#Soda probably thinks you’re joking. He’ll laugh about it and shove you lightly

[callme-holly]

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐱 𝐛𝐨𝐛 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

a/n: slowly getting back into the swing of writing. sorry for how absent i've been <33 requested by @kenzyduchanne-offical

Darry Curtis:

Darry doesn’t get mad, but he definitely gets real quiet for a few moments, just thinking it through. He can understand why you didn’t say anything sooner, but at the sametime, he’ll be mildly frustrated that you kept it a secret.

He doesn’t hold it against you. He’s a little put off, purely because your brother is the one who makes his brothers’ lives hell, but he is able to see past that eventually. He won’t push you away because of who your family is, but he doesn’t really want any affiliation with them.

Sodapop Curtis:

At first, Soda probably thinks you’re joking. He’ll laugh about it and shove you lightly, but when hesees that you’re dead serious, he gets quiet and just stares at you. He’s surprised, sure, but he isn’t mad. 

He never would have guessed you two were related, not in a million years, but he doesn’t really care. He is able to see past it, and all the while you’re nothing like your brother; he’s fine.

He just sees you for you, and makes that very known anytime someone brings it up.

Ponyboy Curtis:

Pony probably struggles with the confession at first. He already has a bad taste in his mouth whenever it comes to Bob, especially after what he did to Johnny so he might be a little drawn back at first.

He won’t say much, and he’ll get a little moody because you’d never thought to mention it before. But when you mention it’s because you were afraid he’d leave, he softens significantly. 

It takes him sometime but he’ll learn to accept it, though he wants nothing to do with your family at all.

Johnny Cade:

Johnny can’t help but feel slightly betrayed when you tell him. Bob Sheldon, the guy with the rings, left a huge emotional scar in his life and affected the way he sees the world; he is your brother. 

He doesn’t really say much at first, and he’s scared at why you never mentioned it. He’ll probably overthink your intentions entirely before you eventually calm him down.

But Johnny knows you. He knows you’re not like him and that you’d never hurt him. That’s probably the only reason he copes.

Dallas Winston:

Dally gets pissed, but not at you. He might feel mild frustration toward you, but it’s more towards your family than anything. He hates the fact that you’re related to such apiece of shit and the impact that then has on your relationship.

He makes it very known that he hates your brother and n't sugarcoat it just because you’re related. He always talks bad about him, about what he did to Johnny, just to make sure you know how strong his dislike for him is.

Steve Randle:

Steve will just stare at you for a solid minute before saying anything. He just needs a moment to process the fact that you’re related to such an asshole. 

He really hates Bob, but he won't hold it against you, and he tries his best to avoid saying anything that might make you uncomfortable. 

He knows you’re nothing like him, and that makes him a little more content with the situation.

Two-Bit Mathews:

Two probably finds it funny at first purely because he’s shocked to the point he doesn’t know how to react. But when it clicks that it’s the Bob Sheldon, the same one who jumped Johnny, he gets real serious.

He’ll poke fun at you for it, and wont ever let you live it down, but he won’t hate you for it. He loves you regardless of your last name, but he’s always wary whenever your brother is around if you talk about him. 

[artificialqueens]

New Kid on the Block chapter 4 - Thehotinpsychotic

After the final bell rings, Matt is getting his things from his locker when he suddenly feels arms around him. “The fuck?”

“Surprise!” Matt immediately recognizes the voice as Danny’s and softens, grabbing onto one of the arms. He spins to face him, ending the hug.

“Ready to go?” Matt asks.

Danny nods.

“Well too bad, because we’re going to wait for Brian’s slow ass for a minute,” Matt says. “Rat bastard has gym eighth period and he likes to wait till all the guys leave to change. What a diva.” He slumps against the lockers until he’s sitting on the floor, patting the spot beside him and peering up at Danny expectantly.

Danny occupies the space, resting his head on Matt’s shoulder without warning. Matt’s caught off guard, and he finds himself blushing as he’s catching the faintest waft of Danny’s shampoo, some generic girly shit.

“How come he didn’t walk with you yesterday?” Danny asks.

Matt rolls his eyes. “The dumb whore had detention.”

Danny giggles, “I can tell you guys are good friends by the way you talk about each other. What’d he do to get detention?”

Matt shrugs. “Knowing Brian, some stupid unnecessary tomfoolery, for sure.”

“We really have a test tomorrow, huh?” Danny sighs.

Matt nearly chokes on nothing. “I beg your pardon? In history?!”

Laughing, Danny insists, “Yeah, we do! Maybe if you didn’t sleep through so much of the lesson you would’ve noticed.”

“Aw fuck, I hate history,” Matt whines. “I need to study and I haven’t even started.”

“I could study with you if you want,” Danny offers. “I’m like a really good study partner; I’m super organized.”

“Sure,” Matt agrees. “We can study at my house. I’ll drag Brian along too; he won’t want to, but he has to study. That or he’ll be sucking his way to a passing grade.” Matt blinks. “He’d probably like that, actually.”

“What’s up nerds?” Brian’s standing above them, gazing down at the pair with a grin. He notices Danny’s head resting comfortably on Matt’s shoulder. Repressing the flames licking at his stomach in response, he jokes, “Oh, am I interrupting something?”

“Shut up,” Matt scoffs, pushing himself to his feet. He offers his hands to Danny, who accepts and is pulled up quickly. The trio make their way home, Brian walking alongside the pair in the grass as he refuses to take the third wheel placement behind them on the sidewalk.

“We’re going to study for history, by the way,” Matt tells.

“Oh, um, no thank you,” Brian replies.

“I wasn’t asking,” Matt says flatly.

