#all the other cheerleaders would hate being with him because he steals all the attention

[ghonorrhead]

COWBOYS CHEERLEADER JOHNNY FROM THE THING ON X 🤤🤤🤤

[madsmilfelsen]

Helloooooo its me who’s reread all ur true detective and killer Joe fics. I think my favourite is High Speed, Low Drag. I love the insight into Rust’s time as Crash,(even if it is in a fic) and I love how you wrote the struggle between him wanting to do the right thing, but also needing to keep his cover, AND how he’s still reeling after his daughters death and divorce and is deep in his nihilism but begrudgingly still cares about Sig.

AND on top of that, the sex is hot. The line in part two when he’s like “Sigourney please don’t tell me to stop,” I wanted to run around in circles for an hour like a rabid dog 😵‍💫

I was so nervous about posting that series too because I thought there was no way in hell I could pull off a virginity auction. Better writers can do natural narratives of meeting in a regular way, at work or a bar etc, in an escalation of attraction (I’m thinking specially of The Creeping Woods, Dead Flag Blues, and The Idler Wheel) which wait I guess technically I did use both of those settings? but I hate slow burns and find my idea of Rust so divorced from his own libido that it would take something extreme to catch his attention and hold his interest (I didn’t even know what Sugar did to do so until I was typing up how he said she shot someone six times and I was like damn she did??).

Okay so I totally invented Sig to be gross but also because I neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed for him to care for something other than The Work— not that I think she distracted him from, ya know, the death of his daughter and divorce from Claire, but might’ve eased that ache by going through the motions again. I don’t think Rust could stomach watching her be neglected even while he’d mentally shout at himself that he has a Job To Do, a Cover To Keep, and suddenly he’s setting fires to sabotage a puppy mill operation apart of an overly complicated plot to steal Canik for her. Something @glitterslag mentioned was how he grew up isolated and on the fringes of everything so he’d be captivated by this Blonde Americana Cheerleader but I think he’d recognize how that creates its own kind of danger for Sig, too, and becomes even more protective once she made the squad (he’d be unbearable after she got to varsity— booster club president fr, I so wanted to write him getting mistaken as her father and just going with it but thought I can be more subtle about my weirdness)

Ten Seventy Three likely has the most tender smut I’ve written this year and so different from the intimacy I tried to establish between ‘12 Rust and Sugar. I was rusty with writing loss of virginity but the biggest challenge I had to work around was convincing myself ‘95 Rust would even be good in bed lmao

some goofy behind the scenes: I fashioned the efficiency apartment Crash brought Sig to after the first place I lived with my husband (it was that dark and dreary and we were so broke lmao), I cheered a bit in high school and still think bases should get more rep— we hold entire! girls! above our heads, Sig’s name was because I was so hoping Alien was released the year she was born (it was a few years later) because I could see her mother going for Sigourney after the horror of motherhood she depicted on screen and Ginger would be like ya lets name our daughter after a gun (Sig Sauer or just “Sour” when she’s being a brat— Rust does Not Ever call her that), Canik is also a gun manufacturer, “Riders in the Sky” is sung by Johnny Cash but I like Peggy Lee’s version more— if you want to save your soul from hell a’ ridin’ on our range / then cowboy change your ways today or with us you will ride

try reading American Wasteland by @sparklingmineraltequila the one chapter I’ve gotten to read between writing is so so so spot on in how the essence of the Crash era is captured— I love Cassandra!

[leprosycock]

it's incredible how after YEARS now of jerma being utterly fucking obsessed with ludwig, vying for his attention, desperate to stay in his good graces, delaying or canceling on collabs due to a sheer, blatant terror of perceived inadequacy or anxiety over being ignored, always showering him in praise every time he gets a chance, grinning and beaming over him and always saying his name around a smile, laughing at everything he says even if it's not even remotely meant to be funny, secretly begging to join his company and now gushing about the fact that they're coworkers... none of that really matters because ludwig chooses not to see it out of narcissism and selfishness and a very deep, desperate, twisted desire to only EVER be the ONLY person in jerma's line of sight. the spotlight has to be on him and jerma has to be cheering and screaming and jumping up and down and cheerleading for him on a stage full of comparative nobodies.

even after they've spent this much time together and have become such close friends and partners and coworkers, ludwig still wants to be the most best of all time super fantastic special boy and anyone who shows him up in front of jerma or steals just a LITTLE bit of attention away from him is made into an enemy. because ludwig chose jerma, jerma belongs to him now and most likely will forever and anyone who intrudes on that will never understand and they don't know what it's like.

ludwig loves to play up the idea that he plays a character on stream, but he absolutely does not and it's so blatant. every time something upsets him or sets him off in a genuine way and sparks an emotion that he doesn't want to feel, everything begins to corrupt. i love how hard he let that shine through today. it was all supposed to be a bit, of course it's a bit, it's always a bit and it can never not be a bit, but it comes from a very real place. it was so clear in the bts for dollhouse and much clearer in wwrm. the second that ludwig has an idea that he will not be the clearest image in jerma's mind, everything fizzles.

he was constantly telling everyone to be quiet so jerma could speak. he was constantly shushing everyone else. and the second that he could get a word in, it was either to make himself sound smarter and bigger and better and more charismatic than anyone else in the room or to immediately mock jerma for something. no one else is allowed to do that though. every time that joel made a joke at jerma's expense, that drove ludwig insane. it always does. no one else can fucking touch him, not physically, not verbally, nothing. and if they do, fuck them!!! they fucking suck ludwig hates them he wishes they would go away it's us it's me it's him it's no one else just us just us just us in a little house together in the suburbs wasting away killing each other and falling in love in every different twisted reality that i craft where all you do is love me and i can hate you all i want for it.

what a good stream! what a good stream that really did wonders in showing off the full and poignant truth of "i selfishly want jerma all to myself". what a good stream.

Replacement Stream 2.0

[mikalara-dracula]

Hii :3 i love your blog, can i have headcanons of ayato, Subaru and shuu having a big crush on a girl but the girl doesnt like them back :3 thanks

When their crush doesn’t like them back

ft. Ayato, Subaru, and Shu

Hi there, Anon!

Aw, thank you, I appreciate that. Thank you so much for requesting as well! Tbh, I think I may have overdone it with how much I wrote here, but I was just so inspired lol. Hope you enjoy reading it. Feel free to request again anytime. :))

Parallel post: When their crush doesn't like them back (ft. Reiji, Laito, and Kanato)

Ayato:

Oh boy, he’s not going to take this lightly--oh no, not at all.

Ayato was literally raised to think that he’s the best out of his brothers and anyone else.

So, you not liking him back is not something he’s not going to accept . . . at least, not easily anyways.

However, before we get to the negative, let’s begin with how all of this started.

Ayato first noticed you at cheerleading practice.

(Okay, so I’m not sure if their school in DL necessarily has a cheerleading team, but considering the students play sports, there’s a chance that there might be, but let’s just imagine that there is one for this scenario.)

Anyways tho, you were busy practicing the cheer choreography for the next basketball game, and with Ayato being on the school’s basketball team, he noticed you practicing from far away as he was practicing on the court with his team.

He grew interested quite quickly to know who you were; the way your uniform displayed itself against your body, the gleam that sparkled in your eyes as you cheered with the rest of your team. From that point on, he was determined to get to know you and make you his girl.

Since he likes to make a grand entrance, how he met you was staged with a few of his guy friends since he wants to leave an impression.

You were standing in the crowded hall with your group of friends, just talking about the most random of things whilst you held your textbooks for next period until a guy with a hoodie ran past you and knocked you over, making you lose your balance as you started to fall.

To your luck though, someone swooped in and caught you before you could hit the ground, his red locks falling into his face as he held you securely in his arms, pulling you upward to help you stand on your feet again.

You were shocked. Not being able to hold back gratitude for saving you from such a fall, you’d thank, “Thank you for-,”

“No need to thank me, babe . . . . The name’s Ayato by the way.” He’d smirk, walking off to join his group of friends that were waiting for him at the end of the hall, soon cheering him on as they rounded into the next hall knowing that it had all gone according to plan.

Through witnessing everything that happened, everyone was whispering and gossiping about it in the halls. This would lead one of your friends to comment whilst giggling with the other girls in your group, “Wow Y/N, he’s quite the keeper.”

“He just saved me from falling, not death--honestly.” You’d remark, finding this to be blown out of proportion as the girl gang simply laughed at your reluctance to overreact like everyone else was--you just weren’t that type of person.

Now that you knew who he was, the game was definitely on.

He tries to impress you in lots of ways.

Such as with his basketball skills when he’s practicing with his team or during an actual game since you’re cheering for his team.

He’ll literally point to you from a distance every time he makes a shot, leaving you to blush while you’re standing at the side with your cheer team.

With him being quite cocky, he definitely tries to make you laugh.

During school hours, if you’re busy in the halls getting ready for next period, he tries to get your attention from afar--even if it’s from the other end of the hall--with the rest of his guy friends, a smirk on his face as he blows a kiss to you from a distance, leaving you to blush.

Eventually through him trying to impress and talk to you so much, he takes the opportunity to ask you out.

And of course, with you not having feelings for him, you’d say no.

He was expecting that you’d say yes, so getting rejected was really strange to him, but of course, he wasn’t going to give up that easily.

Since he has a major crush on you, he’s going to be insistent about going out with you.

Like, he’s not taking no for an answer.

He’d constantly harass you in the halls or in class about this, saying to stop playing hard to get when you’re making it perfectly clear that you have interest in him at all.

He’ll even pass you notes in class asking about the same thing or try to get your attention in class by whispering your name while everyone is busy and mouth ‘you look hot today’, leaving you to turn around in your seat and frown as this was getting annoying, his arrogance being a turn-off.

With being desperate, Ayato will even go as to steal your cheerleading uniform from your locker and hold it for ransom.

There was one time where you were walking to the girl’s locker room to get ready for cheer practice, which meant changing into your uniform. You were already late due to talking with a teacher after class, so you knew the locker room was empty since it was after school and most students had already gone home, and that your team was already practicing without you.

You went inside and opened your locker to find that the uniform was gone. Instantly, you questioned where it could have gone since you had just washed it yesterday and had placed it in there this morning before school had started, but a familiar, yet annoying voice soon rattled your thoughts.

“Hey babe, looking for this?”

You’d turn to see Ayato walking toward you, the uniform in his hands as a smirk displayed itself on his lips. You literally almost screamed knowing he was in the girl's locker room as this was not a place for him to be, your privacy feeling disturbed.

“Ayato, give it back.” You’d say, trying to take it from him, but he would be quick to hold it up high and out of your reach as you gave your best attempts to jump and grab it.

“Not so fast, sweetheart. You’ll get this back on one condition.”

“Fine.” You’d retort, feeling tired from all your attempts. “What is it?”

“Go out with me.”

“Ayato, how many times am I going to tell you that it’s not going to happen?”

“You can try to deny me all you want, but a girl has never said no to yours truly.”

“Well this one has.” You’d hiss, jumping up high enough this time as you finally grabbed hold of it and yanked it away from him. “I don’t know what it’s gonna take to make you understand that I’m not interested.”

There was an awkward silence between the two of you and you thought he would just leave. You were going to walk away and change, but you noticed he just continued to stand there. Being fed up with this, you’d hiss, “What?”

“You’re already late for practice. You’ll get there a lot faster if you let yours truly help you with your uniform.” He’d grin.

“Get out!” You’d scream, pushing him in the direction of the door.

It took an endless amount of attempts, but he’d eventually get the message that you just weren’t into him.

Once Ayato came to terms with himself and that you had no feelings for him, he basically ignores you at all costs.

For example, if he sees you in the hall, he’ll look or walk away and pretend he doesn’t see you--you’re basically erased to him.

Even if you tried to pull him aside to talk to him to work things out and just be friends, he’d simply brush you aside, hands in his pockets as he’d mutter ‘tch’ before walking away.

“Tch! How can she not like yours truly? . . . . Whatever. It’s her loss. She’ll never find another guy like me.”

Subaru:

Oh my, for him to like someone is quite difficult since he’s not even a fan of himself.

However, there was something captivating about you that caused this vampire’s undead heart to throb.

He hated the fact that he had feelings for you since he doesn’t want to feel weak for anyone, but you made him feel things in ways he couldn’t explain.

Every day at school was the same to him until he saw you. You were new to his school and the teacher introduced you to everyone and this was when he took note of your existence.

Since Subaru is a loner, you really had no idea who he was or that he even existed at first.

Just like everyone else, you would walk right past him in the halls, but it’s not because you were rude, you just didn’t know him and it would be strange to just start talking to someone you didn’t know without a reason.

He on the other hand noticed everything about you--your every movement, the way your smile would gleam, the way your style bewitched him along with how your intelligence astonished him during class discussions.

How you noticed him though was quite the opposite of ordinary.

You were once walking through the crowded halls at school and witnessed a physical fight taking place in the middle of the hall with two male students, Subaru being one of them as everyone huddled around to watch.

You saw the way his fist collided with the other male’s face as he sent him to the ground, several teachers soon arriving as they broke up the fight and sent both of them to the principal’s office.

At that point, you knew who he was and everyone was talking about that fight for weeks. Due to this, you heard rumors about him as well--about how getting in trouble was common for him due to him getting in fights with students in the past and that he was quite brash in general, but you weren’t one to judge.

Now, returning to him having a crush on you.

When in class with you, he will stare at you but will look away quickly since he doesn’t want to take any chances on being noticed by you or anyone else. The last thing he wants is for someone to suspect that he has a crush on you.

You were once assigned to be his partner in class and let’s say he was a nervous wreck about it all.

He was a lot meaner than usual, mostly because it’s a defense mechanism he uses to demonstrate his tough exterior so no one can take advantage or hurt him.

But deep down, we all know that this bby car is a total softy :’)).

Since you both had a project to complete together, you both met up in the library to prepare for it. You were both looking at the textbook to find the information you needed when your hand accidentally brushed against his. He instantly withdrew it, muttered ‘tch’ as he walked away to hide the blush that bloomed on his cheeks. This left you confused, but you decided not to question it since he was quite the enigma.

I’ve cannoned this in the past with @liannelara-dracula that he likes to corner you when you’re alone, especially during break, so he can have a small conversation with you.

He may say something slightly perverted to flirt tho ;)).

Through knowing each other, you like waving to him in the halls as you’re walking to class with your friends, your endearing smile dawning on him quite incandescently.

He’d never wave back at first, always muttering his infamous ‘tch’, and was usually just annoyed by your kindness, but with you not withdrawing your gentle nature, he soon started to grow a bit more comfortable with this.

When he reached this stage, he’s always taken back by you saying hi to him casually like that. He doesn’t really know what to do, a minor blush appearing on his cheeks as he'd slightly, but very awkwardly, lift and wave his hand, quickly looking away from you to avoid eye contact.

Your friends, however, would take note of you saying hi to him and would constantly be asking you as to why since he’s bad news and isn’t very approachable.

“Guys, he’s just misunderstood. It’s not like we really know him and we can’t just judge by what’s on the surface.” You'd say.

He really isn’t the type to just confess due to fear of rejection and his feelings grew more and more as he got to know you.

You really brought a lot of fun and joy to him, something he isn’t too familiar with due to his upbringing, in fact, he even started to smile a little bit each time he saw you.

Even his brothers took notice of his new behavior, a certain fedora-wearing vampire wanting to know more than what was on the surface when they were all riding home together once.

“Fufu~, what’s with the new attitude, Subaru? Why the smile? Is it about a girl?”

“Tch! Shut up!” He’d retort, looking away from all of them as a minor blush appeared on his cheeks, leaving them all to laugh at him.

Later on though, Subaru caught on to the idea of you not liking him back due to seeing you kissing your boyfriend in the halls one day.

He was crushed in all honesty and ended up recoiling back into his old life of being lonesome.

He rarely talks to you now. Since he knows you have someone else, he doesn’t want to bother with getting to know you any further since it would just hurt him more.

He’d also be a lot meaner and irritated than usual. In fact, it wouldn’t be surprising if he’d get into more physical fights due to his anger towards this situation.

He hates the idea of you not liking him back . . . but to be honest, he kind of expected it because he thought it was something that was too good to be true.

“It only makes sense that someone like her is already taken . . . . Tch! Like she’d ever date a piece of shit like me.”

Shu:

Considering his childhood trauma, for him to take an interest in someone is quite rare and almost unexpected.

Especially since he believes that if anyone associates themselves with him, they either end up dead or are left in a really bad situation they can’t get out of.

It took him a while to realize his feelings for you. He honestly just kept denying them for the longest time, but he accepted them later on since you were always on his mind.

However, even though he's realized them, bear in mind that he is an ass about his feelings since he always tries to push them away. This is mostly due to his experience with Edgar since it left quite a mark on his childhood.

Anyways, Shu first took notice of you during homeroom--which he actually bothered to attend for once xDD--and noticed you sitting in the far corner writing some things down in your notebook whilst your ears remained attentive to what the teacher was saying, your beauty being captivating to him.

By him not going to class a lot of the time, he wasn’t too familiar with a lot of his classmates. But with you being in homeroom hour, he actually started to attend it a lot more because he found you interesting—the way you focused throughout the period as you listened to instructions and paid no attention to the other boys who sought your attention when the teacher was either too busy teaching or doing something else.

By seeing you a lot in homeroom, he’d notice you in the halls whenever you were either conversing with your friends or going to your locker to grab the stuff you needed for your next class.

The way your hair would whip every time you turned, the sound of your laughter echoing in his ears every time you and your friends joked about something.

It was all so amusing to him, something he wouldn’t typically see.

With you piquing his interest, he wanted to make himself known to you. In other words, he wanted you to talk to him in some way, so he staged an opportunity.

You were running late to class one day. Since it was on the second floor you had to use the stairs, but you soon stopped when you saw someone occupying one of the steps that prevented you from ascending, his figure asleep as you recognized it to be Shu.

You had heard of Shu before due to his family name and because he was so popular with the girls, along with the fact that he always skipped class, but you never paid him much thought since you had your own clique of wholesome friends.

Since you were already running late and that was the only way to get to class, you’d politely approach him and ask him to move, but of course, he didn’t give a response or budge.

You supposed he was in a deep sleep, so you reached out to tap his shoulder, his eyes snapping open as he’d quickly grab your wrist, preventing you from giving him a nudge.

“Huh, touching a man you don’t even know. That’s quite lewd of you.” He’d smirk.

His remark caused you to slightly blush, “That- that’s not- I wasn’t doing anything like that.”

“Huh, surely doesn’t seem like it.”

You grew pretty annoyed as you’d send him a frown. “Look, can you move? I have to get to class. I’m already late and you’re making me get there even later.”

“You being late isn’t my problem. If you wanna pass, just pass.”

You’d sigh taking his suggestion, taking a step forward as you attempted to skip over the step he occupied. As you stepped over, he lifted a leg causing you to trip and land on the landing, pain traveling through your body as you shot him a glare knowing that what he did was on purpose.

“Hey! What the hell?! You did that on purpose, you jerk!”

“You’re imagining things. First you trip and then you wanna blame your clumsiness on me.”

He was so lying, and you knew that for sure. You didn’t just imagine it. You literally saw him do it.

“But you-,” You’d sigh, knowing it was going to be pointless to continue arguing with him, plus, you had a class to get to. “Whatever, I don’t have time for this. I have to get to class.”

As you’d leave, he would make a perverted remark about your skirt, a blush rushing up to your cheeks as you’d walk away and up the next flight of stairs to get to your class.

After class, your friends had asked why you were so late and you had told them about your encounter with Shu. They were in awe at the story and even teased you about it.

With that incident, things only escalated, especially with his endless flirting. He honestly gets a kick out of it.

Since he skips class a lot of the time, if you happen to pass him in the empty halls as you walk to class or elsewhere, he’s going to say something to you for sure.

This can range from him making more perverted remarks about your skirt, or your panties if he’s laying down; even going to the point of teasing you about being perverted when you’re not.

That motha.

He even accuses you of bothering him when he’s the one who started the conversation.

Says that you ‘walk too loud’ and that you’re spoiling his music because of that reason.

You’d grow fed up with this and with being so distraught about it, your friends would be bound to ask what was bothering you. You’d mention why, but they would only find it amusing considering who he is. After all, Shu isn’t really known to give much of his attention to anyone.

“Y’know, if he’s talking to you in the halls for no reason, that says something. He only talks to girls he has an interest in.” One of your friends would say.

“Interested my ass!” You’d retort, rolling your eyes. “He’s such an ass. He’s just some spoiled rich kid that’s probably never worked a day in his life.”

Honestly, Reiji would love you on account of this xDD.

I’ve also cannoned this with @liannelara-dracula that even though he’s lazy, he would take the time to get to know your schedule and show up everywhere you’d typically go.

And then, he’d accuse you of stalking him since you’re always running into him.

Since he’s pretty perceptive, Shu eventually noticed that you didn’t like him through one incident that he took note of in the hall one day. You were walking and you ran into your crush, your heart racing as he stopped to talk and say hi to you. You were pretty good friends with him and he was just the sweetest guy ever. You always felt butterflies in your stomach whenever you were around him and deep down, you hoped that things would change between you two eventually.

To Shu, it was plain as day that you liked someone else. He’s centuries-old and definitely knows how this stuff works, he’s not stupid. Plus, the asshole he was also listening to your heartbeat when you spoke to your crush, making it far more evident to himself that you had an interest in someone else.

By knowing about your crush, he does use it to piss you off. He’ll act like an even bigger ass now because he knows you don’t like him.

“Y’know, it’s never going to happen.” He’d tease, his infamous smirk being evident.

“A girl can dream.” You’d retort. “You seem to do it all day, so why can’t I?”

Based on his fear of someone getting hurt because of being involved with him, he’d never tell you that he liked you.

Is actually pretty accepting of the fact that you don’t like him, and to be honest, he thinks it’s better off this way due to his fear of destroying something he would later on cherish, but yet, he still carries on with being an ass towards you since it amuses him.

“You’re better off without me. Dream all you want about that guy, but I know he’d never satisfy you the way I could.”

[hansolmates]

popular-ish | (04)

pairing; popular!jk x normie!reader summary; you are way out of jungkook’s league. Or is it the other way around? genre/warnings; self-deprecating language, your typical college!au, jungkook is a piner, shy!oc, oc just wants some damn pizza, maaa yyybeeee eventual fwb 2 lovers au, oc is also a little cold-cutie but who can blame them, dang how did this get so angsty? this is comparable to cher’s reflection arc in clueless–jk’s a doof in this one :((( w.c; 1.1k a/n; happy saturyay y’all :) 

taglist is OPEN: @jiminskth​ @scalubera​ @aretha170​ @apollukee​ @livewittykid​ @papamochiissad​ @koo-zy​ @honeyj00ns​ @iflruledtheworld​ @betysotelo18​ @zeharilisharaban​  @loversometimesafighter​ @mukeovernetflix​  @betysotelo18​ @koochiekoo​ @shubhiixxx​ @hermiones-enchantment​ @iamnamjoonsbxtch​ @gracehiii​ @tea-n-kookies​ @iamnamjoonsbxtch​ @codeinebelle​ @ggukkieland​ @celestialflamefairy​ @dammit-jjk​ @kurochan3​ @sunsetsnsirens-blog​

unable to tag: @btsfanficsrepost @monvieesdaebak

“So in a Think-Win-Win situation, why do you think empathy and maturity are large factors in a high success rate?” 

“Uh.” 

“Jeon?” you look up from your lashes, and Jungkook can see the way the yellow lamp puts a little golden glimmer to your eyes, “Jeon, did you even study?” 

“I—I uh yeeess?” 

He can’t help it, feeling out of water as he babbles for an answer like a fish gasping for air. You can’t help the subtle roll of your eyes, masked by you picking up your textbook to peer closely into the text. It hurts him, and he suddenly feels tiny and sweaty despite bench pressing two-hundred and taking a quick shower an hour before. 

Jungkook notes that you’re also the only one who brought their textbook, the rest of the study group either coming back from lacrosse or just decided not to. 

“C’mon,” Jimin smiles lazily, bumping his knee with yours. Your eyes shift to where his skin makes contact with yours, “we’ve had practice all day. We’re tired. The cheerleaders had a rough evening too,” he sends a wink to Sooyoung, who just scoffs with her berry tinted lips, “I’m pretty sure you finished the project anyway, so why are we here?” 

Jungkook watches the way your legs press together, black leggings hugging your thighs. He doesn’t mean to stare, he probably looks like a weirdo if not for the fact you’re so focused on burning stare to Jimin. It’s then he realizes he knows you. A hookup, maybe? A friend of a friend he was introduced to in-between practices? He isn’t sure. He really fucked up not noticing you the second time around, and he’s not sure you’ll give him a second chance. 

Instead of biting back, you flush. You shrink in the uncomfortable wooden seat, looking at Jimin with furrowed brows. Jungkook squeezes his hands between the kangaroo pocket of his lacrosse jersey, wishing he could instead squeeze his hands between the two apples of your cheeks. It’s unfair how adorable you are, even in a situation as fucked up as this. Unfortunately it’s still majorly unfair to you, being paired in unnecessarily hard core-elective with three prime procrastinators and D1 athletes. The professor must’ve done it on purpose, hoping you’d knock some sense into them.

You frown, and press your lips together as you stuff your things in your Mickey Mouse tote bag. In goes your textbook, then your MacBook, and finally your fuzzy pink pen. “Right,” you mutter under your breath, most of the fire directed towards Jimin, “because I orchestrated and worked around all your schedules just for fun.” 

Jungkook’s hands twitch by his sides, watching you walk out of the library without so much as a glance towards their table. He shakes his head towards his teammate, “You didn’t have to be such a dick about it,” and grabs his phone, following you out. 

Cool air slaps Jungkook’s face, and he immediately finds you hunched over your phone on a bench. You’re not even trying to make a getaway, legs spread comfortably as you scroll the Grubhub menu for the nearest restaurant. He calls your name, and you jolt out of your relaxed state. You look up at him, startled at the way your name rolls off his lips. 

“Hey,” Jungkook says, sitting down next to you. 

You blink at him, confused. “Jeon? Did you need something?” 

“I wanna help you with the project.” 

“Didn’t seem to contribute much back there.” 

Ouch. “Okay, but I’m a really good listener and I can follow directions. Just tell me what to do and consider it done,” Jungkook usually prides himself as a smooth talker, but now he feels like he’s grappling on strings when talking to you, “that’s… what a Think-Win-Win situation is, right?” 

A small huff of a grin ghosts on your lips, and he smiles wide. “Not really,” you answer smoothly, “but it’s a start.” 

He takes that as his in, and immediately rolls with it. He follows your pace, trying to slow down because you’re so much smaller than him and he’s so excited that you’re not immediately pushing him away. 

“After we finish, it’ll only be like 10PM,” he follows you to your first destination, a local pizzeria. “It’s a Friday night, and I was wondering if you wanted to go to a party with me? It’s for  Hoseok. I don’t know if you know him but he’s sort of my captain and we could celebrate finishing the project together that way?” 

“No thank you,” you reply to Jungkook, and then you point at whatever item is on the menu to the counter lady, “and please have extra chilli flakes on the side.” 

You said no to him, and it didn’t even take a heartbeat for you to think about his offer. “Wait, why?” 

Your smile twists into something undecipherable, “Not my crowd,” you eyes scan him briefly, taking in the clean lacrosse jersey and the baggy sweatpants, “besides, you’d leave me within the first five minutes of arriving. And even if you didn’t, girls would probably steal you anyway.”

Jungkook feels a little gross at your blunt honesty. He’s insulted, to be bunched up and lumped with a bunch of popular jocks and cheerleaders and all the in-between. It isn’t fair for you to be making assumptions about him when you barely know him and he’s trying to let you get to know each other a little better.

When Jungkook looks down however, his hands are empty because he didn’t bother to bring the textbook and materials he was supposed to bring. His hair is still damp from the shower and not blow-dried, proof that he rushed to the library because he was late to the meeting you spent all week arranging. His mouth is shut because he didn’t defend you when Jimin called you out in the library, even though he knew he and his friends were in the wrong. 

He hates how much you’re right. It’s like you’ve stabbed him with a fleet of truths, mapping out his night down to a T. His habits are a notorious connect-the-dot puzzle, cultivated over the course of four years: whoever he’d bring would escape his thoughts, too absorbed in how everyone compliments the All-Star’s record last match. Girls and boys alike will flock to him like bees to honey, reveling in him and he’ll lap up the attention. He’ll get requests for a quick fuck, and if it’s a nice night, he’ll oblige. 

And what, he expects you to think this time is different? 

You’re pretty, and smart, and Jungkook’s undeserving of you. 

“I’ll see you Monday, Jeon,” you say breezily, brushing shoulders. He gets a whiff of your hair and the scent of fresh bread as you walk away with your pizza pie. 

[classic80sand90smovieloves2]

Meeting and Dating Stu Macher

(Not my gif)(Requested by anonymous)

- You met Stu when you were both in middle school. The two of you became friends purely because Stu wouldn’t let you not become his friend.

- So the two of you grew up and entered highschool together. You had a bit of a crush on him but never said anything about it, thinking that he only liked you as a friend. Oh how wrong you were....

- It’s sophomore year when you get your first real boyfriend. Stu isn’t happy about it.

- It’s obvious to see that he disapproves when you tell him that you’re going on a date. He treats you coldly throughout the entire day, not as bubbly as he usually is. While it does seem odd, you chalk it up to him feeling protective of you and not knowing how to articulate his worries.

- The next day, it’s as though nothing has happened. He nonchalantly asks you about your date but doesn’t seem all too happy to hear that it went well. You figure you’re looking into it too much.

- As time goes on, on the outside, it seems like he’s warmed up to the idea of you dating the boy, though you’re sure it’s mainly because you weren’t planning on getting rid of him anytime soon. But on the inside, it’s driving him crazy.

- Theres an obvious yet subtle rivalry between your boyfriend and him, whether one sided; at first, or not. Sometimes you wouldn’t even notice but your boyfriend sure did.

- The certain way Stu would pop up when you were hanging out, the way he called you over to him when you were trying to talk, the way he touched you; it was like he was sending a message behind his cheerful smile. Can’t you see who’s more important to her.

- He hugs you for too long, enjoys it too much. You thought your boyfriend was going crazy. You’d assure him that you were just friends, that you’d been friends for a long time and that he was just reading into it too much. That that was just Stu being, well, Stu.

- But your boyfriend wasn’t too far off. Stu had feelings for you. He had a big crush that hadn’t let up for years, one which was slowly eating away at him. He hadn’t wanted to ruin your friendship, especially when he didn’t even know if you wanted to date anyone.

- Though, regardless of whether or not you thought your boyfriend was being silly; you talked to Stu about it. He makes jokes, teasingly promising to be on his best behavior. You aren’t even aware that you’ve given him all he needs to know. He is getting to the boy and everything is working out perfectly.

