#My beautiful swamp boy Lucas | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

junicai · 4 years ago

Text

Relationship with WAYV

➣ KUN ☾ karia

if it wasn’t for dotae potentially coming to kill him, he would steal aria into wayv

he’s the cool dad?

they can’t spend a lot of time together because none of their schedules match up, but aria takes every third or so weekend out to come have dinner in the wayv dorms

she’s surprisingly close to the china line, and its a combination of ten dragging her to his dorm for an entire month and them just kinda adopting her when they realized she was a foreigner as well

yuta can fight them, she’s one of them now

he doesn’t like to baby her a lot, and she really appreciates the break from being the “maknae” so to speak

however does that stop him from giving her the forehead kithes? no

aria sad? forehead kith

aria mad? forehead kith

aria smad? forehead kith + kuddles (kun cuddles)

he has sent her a passive agressive text when he found out that she wasn’t eating enough again and had almost passed out

but he finished it with a heart so its ok

if she isn’t smiling at all times, someone will die

aria feels like she can trust him with a lot; that no matter what she tells him, he’ll never out her or make fun of her

kun actually took a two-week online course to learn how to make traditional japanese dishes when aria mentioned missing her parents

he originally was going to learn how to make irish dishes, but he changed his mind after seeing what they were

“im not giving my kids boiled cabbage and mashed potatoes what kind of post world war-”

wants to give her a chinese name but hasn’t yet because he hasn’t found the one that fits her right and he wants it to be perfect

aria teaches him japanese phrases in exchange for him teaching her a little bit of mandarin

FAN FAVOURITE MOMENT.

aria saw kun’s back as she entered the practice room, the man standing with three other members in the centre of the floor before the choreographer came in to start their practice. coming up behind him, she wrapped her arms around his waist, peeking her head around from where she was. “hi!” she smiled brightly.

“hi,” ten chuckled, showing her the camera that had just filmed all of that.

➣ TEN ☾ tenaria

Whipped(TM)

so so gone for her its upsetting actually

yangyang and aria share the position of his baby

except aria willingly accepts the title while yangyang would rather fling himself from a rooftop

ten’s instagram is half his cats, half miyazu aria

he posts her dancing practice on his story a lot, with a variety of captions ranging from “thats my baby ♡( ◡‿◡ )” to “yah that’s not right...(눈_눈)”

such an enabler for her bad ideas

aria wants to go shopping at 4am? ten agrees, now they’re sitting by han river eating ice cream

pls he’s gonna get her in so much trouble one day

when they walk together, ten likes to take her hand and put it in his pocket

its under the pretense of not wanting her to get lost

he just wants to hold her hand

yes he has lost her in a shopping mall, and NO it wasn’t his fault

ten always complains that they never have schedules together and he misses his baby

“we have superm-” “I NEVER SEE YOUUUU (ﾉಥ益ಥ)ﾉ”

if they’re in the same room ten is either watching her out of the corner of his eye, or is actually wrapped around her like a boa constrictor

hugs n kithes all around

only he is allowed make fun of her mistakes in dancing

anyone else gets deaded. he will fight for her honor how dare you insult his baby

sm give these ttwo a dancing duo video pls

FAN FAVOURITE MOMENT.

the first and only time aria and ten had a duet was during their last concert on superm’s first world tour. during the second half of ten’s solo performance, aria emerged from the left side of the stage, coming to join him in the centre stage. no one had ever seen aria as serious as she was then, both herself and ten becoming completely different people in the moment. midway through, aria spun with her back to ten and leaped backwards into the air - eyes closed - completely trusting ten to be where she needed him to be to catch her.

➣ WINWIN ☾ winria

a love hate relationship at its finest

they don’t actually hate each other it’s just really funny to pretend that they do (especially because yuta complains that 2 of his favourite people aren’t getting along)

winwin is so savage towards aria but it’s ok she claps back twice as hard

at first, before czennies had seen enough of their dynamic they thought that they actually did hate each other

but that’s not true they just don’t know how to express, affection, without brutally insulting the other with a loving tone

they are, surprisingly, the most stable pairing in 127 - they have a dynamic and rarely stray from that, which is a good comfort for the fans

despite what they might say to each other, they don’t mean any of it - and winwin has been seen several times raising his eyebrows with a questioning look at aria to make sure she wasn’t taking any of his playful jabs to heart

oh god the flexibility

the entirety of nct is terrified of them

the day sm gives them a circus act is the day that kun and taeyong have a heart attack

quietly supportive of each other - catch aria “playing” with a water bottle and not getting up to get it when it conveniently rolls across the floor and into winwin’s leg

he makes sure to save some new chinese sweets whenever the wayv members get packages from their familes, and sneak it into aria’s room before the managers can catch her breaking her diet

not really physically affectionate with each other, which played into czennies idea that they didn’t like each other but aria cleared it up in a vlive

“winwinnie and I, well. we don’t hug a lot because i know he doesn’t like it as much as i might, so i try to show him i care with other things :)”

FAN FAVOURITE MOMENT.

winwin and aria going in to each other on knowing brothers, to the point where the mc’s had their eyes popping out of their head and waved about to stop the segment before aria could start attacking winwin’s cooking methods-

nothing is off limits when it comes to them

➣ LUCAS ☾ arihei

besties

please they’re so cute together - tol child next to tini child she barely comes up to his chest :(

bear hugs

he just swamps her in his arms, and when he doesn’t feel like being bent over he picks her up

complains that she’s too heavy but then immediately after will throw her around like a softball

someone tell this man to be careful with her she’s not a barbie doll

singular braincell energy

don’t get it wrong, they’re both super smart

so it’s just - being smort together, but then nearly dying because neither of them remembered that you couldn’t eat raw cookie dough when there are eggs in it

she adores how he’s so confident in the things that he does - like convincing the entire nct fandom that he was fluent in english? king behaviour

so aria looks up to him (literally) but also because she wants to have that confidence some day

lucas says they’re not close and then aria pouts and he takes it all back

nczennies made a 14 minute compilation titled “lucas melting like a popsicle in australia for aria”

and literally what the title tells you, this man goes :(( when he sees her

lucas was actually the person to convince her to go ahead with the [redacted] proposal - and reminded her that it was too good an opportunity to pass up just because she felt like she was outgrowing the boys

he’s so proud of her

and she’s so proud of him

they’re so proud of each other and it makes nczennies want to cry because they never are seen together

sm stop separating the platonic soulmates first markhyuck and now arihei smh

FAN FAVOURITE MOMENT.

during a photoshoot, aria was standing off to the side of the boys, dressed in white suit to contrast the boys’ black ones. the photographer was calling out to her to get her to move closer, but she couldn’t hear him from so far away, and so lucas (who was on the end) just walked over to her, gripped her by the biceps and lifted her vertically and to the left a little bit.

“luc-LUCAS?”

“you had to move :)”

➣ XIAOJUN ☾ arijun

honestly these two aren’t super close, just because their schedules never matched up until the NCT 2020 promotions

even when aria was dragged to the wayv dorms, xiaojun kept his distance from her because he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable

even so, when they were filming Make A Wish together, they seemed comfortable enough around each other

there was a mutual agreement to not try fill the silence with awkward small talk, so they sat in silence when left alone together

they’re both shy :( someone needs to get them to talk to each other :(

even so, aria was all supportive smiles and thumbs-up when she saw him getting nervous before their first public stage as the unit

he was a little intimidated of her at first, but also really curious about how she was holding her own against the other members

not only physically, but her vibes are tiny let the man be concerned ok

his first impression of aria was just: small quiet? she was sitting apart from the other boys in the practice room, and he almost wanted to go over and ask her if she was ok; before she was approached by donghyuck and her face broke into a bright smile

aria’s first impression of xiaojun was: eyebrows he was really handsome? at first, she thought he was in the wrong room, seeing as the SM modeling auditions were happening in the next room down

any arijun shippers are starved of content im so sorry guys

FAN FAVOURITE MOMENT.

currently still up for debate between the fandom :(

➣ HENDERY ☾ aridery

ah these two

you might as well sign a waiver if you decide to do anything with them, because they can and will get you killed

kun can testify

ten’s the enabler but hendery is the do-er

super giggly around each other, for no reason at all

hendery could pick up and throw a basketball and suddenly aria’s on the floor in literal stitches

have a secret code

no seriously

they don’t text in words, they just send various reaction memes and a colourful variety of emojis to convey emotions and scenarios

it’s become quite a beautiful language actually

got some nice proverbs in there

they’re like, cousins but the ones you only see at family reunions but get so hype to see them

that energy

asides from the chaotic, murderous vibes they possess as a duo

hendery knows what it’s like to miss home, to miss your parents, etc etc

and so he tries to make aria feel as home as possible - especially with wayv, because they’re all foreigners who know how she feels

whenever he gets packages from his parents who have sent things over, he always makes sure to keep some of the small treats/sweets back for aria

1. because he knows she’ll appreciate the thought and she gives good hugs

2. because he knows she’s on a diet constantly and never allowed eat these things when she’s in the dorms with managers around

FAN FAVOURITE MOMENT.

filming the Resonance “Wish” event, aria was put in a skimpy minimalistic mock-suit to differentiate from the others’ clothes. unfortunately, that left aria with a little too much shoulder and chest on display than she would like, and she was noticeably uncomfortable with her clothes, constantly pulling it up and even going so far as to just hold it with her hands.

hendery saw this, and knew he was finished filming his segment for the time being, so he pulled off his own jacket and tossed it over to aria, who caught it with a grateful smile. “thank you,” she mouthed to him, tugging the dark blue material over her shoulders.

➣ YANGYANG ☾ ariyang

aria. has 9 days of age on this boy and will never let him forget it

“respect your elders you brat” “9. DAYS.”

european pals

they feel so cultured when they get asked about europe, and then are kindly reminded by hendery that A. Germany started 2 world wars, and B. Ireland was just a British colony until 100 years ago.

they both hit him for that

aria teaching him curse words in irish and yangyang teaching her curse words in german? more likely than you’d think

they met before yangyang’s debut was announced, in a practice room that had let them accidentally overlap their practice times

instead of working it out between them, they actually just started to alternate their songs - and the other gave them some good, constructive criticism

most of the time

when they found out they were going to be in 90s Love together, they were so happy

it was going to be their first official schedule together

all the behind-the-scenes videos are just aria and yangyang being children and then ten coming over and cooing at them

they love ten, but they will trash talk the man behind his back

yangyang confessed to her that he sometimes feels nervous when speaking korean, like he’s going to make a big mistake

so she tries her best to teach and correct him where she can, and make him as comfortable as possible

if you look at any of the 90s Love promotions - aria is always beside yangyang

he bit her ear once

she doesn’t know why and he won’t tell her

but now when she makes fun of him, he threatens to do it again

FAN FAVOURITE MOMENT.

aria skating onto the rink during filming, and yangyang following her because she promised to teach him how to skate backwards.

“ok just, think like you’re leading with your heels. press your knees in, and push outwards, with you-no no that’s forwards. go backwards yangyang.”

“no no no thats a WALL YANGYANG STOP-”

162 notes · View notes

karlyfr13s · 3 years ago

Text

One Love, One Lifetime

A Phantom of the Opera inspired Captain Swan AU

Rated M, cover art by @hollyethecurious

Chapter Two: Think of Me

Friday dawned clear and bright, and Emma woke earlier than usual. While she was normally happy to lay in bed until mid-morning, today marked the beginning of the season and the opening gala at the opera house, and she was anxious to get limbered up and ready for tonight’s performance. The day would require all-hands on deck, and Emma loved it when the whole venue was buzzing with excited and busy cast and crew members. Today was particularly special for Emma as she was given her first starring role. Regina hadn’t shown her face since the incident earlier in the week, though several of her lackies had been spotted skulking around backstage, most likely gathering gossip for her as usual. Emma was sure the managers spent most of their waking hours attempting to call Regina back and garner her favor. Sure, she wasn’t beloved by most of the crew--who she constantly berated and treated like personal servants--and a substantial portion of the cast ran hot and cold in their feelings--probably because she criticized everyone but Sidney and herself--but... Emma lost her train of thought as she stretched with her fellow dancers. Regina was the leading lady, so surely they had no choice but to try and lure her back, right?

Emma wondered aloud to Ruby whether Booth and the others were hellbent on getting Regina back on stage because they didn’t have faith in Emma’s own abilities, guessing that her managers might already fear the worst in tonight’s opening show. Ruby dismissed the thought out of hand as any best friend would do with only hours remaining before showtime. Of course, her managers had no idea how nervous Emma was, but ever since the impromptu audition on Tuesday evening, Emma had nightly conversations with her hidden Angel. He had coached and encouraged her as she practiced, working to perfect her enunciation and ensure she hit each note of the final cadenza in the complex aria with precision and confidence. Though the Angel didn’t always speak to her, Emma never felt alone in the moments she practiced despite the rest of the large venue sitting dark and silent in the small hours of the night.

As she readied herself for costume and makeup, anxiety rushed through her, sending Emma’s pulse racing and her breathing became shallow gasps. She tried to still the fluttering in her stomach, tried to shift into the single-minded focus she usually felt as she warmed up with the rest of the chorus, but doing so alone was far more difficult. Yet as she gazed at her reflection in the floor-length mirror, Emma felt a strange and sudden quiet fall over her. She could do this--she was going to do this. Tonight. She had trained for it, had been practicing numerous complex pieces for years now, had intentionally set herself the repeated challenge of playing secret understudy to Regina. With a nod to her reflection, Emma left her room and made for the theatre and the final rehearsals for blocking.

That evening as she slipped into the sparkling white ball gown, as the costuming crew clipped glittering crystalline stars into her long golden waves, she coached herself under her breath. She said a quick word of gratitude to the spirit of her father and to the Angel whose influence brought her to this moment. As she took her place backstage, Emma straightened her shoulders and Ruby snuck in to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. “They’ll never know you’re sweating a river under that thing--way too many layers for anyone to notice. Plus, they’ll be so blown away by your voice that nothing else will matter. Go get ‘em, girl!”

With that, Emma Nolan took the stage and had her first moment in the spotlight. It was an out of body experience. Surely it wasn’t little orphan Emma who commanded the entire stage? There was no way some girl from small-town Maine stood at the Paris Opera House-- at Palais Garnier --and bespelled an entire audience with the light, complicated, and wondrously beautiful “Think of Me”. Knowing the box would be vacant, Emma set her sights on box five and put her whole heart into the next four minutes. She could feel the swell of the music accompanying her, letting the warmth of the strings pull her onward, compelling the crowd with the sudden softness as she reached the third verse, and allowing herself to be taken over by the moment as the song crescendoed.

Recall those days

Look back on all those times

Think of the things we'll never do

There will never be a day

When I won't think of you

In the back of her mind, she heard a loud call, “Bravo!’” ring from the audience, and in the last verse of her solo, Emma felt as though she were flying. Her voice building higher and higher in the cadenza, each note crisp and clear as it rang across the theatre and back to her so that when the last two notes burst from her like some wild, magical thing they were half drowned out by the standing ovation that spontaneously began right in front of her.