Brian pouts, whining, “But I don’t want to.”

“You know you’ll fail if you don’t,” Danny says.

Groaning dramatically, Brian begins, “Yeah, but…” he doesn’t finish that thought, finally sighing as he says, “Fine, you win.”

“Oh yeah, hot sidebar,” Matt mentions. “What did your stupid ass do to get detention the other day?”

Brian pauses, almost running a mental reel of all of the previous detentions he had received. “What, yesterday?”

Matt nods, promoting Brian to flap a hand as he says, “Oh, it was nothing. Some kid decided to get smart and… I lost my temper and hit him. He totally deserved it, though.”

Matt’s eyes double in size. “Wait, you hit somebody? But you’re as queen as it gets.”

Brian shrugs, admitting, “They really rubbed me the wrong way. I don’t regret it at all.”

“Well, what’d they say?” Danny asks.

Brian’s voice is low and steady as he admits, “Uh, someone called Matt a fag.” He picks at his fingernails, adding, “It was a bunch of bullshit; I couldn’t let him say that and just get away with it. It wouldn’t be right.”

Placing a hand over his chest, Matt mocks a choked up voice, asking, “Oh my god, we’re actually friends? You stood up for me?”

Brian bobs his head, retorting, “Well, duh. Like, you are a fag, don’t get me wrong, but only I can say that. And I’m also a fag, so it’s not homophobic, it’s like, reclaiming or whatever.”

Matt grabs Brian by either side of his face and kisses him on the lips. “Thank you for that.”

Looking taken aback, Brian jokes, “Um, I didn’t catch that. Kiss me again?”

At that, Matt pushes him lightly. “Whore.” The three finally make it to Matt’s doorstep, each abandoning their shoes inside the entryway. “We do Japanese style in this household,” Matt murmurs. He leads the pair to the kitchen, where he immediately scours the premises for snacks. Armed with soda, Cheez-Itz, and Oreos, the group ducks away into Matt’s bedroom, the three boys squishing onto Matt’s twin size mattress.

Opening the textbook, Danny mentions, “We have a study guide so we should probably try and get that done first. There’s three pages so I can do the first page, Matt you do the second, and Brian do the last page.”

“Ugh, I love it when you take charge like that,” Brian gushes. “I’m not used to seeing you so dominant.”

The innuendo flying over Danny’s head, he merely chirps, “Thanks.”

Brian rolls his eyes, nevertheless cracking open his own book and starting on the questions. The trio finish the study guide in a short amount of time, then taking time to go over the answers. The three then quiz each other until they’re all familiar with the material. Some hour and a half later, Matt sighs, “So, I don’t think I will fail. I would hate to jinx it, but I think I might get an A.”

“Cs get degrees,” Brian counters.

Suddenly, Matt’s brother is in the doorway, asking, “Hey, mom’s out late so we’re ordering pizza. What kind do you want?”

Matt looks at Brian, remembering his friend is vegetarian. “Cheese… yeah. Cheese.”

“What are you queers doing?” Jared asks, showing mild interest despite trying to play aloof.

“Studying for a history exam,” Brian says.

“Oh,” Jared replies. As Matt stands up to turn on the stereo, Jared taps him on the crotch. “Are you gonna fail this one, too?”

Clutching onto himself in pain, Matt replies, “Don’t think so. I also plan on graduating.”

Jared immediately grabs Matt by the neck, forcing his head down as he reaches for the waistband of his pants. He grabs onto Matt’s grey briefs and pulls hard, stretching the underwear halfway up his back before letting him go with a shove. “Faggot.”

Matt slams the door behind him, turning to face his two friends.

“I’ve never seen you this red,” Brian admits.

“Thanks for sticking up for me, guys,” Matt mumbles.

“Hey, I have unresolved trauma because of your brother. My ass cheeks still instinctively clench whenever I see him,” Brian says.

“What’s his problem?” Danny asks.

Tucking his underwear back into his jeans, Matt rolls his eyes as he explains, “He dropped out of high school. Fucking deadbeat.”

Nodding, Brian adds, “Kinda crazy to think that you’re the responsible one.”

Pulling his weed stash out from his closet, Matt says, “I know.” He withdraws his grinder, pulling out some papers and beginning to roll a joint. “Danny, do you smoke?”

“Hell yeah,” Danny replies. “Party.”

Licking the joint and then sealing it with a lighter, Matt starts it and takes a long drag. Exhaling as he passes it to Brian, he mutters, “My brother’s a fucking cunt.”

Brian takes a hit, slowly letting the smoke pour from his mouth as he agrees, “You know what, you’re right. You’re not obligated to love your family. Your brother is a fucking cunt. And you’re right to say so.”

Danny takes a pull once it’s passed to him, coughing lightly as he tells, “Shit like that is why I’m glad I’m an only child.”

“Amen,” Brian mumbles.

After the three smoke and eat, Matt decides to walk Danny home, Brian having headed off in his own path. As they walk down the dark street, Danny murmurs, “Sorry about your brother, by the way. He’s a fucking piece of work.”

[stayfallentasticc]

Lighthouse

Pairing: Noah x MC x Dan  (It Lives In The Woods)

Words: 4162 words

Summary: Stacy gives Noah the advice to tell Her. He figures he will one day, just not today. Soon after, he finds out - he should’ve. 

Sneak peek: He just wished it didn’t take him that long to recover from the pain of his sister. He just wished he gave himself a chance at happiness, but here he was alone in a crowded room watching the only girl he love fall for someone else. You should tell her. You’ll regret it. And he did. Alone he felt indeed.

