#after the events at colin's birthday party

[goldengalore]

Scandal

An anxious!reader fic.

Summary: Harry faces the biggest scandal of his career when a popular influencer claims that the singer forcefully entered his home and attacked him. Y/N sets on a mission to clear Harry’s name.

Word count: 11.4k

Warnings: anxiety, physical violence, mentions of domestic violence, nonconsensual kiss, cheating, toxic masculinity, angst, smut (a bit of domrry and subrry)

A/N: Lots of protective!harry in this one. Pay attention to the warnings. Characters make some serious (false) accusations towards H. If anything makes you uncomfortable, click away! Otherwise, enjoy this angsty fic :)

***

Y/N doesn’t like parties.

Even when she was a little girl and her parents would invite all their extended family over to celebrate her birthday, her tiny self would cry and complain until one of her parents scolded her to shut her up. As she grew older, she developed methods of alleviating the discomfort brought on by social events—the main one involving alcohol.

Calling her an alcoholic would be inaccurate because the only time she ever really drinks is during social situations. In fact, she can go for weeks and months without drinking if she doesn’t have to attend a social event. Still, she knows it’s not healthy nor very effective. All it does is reinforce her belief that she can’t socialize without using alcohol as a crutch, worsening her anxiety in the long run.

Recently, she has decided to start overcoming this habit by completely avoiding alcohol before and during social situations. At first, she wanted to limit herself to one drink, but she knows that the suppressing effect on her overactive nervous system will be enough to lure her into having another, then another… then another.

Tonight is her first chance to put her new rule into practice. It’s her best friend Rosie’s birthday. Her fiance, Colin, threw her a surprise party at his house. Now, Y/N may despise parties, especially the big, extravagant ones that Colin likes to throw, but she is willing to sacrifice a part of her sanity for the people she loves, like Rosie.

Because they’re in LA and Colin is an influencer, most of the people he invited are also influencers of some sort. Y/N warned Harry about this, but he still chose to come along, much to her relief. Surprisingly, aside from a few people asking for a picture with him, he has managed to keep a low profile. He also knows about Y/N’s new rule for herself and has agreed to help her abide by it, even going as far as not drinking himself, though she told him that wasn’t necessary.

Now, while they’re conversing with a small group of people—or at least Harry converses while Y/N mostly just listens and nods and tries not to think about how badly she wants to go home—someone offers Harry a drink and she notices him hesitate for the briefest second before saying no.

“H, you can have a drink,” she tells him in his ear a minute later. “Seriously, I don’t mind. I promise you’ll still be the best boyfriend in the world by the end of the night.”

He smirks. “I’m going to need that on a mug or a t-shirt or something, you know, just so I don’t forget.”

“Fine, you’re getting that for Christmas this year, but that’s all you’re getting.”

He places a hand on his chest. “I would gladly accept that as my only gift.”

She rolls her eyes at his dramatics, smiling all the while.

“All right, I’ll grab a drink then, if you insist,” he says.

“Good. I’m going to use the washroom. Meet you back here in five?”

“Deal.”

They both go their separate ways—Harry to the bar and Y/N to the washroom. When she finds it, she opens the door and instantly regrets not knocking first. Next to the toilet is a girl kneeling on the floor with a guy’s dick in her mouth. And not just any girl, but a well-known Instagram model whose face Y/N has seen many times before.

“Shit, sorry! Sorry!” Y/N blurts out, quickly pulling the door shut. It’s only after the door closes that her brain registers who the guy was. He had his back to her, but the dirty blonde hair messily styled around his head gave him away.

It was Colin. Rosie’s Colin.

At first, she stays frozen in place, too shocked to move, but then she sees the doorknob twisting from the other side and suddenly snaps out of it. Her legs start taking her away from the washroom.

“Y/N!” she hears Colin shout from behind her.

She walks faster, pushing through the crowds of people, with no plan for where she’s headed. Eventually, she ends up out in the backyard by Colin’s pool, thinking she must have lost him somewhere in the crowd. But then the glass door slides opens and out comes Colin. He closes the door before walking over to her. The light from the pool reflects off his pale face. His blue eyes are wide and frantic.

“Look,” he starts, “what you saw back there, it wasn’t— We weren’t— It wasn’t—” He pauses before starting again, “She’s just a friend.”

She scoffs at his lame defense. “Do all your friends give you blowjobs?”

“She wasn’t giving me a blowjob.”

“Oh, so your dick just fell into her mouth by accident, is that it? How stupid do you think I am, Colin?”

In the time she has known him—which hasn’t been for very long, since he and Rosie only started dating eight months ago and got engaged three months into their relationship—she always got the impression that he views her as a naive little girl. People often make assumptions about Y/N based on her quiet, reserved nature, like that she is uptight or that she knows nothing about sex or the world. It never fails to annoy her.

“I don’t think you’re stupid,” he says slowly, patronizingly, which only contradicts his statement. “You just… You think you saw something you didn’t see.”

Her eyes narrow. “That sentence doesn’t even make sense.”

She can see him struggling to find more ways to gaslight her. When he realizes he can’t, he just says, “You can’t tell Rosie.”

She doesn’t reply, doesn’t feel the need to. And Colin clearly doesn’t like that. He begins walking towards her, eyes darkening dangerously. She takes a few steps backward, thinking he’ll stop, but he doesn’t, not until she’s right at the edge of the pool with no more room to move back. He looms over her, all six feet of him.

“Did you hear me, Y/N?” he asks, his icy gaze boring into her.

She’s not sure where her boldness comes from in that moment, but all she says in response is, “Fuck you.”

Suddenly, he grips the back of her neck with both hands and smashes his lips against hers forcefully, shoving his tongue into her mouth. Y/N recoils so hard that she would have fallen back into the water if his hand wasn’t gripping her neck so tightly, holding her against him. She lifts her right foot off the ground and swings her leg back before driving the toe of her boot into his shin as hard as possible.

He grunts in pain and releases her, shouting, “Stupid bitch!”

She sidesteps him so that she’s no longer balancing on the edge of the pool and vigorously rubs her mouth with the back of her hand.

Clutching his shin, he pins her with a menacing glare. “You’re not going to say a word to Rosie,” he says between gritted teeth. Then he places his foot on the ground and limps back into the house.

Y/N doesn’t notice she’s shaking until he’s gone. She stays outside a little while longer to gather herself and suppress the nauseating feeling induced by having Colin’s lips on hers. Then she heads back inside to find Harry.

He has a drink in his hand now, and he’s talking to a couple of regular, non-influencer-looking people. As he lifts up his arm, she snuggles into his side, wrapping her arm around his back, resolving to stay there for the remainder of the night.

She will tell him what happened. Just not now. Not with Colin watching her from across the room with Rosie under his own arm, as if he didn’t just cheat on the poor girl and then proceed to kiss her best friend.

She will also tell Rosie what happened. Colin can try to intimidate her into silence, but it won’t work. Rosie will find out. Y/N will make sure of it. She just won’t unleash the devastating news on Rosie’s birthday with all these influencers surrounding them, eagerly awaiting some drama to go down so they can use it as “content.”

The party is nowhere close to done when Y/N and Harry decide to head home, but they’re both spent and ready to crawl into bed. They find Rosie to say their goodbyes, and Y/N tries to rush the process before Colin can show up.

“Happy birthday, girlie,” she says while giving Rosie a tight hug—tighter than usual after what she discovered tonight. “I love you.”

“Love you too. Thanks for everything.”

Unfortunately, right as the two friends are pulling out of their embrace, Colin appears at Rosie’s side.

“Colin told me that you helped plan this whole thing,” says Rosie.

“Yeah, Y/N was great. Couldn’t have pulled it off without her,” Colin tells her. Then he looks at Y/N. “Thanks for keeping it a secret from this one.” He points his thumb at Rosie, laughing easily, but the threat behind his eyes as he stares at Y/N is unmistakable.

She just gives him a tight smile, resisting the urge to slap the cocky grin right off his face. Then she says to Harry, “Let’s go.”

“Thanks for having u—” Harry begins to say to Colin and Rosie, but Y/N grabs his arm and starts dragging him away before he can finish his polite farewell.

Once they’re outside, she lets go of his arm and he gives her a puzzled look.

“What was that about?” he asks as they walk to his car.

“What?”

“Seemed like you couldn’t wait to get the hell out of there.”

“Oh, you know how I feel about parties.” She leaves it at that for now, and luckily, he doesn’t press any further.

He’s had a couple drinks, so Y/N drives them home. As soon as they enter Harry’s warm, empty house, she says, “H, I need to tell you something.”

“Hold that thought, lovie.” He holds up his index finger. “I really need a wee.”

He dashes off to the bathroom by the stairs. Meanwhile, Y/N heads to the living room and flops down on the couch, feeling exhaustion take over her after what transpired tonight. Just as she’s thinking about how she’s going to explain everything to Harry and how he’ll react, she hears the bathroom door open.

Harry joins her on the couch and says, “Right, what did you need to tell me?”

She takes a deep breath. “Something happened at the party tonight.”

“Okay…” He swipes his hair back, gazing at her intently.

“I caught Colin cheating on Rosie with another girl.”

He raises his brows, his expression growing serious.

“After I saw it happen, I walked away and Colin followed me out to the backyard. He tried denying it, but I obviously wasn’t falling for it, so then he said I can’t tell Rosie and he…” She pauses, hesitates. The memory of the repulsive kiss makes her stomach turn again. “He grabbed me by the neck and kissed me—”

“He what?” Harry’s brows climb even higher.

“—and I kicked him in the shin and then he left. I honestly think the kiss was just him trying to make me feel small and intimidate me into not telling Rosie.”

Harry’s usual easygoing demeanour has completely evaporated. His hands curl into fists on his thighs. His jaw clenches and unclenches, as his hard gaze fixates on the coffee table in front of them.

“That piece of shit,” he mutters. “That fucking piece of shit.” He closes his eyes. “Jesus Christ, Y/N, I’m going to—”

“H,” she says, placing her small hand over one of his fists, “I know you’re pissed off right now, but I need you to help me figure something out here.”

He looks at her, eyes softening. His fist opens and turns to grasp her hand. “Of course, whatever you need.”

“I need to tell Rosie what happened. I’m going to do it tomorrow. I’m going to tell her what I saw in the bathroom, but I just don’t know if I should mention the part about him kissing me. She’ll already be devastated to hear that he cheated, and I feel like I’d be adding unnecessary pain by mentioning that. What would you do if you were me?”

“I would tell her everything,” he replies. “Every detail. She deserves to know exactly how much of a prick he is.”

That’s exactly what she expected him to say. Nodding, she says, “Okay. Thank you.”

His anger seems to return after that. He rubs his free hand over his jaw, shaking his head. “It’s awful, what he did to you. And Rosie. Neither of you deserve that.”

She feels so fortunate to have him in that moment. If he wasn’t at the party tonight, she’s not sure what she would have done. Surely, she would have managed one way or another, but knowing that Harry was in the house, even when Colin was cornering her out by the pool, gave her a boost of courage—something she only realized later when she found her way back to him.

Now, she scoots closer to him and wraps her arms around his torso, squeezing him tightly. He squeezes her back.

“Can we go to bed? I’m exhausted,” she tells him.

“Yeah, absolutely.”

***

The following day, when Y/N informs Rosie of Colin’s infidelity, she breaks down into tears before Y/N has even finished explaining what she saw in the bathroom. Her best friend seems so distraught, sobbing and barely forming coherent sentences, that she decides not to follow Harry’s advice about mentioning the kiss.

Before Colin came along, Rosie was always an intelligent, rational human being, the type to think long and hard before making any major decisions. When he appeared in her life, it was like she lost all sense of logic and reason within a matter of weeks of knowing him. Things moved so rapidly between the couple. Y/N thought Rosie was joking when, three months into their relationship, she revealed that Colin had proposed to her and that she had said yes.

Y/N could never understand the hold that this guy had on her friend, but for the most part, it seemed harmless. Until now. Watching someone she cares so deeply about fall apart right before her eyes drives a sword through her heart.

She offers to spend the day with Rosie at her apartment, suggesting that they binge-watch some trashy reality show while munching on their favourite comfort foods, but Rosie says she needs some time alone to process everything. Respecting her wishes, Y/N reminds her that she can call anytime she needs to talk, then heads home.

That night, she’s sitting in bed with Harry, both of them immersed in their own books—him, a romance novel and her, a mystery novel—when her phone buzzes with an incoming call from Rosie.

“Hey, Ros—”

“What the fuck, Y/N?”

Rosie’s hostile greeting makes her pull the phone away from her ear for a second.

“You lied to me.”

“I— What?” Y/N’s uneasy tone draws Harry’s attention away from his novel.

“Colin told me you kissed him.”

Her heart sinks to the pit of her stomach. Immediate regret settles in at not telling Rosie about the kiss. She played right into Colin’s hands. “That’s not what happened, Rosie.”

“Oh, really?” She hears Rosie let out an unamused laugh. Then she hears his voice in the background, whispering something to Rosie. Y/N’s hand digs into the bedsheets, scrunching them between her fingers. Harry reaches for her hand and pulls it into his lap.

“He kissed me,” she states. “He’s just telling you it was the other way around to cover his ass after cheating on you.”

“He never denied cheating on me. He admitted to it.”

Y/N is genuinely taken aback by this, unsure how to respond.

“He said you walked in on him in the bathroom and then you walked away. When he found you later and tried to explain himself, you came onto him and told him that if he fucked you, you wouldn’t tell me that he cheated.”

She scoffs, shaking her head in disbelief. “And you believe that? C’mon, Ro, you are so much smarter than this.”

Once again, her ears pick up on Colin mumbling something to Rosie.

“What lies is he feeding you now?” she asks.

“He thinks we should talk in person,” says Rosie. “All three of us. I agree. I’m at his place right now. Come over and let’s hash this out.”

She closes her eyes. “Rosie, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“What are you so scared of, Y/N?” Colin says into the speaker now, all loud and smug and condescending.

She feels Harry’s hand squeeze hers now.

“I’m giving you a chance to explain your side of the story,” says Colin. “And maybe even apologize.”

She huffs, “Apologize?”

“For trying to get between me and Rosie. She forgave me. Maybe she’ll forgive you too. But that won’t happen if you don’t come here and talk to us.”

Y/N’s blood is boiling. How could Rosie forgive him? It makes no sense. Yet again, she finds herself baffled by Colin’s hypnotic spell on her best friend. Except this time, she is also concerned for Rosie’s safety. Because if he could persuade her to forgive him for cheating, God knows what else he can make her do with the right amount of manipulation and coercion.

“Fine,” she says. “I’ll come.”

“Good girl, Y/N,” says Colin.

She almost hurls. And she knows Harry heard that too from the way his hand tightens around hers. She hangs up.

Before she can say anything, Harry states, “I’m coming with you.”

“I don’t know if—”

“It’s not up for discussion, Y/N. I already know I can’t convince you to not go, so I’m going with you. That’s it.”

“Fine.” She’s too tired to argue, and if she’s honest with herself, she’s relieved that he’s coming. Colin is bigger than her and has proven that he has no respect for her boundaries. If she has to swallow her pride and admit that she needs her boyfriend there to protect her just in case, then so be it.

Harry softens when he realizes how overbearing his words sounded. “I won’t do anything, I swear,” he reassures her. “I’m just going to make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.”

She nods. “Okay.”

On the drive to Colin’s house, Y/N gives Harry a rundown of the fabricated story that Colin has planted in Rosie’s head. She also mentions that she no longer feels safe leaving Rosie with Colin.

The house looks desolate tonight, a stark contrast to the previous night when it was filled to the brim with people and music and drugs and alcohol.

Rosie is the one who opens the door for them. Her puffy, bloodshot eyes convey that she hasn’t stopped crying today. Her dark brown hair falls in messy waves around her shoulders. She seems surprised to see Harry, but amidst the surprise, Y/N detects a hint of relief as well. The same relief that Y/N felt when Harry said he was coming with her.

Rosie leads them into the kitchen where Colin is slouched in a chair at the end of the dining table, his hand wrapped around an open bottle of whiskey on the table. A sickening smirk begins to form on his face when he sees Y/N, but it falters when his gaze falls on Harry.

“Why’s he here?” he says, turning his chin up at Harry.

“It’s fine. He can stay,” says Rosie. She sits on a chair that’s already pulled out from under the table, angled towards Colin.

Y/N grabs another chair and drags it far away from the table to maintain a fair distance from Colin. Meanwhile, Harry just leans against a wall off to the side, crossing his arms loosely over his chest. He’s dressed in a blue Adidas jacket and black gym shorts that he threw on before coming here. A hair clip keeps his curls up and away from his face.

“Harry, you wanna sit?” asks Rosie.

“I’m good, thanks.”

The group stares at each other. Y/N at Rosie. Colin at Y/N. Harry at Colin.

After a prolonged silence, Rosie finally says, “Okay, who wants to start?”

“Y/N can start,” Colin answers immediately.

There’s no doubt in her mind that this is merely a tactic to convince Rosie that he has nothing to hide and that Y/N is the one who should be explaining herself.

She clears her throat and shifts in her seat, trying not to let Colin’s annoyingly persistent gaze get to her. “Okay… Well, Rosie, like I said on the phone, I never kissed Colin. He kissed me and I pushed him away and he—”

“Why didn’t you mention any of this earlier?” Rosie interjects. “When you were at my apartment this morning and you told me that he cheated, why didn’t you mention the kiss?”

“You were so upset. I didn’t want to make it worse. I should’ve told you and I regret that I didn’t, but honestly, I just didn’t want to hurt you even more.”

“How am I supposed to believe anything you say now?”

Y/N frowns at her. “Because we’re best friends? And we have been for years? Way longer than you’ve known him.” She glances at Colin.

“He told me the truth. The whole truth. Something I would’ve expected my so-called best friend to do.”

Y/N just sighs and leans back in her chair, silent now as her mind grasps for some way, any way to convince her friend that Colin is the liar here.

Rosie turns to Harry now. “Did you know about this?”

He nods. “Y/N told me everything when we got home last night.” He pauses before adding sincerely, “She’s telling the truth, Rosie.”

“You weren’t even there when it happened. How can you be so sure?”

“Because I know her. And you know her. And we both know she’s not like that. You can call me biased, but it’s very clear to me which of these stories is the more plausible one.”

Y/N notices a subtle shift in Rosie’s expression, as if Harry’s words have actually made her see things from a different perspective. While she’s glad that at least Harry can get through to her friend, the fact that Rosie is quicker to trust Colin or Harry over her is maddening. She and Rosie have had several conversations over the years about people not believing women unless a man backs them up. It’s rather hypocritical of her to be doing the very thing she claims to be against.

Colin, who was previously slumped in his chair with a look of indifference, sits up when he realizes that he might be losing Rosie.

“What are you even doing here, man?” he asks Harry. “This has nothing to do with you.”

“I disagree.” Harry’s relaxed disposition seems to irk Colin even more. “Oh, and you should know,” continues Harry, “that neither of these women feel safe being alone around you, which says a lot about the piece of shit you are.”

“I never said I don’t feel safe around him,” Rosie argues unconvincingly.

“You don’t need to. It’s pretty obvious. And Y/N said—”

“You should really stop believing everything your whore of a girlfriend tells you,” Colin interjects.

A tense moment of silence hangs in the air before Harry pushes himself off the wall and strides over to Colin.

“Harry,” says Y/N in a warning tone, her heart speeding up as she watches Colin rise to his feet. The two men are face-to-face with only a few inches of space between them. Colin is as tall as Harry but with considerably less muscle on his body. However, that doesn’t eliminate Y/N’s concerns about her boyfriend getting hurt. “Harry,” she says again, pleadingly this time.

“Don’t worry, love. I’m not going to do anything,” he tells her, still sounding calm as ever. The only indication that Colin’s words have gotten to him is in his fists, which are clenched so tightly at his sides that his knuckles have lost colour.

“Yeah, he’s not,” says Colin, the smugness returning. “He doesn’t want to ruin his nice guy image. Isn’t that right, Styles?”

Harry lets out a brief, unamused laugh through his nose, then steps back, turning around to go back over to the wall. As he’s walking away, Colin says, “You know, now that I think about it, I should’ve just fucked your girlfriend when I had the chance. Show her what it’s like to be fucked by a real man.”

Now that Harry is turned away from Colin, Y/N can see his entire facial expression, including the rage that swims beneath the tranquil surface. His chest rises and falls with deep, controlled breaths. His eyes find Y/N’s.

“We’re leaving,” he states firmly. “Now.”

“What are you so scared of, Styles?” Colin goads him, the same way he did to Y/N over the phone. “Worried you’re gonna end up in the news for socking me? ‘Mr. Treat People With Kindness loses it on innocent civilian.’” He cackles at his own dumb joke.

Harry pinches the bridge of his nose, his patience visibly diminishing.

Y/N stands and turns to Rosie. “You’re coming with us.”

“What? No, I’m not.”

Losing her composure, Y/N presses her hands against the sides of her head, which is pounding at this point. “Oh my God, Rosie! What kind of hold does this guy have on you?!”

“I just want to talk to him.” She rises to her feet too.

“Why? So he can tell you more lies and manipulate you—”

“Oh, don’t act so fucking righteous, Y/N! Let’s not forget that you lied too!”

“I was trying to protect you! I’m not going to apologize for—”

“Colin, stop!” Rosie’s attention has shifted to the guys, who are now going at each other. Or at least, Colin is going at Harry with his fists, but Harry blocks each and every blow either with his arms or by ducking out of the way completely.

“C’mon, hit me!” Colin shouts desperately, swinging and missing, then swinging and missing again. “Don’t be a fucking pussy! Hit me! What are you waiting for?!”

At the next swing, Harry grabs Colin’s arm and twists it behind his back, spinning him around, then kicking the backs of his knees to make them buckle. Colin collapses face-first onto the hardwood floor. Harry falls on top of him, still twisting Colin’s arm behind his back at a painful angle while pressing his head down into the floor with his other hand.

Colin cries out in agony, struggling underneath Harry’s weight. “Get off me, asshole!”

“Are you gonna stop?” asks Harry.

“You’re breaking my fucking arm!”

“Are you gonna stop?”

“Get off—”

“Are you gonna stop?”

Colin, finally realizing that he’s no match for the man holding him down, surrenders. “Yes! Yes! Fucking yes!”

But Harry doesn’t let go immediately. Instead, he leans down to Colin’s ear and says in a low, chilling tone, “Good boy, Colin.” Then he lets go.

He stands up, fixes his jacket around his torso, and turns around to face the women as if nothing just happened. “Y/N and I are leaving,” he tells Rosie. “You can come with us if you want. It’s your call.”

“I’m staying,” she replies, wincing a bit as she stares at Colin writhing on the floor.

“Okay.” Harry walks over to Y/N, grabs her hand, and starts pulling her towards the door, much like how she dragged him out of the party last night but with more urgency.

“I think he broke my arm,” they hear Colin whine pitifully as they leave.

Harry doesn’t release Y/N’s hand until they reach the car. Once they’re seated inside, she instantly starts assessing his appearance to check if he’s hurt anywhere, but he seems entirely unscathed. You wouldn’t even be able to tell that he’s just been in a fight.

“Are you okay?” she asks just to be sure.

“I’m fine,” he answers, securing his seatbelt before starting the car.

“That got way out of hand.”

“I wish you’d just left with me when I said so,” he mutters, eyes focused on the road ahead.

“Harry, I didn’t want to leave her with him. I still feel awful about leaving her there.”

He takes a right, exiting Colin’s street. “What else were we meant to do, Y/N? Drag her out against her will? You think she’d still talk to you after that?” He scoffs.

His unusual harshness is making her feel even worse about a situation that is already difficult to grapple with. “No, of course not,” she says, a lump forming in her throat. “I understand why we had to leave her. I’m just saying that it fucking sucks, okay? The whole thing fucking sucks and I hate that my best friend is in the middle of it all and I can’t do anything to help her. I’m probably going to lose the only real friend I’ve made in my adult life all because of some fucking douchebag and I hate it, I hate him, I—I—” She breaks down then, her face falling into her hands as she sobs.

Anger is a strange emotion. When it’s there in full force, consuming you from head to toe, it leaves little room for anything else—anxiety, grief, and despair included. Then once it disappears, all those other emotions come hurtling in from all sides, crushing you beneath their weight.

Harry pulls over to the side of the road. “Y/N.” He turns to face her and carefully pries her hands away from her face.

She tilts her head back against the headrest, squeezing her eyes shut, tears falling unhindered.

“Hey, I get it,” he speaks gently. “I know it’s a shitty situation. I know you want to protect her, the same way I want to protect you, but you can’t save someone who’s constantly refusing your help. It’s not your fault, my love. You’ve done everything you can.” He holds both of her hands in one of his while using the other to wipe her cheeks. “I’m sorry for being harsh with you. I just hate the idea of you getting hurt. I’m sorry.” He kisses her hands several times.

“It’s okay,” she whispers, opening her eyes to look at him. She grabs a wad of tissues from the box on the dash and clears her throat before saying, “Thank you for being there tonight and handling everything so well… And not killing Colin, even though I wouldn’t have blamed you if you did.”

“Trust me, I wanted to. The prick needs someone to teach him a lesson. Unfortunately, that can’t be me.”

“I don’t know. I think you taught him pretty well that he’s not as man as he thinks he is.”

He smirks, and it’s the first sign of any pride he feels about overpowering Colin. He looks back at the road and says, “Let’s go home.”

***

It’s been a couple days since the incident at Colin’s house. Y/N hasn’t heard from Rosie again, nor does she expect to. Now, it’s the middle of the afternoon and she’s working on a new commissioned drawing when she receives a call from Jeff.