Emma didn’t have time to remove her makeup or change before she was completely swamped by well-wishers. Cast, crew, and several attendees who’d somehow made their way to the hall that led backstage all vied for her attention. She couldn’t catch half of what they were saying, wished desperately to get out of her heavy gown, and found herself repeatedly saying ‘thank you’ more than anything else. It was entirely overwhelming. Thankfully, her managers interrupted, Jefferson swooped in and took a bouquet from her laden arms, offering her a flute of champagne instead. “Hell of a first night, Emma,” he beamed at her and they clinked glasses. “Seems Madame Lucas was right about you -- we’ve had to set half the stagehands to temporary security so we can get people out of the building instead of having them wander in search of you.”

“He’s right,” Locksley chimed in, freeing her other arm from the elaborate bouquet of stargazer lilies, which had been starting to make her nose tickle. “You’re quite the sensation, Miss Nolan!” She thanked him for the kind words and he insisted she call him Robin, introducing the dark-haired woman who’d appeared at his elbow as his wife, Marian. “With that, we must take our leave. Babysitters are ludicrously expensive in this city, and Roland should already be asleep anyway. Enjoy the moment, Miss Nolan, it certainly won’t be the last.”

Gradually, the crowd began to disperse and Emma was given a small amount of breathing room between introductions and congratulations. Her feet were aching and she was about to call it a night, when she saw a familiar face lingering in the crowd. “Graham?” She took a few steps toward the man, his light brown hair falling into his eyes as he grinned at her. She took off at a run, kicking off her heels, and he caught her in his arms. “I knew that was your voice -- I just knew it! What are you doing here? How?”

He spun her in a circle, the vast skirts of her gown swirling around them and clearing a space as several onlookers gawked at the pair. “My parents are patrons of the opera,” he explained briefly, kissing her cheek and blushing pink at the public attention. “When I heard tonight was your debut, I told them I’d represent the Humberts for the opening gala -- Emma, you were incredible out there!” The reunion was abruptly interrupted when Granny caught Emma’s eye where she lingered near the hall to her apartment. Granny gestured to her watch and Emma immediately stepped back from Graham’s embrace.

“It’s so good to see you, but...I have to go for the night, Graham, it’s late.” As she spoke, he took both her hands in his, wrapping her slender fingers in his warm grasp and insisting they go out and celebrate both her triumphant debut and their unexpected reunion. “I can’t, Graham, I’d love to -- it’s been so long since we saw each other -- but curfew is strict here, and I have to go. Goodnight.” She stepped back, gathering up her shoes as she fled the attention. The last thing she saw before making her way to her room was Graham with his brow knit in confusion. The image was quickly swept from her mind when she saw her whole apartment overflowing with bouquets and congratulatory gifts.

She turned to face Granny, her eyes wide. The old woman offered a kind smile, though she didn’t mention Graham or even ask who he was, which seemed odd. Instead, she handed Emma a single, perfect pink rose unlike any she’d seen. The stem was tied with a black satin ribbon and as she passed the delicate bloom to Emma, Granny’s only explanation was “He’s pleased with your performance, Emma. You sang like an angel tonight.” She helped Emma out of the elaborate costume, taking care to brush out her hair as she removed the numerous clips and pins. Emma hummed to herself as the two worked, Granny focusing on the items that needed to be brought back to the costuming department while Emma swiped her way through layer after layer of makeup until she was left fresh-faced and rosy-cheeked from the experience. She slipped behind the wardrobe screen after Granny left, changing into a soft floor-length robe.

Graham was here. It had been years since they last saw one another, and Emma tried to hold the vision of him now -- a man grown, complete with stubble on his cheek -- alongside the boy she’d spent so much of her childhood with. So many days had been spent at the top of her father’s loft, daydreaming and sneaking chocolates with Graham -- he was an excellent storyteller, and seemed to have a knack for knowing when her father was feeling particularly unwell. After they received the news that her father’s illness was incurable, Graham had become a daily presence in the house. He was always helping out -- fixing leaky faucets or repairing the shutters after a bad storm. As she sat and pondered her own reflection, Emma was drawn back to their freshman year of high school and to her first kiss -- their first kiss --she’d always assumed she’d end up with the boy next door.

That had changed with the revelation her father was taking her to Paris. Graham had not taken it well, and had stormed out her door for the last time two weeks before she uprooted her whole life with the move. She had needed him, had relied on him as a constant in her life, but almost immediately she saw him around town with someone else. Emma found out later it was some woman a few years older than Graham, and heard they had followed one another through Europe for a year before starting university in England. While that clearly hadn’t worked out, the old wound still stung. Undoubtedly, he had been through Paris several times, and he knew precisely where she was. So why had he never visited until now? It seemed likely she was only catching his attention now that it was her name on the marquee.

“Darling, who exactly is Graham Humbert to you?” came the voice in the darkness. Though Emma knew it could only be her Angel, she’d also never heard him like this. Usually the voice was low and encouraging, a mentor and gentle guide to her, but now...something was off. His pitch was too high, his pace too rapid and it felt angry somehow. She explained to the darkness around her that Graham was a friend, and had been for years. “Uncanny, isn’t it? He reappears suddenly just as you step into your own destiny,” the voice trailed off, his tone harsh and clipped.

“What do you mean? You don’t think...Graham wouldn’t do that! We’ve been friends since we were kids -- his family’s a patron of the arts, that’s all.” Emma felt oddly torn, needing to defend Graham’s intentions, while also feeling compelled to soothe the hurt her Angel so clearly felt right now.

“Men of low ambition seek greatness only through possessions -- through acquiring what is not theirs to have , darling.” His voice kept shifting, changing its origin as though he was everywhere and nowhere. “You are a marvel,” he crooned, voice softening to a low purr in her ear though he remained out of sight. His tone shifted abruptly, voice nearly a growl. “You were born for more than his small mind can imagine, and I will not see him bask in your glory. This triumph belongs to us -- to you and I alone.”

Emma realized then that she mattered to this unseen Angel, though for the life of her she couldn’t understand why . What’s more, he seemed to have eyes and ears everywhere -- had he been in the crowd after the curtain call? Had she seen him and simply not known? The thought seemed impossible; she’d always been sure she would know him the instant she saw him. “I know that,” she began, not knowing what he wanted from her, but wanting to try. “I never thought I could do anything like I did tonight, and without you, I know I never would have tried. Please,” she faltered then, wondering where to go from here and how best to help him understand how much she valued every lesson and moment they’d spent together. She squared her shoulders, looking at her resolute expression in the mirror. “Please, let me finally see you. Let me know who you really are -- who it is that made tonight possible.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere, my dear. Go on then, if you’re sure you can handle it, keep watching your mirror, Emma.” She leaned forward, at first seeing only herself gazing back until the surface swirled with crimson smoke and from the cloud emerged two brilliant blue eyes set in an astoundingly handsome face.

“Oh,” she heard herself gasp softly and she reached toward the image as the smoke cleared. She took in the black hair that tumbled artfully into his eyes, the confident smirk that gave her a brief flash of white teeth. She reached out, startling herself when her fingers found, not the solid glass she’d expected, but the scratch of the stubble that dusted his cheek.

“Come now, darling. I know you’re more curious than that,” he hummed, waiting patiently and leaning against what now appeared as a doorway rather than her mirror. She took her time, sweeping her eyes over his strong, lean frame. He wore all black from the embroidered silk waistcoat to his full-length leather coat and Emma was sure on most men it would look outlandish, but he was definitely not most men. His wolfish grin must have erased something in her brain because she realized belatedly he had a gleaming silver hook where his left hand should be. It appeared deadly sharp, and she wondered what story had led to its existence. She knew she was staring and tried to say something, anything at all.

“How?” she eventually sputtered, not knowing how to form the question she wanted to ask. He was real, and here. The man -- the Angel? Did angels look like this? -- who had watched over her for years now. The man who taught her to take raw talent and shape it into art. He was real. She reached out, laying her hand flat against his chest, her eyes fixed on the place over his heart. Taking a steadying breath, she slowly turned her gaze up to meet his eyes. “You’re real.” She felt stupid the instant it left her mouth, though his low chuckle wasn’t unkind.

“Real indeed, darling. And to your earlier enquiry: magic.” She tittered, faking a laugh at this and thinking she may have found herself at the mercy of a lunatic. He broke out in a warm laugh at her expression. “Not many people greet me in such a way, but you are not most people are you Emma?” She briefly wondered if he read her earlier thoughts, but before she could think much more he offered his arm which she took out of pure curiosity. “Perhaps a demonstration then?” And suddenly the world was shrouded in crimson smoke.

...

Thank you @ultraluckycatnd for beta-ing this piece, and @lonelyspectator12 for being an incredible brainstorming partner.

Shout-out to @eastwesthomeisbest for your artwork--it inspires me to persevere past writer's block!

Tagging CSMM Discord and those who've asked:

@kmomof4, @teamhook, @veryverynotgood, @caught-in-the-filter, @hollyethecurious, @laschatzi, @donteattheappleshook, @lonelyspectator12, @the-darkdragonfly, @zaharadessert, @winterbaby89, @jrob64, @wefoundloveunderthelight, @ultraluckycatnd, @stahlop, @alexa-fangirl-forever, @superchocovian, @monosalvatore16, @snowbellewells, @batana54

#one love one lifetime #karly tries to write #CSMM #captain swan AU #cs ff #killian jones #emma swan #dark hook

29 notes · View notes

kissjane · 4 years ago

Text

A GOOD NEIGHBOUR IS WORTH MORE THAN A DISTANT FRIEND / (Not so) Short fic

#44 from this prompt list

I’m your new neighbour and I got locked out, help!

Eliott cannot keep in a sigh of relief when he rounds the last corner on the stairs. He hadn’t really been up to going out just yet, not completely recovered from a depressive episode from hell, but his fridge had been totally empty, and he even didn’t find any shampoo, which he bitterly needed after days without a shower, so he had made himself get up. Of course, the store had been fucking swamped, and it had taken way too long, and then when he got back here, the elevator had been closed off for maintenance again, and so he had had no choice to drag himself and his groceries up eleven floors.

But he has the finish line in sight. He can see his front door, only fifty or so steps away, and then he can shower and put on a clean shirt and a fresh pair of boxers and fall back into his bed with some microwaved soup.

His feet shuffle over the floor, his breath shallow, his eyes focused on the door, keys already in hand. Forty steps… thirty steps… twenty…

“Excuse me,” a voice suddenly breaks through his count, but Eliott cannot deal with anybody right now, he needs to get in, fall down, close his eyes for a long time. Ten more steps.

“Uh, sir? I’m so sorry, but –”

A groan escapes Eliott.

The cashier couldn’t have been just slightly faster? The elevator couldn’t have worked properly, for once?

“Look, I am really sorry, but I live in 312, and I –”

Eliott forces himself to look up. The sooner he listens to this guy, the sooner he can tell him to fuck off, and the sooner he can collapse on his bed again.

In front of him stands a man he’s never seen before. He is a bit shorter than Eliott, but he looks to be about his age. His hair is brown and sticks in every possible direction – but Eliott cannot fault him for that, especially not when it looks clean and free of grease. His own matted hair surely looks a lot worse. The guy is barefooted, wearing grey sweatpants and a T-shirt that has faded into something undefined. He is holding a few envelopes in his hand, but Eliott doesn’t really register those, too busy staring at the guy’s feet. Who the fuck walks around without shoes?

“I just went down to get the mail from the lobby, but I guess the door fell closed, and now I can’t get in, so I was just hoping I could borrow your phone to call somebody, I promise I'll be out of your hair after that –”

Oh, god. Eliott really isn’t equipped to deal with people right now.

But his eyes fall again on those naked feet. Who knew how long the guy had been standing out here in the hallway already.

He takes a deep breath, thinking longingly about his bed, his shower, microwaved soup.

He looks up, unsure what to say or do, and the guy is looking at him with – oh.

Blue.

A summer sky. A pristine lake. Faded denim. Soft blankets. Warmth and safety and belonging.

This guy has the biggest, the bluest, the most beautiful eyes Eliott has ever seen, and suddenly he doesn’t feel as bone-tired anymore. Surely he can manage for another five minutes, while this guy calls the landlord or some locksmith or his girlfriend to come pick him up.

He nods, not trusting himself to speak, and he opens the door, while the guy smiles at him and those blue depths suddenly shine like the stars and the moon combined.

“Oh, thank you so much! Here, let me help you with that…”

He grabs one of Eliott’s bags before Eliott can react, and carries it in.

“Shall I help you put these up?”

He doesn’t wait for Eliott’s answer, and efficiently starts unpacking the bread, milk, juice, and microwaveable soup. He puts the shampoo on the table, and looks at Eliott expectantly. Eliott has no clue what he is supposed to say or do. The fog in his head is growing again, and if he doesn’t get into the shower soon, he won’t be able to tonight, and the idea of another night without washing up makes his skin crawl.

“So, uh, can I borrow your phone then?”

Ah. Right. He tries to remember where it is. Oh, right, he put it on the charger before he left the flat. He wants to go get it, but the idea of walking to the bedroom only to have to come back is suddenly way too overwhelming, and he sags against the wall.

Finally, the guy seems to notice something is up.

“Hey, are you – are you okay? You look a bit… off. Is there anything I can do?”

He sounds concerned, and his blue eyes have gone a shade darker as he watches Eliott.

“M fine,” Eliott croaks. “Phone… in the… in the bedroom.”

The guy looks outright worried now.

“Okay, uh, I think you should go lay down anyway. I can leave you to get some rest, I’ll find somebody else to borrow a phone from…”

Eliott feels bad, but it sounds heavenly. He nods once, curtly, trying to ignore the guilty feeling inside, and tries to move his legs, but he stumbles. In a flash, the guy is by his side.

“Let me help you get to bed,” he says, slinging Eliott’s arm over his shoulder, letting him put most of his weight onto him.

“Where is your bedroom? Careful now,” the boy admonishes softly, as they shuffle through the hall.

“Wait,” Eliott mumbles and halts in front of the bathroom. “Need a shower.”

He gets a sceptical look from the guy.

“Are you sure you can handle it? Not gonna lie, you look really like shit.”

Eliott just stands, too tired to nod, or to think about anything.

“Okay,” the guy relents, “but I’d feel a lot better if you let me stay while you shower. I mean –”

Eliott notices a blush creeping up on the guy’s cheeks, but he doesn’t have the mental capacity to figure out what that is about.

“I mean, not in the bathroom, obviously. But maybe I could wait until you’re done and I know you’re safe in your bed before I go? I wouldn’t forgive myself if you slipped and cracked open your head or something.”

It all goes too fast for Eliott to understand, but the siren call of the shower is too alluring to ignore, so he just nods again, and croaks, “Shampoo?”.

He waits while the guy quickly fetches it from the kitchen table, and then almost tumbles inside. He misses the apprehension in his visitor’s eyes, and finally takes off his smelly clothes. He is too exhausted to stand up, so he sits on the floor of the shower stall, and mechanically washes his hair. Turning off the water, he sits, not up to finding a towel and drying himself, until he hears a knock on the door.

