frequently because of activities held by the school (its inevitable you know)

you went to your work desk after briefing but the photographers and journalists still sat around the meeting table 

you were eavesdropping to minghao talking to other photographers about regional soccer tournament apparently being held soon and who’s getting the tickets

“mingyu got me a front seat ticket and he said he is inviting someone else too”

“he is probably inviting the girl in the theatre club, no?”

“dunno...”

WHATS THE DEETS WITH THE THEATRE CLUB GIRL

“well im not suprised if they still keep in contact with each other”

as much as you pretended to be unbothered you cant help yourself to be engaged in their conversation about mingyu

until the assistant editor of yours, soonyoung or people call him mr hochi came breaking the chit chatter to end with his arms crossed

hochi is much feared by the committees compared to the chief editor yourself since he is a year older and stricter with the yearbook’s precision

he was the chief editor for 3 years consecutively before you and decided to become an assistant because a lot of past committees quitted because of his leadership lol

“i didn’t appoint you guys to gossip but to do your job as yearbook committees, i don’t want to hear any complaints again from teacher about any of you slacking or missing out in classes”

with that everyone parted ways and continue doing their things at their personal desks

that was just an appreciation advertisement for our mr hochi lets get back to your love story

when you went to your locker to pick up english literature books, you saw a note stuck on the locker door

‘hey can we meet at equipments stores around 4 am right after our evening class, don’t be late i have to attend my soccer practice at 4:15 pm, sincerely mingyu’

okay why he wants to meet you at 4 in the morning but the practice at 4:15 pm???

you just laughed and proceeded to your literature class

after your literature class, you went straight to equipments stores and saw mingyu were fiddling around with something in his hands

“why do you want to meet me at 4 am?”

mingyu was half shOOKETH when he heard your voice and he had this “what???” face

“you wrote 4 am in the note” and you laughed again

mingyu was rubbing his neck and kinda laughed too, “i wrote that in hurry because i was in rush to my mathematics class”

you nodded and he smiled in awe after looking at you

“ah actually i want to give you this..i don’t know if you’re free but i’d be honoured if you can come to my tournament”

(my readers be like pretends to be surprise.gif lmao)

HE GAVE YOU THE VIP SEAT TO THE SOCCER TOURNAMENT YEAYYYY

“oh....” you just accepted it shyly

suddenly he rummaged his adidas convertible and took out an egg tart and strawberry milk again this time

you feel so overwhelmed you want to burst when he gave them to you

“y/n do come to my tournament this saturday alright? i would be so happy if the chief editor herself could come and give her personal feedback!! i gtg now, bye!!”

“thank you mingyu..”

mingyu walked away and went to field after making you feeling so flushed

the following morning, when you walk to the hall you met minghao and he greeted you a good morning

“y/n i already talk to the graphic and layout designer to reformat the yearbook design since we’re adding new segment”

“what segment?”

“either advertisements or candids section, what do you think is better?”

“for 2 pages? nobody is gonna be entertained with ads” and someone was running in the busy hall, pushing your shoulder making your file in your arms fell

minghao collected your file and tilted his head to the side

“y/n..you’re going to mingyu’s tournament?”

little did you remember that the soccer tournament ticket was in your clear file and minghao had to see that

“y-yes...”

“we’re going together then!!!” minghao jumped a little and stopped his track, “wait a minute...so you’re the girl he is currently having a crush on?”

“what crush? what about the theatre club girl?”

minghao was standing with his hand hanging to his waist, “so you overheard our conversation?”

you nodded

“we guessed him and the theatre club girl were a thing but turned out she was pestering mingyu one-sided”

he walked to the stairs to go to his literature class and you continued your way to your physics class after bidding goodbyes

in the literature class, minghao interrogating mingyu session

“dude, you’re flirting with y/n now?”

mingyu ignored the latter but he was actually flustered to answer

“do you expect a full page coverage of you and soccer club in the yearbook by doing this?”

mg: “what the hell minghao?”

minghao: “okay im just kidding”

mg: “she’s too adorable”

minghao: “adorable? didnt she get mad at you for sleeping on the couch in a prohibited room?”

mingyu was in his dreamy state because he was reminded of your smile

he was like that for 1 minute and minghao snapped his fingers

“okay fine i like her genuinely i want to keep her in pocket stop asking me” 

saturday arrived aka the awaited soccer tournament day

your father lifted you off at the town’s stadium and you saw minghao with his camera bag and camera tripod

“hi do you need help mr photographer?”

minghao: “sure thing, do you have the ticket? lets go in”

you helped carried the adapters and batteries bag and got inside the soccer hall 

mingyu who happened to be searching for vending machine found you and minghao

HE INSTANTLY TURNED INTO THE BIGGEST PUPPY EVER

he came running to you and grinned as wide as he can

“you came y/n!!!” 

he looked at your shoulder and noticed the adapter bag belonged to minghao and rolled his eyes as he took the bag off your shoulder

“yOU MADE HER HOLD YOUR THINGS???!!!”

minghao was like -_______- “shut up mingyu” 

“i offered to help because those seemed heavy” 

after the chaos mingyu held minghao’s both camera and adapters bags then lead both of you to your vip seats

minghao set up his tripod and started adjusting his camera

you were inspecting the soccer hall

can you guess what mingyu was doing?

DING DONG DAENG 

he was looking at you tenderly like he hadn’t seen you for 10 million years, he was really infatuated with you

you said “don’t you have like rehearsal or stuff to do other than looking at me like a creep?”

mingyu blushed again and excused himself to the waiting room to brief to his soccer club teammates

“i have never seen him so invested in a girl like that before, he likes you like a lot y/n”

“really minghao, you think so?”

anyways the tournament began, for the first halves of the game your school team seemed sloppy and demotivated because “apparently they seemed nervous” the commentator said

during the interval time, you can see and hear mingyu shouted really loudly to give encouragements toward his teams

the coach also were guiding them and giving careful advices before their second halves started 

mingyu on the field were looking at you and minghao, smiling half-heartedly

you took this opportunity to make a big heart with your arms and mingyu instantly laughed, continued running to his position

seokmin, jihoon and mingyu scored 4 goals during the second halves with chan managing to block 2 goals and 1 free kick from opposite team

your school soccer club took the trophy home with last minute goal from jihoon with 9:7 and all of the players were roaring happily doing their circle hugs

after the final match ended, you waited by the side of field 

mingyu saw you in the crowds and he ran towards you

“congratulations mingyu, i enjoyed it!!”

“well im hoping you could come for another tournaments”

“i would love to......date you and also go to your other tournaments.”

mingyu was SHOOKETH AGAin its like he was getting heart attack

“what?????”

“you didn’t hear it wrong, boyfriend”

mg: “so it’s day one today?”

you nodded and beamed like the brightest sun ever

mingyu gently kissed your cheek and you both half-hugged since mingyu was sweating lol

little did you know, minghao captured the picture of mingyu kissing your cheek perfectly