“Hey, Y/N, I’ve been trying to reach Harry all day,” he says when she picks up. “Is he with you?”

The urgency in Jeff’s voice makes her stop what she’s doing. “Uh, no, he’s out golfing with some friends. Why? Is everything okay?”

“Have you been online at all today?” She barely has a chance to answer before he says, “Sorry, dumb question. Of course you haven’t. That’s why you’re so calm. Anyway, there’s this guy, some TikToker, making some serious allegations against Harry. His name is Colin Rogers. Does that ring a bell?”

She sighs and closes her eyes. “Yeah. That’s Rosie’s fiance. What’s he saying about Harry?”

“To give you the CliffsNotes version, he’s saying that you cheated on Harry with him a few nights ago, and when Harry found out, he forced his way into Colin’s house and beat him badly enough to cause bruises and bleeding that landed him in the hospital.”

“Oh my God.”

“Like I said, that’s the CliffsNotes version. I skipped out a lot of details. It’s… bad. And he has a witness corroborating his statements.”

She frowns. “What witness?”

“Your friend Rosie.”

Y/N facepalms and groans in frustration.

“Now, we know all of this is bullshit, right?”

“Yeah, that’s not what happened,” she confirms.

“Which explains why he didn’t say a word to the police and went straight to his little Internet followers. Now it’s all anyone is talking about.”

“Are people believing it?”

“Some are. Some aren’t. That’s usually how it goes.” He sounds tired. “Look, I need to run, but I’ll send you an article detailing everything Colin said. I hate to give these tabloids any clicks, but this article is pretty thorough. Please tell H to call me when you hear from him.”

“Will do.”

Jeff sends her the article a few seconds later. She takes a deep breath before opening the link, a sick feeling settling in her stomach.

The clickbait headline reads: Harry Styles’ first big SCANDAL! Read more to find out how the “As It Was” singer ASSAULTED TikTok influencer Colin Rogers in his home.

As Y/N scrolls through the article, she finds that Jeff was right. It’s bad. Very bad. There are clips from Colin’s TikTok where he describes in exaggerated detail his manufactured version of events from that night. In the clips, you can clearly see dark purple bruises on either side of his head and around his eyes as well as his neck. His lip is badly cut, the surrounding region swollen and puffy. Even his nose is bent at an odd shape, signalling a possible fracture.

Y/N recalls how desperately Colin was trying to provoke Harry that night, saying degrading things about her to get under his skin. He even alluded to Harry ending up in the news for hitting him. Colin may be an arrogant dickhead, but apparently he’s not stupid. He was planning this out in his head even then—how he would use that situation to publicly smear Harry’s reputation along with Y/N’s.

As another one of Colin’s TikToks plays, she sees him hold up a small object. Harry’s lion ring. Colin says he found it after Harry left his house, claiming that it must have fallen off during their altercation. But Y/N knows that’s a lie because Harry wasn’t even wearing any rings that night. He was, however, wearing rings the previous night at Rosie’s birthday party. It had to have slipped off his finger at the party without him knowing.

The ring is the only “proof” Colin has of Harry being at his house at one point. Other than that, he presents no solid evidence to back up his claims, but of course, anyone who has spent even a week on social media knows that it does not operate on facts and evidence. People’s insatiable hunger for drama trumps the truth in most online spaces.

Harry gets home from golfing a couple hours later, and Y/N sits him down to explain everything. By the end of it, he is befuddled and speechless. It takes a while for him to gather his thoughts, at which point he says he’s going to make some calls to Jeff, his publicist, and a few others on his team to get their input.

He disappears into the study for the next few hours, his deep voice occasionally carrying over to Y/N, who is working at the dining table. The sun has gone down. She contemplates getting started on dinner when Harry emerges from the study.

“Hi, baby,” she says.

He walks over to her and kisses the top of her head before taking a seat next to her. She notices the fatigue on his face.

“How did the calls go?”

“We’re releasing a statement tomorrow,” he says. “It’s been drafted up already. Just explaining what actually happened that night and making it very clear that I was invited into the house and the only time I touched Colin was to defend myself, but his injuries were not my doing.”

“Can’t you also sue him for defamation? Is that what it’s called?” Suddenly feeling self-conscious about her lack of knowledge on the law, she adds, “Sorry, I don’t know much about this stuff.”

He smiles sweetly. “It’s a bit early to take that step. Jeff thinks the statement might be enough to make Colin retract his story. I’m not so sure.” He shrugs. “I guess we’ll see.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Nope, you just keep being your lovely self.” He pokes her cheek.

“Well, Rosie’s over on her Instagram, trying to convince everyone that Colin’s telling the truth. I feel like I should say something too, like maybe—”

“Darling, trust me,” he interrupts. “There’s no need. My team will handle it. They know what they’re doing.”

She bites her lip and lets out a soft sigh. “Okay.”

“And let’s stay off social media for a while, yeah? Just to keep our sanity intact.” She knows he’s mostly saying this for her. He hardly uses social media unless it’s to catch up with his loved ones, and while she also isn’t on there that much, she struggles more than him when it comes to ignoring people’s opinions online.

“Yeah, definitely,” she agrees.

But later that night, while she’s lying in bed and Harry is finishing up his nighttime routine in the bathroom, the urge to look online strikes and she can’t resist. She opens up the hellsite known as Twitter and doomscrolls through the shitty takes of people who clearly don’t know a thing about Harry but have been desperately waiting for something like this to come out about him just so they can jump on the bandwagon and “cancel” him and pile on the hate like their life depends on it, despite the fact that none of them know what they’re talking about and—

“What are you doing?” Harry’s voice startles her. She quickly turns off her phone and looks at him standing next to the bed in just his Calvin Klein underwear, which does nothing to hide his prominent bulge.

“Nothing,” she replies.

He gives her a skeptical look.

She sighs. “I’m sorry! It’s like a car crash that I can’t look away from… Except I’m involved in the car crash and I didn’t even get the worst of it.”

He climbs onto the bed, gingerly plucking the phone out of her hands and placing it on the bedside table. Then he lies on his side next to her, propped up on one elbow. Y/N gazes up at him and shakes her head in awe at how laid-back he seems.

“I don’t understand how you’re able to stay so calm in just about every situation,” she says. “It’s infuriating and hot at the same time.”

He chuckles. “I just try to remind myself that these people don’t actually know me, so there’s no point in letting their opinions get to me.”

“You say that like it’s the easiest thing in the world.” Thanks to her social anxiety, Y/N has spent the better part of her life obsessing over what other people think of her, whether it be her loved ones or the random stranger that cashed her out at the grocery store. She has always yearned for the kind of cool indifference that people like Harry exude even in the face of immense scrutiny.

“I’ve had practice,” he says. “You’ll learn as well.”

“Yeah? Will you teach me?”

“Happily.”

His gaze shifts down to her lips, and he leans down to kiss them, soft and slow. Meanwhile, his finger traces along her jaw and down her neck until his hand comes to rest on one of her breasts. She’s not wearing a bra, and her thin shirt hardly acts as a barrier between his large hand and her supple skin. He squeezes her lightly in his palm, keeping his kisses and touches gentle, like he’s handling an expensive piece of porcelain.

For a moment, her mind drifts off to the comments she read online. She cannot fathom how anyone could believe that this man—this gentle, patient, loving man—would ever do the things that Colin accused him of.

It turns out that her mind isn’t the only one wandering off to other places because Harry suddenly pulls away and says, “Sorry to bring this up, but I…” His jaw clenches. “I just hate that he put his filthy hands on you.”

“I know,” she whispers, reaching up to weave her fingers through his curls in a soothing gesture. She had no idea that Colin’s actions towards her at the party were still bothering Harry.

“And with the press being all over it now, I almost wish I’d just beaten the living shit out of him. I mean, everyone thinks I did anyway.”

“Yeah, but that’s not you, H.”

He just shrugs.

Y/N sits up and tugs at his briefs. “Take these off.”

His brows perk up at her demand.

“I’m tired of thinking and talking about Colin,” she says. “So, let me give us both something else to think about.”

A smirk forms on his lips as he hooks his thumbs into the waistband of his briefs and pulls them down his legs.

Before he entered her life, Y/N would never take the lead during sex. She always felt like she lacked the self-confidence required for that, but then again, none of the men she’d previously slept with were ever willing to let her take the lead anyway. They were the type of guys to feel emasculated by relinquishing control to a woman, though they would never admit this.

Harry was different. He was equally happy to lead and be led, to give and to receive. That alone made sex with him an ethereal experience.

Now, once Y/N also strips naked, they rest on the bed with their positions reversed—him on his back and her propped up next to him. Her hand cradles his jaw before she leans down to kiss him. Then she brings her hand to his semi-erect cock, wrapping it around the base and stroking softly until he grows stiffer in her palm and starts leaking precum. She strokes his balls as well, drawing more fluid from his tip that she then uses to get his dick nice and wet.

Harry is ogling her exposed breasts now in that way he does when he really wants to suck on them, so she slides up the bed, allowing him to take them into his mouth. When she gives his cock a firm tug, he moans around her nipple. The sensation causes her own wetness to pool between her legs.

He continues licking and sucking on her tits, grazing his teeth over them ever so slightly. The pleasurable feeling momentarily distracts her from her task, but then she returns her attention to his needy cock twitching in her palm. She jerks him faster, moving her hand up and down his pinkish flesh with just enough pressure to turn him into a moaning mess under her. Her nipple falls from his mouth as his lips part.

“Fuck, Y/N,” he pants. “I— Wait, stop. Stop.”

She immediately stills her movements and starts to ask what’s wrong when he flips them over so that he’s on top of her.

“As much as I was enjoying that,” he says, “I want to feel your pussy on me when I cum.”

His erection prods her thigh as he hovers over her, his legs wedged between hers. He reaches down to her cunt, feeling the wetness that has accumulated there. She can see it in his eyes, in his blown out pupils, that he really wants to put his cock in her right then, but he takes a minute to toy with her clit and heighten the anticipation for both of them. At last, he grabs his cock and starts guiding it into her sopping pussy.

He pauses once he’s inside her and brings the hand that was playing with her clit up to her mouth, pressing his damp fingers against her lips until she opens up and takes them into her mouth.

“Wrap your legs around me,” he says.

Still sucking his fingers clean, she wraps her legs around his hips.

He grins at her quick compliance. “Such a good girl.” Then he emphasizes, “My good girl. Isn’t that right?”

She nods, closing her eyes as he grinds his hips down into her.

“Mhm. All mine.”

Her pussy contracts around him. Keeping his fingers in her mouth, he retracts his hips and thrusts back into her. She whimpers and wraps her arms around him, nails digging into his back muscles as the rhythm of his thrusts increases in speed and urgency.

He pulls his fingers from his mouth to place that hand on the bed for extra leverage. With her mouth free, all she can do is moan his name and cry out from the intoxicating feeling of his cock ramming deep into her cunt with every thrust.

“Look at you,” he coos. “Taking my cock so well. My perfect girl. My dream girl.”

His voice and his cock are the centre of Y/N’s universe right now; nothing else matters. Her orgasm is just around the corner, building rapidly in her core.

“Ready to cum all over my cock, Y/N?”

“Oh yes, please, yes—” She gasps as his hips rock into hers at just the right angle to push her over the edge. Her whole body locks around him—legs around his hips and arms around his back.

Harry grunts with one final thrust before letting himself go, filling her up with his seed. His body relaxes on top of her. She eases her grip on him as well. Their breathing slowly returns to normal, the rising and falling of their chests syncing up.

It’s hard to think about anything else after that. She wants to stay like that forever, with him covering her like a weighted blanket, his length gradually softening inside her. She even starts to drift off after a few minutes until Harry lifts his head to look at her.

“Hey, don’t fall asleep on me yet,” he says. “Let’s get cleaned up.”

She groans as he rolls off of her. He chuckles at her reluctance and drags her out of bed with him.

***

The viral storm rages on for days, even after Harry’s team releases the statement. Contrary to Jeff’s predictions, Colin doesn’t retract any of his claims and instead doubles down on them even harder, emboldened by the blind support of his followers.

Y/N and Harry block it all out. While she found it difficult at first to look away from the trainwreck, she was eventually able to redirect her attention to her art instead. For several days, the couple remains in their happy little bubble, unbothered by the incessant buzz of the online world.

That bubble pops on one sunny Friday afternoon.

Y/N is in need of some new art supplies, and Harry is in the mood to add to his vinyl collection. They decide to make a whole day out of it, visiting the art supply store and the record store before wandering around a few other places. One shop specifically dedicated to vintage home decor catches their attention, and they end up spending over an hour in there, walking through each aisle like kids in a candy store.

Harry is usually the first one to notice when they’re being watched or followed; they often joke that he has a third eye on the back of his head. Today, however, Y/N is the first to notice the two girls who keep showing up in or around the same aisle that they’re in.

Harry’s eyeing an antique candle holder set when she leans over to him and says quietly, “I think you have a shadow… Two, actually.”

He follows her gaze to the two girls idling at the end of the aisle. When he lifts his hand to wave at them, they seem to freeze in place like a couple of deer in headlights.

He turns back to Y/N. “I’m going to go say hi.”

She nods. “Okay, I’ll wait outside. Take your time.”

It’s a beautiful day out. Not too hot, not too cold. The cusp of spring. Perfect for a light sweater, but even in her long-sleeved shirt, Y/N feels nice and snug. She stands in front of the shop, the bags containing their new purchases hanging from her arm. She tilts her head up towards the sun and closes her eyes for a minute.

“Y/N Y/L/N?”

Her eyes snap open at the sound of her name. A short, balding man dressed in all black stands before her.

“Uh, y—yes? Do I know you?” she asks, giving him a once-over.

He smiles. “No, but I know you.” Suddenly, he pulls a big professional camera out from behind his back and brings it up to his face with the lens directed at Y/N to capture her reaction as he says, “Ms. Y/L/N, how do you feel about the allegations made by Colin Rogers towards your boyfriend Harry Styles?”

She tenses.

Y/N has always hated being the centre of attention. Of course, when you’re dating a global superstar, it’s inevitable. However, over the course of their relationship, they haven’t had too many run-ins with the paparazzi; Harry has become rather skilled at avoiding the pests.

She wonders how this guy figured out their whereabouts, but considering how much time they spent inside the shop, it wouldn’t be surprising if an employee, or even the two fans Harry is currently talking to, tipped him off.

When she doesn’t respond to his question, he says, “Colin claims that Harry has a short temper and is a lot more aggressive than he lets on. Is this true, Ms. Y/L/N?”

She looks over her shoulder at the shop windows to see if Harry is on his way out. Whenever she tries to step back or turn away from the annoying pap, he finds his way right back in front of her with his camera shoved in her face. Flashbacks of how Colin cornered her by the pool at Rosie’s birthday party flicker in the back of her mind.

She continues ignoring the intrusive questions until he asks her, “Has Harry ever hit you, Ms. Y/L/N?“

The question is so jarring that it almost feels like someone knocked the air out of her lungs. “Excuse me?”

The man seems pleased to finally get a reaction out of her. With a casual shrug, he replies, “Just felt the need to ask since the new claims came out.”

Her heart pounds in her chest. “What new claims?”

“A source close to you and Harry says that she’s seen him lose his temper with you on more than one occasion and—”

Her face contorts in disgust. “God, you people will believe anything! No, he hasn’t hit me. He would never. And the fact that you would ask any woman a sensitive question like that while filming her without consent is disgusting.”

“So… Are you denying the claims, Ms. Y/L/N?”

What do you think, dumbass? she wants to say, but she refuses to give him any more content. Of course, that only makes him more persistent, and yet again, the camera is far too close to her face.

“C—can you get that out of my face please?” she says, less assertively than she would have liked, but her anxiety is rising with every passing moment and the only thing on her mind at this point is how to slow down her heartrate before she passes out.

Suddenly, a ringed hand appears from the left side of her vision and shoves the camera down and out of her face.

“Whoa, don’t touch the equipment, man!” the pap shouts angrily, clutching his precious camera to his chest.

Harry steps in front of him, towering over his short figure. “When someone asks you nicely to get the camera out of their face, you get the camera out of their face. It’s not that complicated.”

The pap takes a step back, raising his hands by his sides. “Calm down, pal. What, you gonna hit me too?”

Harry just scowls at him, then turns to Y/N with concerned eyes. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, let’s just go.” She reaches for his arm.

Not wasting another second, they start walking towards Harry’s car parked down the street. The pap is relentless, following them all the way there.

Right as Harry presses the button to unlock the car, he says, “Harry, any comments on the new claims about you hitting your girlfriend?”

Harry freezes in his tracks and turns around. “What did you just say?”

“H, let’s just get in the car,” Y/N pleads.

“Not my words, man,” says the pap. “Just saw it in the news today. A source close to you said—”

“A source close to me.” Harry scoffs and rolls his eyes. “Yeah, right.”

“You can look it up if you don’t believe me. I’m trying to help you, man. Colin Rogers is dominating the narrative. This is your chance to say your piece—”

“Right, well, here’s my piece then.” The pap raises the camera to his face again as Harry says, “Colin Rogers is a narcissistic, misogynistic, abusive pile of shit.” Leaning towards the man, he adds, “And so are you.”

And with that, he gets into the car and so does Y/N. She’s still shocked about what he said to the pap, not that it wasn’t deserved. He’s just always so stoic in these situations, and it’s the first time she has witnessed him break.

They ride silently for a while until Harry says, “People are saying I hit you? What the fuck? What the actual—”

“Okay, wait,” she says, placing a hand on his arm. “We don’t even know if he was telling the truth. He could’ve been making it up to get a reaction out of us. Let’s not jump to conclusions.”

This is new to Y/N, being the calm one in a crisis. More often than not, Harry is the one talking her anxious self down from the proverbial ledge instead of the other way around.

He doesn’t speak for the rest of the ride, but she can tell his mind is spinning. Once they reach home, she heads upstairs to change and put their shopping away. When she comes back down, Harry is sitting on the couch, leaning forward on his thighs with his phone in his hands. His face is set in a deep frown.

“He was right,” he says without looking up from his phone as she approaches him. “People really are saying that.”

She sits down next to him and gently pulls his shoulder to make him rest back against the couch. He sets his phone aside and rubs his hands over his face.

“Y/N, they think I’m some kind of monster. They think they need to, like… save you from me, as if I would ever hurt you…” Finally, he looks at her. “You know I would never hurt you, right?”

Her eyes widen. “Yes. Oh my God. You don’t need to tell me that, Harry.”

He sighs and tilts his head against the back of the couch. “Out of all the things people have said about me over the years, this has got to be the worst.”

She brings her hand to his jaw, his stubble scraping against her fingers. “Baby, look at me.”

He tilts his head down again to meet her gaze.

“These people don’t know you,” she says, using his own wording. “They’re just a bunch of trolls that feed off drama. They don’t care about the truth. They don’t care about ‘saving’ me. It’s all just an act. And in a few days, they’re going to move on to some other celebrity gossip that catches their attention. Meanwhile, the people who do know you are still going to see you as the big softie you are.”

The look in his eyes is still one of utter defeat and hopelessness, which makes her worry that her words have had no impact on him.

“Do you want to talk to someone else about it? Like Jeff?” she asks.

He shakes his head. “Don’t wanna talk to anyone. Just wanna lay here with you if that’s okay.”

“Of course.”

She lies on the couch and lets him rest his head on her chest, his arm wrapped around her middle. She tries to think of some other comforting words she can say to him but then realizes that she doesn’t have to fill the silence. Sometimes, the act of just being there for someone is far more comforting than any words can be.

***

Y/N is getting worried about Harry. A week has gone by and he has hardly left the house. Between the two of them, he is by far the more outdoorsy one, but even she has been outside more times than him this past week. He hasn’t been eating much, claiming that he’s “just not very hungry.” She often wakes in the night to find him lying there, just staring up at the ceiling, and has to coax him to sleep. She doesn’t even hear him singing in the shower like he normally does.

It crushes her to see him so low. She wants to single-handedly take down every person who has made him feel this way.

The day after the incident with the pap, she made the dangerous decision to see for herself what people were saying online. Most people seemed to recognize that these new rumours about Harry hitting Y/N were completely out of character. Despite how private they are about their relationship, people know that he practically worships Y/N from the way he talks about her in his music.

The ones who believed the rumours were a small, but vocal, minority. Harry’s fans were trying their best to drown them out, like it was their full-time job, and while Y/N feels grateful for them, she wishes there was more that she could do to help.

Today, she somehow convinces Harry to go on a walk with her around the neighbourhood. Intent on not being recognized, he opts for the most indistinguishable clothing that covers him from head to toe, combined with a hat and sunglasses. He even keeps the hood of his sweater pulled up over his hat.

“It’s so warm out,” she says as they stroll down the sidewalk. “How are you not dying in that?”

He shrugs and kicks a rock in his path. “Dunno.”

Most of his responses have been like that lately. Short, indifferent. She doesn’t take it personally. After all, she behaves in a similar way when her anxiety has her in its grips. And anyway, even though he doesn’t talk much these days, he hasn’t stopped being affectionate or reminding her that he loves her.

When they return home from their walk, Harry immediately removes his hat and sweater, confirming that he was indeed too warm in that. She makes a comment about craving a cold smoothie, and he offers to make one for her as well as one for himself.

“I can make them,” she says. “It was my idea anyway.”

He shakes his head. “No, I was a dick on our walk. Need to make up for that.”

She gives him a look. “H, you don’t need to make up for anything.”

“I do though,” he insists, walking off to the kitchen before she can protest any further.

Suddenly, her phone goes off in her back pocket. She pulls it out. It’s Rosie. For a few seconds, she vacillates between picking up and ignoring it. In the end, she picks up.

“Hello?”

“He broke up with me,” says Rosie.

Surprise, surprise, thinks Y/N. “Did you call to tell me that?”

“No, I… I need to confess something.” Her voice trembles as she states, “I—I’m the one who told the press that Harry hit you.”

Y/N lets out a sigh and leans against the small table in the entryway of the house. “I already knew that, Rosie.”

“You did?”

“‘A source close to me’? Not a lot of people can say they’re close to me, so it was kind of a no-brainer.”

“I’m so sorry, Y/N. I’m going to tell everyone that it was all a story, that none of it is true.”

“It’s a bit late for that.”

“You have no idea how sorry I am. Colin got in my head and he—”

“Did he tell you to say that Harry hit me?”

“W—well, no…”

“So that was your own genius idea?”

She says nothing.

Y/N closes her eyes, trying to sound as firm as possible as she says the next few words, “Okay, Rosie, I need you to listen to me closely… I don’t ever want to see you again. I don’t ever want to hear from you again. And don’t ever come near me or Harry ever again. Do you understand?”

Rosie’s answer arrives in an ashamed whisper, “Yeah.”

She’s about to hang up, her finger hovering over the little red icon, then she lifts the phone back up to her ear. “One more thing. How did Colin get those injuries?”

“Um, he went to that bar on Jacob Street that night after you and Harry left. He got wasted and got into a fight with a guy almost twice his size.”

Y/N knows exactly which bar she’s referring to. Now that she has the information she needs, she bids her now ex-best friend a final goodbye and hangs up. Tears prick the backs of her eyes as she realizes that the longest friendship of her life has just come to a calamitous end.

She places her phone on the table and looks up at the ceiling to keep the tears in. Then a pair of arms wraps around her waist from behind. She looks over her shoulder at Harry.

“I’m sorry, my love,” he says. “I know she meant a lot to you.”

She smiles sadly, a tear escaping the corner of her eye.

“Look at us. We’re just a couple of sad people, aren’t we?”

She laughs. “No! I refuse to label us as sad people. We’re just going through a tough time and we’re going to get through this.”

“Yes, we are.” He gives her a kiss on the cheek. “I’m actually thinking of going back to therapy. It’s been a while.”

“That’s a great idea. I should probably do that too.”

Later that afternoon, Harry falls asleep while reading a book on the couch. Y/N takes this as her chance to chat with Jeff about something that’s been on her mind since her conversation with Rosie.

When Jeff picks up her call, she doesn’t even wait for him to speak before she says, “I know how we can prove that Colin’s lying.”

“Uh… Okay, elaborate.”

“I spoke to Rosie today and she told me Colin went to a bar that night where he got into a fight with someone and ended up with those injuries. I know which bar it is. If we can go there and get security camera footage from that night, we can prove that Colin was lying all along.”

“I see what you’re saying, but we can’t just walk into a bar and ask for their security footage. We’re not investigators.”

“Okay, but don’t you know someone who can do that? You’re an Azoff. You have connections, don’t you?”

“Yeah, in the entertainment industry, Y/N. Not in law enforcement.”

She releases a heavy sigh. “C’mon, Jeff, there has to be something we can do with this information… If you’re not going to help, I will go to that bar and steal that footage myself.”

“Don’t do that,” he says quickly. “Look, I’ll see what I can do, okay?”

“Thank you.”

There’s a pause before he asks, “How’s H doing?”

“Not great. He’s really torn up about what people are saying, especially the rumours about him… hurting me. Which is exactly why I need to clear his name. I know some people will still say nasty things about him—that’s never going to stop—but…” She bites her lip to keep herself from getting emotional, which seems to be happening a lot lately. “Harry has been there for me through so much. I need to do this for him.”

“He’s lucky to have you.”

She smiles. She didn’t know she needed to hear that until now. Ever since this mess began, a part of her has been blaming herself for putting Harry through this hell because Rosie and Colin never would’ve entered his life if it wasn’t for her. While she knows that it’s not her fault, sometimes her insecurities get the best of her.

“Thanks, Jeff,” she replies.

***

Not even twenty-four hours later, the bar footage is released online. It spreads like wildfire, turning all of Harry’s critics to ashes and causing irreparable damage to Colin’s credibility.