“Are you okay in there?”

He mumbles something, and decides he is dry enough to pull on some underwear. Just as he hears another knock, a bit more urgent this time, he is ready. He pulls open the door, and even though it is probably rude as hell, completely ignores the boy, hand poised to knock a third time. The soup will have to wait, he vaguely thinks, as he manages to stay upright until he is within reach of his bed, tumbling down on it, and sinking into a dreamless sleep.

***

Eliott wakes up, disoriented and with a growling feeling in his stomach. He tries to remember what happened – he went to the store, he took a shower, did he eat anything? Another groan from his stomach seems to indicate he didn’t. He sniffs.

Something smells good.

He sniffs again. It’s almost like fresh coffee.

Slowly, carefully, he sits up, and swings his legs over the edge of the bed. The exhaustion has worn off somewhat, and he walks to the kitchen, ready to finally munch on some bread, when he stops in his track.

At the counter, with his back towards Eliott, stands a man in an old t-shirt, comfy sweatpants and – Eliott’s Pollock socks?

He coughs, and the guy whips around, a startled look on his face.

Blue eyes.

Suddenly it comes back to Eliott – the neighbour locked out of his flat, wanting to use Eliott’s phone, standing watch outside the bathroom door while he washed off the grime of the past week.

“Oh, you’re awake! I, uh – I didn’t want to come into your bedroom for your phone while you were sleeping, so uh, I hope you don’t mind me hanging out. I made coffee and I can warm up that soup you got…”

“Are those my socks?”

Eliott doesn’t know why this is the only thing on his mind at this very moment. It must be that the blue of the man’s eyes makes him a bit dizzy.

“Oh! Uh, yeah, sorry. I got cold feet… I started a load of laundry and I saw these were hanging on your drying rack, so uh. I’ll wash them and get them back to you, of course. As soon as I can get into my flat.”

Eliott sits down at the table, while the other puts a mug of steaming coffee in front of him.

“If it’s okay, I’ll go grab your phone now, and call a locksmith, yeah?”

“What time is it?”, Eliott murmurs, sipping his coffee. It is way better than when he makes it, and he eyes the mug slightly suspiciously.

“About eleven pm,” the guy says, moving towards the door.

“It’ll cost you an arm and a leg to get a locksmith out at this hour.”

The boy stops in his tracks.

“Yeah, well,” he shrugs, “not a lot of choice, have I?”

“You could stay until tomorrow,” Eliott hears himself say before he can think it trough. Or until the day after, his treacherous mind adds, as he drinks the heavenly brew.

The guy’s eyes open even wider.

“Really?”

“Really,” Eliott says. “I’m not the best company right now, but there should be enough soup for both of us, and uh, we could watch a movie or something.”

A long beat passes, and then the guy steps back into the kitchen, getting out the soup, and firing up the microwave.

“Thanks. I’m Lucas.”

“Eliott. And you’re welcome.”

They grin at each other.

Eliott feels the last drags of his dark mood disappear.

A good neighbour is worth more than a distant friend, he thinks, and if something inside him pipes up to say that neighbours can become friends, or even more than friends, he tries to ignore it. For now.

#I write things #50 cliché prompts #Elu #skam france fanfic

18 notes · View notes

crimedawgbylaw · 6 years ago

Text

Rap music I liked, 2018

ATLANTA:

1. Gunna - “Oh Okay (feat. Young Thug & Lil Baby)” 2. Trippie Redd - “I Kill People! (feat. Tadoe & Chief Keef)” 3. YFN Lucci - “Propane (feat. YFN Kay & YFN Trae Pound)” 4. Playboy Carti - “Mileage (feat. Chief Keef)” 5. Zaytoven & Future - “Mo Reala” BONUS: Young Thug - “High (feat. Elton John)”

BATON ROUGE:

1. Kevin Gates - “Change Lanes” 2. Maine Musik - “Shanzu” 3. 70th Street Carlos - “Bang Bang” 4. Mista Cain - “Best Friend” 5. Vintage Rippah - “How We Play It (feat. Que Almighty & Jungle Muzik Larry)” BONUS: Joeazzy - “Let Me In (feat. Mouse On Tha Track)” [Video Version]

BAY AREA

1. SOB X RBE - “Paramedic (feat. Kendrick Lamar)” 2. Nasty Nate - “91 Premium (feat. Mike Sherm)” 3. Daboii - “Ridin” 4. ALLBLACK - “ALLWHITE” 5. Husalah - “Bad Young Thang” BONUS: NyNy - “Arco (feat. Daboii)”

CANADA:

1. Drake - “Nice For What” 2. Ramriddlz - “Cheeseman” 3. Lil Berete - “Migraines” 4. 88Glam - “Blue Faces” 5. 2Kz - “Wild” BONUS: Big Lean - “Henny Hardaway Remix”

CHICAGO:

1. Valee & Jeremih - “Womp Womp” 2. G Herbo - “Who Run It Remix (feat. Lil Uzi Vert)” 3. Kanye West - “I Love It (feat. Lil Pump)” 4. Vic Mensa & Valee - “Dim Sum” 5. Calboy - “Envy Me” BONUS: FBG Duck - “Slide”

DETROIT:

1. Sada Baby & Drego - “Bloxk Party” 2. Cash Kidd - “Text Now” 3. Sada Baby & FMB DZ - “Rock With Us” 4. Jeno Cashh - “Dog Food (feat. Peezy & FMB DZ)” 5. Cammy Bands - “40 Bars” BONUS: Peezy - “Back End”

DETROIT/BAY AREA COLLABS:

1. Slimmy B - “Lockdown (feat. Cash Kidd)” 2. Philthy Rich & FMB DZ - “Buss Down Brothers” 3. Cash Kidd - “I’m On (feat. Yhung T.O.)” 4. Bandgang - “Ain’t No Problem (feat. SOB X RBE & Shredgang Mone)” 5. Teflon Twaun - “Fidgeting (feat. Sada Baby & Nef The Pharaoh)” BONUS: Philthy Rich & Peezy - “Eastside (feat. Jim Jones)”

DMV:

1. Black Fortune - “DMV Anthem” 2. Creek Boyz - “Trap Digits” 3. Vintage Lee - “Hennythings Possible” 4. Baby 9eno - “Take Risk (feat. Big Boss Donno)” 5. Shaboozey - “Break The Band (How Could You)” BONUS: Lil Dude & Goonew - “Quick Draw”

EMO RAP:

1. Juice WRLD - “Scared Of Love” 2. Pi’erre Bourne - “Hacked My Instagram” 3. Trippie Redd - “Taking A Walk” 4. Princess Nokia - “Morphine” [Video Version] 5. Lil Peep - “Life Is Beautiful” BONUS: LEAVEMEALONE - “No Smoke”

FLORIDA:

1. YNW Melly - “Virtual (Blue Balenciagas)” 2. Kodak Black - “Calling My Spirit” 3. JayO Sama - “Drama” 4. City Girls - “Act Up 5. Kiddo Marv - “Visa (feat. John Wicks, Freese Cola, YBJ & CBE)” BONUS: GlokkNine - “Hide & Seek (feat. FSG Bangout, RugRatOD & Fooli)”

LOS ANGELES:

1. Shoreline Mafia - “Nun Major” 2. Kendrick Lamar - “King’s Dead (feat. Jay Rock, Future & James Blake)” 3. 03 Greedo - “Wake Me Up In Traffic (feat. Shoreline Mafia & Drakeo The Ruler)” 4. Earl Swavey - “2Way Freestyle” 5. Blueface - “Bleed It” BONUS: YBN Almighty Jay - “Chopsticks”

NEW YORK:

1. Sheck Wes - “Mo Bamba” 2. Abillyon - “Smoked (feat. Poppa Da Don)” 3. French Montana - “No Stylist (feat. Drake)” 4. Cardi B - “I Like It (feat. Bad Bunny & J Balvin)” 5. Envy Caine - “Never Stop” BONUS: A$AP Rocky - “Praise The Lord (feat. Skepta)”

UNITED KINGDOM:

1. AJ Tracy - “LO(V/S)ER” 2. Headie One - “Know Better (feat. RV)” 3. Silwood Nation - “Part Of Our Town” 4. Kenny Allstar - “Tracksuit Love (feat. Headie One)” 5. Jon E Cash - “Hoods Up Dub (Sam Binga & Chimpo RMX ft Trigga & Killa P)” BONUS: Not3s - “M3 Not You”

10 FROM OTHER PLACES:

1. Don Toliver - “Backend” [Houston] 2. Lil Uzi Vert - “New Patek” [Philadelphia] 3. Amine - “Reel It In” [Portland] 4. Blocboy JB - “Rover” [Memphis] 5. Owty - “That’s Me” [???] 6. FNN B Will - “Fire Bricks” [Shreveport, LA] 7. Travis Scott - “Can’t Say (feat. Don Toliver)” [Houston] 8. Sango - “Khlorine (feat. Smino)” [Seattle/St. Louis] 9. Meek Mill - “Oodles O’ Noodles Babies” [Philadelphia] 10. Tierra Whack - “Fuck Off” [Philadelphia]

25 NOT RAP SONGS:

A. Boogie Wit Da Hoodie - “Play Me Now” Ajebutter22 - “Ghana Bounce Remix (feat. Mr. Eazi & Eugy)” Bad Bunny - “Estamos Bien” Bakar - “WTF” Bali Baby - “Backseat” Burna Boy - “Calm Down” Christine & The Queens - “Girlfriend (feat. Dam-Funk)” Deejay Astral - “Duality” Drake - “Ratchet Happy Birthday” Ella Mai - “Whatchamacallit (feat. Chris Brown)” How To Dress Well - “Nonkilling 6 | Hunger” Jeremih & Ty Dolla $ign - “Goin Thru Some Thangz” Jorja Smith - “Where Did I Go?” Kaytranada - “NOTHIN LIKE U (feat. Ty Dolla $ign)” Khalid, 6lack & Ty Dolla $ign - “OTW” Leon Vynehall - “Movements (Chapter III)” Koffee - “Toast” Mura Masa - “Move Me” Popcaan - “Lef My Gun” Rae Sremmurd - “Offshore (feat. Young Thug)” Sango - “Rude (feat. Jean Deux)” Sean Leon - “90 Bpm” Swamp Dogg - “Answer Me, My Love” Teyana Taylor - “WTP” Trey Songz - “Body High (feat. Swae Lee)”

10 ALBUMS:

1. Travis Scott - Astroworld 2. Key! & Kenny Beats - 777 3. Playboy Carti - Die Lit 4. Kodak Black - Dying To Live 5. Kevin Gates - Luca Brasi 3 6. Kanye West & Kid Cudi - Kids See Ghosts 7. Burna Boy - Outside 8. City Girls - City Code 9. Drake - Scorpion 10. Trippie Redd - Life’s A Trip BONUS: Tierra Whack - Whack World

(links provided for songs not on spotify)

#2018 #listseason #late #music #rap #notrap #greatyear #anotherone

18 notes · View notes

the-gedonelune-times · 6 years ago

Text

Aperio Amore.

@leonthecardboardunicorn Surprise! I’m your secret Valentine gift giver! I know how much you love your sweet boy Leon, so I’ve decided to gift you both a story and edit dedicated to your favorite Unicorn and an edit of your favorite dragon: Hugo!

“Eating your food in one of our favorite spots makes me happy.”

As Leon took another bite into his sandwich, I felt myself grin from ear to ear at his kind words. We were sharing lunch at one of our favorite spots; the spring. Sometimes we were given the rare opportunity to see the Unicorn that resided here. Not to mention some of our favorite creatures came here from time to time.

“I’m happy too.” I smiled. “But hey, Leon, where do you think we should have lunch tomorrow?”

“Hmm…” Leon seemed lost in thought for a few moments before smiling at me. “Can we go to the Northern Forest tomorrow? I want to see the butterflies again.”

“Sounds like a plan, I’ll make sure to bring us lunches again!” I beamed.

“You’re really cute, Liz.”

“H-Huh?”

“Sorry did you not wish to be called that?”

“N-no, it’s not that…” I felt my cheeks grow hot and I looked away from him. “I just didn’t understand why you were calling me cute,”

“Because you sounded really happy and that makes me happy.”

“I’m always happy when I get to spend time with you, Leon.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“That makes me even happier.”

I watched as Leon’s cheeks turned a soft pink before taking another bite into his sandwich, I found myself unable to look away from his beautiful features and I began to blush as well.

“Squee!”

I was snapped out of my trance and turned to look in the direction from which the noise had come from. Out of the bushes, a white Carbuncle rolled out and bounced towards us happily.

“Oh, Leon, look! A Carbuncle!”

“It’s been a while since we last saw one of their kind.”

“Right?!”

I happily held out my hand and the carbuncle began to climb up my arm but stopped; sticking his nose up in the air before retreating back down and making his way straight for Leon. He stopped right in front and looked up at the sandwich in Leon’s hands, with shining eyes.

“Seems like he’s hungry.”

“Is that so?” Leon carefully tore off a piece of his sandwich and held it down for the Carbuncle. “There you go.” He smiled and watched as the Carbuncle took the piece in his own hands and began to nibble at it happily.

I found myself giggling and leaning on Leon, my head resting on his shoulder as we continued to watch the Carbuncle. More had shown up later and for the remainder of our lunch, watching and fed them before having to depart for our next class.

-------------

Classes for the day were about to end and as I was packing my things, I heard a voice call out from behind, followed by a tap on my shoulder.

“Are you ready to walk back to the dorms?”

“Yes, let me get all of my things together first though.”

Once I finished, I got up from my seat and walked out of the room with Leon. His hand reached over and held on to mine as we walked and I felt a sense of comfort wash over me. I always loved walking back with Leon, his presence helped relieve any stress from classes and the smile he always wore when he held my hand made me feel so happy. We had just turned the corner and was walking down the cobbled paving that led to our dorms when Leon suddenly stopped and looked over at a patch of flowers.

“Leon? Is everything okay?”

“Those flowers match the description.”

“What description?”

“The one that Luca gave me.”

As he spoke, Leon let go of my hand and walked over to the flowers before kneeling down and plucking one from the patch where it grew. The peach colored petals seemed to glow in the little bit of light that was shining down upon it. For a second, I was completely captivated by it, but a moment later, I shook myself out of the trance I had set myself in and looked at Leon, who was now heading my way with the flower in his hand. He pushed my bangs back and nestled the flower securely in my hair before taking a step back.

“You look so beautiful.”

I felt my cheeks heat up while I gently touched the flower. “Thank you, but Leon? Is it really okay to just take a flower like that?”

“Luca told me lots of people pick up these kinds of flowers and give them to the people they really like. I think they’re safe to pick, did you not want the flower?” His smile had faded and he looked at me concerned as if he might have done something wrong.

“No! Not at all, in fact, I’m really happy that you gave me the flower.”

The moment I finished speaking, Leon broke into that cute smile of his once more before taking hold of my hand.

