#Mothely Sophie x reader

[syerra-637]

I see a lot of content of Howl x Reader romantic, but what if there was a platonic version of Howl and Reader where Howl is like a father figure? Bonus points if Sophie acts motherly towards Reader.

I just feel like there’s not enough content of platonic Howl Pendragon imo

Howl Pendragon as a Father Figure

Orphaned from a young age, you spent some time in an orphanage. But life there seemed unbearable: too many rules, too much loneliness. One day, you decided to run away and became a street child.

Wandering through the market alleys, your empty stomach pushed you to desperately search for something to eat. That’s when your gaze stopped on a candy store. Behind the window, colorful sweets sparkled, neatly arranged in large jars. You knew stealing was wrong, but hunger made you hesitate. As you thought of a way to grab a few candies, a man elegantly dressed passed by you, a slight smile on his lips.

He stopped in front of the candy store, glanced at you, and then entered. A few moments later, he came out with a small bag full of treats: caramels, lollipops, and honey drops. To your surprise, he handed you the bag without a word. Hesitant, you took it, and before you could thank him, he had already walked away.

Moved by this unexpected act of generosity, you started following him through the crowd. It was hard not to lose him in the maze of busy streets. But at one point, as you reached a quieter area, he suddenly stopped. Turning around, he watched you for a moment before asking why you were following him.

Unable to formulate a clear answer, you simply looked down. To your surprise, he smiled and, almost spontaneously, invited you to come with him.

Howl took you back to his moving castle. The walls were filled with trinkets, books, and mysterious objects, and the scent of magic hung in the air. You quickly realized that this place would become your new home.

As a father figure, Howl proved to be both a kind guide and a reassuring presence. He is gentle, patient, and understanding, taking the time to listen to your concerns, even the most insignificant ones. He never imposes anything on you, preferring to let you explore your own desires and interests.

That said, Howl is far from being a strict father. He is permissive, perhaps even a little too much. For example, he never asks you to clean your room or follow a strict schedule. If your space becomes a real mess, he simply laughs softly and says, “It’s a reflection of your mind, but a little chaos never hurt anyone.”

Nevertheless, he has his moments of authority. If you do something truly dangerous or reckless, he can become surprisingly serious, reminding you that even in a magical world, basic safety rules matter.

Howl loves teaching you little things about magic, but he never forces you to practice if you’re not interested. He prefers to let you choose your own path.

His personality flaws also become more apparent over time. Sometimes, he can be a bit dramatic, especially when he’s worried about his appearance or when a spell doesn’t work as expected. But this often makes you laugh, as his exaggerations make life in the castle even more lively.

During quiet moments, Howl sometimes tells you stories about his past or shows you the stars from the castle balcony. He teaches you to see the beauty in the world, even in its imperfections, and to find magic in the little things.

Sophie as a Mother Figure

Sophie, as a mother figure, plays a complementary role to Howl’s, bringing stability and comforting warmth to an otherwise turbulent home. While Howl, though caring, can sometimes be a bit distracted or capricious, Sophie embodies calm wisdom and thoughtfulness. She watches over you as a mother would, but always with a quiet gentleness, knowing when to intervene and when to let Howl take the lead. She is often the one who calms tensions when Howl becomes too preoccupied with his own adventures or shifting moods.

Sophie thus becomes a sort of “counterbalance” to Howl’s more flamboyant nature, bringing structure to life in the castle. She ensures that, despite the chaos around Howl, you find a safe and warm place to grow. She shows you, for example, things that Howl sometimes neglects, such as the importance of organization and taking care of oneself.

Even though she knows Howl is a good father in his own way, she is there to complement his approach with a calmer and more stable presence, helping you grow in a balanced environment.

[carpexdiemm05]

Never After (SGE x Reader) - Chapter 3

Also read on Wattpad!

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I wasn't sure why six wolves needed to punish Sophie instead of one, but I assumed it was to make a point.

They bound her to a spit, stuffed an apple in her mouth, and paraded her like a banquet pig through the six floors of Malice Hall. Lining the walls, new students pointed and laughed, but laughs turned to frowns when they realized this freak in pink would be one of their bunk mates. The wolves towed whimpering Sophie past Rooms 63, 64, 65, then kicked open Room 66 and flung her in. Sophie skidded until her face smacked into a warted foot.