Notes: This short story is really long and just so you know Her is MC (I’m not big in giving my main characters name since I feel like it disconnects the reader from imagining themselves as MC - if that makes sense?). Thank you to @dangerous-capri15 for the request (not entirely sure if this was what you wanted. Apologizes if it isn't!!!). I just really wanted to emphasize the pain Noah feels and how he so desperately wants to tell her, but can’t bring himself to. I also ship MC and Dan together too soo....the scene that they have with each other may or may not be stretched more than I intended it to. This story focuses more on the building of feelings. It’s broken down into different “scenes”, I guess. ALSO, the “sad birds still sing” is a title of a poem book I love to death. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy this story. Cheers! 

“So you’re not going to tell her, you’re not going to say anything?” Stacy raises her eyebrow. Noah let’s out a sigh, running his fingers through his hair.

“No.” He finally manages to say, his words getting lost in the cold winter night. He pulls his denim jacket closer, hoping it would warm the coldness he felt inside. He almost feels regretful for even saying that word, immediately wanting to take it back, but what good would that do right?

Stacy sighs, she presses her lips together, she squints off to the distance. “Well I think you should, Noah. You’ll regret it if you don’t.” She turns to look at him, her eyes are filled with a hint of sadness. A look he couldn’t quite pinpoint. “I think you should.” Stacy places her hand on his shoulder, giving him a firm squeeze. She waves him goodbye, pushing herself off the couch and finding her way into the crowd.

And he would’ve told Her. He possibly could’ve If only he at least tried to get his act together, but being with Her seemed like a far fetched dream. Let alone reconnecting with her after the countless times she saw him and made it known she was avoiding him - avoiding him after Jane passed on. He knew her intentions were far from bad, she hadn’t done it on purpose. He knew this. Although, he would be lying if he said it didn’t pain him when he saw her those days. He would be lying if it didn’t kept him awake at night, amongst other things. He tries to not think about her, about them, about the possibilities but everything leads back to Her. It’s always Her.

This time around he promises himself she was different - is different. She won’t hurt him. She apologizes time after time for leaving him hanging, told him that she’s not just “putting up with him” and he swear he catches her staring at him when everyone’s together. She even smiles his way, and he knows there’s something more, or he hopes rather. So why can’t he get himself together and just tell Her?

He figures he’ll tell her the next time he sees her. Today’s just not the day.

The next time he sees her, they have decided to watch a movie. She’s been dying to see the next so called hit, but if he’s being honest he doesn’t really care. He figures as long as she’s there, he doesn’t really mind what they do. Movie or not. God forbid, they could be hiking and he would say he had a great time as long as he knew She was.

He’s waiting outside the theaters, his hands shoved deep in his pockets. He sees her in the midst of the passing strangers, she’s wearing a red shirt that clings tightly to her curves, her hair is tied in a high ponytail showcasing her features. He swears he’s only blushing from the heat, but he knows the truth.

“Hey, Noah!” She pulls him into a hug, her scent is nauseating  - smelling of lilac and gooseberries. A scent he knows by heart. “Did I make you wait too long? Dan and I was just finishing up our -“

Noah cuts her off, holding his hand out and shaking his head. “It’s fine.” He says, he quickly gestures for them to head inside, cocking his head to the theater. She offers him an apologetic smile and clings to his arm, something about her ankle hurting. He doesn’t mind too much, he even thinks it’s a sign. Today’s the day.

They find their seats near the back, popcorn in one hand and soda in the other. She plops herself down, and soon after puts down the armrest, leaving more space between them. Noah tells himself he doesn’t feel that bad, but god, he feels a bit disappointed.

“You’re going to sit down, or are you going to keep staring at me?” She laughs. If he didn’t like her laugh so much, he would’ve scoff at her face and say a snide remark. But he doesn’t, because it’s Her.

So he bites his tongue.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever” is all he can think of saying because he’s so damn awkward and she’s so damn pretty. He frowns despite himself and sits down besides her.

“Hey,” she leans forward, he can vividly see the different specks of color in her eyes. He gulps hard. “Thanks for inviting me to watch this movie with you. I needed this. School has been so stressful”

He chuckles, he places his hand inside his denim jacket, fighting the urge to tuck the loose strand of hair that falls on her face. “Heh, don’t I know it.” He laughs even harder, looking anywhere but at her. She punches him in the arm, shooting him a playful death glare.

The movie starts soon after, he finds that that their hands accidentally brush against eachother when they both reach in for the popcorn. He blushes quickly after, and mutters a “sorry” to Her. She dismisses him and says “it’s no big deal”.  He finds himself hoping that the tips of their fingers can brush again. Any excuse really to get closer. A sign. But they don’t.

The movie ends and quite frankly, he doesn’t recall what really happened. His thoughts were all centered on her. What was she thinking? Did she enjoyed spending time with him?

They make their way to the exit, he notices how her hands are grabbing each of her arm, how she shivers ever so slightly. She’s warming herself and he can’t help but feel a tug on his chest.

Tell her.

He hurriedly catches up with her, he’s a mess and being around her trying to act normal is near to impossible. He quickly removes his jacket, and places them on her shoulders. She quirks an eyebrow. “I-I noticed you were cold.” Noah whispers, scratching the back of his neck. She smiles up at him, and if he could he would take a picture of her now. But he can’t, so he’ll embed it into his mind where it’s safe.

“Thanks, Noah”

“Yeah, uh, no problem” He wistfully says, he wants to tell her more, but words that he desperately wants to say are caught in his throat. He stares at her, debating if he should. “Don’t want you to die from hypothermia” He jokingly says, and immediately regrets it - he probably sounds like a loser. He mentally curses in his head.