Y/N messages Jeff to commend him for retrieving the footage so fast.

Y/N: YOU’RE AMAZING I OWE YOU

Jeff: You can repay me by drawing 100 portraits of me that I can hang around my house

Y/N: On it 🫡

Even Rosie sticks to her word by announcing on her social media that everything she said was a lie, which adds another nail in Colin’s coffin.

Over the next few days, the ominous cloud that has been hanging over Harry and Y/N’s heads finally clears. Harry is back to being his bubbly, radiant self, lighting up every room he walks into. Life feels like it’s returning to normal, at last.

Tonight, they’re at dinner with Jeff and Harry’s two other managers, Tom and Tommy. It’s not a business meeting; Harry was just in the mood to treat the people who continue to support him both professionally and personally. Lately, Y/N has been feeling motivated to overcome her discomfort around eating in public, so she agreed to tag along as well. Towards the end of their meal, Jeff raises his glass and clears his throat to get everyone’s attention.

“Okay, we need to make a toast to someone at this table,” he states. “Not you, Harry. Don’t get too excited.”

Harry’s in the middle of sipping his drink, so he just flips his friend the middle finger, which Jeff graciously returns.

“This is a toast to Y/N and her investigative skills,” Jeff continues, now looking at Y/N, who is completely caught off-guard by this gesture. “She was the one who figured out how He Who Shall Not Be Named got his injuries. And she came up with the idea of getting the security footage from that bar.”

Everyone is staring at her now, including Harry. His eyebrows are raised in surprise as he asks, “That was your idea?”

“Oh, I— It was nothing,” she says modestly. “I didn’t even do much.”

Then Jeff reveals, “She even threatened to go to the bar and steal that footage herself if I didn’t help her.” He points a finger at her. “The lady knows how to get what she wants.”

Her cheeks flush red. “Okay, that might have been a bit dramatic, but I just couldn’t let Col—” She suddenly remembers their unspoken rule of not referring to Colin by name and corrects herself, “Sorry, I couldn’t let He Who Shall Not Be Named get away with smearing Harry’s reputation, so...” She shrugs, taking a sip of her water in a futile attempt to hide the blush on her face.

Harry smiles and squeezes her knee under the table. “Thank you, lovie.”

“Maybe we need to get Y/N on the team,” says Tommy.

“Oh yeah, she’s basically my guardian angel,” says Harry, winking at her. “Might as well.”

Y/N just laughs and accepts the praise, not bothering to hide her reddened cheeks anymore. She might hate being the centre of attention, but at least this is a good kind of attention.

“To Y/N, everyone!” says Jeff, lifting his glass up in the air.

“To Y/N!”

***

Thank you for reading! For more anxious!reader and other fics, check out my MASTERLIST

[livingdreams97]

Eloise Bridgerton - "The Prince" (Part 2)

Eloise Bridgerton x Male reader/oc

Summary: Two people who have never seen each other before, with the same need and desire to be free in different ways. What could come of that when both people meet each other?

Words: 3.275

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POV Narrator

Dear readers,

The same two words always come to mind for this author the morning after a big party: surprise and delight. And dear reader, the scandalous accounts of last night's evening at Ranger House ( Bridgerton house ) are quite surprising and a real delight.

Emerging from her previous failure with Viscount Anthony Bridgerton, Miss Edwina Sharma seems to have charmed Prince Friedrich of Prussia with her charms.

They have been seen very together at every social event and close sources comment on the success of the diamond of the season with the prince. Perhaps it turns out that the Queen Regent is a very good supervisor and has an eye for pairing.

Maybe this is the queen's redemption, compared to the resounding failure she had last season with Miss Sharma herself; her diamond for the second consecutive year, and the frustrated wedding she was going to have with the Viscount.

Speaking of royalty, we must also mention the presence of Prince Y/n of Hannover and also the queen's nephew in this season. Also remember that Prince Y/n is the future heir to the throne since the queen and the regent king so dictated after his 16th birthday .

Apparently, this handsome green-eyed prince is also looking for a wife and a future queen. The mothers are very attentive to each moment of solitude, to push their daughters into hisarms and try to catch the biggest fish in the place.

But it seems that his attention is fixed on none other than Miss Eloise Bridgerton. It should be noted that this is the second season as a debutante for the second daughter of the Bridgertons and the bad reputation that comes from the people with whom she joined last season.

But that fame does not seem to frighten or matter to the Prince of Hanover, as he has been seen many times on the dancefloor with Miss Bridgerton. They say that love is blind and perhaps in this case it can also become deaf.

How will the queen feel about this possible union?

On the other hand, we have Miss Prudence Featherington who is still engaged to Mr. Jack Featherington and it seems that the nuptials are still some way off. On the other hand, we have Penelope Featherington , who has reportedly been seen in the company of Mr. Colin Bridgerton more than usual. Could this mean something else; or is it just a friendship?

Always yours,

Lady Whistledown.

Eloise's POV

I can't do it anymore. I can't continue with this constant pressure, feeling like every step and every one of my movements is being watched. And not only for my mother, but also for the rest of the people in each event.

It's only been three weeks since the social season began, three weeks that have seemed eternal and one of the heaviest. It seems that three months have passed and not three weeks.

I feel exhausted and totally stressed. I don't want to disappoint my mother again and have our last name put in doubt again because of me. That is what I least want.

But the pressure not to disappoint Mother again, the feeling of being completely watched at all times, and the discomfort I feel every time a newcomer questions me about my "radical" ideals overwhelms me.

The only times I don't feel so overwhelmed and suffocated by everything is when I'm reading in my room and no one bothers or watches me at all.

I can only relax when I am completely alone.

Worst of all, I can't talk about it with anyone, since I would have talked about it with Penelope before and that's it. But after her betrayal, I can't talk to her, much less when she didn't trust her and continues to write as Lady Whistledown .

The fact that she continues writing annoys me even more, especially when she writes about my family and more specifically about me. If anyone had forgotten about her comment last season, about my relationship with Theo and my supposed radical political ideas; with what she wrote about me three days ago, she reminded all of London.

So people looked at me even more and not in a very positive way. But I couldn't talk to anyone about how I felt, because I don't have any friends left and no one in my family would understand.

I can't even tell Benedict how I feel, since he's too focused on his drawing and I don't want to worry him with my problems. In addition to that he would tell me not to pay attention to people and he would tell me something funny to make me laugh.

But that's not what I need right now. What I need now is someone who listens to me, who understands me and can help me with all this that I feel. Because I feel like I'm drowning more every day and how I'm short of breath every time I enter a dance or social event.

And the same thing was happening to me right now.

Tonight was the annual seasonal ball at Vauxhall Gardens, so the whole family except my two younger brothers had come. Even Kate had decided to leave little Olivia at home.

As soon as the family had set foot in the party, all eyes were on us and more specifically on me.

Ignoring with all my might the gazes on me, I comply with what my mother asks of me and dance with two men until the song ends. But neither of the two men are educated people.

Because both of them have spent the dances asking about my ideals and how wrong I am with my radical political thought, since that promotes the extinction of my life as a person of high class.

What ends up getting fed up and in a carelessness of my family I flee towards the labyrinth of the gardens. Where I sit on one of the stone benches of the place and I start to cry without being able to avoid it.

XY: I don't think it's safe or correct that you're out here without supervision.- I hear near me, causing me to jump scared and turn around to find the Prince of Hannover.

Eloise: I could say the same to you.- I reproach with a frown, forcefully wiping away my tears and trying to stop crying.

Y/n: Are you alright Eloise? - he asks with some concern on his face, walking towards where I am and sitting a bit far away; but in the same bank.

Eloise: Of course I'm fine.- I answer clenching my jaw and holding back the urge to continue crying.

Y/n: I'll  believe you and we can go back to the dance as if nothing had happened.- he says with some sarcasm, bringing a glass to his lips and giving a small sip.

Another thing that has changed is my relationship with Prince Y/n. At first it seemed unbearable and somewhat unbelievable. But over time I have been able to learn more about him and have long intellectual conversations about our interests.

So I've started to see him a bit as a friend, since he knows what is said about me and completely ignores it. He has never come to ask me about my radical political ideas, even though I don't have them as such and that is something that everyone has asked me about.

So you can say that I like him a little, although not enough to tell him my stuff and be considered my friend completely.

Eloise: I'm just tired and overwhelmed by everything.- I admit with a sigh and see how he offers me his drink.

Y/n: What has you overwhelmed?- he asks as I accept the glass and take a small sip, feeling a burning pain in my throat.

Eloise: Iugh Yuck.- I say with a gag, giving him back the drink and causing him to laugh at my reaction.

Y/n: Don't change the subject and answer me.- he tells me funny.

Eloise: I feel overwhelmed for not finding a husband and disappointing my mother for a second time.- I answer playing with my hands and lowering my gaze.

Y/n: And why do you think you won't find a husband?- he asks with some confusion in his voice. -From my point of view, you are perfect for any man. You are beautiful, you have your own thoughts and ideals that you defend with very good arguments, you are educated, you like to read and you do not give importance to what the rest of the world says. - he enumerates and I look at him completely surprised, feeling a certain heat on my cheeks and ears.

Eloise: You say that out of politeness.- I played down what he just said, feeling embarrassed and somewhat impressed by his opinion about me.

Y/n: I say what I've seen and what I've experienced with you.- he assures me with a small smile, so I look away from him. -There are very few women like you Eloise Bridgerton and you should be proud of who you are. Because you are worth much more than any of the other debutants with knowledge of pianoforte or whatever they know how to do, because you go further and you don't focus only on learning something to please your future husband.- he expresses and i presses my lips , so that he does not see the smile that wants to appear on my face about what he has told me.

Eloise: That's the problem, I don't want a husband to please and become a boring housewife.- I say with a sigh. -I don't want to have to pretend to be someone I'm not in order for a man to like me, I don't want to make myself less so I can get married and I don't want my life to be left in the hands of a husband who is only interested in himself.- I complain and I can see how he listens to me attentively.

Y/n: So you don't want to get married? - he asks with confusion and with some interest shining in his eyes.

Eloise: No.- I deny with a sigh. -It's not something I want, but my mother wants me to get married and I don't want to stay like a spinster either; because it is not that they are very well seen in our society. - I explain and I see how he nods with his head processing what I just said.

He stares at me in silence for a few moments, saying absolutely nothing and with a certain pensive look on his face.

Y/n: Can I make you a proposition?- he asks me with some caution.

Eloise: What kind of proposition? - I ask a little interested, but also with some caution for the possibilities.

Y/n: You don't want to get married, right? - he asks and I shake my head. -But neither do you want to stay single and "disappoint" your mother by not getting married.- he says and I nod without understanding where he wants to go. -I propose that you marry me.- he says confidently and I open my eyes wide.

Eloise: WHAT?!! - I exclaim completely in shock.

Y/n: Don't yell or someone will see us.- he whispers looking at all sides.

Eloise: Have you gone crazy?- I ask quickly in a whisper. -I just told you that I don't want to get married and you ask me to marry.- I commented as if it were the craziest idea in the world.

Y/n: Be quiet and listen to me for a moment please.- he asks me with a certain plea in his eyes.

Eloise: Okay.- I accept with a sigh, trying to relax my breathing and the accelerated beating of my heart.

Y/n: I don't want to get married either, but my father forces me to find someone and marry her for love.- he begins to tell me. -I just want to travel the world and enjoy life, but I can't do it until I get married; since I made a deal with my father. The deal is based on the fact that if I marry for love, he will pay me six months to travel the world and buy me a house wherever I want for myself and my wife.- he explains and I still don't understand his proposition.

Eloise: And what do I paint here and in your proposal for me to marry you? - I ask still a bit confused.

Y/n: That's what I'm getting to.- he complains with a sigh. -I don't want to get married and you don't want to get married, but for different reasons we don't want to be single either. So it's the best thing that could happen to us. - he exclaims and I look at him still confused.

Eloise: I still don't quite understand the reason for your proposition.- I point out how poorly it is being explained.

Y/n: You marry me and your mother is glad that you marry a prince and future heir to the crown; besides that you don't stay single.- he points to me first . -And I marry you, finally being able to travel the world and having the freedom to live away from my father. We both won.- he exclaims with some joy.

Eloise: But I would still have to marry you and I'm not going to make myself less or become a housewife for you.- I deny immediately.

Y/n: And you won't.- He denies, reassure me immediately. -You will have all the freedom in the world, you will be able to read everything you want and dedicate your time to yourself without having to worry about your future anymore.- he assures me and I observe him considering the proposal.

Eloise: Could I choose where to have the house? - I ask with a raised eyebrow.

Y/n: As long as it's not near my father; yes.- he nods with a smile.

Eloise: I want to review your proposal, okay? - I ask and he nods. -You want us to get married together; because neither of us really wants to get married, but I don't want to disappoint my mother and I don't want to stay single either. At the same time as you , you have made a deal with your father and if you get married he will finally let you travel the world and buy you a house.- I am saying everything he has told me, causing him to nod again. -And I will be able to continue enjoying my books and not being the most feminine woman in the world, without you caring and I will have all the freedom in the world; besides that I will choose where we would live? - I finish reviewing the proposition.

Y/n: Exactly.- He nods with a smile.

Eloise: What's the catch? - I ask raising an eyebrow, knowing that everything sounds very perfect and there must be a catch.

Y/n: It has to seem like we really love each other and my aunt has to accept our marriage.- he responds a bit insecure and I open my mouth in surprise.

Eloise: No.- I deny getting up from the bench. -Your aunt; Your aunt THE Queen hates me.- I point out and he follows my example getting up from the bench.

Y/n: My aunt will adore you if she thinks you're the love of my life and thinks I'm in love with you.- he assures me and I shake my head.

Eloise: Nobody will believe it. - I deny nervous and somewhat disappointed.

The proposal was perfect, but it was too perfect to be true and now it's clearly impossible.

Y/n: Eloise, please listen to me.- He begs me, grabbing my hands and making me look at him. -You are my only hope, the other debutants want to marry me to show off and for the possible power that marriage would entail. And to be honest, I couldn't pretend to love them one bit, no matter how good an actor I may be.- he explains sincerely and I can't help but laugh at the last thing .

Eloise: And with me if you can pretend perhaps? - I ask strangely nervous about his closeness and curious about his answer.

Y/n: Yes, because you have something in your head and you have thoughts of your own.- he answers without thinking for two seconds. -It would be easier for me to fake a relationship with someone intelligent like you, than with someone who doesn't even know what an intellectual and casual conversation is; without it being planned.- he comments and I can't help nodding at the reality of the situation.

Eloise: And what happens if we don't fool anyone? - I ask with an exhausted sigh.

Y/n: Lady Whistledown already believes that there is something between us and as my aunt says, if that lady writes about it, the rest of the town comments on it and also thinks about it.- he answers calmly. -We just have to start being seen more together, take walks in the park together and dance only with each other.- he explains part of his plan.

Eloise: And how will we convince my mother, Lady Danbury and your aunt the Queen?- I ask and I see how he remains thoughtful.

Y/n: I could go to your house for tea from now on, show an intense interest on my part towards you and a notorious approach so that they do not suspect.- he plans and I can recreate the plan in my mind.

I can see how the situation can turn out favorable for us and how we can both win if everything works as he has said. But it can also go wrong and someone discover us.

Eloise: Can I think about the proposal for a few days? - I ask a little nervous and insecure.

Y/n: You can think about it for as long as you want. - He nods with a small smile. -But I'm afraid that to ensure a positive ending in case you accept, we have to start acting now and even if in the end you reject the offer, we'll just distance ourselves a bit and that's it.- he raises and I nod, understanding his point of view .

Eloise: Okay.- I nod and he leaves a light squeeze on my hands and then releases them. -I'll think about it these days and I 'll give you an answer as soon as possible.- I assure him and he takes a couple of steps back, picking up his glass from the bench.

Y/n: Great, now let's go back to the dance and hopefully no one has noticed our absence.- he tells me and we both head towards the dance.

Before reaching the end of the maze, he asks me to go first and that he will appear a few minutes later; so as not to arouse suspicion. And that's what happens.

Ten minutes after I have found my brothers, excusing myself for having been in the bathroom and for the long queue, there he was. Prince Y/n approaches us and asks me to dance with him, which I immediately accept with a smile and beginning the most important performance of my life.

From this moment on, in the following days we will have to be the best actors in the world and make all the people believe that there is something between the prince and me.

I just hope that everything goes well and that in the solitude of my room, I can think calmly and weigh all the pros and cons of the proposition Y/n has made me.

I only hope to be able to choose well and not regret it in the future; either close or far from the decision that I have to make in a few days. Because that decision will dictate my life and future from the moment I make my final decision.

[thekatebridgerton]

Okay the bridgerton break ups are killing me, can we please see how they back together cos I need some hea’s here

Okay, I get it, you convinced me, I should stop being lazy and finish the piece lol

First of all Kanthony gets back together the same way they do in the books. Kate has a car accident, the hospital calls him because he's still Kate's emergency contact, and Anthony runs, he doesn't even finish hearing the voicemail from the doctor, he just drops everything and races out. Kate turns out to only have a broken leg, but all the while Kate is getting her cast on Anthony is having the most major freak out of his life, because Kate could die! she could die! and he keeps repeating it to himself and Kate gets really worried about how he looks like he hasn't slept in ages. The next thing he knows, Anthony is hugging her, telling her he loves her so much, that he's been afraid of turning her into his mother who basically stopped functioning when his dad died because he was her world. But Anthony would rather live every day of his life loving Kate than waste another day without her. He lied to protect himself!! he does love her, he doesn't want to think of a world without Kate. And Kate decides to take him back, after he finally convinces her that all this time he did hear her her confession of love and did reciprocate her feelings, ever since they met, he was just lying about it. Anthony does do a 180 because he can't get over the fact that he could have lost Kate and she never would have known his feelings. Meanwhile Kate is pleasantly surprised at how much more free Anthony acts now that he's not lying to himself about loving her

Benophie, well, you guys probably already guessed it, Benedict makes a scene at Violet's birthday party, he gets into an argument with Araminta for harassing Sophie about the breakup and making it sound like it's all Sophie's fault, when he's the one who never deserved her. Finding out that Araminta and Sophie's dad sucked and that Sophie had a terrible home life. When Sophie thanks him for defending her like that, Benedict realizes that after knowing the terrible family Sophie came from, and hearing her talking with Roger about building her true family and raising kids with love and care, that his so called freedom means nothing compared to that. Because he's been trying to fill the void with meaningless hookups when all this time, he could be having something real and lasting with Sophie. the whole thing of having a nice house, doing chores. It suddenly hits him that building a future together with someone as brilliant as Sophie Beckett, sounds like a dream to him. So he apologizes to Sophie profoundly and goes all out to show her he's changed, he gets a permanent job at an art gallery, stops the random hookups, if he needs a date he only asks Sophie to go, and shows up alone to events if she says no. And when Araminta has her arrested on false theft charges, Bendict pays her entire bail out of his own savings, only asking her to give him another chance, this time, with the intention of getting married one day soon, if she'll have him. Sophie says that yes, she'll give him a chance, because she loves him, and eventually after a lot of persistence on Benedict's part, they do get back together.

Polin. I think these two got really angry at each other before the reconciliation, they both try to move on with their lives, but keep coming back to each other. Colin tricks Penelope into the 'we can still be friends right?' thingie that guys do when they're trying to change. But I think what does it for them is that in the dramatic moment when Colin doesn't run when he finds out that his ex, Penelope is the famous anonymous columnist LW. For the first time in the relationship he stays in England and faces her directly, because he's sick of running from his problems with Penelope. And he's sick of her expecting him to run. So he confronts her and they just have the big explosive angry argument they should have had before they broke up. Throwing blame, recriminations, hurt, every verbal weapon every bad memory, everything they hated or hid from each other fearing that their relationship wouldn't survive, they throw it there, out in the open. And then, by the end of the argument, both realize that they still love each other, that even trough all the dirty laundry they mutually aired, they both still think that the other is the best thing to happen to them, so Colin asks Penelope to be his girlfriend again, because he can't live without her, and if this is the worst they can do to each other, then they're going to be fine after all, so he will work hard to earn her trust, and since she also loves him, she agrees to try again. (Makeup sex was probably involved in this)

Philoise, well, that's just Eloise showing up in the middle of the night at Phillip's house, hugging the oversized stuffed animal Phillip got her for Christmas, during a thunderstorm, mumbling the most pathetic excuse, of being in the neighborhood, which basically boils down to a tearful 'Phillip I really really miss you' that just shoots Phillip's defenses to the ground. Because how can he not take her back when she's being so vulnerable and obviously in as much pain as him. He shows her that he built her a home office in his house, for her to use and she cries again, because of course he would, that's the type of idiot he is. Phillip is still angry at her for just breaking up with him without an explanation, but once Eloise does explain herself, and he has a chance of talking about his own trauma, they both agree that being single is terrible when you're inlove with someone this stubborn. The next day Oliver and Amanda find out Eloise is in the house and absolutely snitch on their father about what a pathetic downer he's been and how she needs to come back and 'fix him again'. So Eloise promises she's back with their dad, and here to stay. Although in this case, they do agree to take things slower (And by slower I mean Eloise will be proposing next week, because she saw Colin do it and it felt like a good idea)

Saphne, Ohh this one is the typical party girl x bad boy get back together, Daphne is partying hard till she drops for the third month straight, when Simon just can't take it anymore, because ofc Anthony was like 'Let Daphne make her own choices Simon' when Simon told Anthony to rein her in and watch out for her crazy celebrity friends. So Simon himself starts showing up at the events where Daphne is acting out, and just brining her home before she can be taken advantage of. Because for some reason he's now frequenting the bars she likes. At one point, he confronts her, tells her that she's better than this, Daphne tells him that so is he!. And they have a heart to heart, that brings them closer together. They decide to quit pretending they're okay, and do get back together after finally accepting that the other is not going to change and that relationships mean compromise, and it's not until Anthony has his first child a year later, that Simon revisits the children and marriage conversation with Daphne. Because after thinking about it for so long, he's ready to become a dad, not because Daphne wants to have kids, but rather because he finally healed enough to feel confident that he deserves to be loved and that he's not going to turn into his abusive father.

Franchel: Michael comes back from his travels, he admits defeat, he grovels, Francesca does not take him back, he spends way too long being Violet's plus one to family events just to get close to Fran again. Until literally half her family is begging Francesca to put him out of his misery and either honestly go no contact or take him back. She does finally take him back. But with much more healthier ground rules. (Oh who am I kidding, he seduced himself into forgiveness, because she sure was more forgiving after round 10 of seduction. That man has got a superpower only Francesca can tame. She was brave for holding him off for so long)

Hyacinth and Gareth did eventually find common ground after Sophie took Hyacinth out of the videogame room and made her see the underprivileged side of town so she could appreciate the privilege she was born into. Truthfully Hyacinth still the materialistic younger sibling all the Bridgertons love, but she does make an effort to help people who have less opportunities than her by participating in more activism, when Gareth sees that she's trying to be more sensitive to human issues that don't involve her personal self interest, he falls inlove with her again. Hyacinth asks him if they could start over and Gareth agrees, knowing that he was inmature too and that the best thing they can do is leave the past behind and get together under a fresh start.

Gregory and Lucy. Pretty sure they got back together because Haselby got sick of them and staged an intervention. Haselby made it look like Lucy was being blackmailed by a criminal and had Gregory think her life was in danger, when really it was just Lucy's creepy uncle locking her up at home and not letting her go to school because he found out her relationship with Haselby was a ruse. So Gregory bravely rode to the rescue, practically blew up the door to Lucy's house, and Lucy's bedroom where she was locked up by her uncle, and as an added bonus, Gregory had Lucy's uncle arrested for child neglect. Gregory also asked Simon and Daphne to pull some strings CPS and had Lucy placed with Anthony and Kate temporarily until she turned 18. Even after all this, Gregory was insecure about where he stood with Lucy, but once she was not restricted by her uncle and didn't have to fake her relationship with Haselby, Lucy was free to be honest with him and ask Gregory out for Prom herself, Gregory is obviously over the moon. Because she never stopped loving him and that's all he needs. And although Hermione Watson gets the title of Prom Queen, Gregory gives his own Prom King Crown to his beloved Lucy, because she may not be the diamond of the season for their fancy private school, but she is the Diamond of the season to him. (Bonus of their story is that they do get accepted into the same Ivy League College after graduation)

And that's the tea

[toriaurorawriter15]

Kidnap, my heart

Chapter 10: The News

All my life, I wanted a mother who would care for me. 

Dowager Violet Bridgerton did that and more. 

The first time Mrs. Violet embraced me was filled with love and adoration. I accepted her hug and broke down in her tender arms.

Since that day, she has given me birthday cards, get-well cards, and much more for every big celebration.

I remember smiling so hard that my cheeks hurt for the rest of the day as she approached me at my first book signing event under my legal name, Penelope Marie. 

She would get in line with the rest of the fans and ask, "Will you sign my book for me, Lady Whisledown?" before smiling with pride and proclaiming in a motherly tone, "I am so proud of you, dear." That phase still kills me to this day.

It didn't take long for the rest of Colin's seven siblings to bring me into their family affairs. 

Eloise Bridgerton found so many things in common with me that we became best friends. 

Since that day, Eloise and Colin would fight over my attention. 

At first, I didn't know how to react to this new experience, but after a few months of being in their lives, I would laugh at witnessing their teasing fights about spending time with me before scheduling separate times with both siblings.

Daphane and her husband, Simon Hastings, were the first to invite me to their first son's second birthday party. 

I was so grateful for the invite and introduced the family to my family's traditional recipe of The Featherington's Peanut butter crumble. 

