#YOU CAN’T KEEP ME HANGING ON A CLIFFHANGER LIKE THIS

[baelabong]

ᴛʀᴏᴜʙʟᴇ

ꜱᴏᴘʜᴏᴍᴏʀᴇ!ᴡᴏɴʏᴏᴜɴɢ x ꜰʀᴇꜱʜᴍᴀɴ!ꜰᴇᴍʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

plot: wonyoung likes you. but you’re off limits

notes: this is a LEGAL age gap yall, wony is around 20 and y/n is around 18,3k words, fluff, lowkey cliffhanger ig??

You're in your last period of the day, calculus, and the clock seems to be moving slower than usual. Your mind drifts as you solve the problems in front of you, the equations almost too easy at this point. The steady hum of the classroom is interrupted only by the occasional tap of a pencil or the rustling of papers. You’ve always been ahead of the curve—top of your class, already accepted into an elite college. But no one ever lets you forget that you’re still just a high school student.

“Y/N,” a voice snaps you out of your thoughts. You look up to see your teacher giving you a pointed look. “I know this might be easy for you, but try to stay with us until the bell rings, alright?”

A few classmates snicker, but you just nod, giving a polite smile. You’re used to this—the subtle reminders that no matter how mature or capable you are, you’re still the youngest in the room, still the one they all see as a kid.

When the bell finally rings, you pack up your things and head out, ready to go home and unwind. But as you step into the hallway, your phone buzzes in your pocket. It’s a text from Ningning.

Ningning: Hey, I’m dragging you to a college party tonight. No excuses.

You sigh, already imagining the chaos she’s about to pull you into. You:Not really in the mood, Ning. Can’t we just hang out at your place instead?

Ningning:Nope. You need to loosen up before college. You’re always studying. Trust me, this will be fun.

You hesitate, but you know Ningning won’t take no for an answer. Before you know it, you’re agreeing to meet her later, even though you’re not expecting much from the night.

Hours later, you find yourself at the party, surrounded by people you don’t know, in a setting that feels completely foreign. The music’s loud, the lights are dim, and the air is thick with excitement and something else you can’t quite place. You stick close to Ningning, feeling out of place in a sea of unfamiliar faces.

You tug at the hem of your dress—a new one Ningning insisted you wear tonight. It’s slightly more revealing than what you’re used to, the neckline dipping a bit lower, the fabric hugging your curves in a way that feels both thrilling and uncomfortable. You’re not sure if you’re pulling it down to cover more or if you’re trying to stop yourself from fidgeting.

Ningning had assured you that you looked amazing when you reluctantly stepped out of your room earlier, but now, surrounded by college students who seem so at ease in their own skin, you feel more exposed than ever. The house is packed, bodies moving in rhythm to the heavy bass thumping through the speakers. Conversations blend into a constant buzz that you can’t quite tune into, like white noise.

Every laugh, every shout, every cheer feels distant, as if you’re watching it all from behind a glass wall. You’ve been to parties before, but nothing like this. There’s a different energy here—one that makes you feel small and out of place.

Ningning, on the other hand, is in her element. She’s chatting with a group of people, laughing easily, while you hover awkwardly by her side. You try to focus on the conversation, but your mind keeps wandering, your eyes scanning the room, taking in the unfamiliar faces, the unfamiliar space, and the unfamiliar feeling of being completely out of your depth.

Then, across the room, you see her.

She’s standing with a group of friends, effortlessly commanding attention. She’s tall, with long, dark hair that cascades over her shoulders like a waterfall, and a presence that makes it hard to look away. She’s wearing a sleek, black satin dress that clings to her figure in all the right places, the fabric shimmering under the dim lights. The dress has a daringly low neckline, and thin straps that rest delicately on her shoulders, accentuating her collarbones. A slit runs up the side, revealing just a hint of her long, toned leg as she shifts her weight.

She’s paired it with simple yet elegant accessories—a silver necklace that glints whenever she moves, and a pair of diamond-studded earrings that catch the light. Her makeup is flawless, a subtle smoky eye that adds depth to her gaze, and a deep red lipstick that makes her lips look impossibly inviting.

Your breath hitches, and you feel your heart skip a beat. There’s something about her that draws you in, something beyond just her looks. It’s the way she carries herself, the way she’s engaged in conversation, her eyes sharp and focused, yet somehow distant. She seems so much more mature, like she’s already got everything figured out while you’re still trying to find your footing.

“Who’s that?” you ask Ningning, trying to sound casual, but your voice betrays you, trembling slightly as you speak.

Ningning follows your gaze, and a smirk plays on her lips. “That’s Wonyoung. She’s a sophomore here—confident, intelligent, and as you can see, absolutely stunning.”

You swallow hard, suddenly feeling the room closing in around you. “She’s… incredible.”

Ningning chuckles, nudging you playfully. “Good luck with that one. She’s way out of our league, Y/N, and trust me, she’s off-limits.”

But as Wonyoung glances your way, locking eyes with you for just a moment.

As you gather your thoughts and muster the courage to approach her, you notice her laughter subsiding as she scans the room again. Your heart races, and just when you think about turning back, she steps away from her group of friends with an effortless grace, her eyes locked onto yours.

Wonyoung, as you now know her name, walks towards you, her confidence radiating like a beacon. A warm smile dances on her lips, and you can’t help but feel a flutter of excitement mixed with nervousness. Her presence is captivating; every small movement feels deliberate yet natural, drawing you further into her orbit.

“Hey there,” she says, her voice smooth and inviting. The sound wraps around you like a comforting blanket. “I noticed you from across the room. What’s your name?”

Your heart skips a beat at the directness of her approach. “Y/N,” you manage to say, trying to keep your voice steady despite the butterflies swarming in your stomach.

“Y/N,” she repeats, as if savoring the name. “Nice to meet you! I’m Wonyoung.” She takes a small step closer, and the world around you feels like it’s faded away, leaving just the two of you in that moment. “What brings you here tonight?”

atmosphere grows more charged.

“I’m just trying to meet new people and have some fun," you reply softly, feeling a mixture of excitement and shyness under her gaze.

“New people, huh?” Wonyoung tilts her head, a playful smile dancing on her lips. “Well, I’d say you’re doing a great job at standing out. I couldn’t help but notice you. You looked a little lost among all these partygoers.”

You let out a nervous laugh, running a hand through your hair. “Yeah, it’s a bit overwhelming for me.”

Her eyes twinkle with interest. “What do you mean? Is this your first college party? You know, it can be a bit wild. I’ve been there.”

You nod, feeling a little more comfortable. “Yeah, I- t’s a big change. I’m figuring everything out, really.”

Wonyoung leans against a nearby wall, her posture relaxed and inviting. “That’s totally normal! College is a whole new adventure. But I think you’re going to love it—especially if you keep that cute energy of yours.” Her gaze sweep over you, appreciation evident in her eyes.

You can’t help but feel flustered as you notice how she looks you up and down with intention, her eyes lingering just a moment longer on your face, making your heart race. “You really think so?” you ask, trying to fight the shyness creeping back into your voice.

“Absolutely,” she replies, her tone flirtatious. “You’ve got that special vibe, Y/N. It’s captivating.”

Feeling emboldened by her words, you decide to lean into the conversation a bit more. “What about you? You seem to be the life of the party.”

“Well,” she shrugs playfully, “I do try my best. Life’s too short not to enjoy it. Plus, it’s a great way to meet intriguing people like you.” She takes a step closer, her voice lowering. “Tell me, what do you find exciting? I want to know more about you.”

Your mind races with thoughts, but you manage to reply, “I like exploring new places, trying out different foods, and… I guess meeting people?”

“Meeting people? You mean like me?” She winks, and you can’t help but giggle nervously at her daring boldness.

“Yeah, like you,” you reply, feeling a warmth spread across your cheeks.

Wonyoung’s playful demeanor shifts subtly as she moves in a bit closer, bringing an intoxicating scent of vanilla and something floral. “Want to get away from this chaos for a bit? I need some fresh air, and I’d love to get to know you even better.”

The thrill of her attention overwhelms any lingering shyness, and you feel a flutter of excitement surge within you. “Sure, that sounds great.”

“Awesome! Let’s sneak out,” she whispers conspiratorially, grabbing your hand and guiding you through the throng of people. The moment her fingers intertwine with yours, a spark races through you, and you can’t help but steal a glance at her radiant smile.

Once outside, the cool night air hits your skin, refreshing and exhilarating. Wonyoung leads you to a quieter corner of the yard, away from the pulsating music and the din of voices. She retrieves a sleek pack of cigarettes from her bag and offers you one with a playful grin. “Do you smoke, or are you too good for it?” she teases, raising an eyebrow with a flirtatious glint in her eyes.

You shake your head, smiling despite the nervous flutter in your chest. “I don’t, but I’ll join you for the company.”

“Perfect,” Wonyoung says, her voice smooth and inviting. She lights her cigarette with a practiced flick of her lighter, and the small flame briefly illuminates her face. She takes a long, slow drag, her eyes half-closed as she savors the moment. The smoke curls lazily from her lips, drifting upward and mingling with the crisp night air. As she exhales, the smoke creates a hazy halo around her, adding an air of mystery to her already captivating presence.

She turns her gaze back to you, her eyes twinkling with mischief. “So, tell me something interesting about you—something I wouldn’t expect.”

As you share bits about your life and your transition from high school to college, Wonyoung leans in closer, her smile encouraging and flirtatious. She takes another drag, the cigarette glowing brightly against the darkness. The way she looks at you, her expression a mix of curiosity and admiration, makes your heart race.

“You’ve definitely caught my attention,” she says, her voice warm and direct. “I’m intrigued.”

Embarrassment flashes through you, and you glance down, but Wonyoung’s finger gently nudges your chin up. “Hey, don’t hide that away. It’s beautiful.”

Just then, the tension between you seems to shift. Wonyoung moves closer, her breath mingling with yours as you feel the warmth radiating from her. “You know, there’s something about you that makes me want to get even closer,” she murmurs, her voice low and smooth.

Your heart races as the space between you dwindles. “Really?” you breathe, feeling the electricity in the air.

“Really,” she replies, her gaze locking onto yours, and before you can register it, she leans in.

Her free hand settles on your waist, pulling you close. The touch is both gentle and firm, bringing you into the warmth of her embrace. Her fingers rest on your side, grounding you as if to keep you close in this quiet moment.

You look up at her, captivated by the way the moonlight softens her features and the warmth in her eyes. Everything else fades away, leaving just the two of you in this intimate space. You tilt your head up, eager to close the distance between you.

Your hands move to her arms, feeling the smooth fabric and the strength underneath. Your grip tightens slightly, showing your growing boldness, and you lean in closer. The kiss begins softly, her lips brushing against yours with a tenderness that quickens your heartbeat.

Wonyoung’s lips move slowly against yours, each touch deliberate and filled with intimacy. The kiss is a captivating mix of excitement and comfort, with you mirroring her pace, savoring each lingering caress and the warmth that builds between you.

Feeling a surge of confidence, you gently guide Wonyoung’s hand from your waist to your chest, pressing it firmly against your breast. Her hand meets your skin with a thrilling warmth, and her fingers begin to explore, first tentatively and then with increasing assurance. The sensation of her touch is both tender and firm, sending shivers through you.

Wonyoung’s fingers tighten slightly as she gently squeezes your breast. The pressure is a mix of firmness and tenderness, making you catch your breath. A soft, knowing smirk spreads across her lips, and you see the flicker of satisfaction in her eyes. Her gaze meets yours, reflecting a blend of pleasure and appreciation for the intimate shift in your connection.

The kiss deepens, and her hand continues its exploration, her movements growing more confident. You both start to breathe heavily, your breaths blending into a shared rhythm. The taste of her lips carries a faint hint of smoke from the cigarette she had been holding earlier, adding a subtle edge to the sweetness of the kiss. The lingering taste of smoke heightens the intensity of the moment.

A soft moan escapes your lips, mingling with the kiss and intensifying the connection between you. The warmth of your breath merges with hers, and you feel the sensation of your saliva mixing, binding you together in a more profound way. The kiss becomes a passionate exchange, each touch and caress drawing you closer.

Wonyoung’s hand explores further, her fingers pressing and kneading with growing confidence. Her smirk widens slightly as she feels your reaction, the playful, satisfied look in her eyes reflecting her enjoyment of the moment. The squeeze of her hand and the shared heat between you create a cocoon of intimacy, making everything else fade away.

You notice Wonyoung discreetly letting her cigarette fall from her fingers. It drops to the ground, and she steps on it, extinguishing it without breaking the kiss. The quiet act of removing the distraction is her way of signaling that you are her sole focus now.

With the cigarette discarded, Wonyoung takes an even stronger lead.

Her free hand slides from the small of your back to your ass, fingers wrapping around you with a confident, possessive grip.

The touch is firm and deliberate, pulling you closer into her embrace. You feel the heat and strength of her hand, which sends shivers through you as she presses you against her

With a smooth, deliberate movement, Wonyoung guides you backward until your back meets the cool wall. The contrast of the cool surface against her warm body heightens the sensation. Her hand moves from your waist to the back of your neck, fingers gently tangling in your hair as she deepens the kiss.

Her body presses into yours, creating a sense of closeness amidst the cool night air. Time seems to stretch, leaving just the feel of her breath, the way her body fits against yours, and the overwhelming sensation of being so close.

As Wonyoung's hand continues to explore and the kiss deepens, a sudden "Ahem" cuts through the moment. Both you and Wonyoung pull away quickly, faces flushed with surprise. Ningning stands a few feet away, her expression a mix of amusement and mild reproach.

Wonyoung, still leaning against the wall, shifts her head slightly, letting out a small, awkward chuckle. Her earlier playful demeanor fades, and she takes a step back, her gaze becoming more distant and thoughtful.

Ningning's tone is casual but pointed.

"We still need to go to Hanlim tomorrow," she says, referring to the high school you're attending despite Wonyoung and Ningning's enrollment at SNU.

The realization hits Wonyoung hard. Her eyes widen slightly as she absorbs Ningning's words, and she begins to retreat emotionally. "You're still in high school?" she asks softly, her voice carrying a mix of surprise and regret. "I didn't realize."

You nod, teeling a flush of embarrassment as the reality of the situation settles in. Wonyoung's earlier flirtatious demeanor shifts to one of reflection and discomfort. She steps away from you, her hand withdrawing from your ass, and her smile turns into a more apologetic expression.

"Yeah, I guess I got a bit carried away," Wonyoung says, her tone apologetic. "I didn't think about... well, the age difference or the fact that you're still in high school."

Ningning gives a knowing look and turns to leave, giving you both some space.

Wonyoung stands there, her expression now tinged with a mix of realization and regret. She looks at you with a sincere but regretful smile. "I'm really sorry," she says softly. "I didn't mean to overstep. I hope we can get to know each other in a more appropriate way."

Quickly bidding you a goodbye Wonyoung runs a hand through her hair while letting a heavy breath out seeing your retreating figure.

“Shit”

[xzaddyzanakinx]

Missed Me?

Final part for real this time, no cliffhanger I swear!!

Stepdad!Anakin Skywalker x femme reader

Warnings: none, fluff and sweetness

Info: obi-wan loves his brother; even if he does occasionally want Anakin to double over from a swift punch to the gut. Satine is a lawyer btw

“Sweetheart.” Anakin speaks low and steady over the phone. “I need you to listen to me.”

“What? What’s wrong Ani?” Your response laced with worry.

“Deadbolt the doors, make sure the garage is padlocked okay?” He said sternly, so you immediately did as you were told, switching the call to speakerphone.

“Anakin what is going on?” You demanded.

“Sweet girl, your mom knows okay? She took the Camaro and left me here with divorce papers.” He said calmly.

“You’re fucking joking.” You gasped. “She stole your car? Well I’ll come get you!” You started to rush to the door when he sternly told you no.

“I called my brother, he’s coming to get me. Satine is doing us a big favor and drafting up some paperwork. The house, my car and your car are under my name anyway. Your mom can’t win any of that in court okay?” He reassured you.

“So then-“

“Baby, I told you I need you to listen alright?” He reminded you. “I’m not pressing charges over the car. She’s headed home to get hers I believe, or at least that’s the way she was headed last time I looked at Life360.”

“Keep the doors dead bolted understand?” His tone was oddly calm, as if your whole world hadn’t just crumbled.

“R-right okay.” You whispered.

“Hey- princess, don’t worry. Everything’s fine okay? We are fine.” His voice now gentler than before. “I promise, this divorce won’t be messy. It’s very clear cut okay?”

“But what about you An-“

“No. Nothing is happening to me.” He said. “Nothing. You’re over 18. Everything is fine, I swear it.”

“Okay.” You sighed. “Satine said so?”

“Yes baby. I already told them-“

“Shhh! Shh, mom just pulled in.” You whispered as if she could hear you from the driveway.

“Don’t you dare hang up.” He said sternly.

“I’m not!” You huffed, going to the window to peek from behind the curtain.

You watched as your mother chucked Anakin’s keys at the front door, flinching when you heard the impact. Your mom walked over to her own vehicle and opened the trunk, lifting a backpack out. The yellow glow of the porch light was just bright enough that you could make out the heap of bags in her trunk. She’d already packed her things.

“Oh shit.” You whispered and backed away from the window as she walked toward the front door.

“What?” Anakin demanded.

“She’s got a bunch of bags in the trunk of her car but she’s coming up the porch steps right now.” You squeaked.

The door handle rattled and you heard keys jangling, the twist of the lock, and the forceful push of the front door. Then came the rapid, loud knocking.

“Hey!” She yelled. “I know you’re home. I want to talk to you!”

“No. Don’t say anything.” Anakin warned. “Obi just pulled in, don’t talk to her. Not even through the door.”

Anakin could be heard shuffling and slamming his brothers car door, instructing him to get him home as quickly as possible.

Your mother kept knocking, even going so far as to rap on the window in hopes that you’d hear her out.

“Please just talk to me. I’m not- listen it’s not your fault!” She yelled. “You were just a teenager!”

“Baby- no.” Anakin sounded pained as he spoke.

“I know Ani.” You whispered back. “I know, okay? I’m not gonna talk to her. Not even if she says stupid shit like that. As much as it angers me, I know I’m better off staying quiet.”

“Good girl.” He sighed. “I’ll be home soon okay? Or actually-“

”Obi can we stop at the hardware store?”

“Which one?”

“I don’t care. Whichever is open!”

“Christ, alright.”

“I’m getting new locks before I come home.” Anakin declared.

“That’s probably a good idea.” You said quietly, alittle suspicious of the sudden silence from outside.

You crept back up to the window and saw your mother standing next to her car, sitting on the lip of the open trunk. Her hand flailing as she spoke animatedly over the phone. You could physically see her huff out loud just before she got up and slammed the trunk shut, angrily ending the phone call.

“Has everyone lost their fucking mind?” She yelled, pulling out her car keys and walking to the drivers side door to get in and speed away from the house.

“She left.” You breathed out.

“Good.” Anakin sounded relieved. “I’ll be home as soon as I can okay?”

”why don’t I just take you there? I’ll go get the new locks.”

“Are you sure? Well- if… okay! Okay fine, here at least let me give you some cash.”

“Can you hang up so I can yell at you now?”

“You already yelled at me!”

“I’m not done yet!”

“Well you’ll have to wait. Your wife is calling me.”

“Princess-“ he started.

“I know, I heard.” You let out a slight laugh.

“I love you, see you soon.”

“I love you.” You said, hanging up and immediately collapsing on the couch.

You had let all your emotions out or at least you thought you did, by the time Anakin arrived. You ran to the door with dry eyes but the moment you unlocked it and saw him you were drowning in salty tears. He scooped you up and kicked the door shut, sliding the deadbolt into the locked position before carrying you to the couch.

“Shh it’s okay.” He whispered, his lips kissing the top of your head while you clutched onto his shirt.

“What are we gonna do?” You sniffled.

“What we always planned on doing.” He said.

“Serious?” You asked, leaning back to see that he was letting a few tears fall too despite his calm speaking voice.

“Of course I’m serious.” He said, his eyebrows furrowed. “I love you. I’ve always been serious about that.”

“But we just-“

“Look at me.” He said sternly, wiping his cheek with his shoulder. “I love you. I have always loved you. I don’t care if we just got back together, that doesn’t matter to me. I’m just as serious about you as I was before, it didn’t just go away in our time apart.”

His hands came up to cup your cheeks, his thumbs brushing away your tears. He took a grounding breath and kissed your forehead, the outer corner of each eye, and the tip of your nose.

“I would have left at anytime, you know that? Anytime. I just wanted you to be ready.” He said, a hint of something mournful in his eyes. “Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

Six years later

A new state, a new town, a new house.

A new life.

The moment the divorce was finalized you sold your old home. Using that money to get the hell out of dodge and move to somewhere warm.

Arizona was warm, always warm. You’d never even visited before you chose to live there, neither had Anakin. You wanted somewhere completely fresh, a clean slate for you to write your own story on and gods did you have a good story.

You found a beautiful two bedroom home, absolutely perfect in every way. It was close enough to town but far enough away that you weren’t surrounded by traffic or neighbors. A nice front yard, an ever nicer fenced in back yard. The big floor to ceiling glass windows in the dining room really sold it for you, the natural lighting and the fucking view was outrageous.

There was even a fire pit in the backyard which you decided to christen on your first night there via much too many s’mores. Now it was in regular use, sometimes by just you and Anakin, he did love an evening under the stars. The sky was so clear, unlike any place you’d ever been before, it was almost surreal.

Though as of late it’s been seeing an influx of visitors.

Anakin had his very own garage now, a *six* bay garage at that. He was the local go-to for multiple reasons, the prices, the high quality work, and people love a family owned store. With him as the lead man and you at the front desk, the pair of you were practically unstoppable.

This also meant that Anakin was in control of his work life in a new way. He was able to separate home and work unlike before where it wasn’t ever guaranteed that you’d be left unbothered. No more waking up at the asscrack of dawn to the obnoxious noises of old, no more at-home phone calls, no more blocked driveway, no more late nights.

It meant that he was able to be present for important moments without the worry of distraction. It meant he could cry along with you today.

You both were able to reel it in and contain the tears until the last second. The twins were so unbelievably excited for their first day of school, you both agreed that sobbing the entire way to their classroom would definitely put a damper on their day. So you smiled and skipped down the hall as requested by Leia and Anakin performed Luke’s very long, very intricate, never the same secret handshake at the door.

You gave hugs and kisses and a final goodbye wave, then booked it back out to the car. You almost made it to the foyer before your sniffles turned into cries, when you looked at Anakin for comfort you saw he was already holding his breath in that ridiculously uncomfortable way that he did to stop himself from sobbing.

Thankfully you made it to your vehicle before he passed out from lack of oxygen. It would be a real shame for him to miss this afternoon’s celebratory cookout you were hosting due to a blacktop issued concussion. The other fathers from your first time parents group would be highly disappointed if you ended up in charge of the grill.

“I can’t believe we have 12 more years of this.” Anakin sniffled.

“Seriously? Did you seriously just say that to me right now?” You cried.

“Yeah I did. I just wanted to prepare you for our suffering for the next decade.” He gave you a crooked, tearful grin.

“You’re lucky that I love you.” You hiccuped out a laugh.

“Yes I am.”

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Let me know if you wanna be added/removed

[pedrospatch]

a safe haven l eight

Jackson! Joel Miller x Female Reader

series masterlist

summary: Joel encourages you to leave Luke and live the life you deserve with him and Ellie; Luke confronts you about Joel; Ellie discovers your secret and tells Joel, leading you to make a heartbreaking decision for the good of everyone in Jackson.

warnings/tags: 18+ ONLY, MINORS DNI. (TW) THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS A SCENE OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. reader gets shoved and sustains an injury as a result (non life threatening). mentions of skin discoloration, the word bruise is used but no mentions of specific skin tone for reader, PLEASE HEED THE WARNINGS. *other chapter warnings and tags include: soft Joel, domestic fluff between reader and Joel, Ellie is a little shit but we love her, death of two minor OCs, talk of grief, funeral and burial, confronation between Ellie and reader, confrontation between Joel and reader, ends with angst and a slight cliffhanger.

Word Count: 10k

News of the ambush attack spreads like a wildfire.

Jackson’s safety and security has been rattled.

One life lost and another life hangs in the balance.

People are anxious—and they’re terrified.

And who could blame anyone for feeling this way?

For the first time in a long time, their peace of mind had been completely shattered.

“Where the hell did the kid run off to?” Joel grumbles, shifting uncomfortably on the examination table.

Now that the adrenaline is beginning to wear off, he’s really starting to feel the pain in his shoulder. It had started throbbing something awful not long after you’d finished stitching him up, and the expired oxycodone tablets you had given him had very little potency left—they hadn’t done a goddamn thing to help ease his discomfort. Not that it really came as a surprise to either one of you that the two decades old painkillers hadn’t worked, but it’d been worth a shot to at least try and see if they would do him any good.

“She’s with Rose in the supply closet,” you reply, taping a piece of gauze over his wound in an effort to keep it protected until you could take him home and get him cleaned up—then you would bandage up his shoulder properly. “They’re gathering some supplies you’ll need and looking for a sling.” It’s quite foolish to be this close to Joel with Luke just mere feet away in the exam room down the hallway, but you can’t seem to help yourself. Offering him a look of empathy, you lift your hand and cup the side of his face, delicately cradling it in your palm. You softly graze your thumb over the scruff of his beard. “I know, I know. You’re itching to get out of here. I promise, as soon as Ellie comes back with the supplies you need, we’ll get you home, okay?”

Joel raises a questioning eyebrow. “We?”

You nod. “I want to help Ellie get you settled in for the night and make sure you’re comfortable.”

He lowers his voice. “But what ‘bout Luke?”

“He’s going to be tied up here at the clinic tonight. It’ll be a while before he heads home,” you assure him. Dropping your hand away from his face, it falls back down against your side as you step back, putting some distance between the both of you. It probably isn’t the wisest idea to spend the night looking after Joel considering you’re already treading on thin ice with your husband for tending to his injury earlier, but your desire to take care of the man you love simply can’t be suppressed. Sensing his unease about it, you quickly add, “But if you don’t want me to, then I completely understand.”

Holding your breath, you anxiously wait for his response. 

Part of you almost hopes he’ll say that he doesn’t. 

One of you needs to be the voice of reason, and it sure as hell isn’t going to be you.

“No, that ain’t it—that ain’t it at all, sweet girl,” Joel says, shooting you a stern glare for even suggesting such a thing. “‘Course I want you to come home with me and Ellie. Just don’t want you riskin’ your neck for us. I don’t want you gettin’ yourself in some kinda trouble with Luke, that’s all.”

You flash him a small, wry smile. “I’ll be fine, Joel.”

That can’t be further from the truth.

But he doesn’t have to know that.

He doesn’t have to know you’ll be in for it when you’re finally home alone with Luke.

“We hit the fucking jackpot,” Ellie announces, walking into the room. She has an old, brown canvas bag slung over her shoulder and in her hands she holds a sling for Joel’s arm. “Well, sorta. Rose said this is the only adult size the clinic has in stock, so it’s more of a loaner. She said we’ll have to bring it back as soon as his shoulder heals. It’s seen better days,” she remarks, holding it out to you. “But it should do the job.”

Taking the sling from her, you start helping Joel into it. “What about the list I gave you?” you ask her over your shoulder as you adjust the thicker strap around his neck. “Did she get you everything that I wrote down?”

Clicking her tongue, Ellie double checks the bag.

“Uh, let’s see—saline, clean bandages, and a vial of penicillin.”

“And what about the syringes?”

“She could only give me three of them since stock is too low,” she replies. “That okay?”

You shrug. “We’ll have to make it work. We can always clean and boil the needles if we have to.” You tug the strap around Joel’s neck lightly making sure you’d fastened it securely, but not too tightly, either. You touch his arm. “That feel okay, honey?” The pet name slips out, falling from your lips before you even have the chance to catch it. Blood rushes to your face and your cheeks start to burn—even with your back turned to Ellie, you can feel the smirk that’s now plastered on her face. 

“Aww,” she teases. “Honey. How fucking cute is that?”

“Ellie,” Joel says her name warningly as you pick up his bloodied denim shirt and drape it over him in an effort to cover him up. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” 

“Don’t start.”

“Okay, I won’t.” Ellie pauses, her smirk widening as she slyly adds under her breath, “Honey.”

“Jesus, it’s like this place turned into a fucking ghost town or something,” Ellie observes, glancing around as the three of you make your way down Main Street and head towards the residential side of town. “Where the hell did everybody fucking go? Did we miss something?”

“Maria must have sent out a message to call off all of today’s evening work duties,” you tell her. Even though there isn’t anyone else outside, you keep a healthy distance in between you and Joel as you walk beside him. “The last time that something like this happened, she let everyone take the night off so they could be with their families and mourn. She might even cancel tomorrow’s duties too, if she hasn’t already.”

Ellie lets out a small, understanding hum. “I see.”

“So someone dies and everythin’ just stops?” Joel asks, lightly shaking his head at the thought. “Just like that?”

“Jackson isn’t like the zones,” you remind him. “We’re a community. We all love and care for one another, and when we have a loss, it hits people hard. Peter was a husband and a friend who everyone adored. It’s not like he was some faceless number working himself to the bone to earn just enough rations to survive.” You look around the empty streets, shrugging lightly as you shove both of your hands into the back pockets of your jeans. “Here in Jackson, we don’t toss bodies carelessly into a big fire pit and walk away without giving it a second thought. We bury our dead together—we grieve together. We’re still human, Joel. We can’t let the world outside these walls make us forget our humanity.”

“S’ppose you’re right,” he agrees, quietly.

The sun’s just starting to set by the time the three of you make it to Joel and Ellie’s.

“Careful, Joel,” Ellie fusses, looping her arm through his as she guides him up the steps of their front porch. “Careful, careful, careful—”

“Ellie!” he snaps irritably. “I got shot in the shoulder, not in the fuckin’ kneecap. I can fuckin’ walk just fine.” 

Ellie glances over her shoulder at you, scoffing. “It honestly blows my fucking mind that you have the hots for this.” She jerks her chin towards him and rolls her eyes. “Seriously, how does someone like him even manage to pull someone like you? Pretty sure it wasn’t his incredible personality or dashing good looks that reeled you in, so what kind of voodoo spell did my old man put your ass under, princess?”