I hastily slipped inside the room before the wolves could slam the door on my neck.

"I told you we'd get her," said a tall girl with greasy black hair streaked red, black lipstick, a ring in her nose, and a terrifying tattoo of a buckhorned, red-skulled demon around her neck. The girl glared at Sophie, black eyes flinting. "She even smells like an Ever."

"The fairies will retrieve it soon enough," said a voice across the room.

I swung my head to an albino girl with deathly white hair, white skin, and hooded red eyes, feeding stew from a cauldron to three black rats. "Pity. We could slit its throat and hang it as a hall ornament."

"How rude," said a third.

I turned to a smiley brown-haired girl on the bed, round as a hot air balloon, chocolate ice pop in each stumpy fist. "Besides, it's against the rules to kill other students."

"How about we just maim her a bit?" said the albino.

"I think she's refreshing," said the plump one, biting into the ice pop. "Not every villain has to smell and look depressed."

"She's not a villain," the albino and the tattooed girl snapped in unison.

Sophie wriggled from her ropes and stood, scanning the dorm. A moment later, she gasped. "Where's the mirror?"

"Let me guess," the tattooed girl snorted. "It's Bella or Ariel or Anastasia."

"It looks more like a Buttercup or Sugarplum," said the albino.

"Or a Clarabelle or Rose Red or Willow-by-the-Sea."

"Sophie." Sophie stood in a cloud of soot. "My name is Sophie. I'm not a 'villain,' I'm not an 'it,' and yes, I clearly don't belong here, so—"

The albino and the tattooed girl were doubled over laughing. "Sophie!" the second cackled. "It's worse than anyone could have imagined!"

"Anything named Sophie doesn't belong here," the albino wheezed. "It belongs in a cage."

"I belong in the other tower," said Sophie, trying to stay above their cattiness, "which is why I need to see the School Master."

"'I need to see the School Master,'" the albino mimicked. "How about you jump out the window and see if he catches you?"

"You all have no manners," snarfled the round girl, mouth full. "I'm Dot. This is Hester," she said, pointing at the tattooed girl. "And this ray of sunshine," she said, pointing at the albino, "is Anadil."

Anadil spat on the floor.

"Welcome to Room 66," said Dot, and with a swish of her hand swept the ashes off the unclaimed bed.

Sophie winced at moth-eaten sheets with ominous stains. "Appreciate the welcome, but I really should be going," she said, backing against the door. "Might you direct me to the School Master's office?"

"Princes must be so confused when they see you," said Dot. "Most villains don't look like princesses."

"She's not a villain," Anadil and Hester groaned.

"Do I have to make an appointment to see him?" pressed Sophie. "Or do I send him a note or—"

"You could fly, I suppose," Dot said, pulling two chocolate eggs from her pocket. "But the stymphs might eat you."

"Stymphs?" asked Sophie.

"Those birds that dropped us off, love," garbled Dot as she chewed. "You'd have to get past them. And you know how they hate villains."

"For the last time, she's not a villain," I said, folding my arms.

The three witches blinked, as if noticing my presence for the first time.

"Who are you?" Anadil asked hostilely.

"Y/n," I replied. "And there's obviously been a mix-up here. I mean, there were three of us children kidnapped this year. Not two. So if you could just point us in the direction of the School Master's office, it'd be very appreciated."

Hester scowled. "Are you. . .friends with this pink thing?" She nodded at Sophie.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes."

"Are you sure we can't kill the princess?" said Anadil.

I stepped forward. "There will be no killing so long as I'm around."

"Then leave."

"Where in the woods do you come from, loves?" Dot asked, diffusing the argument.

"Who the hell knows," I muttered.

"I don't come from the woods," Sophie said impatiently.

Three girls gaped with identically confused expressions.

"What do you mean you 'don't come from the woods'?" said Hester.

"We come from Gavaldon," Sophie said. She sounded close to tears.

"You three seem to know a lot about this place, so I'd be thankful if you could tell me wher—"

"Is that near the Murmuring Mountains?" asked Dot.

"Only Nevers live in the Murmuring Mountains, you fool," Hester groused.

"Near Rainbow Gale, I bet," said Anadil. "That's where the most annoying Evers come from."