“It makes me happy to see you happy.”

-------------

After reaching our destination, we said our goodnights before departing in separate directions. I was making my way to my room, all while fiddling around with the flower that Leon had picked for me, I really was grateful to have him in my life. He was always doing his best and made me extremely happy, so happy in fact that I often wondered if my own efforts weren’t enough…

That thought lingered with me, even when I opened the door to my room and was greeted by my roommate.

“Hey Liz!”

“Hey Amelia!”

Closing the door behind me, I set my stuff down before walking over to my bed and flopping down.

“Is everything okay, Liz?” Amelia asked before flopping right down beside me on my bed.

“Yeah, I guess…”

“You can’t fool me, I can see right through you, something is up. Does it have something to do with your boyfriend? Or perhaps that flower?”

I watched as Amelia’s gaze went from my face to the flower in my hair.

“Where did you get that flower anyways?”

“Leon gave it to me. I guess he talked to Luca and Luca told him that this specific flower is something people give to the ones they really like.”

“Oh, how sweet! Does this mean that’s his Love Holiday gift to you?”

“Huh?”

“Wait, Liz, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten!”

“I…”

“The Love Holiday is tomorrow!”

I found myself practically jumping off of my bed in surprise. “Seriously?! Oh no, I haven’t even gotten Leon anything!”

“Calm down, Liz, you still have a little bit of time!”

“But I’ll be swamped with work and my duties, I won’t be able to go into town and find something. Not to mention baking is out of the question.”

“It’ll be alright.” Amelia began to rub my back reassuringly before flashing me a smile. “I actually have an idea for you. See, Augustus and Scarlett told me about this thing called a heart-o-gram.”

“What’s a heart-o-gram?”

“Basically it’s like a holographic card, see, you can take a card or something special and say this incantation: ‘Use the light in my heart, to speak words both bold true, Aperio Amore.’ then the object will allow you to record a very special message for the one you love! It’ll even show a hologram of you, so you could move around and stuff.”

“That’s sounds so cute! Oh, but what if I get nervous or what if I mess up my words?”

“No way will that happen, see, when you cast the spell, it also puts one on you, so all the words you speak will be exactly how you feel from your heart. It’ll all flow naturally, or at least that’s what Scarlett and Augustus explained.”

“I’ll be sure to remember the incantation. Oh, Amelia!” I hugged her tightly and smiled. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Amelia giggled before hugging me back, then she pulled away and let out a yawn. “Wow, I’m more tired than I thought.”

“Well…” I glanced at the clock. “It’s actually getting pretty late.” I stretched my arms and I too, let out a yawn,

“Guess we should call it a night then, huh?”

“Yeah, that would probably be for the best, especially since I have to make the gift rather early so I’m not distracted from my studies.”

“Mmm, well, goodnight, Liz.”

Amelia smiled before moving herself off of my bed and crawling into her own, pulling the covers over herself before turning off the light on the nightstand, plunging us both into a dimly moonlit room. I found myself lost in my thoughts briefly, because the moment I slid under my own covers, I found eyes grow heavy while my vision slowly faded into darkness.

-------------

I had woken up earlier than usual and decided to head down to the breakfast hall and see if it was open. Luckily for me, it was, so I was able to snag a few breakfast items and run. I had until the end of the day to give Leon the gift, so I had to think of something and fast. All I’d need to do now was find an object to cast the spell on, then record the message. But that left me with the issue of finding a special object for that purpose. I began searching through my head of all the things Leon liked, I knew he loved nature, marshmallows, spending time together, animals...

I let out a little sigh, wondering if I'd ever come up with an idea and as if on cue, a small butterfly landed on my nose before flying away a few moments later. I recognized the type of butterfly almost immediately, it was one of the butterflies that resided in the Northern Forest. I knew this because Leon and I would spend time chasing, catching and watching them while on our usual lunch dates. I smiled while looking back on the memory and my heart filled with a wonderful warm feeling.

I almost took a step back and tripped over my own two feet; I knew exactly what to do now! I reached into my bag and began rummaging around until I found what I was looking for; golden colored paper. I then began to fold the paper both intricately and skillfully and after a few minutes I held the finished project up in the sunlight and smiled. I had made an origami butterfly based on the color and design of the butterflies in the Northern Forest. Gently setting the butterfly down softly, I held out my wand and pointed at it.

“Use the light in my heart, to speak words both bold and true, Aperio Amore!”

A pink colored orb of light shot out from the tip of my wand and was absorbed into the butterfly, bathing it and a soft pink colored light. At the same time, I could feel a warm feeling in my heart and before I knew it, I began to speak.

‘Leon, thank you for all that you do and have done for me, you make me the happiest girl in the world when you smile, and when we laugh and talk with one another, my heart always gets a warm fuzzy feeling. All I want to do is make you smile and be happy like you do for me every day. There’s no denying that I love you and….I always will.’

The light on the butterfly dimmed before going out, signaling that the recording had finished. I then scooped up the small butterfly and secured it somewhere safe before heading off to get an early start on classwork. I couldn’t wait for when the last class would end for the day so I could surprise Leon with my gift.

-------------

By the time I had made it to my first class, there was already a couple of students there, one being Elias. He seemed rather focused on the Grimoire in his hands, so I decided to take my seat and not disrupt him. In fact, I took out my own books and began doing a little bit of review over what we had recently learned. I knew at some point, Schuyler would drop a surprise quiz on us and before that, I wanted to make sure I was prepared.

As time went on, more students began to pour into the class, Yukiya and his familiar, followed up by Cerim and his, each gave me a greeting before finding their seats and getting ready for class. But as more people came in, I realized that someone, in particular, hadn’t shown up yet, which was odd considering he usually showed up on time or a little earlier than the others.

“Hey, Yukiya?” I tapped on his shoulder gently, getting his attention.

“Yeah?”

“Did you by any chance see Leon on your way here?”

“No, I didn’t, I’m sorry.”

“I see..”

“Maybe he’s just running a little late? It’s happened before right?”

Yukiya was right, there were actually a couple of occasions where Leon would arrive late for class, but each one had to deal with him checking up on the spring. Except for that one time, when he had accidentally fallen asleep in the forest. I smiled while reminiscing memories from the past. But that smile quickly faded when I was reminded of the recent warnings that the headmaster had given us, about how there had been hostile creatures wandering around the forest areas. Despite that, Leon and I had yet to come into contact with any of them, but I began to wonder if maybe Leon recently had while in his night form. Just the thought made me want to run out of the classroom and look for him…

“Alright class, today we’ll be learning about mythical creatures. Now can anyone give me an example of one? How about you, Miss Hart?”

“O-Oh, well, a Unicorn?”

“Good answer. You see, Unicorns are a very rare type of mythical creature, and are on the brink of extinction. It’s been said that Unicorns were hunted for the very special reason, can anyone answer why?”

I quickly raised my hand, knowing the answer all too well.

“Miss Hart.”

“It’s been said that Unicorns were hunted for the magical properties of their horns. We can think of their horn as a wand, they could use it to cast spells and because of that, their horn became a vital ingredient for certain elixirs. But most of the people used their horn, were dabblers in Dark Magic.”

“Well done, Miss Hart. Now we’ll go onto another mythical creature, can anyone name another one?”

A girl from the back raised her hand and was then called upon. “A mermaid?”

“Good, now the thing about mermaids…”

Schuyler began to write down facts about many other mythical creatures and before long, class was deemed over and yet, there was still no sight of Leon anywhere. It was like this for the remaining class too, since classes were shorter due to the Holiday. Couples were walking out of the classes holding hands or giving gifts to their sweethearts, though the sight was cute, I wasn’t sticking around, I needed to find Leon. I ran down the bustling hallway, down the stairs and outside, my cloak fluttering behind me as I ran as fast as I could. I had a good feeling of where he might be at, I just hoped everything was alright….

“Leon?”

I managed to call out his name, despite my heavy breathing. I had made it to the Northern Forest and had my back pressed up against a nearby tree, while I tried to regain my composure. When I was sure I could muster calling out again, I did, but once again got no response. Maybe he was at the Spring? I groaned a little when I pushed away from the tree and walked around the area a little bit just to confirm that he wasn’t nearby. Once it was deemed clear, I took off sprinting once more, this time I was heading towards the spring.

Once there, I felt my legs give out from exhaustion, perhaps sprinting to both places wasn’t the best idea, but at the time, I didn’t care.

“Liz?”

A familiar voice called out to me, I didn’t even need to look up to know who it was.

“Leon! You’re okay!”

Even though I was exhausted, I pushed myself off the ground and rushed right into his arms, embracing him tightly.

“I’m fine, why were you worried?”

“W-well I haven’t seen you at all today and when you didn’t show up for class, I got worried. I know that you come out here sometimes to check up on this place, but with the recent warnings of hostile magical creatures, my worry only grew stronger. I couldn’t wait around and wonder if you were out there hurt or not, so I started running to all of our usual spots.”

“Oh no…” Leon hugged me tightly and began to caress my hair. “I didn’t mean to worry you, Liz.”

“It’s okay, I’m just glad to know that you’re safe. But I’m still rather curious as to why you’re out here? You’re usually not here for very long.”

“I came here to find and give you this.” Pulling away from me, Leon reached and grabbed a white flower and my eyes widened in shock.

“Is that an Aruenaristy?”

“Yes. Look inside the petals.”

“O-okay.”

I inched my face closer to the flower, peering inside. The petals began to shine a silvery white and a hologram of Leon came up, he had such a kind smile on his face and soon a message of his love began to play.

‘Liz, I don’t know where I’d be without you, the time we’ve spent together has changed me, there are so many new things and feelings I get to experience with you. I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy in my life and it’s all thanks to you. I promise to love you always and I hope we can be together forever.’

When the message ended, I could feel the tears that I tried so hard to hold back, came falling down my cheek.

“Liz?!” Leon looked at me with concern, but I gave him a smile.

“Don’t worry, Leon, I’m not sad, these aren’t sad tears, these are happy tears.”

“Happy tears?”

“Yes, sometimes when a person is really happy, they’ll cry.”

Taking his sleeve, Leon began to wipe at my eyes.

“Happy tears, sad tears… I don’t want to see any tears.” He gently caressed my cheek and I smiled once more.

“Wait, I just realized something, you just gave me a heart-o-gram, right?”

“Yes, but how did you know?”

“W-well, because I made you one too.”

“You did?”

“Yeah, after Amelia told me about them.”

“She told me too.”

“Huh?!”

“I saw Amelia yesterday and I asked her what girls would like, Luca told me that you have to give your girlfriend something for the Love Holiday, but I didn’t know where to start. So I asked your roommate and she told me about it.”

I blushed and put my hands over my face in embarrassment, I didn’t realize Leon had given me the same gift that I was going to give him.

“May I have it?”

“Hm?”

“May I have the gift? You said you made me one too, can I see it?”

“O-oh, sure!”

Reaching into the pocket of my cloak, I gently took out the origami butterfly and held it out to Leon. Just like with the flower, when Leon got close, a soft light emitted from it and a hologram popped up, delivering a proclamation of love. When it ended, Leon had a soft blush on his face and probably one of the biggest smiles I had ever seen, on his face.

“I love you.”

He whispered before embracing me and lifting me off the ground, spinning me around before kissing me gently. The kiss, though short, was sweet and filled entirely with love. Once my feet were back on the ground and our lips parted, we gave each other a smile.

“Liz, can we spend the Love Holiday together next year?”

“Yes.”

“What about the year after that?”

“Yes.” I giggled.

“And after that?”

I laughed and stood on my tiptoes, placing a gentle kiss on his lips. “We can spend every Love Holiday together.”

“Really? You mean it?”

“Yes, I really mean it.”

Leon embraced me once more and I leaned into him, I was so happy that we got to spend the Love Holiday together and I couldn’t wait to celebrate many more Love Holidays with the one I loved, and as we held each other at the spring, a warm feeling of happiness filled my heart.

#mc #Leon #wizardess heart #Valentine's gift exchange #hugo peers #edits

6 notes · View notes

itsomgitsgreenblogging · 7 years ago

Text

Keeping it Classy (Chapter 1): A Solangelo Fic

Hey, I’m not dead! I’ve emerged from my long hiatus with a new fic. Another college AU...because I apparently can’t get enough of these, on top of being loaded with a bunch of other tropes. But hey? I love that stuff and it inspired me enough to get out of my funk so I’m grateful.

I hope you enjoy!

Read on AO3

Preview:

“What about that boy over there? He’s totally your type,” Reyna said and when Nico gave her a scandalized look she huffed. “What? You deserve to have fun and be happy. And really, he’s pretty hot. Come on.”

This time Nico actually followed her gaze to where she was looking and immediately regretted everything. All the thoughts in his brain came to a screeching, grinding halt like a train slamming on the breaks and crashing into a station named “oh my god what the literal fuck”.

“No, you are freaking kidding me,” Nico said as he stared at tall, gorgeous, straight boy daydream coffee crush Will who was chatting it up with Jason and some a group of others who looked vaguely familiar. Of course it was his luck that the dude he was fantasizing about (totally innocently mind you) would show up in his actual life. How rude and inconsiderate could you get?

“Oh hey, Will Solace. I’m glad he came!” Percy said happily.

Nico wasn’t a morning person, that was clear to every single person who knew him. Honestly Nico had a personal vendetta against the sun for daring to wake him up with its light. But his despair wasn’t enough to keep him from his duties, so as always he dragged himself out of bed. Nico scrounged around for a pair of jeans that didn’t have any noticeable stains and a shirt he hadn’t worn within the past three days. He brushed his teeth and attempted to pull a comb through his hair, grabbed his phone, pulled on a sweatshirt and his backpack and half stumbled out the door close enough to being on time that it could actually be considered a good morning. Nico was thoroughly on auto-pilot as he wandered down the street, yawning so wide that he felt like his jaw was about to unhinge. By the time that he made it to the coffee shop some of the haze had disappeared with the brisk breeze, and though he was still rubbing sleep-crud out from his eyes he had his hopes on setting his eyes on something...or someone.

He came into the coffee shop every morning religiously. Piper (who was his roommate’s girlfriend), noticed him from behind the counter as he approached and smiled at him. Nico was sure that half or more than half of the customers came in just to see her, seeing as she was not only beautiful but insanely easy to talk to. But Nico’s favorite thing about her, seeing as he had no interest in her that way, was that she always remembered what he liked. Whether that be turning down the volume when Jason played X-Box, or how he liked his coffee. She was considerate like that.

“Morning Nico, I put in your usual when I saw you,” Piper said with a smile as if on cue.

“Thanks,” Nico said honestly as he swiped his phone to check the charge, cringing as he saw a measly 10%. He must’ve forgotten to plug his phone in, he would have to do that at some point in the day. Nico stood off to the side with the others who had already ordered. For the first time he pulled out his phone and checked his email and his tumblr, while simply enjoying the smell of coffee. It was Nico’s time, before his day got too hectic. It just let him wake up with some semblance of grace, as opposed to spending the rest of his day as some kind of swamp monster.