Joel glares at her. “Now you listen here y’little shit—”

“Alright, that’s enough,” you cut him off. “Knock it off, both of you.” Putting a hand on his lower back, you request, “Ellie can you get the door, please?”

She nods. Letting go of Joel’s arm, she reaches into one of the back pockets of her blue jeans. She digs out her single house key and quickly unlocks the front door, ushering you both inside. “His room’s upstairs,” Ellie informs you as she flips on the lights in the foyer and leads the way up the staircase. She beckons with her hand for you to follow her down the hallway and opens the door to Joel’s bedroom. “Okay, so what’s the plan?”

“For you two to stop makin’ a huge fuss over me so I can lay down and get some fuckin’ rest?” Joel hopes. “M’exhausted.”

“Soon enough,” you promise him. “Where’s your bathroom?”

“S’that door there on the left.” He pauses, shooting you a quizzical look. “Why? What are you gonna do?”

“Run a bath to get you all cleaned up, of course.”

“Gross.” Ellie makes a face at you. “Sorry, but you’re gonna have to fly solo on that one, princess. I refuse to help you give the old man a sponge bath.”

You laugh lightly, not the slightest bit surprised by her reaction. “Fair enough. How about you go downstairs and fix him something to eat while I help him wash up?”

“Don’t have to fucking tell me twice!” Ellie whirls around on the heels of her sneakers, booking it for the door. She sings out over the shoulder, “Behave yourselves in there, you two! Don’t forget there’s an innocent child present under this roof and she doesn’t need to hear you guys bumping uglies!”

Flustered, you look down at your boots.

“Ellie!” Joel bellows her name, angrily. Before he has the chance to reprimand her, she scurries out of the room and flies down the stairs towards the kitchen.

Choking back a nervous chuckle, you pivot on your heel and walk into his bathroom. You make your way over to the porcelain tub and turn on the faucet. You kneel beside it as you wait for it to fill with water, occasionally dipping your hand into the water to check the temperature.

“M’real sorry ‘bout her,” Joel apologizes from the door. 

“It’s quite alright,” you assure him, despite the heat burning your face and neck from the teenager’s teasing. As soon as the tub is full, you shut off the faucet and stand up. You must have risen to your feet too quickly—a wave of dizziness sweeps over you and for a second, the room spins. Blinking furiously, you brush it off and beckon with a hand for Joel. “Bath’s ready. Come here.”

“Peach, you don’t gotta do this for me, y’know.”

“I know, Joel.”

“M’perfectly capable of cleanin’ myself up.”

“Yeah Joel, I know that too,” you say. “Now come here, please.”

Sighing, Joel slowly makes his way over towards you, taking your hand in his. He gives it a gentle squeeze. “You’ve done more than enough for me today, darlin’. I appreciate you for wantin’ to take care of me, but you don’t—”

You cut him off by tenderly pressing your mouth to his. “Then please, for the sake of what little sanity I have left tonight, just let me,” you murmur quietly against his lips. You reach up, pushing his soiled shirt off of his shoulders, letting the torn, bloodied denim fall to the floor behind him in a crumpled heap. You place your palm on his bare chest, right over his heart and feel it thrum strong and steady beneath your fingertips. Perring up at him, you ask, “Will you let me take care of you, Joel? Please?”

He sighs again, this time in defeat. “It really ain’t fair, y’know.”

“What’s not fair?”

Joel brushes a gentle kiss to your forehead. 

“The fact that I can’t ever fuckin’ say no to you.”

With a satisfied smile, you start to help him out of the sling, setting it on the counter. You then take off his belt, unbutton his jeans, and pull down his zipper for him.

“Turn around,” he says, kicking off his boots. 

Amused, you cock an eyebrow at him. “Joel, are you kidding me?” He nods and you shake your head at him, reminding him, “I’ve seen you naked plenty of times before.”

“Never in the light,” he counters, sheepishly. “S’always in the dark.”

You lean forward and kiss his collarbone, eliciting a tiny groan from him. “Joel, please,” you mumble against his warm skin. “Don’t be silly. Now come on, let’s hurry before Ellie comes back upstairs with your dinner.” You take a step back and tug at his jeans, pulling them down his legs along with his boxer briefs. After dumping his dirty clothes into the woven laundry basket behind the door, you help him into the bathtub.

Joel hisses out in relief as he sinks into the water.

Once he’s settled in, you kneel beside it once again.

“How does it feel?”

“Feels good,” he remarks, the hot water easing the aches in his bones that have nothing to do with his injury and everything with his age. “Real fuckin’ good.”

Cupping your hands together, you dip them into the water and start wetting his hair. You can’t help but smile when you notice how it curls more so than usual when it’s wet. “Scoot forward and then lean back a little. I’m going to wash your hair—I don’t want to soak the gauze on your shoulder.” Reaching across him, you grab his bottle of shampoo, twisting the cap off. You pour some of the product into your palm and set the bottle back down. After lathering the shampoo between your hands, you start running the suds through his damp locks.

“Christ,” Joel’s eyes roll into the back of his head as soon as you start massaging his scalp. “Fuck, sweetheart. Y’know, I think I could get used to this,” he admits with a sigh of content. “Feels fuckin’ incredible.”

You smile again, opening your mouth to speak, but then immediately clamp it shut.

Suddenly, you’re feeling a little off—something doesn’t feel right.

Brows knitting together in confusion, your smile falters. 

Normally, you love the scent of Joel’s shampoo.

You can’t even begin to count all the nights you’d hold him in your arms, breathing in the earthiness of jojoba oil combined with calming lavender from his hair as he rested his head on your chest. It’s usually fairly subtle, however now, as you wash his hair, the scent seems heavier and much more potent than usual—it makes your stomach churn violently and you can taste the bile as it slowly creeps its way up your throat. Pausing, you take a brief moment to breathe your way through the wave of nausea and swallow back the bitterness, willing yourself not to be sick right there in his bath. Worried you actually might, you drop your hands from his hair, close your eyes, and sit back on your heels as you wait for the feeling to subside.

“Baby.” You hear the water slosh around him. He tries reaching out for you with his injured arm, but grimaces, unable to make it very far before a sharp pain shoots through his shoulder. “What is it? What’s the matter?”

After a minute, it passes. You open your eyes only to meet Joel’s as he watches you with concern. “Sorry.”

“What’s wrong, darlin’? You feelin’ alright?”

You nod. “Yeah, I’m fine.” Leaning forward, you lift your hands to continue washing his hair. Shrugging dismissively, you realize, “I think I just need to eat something. It’s been a while since my last meal.”

“When’s the last time you ate?”

“Breakfast,” you reluctantly admit. “I had quite a bit of work to do at the stables, so I decided to skip lunch today, and before you scold me for it, I know I shouldn’t have worked through lunch.” You flash him a crooked little grin as he pins you with a disapproving frown. “I promise I’ll eat something as soon as I get home, Joel.”

“You’d better.”

After rinsing the shampoo out of his hair, you take his washcloth and lather it up using his bar of castile soap.

“How’s the water, honey? Does it still feel alright?” you ask him sweetly, running the wet, soapy washcloth over his chest and neck. You’re careful to keep it away from his injured shoulder. Leaning over the side of the bathtub, you start washing his side, being gentle as you sweep over the bruise he’d gotten from falling off of his horse during the attack. A lock of hair falls loose from your ponytail and into your face.

Joel lifts his hand out of the water, tucking it behind your ear. “S’perfect,” he murmurs, his hand grazing your cheek. Water drips off of his arm and lands on your camisole, soaking through the thin cotton. “Looks like you’re gonna have to take off your shirt, peach. Got’cha wet.” He chuckles at his own awful innuendo.

“You’re unbelievable, Joel! I just pulled a bullet out of your shoulder, and you’re already thinking of getting me naked,” you tease him with a giggle. “Oh, and by the way, I hope you know that there will be none of that for a while, not until you’re all healed up. Got it?”

“You can’t be fuckin’ serious.” His face falls when he realizes that you aren’t joking. “But you said it could be four to six weeks until I heal. How am I s’pposed to go that fuckin’ long without touchin’ you?”

Giggling again, you give his chest a gentle pat. “Oh, I’m sure you’ll survive.”

Rolling his eyes at you, Joel grumbles incoherently underneath his breath.

“Oh, come here, you big grump.” You lean forward and press a delicate kiss to his right temple. Your lips linger over the small, jagged scar near his hairline, causing him to shudder slightly.

Joel hasn’t vocalized it to you, but you know that of all the scars he possesses, the one on his temple is the scar he’s the most self-conscious about, especially now that you know how he’d gotten it.

“You know, you were right about Ellie,” you murmur softly against his skin. “About her knowing. You were right to warn me that night.”

He frowns. “She confronted you ‘bout us?”

Pulling away from him, you nod. “She sure did.”

“Well, I reckon that explains why she was givin’ us so much shit earlier,” he huffs, shaking his head. “When did this happen?”

“Earlier this afternoon, when we were alone at the stables,” you answer. “She offered to work through lunch with me and it was just the two of us. It happened just before Tommy showed up and told us you had been shot.”

Joel grimaces. “Might regret askin’ this, but what did she say?”

You chew nervously on your bottom lip.

“She said she wants me to leave Luke.”

His eyebrows shoot up towards his hairline.

He knew his kid was pretty bold, but to go as far as telling you to leave your husband was pretty ballsy, even for her. He should reprimand her for it, but he can’t fault her for being brave enough to do what he still hasn’t mustered up the courage to do himself. “She did? What else did she say to you?”

“That the three of us could be a family together. A real family.” You drop the washcloth into the water and rest both arms on the edge of the tub as you continue filling him in on the encounter between you and Ellie. “She said it wasn’t complicated—that all I had to do was take off the ring, pack up my things, and leave him. She also said that I could just move in here and live with you two.” Pausing, you let out a small, breathy laugh. “I told her I would love that more than anything, but I can’t. It just isn’t possible. I can’t leave my husband.”

His jaw clenches, teeth gritting together. “‘Cause he won’t fuckin’ let you.”

You can’t help yourself and you laugh again.

Now you’re absolutely sure of it. Joel and Ellie really are cut from the same cloth.

You breathe out a long, melancholic sigh. 

“Joel, I love you. And I’ve grown to love Ellie, too. You both make me happy,” you tell him, softly. “Ever since you two came into my life, something in me changed. It was almost like I’d forgotten what it felt like to love and to be loved in return. I thought I’d lost that part of me when I lost my father two years ago. I thought that part of me had died along with him. His loss left left me feeling so empty. It left a void inside of me—but you and Ellie have filled it. It’s kind of silly, but sometimes I honestly think he sent you two to me. It’s almost like he knew I needed you.”

His eyes soften. “Ain’t silly at all, darlin’.”

“You both mean so fucking much to me,” you confess. 

“And you mean so fuckin’ much to us—you belong with us, peach. Your place is with us. Your home, it ain’t with Luke. It’s here, with me and with Ellie.”

“I know, trust me, I know that Joel. But I can’t—”

Joel sits up straight in the tub, wincing slightly.

“Joel, stop. Come on, you need to take it easy.”

Placing both hands on his chest, you try to push him back against the tub, but Joel’s hand reaches up and catches one of your wrists. He lightly curls his fingers around it. “Don’t you think it’s what your dad would want?” he questions. “You think he’d want you to be livin’ a life of misery with Luke?”

“Of course he wouldn’t. But I can’t leave him, Joel.”

“Look, whatever it is that you’re afraid of—”

“Joel, please,” you whisper, thickly. “Don’t do this.”

“You ain’t gotta be afraid, baby. I can protect you. I can keep you safe.” His thumb lightly caresses the thin, delicate skin on the inside of your wrist as his eyes meet yours. “I mean it. I can keep you safe, my sweet girl. I would never let anythin’ bad happen. I swear it. I wouldn’t let anythin’ bad happen to you, and neither would the kid. She loves you too goddamn much.”

You swallow the emotional lump in your throat. 

Lifting your wrist, Joel feathers a gentle kiss on the inside of it. He feels your pulse racing against his lips. “You’d be alright with us, y’know.”

“I know I would.”

“Then what the hell’s stoppin’ you?” Joel challenges. “We’re your family, baby. We’ve got you. No matter what—me and Ellie, we’ve got you, peach.”

Joel makes it sound so simple, so fucking easy. 

But he doesn’t know Luke the way you know Luke.

He won’t let you go, not without some kind of fight.

And Joel Miller wouldn’t be afraid to fight back.

He would kill Luke, if it came down to it.

After a moment’s silence, you finally speak. 

“Just—just give me a little time so I can figure things out, okay?” you bargain with him. “I need some time to sort things out.” Before Joel can even ask you what you’re talking about, you cut him off and shoot him a pleading look. “Please, Joel. Please. I’m just asking for some time, that’s all. If I can have it my way, I’ll be living here with you and Ellie before winter comes around in a couple of months.”

Joel sighs heavily. “Fine. I’ll give you time, but only on one condition.”

Apprehensive, you question, “What condition is that?”

“He does anythin’ to you, you come and tell me so I can handle it. Alright?”

“Joel, he’s not going to do anything to me.” The lie rolls off of your tongue with such ease that it actually takes you by surprise. “He’s not going to—”

He stops you. “Just promise me, baby. Promise that you’ll come to me if you need me. Please. S’all I’m askin’ of you.”

Knowing there is no other choice but to agree, you nod. “Of course I will.”

It’s a promise you can’t and won’t keep.

“That’s my girl.” Joel places another soft kiss onto your wrist. “I love you. I love you more than fuckin’ life itself.” He glances down and brushes his thumb over your wedding band. “Y’know, someday you’re gonna take this goddamn thing off for good and you ain’t gonna have to put it back on. You’ll be mine.”

Frowning, you counter, “But I’m already yours, Joel.”

“All mine,” he rephrases himself. “Who knows. Maybe I’ll find a ring to put on your finger myself some day.”

Worried you’ll break down, you gently tug your wrist out of his hand. “We should finish up in here. Ellie’s going to come upstairs soon.”

After you finish rinsing off the suds of soap from his body, you drain the tub and help him out of it and into a clean towel, wrapping it around his waist. You hand him a second towel which he uses to haphazardly dry off his chest and hair before walking back out into his bedroom. With his permission, you start searching through his drawers for some comfortable clothes. You pluck a pair of clean boxer briefs from one drawer and faded, navy blue sweatpants from another. Once you help him dress, you instruct, “Sit down. I’m going to bandage your shoulder.”

Obediently, Joel perches himself on the foot of his bed. 

You stand in front of him, unrolling the bandage.

“C’mere.” He grabs your hip, pulling you between his thighs. “Y’know, you make a real cute nurse.” He slides his hand up your shirt, his fingers gliding up the soft, smooth skin of your stomach.

“Joel, stop. Cut it out,” you scold him, playfully. “I need to make sure I do this right. Don’t distract me.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll behave,” Joel gruffs. He withdraws his hand from under your shirt and keeps it to himself.

You wrap the elastic, flesh toned bandage over his injured shoulder, pulling it behind his back before bringing it around across the front of his chest—after wrapping the excess material snugly around Joel’s bicep, you secure it, fastening the plastic clips at the end of it. “How does that feel? It’s not too tight, is it?”

“S’fine,” he answers. After you help him back into the sling, he wraps his opposite arm around you, pulling you closer to him. “So do I get a kiss or somethin’ for bein’ such a good patient for you, darlin’?”

“Yeah, I suppose you earned it.” Grinning, you carefully wrap an arm around his neck and lean down, swelling his lips with your own in a deep kiss. He swallows the soft moans that find their way from the back of your throat and into his mouth as his hand once again snakes its way up your shirt, touching each and every last inch of skin he can possibly reach.

“Oh fuck, my eyes!” Ellie’s voice cries behind you.

Startled, you rip yourself out of Joel’s grasp.

She stands at the door holding a steaming bowl in her hands, a horrified look on her face.

“Ellie,” you say her name, breathlessly. “We didn’t hear you coming up the stairs—”

“Obviously fucking not,” she huffs, rolling her eyes at you as she makes her way into his bedroom. “Well, now that I’m fucking scarred for life—” She pauses and sets the bowl down on Joel’s nightstand. “Here you go, Romeo. I made you some soup. And by made I really mean, I opened a can of twenty one year old chicken noodle soup and warmed it up on the stove.” Smirking, she adds, “So chow down. Unless you’re way too busy sucking her face off to eat, of course.”

Joel narrows his eyes at her. “Y’know I only need one hand to wring that little neck of yours, right?”

Before she has the opportunity to fire back, you step in. “I have to get going. It’s getting late and I need to make it home before Luke does.” You turn to Ellie. “He’s going to need a penicillin injection every six hours, okay? He’s pretty vulnerable to infection right now so he has to be on antibiotics for the next week or so.”

She nods, giving you a thumbs up. “You got it, doc.”

“Normally, you inject penicillin into the buttock—” You pause, holding back a laugh as a look of pure disgust flashes across the young girl’s face. “But, it can also be injected right into the thigh muscle. I’ll show you.” Pointing to the exact spot on the outer portion of his thigh, you instruct, “Five hundred milligrams, no more and no less. Easy enough?”

“Oh, okay. So that’s how you inject penicillin,” Ellie muses with a hum. After a moment, she mutters under her breath, “That would have been fucking useful to know about eight months ago.”

Your lips purse together tightly as you recall her story about what happened in Colorado with David and his group. 

“What’d you say, kid?” Joel asks, confused. 

“Nothing,” she replies, innocently.

Clearing your throat, you reach up, smoothing a hand over his damp curls, slicking them back. “I’m going to head home. Get plenty of rest, alright? I’ll come over and check up on you as often as I can. I promise.” You lean down, pressing a soft, gentle kiss to his forehead. 

“Jesus, you two make me so fucking sick already,” Ellie remarks, making a loud gagging noise. However, when you look at her, she’s smiling.

You walk into the house, only to find it empty.

Luke must have still been caught up at the clinic.

It seems like a good sign that Carl might still be alive. 

After taking a quick, hot shower, you hastily put on some comfortable clothes and hurry downstairs to prepare a late dinner. You had just finished peeling some boiled russet potatoes you planned to mash up when the sound of the front door opening and then slamming shut echoes throughout the house. You hear his footsteps approaching and a chill runs down the length of your spine just like back in the clinic—all you can think about is what he’d said to you as he was leaving the room. 

“We’ll talk about this at home.” 

Anxiously, you turn around just as Luke enters the kitchen. He’d changed his clothes at the clinic, trading his blood soaked scrubs for a pair of dark wash blue jeans and a plain black button up shirt. “Hey,” you greet him, hoping you don’t sound as nervous as you feel. “How’s, um—how’s Carl doing?”

“He didn’t make it either,” he replies curtly. He sets his black leather satchel down onto the kitchen table. “He lost too much blood during surgery. And without a machine for a transfusion—” He stops short. He hangs his head and even from you’re standing at the stove, you can see the way his jaw clenches.

Luke takes it hard whenever he loses someone—and he always takes it out on you.

“I’m so sorry,” you manage to tell him. Despite trying to remain calm and collected, you’d started wringing your hands together out of habit.

“Well, at least there was one hero in that clinic today,” he scoffs out bitterly with a shake of his head.

You frown. “Luke, please don't do that. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Peter and Carl’s injuries were too severe. And besides, you said it yourself. We don’t have the proper equipment here in the commune.” You know there is no consoling him, not a single word of comfort could ease the blow of his failure, and yet, you find yourself trying anyway. “You did all you could do for them with what little we have. There’s nothing you could have done differently to change the outcome. Their wounds were fatal. Their fate was sealed long before they made it back to Jackson.”

Luke pinches the bridge of his nose and exhales a long, exasperated breath through his lips. It’s like watching a ticking time bomb.

“Look, it’s been a long day for everyone. Why don’t you go upstairs to take a shower, relax a bit, and then come back down for dinner?” you offer. “I’ve got a chicken baking in the oven, it shouldn’t be all that much longer now—”

Luke glares at you. “I just lost two fucking people today. Do you really think I’m fucking hungry right now?”

“You still need to eat,” you say, your voice small. 

“Are you really that fucking stupid?” He starts to walk over towards you. “What?” He asks when he notices you flinch, your body shrinking away from him. “What’s the matter, darling? You’re not afraid of me, are you?”

You answer him in the steadiest voice you can, but even you can hear the way it trembles with fear.

“Of course I’m not afraid of you, Luke.”

He lifts one of hands, prompting you to flinch again. “I’m not going to hit you,” he murmurs, touching your cheek before taking it in his palm. Knowing how uncomfortable he’s making you, his green eyes seek yours, only making it worse. “How is your boyfriend? Is he doing alright?”

The color drains from your face. “Excuse me?”

Luke cups your cheek harder. “Patching him up back at the clinic wasn’t enough for you, was it?”

You grab his wrist and try to tear his hand away from your face as you sputter, “What—what are you talking about, Luke?”

“Esther came into the clinic this evening with Martha and Lisa so they could say their goodbyes. While we were out in the hallway giving them a moment of privacy, Esther told me she saw you with Joel and Ellie. She said she watched you walk into their house with them—is that true?”

Left without another choice but to tell him the truth, you nod meekly. “It’s true,” you confess. “I walked them back to their place.” As soon as you see the anger flash in his eyes, you begin to ramble an explanation. “I went home with them so I could help Ellie get him settled. She’s fifteen years old, Luke. I needed to show her how to care for his wound and how to inject the penicillin he needs, that’s all—”

“Bullshit,” Luke seethes through his teeth. He grabs your shoulders, taking them harshly in his hands. “I’m going to ask you one more time—what the hell is going on between you and Joel Miller? And before you even think about giving me the same lie about his fucking brat of a kid, just know that I don’t fucking believe you.”

“Luke, let go of me—”

He starts shaking you as if it’ll somehow shake the answer out of you. “Fucking tell me the truth!”

You squirm in his grasp. “Luke, please! Let go of me!”

He shakes you harder, his violence escalating.

“Why were you at the fucking clinic in the first place, huh?”

“Luke, stop it! You’re hurting me!”

“What were you doing there in the first place?” He repeats, shouting the question into your face. “What were you fucking doing there? You heard your boyfriend got shot while he was out on patrol? You needed to make sure that he was okay? That he was still alive? Is that it?”

“Ellie asked me to go to the clinic with her! She was with me at the stables when Tommy showed up and told her Joel had been shot,” you try telling him. “She didn’t want to go alone!”

Finally, Luke stops rattling you. “And I suppose she asked you to tend to his injury, too?” He sneers. “She asked you to patch up his wound?”

Dizzy, you take a second to catch a quick breath, then respond, “Actually, she did. She and Tommy both asked me to take care of his shoulder and if you don’t believe me, then you can go find him and ask him yourself!”

“How fucking convenient,” Luke snorts. “Do you honestly take me for a fucking fool?”

“Luke—”

He shoves you back roughly.

Your side meets the sharp edge of the countertop in a loud, painful thud. Clutching at your ribcage, you sink down to the kitchen floor, curling yourself up into the fetal position as you brace yourself and wait for what’s undoubtedly coming next.

Luke steps towards you, his hands curling into tight fists at his sides. But before he has the chance to lay another finger on you, the doorbell rings. 

You breathe out a small sigh of relief.

“Get up,” he hisses. “Go answer it. Now.”

Your side is throbbing, but you scramble up to your feet quickly and hurry to do as you’re told. “I’ll be right there,” you call out, wincing. You briefly stop in front of a mirror hanging in the hallway and check your reflection to make sure that you look—well, that you look normal. You fix up your hair a little, smooth your shirt, and put on a brave face before opening the door. “Tommy,” you say his name in surprise. Your eyes then flicker to his wife. “Maria. What are you two doing here?”

“Sorry, little lady. We know that it’s kinda late,” he apologizes, holding Maria's hand gently in his. “But we’re wonderin’ if we could come in for a minute to talk to you and Luke?”

Without hesitating, you step aside to allow the couple into the foyer of your home. “Of course you can,” you say, closing the door behind them. “I’ve got a late dinner in the oven. If you guys are hungry, then you’re more than welcome to join us. I made plenty.”

“That’s awful kind of you,” Tommy says with a grateful nod. “But it might have to wait for another time. We’ve still got a few more people to see tonight.”

Luke steps out of the kitchen. “Tommy? Maria? Is everything alright? It’s not the baby, is it?”

Maria places a hand on her swollen midsection.

At about five months, her belly had finally popped.

“The baby’s just fine,” she assures him. “Been kicking a storm up all day long.”

“Good.” Luke stands beside you. “I know today has been very difficult, but remember to take it easy, alright? You can’t stress too much, or it can put the baby in distress. I don’t want you going into preterm labor, Maria.”

She cradles her belly. “I know, Luke. I promise, I’m being very careful,” she swears. “We’re just going out door to door and checking in on everyone, offering support where it’s needed.”

Tommy nods, his face looking worn and tired as he pulls Maria close and tucks her into his side. “What happened today was a real fuckin’ tragedy. Two people gone, just like that,” he shakes his head, sadly. “We just wanna make sure everyone’s doin’ okay.”

“How’s Martha?” you ask, tentatively. “Lisa and her daughters, how are they holding up?”

“They’re devastated,” Maria replies, sighing. “Lisa can keep it all together for the sake of her girls. It’s a whole different story for Martha, though. Peter was the only person she had, you know?”

“I can check in on her,” you offer, kindly. “I can stop by on the way to the stables in the morning to see her. Make sure that she’s taking care of herself.”

“We actually canceled tomorrow’s work duties, so if you two need to take the day off, you can,” Maria informs you, her eyes flicking from you to Luke. 

“We’re holdin’ a memorial service tomorrow in the old church house,” Tommy states. “And the burial will take place right before sunset.”

“We’ll be there,” Luke nods, taking your hand in his. He squeezes it tightly. Harshly. “Won’t we, sweetheart?”

You wince a little. “Yes, of course we will.”

Tommy notices the way you squirm. “You alright there, little lady?”

Luke squeezes your hand even tighter. It’s a warning.

“Yes,” you lie to him. “I’m perfectly fine.”

The next morning, you stop by Martha’s place, just like you’d told Maria you would. While you had no words that could console the grieving widow or ease the pain of her loss, you sat with her for a good hour and simply let her cry into your shoulder. She tuckered herself out quickly, and just before she fell asleep on the couch in her living room, you made her a promise, telling her you would see her at the memorial later that evening.

“What do you even wear to a funeral?” Ellie asks, curiously. She sits comfortably in Shimmer’s black leather saddle, the mare’s reins clutched in one of her hands. Despite work duties being canceled for the entire day, the two of you met at the stables to tend to the horses—the animals had enough water and food to get by until the following day, but still needed to be exercised so you’d suggested a short ride in the field out behind the paddock.

“Well, people typically wear black to funerals,” you answer, leading the way across the vacant patch of land on Ranger’s back. “Ellie, how many times am I going to have to tell you to hold onto the reins with both hands?” you chastise her over your shoulder. “I’m serious. The last thing we need is for you to fall off and break a bone. Both hands, missy.”

“Alright, alright. Sheesh, mom.” You can’t see it, but you hear the joking grin in her tone. “Why do people wear black to funerals? Was that always a thing?”

“Yeah. It’s the traditional color of mourning.”

“Why black? Why not like, green or something?”

“I don’t know, go ask the Ancient Romans.”

“The who?”

You chuckle, shaking your head. “Nevermind.”

Clicking your tongue, you start steering Ranger, signaling him to turn back towards the paddock.

“I don’t even think I own anything that’s black,” Ellie says behind you. She gently squeezes Shimmer’s sides with her calves and the horse breaks out into a trot, catching up with you and Ranger. “Green it’ll have to be, then. Oh, by the way, Joel told me to tell you that he’ll see you at midnight. Your usual place.”

You frown. “He’s one day into his recovery. He needs to rest.”

“That’s what I fucking told him. But I guess he just can’t stay away from you, princess,” she teases as the horses arrive back into the paddock.

“Alright, let me hop off Ranger and I’ll help you—”

You stop short, watching as Ellie swings her leg over the back of Shimmer’s saddle and jumps off.

She grins. “Please. I’m practically a professional at dismounting horses now. Call me Seabiscuit.”

You snort. “Ellie, Seabiscuit was the horse.”

“Oh.” She waves a dismissive hand. “Well, you know what I fucking mean.”

Laughing, you roll your eyes at her. You pull a foot free from one of the stirrups then swing your leg over and start dismounting Ranger—but the second you start going down, your opposite leg still in the stirrup supporting your weight wobbles and you lose your balance. You fall forward against the horse, accidentally sliding down his saddle.

To add insult to injury, the horn catches your sleeve and hikes up your blouse as soon as you land your feet on the ground.

“That was real fucking graceful,” Ellie cackles as she watches you try to unsnag your shirt from the saddle. Walking around Ranger to get a better view of the mishap, her grin suddenly vanishes. Her brown eyes widen when she catches a glimpse of the discoloration that starts near your hip and goes up your entire length of your side. “What the hell? Is that a fucking bruise?”

Finally, you free yourself from the saddle. Feeling your heart pound, you tug your shirt down into place, but it’s too late.“Ellie—”

“What happened to you?”

“Nothing happened to me,” you fib. “I’m fine.”

“You’re fine?” Ellie repeats, incredulously. “There’s a fucking bruise the size of the state of Wyoming on you and you’re fucking fine? Really?”

“I fell,” you tell her, giving her the first excuse that you could think of. “I’m really clumsy, Ellie. Clearly I am.” You gesture to the saddle. “You saw it, just now. I almost fell off a damn horse.”

“You fell.” Ellie raises her eyebrow at you. “Or were you pushed?”

Staring at her helplessly, you reassure her, “Ellie, it’s nothing. I fell and I hit myself. Alright?”

She steps towards you and grabs the hem of your blouse, yanking it up. “That,” she points her index finger at your side, “That is not fucking nothing! That is fucking something.”

“Ellie!” Gasping, you harshly slap her hand away.

“Luke did that you, didn’t he?”

Her accusation comes without hesitation.

“Of course he didn’t,” you stammer. “I told you I fell—”

“Bullshit. I’m fucking telling Joel.”

She spins around on the heel of her sneaker.