"Sorry, I'm lost already," Sophie frowned. "Evers? Nevers?"

"A sheltered Rapunzel locked-in-a-tower type," Anadil said. "Explains everything."

"Evers are what we call Good-doers, love," Dot said to Sophie. "You know, all their nonsense about finding Happily Ever After."

"So that makes you 'Nevers'?" said Sophie, remembering the lettered columns in the stair room.

"Short for 'Nevermore,'" Hester reveled. "Paradise for Evildoers. We'll have infinite power in Nevermore."

"Control time and space," said Anadil.

"Take new forms," said Hester.

"Splinter our souls."

"Conquer death."

"Only the wickedest villains get in," said Anadil.

"And the best part," said Hester. "No other people. Each villain gets their own private kingdom."

"Eternal solitude," said Anadil.

"Sounds like misery," said Sophie.

"Other people are misery," said Hester.

"Gavaldon . . . is that by Pifflepaff Hills?" Dot said airily.

"Oh, for goodness' sakes, it's not near anything," Sophie moaned. She held up her schedule, "SOPHIE OF WOODS BEYOND" at its top. "Gavaldon's beyond the woods. Surrounded by it on all sides."

I glanced down at my schedule. At the top, however, was only my name. There was no "of woods beyond" attached to the end.

Just Y/n.

Not even a last name.

"Woods Beyond?" Hester was saying.

"Who's your king?" asked Dot.

"We don't have a king," Sophie said.

"Who's your mother?" asked Anadil.

"She's dead," Sophie said.

"And your father?" asked Dot.

"He's a mill worker. These questions are quite personal—"

"And what fairy-tale family is he from?" Anadil asked.

"And now they're just plain odd. No one's family is a fairy tale. He's from a normal family with normal faults. Like every one of your fathers."

"I knew it," Hester said to Anadil.

"Knew what?" said Sophie.

"Readers are the only ones this stupid," Anadil said to Hester.

Sophie's clenched her fists. "I'm sorry, but I'm not the stupid one if I'm the only person here who can read, so why don't you look in the mirror, that is if you could actually find one!"

I ran my fingertips across my lips in thought.

Reader.

Why didn't anyone here seem homesick? Why did they all swim towards the wolves in the moat instead of fleeing for their lives? Why didn't they cry for their mothers or try to escape the snakes at the gate? Why did they all know so much about this school?

"What fairy-tale family is he from?"

My eyes found Hester's nightstand. Next to a vase of dead flowers, a claw-shaped candle, and a stack of books—Outsmarting Orphans, Why Villains Fail, Frequent Witch Mistakes—was a knurled wooden picture frame. Inside was a child's clumsy painting of a grotesque witch in front of a house.

A house made of gingerbread and candy.

"Mother was naive," said Hester, picking up the frame. Her face struggled with the memory. "An oven? Please. Stick them on a grill. Avoids complications." Her jaw hardened. "I'll do better."

My eyes shifted to Anadil. A bracelet made of little boys' bones was clasped on her roommate's wrist.

"Does know her witches, doesn't she," Anadil leered. "Granny would be flattered."

The poster above Dot's bed showed a handsome man in green screaming as an executioner's ax sliced into his head.

WANTED: ROBIN HOOD

Dead or Alive (Preferably Dead) By Order of Sheriff of Nottingham

"Daddy promised to let me have first swing," Dot said.

I looked at my three bunk mates in newfound clarity.

They didn't need to read the fairy tales. They came from them.

They were born to kill.

"A princess and a Reader," Hester said. "The two worst things a human can be."

"Even the Evers don't want her," said Anadil. "Or the fairies would have come by now."

"But they have to come!" Sophie cried. "I'm Good!"

"Well, you're stuck here, dearie," Hester said, plumping Sophie's pillow with a kick. "So if you want to stay alive, best try to fit in."

"No! Listen to me!" Sophie begged. "I'm Good!"

"You keep saying that." In a flash, Hester seized her by the throat and pinned her over the open window. "And yet there's no proof."

"Hey!" In a flash I was across the room, yanking Hester away from Sophie, who fell to the floor with a gasp.

I gripped Hester's shirt and shoved her up against the wall. "Stay away from her."