“Morning.”

Nico looked up, and caught blue eyes.

Oh Jesus fuck, Nico’s brain supplied. It’s Will.

Now, the only reason Nico even knew the guy’s name was because it was written on the side of his coffee every morning. Nico hadn’t ever actually spoken to him besides the polite morning greeting, though he had often appeared in Nico’s rather sordid daydreams. And Nico couldn’t be blamed for that since Will was drop dead gorgeous, tall and broad with golden curls and tanned freckled skin, a smile that could endear even the most terrifying soccer mom, and blue eyes that were wide and welcoming. Unfortunately Will was also definitely as straight as a ruler. Any boy that Nico had met who wore baggy plaid cargo shorts and a white polo was tragically straight (though thankfully he was dressed in jeans and a flannel that was far more flattering and that he filled out nicely). Not wishing the relive the absolute worst part of high school (i.e. lusting after a straight boy), Nico kept his interactions with Will as brief as possible, though he saw the guy almost every day.

“Good morning,” Nico said, half-choking on his tongue, trying to pull up some kind of pleasant expression but probably failing. Will smiled at him, white teeth glinting like he was a model on some kind of toothpaste ad and it made Nico’s knees feel a little wobbly. God Will was probably an amazing kisser, he had a kissable looking face if there was such a thing. Will’s kissable mouth moving down his neck...down his chest, leaving marks where everyone could see--

Great, discovering new kinks and lusting after the guy at the coffee shop at 8:30 in the morning. Nico thought to himself, face feeling warm as he ducked his head down in an attempt to drown himself in his phone screen. He could almost hear his sister Hazel saying something along the lines of: way to keep it classy Nico Luca Giuseppe di Angelo.

“Will, order up,” Piper called as she placed Nico’s order and Will’s on the counter. “Nico, order up.”

“Thank you,” Will said with a bright thankful smile. Nico simply nodded his thanks as he went to swipe his two coffees and food off the counter. Nico walked towards the door, attempting to balance his coffees and his bag while also stuffing his phone in his jacket pocket.

“Here,” Will said as he opened the door.

“Oh, uh, thanks,” Nico said, caught off guard by the gentlemanly gesture, blinking rapidly as his eyes attempted to get used to the radiance of the sun and of Will which was easier said than done.

“Have a good rest of your day, Nico,” Will told him as he stood to the side and allowed Nico to walk by him.

“How do you know my name?” Nico asked, surprised by the sound of his own name in the hot tones of Will’s smooth as warmed butter voice.

“Coffee cup,” Will said cheerfully as he held up his own that was emblazoned with his name in Piper’s elegant script.

“Oh. Oh, yeah,” Nico said as he stuttered awkwardly. “Right. Uh, have a good one.”

“Bye,” Will said with a wave.

“Bye,” Nico said shortly. He stood there numbly for a second, watching Will leave and turn down the street. That had just happened, Nico thought. And he couldn’t really believe it. Will seemed like a nice guy, a nice and completely unattainable guy. Just his luck. It would have been so much easier if he was an asshole, Nico thought crossly.

“Wipe that drool off your chin,” Hazel’s voice came from the side. Nico looked to the side and saw her grinning at him, gold eyes glinting with humor and tapping her ballerina flats on the sidewalk as she looked at him expectantly.

“Oh stop it,” Nico chided his sister as he handed her one of the coffees and hoped that it was the right one. She opened the cover, looked, and seemed pleased as she replaced the cover and began to take a sip.

“He’s cute though,” Hazel told him as she nudged him. “Really cute. Is that your Coffee Crush?”

“Coffee Crush--he is not my crush!” Nico told her way too quickly. Hazel, like a true relative of his, sensed his weakness and pounced like a shark. “How did you even know about him?”

“Oh he so is, he’s totally your type. You pretend to be all dark and brooding but you actually get all hot and bothered under the collar over fine upstanding young gentlemen callers who you could bring home to your mama,” Hazel said with a widening grin, and Nico tried not to squirm due to the accurate assessment of his weaknesses. “Besides, there are only three reasons you would get up at this time. Number one, you have class. Which you don’t until 10:00 and I know this because I have your schedule memorized. Number two, which is more likely, you are planning and executing a murder. Also impossible seeing as you didn’t tell me you were murdering someone which you so would because you would need my help. Number three, which I now see is the case, you totally have a crush.”

“Please stop talking about this I beg of you,” Nico implored desperately, looking around. It would be just his luck that one of the people he knew would be listening in and tease him endlessly because of this.

“Okay, okay, got it,” Hazel told him as she hooked her arm through Nico’s.

“As if I would bring anyone to meet Persephone. She might bite his nose off, and I happen to like the shape of his nose,” Nico told Hazel as he sipped his black coffee, with one sugar just exactly as he liked it, before grinning. “And besides, I’m perfectly capable of murder without incriminating you. Don’t think I haven’t done it before.”

“I think I’m liking 9:00 AM Nico, he’s feisty,” Hazel giggled.

“As if you know the half of it.”

Nico didn’t party.

The reasons were as follows:

He had tried it a few times and it seemed like it never went well for him.

No, it wasn’t any of your business what happened in Albania during Nico’s semester abroad, fuck you, he wasn’t going to say it.

So how did Nico deal with the fact that one of his roommates, Percy Jackson (yes, the Percy Jackson) was pretty much the unofficial mayor of the college? Well normally he just tended to avoid his apartment when he knew there would be mischief at hand. But that day Percy swore up and down that it would only be a couple people coming over. By ten the coffee table had been converted to beer pong, the apartment was full to bursting with people drunk off their asses, and Nico had taken to hiding in his bedroom.

“Nico, Nico come out!” Percy’s voice came from the other side, where all the noise was coming from to be more exact. Nico at that moment had a choice to make. Either he could just pretend the party wasn’t happening and stay in his room, or suck it up and go out there.

Nico turned over in his bed, perfectly content to stay there under his covers and enjoying his rest. It worked for maybe two minutes while Percy continued to knock, and when the noise ceased, Nico just assumed that Percy had gotten bored and breathed a sigh of relief. Despite all the noise, he had even started to think he might actually be able to fall asleep.

“Nico, get out here.”

Shit, Nico thought to himself with a wince. They’d brought out the big guns. Nico dragged his feet and walked over to the door, yanking it open to reveal Reyna who was dressed in a flaming red crop top and waist-high jeans. She was even wearing her battle body, not a good sign. He wasn’t going to win this battle.

“What?” Nico demanded shortly hoping for minimum bloodshed on his part. Reyna raised a brow.

“This is an intervention. Come out and interact socially with your peers.”

“Bite me,” Nico scoffed, tossing a look to Percy.

“Sorry, I don’t want any diseases,” Percy said as he held his hands up. “You could be rabid. I once got bit by a rabid chipmunk and I don’t want to go through that again.”

“Oh wow Jackson real mature,” Nico huffed, but he didn’t go back in his room for the moment, which Percy obviously took as a sign of victory and grinned.

“Oh come on, put yourself out there, flirt with cute boys. Knock them dead, just not literally because I don’t want to have to spend the rest of my weekend dealing with that, I have a date with Annabeth tomorrow and like, she’d totally get it and understand and all but still. I don’t like disappointing her,” Percy said worriedly.

“Literally you are nauseating,” Nico told him.

“Oh hey, Will Solace. I’m glad he came!” Percy said happily.

“Wait you know him?” Nico demanded, absorbing this new information. Will Solace, Will Solace. His name had a ring to it, a musical quality. Somehow even his name was attractive which only served to piss him off. And somehow Percy knew Will, which Nico supposed was inevitable since Percy knew everyone but still. Nico had liked to think that Will lived in a cave unburdened by society and only emerged to get coffee and be Nico’s fantasy, and the fact that Will lived on the peripheral of Nico’s friend group somehow made him more nervous. All of Nico’s friends were freaks (who Nico loved and cared about though he would never say it but they were all still certifiably freaky) so if Will was his friend’s friend that meant he must also be some form of freaky.

“What? Yeah, of course. He’s in my organic chemistry study group,” Percy told him. “How do you know him?”

“Oh my God,” Reyna said, eyebrows shooting up. “Will Solace is your coffee guy?”

“Wait really?” Percy gasped.

“Why does everyone know about my coffee guy?” Nico hissed at them. “What did Hazel even tell you?”

“It was Piper who said something. And she just said there was a cute boy you liked who you see at the coffee shop,” Reyna said with a scoff. “I don’t see why it’s a big deal. Go flirt with him.”

“No thanks I have promised myself that I won’t lust after straight boys considering last time—sorry Percy—“

Percy snorted, which caused Nico to look at him. Percy just smirked at Nico.

“No, no. Sorry. I don’t want to burst your bubble here, since you’ve convinced yourself Will’s not available,” Percy told Nico casually, obviously trying and failing to keep himself from smiling. “Continue.”

“What the hell do you know that I don’t?” Nico demanded.

“I’m not one to disclose other people sexual orientations, but Will’s on the organizing committee for the Pride parade activities on campus and the vice president of the university’s GSA chapter. I would say it’s safe to assume he’s probably into dudes,” Percy said with a shrug.

“Well maybe he’s just a straight ally,” Nico grumbled.

“I’m going to go get a drink before I drown in self-sabotage. Nico, if you don’t at least get his number, so help me God, we will have to have a conversation after tonight,” Reyna told Nico sternly, jabbing two fingers in an “I’m watching you” motion before walking off to talk to say hello to someone who was waving her down. Nico stood there, feeling abandoned by Reyna, God, Cthulhu, and the Force as he figured somehow along the line someone had let his life become this.

“So, do you want me to officially introduce you to him?” Percy asked curiously. “If you really don’t want to, it’s fine though.”

“No, let’s do this,” Nico said. “Introduce me.”

Nico followed Percy through the crowd, which was difficult considering people stopped Percy every two steps to say hello to him. For someone who always complained about having too much to do, Percy had probably found a way to help or befriend every single person he’d ever met. Which, Nico supposed was one of Percy’s charming qualities but he wouldn’t admit that even at gunpoint. Nico stuck behind him, avoiding conversation as much as possible and trying to steel himself for the impossible task of actually having a conversation with Will besides the polite morning greetings he had grown accustomed to without utterly embarrassing himself. Nico didn’t think flirting with Will and getting his number was going to be happening any time soon, so the very least he could do was fool Will Solace into thinking he was a functioning member of society.

“Oh, hey Percy!” Jason said, and Percy waved back. Nico at this point was frozen, definitely couldn’t move because there was Will looking at him. At the sight of Nico standing slightly behind Percy, Jason grinned. “Nico, oh my god they managed to get you out of your room. Percy, I told you calling in Reyna for reinforcements was a good idea.”

“Oh I see, so you’re the one who sent Reyna?” Nico asked attention split from Will, before glaring at Jason darkly. “Percy I now find you less annoying. Jason’s the one who betrayed me. Don’t think I’m going to forgive you for this discretion Grace.”

“Oh come on, having fun is good for you Nico. Don’t be contrarian,” Jason said with a shake of his head.

“Oath-breaker,” Nico spat.

“Well you’re at the party aren’t you?”

“The party that’s happening in my apartment that I didn’t ask for!”

“You’re still here right?”

“I’m not going to leave my apartment! What do you take me for, a weakling?”

“Anyways, before Nico tears off someone’s head and eat their innards and by someone I mean Jason,” Percy said, trying to redirect Nico. “Nico, I don’t think you’ve met Lou Ellen, Cecil, and Will yet. Everyone, this is Nico di Angelo. Nico, everyone.”

Welp, there goes the functioning member of society thing, Nico thought as he cringed. Now Will probably thinks I’m an axe murderer. Granted my freaking roommates make me consider it daily but…

“We’ve met before,” Will said with a wide smile that was balm for his soul, a light that made him wonder if this was what that dope in Plato’s allegory felt like when he first walked out the damn cave.

“Holy shit, I didn’t realize Scary Nico was the same as Nico at the coffee shop,” the guy, Cecil, in surprise. Nico squinted at him. He was sort of plain looking except for his mischievous grin and his slightly goofy ears, but he did look familiar. The answer suddenly dawned on him.

“You were in my Business Math class weren’t you?” Nico asked him suspiciously.

“Uh, yeah? He made our TA cry just by glaring at him once, it was fucking awesome,” Cecil explained to a very confused looking Will as he stuck out his hand. “Cecil Markowitz, it’s a pleasure to officially meet you, Nico.”

“Lou Ellen Blackstone, I know your sister, from the art studio. Her name’s Hazel, right? The art project she’s working on is pretty amazing,” she said, and just knowing that she thought Hazel was awesome improved his opinion of her. Not that he’d had one before. He’d never met her before in his entire life.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you officially. I’m Will Solace,” Will said with an amused grin.

“Nico di Angelo,” Nico said, starting to put his hand out, but then changing his mind halfway like some idiot and then awkwardly waving but at that point it was sort of more a limp hand flap. Nico resisted the urge to put his head through nearest the wall.

“Oh, hey! Nyssa’s waving us over, you two have fun!” Percy said suddenly, Jason steering Will’s friends in the opposite direction. Nico was so distracted by this sudden plot twist and the calculations that he was making on how to apologize to Annabeth and Piper for killing their boyfriends that he almost didn’t hear what Will said next.

“--would you want to go grab a non-coffee drink with me, unless you don’t drink which is cool by the way?” Will asked him.

“Now?” Nico croaked, hoping Will didn’t catch him paling.

“Uh...I mean, if it’s not a bother?” Will asked sheepishly.

“Um, no. It’s fine, I’m fine--I mean, yeah sure,” Nico blurted out. “I drink. I mean, not all the time but yeah.”

Oh my Gods, Nico thought as he cringed. Why can’t I at the very least just pretend I have more emotions besides Murder, Anxiety, and Existential Horror?

“Sounds good,” Will said, smoothing over the awkwardness with an encouraging smile, which was a good thing but also probably a bad thing because what if he felt bad for Nico because of how dumb he was acting? He definitely didn’t have a chance with this obviously well adjusted nice guy, if Nico was smart he would have just jumped the sinking ship. But Nico wasn’t smart and Will was ridiculously good looking, so he followed Will over to his kitchen where there was all the alcohol, and considering alcohol could really only help the situation at this point Nico slammed down a shot and then grabbed a cup of pretty awful beer to chase it with. Will watched him, seemingly amused.

“What?” Nico asked, his voice rough from the sudden consumption of alcohol and he grimaced at the sound of it against his ears.

“I get the feeling you’re having a rough night,” Will said as he slid Nico a new beer.

“Buddy, you don’t know the half of it,” Nico told him. “I’m having a rough life, not because of you obviously. You’re fine. Great. It’s just my absolute garbage friends and I--you know this is probably too much information for you I’m just going to nurse my drink.”

Will covered his mouth, and Nico heard muffled laughter. Shit, even that was cute, Nico thought. Why did he have to be so cute? It was almost irritating, but like pushing him against the wall and kissing him silly irritating, not throw a party in your apartment without telling you irritating.