“Ellie! No!” You catch her arm, stopping her. “No, please don’t do that! Don’t tell him. Please don’t tell Joel.”

“Then I’ll tell Tommy and Maria,” Ellie says, shrugging. “I’ll tell them about what their precious doctor is doing to you behind closed fucking doors—” She starts to leave the paddock and you’re quick to stop her once more.

“No! You cannot tell anyone! Not Tommy, not Maria, or anyone else. And you especially cannot tell Joel.”

“He’s fucking hurting you!” Ellie all but shouts at you.

“Ellie, I have it under control—”

She snorts, rolling her eyes.

“Yeah, clearly.” Sarcasm drips from her tone. “I can tell you have it under control.”

You take her hands, clasping them in yours. “I can handle Luke, Ellie. It’s all under control.” Your gaze meets hers. “Please. Do not tell anyone about this.”

“But—”

“Ellie, please. I’m begging you,” you plead with her. “Don’t tell anyone—and especially not Joel. Please.”

It pains you to see her look so fucking helpless.

Maybe it’s selfish of you to ask her, a child, to keep such a secret.

But it’s for the good of Jackson.  

“Swear to me that you won’t tell him about this. Swear it.”

Again, she looks helpless, helpless, helpless. 

Eventually, she sighs out in defeat. “Okay. Fine. I swear I won’t tell Joel.”

“Or anyone else,” you add.

Her eyes fall away from yours as she mumbles, “I swear I won’t tell Joel. Or anyone else.”

Later that evening, after the memorial service, everyone makes their way to Jackson Cemetery, a makeshift graveyard right outside the west wall that’s protected by a steel fence. With men and women armed and standing around the entire perimeter of the site, the burial carried on. Miles, a former pastor, reads verses from a bible out loud at the request of the men’s families who were people of faith. You stand at Martha’s side, holding her as Tommy and two other men lower her husband’s casket into the ground and begin to shovel in the dirt.

From the corner of your eye, you see Joel as he stands in the crowd with Ellie and Dina. The girls have their arms linked together. Ellie looks over at you, then glances away, sourly shaking her head as Luke puts a comforting hand on your back. She knows it’s just for show. He’s playing the role of a good husband when he’s anything but.

After the burial, the entire town is invited back to the commune mess hall for the traditional funeral repast. Food, drinks, and plenty of stories of the patrolmen are shared—fond memories are exchanged in efforts to lighten the somber mood.

Joel watches with jealousy as you stand by Luke’s side the entire evening, his arm secured around your waist. He’d been sitting at a table across the hall near the doors with Ellie. Forcing himself to look away from you, he turns his attention to her and notices she hasn’t scarfed down her food as usual. Joel would often have to tell her to slow down before she made herself sick, but tonight, he doesn’t have to. Instead of inhaling her potatoes like a human vacuum, she pushes them around on her plate with her fork.

“Is everythin’ alright, kiddo?” he asks her, worriedly.

She lets out a long, heavy sigh. “Yeah. Everything’s fine.”

He frowns. “Ellie, don’t lie to me.”

She sighs again. “Okay, everything’s not fine.”

“What’s goin’ on? The funeral bother you?”

Ellie looks over towards you and Luke, nervously biting down on her lower lip. She then glances back at Joel.

“Ellie? What is it?”

“She made me swear not to tell anyone. Especially not you.”

“Who?”

The second your name comes out of her mouth, he stiffens in his chair.

“I swore to her I wouldn’t say anything, but—”

“Ellie, what the hell’s goin’ on?”

“She’s going to be so mad at me if I tell you, Joel.”

He shakes his head. “No one’s gonna be mad, kiddo. I can promise you that. No one is gonna be mad at you, alright?” He promises her. “Just tell me what’s goin’ on.”

“Well, you see—” Ellie hesitates. “The thing is—”

She trails off, unsure of how to say it.

“Christ, Ellie. Just fuckin’ spit it out.”

“I think he’s hitting her,” she finally blurts out.

Joel freezes. “What?”

“Luke. I think he’s hitting her or something.”

“Why do you think that?” he asks, his voice rigid.

Ellie lowers her voice. “Today we were taking two of the horses out on a ride around the field behind the paddock. When we got back, she slipped while she was dismounting Ranger. Her sleeve got stuck on his saddle and her shirt pulled up.” She pauses, sucking in a deep breath, then exhaling it before saying, “I saw a huge bruise on her side. It was fucking massive. It looked fresh, too.”

His blood begins to boil. “You ask her ‘bout it?”

“Of course I did. When I asked her what happened, she told me that she fell. But I didn’t believe her. When I asked her if Luke did it—”

“She admitted he did.” It’s a statement, not a question.

Ellie’s face falls. “Well no, not exactly. But Luke did it, I know he fucking did it, Joel. He’s hurting her. It’s why she won’t leave him. She’s too fucking scared of him.”

Joel looks up, his lips pressed into a tight line.

His eyes meet Luke’s from across the room.

The man gives him a small, curt nod and takes your hand in his, pulling you towards where Martha and Lisa are sitting with a group of friends, among them, Tommy and Maria.

“Joel?” Ellie says his name, nervously.

“I’ll handle it, Ellie.”

“But—”

He cuts her off.

“I said I’ll fuckin’ handle it.”

Despite knowing that Joel needed to rest, the part of you that was incredibly selfish just couldn’t wait to see him—to be with him, to hold him in your arms and kiss him. Especially after such a long, gloomy and sorrowful evening.

When midnight rolls around, you find him already waiting behind the barn. Normally, it was you who would always arrive first, so when you see Joel standing there by the paddock fence, you can’t help but feel a little surprised.

“You beat me here,” you remark with a small laugh as you approach him.

“Yeah. I did.”

Excited to see him, you don’t even catch the tone of his voice at first.

Serious.

Upset.

You beam at him and say, “Hi, honey. I missed you.” Smiling, you lift an arm to throw it around Joel’s neck in a careful hug, but he catches your wrist in his hand and stops you, the creases in his brows deepening.

“Show me.” 

Your smile slowly falters. “What?”

“Show me,” he repeats, stiffly.

“What are you talking about?” Puzzled, you pull your wrist out of his grasp and step back. 

He’d never spoken to you like that. He’d never looked at you like that before, either. Angrily.

“Joel, what’s going on?”

“Ellie told me ‘bout the bruise.”

Your blood runs frigid in your veins. “What?”

“Earlier at the repast. She told me ‘bout the bruise she saw on your side today.”

“It’s nothing, Joel—” 

“Show. Me.” Joel bites the words out through gritted teeth.

You stare at him for a moment, then sigh.

With little choice in the matter, you lift the hem of your shirt.

“Here,” you say bitterly, turning your body. “Is this what you want to see?”

His stomach churns violently.

Ellie hadn’t been exaggerating about the size of it.

The painful mark starts at your hip, and it goes up the entire length of the side of your torso until it feathers out beneath your bustline.

“I fell.” Your voice is flat, emotionless. Because you don’t know how else to react now that he knows the truth.

You don’t know what to do or what to say. 

So, you turn the dial back to numb.

“The kid didn’t believe that bullshit lie and I fuckin’ don’t believe it either. We both fuckin’ know Luke did this to you.”

He almost expects you to deny it, but when you don’t, it’s all the confirmation he needs. He starts off towards the residential side of town, prepared to yank Luke out of bed and rip him to fucking shreds.

“Joel, where the hell are you going?” you huff as you start following behind him. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“M’gonna fuckin’ kill him,” Joel seethes. He lifts a hand and starts clawing at the strap of his sling to take it off. “For puttin’ his fuckin’ hands on you—”

You grab his arm. “Joel, please! Don’t!”

Refusing to stop, he drags you along behind him.

“Joel, stop! Please, can you just wait for one fucking minute?”

Digging your heels into the dirt, you yank at his arm, and plead for him to listen to you.

“Joel, just give me the chance to explain!”

Finally, he comes to a halt and whirls around, his nostrils flaring. With furiousness in his dark eyes, he faces you.

“You promised me! You fuckin’ promised me you’d come to me if he did somethin’ to you—” Realizing he’s shouting at you, Joel stops. Seeing your bottom lip quiver, he softens ever so slightly. He knows you’re not the person to take his anger out on. No, that person is fast asleep in his bed. “How long? How long has he been doin’ this to you? And don’t you lie to me.”

“Two years,” you admit in a whisper.

Joel’s face pales. 

Swallowing dryly, you shake your head. “Joel, he’s the only doctor in this town. There’s so much pressure that he carries on his back. He’s responsible for all of the people in this community,” you begin to explain. “It’s a lot to handle for one person, he’s always stressed—”

“And so beating you is the way he fuckin’ unwinds after a long day of work?” Joel, for the life of him, can’t fucking believe you’re attempting to defend Luke.

“He just loses his temper sometimes. It gets the best of him and then I’ll say something or so something to piss him off even more—”

Joel catches your hand in his. “Baby, fuckin’ stop that right now. Stop fuckin’ makin’ excuses for him. He’s fuckin’ hurtin’ you, and if something ain’t done, there’s a good chance he’s gonna wind up killin’ you.”

“I have everything under control, Joel.”

“No, you fuckin’ don’t. He’s fuckin’ hittin’ you.” Joel’s voice breaks as he speaks. “He’s hurtin’ you.”

“I can fix it,” you say, though you sound more helpless than anything else. “I just need time, but I can fix this, Joel.”

“No, peach. You can’t fix it. But I can—all you gotta do is let me.”

You look down at your shoes, feeling tears glaze over your eyes. “No. Jackson needs him, Joel.”

“But what ‘bout you?”

“I’m just one person,” you whisper. “You have to look at the bigger picture here. I’m just one fucking person.”

“One fuckin’ person who means everythin’ to me,” he says, squeezing your hand. “If you won’t let me handle him, then we go to Tommy and Maria—”

“If he gets locked up or thrown out, we won’t have a doctor, Joel. Don’t you fucking understand that?”

Joel’s beginning to lose his patience.

He knows you’re only trying to look out for the rest of the community, but at what fucking cost?

Your own life, possibly?

Maybe it’s selfish, but he doesn’t care about everybody else. He cares about you.

Dropping your hand, he steps back, shaking his head. “I ain’t gonna let him keep on hurtin’ you. I’m gonna put a stop to it.”

“Joel, you’re just going to make things fucking worse! I will handle it—I will fix it. I don’t need your help. I don’t need you stepping in trying to play the hero. It’s all under control, okay?”

“Like hell it fuckin’ is. First thing tomorrow, I’m gonna pay Luke a visit at the clinic. Have a little talk with him, man to man, or whatever he fuck he is—”

Your stomach sinks at the mere thought of it. “No! Don’t you fucking dare,” you warn him. “Don’t you even think about it, Joel.”

“What the fuck am I supposed to do? Stand around with my fuckin’ hands behind my back and just let him keep on hurtin’ you? Ain’t gonna fuckin’ happen.” Realizing your stance on the matter is firm, Joel comes to his own decision. “Listen, sweet girl. If you ain’t gonna give me permission, then I’m just gonna have to ask for your forgiveness.”

You glare at him and left your chin. “Well, I won’t give it to you.”

He stares at you, completely taken aback by your sudden coldness.

“If you do anything to hurt him, or tell Tommy and Maria about this, I will never forgive you,” you threaten, a warm tear slipping down the side of your face as you prepare to shatter both his heart and yours. “I mean it, Joel. Stay away from Luke. And maybe it’s for the best if you just fucking stay away from me too.”

Before Joel can even think about uttering another word, you turn around and walk away.

You break down as soon as you make it home.

Sinking down onto the porch, you pull the collar of your shirt over your mouth and nose in an effort to muffle the sounds of your sobbing. That look of hurt on Joel’s face and in his eyes when you’d told him to stay away from you, it would be burned into your memory forever. It would haunt you for the rest of your damn life.

It wasn’t what you wanted.

This wasn’t what you wanted.

But there is no other choice.

There never has been another choice for you. 

The sound of gravel road crunching underneath a pair of old, tattered red low top sneakers fills the silent night air, prompting you to look up.

“Do you hate me?” Ellie questions you softly.

The remorseful expression on her face sends another sharp, stabbing pain through your chest.

“Oh, Ellie. Of course I don’t hate you.” You pat the empty spot beside you on the porch. “Come here.”

Ellie walks over and sits down beside you, pulling her knees up to her chest.

You wrap an arm around her, reassuring her, “I could never hate you, Ellie. I love you, sweetheart.”

“I’m sorry,” she apologizes. “I know I swore to you I would keep my fucking mouth shut, but I had to tell Joel about Luke. I’m sorry—I’m so fucking sorry.” She sniffs, dabbing at her eyes as they fill with frustrated tears.

“It’s okay. I would have done the same thing if I were you.”

“Really? You would have?”

You nod, wiping at your face with your opposite hand. “Absolutely.”

“You’re only saying that to make me feel less like a big pile of dog shit, aren’t you?”

“Mostly no, but partially yes,” you joke dryly in an effort to cheer her up.

Ellie flashes you a small, watery smile. “I’ll fucking take it.”

She leans her head against your shoulder and for a while, the two of you sit there in melancholy silence.

“What’s going to happen with you and Joel?” Ellie finally asks, her voice small.

“I don’t know, Ellie,” you admit quietly. “I really don’t know.”

[fuckyeahaudiodrama]

☀️JUNE LISTENS☀️

i still don’t have a brain! ah!!!! but i do have ears for listening! i actually listened to a lot of stuff that i ended up not liking as much, last month, but i still have plenty to rec.

Remnants — (ep1-2 early access) a dark fantasy mystery anthology. hard to describe without giving anything away. i love everything by Hanging Sloth (creator of SBR, NQD and Clockwork Bird), so i knew that i was very likely to enjoy this regardless of the premise… but my god, absolutely surreal vibes. the sound design is breathtaking! feeling very grateful to be a HS patron right now. keep an eye out for this one coming 15th july! subscribe now and don’t miss it.

Mockery Manor — (3 seasons, 37 eps + miniseries, between seasons) a murder mystery set at a theme park with a comedic twist. i didn’t think this was going to be my thing and i was so wrong. the protags are twin sisters with plenty of baggage between them. their shenanigans and banter keep the tone light even when the plot takes dark turns. looking forward to s4!

Limelight: The Specialist — (5 eps, complete) self-described as a “dark medical thriller” set in rural wales. Limelight series are generally good but satisfying endings are hit or miss; this one was VERY well-paced, with a satisfying payoff, and gave me hope for a series 2 in future. i loved the execution of the gruesome mystery and i loved the protagonist to pieces.

Close Your Eyes — (1 season, 9 eps, s2 in production) having recently listened to RQ’s Neon Inkwell: The Pit Below Paradise, which also centers around cult dynamics, i found this to be a very fun contrast. here we see how someone can be immersed and isolated by a cult, regardless of their personal skepticism or strength of will. the suspense was so delicious i had to listen to all nine episodes in a row. ends on an incredible cliffhanger — can’t WAIT for season 2.

The Silt Verses — (44 eps, finale soon) a grim religious fantasy dystopia. some of the most intricate and fascinating worldbuilding i’ve ever seen. huge cast. i know that everyone in the AD space has rec’d this pod a hundred times over, but i can’t stress enough how it’s one of my very favorite stories in the medium. the penultimate ep left off on an absolutely deranged note and i have no idea what’s coming! so exciting, if you’ve been waiting to check this one out — now might be the time!

Dice Shame — (2 seasons, 200+ eps, ongoing) classic dnd actual play ft. Harlan Guthrie of Malevolent fame, and his equally charismatic friends and family. i don’t listen to a lot of APs bc i have trouble focusing on such long episodes but i just love the chemistry of this party. slapping it on the rec list bc the current storyline has me hooked!!

Bridgewater — (1 season, 22 eps, ???) supernatural mystery, notably starring Misha Collins as the protagonist. this one has a lot of complicated family dynamics read: mommy AND daddy issues. the length of the series is just enough to let you spawn several of your own theories, which is fun, and i was really pleased that i was able to predict the true conflict and identify the antagonist. excellent use of foreshadowing etc, biggest props to Lauren Shippen of The Bright Sessions fame.

Consumed — (12 episodes) small town horror/mystery through the eyes of a stranded newcomer. this one did NOT go where i expected it to, because i started it before i listened to Bridgewater; they’re set in the same universe, so the same worldbuilding applies. i would honestly recommend listening to this one FIRST because if you do listen to the end of Bridgewater, it will kind of spoil the twist in Consumed.

The Penumbra Podcast — (5 seasons, 2 storylines, both ending this summer) still barreling toward the finish line for both Second Citadel and Juno Steel. as a patron, i was notified of early release for the SC finale this morning, which i know is gonna wreck me. just wanted to feature this because i don’t see it recced as often anymore and that’s a fucking crime. one of my top AD recs for sure.

Red Valley — (While You Were Hypersleeping 3) three ep miniseries featuring our main best boy, warren, who has been notably absent from most of this season! so nice to hear from him and to get a glimpse of what might be coming in the next part of the season.

Observable Radio — (11 eps, ongoing) my favorite recent sci-fi/horror anthology by far, tied up in a terrifically dreadful meta narrative. afaik this is a limited series but i’m really savoring each and every episode; the most recent, “Earworm”, was one of my favorites. very dark and dystopian. mind the content warnings!

The Network Defenders — (ep1) the debut of a new Planet Arcana miniseries, featuring some new voices and a fresh new tarot-based system (crowdfunding this year!) has all of the appeal of PA in terms of prod. quality, vibes and emotional depth, just new mechanics. 2nd ep is out now so i’m hopping right on that as i post this!

Waterlogged — (ep1) a new indie horror that i’ve been waiting to drop for a while now, and i really enjoyed the soft-spoken eerie vibe of the pilot. there’s a couple more things in the feed now so i’ll have to go catch up.

[1moreff-creator]

Trying to figure out the DRDT chapter 2 murder method, with evidence! (Theory)

CW: Murder, mentions of suicide, hanging, general brutality.

So, I’ve noticed a lot of people have given their predictions for the second case murderer, the motives and all that. This is obviously what most people care about, and I love reading predictions for it!

However, I am not most people. I also am really curious about the exact murder method.

You see, DRDT has consumed my brain mercilessly, and thus I have decided I can’t wait for the hiatus to end, and want to see if I can figure out the murder mystery with the clues we have. As a warning, this doesn’t actually help much with the culprit, but I will give my thoughts on that at the end.

I think a decent job! It’s not perfect, and I’m fully expecting to get a lot if not most of this wrong. I will be happy regardless of whether I’m right or wrong, so what matters is that I had fun thinking about it! Right? :D

This took me hours.

Spoilers up until Chapter 2 ep 11, and… further? Maybe? It’s just a prediction, but with evidence, so, you decide if you wanna read it.

Where we left off

The cliffhanger currently consuming me, as you may recall, happened just after David started his Tumblr sexyman arc, with Charles cutting in with just a fantastic line (“You’re out of your element!”). He says that, while trying to prove David’s innocence, he realized something bigger, before proclaiming he and Teruko fucked up.

As many have pointed out, Charles cuts in when David mentions the time of death, meaning he’s likely realized something about that.

What Charles has probably noticed is that the note Arei received never mentioned if she was supposed to go to the playground at 7:30 PM, as the characters had assumed because of the fish and the nighttime rule for the Relaxation Room, or AM. The fish could have easily been kept in the water jugs found outside in a trash can, so it’s pretty feasible that the murder actually happened at 7:30 AM. Unfortunately, Nico, the only one keeping track of the fish, likely fed them before David went there, and thus before 7:30 PM, so we can’t tell for sure when they were taken.

(This is because Nico mentions they fed the fish after dinner, and they likely ate before David. Whit mentions having a ‘late dinner’ when he and the gang meet with Suspenders Man in the kitchen and send him to the fish, David even mentioning he wasn’t expecting anyone else to be there. Assuming Nico ate dinner with most of the class, they would have eaten before David went to the Relaxation Room, which we know was around 7:30 PM)

However, if Charles is only bringing the possibility up now, it’s likely the right answer. Also, as you’re gonna see, the murder method I believe was used requires quite a bit of setup that would have been easier to do at nighttime, without potential witnesses showing up out of nowhere.

Now, this is where I’ve seen most people stop. Content with knowing what the cliffhanger itself is about, they don’t think further into the murder method. But I will, because my life is extremely empty.

Let’s get to the evidence!

“Truth Bullets” (let’s pretend)

-First, the layout of the scene.

(Ultimate Artist coming through-)

The exact position of things doesn’t matter, but it helps to visualize. The seesaw, to the dismay of Korekiyo stans, is unimportant and can be disregarded. Here are the takeaways:

•The ground near the entrance is scuffed. This heavily implies something went down in the playground, and we probably aren’t dealing with a crime scene switch.

•The fish, you should be acquainted with.

•The spinny thing will be important.

•Not pictured is a sand pit without sand. This isn’t important, but I do find it funny.

•Then, the swing set. I’d like to point out that the rope attached on one end to Arei has nothing on the other end, and rather remains there via a knot at the top of the swing set. This is important because of:

-Broken Neck: Arei’s neck is broken, alongside:

-Veronika’s Account: Although a hanging can cause someone’s neck to break, it wouldn’t happen to Arei if she were to be hung from that height. She would either need to weigh more, or fall from higher. Because the rope Arei’s corpse hangs from is tied with a knot, it can’t extend further than what we see, meaning she was likely hung from somewhere else (if that’s even her cause of death).

-Bound Wrists: Arei’s wrists were bound with duct tape at some point.

-Duct Tape on Spinny Thing: There is duct tape covering every handlebar the spinny thing has.

-Longer Rope: There was a longer piece of rope bundled up below the spinny thing. Teruko claims it’s a couple yards long. I don’t use that unit of measurement, but it sounds like it’s large.

-Flickering Lights: According to MonoTV, one of the lights in the playground was flickering. The way he acts when inquired implies this had something to do with the murder.

Going away from the playground now, we have the trash can.

-The note: You know this one.

-Eating utensils, food, painting tools. Unimportant.

-Water Jugs: Likely where the fish were kept overnight. Notably, the handles are snapped in the middle.

-Needle and thread?: I’ve seen some people mention there’s a needle with a bit of black thread that none of the characters address when dealing with the trash. Personally, I think this isn’t going to be important, but I do have a place for it if it ends up coming up. That is:

-Ball of clothes: Charles takes this from the dress-up room. It’s apparently held together with starch (not an adhesive, just sticky, but sure), though I wouldn’t be surprised if it was actually created with the needle and thread. Again, I don’t think it’s important, but you can choose to believe it was used here if you want. It’ll make sense later.

-The gym. I’ll be honest, this is the one thing I don’t know how to fit in. During the investigation, Teruko makes memory to how the gym looked before and after the Nico incident. I’m not great at Spot the Difference, but for the life of me the only thing I could see change was the missing fan and the missing ‘grippy thing’ on the pull-up bar. I don’t know how that would fit with the mystery, so I’ll be glad if anyone can figure something out.

-The motives: Not important for the method, obviously important for other reasons.

So, with the evidence laid out, what can we figure out?

Theory Time

When I said I spent hours thinking about this, I mostly meant running through several theories at once, trying to see which one made the most sense. I went to some weird places: from a crime of passion disguised as a suicide, to drowning her in the Relaxation Room, to somehow getting from the Movie Screening Room to the Playground (MonoTV had mentioned punching through the wall would get you there), to Arei herself being the one originally trying to murder…

But in the end, it was simpler. There are three important facts which help narrow down the options.

-Arei’s neck was broken. This eliminates simpler killing methods such as strangulation. Something happened which broke her neck, yet:

-Her wrists were bound. A broken neck is instant death, but Arei’s bound wrists imply the killer feared she would struggle. This eliminates a crime of passion. This thing was premeditated.

-The murder happened in the playground. The scuffed floor, broken light, duct tape on spinny thing and the other rope all make it clear. There’s no crime scene switching here. This eliminates stuff like the drowning in the Relaxation Room I mentioned.

All of this makes me believe that Arei was hung from somewhere in the playground, likely after the killer bound her wrists to stop her from struggling. The scuffed ground serves as evidence of an initial struggle. It doesn’t quite look like that, but frankly I just don’t know what could have caused the exact shape in the ground, so a struggle it is.

However, how? If Arei’s neck broke from her hanging, as per Veronika’s Account, she would need to be hung from somewhere else first, in a way that she either weighed more or fell from higher. Now, at first, you might assume that she had to be simply hung from higher, since it’s impossible to make Arei weigh more than she does. But what if I told you, there is a way to achieve that?

Enter: the water jugs.

I don’t know about you, but the way those handles are broken looks to me like they were snapped too cleanly for human hands. It almost looks… like someone tied a knot around them, then exerted a bunch of force on the rope.

(WARNING: Geometric depiction of a hanging a bit below)

We know for a fact there are at least two pieces of rope: one longer, one shorter. It would be possible to tie the two ends of the shorter one around the handles of the water jugs, then tie the middle around Arei. Water’s pretty heavy, so the extra pull of the water jugs would exert an additional force to her body once she stopped falling, one which could serve as one of the reasons her neck broke.

…Now’s probably a good time to mention, I have no idea why the killer did half the shit they did. I cannot explain to you why they would do this with water jugs. I’m just telling you how my brain’s interpreting this evidence.

However, this doesn’t exactly solve the height problem. You still can’t hang Arei from the swing set directly, as the jugs would hit the ground. It’s still necessary to hang her from higher up, although thankfully it’s easy to see where that would happen.

Yeah, the railings of the playground. The problem, naturally, is how to get there. Or rather, how to get the rope there.

Well, here’s a question. How would you do something like that if it was lower down, but still unreachable? One answer is to try to throw the rope over the railing, so that one end stays near you, and the other, on the other side of the railing. Of course, that’s impossible with a rope of this length and a railing of this height, but the concept can still be used in conjunction with something else. Thinking about the other pieces of evidence we have, there is one that stands out as particularly strange, doesn’t it?

Exactly. The ball of clothes. Because throwing a ball, especially one as light as this one would be, is much easier than throwing a rope, you can set up the hanging spot by tying one end of the rope to the ball, and throwing that over the railing.

You might think it’s still too far up, but think of it like this. How far can you throw a basketball straight up? Probably enough to clear two floors, at least given enough attempts. The ball of clothes would have more drag, yes, but it would be lighter. Keep in mind the killer had all night to get this right, and they could have even climbed on the swing set if they needed a bit more height. It’d be awkward, but possible.

There is one more piece of evidence that makes me think this is the case. That is, the flickering lights.

The lights weren’t broken, but they did get fucked up. This is by far the clue which gave me the most trouble when thinking about this, since it just seemed so impossible to achieve. However, this ‘ball of clothes’ theory gives us a solid answer. On the way up, the ball of clothes may have hit the lights:

This wouldn’t break the light, but it could displace it, causing it to flicker… or something like that. I’m sorta banking on J giving a proper explanation with her pre-established expertise, since I’m no electrical engineer. However, I see no other way this could have happened, so it’s the answer I’m giving for now.

So now we have the long rope on both ends, all that’s left is actually pulling Arei up. Except, that’s still quite complicated, isn’t it? Already pulling her up would take quite a bit of strength, but the main problem is the ‘going down’ part.

For Arei’s neck to break, she needs to enter free fall, then abruptly stop halfway. That would mean you need to stop the rope from moving on the way down, but how? Just using your hands is impossible, because you’d get burnt.

Enter: spinny thing.

The duct tape tipped me off that this thing was important, and once the use of rope is factored in, my first instinct was to use it for a sort of pulley system.

Weave the rope through a few of the handlebars, then tie a knot around one of them. That way, if you make the thing spin, it will drag the rope with it, sort of like a roll of film in reverse.

Then, once Arei reaches an appropriate height, you spin the thing the other way, letting her fall at full speed for a bit. When you want to stop her, you would just need to stop the carousel from spinning, which may take a bit of strength, but it’s perfectly doable.

Now, this explains how the murder could have been done, but where does the duct tape come into play?

…

Yeah, good question. My best answer is that the rope somehow burnt a friction mark into the spinny thing, which the killer feared would give away their trick. After all, even if the duct tape is more noticeable, it’s harder to make a connection between that and the murder than a friction burn, which while harder to notice, would point more directly to the pulley idea.

Yeah, it’s not a great answer, and it’s frankly the part which still puzzles me the most, but it’s an answer, so I’m going with it for now. Open to change, though.

Notably, this is also the part of the crime where I feel the gym may come into play. Again, I have no idea what the relevance is, but if it has something to do with this crime and not just the Ace - Nico incident, perhaps the grippy strap of the pull up bar was somehow used to better grip the spinny thing’s handlebars for the pulley trick? Again, this is one piece of evidence where I could use the help.

And so, we’re done! Practically all of the important evidence was used, and I can’t find any contradictions in the reasoning!

Closing Argument

The killer first put water from the Relaxation Room, fish and all, in some water jugs before nighttime.

At nighttime, they stuck together Teruko’s and Hu’s old clothes with either starch or the black string. Going to the playground, they tied a long rope they got from storage around the ball of clothes. They repeatedly threw it up, until they managed to get the rope over one of the railings in the playground. However, on the way up, the ball of clothes hit a light and displaced it, causing it to flicker. MonoTV would later remove this light.

After that, they tied one of the ends of the rope to one of the carousel’s handlebars, possibly looping it around some of the other handlebars to make sure it would work as a pulley. The killer left the water jugs in the room, first tying a shorter piece of rope around their handles, and took the ball of clothes back to the dressing room.

After that, the killer wrote a note. They had overheard the Eden-Arturo-Arei situation, and used that to lure Arei out to the playground at 7:30 AM. She potentially arrived just before the killer, based on the scuffed ground being a bit far from the door, but the killer got there just a moment after, before Arei could understand the situation.

The killer overpowered Arei, scuffing the ground near the seesaw in the process. They eventually bound her wrists together, and wrapped the middle of the rope attached to the water jugs to Arei’s lower body. Possibly around her waist, as to prevent rope burn injuries from giving the trick away.

After that, they tied the unused end of the longer rope around Arei’s neck, and moved to the spinny thing. Using the grippy strap they got from the gym (maybe), they grabbed one of the handlebars and spun the spinny thing so that the rope was pulled in and around its handlebars. This also had the effect of pulling Arei up towards the ceiling.