Hester struggled. "Who do you think you are?"

"I said. . ." I slammed Hester's head against the cinder and she yelped.

My eyes flashed. "Stay. Away," I repeated in a low voice.

Something had changed. Hester's eyes widened and she nodded rapidly.

I released my grip, and she slumped against the wall, gaze still trained on me.

I turned to Sophie, who threw a hand over her mouth.

"What?" I asked.

Anadil and Dot's jaws were dropped. They looked almost. . .terrified.

"Why are you all looking at me like that?"

"Your eyes," Sophie whispered. "They're glowing."

A commotion clamored outside the room, and the girls' heads swiveled to the door. It flew open with a crack and four wolves thundered in, grabbed us by the collars, and hurled us into a stampede of black-robed students. Students rammed and elbowed each other; some fell beneath the herd and couldn't get back up.

"Where are we going!" Sophe yelled.

"The School for Good!" Dot said. "For the Welcomin—" An ogreish boy kicked her forward.

As I watched another student take a tumble, I clung to the wall even more.

***

Each school had its own entrance to the Theater of Tales, which was split into two halves. The west doors opened into the side for the Good students, decorated with pink and blue pews, crystal friezes, and glittering bouquets of glass flowers. The east doors opened into the side for Evil students, with warped wooden benches, carvings of murder and torture, and deadly stalactites dangling from the burnt ceiling. As students herded into their halves for the Welcoming, fairies and wolves guarded the silver marble aisle between them.

I followed Sophie, grumbling, as she moved to the aisle seats, trying to get the attention of the Good fairies. I opened my mouth to tell her it was useless, but a hand yanked the both of us under a rotted bench.

Agatha tacked us in a hug.

"Agatha!" I gasped. "You're here! And. . ." I surveyed her outfit. "You're wearing pink."

"I know. It's horrible. Listen, I found the School Master's tower! It's in the moat and there's guards, but if we can just get up there then we can—"

"Hi! Nice to see you! Give me your clothes," said Sophie, staring at Agatha's pink dress.

"Huh?"

"Quick! It will solve everything."

"You can't be serious! Sophie, we can't stay here!"

"Exactly," Sophie smiled. "I need to be in your school and you need to be in mine. Just like we talked about, remember?"

"But your father, my mother, my cat!" Agatha sputtered. "You don't know what they're like here! They'll turn us into snakes or squirrels or shrubbery! Sophie, we have to get back home!"

"Why? What do I have in Gavaldon to go back to?" Sophie said.

Agatha blushed with hurt. "You have . . . um, you have . . ."

"Right. Nothing. Now, my dress, please."

Agatha folded her arms.

"Then I'll take it myself," Sophie scowled. But right as she grabbed Agatha by her flowered sleeve, she stopped cold. I listened, ears piqued, trying to hear what Sophie did.

It was then that Sophie took off like a panther. She slid under warped benches, dodged villains' feet, ducked behind the last pew, and peeked around it.

Agatha and I followed, exasperated. "God," I said. "I don't know what's gotten into yo—"

Sophie covered my mouth, and it was then I heard the sounds. Sounds that made every Good girl bolt upright. Sounds they had waited their whole lives to hear. From the hall, the stomp of boots, the clash of steel—

The west doors flew open to sixty gorgeous boys in swordfight.

Sun-kissed skin peeked through light blue sleeves and stiff collars; tall navy boots matched high-cut waistcoats and knotted slim ties, each embroidered with a single gold initial. As the boys playfully crossed blades, their shirts came untucked from tight beige breeches, revealing slender waists and flashes of muscle. Sweat glistened on glowing faces as they thrust down the aisle, boots cracking on marble, until swiftly the swordfight climaxed, boys pinning boys against pews. In a last chorus of movement, they drew roses from their shirts and with a shout of "Milady!" threw them to the girls who most caught their eye.

In the decayed pews, the villains booed the princes, brandishing banners with "NEVERS RULE!" and "EVERS STINK!" (Except for weasel-faced Hort, who crossed his arms sulkily and mumbled, "Why do they get their own entrance?") With a bow, the princes blew kisses to villains and prepared to take their seats when the west doors suddenly slammed open again—

And one more walked in.