- In the following days, Stu ups his antics and your boyfriend finally loses it, starting an argument which evolves into a full on fight and ends in you breaking up with him. Single once more.

- The next day at school, Stu approaches you like normal and immediately notes how tired and bothered you look. Without even thinking, you relinquish the details and he comforts you, saying that he could tell he wasn’t good for you. He does feel bad, seeing you so upset, but at the same time, he’s happy that you’re finally done with the other boy.

- It’s a week or so later that he confesses his feelings to you, wanting to give you enough time to get over the jerk. Having waited this long, he didn’t want his plan to be foiled by post breakup confusion.

- His parents are out of town so you’re staying the night, the two of you laying side by side on his bed, dressed in your comfiest clothes. You’re watching some lousy made for TV movie when he shoves your shoulder lightly, prompting you to look at him. He’s now leaning on his elbow and facing you. You shoot him a curious look and he speaks.

“We’ve known each other for a long time, right? And you know that I care about you a lot. Well, the thing is.... I care about you a lot more than you think and I want us to be even closer than we are now, ya know? I guess what I’m trying to say is that I... I love you and I want to know if you feel the same.” He rambles nervously, eyes focused on his fingers which are tracing along the blanket beneath the two of you.

- It certainly comes as a shock though you can’t say you’re completely surprised. You don’t know what to say so you let your actions speak for you. You move closer to him, hands grasping his cheeks as his own hands find your hips, pulling you closer as he tilts his head up and let’s you press your lips to his.

- He pulls you closer until you’re practically on top of him, eagerly kissing you until you both need to break apart for air. When you do, you’re both panting yet he smiles, pecking your lips and saying he’ll “take that as a yes”.

- Congratulations, you’ve earned yourself an adorable goofball who also kills people.

- He hangs all over you in public. You can never get him off of you although, would you ever really want to?

- Hand kisses. He presses his lips to your knuckles whenever he grabs your hand.

- You arent allowed to walk to class alone; he won’t let you. It is his duty to walk you and he will fulfill it.

- He rarely says your full name. Instead, he’ll either call you a pet name; usually babe or darling, or whatever nickname comes from your full name. Even if your names short, he’ll wind up making it longer just because he can.

- Long makeout sessions.

- He always gets this lovestruck look on his face whenever you show up; no matter what was going on before you arrived. His day instantly becomes like ten times better at the sight of you.

- Getting to borrow his Walkman. He makes a very strategically constructed mixtape, filled with songs that the two of you love so that both of you can listen and enjoy.

- Tasteful groping and butt smacks.

- Going to all his parties.

- He is such a baby when he gets sick. He completely overreacts, whining, moaning and acting like he’s dying even though he’s just got a mild cold.

- He tries to make your hugs last for as long as they can, especially when you’re saying goodbye.

- He’s constantly trying to make you laugh, mostly through bad jokes that will either get you to laugh through their stupidity or have you rolling your eyes.

- Teasing you is his favorite hobby. He likes doing what he’s good at and what he’s good at is being a little shit.

- Sometimes he just randomly approaches you with little gifts; mainly flowers he’s picked you or something similar. It’s usually either because you look like you need some cheering up or because he’s trying to apologize for a “stupidity leak”.

- Big boy likes being a big spoon. He’s tall so the two of you fit together perfectly.

- Gettting randomly thrown over his shoulder. Sometimes he’ll just carry you off as though you weren’t going somewhere or having a conversation with someone. Or he’ll act like nothings out of the ordinary while talking to the person you were talking to.

- You always have a seat ready for you ...on his lap.

- He leans on you all the time, whether it be him resting his chin or arm against your shoulder or him full on laying between your legs with his head against your stomach.

- Getting... the tongue. The man is constantly flashing it at you. A part of you thinks he’s trying to send a message, the other part of you just thinks he’s a dog.

- On that note, he’s probably licked the entire side of your face before, especially when you aren’t paying attention to him.

- He craves attention; it’s like a drug to him. He loves having your eyes on him, and when they aren’t? He’ll give them a reason to be.

- He’s sort of insecure so you fawning over or complimenting someone else immediately makes him uneasy. His ex girlfriend dumped him for a football player and he’s kinda scared that you’ll do the same.

- He tries to reassure you whenever you seem nervous or apprehensive, usually through jokes. Not sure about an idea of his? Well, what if he makes some action movie reference and promises to protect you as he makes karate motions with his hands?

- The boy has no subtly. He’s always blunt and upfront with what he’s trying to say so you’re never confused by any “insinuations” that he makes.

- Getting random, unexpected visits from him, usually when you’re at work or home alone.

- This man is a cheerleader when it comes to you. He’s always hyping you up and complimenting everything you do.

- He’s constantly bragging about you; he’s so proud.

- Movie dates. He’s not as completely obsessed with horror as Billy is but he still enjoys sitting with his girl, watching a film and trying to “subtly” feel you up.

- Getting close to Billy by default. The two of them are constantly together so you wind up being costantly around him as well.

- Hanging out at the fountain with him and his friends.

- His parents are out of town a lot so you have the whole house to yourselves most of the time.

- He’s got a farmhouse on the outskirts of town with the perfect view of the sunset/sunrise. You don’t know how many times you and him have laid out on the grass, cozied up next to each other and watching the sky change colors.

- Stealing his sweaters when it gets cold. You should see his face when he sees you wearing them, it’s the perfect example of a lovestruck expression.

- Jaw and neck kisses. He doesn’t care if he’s giving or receiving; he loves them either way.

- Inside jokes.

- Having to stifle a laugh when he mocks or makes fun of someone. It’s so stupid that you can’t help but chuckle.

- He may not seem like a very jealous person but whew boy. For someone who is constantly bragging about how great you are, he hates other people actually seeing it and admitting that he’s right.

- He’s a protective boy, he hates the thought of you being hurt, upset, or take advantage of. And he’s like so buff, he’s got you covered.

- Defending him whenever someone won’t let up on him. He isn’t very articulate so if someone needs to be shut down verbally, you do it yourself.

- Local sensitive baby caves under peer pressure. It’s incredibly easy to make him do what you ask; thankfully, you aren’t trying to make him do something that will get him in trouble.

- He doesn’t quite grasp the art of being tactful so you’ll oftentimes have to interrupt or stop him from saying something.

- Since he always seems to say the wrong thing or do something stupid, the two of you; most likely, have more than a few petty arguments. They usually aren’t anything worse than a little bickering.

- He always does something adorable that makes you forgive him whether it be using puppy dog eyes on you or telling bad jokes until you can’t help but warm back up to him.

- Not a day goes by where he doesn’t say he loves you. He needs you to know!!

- He doesn’t really talk about the future but he’s planning on marrying you as soon as he can and that’s a fact. The man is in love.

[fandomcelery]

Feelings are complicated, aren't they?

Pairing: Santana Lopez/Brittany S. Pierce

Word Count: 2107

Rating: Teens and Up

Tags: Sexuality Crisis, Internalized Homophobia, Pining

Beta: @useless-fanfictions helped me out a lot on this fic, especially since I'm just starting out writing, so a big thanks to them!

Summary: Walking next to Brittany felt normal and right, but at that moment it felt slightly wrong. A bunch of questions were running through her mind. Was she acting differently? Was it obvious that something was off? Oh god, does everyone think that she’s gay?

Or, the one where Santana realizes she might have feelings for Brittany and panics over it.

Read it on Ao3

For the Glee Character "This-or-That" Challenge: @gleethisorthatchallenge

Prompt: Sharing a bed or Sexuality Crisis

The way Santana feels around Brittany is normal, right? Sure, she’s never felt it for any other person—not even any of her previous boyfriends—but it’s a completely normal feeling. And yeah, okay, she also defends Brittany all the time when people insult or make fun of her, and when Brittany sticks up for her and is always by her side, she can never stop smiling. She always feels warm whenever she compliments her about literally anything that she’s wearing, or how her hair looks that day, or really anything that makes Santana feel pretty.

There’s also the fact that they have sex regularly even though they’re in relationships with guys who would willingly have sex with them as well, but that’s different. It must be different, because if it’s not—

No, it’s not an option for it to not be anything but platonic. It’s got to be, it just has to be.

Even though Santana hates when people flirt with Brittany and will usually try to scare them off when others aren’t looking. Or when they get into fights or arguments, big or small, she feels like shit when she can’t talk to Brittany, and then that means they can’t have their sweet lady kisses that make Santana feel like they are the only two people left on the entire planet.

Feelings are complicated, aren’t they?

As long as she always stands her ground, keeping their relationship just friends, and convincing Brittany—and a little bit of herself—that even though they’re in relationships they can have sex and it’s not cheating because they’re both girls, she will be fine. She just has to keep telling herself that their relationship isn’t anything, that they’re strictly friends and that she doesn’t have feelings for her best friend, because if she did then she wouldn’t know what she would do with herself.

She’s not homophobic, and just because Kurt freaking Hummel struts around with his gay flag waving in the air doesn’t mean that everyone can or has to. And even if they do, they’ll get bullied and harassed, just like him. It’s the way that everything goes, the straight popular kids are on top, and the gays are at the bottom, even though that’s ridiculous, it’s the way it goes.

She’ll just keep it to herself—even though there’s nothing there, obviously—and everything will be fine. She hopes that if she keeps telling herself that then maybe it will be.

***

Of course, that’s not what happens. The following Monday, after the weekend Santana had realized that something is different, it seemed like everyone has been staring at the two of them differently, but it might just be her paranoia talking.

Walking next to Brittany felt normal and right, but at that moment it felt slightly wrong. A bunch of questions were running through her mind. Was she acting differently? Was it obvious that something was off? Oh god, does everyone think that she’s gay? She is suddenly on the defensive side, glaring at the people who she thought were looking at her and Brittany weirdly. Maybe people always looked at them this way and neither of them ever noticed or cared; except now she did.

She knows the route they take to get to their next classes by heart because they always walk together, even though their schedules don’t really line up. Most people think that all the Cheerios just walk to class together in groups because the outfits look good together—which they do, she thinks conceitedly—and because of the cheerleading cliques. For a while that’s why Quinn, Brittany, and Santana would walk together, but then they actually got kind of close because of Glee Club, and now Quinn walks with Finn to her classes and Santana walks with Brittany.

During her fourth period that she has alone she can’t stop thinking about Brittany. How when she walks to class she hugs her binder to her chest, or how during class she always fidgets with her pencil when she’s in between writing, or how even if she doesn’t care about what people are talking about, she’ll listen to them anyway (like this one time a few days ago when they had arrived early to glee club and Rachel had come up to Brittany and her to ask for dance lessons, going on and on about something that had to do with her being a star and needing to know how to dance better, and Santana had only been paying attention to Brittany and ignored Rachel’s harping), Santana admires the way Brittany exists, and how it seems like nothing really bothers her. She doesn’t know why all of the sudden it’s hitting her, especially since she’s been friends with her for so long, and no, she doesn’t have feelings for her, they’re just friends.

***

They walk to their usual seats during lunch together, every now and again bumping shoulders with how close they are while they’re talking. Santana sits down across from Brittany, as she doesn’t miss a beat from what she’s saying to sit down.

“And I swear that Lord Tubbington has a gambling addiction, but he won’t stop—” she takes a bite of her food, “—and I don’t know what to do.”

“Why don’t you just take away his laptop privileges?” Santana suggests, also taking a bite of her own food. It’s not bad, however, it’s not good. Then again, it’s the school’s food. When she looks up at Brittany, she looks quizzical, like she hasn’t thought of doing that.

“That probably would work,” Brittany responds, and continues eating.

Santana’s focused on something else. That something else is Brittany’s physical appearance, everything about her: to her flashing smile, to her thin and perfect eyebrows. her slim waist, long legs, and her torso—which she shouldn’t be staring at in the middle of school, and yet she is. She is stunning to Santana, with her lean appearance and bright golden colored hair pulled perfectly back into a ponytail. Her blue eyes seem to twinkle all the time.

“Santana?” Brittany asks after she’s been staring for a moment or two.

“Huh, what? Sorry, I was just, thinking,” she responds quickly and looks away to other tables where other kids are sitting, she lets go of her lip that she must have been biting on.

“About what?” Brittany takes another bite of her food, almost finished, whereas Santana has barely touched hers.

“Nothing important,” she mumbles, taking a drink from her water bottle. The answer seems to satisfy Brittany and they go back to normal and easy conversation like Santana hadn’t been just staring at her best friend’s boobs.

***

Glee Club isn’t that different. Rachel and Mercedes are fighting for a solo that Mr. Schue handed out, he doesn’t know how to handle it, and so they’re trying to argue over one another. Finn, Puck, Matt, and Mike are making bets about something in football. Kurt, Tina, and Artie are talking about something—she can’t hear their conversation, and honestly doesn’t care—and so it’s Quinn, Brittany and her talking about the Cheerios like they always are.

“Sue’s been on our asses about winning at Nationals,” Quinn comments as she sits down next to Brittany.

“She’s just concerned about staying on top,” Santana remarks, looking around the choir room. She looks up at the two who are arguing over one another and laughs a little bit. Everyone knows that Rachel’s going to get the solo, she usually does. Mercedes probably knows that, too, and yet she’s still going to fight for it.

“And her paycheck,” Quinn adds.

Eventually Mr. Schue stood in front of the class, apparently they had sorted it out where Rachel got this solo and Mercedes would get the next one.

This Glee practice they were going to focus on their choreography added with singing, and it wasn’t that big of an issue for the three cheerleaders (and it was mostly for the jocks to practice anyway, since they were the ones having problems, other than Mike, surprisingly).

Afterwards everyone was tired and sore, they had to start over a bunch of times because someone kept messing up (Finn). Slowly the choir room emptied, and Brittany and Santana walked to their next class together. They were going to walk with Quinn, but she had muttered something about a “troll trying to steal her boyfriend” and went off to walk with Finn. They separated at their different classrooms, and the three of them were going to meet up for Cheerios practice that was after school, which was their usual plan.

***

After practice Santana was even more exhausted than when she left Glee rehearsal. She grabs her water bottle that she had placed in her locker when she first got there. She gulps down a quarter of the bottle before putting it back.

There are many girls around her, yet the only one she’s focused on is Brittany.

Ever since they walked into the locker room, Brittany, and another cheerleader—Hailey was her name—were talking nonstop to one another. It’s not like Santana was eavesdropping, but it’s not her fault they were standing so close and speaking so God damn loudly.

“One time she made a girl cry just because she talked back,” Hailey continues while she brushes her hair in the mirror.

“I know, I was there,” Brittany responds, leaning up against the lockers next to Hailey’s that no one’s using. “Sue can be a bitch sometimes.”

Hailey wraps her hair in a ponytail and starts to put the hair tie around it. “Don’t let her hear you say that she might move you down the pyramid,” she jokes, which gets a laugh out of Brittany. “However, she is the best cheerleading coach McKinley can offer, so I guess we’ll have to put up with it,” Hailey states.

They all know that that’s true, no other teacher will coach the Cheerios, and she’s the only one that’s gotten them to Nationals and gets a pretty big paycheck put towards the cheerleading team.

And listen, Santana doesn’t do jealous, okay? And she’s not. She just doesn’t like Brittany hanging out with another person so closely. And it’s because no one understands her like Santana does is all. And sure, Brittany has other friends, but usually they go through Santana to talk to her, so she knows them, or they’re all in the conversation. This is an entire new person, and they’re jokingtogether, which Brittany can do on her own, of course, but-

“Stop pining and either go talk with them or leave already,” Quinn mutters behind her.

Santana whips around and glares at her, and Quinn smirks.

“Oh, come on, don’t think I didn’t notice.” She walks past Santana to get to her locker, and Santana decides to do what Quinn suggested.

She grabs her water bottle from her locker and makes sure all of her things are put away before she leaves to head home.

***

She can’t be in love with her best friend, right? Sure, she and Brittany are close, and they do practically everything together, and Santana loves everything about Brittany, but that doesn’t mean she’s in love with Brittany.

Those thoughts are how Santana finds herself pacing in her room, not for the first time in the last few days, lost in thought. She looks over at the photos that she has on her walls of all of the Cheerios, but there are a few of either her, Brittany, and Quinn, or just the two of them.

She walks over and picks one up to look at it. She gets the same feeling that she’s been getting every time she thinks about Brittany, yet she’s been ignoring it for a while now. Except this time, she doesn’t. She feels butterflies in her stomach and doesn’t even realize she is smiling at Brittany’s picture. She sets down the photo when she does catch herself, and goes to lay down on her bed.

Even if she was gay, how would she know? Would having feelings that aren’t actually feelings enough to be considered gay? And what would everyone else think? Maybe she should turn to the internet, she thinks. She sits up and grabs her laptop that she keeps on her bedside table and loads it up.

A few searches later she realizes that maybe terms like bisexual or even lesbian fit her. Some more questions pop up in her head after that realization, but at least one thing’s certain.

Santana is in love with her best friend, and she has no idea what she’s going to do about it.

[haikyuu-appreciation-club]

i was wondering of you would do a request for an s/o of some of the "benchwarmer" characters (like yamaguchi rip D:) where s/o always comes to their games and makes them feel insecure, but they discover that s/o does homework/doesn't pay attention unless they are called to play, and only cheer for them!

hello hello anon!!

im so so so glad that we’re showing some love to our “benchwarmer” characters

this was honestly such a cute idea and I appreciate you being so patient with me

I decided to throw in ennoshita and kyotani because they don't get a lot of time on the court either sooo I hope you don't mind :)

anywhooo I hope you enjoy!!

(btw this definitely isn't my best work sooo I apologize in advance lolz)

•Yamaguchi, Ennoshita, + Kyotani w/ a Supportive S/O•

warnings: none

genre: fluff

characters: yamaguchi, ennoshita, + kyotani

•Yamaguchi•

yamaguchi always got very nervous whenever you mentioned you were attending one of his games

as a pinch server, he rarely got the opportunity to play and when he did, he never felt like his performance was good enough for you to see 

not to mention you always made it a point to wear his spare jersey to each one of his games which raised his nerves more then he would care to admit 

he really doubted himself on that court and felt like he wasn't good enough for you to be up in those stands representing him not to mention his spare jersey looked really really good on you

it meant the world to him that you supported him but he didn't want to disappoint you

this particular game, coach ukai had promised yamaguchi that he would definitely be put in  

which is why everyone couldn't understand why he seemed so down in the dumps

tanaka was the first one to point out his bad mood,

“Yo! Yamaguchi, what’s up with you dude? You look all pouty.”

hinata decided now would be a good time to add his two cents,

“Yeah! You get to be all swoosh, bam, boom today! You should be excited!”

yamaguchi couldn't lie, he was pretty happy about being guaranteed a few serves this game but he couldn't push away the negativity that clouded his mind.

“Oh, uh, I don't know. I guess its just Y/N is going to be here today and I already know that with all your guy’s amazing plays, my serves won't really matter and I just want them to be proud of me.”

the team stood in silence for a moment

was that really how yamaguchi felt about himself compared to everyone else?

sure, he didn't get to play often but without him they wouldn't have been able to get out of some tricky situations

surprisingly tsukishima was the one to break the silence this time,

“Wow, are you really that much of an idiot yamaguchi?”

a chorus of scolds came from his teammates

yams was about to apologize but tsukki continued his speech,

“Your precious s/o doesn't even pay attention to the rest of us. They only watch the game when they know you’re involved. So, you don't have to worry about us stealing your spotlight. Now, quit being stupid and stretch will you?”

was that really true? did you seriously come to support him and him only?

maybe tsukishima was just saying that to try and get him to forget about what was troubling him but he couldn't concentrate on that right now, he had to get his head in the game for the sake of his team and you ofc

however, curiosity got the best of him, so as his teammates played, he took a peek up at you to find you skimming through a textbook

all this time he felt insecure that you would think he was a bad player compared to the rest of his team mates but now he knew that you didn't even have the opportunity to compare them when you were only focused on his plays

he felt his heart swell with pride as he promised himself he would play with all his strength for you

and sure enough his serves had never been better

your cheers could be heard the loudest throughout the gym and he couldn't miss the large smile on your face as he looked to you in the stands

as soon as the game had concluded, you ran down to the court and threw your arms around him, congratulating him again and again on how well he did

he buried his face into your neck in attempts to hide the blush that was spreading across his cheeks like a wildfire

that day, he went home feeling accomplished, with his own personal cheerleader right by his side

•Ennoshita•

ennoshita didn't really get many opportunities to step on the court and show his skills

honestly, his lack of playing time made him pretty insecure in his ability to be on the same level as his teammates

he was never very confident and often found himself wondering if he deserved to be on a team with such skillful players

which was why he wasn't always excited when you attended his games

its not as if he didn't love seeing you in those stands, cheering him on, but he hated that there was always a possibility that he could disappoint you

especially since you were always so excited to come and support him

this was all he could think about as he sat stretching on the gym floor with the rest of the team

and his far off expression didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the boys

daichi decided to pull him aside and talk to him about what was on his mind before the game started

after all, he couldn't have such an important asset stuck with his head in the clouds

“Hey Ennoshita, everything okay?”

“Oh, yeah. It’s just Y/N is here and I honestly don’t know if I can play to her expectations.”

daichi understood what was going on with his underclassmen now

he had known that ennoshita was not the most confident when it came to his volleyball skill, but he didn't know that he was this blind to his own talent,

“You know, I don't think Y/N has every really showed any interest in anyone else’s plays other than yours.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“Maybe you're too focused on what's going on on the court but they’re usually always scrolling through their phone or reading a book unless you get swapped in.”

now that daichi mentioned it, ennoshita never really heard your voice cheering from the stands unless he was on the court and you always seemed pretty oblivious when he talked to you about plays he wasn't involved in

he knew that you supported him with all he did but he was always a bit nervous that you would start to notice how well everyone else played and view his skills differently

discovering you came to his games for him and him only warmed his heart

lucky for you both, ennoshita had been subbed in for most of this game due to daichi getting a minor injury don't worry daichi is fine, don't start planning his funeral yet

you were over the moon that your boyfriend got to spend so much time on the court that day, you always loved watching him play

ennoshita could hear your cheers for him echo throughout the whole gym, causing his confidence to skyrocket

safe to say, you were definitely his lucky charm for that game

even with all the commotion after their win, all ennoshita could focus on was encasing you in a loving hug

after all, he couldn't have done it without you

•Kyotani•

kyotani didn't get the opportunity to be on the court often

he was a very strong and skilled player but his attitude usually caused him to sit out for many of aoba johsai’s games

this never stopped you from coming to support him though

no matter how much time he spent in the game you would show up and cheer him on

kyotani didn't really understand your reasoning though, he was barely ever put in so what was the point of coming at all

although he was quiet about it, he really loved having you at his games

being able to catch a glimpse of your smile when ever his temper got the best of him on the court was a huge reason he wasn't already kicked off the team 

but he still felt as though he was wasting your time

he couldn't even begin to imagine how disappointed you were with every game you attended

he tried to get you to quit coming to his games but you simply refused, letting him know that if you weren't in attendance, you could miss the opportunity to see his talent shine

as much as it could be a pain in his ass, your enthusiasm was kind of nice

which was the only reason he agreed to let you continue to come to his games

this game in particular, kyotani seemed to be on his best behavior

maybe seeing you in his spare jersey had something to do with it but no one needed to know that kyo bby, everyone knows that, pls stop staring y/n down like an animal

he was determined to stay on the court as long as he possibly could and surprisingly, he got to play almost the whole game

when you had run down from the stands to go congratulate kyotani, the first person you came in contact with was oikawa tooru himself,

“Ah Y/N-chan! I’m so glad you could make it, did you make sure to cheer for me?”

your boyfriend could never stand the way oikawa would flirt with you just to get a rise out of him

“Oi idiot, get away from them.”

you couldn't help but laugh at kyotani’s antics before wrapping him in a hug,

“Hey Kyo, congrats on the win. You did great!”

Oikawa pouted at you for blatantly ignoring him,

“Hey, what about me?”

“No offense Oikawa, but I really only come to these games for Kyo. I mean unless he's playing I don't really pay attention so cheering for you is pretty much out of the question. Anyways, I'll wait for you outside babe.”

both oikawa and kyotani were pretty baffled at your statement 

kyotani was probably the most surprised out of the two, did you really come to his games just to support him

he was pulled out of his thoughts when kindaichi spoke up,

“Now that they mentioned it, I honestly haven't ever seen Y/N look up from their phone unless Mad Dog was on the court, and they only ever cheer for him.”

kyotani almost let a smile slip out at his teammate’s words

he couldn't believe how much you cared about him and supported him

he never knew how you managed to put up with him but he was beyond grateful for it

he loved you more then he would ever let on

on the walk home, you didn't know why kyotani was so much more affectionate then usual, but who were you to complain?

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

[schoolastica]

Steve’s Boy

@peterparkerbingo​

First: “Steal your girl”. I tried to make a short but sweet story about teenage pining. Hope you all like.

Summary:  Every single thing about Steven Fucking Rogers pissed Tony Stark off. But the most hateful thing about him is his little boyfriend, Peter Parker.

Steve’s Boy

Every single thing about Steven Fucking Rogers pissed Tony Stark off. And look, Tony had tried really hard to befriend that guy at the beginning, alright? Tony was a Senior and came to the school at the start of the school year, and he didn’t like to tell people why was that (but it had something to do with him fucking the headmaster’s daughter).

 Anyways, Midtown High School would be just as any other school went, except Tony met Steven fucking Rogers and it made his blood boil. Steven Rogers was tall, well-built, straight-white perfect teeth and blonde hair was always well-groomed. Captain of the football team, responsible and kind, but the single most infuriating thing about Steven Rogers was his boyfriend Peter Parker.

 The most formidable creature Tony has ever seen. It’s not just about his appearance, Peter was pretty and nobody had a right to be so pretty, it was that he was smart, kind, responsible, funny and caring. He volunteered at an elderly house on weekends, brought cookies for everyone on Fridays and was a cheerleader.

 That wouldn’t be a problem except when he decided to walk around on the tight cheerios uniform, with that perky ass up and down the hallways. Or when it was a rainy day at the football fields and he jumped up Steven’s arm, wrapping his legs around the older boy and kissing him, that made Tony crazy. 

 So it wasn’t just the fact that Tony was lusting after a guy way out of his league that was messing with his head, cmon, it’s not the first time he did it. It was the fact that Steven fucking Rogers wanted to be Tony’s *friend*.

 Honest-to-God, Come-Hang-Around-My-Table-At-Lunch friend. It’s like that big lanky guy took one look at Tony’s sorry excuse for a boy and decided to adopt him. They ended up sharing their math period (Tony haven’t requested to change it yet and Steven wasn’t so bright after all) and as soon as Tony introduced himself for the class, he was overwhelmed by that Football Captain.

 Steven not only invited Tony for his lunch table, but he also introduced Tony to his crew: Bucky, Vision, Thor, Clint and Sam from the Football team, Nat, Pepper, Wanda, Carol and MJ, who apparently had different interests and then the guy’s pets: Bruce and Ned, two nerdy boys that had the shared attention of everyone. So now, if only to fuck Tony, even more, he was holding a bunch of very cool weird people that he ended up liking a lot close to his heart.

 What a mess.

And it wasn’t even like Steven and Peter were unhappy. They have been together since 6th grade, and everybody loved them, people knew they were #couplegoals and treated them like that. Peter would comb Steven’s hair and say:” You look very handsome today”, he would blow kisses to him during practice and knows his order at any place they went to.

 In the beginning, it pissed Tony off, now it was downgraded infuriating. To see them hugging and kissing, he felt so dirty whenever they talked cute in front of Tony. Once he asked Sam and Bucky if that ever bothered them, to which Sam said “It did at the start but Steve was so in love with that boy that having him pining was worse”

 Tony liked to lay in bed at night, sometimes doing things less than polite, but more often than not just trying to picture what Peter saw in Steve that he didn’t see in Tony. Sure, they were complete opposites, for everything Steven was kind, comprehensive and hard-working Tony was lazy, sarcastic and brute.

 It felt like the whole year has been hell for Tony, seeing his dream boy being cute and sexy for another guy.  He even tried dating sweet Pepper, but nothing made him forget Peter Parker. At the last party of the year, on the lake with every one of the school swimming and having fun. They dare to play Jessie’s Girl at a point. Ugh.

 Tony spent the whole day drinking and just slowly losing the sense of his face. When the sunset he saw Steve’s truck leaving, which was weird because he just passed Peter down next to the bathrooms. Tony goes back trying to look for the boy, using his cellphone flashlight in the dark. 

 When he sees Peter, he’s out in the back, curled in the fetal position under a tree. Crying. Tony can’t believe his luck, could that be his chance to get the boy of his dreams?