To this day, the family is obsessed with the recipe, and I make sure to have extras because Colin tends to eat one tray all on his own after trying the desert for the first time at Auggie's birthday party. 

I remember the family glaring and stinking eyes at Colin for weeks until I doubled the recipe for the following Bridgerton event.

Viscount Anthony and his wife Kate knew about Levi's idea of having Colin kidnap me since the beginning and admitted to helping in the scheme after Colin asked me to be his girlfriend two summers ago.

Anthony said, "Levi and his friend visited me at the Bridgerton's Historical Society office. Levi told me his female friend believes Penelope Feathington and Colin would make a perfect pair. I wasn't sure it was a good idea until she betted on her life that Polin are soulmates. And that is when I decided to agree by helping them bring you two together.." 

As for Kate, she kept praising Lady Whistledown's praise until I let slip out to the new mother that I was the author after our yearly visit to their family country home, Audrey Hall. The second Colin learned about my secret, he brought every book I wrote and now always gifts their new family members with copies of my children's books. Seeing a copy as a birthday gift is still a bit embarrassing for me. 

As for everyone in the family, they saw how proud he was that his girlfriend was a well-known author in London.

Francesca and her deceased husband John bounded with me over all types of music. 

I remember receiving the unexpected news of his death from Eloise as she was visiting the newlyweds for the summer. 

Colin and I got the earliest fight to Scotland and stood by Fanny's side for a month. 

Throughout her mourning phase, she couldn't do anything but cry over his death.

As for the rest of the family, no one had the mindset to make preparations for his funeral due to their grief of losing him unexpectedly. 

With all this happening, I decided to take rein in the situation and made all the arrangements.

Everyone was grateful for my contribution, and Fanny thanked me at every family event until she met John's cousin Micheal.

Hyacinth and Gregory, do you remember the fraternal twins? 

Those two kids are like my world. 

I taught Hy to love romance stories, and I was Greg's first crush. 

It is amusing that a little boy could see me as desirable at a young age. 

Luckily, there was no heartbreak when I turned him down while Lady Violet and I scolded Hy for teasing him about his feelings. 

Still, those kids see me as their ninth sibling and always welcome me with big bear hugs.

After staying in Los Angeles for the summer, I have learned two things from being kidnapped by Colin Clarke Bridgerton.

The first is The Bridgertons showed me how to love through their actions, protecting and supporting each other.

A love that resulted in Colin admitting to me that he had feelings since our first encounter ended our summer togetherwith him asking me to be his girlfriend in the most romantic place in Long Beach and I accepted his request in a heartbeat.

The second thing I gained is the courage to break ties with my mother and Prudence. 

On the last day of June, I called Portia Featherington and told her, "Do not worry about me, mama! I will no longer be a burden to you. Or Prudence. Please do not contact me unless you are ready to rectify our relationship ."

My mother went blastic over the phone. 

Her last words on the phone to me were, "Penelope Marie Featherington! It has been a month since you called me. Where have you been, you ungrateful wrench!"

Before meeting Colin, her words would have cut me like a dagger. 

That night, everything changed. 

Rather than wasting time defending myself, Colin took the phone for me and cut my mother's lecture by telling her, "Mrs. Featherington, you may not even know me, but your daughter will no longer be in your life. I advised you to think about what you are saying. For it may be the last time Penelope reaches out to you. For God's sake! You should have called your daughter to see if she was okay and called the police when you realized she was missing! As Penelope has told you, she is well taken care of this summer by me, and as her boyfriend, I will not tolerate you calling the love of my life a wrench. Good day! And I hope you think carefully about your next move. For I will make sure to help Penelope with filling out a restraining order form against you."

Our conversation with my mother ended with Colin ending the call and holding me the whole night as I felt myself go numb.

It has been two years since becoming boyfriend and girlfriend, and so many blessings have come my way.

Colin has helped me block my mother's number and gave me everything I could ever want in a man. 

On our first anniversary of being kidnapped, Colin asked me to move to Los Angeles with him. I accepted his offer, and we moved into our home in Whittier on August 21, XXXX.

As we were christening our new bedroom in Los Angeles, I received an offer from Amazon to publicize my first novel. 

A year later, I received a request to adapt my story on Amazon Prime and recently accepted their offer.

As for my sisters, Prudence's phone and social sites are blocked by Colin's whole family and me, but I couldn't do it to Philippa. 

When Eloise met Philippa, she told my sister off for being horrible, and my sister didn't realize that her actions were impacting my mental health until she found me almost dead on the bathroom floor after my first month back in London. 

After the incident, Philippa made our living situation with our mother's home more bearable. 

I remember her defending me when Prudence ruined my dress for graduation. Her words were drowned out by her mother's cruel words, "Oh, shut up, Philippa! You are as dumb as people say that all you are good for is being a trophy wife."

Those words were the last straw for Philippa Featherington.

Unexpectedly, my sister grabbed me by the right arm, stormed out the door without acknowledging our mother's order for us to come back, and moved us into her boyfriend Albion Flinch's apartment. Since then, Philippa hasn't given both ladies the time of day until Philomena was born. 

As for me, I cut all ties with my family last year. 

After blocking my mother's number, Philippa called me to say, "Penelope, I am so proud of you, little sister. You have found a man who loves you like my Albion has with me. But you know why I am calling you, right." She dramatically pauses before counting on, "The mother of the devil surprised us with an unexpected call to see if I could get you to reconsider your decision."

I responded in a warning tone, "Philly! If you so much as bring up that the woman who gave birth to us, I will block your number."

Philippa's response to my warning was everything I needed to hear, and it repaired our bond as sisters.

"Pen, I am on your side in this matter. Our mother is a batshit crazy. And Pure is just as bad!" She begins to say over the phone while hearing my niece's little whines in the background, Oh, no sister! I am not letting them tear my new relationship with you apart. I would take a bullet in my brain for you than allow those two to get in the way of your happiness. Penelope, you are my little sister, and there is nothing they can do to pursue me otherwise."

Previous Chapter

[weepingfromacedartree]

Ten Milestones (Interlude): Voicemails

Hi friends!

Another interlude chapter is ready for ya. It's quite different than our standard chapters, so... enjoy :)

Two quick notes:

1. This interlude spans the first five-ish years of Colin’s travels abroad. It starts after the events of Chapter 5 and will lead directly into next chapter.

2. Anytime “…” appears between paragraphs, it’s to indicate that the speaker is pausing for a few seconds.

June 9th, 2015 - 3:23 PM

To: colin ✈️

From: pen ✨✨

Hey! I wanted to call and make sure you landed safely. But I, uh —

[Laughter.]

I think I got the timing wrong. I think you’re still in the air. So just call me back whenever you do land.

…

I still can’t believe you’re really doing this. I mean —

[Nervous laughter.]

Obviously, I can believe it. I just — I can’t wait to hear all about it. 

Bye, Colin. 

~~~~~~~~~~

June 29th, 2015 - 7:07 AM

To: pen ✨✨

From: colin ✈️

Hey, Pen. I just emailed you a few pictures, but um —

[Laughter.]

Did you know there are like a million stray cats roaming around Athens? I swear, there’s at least one on every corner, popping his head out looking for food or attention. But I was just going for a run and — I swear to god — I saw the reincarnation of Mr. Whiskers pissing on an olive tree. This tiny grey fur ball looked up at me and —

…

Wait. Is Mr. Whiskers dead? He would be like twelve now, right? I —

…

Well… In the case that he’s still alive, I think I just saw his long lost Greek cousin. Professor Whiskers, maybe.

[Laughter.]

Alright, Pen. Talk soon. 

~~~~~~~~~~

August 27th, 2015 - 2:13 PM

To: pen ✨✨

From: colin ✈️

Hey, Pen. Just saw your text. Yes, I landed safely. Yes, Madrid is beautiful. No, I have yet to try the paella — but I promise you’ll be the first to receive my review. 

[Laughter.]

I’ll call you later once I get a bit more settled. Bye Pen. 

~~~~~~~~~~

October 18th, 2015 - 9:20 PM

To: colin ✈️

From: pen ✨✨

Hey. I just finished reading over the Italy piece. It was good. Like, really good… But perhaps one too many cheese puns? 

…

Anyway… Call me back when you have the chance. You still haven’t told me about Caffè Florian. [Laughter.] Do they even stock enough sugar for your tea? 

…

Okay, well… Goodnight Colin. 

~~~~~~~~~~

November 23rd, 2015 - 7:39 AM

To: pen ✨✨

From: colin ✈️

Hey, Pen. 

Sorry. I know it’s early. But I also know today is gonna be shit so, uh…

…

Call me later, if you can. 

~~~~~~~~~~

December 16th, 2015 - 10:01 PM

To: pen ✨✨

From: colin ✈️

Hey, Pen. I’m calling from Paris and —

I don’t know why I said that. [Laughter.] Obviously you know I’m in Paris. But, I — I was just watching the tower light up and I had a sudden memory of you telling me you wanted to come here once and I…

…

I could be misremembering. [Faint laughter.] It was a while ago, I think. But I think you’d like it here. I’ll tell you all about it at that surprise Welcome Home/Birthday/Christmas Eve Party that I know absolutely nothing about. 

Night, Pen. See you soon.

~~~~~~~~~~

February 14th, 2016 - 9:27 PM

To: pen ✨✨

From: colin ✈️

Hey, Pen. I hate to admit it, but I am only just now realising that time zones exist and that if it’s 9:30 in New York, it’s…

…

Shit. 2:30 in London.

I apologise for ringing you in the middle of the night —

Actually — no I don’t. If I recall correctly, you’re up writing or reading or procrastinating until at least 3 AM every night anyway. Please call me back ASAP with your own apology for dodging this very important phone call. 

~~~~~~~~~~

April 7th, 2016 - 8:08 PM

To: pen ✨✨

From: colin ✈️

Hey, Pen. I’m on the train heading into Chicago. My computer just died, so I apologise in advance for the stream of consciousness bullshit I’m about to leave for you in this message. But, um…

There’s something about being on this train that has me thinking about travel and distance and —

Good god, this already sounds corny. Sorry. Bear with me a moment. 

…

It wasn’t until I landed in New York that I realised just how far away from home I was. I looked it up, and the city was about five and a half thousand kilometres away from London. I mean — god. I remember being at Eton and thinking 35 kilometres was an insane distance. 

In January, New York was the furthest place I had ever been from home. Then I went to Toronto, and that became the furthest place I had ever been from home. Now I’m heading into Chicago and —

I don’t know. There’s something about being on a train that’s making me hyper-aware of just how fast I’m hurdling forward. How, every second, I’m travelling even further and further away from the pinpoint where I’ll always measure my distances from. I —

[Tired laughter.]

I’m not sure where I’m going with this, honestly. Nonetheless, thank you for lending me your future ear — assuming you actually made it this far. I —

…

Oh — I see the city up ahead. Once I get to my hotel, perhaps I can try to turn this bullshit into something a bit less corny. 

I’ll call you tomorrow. Night, Pen. 

~~~~~~~~~~

June 6th, 2016 - 6:15 PM

To: pen ✨✨

From: colin ✈️

Hey, Pen. 

Guess who’s flight just took off without him? I know — shocking, coming from such an experienced traveller such as myself. But my connecting flight was delayed so I really can’t take any of the blame.

…

Anyway… I’m stuck in Terminal E of Logan International, where I’ll likely be spending the next several hours dying from boredom and eating as many bags of crisps as I can get my hands on. If you aren’t too busy, maybe you can call me back and help with the boredom bit. 

Talk soon. 

~~~~~~~~~~

August 7th, 2016 - 12:49 PM

To: colin ✈️

From: pen ✨✨

Hi! I was just looking at your pictures from Cyprus and I —

[Distant clap of thunder.]

Oh. [Laughter.] I was wondering what it’s like to be in beautiful, sunny weather in the middle of the summer. Must be devastating. 

~~~~~~~~~~

September 21st, 2016 - 8:30 AM

To: pen ✨✨

From: colin ✈️

Hey, Pen. I was just reading back your notes on my piece and I’m a little confused about the last one. 

What the fuck does “too many food puns” mean? The only reason I came to Hungary was to capitalise on its pun potential. 

Please call me back ASAP so we can get this sorted.

~~~~~~~~~~

December 24th, 2016 - 12:02 AM

To: pen ✨✨

From: colin ✈️

Hey, Pen. 

Sorry, I know it’s late. But I’m also waiting around doing absolutely nothing, so I thought I would check in. 

I’m still in Sweden. But we’ll, uh — we’ll probably take off in the morning once the snow lets up. I —

…

I can’t believe it’s been six months since I’ve seen you. Since I’ve seen anyone at home. I’m a little worried that I’ll get home tomorrow and find that Greg now towers over me. Hyacinth called me last week just to complain about his latest growth spurt, so…

… 

Oh shit. Sorry — I knew it was late, but I didn’t realise it's already midnight. 

Merry Christmas Eve, then. I suppose it’s still technically the 23rd in London — but I suppose that doesn’t matter much when it comes to voicemails. 

I feel like there’s another commemoration on this date that I’m forgetting. It’s on the tip of my tongue, but it’s so late and I’m just so bloody tired…

…

Oh well. It’ll come back to me. 

Night, Pen. See you soon.  

~~~~~~~~~~

May 3rd, 2017 - 11:50 PM

To: pen ✨✨

From: colin ✈️

Hey, Pen. Sorry. I didn’t realise how late it was. I —

…

Did you know that you can’t sink in the Dead Sea? The water is so dense with salt that your body will just pop up if you try to go under. You could try your absolute hardest to sink to the bottom, and it just wouldn’t let you. 

I think there’s a metaphor in there somewhere. But it’s also very late and I just spent half the night staring at a Word doc and I’m starting to lose my ability to process complex thought. 

…

Fuck it. I’m sending you the first draft now. It’s shit, but if you’re not too busy tomorrow, maybe you can send me your thoughts. And prayers.

…

Alright. Night Pen. 

~~~~~~~~~~

August 24th, 2017 - 10:17 PM

To: colin ✈️

From: pen ✨✨

Hey! Um… 

Daphne wanted me to call and remind you all not to get the groom too drunk the night before his wedding. Fair warning: if you don’t call me back within five minutes to confirm that Simon is still standing upright, she’s prepared to send Eloise in to break up the party. 

~~~~~~~~~~

October 10th, 2017 - 7:54 PM

To: pen ✨✨

From: colin ✈️

Hey, Pen. Just calling ‘cause I wanted to ask if you’ve ever tried pickle soup. It sounds kind of strange but —

[Slurp.]

Good god. It’s bloody delicious. Absolutely recommend. 

[Slurp.]

Talk soon. 

~~~~~~~~~~

December 31st, 2017 - 10:58 PM

To: pen ✨✨

From: colin ✈️

Hey, Pen. At the risk of sounding extremely needy… 

You’re still coming tonight, right? God knows who invited her, but Cressida Cowper is here and she keeps handing me tequila shots and I really don’t —

…

Oh shit! There you a—

~~~~~~~~~~

January 19th, 2018 - 2:30 PM

To: colin ✈️

From: pen ✨✨

Hi! Just wanted to call and see how Sydney’s treating you so far. Is it weird to be experiencing summer in the middle of January? 

[Laughter.] 

Anyway… Call me back when you have the chance. 

~~~~~~~~~~

April 20th, 2018 - 5:58 PM

To: pen ✨✨

From: colin ✈️

Hey! Good news — the baby’s here! In worse, but also extremely funny news…

Apparently El walked in while Daphne was pushing. Mum said her face literally went white before doubling over onto the floor. I —

…

Actually, I should probably go and check on her. I think they’re treating her for a concussion as we speak. 

See you soon. 

~~~~~~~~~~

May 24th, 2018 - 4:44 PM

To: colin ✈️

From: pen ✨✨

Hey! Sorry — can you call me back when you have the chance? I know we’re supposed to get lunch tomorrow, but Danbury just called and asked if I could come in tomorrow about the columnist position and I know we already had to postpone, but I’m worried I —

[Sigh.]

Sorry. 

[Nervous laughter.] 

I’m rambling. Call me back so we can discuss.

~~~~~~~~~~

June 25th, 2018 - 6:21 PM

To: pen 💛 

From: colin 🤡

Hey, Pen. Just wanted to call and see how your first day on the job was. And, of course, to complain about having to travel by myself again. I almost forgot how bloody boring these layovers can be without someone there to complain about them with. 

[Faint laughter.] 

In person, I mean. 

…

Anyway, call me when you’re free. I can’t wait to, uh — 

[Cough.]

To hear about your day. Talk soon. 

~~~~~~~~~~

August 22nd, 2018 - 9:09 PM

To: pen 💛 

From: colin 🤡

Hey, Pen. Just calling because, uh — 

Because I wanted to say hi, really. 

…

Venice is good. It’s quite nice, this time of year. The weather’s starting to cool a bit. The water is calm. The food is the best in the world — but that’s not really time sensitive. 

…

I really cannot stress this enough. I believe it to be a great tragedy that you have yet to eat real Italian pasta. I know you’re extremely busy with work, but if you happen to have a free weekend over the next few weeks, the door is always open. 

…

Alright. Night, Pen.

~~~~~~~~~~

September 21st, 2018 - 11:51 PM

To: pen 💛 

From: colin 🤡

Hey, Pen. Sorry for the late call. But I, uh —

[Faint laughter.]

I forgot how warm it is in Greece this time of year. I’m currently sitting by a river at midnight and it’s actually quite pleasant. Disturbingly so, if you ask me. 

There are a few dozen other people here enjoying the weather — smoking and talking and wearing sandals, or all things. I can’t imagine anyone wearing sandals in London tonight. 

…

There’s a lot I’ve forgotten about Greece. Like the cats. It’s insane, Pen. I can see three right now without even having to turn my head. I —

…

It’s just strange. I stayed here for nearly three months. That was three years ago, but still… Nothing fundamental has changed during that time. And yet…

…

And yet it feels unfamiliar to me now. But I suppose that has more to do with me — and perhaps time — than the country itself. 

…

God. I sound like somebody’s grandfather. I think that’s my cue to head back to my hotel.

Night, Pen. Talk soon. 

~~~~~~~~~~

December 19th, 2018 - 11:12 PM

To: pen 💛 

From: colin 🤡

Hey, Pen. Sorry — I know it’s late. 

I just sent you the first draft of my piece and…

I don’t know. There’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot. I tried to weave it into the story, but my readers don’t come to me for Bridgerton family history lessons, so —

[Laughter.]

Suffice to say, I left it out. 

But I don’t know. I just — I keep thinking about it.

…

Did you know my grandfather was stationed here at the end of World War II? He came here in ‘44, about a year before it all went shit for the Germans. And when it did, he was given the option to leave Vienna and immediately return to London. At the time, he hadn’t been home — hadn’t seen my gran — in over three years. They wrote hundreds of letters to each other during that time — all of which are stashed in a box at Aubrey Hall, in case you were wondering. But anyway…

When the war ended, as much as my grandfather wanted to go home and see my gran’s face again, he wrote to her and asked if she would be willing to wait a little while longer. If she could stand it if he stayed here. If he remained in Vienna while the allied forces first occupied the city — to continue carrying out his duty. 

She said yes. He stayed here another two years. He arrived back on English shores on April 6th, 1947. Two days later, they got married. They did at a courthouse, just the two of them together. Like they were the last two people in the world. 

…

I, uh — I didn’t piece this all together through the letters alone. My dad actually told me about it a few weeks before he died. I remember asking him why granddad stayed in Vienna for so long after the war technically ended. How he could stand to stay away from the woman he seemed so desperate to return to.

I remember my dad telling me: “There are times when duty surmounts passion.” Which I didn’t understand. Mainly because I was eight and had no fucking clue what the word “surmounts” meant, but…

Now, I understand what he was trying to say. That duty and passion are separate. That my grandfather’s duty lied in war, while his passion lied with his love. That his duty went beyond his required deployment period. That he stayed in Vienna those extra two years because that’s what he felt was right, even if he would have preferred to go home and be with the love of his life. 

Now, I —

…

I think my dad was wrong. He described my grandfather’s duty to his country as passionless — as if it was something he had to do when he wanted to be elsewhere. But I’ve read my grandfather’s journals from that time, and he never wrote about his life like he was carrying the weight of the world on his back. He may have been homesick and distressed at times — it was a bloody war, for god’s sake. But he — he was also proud of what he was doing. He was fulfilled. He was not drowning in a lack of passion. 

I think we —

[Cough.]

I think some people, at least, have multiple passions. Passions that are at war with one another. That make it impossible to achieve everything we want all at once. Some that beg us to go home, some that beg us to stay. 

I think my grandfather made a choice. I think he chose one passion for a while, and one forever. I think he knew that once they married, he wouldn’t be able to bear living without my nan ever again. 

…

[Awkward laughter.]

I guess he was lucky that she was willing to wait for him.

…

[Sigh.]

Well… I believe I’ve taken up enough of your time. If you somehow managed to listen all the way to the end, I sincerely apologise for the rambling. I promise I’ll wait until Sunday to share the rest of my travel epiphanies with you. 

Take care, Pen.

~~~~~~~~~~

December 20th, 2018 - 12:11 AM

To: colin 🤡 

From: pen 💛

I always listen until the end. 

I’ll see you on Sunday. Goodnight, Colin. 

~~~~~~~~~~

January 31st, 2019 - 3:45 PM

To: pen 💛 

From: colin 🤡

You know, Pen, I’m starting to suspect that you purposely ‘miss’ my calls just so you can listen back to these wonderful voice messages whenever it pleases you. And while I can understand your desire to have these recordings stashed away forever, I would selfishly prefer some actual back-and-forth between us. 

I’m currently sitting outside one of the seven wonders of the world. Call me back and I’ll tell you all about it.

~~~~~~~~~~

March 21st, 2019 - 5:17 PM

To: colin 🤡 

From: pen 💛

Hey! Thank you so much for your insights on my story. Danbury loved it. 

Call me back when you have the chance. Thanks again!

~~~~~~~~~~

April 29th, 2019 - 7:57 PM

To: pen 💛 

From: colin 🤡

Hey, Pen. Just wanted to give you a head’s up that I just sent you a draft and it’s absolute bollocks. If you can manage to turn it into something vaguely readable, I will literally fly you out here just to say thanks. And I know how much you love Thai food. 

~~~~~~~~~~

June 29th, 2019 - 10:20 PM

To: colin 🤡 

From: pen 💛

Hey! Sorry, I just saw that you called! And I am now remembering that you’re in Dubai and probably — hopefully — fast asleep by now so…

[Laughter.]

…

[Indecipherable noise.]

We’re, uh — We’re still out for Kate’s birthday. We’re on our way to karaoke, actually.

[Laughter.]

Thank god El is here, or else I would be worried about being the worst singer in the pub. I —

[Indecipherable noise.]

Sorry! I have to go. Call me when we’re both awake. 

Lo—

[Cough.]

Um… Goodnight!

~~~~~~~~~~

October 18th, 2019 - 8:08 PM

To: colin 🤡 

From: pen 💛

Did you really just send me an SOS text from Los Angeles? I admire your creativity, but this is not how you convince someone to drop everything and take an impromptu holiday with you. 

…

In the event that you are in an actual emergency, please contact the proper authorities. I appreciate your commitment to the bit, but I ask that you please not sacrifice your life for it. 

~~~~~~~~~~

December 9th, 2019 - 8:30 AM

To: pen 💛 

From: colin 🤡

Hey, Pen.

I just finished reading your new column. Phenomenal, as always… But how the hell did you manage to sneak a pun in there? I thought Danbury had a strict policy against “superfluous literary devices.”

However you managed it… Congratulations. I couldn’t be prouder. 

~~~~~~~~~~

December 19th, 2019 - 4:41 PM

To: colin 🤡 

From: pen 💛

Hey! I had a work thing tonight but it just got cancelled. Any chance you want to meet at Mondrich’s? 

Let me know. I’ll, um, hopefully see you soon. 

~~~~~~~~~~

January 29th, 2020 - 9:22 PM

To: pen 💛 

From: colin 🤡

Hey, Pen. 

…

You’re the closest thing I have to a manager, right? In your professional opinion…

Would it be crazy to bail on this trip early? Give myself, uh… 48 hours to go home and grab some proper fish and chips. See Auggie and Blair. See mum. See you — obviously. London isn’t the most logical pit stop between Berlin and Prague but…

…

Yeah — you know what? It was a dumb idea. I’ve got plenty of those, so… 

Call me back when you’re not too busy. Maybe I can share some more. 

~~~~~~~~~~

February 14th, 2020 - 10:00 AM

To: colin 🤡 

From: pen 💛

Good morning!

Is it still morning in Prague? I —

[Faint laughter.]

I suppose that doesn’t matter much when it comes to voicemails. I, um — 

I’m doing some research on old churches. Which — don’t ask. But I’m currently sitting on the steps outside St. Bride’s Church. I don’t know if you’d recognise it, but it’s the one downtown that, um —

[Laughter.]

The one that looks like a wedding cake. 

I think you’d like it. And not just because of its food-shaped exterior. 

It’s actually considered a church for writers. And for publishers. It got that reputation back in the 17th century, when the publishing industry was booming here on Fleet Street. But, regardless of all that…

It’s really quite an interesting building. I can see why it’s attracted and inspired so many great writers over the years. 

Maybe we can check it out the next time you’re in town. Which is…

God. June, I think? 

…

Anyway… I’m still at the very beginning stages of my research, so I barely know what it is I want to write about yet. But one thing that’s stuck out to me so far is how old these buildings feel. How the architecture, the acoustics, the artwork, the — 

…

Honestly? I’m not sure exactly what does it, but something makes these buildings feel as though they’ve stood here forever. This particular church has only been here about 350 years. But still… You feel all that time when you walk through its halls. 