She laughs, shaking her head at him. “You’re so weird, Noah” She bites her lower lip, gesturing for him to lean in closer. He feels like an idiot, and he knows his face is turning red from embarrassment. But, he does. He leans in closer. “That’s a compliment, just so you know”

He pulls away, a wide grin plastered on his face. “You would know, it takes one to know one” He sticks out his tongue and she smirks: she puts on his jacket as soon as they step out of the theater. The cold hitting him at face value. He glances at her, taking in how big the jacket is on her. It suits her, nonetheless. Granted it’s way too big for someone of her height but she looks adorable. Small. Vulnerable.  He wants to protect her, after all she’s the only one he‘s ever cared about after Jane died.

Jane. 

He hopes she’s finally at peace with herself. He couldn’t bare to know she’s haunted.

“You look good,”  He eventually says, she throws him a thumbs up before quickly looping her arm into his. They walk towards his car, their laughter enveloping the night sky. The stars seem to gleam in response. Beckoning him.

Say something.

Maybe he’ll tell her later. Not now. Not when he has the world in his arm. He just wants to enjoy this. Whatever it was. 

They’re sitting on the couch, her legs are draped over his, and she talks about how her parents left her once again for an estate opportunity. They’re in the middle of a party that Stacy is hosting, but in the midst of it all - he can only see Her.

He looks at her, trying to find any hint of sadness that lingers in her words when she talks about her parents. There is, so he does what he can do: he reaches forward and gives her a small smile. It’s not much, but he can see how she nods her head in understanding. It pains him to know she’s hurting, but she’s too occupied helping others - she doesn’t have the time to help herself. He wants to say something, but he can’t. 

How can he help her when he’s so broken inside?

Noah fiddles with his fingers, his tongue hitting the roof of his mouth, thinking of what to say - anything. “You want to hear a joke?” He finally says, propping his arm onto the pillow, leaning in closer in hopes he’s loud enough to mute the music.

Let her focus on me, he finds himself thinking.

“Sure, I’m always ready for your dad jokes.” She winks at him, throwing her head back in laughter. He frowns.

“Hey! They aren’t that bad.” He argues, he takes a dramatic deep breath. She furrows her eyebrow together, trying her best to keep a straight face. He snickers despite himself. “If looks could kill, you'd be a weapon of mass destruction.”

“That wasn’t a joke.” She scoffs, lightly shoving him. “That was a pick up line. Are you trying to woo me?”

Yeah.

“Pfft, you wish.” He rolls his eyes, fighting back a smile. “Jokes and pick up lines are the same shit. It made you laugh regardless. Mission accomplished.”

“If you wanted to say I looked good, you could’ve just said so without a pick up line” She chuckles, Noah crosses his arm, feeling himself blush.

“Now you’re just fishing for compliments” he mutters, he glances at her. His gaze lingers on her face. His eyes always finding hers. Searching. “You know you’re already pretty.”

She opens her mouth to say something, her eyes holding something between hope and wonder. It’s until Noah sees Him is when he shuts down. She must have noticed his gaze, being that she leans back. She follows his gaze soon after.

Dan. 

Star quarterback. Has a bright future. A face that most girls in the school would often talk about. One of the few people who knows Noah’s backstory - one of the few who witnessed it firsthand. 

Dan walks over to them, a cup in his hand and he has this big smile on his face. Noah, feels the sudden urge to wipe it off. 

Noah doesn’t hate the guy, heck, he really can’t. So why does he feel so uncomfortable around him when she’s present? He looks at her in his peripheral vision, he sees her smiles at Dan. He feels the sudden pressure of her legs no longer present - she has detangled herself from him. Noah feels a sudden drop in his stomach.

“Hey, Dan” He’s the first one to speak, he coughs into his hand. “What’s up?”

“Nothing much, just enjoying this” Dan gestures to the room: the strangers dancing in the dance floor, people chatting away. “What brings you here? Figured this wasn’t your ideal scene.” Dan frowns, Noah knows he’s genuinely concerned but god forbid he didn’t need to explain himself to anyone - much less Him.

Noah shrugs. “I figured why not. Loser over here wanted to say hi to Stacy and the others” Noah finds himself pulling her to him, draping his arm loosely on her shoulder. Where did this come from?

“You mind if I steal Her for a bit?” Dan gestures to Her, and Noah feels his jaw clench. He impatiently taps on his foot. Tap. Tap.

“Yeah, sure, of course” Noah weakly smiles, he lets her go reluctantly. He watches Dan reach out his hand out to her, he watches as she slips her hand into his. She grips Noah’s arm softly with her free hand, giving him a squeeze before she too was out of reach.

He watches Dan bend down and whisper something in her ear, earning him a bashful smile in response. She told Noah about Dan, how he was her best friend and how she was so devastated when he closed himself off. When he left her because Dan was finding himself in the midst of the trauma. He notices how her eyes glisten when she talks about Dan and how they’re finally getting along. He tells her he’s happy they are, but in all honesty he just wishes she didn’t talk about Dan to him at all. She says they’re just friends, but he knows that isn’t the truth. Far from it. He sees how she looks at him and how she glows when Dan’s around. 

She was slipping out of his grasp. 

Out of reach. 

So close. 

Yet so far.

He didn’t really know when it started. When he started to look at her differently. Granted, he always did like her, but he didn’t know when he started to “like like” her. Feelings and opening up were new to him. It’s not like Noah wanted to distance himself from her either, but it was better if he did. It prevented him from getting hurt and he knew wanting something he couldn’t have would end badly. It always did. He just wished it didn’t take him that long to recover from the pain of his sister. He just wished he gave himself a chance at happiness, but here he was alone in a crowded room watching the only girl he love fall for someone else.