[samantha7337]

DATING GEORGE WEASLEY WOULD INCLUDE: ◾ Let’s get something super clear here, George is the more sensitive of the twins, which he never forgets thanks to his fabulous twin Fred who continuously brings it up. ◾ You’re either a companion within regards to their ideas for pranks or just in the prank itself, there is simply no in between. They’ve either slyly convinced you to fully commit to their life of cheeky crime or you’ve made it clear to them that you’re not willing to be completely responsible. And you know what? George and Fred love you for it. ◾ Unfortunately, you had to go through a ‘trial period’ at first with Fred, to ensure that you were good enough for his brother; which George, in the slightest bit, wasn’t too keen on, because he didn’t want you scared off and found it all a bit unnecessary. ◾ But you managed to pass, so it’s all just left in the past. ◾ Consistent teasing from Fred about how the both of you are so in love. ◾ “Oi, get a room not all of us can handle your love bird syndrome.” ◾ “Awe looks at the two love birds!” ◾ “You know Georgie, (Y/N)-” ◾ “Shut your mouth Fred, before I end you!” ◾ Always having thought that George was the more attractive of the twins. ◾ George having an immense soft spot for you, which Fred never misses the opportunity to point out lavishly. ◾ Protective asf George. ◾ Like, you won’t get to do anything that puts you even in the slightest of dangers. ◾ The shitter thing is that Fred will back him up 110%. ◾ But you somehow do it anyways, which means George ain’t too happy. ◾ Due to George being more emotional than Fred, I can definitely see him ranting to you about Umbridge or how Malfoy always puts his family down. You and Fred are usually the only ones able to calm him down so he won’t commit murder or any other unspeakable act. ◾ Sending notes in class, which leads the pair of you into detention, but George already had detention anyways. ◾ He’s excited about detention with you because he get’s to spend more time with you. ◾ When he get’s in detention you tend to get annoyed at him as you guys don’t always get to spend much time with each other alone, - especially if you’re in another house -. ◾ George won’t give a single damn about your blood status or what house you’re in, he cares about you for the person that you are and what brilliant qualities and quirks you have. ◾ With that noted, if you’re in another house, he’s gonna sneak you into the Gryffindor common room no matter how much you reprimand him. ◾ You sneak him into yours. ◾ Pranking each other lightly ( you not so much bc George hates making you upset). fucking softie. ◾ Fred and George learning the hard way not to prank you so much or too badly or at all really. ◾ Tender forehead kisses and long, warm cuddles that extend for hours on end. ◾ George is just a mega dork around you. ◾ Intertwined fingers and walks in the autumn leaves. ◾ Eyes lighting up with brilliant ideas. ◾ Silent communication, just a look in each others eyes will do. ◾ You’re stuck with Fred now too. Sorry it’s in their contract. ◾ The dork will definitely boop your nose if you’re sad or angry. ◾ He’s always making you smile, laugh and blush, which is just the way he likes it. ◾ Hates it when you’re in a bad mood or sad, he’ll do anything to get that grin back on your face. ◾ In private George will totally say more mushy stuff, he already get’s teased enough from Fred as it is. ◾ The pair of you never shut up about each other, everyone’s sick of it now. ◾ He twirls the end of your hair around his fingers, breathing about how soft and perfect it is. ◾ He’s romantic af. ◾ This boy will protect you and give you everything, okay? ◾ Deep meaningful hugs. BEAR HUGS! ◾ Dates that’re usually simple, but he always finds a way to make them sooo special so you won’t forget. ◾ Pretends to forget important dates with you so that he can get a little rise out of you before he kisses your nose or your mouth and tells you to shut up because he’s not that much of a brain dead git to forget your anniversary. ◾

Unlimited comfort. ◾ Being protective of him. ◾ Him throwing major hands when a guy flirts with you or when anyone hurts you. ◾ Inviting you to The Burrow every holiday. ◾ His family, - especially his parents -, loving you totally. You’ve suddenly been adopted by them without any consent, but you don’t mind tbh. ◾ Molly and Arthur constantly ask about you, they’ve sent you a Weasely sweater, but you still steal George’s. ◾ Helping Arthur understand muggle stuff and concepts better. ◾ George and Fred switching places, but it never fools you. Originally you got cross, but then began playing with them. ◾ Him and his family loving you for you and not focusing on your gender, race, sexuality, beliefs, etc. They’re always so accepting of you that it makes you sob. ◾ Sneaking into his room late at night when staying at The Burrow just for cuddles. Fred doesn’t mind as long as he can tease the shit out of you guys and also that there’s no funny business. ◾ Him giving you free stuff from his shop, but you insist on paying him back with kisses. ◾ “I think I’m going to spew.” ◾ “Oh come on, Freddie! You love a bit of romance around.” ◾ “Yeah, but not when your tongues down (Y/N)’s throat, you git.” ◾ The banter is real mate. ◾ George being really intelligent, which surprises you but he helps you with your homework constantly. ◾ Helping him at the shop. more like distracting. ◾ Jump scaring tf out of you. ◾ Taking care of one another and treating each other with the utmost respect and love. ◾ You’ve definitely been caught by everyone at The Burrow when making out. The worst has to be Molly, she’ll give a long lecture that embarrasses the pair of you. ◾ When you cuddle with George in his room, Fred’s got to be clingy and join in. ◾ George buying you sweets. ◾ Breathy sweet nothings and husky morning voices. ◾ Honestly every day you wake up at The Burrow, George will always point out how adorable and sleepy you are. ◾ Fred and George teach you Quidditch, you’re not very good at it yet, which Fred teases you about, but George is always encouraging you. ◾ An immense about of fluff and happiness. ◾ Wiping away your tears and kissing it better. ◾ Being picked up and thrown over his shoulder bc it’s just George. ◾ Being Ginny’s role model, she loves you so much and everyone is so happy about it. ◾ George just gushes over you all of the time. ◾ Moving in with the twins in the small apartment above their joke shop. ◾ A cheeky, “Morning,” and wink from Fred every time you come out of your bedroom followed by George with messy hair and love bites. ◾ Aimless invisible patterns drawn on the skin which make you both shiver in delight. ◾ Deep loving kisses that can turn passionate and rough. ◾ Being obsessed with how he smells, and vice versa. ◾ Pulling on George’s cheeks and cooing to him like a little kid whenever he achieves something, it makes Fred and him laugh, though it irks him slightly. ◾ He’s literally your sunshine. ◾ You’re obsessed with the color of his hair, constantly playing with it whether his heads in your lap or you’re sitting on his lap. ◾ Major eye contact; if you were nervous about it originally, he got you comfortable with it. ◾ Interlocked fingers and soft eye contact during intimate moments. ◾ Tickle attacks. ◾ Peppered kisses. ◾ He’ll share his food with you, what a miracle! ◾ Always making sure that you’re taking care of each other. ◾ Taking care of each other when you’re both sick. ◾ Visiting each other when you’re sick at school. ◾ He loves it when you come to him about everything first, unless he get’s stumped on what to do. But him and Fred are your biggest cheerleaders, okay? ◾ He’s a sucker for neck kisses and biting or nails softly scratching down his back or arms. ◾ He loves it when you always come first. ◾ He’s super attentive with you. ◾ He can be sub or dom. ◾ Seriously, he’s brilliant at everything which makes your head spin. ◾ He speaks with his words a lot though his actions can be louder, because he’ll do things for/to you that he’d never do for/to

anyone else. ◾ Genuinely dying of embarrassment whenever George and Fred find out something embarrassing about you. ◾ Not always quite during sex, but he can’t help it. ◾ He always loves a challenge, so if you’re at The Burrow and want that sort of intimate alone time, he’ll make is so hard for you to be quiet, which you’re so annoyed at him about later, but it wears off bc it was worth it. ◾ Literally shows you off to everyone. He’d never hide you or make you feel like he’s embarrassed to be with you. ◾ If you’re introverted, he’ll do his best to understand and do things that you enjoy, though it may take time for him to understand why you need so much alone time, but he’ll respect it. And if you’re extroverted, he’ll be happy too, loving to do everything with you. If you’re in the middle and an ambivert, a good mix will do! ◾ If anyone upsets you, that’s their target for cruel pranks for the rest of the year.

[ptersparkers]

hell froze over

summary: it’s a thursday afternoon and caliban’s taken you by surprise when he teleports to earth and asks you out on a date. not that you’d ever say no.

warnings: mentions of religion and typos, probably.

a/n: lol i can hear my parents sh*uting so i’m gonna write instead because!! we love distractions!! 

add yourself to my taglist!

Sabrina Spellman swore that Hell would have to freeze over the second she saw Caliban get “soft” and care for mortals.

That day was today. 

Greendale, being the small town that it was, housed many local favorites which included Dr. Cerberus’ diner, also dubbed as the local hangout of the Fright Club. There wasn’t much to say about the whole situation about who was running Hell with Sabrina’s clone down under and the Sabrina you knew alive and well, talking your ear off about Nick this, Harvey that, and Caliban this and that. 

If you were being completely honest, you wouldn’t have it any other way. 

So when Caliban teleported back up to Earth’s surface and caught you off guard leaving school grounds, you let out the loudest yell imaginable and dropped all of the books and stray pieces of paper you were carrying. 

“Jesus Christ,” you said, clutching your heart. You bent down and started to pick up what you had dropped. 

Caliban chuckled. “Not quite. Doubt he’s ever going to come to Earth.” 

You didn’t pay much attention to his comment in favor of gathering everything that was on the concrete and Caliban frowned, bending down to help you pick up some notebooks that were closer to him than you. When you finally stood up, you moved strange of hair out from your face and huffed, annoyed. 

“If you’re going to scare me, at least do it where people won’t see because I’m pretty sure I’ve embarrassed myself enough for this entire school year.” The corner of Caliban’s mouth lifted into a smirk when he saw you try to reassure your schoolmates and tugged on your backpack strap to get your attention.

“It’s a Thursday afternoon,” he stated. 

“Yes?”

“Do you have any plans?”

You were taken off guard. 

“What are you planning?” you asked with a raised brow. 

“Nothing bad,” he promised. “Since Sabrina number two is down in Hell dealing with things for the weekend, I figured why not come up here and spend the day with my favorite mortal.” You laughed at the sentiment and fixed your backpack to keep the straps from falling. 

“Well, I’m headed to the diner to study for a little bit before I head to cheerleading practice,” you explained. “I have about two hours before I have to be there so might as well eat and study. You know, kill two birds with one stone.” 

“Mind if I join you?” he asked. 

“You want to watch me study for two hours? It’a gonna be kind of boring,” you explained. 

“Think of me as your study-buddy.”

“Where did you even learn that phrase?”

“Sabrina’s rubbing off on me,” Caliban said with a low laugh. He gestured away from you. “Lead the way.” 

The diner wasn’t too packed when you arrived and you chose a table big enough to let you put your laptop and notebooks on while having a plate of food beside you. Your water bottle sat proudly in Caliban’s hands as he looked at the various stickers stuck to it. 

“This is quite peculiar,” he said.

“It’s a bunch of memories,” you explained. “This one’s from the camp grounds Harvey and I used to go to when we were younger. The orange one is from when Sabrina and I first became friends and that red one is the first sticker I saw with the world ‘Hell’ on it after coming back from, you know, Hell.” 

Caliban smiled at that one. “You’re odd.” 

You tilted your head and chuckled, not knowing how to respond to such a comment. You turned your attention to the screen in front of you, reading online articles assigned to you for your AP World History class. 

“What is ‘AP’?” Caliban asked, looking at the textbook that sat beside your computer. 

“It stands for advanced placement. It’s basically a college course for high schoolers so we don’t have to take it when we get to college and it gives us school credit.” 

“Sounds complicated.”

“It is,” you said, clicking out of the article you had finished taking notes on. “I think this while ‘Hell’ ordeal set me back because I haven’t been studying as much as I used to. At the end of the school year, everyone who takes AP classes has the chance to take a test that determines a score, which determines college credit.”

“You humans are so overachieving,” he commented, stealing a fry from your plate. “But I suppose being knowledgable isn’t bad.”

“Sometimes I feel like I put too much pressure on myself,” you confessed, your gaze back on the man sitting in front of you. “Like, does this really matter? Whether I ace or fail my AP tests won’t matter in the long run and it’s not like I can avoid going to Heaven or Hell.”

Caliban quirked an eyebrow, realizing that discovering the secrets of witches, Hell, and Heaven had left you in a turmoil that no one bothered to discuss. Sabrina was a witch and had accepted her fate on her sixteenth birthday. As for the other three mortals, they had some sort of lineage in magic that offered them solace. You did not. 

“Going to Hell really messed with you, didn’t it?” You didn’t want to say anything in fear of offending Caliban. When he wasn’t trying to steal the throne from Sabrina, he was a decent person, you thought. 

“Um,” you said, pausing, “I think it made me realize some things. I think those things are making me confused about the next step in my life and if what I’m doing is worth finishing.” 

Caliban looked at you and the various books, notebooks, and writing utensils sprawled out on the table. He saw your color-coded planner, binders that kept your articles and paperwork in place, and the dark tint underneath your eyes. That was all he needed to know. 

“I think you’re on the right path. From the looks of it,” he said, gesturing to the messy table in front of you, “you are so passionate and dedicated about learning and doing something with your life. Not many people can say the same. You have the advantage of knowing Hell exists and the second layer to humanity while others wonder about religion and faith. Use it to your advantage.”

“If I hear this correctly, it seems like you don’t want me to give up.” 

“I don’t,” he said, almost too quickly. “Your ambition to do well on your tests resembles my quest to become King of Hell. As I have found out another way to rule Hell alongside Sabrina, I think you’re going to find out what you’re meant to do in life.” 

“You’re starting to sound like someone who believes in God.” 

He chuckled. “God and angels exist. You know that now. I suppose you’ll have to continue praying to find out what He has in store for you.” 

You sat there, dumbfounded. It wasn’t too long ago that Caliban had been in the grand room, cursing angels and Heaven above out of frustration and anger. You and Sabrina had been waiting for him to finish throwing his tantrum before she could engage in business with him, so hearing Caliban talk about having faith in something that even he didn’t believe him gave you a glimmer of motivation. 

“I don’t even know what to say,” you said softly, fiddling with a pen. 

“Go out with me,” Caliban said. “To that drive in theater across town. You mentioned once that you like to go there when you’re stressed. We could forget about Heaven and Hell for one night.” 

“Okay,” you said quietly, earning a gigantic grin from Caliban.

As you were about to pack up your belongings, you heard a “Oh for Satan’s sake” from behind you and turned to see Sabrina rolling her eyes, already dressed in her cheer uniform. 

“Caliban, my clone and I are going to beat your ass if you hurt Y/N in any way,” she said in a sickly sweet tone. Caliban nodded, heading the message without much argument. You packed up your belongings and ran to use the restroom, leaving the two mystical beings alone. 

“I really like her,” Caliban said after a brief pause. “And I know you don’t agree wholeheartedly but I intend to prove otherwise.” 

“Y/N’s smart and won’t take anything from a boy if she’s not comfortable with it,” said Sabrina. “All I’m saying is you should watch you back should you ever hurt her in any way because it’s not just the Fright Club that’s gonna come after you.” 

Caliban gulped and watched as you emerged, putting your hair in a low bun before walking outside to go to cheerleading practice. 

“How does tomorrow night sound?” Caliban asked before you entered Harvey’s truck.

“Pick me up at six,” you said, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. “And this time, please don’t teleport and scare me.” 

The boy made of clay laughed and promised not to, watching as you climbed into the truck and waved goodbye. He saw Sabrina give him an all-knowing look, but he was determined to befriend your friends if it was the last thing he did. 

Hell, he had an entire lifetime to get to know you. 

***

BONUS:

“Why are you looking at me like that?” you asked as Harvey and Sabrina looked at you. The keys were in the engine but Harvey didn’t bother moving, opting to look between you and the spot where Caliban had teleported to Hell. 

“I know he’s kind of a good guy now, but are you serious?” Harvey asked. 

“What?” you asked, provoking him. “Am I not allowed to be in relationships like you two?”

“I’m just surprised, is all,” said Sabrina. “I mean, you did hate him when we first met him.”

“Absolutely nobody messes with my best friend,” you said. “You two, well, the other you, is ruling with him peacefully.”

“What is he tries to pull a trick?” Harvey asked. 

You had to admit, that was a fair concern. 

“I don’t think it’ll come to that, but if it does, there’s no way in Hell, literally, I’m choosing a boy over my best friends. Who, by the way, I’ve been friends longer with.” 

Harvey seemed to like this answer and started the engine, driving back to the school grounds with you in between him and Sabrina. 

“I guess Hell really did freeze over.” 

***

taglist: 

@princessdolan @ashyramblings-ficrecs. 

[nalgenewhore]

Slipping Through My Fingers - Twelve

masterlist - ao3 - last chapter - next chapter 

warnings: just a ✨ sprinkling ✨ of jealousy :) oh and nsfw 👀

an: hmm well we’ve had a couple real fluff monster chapters....let’s switch tings up! 

Elide cursed herself as she half-ran through the school, trying to get to her classroom before it was too too late. She wasn’t even supposed to be here because of the student teacher taking over for the next week, but she’d forgotten to write out the schedule or even give it to the student, a young woman named Audrey. 

“Hi, hi, I’m so sorry, I thought I had the schedule all ready for you,” Elide said as she entered her classroom, where Audrey was already talking to one of her students. “Hey there, Ivy, how’s it going today?” 

The curly-haired child smiled, two perfect dimples appearing on her brown cheeks. “Hi! I’m very good.” 

“Well, that’s good,” she said, smiling and sitting at her desk. Elide had never looked or felt more unprofessional in a pair of black leggings and a faded hoodie she’d stolen from Lorcan. Not to mention, she had only been able to find her glasses from two years ago which she abhorred. They were clunky and thick framed and constantly slipping down her nose. 

With a breath of relief at not being too late, Elide opened her agenda and walked over to the whiteboard, taking a purple marker and writing out the schedule in big letters - perfect for the munchkins to read. 

She glanced over at the door just in time to see Lorcan and Kohana walk in. Kohana did not look happy and she raised a brow, nodding when Lorcan mouthed Later. 

“Elide?” 

Elide turned to see Audrey, smiling, “Yeah?” 

“Who is that?” 

“Oh, that’s Lorcan and Kohana. Kohana is the kid,” she said, walking over to her desk, where there was now a coffee from the cafe down the block from Lorcan’s house. Elide picked it up and sipped from it, hiding her happy grin at the fact that he’d gotten her coffee. “He’s a cutie, but he doesn’t like new people very much, so don’t get discouraged if he doesn’t talk much. That’s pretty standard. Now, his best friend Esther, that girl is his cheerleader.” Elide flipped through the pages of paper on her desk, pulling out the kid’s buddy goals and handing it to Audrey. 

“‘Buddy Goals’? What are these?” she asked, scanning down the list. 

“I thought it would be good if they all wrote something they’d like to be better at and with their buddies, they can help each other. Kohana’s goal is working on his outside voice and Esther’s is working on her inside voice,” Elide supplied, tapping her outgrown nail over Kohana and Esther’s goals. It was good she had the day off so she could go to her nail appointment. 

Audrey nodded, smiling, “That’s a great idea. Might steal that from you, Elide.” 

“Oh, please,” Elide waved her hand dismissively, “go ahead.” She looked around the class, waving at her students and her eyes widening when Kohana stomped out to his desk, sitting down and crossing his arms. 

Looking to Lorcan, who just shook his head and sighed, Elide offered a soft smile in support, raising her coffee in gratitude. He nodded, the corner of his lips quirking up for a split second. 

She turned back to her papers, losing herself in it until somebody tapped on her desk and she looked up, grinning at Lorcan. “Hey. What’s, uh, what’s up with Ko?” 

“No clue. Kid woke up pissed,” Lorcan said, rolling his eyes slightly. “I’m sorry if he’s like this all day.” 

“Eh, Esther’ll be here soon.” 

Lorcan huffed a laugh and nodded, “Yeah. So, what’s up with the fit, E? That’s a cute hoodie.”

She gasped in mock hurt, “What? You don’t like the hoodie and leggings? I thought it was cute!” He raised a brow and she rolled her eyes. “I have the day off. Well, sort of.” 

“Sort of?” 

“Student teacher week. Her name is Audrey, nice girl,” Elide said, motioning to the girl at the door. “Don’t you have the day off?” 

Smiling slyly, Lorcan nodded, “I believe I do. Funny that, huh?” 

“Yeah. Funny.” 

“I’ll see you later, yeah?” She nodded and then he walked off, saluting to Kohana who just scowled harder at his father, his eyes flashing. Dang, that kid could glare. 

The sound of coy laughter brought Elide’s attention to the door, where Lorcan and Audrey were. She narrowed her eyes, watching as her student teacher threw her head back and her hand came to rest on Lorcan’s bicep. That was just ridiculous. 

Lorcan moved slightly and Elide tried to not glare at Audrey as she mirrored his step back, way too close for comfort. Elide did not care for the appreciative look in the woman’s eyes. She had to stifle her scoff when Audrey toyed with the ends of her hair. When did that ever work in real life? 

Something stirred in the pit of her stomach and she felt a snarl grow before she tamped that down. It wasn’t jealousy. They weren’t serious enough for jealousy. It was just some harmless fun. Not exclusive, not dating… hanging out. It had only been three weeks, for the gods’ sakes. 

By the time she looked up again, Lorcan was gone and Audrey looked slightly deflated. Serves her right, Elide thought. All of her things were settled, so as she stood, gathering her stuff, Elide tried to control the look in her eyes as she left the classroom, saying a brief goodbye to everyone. 

She fumed the entire way to the salon, her knuckles white as she gripped her steering wheel.

Trying to calm herself, she parked with a serene smile pasted on her lips and walked in to see Philippa waiting at the front desk. “Philippa, hello, hello!” 

“Elide, hi,” the older woman said, walking around to greet her with a hug. “Come on over, we’ll get you started.” Elide smiled and let out a pent up breath. “Something wrong?” 

Elide sighed again and shrugged as she sat at Philippa’s table, putting her purse on the floor and slipping her phone into it. “Yeah. No. I don’t know.” 

Philippa hummed and sat down, getting a couple bowls of acetone ready for Elide to soak her nails in. “Talk to me, honey.” 

“Well,” Elide put her nails in the remover, rolling her eyes, “it’s a bit of a story.” 

“Then it’s a good thing we have lots of time, isn’t it?” 

+*+*+*+*+*+*

Lorcan groaned as he woke up, sprawled out across his couch. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he dug it out, squinting at the screen, at the text from Elide. 

EL: want some company?

LS: yours?

EL: i was planning on mine, yes 

LS: always 

He tossed his phone away and dozed off until someone knocked on the door. Lorcan called out, “‘t’s open!”

His eyes remained closed as he shifted onto his back and listened to the door open. “Hey, L,” Elide said as she slipped off her shoes and put down her bag. “Where are you?” 

“Couch,” he answered, reaching out when he heard her walking over to him. “C’mere.” 

She let out a soft grunt as he fisted his hands in her hoodie and tugged her down, wrapping her up in his arms. Elide smiled and wiggled until she let out a content sigh and pressed her face into his neck, curling her hands into fists on his chest. His hands crept up the back of her hoodie, his thumb rubbing over the small of her back.

They laid in a comfortable, soft silence until Elide couldn’t handle it anymore. “So… Audrey’s nice, isn’t she?” Lorcan paused and didn’t say a word. “L?” She looked up at him, her bottom lip tucked between her teeth. 

“I guess.” 

“That’s all you have to say?” 

“Why, are you jealous?” 

Elide scoffed and spluttered, “Wha- what? Jealous? You think I’m jealous?” She sat up, pushing against his chest to straddle his waist. Lorcan arched a brow, his hands on her hips. “I’m not jealous. I just think it’s a little inappropriate of her to be flirting with the father of one of her students.” 

Lorcan laughed, “If you think her flirting - terribly, mind you - is inappropriate, what do you think about what we’re doing?” 

“Well, that’s different! We’re…” she trailed off, knowing she couldn’t say anything. Annoyed, she snapped, “Whatever. That’s irrelevant ‘cause it’s just rude to flirt with you in front of me.” 

He sat up, “But why is it rude? You’re the one who said we aren’t dating, we aren’t exclusive. Just hanging out.” Lorcan lifted his hand to cup her face, stroking his thumb over the apple of her cheek. “Come on, just say that you’re jealous and we can forget all about this, baby.” 

Elide frowned, crossing her arms tightly over her chest. “I am not jealous.” 

“Ok.” 

“I am not!” 

“And I’m agreeing with you,” he said, but the look in his eyes told a different story. He leaned in, missing her lips to kiss the skin beneath her jaw. Elide breathed in shakily, gripping her upper arms tightly. Lorcan grinned and continued his ministrations, trailing heated kisses over her skin. “C’mon, darlin’, just tell me. ‘t’s ok, E. I don’t mind.” 

“I hate you,” she breathed, tipping her head back to give him further access. “You’re a dick.” As she said that, she slid her hands into his hair, scraping her fresh, black acrylics over his scalp. 

Lorcan just laughed and grazed his teeth over her pulse, licking over the slight sting. “C’mon, baby, tell me.” 

“Fuck you.”  

“Fuck me yourself, coward,” he replied smoothly. 

She laughed and pulled away, her slender eyes crinkling. “Fine, you sadist. I don’t like it when people flirt with you.” Elide tugged his face forward and kissed him, murmuring against his lips, “I was jealous.” 

“We should remedy that, then.” 

“How?” 

“Well, you said yourself that we aren’t dating, right?”  She nodded in response and continued to kiss him, biting his bottom lip. “What if we were? What if you were my girlfriend?” 

Elide paused and pulled back, her eyes big, “Really? Like, you and me?” 

“You and me,” he said, nodding. “So? Whaddya say, Lochan?” 

Lorcan let out a soft grunt when she practically tackled him to the couch and squeezed her arms snugly around his neck, “So that’s a yes, right?” 

+*+*+*+*+*+*

Lorcan arched a brow at the look in his girlfriend’s eyes as she innocently sipped from her tea, sitting at his kitchen island on a barstool. “What’s that look for?” 

Elide shrugged a shoulder up, running her fingertip over the rim of the mug. “Nothing. Why?” 

The house around them was silent, a warm and sated sort of quiet that came when he knew Ko was safe and sleeping peacefully upstairs. Elide had come over after her dinner with her adoptive parents and her sister. Apparently, Aelin let it slip that she was ‘seeing someone’ and her mother was already hounding her to let them meet whoever it was. 

“You’re planning something,” he replied, keeping his voice low. “I don’t think I should trust you.” 

Elide laughed, a little smoky chuckle that had his blood heating in his veins. His skin was tingling as she dragged her burning gaze down his front, her clouded eyes lingering on where his grey sweats were precariously slung low across his hips. “Maybe I just like what I see.” 

He snorted as Elide was never one to be satisfied by simply looking, something he had no qualms about. “You’re a shit liar, El.” 

Elide dropped her facade and grinned a filthy little grin that had his blood shooting south. She smirked when he shifted and leaned back against the counter, gripping the worn edge of the wood countertop. “Need some help with that?” she asked, flicking her eyes to the bulge in his pants. 

“Oh, if you would be so kind,” he taunted, not really meaning it and to his delight, a slow smile spread over her lips as Elide slipped off her stool and strolled around to him. 

Lorcan raised his hands to capture her in a tight embrace and kiss her, but Elide evaded his reach and sunk to her knees. Breath hitching, Lorcan looked down at her as she pressed her lips to the patch of skin beneath his navel, her lips parting for her tongue to drag over the flat grooves of his stomach. 

Lorcan hardened further, his lashes fluttering at the feeling of her mouth on his skin. In his mother tongue, he let slip a soft curse when he felt Elide tugging his sweats down, just enough for her to pull his cock out. All he heard was his blood rushing through his ears and the distant sound of Elide chuckling before she wrapped her hand around him and stroked up and down. 

Then, she twisted her wrist ever-so-slightly on the upstroke and Lorcan’s teeth sunk into his bottom lip, his neatly trimmed fingernails digging into the wood beneath his hands. “Fuck, El.” 

She laughed again and whatever he was going to say - something about her teasing him - died in his throat when Elide licked up the underside of his shaft, the tip of her tongue probing his slit and not giving him a chance to breathe before Elide took his cock in her mouth. 

Lorcan tried to hold back his groan as she did something with her tongue that had his mind blanking. A stream of Ozuye spilled from his lips when she did it again and hummed as one of his hands came to rest on the back of her head - he rasped, “Deeper.” 

Elide breathed through her nose and relaxed her throat, letting him slide in and in until the tip of his dick hit the very bottom of her throat. The feeling of her wet and tight throat swallowing around him had precum dripping from him and Lorcan let his head fall back. He tried as hard as he could to keep his breathing normal, but when Elide nudged him to move his hips, any effort was futile. 

When he held her head in place and slowly, carefully eased in and out of her throat, Elide looked up at him through her lashes, her eyes half lidded and flitting shut. She hummed around him and let the hand holding the base of his cock fall free so she could hold her long hair off the back of her neck. 

Lorcan breathed heavy through his nose, his brow furrowing as he felt his climax fast approaching. Elide could feel it too as his cock leaked down her throat and the way that it throbbed gently. She let him fuck her mouth slowly, her nails sharp even through his sweats as she gripped his thigh. 

Panting and lungs greedily gulping down any and all oxygen, Lorcan pushed in until Elide almost gagged and kept her still. She hummed around him and the vibrations had him coming down her throat, his teeth close to drawing blood as he bit his bottom lip and tried to stifle the sounds he made. 

Elide swallowed until there was nothing left and then she let him fall from her mouth. She wore a satisfied smile as she stood up and helpfully fixed his waistband for him, smirking when her knuckles dragged over his sensitive flesh and his breath hitched. “Did that help?” 

Lorcan fought for breath and shook his head at her, reaching out a hand to cup the back of her head and kiss her just as a door opened upstairs and two little feet padded down the hallway, quiet on the stairs. 

“Shit,” Elide bit out, quickly kneeling down and out of sight as Kohana peered downstairs and locked eyes with Lorcan. 

“Dad, why you downstairs?” 

His heart slammed against his chest and Lorcan swallowed once, gesturing vaguely to the sink, “Water, Ko.”

His son’s eyes were big, bright, and filled with unshed tears, “I thought there was a monster.”  

“No monster, prince,” Lorcan quipped, shooting Elide an apologetic look as he shoved off the counter and walked over to his son. He took the stairs two at a time and said in the common tongue, loud enough for her to hear, as he scooped Ko up, “Let’s get you back to bed, huh?” 

Elide waited with bated breath until she heard Kohana’s bedroom door close and waited two extra minutes before she snuck upstairs and into Lorcan’s room. She crawled into bed and collapsed down, wrapping her arms around his pillow and burying her face in it, breathing in the woodsy scent of his cedar and sandalwood cologne. 

She resolved to stay awake until he returned and to fall asleep with him holding her snugly, but it seemed as though it was out of her hands as her breathing slowed and she passed out. 

+*+*+*+*+*+*

Elide woke with a start after dreaming she had fallen, her mind playing catch-up and groggy. Yawning, Elide reached out to grab Lorcan and to pull herself tighter against him. But, all she felt was empty space and, by the coolness of the sheets, he hadn’t made it back from putting Kohana down.

Groaning softly, she got out of bed and shuffled down the hall to Ko’s room. His door was half-open and she leaned against the doorframe, shifting her weight onto one foot and smiling at the sight before her. 

Lorcan, asleep in his son’s bed. And Kohana, gathered up in his father’s arms, sleeping soundly. Elide’s gaze strayed from Lorcan’s serene face and locked on the slumbering child. Whisps of black hair escaped his double braids and his brow furrowed as it tickled his little baby button nose. Kohana looked like his father, but softer, gentler. Not hardened by life or bittered by experience. 

“Lorcan,” she whispered hoarsely. Lorcan slowly stirred and opened his eyes, looking between his son and Elide. “It’s late, baby, come to bed.” 

He nodded but didn’t move immediately. He just gazed down at his child, gently brushing back the hair that bothered him and kissing his brow, whispering words Elide didn’t understand. Then, he shifted Kohana carefully onto the mattress and scooched to the end of the bed so he could stand and step over to her. 

Elide smiled as Lorcan slid his arms around her waist and her hands slid up his arms. He smiled and lifted his hand to tip her chin up. Leaning down, he pressed his lips to hers gently. “What time is it?” 

“I don’t know,” she whispered, “I fell asleep.” 

He hummed and pulled away, looking back at his sleeping child. Elide let him be for a moment and then she laced their hands together and walked him back to bed, where they fell asleep wrapped around each other.

+*+*+*+*+*+*

Kohana had a secret. He’d only told Tigger, who was on the next stool over, curled up in a fluffy ball. Ko had never seen his kitty look more shocked.