Once Arei was high enough, the killer quickly spun the carousel the opposite way, then abruptly stopped it just a few moments later. This caused Arei to free fall shortly, before suddenly stopping. The force of that stopping broke both Arei’s neck and the handles of the water jugs. Arei died here, if she hadn’t already asphyxiated beforehand.

All that was left for the killer to do was cleanup. Retrieve the longer rope and hide it under the spinny thing; set up Arei’s body to look vaguely like a suicide; empty the water jugs on the ground; throw them away, alongside the duct tape and the note. The killer’s trick had also left marks on the carousel, which they decided to cover up with duct tape. Finally, the killer reconvened with everyone at around 8 AM for the motive announcement.

And with that, all questions are answered. Well, except for:

What the fuck

Like, why would the killer do this? It’s so unnecessary cruel, when they could have just hung her. I was honestly worried, as I thought about the method, that the killer would end up being Veronika, just because it’s so fucked I genuinely can’t see anyone else doing this. But Veronika doesn’t have a motive to do this: she’s talked about wanting to enjoy the trials for as long as possible, and it’s been set up if she murders, it would be of boredom. Doing that before a motive announcement which would make things interesting doesn’t fit her at all. Or maybe I’m coping.

The answer to the question of why the killer chose this method is only part of a larger question, though. So, knowing the method, how does that change the final question?

Who did it?

EDIT: DISCLAIMER: The following part of this blog is outdated. Go here to read a revised version of the method, with a different culprit. It's a reblog of thebadjoe's reblog of this post, as they pointed out a lot of flaws in my original theory (adult content warning for Arei's corpse). I'm leaving the rest of my original post up, but just know I now believe the killer to be Eden, with an accomplice.

Let me start by saying that I can’t definitively say anything about anyone, even knowing the murder method. However, this *does* paint some of the theories in a different light.

Smaller theories

I’ve seen a few people suggest everyone from Charles to J or even Arturo. A lot of these theories are decent, but some rely too much on certain assumptions which may or may not be disproven if this method is accurate.

Charles is ruled out. The murder required moving the corpse around postmortem, and while there wasn’t any blood around, Charles’ necrophobia would make it impossible for him.

A theory I saw was that J may have used her remote to open secret trapdoors and move around rooms, taking advantage of the placement of the playground in relation to the Movie Screening Room. However, while that theory is interesting, the murder is perfectly possible without these trapdoors, so the main argument kinda goes out the window. Although I guess it’s possible her remote could be used to make the carousel go spin, but that’s kinda ridiculous if you ask me.

Arturo was ruled out from the beginning because the handwriting in the note is too pretty to be a doctor’s. That’s a joke, and Arturo would actually be quite capable of the crime. In fact, he’s sort of become my second most likely culprit, even if he was accused early in the trial.

Hu / David manipulation, in shambles

A popular theory states that the killer was manipulated by David to do the deed. The most common victim of this manipulation theory seems to be Hu Jing. However, in my opinion, the sheer brutality of the method pretty much rules this out. David may be a good enough manipulator to get somehow to kill Arei, but I really doubt he’d be able to convince them to do… all this.

Especially since he has no reason to order the specific method, which would imply it was born from the killer’s own mind. So, even if David actually told them to kill Arei, they decided to use this insanely elaborate method all on their own. And, listen, I don’t care how you feel about Hu, she wouldn’t do this.

Is it still possible? Sure, I guess. Does it look a lot weaker under this method? Absolutely.

The surprisingly strong Whit/Eden allegations

I didn’t make this theory considering these two the killer, I really didn’t. I still don’t think they are. And yet, they are the only ones who could benefit from this method. How? The BDA.

You see that loophole, right? I noticed the moment I saw the rule. The way it’s written seems to imply the BDA only plays when three ‘spotless’ see the body, ruling them out as the murderer. Except, that’s not how it’s worded. It doesn’t say ‘three non-murderers’, it says ‘three people who didn’t witness the murder’.

So, pray tell, what happens if the culprit has their back to the victim when they die? Simple; they didn’t witness the murder, so their eyes count for the BDA.

How does this help? Well, imagine if Teruko had been the one to kill Arei. By making a contraption where she can be sure Arei dies instantly upon something happening (in this case, abruptly stopping the spin of the carousel), she can make sure her back is turned the moment Arei dies. Of course, the moment she turns around, the count for the BDA goes up to one, but it doesn’t trigger, since you need three.

Then, when Teruko ‘discovers’ the body alongside Eden and Whit, the BDA plays; one person (Teruko) had already ‘discovered the body’, so Eden and Whit seeing it would increase the BDA count by two. That makes three, BDA plays.

And yet, during the trial, if the murder method hasn’t been found out, Teruko could claim she isn’t the murderer because of the trickily worded BDA rule.

Now, we obviously know Teruko didn’t do it, but Eden and especially Whit are common theories. This could be used as evidence, except…

There’s a pretty obvious problem there. It’s not them, but Teruko who asks to team up in a group of three for the BDA, and it’s also her who suggests going to the second floor. Then, the playground is the last place they check, and Whit even questions Teruko when she suggests going there (the infamous ‘hanging out there’ line).

I wouldn’t rule out Teruko’s bad luck making her pick the absolute worst possible partner possible, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that neither Eden nor Whit were proactive in the search method, which goes against this potential ‘BDA alibi’ plan.

As for the rest of the theories, I don’t quite believe them. Yes, Whit definitely has more issues than he lets on, but he has no motive to do this (remember; he asked an entire group of people to reveal his secret if they had it, so the only reason his secret lasted until the trial was Rose throwing it away). Eden even less so.

And in the end, it really is the motives which points us to what I believe to be the killer.

Yeah, it’s Levi

As does what I believe is most of the fandom by this point, I think Levi is probably the killer.

Many have already theorized about the remaining motives, so I’ll spare you the ordeal and tell you: Just with the information all the characters have access to, it’s possible to narrow down Levi’s secret to ‘murdered someone’, ‘poisoned competition’ and ‘dead family’ (I know the last one’s Xander’s, but the characters don’t really have access to the Bonus Episode).

However, Eden can eliminate the ‘dead family’ one, as Levi has talked about his family with her, and they’re not dead (He also mentioned having brothers in the present tense during the trial, but just in case).

Min’s Bonus Episode makes it likely her secret is the ‘poison competition’ one, though how the characters are gonna figure that one out is beyond me. The point is, Levi’s secret is the ‘murdered someone’ one, the one Arei had. And, listen, in-game logic aside, you don’t just give that secret to the victim of the case and then have it mean nothing for the murder.

Other suspicious behavior has been noted, such as him wanting to start voting time quickly when David did his thing, him quickly checking the motives when they became public (keep in mind, as some characters mentioned, it’s possible the killer thought just killing someone before the motive reveal would be enough to prevent it), etc. Also possible foreshadowing such as Ace claiming Levi could ‘snap [his] neck with his bare hands’ and Levi promising to protect Eden in the trial, which is exactly what Arei did before dying.

However, something I feel people overlook is that not only did Arei get Levi’s secret, but it was also Levi who got Arei’s secret. A secret which, keep in mind, wasn’t public knowledge until the trial, when Levi finally revealed it. Sure, David and Teruko knew, maybe Eden at best, but other than that, only Levi knew of that secret.

And this is where the murder method may come in. I’m still unsure. Because the only reason I can find for this amount of elaborate planning and brutality, beyond the BDA thing which I mentioned likely isn’t important, is the killer having a deep grudge against Arei.

Levi is a guy who cares about his family. Sure, he was disowned, but he claims it was good, because he and his family were ‘bad influences on each other’. He seems like he genuinely wants the best for his brothers, it just so happened that the best thing was going their separate ways.

So, how do you think he feels when he learns that Arei, someone who had already insulted and belittled him, calling him a pushover and stuff, did horrible things to her sisters? If he doesn’t have the full picture, it’s not impossible to see how that may make him angry at her, especially with his already established anger issues.

Not to mention, keep in mind the setup for the crime was done one night after the Nico - Ace incident, one which ends with Levi grumbling ‘why do I even bother?’ as he locks himself in his room. This could imply a complete loss of faith in the group in general, which could lead to him deciding to kill.

Of course, that theory has more holes in it than Swiss cheese. Levi’s outbursts of anger don’t really last long enough for it to explain such a long and elaborate murder scheme. Not to mention, if he really did react negatively to the motive, he’d have done it the moment he received it, not several days later. He has murdered without remorse before, if his secret is to be believed, but until we get the specifics, we can’t know for sure how okay he’d be doing something like this.

However, the important question Levi as the culprit answers isn’t the ‘why?’, but the ‘how?’.

I’ve sorta glossed over it until now, but it would take quite a bit of strength to stop the spinny thing in the trick. I don’t think Levi’s the only one capable of it, but he’s certainly the most capable, if that makes sense. Not to mention, actually overpowering Arei in the first place wouldn’t exactly be easy. Plus, the ball of clothes being involved implicates him in a meta-sense, as it could technically count as his talent being involved in the murder.

The problem, of course, is that I have no definitive evidence. His custom weapon, brass knuckles, wasn’t involved at all, and there’s no way to place him at any of the important scenes. No one has an alibi for nighttime, no one has an alibi for 7:30 AM, and pretty much no one has an alibi for the Eden - Arturo - Arei incident (afternoon of the day of Nico’s attempted murder, when for now we only know Hu, David, Nico and Teruko where talking in the Relaxation Room. Though of course, the exact time is impossible to know).

I suspect he’s going to be suspected for the motive and the strength thing, and either someone will come up with something incriminating, or he’ll make a slip-up a la Mondo. I have no idea.

So… what did we learn?

Kinda nothing. As you can see, the murder method doesn’t really point to a killer in any definitive way, so we’re just back where we started, basically. But hey! It was fun! I guess.

Now, back to crying over the hiatus. See you!

[whaddayadothatfor]

Shit Outta Luck

Pairing: Gojo x fem!afab!reader x Nanami, mostly Gojo x Reader

Content warnings: Free use, dub-c*n, dirty talk, excessive amounts of c*m, degradation, teasing, naked female clothed male (kinda), cliffhanger

Word count: 2,595

Summary: One day your best friends Nanami and Gojo come over to hang out and help you pack to move. You end up stuck under your bed. Instead of helping you out, they help themselves.

AN: This is so ridiculous y’all. Unedited. Thanks to my bestie for hyping me up when I was writing this. Please like and reblog if you enjoyed it! ❤️

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT, intended for audiences over 18+

Chapter One:

You can’t believe this is happening to you.

To think, the day has started off so normal. Maybe that should’ve been a hint. You’ve had the worst luck since grade school. You were always the kid to scrape your knee on the playground or get random bruises bumping into desks or walls. Hell, you even managed to be the only person to get bird poop on your cap and gown during your high school graduation. A series of unfortunate events. You’ve got the coordination of a preschooler and shitty luck. It’s a rare occasion when things work out well for you.

That’s why you should have been wary when you woke up early this morning, even without your alarm. You really should have caught on when the your face was free of breakouts and your shower was warm and toasty. Maybe you should’ve clued in when you found your comfort hoodie tucked squarely in the middle of your doom pile your desk chair. It had been missing for over two weeks and you hadn’t even washed it since the last time you wore it and it still smelled like laundry detergent. The last straw should have been having a perfectly normal breakfast, with perfectly seasoned eggs and a sweet coffee at just the right temperature. That really should have sealed the deal.

But alas, you’re as oblivious as you are unlucky.

Earlier

You scrolled through TikTok as you finished your breakfast and began making a mental

note of all the tasks you should complete today. Nanami and Gojo, your two best friends since uni, promised to help you bring your heavy furniture and boxes down to the moving truck and then move them up three flights of stairs into your new apartment. If there was one source of luck in your life, it’d be those two.

It was your sophomore year of college and the both of them happened to take the same upper division course you had signed up for that semester. Initially, you were nervous at being in a group with both of them, as they both were the most popular and attractive boys in your major. A feat, since all three of you attended one of the largest universities in Japan. However, you were amazed at how well you got on with both of them. You were calm enough to deter Gojo’s hyperactivity but energetic enough to bring Nanami out of his shell. For some reason, your group dynamic just worked.

They stuck to you like glue for the rest of University. You had lost touch a little after graduation, but then you had moved to the same city they lived in a year later. It was nothing to slip back into your old routine. Now, being with them both was as normal as brushing your teeth in the morning.

And it would keep working, as long as you could pretend to not notice how goddamn fine they were. That’s really why you had been friends so long. They had told you as much in University. They were sick of women on campus treating them like meat. They liked the fact that you only ever treated them like people. So, you hide how you feel about them and keep them at an arm’s length, so they never figure out the truth.

You finished the last bit of your breakfast and put your dishes in the sink before heading back to your room to finish packing up your things. The rest of the apartment was ready to go, but you had saved your room for last. Mostly because it had the most clutter and you had the worst habit of not cleaning your room well, something Nanami always chided you for. He was a stickler for neatness, after all. Anyway, Gojo said that he’d be by in an hour and Nanami said he’d come by after work, so you wanted to make sure that the bulk of your room was decluttered and packed up by then. So you set off to work, pulling up a playlist and busying yourself tidying things up and placing trash and old boxes into trash bags. After about 45 minutes, you decided to start cleaning the mess up under your bed.

And that’s how you found yourself in your current predicament.

Present

You can’t believe this is happening to you.

You really, really can’t believe this is happening to you.

You had gotten stuck, under your bed. It was like a scene straight out of a bad porno. You were cleaning up under bed, pulling different bins and Knick-knacks out from under it when your watch had gotten caught on something deep up under your bed. It was an older bed, with a brassy-colored metal box spring. Somehow, and you don’t know how (because you have been wracking your brain on how this could have happened for the past ten minutes) in the process of trying to untangle your watch from whatever it was caught onto, you tangled your hair into the box spring.

So, let’s recap:

You’re stuck. Under your bed. With your two best guy friends on the way. One of which is a notorious little shit who loves to tease you in any given situation. Your whole bottom half of your body exposed. With only a hoodie and spandex exercise shorts on. Face down, ass up.

You can’t even call for help as your phone is on the dresser at the opposite side of the room and Siri has, you think, purposely misunderstood your calls for help as a request to play Help! by the Beatles.

You don’t even like the Beatles.

The slight anxiety you had at being trapped did not hold a candle to the humiliation you’d feel once Gojo came in. You wished belatedly that Nanami was coming over first. He would have been much nicer about the whole thing. Or better yet, that you saw the signs early. You never have such an easy going day, you should’ve known something like this would happen.

Just as you were wallowing in self-pity at your own life choices, you hear the door unlock and tense up. You really regret giving Gojo a key to your place.

“Oh honey, I’m home!” His irritatingly deep voice calls out mockingly in a high pitched tone. Even when he’s goofing off he sounds sexy. You hate that about him. And when he finds you in the stupidest, most embarrassingly compromising position of your life, you know that he’ll hold it over your head until you die. Even at your funeral, he’d bring it up. You hated that about him more. You heard him plop his keys on the counter in the kitchen before calling out to you.

“Hello? Anybody home?” You remained silent, hoping he’d think you stepped out and leave. But no such luck. You heard his footsteps inching closer and closer to your bedroom. “I brought your favorite. A matcha latte,” he called out.

That jerk, you thought. He knows you hate Matcha lattes. He brought it just so he could drink it. Suddenly, you heard the door open.

“Y/N?”

You scrunched your eyes closed, desperately wishing that you could be anywhere else than you were in that moment. You anticipated laughter at any moment, but strangely it didn’t come.

“What happened?” You jumped at the sound of his voice. He sounded much closer than he did a moment ago.

“W-well, I was cleaning from under my bed and I got caught on something and now I can’t get out. Can you help me?” The embarrassment welled up inside you, causing you to stutter. Gojo said nothing for a while.

“Yeah, okay.” His voice sounded deeper, huskier than normal. It was strange as usually he put on this silly facade to lighten the mood. He was never this serious. “I’ll have to feel around a bit to see where you’re stuck, I don’t want to hurt you.” You nodded, and you were touched. A pang of guilt struck you. Maybe you didn’t give Gojo enough credit as a friend. You promised yourself you’d treat him better in the future.

Suddenly, you felt a hand caress the back of your thighs, moving closer and closer to your ass. You jumped a little.

“G-Gojo? What are you doing?”

“I’m helping you. That’s what you asked for, right?” He said, playing dumb. He continued touching you more boldly, squeezing your cheeks firmly before caressing your thighs again. You were too stunned to say anything until one of his thumbs lightly stroked your clit over your shorts. You jerked away from him, but your options to escape were limited.

“What the hell are you doing?” You screamed at him in frustration, in more ways than one. You should have never given him the benefit of the doubt. This kind of humiliation was much worse than any other kind you could think of. When you get loose, his ass is grass.

Worse, he was turning you on with his manhandling and gentle touches. You couldn’t help it, you hadn’t been fucked in over a year since your last situation ship and the only thing that had kept you company was your rose toy.

“Don’t worry, baby,” he cooed, rubbing your clit in a slow circular motion before stopping and running his hands all over your ass again. “I promised to help you. I think it’s a tight fit down there, so I’m gonna help you loosen up, that’s all. Then you’ll be able to slide right out, no problem,” he said.

His tone was saccharine sweet, but his actions were anything but. You wanted to protest, but he stopped you.

“Just relax. I can tell by that wet spot on your shorts that you’re really enjoying this.” Your face burned with embarrassment, and all your protests died down in an instant.

You focused instead on choking back heated whimpers and moans because you’ll be damned if you let him know how good he is at making you feel. And he is good. His touches are so experienced, you start getting mad at the imaginary women who taught him how to fuck that well. Although you wouldn’t be surprised if he was just naturally that good. He seems like the type.

It was almost as if he could tell that your mind was headed somewhere else, because he slowly pulled your spandex shorts and thong down in one go and that jolted you back to reality.

“Gojo,” you warned, but he ignored you as usual.

“A thong?” He questioned. And you could almost hear his eyebrow being raised.

“I packed the rest of my underwear! Plus, no one likes panty lines,” you mumble, embarrassed. He just chuckled at you.

“It’s okay baby, though in the future I’d rather you not wear anything at all.” Before you had any time to think about what he meant in the future, he licked a stripe up from you clit damn near to your ass. While you managed to stifle your moan, you couldn’t hold back the shudder that wracked your body.

“C’mon, don’t hold back. It’s no fun for me if you do,” he rang out. He paused. “Actually, try to stay silent. It’ll make it more fun for me knowing that I made you scream when you tried not to.” He chuckled, and you could feel his warm breath cover the expanse of your pussy as he spread your lips wide.

He proceeded to eat your pussy like it was his last meal.

All you could hear was him smacking and slurping up your wetness. He left no area untouched, especially your clit. He alternated between swirling his tongue around your nub and sucking on it till it was puffy and swollen. Your cries of pleasure only spurred him on, making him moan as you grinded back on his face.

Gojo attached his lips to your clit once again, humming this time as he sucked and licked all around it. It was too much. You kicked one of legs out in hopes that you’d receive a reprieve— no such luck. Gojo caught it and put it back into its original position. He chuckled with his lips still suctioned to tour most sensitive part. The sensation had you crying out, trying to run away. Finally, Gojo let go.

“Oh, c’mon. Is that all you can take? I remember all those conversations you’d have with your girlfriends, about how men never satisfy you. Can never go long enough. Are you running from me because you don’t like it? I can do more if you like.” He said teasingly. When you didn’t respond, he slapped your pussy, hard.

“You’re hurting my feelings, sweetheart. Answer me,” his tone, although still lighthearted, turned mean.

“Yes, Gojo, please, I-I can’t,” you responded, breath airy and sparse.

“Please what? I can’t help you relax if you don’t tell me exactly what you want me to do.”

“C-cum. I need to—“ you broke off your sentence with a moan, but it was enough for Gojo.

“Your wish is my command, princess.”

He worked you up until you were at the precipice of an orgasm, except this time he didn’t stop, not even after you tumbled over edge. You had never come that hard from oral, ever. Hell, you had never come that hard in general. He ate you out until the aftershocks of your orgasm died down. He stopped for a moment.

“You know, I still think you’re a bit tense. I think after another orgasm or two I’ll really be able to help free you.”

You moaned in response, still a bit out of it from your last orgasm. Gojo spit a thick glob of spit on your pussy, landing right on your hole before sticking two of his long slender fingers inside of you. It was an uncomfortable stretch and your whine said as much. You hear him unbuckle his pants with the hand that’s not on you as he shushes you.

“Just relax. I’ll make you feel good soon.”

An hour later

“Yes,” Gojo moaned out, deep and guttural, as he sunk into you. The stretch was so much worse than his fingers. You now understand why he made you come so many times. The burn would have been unbearable otherwise. Still, the slow sink into you had you writhing as much you could, still being trapped under the bed and between Gojo’s strong hands.

“Fuck, I knew I should have done this years ago. You feel better than I ever imagined.” You mewled as he sank in all the way to the hilt. He gave you no time to adjust as he slowly started to thrust in and out.

Everywhere felt so hot. You could hardly stand it. Gojo was merciless and soon set an unrelenting pace that had you curling your toes. It was a heady experience, one that made it hard to think about anything else except how hard and hot Gojo felt inside of you.

“I never should have listened to Nanami,” he muttered angrily.

“W-what? Are you—“

“I have been fantasizing about this moment since the moment I first met you, but I. Never. Thought. It’d. Be. This. Good. Fuck!” He shouted as he came. He stilled, his hips jumping slightly as he dumped his come into you. It only made you hornier. He languidly fucked his come deep within you. His tired voice rang out, but not to you.

“I bet you wish you had gotten here earlier, huh Nanamin?”

You froze.

[moseslikellamas]

♱𖣂 Redfork Menace ♱𖣂 pt.3

Benjicot Blackwood x Bracken!OC

Summary - Shanda has made her preparations as good as can be, now she ventures back out into the ceaseless storm to find and bait the Blackwood heir into a trap.

Warnings - fem!reader, suspense, mentions of violence, adult language, liberties taken with weapon mechanics.

Word count - 2.5k

I’ve returned briefly!! Unfortunately even on this day of independence, I have work agony. So enjoy this wild cliffhanger. Ive altered a map of the riverlands taken from https://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Red_Fork just to give an idea of where the conflict is taking place. I took the book descriptions into account when placing the castles. The green area outlined is the borderlands. I also didn’t have time to edit sry.

Martyn stood in front of Shanda, frowning. “I don’t think it’s a good plan.” He said finally.

“Duh, Martyn. We don’t have time for a good plan.” She rolled her eyes.

But her brother held firm. “Sorry, I meant it’s not even a passable plan.”

She pitched herself back on her bed groaning. They’d been at it for hours and every plan seemed flawed.

“You can’t let him get his hands on you again.” Martyns' gaze was hard. “I mean it, Shan. They don’t call him bloody ben for nothing.” The latest reports on the heir of Raventree insisted he could crush a man's head with his hands like a melon.

Shanda got up and began to pace, feeling like the frantic wind beating against her window. It was desperate to get in, and her to get out.

“I told you, I didn’t know it was him. And how could I? Once I realized who he was, I exclusively used evasive maneuvers. He caught me by surprise, that won’t happen again. Trust me.”

No one was more bitter about being caught than she was. Even if he had been a random guard, it was an insult that he’d ever gotten close enough to touch her. Shanda prided herself on her ability to slip through life mostly unseen. She put on the show well enough when required but she lived in the moments between walls. With the rush of her heart heavy in her head while she garnered the most precious resource, secrets. It was the only thing she had a real and true patience for. She could lie in wait for days unaffected, ready at a moment's notice. That is, given its worth her time. Plenty of people knew a profusion of particulars, the problem came in deciding which particulars mattered. Currently, and for so many years it's hard to keep count honestly, it’s been Blackwood information. Nasty business is secret dealing though unfortunately and she would always prefer hearing it firsthand.

“Take the bow, set up a snare in the copse, and for the love of the seven don’t let him sneak up on you.”

Martyn had taken up residence on her bed, lounging without a care as he prepared her to sneak into “neutral” territory.

According to the latest edict passed down from Riverrun, a league was to separate the two lands. The borderlands was more or less two and a half leagues. Because of this there was still continued, heated debate over the real border of the two lands. The copse was smack in the middle of the two opposing sides. It was as truly neutral as it could between the two houses. And considering she’d just rolled around in a mud fight last night, it wasn’t exactly being recognized as such.

“You’re quick enough to evade him but you suck at hunting.” Now laying upside down, Martyn was fiddling with the tassel attached to the bed hanging. “I don’t know the borderlands like you, so I can’t think up a misdirection for you but that’s your best shot at snaring him.”

The current plan included some iteration of her being seen, a subsequent chase and ideally, a Blackwood trussed up. They didn’t have a good backup plan though so in the event that failed she’d book it home or find a good hiding spot to wait it out. And there were so many ways it could go wrong. Martyn had bribed another guard to switch shifts with him, in case she got stuck out longer than expected. The mainest objective of tonight was to find and bring the dagger she’d borrowed home or else the armory was going to start asking question they couldn’t answer. Not truthfully or without a raging argument anyway.

“Use your anonymity to your advantage, sow dissent around the other houses. They’ll be fine combing everyone in the riverlands.”

Shanda wasn’t listening to her brothers well meant advice anymore though. She’d reached the stage of anticipation where her brain was moving too quickly for conversation. She was too busy mapping out the planned course of action. She didn’t want to get anywhere near the guards, but with the bow she wouldn’t have to.

“I’ve got to go. I’ll be late as it is. Remember if you get stuck out there, the story is -“

“I went to the Redfork before dawn, I passed you and said something about the mourning ceremony. Everyone will be uncomfortable enough to leave it at that. I remember.”

The river cut through the borderlands but it was finicky. Sometimes high enough to require a bridge passing but that meant locating a bridge. That was too time consuming, Shanda planned to take a pole to vault over it instead. She couldn’t even remember passing the river on her flight home last night, she must’ve taken the bridge though as it was pouring rain. The sky had yet to let up in its continued assault. Though it wasn’t as suffocating as it had been, it was constant. For hours it had been consistently falling, a relentless pattering that seemed to morph into a dull droning inside her head. It was a quiet roar eroding what was left of her sanity.

Shanda strapped the bow to her back and pulled her hood up. This time she’d taken pains to cover herself more effectively. Her hair was bound up and hidden, covered by a piece of black fabric pinned in place. She wanted to cover her face as well but with the rain that was an impossibility. She had settled instead on smearing her face with a handful of mud. It would help hide her features if nothing else. She elected to wear the ruined cloak. Having hastily sewn the slash back up, it sat a bit awkwardly with the missing fabric but she knew it would be soaked and clinging to her soon anyway. Tied around her waist was the rope she needed to set the snare, it was thin and she had heaps of it. She wouldn’t run out of materials tonight.

Gazing around her room she only just now realized Martyn had departed. She crossed to the window and gazed out at the sky, black clouds continued to roll in obscuring any moonlight. She turned her attention to the guard tower, where a glint of steel signaled she was clear to leave. Crossing her room quickly, she slipped out the door and down the hall. The only sound was the distant rush of rain and the crackle of torch flames as she snuck down the stairs, past the main hall guards and into the kitchens. A sack of fat trimmings sat on the floor waiting for her and she scooped it up before storing it in her bag. The riverlands were always full of wolves. Day or night, rain or shine, the riverlands had a wolf problem. And Shanda hoped to use that to her advantage if everything went to shit. What better way to throw off the all mighty warrior than have a wolf attack him?

Once outside she didn’t breathe until she was safely outside of the keep walls and in the tall grass again. She stopped and ripped up several wild onions, and stuffed them inside her bag to hopefully hide the smell of meat until she wanted it to be smelled. She was already soaked when the first strike of lightning hit. It was close enough she could smell it and feel the heat of it on her skin. Unphased she began smearing her face in mud, covering both hands as well. Then she got to work.

The walk this time was spent carefully surveying the land around her. Hiding up a tree or in a fox den was out of the question. She couldn’t risk anywhere that might trap her, instead she considered the way the land moved. Which areas had slopes or holes. Where the mud was softest and which weeds were tangled together. This portion of the borderlands would be her last stand and before she continued on, she set what would be the last trap of the night. If they chased her this far it meant things had gone astronomically wrong. She pulled the heavy claw trap out and carefully pulled the metal sides apart before setting it in the shallow hollow. Then she spent a while weaving strands of grass together to conceal the trap. It would snap an ankle pretty cleanly with the spikes sawed down.

Crouched in the grass she made a mental note of where she placed the trap and sent a prayer to the warrior that she didn’t fall into it herself. Then she set off towards the small collection of trees on her side of the Redfork. The first snare she set was at the opening of the trees. This was the weakest point in her mind. The odds that she remembered exactly where to exit were slim to none. But it didn’t hurt to have something near the boundary between grass and trees. From there she spent more than an hour setting various snares around her side of the river before crossing and placing just a few on the other side. If this dispute became known she didn’t want to give the Blackwoods much ammo to accuse them of starting it. She could justify a few snares. Since technically this was neutral land, there was no reason she couldn’t place as many as she liked.

At last came the part she’d been waiting for. She walked slowly through the last of the trees. Crouched low and silent, she pulled the bow off of her back and notched an arrow. She crept forward for a while, keeping only to the right. She wanted to confront the heir something terrible but it was most important she not return to the same post twice. If she visited more than four posts without seeing him, she’d hang it up and try again later. But she didn’t think that would be an issue. If he’d been telling the truth last night, they were already looking for her right now. It shouldn’t have but it made her feel light and giddy to imagine a score of idiot Blackwood guards confused and aggravated, searching for her. She shook the jitters out of her hands and took a deep breath, pulling the bow taunt as she approached the first post of the night.

Still concealed within the trees she couldn’t hear the guards' conversation over the pounding rain. The wind was low and not doing anything for her now. She could see three of them, posted under a hastily erected canopy that was doing little to keep them dry. She scanned their faces briefly, making sure to keep an eye on her surroundings while she did. She wasn’t likely to be the only one making plans to obtain information. She pushed down her rising excitement once she confirmed Benjicot was not among these guards. Releasing the tension on her bow she walked on.