You should tell her. You’ll regret it.

And he did.

Alone he felt indeed.

So, he watches her from afar. A cup in his hand, it’s Dan’s birthday. Everyone’s here: Andy, Ava, Lily, Stacy, Lucas, and most importantly Her. Dan invited Noah too, much to Noah’s surprise.

He remembers how Dan shook his head at him, “you’re like my second family too, you know” he recalls Dan saying as he shoves a invitation card in his hand and tells him he was looking all over school for him. He remembers laughing at Dan and he remembers the pain he felt when Dan mentioned how She knew Noah was going to be there. Her. Noah remembers getting choked up, he really couldn’t hate the guy.

“Hey, thanks for coming, guys!” Dan smiles cheerfully.

“Yeah, yeah, I came here because it’s the only party my dad would allow me to go to without questioning my ass hell and back” Ava yells from across the yard, Dan shakes his head. Noah can’t help but chuckle either. He looks around, everyone looks happy. Content. Peaceful.

Andy is talking casually to Lucas about the fundraiser the basketball team wants to do, with Lucas nodding his head in agreement and saying that they can do it, he just needs to swing it by the principal. Lily is standing in the middle of the yard, showing Ava the bracelet Britney bought her. Ava just bites her lips, fighting back any mean comments to herself. 

And then there’s.....Her. She’s standing in between Dan and Stacy, a big smile evident on her face.

Take my heart would you?

He must’ve been staring awfully too long, since she finally looks up from chatting and meets his gaze. She tilts her head to the side, excusing herself from Dan and Stacy. His heart beats a little too fast. She gives Dan a peck on the cheek and heads to Noah.

“You came!” She grins widely, pulling him into a hug. His hand hovers over her back a little too long. She notices and pulls back, a confused look etched on her face. “Everything’s okay?”

He’s torn between telling her, but what difference would it make? He nods his head. “Yeah, uh, just under the weather.” He lies through his teeth, hoping she doesn’t pry too much. She sighs softly, eyes narrowed, pondering. She notices something’s a bit off, but she knows he’ll come around. He has to. “How’s the birthday boy?”

“Dan?” She points her thumbs to the back, a smile returning back to her face. “He’s doing much better. He’s finally talking about his problems, the past” She tiptoes around the subject of Noah’s sister, Jane. She pauses, sighs softly and touches his shoulders. He desperately wants to pull her in and cry in her arms. But he knows he shouldn’t. He can’t. 

He smiles weakly, encouraging her to continue. “He’s conditioning for football this week. We made it official yesterday. He invited me out to dinner and-and he’s finally happy, Noah.”

“He’s happy. That’s good” Noah crosses his arm, he holds back the tears. Did time pass by that fast? Was he too over his own head to notice anything? “He has a great support system. You.” Noah can’t help himself, it’s like word vomit at this point. He curses underneath his breath, hating how bitter he sounds.

“You have me too, you know” She holds his hand tenderly in hers, giving him another squeeze.

Good to know.

“I’ll talk to you later okay?” She reassures Him. “I got the birthday boy a birthday cake.” He shoots her a look, and she narrows her eyes.

“Hey, you’re never too old for cake.” She laughs, pointing her finger at him as she shakes her head. She exits through the back gate. Noah feels more alone than he ever did. He sees Stacy looking at him, she smiles at him but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. He hates that she pities him. He hates it even more that he didn’t listen to her advice.

He quickly looks away.

She returns with a big box, placing the cake onto the plastic table. She beckons Dan to come over and he does. Dan’s hands grazes over her lower back, kissing her forehead. Noah feels the urge to look away, but he can’t. Not when she smiles like that and when she looks so happy. He wants to see her happy. It’s what she deserves.

“You shouldn’t have.” Dan grins, he opens the box lid and his smile goes wider. “Thank you, honey.” He pulls her in and whispers in her ear, peppering her face with kisses. She giggles, before lightly shoving him.

Stacy gulps hard, patting Dan and Her shoulders. “Okay Love Birds, you don’t need to shove your low life down our throat.” Stacy chuckles, Noah knows she’s only saying that because of him and he can’t help but feel grateful.

“Make a wish, Dan!” Andy calls out, throwing confetti in the air. Noah can’t help the bittersweet feeling he feels. He’s glad everyone’s finally together, glad he’s slowly managing to cope with the loss of Jane, but he can’t help but feel like he’s losing out on something bigger. Her.

Dan blows out his candles, Noah wonders what in the world he would want, because if it were him - the one thing he would wish for is already standing right in front of him. Dan already has her. Shes leaning her head against Dan shoulder, their hands clasped tightly together. 

Noah falls apart. 

He comes undone. 

If it were him in Dan’s shoes....he wouldn’t have asked for more.

“Oh, wow, uh, you look amazing.” Noah gestures to the dress she wears. It’s prom, and he figures, it’s the last social event he’ll ever need to attend. So, why not just go for the sake of it. She wears a low neckline dress, her hair is neatly done and has butterflies on it. He feels the urge to touch it and say something stupid.

“You think so? Dan suggested it.” She smiles shyly, playing with the necklace on her neck. He nods his head. “You look good yourself, you clean up well!”

“Dance with me?” He scoffs, he has no time for small talk, not when his time with her is constrained. He holds out his hand. She raises her eyebrow, clearly supiscious. When did Noah dance? As if reading her expression, Noah frowns. “I have experience with dancing, don’t look at me all surprised. It makes me feel flustered.” Noah answers, offering his hand out once more, less nervous and more impatient this time around. “Hurry, I might change my mind and leave everyone to gawk at you.”