It’s a good reminder, I think. To know how long things last. 

…

Wow. So this is how it feels to be on the other side of these long, rambling, stream of consciousness voicemails. 

[Faint laughter.]

Bye, Colin. Thank you for lending me your future ear. 

~~~~~~~~~~

March 11th, 2020 - 5:55 PM

To: colin 🤡 

From: pen 💛

Hi! I just got off my train. I assume you’re still in the air, so just text me whenever you land. 

Hopefully the airport wasn’t too chaotic, but um…

…

I’ll meet you at the hotel. I — 

I can’t wait to see you. 

[bridgertonbabe]

how do the others meme era of the bridgerton brothers au meet their love match?

Kate is a model/dancer who stars in one of the band's music videos. While on set she overhears Anthony asking his brothers which of the dancers they plan on getting with and she is mightily unimpressed as he objectifies them, pointing out to his brothers which girl had the most cleavage on show or which one had the best bum. When Kate is introduced to Anthony as his love interest for the video she offers him nothing more than a forced smile in greeting and keeps her composure to not roll her eyes as he blatantly roves his gaze up and down her body. Ever the professional she makes it through the shoot without giving in to the urge to smack him across the face and by the end of the day she's more than ready to leave - but then Anthony catches her on her way out and with an arrogant grin asks her if she wants to go for a drink with him. Now off the clock, Kate tells him she'd rather stick pins in her eyes than willingly spend any time with him and she storms off, leaving him dumbfounded. If that was the last she thought she'd ever see of him; she thought wrong as somehow he seems to keep materialising at every single event and party she attends, and he always makes a beeline for her, desperate to win her over. At one party Colin chats with her, sharing his amusement that his brother is unable to get over the fact that she's the one girl who has ever rejected him, a fact which makes Kate feel very smug knowing just how much she has left Anthony rattled. Soon enough she actually enjoys seeing Anthony, purely because she loves the power she holds over him. It definitely has nothing to do with the fact that she's gradually becoming very fond of him, acknowledging just how charming he can be, and respectfully she can admit that he is a very handsome man - but it doesn't mean she likes him. Absolutely not... except, the day after Anthony's birthday she wakes up in his bed and in the cold hard light of day she can't believe she's ended up becoming yet another woman in a long line of his many conquests. Just as she's scrambling up to dash out, Anthony returns with breakfast in bed, much to Kate's surprise. She asks if he's always so generous with his one night stands and she watches his face falter before he quietly says he doesn't want this to be a one time thing. Kate then hesitantly enquires if by that he means he wants to be fuck buddies and once again she's perplexed when his face falls in response. He then states he had hoped that this would be the start of something special, of being a couple, of having someone to come home to everyday. Kate truly hadn't expected such a declaration and initially tries to reason that they wouldn't work in the slightest before Anthony blurts out that he's in love with her and implores her to give him a chance. She had never been in such a position before, had never experienced anyone fixing her with the most adoring of heart-eyes and truly she had never felt so loved and desired - and so, despite the reservations that lingered in her head, she decided to follow her heart and embrace the chance of a fulfilling relationship with Anthony; and she never looked back.

Meanwhile Penelope has known the Bridgertons for years, being best friends with Eloise to start with but over time develops a close bond with Colin. From a young age Penelope possessed a creative soul and loved to write stories and poems, and then one day when she was at the Bridgertons Colin got his guitar out and asked her if she wanted to write a song with him. Together they wrote a silly little song that entertained his younger siblings and from then on they continued writing songs together, and as they got older their song-writing ability flourished to the point that the songs they wrote were actually good, so good in fact that when Colin and his older brothers got a record deal several of the songs he wrote with Penelope made it onto the album. From then on Colin and Penelope collaborated to write a good chunk of the Bridgerton Brothers songs, including some of their biggest hits, and from then Penelope even had her hand in co-writing songs for other artists. Closer than ever before (even closer than her friendship with Eloise), the feelings Penelope had possessed for him since she had first met him only deepened and it was getting to a point that she began to believe he might feel the same way for her. He was so affectionate with her, always confided with her, never going a day without speaking to her, and telling her just how much he cares about her; she truly felt as though her feelings might finally be reciprocated. However, all her hopes were dashed the day she heard him declaring to his brothers that he'd never date her. Heartbroken, Penelope ghosted Colin, refusing to answer his calls and messages, and stopped writing for the band and instead provided her writing expertise to other artists. Colin was upset and desperate for her forgiveness but she refused to talk to him and as a result he lost all confidence in his own song-writing ability, feeling lost without Penelope's partnership and faith in him. Then one night Colin's phone rings and he is shocked but relieved to see Penelope's name flashing up. When he answers the call Penelope curtly tells him to leave her alone, sick to death of the countless messages he's sent her everyday since she stopped talking to him. Before she can hang up he desperately begs for her to hear him out and profusely apologises for saying something so hurtful, that he hates himself for upsetting her, and tells her just how much he misses her. With a sigh Penelope says she forgives him, that she knows he's not a bad person; but that she needs space. When he asks why they can't go back to the way things were Penelope can't hold it in any longer and tearfully confesses that she's in love with him and always has been and that it hurts too much to see or even talk to him, not that she now knows that he could never see her in the way she sees him. She requests that he gives her time and space and hopefully one day they might be able to just be friends once she's had time to heal. Colin is left in shock by his best friend's admission and doesn't quite know how to feel knowing he's broken the heart of the person he cares the most about. He's distracted by Benedict's own heartbreak, focusing on consoling his brother as he tries to wrap his head around the heartbreak he's caused Penelope. Once his brother finally works things out with Sophie, as well as seeing how loved up Kate and Anthony are, Colin can't stop thinking about Penelope and starts to imagine scenes of kissing her before he goes onstage just like Anthony does with Kate, or cuddling Penelope in his lap just how Benedict does with Sophie. It then hits him all at once; he's in love with Penelope and he can't wait a minute longer to tell her. He bangs on her door and when she opens it she's shocked to see him, and even more shocked when he grabs a hold of her and kisses her. That first kiss is enough to confirm everything between them, and after telling her he's in love with her they stumble their way into the bedroom to make up for lost time.

[hopepaigeturner]

🎄 Giftmas Day 9: Polaroid--Polin

On their fiftieth wedding anniversary, Colin and Penelope reminisce on their journey together.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After the extended family had left, with the gaggle of grandchildren ferried out after their sugar-highs, Penelope rested in her armchair—the yellow velvet had faded slightly from their bright hue which had stuck out at that boot sale in Cornwall. The pair had spent a good twenty minutes trying to fit that, and a matching blue velvet piece, around Agatha’s car-seat.

“Here you go, my sunflower,” Colin said, bringing over a tray with tea and biscuits upon it.

“Thank you,” Penelope grasped the Christmas mug that George’s children had given them for Christmas last year “I do love our family but they do tire us out so.” Colin sighed loudly as he deflated into his blue velvet chair. “It was lovely for Thomas and his boys to make the trip, it has been an age since we visited Sydney.”

“Those boys have shot up—Richard in university already. Although I do worry about Jane. Still unsettled at her age.”

“Oh she has always been your daughter—always a wanderer. And she is not lonely with all her friends.”

“I suppose…fifty years…”

Penelope looked down at her wedding band, a little tarnished, but still as gold as the day Colin had slipped it on her finger in the church.

“Hmm, half a lifetime of adventures together,” she responded.

Colin turned to her and smiled—the same smile that had enchanted her ever since their first meeting as children.

“Indeed, speaking of. I have a little surprise for you.”

He slowly reached around, wincing slightly due to the stiffness in his back.

“Oh Colin, we said our present to one another would be that cruise in the New Year.” Penelope protested.

“I know, I know, but I couldn’t help myself—especially after your birthday present to me.”

Penelope blushed. It had taken a little bit of preparation to restore Colin’s old polaroid camera, as great a companion as Penelope, but Benedict had done a wonderful job—even with the arthritis settling into his fingers.

“I became inspired, and I made this—with Agatha’s help.”

He handed her a leatherbound book, Penelope opened and gasped.

“Oh Colin…”

Penelope flicked through the pages, filled with excerpts from Colin’s family journals in print or in spider-scrawl handwriting. At the centre of every page was a polaroid picture, taken on the very same camera Penelope had gifted him at his leaving party after A-levels.

She flicked through pages of their retirement cruises or visits to their children who had inherited their travel bug and scattered across the globe. Polaroids taken from significant family events both their immediate family and the Bridgerton brood. Penelope watched her grey hair turn back to the red of her youth as she posed in various countries with their children at different heights. The pictures trailed back further to the first years of their marriage when they had walked across continents and written as many words as their steps. Then a picture of Colin dipping her in a white dress, the backdrop being Aubrey Hall (ofcourse). Then a shot from their proposal ‘lunch’ at their favourite café in St. Andrews, frequented whenever Colin had visited Penelope through her university years. Then a few sunny photos of the pair in various places in the same pose but with different emotions in their eyes changing as subtly as their friendship had back then.

Then the final page, the final polaroid, but also the first taken.

Penelope sat posing half-heartedly to the camera, all eighteen-years of youth and bright smiles at Colin’s leaving party before his very first adventure. To this day, Penelope could remember that precise moment.

“Pen, blimey—this is amazing!” Colin cried upon unwrapping the polaroid. He lunged over to her and squashed her into a bearhug, almost capsizing the drink in her hand.

Penelope blushed. When he released her, she muttered.

“Oh, I thought it would suit—trendy you know?”

“And it’s yellow,” he commented, “for my sunflower-girl.” He gave her a wink and Penelope’s heart fluttered. But years of restraint ensured she only replied,

“Something to remember me by when you are away in all these exotic places.”

“Oh, Pen. I would never forget you,” Colin’s blue eyes sobered, and Pen became caught in them. A moment later the spark came back. “Go on pose!”

“What?”

“Pose—you shall have the honour of the first picture—off you go.”

“Colin—really?”

“Yes, I insist. Host’s prerogative.”

“Technically your mother is—”

“Peeen.”

“Fine, fine.”

She posed, blushing a little self-consciously as she always did in photos.

The camera flashed and Colin whooped. He kept his eyes glued to the picture as it developed his grin going wider and wider. Then it softened, just as his eyes had done, and he turned to her.

Penelope scrunched her nose up at the picture—as she did to most of her pictures—but made a noncommittal shrug of approval.

“I need a caption!” Colin cried and routed around for a pen, he chewed on the end of a biro. Penelope took a moment to memorise his features; the furrow between his eyebrows, the slope of his nose and the dimples on his cheeks.

“I’ll keep it simple,” he scribbled something down then showed it to her. Penelope blushed further but Colin was already storing it in his camera bag. “There.” He patted the pocket. “So, I never forget.”

And he hadn’t, not even after all these years. For there was the picture, and there was the caption.

My sunflower girl.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ngl. I might make fit this into the 'Six Moments' universe on AO3. Six important photos throughout Polin's life.

[2o3dinge]

Colin & Jared and another Dublin thing that connects them: U2

Colin Farrell and Jared Leto have one thing in common beyond a doubt: their affinity for the band U2. Not only affinity for, but also proximity to them.

Jared & U2

Let's look at the picture below. It hints at U2 gifting the Leto brother's band Thirty Seconds to Mars (30STM) a lot of Guinness and Champagne and leaving their 'best wishes' and a recipe to mix all of that together after 30STM's Dublin concert on May 30, 2018.

Pretty friendly. Yeah, and why not?

In 2017 Jared had in fact presented the 'Global Icon' Award To U2 at the MTV EMAs like a good ol' friend and with a lot of praise, framing the influence of U2's 1987 album The Joshua Tree on Shannon and him in the 80ies like some kind of founding myth for 30STM. It's not even hyperbole: they had frequent U2 collaborators Steve Lillywhite and Flood produce their album This Is War (2009) and Lillywhite Love, Lust, Faith + Dreams (2013). Unsurprisingly they sound very U2ish.

Fun fact: the picture was posted on Twitter on May 31 - Colin Farrell's 42nd birthday.

Colin & U2

Colin Farrell is some kind of honorary member of U2 since - forever. A google search reaps plenty of evidence of him going to concerts or hanging out with them at PR events, award shows or just hanging out.

He's so close with the band, he even met his on-off-girlfriend through them, who was The Edge's PA. It's not only him, all Farrells are friendly with the band. In 2011 Bono attended Eamon Farrell's birthday party, who's Colin's brother, even though Colin wasn't present, and so on. I don't know if this is a common Dubliner thing, maybe all Dubliners know U2 personally in some way...

Fun fact: Colin's godmother and aunt Martina is married to a man who owned U2's favorite club among others in the 1980ies. U2 once flew from somewhere in Europe back to Ireland just to go to that club.

In 2003, Colin, at the height of superstardom, and Bono were practically glued together. The picture below shows them at an Oscar party (Jared was there too).

Jared & U2

Jared has crossed paths at least with The Edge and Bono long before 2017. No wonder as Bono is a sucker for fame and money and has been mingling in Hollywood society for decades. In 2003, the year Colin was glued to Bono's side, Jared's hardly been a total stranger to the "U2'ers" either...

The picture below shows him at a Golden Globes party in 2003. (Colin was there too) Jared's girlfriend Cameron Diaz, at the height of her stardom and who would dump him for Justin Timberlake shortly after this, had starred in Scorsese’s Gangs on New York (2002). U2 had written a song for the soundtrack and won a Golden Globe award for it, but not the Oscar. In fact, the movie won none of its ten nominations. All Oscar hopes for that movie were squashed.

We see Jared here kind of cockblocking/chatting up Daniel Day Lewis whom he to this day quotes as an inspiration and role model as an actor.

Colin & Jared & U2

Alexander (2004) was shot on three different locations in Morocco, England and Thailand from late September 2003 to mid February 2004. Right after returning home from the Alexander set in Thailand, Jared started to perform Where the streets have no name (WTSHNN) at 30STM concerts. Along with this the infamous Alexander-ish song A Modern Myth was played live for the first time, which made it the first song from their 2005 album A Beautiful Lie that saw the light of day.

After shooting for months with ultra U2 fan Colin, choosing a U2 song that talks of sunlight, dust clouds, poison rain, the desire to break free and be together - and desert plains.... Hello Morocco nostalgia?! Most of the cast were Irish dudes culturally socialized in the 80ies. I can easily imagine this song being an unoffical hymn at parties. Besides Macarena, maybe.

I think, for Jared WTSHNN is linked to the experience of shooting Alexander, which he said was full of "adventures" and changed his life and let him "fall in love with the desert". Both Jared and Colin have talked about the "amazing" experience they had in Morocco. It's telling that after general shooting for Alexander had stopped merely a week prior (Feb 13, 2004), Jared flew back to L.A., still looking like Hephaistion and all, and played these two songs.

In 2008 Colin and Jared were in Park City, Utah, for several days. Why?

The Sundance Film Festival.

Colin promoted In Bruges (2007) and the documentary Kicking it (2008). He was executive producer and narrator for the latter. In Bruges was set as the opening night film and premiered on January 17. The film would rehabilitate Colin as an actor after the ill-received Alexander had almost tanked his career and plunged him into the arguably most severe personal crisis of his life.

In January 2008 Colin was 31 years old and 24 months into his struggle for sobriety. His little son had been diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder that would impede his intellectual development and come with medical complications. Colin's had to wrestle with a stalker, with the publication of an unauthorized sex tape and a romantic liaison with a 21-year-old medical student that took a morbid turn when her depressive ex-boyfriend couldn't handle the break-up and committed suicide. And certainly there were some more problems that didn't go public.

In Bruges though would win him a Golden Globe 2009. A ray of light on the horizon...

Fun fact: Colin's character is named Ray. Jared had played a Ray before in Lonely Hearts Killers (2006) with Salma Hayek, who had starred alongside Colin in Ask the Dust (2006) right before she went on to shoot with Jared. A character called Rayon would then be Jared's Oscar ticket in 2014.

Jared had no movies to promote at Sundance 2008, he was just there... he hopped from party to party accompanied by Brent Bolthouse - a man generally described as a L.A. "nightlife impresario and businessman" - to whom Jared was glued to in public for most of the 2000s until he was suddently and inexplicably not. Jared's most memorable contribution to the festival that year was making out with Paris Hilton for some reason.

Jared and Colin with festival director Geoff Gilmore.

On January 19, 2008 U2 graced the Park City, Utah with their presence to introduce another of their vanity projects: U2 3D. "U2 3D mobilizes digital 3-D and surround-sound technology to plunge us into almost supernatural proximity to the musicians." Alright...

Jared and Brent attended the first screening of U2 3D. The two screenings and parties for U2 3D were the hottest tickets in town that year. Long waiting lines and exclusive guest lists.

Before the screening there was a U2 3D cocktails and dinner party at the Bon Appetit Supper Club. Colin was invited. He's chatting to the U2 3D director Catherine Owens here.

But he left early to attend the screening of Kicking it. From there he went to the after party at Greenhouse at the top of Main and hung out some more with Brendan Gleeson and Mary-Kate Olsen. The U2 3D after party was at the same place. One party became the next and Colin and the U2ers were present.

The picture shows Colin and Mary-Kate cuddling at the In Bruges party, two days before the U2 3D premiere.

Fun fact: Mr. Leto isn't a stranger to the Olsen twins, especially Ashley, either...

I'm pretty sure the two well-connected L.A. hipsters Leto and Bolthouse didn't miss out on the U2 3D after party. There were rumors of the band performing there, which didn't happen in the end. They somehow had secured tickets for the screening, which, by all accounts, wasn't an easy task, they probably made their way inside the after party as well.

It's improbable that Colin and Jared roamed the same street at the same festival for some days, and didn't take notice of each other, not even amidst the U2 hype in that year.

Especially when an Irish newspaper article would quote Jared saying something like this shortly after this (January 25, 2008):

I don't know if you've spent any time in Colin's company, but that guy is just so amazing. His zest for life is infectious. I consider him to be a good friend and hopefully if he's in Dublin when we're there, we'll get to hang out.

So why not hang out in Park City? Proof of this "good friendship" is hard do come by since at least 2004.

U2 360° tour 2009

So this is Jared in a workflow in his home studio cutting the Kings and Queens music video. Only two months to go until the release of This Is War. Maybe he's a bit distracted because all the celebrities flock out to Pasadena to see U2 on their 360° tour at the Rose Bowl. Among them - of course - Colin Farrell, seen here in the backstage area. He's found himself a second baby mama while filming a movie with her the year before.

Fun fact: the liaison unfortunately overlapped with his relationship with writer Emma Forrest to whom he also proposed parenthood, as one can read in her very fine, bittersweet memoir Your Voice In My Head (2011).

Her name is Alicja Bachleda-Curuś. She's 26 years old in this picture (baby daddy is 33) and has delivered a baby son only 18 days ago but you wouldn't know it just looking at her. It's unclear whether the reIationship at this point is still a romantic one, or if it ever really was, because he was already busy thinking about Elizabeth Taylor when he came home from the hospital. Alright... Alicja's baby daddy is about to dump her, but provide for her. That kind of thing.

I somehow love that Henry is her spitting image nowadays!

MTV Unplugged (2011)

In 2011 30STM performed a very good version of WTSHNN during their session. Obviously still fans of the song.

Fun fact: Colin was in NYC on the day (May 13) the MTV Unplugged session with the WTSHNN cover was recorded.

He was papped around Times Square, early and late evening in front of the (then) Foxwoods Theatre (right next to the New Victory Theater) looking a bit pissed.

Apparently he was on his way to a preview performance for the ill-fated Spider-Man musical Turn off the dark that had music written by his buddies Bono and The Edge. After a hiatus for creative overhaul preview shows had begun again May 12th.

Fun fact: this whole Spiderman musical idea suffered from hubris, not unlike Alexander had, which was mostly rooted in this constellation:

Other pics and a video of Colin were taken in front of the Mandarin Oriental hotel, wether it was the next morning or not is hard to tell. Colin takes a cab and off he goes… He's in different attire and not accompanied by his sister Claudine, so probably the day after, May 14.

Anyway, he went to NYC with his sister, and though all the available paparazzi fotos give the date as May 13, there's a chance the Farrell siblings were personally invited by the producers, namely Bono and the Edge, to attend the reopening (preview) show which was set for the 12th. Whichever date it was, the fact remains that Colin was in town when Jared recorded MTV Unplugged.

Fun fact: Unplugged also featured a cover version of Message in a bottle by The Police, that wasn't televised (along with Alibi). They played an acoustic version of Message in a bottle 18 times while on tour in 2005 and 9 times in 2006, then several years did not. 2005 was the year Colin was shooting Miami Vice ending in an OD, and 2006 his first year sober after rehab.

Jared had multi day rehearsals for Unplugged at the (former) Sony music studios which were in 20 min walking/driving distance from Times Square. All of the places are in proximity.

Wouldn’t Colin pay a visit to a friend he used to be close to, a fellow U2 fan? It would be so fitting for him as a gesture of support.

Alas, nothing of the kind was ever known…

[gloriouswhispers]

MARGO 'MARS' LANE

Age & Birthday: 23 years old, April 23rd 2000

Gender/Pronouns: cis woman she/her

Birthplace: Atlanta, GA

Time in Atlanta: 18 years (Back for 1 month)

Neighborhood: Center Hill

Association: None

Occupation: Unemployed

Positive personality traits: Resourceful, Benevolent, Energetic,

Negative personality traits: Stubborn, Aimless, Crass

BIO

Born and raised in the busy and somewhat chaotic Lane household of Center Hill, Margo was a burst of energy her mother and father weren't quite ready for. She came two weeks early and was a girl instead of a boy, not that it mattered, but it foreshadowed that Margo was always going to bring the unexpected.

She grew to be as sociable as her parents, not that she had much choice as she welcomed foster brothers and sisters into her life and formed attachments to each of them easily.

From a young age, Margo was a little stunt machine and was always seen climbing from the rafters or hanging upside down. Sitting in a chair properly was out of the equation and it didn't matter how many aerobic or dance classes June and Colin signed her up for, nothing drained Margo's energy in the slightest. That was until she received a skateboard for her tenth birthday, much to her parents' dismay. Fearless as ever, Margo demanded to be taken to the park there and then, where she swiftly broke her arm and claimed it was the best birthday ever.

Margo and her skateboard became a duo of sorts, even if she broke plenty and kept whining until it was replaced. Some would say she had a talent but Margo claims her skills came from hard work and never caring if she ate shit more often than not. Slowly she formed a small name for herself both in the competitive and online world, earning a few silly sponsorships for knee-pads or energy drinks. When high school graduation rolled around, her parents had to nod along with forced smiles as Margo told them she was packing her bags for California for the competitions there.

Margo spent the next five years living life exactly on her terms in California, visiting family during the holidays and always pleading with them to come out to Cali. She had made her mind up that she wouldn't be leaving the sunny beaches any time soon, until a simple night showing off at a party put her in the hospital for three months. Margo gave herself a head injury that was almost bad enough for her to have to learn how to write again. She was determined to get better alone despite June and Colin demanding she came home until eventually, Margo realized just how bad it was after forgetting a whole string of events and leaving her apartment unlocked for a day.

Margo returned to Center Hill a month ago, finally succumbing to her parents wishes. Money from sponsorships dwindled, and some have dropped altogether leaving Margo with a choice. She's made it clear she wants to get better enough to be back on her a-game, but despite her stubborn attitude it's obvious that's a long way off. Margo doesn't want to admit that the knock to the head was as serious as it is, even if Center Hill can hear her frustrated cries when she can't stick the landing of tricks she used to be able to do with her eyes closed.

[rockytilly]

Rocky’s spent the last hour avoiding Thaddeus at his own birthday party, despite being reassured by himself and Mack that it would be cool for him to attend even after the chain of events that lead to their break-up. It’s his avoidance tactics that find him lingering in the corner of their apartment’s living area, standing as inconspicuously beside a large plant as he can with only local degenerate and music elitist Colin to keep him company — who was also one of his closest friends.

“Absolutely n— wait, is that Ty’s laptop or Thadd’s?” Rocky leans down, holding the bottle of mixed fruit cider against his chest with one hand and resting the other on the arm of the chair that Colin was occupying so he could get a better look at the screen. “Changing Ty’s background won’t fuck with him,” Rocky explained, “If you want to fuck with him then you need to hijack his phone and mess with his shortcut settings so that every time he types hungry it autocorrects to horny.”

location: thadd and tallulah's birthday party for: @fairfordstarters

Buzzed from two shots and a joint hanging from his mouth, it'd taken Colin about five minutes to hack his way into the laptop hooked up to the sound system -- Tyson's, which makes it funnier -- and he says to the person next to him, "Help me decide what to change this motherfucker's background to and I'll put on whatever song you want."

[dememarquette]

Midnight Caller

Adria's day went as well as they usually do.

Training drills. Stake outs. Patrols. It was all very normal if you didn't know better.

But she did. She felt it; Heaven was perpetually on edge. The polarizing shadow war had made itself into the atmosphere and into routine- the specifics of which she only knew from 'mistakes' as a lowly pawn, and the details she gleaned inbetween. At this point, the increase of raids was normalized. It was ordinary to systematically sneak out demon operations, no matter how trivial the charges. Specialized drills were more frequent, too.