It wasn’t until the very last post she checked that she found him. Of course, she thought ruefully. They would want her as far out as they could conceivably believe to lure her. It didn’t matter to her, she could play along. And she knew they were playing once she spotted him. The fourth post was a crumbling ruin which immediately made her wary. A physical structure provided cover and ample opportunity to hide resources. It made the post more unpredictable and easy to defend. She didn’t want him to defend, she wanted him to run.

As she worked her eyes up the crumbling ruin her sense of forbidding rose, bow pulled taunt she aimed up and up scouting for guards. There were none until she reached the top of a half broken stone wall and found the Blackwood heir staring right at her.

“Shit.”

It all happened very quickly then, she loosened the first arrow, striking just beside him and he jumped off of the stone wall. It shocked her so much she nearly slipped in the mud as she began to run backwards, sending several more arrows at him. The wall had been several feet high and he hadn’t even paused when he touched the ground.

“Holy Mother. Agh.” She muttered under her breath watching him rapidly approach her position.

He was fast. Much faster than she was anticipating and he’d been waiting for her the asshole. She slung the bow back over her shoulder and took off in a dead sprint. There were no taunts thrown this time, just the sound of her sure breath as she vaulted over turned logs and gnarled roots. She was mid way over a recently down tree when he tackled her from behind. He was moving so quickly when he hit her that they both soared over the tree, tumbling to the ground together.

The struggle on the ground was aggressive, as they wrestled sliding in the forest undergrowth. She was lucky he hadn’t landed on top of her and she was able to slide her legs out from under him before he could make a grab for her. She quickly stood using her hands and knees but a hand wrapped around her ankle jerking her down. Clawing forward she kicked her free foot back at him striking his shoulder before he locked that leg down as well. Grunting she twisted around and socked him in the eye as hard as she could. His hold was tenuous in the rain but loosened further when a laugh burst out of him at the punch.

She was up and running in an instant. She felt like a blur as she led him up to the river. She vaulted over it without even trying to trigger a trap on his side. He was fucking quick and she didn’t want to give me an opportunity to down her again. Having the pole gave her the head start advantage she needed to get in position. When she saw him come barreling through the trees it didn’t take her long to lead him into the first snare. The rope pulled taut around his foot, sending him sprawling as it snapped.

She would’ve groaned at the sight if she weren’t panting hard, sliding through the mud working to find the next trap. The problem with running in the dark in a torrential downpour is it's incredibly difficult to see, and in that it becomes impossible to identify where you’ve been. So when the next snare triggered and she tripped it was a hard fall. She knew how to undo the snares and had just gotten it off as Benjicot slammed into her.

“Son of a - ah!”

This time he’d yanked the bow off of her back immediately slamming her head onto the ground, water and mud rushing up to choke her. Before yanking her arms back behind her, shoulders drawn back from the force, while his knees pinned the back of her legs down. The cold metal of her own knife pressed against her neck, with rain running in rivulets down it into her cloak.

“Caught you.”

[starsofang]

You and your cliffhangers. I cant. I feel like it’s an adrenaline rush for you to just hate us and see us scream over them. This is why hatred it developing angie😒😒😒😁

OKAY, FIRST HELLO. I know i’ve said it like three times now, but I’m glad you’re safe from the storm. Florida is getting one after the other so just incase another comes, stay safe😭 You putting out a chapter as soon as you got back was completely unexpected and I blame my phone for not getting me a notification.

No Ghost this chapter :( I feel like if he knew what Dove was seeing he’d be beyond angry. At himself, at Graves. I can even see him being a bit annoyed at the others. Maybe for bringing her onto the ship? I dont know😭 My notes doc is getting longer and longer as the days pass on.

Gaz!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MY BABY😭🙏😭🙏 I feel so bad and I’m blaming you for it. HOW DARE YOY LEAVE HIM HANGING. IM LITERALLY NEVER FORGIVING YOU. He just wants to know what the fuck is happening between them and dove is just: :/ and she’s beyond confused about everything. Unreliable narrator #1

I still, of course, love your characterization of Soap. I think I’ve said it before, probably the first few chapters. He’s beyondddd smart if a little dense. “I’m glad Ghost has some like you.” and his face is just like: 😄🤨😄 So. Smart might be too nice of a word.

And of course, how could I forget John fucking Price. It’s the daddy issues probably but he’s just so jejehsoskdiosbeid. “What the fuck is she doing.” Imagining him growling that out in concern and anger is doing things to me. But I have to agree with the other ask! I dont know who said it but I loveeeeeeeeeee your dialogue. It can be really hard to convey emotions through writing but somehow you’re able to do it.

Also, John saying he’d prefer if she stayed with him… I see you. He can’t hide from me.

Other ask had the dresses right. Like almost exactly how I pictured it but this one is also right. I think it’s be a bit more grey to be honest, and the sleeves might be longer. But it’s like a classy but modest dress.

I feel like they’d go feral. They ARE pirates to be fair, and pirates definitely aren’t known to not be brutes. Though, they might have a bit more decorum. Barely. But still..

ANY WAYS this was a very long ask and to keep myself from annoying you and being demoted from your favorite reader (don’t you dare tell me i’m wrong) i’m going to end this here :) As always, I love you and you’re writing. MWAH 😙

u don’t hate me, i know you’d miss me if i was still gone from the hurricane 🥱

ghost will be in it next, it was hard to fit him in bc hes going thru it rn 😔 now that graves bitch ass is back ghost will definitely be more present and oooo i can’t wait to see it

im #1 gaz lover but making him suffer a little bit rn is giving me adrenaline and i cant stop doing it, its lowkey like a drug and im getting my fix. he wants to kiss us sooooo bad haha smash.

soap can do no wrong i fear, he’s kind of like my dog in this fic or like a pet bc hes just kind of there being silly while also having his moments of redemption and idk i just love him so much i cant help it. also add me imagining him in wet clothes and a wet mullet in that one scene near the end and I was suddenly the dog

john can also do no wrong idc how many haters he has, i will die on that hill. how can u see his banter and his way of teasing and not think he’s fine. r u serious. ALSO THE GROWL MY GOOOOD I WAS TWEAKING WHEN I WROTE IT CUZ ITS ALL I COULD SEE IN MY HEAD AND I GENUINELY STARTING TO TWITCH

that dress is a yes 😫 i’m not up in here imagining glamor, hello this is 1800s pirates and lowkey we’re a lil dirty and stinky, IN MY MIND I WANT MODEST BORING DRESSES BC READER IS NOT A MODEL she’s literally a prisoner (ex ig) on a ship and things get nasty, plus the practicality??? on a ship??? I AGREE but like i said im a black dress girly thru and thru because thats all i wear

I LOVE YOU MWAH

[ladykailitha]

Star Child Part 13

I told you I wouldn’t leave you hanging. In fact, I made sure I had the resolution to the cliffhanger WRITTEN before posting the last chapter. So here we go! Also a hint at future Buckingham...;)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12  

***

Tears ran down Eddie’s face. “You think that killing him will bind me to you?”

Creel smiled and touched his cheek softly. “Because if you don’t, you’ll be arrested for the murder Steve Harrington. One word from me and they’ll plant evidence that you killed him.”

“You can take my body,” Eddie said. “But you can’t have my heart or my soul. Steve had both. The band, too. My uncle. That’s what real love looks like. Something you’ll never understand. Everyone is below you and you think you can own every little thing. But you can’t. You’ll never own me.”

“We’ll see,” Creel said leaning closer to kiss him.

Suddenly the all the doors in the hotel room burst open, revealing the FBI and Hellfire Security all with guns drawn. Max and Lucas stood in front of a very much alive Steve Harrington.

Creel whipped around and then looked back at Eddie. “How?!”

Eddie took a step back with a grin. He flipped up his leather jacket’s lapel to reveal a wireless mic. “We knew you’d sweep the room. We also thought that you would search us, but you didn’t do that.”

“We knew you liked brute force,” Steve said from behind his security. “So we knew that you would try to kill me. If you had tried in the bathroom, it might have actually worked because it was harder to get agents in there after you swept the hotel suite. But you went cliche. So thanks for that.”

“What was the gun shot?” Eddie asked, his voice cracking.

Max’s lip curled in distaste. “Pollock over here went for his gun and I had to shoot at his foot as warning.”

Eddie looked down and sure enough one of the goons had a bleeding foot. He looked back up at Steve. “I thought I had lost you, babe.”

Creel grunted from the handcuffs being put on him and said, “You think you’ve won, but this isn’t the last you’ll see of me.”

“Oh it certainly is,” Steve said. “We have you for conspiracy to commit murder, blackmail, and breaking and entering. And that’s just for this conversation. That’s not including the case these boys have been building for years.”

“How did someone like you beat me?” Creel snarled.

“Everyone thinks I’m just a pretty face,” Steve said with a smile. “It makes people underestimate me. A lot.”

Creel struggled to lunge at Steve in anger, but the two agents that held him, kept him in place.

The agents started listing off Creel’s Miranda rights as they led him away. More agents led Castor and Pollock away.

A beat.

Eddie launched himself at Steve and it took every ounce of strength to keep them both on their feet.

“I’m sorry, sunshine,” Steve murmured over and over as he rubbed circles into Eddie’s back. “I’m so sorry. But it worked, baby. We’re safe. We’ll never have to look over our shoulders ever again. You’re safe, baby. You’re safe.”

Max turned to Lucas. “Fine. I’ll marry you.”

Lucas’s jaw dropped. “Wait, are you serious?”

Max rolled her eyes. “Yes. I was watching them and was insanely jealous, wanting what they had for all of two seconds before I realized that I did. With you. So yes, I’ll marry you.”

Lucas let out a breathless laugh and the picked her up, spinning her around. He kiss her soundly and then let her down slowly.

Janice shook her head fondly. “All right, you lovebirds. Let’s get Eddie and Steve to his room. And we’ll reconvene with the band there.”

They all nodded.

Janice led the way with Eddie and Steve in the middle and Lucas and Max bringing up the rear. Eddie and Steve’s hands were clasped tightly together as they made their way through the halls of the hotel to Steve’s room. Janice keyed in her security badge and opened the door to a concerned Corroded Coffin.

“Everyone okay?” Jeff asked, leaping to his feet.

Gareth and Brian were on their feet in moments, too. Suddenly Eddie and Steve were getting dog piled by the band as they all sobbed in relief.

Janice called up her team in LA. “Marty, Vince how goes the lovely ladies?”

Vince, a rather large Pacific Islander who answered her video call, smiled. “They’re doing fine. Right now they’re painting each other’s nails.” He turned the screen so she could see the two women on Steve’s sofa painting each other’s nails.

“Miss Cunningham, Miss Buckley,” he called out behind him. “Janice is on the line, come on over.”

Both women were on their feet in an instant.

“Is Steve okay?”

“How about the boys, are they okay, too?” Chrissy asked as they both tried to crowd Vince out of the frame of the video.

“Everyone is fine,” Janice assured them. “Well, except one goon. He has a newly minted hole in his foot for pissing Max off. But other than that, not so much as a single scratch on the clients.”

Everyone in LA let out a sigh of relief.

“Can we see them?” Robin asked, chewing on her bottom lip.

Janice smiled and turned the phone to show all five men laughing and crying.

“Dingus!” Robin called.

Steve startled at her voice. “Robs?” He made his way over to Janice and peered into her phone. “Robin!”

Robin waved. “I made a new friend!” She waved her hands at Chrissy.

Steve waved back. “Don’t worry, Chrissy. I took good care of your boys. They’re safe and sound.”

Chrissy giggled. “Good job. You treat Eddie right, you hear?”

“Yes, ma’am!” Steve said. He took the phone from Janice, who squawked at its removal from her possession.

He ignored her as he brought the phone to where all four Corroded Coffin members were huddled together.

“See?” Steve said as leaned back into Eddie so Chrissy could see all five of them. “I kept them safe,” he whispered.

Chrissy teared up. “You did so good, Stevie. You did good.”

Janice walked over to them. “I have a private plane on standby. So tomorrow morning, we’ll swap Steve for Chrissy. Chrissy, you’ll meet them in Vegas for their next show. And Steve you have to be back for meeting with the record label. Erica called this morning excited about how well your coming out did for her case.”

Every murmured their agreements.

“Good,” Janice said. “I think the boys have a couple of hours before the sound check and will want to be left alone.”

Eddie and Steve blushed while everyone else gave confused noises.

Jeff rolled his eyes when he finally got it. “Don’t fuck too loud, I’m in the room next to yours.”

Eddie and Steve hid in each others shoulders from the sheer embarrassment of it all.

Robin’s mouth formed a soundless, “Oh.”

And suddenly everyone was finding places they had to be. Janice hung with the LA crew and turned to remaining four.

“Max and Lucas will still have to remain outside your door,” Janice reminded them. “So for their sake and Jeff’s, please keep it down.” She waggled her eyebrows at them suggestively.

Steve was mortified and Eddie was subdued. The three security guards exited the room, leaving the two men behind.

Eddie looked around the room to avoid having to look Steve in the eye after that embarrassing display.

“Not a bad room, Stevie,” Eddie said. “Not what I would have chosen, but it’s nice.”

Steve scratched his cheek ruefully. “I don’t usually go for this nice, if I’m honest. I’m too used to the label and my parents bugging it to make sure I didn’t step out of line. I would book a place like this and then go stay a Motel 6 or something.”

Eddie’s expression softened. “I’m sorry, babe. But I’m sure Janice made sure the room was clean before she let you stay here.”

Steve nodded. He had even watched her, but there was still a part of his mind that worried.

“Come here, darlin’,” Eddie cooed, holding out his arms. “We don’t have to do anything right now. Because I don’t think I want to do anything right now but hold you until it’s time for the sound check.”

Steve slumped into his arms as if he was a puppet whose strings had been cut.

They made it to the bed and tumbled into it. They lay there in each other’s arms until it was time for the concert.

*

Steve paused in front of his suitcase. He could wear his usual disguise that he wore to Corroded Coffin concerts, or he could go out and be himself for once.

He chewed his lip nervously before deciding on half of a “disguise”. He pulled out the skin-tight leather pants and chunky boots. He put on a band t-shirt that had the sleeves cut off and the sides hollowed out so that you could see his ribs when he lifted his arms.

He ditched the hat that hid his signature hair and the dark sunglasses. He stepped out of his room with a leather jacket in his hand. He smiled at a passing maid and hopped into the elevator, Max and Lucas trailing behind.

“Is this how you’ve been going their concerts dressed as?” Lucas asked as the elevator took them to the lobby.

Steve nodded. “I cover my hair and keep my head down, and no one has spotted me once.”

Max laughed. “I bet someone did but couldn’t believe pop star Steve Harrington would even like metal so it couldn’t be you.”

Steve grinned. “I’m about to blow my disguise though.”

Lucas laughed. “Yeah, but people think you’re dating Eddie Munson and expect you to be there tonight.”

“And I can’t wait,” Steve said with a wink.

***

Part 14 Part 15  Part 16

@bejeweledbaby @eboyawstenn @moonshadows-13 @ohlook-afrog @goodolefashionedloverboi @linkydinky06 @livelaughlexa @spectrum-spectre @cutepumpkin4 @whatthemeepever @gleek4twd @anything-thats-rock-and-roll @novelnovella @celtrose-ish @artiststarme @plasticcrotches  @failedstarsandgoldenclouds @anaibis @nelotegreitic @steddieassheg0es @abstractnaturaldisaster @scheodingers-muppet @tiny-enthusiast @yes-im-your-mom @thegingerrapunzel @milf-harrington @avacrebs @gregre369 @raisedbylibrarians @reverseteehee @lillys-weird-world @deadlydodos @runyousillydetective @justrandomfandomstm @piebook67 @clumsywriter @donttouchmycarrots @fiore-della-valle @idkareallyreallygoodname  @idontgetpaidenoughforthisshit @imfinereallyy @ravenpainter @ellietheasexylibrarian @maya-custodios-dionach @child-of-cthulhu @estrellami-1 @lillithhellfire @nerdsconquerall @space-invading-pigeon @localgaydisaster @bookbinderbitch

[karatekels]

Discipline Training - Chapter 2

...Uploading these was a mistake, now I want to finish this! Sorry, y'all. Hopefully you can still enjoy despite leaving you on a cliffhanger!

Chapter 1

---

Discipline Training

Chapter 2: Strike First

---

“I think three orgasms will be sufficient training for the day. Three orgasms for the 3 D’s, yeah?” he laughs briefly at his own joke, but his eyes are shining with lust. “Get to it, babe,” he reclines in the chair, looking completely at ease once more. “Put on a show for me.”

You lick your lips, your mouth now incredibly dry, and notice that Terry’s eyes track the movement of your tongue, causing you to blush. Sure, you had touched yourself while Terry had fucked you before, but what he was asking of you now was different. He wouldn’t be lost in the moment – or even be involved at all, really – he would just take in your exposed body and your pleasure with those piercing blue eyes.

The mere thought has your breath coming in shorter pants, nervous and… excited at the humiliation that this punishment would bring. Steeling yourself with a deep, slightly shuddering breath, you retake your position in the middle of the bed, laying down on top of the cool silk sheets and reaching a hand towards your clit.

“Ah ah ah,” tsks Terry. “Don’t be shy, baby girl. I wanna see it all!” In one fluid motion, he stands and walks to the side of the bed, dragging his chair behind him with his foot. Snatching up one of your ankles, he pulls you towards him as he retakes his seat, spinning you towards him so that you are completely on display for him, your feet and calves hanging off the side of the bed.

“Yes, Sensei,” you moan huskily, feeling a bit smug as you hear him growl softly in response. He went wild when you were submissive like this for him, especially when you played up the teacher/student dynamic.

“Play with your tits,” he commands, refusing to allow you to dictate the pace anymore. Biting your lip, you move to obey, kneading your breasts firmly as you work yourself up again. Needing more, you focus on your nipples, plucking them firmly as they grow to rosy peaks and throwing your head back, eyes fluttering closed as you relax and start getting lost in the moment.

“Eyes on me!” he demands in a low snarl, and your eyes snap open to lock with his. The intense way that his gaze is locked on yours causes another wave of pleasure to crash over you, causing you to buck your hips up towards him. He makes a noise of approval at the wanton gesture, and takes it one step further, tugging your legs towards him and arranging them to either side of him, spreading you open for him.

You whimper, looking down your flushed and trembling body at him silently pleading with him to throw this idea away and just take you now, please.

“Good girl. Now play with yourself, and don’t stop until I tell you to. I want that clit rubbed raw.” You can’t help the moan that slips out between your lips at his dirty talk, and spread your knees wider to open yourself up even more as one hand eagerly trails down to your pussy. Gathering up your arousal – you are dripping wet now, already – on your fingers, you get to work, rubbing your clit in circles while your other hand continues to pinch your nipples.

As you work to get yourself off, you keep you eyes locked on Terry’s face, taking in his expression. He looks like he wants to devour you, and you want nothing more. Maybe if you handled this “training” well, he would reward you with a good, hard fucking. Getting closer from just the thought of him inside you, you trail your other hand from your breasts to your pussy, desperate to be filled with something. You're so fucking wet…

You feel sharp slaps to the insides of your thighs, and your hands are pinned to the bed as Terry looms over you, having pounced onto the bed to restrain you. Despite your shock, you try to arch up into him, needing the feel of his body on yours, but he keeps his weight on his knees and elbows, hovering so, so close to your body but just out of reach.

“Did I tell you to fingerfuck yourself?” he growls lowly into your ear, nipping it softly, and you moan, so turned on and so close that you may orgasm just from the way he’s pinning you down.

“N-no, but I thought you wanted me to come for you, Sensei,” you whine, continuing to wriggle underneath him, desperate for more contact.

“Oh I do, baby girl, I do…” he croons, stroking your hair oh-so-softly with one hand while the other holds tight to your wrists. You lean into the touch. “But that cunt is mine, do you understand me?” he snarls, tugging sharply on your hair and causing you to hiss at the pleasurable pain.

“Yes, Sensei, I understand!” you cry out.

“Who gets to fuck this pussy, huh?”

“You do, Sensei, only you!”

“What about that ass, baby?”

“It’s yours, Sensei! All of me is yours, please –”

“Who gets to use that pretty little mouth as a fucktoy?”

“You, Terry, fuck!” you wail, “All my holes belong to you, please let me come!”

He pulls back to sit on the chair, lifting your ankles and throwing them over his shoulders, pulling your dripping pussy close to his face as you arch up for him. You can feel his hot breath on your cunt, making you shiver.

“Get yourself off, baby. Rub your clit, and don’t you dare stop until I tell you to.” Your hand flies back into position and your fingers play with your clit frantically. If he made you stop again before you reached your orgasm, you would just explode. So close, so close… you’re nearly screaming now, jumbled cries of “fuck-Sensei-yes-Terry-PLEASE!” pouring from your lips as you arch even further off the bed, Terry’s eyes shining with excitement as they take in your body approaching its release.

“That’s it, my dirty little fucktoy,” he breathes, and you can feel his words against your centre. “Get yourself off… come for me… Now.”

Sent over the edge by his command, you finally hit your peak, coming hard with Terry’s head between your knees, seemingly unaffected by how tightly your thighs have clenched around him. Your hand stutters as your clit becomes too sensitive, and feeling you jump at the contact, Terry’s hand comes between your legs to grip your wrist, keeping your hand on your clit and causing you to shriek at the intense sensation. Your cries continue with no signs of stopping – you couldn’t stop, the overstimulation was too much just from your fingers barely twitching at your clit as your body spasms with pleasure. You see a corner of Terry’s mouth twitch in amusement as his other hand comes down over your mouth and nose to muffle your screams.

“Such a good girl, playing with that pussy for me,” he purrs, licking a trail from your chin up to your temple. Of all of the kinky things you had done with Terry, nothing seemed to get him going like watching you completely come apart in front of him. He keeps his gaze locked on yours as you continue to sporadically flick at your clit, your whole body thrashing against him in response. Just as your vision starts going dark around the edges – how long had he been cutting off your airflow, anyway? – he taps your cheek twice, wordlessly giving you permission to rest, and releases his grip from your wrists and mouth to pull your legs off of his shoulders.

You collapse bonelessly against the mattress, gasping for breath. You close your eyes, trying to get your body back under control and wait for the tremors to stop. As your breathing returns to normal you feel a weight come down on the mattress to your right. Opening your eyes blearily you see Terry looking down at you with a wicked grin on his face.

“Alright, sweetheart?” he asks, gently guiding you up into a sitting position and handing you a glass of water, which you take gratefully.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” you reply quietly after taking a sip. “That was just… intense. You know, even for us,” you joke, watching Terry walk around the bed and fluff up the pillows before making his way to his bedside drawer.

“Nothing you can’t handle, though, right baby girl?” he asks over his shoulder as he rummages through his drawers. Though he appears distracted and nonchalant about it, you know that his concern is genuine, and that he wants to check in with you. You smile at his back, grateful for his consideration.

“Right. I appreciate the brief rest, Sensei,” you purr out the title, letting him know you were ready to push past your fatigued and sensitive body and continue with your “training.”

“Glad to hear it, baby!” he says, standing up abruptly and holding something behind his back. You bite your lip, shuddering in anticipation.

“One down, two to go.”

[yunhoszn]

but i like u

pairing kim minjae x f!reader word count 2.8k genre fluff﹒slight angst warnings mature language, camp counselor au, forced proximity lol, enemies to lovers (?), a cliffhanger bc im evil like that

summary despite being calm and collected most of the time, minjae’s patience can’t help being tested when you’re around. what’s he to do when unforeseen circumstances have you stuck bunking together for the rest of camp?

more omg fawn comeback??? and with a xikers fic??? who are they 🫢 LMFAOOOO anyway i had a lot of fun writing this and i have few things planned for the future so pls stick around <3 i would like to once again thank @/bro-atz for enabling my journey into roadyism and also beta’ing this fic and helping me with its development,,, ily the mostest <3

@bro-atz @yessa-vie

as a kid, minjae couldn’t give less of a fuck what others thought of him. 

sure, he appreciated the validation here and there— especially when it was very well deserved— but for the most part, he was content as long as he was happy with himself. if he came in second place for anything, it honestly wasn’t a big deal. if he couldn’t get the hang of something, he’d move on without dwelling on it. he was the definition of nonchalant and carefree; with his picture right next to the word in the dictionary. 

but then he grew up, and he learned that the saint-like patience he wore was actually pretty thin. 

at least that was the case when it came to you, the one person who always seemed to get right under his skin. you didn’t even have to try, you just knew exactly what ways you could irritate minjae— unintentional or not.

the two of you had been camp counselors together for the past three summers, and you were reaching the end of your fourth and final. saying that it was an experience for him was an understatement. he’d spent most of that time competing with you during activities that were hosted and the kids you were tasked with looking over teased you both for your silly rivalry. but he just couldn’t lose to you, especially not this year. he had to go out with a bang. 

“what the hell do you mean i have to share a cabin with her?”

minjae gapes at the camp director, who didn’t seem to see a problem with this unexpected arrangement. she wraps her hair into a bun and sticks her pen through it to hold it in place, shrugging and not at all phased by his reaction. “sorry minjae, but y/n’s was flooded during the storm last weekend and with the amount of campers, we can’t afford to only have one counselor.”

the weekend before, there was a pretty nasty storm and for the safety of the campers, everyone got sent home. today was the first day back. kim minjae didn’t consider himself a bitter person, but the sight of the camp director and her stupid coveralls was pissing him off. why did he have to share his personal space with you? she could’ve easily put you elsewhere, like any of the other ten cabins on the campgrounds. 

“does she know that we have to bunk together?” he breathes, jaw clenching to keep his composure. you were running late, again, so it was just him and the director in her office before the campers arrived. he feels his blood pressure skyrocket when she shakes her head ‘no’. 

“i was hoping you’d break the news to her. what better way to bond with your new bunkmate?” she smiles and ruffles his hair, side-stepping so she can head out to the main part of the campgrounds. minjae stands like a fish out of water for a few seconds, taken aback by the director’s obvious attempt to kill him. 

she knew that you didn’t get along with one another, mainly because your competition was so over the top that even the most oblivious person could tell. you were essentially the human equivalent of fire and gasoline, interchangeable. 

minjae thinks his hair is about to fall out from how stressed he is, walking out to the central area where a good amount of campers have begun to congregate. as much as he dreaded working alongside you during the summer, he felt like he was actually going to miss being a counselor here. he has a lot of pleasant memories at this place, some including you. 

almost as if he summoned you with his mind, you come jogging towards him, your bags practically weighing you down. he doesn’t know why, but he examines your figure as you do; noting how you’re dressed in jean shorts and a t-shirt that looks oddly familiar. it’s a little big on you, so you have it tied into a knot in front of you. his eyes narrow as he tries to figure out why it feels like he’s seen the shirt before. 

you pause beside him, out of breath and winded from what he assumes was the run from the parking lot to here. your hands rest on your knees as you hunch over to regain your sanity. “fuck, i should’ve— i shouldn’t have skipped out during p.e. in high school.” 

“you’re late every time, y/n. i don’t know why you’re so surprised,” minjae sighs, shoving his hands into his shorts’ pockets. “anyway, i have to tell you something and i don’t think you’re gonna like it.”

“okay, but do i like anything that comes out of your mouth?” you raise an eyebrow, finally standing upright. he hates that you’re right, but he’ll give credit where it’s due. 

“touché,” his lips purse and he turns away so he’s not making eye contact as he relays the awful update. “basically, your cabin got flooded over the weekend and there was a lot of water damage, so now they’re sticking you in mine… with me.”

you blink at him, as if the words he’s saying are so unbelievable that doing anything else would wake you up from a dream. (nightmare? same thing.) his expression remains stoic to prove that he’s not lying, and that he’s just as ticked off by the situation, if not more. you open your mouth to respond, but nothing comes out. minjae can’t help but feel confused, head cocking to the side like a puppy. 

“w-we can’t do something else? do i have to share a cabin with you?” the desperation in your voice is a little bit heavier than he would’ve expected. 

“do you really think i didn’t try to argue my way out? it’s non-negotiable apparently.” 

you both leave it at that and head into the mess hall where the campers have all gathered. the camp director is standing on her soap box spieling about how excited she is for the duration of the retreat. she reminds everyone of the areas that are off limits and then sends everyone on their way. for the second opening night, it wasn’t as eventful as the first. minjae could only hope that the rest of his time here is the same, relaxed.

because he was so punctual, minjae had arrived an hour early and already put away all of his things. since you were late, he had to make a few new accommodations. the cabins were actually supposed to house two people anyway, and usually there were four total counselors each summer. however, this year only yourself and minjae came back, which is why you had your own cabins. this would be worse if he had to share a bed with you.

he grunts as he drops your heaviest bag on the bed he hadn’t claimed. there were only a couple weeks of camp left, what could you have possibly brought with you? he truly didn’t understand girls and their need to overpack for everything. he stumbles towards his bed and collapses onto it, throwing a hand over his forehead. the back of his mind is still itching to figure out why the shirt you’re wearing seems so recognizable.

”thanks for that. i could’ve carried them all myself.” 

“you may annoy the fuck out of me, but i’m still a gentleman.”

you snort at that, beginning to put some of your clothes away. “that’s not what yunhee told me last year.”

that has him sitting up quick. he had a very brief fling with one of the other counselors last summer, but it didn’t work out. while it was fun, he just couldn’t keep seeing her knowing that he held almost no romantic feelings for her. isn’t it better of him to call things off rather than string her along?

”what did she say?” he’s curious. he didn’t even know you and yunhee were close aside from sharing a cabin last year. what could she have possibly told you that potentially villainized him? you turn to him with an unreadable look in your eyes.

”that you ended it with her because you didn’t really like her like that. there wasn’t a nicer way to phrase it?”

”no, there wasn’t,” he deadpans. “if i was an asshole, i would’ve kept fooling around with her despite the fact. that’s not who i am, so i was honest with her instead.”

“i don’t know, if that’s really true, wouldn’t she have come back this summer? think about it, minjae, if she thought you were this sweet, thoughtful gentleman, she wouldn’t be avoiding you like the plague.” you go back to your clothes and miss the way he all but twitches out of aggravation.