“Definitely not too much information seeing how I know nothing about you,” Will pointed out. “Only your regular breakfast order and that you’re Percy and Jason’s roommate. Hell, I don’t even know what your major is.”

“I’m a criminal justice and history double major,” Nico said.

“Oh, cool. I’m a bio major, on pre-med track,” Will told him. “Criminal justice is cool though, do you want to be a cop?”

“I don’t know, maybe? My dad owns a law firm so I might just end up going to law school, but I think something in the general field would be cool. I still haven’t quite figured it all out yet,” Nico admitted. Honestly the future was still a hard thing to think about even just in passing. Though his dad didn’t really say it (and not like they casually talked or anything), but Nico knew that his father hoped that he would take over the business one day, and honestly Nico knew he was cutthroat enough for it. Hell, his dad had drilled the whole “no mercy” thing into his head since Nico joined a tee-ball team at four years old. But Nico had always thought it would be nice to do good and maybe go the nonprofit route, not that he would admit that out loud to anyone right now. He was sure that everyone already suspected Nico was actually a softie, and it would do him no good to reveal that it was at least partially true.

“Who the hell has things figured out? Introduce them to me, they’re a rare and strange species of human,” Will pointed out to Nico.

“If I knew anyone who had it together, maybe I would. Oh...well, maybe Reyna,” Nico said thoughtfully. “But definitely not me, that’s for sure.”

“Me neither,” Will said with a smile, taking a sip of the beer in his hands.

“So I told you something about myself, what about you? How do you know Jason? I saw you talking to him earlier,” Nico asked him.

“Well, I know his sister Thalia. Sigma Potnia Theron does a lot of fundraising for university functions,” Will explained casually with a shrug. “Jason’s just an acquaintance of mine. But it’s kind of funny that we haven’t been introduced until now, at least officially.”

“I don’t get out often,” Nico said flatly.

“I see,” Will said seriously. “That’s seriously not cool, especially when your presence could have been shared with the rest of us.”

“Finally, someone who gets it!” Nico said with a sigh. “I’m a gift, but you wouldn’t know it based on how everyone treats me. It’s a crying shame.”

“Who would do such a horrible thing?” Will asked with a laugh and Nico almost melted on the spot because even his laugh was a thing of beauty.

“I don’t know,” Nico said, just absorbing the warmth from Will’s laugh and continuing to drink. He had never thought that someone’s laugh was beautiful, but at the same time this was the most attractive boy he’d ever seen so maybe it was just a talent of his. Or maybe the beer goggles were really that strong right now. Then again Will was still hot when Nico was sober so.

“I know you said you didn’t want to be taken for a weakling, but would it be alright if I totally schooled you in beer pong?” Will asked as he jabbed his thumb towards the table with a grin.

“More like get your butt whooped in beer pong,” Nico informed him sternly, finishing off his beer and grabbing another. “Don’t challenge me and think you’ll walk away without a beating.”

“I’m pretty confident in my aim,” Will said, with a wink. An actual wink.

Just when things seemed like they were going to be going well for once in Nico’s life, Nico heard commotion by the bathroom--which historically was a horrible place for commotion to be happening. Nico dropped the beer and quickly went to find out what was happening, with Will hot on his heels. Nico groaned as he saw what was actually happening. Thalia Grace weakly lifted up her head from the toilet and waved, looking green and half falling over.

“Hey...lil bro,” Thalia greeted in a slur.

“Don’t call me that, Gods you are worse than Jason,” Nico muttered as he planted himself down by her. She made another gagging noise and Nico quickly repositioned her back over the toilet and pulled back her relatively short hair. Nico looked away pointedly as she actually threw up though, not really willing to look at that. “What the hell did you drink?”

“Tequila...too much tequila,” Thalia clarified before resting her face against the side of the tub.

“Okay...what did you pregame with?”

“Long...Island Iced Tea.”

“Were you trying to die?” Nico groaned, exasperated.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Will asked curiously. Nico looked back at him in surprise. Honestly, he had sort of forgotten that Will was there and so hearing him talk was startling. He was looking at Nico and Thalia with a gentle concern that almost melted Nico’s cold unfeeling heart. And Gods, Nico wanted to go back to the (probably failed) flirting and the beer pong. But as always, it seemed like he needed to be the responsible one.

“No thanks, I’m an unwilling host but I’m a host nonetheless. I’m gonna get Thalia squared away, you just go back and enjoy the party,” Nico said, though his own words sounded like nails on a chalkboard.

“Well...alright, if you say so. But here, give me your phone,” Will said holding out his hand. Nico pulled it out numbly and unlocked it. Will quickly plugged in his number and handed it back to Nico. “Hit me up if you need help, okay?”

“Okay,” Nico said slowly, and Will walked away. Nico looked at his phone. Will’s name had a smiling-blushing emoji next to it, crap.

“You totallyyyyy got his number,” Thalia said as she stumbled against Nico who hauled her up with her arm around his shoulder. “Good work bro.”

“Seriously, I don’t want to hear anything from you right now,” Nico said shortly as he began the trek to get Thalia in his room laying down and her some water. “And if you throw up on me, I’m going to never forgive you.”

#Solangelo #Nico di Angelo #Will Solace #College AU #Coffee Shop AU makes an appearance #Nico is a gremlin but I love him anyways

74 notes · View notes

revengefulhcart-a · 7 years ago

Text

Drabble about the fight with the Drago under the cut.

Anger, nothing but anger filled his body and soul. Angry tears, angry face, angry heart. The fact that his mother didn’t get the chance to jump down with him and his twin brother because of that DRAGO angered him. She could be alive right now, comforting he and Lucas after witnessing such a traumatic switch in what was once harmless creatures. Now he had to be the one to comfort his brother as their father was sent to jail ( big reminder, this jail cell has never once been used ) for god knows how long.

Claus held his brother a bit too tightly as they laid in bed, it had taken a good few hours to get the blonde to finally relax and sleep those tears away. Their dog slept at the bed’s edge knowing what sort of emotions the two were going through, the dog himself was rather depressed.

He couldn’t let that beast get away with murder. It should apologize for what crime it committed. It should be the one in the jail cell, not their father. Perhaps persuasion; if the ginger begged enough maybe it will bring his mother back. Or even he’d threaten to never play with it again. So many more questions swamped his mind as he had gotten up and paced around the tiny house. These choices were that of pacifistic, they surely wouldn’t convince it no how. There’s gotta be another way.

Now his body went into hunting mode, to find anything in the house that might be the missing clue in his restless mind. He checked under both beds, lifted all the pillows ( except the one his twin was sleeping with )--- everywhere! Claus was about to give up but froze in place when he opened the drawer next to the door.

All emotions were drained out of his body, stood there like a statue. Inside that drawer was the knife. THAT KNIFE he’s seen something he never thought humans could do with his innocent mind. He can still remember crying over the fact Flint had used this knife to kill a deathly sick pig once. Flint was swift and quick to end that poor animal’s life, jabbed it in one spot and only a soft squeal left the pig before it stopped breathing. That day, Claus understood why he was never allowed to hold it. It did more than just chipping wood. It could KILL.

*ℂ𝕝𝕒𝕦𝕤 𝕒𝕔𝕢𝕦𝕚𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕙𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕞𝕒𝕕𝕖 𝕜𝕟𝕚𝕗𝕖

A shaky but hasty hand goes to reach the sheathed blade as if it’s a sin to even lay a finger on it. Once it’s lifted out of the drawer, Claus quickly shuts it and releases the breath that was unaware of being held. This was the answer. An eye for an eye.

Claus was going to kill that Drago.

Body now motions to the door, ready to go kill it while his body was boiling with determination. Once that hand hit the door handle ( he could literally just pull it open since SOMEONE pulled on the handle from the outside a little too hard and lost it ) Boney whines out to the young boy. The ginger was once again stopped, ghostly face turns to look at the dog who was looking back at him. It was as if he could sense the emotion in the trusty canine: Boney was worried and knew that if Claus left, Lucas wouldn’t wake up in a decent mood. Who knows what the blonde would do then.

“A’ight, boy…but just ‘til th’ sun rises.”

Hand lets go of the doorknob and shuffles his way back to the bed, slipping the knife under his pillow incase anything were to happen. Claus wraps his arm around his sleeping brother whose face was stained with tears that should have never been. Although in bed, he didn’t sleep a wink, his body was fully driven into needing to avenge Hinawa.

The sun took too long for him to rise but it came quicker once he finally shut his eyes an hour just before it awoke from its slumber. It’s warm and welcoming, but this was no day to celebrate.

Both brothers were standing at the cliff side blanketed by sunflowers as they stood at the newly made grave with the text engraved in it saying:

Wife of Flint, Mother of the twins Claus and Lucas, Daughter of Alec. May the beautiful Hinawa rest in peace here for all time.

Lucas was once again hosing out big fat tears as he crouched beside the grave, Claus would have joined him if his emotions weren’t in shock. Flint always told him to never cry so that he could be strong for their family and one day his own. That’s what he was to do, be strong for his family.

So, when the crowd cleared out the older twin looked at the younger, after the blonde rejects visiting their dad in the jail cell there’s a shaky sigh before he speaks up.

“Lucas, I’m going t’ find that Drago and ‘m going t’ kill it. Y’ better not follow me or else--- And don’t y’ dare tell anyone about this…I…I will never forgive y’ if y’ do.”

Then he runs off as the sounds of his brother’s wailing dwindles the further he went. One of the towns folk greet him, which halts him to a sudden stop and only flashes a feigning smile at her before running off again. There was one more task to do before he goes scaling that mountain.

"Dad. It's me. Claus. I told Lucas t’ come too, but he's been crying at Mom's grave all this time.”

Came a whisper as he ventures into the little room Flint was cooped up in. The son places an apple on the cell.

“Dad. I'm gonna leave this apple here. The core might be hard, but... The core... The core might be too hard to eat, but be SURE y’ eat it!”

He slowly backs away still facing his father he says nothing to him. He must be still upset, the poor man looked like he committed this murder.

“I'm gonna get stronger. ...I'm gonna get so strong even Dragos won't stand a chance against me!”

Now he faces the entrance, anxiety welling up inside of him, even though the apple was an escape tool for his dad, even if he could let him make the choice of what to do, Claus’ hasty mind made up the best choice of not sitting back and letting adults do everything. It was time he showed the world what he was capable of.

“Dad... I..."

Without finishing that last thought, he runs off.

Upon his exhausting trail to the mountain, he encounters a strange woman…maybe a man, who had pink hair and went by the name of Aeolia. Aeolia proved to be very useful, in fact they taught him a magical power that was locked inside of him called PK Love. Saying that Claus possess a special energy that flowed within. Whatever it was, he was to use it on the green beast.

The rest of the way up was a blur, with encouragement from the pink stranger and determination to kill, reaching this location was a breeze. The ginger finally slows once he made it.

Hefty breathing inhaled and exhaled as now it had time to rest. Baby blue hues scan the area for any signs of life. Walking up more, a loud yell comes out of nowhere and pounces the child. He lets out his own scream, thinking he was getting attacked. In reality, it was the baby Drago he had played with yesterday.

The baby didn’t seem hostile, but it did rip off his shoe and run off with it. Ergo, it causes Claus to yell out and demand to give it back. The boy gives up, reminding himself that the shoe isn’t important. He will kill the Drago with one blue shoe.

Pulling out the knife from his back pocket, he raises it up to his face and holds it with both hands. He’s scared---terrified. But the mission was not over until this Drago felt the pain it has inflicted onto everyone.

“This is for y’, mom…”

Loud thumping shakes the ground, even making the older twin bounce like the small pebbles on the dirt. Eyes shoot wide open and look up at the now robotic beast. That red eye shoots an arrow into him, draining all his confidence. Skin goes completely pale and knees shake in their locked spot. There it was, that dirty mother killer.

A loud roar screeches out of the creature, spit and smelly air blast at him. Claus is about to run until he sees that missing tooth. That said tooth was the one that impaled into his mother’s heart. From that second of having his eardrums blown out, courage flows right back into him and eyebrows knit together in an angry expression.

“I do not fear y’, ugly thing!”

He yells back at it, giving a hard point,

“Y’ killed my mother and now y’ must die for that!”

The Drago snarls and erects its foot to stomp on the boy, but he quickly rolls out of the way. The twin was nimble, albeit not quick enough to outrun the giant.

The neck, the neck is where his father stabbed the pig, so it’s obvious to him that this is where he was to stab as well. The cover to the knife is taken off and thrown aside, Claus plans how this fight is going to end:

With the newly taught PK Love, he was going to shoot down the Drago with it so that he could reach its neck. Once that is done, the knife will be jammed so deep into that throat of it’s that there will be no coming back from it. Then he shall go home and claim to his family and the villagers that the war between the Drago and their people was no more. He’d be the hero of this story.

Nodding to himself in agreement to his own plan, his hand flings up and sets off a spark of the “magic” he was given.

*ℂ𝕝𝕒𝕦𝕤 𝕦𝕤𝕖𝕕 ℙ𝕂 𝕃𝕠𝕧𝕖

*𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕄𝕖𝕔𝕙𝕒 𝔻𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕠 𝕥𝕠𝕠𝕜 𝟘ℍℙ

“!?”

It bounced right off like a fly, why didn’t it work!? Aeolia said it would stop anything, they lied to him! In his own confusion, he briefly forgets that the dinosaur used this time to swing it’s claws at the ginger. Barely getting time to react he skims the blow and falls to the ground, intense pain following with it. Left eye took the fall, now it was oozing with blood and his breath hitches from the pain. This was a bad idea, it was too late to run. He couldn’t see a thing or get up and run now that his body was trying to heal this wound.

The beast looms over him, head lowering dangerously low down to his own bloody face. In one last attempt Claus weakly punches the creature with the bunt end of the knife before his arm goes limp and falls harshly back to the ground.

Another mistake, it caused the thing to flare out its nose before letting out another deaf prone cry. Drool getting into his hair and both visions blur as he’s now crying in the only functioning eye. The twin mumbles out for mercy and all he gets is bone crushing jaw to his right arm, snapping this twig like arm and then flings him off the cliff.

There’s not much he could do but pray to his family for failing them. And if he comes back alive out of this, he would never be the same kid again. Right as he hits the bottom of the cliff,

Everything goes black.

#{ Happy late Halloween :^)#YOU KNOW IDK IF THIS WOULD BE CONSIDERED A FANFIC AND NOT A DRABBLE BUT WHATEVER #This came out longer than I thought....4 pages long ho ly }#◜𝔚𝔥𝔬 𝓘 𝔱𝔯𝔲𝔩𝑦 𝔞𝔪◝ ▬ ❥ ( Headcanons )#{ TW; BLOOD }#{ TW; DEATH }#{ TW; BROKEN BONES }#{ ??? I guess }#{ Also some parts I feel like I got them mixed up #I was too lazy to check the game }

12 notes · View notes

nothingbutimagines · 7 years ago

Text

Greek Tragedy (Peter Parker)

Pairing: Peter Parker x Actor!Reader

Warning: None Summary: Y/n is in the school play and Peter is on the tech crew, that is, until the main lead gets in a bit of an accident and Y/n tries to convince Peter to take his place, since Peter had been the one helping Y/n go over lines for so long Author: Dizzy A/N: You guys, I’m back! I have missed you all! I have been totally swamped with school stuff and personal issues, but now that I’m on summer break, I am back in action! This song is inspired by “Greek Tragedy” by the Wombats

Masterlist Request a Prompt

“Y/n, slow down, please.” Peter begged as he placed a hand on your shoulder.