He watched his father as he ate his cornflakes. Dad was making coffee again and hadn’t said a word about last night. 

Kohana just watched in silence, raising his full spoon to his mouth and steadily chewing on his cereal. 

Lorcan turned around as he poured the coffee into his mug. “What’s up, Ko? What’s with the, uh, staring?” 

“Nothing, Dad,” he said, reaching for his orange juice. He blinked slowly as he sipped from his juice. 

“Really? So there’s nothing you want to tell me?” 

Kohana tilted his head to the side, “Do you have anything to say?” To anyone else, it would seem like Lorcan had nothing to say, but to his son… he’d never looked more guilty. 

Lorcan’s mug froze on its way to his lips and he paled for a split second before coughing, lowering his coffee. “Nope. Why- why would you ask that, bud?” 

Staying silent, Kohana stared his father directly in the eyes as he drank more orange juice. Then, he moved his bowl and glass to the side and planted his hands on the island to stand up on the stool he occupied. “I know your secret, Dad. Tigger knows too.”  

“Oh, really? What secret is that?” 

“You have an adult friend. And I know who it is! I saw you in my door,” he shouted, glowering at his father. Lorcan choked and opened his mouth to say something, but Kohana wasn’t done. “Elide is your adult friend. You were having a sleepover with MY TEACHER!”  

“Ko, no need to yell, man, I’m right here,” Lorcan said, wincing slightly at the volume. It was so early. With a sigh, he nodded, “You’re right. It’s Elide.” He tapped his fingers against the side of his mug. “What do you think about it?”

Kohana felt the fight leave him and he sat down again, shrugging. “It’s ok. I like Elide, she is very nice.” He pulled his cereal back to him, but it was mushy now and there was no way on Earth he would eat it now. “Can she come over for dinner, Dad?” 

Lorcan smiled and nodded, “Yeah. She can come over for dinner.” Kohana nodded and pushed his cereal away to grab his glass and finish his juice. Lorcan wondered how many times he would have to thank the Creator for giving him this perfect, amazing child.

+*+*+*+*+*+*

Elide smiled and waved good-bye to all her students at the end of the day. Kohana just stared at her from over Nehemia’s shoulder. She was taking him home until Lorcan could leave work. There’d been a car emergency that had taken longer than anticipated to fix. 

Kohana looked at Elide the entire time Nehemia put him in his booster seat and watched her as she walked backwards towards the school. He’d been staring at her all day, like he knew a secret. It freaked her out and she’d texted Lorcan about it, but he hadn’t gotten back to her yet. 

Her phone was on her desk and buzzing when she walked into her class. Picking it up, she smiled and accepted Lorcan’s call. “Hello?” 

“Hey, E,” he replied, a smile in his voice. “How are you?” 

She sat on the edge of her desk before answering. “I’m good. Still freaked out by your child. Is there a reason why he stared at me the entire day? It’s like he was saying ‘I know your secret’.” Lorcan didn’t answer, only hissing a breath. Elide paused, narrowing her eyes. “He knows, doesn’t he? Doesn’t he?” 

“...yeah. He saw us last night in the doorway.” 

“Oh shit. I’m sorry, I know you wanted to wait and–” 

“No, E, it’s honestly fine. I know we were supposed to go out, but Ko wants us to have dinner. Do you mind a slight change in plans?” 

Elide contemplated silently, biting her pearl-coloured nail until she remembered she’d just gotten a new set done. Lorcan spoke again, “We don’t have to tonight–” 

“No, babe, it’s ok. Let’s have dinner,” she said in a nervous chirping tone. “It’ll be great.” 

“Ok, well, my place at, say… seven?” 

“Your place at seven,” Elide confirmed, smiling as they said good-bye and hung up. Slowly, she put all the little chairs up on the desks, trying to calm her shaking hands. It was fine. It would be fine. It was fine. It would be fine. She repeated that litany as she gathered her things and left the room, flicking off the lights as she went. 

She recited it aloud once she was in her car, which was finally fixed up and ready to go, and on her drive home. 

Everything was… fine. 

+*+*+*+*+*+*

Lorcan glanced over into the living room, where his son was playing with Tigger. 

He remembered when Essar had come home with that blasted creature who he’d had a slight rivalry with since the day they’d met. Tigger had hated when Essar gave Lorcan more attention than he and would hiss and cry until Essar rolled her eyes and lovingly picked him up. 

That cat had kept him alive, though. On the days where Lorcan had barely been able to wake up, too far gone in his grief, Tigger would scratch at his door and jump onto Lorcan’s chest, digging his claws into his skin until Lorcan got up and went to take care of his baby. 

Gods, Kohana hadn’t even lived a year before she was gone. Through a few talks, Lorcan had pieced together that Kohana only remembered the blurry form of Essar. He remembered that home had been happy and bright but one day, it went silent. Dad didn’t smile as much, he didn’t laugh as much. Mama didn’t sing to him anymore and Mama didn’t pick him up anymore. He still missed her, still was aware enough to know that someone was gone, someone important. 

Maybe it was funny, but the fact that they’d known she didn’t have long anymore hadn’t helped when she was actually gone. The fact that she’d just… faded wasn’t any better. She’d still been ripped from his arms, from this world. 

Burned in his mind was the image of the serene smile on her tattooed lips. During the last few weeks, Essar had been in such pain that there wasn’t a moment that she hadn’t been on painkillers, but for the last day, she’d asked to go out clean. That smile was real, it was her. 

His depressing thoughts were interrupted by Kohana’s precious gasp from his seat on the window bench, his hands and face pressed against the window. 

Lorcan smiled and put down the spoon he was idly stirring the glaze for the bison chops resting in their rub on the island. Bison in Terrasen was something only their Indigenous tribes were privy to hunt and sell. Lorcan, while Indigenous, still didn’t have a permit because for one, he hated hunting and two, he wasn’t Terrasenian anyways. A few of his friends did though and were always happy to share their bounty with him. 

He turned the burner down and walked over to look over Kohana’s head, seeing Elide step out of her car and wave. Kohana waved back, climbing off the bench to run to the door, waiting patiently. Lorcan smiled back at her as she walked up the path, carrying a pastry box. 

Lorcan returned to the kitchen as Kohana waited and Tigger padded over to the kitchen as well, purring and twisting around Lorcan’s legs. Lorcan just nodded down at the cat and went back to checking the sauce, understanding Tigger’s silent support. He supposed the cat had his moments. 

A few seconds later, he heard the door open and Kohana saying an exuberant hello. Elide’s tinkling laughter was heard as she too said hello and was let in, the door closing resoundly behind her. 

Finally, Lorcan turned and smiled softly at her as Elide nervously smoothed her hands down the fronts of her black jeans - her newest thrifting find. They were men’s sized and a wide, black belt cinched them around her petite waist. Her top was a slouchy, lavender sweater - the very one she’d worn the first day of school - with the front tucked into her pants. Kohana was oblivious to the adults’ almost tangible nerves and smiled happily, clambering up onto a stool as he chattered on. 

They only had time for a quick hello before Ko was demanding her attention again by standing up on his stool and waving his hand. 

Elide laughed again and sat down on the stool opposite him, readily engaging in the discussion. “Oh, I almost forgot,” she said after a bit of talking, standing, then walking over to the box she’d left by the front door. 

Kohana hopped down and trailed over to her, warily looking at the box. “What’s that?” 

“This,” she said, putting the box down, “is basbousa. It’s a cake from the Southern Continent.” Kohana’s eyes widened and he carefully opened the lid, peering down at the syrup-soaked semolina cakes, cut into neat diamonds and topped with one almond each. “I think you’ll like it. It’s very sweet.” 

He smiled excitedly and on their conversation went until Lorcan announced dinner was ready and they sat at the table to eat. Kohana frowned at his bison, cut up into little bites, so Elide and Lorcan both conceded to cutting theirs into bite-sized pieces as well. 

During the meal, Kohana talked and talked about everything he could possibly talk about. Elide eagerly engaged on every topic, asking him questions and laughing at his knock-knock jokes. Lorcan joined in occasionally, honestly just happy to sit back and watch the two most important people in his life talk. 

The thought that Elide was one of the most important people to him took Lorcan by surprise and he felt winded just thinking about it. They’d only been dating for… two months now. They’d been exclusive for a month. Maybe this was too much. Maybe… it was too fast. 

Quickly, his heart began to slam against his ribcage and he found it hard to breathe. Shit, he had a kid. One who had already lost a parent. If he brought in Elide, if Elide became a fixture around their home, in their lives… Lorcan couldn’t guarantee that she’d never leave and Ko deserved better than that. 

After dinner, after dessert, they all sat in the living room to watch a movie. Kohana insisted on sitting with Elide and though Lorcan smiled, his heart melting a little inside, he stiffened imperceptibly. Was this going too far? Was this too early? Fuck, did he even want her here? If Kohana hadn’t caught them…

Fuck.

+*+*+*+*+*+*

an: well....i think lorcan said it all 

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[starryskywrites]

The Skirt (Midoriya x TransMale!Bakugou!Reader)

(A/N): In this AU, the reader was adopted when he was younger by the Bakugous, and had a foreign name, so he uses his first name instead of the Bakugou surname so it’s easier for everyone when he and Bakugou are in the same class. Reader and Midoriya are childhood friends that crushed on each other and got together.

Key:

(Y/N): Your Name

(H/C): Hair Colour

Summary: The girls of Class 1-A want their revenge from having to wear those uniforms during the Sports Festival. Guess it’s the guy’s turn to wear one!

TW: dysphoria, transphobic language

Happy Reading! --Drew

Kirishima sighs and leans back in his seat. “Never a dull moment in this class, am I right?” Bakugou and Midoriya were once again fighting and took it a little far during hero training, so Aizawa took them to chew them out while the rest of the class is supposed to be working on homework.

“Nope!” Mina agrees cheerfully. “Especially with those two around!”

Kaminari reaches above his head and stretches. “Man, those two saved us! Now we’ve got basically a free period!”

Iida appears behind the blond with his signature hand-chopping. “Aizawa-Sensei said that we should be using this time to work on material for another class, and it would be disrespectful to misuse the time!”

“Aw c’mon man! Just chill out!”

As Kaminari and Iida start to go back and forth, Mina puts a finger to her chin in thought. “A free period, huh?” Suddenly, an evil glint appears in her eyes and she swiftly gathers all the girls in one corner of the classroom and starts whispering furiously. The other girls’ eyes light up and they start to smile. A mischievous aura starts to emanate from their corner, causing some of the other students to take notice.

“I-is everything alright over there?” Asks Ojiro, subtly scooting back.

Mina grins and nods as Momo and Uraraka head towards the door to the class and block it off, just in case. “Yeah, we just had a little idea of what to do with this free time~”

All the guys shudder at the sweetly-fake tone of her voice.

“Remember how at the Sports Festival, all of us girls had to wear those cheerleading outfits? Well guess who’s turn it is?”

“You-you’re not implying that-” Sero stutters.

“That you’re all going to have to wear them too? Yep!”

Mineta makes a big x with his arms. “No way! I’m no cross-dresser!”

“Aw come on, it’s only fair,” Hagakure pouts. “Isn’t it Iida? We had to wear them, so now the guys have to?”

Iida flushes at being put on the spot like that. On one hand, she does have a point, but on the other, his male classmates seem thoroughly against the idea.

“Don’t let them trick you, Iida!”

“Don’t fall for it!”

“It’s not fair at all!”

The boys are in an uproar, and Iida has to find a way to defuse the situation fast. “How about a compromise?” He proposes, trying to appease both sides.

“A compromise?” asks Jirou.

“Yes, you are determined to get the guys to wear the uniforms, but the guys are heavily against the idea. Is there some middle ground we can find?”

Mina hums in thought. “I mean, I only really need to see one guy wearing it, really.” The other girls agree.

“Yeah, if one of you guys wear it, that’s fine!” Uraraka chimes in.

“Very well! We shall have one of us wear the uniform!” Iida announces.

“Nose goes!” yells Kaminari, his finger flying towards his nose. All the other boys rush to do the same, even a very confused Todoroki. The only one who didn’t manage to do it was…

“Hey, (Y/N)!”

The (H/C) looks up from the book he was absorbed in. “Hm?” He quickly notices how everyone else has their fingers on their noses and pales. “Aw come on, guys! I wasn’t paying attention! That’s not fair!”

“Ah ah ah, the rules are the rules! You didn’t put your finger on your nose in time!” Kaminari wags a finger in (Y/N)’s direction.

(Y/N) sighs and shuts his book. “Alright, fine. What stupid thing did we agree to now?”

Mina clutches his arm excitedly. “We’re gonna dress you up in a cheerleading outfit and make you look like a girl!”

(Y/N) pales. “You’re what?!?!”

“You guys made us wear them at the Sports Festival, so now it’s your turn!”

“But I don’t- guys help me out here, please-”

He looks towards the boys but are met with solemn faces.

“Sorry (Y/N), it’s either you or all of us.” Mineta states.

“Thanks for taking one for the team bro!” Kirishima gives him a thumbs-up.

“Yeah, because of you, we don’t all have to do it!”

“But I really don’t want to-” he tries again, only to be shut down once more.

“You didn’t win nose-goes, so you’ve gotta do it!”

(Y/N) looks insanely uncomfortable as the boys cheer for him and the girls usher him out of the room to dress him up, but he weakens as they convince him that it's only fair and that because he's doing it, the other boys don't have to.

He takes the uniform from Momo and steals Jirou's makeup kit before sending them back to the classroom, surprising the girls but they let him be. They idly chatter as they wait for the (H/C) to come back to the classroom.

"Do you think he actually knows how to use makeup?" Asks Hagakure. "I mean, he is still a guy."

"Maybe he'll surprise us," Momo replies. "After all, makeup is genderless!"

They continue talking, trying to speculate what he could possible look like, but nothing prepares them for the actual thing. The door to the classroom opens softly, and if you didn't know any better, you'd think it was a girl standing there. His (H/L) hair, normally kept up and out of his face, has been let down and styled slightly to frame his face. His face has a light dusting of blush and highlight that makes his cheekbones shine, along with natural-looking lips and killer eyeliner with a shimmer or orange across his eyelids. The crop top and skirt work together to reveal a harsh hourglass figure, his waist dipping in while his hips come out, and there’s a surprising amount of cleavage that he sports. The skirt reveals long, shapely legs, looking powerful but feminine. He shifts uncomfortably as the class stares in shock.

“Woah, (Y/N)! You clean up nicely!” Mina shouts, excited.

“You look like an actual girl!” Hagakure claps.

“Maybe we should just make you one of the girls!”

(Y/N) flinches at that, but no one takes any notice. The guys start to comment as well.

“Wow, (Y/N), I didn’t know you knew how to use makeup! That’s really manly, bro!”

“If you were a girl, I’d totally date you!”’

“You actually look really good-”

No one notices (Y/N)’s increasing discomfort, or how he’s starting to look slightly upset. Even as Mineta stalks forward, they talk amongst themselves at how cute and girly he looks.

“You know, those are quite a pair of boobies you’ve got there, (Y/N). Be a pal and let me squeeze them?” He’s got an absolutely perverted look on his face, and (Y/N) crosses his arms over his chest protectively.

“Absolutely not!”

“Why not, man? It’s not like you’re gonna feel it; they’re fake, right?”

(Y/N) flushes and tightens his arms.

“No way! You actually have boobs? What are you, a cross-dresser? I always knew there was something off about you!”

“Shut up!”

Everyone stills as the normally mild-tempered male snaps.

“I’m not a girl! I’m a boy, and I hate every bit of this! So what if I was born this way? It’s not who I am! And I don’t want to hear any of you saying this shit! So just shut up!”

He’s panting hard at the outburst, and everyone’s shocked. None of them notice how the door opens, revealing Bakugou and Midoriya, finally back from getting yelled at by Mr. Aizawa.

“Oi, extras, what the hell is going on in here-”

“Damn, she’s just like her brother.” Mineta shakes his head. “Damn shame, she was so hot too.”

(Y/N) recoils like he’d been slapped, and the class for the first time can see the tears in his eyes. His eyes fight to narrow in anger, because dammit that hurt, he thought that he could trust this class.

“Fuck all of you,” he spits and turns heel and flees. He runs past his brother and his boyfriend standing in the door, not paying them any attention through the tears starting to fall down his face.

No one makes a move. Finally one of the boys in the door speaks up, but it’s not who they were expecting.

“What the fuck.” Midoriya curses, and the entire class startles. Midoriya isn’t one to curse, so for the cinnamon roll to suddenly drop an f-bomb is almost unheard of. “What the hell happened.”

“We- we were dressing up a guy in the cheerleading outfit as revenge from the Sports Festival, and (Y/N) got picked-” Mina stammers in an effort to explain.

“Who knew she was such a hottie,” Mineta drools. “Shame on you Midoriya for hiding her sweet body from us, always pretending she’s a boy.”

The door frame cracks from where Midoriya’s clutching it, his quirk subconsciously activating. “That’s because he is a boy, Mineta.”

“But she’s got boobs and such a hot figure! I bet she’s even got a hot-”

“Shut the hell up you grape!”

Bakugou looks absolutely murderous over hearing his brother referred to in that way. “He’s more of a fucking man than you’ll ever be!”

“At least I have a dick!”

Bakugou stalks towards Mineta, explosions crackling in his palms.

“You want to repeat that again, you dumb grape bastard?”

Mineta finally realizes who he’s talking to and how he’s talking, and starts to backpedal furiously.

“Deku.” Bakugou growls. “Go take care of my dumb brother. He’s probably crying over the shit these extras pulled. I’ll make sure they know how much they fucked up.”

The class shudders as Midoriya nods and runs down the hallway in the direction (Y/N) had fled. He leaves behind him the sounds of explosions and the screams of one short male.

Midoriya heads towards the stairwell, going to the ground layer as he knows that’s where (Y/N) likes to go when he’s upset and will likely be there already. Sure enough, the (H/C) is tucked into the shadows and has his knees pulled into his chest, muffling his cries. Midoriya doesn’t say anything at first, instead just sitting down next to him and rubbing a hand along his back, until (Y/N)’s posture begins to relax and his cries slow. His legs straighten out and he slumps into Midoriya, completely spent.

“Hey there, babe. How’re you feeling?”

(Y/N) just shakes his head where he’s buried it against Midoriya’s arm.

“That’s understandable. Think you could look at me, babe?”

He sniffs again, and slowly looks up at Midoriya. His makeup has been ruined and his eyeliner is smeared around from him crying, but Midoriya doesn’t seem to care.

“There’s my handsome boy.” He takes a tissue out of his pocket and gently wipes away the mess on his face, until (Y/N)’s face is once again clear and clean. Once that’s done, he pulls the other boy into his arms and holds him, a hand coming up to stroke his hair.

“Want to talk about it?”

“You know how the girls wore those cheerleading uniforms at the Sports Festival?” (Y/N) begins quietly after a moment. “They wanted to see the guys in one too. People started to fight over it, and eventually Iida made them reach a compromise. Only one guy had to wear it and I was picked, I guess. They just weren’t expecting me to look like an actual girl, I guess.” He chuckles darkly. “I tried to get out of it, but the girls were so excited and the guys seemed so relieved that it wasn’t them, and I guess I was the best suited for it since I’m-”

His voice cracks and he stumbles over the next part.

“Since I was born as a girl.”

His eyes fill with tears again and he buries his face into Midoriya’s chest.

“What’s wrong with me, Zuku? Why couldn’t I have just been normal?”

“Hey. None of that.” The greenette forces the (H/C) to look up at him. “You’re perfectly normal. They were in the wrong. You obviously didn’t want to do it, and the way Mineta talked to you was not okay.”

The (H/C)’s face crumples at the mention of the short male. “Oh god, Mineta. He thinks- he thinks I’m a girl pretending to be a boy-”

“Which isn’t true and I’m sure Kacchan’s already ripping him and the rest of the class a new one.”

(Y/N) doesn’t say anything, just melts into Midoriya a little more.

“You want to stay here on the floor for a while longer or go back to the dorms so you can get changed and we can cuddle?”

“Second option please.”

“Will do!”

He stands, pulling (Y/N) into his arms and then picking him up in a bridal-carry. Said boy blushes all the way back to the dorms, until Midoriya puts him down on the bed and grabs a set of well-loved oversized All Might pajamas from the closet.

“Here, you can change into these.” He turns his back and looks away while (Y/N) changes, until there’s a tug on his shirt from behind. His boyfriend’s practically drowning in the clothes, but he looks much more comfortable than before. Instantly Midoriya is pulling him to the bed, and they lay down together without a word. The greenette keeps the other cradled to his chest, content with the silence.

“Thank you…” manages (Y/N) after a few minutes. “For all that.”

“Of course!” Midoriya starts stroking a hand through (H/C) locks. “You’re my boyfriend, first of all, and a boy second, and shouldn’t have been forced to do that third. I bet Kacchan’s already taken care of it, but we’re going to make sure the class knows what happened and why that wasn’t okay. Especially Mineta. I love you just the way you are. And nothing can change that.”

(Y/N) tears up again, hiding his face in the other male’s chest. “I love you.”

“I love you too, (Y/N). Now rest. I’ve got you.”

[kinglazrus]

Love Me, Don’t Hug Me

Phic phight 2020

Submitted by @sailor-toni: Danny hates being touched. Paulina loves to show her affections. How will the two of them make this relationship work.

Summary: When it comes to Danny Fenton, Paulina is sure about three things: he's almost always injured, he's pretty damn mysterious for a loser, and he has this annoying habit of getting stuck in Paulina's mind. Oh, and she just might, maybe, possibly have a crush on him.

Edit: I’ve been informed this phic is too powerful for tumblr and keeps crashing the app. Here are the links to [FFN] and [AO3]

Word count: 23499

Paulina was used to boys she barely knew coming up to her and asking her out. At first, she enjoyed the attention. Constantly being told how pretty she was, getting gifts, and trinkets, and praises showered upon her. Everyone said she must have liked it, so she did.

Sometimes, it really was nice, when the boys were sincere. She teased them, and smiled at them, and led them along like lost puppies. They made her feel good.

The other boys didn't. Every day, the came to her. At lunch, at the mall, on her way home from school. They pulled her out of conversations, took her away from her friends, distracted her from whatever she actually cared about. She got everything from arrogant smirks to smarmy grins, masks of undeserved bravado. She didn't give them an inch, saying no every time.

But they were persistent. They pestered and prodded, pestering her with pick-up lines and pet names, as if all they had to do was say pretty one more time and she would finally change her mind. She still said no, and their sweet words would turn bitter.

"Fine, bitch," they would hiss, their adoring gazes turning to seething glares.

Paulina saw no difference between either stare. Whether it was full of love or hate, any unwanted gaze made her skin crawl. She knew, unabashedly, that she was pretty. Being pretty made her feel good. But their stares made her feel ugly.

Most boys gave up after the second no. Most.

Paulina stared resolutely ahead as the senior leaned against the table, chin in his hand, giving her a flirtatious grin. Usually, only boys in her grade or the next grade up asked her out. Having a senior's attention made her feel strange. Flattered, but also uncomfortable. The fact that he wouldn't take the hint set her on edge.

"Come on, babe, just give me a chance," he said, sliding onto the bench next to her.

Paulina shuffled down, closer to Star.

"Just say yes to the guy and he'll leave." Dash didn't even look up. He and Kwan were too busy flicking a piece of pizza crust back and forth, trying to break through each other's defence.

Contrary to Dash, Kwan's eyes lifted every few seconds in a nervous glance before dipping back down. Every time he looked up, Paulina thought he was going to say something. Every time he didn't, she felt like crying, or hitting him. She wasn't sure which.

"I'm sorry, I don't like older guys," Paulina said. She refused to let her voice shake, and hated that she needed to steady it at all. This should have been no different from any other boy she had to brush off this year, but he just wouldn't give up.

"Oh, yeah? You don't really know until you try."

Dash's words echoed in Paulina's head. Maybe he was right. If she said yes, the senior would go away. How bad could one date be? He was eighteen. He should know how to treat a girl. He was practically an adult, which meant he must be right. Right?

The senior's hand slid off the table, inching toward Paulina's thigh.

Before he could touch her, Star slipped an arm around Paulina's waist and pulled her back. Leaning too far over, the senior fell forward with a yelp, palm smacking against the floor as he tried to catch himself. A scruffy shoe immediately came down on his fingers.

Paulina blinked at the familiar red sneaker. Looking up, she found Fenton, scrawny, limp Fenton, standing on the senior's hand with a pissed off expression that looked so foreign on his face, but somehow fit it so well.

"Hey, that's not cool. She said no," Danny said. The senior jerked, trying to pull his hand out from under Danny's foot, but Danny didn't budge.

"What the hell. Get off me, man," the senior said. "This ain't your problem."

"You're making it my problem," Danny said. At the same time, Paulina shouted, "It is his problem!"

Both boys glanced at her, equally confused. Danny looked bewildered, like he hadn't expected to be addressed at all. The senior's eyes jumped between Paulina and Danny, uncertainty and then understanding filling his gaze.

"I can't go out with you because I have a date with Danny." Paulina grabbed Danny's hand and yanked him close, dragging him off the senior's hand. Danny stiffened, but Paulina ignored it in favour of making sweet eyes at him. "Isn't that right?"

"Uh... yes?" Danny said. Paulina nodded at him. "Yeah! Yeah. It's not cool to steal someone else's girl." He grimaced at his own words, shooting Paulina an apologetic glance.

She shrugged. She didn't like it when guys talked about girls like they owned them, but she would forgive Danny for this one slight.

"Okay, geez. You didn't have to make such a big deal about it." The senior stood, rubbing his sore fingers, and left without much fuss after that. Although he did shoot Paulina one last predatory look.

Paulina did her best to brush it off. The thought of his eyes on her made her feel gross. As soon as she got home, she was going to take a long shower. Remembering she still had Danny's wrist in her hand, she let go, wincing at the fading imprints her fingers left behind. She hadn't realized she grabbed him that hard.

"Sit down, Fenton," Star said.

Danny started. That startled look, like he didn't expect anyone to talk to him, crossed his face again. "What?"

"Sit. Down." Taking her arm from Paulina's waist, Star lightly smacked Danny's back and motioned to the now empty space on the bench.

Paulina frowned at Star, raising her eyebrows in a silent question. Star ignored her, giving Danny another insistent slap. He glanced over his shoulder, back toward his friends, shrugged helplessly, and sat down.

"Why am I still here?" he asked.

"Because that creep didn't leave the cafeteria." Star jerked her chin towards the senior, who was taking his seat a few tables down from them. "If you leave, he might figure out Paulie was lying, and come back. This is a one-time deal, got it?"

Danny nodded. "Got it."

"You okay, Paulie?"

Self-conscious, Paulina wrapped her arms around her exposed midriff. After a moment, she nodded, squeezing Star's hand. "Yeah, I'm okay. It's not like it's a first time that's happened." She waved dismissively.

"Paulina..." Kwan wrung his hands, worrying his lip. "I'm sorry. That guy, Keith, he's a friend of my brother's. And I've known him since I was little, you know? He's not a bad guy. But I should have said something."

Paulina's anger toward him waned. "Yeah, I get it. It's still not okay, though."

Dash scoffed and leaned forward. "You guys are being stupid. You should have just said yes. Probably broke his heart or something."

Danny sneered, rising to meet Dash in the middle of the table. "You know that from experience?"

"Shut up, Fenton."

"Exactly how many times did you ask my sister out even though she kept saying no?" Danny started counting off on his fingers. "Let's see, the football game, homecoming, the winter formal, yesterday."

Dash grabbed Danny's shirt and got up in his face. "What do you care, dweeb?"

"I care because you're creeping on my sister." Danny's hand hovered over Dash's wrist.

"Let it go, Dash," Paulina snapped, smacking the boys' hands. "You look like idiots."

Dash glared at her, but listened, dropping Danny's collar and sitting back with a huff. In an instant, Danny seemed to lose whatever boldness made him stand up to Dash, and he laughed nervously. Fixing his collar, he leaned back.

Paulina gave him an appraising look. They had gone to school together for years, but he never stood out to her. When they hit high school, he gave her the same heart-eyed stare all the boys did, like she was a pretty thing to be won. She intended to write him off after that. She never meant to pay attention to him, for any reason. But when he asked her to homecoming, and she saw how jealous that made Sam, Paulina couldn’t resist.

She was so tired of Sam being such a hypocrite, acting like she was so good all the time, as if she never did anything wrong. In Paulina's opinion, Sam needed to get over herself. And she deserved every bit of riling up Paulina could give her.

Homecoming night itself didn't have a strong place in Paulina's mind, most of it passing in a hazy blur. Still, something happened that night, something that changed Danny. He stopped looking at her like a trophy. He didn't stop staring at her completely, but there a new layer to his gaze after that. A sort of understanding, like he was the first person—outside Paulina's friends—to realize there was more to her than a pretty face.

He should have faded to the back of her mind. Don’t get Paulina wrong, he maybe have been better than the creeps that dogged after her, but he was still a loser. And yet, in spite of herself, she sometimes found herself staring back when Danny wasn't looking, although she never understood why.

"You know, you're alright, Fenton," Paulina said, surprising herself with her sincerity.

Danny gaped at her, mouth dropping open, eyes widening. The innocent surprise was kind of cute.

"Thanks, I guess?" he said.

"You're welcome." Paulina turned to her lunch, cafeteria pizza that had long since gone cold, and ate in peace.

—

Paulina was sore all over. Cheerleading practice had ended an hour ago, but every Tuesday she stayed on the field a little longer and got some extra exercise. Doing lunges, push-ups, and laps around the field, she liked to keep her arms and legs strong. Cheerleading required a lot of strength and control, and she had to stay in shape.

Some weeks, Star joined her, but that day she had to go home right after practice, leaving Paulina on her own. She may have gone overboard, hanging around almost half an hour longer than usual. It was easy to get lost in thought while she exercised.

Gathering her backpack from the bleachers, she wondered if she should change before going home. She definitely needed a shower. But, checking the time on her phone, she knew the gym, and therefore the changerooms, would be locked up by now. Resigned to walking home in her uniform, she headed toward the front of the school.

Just as she reached the sidewalk, the front doors burst open. Danny came trudging out, backpack dangling in his hand, sweater tied around his waist.

Paulina watched him. Two hours was a long time to hang around after school. He must have had double detention, a punishment often reserved for students who skipped class. Paulina hesitated for a moment before jogging over.

"Danny!" she called, waving.

Danny spun toward her. He made that adorable startled face again, this time with a soft blush creeping across his cheeks as he noticed her skirt and crop top. His eyes snapped up to her face and stayed there.