Hair a halo of celestial gold, eyes blue as a cloudless sky, skin the color of hot desert sand, he glistened with a noble sheen, as if his blood ran purer than the rest. The stranger took one look at the frowning, sword-armed boys, pulled his own sword . . . and grinned.

Forty boys came at him at once, but he disarmed each with lightning speed. The swords of his classmates piled up beneath his feet as he flicked them away without inflicting a scratch. Sophie gaped, bewitched. I hoped he'd impale himself. But no such luck, for the boy dismissed each new challenge as quickly as it came, the embroidered T on his blue tie glinting with each dance of his blade. And when the last had been left swordless and dumbstruck, he sheathed his own sword and shrugged, as if to say he meant nothing by it at all. But the boys of Good knew what it meant. The princes now had a king. (Even the villains couldn't find reason to boo.)

Meanwhile, the Good girls had long learned that every true princess finds a prince, so no need to fight each other. But they forgot all this when the golden boy pulled a rose from his shirt. All of them jumped up, waving kerchiefs, jostling like geese at a feeding. The boy smiled and lofted his rose high in the air—

I saw Sophie move too late. I ran after her but Sophie dashed into the aisle, leapt over the pink pews, lunged for the rose—and caught a wolf instead.

It gripped her hair and pulled, dragging her back to Evil. Sophie screamed. "Hey!" I launched myself at the wolf and wrapped my arms around his neck. Then I pulled. Hard.

He wasn't fazed. He reached behind and grabbed me, yanking me around to his front. Sophie was long gone by now.

I writhed as the wolf's enormous hand closed over my throat. My feet shot out, catching him in the stomach, and I was dropped to the floor, coughing.

His claws dug into my upper arm like knives. I screamed, kicking to get away from him, but that only made his claws tear into my skin even more.

Then I bit his other arm. The bitter taste of his blood filled my mouth and he yelled, releasing me.

I breathed heavily and scrambled away from him, but my arm began to itch. I looked down where the wolf had sunk his claws into me.

The wounds were stitching themselves up until the skin was clean and pristine once more.

My lips parted in shock. I swiveled my head to Agatha, who was staring at me with her jaw dropped. Then I was being dragged away again, this time by three wolves.

"Hey!" I wriggled and struggled, but their grip was too strong.

I locked eyes with the blond boy across the room. He was staring at me, baffled.

Then the doors to the theater slammed shut, leaving me to be taken down the hall by the wolves. 

[our-gentle-tide]

°•°•°Masterlist°•°•°

Obey me:

The brothers:

• The obey me boys with a s/o that's aware of the 3 realms and is good with magic

• Satan and Mammon x M!reader

• diavolo, Asmo, Satan and Mammon with a s/o that has red short curly hair

• consciousness (along with a few of my personal hc's about mc's experience

• the brothers reacting to encanto

• imagine the brothers finding out...

• Lucifer, Mammon, Asmo and Simeon when their bf gently bites their cheek

The royals and exchange students:

• diavolo, Asmo, Satan and Mammon with a s/o that has red short curly hair

• consciousness (along with a few of my personal hc's about mc's experience

• imagine the brothers finding out...

• Lucifer, Mammon, Asmo and Simeon when their bf gently bites their cheek

Genshin impact:

Mondstadt:

Keaya

• Keaya, childe and thoma meeting the apprentice from the arcana part 1

• Kaeya comforting his boyfriend hcs

Diluc

~(Nothing yet...)~

Venti

~(Nothing yet...)~

Albado

~(Nothing yet...)~

~°•°~°•°~°•°~°•°~°•°~

Liyue:

Zhongli

~(Nothing yet...)~

Xiao

~(Nothing yet...)~

Childe

• Keaya, childe and thoma meeting the apprentice from the arcana part 2

Chungyun

~(Nothing yet...)~

Xingqiu

~(Nothing yet...)~

~°•°~°•°~°•°~°•°~°•°~

Inazuma:

Thoma

• Keaya, childe and thoma meeting the apprentice from the arcana part 3

Itto

~(Nothing yet...)~

Ayato

~(Nothing yet...)~

Scaramoche

~(Nothing yet...)~

Kazuha

~(Nothing yet...)~

Gorou

~(Nothing yet...)~

The arcana:

Asra

• asra with a younger sibling!reader

• M6 reaction to mc having a moth familiar

• the main 4 with modern technology

Julian

• M6 reaction to mc having a moth familiar

• the main 4 with modern technology

• julian with a male s/o that's the same height as him

Nadia

• M6 reaction to mc having a moth familiar

• the main 4 with modern technology

Muriel

• M6 reaction to mc having a moth familiar

Portia

• M6 reaction to mc having a moth familiar

• the main 4 with modern technology

Encanto:

Camilo madrigal

• Camilo with a plant loving boyfriend

Mirabel madrigal

~(Nothing yet...)~

Dolores madrigal

~(Nothing yet...)~

Isabela madrigal

~(Nothing yet...)~

Luisa madrigal

~(Nothing yet...)~

Antonio madrigal (strictly platonic)

~(Nothing yet...)~

Julieta madrigal

~(Nothing yet...)~

Bruno madrigal

~(Nothing yet...)~

Agustín madrigal

~(Nothing yet...)~

Howl's moving castle:

Howl pendragon

~(Nothing yet...)~

Markl (strictly platonic)

~(Nothing yet...)~

Sophie hatter

~(Nothing yet...)~

Our life beginnings and always:

Cove holden

~(Nothing yet...)~

Clifford holden

~(Nothing yet...)~

Elizabeth last

~(Nothing yet...)~

[iwritebutshouldi]

Sentiment in a Bottle

Summary: You work as a coordinator for Fox Studios. The new project currently being in progress is the X-men movie! Things start out as always but when Evan Peters hits you with his car accidently, it starts an avalanche... Evan Peters x Reader! slowburn (very)

Warnings: None in this chapter, but there might be some smut in the future.

Chapter: 1.

You searched for the cream around you. You were sure that you had left it somewhere on the table back in the morning, but the mess the actors and actresses left after breakfast made it close to impossible to find anything there.

You sighed tiredly and started cleaning up the paper cups and plastic cutlery that were laying all over the little brown table. This was not exactly the job you applied for three years ago...

Technically, you were a coordinator. You warned the actors (and actresses) to get ready a few minutes before their take, dragged them to their makeup trucks and basically made sure that everyone was where they needed to be on time throughout the day. Even though on paper you were still just a simple coordinator, in the past years you had also became a personal assistant, lunch responsible, coffee machine and sometimes therapist. Unofficially of course.

But you still loved your job. Hollywood and the world of the movies had always attracted you like an oil lamp attracts moths, there was nothing you could really do about it. You even got a degree at an art school - as a screenwriter - but your chance to really become one had just not arrived yet.

Your coordinator work simply started out as an internship at Fox, but you did your job so well that the studio decided to keep you after finishing your school. You didn't mind as this way you could really get to know your way around the behind-the-scene parts of the movies and also worked on your scripts in your free time, hoping that one day you might can prove your bosses that you were worth it.

When the last paper plate landed inside the black plastic bag, you contentedly rubbed your hands together and returned to looking for the cream to put into the coffees for the stars of the film your studio had been working on lately. The new X-men movie! You loved it. You loved the cast as well as the crew and the mood in the building was always light and fun. Everyone always made fun of everything and they had these little games to play with each other which was always fun to watch.  

You looked at your small digital watch on your wrist to check the time. 10 minutes, you had left to prepare for the 8 stars that worked on their takes that day. You knew how they liked their coffees by heart after the first month of making it for them every single day so the recipes weren't a problem.  Jennifer asked it with sweeteners and no cream, Michael simply black, James asked it the sweet way and with quite much cream... And the butter! Damn, you forgot the butter again!  

Evan Peters liked his coffee with butter instead of milk - the vegan way - but for you it was so unusual that you always forgot to bring it with you in the mornings. You just hoped there was some leftover in the small fridge of the studio's kitchen and your heart beat up happily when you opened the door and did find some in the back of the refrigerator.

"Ah, thank god..." you mumbled to yourself as you bent down to grab it out and you were lucky since it was just the right amount as well. You still flinched, after weeks of making it every single day, when you dropped the little piece of cold butter into the hot liquid and impatiently stirred it with a spoon until it finally decided to melt away. You still had Alexandra's, Sophie's, Tye's and Nicholas' coffee left in 3 minutes.  