“i wasn’t aware that you were suddenly best friends. and what does it matter what happened between me and her? you’re in no position to be judging when you did the exact same thing to junmin.” he states matter-of-factly. he wasn’t making things up, you really did pull practically the same stunt on the former counselor. the only difference is that they actually were friends. 

“i’m not the reason why junmin didn’t return, though. we ended things mutually. you and i are not the same.” you stop unpacking, whipping around to glare at him. 

“that’s not what he told me,” minjae uses your own words against you, a small smirk of satisfaction pulling across his lips. “apparently you really broke his heart.”

“you know what, fine. i’ll tell you why i ended it with him. it’s actually because—” you’re about to minimize the space between you, but you’re interrupted. 

your mouth snaps shut before either of you could continue the petty argument, minjae’s walkie talkie going off. he grabs it and calls out to whoever’s on the other line, which happens to be the camp director. she sounds distressed, and that’s a shocker considering she was one of the most calm people he knew.

”one of the campers is missing! i need you two to help me find him!”

”shit,” minjae curses under his breath. “we’re on it.”

this wouldn’t be the first time this has happened. at least once a year, one of the campers decides they’re brave and wants to impress their friends by venturing off into the woods— an off limits area. you put a pin in your conversation for the time being, traversing to the suspected spot. the sun was beginning to set and with the canopy of trees blocking out most of the remaining sunlight, all either of you could rely on was your knowledge of the campgrounds. 

“shouldn’t we have brought a flashlight?” you ask, eyes trained on the ground to avoid tripping over a tree branch or a root. 

“why didn’t you grab it? it was on your side of the cabin.” minjae throws over his shoulder, not really in the mood to argue when you have more pressing issues right now. 

“well sorry if i’m not familiar with your cabin, wise guy. it’s almost like i just got here!” the sarcasm in your tone is enough to wear down his already weak restraint, but even then, you have to keep adding onto it. “you know, i’m starting to get real sick of your attitude, minjae.”

this has him halting his steps, spinning around to face you. caught slightly off guard, you nearly walk right into him. “you’re sick of my attitude? how do you think i fucking feel? all you do is test my patience, starting problems for no reason. like bringing up yunhee.”

“you brought up junmin!” you exclaim. minjae can’t help but scoff.

”again, because you brought up yunhee,” he crosses his arms over his chest. “this entire thing wouldn’t have happened had you just kept your thoughts and opinions to yourself.”

“i brought it up for a reason,” you frown, the conversation steering off the original path. “i actually had something i wanted to tell you about the whole situation.”

“like what? y/n, i’m tired of this cat and dog game. i’ve spent the past few years fighting with you more than anything else and for what, some personal vendetta you have against me? i don’t even know what i did for you to—“

”god, minjae, you’re so fucking stupid.” you laugh to yourself, the heel of your palm coming up to the space between your eyes. his brows furrow together, thoroughly puzzled by your comment. he knows you aren’t necessarily the fondest of each other, but damn, did it warrant such a mean response?

“i’m— what?” 

“i don’t have a personal vendetta against you,” you start, hands resting on your hips as you look away to hide the embarrassment flooding your features. “this whole rivalry or whatever we have going on has never been serious for me. sure, competing with you is fun, but that’s not why i do it. the truth is i’ve had the biggest crush on you since we first became counselors together. that’s why i broke it off with junmin. i couldn’t tell you, because it was just easier for me to be irritating than to be upfront with my feelings. bullying is one of my love languages, i guess.” 

okay. so maybe minjae is so fucking stupid, because his brain is not comprehending a single thing you just told him.

he’s staring. he knows he’s staring, but he can’t think clearly. words aren’t wording. how does he respond to that? you start fiddling with your fingers and he realizes this is the shyest he’s ever seen you in the four years he’s known you. he nudges himself out of his shellshock when he notices you kicking at some rocks.

”can— can you please say something?” you ask as if you were shrinking in on yourself. 

“y/n,” he says, taking a step closer to you and putting his hand on top of yours, pausing your fiddling. “do you know how much time and energy could’ve been saved if you told me this so long ago?”

“i know, i know,” you sigh. “i was just scared? if you rejected me, it would make things awkward. it was just simpler to have you hate me instead.”

“i don’t hate you,” minjae shakes his head. “i’ve never hated you. yeah, you made me want to ram my head through a brick wall every now and then, but i’ve never hated you.”

the small smile that graces your lips has his heart rate increasing. and then you make it worse. 

“this is your shirt, by the way. i may have stolen it last summer, but only because you forgot it here and i had to do a cabin sweep after everyone left.” you admit sheepishly. well, that explains it. it drives him a little insane, actually; the sight of you in his clothes. he doesn’t know why, especially because up until right now, you’ve been the object of his aggravation. 

“can i ask you a question,” minjae swallows, a breathless laugh escaping him when you nod. “is it weird that i kinda wanna kiss you?”

he watches as your eyes widen, and suddenly he can see the stars they hold. he’s never paid close enough attention to notice them before, always too mad to examine each and every detail of your face. you were right. he is fucking stupid. you’re the most beautiful girl he thinks he’s ever laid eyes on, and he can’t believe he’s spent all this time ignoring that. 

“not at all,” your fingers slip from his grasp, tip toe along his arm and then bury in his hair. “i kinda wanna kiss you, too.”

minjae takes that as his cue to lean in, nose just about to brush your own when—

“ew! what are you guys doing?!” 

you pull back from each other swiftly, nearly dying from cardiac arrest after the jump scare. the kid who had gone missing earlier that evening is peeking from behind a tree trunk, the most appalled look on his face. minjae’s ears tint a deep shade of red and you stare at your feet to maintain your own sanity.

oh yeah. the whole reason you were out here in the first place.

minjae collects himself before assuming his role as a counselor once again. “you almost scared us half to death, kid. c’mon let’s get you back to your cabin before the director calls your parents.”

the little boy’s shoulders sag in disappointment when he realizes he’s been caught, but he follows you nonetheless. he pushes him along towards the main campgrounds and you walk beside him, hands laced behind your back. you glance over at him, lip between your teeth. “well, this sucks.”

he hums, sending you an unfamiliar smile. “we can continue this later.”

© yunhoszn. do not steal, claim, or repost.

[golbrocklovely]

the chosen daughter // colby brock - chapter twenty-four

A/N: sorry for the long delay and leaving you guys on a cliffhanger. but hopefully this will make up for it. and fun fact - there's only a couple more chapters left before this series is officially over. that's so insane to think of, but truly i'm excited to finish this story off. and hopefully by the end of this year you will all have an ending you enjoy. lmk what you think and i'll see you next time :)

story description

trigger warning: angst, slight gore, vampire attack, blood and hurt mentions, cursing