"Hey, Paulina. What's up?" He lifted a hand to scratch his chin, drawing Paulina's attention to a dark bruise blooming across his jaw. It hadn't been there yesterday at lunch, or even that morning when she saw him in English. Three thin scratches stretched over the bruise, cutting across his chin. She wondered what caused them.

Danny's nail caught on one of the scabs and he winced, quickly lowering his hand, tucking it into his pocket. He always seemed to be injured in some little way. A bruise here, a scratch there. Paulina remembered him limping down the hall on more than one occasion. An uncomfortable curiosity settled in her gut, a sort of sick fascination. She wanted to know what was hurting him so much.

"Uh, Paulina?" Danny reached out.

Paulina, startled, jerked away. Her cheeks burned as she realized she had been gawking at him. She quickly asked, "Are you doing anything right now?"

"No," he answered slowly, giving her a wary look. "Why?"

"I owe you a burger, for yesterday. I never actually thanked you for helping me."

"You want to thank me?" Danny frowned.

Paulina pursed her lips in annoyance. Was it really so hard to believe? Sure, she wasn't always the nicest to him, but she didn't actively antagonize him either.

Danny squinted at her, leaning forward. "Is that you, Kitty?"

Paulina bristled. "What did you just call me!"

"Sorry!" Danny scrambled back, hands raised in defence. "I didn't mean– I wasn't– there's just this ghost that likes to mess with me, okay? And she may have... overshadowed you... once..."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"It doesn't matter. Burgers?"

Paulina thought it did matter, very much, but she was willing to put it aside for now. Giving Danny a stern look, letting him know she wouldn't soon forget what he had said, she waved for him to come along and headed toward the Nasty Burger.

Silence followed them. Danny trailed a couple paces behind her, head down, so quiet that she had to glance back every few steps to make sure he was still following. The air between them felt fragile, as if whatever peace they had attained in this moment would shatter under the weight of a whisper.

Paulina, used to Star's constant chatter, detested the feeling. The next time she glanced over her shoulder, she fixed Danny with an exasperated stare. "You know, you don't have to walk behind me." She slowed her pace.

Danny's cheeks flushed again. Scurrying forward, he fell into step beside her, lengthening his stride to match Paulina's longer gait. He opened his mouth a few times, but ultimately didn't say anything, resigning himself to staring at the sidewalk.

It was obvious neither of them enjoyed the lack of conversation, feeling too awkward without it, but neither one was willing to say the first word. Paulina found a stubborn urge rising within her. If they were going to play this game, then she was determined to win. They sent each other calculating glances, measuring each other up. Paulina searched for a sign of the boy that had come to her rescue yesterday. A confident twist in his lips, a glint in his eye, anything hidden behind the nervous façade. She found nothing.

A skittering noise interrupted her thoughts. Looking down, she saw a pebble leaping down the sidewalk ahead of them. It rolled to a stop in the middle of Danny's path. When they neared it, he kicked it, sending it jumping forward again. On the third kick, it hit a crack in the sidewalk and skipped across the concrete, stopping in front of Paulina.

Before she could think about it, she hopped forward and knocked the pebble back toward Danny. He looked up, surprised, and smiled at her. Tentative, he kicked the pebble back.

Paulina didn't mind the silence so much after that. Their little game persisted—both games—all the way to the Nasty Burger as they passed the pebble back and forth, neither one uttering a word. Paulina found herself grinning as Danny booted the pebble, forcing her to sprint after it or else let it tumble off the edge of the sidewalk.

Catching it just in time, she kicked it as hard as she could. The pebble careened off the sidewalk, pinged off the metal pole of the Nasty Burger sign, and disappeared into the unkempt grass.

"Oh," Danny said, sounding as disappointed as Paulina felt.

"Yeah." Paulina searched the grass for a moment, desperately hoping to find the pebble. For a moment, she had been filled with a childish sort of joy, the same delight she felt as a little girl playing in mud puddles with her cousins. Nowadays, she preferred to stay clean and pretty, but there was something intoxicating about the untamed glee one could only get from simple games, like punting a pebble down a sidewalk.

Thinking of games, Paulina quickly backtracked. "I win." She turned a victorious grin toward Danny.

"What? No! You lost the rock. That means you lose," Danny said.

"I got the best kick; I think that means I win. But I wasn't talking about that. You spoke first."

Danny stared at her, eyes narrowing, then blowing wide as he realized what she meant. "No fair! I didn't realize that was a game, that means you can't win," he insisted.

"Oh, sure you didn't." Paulina tossed her hair over her shoulder and airily said, "You're just a sore loser." She sauntered toward Nasty Burger's front doors.

"No way. I'm actually very good at losing, you've seen me in gym class," Danny said. He jogged ahead, overtaking her, and held the door open. "Besides, I think losing the rock makes you the loser."

"Best kick!" Paulina sing-songed, ignoring Danny's excuses. He grumbled all the way up to the counter, but didn't try to defend himself again.

Ignoring the leer of the acne-riddled teen behind the counter, who had asked Paulina out on no less than four separate occasions, she nudged Danny's arm. "What do you want? I'm paying."

"You really don't need to," Danny said, already reaching for his wallet.

Paulina rounded on Danny. "Listen, Fenton. I don't like owing people. You helped me out, now let me say thanks."

Danny peered down at his wallet, eyeing the crumpled three dollars stuffed inside, and sighed. "Okay, fine. I'll just have a Meaty Melt and a Coke."

As Paulina went up to order, Danny hovered at her shoulder. She didn't pay much attention to him, too focused on ignoring the cashier's stares, but halfway through the exchange she caught Danny glaring over her shoulder. The cashier wilted and kept his eyes down after that.

"I hope you're not expecting another burger for that," Paulina said while they searched for a table.

Danny, balancing their tray on one hand, holding his soda in the other, blinked at her. "What? Why would I?"

"Huh." Paulina squinted at him. "You really don't expect anything, do you?"

"No? I actually didn't think you'd notice." His hand holding the soda jerked upward, his drink splashing against the lid.

Paulina burst out laughing as Danny flinched in surprise. "Did you­– did you forget you were holding that?" she asked between giggles. Recognizing Danny's nervous habit, she assumed he had been going to rub his neck. He settled for taking a long sip of his soda instead, his face as red as his shoes.

They chose a table with a view of the road, better shaded than the booths overlooking the parking lot, which were bathed in sunlight. Danny set the tray down in front of Paulina, taking his burger for himself, leaving her sliders and fries.

Neither of them said anything for a few minutes as they started eating, things quickly turning awkward again. It was as if they suddenly remembered who they were and who they were with. Paulina and Danny, popular and loser. Their kind didn't interact much unless rude words were involved. Which was, frankly, stupid. Paulina frowned at that enlightening thought.

Determined not to let the silence persist, Paulina paused after finished her first slider and asked, "What class did you skip today?"

"What makes you think I skipped?" Danny asked.

"Double detention."

"Falluca gives double detention for anything."

"Falluca had a sub today." Paulina's lips curled into a devious grin. "I guess that tells me what class you skipped."

Danny's cheeks coloured. He seriously needed to stop doing that; it was too cute when he blushed.

"I can't believe you skipped science to get in a fight," she said casually. Picking at her fries, she carefully watched Danny's reaction. His shoulders tensed and his soda cup crinkled in his hand. He wouldn't meet her gaze, instead ducking his head and self-consciously rubbing his chin against his shoulder, as if he could wipe away the bruise.

He laughed. "Pretty bad luck, right?"

"Bad luck that you've gotten in at least one fight every week since the start of the year?" Paulina's eyebrow arched.

"What makes you say that?"

"Please, I'm not blind." I also watch you as much as you watch me, she added silently. Paulina hesitated, wondering if she should push on. That same sickly fascination from before reared its head and she couldn't help but ask, "Who hurt you?"

Danny stiffened. He met Paulina's stare, eyes wide, and stuttered, "I'm not­– not one's... Look, it isn't–" He broke off and practically lunged for his soda. Staring out the window, he took a long drink, cheeks caving in, until nothing but air came up his straw. His eyes darted about, thoughts flickering across his face faster than Paulina could interpret them. He kept sucking up air until his face turned red and he let the straw go with a gasp.

Watching him crush the cup, Paulina thought he looked seconds away from bolting. She could feel his leg bouncing under the table. Taking pity on him, she reached out and grabbed his hand. Danny flinched back violently, slamming back against his seat, cradling the hand she touched against his chest. Their eyes met and, for a long, uncomfortable moment, they stared at each other in shock.

"Thanks for the burger," Danny said.

Paulina, too stunned to stop him, could only gape as Danny slid out of his seat, slapped his three dollars down on the table—which barely covered half his food—and bolted.

—

The next day at school, Paulina shoved Danny's three dollars into his locker door, tucking it behind his cheap lock. She hopped the bills didn't fall out before Danny found them. Or, worse, she hoped no one else saw the money and stole it. The easy solution would be to give him the money directly, but she thought that was a bad idea.

Paulina felt guilty. It was such a strange and foreign emotion, oozing through her. She didn't like it. Never before had she felt guilty for something, at least not this kind of guilt. Feeling bad for stealing her cousin's favourite doll when they were eight years old wasn't the same thing. She only felt bad then because she got caught.

Now, though, she wished she could pluck her words from Danny's memory. The stricken look he had given her after she touched his hand seized her heart. He looked at her like she had betrayed his trust, which was ridiculous because she was Paulina and he was Danny. There wasn't any trust between them to break. Besides, wouldn't anyone have done what Paulina did? It was only natural to ask after things you were curious about.

Except, of course, when those things pertained to someone you know being hurt by someone they knew on a daily basis. Paulina had done a lot of thinking over the last twelve hours and came to that conclusion. If Danny just liked getting in fights, surely more people would know about it? Some girls were into that kind of tough delinquent type. Contrary to Danny's sweeter nature, he did fit the mold quite well in certain ways. Messy hair, sharp eyes, always sporting a bruise and rough knuckles.

Paulina faltered, pressing her hand against Danny's locker door. Rough knuckles? They did look kind of bloody sometimes. Self-defence, maybe. Unless Paulina's original assumption was right and he did get in fights, and just didn't tell people about them.

The mental image of Danny being in some secret fight club made Paulina giggle. Danny was just a wisp. A gentle breeze could knock him over. Then again, the senior hadn't been able to make Danny budge. And when he stared Dash down, telling him off for hitting on his sister, he hadn't been fazed.

Paulina's amused smile fell into a frown. Apparently, Danny was a bigger mystery than she had first thought.

Someone tapped Paulina's shoulder. "Hey. You better not be messing with Danny's locker."

Scowling, she turned to glare at Sam Manson. "Excuse me?"

"Don't play dumb, although I know you love to. What are you doing to Danny's locker?" Sam asked.

"You should work on being less hostile, maybe more people will ask you out that way," Paulina said, enjoying the way Sam bristled. Using her long nails, Paulina pinched the edges of the bills she had stuffed into the door and pulled them out. "Here." She held them out to Sam. "I was giving Danny his money back. It fell out of his wallet at the Nasty Burger last night."

Sam didn't move.

"Oh, just take them already." Paulina grabbed Sam's hand, shoving the bills into her palm.

"You were with Danny last night?" Sam asked. Her tone, wary and belligerent all at once, gave Paulina pause.

"You didn't know," she said with dawning realization. Her smile returned, this time with a devilish twist, elated at this golden opportunity. "Danny and I went on a date yesterday."

Sam narrowed her eyes, fist curling around Danny's money. Paulina could hear her gritting her teeth. "You really expect me to believe that?"

"You think I care? Just don't forget to give him his money." Paulina left Sam with a teasing wave, savouring the enraged expression she got in response.

—

Danny knew all of Sam's tells when it came to anger. She stomped and shouted when she was frustrated. Ranted when she was fuelled by righteous indignation. Got in your face when irrationally pissed off. But when she was mad, truly, rightfully mad about something beyond her control, she turned cold.

As soon as Lancer gave the word that today's history class would be a work period, Sam rose from her desk, near the front of the room thanks to alphabetical order, and strode toward Danny and Tucker seated at the back. Her expression was subdued. Danny and Tucker shared a worried glance as she approached.

"Uh, what's up?" Danny asked when she stopped by their desks. He flinched away when Sam shoved something in his face. Staring cross-eyed at her fist, he frown at the dollar bills she held.

"Paulina said you dropped these last night," Sam said.

Danny's frown twitched. "She did?" Danny plucked the bills out of Sam's hand. "But I didn't drop them. I was paying her back."

Smoothing the bills out on the corner of his desk, he inspected them, searching for any telltale sign they were his three dollars. After staring at the money for a fully ten seconds he realized how ridiculous that was. They were just dollar bills. Unless he somehow had the serial numbers for his money memorized, there was no way he could tell them apart. A second after that, he realized how even more ridiculous it was for him to check in the first place. It didn't matter if they were the same bills, what mattered was that Paulina had evidently decided to give them back.

"Anything you want to tell us about last night?" Sam said, leaning back against Tucker's desk and crossing her arms.

Danny tucked the money into his pocket before answering. "Not really? Paulina thanked me for helping her out at lunch. Sorry again that I kind of ditched you guys."

"Nah, man, you're good. You were being all heroic." Tucker's grin carried a knowing glint that Danny didn't think belonged there, because whatever Tucker thought he knew, he was definitely wrong. "I bet you could get a date out of that."

"No," Danny said.

"Yes," Sam hissed.

"What?"

"You were on a date with Paulina last night."

"You went on a date with Paulina?" Tucker's shout drew their classmates' eyes.

Stretching over the aisle, Danny slapped his hands against Tucker's mouth. "Dude, chill! I didn't go on a date with Paulina."

"That's not what she said," Sam interrupted. She pulled Danny and Tucker apart, and glared at their nearby classmates, who were still staring. "Don't you all have better stuff to do?"

"Excellent statement, Ms. Manson," Lancer droned from the front of the room. Sitting behind his desk, he gave Sam a stern look over the top of his book. "I'm sure I told all of you to use this time and work on your social movement essays. That includes you, Ms. Manson."

"Sorry, Mr. Lancer," Sam said, barely sounding sorry at all. She pointed at Danny, silently letting him know they would continue this conversation later, and returned to her seat to do her work. Around them, their classmates did the same. At least, they pretended to. Danny could hear them whispering.

"Okay, but really. Did you go on a date with Paulina? A real one? No ghosts?" Tucker asked.

Danny dropped his forehead to his desk with a thunk, wrapping his arms over his head, and groaned. "It wasn't a date."

—

Five hours later and three classrooms over, Paulina turned to Dash and said, "Yeah, it was totally a date." The art teacher shot her a dirty look for talking, but didn't make a move to stop her. Paulina rolled her eyes and tapped her pencil against her sketchbook.

"I bet he got Manson to do some voodoo shit with you to make it happen," Dash said. He hadn't even opened his sketchbook yet. Instead of starting their newest project, he was more determined to bug Paulina about the rumors he heard over lunch hour.

Apparently, Manson couldn't keep her mouth shut and had spilled the lie Paulina fed her. The rumour didn't bother her so much. Paulina was used to people whispering things about her; that happened when you were popular. She was content to brush it all off, until Dash started getting on her case.

"No voodoo. I asked him out," she said. Her plan, once she first heard the rumour, was to ignore it until it went away. Eventually people would come to their senses and realized there was no way someone as pretty and popular as her would ever go out with Danny, no matter how cute he was. Once they did, they would move on to other more interesting bits of gossip.

But then Dash opened his stupid mouth. "A loser like Fenton?" he had said. "Knew it was a lie the moment I heard it. You're one of us. We wouldn't let you go out with him. You wouldn’t let us down like that."

Who was Dash to say who Paulina could and couldn't date? That venomous jab, and every arrogant, poison word he'd spoken since made Paulina seethe. Dash wasn't better than her. He would hit on anything that moved. He hit on her sometimes, and he definitely wasn't one of the sweet, endearing boys Paulina liked to string along.

As soon as she heard those haughty, conceited words spilling out of Dash's mouth, Paulina was determined to let Dash down so far that he'd be six feet underground. Screw Dash Baxter, and screw anyone who tried to tell Paulina what she could and couldn't do.

Dash wrinkled his nose. "Ew. Why would you go out with him again?"

"Maybe I enjoyed myself at the dance, you don't know," Paulina said flippantly. Granted, not even she knew if she enjoyed herself, but chances were Dash wouldn't know either.

"Dance? What? I'm not talking about the dance."

Paulina only gave herself a second to be confused. She blinked at Dash, furrowing her brow, then shook her head and started inspecting her fingernails, the perfect image of disinterest. "Whatever. I'm done with this conversation."

She turned back to her drawing. So far, all she had was a vague skeleton of a figure, featureless and unidentifiable, but she knew exactly who it was. It annoyed her how much Danny lingered in her thoughts when she didn't want him to.

Thinking about Danny dragged Dash's offhand comment back to the forefront of her mind. She had no evidence, but she couldn't shake the idea that what he said was related to that Kitty ghost, something Paulina had completely forgot to ask Danny about last night.

She tried to push that aside for now and focus on her art, but her hand shook too much. She flipped to a fresh page and pressed her pencil down, hard, drawing a thick dark line. Over and over she wounded the page with ugly black scars until she finally managed to draw one without trembling. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes.

Danny owed her an explanation.

—

As soon as the bell rang, Paulina was out of her seat. She walked briskly, hurrying down the hall, stuffing her sketchbook into her backpack along the way. Danny's locker was her destination, in the hopes that she could catch him before he left school. She didn't know if he was one of those students who kept everything in his backpack or routinely stopped between classes to switch out his books. She hoped he was the former.

He wasn't there when she arrived, so she leaned against the locker next to his, arms crossed. If he didn't show up, it wouldn't matter that much. They had English first period tomorrow, and she could always talk to him then, but she preferred to have this conversation sooner rather than later.

Five minutes passed, long enough for the first round of buses to leave the school, and Danny didn't show up. Paulina felt jilted, which wasn't fair to Danny, because he didn't know she wanted to talk to him, but that didn't stop her from feeling it. Getting stood up sucked, whether it was intentional or not.

Paulina closed her eyes and grumbled under her breath. It looked like the conversation would have to wait until tomorrow. She pushed off Danny's locker, turning in the direction of her own, and opened her eyes. Danny stood right behind her. Paulina shrieked. She leapt back, heart racing, and glared at him. "Who does that?!"

"Uh, sorry." Danny scratched the back of his neck. "I was looking for you, but I thought you left already since you weren't by your locker."

Paulina huffed. "Well, it's about time you got here. Next time, don't make me wait so long?"

"Next time?" Danny shook his head. "Whatever, that's, I'll worry about that later. Listen–"

Paulina raised a hand to cut him off. "No, you listen. I don't wait around for people, okay?"

"Paulina–"

"I could have left whenever I wanted."

"If you just–"

"But I'm not letting you off that easy because–"

"We need to talk," they said at the same time. They stilled, staring at each other. Slowly, Danny's face turned red, but it wasn't the innocent blush Paulina found so endearing. His cheeks puffed and mirth danced in his eyes. He slapped a hand over his mouth, muffled giggles slipping between his fingers.

"Stop laughing," Paulina said.

Danny shook his head.

"It's not funny!" Paulina stomped her foot.

Danny lost it. Peals of laughter echoed down the slowly emptying hall. The sound was pure and unrestrained, a sweet laugh. Paulina refused to let herself be dragged into it, but she couldn't help the smile that came to her face.

"I mean, okay. It wasn't that funny. But you throwing a tantrum? That's hilarious," Danny said.

"I did not!" Paulina gasped, offended

"Sorry for laughing," Danny said, but he was still grinning. "But you're a lot nicer to be around when you're like that."

"When I'm throwing a tantrum? Which I wasn't."

"No, when you act your age," he explained.

Paulina thought that was rich coming from someone who liked to play juvenile pranks. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Danny sighed, shaking his head as if it was such a damn shame Paulina wouldn't stoop to his level of childish antics. "Paulina, we're fourteen. You shouldn't be acting like you're already in college or something. Being in high school doesn't mean being grown up. I know you probably think it's stupid, but once you get older, and you actually have to deal with... with all kinds of stuff. Bad stuff. You'll wish you hadn't grown up so fast."

Paulina didn't like the way Danny's voice grew quite. His eyes were distant, looking through her like she was nothing but a pane of glass, seeing something that was far beyond her comprehension. Her gaze fell to his chin and the ugly bruise painting his skin. Unable to help herself, she reached out, brushing her fingers along the thin scratches, wondering if they would scar.

Danny's hand shot up, catching her wrist in a crushing grip. Light returned to his eyes as he broke out of his reverie. A flicker of emotion, too fast for Paulina to decipher, flashed across his face when he saw his hand closed around her wrist. He hastily let her go, shuffling back a few steps, and averted his eyes.

"Sorry. I don't like being touched like that. Unexpectedly, I mean. Or at all, really." Danny rubbed his cheek. To Paulina, it looked like he was wiping away the feel of her hand on his skin. He continued, "We really do need to talk."

Remembering why she went looking for Danny in the first place, Paulina nodded. "Yeah, we do. You need to tell me about Kitty."

"Whoa, wait. First, you need to tell me why everyone thinks we went on a date," Danny said.

"No way, I asked first."

"Okay, fair. But I bet you want your answer a lot more than I want mine." Danny's cheerful tone had returned, an impish grin replacing his disappointed frown.

Paulina's eyebrow twitched. How could someone turn from jubilant to pensive to infuriatingly annoying in such a short span of time? It looked exhausting. Simply being around him was exhausting. Paulina's face was warm and her heart hadn't stopped pounding. She felt like she had just finished her post-cheerleading exercises.

No, that couldn't be right. Paulina felt refreshed and energized after working out. She liked that feeling. She didn't like this. Right?

"Does this mean I win?" Danny's words ragged her out of her thoughts.

"No! You don't get your answer until I get mine!" They were at a stalemate, but Paulina had complete confidence in her stubborn nature. She always got what she wanted. Danny, grin set, eyebrow arched, looked ready to fight her on this. Until he shivered. His hand flew to his mouth and his eyes widened.

"Okay, fine, but not here. I'll text you where to meet me," he said.

"Why not here?" Paulina glanced over her shoulder down the hall. It was empty now. She had probably missed her bus, but her house was only a forty minute walk away. More importantly, it meant they were alone. "You don't even have my nu–"

Paulina cut off mid-sentence when she looked forward again. Danny was already gone.

—

Danny's stitches itched. Flexing his fingers, he resisted the urge to scratch his arm. It was just a small cut on the inside of his elbow. Jazz fixed him up in six stitches. In a few days, she would take them out, leaving his arm good as new. Or almost as good. Too bad for Danny, accelerated healing did not equal regeneration and he would probably have a scar.

Damn Box Ghost. That fact hurt Danny more than the injury did, even if his stitches pulled and stung every time he bent his arm. He had no idea how the Box Ghost managed to get his grubby little hands on a box cutter, but it was a hell of a lot more effective than cardboard. Hopefully, Boxy wouldn't go bragging to every ghost in the Zone about his "victory" over Danny. Danny could heal his body a lot faster than he could heal his pride.

His phone, resting on the café table, buzzed. Checking the notification, he saw it was just a reminder about the health quiz tomorrow. Which he had completely forgotten about.

"Damn it." Danny dropped his head onto the table, making the cups and plate shake. The iced coffee he had bought for Paulina sloshed over the rim of the glass, splashing onto the table. It wasn't so iced now, more watered down. Paulina was supposed to meet him twenty minutes ago.

Lifting his head, he sipped despondently at his milkshake, gnawing on the straw. Maybe this was a bad idea. Paulina didn't need to know about Kitty, and she definitely didn't need to waste her time hanging around Danny.

He touched his cheek, thinking about how soft Paulina's fingers had been on his bruise. The unwanted touch had his skin crawling at the time. Even now, just the thought of it made him uncomfortable, but that wasn't Paulina's fault. When nearly everyone who touched you ended up hurting you, you started to hate physical contact all together. Even Sam and Tucker, who Danny trusted and loved, could set him on edge if he didn't see the contact coming.

A sharp knock on the window beside him drew his attention. His straw fell out of his mouth when he saw Paulina. She had braided her hair loosely over her shoulder and donned an unbuttoned shirt over her crop top. Instead of her regular flats, she wore scuffed sneakers. The most striking difference, however, was her lack of makeup. Even in gym class, when everyone was sweating from exertion, he had never seen Paulina in anything but pristine makeup.

She had freckles. Not the modest smattering across her nose and cheeks like Danny had, but all over. A galaxy of dots painting constellations across her face. She had a mole, too. A small brown spot on her lip. Danny hadn't realized you could have moles on your lips. If it weren't so dark, he might have thought it was another freckle.

Paulina waved. Danny waved back. His eyes trailed after her as she entered the café, the bell over the door jingling quietly. She took her seat across from him, sinking into the plush chair, the exact reason why Danny had chosen this cafe.

"Is this for me?" Paulina asked, pointing to the iced coffee.

Danny stopped staring at her long enough to nod. "And this." He pushed the small dessert plate in the middle of the table toward her. An apple fritter dusted in powdered sugar sat on it. The few crumbs scattered beside it were the only sign of the second fritter, which Danny had consumed in a nervous fit once Paulina was five minutes late.

"What for?" she asked.

"Paying you back for the burger." Danny grinned. "You can't give this back to me. And if you don't eat it, then I guess it's just wasted."

Paulina's eyes narrowed. "Not bad, Fenton. Not bad." She took a bite of the fritter and surveyed the café.

It was an out of the way place, tucked behind a bookshop, and had to be entered around the back. Danny first found the place last month when he saved the owners, a retired couple, from one of Technus' schemes. It was small, cozy, had big armchairs and soft lighting, and served the best pastries in Amity Park.

"It took my dad a while to find this place, even with the address," Paulina said.

"Oh, your dad?" Danny remembered her dad. Big, burly, intimidating. He wasn't as tall as Danny's dad but, with arms as thick as his, was nothing to scoff at. Danny glanced around, half-expecting the man to leap out from one of the tables.

"He went to the bookstore," Paulina said.

"Good to know. Hey, I hope you don't mind me asking, but why the change in appearance?" He gestured vaguely toward his face.

Paulina finished her fritter, dusting the sugar off her fingers, and played with her braid. "You think I wear makeup all the time?"

"No, but I've just never seen you without it."

"So what?"

"So, you, uh, I've just never seen you without any." Danny stared down at his milkshake, feeling his cheeks heat up. "I like your freckles."

Paulina didn't answer. Worried he'd made her mad, he glanced up. Danny's eyes widened when he found her blushing. Paulina got a lot of compliments from a lot of boys and she always reacted with a coy smile, unless the guy was bothering her. He'd never seen her blush.

"Just tell me about Kitty," she said, clutching her iced coffee.

Danny decided to just get it over with. "She overshadowed you during spring break, but I didn't know she was overshadowing you and I thought she was just you, and so did everyone else, and we kind of dated for a few weeks, until I realized you weren't yourself and I stopped Kitty and you didn't remember anything the next day, but you seemed fine and you went on without saying anything, so I didn't mention it."

He sucked in a deep, wheezing breath and downed the rest of his milkshake in one gulp, licking whipped cream off his upper lip after he set the glass down.

Paulina stared at him, frozen.

"Ah, wait, did I say I stopped her? I meant Danny Phantom did. Yeah. The ghost boy. Not me," Danny said.

Paulina still didn't respond. She looked... Danny didn't know how she looked. Confused? Upset? Mad? She didn't say anything, didn't even blink. The seconds dragged on and Danny's worry grew.

"Paulina?" She didn't answer. Danny grabbed his hair. "I can't believe I broke Paulina Sanchez."

Paulina started. "You didn't break me!" She reached out, poised to slap his hands, but stopped at the last second. Her hand hovered for a moment, then went back to holding her drink. "We dated—for a couple weeks—and I have no memory of it."

"It was almost three weeks, actually," Danny said.

"That's not helping!"

"Right! Sorry!"

Paulina hunched over, curling an arm over her head, her eyes wide. Her parted lips moved slightly. Danny wondered if she was mouthing along with the thoughts running through her head. If so, it was oddly cute. If not... still cute.

"I think," she said after a long silence. "I think I sort of remember. Those weeks didn't disappear, but I can barely remember anything with you from them."

"Ghosts can do that when they overshadow you for a long time. Usually, the memories will just be gone, or sort of hazy. But if they stay in one person long enough, they can manipulate what you remember," Danny explained. Kitty had assured him Paulina would only lose her memories of Danny. It was oddly considerate of her, but he chose not to question it.

"You didn't tell me."

Deciding honesty was best, Danny nodded. "No, I didn't."

"What is wrong with you!" Paulina slammed her hands on the table, rattling the dishes.

Danny recoiled. "I didn't think–"

"No, you didn't! A ghost... a ghost possessed me. For three weeks. You were the only one who knew, and you didn't tell me?" Tears glistened in Paulina's eyes. Her lips curled. The soft, sweet blush from before was long gone, replaced by a face red with anger.

"They call it overshadowing," Danny corrected. He didn't know what else to say.

"I don't care what it's called! She violated me, and you didn't think I had a right to know? She could have done anything to me!" Paulina hugged herself, going pale. Shaking her head, she stood up. "I can't be around you right now."

Danny reached out, but there was nothing he could do to stop her as she stormed out of the café. He sank low in his seat, but it was nowhere near as low as he felt.

"You really screwed up, Fenton," Danny whispered.

—

Paulina avoided Danny for the rest of the week. The rumour about her and Danny dating died out without too much fuss. Dash texted Paulina a smug grin and a self-satisfied "Knew you wouldn't do it!" and everything went back to the way it was supposed to be. She hung out with her friends, went to cheerleading practice, did her homework. On the weekend, she and Star went to an old film screening at the theatre.

This was her life, as it had always been, back to normal. So why did it feel like she was missing something?

Paulina went for a walk in the park, just before sunset. Tomorrow was Monday. It had been a lot easier to ignore Danny over the weekend, when they weren't forced into the same room for classes. But it still felt hard.

She picked her way across the wet grass, drops of water clinging to her sneakers. It had stopped raining over an our ago, but the grey sky and chill air remained. Finding a bench by the duck pond, she sat down, crossing her legs on the damp wood. Her dad didn't like her being out alone so close to dark, but she needed to think somewhere no one would disturb her.

Paulina had never had a crush before. In middle school, whenever any of the other girls asked if she had one, she always pointed to whichever boy showed the least interest in her, even though she felt nothing special around them. But Danny made her feel giddy. He pulled out a childish side of her that she hadn’t realized she missed. She wanted to spend time with him, play more immature  games with him, hold his hand. If that wasn't a crush, she didn't know what was.

But he had to go and ruin it by keeping something so personal from her.

"Boys are stupid," Paulina declared to the open air.

A sudden chill came over her and an echoing voice spoke. "Do dead boys count? Because I like to think I'm pretty smart."