All of the added procedures were tying her guts into knots. The situation was becoming more and more wrong each passing day, but there was no trade-off. There hasn't been an update in months. The park was in limbo. They  were asking every other time she dropped by until eventually realizing she had nothing to give. And may never. Cheerful as they were, nobody liked the quiet. Suspense bothered her, for their sake, for hers. Playing the long game in subterfuge meant she lived life in paranoia, yet not one iota of it was concerned with Hell. She was as scared of a demon as her shadow, but Heaven. Heaven was something to be feared.

She didn't know what to consider her role in this. Double-crossing? Triple? She tried not to think on it. It'd only get her worked up, but when that inevitably failed, she realized no treasonous term felt right. She didn't hate Heaven. She wasn't actively working against it. It's just her allegiance didn't fall into carefully sectioned off labels and sectors- it fell into place by virtue. And reason.

But being screamed at all day that her reasoning was wrong and flawed bred self-doubt. Her mind never seemed to shut off, even after the mission reports were read, and the raids concluded.

She lounged on her couch. Muscles in her back and shoulders were rigid after a stressful day, but there was one thing that always seemed to help: Colin. On top of everything she supposed she should feel guilty about that too but she absolutely did not. It was a little piece of wrong that felt right.

COLIN: How was work, sweetie?

He wrote. He just got off shift at a private rodeo show where it was not the bulls being wrangled. Her phone, thankfully, does not receive pictures but needless to say, he was happy to unwind and see her too.

ADRIA: THE NORMal. sarah is really a piece of work.

COLIN: Awh, what happened?

What happened!

What happened was her squad-mate’s penchant for public humiliation. Adria had a thick skin, but if you're going correct her on fighting form, you'd better be able to back it the fuck up! She punched at the keys with her thumbs, detailing the tiff in atrocious texting, 150 characters at a time. She sent a chain of three messages, the order of which they sent in was left in the hands of God, when her screen blacked out.

A cheerful ringtone replaced it. That delightful sequence of Nokia chirps had been featured in three separate horror movies in the past two decades, and that auditory connotation was no less portentous now. Demetrius’ name flashed in eight-bit.

She answered on first ring. "Demetri?"

"Adria, thank G-man."  He heaved. "I need you."

Adria cupped her phone with both hands. "What's wrong?"

“What’s wrong?” He wheezed. "What isn't?"

His first fake emergency was a text. His second very real! emergency was also a text. This was a call, and already his desperation pierced through her shitty reception in four syllables. Demetri’s voice was an octave higher than she'd ever heard it and hysterical. She'd seen this man handle pressure (and if you ignored his thing with snakes), nothing short of imminent doom bothered him.

The contrast was horrifying.

She launched off her couch, storming her quarters. The bedroom door rebounded off the wall as she breached her closet. The more utilitarian parts of her uniform were ripped from its display. She yanked a set of greaves over her knees. Her hair was a tousled mess, an ondoyant spread across her shoulders, but she had a band around her wrist to crudely tie it back should this turn into a brawl. At the time he was calling? The night couldn't go any other way. She wasn't on shift but they held raids at all hours.

She saw it: demons dusted into ash. One coming to the other's call only for a massacre. The Powers were organized and lethal, and her vague and sporadic feedback was never going to cut it, either to sate Heaven, or save them. She was stupid for trying. Her superiors hired on someone else to intervene, to gather intel, and now she was on the phone with Demetrius-

"Demetri?!" She panicked, shoving her forearms through her bracers. "Talk to me. I can't help if I don't know what's going on. Is Niko okay? Archer?"

The line went quiet and her wings folded out in a forceful draft. Adria was a full second away from making the plunge from Heaven to Hell, when over the line there was a single sniff.

“Look on th-...the tv- MTV." He said. "Righ'now.”

Adria's head snapped up. There was no 48-inch mounted on the wall. She didn’t have a smartphone, how would she have a cable?

But context worked with what she gathered from her time on the computer and the demon himself. MTV was no news outlet nor has it had any respectable programming since the 1990's. Their ragtag group was a spectacle but nothing she imagined making a time slot between Teen Mom and MTV Cribs.

(That's a compliment.)

"Excuse me?"

"Channel- channel forty-eight. PleaaaAAse."

She stiffly straightened up. She was half armored- the bottom half ready for the war that would be her fall from On High, while the other awaiting on conformation for where this was going. "You're...going to have to describe it to me. Where are you?"

"Home."

"And you're not dying?"

"I don't knooooow." He whined. "Probaply."

She audibly heard the melodramatic flop.

On the other end, he slapped against the counter top. Sulking on his kitchen island, his rings tangled in his bangs. He stared in disdain at the source of his despair. It was a frame paused on his television set. Depicted was an unflattering still of a suburban mom. Her jumpsuit was as orange as her fake tan, and two streams of black poured down her face like she tried her wings at a newer, trendier 270 degree angle.

Adria had no way of knowing this, else she had reason to hang up then and there. "What does that mean?! Is ANYONE in danger? Is ANYONE dying?"

"Are you even looking?!" He said, frustrated.

"No. No I am not. What is it?"

"They're taking Samantha in!"

"What."

He flailed his hand at the set. In his mind, he was the image of every tragic hero in a cathartic Renaissance painting. "She's getting arrested!" He cried. "Fuckin' Ricky set her up, th-the child suppor' payments. 'n after she got Kaytee and G-ma Hoovie in the pyramid scheme no one will talk to her-"

"And why do I care about this woman’s shitty decisions?"

"She's not gonna make it into season six!!" He shrieked.

"Oh Jesus."

She remembered that. She remembered a lot more than she thought she would. They were characters from a colorful cast from their last hangout.

It wasn't her idea, obviously. She owed him for their first training session. Retribution for her violation of his trust, he called it. Somehow it was separate from the favor she already promised him but that's what he dismissed as semantics, preceding a change of subject. Nevermind how he tricked her into a strip club, she arrived dutifully at his apartment in the forth circle of Hell. That was two months ago.

That day he opened the door more casual than she’d see him before, which wasn't saying much. He was still swanky- buttoned down in something she'd seen in an all-too-dramatic cologne commercial, hue set off with a matching Rolex that told time with three faces. She, on the other hand, arrived in gym shorts. He said 'no armor' on the summons so when he opened up, he tensed like a wild animal. His hands even raised like she taught him ("Protect your head!"), and it was a good fifteen minutes of her standing on his blistering doorstep, convincing him she wasn't there to pulverize his face before she was allowed inside. He relaxed.

And eventually, so did she.

She crashed on his couch. Arms wound around herself so tight, she was ready to make fun of every vapid star that strutted onto the screen. Reality shows were stupid. A waste of time, clearly staged, and air-headed entertainment. All she was here to do was get through four hours of this garbage so he'll trust her for self defenses classes again.

However, Demetri took criticism like a champ. He pointed out that she had literally no reference point at all for television programming (true), and hit play.

At first she was entirely correct in her assumptions. These Real Housewives were overacting, over-dramatic, and overly ridiculous- but around the twenty minute mark, the first twist, it was apparent that was the charm. They were ridiculous. They were all impossibly absurd, and no matter how much she had the gist of their one-dimensional personalities, they'd surprise her with a curveball she never saw coming, dramatic irony Shakespearen in any other context. When she stopped commenting on how these stupid things would never happen in real life, it clicked.

"So...why is this lady breaking into her cousin's flat?"  She picked at finger foods he set up on the table, small pastries he credited to Donnabelle. She needed something to do with her hands while she pretended to not be interested in the television she was very interested in.

"Hm?"

"I mean,” She shrugged, too jerky to be casual. “If they just made up. Why would she break in?" He quirked a brow.

Truth was he’d been a nervous wreck the whole time too- he just wasn't as transparent. Never had he cared more about anyone else’s usually-contrarian opinion more.  Covertly he watched her more than the re-run. It didn’t make sense, but when her question rang sincere he grinned. The arc maxed between his ears before it pulled back into something more restrained. "Ah, well. That's why she set up the brunch. Her cousin has incriminating photos on a flash drive."

"But we know this because it's been broadcasted to all of America."

"No actually," He sat up, invested. She noticed afterward that she leaned to follow. "We know they exist but we don't know what's on them. My guess is it's something to do with last year's bachelorette party since that got the fire department called, but the forum thinks it's..."

And that's how she started caring too much about some random group of nutjobs in the city.

She still believed it was staged bullshit, but it was fun staged bullshit. She watched nearly three hours of dramatic close-ups, cryfests, and varying degrees of misdemeanors until the night was called. Time flew before she knew it, and their goodbye was a lot less awkward than their hello.

She wasn't expecting to revisit any of that in the near future.

She stared at the keys of her phone as she snapped back to reality. Demetrius was slurring through a monologue calling for Samantha's salvation (eloquently coined "FreeSam2k-2k-shit-2k19?") when it registered: Samantha Drama was a lot more preferable than the alternative.

"-'ish not like the scheme was her fault, y'know. She's a business woman at heart."

"...She sure is."

"'scatcly!” He said, overly relieved. “You get it!"

She sighed, head in her hand. The restless energy she amassed depleted into pure appreciation of the overreaction. Her overreaction- and if he was oblivious to the whiplash she suffered, it was missed entirely. It was gone. Replacing it was the sound of her barely holding back laughter. She rubbed her eyes. God, what was he doing? "Demetri, are you drunk? Did Archer give you the pilfered party booze?"

"Aria-Adria, please. Less focus fer two secons."

"Okay, okay.”  She pulled the tie from her hair. “So. Samantha."

“Samantha, yes.”

She indulged, smiling. "Is this the one who uh....cheats at dog pageants?"

“NO that's Kristie!" He corrected, distressed.

“Oh- sorry. The lady that held the intervention at the baby shower?”

“Yes,” he sobbed.

“I’m...sorry??”

“She was just tryna- tryna show her kid that she- aw fuck.” Glass clinked. "Oh no."

"What?"

"I spilled it. Fuck."

The phone rustled loudly. She listened, with her head tilted into her phone. Demetrius was struggling, but she was too. She bit the corner of her lip so her laughing wouldn't carry over the line.

"Back." He rasped, returning like he lost the war.

"You okay over there?"

"No. I need- I need to bail her out." He said. He’d run out of options, his voice teetered on a whimper. "I jus' gotta."

She walked back to her living room. Hasty strides before were now a languid stroll, as the armored plates fell off her knees in a clatter. She threw her bracers into her pillow as she hit the sofa beside them. The threat was neutralized. "No,” she said. “You should not bail her out."

"I have to. She's all alone in there- y'know I'm good'for it, Adria. Issat short for Adriana by the way."

"No it is not, but I'm VERY sure she's fine."

"What do I do?!"

"You're still home right?" She barely got the question out with a straight face.  "Like you're not out, and definitely not in the Alpine area?"

"Wha' you tryna say? 'at I'm not r’sponsiple?"

"That you're drunk off your ass."

"Does that make any of it- any of it less real?" The volume softened as he scolded his phone. An old selfie that he used as her contact photo served as her avatar and the source of his betrayal. "I'm SO hurt. My feelings are real, Adria."

"Oh yeah?"  Her head canted. She was staring at a blank wall, but imagery from the other end of the line was so clear. She could see his face too. That lopsided grin. Bent brows when he feigned offense, even if his eyes were still smiling while he clutched his heart for the effect. So distinctively him. "I thought you were too cool for feelings."

"Welp. S'where you're wrong~"

"Am I? You're quick to make fun of other people's."

"Is 'is about yoouurs? Hmmmmm?"

She debated her answer as clinking and swearing reared up a second time. She heard him bat the glass around, coordination beyond her expert salvage, before he returned, forgoing the cup altogether. Whatever. He still had the bottle. "Maybe."

"Maybe what?"

"It seems at times you care more about Samantha’s. Like right now."

"Whaaaaa-!! Yer only sayin’ that cuz you like teasin’ her. Jus’like I like teasin’ you."

Her fingers combed through the waves rolling over her shoulders, as she smiled. “I got that much."

"I'd bail you outta jail too, y'know."

"You are not bailing Samantha out of jail."

"'n if I don't," He continued, galvanized into another tangent. "If I DON'T tease you! Then what we doin', hmm?"

She quirked a brow. She was going to love this. "What does that mean?"

"Whatdoyamean what’do I mean. I dunno how else t'talk to you!!" He said, phone brushing with static when he shrugged. "Yer somethin else. It's scary."

Or not.

The word punctured her bubble of amusement. Scary? She knew she could be intimidating. And sure, she beat him up more than once. And sure he was a baby about it, but before Adria’s heart had the chance to sink-

"I trust you so much," He continued, shrilly and mystified. "Isn't that crazy?"

Her heart caught. "W-what?"

"Riiiight? But it happens.” He shrugged. “It happens when, when people got this intense light. A light y'just wanna be a part of. D'you know how rare that is?"

"I don't-"

"You know!! Of course you know." He asserted, finding it inconceivable that she didn't understand. "Some people jus' got it. It draws you in. People like me don' got it- we don' got it- so its blindin' when we do see it. You got it, girl. You got it baaad," He sang. "I mean FUCK- yer "spyin'" on us and we take you everywhere we go! An’ an’ all I wanna do right now is invite you over. Have you here. Again."

Adria blanked.

Staring wide-eyed, she had no idea what to say.

“O-oh.”

Her wings slid down the sofa in a soft shh. Unsure she heard him right, praise was just something she couldn't wrap her head around. Even as the conversation devolved into an ad-libbed ‘Come on Over, Baby' Christina Aguilera parody (’Spy on Over, Baby’ - execution as good as one would imagine), no one thought that way about her. No one talked about her like that. No one ever had- no matter how much, how long, and how hard she tried to do the right thing. She was a series of failures, stemming all the way back from her first charge.

But Demetrius was more than happy to tell/sing to her otherwise. Her feedback wasn't necessary. In fact, she couldn't get a word in. He rambled hard and assiduous about that signature compassion he couldn't compute. About their classes against heavenly forces. About the way the right thing always just seemed to spring into her mind, without cause or consideration. His opinions had receipts- which was something Heaven never bothered to audit.

Thoughts of doubt were smothered before they had the chance to manifest. They tried. Unable to defend against his points, they wanted to dismiss the call as inebriated prattle, but she wouldn't. She refused- it felt nice. They were compliments with no ulterior motive. No seeds of manipulation she could detect, and he didn’t want anything from her this time.

She could have comfort this once, just this once, before jumping back into scrutiny tomorrow.

That in mind, when a lull settled in the conversation, she took it. She pulled her knees into her chest, and closed her eyes.

“Thank you...Thanks, Deme. That means a lot.”

But where she expected a stiff refute of anything tottering the edge of the sentimental (she tensed for it), or another bout of prattle, she heard a thump over the line.

A cold pause followed. She twitched from her pleasant smile. It stretched. Seconds feeling like minutes, the quiet was just short enough to spurn concern, but not enough to ask, when he broke it. He sucked in air through his teeth. Devoid of his former drunken rapture, the tacit draw unnerved her. “No problem.” He said.

Her world dimmed. Her confidence had barely got its bearings before being dashed. The beat of awkwardness was back. That void that pulled the light from their talks, how she could be enjoying herself before the tone flips on a dime and she regrets reaching out at all-

“...Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah...” He dragged his face. “No.” He sighed. “No I’m fuckin’ not.”

Just like the party. That’s what it took. She hit that mysterious trigger again. The precise sentiment she needed to wipe the audible grin off his face. It was her. It had to be her. She misread the entire situation. His admiration had been clear as day, but now it muddled.

“I’m sorry.” She hovered above a whisper, apologizing without knowing why.

“Don’t be. It was all me.”

“What was you…?”

“You. Me. This.”

It solidified the weight in her chest. All those positive thoughts had just blossomed. To tamp them down so soon as a regret... Demetri wasn’t a guy about that scene. She knew that, and yet-

That’s where her mistake was.

She’d been telling herself the same thing since the fair- she was delusional. She didn’t need it echoed.

“It’s fine.” She cut him off. “You should rest- night Demetri. I’ll, I’ll check in when I can-”

“I let you go.”

She stiffened.

“I saw that light and jus’....poof. Gave it away- like a joke.” He said, abruptly sober. “Who’m I kidding? It was a joke. On myself!! Were cowboy strippers worth it? I mean...t’see THAT ‘n let it slip. Who am I?” He brazenly interrogated his open apartment. His theater set-up was a whole five feet away, and it was a crime scene as far as he was concerned. He truly had fun with her that night. At the fair. Shopping. But it was Colin she was going home to, and that was entirely by his own hand. “Thas’not me.” He said. “Thas’never been me- I’m in hell fer wanting everything. Why would I learn now?”

Archer pushed him to make a move. He dismissed him. He was so damn sure he’d figure out his own way. Demetrius was convinced that honesty and upfront communication were tacky, and not because he was entirely inept at sincerity. But what he was realizing tonight was that window shut.   He’d earned one of her darkest secrets only to be iced-out of what was troubling her at the party. She stared at her phone the whole drive home. His moment passed. Now he was paying for it, but without the inhibition to suffer in silence.

“I made a mistake.” He said, with finality. “I want you. That’s what’s wrong.” “You...want me.” "Mmph. Fuckin’...cowboy strippers aren’t even that funny.” His muttering trailed off, disintegrating into incoherent rambling and something that sounded suspiciously like ‘Colin is a douche.’

Her mouth closed. She had nothing to say.

Whiplash was back, but this time there was no recovering. She had no words. No response. Nothing to fill the quiet, but he did not have much intention of doing so either. The clinking, clanking, and sentence fragments stopped. They both settled into quiet- an awkward, but powerful one.

It dragged for minute. Then five. She was reluctant leave it, to be the one to break it, but her head was buzzing and so was her phone. Missed texts were adding up. There must’ve been seven now. Someone else was impatient for her attention. And while Colin could wait...

"Demetri?"

"Hmmmm?" He hummed, sleepily but somber.

"Did you...did you mean-? Were you implying-" She cringed. She regretted the question before she asked. Maybe it was best not to pry. Just enjoy it. It’s how things had been going so far.

Besides.

What would happen if he did answer now?

She hugged her knees. Her heart had taken enough collateral damage. It was time to give it a break. Tonight changed things. She’d have to see what that meant. "Nevermind. Uh, thanks. I mean.Thanks again. I guess. Don’t go bailing anyone out of prison."

"Aye-aye," he mumbled.

On the other end, he slumped. Wine smeared around his table, he half-heartedly sopped it up with a rag before giving up. The marble was feeling awfully comfortable. His head propped against his shoulder, and it slid into lean.

She kept the phone affixed to her ear, eyes closing. The night opened with her walking the demon through the five stages of grief for a reality star. In a bizarre way, in a way neither could have expected, he provided a comparative comfort. These thoughts she’d been having- these errant ideas, these cues- were justified.

"Deme?" She finally asked.

But there was no response. He was out like a light, drooling on the marble.

She listened to a few breaths before bidding a quiet 'good night' and hanging up. Exhausted now, but in the best way, she posed to snap her phone shut.

Just before she did, the screen returned to Colin.

Her cursor flashed where she left it. It tailed the end of a long, angry message her heart was no longer in. Unwilling to tarnish her revelation, or feed the new, fresher guilt winding in her stomach, she hit the back key. One letter blinked out of existence at a time, then words, then entire lines.

ADRIA: actually dont worry about it. goodnight. COLIN: ok! Good night :D

[quicksilverownsmysoul]

Hey I was wondering if you could do a fic or some headcannons of any character with a Hispanic reader teaching them more about their culture and meeting their parents? Idk it’s something special for Hispanic heritage month<3 (ofc you don’t have to do it if you don’t wanna)

Okay but I would love to do that!!! Love this !!! thank you anon for sending this in. Buckle up y’all cause this is gonna be headcannons for the Evans and they are gonna be hella long!!! (Also feel free to send in more x Hispanic reader requests for any character ) I also have a Peter x Hispanic reader in the works

The Evans with a Hispanic/ Latinx Reader (GN)

Tate

- literally in love with you

- gets really into the telenovelas but won’t ever admit it to you

- would be so nervous to meet your parents for multiple reasons (one being cause he was a literal ghost)

- when you met him you like did the sign of the cross and tried all those old tricks to free his spirit

- he was very amused

- I feel like your parents wouldn’t like him too much, they don’t like his energy

- it’s crushes him but he acts like he doesn’t care

- you still date him and tell him he doesn’t need their approval

- would love to hear about your culture especially all the ghost stories and superstitions

Kit

- fascinated with the low rider community

- literally wants to learn about all of them so you take him to meet up so he can talk to the mechanics behind it

- they make a lot of jokes about him calling him gringo and asking why this white man is here but he just laughs with them

- they actually all take a liking to him and how accepting he is

- he gets invited to all future meetups and helps work on some of the cars

- loves to learn cumbias and dances with you

- always twirling you around the kitchen

- your parents liked him well enough, thought he was polite but worried about how he would support you

- but after seeing how much he loved and respected you they were sold on him

- if you speak Spanish he’ll try to learn a couple phrases for you

Kyle

- wants to learn everything about you and your culture if you wanna share it with him

- always willing to listen your opinions when it comes to Hispanic/Latinx representation in media

- loves to watch telenovelas and will get huffy if you watch them without him

- he’ll gasp at the perfect times too and get really invested

- likes it when you sing Spanish lullabies to him, cradling him in your arms as you play with his hair

- he was so nervous to meet your parents, practiced what he was going to say about a million times

- probably had his friends pose as mock parents and have them reject him so he’d be prepared for the worst

- but your parents love him. Literally think he’s so ambitious and a perfect gentleman.

- They immediately asked when you two were getting married

Jimmy

- loves all the music, literally always humming a Juan Gabriel song or a Richie Valens song

- obsessed with Selena, has a poster of her in his cavern

- he bought it after you introduced him to her. When he hears dreaming of you tho all he can think about is you. Especially when you aren’t there and all he wants to do is hold you in his arms

- Was scared of meeting your parents, put it off for as long as possible.

- he knew you’re parents didn’t think anybody was good enough for you and he was sure they’d hate him too

- wore his gloves when y’all went, trying his best to seem respectable

- your parents were still wary of him tho, making it clear that they didn’t like that he was in a freak show. Didn’t think that life was for their kid

- you stand up for him and yourself and jimmy has never been more proud in his life

- tells you how much he loves you the entire ride home

- Loves when you rub vapor rub on his chest after a long day

- Loves all the candies from the mercados, like the peanut patties

James

- charmed by absolute everything about you

- was a little of ignorant when your first met him, his era imposing a very stereotypical view of you and your culture

- you help to teach him about your culture and break him out of that mindset

- he wants to learn and change for you and as time passes he does. Kills anyone who even says anything remotely racist to you 

- Like kit he is very into dancing your traditional dances with you

-probably rehearses it to perfection and puts on a recital for the whole hotel to watch

- fascinated with the concept of death in your culture

- Loves the fashion of it all 

- You introduce him to Raul Julia movies and he’s just starring at the screen like why am I in this movie???

Colin

- Will try and cook your favorite dishes for you but it’s a pain to get him to try it

- He’s a little put off by all the flavors but for you he will try it all

- He cannot handle the heat, anything that has even a hint of spice he will be dying. He tires to play it cool and be like that was good but the minute you excuse yourself he’s gulping milk down by the gallon

- Loves pan dulce, always has one with his coffee

- Loves to go to the markets with you and shop around for local ingredients

- You give him a little cross to wear and he never takes it off, always around his neck

- Will go to church with you every Sunday if you want, like you did as a kid

- If you get married he will be all for that traditional wedding, wanting you to embrace your culture as much as you want

- The family makes fun of him in Spanish and you have to stop youtrself from laughing with them

- Your parents like him but they think he’s a little goofy

- He was so flustered when he met them but in the end it all worked out. 

Warren

- Loves all of your traditions, he has so much fun learning them with you

- Adores abuileta hot chocolate, it won’t even be cold and he’s drinking it all day long

- Unlike Colin he can handle the spice, will do challenges with your family to see who can eat the spiciest tamales or just straight up eat a jalapeno

- If anyone tries to make fun of you he will fight them, yelling about how ignorant they are and how he will kick their ass back to Europe if they keep talking like that. 

- He someone is best friends with your grandparents, always offering to help and charming them 

- You are amazed and how he had them wrapped around his finger, watching as they pinch his cheeks and call him handsome in English and Spanish

- Your parents aren't too fond of him and don’t like that his parents are divorced but your grandparents just shush them and say that he’s perfect

- Always so smug now that he has their approval

Peter 

- Eats everything and anything you or your family makes

- Loves it all and is  wiling to try anything once, even menudo 

- Your grandma is always trying to feed him, saying that he’s too skinny and needs to eat more

- He has to like disappear after the fifth plate because she won't stop feeding him

- Your Spanish speaking family members call him Pedro

- loves the big happy family vibes never had that growing up 

- always playing with the little cousins at parties and jumping with them in the bounce house

- fights them over the piñata candy 

- He was nervous to meet your parents, nearly passing out when your dad starred him down at the door

- They all love him though and like how respectful he is around you 

- The aunts and older cousins are always gushing over his hair and asking if they can style it 

Charles

- big sweetheart

- Next to Kyle he is the most beloved by the family

- They always say how sweet he is and how pretty he is. Loves that he always brings something for parties, and usually makes it himself

- But since they found out he’s into photography he becomes the designated photographer for all events. Your cousins all hiring him for weddings and birthdays 

- You buy him a big fluffy blanket with one of those giant animals one it and it’s his favorite thing

- Loves to cook with you, always rolling out tortillas as you guys sing in the kitchen