“Blaine, he broke his leg after falling off his motorcycle yesterday and we don’t have anyone to play the roll of Oedipus.” You stammered while you tried to finish your make up. “Crap! I’m late for rehearsal!”

“But you’re half ready!” Peter replied.

“Just grab my purse and shove all my make up in it! I’ll do it in the cab. Let me just get my dress on.” You said quickly, not caring to cover yourself as you tore off your shirt and shorts before you put on the sleek white dress you always wore to rehearsals.

You looked back at Peter and were surprised when his eyes met yours while you zipped up your dress. You couldn’t help but feel a blush rise to your cheeks as you tore your eyes away from Peter and you felt his eyes still linger, sending your heart into a turmoil of fast beatings.

“Are you ready?” You asked quietly, pulling your shoes on and heading towards the door.

“Y-yeah. You?”

“I’m ready as I’ll ever be. Bex is gonna be pissed that we’re late though.”

“Who cares? She’s always pissed off about something.”

You laughed, the cheerful sound like a happy tune in Peter’s ears. “You’re right. But, she’s incredibly pissed that we don’t have an Oedipus for our Greek tragedy.”

“Why don’t you guys just get Duke to do it?” Peter asked before hailing a cab.

“Because Duke couldn’t even be a good tree if he tried. Plus, he doesn’t even know the lines and can’t learn them in under a week.” You explained, a bit exasperated as you climbed into the cab, Peter following close behind.

“Don’t you guys have an understudy?”

“We used to, but Lucas dropped out of the production last month. If only we could find someone that knew the lines...” You trailed off as you tapped a finger dramatically against your chin.

“Y/n... don’t you dare ask...”

“Peter,” You started, placing a hand on your friend’s, “will you be a dear and please play Oedipus? You know all the lines since you helped me practice for Jocasta.”

The look you gave Peter, the little puppy eyes you always gave when you wanted something made his stomach turn and his head turn loose. He couldn’t say no to something like that. Could he play Oedipus? Or could he chicken out and play the Spiderman card to duck out of it? It had meant so much to you, and he didn’t have the heart to say no.

That was went a light sting set his skin on fire as you slapped his face lightly, knocking the sense out of him.

“You have two seconds to say yes or no, cause we’re here.”

“I’ll do it.”

You gasped and grinned brightly, a grin that seemed to cause Peter to have an arrhythmia. “You’ll do it?! Oh, darling, you’re the best!”

You quickly threw your arms around him before tumbling out of the cab, dragging Peter behind you. You pushed open the doors to the theater and let out a sigh.

“Sorry I’m late! But, it seems as though I found us a new Oedipus!”

“Seriously, Y/n?!” Bex, your director, exclaimed, approaching you and Peter. “I was gonna be pissed that you were late, but this news cleans the slate. Who’d you find?”

“Peter.” You stated, motioning towards the boy as you released his hand from yours.

Peter took a quick glance down at his now empty hand before looking up at Bex. “I know I’m not the acting type, but I know all the words, if that helps anything.”

“God, kid, you’re a life saver. I honestly could kiss you right now, but for now, that’s Y/n’s job because we are just going over a kissing scene with Oedipus and Jocasta.” Bex explained as both you and Peter turned red. “Don’t just stand there! Let’s get to it!”

As you and Peter made your way to the stage, he gave you a look. “I can’t believe you made me to do this.”

You looked at him innocently, using a matching tone. “What do you mean? I didn’t make you do anything.”

“Oh, don’t play that game with me, Y/n.” Peter stated. “You know your magic eyes got me to do this.”

“Oh, magic eyes you say? I didn’t realize I was that beautiful.” You said jokingly.

“You don’t realize a lot of things.” Peter replied, getting into his position.

You raised a confused brow and opened your mouth to ask what he meant by that when he started to rehearse the scene, inch by inch getting closer before you even realized that his lips were on yours.

The chemistry between you was the first thing that shocked you, not how soft his lips were or how strong his arms were as they wrapped around you. Your character was strong, but your knees had gone weak and your head had gone loose and all the while, Peter was going over how much he hated his part and loved the ecstasy your shared kiss had given him.

Time may had slowed for you, but it went on for the world as you two pulled away, and your crew erupted into heartfelt applause.

“Amazing! Just amazing!” Bex exclaimed. “I’ve never seen any couple of people play the parts with that much emotion as you two just did.

You blushed and nudged Peter, who was too busy coming down from the high that he was on to notice. “Well, Peter and I are glad you liked it. We’re really happy to be part of this production. Right, Peter.”

“You got it.”

“Well, why don’t you two take five, go over some notes while the crew and I set up the next scene?”

“Sure thing, boss.” You smiled before turning to Peter. “So, what’d you think? This acting thing isn’t so bad, now is it?”

“It’s not so bad when I get to kiss the girl of my dreams.” Peter stated before he turned red and stammered. “I-I mean, yeah, acting’s not so bad when I get to share the stage with my friend.”

You gasped quietly before your smile turned into a grin and you let out a laugh. “That was a terrible save, Peter. But, a cute attempt nonetheless.” You took a step towards the boy so that only an inch of space was between your chests. “How about we practice that kiss some more, maybe over dinner?”

#peter parker fanfiction #peter parker imagine #peter parker x reader #spiderman fanfic #spiderman imagine #tom holland!spiderman #actor!reader

417 notes · View notes

witch-of-the-west-country · 7 years ago

Text

The story so far

Writing a little something for @emilys-arty-farty-stuff and just wanted her approval on the first part before I continue. 2007 The second Emily stepped outside, the Louisiana sun hit her like a brick to the face. Her glasses seemed to magnify the glare more than was scientifically possible, and the heat settled over her like a heavy blanket. Holy shit. She didn't ever think she'd get used to this. Coming from the damp and drizzle of the East of England to here wasn't just a culture shock, it was a thermal shock too. Not to mention what the humidity did to her fucking hair…… She'd lived in Dulvey for two months now and hadn't made a single friend. The people there weren't actively unfriendly, but they didn't seem to know what to make of her with her accent and her penchant for wearing odd socks, and she'd been carefully avoided the entire time. Emily went down the school steps, feeling the heat from the concrete baking up through the soles of her Vans. She was thinking of nothing but getting home to the air conditioned coolness and sitting in a dim room to draw. She had an idea for picture she wanted to do, and it had been burning in her brain all afternoon. There was a crowd gathered at the bottom of the steps, huddled in a rough circle, but in her artistic daydream she didn't register them, and before she had time to fully realise what she'd done, she'd plunged into the midst of the mass. Emily recognised both boys. Being ignored had made her more observant, and she'd learned names and characters as a coping mechanism. The huge guy on the left was Brent Chambers, a walking cliché - complete Jock, tall, muscular, tanned and blond. Captain of the football team, dating some scuzzy cheerleader. She stood of to one side, blowing bubbles with her gum and watching the events unfold with malicious interest. The boy on the right was Lucas Baker, and he was the complete polar opposite of Brent. From what Emily could gather, he lived on the edge of the bayou - she'd heard people call him Swamp Boy - and he was tall and skinny with an unfortunate beak of a nose and an air of permanent discontent. They were facing off, an unlikely match, and Emily shuddered at the thought of what the bigger boy would do to poor Lucas. The two of them didn't notice her sudden appearance, and Emily tried to back out of the arena, but the wall of people had closed behind her and she was trapped. “You better fuckin’ apologise to my girl, Baker. I'm tellin’ ya now!” Lucas sneered. “I ain't fuckin’ apologisin’ for somethin’ I ain't done!” he retorted. “You were fuckin’ touchin’ her, you pervert!” said Brent, outraged, and a murmur of excitement rippled around the crowd. “I bumped into her!” corrected Lucas, helpless frustration written plain on his face. “She should look where she's fuckin’ walkin’!” Brent snorted. “Bumped into her and touched her ass,” he said. Lucas shrugged. “Her ass was in the way. I can't help that. It's fuckin’ big enough.” Brent’s girlfriend - Brandi, was that her name? - gasped, her mouth hanging open, her wad of gum a pink lump on her tongue that looked like a tumour. Brent shook a thick finger in the skinny boy's face, the tip nearly brushing the end of that big nose, and Emily saw a snarl start to twist Lucas’s mouth at the imposition. For a second he looked like he was about to bite the digit right off. “Nobody touches my girl's ass an’ gets away with it!” “You sure about that?” asked Lucas. “I mean, from what I heard, she's pretty much fucked the entire football team……” “Oooh!” The combined syllable swelled from the assembled crowd. They were hungry for blood, and now it was sure to be shed. Emily was jostled from behind as people attempted to get closer, and though she dug in her heels she was shoved forward. Brent had raised his fist, ready to land the first punch, but Lucas hadn't moved, standing his ground, defiant. He lifted his chin as if daring the bigger boy to go ahead, and in that instant Emily saw his profile outlined against the burning orb of the sun - proud, unafraid, and about to be destroyed. Holy shit, she realised - he was beautiful….. Without even considering the hazard to her own person, and before she'd even realised what she was doing, Emily leapt between them. Ragged chatter broke out in the onlookers. Surprise, laughter, amazement. Emily looked up at the bruiser towering over her, his fist still raised but slowly drooping in bewilderment. “What the fuck…..?” he began, and trailed off. “Leave him alone, you wanker!” yelled Emily, adrenaline flooding her system and speaking the words for her. Brent frowned, and looked over at one of his wingmen, a smaller jock who just shrugged. The football captain adjusted his expression. “Now listen up, girlie - “ he started, but Emily was on a high now and tore on ahead. “No, you listen up, you massive twat! Just fuck off, right!” She put two hands against his broad chest and attempted to push him away. It was like trying to move a wall. For a moment, Brent looked like he might just shove her aside, but there were a lot people watching, and he evidently didn't want to be seen manhandling a girl. “This don't concern you, whatever-the-hell-your-name-is, so just get the fuck outta the way. This is men's business.” “My name is Emily, and you're not a man - you're a dickhead. And a fucking bully. So just piss off.” She folded her arms across her chest and stood, glaring up at him. Somewhere in the busy 60 seconds since she'd leapt to Swamp Boy’s rescue, the wave of adrenaline she'd been riding had reached the shore and washed up onto the beach in a tame little dribble, and now she was stranded and out of her depth. But she couldn't back down now. Brent had faltered, the moment was lost, and people were already starting to drift away, the spectacle no longer holding their interest. Trying to save face, the jock snorted. “Fuck this shit. I ain't got time for this.” He looked over the top of her head at Lucas, who still stood behind her. “We'll settle this another time, Baker. When yer little bodyguard ain't around.” Dropping an insulting wink, Brent turned away and strolled off, putting his arm around his girlfriend as they went. Possibly-Brandi shot Emily a confused glance over her shoulder. The gathering dispersed, leaving Emily and Lucas standing alone. Lucas hadn't moved throughout the entire altercation, and now she turned to him, her face burning. He was looking down at her with an expression of pure amazement, apparently lost for words, and Emily took the opportunity to examine his features close up. He wasn't conventionally attractive by any means, but he had good bones in his narrow face and the bluest, most piercing eyes she'd ever seen. She wondered if she had a paint in her palette that would do the shade justice. “Why d’ya do that?” he asked finally. Emily had no good answer, so she improvised. “Dunno. I was worried he was gonna break your face, and I wanted to draw it before it got smashed to shit.” It was the truth, she suddenly realised, although she hadn't known it till this second. “You wanna draw ma face?” He sounded incredulous, but he was blushing, she realised - not like she did, with colour rising in her cheeks, but in his ears, the upper rims reddening as she watched. She shrugged, somewhat reassured that he was apparently feeling as awkward as she was, and for a few seconds they both stood there, blushing in their own way. “Well, whatever,” he said eventually, looking at the ground. “But I coulda taken him, ya know.” “I know,” she lied. “But I didn't wanna risk it.” She paused. “So, can I, then?” “”Can ya what?” “Draw you.” Lucas shrugged, an angular, lopsided gesture that tried to convey the idea that he didn't give a shit whilst actually conveying how self-conscious he was. “Guess I can't stop ya if ya wanna. Free country.” He narrowed his eyes at her, and for a second Emily felt a thrill shoot through her belly, an almost painful sensation that began somewhere under her ribs and ended up near her groin. “I ain't sittin’ still so’s you can do can do it, though,” he cautioned. “Don't like bein’ stared at…..” “That's ok,” she said. “I think you're in my head now, I can draw you from memory.” She winced internally at her words. Christ, Emily, do you think you could sound a bit more weird…..? Lucas looked at her strangely but said nothing. He took a step away. “I gotta go. See ya round, I guess.” He slouched away, Emily watching him go. Snapping out of her reverie, she began to hurry home. The picture she'd planned on drawing before was forgotten, but there was another she just had to put on paper. Emily was exhausted. She'd been up most of the previous night working on her idea, and she hadn't gone to bed until it was finished. The finished work was in the folder she carried, practically burning a hole in it, and she intended to show Lucas if she could work up the nerve. She needed to get him alone - laughable really, as he never seemed to be with anybody. But the school was a busy place, and it was difficult to find any solitude. She spotted him at lunchtime, sat far away from everyone else, slumped on the ground under a tree, long legs stretched out in front of him. He appeared to be reading. Come on, Emily. It's now or never. If he really hates it you can always avoid him for the rest of your life….. Giving herself the dubious pep talk, Emily made her way over to where he sat. Tired as she'd been that morning, she'd made an effort to look good, attempting to tame her wild hair and wearing her favourite cut-offs, but as she walked towards him she could almost feel her hair rebelling, fighting itself out of its straightened lengths and into a wavy snarl. He saw her coming long before she got there, and she had to endure the painful ordeal of being watched as she approached, feeling more self-concious with every step. Her mind tortured her with images of her finally reaching him only to be told to fuck off. He didn't, though. He merely regarded her curiously, one long slender finger marking his place in the battered Stephen King novel. “Hey, Emily,” he said cautiously. She managed a smile, and his mouth twitched in return. He obviously wasn't used to smiling at people. “I did it,” she blurted. He raised his eyebrows. “The drawing, I mean. Of you.” She fumbled in the folder, nervous fingers tweezing the paper from within. Now the time had come, she was embarrassed for him to see it. He sat up straighter, watching her, and she took a deep breath before passing him the picture, painfully aware of her fingernails, bitten down to nothing, as she held it out for inspection. Lucas put his book aside and accepted from her, holding it by the edges with a certain amount of reverence. She watched his face as he scrutinised it, but his expression was unreadable. He hates it! Screamed her brain. Abort! Abort! The drawing was done in coloured pencil, and depicted how she'd seen him in her moment of epiphany yesterday: His profile, set against the sun, his chin high, the light touching the tips of his ears and glowing around his head. She'd exaggerated the illumination, colouring it more brightly than it had really been, creating a kind of halo around him. Emily’s heart beat hard in her chest as his gaze travelled over the paper, going from top to bottom then climbing back up again, but his attention to the drawing meant she could study him at her leisure. There was the faintest peach-fuzz of stubble along the line of his jaw and above his upper lip, softening the hard angles, and the sight of it made her feel inexplicably weak. In a moment of pure insanity she envisaged herself running her hand along it to see how soft it was. His forehead was high, his hairline set back - he would start balding prematurely, she predicted - but the buzzcut he had was starting to grow back in, and the hair on the back of his head looked almost as unruly as hers, sticking up at odd angles. It looked fluffy, though, and now there was another thing she wanted to touch. Feeling odd towering over him, Emily crouched down next to him, watching his eyes scan back and forth. His bottom lip was jutted out slightly in concentration, and Emily felt her face grow hot as she wondered how he would taste. Like cigarettes, most likely - she'd seen him puffing away on more than one occasion. There was a little wrinkle between his eyebrows, a small tuck in the flesh as he frowned, and she let her gaze wander from that to the prominent jut of his nose, lingering over the little bump on the bridge. She wondered it the bump had been caused by an old break. She looked up to his eyes again, blissfully feeding her hunger, but to her horror they were looking right at her, the pale blue circles piercing her. He looked taken aback, though whether it was from his reaction to the picture or to her attention, she couldn't tell. His lips parted, and she found herself biting on her own in response. “This….uh….this is real good, Emily.” He sounded awed, and that feeling she'd had yesterday returned, coursing through her belly, giving her a pleasant little twinge. “‘Cept I don't really look that good in real life,” he said. “You do to me,” she said without thinking, and cringed. He looked startled for a minute, then suspicious, perhaps expecting derision. It was clear he wasn't accustomed to compliments. Emily fought hard to keep her own face open and frank, but she'd embarrassed herself with her sudden admission. He stared at her for an uncomfortably long time before his mouth finally turned up at the corners. “You're a strange one, Emily. But that's ok. I don't mind strange. You wanna sit with me a spell?” Unable to speak, she merely nodded, and sat gingerly alongside him, her back against the same broad trunk. She was careful not to touch him, not just out of fear of any imposition, but because she wasn't sure how her body would react if she did. “Here,” he said, holding the picture out to her. “It's real good. I like it.” She made no move to take it back. She had fully intended to take it home and pin it on the wall above her bed, but seeing his evident satisfaction in it she made a spur of the moment decision. “You can keep it. If you want,” she offered. He frowned. “I can't keep it. Must o’ taken you hours!” “No, really! You can. I can - “ she choked off the words. I can draw another one, she'd been about to say, and she would, but she didn't want him to know that. The next one would be forward facing - a portrait. She wanted to try and capture the ice in his gaze, though whether she'd be able to do it justice she didn't know. He was such an interesting subject. Not pretty in any way, but different enough to stand out in this place where everyone tried to fit in and look the same. Not to mention the fact that she had developed a substantial crush on him in so short a time. Slowly, he pulled the paper back toward him. “Well, if yer sure…..” he said. He looked at it again, the pleasure plain on his face, and just the knowledge that she'd produced something that made him happy in even a small part made Emily feel better than she had in a long time.