She smirks, sighing dramatically before slipping her hand into his. “Dan-“ She rises up from her seat. Noah scrunches his nose.

“He asked me if I could dance with you. Apparently Lucas needs help with something. So, you have to settle for me.” Noah snorts, his gaze bores into hers. “So sorry about that.”

“It’s fine.” She smirks, she plants one of her hands onto his shoulder and the other is clasped with his. He tries hard to keep his cool. He tries his best to focus on the steps. One. Two. One. Two. Tries his best to not notice how close she is. How the light captures her face perfectly. One. Two.

“I know I wasn’t vocal about my support for you and Dan” Noah gulps hard, licking his lower lip. “I’m glad he makes you happy. Ju-just promise me you’ll tell me if he breaks your heart.” Noah finds himself saying, he looks down and meets her eyes “I’ll knock his teeth out.”

“You, Noah, are you going to knock Dan?” She narrows her eyes, he playfully rolls his eyes.

“Geez, have some faith in me. You know what I mean.” Noah whispers softly, gently pressing his hand against her back. Closer. He’s closer to her now. “I mean, I highly doubt he’ll break your heart. You fit more of the heartbreaker cliche.”

“Me? How?” She laughs, he twirls her around. One. Two. He reels her in, his face red as their eyes meet.

“I mean, you’re pretty, outspoken, kind, can tolerate bad dad jokes and-you have a killer smile.” Noah mutters. “You probably killed a dozen people with that smile.”

She shakes her head, throws her head back and laughs. “You’re still alive. You’re immune” She jokes back.

“Yeah....alive” He wistfully says. “But seriously, Dan is lucky to have you. I hope he knows that. He’ll have to answer to me otherwise”

“I’ll pass it on, Noah” She sternly says. “Thank you. I don’t know what I would do without you, seriously.”

Neither do I.

“I-l” Noah opens his mouth, he’s unsure of what he’s going to say. If he should say it, but he so desperately wants to.

And then he appears, a bright smile plastered on his face.

“Hey, thanks Noah.” Dan hair is smooth down and he’s wearing a matching teal boutioneere, parallel to Her. “Thanks for looking out for my lady.”

His lady.

He wants to puke. 

Noah straightens his back and tries to smiles back, he’s positive, it looks forced but he can’t help but feel conflicted. “Y-yeah, no problem. I’ll just leave you guys to it.” Noah reluctantly let’s go of her hands, the warm enveloping him quickly leaves after.

“I’ll see you later, okay?” She calls out to Noah, hugging him one more time before Dan pulls her away.

He feels his heart break just a bit.

He wonders how he can just stand aside and watch them. They’re so in love. What right does he have to take it away? He holds back the tears, blinking rapidly. It’s too late now. Has it always been that way? Has he been blindlessly thinking there was hope? He watches her from the sidelines, watches how she leans into Dan and how he leans into her. Despite a part of him always longing and wishing he could turn back time to confess, he knows she’s in good hands. That’s all he ever wanted. Noah just hopes she stays happy. Regardless of how lonely and how sad that makes him.

Sad birds can still sing.

“You doing okay?” Stacy pats his back, she peers into his chocolate brown eyes. He inhales sharply.

“Yeah. Sure.” He offers Stacy a weak smile.

“I’m sorry about....what happened.” Stacy frowns, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I seen the way Dan looked at her. It-it was bound to happen. I was rooting for you, you know.”

And he was rooting for Them too. Him and Her. 

It just wasn’t meant to be. 

“It all worked out in the end, Stacy. It’s fine. She’s happy.” He searches for her in the crowd and finds her. He always finds her. He just wished looking at her didn’t hurt too much. “I-I’m happy for her.”

And he was. He always will be. 

She was his lighthouse. The fire and love he had for her would always be ignited.

Guiding him back to her.

Always.

[ticklishhpickle]

Interrupted By Fireworks, Literally

Summary: Dan has a wake up call when he realises 2018 is fast approaching, meaning he’s spent nearly a decade pining over the one and only Phil Lester. Not wanting to waste any more time, he devises a plan. This year, he’s going to kiss Phil at midnight. If he doesn’t kiss back, he’ll write it off as a drunk, meaningless mistake and try his best to move on. But if he does... oh, how Dan wants to know. 

Word count: 2.5k 

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: None

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

Dan stared at Phil from across the room. He frowned when he saw the black-haired man talking to Hazel for what seemed like the millionth time that night. Don’t get Dan wrong, he had nothing against Hazel- except for the fact she seemed to have exactly what Dan wanted; Phil.

Dan was pathetically, hopelessly, and probably unrequitedly in love with Phil, and had been for the past eight years. It hit Dan a few weeks ago that the start of 2018 marked nearly a decade of Dan pining over his best friend. The realisation had caused Dan to have a small existential crisis, but after that he came up with a plan.

At their New Year’s Eve party, Dan was going to kiss Phil on their balcony at midnight. Hopefully. It perhaps wasn’t the most thought out plan Dan had come up with in his lifetime, but it was a plan nevertheless. He just really hoped he wouldn’t chicken out.

Best case scenario; Phil would kiss back and admit his deep feelings of love and adoration for Dan, and then ask him to be his boyfriend. Worst case scenario; Phil would awkwardly reject Dan as he leaned in to kiss him, Dan would write off his actions as a drunken mistake (even though he planned to have no alcohol on the night) and Dan would finally accept that Phil didn’t feel the same and move on. Totally foolproof.