Paulina managed not to shout in surprise, but she did flinch as Danny Phantom appeared in front of her.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," he said. He floated on his stomach, chin propped on his hand, hovering a respectful distance away. "I saw you sitting alone and thought I'd let you know it's almost night. Ghosts get more active right around now. It'd be safer for you to head home."

Paulina pursed her lips. Danny had said Phantom helped free her from Kitty's clutches. "Why didn't you tell me I had been possessed?"

"It's called overshadowing, actually," Phantom said.

"Ugh, you Dannys are all alike." Standing up, she marched away.

Phantom rushed to catch up with her, flying around to block her path. "Hey, no, wait. I'm sorry. Let me fly you home."

Paulina lifted her chin and looked away. "No, thank you." She walked around him and started for the park entrance.

"Okay, that's fair. But at least let me fly with you? It really is dangerous."

Paulina stopped. Glancing back at Phantom, she gave him a critical look. Something about the way he said that was familiar, but she couldn't figure out what.

"Please?" he said.

"Fine." She kept walking, watching Phantom out of the corner of her eye. He floated a couple feet away, knees bent as if he was kneeling, and easily keeping pace. It was bizarre to watch, like a poorly edited video where a frozen character got dragged across the screen in lieu of actual movement.

"I'm sorry," Phantom said.

Paulina's eyes jumped forward, her shoulders stiffening as she tried to act casual. "For what?"

"The Kitty thing. Fenton's sorry, too. He talked to me about it."

"Did he now?"

"Yeah. It was... it was my idea not to tell you. Getting overshadowed isn't fun. And you were right, it is a violation. It's taking over someone's body. Taking control of them. It's not right. I only do it if I absolutely have to."

"But you still do it."

"Yeah..." Phantom at least had the mind to look ashamed of that fact. When they reached the street, he drifted closer. Paulina considered stepping away, putting that distance between them again, but he looked sincere, and she wanted to hear what he had to say. She nodded, motioning for him to continue.

"I just thought you would be happier not knowing. Kitty didn't do anything bad with you. Actually, she kind of had your personality down. No one else noticed there was something wrong."

That didn't make Paulina feel better.

"It was a dumb decision, and both Fenton and I were idiots for going along with it." Phantom's grin turned wry. "I guess you were right. Boys are stupid."

Paulina huffed, standing a little straighter. "Of course I was."

"Fenton wants to talk to you."

"Then he can tell me that himself." Paulina paused. "Wait." Reaching out, she touched Phantom's shoulder to stop him.

Phantom swerved away from her hand, turning upside-down to get out of reach. His eyes widened, a green blush rising in his cheeks. "Um. Instincts. From fighting and stuff. Sorry."

"It's fine," she said, taking her hand back. "Be honest with me. Did Danny put you up to this?"

"Uh..." Phantom laughed weakly. "Which one's better?"

Paulina didn't bother answering that question.

"He asked me to talk to you, yeah." Phantom rubbed the back of his neck. "He wanted to give you your space, and he thought you might appreciate me talking to you more. You know, because of your crush."

"What makes you think I have a crush on you?"

Phantom drifted in front of her, legs and arms crossed, hair hanging down. "You don't?"

Paulina could see why Phantom, or anyone, would think that. She had never bothered hiding her infatuation before. But, long ago, she realized that what she felt was admiration, not love.

"You're cute, for a dead boy," she said.

"I'm gonna be honest; I can't decide if I should be offended or not," Phantom said. His grin was strikingly familiar.

Paulina stared at him, contemplative, and smirked when Phantom rubbed the back of his neck. "It it's any consolation, I just realized you remind me a lot of the boy I like."

Phantom finally flipped back around, feet touching the ground, and leaned forward. "Really?"

"Yeah. Who knows, if you were still alive, you might have had a chance."

Phantom laughed. The echo in his voice made it deeper than Danny's, but it had the same charm. It was the kind of laugh that warmed the air and begged anyone within earshot to join in. Paulina indulged herself with a few soft giggles.

"Thanks for breaking my heart," Phantom said.

"Any time."

—

Monday morning, Danny arrived at school twenty minutes earlier than usual, which meant there were only ten minutes before the bell. He planted himself by the door and waited there, lurking in the shadow of the entryway.

"You look like a creep," Tucker said. He had his nose to his phone and hadn't looked up the whole time Danny had been there.

"Shut up, you don't know that," Danny said.

"No." Sam, seated on the cement wall, leaned forward and flicked Danny's bangs. "But I do. Stop being so edgy."

"I'm not being edgy! I'm waiting for a girl!"

"Okay, Mr. Brooding."

"I'm not," Danny said, brooding.

Paulina hadn't arrived at school yet. As soon as Danny got there, he flew all throughout the halls, invisible, searching for her. Anxious he might miss her, he refused to move from his spot by the door until either the bell rang, or Paulina showed up, whichever came first. He really hoped Paulina came first. If the bell rang before she arrived, if he missed his chance to talk to her now, all his confidence would wither away.

"You're being ridiculous," Sam said.

"You don't know what I'm thinking," Danny said.

"Your face is so easy to read."

"Why do you care, anyway?" Danny spun around and glared at her. "You hate Paulina, right? You looked pretty damn mad at me when you only thought we went out."

"Danny–"

"I don't want to hear it, Sam. Just go inside. I can wait on my own." Turning his back on her, he crossed his arms and went back to watching the sidewalk.

Sam clenched her jaw. "Fine," she ground out, hopping off the wall. Shoving past Danny, she headed inside.

"Dude. That was kind of harsh," Tucker said.

Danny pressed his lips together, refusing to budge. Sam didn't have any business getting annoyed at him for liking a Paulina. He could like whoever he wanted. If Sam didn't agree, that was her problem.

"Good luck, man. I hope it goes well." Tucker clapped Danny on the shoulder, exaggerating the gesture so there was lots of warning before he made contact.

"Thanks," Danny muttered. Once Tucker disappeared through the doors, Danny moved to the top step, sitting down with his arms draped over his knees. None of his peers spared him a single glance as they headed inside. For once, it was oddly calming, settling his nerves. No one would be around to see him make a fool of himself in front of the prettiest girl in school. Again.

Hopefully, this time, his pants will at least stay on.

Two minutes before the bell, Paulina finally appeared. A navy car pulled up to the curb outside the school, Paulina climbing out of the passenger door with her pink backpack over her shoulders. Danny stood and waved as the car pulled away, catching her eye. Paulina's steps faltered, and she didn't smile or wave back, but she kept walking forward, only stopping once she was on the step below him.

"I'm sorry," Danny said.

"I know." Paulina shuffled her feet, grip tightening around the straps of her backpack. "Phantom talked to me."

Danny bit his lip, trying to fight back the heat rising in his cheeks as he remembered yesterday's conversation. Learning that Paulina liked him was the last thing he expected to get out of that talk. At least he believed she liked him. Maybe he misunderstood. In fact, he probably did. Why would Paulina like him of all people? Fenton had nothing on Phantom. That was his main goal in human form, to differentiate himself from his ghost half as much as possible.

Oh, god, this was a horrible idea. He should just go inside and forget about his crush.

"The bell is gonna go in, like, less than a minute. Is there a reason you're making me stand out here?" Paulina asked. Thankfully, she sounded more amused than annoyed, but she had a point. Danny didn’t want to be late on the first day he got to school on time in months.

"Will you go out with me?" he asked. "Or at least on a date. I mean, everybody already thought we dated, so I might as well get one date out of it."

A second later, he realized how bad that sounded and rushed to correct himself. "I mean! That's not why I want to go out with you! I was trying to be funny. Sorry, that was stupid. I really like you, Paulina. You're pretty, and you're a lot smarter than people think, and I really like being around you."

He couldn't bear to look up, choosing instead to stare down at his sneakers while wringing his hands. Paulina's smaller, smoother hand edged into his vision. She didn't touch him—something he was thankful for—but flicked her finger up, silently asking him to raise his head. He did.

Paulina smiled, bittersweet, and said, "No."

Danny's heart cracked.

"I like you, Danny, but I don't really know you. It's not bad, it just means I'm not ready to date you right now," Paulina said.

"That hasn't stopped you from going out with guys before." Danny regretted the words as soon as they were out of his mouth.

Paulina's eyes widened, her lips falling open. She ground her teeth, face screwing up as she leaned away from him. For a moment, he thought she was going to hit him, but she did something much worse than that. Paulina burst into tears.

"I take it back. I hate you, Danny!" she shouted, shoving him aside. Danny stumbled into the concrete rail as she stormed past him. It was just like last time, but so much worse. Why did he keep screwing things up?

Danny shook his head, pushing off the wall. This time, he wouldn’t just let her go.

"Paulina, wait!" Lurching forward, he grabbed her wrist just as she opened the door, pulling her back before she could go through. The sharp call of the warning bell rang out, but it was soon silenced as the door swung shut, leaving Danny and Paulina in silence.

"I'm sorry. That was stupid. I don't know why I said it," Danny said. He squeezed her hand. "Please don't go."

Paulina's gaze dipped to their clasped hands. Could she see the growing panic in Danny's eyes? Already, a crawling sensation was spreading up his hand. He wanted to let go. He needed to let go. But he refused to do it until he knew Paulina would hear him out.

"Why should I listen to you?" she asked.

"Because I'm an idiot. I really don't know why I said that. Well, maybe I do." Danny let her hand go. When she didn't immediately leave, he kept going. " It just... it took a lot of guts for me to ask you out, and of course that doesn’t mean you have to say yes. But you said it yourself; you like me too. Isn't the whole point of dating to get to know the person?"

"How many dates do you think I've been on?"

"Uh..." Thrown by the questioned, Danny floundered, trying to come up with a number. "At least ten."

Paulina's eyes narrowed. "Let me guess, one for homecoming, the others for when I was possessed? Or overshadowed, whatever it's called."

"Yeah."

"Well, that's nine more dates then I ever remember being on." Paulina crossed her arms, glaring down at Danny. Now that they were on even footing, she was taller than him by an inch. "It looks like you don't know me that well either. You judged me because of how much I'm flirted with. I don't want to date someone who would do something like that without hearing my side of things first. No matter how much I like them."

Ashamed, Danny lowered his head. Paulina was right. He took what he saw and made a snap judgement about her without even asking her about it. He thought he was better than that, better than those guys who trailed after her. But he wasn't. He was just bad in a different way.

"You're right," he said quietly, hugging himself. "I'm sorry. That wasn't fair. Do you at least... could we hang out as friends, then?"

Finally, she graced him with a genuine smile.

—

Danny slunk into history class three minutes after the bell, shooting Lancer a weak grin. All he got was a head shake and a resigned smile in return, which meant Lancer was in a good mood that day. Taking his seat, Danny stuffed his backpack under his seat and settled in as Lancer started talking about the essays they drafted last week.

"So," Tucker whispered. "How'd it go?"

Danny sank down in his seat, leaning toward Tucker without looking too obvious, and whispered back, "It went okay, I think. I kind of made her cry, but then I made it better?"

"Dude. That's not how to ask out a girl."

"Shut up, I know! She didn’t say yes, anyway."

"Oh. Bummer."

Lancer started down the aisles, handing everyone's essay drafts back, which they had submitted for editing. Danny and Tucker fell silent as he passed by. Lancer handed Danny his essay while smiling approvingly. Danny's eyes widened. He glanced down at his paper, excitement filling him, and had to hold back a cry of victory when he saw his tentative grade. A solid B! If he played this right, he could get his first A in months. Today may have had a rocky start, but it was turning out pretty good.

Lancer finished handing out the essays and went to stand at the front of the classroom. He clapped his hands together. "Please get together into groups for peer editing. Your final drafts are due in three days, so use your time wisely."

Desks screeched as everyone started moving, shoving their seats together to sit by their friends. Tucker, without getting out of his desk, shuffled toward Danny, turning so they were perpendicular. Sam, coming up from the front of the classroom, took the newly vacated desk in front of Danny and turned it around to face his. Slapping her essay down on the table, she dropped into the seat, crossing her arms and legs, and glared at Danny. He glared right back.

"We're gonna hang out as friends first," Danny said to Tucker.

Tucker grinned. "Less of a bummer."

"Not worried I'll get mad if you talk about her in front of me?" Sam asked, her voice cold.

"You can do whatever you want, Sam," Danny said.

Sam's eyes hardened. "Stop being so difficult, Danny! I'm just trying to keep you from getting hurt. You've seen how Paulina is. She likes to toy with people, then toss them away. I told you what she said at homecoming. She was just using you to get back at me."

"Oh, come on, grow up. This isn’t about you. This has nothing to do with you. I like her, she likes me. Just let me be happy, will you?" Danny raised his hand, rising out of his seat. "Mr. Lancer, I'm going to the bathroom."

Without waiting for an answer, he left the room. Ducking into the closest bathroom, he transformed and shot out of the school. There had to be a ghost wreaking havoc somewhere for him to vent his frustration on. Maybe, if he was lucky, he could get the Box Ghost back for injuring him last week. Just as Danny thought, the cut ended up scarring. Thankfully, the one on his face hadn't, healing with barely a trace a few days after he got it.

Danny circled the school thinking. Immediately rushing out of the room had been a little hasty, but he wanted one moment where Sam didn't rag on him for liking Paulina. If Sam was going to act like that any time he mentioned Paulina, he couldn't be around her right now.

The ridiculousness of the situation made him laugh bitterly. He never thought he would fight with Sam about a girl.

—

Sam and Tucker sat in strained silence after Danny left. Tucker, rightfully assuming Danny wouldn't come back any time soon, grabbed Danny's essay and backpack, pulling them over to his desk.

"So..." Tucker said.

Sam snatched up her own essay, busying herself by flipping through it. "I don't want to hear it."

"Are you jealous?"

"Did you not hear anything I said?" Sam asked without looking up.

Tucker rested his chin on his hand, staring at Sam. All three of them had known each other for a long time, although Tucker and Danny had been friends longer. Over the years, they'd had their spats, but that was usually just Tucker and Sam, who had a lot of conflicting opinions. Even then, they limited themselves to heated but still friendly debates. They had never really been mad at each other.

Tucker didn't think their friendship would end over something like this, but he also didn't like that they were fighting. He wanted to supported Danny, and he wanted to understand Sam, too.

"Yeah, I heard you," Tucker nodded, "and I don't actually think you're jealous."

Sam finally put her essay down. "Then why even ask?"

"To see your reaction." Tucker met Sam's glare with a bright smile. "I think whatever your problem is with Paulina, it's got nothing to do with Danny. And it's got nothing to do with principles. You're not the kind of person who would hate other girls just because they like to feel pretty. Especially not with how much you care about your own appearance."

Sam huffed but didn't argue.

"I also think that you and Paulina should work things out. Not for Danny, but for yourself."

Sam pressed her lips together in a firm line, eying Tucker blankly. After a brief pause, she shook her head and sighed. "It truly is a sad day when you're the most mature out of the three of us."

"Wow, rude."

"I'm not making any promises. I've got a right to be mad at Paulina for what she's done. But... I'll think about it. For me, not anybody else."

"That's all I ask. Now give me your essay, we're supposed to be doing group work. Danny can suffer for skipping class when he didn't need to. I'll look at his tonight."

Sam rolled her eyes. Passing her essay over, she grabbed Tucker's, then snatched Danny's off Tucker's desk. "Please. If you touch his essay, I bet his grade will go down."

"I take back all of the advice I just gave you. You don't deserve it. Give it back," Tucker said, holding his hand out and beckoning.

"Too late, I've been thoroughly advised."

"Rude."

—

Paulina prided herself in have a clean record. She got good grades, participated in school activities, and, for the most part, respected the teachers that actually deserved it. But she still ended up in detention with Wednesday afternoon. Paulina found herself alone with Danny in the library after school. Technically, there was a teacher watching over them, but Tetslaff had disappeared into the librarian's office some time ago and hadn't re-emerged. She was certainly the best teacher to get for detention.

Paulina used the chair beside her as a footrest and had her sketchbook balanced on her knees while she worked on her art project. Danny, sitting across from her, hunched over an essay. He sported a black eye and a cut lip, his hair more mussed than usual. The hoodie he wore was too long for him, but still slim.

"Is that your sister's sweater?" Paulina asked. The burgundy fabric paired with teal hoodie strings looked like something Jazz would wear.

Danny's cheeks coloured and he looked up. "Yeah. I borrowed it from her locker this morning."

Paulina giggled.

"Hey, does this count as us hanging out?" he asked, gesturing to the library at large. "I mean, it's detention, but..."

"I don't see why not."

"Cool." Danny lowered his voice, leaned forward, and gruffly asked. "What are you in for?"

"Indecent exposure. My shoulders are criminally offensive." Paulina tugged on the collar of her gym shirt, showing the spaghetti straps of her tank top underneath. "Did you get caught fighting behind the school or something?"

Danny laughed, throwing his head back. "Haven't you heard? I'm a truant, a nonattender. Ishiyama actually used those words."

"Everybody already knows that."

"First of all, ouch. Second of all, yeah. But I skipped English on Monday and I was late for school yesterday and today. Ishiyama's finally threatening me with suspension," Danny said. Essay forgotten, he folded his arms on the table and rested his cheek on the crook of his elbow. "Jazz convinced her not to go through with it, though. Something about how making me miss school won't fix my problem with missing school."

Paulina snorted. Danny burst out laughing, making her squawk with embarrassment. She clapped a hand over her mouth. "You didn't hear that!"

Danny smirked at her. "Pretty sure I did."

"No you didn't!"

"Nah, I think I did. Don't worry, it's cute."

"I swear, if you tell anyone that I snort laughed, I am going to end you, Fenton."

"You wouldn't dare. You like me too much."

"No talking!" Tetslaff's shout cut off their banter. She leaned out of the librarian's office, shooting them a stern glare, and made a zipping motion over her lips. She pointed at her eyes, pointed at them, then disappeared back through the door.

Paulina and Danny glanced at each other. The moment their eyes met, they broke down into muffled laughter, pressing their faces into their arms to try and stay quiet.

"What do you think she's doing in there?" Danny whispered.

"Push-ups. Or squats," Paulina said. "I've seen her doing them in her own office during gym class."

"I think she's got thicker arms than my dad. I'm honestly impressed. Good for her."

The sincerity in Danny's tone made Pauline smile. She always admired strong women. Even if she didn't like Tetslaff sometimes, it was hard not to be impressed by her physique. Buff and burly wasn't Paulina's thing, but anyone who could pull it off had her respect.

They spend the next few minutes working diligently on their homework. Paulina was nearly done with her sketch. If she finished today, she could submit it to her teacher for critique tomorrow. Hopefully getting feedback wouldn't take too long. She wanted to star painting it right away, already deciding to use watercolours.

Tapping her chin with her pencil, she looked away from her sketchbook and watched Danny. His black eye looked like it hurt. Red around his eye, fading to a dark, almost black purple. It was swollen, but not shut. Just enough that it looked like he was squinting.

Paulina hummed. She had a hard time picturing Danny completely free of injuries. Going back to her sketch, she made a slight adjustment.

"What are you drawing?" Danny asked. He pulled himself halfway onto the table, trying to see the sketchbook.

"Hey, no peeking before it's done!" Paulina said, holding the book to her chest.

"So you were gonna show me?"

Paulina bit her lip. "Maybe."

"Can I see it now?"

She glanced down at her sketch, then up at Danny, and down again. After a few seconds of internal debating—which was more for show than anything—she dropped her sketchbook on the table and pushed it across. Danny grabbed it and eagerly took in the drawing. Paulina wanted to hide her face as his eyes widened and his mouth fell open.

The project was to draw the future. Paulina knew Dash was going for some sci-fi world with tall, gleaming buildings and flying cars. Star chose an apocalyptic wasteland. Kwan, ever the optimist, wanted to draw a full, green world. They were great ideas, but the project had no set restrictions, so Paulina went a different route.

She drew Danny. At least, how she pictured Danny after high school, after college, when he was grown up. In space, wearing a sleek astronaut suit. She gave him a stronger chin and jawline, to age him, but kept the wondrous grin that radiated innocent delight.

Danny stared at the sketch for a long time, his smile stretching into the same grin, before passing it back. "It's really good."

Paulina, too embarrassed, to speak, nodded in thanks. She hoped he didn't notice the black eye she had added to the drawing moments prior. Eager to move the conversation along, she asked, "What are you working on?"

"History essay. It's due tomorrow, but Lancer let us hand in drafts first, so I'm just editing it now." Danny lifted his essay, showing off the red pen marks all over the page.

"Huh. He's been doing that a lot more," Paulina said. She couldn't pinpoint when it started, but Lancer let students submit drafts in almost all his courses now.

"Yeah. Would have been nice if he did that from the start, but I got lucky. I was really close to failing history before he started doing this. It's pretty great."

"You know what really helps you pass your classes? Stop skipping them and actually do your homework," Paulina deadpanned. She could never hand in an unfinished assignment, much less skip class. How Danny did it without breaking down in a nervous fit, she had no idea.

Danny offered her a strained smile. "Ha, if only." He held her gaze for a few seconds before letting his eyes fall. Ducking his head, he folded his hands over his face. He probably meant to appear occupied with his essay, but his shaky breaths ruined the façade.

Paulina frowned. Stretching across the table, she tapped his hand, a light touch to grab his attention. Danny raised his head slightly and peered at her from behind his intertwined fingers. It was hard to meet his eyes. Something pitiful lurked in his gaze, a shadow of resignation dragging him down. It startled Paulina with its frailty.

A week ago, she never would have imagined finding such a self-deprecating glint in Danny's eyes. Despite how much she watched him, she really didn't know a lot about him, not until he sent that senior, Keith, running. But even after that, she couldn't picture it. She had seen Danny angry, embarrassed, happy, nervous. Not once had it crossed her mind that Danny could be brought so low by such powerful self-doubt.

Even now, seeing it for herself, it felt so off. Like it didn't belong in his eyes, because it didn't. Danny was supposed to be the nervous, smiling boy kicking rocks down the sidewalk.

"Danny... why do you skip school so much?" she asked.

He tensed, nails digging into the back of his hands, and glanced away.

"Is it related to you getting hurt all the time?" Paulina wanted to reach out and touch his cheek, just below the bruise, but held herself back. She didn't want to make Danny uncomfortable.

"Maybe," he whispered. Leaning back, he pulled the hood of Jazz's sweater up, tugging on the strings. As the they tightened, the hood's opening cinched together, squishing Danny's hair flat. "It's not that I don't want to tell you," he continued. "It's just... personal. And I can guarantee it's not anything you think it is."

"Can you?"

"Pinky swear." Danny stretched out, extending his pinky toward her.

Paulina wasn't satisfied, but she'd take. "Pinky swear." Meeting Danny in the middle of the table, she hooked her pinky around his and they shook on it.

—

You | yesterday 4:04 pm hey

Delete This Number | yesterday 6:22 pm ... you still have my number?

You | yesterday 6:22 pm i've been meaning to delete it it took you two hours to say that

Delete This Number | yesterday 6:26 pm Sure. You've been meaning to for almost two years. And some of us aren't attached to our phones.

You | yesterday 6:27 pm that's hilarious coming from you

Delete This Number | yesterday 6:31 pm It's Thursday. Cheerleading practice, duh.

You | yesterday 6:31 pm because i'm gonna remember that

Delete This Number | yesterday 6:31 pm Whatever. What do you want?

You | yesterday 6:57 pm we need to talk

Delete This Number | yesterday 6:58 pm Now who's taking forever?

You | yesterday 6:58 pm shut up i've got better stuff to do but constantly being mad at you is exhausting

Delete This Number | yesterday 6:58 pm Oh, no. Poor you.

You | yesterday 6:59 pm you know what this was a stupid idea whatever i don't care

Delete This Number | yesterday 7:09 pm I'll meet you before school tomorrow.

Sam scowled at her messages, wondering if this really was a good idea. She had spent the rest of Wednesday and most of Thursday considering Tucker's words. In all that time, she couldn't think of a solid argument against his advice. She hated it. But she wasn't stubborn enough to ignore it regardless, so as soon as she got home on Thursday, she gave in and messaged Paulina.

Sam wanted to work it out through text, so they wouldn't have to talk in person. Of course Paulina, being Paulina, had to make it an awkward, horrible, definitely-going-to-go-wrong face-to-face conversation.

"'Before school.' When before school? You couldn't say a damn time?" Sam muttered. She wasn't stupid enough to think the conversation would be short and sweet, but pacing in front of the school a full hour before the first bell made her feel like an idiot. It wouldn't surprise her if Paulina didn't even show. She should have just stayed home.

"This is stupid," she said.

"And yet you're still here."

Sam—who was not startled, merely mildly surprised—whirled around, instinctively raising her arms in defence.

Paulina gave Sam's bony fists an unimpressed stare. "Oh, please."

"I could take you."

"You're not worth the time." Paulina made a show of checking her nails, humming in disinterest. "If all you wanted was to threaten me, then I'll be going now." She turned toward the school, walking up the sidewalk.

Sam squeezed her eyes shut, clenching her fists. Before she could lose her nerve, she shouted, "Why did you stand me up?"

The sound of Paulina's footsteps stopped. Opening one eye to peek out, Sam saw Paulina frozen a few steps away from her. She was curled inward, fingers clenched around the fabric of her skirt. She took a deep breath, shoulders rising. As she let it out, she straightened up, raising her head and pushing her shoulders back, hands relaxing at her sides. By the time Paulina turned around to face Sam, she was perfectly composed.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Paulina said.

Sam gritted her teeth. Taking a step forward, she jabbed at Paulina. "You. Stood. Me. Up. In middle school."

"Sorry, not ringing any bells," Paulina said flippantly.

"The summer Danny and Tucker went to that stupid boys camp." Sam made a dismissive gesture.

"Nope."

"Damn it, Paulina! I'm trying to have a real conversation with you here! I'm tired. I'm tired of hating you. And I am so, so tired of being heartbroken when I don't even like you anymore!" Sam scrubbed her eyes. Stupid body crying without her permission. The last thing she wanted to do in front of Paulina now was cry. "I don't even know why I'm trying."

"Why are you always like this?" Paulina shouted. Her voice was thick and watery. Looking up, Sam saw she was crying, too. Fat tears rolled down her cheeks, smudging her makeup. "Why couldn't you just pretend it never happened?"

"Because I liked you!"

Paulina marched forward and grabbed Sam's wrist. "You want me to say it? Fine! I tricked you. I mislead you. I got pretty and loved and suddenly I was obligated to love everybody back. But you were supposed to be different!"

Sam ripped her hand out of Paulina's grip. "I was different!"

"Why? Because you were a girl? Newsflash, you weren't the only girl who liked me."

"Oh, poor miss popular. Thirteen years old and already boys and girls were throwing themselves at your feet. What a sad, woeful existence for you, huh?"

Paulina screamed wordlessly. Her hands shook. She turned, stomping up the path, then pivoted and came right back. "You know that's not what it was like. I told you. I told you so much."

"You told me you liked me!"

"And I lied!" Paulina bellowed.

They stood almost nose to nose, shoulders heaving, red-faced as they panted. Sam was suddenly very annoyed that Paulina had screamed first. Right now, screaming was all she wanted to do, but doing it second felt cheap.

"You, Paulina Sanchez, are a bitch," Sam spat.

"And you're pathetic."

Sam's gaze jumped all over Paulina's face, taking in her streaked mascara, her blush that was thoroughly ruined, her smudged eyeshadow. Sam probably didn't look much different, in that moment.

"I liked you. I really liked you. And you made me think you liked me, too." Sam's voice fell, going quiet at the end. She couldn't stand seeing Paulina's face. Paulina wasn't allowed to look heartbroken, not after what she did.

"That whole summer, you made me feel special." Sam struggled to keep her voice steady. "And it's so stupid, right? We were thirteen. We're barely older than that now. All of this will probably seem so stupid when we're older. Hell, it already does, considering the kind of stuff I've been through. But that doesn't stop it from hurting."

"You never told Danny or Tucker." The fight had gone out of Paulina's voice.

"No, I didn't. I didn't want to be another Sanchez reject." Sam spat the words bitterly. "But it didn't matter if they knew or not. You and I, we knew." She hugged herself. Being exposed like this was her worst nightmare. She wanted to go back to being the strong, loud, and proud Manson girl she always was. Not this heartbroken shell of someone she used to be. "Do you remember what we were supposed to do?"

Paulina worried her lip and said nothing.

"The beach. I liked it best at night, when the sand was cold and the ocean was back, and you told me you wanted to see it. I had to beg my mom to let me go out on my own so late. I waited for you for three hours." It had been the coldest, loneliest three hours in Sam's life at that point. By now, that top spot belonged to the hours waiting for Danny as he fought Pariah Dark. It made being stood up seem so trivial, but that didn't make it hurt any less.

Sam squeezed her phone. "Do you remember what your text said?"

Paulina's gaze dropped to the sidewalk. That was all the answer Sam needed.

"You said you were tired." Sam laughed. It sounded bitter and fragile, even to her ears. "You said you were tired of me following you around everywhere, and you said you didn't have time for a friend like me."

"Oh."

"Which brings me back to my original question. Why did you do it?"

Shame poured from Paulina, but it didn't fill Sam with the righteous vindication she always thought it would. It just made her sad. They could have been friends. If Paulina had just been honest with her from the start, Sam would have understood. Instead, they wasted two years hating each other, leaving their old wounds to fester and spoil, letting foolish mistakes ruin what could have been a great bond.

"I don't know," Paulina said.

"That's not a real answer."

"Like hell it isn't! I don't know, okay? I don't know why I did it. I wasn't sure how I felt about boys, I didn't even know I was allowed to like girls, and it was just too much. You were too much." Paulina toyed with her fingers, intertwining them and twisting them, an unusual display of nerves. "You were so certain about yourself, and I wasn't certain about anything. I just couldn't handle it, and the only solution I saw was to pretend it all never happened and move on."

"I want to call you a coward," Sam said. Paulina didn't protest, which was telling enough. It would be easy. Four simple words: you are a coward. But she couldn't do it. "You were a kid. And I was a kid. And we're still kids. I can't... I can't be mad at you for that. It still hurts, but I get it."

"You sound a lot like Danny, you know."

"Really?" Sam tipped her chin up. "How so?"

"He said something like that. Well, not really. But he said I was acting too grown up when I shouldn't be." Paulina wiped her face with the heel of her palm. It did nothing to improve her appearance, only smudging her makeup more.

"It's so annoying when he's right, isn't it?" Sam smiled.

Paulina smiled back. She laughed and nodded, the last few tears falling from her eyes. Hearing her laugh, Sam felt a weight lift off her. A great aching burden she had been carrying for two years suddenly disappeared, beaten back by that simple sound. She didn't like Paulina anymore, not like that, but Sam had always missed her.

She checked the time on her phone. "The first bus should get here in a couple minutes. Come on, you're a mess, and I've got some face wipes in my locker."