Your hands worked fast and with routine, you even had one single minute left before the takes are over and everyone has a break. You quickly grabbed a tray and placed everyone's cups on it, balancing your way out of the kitchen to be able to serve the caffeine to the stars just before lunch arrives finally as well. You heard the ring bell above you when you reached the area of green and blue screens, half filled with stage-sets to help the actors imagine their surroundings while acting.  

"Yes... LUNCH!" you heard Jennifer's voice in the distance and smiled to yourself how she always announced it like an alarm clock - everyone silently agreeing with her that it was indeed time for a good lunch. People worked a lot here. 16- and 18-hour days weren't rarities and meals were often late. Like almost every single day. You lost a few pounds immediately after you had started working in the industry, both from stress and the irregular meals as well.  

"Here." you reached his cup towards James who reached you first. Then Jen, Michael and everyone one after one, all of them smiling gratefully at you but... where was Evan? Only his cup was still on your tray. You looked around yourself, looking for a silver wig in the sea of people and you finally noticed him sitting in a corner, typing on his phone with a serious face.  

To make your job easier, you grabbed the cup into your right hand and placed the empty tray under your right arm, dancing between your busy co-workers. None of them looked your way just hurried towards something that was important for them so you had to be careful not to spill the drink in your hands.  

You sighed tiredly, feeling a thin strand of hair falling into your face when you finally made your way into the corner where the actor was still sitting all by himself. You coughed, but he was so into his phone that it was not enough for him to notice you at all.  

"Here's your... coffee." you said the last word, imitating a quotation mark with your free hand by the side of your head, but smiling kindly, making it clear that you were only joking. You teased him sometimes about the way he chose to drink his caffeine, but not too much so you wouldn't annoy him.

"I saw that." he said when he looked up at you and reached towards his shot of coffee. You felt his fingers slightly touch yours and since physical contact wasn't a usual thing between the stars and you, you felt your cheeks blush slightly.  

His face remained serious but you could see the corner of his lips twitch a little. He usually had a tired expression laying across his features when he wasn't acting, making it hard to find out what he was thinking about, but - even though you worked on the same set with him for the first time ever - you had already learned it was just the way he was.  

"Thanks." he said before sipping into his cup.  

"Of course." you smiled politely at him, and just when you turned away to go and prepare the table for the actor's lunch, you heard his voice again.  

"You should try it first, you know." he said, placing a gum between his lips when you looked back at him. When he saw your confused expression - at first you seriously thought he was meaning something about the gum - Oh, God, were your mouth stinking?? - he gestured at his coffee. "This, I mean." his eyes seemed to be twinkling in his amusement for a second and you felt yourself blush even harder than before.  

No! Stop it. Being embarrassed around the actors is so unprofessional. You're not some fangirl! You are working here...

"Oh... Yes! The coffee... I will! Definitely!" you said, but in the same way parents reassure their children about something that is not true at all, just to calm them. You saw him chuckle before turning away from him. You still had to prepare the table for the others! You hushed the image of his eyes staring at you out of your mind quickly before it could cause you any harm and concentrated on your job instead for the rest of the day...

***

The next morning you woke up forgetting everything completely. You hummed a song happily as you rode on your road bike on your way to the studio, maneuvering your way between the cars stuck in the everyday morning jam on the streets of Los Angeles. Fresh morning breeze tickled your face and you felt it was going to be a good day. For some reason you felt that nothing could stop you that day.  

And oh boy, how wrong you were...

The car came out of nowhere - even though you swore you had checked both sides of the road before crossing on your bike. You fell, no, you flew off your vehicle in such a perfect arc that even a professional athlete would have envied you. You did not really have time to react so your body hit the ground just like a ragdoll.  

You felt a sharp pain struck your chin and basically every limb of your body but you were lucky as you felt that you didn't hit yourself seriously. Bruises and frayed skin would remain on your body for days, you were sure about that, but nothing terminal.  

"God damn it..." you mumbled as you sat up, stroking your chin with your hand. So much about the perfect day...

"Jesus Christ, Y/N!" you heard as the door of the car that had hit you swung open. "I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" he crouched next to you, and when you gathered your strength to look up at him you almost fell back another time.  

It was Evan...