7 notes · View notes

whoimightbe · 8 years ago

Text

Jake, the Doughnut, and Lucas...

Time appeared to slow down as I watched Jake charge toward the unsuspecting gentleman eating donuts on the bench across the park. I tripped as I ran after him, spilling my coffee as I face-planted in the grass. I looked up just in time to see my dog lunge for the doughnut in the man’s hand. He yelled as he jumped up, releasing the doughnut and spilling whatever was in his cup. I put my head down and wished I could go back in time to find a dog that wasn’t obsessed with donuts.

“Are you okay?”

I looked up to see the man, one hand extended to me and one holding Jake’s collar. I nodded as I pushed myself up, embarrassed.

“I’m so sorry,” I sighed as I reached for Jake. I ignored the tingles as my hand brushed his. “He’s a doughnut junkie.”

The man laughed. “I’m sorry, a doughnut junkie? Well, that’s a new one.”

“I know.” I shook my head, smiling a bit. “It’s ridiculous, actually. I can’t even bring donuts into the house and I’m sorry to say this is not the first time he’s gone after a stranger’s. He didn’t bite you did he?”

“I’m fine, other than being a little hungry since I didn’t get to finish my breakfast.” He winked and scratched Jake’s head. “I’m Lucas, by the way.”

He put his hand out and I introduced myself as I took it. “RJ.”

“RJ? What’s that short for?”

“Rosalinda Jane,” I sighed, unsure why I told a complete stranger my full name. I rarely told people I’d known for ten years. I wasn’t embarrassed by it but I’d never loved it either. I always felt like it was an old lady’s name when I was a kid so I shortened it and RJ just stuck.

He sighed then smiled. “Why do you shorten it? It’s beautiful.”

“It, uh...” I felt embarrassed and put on the spot. “Sorry, but I need to go. I’m sorry again about Jake. I...um...” I reached into my pocket and pulled out the couple of dollars in change I’d received after buying my coffee and handed it to him. “To replace your doughnut.”

“That’s not necessary.”

“I insist,” I said as he tried to give it back. He nodded and wrapped his hand around mine instead of just taking the money.

“I’m sorry if I said something to upset you.” He was sweet, and his tone seemed genuine.

"You didn’t. It’s just...I don’t know. I don’t ever talk about it.”

“Well, if you ever decide you want to talk about it, I’m happy to listen.”

“That’s very sweet, thank you.” He was still holding my hand and I had to admit it felt nice.

“Daddy!”

Lucas released my hand and turned toward a small boy running across the lawn. I stepped back and held onto Jake but since the kid didn’t have a doughnut in his hand he had no interest. The boy jumped into Lucas’ arms and as a woman I could only assume was his mother approached, I stepped back and started to walk away.

“RJ, wait!” I smiled then looked back to see him holding his son. “Give me just a minute.” He turned back to the woman, said a few things, then I saw her kiss both the boy and Lucas on the cheek before she walked away. I looked down and wished I’d walked a little faster to avoid whatever was about to happen. But it was too late. He was walking toward me. “Hey, sorry about that.”

“No, it’s fine.” I took a breath and wondered if I was about to get into something I shouldn’t. “Is this your son?”

His smile brightened and he looked in the boy’s eyes. “This is Gregory. Gregory, this is RJ.”

“Hi, RJ,” the little boy said and put his hand out. I gladly took it and said hello back. “Daddy, can we get breakfast? Aunt Cindy only had oatmeal.” He made a face and I couldn’t help but laugh. I also made note that the woman was not his mother. I was dying to know the story but told myself it didn’t actually matter.

“Pancakes?” At the word Jake barked and I hoped he wasn’t about to get overly excited about another breakfast food.

“I guess that doughnut didn’t fill Jake up,” Lucas laughed. “Would you like to join us for breakfast?” I wasn’t at all sure since I didn’t know him at all but I was hungry and intrigued by his story.

“Sure...as long as we go somewhere dog-friendly.”

“I know just the place.” I had already become accustomed to his smile and knew I was in trouble.

We walked through the park and toward my neighborhood, which only mildly freaked me out. I wondered if he lived nearby and if so, how I’d never seen him. To be fair, I mostly kept to myself so even if we’d been in the same place my nose was likely in a book or on my phone so I wouldn’t have seen him. When he turned toward Rosie’s I knew he had to live nearby. Very few outside of the neighborhood knew about Rosie and her amazing pancakes and waffles. And we all preferred to keep it that way.

“So do you live around here?” I finally asked.

“Just on the other side of the park. You?”

“We actually just crossed my street.”

“We’ve only lived here a month or so but I’m surprised I haven’t seen you before. I found Rosie’s the first weekend and have become a regular.”

“It’s the best,” I agreed. “I’m here two or three times a week, and I’m not ashamed to admit that.”

“If I was in town more, I’d probably be here every day.”

I had so many questions but we’d arrived and he had stepped up to the host stand to put our name in. To my surprise we were seated right away, and while he got Gregory settled into a booster seat I poured water into my portable dog bowl for Jake and got him situated under the table. “I’m just going to wash my hands,” I announced. “Can you watch Jake while I’m gone?”

“Of course,” he smiled. “Jake and I are old friends now.” He scratched Jake’s head and I swear my dog smiled.

“I’ll just be a minute.”

I reminded myself to breathe as I walked to the bathroom then took my time washing my hands and face before rejoining everyone. I couldn’t help but watch how sweet Lucas was with Gregory and how genuinely kind he was to Jake. I could see he was a good father and that made him more attractive than he already was.

I made my way back to the table just as Rosie herself walked up to take our order. “Oh, RJ!” She hugged me before I sat down. “Are you two...?” She waved her pen and pad back and forth between us as we both stumbled over awkward “We’re just friends” phrases. She just smiled and gave us a skeptical, “Uh huh,” then took our order even though it was clear she knew exactly what we both wanted.

Neither of us were sure what to say after she left and I decided to let him take the lead on breaking the silence. Gregory beat him to it, though, by announcing he had to go potty. “Okay, big guy.” He unbuckled him from the booster seat then picked him up. “We’ll be back in a few minutes.”

I nodded then reached down and scratched Jake’s ears. “So what do you think, boy? He’s a good guy, right?” Jake gave a low woof, which I was pretty sure meant yes. “Yeah, I think so, too.”

The food arrived shortly after Lucas and Gregory returned and as we ate we began talking. “So you said you’re not in town much?” I figured I might as well figure that out.

“I travel for work,” he smiled. “And the woman in the park, that’s my sister. She takes care of this guy when I’m gone...”

Gregory interrupted then. “And when he plays at home, unless we go.”

“Plays? Plays what?”

“My daddy’s the goalie.” Gregory was clearly very proud of his father and it was sweet. “I get to go on Saturdays.”

“Well today’s Saturday,” I replied.

“We don’t play tonight.”

“I feel like I’m missing something important here. What is it exactly that you do that takes you out of town and has you playing at night?”

“I play hockey, for the Rangers now. I was traded in February, from Vancouver, but I was actually born and raised here so it’s like coming home.”

I swallowed the bite I’d been chewing then put down my fork and tried to focus. I loved hockey and had been following the Rangers my whole life. I knew we’d traded for a new back-up goalie recently but hadn’t yet done any research to learn more about him (or, apparently, see what he looked like), as I’d been swamped trying to get my book turned in. “You’re Lucas McKinnon?”

“Guilty.”

“Wow, okay. I feel stupid for not knowing who you were, and I should probably turn in my jersey and my tickets immediately.”

He laughed and his smile pulled me in again. “Please don’t do that. I like the idea of knowing you’ll be sitting somewhere in the Garden when I’m on the ice.”

I felt my skin warm and knew I was blushing. Thankfully, Gregory saved me. “This is boring,” he whined. “Can we go back to the park?”

We both laughed and Jake barked, and had anyone wandered by our table they would have thought we were a family.

“We’ll go after we finish eating, buddy. Come on, eat another bite of your pancake.”

I still wondered about the little boy’s mother but knew it wasn’t appropriate to ask in front of him.

“You and Jake can come, too,” Gregory said as he took a small bite of his food.

“Oh, I...”

“Please,” Lucas said and reached for my hand. I smiled and nodded then he gave my hand a squeeze before pulling away.

We finished eating then headed back toward the park. Jake was thrilled because he rarely, if ever, got two trips to the park in a single day. I tried to get there daily though it didn’t always happen. We walked toward the play area designed for kids Gregory’s age, and as he ran in Lucas and I sat down on a nearby bench. Jake curled up between our feet and seemed as content as he’d ever been.

“So I know I barely know you and it’s none of my business but...Gregory’s mom?” He sighed and nodded and I knew I shouldn’t have asked. “You know what? Never mind. Forget I said anything.”

“No, it’s okay. I mean it’s obviously a question I get a lot. His mom...” He smiled as he leaned toward me...”Rosalinda...died last summer...cancer.” I couldn’t believe that his wife’s name was the same as mine. It explained his interest in it earlier. “We were prepared but you know, you never really are.” He sighed again and I could see how painful it still was. It hadn’t even been a year. “Her parents died when she was young and there were no other relatives so it’s just been me and Gregory since then. Until the trade he was mostly here with my parents and my sister but now it’s better.”

I reached for his hand without thinking and gave his fingers a squeeze. “That must have been incredibly hard.”

“I had to take some time off and thankfully my mom was able to come out and help me when I came back to the team, but I just couldn’t do it on my own and play, too...when this trade come up I knew I had to take it. I need to be by family. It’s better for both of us.”

“I’m so sorry, Lucas.” I started to pull my hand from his but he held on and I smiled as I let myself enjoy the moment.

“You’re the first person I’ve talked to about this outside of my family and my therapist. It feels good.”

“Daddy, look!” We both turned toward the play area where Gregory was at the top of the small slide, holding his hands up as he slid down. We both clapped when he reached the bottom, and Jake barked his approval.

“I hope I’m not keeping you from anything today. I sort of forced you to go to breakfast and come back to the park with us.”

“I made my own decisions,” I smiled. “And I don’t have anywhere I need to be.”

“Good, because I’m enjoying hanging out with you. I don’t have many friends outside of hockey and it’s nice.”

“It is,” I agreed, though part of me felt a little disappointed in the use of the word friends. On the other hand, his wife hadn’t even been gone a year and I had no business thinking about anything other than friendship.

We talked for a few more minutes about nothing in particular but it wasn’t long before Gregory came over and practically collapsed into Lucas. “I think this guy wore himself completely out. I should probably get him home.”

“I’m good, Daddy,” Gregory yawned as his eyes began to close. “We can stay.”

“Come on, buddy,” he said then stood and scooped his son into his arms. Jake jumped up and I stood and grabbed his collar. “Would it be okay if I called you sometime or maybe just met you for breakfast or brought Jake a doughnut?”

“Sure,” I smiled. “Well, maybe not about the doughnut.” He laughed as he tried to reach for his phone but it appeared to be stuck underneath Gregory. “Why don’t you just give me your number and I’ll send you a text so you have mine. I promise I’m not going to turn into some crazy hockey groupie or something.”

“I wasn’t worried about that. I’ve been in this league long enough to know who’s real and who isn’t.” I nodded and got my phone ready to enter his number. After he told me I sent him a quick text and he smiled when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. “It was great meeting you today.” He bent down and scratched Jake’s ears. “You too, buddy.”

After a few moments of silence I took the first step to saying goodbye, which seemed harder than it should have been. “Well, I better let you guys get home.” I couldn’t help but rub the back of Gregory’s said. “Bye, Gregory.”

“Bye,” he whispered through a yawn.

“I’ll call you soon.”

“I look forward to it.”

#story #short story #love story #writing #creative writing

1 note · View note