word count: 4990

~~~~~~~~~~~

The drive back to L.A. was quiet, tense. Even though the ride up I had slept, the ride home I couldn’t even think of sleeping. Mike said he would keep us up to date on Sam. So far we hadn’t heard anything, which was a cause for concern but relieving simultaneously. 

He can’t get worse if we don't hear about it… Right?

Colby was silent, his eyes narrowed at the road. I had suggested to him that he could run home, and I’d take the car back. I knew how much hearing Sam was hurt was killing him. But he didn’t want to leave me alone; not to mention running home would tire him out because of how far we were.

I could tell we were almost home, the bright lights of L.A. illuminating the streets. Colby’s driving became more reckless. I trusted him and understood why he wanted to get there as fast as he could. But my heart sped up as we raced by familiar buildings. We were close now, and I felt like jumping out of my skin.

Part of me wanted to cry, part of me wanted to punch a wall. We tried to have a break from life and it came back at us full force. With vengeance.

We pulled into the parking lot of the Trapp Haus. I glanced at Colby, mumbling a ‘go’ to him, and he was gone in a flash.

I locked the car, running into the club and rushing up the first set of stairs. I gave a quick glance at Jake and Tara, who were behind the bar in the VIP section, talking to one another. Tara was comforting Jake, rubbing his back gently.

Mike and Kevin were in the office before the apartment, their voices low and muffled. As I passed by them, I exhaled. “Is he alright?”

They both looked up, their eyes dark. For a moment, I thought I saw Mike's eyes flashed red at the sight of me.

“Go look for yourself.” Kevin grunted, anger clearly on his face.

Mike glared at me, staying silent.

I blinked, nodding my head and going up the stairs. They were upset, but why at me?

Maybe it was because they knew I was the reason for Sam getting hurt. If I hadn’t come into their lives, none of them would gotten hurt. Their lives would be normal, ridden of drama and chaos. 

As I stepped into the apartment, my heart ached at the sight of Sam. He laid on the couch, a bandage on his neck. He looked tired and bruised, and it was clear he was still in pain but not as bad as before.

Colby was kneeling at his side, holding his hand.

“Hey stranger. Why the long face?” Sam joked, his voice strained as he gazed at me.

I held in tears, shaking my head. “Nothing. You just look like shit, that’s all.”

“You really know how to make a guy feel good about himself, Jade.” He smirked.

I shrugged, kneeling down next to Colby. “Well I gotta keep you humble. Don’t want you to get big headed.”

“Tell her what happened, Sam.” Colby’s voice was deep and serious, not enjoying our quips.

Sam cleared his throat, “Well, last night I was in the VIP section, drinking and hanging out with everyone. I stepped away to go to the bathroom and when I did... someone attacked me.”

“Who was it?” I gasped.

“I’m not sure. The lights in the club were low and the person, the vampire, had a hood on. I never saw their face.” Sam wrinkled his nose at the memory, “They did have a very sweet smelling perfume on though, so I'm inclined to think they were a girl. That, and the fact they were shorter than me. But again, I never saw their face.”

“Why did they attack you?” I glanced down at the bandage on his neck, noticing his red shirt was not red at all - but a light cream one soaked in dried blood. The realization made my stomach churn, my eyes refocusing on his face.

“They drank a lot from me, almost tearing my neck open. It was like they were in a frenzy. I tried fighting back, but they were incredibly strong,” he hissed. “It wasn't until Jake noticed what was happening to me that they backed off, disappearing into the club. They somehow got out before anyone could find them.”

I rubbed his arm soothingly. “Oh my God, Sam. I'm so sorry.”

He grumbled. “It only got worse from there.”

I inhaled a shaky breath. “What else happened?”

“When everyone found me, something happened to Kat. How she explained it to me over the phone, she couldn't control herself,” Sam shook his head in disbelief. “It was like the moment she saw I was in pain, her magic took over her. In front of everyone, she tried healing me in the middle of the dance floor. A lot of the vampires in the club ran out since most are scared of witches. But anyone else that stayed... they wanted to kill her.”

“Where is she now?” Colby chimed in, standing up and crossing his arms.

“Once she was able to come to, she ran off. I talked to her once the club shut down and I was up here safely, but that was the last I heard of her. She's at her apartment, and doesn't want anyone to see her.” Sam hummed, his eyes narrowing, “Mike and Kevin are pissed.”

“That would explain the sour looks they gave me when I came in. Minus Mike, who always seems annoyed to see me.” I huffed.

“She wasn't able to fully heal me, but she helped a lot. And I'm trying to make them understand that, but they're angry. Vampires and witches just don't mix.” Sam sat up slowly, wincing lightly, “And now they know I've known she's a witch all this time, they're... not happy with me. Or you two, for that matter.”

I scowled, “Well too fucking bad. They've been friends with her longer than we have. Maybe that should give them enough of a clue that if she was malicious she would have done something long before now. I mean for fuck sake she tried healing you. She even tried that on Colby!”

Colby mumbled. “They don't know about that.”

“Maybe they need to know. This isn't the time to split up and lose friendships over centuries old bullshit. We have Rinaldi and Max to deal with, and now this. It's not the time to let egos get in the way.” I argued.

“Why don't you say that to our faces?” Mike sneered.

I spun around, Mike and Kevin strutting into the apartment. Their faces were still bitter, glaring daggers at the three of us.

“You guys are really that upset that Kat is a witch?” I asked, standing up.

“Yes. Finding out that there's been a monster in our group, in our home, is not a pleasant feeling.” Kevin replied sharply.

I rolled my eyes. “A monster? Really? The person that tried healing Sam is a monster? How does that make any sense?”

“How do we know that's what she was doing? She could have been hurting him more for all we know. Or that this healing spell has consequences down the line for him.” Mike accused.

“That's not what she was doing and you know it. The only reason you even hate witches in the first place is because of some old ass beef between vampires and witches, specifically Xiomara.” I spat, “And Kat isn’t Xiomara.” 

“Oh, so I'm not allowed to hate the thing that created me? That turned me into this?” Mike’s eyes flashed red again.

“It's not like Kat turned you into a vampire! She tried saving Sam, and Colby, for that matter.” I snapped.

Kevin’s brow furrowed. “What?”

“When Colby was dying, before we ended up giving him my blood, Kat tried to save him. That was the night she revealed that she was a witch to us.” I informed them, my voice almost shaking with anger.

“So you guys have known she's a witch for months?” Kevin deadpanned.

“You've known her for years and she never felt comfortable enough to tell you. That should tell you something about yourselves.” I jeered.

Mike scoffed. “Like I give a fuck if a witch likes me or not.”

“Right, because that's all Kat is to you now. Not a friend, not someone that saved your friends, not a valuable member of this team.... just a witch.” I remarked bitterly.

Mike stared down at me, glaring into my soul.

“Do you know how she became a vampire? She's a blood witch, or was… before a vampire hunted her down and drank from her because he thought it would give him stronger powers. She almost died because she was a witch, because a vampire wanted her dead. Wanted her powers for their own. And instead of taking that anger out on other vampires, she befriended you, and you,” I point at the both of them, moving onto Colby. “And Colby, and Tara. She could have easily hated all of you, but instead decided to forgive your kind for hurting her. And you can't even consider doing the same for her in return?”

I laughed angrily, shaking my head. “Why do I even bother? Clearly you already made up your minds. Us being divided is how we're gonna end up getting hurt or killed by Rinaldi or whatever else comes our way, you know that right? Are you gonna be able to live with yourself when Sam dies? Or Jake? Or me? But let me guess. You would rather have me dead anyway, Mike.”

The strangest thing occurred in that moment. For the briefest of seconds, Mike's eyes fluttered an emotion I hadn't seen from him. Pain. Hurt.

My anger was too strong to deal with whatever he was going through internally. I turned on my heel and stormed out, racing down the steps and to the door. Jake and Tara must have left because they were nowhere to be found. 

I wasn't sure where I was going, but I needed to get out of the apartment.

“Jade, wait!” Sam's voice rang out behind me.

I stopped, spinning back around to see Sam and Colby following after me. Sam limped up to me, his body clearly still in pain from his attack. My anger dissolved slightly.

“Kat wanted me to give this to you.” Sam held out my necklace.

I took it from him, confused. “Why did she give this to you?”

“When she came to in the club, she basically chucked the thing at me. I kept it and when I asked her on the phone why she did that, she said she felt like it was what caused her powers to come out. Like it quadrupled whatever powers she had inside of her. She claimed it's been making her feel on edge since she started wearing it a night or two ago.” He explained.

“How... strange.” I commented, gazing down at it.

“She told me to give it back to you and that she would rather you keep it now than her.” Sam continued.

“Well, it's mine anyway,” I shrugged. “So her powers didn't fully heal you?”

“Not completely, no. It was like she was in a trance once she saw me bleeding out. When she came out of it, she ran like a bat out of hell. Plus, I don't think she fully knows how to heal someone. She told me she's a bit rusty.” Sam breathed out a laugh, rubbing his bandaged neck.

“Probably why her powers didn't work on me.” Colby responded.

“Maybe…” I placed the necklace back on me, “Hey, why don't you drink some vampire blood? It heals things faster.”

Sam grimaced. “I hate the taste of it.”

I hummed, “Really? I don't personally think it tastes bad, all things considered.”

“Yeah, well you're drinking from your boyfriend. I would have to drink it from Kevin or Mike since Kat isn’t here.” Sam mentioned. “It apparently tastes better coming from someone you love.”

Colby and I glanced at one another, a light blush crossing my cheeks.

Colby cleared his throat. “You don't think I would give you some?”

“Well you're spoken for Colby. It wouldn't be right.” Sam quipped, a small smile on his lips..

He pffted. “I highly doubt Jade would care, Sam.”

Sam sassed, “What if I don't want to drink your blood, Colby?”

“Are you saying my blood isn't good enough for your... refined palette?” Colby feigned a gasp.

“Are you guys done having your lover's quarrel or should I leave?” I joked, pointing to the exit.

Colby’s face turned serious. “You're not staying here?”

“Mike’s here. Do you really have to ask?” I deadpanned.

He blinked. “You sure as hell ain't sleeping alone at your apartment tonight.”

“Then come over with me.” I batted my eyelashes flirtatiously.

“Maybe I should head back upstairs now,” Sam took a step back, scrunching his face. “I gotta get some rest anyway. I've basically been up since eight A.M. and now it's... almost six A.M..”

“Go. Me and Colby will be fine.” I gave Sam a quick hug, “And thank you for giving me back my necklace.” 

“Of course. Goodnight Jade.” Sam turned to Colby, blowing him an obnoxious kiss, “Goodnight... lover.”

He caught it dramatically, “Missing you already, husband.”

I chuckled, “I shouldn't feel like I'm third wheeling, but I do.”

Colby rolled his eyes at me, grabbing my hand and walking us back to the car. “I’ll make it up to you when we get home.”

~\/\/~

Colby stayed over at my apartment for the whole day. We passed the time by sleeping on and off, ordering food - since I never had any in my apartment anymore - and watching TV. I had called off of work for a day, then had the weekend off. But I texted Roger about coming in and he was delighted to have me come in. Going to work was better than wallowing in my apartment, worrying about what was going to happen next to any one of us. What dangers lurked around the next corner.

Colby decided to head out for the night as well, doing his usual routine of security detail at the Trapp Haus. It was especially necessary after last night's attack on Sam. Sam, luckily, had no plans to hang out in the club - thinking it was best to chill in the apartment. Jake was going to keep him company, and also keep watch. Colby filled me in on all of these details as he drove me to work, telling me he would pick me up once my shift was done.

He kissed my lips softly, his eyes studying my face. "Are you gonna okay tonight?"

“I think so,” I nodded. “Tell Sam I'm sorry.”

“Why?” He questioned.

“Because we all know why he was attacked. Because of me…” I trailed off, holding back tears.

Colby tilted my head up, his eyes boring into mine. “Don't place that blame on yourself, Jade. Me and Sam have made a lot of enemies over the years. We hunt vampires for a living, you know.”

“Yes, but clearly the uptick in attacks has only gone up once I came into your lives.” I pointed out, shaking my head.

“And I don't regret that for a second. I want you here. So does Sam. Do not take blame for some asshole vampire attacking him.” He dissented.

“I can't help it... It feels like my fault.” I murmured.

He leaned back in his chair, sighing. “It's not. Sam doesn't think it is. I don't think so either. And nobody else in our group blames you.”

“Mike probably does.” I mentioned.

Colby scoffed. “Well, Mike's an asshole. And he can fuck off for all I care.”

“I feel bad. You shouldn't feel that way about him. He is your friend.” I argued halfheartedly.

“Clearly he has to have issues going on upstairs if he thinks that talking to you the way he does is appropriate. You are my girlfriend, and no one talks to you like that around me.” He sucked his teeth, “I'll set him straight.”

I gazed at him longingly. “You know, you're really sexy when you get all protective.”

He smirked. “Then you must find me sexy all the time.”

I agreed. “I do.”

He bit his lip, giving me a once over. ”....Get inside before I make you call out.”

“Colby!” I gasped, unbuckling my seatbelt. “Fine, I'm going.”

“I'll see you in a couple hours.” He called out the window.

“Have fun!” I jested.

He snickered, “Yeah, I'll try.”

I waved goodbye to him, stepping inside the bar quickly. I exhaled, not excited for the night ahead of me.

“Hey Jade, glad to see you. Can you go to the back and restock all of our vodkas? We're running low on them.” Roger spoke quickly, carrying two big bags of trash. He stopped abruptly, turning back to me. “Also tell Ronnie to actually stick for her whole shift tonight. Last night she bailed a whole two hours before she was supposed to and I'm not letting that shit slide next time.”

“Good to see you too, Roger.” I chuckled, and Roger raced out the door. Then I mumbled, “But why can't you tell her yourself?”

I walked to the back, grabbing my apron off the wall and tying it around my waist. I shoved my stuff into my locker, fixing my hair in the mini mirror next to it.

“Hello? Roger are you back - Oh.” Ronnie yelled, stopping in her tracks when she saw me.

I made eye contact with Ronnie through the mirror. “I think Roger's taking out the trash.”

She pursed her lips, “I didn't think you were going to be in tonight.”

“I wasn’t supposed to be in. But I called out yesterday because me and Colby had a little trip planned, and then that fell through. So… I’m here.” I explained, giving a tight lipped smile.

She scrunched up her face. “Why?”

“Um... family emergency. His side, not mine,” I lied. “How has the night been so far?”

“Not too bad. All of our usuals are in and asking for you.” She giggled.

I rolled my eyes playfully, walking out of our little back area. “Lovely. Hopefully I make some good tips tonight.”

“So far I've made $15.” She noted.

“That's not too bad.” I grabbed a couple bottles of vodka, pointing the others out to Ronnie. “Can you take those for me?”

She nodded. “Sure.”

We strolled out to the bar - waiting for us was a line of customers all wanting drinks. They looked annoyed, glaring at me as I placed the bottles down.

I rushed over, smiling. “Sorry about that, yall. Let me start with you, and then I'll get all your drink orders in. Alright?”

The first man wanted a vodka cran, easy enough. I placed it in, charged his card, and went to the next customer. As they began to spit out their multiple drinks, I looked over at Ronnie. I waved at her, trying to get her attention to come help, but she was on the phone. The red neon lights from the bar reflected on her skin, a glow illuminating off of her.

For a moment, it looked like an aura. But I knew it was the lights.

I turned back to the customer, finishing up her order and taking her cash for the multiple beers and cocktails she got for her table.

The next two customers were still deciding on what they wanted, so I began making the vodka cran.

“Hey, so what did the girl order?” Ronnie asked, tapping the bar.

I topped off the vodka cran with ice, “It's on the screen. What were you doing over there?”

“What do you mean?” She stared at me, puzzled.

I turned to her, just as confused. “I was waving you down to help but you weren't paying attention to me.”

“You were?” She cocked her head.

“Yes…” I gazed at her, furrowing my brow. “Who were you on the phone with?”

She stepped over to the register’s screen, muttering, “I was on the phone?”

“Yeah? You had it up to your ear and you were saying something, so I assume you were talking to someone.” I deadpanned, annoyed.

“Oh... it must have been a wrong number.” She laughed awkwardly.

I raised an eyebrow, looking her over. “...Okay then. I'll get her order going, just give this vodka cran to table eight please. And I think table eleven needs a refill on their pitcher.”

She took the drink from me, leaving quickly. “Gotcha.”

I stared at Ronnie as she shuffled over to table eight. She looked fine, but how could she not remember she was on the phone less than a minute after being on it?

Before I could even think about it further, the two guys at the bar finally knew what they wanted.

~\/\/~

“$73… $74.... $75.” Ronnie counted, laying out her dollars on the counter.

I whistled. “Oooh, new record. How much did you make last night?”

She revealed. “$70.”

“Maybe you would have made more if you stuck for your whole shift.” I joked, winking.

“I was only gone for two hours!” She smacked my arm, laughing.

“Yeah the last two, apparently. What did you have to go do anyway?” I asked, spraying down the bar.

“I... I don't remember, honestly,” her face twisted for a second, before it relaxed. “I probably just wanted to go home early.”

I hummed, moving onto the tables in the bar. “I get that.”

She followed me, sweeping around the tables, “So, Colby's picking you up in an hour? That must be exciting.”

I smiled, thinking of him. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

“You're almost glowing at the mere mention of him. Did you two finally have sex?” Ronnie smirked.

I blushed, looking away from her.

She gushed, “Oh my God, shut up you totally did! Tell me everything about it.”

“I'm definitely not telling you everything.” I cackled, swatting at her.

“Well, was he good at least?” She grabbed my wrist, making me look at her.

It was my turn to smirk, “Very.”

She gaped at me, “You need to tell me more than that! You can't just-!”

Her cell phone rang loudly, cutting her off. She glanced at it, picking it up and walking away from me as she talked quietly.

I wiped down the table, making sure to get all of the nooks and crannies. I sprayed the seats next, rubbing the cleaning spray into the hard wood of the bar stools. A gush of air hit my back suddenly, making me jolt.I looked over my shoulder to see Ronnie.

“Sorry about that.” Her voice was low, almost monotone. 

“Jesus, Ronnie! You scared me.” I exhaled, catching my breath.

“Didn't mean to. My bad.” She commented, taking a step back from me.

I moved onto the next table, shaking my head jokingly. “It's fine, just don't do it again.”

“Can I ask you something, Jade?” Ronnie inquired, her voice even and calm.

“Sure. What's up?” I replied, finishing cleaning the bar stools.

She accused, her voice cold. “How long did you know Kat was a witch? Or did you not know at all?”

My heart dropped, my body freezing instantly. The hair on the back of my neck stood up as fear crept over my being.

I've never mentioned Kat to Ronnie. Maybe in passing, yes. But I've never told her Kat was a witch.

How the fuck does she know this?

I stuttered, moving onto another table to clean, trying to play off my nervousness. “W-What?”

“Kat, the girl that's dating Sam... she's a witch.” She stated.

I chuckled dramatically, “She is? News to me.”

“Really? You don't seem that surprised to hear about it.” Her face dropped, her eyes almost glaring, “Are you telling me the truth?”

I glared back, skipping the table altogether to put some space between us. “Of course I am. Why would I lie to you?”

“I feel like you've lied before. Or at least you never tell me the whole story.” She admitted fiercely.

“I always tell you the truth. You're my friend, I wouldn't lie to you.” I pulled my phone out of my pocket, “You know, this news is so shocking to hear, I better call Colby and let him know-”

“Don't do that.” She suddenly appeared in front of me, yanking my phone out of my hand. As I tried reaching for it, she crushed it into her palm, breaking it instantly.

Oh my God. “Y-you're a-”

Ronnie gripped my arms suddenly, pulling me close to her. "Friends tell each other the truth, Jade. You are my best friend, and you're gonna tell me the truth about Kat."

A yellow aura began to surround her, enveloping me. Her eyes bore into mine, and it became all apparent what she wanted. Her power was of the manipulation kind, but in a way much nicer - so to speak. She could easily make anyone befriend her. She used friendship as a method to get those around her to relax and tell her the truth. She wanted me to tell her everything, like a best friend would.

On the cusp of her aura, a red tinge glowed with hers; almost blending into it. 

I had to act fast, because there was no way I could get out of this one alive if I made it apparent her powers didn't work on me. Who knows how strong she is? And I really didn't want to kill or hurt her.

I took a deep breath, knowing what I needed to do.

I smiled up at her, nodding my head. “I'll tell you everything, Ronnie.”

She grinned back, “Good. So what do you know-”

“But first, we should have celebratory shots. To being best friends!” I exclaimed, tearing myself from her grasp.

She blinked, giving a minor shrug, “...Sure. That's the spirit.”

I raced around the other side of the bar, “Let me make them up real quick. Sit on down.”

I grabbed two shot glasses, and a bottle of tequila. I went under the counter, grabbing our salt container and dish to rim the glasses.

“You don't need to do all of that.” She told me, gesturing to the salt. 

“Yes I do. A friendship like ours deserves this.” I slid my hands into my pockets, tightening my hold on the vial of Angelica flower.

She cocked her head, “I thought you didn't like tequila.”

"Well, I've grown to like it recently." I faked a weird glance over towards the door behind her, "Jesus can't people read signs? We’re closed!"

She spun around, “What? Is someone at the door?”

I poured out the contents of the vial, rimming her glass quickly. I even made sure to put some in her glass for good measure. She turned back to me, staring at me oddly. "No one was at the door."

"Oh, must be my imagination then." I rimmed my glass, pouring the tequila in immediately afterwards.

Dear God above, I pray this works. I don't have any other vials with me and using my phone was out of the question. My only other option was my stake, hidden carefully around my ankle under my jeans.

I would hate to have to kill her. But I'm not dying to her, either.

I placed her shot glass down, a lime wedge next to it. “Cheers to our friendship. May it last forever.”

“Cheers.” Ronnie smirked, taking the shot quickly.

I watched her over my shot glass. Her eyes widened as she swallowed, the skin around her mouth burning and peeling suddenly. It was like her skin was on fire, being burned from the inside out. She screamed at the top of her lungs, clawing at her throat. Her eyes turned red, veins popping out from underneath as she launched herself towards me angrily. I was able to dodge her, jumping up on the bar as she collapsed onto the floor. Her gurgled cries and yells grew louder as she stood up, swinging for me, fangs bared. I kicked the tray of salt and Angelica flower into her face, a banshee-like screech ripping from her almost decaying mouth and throat. I landed on the other side of the bar, watching her like a hawk. My chest heaved, my skin prickling with heat and anxiety.

She reached an arm out towards me, trying to grab at me. Her evil eyes casted a vacant stare onto me, her teeth and fangs visible as her skin melted off. Her eyes rolled back into her head, and she dropped to the ground loudly as glass shattered around her.

I waited to hear anything for a second, wondering if I just killed my best friend.

I raced around to the other side of the bar, seeing her still form. She was breathing lightly, and the amount of powder I gave her wouldn't have killed her, especially since she hadn't ingested it all. She was knocked out, but would most likely come to sooner rather than later.

I stumbled to Roger's office, locking the door. I took his office phone and pounded in the number for the Trapp Haus. I waited anxiously, hoping someone would pick up.

Kevin’s voice came through, muffled slightly by music playing in the background. “Hello? Kevin speaking.” 

“Thank God you picked up, holy shit.” I exhaled loudly, gripping the phone.

“Jade, what's-” He started.

I cut him off, “Tell Colby to get over here now. Ronnie's a vampire, and she just tried attacking me. And tell Tara I’m a great liar.”

<< CHAPTER 23 || CHAPTER 25 >>

[typewriter83]

I got this as an anon ask, I decided to just copy and paste it so it could go under a cut - so here you go, Nonnie cub, 20 questions:

1. how many works do you have on AO3?

18

2. what's your total AO3 word count?

255,708

3. what fandoms do you write for?

TLOU (TV and Game)

4. top five fics by kudos

Why Can’t I Just Tell You (That I Care)

Learning to Walk

We Go Together Like Donuts and Coffee

Broken Lights on the Freeway

Hook, Line, and Sinker

5. do you respond to comments?

Every single one. And if I don’t, it’s literally because I missed it, not because I didn’t want to answer.

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Probably Donuts & Coffee 9: Tell Me It’s the Real Thing; it ends on a cliffhanger, Ellie is heartbroken, scared, and leaving Joel, while Joel is also heartbroken that Ellie is leaving and unsure of what’s going to happen between them. I left my poor cubs hanging with that one.

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Although it is my most angsty fic, I think Every Night Has Its Dawn has the happiest, most satisfying ending. Everyone is “living at the end of the world” - hence the series title, lol - and Joel & Ellie get their happy ending (as it always should be)

8. do you get hate on fics?

Surprisingly, no. I’ve had a couple “if you wrote for another ship, more people would like you” comments, and also one “I really want to hate you, but you’re so nice” which still makes me laugh. Antis hate to admit that even those of us who write taboo fiction are still people, god forbid. We just have wild, deviant imaginations

9. do you write smut?

🌶️.5 for life

10. craziest crossover:

I’ve never done one! Even when I was younger, I never attempted it.

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I’m aware of, though I’m pretty sure no one wants it! However, because the ship is small, I do keep my fic ideas close to my chest

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

It hasn’t popped up on ao3, so I don’t think so.

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, I don’t think I would play nice in the sandbox. Plus, I have so many ideas, I’m not sure they would mesh with other writers’ ideas.

14. all time favorite ship?

😗<this is me doing a low whistle. That’s tough. My first ship was Mulder/Scully so they have a special place in my heart. I spent a lot of time doing text-based RPG, so I jumped around with ships. Joel/Ellie is my first ship in such a long time, I think they’re gonna be with me for a long time.

15. what's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

The original Learning to Walk; it featured Joel and an OFC, so that’s never gonna happen. I took various pieces from the draft I had and worked it into other stories, so it’s been picked apart. I also started an AU that starts pre-outbreak with Ellie as a friend of Sarah’s then progresses through the 20 years following with Joel and Ellie being brought together and torn apart over time; I’ve taken a lot of elements from it and worked it into my Boston AU so the original won’t be finished.

16. what are your writing strengths?

I love writing dialogue - so much so that sometimes Joel just needs to shut up.

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

Action, having characters involved in fights or physical action. I also struggle with writing scenes for side-characters; l these days if it doesn’t involve Joel and Ellie I’m like, “omg is this over yet?”

18. thoughts on dialogue in another language?

I have not done it, props to writers who can read/write multiple languages. If I was going to do it, I would be afraid that Google translate would botch the infliction. I would probably italicize it and describe the character as speaking in another language.

19. first fandom you wrote in?

The X-Files; so long ago that there were independent sites for writers, you had to post all over the place and let people link you work to get it seen. Comments/kudos and feedback were hard to come by. I was there when ff.net came online and at the time it was revolutionary. When the purge(s) happened and ao3 came online, it was a leap forward for writers. My works are scattered across the universe of the web.

20. favorite fic you've written?

It’s like Sophie’s Choice omg. It’s probably Why Can’t I Just Tell You (That I Care) because it was supposed to be a fluffy one-shot set in Jackson - the scene where Joel comes to Ellie’s apartment in eighteen (part 1) - and it featured flashbacks of the times the two of them had been flirting with each other over the years - which became sixteen and seventeen and the series is now over 100k words. For me, it’s an incredible adventure for the two of them, fluff, angst, heartbreak, action, my first time writing spice - it was a labor of love.

🫶🏻

[lycanlovingvampyre]

MAG 176 Relisten

Activity on my first listen: cutting the French tamarisk in my garden.

Ah yes, this is the finale of act I. So without Covid, the finale would have been MAG 180, with the cliffhanger of meeting Salesa in the Eyepocalypse bubble aka Upton safehouse period. Since RQ produced a trailer for act III of S5, I wonder if there would have been a trailer for the originally planned act II of MAG 181 till 200. (Since this has never been the case for any of the season hiatus I doubt it would have been done on the originally planned schedule, and perhaps the second hiatus during S5 gave them a bit more time to produce an additional scene - I can imagine that production got a bit more efficient once everyone settled in a bit into this new process) - Okay, this got very off-topic now ^^'

MARTIN: "You’re dragging your feet. What’s up? (beat) What aren’t you telling me?" JON: "Martin, please. I’m trying to find our way to Basira." MARTIN: ( :) ) "Talk to me, Jon." JON: (is not fine) "I’m fine." This is so very Jon. High-stress situations always got the better of his nerves. And he's always considering what's the best way to keep others safe while also reaching his goal, adding only to his stress.

JON: "I don’t like betraying someone’s trust like this." MARTIN: (gentle) "It’s not a betrayal if you’re doing it to help." JON: (rueful half-laugh) "I’m not so sure." After Martin feels Jon didn't tell him enough about the situation although Jon just tried to help: "I feel like my trust was betrayed!" xD (Ok, not exactly like this bu briefly, after Basira worked it as Martin = bait in MAG 177, he’s a bit shocked that it went down without him knowing what was happening.) They're in such a difficult situation and I feel like Martin still has so much of the Lonely hanging over him if we're going by Lonely = depression. The irritability is very typical. Additionally it's very hard for him to understand what's it like for Jon. This knowing everything is not something easy to comprehend.

MARTIN: "Look, if it was me in her shoes, I’m sure I’d forgive you. It-It’s for the best!" At least I feel like this is something Martin always understood. People make mistakes.

JON: "…Have you ever had your friends turn on you? People you thought you could count on?" Mirroring what they're going through, or what sort of impression Jon wants to avoid giving Basira and Martin.

MARTIN: "I think we’re being followed." JON: (no hesitation) "We are." MARTIN: "Oh. ‘Kay. That’s not actually what I wanted to hear." JON: "I know, that’s why I didn’t mention it before." There, constantly considering how to protect others.

JON: "It’s tricky. She’s – (inhale) She’s had a bad time." MARTIN: (slight scoff) "I mean – haven’t we all?" JON: "No. No, we haven’t." [SLIGHT PAUSE, AND THEN:] MARTIN: "Right." The occasional privilege check for Martin xD

"But that is not important, not really." NOT REALLY!!!

"Not the driving, pounding need behind the hunt, what spurs pursuit of tooth and claw is not some calmly made assessment or judgement on the weight of the hunted’s sin." Hahaaha, the way Jonny's voice goes up at "of the hunted's sin" xD That is something he does actually quite often and I can't unhear it (just like the "not really". Examples of the intonation thing, that immediately come to mind are the promo for We're Alive; Descendants, something about "genre fans in general" or in the Magnus Protocol trailer "Office of Incident Assessment and Response".) And I have this need to immediately imitate stuff like this, words, accents, intonation...  I'm always a bit afraid people think I'm mocking them, but I actually do this because I like it ^^' (So in general I can it when I’m with people I don’t know that well.)

JON: (overlapping) "Hold up. Sh." [BUT MARTIN HAS REACHED HIS LIMIT:] MARTIN: "Wh– no! No, Jon; you just did a statement; I don’t care if you want another one, we’ve gotta move –" JON: (cutting him off) "Martin." [MARTIN STOPS.] How Martin immediately stops, knowing that this is serious now. I already said in MAG 174 their dynamic is written in a way that they know when to react in what way (except for jokes, of course, again).

JON: "Right. Martin, do you trust me?" MARTIN: "What? Ah, Christ, this can’t be good. Yes?" JON: "Then it’s very – listen, (movement) – look at me. The next couple of minutes are going to be quite unpleasant for one of us, and I’m sorry." MARTIN: "Uh – (sounds of incomprehension) Sorry, what?" JON: "You need to remain very calm, and don’t make any sudden movements." I know, this is supposed to be super serious, but I can't help to find it sweet. Jon asking for Martin's trust and Martin (after a bit of "oh shit" moment) immediately saying "yes". Jon doesn't seem to be aware of his surroundings when he does a statement (otherwise Martin wouldn't have such trouble snapping him out of it), so he probably saw Trevor too late and now there's no time for big explanations.

TREVOR: "It’s not okay. Stop fucking smiling!" I mean, we already had "(best customer service voice) Mhm." of Jon and his tone in general sounds very relaxed, but I love these moments when we get even more information of what's going on, since we're only having audio and not audio and visual like in a movie or TV show... Or theater, even! Jon's super smug because he knows Basira is already on her way to them and needs Martin to stay calm, so Basira can take the shot.

MARTIN: "(voice shaking, trying to sound unaffected) "Jon? I know you keep saying we’re safe, and I am feeling very calm, but just so I know – Can he – Can he kill me?" JON: "He could, yes." MARTIN: "Right." JON: "If he were still a Hunter." Oh god, I've waited so long to finally unpack this! There is more to this "who can actually kill" in the Eyepocalypse and this was very clearly established in MAG 113. Dekker said: "As you know, I am not by any means a Hunter, and if Justin Gough was as far gone as he appeared, it was likely he was no longer human enough for me to remove him without the aid of one." Once someone has crossed the literal/metaphorical death into full-avatarhood threshold, they can't be killed in a simple manner anymore. But Hunters actually have the power to end beings of the Fears. There have been other instanced of Hunters being actually able to kill monsters, Trevor Herbert is a textbook example, but also other instances, for example how the police deals with vampires. Daisy said in MAG 61 "There are a few others around who do it, but I take care of a dozen or so precincts. I cuff the suspect’s hands and legs, drive them out into the middle of Epping Forest, and burn them to ashes." Only a few of them are able to do that, only those "infected" by the Hunt. Prey needs to be aware, that there are actual consequences to them being hunted and caught, otherwise, why run when there are no stakes?

That entire conversation with Trevor is just stalling. Jon needs Basira to get into position and take aim. (But also for us audience, setting the scene and so on.)

JON: "I’m sorry I’ve reduced you lower even than prey." MARTIN: "Jon?…" TREVOR: "No." JON: "To bait." MARTIN: "(breathing faster) Don’t –" [GUNSHOT.] Theater kid Jon xD Needing that dramatic build-up! Hm, come to think of it, maybe he also just enjoyed Trevor's fear and therefore toyed with his feelings.

MARTIN: (with some effort) "Can I at least put my hands down? M-M,My arms are kinda getting tired." Martin is so funny xD

BASIRA: "Prove you’re really Martin Blackwood." MARTIN: "How?" JON: (picture of innocence) "You could do a poem." BASIRA: "Shut up." MARTIN: (hissing) "Jon, this is serious!" God, I love smug Jon and Martin trying to berate him that it's not the time to be smug.

JON: "I mean – (holding back laugh, badly) I can know literally anything, so – ask away I guess." BASIRA: "You understand how unhelpful that is for proving identities." JON: (audible grin) "I’m sorry to be an inconvenience." BASIRA: "Well, you better think of something, or…" [SHE WAGGLES THE GUN.] More smug Jon xD I love it so much xD

BASIRA: "I told you before not to look into my head." JON: (smug) "So you do believe it’s me, then." [BRIEF PAUSE.] BASIRA: "Know-it-all prick." That is actually the lowest point of audible smugness here. Basira is so super annoyed by him xD Just like old S4 times!

[WE HEAR HER PUT THE GUN AWAY.] MARTIN: "So – Can I – ?" BASIRA: "Yeah, put them down, Martin. It’s fine. You’re you." [MARTIN DOES SO, AND IN THE PROCESS LETS OUT A HUGE SIGH OF RELIEF. AND ANOTHER.] Martin being the anxious comedic relief again^^ Good old times indeed.

JON: "You’re sure?" BASIRA: "If you were monsters, that would mean I’d finally get to kill something with your smug face. No way am I that lucky." JON: "Can’t fault your logic." Basira again talking about killing Jon (she already did that in S4, what was her phrasing? "or I'll put you down"?). But now Jon's in a superior position, being demigod of this new world as well as being emotionally more stable since he has Martin.

@a-mag-a-day

[popcornpoppypop]

It Was Funny At The Time

Part 1

Eddie Munson x female!OC

Summary: Eddie and Annie aren't ones to say no to a good time and a good laugh. But sometimes a good laugh has consequences. Now they have tough choices to make.

Warning: Language, abortion, talk of abortion, pregnancy, vomit, drugs, bad parents

Rating: 18+

Author's Note: I have been dabbling with this one for months. It got a bit long so I'm breaking it into two parts. Don't worry, the second part will be posted right after this one. There are no detailed descriptions of abortion. I would like to state that I am not a doctor and my medical knowledge of abortion in the 80s is none and there is surprisingly very little literature on it. If this isn't your thing, fine, just keep your thoughts to yourself.

“You walk into the cold, decrepit throne room. There is a huge, stone throne sitting at the top of crumbling stairs. A figure, cloaked, sits with his head hung low. You can’t see his face, a crown sits lopsided on his head. You hear groaning come from the figure as he starts to sit up. He looks like he’s been through battle after battle, weak and frail. The figure stands on shaky legs before raising a decaying arm up, pointing to your party and letting out a shriek that breaks all the windows. He lifts his head, his hair falling in his face and…we’ll find out next week!” Eddie cackled from his throne. 

“What!?!”

“No way!”

“Unfair! Come on man, you gotta tell us!” The group's protest fell on deaf ears as Eddie sat back, arms crossed and a wicked smile on his face. 

“I don’t gotta do anything. You’ll have to learn some patience.” He smiled. The room was full of ruckus and chaos as the players all protested and pitched their theories to each other. Everyone except Annie, who had remained rather quiet throughout the evening. No one outside of Eddie seemed to have noticed. 

“Everyone get their shit and get out, I got things to do.” Eddie barked. 

“How are you so cruel?” Dustin sighed, shaking his head. 

“It’s a gift.” Eddie cocked his head smiling. The gang filtered out of the room leaving Eddie and Annie who was quietly packing up her things. 

“You know, you usually get pissed when I end on a cliffhanger like that.” Eddie sat on the table in front of her. 

“Oh. Um, I guess my mind’s been fuzzy.” Annie said, her voice quiet and frail. 

“Hey,what’s going on?” Eddie reached out to grab her hand as she reached for her notebook. 

“Nothing…” She shrugged, she did her best to keep her voice from cracking. 

“Babe. Those other nimrods might be easy to pull one over on. Not me. Come on, you know you can tell me shit. Whatever is going on can’t be that bad.” Eddie smiled.

“ Eddie…”

“I promise to be cool! When am I not? Don’t bring up examples.” Annie let her head hang, avoiding his eyes. 

“You’re going to hate me…” She said, her voice warbling as she started to cry. 

“What? No. I doubt there’s anything you could do for me to hate you. Unless…baby…did you-did you cheat on me?” Eddie’s chest heaved as his mind concocted different horrifying scenarios. 

“Never! Never! You think I’d do that!?” Annie’s head snapped up, shooting daggers into Eddie as she threw her bag at him. Eddie fell backwards as he caught the heavy backpack. 

“Okay! Well, what am I supposed to think!? Babe, you gotta tell me what’s wrong now, because I’m just going to start imagining the worst.” 

“I’m…I’m pregnant.” Annie’s lip quivered as she fought the tears. Eddie felt his heart drop to his stomach, he felt the fear racing through his veins 

“You’re sure?” was all he could manage to get out. 

“Of course I’m sure. I wouldn’t have told you unless I knew.” Annie sighed.

“I’m sorry, yeah. I just…When?”

“I had my appointment with the doctor at lunch.” 

“Wait. That’s why you left? You said it was the dentist. Shit. Your mom knows then.” Eddie ran a hand through his hair.

“I told you that so I didn’t freak you out if this was nothing. My mom has no idea. I haven’t told her yet.” Annie leaned back in the chair, playing with the ends of her sleeves. 

“So…who took you?”

“No one. I went by myself.” Eddie looked at her horrified. 

“Annie! You should have said something, I could have taken you! You didn’t need to do that on your own.” He grabbed the seat of her chair, pulling her closer to him. 

“I didn’t want to freak you out!” Annie protested. 

“But you were freaked out already! You didn’t need to be freaked out alone. I mean…this is my fault too. I was kind of an important part of this issue.” He sighed. 

“I think…I think I maybe needed to know by myself, just me. It felt easier to think that way. I wanted to tell you, but I just felt like being alone.” Annie put her hand on his knee. 

“I suppose that’s fair. I just hate the thought of you scared and alone.” 

“Thank you. Always my knight in shining armor.” Annie let a hint of a smile grace her lips. 

“When you let me.When are you telling your mom?” Eddie’s leg bounced. 

“Don’t know. We…we need to have a real talk about this first.” She looked up at him with big,wet eyes. 

“Has this not been a ‘real talk’? I mean, I don’t know how much more real we can get.”

“We need to decide what we want. I mean, I guess I feel like I already know.” Annie looked to the ground. 

“Right. Well, what do you want?”

“We’re just kids still. I still live with my parents, you still live with Wayne. We have dreams and plans, I don’t want to give them up yet. But I wanted to know how you felt before I made any decisions.” Annie leaned forward, elbows resting on her thighs. 

“I feel pretty much the same. I don’t think I’m ready to settle down like that yet. It’s too…big. So what do we do now?”  Eddie played with his rings. 

“ I have to make an appointment. Nowhere in town will do it. My doctor told me about a clinic in Indianapolis that is nice and not super expensive. I have to call them tomorrow, time sensitive situation.” 

“Right. How long?”

“What?”