Things weren’t exactly going to plan however, thanks to a certain blonde woman. Dan was sure Phil and her were getting together right in front of his eyes! Though it did seem strange that Hazel and Phil didn’t look like they were playfully flirting or anything, it actually looked like they were having a serious discussion about something. Phil had also noticed the way Dan and Hazel kept looking over to Phil, worried looks on their faces. They were probably worrying about how Dan would cope when they revealed to him they’d been secretly dating for years and were moving to Vegas to elope. Sick bastards.

Sitting alone in the corner at his own party was doing him no favours, especially if he wanted his plan to work so Dan forced himself out of the chair he’d been sitting on for the past ten minutes and walked over to the drinks table.

In the middle of pouring himself an orange soda, he was interrupted by his bubbly, female best friend.

“Dan! Just the guy I’ve been looking for. You gonna tell me why you’ve been sulking in the corner for the better half of this party?” Louise asked, her eyes concerned.

“Oh, the usual. Just pathetically pining over Phil while he chats up Hazel. Nothing new.” Dan’s voice was exaggeratedly cheery.

“Dan, don’t be silly. There’s no way Phil and Hazel are a thing. He likes you, Dan.”

“If that’s true, why has he spent most of this party talking to her? I should just give up and go home.”

“Dan, don’t be stupid. It’s pretty obvious he’s in love with you too. Also you live here, did you forget? Stop being a drama queen.” Louise rolled her eyes at Dan.

Oops. He hadn’t really thought about what he’d said.

“Well you’re wrong. Maybe I would have believed that before tonight, but after seeing them together I think I should just forget about the plan and move on.”

“NO!” Louise exclaimed loudly. A few party guests turned to look at the pregnant woman.

“Oops.” she said quietly, shrugging her shoulders awkwardly.

When attention was no longer on her, she continued;

“Anyway, I really, really don’t think you should do that.”

Dan narrowed his eyes at her. She was being suspicious.

“Why are you so sure about that, Louise? Is there something you’re hiding from me?”

An incredulous look appeared on his friend’s face as she waved a dismissive hand at Dan.

“What! No! No way. I don’t know anything! I’ve got pregnancy brain, remember?” Louise pointed across the room at nothing.

“Woah! That’s so weird, I better go check that out!” and before Dan could respond, Louise was gone.

Something wasn’t adding up. Louise rarely acted like this with Dan, but when she did, it meant she was hiding something. She seemed awfully sure that kissing Phil at midnight would end well, but why? Dan had always gone to Louise to talk about his feelings for Phil and sworn her to secrecy, but was it possible Phil had been doing the same all along?

It would make sense. Dan and Phil didn’t have many friends, and the ones they did have were shared. Phil would definitely tell Louise if he did happen to have secret feelings for Dan. Dan felt hope bubbling up in his chest, along with a feeling of renewed confidence. The plan was back on.

He checked his watch; it was 11:47. Fuck. He needed to get Phil out on the balcony with him, stat. Dan scanned the room quickly, huffing when he saw no sign of his best friend.

“And who would you be looking for, stranger?”

Dan snapped his head around and nearly breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was just Phil and not some random he didn’t know.

“You.” Dan gave his friend a small smile, which only grew when he saw the faint blush that dusted Phil’s cheeks. His suspicions were proving to be correct.

“Well you’ve found me, sorry I’ve been a bit MIA all night. I needed to talk about… something with Hazel.” The tone of Phil’s voice remained suspiciously casual. Dan was hoping for an awkward response to match his slightly flustered expression.

“That’s ok Phil. But would it be okay if I stole you for the rest of the night? I want to spend time with my best friend. Wanna go to the balcony?”

Phil nodded. “Alright, but I’m just going to say this now; people will notice if you try to throw my body out the window.”

Dan rolled his eyes fondly and grabbed Phil’s hand, leading him to the balcony. What a dork.

Dan and Phil had been chatting idly for the past few minutes, the conversation flowing easily.

“So what’s your New Year’s Resolution, Phil?” Phil smiled cheekily.

“That’s got to be… your mum!”  Dan shoved Phil lightly on the arm, feigning anger. His laughter wasn’t helping his cause.

“No, seriously!” Dan said after he finally stopped laughing. “I want to know.”

Phil looked into Dan’s eyes, all traces of playfulness gone from his expression.

“To let go of a secret I’ve been keeping for too long.”

“Ok Phil, if you’ve killed someone I really don’t want to be a part of it. Murder is not in our branding.”

Phil chuckled lightly.

  Beautiful. 

“It’s not murder! You’ll find out eventually.” Phil shook his head at Dan, still smiling.

The comfortable silence that settled over them was interrupted by the muffled chants of the guests in the room over.

10!

Dan gulped.

9!

This was it.

8!

The possible start to a life with Phil as his boyfriend.

7!

Was he ready for this?

6!

Yes.

5!

Phil looked beautiful in the light of the balcony.

4!

It was time.

3!

Dan leaned in.

2!

It looked like Phil was leaning in too.

1!

Dan closed his eyes.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Dan’s lips met nothing. What? Dan opened his eyes to see Phil jumping up and down giddily at the sight of the fireworks. The loud, popping sounds of them seemed to be mocking him. This was no time for celebration! How dare those fireworks, ruining his moment? Surely he would have kissed Phil if they hadn’t gone off, and Phil would have kissed him back and…

Who was he kidding?

It wasn’t their fault. He knew rejection and this was it. As if Phil would suddenly be so entranced by fireworks, something he’d seen every year of his life since he was a child. It was obvious what Dan was trying to do just seconds ago and Phil being the polite man he was, was pretending he didn’t notice what Dan was trying to do in order to spare Dan’s feelings.