Taglist: @coffeeandteaintheevening @kitwalkerangel  @livingmybestfictionallife @amourtentiaa @shlutnutt @rottenstyx @mossybank 

[sorry-i-ship-drarry]

12. Draco's clever boyfriend

Prompt used - pushing hair behind others ear | Draco is flustered by Harry's affection|

When Draco became friends with harry after the war, harry had changed a lot, the days where they used to call each other prat had long gone, their conversations had become so civilized that if you asked a stranger if they seemed like they used to be arch nemesis once, they’d laugh at your face. 

However with Draco discovering his sexual orientation it wasn’t easy being around harry, since harry was Draco's gay awakening. He realized it after staying around harry how much he was interested in men. And it definitely didn’t help when harry was simply very affectionate in behavior, maybe it came from not having enough affection growing up or it was the aftermath of the war, Draco didn’t know and as much as he appreciated it, he sometimes hated harry for showing affection in ways that caused Draco's heart to flutter.

“ if it annoys you so much just tell him to stop doing that” pansy suggested him one day when they went out for tea 

“ but that would just crush his heart “ draco replied calmly sipping his tea 

“ no it won’t draco, he’s harry, he’s the most understanding man in the world” pansy stated as if it was the most obvious thing

" but that doesn't mean it won't hurt him that I don't want him doing affectionate thing's to me and then him understanding would be a problem " Draco sighed.

" honey, if it bothers you then just explain it to him. I am sure it's a little thing, he won't be that hurt if you explain him properly " pansy said sweetly.

" no pansy you don't understand-"

" what do I not understand Draco, you're clearly bothered by him showing affection that way and I know it's a bit awkward for you. Just tell him maybe tone down a bit " pansy furrowed her eyebrows in confusion of why Draco was Rolling his eyes

" i- I nevermind, I'll tell him to tone down a bit" Draco cut back

" no what is it, tell me ?" She leaned forward on the table, pushing her tea aside " this is clearly troubling you and I want to help you Draco "

" it's not troubling me pansy. I- If I tell him to tone down I know he'll completely back off " Draco explained

" and that is a problem because ?" Pansy asked raising her eyebrows.

Looking forward while exhaling Draco confessed " i- because I think then he'll do those things to Someone else and -"

" and you don't want that ?" Pansy asked smirking as she leaned back in understanding the troubling part

" yeah " Draco exhaled.

" so you want him to tone down or maybe stop being annoying but if Harry does it someone else, it would bother " Draco nodded " honey you've got some serious problems " pansy chuckled.

" thanks pansy for this enlightening information that I haven't figured out myself" Draco sarcastically replied. Laughing pansy shook her head " you like him, Draco, that's what the problem is. I must say I'm not surprised "

" I'm not in love with him " Draco defend

" I never said you're in love, but now I think you might be " pansy smirked

" fuck you pans" Draco rolled his eyes. For the rest of the conversation pansy kept teasing Draco about it.

As it turned out Draco was in fact jealous of Harry showing the affection the way he showed him to someone else. He only discovered it in a party when Harry was standing talking to some guy,Colin from work. He had not only bought the guy a drink but also slightly kept touching his arms every once in awhile.

" you'll crush the glass Draco" Pansy Smugly said when she noticed Draco. It wasn't a big deal but the way Harry kept touching the guy, stirred something in him. He tried hard to avoid the fact that Harry had been touching the guy but failed miserably because when he came back to talk to them, Draco Only interested him in one word answers which obviously was weird for harry.

Draco assumed that it was only matter of one day but when he walked in on Harry with some guy from work again talking while almost holding hands, like they had just shook hands, Draco couldn't resist the roll of eyes. He had gone back to his office without even talking to harry and when asked upon why he came, he Only told him he forgot.

His jealousy started to tone down when one day while harry and Draco were out shopping for Ron's birthday when Harry noticed something.

" you for your ears pierced ?" He asked with an amused smile. Smiling back Draco nodded. He didn't thought Harry would've actually wanted to take a good look on it until he realised he did.

" looks nice " Harry complimented pushing Draco's hair behind his ear. He almost stopped looking for a moment when Harry did it, Harry had been so close to his ears that he could almost feel his breath down on his neck.

" you have nice ears by the way " Harry complimented

" thanks " Draco awkwardly replied and then Harry moved away resuming to look for gifts.

It was soon Harry developed a habit of pushing Draco's attractively slightly Long hair behind his ear each time he got a chance like he did it while he was reading on the couch in Harry's place while the rest of his friends were invested in conversation. Harry had done it so absent Mindedly that Draco couldn't even smile. Once he did while they were out on a lunch outside office, Draco had almost blushed , while harry smiled fondly at him. He also did it while harry and Draco were standing next to each other for a meeting in the conference hall, Draco assumed Harry wasn't paying much attention to meeting but it was Only for a miniscule of second that Harry had taken to do it and resumed listening to the meeting attentively. And the most recent time was at Hermione's party for work while they were standing next to each other admiring the event when Harry had did it purposely and Draco could only smile. He enjoyed Harry doing this so much that he purposely covered his ears with his hair so that Harry would push it behind and harry did.

It was all fun and games until he noticed Harry doing the same with Ginny. It was as if someone had taken Draco's heart out of his heart, squeezed it and put it back inside. He hated this feeling, until now he didn't believe that Pansy was right or he didn't wanted to but now when he saw Harry holding Ginny by her arms, looking in her eyes while talking to her, leaning in towards her every once in a while, pushing her hair out of her face, Draco was beyond pissed that whenever Harry tried to approach him for the rest of the event, he simply walked away. When Ron's birthday party ended, Draco had simply wanted to go quietly but Harry had unfortunately caught up.

" hey listen, I left my wand at your place when I stopped by. Mind if I tag along ?" Apparently Draco couldn't ignore anymore so he simply nodded and they both side along apparated to Draco's place.

" it was a nice party right " Harry spoke while Draco was taking out keys from his pocket.

" yeah" Draco gave a short reply and opened the door, allowing Harry inside.

Frowning Harry walked in with Draco.

" it must be around the kitchen table " Draco said as he immediately walked into the kitchen and looked for Harry's wand.

" found it ?" Harry asked while absentmindedly looking for his wand in the living room.

" not here " Draco replied as he even checked the drawers. Deciding that the wand wasn't in the kitchen he joined Harry in the living room.

" my god, why didn't I thought of it. We could just accio it " Draco suddenly said. Harry stared at Draco dim witted

" o- oh yeah or we can look for it just like this. I mean I might've even left at Ron's place-"

" accio wand " and the wand flew out of from Harry's jacket into Draco's hands.

Holding the wand in his hands, Draco raised an eyebrow asking for an explanation.

" i- I didn't know it was there " Harry stupidly lied

" I'm not Ron Harry " Draco rolled his eyes

" okay fine. I had to talk to you, you kept ignoring me during the party " Harry threw his hands in the air

" I was not " Draco lied, defending himself.

" you're lying " Harry raised his eyebrows as if it so obvious.

" and how do you know that ?" Draco crossed his arms

" because your voice gets high when you're lying " Harry pressed his lips in a thin line trying hard not to break a smile.

Narrowing his eyes Draco defied " no it does not "

" Draco, I know when you lie. It does get pitchy " harry insisted

" fine even if I am lying why do you care, I'm sure you were the time of your life at the party " Draco rolled his eyes throwing Harry's wand at harry and walking into the kitchen just to walk away from Harry.

" why do I care ? What do you mean by that ? You're my friend, I wanted to talk to you but you kept dodging me off like a ball "

" alright, fine, you wanted to talk then talk " Draco slammed his hands on the table

" no I wanted to talk at the party-"

" then pretend we're still there. Just talk Harry, what you so desperately wanted to say that you had to lie to come here" Draco mocked

" wha- I'm not desperate to talk to you -"

" If you don't have anything to talk about Harry then leave " Draco pointed his hand at the door

" no I won't. I won't leave without you giving me an explanation about why you're being such a prat ?" Harry gave him an annoyed look

" look it's already late, if you really have to talk about something important then do otherwise I'm going to bed and you're welcome to do anything you like " Draco rolled his eyes backing off a little

" don't dodge off the question. It's not just today, you've recently been dodging me off whenever we're around people, what is wrong ?" Harry asked leaning over the kitchen table on the opposite end of Draco.

" If you really don't have anything to talk about that is important -"

" it is important to me Draco. I want to talk about this. I need to -"

" you want to talk about it then listen, I'm mad at you" Draco slammed his hands on the table again closing the distance between their faces

" what have I even done to make you mad at me ?" Harry asked, his British accent sounding much more British than it had ever sounded.

" i- nevermind. Can we not-"

" no we have to. I need Answers " Harry huffed

" look I'm tired-"

" so am I, so do us both a Favour and tell me why you're actually mad at me ?" Harry bobbed his head forward to make it more impactful

" i- I'm going to bed, you can leave whenever you want " Draco sighed as he started walking towards the bedroom but harry wasn't done and jerked Draco's wrist to look at him.

" you're not going anywhere without having this conversation " Harry was now more annoyed that before. And as much as it should've annoyed draco, it Only upset him that he was annoying him.

" watch me " Draco raised his eyebrows and wiggled out of his grip but it was just one second before Harry pulled him back again and slammed him against the wall, closing the distance between them.

" answer me Draco " Harry was furious at Draco's attempt to dodge him off again

" why do you even care, so I'm mad at you. I'll get over it " Draco furrowed his eyebrows at his Persistent behaviour.

" Because you're my friend and I don't want anything I do to Sabotage this thing " Harry answered

" well you already have Harry so congratulations " Draco huffed trying to creat some distance between them but harry wouldn't budge

" then at least tell me what did I do? You know I can't stand this " Harry desperately said finally creating some distance between them.

" why? Why can't you stand it ? It's not like we're best friends or something..I'm sure you have other friend you can cozy upto and they'll treat you just the same " Draco rolled his eyes taking the opportunity to walk into the living room.

" cozy upto ? What are you even on about ?" Harry asked turning Draco around once again to face him. Caught in the act Draco couldn't defend himself anymore, in his anger he had slipped the only crucial information he should not be slipped.

Sighing Draco ran his hands through his hair and harry immediately pushing his hair behind his ear " this " Draco suddenly said

" what?"

" this, you pushing my hair behind my ear! Giving me a coaster when I don't even ask for it , changing the songs on the radio while I'm reading for me, sending me memos before lunch to go outside, leaning on me, resting your head on my shoulder, touching my arms, noticing me, complimenting me. Everything you do for me or I thought you did but you do this for Everyone, call me stupid, Merlin I am stupid thinking I'm the only one who you did this for but I'm not. You do this for everyone, so there you go. Thought I was special but clearly I was stupid, idiot to even think that Harry potter would ever be slightly interested in me " Draco finally breathed out after the rant. Harry looked at him awestruck As if he hadn't really expected Draco to actually tell the truth.

" so you're mad because you think I do this with everyone !" Harry asked quizzically

" Merlin I sound stupid. Let's just pretend this conversation never happen-nmph " Draco was cut off by Harry pressing his lips on his. Surprised Draco took a step back for a moment to see any signs of hesitation or reluctance but when received with none, he kissed harry back. His hands automatically pulling Harry closer by his waist. Harry losing his hands in Draco's hair, pulling his head down a bit to close any distance left. Draco hadn't ever not thought about not kissing harry and now when he was finally kissing him, he poured all the desperation and desire in that sweet moment of passion. The more they spent time kissing the more they realised how much they had been missing out on and figured they could do this if it only hadn't been for breathing.

When they separated to take a breath, flustered Harry said " never knew you could be the jealous one but I guess it worked "

" you planned this ?" Draco asked shocked

" some times yeah. I had to know if you felt the same" Harry mumbled

" you're a bastard " Draco chuckled and kissed him again .

_____________________

" so that clever bastard knew what he was doing?" Pansy asked with a smug Look on her face

" I have to say my boyfriend is a clever man" Draco chuckled.

" what are you guys talking about ?" Harry suddenly joined, wrapping his hands around Draco's waist from behind and kissing his shoulder

" your Ill structured plan to get me to kiss you " Draco smirked as he leaned back into Harry.

" it worked " harry shrugged

" and I think it worked for much more " Harry Whispered in Draco's ear. His eyes widened at the Meaning of Harry's word

" at this point I pretend I don't hear Harry whispering Draco something about sex, suggest you get used to it too pans " Ron said as he passed by then eating his Sandwich to pansy who was standing their slightly embarrassed.

And they all laughed. everyone loved Harry and Draco together, he'll they'd been Betting that they would get together. It took time but it did. At the end it worked out for everyone's best.

Requests open

Day 11- hottest couple in Britain | Day 13-love is a choice

[silverhallow]

first line meme (published fics edition)first line meme (published fics edition)

Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 published stories. (If you have less than 20, just list them all!) See if there are any patterns. Choose your favourite opening line. Tag some people to play the next round!

1.September had been throwing some wild weather their way, thought Kate, and today was no exception. (A Stormy yet Perfect Birthday - Kanthony)

2. Sophie needed to talk to Kate, desperately. (Her Best Friend’s Brother in Law - Benophie)

3. Benedict has been extremely stressed out at his job. (Following Instructions -Benophie)

4. Since their return to London after their Honeymoon the newlyweds had been kept busy, Sophie had been helping Kate with Miles and Edmund and learning how to run a household, Benedict had been writing to solicitor’s, setting up accounts and letters had been going back and forth to Wiltshire to make sure things were ready for them upon their return. (High Tea - Benophie)

5. Benedict Bridgerton had never thought himself a jealous man, but over the last few days, he was starting to think that perhaps he was wrong. (Green-eyed Monster - Benophie)

6. Sophie Beckett understood the definitions of unfair and difficult before she even turned 11. (Time After Time - Benophie)

7. It was the first anniversary for Anthony and Kate, Benedict and Sophie and the entire family had gathered for a big party and the annual rematch that Kate had declared that they should do and host at Aubrey Hall and since it coincided with the pair of couples Anniversaries the family had agreed. (Rematches and Revelations - Kanthony and Benophie AMD AU)

8. Valentine's is by far the busiest time of year at the modest flower shop and Eloise had agreed to help him out as he was busy with the twins today and it was leading up to the big event of love, hundreds of men and women passed through those doors to purchase the perfect selections of flowers and plants for their loved ones. (Flowery Seductions - Philoise)

9. Sophie had been busy that morning, she and Benedict had come to London for a week so Benedict could get some meetings done with Henry and John Constable to get things set and ready for his exhibition in a few weeks. (Mistakes and Missing Braincells - Sophie & Anthony)

10. Inspiration came in the form of many things and over recent years Benedict Bridgerton had found that inspiration in the form of his wife (A Lack of Inspiration - Benophie)

11. It was strange, Sophie thought as she sat on the floor of the bedroom in Aubrey Hall, she hadn’t thought about her father in so very long and yet over the last 4 days, she had done not a lot else but think about him in her time between fittings, between the shouting and screaming of the Bridgerton’s around her (Pre wedding reflections Sophie & Richard Gunningworth/ Benophie)

12. Benedict wanted to do something nice for Sophie, she had been having trouble sleeping and with Charlie teething and their current unborn child currently using her insides as a punching bag, he knew his wife was downright miserable but she had such a sunny disposition that she wouldn’t complain about it but he saw the way her face flinched every time their new child kicked her insides. (Benedict vs The Stove- Benophie)

13.Andrew Rokesby hadn’t worn his uniform in some time but when Billie informed him that they were hosting a joint summer party with the Bridgerton’s that year and the King and Queen were due to attend he dug his blues out and wore them for the first time since his wedding with pride. (Sophie and the Captain - Summer 1803 - Sophie & Andrew Rokesby - AMD AU)

14. Edmund knew letting Colin travel at 18 was a stupid idea but the boy had been desperate and Andrew has said he had a friend who was heading over to Greece and who would look after him (A Trip to Forget - Benedict & Edmund & Colin & Anthony AMD AU)

15. Sophie beamed as her father said she could go play with the other children. (When Benedict met Sophie- Aubrey Hall 1802 - Benophie AMD AU)

16. Benedict and Sophie had been stuck at My Cottage for a good week already, the storm they had gotten caught in was far worse than anything anyone could have imagined and the Crabtree’s had been unable to get back from wherever they were so Sophie had been left to care for Benedict. (A Close Shave- Benophie)

17. Anthony had no idea what was going on or why Gregory and Hyacinth would just not screaming (Lavender Blue - Bridgerton Siblings)

18. It had been a really easy journey, it was just a weekend away and Sophie had begged him to take the motorbike, they had clothes and they had everything they needed at their cottage and in the end it didn't take much begging (Too Close for Comfort - Benophie - Bridgerton Enterprise AU)

19. For Sophie, there was nothing more perfect in her life than her family. (Like Mother Like Daughter - Sophie & Violet)

20. Paris Fashion week had been everything Sophie had hoped. (What Happens in Paris. Kanthony & Benophie - Bridgerton Enterprise AU)

I think my favourite has to be “For Sophie, there was nothing more perfect in her life than her family.” because it just sums up everything Sophie had ever wanted in her life. It’s just beautiful.

I do realise I don’t have a style or a particular trait… half of these are concise, half of these are random and long. A bit like my brain hahahahaha

I’m not tagging anyone cause I think people are busy enough but if any of my mutals wanna have a go please do 🧡

[toriaurorawriter15]

I can see you Chapter 12: Getting Ready

Penelope still can't believe she sang to Colin. 

The idea of him knowing how she feels for him through music is like confessing her feelings in public. Which she did, and that is something Pen would never find the courage to do in front of a live audience. It turns out she can be confident. But only with the Bridgerton clan. Perhaps it is because she spent more time with Eloise's family than her own. 

Nevertheless, Penelope is thankful to God for giving her a singing voice. 

It isn't fantastic like Anthony and Colin, but she knows her soprano voice could complement Colin's tenor voice. That is if they were to sing a duet. 

Soon, a smile forms on Pen's face at the idea of singing a duet with Colin. Perhaps, when the writer has more confidence, she could ask Colin to sing a song with her at the next karaoke party or collaborate on his channel with a song and upload it to YouTube. 

There are so many ideas given to the writer after the first stay at this villa for the writer to pen down. 

So, once everyone went to bed, Penelope Feathington stayed up all night writing. Only to find herself asleep in front of her vanity dresser in one of the thirty guest rooms inside this gorgeous home. 

Pen sighs in content from last night's events before remembering the song Edwina chose to sing for Karaoke night. 

Fictional by Khole Rose is a beautiful song. But seeing Edwina's slight gaze in Anthony's direction for a few seconds before focusing her tearful eyes on Pen was unbearable. 

Knowing that Edwina got hurt by Anthony after meeting him at Daphne's baby shower for her son Auggie is heartbreaking. 

Putting yourself out there for someone you are interested in to learn that they have a partner can be difficult. It breaks your self-esteem into pieces while you try to find out if the signs are already there. 

The worst part of their story is Anthony ghosting Edwina's Instagram messages after accepting her friendship request for no reason. 

A few months later, Edwina found out about her sister Kate being his girlfriend on his private Instagram post from his Valentine's Day post. Then she found another post for Kate's birthday. Seeing Kate and Anthoy's faces together in the two pictures broke Edwina. 

Her best friend's heart shattered like a glass vase falling off a countertop and the glass particles going all over the floor. 

Pen remembers Edwina silently shedding tears on one of the many Friday nights during their sleepovers. The Irish writer brushed her ivory fingers into the heartbroken woman's brown hair while Edwina and her cuddled in Pen's bed. 

To this day, Edwina's sobs echo in the writer's mind like a record player. Never leaving Pen alone, and right now, she has tears again in her eyes from that memory. 

After that dreadful night of meeting Anthony, Edwina changed. 

Drastically, the romantic reader changed her career from writing to being a YouTube cosplayer. She has also given up finding love for herself, and it doesn't sit right with Pen. 

Whenever Pen asks Edwina how she feels, the cosplayer shuts down. So Pen has vowed not to bring up what could have been until her best friend is ready to move on. 

To this day, Pen doesn't know how Edwina can be in the same room as Anthony and Kate. 

After many years of yearning, Edwina has accepted her position as Anthony's sister by marriage. Yet, Pen prays that the man meant for Edwina would finally show up in her life. 

The guilt from introducing Kate to Anthoy after learning about Edwina wanting more than family friendship is still a fresh wound. Nevertheless, Pen knew Edwina's sister was compatible with Eloise's eldest brother. 

Now, the romantic writer wants to make it up to Edwina for her previous actions in any way she can. So, Pen is wearing something she would never dare to pick for herself. 

During her shopping trip with her best friend and the eldest Bridgerton daughter, Daphne, Edwina found this scandalous bathing suit. Daphane told Pen to try it on after Daphane searched for Pen's swimsuit size. Once Pen put on the blush color swimsuit, Edwina said that Pen should get it because it looked phenomenal on her. Daphane encouraged Pen to buy it by stating that the side cuts on the one-piece bathing suit flattered her curves while the low V shape of the built-in push-up bra gave her best assets a chance to shine. 

Again, Pen frowns with discomfort as she looks at herself in the mirror. Her red hair is in a side fishtail braid while her sunglasses push back the top of her curls away from her forehead. 

Everything looks great in her reflection, but the insecure lady can't see how gorgeous she is from the other point of view. 

Right now, Pen has doubts about stepping out of the room with the bathing suit. Yet, she wanted to make Edwina smile. 

Seeing her best friend's brown eyes sparkle with excitement always put a smile on Pen's face. 

"This is as good as it is going to get," Pen whispers as she grabs her coverup and walks towards the doorframe. 

Slowly, Pen opens the door to hear Edwina and Eloise bickering in the narrow hallway. 

"I saw the pain you caused Pen last night after singing that song." Eloise whispers in anger, Are you trying to break her heart?" 

"Why on earth would you think that?" Edwina questions back, "Plus, what is your deal?" 

"My deal. I have no idea what you are talking about?" Eloise declares in confustion. 

"Really," Edwina stated through her teeth. "Eloise, you know dam well what I am talking about." 

"No, I don't." Eloise barks in a whisper. 

Edwina scoffs, "Are you not the one who told all your siblings not to allow Colin to meet Penelope!" 

Pen's jaw drops from Edwina's statement but stays still as she takes in the rest of their conversation. 

"El, everyone knows you love Pen, and not in a friendship way." Edwina calmly states. "Face the facts, Eloise! Penelope Featherington doesn't feel the same!" 

Eloise was about to defend herself when Edwina added, "You should allow her space to know the rest of your siblings. That includes Lin!" 

Eloise stomps her right foot in anger, "She is my best friend. I-" 

Edwina cuts into her rant, "If you are her best friend, then you should give her this opportunity to know Colin!" 

Eloise is about to cut in on her request when Edwina sternly states, "Pen has been with you since you were in high school." she pauses to warn her, "Do not be stupid, Eloise. Stop hovering over Pen like she is some prize!" 

"I do not!" Eloise shouts in an offensive tone, and Edwina lowers her voice, "Or do you want to be like Megan from Stolen Baby?" 

Pen's blue eyes look side to side as she recalls that scary movie on Lifetime. 

The friendship between the two main characters hits way too close to Pen's real life. 

After watching it, she called Eloise. Balling her eyes in fear while confessing to El that she hopes their friendship doesn't end up with one of them dead at the other's hands. 

At first, Eloise had no idea what Pen was talking about until she found the movie Stolen Baby with Emily Osment portraying Megan and watched it with one of her brothers. 

Stolen Baby is about a real-life event, and the movie traumatized both ladies. 

Seeing that movie lessened Eloise's leash on Penelope's attention, and today is no different. 

Eloise sighs, "Fine. I will give her space." 

Edwina hums sure before asking, "Why did you allow me to meet Colin and not Pen?" 

Instead of answering her question, Eloise confesses to Edwina in a bitter tone, "All my life, I had friends who pretended to be my friend." 

She pauses, and Pen knows that Eloise is trying not to cry. 

"They would show up to my birthday parties." Eloise stutters, "B-y the e-nd, Colin w-would e-nd up s-wooping t-he-m up with his charms. And I was left to wallow downstairs as the rest of my family sang Happy Birthday." 

Tears fall down Pen's eyes from hearing her best friend's confession while trying to keep quiet. 

"I wish I could give you a pass for your actions." Edwina states in a kind tone, "Eloise, you need to back off. Allow Pen to spend this weekend without you watching her every move. Or you will end up losing your friendship with her." 

"Every well." Eloise breathes out in defeat. 

Pen lets out a sigh of relief from Eloise's response before waiting for them to leave. 

Her ears wait to hear their footsteps walk towards the second entrance and join everyone at the pool entrance before making her presence known. 

Pen keeps her eyes on where Eloise and Edwina stood in the hallway after their departure. 

Her gaze on the second hall entrance has all her attention until she feels her petite body colliding into the arms of Colin Bridgeton.  Previous Chapter

[before-we-get-started]

Dream Come True, Chapter 5

Summary: Cori MacAdam was reeling from a broken heart when she stepped into the path of a moving car. Her out-of-body experience found her eager to leave her life until the hottest guy she’d ever seen showed up to save her. Now as she tries to navigate her life after the accident, things get complicated quickly when she meets her sexy promiscuous neighbor. When she finds love again, her secret comes out – will she be able to hold on to the guy she really loves?

Warnings: Angst, near death experience, smut, some bad words.

Pairing: Colin Shea x O/C Corinne MacAdam

Disclaimer: This work is a pure work of fiction and my fics are classified as 18+. Please do not read if you are underage. Any likeness to real life people/scenarios is purely coincidental. I do not own any characters in this fic except O/C Corinne MacAdam. If you continue to read, you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

W/C: Story is 10 chapters + short epilogue