"Not like you look any better," Paulina pointed out.

"Maybe not. But I feel better," Sam said.

"Yeah. So do I."

They walked up the sidewalk, a yawning space between them, but it would close in time. Sam could feel it.

—

Paulina had only been to the Manson household a handful of times during the summer she and Sam almost dated. It was just as grand as she remembered. The Mansons were rich and extravagant and they liked to show it. Sam's understated style made it so easy to forget she came from money. Lots and lots of money.

"And she has a bowling alley!" Tucker said. For the past ten minutes, he had been regaling Paulina with the wonders of the house.

They sat in the plush armchairs of the Manson's basement theatre, the blank TV ahead of them. Sam and Danny were upstairs waiting for the pizza to arrive, leaving them alone. Paulina wasn't sure how she felt about that. Out of the trio of close-knit friends, Tucker was the only one she had never spent any one-on-one time with. He reminded her of Dash in too many ways, hitting on any girl within his sight.

Really, it was only the one similarity, but for Paulina, it was bad enough that she didn't like Tucker all that much. At least he had the brains to stop pursuing a girl the moment she said no. And, it seemed, he no longer had any interest in her.

"I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few secret passages in this place. It's just that big," Tucker said.

"There are," Paulina said.

"Really?" Tucker leapt up, bracing himself on the armrest, bouncing on his knees as he grinned at her. "Wait." His smile fell and his eyes narrowed. "How would you know?"

"Sam and I had a forbidden romance in middle school that ended up breaking her heart and ruining our potential friendship forever," Paulina said.

Tucker's eyes widened. He burst out laughing. "That's a good one!"

"Isn't it?" Paulina smiled.

"But really. You guys are square or whatever?" Tucker asked. "I was really surprised when Sam suggested we all hang out."

Paulina's first instinct was to snap that it wasn't any of his business. She resisted the urge, just barely, and instead said, "We're getting there."

It was shockingly easy to stop hating Sam, although maybe that shouldn't have been surprising. The only reason she hated Sam in the first place was because Sam hated her. And Sam didn't hate her anymore, never had. It was the strangest, most liberating feeling. She couldn't believe it had been that easy. Sort of easy. The crying hadn't been fun.

"Cool." Tucker's expression turned serious "Danny's my best friend, you know. He really likes you. If you do something that hurts him, and I mean really hurts him, I can mess you up."

"You have a D in gym class."

"But I've got an A in hacking."

"That's not a class."

"Stop ruining my threat! I'm trying to be intimidating, damn it!"

"I know, and I don't want to hurt Danny. But you should remember that sometimes people can hurt each other without meaning to. The only thing you can do then is make up or move on," Paulina said.

Tucker groaned. "Ugh, you're too mature, stop it."

Perhaps Tucker wasn't as bad as Paulina thought he was.

Loud, clunking steps echoed down the stairs. Sam emerged through the door, her heavy boots pounding on the carpet, holding four plates and four cups. Danny trailed after her, carrying three pizzas boxes in one hand and two large bottles of soda under his other arm.

"Pizza!" Danny announced, hoisting the boxes over his head.

"Do you need help with that?" Paulina asked, eyeing how he balanced the pizzas on the tips of his fingers.

"Nah, I'm good," he said. He set down the pizzas and soda on a nearby table without any hassle. "So, scale of ten, how intimidating was Tucker?"

Paulina glanced at Tucker, who was making an aggressive silencing motion toward Danny. "Oh my god. You totally told them both to go upstairs so you could give me the best friend talk, didn't you?"

"Dude! How could you betray me like that?" Tucker said.

Danny's grin held no remorse. "First, I opened my mouth. And then I said words. Scale of ten?"

"If ten's the best?" Paulina hummed as she thought about her answer. "I'm gonna say three."

"Oh, come on, it was a five at least," Tucker said.

"Hey, I gave you an extra two for the hacking thing. That's at least a valid threat."

"It was gonna be one?"

Paulina ignored Tucker's lamenting wail. Getting up, she joined Danny at the table, helping him set out the pizza boxes, flipping up the lid of each one. Meat lovers, ham and pineapple, and a veggie pizza with no cheese.

"What's with this one?" Paulina asked, pointing to the last pizza.

"It's vegan," Danny explained. "For Sam. Every Saturday we order our favourite pizzas and watch bad movies."

"And who's favourite is the pineapple?"

"I think you know."

"Gross."

"It's an underrated topping! Try it, maybe you'll like it." Danny grabbed a slice and held it out.

"Ew, no thank you," Paulina said.

"Come on." Danny leaned forward, slowly bringing the slice closer to her face.

Paulina laughed, shaking her head. "No, Danny, stop!"

"Hey, lovebirds!" Sam shouted.

"We're not– oh wait. Ha. Wrong person" Danny grinned sheepishly while everyone chuckled at his expense. "Yeah, Sam?"

"Help me with the chairs?"

"Sure." Danny stuffed the pizza slice in his mouth, leaving half of it dangling out as he jogged over to the chairs.

Hovering by the tables, she marvelled at Danny, wondering why on Earth she liked him in the first place. The pizza slices in his mouth slapped against his chin, grease dripping down the crust as he bounced around Sam and Tucker. It wasn't the most attractive image, but Paulina smiled at it anyway.

Danny, making slow progress, bumped the armchairs along with his hip, putting in the absolute minimal amount of effort.

"Danny, can you hurry up?" Sam huffed, hand on her hip.

Danny flopped onto the chair he had been pushing, legs draped over the armrest. "How about no?"

Sam reached out, fingers poised to flick Danny in the forehead. But, to Paulina's surprise, all she did was flick Danny's fringe. Danny responded by swatting in the general vicinity of her hand, missing by miles.

Paulina cocked her head and watched closer.

Tucker leaned over the back of the armchair, feet in the air, balancing on his gut. He wiggled his fingers over Danny, the universal threat for an impending tickle, but in the end, he just plucked at Danny's shirt in a mildly annoying manner.

"Okay, okay, I'll do it!" Danny rolled off the armchair, landing on his hands with his face inches from the floor. He popped right back to his feet and started pushing the chair again, this time with exaggerated effort. He huffed and puffed, and made his arms tremble as his feet slipped on the carpet.

Sam and Tucker stood back and rolled their eyes.

"Wouldn't it go faster if we all helped?" Paulina asked.

Danny didn't respond, too busy pushing the second armchair closer to the first one, but Sam and Tucker shared a look. A thousand words passed between them in that second, at least that's what it looked like to Paulina. Their mouth's twitched, shoulders lifted, eyebrows quirked. Small, silent gestures that meant to little to Paulina but so much to them.

"The armchairs have built in speakers and a bunch of other stuff. It makes them really heavy," Tucker explained.

"Isn't that more of a reason for us to help?" Paulina asked.

"Uh..."

"Danny's really particular about where we put the chairs. He likes the setup to be just right. Right, Tuck?" Sam said, turning a sickly sweet smile on him.

Tucker nodded vigorously. "Yeah! Yeah. Danny knows exactly where to put the chairs for optimal viewing."

Paulina didn't believe it for a second, but she let it drop anyway. Once Danny finished with the chairs, he dragged a couch that had been leaning against the back wall forward. He lined it up beside the chairs then jumped over the back, landing in the middle. Finally, he finished devouring the pizza slice he held in his mouth. Quite a few of the pineapples had fallen off by that point, littering the floor.

Danny bounced in his seat. "Okay, let's go!"

"Pizza and soda," Sam said as she walked toward Paulina.

Danny scrambled up from the couch and bounded over. "Right."

Everyone grabbed their pizza—Paulina took a slice of each—and their soda and got settled in. Sam and Tucker took the armchairs while Danny and Paulina sat on the couch, close but not quite touching.

"Okay, let's go," Danny said with a grin.

"Yeah, let's go," Tucker echoed.

"This is gonna be so bad."

"So bad."

"I can't believe they made a live-action adaptation for Doomed."

"I'm going to die."

"Come on, Sam, press play!"

"Yeah, Sam. Come on!"

"Maybe if you shut up, I will!" Sam pounced on Tucker, lunging across the space between the two chairs, and shoved him over. Snatching up a pillow from the floor, she tossed it back over her shoulder, hitting Danny in the face. Paulina ducked as the pillow hit him and flipped away, soaring over her head and landing with a soft whump.

Sam was already back in her seat and reaching for the remote by the time Paulina rose up. Paulina scrutinized the small gap between the couch and Sam's armchair, and the more sizeable distance between Sam and Tucker's chairs.

"Huh," she said.

"What?" Danny asked, glancing her way.

"Nothing, it's just..." Paulina trailed off, gaze drifting to the pillow on the floor. "It's nothing. I hope this movie is as bad as you say it is."

Danny beamed. "I hope it's worse."

The opening credits hadn't even finished before Tucker went to grab more pizza. On his way back, he snuck up on Sam, slapping his hands over her eyes. She squawked and smacked his chest in response. The next time Tucker got up, to refill his soda minutes after he'd refilled his plate, he snuck up on Danny. Although Paulina could hardly call it sneaking.

"Danny," Tucker whispered ominously from behind them. He struck the couch right beside Danny's ear, although Danny didn't even flinch, and draped himself over the back.

"Hey, hey, hey. Danny. Hey, Danny," Tucker said.

Danny rolled his eyes and looked over.

Tucker brought his arm around, swinging it wide and slow, and poked Danny in the cheek. "Boop." He grinned like an idiot. Heaving himself off the couch, he quickly scampered back to his seat and went back to watching the movie.

Paulina, on the other hand, watched Danny. He rubbed his cheek where Tucker had touched him, a soft smile on his face. Her eyes dipped to the space between them on the couch, mere centimeters. When his bumped his knee against hers, her eyes snapped back up to his face.

"You sure it's nothing?" Danny asked.

Paulina blanked. It took her a moment to remember what he was referring to, but when she did, she smiled reassuringly. "Yeah, it really is."

Danny shrugged. "Okay." He turned his attention back to the movie.

Paulina tried to do the same, but for the first half, she found herself observing Danny and his friends more. Sam and Tucker were playful and physical with each other, hitting shoulders, poking and prodding, invading each other's personal space at every whim. How they interacted with Danny was completely different. There was hardly any contact, at least not skin to skin. They would throw pillows at him, ruffle his hair, and pluck at his clothes, but not much beyond that.

If they did touch him, they telegraphed their movements to be as visible as possible, as if they were warning him. Paulina, a physically affectionate person herself, silently took note of all this as the evening wore on.

—

Sunday afternoon, the sun beat down from a cloudy sky, a cool breeze raising goosebumps along Paulina's arms. It was her favourite kind of day, when the clouds were light and wispy, casting meagre shadows that made the heat bearable. She loved to paint in her backyard on days like this. She loved it even more when her friends joined her.

"So, are you dating him or not?" Kwan asked.

Sprawled out on his stomach, he picked a dandelion from the pile before him, weaving it into the crown he was making.

Paulina took a moment to finish her brush stroke, adding the famed Fenton Works insignia to the front of Danny's spacesuit in her drawing. "Not yet," she answered.

"Oh, okay."

Star, laying down beside Kwan, rolled onto her back and rested her head on Paulina's thigh. "I can't believe Tucker got to do the best friend speech first. He stole my thunder."

"Trust me, he didn't steal anyone's thunder," Paulina said.

Dash yawned. "I just don't get why you're wasting your time with him." He flicked through the book he was supposed to be reading for English, scanning the page but hardly taking in a single word.

Paulina dropped her watercolour brush into her jar of water and glared at Dash. "Because I like him. He's nice, and funny, and cute. And you need to stop being such an ass to him all the time."

"What? I'm not an ass!" Dash dropped his book. It landed facedown, pages folding against the grass.

Star made a disgruntled noise in the back of her throat. Reaching out, she grabbed the book and smoothed the pages out. "You're totally an ass."

"Am not!"

"When was the last time you went a day without punching someone?"

"Shut up, that doesn't make me an ass!"

"It does," Star and Paulina chorused.

Dash grumbled under his breath. "Whatever. I don't care. You're the one who's wasting your time."

Paulina paused, giving Dash a considering look. They had been friends for a long time, just as long as Danny, Sam, and Tucker had been. Hanging out with Danny and his friends yesterday, Paulina realized something. Her friendship with Dash was severely lacking. Nowadays, they bickered more than they got along. Suddenly, Paulina understood the frustration Sam showed during their argument. She, too, was tired. Tired of Dash being, well, Dash.

"Maybe I am," she said. Kwan and Star gave her matching looks of surprise. "But if I'm wasting my time with anyone, it's you, Dash."

"Hey, whoa, wait. What?" Dash's eyes widened. "What are you talking about?"

Paulina put her painting aside, gently setting it down on the wooden deck behind her, next to her watercolour set. "I think it's really obvious what I'm talking about." She crossed her legs, resting her hands on her knees. "You're mean, Dash."

Dash sputtered. "So what? So are you."

"Yeah, you're right. But I don't want to be anymore."

"So you'd rather be a loser instead of popular?"

"Oh, come on. Are you really this dense, Dash?" Star interjected. She sat up, scooting closer to Paulina. "You think people like you? Sure, you're good at football, and so is Kwan. And Paulina and I are pretty. But no one actually likes us, because all we do is hurt the people who don't like us."

"I'm not ready for this kind of introspection," Kwan whispered.

Dash's face scrunched in confusion. "That doesn't even make sense. If we hurt the people who don't like us, then everyone has to like us. Or else we'll hurt them."

"Kwan," Paulina said.

"Please don't," he said.

"Do you really enjoy bullying people?"

Kwan pursed his lips. He focused on his dandelion crown, touching up a few flowers. Everyone watched him expectantly. After nearly a minute, he caved. "Okay fine, I don't."

Dash had the gall to look shocked, gaping at Kwan in disbelief.

"You're my best friend, Dash, and I didn't want you to stop being my best friend. I didn't want you to be mean either. It's not fun. I mean, sometimes I can get caught up in it, and it sort of feels like fun in the moment, but afterward I just feel awful." Kwan pushed himself up, toying with the crown in his lap. "I wanted to tell you. But I thought you might make fun of me."

"Kwan, I wouldn't–"

"You kicked me out when Paulina dated Danny before."

Dash fell silent.

And Paulina... she hadn't known that. She tried to think back to that week, but the only thing that came to mind were vague recollections of her classes. That memory must have been tied up in her time with Danny, and Kitty removed it. Paulina felt sick.

"That wasn't­– I didn't–" Dash floundered. He couldn't defend himself. Nothing he could say to that would turn him into the good guy. "You can't talk to me like I'm the only one who's ever hurt someone! You're not better than me."

"No, we're not," Star said. "But I think..." She looked to Paulina, then Kwan, who both nodded. "We want to be. And we'll leave you behind if we have to."

Paulina would never be more grateful for Star's bluntness. Her bubbly personality and cheerful voice made her hard to argue against. If Paulina had said those things, Dash would rail and brawl against her, but as it stood, he could only stare at Star, at a loss for words.

Star grabbed Kwan's dandelion crown from his hands and stood. She dropped the crown on Kwan's head, breaking him out of his daze. Blinking, he looked up at her, and rose to join her. As they headed inside, Paulina quickly packed up her watercolours, washing her brush and slipping it back into its plastic sleeve, screwing the cap on her jar of water. Careful not to touch the wet painting, she picked up her notebook.

"It's your choice, Dash." She went inside without looking back.

—

Despite everything Danny had been through since becoming a halfa, the strangest week of his life by far was the week Dash did not touch him. No slaps on the back of the head. No body slams in the middle of the hallway. No punches, no kicks, no being stuffed into the closest open locker. Monday to Friday, Dash didn't even look at Danny. It was incredibly disorienting.

"Maybe he's sick," Danny said at lunch.

"No. He doesn't style his hair when he's sick, because it takes too much effort," Star said.

That was another thing that made this week strange. Paulina, Kwan, and Star had joined Danny and his friends for lunch every day. Up until that point, Danny and Paulina hadn't hung out much at school, and they definitely hadn't hung out with all their friends together.

"How do you even know that?" Tucker asked.

Star grinned. "I know everything."

"Dash also complains nonstop about his hair not looking good because he's too tired to style it when he's sick," Kwan said.

"You're no fun, Kwan."

"I try."

"Try harder," Sam said.

Danny grinned at the banter. Of course he did, he loved banter. But more than that, he liked seeing everyone get along. Thinking it made him feel like a grade-schooler who wanted everyone to be friends, but no one could fault him for that. He did want it. At least, he wanted his and Paulina's friends to be friends, and there was nothing wrong with that. Star and Kwan were pretty cool when they weren't being mean.

A heavy finger prodded Danny's shoulder. He arched away from the touch, grimacing, and twisted to face the source. Dash stood behind him, shuffling from foot to foot, hand outstretched.

Danny waited for the impending beating, because surely that's why Dash was there, but nothing happened. After a long, uncomfortable moment, he hesitantly said, "Hi?"

"Hey," Dash's eyes jumped from person to person as he took in everyone seated at the table. Nervously licking his lips, he glanced away, then back at Danny. "I'm not gonna wail on your or anything anymore. Don't expect me to say sorry, though."

"Um." Danny sent Paulina a questioning stare. She looked right back, smiling innocently. Which meant this whole apology-not-apology reeked of her meddling. Not that Danny was going to complain. "Okay. Fine."

"Good." Dash shuffled his feet again. "Can I..." he trailed off.

On the other side of the table, Star and Kwan scooted apart, making room for him. Dash's shoulders slumped in relief. He hurried around the table, taking the open seat across from Danny. The next minute was spent in silence. Awkward, delicate silence.

Kwan nudged Dash, who quietly hissed "What?" under his breath. Kwan jerked his chin toward Danny. Dash shook his head. Star jabbed him in the side and pointed to Paulina, then Danny. It took all of Danny's will not to laugh at Dash's expense.

"Fine." Dash groaned. "Fenton."

"Yes, Dash?" Danny smiled pleasantly.

"You guys should. Come to the game. Tonight. Or whatever," Dash said haltingly.

Danny choked back a laugh.

"Hey, I'm trying to be sincere here!"

"I know. I know, sorry, it's just." He slapped a hand over his mouth, unable to contain his giggles. "I can't believe you're shy."

"Shut up!"

—

Paulina had gone to plenty of football games. She had to, being a cheerleader and all. All night, she and the other girls stood on the sidelines, cheering the boys on, pumping up the crowd. She loved it. However, tonight was the first time she would rather be up in the stands. With Star cheerleading next to her, and Kwan and Dash out on the field, she never had any friends looking down on the game. They were all right in the action with her. But this time, Danny and his friends were here.

They had never bothered to come to games before. She understood that it didn't interest them that much, but now that they were here, she wanted to be with them. She wanted to make sure they enjoyed it as much as she always did.

Excitement fizzled through the air. Classmates and family buzzing with energy, ready to show their spirit. Drinking it all in was one of the best feelings in the world. She wanted Danny to feel the same spark.

Paulina stood on her toes, peering into the stands, trying to find Danny. There were a lot of people at the game tonight, but he said he'd be easy to find. Once, twice, three times she scanned the seats and couldn't find him.

"He's here," Star said, placing a reassuring hand on Paulina's shoulder.

"I don't see him."

Star leaned around Paulina. Her face lit up. "I do," she said. Pushing Paulina's shoulder, she turned her around.

Danny, Tucker, and Sam stood in the shadows just beyond the floodlights. Tucker had an arm around Danny's shoulder. It was the most physical contact Paulina had seen between them over these past few weeks. Sam stood opposite the boys, gesturing wildly, face red. Her hair was falling out of her ponytail, dirt smudged her cheeks, and there was a tear in her sweater.

"Damn, she looks mad," Star said.

"Yeah." Paulina frowned.

Danny threw his arm out, pointing in the general direction of the cheerleaders. Despite being so far away, she could hear his raised voice. It wasn't clear enough to make out the words, but it was loud. The argument came to an end when Sam shook her head, jabbed Danny's shoulder hard enough to make him stumble, and stomped toward the bleachers.

On her way up the steps, Sam looked down and caught Paulina's eye. Paulina didn't bother hiding that she'd been watching. To her surprise, Sam didn't turn her anger toward Paulina. She just sighed and rolled her eyes, shrugging her shoulder in a what can you do gesture.

Paulina raised an eyebrow, tilting her head toward the boys, who still stood in the shadows.

Sam mouthed, "Being idiots."

Paulina couldn't help but laugh. She waved Sam on, turning her focus back to Danny and Tucker. In the time she looked away, Tucker had taken his arm from Danny's shoulder and stepped back. He said a few quiet words, grinned, then followed Sam.

Danny searched the throng of cheerleaders, easily spotting Paulina, and started over.

Paulina's smile quickly fell when she noticed him favouring his right leg. She ran toward him, meeting him halfway. "Danny, what happened?"

"Ah, it's nothing, really," he said, rubbing his leg. "Got caught in a ghost attack on the way here. Sorry we're late."

"Danny, that's not nothing! That could be serious. You're limping."

"Jammed my leg on something. It hurts now, but it'll be fine later."

"You needed Tucker to help you with a jammed leg?" Paulina asked.

"Uh. Yes?"

"Honestly." Paulina shook her head. "I'm glad you're here. But if you do anything stupid, or if I find out you're more hurt than you say you are, I'm gonna drag you back home myself, got it?"

Danny saluted her. "Got it! Have fun cheering. Good luck." Leaning forward, he kissed her on the cheek before she could react. He scampered up the bleachers, crowing with delight. "See you at half-time!"

Paulina touched her cheek, watching him.

"Do you think he knows he just stole your first kiss?" Star asked.

"It was just a cheek kiss, it doesn't count," Paulina said.

"Spoken like someone who hasn't had her first kiss." Star patted her shoulder and walked away.

Paulina trailed after her, calling out protests as they made their way onto the field for their opening cheer. It didn't count. Not as a whole kiss, at least. Half of one. A third. One quarter!

—

As the whistle went for half-time, Paulina hopped to her feet, waving her pom-poms in the air, screaming and cheering. Casper High was winning, eighteen to six. The team was having a good game so far. She high-fived the players as they came off the field, telling each of them "Great work!" When Kwan and Dash approached, she jumped up to give each of them a hug.

Paulina peered over her shoulder, surveying the bleachers. Danny had been sitting near the top of the bleachers last she saw, but he wasn't there now. "You guys are doing great," she said to Kwan and Dash. Turning back, she found them looking at her in amusement. "What?"

"Hurry up and find your boyfriend," Dash said.

"We're not dating yet. I was very particular about that," Paulina said. "But yes. I will go find him." Her friends giggled. She flipped them off as she walked away, skipping toward the bleacher steps. Chances were, Danny had gone to the bathroom and would be right back. She could stand out of the way until then. She only had to wait a minute before a hand closed around her wrist.

"Danny, did you–" Before she could finish turning, she was yanked back. She cried out. A hand slapped over her mouth, silencing her. Something cold touched her neck, sending shivers up her spine. She struggled and kicked as she was pulled behind the bleachers.

"Hey, stop. Don't scream, okay? I just want to talk. Okay? That's it. Just a talk." Paulina recognized the voice. The hands touching her disappeared and she was shoved forward into the chain-link fence. She spun around, pressing her back against the fence, fingers curling around the metal, and stared at Keith. He held a beer bottle loosely in one hand. His face was flushed, eyes glazed, and he swayed in place.

"I've just got one question. Just one, that's it. That's all I want." He took a step forward and stumbled. Paulina flinched away from him as he careened into the fence. "Hold on, wait. Don't go. 'M sorry."

Grabbing Paulina's shoulder, he pulled her back, bracing his other arm above her head so he had her caged in.

"You said... you said you were goin' out with that scrawny kid, right? Short guy, messy hair." He stuck his hand out, trying to mime Danny's height. He went half a foot too short. "That little dude. Little guy. Tiny guy. Kinda freakishly strong though."

"What about him?" Paulina asked.

"I heard some funny things. Very funny. Very... interesting. I heard you're not dating him."

"Don't believe everything you hear." She pushed off the fence, determined to slip around him, but Keith grabbed her shoulder and shoved her back again.

"See, but the thing is, I didn't just hear it from anybody. I heard it from you. Just now."

Paulina swallowed nervously but refused to be cowed. "So what?"

"I'm just kinda heartbroken, you know? I can't believe you'd lie to me. I think you owe me a chance, don't you?" He hunched over her, rank breath warming her face. Paulina tried to turn away from him, but he grabbed her chin and forced her head up. "Just one," he whispered.

A cry of rage snatched Keith's attention away from Paulina. A small body slammed into him, ripping him away. Wind whipped past Paulina's face, throwing hair in her eyes. She scrambled to brush it aside, staring wide-eyed at Danny crouching over Keith.

"Get the hell away from her you fucking creep!" He grabbed Keith's collar, lifting him, and slammed him down into the ground.

Keith coughed and groaned. "Dude, what the hell. It was a damn kiss."

Danny was nearly half Keith's size, and he was definitely half his weight. He had thin arms, messy clothes, bags under his eyes, and youthful fat in his cheeks. But he loomed over Keith, fists curled in Keith's shirt, feet planted on either side of his waist. Danny snarled, animalistic. A strange inhuman rumbling filled the air, one Paulina didn't hear so much as she felt it in her bones. It filled her head and pressed against her skull.

Fear struck Paulina's heart. Not fear of Danny, but fear for Keith and what Danny was going to do to him. A rather vocal part of her cried out that Keith deserved it, and he absolutely would. But Danny didn't deserve whatever hell there would be to pay once all was said and done.

"Danny, let's just go," Paulina pleaded. The rumbling stopped. It made her head feel empty and disoriented, as if the whole world had suddenly gone quiet, even though she could still hear. the revelry beyond the bleachers.

Danny turned his head, inspecting her over his shoulder. "Are you okay?" Opening his fists, he dropped Keith back to the ground, abandoning him in favour of Paulina. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No." Paulina shook her head. "I'm fine." Mostly. A little shaken up. She just wanted to get out of there.

Behind them, Keith groaned. "What the hell." He rolled onto his stomach and pushed himself onto his hands and knees. Head lolling, he searched the ground, locating his beer bottle, which had gone flying from his hand when Danny tackled him. It was smashed, shards of glass littering the grass, beer turning the dirt to mud. "Hey, you." Keith's voice was oddly calm, but his eyes were still dazed, a jarring combination. His gaze settled on Danny. "I'm gonna kill you."

"Run!" Danny shouted. He grabbed Paulina's hand and charged forward. Keith's arm shot out into their path. With the narrow space between the fence and bleachers, there was no way they could dodge around him without ducking into the maze of beams supporting the benches overhead. But Danny didn't stop. And Paulina didn't try to stop him. She trusted him.

"Close your eyes!" Danny called.

She did. A cool sensation washed over her, just for a moment. Unlike the cold beer bottle against her neck, which unsettled her, this feeling calmed her. Liked the chilled arms of a gentle ghost were wrapped around her. It was gone all to soon, accompanied by Danny's shout that she could open her eyes. When she did, they were clear of the bleachers and heading straight for the school.

Eyes widening in surprise, she glanced over her shoulder. Keith was behind them, swerving across the grass as he gave chase. His steps were uneven, but they were also much longer, and he was quickly gaining on them.

Turning back around, she noticed Danny was taking them toward the front doors.

"No, they're locked!" Paulina shouted, tugging Danny back. He faltered, and she took the lead instead, pulling him along the side of the building. "The gym doors!"

Danny squeezed her hand to show he heard.

"Get back here!" Keith bellowed, right behind them now. Reaching out, he grabbed Paulina's long hair.

She screamed in surprise and pain as her head snapped back and she was yanked to a stop.

"Shit, sorry," Keith mumbled. Before he could say anything else, Danny leapt at him, fist cocked, and punched him in the face. Keith went down hard, crying out and clutching his nose.

Danny shook out his fist, rubbing Keith's blood on his blue shorts, and took Paulina's hand again, helping her to her feet. They charged at the gym doors, throwing them open.

"Girls' locker room," Paulina whispered as loudly as she dared. She didn't think Keith would give chase any time soon, but she didn't want to risk it.

"But that's, that's the girl's locker room!" Danny protested.

"And I'm a girl and I'm saying it's fine!" Paulina shoved him toward the entrance, pushing him down the narrow hall until the changeroom opened up on their right. They finally stopped, panting and leaning against each other.

Paulina panted, clutching a stitch in her side. She ran often, but fleeing from a drunk, rabid senior wasn't quite the same as jogging around the football field for a light warmup. Beside her, Danny grimaced and kneaded his right thigh with his knuckles. Paulina opened her mouth to ask about it, then stopped when she realized something important. With Danny's shoulder pressed against hers, this was the most they had ever touched. She tensed, but said nothing, not wanting to break the moment.

To her disappointment, Danny broke it for her. He stepped away, putting some distance between them, and sat down on the closest bench, fingers digging into his thigh as he gripped it tight.

"Let me just check if we're alone," Paulina said.

Danny nodded.

She walked deeper into the room, peering down the rows. A few lockers were open, and some of her fellow cheerleaders' things littered the benches, but there were no girls inside. Stopping at the last row, by her own locker, she softly called out, "It's clear."

"'Kay. Give me a second."

Paulina raised her eyes brows but didn't question it. Danny wasn't as active as her, so he probably had a worse cramp. Although, now that Paulina thought about it, he hadn't seemed too winded. Rather, he had focused more on his leg. Now worried, she started forward, but Danny chose that moment to come around the corner.

He looked bad. Face pale, a sheen of sweat on his forehead, eyes turned down. He braced himself against the side of the lockers and hobbled forward, his limp far more pronounced than before.

Red spots stood out starkly against the pale colour of his shorts. Paulina thought it was Keith's blood for a moment, until she noticed the red streak on his other leg, in line with Danny's knuckles. That was Keith's blood. The rest wasn't. Paulina's breath caught in her throat.

Danny's head jerked up. He froze when he saw her staring. "Oh. You aren't. Sitting down."

"No, I'm not."

"Huh." Danny stood up straighter and took a step forward. The moment he put too much weight on his injured leg, he crumpled to the floor, hunching over.

"Danny!" Paulina darted forward, reaching out to him.

Danny's hand shot out, stopping her. "Don't touch me!" His fingers twitched. Grabbing his hand, he rubbed his palm and looked away. "Sorry. That was rude. It's just... it was too much. Give me a moment."

Lifting himself off the floor, he folded his good leg underneath him and stretched the other out. He gritted his teeth in pain.

Paulina hovered. She wanted to help, but anything she could think of meant touching him. With her limited options, she decided to give Danny his requested moment, sitting down opposite him. Extending her own legs, she bumped her shoes against his, touching without touching.

Danny shot her a weak, thankful grin and tapped her back.