“Like…I can’t remember how to phrase it. How pregnant are you?” Annie couldn’t help the small huff of a laugh that escaped. 

“I’m eight weeks. Well, she said eight weeks and six days.”

“So that would have been when?”

“She thinks around March 17th.”

“Oh shit, St.Patrick’s day! Oh shit!” Eddie laughed. 

“Yeah maybe we don’t buy the novelty green condoms next year.”

“It didn’t even glow like it was supposed to. I’ll just wear the ‘Kiss me I’m Irish’ shirt you got me.” Eddie laughed. 

“Only the shirt, nothing else.” 

“Easy tiger, let’s figure out this situation first. Then I’ll fuck your brains out.” Eddie smiled. Annie stood between his legs, wrapping her arms around his neck. 

“I think that’s a fair arrangement. I should get home.” Annie sighed. 

“You want to go home?” Eddie put his hands on her hips. 

“No. That house feels so suffocating right now.”

“Tell them you’re staying over with one of the girls. Buckley always covers.”

“You sure? I thought you might want to have some alone time to think.” 

“I think better with you around, besides we have it figured out. We’ll call them tomorrow, get the price and set the appointment up. Anyway, I don’t know why, but I just really want to be close to you. I feel…protective I guess.” He shrugged. 

“How very caveman of you.” Annie smiled. 

“If you weren’t feeling like shit, I’d show you how caveman I can be.” Eddie laughed as he grabbed her ass with both hands. 

“Wow, I’ll remember that for later. I’m going to call my mom, meet you at the van.” Annie slipped out of Eddie’s grip as she walked out of the room. She felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. It went far better than she thought it would. 

Eddie sat in his van staring blankly out the window, he felt like he had just been on a roller coaster. This was definitely not how he thought the evening was going to go. He was freaking out a little bit. He couldn’t figure out how Annie was so calm about this. He was broken from his thoughts when Annie jumped in the van, closing the door. 

“She asked if I wanted to move in with Robin since I’m there more than home.” Annie giggled. 

“One day, we’ll get our own place.” Eddie wrapped his arm around her as they drove off. 

The next morning, things seemed brighter. Annie woke up, wrapped in Eddie’s arms, the sunlight warming their skin. She nestled into his chest, not wanting to ever leave this moment. 

“Nose cold…” Eddie grumbled. 

“Sorry.” Annie whispered with a smile as Eddie tightened his grip around her. 

“S’okay…like it…” Eddie buried his face in her hair. Annie felt herself start to fall back to sleep as she listened to Eddie’s breathing. It was a pretty much perfect moment. Until it wasn’t as Annie’s stomach started to churn, reminding her of the previous evening's events. She moved to get up, but Eddie’s grip tightened. 

“Eddie, let go.” 

“No. Stay here.”

“Eddie, I’m serious.” Annie struggled against his grip wondering how he could be so strong when he was half asleep. 

“No, it’s too warm to get up.”

“Eddie, I’m going to throw up on you if you don’t let go!” Annie snapped. Eddie let go, his eyes popping open to look up at her confused. Annie bolted out of the room as soon as he let go. She slammed the door to the bathroom open, not caring to close it, and proceeded to empty her stomach into the toilet. 

“Shit.” Eddie fumbled out of bed, his foot caught in his blanket, sending him falling to the floor with a loud thud. He untangled himself and wobbled to the doorway when the door to Wayne’s room flew open. 

“What in the hell are you kids doing? It is 9am!” He growled. 

“Sorry, go back to sleep.” Eddie waved him off as he went to the bathroom. 

“She throwing up in there?”

“Yeah, just go back to bed, I got it.” Eddie said. He crouched down next to Annie, rubbing her back as she threw up.

“I’ll get some water…” Wayne growled as he walked to the kitchen. Annie sighed as she lifted her head, flushing the toilet. 

“Sorry.” She sat back against the bathtub.

“Why the hell are you apologizing for being sick?” Eddie laughed. 

“I woke everyone up.” Annie shook her head. 

“Only because I was being an ass.” Eddie sighed. 

“Here, sweetheart, drink some. When you’re ready, you two come into the living room. I think y'all might need to tell me some things.” Wayne said, handing Annie the glass and shooting Eddie a look that could kill. 

“Well, shit.” Annie sipped her water. 

“I mean he’s not an idiot. He was gonna figure it out if you were around enough.” Eddie pulled Annie into his chest. 

“I know, but there was a tiny part of me that thought we could get away without anyone knowing.” 

“Oh, that’s so sweet and naive of you.”Eddie snorted. 

“Right, let’s get this over with.” Annie groaned as she stood up and walked out to the living room, Eddie trailing behind her with his head hung low. 

“Sit down.” Wayne pointed to the couch. They sat on the couch, Wayne stood in front of them, tapping his foot. 

“Sorry, I woke you up.” Annie said. 

“You didn’t wake me up, that clutz did. You better not be apologizing for being sick either.” Wayne crossed his arm with a huff. 

“I tripped, it wasn’t on purpose!” Eddie threw his hands in the air. 

“So. Who's gonna say it? Go on, out with it.” Wayne barked. 

“Annie’s pregnant.” Eddie sighed. 

“Right. And how long have you been hiding this from me?”

“I don’t know, like twelve hours? We have a plan.” Eddie said. 

“Bull shit. Don’t you start lying to me now, you’re better than that. What the hell is your plan? You’re still kids! Babies raising babies!? I mean, you two are smarter than this!”

“I just found out yesterday. I swear, I didn’t know for sure until like 1pm yesterday!” Annie said, her eyes watering. Wayne looked down at her and sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. 

“Well shit.”

“We…we aren’t going to keep it.” 

“Eddie-”

“It’s okay. He’ll be okay.” Eddie put a hand on Annie’s knee. 

“What’d you mean by that exactly?” 

“We’re calling a clinic in Indianapolis and getting her set up with an appointment.” Eddie said, straightening his back. 

“I want you to say the words, son. I want you to know how heavy they are, I know she does already.” Wayne put his hands on his hips. 

“I’m driving her to Indianapolis to get…an abortion. I’m going to pay for it too.”

“No, Eddie, I can’t let you do that-”

“Oh yes you can and you will. He’ll be paying for his mistakes.” Wayne snorted.

“It was my mistake too.” Annie protested. 

“And you’ll have your own price to pay, sweetheart. This will be harder on you than him, least he can do is pay for it.” Annie looked at her feet in the carpet. She knew he was right. She hadn’t stopped thinking about what it would be like after everything was said and done. 

“It’s only fair.” Eddie rubbed her back. 

“Damn right. Well, at least I know I raised you somewhat right. I’m sorry you two had to learn this lesson the hard way. You tell your parents yet?”

“No. They won’t be as kind as you. I was hoping to get everything taken care of without them knowing.” Annie admitted. 

“Yeah, I can see them not taking this so well. It’s your choice, but I think you should tell them. Your mom at least. I know telling you two to keep the door open ain’t going to stop you from finding secret corners, but for god sake don’t let this happen again. I’m going back to bed. You two call that clinic now and then you,” Wayne points to Eddie. “Are going to the store and getting saltines and ginger tea and whatever the hell she wants. You know where my wallet is.” Wayne waved them off as he went back to his room. 

“That went better than I thought.” Eddie sighed. 

“Yeah, it could have been worse. I’m going to call the clinic, can I use the phone in your room?”

“Yeah of course. You want me to stay out here?”

“I kind of want to talk to them alone. Is that alright?”

“Shit yeah. You do what you want. I’m going to go to the store before Wayne starts throwing things at me.” 

Eddie stood staring at the different crackers in front of him. All the same, all different. He couldn’t help thinking about everything, wondering if they were making the right choice. Was he even supposed to be thinking like this? I mean, everyone would say it’s for the best. He grabbed a blue package, blue was Annie’s favorite color. 

When Eddie pulled into the driveway Annie was sitting on the front steps looking sullen. He didn’t want to get out of the van, afraid there was bad news awaiting him. He knew if he asked she would spare him, but he wouldn’t make her deal with this alone. He tried not to be an asshole, tried not to be his father. 

“Bit cold out here, you supposed to be cold or is that bad?” Eddie shrugged, bags in hand. 

“Does it matter?”

“Good point.”

“I thought you were just getting crackers and tea? Why does it look like you bought the whole store?” Annie laughed. 

“Oh,I bought tea and crackers. But I was standing in the check out line and this woman made some joke about a rough night. I said I had a girlfriend with a rough morning and she started listing off all these things to help with the puke.” Eddie smiled like a kid who got a good grade. 

“That was nice of her. Nice of you.” Annie paid more attention to her feet than what Eddie was saying. 

“Hey. What’d they say?” 

“Well, they can get me in next friday.”

“That’s perfect! You can have the weekend off to recover and shit.”

“Eddie, they said it was going to be five hundred dollars.” Annie said, tears threatening to spill. Eddie nearly dropped the groceries on the gravel. 

“Oh. Right. I guess that makes sense…” He moved to sit next to her. 

“I have two hundred saved up. But that’s all I got.” She sniffled. 

“I’ll go to Rick, he’ll have some merchandise for me to push. I’ll figure it out. I’ll make it happen.” Eddie told her. 

“I don’t like you going to him, you know that.” 

“What choice do we have?”

“I’ll tell my parents. Maybe they’ll help.”

“No. Nope. I’ve seen what they do to you when they’re upset. I’m not letting that happen. I’m going to fix this and we’ll be fine. End of story.” Eddie went into the trailer putting the groceries away. 

“Alright, son.”

“Holy shit Wayne! Why the hell are you sneaking around scaring the shit out of me like that!” Eddie jumped sending a few boxes of tea and mint cookies flying to the floor.

“I heard you two. You really are loud, ya know that.”

“Sorry.” 

“I agree with her, she’s a smart girl. I don’t like you going to the drug lord.” Wayne sighed. 

“I don’t think Rick counts as a drug lord. Anyway, I’m not going to leave her to go to her parents, you saw what they did to her when she failed algebra. It’s all I can do right now and we need it by friday!” Eddie growled, frustration at everything coming pouring out of him. 

“Hey, easy. I know that. I can swing it.”

“What? No. I can’t ask you to do that, it’s not fair to you.” 

“I ain’t going to sit here and watch you two kids struggle for no good reason. This world is often unfair, especially to people like us. I want you to do bigger things than me. I want her to do the same, she’s far too good for this town and so are you. You’re going to let me help, I want to help.” Wayne put a hand on Eddie’s shoulder. Eddie threw his whole body into the older man, grabbing on like he was his life jacket. 

“Thank you…” Eddie’s voice cracked. 

“It’s alright, son. You’ll be alright.” Wayne stroked Eddie’s hair, a gesture that only Wayne and Annie were permitted to do. 

“I’ll pay you back, I promise.”

“I ain’t worried about that. Go let Annie know so she can stop worrying out there.” Wayne said as he walked back into his room. 

“Hey.” Eddie sat next to Annie on the steps. Her eyes were red and puffy. Eddie wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close. She rested her head on his shoulder. 

“I wish I could have a cigarette right now, I have never wanted one so badly.” She gave a half hearted chuckle. 

“Well, I mean I won’t tell if you don’t.” Eddie laughed. 

“I don’t know. I feel like I should still follow the rules. I know this will be over on friday, but still.” 

“Up to you babe. Wayne’s gonna help. I’ll pay him back eventually. I just don’t want you worrying about that. You got enough to worry about.” 

“Thank you Eddie. I want you to know, I didn’t expect all this of you. I wouldn’t put that on you.”

“I’m always going to make sure you’re okay. Especially if it’s because I was being an idiot.”

“You didn’t do this on purpose. Neither of us did.”

“Yeah, but I was the one who thought a green dick would be funny and here we are.”

“It was a little funny. Less so right now, but at the time it was pretty funny.” Annie giggled. Eddie looked down at her with a smile. He knew she was it for him, he was done for completely. He was perfectly okay with it. 

If there was one thing Eddie Munson was known for, it was his reckless driving. He was a terror on the streets, most people knew to watch out for his van. This Monday morning however, Eddie Munson was driving like a grandma. He was getting honked at and flipped off by the passing vehicles. 

“Eddie, babe, what is going on? You are driving like an idiot right now.” Annie laughed. 

“This stupid town doesn’t fix it’s roads, full of potholes! I didn’t want to hit and like…jostle you.”

“Jostle me? What do you think is going to happen?You’ll hit a pothole and the fetus will shoot out of me? Not how it works.” Annie laughed.

“No! No, I know that. I just didn’t want to hurt you. There’s like a whole new mass in your body, don’t they like squish your organs and stuff?”

“That doesn’t happen until later. I’ll be fine, promise. Please step on the gas or we’ll be late to class.”

“Fine, but if we hit a pothole and you’re sick all over my van I’ll never forgive you.” Eddie huffed as he sped down the road toward Hawkins High. School was always a daunting venture, but now with this secret hovering over them it felt even worse. 

“Just, come get me if you need me. I don’t care if it’s the middle of class.” Eddie leaned against the locker next to Annie’s.

“I’ll be okay. If anything happens, I’ll come find you. I promise.” Annie leaned up and kissed him before running off to her first class. The day went relatively smoothly, the exception being a pop quiz in history. Lunch came around and Annie was thankful for the break, not to mention she was starving. She walked into the cafeteria and felt arms wrap around her. 

“How bad was it?” Eddie hummed in her ear. 

“Pop quiz in history. Other than that smooth sailing.” 

“Alright, but if you want to ditch, just give me a heads up. Go sit down, I’ll grab your lunch.” Eddie pushed her towards the hellfire club table. 

“Annie! Perfect! I got a question!” Dustin jumped in his seat as she sat down. 

“What you could possibly want from me now, Dustin?”

“I was talking to this guy in my class and he said that girls can like smell really well on their period. Is it true? Can you?” Dustin leaned forward, the rest of the boys did as well. 

“Oh my god! You guys have got to interact with girls sometimes. No it’s not true? What the hell kind of question is that?”

“I don’t know it just seems like something that could be true, like from when we had to survive in the wild or something.” Dustin shrugged. 

“That doesn’t even make sense.” Annie crossed her arms. Eddie came over to the table putting two trays down. 

“Your lunch m’lady.” Eddie smiled. 

“It makes total sense! So you could like smell your enemy or wolves or something!” 

“But why would it only happen during my period?”

“Wait, what?” Eddie looked between them. 

“You’re more vulnerable?” Dustin shrugged. Annie went to argue more, but the smell of the school lasagna hit her full force and her body was revolting against it. 

“Oh no!” She groaned as she ran from her seat and out the side door of the cafeteria. 

“Shit!” Eddie grumbled as he ran after her. 

“Gotta be on her period. It doesn’t smell that bad today.” Dustin nodded to Mike. Annie hunched over, hands plastered to the brick as she vomited in the grass. 

“I’m sorry, baby! I thought lasagna would be okay.” Eddie huffed as he ran up next to her. 

“S’okay..” Annie groaned as she grabbed onto his arm to steady herself. 

“You okay? You want to go home?” 

“I’m okay. I’ll be fine. Let’s just go sit down.” Annie sighed as they walked back into the lunch room. Eddie immediately grabbed the offending tray and threw it on another table. 

“You got the flu or something?” Mike asked. 

“Something like that.” Annie sighed, resting her head in her hands. 

“If it’s the flu you should go home, I don’t want to catch it.” Dustin scooted slightly down the bench. 

“I won’t give it to you, I promise.” Annie sighed. 

“You sure you don’t want to go home and lay down? You look pale.” Eddie rubbed her back. 

“I think I’ll go see if the nurse can give me anything. My head feels a little off.” Annie groaned as she stood up. 

“You want me to come with?” Eddie asked. 

“No, I’ll be fine. Eat your lunch.” She squeezed his shoulder as she left. 

“Dude, you going to start following her to the bathroom next?” Mike snorted. 

“Shut up, Wheeler.” Eddie threw a green bean at him.Annie was fumbling down the hall, her head was swimming. She thought that maybe she was dehydrated. She just had to get to the nurse and she would let her lay down with fluids for a bit. She tripped over her feet, catching herself on a few lockers. She wasn’t going to make it. She saw Lucas walking past and grabbed onto him. 

“Annie? You look bad.” Lucas said, holding her up. 

“I’m fine. I just need you to get Eddie for me.” She said, straightening herself up.

“Maybe we should go to the nurse first?”

“I want Eddie. Please, Lucas. I’ll be fine.” Annie said as she started to walk again. 

“I’ll get him I guess.” He sighed, turning to walk back to the lunchroom. He turned just in time to see Annie collapse to the ground. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she passed out on the tile floor. Lucas cursed under his breath as he ran past the art room skidding to a stop. 

“Max! Max, I need you to go get the nurse! Annie passed out!” He yelled at the redhead before running toward the lunchroom. 

“Wait! What!?” Max ran out into the hallway and saw Annie on the ground. She ran over to her, unsure what to do. 

“Eddie! Eddie, come quick!” Lucas shouted as he ran into the lunchroom. Eddie’s head whipped around as Lucas ran up to him. 

“Where’s the fire Sinclair?”

“Annie, she passed out in the hallway, told me to get you.” Lucas panted. Eddie jumped out of his seat running out of the room. He felt like his feet were working against him, he felt like he was running in slow motion. She was lying on the cold floor, it made his chest feel tight. 

“Shit! Shit!” He yelled as he skidded on his knees next to her. He took her face in his hands. 

“Baby!? Annie!?” He shook her shoulders. 

“What’s wrong with her?” Max asked. 

“I gotta get her to the nurse.” Eddie took her in his arms lifting off the ground. He did his best to run with her in his arms, luckily the nurse wasn’t too far. He kicked the door in, the poor middle aged woman nearly jumped out of her skin. 

“What is going on!?” She shouted as she jumped up, leading them over to a cot. 

“She passed out. She threw up at lunch.” Eddie huffed. 

“Has she been sick lately?” The nurse started taking vital signs. Eddie looked up to see a gaggle of teens in the doorway. 

“Out!” He growled as he slammed the door shut. 

“Mr.Munson, calm down.” 

“She’s pregnant. 8 weeks or a little more than that. I don’t know how that shit works. She had…she throws up in the morning, not just the morning but all the time. I can get her to keep like crackers and ginger ale down but that's it. She found out last friday.” Eddie said in all one breath. 

“Oh. I see.” the nurse cleared her throat.

“You can’t tell her parents. They’ll beat the shit out of her if you do.” 

“Relax Mr.Munson. She’s eighteen. I can’t tell her parents any health issues without her permission. When was the last time she ate?” 

“She had some scrambled eggs for breakfast. But she just threw those up.” 

“Eddie?” Annie croaked as she tried to sit up. 

“I’m right here, just lay down. You passed out, baby.” He stroked the hair from her face. 

“Annie, Eddie told me what’s been going on. I’m going to test your blood sugar, alright?” The nurse brought over the blood glucometer. 

“Okay. Did everyone see?”

“No, just Lucas and the gang. But they’re just worried.” Eddie told her. The nurse poked one of Annie’s fingers causing her to hiss. 

“Sorry hun, should have warned you. Looks like your blood sugar is very low.” The nurse tutted. She went over to her desk and pulled out a jello cup and handed it to her. 

“You have a jello drawer?” Annie looked confused. 

“I do. I want you to eat this and drink a cup of water. Before you go home for the day.”

“I don’t think I can stomach it…”

“You gotta try. I know it’s hard right now. But you have to do everything you can to keep food in your system.” The nurse said, handing her the jello and a bottle of water. 

“Come on, we’ll take it one bite at a time.” Eddie said, taking the jello and scooping some on to the spoon. Eddie spooned the jello into Annie’s mouth. 

“I hate jello…” Annie sighed as she forced it down. 

“I know. But you gotta do it.” He said feeding more jello to her. A tear slipped down her face, she hoped he didn’t notice. 

“When you’ve finished, you need to go straight home and rest. I highly recommend calling your doctor. They may need to put you on medication for the morning sickness.” The nurse explained. 

“Thank you. I’ll think about it.” Annie wiped the tears from her cheeks. 

“Just a couple more bites, then we’ll go home.” Eddie sighed as he held the spoon to her lips. He hated to see her so upset, knowing he was a factor in the cause of it. 

“I expect you to drop her off at her house and return to school, Mr.Munson.” The nurse huffed. 

“Of course! I wouldn’t dream of missing a second of home economics! Such valuable knowledge! I would be bereft.” Eddie’s dramatics made Annie smile. She finished the jello and down the water bottle and the nurse finally let them leave. 

“I just want to go to bed for a year.” Annie huffed. 

“Okay, you’re the boss. Bed for a year it is.” Eddie smiled as they walked out of the room. They were met by a gaggle of teens all asking different questions at once. 

“Hey! Shut the hell up!” Eddie barked at them. 

“Be nice, they’re just being concerned.” Annie smacked Eddie’s chest, her muscles so weak it barely felt like anything. 

“She’s fine, we’re going home. That’s all you need to know.” Eddie nodded as he turned, arm firmly wrapped around Annie’s waist, and led them out of the school. They made it all the way to Eddie’s trailer and when he put the van in park Annie jumped out and started vomiting pink goo all over his little lawn. 

“Shit! Damn!” Eddie fumbled out of his car as he ran over to hold her hair back, dancing slightly to avoid any ricochet of neon pink bile. 

“What the hell are you- Oh damn.” Wayne burst out of the trailer ready to give them a piece of his mind until he saw the state of Annie. She spit the remaining rancid spit from her mouth, tears running down her cheeks. 

“I’m sorry! I ruined your lawn, I’m sorry!”She sobbed. 

“Hey, it’s not ruined. It’s fine, baby, please don’t cry. It’s alright!” Eddie wrapped her up in his arms, she sobbed into his chest. Annie was always a very level headed person. She wasn’t cold but she didn’t cry at the drop of a hat. Eddie could count the times she cried in front of him on one hand. Most of them were during a movie. This was new, this was scary.

“I-I ruined everything!” She cried. 

“What? Annie, you could never ruin anything. Come on, let’s get you inside.” Eddie looked up at Wayne with big scared eyes as he led her up the stairs and into the trailer. He got her settled in bed with the promise of hot tea on it’s way. 

“She alright?” Wayne asked as he sipped his coffee at the counter. 

“I think so, I don’t know.” Eddie sighed, shaking his head he put the kettle on the stove. 

“This isn’t going to be easy, even after everything is finished.” 

“She passed out today. Lucas told me he found her passed out, I thought I was going to pass out! I saw her on the floor…it was awful.”Eddie leaned on the counter, head hung low. 

“She passed out? What’d the nurse say?” Wayne put his mug down, sitting up straighter. 

“Low blood sugar. Made her eat jello, hence the pink vomit. Told her to call the doctor. I don’t think she will.”

“She needs to if she’s fainting, damn. I was hoping this would at least go smoothly for you two.” Wayne sighed. 

“I can’t…I can’t stand it…her being sick like this, upset like this and it’s my fault! I was so stupid and now she’s gotta deal with all this bullshit!” Eddie threw the plastic cup on the counter into the sink, wanting to destroy something, knowing Wayne would have his head if he actually broke something. 

“Easy, son. You can’t completely blame yourself here. There was no way of knowing it would be this bad for her either.” Wayne came around the counter, putting his hands on Eddie’s shoulders. 

“No, it’s my fault. I thought it’d be funny to use the green condoms. I..it’s my fault.” Eddie’s face was red. 

“Well…okay then. Maybe not the best choice there. But this was a team effort in stupidity. Make her tea, that’s all you can do for now.” 

Eddie brought the steaming mug into his room, putting it gently on the side table. Annie had fallen asleep, her head nuzzled into his pillow. She looked peaceful, she was so beautiful. Eddie never really understood how a girl like her fell for a guy like him. She always told him that broken people flock together. Something about the cracks made them fit together better. He wanted to crawl in and wrap himself over her, consume her entirely and just become a part of her for a while. But she needed rest and he snored. He walked back into the kitchen and picked up the phone dialing the number in Annie’s handwriting. 

“What’re you doing?” Wayne asked. 

“I don’t know.” Eddie shrugged.

“Women Now, this is Jennifer, how may I assist you?” The cheery voice came as a shock to Eddie, expecting a sullen, overworked employee. 

“Oh, uh, hi. My-my girlfriend has an appointment for Friday, I was just wondering if there was any way to make it sooner?” Eddie stammered. 

“I’m sorry sir, but I would need her to call and ask that.”

“Right, no that makes sense. She’s not able to right now, but could you just tell me if there was any availability sooner? I can have her call when she wakes up.”

“Unfortunately, there isn’t. We book up fairly quickly, I’m afraid.”

“Okay, yeah. It’s just she's sick, like really sick, and-and I don’t know if she’ll be worse by Friday.”

“I understand. There isn’t anything I can do.”

“No, that can’t be it though. She passed out today, she can’t keep food in her stomach! She needs to get this done with! She’s sick, please!”

“Eddie, hang up the phone.” Wayne put a hand on his shoulder. 

“No! No! I fucked this up, I’m fixing it! She needs to come earlier, I’m not going to watch her get worse!”

“All I can do is call you if a cancellation happens. I’m sorry. Is this a good number to reach you or her?” Eddie brought the phone back, ready to punch it into the wall until Wayne grabbed it from him, pushing Eddie into the counter.

“Yes, this is good number to call. I’m sorry ma’am. Thank you.” Wayne hung up the phone. 

“What do I do!? I don’t know how to fix it!” Eddie cried, Wayne grabbed hold of him, pulling him into a tight hug. 

“Nothing you can do about it right now. You just take care of her the best you can. She’ll be okay. It’s okay to make mistakes, Eddie. You’re human, it’s going to happen. You didn’t get her into anything she didn’t know could happen. She’s a smart girl, she knew the risks. Stop blaming yourself.” Eddie buried his face in Wayne’s shoulder. He felt so small. He hadn’t cried like this since he was in middle school. Wayne would pick him up from school, battered and bruised, he would hold him in the car until he finished crying and they could go get ice cream. A regular occurrence for them unfortunately. 

“I-I love her, Wayne. I really do and it fucking kills me to see her like this. I’m afraid this is going to change her, in a bad way.” 

“She ain’t gonna be the same, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. You won’t be either.” Wayne crossed his arms. 

“I don’t know if I like that.” Eddie sighed. 

“Well, you ain’t got much of a choice in that. Just use this as a lesson. Maybe it’s time to grow up a little bit. Just a little.”

“I guess I thought I could push it off a while longer. Maybe you’re right.”

“Son, I’m always right.” Wayne laughed, shaking Eddie’s shoulders. 

“Shut up.” Eddie smiled. 

“I gotta give credit where it’s due. You have stepped up through all this, been doing your best to speak up for her when she can’t. I’m proud of you.” Wayne gave Eddie’s back a pat. Eddie looked up at him with wide eyes, he felt like he was fumbling the whole thing and yet Wayne was proud of him. 

“Thank you, Wayne.” Eddie hugged his uncle hard until the older man let out a groan. He let go and went back to his room. Annie was sitting up in bed sipping her tea. 

“You’re really loud you know?” Annie smiled. 

“Oh shit. How much did you hear?” Eddie groaned as he sat next to her on the bed. 

“Most of it after you yelled at the clinic receptionist.” Annie opened her arms, signaling him to fall into her. Eddie collapsed on top of her, his head buried in her neck. The smell of her shampoo made him sigh. He had started using the same shampoo, deciding girl shampoo smelled better and he didn’t want to smell like whatever the hell ‘musk’ was.

“I’m sorry I woke you up.” 

“It’s alright. I had a bad dream anyway.”

“You okay?”

“Fine. I’m more interested in talking about how you think I might change for the worse?” Annie shifted down, forcing Eddie to face her. 

“I…I just never see you cry like that. It makes me worried that I may have  had a hand in taking your spark away.” Eddie ran a hand over his face as he flopped over on the bed. 

“My spark?” Annie laughed. 

“Yeah! The way your face lights up, all the bad jokes you tell, the way you commit to doing the voices in D&D. You know? Your spark. I don’t want to be the one who makes you depressed.” Eddie looked over to her, his big brown eyes threatening to spill over with tears. 

“Oh. You think I’m depressed. I mean, I have a lot of feelings rushing around my weird little brain right now. Some of them might be sad, but I think it’s normal. But, this is part of it Eddie. Hormones? I just feel extra right now. I will for a little while. You’re probably going to see me cry a lot from now on.” 

“I don’t want you to cry ever.” 

“Well, that’s just unreasonable. What if I’m so filled with happiness that you graduate that I cry?” Annie smirked. 

“I think I’ll cry that day too.” Eddie huffed.  Annie wrapped herself around him, laying her head on his chest. 

“I promise to tell you if I’m not okay. But you have to promise too.”

“I promise.”

“Good. No more yelling at poor receptionists, got it?” Annie smacked his arm. 

“Okay, okay!” Eddie laughed. 

“What are we going to tell everyone? They’ll demand an explanation.” Annie sighed. 

“They can demand all they want. We don’t gotta tell them shit. We’ll just say you were sick. End of story.” Eddie’s grasp of Annie grew tighter. 

“And when you tell them no D&D this weekend?”

“Shit. Well, I’ll be taking care of you. That’s it.”

“Then they’ll be more curious!”

“Well, what’s your idea?”

“We could tell them the truth? They’re pretty good at secrets.”

“I don’t know, it might be too much for them. Seems dangerous expanding the number of people who know.”

“Yeah maybe. I don’t like lying to them.” Annie sighed. 

“It’s not lying, you’re sick. I will be taking care of you.”

“Yeah….” There was a heavy silence. 

“Fine. If this is what you want we can tell them.” Eddie groaned. 

“Only if they really pry.”

“We can skip tomorrow if you want?” Eddie ran his finger through her hair. 

“We’ll see how I feel in the morning. I have work at Family Video tomorrow afternoon, so maybe.” Annie yawned. 

“Call off, we’ll watch Alien and you can maybe even get me to watch Splash with you.”Annie sat up quickly looking down at Eddie with a big grin.

“You’ll watch Splash with me?” Her voice was excited and high pitched. 

“Yeah, just this once, since you feel like shit.” Eddie laughed, crossing his arms. 

“Okay, but I have to go to work. I can’t get fired.” Annie laid down. 

“I feel like you would have to do a hell of a lot to get fired, but fine.” Eddie rolled over, grabbing Annie and folding himself over and around her. 

True to his word, once the morning had settled and Annie was finished throwing up for the moment, they settled in and watched Splash. Eddie fell asleep fifteen minutes in. 

“How do you get any sleep next to him?” Wayne asked as he poured himself a cup of coffee. 

“It’s not usually this bad. I think the sitting up makes it worse.” Annie giggled. 

“You’re a stronger person than I am. I’d have kicked him out by now if I had to listen to that all the time.” Wayne smiled. 

“You can’t hear him through the walls?”

“I got ear plugs when you two started dating. I didn’t need to hear nothing from his room.” Annie’s face got red. 

“I try to make him be respectful.” 

“Uphill battle, I know I’ve been living it for years. Don’t think twice about it, darling. How are you doing today?” Wayne sat at the counter. 

“Oh, well, only threw up twice this morning. So, could be worse.” Annie sighed. 

“Just a few more days, you’ll be alright.” Wayne nodded. 

“Yeah…” Annie crossed her arms looking away. 

“Now, what’s that look for?”

“I’m just nervous. I don’t…do well with medical stuff. It makes me nervous and this will be the most…invasive procedure I’ve had.” Annie picked at the beds of her nails. 

“I see. Well, if it helps you’ll be high as a kite when it happens. He’ll be there too. You know him, he’s good at defusing tension at least.” Wayne snorted. 

“Yeah, after he causes it.” Annie laughed. Eddie stirred next to her. 

“Did Tom Hanks make out with the fish yet?” Eddie cleared his throat as he stretched. 

“Movie was over an hour ago. Just watching Alf reruns now.” Annie smiled. 

“Oh. Shit. Well, I liked the opening credits.” Eddie smiled. 

“You’re such an ass.” Annie shook her head. 

“You love my ass.” Eddie growled as he threw himself on top of Annie, causing her to yelp. 

“Hey now! At least wait until I leave!” Wayne grumbled as he quickly grabbed his lunch and ran out the door. 

“You know that means I have to get going too.” Annie sighed. 

“Or don’t and I can show you a really good time here.” Eddie waggled his eyebrows. 

“Do you want to drive me or can I take my car?” Annie got up  and grabbed her bag. 

“I’ll drive, it’s wet out.” Eddie groaned as he grabbed his keys and opened the door. They hopped in the van and peeled out of the trailer park, gravel flying in their wake. 

“Just…if you need me to come get you, call me. Don’t go fainting again, especially if I’m not there. If you need to sit down and drink your juice, just tell Buckely. She’ll punch Harrington if he says no.” Eddie parked the car out front of the video store. 

“I can handle it, Eddie! Steve will let me drink my juice, I don’t know why you think he wouldn’t.” Annie shook her head. 

“Still. Take it easy, please.” 

“I don’t think it gets much easier than stacking VHS tapes, babe.” Annie kissed his cheek and jumped out of the car. 

“You two are so gross.” Robin mocked throwing up as Annie walked in. 

“You make out with Vicky all the time and none of us do that.” Annie cocked an eyebrow. 

“Yeah, but you make out with him all the time.” Robin trailed behind Annie as she made her way to the breakroom. 

“What can I say? He’s hot, I’m hot. Hot people make out.” She shrugged. 

“How do you get enough oxygen to your brain? Like, you could be putting those lungs to good use breaking world records in diving or something.” 

“What? No, I hate fish.” Annie cringed as she grabbed her vest. 

“Robin! I asked you to organize the thrillers like twenty minutes ago.” Steve came in looking exhausted with Robin already. 

“And I will! I am having a very important and scientific discussion right now.” Robin stuck her tongue out at him. 

“Somehow I doubt that. Annie, when you’re clocked in can you start unloading the order? We got some more candy in, be careful it’s heavy.” Steve grabbed the clipboard off the wall to start taking inventory.

“Oh. I…um I can’t.” Annie punched her card in the machine, avoiding eye contact. 

“What? Why?” Robin looked at her confused.

“I’ve just not been feeling very well and I think the effort of picking up a heavy box might make me vomit all over the floor.” Annie crossed her arms. 

“You’re sick? Are you okay? Wait, why the hell did you come in if you’re sick! Dammit, now I’m going to get it!” Steve threw his arms up. 

“What is with you and Dustin convinced you’re going to catch everything? Anyway, I’m fine, I just don’t want to potentially vomit.”

“So it’s not the flu then? What is it? Is that why you left during lunch the other day?” Robin poked at Annie more. She sighed and looked at her shoes. 

“Now you’re scaring me, Annie.” Steve crossed his arms. 

“I’m going to tell you, only because it might affect my job and I still might be sore on Monday, I don’t know. But you have to promise not to tell anyone. My mother doesn’t even know.” 

“I hate that bitch, I’d never tell her anything. I promise.” Robin nodded. 

“I promise, just tell us.” Steve sighed. 

“I am pregnant, but I’m not keeping it. We’re going up to Indianapolis on Friday for my appointment. And I have seen a doctor, however the so-called morning sickness seems to be constant and when I exert myself too much I spew my guts out. I would like to avoid that, so I won’t move those boxes today.” Annie watched as the information digested in their systems. 

“Holy shit…” Robin whispered. 

“Okay. Um…okay. Well, yeah don’t touch those boxes. Don’t worry about inventory. In fact why don’t you just finish up some paperwork back here, that way you can sit and relax. Shit. Munson’s taking you?” 

“Eddie is taking me, yes. I can still do things, Steve. Just not heavy lifting.”

“You really have to go all the way to Indianapolis?” Steve asked. 

“Yeah. No clinics around her will do it.” 

“You’re staying in a hotel then?”

“No, we’re driving back the same day.” 

“What!? No way. I’ll book you a hotel, you shouldn’t be thrown around that van after something like that.”

“Steve, stop throwing money at people’s problems.” Robin chimed in. 

“We’ll be fine. It’s only a couple of hours. I’ll be on drugs, I’ll sleep most of it.” 

“Still. Wait. So, when Henderson said you passed out yesterday, you actually passed out? He wasn’t being overdramatic?” 

“Oh. Yeah. I’m having a hard time keeping food in my system. Blood sugar got low, I was fine.”

“Annie! Oh my god! That’s crazy, why didn’t you tell me!?” Robin grabbed Annie by the shoulders. 

“I didn’t want to worry anyone and we were trying to keep the number of people who know to a minimum. Besides, I’ve already got to calm Eddie down, I didn’t want to deal with your hysterics too.”  Annie pushed past them and out into the store. 

“Of course Eddie is freaking out. That boy is the human embodiment of drama.” Robin snorted. 

“That is hilarious coming from the human embodiment of anxiety.” Annie laughed. Robin looked taken aback. 

“He’s being good…to you?” Steve squirmed, unsure how to phrase what he wanted to say. 

“Eddie is taking very good care of me, not that he should have to. But he is letting me stay with him and he’s paying for the whole thing. Well, his uncle is, but you get it.”

“Okay, good. Won’t have to hate him then.” Robin smiled. 

“He makes me tea and holds my hair while I vomit. He’s handling this very well.  Just the odd episode of panic. But he already had those.” Annie shrugged as she started sorting through the returns. 

“He has his own unique way of handling stressful situations is about all that can be said.” Steve shook his head. 

“So, spill. What was he actually like when you told him?” Robin sat on the counter next to Annie’s piles. 

“I mean, he was shocked like I was. He actually kept it pretty together. I think he’s letting it out a little at a time.”

“Who else knows?” Steve leaned against the counter. 

“Just his uncle. It was kind of hard to hide it from him with all the vomiting. But he’s been really nice about it.”

“I can’t believe he’s paying for your abortion! That’s like…I think my parents would have sent me to like a convent for the rest of my life. You lucked out.” Robin laughed. 

“Yeah. I thought he’d have my head, but he’s just been helping us left and right. It’s nice. It…it  I don’t know. I just know if I had told my parents it wouldn’t have ended the way it did with Wayne.” Annie shook her head. 

“Yeah. But you got a happy ending. You don’t need to worry about it.” Robin put her hand on Annie’s shoulder. 

“I know. But I wish I could have gone to my mom. I could use a woman’s experience right now. I don’t know what’s normal or not. I’m just winging it.”

“Yeah, I get that. You just have to get to Friday. Then it’ll be fine.” 

“I don’t know. It’s weird, I get this sinking feeling when I think about it.” Annie sighed. 

“What? Like you don’t want to do it?” Steve crossed his arms, a confused look on his face. 

“No. Not like that. I know it’s for the best, it’s the right choice. It’s just…technically I’m a mother right now. It’s weird to think about it like that because it’s literally just cells, doesn’t even have a face yet. I think this is probably gonna change me permanently.” 

“Have you told Eddie this?” Robin hopped down from the counter. 

“Not everything. I don’t want to scare him. I don’t think I could handle it if he left.”

“Fat chance of that happening. You got Munson wrapped around your finger!” Steve snorted. 

“He is not wrapped around my finger. He is free to do what he wants.”

“Right, so that isn’t his van parked across the street and he hasn’t been watching you ever since you came in.” Steve pointed to the van outside. Annie looked over shocked to see that Eddie’s van was in fact parked across the street. 

“I’ll be back.” Annie growled as she ran out of the store. She made her way across the street walking towards the van. She saw Eddie’s eyes grow wide when he saw her marching towards him and ducked out of view. Annie knocked on the window, trying not to laugh at Eddie’s crouched form. 

“I can see you.” Annie sighed. Eddie popped up giving her a nervous smile as he rolled the window down. 

“Hey! I was just relaxing. I felt a little tired when I dropped you off and thought it was better to have a nap then drive home sleepy.” He nodded. 

“Right. I’ll need a better story than that, big guy.” Annie smiled.

“I just…I started to drive away and then I got this nagging feeling that something was going to go wrong. I barely even registered I turned around until I was parked here. God, I look so creepy right now.” Eddie hung his head. 

“Yeah, it’s kinda creepy. But in a caring way if we’re going to put a positive spin on it.” 

“I’ll go, I’m sorry. I know you’ll be fine, I trust you to take care of yourself and all that shit. I don’t know, I think I’m going a little crazy.” Eddie rubbed his eyes. 

“I know, me too.” 

“What?”

“I feel like I’m going crazy too. I have too much to think about, but I can’t get it organized. I’m crying at the drop of a hat and all I want to do is eat but I can’t because I’ll just spew my guts out. I mean, we’re technically parents, that’s crazy.” Annie rested her arms on the window frame. Eddie looked down at her with a shocked and confused face. 

“What’d you just say?”

“I just said like eight different things.”

“We’re technically parents? I guess I never thought about it like that.” Eddie’s voice grew small. 

“Like it or not, you are a father at this moment, Eddie. I’m a mother. The difference is on Friday you won’t be anymore, but I will always be one. I’ll have to put it on medical forms when I go to the doctor that I have been pregnant before, I’m in a new category.” Annie wiped her eyes, trying to keep the tears at bay. 

“I guess I’m lucky I never had to think about it like that. I never even thought about the fact that I’m…a father right now. All this would be over for me on friday, you have to live with this forever. This sucks.” Eddie groaned. 

“Yeah. Can I be honest with you about something?” Annie looked up at him with watery eyes. 

“Wish you would.”

“I keep thinking…what if, years from now, I look back and think I made a mistake.” Annie quickly wiped the stray tear that had escaped. Eddie climbed out of the car and wrapped her in his arms. 

“I keep thinking the same thing.” He rested his head on her shoulder. 

“I know, I can’t raise a baby right now. I’m just a kid. But what if for whatever reason this is the only chance I get?” Annie sobbed. 

“It won’t be. One day, very far away, we’ll be old enough and I’ll be a rich rockstar and you’ll be a famous author and we’ll have our babies.” Eddie sighed. 

“You think we’ll be together for that long?” 

“Baby, you are stuck with me until the end of damn time.” Eddie laughed. Annie squeezed him hard. 

“I think I like that future.”

“Me too. You go back to work, I’ll stop stalking you.” Eddie kissed her forehead. 

“Okay, I’ll see you later.” She kissed his cheek and ran back across the road. Steve and Robin acted like they were busy with something and not like they had just been watching the whole time. 

“Hey, you two shouldn’t join drama school any time soon.” Annie shook her head. 

“I don’t know what you could mean!” Robin acted shocked. 

“Just fix the thrillers, Buckley. Oh! You have to cover for me until Monday at least. Not that my parents even register my existence.” Annie went back to organizing the returns.

[florencemtrash]

Of course you have me on the edge of my seat! I want to try to save the chapters you post bc I hate being left on a cliffhanger, but I just can’t help myself! 😭💘

It's always so hard to not leave a chapter on a cliffhanger, because I feel like books do it so often, but we just don't realize it because the next chapters are readily available. Like everything is printed together so the only true cliffhangers are at the very end.

Ahhhh much apologies for leaving you hanging. I will most likely keep doing it.