A/N: Cori and Colin are getting closer, and she’s learning exactly what kind of guy her really is.

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

On Monday, she woke up with a new outlook. Today she’d start a new job, something much different than working for the events management company. Serving as personal assistant to a family friend, an heiress and philanthropist, eccentric and a spinster, but a very nice woman. Cori’s mother had reminded her that her new boss, Ms. Robbins, was prone to mood swings (and forgetting things), but that she’d treat her fairly and appreciate her hard work.

On a whim on Sunday, she’d decided to color her hair. She bought a kit and gave herself light blonde highlights, lightening the chestnut brown. She looked as if she’d been out in the sun, as if maybe she had a healthy outdoor lifestyle, not like she’d been holed up feeling sorry for herself for months.

She dressed in a chocolate brown business suit with a cream blouse, a bow tied at the neck. She put on her brown pumps and some with the crème filigreed toe accent and grabbed her purse. For good luck, she put on the pearl drop earrings her parents had gotten her for her 16th birthday. She’d prepped her lunch the night before and grabbed the thermal bag from the frig, along with her travel coffee mug. She had plenty of time to make the T to the Back Bay neighborhood where Ms. Robbins lived.

As she’d finished getting ready, “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina and the Waves had been playing on the radio. She found herself singing it softly as she left the apartment. “I’m walking on sunshine – yeah!” she sang, a little louder than she planned, as the door to 6A opened. Colin emerged in his boxers. He bent down to pick up a newspaper, then stood up and took a good look at her as she walked by.

“Mornin’ 6C,” he said with that gorgeous smile. His eyes ran over her from head to toe and she could almost feel it.

She smiled back, gazing over her shoulder as she walked by. “Mornin’ 6A. Have a good day.” She kept walking down the stairs, her optimism bubbling up. What a great way to start the day – Colin in his boxers. She smiled to herself, descending the stairs, holding on to the wooden rail. She looked up just long enough to see Colin, arms on the railing, leaning over to watch her.

“You have a good day, too,” he said, lingering as she bounced her way down and out of the building.

Ms. Robbins lived in a huge terracotta brick home on Newton Street. The house had been divided up into condos and she occupied the entire first floor. It was just her and Yaz, her Yorkie (Ms. Robbins was a lifelong Red Sox fan). Cori had been to her home twice before – once as a child for a dinner party, and once a few weeks ago for her job interview. She entered the front door and rang the bell at the door on her left, the entry to Ms. Robbins’ home.

“’S open!”

Cori entered and walked into the main living area, adorned with floral wallpaper in greens and blues. Wood three-quarter round trim stained a honey color trimmed the room and honey colored hardwoods peeked out from a solid blue area rug. There was a Steinway piano, a Victorian couch and chair and a coffee table in the room, along with built-in shelves that held items from around the world, secured during Ms. Robbins’ travels.

“It’s Cori,” she said in a singsong voice. Yaz came streaking into the room, yapping ferociously. She bent down and petted the silky hair around the blue bow tied around a small tuft on his head. He returned the gesture with little licks to her hand.

“Good morning!” Ms. Robbins had cornered the market on brocade dresses. Every time Cori had ever seen her, she was in some type of beautiful brocade. Today’s was a kelly green/ecru paisley that was beautiful against her ivory skin and auburn hair. In her mid-60’s, she was medium height and quite fit, a few lines on her porcelain skin but they weren’t too noticeable with her impeccable makeup. She was holding a number of envelopes as she entered the room.

She hugged Cori and extended her arms, getting a look at her. “Cori, you look absolutely gorgeous. I’m so excited we’ll be working together.”

Cori smiled. “I am too Ms. Robbins. I really appreciate this opportunity.”

“I’m going to keep you busy,” she said. “Now let me show you around so we can get to work.” She led Cori through a formal dining room, complete with a giant ornate wood table and chairs, into a kitchen that had obviously been recently remodeled. Tall white cabinets, a beautiful light gray granite and a white subway tile backsplash, with larger square ceramic tiles and a beautiful mosaic tile providing a pop of color behind the large stainless Bertazzoni range. The kitchen was immaculate – Cori wondered if any food had ever actually been prepared in the room.

“You can put your lunch bag here,” she said, pointing to the giant SubZero frig, “and are you a coffee drinker?”

“Yes Ma’am,” Cori said, shaking her travel mug in front of her.

“Wonderful! I have a coffee station here, there are an assortment of flavors. Lots of creamer in the frig. Help yourself,” she said, waving her arm in front of the high-end coffee maker like it was up for bids on The Price is Right.

She showed Cori the powder room and where she could store her coat and any other items she brought with her. “I want you to feel at home. Help yourself to whatever you find in the kitchen. If you can’t find something, just let me know. Mi casa, su casa,” she said with a smile.

Cori felt a surge of excitement, for the hospitality and for the unknown opportunity that lied ahead.

They made their way to the office, just off the living area with beautiful French doors in the same honey wood. The walls were done in a green wallpaper with wide green velvet stripes. The honey floors carried in and there was a large mahogany desk, built-in bookcases behind it and a high-backed leather office chair.

“This is your workspace now,” Ms. Robbins said. “You’ll find a variety of office supplies in the desk and in the cabinet on the wall. If what you need isn’t here, make a list and – well – I’ll send you out to buy it,” she smiled.

Cori laughed. “Yes ma’am,” she said with a laugh.

“And how about if you call me Amelia. ‘Ma’am’ and ‘Ms. Robbins’ make me feel old.”

“Ok Amelia,” she said. “I love that name.”

“And I love yours. My mother’s name was Corinne. I’m named after my father’s mother. Thank goodness, my mother’s mother was Agatha.” They both laughed.

“I thought we’d operate this way – this new laptop is yours. You can use it here and take it home if you ever need to work after hours. In this book (she opened a leather-bound journal), there are sections. The first will be for your schedule. I’ve written what I’d like you to do this week here,” she said, pointing at a page behind the first tab. “The second section will be for lists. I’ve written this week’s date and a list of items I need you to purchase. The third section will be for your hours. Sign in and out each day, and be sure to include any evening or weekend hours, there will eventually be some. I’ll check it on Fridays, send the hours to my accountant and he’ll transfer money to your account on Monday morning, so pay weekly. Does that work?”

“Yes,” said Cori. “That works perfectly.”

“Great. Whenever you need to go out, Gerald will be available with the car. Let’s take today to get you familiar with the house, the neighborhood and the things I’ll expect you to do. We’ll have lunch on Beacon Hill today because it’s so gorgeous out and tomorrow will be your first actual day with work.”

And so the day progressed, Ms. Robbins doing all the things she promised. After getting familiar with more of the house and where things were stored, they sat in the office and discussed her upcoming calendar and events, and the other tasks she’d expect Cori to accomplish. At 11 a.m. they walked out front where Gerald and the car were waiting. They climbed in the back and Ms. Robbins directed the driver to “run the tour route.” They wove through the streets of the neighborhood and those that bordered. She showed Cori her preferred market, florist, office supply store and other shops. Cori made notes as they went. When they’d finished the tour, the driver stopped in front of a bistro in Beacon Hill with a low brick wall that surrounded a courtyard full of outdoor tables under bright red umbrellas.

“Ms. Robbins, so good to see you. Right this way.” The host showed them to a table tucked away in the back corner of the courtyard. Almost as soon as they were seated, a server set glasses of ice water and iced tea in front of them with a little bowl of lemon wedges. The host handed Cori a menu.

“Will you be having your usual today?” the host asked.

“Yes Phillip. But please give Ms. MacAdam a minute to look.”

“Of course.” The host left the table, passing another server who set a two baskets on the table, one with fresh hot breadsticks in a linen cloth bed and the other little pats of cold butter.

Cori inhaled the smell of the fresh bread, closing her eyes.

“A carb girl, a girl after my own heart,” Ms. Robbins said, pulling out two breadsticks and handing one to Cori.

“Maybe just one,” she said, using her knife to cut off a small wedge of butter and smearing it on the breadstick. She took a bite. “Oh my gosh,” she said softly.

“I know, right?” said Ms. Robbins. “Those breadsticks are my spirit animal.” They both laughed.

Cori chose a salmon salad with a lemon vinaigrette and Ms. Robbins got her usual Salad Niçoise and they chatted away, talking about Beacon Hill, their favorite Boston eateries, Cori’s family, and eventually, Cori’s recent past.

“I saw your mother last year at a benefit and she said you had found your dream job with Spalding Events. Was it not what you had hoped?”

Cori suddenly felt panicked. Ms. Robbins obviously didn’t know what had happened to her, or that she’d been unceremoniously dumped by the love of her life when he banged her best friend the night before their wedding. Just the thought of all of it made her a little dizzy. She took a deep breath. Get it together.

“It was wonderful, but I was in an accident-“

Ms. Robbins gasped quietly and reached for her hand. “Oh dear, are you ok?”

“Yes,” said Cori. “I am now. I actually stepped off the curb and got hit by a cab.”

This time the gasp was much more audible. “My word! Cori! That’s horrifying!”

“It was,” she said softly. “I suffered some serious injuries. The folks at Spalding were kind enough to let me keep working from home once I was able. But I had to do a lot of physical therapy, I moved back in with my parents. Honestly, I just needed a fresh start.” She left out the part about Matthew and Amber.

Ms. Robbins kept her hand on Cori’s, patting it softly. “I’m so glad you’re ok. I can’t imagine what your parents must have gone through as well. Your supervisor spoke very highly of you when I called. She said they’d have you back in a minute.”

“That’s really nice of them,” she said.

“Well, don’t worry. I know events are your specialty. We’ll start out slow but eventually, you’ll be planning my events. I love to entertain and especially to raise money for my foundation. You’ll be able to put that experience to work and for lots of good causes.”

Cori felt a rush of giddiness. Her own events. She loved the sound of that. This was exactly what she needed, what she’d hoped for.

“I can’t wait,” she said with a giggle.

“Good! Now, tell me, if I keep you late or ask you to work on weekends, will I be imposing on a relationship with your significant other? I understand that you have a life.”

The smile ran away from her face. “No, no significant other.”

“Well, then we’ll have more than one goal for our events, won’t we?” she said with a smile.

They finished lunch, which was delicious, and the driver took them back to Newton Street. The rest of the day was spent getting familiar with the office, files she’d need, Ms. Robbins’ rolodex and books from some of her previous events. There were photos and agendas and a list of all the companies used for each event. She recognized lots of them from working at Spalding.

Five o’clock was here before she knew it and she grabbed her bag and headed for the T. She left her lunch bag for tomorrow. The ride home was easy and she ascended the stairs of her apartment building, headed for the sixth floor. On Saturday night during the party, her neighbors said the elevator is almost always out. She was glad it was working when her father helped her move in.

She reached her floor and stared at 6A. She wondered if Colin was home, and if so, what he was doing. Impulsively, she knocked on his door. After a bit, he answered. He was in a Patriots t-shirt and athletic shorts, barefoot, his hair spikey and messy. He looked like maybe he hadn’t been awake for very long.

“Hey! How was your first day?” he said, smiling.

“Really good,” she said. “Very good. Hey, I was thinking, maybe you could come for dinner one night this week. You can tell me about your neighborhood watch program.”

He smiled. “You’ll be a good recruit and I never turn down a free meal. So yes.”

“Great, how about Wednesday at 7?”

“I’ll be there.”

As Cori walked away, she saw a leggy blonde coming off the last step and turning towards Colin’s door. She peered over her shoulder and saw him embrace her, then they shared a long, deep kiss. She noticed his long eyelashes laying on high cheekbones when he closed his eyes for the kiss. Cori felt her knees go weak. She wished for a second she was a leggy blonde.

“You came,” he said. “Nicole, right?”

“Nina,” the blonde corrected him.

“Yeah, Nina. Come on in.” He held the door open for her, placing his hand on the small of her back as she walked in. He looked over at Cori. “Night 6C.”

“Good night,” she replied. The door clicked behind him. Cori unlocked the door and went in, spending the rest of the evening thinking about that kiss. It wouldn’t be as good as the one she got from her mystery man, but she bet it was close.

Tuesday was a normal day, learning and exploring at work, then on Wednesday, she ran to the market after getting off the train to grab a few items. She was in by 5:30, giving her some time to prep dinner. She loved to cook. She wasn’t a chef by any means but she could hold her own. She’d decided to prepare a margherita pasta with shrimp for tonight, with a salad and strawberry shortcakes for dessert. She took a quick shower, put on a little makeup, pulled her hair up in a messy bun after dressing in jeans and an emerald green cold shoulder shirt and jeans and headed for the kitchen. She chopped tomatoes, onions, garlic and basil, seared the shrimp and boiled the pasta. She tossed the romaine salad with some vinaigrette. She set the table, opened a bottle of white wine and put it in an ice bucket, filled two glasses with ice water and as she was setting them on the table, there was a knock at the door.

She glanced in the mirror next to the door – she looked as good as she could, she supposed. She unlocked the door then opened it.

“Hey,” he said. She gasped softly. He was in a cobalt blue button up shirt, black belt, jeans and boots. There was a thin silver chain around his neck, a small silver medallion resting in the valley between his defined pecs. The edge of a tattoo peeked out where the shirt was unbuttoned. His hair was styled. He handed her a small bouquet of fresh flowers. “For you.”

She smiled, a smile that lit up her whole face, and took the flowers. “They’re beautiful. Come in.” She stepped out of the way and he walked the few steps in, making the step down into her living/dining room.

“Wow, it smells amazing in here,” he said, making a show of sniffing the air. “I can’t remember the last time I ate something that wasn’t in cardboard or Styrofoam.”

“I hope you like shrimp – and pasta,” she said.

“That sounds great,” he replied.

She pulled a vase out of the cabinet, added a little water and put the flowers in, setting them in the middle of the table. “Everything is ready,” she said, extending her arm toward the table. He sat down at one of the place settings and picked up the napkin, unfolding it and placing it in his lap.

“So how was day three?” he asked.

She pulled the pan of pasta from the stove and set in on the table. “Really good,” she said.

“Tell me more.”

“I’m a personal assistant for Amelia Robbins. She’s heir to Robbins Manufacturing. She has a house over in Back Bay.”

“Wow, nice neighborhood,” he said, eyeing the pasta she was putting on his plate.

“Very nice. She lives in a huge building full of condos. Her home is the entire first floor. It’s really pretty,” she said.

“So what kind of assistant stuff are you doing?”

“I run errands, do some shopping, manage her calendar. Eventually I’ll be her event planner. She hosts a number of fundraisers for non-profits throughout the year.”

He twisted the pasta around his fork and took a bite, stopping abruptly. He spoke but the words were unintelligible with a mouthful of food.

“What?” she said laughing.

He chewed and swallowed. “I said Holy Shit, this is amazing!” He loaded another fork full and shoveled it in. “Absolutely delicious.”

She was pleased. The evening would suck if the food was bad.

“I’m glad you like it,” she said, taking her own bite. It did taste pretty good.

They talked a little more about her job and then she asked about the band.

“So, what’s the name of your band?”

“Oh, Rock the Cradle – like, Boston is the Cradle of Liberty, and we definitely rock.”

“If I wanted to hear you, where would I go?”

“Finnegan’s, O’Leary’s, Rap’s, local bars,” he said.

“Mm,” she hummed as she finished a bite of pasta. “I’m envious. I always wanted to be in a band. I took piano and played in orchestra in high school. It must be great to take the stage and play your own music.”

He sighed, smiling broadly. “It is,” he said as he put his hand over his chest. “It’s the most incredible feeling. I’m addicted.”

“I’ll bet! And I’m sure you have a pretty incredible stage presence.”

“Well, I don’t mind bragging but yeah, I can wrap an audience up, no problem.”

Cori was impressed. “Just think, when you get that record deal, you’ll already be great at performing live.”

His face dropped then. He looked down at his plate. “We took a break for a while a few months ago. There were some things I had to work through.”

“I’m sorry,” she said. “Did the break help?” She couldn’t help but wonder – guys in bands were often partiers. Did he have a drinking problem? Drugs? He didn’t seem the type, but you never knew what someone else was going through. She stirred the fork around in her plate. “If you guys are that good, I’m sure you’ll get another chance.”

He looked up at her and smiled sheepishly, like a little boy. “It gave me some time to think, and yeah, exactly. I tell the guys that all the time.” He didn’t sound like he believed it.

She smiled, feeling sad for him. He was obviously incredibly disappointed. That sweet smile was gone and she found herself wanting to give him a hug. “Probably get a better record deal next time anyway.”

He smiled. “Exactly. That’s what I told the guys. Everything happens for a reason.” He pulled the fork across his plate, scraping up the last possible bite.

She smiled, happy he liked it so much. “Dessert?” she said sweetly.

His face suddenly shifted and through hooded blue eyes, he smirked and purred, “I never turn down dessert.”

Cori felt the heat flush her cheeks. “Sorry to disappoint you, just strawberry shortcake.”

He laughed. “Ok, I’ll settle for that.”

He picked up the plates from the table and took them to the sink while she pulled the sponge cake, strawberries and whipped cream from the frig. She pulled two ramekins from the cabinet and with a knife, cut circles of cake to fit in the little cups. Colin stood next to her at the counter, peering over her shoulder.

“That looks so good,” he said, reaching over and sticking his finger in the whipped cream. She pulled the bowl away from him.

“Patience,” she laughed. “Go sit.”

He strode to the couch, dropping himself against the throw pillows.

Cori thought about how comfortable all of this was. Dinner together, easy banter, affectionate looks. Everything she thought she’d have by now, with Matthew.

She stared down at her hands and sighed. Colin was sweet and dangerously sexy, but he was just another Matthew. Having a variety of girls was his trademark. Besides, she wasn’t even in the league with the other girls she’d seen at his place.

She shook her head to clear the thought and grabbed two spoons, carrying their desserts to the couch.

Colin admired the sweet treat as she handed it to him. “You’re one incredible cook,” he said, dipping his spoon in and snagging a little of each layer. He hummed as he enjoyed the first bite. “Man, I could get used to this,” he said, smiling at her.

“Well, stay on my good side and I’ll fatten you up.”

He laughed. “Hey, the body is part of the show. But I’ll take my chances.”

They finished and she took their cups. She was so enjoying his company, she spoke before she could think about it. “So, I was thinking, if you want, maybe we could watch a movie or play a game or something.”

Colin glanced at his watch and made a face, then bounced off the couch up the step to the front door and peered through the peephole. “Shit.”

“Everything ok?”

He stepped down from the door. “Can I take a raincheck? I need to get out of here.”

She hoped the disappointment that washed over her didn’t show. “Of course,” she said.

“Great. You’re the best. Thanks – for the best meal I’ve had in a long time.” He reached for her to pull her into a hug and as he touched her arm, they both felt as if lightning shot through them.

Colin jumped back. “Damn, what the hell?”

She wrapped her arms around herself. “I don’t know. The two of us together are dangerous,” she said with a smile.

He grinned and looked a little sad. “I’ve gotta go. Thanks again.” He unlocked the locks on the door and left, pulling it closed behind him.

She was a little dazed, lightheaded even after the moment. She hadn’t noticed any static electricity anywhere else. That was an enormous charge. She stepped up to the door and peered through the peephole. Her heart dropped. Colin’s back was to her and he was wrapped around another leggy blonde. Her arms were wrapped around his neck and her tongue was down his throat. He turned them around, never breaking the kiss, fumbled with the doorknob and opened the door, pulling her inside. The door closed.

She was right. Not even close to being in his league. She stepped down into the kitchen to clean up.

Monday morning’s alarm rang and she trudged through her normal routine. As she unlocked her door to leave, she heard voices in the hallway.

“I can’t. Look, I would if I could but I’ve got something else going on.”

“Colin, you always do this. I want to go on a date. A real date. You know I only want to be with you.” The voice was female.

She slowly opened the door, embarrassed to intrude on their conversation, but she had to go to work. She slowly stepped out, the conversation continuing.

“I appreciate that,” he purred, running his hands down her bare arms. She had raven hair that was pulled into a ponytail, tight yoga pants and a spandex workout top, her curves on display. “But there’s so much going on with the band, I just don’t have the time right now. You know I like you Brittany –“

“Brianna,” she corrected him.

He smiled that megawatt smile. “Yeah, Brianna.” He fidgeted a little as if trying to come up with what to say next.

Cori suddenly felt brave and started around the bannister. “Hey Colin,” she purred, smiling at him. “Tonight’s still date night, right?” She winked at him and kept walking, saying “See you at 7,” as she made her way down the stairs. She could still hear their conversation.

“You’re dating someone else! You said you weren’t!” Brianna was angry.

“No, she was just kidding,” Colin pleaded. “I’m not dating anyone. But my door is always open for you Brianna,” he said in the sexy low voice.

“As if,” she sniffed. “Goodbye Colin.” Cori could hear her stomping down the stairs above her. She stifled a laugh.

The week was going by quickly. Cori had joined her parents for dinner at one of their favorite spots and had just gotten home for the evening.

“I must’ve pissed you off pretty good, eating and running the other night.” Colin had opened his door and stood in the doorframe as she walked past.

“What do you mean?” she said with a smile.

“I mean telling that girl it was date night,” he said. She looked at him and there was a grin where she thought there might be anger.

“Hey, I was just doing you a favor. She left, didn’t she?”

“She sure did,” he laughed. “I’m sorry about the other night. I just wanted to say I’m sorry. That was a shitty thing to do. You took the time to cook for me, I could’ve at least stayed and helped clean up.”

“Not a big deal,” she said, unlocking the door. She smiled at him, a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. This was all they’d ever have, this banter back and forth, neighbors. She knew how big her crush was every time she saw him with another girl. Why was she attracted to guys she couldn’t have?

“You know,” he said, coming around the banister towards her, “we could pick it up tonight, maybe watch a movie?”

She hesitated before answering. She had the luxury of the day off tomorrow, a three-day weekend. Ms. Robbins was going out of town and told her to take a break. She had turned the alarm off on her phone the moment she got the news, a Friday to sleep in. She took a deep breath and turned to look at him. “Sure.”

“Great!” he said and when she opened the door, she could feel him behind her he was so close. His woody, musky scent filled her nose. She felt something wash over, something she hadn’t felt for such a long time, a longing. She thought about the girls she’d seen wrapped around him, kissing him.

She’d never wished so badly she was someone else before. Would she ever be comfortable in her own skin, and not so desperate for her sexy neighbor?

As he walked past her into the living room, he ran his hand above her waist and once again, a shock went through them both that nearly knocked them off of their feet. Colin stumbled forward, catching himself on the sofa, Cori bracing against the kitchen counter.

“What the hell is up with your apartment?” he asked, rubbing his hand. “You need to have the super check your power. Something is definitely up.”

She caught her breath. “Maybe that’s my built-in ‘hands off’ alarm,” she said with a smile. “Wouldn’t want to get caught in a trap like those other girls and get all disappointed.” She’d tried saying it as a joke but her voice sounded sad.

“Look, I’m always honest with anyone I’m with. I don’t want anything long term. I like girls, I’m like any other guy. I just don’t have the desire to be with anyone for very long. I tried that once and it didn’t work. I’m not making that mistake again.”

“Must’ve gotten your heart broken pretty badly,” she said, trying to hide the sadness from her own failure.

“Against my better judgment I got involved with someone I thought might be the one. I was wrong. We wanted different things. Brought me right back to plan A,’ he said, bending down to look at DVDs on her shelf. “Besides, when the band takes off and we hit the road, the last thing I want is to leave someone behind and not be able to enjoy myself.”

“Well, I’ll give you that. At least you’re honest. And you’re not playing the field while you’ve got a fiancée on the string.” Her voice trailed off and she looked down, pissed at the tears that were burning at her eyes.

He stood up, a concerned look on his face. “Did that happen to you?” he said softly.

“Yes,” she said, barely audible.

“I’m sorry,” he said, really meaning it. “That sucks.”

“It does. And with my best friend, no less.”

“Ouch.”

She looked at him, willing the tears away that were rimming her eyes. “Pretty much almost ended my life, at least it felt like it. All of this, the apartment, the job, it’s just me trying to get a fresh start. It’s like I don’t know where I belong.”

He gave her that adorable half smile. “You seem like a great girl Cori. I’m sure there’s someone out there for you. And if you need someone to get you back in the saddle, I’m always available for a ride,” he smiled.

Her face broke into a smile. “That’s THE worst pick up line EVER!” she laughed and he laughed too.

“Yeah, that was bad even for me,” he said, running his hand through his spikey hair to the back of his neck, letting it linger there. Every move he made turned her on. This was torture.

“Ok,” he said, desperate to change the subject and spinning towards the TV. “I suggest a comedy, nothing too heavy tonight.”

“Agree!” She pulled two bottles of beer from the frig and threw a bag of popcorn into the microwave. When it was done, she joined him and they started the movie. There was no conversation, just laughter. He’d made himself at home on the couch with his feet on the coffee table. She tucked her legs up under her in the chair. She’d made a friend. That was the takeaway. It wasn’t sad, it was happy.

When the movie ended, he cleaned up the beer bottles and popcorn and headed for the door. “This was great, I hope we can do it again.”

“Me too,” she said with a smile.

“Hey, what are you doing Saturday night?”

She wished she had a fabulous night planned, but the truth was it would be her, her jammies, some wine and a good book. “Nothing really,” she said.

“Great! Come down to Rap’s. The band is playing at 8. It’s just down the street.”

“I know it, Rapscallion’s, right?”

“Yeah, it’s going to be a big weekend for us. We’re playing a festival Saturday afternoon and at Rap’s on Saturday night.”

“Wow, that’s awesome. I’m glad you’re back on track.”

“Yeah, it feels good,” he said. “So you’ll be there Saturday?”

She didn’t hesitate. “Yes, I’ll be there.”

He clapped his hands together. “Awesome.” He stepped up to the door, gave her a wave and left.

Cori suddenly felt deflated. The biggest player on the planet just spent the evening with her and didn’t even try to make a move on her. Of course she’d been an idiot and acted uninterested. But she should be uninterested, she’d been down this road before.

Saturday would be fun. She’d get a friend to go with her. Who knows, maybe she’d meet someone more in her league.