Dan was pathetic.

“Aren’t they beautiful Dan?”

Dan looked at his best friend’s smiling face and pushed his feelings of hurt to one side.

“Yeah. They are.”

Dan walked back into his lounge room, mentally scolding himself for thinking someone as amazing as Phil Lester could ever have loved him back. What a joke. Well, now that the plan failed Dan could just move on from his unrequited crush of nearly ten years and find someone new. That sure would be a walk in the park, especially since Dan lived with said crush! Dan seriously wanted to be swallowed up by a hole in the ground and never return.

Phil was talking to Hazel again, not that Dan was watching or anything. Of course she was. Hazel was the one Phil liked, not him. It was weird, it really did look like Hazel was scolding Phil for something. He looked like an adorable dejected puppy.

Wait, Dan wasn’t supposed to be having those thoughts anymore.

He looked like an average-looking man who Dan had no romantic feelings for whatsoever. Much better.

The definitely average-looking man pouted at Hazel as she leaned in to whisper something in his ear. She was probably telling him off for spending the countdown to the new year with Dan instead of her. They probably would have kissed if Dan hadn’t practically forced Phil to the balcony with him. Dan’s stomach felt sick. He couldn’t look at this any longer.

He walked over to where he saw Louise sitting.

“Hey.” he said.

“Hello dear, did the plan work like I said it would? Yes?” Louise was practically squealing with excitement, her eyes looking almost manic.

“What do you think?” Dan shook his head sadly.

Louise looked more shocked than a man finding out he had a third penis.

“What? Is this some kind of sick joke? It’s not nice to trick people, you know!”

Dan sighed. “No, Louise. I’m serious. I tried to kiss him, and I swear I saw him leaning in too… but when I opened my eyes he’d moved away from me and was just fangirling over the fireworks. He sees them every year and never gets that excited! I know he was just doing it to spare my feelings.”

Louise chewed her lip, obviously thinking about something hard.

There was silence for a few seconds.

“Well, that’s a real bummer. Do text me about it, love? I’ve got to go now, but thanks for having me.”

And with that Dan was left alone again, confused as to why all his conversations with Louise that night had ended with her suspiciously and very abruptly rushing off.

Two hours later and all the guests from the party were gone. Finally. As great as his friends were, being around that many people at one time and in such a small area was way too much for Dan. Parties were literally just a very concentrated form of socialising and as a result Dan couldn’t handle them well.

He picked up what was probably his fiftieth piece of streamer off the ground and heaved a sigh of relief. It looked like it was the last one.

“Well looks like that’s it! Let’s never have a party again.” Dan declared.

“Yeah, tell me about it. I think it’s already…” Phil paused mid-sentence to look at his watch. “-3am! I was right! These things take so long to clean up after.”

Had it really been that long? Three whole hours since the most gut-wrenching moment of Dan’s life. What a lovely thought.

“Oh god? That late? I think I’m going to go sleep. Night Phil.” Dan began tying the bin bag of streamers in his hands up, preparing to sleep indefinitely and forget everything that had happened.

“Wait. Dan.” Dan stopped in his tracks.

Phil sounded really nervous all of a sudden.

“Yes?”

“I think I’m ready to tell you my secret now.” Phil wiped his palms on his jeans.

Dan was very interested now. He’d been dying to know Phil’s secret since he mentioned it on the balcony. It had only been three hours though.

“Go on.”

“I’m in love with you, and have been since we met.”

What. The. Fuck.

“And I hate myself for rejecting you when you tried to kiss me. I wasn’t expecting it! Everything I’d been dreaming of was happening all at once, and so… I pretended to be really interested in the fireworks so you’d think I was just too distracted by them to notice you were trying to kiss me. I thought it would make it less awkward. I’m sorry.”

His best friend looked so sincere, and so adorably worried. Dan wanted to kiss the frown off his cute little face.

“You’re telling me, that you- the man I’ve been wildly in love for the last nine years- has felt the same way as me the whole time?”

“Well, yeah… wait, the man who you’ve what now?” Phil’s eyes were wider than Dan had ever seen them.

Dan took a big step closer to Phil and leant in to whisper in his ear.

“The man I’m in love with.”

Dan was nowhere near prepared for what happened next. Phil suddenly grabbed the back of Dan’s head, pulling him in close. Phil pushed his lips against Dan’s with vigour, years of repressed feelings coming to the surface. Dan kissed back equally as passionately, still not quite believing this was real life. His eyes opened in shock when he let out a soft moan, surprising himself but clearly not Phil as his friend just used this to advantage by slipping his tongue into Dan’s mouth. As much as Dan wanted to continue, there were still a few questions bugging him. With all the willpower he had, he forced himself to pull away from Phil, eliciting a cute huff from the older man.

“Wait, before we continue; were you talking to Hazel the whole night because of me? And was Louise involved in this too by any chance?” Dan looked inquisitively at his now more-than-a-friend’s face.

Phil went red.

“Hazel may have been psyching me up to confess my feelings to you and kiss you at midnight. And Louise may have known about my feelings too, ever since I told her five years ago.”

“Fucking called it. Lou was acting weird all night!” Dan muttered, smiling at the adorable man in front of him.

“Tell me about it! She was being all suspicious when I tried to back out of kissing you at midnight, AND I had to endure a scolding session from her and Hazel when they found out I chickened out.”

“Ugh, so much wasted time. We could have been doing this,” Dan pressed a soft kiss to the corner of Phil’s lips, “for nine years.”

Phil smirked.

“Well we better make up for lost time then, huh?”

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

A/N: needed to write some fluff after that pile of angst, served cold I just posted. hope this was cute