Guilt curled in her gut. She should have sent him home the second she learned he was injured. No doubt that's what Sam was trying to do at the start of the game. But Sam let Danny stay, and she wasn't the kind of person to back down when it really mattered. Tucker hadn't looked worried, either. Did Danny hide how injured he was from them? It seemed to unlike him.

Her thoughts must have been written across her face, because Danny cracked a grin and said, "Note to self: don't run when you have a bad leg."

"Note to self: don't let Danny be an idiot and abstain from medical assistance," Paulina countered.

"Touché. Would you believe me if I said I really am fine? Or I will be. I would have been if it weren't for all the running. Give me a week and I'll be right back to normal."

"Danny, there's blood on your clothes. Not only do I not believe you, but I should probably be calling an ambulance or something." But she didn't reach for her phone. She didn't move to get up. Despite her words, she did believe him. It made no sense. But for the past three weeks, she had seen Danny sporting fresh bruises and cuts that all disappeared in days. For the past year, she had seen him beaten down and battered, and he always bounced back.

"I can't stop you. Literally." Danny tapped his finger against his injured leg. "But I hope you'll trust me."

Paulina rolled her eyes. Crawling forward, she moved to sit beside him, careful to keep some space between them. "Don't be stupid, of course I trust you. I probably shouldn't, but I do."

"It's my wonderful charm. You just can't help it."

"I highly doubt that's it."

"Okay, ouch. That hurts so much worse than my leg."

Paulina flicked Danny's hair. "You're tougher than that." Bringing one leg up, she rested her chin on her knee and grinned. "That was some tackle. It's going to be much harder to convince me you don't waste your time fighting behind the school."

"Well–" Danny scratched his cheek nervously "–not behind the school."

Paulina's eyebrows shot up. "What?"

"You know that secret I wasn't telling you? I kind of fight ghosts," Danny said. He curled his fingers in his pant legs, knuckles going white. "So, yeah. That's what it is."

Paulina had to wait for her brain to catch up to her ears. Danny fought ghosts. Danny fought ghosts. Danny fought. "You really are a Fenton."

"Huh?" Danny reared away, giving her the most comical look, lips pursed, eyebrows furrowed, nose scrunched.

She laughed, throwing her head back. Remembering a second later they were trying to be quiet, she pressed her mouth against her knee, cheeks puffing out. It took a minute to gather herself together, getting enough breath so she could speak without bursting into a fresh round of giggles. "You wouldn't be much of a Fenton if you didn't fight ghosts. I bet your parents are proud."

"Yeah, about that. They don't know, so you can't tell them."

"You haven't told them?"

"Have you seen my parents? They can be a bit overbearing." Paulina opened her mouth to retort, but Danny raised a finger, silencing her. He continued, "Trust me. I know you've seen them around town and everything—they're kind of hard to miss—but you haven't seen how they are when you're really face-to-face."

"I don't know if I like the sound of that," Paulina said.

"They're not bad. And they mean well. But they're really into the whole 'family ghost hunting' thing. I bet they have a matching jumpsuit stored away for me somewhere." Danny's voice strained at the end. A nervous laugh followed the statement, and Paulina was struck with the realization that Danny was a terrible liar. She was about to call him on it when Danny kept going.

"There's a little more to it. Not the parent thing, the fighting ghosts. I don't think I'm ready to tell you that yet, but I didn't want to lie, either. I hope that's okay." Danny ran a hand through his hair, looking up at Paulina with worried eyes.

"Of course it's fine," Paulina said.

He must have been more anxious than Paulina thought, because the moment she spoke, he slumped, relief washing over him. The crease in his brow smoothed out and the slight frown on his lips disappeared.

"You don't have any equipment," Paulina said, switching topics. "How do you fight?"

The grin Danny gave her was the smuggest thing she had ever seen. "I fistfight them."

Paulina gaped. "You do not!"

"I do! I swear! What, you don't think these fists–" he raised his hands into a boxing pose and jabbed the air "–could take out a full-grown ghost?"

"I don't think they could take out a butterfly."

"What about a butterfly ghost?"

"Now that's just sad."

Danny sniggered. Pain still lingered in his eyes, giving them a glassy sheen, but the colour had returned to his cheeks. His smile was wide and infectious.

Paulina knew there was a secret hidden behind that grin, but she didn't mind as much anymore. The meagre time they had spent together over the last three weeks was hardly enough to know each other deeply. But, sitting there together, long after half-time had ended, Paulina decided she didn't need to know every little thing about him.

She knew she liked him, and he liked her. That was enough for now.

—

Danny's weekend plans were simple. Wake up in bed. Stay there. Running from Keith on Friday had torn the hasty stitches Sam patched his thigh with after Skulker's attack. He knew going to the game when he needed to rest was a dumb idea, but he wanted to see Paulina cheer. Besides, none of them could have predicted Keith cornering Paulina behind the bleachers. Danny had completely forgotten about the guy after their first encounter. He wouldn't forget him again any time soon.

Thinking about last night had him gritting his teeth. Finding Paulina had been pure luck. His ghost sense had gone off before the end of the second quarter and he had to check for threats. Thankfully, it was just a couple mindless animal ghosts, but finding them took so long that the quarter was over by the time he got back. He saw Paulina and Keith when he was flying back to Sam and Tucker.

Danny rubbed his thigh. Skulker managed to cut him deep. The wound throbbed and ached, and he itched to scratch at his bandages. It would be a good few days before he could walk without a limp.

Not for the first time, Danny's stomach rumbled. He only woke up a few hours ago and hadn't bothered to go down for breakfast, or lunch. Yesterday, Jazz had been home to bring him snacks throughout the day, but today she was out with friends. It was a tossup between filling his stomach or resting his leg, and he chose to rest.

Until his phone went off with a text notification.

Stretching out of bed, Danny reached for his phone, quickly unlocking it and checking his messages. He had one from Paulina.

Parrot Potassium | today 2:33 pm If you're okay, meet me at NB at four. Let me know!

"That's just not fair," Danny muttered. He and Paulina had plans Monday after school, but he could hardly pass up the opportunity to spend more time with her. Sitting up slowly, he grimaced at the twinge in his leg. It was bearable but still unpleasant. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. Slowly, he took a few steps across his room. His leg trembled if he put too much weight on it, but short, quick steps were okay.

Turning back to his phone, he sent Paulina a quick message.

You | today 2:35 pm I'll see you there

—

When Danny arrived at the Nasty Burger, he found Paulina waiting for him with their food already in front of her. She had claimed the same booth they sat in during their first visit. The food was the same, too. He slid onto the bench opposite her, tapping his foot against hers under the table.

She tapped back.

"Look what I found outside." Danny dug into his pocket and pulled out a pebble, dropping it onto the table.

Paulina snorted. "I'm pretty sure that's just a random rock."

"Nah, it's clearly ours. Look, it has my eyes." Danny flicked the pebble toward her.

Paulina scrambled to catch it but missed. It tumbled over the edge of the table and landed in her lap. "I wasn't ready," she protested, tossing the pebble back to Danny.

He caught it against his chest. "Sounds like someone's a sore loser."

"I can't believe you'd say that to a girl."

"I'm an equal opportunity taunter." Danny returned the pebble to his and grabbed his soda, taking a drink. "So, what's the occasion?"

"Occasion?"

"Yeah. We were gonna see each other tomorrow anyway."

Paulina pouted. "I needed a reason?"

"Ah, no, I mean. You– um... you're joking, aren't you?" Danny wilted as Paulina's pout morphed into a satisfied smirk.

"Only by half. I actually didn't think you'd come. How's your leg?"

"A lot better today."

Drumming her fingers on the table, Paulina raised an eyebrow. "Liar." She stole Danny's soda out of his hand and sipped it. "Next time, don't strain yourself for me. And I mean it. That doesn't just mean if you're injured, either. If you're tired, if you have homework, if you're just having a bad day." She folded her hands, brushing her thumb over her knuckles.

Danny curled his fingers, digging his nails into his palms. He knew exactly what she was thinking about. It was so frustrating, hating being touched. His family was rather physical with their affection and he used to be the same, but ever since the accident, ever since he started fighting, he just couldn't stand it. One year was all it took to break the boy who loved to hug his friends and family. He had a feeling it would take much longer to fix.

"Hey," Paulina said softly.

Danny blinked, snapping out of his thoughts, and met her eyes.

"You know it's okay, right?"

"It's stupid," Danny said.

"No, it's not."

"You don't even know why I'm like this.

"Do I have to?"

Danny opened his mouth, then closed it. He thought about their interacts over the past week, ever since movie night at Sam's house. As Danny's hate for contact grew, Sam and Tucker's behaviour around him changed. Both were slow processes that happened at the same time. Sam and Tucker learned about his aversion to touch at the same pace as him. They had time to adjust to it. Paulina didn't. But she had made accommodations for him anyway. Just like that, without knowing the reason, without asking for it, she changed. For him.

Under the table, Paulina knocked her foot against his. "Okay?"

"Yeah." Danny smiled.

"Good. Because there are no pity parties allowed at the Nasty Burger. This is a horrible place to have a part of any kind. Have you seen how greasy everything is?" Paulina took her phone from her pocket and started swiping through it. "And I wanted to show you this. You can see the real thing on Monday, because I have to hand it in, but I couldn't wait."

She slid her phone across the table.

Danny picked it up, taking in the picture on the screen. It was her painting of him, completed. "Hey, you changed it." He couldn't remember exactly what the original sketch looked like, but he was certain he wasn't fighting anyone in the first one. In the drawing, he held his fists up, ready to punch or defend. Across from him floated a strange green creature with too many limbs to be human.

"I had to redo it all yesterday, since I had already started painting it. But I really wanted to add that in," Paulina said.

"Am I fighting a ghost or an alien?"

"An alien ghost."

"Cool." Danny took in the rest of the painting. The watercolours were beautiful, galaxies swirling behind him and the ghost alien. Much to his amusement, Paulina had added Jazz's hoodie over his spacesuit.

"I didn't know sweaters were suitable for the vacuum of space," he said.

"It's the fashion of the future. Burgundy is very in, especially in space," Paulina explain.

Danny's grin stretched wider.

The spacesuit itself resembled a Fenton jumpsuit, at least what little he could see of it did, and his helmet was sleek, with a wide visor. Danny thought he could stare at it forever. Paulina, however, had other plans, and soon snatched her phone back.

Danny made a noise of disappointment, reaching out after her.

"I'll text you the picture," she said.

"Good." Danny paused. "You know, you could have done that from the beginning."

"Maybe, but I wanted to see your face when you saw it." Paulina, eyes on her phone, missed Danny's brilliant smile. He was okay with that, taking a moment to watch her. She didn't have much makeup on today, her freckles on full display. She had forgone her usual purple eyeshadow and move lipstick for more natural tones.

Danny didn't know much about makeup, but he thought Paulina looked beautiful no matter what. In his pocket, his phone buzzed.

"Sent!" Paulina said. She looked up and caught him staring. "What? What is it?"

Danny gave her a lopsided grin. "You're pretty."

Paulina turned crimson. "Shut up, I know."

"Good."

"Eat your burger! It's gonna go cold. And don't even think about paying my back this time."

Danny took a massive bite out of the burger, so big his cheeks puffed out as he chewed, and gave Paulina a tight-lipped smile. After swallowing, he asked, "What if I want to pay you back?"

"You can't." Paulina shook her head. "That's not how dates work."

Danny, on his way in for his second bite, froze. He stared at Paulina, who took another long swig of his soda and smiled back. A glob of sauce fell out of the bottom of his burger and landed on his jeans.

"Damn it." Danny hissed, putting his burger aside, and grabbed a napkin, patting at the stain. As he dabbed, he looked back up. "If this is a date," he smiled widely when he said date, "then shouldn't the guy be paying?"

"We can take turns." Paulina passed Danny her own napkins.

He took them, mumbling a quick thanks, and finished wiping up the stain. Crumpling the napkins, he put them aside and turned all his focus on Paulina. "What about the... thing. You know, the secret I'm still hiding?"

"You don't have to tell me, not if you don't want to. Not right now. You were right before. We're not grown up. Maybe we'll keep dating all through high school. Maybe we'll break up in a month. We don't know." Paulina's words didn't fill Danny with confidence, but he didn't interrupt. "We're barely high schoolers and we like each other. That means we're allowed to have fun. It also means we don't have to tell each other absolutely everything."

"I want to," Danny said in a rush. "I really want to." He meant it. Paulina knowing his secret wouldn't be bad. It would probably be great, actually. But not now."

"Not yet," Paulina said, finishing Danny's thought for him.

He nodded.

Swinging her legs onto her bench, Paulina twisted to lean her back against the window. She rested her elbow on the table, chin balanced on her knuckles, and met his stare. For the first time, Paulina really did look her age, wrapped in a comfortable sweater, smiling like nothing else mattered but right now. Danny wanted to stay in that moment forever.

"We're kids," Paulina said. "We've got all the time in the world."

[iheartsunset]

Papa Louie Emery Headcanons (Amii’s PL pre-gen for Utah and Nevada)

(I love Amii’s OC so much and I’m so glad they asked me to write about them! I also got some ideas from @freezeriafan and I love their analyses too!)

@maznanangy @amii

-Emery Young-Freeman (she keeps Freeman just to rub it in her ex’s new wife’s face) is the 42 year old mother (if you can even call her that) of Nevada and Utah. She works as a bitchy office manager for Travel Trout above Ivy, who Emery keeps investigating because she is “very suspicious”. Emery has unfortunately re-emerged back into her kids’ life and now they dread existence. I feel like Emery lives in a small Tastyville house where she is a menace to her neighbors and the townspeople. Utah and Nevada go by the surname “Mahelona” from their paternal grandparents to both honor their heritage and cut off any connection to Emery.

-Emery grew up in an upper middle class family as the oldest of 2 kids. Her brother, Wayne Jewell (Wayne is also a county in Utah), is about 14 years younger and lives in Starlight City with his wife and their 4 sons. Their parents indulged in her difficult behavior and clearly favored her over Wayne, which was probably why she’s so messed up now. Okalani also used to babysit them, so she’s Nevada’s godmother. Emery was head cheerleader and Clark was a football player who was extremely smart. She basically just charmed him into doing all her assignments for her and they got married immediately after graduating. It was no secret to Clark or their daughters that she was cheating on him with multiple men and women as well as her abusing illegal substances. She even dragged Clark into it, and he was so ashamed after a while that he divorced her and made her go with him to Starlight City to get help. They both essentially abandoned their children and forced a then 16 year old Nevada to become the mother figure to Utah. Emery doesn’t really care about her kids at all and her reason for coming back was just to basically terrorize her ex husband who was trying to make up with them.

-She was totally a high school mean girl, not even a charming one like Regina George, she was more like Courtney from Jawbreaker or Marianne from Easy A. She’s also a complete Karen, always complaining, being a hypocrite, and a is a huge pessimist. She lies about the people around her, but is obviously terrible at it. The only redeeming quality about her is that she’s a hard worker and genuinely cares about the company, but that’s it, she’s not even nice or anything. She’s also stubborn, always staying or persisting with something that should be left alone (you probably don’t wanna get too involved with Ivy, I’ll just put that out there). Emery also might be going through a midlife crisis and likes to act like a teenager outside of work, often stealing clothes from her daughters or showing up unannounced to where they are.

-She, Quinn, and Sue used to be a polyamorous sort of relationship. Sue was only in on it because dates took stress off of her and Quinn just wanted a rebound because of her and Timm’s falling out. Quinn ended it after she proposed to Timm and they made up and Sue left because she met Mary. Despite this, Emery is pretty homophobic and claims it wasn’t even a relationship. She just sucks.

-Her friend group consists of Quinn, Sue, Mayor Mallow, Prudence’s mom, Vicki, Rico, and Rhonda. And by “friends”, I mean they tolerate her at best, except for Prudence’s mom because she’s just as awful.

-Emery isn’t a typical Karen, as she knows that vaccines work, the earth is round, and that wearing a mask is a good health decision. But Facebook Karens who run MLM schemes and give their children essential oils are the only people who tolerate her, so she likes to pretend in order to keep her friends. Emery also despises Minion memes, but will occasionally tag Utah,Nevada, Clark, and Ari in them to piss them off. Her PTA mom personality type would be Carol.

-She is one of only 3 people who have been banned from every single one of Papa’s restaurants, the other two being Guy Mortadello and Radley Madish. Utah at the Pastaria and Timm from the Bakeria banned her because she’s a jerk, but she was banned from the other places for verbally abusing the staff on a constant basis. She mainly just gets her miscellaneous boyfriends and girlfriends to get her stuff from there. She also likes to crash workplace meetings at Papa’s house just to rub it in Timm’s face that she used to bang his wife.

-She likes to eat tropical fruits and seafood. Her favorite food would be shrimp tacos with mango salsa and her favorite drink is a Hurricane (typing the word Hurricane as a Floridian makes me shudder). Emery also like coconut shrimp and sometimes sends some to her family, who just give it to other people because they don’t care.

-Alberto and Gremmie are Utah’s best friends and so they absolutely hate Emery. Gremmie plays all sorts of pranks on her and Alberto likes to hit her soccer balls on “accident”. But that’s nothing compared to Cameo, hoo boy does he not like her. He’s physically attacked her before because his love for Nevada is that strong, but it’s like she’s made of steel and always ends up whooping his ass after. Okalani, Kahuna, and Gremmie’s dad are extremely passive aggressive towards her too. Chuck is the only one out of all of them that will probably kill her both provoked and unprovoked.

-She is banned from every holiday and celebration that the Calypso Fam holds. It’s like Clark, Nevada, and Utah can sense her from miles away and they just automatically know not to answer the door. If she comes in, they just say “get the hell out of here, Emery”.

-She talks loud on the phone when she’s in line, and the conversations are usually not suitable to have in public. You can also hear music coming out of her headphones and she snaps at you if you bring it to her attention. She also has no phone case or pop socket, it’s just a phone. A plain, bare phone.

-She knows Ivy’s secret regarding the strange existences of Hacky Zak, CJ Friskins, Sweetheart, and potentially others. Ivy knows that Emery’s been too nosy, but she’s okay with it because nobody likes Emery and don’t listen to her anyways. What is the secret, you ask? Maybe in a future Ivy headcanons post will the truth be known...

-She named her kids after old states because the only class she was good at (besides PE) was geography. Why she never chose a name like Arizona or Florida for Utah we’ll never know, she was probably just being extra petty.

-Chuck has shot her with the pineapple gun before. Pineapple hurts. Not even the cold steel of Emery could deflect it. These are facts.

-Totally orders the most awful combinations of food and gets pissed off when it doesn’t taste good. Then she calls and complains about it and demands free stuff.

[knittingdreams]

Fireheart - Chapter 22

This chapter is super precious to me! I loved writing it and I love re reading it every once in a while! It’s probably because Sam is in it *-* You might have guessed by now, but I have a thing for Sam <3 haha

Masterlist: HERE

Ao3 and more chapters: HERE

Tiny tag list: @tillyrubes10 (just leave a comment if you wanna be added to it)

TW: loss

CHAPTER 22

Sinking

“That was not the deal!” Dorian crossed his arms over his chest, clearly annoyed.

“Well, I said I was going to the party with you, I never said anything about how long I was going to be there for.”

“You’ll miss out on the best part! After the boring but delicious dinner and speeches, that’s when the dancing and drinking starts. If you leave early, who am I to dance with?”

“Well, that is not my problem, is it? I will go to dinner this Saturday as promised, but after that, I will be gone.”

“And you won’t even tell me why or where you’re going.”

“Exactly. Now please, it’s Friday night, I have things to do and places to be, so if you may.” Celaena gestured with her hands for Dorian to move along, but he shook his head.

“You can’t just-” She slammed the door shut on his face, and walked towards her room as she heard Dorian cursing out loud in the hall.

Celaena slumped on the bed and covered her face with a pillow. She had 24 hours left until the next fight, and she knew she should head to the mansion for some training, but she couldn’t get herself to do it. After tossing and turning in bed for a while, she decided to go out. She put on a pair of jeans, her black leather jacket and headed out on her motorbike.

She drove around town for a while, not knowing where she was going, trying not to think about anything, but thinking too much about everything instead. When she turned towards the outskirts, she finally realized what she needed, where she was headed. 

It had been long since the last time she had visited.

Celaena parked her bike in an alley and walked a few meters towards the water. She sat down by the shore, the water getting so close that it was almost touching the tips of her boots. It was the spot where she had washed ashore; where Arobynn had found her. She couldn’t remember much about the moment, but she had made Arobynn take her there a few years after she was found, and had come back several times ever since.

There was no other way for her to be close to her parents. Their remains had been returned to Terrasen, and she hadn’t been back there; ever. And sometimes, she even wondered if she’d ever go back.

“Hey, mum,” she said quietly into the night. “Hi, dad. I’m sorry it’s been a while, life hasn’t been particularly easy.” She knew they couldn’t hear her, but she had spoken to them so many times as a child, it was almost like thinking out loud. “I promised you I’d find who did this to you, and I assure you I’m working on it… I’m going to avenge you. I just… I just don’t know if I know how to do this. I have a plan, I do. But I feel like I keep running into dead ends, and the lies keep piling up... I’m afraid I don’t know who I am anymore.”

She sat in silence for minutes, contemplating the water, listening to the soothing sound of the waves crashing, and watching as the stars started shining brighter in the sky and reflecting on the surface. She had lost the only friend she had ever had, she wasn’t speaking with Sam, and she was fake dating a guy she didn’t even trust.

“How am I supposed to run the business after all this is over if I don’t even know who I am?”

Celaena grabbed a rock from the shore and threw it into the water.

“How will I run it, when all I’ve ever done is fight?”

She grabbed another rock, spun it between her fingers, and threw it as hard as she could. She watched the water rippling for long, listening to the water, the wind, and the crickets chirping in the distance.

“I don’t even know who I am.” The words seem to be stuck in her head, consuming her with doubt.

She heard the steps behind her before the familiar voice replied.

“I know who you are, and I’d be happy to remind you if you let me.” Sam showed up by her side, extending a hand towards her to help her to her feet. She looked at it for a while before taking it begrudgingly.

“What are you doing here?”

“I come here sometimes,” Sam’s voice was soft but certain.

“What for?” She raised a single eyebrow at him.

“As a reminder… I have nothing left of my past, of my parents, or who I was. But I know who I am now, and a lot of it, a lot of me, began the day Arobynn brought you to the house. I come here to think, same as you do.”

Sam pointed with his head to the side and started walking slowly along the shore. Celaena followed him, letting the silence between them settle into a calm and pleasant feeling while she thought about Sam’s words.

“I’m not sure about anything anymore.” It was the biggest truth she had spoken in a while. “Who am I? I am not Celaena, I am not Aelin anymore, and I don’t think I can stand up to the Fireheart title either.” She paused for a second before dropping the second painful truth. “They beat me up, Sam.” Her voice almost cracked admitting it out loud, and she had to swallow hard. “I won the fight, but they came after me... I barely made it out. I feel like a fraud.”

Sam looked at her as he kept walking, his eyes traveling to her brow, which was now healed, and then back to her blue eyes. He had known something was wrong, but he couldn’t hide the surprise when hearing her words.

“I’ve missed those eyes, you know,” he said after a while, surprising her by the change of subject. “Not that brown doesn’t suit you, everything does, but the darkness in those eyes… Sometimes I forget about the light that shines within, and I think you do too.”

“What are you even talking about, Sam?” He wasn’t making sense, and she was already getting annoyed at him. She had laid out the biggest truth, had opened up in a way she hadn’t done in years, and Sam was talking nonsense instead of acknowledging what she had told him.

“I’m sorry you got beaten up, and I’m here to talk about it if you want. I can only imagine how frustrated you might feel. After all, you are a fighter, and losing is not something you’re used to. But you are still here, still showing up, still fighting. You might be hiding behind those dark eyes on the daily, but the light that shines within is still there.” Sam looked up to the sky and the almost full moon, lost in thought for a moment while she waited for him to finish talking. “You are Celaena, as much as you are Aelin, and you are also Fireheart. Names are not important, names do not define us. You are not the name, but the person that wields it. You are Celaena, because you are that girl that’s showing up at school and making friends, the girl that joined the cheerleader team and is kicking ass in practice. You are also Fireheart, I don’t doubt that for a second. You are fierce, and you have a passion inside of you that burns so bright, you could light up the whole world if you wanted to.” Sam stopped walking and turned around to look at her, the silver moon making his eyes look bright as he held her gaze.

“Sam, you don’t… you can’t-”

“Don’t you dare say I don’t know you. You can try and hate me all you want, but I can read you better than you can read yourself, Aelin. Because you are Aelin too. You are still that fragile girl that I met so many years ago, and that’s what terrifies you. You are scared of being vulnerable, and that’s why you keep pushing me away. But I won’t back down. I’m here for you, like it or not, and you need to eventually let someone in. I don’t care if that someone is me, or someone else.”

Sam’s hands had traveled to Celaena’s shoulders, and he was holding her at arm’s length, looking intently into her eyes. She looked down, thinking about the past. About how every time she had fought against Sam, he had still been there, silently by her side. How he had been there the first few nights when she woke up screaming, the nightmares haunting her. He had learned how to fight by her side, and always pushed her to be better, to fight as an equal, and not treated her differently for being a girl.

“What happened that night?” She hadn’t let him explain himself and had always believed he had betrayed her out of jealousy or mistrust. Celaena didn’t know if it was all she had lost in the last week, or the uncertainty after being so close to losing everything, but she was finally ready to listen to Sam, to hear his side of the story.

“I’ve been waiting for you to ask this for so long, to give me a chance to explain.” He let go of her shoulders, and ran a hand through his hair, looking up into the sky again. “I will never forgive myself for it. I didn’t know what you were up to… I knew you had been keeping a little extra money here and there, don’t look at me like that,” he said as Celaena raised a brow at him. “We worked closely, and you know I pay attention, I knew you’d been stealing from Arobynn for months.”

“Why didn’t you rat me out?”

“Because I didn’t know why you were stealing, and why would I, anyway?”

“You don’t want to know what I wanted the money for?” Celaena started walking again, and Sam followed her as they walked back along the shoreline.

“I do, and you know I won’t tell a soul if you decide to share it with me. I’m done being Arobynn’s spy, I mean it.”

She considered the answer for a long moment before replying. “I wanted to hire a private investigator.”

“To look for your parents,” Sam added.

“And to find whatever I could on Arobynn... To take him down.”

“What?” Sam stopped walking altogether and took a step back. “Are you crazy? Why? No, oh, no, no, why are you even telling me this?”

That was a good question, and one she didn’t think she was ready to answer just yet. “You know he owns us, and even if I get my family’s company back, Arobynn will still own my life, he will be able to get money out of me for the rest of my life with the secrets he knows. I will not be able to rest, even if I get my way. You know that. But that’s enough about my motives, I want yours.”

Sam was shaking his head, one hand furiously scratching the back of his head and messing his hair even more. Celaena kept walking, not waiting to see if he’d follow or not, she knew he would eventually.

“Okay, fuck,” he trotted over to catch up and walked by her side. “That night when you disappeared, I thought the worst. It was just after we had done that raid in the big mansion, and I thought security might have found a trail on us. I went around looking for you, and when I couldn’t find you anywhere, I panicked. Arobynn found me pacing around in your room, waiting to see if you’d show up. I had found your stash, and it was lying on top of your bed when Arobynn walked in.”

Celeana slowed down and headed towards the shore, stopping so close that the water was licking the soles of her boots. Sam stood by her side, his hands in his pockets as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

“So he found you there, my stash on the bed… And you told him everything.”

Sam looked down, and kicked the rocks and the sand, making the water ripple around them and splash their boots.

“No,” his voice was almost a murmur, but they were standing so close together, she could hear him perfectly. “I… I told him the money was mine.”

Celaena looked up at him, his profile a perfect silhouette being drawn against the moon behind him. “You did what?” There was no way she had heard that right, why would’ve Sam defended her like that?

“I’ve known him for longer than you, Aelin, and I’ve seen the darkest sides of Arobynn. He will only show you what he wants you to see, and he has always wanted you to see the good parts of him. He wanted you to think he was caring, and that’s why he’s always giving you gifts. All he ever gave me was discipline and punishments, and I was scared of what he might do to you for stealing, so I lied.”

Silence took over as all Celaena could do was look at the man standing in front of her. The boy she had grown up with, the one she had always pushed away, and the same one that had tried to help her all along. She knew now that side of Arobynn Sam was talking about, she had suffered it that awful night, when everything for her had changed.

“Why? Why did you care? I tried so hard to push you, and you-”

“Aelin,” Sam turned around to face her and reached over to hold her hands. His hands were warm against her skin, and she almost pulled away, but Sam’s eyes were so intense, that she couldn’t do it. “We have grown up together, and it doesn’t matter how hard you try to push me away, I will always be there, because-”

“Sam, don’t-”

“No, you fucking listen to me, I’m done with pretending I don’t give a shit and letting you hurt my feelings over and over again. I love you, Aelin.”

Celaena stepped back, getting her hands off Sam’s as fast as she could. No, he didn’t, he couldn’t, she couldn’t deal with that.

Sam started laughing, a relaxed and genuine laugh that was so inappropriate for the situation, that it almost made Celaena laugh as well.

“For fucks sake,” he said when he finally stopped. “You are so scared of people caring about you, that it makes you so blind to so many things.” Sam was shaking his head, and Celaena was lost for words, not having any idea of what was going on anymore. “I love you like a sister, Aelin. You are the family I never had, the one I always wished I could have. And just like any brother would, I sometimes want to kill you and punch you in the gut for being so stubborn and a pain in my ass; but that doesn’t mean I don’t love you, or that I wouldn’t do anything for you. You are my only family.”

He had always been there, he had stood up for her, tried to defend her, to take the blame for her mistakes. Sam was like the brother she never had.

“Sam…” 

She had always known it, but had denied her feelings for so long, so scared that caring for him would mean losing him the same way she had lost her parents and everyone else she had ever cared for. But how could she keep running away from him, when he was opening up his heart right in front of her?

“You don’t need to say it back, I know you care for me in your own twisted and fucked up way. And I’ll say it one last time, I’m not going anywhere.”

Going against everything Celaena had ever trained for, every instinct she had learned to develop to survive, and every impulse of running away she felt, she closed the distance between them and laced her arms around Sam’s neck.

As Sam hugged her back, Celaena told herself she was Celaena, but also Aelin. That girl hadn’t completely died that night she washed ashore, and she could still be her when needed, she could still rely on her every once in a while.

“If you ever tell anyone about this, Cortland,” she said as she squeezed him hard and then let go of him altogether. “I will chop off your balls and serve them to Arobynn on a silver platter.”

Sam laughed out loud, a beautiful and heartfelt laugh that filled the space between them, making Aelin laugh with him.

“I wouldn’t doubt that for a second.”